Opinion

Editor, Picked up our weekly edition of the VJ today and was reminded of a conversation with some friends and acquaintances last week over coffee. I was asking about something in that VJ edition, and one response was - we don’t bother with the news. Knowing they watch OAN I would have to agree with them. I guess that is not unlike the current fad of forcing school districts to remove books with certain subjects from their library. If it is not what you want/believe/think/do etc. ban it from everyone. Our kids will never find out, right? What would our world look like... uhm, maybe that is exactly what our world will look like if, as Bob would say, “we the people” ...

1.   The signing of my bipartisan infrastructure package into law. My top highlight is the bipartisan infrastructure package, which delivers urgently-needed investments to Montana that will support our small businesses, lower costs for working families, and grow our economy—all without raising ...

With the unrelenting talk about election fraud, I’ve decided now to clear my conscience and disclose that I voted twice for President in 1996. No, it wasn’t an act of voter fraud. As a delegate to the Republican convention that year, I voted to nominate Bob Dole as the Republican candidate. I vot...

There is a board-game called Pandemic that has been around for years before Covid 19 circled the globe. In Pandemic, you and your fellow players are members of a disease control team. You must work together to develop cures and prevent disease outbreaks, for Pandemic is a cooperative game. The players all wi...

Montana families across the state are feeling the pain in their pocketbooks from inflation and higher prices on everything from gas to groceries to heating their homes. What’s causing this? President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ wasteful spending problems, and their multitrillion dollar rec...

The idea that America is a Christian Nation is a modern myth. The founding documents do not mention Christ or scripture. While the word “God” appears in the opening of the Declaration of Independence, it refers to “Nature’s God,” the god of Deism.  The phrase “IN G...

Editor, As small as Ronan is I never thought a neighbor would steal. I’m 80 years old, on very low social security. My dear childhood friend lives in Ronan, on 4th Avenue SW. She too is alone and elderly. On the 6th of this month, post office left a package on her porch never to be seen again. It wa...

Editor, How am I to view the many ‘stones’ in my pathway?  Here is one answer that has become special with me.  See what you think. The following was written by my grandmother, whom we kids called Grandma Tish.  She was a Divine Science minister and teacher in Chicago in the ...

Editor, A word of sympathy to all of our friends in Lake County who had a sad loss of a loved one this past year. I do hope the holidays can bring a smile as you remember the wonderful, fun times with your loved one. “It’s been a tough year.” From a friend, Ethel McCready Missou...

  Editor, NWE and the MT PSC must do better. The Public Service Commission and Northwestern Energy (NWE) have made news, again, and yet again, for something done to—and not for—Montana. In 2014, NWE acquired the Hegben Dam from Pennsylvania Power and Light and with that purchase cam...