Up first is the situation with the class-action Indian trust lawsuit:
The Western Word (TWW) hopes that since Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, a deal can be worked out about class-action Indian trust lawsuit. It’s gone on way too long and it is not about democrats or republicans doing wrong, it’s about the federal government doing wrong to the Native Americans.
There was a STORY in the Billings Gazette about this today.
TWW is always looking for a simple solution (unlike the federal government), so why don’t the two sides submit to Congress what they will give and take to end this mess and then let Congress find the middle ground?
It seems since an offer was made, this issue is actually gaining some ground, but TWW still believes there is a simple solution to this nightmare.

Circling the drain?
The saga about the firing of U.S. Attorneys took another turn for the worse yesterday for embattled Attorney General Gonzalez when his former Chief of Staff said Gonzalez was in on the discussions about the firings. TWW wonders what the heck is going on in this administration these days.
A good superior would have documentation about the problems with these fired attorneys.
I would like to see the Senate Judiciary committee ask Gonzalez about each one, something like, “You fired Carol Lam. For what reason(s) did you fire her? Did you or any of her other supervisors counsel her about these problems before firing her?”
If they don’t have some sort of documentation, then it leads me to believe it was for a political reason.
We at least know, thanks to Sen. Tester, that Bill Mercer will actually testify according to this STORY in the Billings Gazette.
TWW does not believe (at this time) that Mr. Mercer did anything wrong.

Water, water everywhere:
Up next is the STORY in the Great Falls Tribune regarding the aging St. Mary’s Canal. U.S. Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont., was able to authorize $140 million through one of his committees. TWW says this is a good first move.
TWW contends that the Hi-Line should not start celebrating just yet. If my government classes were correct, this must pass the full senate, then the house, then be signed by the President to become authorized.
Then the money must be appropriated for it. I doubt it will come in one big pie as other water projects don’t get funded all at once. That is where it may run into problems.
It would be nice if reporters would write about the steps in the process with these stories, so the readers would know that these things are not a done deal like the polticians would like for their constituents to believe.
Here’s some information about authorization and appropriations:
Authorization – A statutory provision that obligates funding for a program or agency. An authorization may be effective for one year, a fixed number of years, or an indefinite period. An authorization may be for a definite amount of money or for “such sums as may be necessary.” The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization and then appropriation.
Appropriation – The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization and then appropriation.
Source: U.S. Senate www.senate.gov

Down to the final four:
TWW has picked Georgetown and Florida to make it to the National Championship game. TWW believes Florida will be the winner. Florida seems to play to their competition’s level and plays their best games when they are facing stiffer competition.
On the women’s side, it’s Tennessee all the way.

Vacation Time?
It looks like the U.S. House of Representatives is out of session until April 16. The U.S. Senate is out until April 10. TWW understands that this is not always vacation time when our elected leaders are not in Washington as many schedule meetings in their home states and districts to get back in touch with the voters.
I’ve seen where Congressman Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., has some listening sessions scheduled and Sen. Tester is meeting with some veterans and hosting an event in Browning during this time. These meetings are from newspaper articles and from press releases.
Maybe Montana’s delegation will post their recess schedules (in advance) on their websites so we can see what they are up to?
Plus, TWW believes that breathing this fresh Montana air must feel like you’re on vacation…