Last night, Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elsie Arntzen, hosted a forum at Heritage Hall at Great Falls College MSU and it was standing room only. Several Great Falls legislators, school board members, and school district superintendents attended the event.
Why such impressive attendance?
In the days before the event, Great Falls Rising had sent multiple emails with a forwarded message from Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Tom Moore. In the message, Moore stated “none of the superintendents have received personal invitations to attend” the four events that were scheduled by the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) and he urged people to attend the meeting. To be honest, there has been a lot of broken trust between the OPI and Montana’s public schools. A year ago, the superintendent of every AA school in Montana signed a letter of no confidence in the OPI due to several failings during Superintendent Arntzen’s tenure. A motivation to rally around our schools might have packed the room.
What was the event’s purpose?
Ironically for a meeting about “bridging” communication, communication of the meeting’s purpose was poor. After the first 45 minutes of the forum, one audience member took the mic and asked the question on many of our minds. “What is the purpose of this meeting?”
Elsie Arntzen took back the mic and gifted us with an incoherent, rambling statement. I wrote, “WTF” in my notebook because her answer made zero sense.
Excuse me, what?
The questioning audience member tried to ask her question again, but Elsie either didn’t want to provide the real reason and/or was unable to articulate a response. Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Tom Moore stepped in and briefly explained that he understood the purpose of the meeting was to have a conversation with the newly elected legislators in our area. To engage our parents, school leaders, and legislators in discussing issues of mutual interest before the upcoming legislative session. It was nice of Moore to try to hypothesize why Arntzen decided to host these forums.
Okay, Superintendent Moore’s answer made some sense – but – an astute audience member asked a great follow-up question. Why were these meetings only scheduled in the “more red” cities of Kalispell, Great Falls, Billings and Stevensville? Why weren’t forums scheduled in Helena, Bozeman, Butte or Missoula? On brand, Superintendent Arntzen’s response was a confusing paragraph of buzzwords. While her answer made little sense, she implied meetings would be held in the bluer cities in the future.
Nothing political to see here people!
If Superintendent Arntzen was expecting a venue to spew anti-public school and “parental choice” gibberish, she sure didn’t get it. When newly elected Daniel Emrich (SD-11) stood up and said that if you want to raise teachers’ salaries, you need to cut administrators’ – the crowd booed! A teacher spoke up and said that we need to keep public dollars in public schools and loud applause broke out.
What did other Republican legislators have to say?
Besides Emrich, a couple other Republican legislators in the room spoke and had tense interactions with GFPS Superintendent Moore. Jeremy Trebas (SD-13) pressed Moore about accountability for student achievement. Moore responded with a graph visually demonstrating all of the extra demands we have put on the shoulders of our educators over the past decades. Scot Kerns (HD-23) complained that communication between the schools and the public needed to be a two-way street. Moore responded by saying there were procedures in place to request information, fill out a form to release salary information. Kerns loudly interjected that he had filled out the form. Moore responded that other legislators have made an effort to go to the schools and work with administrators and teachers directly. It seemed as if he was calling out Kerns’ accusations of non-transparency as being in bad faith.
Tough subjects were raised. I’m glad our legislators were there to hear them.
People brought up the fact that taxpayers are tapped out for increased property taxes. Multiple audience members mentioned that our students needed more mental health and prevention services, not less. That subject was raised in a direct response to Arntzen’s proposed elimination of mandated school counselor ratios.
Based on the mood in the room, I felt hopeful. Because the word had gotten out, there was a strong, pro-public school sentiment in the room. We didn’t have the attacks on our schools seen at the Kalispell and Stevensville forums. People were speaking out and paying attention. If we want improved student achievement, we need to invest in our children. We can’t do that by asking more and more of individual taxpayers. The state needs to allocate monies properly to fund our PUBLIC schools. An audience member asked, “Who is going to want to teach in five years with these attacks on our public schools?” You heard us, Great Falls legislators. SUPPORT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Had enough of election politics? Well, that’s true for most of us here in Montana. But then came the news that Montana’s former Secretary of State – turned mediocre country western singer – Corey Stapleton is running for president. Stapleton obviously has no lack of ego and a certain attraction to delusional thinking, that’s for sure. So let’s take a quick look at his illustrious political career just to see what kind of president he might be.
Is he a political hack?
In 2020, a court ordered Stapleton to remove the Green Party from the ballot following revelations that the Montana Republican party spent $100,000 to qualify the Green Party for a slot on the ballot. It was an obvious underhanded attempt to siphon votes from Democratic candidates. As Secretary of State, Stapleton not only supported this kind of game, he appealed the court decision to the US Supreme Court . . .twice. His petition was denied both times.
Is he ethically challenged?
In August of 2020 the Billings Gazette wrote an editorial with the following title: “Stapleton Shows Why He is Unfit for Any Office.” The editorial says it better than we possibly could: “There was the issue of the nonexistent voter fraud that Stapleton referred to in public, then blamed the media for reporting. There was the problem with the unauthorized expense to the state for a personal ‘big truck’ he used to commute to work. There was the attempt to declare a bill vetoed by the governor as the law of the land, a move a judge found to be ‘without constitutional or statutory support.’ There was the botched voter guide and rush-job $265,000 correction, commissioned from a political ally’s print shop without bid. And there was the fine for using resources from the Secretary of State’s Office to announce his campaign for governor — a campaign he later abandoned to run instead for Montana’s House seat when that position looked more easily attainable.” Thank you, Billings Gazette.
Is he an ambitious politician?
In 2000, he was elected to the Montana Senate where he sat for two terms. In 2012, he ran for governor and lost the Republican primary to Rick Hill. In 2013, he announced he was running for the U.S. Senate but withdrew when Steve Daines also announced. Instead, he ran for Congress, losing in the 2014 Republican primary to Ryan Zinke. In 2016, he ran for Secretary of State and won – going on to prove his arrogance and incompetence in public office as summarized by the Billings Gazette above. In 2019, he again announced his intention to run for governor but withdrew and ran for Congress, losing in the 2020 Republican primary to Matt Rosendale. And now he is running for President of the United States.
Wait! We almost forgot. . .now he is a country western singer. He just released his second album. So is he a good country singer? Um. . . meh. Check it out for yourself. https://ffm.to/westernson
Well, there we have it. Now Corey is running for president. Who on earth would vote for an ethically challenged hack with a record of failure and mismanagement? Maybe country music fans? Of course he won’t win. . .will he? Well, most of us thought the same about Donald Trump. Stay tuned.
It’s been a couple weeks since the 2022 general election and What the Funk is here to talk you through the shitshow facing Montana. In Cascade County, with a 59% voter turnout, in every contested race, the Democrat lost. Republicans flipped two senate seats and retained all of their house seats. And yes, that means Republicans now have a supermajority in the state legislature and the governorship. They’re already introducing constitutional amendments left and right. We were worried this would happen if voters gave Montana Republicans a supermajority. You can read our full blog post about it here, with an overview excerpt below:
First, they will be able to propose constitutional amendments by referring them to the ballot, if they garner the support of two-thirds of legislators. That means that 100 politicians in Helena can put amendments to our constitution on the ballot. Currently, amendments can only be proposed by gathering enough citizen signatures. It’s hard to do, meaning that lots of amendments are proposed, but few actually make it to the ballot.
Second, a supermajority can call for an unlimited constitutional convention by referring a convention call to the ballot. If approved, a convention can propose changes to virtually anything in the constitution by a vote of the delegates.
What other impacts can we expect from this election?
Beyond the changes to the legislature due to the election, the Cascade County Commission is now a completely Republican board. Rina Fontana Moore is also out as Clerk and Recorder (pending the results of a recount in a race with only a thirty vote lead by her opponent). Republican County Commissioner Joe Briggs has stated that he plans to propose an ordinance change to move elections under the county commission.
Things look pretty bleak, but we did see a few glimmers of hope from our statewide elections. The State Supreme Court Justices Gustafson and Rice handily retained their seats. Gustafson was especially impressive – withstanding a full court press of Republican endorsements and campaigning for her opponent. A strong judicial branch is still part of Montana’s government!And LR-131, the truly shitty bill that attempted to interject the government into grieving families’ healthcare decisions for their dying infants, was voted down with a statewide vote of 53% Against to 47% For.Montana voters realized how shitty that bill was!
What fresh hell can we expect in the upcoming 2023 legislative session?
As mentioned above, the Republicans are already proposing numerous constitutional amendments. On the abortion rights front, Republican Representative Jennifer Carlson out of Manhattan has already requested a draft bill “to establish an infant born alive is a person.” Wait a minute, that is some loaded-ass language. Where have we seen that misleading wording before?…….THAT IS FUCKING RESURRECTED, ZOMBIE LR-131!!! A draft of the bill isn’t available yet, but that working title has the exact phrasing that was in LR-131. Did Montana voters not send a loud enough message to Republicans on what we think of LR-131???
It’s official, we are in the bad place.
We have to keep calling out this bullshit and informing the public when these elected officials hurt Montanans. What the Funk is keeping an eye on other poisonous draft bills requested for the 2023 legislative session. We will keep you posted as these hateful attacks on our rights wind their way through the legislative process.
Election deniers- the stupidest of the right-wing MAGA stupid. The folks that WON Republican victories in Cascade County in 2020 and now 2022. These people, who have won for two terms, continue to claim that our free and fair elections are a lie. And their extremism is getting way out of hand.
On Friday, election deniers attempted to intimidate staff of the Clerk and Recorder’s office. They surrounded the building, took pictures of staff cars and license plates, and made every effort to make election workers feel unsafe. Read about their disturbing anti-democratic tactics here: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/11/12/absolutely-insane-cascade-county-election-official-says-cops-called-after-skeptics-escalate/
Today in the Exhibition Hall at the fairgrounds, election workers publicly tallied the remaining ballots. Despite widespread Republican wins in Cascade County, dozens of election deniers showed up, many in their finest army-man cosplay, to continue their intimidation attempts. It all seemed rather over done when looking at the election workers themselves. The small group of folks tallying elections were almost entirely senior citizens, one of them an older gentleman with his Vietnam veteran hat on. Personally, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a large assembly of folks acting like they’re hell bent on beating up someone’s grandma. And yet, here we are.
One man watched carefully through binoculars, a rather amusing sight as he was just a few feet away from where the tally was openly happening in front of all of us. A woman in head-to-toe camo and combat boots stood behind me. She made an accusation that the ballot box wasn’t actually sealed. (It was.) She got angry that I was taking pictures. She made several comments about election fraud and claimed she’d seen extra, illegal ballots being delivered the prior week. This was allegedly the same woman who had been taking pictures of staff’s cars on Friday. Like most bullies, she was utterly infuriated when faced with even the slightest pushback. Still, her litany of conspiracy theories continued.
And then? Her candidate won. The officials handed the results to candidates. A Republican woman tried to lead a cheer to spell out SANDRA. The group got lost somewhere around the “D” which is fine; spelling is hard.
With the Republican wins official, I asked the group of election deniers if they still believed the election was rigged. Unsurprisingly, they wouldn’t provide a straight answer. One woman claimed they were simply there to watch the process, yet had no comment when I mentioned the camo-clad woman next to her had spent all of Friday harassing election workers.
And here we approach the cognitive dissonance that belies the entirety of the far-right. Election deniers claim that our election system is broken. They cry foul and accuse election staff of fraud. Even with today’s results, none of them would admit that the election had been won freely and fairly. So, which is it, Cascade County?
Did Rina Fontana Moore run a free and fair election?
OR
Are the results of the 2022 election not to be trusted?
These are “Yes” or “No” questions. The answer cannot be both. You cannot be simultaneously claiming victory in the election while claiming that the election is fraudulent. I mean, you can, but if you do you’re an idiot.
As disappointing as the election results are, we accept those results. That’s what rational people do when confronted with challenging concepts like “addition.” We don’t create a complex web of conspiracies when things don’t go our way. Nor do we dress up like soldiers (which is likely really insulting to actual soldiers, btw) and go harass folks who are trying to do their jobs.
But these election deniers have likely done themselves a real favor electing Sandra Merchant. Merchant now has a full time job that she is neither qualified for nor even understands. May these election deniers band together in their stupidity. Cascade County has elected Merchant, and we’re about to get exactly what we deserve by doing so- a goddamn mess.
With the elections being openly counted mere feet away, we can only assume this man was looking for Sandra Merchant’s qualifications.
Decked out in camo, these women were clearly not attempting to intimidate anyone. Just perfectly normal matching combat outfits. Two law enforcement officers were present after election staff faced intimidation and harassment last week.
“Well, haters gonna hate. I and others are on our way to legislate. Your toxic hate and resentment filled way has literally destroyed the Dem party in Cascade County and taken good and decent folks down with it. I’ll let you folks get back uninterrupted here to being the mirror-image of Jordan Hall and the soft delusion that you’re not effectively the same thing he is in a dress.”
We at WTF have covered a myriad of topics that folks care about. From the housing crisis to our right to privacy, we’ve discussed the disturbing voting records and often outrageous antics of the far-right in Great Falls. Sharing accurate information isn’t hateful or indicative of resentment. Quite contrary, it’s how we keep our community informed. It appears George can’t spot the difference between participating in hate speech and speaking out against it. Thus, we’ve put his latest statement about myself and Helena to the test. Let’s see if George’s claim stands up to scrutiny.
**Many of Hall’s charges are still pending as detailed in the linked articles
We do give George one half of a check mark, as Jasmine does indeed wear dresses fairly regularly. However, Helena wears them less frequently. Further, we have no knowledge of Hall’s preferred clothing; therefore, we’re not sure how apt the comparison is. Regardless, an attempt was made. We’d like to congratulate George on his victory! A breakdown of the math shows us that it cost George a mere $39.27 per vote!
Let’s Talk, Lola: An In-Depth Look at Lola Sheldon Galloway
Do you know Lola Sheldon Galloway? She’s a representative of local House District 22 running for re-election. Lola Sheldon Galloway certainly counts as a person in power but does she serve the People? If not, who is she serving? Let’s take a look at some of Lola’s most outrageous claims to see if we can determine who exactly she’s serving.
Let’s start with those who have been victims of crime. Rape is heinous act that traumatizes and devastates the victims, often for lifetimes. Most people involved in civic positions empathize with the victims and pursue protections and rehabilitation for them. Lola, on the other hand, is deeply misinformed on the subject. She believes that roughly 98% of victims miscarry due to that trauma, and seeks to ban abortion, even due to life threatening health issues, stating without a proper source beyond “reading this once”
In defense of her rather indefensible position on abortion, Lola once stated,
“Never once has a human ever delivered a platypus or any other kind of animal. We deliver human beings.”
Yeah, Lola, you’re right. Under no circumstances has a human woman given birth to a platypus. Perhaps in the future some kind of nightmarish clone hybrid, but right now, just human babies. I was taught around 6th grade to research and cite things before I declare them fact. A quick Google search proves that Lola’s “statistics” are in now way factual. The number of miscarriages experienced by sexual assault survivors, not platypi. Roughly 39% get carried to full term. Lola is also known to protest right outside Planned Parenthood. Rape victims, people with health issues regarding your reproduction system, people wishing to get tested and have info and resources for safe sexual health; Lola is for Lola. Not for you.
Next up, let’s look at the unhoused population in Great Falls. There’s no denying Great Falls is facing a housing crisis, and as such, there has been an increased presence of homeless people in Great Falls. She is on record for both complaining about the homeless presence at First United Methodist Church earlier this year,( a number of them using her nearby Dairy Queen restroom for basic essential hygiene) yet also stateing she does not want to provide further shelters and housing in the city because she believes it will attract further homeless people. Lola, in her selfishness, has created her own paradox. She wants the homelessness to be less visible, but she also does not want to create shelters or work against the current statewide rent increases or housing availability. Are you disabled or homeless, or know and love someone like that? Lola is not for you.
Are you an Indigenous person of Montana? Both Lola and her husband have loudly protested the incorporation of the Big Sky Country National Heritage Area, continuing a colonialist tradition of erasing the history of our indigenous people. Lola doesn’t care, Lola is not for you. Like fire for Frankenstein’s monster, Lola seems to retain a deep seated fear for people of color.
Finally, let’s get to the meat of the issue. Lola Sheldon Galloway has no shame about where her interests lie, and is using her position of power for her own financial gain. In 2022 alone, during the August 2nd and September 2nd meetings, Lola used her position to make requests of “personal favors” to ensure her business alone did not lose any money. If I tried that during a session, I’d be told to shut up, told I was a greedy idiot, and barred from the commission meeting. Check out Lola’s comments at previous meetings confirming that she is only out for herself, not our community.
If a President is not supposed to utilize their own properties and business for profit in relation to their position, why do Lola and her husband get away with it… perhaps they think they’re more important than the POTUS?
At the end of the day; Lola is for Lola and her bank account, not for us the people. If you haven’t already voted, I urge you to vote this next Tuesday, and remember this: at the end of the day; Lola is for Lola and her bank account, not for us, the people.
