“We are not good at anything else anymore … can’t build a decent car or a television set, can’t give a good education to the kids or health care to the old, but we can bomb … any country.” – George Carlin back during the Gulf War A fact: The U.S. has been in some […]

After the financial collapse of 2007, I readily consumed information on how the economy blew up; how half the stock market was wiped out; how new subdivisions were abandoned and left for dead. A lot has changed in six years. A lot hasn’t. Here, it appears we experienced a necessary dose of cautiousness. Elsewhere, not […]

By John Fuller Our national political scene lacks both humor and graciousness. We have intellectual arrogance coming out of the White House and megalomania in the Congress. Not only does our leadership disagree with each other, but they often refer to each other’s ideas and personage in an unnecessarily deleterious manner. The more they badmouth […]

“What would it take for a Republican or self-identified independent to vote for a Democrat in local elections?” This is a question the small, Democratic Party inner circle establishment, mostly from Whitefish, has posed to their membership after this author has pushed the question for many years. Understand this is not your typical political party, […]

With fire season under way, I’ve been thinking about federal forest management. The Flathead National Forest (FNF) has restarted its multiple-aborted forest planning process, with a series of field trips for the interested public. The next trip is Aug. 29 to Spotted Bear, just the beginning of a process that is expected to take five […]

Have you heard that you should “segment” your customers before marketing to them? Ever wondered what that means, much less how you’d do that? Today, we’re going to talk about segmenting in simple terms, but you might be wondering… Why should I segment my customers? Good question. You want to segment your marketing is to […]

It didn’t take Rep. Steve Daines long to adopt the ways of the typical Washington politician. He wears many hats, trying to be everything to everyone. Montana’s timber industry has grown so accustomed to receiving federal welfare checks, tax breaks, special grants and earmarks that the entire Montana delegation gives them just about anything they […]

In a recent article titled “Focusing on the Flathead River” (Aug. 14 Beacon) Glacier National Park’s North Fork District Ranger Scott Emmerich all but admitted that the park wants to keep the North Fork Road as dusty and unpleasant to drive as possible —because it will reduce the number of people who want to access […]

By John Fuller Montana Attorney General Tim Fox was recently asked by an AP reporter for the names of all concealed carry permit holders. Unlike his predecessors (all Democrats), Mr. Fox refused to reveal them and instead notified all 56 county sheriffs of the request. Obviously, the reporter had plans to publicize these names. The […]

Before leaving for his five-week summer recess earlier this month, Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., wanted to make one thing clear: This is not a vacation. He posted a YouTube video declaring this is an “August district work period” despite what is “reported in the media.” It’s a smart move on Heck’s part, since, according to […]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations said that 2012 was the hottest year recorded in the U.S. since the organization began tracking weather in the late 1800s. It’s not just hotter weather that is causing farmers to take notice; it’s the size and power of the new super storms. Farmers in Gallatin County showed Sen. […]

A couple of weeks ago, NASA celebrated the one year anniversary of Curiosity Rover landing on Mars. Print readers – see the video here: youtube.com/watch?v=JaFZmaXlTV0 As someone who has been taking pictures since the ’60s, I still find it amazing that we can tell a satellite orbiting Mars to take a picture of a Jeep-size […]

Montana once boasted a strong timber industry that helped maintain healthy forests, supported local jobs and provided a steady revenue stream for our counties and schools. But in recent decades, inflexible federal policies and unrelenting appeals and lawsuits have imposed a huge administrative burden on federal agencies, limited our mills’ access to timber and ultimately […]

During the mid-1970s, a citizens group in and around West Glacier nearly succeeded in creating a bike and horse path to be constructed between Hungry Horse and Glacier National Park. Working together were 4-H kids, horse enthusiasts, bicyclists and many local residents. The initial plan was to have a path on each side of the […]

I often joke with our summer intern, Izzy Makman, that her time at the Beacon will be the best summer job she ever has. “The best!” I say, “The last summer intern refused to leave until we hired him.” I’m referencing full-time staff writer Justin Franz, who really did refuse to leave until we hired […]