Rick was one of the first professors I met at MSU. Generous with his time and counsel, he greatly influenced my career. And it was a treat to teach with Rick. Here is the beginning of a fifty-year friendship with a fine scholar. I met Rick in 1969 while teaching economic anthropology at Indiana University […]
Read MoreRanching with, but not for Money: Enjoying Liberty, Ecology and Prosperity Here are some thoughts for another fine spring day. I made them while living on a ranch in Montana, the most remote of Americas’ lower 48 states. The cost of distance, once a huge liability to those living here, has dropped immensely. Here’s […]
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Correcting a Stereotype of Newcomers to Montana Stereotypes generally have some factual basis. They economize on information and decision making. For example, caution arises if you and your family are at a highway rest stop and a bunch of motorcyclists pull in wearing black leather jackets. Especially so if the patches on the jacket backs […]
Read MoreEnjoying a Montana Festival: The 42nd Annual Hyline Angus Bull Sale at the Headwaters Arena I enjoy introducing friends to traditional Montana experiences. A friend, Jeremy Carl, joined me in a trip to the Van Dyke family’s 42nd annual Hyline Angus Bull Sale at Headwaters Arena near Three Forks. This event is more than a […]
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Beautiful and valuable registered cows from Bozeman’s Hyline Angus Ranch are grazing our ranch. These cows are on winter range and usually out of sight. Weighing over half a ton, 1,250 pounds on average, a 30-pound coyote poses no risk. However a large white wolf is on the prowl. This presents a […]
Read MoreEnjoying the Messiah in Australia: Technological Blessings of the Christmas Holiday Ramona and I have a long tradition of attending Bozeman’s Messiah Community Sing. We find it especially satisfying to share it with Christian and Jewish friends and we always adjourn to a fine dinner. This satisfying package of blessings was not available this year. […]
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Climate Change in Paradise I recently spoke to eighteen Article III federal judges. They gathered at Sage Lodge, Pray, Montana to join a colloquium organized by the Law and Economics Center (LEC) of George Mason University. This highly respected organization was founded in 1974 to bring economic understanding to the study of law. By 1999 […]
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Ecology and Economics for Religious Leaders Mule Deer Buck in John and Ramona’s wheat field It’s harvest season in much of America, and the nation’s houses of worship are filled with prayers of thanksgiving for nature’s bounty. Calls for commitments to honor God’s Creation are highly appropriate. How can we best accomplish this […]
Read MoreCELEBRATING PERC’s 40TH ANNIVERSARY The Property and Environment Research Center, PERC, is a free-market think tank and public-policy training, information and influence center. It is celebrating its 40th anniversary as the world’s most influential market-oriented environmental center. No other organization comes close. * PERC developed from a “Center of Excellence” at Montana State […]
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Coronavirus’s Earth Day Threat In 1970 I helped organize the first Earth Day at Indiana University. The initial Earth Day was a “youth quake”. Working out of the University of Wisconsin, a staff of 85 people mobilized some ten million American college students. The event mixed protest and celebration. Good intentions mingled with error and […]
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