President Barack Obama’s proposal on regulating greenhouse gas emissions comes with a hefty price tag

Sen. Ed Walker misses out on some of the facts in his letter.

Even staunch supporters of President Barack Obama are at a loss to explain his ill-advised trade of five Taliban generals for one U.S. Army deserter.

Policy makers in Washington State obviously want to make it virtually impossible to mine coal in Montana.

When you have hunted, hiked, worked and snowmobiled – you name it – on Forest Service land for decades, you can begin to feel as if you had an entitlement to that land.

Recent reports by the Associated Press and other news organizations depict a bleak future for American energy consumers. Electricity prices are on the rise, and your wallet will soon know it. Frustratingly, the reason those prices are going up have nothing to do with normal economics.

The problem isn’t that demand has been increasing – in fact, even as the U.S. population has grown, our energy consumption has leveled off over the past 15 years due to increased efficiency and conservation.

Recently, Gov. Steve Bullock received a letter signed by more than 50 Montana health professionals from across the state. The letter asks Bullock and his administration to strongly support proposed limits on carbon pollution from power plants.

The reasons are simple: Discharge of toxins and carbon from coal burning plants are causing health problems and climate change, which also carries serious health impacts.

From the dusty washes near Bunkerville, Nevada, to polished marble offices along K Street in Washington DC, there is a radical cry to wrest our national forests and prairies away from public ownership.

That cry should alarm all Americans who cherish their freedom to hunt, fish and otherwise enjoy the great outdoors.

Recently a column in the Flathead Beacon (“Free Stuff, Isn’t”) raised the question of whether or not expanding Medicaid to 70,000 low income Montanans is worth the cost. Simply put, yes, expanding Montana’s Medicaid program would strengthen our economy, create jobs and help thousands of Montanans access the health care they need.

The column cited a recent report by Montana Budget and Policy Center (MBPC) that notes Montana is missing out on millions of dollars every day we wait to expand Medicaid – $1.84 million in federal funding, $1.3 million in labor income, and $135,000 in state and local taxes are lost each day. Additionally, Medicaid expansion would bring 12,000 new jobs to the state. After noting this, however, the columnist Dave Skinner mistakenly claims the jobs created by expansion would net salaries of only $27,000 a year.

I served in the Montana House for three terms with Mark. During that period of time, I came to know him as a very committed, loyal and dedicated person to the people and state of Montana. He served on and chaired a number of committees that had a significant monetary impact on the Treasure State’s households. Mark always used conservative logic and commonsense when voting on bills that would have a lasting effect on the state’s economy. During the past session, as speaker of the House, he navigated the House through some very difficult and controversial legislation. For most legislators being in the position of speaker is on-the-job training, but for Mark it was a natural progression. He’s a successful small business owner who hires, manages and trains people. He knows the importance of jobs, finance and family.

When I took the oath of office of mayor of Kalispell last January, I was in the envious position of inheriting a city in a great position to move into the future due the dedicated efforts of outgoing Mayor Tammi Fisher. Because of Tammi’s commitment and unique ability to work with eight council members with diverse backgrounds, our fiscal house in order. We have a balanced budget, our reserves have been restored to their target levels, ineffective and inhibiting transportation impact fees were eliminated and our local government was right sized without reducing the level of services. These are all accomplishments of a dedicated mayor who worked with her council to set the policy for the city manager to implement.

Mark Blasdel is very special to us. We have watched Mark grow up. Anita was his first grade teacher. It has been wonderful to see Mark mature into a caring, congenial, sincere and hard working gentleman. He balances raising his young family with running a restaurant business in partnership with his mother, Alice. Mark puts forth his best effort in every endeavor he enters. He has distinguished himself by serving the Flathead community.

As the widow of Montana Highway Patrolman Michael Haynes, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

As a widow with two young children, I experienced firsthand the support Tammi Fisher has given and made available to all members of the Patrol. Tammi has been with us as a prosecutor, and as an advocate.

The 2015 Montana legislative session will be the most important session since I was elected to the Montana House in 1999. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ water compact, the impact of government controlled health care, pensions deficits, the lowest wages in the nation, high cost of energy and skyrocketing taxes are just a few of the issues that need immediate attention. Fortunately, Bob Keenan, former president of the Montana Senate is running for the District 5 senate seat that I must vacate due to term limits. Bob is one of the best financial minds to ever serve in the Montana Legislature.

This letter is focusing on the Republican and Democratic responses on just two major issues facing America: (1) The reform of America’s health insurance and health care system. (2) Actions necessary for clean and healthy air in response to climate change.

On health care: 40 years ago Nixon sent a special message to Congress proposing a Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan. Every president since Nixon has brought up this subject for debate and with suggestions for change. Revising America’s health insurance and health care system has been discussed in every administration ever since early in the 20th century, actually.