Letters to the Editor

Costly rides

On 10/28, the IR reported on the expanding route of the downtown trolley shuttle. At $72,000 for 8,200 riders it costs $8.78 per ride. With global warming concerns, can't city officials find a more efficient way of providing public transportation?

Bruce Desonia

PO Box 561

Appreciate carriers

I am writing to recognize the paper carriers who deliver the IR. Just think about this. When you order the IR to be delivered to your home, you just know that it will happen. Have you ever thought about how this happens? Your carrier works seven days a week. EVERY DAY, no matter the weather and usually in the dark. Many carriers are students. Carriers who are in school often have family members as their subs. Yes, Mom, Dad, or a sibling do the route when it becomes necessary for the carrier to do an activity for school or they are sick. So give your carrier a little slack once in a while. It takes a lot of commitment to be a paper carrier. You just don't do something spur of the moment like go out of town, because you have to find someone to do the papers.

It is a thankless job for the most part and the carriers do watch out for the out of place things on his or her route. They do care about their customers even if they never meet.

Thanks, Vicki Ruzicka, mother of a carrier since 2003 and occasionally a sub.

Vicki Ruzicka

1301 Winne

Soldiers back Paul

Which presidential candidate received the most donations from military personnel and veterans for their campaign? Would it surprise you to learn it was the only Republican candidate opposed to the Iraq War since before it began? People who know and support Congressman Ron Paul are not surprised that our serviceman support him over any other candidate. Over 70 percent of the American public wants our men and women in Iraq to come home immediately, Ron Paul is the only leading candidate who will do it.

If you want to be a part of this campaign of liberty and hope for America that is growing daily, go to RonPaul2008.com to learn more. Also, join in locally at RonPaul.meetup.com/694/ and work with other Helena-area citizens. There is also a new Carroll College Students for Ron Paul group on meetup.com.

Lastly, Nov. 11, independent veterans and patriots are pledging their support for Ron Paul and his election. Please help by donating at ronpaul2008.com/donate.

Terry Frisch

246 Brady

Dangerous legacy

One of the most dangerous legacies of George W. Bush's disastrous presidency is the unprecedented powers he has appropriated for himself during his tenure: the right to declare any one of us an "enemy combatant," the right to suspend indefinitely the provision of habeas corpus, the right to wage pre-emptive warfare against practically anyone, the right to violate Congress's laws by resorting to the practice of "signing statements" (much more often than any other president), the right to ignore the nation's, indeed the world's, expressed opposition to the militarism of our foreign policy.

These are the powers Bush will hand off to his successor and which will require the qualities of a real statesman to voluntarily relinquish. Not one current candidate for president has even addressed their existence, much less the damage they will certainly do to our future rights as American citizens.

I would urge all who care about the constitutional freedoms Bush has so openly defied to make public their resistance to these powers' extension. There is so much that operates below the surface that it is going to require the direct involvement of the American people to check this very real threat to our democracy's future.

Angela Bennett

Ovando

Help appreciated

I want to thank all the kind people who helped me during my rollover accident on Oct. 15.

My deepest appreciation to the lady and two gentlemen who found me on Chevallier Drive and called for assistance. Thank you to the County Sheriff and West Valley Fire Department for extracting me out of my truck. Thanks to Will and the ambulance crew. Though I do not know all of your names, you are etched in my memory, and you all have angel wings.

Melony Johnson-Bruhn

2990 Snowdrift Road

Article misleading

The AP article "Legality doesn't affect abortion rates, experts say," in the Oct. 14 issue of the IR was misleading and one-sided. Because very little data exists on illegal abortion, the estimated statistics were guesses at best. Furthermore, the Alan Guttmacher Institute and the WHO, who promoted this study, are both notorious for their pro-abortion stance.

This is equivalent to relying on a cancer study funded by Big Tobacco. The article was not a news piece; it was mere propaganda.

Ruth Ann Lloyd

1002 E. Broadway

Wallet returned

I would like to take this means to thank the Good Samaritan who found my wallet in a shopping cart at Costco on Friday, Oct. 26.

Your honesty is really heartwarming, and again shows that Helena has an abundance of super people. Again, my many thanks.

Georgia Barker

4441 Badger Drive

Deer as terrorists

With the proliferation of mullah deer around Helena it's only a matter of time before Elkaida and other radical Mooselims are encouraged to horn in too. They have no respect for our water-dependent way of life and will use it against us to reproduce and leave dirty bomblets all over our lawns. If Fish, Wildlife and Parks won't act, we must get Congress to establish a Department of Homelandscaping Security before it's too late.

For my part, I will work harder to convince my wife that the more time I spend hunting them "out there," the less we will have to hunt them here.

Jon Nehring

P.O. Box 116

Fort Harrison

Let them fight

Just read an letter to the editor giving a history of Iraq since 3000 B.C. Since then, there has been at least six times that the Arabs have traded turns owning the place, after a bloody battle each time.

I'm sure macho males resist giving up territory. So now with their 5,000 years of practice at fighting others of their same religion with only minor differences in interpretation of the Koran, the Christians having learned well from them. So now what chance do we have of owning the place with only five years of trying?

I say then let us get out of Arabia completely and let them carry on with their 5,000 year civil war, no matter how much we think we need their oil and money. U.S. industry makes off any war and the economic growth that follows, along with blood of course.

Gordon Thompson

1027 N. Jackson St.