Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/jim-elliott/page/3/)
Fires, floods and hurricanes are now something it seems we might have to get used to because of global warming. Some are skeptical that global warming exists, but when I bought a few hundred pounds of orchard grass seed to plant last year, I asked the dealer if I should buy the drought-resistant variety, and she said that that was probably a good idea. I live in the wettest part of Montana. (more…) Continue Reading →
Given the furor over the presence of memorials to Confederate soldiers, it looks like there isn’t a statue in America safe from being torn down. It’s a tough question; there are some well-known historical figures who, along with the good that they did, also did something to affront a great many people. (more…) Continue Reading →
As sabers rattle over the Korean peninsula, remember that those who create wars seldom fight in them. That is left to the sons and daughters of less important people. The decisions to enter what became known as World War I were made by men who believed it would be close to Armageddon. “If war breaks out,” said British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, “it will be the worst catastrophe the world has ever seen.” (more…) Continue Reading →
The struggle in American government today is one between hypothetical ideology and stark reality. The ideology lives in our national and state capitols and the reality is borne by the Americans our governments are supposed to serve. (more…) Continue Reading →
As a young man, I remember seeing highway signs in the South that said, “Warning, Speed Trap Ahead.” These were not put up by the highway departments. They were paid for by the American Automobile Association. Typically, and quite legally, the speed limit would suddenly change from 60 to 25. (more…) Continue Reading →
I don’t know if you need a break from politics, but I sure as heck do, so this is about my mother’s Uncle Davey. My mother’s parents were Canadian, from southern Ontario, but her father had somehow wound up owning a hardware store in a small town in North Dakota, so that’s where she was born. (more…) Continue Reading →
Remember the good old days when we worried that the government was going to invade our privacy? Remember many years ago your Social Security card said right on it, “Not to be used for purposes of identification?”
We were worried about an attack from the wrong quarter—at least for a while—because the real assault on privacy came from the private sector. (more…) Continue Reading →
Someone once wrote that the only people who are truly free are the very poor and the very rich; the poor because they have nothing and the wealthy because they have everything. From my perspective, considering the way things are going for the middle class, it won’t be too long before all of us are truly free. (more…) Continue Reading →
The most memorable speech I ever heard was also the shortest. It was given in 1989 by former Gov. Ted Schwinden, and the occasion was the 100th anniversary of Montana’s statehood. I was lucky enough or canny enough to be standing behind the speakers on the Capitol steps, and I had come to listen, not to Schwinden, but to former U.S. Sen. Mike Mansfield, who was one of my political heroes. (more…) Continue Reading →
You can tell a lot about what a nation values by looking at how it taxes different groups of people; are the rich favored over the middle class, for instance, or vice versa? You can also tell a lot about what group of people a candidate for office will represent by looking at his or her past stands on issues. Looking at U.S. House candidate Greg Gianforte’s past actions on Montana tax legislation, it appears he is most concerned with representing a small, select group of taxpayers, including himself. (more…) Continue Reading →
