Letters to the editor Feb. 13
Vaccines and masks
We would like to say thank you to the heroes who kindly helped us receive the first shot against this ugly disease at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.
The entire process screamed organized. And thank you U.S. government for the free shots.
Everyone wore masks. We were in and out in less than one hour.
Maybe if everyone gets the vaccine, we will soon see our three children and four grandchildren. We miss them terribly.
We are dismayed that Montana will not protect us by requiring masks. Masks save peoples lives according to Dr. Anthony Fauci who assists Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board. We would have been afraid to go get our shots if we saw people at the fairgrounds were not wearing masks. Thank you for wearing masks.
Vaccines will fight COVID-19 and remains our best weapon according to Dr. Fauci.
We see the unmasked and run away as fast as possible.
This vaccine will save our lives. We feel grateful.
—Russell and Judy Pettinato, Whitefish
Voter registration
The right to vote is under attack across the USA and in Montana one form of it is going against what the voters in 2014 clearly affirmed in a referendum.
House Bill 176 would end same-day voter registration that has been law since 2005 and close late, in-person registration by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day.
The bill is due to be heard in the Senate Administration committee on Feb. 17, having already passed in the House. It is more than likely going to pass in the Republican dominated Senate and signed into law by Republican Governor Gianforte.
Supporters cite the chance to stop voter fraud. Just how much voter fraud has Montana endured? It sounds much more like the Republican Party wants to make sure that there are fewer voters who may vote for Democrats.
What are they so afraid of?
— Lucinda K. Willis, Polson
Support our nurses
Kalispell Regional Hospital nurses voted in a union 1 1/2 years ago for many reasons.
In talking with some of those involved, it seems that patient care (safe staffing) and a seat at the table where informed decisions are being made was the impetus for beginning the union process. Livable wages also comes into the mix to complete what is really needed to set the tone for an amazing place to work in the valley.
There are exceptional nursing programs throughout Montana and it is only appropriate that we offer livable wages here in the Flathead to encourage our students to work locally. A new nurse should not have to live with their parents or have four roommates, if they can even find a pace to rent in the area.
A union makes the hospital put patients and employees first, then profits. Buying up all the clinics and other services throughout Northwest Montana, before focusing on frontline staff, is a disservice to everyone. Nurses have been through a lot this past year, so let’s rise up and support them during these next months while they finalize a contract!
A Union is meant to make workers and the hospital make decisions that are best for everyone, not just management. Sometimes a company needs guidance to do that, and that is what the end goal is for KRH nurses.
—Randy Mohn, Lakeside
Lack of awareness
HB112, the “Save Women’s Sports Act”, requires interscholastic trans-athletes to participate within their sex assigned at birth. This legislation illustrates a remarkable lack of awareness of the current thinking in medical and athletic communities regarding transgender athletes. Moreover, athletic governing bodies have already decided what is fair in athletic competition.
In 2004 the IOC created guidelines for transgender athletes to compete: gender reassignment surgery, legal recognition of their assigned gender, two years of hormone therapy. In 2016 those guidelines were updated based upon the best advice of medical and scientific communities: surgery is no longer required, transwomen must have a testosterone level below a certain cutoff point for a year.
The NCAA doesn’t require surgery for transgender athletes and requires one year of testosterone blockers for transwomen. Their medical experts state the following: “… any strength and endurance advantages a transgender woman … may have as a result of her prior testosterone levels dissipate after about one year of estrogen or testosterone-suppression therapy. The assumption that a transgender woman competing on a women’s team would have a competitive advantage outside the range of performance and competitive advantage or disadvantage that already exists among female athletes is not supported by evidence.
—Caryl and Tom Cox, Polson