If there is any question that David Barsotti is an abusive individual, I think the following communication he sent recently to his deceased ex-wife’s mother, Angela Mastrovito, should clear that up real quick.
This lovely communication from David Barsotti is bad enough, but the odd request to have the body salted before cremation really stood out. What could possibly be the reason for David Barsotti asking for this stipulation through his lawyer, only to pull back this request at the court hearing yesterday?
A quick online search provides some interesting context on the role salt has played in different cultures throughout the centuries. Here’s a screenshot:
Since this stipulation didn’t make it into the courtroom, I can’t really say what the argument would have been. It’s entirely possible the move was simply intended as a cruel mindfuck.
While the first autopsy is apparently done, the results are being withheld from Rebekah’s family until the second autopsy is completed by an outside pathologist. Once that autopsy is done–and IF there is nothing directly contesting the results of the first autopsy–the body will be released from the State Crime Lab to the funeral home for cremation.
Will that be the end of the story?
In the court hearing, which I attended, David Barsotti actually showed up in person instead of hiding behind a screen, so maybe he is getting some of his confidence back. And that makes sense, considering his buddy, Sheriff Mike Toth, has been VERY supportive of his friend during this difficult time.
This “difficulty” that David Barsotti has been experiencing, with the anniversary of Rebekah’s “river accident” arriving today, was conveyed to Judge Marks by Barsotti’s lawyer as the reason for David wanting things wrapped up quickly, now that the state crime lab has begrudgingly allowed an outside pathologist into their facility to conduct the second autopsy, which was court-ordered.
Why did it take so long to get a second autopsy set up? Apparently the crime lab has never before had to allow for a second opinion because there is no defined policy they could produce, or reference, outlining how this could be accomplished. I guess that’s why the crime lab had their own representative at this court hearing, appearing via Zoom.
I don’t know how unusual any of this is. Is it normal for a County Attorney to approach the client of opposing counsel to openly ask why the hearing is happening, then complain that it’s keeping him from cutting ten grand worth of hay? Is it normal for this same “professional” to ask about the pound and a half of weed they supposedly took from Rebekah’s car, act dumbfounded at the answer, then offer that they shouldn’t have burned it?
The lawyers (and I mean ALL of them) have done such a fantastic job piddling away precious time (and the judge’s limited patience) that at this point, were I a suspicious kind of fellow, I’d have to wonder if all these Montana lawyers aren’t collectively hoping that this Virginia mother will just go the fuck away once nothing conclusive comes from the second autopsy.
After that everything can just proceed as planned. Sheriff Toth can have his heart attack, David Barsotti can pull that Russian bride from the secret room in his basement, the Hitman can get that RV he always dreamed of, and Superior, Montana, can ready themselves for a Mother-FUNKE of a good time with their new Sheriff.
I have to say, if you’re an abuser facing charges of partner/family assault from a fleeing wife who stands to legally take HALF of that nice little property in a divorce settlement, I can’t think of a better place than western Montana for her to have a river accident in.
If you don’t like the idea of what this abuser is positioned to get away with, there are some things he DOES NOT control, like a sign he drives past every day, and for just a $100 dollars, you can write a special message and David Barsotti will definitely see it. All proceeds go to Angela Mastrovito to cover the costs of doing everyone else’s jobs for them.
This is a great idea from a REAL marine, not a coward with an eye-patch targeting the mother of the woman who risked and lost her life to escape him.
The stories are beginning to pile up, to the point that every odd NON-ACTION by law enforcement is going to be, for me, an opportunity to investigate and ask questions.
For example, did you hear about the woman who tried to kidnap a baby in the parking lot of Donation Warehouse? Neither did the guy at Conlin’s Furniture, down the street, until I showed up and told him about it after giving him my card.
Another important factor to include is the proximity of this incident to the Johnson Street shelter, which is only open during the winter months. Still, once familiarity is established with services, the presence of people like this can be a year-round phenomenon.
The conventional wisdom I suspect the general public has is that when a clearly deranged person tries to steal your baby, the person will, at the very least, be detained and assessed. But that didn’t happen in this case. From the link:
Missoula police detained Hiner and charged her with trespassing but did not arrest her.
“What we found out is that approximately 90 minutes after our interaction she approached a woman and her daughter playing in their yard about two blocks away from the Donation Warehouse and made similar threatening actions towards them,” Nicodemous said.
We asked police for more information about why Hiner wasn’t arrested.
“As a police department, we have to stick within our lawful scope, and we work from Montana Code Annotated, and the elements of kidnapping were not met,” public information officer Lydia Arnold said. “This situation impacted this family and probably impacted their perspective of Missoula and sense of safety. As parents, our children’s safety is top priority, and to have someone make a parent feel like their child is not safe will have lasting impressions.”
The family is disappointed and feels a sense of anxiety since Hiner will only be facing a misdemeanor criminal trespass from the incident.
They hope Hiner can get the help she needs to be a safe member of society, but they also would like to see a change made to the law so if in an incident like this happens again the person can be charged with attempted kidnapping.
Eventually Rhonda Hiner WAS arrested and taken to jail. Here’s the screenshot:
Since this NON-ACTION seemed rather odd to me, I spent 15 minutes searching online and connected Hiner to a VERY dangerous person currently in the Missoula County Detention Center. Here’s what Rhonda was up to in Butte last November:
And here’s the screenshot of her accomplice:
This last name is quite notorious, something I know from my time at the shelter. And I got some recent insight from a conversation with a street source that gives me a much better idea about what’s going on here.
An investigation is underway after a shooting in East Glacier and three people were found dead on Sunday at about 10 p.m.
Two men and an 18-month-old child are deceased, according to the FBI.
Two women were flown to a hospital; their current medical conditions have not been disclosed.
The FBI said in a news release that there is no search for any suspects, and there is no threat to public safety.
The FBI, along with the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, and Montana Highway Patrol, responded to the incident and are continuing to investigate.
I hope all those agencies listed are up to speed on the show Yellowstone and, having watched all the compelling episodes, clearly absorbed how Hollywood expects them to act. Because the sad reality is quite the opposite, as I wrote about last Sunday in my message to the myth makers.
I was going to give the Director of the YWCA, Cindy Weese, a pass for not calling me back.
Sure, she spoke with me months ago about my concerns regarding the Lifeguard Group, and though she seemed to cautiously sympathize with those concerns, my recent calls have gone unanswered.
I assumed it was because she announced her retirement, so I backed off. That is, until reading this “viewpoint” co-signed by Weese, Jim Hicks of the Hope Rescue Mission, and Shannon Flanagan of Flanagan Motors.
Cindy Weese initially took my call because 7 years at the homeless shelter, including several years where we were direct neighbors after the Pov relocated to West Broadway, must have earned me at least a brief audience, but now the official language from Weese and Co. is this:
Missoula County has a history of meeting challenges with innovative, compassionate solutions. We know that if we don’t do anything, the problems will get worse, not better.
Like many communities across our state and nation, Missoula is facing significant challenges in terms of housing, homelessness and people in our community who struggle with addiction and mental health issues. Ignoring these problems won’t keep our community healthy and safe. Instead, we need to connect those in need with services proven to help folks get back on their feet.
I don’t know if these three co-signers consumed psychedelic drugs before penning this bullshit, but MY experience with Missoula County doesn’t bring to mind words like “innovative” or “compassionate”. Maybe if I was still pounding Bota Box wine you could convince me that evidence of those words existed in this County, but once I sobered up I’d look around with my not-drunk eyeballs and know better.
Why does Cindy Weese not know better? Does she want to protect her legacy? Does she want to run for political office?
I don’t know, but now that she’s leaving her Director job at the YWCA, she no longer appears interested in what I may know about the LifeGuard group potentially putting survivors of human trafficking at GREATER risk with their pretenses of “helping” them.
Another person I reached out to around the same time I spoke with Weese is Penny Ronning. That was BEFORE I realized she was running for Congress. The reason I reached out is because of her involvement in an anti-trafficking task force. This is from her campaign site:
As a tenacious advocate for victims of human trafficking, I cofounded the Yellowstone County Area Human Trafficking Task Force, the largest such task force in Montana. I have secured funding from the Montana Legislature for additional state agents to investigate human trafficking crimes, co-authored bills to strengthen laws on human trafficking, participated in national committees developing policy on crimes of human trafficking and child sexual abuse material, often referred to as child pornography, and, in 2020, I was the lone Montanan invited to attend the White House Summit on Human Trafficking.
Does this part of Penny Ronning’s pedigree sound impressive? Too bad the Montana Human Trafficking Hotline in this state is such a joke. And people like Penny Ronning know it’s a joke, but because of politics, they are too fucking gutless to say anything about it.
How can they NOT know the hotline is a joke when numbers like this are being seriously reported:
These statistics would be kind of funny if the subject wasn’t so serious. Just like my post about WELCOMING traffickers would be hyperbolic if it wasn’t so damn true.
Getting back to the “viewpoint” of the 3 Amigos, here’s some of their touted solutions they want our community to keep enabling:
Initiatives such as the Emergency Winter Shelter, Temporary Safe Outdoor Space, and Authorized Camping Site prevent people from dying on our streets during extreme temperatures and from living in dangerous and dirty makeshift riverside camps. This past winter, 567 people received shelter and survived the cold Missoula winter. And, of the people served to date in the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space, nearly half of them have moved into permanent housing.
While I’d like to comment on this excerpt, it’s the following service I’d like to question, because I’ve become all too familiar with what victims are dealing with in this caring, liberal community (emphasis mine):
The Crime Victims Advocate Program, meanwhile, helps victims of intimate partner violence achieve safe housing and personal power. Crime Victim Advocates save lives. The risk for domestic violence homicide increases when victims do not or cannot access early intervention.
I would REALLY like to know how helping victims achieve safe housing and personal power is possible if the Crooked Tree Ranch is as shady as it appears to be.
There’s also that little matter of Lowell Hochhalter (Missoula County Sheriff Chaplain, LifeGuard Group CEO) wearing all those hats while begging God to end the lives of those who make his life hard. Is this what the 3 Amigos mean when they talk about INNOVATION and COMPASSION? If it is, well, don’t be surprised if victims of trafficking have to flee this entire state for safety.
I wonder what our Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, thinks about this? Can’t make waves with a “non-profit” if your boss’ foundation is a half million in so Lowell Hochhalter can watch victims of trafficking garden somewhere in the Bitterroot valley, right?
And I wonder what our Lieutenant Governor, Kristen Juras, thinks? Is it sad that someone she knows might be impacted by this shit show? And speaking of Kristens, let’s not forget Missoula’s infamous Kristen Pabst and all she’s done to “protect” victims of intimate partner violence.
Speaking of Pabst, she’s in Denver talking up some program that is, I’m sure, quite innovative. She ALSO has time to talk about how female prosecutors have had it hard during the pandemic.
The Missoula County Attorney Office works to retain its prosecutors through market-range salaries, trauma and resiliency skills courses and flexible work schedules, she explained.
Prosecutors’ offices around the country have lost lawyers during the pandemic, Pabst said. Recent research Pabst has read says women, and women of color in particular, are disproportionately affected.
“As leaders, we need to acknowledge the changing vocational landscape and take steps to reverse this concerning trend,” she said.
Pabst is going to want a cold can of her namesake when the heat turns up, just like a lot of pretenders who get paid to keep the lid on tight.
Keep an eye on the forecast, stay tuned, and, as always…
What got me fired up about this sad situation is the old book (picture below) I picked up at the Montana Valley Book Store in Alberton, Montana.
This User’s Guide was published in 1980. It’s now the year 2022, and thanks to Nick Checota, this part is no longer applicable:
Yep, once upon a time the Top Hat was known throughout the entire state of Montana for being a place to hear fine bluegrass and jazz bands. But no more. Why? The man who owns this venue isn’t a stranger to booking music shows, since he ALSO runs Logjam Presents, so what’s the deal?
I’m not going to put much energy into answering that question. The silence, save for me writing about this, is a great indication how this town works, and for who. Nick Checota gets his business saved with government money, then the media protects him from any criticism so the tourists can enjoy the show.
But no shows will be enjoyed at the Top Hat, and if you go to the Logjam Presents website, you’ll see this former venue billed as just a restaurant and bar where you can EAT LIKE A ROCKSTAR!
Yes, this historic music venue now peddles overpriced hamburgers because the Wisconsin developer who monopolizes music in this town wants it that way.
I poked around the Logjam website to see what else I could find and, under the “community” tab, I discovered that Missoula is one of 14 cities trying out the Kennedy Center Any Given Child initiative. The organization created to influence Missoula through this program is called Spark.
The goal of this Kennedy Center initiative is to influence children. From the first link:
The primary goal of the Kennedy Center’s Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child program is to assist communities in developing and implementing a plan for expanded arts education in their schools, ensuring access and equity for all students in grades K-8. Although the initiative provides a structure for work to be accomplished, the Kennedy Center understands that every community is unique, and tailors the consultation and facilitation to each site.
And here is how Spark describes its wiggling into Missoula County Public School system:
SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning is a collective-impact initiative of the Kennedy Center and is administered through Arts Missoula, 501c3. SPARK! Arts works as a collaboration of local artists, arts organizations, business and community leaders, the City of Missoula, Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS), parents, philanthropists, and the University of Montana to ensure equity and access to a comprehensive arts education ecosystem for all K-8 MCPS students.
Isn’t this nice for the children? It’s also nice for Nick Checota’s wife, Robin, who is on the board because THAT is how you maintain influence.
As this town continues to transform into an exclusive playground for wealth, it’s important to give credit where credit is due, and the devolving music scene in Missoula is all thanks to a Wisconsin developer with a vision of making money and…that’s about it.
If you think the show Yellowstone is just entertainment, then your mind is already a prisoner of war.
Maybe that’s ok with you. Maybe you LIKE the confines of this prison. If that’s the case, stop reading now. But if you want to break free from Kevin Costner’s narrative tentacles, put on your critical thinking caps and join me.
I feel uniquely qualified to fight this particular narrative battle because, unlike other synchromystic media decoders, I’m on-the-ground here living the fiction/non-ficiton bleed-through.
What do I mean by that, you’re probably asking yourself. Let me explain by putting the new season 4 character, “Summer Higgins”, into a more personalized context.
The name is the place to begin, and this name is rife with local significance. Higgins is the main street running North/South through downtown Missoula, and summer is the season Missoula had a VERY REAL protest that spun out of control. That was the summer of 2000, the same summer I moved to Missoula (for a visceral look at what I’m talking about, watch this video).
Did I forget to mention “Summer Higgins”, played by actress Piper Perabo, is an environmental activist?
Yes, she is, and the scenes where she is introduced were filmed in Missoula. You can tell by spotting the peace sign on the hill in the background. Also, the scene where Summer is supposedly exiting jail after getting bailed out by Costner’s character is Missoula’s municipal building, where our illustrious Mayor has his office. Why is THAT significant?
Well, to answer that you have to understand that our Mayor, John Engen, used to work for the local newspaper, the Missoulian, before becoming Mayor. That newspaper also employed his Communications bulldog, Ginny Merriam, who can claim H.G. Merriam provenance. And the Mayor’s first campaign had John Talbot running it, the “former” CIA man who married into the Lee Enterprises company and was a Missoulian publisher.
See how this works?
What constitutes movie magick (intentional spelling) has many, many layers. Some connections–like other movies an actor or actress has been in–are the types of connections synchromystics are known for making. The significance, for us mystics, is a sort of resonance that accumulates as actors take on different roles.
I found a great example of this as I researched the Summer Higgins character and discovered the actress played a magician’s assistant in the movie The Prestige–an assistant who ultimately dies when a magic trick (intentional spelling) goes terribly wrong.
This movie is VERY significant because it features a fiction/non-fiction bleed-through as part of its narrative arc when the real historical figure, Nikola Tesla, is included (played by David Bowie, don’t get me started), signifying a shift from magic tricks to something more metaphysical. Getting further into the associations, The Prestige is a Christopher Nolan film, and Nolan is widely considered to be the Stanley Kubrick of our time.
Another way this works for me–the on-the-ground aspect of synchromystic detective work–is how I’ve literally run across Yellowstone’s Fire and Ice Productions a handful of times the past few weeks in ways that seem incredibly uncanny. I’ve gone to a coffee shop I don’t ever usually go to, or I’ve taken a route in my car I don’t usually take, then BAM!, I see all the big trucks and signs with the Yellowstone brand directing the crew where to go.
The last time this happened the big trucks spilled over into the parking lot of the church my parents attend, the same church Norman Maclean included in his novel, A River Runs Through It. You might of heard of this story, considering it was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt.
A big part of the myth-making going on here surrounds the idea of the west and the role of men in settling and–more importantly, POSSESSING–the land. What is the role of women in this narrative? Are they like the landscape, just things to be possessed and jealousy held on to? Or has the narrative strategies shifted to more actively include them in the control structure of myth making?
I’m trying to track down a dichotomy here between the contrived actions of fictional characters developed for the screen, and the strategic INACTION of REAL people, like Sheriffs and Mayors (and Pastors), here in the real world.
I think the best example of this can be found in the 4th episode of season 4, titled “Winning Or Learning”, when John Dutton’s daughter, Beth, faces off with the female face of the deceptively innocuous sounding corporate entity, Market Equities.
Here’s a quick recap of the money-shot scene (spoilers ahead) nicely summarizing the core fight spanning all 4 seasons of this Costner conjuring (emphasis mine):
Fans love nothing more than to watch Beth Dutton go up against a formidable foe, and she’s found one in Market Equities CEO Caroline Warner (Jackie Weaver). Clutching a double Titos with three olives, Beth listens calmly as Caroline tells her: “I came up at a time where the corporate ladder was greased to keep women off it. I climbed it anyway, stepping over some little bitch like you on every rung. The big dog is off the porch now, Beth, and I will tear you to fucking pieces.” Yikes!
Caroline gives Beth two options: they can go to war and she’ll launch an SEC investigation into Beth for market manipulation and insider trading or they can find common ground. Beth tells Caroline that she will do anything to protect her father’s land: “His dream is my Alamo and I will die on the fucking wall defending it.” Caroline then makes her an offer: “Come and work for us and I’ll help you defend it. You’re a corporate raider; come and raid for Market Equities.” Caroline wants Beth to help her commodify and commercialize Montana for financial gain. She boldly challenges Beth: “You want to save your ranch? Find me something better. Build me Aspen. Build me Breckenridge. I want a destination town in every valley of Montana.”
The equality that women have long been groomed to accept is perfectly represented here by TWO generations of women ascending to the pinnacles of corporate power. They join the men in being ruthless, merciless wielders of power in an ends justify the means approach that ultimately destroys and subjugates anyone who gets in their way.
This socially-engineered model of feminine power is correlated locally by City Council President, Gwen Jones, who is widely expected to slide into top contender status for the Mayoral position when the time comes. Another aspirational figure for (some) women in the political arena, on the national level, is Hillary Clinton. Or, in the world of criminal justice, Missoula’s County Attorney, Kirsten Pabst, comes to mind.
But here’s the question: what has this power-sharing–from the big screen to the real world–actually produced when it comes to quality of life issues for regular people, especially as it pertains to the criminal justice system?
While I won’t name the progressive Presbyterian church mentioned above in this post, I will mention a man who was recently sentenced for committing AT LEAST two criminal acts against his female patients. Why? Because I don’t trust men, OR the women they share power with, when it comes to keeping the people I care about safe. So here he is.
For some context about WHY James Haldman Armstrong is going to be supervised by the criminal justice system for the next 5 years, here’s an excerpt from the article:
A Missoula doctor who was initially charged with committing sex crimes against patients in Helena was sentenced Thursday to at least five years of state supervision as part of a plea deal.
James Haldeman Armstrong was initially charged with felony sexual intercourse without consent, felony sexual assault and misdemeanor sexual assault, but pleaded down to a lesser charge of felony criminal endangerment and will receive no prison time.
If this was an episode of Yellowstone, Dr. Armstrong would probably experience some violent vigilante justice. Instead, in the REAL world, the criminal justice system is a fucking joke, and the women who have an inkling that putting pieces of shit like James Armstrong would require being raped all over again by the system opt for HELL NO.
The reluctance of Armstrong’s victims to participate in a trial is one of the BIG reasons the judge went along with this plea deal. Here’s more from the article (emphasis mine):
As part of the plea agreement, Armstrong voluntarily terminated his Montana medical license and may not seek or renew a medical license in any state during the time of supervision.
Abbott also barred Armstrong from seeking any job in health care with direct access to patients while on supervision. He is to have no contact with his two victims.
“I’m not going to send you to prison. I think that would likely cause you to withdraw your plea,” Abbot said. “I also need to be respectful of the victims, if it’s not their desire to go forward with a trial.”
Abbott said he was concerned that bringing the case to a trial would cause “great distress” to the victims “for possibly a lesser outcome than agreed to today.”
So, because the brutal criminal justice system could have re-traumatized the victims with no guarantee this POS would see LESS consequences for sexually assaulting women, the plea agreement, if you’re paying attention, leaves the door open for Dr. Armstrong to become a practicing doctor again if he completes the time of his supervision without reoffending.
How fucked up is that?
The reality no myth maker wants to tell you as you passively sit on your ass and consume their entertainment is that real power is just as present in the things that don’t happen as they are in the things that do.
But, if you find ways to upset their narrative control, the way I strive to do on the daily, you’ll see their counter-efforts materialize on their platforms, like this Missoulian story about Yellowstone paying for Missoula cops to stand around keeping the production safe. From the link:
The City of Missoula and the “Yellowstone” show production team, Fire and Ice Productions Inc., entered into a special event police services agreement on April 7, according to city documents.
The contract stipulates Fire and Ice Productions reimburse the city for all salary costs of having officers on sets. “Yellowstone” is covering all the costs.
“The city doesn’t pay one cent for it,” the city’s communications director Ginny Merriam said.
No, the city doesn’t pay one cent for it with any upfront costs, but that doesn’t mean there is NO cost. From what I hear on the streets, I’m not the only Missoula citizen pissed off at the red carpet treatment these big money myth makers are getting.
Maybe to counter the Summer Higgins mockery we need a Winter Front. Front street, after all, was the street where a reveler injured herself 22 years ago, triggering a militarized police response this town might want to remember as global events get increasingly dire and chaotic.
And remember, if you think Yellowstone is entertainment, your mind is already captured.
