Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. ― George Washington
Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:
- 500,000 Deaths
- Little Kingdom
- The Circus
- One More Thing
500,000 DEATHS
NBC News reported that the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 500,000 on Sunday according to an NBC News tally — a milestone that underscores the grave threat the virus still poses nationwide even as more Americans get vaccinated.
NBC News also reported that the coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 2,462,000 people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the U.S. is the highest in the world, even though the country has less than 5 percent of the global population.
We can thank Donald Trump and his followers for the death toll in the U.S. being the highest in the world.
It’s unbelievable that people won’t wear masks or chicken shit politicians end mask mandates, or that there’s little enforcement for the wearing of masks.
LITTLE KINGDOM:
FYI – I wear a mask when I am out in public. Freedom is not free, and I’m trying to do my part to fight the pandemic. I hope you will join me!
Back in August, Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter was upset with a local state district court judge for incarcerating a potential juror for not wearing a mask.
At that time, The Electric reported that Slaughter said via a press release:
“I’m extremely frustrated and disappointed in how this situation was handled by Judge Larson. He did not consult with me regarding his decision. This whole mask order is contentious, to say the least. We as the government should not be incarcerating and oppressing our citizens during this crisis over a mask order.”
Just recently, the new Republican Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, did away with the statewide mask mandate. Thankfully, people with more expertise and common sense than Gianforte decided to keep the mask mandate in place. Cascade County is one of those places.
During the Cascade County City-County Board of Health meeting that voted 5-2 to have a mask mandate the Cascade County Sheriff’s department chimed in again:
Undersheriff Cory Reeves said that the rule was unenforceable and that the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office would not enforce anything to do with masks. (SOURCE)
Read that again, “… the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office would not enforce anything to do with masks.”
The Cascade County Attorney’s Office added this piece of advice:
Carey Ann Haight, chief civil deputy for the Cascade County Attorney’s Office, said that state law includes provisions for enforcing local health orders and those issued by the county health board carry misdemeanor criminal charges for violations. She said that state law also makes it a misdemeanor for local law enforcement to refuse to assist the local health officials with enforcing their orders. (SOURCE)
In the comment section on Facebook where the local media posted the story, I commented:
Wondering what the next thing the little kingdoms of GFPD and Cascade County Sheriff’s office will decide to not enforce.
I call BS on the Sheriff saying he can decide which things they will enforce or not. Will the Sheriff decide not to enforce drunk driving or speeding or maybe since I wrote about this, they will decide not to help me if I need assistance.
The bottom line is I think the Sheriff and his team are on a slippery slope.
THE CIRCUS:
In case you missed my Tweet about it early Sunday, “The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth” had been in Montana last week to sit in on one of Governor Greg Gianforte’s meetings about the Keystone XL pipeline.
One of the hosts, Jennifer Palmieri, traveled to Big Sandy to meet with U.S. Senator Jon Tester about the Keystone Pipeline. One of their cars got stuck in the snow near Tester’s farm. Tester came to the rescue with his tractor.
The Circus airs on Showtime. Check out the website HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
A big-time congrats to Kaylin Taylor, a freshman at Great Falls High School.
The Great Falls Tribune reported that Taylor made Montana high school sports history Saturday afternoon when she claimed the 103-pound title at the very first MHSA All-Class Girls State Wrestling Tournament just outside of Billings at Lockwood High School.
The Tribune reported that Taylor won the title when she pinned LeeAnn Hoch of Shepherd at the 3:29 mark and became the first female to win a weight class in either a boys or girls state championship tournament.
That is very cool.
The Western Word 