Quote for the Day…
If you don’t need a mask because God will protect you, why do you need a gun? – Unknown
Hello October! 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:
- Tracy Stone-Manning
- Great Falls Voters
- Two Clowns
- Trust in Government
- YouTube
TRACY STONE-MANNING:
Back in June of this year, I wrote that President Biden’s pick to be the director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tracy Stone-Manning, should be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. I continued telling my readers the same thing through the following months – even as she was unfairly attacked by the right-wingers.
If you follow me on Twitter (@TheWesternWord) then you were one of the first to learn that the U.S. Senate confirmed Stone-Manning by a vote of 50-45.
U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) went after Stone-Manning with both barrels. It bordered on libel. It was not their best performance. They lost. They looked weak attacking a woman.
I look forward to seeing Stone-Manning lead the BLM.
Read the Associated Press report HERE.
GREAT FALLS VOTERS:
The municipal election is coming up in Great Falls, and one of my fellow Montana blogs, E-City Beat, has asked the candidates for commission and mayor some questions.
First up is one of their favorite candidates, Fred Burow, who is running for Great Falls mayor. He appears to be a favorite of the conservatives in the area. A post about him is pinned to the top of the E-City Beat Facebook page; that is the reason I said he was a favorite.
In reviewing the answers to the questions, it appears Burow is against recreational marijuana shops in the city:
He was asked, “Would you vote to support using City zoning regulations to prevent recreational marijuana shops from operating in Great Falls neighborhoods and business districts?”
He replied, “Our current city zoning prohibits pot shops in city limits. I have no cause to change it. There are places in the county that they can operate.”
I support recreational marijuana.
He also appears to support a tax increase (safety levy) to pay for additional resources to “to pay for additional law enforcement and local criminal justice system resources.”
I am against tax increases no matter what they call them.
I am torn about this election. I do not want any additional Trump people running the city, so if you are a candidate and voted for Trump, let me know, and it will save me some research.
You can read Burow’s full responses and those of other candidates running for elective office by visiting the E-City Beat blog. You can find it using Google or by clicking on the link on the bottom right side of my home page.
TWO CLOWNS:
This week, U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT)) posted a photo of him with Donald J. Trump, Jr., with the caption, “Great morning catching up with Donald Trump Jr.!”
You can see the photo HERE.
I have always wondered about Daines’ judgment.
TRUST IN GOVERNMENT:
Americans’ trust in the government remains low according to Gallup:
Trust in the federal government’s handling of international problems has fallen nine percentage points since last year to a record-low 39%, and now matches the level of trust for its handling of domestic problems — one of only a few times that has occurred.
Confidence in the three branches of the federal government is low on a relative basis. Although a 54% majority of U.S. adults trust the judicial branch, this is down 13 points compared with 2020.
I think that Trump helped destroy the confidence in the USA. I hope that he never comes close to being elected again.
Read the complete Gallup report by clicking HERE.
YOUTUBE:
NPR reported this week that YouTube is cracking down on the spread of misinformation by banning misleading and inaccurate content about vaccines.
Good deal. I hope that other social media sites will start suspending individuals who post fake crap about vaccines instead of just posting a comment on their post.
You can read the NPR story HERE.
The Western Word 
Wow. Our commissioners are falling behind. Maybe the Lege can pick up the slack.
https://www.rawstory.com/critical-race-theory-north-carolina/
good comment Larry. Anyone who cares about keeping public lands public needs to look at the history of the Republican party in other western states. Randy Newberg (sp?) comes to mind.
I get a real kick outta Daines when he claims to be the “voice of Montana” on the committee, as if an outta state millionaire is representative of hard scrabble Montana. I guess he forgot that Jon Tester is more Montanan than he could ever hope to be. Billionaire values are not Montana values, Steve. And we love our public lands. They are our birthright that you and your republican pals continually attempt to steal and privatize. We want a BLM director who shares our values, not a venal industry hack who will willingly sell off and destroy what little public land is left for the sake of his billionaire buddies. We need a place to hunt too.
Btw, Steve, as you bellow about Stone Manning’s nonexistent criminal activity, your hypocrisy comes through loud and clear. Shouldn’t you be focused on real threats to our country from your cohorts?
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“Thirty years ago, Tracy Stone-Manning did the right thing by helping to convict eco-terrorists and warning land managers of their actions. If Senator Barrasso is so worried about terrorism, he needs to clean up his own house first. Barrasso voted against a bipartisan investigation into the attempted coup of January 6th, but he thinks that someone who did the right thing three decades ago should be disqualified from a Senate-confirmable job.
“Barrasso’s hypocrisy would be laughable if the issues at hand here weren’t so serious. He’s simply carrying water for Steve Daines, another senator who is happy to look the other way when his own party foments insurrection against the United States. During the last election Stone-Manning supported her former boss, Montana Governor Steve Bullock, in his campaign against Daines.
“It’s clear this entire bad-faith attack is nothing more than Daines and Barrasso holding a political grudge rather than doing the right thing for the people of Montana and the West, who deserve a leader like Tracy Stone-Manning at the Bureau of Land Management.”
Thanks Larry. Barrasso continued to attack Stone-Manning on Twitter even after his side lost the vote. That proves to me that he is a sore loser. -JmB