Greetings! Here are the topics I’ve chosen for today’s column:

• Gimmicks
• Tester’s Next Move
• 60 Minutes – Christopher Wray
• One More Thing

GIMMICKS:

An editorial from the Washington Reporter announced that U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) said he would donate his U.S. Senate salary to charity.  According to the editorial, Sheehy will announce the specific charities he is contributing to in the coming weeks. 

I think this is something that former President Donald Trump did during his first term and I believe that Montana Governor Greg Gianforte does the same thing. 

I think it’s a gimmick to get some attention. Sheehy learns quickly.  

As for U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), I have not seen him announce if he would donate his salary. But, since 2013 Daines has introduced a bill that if enacted states if a balanced budget is not passed by April 15—the legal requirement for Congress to have passed a budget—members will see their pay terminated. (Source)

The MAGAs will say that Montana is fortunate that we have multi-millionaires representing us and giving so much to charity. I’m not sure that Joe and Jill Six-Pack feel that our multi-millionaires understand their situation. 

TESTER’S NEXT MOVE:

The Daily Montanan caught up with former U.S. Senator Jon Tester. 

The Daily Montanan reported that Tester worked as a farmer long before he worked as a U.S. Senator, and this year, he’s set to ramp up work on the family farm. That’s one sure thing the Democrat from Big Sandy knows about the immediate future.

Tester also talked about farm work being at the top of his list, but he’s considered campaign finance reform a priority, and he’ll consider opportunities on that front, as well as others, including possible chances to teach.

I’m sure some sort of lobbying will be in his future because it’s lucrative and many former elected officials go that way. 

It appears that Tester is not ruling anything out, so that means his name will be mentioned for many things in the next few years. 

60 MINUTES – CHRISTOPHER WRAY:

In case you missed it, 60 Minutes interviewed FBI Director Christopher Wray, who is stepping down nearly three years early because President-elect Trump is replacing him. Trump appointed Wray after he fired James Comey in 2017. 

One part stood out to me and it was when Wray was asked about the plot to overthrow the 2020 election. Here is his response: 

Our job as investigators at the FBI is to follow the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it. And I add that last part because one of the things that I’ve seen over my seven and a half years as FBI director is that people often claim to be very interested in independence and objectivity until independence and objectivity lead to an outcome they don’t like. You know, truth is truth, not necessarily what either side wants it to be.

You can read/watch the whole interview HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

Very true…

Back in my day, dodgeball was the game where you truly discovered who didn’t like you 

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