Strange bedfellows…
It was reported that U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., are raising campaign funds together calling it the “Baucus-Rangel Leadership Fund.” This is completely legal, but really interesting to The Western Word (TWW).
It seems from the article that Rangel did not know too much about it, except that he was supposed to show up for a fundraiser. Interesting.
An article about fundraising would not be an article without mentioning Jack Abramoff and this one did just that. Montanans all know the ties that the 2006 Montana delegation had with Jack Abramoff and/or his clients and Baucus has been somewhat immune to the scrutiny others faced in 2006, but he is up for reelection, now. We’ll see how far the media wants to take it as we approach the 2008 elections.
We’ll also see how this joint fundraising deal plays in Montana as the perception is that most politicians, especially those on the federal level, spend too much time raising money and not enough time working in Washington, DC. Fundraising and lobbying are very nasty words these days.
It appears the reason for the joint fundraising is because Baucus and Rangel are chairmen of the committees in the House and Senate who control taxes, Social Security and Medicare.
Anyone who has filed for Social Security disability and waited months, if not years, to get a decision would probably tell them they need to pay more attention to these problems.
Rangel also wants to reinstate the military draft. His bill (HR 393), reintroduced in January 2007, requires that during wartime, all legal residents of the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 42 would be subject to a military draft.

The planes are coming?
It looks like plans are underway to start construction for the F-15s that are scheduled to arrive at the Montana Air National Guard (MANG) in the fall of 2008.
The Great Falls Tribune reported yesterday that “MANG getting ready to make home for F-15 fighter jets” and the story was picked up by other papers today.
The fall of 2008 is a long time off and TWW will be closely watching this until the last plane is assigned here. There are supposed to be 15 planes coming to Montana. Missions change quickly and it does not matter what the Department of Defense (DoD) has spent in the past at a military installation. Montana doesn’t exactly have the clout they used to have with the DoD to fight them if they decide to place the planes elsewhere. We’re seeing that with the missile issue.
The Tribune is reporting that the MANG will be holding a ceremony today to mark the beginning of the construction. I wonder if the officials from MANG invited former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., to the event? Burns was the key player during the last Base Realignment and Closing Commission (BRAC) round. He held key positions on several military and defense committees, and was instrumental in getting the F-15s to Montana.

School threats…
There’s been a rash of threats in schools across the country, both bomb and shooting threats. Most officials believe the threats are copycats from Virginia Tech. Some have occurred in Montana. In the public schools, particularly the high schools, I think they should make the students attend school on Saturdays to make up for the time lost due to these threats. I’m sure it might help find out who’s leaving the notes and making the calls.