Green gold

I'm sure that many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the Flathead County Sheriff's deputies and the Northwest Drug Task Force for the recent pot bust and others like it.

Without pot busts like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth-very little.

Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors" the easy to grow weed is more valuable than pure gold-and completely tax free. Any marijuana growers or sellers arrested will soon be replaced-they always are.

Best regards,

Kirk Muse

Bigfork

National treasures

Recently Republican Senator Conrad Burns of Montana added a rider to the federal omnibus spending bill which would permit the sale for slaughter of thousands of previously protected wild horses and burros. Under his amendment, older animals and those deemed "unadoptable" could be sold immediately to meatpackers for resale to France and other foreign countries as food.

Many Americans love horses, and consider these beautiful animals a national treasure. The rider was added to the appropriations bill without an opportunity for public hearings or discussion. The provision was slipped into a voluminous piece of legislation. It passed Congress before many people realized what had happened. Jerry Finch, the head of a nonprofit horse rescue organization in Texas, Habitat for Horses, reportedly commented: "This amendment means death by slaughter for tens of thousands of our wild horses, and a lot of profit for those who kill and transport them overseas."

Our beautiful wild horses and burros are the heritage of future generations. They represent a source of national pride for the people of this entire country. Their fate should not depend on the whim of a single Congressman. This situation does not require giving the President a line-item veto, either. We should not afford any politician that much power. Instead, Americans should insist that our Congressional leaders follow the intent of the Founding Fathers. We should demand that they hold hearings to fully debate pending legislation, and ask that they actually READ the entire content of pending bills. Please contact Congress and request a special session to remove this shameful rider from the recent federal appropriations bill!

D. J. McKenzie

Ong, Nebraska