Month: July 2021

by Travis Mateer

In yesterday’s podcast episode of Zoom Town I did a little bragging about my Saturday participation in a Zoom meeting that included Garland Favorito, an election integrity activist in Georgia exposing election problems if Fulton County.

From the second link:

When it comes to keeping Georgia’s election process honest, Garland Favorito is one of the toughest advocates and critics.

Favorito has been rattling the nerves of many Georgia political elites for 15 years while testing the mettle of the state’s election system.

The retired information technology professional is co-founder of VoterGA, a nonpartisan election integrity nonprofit with thousands of social media followers. Politically, he is independent.

I know it’s FORBIDDEN in some circles to engage in any speculation about 2020 election problems, but just pretending people can’t use the courts to challenge election results, or demanding private tech companies censor any content that provide comfort to INSURRECTIONISTS, isn’t yet possible for the budding authoritarians, so even in Missoula stuff like this can happen:

It’s been almost nine months since the 2020 election, but in Missoula County, a Republican-led group is still sparring with local election officials over alleged “discrepancies” in ballot counts – claims that county officials say are bunk.

“We have the (ballot) envelopes, we have the documentation; this error does not exist,” Missoula County Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman told MTN News.

The GOP-led group, calling itself the Missoula County Election Integrity Project, has made several claims of problems with mail-in ballots during the 2020 general election – including one suggesting that nearly 4,600 ballots, or 6 percent of the total votes cast, aren’t tied to registered voters.

While county election officials have rebutted these claims, the group has continued to make extensive requests for ballot records, insisting that questions about the vote count have not been fully answered.

“We simply want to know how many ballots were brought in, how many ballots were mailed out and how many ballots were maintained,” says state Rep. Brad Tschida, a Missoula Republican spearheading the effort. “And, what the chain of custody was for those ballots, so that we can say without a shadow of a doubt there was no issue with the election.”

Individuals and groups, if so inclined, should have the right to inspect ballots and examine the chain of custody of those ballots.

Shouldn’t they?

Once upon a time Democrats believed in checks and balances to test the democratic processes they advocate spreading across the globe. When those same Democracy super-spreaders doth protest too much about examining the results, it makes me wonder what do they have to hide?

by Travis Mateer

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode, I think it’s a real doozy!

For a visual reference on the redistricting part of our conversation, here is a map Tim put together that helps our listeners visualize what two Congressional districts might look like (I initially put up the wrong pic, this is the correct one:

by Travis Mateer

Michael Robbins is a poet who I thought I could identify with because, in his latest collection of poems, titled Walkman, he talks about not drinking, Christianity, and pop culture.

Then, yesterday, I saw a tweet from Robbins, to which one of his followers replied. Here are the tweets:

I really don’t go looking to pick fights with poets I enjoy reading on Twitter, but I couldn’t let this go without using my first amendment right to express myself, so that’s what I did. Here are some of my tweets (Robbins deleted his responses, but not before I got a screen shot of one of them):

Michael Robbins, in a now deleted tweet, said he DOES struggle with the power THE STATE is grabbing for itself over this pandemic. He even called himself an anti-statist. In a tweet I got a screen shot of, here is Robbins calling me stupid for not jabbing my kids:

While I was waiting for a reply, I flipped through Michael’s book of poems. In one of his poems, there is a line about his sister sending him Klonopin.

Now, I don’t care that Michael Robbins sister committed a crime by sending a controlled substance in the mail to someone who doesn’t have a prescription, but THE STATE might care about it. Why can’t Robbins use his smart poet brain to see where this slippery slope might take us?

And why can’t Robbins use his smart poet brain to see how our “health” industry peddles powerful substances, like Benzodiazepines, without fully informing people of the dangers?

I know this happens because David Boone, a Missoula songwriter, had a good portion of his life destroyed by benzo-toxicity after going to a professional for help with his anxiety. He wasn’t told the risks and had to go through hell to find out the hard way.

Artists are supposed to be helping humanity deal with this crazy world through their art. At least that is what I think artists should be doing.

For example, the science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick, wrote a book about an alternative universe where the Nazis and Japs won WWII, and now that book, titled The Man In The High Castle, is a tv show.

I think Michael Robbins should watch this show because one of the storylines has the son of the main Nazi character get diagnosed with an incurable genetic disease that requires him to be euthanized. Dad gets pretty upset about this, since he hasn’t traded in ALL his empathy for loyalty to the Fuhrer yet.

If Robbins watches this show, he might appreciate how one character decides to choose empathy for an innocent Nazi boy over her loyalty to the resistance, and that choice leads to the good humans stopping the evil humans from nuking the west coast.

Something to think about as our Federal government escalates its war on information and prepares to depict the UNVAXXED as bio-medical terrorists to be feared like Muslims after 9/11.

by Travis Mateer

Since June there have been 16 reported fires at the Reserve Street homeless camps, which brings the total this year to 29. With fire danger in Missoula approaching extreme, the homeless camps are creating a serious public safety issue for a town facing serious fire risk.

On Saturday I was on a Zoom meeting with Monica Perez and Brad Binkley of The Prop Report putting my coverage of corruption in Missoula on the map.

I talked about the role of non-profits, like United Way of Missoula County helping County Commissioners hide their scheming, and private sector partners, like Blue Line Development, cashing in.

So, for anyone new to my coverage, here are some relevant posts to check out:

Bitter Cold, Homeless Camps And An Ugly Ass Dog Sculpture (3-4-2019)

The PR Charade Of Claiming Homeless Numbers Are Going Down Is Finally Over (12-14-2020)

The Homeless Camp Damage Control Zoom Meeting (12-17-2020)

Why Critics Of The Temporary Safe Outdoor Space Should Focus On Money, Process And Policy Instead Of People (12-18-2020)

Susan Hay Patrick’s Damage Control Op-Ed About The Temporary Safe Outdoor Space: A Rebuttal (12-20-2020)

I Don’t Like When People Manipulate The Good Will Of A Community To Benefit Themselves And Their Families, And Neither Should You (12-29-2020)

Will A Cowardly Rebuttal From Public Officials And Nonprofit Influencers (Sans Blue Line Development) Be Enough To Shut Up The Critics? (3-23-2021)

Temporary Safe Outdoor Space No Longer Temporary (4-5-2021)

Lots Of Deceit With No Accountability…Are You As Tired Of This Shit As I Am, Missoula? (5-19-2021)

Thanks for reading

by Travis Mateer

Last Tuesday’s episode of The Propaganda Report featured a story about a triple homicide in Georgia. The man who has been arrested for these crimes, 23 year old Bryan Anthony Rhoden, has LOTS of previous interaction with the criminal justice system, yet little time behind bars to show for it:

The suspect charged in the July 3 triple homicide at the Pinetree Country Club golf course has been arrested a number of times in recent years on charges stemming from shooting, battery, drug and speeding cases, but has not spent much time behind bars, records show.

If you’re not familiar with The Prop Report, hosts Monica Perez and Brad Binkley each bring their stories for the DNB (drive-time news blast), then discuss what kind of agendas they think are being served. The Rhoden story was brought by Binkley, and his speculation on the lack of past accountability got my gears going, which I will summarize with the following question:

What does a drug cartel’s presence actually look like in a small college town like Missoula?

The answer to that question depends on where you’re standing, figuratively speaking. To offer a metaphor, let’s say you’re standing on a beach and the drug cartel is represented by sharks.

What can you see of shark movement from the beach? A splash? A glimpse of dorsal fin? Beyond that, what do you actually know about the sharks?

If the sharks are smart, they’ll keep their activity to deeper water and leave innocent swimmers alone. But if GROUPS of sharks start competing over deep-water turf, it’s much more likely a swimmer could get chomped.

To put the metaphor on meth, I’m worried the sharks have obtained sophisticated gear, allowing them to leave the water entirely for new, above-water markets. Even worse, they might have dirt on the divers tasked with investigating shark attacks, like sordid images of divers enjoying the company of mermaids and/or kelp balls.

Ok, maybe I’m trying too hard for a chuckle. Cartels and other virulent forms of organized crime, like political families and charitable organizations, are serious business, and use increasingly sophisticated methods to obtain and expand their turf.

And, while political assassinations pop off and civil wars seem on the verge of breaking out, the sharks are taking rockets into space.

These are strange maritimes we find ourselves in.

Stay safe out there, swimmers.