by jhwygirl
This comes to us via Michael Shay at hummingbirdminds.
Wyoming’s legislature just started its 20-day legislative session, and one of the first tasks at hand was to “send a message to Washington” that health care reform was not welcome. Titled the Health Freedom of Choice resolution, the senate proposal was intended to tell the federal government that “the federal government shall not interfere with an individual’s health care decisions.”
The resolution failed on its first reading.
The make-up of the Wyoming senate? 30 members, 23 of ‘em Republicans, 7 Democrats.
Quite the message. Let’s see if Washington, Republicans, Blue Dogs, the media and the rest of America takes note.
Wherein Big Swede’s head begins to spin….
by jhwygirl
Today’s Bozeman Chronicle has a story up compiling city police statistics for 2009.
While most crime declined, DUI arrests were up 22% – from 491 in 2008 to 600 in 2009.
I point this out only as another bit of anecdotal evidence that Montana has a drinking problem.
I don’t know if Missoula City Police do this…or if our county Sheriff’s Department does it either…but I’m sure plenty of us would all find the numbers interesting. There’s always been a tendency to downplay violent crimes here, too. I’d say this might be a good way of assessing, overall, how the community is addressing any number of problems.
The solution isn’t purely tougher laws – Montana’s well beyond that when it’s regular media fare to have 4th and 5th DUI arrests and domestic violence crimes in the news. We need to start with solutions geared towards our children and our culture.
Bottom up solutions are often less costly in the long run than dealing with the issue on the tail end. Beyond the monetary concerns, think of the lives impacted by what publicly begins with an arrest. The tragedies are far reaching.
by JC
I guess, what, the payroll for a year or two of Smurfit-Stone terminated employees is about equivalent to a $68 million dollar yacht? Maybe Sir Michael Smurfit, the “Monaco-based tax exile” can treat all of them to a good time severance leisure cruise for their sacrifice, or a game of golf at the “K-Club”.
RECESSION? What recession? Michael Smurfit, the Irish packaging tycoon, has bought a €50m (68.65 million US dollars) super-yacht, provisionally called Lady Ann Magee II. The former chairman of Smurfit Kappa, the paper and cardboard giant, expects to take delivery of the vessel, being built by Italy’s Codecasa, by next summer. The 213ft vessel will have five decks with a spa, pool, cinema, beauty salon, gym, massage room and sun deck.
Smurfit, whose family wealth was estimated at £398m in last year’s Sunday Times Rich List [#203 on Britain's most rich list], is buying the boat despite a slump across the packaging industry. The Irish group’s former American arm, Smurfit-Stone, filed for bankrupcty protection in January, and International Paper, the world’s largest paper group, slashed its dividend by 90% this month to save cash [and pay for a yacht?].
I guess when you think Montana is a third world country, Michael Smurfit doesn’t really have to care what the local dispossessed think about his new new yacht. But then again, maybe the rest of us will pay attention the next time some international playboy starts buying up local industries so he can move up in the yacht owner’s “keeping up with the Jones’” club.
And how about today’s Missoulian story about Smurfit handing out over $50 million in bonuses to execs while the company is still stiffing Missoula County for $1.8 million in back taxes? I guess his tax-free zone in Monaco is far enough away that when the flak hits the fan, all Sir Michael will be feeling is the wind on his face, sitting in the shade of his private palm grove, with his yacht(s) docked up awaiting a quick get away if need be.
How about Smurfit’s $654 million dollars in tax credits the company has/will receive for the last two years, and which some local folks hoped would save the Missoula mill?
Of course, guilt kicked in, and in an article laying out Smurfit’s cushy relationship with “Dollar Bill” Clinton, after not being able to sell the Lady Magee I, and taking possession of the Lady Magee II, he decides to sell one:
While he is seeking to resolve his business arrangement with Gannon, Smurfit has been cutting back on personal expenditure, selling Lady Ann Magee II, a €47m, 213-ft yacht built for him by an Italian shipyard. The businessman had intended to keep the yacht and sell the original Lady Ann Magee, a smaller vessel, for about €16.5m, but eventually decided to stick with his relatively more modest vessel.
Here’s the lowdown on purchasing the Lady Ann Maggee I, if you’re interested. It has some nice pictures of all the amenities that come with a life of luxury. Also at risk: Smurfit’s “K Club,” his exclusive golf & spa resort in Kildare, Ireland.
Poor Mr. Smurfit. Bought his new luxury cruise liner before he sold his old one, and now has two. Now he can’t keep the new one because the old one didn’t sell, and only gets to keep the old one (pictured below). His golf resort is losing money, too. Such be the life of those born with silver spoons in their mouths. But I guess when you live in tax exile in Monaco, it doesn’t really matter, now does it?
I say good riddance to those who would treat Montana as just another banana republic.
(updated 2:36pm)
by jhwygirl
I’ve been asked about a half-dozen times in the last week, so maybe a reader knows?
It’s February 9th, and Montanans have yet to hear the State of the State.
That is, unless I missed it? Or can’t find it on the Governor’s website?
Inquiring minds want to know.
by JC
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the BBQ beans are crock-potting, and I’m off for a pregame dog walk.
Consider this an open thread.
by jhwygirl
In case you were wondering where the Koopman Crazy Train and his looney litmus test all began, check out Chuck Johnson’s column on Professor Rob Natelson.
Sweet!
What I find most interesting about all this litmus test stuff is that Montana GOP Chair Will Deschamps seems willing to sit back and throw regular old Republicans to the Koopman purity wolves. Republicans like Senator Dave Lewis (R-Helena), along with Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, Rep. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, and Rep. Jesse O’Hara, R-Great Falls:
“The party doesn’t anoint anyone. The anointing is done by the candidate and the voters,” Deschamps said.He said primaries can “sharpen” candidates, and help them raise money. Still, he admitted that primary fights can get ugly.
“I suspect that when it comes to incumbents, it might get a little messier, but that’s our election process.”
Lewis – who has 10 years experience in the legislature and is recognized by those on both sides of the aisle as one of the few who has a damned through understanding budgetary issues (even though there may be some philosophical disagreement) – had this to say:
Look, I work very hard to try to represent six counties, and Roger can take his shot,” Lewis said. “I don’t believe in tax increases. I balance the budget by cutting spending. I’m pro-life, but I couldn’t answer the questionnaire, so I tossed it. If Roger wants to get someone to run against me, go for it, and we’ll have a primary. I’ve got a 10-year voting record in the Legislature. If he has any questions, he can take a look.
You’d think Deschamps might have some misgivings about publicly supporting the whole hot mess, considering that Montana has Democrats in both Senate seats along with the entire executive branch of state government, but hey – go ahead. I’ll pop the corn.
by jhwygirL
a hat tip to Ellen on this one….
I’m sure there are many who find this amusing or something to brag about. Montanans should be so proud.
I went an checked some of Montana’s county jail rosters to see what kind of tallies we have currently on how many DUI defendants are under incarceration right now (8 p.m. on a Saturday night):
– Yellowstone & Lewis and Clark don’t list the specific offenses.
– Butte-Silverbow doesn’t provide a list at all (that I could find)
– Flathead County has 9 DUIs in jail right now, with 3 being noted as 4th offenses
– Gallatin has 12 in house for DUI’s
– Missoula has 23 DUIs in house, 12 of them being mulitiple offenses. All of those multiple offenses are 4th DUIs with the exception of 1, which was a 2nd DUI. Of the 23 DUIs? One of them is under the age of 21, and his current arrest is his 3rd alcohol-related.
Wow. Lovely, huh? More than half of Missoula County’s DUI related inmates are multiple offenses?
(Update: Looks like Billings Gazette columnist (and 4&20 fav) Ed Kemmick has a somewhat cynical take on his city’s latest brush with notoriety:
But what if the researchers read this newspaper on a regular basis and saw how many of our DUI arrests involved drivers racking up their third, fourth, seventh or 12th DUI? Maybe we would have left Reno and Fresno in the dust.
Kemmick dug into the criteria used to make the list. One of ‘em?: The severity of state laws regarding drunken driving.
Yep – Montana should be so proud.)
by JC
Here’s few choice Palinisms from her performance:
“Around the world, people who are seeking freedom from oppressive regimes wonder if Alaska is still that beacon of hope for democracy.” Alaska?
“Now a year later I gotta ask all the supporters of that, how’s that hopey changie stuff workin’ out fer ya?”
“Nuke-u-lar power” — gack, more Bush-speak
“would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again”
Calls main stream media “irrelevant”
by JC
It was a slow afternoon at work. So I had to revise the litmus test that has been making the rounds. I’m sure that if you fill this one out and send it in, it will make much more sense to Koopman, et al.
Enjoy!
by JC
How much more stupid can republicans get? Plenty. What do local weather events have to do with global warming? Absolutely nothing.
Claiming that winter events in parts of the country are evidence that global warming isn’t occurring only points out the ignorance of the difference between “climate” and “weather.” Even in a climate that has warmed several degrees above current average temps, winter will occur. But sea levels will still rise, coastlines will recede, drought patterns will change, food growing capacities will change, populations will migrate, and wars will be fought over scarce resources like water.
And republicans holding a snow shovel in their hands will go: huh, how can it be?
Here’s a graph. Maybe it makes sense to some people. But not to republicans who just want to use a snow storm to win an election.
–Change in global surface temperature anomaly as computed by NOAA (NCDC Dataset), NASA (GISS data set) and combined Hadley Center and Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia (UK) (HadCRUT3 data set). Uncertainty in the HadCRUT3 data is shown in gray. Image and quote below credit: WMO:
The year 2009 is likely to rank in the top 10 warmest on record since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data sources compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)…
The current nominal ranking of 2009, which does not account for uncertainties in the annual averages, places it as the fifth-warmest year. The decade of the 2000s (2000–2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990–1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980–1989)…
This year above-normal temperatures were recorded in most parts of the continents. Only North America (United States and Canada) experienced conditions that were cooler than average. Given the current figures, large parts of southern Asia and central Africa are likely to have the warmest year on record.
by jhwygirl
I’d been waiting….frankly, I was a little concerned that he might be recruited by some org in the private sector, and we’d loose a legislative superstar.
Senator Dave Wanzenried announced on Wednesday that he would be once again seeking the senate seat in senate district 49.
Wanzenried currently sits on several senate commitees: Finance and Claims, Highways and Transportation, Natural Resources and Rules committees. He is also on the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
In 2007-2008, he chaired the Environmental Quality Council, a product of the Montana Environmental Protection Act in our state constitution. He’s now moved over to vice-chair the Water Policy interim committee.
Ya’all know how I feel about water and natural resource issues.
Which brings me to reference the Missoulian article on his announcement. The article points to two issues Wanzenried highlighted. One being the value of small business to Montana’s economy, and fostering an environment that both bolsters business and enhances expansion.
The other? Water. Wanzenried is committed to solving Montana’s water issues. Issues and events are bringing water issues to an apex or a disaster, depending on your perspective. Here’s the senator on the issue:
“As water flows decline while the demand for water increases, there will be tensions amongst a large number of users: agriculture; municipal, hydroelectric, recreationists, fisheries,” he said. “In our efforts to plan for a drier future, we must preserve the rights of senior water rights holders, the cornerstone of Montana water law.”
There are big money interests fighting any changes to water policy. You can be there will be big money interests working against him.
You can help re-elect Dave Wanzenried by donating here.
by jhwygirl
Keila Szpaller’s Missoula Red Tape has the story and the link to the SEC filing.
The quick and dirty: $2.8 million in bonuses to 5 executives, including one Missoula local. The total in 2009? $8.1 million in executive bonuses.
Maybe this is a question for the finance-reform knowledgeable: How does a business hand out $8.1 million in executive bonuses while it is under federal protection, via bankruptcy courts, from complete loss of its assets?
How is that even fair to the creditors?
What ever happened to a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people?
How can a corporation hand out those kind of bonuses, while sending at least two communities and states – Missoula, Montana and Ontonagon, Michigan – into a tailspin?
Smurfit owes Missoula County backtaxes, for crying out loud and they’re paying out fat bonuses? I wonder if they owe state taxes?
There’s something wrong with laws (not the courts) that allow that. Courts enforce the laws. This kind of shit shouldn’t be OK.
by jhwygirl
I’ve tweeted it enough…I have to just blog it.
For someone (me) who uses the state website plenty to gain info – the DEQ website, the legislative website (which is by far, the best), DNRC’s website – hell, the Governor’s page – you’d think I’d not have much trouble navigating the Secretary of State’s website. Wrong. It’s comparable to trudging in quick sand.
How many times have I been there to check the candidate filing? Yet I still have to poke and prod to find what I’m looking for. It is NOT intuitive or easy at all.
Brad Johnson had a far better website. Sorry if anyone gets offended by that.
On that note – the SOS website changed, it seemed, almost immediately after the election. Days. Is that how quickly someone is able to redesign an entire executive branch website? That, to me, is an indicator of why the place is a mess.
If anyone up there reads this and is inclined to maybe improve the site, I’d suggest they have their IT web person head on over to the legislative service’s IT web person, and talk to them and take some notes.
There’s such a thing as ADA compliance for websites….I’m pretty sure that the SOS’s website doesn’t quite cut it.
by jhwygirl
Looks like HD94 candidate goddess Ellie Hill has her campaign website up and running, and it sure looks nice.
She must know a fabulous photographer. The photographs are beautiful (as was her Christmas card photo).
Go check it out. While you’re there, drop her a Jackson….because you know Ellie Hill is a good investment.
She has an expansive working knowledge of veterans issues. So much so, that her work with the Pov was not only discussed in committee by Sen. Jon Tester (who was testifying in a Senate committee on proposed legislation), but members of that committee asked plenty of questions about how an org like the Pov functions. When a respected Senator like Jon Tester testifies on veterans issues and mentions the Missoula Poverello Center as a shining example of an underfunded and overcapacity service provider for veterans, other senators listen.
Montana has more veterans per capita than any other state. Her knowledge in that regards would substantially benefit veterans in terms of addressing legislation.
She also has quite an amount of expertise on social service issues. This is in direct relation to her understanding of veterans issues. She knows what works and what doesnt. What wastes money, and what is effective. With the limited funds available in those regards, it’s important that taxpayers get value for whatever they spend there. Again – Ellie Hill is an asset.
I don’t know all Ellie’s issues – I don’t need to.
What I do know is that veteran’s issues are important to me and they’re important to Montana. Homelessness goes hand in hand there with veteran’s issues, since statistics show nearly 30% can be veterans. Food, shelter, mental and physical health care is all important stuff in those regards. When the legislature is addressing these issues, I know that Ellie Hill is able to address those issues like the professional she is.
By JC
It was only a matter of time. Via the NY Times:
Now say it ain’t so, Sam Alito.
Next thing we know, the MBIA will dispense with putting their staff up to the task of running for city council, and just run itself. Maybe the Chamber will run against Local #28 for Mayor. Petland for dog catcher. CCA for Sheriff. Barnes and Noble for Superintendent. Allegiance for Auditor.
Insanity pervades our Supreme Court.
by jhwygirl
I don’t do much self-promoting of 4&20…but it’d be rude ignore our second place ranking in the Missoulian’s Missoula Choice 2010 awards for Best Blog. egriz.com took first….and Missoula twitter favorite @timakimoff and Missoulian digital editor Tim Akimoff took 3rd place with his beer blog Grizzly Growler
Congrats to all!
Thanks for everyone that voted for us. Jay, Pete, JC and problembear (and even Ana who’s done a few posts here this year) did a bang-up job keeping things moving around here in 2009 and 4&20 wouldn’t be what it is without their important informative and forceful words.
by jhwygirl
Real estate isn’t doing to well – although most local real estate agents, regardless of where you are located, are loath to really give you the reality out there. Too much truth might push the median price down a little too far for comfort.
I actually stopped to look at what I thought was a new in the ‘hood a few weeks back. Called the text message info line on the sign to get price and particulars since the realtor didn’t have one of those info sheets there. The 60+ year old, 800 square foot home, with tiny tiny lot in a neighborhood that has plenty of new construct 2 & 3-bd homes on the market in the less-than $200,000 range was listed at $175,000. A few hours later, the realtor called me (having gotten my number on my text request) and asked me what I thought. I told her I thought they were asking too much. She asked why and I mentioned the new-construct homes in the same price range (quite a few are actually list at the same $175,000 price). I said it was a small lot that wasn’t even full-size. No alley access. Plenty of dead-ends around..and the back yard was surrounded by two-story homes that both looked into the small yard and cut out the sunlight. She listened, asked what I thought the house was worth and I said “having not looked at it, and unless it has new kitchen and/or bath, I don’t think I’d say more than $130,000.”
Her reply? “Why don’t you put in an offer.” And there I was thinking as I opened my mouth that I had pissed her off.
So – realtors are pricing these things such that I could lowball an offer by $50,000? Really? No wonder I don’t like realtors.
High end real estate? A friend who was raised in Kalispell said that there are newer subdivisions up there with whole streets that have only 1 or 2 occupied homes. Stuff on Flathead Lake (even foreclosure) isn’t moving at all.
More? The Schroeder Ranch, 7,000 + acres just north of the Missoula County line, with more than a mile of it bordering the Bitterroot River sold just two years ago for $25+ million. It had been bought by Silicon Valley investor Roger Lang, who also owned the Sun Ranch out in Madison County.
The Sun Ranch was billed as a model for sustainable development. Lang took inventory of its natural resource value, put a conservation easement on the 18,000 acre parcel, and reserved 10 homesites.
Lang put Sun Ranch on the market last April, listing it for $55 million. Today the Billings Gazette reports that Sun Ranch sold to mining CEO Richard C. Adkerson. Its last listing price (last Friday) was $42 million.
As for the Schroeder Ranch down there on the southern boundary of Missoula County? It still sits sans conservation easement. Not only that, the Schroeder family, back when subdivision law changed in the 70’s, created a 100 or so 20-acre lots, each of which has a lawful building right.
A few short weeks ago, the Schroeder Ranch sold again. For $14 million.
I’ve heard little about the new owner, although I know there is still talk of putting a conservation easement on the property.
Jonathan Weber’s article on the Sun Ranch starts off with Lang having listed the ranch to “free up capital for other ranch purchases.” Lang’s certainly freed up capital. Wonder where those next ranch purchases are going to be.
Another well-known high-end, amenity-filled ranch/golf course/subdivision is the Rock Creek Cattle Ranch outside the town of Deerlodge.
Yep, home of the state’s prison.
My friend from down that way tells me that not one lot sold in all of 2009. Not one of the 250 or so lots that he’s already created.
So the lesson here? Apparently you can lowball homes in the city by $50,000 grand. I mean – having a selling agent tell you that has to mean something, right? And if you’re in the market for high end real multi-million $ real estate. It looks like you could start at half, and negotiate from there.
by jhwygirl
I can’t even follow it all as it’s played out over the last year or so – hell, you’d need a multi-post series – but the number of questionable things in this Missoulian story leave me with little comfort that things are going to get better.
Earlier this month, the Chicks-n-Chap’s breast cancer fundraiser rodeo clinic pulled itself from the Western Montana Fair after county commissioners failed to act on two allegations that oft-controversial manager Scott Meader had groped two females at a fair convention in Great Falls.
Note that in the story linked to above, Scott Meader is said to have “immediately reported” to county’s chief administrative officer Dale Bickell. Bickell is then quoted as saying “We had a very long conversation about it, to the point where I’m certain that Scot won’t have an incident like that again. That was his reprimand at that point.”
Aww, how warm and cozy. And apparently, whether Bickell ever really brought the matter to the county commissioners appears to be in question.
Who could follow all the flurry going on..but last Wednesday, as if anybody really cared, Meader announced he would be resigning the next day. I mean – a pre-announcement? Who does he think he is? Rod Blagojevich?
So Thursday we get his resignation.
Only – what kind of friggin’ resignation is it? He’s under contract, he resigns, and yet he gets a full year’s salary?
We’ll get back to that.
Then, the very next day, the Missoulian has a story that the Board of County Commissioners is “pulling back” on its Thursday afternoon meeting with someone who had thrown their hat in as interim manager.
Good Goddess. The fairgrounds are a mess and they were interviewing an interim manager less than 24 hours after ushering Meader out the door? After ushering a guy out the door that they’ve stood behind for the last two years after accusation after controversy swirled? I mean, it doesn’t seem to show that anyone knows what they want down there. What did they get? Instant clarity?
But let’s get back to that resignation – that is now called “the buyout” in the “pulling back” story.
Just exactly what is this Meader/County Fairgrounds Affair going to cost taxpayers?
Meader had a 3-year contract worth $69,000 a year.
Did that figure include healthcare? Retirement?
While he “resigned” on the 29th, he’ll be getting paid as usual through March 6th.
After that, Meader gets the $63,000 remaining on his contract that runs through Feb. 7, 2011.
Now – that the county is going to have to absorb the cost of Meader’s “resignation” is one thing that people should be questioning. Someone is at fault on the county’s side if they’re making a payout on a contracted employee resigning. Will we be finding out or is this all getting swept under the rug?
There is something suspect, too, with the length of time that he will be “getting paid as usual” and the fact that he’s getting a payout on the remaining length of his contract, which runs 11 months – less than one year – from his official last day of work (March 6th).
Isn’t there some milestone in the county retirement system with salaries that last a period of 3 years?
While the figure being thrown around for Scott Meader’s “resignation” is $71,776, me thinks he’s costing us a bit more. Taxpayers might want a clearer picture of that.
~~~~~~
County chief administrative officer Dale Bickell got off pretty luck in this whole affair, it seems. Remember above that I note that the Great Falls incident was “immediately reported”? Well, in the “pulling back” article, county HR director Steve Johnson says “Bickell took care of the issue with a verbal reprimand when Meader brought it to his attention several months later.”
This is where I really wish Shakespeare still ventured to his satire every once in a while. Picture the Bickell/Meader “confession”:
Meader: Man – did I get wasted again in Great Falls! Those chicks were there from that breast cancer thing? You should have seen what they were wearing!
Bickell: Yeah? Was that chick there from Glasgow that was there at the Chicks-n-Chaps last year?
Meader: I don’t know – all I know is that those gals have some hard asses. And they get pretty uptight when you slap ‘em.
Bickell: You slapped someone on the ass? Scott – you probably shouldn’t do that. Did they really get mad?
Meader: Ah…yeah – I probably should have told you. Two of ‘em.
Bickell: Scott, my man – don’t be slapping chick’s in chaps in the ass, OK? (har,har,har)
Meader: OK. (har,har,har. wink-wink)
Bickell: Good – now – what was she wearing?
by jhwygirl
I almost titled this On That Note…, considering my last post….
Missoulian reporter Keila Szpaller has a post up at her blog Missoula Red Tape, noting an end to DUI defendants being able to (basically) pick a judge.
Judge Louden, many think (especially those in the city attorney’s office), is too lenient with DUI defendants.
So, when a defendant waived jury trial, they always ended up in Lax Louden’s court.
City Attorney Jim Nugent, though, is exercising his prosecutor’s right to call for a jury trial, and he’s done it with a blanket order – of which you can see if you head on over to Szpaller’s website.
Good for this city. Nugent and and others who brought this policy decision about should be thanked. Our town will be safer for it.
State Senator Greg Barkus and our own congressman Denny Rehberg (along with his staffers that like our local Iron Horse Pub) might want to take note.
Now is the time for the county attorney’s office to step up and do the same: Fred Van Valkenburg, what say you?
Just to note – Van Valkenburg is an elected official, folks. He may be interested in hearing your opinion on this.
by jhwygirl
The growing need for food assistance is busting the seams of the Missoula Food Bank over there on 3rd Street, near Bernie’s Bakery, and they are looking for some warehouse space. Inexpensive or no cost/donation. Perhaps an arrangement where the rental cost below market is a combination rent + donation?
The Missoula Food Bank serves the Missoula, Lolo and Potomac areas. It has gone from serving an average of 50 households per day to more than twice that amount. That number is going to grow. Make no mistake that Missoula’s economy is worsening folks – when Walmart is laying off 46 workers where they usually lay off less than 10 after the holidays, things aren’t getting better any time soon.
How badly do they need warehouse space? A few years ago, a reporter was standing in the warehouse when he asked a volunteer “Where is the warehouse?”
A decent size warehouse can help cut down on the number of deliveries, and save where some of the biggest cost suck comes in – fuel and transportation.
Maybe you know someone? Or you are that person? If so, give the Missoula Food Bank a call. That link provides their phone number.
by Pete Talbot
Montana’s Sen. Max Baucus isn’t all bad. He’s pro-choice, advanced good legislation on the Rocky Mountain Front and secured funding for the housing, education and medical needs of Montanans. He’s also been instrumental in helping many good Democrats get elected to office in our state.
So it is with some trepidation that I’ll be attending the Ax Max Campaign being presented in Missoula by Progressive Democrats of America. After all, “Ax Max” was the rallying cry of conservatives trying to unseat Max in his numerous, successful bids for the U.S. Senate. And compared to our Congressman Denny Rehberg, Max is a hardcore left-winger (but that isn’t setting the bar very high).
Now I’ve been a very vocal critic of our senior Senator. IMHO, he botched health care reform. He voted for W.’s tax cuts and an abysmal bankruptcy bill. He’s one of the top recipients of insurance, pharmaceutical and finance industry dollars. He … well, most of you readers know the list so I won’t repeat it here.
If he runs again in 2014, I’d love to see a strong primary opponent.
My friends on the left are going to say I’m being namby-pamby for failing to aggressively pursue the Ax Max Campaign. (I haven’t made up my mind, yet.)
My more centrist friends are going to accuse me of colluding with Republicans by giving them ammunition to attack the Senator. After all, they’ll say, we could do worse than Max.
Be that as it may, here’s the info:
5-8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 28, Missoula City-County Library, 301 E. Main St.
by Pete Talbot
Since the Heritage Foundation isn’t conservative enough, Libertarians have established dozens of their own “think tanks.”
I discovered this after Googling the Independence Institute, Rob Natelson’s new home. The UM professor is leaving the law school, where he taught constitutional law, for this Libertarian think tank in Colorado.
Natelson ran for Montana Governor as a Republican twice. Although he had decent showings, he never made it past the primary. He’s also a contributor to the conservative blog, Electric City Weblog.
I met Natelson once when I crashed some Republican affair here in Missoula. He was a congenial fellow and we had a brief, non-political conversation. He obviously had no idea who I was.
His politics are very conservative although I didn’t think they were of the Ron Paul variety. I’ve never taken his law class (guess I’d have to pass the LSAT first) but from his writing I’ve gleaned that he leans more toward the Scalia/Alito/Roberts/Thomas philosophy than that of Stevens/Ginsberg/Beyer/Sotomayor.
But back to the Libertarian think tanks. There are at least two in Montana that I know of, both located in Bozeman. There’s PERC, “an environmental think tank seeking free market solutions to environmental problems” and the Montana Policy Institute. They’re joined at the hip and, along with the Independence Institute, Cato Institute and a bunch of other regional think tanks, they’re: anti-government, anti-health care reform, pro-deregulation, global warming skeptics and rabid about property rights.
It’s difficult to find out where the funding comes from for the Montana and other regional think tanks. I’ve tried. The Cato Institute in Washington, DC lists the Coors, Koch and Olin family foundations among its donors. To say that these foundations are conservative free-marketeers would be an understatement. Corporate donors include WalMart, R.J. Reynolds and the American Petroleum Institute. You can imagine the kind of policy that the funders of these organizations would like to see.
So good luck, Rob, in your new job of interpreting the U.S Constitution to meet the needs of the Libertarian think tanks.
by jhwygirl
Highlighting the value of top-notch legislators, this past legislative session saw the passage of HB678, which revised gravel pit/opencut mining laws in a way that is getting some pretty good reviews in this Great Falls Tribune story.
Under a new public notice requirement included in House Bill 678, which was approved in 2009, gravel and sand mine operators have to put up signs near proposed sites and send basic descriptions of their plans to county commissioners. Letters also must go out to property owners living within a half mile of a project.The public notice requirement was one of several provisions included in the bill to improve accountability, oversight and efficiency in the state’s regulation of open-cut mine permits, which was found lacking by a legislative audit in 2008, and challenged in lawsuits.
Who sponsored this bill? Rep. JP Pomnichowski, of Bozeman.
Pomnichowski sponsored a number of bills this past session, seeing seven make it for final passage. A number of the bills that didn’t make it were absorbed into other bills.
That is no small feat.
I’m a fan of JP. She’s strong and consistent on natural resource issues. Water issues? She is one of the best. Pomichowski’s shown that she’s able to balance industry concerns, property rights and issues brought forth from citizens and communities. Gravel pits were a growing concern statewide since the 2007 session – and to the Bozeman area (in particular). Passage of HB678 was a significant accomplishment that has benefited people in communities throughout Montana. Not only that, it has helped move along the backlog of permits that the industry was not happy with.
Good legislators deserve good support. I want to note that Pomnichowski’s seat was won by just 230 votes in 2008. Bozeman can be a tough area for Democrats. This is not a seat that should be tossed. A $10 donation to her campaign just may help ensure that we have her around next legislative session.
by Pete Talbot
The letter below, sent by an alert reader who wishes to remain anonymous, has been making the rounds on the tubes.
It is in no way meant to make light of the suffering occurring in Haiti. The tragedy there is beyond our imagination. I post this to show the callousness of televangelist Pat Robertson’s comment that Haiti must have “made a pact with the devil” to incur such wrath. This guy gives Christians a bad name.
Jhwygirl provides us with some good links if you’d like to help in the relief effort.
Dear Pat Robertson,I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action.But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle.Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll.You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.Best,Satan
by Pete Talbot
By giving corporations the same rights as citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court guarantees a less-than-level playing field in upcoming elections. A majority on the court (this would be mainly your Reagan/Bush/Bush appointees) overturned much of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act.
Here’s the story, and how each justice voted.
Of course, labor unions have also contributed vast sums to candidates and campaigns but weren’t happy with the ruling. SEIU denounced the court decision, saying it opened the door for corporations to outspend unions:
“I don’t think working people would ever have as much to spend as corporations. For us, being able to spend a few extra dollars isn’t worth allowing decisions to be made from boardrooms instead of the polling booth,” said union spokeswoman Lori Lodes.
In my inbox this morning was a timely request from David Sirota. He called the SCOTUS decision a “a radical ruling that threatens the most basic fundamentals of American democracy.” I agree. And Sirota offers up a petition to amend the Constitution to declare that corporations are NOT people. Please sign it.
by jhwygirl
If coal creates such awesome tax revenue and 1,000’s of high paying jobs and all that good stuff, why is there a severance tax that provides direct funding to communities directly affected by the impacts of coal mining and its industry-run-amok practices?
I mean, shouldn’t the jobs and increased tax revenues that come with all those high paying jobs and investments in infrastructure of said coal operations? Why does there have to be an extra tax that takes care of the basics – things like firetrucks and police cars and wastewater system improvements?
What other communities around the state get bonus tax dollars from their major industries?
By God, does the free market exist? You’d think on of the oldest industries here in the U.S. would be viable enough that it generated enough jobs and tax revenue for the communities it runs roughshod over?
I’m shocked.
Did the western states miss out on a timber severance tax? We should try and grab that up. I’m sure Libby and Thompson Falls and Dillon and Darby and Deer Lodge can all use a little extra cash for pothole repair or police cars.
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