Community showed true colors
I just read the story of the Darby people dropping everything to search for the little guy with Down syndrome (Oct. 29). It brought a big bump to my throat and a welcome gush of tears to my eyes.
It reminded me of January 1972, when we had frozen creeks here in Libby. Then we got heavy rains, causing flooding. Hundreds of people worked through the night sandbagging the areas in danger. All kinds of teenagers from high school and even children who weren’t old enough to be teenagers brought us coffee and sandwiches. I was never so proud of our kids. I still am.
To the people of Darby, you have every right to be proud of yourselves. I know I’m proud of you. And thanks again for bringing a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. It feels real good.
Bernie Enger, Libby
Criminal act needs an investigation
The banks need capital! The banks need capital! Otherwise they have no money to lend to borrowers. And these borrowers are businesses trying to meet payroll. Without these funds, people will lose jobs. The banks need capital!
So started a bailout totaling nearly $1 trillion. From a three-page demand with no conditions submitted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to a bipartisan bill - with caveats - barely passing Congress. Far from perfect, but (supposedly) an infusion of direly needed capital for priming the lending pump.
So how’s that working for ya?
Well, many recipients of this capital are using it to pay dividends. That’s right. Bailout capital (taxpayer money) is being diverted to shareholders. Other recipient institutions are buying up smaller, solvent banks with bailout capital. Buying out lending competitors isn’t what we expect. Is it? The purpose was to lend to “businesses trying to meet payroll. Without these funds, people will lose jobs.”
Time and time again, the Bush administration has “gamed” the system or allowed the “gaming” of the system. And I’m tired of it. I’m tired of thieves acting with impunity. I’m tired of the deceit and fear-mongering used to achieve these nefarious ends. I’m tired of the false implications and accusations against those who speak out against this travesty.
Somebody needs to go to jail. No. Make that many need to go to jail. Hopefully, full investigations will be part of the change both parties seek, because I have a feeling I’m not alone in my disgust for those who refuse to police the systems they are paid to police. This includes CEOs, representatives who didn’t act when action was demanded (by both the public and opposition party members), administration appointees and, most of all, Bush and Cheney. They “gamed” us the most.
Jerry Straka, Whitefish
Free speech shouldn’t be punished
I do not know If I am the only person who is absolutely stunned by the events at Cooper Firearms.
If Cooper’s political beliefs are so unacceptable to his company and the rest of the “gun” world, why don’t they just take him out back and shoot him? This would seem appropriate for Third World thinking.
As we all know, this is America, where our Constitution gives us the privilege of free speech and thought unless, of course, we go against the norm.
Cooper is co-founder of Cooper Firearms; he apparently helped build this company from the bottom up. Now, because he supports a Democrat, God forbid, he is being forced out of his company by the people he employed, by people who make money off of Cooper Firearms, by people who are in the gun business and by people who don’t even know where Stevensville is.
I thought I lived in America, home of the free, but this is outrageous; this is unacceptable; this disgusts me more than any one act has in many years.
I am a Montana native; a local, independent businessman; a hunter and outdoorsman. I own many rifles and pistols; I believe in that right but I do not believe in strong-arm politics. If this is the mentality of this country that we have created, then we have failed. If people like Dan Cooper cannot have an opinion or political beliefs, then this country has rotted from the inside.
We need to boycott all parties and companies that forced Cooper to resign. We need to, as a people, say that this was wrong and that we will not allow it. I do not know what a person does besides write a letter, take out some frustrations on a keypad or consult a psychiatrist.
John D’Orazi, Missoula
Retailers, customers should respect views
I am a gun owner, a hunter and an American who believes firmly in the right to free speech. In the last week, I watched an irrational contingent of the gun lobby destroy a good man, Dan Cooper, his company, Cooper Firearms, and the lives of 38 of his employees because of his personal beliefs and political views. While spewing hateful rhetoric about their support for the Second Amendment, they showed their lack of respect for the First.
At the same time, I have watched other sporting-based companies like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and smaller retailers cancel their orders to Cooper Firearms, clearly kowtowing to these fanatics. These retractions are shameless and are a result of the myopic belief that all gun buyers and sportsmen are right-leaning, foul-mouthed zealots. That conclusion is unfounded at best and insulting at its worst.
No man should be so ruthlessly eviscerated for his words or political beliefs. And no company should be so narrow-minded in their business decisions - certainly not any that I deal with. I am writing to let local and national outdoor retailers know that I will no longer support any company that has recently withdrawn contracts from Cooper Firearms and shown their tacit disrespect for First Amendment rights.
I know that there is a silent majority of hunters and gun owners who believe in the right to free speech, who lead more nuanced beliefs than the gun lobby leads you to believe, and who feel the same as I do about their consumer decisions.
Rob Roberts, Missoula
Co-founder’s firing a disturbing act
That Dan Cooper, co-founder and president of Cooper Firearms, was forced to resign because of his support of Barack Obama is deeply disturbing. When zealotry and bullying win out over personal choice we must be concerned, as each and every one of us is at risk. Our social fabric and civility are fragile enough in the best of times.
For over 100 years my family had a bi-national banking business based in Germany and in New York. Sad to say, our German cousins did not survive Nazi thuggery. When I read of Dan Cooper’s “resignation,” I remembered a famous Lutheran pastor who had the largest congregation in south Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1940, he was arrested by the Gestapo and thrown into the infamous Dachau concentration camp. Somehow he survived. After the war he said, “First they came for the Jews, and I did nothing. Then they came for the lawyers, teachers and librarians, and I did nothing. Then they came for me.”
The right of Dan Cooper, and of each of us, to make a personal choice without fear of retribution must be rigorously defended whatever the cost to stockholders and others. That is the heart and soul of the First Amendment.
Felix Knauth, Missoula
Who turned down the music?
I begrudgingly moved to Missoula in 1996. I reluctantly attended home Grizzly games for the next two years. It only took two seasons to transform me into a fanatic devotee. I now eagerly anticipate the release of the annual press guide and count “A Day with Coach Glenn on Game Day” as one of the highlights of my life.
But who turned off the music in Washington-Grizzly Stadium? While I danced and clapped and cheered to the music during the Sept. 20 game against UC-Davis, I have subsequently lacked inspiration to cheer and to make noise. It could be argued that blowout games and/or lackluster performances have silenced the crowd. However, I hear rumors that a faction of fans with requisite deep pockets have implored the powers-that-be to turn down the volume and to re-think the selections.
I passed my 21st birthday long ago and am often unable to mouth the words to the songs or to even recognize the songs that play. However, a frenzied atmosphere of enthusiasm has waned. Is this the result of someone turning off the music?
Michel Fullerton, Missoula
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