Letters to the Editor, Missoula News

Pass the tax

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I recently had the opportunity to get involved with the Citizens Climate Lobby and have been exposed to many articles and videos about global warming and climate change. An article in The Guardian from May 16 by Dana Nuccitelli talked about a recent study showing that 97 percent of climate experts agree humans cause global warming.…

Let democracy work

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:09:00 -0600

I am writing to you concerning the proposed Otter Creek Coal Mine. With changing political environments in the past few years, big industry has begun to creep into politics so extensively that individuals are losing the ability to represent themselves and each other, and decision makers can't decipher right from wrong.…

Montana's price

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:08:00 -0600

I am writing in response to the increasing interest in mining Otter Creek coal. It is my opinion that this development will be not only harmful to the immediate community surrounding Otter Creek, but also to the state of Montana as a whole.…

Who would gain?

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:15:00 -0600

Arch Coal, one of the biggest and richest coal companies in the world, is currently seeking a permit to rip up a pristine agricultural valley in southeastern Montana to mine the coal underneath and sell it to China. Coal markets in the United States are disappearing.…

Customer service

Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

During a commencement speech at Ohio State University on May 5, President Barack Obama said, “Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems; some of these same voices also doing their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner.…

Suicide parties?

Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I am a lawyer from Washington state quoted in Alex Sakariassen’s article about assisted suicide, or “aid in dying” (see “Cowardice to courage,” April 11). I am writing to urge your readers to not make Washington’s mistake by allowing assisted suicide/euthanasia to become part of your state’s legal fabric.…

Horse reproduction

Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I will spare you an analysis of Ari LeVaux’s outrageously flawed argumentation (see “Harvesting horses,” May 16) of simply selling (killing) “used-up” horses to curb an alleged horse overpopulation, and instead thank him for the opportunity to present a real solution—birth control for horses (and deer).

Ari was only correct about one thing: There is absolutely no need for the BLM to waste taxpayers’ money on cruel and senseless round-ups of horses, holding them indefinitely while much better, cheaper and humane solutions exist.…

Real possibility

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:50:00 -0600

Have you ever heard of Otter Creek? If not, you may want to know what is happening in eastern Montana and how it will impact those of us who live near railroad tracks in different communities across the state.…

Horses have feelings

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:49:00 -0600

With regard to Ari LeVaux's "Harvesting horses" column (May 16), I hope that his idea remains no more than a "Flash in the Pan."

While the euphemistic phrase "harvesting" sounds amenable, the brutal slaughter of horses for human ends is anything but.…

Never give up

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:48:00 -0600

I am saddened, sickened and outraged by the decision of the Supreme Court regarding my cousin Kim Nees' murder (see "No redemption," May 16). Barry Beach, Centurion Ministries, Montanans for Justice and several key witnesses have proven Barry's innocence.…

New questions

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

It is really alarming to me that the focus of the recent mass shootings has been on gun control instead of the broader and more relevant subject of “What the hell is wrong with people?” And I don’t mean the people pulling the triggers. I mean the people arguing about what to do and holding everyone and everything, including inanimate objects, responsible while not removing the beams from their own eyes.…

Hardly legendary

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I must take exception to Gabriel Furshong’s stunt to paint Montana Sen. Max Baucus as an unrelenting conservationist (see “Lasting impression,” May 2). It might be true that Baucus used some back door sway to protect Montana’s wild areas, such as his creation of the Montana Legacy Project.…

Appalling testimony

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

This letter responds to Alex Sakariassen’s article about the physician who admitted during a legislative hearing to assisting three suicides (see “Cowardice to courage,” April 11). I was at that hearing and I was appalled with the doctor’s testimony and his goal to legalize assisted suicide.…

Circus act

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:29:00 -0600

"Those PETA people come out every year and beat up on us. But they don't seem to make any difference.…

Know your food

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:28:00 -0600

Restaurants: Congratulations on the mini-boom of new eateries. I hope you all enjoy a long and successful run in this city of hungry, adventurous souls.…

Not rolling with it

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:27:00 -0600

To start, I did enjoy your recent article about new Missoula restaurants (see "All you can eat," May 4). In fact, your article inspired me to try some new places.…

Oregon’s mistake

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I was disturbed by Alex Sakariassen’s article about the Montana doctor who claims to have assisted three patient suicides, euphemistically termed “aid in dying” (see “Cowardice to courage,” April 11). I am a cancer doctor with more than 40 years experience in Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide is legal.…

Ensure safety

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I take great umbrage at the characterization of the doctor from Missoula as “courageous” for opening the door to overt assisted suicide and euthanasia (“aid in dying”) in our great state. I am the widow of a respected Great Falls surgeon, James E. Mungas.…

It’s not legal

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I am the President of Montanans Against Assisted Suicide. I disagree with the quote of Emily Bentley that assisted suicide is legal under the Montana Supreme Court case, Baxter v. Montana.…

Unlikely reader

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Seeing as how Duane Ankney has a lesbian daughter and progressives shunned gays how does he get the label “unlikely”? (see “Unlikely ally,” April 18) He was never quoted as thinking that way.…

Two problems

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I am a general medical practitioner with 30 years experience. I work in Emergency Medicine and with nursing home residents and incarcerated persons.…

Opinion wanted

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Much hubbub has been made recently in the press about the Public Service Commission’s decision to consider repealing what has come to be called the “PSC Executive Pay Rule” (see “Salary secrets,” April 11). Much of the commentary has been misleading, even downright inaccurate.…

Gunned down

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Sen. Max Baucus responded to a constituent’s concern about gun violence as follows: “I oppose the assault weapons ban, and I will oppose any effort that would negatively affect our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.”

When a society suffers a seemingly unending series of gun related mass murders—62 since August 1982—and when those mass murders include innocent men, women and children—Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students—it would seem inconceivable that anyone would stand in the way of taking steps to control this senseless killing.

It is interesting to note that a Wikipedia list of countries by firearm-related deaths ranks the U.S. at 57 out of 75 countries and dependencies.…

Maclay matters to all

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Many Missoula residents wonder how the Maclay Bridge controversy matters to them. If they don’t live in the Target Range, Blue Mountain or Big Flat areas or haven’t attended any of the 2012-13 public meetings, it seems irrelevant.…

Coal’s curse

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I have just read Rep. Jonathan McNiven’s editorial in the Missoula Independent regarding the benefits of coal extraction and export to Asian markets (see “Coal is key,” in Letters, April 11). I am in utter disbelief of his globally selfish point of view.…