The recent decline in Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s poll numbers sheds some light on a disturbing trend in American politics — the re-emergence of religious bigotry.
Although Romney’s political platform is identical with the Religious Right’s on abortion, homosexuality, etc., conservative Christian evangelicals will not vote for him solely because of his faith. Robert Jeffress, a Baptist pastor from Dallas, said recently — and quite dispassionately — “Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Mormonism is not Christianity. Mormonism is a cult.” Theological conformity trumps political agreement. Is this the extent to which our political discourse has evolved over 231 years?
I wouldn’t vote for Romney, not because he is a Mormon, but because of his political platform. Find me a candidate who pledges to rescind this immoral war, to restore America’s reputation in the world, to place environmental protection on par with corporate profits and poor people on par with wealthy donors, to let women decide their own reproductive fate, and who thinks freedom of religion means any — or no — religion, then I wouldn’t care if he (or she) was Mormon, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, atheist, or Presbyterian. I might even vote for him if he were — dare I say it? — an evangelical Christian.
W. Craig Heymann
Dec 26, 2007
Dec 10, 2007
Perverse Amendment per Craig
Perverse amendment
Voters need to understand some things about Rick Jore and his Constitution Party’s proposed “right to life” constitutional amendment.First, the initiative proposes changing the phrase “All persons are born free…” to “All persons are created free…” — unmistakable language revealing the underlying inspiration. Courts strike down legislation on First Amendment grounds if the intent or effect is to promote religion. The religious intent here is clear. One would think a “Constitution” Party would know this.Further, in declaring that a “person” is “a human being at…fertilization” and “has a paramount…right to life,” this amendment throws privacy into turmoil. Would medical decisions affecting pregnancies be subject to criminal inquiry? Is a pregnant woman drinking wine with dinner serving alcohol to a minor? Could illegals claim citizenship for a child they claim was conceived in Montana? This initiative is a legal can of worms. (Incidentally, Jore’s original bill said “that the ‘right to life’ does not affect the death penalty,” making one wonder what “right to life” really means.)It’s easy to just sign their petition, let them have their vote, then assume they’ll quit after losing. They won’t. When you’re on a mission from God, defeated initiatives and constitutionality are irrelevant.
W. Craig Heymann
Voters need to understand some things about Rick Jore and his Constitution Party’s proposed “right to life” constitutional amendment.First, the initiative proposes changing the phrase “All persons are born free…” to “All persons are created free…” — unmistakable language revealing the underlying inspiration. Courts strike down legislation on First Amendment grounds if the intent or effect is to promote religion. The religious intent here is clear. One would think a “Constitution” Party would know this.Further, in declaring that a “person” is “a human being at…fertilization” and “has a paramount…right to life,” this amendment throws privacy into turmoil. Would medical decisions affecting pregnancies be subject to criminal inquiry? Is a pregnant woman drinking wine with dinner serving alcohol to a minor? Could illegals claim citizenship for a child they claim was conceived in Montana? This initiative is a legal can of worms. (Incidentally, Jore’s original bill said “that the ‘right to life’ does not affect the death penalty,” making one wonder what “right to life” really means.)It’s easy to just sign their petition, let them have their vote, then assume they’ll quit after losing. They won’t. When you’re on a mission from God, defeated initiatives and constitutionality are irrelevant.
W. Craig Heymann
Dec 9, 2007
No Proof? per Hansen
Muddled thinking, believing in global warming a religion? I had to reread this letter several times to try and understand what this guy's point was. I can only guess he is another thiest who does not understand how the scientific method is supposed to work. I can probably safely assume this guy doesn't believe in Evolution either. When I am asked if I believe in Evolution, my response is always, I don't "believe" in Evolution, but I "support" the theory of Evolution.
I read with great disappointment the editorial in the Independent Record on Sunday, Nov. 25. Science is not based on “consensus.” It doesn’t matter if 10 percent of scientists believe something, or 99 percent do, it still does not mean it is true.The scientific method is described as starting with a hypothesis, and then trying to either prove or disprove it. Beliefs have nothing to do with it. This smacks of a religion to me.
It can’t be proved, but people sure can believe in it.Real scientists would find out, one, if global warming is happening, and two, if man is part or all of the cause. Man’s activities affect less than 10 percent of all the carbon dioxide expelled into the atmosphere. We need to examine all possible reasons for any global warming that may be occurring.By the way, global warming and climate change are not the same thing. There is absolutely no proof that global warming has anything to do with climate change. Climate change has been occurring since day one and no matter what we think, we will not be able to affect the change in the climate. It is exactly the same as trying to change next week’s weather.
William Hansen
I read with great disappointment the editorial in the Independent Record on Sunday, Nov. 25. Science is not based on “consensus.” It doesn’t matter if 10 percent of scientists believe something, or 99 percent do, it still does not mean it is true.The scientific method is described as starting with a hypothesis, and then trying to either prove or disprove it. Beliefs have nothing to do with it. This smacks of a religion to me.
It can’t be proved, but people sure can believe in it.Real scientists would find out, one, if global warming is happening, and two, if man is part or all of the cause. Man’s activities affect less than 10 percent of all the carbon dioxide expelled into the atmosphere. We need to examine all possible reasons for any global warming that may be occurring.By the way, global warming and climate change are not the same thing. There is absolutely no proof that global warming has anything to do with climate change. Climate change has been occurring since day one and no matter what we think, we will not be able to affect the change in the climate. It is exactly the same as trying to change next week’s weather.
William Hansen
Dec 6, 2007
Under God!?
Hello!!!, has no one told him where the phrase under god comes from?! I am beside myself over this tonight. Ignorance reigns in the Republican Party
IThe former Massachusetts governor also sought to use the occasion to sound a call for greater religious thought in daily civic life.
"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God," Romney said.
"The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust," he added.
"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God," Romney said.
"The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust," he added.
Teen birth rate
I am surprised no one mentioned abortion. Either the abortion rate has stayed the same or increased and therefore not mentioned concerning the increase in teen pregnancy?
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.
The rise in teen births may be a statistical blip and not the beginning of a new upward trend, officials said.
The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.
The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.
However, some experts said they have been expecting a jump. They attributed it to increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.
Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.
"It's not rocket science," she said.
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.
The rise in teen births may be a statistical blip and not the beginning of a new upward trend, officials said.
The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.
The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.
However, some experts said they have been expecting a jump. They attributed it to increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.
Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.
"It's not rocket science," she said.
Dec 5, 2007
Mass Production of Pot?
I have been listening to various free thought pod casts and during one there was discussion about legalizing pot. I am against it.
Not because I think it’s a "sin" but to put it on the market is as bad as what has happened with alcohol and cigarettes. If you look back not too far in the past, one couldn't walk into a convenience store and buy a case of beer and a carton of cigarettes. It’s too easy now a days to get large amounts of what’s bad for you. And some people think that’s what we should do with pot?!
I think not. I have another idea.
Legalize pot, but allow no one to mass produce and sell it!
Grow it yourself for personal use only. This should also include alcohol and tobacco. Make your own beer and wine. Then people would tend not to drink or smoke so much if it’s not so convenient. It’s how it used to be. I had a friend who made his own beer and it was very good.
These Vices have become big business and the corporations do not care if cheap beer and cigarettes is killing people.
Radical?Considering how many people are being arrested for DUIs and how many people are being killed by drunk drivers, the medical risks for smokers. What else can be done?
It’s only an idea.
Of course the best thing to do is not to use any of these products. But, even Christ drank wine.
Not because I think it’s a "sin" but to put it on the market is as bad as what has happened with alcohol and cigarettes. If you look back not too far in the past, one couldn't walk into a convenience store and buy a case of beer and a carton of cigarettes. It’s too easy now a days to get large amounts of what’s bad for you. And some people think that’s what we should do with pot?!
I think not. I have another idea.
Legalize pot, but allow no one to mass produce and sell it!
Grow it yourself for personal use only. This should also include alcohol and tobacco. Make your own beer and wine. Then people would tend not to drink or smoke so much if it’s not so convenient. It’s how it used to be. I had a friend who made his own beer and it was very good.
These Vices have become big business and the corporations do not care if cheap beer and cigarettes is killing people.
Radical?Considering how many people are being arrested for DUIs and how many people are being killed by drunk drivers, the medical risks for smokers. What else can be done?
It’s only an idea.
Of course the best thing to do is not to use any of these products. But, even Christ drank wine.
Dec 2, 2007
God saves (some) stray cats
Again, God gets all the credit. This drives me crazy. I had to post it. Journalists shouldn't be allowed to print these "God is Great" promotion stories. The story itselft was interesting and I enjoyed it until at the very end, in the last sentence God was given the credit! I thought in Journalism there was a ethical standard for reporting? (the truth?!?) My father was a journalist and I do not think he ever printed a soppy miracle story like this. Were are the facts? Did God send down an angel to save this cat, did he do it himself? Were there any witnesses? No, a human being or two tracked this feral cat down and rescued it!
Here is the story
Cat Survives 19 Days With Jar Stuck On Head
Family Catches Cat With Fishing Net, Removes Object
BARTLETT, Tenn. -- Tabitha Cain has fed a feral cat she calls Wild Oats for several years, but now she's thinking of changing its name to Survivor.
That's because she said the cat survived for 19 days with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head.
"We tried to get her, but being the type of cat you can't catch, she kept running and hiding," said Doretha Cain, Tabitha's mother.
The family saw the cat several times and tried in vain to catch her. She disappeared for a week, and the Cains feared the worst.
"I thought she was going to die with that jar on her head," Tabitha Cain said.
They found the once chubby cat on Wednesday, too thin and weak to escape. They caught her with a fishing net and used some oil to get the jar off her head.
They gave her water and treated her wounds and on Friday she began to eat again.
"I've heard of cats having nine lives but I think this one has 19 because she survived 19 days," Doretha Cain said.
Dr. Gerald Blackburn, a veterinarian at Gentle Care Animal hospital in Memphis, said he's heard similar stories of pets getting trapped for days or even weeks at a time and surviving.
Blackburn said the cat may have lived off of its excess fat, but Doretha Cain had another explanation.
"God will take care of animals just like people because that cat is really a miracle," she said.
Here is the story
Cat Survives 19 Days With Jar Stuck On Head
Family Catches Cat With Fishing Net, Removes Object
BARTLETT, Tenn. -- Tabitha Cain has fed a feral cat she calls Wild Oats for several years, but now she's thinking of changing its name to Survivor.
That's because she said the cat survived for 19 days with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head.
"We tried to get her, but being the type of cat you can't catch, she kept running and hiding," said Doretha Cain, Tabitha's mother.
The family saw the cat several times and tried in vain to catch her. She disappeared for a week, and the Cains feared the worst.
"I thought she was going to die with that jar on her head," Tabitha Cain said.
They found the once chubby cat on Wednesday, too thin and weak to escape. They caught her with a fishing net and used some oil to get the jar off her head.
They gave her water and treated her wounds and on Friday she began to eat again.
"I've heard of cats having nine lives but I think this one has 19 because she survived 19 days," Doretha Cain said.
Dr. Gerald Blackburn, a veterinarian at Gentle Care Animal hospital in Memphis, said he's heard similar stories of pets getting trapped for days or even weeks at a time and surviving.
Blackburn said the cat may have lived off of its excess fat, but Doretha Cain had another explanation.
"God will take care of animals just like people because that cat is really a miracle," she said.
Nov 29, 2007
A Horrible Joke
Below is an email from a Co-Worker that I did not appreciate getting. I don't like any type fundementalism Christian or Muslim, but I would not want to make one sick and possibly die!
This was sent to me (co-worker) and I thought I’d share it with my friends.
An Amish farmer was walking through his field, & noticed a man drinking from his pond, with his hand. The Amish man shouted: 'Trink das wasser nicht. Die kuhen haben dahin gesheissen.' Which means: 'Don't drink the water, the cows have shit in it.'
The man shouted back: 'I'm a Muslim, I don't understand. Please speak in English.' The Amish man said: 'Use two hands. You'll get more.'
This was sent to me (co-worker) and I thought I’d share it with my friends.
An Amish farmer was walking through his field, & noticed a man drinking from his pond, with his hand. The Amish man shouted: 'Trink das wasser nicht. Die kuhen haben dahin gesheissen.' Which means: 'Don't drink the water, the cows have shit in it.'
The man shouted back: 'I'm a Muslim, I don't understand. Please speak in English.' The Amish man said: 'Use two hands. You'll get more.'
Oct 26, 2007
It’s not suicide per Pat
In your Oct. 18 article on the court case to allow terminally ill Montanans to request physician aide with dying, we are introduced to Robert Baxter and Steve Stoelb, Montanans with terminal illnesses; these men have filed a lawsuit to establish their right to ask their physicians for medications they could self administer to bring about a peaceful death if their dying process becomes intolerable to them. Unfortunately, the reporter refers to this as “assisted suicide,” an emotionally charged and inaccurate term.This is not “suicide” in any normal sense. While it has, in the past, been inaccurately used to describe physician aid in dying, “suicide” has been rejected by patients and by leading health and medical organizations, including the American Public Health Association and he Oregon Department of Human Services, where the practice of aid in dying has been legal for a decade.Those opposed to aid in dying on personal, moral or religious grounds will continue to use the incendiary and inaccurate term “assisted suicide;” I’m hopeful that journalists will give this issue the dignity and respect it deserves by using the term agreed to by professionals working in the emotionally charged arena of death and dying.
Pat Tucker
500 Jorgy Way
Hamilton
Pat Tucker
500 Jorgy Way
Hamilton
Oct 9, 2007
Oral Robert's Death Threat by God
Need not comment on this one do I
Television evangelist Oral Roberts' latest fundraising tactic, threatening God will kill him if viewers don't send in money, describes alleged conversation with God, asks for money in order to live past March.
Television evangelist Oral Roberts' latest fundraising tactic, threatening God will kill him if viewers don't send in money, describes alleged conversation with God, asks for money in order to live past March.
Oct 8, 2007
John Dominic Crossan's Seminar
Damn I missed it?!@# I find it very frustrating when I hear about these things after they happened. I read the paper everyday and did not see any mention of this seminar.
I googled him and he was instrumental in the controversial Jesus Seminar. He doubts the supernatural aspects of the Jesus story and states that the bible was not to be taken literally. This would be my dream job, being a Biblical scholar or something to do with the study of religions. Now it's only a hobby.
Great series
There are many events that remind me of the advantages of living in Helena. This past weekend was perhaps the most meaningful as we were privileged to be able to hear from one of the most emminent Biblical scholars of our generation, John Dominic Crossan, lecturing in Montana for the first time in his career. My wife and I attended his three-part lecture series with great anticipation, but it is safe the event far surpassed those expectations. Mr. Crossan’s insights, humor, and humility provided for captivating and thought-provoking sessions where the time just flew by. It was no small feat for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church to make this possible. The considerable costs required a significant ticket price and a fundraising silent auction, and I suspect money from their general fund as well. They provided something wonderful for our community, and I wish to recognize that publicly with great gratitude.
Craig Wright
I googled him and he was instrumental in the controversial Jesus Seminar. He doubts the supernatural aspects of the Jesus story and states that the bible was not to be taken literally. This would be my dream job, being a Biblical scholar or something to do with the study of religions. Now it's only a hobby.
Great series
There are many events that remind me of the advantages of living in Helena. This past weekend was perhaps the most meaningful as we were privileged to be able to hear from one of the most emminent Biblical scholars of our generation, John Dominic Crossan, lecturing in Montana for the first time in his career. My wife and I attended his three-part lecture series with great anticipation, but it is safe the event far surpassed those expectations. Mr. Crossan’s insights, humor, and humility provided for captivating and thought-provoking sessions where the time just flew by. It was no small feat for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church to make this possible. The considerable costs required a significant ticket price and a fundraising silent auction, and I suspect money from their general fund as well. They provided something wonderful for our community, and I wish to recognize that publicly with great gratitude.
Craig Wright
water-witching
Every year along with aliens messing with cows, there is a water-witching article. I find it concerning a science teacher would think this really works.
Halloween is coming up, and its almost guarenteed there will be an article in the newspaper about some local claiming to have the ability to talk to the dead. This is not news, its entertainment.
Boulder man shares passion for knowledge with all
By MARGA LINCOLN, Independent Record 10/08/07
BOULDER — “I’m interested in everything,” said Sam Samson, fresh from his morning run and preparing for a water-witching outing later in the day.A common thread running through Samson’s many interests is his love for learning and teaching and his joy of the outdoors.Many Jefferson County residents know Samson as a much-loved, now retired, Boulder teacher and a respected former Jefferson County commissioner.Although he was interviewed recently at the rural home he built with his wife, Joanne, it would have been more fitting to nab him with a crowd of children on a hike.He taught both junior high science and high school German and Russian at Boulder from 1968 to 1994. When Samson talks about kids and teaching, his eyes light up and stories begin to flow.Many of his science classes were outdoors. He taught children about what was in their own backyard — the trees and flowers, streams and mountain ranges............
Halloween is coming up, and its almost guarenteed there will be an article in the newspaper about some local claiming to have the ability to talk to the dead. This is not news, its entertainment.
Boulder man shares passion for knowledge with all
By MARGA LINCOLN, Independent Record 10/08/07
BOULDER — “I’m interested in everything,” said Sam Samson, fresh from his morning run and preparing for a water-witching outing later in the day.A common thread running through Samson’s many interests is his love for learning and teaching and his joy of the outdoors.Many Jefferson County residents know Samson as a much-loved, now retired, Boulder teacher and a respected former Jefferson County commissioner.Although he was interviewed recently at the rural home he built with his wife, Joanne, it would have been more fitting to nab him with a crowd of children on a hike.He taught both junior high science and high school German and Russian at Boulder from 1968 to 1994. When Samson talks about kids and teaching, his eyes light up and stories begin to flow.Many of his science classes were outdoors. He taught children about what was in their own backyard — the trees and flowers, streams and mountain ranges............
Oct 2, 2007
Yankoff's Letter to the Editor
I wonder if that's really his last name.
Constitution needs some oil
So long as Bush and Cheney use greed and evangelism to regale the prurient-pecuniary interests of wealthy Americans the battle in Iraq will continue. It will be driven along like the dilapidated high mileage Cadillac it has become. Made rickety by constantly steering out of ethical ruts like Guantanamo Bay, New Orleans, premature victory rituals, dead American soldiers, $400 billion dollar debt, civil rights take-backs, homeland insecurity, and oil-grabs, the Cadillac is in the borrow pit. Bouncing along with his cabinet boys waving to the select group of racists and Christians on the shoulder greedily waving back, the dog and pony show continues. The world knows not to trust us. The Muslims understand this new form of economic cleansing; Americans bathing in their petroleum. Whoever thought racism would be applied to economics?
Wayne Yankoff
4315 US Highway 12 W
Constitution needs some oil
So long as Bush and Cheney use greed and evangelism to regale the prurient-pecuniary interests of wealthy Americans the battle in Iraq will continue. It will be driven along like the dilapidated high mileage Cadillac it has become. Made rickety by constantly steering out of ethical ruts like Guantanamo Bay, New Orleans, premature victory rituals, dead American soldiers, $400 billion dollar debt, civil rights take-backs, homeland insecurity, and oil-grabs, the Cadillac is in the borrow pit. Bouncing along with his cabinet boys waving to the select group of racists and Christians on the shoulder greedily waving back, the dog and pony show continues. The world knows not to trust us. The Muslims understand this new form of economic cleansing; Americans bathing in their petroleum. Whoever thought racism would be applied to economics?
Wayne Yankoff
4315 US Highway 12 W
Sep 23, 2007
'God' Gets an Attorney in Lawsuit
Of course this attorney assumes God is the Christian god. I think Chambers was describing best the old testament god in his lawsuit. (The angry jealous god)Were is the Jewish lawyer response?
LINCOLN, Neb. - The mystery of one response to a lawsuit against God has been solved. Eric Perkins, an attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Friday he filed a response to the lawsuit from Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers. "It's kind of a turn on 'What would Jesus do?'" Perkins said. "I thought to myself, "what would God say?"
"Defendant denies that this or any court has jurisdiction ... over Him any more than the court has jurisdiction over the wind or rain, sunlight or darkness," according to Perkins' response.
As for Chambers' contention that God made terroristic threats, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization," Perkins wrote that God "contends that any harm or injury suffered is a direct and proximate result of mankind ignoring obvious warnings."
Perkins, who said he is a Christian, faxed one of at least two responses to Chambers' lawsuit. He said while he hopes the lawsuit was just a stunt by Chambers, "maybe his timing has something to do with world affairs. I'd hate to be that person who sat back and did nothing."
The problem of serving God a summons could land the lawsuit in the earthly scrap heap of failed legal actions.
But whether the issue goes before a judge may largely depend on how hard Chambers pushes the issue. The senator isn't asking that notice be served to God, but says in his lawsuit that if he doesn't get a summary judgment in the case, he wants a hearing _ "if the court deems such a hearing not to be a futile act."
Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic, said he's trying to makes the point that anybody can sue anybody. He said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous.
It's still not clear where a second response from "God" came from. There was no contact information on the filing, which turned up on the counter at the Douglas County Court office, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness.
LINCOLN, Neb. - The mystery of one response to a lawsuit against God has been solved. Eric Perkins, an attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Friday he filed a response to the lawsuit from Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers. "It's kind of a turn on 'What would Jesus do?'" Perkins said. "I thought to myself, "what would God say?"
"Defendant denies that this or any court has jurisdiction ... over Him any more than the court has jurisdiction over the wind or rain, sunlight or darkness," according to Perkins' response.
As for Chambers' contention that God made terroristic threats, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization," Perkins wrote that God "contends that any harm or injury suffered is a direct and proximate result of mankind ignoring obvious warnings."
Perkins, who said he is a Christian, faxed one of at least two responses to Chambers' lawsuit. He said while he hopes the lawsuit was just a stunt by Chambers, "maybe his timing has something to do with world affairs. I'd hate to be that person who sat back and did nothing."
The problem of serving God a summons could land the lawsuit in the earthly scrap heap of failed legal actions.
But whether the issue goes before a judge may largely depend on how hard Chambers pushes the issue. The senator isn't asking that notice be served to God, but says in his lawsuit that if he doesn't get a summary judgment in the case, he wants a hearing _ "if the court deems such a hearing not to be a futile act."
Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic, said he's trying to makes the point that anybody can sue anybody. He said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous.
It's still not clear where a second response from "God" came from. There was no contact information on the filing, which turned up on the counter at the Douglas County Court office, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness.
Sep 22, 2007
God Responds - court lacks jurisdiction
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- A legislator who filed a lawsuit against God has gotten something he might not have expected: a response.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he sued God last week to make a point about frivolous lawsuits.
One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha.
"This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here -- poof!" Friend said.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sued God last week, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty for making terroristic threats, inspiring fear and causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic who often criticizes Christians, said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous. He said he's trying to make the point that anybody can sue anybody.
Not so, says "God." His response argues that the defendant is immune from some earthly laws and the court lacks jurisdiction.
It adds that blaming God for human oppression and suffering misses an important point.
"I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you," according to the response, as read by Friend.
There was no contact information on the filing, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness, Friend said.
A second response from "God" disputing Chambers' allegations lists a phone number for a Corpus Christi law office. A message left for that office was not immediately returned Thursday.
Attempts to reach Chambers by phone and at his Capitol office Thursday were unsuccessful. E-mail to a friend
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he sued God last week to make a point about frivolous lawsuits.
One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha.
"This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here -- poof!" Friend said.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sued God last week, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty for making terroristic threats, inspiring fear and causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic who often criticizes Christians, said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous. He said he's trying to make the point that anybody can sue anybody.
Not so, says "God." His response argues that the defendant is immune from some earthly laws and the court lacks jurisdiction.
It adds that blaming God for human oppression and suffering misses an important point.
"I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you," according to the response, as read by Friend.
There was no contact information on the filing, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness, Friend said.
A second response from "God" disputing Chambers' allegations lists a phone number for a Corpus Christi law office. A message left for that office was not immediately returned Thursday.
Attempts to reach Chambers by phone and at his Capitol office Thursday were unsuccessful. E-mail to a friend
Sep 19, 2007
Kids need education not religion
Scourge of meth is waning
By IR Staff - 09/19/07
Great news rang loudly from the state Capitol Tuesday, as findings of a new report on methamphetamine use among Montana teenagers indicated another drastic drop in use of the dirty scourge.
The new results, released by the Centers for Disease Control, the Montana Meth Project and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, show meth use by Montana high school students has dropped 66 percent in the past eight years since the first such survey of risky behavior was conducted, and the rate of use has finally dipped below the 10 percent mark — a significant benchmark to curbing its appeal, use and impact.
That’s fantastic on all levels — and we have the Montana Meth Project to thank.
The Montana Meth Project, with its in-your-face, disgusting ads on television, billboards and in newspapers across the state, is working. Since its launch in 2005, meth use among our teens has dropped by 50 percent.
It’s no wonder.
Each phase of the ad campaign, which targets eliminating meth use before it ever begins with its “not even once” slogan, has progressively become more repulsive. The ads first showed meth’s destructive force in graphic pictures — rotting teeth, gaping sores and sunken identities. In this the third phase, the Montana Meth Project has grossly depicted the residual effect, the impact not only on users, but on their loved ones and friends, too.
There’s no arguing meth is a dirty drug that has no place in our society. In many rural and urban communities across the nation where the drug still runs rampant, meth use accounts for up to 80 percent of property crime as addicts steal anything — including aluminum rails off bridges — to bankroll their habits.
The new report indicates that, since the Meth Project was launched, meth-related crime in Montana has dropped 50 percent. Workers testing positive for meth has declined an impressive 70 percent, the largest drop in the country.
Says Dr. Rick Rawson, associate director of Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at UCLA and a foremost national authority on meth: “These results are very impressive. The Montana Meth Project has made a major investment in the people of Montana and it appears to have paid big dividends. This report clearly shows that the Meth Project’s campaign is having an impact, and the message is getting through effectively. Teen attitudes toward meth in Montana have shifted dramatically, especially when compared to the rest of the nation.”
A big source of the drastic decline, aside from the hard-hitting ads, has been improved communication between parents and teens. The project has raised awareness and fostered family discussion, where true abstinence begins.
These are cheerful accomplishments. Progress is indisputable.
But where do we take it from here? Montana is clearly the example, so how do we maintain our progress and the level of funding it takes to pull it off? How do we get other states — every state — to jump on board and extinguish this cantankerous problem for good?
By IR Staff - 09/19/07
Great news rang loudly from the state Capitol Tuesday, as findings of a new report on methamphetamine use among Montana teenagers indicated another drastic drop in use of the dirty scourge.
The new results, released by the Centers for Disease Control, the Montana Meth Project and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, show meth use by Montana high school students has dropped 66 percent in the past eight years since the first such survey of risky behavior was conducted, and the rate of use has finally dipped below the 10 percent mark — a significant benchmark to curbing its appeal, use and impact.
That’s fantastic on all levels — and we have the Montana Meth Project to thank.
The Montana Meth Project, with its in-your-face, disgusting ads on television, billboards and in newspapers across the state, is working. Since its launch in 2005, meth use among our teens has dropped by 50 percent.
It’s no wonder.
Each phase of the ad campaign, which targets eliminating meth use before it ever begins with its “not even once” slogan, has progressively become more repulsive. The ads first showed meth’s destructive force in graphic pictures — rotting teeth, gaping sores and sunken identities. In this the third phase, the Montana Meth Project has grossly depicted the residual effect, the impact not only on users, but on their loved ones and friends, too.
There’s no arguing meth is a dirty drug that has no place in our society. In many rural and urban communities across the nation where the drug still runs rampant, meth use accounts for up to 80 percent of property crime as addicts steal anything — including aluminum rails off bridges — to bankroll their habits.
The new report indicates that, since the Meth Project was launched, meth-related crime in Montana has dropped 50 percent. Workers testing positive for meth has declined an impressive 70 percent, the largest drop in the country.
Says Dr. Rick Rawson, associate director of Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at UCLA and a foremost national authority on meth: “These results are very impressive. The Montana Meth Project has made a major investment in the people of Montana and it appears to have paid big dividends. This report clearly shows that the Meth Project’s campaign is having an impact, and the message is getting through effectively. Teen attitudes toward meth in Montana have shifted dramatically, especially when compared to the rest of the nation.”
A big source of the drastic decline, aside from the hard-hitting ads, has been improved communication between parents and teens. The project has raised awareness and fostered family discussion, where true abstinence begins.
These are cheerful accomplishments. Progress is indisputable.
But where do we take it from here? Montana is clearly the example, so how do we maintain our progress and the level of funding it takes to pull it off? How do we get other states — every state — to jump on board and extinguish this cantankerous problem for good?
Sep 17, 2007
NE Senator Suing God
Frivolous? I think it's a great idea.
OMAHA, Neb -- State Senator Ernie Chambers is suing God. He says it to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits.
Chambers says senators periodically have offered bills prohibiting the filing of certain types of suits. He says his main objection is the constitution requires that the doors to the courthouse be open to all. Chambers said, "Thus anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody - even God."
Chambers said he decided to file this lawsuit after a suit was filed in early September in federal court against Lancaster County Judge Jeffre Cheuvront. He's the judge who was hearing a sexual assault case, where the woman wants to use the words "rape and victim" during her testimony.
Chambers lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in Douglas County Court, seeks a permanent injunction ordering God to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats.
The lawsuit admits God goes by all sorts of alias, names, titles and designations and it also recognizes the fact that the defendant is “Omnipresent”.
In the lawsuit Chambers says he’s tried to contact God numerous times, “Plaintiff, despite reasonable efforts to effectuate personal service upon Defendant (“Come out, come out, wherever you are”) has been unable to do so.”
The suit also requests that the court given the “peculiar circumstances” of this case waive personal service. It says being Omniscient, the plaintiff assumes God will have actual knowledge of the action.
The lawsuit accuses God “of making and continuing to make terroristic threats of grave harm to innumerable persons, including constituents of Plaintiff who Plaintiff has the duty to represent.”
It says God has caused, “fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues, ferocious famines, devastating droughts, genocidal wars, birth defects, and the like.”
The suit also says God has caused, “calamitous catastrophes resulting in the wide-spread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants including innocent babes, infants, children, the aged and infirm without mercy or distinction.”
Chambers also says God “has manifested neither compassion nor remorse, proclaiming that Defendant “will laugh” when calamity comes.
Chambers asks for the court to grant him a summary judgement. He says as an alternative, he wants the judge to set a date for a hearing as “expeditiously” as possible and enter a permanent injunction enjoining God from engaging in the types of deleterious actions and the making of terroristic threats described in the lawsuit.
OMAHA, Neb -- State Senator Ernie Chambers is suing God. He says it to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits.
Chambers says senators periodically have offered bills prohibiting the filing of certain types of suits. He says his main objection is the constitution requires that the doors to the courthouse be open to all. Chambers said, "Thus anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody - even God."
Chambers said he decided to file this lawsuit after a suit was filed in early September in federal court against Lancaster County Judge Jeffre Cheuvront. He's the judge who was hearing a sexual assault case, where the woman wants to use the words "rape and victim" during her testimony.
Chambers lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in Douglas County Court, seeks a permanent injunction ordering God to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats.
The lawsuit admits God goes by all sorts of alias, names, titles and designations and it also recognizes the fact that the defendant is “Omnipresent”.
In the lawsuit Chambers says he’s tried to contact God numerous times, “Plaintiff, despite reasonable efforts to effectuate personal service upon Defendant (“Come out, come out, wherever you are”) has been unable to do so.”
The suit also requests that the court given the “peculiar circumstances” of this case waive personal service. It says being Omniscient, the plaintiff assumes God will have actual knowledge of the action.
The lawsuit accuses God “of making and continuing to make terroristic threats of grave harm to innumerable persons, including constituents of Plaintiff who Plaintiff has the duty to represent.”
It says God has caused, “fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues, ferocious famines, devastating droughts, genocidal wars, birth defects, and the like.”
The suit also says God has caused, “calamitous catastrophes resulting in the wide-spread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants including innocent babes, infants, children, the aged and infirm without mercy or distinction.”
Chambers also says God “has manifested neither compassion nor remorse, proclaiming that Defendant “will laugh” when calamity comes.
Chambers asks for the court to grant him a summary judgement. He says as an alternative, he wants the judge to set a date for a hearing as “expeditiously” as possible and enter a permanent injunction enjoining God from engaging in the types of deleterious actions and the making of terroristic threats described in the lawsuit.
John Stokes of Kalispell
Right-wing radio host selling Flathead station
By MICHAEL JAMISON - Missoulian - 09/17/07
KALISPELL — John Stokes, the on-air personality who once called environmentalists “green Nazis” and burned green swastikas at rallies, has put his radio station here up for sale with a national brokerage house specializing in moving media outlets.The move follows recent Montana Supreme Court rulings that Stokes did not have rights to as much land as he claimed, and that the state had not, as Stokes alleged, bribed landowners to eliminate the easement upon which his radio towers sit.It’s a low-key conclusion to a volatile era in the Flathead, an era in which the community was explosively divided over the scope of government, and the traditional freedoms of the West.What the pending sale of his radio station means depends upon whom you ask. His detractors say he has ranted his way out of business. Stokes says he’s just gearing up for bigger and better things, including perhaps his syndicated debut on the national stage.Either way, it signals a change, a revolution that seems to have been triggered not, as some feared, by the shot heard ’round the valley, but by the ka-ching of the cash register.
Stokes moved to the Flathead Valley in the early 1990s, just as a countywide land-use plan was working its way toward completion.Those were tricky times in the Flathead, times when traditional woods workers found themselves out of a job and pushed to the brink. Unemployment was high, and wages low.The reasons for timber’s decline were many, but the easiest targets the most visible and accessible were environmentalists and the government, in particular the U.S. Forest Service.It was, in some ways, a perfect storm of Sagebrush Rebellion, during which an unexpected alliance was formed between blue-collar locals disenfranchised by the flagging timber industry and ideologues already opposed to government rule.And so when the government Flathead County, this time started making noises about controlling individuals’ use of their private property, it was a bit like “putting a match to tinder,” in the words of former county attorney Tom Esch.Whatever else he might have been, Stokes was provocative, and though he wasn’t elected he had certainly made his mark. His full impact on the valley, however, would not be felt until 2000, when Stokes bought an AM radio station south of Kalispell. Suddenly he had a pulpit, a place where the phones were constantly lit up.He called liberals and conservationists “pure, unadulterated satanic evil,” and equated them to terrorists.Stokes’ advice: “Finish them off and make sure they don’t have babies.”He named names, even announced where some high-profile environmentalists lived.The more he talked, the more the phones lit up. This was no radical fringe; this was Main Street calling.q q qDuring that decade, every single elected official winning a partisan race at every level of government in the Flathead was a Republican.“The Old West myth of unlimited space and freedom was unraveling, and I think there was a real feeling of every man for himself, and in the name of God everybody get a gun,” said Kate Hunt. “Everything blew up in fear and panic. I definitely didn’t feel like I was represented by my government.”Hunt has become something of an arch-nemesis for Stokes, a liberal watchdog who listens to and even tapes his shows to use against him. She joined the Montana Human Rights Network, formed a Flathead chapter, launched a Web site to both track and attack Stokes.It was a time of documented death threats coming from both sides, of tires flattened and windshields smashed. It was easy to get paranoid back then, Hunt said. People were, after all, coming to public meetings with guns on their hips.“It was a nasty, messy business that for a while captured the Flathead County electorate,” said George Darrow, former Republican head of the Montana Senate. “There was a very unfortunate cast of characters framing the discussion.”These days, the cast of characters remains much the same, but the discussion is framed in an entirely new way.It’s mind-boggling, really, to hear Hunt say this about Stokes: “You know, I have to admit, sometimes I agree with him these days. He gets going on the insurance industry, or corporate greed, and he’s dead on. I’ll agree with him, but his reasoning is just nuts.”Again, who’s nuts depends upon whom you ask.Today, the time of sharp division between party lines appears to have passed.“The extreme voices seem to have overplayed their hand,” Darrow said.Tom Esch never much liked all the name-calling and anger, especially when he found himself on the receiving end, but he’s as quick as Hunt to admit, surprisingly, that at least part of him misses those years of vigorous debate. Is it better, he wonders, to be a flavorless oatmeal in a very expensive bowl, or a spicy hot tamale on a paper plate?q q qHunt, liberal as she is, complains that the parties sound too much the same these days, “reduced to set statements so similar that you can’t tell them apart.”And Stokes who opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq but for reasons very different from Hunt’s now grouses about the “well-heeled,” the rich who move in, buy a big house, “get bored and start developing things. Chill out,” Stokes said. “Relax. You don’t have to build a mall or a golf course. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”So what has happened in the Flathead that these two now agree on so much, and does it have anything to do with the pending sale of the station?Some have said Stokes’ brand of rabble-rousing has become irrelevant, but Esch wonders if it’s not that the whole conversation has become irrelevant.“People here aren’t talking about timber sales anymore,” Esch said. “They’re talking about the new $30 million high school, or the investments at the community college.”When you have a house and a steady paycheck, Hunt agreed, it’s harder to keep up the anger and the passion.“They’ve shut down the resource industry,” Stokes admitted. “There’s no argument there anymore.”Stokes, however, does seem to have an argument with just about everyone else.q q qHe fought the Montana Department of Transportation over a right-of-way, then fought his own lawyer in that case. The state wants to rekindle that court battle to recover attorney fees.He fought the landowners over whose field his towers tower, and he lost. He fought the state, arguing officials had bribed those landowners to reel in his easement, and lost again.Now, his FCC license is being challenged, because “the Montana Human Rights Nitwits have an agenda to shut me down.” And, he’s fighting the city of Kalispell because they want his towers gone so they can expand the municipal airport.That he could survive the many legal battles is, perhaps, testament to the level of support he enjoyed for most of a decade here.But that he’s put the station on the market, Hunt said, is testament to how a changing culture tipped the scales.q q qChanging times aside, it would be a mistake to count John Stokes out.The timber wars may be over, and Stokes may not like the result, but these days he has bigger fish to fry. Today, he’s wearing a bright-red sweatshirt that says “Yum: start a feeding frenzy,” and you can’t help but get the idea that’s just what he’s going to do.That despite the fact that Stokes recently was referred to by the local press as the “once-controversial” radio host at KGEZ.“Maybe everyone’s agreeing with me,” he laughed. “Maybe that’s why I’m not controversial.”In fact, he said, “I haven’t backed off a bit. I scare myself sometimes with the things I say.”Stokes is eyeing a national radio platform from which he can tap that anger.Hunt believes that anger, and Stokes’ appeal, “diminishes in relation to the valley’s increase in jobs and opportunities.”Many of those opportunities result from exactly the sort of environmental conservation Stokes fought against. Columbia Falls used to advertise itself as the “industrial hub of the Flathead Valley.” Now, it’s the “gateway to Glacier Park.”Also, Hunt said, the newcomers and there are many of those don’t even know about the timber wars and the planning fights.“We just got tired,” Hunt said. “You can’t keep up that level of intensity forever.”But, she admits, “if he sells the station there is a side of me that will miss him. He’s a whacko, but he’s our whacko.”And maybe, just maybe, John Stokes helped the Flathead retain its blue-collar roots, she said, and not become an over-regulated playground for the rich like Jackson Hole.“He’s abrasive,” she said, “and too harsh. But he’s not all wrong. Sure, we liberals want open space, but at what price? On a farmer’s back? That can’t work. Now that he’s in perspective, and you can hear what he’s saying, he’s not always wrong.”She actually dreads the day he sells and is replaced by “some generic corporate programming.”“There’s a side of me that regrets this whole thing,” Hunt said. “We all thought it was going to end in some huge explosion, but it’s all come to a kind of pathetic, depressing, dismal end.”Well, not if John Stokes has anything to do with it.
By MICHAEL JAMISON - Missoulian - 09/17/07
KALISPELL — John Stokes, the on-air personality who once called environmentalists “green Nazis” and burned green swastikas at rallies, has put his radio station here up for sale with a national brokerage house specializing in moving media outlets.The move follows recent Montana Supreme Court rulings that Stokes did not have rights to as much land as he claimed, and that the state had not, as Stokes alleged, bribed landowners to eliminate the easement upon which his radio towers sit.It’s a low-key conclusion to a volatile era in the Flathead, an era in which the community was explosively divided over the scope of government, and the traditional freedoms of the West.What the pending sale of his radio station means depends upon whom you ask. His detractors say he has ranted his way out of business. Stokes says he’s just gearing up for bigger and better things, including perhaps his syndicated debut on the national stage.Either way, it signals a change, a revolution that seems to have been triggered not, as some feared, by the shot heard ’round the valley, but by the ka-ching of the cash register.
Stokes moved to the Flathead Valley in the early 1990s, just as a countywide land-use plan was working its way toward completion.Those were tricky times in the Flathead, times when traditional woods workers found themselves out of a job and pushed to the brink. Unemployment was high, and wages low.The reasons for timber’s decline were many, but the easiest targets the most visible and accessible were environmentalists and the government, in particular the U.S. Forest Service.It was, in some ways, a perfect storm of Sagebrush Rebellion, during which an unexpected alliance was formed between blue-collar locals disenfranchised by the flagging timber industry and ideologues already opposed to government rule.And so when the government Flathead County, this time started making noises about controlling individuals’ use of their private property, it was a bit like “putting a match to tinder,” in the words of former county attorney Tom Esch.Whatever else he might have been, Stokes was provocative, and though he wasn’t elected he had certainly made his mark. His full impact on the valley, however, would not be felt until 2000, when Stokes bought an AM radio station south of Kalispell. Suddenly he had a pulpit, a place where the phones were constantly lit up.He called liberals and conservationists “pure, unadulterated satanic evil,” and equated them to terrorists.Stokes’ advice: “Finish them off and make sure they don’t have babies.”He named names, even announced where some high-profile environmentalists lived.The more he talked, the more the phones lit up. This was no radical fringe; this was Main Street calling.q q qDuring that decade, every single elected official winning a partisan race at every level of government in the Flathead was a Republican.“The Old West myth of unlimited space and freedom was unraveling, and I think there was a real feeling of every man for himself, and in the name of God everybody get a gun,” said Kate Hunt. “Everything blew up in fear and panic. I definitely didn’t feel like I was represented by my government.”Hunt has become something of an arch-nemesis for Stokes, a liberal watchdog who listens to and even tapes his shows to use against him. She joined the Montana Human Rights Network, formed a Flathead chapter, launched a Web site to both track and attack Stokes.It was a time of documented death threats coming from both sides, of tires flattened and windshields smashed. It was easy to get paranoid back then, Hunt said. People were, after all, coming to public meetings with guns on their hips.“It was a nasty, messy business that for a while captured the Flathead County electorate,” said George Darrow, former Republican head of the Montana Senate. “There was a very unfortunate cast of characters framing the discussion.”These days, the cast of characters remains much the same, but the discussion is framed in an entirely new way.It’s mind-boggling, really, to hear Hunt say this about Stokes: “You know, I have to admit, sometimes I agree with him these days. He gets going on the insurance industry, or corporate greed, and he’s dead on. I’ll agree with him, but his reasoning is just nuts.”Again, who’s nuts depends upon whom you ask.Today, the time of sharp division between party lines appears to have passed.“The extreme voices seem to have overplayed their hand,” Darrow said.Tom Esch never much liked all the name-calling and anger, especially when he found himself on the receiving end, but he’s as quick as Hunt to admit, surprisingly, that at least part of him misses those years of vigorous debate. Is it better, he wonders, to be a flavorless oatmeal in a very expensive bowl, or a spicy hot tamale on a paper plate?q q qHunt, liberal as she is, complains that the parties sound too much the same these days, “reduced to set statements so similar that you can’t tell them apart.”And Stokes who opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq but for reasons very different from Hunt’s now grouses about the “well-heeled,” the rich who move in, buy a big house, “get bored and start developing things. Chill out,” Stokes said. “Relax. You don’t have to build a mall or a golf course. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”So what has happened in the Flathead that these two now agree on so much, and does it have anything to do with the pending sale of the station?Some have said Stokes’ brand of rabble-rousing has become irrelevant, but Esch wonders if it’s not that the whole conversation has become irrelevant.“People here aren’t talking about timber sales anymore,” Esch said. “They’re talking about the new $30 million high school, or the investments at the community college.”When you have a house and a steady paycheck, Hunt agreed, it’s harder to keep up the anger and the passion.“They’ve shut down the resource industry,” Stokes admitted. “There’s no argument there anymore.”Stokes, however, does seem to have an argument with just about everyone else.q q qHe fought the Montana Department of Transportation over a right-of-way, then fought his own lawyer in that case. The state wants to rekindle that court battle to recover attorney fees.He fought the landowners over whose field his towers tower, and he lost. He fought the state, arguing officials had bribed those landowners to reel in his easement, and lost again.Now, his FCC license is being challenged, because “the Montana Human Rights Nitwits have an agenda to shut me down.” And, he’s fighting the city of Kalispell because they want his towers gone so they can expand the municipal airport.That he could survive the many legal battles is, perhaps, testament to the level of support he enjoyed for most of a decade here.But that he’s put the station on the market, Hunt said, is testament to how a changing culture tipped the scales.q q qChanging times aside, it would be a mistake to count John Stokes out.The timber wars may be over, and Stokes may not like the result, but these days he has bigger fish to fry. Today, he’s wearing a bright-red sweatshirt that says “Yum: start a feeding frenzy,” and you can’t help but get the idea that’s just what he’s going to do.That despite the fact that Stokes recently was referred to by the local press as the “once-controversial” radio host at KGEZ.“Maybe everyone’s agreeing with me,” he laughed. “Maybe that’s why I’m not controversial.”In fact, he said, “I haven’t backed off a bit. I scare myself sometimes with the things I say.”Stokes is eyeing a national radio platform from which he can tap that anger.Hunt believes that anger, and Stokes’ appeal, “diminishes in relation to the valley’s increase in jobs and opportunities.”Many of those opportunities result from exactly the sort of environmental conservation Stokes fought against. Columbia Falls used to advertise itself as the “industrial hub of the Flathead Valley.” Now, it’s the “gateway to Glacier Park.”Also, Hunt said, the newcomers and there are many of those don’t even know about the timber wars and the planning fights.“We just got tired,” Hunt said. “You can’t keep up that level of intensity forever.”But, she admits, “if he sells the station there is a side of me that will miss him. He’s a whacko, but he’s our whacko.”And maybe, just maybe, John Stokes helped the Flathead retain its blue-collar roots, she said, and not become an over-regulated playground for the rich like Jackson Hole.“He’s abrasive,” she said, “and too harsh. But he’s not all wrong. Sure, we liberals want open space, but at what price? On a farmer’s back? That can’t work. Now that he’s in perspective, and you can hear what he’s saying, he’s not always wrong.”She actually dreads the day he sells and is replaced by “some generic corporate programming.”“There’s a side of me that regrets this whole thing,” Hunt said. “We all thought it was going to end in some huge explosion, but it’s all come to a kind of pathetic, depressing, dismal end.”Well, not if John Stokes has anything to do with it.
Jul 19, 2007
Caretaking per Rev. Su DeBree
Remember growing bacteria cultures in high school general science? Contaminating sterile agar-agar with toe jam, multicolored spots appeared within a few days. Eventually one colony consumed all others and ended in a stinky dish of death. Isn’t it interesting that the term we most often use to describe human beings is “consumers”?
Alternatively, many faith traditions teach that the good world is created through the living word of a loving creator, and that humans are to care for it. The Judeo-Christian interpretation of humankind having dominion ought not be license to exploit the earth.
Flying across Alaska’s tundra recently, I noticed far more potholes than when I taught there forty years ago. Inupiaq friends described how later freeze-up and earlier breakup on local rivers affects their lives. In our neighborhood, a short drive over Flescher Pass reveals mile after mile of ghost forests, killed by insect infestations.
Thoughtful plans for action are emerging to counteract the human-caused changes to this planet’s life. It is critical that we work together to begin implanting them now, and that we stop considering ourselves consumers, but accept our responsibility to be caretakers in creation.
Rev. Su DeBree
1106 Wilder Ave.
Alternatively, many faith traditions teach that the good world is created through the living word of a loving creator, and that humans are to care for it. The Judeo-Christian interpretation of humankind having dominion ought not be license to exploit the earth.
Flying across Alaska’s tundra recently, I noticed far more potholes than when I taught there forty years ago. Inupiaq friends described how later freeze-up and earlier breakup on local rivers affects their lives. In our neighborhood, a short drive over Flescher Pass reveals mile after mile of ghost forests, killed by insect infestations.
Thoughtful plans for action are emerging to counteract the human-caused changes to this planet’s life. It is critical that we work together to begin implanting them now, and that we stop considering ourselves consumers, but accept our responsibility to be caretakers in creation.
Rev. Su DeBree
1106 Wilder Ave.
Jul 8, 2007
Socrates Cafe' in Helena
Discussion group takes on the big ideas
By ANGELA BRANDT - IR Staff Writer - 07/08/07
For those who have ever pondered — Does love at first sight exist? Is there a supreme being? Why do our dogs see us as their master? — Helenan Tom Cladouhos has a group for you.
By the way, his answer to that last question: “Because we’re good guys,” Cladouhos responded with a chuckle.
“Also because we know how to open cans of dog food,” he added.
Cladouhos has begun a discussion group, a Socrates Café, which opines on an array of topics once a month. The meeting is not like debate class, he said, and members are not looking to win but rather searching for the truth.
“It is not about argument but about discovery,” he said.
The group, which usually attracts a handful of participants, meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Staggering Ox. They begin at 6 p.m. and philosophize until they get the boot at closing time at 8 p.m.
At the start of the meeting, those gathered each pose a question. The group then votes on which they will discuss. At the group’s meeting Tuesday, five men gathered in the corner of the sandwich shop to reflect on the presence of a supreme being.
The men talked about how and if God differentiates between prayers and their importance, if morals and ethics would exist without a supreme being and whether or not prayer is fruitful.
This month’s group included some who are religious and others self-described as “non-believers.” The conversations swayed from intense retrospection to lighthearted joking.
Retired Helenan Bill Campbell attended the Socrates Café for the first time Tuesday. He said he will definitely return.
“That was the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in quite some time,” Campbell said.
An indicator of a successful meeting is when participants leave the discussion with more questions than which they began, he said. The idea isn’t to find a definitive answer but to continue pondering.
Cladouhos started the meeting after attending a similar one in Whitefish and reading the book “Socrates Café” by Christopher Phillips.
Denverite Ron Jepson, 55, saw a listing in the Independent Record about the Stagger Ox meeting while he was here on vacation and decided to attend.
“I love this kind of stuff,” Jepson said with a grin after the discussion.
Although Tuesday’s was his first meeting, Jepson said he will look to participate in a similar gatherings when he returns home to Colorado.
Anyone is welcome to the Helena discussions.
Contact Cladouhos for further information at 443-7376.
By ANGELA BRANDT - IR Staff Writer - 07/08/07
For those who have ever pondered — Does love at first sight exist? Is there a supreme being? Why do our dogs see us as their master? — Helenan Tom Cladouhos has a group for you.
By the way, his answer to that last question: “Because we’re good guys,” Cladouhos responded with a chuckle.
“Also because we know how to open cans of dog food,” he added.
Cladouhos has begun a discussion group, a Socrates Café, which opines on an array of topics once a month. The meeting is not like debate class, he said, and members are not looking to win but rather searching for the truth.
“It is not about argument but about discovery,” he said.
The group, which usually attracts a handful of participants, meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Staggering Ox. They begin at 6 p.m. and philosophize until they get the boot at closing time at 8 p.m.
At the start of the meeting, those gathered each pose a question. The group then votes on which they will discuss. At the group’s meeting Tuesday, five men gathered in the corner of the sandwich shop to reflect on the presence of a supreme being.
The men talked about how and if God differentiates between prayers and their importance, if morals and ethics would exist without a supreme being and whether or not prayer is fruitful.
This month’s group included some who are religious and others self-described as “non-believers.” The conversations swayed from intense retrospection to lighthearted joking.
Retired Helenan Bill Campbell attended the Socrates Café for the first time Tuesday. He said he will definitely return.
“That was the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in quite some time,” Campbell said.
An indicator of a successful meeting is when participants leave the discussion with more questions than which they began, he said. The idea isn’t to find a definitive answer but to continue pondering.
Cladouhos started the meeting after attending a similar one in Whitefish and reading the book “Socrates Café” by Christopher Phillips.
Denverite Ron Jepson, 55, saw a listing in the Independent Record about the Stagger Ox meeting while he was here on vacation and decided to attend.
“I love this kind of stuff,” Jepson said with a grin after the discussion.
Although Tuesday’s was his first meeting, Jepson said he will look to participate in a similar gatherings when he returns home to Colorado.
Anyone is welcome to the Helena discussions.
Contact Cladouhos for further information at 443-7376.
Jun 18, 2007
Evolution a religion per D.W. (Dumb Witt)
More on evolution
Over the years I have listened to the passionate debate between two religions. The debate between God’s creationist and Darwin’s evolutionist. One side believes in creative intelligent design and the other believes in an accident of chaos.The creationist believes that we are a moral, spiritual being of God’s creation and more than just another “animal.”The evolutionist believes that there is no God and man evolved from animals or is just a “little smarter animal.” Some teach creationism to their children, but all our children are taught the contradicting evolutionary theory as fact in our schools. Well, the debate should be over because current archaeology has shown that the evolutionist dinosaur timeline is wrong, making the whole evolutionary theory wrong. The conclusive evidence is well laid out in the book “Secrets of the Ica Stones and Nazca Lines” by Dennis Swift. I know this book may help some out of the pit of evolutionism, but probably most will continue in their ignorance because they cannot deal with the reality that there is a God.We all choose where we place our faith, but should our children continue to be taught the false religion of evolution in our schools?
D.W. MillerP.O. Box 190
Over the years I have listened to the passionate debate between two religions. The debate between God’s creationist and Darwin’s evolutionist. One side believes in creative intelligent design and the other believes in an accident of chaos.The creationist believes that we are a moral, spiritual being of God’s creation and more than just another “animal.”The evolutionist believes that there is no God and man evolved from animals or is just a “little smarter animal.” Some teach creationism to their children, but all our children are taught the contradicting evolutionary theory as fact in our schools. Well, the debate should be over because current archaeology has shown that the evolutionist dinosaur timeline is wrong, making the whole evolutionary theory wrong. The conclusive evidence is well laid out in the book “Secrets of the Ica Stones and Nazca Lines” by Dennis Swift. I know this book may help some out of the pit of evolutionism, but probably most will continue in their ignorance because they cannot deal with the reality that there is a God.We all choose where we place our faith, but should our children continue to be taught the false religion of evolution in our schools?
D.W. MillerP.O. Box 190
Beth a Scientist and Faithful
Too broad a brush
In response to D.W. Miller’s letter June 13, which attacks scientists as godless people, I say: don’t paint us all with the same brush, sir! In my many years as a scientist, I have taught junior high, high school, and college. I have taught biology, chemistry, and physics. When I taught biology, I taught evolution as part of it. And I am a church-going woman with unshakable faith in God. So don’t paint us all with the same brush. A good scientist knows that we don’t know everything. A good scientist is filled with wonder at the beauty and intricacy of the world. Personally, when I see the beauty and intricacy of the world, I am filled with awe and praise for The Maker.
Beth Murphy104 Elmwood Lane
In response to D.W. Miller’s letter June 13, which attacks scientists as godless people, I say: don’t paint us all with the same brush, sir! In my many years as a scientist, I have taught junior high, high school, and college. I have taught biology, chemistry, and physics. When I taught biology, I taught evolution as part of it. And I am a church-going woman with unshakable faith in God. So don’t paint us all with the same brush. A good scientist knows that we don’t know everything. A good scientist is filled with wonder at the beauty and intricacy of the world. Personally, when I see the beauty and intricacy of the world, I am filled with awe and praise for The Maker.
Beth Murphy104 Elmwood Lane
Jun 14, 2007
Mr Wise Silly per Mary
William Wise, it is obvious to me and should be obvious to anyone reading your rant in Friday’s IR Your Turn, that there should be an emphasis on “retired” by your name. Where on earth are you getting your information. Please tell me exactly what school health teacher is telling their students to “bath together, use body massage, read and watching erotic material together?” Sir you are full of bologna. Parents should be teaching abstinence in their homes; too bad it isn’t happening in all homes. It is the job of health educators to provide all information to their students. It is a FACT that a majority of teenagers are engaging in sexual behaviors and are you suggesting that we should turn the other way while saying ... please save sex until marriage? That mentality and practice has led to higher STD rates and higher pregnancy rates, which in turn will inevitably lead to more abortions. I say parents should do their jobs at home and health teachers should provide our youth with the knowledge they NEED in the real world. And retired physicians should do a better job of gathering their facts before they write to their local newspaper.
Mary VanderMars, East Helena
Good Job Mary!
Mary VanderMars, East Helena
Good Job Mary!
Jun 9, 2007
Two good letters back to back today
Theocracy? No wayIn response to Michael Fasbender’s letter to Reader’s Alley of May, 24, addressing censorship and asking “ who’s afraid of God.” I’d like to remind him of this: In theocratically ruled nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the former Taliban of Afghanistan, etc., it is MANDITORY that school students study and memorize the Koran. Their laws are religious based and punishments include stoning, cutting off of hands, executions by beheadings, etc. I, sir, do not want to live in a theocracy — are you sure you do? Please be thankful you can enjoy your religion freely in your home and your church, with your family and friends. I realize you love your religion, and your God, but you are on a slippery slope of asking for a Christian theocracy (remember they have an Islamic theocracy). We live in a free country with many peoples of many beliefs. But more to the point, science belongs in science class and religion belongs in home and church — let’s keep it that way. And don’t forget, it’s all been fine so far with over 90 percent of Americans believing in God — it doesn’t sound like anyone is “afraid of God” to me.Janine Hunt5295 Hidden Valley Drive
Evolution primerTo answer Jim Standaert’s letter of June 1:Evolution is the process by which new species develop from older species. Generally, a species is a related group of organisms which are able to reproduce only with their own kind. (There’s more to it than that, but I have only 200 words.)Some mechanisms of evolution are:— Natural selection. Some traits may help an organism survive better than others. If those traits are passed on, they may become prevalent.— Sexual selection. Peahens prefer flashier peacocks. Flashier peacocks prevailed.— Genetic drift. Not all genes are expressed in any given population. If, say, a fire kills half a population, those genes will be removed from the gene pool.— Geographical isolation. A population may become isolated from its parent population, and adapt to the new environment.— Mutation. Most mutations are harmful, but some are helpful.Speciation has been observed in living populations. DNA and fossils prove it’s happened before.Biologists admit they don’t know everything. Creationists say they do know everything, so we shouldn’t try to learn more. They mix miracles, junk science and balderdash to fill the gaps. That’s why it shouldn’t be taught in science classes—except as an example of how not to do science.Adam Laceky649 N. Ewing
Evolution primerTo answer Jim Standaert’s letter of June 1:Evolution is the process by which new species develop from older species. Generally, a species is a related group of organisms which are able to reproduce only with their own kind. (There’s more to it than that, but I have only 200 words.)Some mechanisms of evolution are:— Natural selection. Some traits may help an organism survive better than others. If those traits are passed on, they may become prevalent.— Sexual selection. Peahens prefer flashier peacocks. Flashier peacocks prevailed.— Genetic drift. Not all genes are expressed in any given population. If, say, a fire kills half a population, those genes will be removed from the gene pool.— Geographical isolation. A population may become isolated from its parent population, and adapt to the new environment.— Mutation. Most mutations are harmful, but some are helpful.Speciation has been observed in living populations. DNA and fossils prove it’s happened before.Biologists admit they don’t know everything. Creationists say they do know everything, so we shouldn’t try to learn more. They mix miracles, junk science and balderdash to fill the gaps. That’s why it shouldn’t be taught in science classes—except as an example of how not to do science.Adam Laceky649 N. Ewing
Dr. Wise AGAIN
Liberals are off base on abstinence
By William Wise - Your Turn - 06/08/07
Last month the IR printed an editorial by Tom Teepen in which he castigated President Bush for foolishly spending millions of dollars uselessly on Abstinence Education.Teepen went on to point out in unnamed “studies” that Abstinence Education had failed.First, in 1995 Congress passed Title V funding for Abstinence Education. The bill was signed by President Clinton. It provided 50 million dollars over a five year period which becomes 10 million a year and actually amounted to $1.33 per student. Not what one could consider a large amount. It had been renewed and even increased over the years until now. Speaker Pelosi is trying to stop all Abstinence Ed. funding at this time. Governor Schweitzer blocked all abstinence education in Montana shortly after taking office. This is because of great pressure from the pro abortionists (Planned Parenthood), NARAL and NOW and Focus on Kids who had applied great political and financial pressure on the Democrats. The National Education Association (the teachers union) has long promoted gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender education in our public schools grades K-12. This is wildly supported by our equally liberal and pro homosexual Office of Public Instruction going back to the reign of Nancy Keenan. In 2002, the government spent 653 million on contraceptive programs for teens and 144 million was spent on abstinence education. When all the comprehensive sex ed, contraception, condom and planned parenthood monies the government spends is taken into account it is more like 10 dollars for liberal sex programs as compared to one dollar spent on abstinence programs.In reality, comprehensive sex education is nothing more than “safe sex” programs wrapped in a label. They spend little time on abstinence and the overwhelming focus is on encouraging teens to have sex and use condoms. Basically, they are saying it is OK for teens to have sex as long as they use condoms. Their curriculum includes “eroticizing condom use with your partner,” “think up sexual fantasy using condoms” and “hide a condom on your body and ask your partner to find it,” etc. The curriculum of Focus on Kids includes ways of being close, as bathing together, body massage, reading and watching erotic (pornographic) material together.Parents overwhelmingly support the values and messages of true abstinence education. Polls have shown that up to 91 percent of parents want teens to be taught that sex should wait till marriage. The same 91 percent want schools to teach that teens be expected to abstain during high school years. In schools where abstinence education has been taught, STD’s and pregnancy rates have dropped. This is just another case wherein the liberals completely ignore the vast majority of voters to inject their destructive “morals” into our lives at the expense of our otherwise great society.William D. Wise of 10 Wallace Road in Clancy is a retired physician.
By William Wise - Your Turn - 06/08/07
Last month the IR printed an editorial by Tom Teepen in which he castigated President Bush for foolishly spending millions of dollars uselessly on Abstinence Education.Teepen went on to point out in unnamed “studies” that Abstinence Education had failed.First, in 1995 Congress passed Title V funding for Abstinence Education. The bill was signed by President Clinton. It provided 50 million dollars over a five year period which becomes 10 million a year and actually amounted to $1.33 per student. Not what one could consider a large amount. It had been renewed and even increased over the years until now. Speaker Pelosi is trying to stop all Abstinence Ed. funding at this time. Governor Schweitzer blocked all abstinence education in Montana shortly after taking office. This is because of great pressure from the pro abortionists (Planned Parenthood), NARAL and NOW and Focus on Kids who had applied great political and financial pressure on the Democrats. The National Education Association (the teachers union) has long promoted gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender education in our public schools grades K-12. This is wildly supported by our equally liberal and pro homosexual Office of Public Instruction going back to the reign of Nancy Keenan. In 2002, the government spent 653 million on contraceptive programs for teens and 144 million was spent on abstinence education. When all the comprehensive sex ed, contraception, condom and planned parenthood monies the government spends is taken into account it is more like 10 dollars for liberal sex programs as compared to one dollar spent on abstinence programs.In reality, comprehensive sex education is nothing more than “safe sex” programs wrapped in a label. They spend little time on abstinence and the overwhelming focus is on encouraging teens to have sex and use condoms. Basically, they are saying it is OK for teens to have sex as long as they use condoms. Their curriculum includes “eroticizing condom use with your partner,” “think up sexual fantasy using condoms” and “hide a condom on your body and ask your partner to find it,” etc. The curriculum of Focus on Kids includes ways of being close, as bathing together, body massage, reading and watching erotic (pornographic) material together.Parents overwhelmingly support the values and messages of true abstinence education. Polls have shown that up to 91 percent of parents want teens to be taught that sex should wait till marriage. The same 91 percent want schools to teach that teens be expected to abstain during high school years. In schools where abstinence education has been taught, STD’s and pregnancy rates have dropped. This is just another case wherein the liberals completely ignore the vast majority of voters to inject their destructive “morals” into our lives at the expense of our otherwise great society.William D. Wise of 10 Wallace Road in Clancy is a retired physician.
Jun 3, 2007
Must be dumb, per Dan
EvolutionI guess I must be as dumb as the primordial slime that life is suppose to have come from. I had not noticed the heated debate that is going on about evolution or the attempts by the scientist to dismiss anyone that would question their theories and try to stop any debate. I watched a movie on Showtime Monday night about this subject and some of the history that they brought up was that the religious men of the past tried to stop at all cost the advancement of science. It looks to me that the scientists of today are trying to do the same to the people with the intelligent design theory. Just like evolution it is still a theory but the evolutionists have their egos so out of whack that they are as blind as the men of the past. These scientists walk around thinking they are right and everyone that dares to question them is wrong, gee doesn’t that sound familiar.Give the people paying for the education both sides and let them come up with their own conclusions. P.S. yes this also is meant for the religious side.Dan Butkay1635 Poplar
Yes, Dan you are dumb. Scientific theory is not supposed to be decided on by public opinion.
Yes, Dan you are dumb. Scientific theory is not supposed to be decided on by public opinion.
May 29, 2007
A Strange World per Tom
Strange worldTom Rasmussen, in arguing that the church deserves its place in our schools, gives us a quick introduction to the world of voodoo thermodynamics. It is an interesting world. It does not rain or snow, minerals do not crystallize, and entropy dictates ruthlessly. And there is no evolution. Mr. Rasmussen is free and welcome to live in this world. But this is not the person we want instructing science teachers.I do not welcome politicians meddling with school curriculum, nor do I expect that our churches would welcome mandatory thermodynamics lectures. In Mr. Rasmussen’s world, my opposition to his position is hysterical. It is every bit as hysterical as our Constitution. While our Constitution doesn’t cover the principles of scientific inquiry, it contains a wealth of information concerning the principles underlying the nation we live in. I hope there is a complete copy of this document available for those who have chosen to live in Mr. Rasmussen’s world.
Tom Henderson
Tom Henderson
May 20, 2007
She blames the devil
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- A woman blames the devil, and not her husband, for severely burning their infant daughter in a microwave, a Texas television station reported.
Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua's efforts to become a preacher.
"Satan saw my husband as a threat," Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.
Talk about a huge ego, to say Satan's afraid of a 19 year old wannabe preacher
Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua's efforts to become a preacher.
"Satan saw my husband as a threat," Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.
Talk about a huge ego, to say Satan's afraid of a 19 year old wannabe preacher
May 17, 2007
Un-American per Jeanine
Regarding Tom Teepen’s column, “Evolution denial embarrassing”:The gist of Mr. Teepen’s article is that a minority of the Republican presidential candidates recently publicly questioned evolution and that this is somehow an embarrassment to the nation as evolution is internationally accepted ‘fact’.What I find embarrassing and frankly frightening, is that Mr. Teepen’s bold-faced religious bigotry enjoys public support.Beliefs about evolution aside, those who don’t subscribe to it almost always do so for religious reasons and who is Mr. Teepen to persecute them for that? What country are we living in again? And why is the evolution question germane to a political race? These candidates aren’t vying for Dean of the College of Biology.Mr. Teepen’s obvious ignorance of history and religion is troubling. Most traditional peoples (Native Americans prime among them) and countless others the world over have creation myths as part of their religious heritage. It isn’t just fundamentalist Christians - and even if it were they, have rights too. Genuine tolerance and diversity must extend to those with whom one disagrees.Politics aside, these candidates showed real guts to voice their convictions in such an atmosphere of pure, socially-sanctioned bigotry. Freedom of religion is one of the founding principles of our nation. If you believe in religious freedom - even for those with whom you disagree - stand up against Mr. Teepen’s brand of persecution! It’s the same mentality that inspired the Crusades, and the pogroms. In this case, it hails from the left but it’s still disgusting and patently un-American.Jeanine Ockey-Webb 316 Oregon St. #2
May 9, 2007
Romans 13
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/08/Dobbs.May9/index.html
Romans 13, where it is written: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
So Mr. Dobbs is saying the American governement has been established by God?
I was under the impression that is exactly what our founding fathers did not want. During the time Roman's was written the world was governed mostly by Kings and Emperor's who's service was only for the "pleasure" of God. They were ordained by the preisthood to rule. The founding father's wanted a federal secular government not a theocracy. George Washington could have been King, there were some back then who wanted that, but he rejected the idea.
Romans 13, where it is written: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
So Mr. Dobbs is saying the American governement has been established by God?
I was under the impression that is exactly what our founding fathers did not want. During the time Roman's was written the world was governed mostly by Kings and Emperor's who's service was only for the "pleasure" of God. They were ordained by the preisthood to rule. The founding father's wanted a federal secular government not a theocracy. George Washington could have been King, there were some back then who wanted that, but he rejected the idea.
May 2, 2007
Another Way per Sue
As the “war on terror” continues to create more terror, fear and pain for thousands of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, the United States and many other places in the world, I suggest you read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (mountaineer and resident of Bozeman) and David Oliver Relin. If you want to be inspired and are looking for ways to build global peace without violence, this riveting page-turner will lead you to many possibilities. The Web site, www.threecupsoftea.com explains this true story about “ones man’s mission to promote peace ... one school at a time.” After a failed attempt to reach the summit Pakistan’s K-2, the world’s second highest mountain, in 1993, Greg Mortenson began efforts to build a school in a remote mountain village. “By 2007, he has established over 58 schools through his non-profit, Central Asia Institute, which provides education to over 24,000 children...”I can’t help but think that had we aimed high when the Peace Corps was established in 1961 and strove to fund that corps at the level we now fund our military budget, we, the U.S., and in fact the whole world would not be in the mess we are in today.
I recently read this book, it was very good and gives one hope that thru education things will change for the better.... eventually.
I recently read this book, it was very good and gives one hope that thru education things will change for the better.... eventually.
Apr 26, 2007
"emblems of belief"
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on government-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.
A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.
There are now 39 emblems authorized. All but two are religious in the supernatural sense. There is one for Athiests and one for Humanists.
http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmemb.asp
Can one opt to have nothing? Whats next, The Darwin Fish?
Maybe they should just cancel the whole program? Its getting expensive and wastes the V.A. time getting sued by each and every cult known to man.
A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.
There are now 39 emblems authorized. All but two are religious in the supernatural sense. There is one for Athiests and one for Humanists.
http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmemb.asp
Can one opt to have nothing? Whats next, The Darwin Fish?
Maybe they should just cancel the whole program? Its getting expensive and wastes the V.A. time getting sued by each and every cult known to man.
Apr 19, 2007
Evel Knievel found God
Evel Knievel baptized during "Hour of Power" service
BUTTE, Mont. - Former motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel recently took a leap of faith.Knievel, 68, was baptized during the Rev. Robert H. Schuller's "Hour of Power" service at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.Knievel spoke for about 20 minutes to more than 4,000 people who gathered inside the Crystal Cathedral for services on April 1, telling them how he'd been a sinner all his life and now things had changed.Schuller said Knievel had called him a couple of weeks earlier, telling him, "Dr. Schuller, I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior."Schuller, 80, said he had long admired Knievel for his "possibility thinking" in attempting motorcycle jumps that seemed impossible, but he had kept his distance because Knievel's private life was "so unashamedly non-Christian and nonreligious."He had had prostitutes," Schuller told The Montana Standard. "He'd committed adultery. I couldn't praise him for his possibility thinking, for which I admired him as much as anybody, as long as I knew he was walking in that kind of camp."
I guess he is going to need to change his name
BUTTE, Mont. - Former motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel recently took a leap of faith.Knievel, 68, was baptized during the Rev. Robert H. Schuller's "Hour of Power" service at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.Knievel spoke for about 20 minutes to more than 4,000 people who gathered inside the Crystal Cathedral for services on April 1, telling them how he'd been a sinner all his life and now things had changed.Schuller said Knievel had called him a couple of weeks earlier, telling him, "Dr. Schuller, I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior."Schuller, 80, said he had long admired Knievel for his "possibility thinking" in attempting motorcycle jumps that seemed impossible, but he had kept his distance because Knievel's private life was "so unashamedly non-Christian and nonreligious."He had had prostitutes," Schuller told The Montana Standard. "He'd committed adultery. I couldn't praise him for his possibility thinking, for which I admired him as much as anybody, as long as I knew he was walking in that kind of camp."
I guess he is going to need to change his name
Death Penalty per Craig
Death penaltyThe recent defeat of the second attempt to repeal capital punishment in Montana is again, unfortunate. In this Easter season, it is a good time to realize that the Lord Jesus Christ was a victim of capital punishment! That reality should end the discussion, forever.
Craig Simmons1206 Walnut #2
But, then we wouldn't have Easter would we?
Craig Simmons1206 Walnut #2
But, then we wouldn't have Easter would we?
Apr 10, 2007
My Husband is back from Iraq!
Jason, my husband came home from Iraq Thursday night the 5th of April. He has 100's of pictures and luckily no horror stories of his own. He seems happy, healthy and glad to be home. He did admit to going on alot more convoys than I had guessed. I guessed five, it was more like 20. The trucks the Seabees were driving were practically indestructable. One was hit but no one was hurt. He did also mention there were a few mortor attacks when he first arrived, but again no one was hurt.
He said the place is a godless hellhole, I need to correct him and suggest using the term God Forsaken. Its a bummer even my own husband equates being godless as a negative. I of course don't think he really thought about it, its like a cultural reflexive response similar to "lets nuke em all".
If it were truely a godless place, the Sunni's and Shiite's wouldn't be blowing each other up
Helena IR article
A detachment of Navy Seabees will trickle back to Montana over the next few weeks after a yearlong deployment in the Middle East.
The group of 37 sailors spent the last year repairing roads destroyed by IEDs, providing convoy security, and doing general reconstruction.
“They’re a forward deployable construction battalion,” said Chief John Webster, spokesman for the Navy Reserve in Helena. “They can make runways and makeshift buildings, things of that nature, to set up a forward operating base.”
Webster said the detachment left Montana last March. The group trained at the U.S. Naval Reserve Station at Gulfport, Miss., before leaving for Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Webster said the detachment will return home sporadically over the next few weeks.
“We’re going to see what happens when everyone gets here,” said Webster. “We’ll see what our numbers are and have a big family day out here, sometime in late spring.”
The detachment of Seabees didn’t suffer any known casualties during the deployment, Webster said.
However, one member of Montana’s Naval Reserve, Petty Officer Charles Komppa, was killed in Iraq on Oct. 25, 2006.
He said the place is a godless hellhole, I need to correct him and suggest using the term God Forsaken. Its a bummer even my own husband equates being godless as a negative. I of course don't think he really thought about it, its like a cultural reflexive response similar to "lets nuke em all".
If it were truely a godless place, the Sunni's and Shiite's wouldn't be blowing each other up
Helena IR article
A detachment of Navy Seabees will trickle back to Montana over the next few weeks after a yearlong deployment in the Middle East.
The group of 37 sailors spent the last year repairing roads destroyed by IEDs, providing convoy security, and doing general reconstruction.
“They’re a forward deployable construction battalion,” said Chief John Webster, spokesman for the Navy Reserve in Helena. “They can make runways and makeshift buildings, things of that nature, to set up a forward operating base.”
Webster said the detachment left Montana last March. The group trained at the U.S. Naval Reserve Station at Gulfport, Miss., before leaving for Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Webster said the detachment will return home sporadically over the next few weeks.
“We’re going to see what happens when everyone gets here,” said Webster. “We’ll see what our numbers are and have a big family day out here, sometime in late spring.”
The detachment of Seabees didn’t suffer any known casualties during the deployment, Webster said.
However, one member of Montana’s Naval Reserve, Petty Officer Charles Komppa, was killed in Iraq on Oct. 25, 2006.
Mar 30, 2007
How many A-Bombs does it take?
How insane is it to fight the removal of 50 nukes from Montana!? How many A-bombs do we need to blow up North Korea and maybe toss a few at Iran? My Gawd people!
This is the worst kind of pork, its only about the money.
Pentagon could remove Malmstrom missiles next month
By MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press Writer - 03/29/07
WASHINGTON — Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base could begin to lose part of its nuclear missile stockpile as soon as next month.Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Wednesday that the Pentagon has confirmed it will remove 50 Minuteman III weapons, known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, from the Montana base. That is a quarter of the base’s total nuclear missile fleet.The Pentagon last year said it would downsize the nation’s stockpile of 500 missiles, based at Air Force bases in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota, by 10 percent, and indicated the missiles would probably come from Malmstrom.Members of Congress from the missile states attempted to delay the withdrawals, passing legislation last fall that prevented the Pentagon from removing the weapons until a series of studies was completed. But that strategy only delayed the process for a few months, as the department has recently sent the results of those studies to Congress.The legislation stated that the missiles could not be removed until 30 days after the studies were submitted. Josh Holly, spokesman for California Rep. Duncan Hunter, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the committee received those documents mid-March.That could allow the Pentagon to begin removing the missiles mid-April.
‘‘These missiles are a vital part of our nation’s defense and the Malmstrom community,’’ Rehberg said in a statement. ‘‘It’s unfortunate that this proposal has reached this point.’’Calls to the Air Force were referred to the Air Force Space Command, which oversees the missiles. A spokesman for the Air Force Space Command would not say whether the missiles will be removed.The Pentagon has gradually decreased the nation’s nuclear stockpile since the end of the Cold War, when the missiles were placed in the High Plains because of the region’s relative proximity to Russia. Lawmakers from the three states have argued that threats from North Korea and other countries make the weapons as important as they were 50 years ago.(Thats crap)The 564th Missile Squadron, 50 missiles scattered north of Great Falls, Mont., has a different operating system than all the other squadrons, requiring some different parts and training. That has led to the speculation that the ‘‘odd squad,’’ as it is dubbed, would be the one to go.Removal of the missiles could mean the counties that house them will have less federal money to play with. The military pays for road and other infrastructure improvements in those areas.Montana Sen. Max Baucus said the delegation would keep fighting against the cuts.‘‘I think it’s an outrage, especially during a time when our nation’s security must be bolstered,’’ (More Crap) the Democrat said in a statement.Holly, the Armed Services Committee spokesman, said the Pentagon documents submitted to the committee are classified. The law required analysis of the effects of reducing the missiles, an assessment of how many test missiles are needed to maintain the force, and a plan to complete modernization of all the missiles before the weapons could be removed.
This is the worst kind of pork, its only about the money.
Pentagon could remove Malmstrom missiles next month
By MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press Writer - 03/29/07
WASHINGTON — Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base could begin to lose part of its nuclear missile stockpile as soon as next month.Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Wednesday that the Pentagon has confirmed it will remove 50 Minuteman III weapons, known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, from the Montana base. That is a quarter of the base’s total nuclear missile fleet.The Pentagon last year said it would downsize the nation’s stockpile of 500 missiles, based at Air Force bases in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota, by 10 percent, and indicated the missiles would probably come from Malmstrom.Members of Congress from the missile states attempted to delay the withdrawals, passing legislation last fall that prevented the Pentagon from removing the weapons until a series of studies was completed. But that strategy only delayed the process for a few months, as the department has recently sent the results of those studies to Congress.The legislation stated that the missiles could not be removed until 30 days after the studies were submitted. Josh Holly, spokesman for California Rep. Duncan Hunter, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the committee received those documents mid-March.That could allow the Pentagon to begin removing the missiles mid-April.
‘‘These missiles are a vital part of our nation’s defense and the Malmstrom community,’’ Rehberg said in a statement. ‘‘It’s unfortunate that this proposal has reached this point.’’Calls to the Air Force were referred to the Air Force Space Command, which oversees the missiles. A spokesman for the Air Force Space Command would not say whether the missiles will be removed.The Pentagon has gradually decreased the nation’s nuclear stockpile since the end of the Cold War, when the missiles were placed in the High Plains because of the region’s relative proximity to Russia. Lawmakers from the three states have argued that threats from North Korea and other countries make the weapons as important as they were 50 years ago.(Thats crap)The 564th Missile Squadron, 50 missiles scattered north of Great Falls, Mont., has a different operating system than all the other squadrons, requiring some different parts and training. That has led to the speculation that the ‘‘odd squad,’’ as it is dubbed, would be the one to go.Removal of the missiles could mean the counties that house them will have less federal money to play with. The military pays for road and other infrastructure improvements in those areas.Montana Sen. Max Baucus said the delegation would keep fighting against the cuts.‘‘I think it’s an outrage, especially during a time when our nation’s security must be bolstered,’’ (More Crap) the Democrat said in a statement.Holly, the Armed Services Committee spokesman, said the Pentagon documents submitted to the committee are classified. The law required analysis of the effects of reducing the missiles, an assessment of how many test missiles are needed to maintain the force, and a plan to complete modernization of all the missiles before the weapons could be removed.
Mar 27, 2007
Patriot Program Cont.
I went, and I am glad I did.
My daughter and a friend of hers wrote up a quick prayer the same evening as the event. When we got there I was surprised to find out that Peri was to give the invocation. So, I’m not quite sure they got from her they expected. I did not have her change anything. The best part of her prayer was about Peace, I could not have asked her for more and it was very short and sweet.
There were only three families represented, it is a small community. The program was held in the school gym in the evening, therefore it was not required all of the students to attend. The only thing that bothered me was the whole 2nd grade class was brought in to sing both patriotic and also religious songs. They sang a cute song citing every single state of the nation, but I could not help thinking did every 2nd grade parent feel ok with this? It was the only class where all of the students were “required”? to attend. But, then again I think it was also the only reason there was such a show of attendees in the audience. The 2nd grader’s parents came to see their kids perform.
Personally for me the best part of the whole program is when they asked all of the veterans in the audience to stand up and be recognized. I was able to stand up proudly and show those who know me I am one of those “atheists in a foxhole” that supposedly do not exist. This made it all worth while.
Overall it was not so uncomfortable as I thought it would be, I think because I have made known my stand on such issues, it was a positive for me to go and show them I too am a full member of their community.
Thanks for all of your advice and support.
Lori
My daughter and a friend of hers wrote up a quick prayer the same evening as the event. When we got there I was surprised to find out that Peri was to give the invocation. So, I’m not quite sure they got from her they expected. I did not have her change anything. The best part of her prayer was about Peace, I could not have asked her for more and it was very short and sweet.
There were only three families represented, it is a small community. The program was held in the school gym in the evening, therefore it was not required all of the students to attend. The only thing that bothered me was the whole 2nd grade class was brought in to sing both patriotic and also religious songs. They sang a cute song citing every single state of the nation, but I could not help thinking did every 2nd grade parent feel ok with this? It was the only class where all of the students were “required”? to attend. But, then again I think it was also the only reason there was such a show of attendees in the audience. The 2nd grader’s parents came to see their kids perform.
Personally for me the best part of the whole program is when they asked all of the veterans in the audience to stand up and be recognized. I was able to stand up proudly and show those who know me I am one of those “atheists in a foxhole” that supposedly do not exist. This made it all worth while.
Overall it was not so uncomfortable as I thought it would be, I think because I have made known my stand on such issues, it was a positive for me to go and show them I too am a full member of their community.
Thanks for all of your advice and support.
Lori
Revise Bible per Roger
The Bible needs to be revised to reflect the role of women in today’s society, the fact that being gay is not by choice or a life style, that marriage is not just between a man and a woman to beget offspring but can be just for love between two people and that there is nothing more dangerous than to be ignorant.The uneducated have no means of judging or appraising. There is nothing to talk to them about except perhaps sex. There standards of behavior come from bars and street corners. Their character comes from TV and comic strips. The role of the media needs to be addressed if the Bible is relevant in today’s world.The Bible is a set of beliefs concerning nature and the purpose of the universe. It contains a moral code. There is a continuous stream of life with gradual change taking place. Changed circumstances always result in changed principles.The Bible has been translated many times since the first oral versions of the Old Testament. There are thousands of religions and each has their own “Bible.” All these religions have shaped people. They cannot be ignored. We are living in Saint Paul’s time.Roger Scott407 Fox Hollow
Mar 5, 2007
Patriot Program
I need some advise.
Some of you may not already know but my husband is in Iraq. Because of that, I and other families with spouses serving overseas have been asked to attend a Patriot Program at the local public grade school were my two kids go.But,I am cornered again. The Clancy School is sponsoring this Patriot Program this Thursday in the gym. It is being set up by the town's Methodist Church. To my dismay, I found out this morning they want my daughter to say a prayer during the event. I don't know what to do? She goes to the Catholic Church when her father is around, she held a part in the Methodist Christmas Program and she now goes to Awanas on Wednesday night. She is 10.I have yet to ask her how she feels about it. But, I'm not happy. Concidering I don't believe in prayer and do not support the current administrations decision to invade and occupy Iraq. Should I attend? If I go I will have to sit there and watch my only daughter being used as a puppit by the Clancy religious community. They are teaching the kids Religion and Patriotism go hand in hand which is wrong. Some of you may remember my post earlier about a woman who sent me a disparaging email about athiests. Well, she will be there, her husband is serving along side mine. It will be very uncomofortable. Also the other spouse has sent me a few prayer chain emails. Its driving me mad. Am I wrong? Overreacting?
Some of you may not already know but my husband is in Iraq. Because of that, I and other families with spouses serving overseas have been asked to attend a Patriot Program at the local public grade school were my two kids go.But,I am cornered again. The Clancy School is sponsoring this Patriot Program this Thursday in the gym. It is being set up by the town's Methodist Church. To my dismay, I found out this morning they want my daughter to say a prayer during the event. I don't know what to do? She goes to the Catholic Church when her father is around, she held a part in the Methodist Christmas Program and she now goes to Awanas on Wednesday night. She is 10.I have yet to ask her how she feels about it. But, I'm not happy. Concidering I don't believe in prayer and do not support the current administrations decision to invade and occupy Iraq. Should I attend? If I go I will have to sit there and watch my only daughter being used as a puppit by the Clancy religious community. They are teaching the kids Religion and Patriotism go hand in hand which is wrong. Some of you may remember my post earlier about a woman who sent me a disparaging email about athiests. Well, she will be there, her husband is serving along side mine. It will be very uncomofortable. Also the other spouse has sent me a few prayer chain emails. Its driving me mad. Am I wrong? Overreacting?
Mar 4, 2007
Lent
MACEDONIA, Ohio (AP) -- For years, Lent meant huge chunks of fried fish on Fridays for George Ehrman, a longtime parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe in this northeast Ohio town.
But the dinner plate was decidedly lighter for Ehrman at a recent Friday fish fry in the bustling parish hall: grilled salmon packed with omega-3, fiber-rich rice pilaf and green beans.
"I was happy when I found out they were offering this for the first time," said Ehrman, whose health requires him to eat a low-salt, low-fat diet. "It's very tasty, too."
Parishes have long used the Roman Catholic abstention from meat on Fridays during the Lenten season to hold fish fries that bring people together and raise money. Now with more people trying to eat healthier food, many churches are offering lighter fare, including grilled shrimp, baked fish, fresh tuna and crispy, raw vegetables.
There's still plenty of battered cod, haddock and other types of seafood submerged in oil. And there still are servings of potato-stuffed pirogi, macaroni and cheese, french fries or other heavy side dishes on parish menus.
I need to get on wikipedia and study more about what Lent is supposed to be. I am married to a Catholic and he does insist we eat meatless meals on Friday's during Lent. I not being raised a Catholic think its a bit silly. I almost always forget and start browning burger when my hubby needs to remind me I should be opening a can of tuna instead. His usual fare for this time of year is; for breakfast-peanute butter sandwiches, for lunch-bean burritos or a Burger King fish sandwich and for dinner-Tuna Noodle.
I remember when we were first married I asked he try sacrificing something else during lent, thats what its really all about right? He chose giving up beer. He wan't able to do it. Eating fish on Friday is easier obviously for everyone. The Seafood Industry loves it.
My in-laws in their usual conservative intensity will not even flavor thier rice with chicken boullian. They take everything the Church demands very very seriously. If you consider thier restrictive lent diet, my husband actually fails to properly observe Lent. His fav bean burritos have animal fat or lard in them. Then there are eggs in the noodles, Do eggs count? Cheese?
I don't mind tuna noodle so I don't complain about it(too much). We have it just about every week anyway, its quick, easy and inexpensive.
I just went online and found out that its of course much more complicated, leave it the the Catholics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
I never realized that the number 40 is so prevelant in the bible. Its very interesting. Thats another topic of its own.
Lent is 40 days of fasting similar to the Muslim Ramadam. I would like to try fasting. What is it about it that its a big part of these two religions? Fasting is found in many cultures.
I have always been facinated by religion and I can see I am more interested in it than most religious people are. I think that is very typical of people like me. Its my hobby. It is also why I like to blog and write letters. To share what I have learned. But, as I have seen over the years. most especially with my husband, people prefer to live in blissful ingnornace. They either do not want to know anything different and or just plain do not care about it. It does not interest them, like I have no interest in Nascar. I digress
But the dinner plate was decidedly lighter for Ehrman at a recent Friday fish fry in the bustling parish hall: grilled salmon packed with omega-3, fiber-rich rice pilaf and green beans.
"I was happy when I found out they were offering this for the first time," said Ehrman, whose health requires him to eat a low-salt, low-fat diet. "It's very tasty, too."
Parishes have long used the Roman Catholic abstention from meat on Fridays during the Lenten season to hold fish fries that bring people together and raise money. Now with more people trying to eat healthier food, many churches are offering lighter fare, including grilled shrimp, baked fish, fresh tuna and crispy, raw vegetables.
There's still plenty of battered cod, haddock and other types of seafood submerged in oil. And there still are servings of potato-stuffed pirogi, macaroni and cheese, french fries or other heavy side dishes on parish menus.
I need to get on wikipedia and study more about what Lent is supposed to be. I am married to a Catholic and he does insist we eat meatless meals on Friday's during Lent. I not being raised a Catholic think its a bit silly. I almost always forget and start browning burger when my hubby needs to remind me I should be opening a can of tuna instead. His usual fare for this time of year is; for breakfast-peanute butter sandwiches, for lunch-bean burritos or a Burger King fish sandwich and for dinner-Tuna Noodle.
I remember when we were first married I asked he try sacrificing something else during lent, thats what its really all about right? He chose giving up beer. He wan't able to do it. Eating fish on Friday is easier obviously for everyone. The Seafood Industry loves it.
My in-laws in their usual conservative intensity will not even flavor thier rice with chicken boullian. They take everything the Church demands very very seriously. If you consider thier restrictive lent diet, my husband actually fails to properly observe Lent. His fav bean burritos have animal fat or lard in them. Then there are eggs in the noodles, Do eggs count? Cheese?
I don't mind tuna noodle so I don't complain about it(too much). We have it just about every week anyway, its quick, easy and inexpensive.
I just went online and found out that its of course much more complicated, leave it the the Catholics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
I never realized that the number 40 is so prevelant in the bible. Its very interesting. Thats another topic of its own.
Lent is 40 days of fasting similar to the Muslim Ramadam. I would like to try fasting. What is it about it that its a big part of these two religions? Fasting is found in many cultures.
I have always been facinated by religion and I can see I am more interested in it than most religious people are. I think that is very typical of people like me. Its my hobby. It is also why I like to blog and write letters. To share what I have learned. But, as I have seen over the years. most especially with my husband, people prefer to live in blissful ingnornace. They either do not want to know anything different and or just plain do not care about it. It does not interest them, like I have no interest in Nascar. I digress
Mar 3, 2007
Rescue of Recreationist
I don't know about you, but me and many others are sick of paying for the rescue of these people. His kin found him and claim God helped, but the Sheriff Department was also out and about wasting thier precisous time looking for this fool and they were given bad information on where to look. How much longer do we as tax payers have to keep supporting these "recreationists"
That is exactly all it is, FUN for them and you and I pay for them to mess around outdoors. I find it amazing how these people almost act like this life style is a right not a priviledge. In Montana whenever anyone tries to limit where these toys can traverse the woods, you get a pitch fork mob pissed at whomever dares to restrict thier ability to tear up the countryside. ATVs and Snowmobiles are toys for those well off enough to afford them, so I think they should pay for every dime spent for pulling thier butts out of a snow bank.
I and my family use snowmobiles and enjoy running the trails near Lincoln, but I do not claim any right to harras the wildlife in the area whenever or whereever I want. I stay on the groomed trails. There are plenty of places in Montana for people to play, please stay out of restricted areas! Its for your safety and to show respect of our last great places.
Snowmobiler survives 8 hours buried in avalanche
POSTED: 7:27 a.m. EST, March 3, 2007
Story Highlights• Ryan Roberts: "I guess I was just allowed to live another day" • Tried to outrun avalanche on snowmobile• Buried in 4 feet of snow, could not move• Distant cousin found him, ending 8-hour search
HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A man buried by an avalanche for almost eight hours emerged with little more than scratches after a relative found him using a probe.
Ryan Roberts, 34, said Friday he was astonished he survived the avalanche, which occurred about 4 p.m. Thursday while snowmobiling with an uncle and friend in Flathead National Forest's Jewel Basin near Kalispell. He was found shortly before midnight. Neither of his companions was caught in the avalanche.
"I guess I was just allowed to live another day," Roberts said in a telephone interview after his release from Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Roberts said he tried to outrun the avalanche by driving his snowmobile at about 80 mph, but leaped off the machine as it sped toward trees.
He said he tumbled downhill and was buried face-up by about 4 feet of snow. After it became apparent that he could not move, Roberts said, he tried to remain calm and accept what he thought was his fate.
He said he remembered thinking, "Well, I'm going to die."
Roberts believes he passed out about five minutes later.
His companions began searching for Roberts immediately, and called for help after two hours. About 18 family members and friends, and a Flathead County Sheriff's Department team searched for Roberts for hours, to no avail.
Dan Root, a distant cousin, said he reached the scene shortly before midnight and didn't expect to find Roberts alive.
"I parked my sled, got my probe out and walked up the hill about 5 or 6 feet and hit" Roberts with the probe, Root said. "I probed him the first time."
After he was dug out, Roberts was taken by snowmobile to the hospital 20 miles away. His wife, Billie, said his temperature at the hospital Friday morning was 90 degrees.
That is exactly all it is, FUN for them and you and I pay for them to mess around outdoors. I find it amazing how these people almost act like this life style is a right not a priviledge. In Montana whenever anyone tries to limit where these toys can traverse the woods, you get a pitch fork mob pissed at whomever dares to restrict thier ability to tear up the countryside. ATVs and Snowmobiles are toys for those well off enough to afford them, so I think they should pay for every dime spent for pulling thier butts out of a snow bank.
I and my family use snowmobiles and enjoy running the trails near Lincoln, but I do not claim any right to harras the wildlife in the area whenever or whereever I want. I stay on the groomed trails. There are plenty of places in Montana for people to play, please stay out of restricted areas! Its for your safety and to show respect of our last great places.
Snowmobiler survives 8 hours buried in avalanche
POSTED: 7:27 a.m. EST, March 3, 2007
Story Highlights• Ryan Roberts: "I guess I was just allowed to live another day" • Tried to outrun avalanche on snowmobile• Buried in 4 feet of snow, could not move• Distant cousin found him, ending 8-hour search
HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A man buried by an avalanche for almost eight hours emerged with little more than scratches after a relative found him using a probe.
Ryan Roberts, 34, said Friday he was astonished he survived the avalanche, which occurred about 4 p.m. Thursday while snowmobiling with an uncle and friend in Flathead National Forest's Jewel Basin near Kalispell. He was found shortly before midnight. Neither of his companions was caught in the avalanche.
"I guess I was just allowed to live another day," Roberts said in a telephone interview after his release from Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Roberts said he tried to outrun the avalanche by driving his snowmobile at about 80 mph, but leaped off the machine as it sped toward trees.
He said he tumbled downhill and was buried face-up by about 4 feet of snow. After it became apparent that he could not move, Roberts said, he tried to remain calm and accept what he thought was his fate.
He said he remembered thinking, "Well, I'm going to die."
Roberts believes he passed out about five minutes later.
His companions began searching for Roberts immediately, and called for help after two hours. About 18 family members and friends, and a Flathead County Sheriff's Department team searched for Roberts for hours, to no avail.
Dan Root, a distant cousin, said he reached the scene shortly before midnight and didn't expect to find Roberts alive.
"I parked my sled, got my probe out and walked up the hill about 5 or 6 feet and hit" Roberts with the probe, Root said. "I probed him the first time."
After he was dug out, Roberts was taken by snowmobile to the hospital 20 miles away. His wife, Billie, said his temperature at the hospital Friday morning was 90 degrees.
Mar 1, 2007
I agree its all Politics
Pro-life paradoxI’m confused…Montana Right to Life and other anti-choice organizations like Eagle Forum and the Montana Family Foundation testified Wednesday before the House Human Services committee against HB 612, a bill that would create funding for comprehensive sex education.I thought Montana Right to Life and their associates were anti-abortion. Yet they support keeping kids in the dark about pregnancy prevention?Instead of opposing this bill, these anti-abortion groups should be working to promote common sense proposals that will prevent unintended pregnancy. They should be rallying for — DEMANDING — programs that reduce the need for abortion, such as increased access to family-planning services and comprehensive sex education for our teens.Or could it be that these so-called anti-abortion organizations are less about preventing abortion and more about promoting a political agenda?Prevention is common ground. A 2004 survey by National Public Radio found that 94 percent of Americans support comprehensive sex education. I call on the opponents of this bill to come together and work with reproductive rights groups on prevention bills such as this one.Alison JamesP.O. Box 7031
Feb 27, 2007
Anti-Cohabitation Law or also called Shacking Up
I found this interesting. My maternal Grandmother cohabitated for the very same reason listed below. She was a Army widow and did not want to lose her benefits. It forced her to live in sin;) for many years until her partner/boyfriend Bill died in 1987. She wasn't too worried about the living in Sin part, she too is an unbeliever. She is now 96 living in a home, with no memories.
This brings up another question, since she did live in sin and now does not remember it, does this mean she will go to hell. She can't confess to sins she doesn't remember commiting. Does a minister write her off and then tell his or her congregants this can happen to them if they do not accept Jesus into their hearts this very moment or risk eternal damnation.? Crazy huh. Poor, sweet Granma in Hell at almost 100.... Bummer
This is why I reject the whole concept of Hell in the first place.
I did notice this article doesn't bring up why there was a law like this in the first place.
Its called fornication or pre-marital sex which was a huge no-no back then.
My parents humoroulsy call cohabitation "Shacking Up'.
N. Dakota legislation targets anti-cohabitation law
By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer
BISMARCK, North Dakota (AP) - Don Polries and Helen Vetter don't look like outlaws. She's 82 and nearly blind, and he is an 87-year-old World War II veteran whose only brush with the law was a traffic ticket or two, decades ago.But the retired farmers _ and thousands like them _ are considered criminals in the U.S. state of North Dakota because they are not married and live together.It makes Polries chuckle and Vetter steam."I will not have the state ruling us old people," Vetter said. "All we're trying to do is help each other out. ... Boy, I'd like to see the state come and try and split us up."Without each other, the Bismarck couple say, they'd be in a nursing home. They have lived together for about a year, after dating and living in separate apartments for more than a decade."I am legally blind," Vetter said. "I can't read and I can't drive _ Don does that for me. ... And when Don had his hip replaced, I helped him out. What's wrong with that?"
North Dakota is one of seven states that bar a man and woman from living together "openly and notoriously" as if they were married. The states of Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia have similar laws.The North Dakota law has been on the books since statehood, and lists cohabitation as a sex crime, along with rape, incest and adultery."It's misguided and a stain on North Dakota's Century Code," said Tracy Potter, a Democratic state senator who has sponsored legislation to repeal the anti-cohabitation law.The House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill Tuesday.Tim Mathern, also a Democratic state senator, has opposed attempts to repeal the anti-cohabitation law, which failed in the last two legislative sessions."I think the majority of people think they ought to be married if they're living together," Mathern said.He said the present law was written to prevent fraud, not to prevent people from living together. The North Dakota Supreme Court has specifically rejected that interpretation, most recently in May 2001.The North Dakota Senate, with Potter's approval, changed his proposal to relabel cohabitation as fraud if a man and woman pass themselves off as being married when they are not. The bill keeps the punishment at a maximum 30 days in jail and a $1,000 (?760) fine.Jennifer Ring, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Dakotas, said the law has never been enforced, and she called it "unconstitutional and silly." The new version, if passed by the North Dakota House of Representatives, also could be challenged as unconstitutional, and is not needed, she said."Defrauding someone through a lie is already a crime," she said.Census figures from 2000 show 23,000 people in North Dakota living in de facto relationships, Potter said. Census figures from that same year show 5.2 million people nationwide lived in an "unmarried partner household."Representative Louise Potter, a Democrat who is not related to Tracy Potter, said her elderly mother-in-law and longtime partner wanted to move from Florida to a senior home in North Dakota a few years ago. They were not allowed to move in because they were not married, Potter said.Potter's mother-in-law, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, now lives alone in a seniors home in the state of Minnesota. Potter's husband, Tom, a Presbyterian minister, said he and his family never objected to his 78-year-old mother living with her partner for many years."One of the reasons she and her companion didn't get married is because she was receiving veterans' benefits after she was widowed," Tom Potter said. "She would have lost them had she remarried."Polries and Vetter met at a dance a dozen years ago. Both had divorced after more than 40 years of marriage. She has two children; Polries has seven, all of whom are married.The couple said none of their children object to their living arrangement. "We're never going to get married _ for what?" Vetter said. "You get married one year, and die the next."
This brings up another question, since she did live in sin and now does not remember it, does this mean she will go to hell. She can't confess to sins she doesn't remember commiting. Does a minister write her off and then tell his or her congregants this can happen to them if they do not accept Jesus into their hearts this very moment or risk eternal damnation.? Crazy huh. Poor, sweet Granma in Hell at almost 100.... Bummer
This is why I reject the whole concept of Hell in the first place.
I did notice this article doesn't bring up why there was a law like this in the first place.
Its called fornication or pre-marital sex which was a huge no-no back then.
My parents humoroulsy call cohabitation "Shacking Up'.
N. Dakota legislation targets anti-cohabitation law
By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer
BISMARCK, North Dakota (AP) - Don Polries and Helen Vetter don't look like outlaws. She's 82 and nearly blind, and he is an 87-year-old World War II veteran whose only brush with the law was a traffic ticket or two, decades ago.But the retired farmers _ and thousands like them _ are considered criminals in the U.S. state of North Dakota because they are not married and live together.It makes Polries chuckle and Vetter steam."I will not have the state ruling us old people," Vetter said. "All we're trying to do is help each other out. ... Boy, I'd like to see the state come and try and split us up."Without each other, the Bismarck couple say, they'd be in a nursing home. They have lived together for about a year, after dating and living in separate apartments for more than a decade."I am legally blind," Vetter said. "I can't read and I can't drive _ Don does that for me. ... And when Don had his hip replaced, I helped him out. What's wrong with that?"
North Dakota is one of seven states that bar a man and woman from living together "openly and notoriously" as if they were married. The states of Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia have similar laws.The North Dakota law has been on the books since statehood, and lists cohabitation as a sex crime, along with rape, incest and adultery."It's misguided and a stain on North Dakota's Century Code," said Tracy Potter, a Democratic state senator who has sponsored legislation to repeal the anti-cohabitation law.The House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill Tuesday.Tim Mathern, also a Democratic state senator, has opposed attempts to repeal the anti-cohabitation law, which failed in the last two legislative sessions."I think the majority of people think they ought to be married if they're living together," Mathern said.He said the present law was written to prevent fraud, not to prevent people from living together. The North Dakota Supreme Court has specifically rejected that interpretation, most recently in May 2001.The North Dakota Senate, with Potter's approval, changed his proposal to relabel cohabitation as fraud if a man and woman pass themselves off as being married when they are not. The bill keeps the punishment at a maximum 30 days in jail and a $1,000 (?760) fine.Jennifer Ring, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Dakotas, said the law has never been enforced, and she called it "unconstitutional and silly." The new version, if passed by the North Dakota House of Representatives, also could be challenged as unconstitutional, and is not needed, she said."Defrauding someone through a lie is already a crime," she said.Census figures from 2000 show 23,000 people in North Dakota living in de facto relationships, Potter said. Census figures from that same year show 5.2 million people nationwide lived in an "unmarried partner household."Representative Louise Potter, a Democrat who is not related to Tracy Potter, said her elderly mother-in-law and longtime partner wanted to move from Florida to a senior home in North Dakota a few years ago. They were not allowed to move in because they were not married, Potter said.Potter's mother-in-law, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, now lives alone in a seniors home in the state of Minnesota. Potter's husband, Tom, a Presbyterian minister, said he and his family never objected to his 78-year-old mother living with her partner for many years."One of the reasons she and her companion didn't get married is because she was receiving veterans' benefits after she was widowed," Tom Potter said. "She would have lost them had she remarried."Polries and Vetter met at a dance a dozen years ago. Both had divorced after more than 40 years of marriage. She has two children; Polries has seven, all of whom are married.The couple said none of their children object to their living arrangement. "We're never going to get married _ for what?" Vetter said. "You get married one year, and die the next."
Feb 26, 2007
The Lost Tomb of Christ
Anything like this is great for stimulating debate in the public eye about the history behind the Jesus story. Which is what it is, a story. I find it amuzing the critics of this film claim the burial site names were very common back then. To me thats exactly why one can't claim a man named "Jesus" rose from the dead. Which Jesus?
Archaeologists, scholars dispute Jesus documentary
POSTED: 1:49 p.m. EST, February 26, 2007
Story Highlights• Documentary claims to have found bones of Jesus' family
• Film suggests Jesus may have had son
• Archaeologists, religious scholars skeptical
• Oscar-winner James Cameron directed film
More on CNN TV: Director James Cameron tells Larry King why he believes the tomb found is that of Jesus. Watch tonight, 9 ET.
Adjust font size:
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land derided claims in a new documentary produced by the Oscar-winning director James Cameron that contradict major Christian tenets.
"The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries -- small caskets used to store bones -- discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.
One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. (Watch why it could be any Mary, Jesus and Joseph in those boxes )
Most Christians believe Jesus' body spent three days at the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The burial site identified in Cameron's documentary is in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood nowhere near the church.
In 1996, when the BBC aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.
"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.
The claims have raised the ire of Christian leaders in the Holy Land.
"The historical, religious and archaeological evidence show that the place where Christ was buried is the Church of the Resurrection," said Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem. The documentary, he said, "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to."
Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film's hypothesis holds little weight.
"I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this," Pfann said. "But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear."
"How possible is it?" Pfann said. "On a scale of one through 10 -- 10 being completely possible -- it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."
Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun."
Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false.
"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner said. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."
Archaeologists also balk at the filmmaker's claim that the James Ossuary -- the center of a famous antiquities fraud in Israel -- might have originated from the same cave. In 2005, Israel charged five suspects with forgery in connection with the infamous bone box.
"I don't think the James Ossuary came from the same cave," said Dan Bahat, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University. "If it were found there, the man who made the forgery would have taken something better. He would have taken Jesus."
Although the documentary makers claim to have found the tomb of Jesus, the British Broadcasting Corporation beat them to the punch by 11 years.
Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli government agency responsible for archaeology, declined to comment before the documentary was aired.
Archaeologists, scholars dispute Jesus documentary
POSTED: 1:49 p.m. EST, February 26, 2007
Story Highlights• Documentary claims to have found bones of Jesus' family
• Film suggests Jesus may have had son
• Archaeologists, religious scholars skeptical
• Oscar-winner James Cameron directed film
More on CNN TV: Director James Cameron tells Larry King why he believes the tomb found is that of Jesus. Watch tonight, 9 ET.
Adjust font size:
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land derided claims in a new documentary produced by the Oscar-winning director James Cameron that contradict major Christian tenets.
"The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries -- small caskets used to store bones -- discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.
One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. (Watch why it could be any Mary, Jesus and Joseph in those boxes )
Most Christians believe Jesus' body spent three days at the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The burial site identified in Cameron's documentary is in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood nowhere near the church.
In 1996, when the BBC aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.
"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.
The claims have raised the ire of Christian leaders in the Holy Land.
"The historical, religious and archaeological evidence show that the place where Christ was buried is the Church of the Resurrection," said Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem. The documentary, he said, "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to."
Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film's hypothesis holds little weight.
"I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this," Pfann said. "But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear."
"How possible is it?" Pfann said. "On a scale of one through 10 -- 10 being completely possible -- it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."
Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun."
Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false.
"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner said. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."
Archaeologists also balk at the filmmaker's claim that the James Ossuary -- the center of a famous antiquities fraud in Israel -- might have originated from the same cave. In 2005, Israel charged five suspects with forgery in connection with the infamous bone box.
"I don't think the James Ossuary came from the same cave," said Dan Bahat, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University. "If it were found there, the man who made the forgery would have taken something better. He would have taken Jesus."
Although the documentary makers claim to have found the tomb of Jesus, the British Broadcasting Corporation beat them to the punch by 11 years.
Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli government agency responsible for archaeology, declined to comment before the documentary was aired.
Feb 21, 2007
Church and State per Mr. Matthews
Church and stateIn the spirit of Presidents Day, consider the differences between the intentions of our Founding Fathers and those of the religious right regarding the separation of church and state.“Christian values should dominate our government ... Politicians who do not use the Bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office.” — Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.” — President James Madison“As the Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion ... it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinion shall ever produce an interruption of harmony existing between the two countries.” — 1797 Treaty of Tripoli (approved by President John Adams and ratified by the Senate without objection)The religious right disrespects the intentions of the Founding Fathers when they attempt to undermine the separation of church and state. The wall between church and state has allowed the U.S. to develop a long history of tolerance, diversity, and freedom of religion. We should be proud of, and protect, this legacy.Jonathan Matthews1601 N. Benton Ave.
Compulsory Attendance
Keep compulsory attendance
By IR Staff - 02/21/07
Often politicians tend to focus on their lofty ideological philosophies, quite forgetting the effect those ideas would have back here on the ground. Such would seem to be the case in a bill by Constitution Party Rep. Rick Jore to abolish compulsory school attendance for Montana's children.House Bill 404, heard in committee Monday, comes prefaced with a "whereas" list that fails to glance down from the clouds and check out the world as it really is.The bill says that "the responsibility, both legally and before God, for the education of children lies with the parents and guardians, not with the state." It adds that there is no constitutional provision warranting compulsory attendance, and it asserts such attendance laws "are doubtful contributors" to the literacy rate anyway.This collection of philosophical positions, high sounding as it may be, ignores the inconvenient fact that all too many parents are really bad at their job.As Bud Williams, deputy superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction, told the House Education Committee, "the right to an education belongs to a child." When neglectful parents are too ignorant, too irresponsible, or just too drugged out to make sure their children show up for school in the morning, their kids are in danger of falling through the cracks. Who is going to catch them if not the schools?Compulsory attendance, be it at public schools or in private or home-school settings, does not exist to tweak the ire of political extremists. It's there for the children, and thank God for that.
By IR Staff - 02/21/07
Often politicians tend to focus on their lofty ideological philosophies, quite forgetting the effect those ideas would have back here on the ground. Such would seem to be the case in a bill by Constitution Party Rep. Rick Jore to abolish compulsory school attendance for Montana's children.House Bill 404, heard in committee Monday, comes prefaced with a "whereas" list that fails to glance down from the clouds and check out the world as it really is.The bill says that "the responsibility, both legally and before God, for the education of children lies with the parents and guardians, not with the state." It adds that there is no constitutional provision warranting compulsory attendance, and it asserts such attendance laws "are doubtful contributors" to the literacy rate anyway.This collection of philosophical positions, high sounding as it may be, ignores the inconvenient fact that all too many parents are really bad at their job.As Bud Williams, deputy superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction, told the House Education Committee, "the right to an education belongs to a child." When neglectful parents are too ignorant, too irresponsible, or just too drugged out to make sure their children show up for school in the morning, their kids are in danger of falling through the cracks. Who is going to catch them if not the schools?Compulsory attendance, be it at public schools or in private or home-school settings, does not exist to tweak the ire of political extremists. It's there for the children, and thank God for that.
Feb 18, 2007
God's Creatures
God’s creatures
In response to the Feb. 15 letter from Conrad Eklund I have to say “shame on you!” You are the epitomy of “social intolerance” and the “me, me, me” attitude that is so pervasive in our society today.Look where you live — on the edge of town, encroaching ever so slowly into more wildlife habitat! If you think God is going to keep the deer deep in the woods as people like you continue to build and move deeper into their habitat ... I think God has better things to do. And when you speak of God, Conrad, remember that deer are part of the master plan ... God’s creatures!You can guess that I am in favor of doing nothing at all. I do not think the deer are much of a problem. Property damage can be prevented rather cheaply and with little effort! I like to look at them, watch them, appreciate them, they are beautiful creatures — one of God’s creatures!
Judy Groombridge725 Cedar Street
I find it interesting how this issue is so big, gets more press than anything else going on in Helena. Or it seems that way anyway. If this is one of our biggest problems, then those of us living here have got it good.
Oh, and it almost the time of year for the annual complaints about pot holes. Can't wait
In response to the Feb. 15 letter from Conrad Eklund I have to say “shame on you!” You are the epitomy of “social intolerance” and the “me, me, me” attitude that is so pervasive in our society today.Look where you live — on the edge of town, encroaching ever so slowly into more wildlife habitat! If you think God is going to keep the deer deep in the woods as people like you continue to build and move deeper into their habitat ... I think God has better things to do. And when you speak of God, Conrad, remember that deer are part of the master plan ... God’s creatures!You can guess that I am in favor of doing nothing at all. I do not think the deer are much of a problem. Property damage can be prevented rather cheaply and with little effort! I like to look at them, watch them, appreciate them, they are beautiful creatures — one of God’s creatures!
Judy Groombridge725 Cedar Street
I find it interesting how this issue is so big, gets more press than anything else going on in Helena. Or it seems that way anyway. If this is one of our biggest problems, then those of us living here have got it good.
Oh, and it almost the time of year for the annual complaints about pot holes. Can't wait
Feb 12, 2007
Constitution Party
Trout farmer is country’s first Constitution Party lawmaker
By SARAH COOKE, Associated Press Writer - 02/12/07
HELENA — The pressure on Rep. Rick Jore these days is intense. The polite trout farmer from northwestern Montana is the ultra radical religious right wing wacko(my words) conservative Constitution Party’s highest elected official in the country.
And hopefully the last
By SARAH COOKE, Associated Press Writer - 02/12/07
HELENA — The pressure on Rep. Rick Jore these days is intense. The polite trout farmer from northwestern Montana is the ultra radical religious right wing wacko(my words) conservative Constitution Party’s highest elected official in the country.
And hopefully the last
Feb 11, 2007
Equal Protection by Cynthia
Equal protectionThere seems to be some confusion on the bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Montana Human Rights Act (SB 371- primary sponsor Sen. Christine Kaufmann). Civil rights are not a popularity contest and given only to groups the majority likes. Protecting members of minority groups in our community is not a new idea. In fact it has been with us throughout the entire history of our country. James Madison stated in Federalist Paper #51, “It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.”SB 371 follows the long history we have in this country of protecting the rights of minorities. This bill is not about individuals having to accept anyone else’s sexual orientation, just like the protection in the Human Rights Act for religious people does not mean that I have to accept religious texts like the Bible as the literal word of God. It just means that every one has equal protection under the law.Cynthia Wolken
Jan 28, 2007
Quit electing zealots per Joan
Note:
I received a nasty comment concerning this letter. So, I came back to say I did not write this letter and even though I agree with some aspects of it but.......
People should be able to vote for whomever they want. But, it appears many did not vote at all therefore the result was that a radical right wing person is now in office representing heathen Native Americans. It's Maddening!
I think it's terrible people don't vote especially when its so important. Then there are those who vote but really don't really know who they are voting for. I think Jore is an exceptional failure of our representative election process. It's no-ones fault but those who didn't prevent this. I can only guess the Flathead is a mess. This tells me white people on the Reservation are pissed about something and the Natives don't care. I was born in Ronan and my parents grew up on the Rez. They moved back only a few years ago. Are they happy to be back? I will have ask them what the hell is going on over there.
Another thing about the nasty commenter, was this person quoted the founding fathers to support his or her point. It's an old game that does not convince me or anyone. It like the quoting the bible. Pointless, because everyone "intreprets" it differently. It's the same with the constitution, people "intrepret" it differently. I too can quote the founding fathers to support my opinions an what I think is truely American. The original pledge, Jefferson, Paine..... Hero's of the enlightenment.
Nothing bothers the right wingers more is the idea that the United States was a product of THE ENLIGHTENMENT.
THE LETTER
I certainly hate the idea of a Montana state legislator telling me what is “divinely instituted,” and what isn’t.My goodness, does Rick Jore make his legislative decisions based on his personal religious beliefs? Is he trying to enact those personal religious beliefs into Montana law for God’s sake? Laws that every Montana citizen is required to obey?What’s going on here?I remember that during the ’95 session when a lot of these missionaries got elected, an interim committee was actually formed to see if Montana’s churches and private social services programs could pick up the slack if all federal programs were curtailed!They couldn’t.Now, all these years later, Rick Jore is back telling us that federal aid to education is “welfare for education.” I hope all the parents whose children benefit from school lunches, Title reading and math programs, impact aid, and many other needed federal programs, are paying attention!When are Montanans going to wise up and quit electing these zealots to the Legislature?
By, Joan Hurdle, Billings
I received a nasty comment concerning this letter. So, I came back to say I did not write this letter and even though I agree with some aspects of it but.......
People should be able to vote for whomever they want. But, it appears many did not vote at all therefore the result was that a radical right wing person is now in office representing heathen Native Americans. It's Maddening!
I think it's terrible people don't vote especially when its so important. Then there are those who vote but really don't really know who they are voting for. I think Jore is an exceptional failure of our representative election process. It's no-ones fault but those who didn't prevent this. I can only guess the Flathead is a mess. This tells me white people on the Reservation are pissed about something and the Natives don't care. I was born in Ronan and my parents grew up on the Rez. They moved back only a few years ago. Are they happy to be back? I will have ask them what the hell is going on over there.
Another thing about the nasty commenter, was this person quoted the founding fathers to support his or her point. It's an old game that does not convince me or anyone. It like the quoting the bible. Pointless, because everyone "intreprets" it differently. It's the same with the constitution, people "intrepret" it differently. I too can quote the founding fathers to support my opinions an what I think is truely American. The original pledge, Jefferson, Paine..... Hero's of the enlightenment.
Nothing bothers the right wingers more is the idea that the United States was a product of THE ENLIGHTENMENT.
THE LETTER
I certainly hate the idea of a Montana state legislator telling me what is “divinely instituted,” and what isn’t.My goodness, does Rick Jore make his legislative decisions based on his personal religious beliefs? Is he trying to enact those personal religious beliefs into Montana law for God’s sake? Laws that every Montana citizen is required to obey?What’s going on here?I remember that during the ’95 session when a lot of these missionaries got elected, an interim committee was actually formed to see if Montana’s churches and private social services programs could pick up the slack if all federal programs were curtailed!They couldn’t.Now, all these years later, Rick Jore is back telling us that federal aid to education is “welfare for education.” I hope all the parents whose children benefit from school lunches, Title reading and math programs, impact aid, and many other needed federal programs, are paying attention!When are Montanans going to wise up and quit electing these zealots to the Legislature?
By, Joan Hurdle, Billings
Jan 26, 2007
Apostle Paul and Women
FORT WORTH, Texas - A theology professor at a prominent Southern Baptist seminary said officials told her to leave because women are biblically forbidden from teaching men.
Southern Baptist leaders agree that the role of pastor is reserved for men, based on a verse in 1st Timothy in which the Apostle Paul says, "I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man." The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message prohibits women from serving as pastors.
Why Why Why do modern women put up with this!
Jan 8, 2007
A Message to Pat from Paul in Helena
Message to PatPssssst — hey Pat Robertson,Pat, I’m speaking to you again…… you know….. The Big Guy.Well I guess 2006 didn’t turn out like we’d predicted. That tsunami we’d hoped for, you know, the one that was supposed to decimate the northwest US coastlines, just didn’t pan out. Well maybe your minions will buy a partial prophesy with all the flooding in the northeast. What’s that? No, I don’t have time to bother with all the suffering in Darfur, or the Middle East….. I’m too busy punishing Ariel Sharon for pulling out of Gaza. And I’m really sorry for not telling you to pass on that hot tip to George dubbya — the one about scraping off Rumsfeld and Rove prior to the election. It’s funny I didn’t see that coming. Anyhow, let’s both keep praying that the flim-flam profiteering evangelist thing keeps working for you — not like some of those other phonies, you know, Baker, Swaggert, and Haggard. With any luck, people will continue to buy the “conversations with God” scam and you won’t be exposed for the money worshipping, self-absorbed, faux righteous, bigoted fraud that you are. End Transmission……The twisted little voice inside your head.Paul Montgomery2326 Hauser Blvd.
Jan 3, 2007
1st Female Speaker of the House EVER
About time! We still have a long way to go. Women make up roughly 50% of the population and we have only a 16% representation in the House. Its better but not good enough.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It shouldn't be surprising that it took more than 200 years for Congress to select a female speaker of the House. The United States isn't exactly at the forefront when it comes to women in politics.
Women make up a larger share of the national legislature in 79 other countries, including China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an association of national legislatures. The U.S. even trails a couple of fledgling democracies: Afghanistan and Iraq.
"When my colleagues elect me as speaker on January 4, we will not just break through a glass ceiling, we will break through a marble ceiling," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is set to lead the House when the Democrats take over. "In more than 200 years of history, there was an established pecking order -- and I cut in line."
There were 22 women in the House when Pelosi was first elected to her California district in 1987. There will be a record 71 female representatives when she takes over as speaker, giving women 16 percent of the seats.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It shouldn't be surprising that it took more than 200 years for Congress to select a female speaker of the House. The United States isn't exactly at the forefront when it comes to women in politics.
Women make up a larger share of the national legislature in 79 other countries, including China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an association of national legislatures. The U.S. even trails a couple of fledgling democracies: Afghanistan and Iraq.
"When my colleagues elect me as speaker on January 4, we will not just break through a glass ceiling, we will break through a marble ceiling," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is set to lead the House when the Democrats take over. "In more than 200 years of history, there was an established pecking order -- and I cut in line."
There were 22 women in the House when Pelosi was first elected to her California district in 1987. There will be a record 71 female representatives when she takes over as speaker, giving women 16 percent of the seats.
Jan 2, 2007
The Lord didn't say nuclear. But....something like that
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AP) -- Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
HELLO!, GOD SPOKE TO YOU BUT YOUR NOT SURE WHAT HE SAID AND DID NOT GIVE MORE DETAILS. FREAKING INCREDIBLE! TELL ME WHAT DOES HE SOUND LIKE? STRANGLY SIMILAR TO YOURSELF I BET.
YOUR INSANE AND PEOPLE WHO WATCH YOUR SHOW ARE IDIOTS.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
HELLO!, GOD SPOKE TO YOU BUT YOUR NOT SURE WHAT HE SAID AND DID NOT GIVE MORE DETAILS. FREAKING INCREDIBLE! TELL ME WHAT DOES HE SOUND LIKE? STRANGLY SIMILAR TO YOURSELF I BET.
YOUR INSANE AND PEOPLE WHO WATCH YOUR SHOW ARE IDIOTS.
The Golden Rule
"Do to no one what you would not wish others to do to you."
Confucius
"Do no impose on others what yourself do not desire."
Analects of Confucius 15:23
"Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee pain: this is the sum of duty"
Mahabharata 5:1517
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as theyself"
Leviticus 19:10
"Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
Matthew 7:12
But, we all know how very difficult this is.
I copied this down by hand years ago and recently found it in my stacks of notes and research. So, I'm not sure the spelling and references are accurate. You get the point.
Confucius
"Do no impose on others what yourself do not desire."
Analects of Confucius 15:23
"Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee pain: this is the sum of duty"
Mahabharata 5:1517
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as theyself"
Leviticus 19:10
"Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
Matthew 7:12
But, we all know how very difficult this is.
I copied this down by hand years ago and recently found it in my stacks of notes and research. So, I'm not sure the spelling and references are accurate. You get the point.
Jan 1, 2007
Hypocrisy/Letter to the Editor
We now learn that 95 percent of us have had premarital sex (IR, Dec. 20). Compare that with the roughly 27 percent of us that self-identify as evangelical Christians and one detects an obvious overlap.Not long ago I read that Oklahoma — a prominent “Bible Belt” state — has the highest divorce rate in America.In just the past year, two conservative culture warriors were “outed” by their own behavior — one a publicly anti-gay “Family Values” Republican congressman caught soliciting underage boys; the other the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the epitome of institutional homophobia in America, now undergoing spirituality-based homosexual “deprogramming.”It all makes you wonder how many “pro-life” women have surreptitiously had abortions.So then, why do conservative evangelicals still feel entitled to legislate morality for the rest of us vis-à-vis South Dakota’s recently defeated abortion criminalization statute, Kansas’ and Pennsylvania’s attempts to outlaw science in science classrooms, proposed “defense of marriage” (whose marriage was under attack?) constitutional amendments, and provably inadequate “abstinence-only” federal educational edicts.I, for one, think it’s about time these folks get their own house in order before trying to legislate their morality on the rest of us.W. Craig Heymann1618 Lyndale
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
