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Our readers speak out - The Outpost welcomes letters to the editor. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity, usage, taste and libel. Short letters are more likely to be read. Send letters to The Billings Outpost, 1833 Grand Ave., Billings, MT 59102 or editor@billingsnews.com
Recent Letters to the Editor
Where is Marc Moraniec?I have watched this wonderful weatherman, Marc Moraniec, for many years on KTVQ. He made the weather worth watching. Marc seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. One day he was there and ... read... Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
‘Mission Accomplished’ speechOn Aug. 31, Obama made his Iraq War “Mission Accomplished” speech. Of course he tried to take credit for what our soldiers have done. He will blame Bush - as usual. And, he is going to ... read... Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
Tax dollars neededWhile a balance in all things is necessary, I submit the pendulum has swung too far against government needs when it comes to the collection of taxes. Virtually all candidates are promising not to raise ... read... Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
Bad ideas on energyThe energy sector in the United States supports 9 million jobs. Recessionary job losses total approximately 5.2 million, with leading indicators suggesting that losses will deepen in coming months. Now the president and congressional leadership are ... read... Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
Endorsements announcedThe Montana Women Pipeline Project is excited to announce its endorsed candidates for this November’s legislative races. Similar to Emily’s List, the Pipeline works to elect progressive Democratic women in Montana. The Pipeline endorsed the ... read... Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
Volunteer to helpThe Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been a very dynamic group in Billings for many years with a dedicated group of volunteers participating in and responding to the needs of the poor. As ... read... Thursday, 26 August 2010 |
Has Rehberg changed spots?Can a leopard really change its spots? Appears to me that Rep. Denny Rehberg has made some moves that will put him into positions he has attempted to avoid in the past. Why would he sue ... read... Thursday, 26 August 2010 |
Vote on one ballotThe school district has just been told by the County Elections Office that the elementary and high school bonds will be on a single ballot. Previously, we were told that two ballots would be mailed. ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Bonds support city goalsThe deferred maintenance bonds to maintain our public schools support the city of Billings’ goals to revitalize existing neighborhoods. The city understands that 1) good schools anchor their neighborhoods and attract families, and 2) strong, ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
School bonds endorsedThe school bonds which our community will be asked to vote on next week have been endorsed by two key groups: the Billings Area Chamber of Commerce and the Billings Association of Realtors. These endorsements ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Maintain schools we haveKudos to School District 2 for proposing bonds we can all support. All funds raised by the elementary and high school district bonds will go to deferred maintenance at existing K-12 public schools. It doesn’t ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Bonds will cut energy costsThe elementary and high school bonds for School District 2 will save taxpayers more than $94,000 every year in energy costs. Energy use will be slashed by: • Replacing uninsulated single-pane windows with double-pane insulated windows. • ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
School maintenance essentialThe overall strength of our community is so vital. I find it perplexing that a new family moving to Billings immediately picks up on the tension between the taxpayers and School District 2. The facts are ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Use park for many purposesOn Sunday I walked through Pioneer Park and took a close look at it. Picnicking groups were having fun, sitting on the north hill, enjoying the sun shining down on them. Kites were in the air. ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Bias on FOXWhile campaigning for the State Senate, I encountered two nice women. They were incensed at a news report. “President Obama,” they said, “went to $30,000-a-plate dinners and then didn’t eat with the donors. He dined ... read... Thursday, 19 August 2010 |
Bonds would save moneyAs many Billings families are gearing up for another school year, two important ballots will come to all voters’ mailboxes: deferred maintenance bonds. There are a lot of reasons to vote yes on these school bonds. ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Read about bonds on websiteSchool District 2 is running a mail-in election Aug. 19 to Sept. 7 to ask voter approval for two bonds. The bonds will fund deferred maintenance at existing K-12 public schools. To inform voters, the school ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
A great opportunityThank you to the citizens of Billings for approving the recent School District 2 mill levies. What an amazing gesture of support for the children of Billings and for the future of our community! However, our ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Improvements neededThe upcoming school bond election gives voters of Billings a chance to start to address $120 million-plus of deferred building maintenance in School District 2. Because of state and federal funding programs, $12 million in ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Vote yes on bondsThis letter goes out to everyone in our community. Our public schools will be running a bond election Aug. 19 through Sept. 7. We have an incredible opportunity to begin work on all of our ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Bring stimulus funds to townWhether you agree with the federal stimulus funding or not, the stimulus act is law and the money is being spent. We can let the funds go elsewhere, or we can bring them here to ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Stick to 3 RsThe recent attempt to change or add new sex education curriculum in Helena is just an extension of previous attempts to sexualize our school children at a younger and younger age. While the attempt by ... read... Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
Disturbing sheriff behaviorAs a member of our law enforcement community for over 20 years, last week’s $1 million award against the current leadership of the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office was quite disturbing. Along with the cost to ... read... Thursday, 5 August 2010 |
Don’t rely on marijuanaThe last few weeks I have heard about people getting their medical marijuana card. Marijuana may have its place in pain reduction and comfort, as in the case of terminal illness and degenerating bone or ... read... Thursday, 5 August 2010 |
More laws neededAfter eight years of President Bush, we now learn that 1 percent of the population own 95 percent of the wealth in the country. This to me is shocking and should be to everybody. I ... read... Thursday, 5 August 2010 |
Offended by CEO payNow seems to be a time for protesting, especially taxes, which is not really very new, but it seems to be a stronger protest than in the recent past. I don’t know anyone paying taxes ... read... Thursday, 5 August 2010 |
Headed toward socialismWelcome to the United Socialist States of America (USSA). How do you like the forced government takeover of our healthcare system by Obama and the Democrats in Congress? With complete disregard of the wishes of ... read... Thursday, 5 August 2010 |
Thanks for cleanup helpOn behalf of the Yellowstone County Commissioners, MetraPark, United Way and Big Sky Economic Development, I’d like to thank each of the 400 volunteers who gave their time Tuesday [June 22] to clean up the ... read... Thursday, 29 July 2010 |
What about coal here?We can compare the Gulf oil disaster to mining coal in Eastern Montana. They have some things in common: recklessly issued permits, poor environmental studies, a silent local press, use of water resources, and little ... read... Thursday, 29 July 2010 |
Thanks for fund-raiserThe Montana Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association would like to thank the generous citizens of Billings and the surrounding areas for their incredible support of our Fill the Boot campaign that was held on ... read... Thursday, 29 July 2010 |
Thanks for supportWe offer a standing ovation of appreciation to the Alberta Bair Theater’s Wild West Soirée committee, sponsors, donors, volunteers and ABT staff, as well as the over 10,000 attendees of the Charlie Daniels pre-concert bash ... read... Thursday, 29 July 2010 |
Is Van Dyk representing Billings?If politics is supposed to be about local representation, why is Kendall Van Dyk bringing in all his money from Washington, D.C., Helena and Missoula? You would think he was contemplating a run for Congress ... read... Thursday, 29 July 2010 |
Flawed primary systemHave you ever suspected that something was wrong, but upon investigation discovered you were mistaken; it is actually much worse than you thought? That is what I discovered with the open primary election system in Montana. ... read... Thursday, 15 July 2010 |
Health care reform helpsAs a school bus driver, I have seen my health insurance premiums skyrocket 55 percent in the past six months. There was a rate increase in November and another one in April. The modest wage hike ... read... Thursday, 1 July 2010 |
Wailing in WashingtonHave you ever heard such wailing in Washington, D.C., in all your life? Seems like those making all the noise were just treated like the minority in Congress by those mean Democrats. These members of Congress ... read... Thursday, 1 July 2010 |
Motorcycle clubs praisedI want to comment on an event held in Huntley on May 1. It was the Spring Thaw put on by the motorcycle club The Horde. I was a vendor at the this event and my ... read... Thursday, 24 June 2010 |
Ten trillion dollarsI read with interest about the fourth annual Montana HealthCare Forum Conference held in Helena last week. I did not read much about cost containment. Before the current bill was passed the United States was ... read... Thursday, 24 June 2010 |
Thanks for ceremoniesI would like to thank all of our veterans, county residents and members of the public who attended the many Memorial Day ceremonies conducted around the county. I would like to thank George Blackard, commander of ... read... Thursday, 17 June 2010 |
Climate change warningWe are sickened at the destruction and death in the Gulf of Mexico, both the human death toll and the spectacle of birds and other animals feeding their young fish poisoned by not only oil, ... read... Thursday, 17 June 2010 |
An inclusive operaRimrock Opera Company strives to be inclusive, not exclusive. Nowhere was this more evident than our final dress rehearsal for “LaBoheme,” on Thursday, April 22, at the Alberta Bair Theater, which was open to school ... read... Thursday, 17 June 2010 |
Too much? Too little?I have been reading about a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary. Some quote from it saying, “[W]e estimate that overall national health expenditures under the health reform ... read... Thursday, 17 June 2010 |
Alternatives to oilI am a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, and I believe that we need to stop purchasing and consuming foreign oil. Between domestic production of oil and our renewable energy potential, America is the ... read... Thursday, 10 June 2010 |
Delighted with turnoutThe Rocky Mountain College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) class is delighted with the participation and cooperation of more people and organizations than we can name here for the recent first-ever Billings Canstruction event at ... read... Thursday, 10 June 2010 |
Thanks to WesterI want to thank Gloria Wester for her 30 years of dedicated, unselfish commitment to the travel/tourism industry in Montana. Gloria, along with Sandra Hawke, Linda Behling, and Dixie Lee and Hal Elliot, were the ... read... Thursday, 10 June 2010 |
The TEA Party thanks youToday [April 7] we had a fantastic rally. I always am optimistic in thinking that eventually hundreds of folks will join us during their lunch hour on the street corner to raise awareness about our ... read... Thursday, 10 June 2010 |
Support conservative candidatesThe Montana Conservative Alliance promotes conservative values and liberty through limited government. We work with dozens of like-minded organizations throughout the state, actively supporting legislative candidates who, through their voting records and candidate surveys, have ... read... Thursday, 3 June 2010 |
Elk numbers challengedActivists who oppose commonsense management of wolf populations are misusing statistics from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to support their own agenda. We will not let it go unchallenged. Defenders of Wildlife, Western Wildlife Conservancy, ... read... Thursday, 3 June 2010 |
Opposed to attacksEDITOR’S NOTE: This statement was released by Not in Our Town Billings after unknown persons used the phrase in a fire bombing of a medical marijuana clinic.Not in Our Town is an organization committed to ... read... Thursday, 3 June 2010 |
Road mess in LockwoodGreetings from the Lockwood Quagmire/Gravel Pit (euphemistically now, and formerly, known as Old Hardin Road).The “powers,” even after three or four residential votes indicating that the people do not want to invest so many millions ... read... Thursday, 3 June 2010 |
Thanks for ticketsIt has been quite a while since I have looked at the Outpost paper.I came across your ad regarding free tickets to events in and around the Billings area.When you try to live on a ... read... Thursday, 3 June 2010 |
Please don’t sign I-161 petitionsI’m writing in opposition to Initiative 161, a proposed initiative from Kurt Kephart, a Billings contractor, which would be a blow to Montana’s economy when we can least afford it. I-161 would devastate Montana’s traditional ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
McDonald for McDonaldI recently received an email from Congressman Denny Rehberg about the government spending $572,602,739 per day on interest from the national debt (which he helped to create it since he was elected in 2000). He ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Skeleton in the closetIn public, attorney Dennis McDonald, who is running for Congress in Montana, paints an altruistic picture of his relationship with admitted killer and mobster Jimmy “The Weasel” Fratianno. He agreed to represent Fratianno on condition, ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Against Olson, Reno, NoennigIn spring 2011, MSTI (the Mountain State Transmission Intertie) will begin functioning, and Montanans’ power bills will immediately increase up to 300 percent.Montana produces 18,000 kilowatts of energy per hour, which circulates throughout the state ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Recycling opportunityIn June of 2009 we took a leisurely trip from the Minneapolis area to Seattle by car, going through half of Minnesota, all of North Dakota, part of Idaho and most of Washington and back ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Agreeing with SiegnerToday is a day I never expected to see - I AGREE WITH CATHY SIEGNER (April 8). I will even forgive her for taking six years to see our esteemed governor for what he has ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Sticking with FoxAm writing regarding the March 4 article castigating those who get their news from radio stations KBUL and KBLG and Fox TV news.Since I fall into that group, it is because from the rest of ... read... Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Looking beyond I-161I was wondering who is Mr. [Kurt] Kephart? Who is he working for? And where does he plan to hunt after the dust settles on I-161? If he is successful, he has succeeded in deregulating ... read... Thursday, 20 May 2010 |
Fired up for Tea PartyI am an active member of the Sheridan Tea Party. And, I helped organize our April 17 rally.The speakers were fantastic! They came from all over Wyoming and were very informed and qualified. The rally ... read... Thursday, 20 May 2010 |
School sex ed classesI am a student at Montana State University Billings and recently for a class project I, along with another student, put together a clergy panel on women’s reproductive rights and issues. During the panel discussions ... read... Thursday, 20 May 2010 |
Jail for drunks not enoughOver the last 20 years or so DUI laws have gotten tougher, and rightly so. But we’re starting to reach a point of diminished return with tougher laws.We already have more people in jail than ... read... Thursday, 20 May 2010 |
Vote for safety levyWould you pay $4.90 a year to help people with mental illness receive treatment in Billings for 48,000 visits a year? That’s what it would cost a family who owns a $100,000 home.The safety mill ... read... Thursday, 13 May 2010 |
Can’t take Gernant seriouslyLet me see if I can get this straight. Tyler Gernant, candidate for Congress, was born in Montana and left Montana when he was 4 years old. Then he returned to Montana in 2004 to ... read... Thursday, 13 May 2010 |
Food safetyKudos to Ed Gulick and Sayra Stiltner for their wonderful letters in the May 6 paper.Americans have completely changed from an agrarian society to a fast food/processed food society. Many children have no idea that ... read... Thursday, 13 May 2010 |
Don’t sign CI 102 petitionOur Constitution’s First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Montana’s Constitution Article II, Section 5, is identical.Constitutional Initiative 102 attempts to define that ... read... Thursday, 13 May 2010 |
South Side often neglectedNews articles on the School District 2 election were commented upon by several bloggers. One said that the “South Side keeps the city down.” A pretty strange comment since the South Side is the city’s ... read... Thursday, 13 May 2010 |
Bring food revolution to stateI just watched a new TV show called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” What a great show and wake up call for America. It is not only advocating for a healthy America but is teaching us ... read... Thursday, 6 May 2010 |
Fix food safety billU.S. Sen. Jon Tester deserves a tip of the hat for introducing two commonsense amendments to S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. With these amendments, Tester aims to protect the viability of local food ... read... Thursday, 6 May 2010 |
Subscribe to OutpostAt a time when newspapers are failing all over the country, Billings citizens can be especially proud of their independent weekly, The Billings Outpost.One example: The Gazette had a reporter at the League of Women ... read... Thursday, 28 May 2009 |
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