Greetings! In a world of bias, this column remains a voice of reason for those seeking honest, independent truth. On today’s agenda:

• Montana Campaign News
• United States District Court
• Sheehy & Green Energy
• Tuesday Plans
• One More Thing

2026 MONTANA CAMPAIGN NEWS:

A total of 231 candidates have filed for office in Montana as of Monday evening, per the Secretary of State’s online registry.

Candidate filing in Montana ends on March 4, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. The Primary election in Montana is Tuesday, June 2, 2026. 

You can keep track of who files for state and federal office by clicking HERE.

Your right to vote is under siege. Shadowy administrative “glitches” and deliberate interference are being used to purge eligible voters from the rolls without warning. If you don’t Verify Your Registration NOW, you may arrive at the polls only to find your name has been erased. Don’t let them silence you—check today before it’s too late.

In other news from Montana, the Speaker of the House (in Montana) is facing a primary challenger. Lee Newspapers is reporting (Paywall) that a Republican legislative primary brewing in eastern Montana has pitted the state Speaker of the House, Brandon Ler, against former congressional GOP candidate Ric Holden. 

In my view, Ler was an abysmal Speaker. Every time he took the podium, I could practically hear the ‘Dueling Banjos’ from Deliverance playing in the background.

ABC/FOX Montana released a poll that showed U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R)  would beat a couple of possible challengers. Check it out HERE. 

There will be plenty of polls between now and November. I wouldn’t get too excited about any polls until later in the year. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT:

There’s a commentary from Doug James on the Daily Montana website about President Donald Trump’s pick of Katie Lane to be a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Montana. The article is titled:

Trump’s nominee to Montana’s federal bench — unqualified and unready

Lifetime power should not go to a legal novice

James, himself a lawyer, gets right to the point, “Let’s skip the polite fiction. She is not qualified.”

He writes that “Trying cases in federal court is a unique skill set.” He says that Lane graduated from law school in 2017 and that the American Bar Association has long recommended at least 12 years of legal experience for federal judicial nominees. That’s a minimum.  Lane does not meet that benchmark. 

James says the people who walk into federal court deserve a judge who has already stood in the well, managed a trials from start to finish, and carried the weight of verdicts — not someone with training wheels.

Placing someone in a position they are not qualified for is typical of Donald Trump. As I said when I first mentioned the nomination of Lane, elections are important. James listed many reasons why in his commentary. 

SHEEHY & GREEN ENERGY:

Politico is reporting that while running for Senate, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy criticized “goofy, subsidized green energy crap” and said after taking office last year that military “readiness doesn’t include green solar power generation projects.”

Politico also reported:

The Montana Republican installed rooftop solar and battery storage systems at his Bozeman home several years ago, according to property records, satellite imagery and two local renewable energy industry officials who were granted anonymity to preserve commercial relationships.

Sheehy confirmed to POLITICO’s E&E News that he has solar panels on his home and then declined to answer further questions. 

“It’s my personal home, so it’s not really any of your business,” he said in a brief interview in December.

What an ass Sheehy is. 

The next question should have been, “Would you like to discuss shooting yourself in Glacier National Park, then?” Or, “How about parachuting into the park during your training?”

The press, especially in Montana, has let Sheehy off the hook for too long. He does not get to discuss whatever he wants with the press. 

TUESDAY PLANS:

There could be some opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday morning. The Court typically begins releasing opinions at 10:00 a.m. EST.

The State of the Union (SOTU) is Tuesday evening. I watch the pre-SOTU activities and the actual speech on C-SPAN. I don’t need a left or right pundit telling me how to interpret what Trump said. 

I am thinking that sooner or later, we may have some fisticuffs during the SOTU. We’ve gone that low. 

ONE MORE THING:

When checking out at the store, ask your checkout person what kind of candy bar they like and buy one for them. I did this today even though I was at the self-checkout.  

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