Columns

Sens. Daines & Risch: Let Montana, Idaho manage gray wolves!

Idaho and Montana’s successful recovery of the gray wolf was a significant achievement in species conservation. In less than ten years, not only were biological recovery targets for gray wolves met, they were exceeded. Unfortunately, delisting of the wolf has been mired in politics rather than informed by science. Last month, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland authored an editorial, devoid of facts but flushed with alarmist rhetoric, perpetuating the false narrative that Idaho and Montana’s wildlife management policies are driving gray wolves to extinction. What’s more, the Secretary disregarded both the spirit and procedure of the Endangered Species Act by explicitly threatening emergency listing. The Secretary’s editorial demands a response.

Attention! Deficit Disorder!

On March 28, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled his 2023 budget proposal. It totals $5.8 trillion, which would bring federal spending and deficits back below their pandemic-era heights (although not back to 2019 levels). Biden’s ask comes to nearly $18,000 for every man, woman, and child in America.

Global Food Shortages: How Does Your Garden (or Pantry) Grow?

“President Joe Biden and other leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies pledged action on Thursday [March 24] to address food shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Politico reports.

Support for Ukraine and Democracy must be bipartisan

As I watched Russian troops march across the Ukrainian border in an unprovoked war that immediately made the world less safe for our kids and grandkids, I thought about the words of a World War I veteran from Great Falls named Mike Mansfield, spoken in the days after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939:

Former officials advocate change in Montana Primary Election system

We became acquainted over half a century ago and have always shared a keen interest in government and public service. In our lifetimes of serving in public office, and being close observers of the political process, we have never so regularly heard deep expressions of concern from our fellow citizens about the declining state of our political system.

A Top Two Primary System is a bad idea for Montana

If you are like me, it is difficult to think of a reason why we would want to make Montana more like California. Nonetheless, this election cycle, there are several ballot initiatives being proposed to adopt California policies here in Montana. One such proposal by former Governor Marc Racicot and former Secretary of State Bob Brown is to adopt a top two primary election system. A top two system is a bad idea for Montana.

No more drama: How to get accountability right in the workplace

Accountability is key to any successful business, but some leaders struggle to properly communicate it to employees. One survey found that over one-third of managers were uncomfortable giving direct feedback about job performance, and over two-thirds were uneasy communicating with employees in general.

Ukraine: Don’t look to politicians for peace

At this point in my life, I’ve been consistently opposed to war for about twice as long as I spent as a Marine infantryman (with precisely the attitude toward war you would expect). The change was incremental and took a few years, but I consider my decision to march in the streets against the 2003 US invasion of Iraq to have been moral, and my decision to march in formation toward participation in the 1991 Gulf War to have been immoral.

Business as usual: Politicians cynically exploit child sex victims in attack on your freedom

On Feb. 10, the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee advanced the EARN IT (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies) Act, setting it up for possible adoption as a free-standing bill or, more likely, as a last-minute sneak amendment to one of Congress’s periodic socalled “must pass” legislative packages.

You can’t have the state highway your way

The Empire Center’s James Hanley tells readers of The Wall Street Journal that “anyone who wants to pay more to go green should have that choice” (“Congratulations, You’ve Won a Higher Electric Bill!,” January 31). The subject of Hanley’s op-ed, the residents of Yonkers in upstate New York, did have the freedom to choose between two energy plans, with a higher electric bill for the renewable-sourced one. Hanley objects to them being defaulted to the renewable option, the sort of policy which has given Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s “libertarian paternalism” the reputation for being more paternalist than libertarian in practice.