Letters to the editor Nov. 18

Tester for president?

I was pleased to see the weight of the presidency couldn’t tip the scales against our Sen. Tester, maybe the only real farmer in the Senate.

Jon won because of his work record, of course, although a few more visits by the presidential entourage may have beaten authenticity and common sense. To the wary Montanan, Trump’s charisma was getting thin by the third and fourth visit. More than anything, this defeat makes Donald Trump, not the presidency, look weak. A working man from a remote state turns back an expensive political vendetta by the Republican darling Trump.

Gee, couldn’t a man of this caliber sit in the seat himself? Being a small state doesn’t matter, look at Clinton and Gore.

Tester is just not photogenic, with which I sympathize, and looks better in work clothes than cleaned up. As the late Jim Thompson, TV star, governor of Illinois, and one-time presidential candidate said, “Politics is show business for ugly people.” In Tester’s defense, Montana could claim the biggest president since Taft. Better stop there.

— Ron Carter, Libby

The fourth estate

I had the most wonderful journalism teacher when I was in high school, Al Dipippo. Mr. Dipippo taught me that the function of journalism is to ensure that citizens are accurately and truthfully informed, irrespective of the political climate. He hammered the concept into our heads that a free press was the first thing the Founders placed into the Bill of Rights. He was constantly championing the role the fourth estate plays in any democracy, especially ours.

It is my belief that Mr. Trump and the right wing are using the media like it is a virus carrying their payload to a gullible public. Remember, Fox is NOT a news network. Its spokes-persons are not journalists. They do not employ “fact checkers.” What they “report” is an opinion, creating their own facts. They will never report on the number of lies and distortions the president tells daily. Don’t buy it! Don’t become a member of the willingly ignorant, it is too important to our country.

— Daniel King, Bigfork

The healing process

A chilling story (Daily Inter Lake Nov. 11) of exposure, debasement, and death. That Stan Bain would reveal it and that your paper, through the agency of Duncan Adams, would tell it is a sign of courage, priority, and hope.

If the destructive horrors of war and war’s defiling impact on life, body, and soul is ever to end, it will have to begin in deep and difficult truth telling and be anchored in newly constructed and mercifully healed (and healing) life.

Thank you and your paper for being a part of this process.

— Robert Goldsmith

A president for our time

I get it. I get it why many don’t like our president. He’s brash, sometimes crude, very direct and can be offensive. But we live in difficult times. After eight years of being a laughingstock to the world, supporting Islamic advances worldwide and in our nation and an abysmal economy, we are in trouble as a nation.

Tough times need tough leaders. In two short years we have a booming economy, North Korea came to the table, Iran has been put in their place and exposed for the paper Tiger they are, and we’ve recognized the only sane country in the Middle East, Israel, right to have their capital where they choose. He has cut foreign aid to the United Nations and a few other countries that don’t deserve our support, and he is on the way to rebuilding our military decimated by Obama.

He’s accomplished all that with one hand tied behind his back. Imagine what he could do if the Democrats and half the Republicans actually cared more about solving America’s problems than they did getting Trump out of office? He has faced the most vicious resistance of any President in our history. He won in spite of the Democratic machine, the money of George Soros and his cronies and the propaganda machine that is our mainstream media today.

People want to heal the divide, the one left by Obama, it’s simple. Grow up, start acting like adults and start working for the good of America and all Americans. Not just African Americans or Asian Americans or Native Americans … all Americans!

— Ed Kugler, Big Arm

A ray of hope

A ray of hope now shines through a cloud of fear, thanks to millions of young people and minorities who sat out the last election, but who spoke loudly and clearly in this one.

With the House of Representatives now controlled by those who actually care about the common good; committee chairmanships will change and we can begin to reverse much of the incredible damage done to our national esteem, our democratic institutions, and the environment. Committee subpoena power can now be used to investigate and prosecute the massive corruption and rampant self-dealing that is the hallmark of this administration.

Tom Price and Scott Pruitt are mercifully now gone, but we still have other incompetent and petty thieves to contend with such as Ryan Zinke, Betsey Devos, Steve Mnuchin, Ben Carson, to name a few. We can begin by ignoring and marginalizing to the golf course the most ignorant, hateful and racist person ever elected our highest office.

The constant spewing of hate and race-baiting, however, are issues far more serious than the corruption. Father like son. Arrested on Memorial day in 1927, while marching in Queens with fellow white robed Klan members, Fred Trump forever set an example to his son, as to how racism could effectively be employed in society and then, as the son grew older, in the work place. Small wonder then that the son grew into the insecure and vindictive bully he has become. With two years of this man at the helm, we find ourselves in a country where thousands of innocent children are torn from their mothers, to be placed in cages, hate groups roam freely, and hypocrisy and serial lying is a daily staple. God only knows the full extent of the damage done during this nightmare to our black, Hispanic and Muslim communities.

We know that the heretofore unquestioned concept of the U.S. as the pre-eminent world leader, espousing and protecting basic human values, may be tarnished long into the future. But hope is not lost. This election has proven that a large majority of people in this country still listen to their better angles. They still cling to the vision of our founding fathers that a nation of immigrants can, and must, do all in their power to ensure that all people on this planet have the opportunity to live healthy, happy and productive lives.

— Jim Lockwood, Whitefish

Twisting the facts

According to Brian Peck’s and Ed Gilk’s letters to the editor, fear of government running amok and seizing firearms cannot happen.

In truth, it already has. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city Democratic mayor of New Orleans decided to confiscate all firearms belonging to private individuals. These were the law abiding citizens, not the gangs roaming the street. National Guard troops and New Orleans’ police went door to door in a shock and awe attack on United States citizens.

Once the night began to fall, the police disappeared leaving the citizens to their fate.

Guns were seized and no receipts were given. Many of the firearms were destroyed in front of the owners. Police intimidated the owners, and they even attacked many.

This was captured on cameras including the documentary cameras the police brought with them.

No consideration was given concerning the Second or Fourth Amendments to the constitution. Later, the rights of the people were upheld but no firearms were returned.

If you want to watch the police attacks for yourself simply google “gun confiscation Hurricane Katrina.”

I am sorry Brian. Once again you twist the facts to fit the Democrats’ agenda.

— Rick Funk, Kalispell