It hurts every day, the absence of someone who was once there. – Unknown

Today’s independent commentary deals with these issues:

• George H.W. Bush
• Ryan Zinke
• Bowl Games

George H.W. Bush:

With the passing of George Herbert Walker Bush, the United States lost a true American hero – a patriot.

We may never see another President of the United States with the qualifications of Bush 41:

Naval Aviator, U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, Director of Central Intelligence, and Vice President of the United States.

Bush 41 came to Great Falls, Montana, toward the end of the 2000 election season (Nov. 4, 2000) after which we saw wins by his son George W. Bush for President, the reelection of U.S. Senator Conrad Burns, the election of Judy Martz as Montana Governor, and Denny Rehberg to the U.S. House. It was a sweep for Republicans at the top of the ticket that year.

Supporters and staffers grabbed brooms and celebrated “the sweep” during election night parties across the state.

I was one of the people that helped put together the Bush 41 event which was held at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls on November 4, 2000. I was on the professional staff of U.S. Senator Conrad Burns back then. For a few hours that day, it was the place to be if you were a Republican in Montana.

In looking back at this photo, many of these people have left us for a better place. Many of the office holders in the photo understood that compromise was not a dirty word – this was back when Republicans and Democrats talked to each other and worked for the betterment of our state and country.

The Republicans of today have lost their way. They lost many moderates, like me, who helped elect them to office. I don’t see myself as a supporter of any political party from here on out.

Bush 41 was also my Commander in Chief during part of my service in the U.S. Air Force.

Rest in Peace, Mr. President, and thank you.

Ryan Zinke:

Former U.S. Representative for Montana and now Secretary of the Interior for President Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke, has had a tough go of it since being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 2017.

Maybe now, as the speech from the movie “Network” goes, Zinke believes “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!”

I say good for Zinke. In fact, I applaud him for it.

I don’t agree with Zinke on everything and I think his boss, President Trump, is a doofus. I would not work for Trump if he came to my door and asked me personally.

Maybe Zinke is getting ready to depart Interior for something else, so that made him braver when he, as the Associated Press (AP) reported, “unleashed a scathing personal attack Friday” against Rep. Raul Grijalva.

The AP reported that Grijalva had written an opinion piece saying that Zinke must resign because of what he called “ethical and managerial failings.” Grijalva is the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees Zinke’s Interior Department.

According to the AP, Zinke had this to say in response:

“It’s hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle,” Zinke tweeted. “This is coming from a man who used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior. He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.”

The House Democrats are being a little cocky since they won the majority in the U.S. House. It was nice to see Zinke bring at least one of them back down to earth.

Bowl Games:

Alabama is the top college football team. Clemson is second, Notre Dame is third, and Oklahoma is number four.

Alabama will play Oklahoma on December 29 in the Orange Bowl. Clemson will play Notre Dame the same day in the Cotton Bowl. The winners play each other on January 7 for the National Championship at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

I wish they would expand the playoffs to eight teams, but that probably won’t happen anytime soon. Alabama beat Georgia for the SEC championship. I think Georgia is the third or fourth best team in the country. Notre Dame is weak and Oklahoma has no defense.

So, in short, I see Alabama and Clemson in the championship.

There are about 40 bowl games between now and the National Championship game on January 7. They start on December 15. See the list HERE. Pace yourself, there are six games on December 31 and five more on January 1.

 

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