You look at those prices for cloud services and think you’re getting a deal. Fact is, you are. You’re hiring a professional staff to run your systems in a very-high-quality environment and paying little for it. But are you using these cloud services in a way that protects your business? A Forbes analysis of the […]

I usually write my column a week or so in advance but this can’t wait. You need to read it now and determine if it affects you, your business or your clients. On July 12th 2012, Yahoo confirmed that a large number of passwords originating at its Associated Content site were leaked. If you ever […]

I’d like to respond to State Sen. Verdell Jackson’s recent thoughts on climate change (July 4 Beacon: “We Do Not Control the Climate”). 1) Mr. Jackson asserts “there is no replicable (verify by reproduction) scientific evidence that human-caused carbon dioxide emissions cause climate change. It doesn’t exist.” I don’t know whether he’s lying on purpose, […]

I appreciated the “health care” reporting by Myers Reece (July 4 Beacon: “Mixed Reactions to Health Care Ruling”). As part of the team who facilitated several preliminary public meetings regarding the so-called, “Obamacare” issue, I was privileged to listen to public officials (including U.S Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, and Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger […]

By John Fuller I want Montana’s next governor to energetically, vigorously, even ruthlessly, defend the sovereignty of the state of Montana from the ever-increasing encroachment by the federal Government. From Obamacare to the Environmental Protection Agency to the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Government itself has been the biggest obstacle to Montana’s prosperity, welfare and […]

During this year’s gubernatorial primary race it was our pleasure to meet with many individuals and small business leaders from across Montana. Time after time, the No. 1 issue that resonated with the citizens of Montana is the fear that overregulation at the state and federal level is a job destroyer! The Patient Protection and […]

Tea Partiers are stunned that the Affordable Care Act passed the U.S. Supreme Court’s test of constitutionality. “Well it looks like what was sold on a lie was found constitutional on that lie,” State Auditor candidate Derek Skees wrote in a website release after the court’s judgment. During the 2011 Montana Legislature, Skees unsuccessfully sought […]

“Them”, meaning “your staff”. Are they using your policies and training as a shield to protect your business, or are they using them as tools and leverage to protect your customers and your brand? There’s a big difference between the two. An example is this story involving a repeatedly broken-down U-Haul truck, whose details quickly […]

Every time a judge hands down a controversial decision, it is parsed by pundits suddenly deemed constitutional scholars when their qualifications for such a title involve little more than having the loudest, and most outrageous, opinion. With the high number of unemployed law school graduates, you would think the networks could afford to stock a […]

Scientists pay attention to a very specific scorecard that most clearly indicates how the battle against man-caused global warming is going. That scorecard is the measured level of CO2 in the background atmosphere. That number is presently 393 parts per million (40 percent higher than the preindustrial era) and is rising at an alarming rate […]

We have been flooded with global warming and climate change claims stating that the evidence is clear, that the debate is closed, that we must act immediately, etc., but in fact there is no replicable (verify by reproduction) scientific evidence that human-caused carbon dioxide emissions cause climate change. It doesn’t exist. Studies of a variety […]

Last month marked 40 years since the Watergate scandal. The anniversary has me remembering a discussion in 1987 with the Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill who, 15 years earlier, had seen the foreboding shadow of the distant Watergate tsunami a full year before it crashed over the nation’s political shoreline. No one who lived […]

Just when it seems federal forest policies hit rock bottom, they get worse. First, we have local eco-warrior Keith Hammer threatening to sue the U.S. Forest Service to stop an organized mountain-bike race (on trails that are mostly open to motorized users, no less) after his efforts to block the Swan Crest 100 foot race. […]

Do you have problems with too many sales turning into refunds? Or almost-sales turning into no-sales? Do your demonstration projects frequently fail to reach the buying stage? Does return-friendly Costco look like a tough return desk negotiator compared to you? Do people frequently add things to their shopping cart while on your website but decide […]

It’s unfortunate that such a beautiful area is also home to the region’s nastiest political skirmishes. So it goes in Lincoln County, where before one government dispute is resolved another one hits the front page. Earlier this year, in the tiny town of Troy, the council decided that the mayor didn’t play well with others, […]