Columns

Montana livestock production will be challenged by the climate conditions projected for 2030-2100 that result from increasing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.  The challenges center on the interactions between a changing climate and evolving prices for animals, rising production costs, pandemics arising from animal confinement facilities, and global pressures to increase protein-production efficiency. Temperature and precipitation trends from 1990 to present point to intense summer drought, more rangeland wildfires, and increased frequency of extreme weather events. Because the US plays an important role in feeding the world’s population, the most fertile midwest...

It took almost two centuries of tyranny, war and suffering for our ancestors, desperate for liberty and self-determination, to conceive of and draft our system of constitutional government that has endured for 237 years.  They met in Philadelphia in the sweltering heat of the summer of 1787 to design...

I raise my voice for Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Kahlil.  Trump is silencing Mahmoud through politically-targeted illegal deportation. Trump doesn’t like Mahmoud’s opinions and activism on Gaza. I’m a retired white guy living in Montana. I have a duty to my country ...

Ready for some fun? I’m not talking about fun in an exciting roller coaster sort of way. That type of fun is always fun, but fun can be all sorts of amusement park rides. Some are like roller coasters - fast, thrilling and take-your-breath-away. But that isn’t the only type of enjoyment ...

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”  - John Wesley There you have it. The recipe for a good life. On the surface it sounds pretty simple and...

As a pulmonary physician I am passionate about the need to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy tax credits, and you should be too. Quite simply, they benefit the physical and economic health of my patients, their children, our cities, rural areas, the state, and the country. And they do t...

News from Citizens’ Climate Lobby  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Climate-concerned conservatives from Montana recently visited Washington, D.C. to urge Republican members of Congress to preserve the clean energy tax incentives driving investment and jobs in Montana. On Wednesday, March 5, right...

Montana’s Supreme Court has reaffirmed the state’s longstanding commitment to government transparency, rejecting efforts by lawmakers to conceal the inner workings of the legislative process. The ruling in Saslav v. Howe is a victory for open government advocates and a critical test of the state&...

One of the most bittersweet moments in life is when you have good news and no one to call. I have lots of people to call about lots of things. But certain pieces of good news, require certain people.  And, for me, those people are no longer here.  I can talk to them. I can tell them my new...

Twice a year - every year - we succumb. In the spring we spring and in the fall we fall. Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up. Somewhere, at sometime, someone (supposedly a real person) invented the practice. It probably made sense at the time.. And time is exactly what we are talking ab...