News you can use
News you can use
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After surviving an abscessed tooth, root canal, thorough a porcelain bridge, two rounds of antibiotics, bladder infection, severe sleep apnea, chest discomfort and soon the loss of my breath, I found this “Gem!” I always felt I could solve my own problems, plus help others solve their problems. One night late, I could not walk 115 feet in my own house without pure exhaustion. I told my husband that I was so weak, I was afraid. I didn’t know if I was going to die! Oh, I was old enough to die but I have lots of living to do an...
Government spending is increasing by $2.6 million a minute. The national debt now stands at over $31 trillion. That’s primarily money that people over 40 have spent, and a debt that infants born today will be burdened with, likely for their entire lives. This, in a great nation in which each generation has continually been wealthier than the one before. That is emphatically not so, now. The future generation has been accurately described as victims of “generational theft.” Out of deep concern about this, I contacted the w...
It was snowing hard, the way it almost never does anymore, and I decided I needed to go for my walk, heedless of the weather. “I probably won’t be gone long!” I texted a friend in California as I headed out the door looking like an Arctic explorer. The snow was coming down fast and sideways. Many businesses were closed, and the streetlights had eerily popped on at midday. Once outside, I wondered if this was such a good idea. It was impossible to keep the snow out of my eyes....
One of the big stories this week is about how eight U.S. Marines outsmarted a government artificial intelligence system by employing classic stealth tactics usually seen in Saturday morning cartoons and campy comedy movies — the exact type of maneuvers that would never work in real life. Until they do. A page from an advance copy of the book “Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” written by former Pentagon policy analyst and Army veter...
Montana is fortunate to be a state with farmers, ranchers and organizations dedicated to making quality food available to our communities. Unfortunately for many, local fresh food remains out of reach because of their income level. The Montana Farm to Food Bank program, House Bill 276, sponsored by Representative Marty Malone, R-Pray, aims to change that. Right now, state lawmakers have an opportunity to nourish families, boost rural economies and strengthen local food systems by supporting HB 276. Montana Farm to Food Bank...
Montanans respect “honest pay for honest work.” By putting these words into action, we can provide for ourselves and our families, while creating the opportunity for a better life today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, people aren’t always fairly compensated for their hard work. American Indians, for example, make around 77 cents for every dollar a white worker earns for substantially similar work. More disturbing, Native women are paid just half (51%) of what white men earn. White women also have a substantial pay gap, earning a...
Some days, it is a great comfort to me. Other days, a rather delightful joke, makes me chuckle at myself. I can still hear the laughter in my friend’s voice as he said to me, all those hundred years ago, “Tomorrow things will be different. They may not be better. They may not be worse. But they will be different.” I was a bit of a drama queen back then, a bit hooked on adrenaline. Even tragedy held excitement. I was prone to jump to conclusions, to make decisions and leap into...
Week three has started to sort out the ingredients that were put in the sausage. We have a number of legislators who voted on a bill to use federal money to double the payment to hunting block management leases. I understand that in some cases those individuals deserve an increase. However, some of these same legislators are pushing for a Constitutional Convention to stop the uncontrolled federal spending. I don’t know if it’s irony, misunderstanding of how funding works, or just self-serving lawmaking, but this kind of thi...
A former U.S. senator and vice president said, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” We have a moral obligation to care for those in the twilight of life, the elderly, whose hard work and sacrifice helped make the Big Sky Country a vibrant and healthy place to work, raise our families, retire and receive health care. Our...
Recently there has been a media blast by John Deere claiming a Memorandum of Understanding signed with American Farm Bureau Federation provides right to repair for farmers, ranchers and independent repair shops. A closer look at the non-legally binding document shows the devil is in the details. John Deere signed a similar MOU in 2018, with the California Farm Bureau, when the California Legislature was on the verge of passing a right to repair bill. Their strategy worked as the bill lost momentum and failed on the last vote....
“I have to say, that is a very nice hat!” I told the man as he passed me on the sidewalk. The man in the snazzy blue fedora had a serious look on his face, as if he was thinking deeply about something far more important than the indigo-blue hat with the red feather sitting on his head. But whatever less-than-cheerful thought had been preoccupying him (the gathering clouds? The declining stock market? His expanding waistline?), it was whisked away when I complimented his dapper...
Montana lost nearly a dozen nursing homes in 2022. The reality is that dozens more assisted living and long-term care facilities are hanging by a thread. They are waiting to see if our governor and state Legislature will take the critical steps necessary to keep essential elder services available across this vast state. Now is the time to make your voice heard on this essential concern. While the governor says Montanans would prefer to age in their homes, and no one would disagree, the reality is that a beloved father or...
My husband, John, and I come from a long line of peasant stock, hellbent do-it-yourselfers, who don’t put a price on our time but feel all the richer for our experiences, skills earned, pennies saved, materials reused and reimagined, and wheels reinvented. No time is wasted DIYing project until money is wasted on buying something new. But it takes a certain mindset to value the homemade and jerry-rigged over shiny new things. Plus, we have had to tolerate some hurtful l...
A lot of commentators are worried about the chaos Freedom Caucus extremists may unleash after all of the concessions they won from their fellow Republicans before OK’ing a new House speaker. Will Republican inquisitors undermine the FBI and other security agencies? Will the Pentagon have enough ships and planes once the budget slashers do their work? Will Ukraine be left to the mercy of Russia? Don't worry too much about any nefarious schemes of a newly empowered congressional right. Worry more about plans standard-issue R...
Dear Most Wonderful, Most Precious, Beautiful and Intelligent Beyond Compare, My Loving Son and Daughter, I am writing to let you know that it is time for you to put your heads together and figure out a plan for elder care. With great sadness I report, it is the beginning of the end. I left a burner on beneath the egg pan this morning. Ate breakfast. Went outside and puttered in the garden. Came back inside to the odor of hot metal and burned butter. Fortunately, the pan did...
As we started the second week of legislative session, things were still a bit unsettled. By Wednesday, I could see where a theme was starting to form. Most of the bills that were being presented were what are called “agency bills.” The governor has asked for a law cleansing, or purge, of outdated language in Montana law. In some cases, the bills cut red tape or more clearly explain the original intent of the law. A good example would be a bill needing authorization every other year. This type of bill would be resolved by a s...
I almost threw away my old lace napkins. They have rust stains on them. In order to cover the stains, I threw them in a pot of green dye and boiled them. The dye was not a success. The napkins all came out in slightly varying shades of green, and the rust stains — while less noticeable — were still there. I used them once and was self-conscious the whole time. “People are going to think I didn’t wash the napkins!” I worried. But I washed them again, ironed them and kept them...
Research says one of the most common lies we humans tell ourselves is the one about how long a project will take to complete, which isn’t an explanation so much about why I don’t have a kitchen sink, but rather an explanation about why I’m surprised that I don’t have it up and running by now. This lapse between intended completion date and actual completion date is so common among humans that it has been studied and given a name: planning fallacy — a bias in our thought p...
A friend introduced me to a new word: epicaricacy. An Olde English word. Means joy upon evil. Like schadenfreude. Like when someone else stubs his toe and stumbles, you gloat that it wasn’t you. Which has more than a sniff of self-righteousness. I know the word intimately. I try to keep it swatted away and like a mosquito, it returns. What strange creatures we are who live much inside our own heads. And what a strange head, speaking for myself. I cannot trust everything I t...
“Aren’t you the cutest dog?” I asked the chubby brindle pit bull mix walking down the sidewalk. Objectively, she was not the cutest dog, I suppose. But there is no such thing as an ugly dog, as we all know. She was wearing a brand-new jacket with colorful pockets and a hood and, to top it off, had matching booties. She looked a little self-conscious — as we all are when we get dressed up for the first time in a while — and I thought she could use a little reassuran...
The first book in the Havre-Hill County Library’s 2023 Winter Reading Series is “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks, and is available for checkout now. We will be discussing this title on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m., in the Havre-Hill County Library meeting room. Light refreshments will be served, and the next book, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, will be available for checkout. All are welcome to this free event. The Winter Reading Series is a longstanding tradition dating back to the very origins of the Havre-Hil...
Happy New Year from Helena; the 68th Legislative Session has begun. Judy and I moved down last Friday to the same house we have been in for the last three sessions. It takes a bit to get settled in but moving to a neighborhood we are familiar with helps. Everything was ready for us, as the landlords had already left for sunny Arizona. They left us a turnkey, ready to go, place to live. That said, the first week in session was a time for organizing, getting settled, and introductions. We had a bit more turnover in the Senate t...
I know we’re still in Week 1 of 2023, but I am not impressed — and this is from someone who doesn’t put much stock in the whole new year is a new beginning, to be a new person, to have new goals. It’s a clean slate. Goodbye old year we got a newly swaddled baby year we can raise to be anything we like. A new year is just another day, the significance of which is trying to remember a new number for any references to the date. I appreciate the day off in its honor, but I don’t throw it a party. I don’t make lists for it. I d...
To the citizens of Havre and the Hi-Line: I am Carol Reifschneider, interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academics at Montana State University-Northern (MSUN). For the past 27 years, I have proudly served as a faculty member and administrator at MSUN. I am honored to have been asked to fill this position until a new provost can be hired. The search is an ongoing national search which should be completed no later than the beginning of Fall Semester 2023. First, here is the status of the academic programs at MSUN. While the...
“I love, I love, I love my Calendar Girl, “Yeah, sweet Calendar Girl, “I love, I love, I love my Calendar Girl, “Each and every day of the Year.” Thank you, Neil Sedaka, wherever you are. I had to share this ancient song from the last century with you. Now these cheesy lyrics will possess your mind like they possess mine. Why? Well, that is the story. It’s a new year upon us. Yep. 2023. Who’d a thought we’d make it! I like old-fashioned paper calendars. I like to keep mine, a...
