Hello friends! It’s Friday, July 7, and here are the topics I’m providing commentary about today:
- Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
- Hello Big Money
- First Amendment Lawsuit
- The Long Goodbye Tour
- One More Thing
TAXES, TAXES, TAXES:
It’s being reported in Great Falls that the Great Falls City Commission will use its power to raise our taxes when they pass the new budget for the city this month. Keep in mind, this is different from the Public Safety Levy that will be on the November ballot and the possible bond levy that is being considered to be sent for consideration by the voters. Just those two alone will stick it to us really well, meaning our taxes will go up significantly.
It will be interesting to see if any of the four Commissioners and the Mayor have the guts to say “No” to the city staff and tell them to live within their means.
Pay close attention to how the following three people on the commission vote. Rick Tryon and Eric Hinebauch are running for reelection, while Joe McKenney is running for Mayor.
Tryon has penned an opinion piece for his right-wing blog that basically says he dislikes federal taxes and likes local taxes. He listed a lot of taxes he hates which were mostly spent by the federal government, but he likes taxes that pay for local streets he drives on (I wonder if he’s used Interstate 15 or U.S. Highway 87/89). They are federal highways.
I don’t think Tryon understands how the federal taxes are spent or how much Montana receives in funding from the feds. He is quick to call our beautiful capital city in Washington, D.C. “Babylon, D.C.” as if it is corrupt or immoral. I think he believes the term will gain him some votes from his fellow MAGA nutjobs.
I think we can safely say that Tryon will be a yes vote for the city budget that will increase our taxes.
HELLO BIG MONEY:
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) announced Thursday that he raised a “record-breaking $5 million” in the second quarter of the year for his 2024 reelection campaign. (Source)
The Hill reported on the big haul by Tester:
Tester’s campaign said it was the senator’s best second-quarter fundraising total in a non-election year.
“Montanans from all 56 counties donated to Jon Tester because they know he relentlessly fights for our Montana values every day,” said Shelbi Dantic, Tester’s campaign manager. “From our rural communities to Indian Country to our cities and towns, Montanans are fired up to keep the dirt farmer from Big Sandy in the United States Senate.”
Republican Tim Sheehy has announced that he is running for U.S. Senate. The Republicans will try to ensure he has a respectable fundraising quarter (July-Sept) to report but may be hampered in that effort as people may keep their wallets closed while waiting to see what Matt Rosendale does.
Neither Sheehy nor Rosendale, in my opinion, can defeat Tester.
FIRST AMENDMENT LAWSUIT:
The following press release was sent to The Western Word from the Upper Seven Law:
On Thursday, June 6, 2023, a group of individuals and organizations, including Billings Public School teacher Rachel Corcoran, trans advocate Adria Jawort, The Myrna Loy and the Montana Book Company in Helena, Imagine Nation Brewing in Missoula, and the Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center, among others, filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of a Montana law targeting drag performers.
In May 2023, Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 359 (“HB 359”) into law, banning “drag story hours” and a plethora of other conduct seemingly related to dressing and performing in drag. The bill’s sponsors meant to stop drag queens from leading story hours in schools and libraries. But the bill goes much further. And the result is a law that is as stupid as it is sinister.
For example, HB 359 defines “drag queen” to include women and girls dressed as Disney princesses and “drag king” to include cowboys and male superheroes. HB 359 prohibits reading to children in a library or classroom in any costume with a discernible gender.
And that’s not all. Claiming a desire to protect children, the bill attacks all Montanans’ First Amendment rights. It defines “stripping” to include removing or pretending to remove clothing, even if nudity does not result; it criminalizes the display of critically acclaimed PG-13 and R-rated films in independent theaters, even to audiences who are over 18; and it treats natural cleavage differently than prosthetic cleavage, even a mastectomy survivor’s prosthetics.
I think the Montana bill that was signed into law (HB 359) will be found unconstitutional by the courts. It’s only a matter of time.
Lee Newspapers is reporting about the lawsuit HERE.
THE LONG GOODBYE TOUR:
In case you missed the news, The Eagles announced that after more than 50 years of touring and 150 million albums sold worldwide, their upcoming “The Long Goodbye” tour will be their last. (Source)
In a press release, The Eagles said, “Our long run has lasted far longer than any of us ever dreamed. But, everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle. The official farewell tour is currently in the planning stages. We want to give all our fans a chance to see us on this final round.”
I love their music – it’s on all my playlists. I think my favorite song from The Eagles is “Take it to the Limit.” How about you?
Check out the tour dates HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
It looks like the National GOP folks made a terrible mistake on the 4th of July. They posted a 4th of July message via Twitter with the photo of two Liberian flags instead of USA flags. The message was quickly deleted.
Newsweek has the story HERE.
The Western Word 
Eagles:
My vote is for Desperado.
Never saw them live despite several opportunities back in the late 70s. Idiot.
I feel the same way about missing them in the 70/80s.
Breaking:
Matt “Nope” Rosendale may have actually voted yes on something for a change.
Apparently the House freedom caucus, which includes Rosendale, voted to expel Marge Greene for being more hated than even they are hated as group.
“A … source familiar with the deliberations said the vote was overwhelming in favor of ousting her.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/freedom-caucus-members-voted-oust-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-unclear-w-rcna92960
Poor Matt. When MTG becomes VP he will have he’ll to pay. 😂
Your statement on Tester’s “record-breaking $5 million” is a typo; it was $35 million.
His tweet says $5 million:
“Thank you to everyone who dug deep and made a donation to our campaign last quarter. Thanks to grassroots donors like you, we raised a record-breaking $5 million. I’m humbled by your support. Let’s keep it going.”
Yep, the typo was in my brain. I misread the Lee headline.
Good Morning Jackie,
I concur with your assesment of The Eagles. It is amazing that they have been together for so long after having had so much inner turmoil during their fifty year career. They will be somewhere on my playlist when I am sititng in some rest home somewhere.
Your comments concerning Mr. Tryon’s position on taxes demonstrate a major misunderstanding of state and federal funding of roads and highways. All state and federal funding for transportation comes from the state and federal fuel tax imposed at the pump. It is a true user based tax. If you don’t want to pay it, don’t buy fuel. Pretty hard to do in a state like Montana. But it also is an oncoming issue as electric vehicles become more dominant. Electric vehicles obvious don’t use fuel, so those vehicles are using roads built and repaired by taxes paid on fuel. This clearly has to change as those vehicle do the same overall damage to roads, constitute congestion, etc. as do fuel powerd vehicles.
The primary option at this time is a “mileage driven” based fee. To my knowledge, Oregon is the only state that now uses this means to fund their transortation needs. No doubt implementation of such a plan on a nation-wide basis will generate incredible levels of paranoia as drones did for the likes of Matt Rosendale and his ilk.
All states have an approximate 83% federal, 17% state ratio of tax funds for transportaion projects. These are used in specific formulas set by statute, primarily in MCA 60-3-201 et. seq. This includes additional funding for cities like Great Falls which are considered “urban areas.”
It is a complex scheme but Montana, due to the huge amount of Interstate and federal routes, recieves way more transportation funding than it contributes. Interestingly, diesel fuel tax revenue for trucking is collected in a driver’s “base” state (where they elect to pay their fuel taxes) and distributed according to miles driven in any particular state. So the trucking industry is already all in on mileage based taxation, it is only the individual user who is not involved. It is clearly complex and not well understood. I hope this brief explanation helps.
Great information. Thanks, JmB
“ But the bill goes much further. And the result is a law that is as stupid as it is sinister.”
I highly recommend a new documentary on Netflix called Eldorado. It details the Nazi persecution of both the Jews and the LBGTQ community. And after watching our last legislative session, I’d have to agree that sinister is direction we’re headed. Berlin at the time was the epicenter of experimental Transgender care under the guidance of a Jewish doctor. His entire research library was one of the first things burned. His books are the ones seen in the famous book burning photos. I cam almost hear our MAGAs cheering that scene.
https://about.netflix.com/en/news/eldorado-everything-the-nazis-hate
Back when he was just another nattering nobody on the Internet, Tryon hated all taxes. Even a mention of a City tax hike would set him off.
But now, strange how the taxes HE piles on us as a politician are different. Those are totally necessary and pure and good. But the taxes other politicians somewhere else levy for things they too consider necessary – BAD. For instance the taxes we pay here in GF for that Cadillac city health plan (his words), that’s toooootally different from the federal benefits he hates.
Gosh what a little responsibility will do to a guy’s outlook on taxes.
And we know he doesn’t totally hate federal taxes, since he and his fellow commissioners have kept the City afloat the past couple years with pandemic money from the feds. And probably the federal taxes that fund Big Defense in the form of Malmstrom and MANG that keeps the Great Falls economy humming, I bet those are good. And all the federal tax money that flows to subsidize Montana farmers especially the ones around Great FAlls, I bet those are good too. And all the federal grants to various police forces? And as you mentioned, the highway money.
Sorry, didn’t mean that to be anonymous.