I had a good day…
Saturday was a darn nice spring day in Montana. It was one of those days that makes Montana a special place. It was in the 70s and 80s around the state. So, Jack the Blogger did yard work…spring cleaning…and cleaning the garage. There will be some donations going to charity – it’s amazing the “stuff” that gets placed on a shelf in the garage. After the work, I had a couple of beers to celebrate the work that was accomplished. So on Saturday, I said the heck with blogging. I’ll bet the amount of blogging must be pretty low in Montana when the weather is this nice.

The Montana Legislature…
It looks like many of the newspapers around the state decided to run editorials about the 60th Montana Legislature’s train wreck.
The Great Falls Tribune said, “New leaders might break legislative impasse” in their Sunday paper.
The Billings Gazette said, “Legislature flunks out on budget” in their Sunday paper.
The Helena Independent Record’s editorial today was titled, “A bummer of a Legislature.”
We will surely see tons of Letters to the Editor in the upcoming weeks.

Veterans…
The Great Falls Tribune did a good story about veterans called, “Report: Military failing to treat mental disorders among soldiers”
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., says he is going to increase veteran’s mileage reimbursement in a story called, “Tester fights for better mileage pay for vets.”
This is a good thing, but it’s been tried at least twice before (that I can remember) with bills introduced and supported by former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and one of the Wyoming Senators, I believe. We’ll see how far it gets now with the Democrats in control in Washington.

Malmstrom AFB news…
The Great Falls Tribune reported last week that the “Draft assessment: Missile removal wouldn’t adversely affect environment.”
It is a 247 page report. I have heard rumors that the estimated job loss would be from 500-700 personnel. Ouch. If you like these sort of things, you can read the report HERE.
Tester also gave a speech to military retirees Saturday night at Malmstrom AFB saying “a meeting last week with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne resulted in a planned team visit to Malmstrom this summer. The team will evaluate what new missions might be placed here…”
The Great Falls Tribune did a story about it HERE. It is in the same story as the mileage story for veterans.
Hmmm…there was a team at Malmstrom late last year doing the same thing. I believe there were articles in the newspapers in August (08/18/06). The Western Word (TWW) believes there’s some wool being pulled over someone’s eyes here.

The Global War on Terror…
Thank God for the American Legion (I am a member). Everyone should read Resolution 169.
Here are some remarks by the National Commander of the American Legion on March 6, 2007. You can read the full speech HERE. Some of the keys points are listed below:
“America lacks the stomach to fight a protracted war against terrorism.”
That’s the fundamental belief shared among the 21st century’s most vile terrorists and their rogue-nation supporters. Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would all agree that the key to victory over America is outlasting us and having a stronger will to succeed.
Our nation stands at a critical juncture. Our enemies — the terrorists and the rogue nations that support them — are watching us very closely right now. The terrorists and their supplier nations have growing reason to believe that America is losing its stomach for war, and that their will is stronger than ours.
That’s the message sent to our enemies when Congress denies military commanders and the president the troops and resources necessary to succeed in this war. It’s the message the terrorists have been waiting for.

Very well said. TWW agrees 100%.