Happy Friday! Here are the topics that caught my eye this week:

• No Kings Day of Action
• Great Falls Candidate Forums
• Update – Still There
• Shutdown Blame Game
• One More Thing

NO KINGS DAY OF ACTION:

There will be several “No Kings” events across Montana and the USA this Saturday, October 18. You can find the location of an event by clicking HERE.  

In Great Falls, the event will take place from 12-2:00 p.m. at the U.S. District Court Building/Central Avenue West bridge.  

More information about the event can be found HERE. There was an advertisement in the Great Falls Tribune about the event. See it HERE. (Click on image to enlarge) 

I hope to see you there! 

GREAT FALLS CANDIDATE FORUMS:

Mark your calendars – There are two Great Falls Municipal Election candidate forums scheduled for next week (that I am aware of).   

According to KRTV, the Great Falls Neighborhood Council #5 Candidate Forum will be on Monday, October 20, beginning at 7 p.m., at the Alliance For Youth auditorium (3220 11th Avenue South). Doors open at 6:40 p.m.

The forum will also be broadcast live on the Neighborhood Council 5 Facebook page.

On Wednesday, October 22, The Electric, KRTV, and KFBB are teaming up to moderate a forum with candidates for mayor and city commission.

It will be held in the Cordingley Room in the basement of the Great Falls Public Library. For more information, click HERE. 

UPDATE – STILL THERE: 

This is an ongoing report about a dead deer on a city street in Great Falls.

On Tuesday, I wrote about taking my daily walk last Thursday (Oct. 9) and seeing a dead deer partially on the road within the city limits. I noted the location (23rd St. S. by MSU-GF) and when I arrived home, I called the non-emergency police department number. I gave the officer the location. He told me he would notify Animal Control. 

As of 12:30 Thursday (Oct. 16) afternoon, the deer was still there. That makes it over a week since it was reported. 

SHUTDOWN BLAME GAME:

The blame game is in full swing since the federal government shutdown started on October 1. 

The Associated Press conducted a poll asking people who they blame for the shutdown. They report:

Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress…

Seriously, I don’t really care about the blame game. We see the Republican leaders get in front of a camera and blame Democrats. We see the Democratic leaders get in front of a camera and blame Republicans. 

Do dah, do dah, do dah. 

Everyone knows that the Republicans have control of the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and their guy is in the White House. 

In the U.S. Senate, Republicans have a 53–47 majority. But the Senate has a rule that you need 60 votes to end a filibuster for significant legislation. That is where the hold-up lies.

I have known U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune for many years. I have much respect for him. I have often wished that he were my U.S. Senator. I drove him around Montana during campaign season many years ago.  

Thune should have realized that he needed seven votes from the other side of the aisle to get the funding bills passed. He should have crafted the bill to get those votes. Of course, the U.S. House has a small majority for the Republicans, so crafting a bill will take some work to get the House to pass it. That’s when you have several members from both sides and from the House and Senate form a conference committee to iron out their differences and move the legislation forward. 

It’s sickening what is happening to our country. 

ONE MORE THING:

We no longer have a difference in political opinion; we have a difference in morality. 

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##