Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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It is week five for the Montana Legislature, and I apologize I have not written home earlier in the session. We have passed several good bills through the House, including providing inflationary funding for our public schools, electronic communication privacy, and a few bills that expand our 2nd amendment rights. I had the opportunity to be Chair of the Day on Feb. 6, which entails running the floor debate for bills up for second readings. It was a great learning experience, and with 13 bills on the docket, there was a lot of learning to do. I...
After reading The Glasgow Courier, Feb. 1, 2017, articles, “America is not a Country” and “Executive Orders, and Refugees and Us,” I was inspired to tell my story. My mother was born Oct. 13, 1919, in the German colony of Kamyshin, somewhere on the Volga River in Siberia, Russia. My aunt was 15 years older than my mother (born in 1904), so she was the one who told me the life they lived. The stories she told me were hard for me to believe. Life was very hard. My grandfather died before my mom was born, leaving my grandma to raise five children...
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Donald Trump’s estranged executive order has been ejected and eulogized without sending it for an appeal to the Supreme Court. The president has said he is considering writing an entirely new draft of the temporary ban. With national security at stake and the importance of striking a balance with our humanitarian national values, expediency is first priority for the administration. The question should be asked whether Islamic ideas from the iron age are compatible with western civilization, but p...
The Montana Legislature is now 1/3 of the way done, and as your representative and Speaker of the Montana House, I wanted to drop you all an update about what’s going on. This session has been much calmer than the previous three sessions I have been involved in, and that is because frankly, there is no money. In 2011, we left Helena with a $500 million budget surplus. In 2013, there was a $350 million budget surplus, and in 2015 the legislature left town with a $300 million budget surplus. Throughout the last election cycle, you heard G...
This past week, my thoughts have been filled with several things. The first one I want to address is all the ugliness that’s been in the constant forefront of not only the news but on social sites on the internet as well. Granted, there are many major issues our country is facing. I can’t help but wonder what has come over the citizens of this great land. An election was held, a president chosen. No, he was not the choice of many people, but the fact remains he was elected. I have to ask myself , would all that’s taken place since the elect...
There is a growing amount of people who would rather fight Trump than actual terrorists. Across the internet and mainstream media outlets, commentators and social justice warriors are sharing their knee-jerk reactions to recent events executed by the president. The latest, a temporary ban of refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries, is the newest whipping boy for the Trump administration. When discussed by liberal media there are almost always undertones of hate, xenophobia and racism aimed at Trump in attempts to delegitimize him as...
A recent wordy statement from the high school boys head basketball coach at Dawson County High School (DCHS) in Glendive has raised some eyebrows. ('Culture of Mediocracy Getting in the Way of Athletic Success at DCHS,' Glendive Ranger Review, 01-21-17). According to the editor of the GRR, the statement was in response to questions posed to the head boys’ basketball coach, Wade Murphy, by the newspaper’s sports editor regarding DCHS athletics. Murphy, who is also the principal at the high school in Glendive, penned a response and asked tha...
Valentine’s Day has gained the reputation of being a “Hallmark” holiday, where the only people consistently benefiting are those in the candy, flower, dining, jewelry and card business. Those who don’t have a significant other in their life are made to feel lonely, not important and looked down upon. If you are in a relationship, you have this expectation to make grand gestures to your significant other to prove your love to them. Men, more so, have a higher expectation to express their unconditional love by being expected to buy a bouquet...
To those of you that faithfully read my crazy column, this article will be short and may be my last one for a couple of weeks. I managed to fall directly on my elbow last week and waiting to have surgery done. It had never entered my mind just how hard it is to type with one hand, so I will take a break, maybe come up with some new thoughts. Today I want to remember the days when the dimmer switch in your vehicle was located on the floor. I personally long for that feature. I will admit that one would think flipping a lever with two fingertips...
Yesterday, our granddaughter assisted with the music for church by playing her clarinet. I always smile when I hear her play. It seems to add something special to the music. And it brings thoughts of the music of the people hundreds of years ago. When she plays her clarinet, I can hear the flute played by shepherds. By the time this column is published the Honor Band will have taken place at the Glasgow High School. This special band is comprised of high school students from throughout northeast Montana. Every one of these students are...
This morning, while gathering up things, I put away a Florsheim shoe horn. According to the advertising on this Florsheim shoe horn, Florsheim shoes were made for the “Man Who Cares.” I am going to guess that this item came from Friedl’s Men’s Wear. Yes, this was a men’s store only, and you could even have your suit of clothes tailored there! Does anyone wear tailored clothes anymore? Probably not in our area anyway. I can recall some wives tailoring men’s western shirts. I think it had something to do with hindrance when roping, but maybe it w...
My three preschoolers and I were waiting for the school bus. Parka-clad Steven maneuvered his way through the bus door, a paper bag held protectively in his arms. “Whatcha got, Steve?” “Is it something to eat?” Kids always thinking of food! We soon knew what it was because food doesn’t meow! With that revelation, my good humor evaporated! “Steven Robert,” I began in a firm, motherly voice. A child’s full baptismal name was reserved for serious occasions. “Mom,” Steve explained, “Mr. Thistle’s cat had six kittens. And he was giving them away!...
President Trump recently signed an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for the next 90 days, suspending the admission of all refugees for 120 days. America has received more refugees than any other country in the world. Most Americans are proud of our heritage and can list all the places our distant relatives migrated from. Some of us are lucky, our great-grandparents came mostly of free will, for land and dreams. Many Americans came fleeing religious persecution. The current ban...
So other than my usual “I digress” quote, I try to stay away from as many cliches as possible, but today I digress. America is not a land, not a border, and it is certainly not a government. America is a people. A people of multiple ethnic, religious, social, moral and racial backgrounds. We come from the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico, Asia, Australia and Europe. We formed a country specifically for the opressed, the scared, the... well lets see if I can find the right words... “huddled masses yearning to be free”. We have in our...
As the 65th MT Legislative Session opened for business last week, the usual calls for budget cuts were exceedingly shrill. What made matters worse this year was the loss of revenue due to the demise of the coal and oil and gas industries in Montana. We knew this day of reckoning was coming, so now the budget knives are being sharpened and the fun has begun. I have a suggestion. In the last legislative session the Governor proposed (and the legislature dutifully passed) $10 million to assist sage grouse populations. This was in addition to the...
It seems that this year much of Montana is experiencing a tough winter, but it’s actually not. We are just getting back to winter after last year’s weird spell. Temperature readings haven’t gone wild – yet. No reporting stations have recorded 50 below or colder, and the coldest known low during January’s first week was 46 below Fahrenheit. Twenty to 30 below was more prevalent in the past. Stories abound about conditions changing quickly and in a pronounced way. Montana holds the national record for cold with a 70-degrees-below-zero reading n...
Well it happened. Inauguration day came and went. I was well aware of the fact after briefly checking my Facebook account. It was “lit up,” as the saying goes, by friends on both sides of the political aisle. I vowed to stay clear and avoid any “news” and was fairly successful at my attempt. For all matters, it seemed a grandiose day for the celebrants and a morose one for protesters. Thank God it passed peacefully. Congratulations and my condolences for everyone, depending on your outlook. Then Saturday brought us even more fodder for the new...
I began writing this column as a way to describe my opinions outright. I wanted to take on my thoughts without being swayed or influenced by external pressures. I have done that. I started writing fairly certain of my own thoughts and ideals, but have come to realize, while grappling with my own misconceptions, that I was failing to see clearly. As a result, I have not necessarily changed my values, but have definitely changed my views. I have altered my perception of civil rights, minimum wage, and the value of protests in trying to ensure I...
"RECYCLE PAPER TOWELS AND NAPKINS," this headline caught my eye one day when I decided to browse the internet. You readers with any age on you, no doubt would have the same reaction as I. Remember when everything was reusable to some extent, and of course caused many of us to save everything for that future need? But recycling paper was basically done with catalogs and that wasn’t the true meaning of recycling. Now, back to paper towels napkins, and Kleenex. A garment or any absorbent fabric was always recycled, removing buttons, zippers, e...
It’s been said that time flies. It surely does. When a couple gets married, they really don’t think about the years ahead. They usually hope to have children. When their children are born, they don’t really understand how fast that time can go. If you talk about when their children will graduate, parents will most likely comment, "That is years away." It may be, but it goes more quickly than a person realizes. I’ve often said a child is born one day and graduates from high school the next day. Each day melts into the next. Too often we miss ou...
Therein lies the rub. Who is fighting whom in the Middle East? We already know some of it is Muslim against Christians. Been going on for centuries. Nothing new. Then there’s the different sects of Muslims fighting each other. Then we have the Northern Irelanders fighting the Irelanders. The Germans were fighting Europe and Asia. Syria fighting Lebanon, Iran fighting Iraq, all seven of the “stan” countries fighting each other. Somalians fighting each other. Some folks think we were fighting North Korea in the Korean “Conflict.” Those same folk...
Note: The following text is Congressman Zinke’s full opening statement for the Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 18. As a son of a plumber and a kid who grew up in a small timber and railroad town next to Glacier National Park in Montana, I am humbled to be the President-elect’s designee for Secretary of the Interior. I am also humbled because of the great responsibility the position holds to be the steward of majestic public lands, the champion of our great Indian nations, and the manager and voice of our diverse wildlife. Upfront, I am an...
It occurred to me while holding a conversation with a friend that many have no idea what populism is, or why Trump is a populist. Populism is most generally defined as a political movement mobilized over the concerns of many against a political establishment seen as out-of-touch. Lenninism, Maoism, Nationalism, Socialism and so on were all populism. When we discuss populism today, we usually assume that an individual is being elected with strong control over a system usually seen as broken or corrupt. The issue with populism is that it usually...
Shortly before Christmas, men and women across Montana were notified that the road construction projects they were depending on to put presents under the tree this year would be canceled. The jobs they were depending on to provide for their families in 2017 would be lost. The construction of critical state highway projects would be delayed or defunded altogether. Our highway fund is facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, and unfortunately it’s just one small part of the budget crisis that Governor Steve Bullock handed the 65th Legislature on...
Will our children, grandchildren or others ever get to see a circus? That thought came to mind when I heard the news that the days of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey circuses will be no more after 2017. Those of us who live, and earn a living with livestock and other animals can understand this. Federal regs and PETA have hampered many livestock businesses, BUT THE CIRCUS. How many of you can remember the first time you saw an elephant and might have even gotten to ride one? How about a giraffe, and more exciting were the lion trainer...
