Opinion

We are two Veterans with 44 years of combined service to the United States. We served united around one mission because we believed the American values of freedom, independence, and democracy were worth sacrificing for. Today, we remain united in our devotion to our country and our belief that we can and must overcome the division and dysfunction we see in politics. Regardless if you are a rancher, farmer, small business owner, nurse, teacher, or serve in the military, the challenges we face are enormous. We need each other to be at the top of our game, and we need our elected representatives to be at the top of their game. We believe our politicians can and will do better when the syste...

Editor, Montana is changing. Freedoms we have taken for granted are being threatened by intolerant political agendas spawned at the national level. The incessant hate and fear dialogue emanating from a relatively small sector of extreme right-wing interests dominates our lives. We are better than this; we...

Editor, As a retired Missoula Municipal Court Judge, I write to ask for your support of District Court Judge Dan Wilson, candidate for the Montana Supreme Court. I have known Judge Wilson for many years, and he embodies the qualities we need on the Supreme Court. His background demonstrates a solid founda...

Editor, When debating legislation, legislators are always looking for unintended consequences. If you are prolife or prochoice, CI 128 must be a major concern. Hidden in the text of the initiative is language that gives blanket immunity to abortion providers for malpractice, incompetence or outright crimi...

The Montana Newspaper Association surveyed candidates for the state legislature, Public Service Commission and statewide offices about their positions on government accountability, transparency and the right to know. Of 281 candidates receiving survey, 111 responded, or about 40%. Among respondents &mdash...

Editor, Deviating from my usual style of letters, here’s one that simply offers some inspiring thoughts. Hope you find them meaningful and even perhaps helpful in these present very “trying times” for us all. Offered by Dr. Debasish Mridha of Saginaw, Michigan, a physician, philosophe...

“The truth will set you free.” We’ve all heard this iconic sentence, but what does it mean, really? More importantly, what exactly is the truth? That depends on whom you are asking. Because I’ve come to believe that each of us has our own truth. What is my truth, with a capit...

Editor, In November, Montanans will vote on two constitutional initiatives that will improve how elections are conducted. CI126 creates an open primary system. All qualified candidates regardless of party will appear on one ballot, and voters choose a single candidate from that ballot. This system does no...

Editor, Recently a relative of mine was rushed to the ER in Polson, stabilized, then transported to Missoula a few hours later. Having worked 30 years as an RN, I am well aware how critical, literally, the initial care in our local hospital mattered in terms of outcome. One third of Montana’s pop...

U.S. women now live in a country where they’ve been relegated to second-class citizens courtesy of the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority ignored 50 years of precedent and overturned the constitutional right to abortion nationwide. Abortion policy now falls to individual states, and now nearly ...