Trego's Mountain Ear

I read Alexander Muse’s August 4 article, “Biden Killed The Credibility Of Crime Statistics For Political Gain,” and it sent me down a rabbit hole. Not because I blindly believe everything I read that happens to agree with my politics. Quite the opposite. When somebody makes claims this serious, I want to know where the numbers came from. So I started looking. Muse’s article relies heavily…

After the recent district court decision in Texas, as a member of GOA I would not be in violation of federal law if I build a short-barreled rifle, a suppressor, or a sawed-off shotgun. That is a heck of a change in my lifetime – the National Firearms Act, passed in 1934, mandated a $200 tax stamp on each of those items. Still, should I choose to move on that path, I would be in violation of…

Before We Invite Another Industry In, We Should Remember What Industry Has Already Left Behind We have spent the first four parts of this series asking questions about Montana’s new experimental medicine laws, the outside organizations that helped push them, the money surrounding the longevity industry, and what could happen if treatment centers eventually lead to pharmaceutical or biotechnology…

By AmberLi Emery He had barely arrived in Lincoln County before becoming County Administrator. Within weeks, he was involved in election matters. Eight days after sitting in the primary-election canvass with Melanie Howell, Howell was placed on leave. Weeks later, Williams was put in charge of the Elections Office. There are times when a timeline says more than an opinion ever could. This is…

Over a century ago, during the time of great labor unrest, Jack London wrote “Ode To A Scab.” It was, in it’s way, a kinder time, preceding as it did, Fauci’s time of leading public health into a coup, before DEI, the Minnesota fraudsters – just to mention a few of our current low life winners. After all, a strikebreaker was, in reality, just another working man trying to make a living in a tough…

Montana has opened the door to experimental medicine. The argument so far has largely centered around patients, doctors, medical freedom, innovation and whether people should be allowed to try experimental treatments before those treatments receive full FDA approval. But there is another part of this conversation. What happens if it works? What happens if experimental-treatment clinics open,…

447 small bales this year. The year has been wet enough that the wettest sub-irrigated field has just dried up enough that I could mow hay and have the soil dry enough so the hay would dry. Breathing while baling and picking up bales has been a bit of a challenge with the smoke – but not terrible. As Fall approaches, it will be time to make sure the mower, rake and baler are in shape for next…

An Opinion & Accountability Piece Let me make something perfectly clear before somebody runs off screaming that I am accusing someone of a crime. I am not. I am looking at the public record, looking at the calendar, looking at who is currently running our election office, looking at who is participating in election-related decisions, and asking questions that Lincoln County taxpayers have…

In the first two parts of this series, we looked at what Montana changed and who helped push those changes through the Legislature. Now we get to the question people inevitably ask when an outside industry helps change the laws under which that industry may eventually operate: Who paid for all of this? The answer is not as simple as finding a pharmaceutical company check written to a Montana…

In the first part of this series, we looked at what Montana actually did. The state expanded access to experimental medicine beyond terminally ill patients and then created licensed Experimental Treatment Centers where qualifying treatments that have completed Phase I testing may be offered to paying patients. Now comes the next question. Where did this idea come from, and who helped sell it…

After the first three articles about TFS, something interesting has happened. People are talking. People are asking questions. People who have been involved with the fire department, the Fire Service Area, the board, and the community are offering information. That is exactly what should happen. But there is also a problem. Different people are giving different answers to some very basic…

It’s time to hook the baler back up and start turning out little round bales. In the north end of the field, I have a doe, her grandmother, and her fawn. It’s not like I can tell them from other deer by appearance – but the behavior identifies them. She was a fawn in winter when her mother was hit on the road. She spent the cold nights snuggled by her grandmother, where I left a couple bales of…

Most Montanans probably have no idea that our state has positioned itself to become one of the most unusual experimental medicine markets in the country. This is not something being proposed for someday. It is already law. In 2023, Montana expanded its Right to Try law through Senate Bill 422. The change removed the requirement that a person be terminally ill before seeking certain…

Without his unquestioning followers, Anthony Fauci could have done little harm. People trained in education bought into, and mandated school closures – despite the fact that Covid really wasn’t a threat to children. The problem wasn’t Fauci screwing up – it was several layers of experts between him and our local school boards who accepted his statements blindly – people who claim to be critical…