Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s commentary:
- Zinke Yet to Produce Evidence
- Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
- Trump & NRA
- One More Thing
ZINKE YET TO PRODUCE EVIDENCE:
In case you missed it, the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake (DIL) posted a story Sunday morning about the arrival of an immigrant family in the Flathead Valley area earlier this month.
The DIL reported despite raising the specter that a nonprofit worked with the Biden administration to relocate immigrants in the country illegally to Kalispell earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke has yet to produce evidence for the claim.
Zinke’s office first revealed that a family of immigrants had arrived in Northwest Montana in a May 2 press release that included statements from Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino and County Commissioner Randy Brodehl.
It sounds like most of the information from Zinke, the sheriff, and the county commissioner was made up.
The DIL also reported that pressed on where Zinke got his information from about the immigrant family, their immigration status, and nationality, former Zinke spokesperson Colton Snedecor initially cited Heino and Brodehl. As for whether Valley Neighbors arranged for the family’s travel or coordinated with the Biden administration, a second Zinke spokesperson argued that the congressman never accused the nonprofit of doing anything more than helping the immigrants.
Zinke has no intention of retracting his statement, said the second spokesperson for his office, who refused to identify themselves, in an email. “Why would that be retracted? There is no doubt the group had assistance getting to Montana, and there is no denying the Biden administration pays nonprofits to move migrants around the country,” the spokesperson wrote. “Both of those things are facts that support the congressman’s statement.”
This is typical MAGA speak – when faced with defending their untrue statements, the MAGAs often say, “Well, it should be true.” They often know that if they throw enough shit against the wall, some of it may stick because most of us don’t have time to sort through all the crap.
The bottom line is any family of immigrants coming to Montana should be treated with respect and compassion. Elected officials should act better than they did in this case.
Read the Daily Inter Lake article HERE.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO:
Reuters is reporting an American flag was photographed hanging upside down at the Virginia home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, weeks after the Jan. 6 protests, the New York Times reported on Thursday. It was not clear if the upside-down flag was meant to signal support of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Times reported. Alito told the paper that his wife hung the flag in response to signs in neighbors’ yards.
It shows me that the Alito family does not respect our flag.
The New York Times reported that before it became an emblem of political protest, flying a nation’s flag upside-down was one of the only ways for sailors to call for help.
In 2020, the upside-down flag became more firmly established as an emblem of Trump supporters who denied the legitimacy of Mr. Biden’s victory, said Alex Newhouse, a researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
I’m not sure I can trust the moral compass of anyone flying our nation’s flag upside down for political purposes. These are troubling times.
Read the Reuters and the New York Times reports HERE and HERE.
TRUMP & NRA:
In a surprising move, the National Rifle Association endorsed former President Donald Trump!
I’m just kidding about it being a surprise…
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that former President Donald Trump urged gun owners to vote in the 2024 election as he addressed thousands of members of the National Rifle Association, which officially endorsed him just before Trump took the stage at their annual meeting in Texas on Saturday.
Trump used right-wing talking points saying if Democratic President Joe Biden “gets four more years they are coming for your guns, 100% certain.”
They always say these things to scare the gullible. I own the same number of guns when Reagan was President that I do now. I survived the Clinton, Obama, and one term of Biden eras.
Read the AP story HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
I had a happy childhood. My dad used to put me in tires and roll me down hills. Those were Goodyears…
I’ll be here all week!
The Western Word 
Update on the big Melissa Nikolakakos vs Steven Galloway primary battle in HD 20:
We have received numerous and I mean numerous flyers boosting Nikolakakos featuring no fewer than six different designs, some from “Melissa for Legislature” and some from conservatives4mt PAC. You couldn’t really tell any difference between them if you didn’t read the fine print but we all know there’s no coordination, nope. Saw mention of yet another different attack flyer against Galloway, on Facebook.
Anyhow, it seems someone is putting a boatload of money into ridding the legislature (and our personal lives) of Galloway. Quite entertaining!
Any readers here in SD13 have a report on what’s going on in the race to rid the legislature (and our personal lives) of Lola? Curious to know if is the same intensity.
Thanks for the update. Interesting. There’s not much more entertaining than watching the GOP members fighting. I saw a flyer on next door or FB that is from the Cascade County Republicans PAC that endorses both Galloways. Thanks, JmB
I remember Mayor Kelly making the mistake of saying refugee’s would be welcome here a few years ago. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…blah blah. Apparently that doesn’t apply here in Montana especially griffles.
Yes. I remember it, too. Lots of hate for immigrants in Montana these days. Shameful. Thanks, JmB
You gotta admit that Zinke is a genius, having seen right through the elaborate ruse employed by Valley Neighbors to bring that family to Kalispell while trying to keep their name out of it.
Who else besides Ryan could have recognized the responsibility-laundering in first sending these people to the homeless shelter where there was no room, and then to the Sheriff’s office lobby to sleep before Valley Neighbors grabbed them up – oh no wait, that lobby story seems to have been a lie, the homeless shelter only made a phone call to the Sheriff. But Valley Neighbors picked them up there before the Sheriff even got to see them. And Ryan recognized that all of this shuffling these people around from here to there in the rain before Valley Neighbors got involved was no more than a smokescreen to hide the truth of who truly was responsible for bringing a scary brown family to lily white ultra-conservative Kalispell – that familiar bogeyman “dark money”.
And meanwhile the Sheriff who it turns out actually had no interaction with these people still recognized an opportunity when he saw one, so penned a xenophobic scaremongering letter claiming things like they will soon be using Medicare, and working “under the table” without paying into things like unemployment. Which by the way is the responsibility of employers not employees, as is half of the SS and FICA and so on the Sheriff claims they also won’t be contributing. Presumably as the Sheriff turns a blind eye to the activities of his local solid citizens, the scofflaw employers who would hire undocumented workers and provide the incentive for those people to come to Kalispell (and the rest of the U.S.) in the first place.
And Ryan was bright enough to see the oppourtunity in repeating all that, too. Because nothing succeeds like demagoguery.
Good review of the situation. Zinke seems to think he is more intelligent than his constituents. Thanks, JmB