There are so many questions surrounding the proposal to implement a so-called retail transaction fee to pay for Kalispell roads that it’s now clear the idea is simply an awful one. City Manager Jane Howington emphasized that the fee is just “the very beginning of a community conversation” about how to address the fact that […]

As the new Executive Vice President of the Montana Wood Products Association, I have been traveling around Montana and Idaho visiting member companies, touring facilities and visiting about issues and concerns. In addition to the importance of maintaining a favorable business climate at the state and federal level, addressing rules and regulations that create barriers […]

Seth Godin recently asked why ethical marketers wouldn’t be “eager to have aggressive, clear and well-defined regulations” (about marketing). He set the context by talking about the lies used to sell sunscreen, noting that lobbyists kindly helped the FDA water down proposed sunscreen regulations. To quote Seth: Why aren’t ethical marketers (of any product) eager […]

You might have noticed in May when a “Petition for Original Jurisdiction,” Barhaugh et al. v. State, was placed before our Montana Supreme Court. Because global warming will kill us all, and Montana has been “prevented by the Legislature from taking any action,” and because there is “not enough time […] unless immediate action is […]

It’s easy to condemn Whitefish’s ban on drivers using handheld cell phones as just another example of the “nanny state” gone wild. After all, we’re told she’s everywhere these days: telling us what to eat, where to smoke and who to insure. But was the council’s vote a real act of so-called protectionism? I saw […]

As I sit here and revel upon the beauty of where I live and watch the multiple hues of the clouds rolling by, with the quenching warmth of the rain as it drips from the brightly colored petals of the springtime flowers, I have to wonder what you would be wondering were you here. I […]

I was reading AJ Leon’s blog this morning and was thinking that sipping a cuppa joe in Shakespeare’s hometown while gnawing on a “legendary brownie” sounds pretty good. The term legendary struck me, as AJ probably meant it to. I don’t stumble across things of that quality every day, but I guess that’s the nature […]

Joseph Dixon was the seventh governor of Montana. In 1923 the Republican enacted the nation’s first old-age pension program. Twelve years after Montana passed a safety net for seniors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law as part of the New Deal. Even as we face $14 trillion in national debt, Social Security […]

Last week following the Boston Bruins’ win over the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Canadians took to the streets to riot away their disappointment. The images were surreal: smashed storefronts, burned cop cars, dozens of injuries. I mentioned, mostly joking, on my Twitter account: “I always thought Canadians were pacifists,” to which […]

Ever notice that when you decide to buy a new red Corvette (or a blue F-150, for that matter), you start to see your chosen new vehicle everywhere you go? For me, the last month has been like that. No matter where I turn, in person or on the Net, I’ve found myself running into […]

Well, sporties, are you ready for 4,200 to 7,300 wolves in the Northern Rockies? Back in April, you’ll remember that Congress stuffed a “bipartisan” rider (Section 1713) into the 2011 Appropriations omnibus (Public Law 112-10). This rider supposedly de-listed Rocky Mountain gray wolves outside Wyoming, by reinstating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) so […]

It is now being reported that President Barack Obama is engaged in a covert war in Yemen. That makes at least five wars in the Middle East that the U.S. is involved in. Which Middle Eastern country is next? The Democrats were attacking former President George W. Bush for invading Afghanistan and Iraq. When the […]

Whether Sen. Jon Tester was genuinely concerned about community banks in his failed proposal to delay the implementation of caps on swipe fees those institutions can charge, expect his opposition to frame it as another Wall Street bailout. Introducing an amendment delaying the caps was a risky move for the freshman Democrat, who faces a […]

Regardless of what political party you favor, what candidate for president you favor, or what your views are of our current president, it may do you well to reflect on where our country is right now. When our nation’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government started down the slippery slope of bowing to the […]

Many in Congress are considering harmful cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of a plan to raise America’s debt ceiling and reduce the federal budget deficit. Currently, there are a variety of proposals on the table that would place “across-the board” arbitrary limits on federal spending. This could trigger cuts to Social Security […]