Archive for April, 2011
by Pete Talbot (Jhwygirl beat me to the draw, as usual, but here’s my perspective on some of her Various & Sundry observations, plus some other stuff. Also, I changed my original Denny Rehberg headline (a strike through wouldn’t cut it) because it lacked class. And while I have no respect for the man, I [...]
by jhwygirl Please consider this an open thread. I went to City Club Missoula’s luncheon on Wednesday to hear Representative Denny Rehberg whine about how he “hates cutting services on the backs of the poor” but that “now is not the time to raise taxes on oil and coal because they keep the lights on.” [...]
By JC Hot off the press from Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman and The Coalition to Save Workers. For your weekend rabble-rousing pleasure, we bring you a video from Revolution Messaging: “Union Town.” Enjoy!
by problembear @Kpaxnews just tweeted this…Gov. Schweitzer saying he’ll let the medical marijuana bill become law without his signature. Hear what he says next at 530 on KPAX in an obvious move which is designed to get the GOP in trouble for the 2012 election cycle, brian has decided to allow SB 423 to become [...]
by lizard How dare you, monstrous storm system spawning over a hundred tornadoes killing hundreds of people, try to usurp the coverage of the happy time fairy tale event happening tomorrow. Luckily the cable news front holds strong, spewing the fawning regurgitations of Charles and Diana as an endless stream of royal inanities pour from [...]
by jhwygirl Started to write this post, but it appears there is a motion to reconsider on the House floor and now they’ve gone to recess. Time will tell whether they (and the citizens of Montana) got played…but it more than a few of them are wanting to correct the current deplorable situation. Update Well, [...]
by lizard I picked up an anthology a few weeks ago from Shakespeare & Co. titled Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century. So far I’ve been really impressed with the featured writers, like my new fav Josh Bell. I just read the following poem, and had to share it. Read his sorta queer [...]
By CFS The Federal government has this funny little financial power called “rescission” in which it can take back money from the states that has been previously obligated for programs but has yet to be spent. Streetsblog has a great post that covers many of the nuances of this practice. The FY2011 budget deal that [...]
by Pete Talbot At first glance, maybe this was something I should have attended. The Helena Independent Record headline read: Insight offered to bloggers. Gosh, I thought, I wonder why I didn’t hear about this earlier. Then some of the names in the story caught my eye: Aaron Flint of the Flint Report, Carl Graham of [...]
Airing: Thursday April 28th, 7pm on Montana PBS By JC Our byline here at 4&20 references “politics and culture” and perhaps nowhere else is the clash between politics and culture better illuminated than in documentary. High Plains Films, in its own words “dedicates itself to exploring issues about the relationship between nature and society.” [...]
by jhwygirl Earlier this month, Governor Schweitzer held a VETO branding party on the back lawn of the Capitol and with a bevvy of cameras and reporters even Justin Beiber might be jealous of, announced the following before putting the hot iron to 7 bills in front of a roaring crowd: “These bills are either [...]
By CFS In the current edition of the Missoula Independent the local paper takes aim at Missoula City Councilman Dave Strohmaier over his Social Host Ordinance and many of the policy positions he has taken in his six years in office. Three times in the article – once in the headline, once in a quote, and [...]
by jhwygirl The last 500 typewriters ever manufactured are going up for sale by the last manufacturer of typewriters “at discounted prices.” I hope desktop printing calculators aren’t next because I hate spreadsheets.
by lizard Jim Harrison looks like he’s been carved from granite weathered by some serious storms. I was finally prodded into buying his most recent publication, In Search Of Small Gods after watching an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (here’s a bit of the chat between Tony and Jim) And here’s a double [...]
Open Letter to Governor Schweitzer regarding SB423, Medical Marijuana Policy Courtesy of a Keystone Cop Process A guest post by Kate Cholewa of www.cannabisandculture.com Dear Governor Schweitzer, I know you have many issues on your plate and a record number of idiotic bills coming to your desk. I hope you have a moment to consider the process [...]
By JC I’m not going to break the big news–we’re going to leave that up to Pete whenever he shows back up, but 4&20 has many reasons to celebrate, and I hear there may be a flock gathering somewhere’s about town tonight. And I don’t want to mix that up with the other reason I [...]
By Duganz If you haven’t yet, take time this weekend to download and read through “Three Cups of Deceit” by Jon Krakauer. It’s free, well written, and will leave a terrible taste in your mouth. If you have been living under a rock this last week let me summarize the week’s biggest scandal: Greg Mortenson, [...]
By CFS Ravalli County continues to prove the principle that a lack of choice and competition results in some very bad, and rigged, outcomes. Ravalli County has to be one of the strongest Republican enclaves in Montana. In the past the County has infamously overturned county growth policy and as of the 2010 election, voted out [...]
By CFS The fight over the budget and debt continues in D.C. and I’m sure that Republicans will be making sacrifices and praying to the patron-saint of B-list Celebrities Turned Politician Ronald “The Gipper” Reagan for strength and guidance. I suggest that we on the left use the memory of Reagan to illustrate just how far right [...]
by jhwygirl HB198 was passed on third reading this morning in the Senate. I won’t rehash the ugly mess of this bill that will enable private major facility businesses to take private property for private gain – you can just put HB198 into the search there on the right for that background. That being said, [...]
by jhwygirl Even the old timers I know can’t recall a more lunatic legislature. One of the most conservative on that list recently told me that they thought the Governor was right with his budget and they (the legislature) were “a bunch of idiots.” I was floored. Anyways….the Republican controlled 62nd Legislature took its unprecedented [...]
by jhwygirl Proponents of HB198, the 62nd Legislature’s eminent domain bill, repeatedly admitted during debate on the Senate floor this afternoon (after a successful morning “blast” of the bill to get it to 2nd reading) that this bill was written and moved through the legislature to solve one issue, and one issue only – the [...]
by jhwygirl This is a press release from the Northern Plains Resource Council and the Northern Plains Pipeline Landowners Group regarding today’s Senate 2nd reading vote on HB198, the 62nd Legislature’s eminent domain bill. Northern Plains Resource Council, a grassroots conservation and family agriculture group since 1972, strongly condemned actions by the Montana State Senate [...]
by lizard There have been two contrasting opinion pieces written in the last week about the “humanitarian intervention” in Libya that everyone should read. The first, penned by the triumvirate of Obama, Sarkozy, and Cameron, was put out on April 14th by the NYT. Its Orwellian title: Libya’s Pathway to Peace. As far as propaganda [...]
By Duganz April 18, 2011 Dear America, Well, another year another dollar, right? Okay, I know. It’s wwwwaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy more than “a dollar.” For many of you it’s the equivalent of a month’s salary (post-tax that is), and for some–GE–it’s nothing. It’s important to note however that GE makes TONS of shitty investments that they can [...]
-
Recent Comments
JC on Memorializing War Swede Johannson on Memorializing War Swede Johannson on Rape is not “knucklehead… 
larry kurtz (@larry_… on Memorializing War larry kurtz (@larry_… on Memorializing War Turner on Liz’s Weekly Poetry Seri… lizard19 on Memorializing War
On Principles, Policies and Politicians; Speaking Truth to Power: a Message to You, Jon Tester
April 19, 2011 in 2006 Election Night, Democrats, Editorial Commentary, Environment, Jon Tester, Progressives
By JC “If you want to be a malleable politician, you campaign from the center. But if you want to be a leader, you define the center. You don’t rely on polls to tell you where to go. At best, polls tell you where people are, and it’s pointless to lead people where they already [...]