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The political cartoon in the June 24 Inter Lake — “HOW TO AVOID BEING SEPARATED FROM YOUR CHILDREN AT THE U.S. BORDER…STAY AWAY” — is offensive, childish, and troubling; as is President Trump’s immigration policy of “zero tolerance.”

“Zero tolerance” lacks the ability to recognize oneself in the other. It destroys the very soul of democracy: empathy. The less empathic a culture, the more totalitarian its values and governing institutions.

“Zero tolerance” dehumanizes the people you are facing and abets ripping children away from families. And down that dark path lies genocide. —Bob Muth, Kalispell

The Divided States of America

I am politically independent. Once I learned that politicians get elected to get re-elected, vote party lines, and get rich. I vote for the person, not the party. So why is our nation divided? Let’s look.

Your candidate did not get elected, so you break store windows, vandalize buildings, burn cars in the streets, attack and injure policemen who are trying to protect everyone, block ambulances and firetrucks from reaching the people that need help, parade in the streets and block anything the present administration is trying to accomplish and resort to civil disobedience like Third World countries. Wouldn’t an educated, common-sense people just work to elect a better candidate in four years? This divides us.

An organization called Onward to Action has over 34,000 paid and unpaid volunteers to take to the streets and try to block anything the current president tries to accomplish. This divides us.

Minority groups have our congressmen trying to decide which bathroom we can use. This divides us.

Other groups have identified things like the Confederacy and statues as symbols of slavery. If they read history, it was never about slavery; it was the mechanized North vs. the agricultural South and the issue was states’ rights. The North had slaves at the same time. What is next? Tear down the pyramids because they were built with slave labor? Ban Keebler’s advertisements because the word cracker is offensive to white people? As President Truman said: Being politically correct is like trying to pick up a turd by the clean end. This divides us.

When any group gets a permit to march — as much as we may disagree with them — and anyone against it comes out to fight them, it is wrong. Just stay away, let them march to the end of the street and leave. This divides us.

Universities that are supposed to be the center of learning and thinking ban speakers that some don’t agree with This mainly stops thinking and seeing the other point of view. Too many universities and colleges are teaching students what to think, instead of how to think. This divides us.

We need to concentrate on the big issues that will make America better, and hope for the return of common sense to again make us the UNITED States of America. I pray this will happen to save our country. —Gary Carver, Kalispell

Why doesn’t Trump fire special counsel?

I happen to think that Donald Trump knows full well that he is not going to survive this presidency. His well-known mental condition of “narcissism,”, i.e., self-love, self-admiration, and self-regard wholly determines his response to leaving the presidency. So he’s concerned about what will cause him the least personal humiliation.

He knows that the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation has most damaging information on him. His leadership ability and all this political stuff takes a back seat to his obsession with self-pride.

He has two options regarding the Mueller investigation. He can let it run full course, or he can fire Robert Mueller. It would seem that given his narcissistic character, the most damaging to his self-regard and self-pride would be to let the Mueller investigation run its course. There is simply too much personal stuff in there regarding bad financial decisions, links with Mafia types, sexual matters, poor business decisions and character assassinations. All this being made public would be personally very humiliating to him.

So why not fire Mueller? This would deflect from the Russia stuff and put the spotlight on legally charging him for firing the head of the special counsel. He knows full well he would probably lose. But that is still better than all the Mueller probe stuff being made public.

At least, that’s the way I see things at this point. I also happen to think that We The People are still the ultimate and most significant influence in our American way of life. —Bob McClellan, Polson

Commissioners wrong to repeal Lake County map

In updating the Lake County Growth Plan, the density-zoning map should be maintained and enhanced, not repealed. Continued rural sprawl in the Mission and Swan Valleys is a threat to critical habitat and the rural lifestyle enjoyed by those who live and recreate there.

Constructing and maintaining public access roads, utility infrastructure, providing wildland and structural fire protection and emergency services for increased commercial and residential construction, is all cost prohibitive, and will put more stress on the public and volunteer department budgets that provide for these increased services.

Repealing density-zoning, is taking a backward approach to managing the sprawling rural growth occurring in these areas. Infill development, along with increased density regulations, should be mandated within existing rural communities, which already have in place commercial businesses providing employment, access, roads, utility corridors, and fire-protection and emergency services.

Rural lands that support existing agriculture and are adjacent to sensitive natural areas should be encouraged not to be developed more intensely to support sprawl.

The county commissioners should maintain and strengthen the density-zoning map and regulations, and develop more Conservation easements. These efforts will help protect agricultural lands, sensitive adjacent wildland habitats, and the rural environments and associated lifestyles. —Brent Morrow, Bigfork, and Kari Gunderson, Swan Lake

Downed traffic light in Bigfork needs to be fixed

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, the flashing yellow caution traffic light at the intersection of Montana Highway 35 and Montana 209 in Bigfork was knocked down due to a traffic accident that closed the intersection for a time.

Since then the broken pole, light fixture, guy wires and cables have been lying along the shoulder of this very busy intersection. Four months is way to long to ignore this important traffic light’s absence.

The responsible agency that is in charge of this safety light should replace it ASAP or remove the debris from the roadside. —Clarence Jeffers, Bigfork

Editorial cartoon was offensive

The political cartoon in the June 24 Inter Lake — “HOW TO AVOID BEING SEPARATED FROM YOUR CHILDREN AT THE U.S. BORDER…STAY AWAY” — is offensive, childish, and troubling; as is President Trump’s immigration policy of “zero tolerance.”

“Zero tolerance” lacks the ability to recognize oneself in the other. It destroys the very soul of democracy: empathy. The less empathic a culture, the more totalitarian its values and governing institutions.

“Zero tolerance” dehumanizes the people you are facing and abets ripping children away from families. And down that dark path lies genocide. —Bob Muth, Kalispell

The Divided States of America

I am politically independent. Once I learned that politicians get elected to get re-elected, vote party lines, and get rich. I vote for the person, not the party. So why is our nation divided? Let’s look.

Your candidate did not get elected, so you break store windows, vandalize buildings, burn cars in the streets, attack and injure policemen who are trying to protect everyone, block ambulances and firetrucks from reaching the people that need help, parade in the streets and block anything the present administration is trying to accomplish and resort to civil disobedience like Third World countries. Wouldn’t an educated, common-sense people just work to elect a better candidate in four years? This divides us.

An organization called Onward to Action has over 34,000 paid and unpaid volunteers to take to the streets and try to block anything the current president tries to accomplish. This divides us.

Minority groups have our congressmen trying to decide which bathroom we can use. This divides us.

Other groups have identified things like the Confederacy and statues as symbols of slavery. If they read history, it was never about slavery; it was the mechanized North vs. the agricultural South and the issue was states’ rights. The North had slaves at the same time. What is next? Tear down the pyramids because they were built with slave labor? Ban Keebler’s advertisements because the word cracker is offensive to white people? As President Truman said: Being politically correct is like trying to pick up a turd by the clean end. This divides us.

When any group gets a permit to march — as much as we may disagree with them — and anyone against it comes out to fight them, it is wrong. Just stay away, let them march to the end of the street and leave. This divides us.

Universities that are supposed to be the center of learning and thinking ban speakers that some don’t agree with This mainly stops thinking and seeing the other point of view. Too many universities and colleges are teaching students what to think, instead of how to think. This divides us.

We need to concentrate on the big issues that will make America better, and hope for the return of common sense to again make us the UNITED States of America. I pray this will happen to save our country. —Gary Carver, Kalispell

Why doesn’t Trump fire special counsel?

I happen to think that Donald Trump knows full well that he is not going to survive this presidency. His well-known mental condition of “narcissism,”, i.e., self-love, self-admiration, and self-regard wholly determines his response to leaving the presidency. So he’s concerned about what will cause him the least personal humiliation.

He knows that the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation has most damaging information on him. His leadership ability and all this political stuff takes a back seat to his obsession with self-pride.

He has two options regarding the Mueller investigation. He can let it run full course, or he can fire Robert Mueller. It would seem that given his narcissistic character, the most damaging to his self-regard and self-pride would be to let the Mueller investigation run its course. There is simply too much personal stuff in there regarding bad financial decisions, links with Mafia types, sexual matters, poor business decisions and character assassinations. All this being made public would be personally very humiliating to him.

So why not fire Mueller? This would deflect from the Russia stuff and put the spotlight on legally charging him for firing the head of the special counsel. He knows full well he would probably lose. But that is still better than all the Mueller probe stuff being made public.

At least, that’s the way I see things at this point. I also happen to think that We The People are still the ultimate and most significant influence in our American way of life. —Bob McClellan, Polson

Commissioners wrong to repeal Lake County map

In updating the Lake County Growth Plan, the density-zoning map should be maintained and enhanced, not repealed. Continued rural sprawl in the Mission and Swan Valleys is a threat to critical habitat and the rural lifestyle enjoyed by those who live and recreate there.

Constructing and maintaining public access roads, utility infrastructure, providing wildland and structural fire protection and emergency services for increased commercial and residential construction, is all cost prohibitive, and will put more stress on the public and volunteer department budgets that provide for these increased services.

Repealing density-zoning, is taking a backward approach to managing the sprawling rural growth occurring in these areas. Infill development, along with increased density regulations, should be mandated within existing rural communities, which already have in place commercial businesses providing employment, access, roads, utility corridors, and fire-protection and emergency services.

Rural lands that support existing agriculture and are adjacent to sensitive natural areas should be encouraged not to be developed more intensely to support sprawl.

The county commissioners should maintain and strengthen the density-zoning map and regulations, and develop more Conservation easements. These efforts will help protect agricultural lands, sensitive adjacent wildland habitats, and the rural environments and associated lifestyles. —Brent Morrow, Bigfork, and Kari Gunderson, Swan Lake

Downed traffic light in Bigfork needs to be fixed

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, the flashing yellow caution traffic light at the intersection of Montana Highway 35 and Montana 209 in Bigfork was knocked down due to a traffic accident that closed the intersection for a time.

Since then the broken pole, light fixture, guy wires and cables have been lying along the shoulder of this very busy intersection. Four months is way to long to ignore this important traffic light’s absence.

The responsible agency that is in charge of this safety light should replace it ASAP or remove the debris from the roadside. —Clarence Jeffers, Bigfork