Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it. – Thomas Paine

Today’s quick hits deal with:

• The Noel Tree
• Secretary Zinke’s Rebuttal
• Alabama Senate

The Noel Tree:

On Interstate 15 north of Great Falls, the “Noel Tree” grew and was a symbol for many who traveled the sometimes lonely stretch of interstate. It was the only tree for miles and it withstood blizzards and the Montana wind. Someone decorated it and placed a banner on it that read “Noel.”

Then a moron who was a contractor for the Montana Department of Transportation cut down the Noel Tree. The instructions in the contract directed the contractor to leave the Noel Tree standing. Epic fail.

After it was cut down, there were promises to make it right – to plant another tree, but as the Great Falls Tribune pointed out last week, that has not happened.

Bureaucracy is getting in the way.

The Tribune reported that a tree was not planted in the same area because “there was no good spot to park nearby.”

Give me a break.

I’m sure that someone has a couple orange cones that they can place close to their vehicle when it’s parked there to alert people. Maybe the highway department can use one of their “big orange vehicles” with yellow lights to park there while they plant a new tree.

I’m sure after it’s planted someone would volunteer to carry a gallon or two of water up the hill to water it each week. I think the guy who cut it down should volunteer.

Here in Montana we recently cut down a tree from the Kootenai National Forest in western Montana and shipped it 3000 miles by semi all the way to Washington, D.C. It is now the Capitol Christmas tree.

Replacing the Noel Tree should be a piece of cake compared to that.

Secretary Zinke’s Rebuttal:

Last week I mentioned that Politico was reporting that Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke booked government helicopters to attend events around Washington, D.C.

Someone reported that Zinke and Vice President Mike Pence went horseback riding together. On Twitter I posted this rumor:

There’s a rumor that Secretary Ryan Zinke saved Vice President Mike Pence during their horseback ride. Pence got his foot stuck in the stirrup and was being bucked up and down until Zinke unplugged the horse. People shopping at K-Mart were impressed at Zinke’s quick action.

Seriously though, on Twitter Zinke provided a rebuttal to the report. Here it is:

Zinke needs a win. He is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Alabama Senate:

Tomorrow (Dec 12) is the Alabama Senate Special Election. A recent Fox News poll showed Doug Jones up by 10 points. That poll is quite different than the most recent other four polls which have shown Roy Moore winning from four points to nine points. (Real Clear Politics)

I think Moore will win the race.

Some are saying if Moore wins, there will be an ethics investigation. I am not sure that legally the Senate can do anything about Moore’s actions before he was a senator.

We’ll see what happens.

 

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