News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1195 - 1219 of 5551
I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but I almost died of a heart attack Wednesday night and, frankly, I’m too old to be having this kind of heart trouble. Specifically, my heart issue was not of the coronary thrombosis type, but rather the emotional-slash-psychological type seen most in excitable young people who lack years of experience to make them jaded, bitter and numb to random stimuli like a proper adult. The moment, with its unexpected rush of fear-based adrenalin, com...
Editor, As a high school library assistant, I witness the importance of making every student feel safe, welcome and supported. House Bill 112 would ban transgender students from participating in athletics that align with their gender identity. This bill would affect athletes in elementary school through the collegiate level. A report released this month by the Center for American Progress found that trans-inclusive athletic policies (2011-2019) did not negatively affect cisgender girls (those whose gender identity matched...
I love it when Leo comes from the post office with a real letter in hand. Here it is mid-February and I just received your Christmas card. Denise’s arrived last week. I’ll not see Karen’s for a while because she mailed it mid-December! Our post office was closed for weeks; both postal workers were down with the COVID virus. Simultaneously, the lockdown closed government offices. In ordinary times, mail in Mexico is slow. We never get over worrying about our children, do we? I...
Since winning the Legislature in 2011, Republicans have introduced multiple pieces of legislation undermining Montana’s great hunting and fishing. Fortunately, successive Democratic governors vetoed them. The veto pen now belongs to Greg Gianforte. The 2021 Legislature is considering a bevy of legislation changing Montana’s hunting and fishing. Montanans who voted for these legislators and who love to hunt and fish, should contact legislators and let them know you do not support these bills. Senate Bill 143 sets aside big...
I am not exactly a connoisseur of contemporary culture. I haven’t seen the latest series on Netflix or anything else. I don’t follow Twitter or Snapchat or Instagram. But somehow, a TikTok phenomenon came to my attention that I found too delightful to ignore. Sea shanties are all the rage among Generation Z. “Sea shanties?” I thought. “That can’t be right.” But I checked it out and, yes, teens and young 20-somethings are singing sea shanties on TikTok, and listeners add...
We just finished our 30th day of the 67th Legislature, making one third of this biennium session complete. The bills have been coming slower than normal, maybe because of COVID, the fact that two thirds of Democrats are Zooming, or folks are just not introducing polarizing or irrelevant bills. No one knows the “why” to that question; I am hoping it is the decision to focus on the important things, like putting people to work. Also, making sure all opportunities for the best education is available for the type of ins...
Editor, Friday, Feb. 12, was a dark day. On a 30-19 vote, the Montana Senate voted not to confirm Margie Campbell, a former legislative colleague, to complete her four-year term on the Montana Human Rights Commission. She was appointed by Gov. Bullock after the 2019 session adjourned, so required Senate confirmation this session. The sponsor of the resolution to confirm her, SR 17, asked his colleagues, at the hearing, to vote “no,” as requested by Montana’s newly minted Gov. Greg Gianforte. The Senate obliged. At the time...
Editor, I am writing to you as a very concerned American citizen, and I am urging other citizens to speak out too. Our U.S. government is spending us into bankruptcy and needs to stop. I can’t understand how or why we citizens ever let it get this bad. Why don’t our Senators or House member ever ask us tax payers and the ones that put them in to office how our tax dollars are spent or in their case misspent. With the financial health of this country , we shouldn’t be giving out any foreign aid or subsidize any compa...
Editor, Both political parties are at an ideological crossroads. The Democrats have the AOC/Bernie Sanders socialism caucus challenging establishment Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The Republicans have President Trump’s MAGA caucus of populism and America First economics challenging Mitch McConnell, the Bush Dynasty and the GOP’s globalist economics. A poll released on Dec. 28 by Rasmussen found that 72 percent of Republican voters believe the party should be more like President Trump and his America Fir...
Maybe this winter is getting long for everyone, but it definitely has been too long for some people aching to get into the Guinness Book of World Records — those folks have been out in droves recently. UPI reported Monday that David Rush of Idaho dramatically recaptured his Guinness World Record for the number of CDs thrown into a bucket with a 12-inch opening. Rush set the new standard for CD-tossing to a record-breaking 50 CDs sunk in one minute. And he did it to help p...
Into every life some rain must fall. Okay. I understand. Go throw up and come back to let me explain. Our particular metaphoric “rainfall,” the whole world over, no humans exempt, the great equalizer, is the COVID 19 coronavirus. Hang in there with me a minute. I get smarmier. Behind every rain lurks a rainbow. Are you still with me? Do I hear the echo of an empty-room? I’m serious. I’m not saying this is a universal truth or anything like that. But a lot of good things...
I would like to inform everyone regarding our Montana State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab that is managed through the Board of Livestock. The Diagnostic Lab is located on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. The lab is where producers and veterinarians send all the specimens for animal testing of disease in our state. We currently perform all livestock testing, as well as all brucellosis testing of bison in the designated surveillance area around Yellowstone National Park. We perform all rabies testing of both wild...
Editor, Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher is regarded by most political historians as the father of the modern British Conservative. Winston Churchill constantly quoted him in the House of Commons, wrote about him in his books, and saw him as a teller of truths by which to measure himself. Russell Kirk’s 500-page book published in 1953 in the United States was entitled “The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana.” This book is normally cited as the first book outlining the modern Ameri...
This week, many of the Governors Board appointees have come to the different committees. In the Energy Committee, we confirmed the new members of the Hard Rock Mining Board, the Coal Board, the Pacific NW Electric Power and Conservation Planning, and the Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, of which a local young man from Shelby was nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Congratulations go to Mac McDermott; I am looking forward to hearing from him on energy issues. These boards are made up of folks who have...
Consumers have the right to know the origin of their beef purchases, and ranchers have the right to a fair and competitive market. This is a reasonable expectation. However, since 2015 Congress specifically exempted beef and pork from labeling laws. Consumers do not know where their beef comes from, and ranchers do not have fair prices. If you are a consumer learning of this for the first time, you might be incredulous. The last time you purchased beef from the supermarket, the labels clearly stated “USDA Graded” and “Pr...
Dear editor, I wish to urge our legislators to vote no on HB 112, which would require athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex. As the appointed ASMSU lobbyist, it is my duty to explain why this bill is neither wanted nor needed at MSU. This session, legislators have emphasized the importance of limited government and individual liberty. HB 112 is an example of government unnecessarily involving itself in the lives of individuals and deviating from those values. The ASMSU discrimination statement ensures no...
When I was a unionized worker for 18 years, my worksite was twice as safe and my wages and benefits were 23 percent more than a non-unionized workplace in my field. The union was my choice and was optional. Now, I work for that same union because I believe in what unions do for employees. I represent over 1,000 workers from Great Falls eastward and each of them has that same choice. These union workers are the essential front line before, during and after COVID. They maintained the roads you drove on today, the safe drinking...
Gov. Greg Gianforte and other high-ranking officials within his administration don’t trust their colleagues or Montanans to make their own decisions. Despite a majority of legislators and voters agreeing a piece of legislation was bad for Montana, Gianforte insisted on pushing his national agenda onto the people of Montana. A bipartisan group of legislators in the House State Administration Committee voted to defeat and subsequently table House Bill 176. This bill would end Election Day voter registration, a process that has...
Editor, “This is a free country, so nobody can tell me to wear a face mask. I have the right to decide for myself whether I want to wear a face mask or get a COVID-19 vaccination.” Right? Wrong! This macho man — or woman — attitude is wrong legally, morally and from a common-sense perspective. The constitution guarantees everyone freedom of speech. However, this freedom is restricted. It does not confer the right to libel or slander others. Additionally, Supreme Court Justice Marshall stated that the Constitution does no...
That 2019 news about scientists teaching rats to drive a car is making the rounds again like it’s been cruising the drag and is coming back up the street. I was going to sit at my stop sign and let the fast and the furriest drive on by without commenting or even waving. But, I don’t know, it’s a story about lab rats being happy about driving a car to a spot where someone brings food to your window like going to an old-fashioned drive-up restaurant where a carhop brings you you...
My last two were heavy-with-grief. I received unprecedented response. And lots of questions. I’ll talk about that in a minute. First, the good news. My son is back, truly the Prodigal Returned. He is returned to his life. He is grieving, hurting, yet doing the hard work of a multi-faceted recovery. My daughter’s family has a plan, well, more an examination of possibilities and potentialities for when Sweet Jess, and she is a dear woman, slips and lands on the hard ice of add...
My husband, Peter, is taking no chances. I knew this about him before I married him. Peter has a plan for everything and a plan in case the first plan doesn’t pan out. My father would call this “belt and suspenders” planning. Peter’s been walking around in a belt and suspenders ever since I’ve known him. Peter’s planning has made surviving the pandemic a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. We never run out of anything. That might sound impossible, but it’s almost...
Dear Editor: What a wonderful thing to do! The white ribbons and explanations taped under them are a good reminder of the Hill County lives that we have lost due to the pandemic. Thank you to the creators and those who put them up in Fifth Avenue. I watched the memorial that was held in Washington, D.C., as part of inauguration activities which was very moving. I talked to the president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association about possibly doing a memorial service this summer outdoors to honor those who have died...
Editor, Montana voters passed I-161 in 2010 to limit guaranteed outfitter tags. The current legislature, sponsor Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, has introduced SB-143 which negates I-161 thus bypassing the will of Montana voters. This bill proposes to double the number of guaranteed outfitter licenses thus reducing non-outfitted non-residents. States which provide unrestricted landowner tags like proposed in this bill have experienced significant loss of public hunting opportunity. Landowners can sell those tags to the...
The honeymoon is over. The gloves are coming off. No more Mr. Nice guys. We are beginning to see more and more dissension in chamber. Little jabs and uncalled for remarks; it is not the way I like to see business conducted. If you watch the State of the State and the minority rebuttal you would have seen what I am referring to. This is not happening as much in the Senate, as there has not been near the turnover of legislators during the last election cycle as the House had. Many are new lawmakers to this process and want to m...
