Day: November 16, 2022

by Travis Mateer

It’s a hard sell to tell a community there’s no threat when a homicide occurs and the person responsible hasn’t been apprehended.

In Idaho, where four college students were recently stabbed to death, the tweet our Missoulian reporter highlighted indicates local authorities are NO LONGER saying there isn’t a threat to the community.

Here is the rationale given for pulling back on the NO THREAT reflex usually handed out to media:

“We cannot say that there is no threat to the community,” Fry said at news conference attended by more than 40 local and national media members Wednesday afternoon. “We still believe it is a targeted attack. But there is still a person out there who committed four very horrible, horrible crimes.”

Yes, I totally agree with this rationale, but guess which local law enforcement agency in Missoula doesn’t? If you guessed the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, you’re correct!

At the end of September, an 88 year old woman was found beaten to death east of Missoula, in Clinton. Has a suspect been apprehended? No, but don’t worry, there’s no risk to the public (emphasis mine):

An 88-year-old woman was found dead along Donovan Creek Road on Sunday.

The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is not releasing any additional details and the woman’s family has declined to comment.

Deputies arriving at the scene of a reported assault found Delphine A. Farmer unresponsive.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office reports that “there is no public safety risk as a result of this incident.”

Unlike Missoula County’s outgoing Sheriff, T.J. McDermott, the Moscow Police Chief, James Fry, is capable of acknowledging his missteps. I find this admission refreshing (emphasis mine):

University of Idaho students and families of the victims expressed frustration Tuesday at the lack of information released to the public. Many students left Moscow early for Thanksgiving break. 

“The reality is I probably should have been standing here a day or so ago,” Fry said. “But I’m here now. We’re going to continue to be here.”

If it wasn’t for the publicity of national media, would James Fry be making this mea culpa? I don’t know, but I do know members of our own City Council are paying attention because they took time on Monday to make comments about it, and those comments were covered by the Missoula Current.

The coverage from MC is actually pretty disgusting because Martin “Gomer” Kidston makes it sound like all 7 deaths over the weekend were the result of gun violence. Here’s the manipulative reporting (emphasis mine):

With the murder of at least seven university students over the weekend, including four in Idaho, several members of the Missoula City Council on Monday expressed thoughts and concerns about campus safety.

Council member Jennifer Savage, who works at the University of Montana, said the shooting of five University of Virginia Students and four in Moscow, Idaho, have campus members talking about safety in an era where gun violence has become common.

Further down in the article, the gun control agenda is on full display:

“Having a child away at college and having one on her way, it’s a sad day for the universities,” said council member Amber Sherrill. “It makes me think a lot about mental health, mental health funding and gun control.”

A number of gun incidents have occurred at the University of Montana over the years. Most recently, a student brought a gun into Aber Hall and fired the weapon several times from his dorm window.

Yes, if we’re talking about gun incidents, then some student firing a gun from his dorm window is the most recent. But if we’re talking about the tragedy of young people going to college, struggling with mental health issues, then ending up dead, UM’s campus had a recent tragedy, but that sad situation was almost completely swept under the rug.

I hope our local institutions take note of James Fry admitting he should have been more open with the public from the get-go because the institutional reflex to say NO WORRIES is not a good one.

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Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Getting the poor to expedite their death is something Canada is currently trying out. No, I’m not being hyperbolic. From the link:

After pleading unsuccessfully for affordable housing to help ease her chronic health condition, a Canadian woman ended her life in February under the country’s assisted-suicide laws. Another woman, suffering from the same condition and also living on disability payments, has nearly reached final approval to end her life.

The two high-profile cases have prompted disbelief and outrage, and shone a light on Canada’s right-to-die laws, which critics argue are being misused to punish the poor and infirm. In late April, the Spectator ran a story with the provocative headline: Why is Canada euthanising the poor?

Yes, you are reading this correctly. Very different from the euthanizing that sometimes happens in Missoula, where you can be yanked from life support without your family being notified.

Another guy who thought dying sounded better than losing his housing seems to have received some go-fund-me support. Isn’t that nice?

What’s MAID? It stands for Medical Assistance in Death. And maybe it’s just Canada trying to help out people like the dude above so he doesn’t have to die outside churches, like a woman recently in Great Falls.

I heard about this unnecessary death via a tweet from the Montana Human Rights Network highlighting some outrage over the insensitive Sheriff, Jesse Slaughter, and a radio show appearance he made. I’m trying to figure out what the Sheriff said that was so terrible, but this might be the extent of it:

In the interview, Slaughter blamed Rev. Dawn Skerritt and the First United Methodist Church for Dianna’s death, saying, “People are paying for it with their lives.”  He was referring to the outreach at the church even though his own report made clear that Dianna’s death, while tragic, was the result of natural causes related to chronic alcoholism.  

Sheriff Slaughter spoke in a demeaning way about Rev. Dawn Skerritt several times, but more than that, he belittled her title, authority, and education.  Referring to Rev. Skerritt as “preacher or whatever,” Sheriff Slaughter with his words undermined seven years of post-secondary education, an arduous process to serve in the capacity of minister within the United Methodist Church, and the many years of service she has dedicated to the church.

This is an irresponsible, reprehensible use of the platform he has been given. Whether the words were spoken in outright malice, carelessness, or dangerous ignorance, Sheriff Slaughter’s comments are baseless and unbecoming of a public official.

Speaking of platforms, two Missoula city councilors continue using theirs in ways I both admire and support, despite ideological differences. This was on full display last night with the discussion on whether or not to OK GAMING at a new restaurant and bar on Mullan Street.

Don’t worry, even though this restaurant is near the illegal Reserve Street homeless camp that’s being illegally reestablished as I speak, that is NOT the clientele head architect, Jeff Crouch, envisions for this jazzy joint selling booze, food, and chances to lose money at gambling machines. Would a guy who tried to pitch a convention center to Missoula want dirty poor people anywhere near his nice buildings? I don’t think so.

Tell me, in the following quote, who you think has VISION and who is just a mindless slave to the only thing that ever really matters in this town city and ANY city: money. From the Gomer link:

Most members of the City Council agreed and welcomed the project, even if it included a casino.

“If an entrepreneurial business wants to be a full-beverage restaurant, they’re paying for a gaming license whether they want that or not,” said council member Mike Nugent. “At $1 million, the reality is they have to include some level of gaming to even pay the cost against that license.”

…

The main floor will include the restaurant and tavern, with the casino set aside in a separate area. It will also include a smaller bar on the second floor and a small shop on the main floor.

But it was the inclusion of the casino that prompted council members Kristen Jordan and Daniel Carlino to vote against the permit. Carlino suggested it wasn’t “ethical” to pay off a business loan with gaming revenue.

Jordan and Carlino also suggested that gambling led to addiction and poverty.

“Living in close proximity to casinos, the data shows you’re almost twice as likely to become a problem gambler,” said Carlino. “Using a casino to subsidize those high licensing costs isn’t very ethical.”

Do Carlino and Jordan have a point? Before answering, I suggest watching a Tik Tok video making the rounds featuring a long line of old people tapping buttons on gambling machines. The screenshot alone is disturbing enough.

For the poor who don’t choose death, or don’t have money left to feed gambling machines if they choose life, may I suggest a job? Because it’s brutal out there for employers trying to keep restaurants open when they can’t find anyone to work, like Red Robin in Missoula now closed indefinitely due to a lack of staffing.

How are we supposed to have a “vibrant”, tourist-fueled economy if the poors refuse to serve the transplants their craft beer and hamburgers?

I don’t have the answers. And guess what? Neither do our elected leaders! But that won’t stop them from spending your money trying to FIND those ever elusive answers. If you’d like to help keep the pressure on the bright bulbs spending your deflating paychecks, consider making a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!