We’ve got a big collection of links this week, from conservative takes in favor of the CSKT Water Compact to the continuing absurdity about Agenda 21 at the Legislature. I hope everyone is enjoying a little downtime over the transmittal break.
Your vote on the Water Compact will define you, forever – “Opponents claim the federal money promised to the tribes under the Compact is bad. Opponents do not understand economics. If the feds give $1.2 billion, or half that amount, to the CSKT this is good for Montana. Much of this money will be spent in Montana and be used to improve the irrigation project infrastructure and efficiency. Everyone benefits when money enters Montana.” PolyMontana
American Lands Council, GOP Senator Silent in the Face of Questions Over Staffing Arrangement – “It’s concerning therefore that Montana’s Senate President, Debby Barrett has said she tapped Fielder as vice-Chair of the Republican party because of her stance on these very issues. As Lee newspapers reported recently, Fielder who is currently the vice-chair of the Montana Republican Party, was “nominated by Sen. Debby Barrett of Dillon, who is now president of the Montana Senate.”” Cowgirl Blog
Taking the Long View | – “The idea of placing public wild lands at further risk of development isn’t any easier for some to swallow now than it was in 1983. But the compromise struck over the Heritage Act represents an even better deal for Montanans than the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Act did 31 years ago. The Heritage Act places 208,000 acres of USFS and BLM land along the Front in a Conservation Management Area that prohibits new permanent road building or development and disallows any expansion of motorized use. The bill protects another 67,000 acres as Wilderness.” Montana Wilderness Association
Ad Nauseam 21 | – “Yes, this is the traditional anti-agenda 21 bill that passed the House Judiciary Committee today on an 11-10 vote and now goes on to clog the workings of the entire Legislature. Agenda 21, if you don’t know by now, is a non-binding UN resolution signed by President George H.W. Bush and the leaders of 177 other countries representing 98% of the world population in 1992. The simple Agenda 21 planning document has no funding, is not legally binding on a single person on the planet and seeks only to “improve living standards, and manage the planet’s natural resources in an efficient manner.”” The Button Valley Bugle
One Hand Clapping – “What the Legislature presumably understood, and Barrett apparently does not, is that a negotiated settlement is a voluntary agreement between two or more parties. Opening up a settlement and changing its terms can only happen if all the parties agree to make it so; it simply can’t be changed unilaterally from one side of the table. That’s a fact the Legislature must face: it can amend the compact if it wants, but if it does, there’s no longer a voluntary agreement. Barrett, and other compact opponents, apparently want the impossible: an agreement that only they will agree to! It’s sort of like one hand clapping.” Barrett for SD 47
This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see – – “Now, this exercise is of course a huge simplification. In the real world people don’t live in neatly-ordered grids sorted by political party. But for real-world politicians looking to give themselves an advantage at redistricting time, the process is exactly the same, as are the results for the parties that gerrymander successfully.” The Washington Post
Make a healthy decision and cover all low-income Montanans – “The 2015 Legislature has a great opportunity to improve the quality of life for up to 70,000 Montanans by expanding federally funded health care. Covering these low-income parents, workers, mentally ill and other impoverished Montanans will benefit their families, their employers and their communities. Montana’s health care system will become more efficient, more focused on preventive care and personal responsibility through health improvement projects already in place that would add more folks to initiatives such a patient-centered medical homes.” Billings Gazette
Keep concealed weapons off campus – “Campus security has its hands full already policing underage alcohol consumption and intoxication. Adding guns to the mix seems like a recipe for tragedy. Which is probably why university officials and law enforcement agencies across Montana oppose SB 143. University of Montana President Royce Engstrom’s position is that a university campus is just not an appropriate place for firearms. UM students may own firearms, of course, but they are required to check their weapons with campus police. That seems like a fair balance between the rights of students to own firearms and the responsibility of campus officials to ensure a safe learning environment.” Missoulian
Notes on the MT Legislature’s first half – A great look at the first half of the legislative session. Flathead Memo
“Dozens of threats to execute grade-school kids”: Madness of a 9/11 truther – – “Yet, it’s a mistake to think that only crazy people think the way Lenio did. The point was addressed head on by Rachel Carroll Rivas, executive director of the Montana Human Rights Network. On the one hand, “It is important to note that there are only a few actors in these larger extremist movements that act violently on their legitimate frustrations of economic insecurity,” she said, but “it is also important to remember that while some of those violent actors may struggle with mental health instability, the ideology of these movements can make everyday people spin deeper and deeper into the fear, scapegoating, and conspiracy theories to the point of violence.” Salon.com
Fortunate son | News | – “The speed of Daines’ rise from political unknown to the U.S. Senate has left many in the state scrambling to figure out who, exactly, this newcomer is. He’s not a populist farmer like Tester, nor does he command the D.C. clout of Baucus. His public speeches and voting record paint a clear picture of an ambitious young Republican, dogmatic on social issues and conservative on fiscal ones. According to data from the Sunlight Foundation, he’s voted with the GOP 94.5 percent of the time, on issues ranging from abortion bans to repealing the Affordable Care Act.” Missoula Independent
Who’s Pulling the Strings? – – But a “campaign of misinformation” has inundated the Capitol halls this session, and despite his best efforts – Vincent distributed a detailed packet to all 150 Montana legislators explaining the finer points of how the water compact works and the consequences if it fails – he can’t seem to break through the impenetrable wall of prevarication that has obscured the compact at the hands of out-of-state groups. Flathead Beacon
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