Garage sale season is wrapping up, but bargain hunters stumbled across more than grandma’s old craft supplies at a recent “Tactical Civics Fundraiser.”
What the Funk is Tactical Civics?
Don’t be misled by the title. This group has little to do with civics and far more to due with the far-right fantasy of overthrowing our government. Members of this militia organization encourage citizens to take the law into their own hands. To the average non-cultist, this sounds a lot like encouraging neighbors to commit crimes against each other. The group gained momentum during the Covid-era, opposing mask mandates and yelling “Oppression!” when what they meant was “Minor Inconvenience!” Chief among their propaganda is an urgent message- We are not a militia! However, that’s a hard sell when chief among the group’s goals is to challenge our Democracy and send armed citizens out to enforce laws as they see fit.
Masking their true intentions is a key, well, tactic of Tactical Civics. This was evident in Great Falls’ garage sale/fundraiser, which encouraged folks to bring a canned food donation. Unfortunately for Republicans, many Great Falls citizens are actually paying attention. We can spot militia organization when we see it, and this event was clearly an attempt to recruit new members into this insane ideology.
What’s more terrifying than a militia group holding a fundraiser under the guise of helping the poor? Having 2 wealthy and well-known elected officials play host. This fundraiser was held on property owned by Republican Legislators Steven and Lola Galloway. The Galloways make no attempt to hide their crazy, with Lola Sheldon-Galloway frequently protesting outside of Planned Parenthood, threatening our school boards, and making up lies about stolen elections. Still, hosting a fundraiser for a militia group is questionable when both Steven and Lola are currently seeking re-election.
The Galloways’ continued scorn for our system of government begs the question, why the funk are they running for office when they clearly hate our country?
A Facebook post advertising the Fundraiser shows the Galloway-owned property playing host.
It’s been a banner year for Calumet, the company behind the oil refinery in Great Falls. Despite gross profits of over $70 million dollars in 2021, both the GF City Commission and Cascade County Commission continue to give Calumet massive tax breaks.
Property taxes are a key source of funding for our community, including our schools. Earlier this year, the City Commission approved a tax abatement to the tune of $2.77 million. That’s money Calumet doesn’t have to pay into property taxes. This means Calumet continues to enjoy prime river-front property and its increase in employees adds stress to our infrastructure, with almost no return on investment for the rest of us.
With no commitment to hiring locally, how do these tax breaks benefit us? The short answer is: They don’t. Although I fully support Calumet’s transition to more renewable energy, the company is absolutely capable of paying its fair share of property taxes.
As regular Great Falls’ families struggle with rising taxes amid extraordinary inflation, Calumet was given another property tax break, this time by the County Commission. A second gift to this million-dollar business, Calumet will pay only 50% of its property tax value for the next five years.
Highlighting the absurdity of these abatements, Great Falls citizens are currently being asked to pay higher taxes to support a public safety levy. Asking already-struggling families to suck it up and pay more while simultaneously giving the refinery a multimillion-dollar tax break is a hard pill to swallow.
As stress on our roads, schools, and housing market near a breaking point, its time that we all ask: Why the funk aren’t we making Calumet paying its fair share?
Last week, far-right blog E City Beat was seemingly shocked to discover that nobody considers them a legitimate news source. The blog’s history of unethical and misleading “reporting” is too numerous to list, but you can check out one recent example here.
WTF has highlighted Commissioner Tryon’s lack of journalistic ethics, and many candidates have long steered clear of promoting the hate-mongering of ECB’s authors. Now, the blog’s Republican base is realizing that aligning with extremism may not be the most electable course of action.
As pro-choice sentiment permeates the nation, Great Falls’ Republicans are afraid of losing their seats. Luckily, we already know where Republican incumbents stand on abortion. Every Great Falls’ Republican voted AGAINST choice last session, and we have no doubt they’ll do the same if elected again.
Now, the same Republicans that have benefited from ECB’s radicalism are refusing to answer a candidate questionnaire. A screenshot from ECB’s resulting temper tantrum confirms that R candidates don’t want voters to know their real stance on abortion. Luckily, we don’t need any survey from a mediocre hate blog to know where these candidates stand. A total abortion ban is a top priority for Montana’s GOP. If we want to protect privacy in Montana, we need to vote Democrat down the entire ticket.
As for ECB’s hilarious “demand” for local candidates to respond to their survey, I can’t help but enjoy the obvious sense of entitlement. I suspect were WTF to make similar demands, we’d quickly be called “snowflakes” and reminded that nobody owes us anything. I have no doubt that Democratic candidates will respond to questionnaires that come from actual journalists and news sources. In the meantime, we’ll continue to spread the word about where Republicans really stand on abortion. Truly, we never needed ECB for that.
Screenshot of Republicans’ response to ECB and resulting tantrum
Republican Darling JD Hall’s Fall From Grace Exposes Allegations of Serious Crimes
Great Falls Republicans were quick to embrace far-right extremist Jordan Hall. On February 17, 2022, Hall was the featured speaker for the Republican “Pachyderm Club.” Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci is a vocal supporter of disgraced pastor Jordan Hall. Pinocci went so far as to be featured in a newspaper advertisement supporting Hall. Yet Republicans throughout Great Falls have been utterly silent amid Hall’s extreme fall from grace. Who the funk is Jordan Hall?
Hall found infamy after defaming a prominent Indigenous, Two-Spirit lobbyist, Adrian Jawort. Jawort sued Hall, and after a scary and prolonged trial, Jawort prevailed. Hall eventually admitted his entire story was a lie. However, before losing the lawsuit against him, Hall went on a statewide tour, spreading hate, homophobia, and transphobia. This included several stops in Great Falls, rubbing shoulders with our own local right-wing extremist politicians.
Hall’s dangerous behavior escalated, and he threatened to kill Raph Graybill, attorney for Jawort. Hall also made disparaging comments about Great Falls’ own Judge Best who presided over the case. Shortly after losing against Jawort, Hall faced yet another accusation of defamation.
Despite Hall’s clear lack of character and extreme bigotry, there’s been not a peep from the Great Falls’ politicians that welcomed Hall with open arms. Perhaps this is not a surprise, given the pervasive culture of homophobia within the Republican Party. (Remember, Great Falls received a mere 6 out of 100 points in the 2021 Municipal Equality Index Scorecard.) However, Hall’s most recent offenses seem entirely at odds with the “family centered” façade Republicans cling to.
Previous hatemongering notwithstanding, Hall’s downward spiral has only gained momentum since his court losses. Hall’s newest hits include:
– Arrest for suspicion of DUI and weapons charges – Admission of drug abuse and a felony charge for drug possession – Investigation into potential bankruptcy fraud – Investigation into claims Hall embezzled around $10,000 from his church – Investigation into a serious incident of spouse and child abuse including strangulation and assault with a deadly weapon
Clearly Hall’s disgusting and hateful rhetoric towards the LGBTQ+ community and his threats towards attorneys didn’t dissuade Pinocci from offering his full support. Nor did it prevent the local Pachyderm Club from inviting this bigot to speak to their group. GF Republicans have clearly been infiltrated by far-right conspiracy nuts…like the rest of the Republican Party across the state.
Hall tweets a warning to Greybill and transphobic message to Jawort
A large group of pro-choice activists gathered at Gibson Park last Saturday. The goal? Fight back against egregious assaults on our bodily autonomy. Activists registered voters, wrote postcards to their representatives and connected with local pro-choice candidates. But all work and no play quickly leads to burnout, so fun was also on the agenda. A free clothing giveaway, yoga, and musical entertainment all added to the spirit of community involvement.
Attendees were also treated to a visit from Congressional House Candidate, Penny Ronning. Ronning is running against Republican Matt Rosendale and Independent Gary Buchanan for Montana’s Eastern district. Ronning candidly shared her reasons for being firmly pro-choice. Rosendale’s anti-choice views are clearly established. Buchanan’s website addresses the right to privacy, but the word “abortion” is not included in that section.** Uncompromising support for reproductive freedom is a non-negotiable for many of us as we approach election season. For me, that includes openly saying the word “abortion.” Avoiding the word promotes continued stigmatization. So, Ronning’s unapologetic support for our medical freedom and willingness to say “abortion” is a welcome departure from the usual “play both sides” politics we’re all used to.
The arts have always been a haven of creativity, free speech, and peaceful protest. Live music was provided by artists Joe Ryan, Red Sky Morning from Lewistown, and Great Falls’ own Dirt Wave. All entertainers donated their time and talents in support of abortion rights. Barb Walden of Yoga! Of Course! also treated guests to a free yoga class, a self-care essential when the current dystopia is getting your down. Check out these awesome talents here: Dirtwave: https://www.facebook.com/dirtwaveMT Joe Ryan: Joe doesn’t have a facebook, but he performs every Sunday at the Black Eagle Country Club from 10am-1pm and every Wednesday at the Halftime Sports Bar from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Barb Walden Yoga! Of Course! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078264060601
If you weren’t able to make it Saturday, stay tuned as we’ll have many other Pro-Choice activism opportunities coming your way! Until then, enjoy these snapshots!
***updated for clarity and readability
Candidate Lela Graham speaks with Pro-Choice votersCongressional candidate, Penny Ronning, shares her Pro-Choice story with the crowdMusical artist, Joe Ryan, entertains activists while they register to vote Your intrepid author defies the heat to sport this fashionable contraception ensemble
