Quote for the day…

Every once in a while someone amazing comes into your life… And here I am. You’re welcome! – Unknown

Today’s independent commentary deals with these issues:

• The Western Word Poll
• Elsie Arntzen
• Adventures with Purpose
• Gianforte’s Advisory Council
• Reading Assignment

THE WESTERN WORD POLL:

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported that people throughout the Montana University System expressed opposition to Montana’s recent law allowing firearm carry on campuses, with many urging the Board of Regents to mount a legal challenge to it.

This week’s poll question asks, “Should the Montana Board of Regents legally challenge the new state law that allows firearms on college campuses?”

The results will be posted later this week.

ELSIE ARNTZEN:

Lee Newspapers reported last week that Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen has requested (the Montana) attorney general’s opinion on the legality of teaching certain lessons dealing with race that are prioritized in draft language for federal education grants.

After reading the article, I think Arntzen fooled the media into thinking this was something bigger than it was. In other words, it was “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Why?

Buried deep in the story (around the ninth paragraph) and after the PDF of her letter, Lee Newspapers reported this little snippet:

OPI has not received this type of grant in the past and was not planning to apply, a spokesperson for the agency said.

Beam me up, Scotty!

Read the complete story from Lee Newspapers by clicking HERE.

ADVENTURES WITH PURPOSE:

The Great Falls Tribune reported that Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter confirmed a vehicle belonging to Tammy Goff was recovered from the Missouri River on Friday. Slaughter said a body in the vehicle was also recovered, but the decedent has not yet been identified. He said further information would be released on Monday or Tuesday.

The reason for the discovery, according to the Tribune:

Adventures with Purpose, a volunteer organization that helps remove cars from water, had been in touch with Goff’s family members and arrived in Great Falls on Monday to help search for Goff. After searching the Missouri River for four days, the group on Friday located Goff’s car underwater and immediately called the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office. The two entities collaborated to recover the vehicle.

Applause to Adventures with Purpose for their work.

The Tribune reported that Goff, 59, was last seen July 12, 2018.

People are happy that this will probably bring closure for the Goff family, but there are also questions and concerns about how this group did something in four days that the local authorities could not accomplish in almost three years.

Read the full report from the Tribune HERE.

GIANFORTE’S ADVISORY COUNCIL:

The Great Falls Tribune reported that Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has announced an advisory council made up of local city and county officials to assist in identifying and reviewing qualified candidates to fill the Eighth Judicial District court judge vacancy. This comes in the wake of the Montana State Senate voting against the confirmation of Michele Levine as a Cascade County District Judge in April. It was the first time in 50 years the Senate has declined to confirm an interim judge.

The Tribune reports that members of the council include prominent members of the community, including former Great Falls Police Chief David Bowen and former judge for the Eighth Judicial District Greg Pinski, who left the bench in December and whose vacancy Levine filled.

I’m not too excited with the editorializing in the previous graph about “members of the council include prominent members of the community…”

What gives a reporter the right to make that distinction?

Find out the other “prominent” members of the council by reading the complete Tribune article HERE.

I think it’s worth pointing out that former Judge Pinski has been in the news a lot lately. In a story from earlier this month, “Montana Supreme Court overturns accused rapist’s conviction, says judge overreached,” the Tribune reported:

The Tribune reported that this ruling is the third time in the past month that cases of Pinski’s challenged in the Montana Supreme Court have resolved. The other two were remanded back to district court by agreement of.

Read the complete story HERE.

I’m thinking that if Michele Levine decides to run for State District Court Judge she will get my vote – it’s kind of a nice way to stick it to the man (Gianforte) and to the “prominent” members of the Great Falls community.

READING ASSIGNMENT:

Here are some articles that I think you will find interesting…

Missoulian Editorial: Board of Regents must not allow firearms on university campuses

Washington Post Opinion: Finally, the NRA faces a long-overdue reckoning

## GET YOUR VACCINE ##