Letters to the editor Dec. 12
Transition to electric buses
Thank you Bigfork Public Schools for being a pioneering district forging a new future for our children by transitioning to one of Montana’s first electric school buses. I was delighted to hear the news that they are participating in the EPA Clean School Bus Program. There’s a lot of places I don’t like my tax dollars being spent, but this is not one of them!
Encouraging our school districts to be early adopters of technology seems totally appropriate as this is where curiosity, innovation, and critical thinking are most-needed to solve the world’s biggest issues, including the climate crisis these kids have inherited.
Bigfork School District will be leading the way in taking dirty diesel buses off the roads and replacing them with zero-tailpipe-emission buses that are quieter, cleaner, and better for our children’s health and our environment. Because electric school buses have fewer parts and run on electricity — whose price is much more stable than volatile fossil fuels — electric school buses are also expected to save schools thousands of dollars a year on operations and maintenance.
It’s an exciting time for our state to receive this funding for clean transportation. But we can’t stop here. We can and must accelerate this transition to a clean ride for kids and their future.
— Sara Busse, Kalispell
Who are the Libertarians?
Now that the dust has cleared from the last election, the question remains: Who are the Libertarians and where do they belong?
They are usually considered a far wing of the Republican Party, but by looking at the effects of their votes on elections in the last 16 years, and by investigating what they stand for, it appears they may be much more aligned with the progressive wing of the Democrats.
In Montana, assuming the Libertarian votes come mostly from traditional Republicans, their greatest contribution has been the election of Sen. Jon Tester in 2006 and 2012, as well as Gov. Steve Bullock in that same year. The result of those races was profound as Tester has proven to be one of the staunchest advocates for Obama, Pelosi, Schumer and Biden, voting virtually every time on the significant issues to support their far-left agenda of more and more government control and excessive spending. Similarly, Bullock thwarted almost every effort by our Legislature to move our state forward according to the desires of the Legislature elected by Montana’s voters.
A cursory review of the Libertarian Party’s political platform confirms they fully support the LGBTQ movement and unregulated drug use, which directly implies full support of abortion without restriction.
By extension this must mean they reject the values of Christian conservatives as well. On top of that, they are explicit in their support of open borders, which means a tacit support of the evils of globalism. It is obvious these are not values of most Republicans but more aligned with the progressive left whom they rarely criticize like they do Republican candidates.
They are a strange party, these Libertarians who are contrarian and value their independence. But as past elections show and their party platforms confirm, they are detrimental to the Republicans and supportive of the Democrats.
Consequently, let them be on their own but for certain they should not be allowed to participate in official Republican local, county and state political meetings. In fact, if they want to hang onto the coattails of a major party, they should check with Democrats. They may just welcome them with open arms.
— Mark Agather, Kalispell