The Wednesday Read

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Quote for the Day…

Respect your haters. They are the ones who think you are better than them. – Unknown

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

  • Montana Department of Justice
  • Trump Statement
  • University of Tennessee
  • The Western Word Poll

MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE:

On Tuesday social media in Montana was all abuzz about a Lee Newspapers story which reported that St. Peter’s Health in Helena said three different public officials “threatened” hospital doctors last week over the care of a COVID-19 patient. It was also reported that the patient had requested to be treated with ivermectin, a drug not approved for use against the disease.

Further down in the story, it was reported that the hospital did not name the elected officials in its statement, but Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office confirmed his participation in a conference call with hospital executives last week.

A Montana Highway Patrol officer was dispatched to the hospital. I wonder if the Montana DOJ does that for everyone or just “special” people?

My first thought was there must be a big-time Republican donor in the hospital or a family member and that compelled the elected officials to become involved.

We’ve come to a point in this country that elected officials are handing out medical advice or getting in the way of medical professionals. That was wrong from the beginning and will always be.

A lot of people have died by not following advice from medical professionals.

Read the complete Lee Newspapers report HERE.

MTN News is reporting on the incident HERE.

The Associated Press is reporting on the story HERE.

TRUMP STATEMENT:

I have no problem when a public official dies telling the facts, however positive or negative, about his/her life in the final article or their obituary. I do have a problem with anyone getting one more shot in when the public official can’t respond. I saw that happen with a few reporters in Montana when my former boss, Conrad Burns, died. It was pure bullshit.

After the recent death of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Donald J. Trump attacked him in the following statement:

Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday. He was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!

Trump’s statement was way below the belt. Powell was a patriot and served his country honorably both in and out of uniform. That’s something Trump has never done.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE:

ESPN reported that the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced Monday that it was assessing Tennessee a $250,000 fine in the aftermath of fans throwing bottles and other debris onto the field last Saturday at Neyland Stadium near the end of Volunteers’ 31-26 loss to Ole Miss. With 54 seconds to play, the game was stopped for 20 minutes when fans began showering the Ole Miss sideline with bottles, cans, and other projectiles, including a golf ball that hit Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Tennessee had just been stopped on fourth down after a questionable spot by officials.

The $250,000 fine is a drop in a bucket to a big university.

I heard someone say the punishment should be that when Tennessee has their next home game, they should not be allowed to have any fans in attendance. I agree with that idea.

THE WESTERN WORD POLL:

Over the weekend, Lee Newspapers posted an interview with Montana Governor Greg Gianforte in which he “defended his administration’s policies toward the pandemic, which have included signing into law the nation’s only prohibition on private businesses requiring vaccines in the workplace, and several measures that limited the power of local health departments to implement measures to curb the virus’ spread.”

Please read the full interview HERE.

This week’s poll question asks, “What grade would you give Governor Greg Gianforte regarding his response to the pandemic?”

The results will be posted Thursday.

## WEAR A MASK INDOORS IN PUBLIC PLACES ##

12 thoughts on “The Wednesday Read”

  1. As a life-long Independent, I’ve voted for quite a few Republicans over the years. I’m old enough to have voted for Chuck Percy, Everett Dirksen, ‘Big Jim’ Thompson in Illinois elections, and was pleased and proud to do so. I was actually leaving the polls in Butte in 2006 and stopped dead in my tracks when I realized I HADN’T BEEN ABLE to vote for a single Republican, local, state, or national. Not one. It pissed me off then, and still does now.

    Like many, my basic nature is conservative on a number of issues, and I WANT to be able to vote for candidates who reflect a comparable mix of views and commitments. Even though I disagree with most of their positions, I could vote for Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger, simply based on their integrity. I’m sure there are at least a few other Republicans at some level of their party who share that honesty; but I’m damned if I can name even ONE!!

    Can you??

    • Fred – I also respect Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their integrity. It’s hard to single out any Republicans who place country over party. I follow Murkowski and Sasse, but they have disappointed me with some of their votes. There are no “Mavericks” in the US Senate. Thanks, JmB

  2. Trump statement: Par for the course. He did the same thing after McCain died. He is so no class that low class looks down on him.

    Gianforte poll: Billings Gazette story yesterday noted that Montana is now #1 (once again?) in the nation for number of Covid infections per 100,000 population. Bravo Greg, Montana #1 on your watch!

    https://tinyurl.com/2y6tr95z

    • Terry – it’s hard to believe that any military veteran would support Trump with the things he has said about veterans. Thanks, JmB

      • Tomorrow is doctor appointment day. I had a knee surgery go bad, so I had to have a do over surgery. I’m currently trying to get my life back. I have been chair bound for about the last three or four months. I can walk short distances now with a cane. This last year has been hell. Too much running and too much tree work. Destroyed my knee. I was a marathon runner for fifty years. I graduated high school the same year as Prefontaine, 1969. He’s from Coos Bay H.S. and me from David Douglas. I never ran against Pre but my buddies did. Sam Elliot the actor graduated three years ahead of me. We had a great school.

        So I’ve slowed down a bit. Every time I go to an event like the one tomorrow, I either get thrown out or get in a fight. I’ve got a low tolerance for bullshit. I can’t help it. And at seventy years of age with bad knees, I have to pick my fights carefully.

        But I may swing by if I get out of the doc office in time. I think Jesse will get hoist by his own petard. He’s an idiot. He got run out of Stillwater County. The miners down there ran him out. I know why, but I don’t want to say. If you know someone down that way ask them.

        He’s bad news. Hopefully the people of Great Falls will see through his bullshit.

        But thanks a lot for letting me know about the meeting. I don’t follow the Nazi sites much.

  4. Jackie,
    You should use your position as a informed conservative to press for more inquiries into AG Knudsen’s activities. There has been a steady stream of increasingly disturbing abuses coming from his office. He began his term trying to bully local law enforcement offices in Bozeman and Helena regarding criminal prosecutions, he then jumped into questionable legal actions involving appeals to the U.S Supreme Court on issues not remotely important to Montana and now trying to coerce medical professionals on behalf of presumably, well-connected individuals who won’t take approved and tested vaccines, to prescribe unapproved medications.
    The AG barely understands the law and its limitations, let alone being qualified to tell medical professionals how to treat patients.
    You recognize this as the abuse of his office that it is. It is up to you conservatives to reign in these abuses by the fringes of the movement.
    I appreciate your willingness to point this out but in these times, more action is needed.

    • Old Line – Thanks for your comments. The Republicans started going off the rails around 2007. They went completely bat shit crazy when they nominated Trump for President. By the way, the last time I attended a Republican meeting was in 2006. -JmB

      • I can’t argue with your timeline. Glad to hear you “saw the light” in 2006.
        So now the inmates are in charge of the asylum.
        How much damage will be done before everyday folks realize what is happening to our great state?
        I hope you can be a rallying cry in this wilderness before its too late.

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