Letters to the editor March 7
Ukraine war
Amy Weeks, you get it! How absolutely refreshing to have read your letter, “Cozy with Putin,” appearing Feb. 26. I personally wanted to thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts in an attempt to bring attention to this dreadful, horrifying situation now occurring in Ukraine.
Being of Polish and Lithuanian descent, it terrifies me to think that should murderer Putin, conquer Ukraine, his next attempt to expand his hold on Eastern Europe will indeed include Poland and the Baltic region.
We American citizens must carefully consider who we vote into office, especially our White House. We should never forget that murderer Putin truly despises our country and all that we stand for. The more control he gets, the more he wants, and the United States of America is currently standing in Putin’s way.
— Brenda Anderson, Columbia Falls
Trump’s own words
In a Feb. 20 letter to the editor, Carol Santa addresses her concerns about the possible election of Donald Trump.
In her letter, Santa relies on Trump’s own words and actions to make her case. She wrote that Trump has stated he will not support additional money for Ukraine and threatens to pull the U.S. out of NATO. He has stoked warm relationships with authoritarian leaders, including Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, and jokes about being a dictator for one day.
The letter continued: If elected, he promises to stop all court cases against him, pardon the insurrectionists and change civil service laws so he can fire federal officials perceived as disloyal to him. He plans to order the military to crush protests in American cities and arrest political opponents. He promises to stack the judiciary with loyalists to do his bidding. He claims as president anything he does will be immune from prosecution forever.
Every claim made in Santa’s letter can be backed up by video of Trump making these claims himself.
Santa cites other irrefutable facts and statistics: He must pay over $350 million for fraudulent business behavior; he has been charged with 40 criminal counts; he has been accused by at least 26 women of sexual misconduct.
These facts are the basis of Santa’s logical argument — made without unfounded accusations, name-calling or fear-mongering.
While some may draw different conclusions from these undisputed facts and still be willing to vote for the man, I hope that the evidence will cause some questioning readers to do their own research and consider if this is the person we want to lead our country.
It was heartening to see such a well-reasoned argument published.
— Tery Solomon, Kalispell
Forced organ harvesting
I would like to commend Rep. Ryan Zinke for his remarks made on Feb. 1 after a Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) hearing to assess the recent UN review of China’s human-rights record. Mr. Zinke, who sits on the CECC, said the party’s forced organ harvesting is “extraordinarily concerning. The entire world ought to be horrified at such practices,” he told The Epoch Times, adding that Congress should “push the State Department to bring it up in person and have answers.”
“We have a relationship with China. I think China should know that’s one of our key concerns.”
The issue should “absolutely” be on the agenda in the U.S.–China talks, he said.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is believed to be one of the principal sources of human organs that the Chinese Communist Party uses for their state-sanctioned forced organ transplantation industry. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that combines meditation and gentle exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Although introduced to the public in China in 1992, its roots extend back thousands of years.
Rep. Zinke’s comments will help bring the forced organ harvesting to light and help end this human rights atrocity. China needs to be held accountable.
— Katherine Combes, Kalispell
Property tax relief
In our state, property taxes are very burdensome on many people. I think two basic changes would help resolve this issue:
1. Cut the amount of property taxes that the state takes in.
Last session, the Legislature had a multi-billion dollar surplus, and much of it was doled out in one-time payments. That means that money will be there again in the upcoming session so there is ample opportunity to simply cut the amount the state takes in on residential property taxes.
2. Ensure that property taxes are tied to purchase price
Ideally, the home value used to calculate your owed property taxes should primarily be based on the price you purchased your home, accounted for inflation. This would produce an intuitive result: you don’t pay taxes on what a delusional market speculates your home is worth. It would also help stop people who are on a fixed income from being taxed out of property they’ve lived in for decades and raised their families.
Next session I will advocate for these common-sense solutions in the Legislature.
— Lukas Schubert, Kalispell