Accept both compliments and criticism. It takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow. – 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:

• Lewis & Clark County Sheriff
• Gianforte & Impeachment
• Bullock & Iowa
• Mick Mulvaney
• Trump National Doral
• One More Thing

LEWIS & CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF:

To describe the information released during the incident in Helena (MT) at Rossiter Elementary School as a “Charlie Foxtrot” would not be kind to “Charlie Foxtrots.”

The Helena Independent Record reports:

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said he and his department will be more reserved in the future about what information to release, following Tuesday’s bomb scare at Rossiter Elementary School that ended up being a false alarm.

Ya think?

From my recollection, I heard via Twitter and Facebook and on the local news, there was an IED (improvised explosive device) found on the playground.

Then I heard the IED had detonated, but that students and staff had evacuated before it detonated.

I heard that Great Falls Public Schools (about 90 miles away) went to shelter in place because of the incident in Helena.

Then I heard the IED had not detonated.

Then I heard it was not even an IED.

Then, as the Helena IR reports after further investigation, officials determined the soda bottle, which was filled with nuts and bolts and contained a liquid, had not exploded and was not an improvised bomb. It had been placed there inadvertently by a homeless man and the contents were not flammable.

Too often we have elected officials (the Sheriff is an elected official) before they have many facts head to the nearest microphone and camera to get publicity. This seems to be a classic case of it. I expect more – we all should.

GIANFORTE & IMPEACHMENT:

Lee Newspapers reported late Thursday that U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte, (R-MT) called House impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump a sham process taking place behind closed doors.

It was also reported that Gianforte said he read the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and found nothing wrong with the conversation.

I wonder if Gianforte was wearing his glasses when he read the transcript because I wore mine and it plainly shows that Trump wanted a foreign power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate his possible opponent in 2020, Joe Biden.

Gianforte will need Trump’s help with his campaign for Governor. I would not expect him to disagree with Trump on the Ukrainian issue.

Gianforte is screwing over Montanans by jumping ship and instead of running for reelection in the U.S. House and gaining seniority; he is running for Montana Governor.

BULLOCK & IOWA:

If you follow me on Twitter or like The Western Word’s Facebook page, then you were probably one of the first to know that Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D) is polling at 4% in an Iowa Democratic Presidential poll conducted by Emerson Polling.

That puts him in 6th place. The +/- in the poll is 5.5%. Oops.

The poll probably gave Team Bullock a kick in the pants. Realistically, I think Bullock needs a top-four finish in Iowa to gain needed traction. The Iowa Caucus is February 3, 2020, which is plenty of time for Bullock to meet every Iowan.

MICK MULVANEY:

Mick Mulvaney is the acting White House Chief of Staff and Thursday he may just have given the Democrats more ammo toward impeaching President Trump.

The New York Times reports that Mulvaney told reporters that the Trump administration withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate an unfounded conspiracy theory about the 2016 election. That effectively confirmed a premise of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

The NYT further reports that when asked whether he had just admitted to a quid pro quo, Mr. Mulvaney said, “We do that all the time with foreign policy.” Hours later, he tried to reverse his statement, saying, “There was absolutely no quid pro quo.”

TRUMP NATIONAL DORAL:

The Associated Press (AP) and other news organizations reported that President Donald Trump’s suggestion that his Miami golf resort host next year’s Group of Seven summit became a reality Thursday, sparking an outcry from critics who called it the most blatant example yet of him using the power of his office to boost his business empire.

That’s putting it mildly.

The AP also reported that the White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said:

Doral was picked for its location and amenities, and the president will not profit because the resort will be booked “at cost.” But the decision takes Trump’s apparent conflicts of interest to a new level because, unlike foreign dignitaries who can choose to stay at his Washington hotel, they will have no choice but to spend money at his resort during the June 10-12 summit.

Our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves.

ONE MORE THING:

Thursday night was a good night…

My Kansas City Chiefs beat up on the Denver Broncos Thursday night. The final score was 30-6.

The Chiefs defense recorded nine sacks in the game. NINE!

The sad news is that Chiefs QB and current NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes dislocated his kneecap. He will have an MRI today (Friday) and could miss some games depending on the severity.(CBS SPORTS)

As a friend posted on Facebook, all the Chiefs fans with good knees are wondering how they can donate one to Mahomes…

Have a great weekend!

 

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