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 […]

Imagine the rewards for finding a viable substitute to oil. I can’t think of another situation where the positive incentives are better aligned to encourage the entrepreneurial discovery process. Governor Schweitzer is dealing with this today at his Montana Symposium. He believes that Montana can lead by producing synthetic fuels from our coal. In addition […]

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 […]

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 […]

I received an invitation from the Gallatin County Democrats to join with local labor unions to renovate a portion of the Gallatin Labor Temple and raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief. I hope the event was successful. The invitation came on a picture postcard. The image was in the genre known as Socialist Realism. It […]

Gasoline prices have hit new highs. Hurricane Katrina, a lack of refineries (the newest U.S. refinery is thirty years old), a “Balkanzied” fuel market, and high demand drive prices. Politicians are tempted to “protect” consumers from being “gouged” by oil companies. Unfortunately, one of their favored policies, a cap on gasoline prices, has a sorry […]

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 […]

Bozeman is growing rapidly — no surprise there. This both excites and concerns residents. I grew up here, and like many others, want Bozeman to handle growth successfully. I am now in Oregon for college. Portland has some of the nation’s most aggressive “smart growth” policies. Among other things, these aim to increase housing density […]

Americans are incredibly generous. We contribute around $250 billion annually to a wide array of charitable causes. Our culture of philanthropy is an expression of the highest of American ideals; it shows our commitment to the well-being of our neighbors — and of strangers in need. Philanthropy is critically important in Montana, a small state […]

The Washington Post reports that a group of wealthy Democrats will fund a network of left-wing think tanks. They know they’ve lost the war of ideas. They hope to turn this tide by competing with conservative and libertarian outfits such as the Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, and twenty others within the […]