Free Republic

Garfield County officials said Monday the Bureau of Land Management is considering even-stricter measures to protect greater sage-grouse than previously contemplated, rather than listening to concerns the county and others have raised. As a cooperating agency, the county got an advance look Friday at the revised proposal the agency is now considering. “It is very dramatic in terms of the changes (from a draft BLM proposal) that are being proposed,” Fred Jarman, the county’s community development director, told county commissioners Monday. Jarman and Garfield Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said the proposed measures are the result of directives coming from Washington, D.C....

A 23-year-old Montana man sought for theft and forgery was arrested after he “liked” his own online wanted poster on the Cascade County Crime Stoppers Facebook page. Levi Charles Reardon, who was featured on the page as an April “most wanted” suspect, was arrested Friday. He faces felony charges for allegedly forging checks in a case involving the theft of a wallet and personal checks.

U.S. crude oil production fell at least 135,000 barrels of oil per day in January 2015 compared to December 2014 according to the EIA (Figure 1). Bakken Shale production fell the most of any play or jurisdiction losing 37,000 barrels per day in North Dakota and 4,000 barrels per day in Montana for a total of 41,000 barrels of oil per day (Figure 2). Production in California, the offshore Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and Wyoming also declined significantly. Figure 3 shows Bakken production based on DrillingInfo data. The 42,000 barrels of oil per day drop in January production is completely...

A Montana judge who was censured by the state's high court for his comments about a 14-year-old rape victim has been chosen for a lifetime achievement award by his local bar association. Yellowstone Area Bar Association President Jessica Fehr said Thursday that former state District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Billings was chosen for the award by the group's board of directors. Baugh, 73, sparked widespread outrage in 2013 over comments suggesting that a 14-year-old girl shared some responsibility for her rape by a teacher. Baugh sentenced former teacher Stacey Rambold to just one month in prison in the case....

Parliamentary maneuvering and a strategic partnership between moderate Republicans and Democrats in the Montana State legislature have provided Democrats with de-facto control over the House of Representatives on two key issues this session. In a move reminiscent of the underhanded wrangling by national Democrats used to pass Obamacare in 2010, a handful “moderate” Republican legislators joined with Montana Democrats to bypass opposition by changing chamber rules to pass a state Medicaid expansion plan (SB 405) and the controversial CSKT Water Compact (SB 262). SB 405 passed the House earlier this month on a 54-42 vote. SB 262 passed 2nd reading...

In our federal system, states should be able to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday joined an amicus brief on behalf of 57 members of Congress in support of the right of states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The brief was filed in four cases that the Supreme Court will jointly hear on April 28, 2015, in which same-sex couples challenge the marriage laws of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, all of which were upheld by the U.S....

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

Sue Docken’s start in life, in 1951, with a no-questions-asked cash adoption at the hands of a midwife, had strong elements of the crime scene that it was. Her adoptive father was told to stay in the car and keep the motor running. His wife went into a nondescript office building in Butte, Mont., where she met with the midwife, Gertrude Pitkanen, and was handed the hours-old infant and the afterbirth, offered a peek through a curtain at the young mother lying in a bed, and told to leave. The afterbirth was thrown out the window on the drive home,...

HELENA, Mont. (Apr. 8, 2015) – A bill that would heavily diminish the effect of federal surplus equipment programs that militarize local police was given final approval by the Montana House today. The vote was 79-20. Introduced by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer (R-Superior), House Bill 330 (HB330) bans state or local law enforcement agencies from receiving drones that are armored, weaponized, or both; aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded; grenades or similar explosives and grenade launchers; silencers; and “militarized armored vehicles” from federal military surplus programs.

As more and more Americans come to personally understand Obamacare’s many deficiencies, they’re rightfully outraged that state lawmakers would work to exacerbate its consequences even further. But instead of heeding that warning, a handful of Governors and lawmakers have gone to greater lengths than ever before to make sure Medicaid is expanded under Obamacare in their states. In Virginia, Governor McAuliffe attempted to hold up the entire budget for the state of Virginia over the expansion, against the clear wishes of the people of the Commonwealth. Despite endless legislative jockeying that put the state at risk of a government...

The Western Governors' Association released a report today highlighting the voluntary efforts in 11 states to conserve the habitat of sage-grouse as part of an effort to avoid a federal listing of the bird under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The association, which represents the governors of 19 Western states, said that “the breadth and depth of voluntary conservation efforts across the region, if allowed to run their course, will provide the bird with the necessary habitat to live and thrive.” The greater sage grouse is found in 11 states and its habitat encompasses 186 million acres . The U.S....

This afternoon, Fact Check.org produced a fact-check that ostensibly criticizes U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his contention that there has never been an instance of ground water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. Of course, this piece isn’t really about Inhofe at all; but before we get into that, we can’t help but wonder why they are fact-checking Inhofe and not former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … or Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz … or Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell — all of whom have said exactly the same thing. Rather than a “fact-check,” it reads more like an advocacy...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle today at 3:53 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The test reentry vehicle impacted in a pre-established test area in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Guam approximately 40 minutes after launch. All test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th...

Greetings and Salutations, readers! My Nome de Guerre in the battle for truth and objective journalism is Jeremiah Johnson. I hope to pique your interest with a Montana issue that, regardless of the outcome, will have severe ramifications and set a precedent nationwide. This article covers the CSKT (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) proposed water-rights compact that threatens to take away the private ownership of water for roughly 100,000 Montanans. Should this measure pass, it can set a precedent for the courts throughout the United States by the Federal Government to deprive us of our water rights. The tale of...

predation, not human activity, has reduced bird’s numbers. A coalition of rural Western counties and business interests is contesting the science being used to decide whether to list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered or threatened, accusing the Obama administration of relying on “selective, false and biased” research. Denver attorney Kent Holsinger filed three Data Quality Act challenges Wednesday with the Department of the Interior on behalf of the coalition, which includes the Western Energy Alliance, ranchers, mining and drilling companies and 19 counties in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Utah. “We’ve documented real issues with transparency and scientific integrity ... The...

Rob O’Neill, former member of the Navy's famed SEAL Team Six and purported Osama Bin Laden killer, has inked a deal with the network to offer military expertise and analysis across the network's roster of programs. This comes after FNC hit ratings highs with its O’Neill sit-down, The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden. “Rob O’Neill is an American hero who dedicated his life to serving our country and protecting our freedoms," said chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. "It’s incredibly rare to have someone in a television contributor role with his leadership experience and expertise at the fighting unit level....

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

As Nick Pavelich tells it, in the deadpan cadence of a stand-up comedian, the conversation with Sam Williamson on the subject of staging a two-man version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" went fairly quickly. "We'd worked together on 'Macbeth,' " Pavelich said, "and I sent him a text. I said 'How about two-man Shakespeare'? Sam said, 'Yeah, what show?' And I said, 'Well, probably "Romeo and Juliet," huh?' And he said, 'Yeah, that's right.' " "It's the only acceptable answer," Williamson said. The inspiration for their production is as simple as that: a serious tribute to Shakespeare's language, sans...

Kansas appears on the verge of becoming among the most welcoming states to people who want to pack heat. A bill promising Kansans the ability to carry concealed firearms — without taking safety training or weathering the background checks required in most of the country — won initial approval in the state Senate on Wednesday. The change, expected to pass Thursday to a likely receptive House, would make Kansas a “constitutional carry” state. That would mean citizens would not need a permit to carry a hidden gun. The bill would maintain the current permit process for people who want to...

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline has stirred considerable debate about the future of American energy policy. While the Senate’s recent vote to block its construction tables the discussion for the time being, it does not resolve major questions about how the U.S. transports oil today. With the ongoing shale gas boom, the U.S. is set to pass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer. Looking beyond KXL, such a rapid rise in production means American transportation networks are straining under new pressures to safely and efficiently move all this energy between different markets. The following figures show how Keystone...