Quote for the Day…
Attack life, it’s going to kill you anyway. ― Steven Colbert
In today’s column, I look at these people/issues:
- Ryan Zinke
- Missoula/Billings
- Uvalde School Massacre
- Reading Assignments
RYAN ZINKE:
I am not sure what Congressional candidate Ryan Zinke is trying to prove by not filing his financial disclosure documents on time. Supposedly he missed the latest deadline by more than a month. He reportedly missed another deadline before this one.
There are reports that he finally filed his report on Tuesday more than a month late. (Source)
People are looking for reasons not to vote for Zinke, and he is giving them several. He had a tough primary. He should beat Monica Tranel, but he can’t afford to make these silly mistakes – if they are mistakes. It makes him look like he thinks he is better than the rest of us.
There are rules, Ryan. Follow them.
MISSOULA/BILLINGS:
As I posted yesterday before most others, WalletHub is reporting that Montana is ranked the second most patriotic state, just behind Alaska! (Source)
WalletHub also released “2022’s Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America” with two Montana cities making the list: Missoula and Billings.
Methodology:
In order to determine the best- and worst-run cities in America, WalletHub compared 150 of the most populated cities across six key categories: 1) Financial Stability, 2) Education, 3) Health, 4) Safety, 5) Economy and 6) Infrastructure & Pollution.
Although Great Falls is smaller than Missoula and Billings and was probably not included in the WalletHub study, the leaders in Great Falls could learn a few things from Missoula and Billings.
Read the complete WalletHub report HERE.
UVALDE SCHOOL MASSACRE:
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Police had enough officers and firepower on the scene of the Uvalde school massacre to have stopped the gunman three minutes after he entered the building, and they would have found the door to the classroom where he was holed up unlocked if they had bothered to check it, the head of the Texas state police testified Tuesday, pronouncing the law enforcement response an “abject failure.”
My gosh, what a complete screw-up.
Police officers are supposed to protect us. They are expected to be braver than others. The police in Uvalde failed. They need to clean out that department and start anew.
Read the complete report from the AP HERE.
READING ASSIGNMENTS:
Here are some articles you should read…
AP – Senators reach bipartisan compromise on gun violence bill
This is about all we will get in the current political climate…
Reuters – U.S. Supreme Court backs public money for religious schools
I am not happy that the court did this, but this is the way it’s going to be for the foreseeable future.
AP – Facebook removes GOP Senate candidate’s ‘RINO hunting’ video
If Eric Greitens wins his Missouri Senate primary, the Democrats have a good chance of picking up a seat. Greitens has a lot of baggage…
The Western Word 
I would suggest this article too if not as a good read, then as an important read. Extremely important. Why? Because. Montana is becoming infested with such folks. These folks are entering an unparalleled unreality in this country. And they’re becoming more violent daily. We have our own pastor here in Montana who commemorates the Jan 6 insurrection in Helena, and calls for sainthood for the woman who was killed. We even have a law enforcement officer who gave this pastor a commendation medal. We need to know what motivates them.
It’s a long complex article so set aside some time ahead of time. Jeff Sharlet is an excellent writer. He wrote the book The Faimly, which I believe they turned into a documentary.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/06/trump-ashli-babbitt-christians
Zinke has a pretty remarkable track record for a supposedly shoe-in candidate. He was a Navy Seal (of which he incessantly reminds everyone he meets), but they ousted him for blatant corruption. Then the Navy command structure realized he wasn’t competent enough for even an administrative desk, so they explained that he’d never get another promotion and should give serious consideration to “retiring”, which he did.
After being elected to a can’t-lose GOP seat in the House, the Trumpsky administration looked at his background as making him suitable material for a cabinet post. To their chagrin, it turned out he was TOO corrupt and incompetent for a place in the most corrupt and incompetent administration in US history, and they bluntly told him to get out, which he did.
Now he’s trying to slither back into the Montana political scene. He seems to bring with him lessons learned in the higher levels of GOP protocol – if there’s a legal or ethical embarrassment facing you, just ignore it and maybe it’ll go away. After all, rules and laws are just for the chumps you expect to vote for you.