Don't tread on me

To the editor,

Now that the elections are over, I feel compelled to put these words to paper on behalf of my wife, my family and the many supporters of Denise's recent campaign.

This past election cycle has brought a bad smell to the valley and made a mockery of the voting system.

A small group of individuals attacked my wife in the media, trying to associate her with a vile group of white supremacists, a lie with absolutely no merit.

Denise did work a temporary part-time job in an insurance office for a man alleged (by Ken Toole of the Human Rights Network) to be a racist. She heard about the job from Christian friends and worked to pay tuition for our daughters at the Christian school. I never met the man, and Denise did not often see him as he traveled for his work.

This group, Republicans for the Flathead, is headed up by John Hinchey and includes two other losers from the primary, Alan Sieler and Paul Holland. They, along with a handful of supporters and supposed Republicans, ran a series of attack ads including ads published with no time to respond. These vicious ads held very little truth and plenty of finger-pointing. This bad smell lingers on at Norm's News, where these supposed Republicans met. This group will have that bad smell follow them in their public and private lives for years to come.

It appears that Joe Brenneman agrees with this group. He is quoted in the Oct. 29 Missoulian questioning Denise's association with a white supremacist. I suppose that if she had worked for a wife beater that he would have her guilty of that crime also. Mr. Brenneman will bring that bad smell with him to the commissioner's office as he jumped on the bandwagon.

I guess that these people fail to notice her last name, which is the same as mine, dragging my family down as they spew their filth.

Therefore it is my duty, honor and privilege as the last surviving male of my branch of the family to defend our good name. My family has fought hard against this type of tyranny for centuries. My bloodline goes back to the Revolutionary War, and my mother is a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. My ancestors include the Daniel Boone family, among others, who fought against this type of persecution throughout all the wars. During World War II, my dad served proudly in the South Pacific, and several of my uncles fought in Europe and the South Pacific. One of my uncles went down with the Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor.

Lest we forget, we can hold on to our ideas and be free from persecution. We believe in a two-party system, as my wife was born into a strong Democrat family who also served this country proudly, and I come from a strong Republican/Democrat family. One of my uncles served as Under Secretary of Agriculture, appointed by former President Franklin Roosevelt.

As Hinchey and Republicans for the Flathead put it, my wife is a zealot and extremist. As for myself, I am not a perfect man, only forgiven because in my younger years I drank, gambled and fought religiously. Who we are and what we are are God-fearing Americans who believe that Jesus Christ came on our behalf and yours that we might be saved. This is the same God that this country was founded on.

Hinchey and Republicans for the Flathead said that my wife is "ill-equipped" to be county commissioner. Do they say this because she is a woman? I don't know, you tell me. By the way, Hinchey, Holland, Sieler and followers, I am 6-foot-two-inches and weigh 250 pounds. Last time I looked, I still had all of my equipment, so I guess that I don't qualify for your group of geldings.

I'm a quiet man and not much of a talker, but I have a heart and a mind. You don't have to agree with my wife's views but do agree with her thoughts that truth, honesty and integrity can hold political office someday in this commissioner's seat.

So the next time you try to ruin a candidate's name, be sure to look deeply into their heart and look behind them at the long line of supporters, past and present.

These types of lies and finger-pointing cannot be tolerated in any walk of life. For in this country, we have the freedom to worship and the opportunity to succeed or fail. But more importantly, we have the opportunity to start over and move on.

And so, while Denise may have lost the election, it is the citizens of Flathead County who have really lost. Instead of electing a woman of integrity, they instead chose to believe the vicious lies of a few and elect a moderate. Only time will tell how truly moderate our new commissioner really is.

I close this letter with a well-known motto: "Don't tread on me."

Steve Cofer

Kalispell

In honor of Edwards

To the editor,

While visiting Glacier National Park this summer, I was saddened to hear about Gordon Edwards' recent death. I met Gordon in the early 60s. I bought his climbers' guide. Then, while working in the park during the mid-60s, I used Edwards' guide to climb many mountains (Reynolds, Clements, Going-to-the-Sun, Chief, East Flattop, Siyeh, Wilbur and others).

How about renaming one of the park's mountains after Gordon Edwards to recognize Edwards' significant and enduring contribution to the enjoyment of Glacier National Park. I understand that Edwards died while climbing Divide Mountain near St. Mary. I suggest, therefore, renaming Divide Mountain as Mt. Gordon Edwards.

Ronald J. Berg

Juneau, Alaska

Editor's note: There is a peak in Glacier National Park already named Edwards, between Little Matterhorn and Gunsight peaks.

Wake up, folks

To the editor,

Well, the privatization forces are speeding up their plans to privatize Social Security already, before the end of our current year.

The privatization forces are not wasting any time in laying the ground work and are already alerting the Social Security of what to expect in the following months of 2004 and/or soon afterward.

This was not expected until after the 2004 election and maybe during the coming year, but some of our Congressional people just can't leave well enough alone. They are building a powerful base for a big push of the privatization of Social Security in our upcoming year.

The plan for privatization of the program has come to the surface already in the House and Senate, along with several other devastating plans that are on their way, while America sleeps or has, or is having, a good time.

We citizens of the good old U.S.A. are facing one or maybe more challenges of our elected Congressional officials in the not too far away future. I hope I'm not wasting too much ink.

As I see it, after the election dust settles, the full force of the privatization will be turned into a full-grown storm that we, the American people, will have a very hard time surviving such a happening.

This could or would hasten the collapse of our Social Security program by depleting our "trust fund surplus." Wake up, you folks who are expecting your Social Security checks.

Linc France

Columbia Falls