The Billings Free Press

Not only does he draw some fire from the Dec 8th lead editorial, The Obama Health-Care Express, but a fellow letter writer takes him to task with the headline Baucus . . . Proposals As Comic Relief

From the senator’s Dec 2 Letter to the Editor in the Wall Street Journal:

“. . .will not involve oppressive regulation, but will simply preclude insurers from discriminating against those who are sick. It will require affordability, but premiums will not be set.”

“The Baucus plan will not “relentlessly [grow]” government health spending. In 10 years, the U.S. will spend no more than currently projected on health care but will spend more efficiently to enable quality coverage for all Americans.”

I can’t go on as almost every paragraph contains a mini-whopper of one sort or another, either just foolish or more ominously, knavish in the extreme. Has the politically popular Senator not heard of William F Buckley Jr’s dictum that what once was optional will soon become mandatory?

I wish Montana’s Senator Max would check in with the rest of us he claims to represent before he blurts out stuff that makes him sound like a fool. He had an uncomfortable look and his body language did not suggest eagerness when I saw him on TV a few weeks ago: I’m not sure what he was saying as I usually hit the mute button as quickly as I can. He surely couldn’t be worried about the next election, could he? Maybe he was thinking ahead to his eulogy for Sen. Kennedy? Could he have been thinking about the successful re-incarnation of his rascally weasel friend from South Dakota, Tom Daschle, recently wangled from the almost anointed administration of President-elect Obama? What were you thinking about Senator?

Past and future City Councilman Larry Brewster begins his second go around on the City Council tonight after a near unanimous vote to have him replace Joy Stevens who resigned after taking a job out of state.

Good luck Mr. Brewster and we look forward to seeing how the next year unfolds.

“A fool and his money are soon elected.” ~ Will Rogers

Remember folks, if you don’t vote you have NO RIGHT to complain about your government.
Even if you’re not registered you can still vote with a provisional ballot so there really, truly, honestly is NO excuse not to vote. If you’re too lazy or apathetic to vote then STFU if you don’t like how things turn out.

David has a poll up on the Big Sky Blog anonymously asking how folks voted. Head on over there and tell it like it is.

By a five to four vote the city council vetoes Mayor Tussing’s pick to replace Joy Stevens and the mayor refused to consider the other candidate in the running thus forcing a special election in January.

Just when we thought the election season was going to end November 4th, it starts anew.

Yeah…

The Billings Gazette is reporting that Mayor Tussing will select Angela Cimmino to replace outgoing Joy Stevens on the council.

There is already grumbling from at least one sitting councilperson about the mayor’s selection. The concerns of Mr. Astle about Mrs. Cimmino are similar to what I have heard other people express. If the council decides to reject the mayor’s selection I am curious to see how they plan to resolve the impass.

Folks who want to replace Joy Stevens on the city council have submitted their letters of interest and there are a few familiar names and some who are new to me.

Larry Brewster is looking to be reappointed to the council after being defeated by Denis Pitman. Angela Cimmino is looking to become the Bob Kelleher of city council elections. I don’t have the exact number but I think this may be her third or fourth try to get on the council. I have met Ray Tracy once and he seemed to be a reasonable man and even though he is in charge of the Yellowstone County Democratic Party he didn’t strike me as stridently partisan. Mr. Tracy may turn out to be a good councilman if selected. I don’t know anything about Todd Morgan or Ann M. Salisbury so I can’t offer an opinion about them.

The next step is:

Outgoing Ward 2 Councilwoman Joy Stevens’ last meeting will be Oct. 14, and a council subcommittee plans to interview the five candidates before that meeting. The subcommittee will then send a recommendation to Mayor Ron Tussing. The council is likely to confirm the new member by Oct. 27.

I want to thank all of the applicants for stepping forward to serve their city and hope whomever is selected receives the support of their new constituents. Good luck to everyone involved.

From the desk of Mayor Ron Tussing:

My office is accepting letters of interest to fill the Billings City Council vacancy in Ward II.

This vacancy was created by the recent resignation of Councilmember Joy Stevens and will be filled by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The successful candidate must be a resident of Ward II (Heights) and a qualified voter of the City of Billings.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please enclose a resumé with your letter and any documentation that will show your qualifications for the council position. Send to the Administration Office, Attn: wynnette Maddox, City Hall, PO Box 1178, Billings MT 59103-1178. Deadline for letters of interest is September 29, 2008.

Sincerely,
Ron Tussing
Mayor

You have until Monday to get your application in so don’t delay.

City Council member Denis Pitman sent this message out the other day:

As promised, we have a great idea for promoting the building of the inner beltloop! The concept will be presented to the Billings City Council on Monday Sept 19th at the 5:30PM Work Session.

This is a project that we could begin design this year and have a working road by 2011!!!!

The cost of this project is projected to be around $12 million.

I have attached the work session agenda.

I will also continue to post information about this on my web site. www.DenisPitman.com

If you have any questions, please email me at PitmanWard2@aol.com or call me at 670-7430.

Denis Pitman
City Councilmember Ward 2
726 Aquarius Place
Billings MT 59105

The work session agenda is here.