News you can use
News you can use
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The year 2024 will be the most consequential one in the history of the United States. This I believe because the existence of our system of constitutional democracy is being challenged by forces who want to give more authoritarian power to a single leader than has ever happened before. Those opposing the challenge to democracy must always use democratic means in their opposition. Whether democracy survives this year, an even greater challenge threatens the life-nurturing necessities of the coming decade. Last year was the...
Before you vote in the 2024 election you should evaluate how your legislator voted in 2023. Did they vote to support rural Montanans and family farms and ranches, or did they vote to support wealthy corporations? As a grassroots, non-partisan organization, Montana Farmers Union not only advocated for legislation to strengthen family farms and ranches and rural communities, but also kept tabs on which legislators put their vote where their mouths were. Report cards for legislators from different regions of the state are...
No, that does not refer to an earthquake. If you are of an age, you will recognize this as a song sung by Elvis when he was a youngster himself, around 1957. “I’m in love. I’m all shook up!” Love manifests in many ways and early last week my world and the world of my family was all shook up. My great-granddaughter, Baby Marley, was diagnosed with RSV and pneumonia. Along with her mom, Jessica, Marley was transported from Glendive to Billings on a life-flight. Her family...
Two notable events just occurred: The Public Service Commission’s blessing of NorthWestern Corp.’s 28% rate hike; and extreme cold. 28% rate hike The all-Republican Commission approved a 28% rate hike, the majority of which falls on small businesses and residential users — renters and homeowners. The Commission rejected our challenge to that rate hike, forcing Montanans to gift Wall Street $3,447,870 every year. We pay our monthly bills based on a pretend cost of debt for Colstrip of 6.5%. In fact, NorthWestern’s actual...
My dad turned 90 this weekend, and we were all set to drive up north to celebrate his birthday. He’s a hard one to buy a present for. My dad does not need more things. He likes using the things he has until they are completely worn out. He already has a line of slippers on his top shelf, queued up for when the pair he’s wearing is threadbare. He wore his last pair of hiking boots until his socks showed through. Besides, he said “No presents!” in a very persistent way. So my s...
Anyone who read Democrat candidate for attorney general Ben Alke’s recent column, published Jan. 12 in the Havre Daily News, is left wondering: Who is he, and why is he running? The letter provides plenty of platitudes but no substance. By contrast, we can look back at the last three years and know exactly where Attorney General Austin Knudsen stands on issues and what he will do to fight for Montana during his second term. As a former county prosecutor, Attorney General Knudsen has put the safety of Montana communities at th...
My friend Jerry wrote me this week. Skipping the personal stuff, he asked, “Is it possible for you to create a 501 3C to raise money in U.S. to help people in need in Etzatlan?” Once I picked myself off the floor still hooting, I wrote back something like the following. A 501 3C? Oh, Jerry, I thought you knew me better than that! You ask me to do a suit job. I am not a suit. I am a well-worn flannel shirt. I am a lot of things, my friend. I am an artist, an inventor, a mec...
As if Americans didn't have enough to worry about, our closest ally, Israel, has been dragged into the International Court of Justice on a charge of genocide against the people of Gaza. Ominously for our friend's defense, not only has South Africa been able to document plenty of criminal action, as specified by the genocide convention, such as “killing members of the group” (as opposed to combatants) and “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calcu...
When it’s seeding time on our farm, we seed. When it’s haying time, we put up the hay. And when it’s harvest time, we bring in the crop. We don’t sit around and hope that somebody else will do the job for us. We handle it the Montana way: rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. That’s the kind of mentality that small business owners, farmers, ranchers, and hardworking Montanans all across our state bring to their jobs every single day. And it’s the type of mentality that my colleagues in Congress and President B...
“Perfection is the enemy of progress,” according to Winston Churchill. It’s the time of year when we try to do too much, change too quickly. Already expectations are lowering, and reality is setting in. The sky is gray, the temperatures cold, and I am coming to grips with the fact that I cannot eat toffee every day. (At least, not a lot of toffee every day.) It’s the mid-January new year letdown. More people die this time of year than on average. I imagine they make it through...
Human trafficking is not just a big city problem. It’s happening right here in Montana. Which is why, during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I’m encouraging Montanans to learn the signs of human trafficking and report it if they see it. If folks don’t know what it is and how to report it, they can’t help us stop it. Let’s call human trafficking what it is: modern-day slavery. Traffickers — often organized criminal enterprises — are profiting at the expense of adults and children who are forced to perform labor...
I have lost three entire nights of sleep this week, misplaced where there will be no finding, scratching the seven-year itch. You could also name my malady the Grass Is Greener Syndrome. The grass is never greener. It just looks that way from across the fence. This is not an unusual occurrence for me. Something within me likes the challenge of new experiences. Frequently over the years while I’ve lived out on my little chunk of quiet, peaceful Paradise, I’ve cast my eyes aro...
There are four qualifications set forth in the U.S.Constitution that must be met before any “Person” can be placed on the ballot and run for the Office of President: 1) you must be a “natural born Citizen;” 2) you must have “attained the age of thirty-five years;” 3) you must have been “fourteen Years a Resident within the United States;” and 4) you cannot have violated the Disqualification Rule of the 14th Amendment which entails having previously sworn an oath to support the Constitution and subsequently engaging in ins...
There is no place like Montana. Our state is defined by rugged landscapes and rugged individualism. Montanans cherish our freedoms, work hard, act with integrity, and treat each other with respect. We also know that actions speak louder than words. As the 2024 elections approach, we should use Montana values to assess our candidates and ask ourselves: Do they represent the interests of all Montanans or the interests of one political extreme or another? Do they focus on doing their job or on advancing their political careers?...
My nephew, Beau, keeps me on my toes. Keeping on my toes is a good way to develop balance and agility. It is also a good way to fall on my face and embarrass myself. But since I don’t spend a lot of time with teenagers — and not nearly enough with Beau — I am trying. Right now, he’s trying to convince me that I need a mechanical keyboard for my computer. I am old enough to remember typing class in high school. The “thunk, thunk, thunk!” sound of hitting keys is not a pleas...
It was a dark and stormy night. Oh, wait! Different story. It was the day before New Year’s Eve. Leo and I were sitting in the sun chatting after he had mouse-proofed my washing machine with a length of screen and duct tape. Mice are on the move every year during corn harvest when they temporarily are forced out of their home and well-stocked grocery. My washing machine sits tucked away in the back corner of my patio, outdoors. This is not the first time mice thought the m...
I drove my parents to their cabin this week. My mom is having some terrible pain in her jaw and wasn’t sure she was up to the drive, and my dad doesn’t see well enough to drive anymore. I felt lucky to spend time in the car with them, driving north. There was almost no snow. It was strange to drive so far north in the winter and see the floor of the forest bare. The first thing I did when we got to the cabin was look for Stubby, my mother’s pet red squirrel. Of course, Stubb...
My bed jacket. It is a sign. A portent of things to come. Christmas Eve, I went to Oconahua for a traditional Mexican feast of tamales and hot chocolate with my friends. When I returned home, a gift bag stuffed tightly with something rather heavy, sat on my patio table. I reached in and pulled out … a jacket. This jacket is made of that plush, fluffy stuff, like a baby blanket. Thank goodness it is not a pale pastel. I’d have to gift it onward. No, amazingly, the jacket is...
It’s the time of year when I look back and see where I’ve been and wonder where I’m going. On the shortest days of the year, I like to do a little recalibration. I take a look at what I had hoped to do and ways in which I want to change my thinking. Some years I have had major changes in the works — going back to school or starting a new career. Other years, my biggest ambition has been to finish off the last of the Christmas cookies before the year’s end in case they have...
Advancement in technology is rapidly changing the world we live in, the careers we pursue, and undoubtedly affecting nearly every aspect of our lives. Traditional “big iron” companies like John Deere and GM have become “technology companies.” Electric vehicles, medical devices, military innovation, energy production and storage, are a small sampling of how technology is inextricably woven into our lives. This is the new frontier, with businesses and our nation investing massive sums in advancing technology to reclaim global...
Or, one might say, this week, apples are my world. Every year I put a lot of thought into my gift giving for Christmas. Grandchildren are easy. Gift certificates. They are of the age where money is the better choice. Gold, right? For the babies, my grandchildren, my daughter handles that chore for me. She knows best what they want, need and enjoy. The hard part is for us few who are here this holiday season in Gringolandia. We are old. We already have everything we want. If I...
Historic drought conditions and weather extremes have hit the outdoor industry hard in Montana and other states throughout the West. Shorter winters, brought on by a changing climate, are driving these hard-hitting delays in the season. “There’s definitely been a shift in the weather in the last ten years that we’ve noticed and it’s getting harder and harder for us to count on having that snow early on,” said Melissa Alder, co-owner of a local cross-country ski and bicycle store. Alder organizes the West Yellowsto...
The children were in the pew in front of me. We had not arrived early enough at my sister’s church for the Christmas Eve service to secure a seat in the back, so we were in the fourth row. The first row is never used by anyone; the second row is only for people who arrive impossibly late. The third row is, for all intents and purposes, the front row, and that’s where these two wild-looking children were. The children were provisioned with colored pencils and drawing paper but...
For years, Montana has had one of the highest rates of military participation and veterans per capita in the nation. The 2023 Legislature took many steps to both help our men and women in uniform protect our state and country going forward, as well as recognize and honor their service. First, we passed a new law that prohibits foreign adversaries from owning critical infrastructure and agricultural land in Montana. This is crucial to national defense, making it illegal for hostile competitors like China to buy land near our n...
No longer can I remain in denial. I am an addict. I am addicted to sunlight. When I lived in Poulsbo, Washington, on the Kitsap Peninsula where it rained 10 months of the year, I remember how hard it was by February to keep up my spirits. That is normal behavior, pretty much. Now, these years later, after a mere couple (2) cloudy days with rain, and I begin to wonder if a Prozac Big Gulp would really work. Having grown up in a country of constant drought, I love the rain....
