Congratulations and welcome to Friday!  To help make your day go by just a little more quickly, here’s another “Caught My Eye” column to help you make it to your weekend.

If you are a new visitor, Caught My Eye is the weekly column that takes a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week – and sometimes I offer commentary – and sometimes it is sprinkled with just a pinch of sarcasm!

So buckle up for the ride – today we take look at nuclear missiles, Jesus on a Mountain, Rehberg on Fox, Wilmer on MSNBC, what landed in my political inbox, an ombudsman, flashback to October 2007, friends that desert you, a hollow life, a salute to a lady, a question to remember, and much more!

No Clout:

On Thursday, the Great Falls Tribune published a story with the opening paragraph saying, “Malmstrom Air Force Base could lose more land-based nuclear missiles and potentially face closure because of reductions called for in a treaty and further military spending cuts…”

That’s based on some comments from a county commissioner – a county commissioner that knows very little about the military and the Department of Defense.

Although it is nice to see someone bringing this to the forefront, until a current member of the congressional delegation or a new member gets some clout by serving on a military or defense committee, the chances of Malmstrom closing are pretty high – they already allowed 50 missiles be taken and the F-15 mission at the Montana Air National Guard is leaving and may not be replaced with planes.  Their batting average is not very good.  And that’s all I have to say about that…

Speaking of Defense:

Fox News reported that “Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reportedly said Thursday that the Pentagon will slash up to $260 billion in spending in its five-year budget that will be released to Congress in February.”

Maybe the excess spending is coming to an end.  Some very good programs may end up getting cut.  Montana may be hurt significantly with these defense cuts.

Flashback to October 2007:

According to this Quinnipiac poll from October 31, 2007, here were the leaders in the GOP Presidential race:

Giuliani          27%

Thompson     17%

Romney         14%

McCain          13%

Huckabee       6%

Paul                 2%

It’s not over yet folks…

Fox & Friends:

Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg was on Fox and Friends this week regarding the statue of Jesus that has been on a mountain near Whitefish since 1953.  You can watch the video HERE.

It appears to me (from photos) that Jesus is just enjoying his work.  The Forest Service should leave Jesus alone…

More about Jesus:

The Great Falls Tribune did a poll that asked, “Should the statue of Jesus be removed from the Forest Service land near the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort?”

There were 600 votes cast in the unscientific poll and 80% said NO – don’t remove Jesus.

Good job Jesus!  Maybe Jesus is making a comeback…

Wilmer on MSNBC:

One of Montana’s Democratic candidates for U.S. House, Franke Wilmer, was in Washington, D.C., and did an interview with MSNBC on Thursday.  Wilmer and six other house candidates have pledged to support the 99 percent movement.  Wilmer was interviewed by MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts about getting Congress to act the important issues facing our country.

You can watch the video HERE.

I’d like to see Congress act on the important issues, too…

Commercial Break (More “Caught My Eye” follows)

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128 MPH:

At least she was wearing tennis shoes…and that was about it!  Video HERE.

Border Security:

It seems as though Congressman Denny Rehberg and Senator Jon Tester disagree on most everything these days.  For those of you who don’t follow Montana politics, they will probably face in other in the November 2012 U.S. Senate race, so there’s a lot of jockeying going on.

Lee Newspapers reporter Mike Dennison penned a story about their latest disagreement over a bill that Rehberg supports that gives the “U.S. Border Patrol unfettered access on federal lands near international borders…”  The key words in that sentence are “federal lands” – not my land or your neighbor’s land but “federal lands.”

After reading the article, then re-reading the article, I came up with two conclusions:  1. The bill won’t harm me or my family.  2. Jon Tester’s spokesman lacks the basic skills to be a spokesman for a United States Senator…

Jack’s Political Inbox:

Almost every week I share some e-mails I receive from candidates and political groups.  Here are four that Caught My Eye…with a few comments!  Enjoy…

– James Kvaal, the Policy Director of Obama for America, sent me an e-mail with the subject, “We can’t wait” in which he writes, “Now that each and every Senate Republican has vowed to block measures that would create jobs, President Obama is not going to wait for them to rebuild the economy and bring financial security back to the middle class.”

Lead, follow, or get out of the way…PLEASE!

– Jason Rosenbaum, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Director of Online Communications, sent me an e-mail with the subject, “softballs” and he writes, “Last week, every Republican senator filibustered President Obama’s bill to put 400,000 educators and police officers back to work.”

Those dirty dogs…but if I give $5 or $10 that will help stop it…

–The Montana Republican Party was busy this week sending links and guest columns about Democrat Jon Tester.  One e-mail had the subject, “Tester jeopardizes border security by opposing bill” which was the title of a guest column by Ted Denning who “retired from the U.S. Border Patrol in 2007 as deputy chief for the Havre Sector in Montana.”

Here’s a hint:  This next election will be all about jobs and the economy and border security will be way down the list…way down the list…

–Congressman Paul Ryan sent me an e-mail from the Republican National Committee with the subject, “Help Make Barack a One-Term President.”  He contends, “The only way we can restore our prosperity and save our great nation from President Barack Obama’s failed policies is to elect conservative Republican leaders from the Court House to the White House in 2012 — and make President Obama a one-term president.”

He also wants me to send $25, $50, $100 to help.

I wonder if Paul Ryan is dressing up like Eddie Munster for Halloween…he would not have to change much…check out the side by side photo HERE.  Maybe we need to see his birth certificate?

Friends?

According to this story, “A man made a $100 bet with his friends that he could fit into a child’s swing at Blue Rock Springs Park on Friday night. With the help of liquid laundry detergent, he managed to slide his legs into the seat.”

His “friends” left him there.  Overnight.  The next morning a groundskeeper found him and called authorities.

I know exactly how he feels…

Hire Me or…

The Great Falls Tribune published a story this morning that made me laugh out loud (LOL).  According to the Tribune, “Great Falls activist Cyndi Baker, who helped defeat Great Falls Public Schools levies in May, asked top school district officials in August to hire her as an ombudsman, according to documents obtained by the Tribune.”

In-freaking-credible.  You can LOL by reading the story HERE.

Ms. Baker is currently running for a seat on the Great Falls City Commission – and you can’t make this stuff up…

Hollow Life?

First we had a swing and now we have “California police, responding to reports of someone screaming for help, discovered a man stuck inside the hollow trunk of a standing tree.”

At least his friends did not go off and leave him there…

A salute to Lady Liberty!

On this date in 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty.  Thank you France….

Well, are you?

On this date in 1980, Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland “are you better off than you were four years ago?”

We sure don’t have any “Ronald Reagan” types on the GOP ticket this year…

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And, there’s one more thing:

I’m just about ready to put the computer on sleep mode here at The Western Word, but I need to remind you of one more thing:  Don’t forget to stretch!