It’s Friday and you should care…because the weekend is almost here!

For the first-time visitors to The Western Word (TWW), the “Caught My Eye” column is posted every Friday morning right here!  This 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 throw in a touch of sarcasm just to make you smile – so get ready to slide into your weekend armed with knowledge and a smile.

Today I talk about the Postal Service, the Crossroads GPS ad, the Priorities USA ad, a Do Nothing Congress, the Montana Cowgirl blog, Usain Bolt, Angie Harmon, Missouri, goats, I have a special request for my readers, plus I share some e-mails from my political inbox!  There’s a whole lot more so read on…

Mailed:

The Postal Service announced on Thursday that it “ended its third fiscal quarter (April 1 – June 30) with a net loss of $5.2 billion, compared to a net loss of $3.1 billion for the same period last year.”

In the CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing (yes, I read everything) it was all put into perspective with this line: “…today’s report means USPS losses are mounting at a rate of $58 million every day, not the $25 million on which the lawmakers have been making their calculations.”

Congress won’t do much to help the Postal Service until after the November elections.  That is so the candidates up for reelection won’t tick off the voters by voting to close Post Offices and maybe stopping Saturday mail delivery.  Like I have said several times, it’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C….

Crossroads GPS:

Crossroads GPS is running an anti-Jon Tester campaign ad that has been on TV here in Montana since Wednesday.  You can watch it HERE.

Lee Newspapers analyzed the content of the ad and you can read about it HERE.

I would venture to say the Tester campaign will be pleased with this analysis – so much so that I expect to see an e-mail from the Tester campaign about the analysis any minute now with the words “special interests” peppered throughout…

Speaking of Ads:

If you pay attention to politics very much, you’ve probably heard about the pro-Obama group “Priorities USA Action” campaign ad called, “Understands” that links Mitt Romney to the death of a woman from cancer.  If you have not seen it, you can watch the ad HERE.

The ad has received a lot more attention since the Romney campaign started complaining about it…

Do Nothing Congress:

The Billings Gazette has written an editorial this morning with the headline, “Gazette opinion: What’s worse than the Do Nothing Congress?”

While they don’t actually answer their question, they do make some good points about the lack of work from Congress.  In case you missed the memo, the House and Senate are on vacation (also called recess) until September 10.  They are scheduled to work about 12 days (total) in September and October according to the Gazette.

It’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C….

Happy Anniversary/Birthday:

Happy Anniversary/Birthday wishes to the Montana Cowgirl Blog!  Congratulations on two very successful years…

We are not worthy…

Jack’s Political Inbox:

During campaign season I receive hundreds of e-mails from candidates, elected officials, and/or groups (from all political parties) 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 four that I think you will enjoy…

-The Rick Hill for Montana Governor Campaign sent me a reminder e-mail on Thursday with the subject, “Reminder: Gov. Chrisite [Sic] Missoula Event Tomorrow”  saying, “There’s still plenty of time to RSVP for our very exciting fundraising reception with Governor Chris Christie this week in Missoula.”

Let’s hope they spell Christie’s name correctly at the event or he may go off on the Hill campaign…

-The Steve Bullock for Montana Governor Campaign sent me an e-mail with the subject, “An Old Fashioned First Ad” where he wrote, “I wanted you to see our campaign’s first ad – one that’s completely positive.”  You can see the ad HERE.

I am shocked the local television stations had any open slots for Bullock to air his campaign ad.  It seems Jon Tester, Denny Rehberg, and their supporters are on TV at every commercial break…

A great game to play with friends and family is when an ad says something negative about Rehberg or Tester, the first one to shout “Shut the front door” wins…

-The Montana Republican Party likes long subject lines in their e-mails. On Thursday they sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Montanans Reminded of Job-Killing Obama-Tester Wheelchair Tax as Tester’s Left-Wing Fundraising Partner Calls It ‘Reasonable.’”

With a subject like that, there’s no need to comment further…maybe next time they can place their whole press release in the subject area of the e-mail…

-The Jon Tester for Senate Campaign sent me an e-mail on Wednesday with the subject, “Thank Montana’s firefighters” where he writes, “Our wildland firefighters have been battling these fires since they began. These brave men and women risk their lives everyday to protect people they don’t even know — and we all owe them a Montana-sized debt of gratitude.”  He then ads a link where you can add your name to a thank you card they are sending to Montana firefighters (It’s also a smart way to gather names and addresses for one’s campaign).

Jack’s helpful hint for candidates:  During political campaigns don’t say or do anything to make firefighters angry…

Usain Bolt:

Jamaican Usain Bolt is a very fast runner – probably the greatest sprinter of all time.  Bolt won gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter races in the 2012 London Olympics.  He accomplished the same feat in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Bolt is too cocky in my view and that cockiness sends the wrong message to youth.  Instead of saying, “I am a legend now” he should allow others to make that case and tone down the arrogance.  Maybe we are not worthy enough to do that…

Former Olympian Carl Lewis and Bolt don’t care for each other.  You can read about that HERE.

An…gie…Angie…

Happy birthday to Angie Harmon!  She turns 40 years old today.

Missouri:

On this date in 1821 Missouri became the 24th state!

It’s also the state where I was born…so yes, I am not a Montana native.  You really need to get over the native thing…

Send in the…Goats:

As a former goat owner (I miss you Billy), this story caught my attention, “Officials in a New Jersey shore town might use goats from Maryland to rid an environmentally-sensitive area of poison ivy.”

This following sentence made me laugh, “New Jersey environmental officials are worried the goats might also eat rare plants along the bay.”

That’s true – and they will eat most everything else if given the opportunity…

Jack’s Request:

We’ve seen too many deaths on the roads this summer and many times we hear that those killed were not wearing their seatbelts.  So please make sure you wear a seatbelt when riding in a motor vehicle – your chances of surviving an accident are much better!

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch – now get out there and have some fun…