Letters to the Editor

Fox killings

Each morning I take a walk and check up on the my little corner of Montana.

My path takes me to the north shore of Flathead Lake to check on water level, the state of the weather, and the osprey, eagles and the rest of the web of life. Each morning I see and greet a red fox who trots out onto the beach precisely at 8:30a.m. intent on finding breakfast. Until today.

Today I found the red fox, a small male with black feet, dead on the side of Holt Drive in Bigfork, missing it's tail. Somebody without a thought killed the fox for its tail. Tossed it on the side of the road like a beer can pitched from the car. Someone who apparently has little reverence for life or for the beauty of Nature.

That fox had kits. The den is just off the corner of my property. It also had a mate. I spend time each day checking on them to simply get a glimpse of their illusive world. Sometimes I saw the fox or its mate sitting atop the rock ledge that overlooks Eagle Bend, surveying what's left of their part of Montana. They were good neighbors.

Tomorrow I will go check on the den. Perhaps the killer has already destroyed the rest of the family and the joy it brought to those of us in this neighborhood who watched their antics every day.

I hope not. It's a trick for wildlife to hang on in these times with subdivisions smothering habitat. Cars traveling fast. And ignorant people killing for a fluffy tail. If the killer can read this letter, I'd simply ask you to stop killing in this neighborhood. You're not welcome here.

David Hadden

Bigfork

Lake County issues

We own a parcel of land and a road in Swan Lake. Our relative who inherited one acre from his dad's estate, which is to the north of our road has taken it upon himself to treat our parcel of land as if it was his, which it is not. He has, over the last number of years, done certain excavating work and bulldozing work. He cleared a certain area of all natural vegetation, including grasses, shrubs and other coniferous trees. The Lake County Sheriff's office and the Lake County Commissioners have done all that they can. They have investigated the situation and turned their findings over to the County Attorney's office and are awaiting his decision to go forward. He has not contacted my attorney nor me and this situation has been going on for more than two years. There is no doubt many other Lake County problems await the County Attorney's decision, which he will probably never act on. This type of behavior by one man gives all our other county officials a black eye, when in fact the rest are doing a great job. Lets elect our nest Lake County Attorney who will act fairly, promptly and act in the best interest of the Lake County voters and who will earn his $84,348 per year.

Ben Ober

Lake County Taxpayer

Student seeking info

I am from the University of Edinburgh and am studying Scottish Emigration into Montana between the years of 1870 and 1930. I would be very interested to hear from any of your readers if they are aware of any family or friends who emigrated from Scotland during this time period. Any amount of information would be appreciated from a name to a whole biographical account! They can contact me at ronawilkie@gmail.com, 701 Northern Lights Road, Livingston, MT or phone at 406-222-0099.

Rona Wilkie

Presidential qualities

Sitting here on the 4th of July after being in the wonderful Bigfork parade, it occurs to me how interesting it is in this campaign for president that those who favor Senator Obama spend most of their time and talent praising the Senator, being excited about his campaign, encouraging others to campaign for him, and looking forward to a better America while those who favor Senator McCain spend much of their time castigating Obama and finding ways to characterize Obama and his supporters as somehow unpatriotic.

A whole lot is made about McCain the hero. Well, yes, he was captured and was a prisoner of war. But I don't recall feeling very threatened by the Vietnamese, do you? So, was he sacrificing for our freedom or was he sacrificing himself to the whims of a deluded American administration? And are we such a war-loving society that a 'war hero' is somehow of a higher stature than a "peace hero?" What prepares one to be president of these United States anyway?

Many people ask me what Barack Obama has accomplished to qualify him to be our commander-in-chief. The answer to such a question, for me, goes something like this: "What had Abe Lincoln done to qualify him to be commander-in-chief? Name just one thing. To me, it is not the things one has done but the wisdom, the motivations, the attitudes, and the beliefs behind the things that one does that matter most. And being a good listener is essential, too. Character counts, and counts for a whole lot!"

As I see this fine young man speaking eloquently and with passion about the things I grew up believing in about our great nation, I find it very easy to make my decision as a voting American.

We are, more quickly than we realize, handing our nation over to our children and grandchildren. Our system is a mess and in disarray. We need change, and we need it soon.

Bob McClellan

Polson

ACLU and CI-100

The ACLU has launched their largest fundraising in 88 years. They have jumped on the STOP CI 100 bandwagon, CI 100 being the Personhood Amendment stating personhood begins at conception. They placed STOP CI 100 people at the polls for the June 3, primary preceded by a mass mailing of glossy fliers.

Scrutinize the language on STOP CI 100 glossies and note the emotional appeal, lack of facts, and use of the fear factor. It states "CI 100 would make it illegal for a woman to access safe and legal abortions, no exceptions." The truth is, the Personhood Amendment does not make anything illegal. According to the US Constitution, laws are made by the legislators. The glossies state if CI 100 passes, miscarriages will be investigated, pregnant women could be denied chemotherapy, and women could be denied birth control. Could those things happen if CI 100 passed? Yes. Are they likely? A resounding no. Congress would have to pass laws to investigate miscarriage, deny chemotherapy, and outlaw birth control. That didn't happen prior to 1973 Roe vs Wade, making the probability zero of it happening based on the Personhood Amendment.

In the Billings Gazette June 25, Travis McAdam, of the Montana Human Rights Network stated CI 100 has fallen short of the signatures needed to get on the November ballot, based on information gleaned from calling "all county elections offices to confirm that CI 100 had failed to qualify" because proponents "gathered only 21,280 signatures." How did they determine a precise number if estimates aren't even available? Once again, they lied.

McAdam, speaking for organizations against CI 100, gives them credit for the defeat of CI 100 by educating "Montanans about the real dangers of CI 100," and described those same dangers (lies) from the STOP CI 100 flier. If, after the July 18, final count from the Secretary of State's office, CI 100 is defeated, and these organizations are responsible for that, understand they defeated it with lies. Lies are all you can expect from the ACLU, whose strategies require lies and from a "human rights" organization that promotes killing humans.

Annie Bukacek