Thanks for stopping by to read the first “Caught My Eye” of October!
If this is your first time visiting The Western Word the “Caught My Eye” column is posted every Friday morning! This is when I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. By the way, I often throw in a touch of sarcasm just to make you smile – or maybe to irritate you just a little.
Today I write about Walsh for Senate, Sonju quitting, F-15 reporting, Senate opening prayer, “Carol, you’re beautiful,” the real Siri, Whitner/Hitner, Government Shutdown Pinterest Pins, plus I have two winners who are Making Montana Proud – so read on…
Walsh for Senate:
On Thursday Lt. Governor John Walsh announced that he was running for U.S. Senate “because Montana deserves leaders who will live up to their obligations and responsibilities, put service ahead of self, and have the courage to make the tough decisions while protecting the vulnerable.”
I like to see veterans run for public office – that puts Walsh ahead of many in my book. With over 100,000 veterans residing in Montana, Walsh should have the inside track in getting their votes. Montana is void of elected officials who served in the military and that needs to change, in my opinion.
This race may pit Walsh against Representative Steve Daines if Daines decides to run for Senate. Daines is tied to the Tea Party, and he owns the government shutdown. Moderates may find more common ground with Walsh than with Daines, just as they did with Democrat Jon Tester over Tea Party-aligned Denny Rehberg.
Nonetheless, exciting days are ahead!
Sonju – All Out:
State Sen. Jon Sonju, a Tea Party Republican from Kalispell, told Lee Newspapers a few weeks ago that he was running for U.S. House if Steve Daines announced that he was running for U.S. Senate. Sonju reportedly said, “I have a team built around me. You have to be all in, and I’m all in.”
I thought Sonju was acting overly cocky when he said that.
But yesterday Sonju was whistling a different tune. He is not running – because of “family concerns.”
I don’t really believe that reason. Something is up – like something was found in polling, or something in opposition research, or maybe Daines is not running for Senate.
F-15 Reporting:
KRTV (CBS) in Great Falls has been airing stories this week about the loss of the F-15s from the Montana Air National Guard (MANG) and the “proposed” plan to bring C-130s to MANG. They actually did a decent job on this series of reports.
Last night they reported that “community members are also concerned there wasn’t enough done to save the jets.”
The community members are correct – there wasn’t enough done. The loss of the jets is a failure of Sens. Max Baucus, Jon Tester, Rep. Steve Daines, and Gov. Steve Bullock to do their jobs.
Although the “future” plan is to bring C-130s to MANG, everyone who supports the MANG should not hold their breath until the C-130s are actually on the ground at MANG. They are not there yet. Plans can change very quickly.
Opening Prayer:
The Senate Chaplain, Barry C. Black, opened the senate on Thursday with a prayer asking God to “save us from the madness,” and to “Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable.”
Maybe calling out Ted Cruz by name would help, or calling for the heathens to repent.
Rep. Todd Rokita:
When Republican Representative Todd Rokita was questioned by CNN’s Carol Costello about the government shutdown and found himself not being able to explain his stand, he said, “Carol, you’re beautiful but you have to be honest as well.”
Ouch. Costello then ended the interview. Rokita should realize that this was his chance for 15 minutes of fame. He crashed and burned.
Back in 2007, Rokita also had problems making his point.
Making Montana Proud:
This section is where I mention people whose actions embarrass Montana in some way.
-From the “Voices of Montana” right-wing talk radio show: Talk radio is pretty hilarious to listen to during the government shutdown and during the Obamacare sign-up. It seems to bring people out of their bunkers who are a few Fruit Loops shy of a full bowl.
The “Voices of Montana” “statewide” radio talk show on Thursday hosted a guest who was an “expert” in Obamacare. One caller asked him about microchips being implanted in people to track them or something. Another caller asked about Obamacare “death panels.”
My (rather large) gut is sore this morning from laughing so hard. All that was missing was someone calling in about Obama being born in Kenya – but today is a new day!
Siri:
CNN broke the story about who the voice of Siri is (that’s the voice on the Apple iPhone). She is Susan Bennett from Atlanta.
Now if I could just find out the identity of the British lady with the sexy voice on my Garmin…
Whitner is now Hitner:
San Francisco 49ers player Donnie Whitner is changing his name to Hitner.
He and his Niners teammates might want to spend more time figuring out how to beat Seattle, which beat the stuffing out of the Niners earlier this year 29-3.
Government Shutdown Pinterest Pins:
Over at one of my favorite blogs, “Pajamas & Coffee,” Mary McCarthy has posted the Funniest Government Shutdown Pinterest Pins.”
Check them out HERE.
One More Thing:
Don’t forget to stretch…
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