Quote for the Day…

Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. ― Winston Churchill

Caught My Eye (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:

• Montana Birth Certificates
• No Special Session
• MAGA Candidates

MONTANA BIRTH CERTIFICATES:

According to the reporting from the Montana Free Press (MTFP), the Montana state health department (DPHHS) said Thursday it will not abide by a district court judge’s order to temporarily reinstate a 2017 procedure allowing transgender Montanans to update the sex listed on their birth certificates. Instead, the department said it would continue to enforce a rule it adopted last week that essentially bars any changes to the listed sex on a person’s birth certificate.

Maybe the officials in DPHHS can’t read or comprehend the judge’s order?

The easy fix would be for the judge to order Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton into court and hold him in contempt. Maybe a few hours or days in jail would teach him a lesson.

There seems to be a lot of animosity toward the judicial branch in Montana from the current administration. Those in the judicial system need to start playing hardball.

Read the report from MTFP HERE.

NO SPECIAL SESSION:

MTN News reported that the Montana Legislature will not hold a special session this month to consider using the state’s budget surplus for tax rebates after a majority of lawmakers failed to endorse the idea.

According to MTN News, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office released the results of a poll, asking all 150 legislators whether they wanted to call a special session for Sept. 29. While 53 lawmakers approved the proposal, with 52 voting against it, it still fell short of the 76 votes required.

Republicans have large majorities in the Montana Legislature, so it is odd that they do not want to meet to give hard-working taxpayers a rebate.

Read the MTN News article HERE, which includes a link to see how your legislator voted on the special session.

MAGA CANDIDATES:

One of the local MAGA candidates knocked on my door this week.

As soon as I saw the name on his shirt (Scot Kerns), I said something like, “Don’t waste your time, I’m not voting for MAGA people.”

Kerns is running for reelection in HD 23. I followed his voting in the legislature, and he votes with the far-right members of his party.

Kerns should have said, “Thanks for your time,” and walked away, but he decided to engage me and that is where he made a mistake. He said something like you don’t know anything about MAGA people. I assured him, as he was walking away looking kind of dejected, that I was once a Republican, but the MAGA idiots had ruined the party.

Some of what he said was drowned out by my barking dog – she does not like MAGA folks, either.

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##