PRESS RELEASE – On failure to extend provisions of the Patriot Act

     For Immediate Release – February 9, 2011
     Contact – montanashrugged@gmail.com
 
     Montana Shrugged, the state’s largest Tea Party group with over 5,000 active members, has issued a public “Thank You” to the 26 Republicans who broke with their party to vote NO on extending provisions of the Patriot Act yesterday, including Montana’s very own Denny Rehberg.
 
     “It’s a huge step forward”, said Eric Olsen, founder of Montana Shrugged.  “The Tea Party movement is about less government in our lives, and this vote is a big step in reducing the scope of government, and restoring fiscal sanity to Washington.  We’re especially proud that our own Congressman, Denny Rehberg was one of those brave enough to vote on principle and buck party leadership when it’s called for.”
 
     “The Patriot Act was a huge slap in the face of many Americans“, says Jennifer Olsen, a member of the board of Montana Shrugged.  “It was a violation of the civil liberties of every American citizen, and I’m proud that a freedom loving state like Montana has played a part in ending those violations.”
 
     The vote, held February 9, would have extended key provisions of the Patriot Act.  The vote came up short, with 26 Republicans breaking from the party to vote no.  Notable among those 26 are Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Denny Rehberg, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, and a number of the so called “Tea Party” freshman Congressmen, including Rep. Justin Amash, and Rep. David Schweikert.

Q: What do you call a lawyer up to his neck in cement?

A: Not enough cement.

That pretty much sums up my feelings towards attorneys and the legal system today.

Let’s say, hypothetically, that we have the following: Company A, Company B, Attorney Group A, Judge A, and Company C.

Company C consulted for Company A on a project years ago.  Company A decided to terminate the project prematurely and abandon ship.  Company A also decided not to pay Company C or Company B for the work they had performed on the job while it was still being constructed.  So that’s where Attorney Group A comes in.  Company B hires Attorney Group A and somehow decides to sue Company A but that’s not all…they also sue Company C as they assumed Company C was guilty by association.  What?  Is that even possible?  Possible YES, ethical and the right was to conduct business?  NO.

So years go by and Company C who is ethical and honest hardworking small business comprised by only a very small number of (as the governor would like to put it) ‘hardworking Montanans’ get screwed (for lack of better words).

Company C can’t afford to hire an attorney so ultimately they lose the court battle as Company B is multi-million dollar company.

The Attorney Group A hired by Company B apparently sees nothing wrong with personally suing an individual consulting for Company C and sees no problem that they chose to sue the only woman and left two consultants who were men out of the lawsuit.  I wonder if this could be a case for sexual harassment.

Now is where I get to argue where the common sense is at.  How in the world do you get to pick and choose who you sue?  Three different consultants signed field tickets for Company B and they pick only the female to sue?  I see something very strange going on here.  The two other men should be just as responsible for the alleged money owed and that argument had been presented by female consultant with Company C on multiple occasions.  Where’s the justice in our “justice system”?

Enough with the scenario…I think you get the gist.

This country has gotten into this dog eat dog arena and the only one who can ever win in a situation like this is the attorney.  Where is the justice in a multi-million dollar company suing a single small business owner because the wacko billionaires with Company A decided to not pay their bills?  I suppose that is exactly why they are billionaires, right?  They pick up some small business across the way, pay them for a couple years of work and then leave them hanging with a year’s worth of unpaid bills totaling in the millions?

We have got to change something in the system.  The system just does not work for those who are honest and hardworking.  What does this company expect to do to this small business owner?  Clearly small business in Montana understands that you barely make payroll or your own personal bills at this point.  There is no economy and an attorney firm feels that it’s just to drive you to bankruptcy so that they can bill 4 clients for same hour of the day?

We all know there are too many lawyers out there.  Why do we continue to allow them to run the system then?  Is it because the people have given up and decided that it is impossible to have common sense injected into the system?  This scenario happens to small business and individuals every day across this country.  One bankruptcy after another and one small business closing its door after another we wonder how we got to this place.

The little guy just can’t make it anymore.  And of course we see that getting worse and worse and worse.

Most politicians are or have been practicing attorneys including our current president.  Obama, being the good lawyer that he is, says the legal system in America is strong?  Excuse me?  That’s just another bold faced lie. The legal system is broke.  We need to start over again. System is built by attorneys for attorneys.  Ought to be law, even though I hate laws, to disallow attorneys from running for Congress.

Obama is still in denial.  I bet he is going to deny someday that he ever was President…what a nut!

There is not a good in department of justice in this country. There is no justice in our legal system in America. We need to put the lawyers on the street and remodel the law.  Here’s an idea – how about we make it work FOR THE PEOPLE.  Not for corporate America and attorneys!  Legal system is only thing our fore fathers did not fix.  The Kings system was picked as it was familiar.   But it only benefits the elite…common folk suffer.

Some attorneys show no shame.   Lawyers do not care about their clients…only their pocketbooks. Lawyers do not care about the people…only their pocketbooks.  They are elitist thieves and let me remind you that Obama is one of them.

And in closing, you know there are too many lawyers when you see the mess they have created.  Take a good look around. We need to axe the federal courts NOW.  We need to get activist judges off the Supreme Court Bench.  We need to leave legal decisions to the local courts that are closest to people. Lawyers need to be made accountable to their clients….They are far from it now…..

You decide.

We want to know what you think.

Public’s Wish List for Congress – Jobs and Deficit Reduction

Thanks to all of you who took part in the poll I posted a while back.  I was going to write up a summary of what you all thought was the most important…..but then I found that the poll I made was ultimately identical to national polls so I wanted to share this article from the Heritage Foundation with you.  Enjoy!

The public overwhelmingly views the job situation as a major priority for Congress during the coming months. Fully 80% say it is very important for Congress to pass legislation to address the job situation, which is virtually unchanged from May (81%).

Somewhat fewer (70%) say it is very important for Congress to reduce the federal budget deficit. Nearly as many (66%) see addressing the country’s energy needs as very important, while 63% say the same about addressing immigration policy. About half (53%) say it is very important for Congress to pass legislation that would more strictly regulate financial institutions and markets.

As with opinions about the importance of dealing with the job situation, views about energy, financial regulation and immigration also have changed little since May. That survey did not ask about the importance of reducing the federal budget deficit.

The latest Pew Research/National JournalCongressional Connection Poll, sponsored by SHRM, which was conducted July 8-11 among 1,001 adults, finds a growing partisan gap over the importance of Congress addressing the job situation. Nearly nine-in-ten Democrats (89%) view jobs as a very important priority for lawmakers to address, compared with 72% of Republicans. In May, comparable percentages of Democrats (84%) and Republicans (81%) said that it was very important for Congress to address the job situation.

Since May, partisan differences also have increased over the importance of addressing the country’s energy needs. Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats (79%) see this as a very important objective for Congress, compared with 63% of independents and just 52% of Republicans.

More Democrats than Republicans also continue to view stricter regulation of financial institutions as a very important priority for Congress (65% vs. 39%). These opinions have changed little from May. By contrast, there are no significant partisan differences in views of the importance of reducing the federal budget deficit and addressing immigration policy.

Notably, nearly identical percentages of Republicans view reducing the federal budget deficit (73%) and addressing the job situation (72%) as very important. Far more Democrats rate jobs as very important than say that about deficit reduction (89% vs. 69%). Independents also place greater priority on addressing jobs than on reducing the deficit, though by a smaller margin (77% vs. 67%).

For the full article you can visit this site: http://people-press.org/report/633/

“We say No to Cap and Trade”!

“We say No to Cap and Trade”!

Please contact your Senators and tell them to VOTE YES to SJ Res 26 when it comes before the Senate for a vote this Thursday, September 10th.

This is a joint resolutions (H.J.Res. or S.J.Res.) in the U.S. Congress. Joint resolutions serve two purposes. First, they are used exactly as bills to enact law, generally for limited matters. Used this way, they must be passed by both the House and Senate and must be signed by the President before becoming law. Joint resolutions are also used to propose amendments to the Constitution. Used this way, they must be passed by both the House and Senate and be ratified by three-quarters of the states, but do not require the signature of the President, to become a part of the Constitution.

SUMMARY of SJ Res 26:

Disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 15, 2009, relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

For complete legislation please visit this site: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=sj111-26

Which of the following is the most important issue facing the country today:

More jobs, less government

More jobs, less government

Guest Editorial

by Steve Daines

August 11, 2010

Creating private sector jobs in Montana is essential to stabilize the economy and help struggling/working families.  While out of control federal spending and accompanying high personal and corporate tax rates are a significant barrier, there are some examples of entrepreneurial job creation in Montana, but we need many more.

I work for RightNow Technologies, a software company located in Bozeman. It is a good example of how to create jobs and keep people working in Montana.  Founded and headquartered in Bozeman, this software company has 16 offices around the world with 900 employees. Nearly 500 of these jobs are in Bozeman, making RightNow the largest commercial employer in the Gallatin Valley.

And here is some more good news: last quarter RightNow hired 70 people. These are not temporary workers. These are not government jobs. These are not low paying jobs. RightNow’s average Bozeman wage is approximately $70,000 per year, plus good benefits.

RightNow did this because their business is growing, and they carefully manage spending and income. They did this because they provide employees an incentive to grow the business, and innovate and seek out new markets across the globe. Their international sales bring dollars into Montana’s economy and contribute to the reduction of our nation’s trade deficit.  It’s this type of management and responsibility that results in the creation of more good paying jobs in the private sector, a vibrant economy, and a stronger America.

RightNow hired 70 people last quarter not because of any stimulus spending, and in spite of Washington’s over reach into so many private sector arenas, including the auto, banking, and health care industries, to name a few. The government cannot spend, tax and regulate its way to economic prosperity. Our government leaders are out of touch with the realities of how jobs are created, innovation is promoted, and costs and spending are controlled.  When Congress imposes policies that create long term uncertainty like health care reform, it causes many potential employers to adopt a wait and see attitude on hiring. Instead of stimulating the economy, Congress is slowing it down.

If RightNow  managed its business the same way our current Washington D.C. leaders –  both Democrat and Republican — manage our government, they would be out of business—and not making a positive contribution to our economy and the well being of their employees and families.

Americans are fed up with the collision course we are on – an unprecedented passion to spend money we don’t have, which is adding to our already existing avalanche of debt and crushing our long term competiveness in a global economy.

The most recent White House forecast projects a $1.5 trillion deficit for 2010 and trillion-plus numbers for the next several years. This is three times greater than the deficit we had in 2008, which at that time was a record for our nation, a mere $455 billion. Our national debt is $13 trillion, and forecasted to grow to nearly $20 trillion by 2015.  Our unfunded liability (federal government financial obligations less anticipated tax revenues) is more than $50 trillion, and rapidly growing.

The American dream– where mom and dad work hard, pay off the mortgage and give the kids the ranch– is vanishing. Today’s reality is that our politicians have mortgaged our ranch and saddling our kids with a massive and crippling debt.

We must ensure and restore the American way with a system that provides incentives for hard work, for innovation, and for productivity. People must have incentives to take risk,  expand small business, and hire more workers. We must remove incentives that promote idleness and discourage risk taking.  To do this, we must cut back government spending and the overall size of government.  As with the family budget, and small and large businesses alike, the federal and state government must stop spending money they do not have.

We need more job creation stories in Montana.  We need leaders who understand what it takes to create employment opportunities in the private sector.  I think we could all use a good dose of more jobs and less government.

Steve Daines is a fifth generation Montanan, and Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific for Bozeman-based RightNow Technologies, and was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2008.

The Helena MT school board NEEDS an earful!

Hello Patriots! The Big Sky Tea Party is holding a protest on Saturday July 17th in Helena. If you live close enough to attend please show up and support this cause. The values of the American family are being destroyed by actions such as those proposed by the Helena School District.

Action Alert
Protest Rally
American moral fiber is under attack. In Helena Montana, the school district has introduced what they call a Health Enhancement Curriculum. This program that was created behind closed doors, endorses sexual deviates in our schools indoctrinating our children beginning in Kindergarten.

Big Sky Tea Party Association is holding a rally this Saturday on the corner of Montana Avenue and Custer Street. We will gather at noon to send a message to the school board and others that the people will not stand for this to take place in our schools here in Montana.

Grab your friends and neighbors and join us to insure our kids of the future are not subjected to the immoral unethical practices of the few. Furthermore, this action is a violation of the Montana Constitution and cannot move forward.

SEE YOU ON SATURDAY!

The pending sex education curriculum the Helena Schools are wanting to implement is child sexual abuse . No young child should ever be exposed to such Garbage . Even High School age youth have better things to focus their minds on than Perverted Sex education !  Schools are supposed to be teaching children Math, Reading , Science , History , etc. Not Sex Classes regardless of whether these so called classes are part of the Health Class agenda or not .

How Smutty have our school systems become ? And in Montana ? This is a disgrace to all who live in this wonderful state . We are on the map , not for our clean air and beautiful mountains , but for smutty sex education because it is such an invasion of our children’s minds .

I’ve included the contact information for the school board members in Helena, MT.  Please contact them and let them know that we will not allow this to happen in our town, our state, and especially not to our great youth of Montana!

The one board member that everyone needs to support and stand with is “Trevor Wilkerson”  He is very opposed to this and needs our support.

Contact info for Helena Sex Ed proposal:

Michael O’Neil, Chair

2010-2013
E-Mail: oneil_michael@msn.com

Aidan Myhre,  Vice Chair
2008-2011
E-Mail: myhre@bresnan.net

Terry Beaver,
2009-2012
E-Mail: beaverpt@peoplepc.com

Don Jones,
2009-2012
E-Mail: don@hohenlohejones.com

Trevor Wilkerson
2010-2013
E-Mail: trwilkerst@yahoo.com

Cherche Prezeau
2008-2011
E-Mail: cherchemt@hotmail.com

Joe Cohenour
2009-2012
E-Mail:   utopiamt@prodigy.net

Libby Goldes
2010-2013
E-Mail: elidges@aol.com

Robin LeNeve
2010-2013
E-mail: rleneve@mt.gov

Superintendent:

Dr. Bruce K. Messinger
E-Mail: bmessinger@helena.k12.mt.us

Chelsea Carlson
2009-2010
E-Mail:  artgeeky@gmail.com

Kristen Ingman
2009-2010
E-Mail: kj.ingman@gamil.com

2010 Recipient of Salvatori Prize

I am excited to tell you all that Montana Shrugged, TEA party patriots have been awarded the 2010 Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship. This prize has been awarded to the citizen-patriots of the TEA party movement from the Heritage Foundation. It is awarded for our commitment to uphold American’s principles, exemplify the virtues of American’s Founders, and promote the independent and entrepreneurial spirit of American citizenship. Give yourselves a pat on the back! Great work patriots! Keep it up…..we have a long road ahead of ourselves!

If you are unfamiliar here are some historical details:

Born in Italy, Henry Salvatori founded the Western Geophysical Company, which he built into one of the most successful enterprises in the world.  He is best known as one of the original members of Ronald Reagan’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” having served him as a trusted advisor for over two decades.  Less known is Salvatori’s sustained patronage of academic institutions and programs supporting the education of American youth and the strengthening of American citizenship.

Henry Salvatori devoted his life to strengthening the foundations of American liberty that each generation of citizens much renew and fortify and which, to Ronald Reagan and millions of Americans, make this nation a “shining City on a Hill.”

Through the generosity of Mr. Salvatori, an endowment was created at The Heritage Foundation to promote our nation’s common dedication to the principles of the American Founding and encourage an enlightened patriotism in the United States.  The cornerstone of this endowment is an annual prize to be given to an American citizen who upholds these principles, embodies the virtues of character and mind that animated American’s Founders, and exemplifies the spirit of the independent and entrepreneurial citizenship in the United States.

Previous recipients of the Prize have included author David McCullough (2009), Princeton University professor Robert P George (2008), and the founders of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (2007).

So, I ask you all to continue your hard work and continue on down this long path towards freedom.  We have a ways to go but forward is the only direction that inflict real change for the good of our country and it’s citizens.

God Bless and congratulations!

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/05/Salvatori-Prize-Goes-to-Tea-Party-Movement

‘EVERYTHING’ is technically a distraction…

Since there is all this controversy over the idea of  banning cell phones while driving…..I figured I’d enlighten you on an email that I just recently sent to all of our city council members and our Mayor here in Billings.

City Council Members and Mayor Hanel,

We submit to you the attached research document that is the primary study utilized by Federal DOT in determining that distracted driving is a concern.  Please note that cell phone usage is a variable discussed with many other distractions in the study.  The statistics are very misleading and the results not statistically significant.  There are no direct correlations that cell phone usage is as critical as any other distraction that people encounter while driving, i.e. kids, food, cigarettes, bees, etc.

WE ask your wisdom when making a decision to render fines on people for using cell phones or any other hand held device for that matter.

Distracted Much?

WE mentioned in previous council meeting that we believed any law as such is an invasion of peoples 4th Amendment right to be secure in their person….

We still believe this to be true.  WE also stated in that meeting that you already have Careless and Reckless driving laws on the books.   If a person is found guilty of using a cell phone and or any other distraction that caused the accident through due process, then the city, county and State has the power to levy penalties.

Please consider the weakness of the data and do not pass any sort of law or regulation to fine or otherwise penalize citizens without cause.

I also included the following document.  It’s worth the read.

An Examination of Driver Distraction as Recorded in NHTSA Databases

Enjoy!