Leftist journalist Naomi Klein wrote the books “No Logo” and “The Shock Doctrine.” The social activist spoke at the Occupy Wall Street movement indicating that they can fulfill on the promises of the 1999 global trade action in Seattle. That was the last time a global and youth-led movement took aim at corporate power. Asked […]

Middle America knows it is getting squeezed. A decade after the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act, greedy Wall Street firms made too many irresponsible bets that collapsed the housing market, sending unemployment skyrocketing. Plenty of politicians insist that government should not create jobs by spending public money to fix bridges, hire teachers, rebuild roads, […]

Hey townies, please vote for a change. Municipal turnout is typically very low with most locals not voting. But local races offer townies a big vote on the type of community they want fostered. When it all boils down, the deciding factor for most votes is still trust. Who do you trust as advocates for […]

There were political lessons that Montana voters learned after watching legislators debate laws in Helena during the first part of this year. In five weeks the Flathead will see how that debacle translates for city voters on Election Day. Most of us get the “taxed enough already” motto preached during the campaigns. But the balance […]

The prospect that politicians may move City Hall out of the downtown, and onto the highway strip, will come as a shock to many residents. Whitefish has been pondering a newer City Hall for years, and by all accounts improvements are much needed to the aging structure. The city will mostly use urban renewal funds […]

In 2005, less than a quarter of Whitefish voters went to the polls for city elections. By 2007, Whitefish held a mail-in election and turnout more than doubled. Compared to Kalispell, where one in ten locals voted, the 2007 Whitefish turnout was a wild success. In the 2007 election, hydrologist John Muhlfeld bested a commercial […]

After crafting a lackluster compromise to retire national debt obligations, Congress is on recess. Lawmakers will return to Washington in September for another couple weeks of work. But if the 1st Session is any indication of accomplishments, the public should not expect much help from the 112th Congress. Americans are hungry for work and better […]

The debt reduction compromise puts a balanced budget Constitutional amendment to a full Congressional vote this year. Montana would ratify the leftover idea from the “Contract with America.” A balanced budget has plenty of populist appeal. “That is not fair to the American people to hold out and say we won’t agree to raising the […]

In politics the Senate acts more civil than the House. Both chambers are needed since compromise moves the nation forward. Lawmaking is an ugly and painful process to watch, but it works. Though distasteful to party bases, compromise does advance the people’s interest. The lack of progress in 2011 Congress is stifling to the small […]

As President Barack Obama was sworn into office, America had an annual unbalanced budget deficit of $1.3 trillion. This was the result of previous years when Congress did not pay its way, including a Wall Street bailout. America has never been out of debt, except once. Former President Andrew Jackson holds the honor for detesting […]

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 […]

In February 2008, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney carried Flathead County and won Montana’s GOP caucus, earning all 25 of the state’s delegates to the Republican National Convention. Former Secretary of State Brad Johnson was part of the Romney team and said, “Governor Romney has the right values and priorities for voters not only in […]

Last year was a bumper crop in commodities like wheat, corn, soy and rice. Production was up, demand stable, but food prices still skyrocketed. Early this year, governments across the world began stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying and social unrest. Algeria bought nearly a million tons of wheat while Saudi […]

More than 200 years ago, the political convictions of our founding politicians were based in agriculture. Not only did former Presidents George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison all believe that farming was a noble occupation, they were also avid food growers. The first presidents helped craft a nation of laws but were […]

What Congress chooses to debate sets a political tone for the nation. Today, elder statesmen must speak to middle class values if people hope to protect programs like Medicare from the U.S. House. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s single-payer health care insurance plan provides health care coverage for people over 65, nearly 50 million seniors, including […]