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More Than One Fire: Leadership, Gridlock, and Who’s Really Holding the Hose
This image grabs attention for a reason. On one side, you see Donald Trump portrayed as a firefighter, working to put out a blaze labeled “Election Fraud,” holding a hose marked “Save America Act.” On the other, a suited rhinoceros labeled “Uniparty” calmly sweeps—unbothered, disconnected, maybe even comfortable. At first glance, it looks like a typical political contrast. But the deeper message goes beyond that. This Isn’t a One-Issue Fight Let’s set the record straight—this is not about one narrow issue. Whether people support him or not, Trump has consistently taken on multiple fronts at once: That’s not tunnel vision—that’s carrying a…
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I knew one person – at least one person – who made it onto Ted Kaczynski’s Christmas list. At least that’s how Russ Hudson described the call that told him he was on the Unabomber’s list. I didn’t make it onto his list – but I had a heck of a time with media calls…
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Flying out of Glacier International Airport, and then moving to South Dakota and flying from Sioux Falls Regional, I became accustomed to flying out without encountering TSA. There are a few airports that use privately contracted security, and these are Montana’s TSA-free airports. You may note that the list doesn’t include Bozeman or Missoula –…
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It looks like Congressman Fine has modified the old flag after one of Mamdani’s people claimed New York would be turning into another place following Islam: See, Mohammed didn’t like dogs. He was one of those people who liked cats. Only cats. Me, I have a house with two dogs and two cats. I’m reasonable.…
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There was a time when control looked like something you could see. Fences. Gates. Borders. Locks. If something was meant to contain you, it had a shape. A boundary you could point to. Something you could walk up to and say, “That’s where it stops.” That’s no longer the world we live in. Today, we are…
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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,…
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I’m having trouble summarizing this one, not least because I lost my notes. In short: The meeting did discuss prayer, but did not discuss a four day week. About prayer: The discussion was specifically with regards to having prayer on the agenda as a part of each school board meeting. The result- no. Community presence…
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The proposed library district has me looking at taxation again. One of the great things about Lincoln County is that, with three high school districts, it’s easy to figure out which communities provide the funds that keep our county going. Market Value Taxable Value Percentage Libby $1,687,186,708 $21,911,499 36.42% Troy $831,354,553 $10,966,329 18.23% Eureka $1,974,407,031…
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Now it takes a single click to get the data. So what does it mean? I measured the record lows back in 1977 – this chart, from the Grave Creek site, shows how the critical snowfall that brings us up to normal or above occurs between the February measurements and April 1. I don’t know…
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The USDA has updated plant hardiness zones, and despite last winter’s impressive cold, we’ve jumped up a zone (to 5a from 4b in 2012; the average low went up by 6 degrees) Hardiness zones are a (partial) climate description that’s been in existence for a bit over a century, though the government didn’t get involved…