Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Opinion & Editorial

by D.D. Hardy, Hamilton

The impact of the closure of Smurfit-Stone has created not a ripple, but a wave, of negative impact to businesses across the state of Montana. Thus far I have seen nothing positive from any quarter except assistance being proposed for "Job Retraining" and "Unemployment Benefits." Indulging in some imaginary and creative thinking certainly seems to be called for at this time.

In the "Montana Code Annotated 2009, Section 17-6-305", it is explained what the Coal Trust Fund is about, how the funds are to be used, limitations as to their use, and some of the restrictions contained as to how they may be used in the Montana Economy. (1) Subject to the provisions of 17-6- 201(1), the board shall endeavor to invest 25% of the permanent coal tax trust fund established in 17-6-203 in the Montana Economy, with special emphasis on investments in new or locally owned enterprises ...” Further into this section it reads as follows: ... “This subsection does not prohibit the board from investing more than 25% of the permanent coal tax trust fund in the Montana Economy if it is prudent to do so and the investments will benefit the Montana economy.”

When now Governor Schweitzer was running against US Senator Burns I wrote a letter which was published. The gist of that letter was a suggestion that consideration be given to using "Coal Tax Trust Funds" to finance the purchase of Montana Power by the State of Montana. It further suggested that profits generated by this entity be used to fund Public Education in the State. I was successful in talking with then candidate Schweitzer, after I sent him a copy of the letter. His first reaction was negative but in a matter of a couple of minutes, as he analyzed it, he quickly warmed to the idea, saying that it was a win/win situation. His first objection was State ownership, but we discussed that, and we agreed that both California and Washington state have cities with publicly owned power generating facilities. When you think about government-owned facilities, remember that cites own sewer systems, water systems, public roads and a host of other types of facilities. Also the Electric Co-ops that supply a large share of the rural electric needs were supported with government funds and/or guarantees, so that objection went by the wayside when Mr. Schweitzer and I visited on the phone.

There are different alternatives as to how this could be approached. A coalition of Forest Industry interests, including loggers, truckers, businessmen, potential investors, employees, unions, Forest Service, Coal Trust Fund board, and the public at large could perhaps come together and form an "exploratory" task force, and see if a viable working model could be struck with the State of Montana Coal Trust Fund board and keep this plant operating and retain jobs for the mill workers and all of the other persons and businesses who stand to suffer as a result of this plant closure. Obviously, there would be lots of legitimate objections, changes and compromises between the individuals and parties, who would need to be brought together to start a "discussion.” But, if the "seed money" from the Coal Trust Fund could be used for this endeavor, the rest of the details could fall into place

There is currently $769,856,000 (seven hundred sixty-nine million, eight hundred fifty-six thousand dollars) in the Coal Trust Fund. There also could be an employee participation in purchase, etc. Possibly, a deal could be made to acquire the plant at a bargain price. Also, don't overlook the possibility that Smurfit Stone might review their decision of closing in order to avoid competition, if this plant could be kept in production.

Most of us who live here see what the pine beetle has done to our forests in central and western Montana. Most people fear that there are going to be some huge uncontrollable fires due to the bug kill. Keeping that plant running in Frenchtown can serve to alleviate a portion of that impending disaster.

If there are others who believe this idea has merit, politicians will take note. I think that funds of the Coal Trust could be a lifeline to the timber industry which is in freefall collapse. If this idea has merit and should happen, then at some time in the future some outside entity would be interested in purchasing the "business". When the economy strengthens, and it has to, there will be increased demand for the product produced near Frenchtown. The raw materials are available, there is an existing manufacturing facility, there is an experienced work force and that work force will soon be unemployed. I believe this merits consideration. But there has to be some outside source for financing. The Coal Trust Fund may well be part of a source to facilitate the financing.

In closing, the number of counties in Montana that are going to be directly involved probably constitute a majority in the state. All counties west of the Continental Divide will be affected directly. There are sawmills east of the Divide who ship their waste to Frenchtown and they have loggers, truckers and mill employees also.

Therefore, I am suggesting that the county commissioners of each and every county be contacted, requesting their assistance. Commissioners of each and every county are the most accessible. You can make an appointment and talk one on one. You can send them an e-mail. Missoula County has three, I believe all of the rest of the counties also have three commissioners, with the exception of Ravalli County which has five. I believe that Silver Bow County has a city-county form of government. There are no less than 50 or 60 and probably in excess of 100 commissioners who represent logging, timber, manufacturing and transportation businesses whom are elected by those persons whom are adversely affected.

I don't believe this has to be a done deal yet.

‘Friendly giants’ worth replacing

Dear Editor,

Lately the HHS Class of ’56 meets yearly to celebrate life and memories. One of the topics that always comes up is the demise of the cherished fairgrounds poplar trees which started with the felling of the giants at the front gates 5 or 6 years ago. They were a gift of our founder (Daly) honoring the entire county. Our first memories of them go back 65 years to WWII when the trees were already 50 years old and celebrating maturity. By mid-day at the Fair, folks were already seeking the cool shade of their shadows which covered a huge amount of the south grounds. The Zippers and Ferris wheels carried us up into the branches for a brief reunion. They (poplars), dynamic as they became, were a perfect fit for the grounds with the traditional white-clad buildings, the race track, grandstand of course with elite seating, the ghosts of Mr. & Mrs. Daly sitting there dressed in their best.

After serving the county in a spectacular way for 120 years they lay as mere corpses for the taking. They are a reminder of the time when Hamilton’s east side stood out like no other town in Montana with its gorgeous tree-lined boulevards, now denuded into stark nakedness as viewed from Eastside Highway. There are, thankfully, the cared-for reminders of these great poplar trees gracing many older homes up and down the valley, again gifts of Daly and his arborist.

We have an opportunity January 7 at 1 p.m. to voice our opinion about replacement of trees at the Fair Board meeting at Ravalli County Fairgrounds, First Interstate building.

Bonnie Bowler, Betty Krueger, Darrell Binkerd, Loydene Arnold, Ed Johnson, Marc Vadheim

The Last Night of Cop 15

Dear Editor,

'Twas the last night of Cop 15, when all over the Land, Wild creatures were stirring as Democracy was canned.

Kyoto was hung by the wayside with speed,

By military/industrial/prison complex greed.

The Rockefellers and Rothschilds all snuggled in beds,

While visions of genocide danced in their heads.

For Hillary's extortion and O'Bama's empty rap,

Had just set the stage for a tri-lateralist trap.

When out from the jail there arose such a clatter:

The Voice of the People! For surely it mattered!

They banged against bars and made such a ruckus,

For Freedom, for sanity and climate Justice.

The goons by arrest in the new-fallen snow,

Kidnapped over a thousand with no cause to show.

And then to my wondering eyes did appear,

Through a miniature budget, by a media who care:

The faces of Real People, those we would pick,

Like Evo Morales, not vampires like Dick.

O'Bama, more rapid than eagles could fly,

Had shown to the World he delivers the Lie:

"Now troops out! Now troops in! Now missiles for Peace!

"On Haliburton! On Blackwater! ... oops, I mean On Z!

"To the top of the World, up against that high wall, "We'll test-drive our drones and so blow away all!"

As earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes fly,

In the face of denial, mounting the chem-trailed sky,

So back to D.C. 'Hil and 'Bama done flew,

The puppets of banksters, and Bilderbergers, too.

And then in a twinkling I heard mainstream news,

After pawing and prancing and trampling on views.

As I drew in my head for the turning around,

Of the Truth as it spun with a CIA sound.

The conference was dressed from its head to its foot,

As a positive outcome though tarnished by soot.

A bundle of ploys on the backs of the poor,

Some new carbon taxes by the capitalists of war.

Their eyes how they twinkle, their dimples so merry;

The blood of their victims so pretty, like cherry.

Those drooling red mouths all tied up in a bow,

Anticipate profits from friend and from foe.

They hold the World's wealth in the grip of their teeth, While for us it's the usual funeral wreath.

But the New Order's broad face, unveiled at the Bella,

Will soon cringe in fear as we rise up and swell!

Though you're clubby and pumped, a right fascist old self, We'll continue to laugh at your bungling stealth.

A wink of the eye, secret twist of the head,

Although quite Masonic, was nothing to dread.

No straight words were spoken, right to the Great Work, Keeping filled the deep pockets of globalist jerks.

And so laying Its finger aside of Its nose,

Like Rumsfeld, the Beast of Fascism arose.

It sprang to Its throne, to Its team gave some whistles, And away they all flew to wreak terror with missiles.

But I heard them exclaim as they flew out of sight,

"OH SHIT!" as our friends from Space turned up the Light.

Merry New Millennium!

Bernadette Alu
Corvallis

Facts on Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Dear Editor,

"They talk about the terrible holocaust of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Was that not a judgment upon people who believe Satan is their god?” Martin ‘Red’ Beckman, “The Church Deceived” (Common Sense Press)

In a recent letter, “Celebrating Conservatism” organizer Dan Cox accuses the Montana Human Rights Network and its local chapter, the Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance, of being unconstitutional U.N. front groups for promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). He then goes on to malign one of our booth volunteers at the Ravalli County Fair.

The volunteer he referred to was one of a couple of Vietnam combat vets who volunteered their time to promote something they believe in. Given that Dan’s group actually invited notorious anti-Semite Red Beckman to speak in Hamilton to promote “Celebrating Conservatism’s” definition of “Patriotism”, we thought this might be a teachable moment for anyone interested in what exactly the UDHR is, and why it’s so ironic to see Dan, of all people, slamming it.

The modern human rights movement was born in the aftermath of World War II, when citizens from multiple nations realized that the Nazis broke no laws when perpetrating their atrocities. The Nazi regime simply changed Germany’s laws in order to carry out the Holocaust. The UDHR, adopted in 1948, was the first major human rights document to come out of that post-war era. It was – and still is – one of humankind’s premiere documents attempting to articulate common ground about the basic nature of acceptable human-to-human behavior amongst the many diverse cultures of the world destined to interact ever-more-intimately. In signing onto this much-needed document, the United States joined 48 of the 56 members that made up the United Nations at that time in the first modern attempt to address the issue of institutionalized inhumanity.

The UDHR does two things. First, it outlines a broad set of democratic principles to be striven for while recognizing that humankind would have to work mightily to achieve all of its goals. In other words, the UDHR follows the same evolving historical vein as our own country’s founding and the fact that the U.S. signed onto it is something Americans who understand their history can be proud of. Whatever flavor your ideology, you have to admit that Eleanor Roosevelt (who was central to creating the UDHR) will be remembered in a certain way, and that Adolf Hitler (who had “God Is With Us” inscribed on every Third Reich soldier’s belt) will be remembered in another. That Red Beckman thinks that the Third Reich was doing God’s work, and that “Celebrating Conservatism” views Beckman as an ideological ally, is telling, to say the least.

Second, through a series of international conventions and treaties that were initiated within its structure, the UDHR gave a legal framework for nations to codify some of these basic rules of humanity into international law, so that rogue nations and usurpers would at least have some laws to break and be held accountable for. The treaty banning torture—which the U.S. signed onto—is just one of the latest examples as to why these international laws are so important. It’s also why the John Birch Society and the Constitution Party—groups that “Celebrating Conservatism” also allies with–have such a hard time with them. In large part, they believe in and promote a notion of American Exceptionalism. This philosophy places their fundamentalist interpretation of the Constitution as a divinely inspired (read: Christian Fundamentalist) document that puts whoever they define as God-fearing Americans above anybody else’s concerns about what’s wrong or right. In other words, they love their freedom, but they don’t necessarily love yours.

Christian Fundamentalism is a relatively recent sectarian phenomenon in this country. American Exceptionalism, however, has been very much a part of America since its founding and is very “American.” Unfortunately for those who have always insisted on forcing black-and-white theologies on everyone else, there have always been other Americans, too, like those subversive and not-entirely-Christian Founding Fathers, who wore powdered wigs and wrote up many of our founding documents, including our Constitution. Our current ‘pocket Constitution’ groups openly express allergic reactions to concepts and institutions such as democracy, the U.N, or anything else not deemed ‘God-given’ to American Exceptionalists. That’s their right. But we at Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance, and our parent organization, the Montana Human Rights Network, do our best to follow the other time-honored American traditions of democracy, equality and fairness.

Dan Cox has no moral right or intellectual reason to accuse us of “working against the U.S.” We do assume, though, that he thanked the veteran he later maligned in his letter for his service (there were a total of five vets at our booth this year) and we also acknowledge that he seems to be following a distinctly American tradition in good faith, just like we’re following ours. It’s always a choice and nobody’s perfect. But please check your facts first, before you go lobbing such silly verbal hand grenades.

Bill LaCroix
Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance

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