Reader's Alley
By IR Staff - 09/07/07
Letters to the editor
Safeway workers
As a customer of Safeway in Helena for roughly five years, I was very disappointed to learn recently that during negotiations with its employees, Safeway has not agreed to increase wages by the very modest amount the employees have requested. This raise is necessary for employees to be able to merely continue to afford their current health insurance coverage.
One of the reasons I have shopped at Safeway for as long as I have is the terrific employees, many of whom I have come to know over the years. I enjoy seeing them each time I shop and truly appreciate the friendly and courteous treatment I receive. In my view, these employees are the primary reason that Safeway has been as successful as it has in Helena, and they should share in that success.
I cannot support a business that does not believe that their employees are entitled to that security in exchange for their hard work.
As contract negotiations have not concluded, I sincerely hope that Safeway will take the opportunity to reconsider its position and decide instead to treat its employees fairly by providing them affordable, quality health care and a living wage. Beth Brenneman
702 North Davis
Disliked headline
Excuse me, but your bias is showing.
Yesterday readers of the Helena Independent Record woke up to a headline that screamed: Secretary of State's Credit Card Found to Have $17k Worth of Unauthorized Charges. Readers of the same story in the Billings Gazette were told, Sham Charges Put on State Account. The story revealed that unauthorized charges made by unknown individuals had been charged to, and subsequently removed from, an official state account. There was never any indication that any state employee, particularly the Secretary of State, had anything to do with the unauthorized charges. Complaints of bias against Republicans have long been lodged against the IR. A comparison of these two headlines of the same story would certainly suggest there's more truth to the complaint than not. Going into an election season, this confirmation of obvious political bias is enlightening albeit disgusting.
It's not just what you say - it's how you say it.
Lori Hamm
PO Box 642
East Helena
Do the homework
Do your homework very well before you use your health insurance, no matter what company the coverage is with. Learning their rules, language, terminology, phrases they use is crucial. It's just like everything else that's new. Learn well! Here are some hints to help you. Read your healthcare book more than once! Yellow in what is important for you to remember. Call, ask questions. Don't quit till you understand. Write down who you talked to, first and last name and or ID number, date and time, and what they said. Read it back to them to increase your understanding. It is perfectly okay to ask for clarification more than once. Understand their required wording exactly. Call the next day, talk with someone else. Sometimes you get a new employee who doesn't know all the ropes themselves. So, if in doubt - call again another day. Ask in a different way if you think it will help. Call again if the information is different. Ask for a suppervisor if needed. Remember to write down who, when (date and time), and what every time. Be ready for anything. Learning anything new is always work, so do it.
Cyndi Forbes
2526 Heritage Drive
Deer plan doubts
I think there's been some off-label use of medicinal marijuana on the Helena City Commission, who collectively think it would be a good idea to turn Elmer Fudd loose in the dead of night with a firearm inside the city limits, where even Fourth-of-July fireworks are prohibited.
Trying to artificially control deer inside a city surrounded by them is like trying to bail water out of a sand hole at the beach. Unintentionally approximating a more realistic (and natural) solution, the IR ran a spoof back on April Fools Day about releasing a pack of wolves in Helena to control deer. Calendar-challenged wolf-haters were livid. Although there has never been a case of a wild wolf dragging a four-year-old into the woods for lunch, panicked bloggers wanted defensive perimeters put around playgrounds like an Iraq airbase. Go read the online comments - they're still there.
Every hunting season however, Bubba shoots someone (or himself) with a hunting rifle, so I need some legal advice. When I wake up to a 30-caliber hole in my windshield (or worse, my house), whom should I list as Respondent(s) in the court papers - Bubba, Elmer, or City Commissioners Cheech and Chong?
W. Craig Heymann
1618 Lyndale
Impeachment
What can a girl do to keep a fella from making good on his promise to go to war? Remember Lysistrata? Speaker Pelosi, are you out there? Lysistrata organized only the women - different era, etc. Speaker Pelosi, you have a major amount of influence on the august body of women and men both in the House of Representatives.
You have repeatedly offered reasons to refrain from bringing up impeachment of those two fellas at the White House who seem to have major aggression (and intelligence) issues. You have said impeachment proceedings would detract from other important congressional business. But one of the most important congressional responsibilities is to protect our constitutional rights. Without impeachment our constitution will be further eroded. No matter who or which party sits in the White House next, current actions set the frame for those following.
Speaker Pelosi, if you, an intelligent woman experienced in multi-tasking, caution us about how impeachment proceedings will be so distracting that other issues will be ignored, then consider how the White House inhabitant might be distracted from his intentions toward Iran!
Speaker Pelosi, Impeachment with a capital "I" could save a lot of lives in Iran - and elsewhere.
Charlotte Trolinger
P.O. Box 1463
Boulder
Mercenaries
So, according to the Sept. 2 IR, the U.S. Army is buying good old American mercenaries for $20,000 a head (no pun intended). Seems high to me. In this vaunted age of globalization, why not go out to Lower Dangeristan, or some such, where I bet you could buy 'em for a fraction of that, and after all, a mercenary is a mercenary. Think of how much more cannon fodder the Army could buy, at cut-rate prices! More bang for the buck (again, no pun intended).
But whomever from wherever, you better spend it fast. Being on the fast track to Iraq, to be killed quicker, why leave a taxable estate?
You have to applaud those Bushies for their creativity in ways to deficit finance their created wars.
Is America great, or what?
Jim Weaver
1202 Hilmen Road
Wrong use of money
I would like to comment on the City of Helena wanting to hire professional hunters to dispatch some of the deer herd in the city limits.
I really hope that FWP will not support their efforts. I as a hunter spend a lot of money for the opportunity to hunt in Montana. I DO NOT support the use of money generated by hunters and fisherman to eliminate a chance for us to harvest the game. I would support a hunter certification program so we as hunters can harvest the game. If the City of Helena will not support a program to allow the sportsman of Helena to harvest the game they should be told to build a fence around Helena and chase the deer out. Then give them a ticket for harassing game.
Dale Young
814 Cherry Ave.
Safeway workers
As a customer of Safeway in Helena for roughly five years, I was very disappointed to learn recently that during negotiations with its employees, Safeway has not agreed to increase wages by the very modest amount the employees have requested. This raise is necessary for employees to be able to merely continue to afford their current health insurance coverage.
One of the reasons I have shopped at Safeway for as long as I have is the terrific employees, many of whom I have come to know over the years. I enjoy seeing them each time I shop and truly appreciate the friendly and courteous treatment I receive. In my view, these employees are the primary reason that Safeway has been as successful as it has in Helena, and they should share in that success.
I cannot support a business that does not believe that their employees are entitled to that security in exchange for their hard work.
As contract negotiations have not concluded, I sincerely hope that Safeway will take the opportunity to reconsider its position and decide instead to treat its employees fairly by providing them affordable, quality health care and a living wage. Beth Brenneman
702 North Davis
Disliked headline
Excuse me, but your bias is showing.
Yesterday readers of the Helena Independent Record woke up to a headline that screamed: Secretary of State's Credit Card Found to Have $17k Worth of Unauthorized Charges. Readers of the same story in the Billings Gazette were told, Sham Charges Put on State Account. The story revealed that unauthorized charges made by unknown individuals had been charged to, and subsequently removed from, an official state account. There was never any indication that any state employee, particularly the Secretary of State, had anything to do with the unauthorized charges. Complaints of bias against Republicans have long been lodged against the IR. A comparison of these two headlines of the same story would certainly suggest there's more truth to the complaint than not. Going into an election season, this confirmation of obvious political bias is enlightening albeit disgusting.
It's not just what you say - it's how you say it.
Lori Hamm
PO Box 642
East Helena
Do the homework
Do your homework very well before you use your health insurance, no matter what company the coverage is with. Learning their rules, language, terminology, phrases they use is crucial. It's just like everything else that's new. Learn well! Here are some hints to help you. Read your healthcare book more than once! Yellow in what is important for you to remember. Call, ask questions. Don't quit till you understand. Write down who you talked to, first and last name and or ID number, date and time, and what they said. Read it back to them to increase your understanding. It is perfectly okay to ask for clarification more than once. Understand their required wording exactly. Call the next day, talk with someone else. Sometimes you get a new employee who doesn't know all the ropes themselves. So, if in doubt - call again another day. Ask in a different way if you think it will help. Call again if the information is different. Ask for a suppervisor if needed. Remember to write down who, when (date and time), and what every time. Be ready for anything. Learning anything new is always work, so do it.
Cyndi Forbes
2526 Heritage Drive
Deer plan doubts
I think there's been some off-label use of medicinal marijuana on the Helena City Commission, who collectively think it would be a good idea to turn Elmer Fudd loose in the dead of night with a firearm inside the city limits, where even Fourth-of-July fireworks are prohibited.
Trying to artificially control deer inside a city surrounded by them is like trying to bail water out of a sand hole at the beach. Unintentionally approximating a more realistic (and natural) solution, the IR ran a spoof back on April Fools Day about releasing a pack of wolves in Helena to control deer. Calendar-challenged wolf-haters were livid. Although there has never been a case of a wild wolf dragging a four-year-old into the woods for lunch, panicked bloggers wanted defensive perimeters put around playgrounds like an Iraq airbase. Go read the online comments - they're still there.
Every hunting season however, Bubba shoots someone (or himself) with a hunting rifle, so I need some legal advice. When I wake up to a 30-caliber hole in my windshield (or worse, my house), whom should I list as Respondent(s) in the court papers - Bubba, Elmer, or City Commissioners Cheech and Chong?
W. Craig Heymann
1618 Lyndale
Impeachment
What can a girl do to keep a fella from making good on his promise to go to war? Remember Lysistrata? Speaker Pelosi, are you out there? Lysistrata organized only the women - different era, etc. Speaker Pelosi, you have a major amount of influence on the august body of women and men both in the House of Representatives.
You have repeatedly offered reasons to refrain from bringing up impeachment of those two fellas at the White House who seem to have major aggression (and intelligence) issues. You have said impeachment proceedings would detract from other important congressional business. But one of the most important congressional responsibilities is to protect our constitutional rights. Without impeachment our constitution will be further eroded. No matter who or which party sits in the White House next, current actions set the frame for those following.
Speaker Pelosi, if you, an intelligent woman experienced in multi-tasking, caution us about how impeachment proceedings will be so distracting that other issues will be ignored, then consider how the White House inhabitant might be distracted from his intentions toward Iran!
Speaker Pelosi, Impeachment with a capital "I" could save a lot of lives in Iran - and elsewhere.
Charlotte Trolinger
P.O. Box 1463
Boulder
Mercenaries
So, according to the Sept. 2 IR, the U.S. Army is buying good old American mercenaries for $20,000 a head (no pun intended). Seems high to me. In this vaunted age of globalization, why not go out to Lower Dangeristan, or some such, where I bet you could buy 'em for a fraction of that, and after all, a mercenary is a mercenary. Think of how much more cannon fodder the Army could buy, at cut-rate prices! More bang for the buck (again, no pun intended).
But whomever from wherever, you better spend it fast. Being on the fast track to Iraq, to be killed quicker, why leave a taxable estate?
You have to applaud those Bushies for their creativity in ways to deficit finance their created wars.
Is America great, or what?
Jim Weaver
1202 Hilmen Road
Wrong use of money
I would like to comment on the City of Helena wanting to hire professional hunters to dispatch some of the deer herd in the city limits.
I really hope that FWP will not support their efforts. I as a hunter spend a lot of money for the opportunity to hunt in Montana. I DO NOT support the use of money generated by hunters and fisherman to eliminate a chance for us to harvest the game. I would support a hunter certification program so we as hunters can harvest the game. If the City of Helena will not support a program to allow the sportsman of Helena to harvest the game they should be told to build a fence around Helena and chase the deer out. Then give them a ticket for harassing game.
Dale Young
814 Cherry Ave.
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Reader Comments:
consider_this wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:14 AM:
" Cyndi Forbes tells an all-too-common story about private health insurance. Here’s some Capitalism 101 for the uninitiated: Corporations (including those providing health insurance) exist for one purpose, and one purpose only--to make money. They do this by: (1) charging more for a product (or a service) than it costs to produce it, and (2) doing their level best to eliminate “expensive” customers who cost them way more than they pay in premiums. This would be an excellent strategy if all they were doing was making widgets, but this is about people’s lives, which makes the un-insured crisis different than run-of-the-mill capitalism. The only solution to this inherent problem is to remove the profit motive from health care, and the only way for that is a national plan. For knee-jerk conservatives who always cynically ask where the money will come from for “socialized medicine,” my answer is simple: You tell me where the $12 Billion a month is coming from to pay for an immoral war, and I will tell you exactly where $12 Billion a month can come from to have the government do something moral for a change. Thanks, Cyndi, for your off-handed argument in favor of universal health care. "
consider_this wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:49 AM:
" Hey Lori, chill out. I know that conservative talk-radio fans are obsessive about finding imagined traces of “liberal bias” in the press—I look for “liberal bias” all the time when I read the National Review, the Weekly Standard, or watch Fox News. But at no time when I read the IR’s article about the unauthorized charges on Republican Brad Johnson’s state-issued credit card was I under the impression that he himself had misused it. Just remember, Rush Limbaugh is not always a good source for news. So lighten up. "
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aliffring wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:48 PM: