Welcome to The Western Word! Here are the topics that made the cut for Caught My Eye:
- Tester Backs Laken Riley Act
- Montana’s Eastern District House Race
- Stamp Out Hunger
- One More Thing
TESTER BACKS LAKEN RILEY ACT:
The MAGA folks were hating on U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) for not supporting a Laken Riley Act amendment, but he said he would support a stand-alone bill, which he did yesterday.
Now the MAGAs will say he is a flip-flopper and that he supports the bill because he is up for reelection this November. I think he’s doing it because it’s the right thing to do.
According to a May 9, 2024, press release from Tester:
As part of his continued efforts to secure the southern border and keep Montana communities safe, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today officially co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act – legislation that would require federal officials to apprehend and detain illegal immigrants who commit certain crimes until they can be removed from the U.S.
“Keeping Montana safe is my top priority, which is why I’ve repeatedly called on the Biden Administration and Congress to do more to secure the southern border and have worked to get the brave men and women in law enforcement what they need to keep criminals off our streets,” said Tester. “After hearing from law enforcement officers across Montana, I’m backing the Laken Riley Act to make sure that individuals who enter our country and commit a crime are held accountable so that no Montana family has to worry about the safety of their loved ones.”
The Laken Riley Act would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to apprehend illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses and would mandate that these individuals are detained until they are removed from the U.S. so they cannot reoffend and commit further crimes. In April, Tester publicly expressed support for the Laken Riley Act and said that he would vote for the legislation as a standalone bill. Tester is the first Democratic U.S. Senator to formally co-sponsor the legislation.
You can read the complete press release from Tester HERE.
MONTANA’S EASTERN DISTRICT HOUSE RACE:
KTVQ in Billings has profiles posted of all the candidates for the Eastern District House race.
I watched a few of them. The interview with Denny Rehberg was interesting. He touts his experience in Washington and says he can hit the ground running. Rehberg said he looks forward to working with Donald Trump if both are elected. He said he was asked if there was anything he disagreed with Donald Trump about. Rehberg said, “Yeah, one thing, one thing, he doesn’t drink beer.”
Rehberg must be getting some traction as I see that candidate Troy Downing has spent some money on an attack ad against Rehberg. I could not find it on the internet so the Downing campaign failed to get some free publicity by posting it on YouTube.
Check out the profiles of the candidates by clicking HERE.
STAMP OUT HUNGER:
Reminder – The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is tomorrow (Saturday, May 11).
To donate, leave your donation of non-perishable food in a bag near your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail. The carrier will do the rest. The food is sorted and delivered to an area food bank or pantry, where it is available for needy families.
One in ten Americans face hunger every day in America. This drive is one way you can help those in your own city or town who need help.
More information can be found HERE and HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
Here are the lyrics that are stuck in my head this week…
Well, I know what’s right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground
And I won’t back down
Hey baby
There ain’t no easy way out (I won’t back down)
Hey I will stand my ground (I won’t back down)
And I won’t back down
-“I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty (Video)
The Western Word 
We put out our bag of canned goodies this morning and the letter carrier spirited them away. Later after lunch I stopped by the P.O. and there was the cute little TV star Great Falls Food Bank truck backed up to one of the P.O. loading ramps, and they were loading in the chow. Hope they collected a lot! Feel sorry for letter carriers though.
On a totally different note there is something odd going on in this district. A few weeks ago there were a ton of Steven Galloway signs and not as many Melissa Nikolakakos. But in the past couple weeks there’s a ton of Melissa and many of them have replaced Galloway signs! Neighbors who were boosting Galloway all of a sudden have Melissa signs out there instead. Three flippers on my street alone. Never seen that before. Someone must be getting the word out that Galloway is only in it for himself, and absolutely useless to constituents.
Good info. Thanks. Another interesting piece of political news is the attack on Troy Downing by Rehberg. I received two texts today directing me here:
https://bigskyheadlines.com/2024/05/child-support-and-violent-threats-plague-downings-bid-for-congress/
Not sure if it’s true or not. -JmB
I remember Denny and his “Missouri Boat Ride”. Some beer was drank on that one. Also the firefighter suit. I suppose that will become news again.
Yep! Rehberg comes with a lot of baggage, but I imagine this race is between Rehberg, Arntzen, and Downing. -JmB
This election will be a real intelligence test for the MAGAs. Do they want someone who can actually speak’a the English, or do they want Elsie? She has OPI so screwed up that even most republicans are amazed at her incompetence.
Therefore, I would narrow the choices down to two, Denny and Downing. And I think Denny will get the nod. Although Denny no longer has any seniority, he’s played the game knows his way around. He really will be effective from day one. So if the MAGAs are smart, he would be their choice. But they did vote for Elsie twice, so intelligence is not exactly their strong suit.
I believe Rehberg will have some seniority if elected due to his previous six terms in the House. -JmB
No one remembers the boat accident, especially these new refugees escaping the commie states.
My recommendation, have Denny punch some liberal reporter in the mouth. That should guarantee his win.
Swede, you and me are living in the past, amigo. We’re antiques. No one remembers your namesake any longer. I do because I followed boxing. But I think rather than punching out a reporter, I think one of our most beloved governors will come out and heartily endorse Denny. That should do it. Marc Racicot hates these crazy MAGAs morons as much as I do. We’re on the same page for once.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingemar_Johansson#:~:text=In%20the%20later%20stages%20of,the%20oldest%20living%20heavyweight%20champion.
Jon flip flops on the Riley bill.
What’s next? A flip flop on anatomically correct males showering with our daughters and granddaughters?
You never know what any politician will do in an election year. -JmB
Do Nothing Denny couldn’t even work up the energy to rename a Post Office the first time around. Now he’s going to hit the ground running?
Buy him a treadmilll and keep him in Billings.
All you need to know about Kyle “data base” Austin. Ladies, he’s your man!
He says when it comes to reproductive rights, he doesn’t want to see abortion used as a form of birth control, but that it should be available in some circumstances.
“There should be some guidance from the federal level that prevents one extreme to the other. Should abortion be illegal in some circumstances, yes. Now, the state should create the criteria on who, when, where, and like I mentioned create that database so people can be tracked and criminalized, if necessary,” he said.
Yes, because loose women on the loose are the bane of christofascist America! It’s all about Freedumb!
No way do we want a database of gun purchases so police can more easily solve gun crimes especially murders. But a database to track women’s pregnancies, hey, no issue there. They’re just women after all, male property just like livestock in the best of times. And the moment they become pregnant they give up any and all rights as citizens and human beings.
Sounds like Elsie wants to follow in Matt’s footsteps and get absolutely nothing done, and spout principle while not doing it. Bravo. That’s just the congressperson we need!
As for the Laken Riley act, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could simply deport everyone not just illegal immigrants who committed “theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses“? Now that would take a real bite out of serious crime and rid the country of a whole bunch of snotty teenagers in the process.
Haha. You might be giving the MAGAs some campaign talking points! -JmB
Quotable quotes from Elsie, aka Miss Kitty Litter, quite possibly our next house representative and 67 year old lady with the stylish rat’s nest hairdo sure to drive the lonely MAGA farmers out on the prairie wild!
Elsie’s characteristic amorphous non-answer to a non-issue. Great straw man argument btw. Reminds me of George Bush’s famous, “I will put food on your families.”
“There is a war on our families,” she said. “There is a war because of the challenges of agendas that have infiltrated into our communities, into our schools, and I have fought that and stood up to that my entire time being the state superintendent.”
Like an eastern Montana country road, Elsie starts, stops, loops around, doubles back, loses her way, but finally ends up somewhere. Along the way, she manages to “put our future forward”, which I’ve always considered better than backwards!
“I had four buildings when I got onto campus, I’m down to one right now,” she said. “I believe in choice – school choice, family choice, putting our children, our future forward – and also our employees, so I’ve given them great choice in where to work, disassembling centralized government and bringing it back to their communities.”
Elsie’s grasp of the federal government is like most of her knowledge, tenuous at best.
“Anything that the federal government doesn’t have in that constitution, that needs to go back to the states’ rights – and the Department of Education, I would like to have that thing removed,” she said.
Elsie, creatively using the word “template” as a verb, is going to follow that “place.” Interesting.
“When I was a legislator for 12 years, we had single subject bills,” she said. “We did not have omnibus or minibuses or anything else like that, that earmarked things into that budget. So what he has done is just templated what we do in Montana, and done that in Congress. I’m going to follow that very same place. I firmly believe that the rules that are there, that are available, should be used.”
Finally, Elsie refers to herself in the third person. Who does that besides George Bush?
“I’m not going to be able to fill Matt Rosendale’s shoes exactly, but I am that American First candidate, and so excited that the Eastern Congressional District will be represented by Elsie Arntzen, who I believe is the most conservative in this race,” she said.
It certainly will be a fun ride if Elsie gets elected. Move over Kristi Noem, and get ready late night comedy! As Elsie might say, look out boys, Elsie’s on her way!
Oh gosh you’re right about late night tv, SNL & Elsie.
Menopause Barbie! She’s got the lonely bachelor farmer vote locked up! That might be enough to take it!