Our readers speak

By The Standard Staff - 10/19/2006

Sen. Conrad Burns helped save my son’s life

My son, Paul Cooney, of Butte, got out of the Navy in 1993 after finishing his four year enlistment. He did two terms in the Gulf.

Six months before he got out, he became very sick. After the Navy, he was in school in California and thought he would recover. He didn’t, and ended up back in Montana.

In the latter part of 1993, I took him to the Veterans Administration Hospital at Fort Harrison near Helena. The doctors had him flown to Seattle where it was confirmed he had Wegener’s Disease that affected his kidneys. He was put on dialysis and medications.

In January 1997, his condition worsened; he needed a transplant. Not knowing what to do, I contacted Sen. Conrad Burns because my son was a vet.

Burns contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs and by March, Paul and I were on our way to the VA in Nashville, Tenn. for a kidney transplant.

Six months later, my daughter and Paul’s half-sister, Trina Levesque of Butte, offered to donate her kidney. I again contacted Burns for more help because Paul was no longer on the kidney waiting list.

Burns went to bat for us again, and in March 1998, we were returning to the VA Hospital in Tennessee. Paul has Trina’s kidney and is alive and well in Denver.

Burns helped save my son’s life: Not once, but twice. From a mom’s point of view, he is pro-military and pro-veterans, and I am deeply grateful that he is our senator. This is the kind of man, we the people of Montana need in Washington — a man of his word, a man you can respect and a man you can trust.

Vera Patty Richardson

4055 Wynne

Butte

Democratic political flier an insult to veterans

A recent mailing from the Montana State Democratic Party on behalf of Jon Tester depicts two homeless people huddled on a park bench and using a dirty American flag as a blanket.

Above the picture are the words, “Talk is cheap. Montana veterans deserve better.”

We are to believe that these two people are veterans brought to this circumstance by Sen. Conrad Burns. The rest of the page is rehashing of false allegations and innuendo against Burns on veterans issues.

This mailer and this picture are disrespectful of veterans and especially disrespectful of the American flag.

Memo to the Montana Democratic Party and Tester: Our nation’s flag is not to be displayed or used as a dirty blanket in a political attack advertisement.

My grandfather, my father, my uncles and many of my friends have been buried under that flag. One day it will cover my remains before being folded and passed on to my next of kin.

As a veteran from a family of veterans, I find that picture about as repugnant as it can get.

The other offensive implication of the ad is that veterans end up this way because government doesn’t give us enough handouts.

Memo No. 2 to the Montana Democratic Party and Tester: I don’t know of any veterans who aren’t successful in life and we don’t need more welfare or charity.

We learn to persevere and overcome hardship in the service. Then we applied these lessons and experiences in our lives afterward.

In my family, we got out, learned a trade or went to college, and at a minimum had successful middle class lives.

If you read “We Were Soldiers,” “Band of Brothers,” “A Bridge Too Far,” or other histories of war, read the “where are they now section.”

You will find that 95 percent of the veterans of those wars and battles went on to successful lives. Some even became millionaires and executives.

It’s a much higher percentage of success than society at large. If you want to depict the average veteran, try looking for successful people who have a positive influence on the community.

The Montana State Democratic Party and Tester owe veterans an apology for their depiction of us.

They owe the rest of the public an apology for desecrating the American flag in this mailer.

And they owe Burns an apology for repeating these specious attacks that they know are false and misleading.

Does anyone honestly believe that a Marine veteran like Burns would be capable of working against his fellow veterans?

People who have never served, depict veterans as bums, imply that servicemen need mental help, are disrespectful of our flag, and want to give up on our war effort are the ones who are suspect to me.

Supporting the troops mean supporting their efforts to win our war. If you don’t, you don’t.

Matt Egloff

P.O. Box 4394

Butte

Foley scandal puts dent in ‘family values’ idea

For the past six years we have heard from the Bush Administration, about family values.

We heard how important family values are and how the Republicans would bring back “good” family values to Washington and to the country.

But in reality there has been one scandal after another. One lie after another. Now the former Rep. Mark Foley sex scandal is the latest trouble for the Bush Administration.

Foley did resign. But House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he knew about Foley and his improper actions with young page boys and did nothing about Foley’s sexual messages to teens. So does that mean he supports pedophiles?

What did President Bush do? He called Hastert and expressed his support for Hastert and told him he not to resign.

Republicans are now worried that the scandal could cost them control of the House and possibly the Senate. But the Republicans should be worried about young children and their safety. They seem just to be worried about votes!

So much for “family values.” The Bush Administration and the Republicans give a new meaning to, “no child left behind!”

La Von D. Brillhart

228 W. Morse

Dillon

Jet engine testing will create quite a racket

Russ Cannole, Chris Ossello and Jim Kambich, as you gentlemen are aware, the last site for Aero Tech was the Mojave Desert.

You are all well educated professionals. Do you really believe that the next step for this project is “determining whether it falls within TIFID financing perimeters?” Uhhhh, no. It’s finding another location to blast, i.e., test, the jet engines.

Let me give you a few scenarios. I place my son down for a nap. I’m outside having a barbecue with family and friends. I’m enjoying a glass of wine with my wife, and lo and behold, a jet engine goes off, and then again, and again, and again I’m afraid I’ll have to call each one of you each time and let you know how the test went.

As a Butte-Silver Bow taxpayer, registered voter, army veteran, school board trustee and family man, I truly believe that I’ve earned the right to have a voice in what others deem as economic development and then placed at my door step.

Whether it is a power plant, pig farm or jet engine testing facility, your first priority should be to determine the disruption and quality of life that some of your projects will affect.

The last few years, Butte’s economic development has been exciting and a sight for sore eyes. There are a lot of individuals and committees to thank. I’m extremely proud of being born and raised in Butte, and that said, I think we should be somewhat picky as to what we pursue in the name of economic development.

Economic development should not come at the expense of a long standing community.

Dave Andrews

P.O. Box 9

Ramsay

Rampant earmarking shows arrogance of power

As noted in recent debates, state Sen. Jon Tester and U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns differ on the role of congressional earmarking.

This “process” of last minute additions to federal budgets has exploded and it has become the significant way to not only add to the questionable favored projects of powerful members, but has even been used to change laws — called “riders” in the parlance of Congress speak.

Burns suggests that this is how the system works and with his seniority —which may vanish if the Democrats re-take the Senate — he can continue to deliver for Montana.

Tester thinks that earmarking is destroying the system of democratic governance and has led to lack of real congressional oversight.

While earmarking has been a part of congressional life for many years, the Republican Party, particularly after taking control of both the executive and legislative branches of government, has gone earmark crazy and essentially has done away with careful review of significant government expenditures, so much so that one wonders if we even need congressional appropriation committees any longer.

Rampant earmarking is part and parcel of the same arrogance of power that Burns has demonstrated in his connection to the Abramoff lobbying scandals. The capacity of Burns to deliver for Abramoff by his power to earmark is why he had to give away the $150,000 in campaign contributions he received from Abramoff.

This will be the first time I vote in a national election. I will vote for Tester because I am tired of arrogant power and the reduction of real democracy to a dishonest game of money and corruption.

Clara Schahczenski,

17 Cedar Hills Rd.

Whitehall