Quote for the Day…

The happiest people in life are givers, not the getters. – 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:

• Sheriff Jesse Slaughter
• Yellowstone County Reefer Madness
• Montana GOP & Debt Ceiling
• Safest States to Live in During COVID-19
• TWW on Facebook
• One More Thing

CASCADE COUNTY SHERIFF JESSE SLAUGHTER:

There’s a story in the Great Falls Tribune that is behind their paywall (for some reason) that reports the following about Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter:

Two 2021 Facebook posts showing Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter photographed with a Christian right pastor have caused concern in Great Falls’ LGBTQ+ community.
Sidney pastor Jordan Hall founded the Montana Daily Gazette, published by the Gideon Knox group, which has a track record of prejudice against LGBTQ+ people.

As for Slaughter, the Tribune reported:

When asked if he endorses Hall’s views, Slaughter said he didn’t remember Hall being anti-anything when he spoke recently in Great Falls. He said he only recalled Hall requesting funds to fight the libel suit.
Slaughter said he does not share Hall’s belief that the LGBTQ+ community has an agenda to “control our lives and steal our liberty.”
“Nobody in this country deserves to be discriminated against,” Slaughter said, “and nobody should be in fear. This is a free country, you should have the freedom to have the values and beliefs that you want to have.”

The first term (or rookie sheriff) has done a 180 since running as a Democrat. He switched parties and now claims he is a Republican. I think he was a Republican all along.

Not long ago, the Daily Montanan reported that Montana received mostly negative marks from the national Human Rights Campaign’s annual evaluation of how well cities support LGBTQ+ residents — of the eight municipalities evaluated in Montana, only two received a score higher than 60 out of 100.

Maybe someone should point out to the rookie sheriff that Great Falls only scored 6/100. Great Falls scored a zero in every category except “Municipality as Employer,” for which it received six points for having transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits.

I would suggest to the sheriff that he needs to be a little more selective with whom he is taking photos. Please don’t give me the bullshit answer of, “I take lots of photos with all types of people.”

Pro Tip: Taking photos with those who spew hatred toward fellow citizens only emboldens them.

Meanwhile, I suggest anyone (like me) who voted for Slaughter in the last election might want to think hard before voting for him again.

Read the story (for subscribers) from the Great Falls Tribune HERE.

Read the report from the Daily Montanan HERE.

YELLOWSTONE COUNTY REEFER MADNESS:

I saw the following story in the Billings Gazette and could not believe the gall of the Yellowstone County commissioners.

Here are the first three graphs from the Billings Gazette:

Yellowstone County residents will get another vote on recreational marijuana.
County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning to take the question of whether to allow recreational marijuana businesses to operate within the county back to voters in June.
Montana voters in 2020 overwhelmingly approved legalizing recreational marijuana; in Yellowstone County the vote was more narrow, 50.7% to 49.3% in favor, a difference of roughly 1,100 votes.

I guess if you don’t like the way people voted, then you can just call for another vote (and maybe more) if it does not come out your way. Shame on the Yellowstone County Commissioners for not abiding by the will of the voters.

Read the complete story from the Billings Gazette HERE.

MONTANA GOP & DEBT CEILING:

I receive emails from both political parties, and they are usually full of so much bullshit that after I read them, I laugh and delete them.

This week the Chairman of the Montana GOP, Don “K” Kaltschmidt, who at one time used to read this blog religiously, sent out an email that was a complete lie:

Senator Tester voted to INCREASE THE DEBT CEILING.
That means our nation’s debt will accumulate to $31.4 TRILLION, giving the Democrats free rein to keep up with their spending addiction.
But what does that mean for you, me, and other fellow Montanans? Even HIGHER TAXES!
I am very disappointed in Jon Tester. Instead of sticking up for our state and putting Americans FIRST, he cowardly voted with his radical liberal cronies.

The bottom line is that increasing the debt ceiling has been done many times by both Republicans and Democrats. If Trump were President, Don “K” Kaltschmidt would have said nothing about raising it.

For the record, here is what the Department of Treasury has to say about it:

The debt limit is the total amount of money that the United States government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments.
The debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments. It simply allows the government to finance existing legal obligations that Congresses and presidents of both parties have made in the past.
Failing to increase the debt limit would have catastrophic economic consequences. It would cause the government to default on its legal obligations – an unprecedented event in American history. That would precipitate another financial crisis and threaten the jobs and savings of everyday Americans – putting the United States right back in a deep economic hole, just as the country is recovering from the recent recession.
Congress has always acted when called upon to raise the debt limit. Since 1960, Congress has acted 78 separate times to permanently raise, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit – 49 times under Republican presidents and 29 times under Democratic presidents. Congressional leaders in both parties have recognized that this is necessary.

You can see the report from the Department of the Treasury by clicking HERE.

SAFEST STATES TO LIVE IN DURING COVID-19:

With around 61% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but the omicron variant on the rise, WalletHub this week released updated rankings for the Safest States During COVID-19.
In order to find out the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics. Our data set includes the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated.

Montana ranked as a “Least Safe” state at #45. Montana beat Wyoming, which came in at #49.

In my opinion, Montana ranked as a “Least Safe” state because of the failed leadership of Governor Greg Gianforte.

Check out the complete report from WalletHub by clicking HERE.

TWW ON FACEBOOK:

Some people who “Like” or “Follow” the Facebook page of The Western Word might have noticed some recent changes.

I have disabled comments on the page. I am still posting breaking news (more quickly than most other sites in the state) and you can like the posts or laugh at it or whatever.

The reason I did this is to get more comments (and views/page visits) on The Western Word blog and have more control over the comments. I can handle anyone disagreeing with or loving my opinions or the articles I post; I want to have them all in one place.

Please visit my Facebook page by clicking HERE. Like/Follow it if you wish!

Be one of the over 1,000 people who follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord. I will follow you back!

ONE MORE THING:

It is that time of year for the conservatives and Christians to start posting crap about the “War on Christmas.”

There is no “War on Christmas.” I think it’s all made-up.

I saw this post on social media and want to share it:

I am a Christian
When someone says, “Happy Holidays” to me, I simply smile and reply,
“You as well.”
I don’t lecture them or insist on them acknowledging Christmas.
Because I am a Christian and not a jerk.

## HAPPY HOLIDAYS ##