Patrick Henry was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered for his “Give me Liberty, or give me Death” speech. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he was one of the most influential (and radical) advocates of the American Revolution.

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If elected, my highest priority will be economic development and creating quality jobs here in the Bitterroot. And I believe this is doable. One reason I’m optimistic is because we’ve done it with our MAPS: Media Arts in the Public School program. (If you want to see what we’ve accomplished please visit www.mediarts.org)

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On every level, it’s time to increase the public’s direct involvement with federal decision making and one area that is of vital importance and urgency is our forests. Below is an email from Frank Carroll of South Dakota’s Black Forest Advisory Board…a solution?

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This just isn’t right…we’ve got to do better. (Peter)

by ANTHONY QUIRINI - Ravalli Republic

Ravalli County barely received a passing grade in a recent report that linked the cost of rent to what people earn. The 2008 Colorado College State of the Rockies report card gave Ravalli County a C-minus for being a place with affordable rent. The recently released report profiled states and counties throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

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By 2025, Montana’s senior population (I’m 59 so that is about to include me) will grow by 82%. Currently our state is 14th in the nation with folks over 65; seventeen years from now we’ll have the 3rd highest. And bringing it closer to home, 26% of all Ravalli County residents will be 65+ by 2025.

For younger people, seventeen years seems like a lifetime. But to those of us who have been around awhile, those years will go by very quickly.

Now I don’t know all the answers…I don’t even know all the questions. But one thing I feel strong about is that a Montanan’s quality of life is a most precious natural resource - no matter how old you are.

MONTANA VIEWPOINT

April 14, 2005

Senator Jim Elliott

Now that we’ve all filed our income taxes for the year, and thereby paid our share of keeping America great, it seems like as good time as any to reflect on the fairness of the Montana income tax system . I don’t know what you made last year, but if you had to pay any income tax at all I bet you paid more than fifty bucks. For comparison there were 78 out-of-state corporations that paid $50 in 2005 Montana Corporate Income tax.

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Ok…’fair’ does have four letters but it is not a dirty word by any stretch. On the contrary, ‘is it fair’ is a great way to help measure what’s right and and what’s wrong.

Unfortunately, fairness has been missing in action from our public debates and in the halls of our legislature. For example: we believe tax cuts are a good thing but is it fair that they benefit the rich far more than the middle class and poor? And education…are we being fair measuring our children by a one-size-fits-all standard and leaving them behind? How about $140 a barrel oil…is it fair that Exxon made $34 billion last quarter and average Americans are getting their pockets picked at the pump? A resounding NO.

So to those who say “life isn’t fair”, I say “life is what you make it”. In the future, let’s insist that our elected officials include the issue of fairness before they create the laws that will shape our future.

I have four grown step-children and three of them have substantial college loan debt. And I expect a lot of your sons and daughters face a similiar situation.

But is this the only option? How about we invest in our children and subsidize college education for Montana youth?

And in exchange - before or after they graduate - they repay the subsidy with their time and do public service? They can work in hospitals, with the elderly, in the forests, in schools etc. Heck…if we’re going to subsidize big corporations to grow profits, why don’t we subsidize small families to grow great kids with bright futures?

Virginia Senator, Jim Webb, has authored a new GI Bill. Some of our Presidential candidates support it, others do not.

It is my opinion that there are many issues that lend themselves to partisan debate, but supporting our veterans with the benefits they deserve should not be one of them.

For the record, the White House is against the bill because of its $52 billion price tag and because the Department of Defense believes it will negatively affect retention rates.

Are we satisfied with the way things are or is it time for things to be as they should be? Representative Pete Stark has a health care proposal that is a possible solution to this very important problem. (See below)

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today introduced the “AmeriCare Health Care Act” with the support of U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and more than 25 of their colleagues. AmeriCare is a simple and practical proposal for universal health coverage that builds on both Medicare and the employer-based system.

“Debates on healthcare tend to occur every ten to fifteen years, when costs rise to a level that attracts national attention. As we edge closer to our next discussion, the fundamental question before us is if medical care is a civic and social right like police and fire services, education, and national defense,” said Stark.

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