Since Kalispell citizens and their alleged representative government are clearly trying to murder homeless people this year, an organization called Institute for Justice is suing the town. Take THAT, voting representatives of Kalispell!
A federal lawsuit is being filed over a recent Kalispell City Council decision to revoke the conditional use permit for the Flathead Warming Center.
The Institute for Justice — which a news release describes as a nonprofit, public interest law firm — has partnered with the Flathead Warming Center in filing the 106-page court action.
The lawsuit asks the court for an emergency order to keep the Flathead Warming Center open while the legal battle is underway to make sure the most vulnerable are not left out in the cold,” the release states.
Yep, after a 6-3 vote, the ire of this “civil rights” organization was enlisted to deploy lawyers for a legal battle. That means the taxpayers of Kalispell will ALSO be paying for lawyers, right?
When I went poking through the website for the Institute for Justice I found this helpful explanation for what this org does (emphasis mine):
The Institute for Justice litigates to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. IJ defends ordinary people who want to earn an honest living, own and enjoy their property, speak freely, and give their children a good education but find that the government is standing in their way.
We fight to hold government officials accountable when they violate constitutional rights and to prevent governments at all levels from bending the rules to expand their power or advance illegitimate ends.
Sorry, Kalispell citizens, you may THINK you’re just “ordinary people” trying to “own and enjoy” your property, but there are other MORE NEEDY demographics to consider, like the drug-addicted money-sponges drug dealers squeeze for their cartel handlers. And do you know who does NOT consume drugs? DEAD homeless people. I’m glad to see the Institute for Justice has their priorities straight.
Here in Missoula, some citizens make audacious claims that urban camping isn’t all methy sunshine and electric rainbows. How dare these citizens criticize the norms and customs of urban camping culture!
While I would tend to agree with the accuracy of this comment, I know how difficult it can be for locals to deal with reality, it’s going to be a REAL HOOT on the 23rd to watch how City Council deals with citizens who don’t want MORE enabling of the self-destructive living they see worsening, despite MORE and MORE money being spent to “help” people.
There’s more I’d like to say, but I’ve got obligations today, so instead I’ll just remind readers that Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is a great way to support someone assessing reality from the trenches.
Since my AI illustrator won’t give me the image I would REALLY like to use for showing where I think Montana’s former Governors, Steve Bullock and Marc Racicot, can stick his concern for DEMOCRACY, I decided a wood chipper was the next best thing. Let me explain why.
When Steve Bullock was Montana’s Attorney General, a big scandal began to emerge surrounding a group of law men who belonged to something called the “Coyote Club”. Here’s an article from 2013 showing how Bullock acted to keep the lid on this scandal (emphasis mine):
In June, the Montana Attorney General’s Office cleared Doyle and others in his department of three subsequent charges made by members of the same group. Doyle, elected in 2010, asked Attorney General Steve Bullock to look into allegations that included obstruction of justice and perjury.
While the AG’s office found evidence a former undersheriff had given false or misleading information concerning his law enforcement experience in an affidavit for a search warrant, it found no basis for filing criminal charges in any of the matters.
Duryee’s name has come up repeatedly in the long, ongoing controversy surrounding the department, primarily involving lies he allegedly told about serving as a Marine in Desert Storm. His accusers charged that the lies led to Duryee being named a commander of the Special Response Team by an earlier sheriff when he was not qualified for such a position.
While the allegations said Duryee had repeatedly lied over several years about serving as a Marine, Duryee admitted in September 2010 to doing so once, and said he regretted the incident.
Other charges that have surfaced concerning Duryee were that he allegedly was a member of an alleged illegal poaching club within the sheriff’s department called “the Coyote Club,” and that he allegedly gave skull fragments from a suicide victim to another deputy to help her train her cadaver dog.
To have a functioning DEMOCRACY you need a functioning criminal justice system capable of enforcing laws without bias. Do we have that in Montana? And, if we don’t, who is responsible?
For some hilarious political posturing, here are the impotent laments of Steve Bullock and Marc Racicot, another former Governor/AG in Montana, who shared a state recently in order to display their pathetic political finger pointing. We’ll start with Marc:
During his main talk to Sunday evening’s crowd, Racicot did not mention Trump by name. But he did reference the attack on the nation’s Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, by people loyal to Trump as one event testing his belief in the invincibility of the U.S. Constitution and democracy.
Racicot said there are “ominous and unmistakable warning signs all around us” that the nation’s constitutional government is “confronting moments of uncertainty and peril.”
He lamented the effects of social media on contemporary discourse and referenced the pre-Internet days when people were more likely to have face-to-face conversations and to bond over such activities as building a Little League ballpark or participating in a civic club.
“Now contrast that with the thoughtless, cruel and frequently false communications of today,” he said.
It’s RICH to see how a politician turned lobbyist thinks we still even have Constitutional protections anymore, because we don’t. For context on some of the clients Marc gets paid to represent, here’s a little info from Wikipedia (emphasis mine):
Marc Racicot is an American attorney, lobbyist, and former Republican politician who served as the 21st Governor of Montana from 1993 until 2001. After leaving office, Racicot worked as a lobbyist for the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani. His notable clients included Enron, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the Recording Industry Association of America.
He was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2002 until 2003, when he was appointed as the chairman of the Bush re-election campaign. In 2000 as well as 2004 he was rumored to be Bush’s choice for United States Attorney General. During the 2000 election, some saw him as a possible running mate for Bush. The Washington Post described him as “one of Bush’s closest friends and advisers”. Racicot has been harshly critical of Donald Trump, and endorsed Joe Biden over Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election. This led to the Montana Republican Party censuring him in 2023, and declaring that they no longer considered him a Republican.
Moving on to Stevie, who REALLY wanted to be President of ALL the states, here’s his assessment of why people see government as the enemy (emphasis mine):
Bullock said divisions deepen when people feel they are powerless to impact government. Government becomes the enemy, he said.
Each side becomes “more interested in placing blame than trying to say, ‘What can we actually do to improve people’s lives?’” Bullock said.
His tenure as governor included efforts to curtail the impact of “dark money” on political campaigns in Montana. He described those quests Monday night and lamented the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in January 2010 in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.
Yes, that’s right, Bullock said this with a straight face as his fellow lamenter, Marc, sat beside him with fat lobbyist pockets. Does anyone expect the public to take a charade like this seriously?
To conclude the maddening virtue signaling about DEMOCRACY and how to save it, Bullock got the last quote, which goes like this (emphasis mine):
“Accountability doesn’t just rest with our elected officials,” Bullock said. “It rests with each of us.”
He quoted journalist Bill Moyers: “…discouragement comes easily. But if the generations before us had given up, slaves would still be waiting on these tables, women would still be turned away from the voting booths on election days, and workers would still be committing a crime if they organize.”
Yep, accountability rests with EACH of us, but that’s not what was going through my mind as I was transported to jail on Monday for allegedly driving under the influence of Cannabis.
Instead, what I was doing in the back of the cop car was trying to count how many times the rapper on the radio said the word NIGGER before shouting FUCK THE POLICE right as we came to a stop in the parking area of the Missoula County Detention facility.
Did I acknowledge the hilarious irony of listening to a rapper shout FUCK THE POLICE on the cop’s chosen radio station? Or did I miraculously manage to keep my mouth shut? You’ll have to read my zine series for the answer to that and SO MUCH MORE!
If you’d like to support my local reporting efforts, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is the way to do it. Any little bit helps.
Nope, because I’ve got more shit to deal with after my latest interaction with those keeping our streets safe from single-headlight threats like myself. If I could afford the absurd $400 dollars for a new headlight (fucking Volkswagon) I’d do it, but I don’t, and now I have new fun to deal with. Yeah for me!
If you’d like to help me out, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) could really use some financial attention. Any little bit helps, and thank you to the anonymous $50 dollar donation!
Also, thanks for reading! Tomorrow I’ll hopefully have a proper post.
Tricksters love chaos. That’s why Frank, from Donnie Darko, is giving two thumbs to get us started with today’s evidence that Montana is a failed state. Let’s begin.
For a quick refresher regarding what a WRIT OF MANDAMUS is, here’s a quick and easy definition:
A (writ of) mandamus is an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.
What kind of official duties did the Sheriff at the time, Mike Toth, fail to do? Stuff like maintaining personnel files for his deputies, which doesn’t sound nefarious at first, just incompetent. But maybe there’s something more going on here?
Lance Jasper is the reason Mineral County is STILL going through these legal proceedings, and part of Judge Vannatta’s task is determining whether Jasper should be paid upwards of $80,000 by the fiscally challenged County he went scorched earth on, legal speaking. Isn’t that hilarious?
Even funnier is how “law enforcement” was being handled by Mineral County Sheriff Deputies. Several deputies and their specific actions came to light during this legal saga. Here’s some context from the Missoulian article (emphasis mine):
The case specially named former deputies David Kuzelman, Shawn Visintin and Patrick Nobles in the 2022 report. Kuzelman was still a deputy during the start of the dispute.
Visintin was alleged to not be qualified as a deputy because of pleading guilty to a burglary charge in the early 2000s and getting charged for sexual intercourse without consent. Visintin clarified to the Missoulian that he was acquitted on the sexual intercourse without consent case and his burglary incident was wiped off his record because of his deferred sentence.
Visintin provided documentation to prove he has been reinstated as a POST certified. Allegations made by the writ were proved to be “unfounded” by a 2023 POST investigation.
Nobles allegedly arrested a resident for assaulting a peace officer, and then when that person called 911 over a mental breakdown, Nobles responded. At some point during the day he had sex with the resident, on duty in his patrol car.
Case documents allege Nobles had sex with the resident 15 times after the first encounter. Nobles then arrested the same resident for a domestic dispute days later.
The resident told Nobles’ superior officer about the incident, and Nobles was fired for breaking department policy. Yet, no mention of the encounter was included in the resident’s domestic dispute case.
By law, no person can consent to sex with an officer after being charged with a crime by that officer, according to Montana state code. Nobles was not charged with a crime in that incident, civil case files said.
Kuzelman worked as a reserve deputy for the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office for several years, but could never pass the county’s written exam for a full-time job.
He was allegedly caught cheating on the test by stealing the answer sheet, and was not approved to be a deputy the following year. Mineral County hired him as a deputy in 2021.
The writ showed there was a serious issue with the reporting of crimes in Mineral County, stemming from the unqualified or ethically bankrupt officers like Kuzelman. Yet the writ was also addressed to the county attorney’s office, because it is their job to disclose such information to other lawyers.
While this long excerpt from the article is bad enough, it’s the hiring of ANOTHER Deputy that is REALLY fun, since the existence of Micah Allred is creating a disturbing catch-22 for County Attorney, Debra Jackson. When I say Montana is a failed state THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT (emphasis mine):
Most of the rules already follow state guidelines, such as certifying all current law enforcement officers are compliant, documenting those certifications with the county’s human resources department and running sufficient background checks on new hires.
Funke told the Missoulian that when he started as sheriff in January 2023, he verified that all current law enforcement officers were compliant and even fired one detention center officer who did not have a high school diploma.
The agreement’s dispute section came into use just a month after it was put in place.
That’s when Funke decided to hire Allard as a deputy. Deputy County Attorney Wally Congdon objected, arguing that Allard had negative information hidden from the public.
The LONG article explains why Brady requirements for the County Attorney’s Office are butting up against Allard’s complaints that he’s all good. The result? Debra Jackson is NOT PROSECUTING CASES where Allard has been involved. Isn’t this just a little bit disturbing?
Here’s how the article frames this new “roadblock”:
The agreement had no rules for the current roadblock in the justice system, which has led County Attorney Jackson to throw out all cases where Allard is a witness or the arresting officer.
The Missoulian can confirm at least one case has been thrown out. Jackson would not release the total number, but said it is a “very small amount.”
In Montana, county attorneys have the right to decide which cases they prosecute.
Jackson, who started as the county attorney in 2022, told the Missoulian in a February interview that she would rather keep Allard out of the justice system than disclose his Brady law information as required by law.
Such information, requested by the Missoulian, has not been released. Congdon said the information is in public records, but did not specify what record.
The article is quite long, because this is a VERY difficult case to cover, and even with the length I don’t think readers truly understand what is going on, and why. The article has ALSO changed quite a bit since I first read it last night. For some reason specific, the information about the court costs Lance Jasper is trying to recoup was reduced from a more detailed account to just this:
The disputes have also cost taxpayers thousands in legal fees, including paying for outside counsel to represent the sheriff.
It’s frustrating when HOW a story gets written, or the platform itself, becomes a reason to not deal with an important issue, and believe me when I say what is happening in the western part of our state, where I-90 brings in the TRAFFIC, is VERY IMPORTANT.
Unfortunately, on X, a former local political candidate seemed more annoyed at the newspaper when I put out the link than he was about the breakdown of law and order in Mineral County.
I met Mike a few years ago, when he was running for a position with the school board, so I offered a less public opportunity to chat in my response to him, an opportunity he has yet to take me up on.
Will Mike give me a call? I don’t know, but thanks to his political profile, it’s no mystery why he’s defending Ryan Funke by bashing the Missoulian coverage (emphasis mine):
For Mike or ANYONE who wants to know more about how Mineral County got to this point, here are some of my articles I’ve written over the last two years of watching this absurd legal saga unfold:
There’s more I’d like to say about all this, but I’m saving that for my zine series. If you appreciate my coverage of this fascinating peek into the breakdown of law and order in Montana, then consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.
Today I’m going to use my investigative skills to explore what The Pulp claims to be celebrating. Is it REALLY just an ostensible birthday? That’s what they’re claiming, and I’m sure it’s what they think they are celebrating, but are they?
Something big happened last week: The Pulp turned 1 year old! We can barely believe it. Seems like just yesterday we launched — thanks to the support of so many of you! — with wild excitement and a healthy dose of terror.
We want to celebrate this scrappy non-profit news organization’s first year in business.
I went to The Pulp’s website to see what they’ve done this week and was VERY unimpressed. There are only TWO articles to read, and one is a throw-away piece about food. Scrappy news organization? Um, how about SHITTY news organization?
Without a team or steady income I continue to produce MORE content than this shitty news organization EVERY WEEK, and that’s having cut back my Sunday posts. How can ONE citizen journalist do more than an entire new start-up news organization? I just don’t get it.
Later in the article The Pulp lists their “founding donors”. I won’t say which one, but an owner of one of these founding businesses told me they are disappointed by The Pulp’s output.
What The Pulp is actually celebrating is the ILLUSION that a scrappy news organization exists, when the reality is these former Indy reporters are stuck in the OLD way of approaching “news”, instead of appreciating that the advanced mechanisms of narrative control mean this is an INFORMATION WAR derived from fifth generation warfare tactics.
Fifth-generation warfare (5GW) is warfare that is conducted primarily through non-kinetic military action, such as social engineering, misinformation, cyberattacks, along with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and fully autonomous systems. Fifth generation warfare has been described by Daniel Abbot as a war of “information and perception”.
In honor of this perception war I’ve developed a new way of storytelling that incorporates subjective synchronicities as a means of directing my focus. Since July I’ve written over 150,000 words spanning five zines and the sixth one is already halfway done.
Depending on how the day goes, I might pre-position my box truck near Free Cycles because I’ve got some stuff to celebrate as well, and you can help add to the celebratory mood by donating what you can to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned! The shitty capabilities of local news organizations means OPPORTUNITY for me, and that makes me smile.
