I’m stuck between a rock and someone I’d like to hit with it. – Unknown

Welcome to the big column to end the week, “Caught My Eye” (CME)!

If you are a first-time visitor, welcome! CME is the once a week column that is posted here every Friday morning. This is when I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. There may be some sarcasm and pointed independent commentary so be warned!

Here are the topics that “Caught My Eye” this week:

• Mueller, Mueller
• Reefer Madness
• Online Jail Roster
• One More Thing

MUELLER, MUELLER:

On Wednesday I watched most of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony in front of the U.S. House committees. Reuters reported that according to early Nielsen media research, 12.9 million Americans across six cable and network channels, tuned in on Wednesday to watch Mueller’s first public testimony about his two-year investigation.

I don’t think Mueller did well in the first hearing, but he held his own in the second hearing.

Mueller will be 75 years old next month. He’s a patriot and a hero. He was a Marine Corps platoon commander in Vietnam. His awards include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. In other words, he’s a badass.

Several Republicans on the committees did not treat him with the respect he deserves.

The Montana Republican Party was quick to send out a fundraising email telling subscribers, “Yesterday Robert Mueller sat before Congress and one thing was made clear: President Trump has been completely exonerated of any crimes.”

Of course, that is total bull.

It was plain to me that after the hearings were over, one thing stood out: If Donald Trump was not the President of the United States he would have been indicted. Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Mueller also said that Trump was not exonerated by the investigation.

We also know, thanks to Mueller, that Russia meddled in our 2016 election. They are doing it now and will do it in 2020.

What seems to be acceptable is if the Russians are helping your candidate win that is fine.

I wrote before the hearings that the Democrats who want to find a smoking gun will go home disappointed Wednesday. I think they did. Republicans are probably feeling like they dodged a bullet.

As for fuel for impeachment, there’s nothing much there to get enough support to impeach Trump. If the Democrats continue to beat the impeachment drum, it will only help re-elect Trump.

To beat Trump, just show a video of his lies with a counter in the corner of the screen and throw in a few women he assaulted telling their stories.

REEFER MADNESS:

It’s not quite “reefer madness” just yet!

Gallup Polling reported this week that Americans’ cigarette use continues to decline, hitting a new low in Gallup’s 75-year trend. Currently, 15% of U.S. adults say they have smoked cigarettes in the past week, in marked contrast to the 45% who reported doing so in the 1950s. At the same time, 12% of Americans now say they smoke marijuana and 8% say they have vaped in the past week.

I totally support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Montana and all across the fruited plains. It is my hope that we can approve it in 2020.

ONLINE JAIL ROSTER:

I was happy to read about the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office launching an online jail roster of inmates in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center.

In reviewing the roster, I was surprised by the number of pages (145) and the number of records (435) from the detention center. Each page contains three inmates. It must be overwhelming at times to run the detention center.

The roster is in a PDF so you can search for your relatives and friends!

This is a valuable tool for the community – so a big thank you goes to Sheriff Jesse Slaughter for providing this information.

Check it out by clicking HERE.

ONE MORE THING:

This week President Donald Trump appeared on a stage in front of a parody image of the presidential seal. Trump appeared in front of a fake presidential seal featuring a two-headed eagle — which bore similarity to the State seal of the Russian Federation — clutching a set of golf clubs in its talons. (CNN)

Trump was speaking to conservative student group Turning Point USA. There were about 1500 students there and an aide for the conservative student group (supposedly) made a mistake and posted the wrong seal that he/she obtained from the internet.

That seems to be the norm for many conservatives – especially a few in my circle; they post stuff from the internet without verifying if it is correct or factual.

##Twitter:@TheWesternWord##