by Guest Writer | Feb 6, 2023 | Elections
By Tawny Cale
In all seriousness, how do you celebrate Columbus Day? Do you take advantage of a big mattress sale? Do you walk into a random person’s home, set up shop, rob and exploit them?
What’s that? Oh, you don’t celebrate. Unless you are part of the problematically named Knights of Columbus, chances are Columbus Day means absolutely nothing to you. In fact, besides the sing-song “Back in 1492,” you probably don’t ever give much thought to Columbus.
But Indigenous People of the Americas do. Seeing the name pop up on the calendar every year is a stark reminder that upholding American mythology is more important than the actual history. More important than recognizing how today’s struggles that our communities face are the direct result of colonization and attempted genocide.
Now, Google is free so I will not lecture you with the laundry list of atrocities committed by Columbus and his men that were sanctified by the Doctrine of Discovery. But 500+ years later, we know and can do better. It’s time to shift the narrative perspective and amplify the voices that have been silenced or talked over. Let’s celebrate the contributions, resiliency, and beauty of your Indigenous neighbors, friends, and relatives.
Please join me in emailing or calling your legislators today and ask them to support SB 141. Mitakuye Oyasin. We are all related.
Tawny Cale is an enrolled citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a resident of Great Falls, MT.
Read SB 141 here: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billpdf/SB0141.pdf
by Jasmine Taylor | Feb 4, 2023 | Elections, Housing, LGBTQ+ Issues
Some days it feels like we’re running a satire site here. I sit down to re-cap the Worst of the Worst and don’t know if I should start with the craziest (Lola Sheldon Galloway) or the stupidest (Daniel Emrich). So instead I’ll start with the most self-serving.
MOST SELF-SERVING
Lola and Steven Galloway are millionaire landlords, and they’re shaping new laws to make themselves even richer. This week, Steven introduced legislation (HB 439) that would make it easier for landlords to evict tenants, and invade their privacy. Read about Steven’s obliquely self-serving bill here: https://wtf406.com/2023/01/galloway-attacks-renters-rights/
Now Steven’s receiving help from his friend to further diminish renter’s rights. Senator Steve Fitzpatrick introduced SB 105, a bill that would “prohibit rent control on private properties.” That means landlords like the Galloways can charge insanely high rental prices. Without rent control Montana’s housing crisis will worsen. Folks will either become unhoused, or they’ll be forced to move out of state. We’re already seeing a huge increase of families living in RVs on the side of the road in Bozeman. Bills like these will worsen the housing crisis. Fitzpatrick’s bill benefits the wealthy (ie all the elected Reps in Great Falls) at the expense of the rest of us.
MOST HEARTLESS
Most Heartless is actually a tie this week.
The “Pro-Life” Party was hard at work killing kids again. Steve Gist, Scott Kerns, Steven Galloway, and Lola Galloway all voted against funding for youth suicide prevention. Montana continually leads the nation in suicides. Youth are particularly at risk, and other bills being heard will likely increase the number of suicide attempts by kids in our state. Denying funding for suicide prevention efforts while simultaneously passing bills that will increase youth suidice? That’s some villain shit right there.
Read about why SB99 is going to kill kids here: https://wtf406.com/2023/01/sb-99-likely-to-increase-youth-suicide/
Senator Daniel Emrich managed to be disgusting on another end of the spectrum. Montana is a Right to Die state, meaning Montana’s can choose to die with dignity assisted by compassionate medical care. Emrich just can’t pass up an opportunity to impose his will on our private medical decisions. The GOP is trying to take away our right to die and criminalize doctors who provide this care. Despite his embarrassing lack of scientific understanding (more to come on this) Emrich decided he knows better than the Montana Hospital Association, doctors, patients, and their families. Emrich’s unkind and uninformed comments are featured in this article:
https://dailymontanan.com/2023/02/01/bill-would-outlaw-physician-assisted-death-reversing-montanas-current-practice/?fbclid=IwAR3n5NCzUtcONW2Rv_HvqxSmS0POW-CoKWHY8XaDwKlzMA46gs2-3lQRe44
MOST UNEDUCATED
Which brings us to why Senator Emrich should probably sit down when anything even science-adjacent is discussed. Emrich is trying to ban the teaching of “scientific theory.” No, seriously. The theory of gravity must have hit this breadstick in the head because he clearly lacks even a third-grade level of scientific understanding. Read this somehow-not-a-joke bill here: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billpdf/LC2215.pdf
MOST ORWELLIAN
Lola Galloway is all over the list this week! Galloway has introduced a bill that would require ALL cell phones in Montana be installed with an ”obscenity” filter. Notably, she provides no definition for “obscenity.” Make no mistake, this is a government surveillance bill. Lola employs a familiar GOP tactic here and is trying to disguise her censorship attempts as an effort to protect children. Her bill asserts that the filter is necessary so kids can’t access obscene materials. Protecting kids from the dark corners of the internet would indeed be a worthy cause- but installing surveillance software on every phone in the state is an insane way to go about it. Further, it’s the responsibility of PARENTS to monitor their child’s internet usage. It sure as hell shouldn’t come in the form of an opt-out piece of government surveillance on every cell phone in the state. Much like the other bullshit “obscenity” legislation we’ve seen this session, the real goal is BIG GOVERNMENT eyes on us and attempts to limit access to material far-right nationalist Christians don’t like. That’s going to be anything LGBTQ+ and anything non-theistic. If Lola actually gave a fuck about kids, she probably would have voted for the suicide-prevention funding mentioned above. Read the bill here: https://legiscan.com/MT/text/HB349/id/2668315
GET INVOLVED
The GOP is taking huge steps to invade our private lives, take away our homes, and make themselves rich all at once. Great Falls, this is getting embarrassing. If you disagree with the dystopian future our Great Falls Reps are trying to write into law, then tell them! Find session information, look up bills, and contact your representatives here: https://leg.mt.gov/session/
