I recently read the series of newspaper articles regarding several new polls by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. One of the numbers that stood out for me was that only 11 percent of Montanans approve of the job Congress is doing. Montanans are tired of political games. They want Washington to change the way it […]

Well, did you buy Plum Creek stock on my suggestion last month? A few weeks ago, Congress passed HR 2419, the “Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008,” aka the Farm Bill. Deep within this 682-page pig were two impressive, and impressively stupid, pork slabs for corporate America: $182 million in tax breaks for Weyerhaeuser; […]

The National Rifle Association endorsed incumbent Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer last week, which forced him, for a day anyway, to wobble on his previous stated position that the organization is nothing more than a “fully-owned division of the Republican Party.” That’s what happens when the swirling political winds change direction. Not long ago, on April […]

Empty storefronts. Housing foreclosures. Skyrocketing gas prices. We are living with the constant reminder of economic uncertainty on a daily basis. Couple this with a geographic area that has yet to reach the critical mass needed to effectively sustain itself economically independent of transient consumers, and the following question must be raised, “What is driving […]

About three months after we began printing the Flathead Beacon, a grizzled man gripping a copy of our latest edition entered our Main Street office. Calmly, but directly, he asked me, “Are you ignorant or something?” I replied as best I could that I wasn’t, which then began a long conversation about the lack of […]

“What Makes You Think We Read the Bills?” was the tongue-in-cheek title of a book written about 30 years ago by long-time California lawmaker H.L. Richardson. The book is a chronicle of slip-ups, snafus and shenanigans from our national and state capitols. The stories are amusing but also outrageous. They amply illustrate the shortcomings and […]

Welcome back, students. My esteemed colleague, Professor Schneider’s recent lecture (May 21 Beacon: “Wilderness is Multiple Use”) redefining wilderness as the fullest form of multiple use has changed our lesson plan. Today, we’ll backtrack a bit in our study of wilderness politics and take a fuller look at the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960 […]

When a piece of major legislation championed by Montana’s U.S. delegation is passed, the e-mails are inevitable. Such was the case when the House and Senate signed off on the recent Farm Bill with a veto-proof majority. The inboxes filled up in a hurry. “This is a good solid bill for farmers and ranchers in […]

The presidential primary campaign is at a “tipping point.” This reference is not to the virtual inevitability of the few remaining delegates toppling into the Obama column, thus making him the Democratic nominee. Rather, I believe that both Democratic candidates have reached an historic opportunity to tip this contest into an irreversible general election victory. […]

When one is intentionally left out of a debate, or worse, told they can’t participate at all, it’s human nature to assume what’s hidden is fraught with bad intentions. Such is the case with two recent federal land management plans that have been discussed behind closed doors – one involving Plum Creek Timber Co. and […]

I am aware that others have written eloquently on this subject, most particularly, Richard Atkinson. However, I feel compelled to add my own voice to what has become an unfortunately divisive issue. I am one of those terrible “doughnut” people described by Jan Metzmaker. Seven years ago, after spending a week skiing on the mountain […]

Early in April, I attended the 70th Intermountain Logging Conference in Spokane. This year, we heard the gospel from such public-sector big shots as Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, Idaho director of state lands George Bacon and Washington lands commissioner Doug Sutherland. But a panel featuring three big private-sector wheels – Mike Covey, CEO of Potlatch; […]

As Whitefish High School makes a strong push to begin drug testing its students, school officials supporting the policy should heed the wisdom they pass on to many of their pupils: Don’t overreact. That is not to advocate complacency, especially if the drug problem there is as grave as what was described at an April […]

Half the soldiers killed in Vietnam weren’t old enough to vote. The monumental injustice of that triggered the adoption of the 26th amendment in 1971, which lowered the voting age to 18. Montana Sen. Mike Mansfield noted that his leadership role in lowering the voting age was perhaps his proudest achievement in his long life […]

As Gov. Brian Schweitzer wrapped up an interview with my colleague recently, I quickly interjected to ask two dumb questions: What do you think your chances are at the Democratic vice presidential nomination and whom do you plan on endorsing in the presidential election? He scoffed at the first and ignored the second, deflecting attention […]