Thanks for stopping by! Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:
- Montana AG Austin Knudsen
- Panama Canal, Greenland, & Canada
- U.S. Senator Deb Fischer
- Football & More Football
MONTANA AG AUSTIN KNUDSEN:
The Daily Montanan is reporting that in a sprawling 155-page defense of Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, attorneys trying to stop him from being suspended from the State Bar for 90 days — and, by extension, pause his tenure as the state’s top lawyer — give a multitude of reasons why the state’s Supreme Court shouldn’t punish him, including invoking the First Amendment. They conclude that even if Knudsen did violate the state’s rules of professional conduct for attorneys, a discipline less severe should be imposed.
Somebody made some serious money putting together the 155-page defense! I suspect the Court will impose a less severe discipline, but I don’t think it’s warranted. I think Knudsen has come across as a jerk who thinks he is above the law.
PANAMA CANAL, GREENLAND, & CANADA:
If you caught even a little of President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference on Tuesday, then you were probably left shaking your head. After a few minutes of hearing Trump, I posted the following on X:
President-elect Donald Trump speaking this morning and showing the world that he is still bat-shit crazy.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.
The AP also reported:
Trump, a Republican, has also floated having Canada join the United States as the 51st state. He said Tuesday that he would not use military force to invade the country, which is home to more than 40 million people and is a founding NATO partner.
Promising a “Golden age of America,” Trump also said he would move to try to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” saying that has a “beautiful ring to it.”
This is going to be an interesting four years.
U.S. SENATOR DEB FISCHER:
The New York Times and several other sources reported about the husband of Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, and his interactions with the Vice President. The husband, Bruce Fischer, drew criticism online when he failed to accept a handshake offered by Vice President Kamala D. Harris at his wife’s ceremonial swearing-in. (Video)
Some reports stated that he was unable to shake her hand because he had a cane in one hand and a Bible in the other. Six years ago during the ceremony he did shake the hand of Vice President Mike Pence.
Many of the posts on her social media accounts were not kind. Some people called her husband “classless” and that was one of the milder comments.
I think Mr. Fischer could have easily handed the Bible to his wife or to the other man standing there and then shook the VP’s hand. I think he was an ass for refusing to shake hands. He is classless. The VP handled it with grace and dignity.
FOOTBALL & MORE FOOTBALL:
It’s kind of a bittersweet time in the football season. We are coming down to the end of another season and there are not many games left.
But the games that are left are VERY important!
There are games from Thursday through Monday! How cool is that?
Thursday night we have the College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinals with #7 Notre Dame playing #6 Penn State in the Orange Bowl.
Friday Night we have the other CFP semifinal with #8 Ohio State playing #5 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
The CFP games start at 5:30 Mountain time and ESPN has the coverage. (Source)
Saturday starts the NFL Wild Card weekend with two games on Saturday, three games on Sunday, and one game on Monday night. (Source)
This is one of the greatest weekends of football. Enjoy!
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The Western Word 
If Trump uses the U.S. military to attack NATO ally Denmark and wrest away their territory of Greenland by force, and he portrays that as somehow okay on “national.security” grounds, then how can the U.S. stand against China reclaiming Taiwan militarily, or Russia taking Ukraine and who knows what else simply by declaring that acquiring that territory is crucial to their security interests? That’s pretty much what Putin has been saying anyhow.
Though I suspect Trump has every intention of abandoning Taiwan and Ukraine and probably all NATO anyhow (while Montana’s congressional delegation that is 3/4 veterans dutifully votes “aye” or says nothing). Perhaps Trump’s presidency could be sort of a free for all for the big three to run riot, carving up the world amongst themselves by military force.
Trump’s musing about whether or nor Denmark had any real claim to Greenland in the first place was also interesting. That would be just as much claim as any other European country ever had to any New World territory, such as the claims of England and France and Spain to the territory that we now stand on. Maybe Greenland will vote this year to be an independent nation. And then what?
I found this opinion piece especially timely considering that our own MAGA legislature is back in session. As I watch all those fat, bald and balding MAGA geriatric constitutionalists and wacko christofascists gathered in Helena to once again publicly discuss and debate the most important issues facing our state, the most intimate details of the sex lives of the ladies of Montana and transgender folks, I wonder how these clowns could possibly be a representative cross section of our population. But here they are in all their perverted glory to have another go at it. Like Trump, they won’t stop until they change the name of our state to Gilead, a big beautiful name!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/01/07/trump-gulf-of-america-invade-greenland-hate-windmills/77516594007/?tbref=hp
Hi Terry,
While I agree with the majority of your comment, I think you are missing the salient point that these are not Trump’s ideas or concepts. He is just parroting the information Putin and his cronies are feeding him.
You are absolutely correct about the parallels to Taiwan and Ukraine. Its just that Trump is going to do the dirty work for Putin and Chi by destroying the western alliances and then the fight will be over how they carve up the USA between themselves. Trump will be disappeared as soon as he is no longer of use to Putin. The way things are going now that coud be by Groundhog Day!!
Thanks for your cogent insight and writing.