Wrong Dog's Life Chest

Moving Day!

2008-01-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

Time has come, I am packing up my stuff and leaving here. I hope that you all will follow me!

Update your bookmarks:

http://wrongdog.net/blog

And your RSS reader:

http://wrongdog.net/blog/feed.xml

I will not delete this blog, I am just leaving here for greener pastures. Please, updtate your bookmarks, feeds and such and come on over to the new place!

Blindsided (I just want to ramble)

2007-12-20T02:14:00.000-08:00

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday. - Everybody's Free ( To Wear Sunscreen)

What about those things that blindside you at 6:00 pm on some idle Wednesday? I got a call this afternoon from my brother. He said that my Momma had suffered from a ruptured aneurysm in her brain and they were life flighting her to Atlanta. He was on the road from Tennessee to meet them at Emory hospital in Atlanta. How could this be? She had left a message wanting to know if we had gotten our Christmas package just hours before.

I called my aunt Belle to see what she knew. She said that Momma's neighbors were at her house delivering some Christmas presents and she was laughing and talking and suddenly grabbed her head, screamed and fell over. She was going with my Uncle Joe to Emory. I asked her if Momma was conscience, she said she was but was in a lot of pain. After the CAT scan they gave her medicine and it calmed her.

My cousin Vonne called a short time later and said that it was too foggy for the flight, so they were taking her by ambulance. Then my brother called and said that they were waiting on a third rider as they were going to have to bag her. A short time later he called and said they had to put a tube in her throat to help her breathe. I started to hate my phone.

My wife made reservations for me to fly out tomorrow afternoon. I cringed each time the phone rang. My brother called again, they didn't make it to Atlanta but had to stop at the North Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville but he didn't know any details. I looked up the number for him and he called. He called back and said that they would only tell him that she was on a respirator and in critical but stable condition. Stable is good, so I held on to that. Then he called and said that the nurse called him back and said that she was in critical and unstable condition.

He called me from the hospital around midnight my time and said that the neurosurgeon was going to drill a hole to relieve the pressure. It wouldn't take long and he would call me back as soon as it was over. I asked him if there was any prognosis, he said no. The last call came an hour later. He said that they drilled the hole and relieved the pressure but that she was brain-dead and if they took her off the respirator she would die.

I am taking the first flight out, in a few hours, if they will let me on. I don't have any idea how to deal with this situation. Please, whatever you do to send god will out to people, send some to me.

You Might Not Get This...

2007-12-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

But it cracked me up!

The Thin Red Line Revisted

2007-11-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

This great evil.

Where's it come from?

How'd it steal into the world?

What seed, what root did it grow from?

Who's doing this?

Who's killing us?

Robbing us of life and light.

Mocking us with the sight
of what we might have known.

Does our ruin benefit the Earth?

Does it help the grass to grow
or the sun to shine?

ls this darkness in you, too?

Have you passed through this night?

The Thin Red Line

The Song I was Listening To

2007-11-08T00:16:00.000-08:00

I met my wife on a train in Chicago. I was coming from Georgia to Portland and her from New York to Montana. I had been listening to the same song over and over on a cheap cassette player. It was Ahead by A Century by Tragically Hip.

First we'd climb a tree and maybe then we'd talk
Or sit silently and listen to our thoughts
With illusions of someday casting a golden light
No dress rehearsal, this is our life
That's when the hornet stung me and I had a feverish dream
With revenge and doubt tonight we smoke them out

You are ahead by a century

Stare in the morning shroud and then the day began
I tilted your cloud, you tilted my hand
Rain falls in real time and rain fell through the night
No dress rehearsal, this is our life

That's when the hornet stung me and I had a serious dream
With revenge and doubt tonight, we smoked them out

You are ahead by a century
But this is our life
and disappointing you getting me down

Somehow it fit and somehow it still does.

Great Falls On Criminal Minds?

2007-11-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

Criminal Minds is a show on CBS that follows a group FBI profiling types as they travel around the country. They fly in a jet from town to town solving crimes too tough for the local yokels.

Tonights episode was set in Great Falls Montana. Sort of. Great Falls was a one store town and the landscape looked a lot like the hills of southern California. Here is the episode description:

When one half of a serial-killing duo commits suicide, the team must identify and find the other killer, who has abducted his next victim. Francis Goehring: Michael Cudlitz. Sheriff Williams: Jim Beaver. Henry Frost: Kaj-Erik Eriksen. Harris Townsend: Pat Skipper.

As you can imagine, the episode centers around the militia, minute-men types and there was a lot of talk about Ruby Ridge. All in all, very disappointing but typical.

2007-11-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

Some New Facts...

Unless you just got on the intertubes yesterday, you probably already know about Chuck Norris facts. Here are a few of my favorites:

When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.
Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
Chuck Norris is the only person in the world that can actually email a roundhouse kick.
Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.

So, I am not a Chuck Norris fan for a number of reasons, but I stumbled upon a little page today that had a list of Linus Torvalds facts. (For those of you less geeky than me, Linus Torvalds wrote the original Linux kernel) Here are some of my favorites:

Linus Torvalds can install Linux on a dead badger.
Linus only has 2 buttons on his keyboard '1' and '0'
Linus Torvalds is more powerful than root.
Linus Torvalds can run kill -9 and kill Chuck Norris.
Linus Torvalds doesn't die, he simply returns zero.
Linus’s kernel never panics.
Linus Torvalds has no dependencies.
There are no man pages for Linus Torvalds, only god pages.
Linus Torvalds can do an infinite loop in five seconds… in his head.

Have fun with those.

2007-10-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

In The Doghouse Now

I told you earlier about our new dog. Shortly after we got her we realized that while it was a pleasure to have her inside, we would all be happier if she spent most of her time outside. In September the girls and I started to work on a house for her.

We built the box out of some scrap plywood that was here when we got the place and some 2x3's from the lumber store. We built the box one weekend and painted it a barn red (also a gift from the former owners).

I cut the trim out of the 2x3's, those corner and gutter pieces are solid l-shaped. We painted the trim before we put it on. This is one of the first project where the girls were really able to help. Z screwed most of it together and painted a big portion of the box.

Macy really seems to like it. Just like everything else, it is delicious! I put an 'under-cabinet' halogen light that gives just enough heat to take the edge off those cold nights. She still gets to spend most evenings inside with us, but doesn't seem to mind heading out for the night.

One of the best things about this, besides the fun of building it with the girls, was that it was fairly efficient. Since most of the wood and paint was left-overs and reused, the total cost is around $30, counting the light. Not too bad when I saw a smaller, not as nice, one at Murdocks for $150.

2007-10-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Some Thoughts On Bivalence

If you haven't heard, there is a new blog in the sphere. Waves and Particles is subtitled random thoughts from the biosphere and beyond, and it might be a pretty good description. Today Bob has a post of quotes titled Food For Thought. It set me to thinking, and here is my response (also posted there).

You have inspired me Bob, so I will give you a passage that has inspired me for several years now. Though I make mistakes, I try to remember this passage and that it describes one of the fundamental problems in our dialog:

Everything is in flux. Everything flows. The universe unfolds as rivers run. The cosmological fluid seems to obey Einstein’s laws of general relativity in the large and seems to obey the laws of quantum mechanics in the small and obeys we do not know what in between.

Things flow smoothly to nonthings. The atoms in our fingers swirl into the atoms in the air. There are finger atoms and nonfinger atoms. And there are atoms in between, the atoms to some degree both finger atoms and air atoms and some degree both. A rose is a rose is a nonrose when its molecules change. The finger shades into the hand, the hand shades into the wrist, the wrist into the arm. Earth’s atmosphere shades into space. The mountain crumbles into a hill and in time into a plain. The growing human embryo passes into a living human being and the living brain decays into death.

We can put black and white labels on these things. But the labels will pass from accurate to inaccurate as the things change. Language ties a string between the word and the thing it stands for. When the thing changes to a nonthing, the string stretches or breaks or tangles with other strings. “House” stands for a house even after the house falls apart or burns. Our world of words soon looks like a fishing boat adrift with thousands of broken and tangled an broken lines.

-Bart Kosko “Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic”

The point here might be obfuscated, as I am sure that I typed in some errors, but the point is that we too often try to ascribe bivalent attributes to a multivalent world. All things are a continuous, but we expend too much of our energy and debate on bivalent nonsense. You are either with us or against us. You are pro-choice or pro-life. It just doesn’t work that way, does it?

In one sense, limiting the debate to a discreet number of options might seem like a simplification process, but in fact it often makes the equation unsolvable.

Thanks for the quotes Bob, and thanks for the blog. Nice work.

2007-09-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

The New Wrong Dog?

Want to meet the wrongest dog of all? This is the newest addition to our family: Macy

She was born on the fourth of July. We have had her for about three weeks now. We have been wanting a puppy for a long time, but never had the right place. Our new house is perfect! She loves the big back yard and the dog next door. They have regular meetings at the fence.

Don't think that she is the wrong dog? You don't know her very well. She is fiercely loyal and fiercely stuborn. While I have had many dogs, I have never been around one as smart as this girl.

And just like me, she is a ham for the camera!

2007-09-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

There are some sad things that happen in this world. This is one of them.

2007-09-05T21:47:00.001-07:00

Make It Fit What You Believe

S0, I am reading this post over at Missoulapolis when I am totally stricken by a link at the bottom. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty in the post to be stricken by, but the link at the bottom really took the cake.

It is a link to an article (term used lightly) on global warming. Here, see for yourself. What's the problem? It is a sad piece of work, that's what. First note the title:

Survey: Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory

The first problem with the title is that it implies that it is a survey of scientist that have been published. It conjures images of a phone call that goes like this:

"Hello, Doctor Smithenson?"
"Yes"
"This is Pauline from Survey USA, do you have time for a few questions?"
"Sure"
"As a published scientist on climatology, do you believe in global warming?"
"No"
"Thank you"

Now, if that was the case, you would have the well informed opinion of a published scientist. However, this is not the case at all. This article refers to the papers themselves, not the scientist. The survey was conducted by reading a number of papers and deciding if the paper endorses global warming. Hmm.

Now, it really gets bad when you look at the data they are presenting. First off, 45% of the papers implicitly endorse the idea of global warming, while on 8% reject it. All the others are neutral on the topic. In fact, we have no idea what the papers were about at all, they might not be on the topic at all.

However, when actual scientist are asked about their opinion on the topic, they say things like:

"The evidence for warming having happened on the planet is unequivocal," said U.S. government scientist Susan Solomon, who also is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"We can see that in rising air temperatures, we can see it in changes in snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. We can see it in global sea rise. It's unequivocal," she said.

That quote came from a recent meeting of the foremost scientist in the field. Hundreds of scientists signed onto the paper the report they produced.

Now, I accuse Carol of grasping on to anything, no matter how thin, as long as it supports her views. Why is it that it seems that conservatives are much more apt to deny global warming? I mean, why does this issue so often come down between the left and right? Why should it be a political issue? Well, there is precedent:

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Bush administration is trying to stifle scientific evidence of the dangers of global warming in an effort to keep the public uninformed, a NASA scientist said Tuesday night.

“In my more than three decades in government, I have never seen anything approaching the degree to which information flow from scientists to the public has been screened and controlled as it is now,” James Hansen told a University of Iowa audience.

Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and has twice briefed a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney on global warming. He was also one of the first government scientists tasked with briefing congressional committees on the dangers of global warming, testifying as far back as the 1980s.

Well, they take this view because their leaders do. Why do their leaders take it? Because industry tells them to.

2007-09-02T01:08:00.000-07:00

Another Question That I Just Have To Ask

While I am asking questions about bloggers, there is one more that I just have to ask. I often see comments from people that I know are not the 'normal commenters' out there. They are real journalist or actually hold political positions. I have to wonder about one of Montana's better known bloggers. We all know the infamous Mark Tokarski of Piece of Mind and Montana Netroots. Now, look at his picture from Montana Netroots:

Nice enough picture, eh? I have to wonder though, does he secretly hold a position of importance in the federal government? I think that he might. Look back at the picture of Mark, and then look at this picture of John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America:

There are only three possible scenarios as I see it:

Mark Tokarski moonlights as a SCOTUS justice.
John Robert gets his jollies off by trolling the Montana blogosphere.
It is a separated-at-birth-evil-twin-good-twin thing.

If it is #3, I will leave it to the reader to determine which one is the evil one. Hint, it isn't my buddy Mark T.

2007-08-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

A Question That I Just Have To Ask

I have been looking around some of the conservative political blogs in Montana and found a trend that just drives me crazy. Why, pray tell, would one choose to write a blog in third person?

Some examples. Carol, from Missoulopolis, writes about her picks in Missoula races:

WHEREAS most people pay not the slightest attention to City politics, yet are often greatly affected thereby, Missoulapolis offers her election guidance for the edification of her loyal readers.

Emphasis mine. Generally, that part of the sentence might be written as:

I offer some election guidance for the edification of my loyal readers.

OK, so Carol prefers to refer to herself in the third person, but then I followed some links and found The Scoop. Watch as The Scoop discusses something or other:

The Scoop agrees. It is time to plan ahead.

That's not all though! You see, The Scoop is not an ordinary blogger. The Scoop has magical powers. How so? The Scoop is not constrained to a single perspective, but can slide effortlessly between the third and the first person. The very next sentence:

I can’t argue with the fact that a defensible barrier around homes makes sense.

That dude kick ass! Imagine if you could switch planes of existence like that!

While these authors are generally using a rather benign limited third person, I think that they are working on secret powers to be able to write from the omniscient third person.

An omniscient narrator, as in more limited third-person forms, is also disembodied; it takes no actions and has no physical form in or out of the story. But, being omniscient, it witnesses all events, even some that no characters witness. The omniscient narrator is privy to all things past, present and future - as well as the thoughts of all characters. As such, an omniscient narrator offers the reader a birds-eye view about the story.

I mean hell, they have all the right answers anyway. Montana is lucky to be in the presence of such power. Let me try:

WrongDog thinks that they must be putting something in the water in Missoula.

2007-08-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Excluded Middle (A Fallacious Argument)

A series of comments to this post at Montana Netroots made me spend a bit of time reconsidering our old enemy 'The Excluded Middle'. Of all the fallacious arguments, this one causes me the most grief.

In this case, the OC said:

We should just ban all mining. We just don’t need coal, gold, copper, silver, and uranium.

My argument, being against only a single type of mining, says nothing of the other types of mining. The commenter has built a false dichotomy of only two possible scenarios

All tops of mining should be legal.
No tops of mining should be legal.

This sort of action instantly reduced the richness of possible debate and solutions to the real problem. If I and the commenter were forced to make our choice, they would not be the same ones. We would be deadlocked. That sucks.

Not excluding the middle leaves a plethora of possible solutions. Consider the true spectrum of possible solutions between 1 and 2 above. Why reduce the argument to the extremes?

If I had to choose one place where I think political discussion goes wrong in this country is at the fallacy of the excluded middle.

2007-04-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

Messed Up Stuff Republicans Have Said This Week

This is an addendum to yesterdays post.

Don Larsen, District Chairman of the Utah County's Republican Party

Ever wonder why Pedro and Lopez are coming across the border? To take your job? Not exactly. According to Don Larson, it is all a part of

Satan's plan to destroy the U.S. by stealth invasion

What? Oh yeah. It was predicted in the scriptures after all.

There are ways to destroy a nation other than with bombs or bullets. The mostly quiet and unspectacular invasion of illegal immigrants does not focus the attention of the nation the way open warfare does but is all the more insidious for its stealth and innocuousness.

So, Don has introduced a resolution to acknowledge this is a part Satan's plan to destroy America. Have fun with that Don, have fun.

2007-04-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

Messed Up Stuff Republicans Have Said This Week

A few notes on some crazy crap that Republicans have said in the last week or so.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Republican CA)

In an intelligence oversight hearing last week, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said a couple of messed up things.

At one point, Rohrabacher argued that imprisoning and torturing one innocent person was a fair price to pay for locking up 50 terrorists who would “go out and plant a bomb…and kill 20,000 people.” When members of the audience groaned, Rohrabacher said, “Well, I hope it’s your families, I hope it’s your families that suffer the consequences.”

First he made the claim that we ought not be so concerned with due process, you know the basis of democracy. When folks were amazed at the stupidity of that statement, he said that he hoped it was their family that were killed. Watch the video.

Laura Bush (First Lady)

On the Today Show this morning, first lady Laura Bush made the following statement when asked about Iraq (video link).

No one suffers more than their president and I do.

How about the people who have husbands, wives, fathers, mothers serving? What about the ones who have had loved ones die there? What about the children who will grow up missing a parent? What about the ones who are there?

That's messed up Mrs Bush.

Montana State Representative Mike Lange (Republican Mt)

Just watch the video here to see how Republican's in the Montana state house have been behaving. Governor Brian Schweitzer attempted to compromise and here is how Michael Lange responded:

The governor can go straight to hell as far as I’m concerned for trying to do that

I’m pissed off at that SOB on the second floor (Schweitzer) that thinks he’s trying to run the state like a dictator. What matters is your integrity.

So my message to the governor is: Stick it up your ass! Stick it up your ass!

2007-04-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

My New Enviro-Double-Plus-Good Machine

OK, TMM posted his new toy, so I wanted to show off mine. We had many many options and in the end, we chose the black one.

50 mpg on the highway and 60 mpg in town. An amazing amount of room on the inside.

and really cool interior gear

It is zippy, does fine on the passes and has a really cool set of engines

To be truthful, it is a lot more car than I thought it would be. Did I mention 50 mpg on the highway and 60 mpg in town? Yeah, even better in town than on the highway.

2007-03-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Some Notes On Carolina Dogs

I was watching a show last night on National Geographic Channel about the origins of the dog when I saw a familiar sight: A pack of yellow dogs. Pronounced 'yaller dawgz', these are wild dog's from the Carolinas and Georgia. I remember seeing them occasionally as they ran across fields around my house, or the occasional tentative road crossing. I remember that a pack of them had once treed a cousins boyfriend for hours while he was hunting. That was the only attack I ever heard of though.

The thing is that I remember asking where they came from and someone said that they were just feral dogs. Once porch dwellers, now they had lived wild for several generations. I thought it was sort of funny that they all looked a lot a like.

Now I see that they have another name besides 'Yaller Dawgz', they are being called the American Dingo. According to this piece by American Geographic:

Brisbin was studying the origins of the world's remaining wild, ancient dogs, including the dingo, which may have reached Australia walking alongside that continent's original human inhabitants thousands of years ago. Such primitive dogs are uncommon because the canine passion for choosing diverse mates often complicates breeding patterns.

Brisbin was struck by the physical appearance of an American wild dog that ended up in a pound near his South Carolina home. "You look like a dingo," he thought in a moment of revelation, "I wonder how many of you other guys are out there that look like dingos?"

The answer: possibly quite a few, but only in selected places. Although their wild numbers seem to be rapidly decreasing, Brisbin located a number of these animals in secluded areas far from the presence of humans or domestic dogs. Their appearance first led him to propose his theory of their ancient origins—they could have arrived in America along with the earliest migrating humans across the Bering Strait land bridge. If so, Carolina Dogs could be among the earliest dogs to enter North America many thousands of years ago.

How cool is that? That means that these are not domestic dogs gone feral, but America's first dog. They are very primitive in structure and have some unique habits not shared by other dogs.

That settles it, I am getting one.

2007-02-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

I Made This!

Some of you may not know, but before I went to college and got a degree in computer science and became a software engineer, I worked in construction for many years. I had graduated to the level of trim carpenter with a great amount of pride.

Anyways, over the last few weekends, I have been hard at work on a set of end tables, and I wanted to share them with you.

The body is made of poplar, while the top is made of 3/4 inch birch plywood. The top is dadoed into the body with a blocked-notch corner joint.

Overall, the design is Mission inspired, you might note from the slat bottom. I am not a huge fan of the full blown Mission style, so I tried to keep it light.

I wanted to go with a light stain, but my wife talked me into a dark stain. We went with a Jobobean and I think it went really well overall.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, you can find most of my posts these days at Montana Netroots.

2007-02-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Hero Of The Tooth

Earlier this week my youngest daughter, five years old, was sitting at the computers playing a game when she suddenly started howling.

What's wrong sweety? What happened?

My tooth is sticking out and it really really bugs me when it is sticking out!

She opened her mouth, sure enough one of her top teeth was sticking out at a 45 degree angle to the others. Her mom and I tried to console her for the next two hours, but there was just know consolation to be had. Her mom suggested that she wiggled it until it came completely loose, but she wouldn't hear of it.

No! It hurts and it will just always be that way! My tooth will always be like this!

Sweety, I know it hurts and it will until it comes out. If you want, I'll pull it out for you.

No! That will hurt too.

Only for a second and then it will be all better.

No! I am scared. No!

OK, you just tell me when you are ready and I'll pull it right out.

For the next hour she sat on her Mom's lap, alternating between hysteria and muffled sobs. We both felt bad for her but didn't really know what to do. Then from out of no where

OK Daddy. I am ready for you to pull it now.

What a brave girl! You'll be glad.

I got some dental floss, tied a slip knot and yanked. Oh boy, she wasn't glad at first. She yelled and howled. Fortunately, I remember being a kid and my dad pulling my teeth by trying the string to the door and slamming the door. I remember howling. I also remember that it just takes a bit of warm water and it's all better. It worked 30 years ago and it worked last Tuesday. She looked up at me with a smile that melts a daddy's heart

Wow. You were right! It doesn't hurt at all anymore!

Cool! Are you going to put it under your pillow so the Tooth Fairy will bring you some money?

No way! The Tooth Fairy isn't taking my tooth! I love it!

Really? You aren't going to let the Tooth Fairy take you tooth?

No! She better not take my tooth!

With that, she was off to watch a little TV before bed. Her mom and I were laughing about the Tooth Fairy thing when we suddenly heard that familiar howl again. I went to the kitchen to get her a bit more hot water and went into her room. Instead of the in-pain-daughter I expected to see I got a I-did-something-bad daughter.

What's wrong sweetheart? What happened?

I was washing my tooth and it went down the drain! Now I don't have it! I loved my tooth!

Really? I can get it sweety.

How can you?

I know some tricks.

What if you can't?

Then you wont have a tooth.

I hope you can.

She followed me into the kitchen while I fetched a big bowl. She sat beside me while I unscrewed the trap on the sink. She watched as I poured the water into the bowl. Her eyes lit up when I plucked her special tooth out of the bowl. She patiently waited while I screwed the trap back onto the drain and then washed off the tooth ( holding it tightly ). She waited patiently while I got a zip-lock bag and put the tooth into it. Her eyes lit up again when I handed it to her

Thank you daddy! You are my hero!

Yeah. Its good to be a hero. That tooth has a treasured spot in her vanity, and I am a hero in her eyes. Its good to be a hero, even when it is an ordinary, everyday hero.

2007-01-14T01:21:00.000-08:00

Speaking Of Giving

Oh, since I am on the topic of donations, I wanted to remind you about this. Craig and Matt came up with the idea to set up a donation page from Montana bloggers for the Montana Food Bank. Right now the total is at $1600! Special thanks go out to Matt and Craig for setting that up and to all the bloggers and readers who gave $25, $50 and $100. A big fat thanks to the Montana Main Street Blog who gave a $500 donation in the name of the Montana Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

It is still open for the next week or so. This is a worthy cause, so give if you can. The donation page is here. You can give anonymously, or use your name.

2007-01-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

Blood For Iraq Website

I ran across this little tidbit today. It is a site that, in their on words:

The mission of this website is to create a constructive and tangible form of protest against the war in Iraq that is more than just talk.

Our beloved troops are shedding their own blood EVERY SINGLE DAY because of poor decision making in Washington.

So, they want you to schedule a blood donation through their site as a form of protest. A great idea if you ask me.

2007-01-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

An Explanation

The other night I was reflecting on one of the most glorious events from my youth in very cryptic terms. The lone commenter to that post took the time to try and decypher it and so I want to take the time to try to explain it.

Thanks to the beauty of YouTube, I found the perfect audio visual aid. This live James concert is from the same year. Watching it made me shiver, remembering when I saw them. It was on top of Mount Hood as the closing act for a music fest. MC 900 Foot Jesus, House of Pain and the Violent Femmes were there. Late in the day it started raining and got really really cold. Most people came to see the Violent Femmes (including me) and after they played 95% of the crowed left. The difference between this video and the show I saw was that there were on about 300 people left in the giant ampitheater on Mount Hood on a rainy night. The band and the audience still put 110% into it. It was very intimate and very powerful and has since become a part of me. If you have the patience, watch the whole thing.

When I watched this video, it all came back to me. Then I read this in the comments:

Thanks for posting this vid. My brother was in the audience, this is James' high point, I remember James vividly - the flowers, the mad dance, the songs - magic! Man I wish I was 16 again!

Watch the kids in this video. Realize that what one is experiencing, they are all experiencing. In so many ways they are one.

2007-01-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years Folks!

I hope that everyone had a nice and safe New Year's Eve. Mine was excellent. Craig and family came over for Appletinis ( heavy on the tini ). It is always great fun to watch the kids playing, talk politics and sip a cocktail that is more like a Jolly Rancher than a drink. Craig forgot one of his kids, so if anyone sees him...

The point is that it is nice to ring the new year in with family and friends. Though Jan 31 is a man made 'switch', it is nice to have a starting point. What did I start the New Year with? Why, I cranked this up:

Instant karmas gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon youre gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of
Laughing in the face of love
What on earth you tryin to do
Its up to you, yeah you

Instant karmas gonna get you
Gonna look you right in the face
Better get yourself together darlin
Join the human race
How in the world you gonna see
Laughin at fools like me
Who in the hell dyou think you are
A super star
Well, right you are

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Evryone come on

Instant karmas gonna get you
Gonna knock you off your feet
Better recognize your brothers
Evryone you meet
Why in the world are we here
Surely not to live in pain and fear
Why on earth are you there
When youre evrywhere
Come and get your share

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on
Come on and on and on on on
Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on
On and on and on on and on

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun

2006-12-28T23:37:00.000-08:00

Those who feel the breath of sadness

It was raining that night on Mount Hood those many years ago. I stood in the rain, loving it run down my cheeeks. Cold and fog in August, and I let it roll down. I let the water roll down. I was lost and almost alseep, but I remebered a love that was lost and gone. I closed my eyes and let the water roll down...

It was some time later that I opened up my eyes. The water still rolled down. Cold water falling from the sky.

It was some time later that I heared that song and it woke me from my dream. My eyes were wide open the entimre time, while I watched the water roll down. I heard his gentle voice as he said to me:

Ill sing myself to sleep
A song from the darkest hour
Secrets I cant keep
Inside of the day
Swing from high to deep
Extremes of sweet and sour
Hope that God exists
I hope I pray

I hoped and I prayed, but the word in my mouth were sweeter...

Drawn by the undertow
My life is out of control
I believe this wave will bear my weight
So let it flow

Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, down, down, down, down
In sympathy

In sympathy? I will sit with you James, but I was standing then as the water rolled down:

Now Im relieved to hear
That youve been to some far out places
Its hard to carry on
When you feel all alone
Now Ive swung back down again
Its worse than it was before
If I hadnt seen such riches
I could live with being poor
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, down, down, down, down
In sympathy

Oh, I have a bleeding heart and as such I have much sympathy. So, I imagine now that I choked back a tear and wished that I had sit down with him in sympathy.

Those who feel the breath of sadness
Sit down next to me

I fealt that breath, but declined to sit with him though I noticed that many did.

Those who find theyre touched by madness
Sit down next to me

I find myself touched by madness right now, but I declined to sit with him then.

Those who find themselves ridiculous
Sit down next to me
Love, in fear, in hate, in tears

I was the last one standing in the audience. So many had long since left and so may had long since sat, but I was left as the water rolled down. I stood alone as the water rolled down. But I did (and do) find myself rediciculous so I sat down next to him as the water rolled down. I sat and we all watched as the water rolled down.

Down
Down

Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, down, down, down, down
In sympathy

Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, down, down, down, down
In sympathy

James. Sit Down

2006-12-26T22:07:00.000-08:00

The PVR Saga

Let the saga begin. I got a new capture card for Christmas and the task of setting up a Linux based media center. I love this kind of stuff and right now I am like Timmy the Tool Man Turner with a new project! Before I begin, let me make five predictions:

1. I will be too eager to get started to read all the docs before I get going and will fall into a typical newbie trap that will cause be to have to backtrack.
2. I will do this several times.
4. I will stay up much too late.
5. I will get it working by tomorrow evening.

Right now, I am going to get started. I'll let you know how it goes.

If the rest of this sounds like a tutorial dialog, you are right.

Operating System

For the operating system, I will be using the Edgy Eft release of KUbuntu Linux. Start off with a standard install.

2006-12-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

My 100th Post

Ahh, a nice Christmas glow from a wonderful day and a particularily smooth sipping whisky has prompted me to close it all out with the 100th post at the WrongDog's Lifechest. I can male this post about anything I want, so I m going to do my best rockstar thanking the little people.

First off, I want to thanks everyone that visits this site. 100 posts here, but my most prolific works this year was at Left In The West. You can find most of my posts at that old Left in the West site. I'll take this opportunity to thank Matt Singer for the awesome work that he has done for this state. He rocks.

Also, I have posted a bunch over at my sister site Montana Netroots. This has really been a labor of love has been very rewarding. If I could have one wish for that site it would be that
1. I wish more right leaners would post there. I gave them an open megaphone to do so. As I promised, the dialog has been open and honest. I invite them again to take a bigger role.
2. I wish that more left leaners would post there. I gave them an open megaphone to do so. The conversation is good and there are over 300 unique viewers daily. That's not bad exposure.
3. I wish everyone knew how happy and excited that I am that they take part in Montana Netroots. That is a lot of talent for one blog, and in a short month, we have a lot of good posts.

Next item: Wulfgar is doing the Montana weblog awards again this year, in case you didn't know. Wrongdog got one nomination for the best post, but it is pretty damn political and divisive and preicatble at best, so I do not expect a win (its called Do Religious Leaders On The Right Have a Political Agenda?) Go vote. Also, Montana Netroots was nominated for several positions but should not really win because it is so new that it is hard to imagine that it deserves to win them. I want to thank the people who nominated my post and Montana Netroots. I appreciate it.

Want to know what else I appreciate? Jay Stevens. He does good work folks. On the post to which I linked, I think of it just like Adams reporting on us Montana political bloggers in this story, I don't mind being the 'Serial blogger'. Jay says:

One blogger in particular, I think, was shorted on the ballot, and that was Shane Mason. The reason for that is pretty obvious: heÂs everywhere, including on his own site, Wrong DogÂs Life Chest, and as a contributor on Left in the West and Montana Netroots.

But I think that there are a few others who were shorted and I want to take a moment to intoduce you to a few of my favorite blogs:

Peace of My Mind: Leesa could have been in most categories. "Blog that best represents Montana Lifestlye", "Most Creative Montana Blog", best written and best photography. I love this blog.

Piece Of My Mind. Mark is very good for us, particularily me. I is good to have someone that I agree with so deeply challenge my bullcrap. If you read me, you know that I do it. I plead to the emotions using cheap imagery a times. Thanks for keeping me honest Mark and Steve.

In All Her Infinite Wisdome. Just read her. You'll get it.

The Montana Misanthope, again, one of my favorites. TMM and I often disagree, but he is a good of a person as they come. I like the fact that he approaches subjects with what seems an open mind and a good heart.

Buzztail: I really look forward to meeting PJ someday. He has an outlook that I might have to see to believe is the real thing. We are all made better by him.

I have to stop, this could go on for a long time. Scott Leslie ( I appreciate the nomination for Best punk rocker turned respectable: Shane Mason. It is true though, I AM the best punk rocker turned respectable.) All the guys at Intelligent Discontent etc etc.

Thanks to the all of you. You are a community that I am happy to be a part of. I love the all of you.

OK, I am hitting publish without the spellcheck. Have fun with that.

2006-12-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

A Good Christmas

I hope that all of you are enjoying your holodays as much as I am enjoying mine. Certainly, I must say that these are happy days. I just wish that I could make the whole world as happy and content as I am right now. A bit of food, a bit of talk and some very fine sipping whisky. There would be no more wars, that's for sure.

Again, I love the all of you. I wish you a peaceful and happy holidays.

This is post 99.

2006-12-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I say Merry Christmas! I say happy Winter’s Solstice! I say happy Kwanza! I say happy Chanakah. I say happy Monday! I say happy end of December! I say happy day hangin’ out with family that you don’t always have that much in common with. I say happy Irash Cream day. I say happy birthday Jesus. I say happy birthday Mithra. Whatever the reason for your celebration this week, please have a happy one!
I wish all of the peace and love in the world to the all of you. I love the all of you.

2006-12-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

I Just Spent 4 Hours Doing The Dumbest Thing Ever

OK, sorry about this PJ and TMM, but I am not yet ready to start speaking English yet. The Kernel compile I undertook the other night went fine, but I was still having problems with my NVidia drivers in that they crashed any time it tried to use the openGL extensions. OK, this means I couldn't play Unreal Tournament. That is not acceptable. Google Earth would crash it too. So, I tried updating and recompiling the NVidia kernel drivers, of course. That didn't work. Bumber.

Since I am using the Ubuntu 'Dapper Drake' release and the 'Edgy Eft' release has been out since mid October, I thought I would try a whole Dist Upgrade. Well, the regular apt-get method did not work, so I decided to do a parallel install and see how it worked out. I downloaded the ISO and burned it, booted into the live-cd and tried the graphical installer. It worked fine, seemingly. But when I tried to reboot I found that grub had the device ordering all screwed up because of my SATA raid. OK, so I installed again with the IDE drives unplugged this time. Score.

I reattach the IDE's and change the drive ordering and Grub boots fine. I login and the first thing I notice is how very unimpressed I am. It looks just like the old release. Anyway, I mount my old home partition in the new /home slot. I relogin in and it looks just like my old home. Cool. I do an update on the packages and notice that their is a new kernel image. OK. Then I note the version on the kernel and note that it is the same as the one I had just replaced on the old release. What?

I check the name on the ISO that I just installed from. KUbuntu 6.06, but I happen to know that Edgy Eft is 6.10 and Dapper Drake is 6.06. I have just spent the last 4 hours upgrading to the version that I already had.

Nice eh? So, I rebooted into the old system and that is where I sit now. Not playing Unreal Tournament and not looking at the workd through Google Earth.

Yay. I'll try again tomorrow.

2006-12-17T00:27:00.000-08:00

You Know I am Nerdiest Of All.

Craig recently pointed us to the Nerd Quiz for which he scored rather high. Well, I am doing something right now that always makes me feel like I outdistance the competetion by miles. First, I am a Linux user, which must put me way up there on its own. But right this second I am compiling a new kernel from the latest sources at Kernel.org. Here is a screen shot.

Now, I am not saying anything about anyone elses nerditude. If you have a blog or are reading a blog, you just might be a nerd. I am just saying that it is 1:38 on a Saturday Night and I am blogging to kill time while my kernel is compiling. I'm just sayin', that's all.

2006-12-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

Notes From Around My House

Two things I want to tell you about. Our cat and our Christmas tree. Though you can conjure up stories involving both a cat and a Christmas tree, these are separate points.

1. The Tree. We have a very nice fake tree. This is our first Christmas in this house and we got a surprise when we tried to put the tree up this weekend. Well, we have a 7 foot tree and 7 foot ceilings. Nice fit? Indeed. Where do you put the star? Well, you don't.

2. The cat. I was rather pleased recently when I learned that our cat had figured out how to open the door. 'Sweet' thought I 'I wont have to let him out anymore'. The problem? Well, while cats sometimes learn to open doors they seldom learn to close them.

2006-12-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

My New Multi-Purpose Phone Based Communication Device

So, I like gadgets. The thing about gadgets are that they are only cool if you can show them to other people, right? Well, I don't think that enough people have had the opportunity to see my new phone, so I want to show it to you. Then I want to take a few moments to share my experience with the genius's at the Verizon store.

Yep, it does it all. Takes high res pictures, movies (even a light source for low light imaging), internet, scheduling, messaging, voice dialing and plays mp3s and videos. To top all that off, you can even make and receive phone calls on it. Cool huh? I wasn't planning on buying it, but it is an interesting story how it came about.

So two years had passed and it was time for free upgrade credits. I was waiting to get my hair cut, so I thought I'ld drop in on the Verizon store next door and get that taken care of. The helpful guy behind the counter informed me that we were getting the big upgrade credit ($100) for being loyal customers. I think that this is a really good policy. Too often companies are too focused on getting new customers that they forget to offer incentives to keep customers. Too often you have to switch services to get the good deals because they are only offered to new customers.

So, I was think that this was a really good deal. I would get a $100 phone and not have to pay for it. The nice sales guy kept saying something, but I wasn't paying attention to him because I was noticing that the $100 phones all came with $50 manufacturing rebates. What a deal! I was going to make $50 and get a free phone. Slowly it began to sink into my head that the salesman was saying that I could not use the credits towards rebated money.

"But, it is a manufaturers rebate, right?" I asked.

"Yes, it is."

"So, it has nothing to do with Verizon, right?"

"Nope."

"So, if a phone cost $100 and there is a $50 rebate, then you will only give me $50 credit for it?"

"Yes."

"So, it is not really a $100 credit then, is it?"

"Yes, it is an up to $100 credit".

"But, I notice that ALL the phones have a $50 rebate, so there is no way I am leaving here without giving you $50?"

"Well, you can choose one of those phones over there" he pointed to a dusty corner of the store. It had cobwebs, murky creatures and phones the size of a compact car".

"So, if I buy this $60 phone then you credit me $10 and I pay $50 and have to send the rest in for a rebate?"

"Yes."

And if I buy this $150 phone over there then you pay $100 and I pay $50 and have to send the rest in for a rebate?"

"Yes."

Hmmm, I thought, costing Verizon $10 or $100 costs me the same. Well, I decided to stick it to the man and get the $150 phone AND stick it to the man. How can you go wrong like that?

[Side note. I do not consider rebates as price reduction as I have never remembered to mail one in my whole life.]

2006-12-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Have Yourself a Tester Little Christmas (Tree)

The family and I went to Helena's Festival Of Trees today, along with most of the rest of the town. It is a benefit for a really great cause, Intermountain Children's Home.

The idea here is that people and businesses decorate 'tree packages' and they are put up for auction. The big tree's are auctioned early in the week and can go for as much as $8000. I say 'tree package' because it is usually more than just a tree but a whole themed 'area'. Often there are gifts or furniture included.

The smaller trees and wreaths are part of a silent auction. They usually go for a few hundred. All in all it is a great deal for the kids and the bidders who get to take these great trees home with them. I saw Cece, she was bidding on a few of the small trees for her office.

That is not what I am here to tell you about though. I am here to tell you about the tree below.

Isn't that awesome? I am not sure if you can tell, but the Christmas tree has a flattop. Included in the packages? 10 flat top haircuts from a local barber. The name of the tree? I am Jon Tester and I approve this tree. Classic.

2006-11-17T00:07:00.000-08:00

Where We Live And What We Live For

One of my favorite essays of all time is Thoreau's Where I Lived and What I Lived For. I find such peace in his words that we can somehow rise above what we are by nature and be somehow better. The elections are over and I know that we fought a good fight and the people of Montana rose up above what was given to them. It was good cause and we were made better by it.

This past weekend I made a trip to Park Lake near Helena Montana with my family. I looked at the place we were at, I looked at the people I was with and realized that I was made better by it. All of us there together in that place were equal to more than the sum of our parts. We were all made better for it.

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. If we refused, or rather used up, such paltry information as we get, the oracles would distinctly inform us how this might be done.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow.

I hope that Jon Tester can take these words from Thoreau and consider what this place that we live in means to us. I hope that he will use his time wisely so that ours was not wasted.

I hope that my children can take these words from Thoreau and realize what this place we live in means to me. I hope that we can all take these words from Thoreau and realize that we can rise up and transcend the nastiness of life that often locks us into a world of glum.

2006-11-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

No More Political Blogging For the Wrong Dog...

Again, I will start using this site as my lifechest and less as a platform for political issues. However, I am now working with a great group of peoples over at Montana Netroots. It's a joint effort by Montana bloggers to build a collaborative community. Bookmark it and add it to your blogrolll please!

I'll be back here posting on social issues and other things dear to my heart.

http://MontanaNetroots.com

As soon as Matt Singer gets Left In The West back up, you will be able to find me there too.

2006-11-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, OK... And Exhale

w00t! I can breath again! Jon Tester has been declared the next senator of the great state of Montana! Good work everyone, with such a close race, everyone of us can claim that we had a big hand in this. Conrad Burns has not conceded yet (or made any sort of statement), but the margin is too high for a recount.

Webb is looking pretty good, but it is likely that Allen will draw this out.

The US House is now strongly democratic.

Voters here have approved the minimum wage hike.

We did good here people. As a country and as a state. OK, now we can start 'living' again.

2006-11-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Working the Doors All Day

Well, I feel really good about this folks. I think that everything is going to be just fine. Just fine.

The Democratic Party of Montana did an excellent job on the ground in Helena. The organization was awesome and the volunteers were enthusiastic. My wife and I knocked on hundreds of doors today reminding folks to vote. Everyone was really enthusiastic about Tester and the mood was high. The vast majority that I talked to claimed to have voted or was going to vote for Tester. A few had forgotten to vote, so our work was not in vain. No telling how many we influenced when they saw the friendly reminder when they got home.

On the way home, I saw that there were still lines out the door at the courthouse. This is GREAT! Folks rarely get excited enough to register and vote for the incumbent. Everyone at my office had voted and I think that most voted the right way.

I have a really good feeling here people. Really good. Polls close in a couple of hours, so there is still time to get that last person there. Do it.

2006-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Fear and Loathing in Kool-Aid Vegas

Quote of the season from Eric Coobs (I wont provide link):

I think that the GOP has the moral high-ground here, since the Democrats started the personal attacks on Senator Burns 18 months ago

2006-11-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

The worms are dug

Now its time to fish. Stop reading blogs now and get out there and vote silly monkey!

Then get 5 people who would not have voted and get them down to the polls or the courthouse.

Everyone has worked really hard on this. We have hoped and dreamed and now it is happening. I personally want to thank each person who has worked on the campaigns. I want to thank all of the volunteers. I want to thank Monica and Jon for giving us candidates that we can really get behind. All of you are real patriots and it has been awesome to see you in action.

2006-11-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

This Can't Be good For Them...

With so much attention on our local races, it is easy to forget that there is a lot at stake out there nationally. Bush saw how much trouble they were in today though when he was snubbed today by the GOP gubernatorial candidate trying to replace Jed.

Crist's opponent, Democratic Rep. Jim Davis, seized on the news.

"Now that the president is so unpopular, Charlie refuses to stand side by side with him," Davis said. "It says when the going gets tough, Charlie won't stand up."

2006-11-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

Read My Blog Please!!

Left in the West is down for a day or so, and I need your attention! Not for any particular reason, I just want to talk. After such an absence, the blog is mad at me. Just look at the dog, you can see it in his eyes. Hopefully LiTW will be back up in the morning, but after the election I intend to start posting here more.
Today, my wife, our daughters and I spent the day doing literature drops and rallying the party faithful in the Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort. For the morning we went and dropped literature at targeted addresses around Helena. We were in a driving area since the houses were so far apart. That went pretty well, as we were just dropping stuff on the doorstep and putting a check mark on the list. Our best hopes? We would encourage at least one person to vote for Tester. At the least? We took our minds off of the stress and hoped felt like we were at least being useful.

The girls were being super good and having tons of fun playing games. Which is amazing for two young girls bucked up in a van driving around all day. We decided to do the afternoon shift too. This time we knock on doors and remind the party faithful that the election is on Tuesday, tell them where to vote and then ask if they need a ride or anything. My wife drove on this leg and I went to the doors. For the most part, it was great. Not all the people were party faithfuls, a few even said that they were not voting for Tester. Most people were enthusiastic in their support. Many thanked us for getting out and doing the leg work. At least one guy recognized me from LiTW. He was anxious about getting the site back up, as I am too. These were some pretty nice neighborhoods, the kind I would like to own a house in once the bank has more confidence in my credibility. :)

Everything was nice, until I got to that one house. The name of the gentleman did not match the name on my list, but I said 'Oh, well I just want to remind you that the election is on Tuesday." Then I held a piece of literature out for him and he said "I don't want that". "OK, well have a good afternoon" I said as I was putting it back on the clipboard. He reached and snatched it "On second thoughts. I wouldn't vote for Jon Tester". He tears it into a pieces and starts yelling "That guys a damn moron. He wants to raise my taxes and get rid of the patriot act. He wants our country to be attacked by the terrorists.". He throws it into the garbage and starts walking towards me. By this time I was back on the street watching him pretty closely, he was still raving but I wasn't listening. In my head, I had listed a thousand reasons why he was wrong, each one more clever and eloquent than the last. What actually came out of my mouth was something like "The patriot act doesn't make you any safer... your a big meanie!". In a second I felt like I had went from having a good day to a real life confrontation on Whats Right in Montana. The guy was attacking me as though I was trying to destroy the country.

My heart was racing and my hands were shaking. I was completely unprepared for the vitriolic hatred that came out of that man's face. I would have been OK with a simple "Your wasting your time son. I am not voting for Jon." or even a spirited debate on why he wasn't voting for Jon. I never thought this guy would 'attack me' but mainly because I would have kicked his sorry little ass all over his yard. However, I was not ready for the hate and rage and it took me off guard. It took me an hour to get over the adrenalin rush. The main point is, I could not imagine a single person that I talked to that day who supported Tester acting in any way other than polite, gracious and decent if folks from the republican party had shown up at their doorsteps.

The last house we stopped at was way back in the woods. I got the feeling that the man that answered the door was not a 'party faithful' either. He told me that he would vote on Tuesday. I asked if Jon could count on his vote. He said that he could count on the fact that he would vote, but not who for. I told him that that was all we could ask for and to have a good day. He looked at me and said, "Well, I appreciate you coming out here. You're a real patriot for doing what you are doing. Shows you care about your country." Now, how hard was that? Made me almost want to cry.

2006-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

At Left In The West

For those of you who do not know, I have been posting at Left In The West primarily. Please! That does not mean that Wrong Dog is gone. It just means that most of my energy is going there right now. I will continue posting here on social and political issues, but likely of a more personal level. I have some stories to tell and I think that you will find them interesting. Please, check back here often as there will be frequent updates.

2006-10-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Do Political Leaders on the Right Have a Religious Agenda?

That is a question, so let's seek an answer without starting with assumptions and grounded in reality.

What groups are dedicated to creating a religious agenda in congress? Let's search on that question, using Google. The number two result takes us to a page called Taking Over the Republican Party on TheocracyWatch.com. We will ignore that page for now as it is 'biased' and concentrate on the accusation that the 'Christian Coalition' has a political agenda. Let's look at facts about the Christian Coalition.

The Christian Coalition was founded by Rev Pat Robertson. I could give descriptions of Pat Robertson and his agenda, but that would be making assumptions. Let's let him speak for himself.

The mission of the Christian Coalition is simple, to mobilize Christians -- one precinct at a time, one community at a time -- until once again we are the head and not the tail, and at the top rather than the bottom of our political system." Robertson predicts that "the Christian Coalition will be the most powerful political force in America by the end of this decade." And, "We have enough votes to run this country...and when the people say, 'We've had enough,' we're going to take over!"

The Constitution of the United States, for instance, is a marvelous document for self-government by the Christian people. But the minute you turn the document into the hands of non-Christian people and atheistic people they can use it to destroy the very foundation of our society. And that's what's been happening

Here Robertson has said that the purpose of the Christian Coalition is to get enough voters to "run this country". Additionally, he says that he believes the constitution is intended for 'Christians' alone. OK, but the statements of Pat Robertson and the agenda of the Christian Coalition does not impeach the leadership of Congress. Let's look at the leaders themselves.

The Christian Coalition holds a conference each year called "Road To Victory". For the 2002 conference, Christian Coalition leader Roberta Combs set the theme as:

"After Sept. 11, 'God bless America' was on every one's lips," Combs observed. "But if we want God's blessings, we must return to the Judeo-Christian values that made America
great - that guided us through war and peace, depression and prosperity."

This certainly says to me that the Christian Coalition still maintains the agenda of creating a christian based government. Who was in attendance at this conference from leadership postions?

House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R)
Senator James Inhofe (R)
Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R)
Senator Jesse Helms (R)
Congressman Dave Weldon (R)
Congressman Ernest Istook (R)
Congressman Walter Jones (R)
Congressman Henry Brown (R)

Not many (D)s, are there? That was four years ago, how about something more recent? For the 2004 meeting Roberta Combs says

At this year's conference, thousands of Christians will assemble together from coast to coast for two days to worship, to pray and to renew our commitment to stewardship as Christian Americans.

As I have shown above, the intention of the Christian Coalition is to mobilize the Christian vote so that they run the country and that the constitution only applies to Christians. So, what sort of power do they have? What other political leaders align themselves with this agenda enough to speak at their Road to Victory conference?

Pat Robertson (R)
President George Bush (R)
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R)
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R)
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R)
Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R)
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R)
Congressman Robert Aderholt (R)
Congressman Henry Brown (R)
Senator Sam Brownback (R)
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R)
Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R)
Congressman Ralph Hall (D)
Congressman Henry Hyde (R)
Senator James Inhofe (R)
Congressman Ernest Istook (R)
Congressman Walter Jones (R)
Senator Trent Lott (R)
Senator Don Nickles (R)
Congressman Chip Pickering (R)
Secretary Karl Rove (R)
Senator Bob Smith (D)
Congressman Chris Smith (R)
Secretary Tommy Thompson (R)
Congressman Dave Weldon (R)

That is pretty much the entire leadership of both congressional houses and the executive branch. Does this mean that there is a move towards theocracy? By some definitions of theocracy it does.

-the belief in government by divine guidance
Princeton
-Theocracy is a form of government in which a religion and the government are intertwined.
Wikipedia
-government in which the state is effectively managed or governed by an organized church or religion
Chuck Allen

So, this is my question to you: Do political leaders on the right have a religious agenda? The fact that there are many religious members in our government does not mean they have a religious agenda that is to the detriment of other religions. There are many government leaders who base their virtues and values in their religion without conflicting with their duties to uphold the constitution. Indeed, there is nothing in the mainstream Christian doctrine that conflicts with the constitution. However, many of the GOP leaders have chosen to align themselves with the goals of the Christian Coalition. It can be shown through numerous quotes that the goals of the Christian Coalition are in complete conflict with our constitution.

There is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Constitution. It is a lie of the Left and we are not going to take it anymore.
-- Pat Robertson, address to his American Center for Law and Justice, November, 1993.

They scream, "First Amendment." Of course, the First Amendment, as you and I both know, is a restriction on Congress.... So it really doesn't have anything to do with what you say or what I say, one way or the other.
-- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, December 10, 1990

When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. "What do you mean?" the media challenged me. "You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?" My simple answer is, "Yes, they are."
-- Pat Robertson, The New World Order, p. 218

Each of these quotes from the founder of the Christian Coalition show a blatant disregard for the principles of equality outlined in our constitution. Does this really show that the leaders of the GOP have aligned themselves with the Christian coalition? Indeed, Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, was a high ranking member (Southeast regional campaign coordinator) of the Bush/Cheney 2004 re-election campaign. Reed continued the Christian Coalition's agenda of placing candidate aligned with its philosophy into office:

They call them extremists. We have our own names. We call them senators, congressman, governors, mayors...

To be sure, Reed has a history of effecting politics right here in Montana.

"Speaking before the Montana Christian Coalition in January 1992, Reed openly advocated the defeat of U.S. Representative Pat Williams: 'If we will move forward in unity and if we will be persistent, victory will be ours. It will be ours in Montana and it will be ours all across America ... We're going to see Pat Williams sent bags packing back to Montana in
November of this year, and I'm going to be here to help you do it.'

His work on the 2004 presidential re-election was successful, as we all know. President Bush is the top ranking official in the United States. Early in his presidency, he took the step of combining church-based programs with the FEDERAL welfare system:

Take the life issue. This issue requires a president and an administration leading our nation to understand the importance of life. This whole faith-based initiative really ties into a larger cultural issue that we're working on.
-- George W Bush (unaware that a press microphone was on)

What is this larger issue that the president is working on?

And some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer. Church and charity, synagogue and mosque, lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and laws.
-- George W Bush, Inauguration Address, January 20, 2001

Let's return to Princeton Universities definition of theocracy:

Theocracy is a form of government in which a religion and the government are intertwined.

Do recent laws concerning faith based initiatives show the beginnings of an intertwining of religion and government? Does the alignment between many leading GOP politicians and organizations like the Christian Coalition represent a movement towards theocracy in this country? I pose the question to you, and I really want to hear your answer:

Do political leaders on the right have a religious agenda that favors Christians over other religions?

2006-10-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Helena State Elections: Christine Kaufmann

While there are many state elections that are close, I wanted to use my megaphone to recognize and garner support for the awesome candidates we have here in Helena. I'll start with Christine Kaufmann, democratic incumbent from HD81.

We all know the awesome work that Christine has done with the Montana Human Rights Network, that alone would be enough to send her back to ... well Helena again. The stance that makes her stand out to me is on wages. From her website:

Kaufmann identifies a living wage, tax reform, health care, and public education as critical human rights issues facing Montanans. “People have a basic human right to make a wage that allows them to care for their families,” according to Kaufmann. “The current minimum wage, which amounts to only $10,712 per year for full-time work, is appalling.”

This is a serious problem, and one she moved to remedy with the introduction of a minimum wage increase last session. Action, not just talk.

First, we should thank her for looking out for Montanans and the voters of HD81 (including me). Second, show her some support by getting involved. Go visit her website and see what you can do to help. You can contribute money here. Third, get your behind to the polls and put her in office one more time.

2006-10-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

More Government Control?

I am not sure how I feel about this one in a sense.

The legislation, part of a port securities bill passed by the House and Senate on Saturday, prohibits the use of credit cards, checks and electronic fund transfers for online gaming.

On one hand, I know that gambling has caused many more problems than it has solved. You can see examples of that in everyday life, just drive past a casino at 2:00 pm and wonder why the parking lot is full. On the other hand, isn't this just a case of the government legislating morality?

Look at the bills sponsor, Jon Kyl. He is quoted as saying that online gambling is a moral threat. Other statements seem to indicate that this is moral legislation:

Gambling can be highly addictive, especially when it's done over an unregulated environment such as the Internet

If Congress had not acted, gamblers would soon be able to place bets not just from home computers, but from their cell phones while they drive home from work or their Blackberries as they wait in line at the movies.

I hate to pull out the old slippery slope argument but; isn't alcohol,caffeinee, pornography and even the internet itself addictive? When you start legislating morality, when do you stop?

I am curious how my libertarianesque buddies over at mtpolitics.net view this.

2006-10-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Committee Seniority Problem

We have all heard the argument "Re-elect me, the new guy wont have the seniority to get anything done" Where have we heard these thoughts from recently?

In running for his fourth term in the United States Senate, Conrad Burns has pledged to use his seniority and experience to bring new opportunities to Montana while using common sense and conservative ideals to confront the challenges facing America.

It is a message he often slips in: Look at everything I am delivering for Montana! Tester would have to start all over! If you want pork, vote for me! It is a message some voters even buy into.

I support Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., mainly because of the seniority and positions Conrad has in the senate. He has brought prestige to the state, and we cannot afford to start all over establishing seniority.

Does anyone besides me see the problem with this argument? It obviously works really well on some level, as about 95% of congressional incumbents win re-election. While their are other arguments to be made for keeping an incumbent (maybe they are liked, honest and full of integrity...) but the idea of seniority is often raised.

Is this a valid argument? Can one assume that if seniority is a perfectly good reason for re-election (as the letter-writer above does) then it make logical sense to make congress a lifelong appointment? That way you never need to be concerned about 'starting over'. No? Of course not. Neither make any sense.

The fundamental problem here is that as congressional members gain seniority, they are also learning to work the system and be worked by the system. What makes the most sense is to 'reshuffle' committees in such a way that the idea of 'seniority' becomes less meaningful. In this manner, states and districts that decide to hold their representatives responsible are not punished by losing 'seniority'.

2006-09-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

OK, I am Back Again!

Spending about as much time in Montana these days as Burns in a non-election year! Ha! I crack me up! I just got back from a work week in San Francisco.

I get to go there about 5 times a year, and I really enjoy it. What do I enjoy more? Being home with my family here in Montana. At any rate, I will be posting more frequently.

2006-09-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've Come Back!

I've Come Back! After 7 days at Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida, I have come back. If you know me well, you would think that I will have a long rant about the evil Disney (ABC) corporation and their exploitation of x, y and z, yada yada. Know what the truth is though? I very much enjoyed my families 3rd trip to Disney World. That place is an abosolute model of efficiency. Of course there wa a feeling of being herded around like cattle, but the enertainment and food was good. Now, enjoy the picture and we'll move on...

2006-09-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Lies Liars and Damn Lying Liars

Sunday, Condoleezza Rice made several claims that there were direct connections between Iraq and Al Qaeda before the war. On Monday, Dick Cheney said that pre-war Iraqi leaders "had long-established ties with al Qaeda." Earlier this year he said that the ties were "overwhelming." On Tuesday Bush was asked to defend or refute these claims. He chose to defend them.

This pattern is ongoing. In January Cheney said "there's overwhelming evidence" of an Iraq-al Qaeda connection. He said he was "very confident there was an established relationship there." Bush said "There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties." They use Zarqawi's presence in Iraq as 'evidence'. So, they must know something? They have been saying it for years and they are saying it this week.

These guys are lying through their teeth in order to make the connection between the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. The connections they mention do not exist. Read the 9/11 Report [pdf link] and the Senate Intelligence Committee's report [pdf link]. The latter claims that Hussein and the Iraqi government "did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates." Furthermore, though bin Laden made contact with Iraqi intelligence and requested funding, no assistance was forthcoming. Essentially, the Iraqi government had been contacted by al Qaeda but they did not cooperate or assist them.

So, why is the government lying to us? Right before elections? Anyone?

2006-09-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

Progressive Logic, A Book Review Part 1

I was approached by Dr William J. Kelleher about a gratis copy his new book Progressive Logic: Framing A Unified Theory of Values For Progressives. I figured if he wanted me to read it, it is likely that he wants me to tell you about it. I am going to do this a little different than most 'reviews' in that I want to tell you about the book and my thoughts as I read it.

The introduction gives us a fair idea about the intentions of the book. Essentially, the right have been very successful in recent years not because of the validity of their arguments but the manner in which they are framed. Instead of arguing the merits of their arguments, they have simply put them into attractive frames and progressive arguments into negative frames. The goal of the book is summed as

It is about putting forth an explanation as to why progressive values are intellectually far superior to their political rivals on the right. Our aim here is to provide a "frame" for progressive values that will command widespread respect

.

OK. This intrigues me. I agree with the idea that the right has done well in the 'framing' area. In a topical sense, we have allowed them to frame us as weak. When we do fight back, we allow them frame us as wild-eyed nut cases. We saw it with Howard Dean, where we started with a strong, outspoken candidate and ended up with soft spoken over-nuanced John Kerry. Now we see it in the way that Jon Tester's supporters are being painted because of their energy.

Chapter 1: What is Progressive Logic

Here we have Kelleher making the claim that the apparent lack of unity and consistency in American progressives stems from a failure to focus on the values that they do share. Without a common cause of paramount proportions, progressives have focused on diverging values. The power of a unified progressive movement has been displayed many times throughout history by the likes of abolitionists, civil rights movement and so on. However, for the most part that have operated under fragmented notions of just government. Kelleher feels progressive movements can only be successful by drawing together a unified framework under which to operate.

OK, I can buy this so far. Certainly, this notion of a 'unified platform' has been successful for the right so far. We can note from their impending disintegration that it is based on the divergence from their central framework. For instance, a long time staple of the right is fiscal responsibility. It is easy to see that the current lot in Washington have all but abandoned that idea and it is making a lot of republicans very nervous. Additionally, the recent addition of evangelical fundamentalist principals has concerned those that have traditionally favored separation of church and state. For the most part they have managed to maintain some levels of 'unity' despite the diverging values. Why is that? Perhaps by focussing on the unifying values? OK, back to the book.

Kelleher sets out to build this framework by stating his view of the basic progressive premise.

All persons always deserve positive regard.

He makes the claims that four value axioms ( half positive and half negative ) can be deduced from this single premise. Wait here while I read ahead... Ooh, these are good.

1. Idealogical Fallacy: In short, the false concept that ideas are more important than people. He uses the concept of 'race' and gender bias to illustrate this and sums it up as

...entails subordinating the regard given a real person in favor of some idea, conception, system, or other kind of cognitive concept. If all persons always deserve positive regard, then logically no mere concept can be used as an excuse to diminish another persons positive value.

.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Gay marriage ban anyone? Is this not an 'ideal' being placed above real people? The ideal here being the ~~institution~~ concept of 'marriage', the people being folks that we see and talk to, blog with and work with everyday.

2. Instrumental Fallacy. This one is simple: using a person as an solely as an instrument to achieve some goal or achieve some end. He makes the claim (and rightly so) that to 'use' a person in the manner that we use a tool or a thing reduces that person in value as though they were no better than a 'thing'.

OK, this seems right too, we know this in principal. A business that does not value their employees as 'people' but only as the tools of business will have demoralized employees. The same can be applied to any sort of policy.

3. Ideological Enhancement. Here Kelleher begins talking in the positives and they are essentially extensions to the basic premise. By giving positive regard to all people then we increase their value. Kelleher gives the example that Martin Luther King Jr believed that even the racist he protested against deserved respect as humans.

I will have to think about this in depth. While it is a value that I struggle applying, I agree with it 100%. I tend to devalue people based on their positions at times, I think that we all do to an extent.

4. Instrumental Enhancement. Another positive axiom for progressive values. Think public education. Think inner city renewal. Think rural electrification. Think civil rights and the abolishing of slavery. These are central to progressive politics.

The remainder of the chapter is a discussion on exactly what 'values' are. Here Kelleher proposes that

It entails intellectual judgments about how various ideas, things, and actions relate to the basic premises. Progressives and conservatives value differently becuase they start from different premises

.

Now, he goes on to say that the basic principal of conservatives is that "some people deserve our positive regard sometimes, and some people deserve our negative regard sometimes, and we are free to say who and when". This seems a little harsh doesn't it? Not something that they would want to admit to? If not, then I think that it is because we have actually done a pretty good job of framing our basic premise as the most humane approach.

However, I think that there is plenty of evidence pointing to the truth of this as the 'conservative view'. I think that you can see it in the regard that is often display towards Arabic Muslims, as though all were terrorist. Consider the approach taken to 'racial profiling' of Arabic peoples in airport. I can point to plenty of blog posts and actual articles where all Arabic persons are devalued to the level of 'terrorist'.

OK, this wraps up part 1. As there are four chapters, I imagine there will be a total of four parts. So far, I am intrigued. Kelleher is still setting up his argument, so I am interested to see where he takes it.

Buy the Book. It is worth it.

2006-09-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Questions for Debate

I am heading off to Missoula for the weekend. On Sunday I am going to the Tester/Burns debate in Hamilton with Jay and CeCe. My understanding is that they will be fielding questions from the audience. Here is what I have so far:

> Mr Burns, you have bragged about federal earmarks that you have helped secure for parking structure at UM and ice rinks for Bozeman. Additionally you have bragged about never voting for a tax increase. Considering that we have a record budget deficit and a record national debt how do you rectify this borrow-and-spend approach as being fiscally responsible. Isn't this just shifting the burden to our children?

Or this derivative suggestion from Matt Singer:

"You bragged about federal earmarks that you quote
'secured' for various projects around the state, including yada yada. But
according to The Hill newspaper, those earmarks are currently proposals and
Congressional leaders doubt their passage. Were those press releases
anything more than election year promises?"

And this is my idea for Tester:

> Mr Tester, there is a lot of talk from both sides about reducing our reliance on foreign sources of energy, particularly in the middle east. Can you tell us how you would help Montana benefit from the movement to develop homegrown energy?

Are there any other ideas or refinements that any of you can think of? Anything that you want to know?

2006-09-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

Burns Education Priorities Are Messed Up

The IR published an article yesterday on Tester visiting college campuses around the state. It covered Tester's thoughts on how horrible Burn's support for education has been. He sited one point in particular:

Oppose a $200-per-student increase in Pell grants to help needy Montanans attend college. This vote, taken in October 2005, would have increased the maximum federal Pell grants by $200 to $4,250.

Of course, there was an obligatory 'comeback' statement:

In response, Klindt said Burns opposed a "budget-busting" amendment by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., which would have raised the cost of Pell grants from $8.8 billion in 2001 to $13 billion a year.

This was budget-busting? Really? The current cost of the Iraq war is over $312,958,000,000 and counting and we can't afford $4.2 billion (over the span of many years) to help educate the 'less than rich'?. Seriously. Where are your priorities Burns?

2006-09-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Horrible letters To The Editor

While this weekend had some good letters to the editor in the Helena IR, today was a horrible day for the sane. On Saturday, 8 of 10 were pro Tester, but today has 3 letters with some serious logical problems and I wanted to take this time to point out the problems with them.

Backs Burns

I support Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., mainly because of the seniority and positions Conrad has in the senate. He has brought prestige to the state, and we cannot afford to start all over establishing seniority. When I have had questions about issues, I have always received a reply from him, and it make not have been what I wanted to here. But I did receive a reply, and that means a lot.

Conrad is deeply concerned and interested in the people of Montana.

Conrad heard well deserved complaints from ranchers and other concerned citizens that were very upset with forest fighting the policies. After hearing from so many who feel the agencies are out of control, Conrad unfortunately took out those complaints on crews and not their agencies. He admitted later he was wrong for involving the firefighters. That takes a lot guts for a powerful man to do. I have been a wildland firefighter 1960 to 2003.

I have also voted for Max Baucus, Denny Rehberg, Brian Schweitzer, Marc Racicot and Anita Varone. I support the person not the party.

I just want to say, I support Conrad Burns and ask the rest of Montana recognize what a good person we have representing Montana.

Jay Verdi
P.O. Box 787
Lincoln

Jay claims that Conrad's seniority is the main reason to support him. Under this logic, the senate would be a lifelong post because no matter how the senator behaves because pork is the most important thing we have going for us. I have found this behavior typical from borrow-and-spend republicans and it just not a valid argument. About the firefighters, I would also argue that it was a terrible embarrassment for Conrad to behave that way in the first place. An apology (which he never really gave) doesn't make it all better. As I tell my daughters "Sorry isn't good enough, you are old enough to know better in the first place". That is just one of the many gaffes that Burns has made, between the racist and bigoted comments, sleeping with Abramoff and campaigning with Davison it is just too much.

Burns has delivered

I fully concur with the opinion of Lloyd D. Teigen (Aug. 28) regarding Conrad Burns seniority as a senator and what Sen. Burns has delivered for Montanans.

If Jon Tester were elected, all he would be able to deliver for Montana is an empty plate.

Worse yet, if the Senate majority swung to the Democratic left with a Tester win, Montanans (along with the rest of our nation) would be subject to legislative efforts from the likes of Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Russ Feingold, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry.

A party that is concerned with horse meat legislation, but could care less about the estimated 30 million aborted babies in America since Roe vs. Wade does NOT represent me.

A party that would criminalize lawful gun owners by banning various firearms does NOT represent me.

I am American by birth, Montanan by choice and urge everyone to re-elect Sen. Conrad Burns.

Mark E. Colton
550 Tubbie Road

Mark makes 3 points here. 1.) Pork borrowed on the back of a spiraling debts that our children will have to repay is good for Montana. 2.) Senators from other states are wicked 3.) Abortions are important issue. 4.)Someone wants to take his guns, he's not sure who it is, but someone does.
To be sure Mark, Tester is not against gun rights but you have bought the republican talking points hook line and sinker. And on Burns, what is it he has delivered? He is an embarrassment to our state. At what cost does this pork come? At what cost does your fear of the mythical liberal come?

Where are Tester's friends

Where are Jon Testers friends?! Montana has been visited by John Warner, Bill Frist, Elizabeth Dole, Dick Cheney and Laura Bush, all on behalf of Senator Conrad Burns.

So where are Jon Testers friends? When can Montana expect visits from Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore or Ned Lamont? If they can't make it to Montana, maybe Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan will stop by. After all, they do need Jon's vote in the Senate for their liberal goals.

Jerry Johnson
1426 Brad

OK, this one is like shooting fish in a barrel. At what point did we begin relying on out of state folks to tell us who we should vote for? Can I not make up my own mind, or does Laura Bush have to tell me? It was during her visit that Burns made national headlines with the killer taxi cab driver/terrorist statement, embarrassing us once again. Will Cheney shoot me in the face? Bill Frist's family are the ones who stole millions in Medicare and health care fraud and may well be the very reason that health care cost are through the roof. This is the type of people you want? The only reason they came here in the first place is because they are so afraid that the republican yes-man from Montana is headed out the door.

If Tester did bring anyone in, you have already made it clear that they would be bad, so why bother? Why not let the man campaign on the issues tat are important to Montana? Montana politicians have already stuck up for him, Schweitzer, Baucus, Morrison and Lindeen to name a few.

2006-09-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

Schweitzer's Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes

Once again, I am going on the 'cheerleader' offensive to show what a great governor we have. According to the article from the Helena IR, the administration has been working to get tax loopholes closed and give the state revenue department the tools it needs to collect on deliquent taxes.

"There continue to be issues about the failure of out-of-state companies and nonresidents paying the right amount of taxes on certain types of incomes," he said. "We think if Montanans pay taxes on this income, so should these nonresidents and out-of-state companies."

Bucks pointed out that Montanans are far more likely to correctly pay their taxes on time. The delinquent tax list is more often full of out-of-state people and corporations. The agency wants more legal tools to collect these kinds of debts.

So, what it the big deal here? Everyone is against corporate loopholes, right? I mean, when corporations and out of staters don't pay their taxes, it puts more of a burden on the working guy and ultimately raises our taxes. So, everyone would want to shut down the pesky loophooles, right? Well, hold on just a second now.

Our very illustrious Conrad Burns has voted against closing corporate loopholes on more than one occasion. He voted no on S Amdt 3071 to S Con Res 83 which added 3.9 billion for education and training services, while raising federal revenue by $180,000, all by closing tax loopholes for corporations. It passed 49-51 despite Mr Burns vote in favor of corporations.

Let's be thankful we have Schweitzer in Helena and do the right think and send Jon Tester and Monica Lindeen to Washington in November.

2006-09-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts on Lindeen and Labor Day

The Billings Gazette is reporting on Greater Yellowstone Central Labor Council's picnic in Billings this Monday. Jon Tester and Monica Lindeen will be in attendance as they are both endorsed by Montana labor. This set me to thinking, while we know where Monica stands on energy (witness the bio-bus) as compared to Rehberg, but who is better for Montana's workers?

To start with, Lindeen has very high rankings from Montana AFL-CIO, Montana Public Employees Association and the Montana Progressive Labor Caucus. She has consistently voted in favor of labor and workers over corporate interests. To me, this is the sort of vote that we need representing Montana in the House.

Has Rehberg been sticking up for Montana's workers? Well, he has extremely low ratings by AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees and just about every other labor group out there. However, he makes up for those low rankings by looking out for corporate interests. Corporations love Rehberg. Is that what we really need in Montana? Another stooge looking out for big business? Nope. Not on your life.

Find out for yourself. Look at the records. Go over and visit Monica at Lindeen.net. This is so important for Montana, Rehberg is flying under the radar in this election. Don't let him skate by again.

2006-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

This American Doesn't Back Racial Profiling

At Last Best Place Mike makes an argument in support of racial profiling. I have read much of what Mike has to say, often I agree but this time I don't. I wanted to take this chance to respectfully refute his claims.

Are they (Arabs) or are they not the racial group most responsible for the indiscriminate murder of innocent Americans and others in the past 10+ years?

I think that some of the folks at What's White in Montana would make that same claim about inner city African-American gang members. Additionally, that same statement could come from civilians in Iraq, just reverse the words Arabs and Americans. Where does it stop?

Yes, of course I realize that under certain circumstances that profiling might not work within the confines of the argument presented above. Such instances might involve an American or Western convert to Islam...

The argument has been made many times that the terrorist will adapt in this manner and in that case racial profiling will actually detract from finding the real terrorist. Mike even makes the argument that the American public has finally become ceasingly tired of the indiscriminate searching of old ladies bras and undergarments. If we come to rely on racial profiling, then the next attack will come in an old ladies bra.

What Mike doesn't address is the better alternative to racial profiling, behavior profiling. Many experts suggest that this is a better method of dealing with the threat of terrorism. This omission and the tone of this and previous posts makes me wonder if it is motivated by his concern of airline safety or his feelings towards Arabs.

2006-08-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Rumsfeld says we must be Fascist to defeat Fascist

Sources are reporting that in a speech today to the American Legion, Donald Rumsfeld made the claim

any kind of moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere

Any kind of moral or intellectual confusion about the "rising threat of a new type of fascism" is a bad thing Mr Runsfeld? Am I reading this right? Let's examine this statement for what it means. Confusion results when there is a lack of clarity. In the sense Mr Rumsfeld made this statement, an answer is not clear when there is disagreement. We must all agree to a specific course of action for there to be no moral or intellectual clarity.

Now, let's look at a definition of fascism:

A social and political ideology with the primary guiding principle that the state or nation is the highest priority, rather than personal or individual freedoms.

Fascism does not allow deviation from the states view. The state decides the best course of action and the people are expected to follow it without question. This is exactly what Mr Rumsfeld is insisting is best for our country in his address. We should drop our complaints and diverging viewpoints so that there is no 'confusion'. We must all support the official state view. How is this not fascism? How can they claim to want democracy for every country but our own?

Want to know something even more frightening about our country and fascism? It was the father of Fascism, Benito Mussolini who said "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." Think about that the next time you think about Haliburton.

Update 0:
Read this about Rumsfeld. Anything about Rumsfeld that starts with August kills poetry.

2006-08-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Not Gonna Feed The Trolls

Ok, Ok. I hear you Craig and Rob. I get it. That's not what I want in my life chest anyway. It is depressing, unfullfilling and leaves me feeling...violated. There are plenty of good places to carry out a reasonable debate. I have enjoyed the chat over at Craigs, it much more challenging. Believe it or not, I am not the type of person that thrives on conflict and disagreement anyway. Point is, I am not feeding the trolls anymore. Not as me, not as an anonymous poster. That's all.

2006-08-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

15 Reasons to Vote for Monica Lindeen

A poster on the DailyKos gave Five Things About Monica Lindeen's Bid for Congress this weekend. I want to expand on that a little. Since the poster did such a good job on the first part, I will start with number 6.

6. Monica Lindeen is the right lady for the job.

You can read my post on my impressions of Monica here. I am convinced that she will work hard for the good of Montana.

7. Denny Rehberg is the wrong man for the job

You can read my post on Rehberg's dismal here. His time in Washington has been a horrible failure.

8. Denny Rheberg is in the pocket of big energy

Rheberg has taken over $200,000 from big gas, oil and enrgy PAC's. What did they get in exchange? He voted for the Bush energy plans which given them over $420 million in tax breaks. Look at our current gas prices and tell me how that has helped Montanans. (HR 6, House Vote 145, 4/11/03; HR 6, House Vote 445, 7/28/05)

9. Denny Rehberg favors the Energy interests over Montanans

Remember the Enron scandal? Remember all the price gouging claims against energy companies? Rehberg voted against legislation that gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) anti-fraud authority for electricity and natural gas markets. (HR 6, House Vote 133, 4/10/03). Additionally, Rehberg opposed legislation that gave the Justice Department the ability to prosecute oil companies engaged in gas price gouging and he voted against stricter penalties for gasoline price gouging. (HR 3402, House Vote 500, 9/28/05; HR 3893, House Vote 518, 10/7/05)

10. Denny Rehberg doesn't care about poor people

Do poor people get cold in the winter time? Rehberg doesn't really care. Over 20,000 households in Montana need energy assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Rehberg voted to slash $170 million from its budget. (HR 3010, House Vote 321, 6/24/05)

11. Rehberg Doesnt care about old people

Rehberg voted against allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to use the purchasing power of Medicare’s 41 million beneficiaries to negotiate discounts for prescription drugs. (HR 1, House Vote 668, 11/22/03)

12. Rehberg doesn't care about education

Rehberg voted to cut student loan subsidies (S 1932, House Vote 670, 12/19/05).

13. Rehberg hates workers

Rehberg showed that he cared more for corporations than Montanans when he supported cutting overtime pay for millions of workers(HR 2660, House Vote 351, 7/10/03). Additionally, Rehberg voted against extending unemployment benefits to workers once they had exhausted their state benefits (HR 1527, House Vote 191, 5/15/03).

14. Rehberg is fiscally irresponsible

Even though he said said it was “high time” government spending was cut, Rehberg voted for the 2005 budget, which was projected to create a $521 billion defecit. Additionally, he voted to increase the national debt by $653 billion.

15. Rehberg has bad ethics

Rehberg is voting for Montanans anymore, he is voting how the lobbyist tell him to vote. Rehberg accepted $20,000 in contributions from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients. Then he tried to cover his trail by voting to kill the investigation into Abromoff. (H Res 746, House Vote 76, 3/30/06; H Res 762, House Vote 87, 4/5/06) Rehberg voted to change Congressional ethics rules to stop an ethics complaint against Tom DeLay. He later voted to reverse the rule changes. He also voted to kill an investigation of DeLay. (H Res 5, House Vote 6, 1/4/05; H Res 240, House Vote 145, 4/27/05; H Res 845, House Vote 526, 10/8/04)

Those are just 15 of the 1000+ reasons to vote for Lindeen. The most important 2 is that she is the right woman for the job and he is the wrong man for the job.

2006-08-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

The Thin Red Line

The weekend I thought I would try to put the billion movie channels I pay for to my advantage and actually watch some. To my surprise, I have so far been able to watch my two of my favorite movies;
Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. Both have their moments, but a certain part of The Thin Red Line really struck me. I almost stopped breathing, and my heart was pumping. I would say that I didn't cry a little, but I think I did.

The soldiers are in Guadalcanal and have just topped the hill and captured the small post there. As one of the soldiers is walking through and looking at the dead bodies, injured soldiers and prisoners (half crazy) the narrator says in his quiet slow voice

This great evil.

Where's it come from?

How'd it steal into the world?

What seed, what root did it grow from?

Who's doing this?

Who's killing us?

Robbing us of life and light.

Mocking us with the sight
of what we might have known.

Does our ruin benefit the Earth?

Does it help the grass to grow
or the sun to shine?

ls this darkness in you, too?

Have you passed through this night?

I turned the movie off, I couldn't watch it anymore. I sat and thought about this for a long time. I had a pop. I loaded garbage into the back of the Subaru and drove to the transfer station, still thinking about it. I came home and helped clean up the house, still thinking about it. I decided to talk with all of you about it.

Where does this evil come from. Whether our inclusion in any war can be justified, there was an evil at the root of the war. WWI, WW2, Civil, Revolutionary all of them. At their root is an evil. It is not always our evil, but it is an evil. Where does it come from?

Does our ruin benefit the Earth?

Does it help the grass to grow
or the sun to shine?

In our place, as part and parcel of nature, where does war fit? It is not a part of nature and life and serves no benefit.

I hope....that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats...

~Benjamin Franklin

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official...

~Theodore Roosevelt

2006-08-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Another Burns Buddy Going To Jail?

Late breaking news, It looks like Pat Davison, who resigned less than a month ago as Burn's chief finance officer is in some serious trouble with the Montana State Auditors Office [PDF] and the FBI. Here is the breakdown:

The state auditors office is alleging that since September 1, 2001, former Conrad Burns financial officer Pat Davison has committed several acts of securities fraud by ripping folks off for their retirement money. Several customer complaints that were lodged against Davison while he was employed with Paine Webber were not brought to the attention of the auditor's office, but were instead handled by Paine Weber. However, in August of this year, the Auditor's office was contacted by one of Davison's former customer who said that Davison had approached him with a retirement plan idea.

The complainant invested $500,000 with Davison LLC., an entity owned and controlled by Davison. Additionally, the complainant invested another $250,000 with Qualified Plan Davison LLC. However, both plans seems to be nothing but elaborate scams which took the Montana man for about $750,000. Neither Davison LLC nor Qualified Plan Davison LLC have registered their securities with the Montana Securities Division.

BUT WAIT! There is more. Another complainant, named complainant 2 was approached by Davison about purchasing a school bond that would pay a 7% tax free return to come due in 2012. Davison claimed that the bond was secured by oil and gas royalties and that the non taxable interest would be reinvested. Complainant 2 and spouse of complainant 2 wrote over $275,000 in checks to PPV, an entity owned and controlled by Davison. Davison have provided them statements, but nothing more. The school that the money was supposedly invested in claimed that St Labre Indian School Trust does not exists and there are no gas and oil royalties. Again, PPV is not registered with the Montana Secretary of State's office.

Hmmm. At the same time this was going on, Davison was Burns leading money man. Seems like everyone around Burns is dirty. And this is the worse kind of scum, defrauding folks of their retirement money. What was he doing with that money?

Pat Davison Donations To Conrad Burns Since 2001 $4800
DAVISON, PAT
BILLINGS,MT 59102
DAVISON LLC
9/23/2004
$1,000

DAVISON, PAT
BILLINGS,MT 59102
DAVISON LLC
9/23/2003
$750

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
DAVISON LLC
3/31/2005
$1,550

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
PAINE WEBBER
2/23/2001
$1,000

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
PAINE WEBBER
9/23/2004
$500

Pat Davison Donations To Denny Rehberg Since 2001 $3200

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
PAYNE WEBER/STOCKBROKER
12/31/2001
$1,000

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
PAYNE WEBER/STOCKBROKER
3/28/2001
$1,000

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
DAVISON LLC/ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
7/27/2005
$1,000

DAVISON, PATRICK
BILLINGS,MT 59102
DAVISON LLC/ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
5/5/2006
$200

Source: Open Secrets

Isn't this just the type of dirty money that Monica Lindeen wants to keep out of politics?

Update 0
Jay has some thoughts on this over at 4 & 20

Update 1
According to this AP article:

Davison was most recently the volunteer co-chairman of Conrad Burns' re-election finance committee. The Burns campaign said Davison resigned July 27 for personal reasons. The Burns campaign did not have comment other than to confirm Davison was in a fundraising position.

Personal reasons? Could it be that he knew he was going to be busted in less than a month? Were thinks getting hot for him?

Update 2

Pogie points out that though Klindt is claiming that Davison resigned less than a month ago, their are no readily available press releases about it. If he had indeed resigned, wouldn't you think that would have been announced in some way?

Update 3

Wulfgar is tracking the blogswarm on this Conrad's buddies downfall. Check them all out.

2006-08-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

Meeting Monica Lindeen

Tonight I was in on a conference call that Monica Lindeen held with a group of Montana bloggers. I wasn't sure what to expect exactly, but I have to say that it wasn't what I got.

In the past, I have spoken up against Denny Rehberg record and practices mainly because I despise his kind of politics. I have written very little on Monica herself. Truthfully, other than meeting with her briefly at a Tester event, I know very little about her. I blame that on the failure of Montana media to get out any meaningful stories about her. In my mind, that is a terrible disservice to Montanans.

After meeting with Monica tonight, I have to say that I have new reasons to take up this issue. I was surprised by how much I liked this lady; her personality and the way that presented herself. I admired her passion on the issues that are important to all of us. More to the point, I really got the feeling that they were more than talking points with her.

1. Energy. She is committed to sustainable energy sources and oil independence. We all know this from the big green bus she is touring around the state in. My initial thought was 'gimmick' and 'lip service'. Now, I am sure I was wrong. This is a very important issue, anyone who has filled up at the pump for $3.50 a gallon knows that this is a very important issue.

2. Campaign finance. Jay at 4&20 Blackbirds asked her if she could change any one thing what it would be. Her answer really surprised me. She said that she would take all the rich fat cats that were buying elections right out of the system so that the common man got to have a say in politics again. A politician who wants to return power to the people! Let's face it, it used to be one man one vote, but the sick amounts of out of state money that has been flowing into Montana elections lately threatens to destroy that.

These are just a few of the issues that we discussed. I honestly came away from the phone call with a new perspective on Monica Lindeen. You should make up your own mind though. Don't wait for the Montana press to fill you in and don't decide from 30 second TV spots. Visit her website, see what her positions are on her site or Project Vote Smart. She is touring the state, so find out when she will be in a town near you and go and find out about her in person. This is very important to all of us and our future and we all have a duty to educate ourselves.

2006-08-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

Burns Lies on Vote-Smart Survey

After reading Jay's interesting write up on Burns survey for Project Vote Smart I decided to have a look at it myself. While reading Burn's answers, I realized that I knew some of them to be lies.

Statement:
Burns indicates support of the following
Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.

Truth:
Burns voted against S Amdt 2213 to HR 3010: To increase the maximum Federal Pell Grant award by $200 to $4,250.

Statement:
Burns indicates support of the following
Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology).

Truth:
Burns voted against S Amdt 2275 to HR 3010: To provide additional funding for title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Statement:
Burns indicates support of the following
Support programs to provide prison inmates with educational, vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.

Truth:
Burns voted against S 254: A bill to reduce violent juvenile crime, promote accountability by rehabilitation of juvenile criminals, punish and deter violent gang crime, and for other purposes.

Statement:
Burns indicates support of the following
Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.

Truth:
Burns has accepts tons of money from PACs, including big tobacco and big oil and almost all of it comes from out of state.

This list could go on and on, but you get the point. Burns isn't playing straight with anyone.

The sources for all Burns votes can be found on Project Vote Smart. I encourage you to educate yourself on his dismal record.

2006-08-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Montana GOP Supports Racist Blog

We all know about the GOP's attack on Tester for his links to the DailyKos. If not, read about them here or here.

Today my first Letter to the Editor was published in the Helenair. Here are the contents:

Blog attacks

The Montana GOP has made much of a link from Jon Tester’s web log, TesterTime, to Markos Zuniga’s web log, The DailyKos. Markos has questioned the war in Iraq and other issues that the Montana GOP disagrees with. To be sure, there have been comments on the DailyKos that Tester would likely disagree with, but a link does not mean acceptance of the entire contents.

I would caution the Montana GOP to rethink this attack strategy. In the official Montana GOP Ebrief of March 3, the state Republican party has encouraged their readers to view a weblog that often engages in racist discussions. Here is a quote taken from the weblog (http://rightmontana.blogspot.com/):

“In so far as art, literature, music, economics, government, science, technology and a few other areas of human endeavor are concerned, the Caucasian race is far superior to all other races. And that is not my ‘belief.’ That is a fact of history and everyday observation.”

Yet the Montana GOP has the audacity to attack Jon Tester for a link to a site with much less objectionable content?!

This is the type of hypocrisy that I’ve come to expect from the Republican Party.

Shane C. Mason

So, you can also read about it at What's White in Montana. The funny thing is that after all this time, Eric has yet to denounce the racist commenters there. I can only take this to mean that he supports them. By the fact that the Montana GOP encouraged their readers to visit this site can only mean that the GOP also supports these beliefs.

2006-08-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Tester Interview With Newsweek

There is a very good interview with Tester in Newsweek. You should read the whole interview, but I want to highlight one question:

The Burns campaign declined NEWSWEEK'S request for an interview. When we told them that you had agreed to chat, Burns' campaign spokesperson said, "He has time to talk, because he's just sitting up on his farm."

I'm getting around the state. I'm like a lot of other people in the state that Conrad has lost touch with. I have to make a living.

I find it amazing that even in the process of declining an interview, the Burns campaign could not turn down the opportunity to take a pot shot. A simple playground insult. Jon hit the right spot back though when he said I'm like a lot of other people in the state that Conrad has lost touch with. I have to make a living.

How do you folk think Tester did in the interview? I am interested to see.

2006-08-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Burns Hires Illegal Immigrants?

The SeattlePI has a story on how Burns likes to make jokes about his workers who might or might not be illegal aliens. He calls his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man" and says that he and the employees of a roofing company he hired might be illegal immigrants.

"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?'" Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. "And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.'"

[snip]

Burns said he was on the phone with his contractor when he saw an interview with an illegal immigrant on television. The immigrant said he was a roofer and was headed north.

"So I told my roofer, you better go out and get your help," Burns said. "Or you won't get my house roofed.

You might recall, Burns voted against the bill that would have granted amnesty to illegal workers that were in the country legally. He either doesn't mind the cheap labor or has a very bad sense of humor.

In a video released by the Tester campaign this week, Burns is seen interrupting his own stump speech at a campaign event to take a cell phone call and then appears to speak to the painter.
"Hugo is a nice little Guatemalan man who is doing some painting for me ... in Virginia," Burns told the audience, to laughter, after hanging up on the call. "No, he's terrific, love him."

Wonder what conservatives have to say about this? Surely they thought the joke was funny too? Not so much.

"A U.S. senator hiring illegal immigrants is not a joke," said Michael Dougherty of The American Cause, a conservative group founded by Pat Buchanan that supports strict immigration controls. "He could easily dispirit his voting base."
"If you have the very people who are responsible for making the laws mocking them, it's a pretty good indication of why we have 12 million people breaking the law," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for Federation for American Immigration Reform. An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants live in the United States.

2006-08-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Tester's Birthday With the Bloggers

Yesterday was Jon Testers 50th birthday and I got to spend it with many of the states best bloggers in Missoula. I have to tell you, this was really a great group of people. In total 90 people showed up to spend the occasion with fellow supporters. Some were journalist, some were bloggers, some were blogging fans and commenters and many more were just good ole Tester supporters. It was a wonderful event with great people. Since the blogosphere can seem like such an impersonal place, I have decided to post pictures of the bloggers so my readers can get a better feel for who we are.

Jay Stevens from 4 & 20 Blackbirds was present along with his wife and two twin delights. I knew that Jay writes eloquently and was not a bit surprised to find that he is just as impressive in person. He is well spoken, polite and thoughtful. Jay is a credit to the Montana blogosphere and it was a true pleasure to meet him.

Scott Leslie from Wacko Lib drove over from Bozeman. As he is one of the most important bloggers in the state, I was very excited that he was able to make it over. He is direct and to the point, altogether likeable. It was Scott that actually got me into blogging. I found a link on some newspaper blog to WRiM where I found pure insanity. Scott was the only voice of reason I found there and I tracked him over to his blog which was new at the time. Great blogger, great guy, plus he is an aging punk rocker like myself.

Matt Singer of course can be found over at Left in the West. Vinnie was on hand too. These guys sponsored the event, so thanks! They run a good show over there and it is well worth a daily visit. Both these guys are really nice and on the ball. Check them out. Note that the new project Forward Montana seems to be really working out. I wish them all the success in the world.

Wulfgar from A Chicken is not Pillage was there from Bozeman along with his brother Moorecat from Pragmatic Revolt. They were both personable and down to earth. I have a great deal of respect for Wulfgar and so it was a pleasure to meet him. I am not posting their pictures due to various threats by creepy John Sinrud.

Of course, I must thank our hosts, Mr X and Mrs Y, for opening their lovely homes to us. It was an altogether pleasant event with an air of openness. A bunch of folks who came to speak their mind and show their support without shame or fear.

2006-08-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

Bush Pardons My Dads Moonshinin' Buddy

In the late 1960's James Ellis Mason, my dad, stood before a federal judge after finally being brought in by the revenuers.

Mr Mason. You were caught with 600 pounds of sugar. What were you doing with that much sugar son?

Making wine for my personal sir consumption.

Mr Mason, you can't expect me to believe that. That much sugar would make a lot of wine.

Sir, I like wine aweful good.

The judge didn't buy it and my father became a felon on the federal charge of conspiring to violate liquor laws. Some called it 'moonshine', we called it 'white lightnin' in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North East Georgia. It came in plastic milk jugs and was potent enough to sting your nose just smelling of it. I heard the story about the judge and the wine a million times, just like I heard about how he got married to my momma and then ran a load of liqour so he could take her on a honeymoon. I never got tired of hearing those stories and I wish to hell I could hear one right now.

Just a few minutes ago I was watching Lou Dobbs (like all insomniacs do at 3:00 am) when I saw a message on the ticker that made me sit bolt upright. It said

Deliverence actor Randal Deal pardoned by president Bush for moonshine charges from the early 1960s

Yes, Randall Deal had a small part in Deliverence, it was filmed in my hometown. From this article:

In the movie he plays one of two brothers who encounter the characters from Atlanta played by Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox and Jon Voight who are lost looking for a river for a canoeing trip. Deal quips: "It ain't nothing but the biggest fuckin' river in the state."

When the movie premiered in Atlanta he took his mother. "She was a religious lady," Deal said. "I told her, 'They lied to me. They dubbed that line in there. I didn't say that.' "

He isn't an actor though. He's a good ole boy from Rabun County Georgia. He quit drinkin' and makin' liqour eventually and for the last 16 years he has worked for the Rabun County Sherriff's Department. He was one of Dad's best friends. I have known him as long as I can remember. His nickname is 'Big Deal' and Dad always had more respect for him than I can tell you. I bet dad told me that story about Randall taking his mom to see Deliverence a million times. I always remember Randall as a kind and good man and he has helped me out of more than one jam. I owe him a lot and I think Dad always felt like he did too. The help that Randall gave me was out of respect for my Dad. Dad would have said 'Big Deal is good people'. Randall is 66 now, one of the last of a kind.

When reached by a reporter Wednesday afternoon, Deal said somebody had called yesterday telling him he got the pardon, but he had not received official word.
"I had no idea it had been granted," said Deal, cooking dinner. "Well, whoopee. I wanted to go out with a clean slate."

No one has ever deserved a pardon more than Randall Deal. I am very happy that he got it so when his time comes he can go out with a clean slate. It makes me think of my Dad and all the stories he used to tell me about runnin' moonshine in the southern Appalachians. When I read this article on CNN.com, I understood that Randall might have been thinking about my Dad too:

"There isn't really much of that around here anymore," he said. "In fact, I was thinking here a minute ago, and I believe practically everybody I helped [make moonshine] is dead."

I wish to God that I could hear one of his stories right now.

2006-08-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Racism Rears Its Ugly Head

A letter published in the Helena IR today shows the worst in critical thinking skills that human kind has to offer. I will publish it here in its entirety:

We must profile

Does it make you uneasy that the Muslim fascist terrorist out to destroy civilization as we know it could possibly murder you and everyone around you in the name of their religion? With the recent plot in Britain to destroy at least 10 wide bodied aircraft in mid flight, possibly murdering at least 3,000, don’t you think it is time we wake up and tell it like it is?

We need to profile, yes racially, religiously profile any individuals that fit the description of what could possibly be a terror plot in progress. I know, here come the oohs and aahs. We might hurt someone’s feelings. So what? I would rather hurt someone’s feelings than be atomized in some terrorist plot centered around these Muslim fascist terrorist groups idea of going to heaven. Profile, profile, profile. The police FBI and every intelligence agency in the world use profiling every day to catch criminals. Why not use it at our transportation hubs where it is obviously most needed. We know beyond a doubt what these people look like.

Harry Dalton

15 Jefferson

Is this someone from WRiM? Most likely, if he know how to use a computer. My response reads as:

Harry Dalton claimed in his letter to the editor that we must profile airline passengers. He says "We need to profile, yes racially, religiously profile any individuals that fit the description of what could possibly be a terror plot in progress."..."We know beyond a doubt what these people look like".

The problem here is where do you stop? Do we profile every Christian as a potential abortion clinic bomber? Do we chase down evey loner in a cabin for fear he may be mailing bombs? This is absurdity. 1 in 6 people in the world are muslims and they don't all have brown skin Mr Dalton.

These kind of things should serve as a reminder that these folks are still out there. Yes, even in 2006.

2006-08-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

Sweet Dreams Conrad

Tired? Time to retire?

Want this guy to represent you?

2006-08-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Interest groups on Rehberg's Dismal Record

In this post last week, Craig from mtpolitics.net called me to task on my use of the word 'experts'. I cited interest groups like the National Education Association as 'experts' in the area of gauging Rehberg's record on issues like education. How silly of me. It is true that the NEA is an interest group and it is also true that I cherry picked groups that gave Rehberg poor ratings. I will now try to present a more panoramic view of Rehberg's record in the eyes of interest groups.

First, lets take a more in depth look at those who think Rehberg hasn't done so well, including a recap of those covered in the last post:

Education
National Education Association 25%
National Association for College Admission Counseling 25%
National Parent Teacher Association 8%
National School Boards Association 40%
School Nutrition Association 33%

Animal Rights
The Humane Society of the United States 0%
Fund for Animals 11%
Society for Animal Protective Legislation 11%

Health Care
American Public Health Association 12%
American College of Emergency Physicians 50%
National Breast Cancer Coalition 0%

children's Interest
Children's Defense Fund 0%
School Nutrition Association 33%

Civil Liberties and Rights
American Civil Liberties Union 5%
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 30%
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 0%
Human Rights Campaign 0%
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 5%

Environment and Wildlife
American Wilderness Coalition 0%
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund 0%
League of Conservation Voters 11%
Republicans for Environmental Protection 4%

Gender
American Association of University Women 33%
National Organization for Women 29%
Federally Employed Women 0%
Business and Professional Women USA 43%

Labor
Service Employees International Union 19%
United Auto Workers 21%
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees 0%
American Postal Workers Union 13%

Elderly Issues
Alliance for Retired Americans 0%
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association 20
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 50%

Veterans
Disabled American Veterans 0%
The Retired Enlisted Association 33%

What do we see from this? Well, Denny does not appear to be a friend to education, healthcare, children, the environment, freedom, women, children, puppies, old folks or veterans. Well, who are his friends then?

Business
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 89%
Business-Industry Political Action Committee 89%
National Association of Government Contractors 67%
Financial Executives International 50%
National Retail Federation 100%

Conservative
Christian Coalition 100%
Christian Action Network 96%
Center for Reclaiming America 100%
Family Research Council 92%

It was difficult to find anyone who gave Rehberg a positive rating. It looks like Denny like business and Jesus. Before you jump to conclusions that this is the real Jesus, let's look at some of these interests groups:

Family Research council:The Southern Poverty Law Center has linked the Family Research Council to racism through the activities of its president Tony Perkins.[2]. In the April 26, 2005 issue of The Nation magazine journalist Max Blumenthal wrote that Family Research Council president Tony Perkins has longstanding ties to racist organizations, including a deal with white supremacist David Duke to share his mailing list. "Four years ago, Perkins addressed the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), America's premier white supremacist organization, the successor to the White Citizens Councils, which battled integration in the South. In 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,000 for his mailing list. At the time, Perkins was the campaign manager for a right-wing Republican candidate for the US Senate in Louisiana. The Federal Election Commission fined the campaign Perkins ran $3,000 for attempting to hide the money paid to Duke."
-Don't forget, this is where Dobson said SpongeBob was gay.
Christian Coalition: This group was started by Pat Robertson and headed by Ralph Reed. Remember, Pat was the one that said that Katrina hit New Orleans because god doesn't like homos? An remember this:

On his November 10, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson told citizens of Dover, Pennsylvania that they had rejected God by voting out of office all seven members of the school board who support "intelligent design."

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city", Robertson said on his broadcast.

"And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because He might not be there."

Don't get me started on Ralph Reed, another friend of Abromoff.

Disclaimer:
The ratings presented above can be found at Project Vote Smart. They do not represent 'expert' testimony, only the ratings by certain interest groups. This is not an objective review, but the view of a partisan pundit who is very interested in seeing Denny Rehbergs replaced by Monica Lindeen. I encourage all of you to do your own research into the issues, weigh your choices and the vote Lindeen!

2006-08-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Is Rehberg Campaigning on Taxpayer Money?

It is being reported that Rehberg used his tax supported franking privileges to mail blatant campaign literature to Montana voters.

According to an article in New West, Rehberg mass mailed literature bragging about what an awesome job he has been doing in Washington.

"It is legitimate for a member to keep citizens informed of what's
happening in Congress and their own activities. It conveys an advantage
to incumbents that they are able to mail such communications on the
taxpayers' dime. That's a fact of life. But what Congressman Dennis
Rehberg has done is fraudulent," Jim Farrell, executive director of
Montana's Democratic Party, said in an interview.

If this is a legitimate use of franking privileges, why is it the first he has sent this year? Why does it look so much like campaign literature? See for yourself (PDF). Did he break any laws?

"The rules are so poorly constructed he is able to stay within the
letter of the law but not its spirit," Farrell said. "The laws say you
should not campaign on the taxpayers' dime and that's precisely what he
has done."

The guidelines for franked mailings are contained in a 72-page document
that establishes detailed rules for their tone, appearance and content.
For example, verbal references to the House member must be restricted to
an average of eight per page, not including the masthead and return
address. There can be no more than two photos of the member per page.
Biographical material must be kept to a minimum.

In the mailers in question, Rehberg is the subject of three photographs
and of all but two sentences in the "families first" mailer, which claim
he is "making health care more affordable" and "improving education." It
ticks off a string of non-controversial legislative accomplishments,
such as votes to increase funding for Head Start, Pell grants, reading
programs, heart disease prevention and breast cancer. His opposition to
stem-cell research, minimum wage increases and health-insurance reform
are not mentioned.

It seems pretty clear that he broke both the spirit and the letter of the law to me. What about truth? Is there anything to the claims he makes? Let's look at the bullets:

1. Improving Education
2. Making Health Care More Affordable
3. Protecting Our Children

That doesn't feel like the Denny Rehberg I know. What do the experts say?

1. Improving Education
National Education Association 25%
National Association for College Admission Counseling 25%
National Parent Teacher Association 8%
National School Boards Association 40%
School Nutrition Association 33%

2. Making Health Care More Affordable
American Public Health Association 12%
American College of Emergency Physicians 50%
National Breast Cancer Coalition 0%

3. Protecting Our Children
Children's Defense Fund 0%
School Nutrition Association 33%

Doesn't look like anyone else shares his opinions of himself. To me this seems pretty cut and dry. Rehberg is misuing your money to run his campaign.

2006-08-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Conrad's Out Of State Money Machine

I decided to take another look at Conrad Burn's finances. There is a lot of good information to be had from OpenSecrets.org and I did some of my own number crunching from data posted on Conrad Burn's reelection site.

According to opensecrets, Burns war chest is at $6,786,221, while Tester is at $1,714,055. Surely this means that Burns has a lot more contributors from Montana, which one could translate into higher support? Not so much.

To start with, Burns has gotten 35% of his money from political action committees (PACS). These are organizations that are formed to donate to candidates of their choice in order to help influence elections. According data reported on his website, Burns has received 183 such PAC contributions since May 1 of this year. Less than 2% of the total money received from PAC's were from inside Montana. More troubling is the company he keeps with PACs. They range from benign construction interests to Tobacco companies like RJ Reynolds and Lorillard Tobacco. One of the most disturbing facts is the number of big oil and energy companies jumping on the Burns bandwagon. Companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell and Anadarko have contributed to Burn's war chest. For a more complete listing, see this post.

While 86% of Jon Tester's donations come from individuals, only 56% of Burn's donations come from individuals. 56% of Burn's war chest is still larger than 86% of Tester's, so that must still show wide support in Montana? Again, not so much. From the data from Burn's website for donations over $500 between Jan 1 of 2006 and Aug 4 of 2006 I calculated the following:

Montana: 18.5%
other: 81.4%

This shows that Burns has gotten just over 18% of his donations from Motanan's, the rest are from out of state. Who is trying to buy Mr Burn's way back into office? According to OpenSecrets, it would be DC (with almost twice as much money to Burns as any other city), New York, LA and Denver. In fact, Billings is the only Montana city that even appears on the top 5 list.

I am not sure about you, but I want my representatives to have more allegiance to me than to big oil, big tobacco or Washington DC. I want someone in office who will be there to represent me and my fellow Montanans, not out of state interests.

2006-08-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Lindeen Gets Thumbs Up From Conservation Voters

In a press release today, the Montana Conservation Voters have come out in favor of State Rep. Monica Lindeen in her bid for U.S. House of Representatives. Citing her work to maintain public access to public lands and her career conservation voting record of 82% as the reason, the MCV's favor Lindeen over Rheberg.

"Monica Lindeen has proven her willingness to protect this state's high quality of life in the legislature and Montana Conservation Voters is proud to offer her our endorsement and the seal-of-approval of Montana's conservation community," said Theresa Keaveny, Executive Director of Montana Conservation Voters. "We are thrilled when candidates talk about clean and renewable energy solutions that would benefit all Montanans, but Monica Lindeen is leading by example, campaigning across the state in a green bus fueled by biodiesel."

How does Rheberg's record stack up? As always, miserably. He has received a voting record of 4% from the League of Conservation Voters for his career. Not only that, he has taken over $196,851 from big oil and gas. Where do you think his allegiance lies? Even when Burn's flip flopped on oil drilling in the Rocky Mountain Front, Rheberg remains committed to destroying our last pristine area. If you want to keep hunting, fishing and hiking areas in Montana healthy, Rheberg is not the man for Montana.

"Our endorsement decision was made easier by the stark contrasts seen in the conservation records of the two candidates for Montana's seat in the U.S. House," said John Gibson, a Billings volunteer with the Yellowstone Chapter of Montana Conservation Voters. "Lindeen is campaigning on biodiesel bus, touting the positive effects that proactive clean energy solutions could have in store for Montana farmers and consumers, whereas Rehberg may as well be campaigning from atop an industry-funded drill rig."

2006-08-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Where Conrad Burns Gets His Money

I started to wonder who was donating to Burns. You can tell a lot about who a candidate will be representing by who gives them money. One important factor in the trail is what class is the money coming from, PAC's or individuals. According to data from Open Secrets, 34% of Burn's money has come from PACs, while Tester has only 12% from these interest groups. About 56% of Burns financing comes from individuals, while the people powered Tester campaign has gotten a whopping 86% from individual donors.

I don't necessarily believe that all PAC donations are bad, not all groups are created equal. I made a list of interesting contributers below from the full list here.

Big Oil and Energy:
Exxon Mobil Corporation PAC
Anadarko Petroleum Corp
Mirant Corporation PAC, Inc
KCS ENERGY INC
Action Cmte For Rural Electrification
American Electric Power Cmte Resp Govt
Shell Employees Political Awareness Cmte

Big Tobacco
Lorillard Tobacco Co Pub Affairs Com PAC
RJ Reynolds Tobacco CO PAC

Big Medicine:
Baxter Healthcare
American Surgical Hospital Assn I
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery PAC
American Assn of Orthodontists
American Society of Plastic Surgeons Inc
Nat'l Assn of Health Underwriters PAC

Big Travel:
Intl Council of Cruise Lines
American Assn of Airport Executive PAC
Continental Airlines Employees Fund PAC
Nat'l Air Transportation Assn PAC
Nat'l Business Aviation Assn Inc PAC
Northwest Airlines PAC
Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn PAC

Idealogues:
Rely On Your Beliefs Fund PAC

While these sources were interesting, I think that most telling part can be found in who did not donate. While looking through the list, I failed to notice a single conservation group or education group. I suppose they know that Burns is no friend of education or the environment. He does like smoking, big medicine and big energy.

2006-08-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Burns Supports Cheap Cigarettes

I couldn't pass this one up. In defense of his TV add Stand, Conrad Burns make the statement:

The Democrats work to raise taxes...

How does he defend this statement? By citing cases where Democrats would raise taxes on medication,wheelchair'ss, school lunches and baby vaccinations? Nope. He uses this:

"A Plan To Raise Cigarette Tax On The Table " Missoulian, December 18, 2002

What? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. Burn's criticizinging the Democrats because the wanted to raise taxes on cigarettes so that unisured smokers can pay for their own damn lung cancer, or maybe just quit smoking.

2006-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Burns Uses No Reality On Iraq

It is really easy for Burns to toe the Bush line on Iraq when he doesn't have to face the reality of it. His website's statement of his stance on Iraq says:

Our troops need every ounce of our support as they continue to fight an active and lethal insurgency. I assure you I will continue to do everything in my power to bring our troops home safely, while ensuring the future of a stable, free Iraq.

Yet he voted against Bill S.Amdt. 4442 to S. 2766, which would have given a timeline for our troops safe return home. View this bill as a statement to our troops that "We promise we will work towards an actual date of departure. We do not intend to keep you there forever, we don't want you all to die there, so we will begin to act like leaders that want to finish up our little desert project and bring you home." Burns didn't think it was a great idea to reassure our troops that we could win this thing and bring them home. That was never part of the plan.

The simple fact is that there is no plan. Iraq is in a civil war now, who could have seen that coming? Yet Burns and his fellow hawks show no sign of a plan. Retired generals have poured out of the woodwork, complaining of the lack of leadership by the GOP on the war. Still no plan.

Our Sr Senator is seeing things a little differently. He has seen the harsh realities of war, the ones that burns is hiding from.

I think I'll play a greater role and to find a solution that makes sense
here. I mean, it's hit me so close now - it's so close to home, and in honor
of Phillip and I feel an obligation frankly - and in love of Phillip and
obligation to dig down and work with those in the government who do want to
help and work together to find a solid solution to help us get out of there
in a way that makes the most sense, but clearly I'll get more involved

2006-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Burns Can't Get Anything Right

We all know about the Burns firfighter debacle. Well, when a local paper in their home state wanted to get a quote from Burns on the issue (a real apology?) they were greeted by a staffer cursing like a drunken sailor. According to the Roll Call

"The young man (very young, we surmise) who answered the phone responded
with language that would make a sailor, maybe even Burns himself,
blush," the paper wrote last week. (The Daily Press knows its sailors.
Its home region has one of the nation's largest concentrations of naval
facilities.) The editorial continued, "Imagine a 'South Park' tirade in
full force, laced with assorted colorful obscenities, and you get the
idea."

This is insane. Does this man and his staff really represent Montana? Is this how professional you expect your senator to be? These are not my values and not what I want representing me.

Burns is neither decent nor honorable.

2006-08-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome To My Hell

OK, I have to do one too, thanks to craig and others. I am sure that Dante' would agree with mine the most...

Montana Commercial Makers
Circle I Limbo

Bill Gates
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Citizens of Scarborough Country
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Libertarians
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Republicans
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Evangelical Bigots
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Bill O Reilly
Circle VII Burning Sands

Condi n' Rummy
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

George Bush
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

2006-08-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

Democrats can win on terror

One of the things that bug me about terror threats is how the news media and bloggers rant that this will be a boon to the Republicans. Do they ever get tired of repeating misconceptions and talking points. John McKinnon in theWall Street Journal today:

The foiled British bombing plot is likely to benefit President Bush and the Republican Party, at least in the short term, by reminding voters of national-security concerns and the war on terror -- two areas where the president and his party have earned high marks from U.S. citizens.

You can find that same rhetoric in almost all of the conservative media. Let's suppose they are partially right. Lets suppose that this does turn voter attention to the war on terror and make it a big issue in November. Will it benifit the Republicans like the MSM has let it do so for the last 5 years? In a Washington Post poll released two days ago the following question was asked:

Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?

Republican 38
Democrat 46

Looks to me that if this were going to be a boon to either side, it would be the Democrats. Why would that be? Could it be that the republicans are so incompetent that they couldn't even be trusted to put the cat out, let long protect the country? I think that might be it.

One other interesting question:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the US campaign against terrorism

Approve 47%
Disapprove 50%

2006-08-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Why Burns is still in office ( or what's Wrong with the Republican Party)

The Lamont/Lieberman primary has highlighted what is really wrong with the republican party and why Burns is still in office. There have been two posts in a row over at What's Rotten in Montana concerning the Lamont victory in Connecticut. The first one is titled Lamont Wins???. Discussions quickly devolve into "Democrats hate jews" rants. I cover my thoughts on that here and Mike at The Last Best Place discusses it here. Mike speaks with some authority on the subject, so give it a read.

The second post is titled Lamont Win - Worse than I Thought. The poster says

In short form, they got rid of Lieberman because he criticized his party.

That's your warning, Democrats. Never criticize. Never question. Do what you're told. Siddown, shaddup, and read from the talking points Harry Reid faxed in between free boxing matches.

Last night, I wasn't sure about Lamont. Today I feel better. A party that won't tolerate dissent is a party we can beat. If you kick out everyone who dares to disagree, soon enough you'll be a party of one.

Of course this is bogus and the pot calling the kettle black, does anyone remember James Jaffords or Lincoln Chafee? The part of this that bothers me the most is the idea that the voters of Connecticut decided that Joe Lieberman did not represent their beliefs, it was not the democratic leadership that made this choice.

When your leaders no long represent your beliefs it is not just your right to vote them out, it is your duty. That is the foundation of the democratic principle and the entire idea behind a representative democracy. The reason that Burns is in office is solely due to the fact that republicans don't seem to share this belief. For some reason or other, they seem to hold the notion that an office holder has the right to keep that office as long as they want it. If that were not the case, Tester would be running against Keenan right now.

2006-08-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Dean Speaks Out on Lamont and Lieberman

Jay posted a good read on Lamont and Lieberman yesterday. One point he made on Lieberman's bid as an independent candidate got me wondering:

...once the Democratic leadership falls behind Lamont, and support for Lieberman dries up, he’s going to have a rough time of it.

This made me wonder hoe the Democratic leadership would handle this. I have always been sure that Howard Dean really gets it, but would their stance be strong? I asked Jay his opinion:

...Do you think that they will support Lamont?...

Considering that Lieberman says he is doing this for the “future of the Democratic party.” support for him by the dem leaders would mean that they were saying “The future of the democratic party is that we don’t care who the people want in office”. But, does supporting ‘not’ Lieberman mean that will support Lamont. I mean, I am not completely sure that they grasp wat is going on right now.

As if on cue, I got an email from my buddy at the DNC today, Howard Dean. He answered ,y questions and reaffirmed my belief that he realy gets it:

There's been a lot said about this race and what it means for our party, so I wanted to get a few things straight.

One big issue in this race was the war in Iraq. Like the vast majority of Americans, Ned Lamont believes that "staying the course" will only drive America and Iraq deeper into disaster.

Lamont's courage and conviction on Iraq will make him a good Senator. But his positions on all the important issues -- on Iraq, but also balancing the budget, getting every American health insurance, and solving the energy crisis -- will make him a great Senator. These are not just the values of the Democratic Party, they are mainstream American values, and they are Ned Lamont's values.

After his loss, Joe Lieberman announced his intention to run as an independent. That's the wrong thing to do.

Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters' decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.

Our party is united on a new direction for our country. Joe Lieberman has been nominated for Senate by Democratic voters three times, and has served admirably for 18 years. But this moment in our country's history demands that we be unified.

This race wasn't about ideology. Ned Lamont succeeded because of participation politics -- he talked plainly and honestly with the people of Connecticut, and his campaign engaged in the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor organizing that has reinvigorated our party across the country.

Over a quarter-million people voted in the Democratic primary in Connecticut yesterday. Among those taking part in that exceptionally high voter turnout were tens of thousands of people who are new to our party. Voters included Republicans and Independents joining the Democratic Party and others registering for the first time and choosing to be Democrats.

I think that there are a couple of important points here, but one that I want to bring home:

Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters' decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.

2006-08-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Tired of the Anti-Semitic claims

I have been fairly silent on the Israel-Lebanon issue for my own reasons. I have been silent on the Lieberman issue for the same reasons. What are those reasons? It's not my fight and there are plenty of capable folk working on those issues and I would have no impact. I thought I just might keep to the issues that I might be able to influence. Remember the serenity prayer?

However, something that bugs me is this notion that you can not say anything about Israel without being called an anti-semitic. When did it become an act against god's chosen people to vote against a jewish candidate? Take this quote over at What's Rotten In Montana in response to the ousting of Lieberman:

The Democrats are virulently anti-Semitic. American Jews will finally realize this now. Lamont might have won a few hundred thousand votes in Connecticut, but the Democratic Party lost a few million.

Now, that's certainly not the first such post. Check out the big freeper. Seriously, is everyone who voted for Bush anti-catholic? This is a little silly and needs to stop.

Mike, who is pretty strongly pro Israel has this to say at The Last Best Place.

* Democrats, led by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV) , House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA), Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin (IL) , and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) immediately express their full support for Israel and call on Hezbollah to return the soldiers and end terrorist attacks on Israel.
...
* Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi signs off on an Israel solidarity resolution and calls on House Republican Leadership to pass the resolution before adjourning for the week.

* Republicans reject Democrat's request and adjourn the House of Representatives until July 17 without considering the resolution.

* Democratic support for Israel is overwhelming.

Makes a strong point? Again, I have my own opinions about what is happening in the middle east, and they have nothing to do with me being pro or anti semitic. It has nothing to do with anyones religeon. People should have the right to view what is happening in the middle east and judge it without their opinion being turned into a referendum on semitism. The same should be said about the voters of Connecticut. They ought to be able to choose their leaders without it being a referendum on their views of that candidate's religeon.

2006-08-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Meeting the Bloggers in Helena

Tonight I got the awesome opportunity to meet some real life bloggers here in Helena. I have to say, it was much more than I expected. First, lets meet the cast:

Craig of Montana Politics. Now, this is a guy I can really respect. He is a real conservative, and he had done his homework. This guy makes me undrstand why Wulfgar! calls the folks over at What's MessedUp in Montana kool-aid drinkers. The entire time we talked, I felt like I was talking to someone who was relevent, usefull and a part of our future. He is a conservative, and the fact that I agreed with most everything he had to say served as a reminder that most of us want to do the right thing. There really are only mild shades of grey between what reasonable people see as the correct course of action. After meeting him, I moved his link from the section with WRiM on the left, he doesn't belong there.

Kim of Revolving Ducks. Now, how cool is she? This girl waited patiently while we had 'poly' talk. She is ultra quick and infinitely interesting. She kept us all in tears ROTFL. I am not much into reading archives, its too much like watching a rerun of a show that you know has already been cancelled. It's too painful to fall in love when you know that there is already an ending. I encourage her to come out of her hiatus because I think that we all need more of her kind of charm in this old (creepy) world of ours.

Randy from A Secular Franciscan Life. He seems such a patient and thoughtful man. This is in high contrast to my overly intense and overly self important (egotistical) self. I liked him a great deal. I appreciate thoughtful people and I appreciated him.

David of Big Sky Blog, GreaterFalls.com, Better Living Thru Blogging and the fetish site Fluffy Pigeon. I am not sure about the last one, I think it about either about John Bolton's toupee or most likely about the super mullet Saga of Stanly Malowe. Seriously, even if it isn't about Stanly Marlowe, you should read his story, you will find it much more compelling than anything else I have said here tonight. This is a guy who, though I did not always agree with him, really has his head screwed on straight. I really liked him, almost as much as Stanly Marlowe.

To be sure, these guys I met tonight were awesome. It actually rekindled my dwindling faith in human kind and reminded me that I tend to jump to conclusions about everything and everyone. I thank them for letting me take part in their bash and be a part of bloggin' in Montanta.

To you, my constant reader, I thank you for coming here and giving me a voice. I am proud to blog along side of these people. Aren't I just gushy?

What in a Name?

I am going out on a limb and make this my longest post ever to answer one question that was raised tonight, where did the name of this blog (Wrong Dog's Life Chest) come from. I have already answered the question Which Dog Is The Wrong Dog?, but a few beers have impelled me to explain the name. I took special care in naming it, so I will take special care in explaining it.

There is an REM song called 'Hairshirt', it is quiet wonderful actually. Only slow accoustic guitar and vocals really. First, you need to know what a hairshirt (also called a Cilice) is, we will turn to wikipedia for that:

Such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the history of the Christian faith, for the purposes of the mortification of the flesh. Apart from the itchiness of the shirt's coarse texture, when worn continuously it formed a breeding-ground for lice, which would have the effect of increasing the discomfort. Saints and monks are often reported to have worn one, and rich men sometimes wore one under their fine clothes as penance for adorning themselves, something some people believe to be forbidden in the Bible, though less drastic forms of penance are normal throughout the Christian church

So, it is a way of punishing oneself, perhaps needlessly. Now, what did REM have to say about that?

I am not the type of dog
That could keep you waiting
For no good reason
Run a carbon-black test on my jaw
And you will find it's all been said before

I can swing my megaphone and strong arm the rest
It's easier and better
To just beat it from the chest
Of desire

I could walk into this room
And the waves of conversation are enough
To knock you down in the undertow
So alone, so alone in my life
Feed me banks of light
And hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung
It's a beautiful life
And I can hang my hairshirt
Away up high in the attic of the wrong dog's life chest
Or bury it at sea
All my life I've searched for this

Here I am, here I am in your life
It's a beautiful life
My life
It's a beautiful life
Your life

The important part of this is when he says:

It's a beautiful life
And I can hang my hairshirt
Away up high in the attic of the wrong dog's life chest
Or bury it at sea
All my life I've searched for this

The reason I named my blog The Wrong Dog's Life Chest is because I can see that there is an end to our self punishment. It is a beautiful life. We COULD strong arm the rest and we could beat on our chests in desire. We can make it worse and continue to punish ourselves OR we can hang our hairshirts away up high in the attic of the wrong dog's life chest AND bury it at sea. I think (hope, pray) that we will choose the latter and the better.

2006-08-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

CI97 Will Take Your Tax Rebate

I have written on the problems of CI97 here before. Now there are new issues according to an article in the Helena IR.

If Montanans approve a constitutional spending cap in November, the Legislature likely couldn’t pass the property-tax rebate plans of Gov. Brian Schweitzer or Republicans without a statewide referendum, the Revenue Department said Thursday.

Now, anyone who read Wulfgar's post knows that we want the the democrat's square deal, but how can an initiative that is meant to cap government spending put a halt on rebates? Revenue Director Dan Bucks asked agency attorney Brenda Gilmer to look into that.

Under CI-97,if the Legislature proposed spending money on tax relief, this cost of the rebates plus the rest of certain government spending, couldn’t exceed the spending cap, Gilmer said.

As a result, the Legislature couldn’t pass the property tax relief without a voter referendum unless the tax rebates were “pro-rata,’’ or spread across all classes of property, or unless it refunded user charges or fees.

This initiative is riddled with problems. It takes control from the people we choose to represent us, it ties their hands so that they can not govern. I am not really into letting a rich New York libertarian draft and finance an amendment that will take away the ability of my representatives to make decisions to keep progress rolling in Montana.

2006-08-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

Tester Thanks Our Firefighters

In a move to try and counter some of the negativity created by the Burns/firefighter debacle with a positive voice, the Tester campaign is collecting a petition to thank the firefighters for the hard work they do. I think that it is an important message and ask that we all join Tester in giving our thanks. Here is the text of the email message sent out this morning.

Friend,

The brave firefighters who battle Montana's wildfires have been in the news lately.

Here at Montanans for Tester, we appreciate the hard work that our firefighters do to protect our communities, ranches, farms and public lands. Fighting wildland fires is a physically demanding and dangerous job -- and we believe that our firefighters deserve our thanks.

Please take a moment to join other Montanans who are saying "thank you" to our firefighters by clicking on this link:

http://www.testerforsenate.com/thankyou

We need to send the right message to the hardworking men and women who risk their lives every summer to protect Montana's residents and private and public lands.

It takes just a moment to tell our firefighters that they are always welcome in Montana -- and that Montanans will always appreciate their hard work.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Schriock

You can read the entries in the petition, som are quiet moving. There are 177 'signatures' as I post this.

2006-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

WTF Is A Gravy Boat With Biscuit Wheels?

Watching our junior senator lately, I have begun to wonder if the stress and years have finally gotten to him. There is a whole string of evidence pointing in that direction. Let's look at a string of evidence.

1. Last week Burns verbally attacks and curses a group of wildland firefighters in the Billings Airport.
2. He later issues an apology where he forgets to actually apologize.
3. During a conference call with Montana media he has a Washington lackey answer questions about Montana fires.
4. After the conference call he forgets that the camera is still running and pretty much admits to trying to squelch the media inquiry when he says "That's the way to shut that down".
5. In order to show he really does care about firefighters, he lists a group of bills he co sponsored that were meant to help firefighters. NOT A SINGLE ONE PASSED, most never made it out of committee.

So that was a pretty strange sequence of events, but it gets better! Tonight I am watching the TV and see that there is a Burns commercial on. "Hmm" says I, "What's all this now?" (Note: that only makes sense in a really bad cockney accent). I heard something about taxes and Tester, then I see an image of a cartoon Tester looking like a carnival scene. There is a railroad track going into his mouth. Along this track runs a train of gravy boats that have biscuits fwheelsles. Now you'll have to excuse me, I was a bit taken aback so I might not have heard the announcer right, but it was something like:

"Jon Tester thinks your tax dollars are a gravy train with biscuits for wheels"

Wow. A gravy train with biscuit wheels? How long has this been going on? My wife just watched the commercial like she had just seen a pink elephant step out of the closet and then said "I sure am glad that Burn's publicist is a democrat." I myself had to confirm that she had just seen the same thing that I saw.

If this isn't a sign that he has gone off the deep end, I don't know what would be. Welcome to crazy world Conrad, where all the trains are filled with gravy, all the wheels made of bicuits, where all the conservatives are fiscally responsible and you will be reelected. Crazy world.

2006-08-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Montana Firemen's Association Respond to Burns

Kurt Bushnell, president of the Montana State Firemen’s Association reponded last Friday to Burn's accosting the Virginia hotshot crew last week. The letter, published in the Helana IR, is very well thought out and makes some excellent points.

Sen. Burns has access to, not just the tactical decision makers on these recent fires, but the actual policy makers of DNRC anytime he wants. So why in the backdrop of an airport in Eastern Montana, bash the brave men and women on loan to us, whose only responsibility on the fire was to take orders. Sen. Burns’ stint in the military should’ve reminded him of that. For the most part the brave folks who turn the dirt over with a shovel and pick ax are not the folks making the decisions on a fire ground.

This very point came up in a discussion over at Left In The West. One poster said:

there has been a lot of clamor in the farm and ranch community along the lines of what Burns said. We have to remember that that same community makes up much of his base, so really, I think the statements were made to pandor to his base...

Matt Singer responded with:

If pandering is his excuse for calling firefighters lazy and overpaid and then making a threat to one of them, he needs to go. This is literally disgraceful. There may actually be a need for reforming the way fires are fought in this country. Conrad Burns, because of his stupidity/senility, can no longer address that issue. He is never in a position to publicly criticize firefighters again, even in a responsible way.

You see the problem here? We have the most ineffective senator in the country making himself even more ineffective. Was he ever effective at representing Montana and our wildland fire needs? Bushnell continues:

Moreover, to refer to a government agency’s location as “ridiculous” and being “somewhat surprised” that fire fighters only earn between $8 to $12 an hour is further testimony that Sen. Burns has fallen out of touch with the folks he’s supposed to be representing. I hope he remembers that when fire fighter issues cross his desk.

The firefighters of Montana are very lucky to have a straight shooter like Bushnell represent them. One more note of interest before I wrap this one up. According to a piece in the Roll Call, during a conference call with Montana journalists, Burns was making a real effort to cover the whole thing up.

During the call, a Department of Agriculture official based in Montana rushed to Burns’ rescue and took over answering questions about firefighting efforts in Montana. When the official, Undersecretary Mark Rey, stopped speaking, Burns thanked the reporters for joining the call, and everyone hung up.

Except the video camera was still rolling.

“That’s the way to shut that down,” Burns is seen saying on the tape, a video file of which was e-mailed to HOH. “Huh? That works!” Then came a “you bet!” as he put on his white cowboy hat and prepared to get up from his desk.

2006-07-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

Which Dog is the Wrong Dog?

What's with the dog anyway? After I put the graphic up to the left, the question of which was the 'wrong' dog has come up several times. A common answer has been 'The wrong dog is the little one. He is brave enough to stand up against the big dog and speak his mind.' Good answer, but it isn't quiet right. Here is how I see it:

The little dog has some mac. Whenever the other (bigger) dogs are around, he tries to take immediate control. He is always in their snapping at their heals trying to control all the action. Then you wind up with a scene we have all laughed at, the little annoying dog is leading the pack! He is not leading because he has won their respect or shown his medal; he is leading because he has yapped and nipped the bigger dog's into submission. They are not really sure what to make of this little annoying booger running all around their toes and nipping at them. Of course, they can't nip back because they are being carefully watched and are a bit more respectful than little yappy dog. Taken off guard, the big dogs watch and see if there is any bite, or if it is all so much empty bark.

Now, the little yappy dog comes up on one of the big dogs, snarling a growling like always but this time the big dog doesn't move aside or step back. It looks like the little bossy yappy dog has met the wrong dog. The big dog holds his ground and says 'bring it little man'. Of course, little yappy has nothing to bring. All he had was so much posturing and snipping in the first place. The big dog stares him down, while the little dog slinks over to the corner to sulk. All that time he spent controlling the big dogs with endless yap and bother until one day he messed with the wrong dog.

Welcome to the Wrong Dog's Life Chest. I am Shane C. Mason from Helena Montana. I am a 33 year old man with a wife and two kids. I am sick and tired of little brains controlling this country through fear and hatred and I am just not going to take it lying down anymore. I am not the wrong dog all by myself, there are many of us here is Montana. Follow the links to the left and you'll find others.

2006-07-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

What the Firefighters are Saying About Burns

I was directed to this site by an anonymous poster. It is an active forum for wildland fire fighters. Here are some snips from what they have to say.

How ironic; having a Senator named "Burns" criticizing fire crews. If
ranchers can handle the job ... fine with me. We'd be glad to have
our son home safely. (like most everyone).

Disgusting and disgraceful attack on brothers and sisters in the wildland
fire community. Montana will forever be etched in my mind by the acid
spewed by this politician.............

Re Conrad Burns:

What would one expect from a Senator who's previous job before the
Senate was the Ag. Reporter on a Montana Television Network.

Toss the Bum out. He embarrasses Montana.

Next to his bad manners and arrogance what I find appalling is his apparent lack of knowledge of the wildland fire management, and how things work during fire busts. If he represented a state with limited wildfire activity, I could cut him some slack. However, as everyone in the fire community knows all too well, Montana has been on top of the heap for fire activity for many years, too often since 2000. It is incomprehensive to me that a US Senator from the State of Montana, if the media reports are correct, has such a limited understanding of wildland firefighting systems and processes. What sent up a special red flag about his fire management knowledge was his alleged remark that the fires were run out of NIFC.

Why should Burns comment to hotshots except to say "THANK YOU VERY MUCH"? What do hotshots have to do with the management-strategy-tactics of a very large Montana fire? Fire Teams commanded by ICs do the professional large-scale planning. Hotshots deal with their assigned piece of ground - AND THEY DO IT VERY WELL. They're our much-needed "boots and Pulaski's on the fire ground".

Military Analogy: It would be like the Senator Burns waylaying some homeward-bound Green Berets, Rangers or Seals in an airport after their long, wearing tour of war duty to tell them they should have found a civilian who was not in their chain-of-command and taken orders from him or her. I think not.

The old firefighter in me says, "A verbal blindside delivered by a Senator (or anyone else who should know better) against some of our own, deserves an inbox overflowing with the logical consequences..."

Maybe this is how you want people to think of your state, but I doubt it.

2006-07-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

What Burns Said to those Firefighters is a Disgrace

Now we know what Burns really said in the Billings Airport.

U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns pointed across the Billings airport Sunday and accused a member of an elite firefighting team of not doing “a God damned thing’’ and charged that crew members just “sit around’’ on the job, the original version of a state report said.

The original report we got yesterday had the worst parts edited out. Can you believe that this is the man we have representing us in Washington? These aren't Montana values, they aren't even barroom values. It is obvious to me that Burns has spent too much time in DC, he has no idea what Montanan's hold as valuable. One of the things we value here are the men and women in the trenches to keep our land and homes safe from fire.

“See that guy over there? He hasn’t done a God-damned thing. They sit around. I saw it up on the Wedge fire and in northwestern Montana some years ago. It’s wasteful. You probably paid that guy $10,000 to sit around. It’s gotta change.’’

Rosenthal wrote in both versions: “I offered to the senator that our firefighters make around $8-$12 per hour and time-and-a-half for overtime. He seemed a little surprised that it wasn’t higher.’’

A hot head that shoots his mouth off without having any facts at all. It's embarassing to all of us. I would crawl under a rock and pretend it never happened if I didn't want him gone so badly. How did Burns respond?

“I have since addressed my concerns to the proper officials about the way in which fires are handled. Please accept my apology for any hard feelings that my comments may have caused. I have the utmost respect for the job firefighters have done in Montana.’’

Is that how we show respect in Montana? Using foul language to describe people we have the 'utmost respect' for? This is not the man that I want to represent me. Speaking of someone I have the utmost respect for and want to represent me, here is what Jon Tester had to say:

“During this dangerous fire season, all Montanans are grateful for the thousands of firefighters who are on the front lines protecting our homes, property and wild lands,’’ he said. “These dedicated professionals are to be commended for their bravery, hard work and sacrifice. Until the rains come, Montana will remain at risk, and it is the responsibility of every Montanan to support our firefighters and let them do their job.’’

That is a man with class. He could have taken a shot, but he chose to just speak his peace.

2006-07-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

I'll Do What I Can to Help

I was trying to think of something that I could do to help Montana candidates out in the upcoming elections. The one thing that springs to mind is 'Hey. I am a computer programmer! Maybe that could help!" Well, hacking voting machines is the sole domain of the 'other side', but maybe I could do something else.

I am offering to do web site development and hosting for any democratic or independent candidate that needs it for free. If you want a custom name like votejohndoe.com, that costs me $25. Everything else is free (including hosting, design, email address etc). If you don't need want the custom name, I can set you up with johndoe.xumsoft.com for free.

I will also extend this invitation to any organization or club. Just get in touch with me at the address in the picture below (its a picture so it doesn't get spam).

Here are some examples of work I have done.

My Old Page
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab
Perlbox.org
Xumsoft.com

2006-07-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

Meeting Jon Tester

Tonight, my family and I had the privilege of meeting Jon Tester at a fund raising event at a Helena home. My primary reason for attending was that I thought if I could see the guy eye to eye, I would be able to judge something of his character. It's not a perfect system, but its the best we have.

I have to say, I was very impressed. He was the same in person as he is on TV. I perceived him as direct, honest and decent. On top of that, he is a very good and inspiring speaker. My daughters were very impressed with him to, both gravitating towards him at every chance. He did not come across as a politician, but instead as a Montana farmer that is willing to serve for his state and country. I was impressed with the way that he shook my hand and looked me directly in the eye. The meeting only reaffirmed my opinion that he is the right man for the job, not just the lesser of two evils.

Additionally, I met Matt Singer from Left in the West, Monica Lindeen, the democratic challenger for Congress and many other good solid Montanans. Once again, I was duly impressed with the whole lot. These are good, smart people who are very concerned about the direction their country is headed. They saw the same values in Tester that I saw: intelligence, leadership, honesty and most of all decency. This is the man that must represent Montana in Washington.

2006-07-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Burns is a Liar Liar Pants On Fire

Conrad Burns is such a liar that it constantly amazes me that his pants are not on fire. What am I talking about? Let's examine the headlines of several of his most recent press releases:

Burns Secures Funding for Butte Airport
Burns Announces Vital Support for After School, Online Predator Programs
Burns Delivers for Tribal Law Enforcement
Burns Secures Major Funding for Important Montana Economic Development Projects

Let's look at the language used here to discover why these are 'lies'. These press releases use words like 'secured' and 'delivers' when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. He has only placed these items in a spending bill that has not even made it through committee yet! After reading this article in The Hill, I wouldn't bet on it even making it out of committee, and certainly not on it seeing a vote on the floor.

Even as he touts his Capitol clout back home, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) is having trouble moving the spending bill he oversees as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior.

Burns, one of the most politically vulnerable Senate incumbents, has been telling voters how much money he has delivered to the state. But the interior spending bill, including about $60 million he earmarked for Montana, looks like a bad bet to see Senate floor action before voters go to the polls in November.

Even if it does make it to the floor, it doesn't look too positive that it will see passage. You see, GOP senators from other states are trying to explain to their base that they are fiscally conservative even though we have the largest national deficit in history. Pork barrel politics and bridges to nowhere aren't going to play too well in November.

The floor can be unpredictable, and Burns could be forced into tough votes on a bill he wrote if the measure were to make it there.

In addition to possible Democratic amendments, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has made clear that he intends to continue his war on earmarks during consideration of domestic spending bills, creating a potential nightmare for the manager of any of appropriations measure.

What if it doesn't make it? Will Burn's retract his statements and expose his own lies? He does care about 'delivering' for Montana?

Whether the bill gets a vote on the floor may not matter much to Burns, who, as one Appropriations staffer noted, already “put out the press release” on the projects.

What can we do about this? Well, we can vote for Jon Tester and bring honesty back to Montana

Burns’s Democratic challenger, Jon Tester, has made ethics a central theme of his campaign.

“We need to let Washington know now that the ‘For Sale’ sign has to come down, and Conrad Burns’s days of ‘pay-to-play’ are ending,” Tester says on his website.

Here are some relevant links:

Conrad Burns: Not Bringing It Home to Montana from Intelligent Discontent
Election is problem for Burns’s bill from The Hill
Counting Chickens from Tester Time

2006-07-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Some Facts on Montana CI 97

What is Montana Constitutional Initiative 97? It comes with the fairly innocuous name "Stop Over Spending", invoking images of something that might even be a good idea. Is it a good idea? Let's see a few facts.

From their website we get the following:

1. It would put voters in charge of their own tax dollars.
2. No more footing the bill for irresponsible spending.
3. It puts politicians on a sensible, stabilized budget.
4. State government can no longer go on spending sprees when times are good-but they also won't have to slash funding when times are bad.
5. It would stop government waste. If politicians want to spend more than the SOS limit, they simply have to go to the voters first.

Well, these seem like good things right? Maybe not as good as they seem.

1. This is a representative democracy. We vote for leaders who make good choices.
2. What about increased needs for schools, hospitals etc? Yep, those fall under it too.
3. See 1 and 2.
4. We have a surplus in Montana this year, it is being returned to those who paid it. Isn't that responsible?
5. What happens in emergencies? Will we have to go to the polls just to keep the government running?

So, maybe these aren't all great things. It would be nice if we had an example of how this might work in real life to see if that's where we want to go. Oh Wait! There is one! Colorado passed a similar measure some years ago called TABOR. How did that work out? From this article:

-Colorado went from 35th in the nation for school funding to 49th;
-Colorado went from 23rd in prenatal care to 48th;
-Colorado went from 24th in child vaccinations to 50th;
-Roads and streets deteriorated
-Senior citizens lost important services
-Colorado was the only mountain state to lose jobs between March 2001 and November 2005 according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Is that the record you want to see in Montana? But surely, since this initiative was conceived and funded by Montanan's, it is worth looking into?

Whoa! Not so fast partner! It seems this was not conceived and funded by Montanan's at all! In fact, it has been funded by rich out of state Libertarians. Just for the record, Libertarians generally believe that government should not pay for anything. That means schools, hospitals, sewer, roads etc. Not only were these financed by out of state interests, the signature gathers were paid and from out of state.

'Montanans In Action' is the name of the out of state funded group that is sponsoring this initiative. There are two other measures being pushed by the same out of state dollars:

CI 98 "Protect Our Homes"
I 154 "Citizen's Right to Recall"

Again, the names make them sound like good things, but there are snakes hidden in the woodpile of each. I will cover the other two in upcoming posts.

Please see the following links for more information on who is really funding CI 97 and two related initiatives and more information on why this is a very bad idea for Montana. You need to be informed on this issue before you vote, it is very important to the future of this state.

Unlimited Terms of Endearment: Part V, The Locusts
A Montanans reAction to “Montanans” in Action
Montanans in Action: Misleading Voters Big Time
High Country News on CI 154: Trojan Horse for right-wing extremists

2006-07-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Laws Don't Apply Here... Move Along.

It looks like the America Bar Association has finally stepped up to the plate by challenging President Bush's authority to attach 'signing statements' to hundreds of bills he has signed. In plain talk, these signing statements are like W's way of saying "I am signing this law, but I don't have to follow it if I don't feel like it." The real problem here is 'checks and balances'. How can the legislative branch check and balance the executive branch if the executive branch gets to direguard laws at will?

To be sure, Bush did not invent this practice. It has been used by many presidents, though not in a volume anywhere close to how Bush has been using it. He has attached signing statements to hundreds and hundreds of bills.

The task force said the statements suggest the president will decline to enforce some laws. Bush has had more than 800 signing statement challenges, compared with about 600 signing statements combined for all other presidents, the group said.

He has issued 200 more signing statements than all other presidents combined? This isn't a blatant misuse of power? If not, what is? This is a very serious issue, as it effects the very balance of power, and the checks that keep that balance.

2006-07-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Sticky Note of God Leads the Path to Freedom

My wife has some bumper stickers on her mini van. One is a quote by Sinclair Lewis that is meant as a reminder that people are not always what they seem; a simple note that you must look at people's actions and not take their motives at face value.

When she took the girls to swim lessons today, there was a car parked in the middle of two spaces. She parked immediately next to it to save space, trying to be nice. When they were leaving the pool, she found the following sticky note:

Who could have left it there? Could it be a message directly from God showing us the path to freedom? Is this the new scripture? Or is it more likely that some prude faced idiot that forgot how the current scripture tells them to behave? Judge not lest ye be judged... Let him without sin cast the first stone...

The truly funny part is that there is nothing on her van that would lead someone to assume that she is an atheist, nor a cry baby. She is neither. This was cowardice. Sniping cowardice. Say it to her face if you have something to say, don't leave a 'sticky note of righteousness'.

Is this religious persecution? This is Montana, not Georgia, Iran or Saudi Arabia. We have the right to believe how we wish.

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Mahatma Gandhi

2006-07-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

An End To the Death Penalty?

In defense of yesterday's veto of stem cell research expansion, whitehouse spokeman Tony Snow said that the president "doesn't want human life destroyed." He added that "it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder."

There are a number of things that the federal government backs that I consider murder, the first being the death penalty. The second being an illegal war in Iraq. Does this mean he will try and end them? Don't hold your breath.