Opinion

A triumph at Mount Rushmore

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If nothing else, President Donald Trump’s July Fourth speech at Mount Rushmore clarified the battle lines of our culture war.

July 9 Stardust

25 YEARS AGO (1995)

Trump fights to keep a job Dems say he isn’t doing

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President Donald Trump is asking Americans to let him keep his job. His critics are questioning how much of that job he’s actually doing.

July 7 Stardust

25 YEARS AGO (1995)

DEAR ABBY: Mom tries to patch rift between two daughters

DEAR ABBY: I have three beautiful daughters. The oldest moved to Wisconsin some years ago. About a year ago, my middle daughter went to visit her. My older daughter said something about politics that the younger one didn’t like, and since then the younger one refuses to communicate with her, which is breaking my heart. My older daughter asked if I could help by talking to her. They used to be close and now this.

We need a leader who makes deliverance from death a unifying national cause

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The United States is entering dangerous, uncharted territory. With a little over 4% of the world’s population, our country has about 25% of COVID- 19 infections. Over the course of five months, more Americans have lost their lives to this disease (130,000 and counting) than died in World War I (116,516). New infections have reaccelerated and are rising toward some unknown peak.

Coronavirus shutdown exposes need for regulatory takings legislation in Montana

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Keeping Montanan small businesses afloat during the coronavirus shutdown was one of the most important actions taken by our federal government. The relief package kept many people working and may prevent, in the long term, the closure of thousands of businesses.

Fixing Democracy

I don’t know who in rural America thinks American democracy is working. Country people who grew up trying their best and playing by the rules have seen jobs go away, schools and post offices close, poverty and addiction encroach into daily life. Though small towns do not live in perpetual despair, more and more I get a sense of, “I plucked my eyebrows and shaved my legs for this?” But maybe democracy is something we can fix.

July 6 Stardust

25 YEARS AGO (1995)

DEAR ABBY: New husband’s moodiness may signal deeper trouble

DEAR ABBY: I have a question about my daughter’s new husband, “Brad.” I haven’t interfered with their marriage and don’t want to, but he seems very moody and barely speaks to me. Just when I think I’ve found a common topic, on the next visit four or five weeks later, he doesn’t say a word.