Quote for the Day…
Do you know you have the right to remain silent even when you’re not being arrested? – Unknown
Welcome to Caught My Eye (CME)!
CME is the once-a-week column that is posted every Friday morning. This is when I look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week.
Here are some of the things that “Caught My Eye” this week:
- Recreational Vehicle Parking
- Biden Draws Line
- One More Thing
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARKING:
The Great Falls City Commission held a meeting this week to discuss, as the Great Falls Tribune reported, the long-term parking and/or storage of recreational vehicles, utility trailers, or vessels in residential districts for longer than 36 hours in a seven-day period on city streets.
Exciting stuff – democracy in action!
After more than an hour of discussion, the commission punted the issue until their second meeting in October.
Several people made comments for and against the proposal. Some people had no idea what they were talking about.
One commissioner, who will go unnamed, sounded just like the cartoon character, Bullwinkle J. Moose, from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon. That made the online meeting a little more interesting.
As for the issue, I think the main issue must be safety. They might want to consider not allowing parking on city streets from October to May. During the other months, they could allow parking for only 48 hours at a time. As for enforcement, it appears that the city police were not too keen on enforcement of the ordinance. They might need to be briefed on the chain of command.
Read the article from the Great Falls Tribune HERE. Read the coverage of the issue from “The Electric” by clicking HERE.
BIDEN DRAWS LINE:
Reuters reported that President Joe Biden took aim on Thursday at vaccine resistance in America, announcing policies requiring most federal employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations and pushing large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly.
The anti-vaccine/mask folks and Biden haters went wild shortly after the announcement.
Biden said during his speech:
We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin.
And your refusal has cost all of us.
So, please, do the right thing.
But just don’t take it from me; listen to the voices of unvaccinated Americans who are lying in hospital beds, taking their final breaths, saying, “If only I had gotten vaccinated.” “If only.”
Biden also talked about schools:
The Department of Education has already begun to take legal action against states undermining protection that local school officials have ordered. Any teacher or school official whose pay is withheld for doing the right thing, we will have that pay restored by the federal government 100 percent. I promise you I will have your back.
Of course, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R) is against Biden’s plan, saying:
President Biden’s vaccination mandate is unlawful and un-American. We are committed to protecting Montanans’ freedoms and liberties against this gross federal overreach.
The fact is that Gianforte does not know if the vaccine mandate is unlawful.
I think Biden needed to draw a line in the sand. Due to people not getting vaccinated, and not masking, the pandemic is getting worse. He may face court challenges. We’ll see if his plan can withstand a challenge in court.
Read the President’s full speech HERE.
Read the Reuters report HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
This Saturday (September 11) is 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. A friend sent me this note:
I Miss 9/12
I would never ever want another 9/11, but I miss the America of 9/12.
Stores ran out of flags to sell because they were being flown everywhere.
People were Americans before they were upper or lower class, Jewish or Christian, Republican or Democrat.
We hugged people without caring if they ate at Chick-fil-A or wore Nikes.
On 9/12, what mattered more was what united us, than what divided us.
The Western Word 
Well what do you know. A “constitutionalist”, just like our own sheriff Jesse, appointed these wackos to be new school board after the sheriff’s office told the real school board to leave for their own protection after being threatened by the wackos. What is going on here? How can this be? How much longer will civil society tolerate these criminals? If the cops won’t act, I guess that decent people will do their jobs for them. I have attended public meetings for the last forty years, and even been thrown out of a couple by the cops, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Usually only takes one cop in the room to maintain order.
Read the tweets too. Very interesting.
https://www.rawstory.com/anti-maskers-school-board/
My guess on why recreational vehicles are a problem is all the people who can’t find affordable housing creating impromptu RV parks on city streets. We have a lot of those here in Bozeman. Just about any commercial development with finished streets and vacant lots has a trailer or car camping on it. The city commission here hasn’t made it an issue but a place like Great Falls may be less forgiving of such activity
Gianforte is suddenly worried about gross government overreach.
This is the governor who, uniquely in all America, outlawed the ability of private businesses and employers to make their own decision whether or not to protect themselves and customers with vaccine requirements. He trusts individuals to make their own health decisions about vaccines, but employers/businesses cannot be trusted..
He signed a number of laws gutting the local control of counties and towns and public sector organizations like school.districts across Montana, including but not limited to mask mandates, appatently because local officials cannot be trusted to make their own decisions..
This is typical of Republican run state governments all over America. Anything that comes down from Washington is horrible and overreach, but jackbooted authoritarian top-down dictates limiting personal decisions and freedoms that come down from Republican statehouses on their businesses and locally elected officials is somehow wonderful.
I don’t know if the vaccine mandate is unlawful but if I had to bet on it I’d go with unlawful. The eviction ban took a long time to make it through the courts but I think this mandate will come to the courts and be decided sooner.
Thanks Mary – it will be interesting. -JmB
Will the executive order take effect immediately? If so, won’t a lot of people get vaccinated before it can be overturned? Me personally I’m glad Biden did it. It’s time to bring this thing to a head. If the wackos follow through with their threat to shoot it out, so be it I guess. They will just find another excuse in the future if not this one to use their so called second amendment solution. I think that Biden, like a lot of folks, is tired of their threats.
“Presidential executive orders, once issued, remain in force until they are canceled, revoked, adjudicated unlawful, or expire on their terms. At any time, the president may revoke, modify or make exceptions from any executive order, whether the order was made by the current president or a predecessor.”
This is what I think too.
https://www.rawstory.com/legal-expert-pours-cold-water-on-gop-threat-to-sue-biden-over-vaccine-mandate/
Larry – I think order about vaccines for federal employees takes effect in seven days, “The Task Force shall issue guidance within 7 days of the date of this order on agency implementation of this requirement for all agencies covered by this order.” -JmB
Update – I watched the White House briefing today like a good American, and I think it will be quite some time before the rules are in place. -JmB
Just googled OSHA & overturned. 2001 Congress overturned Ergonomics rule. Like it’s thought Congress could pass something to enact an eviction prohibition. This next election will be quite interesting. If states sue feds does it not go to US Supremes directly? Might be settled soon. Trump told. CDC to halt evictions. Biden told OSHA to mandate vaccines.