Happy “Black” Friday! I hope your Thanksgiving went well and you were surrounded by family and friends on the special day – and you are stuffed!

If this is your first time visiting The Western Word, 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 about during the week – and I often throw in a touch of sarcasm just to make you smile. So get ready to head into your weekend armed with knowledge and a smile.

Today I write about Rick Hill, Ken Miller, Denny Rehberg, Veterans in Congress, abortions, privacy, the silly house Republicans, Joint Resignations, some birthdays and some music videos – so read on!

Rick Hill Wrap-up:

The Associated Press (AP) managed to catch up to Rick Hill and do a post-election interview about Hill’s loss to Steve Bullock in the Montana Governor’s race.

It’s nice that Hill did the interview.

The AP also reported in the story that current Congressman and former Senate candidate (Denny) “Rehberg has not responded to requests to be interviewed about the election.”

Rehberg should conduct an interview and get it over with. He is still an elected official for a few more weeks and should make himself available to the media.

Ken Miller:

According to a story from Lee Newspapers, former Montana governor candidate, state legislator, and Montana GOP Chair Ken Miller was “shot in both lower legs when a member of the hunting parties’ gun accidentally discharged. His wounds are not life threatening, and the family expects a full recovery.”

Get well soon Ken!

BTW, did anyone ask if former Vice President Dick Cheney was hunting in the area?

Veterans in Congress:

According to a story in USA Today, “In 2013, just 19% of the 535 combined members in the U.S. House and Senate will have active-duty military service on their resume, down from a peak in 1977 when 80% of lawmakers boasted military service. In the current Congress, 22% are military veterans.”

That is not good news.

As a veteran, I hope members of Congress who do not have military experience hire veterans to help them understand veterans’ issues. It would also be nice to see Senators and Representatives have a majority of their staff consist of veterans.

Abortions:

The Associated Press reports, “U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade.”

Anytime abortions decline, this is good news!

Privacy:

One story from CNET.com this week informed us that a bill rewritten by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy would, “allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant.”

Later in the week, a story from The Huffington Post says that report is not true.

Things like this happen all the time; it’s called testing the water….

Those Silly House Republicans:

The Associated Press reported this week that, “A group of 97 House Republicans sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Monday, saying that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice misled the nation about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, making her unfit to be a candidate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Members of the House do not get a vote on the President’s appointments to his cabinet or on Federal judges. That’s a job for the U.S. Senate.

The GOP seems to believe that the Susan Rice issue is something they can score political points on – because there’s another election in less than two years…

I think Rice’s remarks after the U.S. consulate in Libya were based upon the information we had at that time, and like we see after many events, the information changes.

Joint Resignations:

The Associated Press reported, “News co-anchors Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio announced their resignations at the end of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. newscast” in Bangor, Maine. Then they hugged.

Let’s go to the video…

Happy Birthday (Today):

Miley Cyrus turns 20. Robin Roberts is 52. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is 57. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) is 62. Bruce Hornsby turns 58.

You can check out a Miley Cyrus music video HERE, and a Bruce Hornsby music video HERE.

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord