Innovation is at the heart of the American agriculture success story. As a matter of course, today’s farmers and ranchers must constantly prepare and adapt to get ahead of tomorrow’s challenges. At USDA, we have a long history of fostering research and innovation that help agricultural production thrive. I am pleased that the 2014 Farm […]

Montana’s stupid campaign finance laws are a pet peeve of mine, and should be one of yours. Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a column (Nader’s Montana Raiders) about two rather clever political operatives, Jonathan Motl of Helena and C.B. Pearson of Missoula, who have spent decades using ballot initiatives to game Montana’s campaign […]

All over the U.S., winter seems to be having a little fun with us. While the Flathead mostly has fun with it – a lot of places are pretty well shut down by this year’s winter road conditions. Without the staff and equipment to handle serious (for their area) winter storms, many communities are left […]

Ryan Zinke should curb his tone if he wants to be known as a person who serves the public instead of his own political ends. Zinke, whose middle name appears to be Formernavyseal, spoke vividly at a recent Republican meeting in Bigfork. Zinke is running to be the GOP candidate for the state’s seat in […]

Falsified science and physics have both become useful tools of political strategists seeking power, control and wealth. Claims of “man-caused” disasters calling for drastic, supposedly corrective measures keeps the citizenry beholden to the government. Research has found that unlimited supplies of hydrocarbon fuels are constantly forming within the earth’s deep, hot biosphere. False claims of […]

A few inches of snow dropped on the South last week, enough to effectively shut down the region and earn the storm the nicknames “snowpocalypse” and “snowmageddon” and other combinations of words that suggest the end of the world. While that didn’t happen, it was still pretty bad. Atlanta, one of the largest metro areas […]

By Tim Baldwin The president’s power is bound by the Constitution, which places all law-making power in Congress. Assuming power is one of the biggest dangers in a Republic. Madison and Hamilton said in Federalist Paper (FP) 20, reflecting on world experience, “Tyranny has perhaps oftener grown out of the assumptions of power … than […]

A bipartisan election commission led by the chief campaign lawyers for President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney has made recommendations for making elections run more smoothly across the country. Notably, the report presented by this presidential commission urges state and local election officials to achieve a “modern, efficient and responsive” election system that attends to […]

June Munski-Feenan was a giant. I was a foot and a half taller than her, but she always told me how it was. I felt short next to her. She was one of the most giving people I knew. June was a real leader. Many of my older friends and neighbors have passed. Somehow I […]

A week or so ago, I helped my mom buy an iPad. You would think that my mom, who is in her 70s, would be the one learning the most from this exercise, but you’d be wrong. Going through this with her simply reminded me (again) to discard all assumptions when building a user interface, […]

Now that Sen. Max Baucus has been given the president’s nod to ship off to China as our next ambassador, Montana is in a unique situation and one that does not happen very often. Montana’s soon-to-be placeholder senator will be the 60th senator in history to fill a seat in the upper chamber, without having […]

I empathize with David Tyler’s concerns about the costs of waging war on climate change and the possible impact on low-income earners (Jan. 22 Beacon: “Global Warming: Is It Really That Important?”). However, if we do nothing about climate change and simply kick the can down the road, the costs to us all will be […]

Homeland Security officials recently told Montana that the licenses and identification cards it issues do not comply with a number of federal rules implemented by 2005’s REAL ID Act. Gov. Steve Bullock disagrees. And if this all sounds familiar, it should, since we’ve been waging this battle for several years. If you recall, former Gov. […]

By Tim Baldwin We’re a long way away from June 3, the 2014 primary election date here in Montana, but many political types are already hard at work recruiting candidates and jockeying for leadership roles. The positions and alliances now being forged may well determine much of our state’s future. It’s worth getting involved. In […]

New Year’s always brings guilty thoughts of resolutions we can’t keep. This time, I’m trying reverse psychology: I resolve to get older, uglier and meaner. Of course, all of us have resolutions we’d like others to make, and I’m no exception. Here’s a suggested resolution for our traffic engineering people: Please, think things through before […]