Senator Tester Strikes Back against BIG SPENDER Label

You can certainly tell that the 2012 election is starting to generate a head of steam judging by the amount of mailings and fund-raising pleas our blogging team members have been receiving from the Candidates for Senate. In addition third party groups are making media buys to advocate for the candidate of their choice. One recent ad drawing controversy was ran by an advocacy group called Concerned Women for American Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) which targets Senator Jon “No Ear Marks Ever” Tester for aiding and abiding out of control spending in Washington. The ad, which is published below, makes fun of the recent passage of ObamaCare by advertising a make believe drug called “Spentitol” and asks viewers to call Tester’s office and tell him to “stop spending it all.”

Not unlike our local councilman Vies Senator Tester decided he couldn’t just leave well enough alone and shot out a scathing fund-raising letter to his supports denouncing the ad and further went on to accuse the CWALAC of lobbying against recent legislation to protect children against child pornographers. The truth of the matter is that CWALAC are well established as anti-pornography crusaders and opposed the legislation Tester referred to because it was “too watered down” and did nothing to stop child pornography. The twisting of facts of CWLAC’s position in this matter was bad enough but what the amateur Tester campaign team also failed to investigate was the fact that CWALAC’s CEO Penny Nance was herself a victim of a sexual attack by a pornography addict and has made ending child pornography her personal live long crusade.

Way to put your foot-in-mouth Senator Tester. Nance has called upon the Senator’s office to issue a public apology for this distortion of fact. What do you think? Will Tester “man-up” and make this right or again go with his status quo and just go into hiding now that the heat is turned up?

Watch the ad that offended Tester below and check the article over at The Daily Caller for the rest of the story

Here I thought wind power was cheap

Isn’t wind power great? The wind blows all the time in Montana so if we just followed the environmentalist dream we would all turn away from that dirty coal and also from land damaging drilling activities and be all renewable like wind power. We would save the earth and eventually all enjoy cheap cheap sources of power. How are we coming with this plan you might ask?

Well a Montana –Dakota Utilities 6% rate increase was just laid on 25,000 electric power users to repay increased costs of power from – you guessed it - Wind Power. Shows what government mandates will do for you and me the consumer. Government mandating Going Green ultimately means less green in our wallets. I can hardly wait to see what happens when the enviro-nuts finally get all of our coal and nuclear plants shut down.

Read the article at the Billings Gazette and thanks to Aaron Flint at Northern Broadcasting for sharing this sad news with us.

Senator "No Earmarks Ever" Tester Targeted in Media Buy

A group called Crossroads GPS announced on Tuesday that they plan to spend 20 million dollars on news spots targeting 5 U.S. Senators including our very own Senator Jon “No Earmarks Ever” Tester as pressure prior to the upcoming debt-cutting votes that will be before congress. The Crossroads GPS website says this about the media buy;

New TV spots begin running today through August 6 on network television stations in Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Ohio, and will be complemented by targeted online advertising in those states.

The spots focus on U.S. Senators Bill Nelson of Florida, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. All feature local constituents of the senators, urging solutions to the debt limit debate that will cut spending and not raise taxes or create new taxes. The ads promote the website www.nomoreblankchecks.com which provides viewers with online tools to write their senators and representative on the issue.

We have let our government run amuck for far too long. It is time to work towards matching our expenditure to our income just like we have to do in our local businesses here in Havre, Montana.  Regardless if you think it is Bushes fault, Obama’s fault or anyone else’s fault it is time to man-up and correct the problem.
If you haven’t already seen the ad it is posted below

Maybe it Pays to be “Low-Income”?

Social Security was set up to provide a retirement cushion to seniors in their retirement years.  It was never intended to be someone’s total retirement nor was it meant to fund a host of entitlement programs.  The following video was sent to us by a reader.  Could it be that these types of expenditures is why Social Security is insolvent?

HDN Publisher gets Taken to the Locker Room

I hope everyone enjoyed the Hill County Fair. I know I sure did. What I enjoyed the most was the first hand account I received of our favorite story source Councilman Vies again going squirrelly in front of a crowd of a couple dozen golfers last Wednesday night.

It seems Councilman Vies was out playing a leisurely round of golf with his best golfing buddies Dave Peterson and Jeff Jenson when he spied Havre Daily News publisher Martin Cody out playing a little golf himself. Now we all know that Vies thinks there is a vast right-wing conspiracy of people around town “out to get him” and Martin Cody heads up that list because as Vies tells it, the newspaper is in cahoots with the local tea-baggers to make him look bad. Just seeing poor Martin Cody on the same green as him just sets Vies over the edge and as luck would have it when the unsuspecting Cody goes into the refreshment tent Vies and his court of jesters follow him in and proceed to yell “nasty thoughts” at Cody about his lack of manhood and the worthlessness of the Havre paper. This bezerko act goes on for an uncomfortably long time and eventually drew quite a crowd of onlookers. Our witness said it reminded him of the prelude to a good old locker room fight where the Jocks strut around and pound their chests like you used to witness in Junior High sports. What else would you expect from a former fading Jock?

Later reports (after a few more drinks) have Public Works director Peterson berating the guy that put up the vote for “None of These” sign and yelping that he is going to boycott Murphy’s Pub as a punishment to the dumb schmuck that dared put up that sign. This boycott must be really taking off as I personally went up to Murphy’s Friday night with a couple of my friends and there wasn’t one single seat available to rest my derriere so we headed on downtown instead. Will these democrats never learn? They have worn this boycotting business nearly to the end and as I recall it has never ever worked for them (Pizza Pro – Gold’s Gym – etc) yet that is the first action they take anytime anyone dares speak against their kingdom.

What is really sad is that poor misunderstood Councilman Vies is continuing this reign of bad press himself. If he would have had the sense to keep his big yap closed after the first negative “rusty-towel” story this would be all blown over and out of people’s minds and he could continue on his oblivious and happy way.  Better get back on your meds Jer as you are messing with people that buy ink by the truck load and it is a no-win battle. 

Anyone interested in pursuing a consolidation of City-County government or at the very least changing our form of government to a City Manager to try and end these problems?

Tax Funds used to Study “Effects of Penis Size” in the Gay Community

What to do? What to do? If the Republicans and Democrats in congress can’t come to some sort of agreement immediately about raising the national debt limit poor old grandma’s Social Security check is going to bounce. While we are all being kept occupied with stories of “essential” programs that will go unfunded I constantly read articles about tax money expenditures that are just plain ignorant.

Take for instance the report funded in part by the National Institutes of Health that studied the “Association between Penis size and sexual health among men who have sex with men.” This study was part of an $899,769 grant that funded studies of similar significant importance to the National Institutes of Health and was compiled from surveys of over one-thousand gay and bi-sexual men in New York City. A related story on this grant over at Fox News .Com states that a Traditional Values Coalition press release stated that at least $9.4 million “went to a 10 year study that included penis-size- research.”

$9.4 million? Wow! That would purchase a lot of Stanley Tape measures.

It doesn’t appear that Montana got in on any of this research but the Havre Daily “News” did run a story a week or so ago about local residents Pam Hillary, Terry and Kathy Sather and former Havre Daily editor Karen Datko hosting 2 people from the Pride Foundation to come to Havre and talk about gay rights. The Havre Daily “News” reported that about 12 people attended the rally so apparently there were more “hosts” in attendance than audience so I would say this “rally” was hosted strictly as a venue to bash our local republican representatives and to try and stir up problems where non exist.

Why are we wasting money on these types of things while there are people living right in our own community that are barely living day to day? Just something to think about. Maybe it’s time to call your congressman?

Fox News Story here
Havre Daily “News” story here

FDA cites Diamond Foods for Selling Walnuts

For weeks we have been hearing the Obama – Tester - Baucus –Rehberg spin on raising the debt ceiling and cutting taxes/raising taxes etc. No one wants to admit we are just plain overspending ourselves into a state of impending bankruptcy. I know, you don’t even have to post the comment, it’s all Bush’s, Obama’s Testers’s, Rehberg’s or someone else’s fault. Why can’t anyone get on board for just plain cutting our spending back to match our income? Seems like a simple enough solution to me and it is what we do at our house.

Life Extension Magazine, a magazine about nutrition, health and welfare, had a perfect example of tax funded bureaucrats run amuck in this month’s issue. It seems that Diamond Foods who are the people that package up various nuts you find in the baking aisle at the grocery store has been printing some claims on the packages of walnuts touting the health benefits of consuming nuts. Even though these claims are backed up by scientific studies the FDA rushed in to “regulate” them as an unlicensed drug manufacture.

The article in Life Extension said that;

Last year the FDA determined that walnuts sold by Diamond Foods cannot be legally marketed because the walnuts “are not generally recognized as safe and effective” for the medical conditions referenced on Diamond Foods’ website. According to the FDA, these walnuts were classified as “drugs” and the “unauthorized health claims” cause them to become “misbranded,” thus subjecting them to government “seizure or injunction.”

Government seizure or injunction?  Give me a break, this is just one more example of our own government throwing up job killing hurdles in front of anyone trying to do business in the USA. It is time to call Senators Baucus and Tester along with Congressman Rehberg and tell them a good place to start cutting the budget would be with a reduction at the FDA followed up with a trimming of a couple thousand job-killing positions over at the EPA. When are the American people going to rise up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

Return with me to yesteryear and another episode of the Bullhook Bottoms town hall gang!

Miss Kitty has just returned from her favorite part of the country -- The East where she was reared and educated.

Marshal Dillon, the mayor of the Bottoms asked: "Miss Kitty did you visit our beloved leader and did he have any ideas on what we should do about our water problems here at "the Bottoms"?

Miss Kitty---"I declare Marshal, I'm glad you should ask me that"! Our beloved leader thought that we should get water from another "crick". I told him I was more concerned about the air in "fly over" country. I told the beloved leader I was working on the FOUL AIR REDUCTION TREATY -----or FART.

Festus asked? "How would that work, Miss Kitty?”

"Well I don't rightly know Festus" answered Miss Kitty; I reckon our gang of eight could come up with some kind of law.

Yosemite Sam spoke up and exclaimed that he would be willing to "investigate" and rat out any cowboys and cowgirls that pass gas around the "Bottoms".

Doc Holiday thought we should put up signs saying that passing gas was a violation of the FART treaty.

Festus said......our "back et" ball team would throw a "jock fit" if they couldn't pass gas and laugh about it!

Miss Kitty said "gang this is serious; we have foul air in THE BOTTOMS; could it be our Water?"

To be continued........................

Havre History in Pictures

Thanks to one of our readers for sharing these pictures with us.  Anyone care to comment on any of your memories in these places?  Click on the picture to enlarge

2 & 87 Diner - Truck Stop

4TH AVE & 3RD ST HAVRE

4TH AVE & 4TH ST HAVRE

CITY HALL HAVRE 1914

Drug Store

GNRY DEPOT

HHS Havre - 1919

Councilman “Rusty Towel” Vies Chastises HDN Reporter



The Ever Squirrelly Councilman Vies
goes Bonkers over Bad Press

 Judging from the article in tonight’s Havre Daily “News” and from what we can learn around town Councilman Vies had another mental breakdown and went completely squirrelly at last night’s council meeting.

You may recall that Councilman Vies during the June 20th council meeting told a local motel operation that was complaining about the dirty water turning his linens brown to cure the problem by just buying “rust colored towels”. Unlike most people that get this shabby treatment at council meetings this individual decided to exercise his first amendment rights and commissioned a 4’ x 8’ professionally made sign suggesting that voters “Vote for anybody but” Councilmen Vies, Kaftan and Kaul at the next election. Vies, apparently still stinging from the heat he has received for his stupid comment a month ago, attempted to defray the heat by casting the blame on HDN reporter Zack White and Councilman Brekke as they “blew this way out of proportion.” In addition Vies chastised Councilman Brekke who is the representative of the Ward in which the motel is located because, according to Vies, he shouldn’t have told the motel owner what the response of the council was to his inquiry about what could be done to rectify his dirty linen problem.

This is not the first time people have come to the council with a problem only to be turned away with a glib or catty comment instead of addressing their individual issues. The difference is that this time a dirty water problem affects every single person in the Havre water system and hardly a soul we have talked to have found the Vies comment all that amusing. The HDN reported that Vies insisted on making it known that his “rusty towel” comment on June 20th brought fits of “widespread” laughter not only from fellow council members but also those in the audience. So apparently we are all to think that witty comments made by council members to constituents with needs should be just taken in stride as part of the city government “management process.”

For just a moment let’s take Vies at his word that his degrading comment was in fact just a miserably failed attempt at humor and he is being unjustly raked over the coals and consider just the facts of the matter;

1. June 20th a problem with dirty water damaging linens is brought to the council 
2. June 26th the Corrector reported that the City Water Department had increased the Chlorine and chemical levels to a point that rust was being leached into the water. The city said they were “looking into a solution” even though we were told by others that the City official knew the cause of the problem but refused to issue the proper treatment orders because of the cost involved with making the water pure 
3. July 6th we reported that a Havre businessman erected a sign telling people not to again vote for Vies and his cohorts because of the idiotic response he received from the council 
4. Today is July 20th, one full month after the problem was brought to the council and as of tonight not one single thing has been done to rectify the issue. What has happened is that everyone is ignoring the problem hoping nature will clear up the problem without causing the City to expend any money. Also Mayor Dim, the witty council, and the water department have used all their energy running around playing the you said – he said game in an attempt to divert everyone’s attention from the crude coming out of their water spigot.

Mighty fine civil “servants" wouldn’t you say? Perhaps the sign is right on message

New Committee to Identify Government Waste

House Bill 642 which was passed this last legislative session by a vote of 70 to 27 provides;

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A SELECT COMMITTEE ON EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNMENT; PROVIDING FOR MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES AND A TERMINATION DATE.

This interim committee consists of 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans which are charged with finding waste and inefficiencies in the State budget were some government costs could be trimmed. The fiscal note for this bill is $100,000 and it is thought by some that there are hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent that could be saved. The committee is charged with seeking out waste in 4 specific areas; budgeting, health care, technology and natural resources. The committee’s first meeting is to be held August 22-23. Anyone with any ideas for something that is laden with waste and inefficiencies send Chairman Jon Sonju an e-mail at sonjumt@yahoo.com

Thanks to the Montana Watchdog for pointing us towards this story.

Atlas Shrugged Airing in Rudyard this Weekend

This just in from one of our readers.

The movie Atlas Shrugged will be airing at the Hi-Line Theater in Rudyard this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The movie starts at 7 pm. Tickets are 5 bucks and “old-fashioned” theater popcorn is only a dollar. Take a drive to Rudyard and support one of the only Montana theaters to show this controversial film.  Maybe dinner and a movie is in order for this weekend?  Anyone know if there is a place to eat in Rudyard before the movie?

Atlas Shrugged is based on the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. While the novel that portrayed the takeover of the country by a government run amuck was considered “fiction” in 1957 there are striking similarities to what has happened in America the last few decades. Stephen Moore, the Wall Street Journal’s senior economics writer wrote an excellent article about how the things portrayed in Rand’s book has gone from fiction to fact in the last 50 odd years. Read the article here

Why are Food Prices Skyrocketing?

Great article published over at the New American explaining why food costs are skyrocketing. The Bush haters are in luck as a good portion of the rise in food costs can be directly attributed to the governments forcing of ethanol production under pressure from the enviro-nuts under Bushes watch. The article in the New American claims that 40% of America’s corn production is now used to make “fuel out of food” which has driven the price of corn up from around $2.40 a bushel to around $7.40 a bushel today. Likewise other cereal grains have risen because of increased demands caused by the use of corn for ethanol.

Since most of the cost of finishing a critter that provides us the meat we eat is the cost of corn and cereal grains they too have seen doubling in price the last few years which of course is passed on to the consumer. When the wonderful Clean Air Act of 1992 (yep, good old Clinton) required that methyl tertiary butyl ether be added to gas to reduce emissions ethanol went to the forefront as the cheapest source. Not to be outdone by the past two presidents mistakes Obama has ratcheted up the clamor for alternative fuels further rising food prices

Read the facts for yourself over at the New American. What can be done to reverse this trend?

DRILL BABY DRILL

MOOchelle

Hey ……………..  Isn’t this the same nanny-stater that wants to take the toys out of Happy Meals and regulate what all school kids eat?  Do as I say not as I do

Government Gone Wild

Montana Chamber's Legislative Scorecard

Webb Brown, President of the Montana Chamber of Commerce released the Chambers 2011 voting review of the 62nd Legislature. All the Senators and Representatives are ranked on the scorecard as to how pro-business they voted this session.

The following are the “grades” attributed to our local representatives by the Montana Chamber;

Senator Rowlie Hutton SD 17 – 95%
Senator Jonathan Windyboy SD 16 – 21%
Representative Tony Belcourt HD 32 – 47%
Representative Kris Hansen HD 33 – 90%
Representative Wendy Warburton HD 34 – 96%

A special thanks to those that supported Montana businesses

View the full report at Montana Chamber Scorecard

NEA Deep Thinking

This from Dave Budge over at Electric City Weblog

The National Education Association has endorsed Obama in 2012 even before they know who his opponent will be. The full story at UPI.com 

I bet you are surprised

Havre Citizens are beginning to Protest

It would appear that our little blogging team aren’t the only ones upset with some members of the Havre City Council. I just noticed this sign tonight when I went to the grocery store as it is erected directly across the street from IGA. Democrat Councilman Bob Kaul is up for election this year and is being challenged by Republican Rick Dow. However Councilmen Jerry Vies and Bob Kaftan have two years remaining on their terms.

I stopped and took a close look at the sign and there is not any endorsement by any particular person or group. Anybody know anything about why this sign was erected? It was professionally done so it has cost someone some bucks. Was it one idiotic council action that motivated this sign or just the accumulation of lunacy that has occurred this past year? Two democrats – one Republican named so it is bipartisan irritation.

Thinking about it I would say there are plenty of reasons a person could be this upset……………..Pick one.

At least I got my giggle for today.

Present Day Bullhook Bottoms

The following Guest article has been submitted by a Havre Author who plans on bringing out readers a regular column about the happening’s here in Bull Hook Bottoms. I hope everyone enjoys the continuing saga of “our little town” and here is the first episode describing the characters.


Corrector, I don't always agree with the blog but in this case you're right about electing "new blood” to the city council.

The present group reminds me of a TV series of "yesteryear".

First, we have the lead character who plays the town mayor---Marshal Dillon. He is the head "stud" of the town meeting gang. His educational credentials include 12grades and Rodeo University. He visits the town hall occasionally but his favorite "chore" is having a "chew" with his main boss's at the "County Seat".

Second, there is --Miss Kitty; She just returned from her favorite region of the country---the East. Miss Kitty was "enlightened" to inform the town's people that "laws are made by men” and they make mistakes! Now she thinks she made a mistake on the "Smoke Signal" ban and her constant mantra is ----"What ever are we to do?"

Third, there is ---Yosemite Sam---of Bugs Bunny cartoon fame. Sam retired from the railroad RUBBER ROOM safety dept. Where he shot himself in the foot. Yosemitee lost his first election, ran again unopposed and his pal the Marshal put him on --guess where--the safety committee! First time out of the chute, old Sam rats on Bullhook Bottoms safety procedures to the Territorial Capital. Marshall Dillon loves Sam, so he put him in for an award. Marshall says. "Sam is doing well learning his A B C's".

Fourth, ---our beloved ---Festus. He doesn't like much attending the town hall meetings because it keeps him from his "back it ball" games and horseshoe try outs. Well Sir, one day old Festus went swimming in Bullhook Creek. There he dried his hair with a rusty looking towel and guess what folks----no hair!

Fifth, there is aging----Doc Holiday; Poor old Doc can no longer distinguish between "practicing medicine" and "practicing business". He thought that a local hotelier should just post signs telling his clientele to use rust tainted towels washed from the water of Bullhook Creek. Never mind that those cowboys paid $100 silver dollars for their digs and pack six shooters.

To be continued................