Friday, June 1, 2012 – I like how that sounds!  Congratulations on making it to another weekend as well as another month!

If this is your first time visiting The Western Word (TWW), the “Caught My Eye” column is posted every Friday morning right here!  Here is where I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write or comment about during the week – and I often sprinkle them with a touch of sarcasm just to liven it up!

WARNING:  Before proceeding please understand that everyone and everything is fair game…

Today I write about Tester in San Francisco, unemployment, Politwoops, the Bush portrait, John Edwards, drunk driving, e-mails from my political inbox, walls of money, poll results, and creationism!  There’s a lot more so read on…Tester Visits San Francisco:

If you are looking for Jon Tester tonight (Friday), you can find him in San Francisco at U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein’s home.  According to the invitation, the reception is at 6:30 and dinner is at 7:00.

Apparently Feinstein is a member of the “Heartland Victory Fund 2012” which is a joint fundraising committee authorized by Feinstein for senate, Montanans for Tester, Nebraskans for Kerrey, McCaskill for Missouri 2012, Heidi for Senate and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Inc.

You can check out the invite HERE (PDF).  You can attend for $15,000.

I wonder if Tester is bringing a suitcase full of Montana beef to the fundraiser or, at least, wearing a flower in his hair…

Jobs/Unemployment:

It was not good news for the economy this morning when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly unemployment rate that showed unemployment rose to 8.2 percent.  That is an increase from 8.1 percent in April.  This was the first increase in 11 months.

To make matters worse, only 69,000 jobs were added in May.  Just yesterday the Labor Department said that 383,000 people had filed new claims for unemployment the week before.

Romney supporters are rejoicing because this bad news means their guy has a better chance of being elected.  As I have written many times before, it is all about the next election in Washington, D.C. 

Politwoops:

That’s the name of a new website that lets you see deleted Tweets from politicians – you know the ones – the Tweets that sounded hilarious after the third glass of wine, but the next morning they are not quite so funny.  Check out the website HERE.  There’s a search box in upper right area of the page.

This website could be fun…

Politwoops II:

Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg decided to have a little fun with Politwoops.  Here’s a couple Tweets that caught my eye:

-#politwoops archives things politicians may wish they could un-say – like “If you like your health insurance you can keep it.”

-Scary thought: Many of the same pols that messed up 140 characters on #politwoops also wrote and voted for the 2,300-page Obamacare law.

Politwoops III:

The Campaign of U.S. Senator Jon Tester (who Rehberg will probably face in November) decided to get in on the fun and sent a message to reporters and bloggers saying, “Leave it to Congressman Dennis Rehberg to abuse a transparency website for his own personal gain.  Yes, Congressman Rehberg is gaming the Sunlight Foundation’s new “Politiwoops” [Sic] website, intentionally deleting tweets on his official twitter account in order to make his own headlines.”

So Team Tester decided to send a few tweets of their own:

-Politiwoops @DennyRehberg wants to delete his record of voting for 5 #RehbergRaises — breaking his own promise to MT #RehbergDeletes

-#Politiwoops In 2011 @DennyRehberg tried to delete women’s health care & Planned Parenthood funding #RehbergDeletes

The fun and games just never seem to stop in the political world…

George W. Bush:

It was nice to see President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush together for the unveiling of the Bush’s official portraits yesterday at the White House.  There were some funny jokes, too.  Read the Associated Press story HERE.

We live in a great country…

John Edwards:

At one time I thought John Edwards would make an excellent Attorney General, but after finding out how he treated his dying wife I changed my opinion.  He is a dirt bag.

Edwards’ campaign finance fraud case ended in a mistrial Thursday.  He was acquitted on one of six charges but jurors were unable to decide on the other charges.  He probably won’t be retried.

The whole thing is another black eye for the U.S. Department of Justice – a waste of money just like the Barry Bonds, Rod Blagojevich, Ted Stevens, and Roger Clemens trials.

Jack’s Political Inbox:

Almost every day I receive e-mails from candidates, elected officials, and/or groups promoting a cause, many just hoping they get mentioned (in a kind and gentle way) on The Western Word website!  I select a few each week that “Caught My Eye” and share them with my readers.  This week I picked three that I think you will enjoy…

–John Kerry writing for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Heinous” in which he writes, “It doesn’t get closer than this: twelve Senate races are polling within single digits.”  He continues, “If we don’t hit back – hard – against every single attack, Republicans can and will destroy your Senate firewall.”

Since it was the week before the end of the month, fundraising was at a premium.  Similar e-mails were received from Senator Patty Murray, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and several Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staffers.

–Ann Romney sent me four e-mails about something I enjoy doing and that is eating!  The first couple had the subject “I Hope to Meet You” and later on in the day two others came with the subject, “Grab A Bite With Mitt” saying “So donate $3 or more today to be automatically entered for a chance to grab a bite with us.”

I thought four e-mails were a little much…

-The Bullock for Montana Governor Campaign sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Please join the Bullock-Walsh Campaign on Tuesday, June 5” for a “Primary Election Night Party.”  The party is scheduled from 7:00 – 10:00.

Bullock’s primary race should be called at about 8:02 p.m. (polls close at 8:00) which should allow everyone plenty of time to drink before the party ends at 10:00…

TWW Poll Results:

Yesterday I asked on The Western Word (TWW) one-day poll, “Who are you voting for in the Republican Primary for Montana Attorney General?”  Here are the results:

Tim Fox – 74%

Jim Shockley – 14%

None – 12%

Thanks to all who participated!  This was not a scientific poll.  I will be posting new one-day polls later this morning (U.S. Senate GOP Primary) and on Saturday (U.S. House GOP Primary).

Drunk Driving:

Readers may remember my column titled, “1.6 Years Per Life” in which I wrote about Montana  State District Court Judge Dirk Sandefur giving the driver 15 years with 10 years suspended.  The driver killed three people.

Yesterday, Sandefur refused to accept a plea deal (14 years/10 suspended) for a DUI-related crash that killed one person – this one on a motorcycle.  Sandefur said he would give the defendant “a straight 20 years in state prison.”  The case will now go to trial.

Maybe Sandefur learned from his mistake – but he’s already lost my vote when/if he runs again – we’ll be here to keep reminding you about judges who are weak on drunk driving…

Creationism:

A new poll from Gallup tells us “Forty-six percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.”

Here’s a promise – we’ll find out in the end who is correct!  God bless…

Wall of Money:

According to this story, “An Arizona court says a man’s heirs are entitled to $500,000 cash that was found in the walls of his former home years after he died.”

Don’t tell anyone, but my money is buried in a couple of fruit jars in my back yard…

One More Thing (before I turn out the lights):

Don’t forget to stretch…

Want to have some fun?  Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord – your friends do!