News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 849 - 873 of 3210
A couple thousand years ago, somebody famous, broadly paraphrased, said, we do things we know aren’t good for us (or for others) and don’t do the things we know to be good. Well, what can I say? The shoe fits. Oh, I can always say more. Not only do I do what’s not good for me, but I lie to myself and convince myself that it doesn’t really matter. I’ve worked hard at catching myself and changing my mind before rip-roaring into action. About 40 years of hard work. And it is hard...
I just learned that my ex-husband has remarried. I learned this as we learn about all important life milestones these days: on Facebook. There were photos taken in the Caribbean. My ex-husband and his new bride were walking barefoot on the beach. She was carrying her shoes and their feet were wet and probably the most surprising thing to me was how sincerely I wished them well. It is common practice to offer our best wishes when we are actually wishing nothing of the kind....
This past week brought some much-needed good news for the folks who live and work in Havre and across the Hi-Line. On May 24th, full, daily Amtrak service returned to the Northern tier of our state after painful, short-sighted cuts imposed last year furloughed employees and reduced service to just three days a week. The cuts to Amtrak were a punch in the gut, and an attack on Montana’s frontier communities. Folks from Wolf Point to Libby and everywhere in between depend on reliable, frequent Amtrak service—and the Empire Bui...
There is something about a barn that speaks to the soul, and I’m not just saying that because I have one — or rather I have both — a barn and a soul. I’ve been working on my barn recently, and it’s given me a lot of time to think on the topic. Barns are kind of the poster children of rural living, literally the image of rural living. I googled it. Actually, I did an image search for the term bucolic. The word means “relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside...
When I moved to Mexico, one of the first things I learned was to check inside my shoes before inserting feet. Evidently that is a popular hiding place, nesting site, attack barricade for scorpions. Next, I was told, never go barefoot. Not outside. Not inside. Thus, my night sandals live at bedside. One thing I can tell you for sure, if you’ve never in your life seen a scorpion, when you first see one, you will know exactly what it is, no doubts. Same as when you first hear a...
The old wooden folding table belonged to my grandma. I don’t remember her ever using it. After she moved out of her house and into a retirement home, my sister inherited the table, but she didn’t use it much, either. The table has four wooden folding chairs that tuck beneath it and the whole thing rolls on casters. My husband, Peter, and I are moving to be closer to family and we don’t have a serviceable table for our new place. “Bring the folding table when you come,” I told...
After session adjourned, Judy and I took a few days for ourselves. We have six grandkids in Wyoming from ages 4 to 17. So, we went south and celebrated two birthdays and attended both a track meet and soccer game while visiting two of our kids and both their families. Seems, “Let’s go, Papa” was the word for the visit. The youth do step out at a brisker pace than I most often use. That being said, it was good to get home just in time for 8-plus inches of snow following about a half inch of rain. As I mentioned in my last...
With one headline, Live Science promised me an epic tale of adventure, heroism and more than just a little absurdity: “After a Chinese zoo covered up a leopard escape, 100 chickens are searching for the big cat.” My gaaaawd! The chickens in China are forming a hunting party to track down an actual leopard? One hundred chickens, all focused on one objective against a fierce predator? Chickens? Hunting leopards? Imagine that if you will, if you can. Maybe they’re hunting in pa...
How many ways are there for illegal migrants to die crossing or trying to cross our border? The list keeps growing, encouraged by policies and messaging from the Biden administration. Three people were recently killed, and dozens hospitalized, after a smuggling boat overturned and broke apart off the San Diego coast. The Border Patrol said there has been a 92 percent increase in maritime apprehensions of smugglers in 2020 as compared with the previous year. In March, 13 people died when an SUV, filled with 25 illegal...
I am a blade of grass. When I don’t have water I turn brown, crisp, wither into the ground. I lie dormant until such time as rains come. I am the same as a blade of grass — except that I can reach for water. My cousin, that blade of withered grass, can send its roots only so far into the ground until it hits bedrock or can grow no further. On second thought, I am a blade of grass. It rained. You would have thought Christmas, Easter, the Fourth of July, and my birthday all cam...
Love them or hate them, most Americans pay their fair share of taxes into the government’s coffers as a basic duty. In return, we get roads, schools, law enforcement, health services, clean air and water, and other public goods that benefit everyone. But for too long, the rules that apply to most of us have been shirked by the richest households and corporations — those who can afford to pay their fair share, but thanks to loopholes, lobbying and preferential treatment, seldom do. Every year, dozens of Fortune 500 cor...
Everyone knows that I am attached to my desk. I would argue I have good reason. My desk is an extension of myself. Whereas other people are attached to their phones, I frequently lose track of mine. (Just writing this made me wonder where it was. Don’t worry; I found it.) My desk is my home inside my home. I hear about people working from their couch or from their kitchen table or even from their bed and I cannot imagine it. My desk is always tidy. I always have fresh f...
At the May Park Board meeting we were told that the park will continue to lethally trap beavers until the “population is under control.” When questioned “what will be the standard for the population being under control,” other than a comment about activity, there was not an explanation of what the standard and or measure of population will be. When further pressed about the consensus of the board considering wildlife or wildlife habitat in decisions for the park, the response from the chairman was: It will be conside...
Superintendent of Public Instruction Arntzen, as an elected official, has the responsibility to serve all Montanans — not just some. Instead, she needlessly and recklessly chose to place Montana’s public education system in the crosshairs of a national political debate. Her recent opinion piece undermines long-established critical race theory that recognizes slavery, segregation, redlining, and other oppressive policies and laws are part of America’s history. When we do not acknowledge and examine how those things impac...
Today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens. We need all Montanans to understand, and care about, the future of our state and nation. We need them to study our founding documents, and understand what makes the United States so exceptional. And we need them to comprehend when our country has fallen short of its lofty goals, and how ordinary citizens and leaders alike have come together to enact change to guarantee we learn from our history and that the same mistakes are not repeated. In order for that to happen, we must ens...
We’ve all got answers to life’s problems, but they ain’t all interesting, so today I want to talk a little bit about innovative solutions. Remember the Suez Canal fiasco a few months ago when a ship captain accidentally grounded a cargo ship against the canal’s soft, sandy bank and the waterway was blocked for six days? (Side note: I thought the entire canal was lined with concrete but, obviously, I am not well-read or attentive to news from 2004 and 2006 when this happene...
Without a doubt, improving access to high-speed internet was necessary before the pandemic, but since COVID hit, the “digital divide” in Montana has only become more apparent. Tuesday May 11, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed “The ConnectMT Act — To establish broadband deployment,” Senate Bill 29, into law. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton and passed the Montana Legislature overwhelmingly. This new law leverages $275 million in federal money available through the American Rescue Plan Act to expand br...
We Americans are so tethered to our cars. It’s as though there is an umbilical cord between our brains and the ignition switch. When I first moved to Mexico, driving my vehicle stuffed to the roof with bare essentials, I lived in the fair-sized city of Mazatlan. In the first six months, I drove my van exactly one time. Public transportation in most of Mexico is good, easy and inexpensive. I was there on a six-month tourist visa so my trusty van and I had to exit Mexico. On r...
Tanner and Dakota are waiting for me. They’re standing at the corner of their chain-link fence, watching the sidewalk. They know I’m coming, even if they don’t know exactly when, even if they can’t see the sidewalk very well and can’t hear at all. Tanner and Dakota are my two oldest dog customers, dogs I give treats to nearly every day. My husband, Peter, has decided against paying the big bucks for high-priced dog treats full of questionable ingredients. He bought himself a d...
I’ve never been good at training two horses at the same time, and yet here I am, on the verge of my rocking chair on the porch years, breaking two horses to ride, and they couldn’t be making it harder on my brain if they tried. It’s not whether they are well-behaved and or trainable, or if they’re difficult, tricky, obstinate, or otherwise constitutionally against being trained to interact with humans in a positive and productive manner which requires them to do what the human...
Montana voters spoke clearly last November. They elected Republicans up and down the ticket, giving legislative Republicans a clear mandate to make good on our campaign promises of protecting the Montana way of life, improving economic opportunities, protecting Montanans’ rights, and preventing government overreach. The fearmongering about the 67th legislative session started up shortly after the election with certain folks making dire predictions about COVID-19 at the Capitol and demanding the Legislature not meet. We r...
We are one week plus days past our second vaccination shots and feeling great. Carol said, “I wonder if the syringe had anything in it. Ben sent me a cartoon, unsigned, so I’ve no idea the artist. It depicts a stick figure saying, “Hi. I’m here to visit!” From behind an open door, “Do I know you?” “No. It’s cool. I’m two weeks past my second dose.” Below is a blurb: Remember, once you’re fully vaccinated, the CDC says you’re free to visit other people’s houses. Well, it...
Montana is facing a housing crisis. A lack of affordable housing is keeping working Montanans out of homes and forcing families to pay up 50 percent or more of their monthly incomes in rent. Lumber prices and labor shortages make it even tougher for developers to offer affordable homes to working families. HB 397 bill will provide a state-based funding resource to help private developers make homes affordable and economical. Both chambers of the 67th Montana Legislature passed House Bill 397, and it is now on the governor’s d...
It is a well-known fact that we are allowed to chew out the people we care about. Most recently, this came to mind when I gave my old friend, Andrew, a serious tongue-lashing. Andrew is a lifelong bachelor, and a committed curmudgeon. He is better than most curmudgeons at being curmudgeonly because he started young. Andrew showed signs of being a grumpy old man when he was still in his 30s. But Andrew is no longer in his 30s, and this is what brought us to our recent conflict....
“You Bugger!” This is my favorite expression used by my dear friend Loretta Loftus who passed away last week. I counted it a real coup when Loretta and her husband Kermit walked into Community Alliance Church one Sunday. They had been faithful members of Calvary Baptist Church but when that church closed, they came to us and they stayed for many years. Not only did they stay but they also brought family and friends and invested themselves into the life of the church. My wife, Karen, and I spent many hours with Loretta lis...
