Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Opinion & Editorial

by Pamela Erickson & Char Jones, Board Members, Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance

Recently self described “conservatives’ have chosen to exercise their free speech rights by vilifying the President in demonstrations in Hamilton and across the nation. This is a nationally coordinated campaign promoted heavily by the right-wing commentators of Fox News and other conservative media.

These demonstrators frequently compare President Obama to everything from Hitler to Stalin to the devil, pretty much emptying the bag of conceivable evil comparisons. Adding to the militancy of the message are those bringing firearms to these demonstrations, most recently to the corner of Main and First Street last week.

These folks no doubt believe that this is an appropriate exercise of both the 1st and 2nd Amendments. The Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance thinks they are wrong on both counts.

We accept their right to express their opinion and “bear arms”, but strongly disagree with their message and the appropriateness of bringing guns to a highly partisan political demonstration. Political partisans brandishing weapons obviously intimidate those who have a different political opinion. If freedom of speech is only for bullies then the public space to express an opinion envisioned by the 1st Amendment is diminished.

This combination of outrageous accusations meant to scare people into thinking that a dictatorship has either been formed or is imminent and the carrying of firearms is an open call to insurrection. Can you imagine the reaction of these so-called patriots if this same tactic were used by Islamacists with legal versions of AK-47s! We’d join them in calling it an appallingly bad exercise of the guarantees under the Bill of Rights

Armed political demonstrations were a precursor to the civil war in Germany in the 1920s, the civil war in Lebanon in the 1970s, and most recently echo the mini-insurrection of the Militia here in the mid 1990s. These people have chosen to step outside the public space of civil discourse and it’s only a matter of time before some mis-guided loner takes the rhetoric about impending enslavement by the “New World Order” seriously and starts shooting people.

The Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance respectfully asks all political partisans to think again about what their exercise of our cherished rights can mean for the peace and future of our republic.

Healthy care system needs fixing; socialized medicine not the answer

Dear Editor,

Presently health care is the biggest issue in the media, and it should be. Republicans are attacking the Democratic plan, a plan which is still not known in any detai. Still, the basic principle is that those with insurance will subsidize those without .

The people want something done with health care; it costs too much and not enough people have insurance. Senator Mitch McConnell said that the United States has the best health care in the world, but that is not true. It is really good for members of the Congress, but not for 47 million Americans who are not covered by insurance. Over the years I have read that the USA is in the middle of industrialized countries in the quality of health care, and number one or two in the cost per citizen. Statistics can be manipulated, but if there is something wrong with the statistics someone needs to explain to me where they are wrong.

Three to one, people in a recent poll wanted a government plan to compete with private plans. However, 77% are "satisfied" with their health care (Fortune, 20 July 2009). When the price tag comes in, I think things will change. The ones that can afford insurance will pay for those who cannot, and this will not be popular with the voting class. In 2006 Massachusetts required everyone to have insurance, or pay a penalty; insurance premiums are up 42%. Maine did a similar thing in 2005 and premiums are up 74% (Business Week, 27 July 2009). The Congressional Budget Office says that Senator Kennedy's plan, which does not go as far as the President wants to go, will cost an additional $1 trillion over 10 years.

Republicans have always been for competition, and that should be part of the solution. In Montana, Blue Cross has over 50% of the market, nationwide 15 states have a situation where one company has over 50% of the market (Business Week, 3 August 2009). The President wants a government insurance company to compete with private companies, which is not fair competition. The government can lose money that the private company can never afford to lose; a private company has shareholders while the government simply prints money. A government insurance company, especially if coupled with taxing businesses that provide insurance to their employees to pay for those without insurance, will kill employer-provided insurance. Soon the government will be the only major player in the health insurance market.

So who provides the competition? The first step is make sure that the large insurance companies have competitors. Anti-trust should be applied to health insurance and people should be able to buy their insurance across state lines. Teddy Roosevelt was the most famous trust buster, and that is where the Republican Party should go. If we had more companies offering a product, the price would come down.

This country cannot afford socialized medicine and that is where the Congress is heading. The country cannot pay its bills now, adding another expense will simply hurt our economy further.

Senator Jim Shockley
Senate District 45

Celebrate Montana’s public lands

Dear Editor,

President Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps the most influential conservationist in American history, argued equally that “attention must be directed to the preservation of the forests” and that our forests should be “the means of preserving and increasing the prosperity of the nation.” As the early Americans journeyed beyond the eastern forests of Massachusetts and the agricultural haven of the Midwest, they quickly became enamored of the vast wildness of the Rocky Mountain West. And though the idea of widespread conservation of public land was still a long time coming, the forward-thinking conservationists rejoiced when two million acres were designated and protected as Yellowstone National Park on March 1, 1872. So was born a new way of thinking: the conservation of land for the greater benefit of the American public.

Roosevelt’s vision of America’s vast forest was one of preservation and prosperity, a view that many Montanans share, and a view that we should celebrate. National Public Lands Day was September 26th. This day offers Montana an opportunity to recognize and cheer the many tangible and intangible values of the millions of acres of land designated for use by us, the public. Montanans get outside to fish, hunt, and play far more than the average American and for many that is the primary reason we live in this beautiful state. Montana’s economy benefits immensely from our vast public lands, as well. Public lands are a source of income for Montana families, including outfitters, millworkers, and main street business owners. Equally as important, they are sources of clean and healthy watersheds for our cities and towns.

One of the ways we can celebrate National Public Lands Day is by learning more about the many uses of public lands and working together to make sure Montana’s public lands benefit everyone. The new Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, recently introduced by Senator Tester, is the latest and largest example of cooperative legislation aimed at ensuring that we all share in the future of Montana’s forests. Among its many aims, this comprehensive bill mandates active forestry practices on Forest Service land to ensure sustainable timber management and habitat restoration, which will create new forestry jobs for Montana. The forest bill also creates new recreation areas for motorized, mechanized and non-mechanized travelers to enjoy, while designating new wilderness areas for horsemen, hikers, anglers, and hunters alike – ensuring our backcountry traditions can be passed down to those who will come after us. Learn more about the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act at www.montanaforests.org.

Montana boasts vast forest resources, and the more we learn about these resources, the better equipped we’ll be to manage our forests in the future. In honor of National Public Lands Day, the Montana Wilderness Association is proud to sponsor a series of field trips. Each field trip will offer opportunities to explore Montana’s public lands and meet people who make our forests work. On October 10-11, for example, come explore the beauty of the Stony Peak Area in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest on an overnight backpacking trip. On October 24, join fellow Montanans on a site visit to successful restoration projects on the Seeley Lake District Ranger District. On November 7 and 8, take advantage of a “Leave No Trace” Trainer Course to hone your backcountry low-impact skills. Please visit www.wildmontana.org for more details or to sign up for a trip.

In recognition of the multitude of opportunities we have as a result of our public lands, take some time –whether it’s ten minutes, an hour, or the entire day—to use and enjoy the land that you own, along with every other Montanan. Consider taking National Public Lands Day a step further, by helping to secure the health and longevity of our public lands. And of course, come explore the lands we love and see for yourself why public lands are so important to our state.

Heather Day, Intern, Montana Wilderness Association
Environmental Studies Graduate Student, UM

New law will help cancer patients

Dear Editor,

Nearly everyone's lives have been touched by cancer. A new state law effective October 1 establishes a cancer drug donation program to help cancer patients get drugs they cannot afford by distributing thousands of dollars of unused medication to patients instead of destroying the drugs.

In the last state legislative session, House Bill 409 created a way for unused, unopened cancer drugs to be donated to participating pharmacies and care facilities and re-dispensed to qualifying patients, who otherwise could not attain them because of their astronomical cost.

The need for this new program is immense. Cancer drugs are among the most expensive pharmaceuticals on the market. They do wondrous things: they target and kill cancer cells, target the interactions between cancer cells and the patient, and help with nausea from chemotherapy. Cancer drugs can also prompt the development of red blood cells and help with a patient’s energy level.

But a drug is only good if it can be administered.

In testimony at the legislature last February, Dr. Jack Hensold of the Bozeman Cancer Center said that, “new cancer therapies are, without exception, very expensive, ranging from $3000 to $9000 in monthly costs. Since nearly all the oral chemotherapies are subject to co-pays, all patients, independent of their insurance coverage, are placed at significant financial risk when diagnosed with cancer. Within the first month of treatment, a patient will be liable for a $5000 payment for their drug.”

The cancer drug donation program will make available very sophisticated drugs from people who want to donate them to people who need them but simply cannot afford them.

Cancer patients testified in support of the bill too. One woman said she was grateful that the hearing was this year and not the previous session because she was undergoing chemotherapy then and was bald. She appeared before the House committee with a packet of medication she wishes to donate, an anti-nausea drug to which she developed a resistance.

She has a month’s supply with an expiration date of 2011. She said, “It’s hundreds and hundreds of dollars in my medicine cabinet. I can’t bring myself to flush it down the toilet. Someone should use these!”

In the Senate, a woman testified that she’d been an office administrator for an oncologist for 20 years and saw the need first-hand. Four years ago, her husband, a former firefighter, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and undergoes treatment monthly. One of his prescribed medications, Velcade, costs $7000 a month for 21 pills. Another of his drugs costs a co-pay of $4295 a month, and yet another, more than $6000 a month.

It’s difficult enough to face a diagnosis of cancer. Patients who want to fight cancer but who may not have the financial or pharmaceutical means now have a chance to receive drugs from the new donation program. The Montana Board of Pharmacy will adopt rules very soon to implement the law.

In Montana, the spirit of helping one another is strong. There’s no reason for effective cancer drugs to be wasted or destroyed for want of a process to make them available to people in need. That’s why I sponsored House Bill 409. For those with cancer drugs to donate, and for the patients who desperately need the drugs, the cancer drug donation program bridges the gap.

Rep. JP Pomnichowski, HD 63
Bozeman

Praise for North Valley Library

Dear Editor,

When public service goes right in the Bitterroot Valley, people ought to know about it. That is why this letter is being written to acknowledge the North Valley Library in Stevensville, Montana. This public institution is an outstanding resource to our area; they have utilized their Main Street location to everyone’s advantage.

The best part about the library is their approachable and friendly staff. Any patron walking through the door might be greeted by an employee, a board member, a competent volunteer, or a fellow patron sitting in their comfortable common area. The Staff doesn’t take themselves too seriously, and can joke about life, or the silly comment shared amongst those present. What a comfort in today’s busy world.

This is why patrons support, and should support the North Valley Library. They accept a variety of materials from the public, which makes the experience more enriching. This library has the most caring, and capable staff in the Bitterroot Valley—and it shows.

Go in and take a seat on the comfortable couch in the periodicals section and find some peace. Enjoy a social event, or wander the stacks in its well laid out floor plan. Look forward to a remodel which will benefit our community, and continue their service to us in the future. The North Valley Library in Stevensville makes life better for all of their public patrons. Their mission is to serve the public, and their dedication to this goal is obvious: be it staff, library board members, or volunteers.

Michael Spreadbury
Hamilton

Unethical hunters hurt true sportsmen

Dear Editor,

We read the article on the two elk killed on an eastside Stevensville ranch. Their skull caps and antlers were taken and the bodies left to rot.

We hear so many people screaming about animal predators killing off all the elk and yet it seems that the human predator can be the most malicious and wasteful of all .

We certainly hope that Joe Jaquieth from Fish, wildlife , and parks, will be successful in locating these creeps that kill illegally for trophys, who take advantage of the ranchers that were kind enough to allow them to hunt there, and who ruin it for hunters who are true sportsmen.

J. and K. Gervais
Corvallis

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