Welcome to The Western Word – bringing you common sense commentary since 2005!  Here are the topics that made today’s column:

• State Senate Bill 224
• Freedom of the Press
• 60 Minutes
• One More Thing

STATE SENATE BILL 224:

It was nice to see the Montana State Senate mostly agree on a bill. The bill, SB 224, would establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a legal holiday in Montana. 

According to Lee Newspapers, the bill would not replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day but set the two alongside each other in state law. The Senate voted 48-2 in support of SB 224. The bill needs one more procedural vote before it is officially transmitted to the House for further consideration. 

I encourage the members of the State House to vote for this bill. Governor Greg Gianforte should sign the bill into law. 

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS:

There are many things I don’t like about the Trump Administration, but one thing that stands out in the first month or so of the new Administration is limiting the freedom of the press. 

The press is limited in covering the Trump Administration because some of the press are writing things Trump and his staffers don’t like. This complaint is as old as time. Here in Montana, the MAGAs complain about the “legacy media” or the “traditional media” or the “mainstream media.”  We hear these complaints when something is written about a MAGA person that they don’t agree with.

The Associated Press (AP) and several other sources reported that the White House said Tuesday that its officials “will determine” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans.

I think “will determine” means the White House will pick the friendly press to cover the President. This is wrong on many fronts. The White House was mad at the AP because they wouldn’t call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. 

Eugene Daniels, who is the White House Correspondents’ Association president, had this to say: 

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president.  In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.

“For generations, the working journalists elected to lead the White House Correspondents’ Association board have consistently expanded the WHCA’s membership and its pool rotations to facilitate the inclusion of new and emerging outlets.

“Since its founding in 1914, the WHCA has sought to ensure that the reporters, photographers, producers and technicians who actually do the work – 365 days of every year – decide amongst themselves how these rotations are operated, so as to ensure consistent professional standards and fairness in access on behalf of all readers, viewers and listeners.

“To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA board a heads up or have any discussions about today’s announcements. But the WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor.”

Thomas Jefferson said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” John F. Kennedy said, “Freedom of the press is not just important, it is imperative for a functioning democracy.” 

We need to be worried about these latest actions. Very worried. 

60 MINUTES:

Sunday evening, 60 Minutes had a great show about the latest happenings in the Trump Administration. 

Check out “Firings and resignations at the Department of Justice in first weeks of the Trump administration” HERE. 

The other interesting segment was, “Trump, DOGE work to shutter CFPB, an agency created in response to the 2008 financial crisis.” Check it out HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

Before the crowbar was invented…

crows just drank at home. 

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