Letters to the editor June 25
Dr. Myerowitz’s letter to the editor (“Liberals are dividing us,” June 11) denying the existence of systemic racial bias in our society demonstrates a (willful?) ignorance of the gulf between our founding principles and our actions.
Taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem does not disrespect our flag. Taking cash bribes sitting in your vice-presidential office while proclaiming super patriotism does. Lying about police actions does. Attacking peaceful demonstrators does.
It is past time we defend human rights for all. Besides equal treatment by law enforcement we need to address conditions harming the unfortunate children suffering from poor nutrition, poor education, poor healthcare and being kidnapped at the border from their parent’s arms by a lawless administration.
—Betty J. Kuffel, Whitefish
Tuesday morning, we found my sister’s cat, Goosey, lying under the car. She was limp and barely able to breathe. My sister gently picked her up and we took her to Glacier Animal Hospital. Teetering precariously between life and death, the vet did all he could do to keep her alive including giving her oxygen. He ran a variety of tests to determine the cause of her condition. He checked her heart and her lungs. Did ultrasounds and checked her blood. Late in the day on Wednesday, he finally concluded that Goosey had ingested Cholecalciferol Rodenticide. He said that she must have eaten a mouse or a mole or a gopher, which had been poisoned. Goosey came home Wednesday evening. She can hardly walk. She barely eats. She has frequent seizures. It is uncertain whether she will survive and if she does, the quality of her life.
I tell you Goosey’s story so that if you use poison to kill rodents you will consider the ripple effect of what you are doing. Please check your poison. If it contains Cholecalciferol Rodenticide, which is an overdose of Vitamin D3, please do not use it. Any animal that eats the dead or dying rodent will suffer and likely die a horrible death. This includes dogs, cats and birds. Please go online and type in Cholecalciferol Rodenticide to get more information about the unintended impacts it has on pets and wildlife.
—Mickale Carter, Columbia Falls
The Postal Service (USPS) is in serious financial trouble. This constitutionally-mandated service is vital to the operation of commerce and to the lives of ordinary citizens. I have read that Mr. Trump has threatened to veto any funding measure because he has an issue with Jeff Bezos. If so, what is the issue? Why should we suffer because of this apparent spat?
We all depend on the USPS to deliver bills, bill payments, letters, postcards, newspapers, legal notifications, and now – election ballots. These things cannot be replaced with internet services for a many. The FCC indicates that, in the recent past, 19 million Americans did not have access to broadband service. 25% of residents in rural areas and 33% of residents of rural areas lacked this service. Even where this service is provided how many of us, not to mention the elderly, want to depend solely on the internet with system outages, forced computer upgrades, user name and password changes, third level authentication, hacking, unsolicited promotions, etc.
Can we switch to UPS or FedEx for regular mail? As a test I recently sent three single page letters from Kalispell to Pensacola, Florida using USPS, FedEx and UPS. The UPS and FedEx letters were sent cheapest way. The USPS letter was sent 1st Class mail. The result? The USPS letter arrived in three days and cost $0.55. The FedEx letter arrived in one day and cost $11. The UPS letter arrived in seven days and cost $12.31.
Fund the USPS now! If a veto occurs override the veto!
—Charles Davis, Columbia Falls