Archive for December, 2006
by Jay Stevens Over at Left in the West, jhwrlgirl notes that the Department of the Interior stepped in over the Bison Range kerfluffle, and reversed the Fish and Wildlife’s decision to nix the handover of the refuge to the Confederated Salish Kootenai tribes. jhwrlgirl’s got all the salient facts — and, IMHO, should either [...]
The Missoula Independent publishes its year in photos issue. Sideshow Scott Sales hires Bob Keenan as an advisor. I suspect this is the beginning of the ousting of Jore from the education committee. The Good Guv steps up and asks for constituency fund reform. Good times! The Governor also says the state budget is “sustainable.” [...]
by Jay Stevens Anybody notice this story in the New York Times: “GOP Senator in Spotlight After a Critical Iraq Speech”? I sure did. That’s a catchy headline, and I assumed some principled lawmaker stood up and spoke truth on the Senate floor. Boy, was I wrong. Imagine my disappointment discovering that this is a [...]
by Jay Stevens Kossak BobcatJH has written a passionate and thoughtful response to the Wall Street Journal’s Joseph Rango, who wrote that the blogosphere was no better than a mob. I won’t go into the details of either piece here – you’ve already heard more than you need about blogs in a previous post – [...]
Tester selects some of his staff. No surprises, and good people, all. The Clark Fork Chronicle predicts what effect Tester’s election will have on the rural precincts in and around Missoula county. Jim Hightower considers the newly-elected populist, progressive lawmakers – like Jon Tester – and their place in the wave that swept over the [...]
by Jay Stevens Imagine: you’re an American Muslim. You constantly hear cries from certain quarters that your religion naturally breeds violence — never mind that older Islamic societies were some of the most peaceful, learned and tolerant civilizations the world has seen — that you and your fellow worshippers are hell-bent on conquering the world [...]
In the recent approval numbers of our state-level office holders, Matt sees a very close race between Baucus and Rehberg, should the Representative take a gamble on a Senate race. The Republicans for Environmental Protection think Dennis Rehberg is full of sh*t for claiming domestic drilling can solve our energy woes. Lee newspapers predict a [...]
by Jay Stevens I can’t help it, I just love writing about blogs. Yeah, yeah, it’s a sign of self-obsession. But as I’ve said before, I’m genuinely curious about how to define the role of the new media. Anyhow, Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne has written perhaps the best yet analysis of blogs, their popularity, and [...]
by Jay Stevens I’d like to announce here at 4&20 blackbirds that Time’s selection of you as the “Person of the Year” officially sucks. Nothing against you, of course. I think you’re swell. But honestly, what have you done lately to earn the title? I thought so. Without further ado, I’d like to throw open [...]
Gwen Florio has a good article on the myriad and minor difficulties besetting the Good Guv heading into the 2007 legislative session. I’d say it was fair in airing criticism and allowing Schweitzer to respond to it. The Trib sets the stage for the upcoming legislative session. Lee newspapers poll Montanans on what they favor [...]
by Jay Stevens Great minds…sort of. Montana writer Walter Kirn mulled the big Santa lie in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine, only he “solved” it in a bizarre manner: he staged a sleigh crash. Read the article, it’s worth a chuckle. In any case, I’d say Kirn agreed with the basic premise of my [...]
by Jay Stevens Christmas is here! You may have already read that I’m conflicted about the holiday: having grown up in an agnostic home, sometimes the day got overrun with stuff. I’m also not terribly big on events – I’m a terrible planner, lean towards being a spendthrift, and feel lonely in crowds. This year [...]
by Jay Stevens Al Qaeda is at it again, this time taking credit for Democratic success during the 2006 midterms. My first reaction was mirth. I mean…how ridiculous can you get? After all, one of the prime reasons Republicans lost this election was because they didn’t go after Osama bin Laden! The claim is, of [...]
by Jay Stevens One of the criticisms about getting the 110th Congress to negotiate drug prices with big pharmaceutical companies is that the reduced profit would translate into less research, which, in turn, means fewer new drugs. Only a new government report today says that currently most of Big Pharm’s R&D money ain’t going to [...]
by Jay Stevens Recently, I’ve railed against the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to bar handing control of the Bison Range over to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. In a previous post, I thought that something other than tribal member performance on the Range was at stake here. And it looks like I was [...]
Some more reform I could get behind: reigning in constituency funds. Attempt number two to oust Dillon mayor begins. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Rich Miller defends bloggers: “Pundits lose grip on reality when dealing with the Internet.” Indeed. Spencer Ackerman explores the difference between strength and military power, and why militarism isn’t always good for America. [...]
by Jay Stevens For the two of you that don’t also follow Left in the West regularly, you must — must — check out this story on Dennis Rehberg’s communications director, Todd Shriber. Matt got the link from Joshua Micah Marshall’s nice overview of the kerfluffle, which links to NetwordWorld’s Paul McNamara, who linked Shriber [...]
by Jay Stevens Man…George Will’s anti-blog rant is worse than I thought. Based on what he’s written, I don’t even think he’s even read a blog. You know, I don’t mind a serious critique of blogs written by someone who actually understands them. In the post previous about Moorcat blogging Dillon politics, I mentioned Nicholas [...]
by Jay Stevens Kudos to Moorcat who’s started a “city government series,” a series of posts written about his local government – in this case, Dillon, Montana. That’s one of the things that blogs do really well – “hyperlocal” blogging, as the New Yorker’s Nicholas Lehman dismissively called it. The most reknowned of the hyperlocals [...]
Oh, no, Montana’s own Miss Teen USA, Katie Blair, was not carousing with Miss USA, Tara Conner. MADD still severs ties with Blair. (Ed blames Trump.) Jeff Mangan thinks Sideshow Scott’s education committee appointments are pennies from heaven for the Democrats, but warns them from getting involved in the GOP’s internal bickering. The Good Guv [...]
by Jay Stevens Remember the open thread I posted about Santa Claus? Whether Kim and I were going to bust the myth for Mr. Proud and Ms. Marvelous? Well, the powers at the Missoula Independent asked me to write a longer piece on the search for Santa. So…it’s this week’s cover story: “The Santa Claus [...]
Ed Kemmick likes the proposed initiative reform, too. Great minds… Christine Kaufman takes state senate seat vacated by Ken Toole. Staffer puts his life on the line to help Conrad Burns…move office furniture. Missoula housing market bucks national slump by holding steady…for now. The Missoulian on the Flathead labor shortage: raise the wages, dummy. Wolves [...]
by Jay Stevens Old friend and “free market” advocate, Pete Geddes, writes today in New West about climate change. In the past, he and his FREE buddies have fought tooth and nail against instituting any meaningful reform in trying to reduce carbon emissions, once going so far as to say that trying to solve the [...]
by Jay Stevens It’s nice to see some bipartisanship on initiative reform. Yesterday state attorney general Mike McGrath (D) and secretary of state Brad Johnson (R) called for changes in the initiative law that would limit signature gathering to state residents, and forbids paying signature gatherers by the signature. (The sponsors of the bill are [...]
Someone get jhwygirl a blog! She nails Dennis Rehberg to the wall for his opposition to protecting the Rocky Mountain Front. Granny has Jerry Reckin’s anti-Jore letter published in the Daily Interlake. More on the legislative docket for 2007: impact fees and water rights. In Kansas, Republicans flee from the unhinged members of their own [...]
by Jay Stevens Is it me, or does this site pretty much admit that the Republican Party was actively and knowingly engaged in a campaign to bombard voters with robocalls and push polls? What gets me is that the site brags of its ability to create “push polls” – which are, at best unethical, and [...]
by Jay Stevens I’ve said it before, but one of the joys of having kids is readings hundreds of children’s books – although now I have to fight off Ms. Marvelous, who wants all the books to herself. And one of my favorite authors is Peter Sís. The dude is a friggin’ genius. Now my [...]
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