Month: March 2022

by Travis Mateer

The news broke yesterday that Mayor John Engen has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Anyone who has dealt with this kind of cancer is probably wondering why Engen is doing what he did after being forced to admit his alcoholism, which is NOT stepping down as Mayor.

Here’s Engen pivoting from disclosure to stubborn refusal in acknowledging the reality of what he’s facing (emphasis mine):

“This is not the health news anyone wants to receive,” Engen said, “but I suffer from optimism and have high hopes that treatment will extend my life so I can continue the service I love among talented, committed colleagues and the community. I’ve got a long list and hope to make my way through it.”

“I’m being very public about this personal news because I may have to step back occasionally from some optional duties that I’ve enjoyed over the years,” Engen said, “and my full calendar of appointments may get rearranged depending on treatment and my strength. I want folks to know I’m still very much at the helm, but if I am incapacitated and no longer able to meet the obligations of this job, I’ll step down.”

So, Engen is NOT stepping down. I hope he’s got ALL his enablers ready to help him in his time of need.

One key Engen enabler, Eran Pehan, is going to have a VERY challenging time navigating all her responsibilities, but I’m confident she’ll be up to the task. I say that having seen her manage the Poverello Center in 2011, when our director at the time, Ellie Hill (later Ellie Smith, and now Ellie Boldman) was demonstrating her inability to meet THOSE job obligations.

While it hasn’t been reported yet, Eran Pehan has a new job IN ADDITION to the job that was created for her at the end of 2020. Before we get to Pehan’s NEW job, let’s take a look at how the creation of the Department of Community Planning, Development and Innovation was reported:

In an effort to break down silos and improve efficiency, the city of Missoula on Wednesday realigned several departments to streamline everything from land use and planning to transportation.

In doing so, it established a new singular department dubbed Community Planning, Development and Innovation, and appointed Eran Pehan to serve as its new director.

“She’s demonstrated remarkable skills as a leader, a manager and a mentor,” Missoula Mayor John Engen said. “I believe that in this role, she’ll be able to help us put our rules and regulations in place to better align with our goals for increasing housing stock for everyone in our community.”

Last month I reached out to the communication director for Mayor Engen, Ginny Merriam, and she forwarded my inquiry about Pehan’s new job duties to my former supervisor herself to respond to. Here is that response:

Yes, Eran Pehan remains committed to her current position with the city, and that’s great news because Missoula is going to need ALL her skills and talents, which include experience working with low-functioning individuals who suffer from various personality disorders in a clinical setting (transferrable skills I bet she still uses in her political setting).

For the rest of us in Missoula, wondering what this diagnosis means for our bustling ZOOM town, the question should be this: WHO is going to determine when Mayor John Engen is no longer capable of executing the duties of his office?

Because John Engen is a self-admitted alcoholic, I don’t think he has the personal insight to identify what he can handle, and what he can’t. So WHO is going to play that role for this Mayor with a terminal diagnosis?

That’s a legitimate question, and one I don’t mind asking less than 24 hours after this diagnosis was made public.

by Travis Mateer

Well, as I’m working on a project about GREAT LEADER and how I am approaching a hybrid method of engaging with the info-sphere, news is breaking Mayor John Engen has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

I’ll certainly be writing more on that, but for now, enjoy the episode (and the song about Mineral County’s GREAT LEADER at the end).

Thanks for listening!

by Travis Mateer

I’m sad for Martin “Gomer” Kidston. Why? Because, instead of having the satisfaction of penning to death local Republicans speaking pro-Vladolph heresy, Gomer’s pen had to settle on some Democratic Socialists.

What a bummer.

The fun, like many Gomer pieces, begins with the headline, and this one is looooong. Here it goes. Democratic Socialists in Missoula: Deny arms to Ukraine, don’t expand NATO, U.S. partially to blame for war.

First, let me just commend the DSA folks for showing some nuanced thinking on this issue. Clearly, your nuance must be dealt with, and I’m glad it’s with Gomer’s pen because, despite the headline, I would be TERRIFIED if this former Marine had a real firearm to handle problems with.

Here’s how Gomer starts handling the problem represented by this meager DSA protest:

While Russia cuts off humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian refugees fleeing its invasion and indiscriminately shells population centers, a handful of Missoula residents gathered downtown on Sunday to criticize both sides of the conflict, laying blame on Russia, NATO and even the U.S.

The bold part is where I hear a literal GASP from our fearless pen-packer. The next part is even better.

Organized by the Western Montana Democratic Socialists of America, a crowd of roughly 50 people joined together holding Ukrainian flags and signs calling for peace over war. Their message was mixed with calls for peace and Ukranian freedom, but also a willingness to sacrifice those currently in harm’s way to avoid a wider conflict.

This bold part is where I’m tempted to call Gomer a pussy for NOT grabbing his gun and rushing to the conflict zone. I mean, Vladolph is INDISCRIMINATELY blowing shit up for no reason other than Covid made him insane and he’s old and he wants the proud USSR to rise from the ashes of Yeltsin’s vodka stupor.

But no, Gomer is too busy shaming DSA protestors for anti-war wrong-think with utter shit-propaganda like this:

With the war already underway and Russian forces laying waste to Ukrainian cities and population centers, those at the rally said the U.S. should deny the urge to send arms to Ukraine, along with establishing a no-fly-zone. 

While doing so will likely lead to the eventual fall of a free and Democratic state, experts have suggested, those at the rally contend that NATO never was a success and has only served to provoke Russia.

I’d like to eviscerate this little excretion, but it’s getting late, so instead I’ll post this video I made 4 years ago called BringYrBabies2War.

by Travis Mateer

I wanted to bring attention to a few notable housekeeping issues this month for readers of Zoom Chron to be aware of.

First, to the right, at the blogroll, you will notice Missoula County Tyranny is no longer there. That is because Roy McKenzie’s efforts can now be found at Free Missoula News.

Another change is the shortening of Outerlimits (and a better link) as writing at that virtual space has a new article readers of this blog need to read, titled Why is Mayor Engen Replacing Missoula Police with Private Security?

Here’s an excerpt from the link:

Since Missoula’s liberal leaders aren’t bashful about bringing Killology’s habit-forming violence fetishes to a police force near us, one must wonder about the intentions of beefing up the local garrison with private gun slingers who are even less accountable than the police. A whole private industry has sprung up right under our noses, where a group of armed vigilantes vow to solve the “risk based” problems of our fair city through means apparently unavailable to the police.

I highly suggest following the link to read the whole article. It’s eye-opening, to say the least.

For the writing here, at Zoom Chron, I hope to keep up the frequency of posts (at least six a week), but my schedule might be changing, which means I might downshift on the citizen journalism articles in order to highlight the “fiction” I’ve compiled at my Substack page. That fiction will now feature my Covid journal, which I started writing in March of 2020. Most of it will be behind a paywall, but I’ll post teaser excerpts here.

To get a sense of how my fiction “went live”, so to speak, check out this part, which I posted on 2-22-2022.

I’m also going to experiment with a new style of Gonzo reporting which combines short, cynical reports from the ground, combined with my simple musical stylings. To get an idea of what this will look like, here’s my pilot effort. Coming up on that front, I recorded a song yesterday which I’m calling SHERIFF MAN GUY.

Good things are coming, dear readers, so thank you for reading, sharing, and even donating money to my GoFundMe page, where I’m hoping to continue receiving donations, which will help me with the costs I’ve already invested in making the documentary, Engen’s Missoula, while also looking to take the documentary on the road around Montana, to educate lawmakers about the scams being implemented in Zoom Town.

Like always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for good things to come!

by Travis Mateer

Scanning local headlines from weekend shenanigans, especially after last week’s heavy-hitter roundtable on public safety, one might wonder whether or not law enforcement can keep up with increasing crime rates amidst population growth and budget starvation from TIF schemes.

On Friday night Missoula PD failed to apprehend one suspect in two separate car chases. The public is being asked for help. In another story, the “help” provided by a member of the public resulted in two arrests, the guy who was driving under the influence, and the vigilante who discharged his own firearm in vigilante zeal to detain the drunk.

Late on Saturday night/Sunday morning I exited the building where my studio is located and there were FIVE police cars parked. I’m not sure what they were responding to, but during my walk-around I overheard some people talking about an incident with a gun.

The next day (yesterday) I mistook the “caution” tape out front of the Badlander as crime scene tape. The helpful gentleman in the bar with the Russian accent (I’m sure it’s just Belarusian, so no need to cancel him like those Russian cats) had no idea about any incident like I described.

I sent Public Information Officer, Lydia Arnold, an email just in case–about the alleged gun incident, not the accent. I don’t think having a Russian-sounding accent is illegal yet, but who knows with this latest programming suddenly replacing the COVID protocols with a daily dose of anti-Russia hate.

Speaking of anti-Russian hate, there was a rally on Sunday at the Missoula County Courthouse organized by the Democratic Socialists of America and because their hatred of Russia wasn’t pure, the propagandist I call GOMER Kidston did some fun framing of these weirdos who, for some reason, don’t want WWIII to go nuclear.

Here’s the opening of the article featuring the clear tone of dismay that these activists aren’t valorizing America while demonizing Russia.

While Russia cuts off humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian refugees fleeing its invasion and indiscriminately shells population centers, a handful of Missoula residents gathered downtown on Sunday to criticize both sides of the conflict, laying blame on Russia, NATO and even the U.S.

The war propaganda from GOMER Kidston–a former Marine and Democratic spokesperson–is unmistakable to those with unoccupied brains. Here’s more bullshit from this craven propagandist:

With the war already underway and Russian forces laying waste to Ukrainian cities and population centers, those at the rally said the U.S. should deny the urge to send arms to Ukraine, along with establishing a no-fly-zone. 

While doing so will likely lead to the eventual fall of a free and Democratic state, experts have suggested, those at the rally contend that NATO never was a success and has only served to provoke Russia.

Gomer Kidston cannot mask his disdain for this very practical perspective that NATO expansion is a major reason for Russia’s incursion into the Ukrainian civil war, which was sparked by a western-backed coup.

Thankfully I’m not Gomer Kidston, blindly regurgitating pro-war propaganda and framing anti-war activists like a punk-ass. Maybe that’s because I’ve been paying attention to this region and the geopolitical consequences of America’s provocations for over a decade.

I’ll be writing more about this, but in a different way than one might expect, so stay tuned. And thanks for reading.