Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/category/opinion/page/24/)
On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress overrode President Obama’s veto of the so-called “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act” (JASTA). The act permits 9/11 families to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for any role that it might have played in the tragedy. Sadly, Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Rep. Ryan Zinke supported the override. (more…) Continue Reading →
By the time you read this, I may be a grandfather. Or maybe not. My daughter’s due date was Tuesday, but no word as of late Tuesday night. Never trust a Crisp to make a deadline. There is no trick to making babies. Continue Reading →
Professors are not just employees of the institutions they serve, they are ambassadors. Rightly or wrongly, their conduct reflects on our Montana universities as a whole. According to the American Association of College Professors’ Statement of Professional Ethics, “Professors must give due regard to their paramount responsibilities within their institution in determining the amount and character of work done outside it. Professors need to stay away from employment outside the university that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest or otherwise negatively affects the university.” (more…) Continue Reading →
When I moved to Trout Creek in 1975 to set up in ranching, I shipped my farm equipment by rail: swather, baler, combine, three tractors—including the 1941 model H Farmall I had learned to drive on—plows, disks, the whole works. It had taken 20 days to load it all so it would get the car inspection’s OK, which meant that nothing should fall off on the way. (more…) Continue Reading →
I was just about ready to start this column this way: If you are not sufficiently depressed yet about the 2016 election, then I have a reading assignment for you. But suddenly I feel better. I admit that I’ve become unhealthily obsessed with this year’s presidential race. It’s the first time since the Kennedy-Nixon election of 1960 that I have genuinely worried about what will become of the country if the wrong candidate wins. I was only 9 years old then. Continue Reading →
In 1956, after 11 years in Siberian prison camp and internal exile, Alexander Solzhenitsyn began writing seriously. He never expected to see a single word of his in print. But in 1962, his first novel, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” appeared in a Russian magazine. It was for many years the last of his work that would make it into print in the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn was exiled in 1974, and the KGB, the secret police serving at the direction of the Soviet government, launched a campaign to publicly discredit him. Continue Reading →
Never forget. Not even a week after the twin towers were struck down by two hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001, people were repeating this phrase everywhere around the nation, in newspapers, on TV, bumper stickers, posters, banners. Never forget. (more…) Continue Reading →
Tomorrow night in Helena, the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana will host a free advance screening of Oliver Stone’s new film, “Snowden,” at the Myrna Loy Center. Most people have heard of Edward Snowden, but few understand how his disclosures sparked a critical global debate about freedom of expression, privacy, secrecy and the proper limits of government surveillance. (more…) Continue Reading →
Bob Story, executive director of the Montana Taxpayer Association and a former state legislator, has struck back with an op-ed piece taking on claims that income tax cuts passed in 2013 are cutting into school maintenance funding today. Story probably was referring to an opinion piece by educators, but since Last Best News has reported in considerable detail on this topic, allow me to retort. Those old tax cuts matter because gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has argued that income tax revenues actually increased after the cuts, and he has proposed doubling down by cutting rates even more. (more…) Continue Reading →
Usually, for my column on Labor Day, I write (maybe lecture) on how we should remember that what we now take for granted—the eight-hour workday, the weekend and safe workplaces—were given to us by people who often gave their lives so that the lives of others might be better. (more…) Continue Reading →
