When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends. – Japanese Proverb

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

• Bozeman Daily Chronicle
• Spreading Misleading Information
• VP Debate Tonight
• Eddie Van Halen

BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE:

On Monday I wrote that I remember back a few years when newspaper endorsements were a big deal. That’s not the case these days, except for maybe some major newspapers.

Although it might not be a big deal, first-term U.S. Senator Steve Daines did not earn the endorsement from his hometown newspaper, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (BDC).

It was brutal.

The BDC editorial board wrote of Steve Bullock:

Throughout his entire eight years in office, Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock has had to deal with a Legislature controlled by Republicans – in both the House and Senate. And yet, working with reasonable people from both parties he succeeded in governing effectively.
Voters can have confidence he will do the same in the U.S. Senate and they should give him a chance to do so. He is a proven pragmatic leader who can craft compromise on the stickiest of issues.

The BDC editorial board also said that Daines declined several invitations to meet with the Chronicle editorial board. His campaign concluded that past political donations made to Democrats by citizen members of the board would taint the process.

As for Daines and Trump, the editorial board said:

Daines has been a sycophant to Senate Republican leadership and the administration – even embracing the hypocrisy of denying any consideration to an Obama Supreme Court nominee eight months in advance of an election, while supporting the forcing through of a Trump nominee when voting has already begun for the next administration. Recently, during a debate with Gov. Bullock, the senator went as far as applauding President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, saying the president had “led boldly.” The evidence, it should be clear to anyone, shows the opposite.

I’m sure the Daines folks will chalk this endorsement up to fake news or some other conspiracy.

I think Montanans want to see a more independent U.S. Senator instead of one like Daines who, when Trump yells “Jump” he asks, “How high?”

Read the complete BDC endorsement HERE.

SPREADING MISLEADING INFORMATION:

I’m sure that in your social media feeds you have some of the Trump supporters spreading fake crap. I call them “the gullible” or other things I can’t say.

On Tuesday, the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, was placed in Facebook and Twitter jail for posting fake information.

His Facebook post was removed, and his Twitter post (below) was flagged with the statement, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.”

Here is Trump’s tweet:

Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!

CBS News reports that the CDC estimates that 12,000 to 61,000 Americans have died from influenza each year since 2010. By comparison, COVID-19 has killed more than 210,000 Americans over the last eight months, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

It’s just another in a long list of lies from our President.

VP DEBATE TONIGHT:

Tonight (Wednesday) is the Vice Presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris.

Toward the end of the debate, head over to The Western Word to take part in the VP Debate poll.

The vice presidential debate is scheduled to take place from 7:00–8:30 pm local time at Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Susan Page of USA Today will moderate the vice presidential debate. (Wiki)

EDDIE VAN HALEN:

Eddie Van Halen passed away Tuesday due to cancer. He was 65. (TMZ)

Eddie and his brother, Alex, founded the rock group, Van Halen.

I saw Van Halen during the 5150 Tour. I believe it was May 1986 in Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena. This was the first tour with Sammy Hager replacing David Lee Roth.

I remember the lights going down, and this silk tarp on the stage looking like it was bubbling. The silk tarp was pulled down and the stage was silver. Somehow it opened up as the music started and this massive drum set came up out of the stage with Alex Van Halen pounding away. Then Eddie, Sammy, and bassist Michael Anthony came out and played “You Really Got Me.”

That opening was very cool.

Rest in peace, Eddie. Thank you for the memories.

## VOTE ##