Month: October 2024

by Travis Mateer

This morning, while searching local headlines, I clicked on the link that normally takes me to the Missoula Current homepage, but instead of the normal look, I got the above image. What gives? Has Martin Kidston finally quit pretending he’s a local reporter?

The news of an alleged news provider no longer providing news is something you’re reading HERE first, just like I broke the news of the sudden departure of Missoula’s new Chamber of Commerce director, Mark Losh, which the Missoulian then took credit for breaking.

Is Martin returning to work for his beloved Democrats? For context on this speculation, I found a blogpost from The Lowdown that goes into more detail about how Martin previously got a paying gig to help elect Democrats in Montana:

Yep, Marty was VERY EXCITED to become a shill for Montana Democrats, which he declared in the official press release 14 years ago:

“I’m excited to be a part of the Democratic Party,” Kidston said Tuesday. “I look forward to sharing the Party’s message and working hard to improve the lives of everyday Montanans. I’ve seen the Party’s accomplishments first-hand and I’m eager to help build on its successes across the state.”

So, how have Democrats done in Montana since 2010? Well, they have steadily lost power and influence as the national party lost its fucking mind, and now they are desperately trying to preserve the position of Jon Tester.

Is that why Democrats appear to have sent some dumb political operative to test the strength of a ballot box?

The office of Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen sounded the alarm Wednesday over surveillance video showing an individual allegedly tampering with a ballot box in the state, telling The National News Desk the scene appears “highly suspicious and concerning.”

The video, which began circulating on social media Wednesday, shows an individual apparently trying to loosen a ballot box from a post. Glacier County Election Administrator Crystal Cole reported the video to Jacobsen’s office and claimed it depicted potential tampering.

In an email to Jacobsen, Cole identified the individual in the video as “Laslo with the MT Dem Party.” That individual allegedly told Cole “‘they’ sent him to the location to see how secure the box was.”

Good move, Montana Democrats! If you have a reporter like Marty on the payroll, it might be time to do some damage control.

For some of my reporting on this “reporter”, check out these links:

On Trying To Understand Martin Kidston’s Confusing Reporting Regarding Reserve Street Homeless Camps And MDOT’s Fence Strategy (July 29th, 2021)

The Missoula Current Is A Joke And Martin Kidston Reports Like He’s Drunk (October 5th, 2021)

Here Is What Ellen Buchanan And Martin Gomer Kidston Are NOT Telling You About MRA Plans For Urban Renewal District II (February 20th, 2022)

I Read Martin “Gomer” Kidston’s Budget Propaganda Piece So You Don’t Have To! (June 30th, 2022)

Reporting On The Reporter Who Sucks At Reporting (August 24th, 2022)

A Learning Moment For Councilman Carlino As Missoula’s Former Top Cop Plays The Victim Card While A Propagandist Publishes A Well-Timed Hit Piece (June 22nd, 2023)

On Living Life In Double-Standard Town Where Hypocrite Cowards Call The Shots (May 16th, 2023)

Is This What Missoula Current Advertisers Want To Be Paying For? (May 18th, 2023)

The Missoula Current’s “Reporting” On Monday Night’s Urban Camping Debate (July 11th, 2023)

The Dangerous Math Martin “Gomer” Kidston Knows Not To Calculate (October 2nd, 2024)

If you would like to support someone who doesn’t get paid to produce propaganda for narrative control purposes, then consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Are Conservatives dumb? The educated liberal certainly thinks so, and that condescending attitude was on full display yesterday when “Henry” decided to stop by the blog for some illuminating commentary.

I feel bad for Hank and ANYONE who allows their cognitive abilities to be retarded by this totally corrupt two party political system that only values black men if they vote for the right lefty candidate. When they don’t do what they’re supposed to, just look at how those “educated liberals” behave.

From the link:

When Democrats start losing the black vote they used to roll out Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to frighten them into submission. Today, they call in Barack Obama or Michelle Obama to reel black voters back into the fold. But what happens when the old false leadership ploy doesn’t work?

The DNC and the establishment media are in a panic this month over polling data which indicates a shrinking support base for Kamala Harris among minority groups. Some journalists are in denial. MSNBC and others argue that the black voter crisis is “overblown.” They note that recent polls show black men still supporting Harris at 70%, but compare this number to 2020 when 79% of black men voted for Biden. In 2016, 82% voted for Hillary Clinton, and in 2012 89% voted for Barack Obama.

A trend seems to be developing here, and it does not bode well for the political left. The Democratic Party has long treated minorities as their political property, consistently claiming to be their champion while viciously attacking any minority voters that leave the plantation. The steady decline in minority support for Democrats suggests an awakening is in progress, or maybe a rebellion.

In response, the media and Democrats have reverted to shaming tactics, calling black men misogynistic for not clamoring to vote for Harris. Black men say it’s not about her gender, it’s about her policies and her consistent failures. However, the leftist political machine refuses to listen. They have become so indignant that they’re trotting out any black figure they can find to browbeat black men, including disgraced figures.

In LIBERAL Missoula, black men can be euthanized and executed by the Sheriff’s Office without any fear of a political backlash. Why? Don’t liberals care deeply about minorities? I guess if a white woman congratulates her corporate newspaper for allowing her to do narrative control then it’s all good. Right, Missoula?

So, how will Democrats convince black men to vote for the woman who established her own prosecutorial career by throwing them in jail? Will they use FEAR or SHAME or BOTH?

Since Democrats are DESPERATE to prop up a pathetic candidate that even SNL has flipped on, I suspect they will do ANYTHING they think will help them against BAD ORANGE MAN. For these sad, politically calculating jackasses, the ends justify the means–a dangerous sentiment I’m seeing up close and personal in my own life.

So, am I voting for Trump? Nope, I refuse to validate this charade, so once again I’ll be applying the purifying element of FIRE to my ballot because FUCK THIS TWO PARTY POLITICAL SYSTEM.

Oh, and Missoula Liberals? Fuck you to.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Why can’t the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office find Willie Joe Richardson? It’s been OVER a week since Willie allegedly shot two people, then disappeared into the woods. Is Willie pretending to be a tree? Is that how this black man has been able to avoid detection?

The most recent news is that an arrest warrant has been issued for Willie. Here’s a quote from the article, itself almost a week old:

The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office is still searching for Willie Joe Richardson, who is accused of shooting one man in the arm and hitting another man in the head with a gun near the motel and general store in Saltese on Sunday.

Authorities say Richardson then fled the scene in a vehicle. Officers later found his crashed car with a handgun inside, but Richardson has yet to be located. An arrest warrant shows he’s facing several charges, including attempted deliberate homicide and assault with a weapon.

Another article I found details how it was RESIDENTS who initially chased Richardson as he fled, preventing him from getting on the interstate.

Downing and her husband were getting off work in Saltese on Sunday night, “We were slammed. It’s Sunday night football.”

Then, they pulled up next to their coworker, a cook, who had just been in a car accident.

“All of a sudden this black car comes barreling behind us on this road right here, comes around the corner, tries to force us off the road,” Downing detailed.

The driver of that car was Richardson, who the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed shot and injured a man and rammed into a vehicle. 

Downing’s husband chased Richardson’s vehicle down the road and they prevented him from getting on the interstate. However, as of Monday evening, he hasn’t been found.

If Richardson is NOT eluding law enforcement by pretending to be a tree, maybe there’s another explanation for how he’s managed to remain free, like maybe Willie is getting HELP to stay undetected? I’ll go even further with my speculation to ask the following question: is Willie perhaps involved in some kind of lucrative criminal enterprise that connects the state of Washington to the state of Montana?

I’ll keep my eyes open for more news about the curious inability of the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office to find and detain a black man who allegedly shot people with a gun, so stay tuned! And, if you appreciate my local news coverage, consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I’m working on the 8th issue of my zine series, Mr. Batshit, and my plan is to end the series after the election. I’ve been using the synchronicities plaguing my brain to construct a cultural meta-narrative that shows, I think, how this world operates, and it’s nothing like you think.

The image above–created by my AI illustrator, Chatty–was inspired by the local production of Little Shop of Horrors, which is being put on by the Children’s Theater. My cultural interpretation, which you’ll have to wait to read in full, placed narrative value on the ECLIPSE, which I think is a much richer element to focus on than the WOMEN AS VICTIM trope Erika Fredrickson focused on.

Here’s what I’m talking about from The Pulp’s newsletter:

The musical comedy and absurd plot give it a light tone, even as the blood-thirsty plant and its relationship with Seymour creates a level of horror. 

But if you want to dig a little deeper, past the monster story, you’ll find elements of true-life horror. For instance, Audrey’s backstory of being the target of an abusive boyfriend is a situation made bleaker by the times and what was expected of unmarried, lower-class women with few resources and low-self esteem. Meanwhile, Seymour’s low self-esteem and desperation to be the masculine object of Audrey’s desire results in some, uh, poor and gruesome choices. 

In this WOKE interpretation of a movie about a killer plant, Audrey is simply THE TARGET of an abusive boyfriend with no apparent agency of her own. If Audrey has no agency, then she has no responsibility to make different life choices, and it’s this removal of responsibility that makes our growing victim culture so seductive, I think.

With two weeks before the election, and other elements of personal drama descending on me this week, I’m not sure how lengthy the posts will be, but stop by anyway because I guarantee my perspective will be SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING than whatever the perpetuators of victim culture put out.

If you appreciate my perspective, please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Remember the beginning of summer when famous author, Stephanie Land, threatened City Council because she thought the ordinance ALLOWING urban camping didn’t go far enough? That was at the beginning of my OWN episode of homelessness, and when I called in my comment that night, I had parked my home beneath the Higgins bridge.

When the cop came to inform me that my spot was on PRIVATE property I avoided a ticket by leaving and not returning because, had I returned, I would have been charged with trespassing. Unlike Amy Swope, I wasn’t TRYING to get arrested for trespassing.

The reason why Land and her literary threat popped into my head is because my episode of homelessness ended, so now I’m at the stage of unpacking books, like this signed copy of MAID.

When you look at what this book is about, it says HARD WORK, LOW PAY, AND A MOTHER’S WILL TO SURVIVE. Yes, that WILL TO SURVIVE is a strong one, and may be the thing that kicked in when some folks in Missoula felt the need to RUN from a homeless man.

Here’s the story, which I came across on Reddit in case Mayor Bloomberg Davis wants to add this platform to her navigation strategy for Missoula’s information landscape:

The next story has even MORE fun and exciting adventure in it, like being told you’re gonna get raped and killed. Does Stephanie Land support urban campers telling local women they are going to be raped and killed?

Does Stephanie Land believe people should be able to walk in public spaces without feeling threatened? Or would she just dismiss this as privileged people without her gritty background complaining because they don’t understand the unique culture of urban campers?

One member of that culture, according to another anecdote from Reddit, dared a politically incorrect writer like myself to call him animal. Why? This is why:

Up north, the out-of-state lawyer from the INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE is helping the warming center litigate against a municipality because I guess there’s a constitutional right at stake or something (emphasis mine):

A federal judge has granted the Flathead Warming Center’s request for a hearingon an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order.

The hearing will is scheduled to take place on October 25, 2024, at 9 a.m. in federal court in Missoula.

“The witness testimony and legal argument will explain to the Court why an order is needed allowing the Flathead Warming Center to remain open while this case is litigated, a process that can take years,” said Jeff Rowes, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “When constitutional rights are at stake and there is a threat to life and limb, courts regularly stop the government from doing harmful things like shutting down a homeless shelter while a case is pending.”

Speaking as a citizen journalist who continues to experience significant retaliation for the work I’m doing EXPOSING the Homeless Industrial Complex instead of unquestioningly enabling it, the Constitution is less useful than toilet paper because toilet paper at least protects my skivvies from skid marks, while the Constitution is just a quaint notion lawyers get paid to take shits on these days. Prove me wrong, Jeff Rowe!

With the cold and rain and immediate suspension of my driver’s license in effect because I told vampires NO to their desire for my blood, I’m grateful to be moving indoors, something I wouldn’t be able to do without the financial help of my father, so thanks Pops.

And thanks to everyone who sees and supports the work I’m doing. Not all support is monetary, but that’s the kind I am currently most in need of, so if you’re able, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is the way to do it.

Thanks for reading!