Champ Edmunds: A Special Kind of A#$*&!@

May 6, 2012

It takes a special kind of asshole to politicize rape, but if we’ve learned anything about him in the past couple of years, it’s that “Champ” Edmunds is indeed special. After all, he opposed memorializing a slain Montana Highway Patrol officer and argued that students at the University of Montana could not be trusted to [...]

Read the full article →

One of These Paragraphs Is Not Like the Other; Bob Fanning Offers a “Realistic Plan”

May 6, 2012

I loved the Great Falls Tribune profile of gubernatorial candidates Bob Fanning in its entirety, but these two paragraphs were clearly the best: "I am the only candidate who has a realistic, workable plan which will lead Montana to rapid economic progress and independence from the federal funds which have put Montana out of business." [...]

Read the full article →

Who Watches the Watchdog?

May 4, 2012

When the Montana Watchdog came on the scene in the past year or so, it seemed like a relatively harmless, right-wing “news” organization which covered the news from a clearly defined conservatively biased viewpoint. For the most part, its writing was honest (if selective in its focus) and it even broke some interesting stories. That [...]

Read the full article →

Efficacy in Educational Innovation

May 3, 2012

“Innovation” and “schools” go together like “Cozy” and “house for sale” – they sound great together, and sometimes can be good news – like a well-designed, cutting edge curriculum, or an actually cozy house – but more often are used euphemistically. I don’t know how Sandy Welch, Republican candidate for superintendent of schools, is using [...]

Read the full article →

Bullock, Hill Tied; Other Republican Candidates Entirely Unknown

May 3, 2012

PPP just published a Montana poll which shows Steve Bullock and Rick Hill tied in a November matchup at 39-39. Despite the tie, Bullock is both better liked and known that Representative Hill: Bullock is more popular than Hill. 34% of voters have a positive opinion of him to 21% with a negative one. Hill’s [...]

Read the full article →

Republican Secretary of State Candidates Oppose Voting

May 2, 2012

Three of the four Republican candidates for Secretary of State would like to restrict voting rights in the state of Montana by eliminating the same-day registration that has seen thousands of Montanans legally exercising their right to vote in elections since 2006. According to a story by Charles Johnson, candidates Scott Aspenlieder, Brad Johnson, and [...]

Read the full article →

I am not a Dime a Dozen!

May 2, 2012

Among my favorite texts to teach every year in AP Literature is Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which never fails to move me—and even occasionally has the same impact on teenagers who seem a bit more jaded than I am. I’ve had students weep in the last few moments of the play while we [...]

Read the full article →

Justice Department Investigating Sexual Assaults in Missoula, Van Valkenburg Turns TEA Party in Response

May 1, 2012

With the welcome news that the Department of Justice plans to investigate the handling of eighty rape reports in Missoula over the past few years, most officials in Missoula responded favorably, happy that the additional resources and expertise of the Department of Justice can help the city get a handle on the crisis. Rather than [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →