Reasons to be Cheerful (part 2)

30 years ago today, on March 28, 1979, roughly 25,000 people lived within five miles of the giant cooling towers that became symbols of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear accident.
So quickly have people forgotten. The reactor was so badly damaged that it has never been restarted. It sits there as a [...]

Taking on the workers

I love it when a number of my interests intersect in one post. A superb post over at Education Week captures everything that is wrong when people criticize the unionized nature of this country’s school system. As Diane Ravitch suggests Unions are Not The Problem:
I must confess that I have always [...]

I’m here to cooperate with you a hundred percent.

Every few years it seems the Republican-dominated state legislature takes a swipe at the Montana University System. This year is no exception, with Brian Schweitzer joining in the fray. Either the universities get 3% more or tuition will have to go up. Predictably, there are legislators who suggest that universities [...]

The Ayn Rand Resurgence

Those of us that are foolish enough to spend more than 5 minutes per day watching cable news channels can’t help but to have noticed that Ayn Rand has become very popular among conservatives again. They particularly point to her novel Atlas Shrugged and suggest that maybe all the great capitalists of the world should start [...]

Pitching in

As in previous depressions, tent cities are springing up in many cities and towns as more people lose their jobs and homes. Where in Missoula will they live? The tell-tale smoke plumes along the Kim Williams trail all winter would tend to indicate some residents in the pines.
Maybe we will soon see [...]

Market Failure II

Do rural communities deserve a lower standard of health care? According to the Missoulian (1/25/2009), they do. In an article written by David Brown of the Washington Post, the backbone of rural medicine is disappearing. Young surgeons are in great demand and rural hospitals and health clinics can’t afford [...]