Do your customers and prospects let your calls go to voicemail? Do they open your emails? If they do, you’d know (or should). Think about why you let calls go to voicemail and why you ignore certain emails. While you might be busy and decide to let calls go to voicemail, more often than not, […]

JetBlue is offering a curious promotion to its customers. If your presidential candidate of choice loses the election, you could win a free plane ticket to leave the country. It’s called “election protection” and it plays on Americans’ mostly bogus, and short-lived, threats to uproot when a bitterly contested vote doesn’t go their way. The […]

By John Fuller For many Americans during this election season, the question is whether or not they are casting their vote for or against a person, party or policy. We are often told that voting is our patriotic duty and the most important political right in our possession. But the reality is not always so […]

Montana is a powerhouse. For generations, our natural resources have powered this nation’s homes, cities and economy. And we stand to keep powering America for generations to come as one of the top producers of biofuels and bioenergy. Through hard work and innovation, Montana can remain one of the nation’s top energy producers, preserve our […]

The most painful (and scary) conversations I have with small business owners are about marketing. One of the more common ones relates how another company “stole” their business with “more aggressive” marketing. The victim of this “theft” blames it on someone else’s marketing despite watching it happen right in front of them and doing nothing […]

The GOP and politicians like rep. Derek Skees and U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg share a common campaign theme of repealing “ObamaCare” at any cost. Pragmatically, that’s just silly. Real people deserve better health care. At a Kalispell debate, Rehberg advocated for more insurance pools and interstate mobility of insurance policies. Sen. Jon Tester patiently explained […]

Before last week’s governor debate in Kalispell between Rick Hill and Steve Bullock I was asked, “Are you going to be more Jim Lehrer or Candy Crowley?” Those journalists oversaw the first two presidential debates and what observers thought of their moderating performances was largely influenced by their politics. Obama supporters largely panned Lehrer, who […]

By John Fuller In 1761, while arguing against renewal of the “blank search warrants” known as “writs of assistance,” James Otis popularized the expression: “A man’s house is his castle.” Arguing that the king himself must ask permission to cross the threshold into a man’s home unless a judicial proceeding had determined a pressing state […]

There are a number of televised political ads by unionized Billings firefighters taking Congressman Denny Rehberg to task for suing their city, not for money but in an effort to change policy between the fire department and property owners. They allege that the cost of defending this lawsuit, which Rehberg dropped, cost Billings taxpayers money […]

While in the House, Congressman Denny Rehberg has voted for every budget busting tax cut for his fellow millionaires that comes before him and to involve us in unneeded wars. And yet he then votes for budgets that strip funding for veterans and first responders’ healthcare. When I was seeking help with the VA I […]

The time may be ripe for dispensing with political parties altogether. It’s fall, the harvest is in, and we’re all waiting a bit tensely for the results of November’s political contest. Everyone feels that there’s a lot at stake in this year’s election outcomes. The down economy; conflicts over domestic policy; an uncertain international arena. […]

Earlier this month, federal judge Charles Lowell issued a declaration blowing out Montana’s campaign-finance limits. In the six days between his ruling and a Ninth Circuit Court stay, the Montana Republican Party threw a half-million dollars at Rick Hill’s gubernatorial campaign and another 30 grand to Tim Fox, the Republican attorney general candidate. Democrats, of […]

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 […]

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 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 […]