Letters to the editor

Letter confusing

I consider it my duty as a Montanan to keep myself informed on the men and women who intend to become the next leaders of our state. That is why I was so confused by Mr. Wickens' letter to the editor that said Brian Schweitzer intended to create a state bank and use the principal of the coal trusts. I have read Brian's literature and visited his website. Nowhere does he mention anything about creating a state bank! And he strongly states that he will not touch the principal of the coal tax trust fund!

In reality, it is actually Republican candidate Bob Brown who advocates tapping the coal trust fund in an attempt to patch some of the holes created by more than a dozen years of Republican leadership.

Wickens is correct in saying that for decades Democrats have fought to protect the coal trust fund: and Brian Schweitzer has been among them. Schweitzer does understand the importance of maintaining the principal of the coal trust fund for our state's future -- and that sort of foresight indicates a good deal of fiscal responsibility to me.

Joan Stroup

739 Empire

Butte

Great musical

Congratulations to the Carroll College Theatre Department for "Godspell," an energetic, joyous, humorous and thought-provoking musical. Brianna Tracy offers a moving and contemporary but timeless portrait of Jesus as he interacts with friends and enemies. Unlike Mel Gibson's "Passion," which focused narrowly and loosely on the last hours of Jesus, "Godspell" weaves together diverse gospel stories. The result: a more powerful and enriching experience than the movie, and an artistic portrayal much more faithful to the message of the Book on which both are based.

John Hart

2007 University

Hide that remote

The week of April 19-25 is national "Turn Off the TV Week 2004" and the pediatricians of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage families to replace TV time with other family activities for (at least) that week! Regular TV viewing is thought to contribute to the growing problem of childhood obesity and may be a factor in attention deficit disorder and behavior problems.

Hide the remote control and pull the plug! Then join your children in active play outdoors; take a walk and learn to identify plants and observe the habits of animals in your neighborhood; read a book or play a game together; include all family members in preparing supper; ride bikes and kick soccer balls, watch the stars and have fun together.

Once you've had a week's trial, make "Turn Off the TV" a regular part of your family's routine. Parents and children alike will look forward to this special time together. Do it now! Turn off the TV and turn on life.

Jan Donaldson, Executive Director Montana Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics

7575 Priest Pass Rd.

Some history

Patriots know that the world's greatest infantry left its compound on April 18, 23:00 hours, marching to a nearby town said to have weapons.

Insurgent leaders hid. Troops encountered resisters in a village and shot about 18. Completing their mission, troops destroyed such material as was found in the town. After a skirmish at a bridge, they turned back. Soldiers then "found two or three of their people . . . scalped, and their noses and ears cut off and eyes bored out." Troops were shot at, " . . . yet having no visible enemy to combat with, for they [insurgents] would never face 'em [troops] in open field but always sulked and fired from behind walls and trees and out of windows of houses, but this cost them dear for the soldiers entered those dwellings and put all the men to death."

Ann Hulton's Letters of a Loyalist Lady has this quoted report; the troops were British, and the village was Lexington. The weapon-rumored town was Concord; the year, 1775. The insurgents were Minutemen; their elusive leaders: Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The shots fired at Concord Bridge, in defiance of King George and his imposed governance, have echoed everywhere, ever since.

Bob Filipovich

927 8th Ave.

A desperate people

The people of Fallujah, Iraq desperately need our help for food and medicine. The BBC states that the civilian death toll in Fallujah has exceeded 600, with more than 1,200 injuries among the civilian population. An April 12 story in the IR states: "Most of the Iraqis killed in fighting [in Fallujah] that started last Monday were women, children and the elderly, the director of the city hospital, Afie al-Issawi, told the Associated Press."

You can help the people of Fallujah. Donate funds to LIFE, Life for Relief and Development. LIFE is a reputable relief organization, a 501(c)(3) non-government with consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations founded to provide relief after the First Gulf War. LIFE's office in Baghdad has obtained permission from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to send food and medical supplies to Fallujah. LIFE has already successfully dispatched four truckloads of relief items and is appealing to every conscientious man and woman to extend their hand to the Iraqi people by donating funds for more food and medical supplies. Please rush your donation today by phone (1-800-827-3543), via LIFE's website (www.lifeusa.org) or by mail (LIFE, P.O. BOX 236, Southfield MI 48037).

Frank Kromkowski

1207 Hauser

Support the Bair

Shame on the Yellowstone Art Museum for being lured by U.S. Bank trustees to secretly plan an exhibit that would strip the Bair Museum of about fifty important artworks, photographs and artifacts.

Hello! Montana is just now in the beginning stages of the Lewis and Clark tourist influx. Why would anyone who cared about the state even think of doing something this shoddy to central, rural Montana?

Entrepreneur Charley Bair made his fortune in the Alaska gold rush and parlayed that in mining, oil, real estate and ranching. His daughters wanted the ranch home and its contents to be a permanent and perpetual tribute to their parents. Now that the daughters are gone, only their friends can represent them and their fondest dreams against the greedy ones who would destroy this authentic place in central Montana. We talk a lot in Montana about "a sense of place" and "Montana, a state of mind." Retaining the Bair property together in its place tells the story to Montanans and to our visitors in the best possible way. Please support the Friends of the Bair in their efforts to keep the Bair Family Museum open in Martinsdale.

Janet Sperry

1823 Highland

Opposition off base

The Montana Stockgrower's Association ill-serves its members by opposing re-election of Justice Jim Nelson to the Supreme Court based on one solitary four-year-old decision. They ignore the hundreds of other cases decided by Judge Nelson. None of us, evaluated by one isolated act, could escape censure. Before opposing a candidate, a prominent public group should examine the full record. The Stockgrowers have defaulted on that basic civic responsibility.

What's more, the Stockgrower's Association is wrong. Even if Judge Nelson hadn't authored the Larson-Murphy decision, the four other justices forming the majority would have rendered the same result. The decision merely allowed a woman, severely injured by colliding at low speed with a black bull on the highway in the middle of the night, to have her case heard by a jury. Rather than "making law" as the Stockgrowers claim, Judge Nelson's decision simply put Montana law on par with the great majority of other states. While it overruled several recent precedents, it followed ten others dating as far back as Montana statehood.

Judge Nelson's commitment to regular Montanans, including ranchers, deserves our thanks.

Roy H. Andes

Attorney at Law

Suite 4K, Power Block

Poor arguments

I'd like to address some of the arguments made to justify the moves to ban single sex marriage. As far as I can see, there are two arguments that attempt to justify such amendments. The first is that homosexuality is a choice, and the second that it is immoral. If sexuality is a choice then where is the precedence that the government can tell the people who they may "chose" to love and accept as a spouse? Secondarily, is it the government's job to legally dictate morality to its citizens in a free society? In regards to something extreme like murder I would say yes, because nearly every religion and political ideology accepts the fact that killing is wrong, however you'll find much more division when it comes to single sex marriage.

My point is this: Laws seem to be made to protect the liberties of individuals in this society, not to restrict them. Until these crusaders can prove an undeniable and immediate infringement on the liberties of the people in our country presented by the "choice" of homosexuality, there is no ground for any law of this sort, let alone an amendment to our state or federal constitution.

Aaron Donaldson

1330 Lyndale Ave. #1

False accusations

The Independent Record recently printed a letter from Dan Hassett making false accusations about the Montana Human Rights Network. Mr. Hassett is a disgruntled former organizer for a violent, racist organization whose agenda the Network has been exposing for years. It's no surprise the racists are out to get the Network. It is a surprise that your editors apparently did not question his accusations, or at least identify Hassett for who he is. They obviously know him and the violent organization he used to represent, since you identified him recently in one of your front-page stories. You might want to do a little "homework" before printing your letters to the editor.

Connie Geiger

804 Breckenridge

Better education

Thank you to the Montana Quality Education Coalition for wanting to create a better educational environment in Montana. If we spent our state's money on such a valuable investment as education, I'm sure we wouldn't need to be luring corporations into our state. Students will create their own successful jobs, businesses, etc. As a recent high school graduate, I received as much as I could have out of our current school system, and I was fortunate that there was so much available. Yet, after leaving Montana to go to school in Colorado, I encountered many students that had substantially better opportunities than I did. From students who had the opportunities to take more advanced classes, to students who had special services available to help them with learning difficulties. I'm hard pressed to say that the same opportunities could also be found in Montana. I didn't know what I was missing and now I feel somewhat cheated. I realize now that my great education was largely due to the teachers I had and unfortunately, most have been retiring at an alarming rate. The ruling made by Judge Sherlock is a valuable contribution to the betterment of Montana's education system.

Adeline Lord

310 E. Cutler