Latest
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Little North Fork Falls
Looking for a (very) short but pretty hike? Consider this trail, about six miles south of the Koocanusa bridge. It feels a little silly to drive the distance for a hike that short, but it is very pretty. There’s ample parking space, an outhouse, and a little campsite by the river that’s a decent spot to picnic. No picnic tables but some large rocks. The hike itself, while short, is relatively steep up the canyon to the waterfall. It is fantastically wet and mossy. And, while a rather uphill climb, not so steep that the toddler had any trouble. Added…
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One of the things I appreciate about Justice Thomas is that he doesn’t make comments just to be making comments. Generally speaking, he has a way of bringing out facts in ways I never considered. His speech is available at https://www.civitasoutlook.com/research/justice-clarence-thomas-remarks-on-the-250th-anniversary-of-the-declaration-of-independence-b1d62423-c04b-4aae-aab3-b35d648f9209 He points out the Declaration of Independence established the principles that led toward freedom…
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There are things I accept as real. Snow is cold. Mud is a nuisance. Taxes of all sorts rise. And yet there are people who live in a different reality. I didn’t realize how common different realities are until I stepped into an argument with a woman who claimed that there is no election fraud…
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In 1915, Jack London wrote “Ode to a Scab.” It is one of his more powerful essays. To understand his essay, it is necessary to review the era, and how dangerous it was to unionize. Some of the highlights include: Joe Hill, IWW – was shot by a firing squad in Utah on November 19,…
local
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We started the Mountain Ear (both times) because we wanted better coverage of local news. There are so many board meetings, and all of them are important. The Tobacco Valley News faces the same problem we do- not enough people and too many meetings, and their focus is on a larger area. So we started…
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An emergency meeting of the Trego school board was called again on May 4 at 4 PM to update the community on the methamphetamine contamination of the school grounds.. Although the meeting was poorly noticed, there were nearly 40 community members in attendance, these included parents, teachers, former students and teachers and interested community members.…
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Earlier this week, a meeting was held to formalize the existing long-term relationship between the TFS Community Hall and the TFS Fire Department. Tables were set to form a circle, and the meeting began with introductions. It was a joint meeting meant to prevent future problems, without any reason to expect them. The issue: an…
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An emergency school board meeting was held at the TFS Community Hall, Saturday at noon (which coincidentally is the time the Rendezvous Parade in Eureka began). The board acknowledged that they failed to provide adequate (48 hours notice) on the meeting, and cited the requisite MCA code allowing it in the event of an unforseen…
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When I went to get some repair work done, the person I was consulting advised fixing the structural issues and then putting the same ancient dilapidated siding back on the building. The rational? Property taxes. Last summer, we joked about how much the nice flowers my mother had on their porch raised their taxes. They…
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I spent most of a year away from the school after I finished my term. I attended a couple of board meetings because I was asked – on one hand, there was, at the least, the appearance of an unlawful board meeting . . . unlawful because it appeared to violate Montana’s open meeting law.…
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Historically, independent voters, and voters for minor third parties, do not get a large percentage of votes. Often, they’re considered “spoiler” candidates, who lose the election for someone by dra4wing critical support away during a close race. Or their thought of as simply “protest candidates” with no chance of winning. In Montana, for the presidential…
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Not many years ago, if you were faced with a cluster of unacceptable clowns on your ballot, you could write a name in and cast a protest vote. Hell, I guess you still can – the thing is, your write-in protest vote won’t be counted or reported. With the elimination of subsection 7 last year,…