by Travis Mateer
Parents like me are very frustrated because our legal recourse against the mask mandate is now on appeal and might get some kind of hearing NEXT SPRING.
The lawyer involved with this legal process–a process I have donated money to–gave an update on Monday at Crosspoint Church about this appeal, but you will find NOTHING in local media about that tidbit.
Here’s the update: the judge COULD HAVE called into question the credibility of the experts Rhoades’ office used to make the case in court, and that would have made the appeal a steeper climb, so that part was encouraging.
The part where Quentin Rhoades made a dumb quip in response to Mike Gehl? Definitely NOT encouraging.
Let us take a look at the ACTUAL exchange before getting to how the Missoulian framed it at the beginning of the article.
At the meeting, MCPS Trustee Mike Gehl called on Rhoades to stand up from his chair in the audience and asked him to recall a conversation they had at a similar meeting in late August.
“What is it you said about what to do with these two superintendents?” Gehl asked Rhoades. He did not specify which two superintendents he was speaking about, though MCPS Superintendent Rob Watson was being discussed directly before Gehl’s exchange with Rhoades.
“Shoot ‘em?” Rhoades replied, prompting laughter from the audience.
“You said, ‘fire ‘em,’” Gehl corrected.
Since I was there, and sitting one person away from Quentin Rhoades, I’d say this is a pretty accurate depiction of the verbal exchange.
And if anyone is curious, no, I did not laugh. I was too worked up from my questions to Arntzen about a certain school board member and United Way employee who thinks it’s just fine and dandy to create political Facebook groups during a contentious municipal race.
Funny how none of THAT made it into the local reporting.
Now, how did the Missoulian make this sound at the beginning of the article?
A comment made by a Missoula-based lawyer at a parental rights meeting at Crosspoint Community Church on Monday has caused a stir in the education community.
Lawyer Quentin Rhoades of Rhoades Siefert & Erickson remarked that people should “shoot” superintendents they do not agree with. He later said the comment was made in jest.
The way stories are told (if they’re told at all) by legacy media is very important, especially when we’re talking about shooting people.
Hey, speaking of shooting people, has the Missoulian done any reporting on which Sheriff deputies ACTUALLY SHOT machete wielding Johnny Lee Perry out in the woods?
No, there hasn’t been any reporting ANYWHERE about that, because so far the Sheriff’s Department has refused to release the names.
I’ll leave it there, for now.
JC
Folks like Target Range School District Superintendent Dr. Heather Davis Schmidt want everyone to submit to their authoritarianism, and will continue to use fear as their main tool to do so. As FDR once bravely said, the only thing to fear is fear itself. We need to stand up against people who use fear tactics, and remove them from positions of authority.
Knowing that Quentin Rhoades is representing the plaintiffs, I can rest easy that the mask mandate will stay in place in Missoula public schools.
Even at the height of the panic I freely shopped unmasked, and people ignored me. It did make me uncomfortable as I am not an attention-seeker, but I chose that over obeying senseless authoritarian orders and ritual humiliation. It took some moral courage, a erare commodity in this country. For school kids, cutting off oxygen supply is dimming their intellectual abilities, making them future Democrats of America.
When forced to wear a mask, I chose those with political statements. One I liked had the word SHEEP on it in large letters. I was able to cut a slit under that word so I could breathe. People would see that word on the mask, take offense, and look away, never seeing the slit.
You seem like a classic authoritarian, Pete, a guy who likes to suck up and piss down. Democrats in general are the ones who clamped down down on us, creating North-Korea hellholes like New York and California. I am proud of Montana for bucking the tide.
“…cutting off oxygen supply is dimming their intellectual abilities…” For you, Mark, that ship has already sailed.
Not even close to a good retort. You needed to bring in my blog, allegations and research I’ve done, haughtily invoke conspiracy theory, lay on some passive aggressive bullshit, and then leave the room. Goodness, did Don teach you nothing? Pete, you are no Aristotle to his Plato. You are more like Curly Joe to Moe,
Probably took about as much moral courage to walk around without a mask as it did to pass out smallpox infested blankets to Native Americans.
Speaking as someone who used to write under a pseudonym, it definitely takes MORE courage to write under one’s real name. Wouldn’t you agree, medtech101?
Truth is medtech, you have no idea what you are talking about. You’ve not done the basic digging, trying to understand viruses, proving for yourself they were real. You simply follow authority. I assume you are young, work all day, don’t have time to think and reflect. I’ve been there. That’s common. So I accept your ignorance, forgive it too. Just do not throw it in my face as something intelligent. You got nuthin’.
I applaud you. My parents visited in August on their way to pick me up from a funeral. They live in Missouri and my father is former Army. My mother and my father never wore masks into stores. I thought it was incredibly brave. They would walk in confidently, smiling and be offered a mask and said “thank you” and stuck the mask in their pocket and continued on through the store. Never really hassled too much. If they were, they left. I adopted it. I was kicked out of the Good Food Store by an employee 5 minutes into my shopping at checkout. I set my items on the floor and left. A woman laughed as I left. The liberals and COVID fanatics have been especially brutalizing to people who are not following the mandates and orders. I cannot stand to hang around them anymore. I’m glad the power of the local health department has been strangled. Once reality snaps in for these folks, running on gutting the health department would garner my vote. The entire City-County bureaucracy pruned, for that matter.
Amen!