College-cost study just a squeeze play?

The headline was cause for concern: "Montana gets 'F' for college affordability."

But it was also cause for confusion. Just two weeks ago, the Inter Lake wrote an editorial where we noted that although the state's share of tuition in Montana had declined quite a bit in the past 20 years, the same was true in almost every other state as well. In addition, we showed that Montana's actual cost of higher education was quite a bit cheaper than in other states.

So why was Montana getting such a low grade in this new report?

Well, it turns out that Montana was not alone. It was in fact one of 43 out of 50 states that got an F from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Makes us wonder if they've ever heard of the "bell curve."

But maybe, just maybe, the center tried to make its report as scary as possible because that's the best way to shake more money loose from state legislatures. And if government just coughs up more taxpayer money to make education "affordable," we can all sleep easier, right?

Hmmm. Maybe not.

After all, subsidizing high prices doesn't make higher education more affordable; it just changes who gets the bill. Who knows? Perhaps the reason college has gotten so expensive is because government can't keep its nose out of everyone else's business in the first place.

If colleges were expected to keep their doors open by remaining profitable (instead of being subsidized), they would do what every other business does - charge a rate for services that is commensurate with what consumers think the service is worth. If that meant cutting back on staff and teachers, they would have to do so.

But then, when the institutions finally became lean enough to support themselves, they probably would have run afoul of some accreditation rule put in place by some other bureaucracy and would be shut down.

It is what they call a "Catch-22," which is a book about military con games. Perhaps the sequel should be about higher education.

The bears are on the move.

A hefty black bear that was captured on the west side of Kalispell Thursday morning is evidence that bruins are making their seasonal journeys closer to civilization.

As food sources at higher elevations dry up, bears tend to move more at this time of year to pursue food. And those movements sometimes bring them nearer to people.

That means it's time for people to bring in their bird feeders and secure all pet food and garbage that might attract bears. That may help prevent unwanted encounters with bears in your back yard.

So, Katie Couric is now an anchorwoman.

Her first show featured a throwaway report about the first photos of the Tom Kitten in its native habitat - you know, the love child of Tom Cruise and his fiancee Katie Holmes (also known as "What's Her Name").

That was not a brilliant technique to convince viewers that Couric is a serious journalist, but that may not have been the intention either.

The fact of the matter is that Couric's aw-shucks-can-you-believe-it approach to the news may actually appeal to viewers who feel overwhelmed by the steady stream of "breaking news" on the cable channels. Her peers may very well mock her, but Couric may have the last laugh.

No, she isn't Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite, but some people will say that's not all bad.