Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/david-crisp/page/23/)
On the Sunday when the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden was launched, Jon Darby walked into work thinking that U.S. intelligence knew right where Bin Laden was. But he wouldn’t have bet his salary on it, he said here Wednesday, much less his presidency. President Obama’s decision to launch the raid in the face of uncertainty was typical of the tough calls U.S. policy makers have to make with limited and possibly faulty intelligence. (more…) Continue Reading →
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took his message to Montana on Wednesday, appearing at large rallies in Missoula and Billings. Thousands turned out at each rally, with long lines stretching outside the Montana Pavilion in MetraPark for hours before the speech began. (more…) Continue Reading →
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has unveiled his “406 tax relief” plan, and it’s so predictable it should be sold at Wal-Mart for a dollar a yard. The “4” in the plan stands for the number of years over which he would phase out the business equipment tax, which despite numerous reductions in recent legislative sessions still brings in about $81 million a year. This shortfall would have to be made up by local governments and schools, so it isn’t clear that this provision would help anybody other than large-company bookkeepers who have to fill out the paperwork. (more…) Continue Reading →
At least one of the artists featured in the “Bitter Pill” exhibition at the Billings Public Library deals with the problems of prescription drug abuse practically every day. Vanessa Ready is a nurse who works for RiverStone Health at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility. Many of the medical cases she deals with involve drug abuse in some way. “Sometimes when I work too much,” she said, “I wonder, is there any good left in the world?” (more…) Continue Reading →
Every couple of years when election season heats up, I write a column in defense of politicians. Don’t judge politicians so harshly, I argue. Yes, some are corrupt and some are liars, but it ruins democracy to paint them all with the same monochrome spray can. Not all politicians are ignorant and incompetent, I tell voters. (more…) Continue Reading →
The Band brought them together, and the Band is helping to define their sound. The Henge, which played an energetic set at the Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co.’s Garage Pub last weekend, had its genesis when Bryan Brooksby heard Austin Schilling play “The Weight” during an open-mic session at the Garage Pub. (more…) Continue Reading →
Step by step, plans for a cooperative bookstore in downtown Billings are moving forward. Last week, the project got a certificate of filing from the Montana secretary of state, which allows it to begin selling stock for the venture. Organizers have commitments for more than $24,000 worth of stock and can now begin invoicing to collect on those pledges, said Carrie La Seur, one of three initial board members selected at a recent general meeting of the Billings Bookstore Cooperative. (more…) Continue Reading →
Last week, I was asked to speak to the American Association of University Women about the meandering path that brought me to Last Best News. What follows is a condensed, and possibly improved, version of those remarks. To begin at the beginning, a long, long time ago, in a place far, far away, I was born. That beginning is more relevant than it may sound, because even before I really knew how to write letters properly, I was already self-publishing little family newsletters, commentaries and magazines, sometimes using little toy printing presses that my brother and I had. (more…) Continue Reading →
If you are sick of hearing about Clinton, Cruz, Kasich, Sanders and Trump, take heart. Plenty of other choices are available. In fact, there are 1,686 of them, according to the Federal Election Commission, which has to keep track of everybody who files a FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy. The candidates for president range from Jon Ababiy of Blaine, Minn., running for the Peace and Freedom Party, to Gyro Zeppeli of Naples, Fla., running on the Socialist Equality Party ticket. (more…) Continue Reading →
After a 40-year love affair with the Yellowstone River, Tom Hinz doesn’t expect to return the river to what it once was. He just wants to protect its ability to misbehave. “The nature of this river is not to behave,” he said Monday. “The nature of this river is to be wild, really wild.” (more…) Continue Reading →
