Zoom Chron Blog

Today’s post is about MORE than just numbers, it’s about a bathing suit called REMITTANCE that’s intended, as a funding “tool”, to provide cover for the body politic. Here’s how they do it.

First, it’s VERY important to conduct government business about the budget when the LEAST likely amount of people are paying attention, which is why I suspect Missoula officials use what I’ll call the “middle” strategy, scheduling the first opportunity to see the Mayor’s budget in the middle of the day, and in the middle of the week, and in the middle of summer.

For those who didn’t know about the mid-week committee hearing, here’s the breakdown in three graphs of where the 3.8% tax increase will be going:

Do you see the sleight-of-hand at work in the last two graphs? If not, let me try to explain what I think is going on here.

The second graph claims to be the parts of the budget that appear on your tax bill, while the third one claims to include ALL expenditures, with the additional $70 million coming from entities “with their own revenue”. Since the Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) is NOT included in the second graph, that leads me to believe MRA is one of the entities, like the Parking Commission, that is said to have its “own revenue”.

Ok, but does it?

While this might be seen as quibbling over a definition, my perspective of MRA is that it legally STEALS money from the General Fund through Urban Renewal Districts and, unlike parking violators paying tickets, Missoula taxpayers in those districts DO NOT GET A CHOICE about it the way a car commuter can choose not to park where they might get ticketed.

The REAL fun, though, comes when you try to understand how the remittance strategy from MRA intends to cover the bloated body politic with a skimpy bathing suit that STILL lets taxpayers see how fat and disgusting our local government has become. Thankfully, for our elected braintrust, local media is more than willing to help out with misleading headlines downplaying the 3.8% tax increase:

Isn’t this an amazing example of local media manipulation? Instead of acknowledging reality, which is that the budget DID CHANGE by increasing, this KPAX reporter seems to be suggesting that a 3.8% tax increase is not a notable change to the city’s budget.

Further down in this manipulative article about the city budget we get this:

To balance the budget this year, a one-time remittance of $2.5 million from the Missoula Redevelopment Agency will be given to the city.

To simplify, a remittance is essentially a transfer of funds between different government entities.

How many times can a “one-time” funding tool be used before local media stops calling it a “one-time” remittance tool? By my count, this 2024 article about using MRA money to balance the budget makes it sound like Missoula has been using this MRA remittance strategy to balance the budget since 2022 (or the same year Engen’s Missoula came out criticizing Tax Increment Financing).

Hmmm.

In each of the past two budgeting cycles, the city has faced what it has described as a revenue shortfall. To fill the gap between existing taxes and the desired level of service, it has asked MRA to fill the gap by providing a tax remittance.

To do so, Buchanan said the agency has tried to distribute the remittance as equally as possible across its urban renewal districts. It also considered a district’s capacity to surrender funding, and any pending or potential project that might emerge in 2025.

To cover the city’s needs, MRA took a $1 million remittance from URD II and a $3.5 million remittance from URD III, or the Midtown area. Buchanan said that providing the remittance from the more active districts doesn’t currently place any projects in jeopardy – yet.

“Running government on the back of urban renewal districts isn’t sustainable,” said Buchanan. “But we’re fortunate as a city to have this tool available so we can provide the level of service we need to provide. Thank goodness we’re here. I don’t think anything will be jeopardized by this.”

“Thank goodness we’re here“, Ellen Buchanan says? Does she not know that Missoula taxpayers WOULDN’T BE HERE if their tax money wasn’t being siphoned off by her shadow government to run the kind of political slush fund that any mafia organization would be jealous of?

Of course she knows, just like Mayor Davis knows–that’s why Mayor Davis sounds so full of shit in one of the three clips I curated from last Wednesday’s committee hearing. Here’s the first one:

The second clip features a point made by Stacie “A Better Big Sky” Anderson about how Missoula fucks over schools with their remittance scheme tool:

While I consider Stacie to be one of the more toxic characters on Council, she makes a very important point here about the three-way bribe flowing from MRA to the city, the county, and Missoula’s school district, because the SCHOOL DISTRICT portion doesn’t even go to the schools, it goes to the STATE of Montana, since it’s STATE law that delineates how school districts around the state are funded, and understanding THAT process is even more confusing than unpacking the WHITE KNIGHT (Ellen Buchanan) riding in to save the day on her TROJAN horse (MRA).

Did anyone from the public register concern at this committee hearing in the middle of the day/middle of the week/middle of the summer? Yes, of the 78,903 people who are estimated to live within the city limits of Missoula, one person did make a comment, which included an invitation to attend a more dynamic meeting open to the public:

While commenting on city politics is fun and all, my Wednesday last week was dominated by court and trying to understand how there could be “rumblings” that I’ve been sighted in places downtown that I’m forbidden to be, considering pre-trial supervision knows EXACTLY WHERE I AM at every moment of every day, per my ankle-monitor.

This is important to consider because the PUBLIC MONEY at the County level includes the cost of operating the jail and other parts of “justice” system, which pays a County Attorney, like Mac Bloom, to pass along provably inaccurate hearsay at an omnibus court hearing.

I didn’t specify anything about the process I’m going through in my public comment to the County Commissioners. Instead I reminded the Commissioners about what the Sheriff’s Office did three years ago when they collectively sued the County to get more money for payroll.

For more context on that shakedown, you can read this post, titled “Mineral County Is At War With Itself, Assisted By A Law Firm Specializing In Money Shakedown Schemes For Badges Across Western Montana“. If you read that post you’ll better appreciate why I said what I said here:

I’m not bringing up the “parity pay” lawsuit simply because it’s budget season and the timing is right. I’m bringing up the lawsuit, enacted by the Reep, Bell and Jasper law office, because my sources tell me that the JASPER part of that law firm, Lance, is out.

If Lance Jasper fell off the wagon, like I’ve been told, and if he was forced out of his law firm over missing money, which is what the rumor mill thinks, then I think the timing of traveling down parity pay memory lane is perfect, since it leads to Mineral County, where David Barsotti supposedly died sometime last month.

Hmmm.

Anyway, if you appreciate the freedom I seem to have to expose local power dynamics, now is a good time to remind readers that FREEDOM ISN’T FREE, so donate (if you can) to my new GoFundMe page. Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

On July 21st someone discharged bear spray inside Missoula’s trillion dollar library. While we, the public, are told that the police are “investigating” what happened, so far nothing has been shared about WHO discharged bear spray and WHY. Since the public PAID for this library/asylum, shouldn’t we be getting more information about the use of the library as an insane asylum?

The news article about this incident is worthless. Here’s what’s been reported thus far:

On July 21, bear spray was discharged in the Missoula Public Library, prompting an evacuation and police investigation.

Library director Slaven Lee told MTN that staff cleared the building after the spraying occurred.

Lee shared that while people were given the okay to return by the fire department, the library decided to close for the remainder of Monday in an abundance of caution.

The library safely reopened Tuesday.

Police investigating bear spray incident at Missoula Public Library

Two weeks later, nothing more has been released about why someone discharged bear spray inside the Missoula Public Library.

My daughter is a voracious reader and goes to the library all the time. As a father, I would prefer that street people arrested for assault DON’T set up appointments with their Public Defender AT the library, but that is exactly what happened last week when John Roy Simpers made his appearance in Justice Court.

I wish there was a mugshot to share because I’ve seen this little troll around town for the past year, laughing and talking to himself while using a piece of metal rebar to emphasize his internal dialogue by hitting the concrete curb around the Courthouse, laughing with each violent strike.

When John Simpers made his initial appearance in court, barely able to keep it together in front of the judge, it was the first time he had interacted directly with his Public Defender, who for some reason is based in Helena, not Missoula. She told the judge that her client would always call from the library, but when she called right back, he was never around.

I observed all this because I was ALSO in court on July 29th in front of Judge Beal, who ALSO is involved with the library. Hmmm.

I wonder what the people listed above think when parents have to retrieve their children from the scene of a potential chemical attack? Do they second guess their decision to turn the trillion dollar library into an insane asylum?

Since the Missoula Public Library gets public money, the public IS able to sift through board meetings and other documents available to download online, like I did yesterday.

What did I find?

I found money problems, a plan to bill Medicaid through hiring a social worker, and an incident report on Ron Phillips. Let’s take a look.

This screenshot is from April. For more context, here is how the conversation developed over the last few months:

To summarize what I’m seeing here, the library asked the Missoula public for millions and millions of dollars to build this cutting-edge facility ostensibly for books and other library-type activities, but instead of doing that, which I guess isn’t financially sustainable, the leadership in this brilliant town thinks it’s a good idea to transform the library into an asylum, especially one for mentally ill people charged with crimes.

At least they’re using a RAD acronym to open the library doors to judicially involved crazy people!

What does providing RAD-ical aid to our community look like? Well, sometimes it looks like this:

In case the text is too difficult to read, I’ll copy/paste some of the most relevant details from Ron Phillips’ incident report:

Lester:
First engagement I went to tell Ron that Patrons can’t lay on the floor in study rooms. Ron did not like the way I knocked on the door and after I directed him to stay off the floor, he advised me, “You do not get to tell me what to do.” I advised Ron, “I do get to tell you what to do.” I then left the study room area for about twenty minutes, walking rounds. I went back to check on Ron, and he was inappropriately laying across two chairs. I waved through the window and Ron flipped me off. I then opened the door and informed Ron, “You have to leave for abuse of staff.” Ron informed me then, “I am not leaving.” I informed Ron that MPD will be called and you will be removed.” Ron began talking about his rights and wanted to engage arguing. 911 call was placed and Ron left to speak with MPD. He eventually left property and MPD left.

Ronnie:
My first interaction with Ron was the previous day 06/23/26, when I was walking along the sidewalk in front of the library and noticed Ron smoking a cigarette and leaning his head back against the building with his eyes closed. I walked up to him and asked “Sir, are you doing alright?” to which he responded “Do I not look like I’m fucking doing alright?” I responded that he had his eyes closed and I just wanted to check on him, where he stated, “I’m just fucking sitting here man, why are you harassing me and asking if I’m doing alright? I’m sitting on a public sidewalk.” I told Ron that I am the Safety Specialist here at the library and you’re leaning your back on the building, so it’s my job to check on you. He said “If I tell you I’m doing alright will you leave me the fuck alone?” I confirmed that I would, so he then said he was doing fine and I told him to have a good day and walked away.

Lester and I were doing our normal rounds, when we noticed Ron was lying on his side in the study room, which laying on the floor anywhere in the library is prohibited. Lester knocked on the door before opening it and told Ron that he couldn’t lay on the floor and needed to sit in a chair. Ron said he didn’t appreciate Lester’s loud knocking, and he couldn’t be told what to do. Lester responded that he could tell him what to do, and he just needed to not lay on the floor. As Lester was responding to Ron, he started getting up from the ground, so Lester closed the door to not stand around and punitively monitor as even if Ron was upset, he was at this point complying with directions and policy. Lester and I left the floor to continue patrolling the building, at which point we returned to our desk on the first floor. Lester left to do another patrol while I was working at the computer when I received a radio call from Lester “Ronnie: third floor, now.” When I arrived to the third floor, Lester was on the phone with 911 dispatch while Ron was arguing with him, with his cellphone out appearing to be recording the interaction, telling Lester that he cannot trespass him because it’s a public building. Lester responded that he can and he is, and since he refused to leave he is calling for MPD to remove him from the library. Ron continued to argue, saying he’ll meet them outside but needed to grab his belongings. I monitored Ron from a distance as he grabbed his belongings from elsewhere on the floor as Lester was still on the phone. After Ron gathered his belongings, I placed myself next to the podium next to staff where Ron handed them the laptop he had rented for it to be checked in. Ron continued to argue with Lester about his right to the library with his phone out as he went into the elevator.

Virginia: When I got to the third floor, Ron was carrying the laptop out of the study room and heading towards the east end of the building. Ron was stating it was his right to swear in the library because it was a public place. Lester stated he could not in fact flip him off while he was finishing his call will 911. After Ron gathered his belongings, he continued to argue he could say or do whatever he wanted. Lester stated that he could not harass staff (different verbiage was used), could not swear, and that MPD was on the way. As Ron returned his laptop and made his way onto the elevator, he stated he would see them outside.

I ran down the stairs to see if he had exited the building. Ron walked out the main entrance with no issues. He proceeded to wait on the sidewalk for MPD. As I was walking another patron to the bus stop, he followed us briefly asking for a smoke, then went back around front to wait for MPD.

Crystal:
I saw Ron lying on the floor in the study room and witnessed Lester knock and inform him that he needed to get up. Ron was upset about Lester’s tone and how hard he knocked on the door. Ron was lying down across two chairs in the study room when I walked by next. Lester waved at Ron again to get his attention and tell Ron to sit upright in the chair. Ron then flipped off Lester, and Lester told him he needed to leave the library for the day. Ron said he wasn’t going to leave and Lester called 911 to remove him. When Ron was leaving the study room, he started yelling at Lester about his right to be in the library and his right to swear in the library, complaining that staff told him he couldn’t say “Fuck” in the building. He went downstairs to speak with MPD.

Ron Phillips is an interesting anecdotal example of the type of person who feels entitled to dominate public spaces, as evidenced by any one of his 195 videos on YouTube. After watching way too many of Ron’s weird videos, featuring him recording random people, and cops, in public, I’m convinced that Tim Dillon’s show on Saturday foretold the future about the new, hot commodity that people with resources will start obtaining for themselves: PRIVACY FROM INSANITY!

To wrap up today’s post about catering to the insane people making this town more and more unlivable, a well-meaning citizen recently tried doing something nice in the vicinity of what I consider to be a Missoula No-Go Zone, the California Street bridge, where a dude was recently stabbed to death.

Not surprisingly (at least to me), the gesture of trash pickup was NOT received well.

I spent about 15 minutes walking around the California Street Bridge and Lion’s Park today and filled this entire cleanup bag with trash.

I understand that a lot of people are struggling right now. Housing is expensive, the economy has been rough, and many people are in difficult situations. This post is not about judging anyone for being homeless.

What is frustrating is that there are garbage cans all over this area, yet the amount of litter is unbelievable. Bottles, cans, food containers, plastic, and other trash are scattered throughout the park and along the riverbank. There are also several camps in the wooded area with even more garbage and used needles, but I was not willing to go any closer without proper protective equipment.

I actually brought a second cleanup bag because I expected to find more than this, but I never even got the chance to start filling it. While I was cleaning up, I was confronted by someone who was extremely intoxicated and began harassing me and threatening me for “being on their property.” At that point I decided it was smarter to leave than continue picking up trash.

Before anyone says to call law enforcement, I did not see much point. Nothing seems to change when people call, and the same problems continue week after week.

This river and these parks belong to everyone. Whether you are housed, unhoused, visiting, or just out for a walk, we all share the responsibility of keeping them clean and safe. We can have compassion for people going through difficult circumstances while also expecting public spaces to be treated with respect. Those two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

For more context on Missoula’s trillion dollar library, here are some posts I’ve written since the bond enabled its construction five years ago:

“On Enduring The Missoula Democrat Mayoral Candidate Forum In The Trillion Dollar Library” (August 1st, 2023)

“My Lego Meth Lab Vs. Their Library DNA Climber” (July 12th, 2024)

“A Dose Of Hope? How About A Dose Of NOPE!” (March 17th, 2025)

“While Missoula Becomes A Hub For VIPs, The Library Continues To Be A Hub Of Embarrassment” (June 5th, 2025)

“Who Supports Urine Testing Library Board Members And MRA Board Members For Being High AF?” (September 17th, 2025)

“Has The Missoula Redevelopment Agency Ever Been This Stupid?” (September 19th, 2025)

“Is the Missoula Redevelopment Agency Pulling A PR Retreat From Public Scrutiny?” (December 3rd, 2025)

Tomorrow I’ll be writing about Missoula’s budget, both at the city and county level, and the non-homeless panhandlers begging their paymasters for more tax money, so stay tuned! And if you have any spare change, my new GoFundMe page is waiting for your donation. Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

The “JC” who joined me when I created this blog ten years ago passed away from throat cancer in December and today I’m finally honoring his memory.

I wasn’t able to see him before his passing, or attend his memorial in May, but a couple of factors reminded me that Jim deserves to be honored for being a man of principle who acted on those principles, even if it meant identifying one’s own bad habits and making changes, like walking away from the bottle and neoliberal Democrats.

Before I get to Jim’s writing, here’s a bit about his life from the obituary:

Jim was the youngest of four children, arriving a full six years after the next youngest brother, John. With such a large age gap from his siblings, Jim’s playmates were schoolmates, neighbors, and Club kids, with whom he built lifelong friendships.

Growing up, Jim was an intelligent, sensitive child. He was often home alone after school as a teenager, so he learned some rudimentary cooking skills that later turned into a love of good food and a reputation as an excellent cook.

As a young adult, Jim embraced the ethos of the ’70s. He was the wild child, the hippy, the peace and love center of the Coefield family. While his family looked on with a mixture of bemusement and curiosity, Jim had purity of purpose. He envisioned a world where people treated each other kindly; a world driven by love, compassion, and community, rather than profit. He strove to embody these values throughout his life.

And while most of the world would continue to let him down, Jim found the community he sought in the Rainbow Family; he attended as many Rainbow Family gatherings as he could throughout his life, relishing the money-free society governed by consensus and driven by volunteerism.

Since being “let down” is the most consistent effect one feels when supporting Democrats, my own disillusionment put me in ideological alignment with Jim’s more experienced perspective at the blog we both contributed to, 4&20 Blackbirds. That’s where Jim wrote this post in 2013, titled “Moneyball Campaigns, Stasi 2.0 and the Death of Democracy in America“. Here’s an excerpt:

After emphasizing President Carter’s perspective, Jim zeroed in on another Jim, Jim Messina, the political data wizard who attended classes at the University of Montana before helping Obama get reelected in 2012. After putting Messina and Obama into the manipulative context they deserve, Jim references a DATA CENTER in Utah, well over a decade before “data centers” became the hottest topic of protest:

I started contributing to 4&20 Blackbirds in 2010, alongside writers like jhwygirl, Pete Talbot, and a former co-worker from my homeless shelter days, Patrick Duganz. I identified as a Progressive and cast votes for Jon Tester in 2006 to stop George Bush’s evil wars, and Barack Obama in 2008 after seeing him do his schtick at the Adam’s Center in Missoula, which I’m embarrassed to say brought tears to my eyes.

Twenty years after casting a vote for Jon Tester, I’m able to entertain this conspiracy theory about his alleged role as a possible puppet master scheming to throw the Senate race for a Republican because people like Jim, many years ago, were able to resist the cult-like thinking of Democratic fealty in order to clearly see the cold-hard cash flowing to Tester, like this post JC wrote in 2012, which comes with a helpful list:

The real gift of a local blog like 4&20 Blackbirds isn’t chiming in on national politics, it’s the focus on LOCAL stuff, like the cultural/financial shift of allowing Cannabis to compete with alcohol in the market of fucking up human minds so those minds can exist in a perpetual state of cognitive dissonance without attempting self-termination.

One very interesting example of following the LOCAL weed money came from Mr. Pete Talbot, son of John (the former spook who became a newspaper guy for Lee Enterprises). I think this context is definitely worth considering, since son of John is talking about newspaper advertising revenue:

Did Pete Talbot get any worthy responses from “others in the know” about the newspaper industry in Missoula? He sure did, and it’s a comment from the same asshole who ended up KILLING the weekly newspaper he owned AFTER selling it off to Lee Enterprises, isn’t that interesting?

Eight years after making this comment, in 2018, Matt Gibson chose September 11th as the conspicuous and ominous date to shudder the Missoula Independent without giving so much as a respectful notice to staff.

The Indy’s staff unionized in April, and were in the midst of collective bargaining with Lee Enterprises when they received the notice this morning.

Derek Brouwer, an Indy staff reporter and bargaining committee member, said Lee Enterprises had not reached out past this morning’s communications, despite multiple attempts by the Indy staff to contact it.

“We are trying to gather as much information as is possible to better understand why they made the decision they have and why they conducted it the way that they have,” Brouwer said.

The Missoula Independent’s website no longer works. The web archives and old Indy stories online redirect to the Missoulian website, and the staff is locked out of their emails.

The supreme irony here is that two years previous, after suggesting Bernie Sanders was a complicit sheepdog in his political cuckolding by the Hillary Clinton machine, Jim and I experienced the same treatment from the original Blackbird, Jay Stevens, who locked us out virtually from being able to post at 4&20 Blackbirds, thus creating the catalyst that led to Zoom Chron (originally called Reptile Dysfunction, since my two pseudonyms had been lizard and William Skink).

While that Indy article about us bloggers is no longer available anywhere (and I’ve looked), you can still read JC’s posts at both 4&20 Blackbirds and Zoom Chron, like his first one here, posted on June 17th, 2015:

For legal purposes it’s important to note that I am writing about my fellow blogger, Jim Coefield, and what HE wrote, NOT the legislator who Judge Vannatta has given 10 years of protection to from this blogger’s public criticism.

For an idea of what I was writing about in my first post 11 years ago, it was essentially wondering what the fuck a “Progressive” even was.

Social “reforms” are needed because social “problems” exist, and the problem of alcohol and drug abuse is catastrophically worse today than it was in 2015, not to mention some repeating themes, like a local Democrat getting in trouble for driving drunk.

No, I’m talking about Pam Walzer, duh! And, for insights on how us local bloggers were processing poor Pam’s DUI at the time, here is some of the commentary, starting with a portion of a comment from JC:

Yes, the window dressing can be seen in the obituary omissions of Tami Ursich, which I felt compelled to write about last Friday, and the window dressing can be seen in John Engen’s legacy, which omits the awkward fact that his alcoholism was widely known about for years, and protected at the highest levels of local government, as evidenced by former Police Chief, Mike Brady, and his cushy post-Chief job with the city, which he still has today.

Going back to the female Democrat with a DUI history who I AM able to legally write about, another comment from that comment thread caught my attention because it features my former co-worker, Patrick Duganz, discussing his job at the Indy, and what he thought about a local politician’s alleged crime, having previously interviewed her for his job. The response from JC shows what being consistent with one’s principles looks like:

While anyone who lives long enough experiences people dying, the two most significant deaths that shaped my own life include my high school friend, Lisa, who died during my freshman year in college after being mowed down in the street by a drunk driver while she was walking home from the bar. The other death, Sean Stevenson’s, ALSO had alcohol abuse as an underlying factor.

Jim Coefield, by example, helped me see that a life without the crutch of alcohol was possible. He had a nice piece of land in Arlee on which to live, he had a partner he lived with, and he lived long enough to be there for his daughter on her big day.

This is my obituary for Jim Coefield, a man of principle who saw the clouds gathering and acted accordingly. On the second day of the month when I became a father myself 18 years ago, I hope this late recognition of Jim helps soften the sadness I’m sure his daughter and other family members are still feeling.

Thanks for reading.

While I’ve worked at some shitty restaurants in my life, the worst and shortest stint I ever worked was three weeks at the Iron Horse Pub & Grill on North Higgins in Missoula, Montana. Since the owner of the Iron Horse recently passed away, I was curious to see what the reporting would be like. The Missoulian didn’t disappoint:

Tami Ursich, the Missoula woman who founded the Iron Horse Bar and Grill 35 years ago, passed away recently.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved Tami,” the Ursich family posted on social media on Wednesday. “Tami was truly one of a kind, a bright light in our community whose warmth, laughter, and generous spirit made everyone feel like family. Whether you knew her for years or just met her once, she had a way of making you feel welcome, heard, and at home. The Iron Horse wasn’t just a bar to her — it was a gathering place filled with stories, friendships, and unforgettable moments, all shaped by her heart and her love for people.”

…

“Tami would have wanted the show to go on. Please come in, enjoy some great food and drinks, support the Iron Horse, and celebrate Tami the way she would have wanted — with laughter, good company, and a full house. Thank you for the love, prayers, and support you’ve shown our family during this difficult time,” the statement concluded.

While it’s pretty common to say nice things in an obituary when someone dies, words like “warmth” and “generosity” are NOT words I associate with Tami Ursich, and I’m not the only one. For an idea of how many NEGATIVE stories exist about this bar owner, here are some comments I curated from a Reddit thread:

Verbally abusing staff, blaming victims for getting roofied, and regularly driving while intoxicated, and that’s just from 5 minutes scrolling a Reddit thread. Wow.

Instead of dealing with the reality of an alcoholic bar owner who EVERYONE KNOWS acted like this ALL THE TIME, our local paper of record decided to quote Kyle Riggs, the loser who got local narrative controllers to cast him as the victim in the implosion of the Pangea restaurant empire.

Kyle Riggs, a Missoula sommelier, bartender and entrepreneur, said he worked for Ursich for many years.

“I spent 18 years at the Iron Horse,” he said. “I always respected her as a businessperson. It’s a hard business and she was always there and doing it and was rock solid and took pretty darn good care of her people.”

He noted that Ursich, along with Tim France at Worden’s Market, Jurgen Knoller at Bayern Brewery, and Kevin Head at the Rhino, started Montana’s first brewfest, called BRIW Fest, in Missoula in 1992.

Respecting Tami Ursich as a businessperson? That’s rich. What Kyle Riggs is actually saying here is that he respected Tami’s protected status as one of Missoula’s untouchables, something his former business partner, Scott Billadeau, didn’t have the benefit of after he became one of the few business owners who STOOD UP to the pandemic cultists six years ago.

I also suspect Riggs appreciated how Ursich, like many business owners in Missoula, accessed Tax Increment Financing for her business, which I found listed in this MRA master list:

If you can’t read the small print, in 1998 the Iron Horse got $74,482 dollars in public money for the… “Expansion of vacant former café to large restaurant building. TIF Program used for clearing the site, sidewalks, and street trees. CRLP interest write down program used to renovate retained portions of the existing façade.“

Giving money to an abusive alcoholic, then protecting her from the consequences of her abusive actions, is what this town is all about, so I’m happy to see the Missoulian’s editor, Cory Walsh, keeping the tradition alive. Good job, Cory! We couldn’t have our own version of Laurel Canyon without the help of our pathetic local media, right?

Right.

On Sunday I’m going to write about someone who died at the end of last year, my fellow blogger, “JC”, because JC was everything Tami Ursich was NOT. Like me, JC stopped drinking, he stopped believing Democrat lies, and he chose to live a modest life doing the things he believed in, like opposing a gravel pit near his home in Arlee, and helping others stay AWAY from the poison Tami made her money selling.

I have one final story, told to me by a friend earlier this week, about Tami that exemplifies how perfectly representative she was of the NEW Missoula ethos that emerged in the 80’s, when Tax Increment Financing was first deployed to save downtown from the popularity of the Southgate Mall.

The most historically and culturally relevant bar in all Missoula, Charlie B’s, also has a tradition of employing some of the most badass bartenders. That’s why Tami showed up one morning when my buddy was sitting at the bar, with his dad and the other old-timers drinking coffee.

After squeezing into the empty chair between father and son and brashly demanding cigarettes be put out, Tami’s intent became clear: she was trying to poach Charlie’s bartenders for her new bar and grill, which sat kitty-corner to Missoula’s true watering-hole heart.

If Tami Ursich was a man treating her staff the way many have claimed they experienced and/or witnessed, would she have been treated with such obvious media deference and law enforcement protection? It’s impossible to say, but I’m sure Drake Doepke would like to know, since his allegedly criminal touching of staff, charges that were later dropped, got plenty of media attention, just like the Missoulian’s HEAVY coverage of Pangea’s financial troubles before that set of restaurants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If local media was capable of doing their jobs without the pro-business protection racket inherent in newspaper narrative control, I wouldn’t have to balance their bullshit with the ugly truth, but here we are.

Thanks for reading!

In 2023 John Shaffner was recognized by the Bigfork Eagle as a Montanan who had made it big in Hollywood, thus earning an honorary doctorate from the University of Montana:

John Shaffner, who began his career with the Bigfork Summer Playhouse before becoming a legendary Hollywood production designer who created sets for many of television’s most beloved shows is one of two Montanans who will receive an honorary doctorate this spring from the University of Montana.

On March 16 the state Board of Regents approved UM’s request to present the doctorates during Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13 to Shaffner and Mandy Smoker Broaddus, a former Montana poet laureate who helped implement the Indian Education Act for All Act across the state.

The two will serve as UM Commencement speakers, with Smoker Broadus speaking at the morning ceremony and Shaffner speaking in the afternoon.

How did John Shaffner get the kind of Hollywood success that allowed him to buy a VERY NICE house up Pattee Canyon? And why am I specifying this location as if it’s relevant? It’s not like we’re talking about the kind of wealthy people who are close to Epstein Network, right?

Wrong.

Shaffner and his life partner Joe Stewart also work together, including at the outset of their television careers when they designed the set for Star Search. He designed the talk show stages for Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O’Brien, Rachel Ray, and Dr. Phil. He has also built the backdrops for the last three Republican National Conventions.

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Shaffner has been nominated for 31 Emmy awards and won four, including three for his work on the CBS series The Magic of David Copperfield.

Shaffner was nominated 33 times by the Art Directors Guild, and won Art Directors Guild Awards for the designs of the 2006 Emmy Awards and The Big Bang Theory.

In 2019, Shaffner and Stewart were awarded Honorary Doctor of Fine Art Degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.

In 2002, Shaffner won the award he sponsors from the University of Montana and now and serves on the college’s advisory council.

There are two BIG red flags in the biographical data from Wikipedia about Shaffner’s success, and that’s his work with David Copperfield and Ellen Degeneres. The first one, the magician, is all over the Epstein files, while the second one, the degenerate, had a set design said to look like it was aesthetically modeled after Epstein island.

Was that John Shaffner’s idea?!?

When Aaron Rodgers brought up this visual connection on Joe Rogan, the biggest podcaster in the world wasn’t impressed. That’s because Rodgers and Rogan don’t know what I discovered yesterday by using Montana Cadastral.

Aaron Rodgers has never been one to shy away from tossing around conspiracy theories in a public forum … and that continued during his sit-down with Joe Rogan this week — when he hinted the set of Ellen DeGeneres’ old talk show looked a bit too much like Epstein Island for his liking.

Rodgers made the remark amid his lengthy appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” … which naturally turned to the subject of Jeffrey Epstein and a building on Little Saint James.

Once producer Jamie pulled up an image on screen, Rodgers quickly said it reminded him of the “set of a famous talk show that’s now not on anymore.”

Joe quickly clocked that he was talking about “Ellen” — which went off the air in May 2022. They then pulled up an image of her set on the screen, but Rogan wasn’t in agreement with the quarterback, quickly raining on his parade.

“That might be a building in L.A.,” he said. “It’s whatever. I’m not impressed with that, that could just be coincidental.”

Yes, Joe Rogan, it could just be coincidental, but when you add David Copperfield to the mix, things get a little darker.

Reading this document from the Epstein files, you get the distinct impression that David Copperfield’s sexual predation was intimately interwoven with the production of his show. Hmmm.

If it was just these connections, that would be bad enough, but what my idle curiosity produced yesterday, clicking around Montana Cadastral for property information, showed me some neighbors of John Shaffner who raised my eyebrow, like his NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, Ewa Bindek.

Who is Ewa Bindek, what is DST Global, and why is DST Global connected to Ashton Kutcher, who was VERY EARLY in being VERY CONCERNED about human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children?

Oh, and Russians, can’t forget about the sketchy Russians:

DST Global is a venture capital and private equity firm that primarily invests in late-stage internet companies. DST Global’s founder is Yuri Milner and its co-founders are Saurabh Gupta, John Lindfors, Rahul Mehta and Tom Stafford. The company was founded in 2009 as a spinoff from Russian company Digital Sky Technologies, which became Mail.ru Group (later the VK company). In the early 2010s, DST Global international investments were focused on emerging markets such as China.

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A Kremlin-owned firm, VTB Bank, put $191 million into DST Global, which used it to buy a large share of Twitter in 2011. A subsidiary of the Kremlin-controlled Gazprom funded an investment company that partnered with DST Global to buy shares in Facebook, reaping millions when the social media giant went public in 2012. Twitter similarly went public in 2013. The US government sanctioned VTB in 2014 because of the Russian military intervention in Crimea, but DST Global had sold its stake in Twitter by then. Four days after the Facebook IPO, a DST Global subsidiary sold more than 27 million shares of Facebook for roughly $1 billion. In November 2017, DST Global issued the statement in response to this accusation: “Since 2009, DST Global has invested $7 billion in the consumer internet sector, with a majority being invested in non-U.S. companies — and with less than 5% coming from VTB Bank. VTB Bank was the only Russian government institution that invested in any DST Global funds… Moreover, there were dozens of DST Global investors making up the funds that invested in Facebook and Twitter — ….50 passive investors that invested in Facebook…, and VTB Bank was one of 40 passive investors… that invested in Twitter” Yuri Milner published his own open letter in ReCode magazine stated that “DST Global’s investments in Silicon Valley were motivated by pure business logic, based on a decade of experience in Internet technology… when we negotiated the Facebook and Twitter deals we asked for no board seats, and assigned all our votes to their founders, figuring they knew best how to run their companies. At the time, this structure was unusual, but it is core to DST Global’s philosophy.” DST Global funds have invested in over 80 companies, none of which are based in Russia.

In 2022, due to additional sanctions being placed on Russia resulting from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, DST Global became a subject of scrutiny due to its ties to Russia. A DST Global representative stated that the firm had not raised capital from Russian limited partners since 2011. Less than 3% of capital it had raised from inception was from VTB Bank and all such capital was returned by 2014. On DST Global’s website, the firm announced it condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine. In addition the firm donated $3 million to Stand With Ukraine, a GoFundMe initiative launched by Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher to help the refugee and humanitarian relief efforts.

For those who don’t remember Kutcher’s dabbling in the anti-trafficking LARP, he adopted his inspiration from his partner, Demi Moore, who was just HORRIFIED that what was happening to Cambodian sex slaves could ALSO be happening to sex slaves in America.

At least, that’s what the Wikipedia entry for the “DNA Foundation” says:

DNA Foundation was founded in 2009, by film and television actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. At that time, Moore was viewing an MSNBC documentary on human trafficking and sexual slavery of children in Cambodia. While later researching some of the issues that were presented in the film, she was inspired to act when she learned that child pornography and the sexual slavery of children were taking place not only in Cambodia, but in the United States as well.

The other notable Shaffner neighbor who got my attention as I clicked through publicly available information is Monica Tranel, sister-in-law to Ben Davis, the innocuous sounding “non-profit” guy who helps vulnerable children, and who just happened to have a previous job with Kharon, where one of his co-workers, Janice, once worked for the CIA, and another co-worker, Matthew, has a very conspicuous last name.

I know, this is getting fucking ridiculous.

The more famous Epstein, Jeffrey, was allegedly making in-roads into the world of private security near the end of his mortal usefulness to the predator class (if you believe he’s dead). This article, for example, documents Epstein’s introduction to Peter Thiel and the Founders Fund while he also courted Carbyne and talked to a wealthy Russian. Hmmm.

After his first arrest for sex crimes, Jeffrey Epstein tried to get into a new line of work: surveillance. In 2015, he partnered with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to invest in a security tech startup called Reporty Homeland Security, now known as Carbyne. Leaked emails show that Epstein was using Barak to seek out opportunities in the surveillance industry and build connections with powerful figures around the globe, including American businessman Peter Thiel, the former director of Israeli signals intelligence, and two people in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s circle.

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While Epstein was trying to deal with the American tech sector, he was portraying himself to Russian elites as an apolitical wheeler-dealer. In April 2015, Epstein introduced Barak to former Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sergey Belyakov, who then invited Barak to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. That wasn’t the only business Epstein had in mind.

Returning to Ewa Bindek and her employer, I wonder…does DSL Global’s billionaire Russian, Yuri Milner, have any Jeffrey Epstein connections? Of course he does. This excerpt comes from Forbes:

Epstein had relationships with a number of other venture capitalists and tech investors as well, the files reveal, including Russia-born billionaire investor Yuri Milner, former tech exec and Andreessen Horowitz board partner Steven Sinofsky, and Day One Ventures founder Masha Bucher, who regularly introduced him to startup founders. (Bucher did not respond to a previous comment request on her Epstein ties.)

Milner met with Epstein twice, once apparently at Epstein’s New York City apartment and once at his Paris apartment, both in 2011. According to Milner’s representative, the meetings were arranged by Ian Osborne, an investor and consultant who had a close relationship with Epstein, and the billionaire had no further contact with him. “I wholeheartedly regret that I ever met, or had any association whatsoever with, Epstein,” Osborne said.

The tension between privacy and surveillance is only going to get more tense as Americans realize what the predator class has planned, but as that tension escalates, I want Missoula citizens to understand how safely ensconced some of these Epstein-connected people appear to be in our own backyard.

Has anyone else made the connections I’ve made in this post? Nope, and really, these connections I’m highlighting today make me the most concerned I’ve ever been about the culture of this mountain town I’ve called home for 26 years.

If you would like to support the whistleblower-level work I’m doing to help mitigate the subsequent risk that comes with it, you can donate any modest amount at my new GoFundMe page.

Thanks for reading!