by Travis Mateer

There is no shimmer or loss of time (unless you’re drinking) when you enter the strange dimension known as Mineral County, so travelers must be weary. Was I weary on February 24th after writing this post? Not enough, apparently. I got in my shitty vehicle and jumped on the interstate where the traffic trafficks people and things to get me some Mandamus updates.

My intention weeks ago for this date was to drive to Spokane so Sam Tripoli could make me laugh at a comedy club. Instead I parked at the St. Regis Travel Center with the intention to piss, but that need turned into an opportunity to see the infamous “wounded” Veteran, David Barsotti, walking one of the dogs he HASN’T killed due to a case of alleged rabies. Not yet, anyway.

After saying good morning to a man who showed NO sign of a limp when I walked by him outside the Travel Center, I did what I needed to do and returned to my shitty vehicle. The vehicle this “wounded” Veteran on disability got into was definitely less shitty than my child-chariot, which is literally being held together in places by tape. If I sound jealous, trust me, I’m not.

I made sure the screen-shot of the Yukon cut off the plate, since I don’t know who the owner of this vehicle is. What I DO know is this “wounded” Veteran has some interesting friends. I also know, since I’m such a forthright talker when asked by cashiers how my day is going, that at least one person at the Travel Center thinks David Barsotti is protected by the local Sheriff’s Office.

As I sat in my car eating my trail mix, I noticed the man in the Yukon get out and fiddle with something in the back. This time I DID notice a limp. Well done, brave soldier man!

Once upon a time a REAL soldier by the name of Jason Maxwell called out David Barsotti for having claims that didn’t pass the smell test. Jason used to be VERY active on social media as well, but now things are sort of quiet. Unless you take into consideration this trolling Facebook post from the Northwestern Malinois account:

Less than a month after this Facebook post, according to a source I spoke with on Friday, David was drinking at a local watering hole and told to go home by local law enforcement. Later that evening something happened at the residence that required the full siren-show response. Did David’s dog, Stryker, have rabies and attack him? Did David shoot the dog 9 times and kill it? And did he get treated at the local hospital for wounds, including on his neck, from this “rabid” dog attack?

In a normal County, during normal times, there would be consequences if this claim wasn’t true and the dog was merely shot 9 times and killed. But Mineral County is not a normal County, and these are far from normal times.

As if I needed MORE reminding of this, I still had that Mandamus status hearing to attend, so I got back on the interstate, where the traffic trafficks people and things, and headed to the adorable little Courthouse where the humans inside struggle to accomplish basic tasks.

But THAT is a story for a different post, or maybe a podcast episode, which should arrive tomorrow morning.

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Thanks for reading!