Letters to the editor June 1
News headlines
Seems difficult to pick a topic on which to write — there are just so many from which to choose.
To the climate change lunatics who believe they can control Mother Nature: do you see the smoke from Canada that is poisoning our air? Stop mistakenly conflating CO2 with pollution. The clean air and water you seek is not contaminated by CO2, but the burning forest produces both vast amounts of CO2 (1.76 billion tons in 2021) and the smoke particulates you are choking on. If you want to save the planet, tell screaming Al Gore and jet-setting John Kerry to thin the forests and aggressively put out forest fires.
Second, law enforcement has reached a new low with Alvin (the chipmunk) Bragg, a Soros funded DA, letting criminals roam free and putting heroes in jail. Bragg rushed to charge a former Marine hero with manslaughter for defending (along with the assistance of two other men, at least one of whom was Black) a subway car full of passengers threatened by a screaming man who had been arrested 42 times in the previous eight years, including four for assault, according to a New York City police spokesperson. Now that is real justice! I hope the jury includes a few regulars on the New York City subway system.
Third, just days after a 24-year-old Black Chicago policewoman who had just obtained a master’s degree was assassinated by four Black teenagers on her way home from work, two Black female members of Congress (“The Squad”) refused to vote for a bill in the House honoring the 224 police officers killed in the line-of-duty in 2022. Perfect timing. Wonder why the big cities can’t recruit?
Enough! Time for outside chores ... choke! Now where did I put my gas mask?
— David Myerowitz, Columbia Falls
Moral victories
If you voted Republican recently, you must be glowing with pride. So many moral victories were accomplished in this legislative session.
It’s a little weird and ironic that the straight dudes representing the party that is supposed to stand for individual liberties will be sitting in the corner of your doctor’s office telling your physician what procedures they can and can’t offer — but think of the moral victory.
Heck, those trans people aren’t real, so the critical freedom to deny a whole class of people the right to exist was flexed. Another moral victory.
Standing up tall for all of those who demand the freedom to bury their heads deeply in the sand by disallowing state agencies to study the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Another win for liberty. (Don’t look up…).
The important freedom to silence dissenting voices was also upheld with great alacrity and should be commended. Moral victory.
Yes, the culture war in Montana was well contained and well served. Got everything on that docket.
Anything missing?
How about meaningful property tax reform? Crap. Well, a small short-term rebate will be nice at Christmastime.
What if you work your butt off but still can’t afford to buy a home and you’re a renter in Montana? Sorry. But don’t forget about all the moral victories.
Don’t make enough to qualify for the high-end tax cut in SB121? Don’t think about that — think about all the moral victories. Don’t think about the ways voting became more difficult, think about the moral victories.
In fact, if you’re an everyday, hardworking Montanan who voted Republican, you have a lot to celebrate — maybe not when you look at your personal finances, or maybe not when you think about your kids’ futures — but so many many moral victories!
— Jay Cummings, Somers