You made it to Wednesday – Yes!  The weekend is now coming into sight…so hold on!

Today on The Western Word, I write about a cellphone ban, F-15s, National Park passes, the Montana Growth Network, a final forum, and new polling data!  There’s a lot more so read on…you really must click on “continue reading.”  Come on…just click on it…

City Commission = Crazy Train:

The Great Falls City Commission is trying to join the “crazy train” of Montana cities that are banning cellphone use while driving.  Anyone who has watched a Great Falls City Commission meeting on Public Access television or attended a meeting in person probably agrees that the whole meeting is like a crazy train.

I’ve listened to preachers, I’ve listened to fools, I’ve watched all the dropouts, who make their own rules…I’m going off the rails on a crazy train…

I wrote about a cellphone ban in my December 2011 column entitled, “That Darn Car Radio.”  I quoted an editorial in Investor’s Business Daily:

“…a 2009 NHTSA study found that 80% of all car wrecks are caused by drivers eating or drinking — not cellphone use — with coffee-guzzling the top offender.”

Maybe City Commissioner Mary Jolley read that report.  The Great Falls (Montana) Tribune reported:

“I actually really don’t want to proceed with it,” Jolley said.  She added eating a hamburger while driving is probably worse than using a cellphone in the car.

Amen to that…

More Than a Letter:

According to a story in the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune, “U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg says an amendment he helped add to a Defense Department bill could block the military from moving flying missions among bases, including shifting the Montana Air National Guard’s F-15s.”

It’s really nice to see one of the members of the Montana Congressional delegation (and the Governor) do more than write a letter to some General or Defense Secretary about Montana’s military.  Rehberg’s amendment may just be the ticket…

Rehberg did receive some much-needed publicity from the battleground area of Great Falls for his senate campaign with this amendment.  The story was placed on the front page of the Tribune.

Free Park Access:

U.S. Senator Jon Tester issued a press release yesterday with the headline, “At Tester’s urging, service members allowed free access to National Park Service sites.”

Although this is most likely done to gain votes, overall it is a good thing.  But, the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune published a story (on the front page) from the Los Angeles Times that was void of any mention of Tester doing any work for the free access.  Heartbreaker…

Montana Growth Network:

I received a flyer in the mail a few days ago telling me “Judge Laurie McKinnon is the only non-partisan choice for Supreme Court Justice”  with the reverse side showing a “Compare the Candidates” chart.

Take a look:

Note: the high-lighted and underlined information on the flyer was part of the printing process and not done by me.

The return address is the Montana Growth Network, Inc., at a Post Office Box in Red Lodge, Montana, which if you Google it, you can see who is probably behind it…

Final Forum:

Democratic Congressional candidate Rob Stutz sent me a press release announcing the lineup of Democratic congressional candidates participating in their final forum before the June 5 primary.

Stutz says, “Diane Smith, Rob Stutz, Jason Ward, and Franke Wilmer have agreed to attend the forum scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.  The forum will take place at the Helena Indian Alliance’s Sheridan Hall building located at 501 Euclid.  Three other candidates in the primary race declined to participate.”

It is interesting that the front-runner, Kim Gillan, is not showing up for this forum – which makes one wonder if she is attempting to run out the clock…

Montana Polling:

If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably noticed my Tweets about this.  Public Policy Polling released the results of some polling yesterday for Montana dealing with Governor Brian Schweitzer, Max Baucus, and same sex marriage.

You can read it HERE.

Who Will Win:

A new poll from Gallup tells us, “Fifty-six percent of Americans think Barack Obama will win the 2012 presidential election, compared with 36% who think Mitt Romney will win.”

I think Obama will win and I am an American…

Satisfaction:

According to Gallup, Democrats are much happier with Barack Obama than the Republicans are with Mitt Romney.  Gallup reports, “Eight in 10 Democrats satisfied with their nominee vs. 59% of Republicans.”

Romney has several problems – he comes across as though he thinks he is just a little bit better than most people, he has flip-flopped on several core issues, and he reminds us of a boss we had who we hated to work for…

Follow the life and times of Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord