Columns

From Gulf of America to mass expulsion of “illegals” (people of color) to continuing genocidal complicity in Gaza to whatever the daily news brings us ... welcome to Trump America! Welcome to the small-minded, white nation so many long for, free once again from those large, inconvenient values – e.g., the Declaration of Independence – that keep disrupting the way things are supposed to be. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .” Come on! In Trump America, those words were never meant to be taken literally. They create a sense of what I call empathic sanity, which has led to, for instance, the civil rights move...

What’s in a name? My daughter, who is expecting a baby, is currently considering this question and it’s a deep one for sure. A name can connote so many things. It can remind you of someone you really like - or really don’t like. It can inadvertently rhyme with a swear word. An easy nickn...

As moms, educators, and lawmakers, we came to the Capitol this session with one clear goal: to improve opportunity for Montana’s kids. But with just weeks left in the legislative session, we’re concerned that we may leave Helena having done only the bare minimum—and that’s not good en...

I have bad luck with avocados.  I just can’t seem to keep track of them. I shop for them. I put them in my cart. I pay for them. And then, something goes decidedly  – or perhaps magically – wrong. I leave the store with an avocado in my bag and when I come home, it is gone.&...

Montana livestock production will be challenged by the climate conditions projected for 2030-2100 that result from increasing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.  The challenges center on the interactions between a changing climate and evolving prices for animals, rising production costs, pan...

It took almost two centuries of tyranny, war and suffering for our ancestors, desperate for liberty and self-determination, to conceive of and draft our system of constitutional government that has endured for 237 years.  They met in Philadelphia in the sweltering heat of the summer of 1787 to design...

I raise my voice for Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Kahlil.  Trump is silencing Mahmoud through politically-targeted illegal deportation. Trump doesn’t like Mahmoud’s opinions and activism on Gaza. I’m a retired white guy living in Montana. I have a duty to my country ...

Ready for some fun? I’m not talking about fun in an exciting roller coaster sort of way. That type of fun is always fun, but fun can be all sorts of amusement park rides. Some are like roller coasters - fast, thrilling and take-your-breath-away. But that isn’t the only type of enjoyment ...

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”  - John Wesley There you have it. The recipe for a good life. On the surface it sounds pretty simple and...

As a pulmonary physician I am passionate about the need to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy tax credits, and you should be too. Quite simply, they benefit the physical and economic health of my patients, their children, our cities, rural areas, the state, and the country. And they do t...