It’s Monday and here are the topics that caught my attention over the weekend:
- Tester & Defense Industry Dollars
- UPDATE: Hate in Great Falls
- Fireworks
- One More Thing
TESTER & DEFENSE INDUSTRY DOLLARS:
I found the Associated Press (AP) story about U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) published Friday to be quite amusing. In fact, I chuckled some when reading it.
Here is the opening graph:
As Democrat Jon Tester headed for a surprise victory in his 2006 U.S. Senate race, he attacked his incumbent Montana Republican rival’s close ties to lobbyists and committed himself to a rigorous ethics standard.
The AP continued with this graph:
Now as he looks to win a fourth term in a race that could decide control of the Senate, Tester is embracing a practice he once held against his opponent: taking contributions from lobbyists and executives of corporations while helping craft a government spending package that directs billions of dollars.
The fact is that when you are the chair of a committee, like the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, which Tester chairs, enormous amounts of money are sent your way via campaign contributions. The fun fact is that you can find votes that Tester and every other senator and Representative cast that one could say were bought with campaign contributions. Tester’s campaign team, with the help of a couple supporters who masqueraded as reporters for Lee Newspapers and the AP, sold the campaign contributions made to Conrad Burns and his votes and work to get funding to certain groups, leading up to the 2006 election, as unethical. They contended Burns would be in jail soon after the election. It was all a lie. The fact is that Burns was cleared of any wrongdoing, but that was after he lost to Tester by 3,562 votes.
I don’t know if any of the MAGA folks running the Montana Republican Party remember back to 2005-2006 or are smart enough to try and attack Tester the same way, but when you have a couple of reporters on your side in a state like Montana, the lies and innuendos can go far in a U.S. Senate election.
Meanwhile, it is being reported that Republican U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale (MT-02) is gearing up for another run against Tester. Rosendale lost to Tester in 2018 by 50.3% to 46.8% or about 18,000 votes. The Trump family made several trips to Montana to try and beat Tester, but they were unsuccessful.
With Rosendale aligning himself with the very far right of the Republican Party and with some of his silly votes, I project a larger Tester victory this time around.
UPDATE: HATE IN GREAT FALLS:
Last Monday I reported about a reader who had alerted me that he found a “White Lives Matter” flyer in his driveway Saturday in Great Falls. The person who found It wishes to remain anonymous. The flyer was 10.5 inches long and 5.75 inches wide, folded, and placed in a small clear bag with some sand.
On Friday, KRTV did a story about “some controversial propaganda” and interviewed a local police officer who said “Basically from Gibson Park to almost 38th Street, not the entire way, we did receive some complaints that people found the literature on their sidewalks…”
You can read the entire report from KRTV HERE.
FIREWORKS:
Every year I wonder why Great Falls even has any rules and regulations about fireworks. Wednesday night people were shooting off fireworks inside the city limits. That was on June 21, and yes, it was inside the city limits and not on county property which for some ridiculous reason has different rules.
I’m sure some of my fellow veterans are trying to deal with it. Our dog had the look of “here we go again” and headed to the basement.
The Ordinance states: The selling and discharging of fireworks within the incorporated limits of Great Falls shall be July 2, through July 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (Ord. 3158, 2017; Ord. 2965, 2007; Ord. 2664, 1994).
I know I am at the “get off my lawn” age, but I would have no problem with the city banning the discharging of fireworks within the city limits. I enjoy the professional fireworks displays that happen at dark on the 4th of July, but since several residents can’t seem to follow some simple rules, stricter rules need to be put in place and enforced.
Meanwhile, if the city is going to put out notices, like this one, it might be a good thing to enforce it.
ONE MORE THING:
Anyone who was truly “pro-life” would want to make getting a gun at least as difficult as getting an abortion. – @MiddleAgeRiot
The Western Word 
I guess it’s required to pander if you want to get elected. But I sure wish Jon was a little more honest. He should know that the ATF does not have to give prior notice that it’s coming. It’s in the law. And besides, with a wacko fed-hating sheriff like Slaughter it would be dangerous to allow time to rally the Bundy troops.
Also the law allows for the taking of the forms that were taken. It’s no big deal. The government has all that information anyway. And regardless of what Knudey says, the government is NOT going door to door in Montana looking for perps.
If there’s an investigation ongoing, how can the feds disclose any pertinent details without jeopardizing the case? So what is he asking for? Transparency? Like what? The gun store owner himself has stated that his attorney fees could run upwards to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for his defense as stated on his go fund me page. Why is he raising defense money if he has done nothing wrong? I think all the transparency we need should come from the store owner. Like why the need for defense money?
Someone needs to insert some honesty into this event. Promoting rumors and untruths elevates the significance of this law enforcement action way beyond where it should be and makes Montana look even more wacko than it is. It’s silliness.
https://www.tester.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tester-demands-answers-and-transparency-from-biden-administration-on-great-falls-gun-store-investigation/
The great raid was supposedly carried out by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, not the ATF. At least that’s who GFPD says asked them to help.
Story here from an Internet site that styles itself “the truth about guns” (not just one person’s viewpoint but THE truth) has more details about the affair, most of which rely solely on the word of the store owner so take them with a grain of salt.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/irs-confiscates-tens-of-thousands-of-4473-forms-from-great-falls-mt-gun-dealer/
The “Great Raid” is a goldmine for the MAGA folks, until the facts come out.
Thanks for the update. -JmB
Jesse does his best to explain how the legislature was remiss in not passing the blatantly unconstitutional bill that would have required the feds to notify HIM, grand high poobah, before entering the state for law enforcement duties. And to get his permission. Jesse thinks quite highly of himself. So much so that he considers himself to be a lawmaking entity unto himself surpassing all other elected officials both state, local, and federal. That is quite a unique and unprecedented usurpation of law making abilities commonly seen only in cuckoo’s nest situations.
See what you think. Excellent example of high falutin gibberish!
https://fb.watch/lpXMatiBBW/