Letters to the editor Feb. 22
Affordable housing
Living outside the city limits of Whitefish, I cannot vote for the City Council members. That’s the good news. I would no doubt be frustrated as the denizens of the Nanny State and their successors will continue to be elected and my blood pressure would continue to rise.
So it’s easy for me to grumble about the pusillanimous members of the City Council who seem to spend their time living in fear of a virus that appears to be on the wane and now have bloviated about impending legislation designed to protect businesses from having to enforce mask regulations.
Why don’t you relax, boys and girls? And while you are at it, stop trying to Mau-Mau the contractors about “affordable housing” when you’ll never be able to provide adequate low-cost housing through strong-arm tactics.
The market is what it is; Whitefish is no longer a workingman’s city, and that is a doggone shame. Median house cost is $367,000, 58% above the state average.
But apart from BNSF, government and the car dealerships, what jobs are left to provide the kind of salaries that would enable workers to live in Whitefish? Stand at the intersection of U.S. 93 and Highway 40 any workday morning and you will see the large number of workers coming into Whitefish. No government program will be able to house all those folks, no matter how hard you push the developers.
The best government is the least government. In the 12th Century, King Canute demonstrated to his flattering courtiers that he had no control over the elements, by commanding the tide to not rise, which of course it did, thus demonstrating that secular power is vain. Methinks he had it right.
—Cy Appel, Whitefish
Respect the lands of all people
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the rally in Indian Country opposing the Keystone pipeline. The people stood their ground, while the wind whistled and people huddled in their teepees, waiting for help from the government.
While it is encouraging that two presidents choose to listen, our delegation in Montana decided to allow the pipeline through Indian Country. One senator sits on an Indian committee and the other sits on the sidelines with his finger in the air. We need a consistent policy that respects the lands of all people.
—Chuck Overcast, Whitefish
Be part of the solution
Samual Adams once said, “If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace.
We ask not your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands that feed you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”
It is now time for freedom-loving people, capable of rational and logical thinking, conservatives that is, to re-unite and reclaim our great Nation. The enemy is at the gates and has gained access to the “city on the hill” that Ronald Reagan spoke of, via Trojan horses.
Knowledge of, and the spreading of, truth is the peaceful way to resist the socialist agenda. So, I invite all people who want to know the truth to come to the weekly Pachyderm Club meeting every Friday at noon in the ballroom at the Red Lion in downtown Kalispell. Join us for lunch each week as we host exciting speakers and learn about pending legislation and other issues affecting our area, Montana, and our great country. If you want to be part of the solution, please come. If not, depart from us and lick the hand that feeds you.
—Mike McNamara, Kalispell
Abortion prevention
Recently I came across a website called respectforlife.org. What caught my eye was the picture of a bumper sticker that said “Vasectomy Prevents Abortion”. I read on. “Abortion is inconceivable without conception”. And conception cannot take place without the introduction of sperm. There is a man involved in every abortion, whether he takes responsibility for his fertility or leaves the woman with the ultimate decision. Reproductive freedom has got to go beyond a woman’s right to be responsible for the pill,diaphragm, IUD, synthetic hormones or the surgical termination of a pregnancy. Isn’t it time for men to take control of those “life-threatening” sperm once and for all.
“Contraception prevents abortion.” Organizations, like Planned Parenthood, have education in family planning and provide contraceptives to avoid the risk of an unwanted pregnancy. Condoms, I believe, are pretty inexpensive when you think about it. $1.00 each? And widely available.
Education about how our bodies work is crucial to healthy maturation and good decision making. Education gives us choices. It does not cause sex. I will add that education helps prevent abortion, as it encourages both men and women to take responsibility for their fertility.
The choice every woman getting an abortion would rather have is the choice not to need one in the first place. Everyone at risk of starting a human life must accept the responsibility that comes with that risk.
To our legislators who will vote on House Bills 171,136,140 and 157, take responsibility and vote NO.
—Norma Linsky, Kalispell
Stand for life
I have a question for the brother-and-sister duo representing the Flathead in the Montana Legislature. When you stated, “This goes right down to, are we going to stand for life? Or are we going to throw it away?” did you not notice the irony of protecting the unborn and at the same time refusing to protect the lives of staffers and others required to work in Helena? Are the only lives of value to the GOP those of the unborn? Why do you feel it is a greater imposition to wear a mask than to interject yourself into the medical decisions of a woman and her physician? If you truly are pro-life I would expect you to protect all lives, not just the unborn.
—Kathryn Shaw, Lakeside
In favor of tax relief
I probably have been an Daily Inter Lake subscriber for forty plus years. I guess the letters to the editor keep me enjoying the paper the most.
I just read “Democrats at work.” I sure hope all three of these tax measures before the Legislature will be enacted. I know in the past some good property tax relief bills were introduced by Republicans and were enacted. Keith Reiger from Whitefish was one that comes to mind. I appreciate any tax relief for folks living on a fixed income.
On another note, about the folks who bought 126,000 acres of land from Southern Pines, sounds like the insurance business was mighty good for them!
—Dave Brandt, Eureka