Month: February 2022

by Travis Mateer

CORRECTION: The “Ms. DiSantis” who publisher Jim Strauss commented on in a tweet is NOT the wife of the Florida Governor, like I implied. My mistake.

If the results weren’t so infuriating, it would almost be humorous watching developers like WGM’s Nick Kaufman and policy prostitutes like MEP’s Grant Kier complain about the lack of housing. Thanks to a recent City Club presentation, that is EXACTLY what we got this week from these enablers of policies, like Tax Increment Financing, which make housing affordability WORSE.

Since these hypocritical fuckers can’t ever speak honestly about their roles in worsening the housing crisis, we get bullshit like this:

In Monday’s City Club Missoula meeting, long-time Missoulians discussed how to keep Missoula great for future generations.

“For many, Missoula is the last best place in the last best place,” said Grant Kier, CEO of Missoula Economic Partnership and moderator of Monday’s meeting. ”At the same time, our community has experienced rapid growth, tremendous change and significant headwinds over the last decade and a half.”

Headwinds? Are you sure that isn’t just hot air blowing from the manpulative mouths of Mayor Engen and his cronies, Grant? And what are the solutions, or did City Club just find some long-time residents to participate in this spectacle to create the ILLUSION of finding solutions by these hypocrite enablers?

The most tone-deaf statement in this NBC Montana article comes from “principal planner” of WGM, Nick Kaufman. While tone-deaf, it’s also VERY insightful, as I’ll explain after the quote. From the link:

“We certainly value our jobs in Missoula, but a lot of us can’t afford to live here,” said panelist Nicholas Kaufman, principal planner with WGM Group. “We chose to live in the Bitterroot because of quality of life, but now people move because of affordability.”

Ah, is THIS why Kaufman is such a BIG supporter of housing density? Because packing people into the sardine can MASTER plan in Missoula will keep residential overflow from filling the Bitterroot?

Moving on, this Friday is the start of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, a major cultural event that brings documentary filmmakers from around the world to showcase their stuff (no, Engen’s Missoula was not finished in time to submit for this year’s festival).

This year’s opening film, which will be showing at a venue owned by a man who tried to use a complicated financial instrument to line his own pockets, is called A Decent Home. If you don’t hear the irony sirens blaring, then here’s a description of the film that should unplug your ears:

Opening Night 2022 brings into focus the importance of home and community amidst rapidly changing economic realities. When housing that’s on the lowest rung of the American Dream is being devoured by the wealthiest of the wealthy, whose dream are we serving?

If that wasn’t enough to get your blood boiling on this cold February morning after Valentines Day, check out this screen shot of a tweet from Jim Strauss, the publisher of the Missoulian.

Why is the publisher of a Montana newspaper focusing on the wife of an elected official in Florida? Is it because Jim Strauss’ wife, Dee Strauss, works for a nursing home corporation with ties to developing high-end real estate in Florida?

I hope people like Nick Kaufman, Grant Kier, and Jim Strauss understand that every time they issue these vacuous virtue signals, more and more commoners are able to wake up and see through this poorly executed charade.

And to help with this process, I’ve composed a new poem about Truckers. Enjoy!

little Castro bastard boy
runs away from trucker horns
whac-a-mole protest joy
awakening latent scorn

GoFundMe thieves steal the loot
while lil Jussie hides in fear
needle zealots jack their boots
and finger-plug their stupid ears

semi-wheeling blocking streets
viral courage starts to spread
my uzi bullhorn brings the heat
to warm the bones of the walking dead

liberal zombies, what the fuck?
how did Pharma buy your brains?
we're coming for the school boards
as your gaslights start to wane

no, not threatening, just the truth
that action-taking will be done
kicking red-lines with your hoof
lights the fuse of my innter sun

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Last week someone sent me a link to Grace Decker’s op-ed at the Daily Montanan, where the fun begins with the confusing headline PARENTS HAVE ALREADY TAKEN OVER MOST SCHOOL BOARDS. Huh? Maybe some clarity can be found in the content of the op-ed. Let’s begin.

“Parents are taking over school boards” announced a recent headline in a national publication.

I have a lot of thoughts about this.

For starters, like most school board trustees, I am a parent who decided to run for the Missoula County Public School Board of Trustees seven years ago, in 2015, when my son was in 1st grade, because I wanted to make a difference and help improve our schools. I didn’t run on a political agenda. I didn’t run because I was enraged about anything. I didn’t run because I was trying to upend the system– I ran because I wanted to be part of the process and bring my perspective to the conversation.

So, is Grace Decker trying to undermine the notion that parents are getting more involved in school board races because SHE is a parent, therefore the Missoula County School Board is ALREADY controlled by parents? And why are we expected to believe Decker’s assertion that running for the school board in order to “improve our schools” does NOT represent a political agenda?

After this unsubstantiated drivel about how Grace Decker was NOT enraged about anything and was NOT trying to “upend the system”, she goes on to do some damage control about her use of Facebook.

Since then, after almost every single board meeting, I’ve made a Facebook post on describing what we discussed and what we decided. I’ve done that to try to make sure people knew more about what was happening, and knew how they could connect and engage with the decision-making processes. In these posts I don’t share “who voted this way” and “who voted that way” because once the board takes action, ethical board members support our adopted policies as a group, and continue working within our processes if we aren’t happy with the outcome.

Nope, Grace Decker is NOT just commenting on Facebook, she is creating Facebook groups and getting VERY involved in politics. That’s why I wrote a post titled Is School Board Member Grace Decker Violating MCPS Ethics Policy?

In order to convince readers of her fairness and non-political approach to her school board tenure, Decker continues by championing her noble efforts and deep respect for professionals.

During the past six years, I’ve talked with and emailed with countless parents, and pointed them toward the places in the district where I hoped they could resolve their issues. I’ve tried to uphold the clear communication and chain of command by encouraging people to talk to the person most directly connected to their issue– teacher, principal, administrator, then superintendent, before trying to address it at the board level. I’ve tried to be realistic about the role of a trustee … not to micromanage, but to become as well informed as possible so I can make thoughtful votes and contribute meaningfully to discussions. And I strive to respect the expertise of professionals (whether dealing with highly complex issues of finance, construction, law, curriculum, or health), while also seeking out the perspectives of people involved in the district– especially the kids.

Like lots of other parents, I’ve been frustrated when issues remain unresolved, when we fall short of our ideals, when kids or families feel let down or unserved.

Great. So why are my kids still wearing bullshit masks, Grace? Because TRUST THE SCIENCE? Because Saint Fauci is infallible? What is the current justification for ignoring the pleas of parents to STOP THIS MADNESS?

No, we don’t get anything about the current idiocy with masks. Instead we get more meaningless drivel like this:

At times, I’ve been frustrated by not being able to do more for my own kid, or to shape the schools more specifically to my, or my kid’s, preferences –but that is not my job as a board member. My job is to think about the whole– the whole district, all kids, and the whole community –impacted by the district’s work. It turns out that schools are not a consumer transaction, but a civic project, a collective commitment to each other and to the future.

Schools are not a consumer transaction, but a civic project? What exactly is this supposed to mean? And speaking of consumer transactions, I would love to know how much money is being spent on masks for musical instruments. Does our collective civic project REALLY require the purchasing of masks for trumpets and trombones?

Grace Decker doesn’t address any of that because she’s too busy making vague generalities about working hard, adapting to impossible situations, and listening to the parents who tell her things are moving in the right direction.

More often than not, I have seen the tremendous work that happens every day by teachers and staff, and the countless kids who have stability, structure, and chances to shine, by being part of our district. I see educators adapting to impossible circumstances and making it work. I’ve been very glad to be a part of important –and parent-led– conversations about who our district serves well, and who we serve less well. I’ve been glad to be part of making some important changes and I’m proud of some of the ways our parent-majority-board has continued to push our district forward.

And at times, I’ve heard from literally hundreds of parents who believe our district is moving in the right directions and serving our community overall pretty darn well.

Sounds like everything is pretty fantastic. So why write this op-ed? Because terrible parents like me are giving Decker the sads by making the crazy claim that our concerns aren’t being seriously considered.

And so it’s hugely frustrating– and worrying– to be told “the board” doesn’t listen to “parents.” That “parents” need to “take back the schools.” That decisions a parent (or even a group of parents)  disagrees with, were therefore made without consideration of parent input. I resent the idea that only certain voices represent “parents.” I reject the idea that parents and educators are “at war for control of the schools.” We’re on the same team, we’re members of the same community, and, I hope, we’re interested in the same better future for all kids, not just our own.

I hope that people considering a run for school board this spring do so out of a commitment to all of what schools are about, and commitment to all of whom schools are for.

No, Grace, we are NOT on the same team, and I will be doing everything I can (legally, of course) to see that you are NO LONGER in a position to influence school board policy.

I can’t wait to start knocking on doors to share what I know about the Missoula cabal of condescending elitists Grace Decker is a part of.

Thanks for reading.

by Travis Mateer

Yesterday I went to a church service at the River of Life church in East Missoula because a homeless man I am trying to help told me he attends this church and sometimes gets assistance from their food bank. I had hoped to find someone who could help this homeless man undrestand his tenure under the bridge is coming to an end, but the article I read this morning from NBC Montana, that MDT closed the gates this weekend, means I’m probably too late to make his transition away from where he’s lived for the last 3 years as smooth as possible.

Instead of getting insight into local dynamics, I listened to Pastor Jason reference a conference his church’s faith leaders attended this past week in Phoenix, Arizona. And this morning, after doing some online research, I’m going to share some things I’ve learned about the national organization River of Life is getting involved with.

The Dream Center in Los Angeles is the faith organization that put on the Dream Conference in Arizona this past week. That second link goes to a list of the speakers this conference featured, like Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA, the conservative organization infamous for its professor watchlist. Those in Missoula may recall the controversy when professional white-shamer, Tobin Miller Shearer, gleefully played the victim card when his name appeared on that list six years ago.

The featured speaker I found MUCH more interesting than Charlie Kirk is the Jesus-loving body builder who has shared stages with AMAZING leaders like Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, George Bush Sr. and Rudy Giuliani. WOW!

Why would anyone trust a man who thinks it’s cool to promote sharing a stage with Bill Clinton in 2022, especially anyone who identifies as a Christian? I ask that question because when I think about Christianity + the Clintons I immediately think about the New Life Children’s Refuge Case. Here is a quick summary from wikipedia:

The New Life Children’s Refuge case was an incident of alleged kidnapping and the ensuing legal cases which occurred in the aftermath of the January 12th 2010 Haiti earthquake. On January 29, 2010, a group of ten American Baptist missionaries from Idaho attempted to cross the Haiti-Dominican Republic border with 33 Haitian children. The group, known as the New Life Children’s Refuge, did not have proper authorization for transporting the children and were arrested on kidnapping charges. The missionaries denied any wrongdoing and claimed that they were rescuing orphans and leading them to a Dominican hotel which was being transformed into an orphanage. Nine of the ten missionaries were later released but NLCR founder Laura Silsby remained incarcerated in Haiti. By the time she went to trial on May 13 the charges had been reduced to “arranging irregular travel” and the prosecution sought a 6-month prison term. On May 17, she was found guilty and sentenced to the time served in jail prior to the trial.

The Hillary Clinton connection to this case is pretty interesting. Also interesting is what Laura Silsby got into AFTER this bizarre arrest on kidnapping charges.

Laura Silsby founded the New Life Children’s Refuge and led the expedition in Haiti. Though she was freed after serving her sentence in Haiti, she also faced legal problems in Idaho. In early March 2010, her attorney in these cases filed a motion to withdraw as her counsel. Another lawyer who represented Silsby in a child custody case also withdrew as her attorney.

Silsby faced civil lawsuits for fraud, wrongful termination and unpaid wages mostly related to Personal Shopper, an Internet company that she founded in 1999 with James Hammons. Silsby and Hammons worked together at Hewlett-Packard.[26] Silsby became part of MYSTATE USA an emergency notification company headed by Claudia Bitner in 2011. MYSTATE USA changed its name to Alertsense. Alertsense has since started another company called Konexus because of bad press when its software was used to launch the only known live Nuclear Alert in Hawaii in 2018. Silsby married and now goes by the name Laura Gayler or Laura Silsby Gayler. Silsby Gayler has worked for Alertsense for the last 8 years and still works there under Von Hansen and Blake Hansen.

With my curiosity fully piqued, I decided to see if there are any links between local Missoula churches and the LifeGuard Group, which I wrote about last week. What I found is a nice op-ed from 2018 by Lowell Hochhalter, titled The Power of Community. In this op-ed Hochhalter–who at the time had recently been hired to provide chaplain services for Missoula’s Sheriff’s Department–recounted a story about informing a family their beloved family member had died in a car accident. From the link:

It was on this day that I truly learned the power of community! I called three churches that had helped in situations like this before: River of Life in East Missoula, Cornerstone Church in Lolo, and Elevate Church in Missoula. I told them of the circumstances and they immediately jumped into action. Within an hour, I was able to put $1,000 cash into the hands of this family to help them pay for food and other expenses that they would incur during the next few days. Taco John’s on Broadway told me to tell the family that they could eat for free as long as they needed. Another chruch, Sportsman’s Church, located in the Bitterroot, heard of what happened and offered their help as well.

I find this little op-ed to be quite interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the church that Keith Craft leads in Frisco, Texas, is ALSO called Elevate Church. Is that a coincidence? Second, the cash Hochhalter was able to quickly raise, while I’m sure deeply appreciated by the grieving family, makes me wonder why Lowell’s paid staff member at LifeGuard Group, Joe Danzer, didn’t have basic resources, like business cards.

I’m also still curious why Joe Danzer, the SEARCH COORDINATOR for LifeGuard Group, seemingly lied to me about his participation in the search for Rebekah Barsotti.

Last week I called the Sheriff’s Department, explaining that I wanted to speak with Lowell Hochhalter about any documentation that might prove Joe Danzer was being honest with me. I was told by the woman I spoke to that she would send Hochhalter an email with my contact info and my inquiry, since there is apparently no direct line that he can be reached at. So far, I haven’t heard anything back.

It’s a little ironic I’m writing this post on Superbowl Sunday, a day advocates for survivors of trafficking have long associated with increases in human trafficking. To bolster this claim, here’s an LA Times op-ed pushing back on the claim by LAPD Chief Moore that this connection is a myth:

To the editor: Your editorial states that human sex trafficking is not increased by big sporting events and the link with the Super Bowl is a “myth” and a lie.

Space won’t allow me to articulate the academic studies that validate the exceptional spike in prostitution advertisements, or rescue organizations and survivors’ accounts that vehemently disagree with your callous remarks. Additionally, law enforcement officers with their own experiences dealing with sex trafficking crimes understand a much different reality from your editorial dismissal.

Just last weekend, 14 individuals were arrested for sex trafficking-related offenses at a single hotel associated with Super Bowl activities, with a number of those arrested traveling from other regions of the country. Isolated? Not at all. Just as the region has seen a flood of counterfeit merchandise and other illicit opportunists related to the Super Bowl, sex trafficking similarly follows.

If the organizations I’m interested in are on the up and up, then they have nothing to worry about from a little investigative scrutiny. What I hope to find is that these organizations are genuinely invested in stopping vulnerable populations from being exploited and preyed upon by predators.

Thanks for reading.

by Travis Mateer

After reading this article about a police training that will no longer be offered to local law enforcement, I am even MORE interested in finding out the names of the Sheriff Deputies involved in the shooting death of Johnny Lee Perry because now I have a new question I can ask them: how was your sex after shooting dead a machete-wielding homeless man?

If you weren’t aware that killing people leads to awesome sexual intercourse with your partner and/or CI (confidential informant), that’s probably because you haven’t been trained by the Killogists of Killology. Here’s the information that emerged AFTER this group got local government money to pass along their amazing insights into killing and fucking. From the link:

Earlier this week, city councilors approved about $8,000 for two recent police training sessions with a company, Killology Research Group, which is mired in controversy surrounding comments made by its director, former Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.

In a video that surfaced online last year of a presentation by Killology in 2015, Grossman implies that sexual pleasure of police officers is amplified following a violent confrontation with a suspect.

With this training in mind, what I witnessed last September, which I wrote about in a post titled Did I Just Witness A New Police Tactic?, is beginning to make more sense. Police must have been so eager to exit the speeding police cruiser, dangerously opening the door while the car sped toward Caras Park, because later they would be fucking like STALLIONS.

Cool.

Speaking of fucking, nothing lubricates the union of genitalia like alcohol, which is why I’m so glad BEER GARDENS are showing early success after being enabled to exist on campus by the legislature. After breaking down where the six figures will be distributed from this year’s sales, here’s how the exuberance of MORE beer gardens to come is being reported:

And it’s not just football, as UM has had a beer garden at men’s and women’s basketball games in Dahlberg Arena this year as well.

As the first-year trials go forward, it’s about finding ways to grow the beer garden to enhance fan experience while also staying safe and growing that revenue.

“Anytime you do something like this and you have a good experience and you create new revenue, I think it’s probably natural progression to start talking about how do you do that in different ways and different areas, so I think those conversations will happen in the offseason just to see where this goes,” Martin said. “I think it was well received but now that we do have a year under our belts and some time, how do we take that and continue to go with it.”

Isn’t this prospect of MORE REVENUE exciting? So how about beer gardens in the University Center building, and open-air beer gardens on the quad, and DEFINITELY some beer gardens near the English Department (for the poets) and the nice Native center (for the Indians).

I love the leadership of my town. So much wisdom in finding that critical balance between money and fun, with a careful eye toward pretending like we weren’t a college town scrutinized for rapes and the criminal justice system’s LOVELY response to a culture of sexual assault that totally doesn’t include alcohol as an important factor.

Have a fun weekend, Missoula!

by Travis Mateer

I have a growing inventory of Gomer Kidston “news” articles I’ve been wanting to comment on piling up in my brain, so I’m just going to purge them here, in quick-hit fashion, to get them out of my system.

The first one is a Gomer classic, pumping up Tax Increment Financing and the budget of the MRA while ALSO helping put down a little insurrection against GREAT LEADER. The fun begins with the title: Citing public good, Missoula City Council adopts MRA’s budget. From the link:

The Missoula City Council’s lingering conservative wing and its inaugural member of the Democratic socialists tried but failed Monday night to block the adoption of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget, despite the impacts doing so could have on the city’s general fund heading in 2022.

On an 8-3 vote, the Missoula City Council adopted a resolution regardless amending MRA’s budget, which includes final calculations based upon new taxable values from the state, its impacts on mill levies, anticipated grants and bond proceeds.

I bolded the REGARDLESS because I love how Gomer just slips it in so casually, without the kind of comma one might expect. And we haven’t even gotten to the inaugural socialist’s actual name! A reader of Gomer has to wait until paragraph 4 to learn that piece of info.

The vote is an annual occurrence, though the council’s new socialist member and what remains of its conservative block sided against it. The two political camps have aligned in recent weeks in opposition to a number of measures, but none have met success.

Daniel Carlino, who narrowly won election representing Ward 3 over Dori Gilels – now a member of the Consolidated Planning Board – suggested tax increment was used to build the $25 million AC Hotel in downtown Missoula.

The project brought dozens of new jobs to the city and, like the Mercantile next door, created the opportunity for business expansion and relocation. It was supported by downtown advocates and was envisioned in both the old and most recent Downtown Master Plan, which were supported by the larger public.

Still, while the project occurred years ago, Carlino voiced opposition.

I am VERY encouraged to read (though would like to independently verify) that the two political camps are finding some common ground on the TIF abuses. Gomer is not known for his accuracy, more like loyalty.

Moving on, the next article is one I almost didn’t read, but I’m glad I did, because I found a tidbit about the controversial Maclay Bridge, something I’ve written about extensively, considering it impacts the safety of my family.

Here’s the relevant part from the article titled From Missoula to Salmon Lake, MDT details busy summer:

From repairs to the Beartracks Bridge in downtown Missoula to the reconstruction of narrow highway skirting Salmon Lake, the Montana Department of Transportation has a busy season ahead in the Missoula District.

The work will also include infrastructure changes to a dangerous stretch of Highway 93 south of Lolo, and Missoula County will make a final decision on the future of Maclay Bridge.

“We’ve got to make a decision to continue with the Section 106 process,” county public works director Shane Stack told commissioners on Monday. “We need some form of formal decision to determine if we want to move forward with Section 106.”

My first reaction upon reading this was HUH? Then I got into Gomer’s bullshit framing of this decades-old controversy, and I really got annoyed.

Section 106 requires that a review of a transportation project include consideration of historic preservation and public input.

The bridge spanning the Bitterroot River in the Missoula Valley has been a contentious issue for years, with some wanting the one-lane structure preserved and left in place. Others want a modern bridge that can handle today’s transportation requirements.

The county is expected to make a formal decision later this month, possibly on Feb. 24.

Nothing in how Gomer reports on this hints at what EVERY STUDY is pointing to: a new bridge up stream, at South street. Is that because Commissioner Dave’s pals live up there and are still in denial of that reality?

Moving on, here’s a fun municipal tantrum from Dinosaur, Jim Nugent, and GREAT LEADER himself!

Citing a long list of bills that preempted ordinances adopted by self-governing cities, Missoula City Attorney Jim Nugent last week issued a legal opinion intended to “inform and provide” local elected officials clear insight into what many are now describing as the long arm of the Montana Legislature.

“There currently is a trend evolving pursuant to which state legislatures throughout the United States are more frequently and with more breadth, topic wise, preempting local government authority and power of local governments with respect to local community issues,” Nugent wrote in legal opinion released on Friday.

Nugent’s concerns follow that of Missoula Mayor John Engen, some members of the City Council and all three Missoula County commissioners in voicing frustration with recent legislative activity and its heavy-handed push to curtail rules and regulations adopted at the local level.

Mentioned is the gun control ordinance I have been writing about for years, like this post, titled I Warned Missoula Would Provoke State Legislature Retaliation Five Years Ago And Guess What? I was Right.

Six years ago now and I am STILL RIGHT. And these whiners are still throwing fits because there are bigger fiefdoms with the power GREAT LEADER wants all for himself.

Moving on, and to conclude, we might not be able to give GREAT LEADER the gun ordinance he so desires, but the ever-visionary Donna Gaukler is ready to give him something big and VERY expensive.

The aquatics center opened in 2006 and was funded through a combination of general obligation bonds and tax increment financing. The proposed community center carries an estimated cost of around $44 million, a number Gaukler said included today’s inflationary costs.

“We’re going into this eyes wide open,” Gaukler said. “It does consider the incredible inflation we’ve been through this year. I would hope and expect these numbers would be lower two years from now.”

These people, man. I mean wow. I think I’ve had enough.

Thanks for reading.