Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:
- Hiding in Plain Sight
- Trump vs Canada
- Mail-In Voting
- One More Thing
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT:
The Montana Free Press (MTFP) has a story written by Tom Lutey about how Kurt Alme, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is hiding from the voters.
Lutey writes:
In a state where Republicans have won all but two of the last 26 statewide or federal races, Alme is flying under the radar as the unchallenged conservative candidate for Montana’s third open U.S. Senate seat in 64 years.
Personally, I’d like to see Alme meet the press and voters a few times before ballots are mailed, but that’s just me. Are there any debates scheduled?
It seems that all Alme is doing is coasting to the Election Day finish line.
Fill up your coffee mug and enjoy this lengthy read HERE.
TRUMP VS CANADA:
President Donald Trump attacking Canada and increasing tariffs is one of the dumbest things he could do.
Alienating our closest neighbor makes zero economic sense. Montana’s governor and our four federal lawmakers must advocate for our state’s economy and push back against Trump’s anti-Canada rhetoric.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative, Montana’s largest export market was Canada. Montana exported $958 million in goods to Canada in 2025, representing 45 percent of the state’s total goods exports. (Source)
Back in 2025, NonStop Local reported that Montana imported $6.8 billion in goods from Canada each year. (Source)
Check out the Montana/Canada Trade Fact Sheet HERE.
MAIL-IN VOTING:
In case you missed the news, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to move ahead with his executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much his administration can implement before the fast-approaching midterm elections.
Good grief.
The Executive Order calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists. Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the order.
Mail-in voting is so secure that President Trump even uses it. A study from the Brookings Institute found that mail voting fraud is very rare, accounting for only 0.000043% of total mail ballots cast, or about four cases out of every 10 million mail votes. (Source)
Brookings also found that Mail voting expands voter access, giving millions—especially those facing barriers—a practical and secure way to vote.
The core argument is that these administrative hurdles limit the participation of those likely to support opposing platforms. This is entirely about making voting harder for opponents.
ONE MORE THING:
Sadly, we are living in a day where people are proud of what they should be ashamed of.
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The Western Word 
Or as the NYT frames it; “because Canada’s economy is about one-twelfth the size of the U.S. economy, its retaliatory tariffs will have the effect of a pea shooter in a gun battle.”
Maybe Canada will cut a deal with California which itself is the third or fourth economy in the world.
unfortunately Montana’ economy will suffer greatly from this stupidity.
Since you apparently still support Trump you are part of the problem, he’s turned on our Congressional delegation and Governor. It’s only a matter of time until he turns on you too! Good luck.
Hi Jackie,
Isn’t it rich that all of our Republican “leaders” have spent enormous time and resources kissing up to Trump and only askng “how high” when he wants them to jump to some unhinged requirement and now he not only ignores them and all of their constituents but further, throws them under the bus with the Canadien tariffs, disrupts the delivery of oil, fertilizer, and other goods through the Strait of Hormus, imports tons of unspecified groud beef from who knows where, and creates a debt crisis so large that normal credit for ag operations will be difficult if not imossible to obtain.
Yet do any of them acknowledge that he is the scorpion in the old scorpion killing the frog carrying him across the river. We all knew he was a scorpion when they jumped in with him. Must be all that home schooling,huh?
Great points!
Our elected representatives have placed Trump above constituents and Montana.
In the past, they would have been thrown out. Sad times. -JmB