Monthly Archives: August 2009

Observations from the week 08/29/09

There was a lot of news this week. Some of it was pretty sad.

U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy:
Senator Kennedy passed away this week. My prayers and condolences go out to his family and the people he represented in Massachusetts.

Being one that has lived through most of the tragedies that happened to this family, my thoughts always turn to sadness when I think of the Kennedy family. This family has given more than most in public service, but I admire them in that they always came together during these tough times. It’s tough being in the limelight, but to have to share your grief in the public spotlight is something that most of us will never know. I respect the family for handling it so well – multiple times.

I did not agree with many of Senator Kennedy’s stands on the issues, but he represented the people from Massachusetts and they kept sending him back.

The Boat Wreck:
Details are still coming in about the boating accident on Thursday night involving Congressman Denny Rehberg, his two staffers, and State Senator Greg Barkus and his family. My prayers and thoughts are with each one of these people. It is my hope that political gamesmanship can take a back seat for a few days and that bloggers and the media will concentrate on the health and recovery of those injured, instead of scoring political points.

Border Security:
At the urging of Montana’s U.S. Senators, Jon Tester and Max Baucus, Janet Napolitano, the director of Homeland Security gave a cool $15 million to a port in Montana “that sees about three travelers a day” according to the Associated Press.

That was wrong no matter what Tester and Baucus contend. It was not free of politics. Other, more urgent, needs were placed down the list for political purposes.

The new democrat-controlled Congress is spending our tax money at a rate never before seen in this country.

Town Hall Meetings:
Some elected people across the country are constituent-oriented enough to hold town hall meetings.

So far, Congressman Denny Rehberg is leading the way in Montana with around 18 meetings. He had more scheduled before his accident. That may be a record for a House or Senate member this August recess (Hello CNN/MSNBC/Fox News – are you watching).

But, on the other hand our two Senators have been afraid to actually hold meetings where people (their constituents) can voice their concerns and hear their elected officials ideas. Instead, our senators quietly go to meetings with selected and invited groups or hold phone meetings. They will try to spin this, but Montanans will not fall for it. For the “powerful” Senator Max Baucus to dodge his constituents while he is supposedly the lead in the senate for the healthcare bill is unforgivable.

That’s it for this week. Catch you on Twitter!

Observations from the week 08/21/09

More Town Hall:

There’s an interesting e-mail floating around about some “behind the curtain” things that went on at the Obama Town Hall meeting in Belgrade. The lobster being shipped in was quite interesting. The political strong-arm tactics was nothing new.

Read more by clicking HERE.

It does take a bunch of people and equipment to host a presidential visit. Given the fact that the President and his family were staying the night in the area, I can only imagine the magnitude of stuff that was needed for the family and security. At least it was good for the local economy…in some ways.

Rehberg Town Hall:

Congressman Denny Rehberg has held 18 Town Hall meetings across the state of Montana during the August recess. That’s 18 more that U.S. Senator Max Baucus and 18 more than U.S. Senator Jon Tester. It appears that our two Senators are afraid to face their constituents this recess – and to think that Baucus is actually crafting a bill about health care. Baucus has been hit from the right and from the left in the last month so much, it makes one wonder how a politician could anger so many folks in so short of time. His biggest problem is that he can only send out 30 second sound bites (after multiple takes) and carefully crafted e-mails written by his staff. Any venture into the public to speak off the cuff, would only land him in deeper water.

On the other hand, Tester does not understand health care from day care, but they both understand fundraising – they have held more fundraisers this month than town hall meetings.

Veterans Centers:

The Veterans Administration has decided to open Veterans Centers in Great Falls and Kalispell.

When I read this, I thought that is good news. I am a veteran. Then I started doing some research and found another broken promise from the leadership in the Senate, House and White House. What about the backlog of claims with the Veterans Administration? Should the VA concentrate on (spend money) getting these backlog of claims settled, instead of opening more VA-funded centers and clinics? Supposedly since January 2009, the backlog of claims with the VA has grown 13.3% – a backlog of some 916,456 claims according to this site.

Isn’t that what the politicians who ran for office in 2006 and 2008 promise the veterans – faster claim ratings and fewer backlogs of claims?

Another broken promise, but us veterans will have more facilities to go visit…if your paperwork is approved.

I have always been an advocate of providing local private health care for veterans. There’s billions of dollars spent each year to run these facilities and pay staff that could go to providing local private healthcare for veterans in their own communities.

Oh well, all of us may be using a government-run healthcare system in the future.

The RNC Letter:

I received another letter from the Republican National Committee this week with this opening sentence, “Please don’t tell me that you’ve given up…that you’ve abandoned the Republican Party.” It went on to add, “”But we’ve not heard from you since 2006-and I hope you haven’t deserted our party.”

Of course, they added a tear-off section to send in my contribution (just in case I wanted to give them a little money).

Note to RNC: Don’t hold your breath.

Cash for Clunkers:

Wow. It ends Monday. They sure blew three billion dollars pretty fast, heh? This administration can really spend the money.

Football:

The preseason is here! Brett Favre is now a Viking. Michael Vick likes dogs now…and the Eagles. Plaxico Burress is gone for two years. Every team has dreams of going to the Super Bowl. Only two teams will have that dream come true. But in the preseason there is hope – a lot of hope.

Catch you on Twitter!

Observations from the Week 08/15/09

Here are some things that caught my attention last week.

Obama came to Montana:

-It was interesting to hear Montana described many times before, during, and after Obama’s visit here as a “red state” (Republican). The last time I checked the Democrats (Blue) controlled all the second-tier state-wide offices in state government; there’s a democrat Governor and the two U.S. Senators are democrats. The Democrats controlled the state House of Representatives last session. The Republicans did control the state Senate in the last session and Congressman Denny Rehberg is a Republican. If the Republicans were some sort of animal, they would surely be on the endangered species list in Montana.

-From reports I read, there was not much rowdiness at the event in Belgrade, and the national media has commented on the fact that people are not as vocal at Obama events. The easiest explanation is that there are hundreds of secret service people as well as other law enforcement people at Obama events. It’s easy math: Someone like Arlen Specter is not as important as Barack Obama. Obama gets more security than a senator. People won’t scream and shout as much if they see security people ready to grab their necks and throw them out.

-One question that I thought should have been asked at the “Town Hall” meeting was, “In the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, democrats touted the fact that republicans were spending taxpayer money at record rates. In fact, the dough boy sitting on the stage with you said congress was spending money “like drunken sailors.” Now that you have tripled the national debt and spent more money that any administration in history, will you say now that you and the democrats lied to the American people about how you would stop the excessive spending?”

-Probably the President was not too happy with Governor Brian Schweitzer’s remarks touting the Canadian health care system. The headline in the Great Falls Tribune had this, “Schweitzer touts Canadian system.”
Who knows, maybe the Governor will start taking people to Canada to get their health care? Folks may remember that Schweitzer took people to Canada by bus to get their prescriptions when he was trying to win a seat in the U.S. Senate back in 2000. He was unsuccessful in that race.

Bresnan Internet and Blackberry:

It was “tech hell” for ol’ Jack this week. Thursday night and almost all day Friday I did not have access to the internet. My provider since it was AT&T @ Home is Bresnan. The internet was down because of a “corruption of routers on a particular type of server.”
Then, my Blackberry Pearl trackball went on the blink. The roller ball gets dirty and won’t move. After cleaning it several times, and getting sick of it not working, I upgraded to a BB Curve. Hopefully it will work better. Life sometimes sucks when the tech stuff fails.

Downpour Music Festival:

Although the rain came and it started late and some acts cut their performances short, it was well worth the wait at Centene Stadium in Great Falls.
My favorite band on Friday night was “The Hope Movement” which kicked off the festival around 5:00. Sadly, it started raining again so they cut their performance down a few songs but they left those in attendance wanting more. I’m looking forward to the second night of performances.

I’ll catch you on Twitter this week!

#58

Today, Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Derrick Thomas takes his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It was a long time coming, but Derrick Thomas is finally there.

Unfortunately, Derrick Thomas passed away on February 8, 2000, from injuries he suffered from a car accident weeks earlier that left him paralyzed. I remember where I was the exact moment I heard the news of his death.

Former Chiefs General Manager, Carl Peterson, (who drafted Thomas) will speak on behalf of the Thomas family at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

I was able to see Thomas play several times at Arrowhead Stadium. I would find myself wanting the Chiefs defense to take the field because something special would happen with #58 on the field.

I was watching the game on TV when Thomas recorded seven sacks in one game and when he missed number eight, the Chiefs lost on a last second pass. Thomas did not talk about the seven sacks; he talked about the one he missed. He was that type of player.

A photo of Thomas sits proudly in my family room, while a #58 jersey is pinned to my wall – a reminder of a great player and of times when the Kansas City Chiefs were competitive. That was back in the days when visiting teams found it was hell to run an offensive play in Arrowhead Stadium, which was always blanketed with a sea of red on any given Sunday in the 1990s, while the smell of barbecue saturated the air around the stadium. Then, when the visiting team was able to run an offensive play, #58 would swing around the outside and pummel the quarterback into the turf while taking a calculated swing at the ball (many times causing a fumble) – and the Chiefs faithful would go wild. Good times. Good times.

There’s been a lot written about Derrick Thomas by sportswriters and fans – most of it is probably better than what I could say. But every year that Derrick Thomas would be up for selection for the Hall of Fame, I would take a few moments to write the reasons why I felt he should be one of the elites in Canton. I guess I was somewhat hoping that one of the voters would read my comments and their vote would be swayed Derrick’s way.

The yearly essays can now come to an end as one of my favorite football players is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Derrick Thomas, his family, and Chiefs fans everywhere. Thanks for the 11-year ride Derrick. It was a wonderful time.

Observations from the week 08/07/09

Here are the stories that caught my eye this week, of course with my commentary. Enjoy!

Town Hall Meetings:
This week I received an e-mail from the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) telling me, “All week, fringe, far-right organizations funded by shady, unreported sources have been ginning up their supporters to disrupt Democratic town hall meetings. The goal: kill every attempt at health care reform and wound President Obama.”

Whaaa. It’s funny that the Democrats are complaining about something in which they are so good. It’s not like they have not disrupted a few Republican meetings in the past. What goes around comes around, children.

Hit back:
The White House held an hour-long meeting to pump up their teammates (Senators) before they went on August recess. Former Baucus Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, who now has Josh Lyman’s job from the TV show West Wing (Deputy Chief of Staff), is quoted in this story as saying, “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

Saying things like that may have worked for Messina when he was working for Max Baucus here in Montana, but not in his new job.

To me, it seems like the constituents of these elected officials are getting mad at the spending that is going on and they are afraid that the health care bills being proposed will spend billions of more taxpayer money. Let’s face it, the grass seemed greener on the other side of the fence for many folks during the 2006 and 2008 elections. 2010 may swing the pendulum back the other way.

Many of these elected folks don’t get to see or hear much from normal folks, so the anger and yelling at these Town Hall meetings really gets to them. It reminds me of this story I read somewhere about Harry Truman when he became President. Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House during Truman’s term, took the new president aside and told Truman that he was going to have lots of people around him and that these people would try to cut him off and put up a wall around him – to keep him from being in touch with his constituents. Rayburn also told Truman these people would tell Truman what a great man he was, but then he added, “Really Harry, you and I both know you ain’t.”

Town Hall Meetings Part 2:
Congressman Denny Rehberg is holding 16 Town Hall meetings across Montana during the August recess. He visits all 56 Montana counties each term.

I say good job to Congressman Rehberg for holding these meetings. It was interesting that a possible challenger to Congressman Rehberg announced a location that Rehberg was holding a meeting urging his supporters to show up with signs. As for our two Senators here in Montana, are you holding any meetings besides fundraisers?

The Big Man is coming to Bozeman:
President Barack Obama will be in Bozeman this month and he’s also visiting Yellowstone National Park with his family.

That’s nice. I read somewhere that Obama may be holding a fundraiser, too. It looks like our two senators (and their staff) will be a little busy this week. Seriously though, welcome to Montana, Mr. President & family.

Fishy:
On the Whitehouse.gov website, I find this: “If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

Fishy? FISHY? I think I will send them a link to their Health Care site…..

Trouble in State Government:
According to this story, the brother of Governor Brian Schweitzer, was accused of soliciting campaign donations in the State Auditor’s office (where he is employed) and of verbally assaulting an employee.

Most of the folks involved with this issue were on vacation when the story broke. Interesting. One of my friends in Government mentioned this story to me adding, “Everyone in Helena knows the Governor’s brother is the designated ‘leg breaker’ for the Governor in the state.” These kinds of tactics kind of remind me of the Godfather, “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

The State Auditor did say she would have an “independent auditor outside of state government” review the allegations. I suggest she ask her opponent in the last election to do the “independent” review – that is if she really wants it to be independent.

Unemployment:
The unemployment rate dropped for the first time in 15 months from 9.5% to 9.4%.

These are people who are getting or recently applied for unemployment. Obama and his folks are happy. I am skeptical, but glad to see it decrease slightly. There are millions of Americans who fell off the chart because their unemployment ran out. You can’t get it forever.

Florida Senate:
Republican U.S. Senator Mel Martinez of Florida announced his resignation today, saying that he was going to work in the private sector.

What the heck is it about Republicans leaving office early?
Maybe Florida Governor Charlie Crist will name Jeb Bush as Martinez’ replacement?

I’ll catch you on Twitter (if it’s working), Until next time…..

Observations from the Week 08.01.09

Here’s my short take on what caught my attention this last week:

To the Rescue: The Great Falls Tribune came to U.S. Senator Max Baucus’ rescue this week, saying, “He’s not for sale, and he’s not a fool. It costs a lot of money to achieve and maintain seniority in that most exclusive of clubs, and he’s managed to do it — with integrity if not boldness — for more than three decades.”

Everyone who follows Montanan politics will probably agree that Max Baucus is a master politician. If there’s a chance for him to get a little publicity, he will snatch it., along with the money he can stuff in his pockets. But as the saying goes, the chickens are coming home to roost and the senator is finally being seen by the rest of the country for what he really is – a very weak leader. He may end up losing his chairmanship over his failure to come up with a healthcare plan. The word “powerful” that is inserted in all his press releases and is mindlessly re-printed by the media across the state has lost its meaning these days.

The Beer Summit: The great beer summit happened this week and the media ate it up. There were countdown clocks on some cable news networks. They reported about the table being used, the type of beer each of them drank, who owned the beer company and so on. It was crazy, and even VP Biden could not pass it up, so he crashed the party. The funny thing is that it is a great idea for people to sit down over a beer, or coffee, or some other cold drink and talk. Talking always helps. Yelling and screaming at each other does not.

That’s Leadership – NOT: With people like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell leading the way, look for the GOP to be in the back seat for some years. McConnell did not think that his fellow GOP Kentucky Senator, Jim Bunning, could win re-election so he basically shut down the fundraising for him until Bunning decided not to run.
McConnell has been in leadership positions with the GOP since 1998, so he’s been the leader during the demise of the GOP. Nice work, Mitch, you jerk.

Cash for Clunkers: If you drive by many car lots, you’ll see a sign about the program. Supposedly it was so good that it was running out of money. Also, I heard that the rules given to the auto dealers to run this program was over a 100 pages. The best quote of the week goes to a dealer talking about the program: “If they can’t administer a program like this, I’d be a little concerned about my health insurance.” True, so true.

Camping: No, this is not about trekking into the wilds of Montana, setting up a tent and living under the stars for a few nights. Sorry. This entry is about NFL FOOTBALL CAMPS which are starting this weekend! Hundreds of players will be competing to make the 53 man roster and every team has a chance to make it to the big show. Thank God for football! Oh yes, Go CHIEFS!

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