Letters to the editor Nov. 29

Defund the UN

The war that Russia has imposed on its neighbor Ukraine is a stark reminder of the origins of the United Nations after World War II. The current invasion can only be compared to the origins of that war when Germany began the merciless bombing and killing in neighboring countries which went on for years.

In the aftermath of that war, the United Nations was formed in order to prevent such destructive aggressions from happening again. In the Charter of the United Nations, Chapter 1, Article 1, Section 1, “The Purposes of the United Nations are: 1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, ….”.

We have seen over the intervening years how ineffective the UN has been in administering this charter obligation. It is now time for the U.S. to begin the membership exit process from the UN. Since this is a treaty obligation the formal removal process will take the full approval of Congress and the president, I presume. However, the defunding of the UN by the U.S. is something that Congress can do immediately, leaving treaty legalities for later.

I am therefore asking that the Montana congressional representatives, two senators and two representatives, initiate legislation to defund our financial obligations (over $10 billion annually) to the United Nations.

— Duane Egan, Columbia Falls

Let’s support Ukraine

If the Russian army invaded Montana, I have no doubt that Montanans would fight back. We would refuse to be conquered. We would refuse to become pawns under a warmongering dictator. We share these values with the Ukrainian people who are now fighting to preserve their freedom and their lives.

Ukrainians have resisted the invasion fiercely, but they need continued help against their larger and heavily militarized attacker. For years, Russia has tried to isolate Ukraine by intimidating any who would offer it help. The U.S. was not intimidated. We did not allow Russia’s illegal and destabilizing seizure of Crimea to go unanswered.

Since then, we have been supporting the Ukrainians against Russian aggression. Putin and his Moscow regime do not respect the inalienable rights we know here, but they are learning to respect America’s power to uphold peace. The Ukrainians have the will and courage to stop Moscow’s imperialism, all they lack is enough weapons.

The U.S. has these weapons. We have known about the threat from Moscow for generations. We have spent trillions of dollars on the defense of ourselves and our allies. Some people argue that the cost of supporting Ukraine is too great, but much of this cost is already spent. We cannot sell obsolete air defense systems and get our money back. Either they continue to sit in storage, or they serve their purpose protecting our allies.

Furthermore, Ukrainians are extremely effective at reducing the threat from Moscow’s military. Every tank the Ukrainians destroy makes it easier to safeguard our NATO allies. Although the cost of arming Ukraine is substantial, we have learned that it is far more costly to allow dictators to expand by force. Ukrainians have proven their commitment to freedom, let us give them the tools to win.

— Samuel Preta, Kalispell

Big Oil and Zinke

As Americans struggle with high gas prices, oil giants are rolling in massive profits. Exxon Mobile broke records, raking in $19.66 billion and Chevron amassed $11.23 billion in net profits in one quarter.

Yet we were told by Ryan Zinke, infamous for failing to rise to the duty of candor, that the fault was really due to democratic policies to curb climate change. His campaign ad blared out to blame “liberals” for our pump pain. He successfully diverted our attention while his Big Oil buddies pick our pockets and snicker gleefully all the way to the bank.

No wonder Big Oil is one of Zinke’s top donors. He said he was Trump’s Seal, but he’s really Big Oil’s shill, putting their profits over our economy and the stewardship of our environment.

Elections fall between horrible heat bubbles and menacing super storms yet voters seem oblivious that the fossil fuel industry contributes directly to climate change disasters as much as they do to the coffers of shills like Zinke.

When you complain about extreme weather and gas prices, be sure to thank Big Oil and unethical Ryan Zinke. And, next election, please remember to use your vote wisely.

— Wanda LaCroix, Missoula