Jeff Harris had a good week after a third-party investigation cleared his office of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the federal deficit will peak at a heart-stopping $1.6 trillion this fiscal year. HIGH BARACK OBAMA – He came out swinging last week, with a tough State of the Union address and a feisty debate with the House GOP, […]

Some have shrugged at the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to overturn parts of the decades-old campaign finance law that now allows corporations and unions to spend as much money as they please on elections. And perhaps those with more modest means – individual voters – have little to worry about. Doug Pinkman, president […]

In many cities, surveillance cameras are being installed, and their residents are always told it is for their safety. Being here in Libby, I have not been too concerned about this loss of personal privacy and freedom, because I thought that people in small towns in Montana would not want to be under government surveillance, […]

After a lifetime in Montana and a career in the Forest Service, I welcome Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act as a way of making our national forests and communities healthier. Born in Butte two years before the opening of the Berkeley Pit, I grew up in the foothills of the Highland Mountains. […]

Last week, I mentioned that it’s likely going to take a small group of folks getting together and hatching a plan to “Reboot the Flathead”. A well-thought-out plan might eventually look nothing like the plan the group starts with, that being the nature of thinking big. No, that’s not a flip-floppy excuse, it’s just life. […]

Scott Brown is on a high after his win in Massachusetts, while health care legislation has reached a low point, in our weekly index of what’s up, down and in between. HIGH SCOTT BROWN – This affable, centrist Republican ran a straightforward and successful populist Senate campaign in Massachusetts that has managed to turn U.S. […]

The carefully crafted illusion of overwhelming support for Sen. Jon Tester’s Wilderness Bill is evaporating like fog in the wake of Rep. Denny Rehberg’s statewide tour. Complaints from the floor reveal that during Tester’s public hearings opposition voices were not heard “on the record;” that the bill will permanently close portions of the National Forest […]

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been at once panned and praised for his handling of the state’s dwindling budget reserves through creativity, cuts and the occasional lecture. In true Schweitzer form, the governor’s latest proposal is asking his constituents: Do you have any ideas? Last week, the governor unveiled the “Montana Accountability Partnership Contest,” complete […]

As a former state senator and state chairman of the Republican Party, I believe Republicans should never be willing to abandon our core principles and historical foundation just for the sheer purpose of winning elections. Further, I believe a large majority of Americans value our traditional foundations, constructed by brilliant statesman like Thomas Jefferson. But […]

We want to say thank you to Rep. Denny Rehberg for coming to Libby for a listening session concerning Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. We are pleased to hear that he and Tester will be meeting soon to discuss this important grid-lock breaking piece of legislation. To quote Rehberg: “Doing nothing is […]

Another crushing blow was dealt Montana’s economy and 417 hard-working families when Smurfit-Stone Container announced closure of the Frenchtown pulp mill. There have been numerous news stories written about the reasons and the financial impacts on the community, so all of that does not need to be regurgitated. However, one conspicuously absent issue about this […]

For the last several weeks, I’ve been pretty hard on a few industries here in the Flathead, as well as on those who’ve lead them (or used to) and perhaps even those who might have milked them for a bit too long. There’s nothing wrong with milking the cow till she’s dry as long as […]

Last month, bankrupt Smurfit-Stone announced it was done in Montana. However, a more-important news item passed with little notice the next day. On Dec. 15, Weyerhaeuser’s board of directors “determined that conversion to a real estate investment trust (REIT) would best support the company’s strategic direction.” CFO.com reports the conversion should occur by Dec. 31, […]

Remnants of the Bush Administration threaten to leave the security of Montana airports in danger, as well as good Montana jobs. A little-known provision established in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (ATSA) called Screening Partnership Program (SPP) allows airports to “opt-out” of using federal Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and replace those positions […]

When U.S. Census forms begin landing in our mailboxes in March, many Montanans will refuse to fill them out. And most of those who defy federal law will be hurting their own cause. There are those on the far right (in the minority) – from Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann to the bloggers at Infowars.com – […]