Month: September 2021

by Travis Mateer

Darrel Ehrlick, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Montanan, has crapped out a piece-of-shit article he describes as “commentary” about our dire situation in Montana. This condescending fucker has the audacity to lecture readers about “history” without realizing the historical correlative he is reaching for more closely resembles a mustached dictator with short-man’s complex than the Spanish Influenza pandemic.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s Ehrlick pumping up his home state before lamenting over its Republican leadership:

Like many states, Montana is tearing itself apart debating masks, vaccines, mandates and public health measures. With absolutely no help from leaders like Gov. Greg Gianforte who, instead of finding middle ground or being a peacemaker, has stoked the division by issuing a needless and pointless proclamation about parents having the choice to opt out of public schools, a right and choice they’ve always had. That alone would have been sound and fury signifying nothing and adding to the discord. But, Gianforte went a step farther to cause confusion and sow mistrust of masking in schools even though the vaccine hasn’t been approved for young children, and despite the rise in COVID-19-related illness in youth. Face coverings are among the only defenses available to that age group during these times of kamikaze politics.

While there is a lot of bullshit in this paragraph, I added the emphasis at the end because of what IS NOT referenced, which is a healthy immune system and ALL THE THINGS that can be done to ensure kids have healthy immune systems, like eating right, playing outside in the dirt, and getting plenty of sleep.

No, Darrel Ehrlick doesn’t mention anything about a healthy, natural immune defense because his “commentary” isn’t about the health of my kids, it’s about using Covid as a blunt instrument to hit Montana Republicans with, which is why he says shit like this:

I am shocked and angered by the callous attitude of my home state – a place that I have always prided for having a common-sense community ethos. Other states may go off the rails, but we’re happy to do our own thing. Now, our own thing seems to have transformed into a selfish ethic of my freedom at all costs, even at the expense of life or the lives of those around me. Forgive me if the next time I hear someone tearfully talking about the sanctity of life I roll my eyes.

I would LOVE for Darrel Ehrlick to call me selfish to my face, but this fucking coward isn’t about to engage, in-person, with people like me because he’s already made up his mind about the kind of “ethos” I represent.

Unlike Darrel Ehrlick, I’m not going to preemptively ask for forgiveness (the disingenuous prick) for any future eye-rolling the next time I hear the liberal inclusivity mantra about minority populations. Instead I’ll just keep reminding these hollow virtue-signalers about the death of Sean Stevenson and the unanswered questions his family still has about what happened to him at the Poverello Center.

Since one of Ehrlick’s many hats he claims is as a “historian”, the following is a pathetic attempt to graft the legacy of east coast resource exploiters onto our current batch of Republicans, all while minimizing the concern people have over Big Pharma’s latest product-line, and the continued push to approve MORE AND MORE shots for YOUNGER AND YOUNGER consumers, something that not everyone at the FDA is happy about.

Here is Ehrlick’s selective histrionics:

The leaders and people who came to Montana from the East sought fortunes and meant to take what they could for their own benefit, regardless of the Natives who were here. In history and mythology, Montana has always represented the epitome of rugged individualism and the apotheosis of freedom. If you don’t believe that, just look at the murals in the Capitol depicting White men seeking material fortune, a sentiment enshrined in oil paintings in the epicenter of our state. They don’t often show what happened next.

So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the craven political ambitions of leaders who would make something as simple as a vaccine and a mask the next instruments of battle in a cultural war dressed up as freedom’s last stand, when, in reality, it’s nothing more than staying healthy and getting through a pandemic the likes of which hasn’t been seen in several generations.

As simple as a vaccine and a mask? What the fuck is “simple” about requiring health interventions that someone like me refuses to take?

I’ll wrap this post up with a big THANK YOU to Darrel Ehrlick. Why? Because it’s “commentaries” like his that reinforces the need to fight back with the legal processes still available to us.

And to do that money needs to be raised, like this effort, which is closing in on $12,000.

Please donate if you can, and thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

When I posted a link to this fundraiser to legally challenge the Missoula school system’s mask mandate, a healthcare professional I used to work closely with at the Poverello Center had this to say:

This is ludicrous. A week after these folks attended the school board meeting to protest mask mandates; they were on social media lamenting because school staff in attendance of that meeting; hadn’t worn masks at the meeting and were later diagnosed with covid and had exposed those at the meeting. This is a virus it doesn’t take sides. People need to quit this political division b.s. and work together to control it. Everyone’s wailing about their “freedom and rights” meanwhile we are exhausting our healthcare professionals and taxing the healthcare system. Occasionally we are asked to operate for the greater good. This is one of those times. Most folks today, haven’t previously lived through a pandemic and it shows.

What this healthcare professional doesn’t seem to understand is that mask mandates today will be closely followed by vaccine requirements tomorrow. Requirements FOR KIDS–kids who face a STATISTICALLY MINISCULE risk of serious health outcomes from Covid.

De facto vaccine requirements for the financially disadvantaged are ALREADY being covertly deployed. Don’t believe me?

If you go to the 1 hour 47 minute mark of this episode of the Union of the Unwanted, you will hear Jason Bermas talk about his niece’s experience in Iowa getting the required health physical to attend school.

The snag his family ran into is this: because his nieces have Medicaid in Iowa, they were allegedly denied appointments THREE TIMES due to their vaccine records being incomplete, so Bermas said they had to pay out-of-pocket at a different doctor’s office for the health physical.

I don’t understand how people can accept this degree of coercion by the “health” systems that dominate what kind of care people can receive. Even a fucking physical.

Instead of trying to understand how “caring” people have been cognitively weaponized against those skeptical of public/private “health” mandates, I go to Twitter to reflect the madness I see.

Like seeing an opportunity to jab when someone expresses extreme exhaustion at the onslaught of pressure to accept penetration:

If you think I sound like a psychopathic rapist, YOU ARE CORRECT! The problem is this reflection will probably barely register to the cultists of scientism who have lost their fucking minds. My tweet may even sound reasonable.

I know parody is almost dead, and other forms of social critique must be banished for our safety, but until I get tossed into the reeducation camp at Ft. Missoula, I’ll keep doing what I can to inject my perspective into the local body-politic.

by Travis Mateer

Regular readers of the blog may notice some changes in the links. For example, the “blogroll” section has been trimmed of many dead limbs, while a few new sprouts of information have been added, like Missoula County Tyranny.

I have also added an “esoteric” section with some additional links to blogs and other sources of information that consider the occult aspects of popular culture.

by Travis Mateer

Yesterday the Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) issued an emergency rule regarding masks in schools. Here’s how Governor Gianforte’s office announced the order:

Governor Greg Gianforte today announced the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) issued an emergency rule to promote the role of parents as the ultimate decision makers on matters pertaining to the health of their children, including on the issue of wearing masks in schools.

“Montana students deserve to be back in their classroom in as normal and safe an environment as possible. Montana parents deserve to know their voices are heard in schools when health-related mandates for their children are being considered. They also deserve to know that schools are reviewing reliable data and scientific research about the impacts of mask mandates on students,” Gov. Gianforte said.

“Unfortunately, mandating masks for students is based on inconclusive research that fails to prove masks’ effectiveness in reducing the incidence of COVID-19 in the classroom. Simply put, our children shouldn’t be subject to arbitrary mask mandates when schools can’t follow the science because there’s a lack of meaningful, reliable research. On the other hand, some scientific studies we’ve carefully reviewed undoubtedly reveal the adverse impacts of masking on a child’s health, wellbeing, and development,” Gov. Gianforte continued. “This emergency rule ultimately directs schools to recognize the fundamental rights of parents, and because each child is unique and may face unique challenges, this rule urges schools to empower parents to do what’s best for their children.”

Well, although this sounds great, how will schools respond? Here’s the email from my kids’ school, Target Range, explaining how they’re already compliant with all this:

Good afternoon Target Range families,

Target Range School District has reviewed the emergency rule issued by the Department of Public Health and Human Services, and the District reads the rule as permissive as it specifically provides that school districts “should consider” parental concerns and “should provide” an opt-out system for certain reasons.  The District has done both. The District will continue to enforce its face covering guidelines to ensure the safety and welfare of all students and staff.

The School District has received hours of public comment from parents and others in the community on this issue, demonstrating its clear desire to take the wishes of parents into account. Furthermore, the School District  provides parents and students the ability to opt-out of wearing a mask. However, should they opt out, they are opting into learning off-campus or virtual learning. The School District is prepared to provide assistance to families looking to exercise that option. Parents/guardians seeking a virtual learning option should contact Principal Barb Droessler.  

In addition, if a student has a medical reason for being unable to comply with the face covering guidelines, the District stands ready to have the conversation about what accommodations it can reasonably provide. Parents/guardians should contact Principal Barb Droessler to determine the appropriate steps for requesting a medical exemption. A reminder that appropriate documentation from a medical provider will be needed.

Thank you for your continued support of Target Range School during these uncertain times.

Sincerely,

Heather Davis Schmidt

Superintendent

I added the emphasis because Target Range is claiming they have already complied with the DPHHS emergency order, but the ONLY exemption that will be considered is medical. That does not align with the order coming from DPHHS, which reads, in part, like this:

In order to provide for the health, well-being, rights, and educational needs of students, schools and school districts should consider, and be able to demonstrate consideration of, parental concerns when adopting a mask mandate, and should provide students and/or their parents or guardians, on their behalf, with the ability to opt-out of health-related mandates, to include wearing a mask or face covering, for reasons including: 

(a) physical health;

(b) mental health;

(c) emotional health;

(d) psychosocial health;

(e) developmental needs; or

(f) religious belief, moral conviction, or other fundamental right the 

impairment of which could negatively impact the physical, mental, 

emotional, or psychosocial health of students.

So, if parents oppose the mask mandate for their kids, they can engage in more remote learning after proving to the school district that there is a medical reason for doing so.

Here is how I interpret what Target Range is offering: social isolation for the kids and financial hardship for the parents.

There will be much more on this issue in the weeks and months to come. If you want to contribute to the legal challenge of the school mask mandate, click here. As of this morning, $11,700 has been raised.

Thanks for reading.