Month: March 2022

by Travis Mateer

This interview with Mystic Mark was recorded in February, but the synchronistic timing wasn’t fully baked until today.

If you like this interview, check out the links in the show notes. Thanks for listening!

by Travis Mateer

Since I’ve been working on a meta-timeline, and talking about the timing of things happening in a few of the cases I’ve been tracking, it was timely to find a copy of MONTANA, The Magazine of Western History, from the Spring of 2019.

I’ll get to why this magazine is now curious to me in a moment, but first recall a time before THE FEAR was rolled out in March of 2020. What were some of the LOCAL things going on?

I did some scrolling back in the archive and found articles I wrote, like this one about how ignoring the Reserve Street encampment won’t make it go away, and this one about the McResistance of Russiagaters like Montana’s Josh Manning.

While I was writing about these topics, the woman who would be become instrumental in directing PANDEMIC policies, Ellen Leahy, was writing in the above mag about the INFLUENZA pandemic.

Here’s some of the content from this precursor to Leahy’s time to shine:

Within a week of that news, the disease arrived full force in Montana. “Dread Influenza Invades State” announced the Daily Missoulian, noting that Sheridan County reported over 100 cases on September 30 and an alarming 350 cases in Scobey in neighboring Daniels County. Likely aided by troop movement and rail travel, the disease spread quickly and was reported “raging at Libby” just before its arrival in Missoula, where the first wave of cases occurred among soldiers training for combat.

In keeping with the fine customs of a Sunday, enlisted men at Fort Missoula enjoyed their day off on October 6, 1918, which they “passed in the city,” mingling with civilians. Upon their return to the fort that evening, many of them were showing signs of illness and were placed in quarantine at the fort hospital, but by then it was too late.

Later that year, in 2019, the Repo markets started going nuts in September. Then, in October, this happened:

I’m sure this is all just coincidental, and anyone who says otherwise is a raving lunatic in need of reeducation.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

While the many hats of Lowell Hochhalter is the focus of THIS post, my interest was first piqued at the beginning of February, when Governor Gianforte’s office announced a partnership with this group’s anti-human trafficking efforts. Who are these Life Guards? I asked on February 2nd. A little over a month later, I have more insights to share.

On February 17th I wrote a post, titled In An Ocean Of Trauma, Life Guards Must Be Better Than Well Intentioned, Or Else They Risk Paving A Serious Path Toward Hell. As I dissected the dramatized images of women being fictionally saved by Lowell Hochhalter’s valiant efforts, one thing I didn’t emphasize is the BIG red flag outsiders will see when employing family members in your savior/money-making efforts.

What’s the problem with getting a family member a job? The answer should be obvious, but for me I see it as a sign of possible boundary issues for Lowell. Navigating an employer/father dynamic while ALSO patrolling the dark alleys for trafficking victims seems like a recipe for trouble.

Another problem with this trifecta of male saviors is the fact the guy on the right, Joe Danzer, seemingly lied to me about his role in assisting the Rebekah Barsotti family last summer in the search for their missing daughter. I sure hope with that $30,000 from Town Pump and HALF A MILLION from the Gianforte Foundation, Joe at least has the business cards he told me were “in the mail”.

To ensure that last figure is properly documented in this post (since the article is behind a paywall), here is the quote detailing the Gianforte Foundation’s financial support (among other donors) to secure this CROOKED Tree Ranch (dot com):

The property cost just over $1,000,000, Tami said, half of which was paid for via a donation from the Gianforte Family Foundation. She also mentioned the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation along with the Gallagher Foundation and Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association as donors.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention that Lowell’s wife, Tami, is also a part of the team, so add husband to the slash list titling this post.

Now, one Hochhalter hat I thought existed turned out to belong to a DIFFERENT L. Hochhalter. Ain’t that some shit? I discovered this during my increasingly frustrating and unproductive communication with the communication professional at the Sheriff’s Dept, Jeanette Smith. This line in inquiry began with my interest in whether or not a job description for the Chaplain position exists, which I found out was a BIG NOPE.

Since I had to find that out from HR, I made sure to inform Jeanette Smith about the answer to my question regarding the apparent lack of a job description, and my subsequent concern about Lowell Hochhalter’s need for a hat rack.

Another inquiry I made with the Sheriff’s Department is whether or not Lowell Hochhalter has the ability to use official department vehicles, and whether or not he has the ability to serve papers in an official capacity. I got pretty far in nearly including PROCESS SERVER HAT before finally being told that, no, that is a DIFFERENT Hochhalter with NO relation to Lowell.

Here’s LOREN Hochhalter:

My confusion wasn’t helped by this NBC Montana piece, where Lowell Hochhalter literally JOKES at the 5 minute 40 second part of the interview about impersonating an officer of the law. Here’s my quick transcription of the quote:

“We work right alongside law enforcement, we’re not the cops, and we don’t pretend to be th–well, sometimes we pretend to be the cops (Tami laughs…nervously?), but we know our limitations…”

With what I’ve reported so far, are you starting to get the sense that maybe Lowell Hochhalter doesn’t know his limitations?

I’m continuing to dig into this LifeGuard organization and some of the conversations I’m having are VERY illuminating.

Stay tuned.

by Travis Mateer

As Americans unquestioningly consume war propaganda while getting bent over and violated at the pump, around 200 stupid/generous Missoula liberals showed up at a local brewery to rain money on a “non-profit” headed by this dude:

What is the World Central Kitchen, you ask? It’s an organization that exists to suck money out of the pockets of stupid/generous liberals during times of crisis, but not every partnering group has been satisfied with this group’s performance. From the link:

In April, World Central Kitchen, founded by chef José Andrés, announced Chefs for America, a program to provide 1 million free meals to those experiencing food insecurity. The nonprofit organization, which is known for feeding people in need following natural disasters, would partner with over 1,000 restaurants and subsidize a pre-set number of $10 meals, which WCK would help distribute in various U.S. neighborhoods. The plan was twofold: Feed the hungry, and pay struggling restaurants to help them stay in business. But at least one restaurant has chosen to end its partnership with WCK: La Morada — a Oaxacan restaurant in the Bronx, New York, that’s owned by undocumented immigrants — recently announced it would no longer be working with WCK, citing the organization’s affiliation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and its “ties to gentrifying forces.”

The $9,000 dollars generated by stupid/generous Missoulians got an assist from Mary Poole and Soft Landing, who organized this event. Also present to sing the praises of this organization was Eamon Fahey. Here’s an excerpt from the Missoulian article:

Eamon Fahey, director of the International Rescue Committee in Missoula, anticipates that while Montana won’t see any Ukrainian refugees in the immediate future, he said it’s likely Ukrainians may be sent to Missoula for resettlement at some point down the road.

“I encourage everyone to stay involved, to contribute to all of these fine organizations that do really important work,” Fahey said.

Clearwater Credit Union also donated $1,000.

So, how did the World Central Kitchen get on the radar to receive this stupid/generous loot? You can thank local influencers like Ellie Hill/Smith/Boldman and ED of United Way, Susan Hay Patrick, for being so damn memorable in 2011 when World Central Kitchen board member, Robert Egger, visited our humble town.

Since I was working at the Poverello Center at the time, I remember when Robert Egger showed up and spoke. Our local influences were VERY excited. Here’s Egger recalling his time in Missoula (emphasis mine):

Missoula is awash in great programs and dynamic leadership who treated me like kin and proudly showed me every corner of their community. I visited the Peas Farm, hit the North Missoula Community Development Center’s new Co-Op, talked about plans for a community kitchen and how it could develop food products that could empower dozens of new businesses, run by men and women who could have those businesses financed by a micro-credit program run by the United Way, which, to my surprise, is now being ably led by Susan Patrick Hay, an old DC colleague.

Isn’t that nice?

I’m sure Ukraine will benefit mightily from these caring, liberal-minded organizations adeptly monetizing liberal guilt. And if doing caring things isn’t your style, BIG TECH is there for you to make sure urging violence against Russia and Putin is made allowable on their platforms.

Facebook and Instagram users in some countries will be allowed to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, after parent company Meta made a temporary change to its hate speech policy.

The company is also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to internal emails to its content moderators.

If you’re maintaining your humanity amidst this powerful propaganda campaign and the resulting madness it’s creating, I commend you. It’s not easy.

And if you want to donate money to something TRULY local, my GoFundMe page is waiting for your generosity.

Thanks for reading.

by Travis Mateer

A week ago, Danny Carlino made a comment on a post where I boasted prophetic accuracy in anticipating a bond-scheme to fund some large project in Urban Renewal District II. In response, I asked a question, then waited for a response. And waited. I’m still waiting.

Now, Carlino has no obligation to respond to my questions, even after I tested the alliance waters with this open letter, so it’s not the lack of response that bothers me. It’s what Carlino finds MORE IMPORTANT to be doing with his time I find irksome, like doxxing the Zootownmeme account. I like how “auntiee_mt” responded to Danny’s action:

Before the election that put this youngster on Council, Carlino was accurately describing the dire nature of what regular Missoulians are facing and the urgency to do something about it.

It is not too late to preserve the Missoula way of life, but we must act now. As the only working-class renter in the race, I’ll be the first member of City Council who actually represents the average Missoulian. As such, my work in office will address some of the largest issues facing our community, including the following affordability issues: Childcare, Public Transportation, and Housing.

After the election, it’s easy for any newbie to get caught up in all the various distractions that require some response, like being BEAR SMART. Here’s Carlino giving his opinion on the URGENCY of making sure all the Californians moving to Montana will be considerate of bears:

Bear Smart advocates have noted Missoula’s population growth, along with that of other cities in western Montana. That growth is forcing bears to exist in smaller regions, and it cuts off migration routes needed to maintain a dynamic gene pool.

Those behind the Change.org petition believe that “it’s fair to expect all people living in bear country to know the rules of living here, peacefully with wildlife.” Some members of City Council agree.

“It’s really urgent that we try to take action on that, or at least start looking more into it,” said council member Daniel Carlino.

This emphasis highlights what Carlino considers URGENT on March 8th. Bears.

Another issue arising on Carlino’s priority list is decriminalizing mushrooms. While I’m supportive of this idea, I’m immediately suspicious of slick-looking organizations, like Decriminalize Nature. I’m also not sure “average” Missoulians will consider this a priority, or will appreciate Carlino’s attempt to connect this issue to housing. From the link:

Carlino said that the “decriminalize nature” policy idea could actually help ease Missoulians housing woes.

“This helps with securing rent and housing. When people are arrested on felony charges for possessing natural substances, that makes it harder to find a rental,” Carlino tweeted.

This stretch to tie illegal mushrooms to housing woes might make for a good tweet, but out here in the real world, it don’t mean shit to Missoula renters facing housing insecurity.

But I’m glad this Oakland organization with pics from the Psychedelic Society of San Francisco is getting some attention from a Montana City Council person.

If mushrooms, bears and doxxing anonymous meme accounts is how Danny Carlino wants to spend his time, that’s fine.

Just don’t expect me to waste MY time seriously considering a TIF “reform” alliance with this kid, because he’s clearly got A LOT of growing up to do.