It’s Friday and that means it is time to end your week with another exciting edition of “Caught My Eye!”

Reminder: “Caught My Eye” goes well with a glass of wine or with your favorite microbrew (especially on Friday afternoons).

If you are a first-time visitor, this is my weekly column where I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. Often I throw in some sarcasm and poke fun at people just to make you smile.

Today I write about Daines and Obamacare, Barry Beach, Brad Molnar, Brown v. Board of Education, Werfel/Wuerffel, IRS, Top Baby Names of 2012, Making Montana Proud, and much more!

U.S. House/Obamacare (again):

The U.S. House voted, once again, to repeal Obamacare on Thursday. Some reports say this is the 37th time the House has voted to either fully or partially repeal the law.

And for the 37th time, it won’t pass the Senate so it’s a dead issue.

Although it’s a dead issue for the foreseeable future, Montana’s lone Representative, Steve Daines, followed Republican leaders and voted for repeal. According to Montana Street Fighter, Steve Daines and the rest of the Republicans in the House were reminded by Senator Harry Reid about the definition of insanity from Albert Einstein. Einstein said insanity was “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

On his U.S. House website, Daines touts that he brings “more than twenty-five years of private-sector business experience to Washington, D.C.” I doubt his business would last long if he allowed his employees to waste time doing the same failed thing over and over and over.

Montanans expected him to lead and bring some common sense to Washington. His first quarter grade as Montana’s lone Representative is a “D.”

As the late great Milton Berle once said, “You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think.”

Barry Beach:

The Great Falls Tribune conducted a poll about Barry Beach who was sent back to prison without being given a new trial by the Montana Supreme Court. The Tribune asked their readers, “Do you agree with the Montana Supreme Court decision on Barry Beach?” 21% answered “Yes” and 79% answered “No.”

You can read my column about the decision HERE.

Down Goes Molnar 5-0:

Lee Newspapers reports, “The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the ruling that former Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar violated state ethics laws and should pay $20,700 in fines and costs — some five years after the case began.” It was a 5-0 decision.

Toward the end of the article, Molnar did land a parting shot:

Molnar said enforcement of state ethics laws depends on one’s politics, and he pointed to how the current political practices commissioner — appointed by former Gov. Brian Schweitzer — dismissed a longstanding case against Schweitzer last year. “If I could pick my own judge that decides my case, this whole thing would have gone away,” Molnar said.

1954:

On this date in 1954, “the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.”

Historical...

Danny Werfel/ Danny Wuerffel:

One “Danny” was a Heisman Trophy winner and a member of the 1996 National Champion Florida Gators. The other “Danny” is the new acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.  Read the story HERE.

It might take a Heisman Trophy winner to pull the IRS out of this mess. Is O.J. Simpson busy?

IRS Softball Team:

Speaking of the IRS, according to NBC News the IRS softball team cancelled a game with Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s office this week.

I can understand that. It’s been a tough week for the IRS. It’s kind of like how many of us feel around April 15. But the funny part of the story was the name of the IRS softball team; they are called the Cheetahs. The Cheetahs….

Those IRS folks sure are funny. I bet they take softball serious enough that they take their pocket protectors out before batting…

Quotes about the IRS:

“My question isn’t about who’s going to resign. My question is who’s going to jail over this scandal.” -House Speaker John Boehner speaking about the IRS scandal.

“The only two things that scare me are God and the IRS.”  -Dr. Dre

“1913 wasn’t a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, the 16th amendment, and the IRS.”  -Ron Paul

Top Baby Names for 2012:

I was always partial to Michael and that name came in at #8 according to the Social Security Administration’s press release of America’s most popular baby names for 2012.

The Great Falls Tribune has a story about the top names in Montana HERE.  Sadly, Hannah did  not make the Montana list.

Making Montana Proud (Not Really):

-From the Billings Gazette: “A Billings man awaiting sentencing for his fifth drunken-driving offense has been charged again.”

Every week we read about people who have received multiple DUIs. Shameful.

-From the Missoulian: “Shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday, a 53-year-old Missoula man allegedly drove his red GMC Jimmy into the insurance agency on South Reserve Street, then backed up and twice rammed the building again, according to police.”

I wonder if he had insurance…

Jokes in the Sky:

CNN’s Jeanne Moos reports about writing jokes in the sky. Watch the video HERE.

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…

 

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