Montana Articles

Fuck You, Mary

3/31/2017

Well, damn that legislature.

I used to pay $9 to $12 for my smokes.

Now I’ll have to pay $10.50 to $13.50 for my roll-your-own tobacco…depending on which store I buy it at.

I’ll also have to pay $37.10 for an eighth of pot, whereas before I’d pay $35.

So for the year I’ll be paying $78 more for my smokes and perhaps $400 more a year for my pot.

Fuckin’ Tom Jacobson on that last one, as well as can’t-keep-it-in-his-pants Bullock.

Thanks legislature, fucking thanks!

God, these people.

Mary Caferro is of course the dumb broad that’s foisting this cigarette nonsense on us.

Starting April 30, I have to pay more for the exact same thing.

This is typical Democratic politics.

The argument for cigs is that it costs the state $449 million a year because people use this product.

Legislators think this will bring in $70 million a year.

Not even 50% of the money is going to smoking-related issues, however.

Most of the money goes to buildings.

The only reason healthcare workers are getting a raise is because I smoke.

And my how they’ll get their money.

$10.80 an hour by Oct. 1
$11.80 an hour by Jan. 1, 2018
$12.80 an hour by July 1, 2018
$13.80 an hour by Oct. 1, 2018.

So these healthcare workers are getting $4 more an hour over the course of the next year and a half.

Pretty damn good.

Wish I got that much, but the state only deems me important enough to bump my pay from $8.05 an hour to $8.15.

I’m not important. Healthcare workers are.

It’s just another typical Democratic wealth redistribution scheme.

And smokers aren’t even the real health problems in this country – fat people are.

We know that 15% of Americans smoke, yet 69% of Americans are overweight.

In fact, 36% of Americans are obese…more than twice the number of Americans that smoke.

6.3% are extremely obese.

Good luck getting a sugary drink tax passed, however.

Can you imagine the number of fat asses that’d come out of the woodwork to testify against that?

And please, let’s not forget how much those fat asses cost this country each year.

It’s figured our obesity epidemic is costing the country $147 billion a year.

Fat people also miss a lot of work because of their fat-related health issues, costing America between $3 and $6 billion more a year.

But what about smoking?

That is costing the country $300 billion a year and $156 billion in lost productivity.

Wow, I cannot believe that!

You’re telling me that what 15% of the country is doing is costing more than what 69% of the country is doing?

Having a smoke costs us more each year than stuffing our faces?

I don’t buy it.

Sleep apnea, for instance, is already a $7 billion a year business.

The only reason people get sleep apnea is because they’re too fat to sleep normally and have to be hooked up to a machine.

Gastric bypass surgery is expected to be a $3 billion industry by 2022.

But none of that really matters. Smoking is the real enemy…but not really.

The whole argument for this smoking tax bill was to increase the pay for healthcare workers.

I’ll bet $10 that most of those healthcare workers are dealing with problems from obesity, not smoking.

I’ll bet that many of those healthcare workers – particularly the female nurses – are overweight as well.

Remember when doctors used to smoke?

Today we shake our heads at that.

Trust me – in another few decades we’ll be shaking our heads that we ever had fat nurses and doctors.

Now, in regards to my pot…well, fuck you – that’s none of your business.

Boy I hope someone can defeat Tom Jacobson in the next election. I can't think of one way that man helps this state.

All I can really do is shake my head at how stupid our state is, and the people in it.

$150 million in taxes for Colorado last year, all from legal pot.

My, we could sure build a lot of shit we don’t need with that, huh? Maybe even give pay raises to healthcare workers that are already doing pretty good.

But we won’t do that, again, because we’re a stupid state filled with stupid people.

Oh well.

I got off pretty good from the 2015 legislature. No real tax increase and I got to drive my car 5 miles an hour faster on the interstate.

The 2017 legislature has fucked me, however.

Makin’ me pay more to smoke.

All I can say is fuck you!

2 Comments

10 Reasons Why Quist Will Lose

3/30/2017

7 Comments

Stick a fork in it, folks – this race is over.

Sure, I told you that back on January 26 when Gianforte got in it, but I think we know that it’s really over now.

Nope, the Party insiders won’t admit it (still money to be raised, right?) and the die-hards will go ‘till the end, but you and I know it’s done.

There’s simply been too many mistakes.

And I'm not even talking about the fact that it won't be a mail-in-only election.

That's the least of Quist's problems.

Let’s go over some of those problems today, and by the time we’re done, maybe you’ll see it like I do.

#1 No Money

Quist has raised $750,000 and Gianforte has raised $1.5 million.

Money isn’t a problem for Gianforte, but it is for Quist.

Time is a bigger one, as even with those donations Quist can’t get yard signs, bumper stickers or even the most basic of handouts out to voters.

Hell, I’m using a thank-you postcard in my car’s back window because I haven’t received a bumper sticker yet.

Supposedly the best place to get that stuff is at the rallies, and the stuff is going quickly.

I’m not sure that’s the best strategy.

With money they could send those things out to people that have donated, or people on their mailing list.

But they don’t have money, or at least not enough of it.

And enough for what?

We know that Quist is taking a $2,000 salary but we have no idea what his New Yorker campaign manager – Tina Olechowski – is making.

And what of the other hangers-on?

I hear Dan West is now involved in the campaign…what’s he being paid?

How many people are being paid?

You know I sure ain’t one of ‘em – I tell the truth and give honest opinions.

People hate getting that for free! They sure as shit won’t pay for it.

Reports are due soon but we won’t know what they say for some time after that.

And will it matter?

With National telling the DNC and out-of-state high-rolling Dem donors to sit on their checkbooks, what’s it matter?

National wrote this race off, and James Conner analyzes that very well in a recent post, saying the DNC is letting Quist “twist in the wind.”

The Missoula Indy also analyzes it today on their site. This is what they said:

“So far, the national Democratic Party has done little if anything to correct the apparent imbalance.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which contributed several thousand dollars to John Lewis' 2014 House bid against Zinke, has yet to disclose a penny in expenditures in Montana. Federal Communications Commission records show no ad contracts from Quist's campaign or any Democratic allies.

Meanwhile, the DCCC's mailing list has been soliciting donations to help fight the repeal of Obamacare and elect a Democrat in Georgia's special election.

Multiple messages left with the DCCC asking when their presence might be felt in the Montana race went unanswered.”

To National Dems and the purse strings they control, Montana is a waste of time and money but Georgia is not.

I think this shows how clueless the National Democratic Party is about rural areas, which they’d rather ignore than try to learn anything about.

Quist could win, and probably still could, if the National apparatus would just get behind him.

I think we know how clueless they are, however. Just look who they assigned to lead Quist’s campaign – a New Yorker.

With two-thirds of Quist’s donations coming from in-state we know that this is a local affair.

National has written us off…again.

I don’t know why we put up with it.

And what’s with that $25,000 transfer to the DNC?

Why are we even giving them any money? What exactly are we getting in return for that?

It sure the hell isn’t support in winning a congressional race, I know that.

All I can really hope at this point is that enough rural Montana Democratic delegates will read this and realize that serious changes are needed in the Party.

Those changes will come about at the Montana Democratic Convention in June.

If they don’t, then we can expect the Dem brass will continue raking in their high pay while the state slides ever more into red territory.

#2 No Ads

It’s been 25 days since Quist won the nomination but he still has no ads.

Gianforte had ads going a few days before he was nominated.

I’ve said it before – Montana Dems could have used some of the $143,000 cash on hand they had at the beginning of March to make up some ads, even some generic ads that didn’t have Quist in ‘em.

Some values-style ads (remember when we were talking about values a couple months ago? Yeah, what happened?)

Anyways, we have no ads nor are there any on the horizon.

It’s pretty much too late in this department, but I expect the Dems will spend $100,000 or so to get something on the TV during the final week.

Good luck with that.

It’s hard to pick yourself up after you’ve been steamrolled over.

And that’s what Gianforte’s ads have done – they’ve steamrolled all over Quist, creating Quist’s narrative for him.

It’s about an out-of-touch old man that doesn’t understand Montana voters, won’t pay his taxes, hates guns, and wants to be just another Nancy Pelosi stooge.

You hate those ads, don’t you?

Wanna know why?

Because they’re so damn good.

#3 Lying About Work

The Billings Gazette is quite the bearer of bad news.

Looking at their report from yesterday makes things even worse.

It sounds like Quist made $35,000 to $70,000 in 2011 for his 35 shows...if you go by the $1,000 to $2,000 per show the paper reported.

All this when he said he didn't work that year.

Boy, could the IRS get involved in this? Is there tax fraud here? I dunno, but it sure is a turn-off.

It’s like he's lying about his income. This at a time when the Dem Party is all up in arms about Trump's lies, and Trump’s refusal to pay taxes.

Seems like Quist is very similar. Sure, it might have been medical issues that prevented taxes from being paid…but like Trump, they weren’t paid.

Eventually they were, so that helps. It’s like cleaning a dirty jacket after it got a bunch of shit on it.

The shit is of course the terrible news stories that just won’t seem to end.

Boy, I'm getting deja vu about 2014 all over again. Might Quist have to drop out, and might Amanda have to come riding in again?

I’m not at the point where I won’t vote for Quist, like I was with Walsh back at the end of July 2014 when I told you I wouldn’t vote for him if you paid me.

Boy, this campaign is sinking fast, and all under its own weight. There's absolutely no reason for Gianforte to campaign. Quist is his own worst enemy right now.

#4 Urban Over Rural Outreach

Quist sure gets around…though mainly to the cities.

I have to shake my head at this.

He was doing so well before he won the nomination!

He was going to all the right places – rural areas that hadn’t seen a Dem in years! – but once he got the nod that all changed.

It’s sad to watch.

I really don't understand why all his events are either in Missoula, Butte, Helena or Great Falls.

My God – have the Democrats learned nothing from the terrible November losses!?!

Those cities will vote for him even if he doesn’t spend one minute in ‘em.

He’s ignoring those rural areas that put him over the top to secure the nomination. He can't win that way which has been proven over and over and over again in other statewide elections.

And really…Dan West as his rural outreach director?

Who the hell thought that one up?

West is a D.C. insider who worked for Baucus and Obama. He knows nothing about rural Montana. All West is doing is helping himself with a huge salary while building name recognition for his future political career.

It’s too bad Quist didn't kick the Party to the curb.

In the back of my mind I want to believe Quist told the Party of his money problems but was told to be quiet about it. Kind of like a Hillary in that regard – just hide as long as you can.

Well, that might have worked, but not paying your taxes, lying to the bank, screwing over your former band member, and not paying a blue collar dirt mover for the work he did won't play well in:

Plentywood
Culbertson
Sidney
Glendive
Baker
Scobey
Circle
Glasgow
Malta
Chinook
Jordan
Big Sandy
Fort Benton
Shelby
And plenty more

I doubt Quist cracks 40% of the vote at this point, and I’m not alone in that.

He probably won’t do any better than Baucus’s D.C.-insider did in 2014 or Juneau did in 2016.

#5 Lawsuits

Quist has two major lawsuits or liens against him that are not good.

First, Quist has a former band member suing him for royalties he did not pay.

Next, Quist has a man that runs an excavation company suing him for work he did not pay for.

Now, the royalty issue was cleared up and I have a feeling the digger was paid.

But the damage has been done.

Let’s take the friend first.

As someone that puts out art to make money, I have a hard time believing that you simply forgot to pay someone.

If one of my books sells and I don’t get a royalty for that, I’ll begin to ask why.

That’s what happened when Quist’s bandmate found out about that box set of greatest hits, one he wasn’t getting royalties off of.

Did Quist forget that he was in a band with other people when he put that box set out?

What about the other members of the band, the ones that didn't sue…were they paid? And if so, why them and not just this one?

I have a hard time believing that there was no conscious decision to exclude those other bandmates.

That’s wrong, and speaks a lot about character.

In regards to the digger, my…there’s no justifying that.

I mean, I can see not paying a banker for a while, or the tax man. But to not pay some poor working stiff that’s just trying to eke out a living?

That’s wrong, and I think the most damaging of the news pieces that came out this past week.

Again, character.

#6 Tax Problems

I wrote all about Quist’s tax problems last Saturday.

What else is there to say?

This past week has been spent spinning those problems, trying to justify them, if you will.

It hasn’t worked.

Oh, it’s kept most of the Dem faithful on board, but it hasn’t done anything to garner GOP votes and it might have actually scared away many of the swing and independent votes.

You have to pay your taxes.

Even I pay my taxes, and I don’t make that much money. Sure, I get a bunch back from the feds each year, but I wrote a check for $200 to the state last month to take care of 2016.

You have to do this.

If you can’t do this, and you owe the state or the feds money, then you have to sell off your assets or find a lot more income.

Quist chose not to do those things, though with the 2011 work schedule that’s come to light, we see that he did.

My God…$35,000 to do 35 shows?

That’s some serious money, and as the Gazette reports, it could be as high as $70,000!

So tell me…why exactly should I feel sorry for Rob Quist?

He not only had the money in the bank to take care of his tax problems – and pay that excavator – but he also had land and a home that he could have sold.

Hey, I don’t like the idea of selling my home either…but that’s life.

Life throws you curves and how we handle them says a lot about us.

Quist didn’t handle his tax issues very well at all.

In fact, he handled them badly.

#7 New Levels of Apathy

All of these scandals over Quist’s taxes, his earnings, and the people that have sued him will sap the morale of even Quist’s most die-hard supporters.

I’ve already received quite a few emails from people telling me that they can no longer support Quist.

Before the story about the 2011 lied-about earnings came out, many were saying they’d vote for him but just wouldn’t donate anymore.

Now I’m wondering if they’ll even do that. Maybe they’ll vote for Mark Wicks instead.

While many Democrats want to believe that a vote for a libertarian is a vote for a Democrat (since it’ll likely take away from Gianforte’s total votes), I don’t think it’ll be enough.

Wicks ain’t gonna take more than 2-3% of the vote. The margin between Gianforte and Quist will be more like 10%.

I think it’s only going to get worse, too.

After all, we’ve still got 7 weeks to go. A lot more bad news about Quist can come out during that time.

All of it will turn away the Dem faithful, and especially those that are already sick of the Party after the disastrous 2016 showings, both nationally and at the statewide and legislative level.

#8 The Wrong Issues

Public Lands Week?

You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.

I know this issue plays well in western Montana, but not so much in the rest of the state.

Rural areas are hurting with low prices for grains and livestock. Remember when Quist used to talk about that?

Oh, yeah…that was before he won the nomination, before the Dem Party got its hooks in him.

Before then he was doing everything right.

I thought at one point Quist could win. Now I don’t, not with the type of campaign he’s now running. He’s fallen into the trap of the elite Helena Party insiders.

I mean, why is Quist surrounding himself with the likes of Dan West?

As we mentioned, he doesn’t know anything about rural Montana…or much about the cities, either. He knows about D.C.

To those in D.C., issues like public lands and abortion and gays and gun control are really, really important.

To most of us living here in Montana, however, it’s what’s in our pocket – or more than likely, what’s not in our pocket – that matters.

Yep, money.

The world revolves around it and just about everything is done because of it.

If it’s not money it’s sex.

So I wish Quist would focus on money.

Talk about Gianforte’s billions (not millions) and really make that stick with people about how out of touch he is.

Talk about banks, and how they did really well after 2008 while the American middle class went the way of the dinosaurs.

Talk about the monumental waste of money that our military is, and how this does very little to actually protect us, though it does create tons of new foreign conflicts the arms dealers can then profit off of.

Talk about how much money the average Montanans spends on healthcare in a year, and what they could have spent that money on if our government didn’t have its head so far up its ass.

Talk about the 1% and how they hate Montana families, how they want to increase costs for everything so that they can take one more summer in the Hamptons, or perhaps winter again this year in Europe.

Those are all things Quist could be talking about, but he’s not.

And please - put the fucking notebook down. Tell it to us from your heart, not what the staffers wrote, or even you wrote earlier but can't help but mumble through now.

That styles doesn't inspire. It bores.

It’s becoming clear to me that we should have had Amanda Curtis.

She would have talked about this stuff. She would have talked the hell out of it.

**#9 Gianforte Always Had it Wrapped Up**

Some blogs want to know where Gianforte is.

Well, no doubt calling real estate agents in the D.C. looking for a new home there for the next 4 years.

That’s what I’d be doing if I was him.

I mean, what a waste of time to ponder on Gianforte.

Gianforte’s smart – he’s staying home.

Montana saw enough of him over the past year. There’s not a whole lot more dirt for the press to dig up on him, and by staying home he won’t create anymore.

So that’s smart. You can understand why Democrats are so frustrated over this effective campaign strategy.

Really, why does Gianforte need to get out?

So he can make the Dem faithful happy?

That’s a good reason not to go out.

I just find it all laughable, myself.

Dems are totally pissed that Gianforte is doing nothing and he’s still winning.

They’re totally pissed that they’re utterly incapable of doing anything about this.

All you can really do when it comes to the Montana Democratic Party is shake your head.

They’re a sorry lot, aren’t they?

Well, the MT Dem Convention will be in June.

You know what to do.

#10 Montana is a Republican State

A lot of times we ignore the obvious.

Montana is a red state, for instance.

We ignore that, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this time will be different.

Well…why should it be?

7 Comments

Mixing Montana Politics and Facebook Advertising

3/28/2017

2 Comments

On Sunday, February 26, I was feeling very frustrated.

I was feeling like a lot of the Amanda Curtis supporters are feeling now, and like the Bernie supporters felt last summer.

I was feeling like the Democratic Party just wasn’t right for me.

So I put up a post called My Political Future as a Republican.

I also sent an email to the Missoula County Republicans asking when their next meeting was.

I got a message back that it’d be on Tuesday, February 28.

So I went.

It was a small-time affair, with perhaps 15 to 20 people present…most of them quite old.

Vondene Kopetski is the chair of the Missoula GOP and she conducted the meeting.

Afterward I talked to her about social media and the lack of it on the Missoula GOP accounts.

We agreed that I’d write-up a report on the current social media situation and how it could improve.

I did that the very next day and sent it to her.

I didn’t get a response.

The days went by, and then the weeks.

I figured, ‘well, they’re laughing at me, wondering why this stupid-headed Democrat is trying to be something he’s not.’

So I wrote-it off and figured I’d let the Missoula GOP do their own thing. It helped a lot that 5 days after the meeting, Rob Quist won the Democratic nomination and I felt uplifted again.

I did finally get a response from Vondene, on March 22…three weeks after I sent out my report.

I really, really felt like waiting three weeks to reply to her email, but instead I waited a couple days.

I said that, ‘you know, I think I might do better to stick with the Democrats right now…even though they hate my guts.’

People come and go, and in a few years we’ll be rid of the morons and self-aggrandizers.

Doesn’t mean people will like me, but you know, I just don’t think GOP politics is for me.

So that was that – my short-lived experiment with being a Republican.

Might have turned out a whole lot differently if better communication was in play.

I’m glad it wasn’t.

So what does all this have to do with Facebook?

Well, when I did my report for the Missoula GOP I looked at all that stuff.

I’m going to give you that report now, which is made up of my observations about the current state of the Missoula County Republicans’ and Democrats’ social media situation.

I also have some ideas on how they can improve.

I have a lot more ideas in a book I wrote 2 years ago, and I’m sure some of you have bought it.

It’s sold 103 copies so far.

But first…let’s just go through some basics.

Website Donation Form/Button

Why mix social media and politics?

First, you want to get your name and your message out there…both to supporters and those you’d like to have support you.

Second, you want to increase the financial donations to your campaign.

I’m sure there are other reasons to mix politics and social media, but I’m not sure if there’s any benefit to you.

Now, about those donations…specifically how to increase donations via the GOP or Democrats’ website.

What’s the best way to do that?

We know that the Republicans have nothing like the Democrats’ Act Blue, which has brought their Party $192 million since 2004.

Currently the Montana GOP site has a pretty good donation form.

I’m not sure who put that together, though it may have been the company Anedot.

They charge 3.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

PayPal charges 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction, so that may be the better route.

Currently I'm using Act Blue for my city council campaign. They charge 3.95% per donation.

Here's what my form looks like:

Facebook

When I type in “Missoula GOP” into Google the first thing that comes up is the Facebook page.

Right now 372 people like this page.

For comparison, the Missoula Democrats have 759 likes on their Facebook page.

They had about 8 posts in February, most coming on February 2.

The Missoula GOP hasn’t had a post on Facebook since December, and the one before that was in November.

Prior to that it was August, a few posts in June and then some in May.

That’s not a good social media policy.

I feel there needs to be more posts, and hopefully that’ll increase the engagement via likes and comments and shares.

Twitter

The Missoula GOP doesn’t have a Twitter account.

Currently the Missoula Democrats do have a Twitter account, one with 351 followers (was 344 at the end of February).

It’s not very active and I think Dave Kendal controls it.

They had a string of tweets on February 22 but then you have to go all the way back to September to find the next two tweets.

Prior to that, a tweet hadn’t been sent out since July 2015.

That’s very poor social media usage.

We know that Montana political news happens first on Twitter’s #mtpol.

I hope the Missoula GOP can have a stronger presence there, and a strong strategy.

I’d suggest:

A No-reply policy so that you’re not pulled into senseless arguments with anonymous accounts or inconsequential people.

An automated daily posting schedule that automatically sends out tweets at certain times so you don’t have to be at the computer/phone all day.

A social media strategy involving images from events, local GOP profiles, information on the tax situation, national news, and the occasional pot shot at Democratic policies/ideas.

Many of these things are interchangeable with your Facebook social media strategy.

The Takeaway Here

Right now I feel there needs to be more administrators for the current social media accounts so that more people can monitor and post.

When a rhythm and routine is developed after a month or two, you might want to start some small-scale Facebook advertising.

Even $20 a week would get you more Missoula eyes on your posts, and hopefully some more likes to the page.

That way you can continue to have a daily/weekly presence in those people’s lives, getting your ideas and message out there.

I’m afraid if that doesn’t happen, people will just forget about you and when election time comes, apathy will take over. People will feel they’re alone in the liberal bastion of Missoula and they won’t think their vote means anything.

With a strong social media community, some of those feelings can be overcome.

Running a Montana Facebook Ad Campaign

So those were my observations about the Missoula Republicans’ and Democrats’ social media situation.

What if we took some of my suggestions, such as spending $20 to do some basic advertising – what effect would that have?

I decided to find out.

I began to think more about Facebook advertising at the end of February.

It was the last day of February, actually, as that was the day I attended the Missoula County Republicans’ monthly meeting.

We talked about social media during that meeting, and the power it can have for campaigns…specifically when it comes to fundraising.

Also on my mind at that time was Bill Paxton.

Yes, the actor.

He died on February 25, and I first found out about it because tons of people were suddenly sharing this old photo I’d put on my page way back in 2015 or so.

I was getting lots of notifications about that, as well as notifications that I should boost that post…meaning promote it.

Well, I’d rather promote my own stuff and get traffic to my site…as well as the advertising dollars that traffic generates.

So on March 3 I decided to spend $5 to boost a post on my page.

I put absolutely no thought into it, other than $5 was pretty low and I could afford that.

The post wasn’t even that good – just a 2-year-old historical image post about an old dam that was built more than 100 years ago.

But my goodness…people liked it!

For $5 I managed to reach over 8,000 people, and 65 of them reacted to the post, mostly with likes.

That’s not quite accurate, however, at least when you dig into the wider analytics picture.

For instance, this is a better way to look at it:

Detailed metrics on how people interacted with your post

Here Facebook is telling me that I reached 666 people and had 66 engagements (likes, shares or just clicks on the image) with my post.

In fact, we get a complete breakdown of that. In my case I got:

35 likes
17 photo clicks
10 shares
4 link clicks
3 page likes

So…which of those is the best?

That all depends on what your social media marketing campaign goals are.

Likes are great, but they’re the most fleeting. I’d rather have someone like my page as that way they’ll see all my future posts (if they choose to follow the page and not just like it).

Link clicks are great as you want people to get back to your site…unless your post has your main message. In this case, my post did not.

Photo clicks are nice, but again, it doesn’t really benefit you.

Shares are pretty good because you’re now getting more eyes on your post/message, and you’re also creating the chance for more link clicks or page likes.

Again, it all comes down to your goals. I had no clearly defined goals with this campaign, however, as it was more experimental than anything.

Another interesting metric I liked was this one:

Looking at age range and whether men or women like the post more

Here you can see that 94% of the people engaging with my post were men.

When I do future campaigns of this type, it might save me some money by excluding women from the targeting.

Another option is to figure out how to get more women interested.

Overall when you look at that week that saw Bill Paxton die and me do that first boosted post, this is what you’ll see:

My page likes went up by around 9% but my page visits went up by 343%.

More, my total weekly reach went up by 305% and the people engaged with my page went up by 382%.

Personally, I think those are some pretty good results for $5.

I was so impressed by this boosted post that I figured I’d boost another post, one that I thought even more people would be interested in.

This was a post about missing people in Glacier National Park.

In total it reached 535 people, getting 25 link clicks, 21 likes, and 6 shares in the process.

I did one more that week, this time to promote my book Colter’s Winter.

That post reached 384 people, got 10 likes, 9 link clicks, 3 shares and 3 page likes.

I ran all of these campaigns via my Big Sky Words page.

For $15, I think it’s a good deal.

I wonder how many more website visitors I've gotten, too. My unique visitor count has jumped from around 1,100 a day to 1,200 a day over the past couple weeks.

I’ll be doing more of this promotion in the future, and when I get rolling on my city council campaign I’ll do a lot.

I really do think that this is a good way to reach Missoula voters, informing them who you are while at the same time increasing your chance for donations.

Give it a try the next time you post a blog or run a campaign.

You know I will.

2 Comments

Checking Montana Newspaper and Blog Rankings

3/27/2017

2 Comments

Numbers don’t lie.

Oh, we’d like them to alright...and I have a feeling many reading this today will agree with that.

You see, things are not going too well for many of our Montana writers.

It’s their product.

People aren’t that interested.

We take a look at these rankings quite often and that’s why we can say this – we have the ability to compare.

We get this information from Alexa.

No, not the Amazon thingy…though the company is now owned by Amazon (something I mentioned last time).

And about that last time.

The last time we took a look at Montana website rankings was on February 10 and the time before that was October 27.

Both posts are good for comparing how these sites are doing over time.

If you want more, take a look at the work we did in August. That’s as far back as we can go to compare.

So how have things changed over the past 6 weeks since our last rankings post?

Let’s take a look.

First off, here are the most popular websites in the world:

Google: #1
YouTube: #2
Facebook: #3
Amazon: #4
Reddit: #5
Wikipedia: #6
Yahoo: #7
Twitter: #8
eBay: #9
Netflix: #10
Imgur: #11
LinkedIn: #12
Instagram: #13
Craigslist: #14

Porn Hub: #21
Pinterest: #27
NY Times: #32
WordPress: #37
Washington Post: #42
AOL: #73

I always get a kick out of a porn site getting more traffic than two of the major American newspapers.

Now let’s take a look at Montana newspapers:

Billings Gazette: #12,260
Missoulian: #15,729
Helena IR: #30,589
GF Trib: #31,957
MT Standard: #42,420
Flathead Beacon: #91,169
Missoula Indy: #112,500

Most of the state newspapers have improved their ranking, which means they’re getting more traffic.

That’s good, well, at least for the people living out of state that take all those profits.

But that’s not quite accurate. Back in August when we looked at rankings those newspapers were doing about 3,000 to 5,000 ranks better.

The Flathead Beacon has fallen about 20,000 ranks, however.

For many of the others sites, I just didn’t get the information a couple months ago so we can't compare.

Now, onto the blogs:

MT Cowgirl: #96,731
Last Best News: #240,873
Intelligent Discontent: #313,790
Big Sky Words: #371,130
Missoula Current: #378,796
Flathead Memo: #8.9 million
Logicosity: No Ranking
Reptile Dysfunction: No Ranking
Western Word: No Ranking

Those last three sites are just spinning their tires in the mud. James Conner is about to join them.

No one cares what those people say.

If they did then the sites would have more visitors.

The problem is their product.

No one wants it.

If I were those three writers I’d take a hard look at myself so as to figure out why.

When it comes to Cowgirl/boy, the site has actually improved in traffic.

I’m amazed!

I’ve seen their Facebook likes steadily decline since Eric Stern stopped writing it and the new anonymous writer(s) took over.

Remember, Eric Stern got kicked over to the governor’s office after his old boss lost her job. That’s when the current anonymous writer took over.

Anyways, they’ve improved by a few thousand ranks, and since last year have gained about 10,000.

At the other Dem mouthpiece blog – ID – we see that they’re doing better. Since August they’ve doubled their traffic, and they’ve improved about 200,000 ranks since February.

Last Best News is doing terrible.

They had #96,000 in August and in February they were at #311,000. Today they have #240,000.

So I guess you can say they’re doing better than last month, but compared to last summer they’ve really fallen far.

What happened?

Again, it’s the product.

No one wants it.

The Missoula Current is suffering the same fate as Last Best News.

Back in August he was at #411,000 and then last month he was at #192,000. Today he’s sitting at #378,000.

Maybe those two sites shouldn’t be so tied-at-the-hip, huh?

I’ve told them before that posting duplicate content is a very bad idea. Google tells us this.

Despite that, those two sites continue to copy/paste their articles from one site to the other.

That’s just ignorance.

I guess we should expect that from people that rose up in the newspaper days and not in the internet days, however.

Good luck telling that to ‘em – they’ll label you a troll and hope to hell you stop ‘bothering’ them.

Anyways, Martin Kidston has got serious problems. I knew this a few days back when the email sign-up and donation pop-ups began to appear on Missoula Current.

He’s getting desperate.

Alas, desperation is no way to grow a website.

I wish him luck, as well as those two chaps in Billings.

They’ll need it…or at least more of your money.

And what about my site?

I’ll tell you right now that I’ll never assault you with pop-ups or requests for money.

Sometimes I mention my books, and if you’d like to buy one, that’s fine. If not, I can live with it.

I’ll get another job (I have two part-time ones now) before I ever grovel to you for money.

Big Sky Words was at #447,000 in October and #354,000 in February. Today I’m at #371,000.

I think that’s interesting.

Clearly my traffic has fallen.

I guess my product must not be very good.

Or maybe there’s not much of it.

How often you post is a big determiner in how much people visit your site.

Despite that, we know that doesn’t always hold true.

The Missoula Current is a fine example. They put up about 2 to 3 new articles a day on that site, yet their traffic continues to go down.

It’s the same story on Last Best News.

Maybe quantity isn’t always the best substitute for quality.

Or maybe it’s just the product.

I really do think it is.

But we get set in our ways and we don’t like to change. Older writers are especially bad in this regard.

So I expect these trends to remain the same. The next time we look at rankings I’m sure that I can leave the blogs in the same order they’re in now.

These sites aren’t going to change.

What will change is how many of them are.

Remember Montana Free Press?

Probably not – it had a ranking of #7 million in October…5 months after it stopped putting up content.

Its writer – former GF Trib reporter John Adams – is now working for a water company in Wisconsin.

Things change, and people come and go.

Which Montana site will be the next to go?

Stay tuned…you know I’ll be here to fill you in.

2 Comments

Thoughts for Your Weekend

3/25/2017

2 Comments

I got the following email today:

“Well Greg that Missoulian article on Quist's money problems is the nail in the coffin.

29 days till absentee ballots go out. No ads still. I can't see much money coming in now. What a mess! He should have came out early with all this. It's all about controlling the narrative and not being on defense.

Great work on party finances, by the way.”

Here’s an email I got a few days back:

“Prominent Democrats are upset Quist wasn't vetted according to associated press. What a bunch of assholes saying such stuff to destroy a campaign barely off the ground! Some people say it was GG people I'm wondering if wasn't Curtis supporters.”

I’ve heard that some Quist supporters are preparing to pull the plug…and these are people that have donated to him.

So let’s talk about this stuff.

Quist’s Medical Problems

Every Lee Newspaper in the state has the Quist debt story.

The Billings Gazette is what I clicked on, and they have some good reporting up on Quist’s finances called Quist has 16-year debt trail, records show.

One of the first things we learn is that Quist is taking a $2,000 a month salary from his campaign.

Amanda Curtis did the same thing in 2014.

Besides that we learn:

Quist has been “turned over to collections”
He’s been “sued by a bank after not repaying a loan”
A former band member accuses Quist of “fraud and deceit”

Quist blames the money woes on his “gallbladder operation gone bad in 1996.”

The surgeon “accidentally cut his bile duct,” and this “had to be repaired,” causing Quist to be “infection-prone ever since.”

Gianforte will not win because of this organ

Quist’s health was so bad in 2011, for instance, that he couldn’t work for the entire year.

Quist also blames his wife’s mercury poisoning, and subsequent 90-day hospital stay, for a large part of his financial problems.

The article really takes a turn for the worse when an excavator is interviewed, one that did some work to help build a “stage and dance floor behind their barn.”

He paints a picture of Quist being arrogant and I can see Gianforte using stuff like that in his ads.

That excavator talked to the press because he saw a TV report of Quist’s liens, and his wasn’t listed as one of them. So he talked.

It's not good. In fact, it might be the nail in the coffin. Poor workers shouldn't screw over other poor workers.

It wouldn’t be until May 2016 that Quist’s myriad debt problems were solved.

He sold off a “successful stretch of real estate,” which really just means a bunch of the land bordering his home.

The lawsuit from the former band member is about a box set of music that Quist released in 2011, but which that other member didn’t get royalties for.

That lawsuit was dismissed, probably because a deal was worked out to share royalties.

Quist blames that problem on his medical issues. To me, he’s just a guy scratching and reaching for whatever way he can make a little bit more money to pay off his debts.

Instead of tar and feathering someone like that, we should be happy they’re responsible.

We know that 80% of Americans are in debt and that 18% never expect to pay it all off.

All told, Quist made $13,798 last year…about $4,000 less than I did.

The Gazette tells us that he made more money from social security than he did from his music.

This often happens when you take the road less travelled.

Some people are like my parents, going to school, getting a business degree, and then working the same job for 25 years…in this case the State of Montana.

They make about $35,000 to $40,000 a year, eventually get retirement (with medical insurance) and a few years later social security.

This is smart, but not that adventurous or memorable.

When people like that die, no one really knows or cares that they were ever here to begin with.

Some people are like Rob Quist and I: maybe going to college, getting a ‘worthless’ degree, and then pursuing our interests and passions as opposed to a paycheck.

We’ll make about $13,000 to $17,000 a year, eventually work a ton of extra jobs over the years to help out, and then when we turn 65 we might get a little bit of social security.

This 'following your dreams' is a more dangerous route, but one that can catapult you to very high levels if you work real hard and maybe get lucky.

When people like that die, there’s a good chance that people the world over will take notice, perhaps mourn a bit.

So these are two life paths, and they have different results and are fraught with different problems.

Lots of people are wondering why Quist wasn’t vetted well-enough.

Some wonder why Schweitzer chose to endorse this person.

Others are wondering how Dems can win the seat back from Gianforte in 2018.

I’m not one of ‘em.

I’d like to see Quist win, and despite knowing in my head that he probably can’t, in my heart I believe he can do it.

Heart has a lot to do with it.

Passion…commitment…desire…these are all key ingredients when it comes to putting our heart into something.

I don’t see a lot of heart put into GOTV efforts, like the door-knocking event in Helena today that’s only drawing 9 people (though 27 more are interested).

So it’s frustrating, I know.

I have a Quist sign up in my window, one that 3 to 5 cars a minute are seeing as they head up my busy street.

I’m ready to put a sign in my yard and a sticker on my bumper.

I use this platform to get out my voice, hoping that it’ll make a difference.

I’m not sure it will.

Regardless, I won’t give up until the night of May 25.

Still, at that point I’m planning on putting up a post-mortem post describing how Quist lost and how a future loss can be prevented.

Head vs. heart, right?

Well, I need to tell my head to take a backseat for the time being. Quist can still win this!

No one thought Trump would win, but he did.

Thankfully public lands week will be over tomorrow. Then Quist can start talking about the issues that really matter to the majority of Montanans – money.

Quist has a lot of experience with money woes.

The good news is that most Montanans do too.

It’s time to talk about that Rob…everywhere and to anyone that’ll listen.

Oh, and did these Lee Newspapers stories about your finances make you mad, Rob?

Good.

Let us see it.

Let us see that anger.

But don’t just let us see it, funnel and direct that anger at Gianforte and everything he stands for.

It’s time to take the gloves off, Rob.

They never should have been put on in the first place.

Forrest Anderson’s Medical Problems

Forrest Anderson, c 1960s

All this talk of Quist’s medical problems has me thinking of another Montana politician that had his fair share of the same.

Yes, I’m talking about Governor Forrest Anderson, who served Montana from 1969 to 1973.

Can’t remember that far back? No problem – most don’t.

Heck – my mom and dad were still in high school when he was in charge, getting ready to go to MSU and Carroll, respectively.

Back then it cost about $1,500 to go to college for a year.

My how times have changed!

Anyways, back in October 1971 Anderson announced that he’d not be running for a second term as governor. The reason was his health.

He’d undergone a hernia operation in 1969, though experienced digestive problems afterward, problems that were “aggravated by the busy schedule.”

He’d had the operation at a Seattle hospital and later sued them, “saying doctors mistakenly removed his pancreas.” He lost the lawsuit.

Anderson made it clear he’d be going back to his law office. “I just can’t quit,” he said. “It’s not in my nature. I’ve got to do something.”

He was still relatively young, at 58-years-old, but made it clear he’d not be backing any candidate in the primary election. “I don’t believe in the crown prince system,” he said. “I personally don’t like it and it never works in Montana and I think that’s healthy.”

“The heir apparent,” the Billings Gazette told us upon Anderson’s sudden announcement, would be lieutenant governor Thomas Judge. It was Judge that won in ’72 and Anderson stepped down in ’73. He’d served in all three branches of Montana government – the executive, legislative, and judicial.

On July 20, 1989, Forrest Anderson was “in good spirits” in his home in Helena, according to his wife Evelyn. She headed out on an hour-long outing and that’s when Anderson shot himself in the stomach with a .38 caliber revolver. He’d been suffering from cancer.

“I would think he just got damn tired of being sick,” Gene Daly, a former State Supreme Court Justice and longtime friend said of it. “I know he was unhappy about being incapacitated.” A note was left but the contents were not divulged. Forrest Anderson was 76 years old at the time.

You can learn more about our state’s recent history in my 352-page book Soldiers and Statesmen.

Tons of Montana history from 1960 to 1990

What Else?

Anything we’re missing here?

Well, there’s probably a lot.

Here in Missoula I thought I’d mention that the new, 488-bed, $38 million student housing complex being built across from the library is going to be managed by a Texas company.

So not only will UM lose residence money from students that go live in this new complex, but private landlords and property companies will lose it too.

They’ll lose it to Texas, where most of that money will go. So much for keeping it local, eh?

Nationally, it looks like Trump and Ryan can’t get rid of Obamacare.

I like Trump’s style – move on and try something else. I wish George W. Bush would have taken that tact instead of wasting so much time on privatizing social security.

Imagine how much worse your life would be right now if Bush had gotten that through.

It’s been about 10 years…do you think social security would even have any money in it still if the rich 1% had had their way with us?

I doubt it.

The good news to me is that we’re moving closer to single payer.

It’s an inevitability, though it might take another decade.

Once the Baby Boomers have all died then we know the Gen X’ers and Millennials will have a clear road to get the job done.

Finally, I’m really looking forward to April 20.

No, not because it’s a huge pot smoking holiday.

That’ll be the day the next MT Dem finance report is out.

I’ll look at the GOP one as well, but the Dem one is where we have problems.

Remember, while Quist struggles with getting enough campaign donations to make a viable run, the MT Dem Party spent $780 on eating out in February, $20,000 on salaries for 7 people, and transferred $25,000 to the DNC.

So I can’t wait for April 20 so I can hold them accountable again.

Will it make a difference?

I doubt it, but I do have a feeling that an email has already been sent out telling people to not eat out so much…or at least cover up those expenditures better.

Ah…MT Democrats – so much potential, and yet so weighed-down by a lack of honor and integrity.

But at least they have their big paychecks. My how they love those, even more than winning!

2 Comments

Looking Further Into Montana Democratic Party Finances

3/21/2017

7 Comments

I can understand why no one at Helena Dem HQ wanted to talk to me yesterday.

I can understand why they won’t call me.

I can understand why they lash out at me for talking about the Party’s finances.

The reason is simple – the financial situation is worse than we thought.

'Dire' is word that comes to mind.

For instance, take a look at what the Montana Democratic Party spent their money on in February:

Pretty bad, huh?

I think it’s important to go through all of this, explaining it thoroughly.

All of the information is available on the FEC website. That’s where you can download the detailed PDF monthly, yearly, and pre- and post-general election reports.

Let’s get started.

The 2016 Year-End Report

The Montana Democrats filed their 2016 year-end report on January 31, 2017.

It’s a 166-page PDF document that you can download here.

I’d say the first 125 pages or so are just Act Blue individual donor names, regular people giving $20 or more.

These are what we call FEC Schedule A Itemized Receipts.

The next 20 pages or so list Schedule B Itemized Disbursements.

These are mostly bills for goods and services received, though there are some salaries paid out, usually in monthly increments.

After that we get Schedule H4, Disbursements for Allocated Federal/Nonfederal Activity.

This is the real meat and potatoes.

Altogether, $1,418,677 was paid out for these H4 activities or events…or in many cases salaries.

At the end of the report we get some amounts for the last month of the year.

Amy Croover: $2,295.47
Nancy Keenan: $2,176.59
Colleen Martin: $1,885.34
Trent Bolger: $1,854.46
Kristen Cates: $1,665.34
Laurel Olkinetzky: $1,312.83
Justin Ailport: $1,141.80
John Brothers: $1,018.16
Connor Joseph: $865.09
Amy Croover: $815.09
Abbigale Belcher: $639.61

Quite a few of those people are listed more than once, often with the same amount though sometimes less.

I’m listing these amounts now because I want you to realize – after you read the February 2017 salary amounts listed below – that despite having fewer workers in 2017, the staffers that are still there are making a lot more money this year.

They got rid of the old workers and took that now-available pay and gave it to themselves in the form of raises.

This at a time when most Montana workers are lucky to get a small 50 cent raise, including most of the MEA-MFT teachers and state workers the Party always clamors to support.

The March 2017 Report

When we get to the March 2017 report, we find the thing is 94 pages long. Download it here.

Reports are due on the 20th of each month, so I’ll do another one of these posts in April.

The March report covers all the income and expenditures from February of this year.

We know that as March began, the Montana Democratic Party had $143,504 cash on hand.

That’s about $23,000 more than they had at the beginning of the period.

Over the course of February the Party disbursed $93,680.

When we get to expenditures we see the $25,000 transfer to the DNC that I mentioned earlier this week.

Many expenditure amounts in the year-end report are divided into both a federal share and a non-federal share.

When we look at the March report we see that same activity, with $10,446 spent on federal shares and $39,296 spent on non-federal shares.

That means the Montana Democratic Party paid out $49,742 for the month in those areas.

There was an additional $13,362 for other federal operating expenditures, bringing totally monthly costs up to $63,105.

So let’s get to employee pay listed by person.

The employees are paid twice a month, in this case February 3 and February 17, Fridays. The amounts listed are the totals for the month.

Trent Bolger: $4,453.82
Nancy Keenan: $4,356.94
Kristen Cates: $3,334.34
Justin Ailport: $3,078.80
Nick Lockridge: $2,986.06
Colleen Martin: $1,172.26
Allison Dale-Riddle: $536.79
James Oberembt: $237.69

That’s $20,156.80 paid out in salaries for February.

Now, Martin and Dale-Riddle were only paid once in February. Oberembt seems to be a very, very part-time employee.

Other than that, those are the monthly amounts. When we multiply them by 12 months we get the following yearly salaries:

Trent Bolger: $53,445
Nancy Keenan: $52,283
Kristen Cates: $40,013
Justin Ailport: $36,945
Nick Lockridge: $35,832

So those are the main paid staffers of the Montana Democratic Party.

$218,000 a year for those five people.

And let’s not forget the thousands of dollars the Party pays in payroll taxes for these people. They use Illinois’ Paychex software for that, and pay a lot in service fees to use it.

Also, as you saw in the earlier graph, it doesn’t just take a lot of money to pay them.

It takes a lot to feed them as well!

Lewis and Clark Brewing meals: $100

Safeway meals: $200.23

Mackenzie River Pizza meals: $174

Blackfoot River Brewing Company meals: $140.40

Murry’s meals: $46

B&B Market meals: $41

Brewhouse Pub meals: $40.25

Bridge Pizza: $38.50

That comes to $780 spent eating out in February, or $27 a day.

Here are some more spending highlights from February:

Mastercard: $2,236.68

Meloy Law Firm in Helena: $2,000

Sandler Reiff Young & Lamb PC (a firm based in D.C.) legal fees: $2,000

NGP Voter Access Network from D.C.: $1,350

Northwestern Energy: $901

Holter Museum of Art site rental: $405

Best Western lodging: $289.40

All that stuff totals $9,182.

Conclusion

Montana Democratic Party Staff

I feel the Montana Democratic Party is spending money on the wrong things.

I wish I knew what those high-priced staffers do. An 'About Us' page on their website would be a great place to start.

It might make it easier to swallow those high salaries if we had that information.

And what’s with eating out all the time? I hope we see that curtailed, and significantly.

If you’re going to bombard Democratic voters with several emails a week, please don’t spend their money on food.

You make enough in salary – spend your own damn money, please.

Anyways, you can see why people get angry when I talk about this stuff.

It doesn’t mean I hate women.

It means I’m concerned about how things are going!

I don’t think the Dem Party brass realizes that. I hope you understand, however.

And let me make one final observation.

I did notice that the Tester for Victory Fund filed a statement of organization on March 13.

You can download the PDF here if you’d like.

The PAC is using Amalgamated Bank out of D.C.’s K Street and is affiliated with the DNC State Party Victory Fund, which is also based out of D.C.

Thanks for reading.

7 Comments

Quist Rallies, Dems Look On, and Gianforte…Does What, Exactly?

3/20/2017

17 Comments

I had an interesting day in Helena.

I’d like to tell you about it in this long, 3,400-word post.

I’m over here because it’s spring break in Missoula, school is out, and I’m trying to kill time before my son goes back to school.

That’s a little easier when you can go to the grandparents’ house. They have TV, after all.

I’m not much interested in that idiot box, so I find other things to do.

Tomorrow, for instance, I might head up to the MT Historical Society to do some research.

For today, however, I decided to hit-up the Rob Quist rally that was in town.

After that I went up to MT Dem HQ on Sixth Street to see if I could get any answers.

Let’s talk about it all, as well as what Gianforte is doing (or not doing).

The Rob Quist Public Lands Rally

It seems to me that this rally was thrown together rather quickly.

An hour before the noon rally, just 36 people said they’d be going, though 43 more were interested.

But my, those 36 people were some interesting people!

Billings Senator Jen Gross
Brandon DeMars
Jacquie Helt
Adam Schafer
Trent Bolger
Josh Manning
Aaron Browning
Colleen Martin
Andy Shirtliff
Ronja Abel
Allison Dale-Riddle

So that’s a veritable who’s-who of the Montana Democratic Party’s Helena staff.

When I saw that the night before, I knew I had to attend that rally.

So I did.

Coming down Sixth Street to Constitution Park

Not a huge gathering, but it's something

Good banner. There's Mike Dennison chatting with Kirsten Cates near the cameras

Just another look at the crowd

I arrived just around noon. There were about 60 people there, with maybe 10 to 15 being Dem staffers.

I counted about 15 yard-sign-style signs, as well as one large banner.

Where you can get these signs…I dunno. I didn’t see any in the MT Dem HQ lobby when I went up there a bit later.

Rob Quist arrived about a minute after noon, walked into the crowd and talked with some people, then got up to the podium.

Someone introduced him and talked about public lands, focusing on the Gianforte stream access story.

Quist then spoke at 12:05.

He said that millionaires want to “own and fence-in” public lands in Montana and that the sale of public lands is a “theft against our children and grandchildren.”

One of my favorite lines that Quist gave was when he mentioned people that feel down-and-out, perhaps a little depressed.

“Buddy, you need to go take a hike!” Quist said, referring to the natural beauty our public lands offer, and how good being out in them can make you feel.

The crowd liked that and I got a good chuckle from it too.

He gave a few digs at Rick Perry as well, and mentioned that our wildfires need to be paid for like other natural disasters in this country.

I’d say there were about 7 or 8 bursts of applause during Quist’s 7-minute speech.

After that Quist talked with the crowd a bit. He’s easy to spot – the only one wearing a cowboy hat.

I noticed that the MT Democratic Party’s press secretary, and former GF Trib reporter – Kirsten Cates – was going around taking pictures of Quist with people.

I hung around for a bit, went up to Mike Dennison and introduced myself, then did the same with Rob.

I told him who I was and that I write Big Sky Words, he said he was happy to meet me and that was that.

Besides the Helena rally today, there will be rallies in:

Billings on Tuesday
Missoula on Wednesday
Havre on Friday
Great Falls on March 29
Butte on April 6

There’s also a smattering of private home events, like the one I received a mailer for last week:

That’s the only thing I’ve received in the mail from the Quist campaign.

I thought I might get a thank-you note for donating $20 – which I did the day after he won the nomination – but that’s not been the case.

Maybe he’s too busy being on the road. Maybe he doesn’t want to waste the stamps.

I wonder if he doesn’t have the printing done. Or maybe these things are just slow coming.

I dunno.

Anyways, I was happy to go to that rally today, show my support, take some images, and then come home to tell you about it.

Where in MT is Greg Gianforte?

Break out the magnifying glasses…it’s time to play 'Where the Hell’s that Billionaire!'

Arrange your pieces, place your bets, and roll them dice – it’s time to visit la-la land!

Yes, Gianforte is lying low, ignoring Montana voters in favor of a stay-at-home campaign.

This is clear for a variety of reasons:

First, besides the Billings St. Patrick’s Day Parade, he hasn’t made any appearances since winning the nomination on March 6…two weeks ago now.

Next, he’s not wasting any money on social media this cycle, like he had lots of paid out-of-staters doing in 2016. He is doing a lot of free radio.

Finally, he has money so knows he can bombard us with ads and mailers and other shit.

We’ll see if that strategy is enough for him to win. I fully expect he’ll do some barnstorming around the time mail-in ballots go out, and perhaps even during the last week of the election.

Besides that, I don’t see him leaving his Bozeman house too often.

Why should he?

He went that route in 2016 and it didn’t work, though he came damn close.

Also, people just 'saw the shit out of him' 5 months ago, and for a full year before that.

Maybe they need a break.

Mostly, though, it’s the money.

He has a shit-ton of it, Quist does not.

The MT Dems and Their 2017 Finances

Yesterday I put up a very good post, one detailing the leeches that have latched onto the MT Democratic Party, bleeding it dry.

I think it’s one of my best posts this year.

The Party’s largest expenditure last year was on salaries for unelected officials.

2016 spending by the Montana Democratic Party

Some people justify this, but I’m not one of ‘em.

I figure if a regular MT citizen donates to the Dem Party, the Party should do all it can to get that money to the front lines.

By front lines I mean to the candidate and their team so they can do printing, mailers, TV ads, social media ads, and even hire people to knock on doors.

But the Dem Party likes to keep that money, laundering it out to whom it pleases, and in a way it pleases.

If you’re not familiar with money laundering in MT Democratic campaigns, please read this article.

That’s corruption.

Sure, it might be legal, but slavery was once legal in this country as well.

Didn’t make it right, just as this corruption we see from the MT Democratic Party doesn’t make it right.

Hell, I suppose they’d be able to justify it more if they could win, but they can’t even do that.

1/5 last year, remember?

Anyways, how’s it look this year for finances?

So far we have January and February FEC reports to go off of, and I figure I’ll put these reports up all year as we have to hold the Party’s feet to the fire.

If we don’t see them change their “leadership” by the convention, then it’s a good bet that they’ll never change, that they’ll always remain corrupt.

Hey, we allow it. We point out the GOP when they do this shit, but when Dems do it, we ignore it.

So we have no honor or integrity.

That’s sad.

In January and February the MT Dems brought in $101,000, most coming from individual contributions.

Yes, regular people giving to the Party. I wonder if they know that 3/4 of their donations goes to paying unelected officials to…well, I guess lose 4/5 statewide races plus the congressional race.

Or were they being paid to do something else?

Again, what do these Dem staffers do, the majority of whom are women?

More women in high places and positions of leadership...ever hear that refrain from MT Dems?

I’m sorry, but I think the MT Dem Party has all the top spots filled by women already.

Yet another lie from the corrupt Party (they just keep comin’, don’t they!)

Besides the individuals giving to the Party, affiliated committees and non-federal transfers and Levin funds (whatever the hell they are) also brought in $50,000.

So for the first two months of this year, the MT Democratic Party has brought in $166,297.

They’ve spent $131,852 during that time.

For instance…

Each month they pay $2,941 to National to use their voter database

On January 4 the Dems spent $3,000 with Mothership Strategies for donor development

On January 26 the Dems spent $1,234 on Chili O’Brien catering

On February 8 the Dems spent $2,275 with Gordon & Schwenkmeyer for fundraising fees

On February 8 the Dems transferred $25,000 to the DNC

From January to February the Dems spent $8,750 with New Blue Interactive, LLC for donor development

Let’s dig into this.

Gordon & Schwenkmeyer is a shit outfit out of California that just loves the ACLU, Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood and the DNC.

In other words, they don’t give a flying fuck about working Montanans.

Mostly, this company does telemarketing. Their sole Google review is 1-star, saying they're a crappy robo-call company.

Yes, robo-calls are illegal in Montana but both Parties do them.

When it comes to Mothership Strategies, the company is based out of D.C. and has raised more than $200 million for the people that pay them.

That’s the thing – MT Dems are spending money so they can raise more money.

That’s their only priority if you go by 2017 spending – increasing the amount of money they have.

That’s pathetic.

Here we knew since December or so that there’d be a special election.

Dems could have prepared, handing off a strong campaign organization to whatever candidate was chosen.

Instead they didn’t do that.

They just spent money so they could ask you for more money.

It’s sad.

New Blue Interactive is based out of D.C. as well, and they focus on digital marketing strategy.

How do these kinds of expenditures help Montana candidates win?

I don’t think they do. I think the sole function of these expenditures is to move money around.

Montana Democrats love using out-of-state firms for all of their services, even though we have Montana businesses that could do this.

It’s just another facet of the corruption gripping the Party.

Instead of helping Montanans, they help out their out-of-state friends and cronies, most of whom are in D.C. or California.

They don’t like us to talk about this.

There’s a lot of things the MT Democratic Party doesn’t like.

Please, talk about those things as much as you can and point them out to whoever will listen.

Or did you think things were just rosy as they are?

And if not, did you think they were going to change on their own?

Good luck with that.

Nope, we need to talk about this corruption.

Quist’s Lack of Help

Think the DNC was going to give Rob Quist some money?

I doubt it.

The Montana Democratic Party just transferred $25,000 to the DNC six weeks ago.

Will the DNC be transferring that to Quist, in the kind of money laundering move they like?

I doubt it.

No, that $25,000 will go to the important races, like the other special election races in the country or even the 2018 races.

Dems can win those. The DNC doesn’t think that’s the case here in Montana this spring.

And it’s not like the MT Dems don’t have the money.

At the end of February they had $141,000 in cash on hand.

My, that would go a long way in getting a Quist ad on TV!

But the Dems sit on their cash. I guess they need it to pay all the unelected staffers they have.

We know that costs them more than anything each year.

What’s sad is that this is ruining Quist’s chances at winning this election.

People on Quist’s Facebook page know this, and are not afraid to say so.

Nearly 6,900 people have liked that page.

Here are some of their comments:

“The word on this kind of stuff needs to get out earlier!” said Marion Barch Cherry on the Helena rally today.

“Where can we get yard signs?” Char Hay said on a Quist logo post.

“I’d love a few stickers,” another said on the same post, while someone else added, “Yes, I also would like a yard sign.”

“When are we going to start seeing ads on TV? Your opponent’s ads make me so mad!”

“One thing that we’re being asked here in Cut Bank is do we have Quist material we can hand out to people?”

“Why are we not seeing any television ads? Your opponent is dominating the tv.”

“What is the National Democratic Party doing to help out to get Democrats elected in states like Montana!? They should be putting some CASH behind the chatter.”

“Where are your tv commercials? I am seeing a boat load of Gianforte commercials…He is talking trash about you with no response.”

Those are all comments from different people that came over the last four days.

I put my own comment up last night:

I know how Montana Dems operate because I jumped through their hoops during my 2014 legislative run.

I gave them $60 to use their Voter Access Network and then around $500 for printing both walking cards and remittance envelopes.

It was a huge waste of money.

The walking cards they make are about 4x5 inches…much too large. Worse, they’re all based off generic templates.

Smart candidates skip the Dem printers – all of whom seem to be located in Billings – in favor of local print shops.

It’s cheaper and you get the printing back about a month earlier.

I know this because I went that route during my 2016 legislative run.

Signs are pretty much the same way, though I didn’t make any in 2014.

So that’s why I made my comment – if you have people in Cut Bank going out and doing their own printing, that’s both great and sad.

It’s great because they care. It’s sad because the MT Dems aren’t doing this.

Hell, Quist and his team should be doing this themselves!

Again, the inexperience.

I know if Quist runs again, say for the legislature in 2018 or something, he won’t use the Dem machine for this stuff.

It’s too expensive, takes too long, and the product isn’t that good.

People loved my 2016 business card-style walking cards. Some of them even asked for two.

No one gave a flying fuck about my 2014 Dem Party walking cards. Those probably went right in the trash.

I hope Rob thinks about that, but again, this is something you get with experience.

Visiting MT Dem HQ

I decided to go right into the lion’s den today to get some answers to my questions.

For instance, if Illinois-native Colleen Martin is making $60,000 a year…why do Dems keep losing?

What is her position, anyways, and why is she earning nearly twice as much as the MT Democratic Party’s executive director, Nancy Keenan?

What does she do?

It’s a very simple question, and I went up to Dem HQ today to see if I could get it answered.

Now, this was more political theatre than anything, as I know the Dem leaches that work in that building don’t want anything to do with me.

That’s why I figured visiting them would be so much fun!

So I get up there around 1:30 or so, figuring people would be back from lunch by then.

There were 3 young men in the lower offices, one eating lunch, one doing something on the computer, and another looking at his phone.

I asked one if anyone was around to answer my questions about Democratic Party finances.

I was told Trent Bolger was the one for that, but alas, he was not in at the moment.

I asked if Colleen Martin was there, and the guy went upstairs to check.

Sadly, she was not there either.

When I enquired if there was anyone that could answer a few questions, I was told sorry, but no.

So I left, walking by one of the New York license-plated vehicle as I did so.

Oh, so many questions!

We know from the FEC reports that the MT Democratic Party files each month that Allison Dale-Riddle is paid $1,970 every two weeks.

Pray tell…what does she do exactly?

What is her job?

How is she benefiting common Montana workers, or even Montana candidates that are trying to help those workers.

I could find no information online, and the Dem HQ was unwilling to talk.

One question that I was dying to ask involved the Dems and their meeting at Bert & Ernies on Saturday.

At that restaurant meeting, why did the Helena Dems reject precinct organization proposals that had been put forth?

I think it’s because the current precinct organization benefits those in power, as well as the unelected MT Dem Party brass that makes so much in salary each year.

Another question I had was why Nancy Keenan is always conspicuously absent from the various Democratic county central committee chair gatherings.

Again, I feel this is about centralizing power in Helena.

Look what happened when Quist went out and organized some committees – he created more central committee votes, which pushed him over the top at the March 5 nominating convention.

That must be alarming to the Party brass in Helena. If too many of those ‘new’ rural Democrats get votes, they might kick out the current Party brass.

We can’t have that, now can we?

Conclusion

I commend Rob Quist for the job he’s doing.

I couldn’t do a better job, myself.

Running for office is hard…I know – I’ve done so twice.

And that was just a small district race in one area of one city.

How the hell would you go about running a statewide campaign in one of the largest states in the union?

I’d probably do what Quist is doing now – going around to larger urban areas, knowing I can get at least a few dozen to show up.

That’s why he’s going where he’s going, that plus the chance to raise a bit of money at private house parties in some of those cities.

Now consider Dillon or Hamilton.

Where does Rob go there? I guess he could call up the local Dem committee – if there is one – and get some ideas from them.

It’d still be small coffee shop-style affair, however.

And good luck knocking on doors, no matter where it’s at.

I averaged about 50 doors a night when I was out knocking during my two runs.

That comes out to 1,400 doors a month.

Even if you go out in the afternoon as well as the evening, you might only get 3,000 doors in a month.

And what other options are there…setting up some roadside stand in Sidney or Two Dot…maybe hanging around outside a busy gas station to shake hands?

Good luck with that.

So I commiserate with Rob at the same time that I support him.

Like I said, I couldn’t do any better.

I made $17,000 last year and have about $300 in the bank right now.

Rob Quist is doing a lot better than me when it comes to personal finances, plus he’s getting some small-time donations in the mail and online.

But will it be enough to beat Gianforte?

I hope so, but I’m not confident.

In the blog and Facebook comments, you’re seeing a bit of the same thing.

Confidence is eroding, and it’s not fun to watch.

I dunno what’ll happen over the next 4 weeks before mail-in ballots go out, but I sure hope something changes.

What might those changes be?

Well, more money would be a good start. Then we could have TV ads, as well as yard signs and walking cards and maybe even some radio spots.

The Montana Democratic Party has the money for that, as does National.

Will they use it?

I sure hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.

17 Comments

The Swine at Their Trough

3/19/2017

13 Comments

Last night Montana Democrats had a feel-good time.

See some videos here.

It was a time to pat themselves on the back, offering congratulations for all the ‘good’ they’ve done the state.

Over 1,200 of them were in attendance…200 more than last year.

And my how they were regaled by the speakers!

Jon Tester…Rob Quist…and New Jersey’s own Corey Booker.

Aaahhh…Corey Booker.

Got into some hot water recently, that one did, mainly over his vote to keep Big Pharma’s poison priced so prohibitevly high.

He knows you can’t do anything about this, and he knows that you’ll keep voting for him regardless.

Oh…can’t vote for him because he’s from a state 2,100 miles away?

No problem – just vote for his carbon copy, Jon Tester!

Yep, ol’ Jonny Boy voted the same way ol’ Booker did: against your interests and for Big Pharma’s.

Make you angry that they voted to keep prescription drug prices high?

It should…unless you’re a Democrat. Then you ignore it.

Well gosh darn – then you shouldn’t have come to this site today!

Perhaps you don’t like those images, or want to argue that the dollar amounts are too high.

Well, would it make you feel better if Tester and Booker were only paid $1 by Big Pharma and not tens of thousands?

I mean, corruption is corruption, whether the payoff is in the millions or just a few pennies.

But we ignore that. We justify it. We turn our back.

These are Democrats we’re talking about here! They’re the good guys.

So we ignore the things we don’t like, highlight those we do.

We justify, and we enable.

Jon Tester doesn’t need to move anymore left or right on the issues. In fact, he doesn’t need to do shit.

All he really needs to do is continue the same ol’ song and dance, the same ol’ dog and pony show.

Montanans eat it up and ask for seconds.

Over 1,200 of them did last night, ignoring the votes that Big Pharma buys from Tester, ignoring the votes they buy from Booker.

On their two mouthpiece blogs – both run by cowards that are too afraid to let you see their posts on social media, though at least one has the balls to use his real name – you won’t hear any of this.

Indeed, you’ll hear so much hypocrisy it’ll make your head spin.

Republicans and their bought and paid for votes will always be pointed out, as well as who’s giving them money to vote that way.

But Democrats?

Nope, we sweep their dirty laundry under the rug and pretend it’s not there.

Democrats feel good about themselves after doing this, like they’ve just washed their hands of the corruption right in front of their noses and now no longer have to worry about it.

And good luck pointing this out to them.

When ID put up a guest post decrying the high insulin prices in this country, I left the following comment:

Of course, I’ve been blocked from commenting on that site, the same as many around the state.

Blocked on MT Cowgirl/boy too.

This is what happens when you question.

Very democratic, isn’t it?

Nancy Keenan got paid $585,000 during the years she worked for NARAL-Pro Choice

Last year the Montana Democrats paid her $36,354.

In fact, in 2016 the MT Democratic Party paid out $356,565 in wages, salaries and benefits.

In comparison, they spent:

$64,600 in transfers to National
$27,397 in transfers to state/local parties
$24,320 on campaign data and technology
$16,871 on fundraising fees
$13,500 on polling and surveys
$6,569 on event expenses and food
$5,816 on fundraising consultants
$860 on campaign mailings

Those 8 expenditures total $159,993…or $196,632 less than the Party spent on salaries.

Clearly, getting people elected isn’t important as keeping old has-beens and never-weres firmly ensconced in the Party’s unelected hierarchy.

Clearly, keeping the incompetent staff they have now is the most important thing for the Montana Democratic Party to do…at least if you go by what they spend money on.

Clearly, those making those atrociously high salaries will do everything in their power to ensure those salaries keep coming, even if it means steamrolling over Democrats that question this strategy.

It makes me sick. I feel I’m not the only one in the state that feels this way, it’s just that I’m the only one talking about it publicly.

I mean, the Party brass decided to spend 26 times more money on employee salaries than they did on polling and surveys.

They spent 14 times more on salaries than they did for all the fundraising they did, including the fees, consulting, mailings, calls, and events.

They spent 13 times more on salaries than they did on local or statewide candidates.

Again, it’s quite clear that keeping the top brass happy – all unelected individuals – is more important than raising money, getting that money to candidates, and doing polling to figure out how those candidates stand with the public.

This was clear to me as far back as a week after the 2014 elections.

Nancy Keenan and her salary are more important than any statewide or local candidate, however.

Follow the money.

Besides Nancy Keenan and her $36,000 salary, MT Dems also paid:

Colleen Martin $60,475
Allison Dale-Riddle $30,810
Kendra Miller $26,320

Lot of money, huh?

If you figure $60 a ticket to the Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner, then 1,200 people brought the Party $72,000 last night...enough to pay two of these women for a year

What do you think’s more important to those 4 women…making Montana a better place, or keeping their high salaries?

Colleen Martin, for instance, isn’t even from Montana.

All of those high salaries pale in comparison to the $2.4 million they doled out to DNC Services Corp, however, which was their largest 2016 expenditure.

DNC Services Corp is the biggest funder of the Hillary Victory Fund.

In fact, Montana was the 5th highest donor to them last year. Only Rhode Island Democrats are more corrupt than those in Montana.

If the corruption from Tester isn’t enough for you, please remember the $64,100 Hillary gave to the Montana Democrats last year.

Yes, the MT Dems sell themselves cheap.

Worse, they’re corrupt.

That’s corruption, selling your party to a national candidate nearly a year before the primaries start.

Again, Montana Democrats look the other way on this.

To them, the ends justify the means.

Always will too, especially with this crop of “leaders” in charge.

Conclusion

You don’t like what I just said, do you?

Good.

You shouldn’t.

It should make you sick to your stomach.

But you don’t care.

Montana Democrats don’t care that their Party is corrupt and full of shit and playing both sides.

Yes, they are playing both sides – Tester says he cares about seniors and sick people but then votes to keep their drug prices high.

He even has the audacity to pull in an asshole from New Jersey that does the same thing, even though we know Montana Democrats hate people from New Jersey!

Yes, I can smell the stench of hypocrisy coming from Helena Dem brass all the way over here in Missoula.

And guess what? It’ll never change…you don’t want it to!

Remember, I’m the problem with the MT Democratic Party right now, not the corrupt officials and their high-salaried hanger-ons.

Go right ahead and blame me. I’m sure that’ll change a lot…but it will ensure people like Nancy Keenan and her ilk keep their cushy positions.

Perhaps instead of blaming me and calling me a troll or a Republican or a racist or whatever else the Dem bag of tricks might have in it today, why not blame those that created this situation?

Those would be the 'leaders' of the Montana Democratic Party, all those unelected assholes that feed from the trough that you fill with your small $10-here and $20-there donations.

They’ve violated your trust and squandered whatever respect you should have for them.

But you won’t raise a finger to stop them at your precious convention in June; you sure as shit won’t raise your voice to speak out against this corruption.

But I will.

I’m not afraid.

Why should I be?

If no others in this state will stand up and do the right thing, then I will.

I’ll be a leader and call out this corruption when no one else will.

Remember that, and remember the price I paid.

Would I do it again?

You bet your ass I would - every fucking time.

13 Comments

Political Memes and Images Yet Again

3/18/2017

5 Comments

Turn off the TV and use your fuckin' head for a change.

Would have been great had they got the year right.

5 Comments

Let’s Talk Money

3/18/2017

0 Comments

I had a blog comment recently that said I’m the only voice of reason on the Montana blogosphere.

I’m not sure about that, but today let’s discuss some things that lack reason, logic and common sense.

Yes, it’s time to talk about money on this site…again.

Watch Her Soar!

Each month I get the Chuck Coppes newsletter, and I enjoy skimming through it.

It has lots of stuff you just won’t hear the corporate media talking about.

For instance, take our terrible national debt situation, which can be illustrated with this graphic:

Back in the Reagan days we had around $2 trillion in national debt.

Today we have nearly $20 trillion.

Compare that with other countries:

Japan has $11 trillion
Italy has $2.5 trillion
China has $2 trillion
Canada has $1.5 trillion
Brazil has $1.3 trillion
Spain has $1.3 trillion
Australia has $601 billion
Argentina has $287 billion

Now, it’s true that America has the highest gross domestic product rate in the world, at nearly $19 trillion.

The second closest country is China, with nearly $12 trillion in gross domestic product.

Our public debt to GDP ratio is terrible, however, coming in at 76% compared to China’s 17%.

To me, that’s just not sustainable.

Wow, Montana…WTF?!?

As a quick aside, when I look at Montana’s debt clock I get lots of info, such as:

$48 billion in state and local GDP
$5.5 billion in state and local debt
12% debt to GDP ratio
22,568 people unemployed
122,443 people on food stamps

You know how I feel about debt – it’s not good. I’m saddened to see that Montana has so much.

Missoula is a big source of it, I’m sorry to say.

Our 4 National Programs

Yeah, Missoula is bad, but nothing compares to the feds.

They’re deep in debt and they still spend like a drunken sailor.

Here’s how that breaks down for 2017:

Entitlements – those are ‘the killers.’

61% of our federal budget goes to Medicare, Social Security, and Unemployment.

15% goes to our bloated military.

4% goes to the veterans that our bloated military created

7% goes to pay interest on our massive national debt.

That’s 87% of federal spending right there, just for those four areas.

Yes, our four national programs. Nothing else really amounts to much by comparison.

Don’t Worry, Be Confident!

I don’t know about you, but that graph doesn’t make me feel confident about my 5-year-old son’s future.

But…if we have so much debt, and federal spending is so out-of-whack…then why is consumer confidence continually so high?

Also, why is the stock market going up and up and then up some more?

And what the hell’s with interest rates?

First, if consumer confidence was so high, then why has consumer spending fallen off?

Next, would the stock market keep going up if companies weren’t buying up their own stock?

Finally, the Fed has bumped interest rates to 1%, the highest rate since 2008.

That doesn’t really mean much for you, though. Put your money in a CD and it’s only earning 0.33%.

So even if you want to save, the Fed won’t let you. What they will do, however, is increase the national mortgage rate average to 4.5%.

On top of that home prices are supposed to go up by 4.6% this year, even though the average worker only got 2.8% more in wages from 2016 to 2017.

In regard to the stock buybacks, we haven’t seen it this bad since just before the 2008 meltdown.

For common workers and households, things are as terrible and hopeless as ever.

The January quit rate was 2.2%, meaning just 3.2 million people felt confident enough to quit their job and look for a new one.

Remember, around 125 million people in this country are working.

You won’t hear any of that quit rate talk in the corporate media, just more propaganda.

For instance, yesterday it was reported that consumer confidence in the economy is at a 13-year high.

That’s funny, because two weeks earlier we were told that consumer spending has slowed.

It went up by a meager 0.2% (a ‘’good’ month would be like December, when it went up 0.5%).

The reason for this decline?

Car sales slowed and utility use fell. On top of it “inflation recorded its biggest monthly increase in four years.”

Yes, let’s not forget that the personal consumption expenditures price index went up by 0.3% in January.

Personal income doesn’t match that, as it rose just 0.4%. Disposable income actually fell by 0.2% during that time as well.

13-year-high my ass.

That Dastardly Fed!

So things are bad at the household level, but hot damn, on Wall Street they’re great!

Hence the interest rate hike this week – gotta slow down that overheating economy, one that’s been injected with too much printed money from the Fed printing presses.

Have you ever heard the term, ‘playing both sides’?

I can’t help but think that’s what the foreign-owned and never-audited Federal Reserve is doing.

Please, if you haven’t done so, read my detailed history of the Fed.

It’s the most popular article on this site month after month, for a variety of reasons.

The Deep State Gains Credence

Mainly, we got in such hot water because the Fed kept interest rates at 0% for the entire 8-year Obama presidency.

This was done to create the illusion of an economic recovery, which allowed the stock market to soar wildly, enriching plenty of the 1%.

This “recovery” was fueled by massive increases in government spending, all of which came in trillions of bank notes printed by the Fed from nothing.

This was phony, deficit-creating, zero-interest funny money.

The Fed wanted another 8 years of that shit but they couldn’t quite get Hillary over the finish line.

Damn that Trump and his draining-the-swamp ways!

So the Fed will collapse the economy, destroying every private pension fund as well as the net worth of most working Americans.

I have no doubt that this will happen, and who better to blame it on than Trump?

The deep state establishment will not give up its power, it’s as simple as that.

And don’t think this chatter about them is going to stop them, either.

Conclusion

Please be careful out there, with your money and your thoughts.

Who’s telling you what to do with your money?

Who’s telling you what to think, or what’s ‘going on’ in the world?

Where are you getting your information?

What you’re not being told is just as important as what you are being told.

Why aren’t you being told it?

Why are some things hard to find and not discussed much, like all the info I’ve given you in this post?

Think about that, as well as the various agendas at work and how they feel about you.

Are you important, and if so, why?

And if you’re not…then what?

I hope you think about these things, as well as your place in the world.

You don’t need a lot of money or a fancy job or vast connections to have power and influence.

Make it happen.

We need more reason, logic and common sense. We need the people that can bring it.

The people running things from behind the curtain sure don’t have any.

0 Comments

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​#1 No Money

​#2 No Ads

​#3 Lying About Work

​#4 Urban Over Rural Outreach

​#5 Lawsuits

​#6 Tax Problems

​#7 New Levels of Apathy

​#8 The Wrong Issues

​#9 Gianforte Always Had it Wrapped Up

​#10 Montana is a Republican State

​Website Donation Form/Button

​Facebook

​Twitter

​The Takeaway Here

​Running a Montana Facebook Ad Campaign

​Quist’s Medical Problems

Forrest Anderson’s Medical Problems

​What Else?

​The 2016 Year-End Report

​The March 2017 Report

​Conclusion

​The Rob Quist Public Lands Rally

​Where in MT is Greg Gianforte?

​The MT Dems and Their 2017 Finances

​Quist’s Lack of Help

​Visiting MT Dem HQ

​Conclusion

​Conclusion

​Watch Her Soar!

​Wow, Montana…WTF?!?

​Our 4 National Programs

​Don’t Worry, Be Confident!

​That Dastardly Fed!

​The Deep State Gains Credence

​Conclusion

MT Book 7

​Montana Blog

​Popular Posts

Categories

Archives

​My MT History Books

My Montana Novels

My Montana Short Fiction

#1 No Money

#2 No Ads

#3 Lying About Work

#4 Urban Over Rural Outreach

#5 Lawsuits

#6 Tax Problems

#7 New Levels of Apathy

#8 The Wrong Issues

**#9 Gianforte Always Had it Wrapped Up**

#10 Montana is a Republican State

Website Donation Form/Button

Facebook

Twitter

The Takeaway Here

Running a Montana Facebook Ad Campaign

Quist’s Medical Problems

What Else?

The 2016 Year-End Report

The March 2017 Report

Conclusion

The Rob Quist Public Lands Rally

Where in MT is Greg Gianforte?

The MT Dems and Their 2017 Finances

Quist’s Lack of Help

Visiting MT Dem HQ

Conclusion

Conclusion

Watch Her Soar!

Wow, Montana…WTF?!?

Our 4 National Programs

Don’t Worry, Be Confident!

That Dastardly Fed!

The Deep State Gains Credence

Conclusion

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