by WTF 406 Staff | Dec 26, 2023 | Elections, Militia and Hate Groups
Back in February we wrote about our concern that newly elected Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant was hiring election denier political cronies who knew little about administering free elections. Those concerns were prompted by Merchant’s first hire, Devereaux Biddick, who apparently had little relevant experience or related education. Biddick was among the signers of a petition presenting a list of demands to the Cascade County Commissioners, which included requiring all voters in the county to “re-register,” banning all electronic voting, banning mail in ballots, and requiring all ballots be counted in one day. It was hard for us to imagine then, and now, that people who advocated these changes, most of which are either impractical or illegal, could be considered qualified to hold positions in the elections office.
We were also concerned that hiring Biddick was a precursor to more crony hiring. Since that time, two family members of Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci have been hired, along with others who had signed the denier petition. The below is from our article back in February.
“Is This Just the Beginning?
The fact is that recently elected County Commissioner Grulkowski and Clerk and Recorder Merchant, who have worked extensively together on their election denier mythology prior to being elected, have now offered a full-time permanent position to a friend of theirs who worked on the same effort. Biddick could be just the beginning of Sandra Merchant’s opportunities to move her cronies from the election denier crowd into government jobs at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. The election supervisor job will be open thanks to Deroche’s resignation. In addition, the office has traditionally hired additional temporary employees to help during the election cycle.”
We began this article by pointing out that this kind of cronyism is illegal. Specifically, the Governmental Code of Fair Practices prohibits discrimination in government employment based on political beliefs. If any of the unsuccessful applicants for the position decided to file a complaint under that law and won, we would all get to pay for the insider dealing of our newly elected county officials. We’ll stay tuned and keep watching.”
Now, Biddick is being hired to run the elections office on a temporary basis while the County Commission is developing a position description and opening the position. She will also receive a 15% raise. We can see the need to have someone filling the position, but we can only hope that this time around the county will have an open and transparent process for filling the new election administrator position. See our full story from last February https://wtf406.com/2023/02/clerk-and-recorder-staff-changes-is-new-hire-a-political-crony/
by Jasmine Taylor | Dec 23, 2023 | Elections, Militia and Hate Groups
Trebas Spreads Anti-Semitic Lies
Earlier this week, Great Falls Senator Jeremy Trebas retweeted a horribly offensive Anti-Semitic tweet. We’ve included the tweet at the end of the article, but we ask that you don’t share it on your socials. (Why? Because we don’t want to further spread these harmful and inaccurate tropes about Jewish people. After discussion we decided it was important for folks to actually see what Trebas shared. People need to see that this ugliness really exists, and that Senator Trebas is actively contributing to it.)
If you aren’t familiar with the many forms of anti-semitism, that particular tweet is based on “blood libel.” Blood libel is the entirely FALSE allegation that Jewish people use the blood of children for ritual purposes. No, seriously. This disgusting lie has been used for centuries to persecute – and justify the MURDER of- Jewish people.
Trebas’s disgusting retweet resulted in him being called out by the Montana Human Rights Network, Montana Jewish Project, and the Anti Defamation League You can read all of those responses here:
https://www.mhrn.org/resources/mhrns-response-to-sen-jeremy-trebas-antisemitic-retweet?fbclid=IwAR3g8XZ4tXpo8hddRrlNA_JCHQ1gdNv8nzS8LdxyKcNQ8J-IKMy7Yz0mALA
https://www.facebook.com/montanajewishproject
https://twitter.com/ADLPNW/status/1737540722608476453?fbclid=IwAR086jXSzABELV4qtz0FWln26og9Qk4CZBiq49uxIgaqiG-a6dN6OfKe88M
When the Montana Jewish Project voiced their concerns regarding Trebas’ retweet, his first response was to publicly argue with them. Apparently Trebas felt he was owed a personal phone call rather than a public call out. To be clear, he wasn’t owed this. No one should have to tell a state senator that it’s not okay to spread lies that Jewish people use the blood of children in rituals. I mean, even typing that sentence is wild, right? Regardless, Trebas’ first instinct was to act like he himself was the wronged party. Unfortunately for ol’ Jeremy, the Montana Jewish Project had attempted to contact him first. Seemingly, Trebas had not checked his messages from his legislative accounts. Although the Montana Jewish Project now reports they had a productive phone call with Trebas, an apology is still nowhere in sight.
Trebas’ History of Bigotry
Over the past year, Great Falls has been inundated with Neo Nazi activity. We’ve seen our Black, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ neighbors targeted by hate literature and our downtown littered with nazi propaganda. Some local Republicans have taken an actual stance, condemning this activity and even helping us clean it up. Then there’s Senator Trebas and his ilk. Rather than fighting this flurry of hate, Trebas instead contributes to it.
We’ve already written about Trebas’ extreme anti-lgbtq views, and his disgusting behavior towards Rep. Zooey Zephyr. You can read about that here: https://wtf406.com/2023/04/transphobic-trebas-hateful-twitter-rant-reported-by-nbc/
We even contacted the Great Falls Rescue Mission, where Trebas serves as Director of Operations. (Their lackluster response made it clear they aren’t taking any measures to protect the unhoused from Trebas’ bigotry.) So, here we are again. Senator Trebas is using his public platform to spread hate, and this time it’s towards the Jewish community.
Where’s The Apology?
Trebas did indeed remove his offensive retweet, which is a positive step. It’s also the bare minimum and doesn’t take any real accountability for the damage he’s already done. He didn’t say “Hey guys, sorry I spread horrible, harmful, completely libelous things about the entire Jewish community.” He didn’t acknowledge the impact this has on Great Falls, or the very real ways rhetoric like this results in violence. He didn’t even accept responsibility. Instead, he’s seemingly trying to sweep this bad behavior under the rug because he’s been called out by more than just the Left this time.
Forgive us if we don’t feel hitting “delete” rights the wrong he has done here. There’s no place for Anti-Semitism in Great Falls, and least of all from those who are elected to represent us.
So, we’ll go ahead and ask for it formally now.
Senator Trebas, when can Great Falls expect your public apology?
by WTF 406 Staff | Dec 14, 2023 | Abortions Rights, Elections, Militia and Hate Groups
Well, you probably already heard about the marathon County Commission meeting to take testimony about eliminating election administration from Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant. For the record, the Commission decided the right thing to do was have elections handled by someone who knows what they are doing, a novel thought! We’ll be publishing more on that later.
This post focuses on one of the more bizarre claims made by a Merchant supporter. There were plenty of weird statements, but we think Representative Steven Galloway takes the cake. After waiting almost to the end of public comment, Galloway rose to impart his wisdom to the Commissioners. Saying he is concerned about the county’s ability to find qualified applicants to administer elections, Galloway continued, “You can’t find employees, because the population is decreasing – through people not having kids, having abortions, we’ve got folks that are retiring.”
Check out the full article here: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/12/12/cascade-county-clerk-and-recorder-stripped-of-election-duties/
So, let’s look a little more closely at Galloway’s assertion. First, is the population of Montana really declining? Well, the answer to that one is “No.” Since 2010, Montana’s population grew 13.3%. Of course Cascade County is not seeing the same growth as Gallatin, Missoula and Flathead Counties. During the same period, Cascade County grew 4.1%. https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/state/montana/
https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/state/montana/county/cascade-county/
But the thing that really caught our attention was his assertion that abortion is a contributing cause to our labor shortage. In 2021, 1,728 abortions were performed in Montana. (FYI of those 73% were chemical). Montana’s population in 2021 was 1.104 million. Don’t rush for your calculator, that amounts to 00.0015%. Hardly a big enough number to cause an unemployment problem. But facts coming from Merchant’s supporters were in short supply during the meeting.
If Galloway really wants to do something about the labor market, he should get his head out of his right-wing play book and consider supporting reasonable immigration reform, rather than building a barbed wire fence around the country.
by Guest Writer | Nov 30, 2023 | Elections, Guest Articles, Militia and Hate Groups
By: James C. Nelson, Montana Supreme Court Justice (Ret).
Have you ever thanked God that you never lived Nazi Germany? Well don’t get off your knees just yet; you might still find out what that was like.
Donald J. Trump is straight out of fascism’s, central casting: think Hitler (who Trump seeks to emulate and whose speeches he quotes), Bolsonaro (whose legacy and tactics he endorses), Orbán (who he endorses and who is the darling of the reactionary GOP and Fox News) and Putin (with whom Trump is bonded).
If elected, Trump intends to be America’s first dictator in the mold of the foregoing authoritarians or “strongmen.”
Trump (along with Steven Miller, and other lickspittles and sycophants) has openly proclaimed his plans for America if he’s elected President in 2024. Indeed, his formal plans have names–Project 2025 and Agenda47—and come complete with a 920-page policy book from 400+ contributors, orchestrated by the right-wing Heritage Foundation.
Specifically, here’s a summary of what Trump has in store for us:
➢ Hiring and training an army of 54,000 loyalists ready to hit the ground on inauguration day, to be appointed to government jobs and positions vacated when the civil service, administrative agencies, FBI, DOJ and intelligence agencies are purged of Trump’s enemies;
➢ Establishing concentration camps to hold aggressively rounded-up, unauthorized immigrants, pending their deportation by the “millions each year;”
➢ Placing loyal military officers over social engineering and non-defense matters including climate change, critical race theory, and manufactured extremism;
➢ Invoking the Insurrection Act, on Trump’s first day in office, and declaring martial law so as to use the military against political opponents and unrest and protests on election day;
➢ Criminally prosecuting those designated by Trump for “retribution,” and “revenge” including President Biden and his family, Democrats, and former cabinet, staff, military officers, and public officials deemed “disloyal” when he was President;
➢ Politicizing the federal civil service and undermining laws aimed at preventing corruption and cronyism;
➢ Totally controlling federal agencies that presently operate with a great deal of independence, with all reporting directly to Trump;
➢ Ending separation between the White House and the DOJ that prevents presidents from using prosecutions for political purposes;
➢ Dehumanizing political opponents, by, for example, referring to them as thugs and “vermin;”
➢ Gutting the Justice system and firing career prosecutors;
➢ Gutting the National Security and Intelligence apparatus;
➢ Requiring local law enforcement agencies to use controversial stop and frisk practices;
➢ Banning travel to and from Muslim countries;
These plans have been openly and defiantly proclaimed by Trump. Indeed, his vitriol and promises, coming from a candidate for the highest and most powerful office in the free world, are without precedent.
Trump, who gives all the appearances of being mentally deranged and paranoid, functions on the basis of only three premises: (1) will it make me look good?; (2) will I make money doing it?; and (3) will it allow me to seek revenge and retribution on my enemies?. He has no concern for political norms or customs; he has no concern for the rule of law; and he has no concern for our Country, its citizens, its institutions, its government or its Constitution. He is a pathological liar. He promises be judge, jury and executioner; a law unto himself alone. He promises to be America’s dictator-in-chief.
In the 2024 presidential election we will have two choices: vote for democracy or vote for Trump.
If you vote for the latter, stay on your knees and practice your one-arm salute. Sieg heil!
by Jasmine Taylor | Nov 14, 2023 | Elections, Militia and Hate Groups
Today’s County Commission meeting saw heated discussion of Commissioner Rae Grulkowski’s performance, or rather her failure to perform. Grulkowski is finishing a the remaining two years of a six year term which was originally held by Jane Weber. The puppeteer behind the inane ventriloquist dummy that is Sandra Merchant, Grulkowski has thus far spent her time in office acting as Merchant’s body guard. At public meetings, Grulkowski has prevented Merchant from answering questions, and even tried to stop public comments that were critical of Merchant. It’s no surprise that Grulkowski, like Merchant, is a conspiracy theorist. In fact, she got her pollical start by spreading lies about the proposed National Hertiage Area. The damage she did to our community was so unprecedented and severe that the New York Times featured her in their article “Where Facts Were No Match For Fear.”
From the article:
“Ms. Grulkowski had just heard about a years-in-the-making effort to designate her corner of central Montana a national heritage area, celebrating its role in the story of the American West. A small pot of federal matching money was there for the taking, to help draw more visitors and preserve underfunded local tourist attractions.
Ms. Grulkowski set about blowing up that effort with everything she had.
She collected addresses from a list of voters and spent $1,300 sending a packet denouncing the proposed heritage area to 1,498 farmers and ranchers. She told them the designation would forbid landowners to build sheds, drill wells or use fertilizers and pesticides. It would alter water rights, give tourists access to private property, create a new taxation district and prohibit new septic systems and burials on private land, she said.
None of this was true.”
You can read the entire article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/us/politics/montana-misinformation-national-heritage.html
The New York Times put it best when explaining that Grulkowski and her ilk are “divorced from reality” a condition which has clearly impacted her ability to function as a County Commissioner.
by WTF 406 Staff | Nov 7, 2023 | E-City Beat Watch, Militia and Hate Groups
The Blog Formerly Known as E-City Beat Should Change its Name to E-City Whiners
For years the blog formerly known as E-City Beat pushed right-wing propaganda with a healthy dose of personal attacks on anyone they didn’t agree with. But, when WTF406.com began responding and pushing back, E-City Beat writers Phil Faccenda and his pal Rick Tryon began whining and complaining. And like the bullies they are, they have combined whining with a healthy dose of chest thumping.
The most recent example is their attack on the Election Protection Committee (EPC), which is a volunteer group formed because of concerns about our new Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant. She is not only an election denier with a political agenda but is also incompetent at running elections. There are already two lawsuits filed against the county because of errors she made. In addition, a judge ordered the county to provide a monitor to oversee the library mill levy election, and Great Falls Public Schools has requested the County Commission hire a professional election administrator and take the election duties out of the Clerk and Recorder’s office.
None of that concerns Faccenda and Tryon. The reason, as near as we can tell, is that they simply don’t like the people involved in The EPC. They ignore the fact that former Clerk and Recorder Rina Moore and her staff were constantly harassed by the election denier crowd prior to the election. They ignore the fact that virtually all of the staff in the office have been replaced by Merchant’s political cronies (including Randy Pinocci’s wife and daughter). Their recent article on the Election Protection Committee is full of misinformation, slurs and personal insults. Here’s an example from Faccenda’s latest article: “EPC is simply a group of self-appointed vigilantes who view politics as a blood sport where lying, cheating, and stealing are parts of their modus operandi.” Wow! Faccenda is welcome to his opinion and his vitriol, but he apparently doesn’t see the irony in his complaints about people expressing opinions he doesn’t like.
If this was just a one time thing, we wouldn’t bother to write this post. But Faccenda and Tryon have also attacked WTF406.com repeatedly. Mostly because of their long standing vendetta against one of the writers for WTF406, Jasmine Taylor. Faccenda writes in his recent article, “The Chairperson of EPC is the infamous Jasmine Taylor, who is well known for perpetrating dirty tricks against people and organizations that don’t reflect her wacko leftist views.”
We provide you with this link to Jasmine’s blog post challenging Faccenda’s and Tryon’s attack on a school board candidate back in May of 2022. ”After E-City Beat’s bizarre, ill-researched, and oddly sexualized attack on a school board candidate, I’m sitting here considering when (if ever) it is appropriate to discuss a political candidate’s penis. Before last week, I’d have easily said, ‘Never.’ This couldn’t possibly be relevant to a local election.” Yet, after E-city Beat clearly spent significant time staring the candidate’s well, package, it seems the conversation is at hand.” https://wtf406.com/2022/05/the-staggering-hypocrisy-of-e-city-beat/
Faccenda and Tryon are not used to getting challenged, which WTF406 has done repeatedly and consistently. So now they are whining about their free speech rights. No one, including WTF406, has challenged their right to spew Tucker Carlson’s talking points and other crap in their blog. Ironically, the Elections Protection Committee and WTF406 are simply exercising their right to free speech. But Faccenda and Tryon are so busy whining they can’t see their own hypocrisy.
