News you can use
News you can use
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They still don’t get what the Trump win was all about. All those people protesting and calling their fellow citizens racists, sexists and xenophobes don’t have a clue why Hillary really lost. “It’s a bit silly to protest nearly 60 million Americans who exercised their constitutional right by voting for a candidate the protesters opposed. The fact is, there are dozens of sound reasons why millions voted for Trump.” “You raise a fair point. It’s very difficult for either party to hold the White House for more than two term...
So, the most frequent refrain since Election Day is that “no one saw this coming.” Not the pollsters, not the media, not the Democrats’ machine. We might also note that the Cleveland Indians didn’t see what was coming after the rain delay in Game Seven. But unlike the Indians, we saw plenty, and we saw it early on. More than a year before the election we saw how a reality-TV star could dominate a debate stage and, with total disregard for truth, slice and dice 16 other candidates. We saw the power of controlling the message...
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...
He starts with several large advantages: the fervent support of white, working-class voters and the Republican control of Congress. In his victory speech, he struck generous themes of unity, vowing “to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans.” But Trump is going to learn very quickly that being president is far tougher than running for president. Even with his allies controlling Capitol Hill, he’s going to face enormous obstacles that will make his job extremely difficult from Day 1. Start...
On July 17, 2012, while on patrol with his team in Afghanistan, Bo Reichenbach of Lockwood, who is now a retired Navy SEAL from Team Two, stepped on a 20 pound IED buried in a field. He lost both legs above the knee leaving him a double amputee. The loss of his legs did not stop Bo or slow his determination to excel in life proven by the fact that he is currently goalie for the US National Sled Hockey Team and will be going to South Korea in 2018 to play hockey for the U.S. in the Paralympics. Bo also coaches his son...
When people tell me that Donald Trump’s election as the nation’s 45th president shocked them, I reply that they must not be paying attention to what goes on around them. The nation is a mess — the economy is in the doldrums, most of the few available jobs are part-time and low-paying, the infrastructure is crumbling, the massive $20 trillion national debt is getting bigger, the $531 billion trade deficit is poised to go higher — and these are merely the most glaring problems that have festered under President Obama. And sin...
The campaign is done. The votes are counted. And America is waking up from one of the strangest, angriest and most divisive presidential campaigns in recent memory. So I’ll be the first to say it: Congratulations, President-elect Trump. For the good of the nation, I hope you succeed. We don’t agree on much. OK, we don’t agree on anything at all. But that’s politics. It’s a competition of ideas. And Tuesday night, a majority of Americans decided they liked yours better. The blue-collar billionaire shtick worked — even with t...
I did a terrible thing. A generally cheerful friend was in obvious pain. Be it emotional, physical, grief, imaginary — doesn’t matter. Pain is pain. Pain twists one’s guts and simply must be passed through. I hugged my friend, opened my mouth and out rolled a blah, blah, blah, blah, useless platitude. I cringed while speaking the words. But once out, there was no cramming the words back where they originated. I hate myself for that. I know better. When I’m hurting I want someone, anyone, to fold me into their arms. I want a h...
As the national political melodrama drew near its end, a sometime email correspondent in Texas worried about my safety. An uxorious older gentleman with a love of horses and a weakness for conspiracy theories, he was always puzzled and often angered by my apostasy. “Being down there in Arkansas,” he warned, “you may not like the way Trump’s supporters respond if they’ve been reading your columns.” I answered that while I’ve been making my views clear for decades, “I’ve never even had anybody speak to me rudely about it.” The...
In a recent article for CNN, President Obama reiterated the grand goal he first set back in 2010 for the United States to send a mission to Mars by the 2030s. The president wrote that: “I still have the same sense of wonder about our space program that I did as a child. It represents an essential part of our character — curiosity and exploration, innovation and ingenuity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and doing it before anybody else.” I share those sentiments. Obama is right to promote NASA and the space agenda...
A sign on the door at Starbucks advised that hours on Christmas Day will be 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Good to know — but 60 days in advance? Inside the Paso Robles, California, store coffee was being served in festive green cups, although outside it was 82 degrees on a sunny fall afternoon. Channel 4 in New York City was running a commercial for Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular: “A mesmerizing holiday tradition.” The mall in Tempe, Arizona, was playing “Holly Jolly Christmas.” An email from the NBA offered free shipping on...
I have said throughout this presidential campaign that it doesn’t matter much which candidate wins. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are authoritarians and neither can be expected to roll back the leviathan state that destroys our civil liberties at home while destroying our economy and security with endless wars overseas. Candidates do not matter all that much, despite what the media would have us believe. Ideas do matter, however. And regardless of which of these candidates is elected, the battle of ideas now b...
In her job as a community college biology teacher, my wife encounters many older students who have decided to reinvent themselves following widowhood, divorce or downsizing. Their commitment to ongoing education is admirable — but it’s also VOLUNTARY. That may change. According to the Washington Post, a debate is currently raging in Nordic countries over whether to institute mandatory adult education. If such a scheme catches on in Scandinavia, don’t doubt that it will spread to America. Judges, policymakers and hipst...
Being gray doesn’t bother me. After all, at least I still have a full head of hair. I don’t have to do comb-overs, shave my head or wear a baseball cap backward 24 hours a day to pretend that I still have hair. Plus, gray hair looks distinguished. Strangers might mistake me for a doctor, a lawyer or even a high school graduate. At least they might, until I open my mouth and they realize that they’ve been cruelly deceived. The fact is that gray hair just means you’ve got a little age under your belt. But like many men, fo...
NorthWestern Energy’s property tax payments are going up this year, not down. In fact, they are going up 10 percent. NorthWestern’s property tax bills have made lots of headlines across Montana recently. We are the state’s largest property taxpayer, and our property taxes are one of our largest costs of doing business. As Montana’s largest provider of essential utility services, our prices are based on the cost of providing that service. Given that property taxes are a significant portion of our customers’ bills, it is ext...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The entire political world is in a swivet. Worst election ever. Horrible candidates. Shameful dialogue. Awful conduct. What a disgrace. Hard to argue with any of that. But years from now, when this election is either a colorful or horrifying anecdote, history may look back on it as an important moment in the American passage, and a consensus may emerge — as it has about other difficult episodes, such as the confrontations of the civil rights movement, now embraced as a shining American moment — that some...
I flipped through the morning television shows this week and I didn’t know who any of their “famous” guests were. Obviously, I am not watching enough TV. “Here’s what’s-his-name, the star of that new hit show on our network! So everyone wants to know: When’s the baby due?” I have never seen the new hit show, so I didn’t know who the star was, much less with whom he was having a baby. The last time I’d watched a morning show, the featured guest was the person who’d been kicked off “Survivor” the night before. Wow! Lucky that t...
Politics are such a torment that I would advise everyone I love not to mix with them. Wait, that’s not me talking in 2016. That was Thomas Jefferson, writing to his daughter in 1800. In other words — if it makes us feel any better, if perspective can perchance calm our nerves — the 1800 presidential campaign was just as vicious as what what we’re seeing now. Incumbent President John Adams and his surrogates slimed Jefferson as a God-hater who, if elected, would close the churches and import French revolutionaries to wreak v...
It’s been a while since I’ve broke a horse, but it’s time for my youngster to learn to be responsible grownup. I am reminded that progress in training horses isn’t linear. For the first time ever, I’m going to outsource the actual first 30 rides — to a cowboy in the Bear Paws — but I do feel the responsibility to get some of the nonriding parts of the training done before the horse gets shipped out. My work is due, in part, to a sense of diligence and knowledge that the outs...
Last week Bonnie called the Rancho Esperanza residents together for the first meeting in years. Understandably, it is difficult to have a meeting when the casas are, for the most part empty. This year has brought changes. Do hotcakes sell fast? Well, these casas are selling like the proverbial breakfast staple. The meeting was called to announce that we would have meetings. Oh, yes, there’s more. First, the nuts and bolts — choose officers to preside. Bonnie’s vision is to fo...
With our increasing life expectancies, age-related diseases are becoming more prevalent. Despite the pressing need for research to develop new treatments, there is a lack of adequate support for the research necessary to find cures. The result is a tidal wave of neurological diseases that threatens our well-being and also threatens our financial system. Alzheimer’s disease alone costs more to treat each year than either cancer or heart disease, and yet the only treatment options are palliative, and there has not been a new d...
The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce and members of the business community — along with many local organizations — have organized many holiday events from bazaars to the Community Tree Lighting at Town Square for all to enjoy this holiday season. Everyone is invited to bundle up and gather to bask in the glow of one of Havre’s holiday traditions while joining family and friends at Town Square for the ceremonial lighting of the community Christmas tree Saturday, Nov. 26, with activities starting at 5 p.m. Join members of the H...
Montana, as all of us who live here know, is remarkable state, blessed with extraordinary natural resources. Glacier National Park is a jewel. Montana’s water network feeds the continent’s major river basins. And the state hosts the greatest diversity of mammals. But what tarnishes our public lands is the constant risk of walking into traps … both by hikers and their companion animals. This is far more than a nuisance. It’s an horrific encounter that’s potentially lethal to our pets. Hamilton-based veterinarian Dr. Alan Appl...
Every two years, we Montanans elect a judge to our Supreme Court. This is one of the most important votes we cast. It must be based on accurate information or we run the risk of electing the wrong person. As lawyers, who have represented Montanans for decades, allow us to share our thoughts. First, why is our vote important? Something like 90 percent of the judicial decisions affecting our lives are made by our Montana Supreme Court. Everything from access to our lands and waters to the safety of our families and communities...
Editor, At the time of writing this opinion, our next and last public hearing will be Nov. 1 at the City Hall chambers at 7 p.m. First thing, I, as the chairman of the Local Government Review Commission, want to state that it was over a year before I felt this recommendation we’ve proposed in unanimous decision was the appropriate change to offer you, the voters, along with the charter. In 1996, the last Havre Local Government Review Study Commission — Dorothy Gail Radar, chair, Robert W. Keeler and James P. O’Leary — studied...
