December 2008

A Dell Computer Christmas Story… or… Are you really proud of your customer service?

December 21, 2008

LATE TUESDAY UPDATE: I have canceled my order and plan not to give Dell business again. TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: I received a call from Dell Customer service. The message said I could call back or email. I email. Nothing in return. My sadness is moving to anger as it is apparent that the problem is [...]

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Thumbs Up To Governor Schweitzer

December 19, 2008

I’m very impressed by Governor Schweitzer’s response to the recent study that questioned the value of the Montana Meth Project: like the sensible manager of the budget that he has shown himself to be, he believes that the state should evaluate the program before investing more money: But Schweitzer said he now wants to make [...]

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Stay Classy, Staples

December 18, 2008

What does an office superstore do when the economic downturn hands a competitors lemons? Make lemonade! The other day I received an e-mail from Staples practically gloating about Office Depot’s decision to close some stores:   Given that economic conditions are not likely to improve in the short-term, I’m not sure I’d take this approach [...]

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More on the Montana Meth Project

December 13, 2008

Tom Jacobs at Miller-McCune weighs in on the Montana Meth Project controversy: Last month, Miller-McCune reported on a new study that found anti-tobacco ads that combine fear and disgust are apparently counterproductive. Now, research by psychologist David Erceg-Hurn of the University of Western Australia suggests the same may be true for anti-drug spots. What did [...]

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The Gazette’s Embarrassing Coverage of the Meth Project Story

December 12, 2008

Wow. I’ve seen some heavy-handed coverage from the Gazette before, but today’s “news” response to the academic study by David Erceg-Hurn stands out as a remarkable example of journalistic advocacy. I’m not even sure the lede was alive long enough to be buried. The news in the story is the report that suggests that the [...]

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The Montana Meth Project: A Skeptic Speaks

December 11, 2008

I’ve long been a critic of the claims made by the Montana Meth Project and a largely uncritical press in Montana that has given the Project enormous credit for reducing meth use in the state. There haven’t been a lot of people who agree with me on this point, so I was happy to see [...]

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It’s Time to Think 2010 and to Really Challenge Dennis Rehberg

December 11, 2008

A lot of great things happened in the November elections here in Montana, but for all of the success Democrats saw, the race for our sole House seat was a tremendous disappointment. We had two strong potential candidates fade away—one for health reasons and the other because of an inexplicable primary result—leading to a massive [...]

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An Incredibly Sad Day for Butte and the Whole State

December 8, 2008

Representative George Groesbeck, state representative from Butte, passed away Sunday, and he will be missed tremendously. George was a debater at Carroll College a few years ahead of my time, but I got to know him through association with the team and later when he would volunteer his time as a debate judge at the [...]

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