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

• Gianforte’s Flat Income Tax
• Happiest States
• Trump’s Recollection
• NFL Kickoff 
• One More Thing

GIANFORTE’S FLAT INCOME TAX:

When I see the Republican establishment and its donor networks fully rally behind a single concept, it makes me skeptical.

According to a press release from Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, he joined the Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC) to announce the Flat. Fair. Montana. campaign, a statewide initiative to promote a flat income tax rate of 4.7 percent. Flat. Fair. Montana. is a project of MSPC, focused on making Montana’s individual income tax system simpler, more transparent, and more competitive. 

According to reporting from the Montana Free Press (MTFP), the proposal also drew criticism from two Democratic lawmakers who focus on tax policy, Rep. Mark Thane, D-Missoula, and Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish. In a written statement co-published with Fern, Thane called Gianforte’s pitch a “tax break for the wealthiest income earners.” 

It was also reported by MTFP that Rose Bender, director of research for the Montana Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit that has been critical of Gianforte’s tax policies in the past, denounced Gianforte’s proposal Tuesday. 

“The Governor’s push to further cut Montana’s top income tax rate will result in a significant tax cut to the wealthiest 5 percent, the same individuals already benefiting from past tax breaks,” Bender wrote in a statement.

So yes, I am skeptical. 

The Daily Montanan also covered the proposal HERE. 

HAPPIEST STATES:

With a recent Gallup poll showing only 44% of Americans are “very satisfied” with the way their life is going, the personal-finance company WalletHub released its report on the Happiest States in America in 2026, as well as expert commentary, to identify the places that create the best conditions for life satisfaction.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 30 key indicators of happiness. The data set ranges from the depression rate and the share of adults feeling productive to income growth and the unemployment rate. 

Montana was rated #30. Check out the whole report HERE.  

TRUMP’S RECOLLECTION:

During his September 8, 2026, White House Ellipse address, Donald Trump claimed that two firefighters physically lifted and carried him away from a building near Ground Zero in the days following the September 11 attacks. (Source)

“I’ll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen—big, strong guys—and I’m not the smallest guy in the world—they grabbed me under the arms, said, ‘Gotta get out of here.’ And they literally lifted me up… They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, ‘Fellas, I can run myself.’ But they were amazing…”  

Journalists, biographers, and former New York City police and fire officials have heavily disputed this account.  

Former FDNY officials and investigative records have found no contemporaneous evidence or logs verifying that Trump was rushed away by emergency workers or that he brought a large construction crew to help clear rubble. (Source)

While there was brief, unfounded panic among rescue workers regarding One Liberty Plaza’s stability in the days after the attacks, Trump was interviewed outdoors nearby on September 13, 2001, and made no mention of being personally swept up or carried away at the time. (Source)

This is just nothing but another lie. 

NFL KICKOFF:

Get ready! The NFL season starts tonight (Wednesday) with the New England Patriots playing against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. The game will be broadcast on NBC. 

On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams play each other in Melbourne, Australia. This game is being televised on Netflix. 

You can see the rest of the schedule HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me. -Alice Roosevelt Longworth

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