Billings speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of May. 26, 2023
- Updated
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Billings Gazette.
By month’s end, the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to make policy changes which would have significant impacts on America and the other 193 member countries worldwide. WHO is the health-advisory agency of the United Nations, and a puppet of the CCP.
The Biden administration, without congressional authority, has willingly agreed to give up America’s sovereignty by allowing WHO to make all decisions involving future pandemics or anything they deem an emergency (i.e., the climate-alarmist cult could demand that “climate change” is an emergency). If this happens, these changes cannot be rescinded.
The WHO has plans to require all citizens to have an individual QR type-code on their cellphones, which would digitally contain an individual’s personal, financial, and health care information. WHO would have control of each person’s finances and freedom to travel.
China already holds their citizens “hostage” with similar restrictions, and we witnessed how Canada froze their citizens’ bank accounts during the trucker protests last year. If one doesn’t comply, your movement would be restricted, or your finances would be monitored/regulated. WHO would have the power to shut down businesses, schools, churches, or mandate vaccines since they would have the authority to declare any situation a “health emergency” and it could last for decades.
This planned power transfer to WHO would be the first step toward a totalitarian, one-world government with China ultimately in charge, and the Biden administration is in favor of this radical transformation. This isn't a partisan issue. Spread the word to help stop this.
Cam Browne
Billings
Since 1943, we have had misguided counterculture professors and “scientists” who recommend using controlled substances. 1970’s Marxist counterculture groups promoted the recreational use of LSD and marijuana. These were gateway drugs. Today’s marijuana is 57-67% more potent than 1970. Today’s marijuana can cause psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression. Fifty percent of baby boomers and 49% of Gen X used marijuana. Today, the drug cartels are moving life threatening drugs, like methamphetamine and fentanyl into our community. It is destroying childhoods, individual lives, and families. Divorce, childhood abuse, road rage, and crime are on the rise.
The state courts have responded to this by creating treatment courts. Not all offenders are the same. Some offenders have character disorders. Some had horrible childhood trauma due to parents abusing illegal substances. Sixty percent of offenders have substance use disorder. Fourteen percent of men and 36% of women in prison were abused as children. Treatment courts can help.
For example, in the Montana 13th Judicial District STAR Drug Treatment Court, led by the Hon. Donald L. Harris, the STAR court has saved taxpayers $450,000 in incarceration costs. In 2019, the STAR Court graduates had a 3 Year recidivism rate of 8.6%. STAR Court participants have had 11 healthy babies, saving the taxpayer between $750,000 to $1,400,000 per child between birth and age 18. According to a 2014 study, the average delivery cost for a drug dependent baby is $62,000, compared to the costs of a healthy baby at $4,700. Treatment courts work and should be supported.
Rev. Dr. David Kenat Jr.
Billings
As a retired Fish and Wildlife biologist and a Montanan who serves on the Board of Directors for Montana Wildlife Federation affiliate Hellgate Hunters & Anglers, I am disappointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442.
Gianforte’s veto of SB 442 takes tens of millions of dollars away from wildlife, rural communities, veterans, and public access — investments that are crucial for the well-being of our state.
As Montana citizens, we must speak up and hold our elected officials accountable to ensure the successful passage of SB 442. This monumental bill reflects the will of Montana voters. It will improve the condition of the land, protect our hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations and offer support and recognition to the heroes and their spouses who served America in the armed services.
Please call the governor’s office or write an op-ed and urge Gianforte to notify the Secretary of State of his veto so she can poll our legislators to override his veto of SB 442 before time’s up.
William Geer
Lolo
Gov. Greg Gianforte chooses to line the state's coffers over providing funding for rural Montanans with the veto of Senate Bill 442. SB 442 was a grassroots, widely collaborative effort to dedicate funding derived from the state's new found adult use marijuana taxes to various special needs of Montanans. This included 20% that must be transferred to the department of transportation and deposited in the county roads habitat access account to be used solely as funding for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of county roads.
In the governor's veto letter, which describes reasoning behind the decision, Gianforte insinuates local jurisdictions could not be trusted to make sound economic decisions on the distribution of their local tax dollars that could have been freed up if provided with the state assistance to county road maintenance that this bill would have guaranteed.
Additionally, he states this bill “creates the illusion that the state will accept increasing responsibility for matters that are strictly under the jurisdiction of local authorities.”
Montana sportsmen and women from across the state banded together with our rural county neighbors to create this means of pitching in for road maintenance, as although, not all of us live and pay taxes in these counties, we all utilize them to take us on our adventures and have experienced the abuse our county roads can take.
Montana sportsmen and women want to help ease our impacts while supporting our neighbors and that's why we still support SB 442.
Mike Mershon
Billings
There has been a lot of concern over the national debt recently, and I can’t really disagree that our financial house appears to be out of order. However, in what world does stopping payment on currently accrued debt put our financial house in order?
I understand this is a “negotiating tactic,” but a tactic is only effective if there’s willingness to use it. It seems there are plenty of Republicans willing to fire the missile at the world’s economy. A lot of the noise coming from the right on this subject rings a little hollow.
There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of concern for the debt with the tax cuts a few years back. Also, talk of the debt becomes pretty muted when a Republican is in the White House, and I hate to break it to you, Republican presidents don’t have a great record.
The debt grew by 2.6 times during the Reagan years, and the largest single fiscal year increase in the debt (22%) was in 2020…guess who was president. Rather than pointing fingers, targeting your opponents' programs, and threatening to hamstring the economy if you don’t get your way, how about putting a few of your own sacred cows on the table and say here’s where we’re willing to cut… will you work with us?
Todd Rydquist
Billings
Imagine you are in your physician’s office discussing your condition and the best path forward for treatment based on current best practice. After discussion together you agree on a plan. Suddenly your physician announces, “I need to contact the Montana Legislature to find out what they think is best to do in your situation." This is what our Montana Legislature endorses.
One of many things that appalled me during our last legislative session was the disregard for physicians’ expertise. It is shocking to witness the lack of credence the Legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte give to state of Montana licensed physicians.
There did not appear to be even one Montana physician who testified in support of Senate Bill 99. There were multiple articulate Montana physicians who testified against the bill. They shared first-hand knowledge about the benefits of gender-affirming care. They spoke of gender-affirming care being “evidence based best practice healthcare.” They shared that gender-affirming care is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Medical Association and The Montana Chapter of The American College of Emergency Physicians. The entire Montana healthcare community was overwhelmingly against SB 99. But Legislators and our governor believe they know better and passed the bill.
Physicians, the physician-patient relationship, and research are valuable. Gianforte and most of our Legislators sent a clear message that they do not share this view. How does this type of legislative overreach affect physicians’ decisions to come to or stay in Montana?
Carol Highland-Fritz
Billings
Gov. Greg Gianforte's veto of Senate Bill 442 risks losing a historic opportunity to allocate much-needed funds toward addressing critical issues affecting Montana veterans, counties, rural communities, ranchers, farmers, hunters, wildlife, habitat, and public access. The veto's implications are significant and harm Montanans. SB 442 received broad support from over 130 members of the Montana Legislature, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. This level of bipartisan agreement is commendable, particularly in an era characterized by political division.
Given the substantial support for SB 442, the veto decision by Gianforte is perplexing. To ensure democratic processes are upheld, please contact Gianforte’s office and request that he transmits his veto notification to Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen. This action will initiate the polling process for a legislative vote that could override the veto. Strong democracy requires citizen involvement. Please get involved.
Glenn Elison
Lewistown
End of life care is essential for both the patient and their family. It may be a difficult topic, but it is important to know that hospice exists to provide care throughout the dying process. For the past five months, I have been volunteering at Stillwater Hospice to get a greater understanding of the importance of hospice in a person's life. My duties as a volunteer were to visit patients and help with bereavement clerical duties.
For my bereavement duties, I sent out comforting letters to families whose loved one had already passed. Each envelope includes a letter from the bereavement team, resources offered by the team, and tips and information about grief. Stillwater offers one-on-one grief support and grief groups.
The other part of my volunteering duties were to visit patients and provide companionship. One of my patients was a man who at first seemed annoyed by my presence, but as time went on he talked to me more about his life. By the end of the session, the supposedly grumpy, old man had a smile on his face. After every visit, I realized how important companionship is for dying patients, especially if the family is unable to see them.
Through this volunteering experience, I learned that hospice care is end-of-life care offered to both the patient and the family. The patient receives pain relievers and companionship, while the family is given information on how to handle grief. Hospice is essential to have the most comfortable death possible.
Emily Pfeffer
Billings
Let’s kill some GOP sacred cows
There has been a lot of concern over the national debt recently, and I can’t really disagree that our financial house appears to be out of order. However, in what world does stopping payment on currently accrued debt put our financial house in order?
I understand this is a “negotiating tactic,” but a tactic is only effective if there’s willingness to use it. It seems there are plenty of Republicans willing to fire the missile at the world’s economy. A lot of the noise coming from the right on this subject rings a little hollow.
There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of concern for the debt with the tax cuts a few years back. Also, talk of the debt becomes pretty muted when a Republican is in the White House, and I hate to break it to you, Republican presidents don’t have a great record.
The debt grew by 2.6 times during the Reagan years, and the largest single fiscal year increase in the debt (22%) was in 2020…guess who was president. Rather than pointing fingers, targeting your opponents’ programs, and threatening to hamstring the economy if you don’t get your way, how about putting a few of your own sacred cows on the table and say here’s where we’re willing to cut… will you work with us?
Todd Rydquist
Billings
Treatment courts work for us all
Since 1943, we have had misguided counterculture professors and “scientists” who recommend using controlled substances. 1970’s Marxist counterculture groups promoted the recreational use of LSD and marijuana. These were gateway drugs. Today’s marijuana is 57-67% more potent than 1970. Today’s marijuana can cause psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression. Fifty percent of baby boomers and 49% of Gen X used marijuana. Today, the drug cartels are moving life threatening drugs, like methamphetamine and fentanyl into our community. It is destroying childhoods, individual lives, and families. Divorce, childhood abuse, road rage, and crime are on the rise.
The state courts have responded to this by creating treatment courts. Not all offenders are the same. Some offenders have character disorders. Some had horrible childhood trauma due to parents abusing illegal substances. Sixty percent of offenders have substance use disorder. Fourteen percent of men and 36% of women in prison were abused as children. Treatment courts can help.
For example, in the Montana 13th Judicial District STAR Drug Treatment Court, led by the Hon. Donald L. Harris, the STAR court has saved taxpayers $450,000 in incarceration costs. In 2019, the STAR Court graduates had a 3 Year recidivism rate of 8.6%. STAR Court participants have had 11 healthy babies, saving the taxpayer between $750,000 to $1,400,000 per child between birth and age 18. According to a 2014 study, the average delivery cost for a drug dependent baby is $62,000, compared to the costs of a healthy baby at $4,700. Treatment courts work and should be supported.
Rev. Dr. David Kenat Jr.
Billings
Stop power transfer to WHO
By month’s end, the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to make policy changes which would have significant impacts on America and the other 193 member countries worldwide. WHO is the health-advisory agency of the United Nations, and a puppet of the CCP.
The Biden administration, without congressional authority, has willingly agreed to give up America’s sovereignty by allowing WHO to make all decisions involving future pandemics or anything they deem an emergency (i.e., the climate-alarmist cult could demand that “climate change” is an emergency). If this happens, these changes cannot be rescinded.
The WHO has plans to require all citizens to have an individual QR type-code on their cellphones, which would digitally contain an individual’s personal, financial, and health care information. WHO would have control of each person’s finances and freedom to travel.
China already holds their citizens “hostage” with similar restrictions, and we witnessed how Canada froze their citizens’ bank accounts during the trucker protests last year. If one doesn’t comply, your movement would be restricted, or your finances would be monitored/regulated. WHO would have the power to shut down businesses, schools, churches, or mandate vaccines since they would have the authority to declare any situation a “health emergency” and it could last for decades.
This planned power transfer to WHO would be the first step toward a totalitarian, one-world government with China ultimately in charge, and the Biden administration is in favor of this radical transformation. This isn’t a partisan issue. Spread the word to help stop this.
Cam Browne
Billings
Veto of SB 442 is perplexing
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442 risks losing a historic opportunity to allocate much-needed funds toward addressing critical issues affecting Montana veterans, counties, rural communities, ranchers, farmers, hunters, wildlife, habitat, and public access. The veto’s implications are significant and harm Montanans. SB 442 received broad support from over 130 members of the Montana Legislature, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. This level of bipartisan agreement is commendable, particularly in an era characterized by political division.
Given the substantial support for SB 442, the veto decision by Gianforte is perplexing. To ensure democratic processes are upheld, please contact Gianforte’s office and request that he transmits his veto notification to Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen. This action will initiate the polling process for a legislative vote that could override the veto. Strong democracy requires citizen involvement. Please get involved.
Glenn Elison
Lewistown
Hospice care is essential
End of life care is essential for both the patient and their family. It may be a difficult topic, but it is important to know that hospice exists to provide care throughout the dying process. For the past five months, I have been volunteering at Stillwater Hospice to get a greater understanding of the importance of hospice in a person’s life. My duties as a volunteer were to visit patients and help with bereavement clerical duties.
For my bereavement duties, I sent out comforting letters to families whose loved one had already passed. Each envelope includes a letter from the bereavement team, resources offered by the team, and tips and information about grief. Stillwater offers one-on-one grief support and grief groups.
The other part of my volunteering duties were to visit patients and provide companionship. One of my patients was a man who at first seemed annoyed by my presence, but as time went on he talked to me more about his life. By the end of the session, the supposedly grumpy, old man had a smile on his face. After every visit, I realized how important companionship is for dying patients, especially if the family is unable to see them.
Through this volunteering experience, I learned that hospice care is end-of-life care offered to both the patient and the family. The patient receives pain relievers and companionship, while the family is given information on how to handle grief. Hospice is essential to have the most comfortable death possible.
Emily Pfeffer
Billings
Legislature, gov. ignored physicians
Imagine you are in your physician’s office discussing your condition and the best path forward for treatment based on current best practice. After discussion together you agree on a plan. Suddenly your physician announces, “I need to contact the Montana Legislature to find out what they think is best to do in your situation.” This is what our Montana Legislature endorses.
One of many things that appalled me during our last legislative session was the disregard for physicians’ expertise. It is shocking to witness the lack of credence the Legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte give to state of Montana licensed physicians.
There did not appear to be even one Montana physician who testified in support of Senate Bill 99. There were multiple articulate Montana physicians who testified against the bill. They shared first-hand knowledge about the benefits of gender-affirming care. They spoke of gender-affirming care being “evidence based best practice healthcare.” They shared that gender-affirming care is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Medical Association and The Montana Chapter of The American College of Emergency Physicians. The entire Montana healthcare community was overwhelmingly against SB 99. But Legislators and our governor believe they know better and passed the bill.
Physicians, the physician-patient relationship, and research are valuable. Gianforte and most of our Legislators sent a clear message that they do not share this view. How does this type of legislative overreach affect physicians’ decisions to come to or stay in Montana?
Carol Highland-Fritz
Billings
Outdoors folks still support SB 442
Gov. Greg Gianforte chooses to line the state’s coffers over providing funding for rural Montanans with the veto of Senate Bill 442. SB 442 was a grassroots, widely collaborative effort to dedicate funding derived from the state’s new found adult use marijuana taxes to various special needs of Montanans. This included 20% that must be transferred to the department of transportation and deposited in the county roads habitat access account to be used solely as funding for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of county roads.
In the governor’s veto letter, which describes reasoning behind the decision, Gianforte insinuates local jurisdictions could not be trusted to make sound economic decisions on the distribution of their local tax dollars that could have been freed up if provided with the state assistance to county road maintenance that this bill would have guaranteed.
Additionally, he states this bill “creates the illusion that the state will accept increasing responsibility for matters that are strictly under the jurisdiction of local authorities.”
Montana sportsmen and women from across the state banded together with our rural county neighbors to create this means of pitching in for road maintenance, as although, not all of us live and pay taxes in these counties, we all utilize them to take us on our adventures and have experienced the abuse our county roads can take.
Montana sportsmen and women want to help ease our impacts while supporting our neighbors and that’s why we still support SB 442.
Mike Mershon
Billings
Override veto of SB 442
As a retired Fish and Wildlife biologist and a Montanan who serves on the Board of Directors for Montana Wildlife Federation affiliate Hellgate Hunters & Anglers, I am disappointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442.
Gianforte’s veto of SB 442 takes tens of millions of dollars away from wildlife, rural communities, veterans, and public access — investments that are crucial for the well-being of our state.
As Montana citizens, we must speak up and hold our elected officials accountable to ensure the successful passage of SB 442. This monumental bill reflects the will of Montana voters. It will improve the condition of the land, protect our hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations and offer support and recognition to the heroes and their spouses who served America in the armed services.
Please call the governor’s office or write an op-ed and urge Gianforte to notify the Secretary of State of his veto so she can poll our legislators to override his veto of SB 442 before time’s up.
William Geer
Lolo
More like this...
By month’s end, the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to make policy changes which would have significant impacts on America and the other 193 member countries worldwide. WHO is the health-advisory agency of the United Nations, and a puppet of the CCP.
The Biden administration, without congressional authority, has willingly agreed to give up America’s sovereignty by allowing WHO to make all decisions involving future pandemics or anything they deem an emergency (i.e., the climate-alarmist cult could demand that “climate change” is an emergency). If this happens, these changes cannot be rescinded.
The WHO has plans to require all citizens to have an individual QR type-code on their cellphones, which would digitally contain an individual’s personal, financial, and health care information. WHO would have control of each person’s finances and freedom to travel.
China already holds their citizens “hostage” with similar restrictions, and we witnessed how Canada froze their citizens’ bank accounts during the trucker protests last year. If one doesn’t comply, your movement would be restricted, or your finances would be monitored/regulated. WHO would have the power to shut down businesses, schools, churches, or mandate vaccines since they would have the authority to declare any situation a “health emergency” and it could last for decades.
This planned power transfer to WHO would be the first step toward a totalitarian, one-world government with China ultimately in charge, and the Biden administration is in favor of this radical transformation. This isn't a partisan issue. Spread the word to help stop this.
Cam Browne
Billings
Since 1943, we have had misguided counterculture professors and “scientists” who recommend using controlled substances. 1970’s Marxist counterculture groups promoted the recreational use of LSD and marijuana. These were gateway drugs. Today’s marijuana is 57-67% more potent than 1970. Today’s marijuana can cause psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression. Fifty percent of baby boomers and 49% of Gen X used marijuana. Today, the drug cartels are moving life threatening drugs, like methamphetamine and fentanyl into our community. It is destroying childhoods, individual lives, and families. Divorce, childhood abuse, road rage, and crime are on the rise.
The state courts have responded to this by creating treatment courts. Not all offenders are the same. Some offenders have character disorders. Some had horrible childhood trauma due to parents abusing illegal substances. Sixty percent of offenders have substance use disorder. Fourteen percent of men and 36% of women in prison were abused as children. Treatment courts can help.
For example, in the Montana 13th Judicial District STAR Drug Treatment Court, led by the Hon. Donald L. Harris, the STAR court has saved taxpayers $450,000 in incarceration costs. In 2019, the STAR Court graduates had a 3 Year recidivism rate of 8.6%. STAR Court participants have had 11 healthy babies, saving the taxpayer between $750,000 to $1,400,000 per child between birth and age 18. According to a 2014 study, the average delivery cost for a drug dependent baby is $62,000, compared to the costs of a healthy baby at $4,700. Treatment courts work and should be supported.
Rev. Dr. David Kenat Jr.
Billings
As a retired Fish and Wildlife biologist and a Montanan who serves on the Board of Directors for Montana Wildlife Federation affiliate Hellgate Hunters & Anglers, I am disappointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442.
Gianforte’s veto of SB 442 takes tens of millions of dollars away from wildlife, rural communities, veterans, and public access — investments that are crucial for the well-being of our state.
As Montana citizens, we must speak up and hold our elected officials accountable to ensure the successful passage of SB 442. This monumental bill reflects the will of Montana voters. It will improve the condition of the land, protect our hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations and offer support and recognition to the heroes and their spouses who served America in the armed services.
Please call the governor’s office or write an op-ed and urge Gianforte to notify the Secretary of State of his veto so she can poll our legislators to override his veto of SB 442 before time’s up.
William Geer
Lolo
Gov. Greg Gianforte chooses to line the state's coffers over providing funding for rural Montanans with the veto of Senate Bill 442. SB 442 was a grassroots, widely collaborative effort to dedicate funding derived from the state's new found adult use marijuana taxes to various special needs of Montanans. This included 20% that must be transferred to the department of transportation and deposited in the county roads habitat access account to be used solely as funding for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of county roads.
In the governor's veto letter, which describes reasoning behind the decision, Gianforte insinuates local jurisdictions could not be trusted to make sound economic decisions on the distribution of their local tax dollars that could have been freed up if provided with the state assistance to county road maintenance that this bill would have guaranteed.
Additionally, he states this bill “creates the illusion that the state will accept increasing responsibility for matters that are strictly under the jurisdiction of local authorities.”
Montana sportsmen and women from across the state banded together with our rural county neighbors to create this means of pitching in for road maintenance, as although, not all of us live and pay taxes in these counties, we all utilize them to take us on our adventures and have experienced the abuse our county roads can take.
Montana sportsmen and women want to help ease our impacts while supporting our neighbors and that's why we still support SB 442.
Mike Mershon
Billings
There has been a lot of concern over the national debt recently, and I can’t really disagree that our financial house appears to be out of order. However, in what world does stopping payment on currently accrued debt put our financial house in order?
I understand this is a “negotiating tactic,” but a tactic is only effective if there’s willingness to use it. It seems there are plenty of Republicans willing to fire the missile at the world’s economy. A lot of the noise coming from the right on this subject rings a little hollow.
There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of concern for the debt with the tax cuts a few years back. Also, talk of the debt becomes pretty muted when a Republican is in the White House, and I hate to break it to you, Republican presidents don’t have a great record.
The debt grew by 2.6 times during the Reagan years, and the largest single fiscal year increase in the debt (22%) was in 2020…guess who was president. Rather than pointing fingers, targeting your opponents' programs, and threatening to hamstring the economy if you don’t get your way, how about putting a few of your own sacred cows on the table and say here’s where we’re willing to cut… will you work with us?
Todd Rydquist
Billings
Imagine you are in your physician’s office discussing your condition and the best path forward for treatment based on current best practice. After discussion together you agree on a plan. Suddenly your physician announces, “I need to contact the Montana Legislature to find out what they think is best to do in your situation." This is what our Montana Legislature endorses.
One of many things that appalled me during our last legislative session was the disregard for physicians’ expertise. It is shocking to witness the lack of credence the Legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte give to state of Montana licensed physicians.
There did not appear to be even one Montana physician who testified in support of Senate Bill 99. There were multiple articulate Montana physicians who testified against the bill. They shared first-hand knowledge about the benefits of gender-affirming care. They spoke of gender-affirming care being “evidence based best practice healthcare.” They shared that gender-affirming care is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Medical Association and The Montana Chapter of The American College of Emergency Physicians. The entire Montana healthcare community was overwhelmingly against SB 99. But Legislators and our governor believe they know better and passed the bill.
Physicians, the physician-patient relationship, and research are valuable. Gianforte and most of our Legislators sent a clear message that they do not share this view. How does this type of legislative overreach affect physicians’ decisions to come to or stay in Montana?
Carol Highland-Fritz
Billings
Gov. Greg Gianforte's veto of Senate Bill 442 risks losing a historic opportunity to allocate much-needed funds toward addressing critical issues affecting Montana veterans, counties, rural communities, ranchers, farmers, hunters, wildlife, habitat, and public access. The veto's implications are significant and harm Montanans. SB 442 received broad support from over 130 members of the Montana Legislature, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. This level of bipartisan agreement is commendable, particularly in an era characterized by political division.
Given the substantial support for SB 442, the veto decision by Gianforte is perplexing. To ensure democratic processes are upheld, please contact Gianforte’s office and request that he transmits his veto notification to Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen. This action will initiate the polling process for a legislative vote that could override the veto. Strong democracy requires citizen involvement. Please get involved.
Glenn Elison
Lewistown
End of life care is essential for both the patient and their family. It may be a difficult topic, but it is important to know that hospice exists to provide care throughout the dying process. For the past five months, I have been volunteering at Stillwater Hospice to get a greater understanding of the importance of hospice in a person's life. My duties as a volunteer were to visit patients and help with bereavement clerical duties.
For my bereavement duties, I sent out comforting letters to families whose loved one had already passed. Each envelope includes a letter from the bereavement team, resources offered by the team, and tips and information about grief. Stillwater offers one-on-one grief support and grief groups.
The other part of my volunteering duties were to visit patients and provide companionship. One of my patients was a man who at first seemed annoyed by my presence, but as time went on he talked to me more about his life. By the end of the session, the supposedly grumpy, old man had a smile on his face. After every visit, I realized how important companionship is for dying patients, especially if the family is unable to see them.
Through this volunteering experience, I learned that hospice care is end-of-life care offered to both the patient and the family. The patient receives pain relievers and companionship, while the family is given information on how to handle grief. Hospice is essential to have the most comfortable death possible.
Emily Pfeffer
Billings
Let’s kill some GOP sacred cows
There has been a lot of concern over the national debt recently, and I can’t really disagree that our financial house appears to be out of order. However, in what world does stopping payment on currently accrued debt put our financial house in order?
I understand this is a “negotiating tactic,” but a tactic is only effective if there’s willingness to use it. It seems there are plenty of Republicans willing to fire the missile at the world’s economy. A lot of the noise coming from the right on this subject rings a little hollow.
There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of concern for the debt with the tax cuts a few years back. Also, talk of the debt becomes pretty muted when a Republican is in the White House, and I hate to break it to you, Republican presidents don’t have a great record.
The debt grew by 2.6 times during the Reagan years, and the largest single fiscal year increase in the debt (22%) was in 2020…guess who was president. Rather than pointing fingers, targeting your opponents’ programs, and threatening to hamstring the economy if you don’t get your way, how about putting a few of your own sacred cows on the table and say here’s where we’re willing to cut… will you work with us?
Todd Rydquist
Billings
Treatment courts work for us all
Since 1943, we have had misguided counterculture professors and “scientists” who recommend using controlled substances. 1970’s Marxist counterculture groups promoted the recreational use of LSD and marijuana. These were gateway drugs. Today’s marijuana is 57-67% more potent than 1970. Today’s marijuana can cause psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression. Fifty percent of baby boomers and 49% of Gen X used marijuana. Today, the drug cartels are moving life threatening drugs, like methamphetamine and fentanyl into our community. It is destroying childhoods, individual lives, and families. Divorce, childhood abuse, road rage, and crime are on the rise.
The state courts have responded to this by creating treatment courts. Not all offenders are the same. Some offenders have character disorders. Some had horrible childhood trauma due to parents abusing illegal substances. Sixty percent of offenders have substance use disorder. Fourteen percent of men and 36% of women in prison were abused as children. Treatment courts can help.
For example, in the Montana 13th Judicial District STAR Drug Treatment Court, led by the Hon. Donald L. Harris, the STAR court has saved taxpayers $450,000 in incarceration costs. In 2019, the STAR Court graduates had a 3 Year recidivism rate of 8.6%. STAR Court participants have had 11 healthy babies, saving the taxpayer between $750,000 to $1,400,000 per child between birth and age 18. According to a 2014 study, the average delivery cost for a drug dependent baby is $62,000, compared to the costs of a healthy baby at $4,700. Treatment courts work and should be supported.
Rev. Dr. David Kenat Jr.
Billings
Stop power transfer to WHO
By month’s end, the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to make policy changes which would have significant impacts on America and the other 193 member countries worldwide. WHO is the health-advisory agency of the United Nations, and a puppet of the CCP.
The Biden administration, without congressional authority, has willingly agreed to give up America’s sovereignty by allowing WHO to make all decisions involving future pandemics or anything they deem an emergency (i.e., the climate-alarmist cult could demand that “climate change” is an emergency). If this happens, these changes cannot be rescinded.
The WHO has plans to require all citizens to have an individual QR type-code on their cellphones, which would digitally contain an individual’s personal, financial, and health care information. WHO would have control of each person’s finances and freedom to travel.
China already holds their citizens “hostage” with similar restrictions, and we witnessed how Canada froze their citizens’ bank accounts during the trucker protests last year. If one doesn’t comply, your movement would be restricted, or your finances would be monitored/regulated. WHO would have the power to shut down businesses, schools, churches, or mandate vaccines since they would have the authority to declare any situation a “health emergency” and it could last for decades.
This planned power transfer to WHO would be the first step toward a totalitarian, one-world government with China ultimately in charge, and the Biden administration is in favor of this radical transformation. This isn’t a partisan issue. Spread the word to help stop this.
Cam Browne
Billings
Veto of SB 442 is perplexing
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442 risks losing a historic opportunity to allocate much-needed funds toward addressing critical issues affecting Montana veterans, counties, rural communities, ranchers, farmers, hunters, wildlife, habitat, and public access. The veto’s implications are significant and harm Montanans. SB 442 received broad support from over 130 members of the Montana Legislature, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. This level of bipartisan agreement is commendable, particularly in an era characterized by political division.
Given the substantial support for SB 442, the veto decision by Gianforte is perplexing. To ensure democratic processes are upheld, please contact Gianforte’s office and request that he transmits his veto notification to Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen. This action will initiate the polling process for a legislative vote that could override the veto. Strong democracy requires citizen involvement. Please get involved.
Glenn Elison
Lewistown
Hospice care is essential
End of life care is essential for both the patient and their family. It may be a difficult topic, but it is important to know that hospice exists to provide care throughout the dying process. For the past five months, I have been volunteering at Stillwater Hospice to get a greater understanding of the importance of hospice in a person’s life. My duties as a volunteer were to visit patients and help with bereavement clerical duties.
For my bereavement duties, I sent out comforting letters to families whose loved one had already passed. Each envelope includes a letter from the bereavement team, resources offered by the team, and tips and information about grief. Stillwater offers one-on-one grief support and grief groups.
The other part of my volunteering duties were to visit patients and provide companionship. One of my patients was a man who at first seemed annoyed by my presence, but as time went on he talked to me more about his life. By the end of the session, the supposedly grumpy, old man had a smile on his face. After every visit, I realized how important companionship is for dying patients, especially if the family is unable to see them.
Through this volunteering experience, I learned that hospice care is end-of-life care offered to both the patient and the family. The patient receives pain relievers and companionship, while the family is given information on how to handle grief. Hospice is essential to have the most comfortable death possible.
Emily Pfeffer
Billings
Legislature, gov. ignored physicians
Imagine you are in your physician’s office discussing your condition and the best path forward for treatment based on current best practice. After discussion together you agree on a plan. Suddenly your physician announces, “I need to contact the Montana Legislature to find out what they think is best to do in your situation.” This is what our Montana Legislature endorses.
One of many things that appalled me during our last legislative session was the disregard for physicians’ expertise. It is shocking to witness the lack of credence the Legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte give to state of Montana licensed physicians.
There did not appear to be even one Montana physician who testified in support of Senate Bill 99. There were multiple articulate Montana physicians who testified against the bill. They shared first-hand knowledge about the benefits of gender-affirming care. They spoke of gender-affirming care being “evidence based best practice healthcare.” They shared that gender-affirming care is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Medical Association and The Montana Chapter of The American College of Emergency Physicians. The entire Montana healthcare community was overwhelmingly against SB 99. But Legislators and our governor believe they know better and passed the bill.
Physicians, the physician-patient relationship, and research are valuable. Gianforte and most of our Legislators sent a clear message that they do not share this view. How does this type of legislative overreach affect physicians’ decisions to come to or stay in Montana?
Carol Highland-Fritz
Billings
Outdoors folks still support SB 442
Gov. Greg Gianforte chooses to line the state’s coffers over providing funding for rural Montanans with the veto of Senate Bill 442. SB 442 was a grassroots, widely collaborative effort to dedicate funding derived from the state’s new found adult use marijuana taxes to various special needs of Montanans. This included 20% that must be transferred to the department of transportation and deposited in the county roads habitat access account to be used solely as funding for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of county roads.
In the governor’s veto letter, which describes reasoning behind the decision, Gianforte insinuates local jurisdictions could not be trusted to make sound economic decisions on the distribution of their local tax dollars that could have been freed up if provided with the state assistance to county road maintenance that this bill would have guaranteed.
Additionally, he states this bill “creates the illusion that the state will accept increasing responsibility for matters that are strictly under the jurisdiction of local authorities.”
Montana sportsmen and women from across the state banded together with our rural county neighbors to create this means of pitching in for road maintenance, as although, not all of us live and pay taxes in these counties, we all utilize them to take us on our adventures and have experienced the abuse our county roads can take.
Montana sportsmen and women want to help ease our impacts while supporting our neighbors and that’s why we still support SB 442.
Mike Mershon
Billings
Override veto of SB 442
As a retired Fish and Wildlife biologist and a Montanan who serves on the Board of Directors for Montana Wildlife Federation affiliate Hellgate Hunters & Anglers, I am disappointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of Senate Bill 442.
Gianforte’s veto of SB 442 takes tens of millions of dollars away from wildlife, rural communities, veterans, and public access — investments that are crucial for the well-being of our state.
As Montana citizens, we must speak up and hold our elected officials accountable to ensure the successful passage of SB 442. This monumental bill reflects the will of Montana voters. It will improve the condition of the land, protect our hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations and offer support and recognition to the heroes and their spouses who served America in the armed services.
Please call the governor’s office or write an op-ed and urge Gianforte to notify the Secretary of State of his veto so she can poll our legislators to override his veto of SB 442 before time’s up.
William Geer
Lolo
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