Mark Twain’s observation, “Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting,” arose from his experiences in the arid West. Some claim that more westerners have been killed with irrigation shovels than with guns. An old neighbor told me that a man was killed on our place during the drought of the 1930s. In Montana — […]
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Here’s an early suggestion for your holiday gift lists. Soldiering for Freedom: A GI’s Account of World War II, by Herman “Obe” Obermayer, was published this year by Texas A&M Press in its military history series. Obe is a dear friend so this isn’t a neutral review. I strongly recommend it, not only as history […]
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The most recent Nobel Prize winner, Tom Schelling, and his wife Alice, are dear friends. He is among four Nobel Laureates who have lectured in my Montana programs. While Tom is among the world’s smartest (and nicest) individuals, modesty occasionally trumps his predictive prowess. Last month, Tom and Alice were at the Elkhorn Ranch for […]
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Ramona and I owe a lot to Dr. Ruth, DVM. You’ll see why. Over the past decade, Ramona and I have hosted several hundred guests at our ranch pavilion. Nearly all remember Thor, our 140-pound, wholly loveable, livestock guard dog. He was an affection sponge. Folks ranging from Camp Brave Heart kids to federal judges […]
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On September 26, the Bozeman City Commission gave us a powerful civics lesson, providing an excellent case study of how the political world works. They showed how difficult it is to convert good intentions into concrete expression when operating in the political arena. By voting to keep the $4 million granted for the parking garage […]
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How would $6/gal gas or diesel change the lives of folks living in Montana? With an area slightly smaller than Japan and a population of just under one million, we are rather dispersed; it’s not a great place for mass transit. We are totally dependent on cars, pickups, and SUVs. Further, our housing locations were […]
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Our modest ranch lies near the mouth of Gallatin Canyon. It’s 10 miles from Bozeman — an easy 40-minute bike ride — and 27 miles north of the Big Sky turnoff. A mile and a half of the West Gallatin Canal winds through it, and Wortman Creek cuts through the pasture just south of our […]
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By studying how Congress funds roads, we can learn a lot about America. We’ll see how our politicians transfer wealth to protect their job security. Last Friday’s passage of the highway bill demonstrated how politicians have perfected plundering without violence. In contrast to Zimbabwe where Mugabe’s thugs use machetes and bulldozers to transfer wealth, our […]
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Bozemanites live in the midst of a fascinating experiment in environmental economics. We are in the vortex of two colliding principles. First, trash flows downhill or downwind toward poverty, and second, economic systems evolve toward efficiency. We are watching these forces play out at the Holcim Trident cement plant near Three Forks, Montana. Holcim Inc., […]
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On July 3rd, Independence Eve, FREE celebrated its 20th anniversary. While we always enjoy Fourth of July celebrations, we wanted more than food, fireworks, friends, and frivolity. An important part of FREE’s mission is to harmonize responsible liberty with environmental quality. Hence we designed a special program to recognize our glorious, though imperfect, nation. We […]
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