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Opinion

Business Is Personal

Stop Worrying About Commissions

Recently I was doing a little business with a large Microsoft distributor – a sale that required a license agreement. Initially, the deal couldn’t be finalized because I use a PO Box for my business address. Trouble is, they “don’t allow” license agreements with a business that uses a PO Box. Irony: That I can […]

By Mark Riffey
Like I Was Saying

When is it Self-Defense?

At the 2009 state Legislature lawmakers overwhelmingly endorsed the so-called “castle doctrine.” The law made it clear that Montanans have no obligation to retreat when they feel threatened before using deadly force to protect themselves or their homes. Just months after the session ended, a dispute between Walmart employees in Billings over the length of […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

The Fiscal Cliff

By John Fuller Beginning Jan. 1, 2013, Americans face a dramatic increase in their taxes that conservatives have begun calling “Taxmageddon.” The expiration of the “Bush Tax Rates,” the expiration of the patch on the Alternative Minimum Tax, the expiration the payroll tax cut, and the increased taxation from Obamacare, will result in a 7.6 […]

By John Fuller | Joe Carbonari
Letter

LETTER: Romney is the Right Choice

I have followed with interest your recent coverage of the election. However, one key fact has been underemphasized in your reporting. Please remind your readers that our current president has had four years to dig us out of the economic slump, and has not done so. In fact, President Barack Obama’s “spend now, pay later” […]

By Michael Stevens
Letter

LETTER: Obama Moving Us in the Right Direction

While you have ably covered the upcoming election, I feel you should better highlight some important context. Four years ago, America faced its greatest economic crisis in generations. Employment was plummeting, and a second Great Depression appeared possible. Since taking office, President Barack Obama has worked tirelessly to stabilize the economy and rebuild America’s middle-class. […]

By Andrew Mills
Guest Column

Improving K-12 Education in Montana

Montana parents want and need choice in K-12 education. Fifty percent of Montanans would choose an option other than traditional public school for their kids, if possible (see EdChoice.org/MTpoll). So we were not surprised when the ACE Scholarship program we launched earlier this year was wildly oversubscribed. ACE provides partial funding to families with financial […]

By Greg Gianforte
Business Is Personal

Have You Forgotten How To Improve?

Recently I had a tech conversation with someone I’ve known for at least a decade and have great respect for. During a dumb conversation we didn’t even start, we disagreed about spaces in file names and software that doesn’t support them. My friend is like the NORAD of user interface look and feel. His work […]

By Mark Riffey
Uncommon Ground

Voting and Leadership Matters

A conservative U.S. Supreme Court transformed Montana elections into spending sprees. Suddenly secret, corporate and unlimited dollars flooded Montana with negative political advertising. Sharla Tester wrote, in an email about her husband Sen. Jon Tester: “But in this election, he’s not only running against an opponent – he’s fighting against outside special interest spenders who […]

By Mike Jopek
Letter

LETTER: We Don’t Need Another George W. Bush

Mitt Romney wants to take the lead in the Middle East? Maybe he wants to arm the potential terrorists so they can kill thousands of Americans once they kiss and make up with each other. It’s a really bad idea and history tells us we’ll take it in the shorts. Oh man! I hope people […]

By Kathleen Maloney
Letter

LETTER: Nation That Forgets God Will Feel God’s Judgment

Like many Americans I watched some of the events at both the Democratic and Republican Conventions. I was not greatly inspired by either party; however, I was shocked as I listened to one session of the Democratic convention when the presiding chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was desperately endeavoring to lead the convention in […]

By Harvey A. Town
Opinion

Deficits vs. Stimulus

By John Fuller During the Great Depression (FDR’s, not Obama’s), the Keynesian approach to restore prosperity was to “prime the pump” by massive government spending for the “alphabet agencies” of the era such as the W.P.A., P.W.A, T.V.A., A.A.A., and several other bureaucratic creations. These were supposed to provide “relief, recovery and reform.” The objective […]

By John Fuller | Joe Carbonari
Like I Was Saying

One-Dimensional

It’s not unusual to meet someone outside the office, tell them what I do for a living and for them to immediately want to talk about politics. They want to engage about the state of the races for higher office, policy discussed in the last city council meeting and why they agree, or disagree, with […]

By Kellyn Brown
Guest Column

Poor Planning

Why would our commissioners gut the Flathead County Growth Policy? Must be money rules instead of majority rules because the majority of county residents worked hard to reach the consensus expressed in the 2007 growth policy. Our commissioners have changed all that by removing substantial portions of the document in a less-than transparent way. They […]

By Terry Meyers
Business Is Personal

Doing What Must Be Done. Or Not. You Choose.

Change is hard. We often don’t make a change because just thinking about it tends to be unpleasant, never mind the change itself. We’ll think about it and mull it over and consider our options like we do about stopping for gas. We’ll glance at the pump as we pass by and put off the […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

Clip and Save – Again

Well, the tidal wave of stupid political mailings and ads shows no sign of ebbing. The most hateful thing about political adverts is their intent: Not information, but manipulation, which is an extra shame given a Gallup poll I fell across the other day. Gallup found 60 percent of Americans distrust the press. The sad […]

By Dave Skinner