The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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(Sept. 29) This month, U.S. Senators began the markup of Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget resolution package. This rubber-meets-road moment seems to have given pause to some in their party whose votes will be needed to get a bill through Congress and across the President's desk. Among them is Montana's Senator Jon Tester. The President and the progressive left members of Congress have proposed financing the Administration's marquee spending bill largely by raising the U.S....
As a prosecutor I once was assigned a case where-in the Highway patrol watched a man load up his truck with railroad ties from a pile next to the tracks. After he left the siding and was on a public road, they made a stop and arrested him for theft. Sounds like an open and shut case doesn't it? Problem was the railroad couldn't prove they owned the ties. They were not marked and are purchased in bulk then distributed where needed by a variety of workers, identities unknown....
Hidden away deep within the massive, $3.5 trillion Congressional budget package is a ticking time bomb for Montana's economy. The innocuous sounding Clean Energy Payment Program is actually the left's latest scheme to eliminate affordable, reliable fossil fuel energy. If they are successful, we'll all pay more and at the same time the reliability of our electricity grid will be diminished. Worse, energy-producing states like Montana will pay the price in terms of lost jobs...
As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, I've been thinking a lot about the 9/11 Commission, which I co-chaired with former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean. Not just the work the commission did, but the work it didn't do-and the work that remains to be done. The commission was formally established in November of 2002, though it didn't start in earnest until the following spring. It consisted of five Republicans and five Democrats, all of whom had held high f...
The Montana Nurses Association has referred to the recent emergency rule from Montana DPHHS regarding not masking in school as "promotion of junk science." One might be wise to use caution as well as introspection in using such a bold statement. MNA expressed frustration that the department did not site peer reviewed studies in explaining its rule. For every peer reviewed study showing the effectiveness of masks, one could find at least as many showing they are not effective...
Maybe it's just a professional preoccupation, but I've always been intrigued by why voters cast their ballots as they do. I've never made a formal study of it but have talked with plenty of them over the years, and one thing sticks with me from those conversations: There's no one thing. People find a myriad of interesting-and sometimes idiosyncratic-reasons for voting this way or that. Some care mostly about a single issue-abortion, say, or climate change-and if a politician d...
Conversations over the past few months reflect a lot of concern about Montana's children returning to school, and the curriculum being provided there. One thing's for certain -- families are becoming increasingly vocal about the public school environment. This is underscored by the parents who have necessarily become much more engaged with their children's school work since the 2020 onset of the pandemic. Parents have been more involved in their children's on-line and...
Perhaps one of the most personal decisions you can make every day is deciding what to eat. But what happens when multinational corporations in the agricultural industry take that power away from the individual by using their size, wealth and power to determine the price and selection on our grocery shelves? For these conglomerates to influence what we consume, they first need to control the people who produce our food. That is where the corporations' real power lies:...
I used to dismiss as a peculiar form of psychosis, the desire of some troubled souls to silence and censor the right of others to speak and think freely. After all, the impulse to gag the mouth and shut the mind of another individual is hardly what we would call "normal." Compelling others to conform to our views isn't very normal either. Doing such things never enters the minds of healthy, rational people. It's creepy. ational people understand that living in a free society...
In Montana private land elk hunting is moving toward 11 weeks for people who can pay thousands of dollars for trophy bulls, while others are left to hunt cows in deep snows and bitter cold when they're struggling to survive the winter. That's the proposal of the Gianforte administration, one that extends "elk shoulder seasons" through Feb 15 annually, and onto your National Forest in 19 hunting districts. This proposal is ill conceived, premature and not in the interest of...
The environmental groups have caused a serious problem. Every time the Forest Service plans to remove the beetle killed trees while the trees are still good for lumber, the environmental groups get a lawsuit in court until the trees are no longer any good, then they drop the lawsuit. We now have deadfall on top of deadfall. It's no wonder bears are coming into town, they couldn't get to the berries if there were some. I watched a gentleman and a young lady on NBC News who...
While not of the gun-slinging Wild West lore, there is a battle being waged in Montana. The future of the Smith River and the health of the surrounding water quality and habitat is at stake. If Montanans lose, the casualty will be the natural resources that set Montana apart. In April, Montana green-lighted construction of the Black Butte copper mine north of White Sulphur Springs. This location is troublesome as it is adjacent to and directly underneath Sheep Creek, the most...
In theory there is nothing wrong with a celebration of emancipation. The freeing of the slaves was one of the great steps forward for this country, an end to the darkest chapter in American history. But we don't live in theory. Our politics happens in practice, and in practice the vote that elevated "Juneteenth National Independence Day" to the status of a federal holiday is a disaster for those who hold that our country is good, our Constitution a great charter of liberty,...
I, like so many Montana hunters, have been blessed to enjoy a lifetime of world-class hunting and fishing. It's why so many of us live here, and it speaks to the decades of work that Montanans have put into conserving and managing our public wildlife for the benefit of everyone. But after this legislative session, it is clear that Montana is on a different path, one that disregards science and places the ability for some to profit off of our wildlife as the highest priority....
A recent thoughtful and well-reasoned Attorney General's Opinion on "critical race theory" from Austin Knudsen has people on the left stamping their feet and pulling out their hair. The Montana Democrats' spin machine is on full blast to justify racial discrimination in Montana schools, universities, and workplaces. In defense of the controversial teachings, liberal lawyers, legislators, and editorial boards are arguing that actively being racist is the only way to make sure...
To the Editor: It has been known since early in the COVID-19 pandemic that Ivermectin can ameliorate the disease, shorten the course and reduce deaths. If, as in other countries, it had been allowed as a preventative prior to vaccine availability, more than 100,000 US lives could have been saved. Ivermectin is not a cure but its way ahead of whatever is in second place. In my opinion, the authorities who publicly discouraged the use of Ivermectin were absent without leave....
The world is changing faster than ever before. If we want Montana to continue to be a place where you can make a living and raise a family, we must build the infrastructure we need to seize the opportunities of the modern economy. Right now, Montana ranks as the worst state for broadband Internet connectivity. That's a problem we have to fix. Reliable access to high speed Internet doesn't just matter to high tech businesses and telecommuters; nearly every piece of our economy...
Has anyone else notices the slight yet growing cost of everything lately, or is it just me? Everything from food prices and gas prices to the ridiculous cost of building materials and more. I’m one of those “track my money” folks because I live on a budget. I know how much money I bring home from my various jobs. I know what should go into savings, what I have to spend on necessities like food, clothing, gas, pet needs, etc., and how much “fun money” I have to do with as I...
Our institutions aren't what they once were. Opinion polls show overwhelmingly that trust in the government, in Congress, and in business has fallen in previous years and remains low. One exception is the military, which is consistently among our most respected institutions. This reputation has been hard-won, over decades of apolitical service to the nation. Americans recognize that service by honoring our servicemen and women, and extending our armed forces enormous respect...
Our Supreme Court justices must think they are the executive branch and the legislative branch all rolled into one! They may even believe they are the new oligarchy in charge of Montana. Whatever their problem, it is manifesting itself in executive and legislative authority being usurped by Montana's Supreme Court. The examples are legion of our judiciary overstepping their authority. Consider this: can you imagine the Supreme Court of Montana threatening the Montana Attorney...
Education has been one of the most disrupted sectors by COVID-19. The ripple effects of school closures and remote learning have further put pressure on families and our economy. The Legislature responded by giving more flexibility to students, families, and educators to engage in individualized learning. We began the session by providing local school boards with stability as they were beginning their annual budgeting process. House Bill 15 which provides an inflationary...
This past snowmobile season started out a little slowly here in Lincoln. Snow was thin but stoke was high, and as soon as the clouds started dumping, we started riding. Snowmobiling is a way of life here; it's a family-friendly activity, a way to socialize with your friends, it gives us all an opportunity to blow off some steam while benefitting from great outdoor physical activity and is a great way to experience Montana wilderness in the winter. As Lincoln and the...
Fairness is not a partisan issue. Fairness is the goal of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act currently being considered in the United States Congress. The bill has bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. H.R. 1735 / S.673 is critically important to protecting the future of high-quality, local journalism in Montana and across our nation. Support is growing for the legislation, yet much more needs to be done before it can become law....
It's so easy, in the course of our day-to-day lives, to get caught up in the political preoccupations of the moment. What's the Senate going to do about the filibuster? How should infrastructure money be spent? Is the country going to come out of this year as badly divided as it started? These and many other questions matter a lot-but sometimes, it's helpful to step back and take stock of what we've learned over the course of our history. I've been thinking about this because...
18, two children in Salem; having delusions, muscle spasms and vomiting, accused women of bewitching them. Hysterical hunts found witches. Trials were held and women imprisoned and hung. 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy, amid the Communist Hysteria of the time, accused many people of communism. Being a Communist was not illegal, but accusations were enough to ruin personal and professional lives which was his goal. Ironically, the accused were usually liberals. Amid racism...
