Columns

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.

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.

Reflections on a 56-county small business road trip

As director for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Montana District, I have the unique opportunity to work with entrepreneurs and small business owners across Montana to help provide capital and connections that support growth for our state’s businesses. This year has kept my team busy as we’ve worked with local lenders to secure forgivable loans for 24,000 small business owners through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other SBA lending programs designed to help keep businesses afloat during the extreme challenges we’ve faced.

Made my day

To the editor,

Ruthless power

To the editor,

2020: I’m so sick of superlatives

“2020: The Worst Year Ever,” reads the cover of Time Magazine’s Dec. 14 issue.

Be safe

To the citizens of Beaaverhead County,

House Republicans unified to fulfill Montana’s conservative mandate

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This election, Montanans sent a clear message to Helena that they expect Republican leaders to be unified in reforming the way state government does business. Montana voters elected the first Republican governor in 16 years and expanded Republican majorities in the Montana Legislature. This November, I was elected Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives by my Republican colleagues and I am both honored and committed to achieving our conservative mandate.