How one uses experience is key measure
A brief comparison of the prior political experience (elected offices only, not political appointments) of some notable past U.S. presidents might help put the assumptions regarding Barack Obama’s alleged lack of experience into perspective:
Obama: eight years in the Illinois Senate, four years in the U.S. Senate.
Theodore Roosevelt: three years in the New York Legislature, one year as governor of New York, one year as vice president of the U.S.
Franklin Roosevelt: two years in New York Legislature, four years as governor of New York.
Ronald Reagan: eight years as governor of California. (I’m not counting his tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild.)
I suppose I could add here a list of past presidents who had very lengthy political careers before entering the Oval Office and performing very poorly. That should not be necessary to make my point. More important than a person’s experience is how they apply their experience. What one accomplishes with one’s experience and abilities depends on character, motivation, opportunity, intelligence and, most important, the ability to work harmoniously, or at least effectively, with others.
The U.S. presidency is not a dictatorship. The best use of that office is to make American government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” Therefore, a good and successful president would be one who would use the qualities mentioned above to work collaboratively with all other Americans, inside and outside of government, for the benefit of all the people and all life. Of the two candidates currently in the running, Obama has most consistently shown the desire, motivation and ability to unite, represent and collaborate with all of the American people, and engage our collective abilities for the common good.
George Price, Dixon
Yard signs, issues, guns on our minds
This letter is in response to Ken Clizbe (yard-sign stealing), Tim Gaertner (don’t take my gun) and Phyllis Thompson (Barack Obama critic) on Sept. 1.
I, too, have lost eight Obama yard signs, Ken, so it must be a nonpartisan ring of thieves. Just keep making your voice heard for your candidate, the one who wants to reinstate the draft, because 4,600 precious young lives lost is just not enough.
I, too, own guns, Tim, but I trust Sen. Obama and Sen. Jon Tester, who have stated many times that there is a way to compromise on gun control. We in Montana have only three to four gun deaths a month and do not see AK-47s in the hands of gang members on our streets threatening our families, or experience the violence in our schools that other communities have suffered.
And Phyllis, John McCain sure did marry well! After cheating on his first wife with Cindy, the beer heiress. There are family values we can admire, right? And if small business in Montana can net $250,000 after all the tax breaks in our code, they can afford higher taxation. Private schools? We have the luxury of the best public schools in America with dedicated teachers and staff, yet families in Missoula still choose to send their children to private religious schools because it is a values issue for them. Perhaps the Obama family also chooses this type of education for their children. Oh, and Joe Biden’s net worth as of 2007 was $150,000, and the house I saw was not a mansion and Biden only can afford one, like most of America not in the top 1 percent of wealth.
Obama stated very clearly in his acceptance speech that he has had enough of the personal attacks. Let us debate the issues that affect America and not the drama.
Cheryl Bramsen, Florence
Use management, not murder, for wolves
The recent article (Aug. 30) describing events leading to the killing of the Willow Creek pack raises serious doubts about the effectiveness of this brutal management tool. Killing adult wolves in the process of raising pups puts easily taken domestic livestock front and center as the primary target for hard pressed providers. Managers knew this would happen. The void left by the killed pack will fill with other wolves, with the same sorry result, and the costly, vicious circle continues.
Apparently many livestock growers feel entitled to operate in a vacuum where predators are not present. The article refers to hazing the pack out of calving pastures, and promptly removing livestock dead of natural causes. A step forward. However, we aren’t told the number of natural deaths vs. wolf kill, as a basis for comparison in assessing overall losses.
Note that Defenders of Wildlife has a compensation program in place for confirmed wolf kill where ranchers are paid for their loss. Financially supported by people like me.
Why don’t hay producers mention the economic loss caused by elk and deer feeding on haystacks or crops in the field? Do Fish, Wildlife and Parks managers and federal trappers respond to complaints by killing the offending elk or deer? Of course not.
I am motivated to advocate for the wolf’s place in Montana by an understanding of the role of wolves in an ecosystem. I accept data gathered by resource managers in Wyoming and Idaho that because of the wolf, the elk /deer herd has vastly improved vigor, their formerly overgrazed food resource returned to abundance.
Use brains instead of bullets.
D. Krage, Huson
Use successful light solution on Reserve
Hooray for the city traffic control department.
I drove out of the mall today and discovered, to my delight, that there has been a left turn light installed at Johnson and South Avenue. As a former mall employee, I appreciate that someone listened. Traffic leaving the mall can be a real nightmare, and even though the light only let four cars through, it will be a tremendous help during busy times of day.
Now, could we see something done about the light at Mount and Reserve? A left turn light there, or even better, directional arrows indicating left, straight and right would greatly improve the flow. Or perhaps stagger the flow, allowing east and west traffic to flow separately. Traffic gets backed up, especially with the cars traveling from Valley Christian at 3 p.m. and during rush hours. It can be risky to turn left even if the car directly across from you is blinking for a left turn, so many drivers hesitate, waiting for all traffic on the other side to go. The sign indicating directions for the two lanes going west can’t be seen until it is too late to change lanes, so sometimes drivers go straight across Reserve causing a hazard for left turns going to North Reserve. Perhaps that sign could be on the pole holding the lights. Those of us who use this intersection get very frustrated. Make one more intersection safer. Thank you.
Feedback, anyone?
Ellen Schmidt, Missoula
No place for greed in patriotism
Monetary gluttony and patriotism are not compatible. Greed is not a virtue.
E.E. Solum, Missoula
Students need funding for trips
I am a high school Spanish teacher searching for ways to make our foreign study trips accessible to low-income students.
I have participated in four trips to Spain and am planning one to Peru the summer of 2009. These trips include three weeks of study, and the Peru trip will include a service component in orphanages or with the elderly. It is a magnificent opportunity for the student to immerse themselves in the culture and language and learn firsthand the issues that face many people. They learn about the customs and traditions of a different people and come home with their minds open to the diversity of the many peoples of the world.
This is expensive, and kids can’t sell enough chocolates to raise the $3,000 to $4,000 necessary for such trips. That pretty well leaves out the low-income students. No matter how they work, no matter how successful they are in their language classes, travel is only an option for the well to do. This is hard for me. I know that we can’t send everyone who wants to, but as it is, no matter how I structure the trip, participation depends on how well-heeled the parents are.
There will be some who say, “That’s the breaks.” However, I know that there are, within our community, those generous souls who have the money, and value the mind-opening, global perspective that world travel and study provide. I would like to connect with them to see if they would be willing to help fund students who can’t otherwise even dream of such a trip.
Is there a person or organization that is willing to create and monitor a fund for scholarships for participation in such a trip for study? If such an organization exists, how do students apply for such aid?
Nancy Hirschenberger, Missoula
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)