Valley Views

valley views Favorite programs return

We are really looking forward to 2022 here at the library with the return of some favorite programs and some big changes on the horizon for our building.

Story Time returns on Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m. starting Jan. 13. This program is geared toward kids ages 3-5 and their parents or caregivers. Each week Felicia will read stories and have an easy craft for kids to participate in. This program is great for getting kindergarten ready, but also for some good old fun. For the littlest library patrons, we have Mother Goose programs each Monday at 9:15 a.m. in the library meeting room. This program is for babies, toddlers and their parents or caregivers and includes stories, nursery rhymes and songs. This is a great opportunity for parents to meet and kids to play. Older siblings and friends are always welcome.

Join Sierra on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. for our first technology program of the year entitled, “Get Started with Genealogy: Using the Ancestry website to research family history.” Sierra will walk you through how to use the Ancestry Library website and will also introduce participants to other resources the library has for researching your family tree. Watch for technology programs each month at the library. We have been trying to tell everyone about all of the great digital resources the library offers, but we aren’t seeing a lot of usage on some of them. We are due to renew our Freegal subscription soon and need your input. Freegal is an ad-free music streaming service at no cost to library cardholders. With our renewal we would get unlimited streaming and continue our five free downloads per week. Freegal offers some of today’s new music (like Adele’s new album) as well as millions of old favorites. If you want us to keep Freegal, please take just a minute to complete our survey on our website or Facebook page today.

Felicia was doing a little new year tidying up and found a couple of LeapPads that still work. They’ve got new batteries and are seeing a new life in the library. These are available to checkout for 14 days along with books and cartridges too. These are great learning tools for young children.

Did you know we still offer curbside service? Curbside delivery is a permanent feature available to all patrons for “holds” pickups. Just pull up in front of the library, give us a call and tell us the last five digits of your library card number. We will get your holds checked out, bagged up and delivered to your vehicle. We can even do contactless delivery to your trunk.

The library will be closed on Monday, Jan.17, for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The library is open Mondays – Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday and Friday reserved as a high- risk hour, (please wear a mask during this time), and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Curbside pickup is available for everyone during open hours. Please call us at 406-883-8225 or email us at: polsoncl@ polson.lib.mt.us with questions or to request curbside pickup.

View from the

Library Abbi Dooley,

North Lake County Public Library District

MT state senators call for ‘Convention of States’

In August of 2020, we wrote an opinion opposing Modern Monetary Theory (or MMT, the “too good to be true” idea that the federal government can spend unlimited amounts of money, regardless of revenue, in order to benefit the country and the economy). We disagreed with MMT on the strongest terms. Since that time, the federal government has added $8.4 trillion dollars to our national debt, which now stands at $29.2 trillion.

We appealed to the common sense that the government cannot fix everything, own everything, or control everything. We warned that printing unlimited quantities of money despite deficits would be inflationary, and that other countries that have gone down this path have destroyed their economies and currencies. (German currency became worthless and Germans lost everything due to hyper-inflation from 1920 -1923).

The numbers are now in. November consumer price inflation checked in at 6.8% while producer price inflation is pacing at 9.6% annualized. Used cars are up 31% year over year, energy is up 33%, and housing prices have increased 18.6%. Food items like meat and eggs are up 14% and 11% respectively. To exacerbate the inflation problem, supply has been decreased due to government regulation related to the pandemic and otherwise. Labor productivity has fallen at the fastest rate recorded in the past 60 years, and farm productivity is down. An accelerating supply of money chasing after fewer goods and services presents a horrifying inflation scenario.

We are sorry to report that the fiscal 2022 federal budget continues to accelerate long-term

deficit trends and spends $6 trillion dollars despite a $4 trillion income. These numbers do not include the potential “Build Back Better” plan. Legislative Notes For fiscal year 2022, entitlement spending is expected to Rep. Terry Moore, be $3.9 trillion. Interest on the Sen. Tom McGillvray debt is projected at $.3 trillion. An alarming 100% of revenue is spent on entitlements (Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, childcare payments, unemployment, etc.) and interest on the debt. This means that to pay for national defense or infrastructure, we must borrow from foreign nations or just print money

see page 11

LETTER POLICY

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Fishing good in Polson Bay

Iwent to Polson Bay out in front of Kwatuknuk (4-7 inches of ice) and caught two 14-pound mackinaws.

Lake Mary Ronan (sloppy on the ice; 250 yards out and be careful, ice thickness at a guess is 4-6 inches) is giving up perch.

East Bay is frozen over solid with 3-4 inches, lots of snow on the ice.

Turtle Lake has 6 inches of ice and is good for perch, cutthroat trout caught. Echo Lake is good. Many varieties being caught. Mac Man Kicking Horse is open, trout and little perch being caught there. Sunfish, pike, brown and rainbow, Dick Zimmer and largemouth bass there. Dog Lake and Lonepine reservoirs good for pike. Ninepipe and Pablo Reservoir still closed. Call the Bison Range and complain.

‘Convention of States’

from page 10

that will debase our currency and lead to even higher inflation.

Are we so foolish to think that China or other foreign adversaries will continue to fund our military by buying US debt? How can the poorest among us afford double digit increases in food prices? Affordable housing and transportation are unattainable with price inflation at 18% and 31%. How is this just? These longterm trends are unsustainable. Either we stop it, or a foreign power will subdue us, taking our land, resources, and liberty when we are too financially weak to defend our nation.

A solution to Washington’s political malfeasance is a Convention of the States. The United States Constitution provides the states the constitutional power to bring the federal government to heel when both political parties in Washington have lost all sense of reality. Reagan said it best: “We can’t depend on Congress to discipline itself … we must rely on the states to force Congress to act on our amendment. Fortunately, our Nation’s Founders gave us the means to amend the Constitution through action of state legislatures… That is the only strategy that will work.” Ronald Reagan SOTU address, 1984 (speaking of the article V state process for a balanced budget amendment.)

Please learn more and email your legislators in support of a Convention of States by signing the petition for a Convention of States.

vj

Political platforms

Editor,

Looking back over the past year, I see the work that Senator Jon Tester has done. I thank him.

He’s helped to secure disaster relief to farmers and ranchers who face drought, get federal money for MT and local school districts to procure domestically produced food during supply shortages, worked to protect rural pharmacies from hidden costs and get reduced costs for Medicare prescriptions, and promoted veterans’ interests.

Senator Tester has supported legislation that kept many small businesses afloat during the pandemic, and he supported legislation that will create new jobs while we upgrade airports, electric grids, and roads, and get better internet for businesses and schools to function well. These are wins for Montana residents. He is for positive changes and new ideas.

Conversely, news bulletins and emails from Senator Daines’ office are nearly all negative, only about what he’s against. I rarely see much that he is for, or what he proposes to support. Only against. What kind of platform is that?

Stephanie Brancati Big Arm, MT

Things to consider

Editor,

Here is some “fun stuff” I came across.

Do you ever wonder: - Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin? - Why is ‘abbreviated’ such a long word? - Why is it that doctors call what they do ‘practice’? - Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? - Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? - Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? - If Con is the opposite of Pro, is Congress the opposite of Progress? - If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Some nonsense: - We leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage. - People order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet Coke. - Banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Some sense: - Authoritarianism is surging in various leaderships around the world. - Climate and earth changes beyond human control are constant reminders to us humans of our limited control in our lives. - There are angels among us helping in our darkest hours.

Bob McClellan Missoula, MT

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