Friday, March 29, 2024
35.0°F

Letters to the editor June 1

| June 1, 2020 1:00 AM

In December 2018 I received an email from Dr. Heather Estrada, agriculture program director at Flathead Valley Community College, informing me she had chosen an intern to help us with our ranch work. I politely explained that we didn’t have time for an intern, thank you but no thank you. She politely corrected me and Courtney Mitchell came into our lives. For that we are grateful.

We have watched Courtney grow and mature into an amazing and confident young adult, and consider it an honor to have been a regular part of her life. She is moving on to Bozeman this fall. We will certainly miss her, but are excited to see her launch into the world with both feet firmly planted. I confidently hand her the keys to the future. For this we credit FVCC. Courtney received very personal attention and instruction. Heather was far more than an advisor to Courtney--she was mentor, coach, and trusted friend. We are so proud of Courtney and wish her the very best life has to offer. And we’re grateful to have FVCC in our community, providing so many life changing advantages to so many people. Thank you, Jane Karas and staff!

—Jim Watson, Kalispell

I am in the “Why not wear a mask?” camp. It is a respectful and responsible act toward others. I wear a homemade cotton mask with a bonded filter. Easy to make and I have several so can launder. A mask and vigilance with distancing … not exactly difficult. In fact, I wager it is easier to mask and distance than to be locked down, ill or bear the guilt of possibly making someone else ill by breathing out unfiltered waste.

If we all behave as if we are asymptomatic spreaders, perhaps we will avoid the 2nd wave and additional economic hardship.

—Elizabeth Summers, Bigfork

As a lover of Liberty I’ve grown to appreciate the failed feminist movement. I can’t wait until the “My Body, My Choice” gals meet Dr. Deborah Birx’s forced vaccinations.

—Roger Dwyer, formerly of Kila

The ineptitude and stupidity with which Trump, and his amateur-hour gang of political hacks and acolytes, has handled the Covid-19 response is absolutely breathtaking.

Every day, we see a new, world-class, fumble. Future scholars will search hard, for many, many, years, to find a governmental response to a serious problem that was so flawed, incoherent, dismissive, and devoid of any factual foundation.

Just consider – on Feb. 26, Trump boasted that the then 15 U.S. Covid cases “within a couple days is going to be down close to zero.” So, as we know, he acted on this worthless assertion and basically did nothing. As a result, we will have 100,000 U.S. deaths by the end of May. And, more after that.

We should also note that the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population and 33% of its Covid-19 deaths – beautiful – kudos to The Donald! How is this remotely defensible?

And then there are The Donald’s repeated and irrelevant comparisons to the regular flu – does anyone recall the regular flu leading to a $8 trillion federal response, the closing of businesses and schools across the country, and an unemployment rate not seen since the 1930s – on top of 100,000 deaths in a three month period?

This has been, and continues to be, national, political, governance at its absolute worst.

This Trump nightmare needs to be fixed quickly, decisively, and hopefully, in a way that nothing like it ever happens again. The American people deserve far better than what the The Donald is capable of providing.

—Francis Allhoff, Whitefish