Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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In his three C-5 Financial Reports through June 20, Paul Fielder reports receiving slightly more than $5,000 for his County Commissioner campaign and spending slightly more than $5,000. But a few details deserve consideration. Sixteen of his 46 campaign contributors do not reside in Montana. That is 35%. For a county commissioner position that seems to be a disproportionate percent outside the county you would represent. More revealing is the fact that he reports $3,428.11 in expenditures outside this county. And every item in that total could...
Editor, Kudos and Hats Off to Tony Kimberlin of Libby, Montana, who so correctly pointed out that our United States of America is a republic and not a democracy. His “exact and truthful definitions” need to be re-learned by many citizens of our great country so each person truly understands the vast differences. The use of the word democracy by so many of our politicians, media, motion picture industry, and especially the academic community falls prey to the Saul Alinsky tactic that if you just keep repeating and repeating a word often eno...
Jon Tester bought a million-dollar mansion in Washington, D.C. Matt Rosendale bought a ranch home in rural Montana. Jon Tester has supported all of Obama’s nominations for the Supreme Court, but he has opposed ALL of President Trump’s nominees. Tester claims to be for the second amendment, but he voted in favor of Justice Sonia Sotamayor who said, “The right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.” Tester can talk all he wants about protecting our gun rights, but his voting record is horrible. Matt Rosendale, Greg Gianfor...
The general election is just about a month away. We’re thankful for absentee ballots that allow us to research issues and candidates at home before we mark our choices. However, we still find ourselves scrambling to learn about candidates to make a decision. Friday and Saturday, The Ledger is sponsoring candidate forums. Candidates for local races including sheriff/coroner, state representative, county commissioner, justice of the peace, district court judge, county attorney and county treasurer/clerk and recorder/superintendent of schools w...
One of my favorite expressions is “often wrong, never in doubt.” I like to think it doesn’t apply to me—at least the “often” part—but I do come under the category of being overly certain in my opinions or in an event I swear happened. For instance, in the latter category would be my memory of where I left a tool. I will be looking for—say a left-handed monkey wrench—and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was last seen exactly where it now isn’t. Often that experience has to do with the...
Editor, Less than 100 years ago, you could not vote unless you were male and owned property. Today anyone 18 and over can vote, if they are registered. Those who moved here recently and those who did not vote in the last Presidential election are not registered voters. Check the county courthouse to make sure. Registration closes on Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Please remember to vote on November 6. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain afterwards. Hal Vosen Heron...
To the Editor: In the May 2018 Rural Montana magazine (p. 12), Senator Jon Tester begins his response to a posed question with this statement: “Attacks on our democracy can come in many different forms.” I would like to point out to Senator Tester that we are a republic and not a democracy. To say we are a democracy is an attack against our U.S. Constitution and the republic it stands for. The word democracy does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, but reference is made to the word republic in Article 4 Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution whe...
This letter is in reply to Blaine Blackstone’s disgraceful article about Christine Blasey Ford. He questions her decision to come forward with her story at this time. Gee, let me guess … She doesn’t want a sexual predator to become a member of the Supreme Court! And as Ms. Ford expected; she and her family have received death threats and other harassment. You continued in your letter to attack Ford, doubting she would testify and if she did her testimony would be discredited. What do you have to say now that she has testified and many people an...
I, along with my wife, have been paying into a retirement fund the government calls Social Security, when they’re not calling it their personal piggy bank, for almost 100 years. According to Greg Gianforte’s own pronouncements covered by all the newspapers, he doesn’t think we should retire. He even went as far as to say Noah at age 600 wasn’t collecting any benefits. Well I realize the government has to have a way to pay for those tax cuts that netted Buffett $29 billion, he said he neither wanted or needed; so I think we should all pool ou...
Dear Editor, I am extremely disheartened by the content of Mr. Blackstone’s “Street Smart” opinion article from the September 27 issue. It appears that his focus on the “circus” of confirming Brett Kavanaugh deters from the true issue of consideration of his character and integrity. If the author was disturbed by the allegations at all then I imagine he would expect a course of action taken to ensure that the open seat in the Supreme Court remain honorable. And to speak to Mr. Blackstone’s questioning of why it took 36 years for Ms. Ford to tel...
This week, the tradition that is homecoming begins for Sanders County schools. The students will participate in Olympics, dress-up days and dances. Volleyball and football teams will rally for wins on their home turf, and the royalty will be crowned. Homecoming is a celebration of all things school spirit, but we feel like there’s a key component missing — encouraging alumni to come home and be a part of the celebration. It might be smart for the schools to reach out to alumni. Let’s face it, it’s easier to find people and connect with them wi...
Democrats are pulling out all the stops trying to derail the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. As expected, Kavanaugh answered the questions from both Democrats and Republicans honestly and with integrity. Now that their legitimate efforts during the actual hearing didn’t work (even Spartacus couldn’t save the day!), Democrats have come up with a letter that Sen. Diane Feinstein sat on for over two months. This letter alleges an act of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh that...
I for one am happy to see some kind of balance in the Ledger Opinion pieces with the addition of the column “Street Smart” by Mr. Blaine Blackstone. It’s gratifying to see that someone has the courage to point out that Governor Bullock’s support of Second Amendment rights was disingenuous because he now supports banning assault weapons. Of course “assault weapons” to the anti-Second Amendment crowd means any semi-automatic rifle or any weapon that holds more than ten rounds. They call these “weapons of war.” The only addition to his article...
Editor, I would like to thank you for the printing of the very intellectual and informative articles, written for years, by Jim Elliott. For example, 20 September 2018, Jim always writes with so much wisdom and research and it is so interesting that we have a person that will contribute his thoughts, experiences and such to the public via a public news outlet. I want to thank your paper for this great info. As I am a “non-political,” I say he would be a great future governor candidate even though he is a Montana rancher. Al McGuigan Tho...
When I picked my boys up from Noxon School on Tuesday, September 18, they each handed me a pocket version of the Constitution. Attached to the cover was a sticker which read, “Free Copy Courtesy of Senator Jennifer Fielder” and her address and website. I asked where they came from and they told me that State Senator Fielder came and talked to the school. I pondered this on my drive home. That evening I made some calls to determine what had happened and if this event was political/campaigning, or an educational event. The individuals I tal...
Parents, are you listening? Sanders County Local Advisory Council (LAC) has a vision of building a stronger community. They have spent countless hours researching the habits of our youth and reaching out to share what they have discovered. They are trying to get our attention. Are you listening? It is quite alarming to attend LAC forums to find only a handful of attendants. What’s even more alarming? Times have changed; sex, drugs and rock-n-roll as it was in earlier years has changed … big time! Adults who ignore this message, or are sim...
An article in the October 2018 Atlantic (“Is Democracy Dying?”) points out that one of the checks and balances the creators of the Constitution employed was the use of time. The writers of the Constitution were highly educated men for whom the importance of rational thought was paramount. They feared that the irrationality that is born of inflamed passions of an aroused public would be the chief danger to the nation’s success, and so they developed a document that would require a slow, delib...
Montana’s State Legislature enacted CI-64 26 years ago. The effect of “Term Limits” was to prohibit public officials from seeking re-election if they have already held the office for a defined number of years. Term limits offer both negative and positive arguments. A single drawback is that term limits can possibly hinder positive policies and favorable influence accrued through years and years of public office. However, term limits become another method to reject ineffective policies or poor outcomes. Term limits allow public officials to be m...
Sometimes looking back can help us understand how we should move forward, but when it comes to predicting craziness, history’s lessons aren’t helpful at all. For instance: opposing views of both the role and the structure of public education meant it was predictable even a hundred years ago that public education politics would be confrontational. The liberal or progressive side leaned toward the individual child’s needs, while the traditional or conservative side argued in terms of subject matter and institutional structure – society...
Let’s get some facts straight about Hecla Mining Co. and its corporate track record. When Hecla purchased Revett Mining in June 2015 as part of its acquisition of the proposed Rock Creek Mine, the company also took ownership of the Troy Mine, which had been mothballed because of underground rock falls and dipping copper prices. Hecla immediately closed the mine and began preparing to reclaim the site, as required by Montana mining law. Come spring of 2017, Hecla started the reclamation work, which includes capping and revegetating the t...
The Ledger’s new columnist, Mr. Blaine Blackstone, described himself as conservative but the kind of guy that could discuss issues and respectfully listen to both sides, acknowledging viewpoints change over time with knowledge and experiences. It was disappointing to read Mr. Blackstone’s accusation that Governor Bullock’s support of Second Amendment rights was disingenuous because he now supports banning assault weapons. These are Separate issues! The Governor’s views are shared by over 80% of our population. Even the Sanders County Ledger...
It has come to my attention that since I have spoken out against corporate greed in the past, some folks think I may despise all corporations. Not so my friends. Let me misquote Forrest Gump on that one. “Evil is as evil does.” To be incorporated can be a great tool for a business. However, corporations are not persons and do not deserve rights as persons under the 14th Amendment. Rob Kjos, Heron...
In rural areas, finding volunteers for any event or organization is a challenge. When you get people to participate, keeping them is sometimes even harder. The efforts of first responders are sometimes taken for granted, but we want them all to know we appreciate them. Recently we’ve seen and heard some instances of vehicles not pulling over for first responders. Not only is it a courtesy, but it’s a law. Many of our roads are narrow and winding, and there aren’t ideal places to pull off of the road when encountering an ambulance, fire or po...
One item that Mr. Elliott forgot to mention in last week’s Montana Viewpoint article on forced union dues is that the unions always make huge monetary contributions to the Democrat Party. Since he was the chairman of the Montana Democrat Party for four years this fact could have been easily overlooked. In states without “right to work laws” a person is forced to join a union and have part of his dues go to the Democrat Party whether he likes it or not. They may say that your dues go into the left pocket while the political contributions come...
Five years ago, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 NHL, caused by exposure from Agent Orange Spray while in SEA during Vietnam War. I appealed to the VA for help, but despite my desperate situation they said they set up an appointment three weeks from then to see if I financially qualified. My doctor said I needed treatment then, not when the VA got around to it. For the moment the treatment is successful but after fighting the VA for four years while they slow walked me hoping I’d die, I went to Sen. Jon Tester as he was always bragging about h...
