Montana loses its brucellosis-free status. It's probably the elk, but expect blame to land on Yellowstone's bison. And let's not forget the state's ranchers, who will take a hit over this.
Dave Crisp runs into Mike Lange, who opines about his recent defeat in the GOP Senate race. Crisp thinks he's preparing for an independent or write-in bid, which appeals to him. It would give Mike Lange an opportunity to have the singular experience of being outpolled by Bob Kelleher twice in the same year.
Ed Kemmick advises the Baucus campaign to debate Kelleher: "The national party would love to be able to tell voters everywhere: Here's who the Republicans are running against a rock-solid statesman like Max Baucus - Bob Kelleher, a party-switching, Parliament-loving, socialized-medicine-advocating, gun-banning rabble rouser with an eyebrow-mass index that is off the charts."
Lamnidae notes that, while Lee Enterprises cut loose its Washington DC correspondent, Noelle Straub, the corporation gave its executive officer, Mary Junck, a 17.8 percent pay increase, and is now earning $3.4 million. Probably enough to "cover about 10 Noelle Straubs." Indeed.
Daniel Nair comments on his experience with right-wing bloggers over his suggestion of decreasing our reliance on oil: "To argue that the conservative position is to rush headlong toward a wall with increasing speed, merely because we don't exactly know where that wall is, seems completely absurd to me. And counter to everything I've ever understood conservatism to stand for. It left me wondering whether years of battling the environmentalists on all fronts have left some folks jumpy and armed with a cadre of pre-packed rejoinders should anyone bring up the prospect of living sustainably." Sounds suspiciously like the debate over climate change, doesn't? No foresight; no practical policy advocated; only a mindless subservience to the interests of big business.
For another example of how today's conservatives have flipped over traditional values in a rush to defend and promote corporate America, look no further than WalMart.
Sharon Brogan remembers Bobby Kennedy's assassination, 40 years later: "I remember that day now as a blur of pain and confusion. The surreal quality had less to do with this -- to me, significant -- death, than the disinterest of the world around me. This was my first hard lesson in the different Americas. This was when I learned that we can live in one country, but different worlds. This is when I understood, in my gut, how it was that people could pretend there was no poverty, no discrimination, no undeserved suffering in our United States."
