A year ago today I entered Montana politics. I didn’t do this by writing a letter to the editor, and I didn’t do it by sending out a tweet complaining. No, I did it by going down to the Missoula County Courthouse and declaring my intention to run as a candidate for Montana’s House District 98.
I had no idea what I was doing. The Missoula Democrats were having a rally there, and all I knew was that I had to get some paperwork in. So I have my form and go in and start talking to some people, none of whom I knew, and many of whom probably would have been pleased just fine if I hadn’t shown up.
But I did, and I quickly got rid of my paper after I was told I could do it online, and then stood back listening to the prepared speeches that everyone running for the 2015 Legislature had.
No one was there. Maybe twenty-five people, mostly friends and family. There wasn’t any media – we were talking to ourselves.
Now it’s a year later. On that day, no one in Montana politics knew who I was. Now I’d say many do, perhaps all. Of course you could argue that I’m just as inconsequential and mean just as nothing as I did that day a year ago, and I’d be willing to argue some of those points as well, but not all of them.
I had no idea what I was doing. The Missoula Democrats were having a rally there, and all I knew was that I had to get some paperwork in. So I have my form and go in and start talking to some people, none of whom I knew, and many of whom probably would have been pleased just fine if I hadn’t shown up.
But I did, and I quickly got rid of my paper after I was told I could do it online, and then stood back listening to the prepared speeches that everyone running for the 2015 Legislature had.
No one was there. Maybe twenty-five people, mostly friends and family. There wasn’t any media – we were talking to ourselves.
Now it’s a year later. On that day, no one in Montana politics knew who I was. Now I’d say many do, perhaps all. Of course you could argue that I’m just as inconsequential and mean just as nothing as I did that day a year ago, and I’d be willing to argue some of those points as well, but not all of them.
So what’s happened since then? We’ve had an election, two in fact, and now we’re into the legislature. Perhaps a year from now I’ll be in the courthouse again, I dunno.
I do know that finally this week I’ve begun to see some people start to rationalize why we need $300 million in the bank, this surplus that Bullock wants. I heard someone say that we need that money for fires, and it’s a good argument. In 2007 we didn’t have enough and had to call a Special Session in September to deal with it. Hell, I think we had one in May of that year as well.
This is just a completely backwards approach to a huge Montana problem. We need to be getting the money for these fires from the feds. Why isn’t Tester on this, why isn’t Daines on this? I’ll excuse the latter because he has no experience, but Tester? We need more federal money for this!
Or do we? Montana is one of the leading causes of global warming, considering how much coal we rip out of the ground. You could argue oil is a cause as well, I suppose, and perhaps this is just God’s way of punishing us. We are a transgressor, an addict that will not change. We need our natural resource revenue, primarily because we’ve decided we’re not going to try and make money any other ways.
I do know that finally this week I’ve begun to see some people start to rationalize why we need $300 million in the bank, this surplus that Bullock wants. I heard someone say that we need that money for fires, and it’s a good argument. In 2007 we didn’t have enough and had to call a Special Session in September to deal with it. Hell, I think we had one in May of that year as well.
This is just a completely backwards approach to a huge Montana problem. We need to be getting the money for these fires from the feds. Why isn’t Tester on this, why isn’t Daines on this? I’ll excuse the latter because he has no experience, but Tester? We need more federal money for this!
Or do we? Montana is one of the leading causes of global warming, considering how much coal we rip out of the ground. You could argue oil is a cause as well, I suppose, and perhaps this is just God’s way of punishing us. We are a transgressor, an addict that will not change. We need our natural resource revenue, primarily because we’ve decided we’re not going to try and make money any other ways.
| | What do you do with someone that will not change? That’s how Montana is right now. What’s worse, she’s always complaining, but never willing to do the work necessary to rid herself of those complaints. It’s laziness, and a fair bit of entitlement thrown in as well. After all, when you’re getting a helluva check from the government each month, why do anything? |
What are we going to do when oil gets down to $30 a barrel? With our transportation costs factored in, as well as the lower-quality oil we have, we’re looking at a price of around $20 a barrel for oil in Montana. Already production pretty much came to a halt with prices of $50 to $60 a barrel, and it’s clear we have no plan to weather this storm.
And it is a storm. It’s the kind of storm that if you were on a boat you’d batten down all the hatches and hunker down with your knees pressed into your chest, quailing in the corner. I’m not sure our ship of state is going to be able to weather the coming storm, not with the shaky state of our finances. And don’t think Montana is going to be alright – with more than 40% of our 2015-17 state budget coming from the feds, we’ve got dependency issues.
The Saudis will do what America wants, and if we’ve got a team in the White House trying to oust Putin, then we could be in for two more years of this. Depending on how much the corporations really do control things, the next president could continue the trend, regardless of party. In the 80s we saw the Reagan White House do this, and we had a helluva recession, from what…’82 to ’87 or so? Montana didn’t do well during that time, but neither did Gorbachev. He was forced to the table after his country ran out of money, and the Soviets fell.
And it is a storm. It’s the kind of storm that if you were on a boat you’d batten down all the hatches and hunker down with your knees pressed into your chest, quailing in the corner. I’m not sure our ship of state is going to be able to weather the coming storm, not with the shaky state of our finances. And don’t think Montana is going to be alright – with more than 40% of our 2015-17 state budget coming from the feds, we’ve got dependency issues.
The Saudis will do what America wants, and if we’ve got a team in the White House trying to oust Putin, then we could be in for two more years of this. Depending on how much the corporations really do control things, the next president could continue the trend, regardless of party. In the 80s we saw the Reagan White House do this, and we had a helluva recession, from what…’82 to ’87 or so? Montana didn’t do well during that time, but neither did Gorbachev. He was forced to the table after his country ran out of money, and the Soviets fell.
Is Russia our enemy? Perhaps they’re the enemy of the oil companies, but I’ve got no beef with them. And now we’re effectively reviving mutual-non-aggression pacts, at least that’s what 30-year oil & gas deals look like to me. But then the Chinese don’t care about the Russians. We know they’ll be fighting the Japanese again, however, so that means they’ll be our enemy. It’s a shame we have to continue siding with a country that hasn’t had an economy since 1997.
But the Japanese have a military, and they’ve been beefing it up for just these days. Will we see price controls on our grain again? That’s what we need Tester for – to lock in those high grain prices for however long the war lasts, just like we did before. It’ll be hell when those controls end, however, just like it was before.
This is of course all speculation, or a hypothesis if you will. It’s all plausible, and perhaps part of the plan. It’s not that American can’t make anything anymore, it’s just that we won’t. Shipping all the manufacturing overseas was a mistake, and now people don’t even know how to weld anymore.
But we can make war, and I feel the powers that be have decided the only way to get out of the depression we’ve been in since 2008 is to have another war, a real one this time. War is good for the bottom line, and it’s also good for bringing back the Messiah. Both put food on the table.
These are exciting times we’re living in, and I hope we can get through another year. Thanks for reading!
But the Japanese have a military, and they’ve been beefing it up for just these days. Will we see price controls on our grain again? That’s what we need Tester for – to lock in those high grain prices for however long the war lasts, just like we did before. It’ll be hell when those controls end, however, just like it was before.
This is of course all speculation, or a hypothesis if you will. It’s all plausible, and perhaps part of the plan. It’s not that American can’t make anything anymore, it’s just that we won’t. Shipping all the manufacturing overseas was a mistake, and now people don’t even know how to weld anymore.
But we can make war, and I feel the powers that be have decided the only way to get out of the depression we’ve been in since 2008 is to have another war, a real one this time. War is good for the bottom line, and it’s also good for bringing back the Messiah. Both put food on the table.
These are exciting times we’re living in, and I hope we can get through another year. Thanks for reading!
