By John Fuller The Republican leaders of the Montana Legislature and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock have pledged to cooperate, work together and compromise to conduct the people’s business in the legislative session this year. The leaders of the legislative branch and executive branch do that before every session. But this writer predicts that before the […]

Who could argue with healthcare that is patient centered? Let’s take the pretty words out and look at what it does and doesn’t do for Montana. To start, let us look at the part of the above title that has been tossed around awhile. Medical home concept, which was originally developed in the 1960s, refers […]

As the work of the 63rd Legislative Assembly proceeds, I want our legislators to remember the dignity of our citizens and their right to vote in our elections. Registering to vote, at a convenient time, is showing that we as a state appreciate citizen participation in our elections. Our current system has honored our citizens […]

There are alarming details in Great Falls Tribune reporter John Adams’ story about leaked emails sent by Republicans in the state Senate, and the story pokes several holes in the overarching narrative that the new leadership touted in the run-up to the legislative session. In an interview with the Beacon just a few weeks before […]

Both President Barack Obama and his congressional adversaries have shown themselves to be better at making tough talk to each other than making the tough choices necessary for the country. Their response to the so-called “fiscal cliff” did not involve a single tough decision and actually increased the national debt. The country continues to face […]

During the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Re:Invent conference‘s “fireside chat” with Jeff Bezos, he told a story about during a professional development session where he (like all senior Amazon management) spent two days on the Amazon customer service call center staff. Stop for just a minute. If your business is small – you likely spend […]

The Montana Legislature ventured into its third week of policymaking with public overtures of cooperation and collaboration. That’s a welcome change from the last legislative session, which was dominated by socially derisive bills. The Legislature traditionally convenes biannually for a maximum of 90 days. In some sessions work gets done; other Legislatures do little but […]

We’ve all heard the story of the unfortunate frog slowly boiled in a pot of water. It forgot to jump out. I guess you have to be French to enjoy that. Whenever principles are compromised, there can never be an end to its progressive elimination. In other words, few of us are for carrying semi-automatic […]

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 first debate between Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and his Republican challenger Congressman Denny Rehberg was in June of last year in Big Sky at the Montana Newspaper Association’s annual conference. There, the two men disagreed on just about everything. But one exchange that stood out was Tester’s and Rehberg’s differing opinions on the U.S. […]

By John Fuller In the hyper-partisan atmosphere of our nation’s capital, Democrats have repeatedly called Republican opposition to their agenda “extremists.” Labeling Republicans as “extremist” and attempting to portray them as “out of the mainstream” is the methodology Democrats use to convince low-information voters to ignore Republican resistance. But Republican “extremism” is as old as […]

A number of articles have appeared statewide in recent days announcing Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s (FWP) decision to oppose threatened status for Montana’s wolverine. Some of these articles have argued that the threats to wolverine populations have nothing to do with trapping, implying that the trapping should therefore continue. This argument flies in the […]

When you talk to your customers about their business, do they ever respond “Wow, I didn’t know that” or “Really?” Does your sales and marketing process provoke your prospects with questions they have to think about? Or does it simply say “Look at us! Look at us!” Far fewer spend their energy and money educating […]

With politicians and journalists jitterbugging in blood, a giant sucking sound heard at gun shows and gun shops all across America, and now word that President Barack Obama may ban guns through executive order – is new gun control likely in the wake of the Newtown slayings? One certainty: The political fight over Evil Black […]

By John Fuller Since the atrocity at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Democrats have resurrected the gun control issue in their never-ending attempt to expand government power. Claiming that guns are the problem, they see an opportunity to continue their long-time efforts to disarm American citizens and convert them from free citizens into subjects. Regardless of […]