Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s column:
- Great Falls Mayor 2025
- Two Veterans for Sheehy
- Bannon & Guiliani & Lindell
- Independence Day
GREAT FALLS MAYOR 2025:
It appears that Great Falls Mayor Cory Reeves took offense to some comments from some local Democrats asking people to, “Help us find someone to run against Cory Reeves in the 2025 election.” They went on to say, “His position on Pride Month has jeopardized the safety of our LGBTQ+ neighbors and friends AND it has damaged the reputation of our community.”
Reeves posted it on his Facebook page and said:
Gerry Jennings, Jane Weber and crew are apparently coming after me over a proclamation denial. I will always do my best to represent our community, just as I always have. I look forward to running for a second term in 2025 and moving our community forward.
Over on Commissioner Rick Tryon’s Facebook page, he said, “I support our mayor 100% as do thousands of others in this community.”
In my opinion, Reeves’ position about Pride Month did and is jeopardizing the safety of the LGBTQ+ community in Great Falls. I did not vote for Reeves last time and he won’t get my vote next time.
TWO VETERANS FOR SHEEHY:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Tim Sheehy have a new 30-second campaign ad running in Montana with two veterans saying Biden and Tester are putting “illegals” ahead of veterans.
Most of the claims made in the ad are inaccurate in my opinion. Still, the funny thing about this is that these two Montana Veterans (maybe a few more) don’t understand how great they have got it with Tester in office. Tester is the head of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. He is in a very unique position because of his clout and seniority. If Sheehy is elected, it would take him more than 12 years to get as much clout as Tester. Sheehy will spend his first term just trying to find the toilet.
If veterans in Montana don’t vote for Tester, they are throwing away one of the best advocates they have had in years.
BANNON & GUILIANI & LINDELL:
In case you missed it, the Associated Press (AP) reported that longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon was taken into custody Monday after surrendering at a federal prison to begin a four-month sentence on contempt charges for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack.
This week Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, federal prosecutor and legal adviser to Donald Trump, was disbarred in New York on Tuesday after a court found he repeatedly made false statements about Trump’s 2020 election loss, according to the Associated Press (AP).
It was not all bad news for Rudy. MyPillow CEO, Mike Lindell, announced that he had hired Giuliani.
“Speaking of Rudy Giuliani…we hired him over at FrankSpeech.com. He’s on my network now. He follows Steve Bannon, it’s Steve Bannon, and then after him is Lou Dobbs and then myself,” Lindell said.
Is this a great country or what?
INDEPENDENCE DAY:
I will be taking a few days off to celebrate Independence Day. Rest assured that if breaking news happens, I will be here. If you follow me on X (Twitter), I will be posting lightly throughout the long weekend.
Have a wonderful Independence Day 2024. See you soon!
The Western Word 
Cory thinks if we just ignore LBGQT folks like he does, everything will be fine and they’ll just fade away. He forgot reality, the MAGA reality. Bigotry runs deep in the MAGA character. Although this is a television show, it is an actual event. MAGA and bigotry are inseparable. It’s who they are. And they’ll take any opportunity to dog whistle their their bigotry with plausible denial. ie. I just don’t like those kind of proclamations. It’s government intrusion. Yeah right, Cory! Dude, you couldn’t be more obvious! You were elected to be mayor, not a morality cop!
I read all the comments on Cory’s FB page regarding his yanking the welcome mat out from under those in our LBGTQ community, for that’s what it was. Can you even imagine? You have a welcome mat at your front door, but then have a childish hissy fit because you have to welcome everyone, even those who are different.
But a careful reading of the comment section indicates all who expressed disapproval of his action are well-educated, articulate, knowledgeable, and very experienced concerning LBGTQ issues. Cory is none of these. He really should not be making such an important decision that can potentially negatively affect so many lives based upon his total lack of education and understanding, and quite possibly bigotry. At the very least, he should have consulted with folks far more intelligent and informed than he, perhaps the community folks he now attacks. He has impressed MAGA mouse and his Mouseketeers, but the intelligentsia in our community are disgusted and embarrassed for getting another black eye on our community for nothing.
Here is an example of some great comment from his comments section. Compare this to the low wattage MAGA comments to see the differences. And next time vote for someone who won’t willfully embarrass our community. He should stick to things he can’t screw up, like flag day and prayer breakfast speeches! You know, hard hitting stuff!
Mike Smith
Unfortunately the government already interfered and marginalized this entire population for decades. Many were condemned for their personal life choices at the hands of the government and their neighbors. And that sentiment continues today in some people.
So in my opinion, government has a lot of decades of work ahead of them to undo the damage they did.
I know you don’t want to, but since government was part of the problem, they have to be part of the solution. You can’t just say “yeah that was not right and all bad stuff that happened back then, so we will choose to not say anything because we don’t want to interfere.” Too late.
A few instances where the government interfered:
December 15, 1950
A Senate report titled “Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government” is distributed to members of Congress after the federal government had covertly investigated employees’ sexual orientation at the beginning of the Cold War. The report states since homosexuality is a mental illness, homosexuals “constitute security risks” to the nation because “those who engage in overt acts of perversion lack the emotional stability of normal persons.”
Over the previous few years, more than 4,380 gay men and women had been discharged from the military and around 500 fired from their jobs with the government. The purging will become known as the “lavender scare.”
April 27, 1953
President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, banning homosexuals from working for the federal government or any of its private contractors. The Order lists homosexuals as security risks, along with alcoholics and neurotics.
March 2, 1982
Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
(This is mind blowing , you could legally say I won’t hire gay people up until this date in WI).
December 21, 1993
The Department of Defense issues a directive prohibiting the U.S. Military from barring applicants from service based on their sexual orientation. “Applicants… shall not be asked or required to reveal whether they are homosexual, ” states the new policy, which still forbids applicants from engaging in homosexual acts or making a statement that he or she is homosexual. This policy is known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
September 21, 1996
President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act into law. The law defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and that no state is required to recognize a same-sex marriage from out of state.
November 4, 2008
California voters approve Proposition 8, making same-sex marriage in California illegal. The passing of the ballot garners national attention from gay-rights supporters across the U.S. Prop 8 inspires the NOH8 campaign, a photo project that uses celebrities to promote marriage equality.
June 17, 2009
President Obama signs a Presidential Memorandum allowing same-sex partners of federal employees to receive certain benefits. The memorandum does not cover full health coverage.
October 28, 2009
The Matthew Shepard Act is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on October 28th. The measure expands the 1969 U.S. Federal Hate Crime Law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Matthew Shepard was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming on October 7, 1998 because of his sexual orientation.
Its always interesting how these republicans are all about the constitution and free speech until someone says something they don’t like. What a bunch of delicate snowflakes. If they can’t handle people disagreeing with them they should have never run for public office.
Also, our mayor and city council represent all members of the community; even the ones who disagree with them. They need to listen and address their concerns as legitimate even if they don’t agree with them.
What’s that giant sucking sound? Oh, that’s just MAGA mouse of the brown nose party issuing threats and insulting anyone with an opposing opinion in order to curry favor with Hizzonor! (Our constitutionalist mayor and protector of our public morals.)
“And there are a couple of names behind this attack who will be on the ballot this November for state legislature who should be aware that Great Falls voters won’t take kindly to these kinds of political games.”
We really are becoming the Kooks of Hazard County. We’ve even got our very own Boss Hogg who’s going to make sure that we hold true to our southern roots and prejudices by protecting the most discriminated against minority group in the country. Rotund white heterosexual males! The historical violence committed against them is abhorrent. They’ve been beat up, denied employment, denied rent, harassed endlessly for just being who they are! It’s time we had a proclamation to honor White Hetero Male Pride! That’s how I suggest we “move forward”, by returning to the past! It’s the MAGA way!
The guy has got to be the most unselfaware human on the planet. Until he finally stumbled into an election he could win, he was no more than a big mouth nobody blowing hot air himself, spouting endless partisan and ideological opinions and criticisms of City leadership as well as politicians at every level of government. Many quite uninformed. For many years. But now that he’s a powerful city commissioner in a backwater town of 60,000 in a backwater state all others with opinions and criticisms he disagrees with are toddlers and need to shut up?
I think this is the third or fourth time recently he’s felt moved to proclaim to the world that he “stands with” Mayor Cory 100%. In all the years Bob Kelly was mayor I don’t recall Rick ever saying he stood with Kelly 100%. Or for that matter going to bat at all when Kelly was criticized. So it isn’t really the office of Mayor of Great Falls that Rick supports 100%, but this particular Mayor with his particular divisive partisan beliefs, agenda and decisions. So at least that’s out in the open.
But putting the nonsense in Rick’s latest childish Facebook temper tantrum aside, I think we all know or at least suspect this is all just another one of those trademark conservative “culture wars” distractions. IMO it’s being intentionally prolonged by both the Mayor and Rick instead of just moving along, to distract people from the fact that the City is still facing almost exactly the same problems as when Tryon first took office five years or whatever ago that it was, problems that don’t look to be getting resolved anytime soon on Cory’s watch, either.
Not sure that going to war with a good-sized segment of your constituency is the way to get them to finally back the extra taxes necessary to address those problems, though. There were quite a number of people who voted against the last levy simply because it was Tryon’s baby and they dislike his public persona so roundly. From that standpoint, he hurt the city and continues to hurt it.
Very well said. Thank you. – JmB
“it’s Steve Bannon, and then after him is Lou Dobbs and then myself,”
Damn, you would have to hose yourself off with a concentrated industrial strength flea, tick and cootie mix after that.
Kinda disappointed in Mayor Reeves. He seems to be going down the same path as former Mayor Winters (?) taking things personally and engaging in public food fights with constituents. Nothing but a divisive “look over there!” distraction from that “moving our community forward” business, the evidence for which we’re all still patiently awaiting. Besides the new seating arrangement(s) for work sessions, that is.
Oh wait, there’s also the mayor’s primary campaign promise semi-fulfilled, with some free parking in one downtown garage. That $3 savings should attract tons of extra people to downtown who wouldn’t have come otherwise, spur considerable additional economic activity in the tri-block area, and maybe even eventually result in massive growth of tax revenues that would not only offset whatever loss of parking revenue but also help alleviate that pesky nagging City finances problem that just doesn’t seem to go away even IF you do deliver on your campaign promise of root beer in every drinking fountain. In forty years after the downtown TIF ends, anyhow.