Welcome! Today is Thursday, October 5, 2023, and here are the topics for my commentary:

• Ethics Complaint
• Banned Books Week
• Football Roundup

ETHICS COMPLAINT:

The ethics complaint filed against Great Falls City Commissioner Rick Tryon by Jasmine Taylor is being noticed outside the blogging world.

The Electric is reporting that Taylor, a local Democratic activist, alleged that Tryon has violated the city’s ethics code for his association with Stray Moose Productions, a local company owned by Phil Faccenda; and for publishing articles on E-City Beat, a local right leaning blog affiliated with Stray Moose and Faccenda.

Check out the full article HERE.

Then I saw an article posted on TheRiver979.com that has the story:

Jasmine Taylor introduced an ethics complaint against City Commissioner, Rick Tryon. In this complaint, Taylor lays out, pretty meticulously, that Commissioner Tryon is violating ethics by writing a blog for the publication E-City Beat. E-City Beat is owned by Stray Moose Productions. Stray Moose makes money selling ads on E-City Beat. Tryon has Stray Moose Productions listed on his Linked In account as an employer.

Check out the full article HERE.

I’m sure that Tryon will use this to his advantage in the upcoming election since a “Democratic activist” is involved in the complaint. Tryon is running for reelection as City Commissioner. He should respond to the complaint and not go too far out of bounds with his attacks on the person who filed the complaint.

I wasn’t going to vote for Tryon before these allegations because he has voted to raise my taxes and fees.

The Western Word has been in existence since 2005. Over the years I have seen blogs come and go in Montana. I think the more blogs we have with different opinions is a good thing. I have often disagreed with posts on other blogs, but I would never try to terminate that blog’s existence. All opinions are welcome here.

BANNED BOOKS WEEK:

On my phone in the notes section, I have a category called “Next Column” where I list things I want to write about. There are usually five to 10 ideas listed there. What I think is important is placed near the top. Banned Books Week was listed there a few days ago, but then as they say, “Shit happens.”

So here goes…

Banned Books Week is October 1 – 7, 2023, and there’s a website for that, which tells visitors:

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. Click HERE to see the Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022.

The Great Falls Public Library will display a selection of library books that have previously been banned both nationwide and across Montana for Banned Books Week. The display also will feature information on the books and important factoids from October 1 through 7.

As the American Library Association (ALA) states: Libraries and their governing bodies shall ensure that only parents and guardians have the right and the responsibility to determine their children’s—and only their children’s—access to library resources.

I agree with the ALA statement wholeheartedly.

FOOTBALL ROUNDUP:

In the college pigskin pick contest, I went 7-3. In the NFL pigskin pick contest, I went 13-3.

It was a good week for the teams I follow with the Chiefs, Mizzou, Bobcats, and Griz all winning their games.

On Saturday, #21 Missouri hosts #23 LSU. That will be a big test for Mizzou. The Griz play at UC Davis on Saturday. The game starts at 5:00 p.m. The Griz can’t afford to lose another Big Sky Conference game. The Bobcats get the week off.

Other games I am looking at on the college level are Oklahoma at Texas and Kentucky at Georgia.

My Chiefs play at the Vikings on Sunday. The Chiefs have played one “good” game this season. They need to get it together as the Vikings are tough at home.

There’s another NFL game in London this week; Jags vs. Bills. That game starts at 7:30 a.m. Montana time Sunday.

The Bears play the Commanders tonight on Thursday Night Football.

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