No Concrete Plans

Folks, like me, who support Malmstrom AFB and the Montana Air National Guard in Great Falls, were waiting to hear the outcome of today’s (Friday) visit by the acting Air Force Secretary and the Air Force Chief of Staff. They were touring a few bases this week and happened to stop at Malmstrom and the Air National Guard.

Of course, this was not quite as big a deal to some folks as waiting for the Obama text message.

So, what’s the new mission?

According to the Associated Press, “Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester say no concrete plans were established during Friday's meeting in Great Falls.”

Great. Wonderful. Nothing happened. In the days leading up to this visit, Tester and Baucus were on TV, in the newspapers, and issuing press releases touting the visit and the future of the military in Montana.

It is always somewhat comical to hear Baucus and Tester talk about the military when they have no idea about the subject.

Also, news is starting to spread that it looks like the proposed coal to liquid plant they supported for Malmstrom may be dead.

Oh well, Tester and Baucus accomplished their primary mission of getting some media coverage. At least we did not have to wait for a text message.

Taking responsibility when you're wrong

The preliminary results of the complaint filed by the Montana GOP against Governor Brian Schweitzer are in. The Hearing Officer has found that Governor Brian Schweitzer violated Montana law by producing illegal taxpayer-funded Public Service Announcements (PSA) after he became a candidate for re-election.

The Hearing Officer recommends a fine of $750, which I find totally ridiculous. He should be fined at least $750 for each time the PSA aired. Schweitzer received much more than $750 in publicity for his re-election each time the PSA aired.

We’ll see if the Commissioner of Political Practices upholds the Hearing Officer’s recommendations or gives the Governor a pass. By the way, the Commissioner was appointed by Governor Schweitzer in 2006.

The Missoulian Editorial expressed these comments about Montana’s Political Practices office in 2007:

The job is worthless, as its long track record compiled by a long line of commissioners has proved. Well intended as an effort to keep elections fair and honest, the Office of Political Practices has never taken any truly significant enforcement action and almost never has taken any timely action. Nothing involving Montana elections would suggest this office has had the least success in promoting clean elections, counteracting the corrosive effect of big money in politics, keeping lobbyists honest and government free of lobbyists' undue influence or in any way promoting democratic ideals.

The current commissioner may finally be able to overcome the long track record of that office never taking “any truly significant enforcement action” by making the Governor an example in this case. Of course, actions like that would come at a cost and Helena would surely be a very frosty place for the current commissioner.

Ironically, the Governor’s first campaign ad (not counting the PSA) had these words of wisdom:

“You're only as good as your word. You balance your budget. Expect results. Share the credit when you're right. And take responsibility when you're wrong. And at the end of the day, you have to be able to look your family in the eye. You also have to clean up a few messes, too."

This is the biggest “mess” the Governor has seen, and he needs to publicly accept responsibility for breaking the law without dancing around that fact. A strong reprimand should be given to the two state employees who took part in the illegal behavior with him and for him.

But this may be far from over. There may be even some evidence of tampering with the case by the Governor’s staff. If that’s proven to be true, the person from the Governor’s staff doing the tampering should be terminated from their job.

That way, the Governor would be keeping his promise to “clean up a few messes…”

Time to break up the club

I’ve been watching the race for Montana’s Attorney General (AG) this year, and I am very impressed with Tim Fox and the campaign he’s been running.

The Democrats have controlled the AG’s office for the last 16 or so years. It’s almost like they have built a castle in Helena with a moat around it that is only accessible by party insiders.

This year would be a great time to break up the “club” in Helena and get some new blood in there. Tim Fox has he experience to lead the 700 employees at the Montana Department of Justice in the right direction while serving and protecting the people of Montana.

A few months ago, I was impressed with Fox’s response to a group that placed recorded phone calls against him in the primary. This is a violation of Montana law. When Tim Fox becomes the next Attorney General for the State of Montana, it looks like we’ll have someone who will actually enforce this law instead of sending out friendly reminders and looking the other way when their friends break the law. The AG is the state’s chief law enforcement officer.

Fox is the strongest supporter of the second amendment in this race, garnering endorsements from the NRA and MSSA. He pledges to fix the department’s online sex offenders registry and expand the program to include an e-mail notification system if sex offenders move into our neighborhood. As AG, he will be a member of the state land board and he will work to increase our wind, water, natural gas, coal, and oil production in Montana instead of just talking about it.

It won’t be easy for Tim Fox to win this seat after being in a Democrat’s hands for the last 16 years, but he is putting in the hard work to do just that. So, take a look at Fox’s views on his website and, if you can, help him win this race.

More importantly, let’s put a stop to the insider’s club at the Montana Department of Justice in Helena.

Saturday!

There are reports that Barack Obama may announce his running mate on Saturday. So who will be the running mate? Do you even care? I’m thankful that the Olympics took some time away from politics, although 12 year old Chinese girls dressed up and acting like a 16 year old (and winning gold medals) is a little too much.

I’m thinking that you just want this circus to end. We still have the conventions to watch. Will it rain (or snow) in Denver during Obama’s speech?

Before I forget, remember to sign up to receive Obama’s announcement via text message, e-mail, carrier pigeon, or my favorite – a personal hand-carried note delivered to your door from one of his 200,000,000 Montana volunteers.

I guess I kind of care because Obama may be the next President, and I want him to pick someone who has some experience, especially in foreign relations and national security. Obama lacks experience in most of the issues that matter in today’s world.

It appears from all those people mentioned in almost every newspaper and on every website across the country, he has two or three strong choices: Senator Joe Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Bill Richardson.

Hillary Clinton brings some baggage, namely her husband. Joe Biden is a great choice and has the foreign relations/national security experience, but sometimes he can’t keep his mouth shut. Most people would like to see the ticket flipped if Biden is Obama’s running mate. Bill Richardson has all types of experience, from being a Congressman, to Ambassador to the United Nations, to Secretary of Energy and now Governor. Again, Richardson brings more experience to the table than Obama – it’s too bad that Richardson would be number two.

All the others are wimps.

Evan Bayh has some executive experience, but he is weak and unknown outside of Indiana. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is also unknown, but he also has experience as a mayor, Lt. Governor and now Governor.

Some other reports say that one other woman is being considered and that is Kathleen Sebelius, who is the governor of Kansas. Again this is someone who has executive experience, but is an unknown outside of Kansas.

Of all these, I think Bill Richardson is the best choice. Joe Biden is second. Clinton third. Since I mentioned them, Obama will probably not pick any of the above.

Maybe Obama will pick Keith Olbermann because Olbermann seems to know it all.

Just for fun, has anyone checked Brian’s travel plans for Friday and Saturday??? I know, Brian who?

Zadick update

It looks like Great Falls native Mike Zadick was eliminated from the Olympics. According to ESPN’s Olympic website, in the first match, Zadick was defeated by Vasyl Fedoryshyn of the Ukraine. After that loss, he was still eligible for a bronze medal.

Early this morning (Montana time), Zadick lost to Bazar Bazarguruev of Kyrgyzstan and was eliminated. The Des Moines Register has Zadick's story.

Fedoryshyn took the silver medal. Bazarguruev ended up in 5^th place. Here are the results according to ESPN:

Gold Mavlet Batirov, Russia

Silver Vasyl Fedoryshyn, Ukraine

Bronze Seyedmorad Mohammadi, Iran

Bronze Kenichi Yumoto, Japan

Zadick can be proud of being chosen as an Olympic athlete to represent the USA. We are proud of him.

Dee-Fense

Deactivation

Somewhat quietly, the 564^th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom AFB was deactivated on Friday. A ceremony was held. The 564^th was responsible for a quarter of Malmstrom’s 200 missiles. Now Malmstrom has 150 Minuteman III missiles, placing them at the same level as Minot AFB in North Dakota and F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.

About 500 personnel will be lost due to the squadron shutting down. Of course, many of the 500 personnel have spouses and children so the actual loss of the people in the community is significantly higher.

The world is still a very dangerous place.

I did not read or see that any members of our Congressional delegation attended the inactivation ceremony. This is not something a politician would want to be seen attending and besides, they are on their 38 day paid vacation.

The anti-nuclear group, Council for a Livable World (CLW), must be very happy with the $49,684 (according to Open Secrets) they have donated to U.S. Senator Jon Tester. Their investment of $49,684 to his campaign has paid big dividends with 50 missiles being removed in the first two years of his term. According to their website, CLW wants to eliminate all nuclear weapons. They list as one of their accomplishments the termination of the production of the Minuteman missile. Minuteman missiles are on alert at Malmstrom, Minot, and F.E. Warren. Well, 50 down and 450 to go!

A Visit!

Ironically, Montana’s two senators invited the acting Air Force Secretary and the Air Force Chief of Staff to visit Malmstrom and Montana Air National Guard. The AF Secretary is pending confirmation, so he’ll go about any where invited by a senator to help speed his confirmation along. I would be surprised if his confirmation happens since there are only a few days left in the 110^th Congress. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have a vote on his confirmation. He’ll be gone when a new President is sworn in. The Air Force Chief of Staff serves a four year term and at the pleasure of the President.

Chances are if something is promised for Malmstrom or the Guard by these two gentlemen, they will be gone in a few months and nothing will become of it. We all know the Federal government does not move too fast. But, it never hurts to take a close look at your resources. It will be interesting to hear if the discussion involves expanding the airspace above Montana for military training, which our delegation seems to be against.

The Planes The Planes

The F-15s started arriving at the Montana Air National Guard. Most folks were holding their breath until the planes started arriving because you never know what can happen with mission changes, lack of congressional clout, etc.

The F-15s being assigned to the Montana Guard is a good thing, because they were scheduled to lose their flying mission after the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). This was overturned, mostly due to the work of former Sen. Conrad Burns, and with the help of Rep. Rehberg and Sen. Baucus.

We should be hearing the sound of freedom in the air over Montana around April 2009 after training is completed.

Zadick in the Olympics!

The Des Moines Register is reporting that Great Falls native Mike Zadick was added to the U.S. Olympic freestyle team today. He will wrestle at 132 lbs (60kg).

I had blogged about his situation before HERE. Go get em Mike!