Letters to the editor Nov. 27
Bipartisan effort
The bipartisan public works bill backed by Senator Jon Tester got the support of 13 Republicans in the House and 19 Republicans in the Senate. The bill will provide an estimated $3.9 billion in new infrastructure spending, about $3,650 per capita, to Montana.
But sadly, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Matt Rosendale were not among lawmakers who supported this legislation that will greatly benefit Montana. But you wait and see, they will eventually take credit for the improvements that will be made. As these two frequently demonstrate, politics is more important than representing what is in the best interest of Montana citizens.
The bulk of the funds are allocated for rebuilding and repairing highways, bridges, public transit infrastructure and airports. In addition, $40 million will help the Blackfeet Tribe improve water quality and sanitation, $271 million will go toward rural water systems, and $100 million is set aside to rehabilitate the deteriorating Milk River Project that supplies irrigation and drinking water to much of the Hi-Line.
Thank you, Senator Tester.
— Barbara Palmer, Whitefish
Get your facts straight
I overhead a conversation at a state park visitor center, a statement by the park employee that our property taxes were increasing due to immigrants coming over the border and into our public school system. This employee, an emigrant from Texas, without doing any research, was stating her opinion, not any actual facts.
Actual student numbers, according to state records, are down. The true cause of our increased property taxes, are emigrants like her and the others from Florida, Arizona, etc. The flood of emigrants from other states have driven real estate prices, and costs of goods.
Get your facts straight or keep your thoughts to yourself.
— Sandy Young, Kalispell
Rittenhouse verdict
It’s frightening just how much the media lies and how many people believe those lies. Let’s use the Rittenhouse case as an example.
If you watched any of the trial, you would have heard testimony and seen evidence that clearly showed what actually happened that night in Kenosha. Facts matter. Here are just a very few of those facts:
Kyle Rittenhouse did not cross state lines with a weapon.
Kyle Rittenhouse is not a vigilante and did not go out to hunt down and kill Black Lives Matter protesters. He was there to help clean up and protect his community. Video and witness testimony show him cleaning graffiti and rendering first aid to protesters.
Kyle Rittenhouse did not hunt down Jacob Rosenbaum. Video and witness testimony show clearly that Rosenbaum stalked him, threatened several times to kill him, and attacked him.
Kyle Rittenhouse did not wildly shoot his gun. He shot his gun (which he was legally allowed to carry under Wisconsin state law) only after he was attacked and shot only his attackers. Gaige Grosskreutz, a prosecution witness, stated under oath in court that Kyle shot him only after Grosskreutz aimed his gun at Kyle. (A gun, incidentally, that Grosskreutz carried across state lines with and was carrying illegally.)
None of the men Kyle shot were black, contrary to media reports. There is no evidence whatsoever that Kyle Rittenhouse is now or ever has been a white supremacist or that this incident was racially motivated.
Now that the case is over and Kyle has been rightfully acquitted, have any of these liars walked back their lies? To the contrary, they’ve doubled down and their rhetoric is more vitriolic than ever. They’ve lied about this, what else have they lied about? Just about everything.
— Cynthia Granmo, Whitefish