The Western Word

Moving!

2009-09-24T20:22:00.005-06:00

I decided to move. You can visit me at: http://thewesternword.com/

Observations from the Week 09/19/09

2009-09-19T10:27:00.003-06:00

National Security:
Back in July, I tweeted about the agreement between Russia and the United States to cut the number of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 each. I commented at that time, this may signal the closure of a Minuteman missile base in the future (there are only three left).

This week, the Obama administration bowed to Russia again, deciding to not build the missile shield in Europe and slapping our friends, the Pols and the Czechs, in the face. Obama is attempting to get Russia’s help with Iran. I don’t trust Russia or Iran. These were both dumb moves.

Recently a group of Senators have introduced a bill to weaken the Patriot Act. It seems our leaders have forgotten 9/11/01 and that the world is still a very dangerous place.

Healthcare:
After almost a year, Max Baucus unveiled his healthcare bill and everyone hated it - liberals, moderates, and conservatives.

Baucus stood alone trying to smile and promote his plan. He looked old and out of his league. His whole year of work and dozens of his staffers’ blood, sweat, and tears came to this.

Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean was quoted in U.S. News and World Report saying, "The Baucus bill is the worst piece of healthcare legislation I've seen in 30 years," "In fact, it's a $60 billion giveaway to the health insurance industry every year," he said. "It was written by healthcare lobbyists, so that's not a surprise. It's an outrage."

The funny thing about the Baucus bill is it may not even make it out of his own committee.

People are seeing Baucus as I have seen him for years – a weak legislator, no backbone, and very little to bring to the national stage. Now he’s at a point that the he cannot tell which way the wind is blowing to take sides.

Probably the nicest thing said about the bill came from Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) who said, "Max’s hard work in putting together a bill on such a complex issue is a testament to his genuine desire to do what’s best for our country.”

Baucus’ understudy, Senator Jon Tester, said, “Max has worked tirelessly on this proposal, and I am reading it closely.”

I can’t imagine who came up with that quote, but isn’t that what a senator should do with a bill, read it closely? Geez.

Port Pork:
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has put the border projects on hold after it was discovered that several politicians had lobbied for the funding, instead of going by the (nonpolitical) real-world needs of the agency.

$31 million was to go to a couple of checkpoints in Montana that see few travelers a day. CNN sent a couple of people to Montana to check them out. Montana’s Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus were happy to take credit for pushing the Obama administration to fund the projects. Now they have to backtrack. To most folks they have egg on the faces, and if it’s funded now, it will be a surprise. Maybe next time the boys will let the real needs of the country come first.

So what’s a senator who has gotten caught and sautéed by the national media do? You write a letter, making sure you’re covered, saying you want what is fair and transparent, and above all else, you want good government. You betcha.

Nobody likes you:
According to Gallup, the approval ratings for the two major parties in congress are still very low. Thirty-six percent approve of how the Democrats in Congress are doing their job and 27% approve of the Republicans.

I very much agree with is this paragraph: “A key reason for congressional Republicans' depressed ratings in recent months is that rank-and-file Republicans' support for their own party in Congress has descended to unprecedented depths.”

The GOP is leaderless. Nobody has stepped forward to take the helm of the ship. There are many wannabes running around, but I have not seen anyone who has what it takes to lead the party – and all this is happening while the Democrats are struggling with being in charge.

That is all – catch you on Twitter!

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

2009-09-12T10:09:00.002-06:00

I took a little vacation time this last week to catch up on some things around the house and relax. I was watching the coverage of the 9-11 ceremonies on Friday morning. As usual, I was checking Twitter to see what was happening in the world, when I read a Tweet that said something like this:

"Coast Guard confronts boat as Obama visits Pentagon, police scanner reports say shots fired."

Quickly I headed to the Reuters mobile web site and read the short story posted there. I then headed to CNN’s site and checked the info there. I checked several cable news channels to catch the news about it.

I read another Tweet about “10 rounds being expended”

Planes were delayed from take-off at Reagan International. Most folks reading or hearing the stories, were probably thinking “Oh no, not again.” The President had been in the area for a 9-11 ceremony.

So, the next logical thought was that maybe some terrorists decided that they would attack us while we were memorializing 9-11.

Finally, it was determined (about 30 minutes later) that this was all an exercise being conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard. “A freaking exercise,” I muttered to myself.

The U.S. Coast Guard used very, I repeat, VERY poor judgment by holding an exercise on 9-11.

I heard the radio transmissions that were picked up by reporters. Thinking this was breaking news, the reporters called the Coast Guard’s public information office, but they received no answers into what was happening.

CNN released a statement saying they contacted the Coast Guard twice and were never told it was a real world incident or an exercise.

After hitting send on the bulletin going out around the world, it is a lot like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. But this is the new age in media and if you are not first in the news reporting world, you are last. But more importantly, you want to get it right.

Vice Adm. John P. Currier of the Coast Guard held a press conference a few hours later, and let me just say that he did not come across very well to me. Yes, we know you have to “be ready” 24-7-365. We appreciate the men and women of the Coast Guard and all our military for protecting us.

Many years ago, while in the military, I was part of and also conducted several exercises for my men and women. This is very common in the military. Every radio transmission (which can be monitored by someone with a scanner) were preceded with the words, “Exercise, Exercise, Exercise.” At the end of transmission, the same words were transmitted. If we did not tell the listeners it was an exercise, some might have thought some terrorist action was happening – the same thing people were thinking on Friday. This is the post 9-11 time and people are still a little edgy (maybe not as much as they should be) when it comes to possible terrorist attacks.

I did not hear those words in any of the radio transmissions that were later broadcast on CNN.

The U.S. Coast Guard needs to rethink a few things due to this incident:

1. They need to plan and coordinate their exercises and let their Public Information Office and other Federal agencies know about them, in case there are calls.
2. Retrain the people involved to use the word “exercise” with every radio transmission, because someone, somewhere, is listening.
3. When major events are happening in the area, such as 9-11 ceremonies, take the day off from conducting an exercise.

We appreciate all that our military personnel do for us each day. I have been there and I know it’s sometimes a thankless job.

On the other hand, it is a sign of the times that our media all wants to be first.

I imagine some heads will roll as they investigate what went wrong with this exercise. Admiral Currier has some explaining to do, and I agree with him that it was unfortunate and a review will need to be conducted, but he appeared to me to have a blasé attitude toward this incident, as did White House Spokesman, Robert Gibbs.

Silliness

2009-09-10T13:10:00.003-06:00

I completely agree with Gregg over at Electric City Weblog regarding his post entitled, “Feigned Outrage” about the silliness that is being posted from the left side of the blogosphere about the boating accident a couple of weeks ago.

He writes, Reading the ‘left side’ of the blogosphere, though, one finds the breathless ‘coverage’ of the Denny Rehberg accident to border on the silly. These people pluck ‘facts’ from news stories and rumors and extrapolate all sorts of perceived misdeeds on the part of our Congressman, all while we really know nothing about the fundamental fact in issue. And all while a young man lies in a hospital bed.

What we know as it was reported is that State Senator Greg Barkus was driving a boat that crashed. Congressman Denny Rehberg and two of his senior staff were in the boat, along with Barkus’ wife. All were injured. Some very seriously. That’s about all we know for sure. The investigation is continuing. No charges have been filed.

By the way, it was reported that Rehberg had an alcoholic drink with his dinner. Imagine that.

The night I heard about the accident (before I found out it was a very serious accident) I was planning on writing about the accident using the SS Minnow and a three-hour tour -a three hour tour story as background. That post went into the trash bin.

So on August 29, I wrote: It is my hope that political gamesmanship can take a back seat for a few days and that bloggers and the media will concentrate on the health and recovery of those injured, instead of scoring political points.

That did not happen, but I have been blogging since January 2005, so I am not that surprised. Here in Montana it’s the method of operation from some (with the help of some in the media) to throw enough crap against the wall that some is bound to stick. It worked for the left side here during the senate campaign of 2006, and it appears they will try to use this accident as a springboard to help defeat Rehberg.

Seriously, the days of taking a rope and throwing it over a branch on the closest tree and being the judge, the jury and the executioner are long gone. Even in the west. It’s 2009, folks. All the rumors and irrelevant posts about this accident is just plain silliness.

The Morning After

2009-09-10T09:55:00.001-06:00

The President gave his speech last night to Congress and the American people. Of course, Obama gives great speeches (with a teleprompter) so that was the easy part. Overall I gave Obama a five out of 10 on the speech. The five was for his delivery. Partisanship and length cost him in my book.

I thought the speech was way too long. The opening about the economy seemed out of place. It’s hard to bring people together, when you are kind of saying look what we’ve done after the other guys screwed it up. His line, “But we did not come here just to clean up crises” kind of started the partisanship of the speech.

Obama has a history of placing blame on the previous administration and that is getting old with many people. His poll numbers are showing it – especially his favorable ratings with independents have fallen like a rock. Everyone who follows campaigns knows the independents are very important for every candidate to win their contest.

Obama brought up reason after reason for revamping the delivery of healthcare. I think the American people wanted substance. We got some substance, but it was later in the speech after many of us had glossy eyes and were checking our twitter accounts for comments.

So, Obama lost many of us until Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie” and then I thought it was going to get good. Of course, I remember a few times during President Bush’s presidency some shouts and a grumble or two coming from the lefties in the crowd…but that was OK because it was evil Bush giving the speech.

Speaking of Wilson, I posted a comment on Twitter last night basically saying if he really meant that Obama lied, why apologize. He could have said something like, “I should not have shouted at the President, but he really did lie with his statement because…” I went to Wilson’s website this morning and got this, “Due to exceptionally high traffic, this site is temporarily unavailable.” Funny.

Not to let Obama have all the glory, Max Baucus took the opportunity to send out an e-mail that arrived in my Inbox during the President’s speech. He told me he was “Back At It” and that “August was a great month” and “Now is the Time” for healthcare reform. Max may be the key to healthcare reform in the senate, and that should give all of us a reason to worry. By the way, I have not seen Max make the Sunday talk show rounds yet. If his plan is so good why not get on national TV, talk about it, and answer questions?

I guess the bottom line to all this healthcare talk is that the Democrats are in charge and can do with it what they wish. I think that is what they are most afraid of – passing something that will harm Obama’s chances at reelection and each member’s chances of reelection. That is the way most of our elected officials view things these days.

Healthcare Solution: The Wal-Mart method

2009-09-09T10:08:00.001-06:00

The healthcare issue is hitting fever pitch today, with President Obama addressing a joint session of Congress tonight in a ”Hail Mary” attempt to find some common ground. It seems the expectations are very high for Obama. Too high in my opinion.

Here we are in September and the new Democrat Congress and White House have shown that they are not exactly ready for prime time. On the other hand looking back, the Republican-controlled Congress and White House did not do much better, although they spent a lot less of our money.

Looking at this healthcare debate shows American people that the passing of legislation is much like sausage-making (it’s good to eat, but making it turns the stomach). Issues like this go on each day in Washington and most of the time us little guys don’t know about it.

I think one avenue the leaders of our country should examine is to tackle the healthcare issue piece by piece. This is too big to rush and nobody outside of Washington really cares if it defines the Obama Administration or changes the make-up of Congress from Democrat-controlled to Republican-controlled. We’ve seen both parties screw things up pretty well over the last 20-25 years.

I’m not all that excited about government-run healthcare. One needs only to look at the Veterans Administration (VA) or the Indian Health Service (IHS) to see that although the idea was good and just, funding (and bureaucracy) has kept these agencies from performing very well.

One thing that I would like to see is some preventative medicine covered for free or at very low-cost. I’d like to see some medical experts (not Congress) get together and decide what are the top 50 or so medical tests that people need to catch diseases and ailments early to keep them healthy – and “promote the general welfare” of our citizens…

Of course, I think any type of healthcare overhaul must address tort reform, which I think could help reduce cost. I doubt that can happen under the present makeup of Congress.

But just maybe the answer to our healthcare woes is the Wal-Mart method! Wal-Mart is one of those places where some folks will not admit they shop, but the parking lot is always full. Wal-Mart (apologies to my union friends) is a success because they provide goods and services at a cheaper price than most others – the free market method. Wal-Mart has already stepped into the healthcare arena by providing low-cost prescriptions.

Heck, we might even see Wal-Mart hire a few doctors and provide medical care at low cost. I can hear it now, “Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, Mr. Bill Jones, your blood test results are available for pick-up at the healthcare window. Maintenance, we have a spill on aisle three. Jane Smith, your car is ready at the auto service department. Thank you for shopping at your local Wal-Mart!”

That may not be too far-fetched.

Observations from the week 09/05/09

2009-09-05T12:28:00.003-06:00

Here are a few things that caught my attention this week.

Healthcare:
Max Baucus has been ineffective as the senate leader on this issue. In fact, if he was running for office in the next couple of years and the right candidate came along to run against him, he would lose – maybe to a primary challenger because even folks in his own party are sick of him.

When history is written about the senate career of Baucus, he will be known as an ineffective leader who failed to produce any significant legislation in 30+ years.

The Obama “back to school” speech:
I have to agree with the White House when they said the uproar over the President’s speech to school children has “reached a little bit of the silly season.”

My 11 year-old asked if I thought she should listen to the speech. I said, “Of course, he’s our President.” I added, “Although I don’t agree with him on many issues, I think anytime you can listen to the President, you should.”

If she does listen to the President’s speech, we’ll discuss it when she gets home.

Also, my wife is a public school teacher and some parents were worried she might “make” her students listen to the speech.

By the way, I voted for McCain. That vote is looking pretty good these days.

The Obama Healthcare Speech:
Since Max Baucus has not come up with a plan and since many of the other plans are facing obstacles, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress Wednesday night. It’s a good deal that he did not plan on giving this address on Thursday night-the opening of the NFL season!

Realistically, the GOP smells blood in the water – especially since the Town Halls that Democrats held in August (except for Tester and Baucus, who held zero) showed many people don’t like these plans.

If the Democrats want to govern, they have the votes – but they seem to be fighting amongst themselves. If the Democrats don’t take this historic opportunity to govern, they may not get another chance for decades.

Sarah Palin:
There was an interesting article in Politico about all the ethics charges filed against her. In short, this sentence should settle it, “To date, all of the complaints that have been processed by state officials have been dismissed.”

Checkpoint to Nowhere:
In case you have not read the article in the National Review by my friend, Travis Kavulla, about a stimulus boondoggle in Big Sky country, you should. Click HERE to read.

Kavulla does a fine job in shining light on the $15 million earmark that was given by the Department of Homeland Security to the border ports in Daniels County, Montana, where one port has a busy day with an average of three visitors.

Career Homeland Security officials had their own priority list of places that needed this funding, but it became political. That’s not good for our nation’s security when a couple of fellas like Senator Max Baucus and Senator Jon Tester (who have no national security experience) can earmark money for projects that are not on or are way down the list.

One fact that Kavulla did not mention is that in 2006, U.S. Senate candidate Jon Tester said Congress was spending money like drunken sailors. Now, I don’t know if Congress is spending money like crack-heads or what, but Tester surely loves the taste of the pork he campaigned so hard against.

Montana could sure use a couple of new U.S. Senators.

The Boating Accident:
More and more information is coming forth about the boating accident that Congressman Denny Rehberg was involved in with State Senator Greg Barkus and three others.

Of course, there are conspiracy theories galore about the accident and several rumors have popped up. I will wait until the officials finish their investigation before making comments.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people injured in the accident, especially Rehberg’s state director, Dustin Frost. Frost is a fine young man. Get well soon, my friend.

Van Jones:
OK, how in the heck do I get a job as a Czar? I am thinking “Blogging Czar” or “Veterans Czar.”

The past of Mr. Van Jones, President Obama’s green jobs czar, is coming back to haunt him. Obama should ask for his resignation. There are plenty of folks who could use a job these days who have kept their mouths shut.

Jobs:
This Labor Day I am thankful to have a job. Unemployment rate just hit a 26-year high of 9.7% the other day. It’s Obama’s baby. Chisel it into history. Your party is in charge.

Football:
I decided to take a little vacation next week and enjoy some time off. Football season is here. Today, the NFL rosters must be cut down to 53 men. If you make the 53 man roster, you are an instant millionaire. There’s still a chance for those who have been cut, because in football, like life, another man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Catch you on Twitter!

Observations from the week 08/29/09

2009-08-29T12:30:00.003-06:00

There was a lot of news this week. Some of it was pretty sad.

U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy:
Senator Kennedy passed away this week. My prayers and condolences go out to his family and the people he represented in Massachusetts.

Being one that has lived through most of the tragedies that happened to this family, my thoughts always turn to sadness when I think of the Kennedy family. This family has given more than most in public service, but I admire them in that they always came together during these tough times. It’s tough being in the limelight, but to have to share your grief in the public spotlight is something that most of us will never know. I respect the family for handling it so well – multiple times.

I did not agree with many of Senator Kennedy’s stands on the issues, but he represented the people from Massachusetts and they kept sending him back.

The Boat Wreck:
Details are still coming in about the boating accident on Thursday night involving Congressman Denny Rehberg, his two staffers, and State Senator Greg Barkus and his family. My prayers and thoughts are with each one of these people. It is my hope that political gamesmanship can take a back seat for a few days and that bloggers and the media will concentrate on the health and recovery of those injured, instead of scoring political points.

Border Security:
At the urging of Montana’s U.S. Senators, Jon Tester and Max Baucus, Janet Napolitano, the director of Homeland Security gave a cool $15 million to a port in Montana “that sees about three travelers a day” according to the Associated Press.

That was wrong no matter what Tester and Baucus contend. It was not free of politics. Other, more urgent, needs were placed down the list for political purposes.

The new democrat-controlled Congress is spending our tax money at a rate never before seen in this country.

Town Hall Meetings:
Some elected people across the country are constituent-oriented enough to hold town hall meetings.

So far, Congressman Denny Rehberg is leading the way in Montana with around 18 meetings. He had more scheduled before his accident. That may be a record for a House or Senate member this August recess (Hello CNN/MSNBC/Fox News – are you watching).

But, on the other hand our two Senators have been afraid to actually hold meetings where people (their constituents) can voice their concerns and hear their elected officials ideas. Instead, our senators quietly go to meetings with selected and invited groups or hold phone meetings. They will try to spin this, but Montanans will not fall for it. For the “powerful” Senator Max Baucus to dodge his constituents while he is supposedly the lead in the senate for the healthcare bill is unforgivable.

That’s it for this week. Catch you on Twitter!

Observations from the week 08/21/09

2009-08-21T16:54:00.002-06:00

More Town Hall:

There’s an interesting e-mail floating around about some “behind the curtain” things that went on at the Obama Town Hall meeting in Belgrade. The lobster being shipped in was quite interesting. The political strong-arm tactics was nothing new.

Read more by clicking HERE.

It does take a bunch of people and equipment to host a presidential visit. Given the fact that the President and his family were staying the night in the area, I can only imagine the magnitude of stuff that was needed for the family and security. At least it was good for the local economy…in some ways.

Rehberg Town Hall:

Congressman Denny Rehberg has held 18 Town Hall meetings across the state of Montana during the August recess. That’s 18 more that U.S. Senator Max Baucus and 18 more than U.S. Senator Jon Tester. It appears that our two Senators are afraid to face their constituents this recess – and to think that Baucus is actually crafting a bill about health care. Baucus has been hit from the right and from the left in the last month so much, it makes one wonder how a politician could anger so many folks in so short of time. His biggest problem is that he can only send out 30 second sound bites (after multiple takes) and carefully crafted e-mails written by his staff. Any venture into the public to speak off the cuff, would only land him in deeper water.

On the other hand, Tester does not understand health care from day care, but they both understand fundraising - they have held more fundraisers this month than town hall meetings.

Veterans Centers:

The Veterans Administration has decided to open Veterans Centers in Great Falls and Kalispell.

When I read this, I thought that is good news. I am a veteran. Then I started doing some research and found another broken promise from the leadership in the Senate, House and White House. What about the backlog of claims with the Veterans Administration? Should the VA concentrate on (spend money) getting these backlog of claims settled, instead of opening more VA-funded centers and clinics? Supposedly since January 2009, the backlog of claims with the VA has grown 13.3% - a backlog of some 916,456 claims according to this site.

Isn’t that what the politicians who ran for office in 2006 and 2008 promise the veterans - faster claim ratings and fewer backlogs of claims?

Another broken promise, but us veterans will have more facilities to go visit…if your paperwork is approved.

I have always been an advocate of providing local private health care for veterans. There’s billions of dollars spent each year to run these facilities and pay staff that could go to providing local private healthcare for veterans in their own communities.

Oh well, all of us may be using a government-run healthcare system in the future.

The RNC Letter:

I received another letter from the Republican National Committee this week with this opening sentence, “Please don’t tell me that you’ve given up…that you’ve abandoned the Republican Party.” It went on to add, “”But we’ve not heard from you since 2006-and I hope you haven’t deserted our party.”

Of course, they added a tear-off section to send in my contribution (just in case I wanted to give them a little money).

Note to RNC: Don’t hold your breath.

Cash for Clunkers:

Wow. It ends Monday. They sure blew three billion dollars pretty fast, heh? This administration can really spend the money.

Football:

The preseason is here! Brett Favre is now a Viking. Michael Vick likes dogs now…and the Eagles. Plaxico Burress is gone for two years. Every team has dreams of going to the Super Bowl. Only two teams will have that dream come true. But in the preseason there is hope - a lot of hope.

Catch you on Twitter!

Observations from the Week 08/15/09

2009-08-15T13:55:00.003-06:00

Here are some things that caught my attention last week.

Obama came to Montana:

-It was interesting to hear Montana described many times before, during, and after Obama’s visit here as a “red state” (Republican). The last time I checked the Democrats (Blue) controlled all the second-tier state-wide offices in state government; there’s a democrat Governor and the two U.S. Senators are democrats. The Democrats controlled the state House of Representatives last session. The Republicans did control the state Senate in the last session and Congressman Denny Rehberg is a Republican. If the Republicans were some sort of animal, they would surely be on the endangered species list in Montana.

-From reports I read, there was not much rowdiness at the event in Belgrade, and the national media has commented on the fact that people are not as vocal at Obama events. The easiest explanation is that there are hundreds of secret service people as well as other law enforcement people at Obama events. It’s easy math: Someone like Arlen Specter is not as important as Barack Obama. Obama gets more security than a senator. People won’t scream and shout as much if they see security people ready to grab their necks and throw them out.

-One question that I thought should have been asked at the “Town Hall" meeting was, “In the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, democrats touted the fact that republicans were spending taxpayer money at record rates. In fact, the dough boy sitting on the stage with you said congress was spending money “like drunken sailors.” Now that you have tripled the national debt and spent more money that any administration in history, will you say now that you and the democrats lied to the American people about how you would stop the excessive spending?”

-Probably the President was not too happy with Governor Brian Schweitzer’s remarks touting the Canadian health care system. The headline in the Great Falls Tribune had this, “Schweitzer touts Canadian system.”
Who knows, maybe the Governor will start taking people to Canada to get their health care? Folks may remember that Schweitzer took people to Canada by bus to get their prescriptions when he was trying to win a seat in the U.S. Senate back in 2000. He was unsuccessful in that race.

Bresnan Internet and Blackberry:

It was “tech hell” for ol’ Jack this week. Thursday night and almost all day Friday I did not have access to the internet. My provider since it was AT&T @ Home is Bresnan. The internet was down because of a “corruption of routers on a particular type of server.”
Then, my Blackberry Pearl trackball went on the blink. The roller ball gets dirty and won’t move. After cleaning it several times, and getting sick of it not working, I upgraded to a BB Curve. Hopefully it will work better. Life sometimes sucks when the tech stuff fails.

Downpour Music Festival:

Although the rain came and it started late and some acts cut their performances short, it was well worth the wait at Centene Stadium in Great Falls.
My favorite band on Friday night was “The Hope Movement” which kicked off the festival around 5:00. Sadly, it started raining again so they cut their performance down a few songs but they left those in attendance wanting more. I’m looking forward to the second night of performances.

I’ll catch you on Twitter this week!

#58

2009-08-08T15:39:00.001-06:00

Today, Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Derrick Thomas takes his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It was a long time coming, but Derrick Thomas is finally there.

Unfortunately, Derrick Thomas passed away on February 8, 2000, from injuries he suffered from a car accident weeks earlier that left him paralyzed. I remember where I was the exact moment I heard the news of his death.

Former Chiefs General Manager, Carl Peterson, (who drafted Thomas) will speak on behalf of the Thomas family at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

I was able to see Thomas play several times at Arrowhead Stadium. I would find myself wanting the Chiefs defense to take the field because something special would happen with #58 on the field.

I was watching the game on TV when Thomas recorded seven sacks in one game and when he missed number eight, the Chiefs lost on a last second pass. Thomas did not talk about the seven sacks; he talked about the one he missed. He was that type of player.

A photo of Thomas sits proudly in my family room, while a #58 jersey is pinned to my wall – a reminder of a great player and of times when the Kansas City Chiefs were competitive. That was back in the days when visiting teams found it was hell to run an offensive play in Arrowhead Stadium, which was always blanketed with a sea of red on any given Sunday in the 1990s, while the smell of barbecue saturated the air around the stadium. Then, when the visiting team was able to run an offensive play, #58 would swing around the outside and pummel the quarterback into the turf while taking a calculated swing at the ball (many times causing a fumble) – and the Chiefs faithful would go wild. Good times. Good times.

There’s been a lot written about Derrick Thomas by sportswriters and fans – most of it is probably better than what I could say. But every year that Derrick Thomas would be up for selection for the Hall of Fame, I would take a few moments to write the reasons why I felt he should be one of the elites in Canton. I guess I was somewhat hoping that one of the voters would read my comments and their vote would be swayed Derrick’s way.

The yearly essays can now come to an end as one of my favorite football players is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Derrick Thomas, his family, and Chiefs fans everywhere. Thanks for the 11-year ride Derrick. It was a wonderful time.

Observations from the week 08/07/09

2009-08-07T19:39:00.002-06:00

Here are the stories that caught my eye this week, of course with my commentary. Enjoy!

Town Hall Meetings:
This week I received an e-mail from the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) telling me, “All week, fringe, far-right organizations funded by shady, unreported sources have been ginning up their supporters to disrupt Democratic town hall meetings. The goal: kill every attempt at health care reform and wound President Obama.”

Whaaa. It’s funny that the Democrats are complaining about something in which they are so good. It’s not like they have not disrupted a few Republican meetings in the past. What goes around comes around, children.

Hit back:
The White House held an hour-long meeting to pump up their teammates (Senators) before they went on August recess. Former Baucus Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, who now has Josh Lyman’s job from the TV show West Wing (Deputy Chief of Staff), is quoted in this story as saying, “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

Saying things like that may have worked for Messina when he was working for Max Baucus here in Montana, but not in his new job.

To me, it seems like the constituents of these elected officials are getting mad at the spending that is going on and they are afraid that the health care bills being proposed will spend billions of more taxpayer money. Let’s face it, the grass seemed greener on the other side of the fence for many folks during the 2006 and 2008 elections. 2010 may swing the pendulum back the other way.

Many of these elected folks don’t get to see or hear much from normal folks, so the anger and yelling at these Town Hall meetings really gets to them. It reminds me of this story I read somewhere about Harry Truman when he became President. Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House during Truman’s term, took the new president aside and told Truman that he was going to have lots of people around him and that these people would try to cut him off and put up a wall around him – to keep him from being in touch with his constituents. Rayburn also told Truman these people would tell Truman what a great man he was, but then he added, “Really Harry, you and I both know you ain’t.”

Town Hall Meetings Part 2:
Congressman Denny Rehberg is holding 16 Town Hall meetings across Montana during the August recess. He visits all 56 Montana counties each term.

I say good job to Congressman Rehberg for holding these meetings. It was interesting that a possible challenger to Congressman Rehberg announced a location that Rehberg was holding a meeting urging his supporters to show up with signs. As for our two Senators here in Montana, are you holding any meetings besides fundraisers?

The Big Man is coming to Bozeman:
President Barack Obama will be in Bozeman this month and he’s also visiting Yellowstone National Park with his family.

That’s nice. I read somewhere that Obama may be holding a fundraiser, too. It looks like our two senators (and their staff) will be a little busy this week. Seriously though, welcome to Montana, Mr. President & family.

Fishy:
On the Whitehouse.gov website, I find this: “If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

Fishy? FISHY? I think I will send them a link to their Health Care site…..

Trouble in State Government:
According to this story, the brother of Governor Brian Schweitzer, was accused of soliciting campaign donations in the State Auditor’s office (where he is employed) and of verbally assaulting an employee.

Most of the folks involved with this issue were on vacation when the story broke. Interesting. One of my friends in Government mentioned this story to me adding, “Everyone in Helena knows the Governor’s brother is the designated ‘leg breaker’ for the Governor in the state.” These kinds of tactics kind of remind me of the Godfather, "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.”

The State Auditor did say she would have an “independent auditor outside of state government” review the allegations. I suggest she ask her opponent in the last election to do the “independent” review – that is if she really wants it to be independent.

Unemployment:
The unemployment rate dropped for the first time in 15 months from 9.5% to 9.4%.

These are people who are getting or recently applied for unemployment. Obama and his folks are happy. I am skeptical, but glad to see it decrease slightly. There are millions of Americans who fell off the chart because their unemployment ran out. You can’t get it forever.

Florida Senate:
Republican U.S. Senator Mel Martinez of Florida announced his resignation today, saying that he was going to work in the private sector.

What the heck is it about Republicans leaving office early?
Maybe Florida Governor Charlie Crist will name Jeb Bush as Martinez’ replacement?

I’ll catch you on Twitter (if it’s working), Until next time…..

Observations from the Week 08.01.09

2009-08-01T09:27:00.002-06:00

Here’s my short take on what caught my attention this last week:

To the Rescue: The Great Falls Tribune came to U.S. Senator Max Baucus’ rescue this week, saying, “He's not for sale, and he's not a fool. It costs a lot of money to achieve and maintain seniority in that most exclusive of clubs, and he's managed to do it — with integrity if not boldness — for more than three decades.”

Everyone who follows Montanan politics will probably agree that Max Baucus is a master politician. If there’s a chance for him to get a little publicity, he will snatch it., along with the money he can stuff in his pockets. But as the saying goes, the chickens are coming home to roost and the senator is finally being seen by the rest of the country for what he really is – a very weak leader. He may end up losing his chairmanship over his failure to come up with a healthcare plan. The word “powerful” that is inserted in all his press releases and is mindlessly re-printed by the media across the state has lost its meaning these days.

The Beer Summit: The great beer summit happened this week and the media ate it up. There were countdown clocks on some cable news networks. They reported about the table being used, the type of beer each of them drank, who owned the beer company and so on. It was crazy, and even VP Biden could not pass it up, so he crashed the party. The funny thing is that it is a great idea for people to sit down over a beer, or coffee, or some other cold drink and talk. Talking always helps. Yelling and screaming at each other does not.

That’s Leadership – NOT: With people like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell leading the way, look for the GOP to be in the back seat for some years. McConnell did not think that his fellow GOP Kentucky Senator, Jim Bunning, could win re-election so he basically shut down the fundraising for him until Bunning decided not to run.
McConnell has been in leadership positions with the GOP since 1998, so he’s been the leader during the demise of the GOP. Nice work, Mitch, you jerk.

Cash for Clunkers: If you drive by many car lots, you’ll see a sign about the program. Supposedly it was so good that it was running out of money. Also, I heard that the rules given to the auto dealers to run this program was over a 100 pages. The best quote of the week goes to a dealer talking about the program: "If they can't administer a program like this, I'd be a little concerned about my health insurance." True, so true.

Camping: No, this is not about trekking into the wilds of Montana, setting up a tent and living under the stars for a few nights. Sorry. This entry is about NFL FOOTBALL CAMPS which are starting this weekend! Hundreds of players will be competing to make the 53 man roster and every team has a chance to make it to the big show. Thank God for football! Oh yes, Go CHIEFS!

Keep up with me on Twitter. You can follow me by clicking on the link on the left.

Observations from the week:

2009-07-26T09:34:00.002-06:00

Stupidly: On July 22, at 7:11 p.m. (Montana time), right after President Barack Obama said the Cambridge Police acted “stupidly,” I twittered that his statement would probably come back to bite him. It has. His comments killed everything he had said about the healthcare bill and has been the major news story for the week. Obama’s approval ratings are also slipping.

Birth Certificate: At least once a week, someone sends me an e-mail regarding Obama not being born in the United States. Give it a rest folks. He was born in Hawaii (after it was a state). There was a birth announcement in a Honolulu paper 47 years ago, too. That horse is dead, so stop beating it.

Healthcare: Probably the best thing that has happened is there probably won’t be a healthcare bill before the August recess (vacation). They may change their tune on what the bill will cover after hearing from the voters.

Poor Max: He was called to the President’s office this week, along with his boss, Harry Reid, for some counseling about the healthcare bill he has failed to produce. Besides getting more negative publicity than ever before in the national news and on the blogs, Max is also getting protestors at his offices in Montana.

Not to be discouraged, Max’s staff sent an e-mail from the senior senator inviting me to a “Make Health Happen Summit” next month in Bozeman. If I were going to protest, this would have to be a place to show up.

BTW, Max has not been on the Sunday talk shows yet to discuss his plan.

Palin: Today Sarah Palin steps down as Governor of Alaska. It is a political risk. She may be a rising star, and who knows what she plans to do, except make some nice coin from a book deal and speaking engagements. With all the scrutiny given to politicians these days, writing books and talking about issues may just be the safest and most lucrative way to go these days. If Palin plans on running for another public office, she needs to surround herself with someone who will tell her like it is and not care if it hurts her ego.

In some respects Palin reminds me of former Vice President Dan Quayle, who took a beating in the press long before there were blogs and many 24-hour news networks. He never recovered to mount a significant political campaign. We’ll see if Palin does.

Really? REALLY?: Last Sunday’s editorial in the Great Falls Tribune called, “Local and regional input needed on border policies” had this interesting sentence, “But all of that changed because of 9/11, including the fact that some of the terrorists had entered the United States via Canada.”

Many officials have made this mistake, most recently Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. With Montana, and especially Great Falls, being so close to Canada, you would have thought an apology would have come out quickly. I’ve seen nothing yet.

That’s it for this week. Follow me on Twitter.

F-22: Circling the Drain?

2009-07-21T19:03:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Senate today voted to kill the F-22 Raptor fighter jet by a vote of 58-40.

Montana’s two U.S. Senators, both democrats, voted to keep funding the F-22.

The 40 Senators who voted for continued funding for the F-22 did so to protect jobs in their states and not so much for the national security. Of course, national security should always come first, but most of the time politics wins. The people who build the F-22s are voters and it’s hard for a member of the House or Senate to go back home and tell their constituents they voted to kill their jobs (that is if the member of congress wants to win reelection)

This vote was ironic in a number of ways. This congress has spent more money than ever and it is amazing that they wanted to kill a paltry $1.75 billion when they have been spending trillions. Also, it was interesting that Obama won this one in the senate.

Is it over for the F-22? Maybe. In Jack’s terms the F-22 is circling the drain, but there has to be a conference committee meeting to iron out the differences in the bill the House passed (with funding for the F-22) and the one the Senate passed (without the funding).

Let the lobbying begin! As soon as the conference members are selected, the phones, e-mails, and visits to their offices will begin. That’s politics. If I were dependent on the F-22 for my income, I’d be at the front of the line, but I would be using the national security angle first, and hope that was enough.

Brief Thoughts....

2009-07-18T12:50:00.002-06:00

It’s been awhile since I have commented about politics and many of my readers have been asking why.

Answer: I have been busy, but I have been watching the goings-on and commenting in short 140 word bursts in Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter by clicking on the link on the left side of the page.

Now, let’s get started.

Obama: The honeymoon is over, especially when you start getting hit from the left. The “we inherited this XXX” is getting really old. It’s all yours, baby. Suck it up and give us your “A” game.

Stimulus: Bad idea, period. Spending more money than ever before is not something to be proud of.

Spending: I remember one successful Montana democrat candidate using the words “congress was spending like a drunken sailor” during the 2006 election season. They call it stimulus now. Anyway, he voted for most of the stimuli. I smell a one and done senator.

Czars: Obama has about three dozen czars working for him. Car Czar was catchy, but the fun of it kind of died after the 30th Czar was named.

Baucus and healthcare: When you are in bed with most of the healthcare industry, it does not make much sense to have you try to develop a healthcare plan. The whole country is wondering how this fella got elected. Obama is mad at Baucus, constituents are mad at Baucus, and the best thing he’s got going for him is that he does not have to run for re-election for a few years.

Baucus and Sunday Talk shows: I’ve never seen him on one explaining his plans for healthcare. Why?

Tester and forest plans: Nice try. You got 15 minutes of fame for your secretive plan, but will it sell in New York, Florida, Iowa or in Montana? They get a say, too.

GOP: Never throw your enemy a rope when they are drowning. I thought it would take 10-20 years for you to get back in the game. It may happen in four or six. But, you will probably screw it up.

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah Palin: You need an advisor who sees the big picture. It’s not too late. E-mail me.

Joe Biden: Ha. Ha. Ha. This is gonna get good.

There, that felt better. See you on Twitter!

Happy Independence Day 2009

2009-07-02T18:21:00.002-06:00

America The Beautiful - Ray Charles

Here are the lyrics:

RAY CHARLES lyrics - America The Beautiful
Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,
America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.
And you know when I was in school,
We used to sing it something like this, listen here:
Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain,
But now wait a minute, I'm talking about
America, sweet America,
You know, God done shed his grace on thee,
He crowned thy good, yes he did, in a brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.
You know, I wish I had somebody to help me sing this
(America, America, God shed his grace on thee)
America, I love you America, you see,
My God he done shed his grace on thee,
And you oughta love him for it,
Cause he, he, he, he, crowned thy good,
He told me he would, with brotherhood,
(From sea to shining sea).
Oh Lord, oh Lord, I thank you Lord
(Shining sea).

Have a great Independence Day!

REO, Styx, 38 Special

2009-05-30T20:11:00.001-06:00

For those following me on Twitter, I was able to update from the REO Speedwagon, Styx and 38 Special Concert often from the Metra in Billings. Thanks for following. (What else is there to do when standing in the beer line or bathroom line?)

This was one of the better concerts I have seen REO Speedwagon perform in the last 15 years. Maybe it was the giant video screen behind the band that made it better, but they seemed to have new-found energy. It reminded me of the “Wheels are Turnin’” tour around 1985.

The screen was about 20-25 feet tall and stretched the width of the stage. It made the concert even better.

38 Special opened the concert right at 7:00 p.m. and performed all their hits. It was a good helping of southern rock which always OK by me!

I have seen REO play live probably 20 times since 1976-77 when they played at a Summer Jam at Royals Stadium in Kansas City Missouri. I became a fan that day and have almost all their vinyl albums (sealed in plastic sleeves). Over the years I have attended their concerts when the are close to where I am living

REO played “Son of Poor Man” and “Golden Country” which are from way back and that made my day. Now, if they would just do “Lightning.” They played mostly all their old hits and that was fine with me. Neil, Kevin, Bruce, Bryan, and Dave still know how to rock (Please don’t stop!) I was completely satisfied and could have gone home after REO. But wait, Styx was next, although REO Speedwagon had already stolen the show!

Styx came on and turned up the volume a little with their hits. Tommy Shaw can still rock. Lawrence Gowan is a master on the keyboards. Todd Sucherman is simply the best on the drums.

REO came back out for the finale with Styx to play their recently released single, “Can’t Stop Rockin” and brought the concert to a close just a few minutes before 11:00.

The Metra (according to the website) can hold almost 11,000 people for a concert and probably 90% of the seats were filled. Of course, with that many people you have the lines at the bathrooms and security problems. Overall, the Metra folks handled it well and I hope they invite REO and the boys back for another classic rock night in Montana.

REO Speedwagon, Styx, and 38 Special

2009-05-29T11:44:00.003-06:00

What a way to spend a Friday evening! I am looking forward to the concert! I've seen REO about 15-20 times over the years and they have never disappointed me. Here are a couple of videos:

And the new video from the single released by REO and Styx:

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-23T09:18:00.002-06:00

It’s important to remember that Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor American men and women who died while serving our country.

With compassion, we remember those who have given their lives in defense of our country. We will never forget you. We will always honor you and your sacrifice.

Taps

Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun
From the hills, from the lake, from the sky
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.

taps - taps

More Good Stuff

2009-05-22T12:53:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it’s the little things that can help a family member when their spouse is deployed with the military protecting us. Sadly, many of our elected officials in Washington, D.C., don’t see the little things that families go through when their loved ones are deployed, but Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, does.

Rehberg has created a program called, “Montana Battle Buddies” to help the families of troops from Montana when their spouse is deployed.

As a former member of the military, I think this is a great program, and I salute Congressman Rehberg and his staff for creating it.

If you need help, you can sign up to by going to this website. If you want to be a buddy, you can sign up to help out at the same site. It’s worth checking out!

H.R. 2126

2009-05-01T17:01:00.001-06:00

Kudos to Congressman Denny Rehberg for introducing the “Correspondence With Our Heroes Act” a bill that will allow free postage to families and friends of American soldiers serving in combat zones.

The bill was introduced on April 27, 2009.

It’s important for our military personnel to be able to receive packages and correspondence from their friends and family. It gets very expensive sending packages. Hopefully this bill will ease the hardship on the families and friends of those who have loved ones serving in combat zones, and help the morale of the brave men and women who are serving our country.

N-I-M-B-Y

2009-04-23T19:49:00.003-06:00

It appears that the folks who are running the Two Rivers Detention Facility in Hardin, Montana, are looking to fill their brand new empty prison with the detainees from Guantanamo. The Hardin City Council voted (5-0) to pursue bringing the detainees to the detention facility, according to this story that is now circling the web.

The detention facility sits empty. It will hold 460 prisoners.

But, the three members of the Montana Congressional delegation are saying no to the idea, which was predictable. Of course, it’s easy to say that when you think ahead about the campaign ads that will come from their opponents condemning them for bringing terrorists to Montana.

No matter where the detainees end up, somebody will say NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). We’ll see which people screaming “NIMBY” have more power.

Since President Obama signed the Executive Order closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, the detainees will have to go somewhere. Two Rivers may have the inside track because of the publicity their favorable vote generated.

Tax Day Tea Party: Great Falls, Montana

2009-04-15T19:19:00.009-06:00

There was some snow and it was about 35 degrees, but that did not stop the estimated crowd of 350-400 people from showing up in Great Falls, Montana, for the Tax Day Tea Party.

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

There were signs about guns:

Many signs were directed at politicians:

The sidewalk and steps were crowded:

Signs, signs, many signs:

The view from across the street:

Postcards were handed out to send
to elected representatives:

Party on...

2009-04-13T17:12:00.002-06:00

It looks like Montanans are getting together and having a few Tax Day Tea Parties of their own on April 15. Good for them.

I think it’s great that people are getting fed up with the out of control spending. It is our money they are spending, right?

Here’s a link where you can find the parties in Montana.

If you are like me and concerned about the out-of-control spending, higher taxes, and if you were not overly stimulated by the massive stimulus plan, these events may just be for you.

Have fun out there!