‘Montana, however, is actually doing better than the rest of the country. At the moment, it looks like we may be one of only a handful of states where our state government does not have massive deficits. Our unemployment level is lower, our foreclosure rate is lower and many of our businesses are in a better position to weather this storm compared to others in the country.’ You failed to mention a key ecnomic factor that influences these numbers…......Our popuation is lower!

Gomer, what planet do you live on? We are certainly not better off than most of the country. With the job losses here, there are few opportunities here to keep people from moving elsewhere. In larger populations at least you have a better chance of finding work; people here are walking away from their homes. It’s just that when doing national statistics, Montana is forgotten as usual. Yes, our population is lower and getting more so everyday.

Alice,
It is apparent you did not read the article. Gomer starts with hypens to let the reader know it is from the article then quotes with “You failed to mention a key economic factor that influences these numbers…..Our population!” end quote. Summary…..................@ Alice…...........Dote!

To Please…wow another Gomer!

Those are APOSTROPHES, not hyphens, also commonly known as “quotation marks.”
Now, let’s get back on the topic…how can Montana avoid becoming a dystopian slum? By, as Mr. Bartel says, playing to our inherent strengths producing higher-value products from the raw materials all around us.

Which one would you like to address? minerals-ore-oil-gas-coal-agricultural products-forestry products.

I don’t think it can become an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it possibly can be as you describe with the term dystopian.

Opportunity for creating higher paying jobs in our area.

1. Drill for oil & gas till there is none.
2. Mine for minerals and ore & coal till the minds are empty.
3.Cut every tree down lay it bare.
4.Don’t rotate the crops just plant corn for bio-fuel.
5. Windmill’s everywhere to create energy.

Bless this generation and know ye shall be taken care of to the fullest. Sorry about your luck future generation.

If dis is de dase how much for your daughters?

Ah, Mister Burns,
All of them, in their place, all the time, always wisely.

So Dave Skinner, are you the principle at Springfield Elementary?

Do people forget that the civilizations that press on are the ones with the most forward progressive change? Are we going to live off of coal and gas forever? For the time being I suppose we have to keep burning that crap, but if we want to clean up our future, let’s think a little smarter. If we were to spend our energy on anything, it needs to be solar power and efficient batteries. This isn’t about global warming or climate change, it’s about time we quit polluting our environment. Hello, does anyone recall recently the sludge mess in Tennessee from coal plants, and than Alabama just had a problem as well? Clean coal technology doesn’t exist, it’s fantasy land. Nuclear technology is a poor investment. Sadly we can’t just rely on solar, wind, geo thermal, and hemp as bio-fuel, but if we as people invested and truly sought out alternative energy, it would evolve so much quicker and become efficient. It will start in the private sector, don’t wait on the government.

Let’s get rid of the income tax here in this state and let the private sector work it’s course. Let’s save our money and not consume so much. Let’s quit relying ONLY on our timber and look into hemp production. Let’s quit relying on the federal government for direction. Let’s be independent like states were back when the Constitution had force. Get active, join the cause and fight for your rights. Quit starring like a junkie into the TV. Remember, change in the government starts with the individual.

Oh, one of those hemp libertarians. Right. I’m not against its legalization but I’m not about to believe it is any kind of salvation aside from the fact that fields of hemp might make it harder for dope cops to snoop by satellite.
As for alternatives, that comes from consumer satisfaction. I mean, I’m satisfied as anything with my screaming Jap Four, and I’m still satisfied with my Kastle RX 12 210s—three pair which will outlast me, sadly. So I guess I’m only going to go to shapers when there’s no real skis left. And I’ll get a new bike when I either wreck this one, or it dies naturally. And don’t get me started on my rack of stone-age Nikons that I scrimped so hard for that are getting dang hard to feed. Seen any Kodachrome lately?
As for sludge, come on. Fly ash mud isn’t nice, but fly ash is a great cement binder, and furthermore when we talk millions of tons of the guck with thousands of pounds of heavy metals, the actual risk of toxicity is low, if of course the engineers do their thing. Not excusing it, but keeping a sense of proportion.  The benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

So that fly ash and those heavy metals that poured into the nearby rivers shouldn’t be a problem, right? It’s not like there is an ecosystem there and that people drink that already full of $hit water. That Tennessee company now has a lawsuit on their hands and who do you think will pay for that? Tax payers will cover for any of the EPA cleanup while utility user’s rates go up. I was glad to hear that coal plant proposed near Great Falls rejected. Digging for coal, shipping coal, burning coal, to make energy, sounds like a waste of energy. I’m not saying burn down the plants, but let’s get off of them asap.

Hemp libertarian conservative to be exact. The hemp’s second coming will swoop down all of it’s believers where they shall be taken to hemp heaven. You really don’t think hemp has those benefits huh?

Principle Skinner,

Eat my ______!

Isn’t Wyoming mining coal and doing quite well?

Bart, you need to stay in school until you learn the difference between principle and principal. Now, go sit in the corner.

FGM, why don’t you try setting up a hemp boiler and run your house and house power off it? Let us know how it turns out.

Good idea Principal Skinner, only the government would throw me in jail for possession of a dangerous narcotic. whoa!

Actually, THC is kind of dangerous. Had a stoned crane operator fired after he dang near got me.

Well you should realize that hemp is a specie of Cannabis that is not potent in the chemical THC. You could not smoke or ingest enough to get your Cannabinoid neuron receptors going. Who is to blame, the substance or the user who chose to not be sober at work? Obviously it being illegal didn’t stop him.

FGM, I know that. But it looks like weed, smells like weed, and is a GREAT place to HIDE weed. Besides, I don’t like the hand of the hemp fabrics I’ve checked out.
And you may have noticed I’m not real fond of potheads in general. Society would literally stink were dope legal..especially if potheads had to make our stuff. You want a computer or gun or car bolted together by Tommy the Toker? Naw.

really, the alcoholics that run our society are already doing a great job, dave

1st off the actual Republican Prosperity Plan is very lacking of details.  The only details I see are to reform the Courts…ie: don’t let injured employees suit for wrongful damages.. Only the wealthy corporations get those benefits.  Also they argue real estate developers are paying too much in development fees.  Why should they have to actually pay for the costs associated w/ the subdivisions that they build.  Those costs should be paid for by the average homeowner.  You know - those little old lady’s need to pay for those new utilities that are needed in the new subdivisions.  I mean if the developers can’t get a free buck how can they buy off the politicians?  And we all know the little old lady’s don’t need all that medicine they take on a daily basis.  In fact the true republican plan is no environmental regulations:  workers need to realize that they are lucky to have a job and if they get sick and die - oh well - they didn’t have to take that job.  the true health care plan is health care only for white collar workers - you know for the people who actually do not make anything of value…..the republicans understand that the country can’t afford to keep giving health coverage to lower wage workers - they should be Patriotic and die early and save the gov all those health care costs.  Plus we all know how well tax breaks for the wealthy have worked out over the last 8 years in creating good paying jobs - the true problem is that the tax breaks weren’t big enough. Keep dreaming in la la land republicans and we can guarantee a democratic majority for a generation - kind of like was created when FDR saved capitalism from the greedy corportists who would live and die for short term profits and unsustainable bubbles.

Actually Skinner, it doesn’t take a major in biology to differentiate the two. One has bud, the other… nah, I’m just wasting my time on something you and others need to figure out themselves. Last time I checked the Netherlands was outdoing the United States in just about everything, if you want to play it that way.

This thread is becoming quite amusing! Keep it going. The topic was Montana setting growth goals…it turned into growing pot! I personally don’t use the stuff, but hey….could be a “growth goal” for Montana, huh? Funny!

The day the government finally legalizes hemp is the day I would start growing. Hopefully by than I have a decent plot of land because I see this as a great investment for the distant (or maybe not so distant) future.

Back in the 1930’s, a smear campaign was created by competing industries including Paper, Petrochemical, and Cotton in order to destroy the hemp industry. A PR campaign was created to lump hemp in with marijuana and the “reefer madness” wave sweeping the nation at the time.

In 1937, this pressure led the U.S. government to ban growing industrial hemp. Even though it has been proven that THC levels are far too low for a person to get high on, over 60 years later the US Government maintains a ludicrous position against growing industrial hemp to continue to benefit the powerful economic interests of these competing industries.

INTERESTING HISTORICAL HEMP FACTS

  * Levi Strauss’s legendary denim jeans were originally made out of hemp.

  * The word Canvas is derived from “cannabis” - prior to the introduction of synthetic fibers hemp was used all over the world.

  * Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the colonial era and early republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.

  * The first American flag was made of hemp fabric and the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper.

  * The earliest known woven fabric was made of hemp and dates back to the eighth millennium (8,000-7,000) BC.

  * In 1937 industrialists E. Paul DuPont, Andrew Mellon and William Randolph Hearst were able to push a “marijuana” prohibition bill through Congress in less than three months, which destroyed the domestic hemp industry.

Reefer Madness, indeed. Wow, did this one fly off topic, or what?

I dunno, man, but it’s giving me the munchies.
Hey, I wonder if there’s still thousands of acres of it growing wild in North Dakota?  I could tell you a great story of a little road trip from Great Falls to the Williston area in 1978…all the way back we were wishing we’d brought a big trailer, not just the van…