The Wednesday Read

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Welcome to November! Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:

  • ECB vs EPC
  • Gun Laws
  • Warning Signs
  • Montana Millionaire Lottery
  • One More Thing

I’m back…
My shoulder surgery was canceled because the surgeon was sick. That was the second time it had been canceled. Now I am scheduled for November 8. If it is canceled again, I plan on using a bottle of Jack, my Swiss Army knife, and some Gorilla glue and do it myself…

ECB vs EPC:

I happened to catch a blog post from E-City Beat (ECB) about the local Election Protection Committee (ECP) which asked, ‘Election Protection Committee’ (EPC), Watchdog Or Attack Dog?

Philip M. Faccenda, the Editor-in-Chief of E-City Beat, writes:

A few things you should know about the so-called ‘Election Protection Committee’ here in Great Falls – it is NOT a local government commission, nor is it a legally appointed committee. Their ads appearing on the front page of the Great Falls Tribune as local mail-in ballots are being received by eligible City election voters is just another dirty trick from the local Democratic machine and the complicit Great Falls School District, to which the greatest share of your local tax dollars go.

I did not catch the ad from ECP that appeared in the Tribune, so I appreciate Mr. Faccenda pointing it out.

Faccenda goes on to write that EPC is simply a group of self-appointed vigilantes who view politics as a blood sport where lying, cheating, and stealing are parts of their modus operandi. Their end game is to discredit, slander, and besmirch the duly elected Cascade County Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant, who is also charged with the supervision of elections.

I love free speech! By the way, take it from someone who has been there: politics is a blood sport.

I think the ad in the Tribune from the EPC contains good information that will help voters ensure they have what they need to vote in the upcoming Great Falls election. If “duly elected” Cascade County Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant had not fumbled the football a few times at the beginning of her tenure, there would be no need for this committee.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the voters feel in the upcoming municipal election, and that will be a teaser for the big one in November 2024.

GUN LAWS:

A new poll from Gallup shows that fifty-six percent of U.S. adults say gun laws should be stricter, while 31% believe they should be kept as they are now and 12% favor less strict gun laws.

It was also reported in the poll results that these attitudes, collected before last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, are unchanged from a year ago, but they reflect less support for stricter laws than in June 2022 (66%) after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. Majorities have consistently favored stricter gun laws since 2015, with notable spikes in that view after prominent shootings such as in Uvalde and Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Read the full report HERE.

WARNING SIGNS:

Regarding mass shootings, according to the Independent, there are several reports about warning signs around suspected Maine shooter Robert Card – including concerns raised by his family and the Army alike – stemming back months before the massacre.

It seems that we hear about “warning signs” that people saw and did not report or in the case of Card, reported, and nothing much was done. The Independent story about the missed warning signs will make you shake your head. CBS News has a video report about the same issue HERE.

We might be able to prevent some of these mass shootings if we stop dropping the ball.

MONTANA MILLIONAIRE LOTTERY:

Tickets go on sale at 5:30 a.m. November 1 (TODAY) for the Montana Millionaire Lottery.

More information can be found HERE.

ONE MORE THING:

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people… Religion, Politics, and The Great Pumpkin. ― Charles Schulz

## VOTE NO ON EVERYTHING ##

7 thoughts on “The Wednesday Read”

  1. I take exception to the characterizations made of the Election Protection Committee.  While I am not a member of the committee, I do participate in their activities.  Ms. Merchant seems unable to learn from her mistakes, evidenced by similar errors continuing to occur in election after election.  If keeping an eye on her performance of her duties makes me a vigilante, then so be it!  Election administration should be a non-partisan activity, but Ms. Merchant is far from that.  Her attendance at Douglas Frank’s presentation on “election fraud” was an unwise choice, and holding a private meeting with him was even more unwise.  Her comments following the school district election reminded me of a petulant child – It’s not MY fault, it’s THEIR fault.  How much of this are we to tolerate? Ruth Johnson (not connected to Gordon Johnson) 414 5th St N Great Falls MT   59401 (406)315-3265

  2. I saw that notice from the Election Protection Committee on the front page of the printed Trib the other day. Was a good public service announcement. The only people who could be getting irate about that are people who WANT ballots thrown out due to errors from the county elections office.

    I also don’t recall any irate diatribes about dirty tricks from ECB when Sandra Merchant and her fellow election deniers were carrying on about “election integrity” a couple years back and harassing elections employees. But that’s probably just my memory.

    Incidentally regarding ECB, my Malwarebytes browser guard is warning me not to visit the ECB website because it apparently is serving “riskware”. So be careful out there.

    Finally, better run out and buy your Montana Millionaire ticket(s) quick. Over 250,000 of the 380,000 have already been sold and it is barely 9:00 a.m.

    • I agree about not hearing from ECB when it’s one of their people. I also received the same riskware warning when visiting ECB.
      As for Montana Millionaire, the tiks won’t last long. I arrived at my favorite Town Pump at 5:40 am and there were roughly 30 people in line. I went down the street to another TP and was 11th in line. The line moved pretty fast as TP had a good system. Crazy!

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