Welcome to The Western Word. Here’s what’s on the radar for today’s common sense commentary:

• Transparent Election Initiative
• Weekend Rallies at Capitol
• Jeremy Carl Nomination
• Secretary Pete Hegseth
• One More Thing

TRANSPARENT ELECTION INITIATIVE: 

In case you forgot about the Transparent Election Initiative (TEI), they announced some exciting news on Wednesday:

The Transparent Election Initiative (TEI) announced that it has received official petition sheets from the Montana Secretary of State for Initiative I-194, the statutory version of “The Montana Plan,” allowing the campaign to begin collecting signatures to place the initiative on the November 3 ballot.

The statutory initiative — now designated Initiative I-194 — was found legally sufficient by the Attorney General and transmitted to the Secretary of State’s office for petition preparation and circulation.

If passed in November, “The Montana Plan” would clarify that the powers granted by the State of Montana to corporations and other artificial entities do not include the power to spend money to influence elections.

TEI leaders say the campaign is ready to launch immediately. More than 600 volunteers across Montana have already signed up to help collect signatures in every county in the state, positioning the campaign to move quickly as signature gathering begins statewide.

I will be signing the petition to get I-194 on the ballot this November! Join me in making a difference—get the full scoop HERE. The Daily Montanan covers the announcement HERE. 

WEEKEND RALLIES AT CAPITOL:

In a stunning display of efficiency, Montana has discovered that the best way to save money is to make sure nobody can protest when they actually have the day off.

The Montana Free Press (MTFP) reported that the Montana Department of Administration said in an email this week that the new rules prohibit weekend events that use equipment such as sound stages. The new rules still allow other weekend gatherings on the Capitol grounds. “Setup of items like generators and sound stage equipment is only permitted during weekday business hours with an event permit issued by the General Services Division, even if the equipment is provided and set up by event organizers,” wrote Department of Administration spokesperson Jana Williams.

Beam me up, Scotty! 

JEREMY CARL NOMINATION:

Jeremy Carl from Bozeman was nominated to be President Trump’s Assistant Secretary of State for the United Nations and International Organizations. Carl appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in February, and it did not go well. 

The Hill and other sources reported that President Trump’s nominee for a State Department role withdrew himself from consideration on Tuesday after lawmakers questioned his past comments on race.

During the hearing in February, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), the only former synagogue president to serve in the Senate, said his positions “should alarm every senator who believes in basic decency, truth and responsibility that does come with public service.”

Rosen also pointed out Carl’s attempt to delete thousands of social media posts, revealed by CNN in September, where he trafficked in incendiary rhetoric, referred to Democrats as traitors, called for political opponents to face the death penalty, and promoted disparaging and diminishing violence against Black Americans, among other statements. 

You can read his statement regarding the withdrawal HERE, as I am a fair person. 

I am happy he withdrew his name from consideration. 

SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH:

It has been a tough week for Pete Hegseth…

The Washington Post and other sources are reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is banning press photographers from department briefings on the U.S. war on Iran because he didn’t like the way he looked in recent photos. Anonymous sources told The Washington Post that Hegseth and his staff called photos of him taken by photographers from large outlets like Reuters, the Associated Press, and Getty Images at a March 2 briefing “unflattering.”

You can see some of the photos HERE. 

Before that, we learned that the Pentagon spent millions of dollars on luxury food items, consumer electronics and other discretionary purchases in the final month of the last fiscal year, according to a new analysis by government spending watchdog Open the Books. (Source)

The report found that the Department of Defense, headed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts in September 2025, the largest single‑month total ever recorded by any federal agency.

I remember when I was in the military, and we were approaching the end of the fiscal year, being told we had to cut down on driving military vehicles to save money. 

ONE MORE THING:

BREAKING: The United States has threatened to drop its biggest bomb on Iran. B-52s are being loaded with DVDs of the Melania documentary. (Source)

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