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

• White House Ballroom (Update)
• Corporate Political Spending
• Anaconda Shooting
• Keeping Up With Trump
• One More Thing

WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM (UPDATE):

On Friday, I wrote about the White House announcing that it was building a new “White House State Ballroom” and that the cost would be $200 million.

I have since learned the following from a faithful reader and MAGA supporter:

President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications. (Source)

So it will not cost the taxpayers $200 million, which is great, although it will cost us some money. Maybe they will name it like they do stadiums, for example, “The State Farm Insurance Ball Room.” 

Here at The Western Word, we always strive to provide correct information.

CORPORATE POLITICAL SPENDING:

MTN News and other sources reported that advocates have officially submitted a proposed ballot initiative that seeks to go around the Citizens United decision and block corporations from spending money in Montana elections.

Sounds like a great idea to me. 

MTN News says that last week, the Transparent Election Initiative unveiled the language of their planned constitutional initiative. It seeks to amend the Montana Constitution to redefine the powers of “artificial persons,” including corporations, so they don’t include political spending.

Jeff Mangan, who is the founder of the Transparent Election Initiative, told the Daily Montanan that it eliminates the vaguely named organizations, which often become nothing more than shields to hide where the money is coming from.

“This is not limiting anyone’s speech. They have the right to do whatever they want with their money, they just have to put their name to it,” Mangan said. “But it has to come from individuals. And, I think the individuals — the rank-and-file folks — they are tired of the money in politics and they’re just waiting for someone to do something about it.”

Amen to that!

This initiative has a long way to go before it even gets on the ballot. I predict that if it gets on the ballot, it will pass. Then it has to withstand challenges in court. 

ANACONDA SHOOTING:

Please pray for the people of Anaconda, Montana. As you probably heard, a man named Michael Brown (no relation) is suspected of killing four people at a bar in Anaconda Friday morning. 

As of Sunday evening, Brown was still at large.

MTN News interviewed some of Brown’s family members. His niece, Clare Boyle, told MTN that Brown suffered from significant mental health challenges, including schizophrenia and PTSD from serving in the Army.

Boyle told MTN that Brown’s schizophrenia worsened after losing his mother. “Mikee’s decline started really heavily when my grandma passed. The trauma from losing his last parent broke Mikee. The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help.”

Boyle says her family sought help for Brown through both the Montana VA and the Montana State Hospital. “The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help. The Montana State Hospital wouldn’t take him in unless it was a court order. The only way to obtain a court order was for Mikee to become a harm to himself or others. We warned them that a snap could happen and that he was not of sound mind, and we were still left with no answers and nowhere to turn.”

It will be interesting to see what the Department of Veterans Affairs says about Brown, “no longer qualified for assistance in obtaining prescriptions and help.”

The Associated Press (AP) is covering the story HERE.  

KEEPING UP WITH TRUMP:

Here are some things in the news about President Donald J. Trump:

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after the release of weak jobs report

Kind of like a move a dictator would make. I guess the new Bureau of Labor Statistics boss will have to cook the numbers. We won’t be able to trust the numbers again until Trump is long gone. 

‘It’s Those Lips’: Trump, 79, Goes Gaga for Karoline Leavitt, 27

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, could be fielding some awkward questions after President Donald Trump, 79, took a moment in his latest interview to comment on what exactly it is about her that he likes the most.

“It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips, the way they move. They move like she’s a machine gun,” the president said.

Office of Special Counsel launches investigation into ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

Basically, the current Office of Special Counsel is investigating the former Special Counsel because he went after Trump. Politics, anyone? 

ONE MORE THING:

The older I get, the more I understand why people live in the woods and talk to squirrels… 

## HAVE A GREAT WEEK ##