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Democracy is on fire. Consider this your wake-up call.
This commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. For the better half of a decade now, I have had friends, some family members and even casual acquaintances give me the same excuse. Maybe you’ve heard it, too. It goes something like this: You know the news is really depressing and I just can’t handle it, […]
The ‘youth climate trial’ decision is so simple, even I can understand it—and that’s the point
This commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. Predictably, the Montana Attorney General’s Office was chastened but not embarrassed – because that would require some modicum of shame – by state district court Judge Kathy Seeley’s decision about climate change and Montana. Characterizing her as an activist liberal judge, the attorney general’s office tried to […]
Politicians attempt to make us believe that God wants you to have guns
This commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. How many AR-15s do you think Jesus would have had? It’s a question so ludicrous that it seems like a parody, but it’s not. In different times, I might have thought that the question was so preposterous on its face that the average Jesus follower would dismiss […]
The ‘War on the Floor’ is a mess made by the GOP, for the GOP. But Montana gets the black eye.
The Montana Republicans said the quiet part out loud. Not just out loud, but in a press release, memorialized for all to see. “House Leadership will still stand firm in our commitment to decorum, safety, and order. We will uphold the people’s will that sent 68 Republicans to Helena,” said House Speaker Matt Regier and […]
Colorado Springs is closer than you think
This commentary was originally published by the Daily Montanan. Colorado Springs isn’t so far away. Not by mileage and not by attitude. What happened there – God forbid – could happen here. And this is not just pearl clutching by some scared snowflake. I saw it firsthand. When I covered the “Drag Queen Story Hour” at ZooMontana […]
Snake oil salesmen have nothing on Congress as it tries to sell gun control to America
This commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. Whatever the National Rifle Association is paying for the votes in the U.S. Senate, it’s not enough. They’re getting one heck of a deal. And no organization should be more excited to support the measures that the Senate is contemplating than the NRA. It’s a bill that […]
I didn’t see any concerned lawmakers at women’s sports events
This commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. The game had just ended and it was brutal. I sat in the stands, and before the players had even cleared the field, head coach Pam McCreesh had already started in on me, yelling from the field, “Nope, no. No. I am not going to talk about […]
We don’t want to admit the real worker shortage problem
A version of this commentary originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. Recently, I was talking to an educator whose job it is to run training programs for students and adults in higher education. She told me that around a dozen different companies and groups were sponsoring training courses for things like nursing assistants, medical workers, […]
U.S. inspector general finds Zinke broke ethics rules, wasn’t honest about real estate dealings
An investigation by the inspector general of the Department of the Interior found that former Secretary Ryan Zinke, a native of Montana and current congressional candidate, committed multiple ethics violations and was not honest in disclosing real estate dealings while he served in the Cabinet of former President Donald J. Trump. The investigation, released Wednesday, […]
The death of American democracy (explained)
“The death of American democracy (explained)” was originally published by the Daily Montanan. If you want to know at what point America’s democracy started to die, experts say 2016 seems like a logical point: With nearly a year to go until his term expired, President Barack Obama’s attempt at appointing a Supreme Court justice failed […]
How a teen cancer patient in Colorado nourished his spirit on a hospital helipad
A version of this story originally appeared in the Daily Montanan. Luke Heupel of Kalispell may be the only person in Montana who wishes he had COVID-19. Originally, he thought he contracted the pandemic virus right after his high school graduation. Even during the odd summer of 2020, he was busy preparing to make his […]