Whiskey and Boat Rides and Corporate Steak Dinners

by: Carla Augustad

Sun Sep 09, 2012 at 17:58:25 PM MST

Mustaches, Bachman and media spinners... wearing white leotards... twirling on rings...  (please don't mention Kevin Ring!)  These are a few of  Rehberg's  Fa-vo-rite things!  Vodka no chaser... Deals in bar backrooms... Teaparties, lawsuits and BP oil plumes! Pay-ing I-ver-son...  For his Con-sul-ting! Are a few of  Rehberg's  Fa-vo-rite things!  Lobby-ist kickbacks... And whiskey jug handles! Fun-drais-ers, ?-? and... A-brahm-off scandals!  Pork barr-ell projects... And waste-ful spend-ing! Are a few of  Rehberg's Fa-vo-rite things!  (please note the picture at 1:54 is likely no more true than the one the Flathead delegation (Blasdel, Skees, Sonju and Zinke) suckered the Montana Library System of producing and posting in their home towns)

Whiskey and Boat Rides and Corporate Steak Dinners

by: Carla Augustad

Sun Sep 09, 2012 at 17:58:23 PM MST

These are a few of
Rehberg's
Fa-vo-rite things!

Vodka no chaser...
Deals in bar backrooms...
Teaparties, lawsuits and BP oil plumes!
Pay-ing I-ver-son...

For his Con-sul-ting!
Are a few of
Rehberg's
Fa-vo-rite things!

Lobby-ist kickbacks...
And whiskey jug handles!
Fun-drais-ers, ?-? and...
A-brahm-off scandals!

Pork barr-ell projects...
And waste-ful spend-ing!
Are a few of
Rehberg's
Fa-vo-rite things!

(please note the picture at 1:54 is likely no true than the one the Flathead delegation (Blasdel, Skees, Sonju and Zinke) suckered the Montana Library System of producing and posting in their home towns)

The Koch Brothers are part of the Socialist Stockgrowers Association!

by: Kevin

Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 16:27:07 PM MST

The average state grazing rate is currently about $6 or $8 per month for each animal, or Animal Unit Month (AUM).  The new rate being proposed is around $12 per month.  Everyone recognizes that this rate has been set too low for some time, especially with cattle prices way up.  The reason for proposing a new rate is that the market demands it; the average grazing rate on similar private land is $20 and higher!

But the point is, it turns out that the Koch Brothers--the supposed "defenders against socialism"--are some of our most prominent socialists!  In fact, they are the state of Montana's biggest lessee.  Their 300,000 acre Matador Ranch operation contains over 80,000 acres of state land.  The Koch Brothers have been enjoying their subsidized rate, and they want to keep it!  They don't want to pay something closer to the market rate, despite claiming to be defenders of free markets.  This is "corporate welfare" in its most hypocritical form.

It's widely known that state and federal grazing rates are a subsidy to ranchers.  Federal grazing rates are worse.  Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management rates in Montana and other western states are set at only $1.35 per AUM!  The Koch Brothers cash in on that giveaway too, because another large portion of their 300,000 acre ranch is federal land.

So it turns out that the Koch Brothers are not against socialism after all.  They're just against socialism for anyone but themselves.  And the schoolkids of Montana can go to hell!  

Me too...

by: Matt Singer

Thu Nov 04, 2010 at 11:41:55 AM MST

Plus, as many folks already know, my work is taking me to Portland, OR, to build a network of organizations doing more work like Forward Montana to train, mobilize, and elect a new generation of leaders. I can't keep up with Montana.

Jay's been an amazing friend and partner here. I've been fortunate to work alongside (and against) hundreds (hell, probably thousands) of talented Montanans over the past few years. I can't list everyone here, so I won't try. I'll also be back frequently, since Montana will always be home (and I hope to make it my residence again one day).

Thanks, everyone, for reading. My guess is that this site will effectively turn into a ghost town. But there's lot of other talented writers in this state to pick up the slack.

Kemmick on Payday Loans

by: Matt Singer

Mon Oct 11, 2010 at 09:01:06 AM MST

Supporters of the initiative (I consider myself one) owe it to themselves to grapple with Ed's arguments, which mostly center on his own concern that this is pretty damn patronizing. I may have some more thoughts later. Ed also attracted that rarest of all prizes -- a coherent comment on a newspaper website from someone writing under the name "Reality Check."

Ed; you got this one wrong. Back in the 70s I had occasion to take out my last high interest loan, it was 38% if I remember right. There were finance companies that specialized in this kind of credit, and I had used this company before. The difference was there was a $500 minimum, but you could always make an advance payment for what you didn't need, and you had a monthly payment for 12 or 24 months. You didn't have to come up with the whole nut in 2 weeks. I always paid mine back as fast as possible because there was no penalty for early repayment and I could control how much the loan cost that way. Last time I had to fix my car in Portland so I could get back to Montana for my summer work. Never held a grudge about the interest rate; understood the risk, felt it fair and saw the loans as necessary. The payday lenders and title pawn loan sharks saw a way to make a killing off of vulnerable people; you Ed are an exception, but still got ripped off. There is a better way... Peace to all, Reality

Like Ed, I've found myself in places where I wanted to take advantage of a payday loan. The time I tried to take one out, though, I wasn't employed; I was doing contract work. That apparently made me too much of a credit risk and I was denied a loan. I don't remember how I got through that cash crunch, but I apparently did. Given the choice between status quo and abolition of these loans, I'll choose abolition. But I do wish we could find more meaningful short-term credit options for low-income people.

Update -- Ed is getting some strong (and strongly supported) pushback in comments. I'd recommend checking it out.

Ed Kemmick Writes the Political Column of 2010

by: Matt Singer

Mon Sep 13, 2010 at 10:24:52 AM MST

The Cowardly Lions That Refuse To Roar

by: dgsma

Sun Sep 05, 2010 at 21:26:31 PM MST

It's not even Halloween and Montana's political leaders are scared shitless.

Our political leadership has been strangely silent on the subject of the recently discovered homophobic/murderous rants by a leader and members of the Montana Tea Party.

Dennis Rehberg, who is a member of the US House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus should be particularly enthusiastic about these revelations.

And yet, surprisingly, given his homophobic history - silence. Which is probably to be expected given his non-response to the Montana Republican Party's platform plank calling for the criminalization of homosexual acts. Self-serving at it's very best- which represents his entire political career, basically.

However, more deeply disappointing  and disturbing is the non-response of Max Baucus, a man whose national campaign for the health of all Americans doesn't seem to give two shits about the safety of his constituents back home. Or maybe he is too frightened to upset a homophobic voter in Central Montana. Or a lobbyist in Manhattan (not the Montana town, that other one on the East Coast). Being politically correct pays the bills - being morally couragous. Not so much.

Maybe Denny and Max are afraid for their safety. But they're not alone.

Take it from me, some of those constituents are definitely scared. In Montana, apparently, being gay means being the target of violent words advocating the displaying of your tortured body as a decoration or sport for everyone else. That's scary. One of the most beautiful places in the world, and suddenly I'm not admiring the mountains or the scenery as I'm driving. I'm looking at people in the cars around me wondering, "If they knew me would they would want to kill me and hang my body on a tree like a piece of strange fruit?"

And it's not okay.

Whose fear is more relevant here? Whose safety is more important? A political leader who has lost touch with his constituents, or the constituents themselves?

If someone targeted any other group of human beings - say, Native Americans, women, children, the handicapped, etc., the cries to heaven and the media would be deafening. The voices would be politicians, clergy, parents, doctors, bankers, rodeo cowboys, hunters and car dealers.

But it's The Gays. They're not people- they're a political liability. Fuck them.

It's not okay.

And someone who's been elected as a leader in this state should say so. Brian Schweitzer? Jon Tester?

Who's the Wizard going to give courage to?

Anyone?

Shorter Nancy Pickhardt: Not My Fucking Fault

by: Matt Singer

Thu Aug 26, 2010 at 10:20:12 AM MST

Just as great, before blaming a reporter for reporting, Ms. Pickhardt apparently sarcastically said that her resignation email was not authentic. She seems like a real mature individual.

Separately, I'll just wonder why Alex Apostle is getting a 20% pay bump. Was it needed for retention? Is Mr. Apostle being so amazing that this was due?

Managers and executives are important. I shouldn't denigrate the discipline too much since I'm one myself. But at the end of the day, education happens in classrooms. We underpay new teachers in this state, but we have expanding management operations.

I've been a critic of hard-and-fast rules regarding classroom spending in the past since I don't think statewide, one-size-fits-all solutions are a good idea. But school boards and administrators need to be working hard to cut fat, move resources into classrooms, and build better schools more efficiently.

For all the bitching I hear about teachers, it is important to remember that these systemic measurements fall on managers and executives. Alex Apostle has laid out some big goals. Let's see if he can hit some targets before we start giving him big dollars.

Cracking Down on Tax Compliance Helping Montana

by: Matt Singer

Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 08:32:03 AM MST

Dan Bucks is bringing 'em in -- tax dollars owed to the State of Montana.

One of the truly insane things that often happens when anti-tax folks take over government is to cut the budget for tax enforcement, even though, as Charles Johnson reports here:

Over the past two years, every $1 spent on tax audits has yielded $8 in tax revenue, the Revenue Department said. That's up from the $5 in tax revenues produced from each $1 spent on audits from 2002 to 2004.

But those of us who pay our taxes deserve a government that makes sure everyone pays what they owe.

Some will be offended, while others will not.

by: Matt Singer

Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 08:57:33 AM MST

Some say comprehensive sex education helps to lower teen pregnancy rates and decrease sexually transmitted diseases, while others say it doesn't.

Administrators are expecting many community members to address the board on the draft document at the meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Front Street Learning Center, where public testimony will be taken for the first time on the draft curriculum. Some will voice support of the school's proposed methodology, while others will share their concerns.

In the writer's defense, there are a good several paragraphs with a public health nurse for the county explaining the social science basis for educating children about sex. But the equivocation is mind-boggling.

Meeting details -- where you can speak up -- are available here.

A Potential Change in Policy

by: Matt Singer

Thu Jul 01, 2010 at 11:09:49 AM MST

Feel free to share other ideas by email or in comments.

Also -- Jay and I would love some more contributors to this site interested in writing, especially under their real names. Specifically, I'd be interested in contributors with some policy focus headed in to the next legislative session. If you're interested, email or comments are great.

Helena IR Editorial Board and the Curriculum of Doom!

by: Montana Cowgirl

Mon Jun 21, 2010 at 16:44:16 PM MST

And now, this past Sunday, this nonsense appeared.  Heads up Helena, it seemed to scream, scary progress is about to be made.  The proposed health curriculum update is driven by science, concern for students' health, and public safety. And, even the IR was reluctantly forced to admit (though it hurriedly ran the above referenced editorial first) most people are in favor of it.

But dude, the important, seasoned education experts on the editorial board seemed to say, there's lots of anonymous online comments from the same three people Harry Potter book-burning crowd about it.  These Harry Potter book-burners seem obsessed with forcing an outmoded, dangerous social agenda grounded in the social morals of the 1800s on students.  But hey that's better than anything that might rile up our sacred cows.  

What sacred cows, you ask?

In our state's capital city there are three entities above all else that essentially produce their own news.  

First, the Carroll College/Helena Catholic Diocese Public Relations Office will issue sometimes two or three "articles" a week that get republished by the Helena IR, and subsequently local television.  While these tend to paint the school in a good light, they are often not relevant to non-Catholics or those not living on campus. The other entities are the St. Peters Hospital/Helena Catholic Diocese Public Relations Office and of course, the Montana Meth Project.  There certainly isn't anything untoward about glorifying the Meth Project while Mike Gulledge, National Vice President of Publishing for Lee Enterprises serves as Chair of the Montana Meth Project board.

A Bright Green Rumor in the Flathead

by: Montana Cowgirl

Wed May 26, 2010 at 11:22:38 AM MST

It was that Sen. Ryan Zinke, the Republican Senator from Whitefish, is so pissed off that neither Tester, Baucus nor Schweitzer nor Rehberg can get their act together and get a final agreement with British Columbia to prevent coal mining on the North Fork of the Flathead River, that he is planning to introduce a bond measure in the legislature to seal the deal, and take the credit.

The issue with the North Fork is that the coal plots on the Canadian side are worth a bloody fortune, while those on the Montana side are not.  So, while BC and Montana have struck a deal on a moratorium, it hinges on finding a way to compensate BC for about $17 million worth of sunken costs on their end.  So we need to send over the border some federal or state cash, or perhaps some mineral rights.

The word on the street up in the Whitefish, where this issue looms extremely large, is that Zinke will introduce a bond measure in the state legislature to accomplish this.  At the bottom of all of this is the filth and effluent and goo that would run off into the river and into the Montana Flathead valley if the Canadian mining were to go forward.  Max has been talking about it for 30 years but has never actually done anything about it. Tester doesn't seem much engaged at all. Schweitzer got an  MOU signed, but it's not more than a piece of paper that states desire and intent. The essential thing is money.

This move by Zinke would be brilliant. Zinke is a former  special forces commander and otherwise a somewhat moderate Republican, often mentioned as a likely US Senate candidate. If he pulled off a deal with British Columbia where the Big Three Dems could not, he could possibly win the Flathead in a statewide election with 70 percent of the vote (the usual 60 plus  a few hard-core conservation voters). That, with a respectable showing in Missoula as well (where the issue is also big), would make him formidable.

And beyond that, he'd be able to talk about how he got something done, something big and good. That's not something you don't often hear from a Republican.

Matt Singer: Letting the Chips Fall

by: Matt Singer

Mon May 24, 2010 at 18:00:08 PM MST

Liberty Convention Speaker Calls for Vigilante Justice

by: Matt Singer

Sun May 23, 2010 at 13:20:34 PM MST

To fix that, Beckman called on the audience to take back power in the example of the Montana Vigilantes who hung a crooked sheriff in 1864 or the Romanian soldiers who executed their own dictator in 1989.

Look, there's a right and a wrong way to engage in the political process. Threats of violence are the wrong way. Go persuade people, change minds, win hearts, kiss babies, shake hands, rinse, repeat.

There's a startling history of right-wing rejection of unfavorable electoral outcomes in this country. We're seeing it now. We saw it in the Clinton years. We saw it in the secession following Lincoln's election. It comes with a level of paranoia and violence simply unmatched on the American left. The heartening message is that full force in Western Montana, it can only must a crowd of a couple hundred.

Western Tradition Partnership Plays with Fire

by: Matt Singer

Tue Apr 20, 2010 at 10:02:35 AM MST

So imagine my surprise to see a Western Tradition Partnership spokesman from Billings insist that Missoula county commissioners defer to the Montana legislature on a land use question. What's next, kick it to Congress?

"You've got a situation here where this is more of a Legislature issue than it is a county commissioner issue," Dan Fuchs of Western Tradition Partnership said from his office in Billings. "For those guys to try to shut down development up there in that part of the state is ridiculous."

The county is in the final stages of developing a land use update in the Seeley Lake region, where Plum Creek owns 35 percent of the land.

At their sixth hearing on the overall plan on Wednesday, commissioners will consider an amendment that would prohibit residential development on some resource protection lands that currently allow some houses.

A Few Thoughts on Last Night's Equality Vote

by: Matt Singer

Tue Apr 13, 2010 at 10:30:16 AM MST

Here's just a few early thoughts on the vote:

• Equality Has Bipartisan Support. The vote of 10-2 included the "progressive bloc," but also a couple more unusual suspects: moderate Jon Wilkins and conservative Dick Haines, a Republican former state legislator. With their support for the measure, it also received the support of at least one member of council from each of Missoula's six wards -- a refreshingly broad victory.
• This Town Really Supports Equality. Between 6 and 6:30, the space outside the Council Chambers was running roughly 1:1 between supporters and opponents of the measure, but only because literally hundreds upon hundreds of supporters were rallying at Caras Park at the time. When the "reinforcements" arrived, the opponents of the ordinance were hugely outnumbered, probably on the scale of 5 or 6 to 1, if not more. This number becomes even more exaggerated when taking into account that a significant proportion of the opponents came in from out of town.
• There are some truly heartbreaking stories out there. There were family fights over equality in other eras. Fathers (and some mothers) who didn't understand their feminist daughters. Black parents who worried that their children were pushing too hard, too fast. But I can't think of another equality struggle that has pitched family members against each other in such a painful way as we had to witness last night. This may be a trite observation for others, but it really hit me again last night.

The history of civil rights in America reminds us that these victories are rarely comprehensive and complete (which "political" victories ever are?). Racism still exists. Sexism still exists. Discrimination against Americans with disabilities is still very much present.

But last night, we bent that arc of history a little closer to justice.

No Excuses and No Shortcuts: A Response to Lawrence Lessig

by: Matt Singer

Tue Apr 06, 2010 at 21:23:58 PM MST

The presentation he gave at "Rebooting" was appropriately titled "<ctrl><alt><del>," and is available on his website for viewing. I heartily recommend it. If you haven't had the pleasure to watch Lessig present (calling it speaking is misleading), you're missing out.

The presentation is at turns brilliant and maddening, depressing in its overview of the bad decisions made by Congress when no one is looking. The problem with government, he argues, is that corporate power reins. It reins because corporations spend huge amounts of money on lobbying; corporate PACs spend huge amounts of money on campaigns; and, under Citizens United, what few restrictions remained until recently are now gone.

The solution, then, is public financing of elections and a a Constitutional Amendment requiring Congress to institute public financing and empowering Congress broadly to limit corrupting expenditures.

But the problem is both larger and smaller than Lessig indicates and the solution is incomplete. As a result, I worry that it offers false hope to progressives frustrated by the fundamental difficulty of change.

More after the jump.

Rallying for Discrimination

by: Matt Singer

Tue Apr 06, 2010 at 10:00:18 AM MST

Jill Brezenski of Missoula held a "Home sweet home, my renters, my choice," sign. Brezenski said she was not a landlady, but she wanted to protect the rights of landlords to rent to whomever they choose - and not rent to tenants they didn't choose. She wouldn't identify people who would be on the latter list.

Look -- if these folks want to start rallying to eliminate all anti-discrimination laws, let them try it. Let's legalize discrimination against black people and white people and Irish and Catholics and Jews. Let's go back to the good old days of fire hoses, police dogs, and Kristalnacht. If discrimination is the right of landlords and employers, at least have the stones to follow your argument to its natural conclusion.

Or maybe, just maybe, we should Flush the Fear.

The Discrimination Catch-22 of the Right

by: Matt Singer

Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 17:07:52 PM MST

The bathroom stuff has been one of two responses to the public demands for an anti-discrimination measure. The other has been to deny that discrimination happens.

It's astonishing in its audacity: people publicly doubting the existence of discrimination while voicing their own personal plans to discriminate against transsexual or intersex Montanans, sometimes quite violently.

A couple recent letters from two friends of mine really cut to the core of this issue. The first, a letter to the editor by Steve Knight:

I have heard of friends being refused job applications at businesses because they are perceived as gay or lesbian. Last week I watched a woman who didn't quite pass as female being watched, pointed at, laughed at and then yelled at by the occupants of another vehicle. This happens in our town. It happens to people I care about.

I'm proud of our City Council for taking a stand as a city that wants our citizens to be safe. Thank you Missoula for your support and for being wary of outsiders trying to come to Missoula to influence what we stand for - love, respect, decency, and compassion for one another.

Anyhow, if one is lucky enough to make it through school and enter the real world, they end up navigating relationships, careers, and, yes, decisions about bathrooms often in hiding not wanting to be recognized as different.  This phenomenon is often referred to as 'passing.'

Why do LGBTIQ people feel the need to 'pass?'  The answer is simple:  discrimination.  Don't ask, don't tell.  Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.  God hates faggots.

One way to curb discrimination is through the ordinance you are considering.  People have the right to have discriminatory thoughts, but acting them out in a way that hurts people is unacceptable.  Please pass this ordinance and state definitively that it is NOT ok to discriminate on the grounds of sex, gender, sexuality, or any other unprotected class of citizens.

As far as the potty crusaders are concerned, if this ordinance fails because of some argument about heterosexual pedophiles who think cross-dressing will permit them bathroom entry, I'm going to be one nasty, screaming queen.  As someone who has shared a restroom and locker room with many a cross-dresser, drag queen, and FTM, I have NO concern about bathroom entry.  Trolling for young children in bathrooms and locker rooms is a nasty stereotype that is so intolerable, I can't think of anything else to do but laugh at people who think that way.  So many LGBTIQ people are loving, caring parents, teachers, public safety officers, and more who constantly look out for the GOOD of children - not to prey on them.  Some of my best years were spent teaching children English as a Second Language around the world - never a thought to sexually prey upon them.  There simply is no link between being LGBTIQ and being a pedophile.  It's completely nonsensical.  Oh, and as a former Boy Scout - I could have really used a queer mentor at that time in my life.  Really.

The discrimination is real.  The fear surrounding the ordinance is simply smoke and mirrors - a perspective held in deeply rooted beliefs that society should only be structured around a heterosexual reality.  Look through the smoke and mirrors and pass the ordinance to make a real difference in Missoula.

What this measure will do is finally put an end to the current blind eye given by the law in Missoula to those occasions where discrimination happens. We already protect a dozen classes of individuals. Opposition to this is just a slap in the face saying we don't think Queer Montanans deserve the same protections we afford so many.