by Ken Toole | Apr 3, 2025 | Guest Articles
Two Cents
A few people got pretty crabby about my last editorial, which was skeptical about Donald Trump’s benevolence and competence. One reader called me a “liberal loon” and told me I just need to “get over it.”
Where was that advice on January 6, 2021?
A couple of people cancelled their subscriptions. Others told me I should stick to Montana issues, which is what I do, mostly, but we don’t live in a vacuum here. What happens in D.C. matters, and for generations our economy has been subsidized by the federal checkbook, now in the hands of Elon Musk.
Things could change.
The federal government manages about one third of this state. To atone for this, it pays us money. I won’t bog you down with details, but programs that go by the acronyms SRS and PILT sent schools and local governments $54.2 million in 2023. That’s a lot of cops and teachers.
Farm subsidies amounted to $305 million in Montana in 2023, making federal checks to farmers the state’s fourth largest cash crop.
Highway money? $225 million in 2023.
Medicare and Medicaid keep our rural hospitals and nursing homes afloat.
Our state universities rely heavily on federal grants, aiming to foster better crops, better health, a better economy. Nonprofits of all sorts win grants every year to feed, house and educate people. Cities and counties get infrastructure and planning grants. Many people earn federal wages and retirement benefits, and Social Security checks. Add it up and Montana gets about $1.50 for every dollar we send to D.C.
Elon Musk has a new axe and few restraints. His DOGE crew had batting practice with foreign aid projects, and trotted out many examples of silly or wasteful programs that needed to go. But they didn’t mention any babies when they tossed out all the bathwater.
Domestic programs are next. You can read on page 46 about an exciting project in Great Falls that is turning plant oils and beef suet into aviation fuel. It relies on a federal loan guarantee that employs words like sustainability and climate, so I suspect the DOGE team has it on a “woke” list. Will Montanans stick up for it? Will it help if they do? How about seasonal rangers and toilet cleaners in our overcrowded national parks? A lot of those jobs are in limbo.
The DOGE crew wants to leave the sorting to their AI software (what could go wrong?) and the wise and benevolent oligarchs (who also want a tax break). Here’s how rolling over for the oligarchy worked out in my little corner of the world: your winter edition of Montana Quarterly arrived as much as eight weeks late because the US Postal Service gave top priority, and a hefty discount, to “last mile” delivery of Amazon parcels. That means your magazines, Christmas cookies and pet medication moldered in a corner while overstressed postal workers delivered for Amazon. That means everybody who buys a postage stamp is subsidizing the rocket ships of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.
So, no. I won’t pipe down.
Scott McMillion
Editor in Chief
Montana Quarterly
by Ken Toole | Mar 25, 2025 | Guest Articles, Legislature
Guest Editorial From Bill LaCroix from the Bitterroot Valley
On March 3, Hamilton vape store owner and legislator Ron Marshall (R-87) resigned his House seat in a huff, charging the predominantly-right-wing Republican majority with corruption for voting down HB 149 (his bill), which would have allowed him to sell toylike vape products from China designed to appeal to children.
Marshall Thinks Lobbyists Are Corrupt?
“The lobbyists run this capitol,” Marshall pontificates. “Don’t ever think that the people have a say up here, because you don’t….the people need to understand that, if you want your voice heard up here, you get rid of all these lobbyists. Get rid of them all because it’s the absolute worst thing that could happen to a citizen government.”
Well, duh, Ron, but which lobbyists are “corrupt” in your view? Apparently not the cultural-warrior and fossil-fuel-friendly ones like Montana Right to Life or A.L.E.C. , with whom you’ve consistently voted in lockstep. Just the tobacco-industry ones who are a little more reticent to openly sell Chinese tobacco toys to kids than yourself? So confusing.
But No Issue With Trump’s Corruption?
It’s appropriate to note here that the Ravalli County Republican Central Committee (RCRCC)—of whom Ron is currently a vice-chair—heartily endorses the most demonstrably-corrupt head of state in the history of Western Civilization…with the possible exceptions of Hitler and Caligula. “Oh, the hypocrisy,” I’d have a 21st-Century Joseph Conrad say about such a thing, but then, what do I know about hearts of darkness?
Marshall’s Replacement Is No Moderate
Well, how about this? Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Ron has been part of the uber-right/ John Bircher takeover of the already-ultra-but-not-uber-right RCRCC. And who did Ron (and Manzella, etc.) overthrow to form a more-perfect religio-fascist trainwreck of a committee? None other than Terry Nelson, who, as chair of the RCRCC, has orchestrated the far-right, Christian Nationalist takeover of our valley since 2010, and who has just been appointed by our right-wing-but-not-right-wing-enough county commissioners to fill Ron’s seat.
Terry is considered a “moderate” these days, because he’s only a “Tea Party” Republican and not a loopy John Bircher. That’s what the Republican infighting here in Ravalli County is about. But let’s be clear: Terry was honchoing the RCRCC when members in good standing, such as Jeff Burrows, were threatening sheriffs with “constitutional shootings.” His portrait has hung behind the booth at the Ravalli County Fair, where they display an uncapped, ready-for-action AR-15 they have auctioned off for years. He’s been the head of the planning office since 2011, but he’s a surveyor, not a planner, and was gifted the job of “planning office administrator” by his county-supremacy commissioner buddies in 2011 (I believe) as a prize after all the real planners were scared off by militia wannabes and rich guys wanting to build trophy homes IN the river. Stay tuned for more on Terry, but in the meantime, know this: the infighting in Ravalli County and Helena over where the Edge of the Flat World actually exists isn’t over here yet. I personally believe it’s just south of Conner, where tech billionaires ride long-necked Diplidons*, but again, what do I know about Dinosaurs?
The problem with being a Montana Republican these days is you gotta find someone in the room to hate. “Someone doin’ somethin’ dirty decent folks can frown on,” as the late John Prine put it. This is simple math: since you don’t have any real solutions to your constituents’ real problems, hate is your only sell-point to voters who, according to the latest statistics from the most well-heeled think tanks, are still paying top dollar for it.
This is a mere observation, and I wish I had a crystal ball to predict when the price of Hate will drop to, say, a pig in a poke or the price of eggs. But, for anyone gazing from afar at the 2025 Montana Legislature and wondering “WTF?,” look no further than Ravalli County.
On a personal note: apologies to readers of this blurb since, no matter how hard I try, I can’t put this stuff down into words without it sounding like a dark fairytale rejected by the Grimm brothers. because it was too unbelievable.
And I ain’t kiddin.’
*The actual dinosaur is called a Diplidocus, but I refer here to a fictional beast who is a metaphor to the well-worn truism: “Their brains were tiny and they died.”
by Ken Toole | Feb 16, 2025 | Guest Articles, Uncategorized
Senators Daines and Sheehy certainly can’t stand on principle when they can’t stand at all.
by Ken Toole | Feb 5, 2025 | Guest Articles
By Susan DeCamp
In 2008, I took an oath to the Constitution as a new Foreign Service Officer while standing under the flagpole in front of the Tactical Operations Center on a Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Farah, Afghanistan. I would go on to spend a total of 10 years in Afghanistan, working for USAID. It was my thing.
Fighting Poverty Under Fire In Afghanistan
As a USAID Development Officer, I lived on remote bases in containers, barracks, and on the Embassy compound. I have been under small arms fire, mortar fire, rocket fire, bombs, and the occasional earthquake. My military colleagues were the most intelligent, strategic and impressive people I have ever met in my life. We worked closely together to actualize counter insurgency initiatives based on the book written by General Petraeus. The military sought to protect the population from the Islamic terrorists as represented by the Taliban, ISIS and what have you. USAID sought to stabilize the country through poverty mitigation.This included: access to education for boys AND girls, access to healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure like roads and schools, government systems, and business support.
The Afghanistan president at the time, Hamid Karzai, insisted we call it reconstruction. In fact, it was building an entire economic system from scratch. (For a history of the Afghanistan conflict, read Ghost Wars by Steve Coll). We may have bitten off more than we could chew, but here is the most important point – these are the basic building blocks of a thriving, growing economy, any economy, anywhere.
Mission and Purpose of USAID
USAID is a “soft power” agency used by the government to head off potential military conflict and terrorist safe havens through the alleviation of poverty and ignorance. We were the “hearts and minds” approach that would hopefully promote democracy around the world, embrace diplomacy, and prevent our young people from being sent off to die in wars in foreign countries.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) was created in 1961 via executive order of President Kennedy. Its creation was based on the success of the Marshall Plan after World War II. It became its own agency in 1998 by an act of Congress. USAID serves as part of the executive branch of government, but it is Congress that provides the budget. USAID funding amounts to less than 1 percent of the total national budget. USAID personnel were posted alongside the military to keep them apprised of who was doing what, where, and when throughout the country. We were part of the counter insurgency (COIN) strategy adopted by the coalition of the willing – known as the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF).
Women’s Empowerment In Afghanistan
I managed a program in Afghanistan called “Promote.” Promote received a special appropriation of funds from Congress and was strictly for Afghan women’s empowerment projects. We were required to touch the lives of 75,000 Afghan women. Security was poor. Pakistan had been steadily sending Taliban, ISIS, and other terrorists into the country. (If you are interested, read the book The Wrong Enemy by Carlotta Gall).
I busted my chops making sure that all was above board with Promote. Having served for so long in the country, I knew most of the players, and I worked hard to make sure internal controls were in place and the projects were documented and effective.
A Special Inspector General With An Axe To Grind
In 2012 John Sopko was appointed Special Inspector General for Afghanistan. We had just about reached the end of the first year of Promote. This was the phase we called rollout, which entailed opening offices around the country and hiring over 90 percent Afghan staff to reach Afghan women. Sopko announced he would be auditing the program. It was the first year of a 5 year program, violating normal audit standards. He tortured us with endless meetings, demands for data, and began to issue his own press releases attacking USAID, and attacking Promote.
The lies came easily to Sopko. I spent time on the phone with Congressional staffers, debunking the lies. I was told by USAID leadership that I could not issue my own press release or correct the record. In the meantime, Promote clipped along doing some amazing work for Afghan women. Politico published an expose of Shopko’s behavior in 2016 titled, “The Donald Trump of inspector generals” https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/john-sopko-afghanistan-reconstruction-goats-222418
Trump Handed Afghanistan To The Taliban
I was there when Trump sent McMaster to Kabul to seek an end to the continuing conflict. Ignoring McMaster’s advice, Trump sent his team to negotiate with the Taliban terrorists, ignoring the Afghan government we had spent blood and treasure to strengthen.
Trump was responsible for the deal that handed the country to the Taliban. He deliberately spat on the lives of American soldiers who had died and were disabled in the fight against the international threat of Taliban terrorism – just to make people think that we had failed. Lest we forget, Osama Bin Laden was operating out of Afghanistan to attack Americans. My heart was broken, as we knew what giving billions of dollars in US investment to the Taliban meant for Afghan women. Under the terrorist regime, the schools for girls were closed immediately. (See Politico, Sept. 17, 2020 “McMaster Rebukes Trump Over Taliban Talks”)
One More Page In The Republican Play Book
This is how it’s done, folks. These tactics also work on the Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, US Postal System, Social Security Administration, Medicare, etc. Republicans have been quietly gutting these important public support agencies, and lying about it, for years with their malicious political appointees who are only there to destroy. All because billionaires want even more power and do not want to pay taxes or contribute to the well being of our country. What takes centuries to build can be destroyed in days by evil, power seeking men and women.
by Ken Toole | Jan 18, 2025 | Guest Articles
by Ken Toole | Dec 27, 2024 | Guest Articles
In response to GOP state representative Greg Overstreet’s guest column, “Our legislators are just like you,” I must say that none of the Republicans mentioned in his column are in any way like me. A job doesn’t make a person. Instead, it’s a person’s integrity and ability to make decisions based on reality that matter.
It’s safe to say that every Republican Overstreet listed voted for Donald Trump, a man found civilly liable for sexual abuse, a convicted felon, an adulterer, a serial liar, and, in general, a disreputable, vindictive human being. But, apparently, as long as Trump hates the same people they hate, he gets their vote. So much for integrity!
Part of integrity is having consistent values. Why are so many Republicans bent out of shape that transgender people be allowed to make decisions about their own bodies, when the vast majority of Republicans think nothing about instructing a doctor to take a knife to the penis of any newborn sons they have? Obviously, it’s not the genital surgery that matters. It’s the bigotry.
Many of those same Republicans proudly use Christianity as a club while ignoring the reality of what is actually in the Bible. Denying a woman’s right to abortion is the most prevalent example of this. The Bible clearly gives instructions for forcing a woman to miscarry in Numbers 5:11-31, and elsewhere it states that life begins at first breath. It’s one reason few Christian sects spoke out about Roe v. Wade until it became a political issue they could profit from.
Also, part of ignoring reality is the Republican Christian Nationalist claim that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation.” Again, there is written evidence to the contrary. The English version of The Treaty of Tripoli was read aloud in the U.S. Senate and unanimously approved before President John Adams signed it on June 10, 1797. Article 11 of that treaty states, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion . . .”
And then there is the science of climate change. That Donald Trump called climate change a hoax doesn’t make it so. Facts don’t care what Trump says, but, obviously, Republicans are willing to ignore the science—endangering their own children and grandchildren—both in the name of greed and in submission to their authoritarian leader.
On the subject of greed, how are an overwhelming percentage of Republicans able to reconcile their claims of Christianity while being led by a billionaire president, who campaigned with the richest man in the world, and will soon give the rich massive tax cuts while cutting programs for seniors, the sick, and the poor? Isn’t that the opposite of what Jesus preached in the Bible?
So, no, I am not at all like Mr. Overstreet and his Republican associates. And neither are the roughly 40 percent of Montanans who voted against most things they stand for. We may be a minority—for now—but fifty years from now, when students study this era in history classes, it will be the Republicans, not the rest of us, who they’ll look at as they shake their heads in sadness and disbelief.
• Bio: Marty Essen is a college speaker and multi-award-winning author of three nonfiction and five fiction books. His latest, “The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles,” will be published on January 10, 2025.
