It’s FRIDAY!! Here are the topics that I am providing commentary about for today’s column:

• Take a Loan, Pay It Back
• Montana Veterans Affairs
• FIFA Women’s World Cup

TAKE A LOAN, PAY IT BACK:

The campaign of Republican Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate in Montana has been very busy thus far playing defense in his very short campaign. This is probably concerning to many of the big-name elected officials who have endorsed him.

Late last month, Sheehy tweeted support for the U.S., Supreme Court and listed three things with check marks that dealt with the last session of the court. One of them was “Take a loan, pay it back” about the court denying the student loan forgiveness plan put forth by the Biden Administration.

Heartland Signal, which is a regional digital newsroom anchored to the progressive radio station WCPT 820AM in Chicago, is reporting:

Sheehy is the founder and CEO of the aerial firefighting and wildfire management company Bridger Aerospace. According to ProPublica, Bridger received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of $774,300 in April 2020. This loan was entirely forgiven at $781,895 (interest included), despite the company receiving dozens of government contracts, some of them after the PPP funding boost.

I’ve seen many MAGA folks chime in about President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and cheer that it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. I’m sure some of them are like Sheehy. Some people may have received loan forgiveness of their debt through some other government program or maybe even bankruptcy.

Nonetheless, it’s two-faced. The Sheehy campaign has spent another week on defense and is basically riding around on a flat tire.

Read the complete story from Heartland Signal HERE.

MONTANA VETERANS AFFAIRS:

Lee Newspapers reported this week that the Department of Veterans Affairs is replacing Montana VA Director Judy Hayman following months of concerns raised by Montana’s congressional delegation.

The reporting from Lee Newspapers even used the old “close to the story” angle:

Sources close to the story tell Lee Montana Newspapers that among the issues surfacing ahead of the leadership change was Montana VA’s hiring of a felony sex offender once featured on the TV show “To Catch a Predator.” When a concerned employee questioned Hayman about the hire that employee was told to keep quiet.

Great googly moogly!

Of course, the change was made political by U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT). Daines used the change to go after the Biden Administration and the U.S. Senate because the Democrats are in the majority. You can read his comments in the link to the story below.

In my opinion as a veteran and as someone who worked closely with the VA when I worked for U.S. Senator Conrad Burns, the Montana VA has always had some problems. It’s not because there’s a Democrat in the White House or if there’s a Republican in the White House and it certainly does not matter which political party controls the U.S. House or U.S. Senate.

It was also reported in the story that the Montana VA facilities have 350 job vacancies. That was “holy cow” information. Several years ago, I applied for a few jobs at Montana VA and never even received an interview. I heard it was because I was too rough on them being an advocate for veterans when I worked for Burns. I think they missed getting an outstanding employee!

You can read the Lee Newspapers story HERE.

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP:

I am looking forward to seeing the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) play in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The opening match was played between New Zealand and Norway on 20 July 2023. New Zealand won 1-0.

The USWNT plays Vietnam tonight at 7:00 pm Montana time. It will be televised on Fox.

More information can be found HERE.

Go USA!

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##