Opinions

Colorado needs wolves

Colorado voters will soon have a historic opportunity to overcome a monumental injustice. If voters choose to say “yes” to a citizens’ initiative on Nov. 3, wolves will again mingle on a continental scale, from the Arctic to Mexico. Harnessing direct democracy to instigate endangered species restoration is unprecedented, but it will revive the dynamic and healthy balance of wolves with their prey — to the benefit of future generations.

Essential Workers are Heroes. Pay Them Accordingly.

For the past two months Senate Republicans have twiddled their thumbs, doing nothing as the worst crisis in a century wreaked havoc on their country. Over that same period, millions of front-line workers were experiencing the nightmare of COVID-19 each and every day: indignant customers refusing to observe health protocols, hospitals overflowing with sick and dying patients, demanding delivery and factory quotas, corporate bosses who could care less about their health, and more.

If you like birds and fish, hug a cow

You don’t hear this from former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt or the usual suspects whose goal is to end many water diversions from the Colorado River, but it’s true. Rural landscapes and wildlife need ranching and irrigated agriculture to survive.

Scoring first amendment freedoms

For First Amendment freedoms in recent weeks, it has been one step forward, two steps back and at best a draw — and we should be praising the progress and mad as hell about the setbacks.

Slow the spread of COVID

Thank you to the Montana State University Big Horn County Extension Service for agreeing with the experts in health and medicine. They set up a youth fair that was unusual, like these unusual times, but safe.

Defending government property at the expense of liberty

As I read of the use of federal officers sent to Portland against the wishes of the governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland for the purpose of “protecting federal property,” I thought of these words from the Declaration of Independence enumerating one of the reasons for rejecting the rule of the British king:

If the water goes, the desert moves in

Paonia, a small town in western Colorado with a handful of mesas rising above it, wouldn’t green-up without water diverted from a river or mountain springs. The lively water travels through irrigation ditches for miles to gardens and small farms below. But this summer, irrigation ditches were going dry, and one, the Minnesota Canal and Reservoir Company, stopped sending water down to its 100-plus customers as early as July 13.

Economy wilts while governor sits on $1 billion COVID-19 fund

Montana’s economy has wilted and withered since the socalled pandemic arrived in early March. Our “wannabe president/wannabe senator/lame duck governor” has done little except bankrupt main street merchants.

The wall with Mexico will come tumbling down

Few walls last forever. Last winter, part of President Trump’s new border wall wavered toward collapse under the force of strong winds whipping through the twin cities of Calexico and Mexicali. An 80-foot segment lurched into Mexican territory, and it took cranes from the U.S. side to right the steel panels.

Do you see unity or division in your mirror?

I need to be comfortable with who I see in the mirror each morning. What kind of person am I? Do I live up to the standards set by my parents, my schools, my church? Am I living up to the values I espouse daily? Do my deeds match my words?