Transparency International’s 2008 bribery index was released recently. Among other things, the index measures how likely companies in each sector are to bribe public officials. The winners this year: As for the state capture category, or “the frequency that sectors attempt to exert influence on government legislation, laws and decision-making through private payments to public […]
Politics
Posted inArticles
Audio: A BLM insider speaks
Rodger Schmitt talks about why he resigned his position as national recreation director.
Posted inGoat
Enviros shun autoworkers
A scene I’d like to see: The CEOs of the Sierra Club and other Big Green groups standing up in Congress and calling for financial help for the autoworkers in GM, Ford and Chrysler. Haven’t seen it, though. And that’s a problem in itself. The silence from environmentalists is one reason why they often struggle […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Don’t call it journalism
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne featured the headline “Which is scarier?” on its front page a few days before the presidential election, followed by a subhead that echoed some of the nastier campaign literature making the rounds of the region: It asked readers to choose between “a black president or a bleak economy.”
Posted inWotr
Stream access wins decisively in Montana
The long slog is over. The Montana Supreme Court has finally settled a dispute over who controls access to a side channel of the Bitterroot River known as the Mitchell Slough. The verdict: The public does; Mitchell Slough is a natural waterway, and that means access is guaranteed for the people of Montana. You may […]
Posted inWotr
It’s time for a ceasefire on guns
Gun owners represent at least 4 million of the nation’s most dedicated voters, and in election after election, they affect the outcome. Sometimes they elect politicians who are corrupt or unabashed lackeys of corporate interests — people whose only appeal to gun owners is that they promise to leave the Second Amendment alone. Now, however, […]
Posted inDecember 8, 2008: Out in the cold
For the birds
Name Scott RashidAge 45Day Job Chef at Eagle Rock High School in Estes Park, Colo. Time spent doing bird stuff “How many hours are in a week?” First date with his wife Going up to Rocky Mountain National Park’s tundra to look for ptarmigans.Other hobbies Aikido ESTES PARK, COLORADO Scott Rashid stands in front of […]
Posted inWotr
A chance to do it right in the West
The 2008 election took the West another big step down the path of political realignment that has been underway since the turn of the century. By 2000, the Rocky Mountain West had become essentially a one-party region. All eight of its governors were Republicans, as were 13 of its 16 senators. In the 2000 election, […]
Posted inWotr
The persistence of bigotry, Western-style
Q: What’s Barack Obama’s new Chinese name?A: Coon Soon Die. Work on it a little bit. You’ll get it. I got it while I was eating eggs over-medium, hashbrowns and bacon at a restaurant in Hotchkiss, a town of less than 2,000 people in western Colorado. The waitress who was pouring coffee asked who we […]
Posted inWotr
We’re in this together
There is a house in Rawlins, Wyo., that won’t sell. It’s a bargain, too, at $135,000. In fact, there are 43 houses in Rawlins selling for under $150,000. This is a booming energy town with a housing shortage. People in Rawlins have money. Wyoming has, in fact, the fastest growing median household income of any […]
Posted inGoat
Obama and public lands
Even though the West was a key battleground in the 2008 presidential election, our issues — public lands, water, endangered species, etc. — didn’t get a lot of attention from either candidate. And for the past three months, the economy has dominated the news. But our issues do appear in this interesting piece by Les […]
Posted inGoat
Where geography still matters
As president-elect Barack Obama goes about picking a cabinet, we hear a lot about a book of popular history that was published three years ago: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Some parallels seem almost eerie. Abraham Lincoln’s main rival for the Republican nomination in 1860 was William […]
Posted inNovember 21, 2008: Ultimate solution?
On Obama’s coattails
Westerners inspired by Barack Obama have a right to feel giddy these days: The history-making wave that swept the Democrat into the presidency Nov. 4 had a lot of impact around the region. It lifted a surprising number of other Democrats into offices that had long been held by Republicans, many of whom were seen […]
Posted inNovember 21, 2008: Ultimate solution?
Weekend Westerner
Name Arthur KruseAge 69Hometown Munich, GermanyOccupation Consultant to the high-pressure compressor company where he was sales manager for 32 years.Still mourned “Flites Gentleman,” Kruse’s quarter horse, who had to be put down after a bad fall on ice just before Christmas Eve four years ago. Other club members About 50 men and 35 women — […]
Posted inNovember 21, 2008: Ultimate solution?
Can’t see the forest for the guns
I’m frankly flabbergasted that, in an era so defined by crises of the environment, energy, and economy, that folks are still voting on useless wedge issues like guns and abortion — and voting for folks that are hopelessly deficient on the first three but who pander on the last two (HCN, 10/27/08). These issues were […]
Posted inNovember 21, 2008: Ultimate solution?
Getting out the (gun) vote
As someone who is a “liberal Democrat” on most issues and an Abe Lincoln “conservative” on others, I believe it has been a profound mistake for the Democrats to throw away the gun owner’s vote as they have for years (HCN, 10/27/08). I grew up in Ohio plinking with my dad’s .22. I’m a gun […]
Posted inNovember 21, 2008: Ultimate solution?
Risky gun business
I was shocked by Hal Herring’s commentary on abandoning gun control (HCN, 10/27/08). More than the inaccuracies about “the Democrats” being against the Second Amendment and the clearly mistaken judgment that Democrats are declining, it was upsetting to read the absurd notion that owning guns protects us against tyranny. Where has this author been for […]
Posted inWotr
Conscientious objectors 65 years ago
During the Vietnam War, I registered for the draft as a conscientious objector willing to serve in the military. Along with many other college students, that is how I protested the war in Viet Nam. Now we’re mired in the sands of Iraq — our desert Vietnam. But this is a different time; the Iraq […]
Posted inGoat
Already one Westerner gets job in Obama admin
Jim Messina — born in Denver, raised in Boise, with a University of Montana bachelor’s degree in political science — will be a deputy chief of staff in Barack Obama’s White House. Messina worked his tail off to get there. He was chief of staff for Obama’s campaign, and his political experience stretches from Alaska […]
Posted inGoat
Administration publishes final oil shale regs
The Bush administration has a little more than two months left in office, but those two months promise to be an exciting — and probably distressing — time for those of us interested in federal land policy. The administration hopes to change a number of administrative rules before it rides into the sunset, and none […]