Showing posts sorted by relevance for query schweitzer. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query schweitzer. Sort by date Show all posts

6/19/14

Schweitzer 'deeply sorry' for screwing up 2016 bid


In 2004, in defiance of federal law, Montana voters passed an initiated change to the state's constitution that legalized the cultivation, distribution, and medical use of cannabis. In 2011, after the federal government nipped a thriving industry in the bud and after Schweitzer vetoed a repeal of the law, the state's earth hater legislature passed a statute that Governor Schweitzer allowed to become law without his signature nullifying most of the people's wishes.
"I recently made a number of stupid and insensitive remarks to a reporter from the National Journal. I am deeply sorry and sincerely apologize for my carelessness and disregard," Schweitzer wrote. Schweitzer didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider Wednesday. [Colin Campbell, Brian Schweitzer Apologizes For Saying Eric Cantor Set Off His 'Gaydar']
Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer would like to visit all of Iowa's 99 counties: a miserable quest even when it isn't -30...or flooding.
But on Monday, asked whether he would run for president, Schweitzer was hesitant. Schweitzer said his record aligns with what “middle America” looks for and runs counter to some Democrats in Washington, making him a winning candidate. [Tal Kopan, POLITICO]
Dave Weigel interviewed Schweitzer for Slate. When asked if Colorado had done the right thing by legalizing cannabis and whether the rest of the country should go that way, he replied:
Well, here’s what I can say. Each society has to make choices about what’s against the law. You have a large percentage of the population that’s already using this. The war on drugs is another war that appears to have been lost. This experiment with prohibition of marijuana doesn’t seem have to been working. Colorado might have it more right than the rest of us.
The sometimes bombastic but widely-liked Schweitzer, chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, Montana's largest revenue producer, had once been considered a shoo-in for the US Senate seat vacated by the retiring Max Baucus now a battleground race.

Above image belongs to Steve Brodner.


Posted by at No comments:
piled in ,

1/6/14

Schweitzer on 2016 Presidential run: "it would ruin my life"

Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer would like to visit all of Iowa's 99 counties: a miserable quest even when it isn't -30:
But on Monday, asked whether he would run for president, Schweitzer was hesitant. Schweitzer said his record aligns with what “middle America” looks for and runs counter to some Democrats in Washington, making him a winning candidate. [Tal Kopan, POLITICO]
Dave Weigel interviewed Schweitzer for Slate. When asked if Colorado had done the right thing by legalizing cannabis and whether the rest of the country should go that way, he replied:
Well, here’s what I can say. Each society has to make choices about what’s against the law. You have a large percentage of the population that’s already using this. The war on drugs is another war that appears to have been lost. This experiment with prohibition of marijuana doesn’t seem have to been working. Colorado might have it more right than the rest of us.
In 2004, in defiance of federal law, Montana voters passed an initiated change to the state's constitution that legalized the cultivation, distribution, and medical use of cannabis. In 2011, after the federal government nipped a thriving industry in the bud and after Schweitzer vetoed a repeal of the law, the state's earth hater legislature passed a statute that Governor Schweitzer allowed to become law without his signature nullifying most of the peoples' wishes.

Schweitzer isn't a progressive by any stretch of the imagination but his populist appeal makes him a regional favorite among Democrats even though he has promoted coal and the Keystone XL pipeline.


The sometimes bombastic, widely-liked Schweitzer, now chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, had been expected to enter Montana's race for the US Senate although a recent interview with Roll Call talks as if he'd rather stay in the state he loves than live in DC. Many in Montana would like to see Governor Steve Bullock appoint Schweitzer to serve out the remaining term of Senator Max Baucus who has been nominated Ambassador to China by President Obama.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , ,

1/16/13

Salazar out; Schweitzer in?

Montana is not Oregon but it could look more like Colorado next cycle.

NPR is reporting that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is leaving in March. From an AP story in the Missoulian:
He is the latest Cabinet secretary to leave the administration as Obama heads into his second term. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pentagon chief Leon Panetta, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis are also leaving. The administration official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement of Salazar's departure has not been made.
interested party has learned that former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is at the top of the list to replace him: he is on several Cabinet short lists and would be foolish not to entertain a post with the Obama Administration.

In an interview with Dan Testa, Schweitzer said about being Secretary of Energy:
I wouldn't be a very good secretary. I can't even type. I want to change the world and I'm afraid that putting your feet in concrete in Washington D.C. is probably not the place to change the world.
Looks like former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire is at the top of the list, too.

Most Montana watchers expect Senator Max Baucus to have a primary contender after he announces a 2014 Senate run later this year. Gov. Schweitzer would devastate Baucus in a primary as he can make money very quickly and win in a really ugly campaign.

Won't happen: Schweitzer will not run against Max. Either Baucus retires or the Gov. finds something else to do.

Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford announced a run for his state's US House seat: recall that another former governor, Bill Janklow won South Dakota's House seat and held it for a disastrously short time. Some say a better idea for Schweitzer might be to run for the House seat Steve Daines will have fucked up in two years.

You have to admit it would be a bag of fun watching the Gov. in a Senate confirmation hearing; and, if anyone could bring some credibility to Interior Schweitzer could even though he knows that living in DC sucks regardless in which post he chooses to serve.

USDA should be split among Interior, HUD and HHS. Forest Service should go to BIA Forestry and look more like hybrid between US Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation. BIA Forestry and the Park Service are cooperating on some projects. DHS is assuming many firefighting roles leaving the FS with far less budget leverage. Such an opportunity would help tribes like CSKT and many others to become better stewards of land as part of heritage. Would love to see a name change that solidifies those communities’ futures.

The United States Geological Survey is losing its director, Marcia McNutt as she announced her departure.

Oh, and by the way: the KeystoneXL pipeline will never be built regardless of its convenience as a political football.

Update, 17 January, 11:00 MST: Schweitzer mentioned; Grijalva choice of enviros according to MSNBC.

14:32 Energy's Chu stepping down: The Atlantic.

Update, 22 January, 12:31 MST: former Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal on earth haters' wish list.

Update, 23 January, 11:00 MST: former Michigan Governor Granholm could be DoE head.

Mr. President: please put Gov. Gregoire in EPA and Gov. Brian at Interior.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , ,

2/20/24

Schweitzer, Tranel: utilities are not your friends

Democrat Brian Schweitzer was governor when this scrivener was living in Montana but after leaving office he chose not to run for the US Senate allowing raving lunatic Steve Daines to sashay into the seat. 

The sometimes bombastic but widely-liked Schweitzer became chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, Montana's largest revenue producer. Schweitzer isn't a progressive by any stretch of the imagination but his populist appeal makes him a regional favorite among Democrats even though he has promoted coal and the Keystone XL pipeline. Recall that in 2009 when he was governor, Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy was responsible for a gas explosion in Bozeman, Montana that killed a person and destroyed several businesses. 

In 2021 Schweitzer raked Montana Republicans after they gave special treatment to NorthWestern Energy calling it "a fine mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism to match Russian President Vladimir Putin." Also in 2021 the company's devastating decrease in the Madison River flow killed native trout because of its negligence at the Hebgen Dam then one of its power lines caused a wildfire that destroyed most of Denton, Montana. 

NWE thumbed its nose at Montana’s Public Service Commission so without any regulatory approval it began construction of a generating station in Laurel. The company spends millions of dollars every year greasing Republican politicians and poisoning waterways including in Montana where the PRC is comprised of Earth haters. 

Utilities are not your friends so on behalf of Northern Plains Resource Council, the Thiel Road Coalition and the Montana Environmental Information Center, Earthjustice filed suit over zoning jurisdiction of the parcel where the plant is being built but a judge ruled for NWE and Yellowstone County.
Schweitzer, speaking at a forum sponsored by Montana Conservation Voters, said the state Public Service Commission hasn’t acted in the consumers’ interest for several years, seizing on an October decision by the five-member PSC that made residential and small business electric rates the highest in the region for customers of NorthWestern Energy. Northwestern Energy is the state’s largest monopoly utility, with more than 400,000 metered electric customers and 300,000 natural gas customers. Customers of monopolies are legally recognized as “captive,” meaning they lack the free-market choice of shopping around for a better deal. [Schweitzer calls for shakeup of Montana utility regulators]
Monica Tranel is an attorney and candidate for Montana’s western District for US Congress.
NorthWestern’s motive is money. The bigger the kingdom, the bigger the king. NorthWestern’s corporate PAC contributes to Ryan Zinke’s campaign while he voted to cut funding for low-income heating assistance by more than 75%. If our elected officials won’t hold NorthWestern accountable, let’s hold our elected officials accountable. Let’s vote for people who will work for the people, and put the interests of our communities above profits for monopoly corporations. [Time for Accountability]
In 2015 the US Department of Transportation swatted ExxonMobil with a million dollar penalty after the Environmental Protection Agency released an overview of cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the 2011 breach of the Silvertip pipeline that spilled 63,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River upstream of Billings near Laurel. 

It’s endless — like wiping yer ass with a hula hoop.

On 16 February the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that crews working on the cleanup of an August, 2023 train derailment have recovered some 236,385 pounds of asphalt from the Yellowstone River just upstream from Laurel.
Posted by at 1 comment:
piled in , ,

6/23/13

Schweitzer face of Montana cannabis rights movement

Brian Schweitzer has a weed problem.

The sometimes bombastic, wildly popular Democratic former governor, now chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, has been expected to enter Montana's race for the US Senate although a recent interview with Roll Call seemed to suggest that he'd rather stay in the state he loves than live in DC:
Roll Call: How are you, governor?
Brian Schweitzer: I’m doing fine. I’m actually in Georgetown.


RC: Georgetown, D.C.?
BS: No. Georgetown, D.C.? God, that place sucks. Georgetown Lake. … Come on, I don’t want that smell on me.
From Greg Tuttle, Billings Gazette:
Friedrick Jozef Schweitzer, who is a nephew of former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, appeared before Judge Mary Jane Knisely and pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession with intent to distribute, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. Schweitzer told agents he was a medical-marijuana patient and provider and that the shipped marijuana was for his patients. He also said he believed the package only contained an ounce of marijuana.
In 2004, in defiance of federal law, Montana voters passed an initiated change to the state's constitution that legalized the cultivation, distribution, and medical use of cannabis. Last year, that state's earth hater legislature gutted most of the law and Governor Schweitzer allowed the changes without signing the bill.

Now the legal cannabis industry is all but dead in Montana after raids on dispensaries and arrests of growers. One courageous former caregiver, Montana Cannabis, appealed and lost a lower court decision upholding the federal prohibition of the herb.

AP writer, Matt Volz, brings the story using the malapropism "pot" to describe medicine in his piece published at the Lee-owned Helena Independent Record:
...Chris Williams is stepping up his challenge of the federal operation that changed the face of the industry in the state. The March 2011 raids resulted in the prosecution of dozens of providers, shut down their businesses and caused many others to shut their doors out of fear that they would be next. Several other marijuana providers joined his lawsuit, as did the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, which also is suing to overturn the new restrictive state law and is backing a referendum asking voters to repeal the law in November’s election.
This interested party has voiced frustration with Democratic Governor Steve Bullock, because of his public silence on the issue.

New Mexico, on the other hand, has been virtually free from federal crackdowns. Considered the most restrictive medical cannabis law in the US, that state currently issues 21 permits per 100,000, New Mexico's earth hater governor recently signed additional coverage for cannabis patients. The law was hammered out in legislative committee instead of being codified by the passing of a voter-written initiative.

It has been fascinating watching the fascist right haranguing President Obama for what it calls his "regulatory tyranny stifling economic growth" while selectively ignoring the Obama administration erasing a promising industry and effectively chilling civil liberties.

On what grounds would SCOTUS choose to hear an additional appeal of the Montana law if it gets that far, especially in light of the Court ruling on provisions of health insurance reform as a tax?
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , ,

8/29/24

Schweitzer: "throw 'em out!"

Democrat Brian Schweitzer was governor when this scrivener was last living in Montana but after leaving office he chose not to run for the US Senate allowing raving lunatic Steve Daines to sashay into the seat. 

The sometimes bombastic but widely-liked Schweitzer became chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, Montana's largest revenue producer. Schweitzer isn't a progressive by any stretch of the imagination but his populist appeal makes him a regional favorite among Democrats even though he has promoted coal and the Keystone XL pipeline. In 2021 Schweitzer raked Montana Republicans for giving special treatment to South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy when the utility burned down the town of Denton calling it "a fine mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism to match Russian President Vladimir Putin." 

Today, the Montana Legislature is at least as demented as South Dakota's and the state's Earth hating governor is bleeding taxpayers for disaster relief just like Kristi Noem is.
Montana has never had more elected Republicans than we do today. Republicans control all the branches of government. These tax increases were placed on your shoulders without the help or consent of any Democrat. The Montana Republican Party is now the party of higher taxes and more government spending. Montana’s largest two property taxpayers are Northwestern Energy and BNSF Railroad. They each got millions of dollars in tax cuts. Northwestern sent the loot to corporate headquarters in South Dakota and then raised your electric rates. BNSF sent the stash to Fort Worth, Texas and increased freight rates to ship Montana’s wheat crop to Portland. Refineries, pipelines, transmission lines and mines all got big tax breaks and did not invest more in Montana or hire more Montana workers. They just sent your money to their shareholders. You gave the Republicans a chance and they raised your taxes. Throw'em out! [Schweitzer, Republicans raised your property taxes]
In 2015, an email from a concerned Montanan alerted this blog to a move by the Park County Commission to redirect funds awarded in a lawsuit that were intended to clean up soil contamination now in repose within the city's unlined landfill resulting from decades of spills by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Empire Builder passengers blamed BNSF Railway for the derailment near Joplin in 2021 because in much of the Mountain West that railroad owns the track bed over which Amtrak operates and kills grizzlies in conflict with the Endangered Species Act. 

Now, wildfires are raking Republican-held property again in Montana where welfare ranchers are hoping to cash in on yet another disaster declaration while the governor refuses to debate his election challenger.

Does that AP image look familiar to you South Dakotans? That's because Mrs. Noem coopted it.

Learn more at the Daily Montanan.
Posted by at 3 comments:
piled in , ,

12/19/13

Baucus to China, Schweitzer in Iowa


Montana: you're It.

Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), is expected to be named Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama.
Baucus was thought to be facing one of his most difficult political races. His poll numbers had plunged since he guided the Affordable Care Act through the Senate on behalf of the Obama administration. He said he believed the health law “is going to be well-appreciated down the road.” [Chuck Johnson, Lee Newspapers of Montana]
WBUR's On Point is discussing China this morning.

In a smart political move, Montana's Democratic Governor Steve Bullock is expected to name Lieutenant Governor John Walsh to finish Baucus' term. Yet to be known is whom Bullock will name to replace Walsh.

Democratic former Governor Brian Schweitzer addressed the 2013 Progress Iowa Holiday Party in Altoona yesterday:
Visits to Iowa from Democrats eying the presidential race have been sparse this year, with many hopefuls watching to see whether former Sen. Hillary Clinton decides to run. The former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state would be the leading contender for the Democratic nomination if she got in. But Iowa Democrats said that even if Clinton is in the race, voters will want to consider their options, and that could provide an opening for someone like Schweitzer, who has little name recognition in the state. [AP, Billings Gazette]
Schweitzer isn't a progressive by any stretch of the imagination.

Sen. Baucus had to shut down a rant from the disrespectful Sen. don Juan Thune (earth hater-SD).
The matter involves a relatively small segment of the insurance market -- the 5% of Americans who buy individual policies, unlike the vast majority who get their coverage through their jobs or government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and others. While only a sliver of the overall market, it still involves 12 million people, including more than 1 million who have received letters from their insurers telling them current policies are being discontinued. [CNN]
Thune would rather boost funding for a bloated military, one that enjoys free birth control and abortions no less, than ease medical insurance burdens on those least able to pay.

Montana political scientists David Parker and Robert Saldin teamed up for a piece in the Washington Post. Discuss.





Posted by at No comments:
piled in , , , , , ,

5/31/11

Schweitzer holds emergency meeting; Minot to evacuate a quarter of its residents

Wolf Point, Montana is bracing for peak releases from Fort Peck Dam as Governor Brian Schweitzer organizes Montana's emergency management resources. The Billings Gazette's Mike Dennison reports:
As federal emergency officials arrived in Montana on Tuesday to assess damages from flooding that's touched nearly all corners of the state, Gov. Brian Schweitzer warned residents that flooding "is probably going to get worse before it gets better." As he spoke, Schweitzer pointed to a map showing 20 sites, from Kalispell to Glendive, that are at or near flood stage along numerous rivers. With more rain in the immediate forecast and much snow yet to melt, water should remain high for weeks, he said.
In a related story, the Gazette's Brett French tells us:

John Daggett, operations manager at Fort Peck, said the town of Wolf Point would largely be spared. The outlying areas would be hardest hit, along with utilities and facilities such as sewage lagoons, he said. To prepare for the runoff from a record snowpack, the Corps has to make room in its reservoirs. Downstream dams will see record outflows up to 150,000 cfs, causing flooding in the cities of Bismarck, N.D., and Pierre, S.D., as well as outlying areas. In a conference call Tuesday, a North Dakota congressional representative said citizens were concerned that the dams would be unsafe at such high water levels. Minot, N.D., Mayor Curt Zimbelman ordered a quarter of the city's residents to evacuate areas along the flooding Souris River. He said the evacuation order affects about 10,000 residents.
Democratic Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have surveyed the hard-hit Crow Nation where high school graduations have been postponed for at least two weeks. Even Republican Representative Dennybriated Rehberg sounded off between Kochtails.

The Bismarck Tribune is warning residents on the Standing Rock as the Corps raises spillway gates on the Garrison Dam:

History will be made at 8 a.m. Wednesday when for the first time ever the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raises Garrison Dam spillway gates to help relieve a massive amount of water in Lake Sakakawea behind the dam.
The Jefferson River snowpack is at 220% of normal; more rain on the way.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , , ,

4/6/21

Schweitzer calls out Montana's nut wing

It's been said countless times that The Last Best Place is not Oregon (even though the states show commonality in the white nationalist bloc) and elects Democrats with Blue Dog credentials. Both Senator Jon Tester and former Governor Steve Bullock believe that with vigilant environmental oversight they would support TransCanada's tarsands enema beginning in Montana. Montana's Left has a hard-on for what it perceives as Democrats being GOP-lite who have deserted progressive ideals just to woo centrist voters.

Democrat Brian Schweitzer was governor when this scrivener was living in Montana but after leaving office he chose not to run for the US Senate allowing raving lunatic Steve Daines to win the seat. The sometimes bombastic but widely-liked Schweitzer became chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, Montana's largest revenue producer. 

In 2020 South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy attempted to buy an additional 25% share of Colstrip Unit 4 in eastern Montana for a dollar. It owns 30% now. South Dakota, of course, has no corporate taxes and banks there hoard trillions for an exclusive set of Republicans.

Today, the Montana Legislature is at least as demented as South Dakota's and the state's Earth hating governor has even contracted the Trump virus.
Senate Bill 266 would nullify a contract signed between private companies in Washington, Oregon and South Dakota doing business in Montana. These companies signed a private contract between themselves 14 years ago to maintain an aging electric-generating power plant in Montana. The South Dakota company doesn’t want to abide by the contract with its partners. So they got a state senator (who is the son of a former prominent executive of the same company) to propose a bill that would exclude the experienced owners of the power plant from trusting the advice of the mechanical and electrical engineers who have run the plant for 35 years. A fine mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism to match Russian President Vladimir Putin. SB 379 would put hundreds of millions of dollars in the pockets of the same South Dakota company by taking the money from the pockets of Montana families and businesses. [Guest opinion, Brian Schweitzer]
Utilities are not your friends.

Above image belongs to Steve Brodner.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in ,

5/1/26

BHE, NWE merger rankles MFU

Democrat Brian Schweitzer was governor when this interested party was living in Montana but after leaving office he chose not to run for the US Senate allowing raving lunatic Steve Daines to sashay into the seat. In 2021 Schweitzer raked Montana Earth haters after they gave special treatment to NorthWestern Energy calling it "a fine mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism to match Russian President Vladimir Putin." 

Also in 2021 power lines owned by NWE caused a wildfire that destroyed most of Denton and liability lawsuits from that incident are still being litigated. In 2025, drafted in part by NWE, Kalispell Earth hater Amy Regier was lead sponsor of Montana House Bill 490 that protects utilities from liability for wildfires they start. 

In January the three Earth haters on the South Dakota Public Utilities Cartel approved a rate increase for NWE. And since utilities are not your friends the absence of transparency in the proposed merger of Black Hills Corporation and NorthWestern Energy is worrying the Montana Farmers Union. 

Walter Schweitzer is a third-generation farmer and rancher elected President of the MFU in 2019 and previously worked on his brother Brian's campaigns.
Based on the questions MFU leaders have asked and the [Montana Public Service] Commission docket so far, the proposed acquisition is not designed to help the Montana family farmer. It is designed to build a corporate balance sheet large enough to serve the bottomless appetite of multinational data centers. NWE denies wanting the acquisition for data centers, yet outreach to investors focuses on this acquisition as a necessary step to serve data centers. As in the past, ratepayers are being deceived. We cannot allow a distant holding company to treat Montana’s water and power as commodities to be extracted for Wall Street and Silicon Valley. It is time to put Montana farmers first. [Schweitzer: Northern Ag Network]
In a related story, Blackstone Infrastructure is in the process of acquiring TXNM Energy the parent company of PNM, New Mexico’s largest electric utility for $11.5 billion in a deal announced in May 2025 and is currently undergoing regulatory review while facing significant opposition.

Posted by at 3 comments:
piled in , , , ,

4/13/11

Montana's governor wields the big one

h/t Duffer. Governor Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, upheld the will of the People and vetoed a repeal of Montana's medical marijuana law:

Schweitzer vetoed the bill Wednesday along with several others he called "frivolous, unconstitutional or in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people of Montana."
Emilie Ritter in Helena is a Montana Public Radio producer:
In a shift from the Bush administration’s position on the subject, the administration of President Barack Obama said in October 2009 it would no longer prosecute patients who use medical marijuana, or dispensaries that distribute it, in states where marijuana has been approved for such purposes.
Schweitzer for US House!
Posted by at No comments:
piled in ,

7/12/11

Climate changing The West's wildfire seasons

There is still a 20 foot snowdrift on the divide between Basin Creek and the Ten Mile drainage above Rimini when ip was up there on a mycology survey day before yesterday. The Billings Gazette's Brett French says the wet conditions are keeping Montana wildland firefighters at home or being sent to other parts of the Southwest US:
Heavy, wet snow hung on in the high country and soaked larger downed timber. A map of Montana shows most of the state’s 1,000-hour fuels — dead timber 3 to 8 inches in diameter — at normal when compared with the past 30 years of data. The exceptions are portions of the central and northwestern areas of the state, where moisture is below normal, and parts of southeastern Montana, where moisture in 1,000-hour fuels is above normal. According to National Interagency Fire Center data, in 2009 Montana as a whole had 1,731 wildland fires that burned almost 49,000 acres. Last year, the state saw 1,050 starts that burned 56,700 acres. Those figures are about a third of what burned in the state in 2008, when 1,421 wildland fires burned 166,840 acres.
Going to the Sun Highway on the way to Logan Pass in Glacier National Park is experiencing its second-latest opening in its 78-year history. The Missoulian sez:
When Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright visited Logan Pass this week, he stood atop the Big Drift, a colossal snow bank on the Continental Divide. Cartwright was perched roughly 30 feet above the asphalt, and said such abundant snow at this time of year is unprecedented.


Wyoming is experiencing similar conditions while Colorado and the other four corner states are seeing more fires as a result of the 'decoupling' caused by changes in global climate.

A chunk of asteroid just flew within 7500 miles of Earth. Why is there no mechanism to give immediate pursuit with a robotic spacecraft? Metals are fetching incredible prices. Compel the Canadians who want to mine rare earth minerals in the Black Hills give a hefty portion of their proceeds to develop the technology to mine off-world.

A South Dakota blogger tipped us off to a protest today in the Montana Capitol. The Billings Gazette reported this:
Gov. Brian Schweitzer met with roughly 70 pipeline protesters who occupied his office Tuesday and demanded he renounce his support for a new pipeline project. Schweitzer told the group he would not cede to their demands. They then started playing the piano and dancing on the big table in the governor's reception room in apparent frustration with the direction of the meeting. A spokesman said the protest was the culmination of an Earth First! rally near the Montana/Idaho border in the Lolo National Forest.
Schweitzer was interviewed today on NPR's All Things Considered.
Posted by at 2 comments:
piled in , ,

7/26/11

Apex predators critical to saving global economy

It's the good rich guys against the bad rich guys. Ralph Nader hosted Ted Turner and Peter Lewis at the New York Public Library.

From HuffPo:
Philanthropist and CNN founder Ted Turner has turned his sights to renewable energy -- and he had some fighting words for the wind industry at the kickoff to its annual convention on Monday. "Let's go out and kick their asses. That's what they need, a good ass-kicking," Turner told the group assembled for the American Wind Energy Association's conference.
Montana's governor Brian Schweitzer was also in attendance at the conference:
He used Montana ranch-style anecdotes to describe the imperative for America to increase its energy independence. Schweitzer also compared the growth of domestic energy to the Apollo program to reach the moon and referenced Tom Brokaw's book, the Greatest Generation, on the contribution made by Americans during World War II. "The question is," said Schweitzer, "can we be the Greatest Generation?" To become another such generation, he suggested, the nation must tap its own vast resources to develop clean, affordable American wind power.
Steve Casimiro posted his argument for the need for apex predators in the wild at NewWest:
In Yellowstone National Park, the extirpation of wolves led to a flourishing elk population, which then overgrazed trees. Reductions in numbers of lions and leopards in parts of Africa has led to a rise of olive baboons, increasing contact with humans and the spread of intestinal parasites in humans and baboons. The decimation of sharks in the Chesapeake Bay has led to a proliferation of cow-nosed rays, which have over-consumed oysters. The authors said that to restore healthy ecosystems, land managers must also restore or reintroduce large predators. And just a note to those who would reflexively favor cattle over wolves: Cows are not part of a natural, healthy ecosystem.
The 20 largest debtor nations.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in ,

7/16/22

Schweitzer dings Montana Earth haters — again

Republican is simply another word for Earth hater.

Democrat Brian Schweitzer was governor when this scrivener was living in Montana but after leaving office he chose not to run for the US Senate allowing raving lunatic Steve Daines to win the seat. The sometimes bombastic but widely-liked Schweitzer became chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Company, Montana's largest revenue producer. 

In 2021 he raked Montana Republicans after they gave special treatment to South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy calling it "a fine mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism to match Russian President Vladimir Putin." 

Now, he's exposing Republican Ryan Zinke as just another political opportunist whose career has been financed on the public dole.
The head of the Montana Republican Party, a car salesman, has called Western District Congressional candidate Monica Tranel, who has worked in the private sector most of her life, a socialist. Yet, he has endorsed Ryan Zinke for that same office – that same Zinke who, since he was 22 years old has mostly cashed checks from the government, both in salaries and pensions. Who would be the largest socialist in Montana? A large ranch in southwest Montana, the Matador Ranch, sold this year. It had been owned for decades by the Koch family, a so-called bastion of private sector economic freedom. But the Koch brothers are no longer the largest socialists in Montana. They sold the ranch to a true expert in socialism, Rupert Murdoch. [The same old smear word from the GOP falls flat, rings hollow]
Today, the Montana Legislature is at least as demented as South Dakota's and the state's Earth hating governor is bleeding taxpayers for disaster relief just like Kristi Noem is. Noem sent a clear signal to her donors that she will do anything to raise money even extend the news desert to the tribal nations trapped in South Dakota where public broadcasting is still often the only link to an outside world. 

Noem is also a graduate of the Koch Brothers' American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, an anti-think tank think tank that preaches how wedge issues raise campaign dollars for the nut wing of the Republican Party. She has taken over $4 million in ag subsidies while blithely calling Democrats communists.

Montana Republicans have apparently forgotten that the ground they live on was seized from aboriginal cultures by liberal democrat, President Thomas Jefferson through an executive order that even he believed was unconstitutional.

Yes, it never ceases to amuse how Republicans paint Democrats as the party of slavery then praise the slavers who penned not just the Bill of Rights but the Declaration of Independence, too.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , , ,

4/29/13

Noem being enticed by DC: but what about the brothel?

You can bet that the beleaguered South Dakota Secretary of State wishes he could go back in time and not hire a quitter.

We all know how Kristi Noem got to Congress. Now she is dancin' with the ones who brung her.

But, what will she do after South Dakotans turn her out? Her Teabag buddy from Montana, Dennybriated Rehberg became a lobbyist, her friend and ally Michele Bachmann will probably go to jail. Recall that don Juan Thune gave blow jobs between terms as lawgiver in DC.

Why IS the earth hater party in South Dakota worried about our candidates' choices?

Former US House member Stephanie Herseth Sandlin would crush Noem if the election were held today for a fraction of the cost of a Senate bid. Brendan Johnson would run an effective campaign against Noem and anyone in a suit could beat ethically-compromised Mike Rounds or some yacho from the Tea-zone.

In two years SHS could unseat South Dakota's ineffectual current junior senator and force South Dakota from the 19th Century into the 21st.

Sen. Max Baucus won't run for reelection: his office has released his agenda for the time remaining in the term.

Max and his wife have been building a house in Bozeman reportedly talking about retirement for some time. He has led and will continue to lead on wilderness, women's reproductive and LGBTQ rights.

It comes as good news for Montana Democrats as former Gov. Brian Schweitzer is expected to annihilate any contender. He is doing exactly what most of us expected him to do. A draft Schweitzer for Senate movement is being developed.

Sometimes asked if he would run for President in 2106 in the aftermath of recent firearm restrictions legislation against which Baucus voted, Schweitzer was quoted by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle as saying:
In Iowa and Florida, those Democratic voters would ask me about things like gun control and I’d say things like,‘You control yours, I’ll control mine,' that’s not going to sell in a Democratic primary.
Good roundup here. Analysis here.
Posted by at 1 comment:
piled in , ,

9/7/12

Gov. Schweitzer on Myth Romney

President Obama is no radical leftist, that's for sure.

In fact, there were several lines in his speech last night that made me wince: like the line about America as the largest war machine in human history, for instance. 40% of the IRS take goes to militarism: that's unacceptable to this leftist especially when global warming is the greatest threat to our species.

Any debt clock must acknowledge that a cheaper dollar builds exports. As the Arms Dealer to the World, the US sells billions worth of advanced weapons to the Israeli mob and the Family of Saud who in turn, sell their old shit to Iran, Syria, and worse. So, what's the bad news?



Mitt's a good family man and a loyal American. But—and you knew there was a "but"—he brought the wrong agenda to Massachusetts. And he is the wrong guy to be president of the United States. Governor Mitt Romney saddled Massachusetts taxpayers with an additional $2.6 billion in debt, and left 'em with the most debt per capita of any state in America. Mitt, you can't Etch-A-Sketch away your record. Taxes: up. Cost of college: up. Debt: up. New business starts: down. Manufacturing: down. Median household income: down. Economic growth: down. If private equity Mitt Romney met Governor Mitt Romney, he'd do what he says he likes to do. He'd fire 'um, and outsource the job! Governor Romney said that finding Osama bin Laden was "not worth moving heaven and earth." Tonight, bin Laden isn't on earth, and he sure isn't in heaven. Thanks to the courage of American Special Forces and the bold leadership of our president, Osama bin Laden is at the bottom of the ocean.--Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
Steve Brodner at The Nation
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , ,

12/7/10

US withstands witch hunt intended to exterminate wolves

The US Fish and Wildlife Service resisted the efforts of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming governors to force the removal of wolves from endangered species protection.  Montana's governor Brian Schweitzer tells Matthew Brown of the Associated Press that it's "unlikely" the lame-duck congress will pander to the frothing anti-Earth set waving pitchforks, torches, and automatic weapons.

The Billings Gazette:


The Fish and Wildlife Service has previously approved plans to hunt the predators in Idaho and Montana — but not Wyoming. That's because Wyoming law classifies wolves as predators that can be shot on sight across most of the state.  Schweitzer said the administration was ready to back legislation to take wolves off the list in Montana and Idaho, while giving Wyoming three years to craft an acceptable management plan for the predators.  "I was ready to go forward with a hunt in January of 170-something wolves," he said. "But the governors, we couldn't come to a consensus with the secretary of Interior about a possible legislative fix."  U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled in August that it was illegal to declare the animal recovered from near-extinction across a part of its range while it remained at risk in Wyoming.

The technology exists to administer drugs without capture that neuter or spay not just the predators, but the ungulates decimating deciduous tree populations essential to forest restoration efforts in western states.

--------------------------------------------------------Update:  Check out this editorial in The Arizona Republic:

The Endangered Species Act is a popular, scientifically sound law that has had spectacular success recovering species like eagles, condors and wolves [that] Congress should not undermine.
Posted by at 2 comments:
piled in , ,

7/22/13

Did you honestly believe Brian Schweitzer was going to run?

Schweitzer tag here.

Yes, Montana sucks more than DC
3 (37%)

No, DC sucks more than Montana
3 (37%)

meh
2 (25%)

Thanks to all voting. The post got 79 hits.

Posted by at No comments:
piled in , , , , , ,

4/2/13

Montana key to winning bison war

A thirty five hundred mile figure eight just proved to this blogger that the Coteau des Prairies, the Black Hills, the Front Range, and the myriad watersheds that give life to the Missouri River Basin, are at grave risk to the Anthropocene.

The root of the decimation may be best described by this paragraph from Jim Robbins in the New York Times:
Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who fought for the transfer of bison to Indian reservation land, believes the battle comes down to a competition for grass. “These cattlemen make a great part of their living off subsidized grazing,” he said. While the federal government charges $1.38 to graze a cow and calf for a month, private landowners charge $22. “Buffalo are a large animal that could become active competition” for cheap grazing on federal land, Mr. Schweitzer said.
Even Illinois seems to understand.

On the central and southern portions, wildlife corridors tying the Buffalo Gap, Oglala, Pawnee, and Comanche National Grasslands with the Thunder Basin by leasing private and tribal lands might be the easiest to pull off.

The solution to connecting it to the northern expanse and the upper Missouri Basin has yet to appear in this tortured mind.

Rocky Mountain juniper, yucca and ponderosa pine share the habitat in which bison thrive.

The relatively small distance between the Canadian River and the Rio Grande reminded me again how the earliest humans, thwarted by glaciers, the dire wolf, and Smilodon on everything north of the Sangre de Cristos terminating at Santa Fe, blazed the Pecos Trail from west to east into The Great Plains to find an inland paradise teeming with prey. Human successes likely contributed to the extinction of those two species and most camelids some 11,000 years ago.

President Obama: it's time to rewild the West: tear out the main stem dams, extend the CM Russell Wildlife Refuge to Oacoma, South Dakota along the Missouri River and to Yellowstone then to the Yukon.

It’s time for cougars to enjoy Endangered Species protection and for you, Mr. President, to dissolve the Black Hills National Forest; and, in cooperation with BIA Forestry and Wildfire Management, rename it Okawita Paha National Monument then make it part of the Greater Missouri Basin National Wildlife Refuge.

Urge Governor Steve Bullock to veto a bill supported by the earth hating Heartland Institute in the Montana legislature seeking to create the illusion that Big Hydro is sustainable: be very afraid.
Posted by at No comments:
piled in , , , , , , , , ,

8/9/14

Big Lebowski actor could get Montana Democratic Senate nod

Actor Jeff Bridges is a Park County, Montana resident: a petition is being circulated to enter his name into nomination to replace Senator John Walsh who left the 2014 campaign following allegations of plagiarism. Walsh says he'll finish the term Governor Steve Bullock appointed him to after long-time Senator Max Baucus resigned to be named Ambassador to China by President Obama.

Former governor, Brian Schweitzer, long-considered to be a shoo-in for the post, blew it off to joist with windmills.

David Letterman is also a Montana resident.

Montana Dems are holding a nominating convention in Helena on Sat., Aug. 16 at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, starting at 9 AM.





Posted by at 3 comments:
piled in
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)