Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Some products are so ingrained in our daily use that companies don’t need to spend money on marketing. You almost never have to buy shoelaces anymore because shoes don’t last that long. Some people don’t know how to talk to kids because their go-to small talk with adults is to ask about work. It is a choice to be a parent. But it is not a choice to be a child. On the Internet, the final question on IQ tests is whether to pay for the result. We need unattractive people to have attractive people. Every year, your eventual death date comes and g...
The term "chain of command" is well used in business, law, military, and more. Defined basically as a ladder of authority for any organization to direct others or a system that ensures individual members stay on task and report to a supervisor. Such structure enables any organization to move forward with its mission. A perfect example of a "chain of command" is seen in Luke chapter 7. "When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a Centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was...
Georgia, I have a question, My best friend (we are both 23) asked me to be her maid of honor and to plan her bachelorette party. I asked her what her ideal party was. She said it was a nice dinner with friends and some female family members, then having just the friends go to a bar since her mom and aunties probably wouldn’t be up for that. Can we say BORING? Anyway, I asked her for a list of people, and she gave me ten family members she wanted to have dinner with and about 20 friends to invite to the bar. I was not comfortable with the l...
Dear Editor, It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the Republican supermajority in the Montana Legislature failed to override the Governor's veto of SB442, which would have distributed a portion of marijuana revenue for county infrastructure. This bill was unique for the 2023 session because it garnered bipartisan support. It was also unique in that the Montana Supreme Court allowed the Legislature to exercise its constitutional right to vote to override the Governor's veto. The...
Dear Editor, This letter is in response to a letter published in the Whitehall Ledger's April 19, 2024 issue, submitted by the Jefferson County Republican Central Committee (JCRCC). The JCRCC's letter states its opposition to rank-choice voting and ties it to Constitutional Initiatives CI126 and CI127. My intent is to use reliable sources to define the meaning of these initiatives more clearly. If approved by the voters, CI126 would combine the Republican and Democratic primaries into one open...
Dear Editor, I am writing to ask your support for Ray Shaw's election as your Senator in Senate District 35. I served with Ray in the 2013 Legislative Session and worked with him in the 2015 Session. Ray is dedicated, focused, thoughtful, and honest in his deliberations. He is not a robot, blindly supporting ideological issues just because some think he should. He listens to his conscience and constituents, carefully considering what is best for his constituents. As a retired military veteran...
Dear Editor, Did you get your new property tax bill? Well, if you're not crying or in a fit of rage, the Montana Republicans just gave you another increase in your taxes! Last week, the Secretary of State announced that the Legislature failed to override Governor Gianforte's veto of SB442, a bi-partisan piece of legislation that flew through the House and Senate by overwhelming majorities. This important legislation would have directed the use of Marijuana taxes and, according to the...
Dear Editor, Rank Choice Voting: Ballot issues CI126 and CI-127; most of this explanation of Rank Choice Voting came from Ballotpedia. The way to think of it is election by elimination. Let's say six candidates are running for office. Under today's system, whoever gets the most votes wins. Done. Finished. With Rank-Choice Voting, a candidate wins when they have 51% of the votes. (The legislature could require a supermajority of 61%, though I don't know why.) In the first round, Candidate A recei...
Dear Editor, SB 442's failed veto override was a sickening display of political theater. Given today's political climate, it's not often that members of our Montana Legislature show overwhelming, bipartisan support for a piece of legislation. SB 442 was that special unicorn that brought Democrats and Republicans from across Montana together to champion a few things we can all agree on: allocating marijuana tax revenue to support our veterans, maintain roads, and increase access to our public...
Having a T-Rex coexist with a stegosaurus is less accurate than a T-Rex coexisting with a human being. They tell people to get married so they won’t die alone, and then half of them die alone anyway because their partner has already died. You never hear about pirating music anymore. Everyone loves detectives but hates cops. You are the center of the observable universe. Being tipsy is 10x better than being drunk. You know you’re getting old when police officers start looking like kids. Technically speaking, we have all kicked a pregnant per...
Dear Editor, VETERANS: Make your voices heard! Montana's veterans deserve to live with dignity and independence. The Department of Public Health and Human Services is conducting an important survey to understand and improve the living conditions of our veterans. We at the Veterans Navigation Network encourage every veteran, caregiver, and family member in Montana to participate. This survey will help the state understand what veterans need to live well in their communities. It looks at...
Georgia, I have a question, I have a relative whom we always invite to dinner parties, whether for a holiday or just for fun. She always replies that she’d be happy to attend. My issue is that she doesn’t eat our meals. She will place a small amount of food on her plate and maybe eat half. Her excuse is always that she’s not hungry at the moment. She behaves this way at the homes of other relatives, too. Also, when we go to restaurants, she never finishes her plate. I think she’s being rude in accepting a dinner invitation and never eating....
ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, your friends have stepped up to support you, and it is time to get together and enjoy one another’s company. Think about an activity that everyone can get behind. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, the people around you may work more slowly than you, so you will likely need to be patient while working on a particular project this week. Eventually, things will work out. GEMINI May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, exercise caution when dealing with people who currently promise significant returns on your investments. Avoid financial d...
We all have good days and bad days, but our character is constantly tested through every experience. I would say the test is much more difficult in the latter. Life is good when you’re on “Cloud 9.” Jesus makes this point in his teachings about loving one’s enemy and the danger of being hypercritical of others. We must be cautious about lambasting others, sometimes the plank is in our own eye. There is a place for correct judgment while incorrect or harsh judgment is off the table. Within the context of the church Paul states that judgmen...
Dear Editor, Ranked choice voting is just rank! Coming soon to a shopping center near you, a bright-eyed college student will approach you with a clipboard and a smile to get you to sign a petition to make elections fairer, requiring a majority of voters for a candidate to be elected. They are actually being paid to push Montana Constitutional amendments (CI126 & CI127) for ranked choice voting. They can't present it that way since ranked choice has rightfully earned a bad name for itself. A...
Naming children after flowers and herbs is normal, but naming them after fruits and vegetables is strange. Pickle rolls off the tongue differently. Humans speak over 7000 languages, yet most fictional races only speak one. Oddly, social media and internet addiction are still not recognized medical conditions. The lower you let your fuel tank go before filling up, the better your fuel economy is. Setting your phone lock screen to a picture of your loved ones is the modern-day equivalent of carrying their photo in your wallet. Setting yourself...
Georgia, I have a question, Is telling a white lie to save another person's feelings ok? Example: I've gone from a size 18 to a 6 in the last two years through a LOT of hard work and determination. However, I am self-sabotaging and hideously body-conscious. I was having a bad day and asked my partner if I was the hottest girl he had been with. He laughed (almost too much) and said, "No, I was 18 once and have slept with girls with amazing bodies without the stretch marks you have." Obviously, that hurt beyond words. But I also know I set...
Some matters are important to address in a timely fashion from time to time. Next week, I will get back to the Look What the Doctor Ordered series. However, today, I want to draw your attention to the events from the past week. Where were you on April 8, 2024? I saw friends on social media across the country either sporting some new specialized glasses or others being crafty and making some homemade spectacles, all to look at the eclipse. I was flying to Tennessee with my wife to see the brand-new granddaughter during the eclipse. I thought we...
ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you can get your spark back with some help from friends. You may have been struggling in some form, but others can provide the needed perspective. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, you are a dependable rock, but that comes with a lot of responsibility. Sometimes, you may feel overwhelmed, and in those instances, feel free to delegate some tasks. GEMINI May 22/Jun 21 Too much joking around may strike a nerve with someone close to you, Gemini. Feel out every situation before you start communicating in such a laid-back and...
You’re not “phobic” if your fear is rational. The modern world needs a secular way for people to withdraw from society, like monks and nuns of tradition. The disarray of global affairs reveals that the smartest people in the world have not figured out how to outsmart the dumbest people in the world. Your skin can feel hair that fell on your body, but not hair growing on your body. Much of the skill in fixing things involves knowing how much force you can use. It’s a strange miracle that email survived after instant messaging became a thing....
Dear Editor, This is a letter to Mrs. Gina Ossello. I read in the paper that you are retiring from sitting on the school board, keeping control of the meetings, and monitoring the process. I want to take this opportunity to say "Thank You" for taking the time to be at the meetings and making sure they ran in a professionally organized manner. I personally have experienced your officiating and was always greeted well. Through COVID-19, parent, and student behaviors, and all the challenges you...
Dear Editor, A Letter to the Editor promoting a candidate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction position in the State of Montana was published in the Whitehall Ledger on April 10, 2024. In the letter, the candidate states, "We've essentially abandoned our schools in the last eight years under the current state leadership." When I look at my property tax bill and see that 75.2% of my taxes go to the schools, this statement seems absolutely preposterous! If this is abandonment, I would...
Everyone has their perspective on any given issue and is subject to modification or even complete reversal as information, conditions, and circumstances change. It can be argued that there is no time like an election year and social media to see the broad spectrum and panorama of those differences. This is not meant to be political commentary. Still, I’ll touch on some classic examples, as well as some from another touchstone of controversy: religion, since it is another place where widely d...
Georgia, I have a question, Did I do the right thing? The other night, my girlfriend was reaching for something on a stool when she slipped and fell and injured her ankle. She was in quite a lot of pain, and we both agreed she needed to go to the ER. She asked me to drive her. Normally, of course, I would be happy to drive her. However, I had already consumed several drinks that evening and was definitely over the legal limit to drive. I told her as much and said if she could give me two or three hours to metabolize the alcohol, I should be...
Certain verses of the Bible are well-known, yet many of those same verses are taken out of context and improperly applied. Doing so breaks several rules of Bible interpretation, notably understanding the original author’s intention and cultural context. Next, identify the text principle and consider if the application applies today. Many principles do, and others do not; as a pastor, I will beat this drum of “context” until my last breath because without proper context, the truth can be muddied. You’ve probably heard statements like, “Jesus...
