Month: October 2020

by William Skink

Maybe I should look at this news as comforting in an old normal kind of way.

While Christians are gearing up for the rapture, and Americans are stocking up on essentials ahead of the election, Missoula County is issuing a LIMITED obligation bond for the fairground work.

It’s important to understand the reason why Missoula County is going with a LIMITED obligation bond instead of a GENERAL obligation bond, and that’s because the latter would require voter approval, and they damn well know how that would go. From the link (my emphasis):

Various user groups ranging from 4-H to ice sports at Glacier Ice Rink were expected to ask the county to place a general obligation bond on the November ballot to fund the next round of facility improvements.

A general obligation bond requires voter approval while a limited obligation bond can be approved by the county.

The general obligation bond, which is still a possible ask in future years, would fund an expanded ice arena, a livestock and equestrian center, a rodeo arena and additional green space.

In July, commissioners said the general obligation bond was ill-timed with the economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and wouldn’t be approved if the groups presented it to voters this November.

This excerpt is at the end of the article, and comes after the County’s chief financial officer, Andrew Czorny, had this to say about what a great debt-bet the County is because of their excellent stewardship of money:

“The county is a good steward of taxpayers’ money and we have a good bond rating,” Czorny said. “These agencies know we’re going to do right by their loan, we’re going to spend it appropriately and pay it back. It takes decades to cultivate that type of reputation.”

Now, I might not have a fancy title by my name, so maybe I’m way off here, but aren’t loans made to entities that have collateral to put up, like courthouses and armored SWAT vehicles? And if the County doesn’t “do right by their loan” then whatever agency holds the debt gets to liquidate the assets, right?

Since I’m no financial expert, I consulted the mighty Google about what happens when municipalities default on bonds, and wouldn’t you know, as long as they aren’t GENERAL OBLIGATION bonds, a default wouldn’t necessarily impact a municipality’s rating. From the link:

Defaults on local government bonds have been more frequent than credit rating agencies have reported, according to a paper by Lang (Kate) Yang of The George Washington University and Yulianti Abbas of the University of Indonesia prepared for the 2019 Municipal Finance Conference at Brookings. But because these defaults usually occur on bonds issued to fund specific projects, as opposed to general obligation bonds, the defaults do not tend to raise the borrowing costs of the defaulting local governments.

Ah, financial shenanigans are afoot. Of course.

I wonder what would happen if NO BOND and NO ADDITIONAL DEBT was taken on for the non-essential plaza? Luckily we don’t have to answer that hypothetical, because the plaza is almost done, but, sadly, the ribbon cutting was cut because COVID!

Fairgrounds directory Emily Brock said the construction of a new plaza is moving forward and should be finished this fall.

“We are almost done with this project,” she said. “It’s really looking good. We got all the planting in earlier this week. Normally we’d plan a big ribbon cutting, but with COVID, we’re not going to do that.”

Yes, while the changes in your life are things like lost jobs, businesses and housing, the BIG LOSS Emily Brock is grappling with is a BIG RIBBON CUTTING.

Sad.

by William Skink

While I don’t relish bucking norms, some norms need to be bucked, and one bucking I’m willing to engage in as an artist is bucking the norm of having a conventional target for my art/propaganda.

Since other artists are coming out of the woodwork with new art/propaganda in the grand effort to depose Trump, like Jello Biafra and Pearl Jam, I can’t help but recall a fonder time for American power projection abroad, a time when the benevolent Obama presided over America’s killing machine with articulate grace and boundless optimism.

As a sort of thought experiment, I wondered what a more honest form of poetic propaganda could sound like, and thus created the following poem. Enjoy your Monday!

MEGA MAN

when our guy was the butcher
the empire, it was great
bombs were humanitarians
designed to liberate

so we liberated Libya
and other foreign lands
for Saudis and slave traders
rewarding loyal hands

your guy HATES this freedom
and barely bombed Assad
because, as we ALL know,
he's Putin's PUPPY DOG!

OUR guy IS revolution
whatever color you choose
and creative with the flags
if it looks like we might lose

so get ready, MAGA
November's almost here
and like Axl brings the rain
we will bring THE FEAR

for MEGA is the MOMENT
and MEGA is the MAN
we'll get our dolts to vote for
resetting global plans 

by William Skink

With the continued decimation of conventional newsrooms by greed-driven corporate shareholders, I suspect more citizen journalists like myself will have to fill the void being left behind.

Despite the title of this post, my reluctance to take on the title of citizen journalist won’t stop me from questioning the coronation of a blog that renamed itself The Montana Post to create a sheen of journalistic credibility it hasn’t earned, and does not deserve.

But first, what do we mean by “citizen journalist”? Let’s consult wikipedia:

The underlying principle of citizen journalism is that ordinary people, not professional journalists, can be the main creators and distributors or news.

Citizen journalism is a specific form of both citizen media and user-generated content (UGC). By juxtaposing the term “citizen”, with its attendant qualities of civic-mindedness and social responsibility, with that of “journalism”, which refers to a particular profession, Courtney C. Radsch argues that this term best describes this particular form of online and digital journalism conducted by amateurs, because it underscores the link between the practice of journalism and its relation to the political and public sphere.

Is it worth parsing out a difference here? I think so, because this is more than a petty gripe between longtime blogging rivals, especially during an existential political cycle where the difference between an ordinary amateur (myself) and political insiders with a past run for Governor and past (?) paid consultant work (Don Pogreba/Pete Talbot) is amplified.

The Pogie/Talbot duo know what they are doing, and so do credible local news outlets like Montana Public Radio. Two years ago, Rob Saldin was breaking down political ads, and had this to say about The Montana Post (definitely my emphasis):

You know, there is one other element of this ad that I think is notable and that is pretty deceptive, actually. When it accuses Gianforte of gutting Medicare to enrich himself – which of course is not how he would describe his position on Medicare – but leaving that aside, the visual you see is of an apparent newspaper headline that reads, Gianforte guts Medicare to give himself massive tax break. Well, the source for that headline is the Montana Post, right? Which sounds like a credible news outlet, but it’s not. The Montana Post is one of the state’s most prominent political blogs. It’s authored by Don Pogreba, a progressive writer based in Helena. (Editor’s Note: The specific post in question was authored by Nathan Kosted) And his blog is very well regarded for what it is, and it has a wide following among those interested in Montana politics, but it operates just in a very different space than a newspaper that’s committed to objectivity and to nonpartisanship. But this ad presents it as an authoritative, dispassionate, journalistic source. Not quite.

Yeah, not quite.

Another little detail I’ll remind readers is the subtle change THE MONTANA POST made in its solicitation of money back in 2018. Originally TMP said this (my emphasis in both quotes):

If you appreciate our efforts to hold Montana Republicans accountable and the independent journalism here at The Montana Post, please consider supporting our work with a small pledge.

But after a certain blogger criticized these self-anointed journalists, it was changed to what it is now, which is this:

If you appreciate an independent voice holding Montana politicians accountable and informing voters, and you can throw a few dollars a month our way, we’d certainly appreciate it.

So, I may be a bit reluctant to take on the title, but if anyone is going to be called a citizen journalist in the Montana blogosphere, it’s me, and not partisan hacks stuck in the grips of TDS.

So get ready for William Skink, THE RELUCTANT CITIZEN JOURNALIST!

by William Skink

Some interesting trial balloons are being floated by a University president who can’t turn around his enrollment crisis and a Mayor who can’t turn around his housing crisis.

All kinds of fun, outside-the-box ideas are being bandied around, like transforming parking lots into housing and merging police departments:

Engen and Bodnar presented a range of ideas, from merging police departments and parking enforcement, to using city services for road and sidewalk maintenance on campus, to converting UM parking surface lots to parking buildings or even housing.

“Everywhere you see a surface parking lot on campus or in downtown Missoula, that is a waste of precious real estate and a waste of opportunity,” Engen said, using the large lot in front of the Adams Center as an example. “(The city has) experience in turning those surface lots into more and creating opportunity. How can we identify some of those surface lots and meet community needs and campus needs at the same time?”

Is the Missoula taxpayer being psychologically prepared to bail out the University? Or will things go according to plan, producing reductions in redundancies for a leaner, more sustainable campus?

Whatever COULD happen, I do not trust Mayor Engen for one hot second, so I’d closely parse out comments he makes, like this:

Engen pointed out it’s no secret housing is a critical issue for Missoula, suggesting the surface lots could instead be used for residential development.

“We might identify more of these chances to make better use of the assets that we all enjoy, and I got to tell you when university finances are in rough shape, figuring out those partnerships can start to temper some of that pain and damage and in some cases provide revenue streams that are new and largely sustainable in a community like ours,” Engen said.

I added the emphasis because I’m very curious what awful schemes are being cooked up behind this language. Alumni condo suites for rent? Private pod complexes for students?

The reason I anticipate this will ultimately mean more taxes is because that is usually what happens when you add responsibilities to existing departments. Sure, maybe some administrative overhead can be shed, but the extra terrain will eventually be used to panhandle City Council for more money.

But don’t take it from me, take it from the director of Missoula’s Parks and Rec department and her brilliant peanut butter analogy from a few years back, after Missoula voters passed the 39 million dollar “Parks” bond:

Gaukler likened the park’s needs to slices of bread and a jar of peanut butter. The more slices added to the table, the thinner the spread of peanut butter becomes.

The addition of Fort Missoula has effectively left the department spread thin, she said, and without additional funding to address maintenance needs at Fort Missoula, other parks could pay the price.

“When you increase parkland by 27 percent, if we don’t add a fair share of funds to maintain that, we’re going to have to scrape the spread off some of those other parks to Fort Missoula for equal distribution,” Gaukler said.

Don’t worry, Donna Gaukler, my sources tell me MRA’s director, Ellen Buchanan, is sitting on a whole reservoir of peanut butter. The only problem is the process for getting permission to spread it is complicated, and no one at MRA has the talking skills to explain it.

If they spread $46,000 dollars of peanut butter to a consultant named Spyder, I am told, that may help.

by William Skink

Are you enlisting in their civil war? Do you know what you’re fighting for? If the ballot flops and weeks become months will you demand the tanks eject the dunce?

Red hat warriors and black bloc rage sign up to rattle their pre-approved cage. Lawn signs bend as cold wind blows as smart phones track everywhere we go.

Your paper vote those frail hands touch, where is your faith when the numbers crunch? When lines are crossed what will you do when you jump in fear at the slightest achoo?

Sign up now, be the first in line, your side is righteous, the other side, blind. Do not waver, do not give in, you rise, exalted, while they sink in sin!