Billings Gazette, Oct. 24, on Trump attacking First Amendment in Montana:
Montana should be honored when the president of the United States visits our great state. But there was nothing honorable in remarks President Donald Trump made praising assault on a journalist.
The Missoula airport rally last Thursday made national news for what Trump said about the May 24, 2017, attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, whom Greg Gianforte assaulted on the eve of his election to the U.S. House. A Fox News crew witnessed Gianforte slam Jacobs to the floor and punch him.
The U.S. needs a president who “celebrates the First Amendment,” not one who “pretends that beating up a reporter is OK,” U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
Guardian U.S. Editor John Mulholland said he was disturbed by the president’s Missoula message: “In the aftermath of the murder of (Washington Post columnist) Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats.”
Trump brought up that attack at the Missoula rally, saying: “Any guy that can do a body slam - he’s my kind of guy.” Trump made a body slam gesture that drew cheers and laughter, and added about Gianforte: “He’s a great guy, tough cookie.”
The president said he was in Rome with other world leaders when he heard about the attack. “And I said, oh, this is terrible. He’s going to lose the election,” Trump recalled. “And then I said, well, wait a minute. I know Montana pretty well. I think it might help him. And it did.”
The president was wrong to congratulate Gianforte for committing assault. He is wrong to encourage violence against any journalist or anyone else.
Trump’s comments imply that Montanans elected Gianforte because he attacked Jacobs. Don’t pin that insult on us, Mr. President. The majority of ballots had been cast early - before the assault in Bozeman occurred.
Montanans often disagree, but we are committed to working together to work out differences. Most Montanans respect the rule of law and we respect each other.
Yet the Missoula crowd’s response begs the question: Would these folks cheer an attack on Montana journalists?
That is a serious question. After the Boston Globe announced it would coordinate an editorial response to political attacks on the media, it began receiving calls from a California man who threatened to kill “every” Globe employee and called the newspaper “the enemy of the people.” The Gazette received angry comments accusing “the media” and The Gazette of “colluding” on free press editorials.
The day after Trump held his campaign rally in Missoula, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press released a report prepared by journalists from the U.S., South and Central America where verbal attacks on the press have been preludes to shifts away from democratic norms.
The Inter American Press Association report concluded: “It is vital to democracy that journalists can do their jobs and report on public corruption and misconduct without fear of government surveillance and retaliation. The U.S. must continue to set the benchmark for freedom of speech and the press and serve as a beacon of these cherished principles abroad.”
Press freedom is protected in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which Trump and every other U.S. official has sworn to uphold. We call on the president to defend First Amendment press freedom - even if he dislikes journalists.
If government leaders destroy trust in the free press, no one will hold government accountable. Government would then tell people only what it wants them to know.
This is why The Gazette editorial board strongly denounces the president’s words that disparage and villainize journalists for simply doing their constitutionally protected work.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2EGqeoX
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Daily Inter Lake, Oct. 21, on 6-mill levy making good sense for Montana:
Seventy years ago, as Montana was rebuilding its economy after World War II, state leaders took the visionary step of putting a 6-mill levy on the ballot to help fund higher education. The referendum passed, and every 10 years since 1948 voters have supported the levy, knowing that access to education means better opportunities for our students that ultimately translates into stronger businesses and communities throughout the state.
Now it’s time once again for Montanans to consider continuing the 6-mill levy for another 10 years. With the Nov. 6 general election just over two weeks away, there’s a lot of political noise out there about what to support and what to reject.
We can say without a doubt that continuing the 6-mill levy makes good sense for Montana. And we’ll help you sort out the facts from the misnomers.
The 6-mill levy, listed on the ballot as Legislative Referendum LR-128, is not a new tax. It’s a continuation of Montana’s commitment to its universities, and the tax has been levied at the same number of mills for seven decades. Today, it equates to about $27 a year for a $225,000 home.
The levy provides about $20 million a year to public colleges and universities in Montana, roughly 10 percent of the total state-appropriated funding for higher education. That money provides educational support for more than 40,000 students. It enhances the quality of Montana’s higher-education programs while defraying tuition costs for Montana students.
What it boils down to is this: do we want to ensure that Montana students have educational opportunities to help them compete for jobs in today’s diverse economy? Yes, we do.
The 6-mill levy traditionally has had bipartisan support since the beginning, and we trust that tradition will continue. This year the 6-mill levy has the full support of Montana’s two senators and other elected leaders, including Montana’s governor. It has our full support, too.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2EHkefv
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Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Oct. 19, on not leaving behind homeless kids:
Some Bozeman school officials are justifiably concerned there won’t be additional funds to help homeless students when the second high school opens its doors in a couple of years. This is a problem that must not be ignored.
The numbers fluctuate, but many are shocked to learn there are scores of homeless students in Bozeman schools. Circumstances vary widely, but these kids can find themselves without a reliable place to stay - hopefully only temporarily - because of divorce, domestic violence or parents who lose their jobs. Homelessness can lead to emotional and academic problems.
School officials most familiar with the plight of these students recently urged School Board members to keep these students in mind when planning the new high school and renovations at the existing high school.
Maintaining services for homeless students doesn’t need to be a big problem. When high school enrollment is split between the two schools, there should be ample space to set aside a room in each for resources to help these students. Currently food, clothes, shoes and school supplies are stored in the “Shelf,” a room at Bozeman High set aside for that purpose. The supplies are purchased with donations and grant money - funds unlikely to increase when the second high school opens. These supplies are doled out to homeless students by Anna Edwards, family schools services coordinator for the school district.
And the schools aren’t geographically remote. Edwards should be provided with transportation to ferry herself and supplies for the homeless students between the two schools. And the second high school will necessitate a second administration hierarchy. As a part of his or her duties, one member could be assigned to keep tabs on resources for the homeless in the new high school as well as keeping track of students there known to be homeless when Edwards needs to be elsewhere.
School administrators are commended for bringing this problem to the attention of the School Board. The school district’s homeless student population must be factored into planning for the second high school.
And the discussion that has begun about this issue should ensure that happens.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2q9FCAc
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