Let We the People vote on whether corporations can spend money in elections. And when our voice is heard, other states may decide to follow the Montana Plan as well. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

We the People can't be the insurer of last resort for data centers. If the AI bubble bursts, or technology becomes more efficient, or a data center relocates, ratepayers should not be left holding the bag for costs to build that infrastructure. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Our Bill of Rights guarantees us the right to hold our government to account, and grants us all a right to be equal before the law. On Bill of Rights Day, let’s celebrate our right to justice. And commit to accountability for everyone, especially our government. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Our identities can’t be collateral damage of corporate incompetence or the DOGE’s unknown interests. We need aggressive legislation that imposes fines for negligence, forces corporations to pay for harm, and prevents collecting so much data in the first place. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The DNRC must issue its preliminary determination by March 26, 2026 on Crazy Mountain Ranch’s application to change its water use to irrigate a luxury golf course. We the People must engage in the process to ensure our resources aren’t pillaged for private gain. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Peace is not about ignoring aggression. It is about holding aggressors accountable. We can have peace. Let’s start by demanding justice and accountability. Both in Ukraine and here at home. Anything less is not peace. It is capitulation. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

If you think we should hit the pause button on mining the Bitterroot River join community groups and county officials today. The Commission is meeting at 1:30 at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds to discuss and possibly adopt a formal letter of opposition to the mine. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The work of people like Linda Stoll, and Ellen Leahy, encourage us to carry on in hard work knowing we will get crushed. Share a gratitude for someone whose life touched yours in ways that person may never know. Encourage, and give courage. It is contagious. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

No Montana, we don’t get a new plant and lower rates. The real story? The all-republican Commission increased our rates to pay for a gas plant that will supply data centers. It should tell it like it is. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Corner Crossings in Montana Republicans are doing the work of large private landowners and preventing Montanans from the same legal access to public land that our neighbors in Wyoming have. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Tuesday, November 18, the all-republican Public Service Commission will decide on another rate hike, and whether to make us pay for Yellowstone County Gas Plant. NorthWestern contracted to sell electricity from Yellowstone County Generating Station to data centers. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Chicken little republicans govern by emergency rather than thoughtful deliberation. We the People must make the effort, over and over, to show up and speak out. That is the way democracy thrives. Show up, speak up, and know that our voice is what makes democracy go. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Republicans including Gianforte, Daines, Zinke, Sheehy, and Downing voted against energy projects that have brought millions of dollars to rural Montana. We the People can find people who will work for us. Even if it means changing a century of habits. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the tariff cases, Susan Webber’s challenge to tariffs under the Indian Commerce Clause is pending. Susan delivers a message of hope that community will prevail over big money. The backbone of the world still stands. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

On November 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the tariffs. The President stopped pretending there is a reasonable relationship between the tariffs and a claimed “emergency.” Time to get back to business - and for the republicans to get back to work. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Join the Farmers Union for some Halloween fun At harvest time, engage with the farmers - ask questions, offer connections, meet new people, plant seeds of relationships to grow your own communities a little bigger and broader. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Lincoln said the role of government is “to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.” Montana was founded on many of Lincoln’s policies. Our land can be a place of connection and growth, for all the people. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The Republicans strategy of staying home rather than governing means the only people guaranteed a paycheck during the shutdown are the ones refusing to do their jobs. Time to fire this Congress. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The Farm Bill covers school lunches to crop insurance for farmers. If the Farm Bill isn’t reauthorized by January 1, 2026, the Republicans will be forcing Americans to pay more for milk and butter. Republicans in congress - stop whining and get to work. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The show pony circus of Musk, Vought, and Zinke highlights the difference between those who seek money and power and those who wish to serve us, the People. Let’s replace the pretenders, and elect work horses to clean up the mess the show ponies have made. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Corner crossings are at the U.S. Supreme Court this week. They are a good symbol for We the People. If we stand together, regardless of party or politics, and stand for public access to public resources, We will preserve our democratic union. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Starving their base: Republican shutdown hides rural Montana's hunger In the time of the Republican Grim Reaper We the People can support local food banks, register people to vote, gather data, and be the eyes and ears on the ground that the Reaper fears. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Tonight at 8:47 pm Mountain time there will be a supermoon rising among the Draconid meteor shower. A good reminder that here on earth, we can be the masters of our fates, and we can harvest different outcomes than the ones we are seeing play out now. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The federal government shutdown as a result of votes from places like Prairie County, which votes 80% republican in every race. The republicans shut down federal workers across America while funding Argentina, and making sure a ballroom continues to get built. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Campaign finance reform does not have to be a distant goal. We the People can get money out of politics. Power does not reside solely in legislatures or boardrooms. When we exercise power together, we can change how business and government is done. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

We reap what we sow. In 2025, the counties that voted most decisively for tariff-heavy trade policy are the same ones harvesting record crops, and absorbing the steepest economic losses. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Losing daylight is a good marker of our obligation to stay engaged as citizens of our democracy. Form a watch group, write comments, and find a way to engage with the decisions being made on the way our energy is used in Montana. The power of our voice matters! open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Rail connections Possibilities for our American future depend on understanding our history, and leaning into the vision of work being done like that of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Montana’s energy future depends on places and projects like Broadview solar and Crazy Mountain Wind. Amy Gamerman tells the story of the Crazy Mountain project, with Jami Moody, at the Montana Free Press event on September 17 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. in Bozeman. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Montana’s mental health crisis is not inevitable—it is the result of policy choices, funding priorities, and systemic neglect. But programs like Zero to Five are a bright spot and we can support the work that is holding our communities together. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

We're on the wrong list Montana has two cities in the top five with the highest suicide rate. Republican cuts to Medicaid means fewer providers, longer wait times, and reduced access to crisis services. The world we live in is shaped by our choices. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Republicans want poop in our meat Republican policies and budget choices will lead to fewer regulatory inspections, fewer clinical trials and studies, and reduced preparedness for health outbreaks. That means more poop in our meat. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

The history of rodeo, like America, is one of diversity, tradition, coming together, and fierce competition. For as much as we’ve gotten it wrong, we can continue to do that most American and Western thing: Ride into the arena again, striving to be…..More Perfect. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Back to School People say you can’t solve education by throwing money at it. But what if we tried that, just once, and see what happens? open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Montana's Power Look at the ownership structure to see who benefits from corporate mergers like this one. Post-merger governance will be shaped by large investors that prioritize long-term returns. Pay close attention to this as it proceeds. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Support America’s Best Idea Systemic underfunding of national parks is a choice. For people like Burghum and Musk, it is a deliberate strategy to dismantle America’s Best Idea by undermining our public parks and set them up for private ownership. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

We the People know this: Our communities and our future depend on measuring, and then fixing, the damage the Know-Nothings are doing. Find the place where you can dig in, measure, and contribute to the plan that will be needed to restore our communities. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Coxey’s Army As our rights are being stripped away find a cause and time and place to march, heeding King’s words: We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Hilleman scholars give us hope Montanans pioneered vaccine research, and built and trained the public health workforce that kept our communities afloat during COVID. The republican cuts to researchers like Maurice Hilleman betray our legacy. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Rather than incentivizing businesses and labor to use a program that is cheap, fast, and simple, the republicans went all in on criminalizing citizens and legal residents to arrest, detain, torture, and deport people. What is the real goal of the republicans? open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Privacy or Food No republican in Montana has spoken out in defense of our constitutional right to privacy. Remember that every time you buy groceries, and every time you vote. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

We reap what we sow Montana feeds the world, while our own workers and families rely on SNAP and food banks. This is not an accident. It is a choice. A choice made by the republicans who voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Fire on the Mountain Republicans voting for the cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill are gambling with lives. We the People can take action to protect our communities: open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Flathead Lake’s Yellowstone Club Discovery Land Company – a joint owner of The Yellowstone Club, is developing a private golf course on Flathead Lake. Let’s hold them accountable for how they use our public resources of land and water. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Million Dollar Mulligan in the Crazies Big corporations ignore the law and pay the fines. Unless We the People hold them accountable, they will take all they can, pay pithy fines, and laugh about it on the back nine. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

A century after democrats invested in public power, the republicans Big Beautiful Bill favors monopoly investor-owned utilities and wall street, increasing rates for We the People. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Page Not Found We the People are the guardians of democracy. It starts with information. Exercise our constitutional rights and hold those who work for us accountable. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

See through the “look over there” tricks while the republicans take all our money. Stay engaged. Gutting medicaid and raising electricity rates hurts We the People while large corporations profit and our hospitals are at risk of closing. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Hetch Hetchy and the Rattlesnake As we face the consequences of the Big Beautiful Bill, Hetch Hetchy and the Rattlesnake show us that our relationship with natural resources is not static. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...

Declare independence NO KINGS. We the People: As the mutual pledge was made 249 years ago, let’s make that mutual pledge today. open.substack.com/pub/monicatr...