Columns

You know how themes sometimes repeat themselves throughout your day, week, year or life? It happens to me a lot. At least recently. Or maybe such synchronistic occurrences have always been there and I’ve just recently learned to pay attention to them.  I guess that detail doesn’t matter. What does, is that I’m paying attention now. And lately, a common theme has been darkness.  Or more specifically the goodness that darkness can portend. It seems counterintuitive. To be extremely succinct, the message I’ve been getting is, “Don’t be afraid of the dark.” But it isn’t like the normal ‘don’t be afraid of the d...

When I was in prison for my nonviolent anti-nuclear actions, one of my disciplines was to write something for publication daily--a letter to the editor, an opinion piece, a book review, or even mediocre poetry. One hundred percent of my writing was in opposition to nuclear weapons. I couldn’t vote w...

As you learn about all the candidates for various offices this year, the most important ones are the ones that most Montanans know the least about. The politicians you need to do the most research on are not the would-be congressmen, governors, or even legislators. It’s the judges.  Although th...

Someone I’ve never met (social media, where else?) came up with a phrase for the new year: “Let’s do more in 2024.” I’ve decided to adopt it for my own, because it’s well-balanced, makes logical sense and has good meaning, purpose and intent. Plus it rhymes; who doesn&r...

When I was in prison for my nonviolent anti-nuclear actions, one of my disciplines was to write something for publication daily--a letter to the editor, an opinion piece, a book review, or even mediocre poetry. One hundred percent of my writing was in opposition to nuclear weapons. I couldn’t vote w...

Born into a Republican family in Louisiana, a state increasingly painted in shades of red, I grew up amidst conservative dialogues with honest values. My childhood was steeped in Republican ideologies, shaping my early political outlook. However, as I matured, my views began to diverge from my family’s...

We all have our reasons for getting alarmed about the climate crisis. With bare ground at Christmas and no snow on the horizon, my neighbors just got theirs. This Northern Maine valley nestles against the border of Canada – and winter without snow is unfathomable. Snowmobiling is a big deal around h...

There’s no way Republican legislators would rather ring in a new year than with lower taxes, and that’s exactly what we’ve done to kick off 2024.  As of January 1st, Montanans of all income levels are now paying lower income taxes, thanks to legislation that just went into effect. T...

I read a quote that resonated with me on multiple levels. Upon checking it out, it originated from someone known as MrsMopar on iFunny and it went something like this: “I admire those with hairstyles. I don’t have a hairstyle, but thankfully I have hair. Most days it has zero caterpillars in i...

It’s hard to imagine, given how invested I feel in a slate of consequential elections that are still almost a year away, that we began 2023 with an equally consequential legislative session.  A 90-ish day gauntlet in the dead of winter, this session saw a historic supermajority for the Republic...