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

• Montana National Guard
• Trump’s Address
• Quinnipiac University Poll
• One More Thing

MONTANA NATIONAL GUARD:

I happened to catch an update on the cases about the three Montana National Guard members who are accused of taking elk antlers from private land while allegedly using a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The three guardsmen and defendants are Michael Vincent Bray, 30, from Helena, Perry Wray Woodland, 30, from Great Falls, and Deni Lynn Draper, 36, from Clancy. 

According to a December 11 story in the Livingston Enterprise, one Montana Army National Guard member accused of landing in a UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopter in May and taking elk antlers from private ranch land in Sweet Grass County is attempting to change his original plea and get his jury trial canceled. Lynn Draper, 36, from Clancy, originally pled not guilty to criminal trespassing charges regarding the May 4 incident.

Now, the Enterprise reports, Draper is requesting to change his original plea in Sweet Grass County Justice Court in Big Timber on Jan. 5, based on court documents filed last week from his attorney, Dwight Schulte of Missoula-based Schulte Law Firm. The documents also reference an unopposed motion to vacate Draper’s original trial.

The rancher who owns the land, Linda McMullen, was asked about the changes:

 “I don’t think there are consequences for these egregious acts of taking government property and using it for personal purposes,” said McMullen of the news. “The longer I am alive the more I realize there are a lot of backroom deals in the world.”

She seems to be correct. 

The Enterprise also asked about the Montana National Guard seven month investigation into the matter and found it is still ongoing.

Still ongoing? Crazy. 

I have always believed that the Montana National Guard is a good old boys’ network. The elk antler theft involving the Black Hawk helicopter is a classic example of the club. As a taxpayer and veteran, I expect more. 

TRUMP’S ADDRESS:

The speech from President Donald Trump last night was a rerun of his other speeches, where he blames Biden and the Democrats, and that this or that is the best, the greatest ever, blah, blah. He seemed in a hurry, and he was loud. 

He started out saying he inherited a mess. 

Later on, he said that they were giving money in the amount of $1,776 to military personnel by Christmas, which is by far the best part of his speech. 

Trump said, “Drugs brought in by Ocean and Sea are down 94%. We have broken the grip of sinister woke radicals in our schools… I’ve restored American Strength, settled 8 wars in 10 months, destroyed the Iran Nuclear Threat, and ended the war in Gaza—bringing, for the first time in 3,000 years, Peace to the Middle East.”

Concerning the border, Trump said: “We inherited the worst border anywhere in the world, and we quickly turned it into the strongest border in the history of our country.  In other words, in a few short months, we went from worst to best.”

Trump also said, “Tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected, and our country is back… We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”

Trump added, “Next year, you will also see the results of the largest tax cuts in American history… many families will be saving between $11,000 and $20,000 dollars a year, and next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time.”

You can watch his entire speech, which lasted about 18 minutes, HERE. 

The Associated Press covered the speech HERE. The NY Times covered it HERE. 

QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL: 

Heading into a year with midterm elections, 18 percent of voters approve of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job, while 73 percent disapprove, which is a record low job approval rating for them, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released yesterday.

The poll also found that thirty-five percent of voters approve of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job, while 58 percent disapprove.

In regard to the President, when it comes to using the power of the presidency, 54 percent of voters think Donald Trump is going too far, 37 percent think he is handling it about right, and 7 percent think Trump isn’t going far enough in using the power of the presidency.

There are a lot more results from the poll, so click HERE to review. 

ONE MORE THING: 

Many comments after Trump’s speech mentioned the drug Adderall. Here is one:

“Guy just screamed at the country high as hell on Adderall.” #PresidentialAddress

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