Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/kristen-juras/)
Three weeks ago in this space, I urged readers of Last Best News to vote for Gov. Steve Bullock and Montana Supreme Court candidate Dirk Sandefur, and in favor of Initiative 182, loosening restrictions on medical marijuana. I won’t claim one iota of credit, but I will admit that on an otherwise dismal Election Day, I was buoyed by the victories of Bullock, Sandefur and the proponents of I-182. (more…) Continue Reading →
If I thought it would make the slightest difference, I would urge readers of Last Best News to vote for Hillary Clinton, given the mountain of evidence that Donald Trump is completely unfit to be president. But it appears that Montana voters are going to favor Trump in any case. Fortunately, it appears just as likely that the country as a whole will reject him by a large margin. (more…) Continue Reading →
Much as I rail against the two-party system, it has its advantages when you get down to the bottom of the ballot—you know, those races you meant to check out but never got around to. If you hate taxes, worry about coal-mining jobs and think people should be able to do whatever they want except smoke dope, abort babies and marry the sex of their choice, vote for the Republican. If you love government, worry about global warming and think people should be able to do whatever they want except own guns, burn gasoline and block bathroom access, vote for the Democrat. (more…) Continue Reading →
The two candidates running for the only contested seat on the Montana Supreme Court this year sparred repeatedly during a public forum Thursday over questions of experience and ideological bias. Dirk Sandefur, who was a police officer in Havre for three years and a deputy county attorney for eight years before becoming a Cascade County district judge in 2002, said “there is no substitute for experience.” (more…) 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 →
Before reading Sid Gustafson’s new novel, “Swift Dam,” the only thing I’d seen of his was a short story in the winter 2015-16 edition of The Montana Quarterly. The story was uncommonly good, but I didn’t even recall reading it until I had finished this novel. What really prompted me to pick up “Swift Dam” was my fascination with the Gustafson family. (more…) Continue Reading →
