Letters to the editor
Special interest campaigning
Nowadays, there are more and more special interest groups helping to finance politicians. And they are catching a lot of heat for doing it, and rightly so. For a special interest group that could receive financial government benefits (our tax money) from financing a politician’s campaign, it seems to me to be a serious conflict of interest. Although there are countless organizations that engage in this practice, I believe it to be wrong.
I am aware of many such instances, but one in particular that affects all of us in Northwest Montana is the upcoming water compact between the State of Montana and the Confederated Tribes. It is my understanding that Senate Candidate Mowbray has received campaign money from the Tribes. The question is: Would that campaign contribution have a serious effect on her vote in the Senate if she is elected? Is there a conflict of interest?
My only interest in this subject is this: I believe that Government agencies, business entities, corporations, Non-government Organizations and other institutions should not be permitted to donate to politicians. Such contributions may even be against the wishes of their members.
The elections are conducted for the individual voters to select individuals to represent them in the various government offices. It would therefore seem appropriate that only individuals should contribute to a politician’s campaign for office.
Gene Garrison
Proctor
War on women
Enough already! The Democrats really need to stop their escalating assault on women. I, for one, have had enough.
First, the Democrats insulted every woman’s intelligence by trying to convince us that a legitimate discussion about first amendment rights — specifically the protection of religion from government intrusion — was an attack on a woman’s right to practice birth control. Although not a Catholic myself, I think it is abhorrent that government regulations should force a church to ignore its own teachings. And unconstitutional to boot.
Of course, I acknowledge everyone’s freedom to choose contraception. That is a separate issue from freedom of religion. It was unethical and insulting for the Democrats to muddle the two things up.
Second, Democrat Hillary Rosen attacked every woman who has ever chosen the job of caring for children full-time when she said that Ann Romney, mother of five, “Never worked a day in her life.” What unfeeling foolishness!
Most recently, the majority of Democrats in the U.S. Congress voted against a bill that would have prohibited abortions for the sole purpose of ending the life of a baby according to its gender. This practice clearly targets girls. Again, Democrats came down on the side of waging war on women.
As the mother of three wonderful daughters and seven precious granddaughters, I have to protest this Democrat War on Women. I hope women and caring men will join me in the protest. My strong hope is that real progress in the War on Women will occur next November and the arrogant, self-serving, self-righteous leadership associated with Democrats will end.
Carol Cummings
Polson
Conserving lands
I would like to provide some information regarding the discussion of the Natural Resources and Conservation Service funding received by Senate District 6 candidate Janna Taylor.
These programs are not subsidies to the agricultural producers but rather are for environmental conservation uses. The programs have been designed to protect and improve lands for wildlife habitat, erosion control, important nesting and fawning areas, and many other valuable improvements to our state’s environment. Examples of two of these programs are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
CRP does just what its name says, reserving lands for conservation purposes. These lands are planted into grasslands that are not grazed or hayed, providing excellent habitat for many species of birds and big game as well. These grasslands also control erosion by wind and runoff thus protecting the soils and the watershed.
EQIP also is well named as it provides incentives for agricultural producers to preserve and enhance the quality of the environment. This is done by providing cost share to the participating producer. These projects include such things as fencing along streams, improving irrigation efficiency to enhance in stream flows, and off stream water development benefiting wildlife.
These programs are supported by sportsmen, wildlife enthusiasts and anyone who cares for our environment. I think the Taylors should be thanked for giving up the opportunity of profit from production and allowing their property to be set aside for the benefit of wildlife and for reaching into their own pocket to pay a share of the EQIP projects that benefit all of us.
Sigurd Jensen
Elmo
Positive-tone campaigning
I’m writing this just before taking off for three weeks in Wisconsin. I recently wrote a letter about attending the Lake Co. Democratic dinner at Ronan’s Mission Mountain Golf Course restaurant, reporting what a fine and lively affair it was and giving the “Tree of Life” comments.
Just another note of observation about that gathering: While there were about 10 candidate speakers, none of them spoke out negatively against the Republicans.
Why? They don’t really have to. Simple as that. And now, referring to the national campaign, I hear over and over comments from Romney and other Republicans like this: “Obama is un-American”. “Obama is the worst president in history.” “Obama is the most radical president we have ever had.” “Obama is thumbing his nose at the Constitution.”
Obama is this and that! Do these people actually think that the bulk of Americans believe this? Why do these candidates take us for a bunch of lemming-like characters that will follow them over the cliff of reason down into the waters of waste and destruction?
Anyway, I was impressed by the positive tone of the Democratic dinner gathering. And this is not to say that in our upcoming national elections that Democratic candidates will not spew out negativity, too, just as Republicans do. They will and they do. But the May 26th Lake Co. Democratic dinner was a good example of positive-tone campaigning. We need more of it, for sure.
Bob McClellan
Polson
Liberty and security
Liberty and security: are there any remaining doubters to the simple truth that we, as a collective people, have been electing “leaders,” not representatives, for decades now and have pretty much gambled away our personal liberties for a sense of security that can only be defined as a “shell game?”
Does anyone remember Steve Martin in “The Jerk” when he worked as a barker in a circus and his job was to guess people’s weight? The “people” paid him some money ($1, I think), he would guess and if he was wrong, they got to choose a prize from a tiny little section of a shelf of prizes that had items that weren’t worth two cents.
He thought he was a failure because he could never guess their correct weight and he always had to let them pick a prize with the “customer” walking away believing he was a dolt and they had outsmarted him until the owner of the circus explained the ‘shell game’ to him: he got a dollar and they got a two-cent prize... Liberty for a smoke screen of security. Need I say more?
Thanks to a speech by Alan Keyes, I can now mull over the concept of “fuehrer” here in America... I never knew that the singular form for a government official is “representative” while the plural is “leaders…” amazing. Like ‘goose’ and ‘geese’ or ‘mouse’ and ‘mice’ or ‘citizen’ and ‘rubes.’
Reviewing (through my dark glasses — or maybe through the bottom of rum bottle) our willingness and endless justifications for passing laws to protect us from predators, we have virtually ‘painted ourselves into a corner’ and have no further room to back up. Waiting for the paint to dry is not an option. We have had our coats, shirts, pants and shoes sweet talked off of us and winter is coming. I think benches in the park are going to become an adult game of “musical chairs” if we’re not careful.
We have given power to our “gubbermint,” one word at a time, and they have now accumulated and collated those words (power) into a book as extensive as “War and Peace” and are slamming our knuckles with it like a rabid nun from the old school; and we continue to accept and justify it. Is that called masochism? Please, beat me some more, it feels great.
Just reviewing concepts.
Michael Gale
Ronan
No sale
Are we paying attention to what’s happening in our community?
NGOs (non-government organizations) are rapidly springing up, and assuming government roles. They are many and intertwined. They are ‘global’ and pay no attention to the wisdom of our Constitution and are not concerned with inalienable rights, finding it easy to replace them for the common good. This “change for change’s sake” is allowing socialism and social engineering to creep into our town!
Socialism’s disguise is something called ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Issues), supported most notably by the United Nations and prominent socialists. NGOs form then to partner, share, fund and advance these socialist-type goals. Locally, there is ‘gracious space,’ of which our Polson City Manager is a member. The Orton Family Foundation, based in Vermont, has recently chosen to grant $100,000 to the ‘Greater Polson Community Foundation’ (GPCF). This grant will be contingent upon achieving goals set forth.
Among these goals will be to get aboard lock-step, with the Orton Foundation’s global way of thinking, to include changing social attitudes toward environmental, energy and land use. Indoctrination programs are already in place for our school youth. Frightening?
In speaking with Senate candidate, Carmine Mowbray, who had been initially involved in the promotional grant application for GPCF, I was glad to hear her tell me that she had ‘removed her support’ after learning more about the dangerous agendas.
One-hundred thousand dollars to take away our independence? I say no sale!
Jim Sisler
Big Arm
City attorney petition
In my opinion, James Raymond has served long enough (14 years) as part-time Polson City Attorney. Some concerned citizens have written a petition to show the Polson City Commissioners that there are many people who want to give Mr. Raymond his 12-month notice of contract termination. If you would like to sign the petition, please call me at 406-239-4576 (and leave a message), and I will make arrangements to get the petition to you.
In my last letter that didn’t get published, I explained my view of the impact fee fiasco, Mr. Raymond not paying his building permit fees for nine months after they were issued, and his lack of attendance at city meetings.
I was on the city commission in 2010 and 2011 and during that time the city paid Mr. Raymond $43,000 per year as part-time attorney. This year, the city manager stated that the city paid an outside attorney $500 to determine that Mr. Raymond wrote the 2007 impact fee Ordinance 624 in a way that was unenforceable. The city is expected to be refunding about $25,000 in impact fees to people who never should have paid them.
I checked the minutes during city commission meetings in 2010 and 2011, and Mr. Raymond was listed as attending only 67 percent of those meetings. I remember many times saying or hearing another commissioner say “I wish Mr. Raymond was here...” about a legal question, although by 2011, I was not always comfortable with his legal advice.
Mr. Raymond wrote into his July 2011 contract with the city, that he must be given 12 months advance notice for his contract to be terminated (and the commission approved it). I would like to see the city of Polson give Mr. Raymond his 12 months notice of termination now. After 15 years, let’s hire a different city attorney for Polson, one who will attend more city meetings, write effective legal documents and protect the interests of all the citizens of Polson.
Judy Preston
Polson
Bandana benefit
On behalf of the Marine Corps League, Hellroaring Detachment 1041 and the Lake County Veterans, I would like to first thank Kurt and Traci Johnson for so generously opening up their event center, Sky Ridge Ranch, for the Bandana Benefit in support of the Lake County Veterans Fund event. And thanks to Jeanette Phillips and Marie Mahugh for their help in organizing this event.
Big thanks to Anderson Broadcasting, Chuck Lewis and the Mission Valley Honor Guard and to all the people and businesses who so willingly supported and attended the Bandana Benefit on behalf of the Lake County Veterans Fund.
We hope to make this an annual event.
Mauri Morin
Polson
City’s interests
The citizens of Polson have a reasonable expectation that city employees work for the best interests of the city. The kerfuffle regarding impact fees resulting from the discovery that the city attorney did not pay them and failed to pay his building permit fees in a timely manner, has led some to question that expectation. The badly flawed ordinance No. 624, written by Mr. Raymond in 2007, is now being re-written by him.
The city attorney’s contract should be understood by the citizens who pay for his service. At the June 18 council meeting, the council can either notify Raymond that the contract will not be renewed in July of 2013 or it will automatically be renewed for an additional two-year term.
In the existing contract, the attorney must be given 12 months notice or be paid $43,200 in severance pay for his part-time employment. Interestingly, in paragraph nine of the contract, “Raymond may terminate this agreement with the city by directing written notice of termination to the city by certified or registered mail.” Apparently no notice to the city is required from him.
When asked about what appeared to be a contract favoring the interests of the city attorney over the interests of the city, on June 6, 2011 the city manager responded because it was what the attorney wanted.
In Section 8 of the contract, the city gives up the option of terminating the contract within one year following the seating of one or more new council members unless the city pays $43,200 in severance.
When questioned about this condition, the manager wrote that this was to avoid any political influence on the continued service of this attorney. That is what elections are for, to decide policy and in some cases personnel decisions.
If you think the current contract favors an employee over the city’s interests, please call your council representative or sign a petition that former council member Judy Preston (406-239-4576) is circulating. All council members except Dan Morrison have listed numbers. Please express your opinion before June 18.
Bob Fulton
Polson