Editorial
Gazette Opinion: Traffic hazards close to home for city dwellers
A high-speed crash with a single vehicle running off a rural highway is the most common scenario for traffic fatalities statewide. But as of Tuesday, the city of Billings had counted nine lives lost in traffic crashes so far this year, according to Police Department records. During the 12…
Nov 06, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Ellen Goodman: Only terrible options for Afghan women
BOSTON - It's been 11 years since I looked through a photo album smuggled out of Afghanistan by a brave young woman. "This is a doctor," she said, pointing to one picture. "This is a teacher." It was impossible to tell one woman from another under the burqas enforced by their Taliban rulers.
Nov 06, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
George Will: Getting to know our stranger in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - Actress Cate Blanchett, who has played Queen Elizabeth I, is performing here, portraying someone less than regal - flurried, anxious Blanche DuBois, in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." If Obama administration officials involved in formulating Afghanistan policy…
Nov 05, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette Opinion: High turnout makes election successful
Now that the votes are counted, the hard work begins for the winners of Tuesday's municipal general election. Congratulations to Mayor-elect Tom Hanel and Councilwoman-elect Angela Cimmino. Congratulations to incumbents Jim Ronquillo, Ed Ulledalen and Mark Astle on their re-elections. We …
Nov 05, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: Preference for spending state money in state
Eighteen years ago, Montana contractors asked state lawmakers to get rid of a law that gave them preference for state contracts. At that time, Montana construction firms could find more state government work outside Montana and the state's preference law put them at a competitive disadvan…
Nov 04, 2009 | 7:50 pm | Loading…
E.J. Dionne: Both parties will be spinning new health care reform law
WASHINGTON - The next health care fight has already started. It's the battle to define the bill that President Obama will eventually sign as a victory for consumers, taxpayers and the common good.
Nov 04, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Robert J. Samuelson: Rich nations up against walls of debt
WASHINGTON - The idea that the government of a major advanced country would default on its debt - that is, tell lenders that it won't repay them all they're owed - was, until recently, a preposterous proposition. Argentina and Russia have stiffed their creditors, but surely the likes of t…
Nov 04, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette Opinion: City charter boosts local control of government
The city election under way today is friendly and subdued compared to the special election of September 1976. "Voters beware" warned political advertisements in The Gazette. The debate was full of emotion and mudslinging. Just six days before that election, a petition was filed with the M…
Nov 02, 2009 | 6:40 pm | Loading…
Gazette opinion: A new, but proven, strategy for cost control
In this year of national health care debate, arguments rage about how to pay for care and how to pay for insurance. But the "who pays" fights don't address the basic, underlying problems of the U.S. health care system: It costs too much and delivers inconsistent quality.
Nov 02, 2009 | 12:05 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: New building represents more than a food bank
A food pantry isn't usually the catalyst for neighborhood redevelopment. Yet the Billings Food Bank's handsome new building on Fourth Avenue North replaced a block of blight.
Nov 01, 2009 | 12:15 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: Ups & Downs
Ups and Downs gives a quick take on news of the week.
Nov 01, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Kerlikowske gets dose of realism in drug war
WASHINGTON - During his immersion in his new job, Gil Kerlikowske attended a focus group of 7-year-old girls and was mystified by their talk about "farm parties." Then he realized they meant "pharm parties" - sampling pharmaceuticals from their parents' medicine cabinets. What he learned …
Nov 01, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette Opinion: Don’t forget to vote Tuesday or sooner
With general elections by all-mail ballot under way in Billings, Laurel and Broadview, 20,048 ballots had been voted by Thursday. That's a turnout of 35 percent with four more days left for voting, including Election Day, which is Tuesday.
Oct 30, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: On the road? Stay off the phone
A strong consensus is building among people who have studied cell phone use by drivers: Being on the road and on the phone is extremely dangerous.
Oct 29, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Robert J. Samuelson: ‘Public plan’: delusion in health care debate
WASHINGTON - In the health care debate, the "public plan" is all things to all people. For supporters, it would discipline greedy private insurers and make health coverage affordable. For detractors, it's a way station on the path to a single-payer insurance system of government-run healt…
Oct 28, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
David Broder: Economic recovery must include fiscal responsibility
WASHINGTON - When I wrote a few days ago about the growing nervousness of moderate Senate Democrats over the approaching vote to raise the federal debt limit, I had no idea how quickly evidence of that shift in the political winds would appear.
Oct 28, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: U.S. needs better hedge against future epidemics
Each year, U.S. medical researchers study recent influenza patterns around the world and try to predict which flu strains will be most prevalent the next winter. They select three strains for inclusion in the annual vaccine that most people get in November in advance of the usual start of…
Oct 28, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette Opinion: Red ribbons for kids, red flags for parents
Red ribbons will show up this week in Yellowstone County schools, a reminder of the annual drug prevention week that encourages our kids to choose a drug-free life.
Oct 27, 2009 | 12:00 am | Loading…
Gazette opinion: Look ahead to SD2 choices on spring break
One break or two?
Oct 26, 2009 | 12:10 am | Loading…
War on Fox News diminishes White House
Presidents usually turn to their secretaries of state for foreign-policy advice. But Barack Obama must have been channeling Hillary Clinton when he decided to attack Fox News.
Oct 26, 2009 | 12:05 am | Loading…
