After Democrats got wiped out of every statewide office last year, most Montanans thought things couldn’t get any worse for their political party. Then the 2025 legislative session came and 10 Democratic state senators who will be up for election again voted three times to keep corrupt Republican Senator Jason Ellsworth from being expelled from Read More…
Remember when Americans were told that the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) would lower health care costs and that if you liked your doctor, you could keep her? How things have changed over the past 15 years. Health care costs continue to rise faster than inflation and millions of Americans have discovered that Read More…
Our region boasts three states in the top 10 for having the most competitive tax structure, according to the Tax Foundation. The latest numbers show that Wyoming is the most taxpayer-friendly state, Montana is sixth, and Idaho is ninth. While this is impressive, Washington coming in near last at 45th is cause for concern. The Read More…
The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act – which was sold as temporary help during the challenges of COVID-19 – expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies in a way that reshaped who the program serves and who profits from it. New enrollments were concentrated in states that had previously declined the federal government’s offer to expand Medicaid, fearing Read More…
We’ve arrived at a grim reality: Our culture is overdosing on the F word. It’s so sad to see such a good bad word dragged through the mud like this. Stripped of its zing. Its shock value. Now, it’s just another word. F–k has become almost boring, the way it’s barfed up with reckless abandon Read More…
Who represents the Democratic Party in the year of our Lord 2025? This is the question on many of the greatest minds in the nation these days. There are a myriad of arguments, which, in and of itself denotes no one is leading the pack right now. Names like Jasmine Crockett, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Read More…
It’s almost conventional wisdom in certain quarters that Jeffrey Epstein must have been working for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. “It’s extremely obvious to anyone who watches that this guy,” Tucker Carlson said of Epstein the other day, “had direct connections to a foreign government. No one is allowed to say that that foreign government Read More…
It sure is about time: Columbia University is finally starting to deal with the vile, antisemitic hooligans on its campus. What took so long? The Ivy League school is set to discipline more than 70 pro-Palestinian students for rampaging through Butler Library in May and for their involvement in last year’s encampment. Most face suspensions Read More…
OPINION: The leader of California’s most iconic fast-food chain is fleeing the rapidly tarnishing Golden State. In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder announced Friday that she was packing her bags for Franklin, Tennessee, suggesting she was taking the heart of the company with her. “There’s a lot of great things about California, but raising a family Read More…
OPINION: The idea that Vladimir Putin conspired to put Donald Trump in the White House was widely broadcast under orders issued by Barack Obama in his final weeks as president. Records unsealed Friday trace the origin of this deception to a December 2016 gathering of the National Security Council. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Read More…
OPINION: In his run for mayor of America’s biggest city, Zohran Mamdani is following in the footsteps of socialists past. Like Sen. Bernie Sanders, he’s on a path toward affluence and comfort. Already a child of extreme privilege, Mr. Mamdani is campaigning on a classic “eat the rich” platform. That’s a curious choice for the Read More…
OPINION: The president is supposed to fire a Federal Reserve chairman only for cause, and now Donald Trump has it. An obstinate Jerome Powell is holding interest rates artificially high as he constructs a palace for himself. New economic data bolsters the case for relief. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that inflation Read More…
OPINION: Mass immigration created this nation’s greatest political challenge. Distracted by side issues, conservatives sometimes get frustrated with the White House, but deputy policy chief Stephen Miller explained the need to stay focused on what matters most. He described what major cities might look like if existing federal laws were fully enforced. “You’d be able Read More…
OPINION: Senate moderates are having a bad week. They are feeling the squeeze from the public and the White House over a bill that would claw back a thin slice of the pork they have been shoveling into the federal budget. Already, the squishes are howling about a mere 0.13% cut. Through a budgetary process Read More…
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) passed by Congress and signed by President Trump is a game changer that will benefit middle-income, working-class Montanans. Yet Montana Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers (Montana’s top Democrat) said “I just think it is a betrayal of working Montanans and Americans,” mirroring national Democrats’ political talking points. One must Read More…
OPINION: When it comes to cultivating entrepreneurs, Virginia has a few lessons to teach California. Last week, the Old Dominion retained the top five spot on CNBC’s “Top State for Business” list, which it has held since 2018, despite recent cuts to the federal workforce that have sunk the economy in the D.C. suburbs. Gov. Read More…
OPINION: A week after moving into the White House, President Joseph R. Biden ordered his minions at the Justice Department to arrest Hillary Clinton’s online antagonist. Douglass Mackey became the first American captured, prosecuted, convicted and nearly imprisoned over a funny picture circulated on what is now X. Count the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Read More…
OPINION: More than 100 people died in the recent flash flooding in the Texas Hill Country. After hours of torrential downpours Friday, the waters of the Guadalupe River surged 30 feet in a torrent that swept away everything in its path, including a Christian summer camp located along the river and a nearby creek. Capitalizing Read More…
The national conversation around cannabis has shifted dramatically in the last few years. What was once a fringe issue is now a mainstream discussion, with a broad consensus emerging across the political spectrum: it’s time for federal cannabis policy to catch up with the reality on the ground in America. The proposed rescheduling of cannabis Read More…
OPINION: Defiance of court orders sets a bad precedent for the rule of law. Sometimes, however, following an order like the one issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani could lead to even worse outcomes. Without bothering to listen to the other side, the Boston-based magistrate, appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, Read More…
OPINION: The world’s richest man is annoyed at President Trump. Elon Musk says the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill’s excessive spending levels have compelled him to become a political spoiler. He’s forming the America Party as a “moderate” voice for fiscal sanity. It’s correct to say elected Democrats and many Republicans aren’t serious about Read More…
OPINION: Hillary Clinton wasn’t the only one engaged in dirty tricks against then candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. An analysis released last week by the Central Intelligence Agency admits the intelligence community’s December 2016 assessment of Russian interference in the election was the product of political manipulation. On Dec. 6 that year, Read More…
OPINION: Hillary Clinton wasn’t the only one engaged in dirty tricks against then candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. An analysis released last week by the Central Intelligence Agency admits the intelligence community’s December 2016 assessment of Russian interference in the election was the product of political manipulation. On Dec. 6 that year, Read More…
OPINION: Earlier this year, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders outlawed anti-competitive practices in the pharmacy industry, and lobbyists are hopping mad about it. There are many reasons drug prices are inflated, but she realized some of the biggest retailers have figured out how to game the system. “These massive corporations are attacking our state because Read More…
OPINION: One year from today, America will observe its semiquincentennial. That’s a milestone worth celebrating, as few forms of government have lasted 250 years. Our republic’s longevity is a testament to the truth of the propositions set forth in 1776. Donald Trump will rise to the occasion. When the Army knocked on his door, saying Read More…
OPINION: The judicial resistance sustained a major setback last week. Thanks to a long-overdue Supreme Court intervention, lone judges can no longer hold the nation hostage to their whims. In the 5½ months since President Trump’s second term began, Justice Amy Coney Barrett sat on the sidelines with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Their Read More…
OPINION: Sometimes the desert can turn into a swamp. It happened last week in Phoenix, when Arizona politicians gathered for the end of the legislative session to tell their constituents one thing before proceeding to do the opposite. There’s no better example of legislative legerdemain than the state House’s decision, by a 34-22 vote, to Read More…
OPINION: President Trump is on a roll. By Friday, the stock market had recaptured the value lost after traders sustained a severe case of tariff jitters. A successful strike against Iran’s nuclear development sites ended with a ceasefire. And the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cleared Senate procedural hurdles Sunday. These victories are precarious, as Read More…
OPINION: Europe’s decline into authoritarianism was on display in Belgium last week as an appeals court condemned a former member of the Federal Parliament to a year in jail over internet memes. The politician, Dries Van Langenhove, wasn’t even the one who shared the offending content. As the appellate panel stated, “It is not the Read More…
Lately, you may have come across articles from some members of the Legislature promoting the new property tax bills (now laws) that were passed this year. It appears they have been on a publicity tour highlighting the benefits of these new laws while criticizing those who opposed them. There were legislators, including myself, who opposed Read More…
In a political landscape often mired in hyperbole, President Donald J. Trump’s decisive actions to secure the southern border stand out as a rare and resounding success. Since taking office, Trump has delivered on his campaign promise to restore order and protect American sovereignty, transforming a chaotic border situation into one of unprecedented control. The Read More…
Who knew there were this many things that had to be fixed? The legislative sessions in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington are over. Depending on your political perspective, the benefits – or damages – will be felt for years to come. One thing that isn’t in dispute? Lawmakers couldn’t help but introduce a record number of bills Read More…
The Trump administration has begun the hard work of moving federal government policy toward market-affirming policies and away from the progressive tax-spend-debt madness of the Biden years. Unfortunately, the economy may require a much bigger rescue than is politically possible – or perhaps even economically possible. The fact that the American people have always been Read More…
The 2025 Montana legislative session got off to a rocky start on day one in the Senate when a group of nine Republicans defected to collude with Democrats in a surprise maneuver to change the Senate’s rules and committee assignments giving themselves and Democrats more power. For the entire legislative session, the 9 censured Republicans joined with all Read More…
Today’s Utterly Moderate podcast episode focuses on the positives and negatives of President Trump’s first 100 days in office in this his second term. We are joined by Jim Swift, a longtime Republican and senior editor at The Bulwark. If you aren’t familiar with the work that they do over at The Bulwark, it is an online Read More…
As a registered and licensed dietitian nutritionist for over 15 years in Louisiana, I have worked alongside many providers with the common goal of providing the best possible care and supporting patients with guidance on balanced diets. With high rates of childhood obesity in Louisiana, I recognize that the state legislature is looking to apply Read More…
For states like Washington, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, the 10-year regulatory moratorium on artificial intelligence recently passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The committee’s decision to advance this pause on state-level AI regulations marks a crucial step toward creating the regulatory certainty needed to attract substantial tech investment to our region, Read More…
“Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” – Buddha (560-483 B.C.) World War II changed the world forever. In 1945, the scars of the war were as fresh as many combat wounds. People feared another war and the United Nations was founded to prevent disputes. It included 57 nations that Read More…
The Make America Healthy Again movement has gained significant attention throughout the nation and many of the top initiatives highlighted have found their way into state legislatures this session. Louisiana is no exception and Senator Patrick McMath, R-Covington, has, via Senate Bill 14, proposed a significant cleanup of our food supply, especially focused on kids. Read More…
“Conservatism has always been about reforming government and solving problems, and that’s why the conservative movement should lead on immigration reform.” – Marco Rubio The United States has long been a destination for freedom and opportunity for millions of men and women from around the globe. Immigration has been an essential element for the socioeconomic Read More…
Every few years, Congress discusses some form of spending limits. Usually, these go nowhere or are ignored or repealed a couple of years or so after passage. There is a similar rule for federal tax revenues. Unlike the spending rule, the revenue rule is always in effect. Regardless of what Congress and the president may Read More…
Debanking is a growing concern for conservatives nationwide, and Montana is no exception. Financial institutions have been weaponized to silence conservatives by cutting off essential banking services. Rather than addressing this injustice, the Biden administration allowed it to continue unchecked. While President Trump recognized the importance of preventing banks from targeting conservatives, Montana’s Senate Bill Read More…
Today we saw oral arguments in the lawfare case against Attorney General Knudsen. Sadly, this is nothing new. We’ve seen this movie before. The left uses “lawfare” to silence and target political opponents, manipulating the legal system for partisan gain. This isn’t just happening at the national level, as we’ve witnessed in the ongoing lawfare Read More…
Everyone has seen the stories. A homeowner goes on vacation only to return and find strangers in their bed and half their furnishings sold. Or a widow vacates a family home, puts her house on the market and then finds out someone moved in and changed the locks while the house was unoccupied. Or a Read More…