by Ken Toole | Sep 23, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch
Ken Toole| Sept 23, 2024| E-City Beat✔ Watch
City Commissioner Rick Tryon recently published a piece in E-City Beat ✔ under his name. (Usually they don’t give the author’s names). Since he is a local elected official and his piece takes a shot at anyone who dares to to be “progressive” and have an independent thought about corporate behavior, it deserves some response.
After referring to progressives as “anti-corporate blabbermouths,” he accuses them of being hypocrites if they criticize corporate behavior while using products produced by corporations. So you don’t have to go to his blog, here’s a quote which pretty much sums it up:
“Even right here in Great Falls it’s surprising how many times I hear and read local progressives implying, or just coming right out and saying, that corporations are at the root of all of our problems – even while those same folks continue buying, using, and consuming corporate goods and services 24/7/365.”
Tryon’s High School Humor
This is followed by high-school level cheeky examples of corporate products used by his imagined progressives including Starbucks, Subarus, Paul McCartney albums, Green Energy Corporation, and DreamWorks among others. It’s an attempt at sarcastic humor that falls flat on its face.
If Tryon wants to step into the role of apologist for corporate shenanigans, his constituents might want to ask him how he feels about the effect of Calumet’s repeated property tax appeals on city and local school budgets. Does he agree with Calumet’s assertion that the entire Montana Renewables plant (which produces biofuels for sale) should be classified as “pollution control equipment” and get a greatly reduced tax rate?
He Doesn’t Care About Your Residential Property Tax?
Residential taxpayers might want to ask him what he thinks about the dramatic increase in local residential property taxes while large centrally assessed (corporate) property taxes either went down or remained the same. Is Tryon happy that corporations have been granted the same status as individual citizens under the United States Constitution? How about allowing them to pour money into our political process? And maybe we should ask him who he represents, the citizens of Great Falls or the faceless legal structure we all call corporations.
Both WTF406 and E-City Beat✔ are organized as corporations. There are lots of corporations. Some are good and some bad and everything in between. Tryon’s idea that all progressives are anti-corporate is as stupid as saying all conservatives like crappy country music.
For more discussion of this issue, check out our recent editorial about inflation and profiteering
https://dailymontanan.com/2024/09/22/inflation-or-profiteering/
by Ken Toole | Jul 2, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch
E-City Beat✔ Whining Again
I don’t read E-City Beat✓ much. But it has come to my attention that Phil Faccenda, one of the writers for that blog, took offense to a recent post I wrote about some guy with a huge “Fuck Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” banner on the front of his pickup at a crowded public campground on the Missouri River. https://wtf406.com/2024/06/nice-afternoon-with-my-grandson/
At first I thought that Phil’s problem would be the fact that we had posted a photo of the offensive banner with the word “fuck” on it. A reasonable assumption given E-City Beat✓’s consistent support for censorship at the library. But it turned out that wasn’t the problem at all. Phil said he thought the posting was hypocritical, because our blog had used the word “fuck” in some of our postings.
So, apparently, in Phil’s mind, placing a large banner saying “Fuck Joe Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” in a public campground with lots of people around (including little kids) who have no choice but to look at it, is somehow the same as using the word “fuck” in an on-line blog which readers have to seek out and is privately owned. Seems like quite a stretch to me but, as I read the whole posting he wrote, it became apparent that his real problem is Jasmine Taylor and Helena Lovick. They are two young women who also write for our blog and have a long history of challenging Phil Facecnda and Rick Tryon, the editors of E-City Beat✓.
To bolster the circular logic of his argument, Phil provided a list of posts written by Jasmine and Helena. He obviously spent a lot of time going through our blog. Fine with us. It just gives us more exposure.
But the whole episode leaves me wondering. Does Phil have no objection at all to this kind of public display? What if a bunch of Trumpers decided to park their banners at Gibson Park or The City Water Park? How about in the 4th of July Parade? In his effort to take a shot at the WTF406 Blog, he left common sense and logic far behind.
by Guest Writer | Jun 13, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch
By Jackie (Mike) Brown blogger for the Western Word
Apparently, someone got under Great Falls City Commissioner Rick Tryon’s skin again. He penned a column that was posted on the E-City Beat blog:
Tryon says:
In light of some of the recent chatter around town I thought this would be a good time to offer my own opinion on the character of my hometown.
I grew up in Great Falls in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I raised my own two daughters here and helped to get a couple of my grandkids started right here in the Electric City, so I take strong exception to some of the disparaging, insulting, and divisive comments which have made it into the local news recently about the kind of community this is and people who live here.
Despite what some of the loudest most obnoxious local voices would have you believe, the overwhelming majority of folks in this community are not bigots, homophobes, racists or haters.
He does ask the question, “Are there jackasses in this town?” He answers his question with, “Sure, just like in any other town.”
I think I know one…
If you haven’t done so already, check out The Western Word blog https://thewesternword.com/
by Ken Toole | Mar 27, 2024 | City, E-City Beat Watch, Elections
Cascade County’s far right was mad as hell when the County Commissioners removed election duties from Sandra Merchant’s control. Nevermind that Marchant had fouled up virtually everything she touched since taking office in January of 2023.
When the County Commission held a hearing on Ordinance 23-65, which removed election duties from Merchant’s Clerk and Recorder’s office to the County Commission office, the hearing lasted 7 hours. Cascade County was treated to a cavalcade of baseless allegations, bible quotes and challenges to Commissioner’s motivation and patriotism. It was quite a show. But in the end, Commissioner’s Joe Briggs and Jim Larson stood for competent election administration and placed election administration under the Commission office. Here’s a summary of that meeting: https://wtf406.com/2023/12/the-grinch-in-great-falls/
In response, these folks organized a petition drive to place the issue on the ballot and give people the opportunity to express their opinion supporting their point of view. But, alas, they failed. Not only did the imagined vast majority of supporters not get to vote, signature gatherers couldn’t even get the required 15% of eligible voters to sign the petition to place the measure on the ballot.
Read our prior coverage here: https://wtf406.com/2024/01/dont-sign-the-petition/
In order to place the measure before voters the organizers had to get approximately 5,500 signatures from registered voters in Cascade County. But after 90 days signature gatherers only managed to gather 1,242 verified signatures. Less than a quarter of the required number. So much for a wave of public support for the Merchant/Grulkowski crowd of conspiracy theorists.
Note: Since starting this blog we have learned that getting public information from Cascade County is incredibly difficult and frustrating. We found the new election administrator, Terry Thompson, to be an exception. Our request for information about the signature gathering effort was responded to in a timely manner with complete and accurate information.
by Jasmine Taylor | Mar 2, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch
Jeni Dodd, our favorite cosplay patriot, also seems to be one of our most devoted readers. If I make a typo or forget a comma, Jeni is sure to let me know. As What The Funk is a volunteer-based project, it’s great to have a volunteer-editor like Jeni to let me know when I mess up. Today, I want to thank Jeni for pointing out an error I made in a previous article, and the error was certainly bigger than a misspelling. I incorrectly identified Beth Cummings as the latest hire at the elections office. My mistake, and my apologies to Beth Cummings.
I should have identified Beth Cummings as one of the lead plaintiffs in a failed lawsuit attacking the library levy. I’ve updated the article to reflect the correction: https://wtf406.com/2024/02/ecb-hatesphilanthropy/
To understand important context, we have to back up to last year. The library mill levy was on the ballot. Sandra Merchant’s numerous mistakes resulted in the court appointing an election monitor to ensure the election ran smoothly and lawfully. As we previously reported, “volunteers” working in the elections office during the library mill levy were allegedly distributing anti-library materials while volunteering.
Well, the library levy passed, despite the misinformation campaign propagated by the far-right. Shortly after its passing, a lawsuit was filed attempting to keep the library from implementing those mills. One of the lead plaintiffs in that lawsuit? Beth Cummings.
Just this week, a judge threw that lawsuit out. Importantly, the judge explicitly states that it appears the plaintiffs (ie Cummings) had no actual legal dispute, were aware of such, and were simply angry about the results.
Read The Electric article here: https://theelectricgf.com/2024/02/28/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-city-over-library-election/
The articles states,
“In her order, issued Feb. 27, Perry dismissed the case, writing, ‘although their filings are detailed and generally well organized, every one of their legal arguments is wrong. They are consistently mistaken about which sections of law actually apply to the instant matter, misread and misapply controlling precedent, and generally find fault where no fault actually exists or any error was clearly harmless. It is difficult to read their filings and come away with any impression other than that this action is a thinly veiled attempt to undo an election result they dislike rather than a truly justified complaint about a mishandled or otherwise legally problematic election.”
Huge thank you to Jeni for bringing this mistake to my attention.
As to Jeni’s other arguments in her piece, we anticipated E City Beat’s lame defense of their story about the library levy campaign. In fact, we addressed it in our own article. As to Jeni’s other assertions about the levy, these claims were already addressed in court, as mentioned above.
by WTF 406 Staff | Feb 29, 2024 | City, E-City Beat Watch
As we previously reported, Commissioner Rick Tryon has been relentlessly attacking the library. Read about those attacks here: https://wtf406.com/2024/01/tryon-ignores-voters-threatens-library-funding/
Funding our library benefits the entire community. Let’s help protect our library and its vital services by doing one or more of the following action items:
The city commissioners have decided to begin negotiations regarding the City/Library management agreement. The library currently receives city funding through 17 voted mills (passed by voters last June) and 7 mills by agreement (through the management agreement started 31 years ago). Some commissioners feel the 7 mills would be better utilized for safety funding and are seeking to modify the terms of the agreement to reduce city funding for the library.
Should the city require the library to give up the 7 mills, the library will be right back where it started regarding funding.
Voters spoke up for increased library services. The library is working hard to implement this plan. Should the library lose 7 mills, your library and your community will suffer.
2. The members of the public attending the Great Falls Public Library Board of Trustee meetings have become exponentially negative-focused and intimidating to the board trustees (volunteers). While it is absolutely everyone’s right and duty to attend public meetings and express their concerns, the opinions expressed do not accurately represent the general population. Our public library and its trustees NEED OUR SUPPORT!
Please commit to at least one of the following regularly:
1. Attend a GFPL Board Meeting Make comments of support/celebration/feedback OR be a friendly face in the audience.
2Email the GFPL Trustees:.: Email Library Director Susie McIntyre, [email protected] with the subject line “FOR THE BOARD”
3. Email the Great Falls City Commission:
4. Encourage your friends and family to attend meetings or email feedback.
5. Attend City Commission meetings and express your desire that they honor the long-standing library funding agreement.
Board of Trustee information, meeting times, agendas, minutes and video links:
Upcoming GFPL Board of Trustee Meetings:
Tuesday, March 26th, 4:30 pm
Tuesday, April 23rd, 4:30 pm
Tuesday, May 28th, 4:30 pm
Upcoming City Commission Meetings:
Tuesday, March 5th, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, March 19th, 7:00 pm
