Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s column:

• Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Montana Republican Party
• Sheehy’s Flathead Lake Home
• Intercepted Iranian Call
• One More Thing

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION:

The Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susie Hedalen, was cited last week in Belgrade for driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to the Daily Montanan, Hedalen, serving in her first term as head of the Office of Public Instruction, has not yet appeared in Belgrade Municipal Court to enter a plea.

In a move that can only be called hypocritical, the Montana Democratic Party called for Hedalen, a Republican, to resign. (Source). A few months ago, when Montana State Senator Ellie Boldman, a Democrat, was cited and pleaded guilty to DUI (Source), they were quiet. That’s one of the reasons people hate political parties. 

Back in March, I said Boldman should resign for the DUI. Hedalin should also resign for her DUI. Neither has set a good example for what we expect from our elected officials. 

Those of us who have seen the consequences of drunk driving up close and personal know about the destruction they can cause. 

MONTANA REPUBLICAN PARTY:

A few months ago, when I learned that Montana Republican Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt was stepping down, I said that whoever replaced him would have a hard time filling his shoes because the Republicans controlled everything. The only way to go was down. 

Over the weekend, the Montana Republicans elected Art Wittich as their new chairman. According to the Daily Montanan, Wittich is an attorney and former state legislator who represented a portion of Gallatin County from 2011 to 2016 and served as Senate Majority Leader during the 2013 session.

It seems to me that Wittich has a lot of baggage from his past. One article I found stated that a jury found that Wittich coordinated with and received services from conservative corporate groups in violation of state campaign laws. (Source) The Montana Supreme Court upheld that ruling. Wittich was fined $68,000. (Source)

SHEEHY’S FLATHEAD LAKE HOME:

If you are looking for a nice home on Flathead Lake, U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and his wife have listed their home there for a cool $10.25 million. 

This information was posted on the Next Door app, and someone asked, “Isn’t that close to where he was wounded in the Glacier Park War?” (Background)

The Wall Street Journal reports that the property, known as Bird Point, is about 30 miles from Bigfork, Montana. It encompasses a roughly 7-acre peninsula at the south end of the lake. There are numerous structures, including a roughly 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom main house, plus a cabin and a guesthouse.

Montana is so darn lucky to be represented by so many multimillionaires… 

INTERCEPTED IRANIAN CALL:

The Washington Post is reporting that the United States obtained intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials discussing this month’s U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected, said four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government. 

I wonder if this report will send Trump and his people over the deep end, like the last report did, which said the bombing was not that devastating. 

ONE MORE THING: 

By replacing your morning coffee with green tea, you can lose up to 87% of what little joy you still have left in your life. (Pinterest) 

## HAVE A GREAT WEEK ##