Quote for the day…

If you drink a bottle of wine before you walk your dog, it kind of feels like you’re solving a mystery together. – Unknown

In today’s column, I take a quick look at these people/issues:

• Third Time Daines
• Transparency
• Antifa & Fascism
• U.S. Supreme Court
• The Western Word Poll

THIRD TIME DAINES:

I fly my flag often. It was displayed all day on Monday for Flag Day. I served over a decade in the U.S. Military all around the world with the last stop being Montana.

Today, for the third time, U.S. Senator Steve Daines reintroduced a constitutional amendment to bar the “physical desecration of the American flag.” (The Hill)

I served in the military so that my fellow citizens have freedom of speech. While I would never desecrate my flag or even kneel during the National Anthem, I served my country so that others have that freedom.

This is nothing but Daines looking for attention. His amendment will never pass – and thank God for that.

TRANSPARENCY:

In case you missed it, the Helena Independent Record editorial board chimed in about Montana’s lax government transparency laws.

The Helena Independent Record editorial board did not put much work into their little editorial, which was less than 500 words by my count.

They talked about Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, and retired Republican legislator Dee Brown of Hungry Horse penning op/eds raising concerns about an open records issue at the center of an ongoing dispute between the legislative and judicial branches of our state government.

Regier and Brown are probably more upset that the Republicans don’t control the State Supreme Court. If the Republicans did, I believe they would be silent and that is the problem.

We need transparency 24/7 and it should not matter which party is in control. The Helena Independent Record editorial board should have opined about that from the beginning. They have a lot of work to do to churn out editorials as the Bozeman Daily Chronicle does.

Read the full editorial by clicking HERE.

ANTIFA & FASCISM:

Some of the right-wing nutjobs around Montana are up in arms about people posting pictures of our military and saying, “Thank you, Antifa.”

Maybe this will help them understand:

Merriam-Webster defines Antifa as:

a person or group actively opposing fascism.

Merriam-Webster defines Fascism as:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

Maybe before these nutjobs go off on social media halfcocked, they should understand what they are talking about.

That is all.

U.S. SUPREME COURT:

The Hill has a story posted about the “Five big upcoming Supreme Court decisions” that is worth a read.

The cases deal with the following:

• Same-sex foster parents and religious liberty
• ObamaCare challenge
• Voting rights
• NCAA athlete compensation
• Student free speech

Read the complete story from The Hill by clicking HERE.

THE WESTERN WORD POLL:

Late last month, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued an Attorney General’s Opinion (AGO), holding the use of “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) and so-called “antiracism” programming in many instances is discriminatory and violates federal and state law. The AGO, which carries the weight of law in Montana, was issued after a May 12 request from Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen.

Education Week reported that as of June 10, legislators in 20 states have introduced bills that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism, according to an Education Week analysis. Four states have signed these bills into law.

This week’s poll question asks, “Do you believe Critical Race Theory (CRT) should be taught in public schools?”

Click HERE to take the poll. Results will be posted Thursday.

## GET VACCINATED TODAY ##