Help stop casualties in our state
On March 19, the United States experienced its fifth year in the Iraqi conflict. As of that date, the U.S. had experienced the loss of 3,391 troops.As a retired military officer, every casualty is a personal loss. Unfortunately, other than writing comments and carrying on dialogue with friends and acquaintances, there is nothing you or I can do about this war. The state of Montana has experienced the loss of 22 of its finest young men. Each was laid to rest with dignity and full military honors, plus all the respect that their community could give.
In this same time frame, a war has been going on in the state of Montana in which 10,767 innocents have lost their lives. None of these children were buried with honor and dignity. Their names never appeared on the TV or were featured in the newspaper. They came from every county in the state. Most of our citizens never even knew they existed. This is a tremendous casualty loss in that Montana has the 44th largest population in the U.S. Imagine what it is like in more populous states.
Hopefully, you have family and friends who would also like to participate. The name of each registered voter is one step closer to meeting the requirement of 44,615 total signatures. You, as an individual, can make a difference. This is our war; these are our citizens being lost.
Jim Van Sickle, Stevensville
We can’t afford to make abortion illegal
Proposed Constitutional Initiative 100 is an obvious and blatant attempt to criminalize abortion within the state of Montana, thereby flooding the state with thousands of unwanted children.Abortion opponents operate under the false assumption that any child born to a full-term pregnancy is a loved, healthy, wanted child, and if abortion would somehow cease to exist all resulting children would be welcomed into their mothers’ arms. This is just not the case.
Montana is fortunate in that our abortion rate is below the national average, with approximately 2,200 voluntarily terminated pregnancies annually. The No. 1 reason for a woman electing an abortion has long been “economic hardship.” If a woman’s option to terminate a pregnancy is removed (and most likely criminalized), how does that relieve economic hardship? How does a woman’s perception of an unwanted pregnancy, brought to term by Montana law, affect the life of that child? And what if approximately 2,200 new children are added to the adoption roles of Montana each year? Year after year after year after year.
CI-100 has been referred to as the “Montana Parenthood Amendment.” It may prove to be just that by holding Montana (Montana taxpayers) responsible for the cost of delivery, shelter, food, clothing, health care and education of thousands of previously unwanted children. With current estimates for the expense of raising a child to the age of 18 at $200,000, CI-100 has the potential of expanding the Montana state budget by $400 million annually, in less than two decades. There will also be added expenses of the bureaucracy to tend to these children, investigation of potential caregivers, investigation of possible adoptive parents, investigation of child abandonment and criminal prosecution, and incarceration.
Abortion may well be an unfortunate choice. But is a choice we, literally, cannot afford to take away from the citizens of Montana.
Ben Griffing, Polson
Look at racism issue closely
Do not dismiss Geraldine Ferraro’s remark too lightly.Here is the problem with dismissing what Geraldine Ferraro said as “racist”: It overlooks a vital point, inherent in her claim that Barak Obama is lucky to be an African-American in this race for the Democratic nomination. The fact that some white people are attracted to his campaign may very well be because they unwittingly see voting for him as an opportunity to absolve “white guilt” over U.S. treatment of people of color.
Wouldn’t this promise, implicit even if not intended in Barak Obama’s candidacy, render his presidency impotent to address the issue of institutional racism, which continues to plague the lives of many in the U.S.? IR refers to the systemic barriers which prevent non-members from accessing the full benefits of life in this country, as enjoyed by the privileged group. In the event of Obama’s election, and because he has campaigned on the issue of bringing factions together, I fear some of his supporters, still unconscious of the reality of IR, would be outraged if his administration, or any public agency, undertook to address this problem.
In my own opinion, IR cannot be addressed apart from individual white Americans’ acknowledging their advantaged position under a system which subtly but categorically discriminates against people of color. That is why IR persists: it is a difficult task, at best, to own such a truth, even among the willing. For those not yet willing to look at this issue, it would likely be a deal-breaker. How, then, could we make any progress in ending IR, under a president whose platform is viewed as offering an easy out? The assumption would be that we can all just pretend IR does not exist, and then it won’t.
Patricia A. Hogan, Missoula
Schweitzer’s fight against program noble
I was never a supporter of Gov. Brian Schweitzer until he took his stand against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Real ID program.This ridiculous $23 billion program requires the state of Montana to provide personal information to DHS to “protect” us from terrorists using fake driver’s licenses. This is the same agency that has suffered numerous data losses and thefts of such personal information on hundreds of thousands of Americans. This is the same agency that lied to Congress and the public about its role in obtaining data on over 12 million airline passengers. Why should any Montanan trust DHS with their personal information?
DHS has been falsely implying that Montanans won’t be able to fly using their Montana license. Congress passed the Real ID program as a voluntary, unfunded program - each state can make its own decision to participate. As a result, the Transportation Security Administration cannot refuse you to fly if you present a Montana license. They can request additional screening or you can provide alternative acceptable identification. No ID is required to be presented to TSA to fly on a domestic flight, just your boarding pass provided by the airline.
DHS has even gone so far as to publicly state that Real ID maybe required to purchase cold medicines in the future, open bank accounts, enter federal buildings, etc. Sounds like a national identity card to me, not a voluntary program as Congress intended.
My father fought in World War II to keep us from having a government that demands our “papers” for permission to travel, to work and to enter buildings. I am afraid we may have lost the war if we let this happen in Montana. Thank you, Governor, for your resolve. You have my support.
Herb Harris, Whitefish
Newspapers support nonprofits
The Missoulian is cancelling the “Community Bulletin” and the Ravalli Republic is significantly reducing the size of the “Bitterroot Bulletin” ads. These were free ads that promoted nonprofit events or thanked sponsors for supporting such events.While this is disappointing, it made me stop and think about how supportive these newspapers are of everything that goes on in the community. If you look through the paper, most every day there are multiple public service announcements of coming events. Every nonprofit in the valley knows that their submission will appear, usually not just once but multiple times in the weeks preceding their event.
Last month the Ravalli Republic ran articles for me on our Walk for the Ages (including a highlight in the Entertainer), the Discovery Care Bus Pull and TaxAide for Seniors. I think I can speak for most non-profits in the Bitterroot when I say there is no way we could pay for ads that would give us this kind of coverage. Flyers and the radio are certainly part of an overall marketing plan, but nothing gives coverage like multiple appearances in the newspaper.
Thank you to the editors of Ravalli Republic and the Missoulian for supporting our community every day on the pages of your newspapers.
Sharon Bladen, Director, RSVP Volunteer Center, Hamilton
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