Did I restrain myself during my public comment on Wednesday at the Public Safety Committee? I certainly tried to restrain myself because I want our elected officials to understand that without a functioning criminal justice system and local media, public safety is just an illusion. Here’s the comment, which clocked in at slightly over 3 minutes:
In my comment I mentioned the indigenous journalist, Connie Walker, and how I think she got CONNED by the pretense that we have a functioning criminal justice system in Montana. Connie Walker’s journalistic product was a podcast series called Stolen, but, sadly, that product has been discontinued by Spotify.
From the link:
Canadian journalist Connie Walker says she’d love to find a new home for her Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast after Spotify decided not to renew it.
“Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” began as an investigation into the abuse her father suffered at a residential school.
It took home the Pulitzer’s audio reporting award and the Peabody’s podcast award earlier this year.
A Spotify spokesperson says in a statement that “Stolen” will complete its current season and the audio streaming platform will work with the podcast team to “ensure a smooth transition for wherever the series goes next.”
This series BEGAN with the story of the disappearance of Jermain Charlo, but there’s no mention of that podcast in recent reporting on Spotify’s decision to dump the series. Instead I went to Wikipedia and found some context on this podcast, including the woman who told Connie Walker about this case in the first place. From the link (emphasis mine):
The podcast is hosted by journalist Connie Walker, who previously hosted Missing and Murdered.[1] In 2019, Connie Walker left CBC to work at Gimlet Media.[2] The Search for Jermain is an eight episode season.[3] There is a bonus episode containing updates related to the case in addition to the standard eight episodes.[4] The podcast debuted on March 1, 2021.[5] While Walker’s previous reporting focused on missing persons cases in Canada The Search for Jermain focused on a case in the United States.[6] The podcast investigates the missing persons case of Jermain Charlo, a 23-year-old woman who has been missing since 2018.[7] This missing persons case received very little media attention.[8] Walker heard about the case from Lauren Small Rodriguez who works with human trafficking survivors in Missoula.[9]
I hadn’t heard about this individual and her work in the human trafficking arena, so I did a quick search and found an article from 2020 talking about some money to help survivors of human trafficking. From the link:
Lauren Small Rodriguez has spent years raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women — and she’s not letting up anytime soon.
“I feel like this year is where we’re going to get a lot of work done,” she predicted last week, in her office at the Missoula Urban Indian Health Center. Here, Rodriguez is administering a $450,000 effort, the Missoula Beacon project, to better help Native American survivors of sex trafficking.
“We are going to be working with tribal nations within Montana, and we are going to be addressing and training for the indicators” of human trafficking, she explained. They’ll also be building “understanding of why human trafficking exists. What are the factors that play into it? Why is it more prominent in women of color?”
Yes, let’s understand why human trafficking exists at the level it does, but in doing so we might have a problem: what if understanding human trafficking entails understanding how members of law enforcement can be corrupted by this societal scourge?
Later in the article, a member of law enforcement who gives me GREAT PAUSE is mentioned. Are you ready for your close up, Detective Baker?
From the link:
“Dealing with trafficking victims is more difficult than most people think, because they have experienced a trauma that they have (had) repeated for days or weeks or months or years,” said Missoula Police Detective Guy Baker, who has investigated many trafficking and missing persons cases, and worked with Small Rodriguez.
“I think she’s committed and determined. Those are two very important attributes (for) someone who wants to make a difference and help these victims. … I think she’s a great person (and) a great choice for that position.”
If I was Small Rodriguez I would spend some time reflecting on this glowing endorsement from Detective Baker, but maybe that’s because my conversations don’t turn up the same kind of confidence in this Detective that he apparently has in the women he gives criminal justice access to.
If you appreciate my ability to resist the illusion of public safety, then consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can use the donation button at my about page.
Did you know Missoula is WRESTLING with sexism? Yes, that’s what the Missoulian is “reporting”, so it must be true. From the link:
After a 22-year career in housing development, Mayor Andrea Davis said she expected to encounter sexism as she transitioned into the role of Missoula mayor. She just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.
“Like most people in that situation, I was surprised,” Davis said in regard to Contos’ comments about her appearance. “It was my first council meeting. I was highly focused on the procedure. Being the presiding officer of that kind of format is a lot to navigate.”
To bolster this argument about sexism in the political arena, the reporter highlights several female politicians and the sexism they have had to deal with. An incident in Mineral County is even referenced (emphasis mine):
Though Jones’ later dig at Contos provoked almost universal laughter from those assembled at the meeting, concerns about the string of comments lingered. And in light of misogynistic allegations in the Missoula mayor’s race and commentary about a female Mineral County commissioner’s chest from fellow commissioners earlier in the year, Missoula elected officials wrestled with the discussion about sexism.
I’m highlighting the Mineral County example because there is SO MUCH MORE to report regarding what Mineral County Commissioner, Dawn Terrill, is dealing with, but it appears the Missoulian is only interested in the SEXIST angle of what’s happening, so they are missing the social media attacks on this Commissioner, like this post:
Why is this Mineral County Commissioner being depicted as a bully? I’m not entirely sure what has some citizens in Mineral County, including several WOMEN, obsessively attacking Commissioner Terrill for how meetings are being run. Here are some of the WOMEN who regularly oppose the actions of Commissioner Terrill:
Juliet Miller is one of the most ardent critics of Commissioner Terrill, regularly making her social media posts and comments, like this one that I commented on this morning:
Do I think Juliet will help me get answers regarding the death of Joey Thompson? No, I don’t, but I’d like this busy body to at least THINK about something more serious than the controversy of where to set up recording equipment at a Commissioner meeting.
If you appreciate how I can see BEYOND the identity politics that hamper local reporting, then consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can make a donation at my about page.
Yesterday I turned in the keys to a studio space because my lease was terminated. One of the complaints against me was the suspicion that I was SLEEPING at this studio at night, an act more appropriate for a residential lease, which mine was not.
The residential housing I finally found in this insane market is a room I’m paying $800 dollars a month for so I have somewhere appropriate (and legal) to sleep at night. The economic dynamics across the country are terrible, everyone knows it, but instead of looking at the BIG PICTURE of economic insolvency and, more importantly, WHY we are back on the precipice of an economic cataclysm, the conversation at City Council regarding housing continues to be focused on the people who want to create homeless shanty towns in parks across Missoula.
Here is the latest NON-action on the “urban camping” ordinance. From the link:
The Missoula City Council has now seen multiple proposed urban camping ordinances over the last few months, and now one more has been pushed to the new year.
Many members of the community spoke out against the ordinance during public comment where the city council is unable to respond.
“This ordinance criminalizes being unhoused in some shape or form across most of the city, as you saw in that map that was shown earlier by proposing confusing unrealistic regulations around where, how long and under what conditions people can live,” said Missoula resident Winona Rachel.
The debate over “urban camping” is a very limited and stupid one because it leaves out a GIANT component of what’s happening on the streets, and that’s the breakdown of our criminal justice system. Instead of talking about homeless CRIMES, I’m watching our ignorant do-gooders line up to play the victim card for every camper living marginally in our community, and that’s a mistake.
Instead of assuming everyone is a victim, like Clayton Shaya, I ask questions, like WHY is Clayton still homeless after moving to Missoula in 2019? I’m only asking because I’ve chatted with Shaya enough to know he’s a pretty interesting character, but it was only this morning that I discovered that a Clay Shaya ran as a write-in candidate for Whatcom County, which is located in the northwest corner of Washington State, on the border with Canada.
Is this the same Clay Shaya as the homeless man making regular appearances before City Council?
The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) has completed its review of the complaint filed on October 14, 2019. The complaint alleged that Clay Shaya, a write-in candidate for Whatcom County Sheriff in the November 5, 2019 general election, may have violated: (1) RCW 42.17A.205 for failure to file a Candidate Registration (C-1 report) within two weeks of declaring candidacy; (2) RCW 42.17A.700 for failure to file a Personal Financial Affairs Statement (F-1 report) within two weeks of declaring candidacy; and (3) RCW 42.17A.235 for failure to timely and accurately file Monetary Contribution reports (C-3 reports) and Summary Full Campaign Contribution and Expenditure reports (C-4 reports), disclosing contributions and expenditures undertaken by the Campaign.
PDC staff reviewed the allegations; and the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements, to determine whether the record supports a finding of one or more violations.
Mr. Shaya has no filing history with the PDC as a candidate or appointed official and has not been found in violation of PDC laws or rules. He was not successful in the election for Whatcom County Sheriff and the small number of votes he may have received as a write-in candidate appears to have had little impact on the final outcome of the election as the total votes for all write-ins accounted for only 0.17%.
If this IS the same Clay Shaya who ran as a write-in candidate for Sheriff, then that makes the rumors I’ve heard about his intent to enter the local political arena that much more intriguing.
If you appreciate my ability to ask questions, even when the subject is a supposed victim of the housing crisis, then consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can make a donation at my about page.
I was doing something very important while people complained to City Council about the Holy War yesterday: I was taking a nap. Getting rest is important, almost as important as thinking critically about mediated content stimulating emotional reactions.
The people who continue showing up to City Council in order to complain about the Holy War should take a night off being outraged for a viewing of the 1997 film, Wag The Dog. If they did, maybe they would start realizing that Jews and Arabs are just extras on a contrived stage created by psychopaths, and the trauma of viewing the violence is one of the practical functions of this war, with the ultimate benefit going to the psychopaths who orchestrate atrocities like a symphony to maintain their grip of control on the minds of their targeted populations.
To show how the minds of our elected officials are getting polluted by this Holy War, check out the “dueling Rabbis” article from the Missoulian. Here’s how 2/3 of our County Commissioners grappled with where to stick a Menorah (emphasis mine):
One Missoula-based rabbi wants the Missoula County commissioners to display a menorah on the county courthouse lawn. Another isn’t so sure about the idea. And the ensuing conversation has sparked an intense debate around antisemitism, religion and Israel.
“Our concern, is if we are to break with our longstanding tradition of having a menorah in the rotunda, next to a Christmas tree, and instead put a large menorah in the courthouse lawn, in this specific historic moment, that menorah will erroneously be seen as a political symbol, not a religious symbol,” explained County Commissioner Josh Slotnick, who is Jewish.
Commissioner Juanita Vero remained committed to an indoor menorah throughout the discussion. On the outdoor menorah side was the argument for supporting the Jewish community at a time of increased antisemitism. On the other hand, Slotnick contended, the menorah in light of the Israel-Hamas war might be seen as a stance on an international conflict.
Strohmaier, in response to this concern, pointed out that the county supported Ukraine when Russia invaded, setting a precedent for little Missoula County to wade into international relations.
“It seems like that one was a little easier to navigate,” Slotnick said of the Ukraine war.
Maybe I have a warped sense of humor, but I think it’s absolutely hilarious that Josh Slotnick, who is Jewish, thinks the conflict empowering REAL Nazis in Ukraine is easier to navigate than the Holy War. This is a great example of why a farmer who is elected to be a County Commissioner should SHUT THE FUCK UP when it comes to geopolitics.
There WAS non-geopolitical stuff happening yesterday, like County Commissioners and City Council joining together for a special cause. Here’s I how imagine this fusion of power looks like to our elected leaders:
Why did our two elected bodies fuse into Voltron? Well, to take a Voltron step toward “clean energy“. From the link:
At a Missoula City Council meeting Monday, council members and Missoula County commissioners authorized Mayor Andrea Davis to sign a term sheet for a green power program between Northwestern Energy, the city and county of Missoula and the city of Bozeman.
The partnership aims to pursue mutually beneficial energy projects and programs to reach 100% clean energy by the end of 2030.
Ah, yes, the year 2030. That’s a great target year for a new Mayor who recently went to Harvard to get her marching orders from the Globalists (don’t tell our Mayor this, but the Globalists are the same psychopaths who orchestrate Holy Wars to keep useful idiots around the globe mentally occupied and locally impotent).
Speaking of energy, another article got my attention recently, and it’s about breaching dams for Salmon, and how that move might impact rate-payers up stream, in Montana. From the link (emphasis mine):
The plan to breach hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and the Lower Snake River could potentially affect the power supply and resulting rate increases for residents, agriculture, and businesses in western Montana.
KGVO News spoke with Mark Lambrecht, Government Relations representative for the Montana Electric Co-ops Association about a plan developed in secret that could decimate the power supply for western Montana.
“The White House has been negotiating in secret with what they’re terming the six sovereigns in the states of Oregon and Washington,” began Lambrecht. “Environmental groups including Earth Justice, the National Wildlife Federation and for tribal nations from the Pacific Northwest to fundamentally change the way the Columbia River Basin system is operated, which is a pathway toward breaching of the Lower Snake River dams and other hydroelectric generation facilities that are so critical as a power supply for western Montana electric cooperatives.”
Does this seem like a potentially big deal? I think it does, but maybe that’s because it fits with a Civil War set up I started writing about as “fiction” in 2015.
Civil Wars, for the useful idiots who have never been through one, are not the kind of wars that one can publicly complain about to elected officials. That’s because you’re usually to busy fighting your neighbors, scrounging for food, or just generally trying to survive.
On that cheery note, I’ll now do my own panhandling and implore readers who have enjoyed my content over the years to consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.
When did grief become an industry? A quick search online brings up some articles from 2004 and 2005 that gives a little insight into how the term “grief industry” has been defined. Let’s take a look.
The first article is from the New Yorker and examines the concept of professional “debriefing” sessions that some companies were bringing in to ostensibly help employees after big, national trauma events, like 9/11. From the link (emphasis mine):
The director of human resources at the travel agent’s company told me that she had arranged the debriefing session because “it made me feel that I was doing something for the employees.” She went on, “I saw behavior that worried me, people very upset after the attacks. I didn’t want the company to seem unfeeling.” Another concern that leads companies to hire debriefing services is the fear of litigation. Employees who have experienced a traumatic incident on the job, and who have subsequently been sidelined by P.T.S.D., have sued their companies. The Web site for National Employee Assistance Providers claims that its debriefing program insures “that the productivity of the work unit is not impaired.”
Hundreds of similar debriefing sessions took place in Manhattan in the days following the September 11th attacks. Did they help? One debriefing company told me that 99.7 per cent of the participants found the sessions beneficial. But such evaluations are subjective, and hardly scientific. In fact, only in the past few years has debriefing undergone serious scrutiny. Brett Litz, a research psychologist at Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder, recently completed a randomized clinical trial of group debriefing of soldiers who were stationed in Kosovo. (Peacekeeping forces there were exposed to sniper fire and mine explosions, and discovered mass graves.) He summarized the academic verdict on debriefing as follows: “The techniques practiced by most American grief counsellors to prevent P.T.S.D. are inert.”
It should come as no surprise that “human resource” departments have the potential cost of litigation as a significant consideration motivating the use of professional grief services. The “help” in this situation is establishing the ability of HR to say to a lawyer: SEE, WE DID SOMETHING FOR THAT GRIEF-STRICKEN LIABILITY TO OUR CORPORATE BOTTOMLINE! Whether or not the employee actually benefits from a debrief session is more than likely a SECONDARY consideration.
The second article comes from the Wall Street Journal and makes an interesting case for saying NO to the grief industry. From the link (emphasis mine):
In the months after her son took his own life in 2001, Rhunette Long began attending meetings of a self-help group for suicide survivors. At each session, attendees retold the specifics of their loved ones’ deaths. Some had been coming and doing this for years.
“They were sobbing, and they kept saying they were angry at the person who died,” says Ms. Long, a 62-year-old retiree in Gilbert, S.C.
Group members told Ms. Long that she’d need to go through her “anger phase,” too. But she didn’t feel angry at her son, and didn’t believe that publicly reliving her loss was helping her. She also thought other attendees seemed “stuck” in their sadness. After three meetings, she stopped going. She now grieves for her son more quietly, and believes she’s coping.
Is there a legitimate risk to becoming “stuck” in one’s grief? What about a situation in which your grief is captured by national headlines, leading to an outpouring of emotional reactions that often come in the form of monetary donations? If your grief becomes your day job, is there any hope of ever moving forward?
The stated mission of the Gabby Petito Foundation is to “…address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.“
Ok, sounds great, but what does this mission actually mean? Could it mean giving money to worthy causes? Yes, like $15,000 dollars to a shelter in Martin County on the Treasure Coast:
A national organization Monday announced its plans to partner with an area nonprofit to combat domestic violence.
The Gabby Petito Foundation donated $15,000 to the Stuart-based nonprofit SafeSpace, which provides domestic violence services and a safe haven to victims and their children seeking refuge from physical and emotional abuse.
SafeSpace, located in Martin County, is the only certified emergency shelter on the Treasure Coast, said board member Thomas Bakkedahl. The donation will go toward opening a new, 19-bed shelter in Indian River County early next year.
“This money that will enable us to serve more victims is going to be just a real godsend,” Bakkedahl said. “We’re so grateful to Gabby’s foundation and her parents for selecting our organization to bestow this award upon.”
Could there be any financial help for Rebekah Barsotti’s family in the Treasure State? I know Gabby’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, and Rebekah’s mother are in contact, but there are lots of fingers in the Petito grief money, so what Nicole wants as a grieving mother is secondary now to the mission of the legal entity her grief has helped create.
The financial help from GoFund for Rebekah’s Legacy work has been decent, but no where near the cost of hiring private search and rescue, a private medical examiner, and TWO private detectives, including this guy:
We’ll get to the PI that Rolling Stone did an expose on in a moment, first I want to highlight two Montana journalists who are humbly included at Rebekah’s Legacy website alongside some names you might recognize, like Dateline.
Above the media links at Rebekah’s Legacy website are the Facebook links and contact numbers for tips, but oddly only ONE private investigator is listed. Is that because Jim Terry isn’t licensed in Montana, and therefore could only work in a limited capacity for Rebekah’s mother?
I reached out to Jim Terry on November 28th by texting him a question about whether or not he knew the former Sheriff of Mineral County, Mike Toth, BEFORE Rebekah Barsotti went missing. He called me back and explained how he knew OF Mike Toth, since they both had PI businesses and reality tv show aspirations. Isn’t that interesting? It gets better.
After telling me unlicensed PIs can only do work on missing persons cases, Jim boasted about STILL working with Rebekah Barsotti’s family on a different legal matter, one that has nothing to do with a missing persons case. No, this ongoing legal matter has to do with alleged harassment, and the question Jim Terry is helping Rebekah’s family answer is WHO might be doing the anonymous harassing by tracking the IP address.
Did Jim Terry tell me the results of his investigation? He did. Was that a smart thing for Jim Terry to do? That depends. If Jim Terry knows the grief industry better than I do, which I think he does, then this might indeed be a smart move for a “PI” who likes using as much abusive language as possible when he does his PI thing for his clients.
Maybe a better question is this: is it a smart thing for a grieving mother who wants to find meaning in her daughter’s death to continue using the PI services of someone who made quite a few people in Mineral County unhappy when he steamrolled them for information? I don’t think it is.
I’ve been wading through the cess pool of social media recently because anonymous commenters and potential sock puppets seem to be quite active on the Facebook page Mineral County Uncensored. For an example of the back and forth that’s occurring online, here is someone that goes by the name “Winston Riley”. This comment is a response to Rebekah’s mother, Angela Mastrovito:
Angela Mastrovito… Do you have a favorite stick you use to “stir up” crap in OUR county, or do you use just any old one? We get you suffered a horrible loss, and good on you for trying to shine a national light on domestic violence. But you are not Mineral County’s mother… This isn’t the first time you’ve heard this, please leave our local politics and issues to us who actually live here. I know you think (as proven by your constant butting in) that because we live in a small county, we are inept and need YOU to inform us of OUR “rights as citizens”… But I can assure you we don’t! Here in Montana we support law enforcement, please keep that “defund the police” mentality over there where YOU live. By continually stirring up drama in our community, its clear to everyone, your priorities are not to make things better, but to get revenge on an agency you believe wronged you. Although this is YOUR opinion, it only takes away from your cause and reflects poorly on your actual character. The community used the opportunity to be heard and elected Sheriff Funke last year. I guarantee no one believes in changing and making the Sheriffs Office better for the people of MINERAL COUNTY more than Sheriff Funke. Goals are not met overnight, nor are they met without support and encouragement. Those of us who are here every day see things changing for the better but also understand it takes time for things / decisions made by previous administrations to be undone and changed. To Sheriff Funke, Undersheriff Cashman and the Deputies who protect and serve the Mineral County community… we see you driving up and down our streets, checking our neighborhoods in between calls. We know you could go just up the road and make double what you are making here. Keep your heads up, be safe, stay true to your oath and most of all… THANK YOU!!! The loudest voices don’t always represent the majority…
Who does this sock puppet belong to? Could it be Sheriff Funke? Yes, it could be Sheriff Funke, but unless “Winston Riley” starts sending emails, then the identity of this sock puppet will be protected.
To show her stubborn resolve, Rebekah’s mother let everyone know she isn’t going anywhere and will continue to be a virtual presence, but to what end?
Yes, Angela Mastrovito thinks that WITH THE SUPPORT OF MONTANA she is going to wear down systemic corruption in this state. If this grieving mother wants to be successful, then I suggest she does some reflecting on the tactics she’s using, and the unforeseen consequences her crusade is having on those who still live here.
I never got an answer when I asked this grieving mother if she has recorded me without my consent because I suspect that she has. I did get a response when I indicated I had a bunch of phone records from her former son-in-law, but when I was told to burn these records, I said not without consulting a lawyer first, because that sounds like destroying evidence.
There’s a lot more I know about this case, but I’m going to save that conversation for the Attorney General’s Office, if they call me back. If not, then I guess Austin Knudsen will just have to wait for what I know to come out in a different way, and closer to his reelection efforts.
Maybe Austin doesn’t know what his Chief of Staff, Will Selph, told someone connected to the Barsotti case in a phone conversation that I was allowed to listen in on, so if he’s in the dark, here’s a hint: it’s about the crime lab, which is located in Missoula, and refrigeration. Does that ring any bells?
If the alarm bells aren’t ringing yet in Helena, they will be, and if the Ward 6 shit show in Missoula is any indication, you won’t be hearing much from local media about the REAL things happening in the shadows of Big Sky country.
Unless, of course, you’re paying attention to the work I’m doing. To help that work continue, possibly in a slightly different form, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is still accepting donations, or you can use the donation button at my about page.
