Lee Newspapers reported:

Motl has donated $6,800 to Montana political campaigns since 1992, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Discounting contributions to ballot issue campaigns and nonpartisan judicial races, Motl has given slightly more than $5,000 in partisan statewide and legislative races, all to Democrats. That includes $790 to Bullock in his races for attorney general and governor.

So the Governor of Montana (a Democrat) appointed someone to that office who donated money to his campaign and to other Democrats. This person will (hopefully) abide by the “Mission Statement” for the Office of Political Practices:

To monitor and to enforce, in a fair and impartial manner, campaign practices and campaign finance disclosure, lobbying disclosure, business interest disclosure of statewide and state district candidates, elected state officials, and state department directors, ethical standards of conduct for legislators, public officers, and state employees, and to investigate legitimate complaints that arise concerning any of the foregoing.

Wonderful. It’s OK to shake your head. I am.

This is not a joke, although it is embarrassing for Montanans. But what is more embarrassing is that the Montana Legislature failed to make changes to the office. If Republicans are complaining about Bullock’s pick, they are partially to blame.

I am sure that Jonathan Motl is a fine person. I am sure that previous commissioners (who did not get confirmed) Jim Murray, Dave Gallik, and Jennifer Hensley were all fine people, too. The job is a thankless one.

But it’s all about perception. Democrats will feel they have a friend in that office and Republicans will feel they don’t. Any rulings favoring Democrats will be looked upon with skepticism; the same thing will happen if the ruling is against a Republican.

I wrote about perception being everything with that office back in 2010. It still matters today. Bullock failed, the Montana Legislature (controlled by Republicans) failed, and Montanans lost.

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord

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One e-mail I received said, “Tea Party Patriots, 912s and several other groups are having a Nationwide protest against the IRS abuses at IRS offices across the country.” This protest is a little too far for me to make, as it’s being held in Nashville (TN) at the Federal Building.

One protest is a little closer to my home; it’s planned for Great Falls (MT) at the local IRS office.

The Tea Party Patriots posted a notice on their website telling folks, “On behalf of Tea Party, Patriot groups, 9/12, liberty activists, and the American people, we are calling for anyone and everyone to protest the IRS’ complete abuse of power on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at noon local time.”

They also have an “IRS Protest Toolkit” to download, and there’s a link you can click on to find a protest location near you.

Is this a great country or what?

Our First Amendment is pretty cool:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

While several members of the Tea Party have done or said things I abhor, I support these protests because our government messed up big time. Many folks distrust the government and the actions by people working in the IRS have made that gap even wider.

Let’s be safe out there…

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord

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Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

6. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Many times we wait until we are at the end of our rope before asking God for help through prayer. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything.” I don’t know about you, but that is very hard for me! I usually worry about everything and keep worrying about it until it passes.

As I have gotten older, I have become more thankful for what God has done and is doing for me – and I try to tell him each morning, “Thanks for another day!”

I hope you enjoy this video of Alison Krauss singing “Down to the River to Pray.” You might have caught the song in the movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Have a great week!

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Reminder: “Caught My Eye” goes well with a glass of wine or with your favorite microbrew (especially on Friday afternoons).

If you are a first-time visitor, this is my weekly column where I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. Often I throw in some sarcasm and poke fun at people just to make you smile.

Today I write about Daines and Obamacare, Barry Beach, Brad Molnar, Brown v. Board of Education, Werfel/Wuerffel, IRS, Top Baby Names of 2012, Making Montana Proud, and much more!

U.S. House/Obamacare (again):

The U.S. House voted, once again, to repeal Obamacare on Thursday. Some reports say this is the 37th time the House has voted to either fully or partially repeal the law.

And for the 37th time, it won’t pass the Senate so it’s a dead issue.

Although it’s a dead issue for the foreseeable future, Montana’s lone Representative, Steve Daines, followed Republican leaders and voted for repeal. According to Montana Street Fighter, Steve Daines and the rest of the Republicans in the House were reminded by Senator Harry Reid about the definition of insanity from Albert Einstein. Einstein said insanity was “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

On his U.S. House website, Daines touts that he brings “more than twenty-five years of private-sector business experience to Washington, D.C.” I doubt his business would last long if he allowed his employees to waste time doing the same failed thing over and over and over.

Montanans expected him to lead and bring some common sense to Washington. His first quarter grade as Montana’s lone Representative is a “D.”

As the late great Milton Berle once said, “You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think.”

Barry Beach:

The Great Falls Tribune conducted a poll about Barry Beach who was sent back to prison without being given a new trial by the Montana Supreme Court. The Tribune asked their readers, “Do you agree with the Montana Supreme Court decision on Barry Beach?” 21% answered “Yes” and 79% answered “No.”

You can read my column about the decision HERE.

Down Goes Molnar 5-0:

Lee Newspapers reports, “The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the ruling that former Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar violated state ethics laws and should pay $20,700 in fines and costs — some five years after the case began.” It was a 5-0 decision.

Toward the end of the article, Molnar did land a parting shot:

Molnar said enforcement of state ethics laws depends on one’s politics, and he pointed to how the current political practices commissioner — appointed by former Gov. Brian Schweitzer — dismissed a longstanding case against Schweitzer last year. “If I could pick my own judge that decides my case, this whole thing would have gone away,” Molnar said.

1954:

On this date in 1954, “the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.”

Historical...

Danny Werfel/ Danny Wuerffel:

One “Danny” was a Heisman Trophy winner and a member of the 1996 National Champion Florida Gators. The other “Danny” is the new acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.  Read the story HERE.

It might take a Heisman Trophy winner to pull the IRS out of this mess. Is O.J. Simpson busy?

IRS Softball Team:

Speaking of the IRS, according to NBC News the IRS softball team cancelled a game with Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s office this week.

I can understand that. It’s been a tough week for the IRS. It’s kind of like how many of us feel around April 15. But the funny part of the story was the name of the IRS softball team; they are called the Cheetahs. The Cheetahs….

Those IRS folks sure are funny. I bet they take softball serious enough that they take their pocket protectors out before batting…

Quotes about the IRS:

“My question isn’t about who’s going to resign. My question is who’s going to jail over this scandal.” -House Speaker John Boehner speaking about the IRS scandal.

“The only two things that scare me are God and the IRS.”  -Dr. Dre

“1913 wasn’t a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, the 16th amendment, and the IRS.”  -Ron Paul

Top Baby Names for 2012:

I was always partial to Michael and that name came in at #8 according to the Social Security Administration’s press release of America’s most popular baby names for 2012.

The Great Falls Tribune has a story about the top names in Montana HERE.  Sadly, Hannah did  not make the Montana list.

Making Montana Proud (Not Really):

-From the Billings Gazette: “A Billings man awaiting sentencing for his fifth drunken-driving offense has been charged again.”

Every week we read about people who have received multiple DUIs. Shameful.

-From the Missoulian: “Shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday, a 53-year-old Missoula man allegedly drove his red GMC Jimmy into the insurance agency on South Reserve Street, then backed up and twice rammed the building again, according to police.”

I wonder if he had insurance…

Jokes in the Sky:

CNN’s Jeanne Moos reports about writing jokes in the sky. Watch the video HERE.

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…

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If you are a new visitor, this is where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary (sometimes with a little sarcasm).

DISCLAIMER: By reading this column you may be able to use the information to impress your family, friends, and co-workers. Please consider yourself warned.

This week I write about the highest-earning athletes, Powerball, salaries for university presidents, unemployment, Barry Beach, Montana Department of Justice, anesthesiologists, deer and bus, satisfaction, shampooers, Trevor Runyon, IRS and Obama, BAC, and much more!

475,000,000

That’s the Powerball jackpot ($475 million) for Saturday’s drawing.

Time to dream…

90,000,000

The Associated Press reports “Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the highest-earning athlete in American sports for the second straight year. The boxer is projected to make $90 million in 2013, according to Sports Illustrated’s annual list released Wednesday. Miami Heat star LeBron James is a distant second at $56.5 million.

360,505

According to a story in the Missoulian, “University of Montana President Royce Engstrom’s total compensation of $360,505 placed him 153rd among college presidents on the list. Montana State University President Waded Cruzado-Salas ranked 167th, earning $335,173 in total compensation.”

Education is important…

360,000

That’s how many people filed first-time claims for unemployment compensation last week according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That was an increase of 32,000 from the week before.

More bad news for the Obama Administration…

524

According to the Great Falls Tribune, Barry Beach was free from prison for 524 days. He turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday after his request for a new trial was denied by the Montana Supreme Court.

524

Ironically, the Montana Department of Justice issued a press release of approximately 524 words regarding Barry Beach. It was kind of a spike-the-ball-in-your-face statement about the case which applauded the staffers who worked on it for displaying “steadfast professionalism.” The release also said they “worked hard” and were “diligent.”

In short, the Montana Department of Justice press release can be summed up in just 11 words: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

111.94

According to a story in Forbes, “In operating rooms across the country, anesthesiologists, the highest-paid workers in the U.S., earn an average of $111.94 an hour, for a mean annual salary of $232,830.”

33

A 33-second video shows a deer crashing through the windshield of a public bus.

24

According to a recent Gallup poll, “Twenty-four percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States in May, down from 30% in April and near the 25% average for the first five months of this year.”

Congress is to blame…

8.94

According to a story in Forbes, “The lowest-paid workers of all, shampooers, earn $8.94 an hour–or an average annual salary of $18,600 (for full-time workers).”

I shampoo my own hair…

6

Trevor Runyon went into a grocery store just before it closed and hid from employees. After the lights went out, he “drank some beer, smoked cigarettes, cooked and ate six steaks, some shrimp and a birthday cake.” Then he went to sleep.

All he really lacked was a TV to watch some sports…

3:38

The President spoke for three minutes and thirty-eight seconds on Tuesday about the Internal Revenue Service. One of the major issues detailed was when the President said he “directed Secretary (of the Treasury Jack) Lew to follow up on the IG audit to see how this happened and who is responsible, and to make sure that we understand all the facts.” He then said, “Today, Secretary Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS.”

Barack Obama will probably be audited…

.05

The National Transportation Safety Board would like to see the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) lowered from .08 to .05 for drunken driving. They contend this would save lives.

I am in favor of this.

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord

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The opinion from the Montana Supremes is pretty absurd. Barry Beach does deserve a new trial.

The ruling means Beach will probably go back to prison after being out since December of 2011. He had served about 29 years of the 100 year sentence and had been free awaiting a new trial for almost 18 months. Beach found out about the Montana Supreme Court decision from a reporter. This all seems pretty brutal, but that is pretty much the method of operation for the justice system in Montana.

In case you are wondering what this is all about, it started in 1979 when someone killed 17 year-old Kim Nees near Poplar, Montana. Barry Beach was convicted of that deliberate homicide on April 13, 1984. In May of 1984, he was sentenced to 100 years in the Montana State Prison without the possibility of parole. Beach was given a new evidentiary hearing in November 2008 and was released from prison pending a new trial in December 2011. I happened to catch a story about it on Dateline NBC that aired in 2008. I have followed and written about the case since then.

In my opinion, Montanans should face the fact that our state has one of the most incompetent State Supreme Courts in the country. That incompetence seems to trickle down into the state district courts as well. These judges, who are elected to office, are certainly better politicians than they are judges or attorneys and that’s part of the problem with the justice system in Big Sky Country. Shameful is one of the more merciful words I can use to describe the people who occupy these courts.

I have always contended that there are more questions than answers in the Barry Beach case – and that Beach deserved a new trial. If he was found guilty after a new trial, then that would be fine with me, but the young man was duped into giving a confession and the initial investigation had many holes in it.

Barry Beach should be given a new trial to settle the case once and for all.

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”

― Benjamin Franklin

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-Read the Montana Supreme Court’s full opinion HERE.

-Read a synopsis of the Montana Supreme Court opinion HERE.

-Visit the Montanans for Justice Website for Barry Beach HERE.

-You can read my commentaries about the case by going to “Categories” on the right side of the screen, clicking on it, and selecting “Barry Beach.”

Now there are six issues. It’s very hard for a Presidential Administration to juggle six issues.

The Associated Press (AP) reported yesterday “The Justice Department [DOJ] secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press.” The AP claims the records obtained listed outgoing calls from their offices in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn.

The fourth estate was just slapped across the face, and it probably hurt a little more since it came from the Obama Administration.

According to NBC News, the DOJ used a “secret subpoena” to obtain the phone records. Some folks believe it was done over the leaking of classified information. The “leaking of classified information” is an all-encompassing reason that our government seems to use when they do things that might be considered shady.

The AP sent a letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder and asked that the records of the phone calls be returned and copies destroyed. Luckily for Holder, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting conservative groups and the Benghazi terror attack are sharing some of the space with the AP phone record story, although Obama owns them all.

Historically, many conservatives believe that about all of the reporting done in D.C. (minus Fox News) leans toward the liberal side and that the liberal media and the Obama administration are working hand in hand to stick it to the man. Well, for at least once in history, we have found an exception.

It is kind of nice to see the liberals and conservatives united in their disgust with the Obama Administration over the IRS and AP issues. It’s almost like the sun is shining a little more brightly across the fruited plains today!

Now about that Benghazi issue…

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I doubt many in the Obama Administration have stopped to take in the sights and sounds of spring. To say the spring of 2013 (so far) has been tough on the Obama Administration would be an understatement – and summer is still over a month away. That means people will be paying attention for a while longer before school is out and they head off on vacations.

You can bet that some of these issues will stick around and have an effect on the 2014 mid-term elections and some will be the topics of the Presidential race of 2016. Here are the top five issues that the Obama Administration (as well as Democrats) now own and will have to defend for the next few years:

5. VA Disability Claims Backlog

Although the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has always had problems keeping up with disability claims, it has gotten worse since the United States has been involved in two simultaneous wars. Some veterans are waiting over two years for their claims to be reviewed and this lack of production from the VA will harm the Obama Administration with veterans (who vote).

Lately, Democrats seem to have become the party that supports Veterans more, but with the Obama Administration unable to handle the VA claims backlog, the love affair might not last.

4. Department of Defense Sexual Assaults

I recently wrote that the Department of Defense estimates that 26,000 sexual assaults occurred DOD-wide in 2012, which was a 37% increase from the last survey done in 2010. Plus, the head of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention unit was arrested for sexual assault.

Right now parents are telling their children if they join the military that besides going to war or being shot at or blown up, they now have another thing to worry about and that is being sexually assaulted.

This is a sad chapter in our military history.

3. Background Checks for Gun Purchases

With the failure in the U.S. Senate to expand background checks when purchasing guns, the Obama Administration took one on the chin. While the fight to expand the background checks is not over, the Obama Administration looked weak since they could not get this legislation passed. It was supported by a large majority of Americans.

With several pro-gun senators voting for this bill, it could harm them down the road unless it is passed and everyone sees that it was no big deal and that nobody is coming for their guns.

2. Benghazi

The Benghazi attack was an act of terrorism that claimed the lives of four Americans. Some observers believe the only reason this is an on-going issue is that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may run for President in 2016. Conservatives will try to keep this in the news to use against her.

Benghazi was not handled very well by the Obama Administration, but as time goes on it is becoming difficult to distinguish legitimate concerns by Republicans from politics.

1. IRS Targets Conservatives

It is pretty serious (some called it chilling) when a government agency targets certain groups because of the group’s political beliefs, but that seems to be the case with the Internal Revenue Service apologizing for singling out conservative groups like the Tea Party.

On the other hand, if you are one of those groups, then this is a gold mine for you. Membership should skyrocket and that means the Tea Party’s shelf life will last a few years longer.

TheTeaParty.net fired off a press release saying the apology from the IRS is not accepted, and the Sunday talk shows were full of people who were outraged at the IRS (and the Obama Administration).

The IRS issue is historic, so don’t look for this problem to go away anytime soon. I cannot wait to see the political ads…

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord

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Happy Mother’s Day 2013!

Take a few moments today to thank your mother for all that she has done for you. Call her! For those of you like me whose mother is no longer living, thank God for the time you had with her.

Proverbs 31:26-30 (NIV):

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

“You taught me everything
And everything you’ve given me
I’ll always keep it inside
You’re the driving force in my life”
- Boyz II Men “A Song For Mama”

Have a great week!

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