Author

George Ochenski

George Ochenski

COMMENTARY

So, you say you want a revolution?

By: - October 7, 2022

The unspeakable tragedy and human suffering of the “one in a thousand years” floods and devastating winds of Hurricane Ian once again puts the relationship between the states and federal government in perspective. And once again, it is the South, home to the so-called “confederates” who continue to disparage the Union, that has its hands […]

COMMENTARY

MAGA politics seem to be losing some of the shine

By: - September 30, 2022

The state and nation’s voters are, as usual, deluged by a tidal wave of campaign promises from candidates as the November elections draw near. And as usual, we are being promised far more than these candidates can or will deliver should they attain the offices they seek. But after the absolute debacle of the Trump/MAGA/insurrection […]

COMMENTARY

Cooler heads prevail to kill special session theatrics

By: - September 23, 2022

They say you should “give credit where credit is due” and certainly that applies to Montana’s legislators who turned down the attempt to hold a theatrical pre-election special legislative session only months before the legislature convenes in January. Considering about $1.5 billion in “surplus” tax revenue was at stake, a rushed special session was absolutely […]

COMMENTARY

Another Trumpster in the Dumpster

By: - September 16, 2022

Steve Bannon, another key player in Donald Trump’s coterie of corruption and his top strategy advisor, surrendered to state authorities in New York late last week and was “handcuffed and flanked by officers” as he was led into court. He is charged with money laundering, conspiracy and fraud related to an online scheme to raise […]

COMMENTARY

A MAGA-led civil war? That’s not going to happen.

By: - September 9, 2022

Summer in Montana draws to a close. The harvest of the field is ripe, fragrant and bountiful, once again giving us many, many reasons to be grateful for our lives, friends and family. Yet, in the seething dog pit of the political arena, we are told that the nation is looming on the edge of […]

COMMENTARY

A river runs through it … no longer

By: - September 2, 2022

By now it’s becoming undeniable that mankind is not succeeding at mitigating the planetary consequences of our continuous and increasing pollution of Earth’s natural systems. From mountaintop to ocean shore to the upper atmosphere, the deleterious effects are stacking up and interacting in ways we seem incapable of understanding or positively influencing. And no, it […]

COMMENTARY

A river of sewage runs through it

By: - August 26, 2022

The latest national “news” that extremely wealthy people are buying up Montana and the West was about as revealing to Montanans as telling us the sky is blue. We know, we live here, and we see it every day. While many laud the benefits of such economic activity, the very real consequences are stacking up – and […]

COMMENTARY

Maybe it’s time to let Trump take the fall he’s earned

By: - August 19, 2022

Trumpty Dumpty had a great fall And won’t be back to finish his wall. All MAGA’s horses and all MAGA’s men, Can’t put Trumpty Dumpty back together again. The legal, political, and financial troubles for former president Donald Trump have magnified exponentially this week and, as they say in the political world, “the optics are not […]

COMMENTARY

Montana’s trifecta of shame

By: - August 12, 2022

Back in the old days there was a slapstick comedy show about three goofy men whose continuous bungling brought laughs to millions. It was called “The Three Stooges.” Now, Montanans get their own version, as three of the top Republican politicians in the state bungle their way through what seems like poorly-scripted political vaudeville. But there’s nothing […]

COMMENTARY

Globalization, greed and reality

By: - August 5, 2022

It wasn’t long ago that economists in our capitalist system were absolutely giddy over what they dubbed “globalization.” In this reality-denying construct, nations all over the planet would work together, each producing commodities using available resources, and we’d all be happily living in a Golden Age of peace and prosperity for all. “A rising tide […]

COMMENTARY

One tough week for Trumpers

By: - July 29, 2022

It’s fair to say the Trumpers, with their delusional denial of both the climate crisis and the election outcome, are having a tough time these days. The planet is burning with new temperature records — and the subsequent disasters — mounting every day. In the meantime, the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection released yet more damning evidence of […]

COMMENTARY

Climate crisis vs. Western water law

By: - July 22, 2022

Climate scientists have long warned of the impending crises as human pollutants create an ever-warming planet. We are now living with those grim predictions come true as the “sixth great extinction event” wipes away thousands of species, the oceans acidify and warm, wildfires rage even on the Alaskan tundra, and the planet’s ice caps inexorably […]