Montana Democratic legislators pick their leaders, too: in the senate it’s Helena’s Mike Cooney as President and Missoula’s Carol Williams as majority leader; in the House it’s Great Falls’ John Parker as leader and Butte’s Art Noonan as majority leader.
Jeff Mangan weighs in on Sales’ selection to a leadership role: first, he thinks it might have been too soon to make a decision; next, he like me, thinks Sales’ selection will actually benefit the Democratic party.
The PSC5 race is going to undergo a recount. Ken Toole needs help in overseeing the count. Follow the link to Matt’s site for more details on how you can help.
The Helena IR likes the Good Guv’s proposal to buy new park land for fishing.
Congressional Quarterly has a nice synopsis of the key 2006 Senate results, including Tester’s Montana pickup.
Jon Tester is hiring!
The Montana Chamber of Commerce surveyed its members and discovered that a majority supported at least one form of sales tax! Of course, the question implied that a sales tax would ease income or property taxes.
New West reports on the Montana and Wyoming legislative activity surrounding an expected population boom around upcoming coal projects.
Sun Valley councilman Nils Ribi participates in a discussion about Idaho’s regulatory takings initiative, Propisition 2.
The sign of the Apocalypse? Not only is Montana Jones a girl, she’s from Canada!
Wulfgar! encounters his buck, but misses. A good hunting yarn.
Barney Frank corrects Chris Wallace’s line of questioning: “…you have an odd view of balance.” I’m glad to see Democrats challenge the media’s cliché left bashing.
At a banquet honoring those that stood up for First Amendment rights, Newt Gingrich says a “different set of rules” may be needed to combat terror. Classy and dangerous.
A direct link between mental illness and supporting President Bush is found.
The Boston Globe features a scathing look at our power-hungry and secretive Vice President.
But I guess the VP isn’t powerful enough to ignore a summons from a Saudi crown prince: he had to go and do some ‘splainin’ about Iraq.
Meanwhile Cheney – and Halliburton – is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
That could be why CQ’s Craig Crawford thinks Cheney will resign. If so, there goes Bush’s impeachment insurance.
Tom Tancredo: Miami is a third-world country.
The Pensito Review has collected some of the posts of Iraqi bloggers to give you an idea of what it’s like in Baghdad right now.
BoingBoing has a link to videos of some incredibly inappropriate behavior by US soldiers towards Iraqis. So much for hearts and minds.
Joshua Micah Marshall can’t even muster outrage over Limbaugh’s most recent idiotic tirade: “It’s like talking to a five-year-old with behavior problems.”
Jon Stewart mocks the battle of terminology surrounding Iraq.
Meanwhile, NATO is running short of the troops needed to battle the Taliban.
A woman hangs a peace wreath on her house and endures the wrath of her neighbors. Um…very Christmasy. Especially the accusation that the wreath is the symbol of Satan. (Here’s a follow-up from the Denver Post on the support the peace-monger is getting nationwide.)
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November 29, 2006 at 8:17 am
Hey Jay, how about a global warming link-Billings just crushed the record low in 1975 by 2 degrees! I guess it doesnt matter were all basking in the sunlight of the Laurel recount!
November 29, 2006 at 10:00 am
Wow, I can’t believe I’m in agreement with Tom Tancredo about something but I was just reading about Miami and I thought of the third world as well.
Vast disparities of wealth coupled with conspicuous consumption and a low-wage servant class? That’s certainly not what I think the United States should be…though it is increasingly what I see.
November 29, 2006 at 10:26 am
Big Swede: talk to me in the spring when the snow melt occurs in February.
Readbetween: Excellent observation about Miami. I’m sure you know this if you read Tancredo’s remarks, but he lays blame on the disparity in wealth on immigrants. I.e., brown folks brought their banana republic ways with them.
November 29, 2006 at 10:49 am
Touchstone, usually I wouldn’t so disagree with one of your statements, but this last one really bothers me.
“he lays blame on the disparity in wealth on immigrants. I.e., brown folks brought their banana republic ways with them”
Not all people, I would bet everything I have to say at least 95% of all people that are against illegal immigration are not based off the color of their skin. Once again it’s easy to claim hate and prejudice is the reason behind a disagreement. It’s the response to end all responses. Example
Person 1: You know, this illegal immigration is causing my hometown to look like a thirld world.
Person 2: You racist bigot!
Person 1:…. Huh!?
I am against ILLEGAL immigration because it is ILLEGAL. I don’t care if they are, as you so crudely put, “brown people”. I don’t care if they are “white people” or “black” or “red”. I do not like the racial and color divide shoved down my throat everyday. If I, or anybody else is against something and it happens to include a person of a different color. Racist. Lets put an end to the perceived and forced hate people throw on me. By no means am I against illegal immigration because they are brown. I am just as concerned by the illegal Irish immigration as I am Mexican and South American. I am concerned by the sheer numbers of illegal immigration. Fast fact, we lose more Americans everyday to Illegal Mexicans than we do in Afghanistan, Iraq, and every other deployed country combined. So yes, I think if we are losing more of our countrymen this way than war, it concerns me. And them being “brown” as ZERO, NADA to do with it.
November 29, 2006 at 11:00 am
Did you read the article?
Got that? He blames “ethic enclaves” for the problems in Miami.
Combine that with Tancredo’s rhetoric of immigration representing a “clash of civilizations” endangering white culture, and you’re talking about the Know Nothing white supremacist platform of the early 1800s.
You may not think Miami’s problems are about race — or that the danger of illegal immigration is race — but Tom Tancredo does.
November 29, 2006 at 11:05 am
Fair enough. I tend to be knee jerk when people mix the argument of uncontrolled immigration to racial, or cultural hate. Not that you did, but this is where I chose to “go off”
November 30, 2006 at 7:45 am
It’s the policies that encourage the creation of wealth without regard to its distribution that hearken unto the third world. Obviously, that’s not what Tancredo is referring to but it is a defining feature of countries in the third world: a small ruling class with limitless perogatives and a massive underclass that can do little but their bidding. Tancredo is just a dimwit demagouge who uses words without considering their implications, e.g. calling Miami “third world” without seeing how the tax and fiscal policy he supports make it so.
November 30, 2006 at 3:09 pm
Sorry to butt in, but rb are you saying that Tancredo’s tax and fiscal policies (or the Rep.’s) are directly responsible for Miami’s plight? So, now that the Dem’s are in charge that’s all going to disappear? How about throwing out some facts. According to the census 65.8% of Miami is Hispanic compared to 14.1% in the total U.S. and 74.6% speak Spanish vs. 17.1% US. Does Tom’s t and f policies force them to live there and tells them not to learn English? High School is free in Dade County yet only 52.7% get a HS degree. Is Tom telling them to stay home? Everyone knows if you learn English and go to school guess what-you get a job! You can confiscate every penny of every dollar over 100K income made in Miami for every program imaginable and you’d still have the same 28.5% living in poverty.
November 30, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Sorry to pile on. If the wealthy yacht owners and mansion dwellers suddenly decided to leave would their absence benefit Miami or would it accelerate its downward spiral?
November 30, 2006 at 4:13 pm
So what are you saying? Brown people are lazy and dumb?
November 30, 2006 at 6:44 pm
No, I’m saying white, brown, red, yellow, black people have choices. Do I lay in bed or go to high school, do I learn English or do I hang out on the street corner, do I participate in crime or do I learn a trade. Unfortunately many of you think the way to solve this is to throw money at it without any expectations.
November 30, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Now this guy is not brown but he certainly is dumb!
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-gator11292006-bk,0,7496530.story?track=mostemailedlink