Letters to the editor Oct. 12
Middle East is a powder keg
Israel is a new country with much to learn. Now is the time for them to learn what all despotic tyrants have learned throughout history: “To rule is to serve.”
To suppress millions of people for decades, to surround them with a ring of small settlements of hate, to concentrate in such settlements people who are only there to hate, is to create the powder keg you see now. What more can Israel’s leaders expect after they have done that.
I am Jewish, I have worked in Israel with a volunteer group who closely supports their military. I ask the world to stand back and let it all be. Let all those who hate kill one another. After all, even God’s law says nothing can stop them now. Perhaps with the removal of that concentration of evil, the Israeli government can get down to the real business of governing.
To all those religious groups out there who would pray for Israel or Palestine, to all those governments around the world who wish to send arms and support to either side, I say with absolute certainty, you shall only support a great, diabolical continuation of hate. You can only join that rush of people, groups and countries you are about witness, who will rush-in carrying their own emotions, like a flag before their eyes, and see nothing.
— Ed Dramer, Kalispell
Fair taxes
The state of Montana is taking advantage of all the people living the in Big Sky Country.
The property tax system is antiquated in that if two neighbors have houses of equal value and one sells to someone at a very high price then the state and county raises the assessed value on the neighbors also. This is a way for the state and counties to take in more money and make it harder for a lower income person from owning property.To be a fair system, the person with the money to purchase a house at the higher price should, for the first year, pay a higher tax rate while the neighbor that didn’t sell goes up a smaller percentage. After the first year the person that could afford to pay the higher price would then start getting taxed at the normal rate.
Some Montanans think that by raising everyone else’s taxes to the value of the person with the money to buy a very high priced house is fair. I don’t see it as fair. I see it as a way for the state and counties to take in more money and spend it foolishly.
I would like to spend my own money on things I need. With all the extra taxes paid we are not getting any more services from the state or counties.
— Ray Shorb, Trego
Gun safety
If you grew up in Montana, like I did, chances are you were lucky enough to grow up hunting. Most Montanans can tell you a story about the first time they went out hunting game birds or the first deer they brought home. It’s a tradition that will always be a big part of Montana’s heritage and way of life – and that’s why it’s so important that we teach our kids how to do it safely.
As a hunter safety instructor, I take pride in teaching the next generation of Montanans the importance of responsible gun handling and ownership. But recently the Biden Administration decided to scrap funding for schools that support and host our longstanding hunter safety and national archery programs. Politicians get it wrong all the time, but this decision was a doozy.
Thankfully, our own Montana Sen. Jon Tester took action and told the president that his administration had it wrong. Tester led Congress and introduced bipartisan legislation to protect our school’s participation with hunter and archery education classes and he quickly gathered support to get his bill to the President’s desk.
A gun is a tool, and it’s up to all of us to teach our kids how to use them safely and properly. I am grateful that Senator Tester took quick action to protect Montanan sportsmen ensuring our children and grandchildren can continue to learn how to hunt and shoot in a safe and smart way. This is how Montanans take care of Montanans.
— Rachel Schmidt, Whitefish