Columns

The case for coal

For over 20 years, I’ve worked with many key industry leaders, stakeholders, state officials, and the past two presidential administrations on developing energy policy. Montana has always been a resource-rich, energy-blessed state.

Safe and unsafe

As the pandemic enters its second year, we’re approaching an inevitable bifurcation of our society: “Presumed Safe” (those who have been vaccinated or exposed to the virus), and “Presumed Unsafe” (those who have not been vaccinated or have not been exposed to the virus). Two distinct groups that are going to test us in ways we’ve only read about in history books.

The President’s Executive Order said...

Feb. 11, 2021

Dr. Michael E. Wooten

Administrator

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

Office of Management and Budget

Washington, DC 20503

Dear Dr. Wooten,

Impeachment proceedings are over

To the editor,

The impeachment proceedings of Donald Trump are over!

But are they really over? After much testimony, many videos of the horrible day of Jan. 6. 2021, 43 United States senators voted for the acquittal of Mr. Trump.

After Mr. Trump threw them all under the bus! After Mr. Trump put their lives in danger. After Mr. Trump turned his back on his own Vice President and the Speaker of the House.

Take the bull by the horns, legislature: Pass Country of Origin Labeling in Montana

Consumers have the right to know the origin of their beef purchases, and ranchers have the right to a fair and competitive market. This is a reasonable expectation. However, since 2015 Congress specifically exempted beef and pork from labeling laws. Consumers do not know where their beef comes from, and ranchers do not have fair prices.

Just the facts, or at least your version of the facts

Opinion, fact, truth. Men and women have mulled the meaning of these words for generations.

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” – Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The topics are a constant point of consideration in the newspaper business. You can arrive on the scene of a story and ask five different people what happened, and you could get five different versions of what the witnesses believe to be the truth.

Robinhood: Stealing from the poor to give to the rich

In late January, a band of merry men (and women) organized via Reddit and other Internet forums to stick it to The Man. They began buying shares of failing retail chain GameStop to drive its stock price up.

Their target: Wall Street hedge funds engaged in the tactic of “shorting” GameStop’s stock.

Their main weapon: Robinhood, an app which allows pretty much anyone to buy stock in small amounts. Its stated mission is to “democratize finance for all.”

The No Fly List: More dangerous than the capitol rioters

As I write this, the Capitol Hill riot of Jan. 6 is enjoying its extended 15 minutes of fame, complete with straight-faced comparisons to Dec. 7, 1941 and Sept. 11, 2001.

In hindsight, it will hopefully (and hopefully quickly) shrink to its real-life proportions: A few thousand hysterical Donald Trump supporters, and likely at most a few dozen truly dangerous thugs, protested against what they claimed was a stolen election. Then they stormed and vandalized a building, scared some politicians, and killed a cop (who turned out to be a Trump supporter himself).

Bidencare will bring less access, lower quality, and higher taxes

In the wake of the tumultuous 2020 elections, Americans now face additional uncertainty over just how far the Democrats in control of Congress will try to push their radical plans to reshape our country. These next few years promise to be increasingly volatile if Democrats follow through on threats to force us down a socialist path.

The centerpiece of their leftist agenda is BidenCare, a plan to establish full government control of your healthcare, eventually arriving at full-on Medicare for All.

Montana Businesses Need Protection from COVID-19 Liability

Montana, along with the rest of the US, has suffered through almost an entire year filled with the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.