Month: December 2022

by Travis Mateer

Before getting to my impressions regarding why J.D. Partain shifted from confessing his sex offense crime to pleading NOT GUILTY in court yesterday, I’d like to bring attention to a video the Missoula Boxing Club put out about LEVERAGING boxing for kids. The video is a re-posting of a local news story:

The arraignment in Judge Marks’ courtroom on Monday wasn’t all that noteworthy outside the plea of NOT GUILTY, which is interesting considering how explicitly Partain acknowledged his surreptitious recording of a minor (emphasis mine):

Partain told investigators he installed the stereo in the girl’s bedroom. He activated his phone’s video recording via a smart watch that was connected to the device, according to charging documents.

“Partain stated he was ‘completely at fault for all of it,’” Handelman wrote.

The case was filed directly into Missoula County District Court last week. Partain is not currently in custody.

One of the reasons I attended this hearing is because I wanted to see who might appear in support of J.D. Partain. I was surprised to see a former client I knew from my days at the Poverello Center get up and leave after Partain’s hearing was over.

Outside the courtroom I spoke with this man, who I know to be a registered offender. I asked him why he showed up, and he said J.D. was his pastor, and he didn’t agree with the severity of the charge. He especially didn’t want to see the Boxing Club negatively impacted for something that wasn’t a big deal. I withheld my counter opinion on that point, and continued listening to this supporter tell me J.D. Partain only did what he did because of a drinking problem.

Will this excuse, delivered second-hand by a not-very-reliable narrator, be a part of the defense strategy? I can’t imagine that would be the case, considering the premeditation involved in what Partain has already confessed to doing, but I’ll keep it in mind as this case develops.

The importance of boxing, at least the IMAGERY of boxing, is shared by another local group who imagine themselves to be LEADING THE FIGHT against human trafficking in Montana. Can you guess who I’m talking about?

What a great quote with an equally great BOXING ring backdrop! Are there more than visual similarities between the LifeGuard Group and the Boxing Club? Yes there are, but in that moment I felt led (by the spirit) to tell the sex-offender-former-client about my interest in the LifeGuard Group, then I showed him the video of Lowell Hochhalter doing his wishing death upon his enemies thing from the pulpit.

One significant similarity is that both Lowell Hochhalter and J.D. Partain like to play PASTOR GUYS for Christ, though who actually benefits from what they preach remains to be seen. In Partain’s case, he was scheming in 2011 to use a cappella to bring people to a new kind of worship experience at Echo church. From the link (emphasis mine):

The drive for Echo came about when student minister J.D. Partain noticed a pattern in ideas and conversations amongst the college ministry. People felt there was a space to fill for a way to strengthen both the college group and the congregation as a whole especially through worship.

While a cappella worship is nothing new for Missoula Valley Church, Echo will be adding the concept of a praise team to the mix.

The praise team is comprised of eight singers, two people singing each of four harmonic parts. This team of eight is not considered to be a group of musical experts, but rather of individuals who have been rehearsed to sing accurately and therefore be able to guide those who are not familiar with the music.

“The encouragement is that you could take a motley group of voices and, with the right leadership, have a kind of worship no one has ever experienced,” says Partain.

Reframing something that’s essentially just a choir in order to help STRENGTHEN college kids–who just want to worship don’t you know–doesn’t age well from the vantage point of 2022.

And here’s another point: Partain doesn’t exist in a vacuum, he’s a product of a culture that historically hasn’t done well to protect its own people, to put it very mildly.

So what other churches has J.D. Partain been involved with? And what other poor offenders has he ministered to? And how many other devices with remote recording features has he planted in places, like the place where sweaty 9-19 year olds might get cleaned up after a good match with the gloves on?

Next week there’s some question as to the conditions of Partain’s release, specifically the no-contact condition with the witness (his wife). As time allows, I’ll keep on eye on this case, because the members of the culture who DID NOT show up in court will be reluctant to receive the context I suspect is waiting to be uncovered.

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Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

The Attorney General of Montana, Austin Knudsen, has a quiet crisis on his hands, especially in Western Montana. The crisis is confidence in the ability of the criminal justice system to actually function, and it’s gotten so bad in places like Mineral County, not even a writ of mandamus can get the Sheriff to give a shit. I wonder what this guy’s office is going to do about it?

Here’s NBC Montana reporting on the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office inability to comply with the court’s expectations:

“I now hear that the sheriff is in the hospital; however, essentially, my take on it was that he sent an email saying bye to the county and has up and left, leaving the undersheriff kind of in a difficult spot,” plaintiffs’ attorney Lance Jasper said.

With a new sheriff not taking over until January, that office is still not in compliance.

That new Sheriff is Ryan Funke, a Sheriff Deputy who came to Mineral County via Lake County, where things are also not good. How not good? Getting the hell out of Public Law 280 not good. From the link:

Lake County commissioners say they have initiated removal from an agreement with the state of Montana in regard to felony crimes committed on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

The agreement called “Public Law 280” is a federal law under which the state and Lake County agreed in 1963 that the county will investigate and prosecute felony cases against Native Americans on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

The rationale for why this is needing to happen is that Lake County is overwhelmed and underfunded, and the Governor’s Office is refusing to help. Here’s the press release from the Lake County Commissioners:

“Lake County is at a breaking point. As we prepare the 2023/2024 fiscal year budget, we believe our taxpayers are doing all they can to support our communities and the many visitors who pass through the County. We provide law enforcement, road infrastructure, access to healthcare, waste management and other vital services. We are facing a growing population, deferred maintenance of roads and bridges, inadequate county buildings, outdated incarceration facilities and a troubling increase in drug-related crime. Lake County and its taxpayers are on the verge of being overwhelmed.”

“We have great confidence in our sheriff and his deputies, and the tribal officers, district judges, prosecutors and staff members who conduct themselves professionally as dedicated public servants. Yet, they are being overwhelmed by the volume of work, inadequate facilities and crumbling infrastructure. Lake County and its taxpayers are facing a financial crisis resulting from the need to adequately fund Public Law 280 law enforcement services.”

“Earlier this year, the Lake County Commissioners made it clear that they hoped to avoid litigation or pull out of the Public Law 280 agreement and attempted to work with the Governor’s office for a positive long-term solution before the end of 2022. Yet, despite significant efforts and well-informed suggestions of the Lake County Commissioners regarding how the State of Montana could act, the State of Montana has remained silent and has refused to address the Commissioners’ concerns.”

“We are not going to tolerate this any longer and are initiating the process to withdraw Lake County out of the Public Law 280 agreement with the State of Montana. The most immediate way to fix this crisis is to fix what is causing it. The State of Montana obligated and bound itself to assume criminal jurisdiction under Public Law 280. Yet, it has effectively shifted the cost of this obligation to the County’s taxpayers. It is time for the State of Montana to reimburse Lake County for the last eight years to fulfill the State’s obligation under Public Law 280. Going forward, the State must continue to pay more than the $4 million a year it is costing Lake County taxpayers to fulfill the State’s obligation under Public Law 280.”

“If the State were paying its obligation, Lake County tax dollars could be used to update the infrastructure of Lake County. As is, Lake County has become what criminals consider a “catch and release county.” More than 80 felony warrants per month do not result in incarceration, but instead result in a ticket and the offender being released on the same day. This is exceptionally dangerous, as criminals charged with illegal drug trafficking and other violent crimes are being set free because the Lake County jail is overwhelmed.”

“The safety and security of our children, families, businesses, and visitors must be protected. We must solve this problem now. It is time that the State stop kicking the can down the road and fulfill its obligation. Our tax dollars must be available to support our schools, infrastructure, and services, rather than be used to fulfill an obligation that expressly belongs to the State itself.”

“To be clear, we believe the local control and the ability to collaborate with tribal leaders and law enforcement officials afforded by Public Law 280, works very well. We do not want to take the extreme step of pulling away from Public Law 280, leaving it to the State of Montana to attempt to take over from afar. It is likely that Montana State taxpayers will have to spend more than $100 million in start-up costs, which would not even provide the services that Lake County residents deserve. By providing this notice now, Lake County has begun the six-month process during which the State of Montana must start to buy, build or rent the buildings and vehicles necessary to support a newly hired law enforcement, administrative and leadership force, as well as the personnel and detention facility necessary to fully prosecute felonies on the Flathead Reservation and to fulfill the obligations of Public Law 280. This notice is taking place before the 2023 Montana State Legislature convenes, allowing the State of Montana to appropriate the funds necessary to achieve this task.”

A cynic might assume this is just posturing for the upcoming legislative session where the juicy billion dollar surplus is going to be carved up. Or is that two billion?

While I’m sure that’s part of it, I think the other part is things really are that fucked, and the legislators are going to need to act like adults and do some serious work to address a criminal justice system that literally can’t function.

Here in Missoula County our outgoing Sheriff made some loud noises (if you were listening like I was) about jail capacity and how every other institution is to blame for Missoula’s street-anarchy problems, which spill over sometimes to them fancy tourists not feeling super excited about navigating machete meth battles.

Will our new Sheriff hold to the 400 inmate limit? And how about the cheapskates at the State who have been shorting Missoula County for years? How is that lawsuit going? From the link (2021):

Last April, Missoula County filed a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections claiming it had breached its contract by not covering the full cost of housing state inmates at the local detention center.

The county’s complaint also included an unjust enrichment claim against DOC, along with breach of good faith and fair dealing.

“Missoula County attempted to resolve the situation in which the Department of Corrections is underpaying us for the inmates we house, both on the pre-trial side as well as the correctional facility we have with DOC,” Conley said. “We’re the only county I’m aware of that has filed suit on these particular actions. But there are other counties that are negatively impacted.”

So, what is this guy going to do about it, play budget games with FWP while the quiet crisis threatens to get a lot less quiet soon?

If you’d like to help support my ability to track this smile in person next year, please consider making a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Two years ago a writer by the name of Chris LaTray got on my radar for his assessment on the intelligence of Montanans. Here is a screenshot from that post:

The tweet by CCarp is actually pretty funny considering what I’m going to highlight next about LaTray, specifically the part about whether or not people actually want what a political party is going to give them.

Chris LaTray is a paid instructor on UM’s campus and was recently quoted in a Kaimin article about how he’s no longer satisfied with land acknowledgement words. Nope, ain’t good enough no more for this “Irritable Metis”. From the link (emphasis mine):

While widely celebrated as a progressive step, three enrolled tribal members affiliated with the University of Montana question the effectiveness of land acknowledgements at UM.

Chris La Tray, an adjunct instructor teaching storytelling at UM this semester; Salena Beaumont Hill, the director of inclusive excellence at UM; and Heather Cahoon, an associate professor of tribal governance and policy all agree that land acknowledgements increasingly given at the start of events at UM do not go far enough.

“I don’t think we should do land acknowledgements,” said La Tray, a Metis and Little Shell member who has written about the topic on his subscriber-funded newsletter, “An Irritable Metis.” 

He questioned the intention of having a land acknowledgement.

“Why are they doing it?” La Tray said. “Because to me, as a native person, it’s like, ‘yes, this thing used to be yours, it’s not anymore, sorry!’”

I’m a little embarrassed for this college-level teacher who can’t understand why virtue-signaling people and institutions signal their virtue. Here’s a hint, Chris: it has something to do with being WOKE and cancelling anyone who doesn’t agree with you.

Another fun quote comes from the director of INCLUSIVITY EXCELLENCE, Beaumont Hill. Here’s her description of the shift that slowly occurred as it dawned on her people in power use empty words to placate minority populations. Maybe they should teach a college course on this phenomenon? (emphasis mine):

Beaumont Hill, a member of the Apsáalooke from the Crow Nation, said that, at first, she had a positive impression of land acknowledgments and appreciated their existence in multiple organizations on campus. After a while, however, Beaumont Hill started to see the acknowledgments in a different light.  

“As time went on, and then I took my role as the director of inclusive excellence, there was talk about things being performative … because you just start reading a statement, and there’s no full understanding behind it. They’re just words after a while,” Beaumont Hill said.

Isn’t it adorable to see these smart people in the halls of higher education realize they are being fed bullshit? Welcome to the real world, smarties. If you want help acclimating, I’ll do my best with continued coverage of the hilarious divergence between liberal fantasies and harsh reality. Or you can choose to just complain harder and see where that gets you.

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Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

If you aren’t excited about the new hotel in downtown Missoula with the piss-yellow color scheme called “The Wren”, KPAX is going to try and MAKE you excited by using the word “unique” in the title of the advertisement news article.

What makes this hotel UNIQUE, you ask? Well, it’s not the ugliness of its modern architecture, since these soulless modern buildings are popping up everywhere in Missoula. For a stark visual example of this juxtaposition, here’s a picture I took this morning showing the difference:

No, what apparently makes this hotel unique are marketing gimmicks, like telling prospective customers about the exciting feature of NO PHONES in the rooms. I bet human traffickers will appreciate this feature, since the replacement option is to rely on text messaging. From the link:

An interesting fact about the Wren is that there are no phones in the rooms and hotel staff communicate with guests via text. Also, the Missoula Art Museum will rotate lobby art every few months.

It’s interesting for me to consider the physical location of this hotel because it used to be the kind of dumpy place unstable homeless clients of mine would get rooms in, but this stretch of Main Street has seen LOTS of changes, like the new library to the east, TWO Andy Holloran hotels to the west, and a brewery to the north, right next to the building where the Union Club recently sold off a portion of its soul so the production of Yellowstone could have a nice, authentic backdrop for a Beth Dutton catfight:

While the physical landscape in Missoula changes, the delivery of limited-to-non-existent services for a growing population of unstable people who can’t maintain conventional housing is NOT changing, and a new report is finally substantiating what I’ve known for years about how our people are discharged to home shelters from mental health facilities. From the link (emphasis mine):

The state’s psychiatric hospital for adults has been discharging patients to homeless shelters with no plan for care and sometimes without medications, according to a report from a designated watchdog group.

Disability Rights Montana’s report found at least 16 instances of state hospital patients being discharged straight to homeless shelters, which the organizations says aren’t equipped to care for recent psychiatric patients who often need ongoing care or prescriptions.

Executive Director Bernie Franks-Ongoy says discharge documents reviewed by Disability Rights Montana suggest the practice of discharging patients to homeless shelters is widespread.

“There’s a line on these documents that say ‘discharge where?’ And there’s choices. One is ‘personal residence’, ‘hotel’, ‘homeless shelter’. It’s enough of a practice that it’s on the form,” Franks-Ongoy said.

Yeah, no shit. Glad someone is finally paying attention and reporting on this deplorable situation. Maybe some anecdotal examples of what this can mean for someone’s chances of survival will compel sanity to prevail at the legislature next year. Here’s more about what I’m talking about from the link:

Franks-Ongoy hopes Disability Rights’ report will push the state to end the practice of discharging patients to shelters.

She said that at least two patients documented in the report attempted suicide soon after being discharged to shelters and one patient jumped to his death from a building in Portland days after disappearing from the shelter he was discharged to in Montana.

“That should never, ever happen. He wasn’t ready to be discharged,” Franks-Ongoy said.

Franks-Ongoy said her organization is willing to take the state to court over these cases if the state hospital’s discharge practices don’t improve.

If Franks-Ongoy wants a former homeless service provider as a witness, I’m more than happy to testify about what I’ve seen directly during my years working at the Poverello Center (2008-2016).

For example, there was a young Native woman with a discharge-history that included trying to stab someone with a knife on a basketball court less than 48 hours after her LAST discharge from Warm Springs. The Poverello Center was actually contacted about providing overnight shelter services to this woman, and we said NO. So what happened?

I found this woman had been discharged anyway, but to a nasty motel with a spanking-new caseworker from 3-Rivers who had no idea how to handle the fact her client was already off medications and drinking alcohol with the sex-offender next door.

Does this sound like a recipe for success?

Needless to say this type of bullshit contributed to my burnout and departure from direct services, but not after chewing out the director of 3-Rivers mental health for putting our community at risk just to suckle some billable hours from the Medicaid tit.

Getting back to Missoula’s newest UNIQUE hotel, there’s one more thing worthing noting, and that’s the properties listed in the portfolio of the investment group behind this phone-less hotel. From the link (emphasis mine):

Other properties in the ownership group include the LARK in Bozeman which opened in 2015, the Rialto Theater in downtown Bozeman which opened in 2018, and the FINCH in Walla Walla, Washington, which opened in 2019.

Additionally, a hotel is being planned for Boise.

Why am I highlighting the Rialto in Bozeman? Because I want readers here in Zoom Town to know about the inevitable Checota connection:

Montana-based concert promoter Logjam Presents has entered into an exclusive long-term agreement to promote and produce events at the 500-capacity Rialto Theater in Bozeman, Mt., adding to its portfolio of venues in the region.

The venue recently underwent a major renovation and reopened in early 2018. The Rialto will be the sixth venue in Logjam’s growing portfolio.

According to Logjam Presents owner Nick Checota, “Logjam is excited to partner with The Rialto to bring world-class artists to Bozeman. With the renovations made to the Rialto in 2018, the Rialto offers a best-in-class, 500-capacity venue to promote and produce live events. Having a venue of this quality along the I-90 corridor will ease routing for artists traveling through the Northwestern Rocky Mountain area.”

This is a good reminder that local players in the hotel/entertainment industry have regional ambitions. These ambitions are shared by affordable housing schemers like Missoula-based Blue Line Development, a savvy developer skilled in sniffing out local and state subsidies.

If you would like to help expand MY geographic capacity, the gas for driving to and from Helena will still be expensive in January, so please consider making a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I have an idea for a special minority population in Montana to keep them safe: be more like Israel. How should we accomplish this? The most important thing is to handle one’s own cognitive reaction to things that might seem bad if we’re talking about brown-skinned people. If we can do this, then we can definitely help this special minority population feel more comfortable.

Having a homeland where your race can feel safe by excluding other races is normally kinda yucky, but in Israel it’s COOL!

The screenshot above is from a video by Abby Martin where she talks to average Israelis about what it takes to operate their amazing homeland. It’s quite illuminating.

Here in Montana our local newspaper is doing its part to remind the anglo-hicks about the risk experienced by this minority group when they exist in places that aren’t their homeland where racial purity is important, and where they can easily identify their enemies.

One of the biggest problems facing this minority group currently is an uppity black man with money who doesn’t know his place. You go to the zoo to be entertained by the monkeys, right? Imagine the terrible fear that would naturally exist at the sight of a dangerous primate having escaped his elaborate cage. Well, that’s what this minority groups is dealing with RIGHT NOW!

The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitic incidents nationwide, reported these events reached an all-time high in the United States in 2021.

Subsequently, rapper Ye — also known as Kanye West — tweeted a swastika meshed with a Star of David before his Twitter account was suspended. Twitter then reinstated white supremacist Andrew Anglin, a prominent Neo-Nazi who targeted Whitefish Jews in 2016. In addition, presidential candidate Donald Trump dined with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and Ye at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 22.

Yes, most everyone in America knows about the spectacle playing out on the national stage with Ye and company, but in case people in Missoula don’t understand how this translates into atrocious acts locally, like LEAFLETS showing up, the Missoulian is here to make sure you’re properly informed:

Hate crimes in Montana went from seven in 2018, to nine in 2019, to 29 in 2020. In 2020, the most targeted groups, in order, were Black individuals, Jews and Indigenous people. The Montana Board of Crime Control tracks hate crimes throughout the state. 2020 is the most recent year on record.

And in Missoula, the day before Thanksgiving, antisemitic literature cropped up at several gas stations around town.

The four-page pamphlets contain quotes from infamously antisemitic figures like pilot Charles Lindbergh. The owners of both gas stations where the leaflets were found denied any knowledge of the literature or who placed it.

Holy crap! This is awful. Good thing groups like the Montana Equity Project exist to help this poor minority population find safety!

Chris Young-Greer, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Director for the Montana Racial Equity Project, elaborated on why something as simple as leaflets at a gas station poses a real threat to vulnerable communities in Missoula and the surrounding area.

“We have noticed this increase in all racist rhetoric and propaganda over the last two to three years,” said Young-Greer. “We are very aware of that and taking steps to work with community leaders.”

“It really does become a very dangerous ideology in general,” she added. “It emboldens them (antisemitic people) to speak these things out loud.”

Rhetoric like that found in the gas station documents is a danger both to the groups it targets and other marginalized populations, including Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ Missoulians, Young-Greer warned: “It’s going to filter down.”

Yes, it’s definitely going to filter down, and sometimes threats even come from OTHER minority populations, which can be very confusing.

Thankfully our media is here to make sure the important risks against the right minority population are properly identified, including the orgs that are here to help, so all the squirming, liberal-leaning white people in Zoom Town know where to direct their guilt-money to.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!

*for readers who aren’t familiar with my style, the use of language in this post includes sarcasm that may be difficult for new readers to detect.