Quote for the Day…
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In today’s column, I take a quick look at these people/issues:
- Not on My Watch
- Pence in Montana
- Sidney Pastor Jordan Hall
- The Western Word Poll
NOT ON MY WATCH:
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter has a new campaign ad out that is called, “Not on My Watch.” The ad is 30 seconds long and was posted to YouTube on May 1.
The ad is about guns and shows Slaughter firing his pistol (he’s slow on the draw).
In the ad, Slaughter says, “I’m a true Montanan raised the son of a sheriff.” He goes on to say that he was taught the value of being an American and the importance of protecting Second Amendment rights.
I support the Second Amendment; I just don’t think people should be able to buy tanks, grenade launchers, machine guns, and rockets.
Where Slaughter loses me and probably my vote is this next part:
He then talks about a bill he supported (HB 258) which prohibits local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun control. He states that if they come to take your guns, it’s very simple: Not in Cascade County Montana, not on my watch. He then asks for your vote and says together we’ll continue to fight for freedom.
I’m sure the federal law enforcement officials in Cascade County (FBI, U.S. Marshals, and Security/Law Enforcement at Malmstrom) will feel really secure having Slaughter as their backup after seeing that he won’t support their actions on guns in Cascade County. Contrary to what Slaughter thinks, he does not get to pick and choose which laws to enforce.
You can watch the ad HERE.
PENCE IN MONTANA:
Former Vice President Mike Pence was in Helena Friday visiting Governor Gianforte, and then he spoke at an event in Billings that evening.
It appears from press reports that the meeting was kept secret. Lee Newspapers reported that Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke wrote in an email Monday, “The vice president and the governor had a meeting which did not involve official state business.”
I could write a book on why that is a bullshit statement, but why waste the time.
Some right-wingers were quick to laugh at the press in the Montana capitol for not knowing the former Vice President was there.
I guess these MAGA folks fail to remember that several people from their party wanted to hang Pence in front of the U.S. Capitol just about 18 months ago.
It’s no wonder Pence and his people want to keep his meetings and location secret until the very end.
You can read the full report from Lee Newspapers HERE.
SIDNEY PASTOR JORDAN HALL:
Did you hear the story about a Sidney, Montana, pastor who was arrested on DUI and weapons charges? Read on…
The Sidney Herald is reporting that Jordan Daniel Hall, 40, of a 14th Street SW address in Sidney, was arrested at approximately 11 p.m. on May 11, 2022, on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence of drugs and multiple traffic violations and driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs (first offense).
It was reported that Hall pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 12 and has an omnibus hearing scheduled for July 19. The Daily Montanan reported that Hall claims the symptoms noticed by police were caused by a lack of vitamin D.
Lack of Vitamin D.
The Daily Montanan also reported the following:
As a result of the charges, Hall submitted his resignation as pastor of First Baptist Church in Sidney, but the resignation was denied, according to a statement from the church.
“The deacons and elders met yesterday and rejected his resignation in consultation with three well-respected and Godly pastors of other churches, as it was unanimously determined that, as no alcohol was used and Pastor Hall’s coordination/health issues have been well known, this unfortunate incident was not ministerially disqualifying,” the statement read.
It continued, “The council determined Pastor Hall was exhausted, potentially addicted to working, and must rest, do nothing for three months, and change his phone number (to not be bothered by outsiders).”
Beam me up, Scotty!
Read the Sidney Herald report HERE and the Daily Montanan report HERE.
THE WESTERN WORD POLL:
This week’s poll question asks, “Which party will control the U.S. House and U.S. Senate after the November election?” (Background)
The results will be posted later this week.
The Western Word 
Jackie, Zone Of Death. That’s so right on with the point I’m trying to make!
Supreme Court Montana Web page explains tickets are written into courts “where event occurs” so deputies should write tickets into Belt & Cascade City Courts. There’s a handy drop down list directing folks to those two courts. Jesse should direct his deputies accordingly.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zZqfKDkpoNBv2pfg6
Mary, Sheriffs and deputies are county officers and as such their tickets go to justice and district courts, not city courts.
Not true.
Mary, absolutely true. I work in the court system. Think of it this way, if the Feds arrest you then you will be going to federal court. Same here. Ask the city judge if you don’t believe me.
While there may be a “benign” reason for this practice, the ultimate distribution of the collected fines could be a factor in that having all fines “flow” through a particular court could skew funding of recipients for one court versus the others. The fine distribution stautes should at least be looked at.
While the issue could be as simple as laziness and reluctance to travel even the short distances to Cascade and Belt, it simply does not comply with the law and therefore should not be spproved conduct for law enforcement. Sheriff Slaughter has not demonstrated that he should be given the benefit of the doubt IMHO.
I recently retired from the court. Rick best alert the Montana Supreme Court website administrator to stop directing folks who were ticketed in Belt & Cascade by deputies into their separate City Courts. The Sixth Amendment to the US constitution is what gives the right to a jury trial and venue. There is a separate jury pool for each of the cities of Belt & Cascade. Writing these tickets into Justice Court is new. Belt & Cascade Courts formerly heard tickets written by deputies which can not be disputed.
Your discussion reminded me about the “Zone of Death” in Yellowstone NP. Interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_Death_(Yellowstone)
Omg. Jesse’s finally done it. He’s gone full on MAGA. True Montanan (ie. white dude), guns, and freedom! How noble, how brave, how heroic he is to take on a problem that doesn’t exist! I seriously doubt that Montanan’s guns will ever be threatened by the Feds. At least not in our lifetimes. But if they are, we have noble knight Sir Jesse ready to ride and do battle with the dragon! Or more accurately a dragon fly. I can almost here the cheers from the tin foil hat crowd! And it’s true. What other federal laws is sir noble knight willing to ignore? Lots of federal land he might lay claim to! As supreme ruler, we can’t rule anything out.
But what Jesse failed to mention is that he also was probably the only law enforcement representative to testify to allow guns on campus, a simply horrific idea. In spite of nearly universal objection, there was sir noble knight arguing for guns on campus. If for no other reason, this alone indicates his judgement is no where near sufficient to hold the office of sheriff. That bill would decimate the university system.
https://dailymontanan.com/2021/01/06/montana-ag-knudsen-favors-gun-expansion-bill/
The full statement from the church in Sidney read in part, ”police insisted Pastor Hall failed the administered field sobriety test. Pastor Hall has suffered from documented vitamin D deficiency, which can result in poor coordination, slurred speech, word displacement, etc. This medical issue has been discussed openly for some time and has been the subject of our church’s prayers.”
So allowing this could be true because after all anything is possible, if you and your entire congregation know you’ve got a medical condition that causes these symptoms, and you’re in the midst of suffering them when it is time to drive, isn’t it every bit as irresponsible and/or reckless to get behind the wheel and endanger other members of society as sitting in the bar a couple drinks too long before driving home? Would anyone he might have hit be any less injured or dead because it was a vitamin D shortage?
https://fbcsidney.org/2022/05/16/statement-from-fbc-sidney-concerning-recent-allegations-against-pastor-jordan-jd-hall/
Terry – I think you’re right about knowing you have this issue and driving.
I’ve got a Vitamin D deficiency and take vitamin D3 for it. I’ve never had the problems the pastor claims.
This will be an interesting case.
Thanks, JmB
It probably won’t be all that interesting, because like always happens when a politically connected public figure gets busted for things like this, he’ll get off scott free. But maybe to add some drama Austin Knudsen could swoop in to take over the case and make a big splash out of clearing fellow righty JD Hall from this swampy witch hunt.
Seems to me the church elders should exercise due diligence for their schedule of prayers before bothering the deity with non-existent circumstances. The only symptoms listed for D vitamin deficiency are “general tiredness, vague aches and pains and a general sense of not being well.” The symptoms they’re hoping to pray away for Hall, “…poor coordination, slurred speech, word displacement, etc.” are very indicative, however, of being drunk or stoned. Maybe they should try praying him into a detox program, instead. I suspect the lord would approve.
I think that poor JD overestimated his ability as a religious preacher phenom. When a fella is headed to court with the realization that Jesus ain’t payin’ for your lawyer in the Jawort case, it causes one to take pause and look for inspiration in maybe some alternative medications. Perhaps JD has overstayed his welcome in Eastern Montana when even a local deputy will haul you in without giving a warning ticket even though there was no booze in your system. JD maybe needs to return to where he’s from for a refresher course in MAGA religion from the master.
https://crooksandliars.com/2022/05/pastor-locke-screams-democrats-are-demons
Jesse might need to find a new spiritual advisor. Or maybe start a prison ministry to see his old pal.
This article offers more details explaining Pastor Hall’s beliefs. It’s easy to see why some consider him to be preaching hate. There is a link provided to the pastor’s own site where he shares his beliefs in detail. It’s worth a read. You have to wonder why Slaughter hangs around with this guy.
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/sidney-church-responds-after-far-right-pastors-arrest/article_dc0b52b2-779e-5816-924b-aa1db2e34b3f.html#tracking-source=home-top-story