Opinion
Editor, The response from our government to the COVID-19 crisis will be second-guessed and cross-checked for years to come. Some decisions made sense while some were egregious oversteps. One decision made by the federal government was to put a pause on state governments looking at the qualifications of individuals on the Medicaid programs, traditional as well as expansion. The result of disallowing states to manage their Medicaid programs was a sharp incline of those receiving benefits from Montana Medicaid, qualifying or not. No matter your thoughts on where the government went wrong during COVID-19, I hope we all can agree that any program, especially a government-run program,...
Editor, Recently, while sitting our family’s fictitious library room, I read the Legislative Notes, those by Rep Usher. His article brought up an important subject, Montana judges. He said that in spite of their apparent impartiality they “...are in fact politicians.” Unfortunately...
Editor, I grew up in Butte and attended Christian (Catholic) schools there for 12 years. To pay tuition for 7 children, was not easy for my parents but they felt the commitment was important. And although they chose this path, they never ceased to remind us children that though our education was a bit dif...
Editor, Re: “Enough already” (January 24, 2024). Contrary to the suggestion in the letter, heading off the worst effects of climate change need not require any restrictions on personal liberties. Neither scientists who’ve provided our understanding of the issue, nor advoca...
Editor, One of my favorite TV news shows early Sunday morning is “This Week With George Stephnopaulos.” I especially like the segment with Donna Brazile and three others discussing the subjects Stephanopulos brings up. Brazile is great. This 65-year-old political strategist and analyst is clea...
I started this column thinking I might write about some of the things I’ve never yet done, like take an Alaskan cruise, drink ouzo in Greece, taste French bread in France or parent a dachshund. But I missed out on the most important never ever of all: Never, have I ever… played pickl...
There’s a new resource available to the public to stay up to speed on what is happening at the Legislature that I’d like to make you aware of. Last year, the Senate Republican caucus launched an email newsletter that anyone can subscribe to receive. It’s free, is sent once a month ...
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 matte...
Editor, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” (Martin Luther King). And so I write. As we celebrate the legacy of MLK this month, reflection might be valuable. If he were alive today, what could he teach us about slavery and the Civil War? About Jim Cro...
Editor, It’s unbelievable that newspapers across Montana are singing the climate change mantra. Our state is the laughing stock of the nation after our courts allowed kids, backed, funded, and coached by a leftist law firm out of state, to sue the state with absolutely nothing but anecdotal evidence...
