Quote for the Day…

Someone asked me if I had any plans for the fall. It took me a moment to realize they meant “autumn,” not the collapse of civilization. – Unknown

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

• Historic House Chairs
• Drug Use by State
• 2021 NFL Schedule
• The Western Word Poll

HISTORIC HOUSE CHAIRS:

Lee Newspapers reported earlier this week that the old chairs that House members of the Montana state Legislature sat in, and some tumbled from, for more than 100 years have been auctioned off to current and former lawmakers, leaving at least one Montana resident angry that the general public wasn’t offered the same opportunity.

I think the “one Montana resident” has a valid point. That person was identified as Kevin Olson, a Somers resident who is retired from the military,

Since Olson is retired from the military, we know he has more common sense than most people working in and around the Montana legislature.

It was also reported that Carolyn Tschida, chief clerk of the House, said the bidding was open to current and former lawmakers and that the chairs were not part of the state’s general inventory, but rather furniture the House controls.

So what?

The bottom line is that if the taxpayers paid for the chairs then taxpayers should have had a chance to bid on the chairs.

The chief clerk of the House dropped the ball. It’s that simple.

Read the article from Lee Newspapers by clicking HERE.

DRUG USE BY STATE:

According to a February 2020 article, the state of Montana ranks number one in the country when it comes to drunk driving deaths. I doubt that has changed much since the report came out, which was based on 2018 data.

If that’s not embarrassing enough, there is some more bad news.

Just this week, WalletHub released its report on the States with the Biggest Drug Problems. This study compares the 50 states and the District in terms of 21 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws.

Montana ranked #13. In other disturbing news, in one category Montana came in at #3 for the highest percentage of teenage drug users, which was the percent of teenagers who used illicit drugs in the last month.

There’s a lot to digest from this report. Check it out HERE.

2021 NFL SCHEDULE:

Get ready – The 2021 NFL schedule will be released TODAY (Wednesday, May 12) at 8 p.m. ET. The NFL Network will have the coverage.

This year there are 17 games! The first game is on September 9.

Click HERE for more information. Go Chiefs!

THE WESTERN WORD POLL:

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) is the House Republican Conference chair which is the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership. There are indications that she will be removed this week from that leadership position by the Republicans in the U.S. House due to her statements about and vote to impeach former President Donald Trump.

This week’s poll asks, “Should Liz Cheney be removed from her leadership position in the House Republican Conference?”

Cheney gave a great speech on the House floor Tuesday evening. Watch it HERE.

Click HERE to vote. The results will be posted Thursday.

## WEAR A MASK – GET THE VACCINE ##