News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1831 - 1855 of 3218
BILLINGS — During the eight years of the Obama Administration the annual growth rate averaged 1.47 percent. To achieve the American Dream and economic prosperity, we need an annual growth rate of 3-3.5 percent. Likewise, during the past ten years, taxes increased, the federal debt has risen to outrageous levels, and government is growing so fast the definition of the word ‘efficiency’ should be changed to “the antithesis of the federal government.” Our tax code is broken, it’s inefficient, and any amount of economic gr...
In a time of uncertain economies, I can’t help but think about how we as Americans can take more control into our own hands. Hard work, fine craftsmanship, and innovation were some of the values this nation was built upon. In recent decades we are seeing more and more manufacturers outsource production overseas. This move is typically driven by profit margins. Keeping our manufacturing on U.S. soil not only creates jobs and strengthens our business relationships and local economies, but it does something else that may be e...
Admittedly, my wonderland is different than your wonderland. My wonderland lacks the beauty of new-fallen snow with crystalline flakes painting the landscape pristine and pure. Neither does mine include snow-shovels, car engine heaters, ice on the roads or frost on the windshields. Not that I have a car, but you know what I mean. Although cannas and hibiscus continue to bloom and the geraniums look gorgeous as ever, winter snapped us hard and fast a good month ago. Every...
A bedrock tenet of effective civic engagement in our country is the right and responsibility to petition government at every level. Individual citizens, for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations participate in this fundamental American activity when they advocate for or against issues that impact them. Unlike individuals and some businesses, however, charitable nonprofits must stop short of endorsing political candidates or spending their money on election activities. To do otherwise would be to face the threat of...
Protect net neutrality. Neutrality on the Internet is the only way to allow democratic participation in communication, education, employment, community and public service, and to access to health, safety and other information. Do not allow a few corporations to rule the internet, to censor what we see, to charge higher fees and deliver less. None of the internet service providers invented or developed the internet and the web. U.S. taxpayers paid for the early development. The defense and research network called ARPANET was o...
Having spent the last week with two of our children and six grandkids, we had the opportunity to share our pictures of our European trip. It was pointed out quickly that Judy and I experienced the vacation in two different ways: The Hallmark version and a Tim The Tool Man version. The Hallmark version was pictures of back yards, pretty flowers, grandkids riding bikes, angles in window, all very nice. The Tim version is of dudes drinking beer, 1929 BMW motorcycles, farm sites, roundabouts being built; you get the idea. This...
Montana, and especially I, say thank you to the Montana 2017 special session House and Senate leadership for helping the legislature provide our state with $230 million to replenish the fire fund and provide dollars to shore up the budget problems. Like many situations, there are differences of opinions, but someone must make the final and best decision at the time. I feel the legislators for the 2017 special session did that. In times of trouble we all must partake. The largest users of the tax dollars, DPHHS, education and...
It has been 30 years since the last time our nation’s tax code has been overhauled. In that time, the tax rate we levy on businesses has become one of the highest in the world, the tax code itself has become an incomprehensible mess, and special interests have drilled it full of loopholes that benefit narrow constituencies. The only bright spot is that bipartisan support to reform the tax code is at an all-time high right now. According to one recent poll, 81 percent of Americans say tax reform should be among the top p...
With the partisan divide appearing wider than ever, Sen. Jon Tester is working to rise above it all by joining his colleagues to release a common-sense regulatory reform package focused on making a better environment for small Main Street financial institutions like credit unions. Sen. Tester should be commended for ignoring party labels and putting together a piece of legislation that would give consumers better access to mortgages and other products, while freeing up credit union small business capital that can immediately...
While basking in the afterglow of too much Thanksgiving, rushing into pre-Christmas sale-ing and joining in the holiday season openers, we should all take a moment to send good thoughts to Mike Hughes, a 61-year-old southern California limo driver and nascent astronaut whose maiden voyage toward outer space is planned for this weekend. Hughes has spent about $20,000 building a rocket — and launch pad made from a mobile home — to take him into space, and this weekend’s pilot...
Maybe it’s the phase of the mountains of the moon. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of Mars with Saturn on the cusp of the night sky in the morning fog. Maybe aliens from within or without have invaded and sucked my energy into a vortex to be re-used when I am reincarnated as an artist, punished for my past life, forced to paint a thousand renditions of velvet Elvis. Such was my state of mind this morning as I kicked myself metaphorically around my casita, wondering why I couldn’t feel more thankful. ’Tis the Season. I’m sup...
Over 100 years ago, my great-great grandmother homesteaded 23 miles east of Conrad and that’s how my family made it to Montana. As a fifth-generation Montanan, I didn’t have to choose Montana — Montana chose me. And I’ll be forever thankful for that. Thanksgiving is a holiday that belongs exclusively to Americans. As far back as 1621, we have gathered with our families, friends and neighbors to thank God for all that He has given us. But it wasn’t until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday...
After going through the 2017 Special Session, all I can say is, “Wow!” It was good to see everyone and work toward a fix for the budget shortfall. As things turned out, the legislature was able to work with the governor cooperatively to balance the budget. The governor had what was called the “Governor’s Bucket List.” Not all his cuts were maybe the best, but they were his cuts. So, we Republicans agreed to go along with them, in exchange for allowing some transfer from low-priority programs to what the Republican party consi...
The Havre High Spanish Club continues to work toward its educational goal of traveling to Puerto Rico in June of 2018. Club members Alex Barkus, Ashlin Rosgaard, Camryn Huston, Bailey Miller, Mercedes Springer, Mckenzie Walker, Sydney Scheresky-O’Neil, Kadyn Acor, Isabel Nogales-Romero, Junia Holland, Savannah Dawson, Jake Huston, Grace Loftus, Hailey Harkins, Talia Ralph, Ivy Thomas, Jaclyn Waldron, and Katie Wirtzberger, along with their advisors Marie Deegan and Diana Coy, have a number of fundraisers planned. Their f...
The problem is that, and this needs explaining, I come from a long line of pile-makers on the maternal side of my family. Not hoarders — we’re pilers, like hoarders-lite. We don’t save bizarre stuff like stacks of every McDonald’s french fry holder we’ve ever gotten with a meal or all the hairballs brushed off the dogs. We don’t have to negotiate a maze of newspaper towers to get down the hallway to the bathroom. We don’t have one room of the house set aside just to hold...
Q: Does that mean I’m crazier some days than others or does it mean that I’m crazier than other people? A: Yes I dread to tell this story on myself. I could keep it secret. I’m committed to honesty in my writing. So here’s today’s story, warts and all. My day began peacefully. I felt tranquil. Almost blissful. I had decided to write about how crazed we Americanos become when things do not go our way, based on my observations — which I felt to be valid because after four...
Hello constituents of Montana Semate District 17, from your state capitol in Helena. The special session, called by the Governor, of the 65th Legislature will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Our local papers will be printed after this letter was written. I trust we will be able to patch the revenue holes to our state budget. Five things are presently known: 1) Republicans do not want to raise taxes or revenue enhancements as they are being called; 2) Democrats do not want to reduce the bureaucracy of the government; 3) the governo...
The average adult takes 15 to 20 breaths a minute — more than 20,000 per day, according to the American Lung Association. Healthy lungs are important to deliver clean air to our bodies’ organs and tissues, which convert oxygen into fuel to support vital body functions. When a smoker lights up, it affects not only the health of the lungs, but also the body structures that depend on the lungs for oxygen. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, claiming the lives of more than 440,000 adults in America eac...
I had planned a follow-up on the fun times Judy and I have had in the last little bit. But, as you have heard and read, Montana’s Governor has called for a Special Session, which is set to start Nov. 14. The scope he proposed is limited to what was suggested to fix the $228M budget shortfall, which came about, in part, from the most expensive fire season in Montana state history. Some of the proposed cuts to departments are from 4.5 percent to 10 percent, depending on the Governor’s priority. The Republican leadership has als...
Andrea Schmunk, a 28-year-old mother in Wisconsin, has been arrested on a felony charge of recklessly endangering safety after she allegedly used her 9-year-old son to help weigh down a plastic pool she had strapped to the top of a minivan. Yes, the article in the Ozaukee Press says, Schmunk reportedly tied her son and the plastic pool to the top of a minivan that she then drove down streets. At some point, though, she stopped and put the kid and the pool in the vehicle. Witne...
I know it. Most Montanans know it. At its core, the strength of Montana’s economy and our way of life relies on the power of a strong public education system. Nowhere is that more clear than on a road trip in Montana. Here is my most recent road trip story. At Miles Community College, I heard story after story of students attending agriculture programs and then going back to the family farm to substantially increase the farm’s productivity through techniques learned in school. Young Montanans can earn two-year degree by age...
I’m not sure when that vague wisp of an idea began to seem do-able. What I can tell you with certainty, though, is that once “vague wisp” grows to “might be do-able” and then morphs into “desire,” I’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Care and feeding of an idea is important. Some of my best ideas never grow past the embryo stage. Getting outside information is important. Some of my best ideas won’t work. It helps to know that before I sink money, time, blood, sweat and tea...
Many of us are keeping an eye on tax reform legislation and considering how federal changes could impact our livelihoods here at home. I want to help make Montanans aware of one federal program that has been working under the radar for the past 10 years to improve local economies, create good jobs and stimulate growth in large and small communities across our state. The tax bill’s proposed repeal of this program would deprive our communities — and the hardworking people who live here — of crucial funds needed to revitalize an...
In recent years, how we deliver and receive health care in Montana has been transformed. You may not see this if you don’t use a lot of medical care, but, it is happening every day in hospitals and doctors’ offices around our state. As a result, the quality of the medical care we receive, the safety of the patients we serve and the value of the health care dollars we spend are all much improved. One major reason for this was legislative action in 2015. Until then, far too many Montanans went to work every day with the kno...
One of the greatest privileges of serving Montana in Washington, D.C., has been hearing the most admirable stories of Montanans who have fought for our nation all across the globe. Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow served as an Army scout during WWII and fulfilled the requirements to become a war chief. Ben Steele served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was captured by the Japanese — he was a prisoner of war for 1,244 days during WWII. David Thatcher took part in the Doolittle Raid and was awarded the Silver Star. If you’ve ever seen th...
