Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. – Albert Einstein

Welcome to Friday and “Caught My Eye” (CME). If you are a first-time visitor, CME is posted here every Friday morning. This column is where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. Sometimes I throw in a touch of snarkiness to make you smile – or to irritate you just a little – maybe both.

Today I write about Boehner & Gianforte, Montana State AFL-CIO, Montana Democrats, McLaughlin Research Institute, toenails, Hillary’s server, Tom Brady, Jimmy Carter, and much more!

The Secret Fundraiser:

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s Troy Carter tweeted that Speaker of the House, John Boehner, was in Bozeman Wednesday night and that there was a “big event” at Greg Gianforte’s home also. Gianforte is considering running for Montana Governor and recently filed paperwork so he could raise money.

The Montana Democrats sent an “urgent” email telling subscribers:

…after Republican radical Greg Gianforte filed his candidacy for governor on Monday, we honestly thought this week couldn’t get any worse.

But John Boehner just landed in Montana to rally the Republican base!

It’s clear these right-wing radical outsiders are hell-bent on turning Montana deep red. We cannot let that happen!

You know someone is serious when they use the words “hell-bent.”

The Montana State AFL-CIO issued a statement about the event saying, in part:

For months now it’s been clear that Greg Gianforte is running for governor. Everyone knew his summer “jobs tour” was a political scheme that tested the boundaries of campaign ethics and avoided transparency. The fact that Gianforte hosted a fundraiser with Speaker Boehner just days after filing illustrates just how dishonest Gianforte has been.

Now we know why Greg Gianforte chose to finally file this week: he had to get to a fundraiser with John Boehner. While rubbing elbows with Washington insiders may be good for Gianforte’s bank account, it’s worrisome for many Montanans. Boehner and his TEA Party allies have pledged to privatize Social Security.

The Montana State AFL-CIO did raise a valid point about Gianforte filing the paperwork this week so he could raise money with Boehner, but at least he did file the paperwork. The jobs tour was exactly “a political scheme” like they said.

The secrecy surrounding the Boehner fundraiser is quite interesting – especially since we see “selfies” posted and people on Twitter chronicling every event.

The only evidence I personally saw that made me believe Boehner was in Montana was the orange sunset…

McLaughlin Research Institute:

The Great Falls Tribune published a story this week about the McLaughlin Research Institute which is a biomedical research center in Great Falls.

It was reported that McLaughlin hit its peak in 2006. In 2006, the Institute had a $6.7 million operating budget and 50 employees. Today, McLaughlin has an operating budget of $2.5 million and 20 employees.

What was not reported was that 2006 was the last year Montana had some serious clout on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.

Good to Know:

This week in the Great Falls Tribune readers discovered that the Great Falls Clinic was relocating two of its providers. One of the providers, Dr. TJ Eskelsen, DO, has a particular set of skills:

Eskelsen focuses on general pediatrics, and especially enjoys removing ingrown toe nails…

It’s important to enjoy your work, I guess.

Hillary’s Server:

The “drip, drip, drip” continues. What has been interesting to me during this soap opera is there are several Democrats not sticking up for Clinton or outright turning against her in regard to the server issue. That means it is looking bad for Clinton.

The Clinton campaign needs to have this issue settled quickly. The Republicans need to have the issue drag on until October 2016 and have Clinton taken away in handcuffs about 30 days before Election Day.

The Republicans might win if that happens.

Tom Brady:

The New England Patriots quarterback should be feeling pretty good about his chances with a federal judge this week. Several different sources are reporting that Judge Richard Berman criticized the NFL’s case against Brady.

Even ESPN reported that the case seemed to be going well for Brady.

Brady should pay a fine for not fully cooperating with the investigation and not be suspended.

One More Thing:

Let’s all keep former President Jimmy Carter in our prayers. It was recently disclosed that he has brain cancer.

 

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