I was waiting to hear the National Rifle Association’s response following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School before commenting. To no surprise it was the same old hardline rhetoric. So it was with great interest to me when I read Bob Brown’s recent column on the NRA. Bob’s concern was the direction the NRA […]

The decision of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to institute a closure to the wolf hunting season in areas surrounding Yellowstone National Park was a welcome intervention to what has gained international attention as a tragedy in the making. We applaud their moderate decision as not only the right thing to do, but as a […]

Crazy people have been doing horrible things since the dawn of time and will continue to do so regardless of what anti-gun laws you or lawmakers decide to impose on citizens. More guns do NOT create more murders. Nearly every home in Switzerland has a gun and yet they have one of the world’s lowest […]

You and I met at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. I was waiting in line for a taxi in downtown Whitefish. You were slumped over the steering wheel of your running vehicle at the corner of East First Street and Central Avenue. It took a minute to realize what was about to happen […]

I am writing this letter, merely an expression of my experiences. I am disappointed to see so many dogs run off leash throughout the town of Whitefish, and saddened to personally witness two of them hit by cars on U.S. Highway 93 this past summer. Let’s see. A family has a woodpile in their backyard […]

One crazed, evil individual caused irreparable damage to a school, a town, a nation, a world. We feel compelled to act, to do something, anything, in the face of this horrific act. But an emotional reaction only gives up our power into the hands of the sick perpetrator of this crime. Do we really want […]

It has been a couple weeks since the three of you decided to invade our home, our privacy and our lives. I suspect that you think that we deserved it somehow, or that maybe one of our “kids” did. At this point I don’t think it matters, what does matter is that all three of […]

In the 1920s the 18th amendment went into effect. This amendment made the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcohol illegal in the United States. Immediately following this the manufacture, sale, transportation and use of alcohol increased exponentially – along with gang violence. The war on alcohol failed and in the 1933s the 21st amendment repealed […]

How do the union bashers explain the success of the unionized German auto industry? The workers average more than $67 an hour in wages and benefits. In 2010, the American autoworker averaged less than $34 an hour in wages and benefits. Is it possible that the unions are responsible for Germany being the most financially […]

I would like to thank my many neighbors and friends for supporting the proposed Snow Frog Bed and Breakfast and Double Tap Tasting Room on West Second Street. After two years of planning, hundreds of hours spent developing business models that provided both public good and needed investment to the corridor, I am sorry to […]

One of the first jobs I held was a heavy equipment operator after joining the Operating Engineers Union in 1957. I was soon informed by my fellow workers that as a union member, my first loyalty was to the union, not my employer. I was told to slow my productively down to that of my […]

To the skier on Big Mountain: I have considered your situation and your stated frustration with “having” to ski by the Statue of the Man on federal property (Dec. 5 Beacon: “Whitefish Jesus Statue Challenge Salvaged by Local Atheist”). That fleeting moment, for you aren’t forced to stop, must be hell! But if you do […]

Is your state Legislature and state employees hostile to the concept of equal protection under the law? Our public servants take an oath to protect this concept under the Constitution. Columbia Falls Rep. Jerry O’Neil poses a question more valuable than “gold.” Is the protection of the value of labor exclusive to government employees only? […]

To die with dignity and choice is legal in Montana (and also in Washington and Oregon) if I am terminally ill, mentally competent and physically able to self-medicate. And if my physician of choice is willing and legally able to provide me with prescriptions that will enable me to be in control of my dying […]

I am concerned that America is drifting far away from the spiritual values that blessed and perhaps preserved our country two centuries ago. In 2008, a news commentator said that the new president elect was using the same tactic as Lincoln did in forming his cabinet; bringing around him those who had opposed his election. […]