We have so much to treasure here in Montana, This House of Sky.
" . . . a sky so big you feel like you will fall into it."
If you breathe and dream and haven't 'seen' it, somewhere in the recesses of your mind lies an image of what this grand place is.
For those unwilling or unable to leave the pavement, the best vistas in Montana:
Glacier Park from any angle. Thank God in the early 1900's, there were voices loud enough to preserve the "Crown of the Continent."
The Rocky Mountain Front. Spectacular contrasts, an immaculate uncluttered viewshed. Spared from drilling, now threatened by the construction of hundreds of wind generators.
The Mission Mountain Range. Magnificent reminder of the power of nature. Sheer spleandor.
The Big Hole Valley. Perfectly-formed bowl. A well-kept secret of a gem, carefully tucked into a green velvet purse. Best known as an historic refuge.
Charlie Russell County and Square Butte, particularly at sunset during fall harvest. Is this Heaven?
The Missouri Breaks on a crisp spring morning.
What are yours?
And, what will you do protect them?
Showing posts with label montana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label montana. Show all posts
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
2008 Election: Education
If the election were held today . . .
You’re correct - - - the election is still two weeks away.
But, when the dust settles and the votes are counted, legislative power is divvied up in Helena.
The party with the majority of the seats controls the legislative process and the agenda.
And, good or bad, power is usually follows seniority.
Take the names of the following members and plug them into the various leadership positions and key committee chairmanships [Appropriations; Taxation; Judiciary; Natural Resources].
In the Senate, if the R’s win 26 seats, here are the projected prime-time players on the GOP team:
Bob Story; Greg Barkus; Dan McGee; Jim Peterson; Keith Bales; Joe Balyeat; Gary Perry; Roy Brown (although I need to caution the reader that Roy might not be a member if he takes out Schweitzer); Roy Brown (OK. He’s back).
Scouting report: All are middle-aged or older males; most are angry about something. Believe in no regulation, free market solutions and tax cuts for the landed aristocracy and out of state corporations.
No women. No one under the age of fifty.
Word has it that the leadership will give neither Dave Lewis nor Rick Laibel much rein - - - too moderate. Informally, John Brueggeman has holds the Sam Kitzenberg rubber chicken memorial award for his comments about the GOP’s voter suppression caper.
Pretty grim.
The Senate D team with at least 26 seats:
Carol Williams; Mike Cooney; Jesse Laslovich; Kim Gillan, Trudi Schmidt; Bob Hawks; Lynda Moss; David Wanzenried.
Scouting report: Four women. The youngest member of the caucus [28] in the mix.
The House line-ups with at least 51 seats.
GOP: Scott Sales; Dennis Himmelberger; Scott Mendenhall; Janna Taylor, Tom McGillvray; Dave Kasten; Bob Lake; Ron Stoker; Ed Butcher;.
Scouting report: Unlike the Senate, this team has a woman. Like the Senate, talk about angry white men!
Free marketers.
Dems: Margie Campbell; Bob Bergren; Dave McAlpin; Dan Villa; Mike Jopek; Jon Sesso; Jill Cohenour; George Groesbeck; Franke Wilmer.
Scouting update: Loads of women, including an American Indian. And, the youngest current member in the Legislature [25] in the mix.
In the event of a tie . . . well, let’s not go there.
OK, so, when it comes to funding for public education, who do you want to chair the Appropriations Committee? Or, which team includes members who actually believe in public education in the first place?
And, when it comes to funding for the University System, which team would most likely provide the level of funding needed to avoid large tuition increases?
Speaking of funding for the U-System, for the record, GOP team members Senator Joe Balyeat and House Speaker Scott Sales penned the arguments in opposition to the statewide 6-mill levy [LR 118], which has been authorized and re-authorized every ten years by the voters since 1948. One of their arguments is that by defeating the re-authorization of the mill levy, the voters will be sending the University System a message that it disagrees with the policy against students having firearms on campus.
http://sos.mt.gov/ELB/archives/2008/voters/2008_Voter_Information_Pamphlet.pdf. See page 10.
So, in other words, by denying the system $13.4 million a year, the plan evidently is to force the Board of Regents to change the policy and allow every student to pack heat.
Good idea?
[These and other equally bad arguments against the levy find a voice with the following groups: Treasure State Network, Montana Family Coalition, Republican Roughriders, American Dream Montana, Montana Values Coalition, Help Our Moral Environment, Montanans for Tax Reform, Montanans for Property Rights, Constitution Party of Montana, Montanans In Action, Republican Assemblies of Montana and the Montana Shooting Sports Association.
Guess which line-ups they prefer and are working hard to put into power?]
While this was all being sorted out, tuition would have to be increased to offset the $13.4 million loss.
Oh, and the next election to re-authorize the mill levy isn’t until 2018.
Of course, the University System could ask the 2009 Legislature [and each session thereafter] to backfill the lost proprty tax revenue. But, which team members in the Senate and House would you bet would be more sympathetic to the plight of students? And, in this case, which team members would scream the loudest that, if the Legislature acted to restore the funding from state sources, it would be violating the “will of the voters”?
The only good news in the midst of this lunacy would be that, as tuition goes up, perhaps gun-toting students would only be able to afford enough ammunition to load one clip.
You get the idea. The legislative process is about reconciling competing priorities and conflicting vlaues.
You’re correct - - - the election is still two weeks away.
But, when the dust settles and the votes are counted, legislative power is divvied up in Helena.
The party with the majority of the seats controls the legislative process and the agenda.
And, good or bad, power is usually follows seniority.
Take the names of the following members and plug them into the various leadership positions and key committee chairmanships [Appropriations; Taxation; Judiciary; Natural Resources].
In the Senate, if the R’s win 26 seats, here are the projected prime-time players on the GOP team:
Bob Story; Greg Barkus; Dan McGee; Jim Peterson; Keith Bales; Joe Balyeat; Gary Perry; Roy Brown (although I need to caution the reader that Roy might not be a member if he takes out Schweitzer); Roy Brown (OK. He’s back).
Scouting report: All are middle-aged or older males; most are angry about something. Believe in no regulation, free market solutions and tax cuts for the landed aristocracy and out of state corporations.
No women. No one under the age of fifty.
Word has it that the leadership will give neither Dave Lewis nor Rick Laibel much rein - - - too moderate. Informally, John Brueggeman has holds the Sam Kitzenberg rubber chicken memorial award for his comments about the GOP’s voter suppression caper.
Pretty grim.
The Senate D team with at least 26 seats:
Carol Williams; Mike Cooney; Jesse Laslovich; Kim Gillan, Trudi Schmidt; Bob Hawks; Lynda Moss; David Wanzenried.
Scouting report: Four women. The youngest member of the caucus [28] in the mix.
The House line-ups with at least 51 seats.
GOP: Scott Sales; Dennis Himmelberger; Scott Mendenhall; Janna Taylor, Tom McGillvray; Dave Kasten; Bob Lake; Ron Stoker; Ed Butcher;.
Scouting report: Unlike the Senate, this team has a woman. Like the Senate, talk about angry white men!
Free marketers.
Dems: Margie Campbell; Bob Bergren; Dave McAlpin; Dan Villa; Mike Jopek; Jon Sesso; Jill Cohenour; George Groesbeck; Franke Wilmer.
Scouting update: Loads of women, including an American Indian. And, the youngest current member in the Legislature [25] in the mix.
In the event of a tie . . . well, let’s not go there.
OK, so, when it comes to funding for public education, who do you want to chair the Appropriations Committee? Or, which team includes members who actually believe in public education in the first place?
And, when it comes to funding for the University System, which team would most likely provide the level of funding needed to avoid large tuition increases?
Speaking of funding for the U-System, for the record, GOP team members Senator Joe Balyeat and House Speaker Scott Sales penned the arguments in opposition to the statewide 6-mill levy [LR 118], which has been authorized and re-authorized every ten years by the voters since 1948. One of their arguments is that by defeating the re-authorization of the mill levy, the voters will be sending the University System a message that it disagrees with the policy against students having firearms on campus.
http://sos.mt.gov/ELB/archives/2008/voters/2008_Voter_Information_Pamphlet.pdf. See page 10.
So, in other words, by denying the system $13.4 million a year, the plan evidently is to force the Board of Regents to change the policy and allow every student to pack heat.
Good idea?
[These and other equally bad arguments against the levy find a voice with the following groups: Treasure State Network, Montana Family Coalition, Republican Roughriders, American Dream Montana, Montana Values Coalition, Help Our Moral Environment, Montanans for Tax Reform, Montanans for Property Rights, Constitution Party of Montana, Montanans In Action, Republican Assemblies of Montana and the Montana Shooting Sports Association.
Guess which line-ups they prefer and are working hard to put into power?]
While this was all being sorted out, tuition would have to be increased to offset the $13.4 million loss.
Oh, and the next election to re-authorize the mill levy isn’t until 2018.
Of course, the University System could ask the 2009 Legislature [and each session thereafter] to backfill the lost proprty tax revenue. But, which team members in the Senate and House would you bet would be more sympathetic to the plight of students? And, in this case, which team members would scream the loudest that, if the Legislature acted to restore the funding from state sources, it would be violating the “will of the voters”?
The only good news in the midst of this lunacy would be that, as tuition goes up, perhaps gun-toting students would only be able to afford enough ammunition to load one clip.
You get the idea. The legislative process is about reconciling competing priorities and conflicting vlaues.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
How the Mighty Fall, periodically
There’s a name that won’t be on the ballot this fall that should not go unnoticed: Bob Keenan.
You remember Bob.
Senate President.
Senate Minority Leader.
Termed out after the '05 session.
While vacationing in Costa Rica, he offered himself up as an alternative to Conrad Burns in the 2006 GOP US Senate Primary. Word had it that Conrad was about to be indicted and led away in cuffs for his dealings with Jack Abramoff.
After filing for his old House seat in the Bigfork area, Bob, being the team player he is, dutifully withdrew from that race put his name in play to serve us in Washington.
Bob lost the primary. And, no, it wasn’t even close. The margin just south of 49,000 votes, to Conrad Burns!
After spending the 2007 session skulking the hallways in the Capitol in an advisory capacity to the House GOP leadership team (You know: Scott Sales; Mike Lange; John Sinrud; Bill Glaser), Bob evidently decided the Ship of State (Helena or Washington) could not navigate troubled waters without him.
“Oh, gosh,” he said. “Governor. United States Senator. What will it be?”
He kept all of us in breathless anticipation until the last day of filing.
Yes, there was the customary ‘aw shucks.’ While discussing a possible run for the Senate, he said, ‘‘I’m wide open. There’s a lot of pressure and assumption and expectation that I might run for governor of Montana as well. The third and most attractive option is to skip the ’08 cycle and go on with my life.’’ Montana Standard. 9/27/07
And?
He filed for his old House seat in the Bigfork area.
To the private dismay of many a Republican House members, shortly after he filed, word filtered down that upon his return to the House, Bob was eying the Speaker’s slot or chairing the House Appropriations Committee.
‘Oh, gosh. What will it be?’ Bob must have been smugly muttering.
With a household name like his, how did Bob use the days between the close of filing and the primary election?
Working hard on the doors?
No, on the links.
Bob, you see, is quite the golfer.
And, certainly a guy with his Brahmin creds need not sully himself by touching mere mortals called voters.
Rumor had it that Bob was not satisfied with his short irons game.
Oh, and the primary election?
He lost. He did manage to finish second to a fellow named Scott Reichner in a four-candidate primary.
And, no, it wasn’t even close.
Bob must still be muttering, “Oh, gosh. What will it be?”
You remember Bob.
Senate President.
Senate Minority Leader.
Termed out after the '05 session.
While vacationing in Costa Rica, he offered himself up as an alternative to Conrad Burns in the 2006 GOP US Senate Primary. Word had it that Conrad was about to be indicted and led away in cuffs for his dealings with Jack Abramoff.
After filing for his old House seat in the Bigfork area, Bob, being the team player he is, dutifully withdrew from that race put his name in play to serve us in Washington.
Bob lost the primary. And, no, it wasn’t even close. The margin just south of 49,000 votes, to Conrad Burns!
After spending the 2007 session skulking the hallways in the Capitol in an advisory capacity to the House GOP leadership team (You know: Scott Sales; Mike Lange; John Sinrud; Bill Glaser), Bob evidently decided the Ship of State (Helena or Washington) could not navigate troubled waters without him.
“Oh, gosh,” he said. “Governor. United States Senator. What will it be?”
He kept all of us in breathless anticipation until the last day of filing.
Yes, there was the customary ‘aw shucks.’ While discussing a possible run for the Senate, he said, ‘‘I’m wide open. There’s a lot of pressure and assumption and expectation that I might run for governor of Montana as well. The third and most attractive option is to skip the ’08 cycle and go on with my life.’’ Montana Standard. 9/27/07
And?
He filed for his old House seat in the Bigfork area.
To the private dismay of many a Republican House members, shortly after he filed, word filtered down that upon his return to the House, Bob was eying the Speaker’s slot or chairing the House Appropriations Committee.
‘Oh, gosh. What will it be?’ Bob must have been smugly muttering.
With a household name like his, how did Bob use the days between the close of filing and the primary election?
Working hard on the doors?
No, on the links.
Bob, you see, is quite the golfer.
And, certainly a guy with his Brahmin creds need not sully himself by touching mere mortals called voters.
Rumor had it that Bob was not satisfied with his short irons game.
Oh, and the primary election?
He lost. He did manage to finish second to a fellow named Scott Reichner in a four-candidate primary.
And, no, it wasn’t even close.
Bob must still be muttering, “Oh, gosh. What will it be?”
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