Comment Archives
Re: “CSKT members protest tribes' divvying of $150 million settlement”
On various Websites the Tribal Council publish all the wonderful things they plan to do with "OUR MONEY." Accolades to display to the world who drop in to check on the Indian Settlement dispersal, in regard of the Historic $3.4 billion settment of U.S. Goverment mismanaged funds. I don't think the tribal council has ever been a democracy. It has always been a clique:A clique is the exact opposite of a democracy. The Tribal Council are mostly interested in benefitting themselves.
......definition of clique=small, highly exlclusive group, often within a larger group, and implies snobbery, selfishness, or sometimes intrigue, a group having a common interest.
.....The council members are mostly limited in education, and will die in their positions or their positions will be handed down to their family and friends. Why does this continue to be passed on to the next generation. They pass on their government corruption to THEIR next in line. ....Speaking of mismanaged funds... I heard that some tribal members received the $10,000 in a paper check in the mail and also received the $10,000 in direct deposit. I also read other comments by former tribal employees who have lost their jobs due to mismanaged funding , that should tell you something. Basicallly, that those currently managing funding are not qualified for the job. A problem exists that has not been corrected. .... The tribal council says in a "vague blanket statement" they plan to use "OUR MONEY' for elder care, education, economic development, language and cultural preservation. Does the tribal government offer a breakdown of what the elder care, education, economic or language preservation would include. The tribal council should also include a breakdown of what they are being paid out of "OUR MONEY" to carry out their plan.
Either way, how does this benefit the off reservation population which is nearly one third of tribal roles. They may be off reservation but their heritage should not be minimized. That settlement money was intended for their ancestors.
As stated by an attorney for the plantiffs, an estimated 17,000 people have died waiting for the settlement to be finalized, since the suit was filed in 1996. The original documents state that the settlement money was to be dispersed to individual class members, NOT the tribal coucil.
I am also curious as to where sitting. Where is the $71.5 million is sitting, what is the amount of interest on it and where does the interest go. It is "OUR MONEY". Shouldn't we be able to know that?.... The money has been held up in Government bureaucracy for decades and now it is held up by tribal bureaucracy, not much different. Maybe this travesty should be reported to the Government department that orignally dispersed the funds. Or Obama himself. I do believe there is a complaint link on the website.
......Another curiosity is member VOTING RIGHTS. I was born on the reservation also. I don't live on the reservation but my mom did. She was born and raised there and so were my grandparents on both sides. My grandfather was fifth in line after Jocko Fiinley. My mother originally left the reservation in the fifties because there was nothing there as far as education or jobs. My grandfather and grandmother were the original inheritors of that settlement. The settlement money was intended for them and according to the class action suit the money was to be passed on to their next in line. This practice needs to be addressed now before any other future settlements are dispersed. ....... If the laws have changed on the reservation to deny rights to tribal members not living on the reservation so be it. Then the settlement money should not be held up at all, non-reservation members should receive their money directly, "no questions asked" because it was intended for the original beneficiaries. And the new law of denying rights should apply to tribal members living on the reservation. That is SEGRAGATION. Different rules for different people. We are all tribal members but only the group living on the reservation get the priviledge to vote for of how their money is dispersed?..That is against any law. I can see restricting votes on issues directly pertaining to the reservation internal affairs, but not when it comes to alloted money by the U.S. Govenment for indiviual beneficiaries. If the tribal govenment chooses to SEGRAGATE the off reservation members then new laws need to ammended to protect those members not living there. Does that SEGRAGATION also include rules on borrowing money? How many other tribes use this practice. I also read comments about members being intimidated by tribal council members for speaking out. What's going there? The tribal government really needs to be examined.
Re: “Cultivating the Creator's Game”
A year ago, a buddy and I caught the Griz' final home game against Simon Fraser University. It was a homecoming of sorts, since my buddy and I had played against each other in high school, thousands of miles away and years before we ever met. We talked that evening about how we'd both been teenagers who didn't really fit in with typical team/field sports, but how lacrosse served as a great channel for kids like us to learn teamwork, camaraderie and feel like credible athletes in those awkward years. Not only was whacking the tar out of one another allowed, it was the sporting thing to do.
The game took place at Washington Griz stadium, and we agreed it was great to see the sport gaining a toehold in the west. What we saw was nothing short of an embarrassment, not in that SFU won easily, -rotating its entire bench to give its less talented members playtime.
No, the embarrassment didn't come from the field, but instead from the stands. The Griz cheering section was nothing shy of atrocious. I still cringe when I think about kind of impression Missoula left on the dozen or so SFU fans present: The man in his late 40's or so, apparently a Griz player's father (or so it seemed), clean cut and wearing designer jeans with bedazzled back pockets. Targeting a SFU player by number, the man shouted insults about the player's small size (never mind that the little fella was whooping his son's team) with the occasional gems "You SUCK!" and "Go back to Canada!" leveled at the SFU team and the refs. Other Griz fans in the crowd joined in, and Griz Nation became Griz lynch mob.
Now, don't get me wrong: I like to have some drinks and say inappropriate things for shock value as much as the next guy. I enjoy making jokes at Canada's expense, because that kind of stereotype-driven humor isn't loaded with the baggage that usually accompanies, and well, Canada probably has plenty to say about us in the USA.
Maybe this was an isolated incident, and maybe one person's behavior misrepresented the majority. But considering the PR that UM athletics is caught up in, for lacrosse to establish itself, everybody involved might want to hold themselves to some standards of conduct.
Re: “Bass Peak”
SNOW REPORT FOR SUNDAY, APRIL 28th:
This is a public observation from missoulaavalanche.org for Friday, April 19th for the north central Bitterroots. 0-3 inches new snow.
"Remote trigger large wind slab on east/southeast-facing slope in Bass Creek drainage. New snow poorly bonded to old sun/wind crust layers. Long varied crown of slide along beak in slope, width approx. 1500′. Slide traveled downhill about 600′ Glade and trees skiing was good above 7000′ with varied spring snow conditions ranging from zipper crusts to crud."
Thanks, K2.
Re: “Imaginary majority”
Ya Gotta go Figure ! Most of the votes for or against anything are slanted towards the populations of big citties and States with more people, right ? So most heavily populated areas who have high crime and gun deaths are for any thing that controls guns. So it's supported by non-gun owners in big cities. IE: City of Chicago killed 500 plus in 2012. ! Thats 1.5 people killed a day !! Additionally, if people would research (and I ask you to) ,you will find we passed The 1968 Gun Control Act In Jim Brady times.Its a case of everything we do to laws, make'em and don't enforce them!!!!! That Act specifically spells out no guns to criminals and mentally impaired people !!
Re: “Best Computer Repair”
I recently had 2 laptops and a desktop repaired with Western Montana Computer Repair, LLC - They were awesome...even had a free pickup and delivery service.
www.MontanaComputerRepair.Biz
406-207-0054
Re: “Gunned down”
Nonsense, Paul. And a "one-armed drone"? Nice try, but it's stupid. I applaud Sen. Baucus for standing up for the Second Amendment right to own and carry firearms.
The 1994 Semi-Auto ban was successful in achieving its sponsors' real goals: scoring a political win for gun ban activists, and interfering with the right to keep and bear arms. But it was a failure in protecting public safety.
The Department of Justice sponsored multiple studies to measure the ban's impact on crime. In 1997, researchers concluded there was no evidence that the ban had any meaningful effect. A follow-up in 2004 concluded that the ban produced "no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence."
Rifles of any type are used in only 2.5% of murders; murders are twice as likely to be committed by bare hands.
Even though the Second Amendment may no longer protect us from government tyranny, it protects us from home invaders and various other thugs, crooks, and criminals. The amount of violence in the USA could be considerably reduced by keeping serial felons locked up, since a large amount of crime is committed by convicted felons out on parole or probation.
Re: “Todd Snider”
If you haven't seen Snider live, he is definitely worthy. He's a truth-speakin' man and there aren't that many of them left. Saw him here in Phoenix and would again there in MT, but won't be over 'till June. Have a great time. I know you will!
Re: “Cultivating the Creator's Game”
What a great article about MT LAX. As a parent of one of the Big Sky's "tough 12" LAX kids(only 12 kids on team and it takes 10 to play a game) I have so much respect for the kids and coaches who fight to grow this tremendous sport.You wanna see true sportsmanship? Go see a game on tensticks field. Ive never seen anything like it. Before the game begins-Big Sky and Tensticks players on one knee, co-mingled, arms wrapped shoulder upon shoulder in a united brotherhood circle giving thanks and showing respect for one another to play a game they love.
Re: “Long nights and long odds”
As a longtime reader of The Independent who also remembers the Borrowed Times era, I really enjoyed this stroll through Indy history. The story was worthy of that history.
Re: “Imaginary majority”
Believe it or Montanans, but most people live in city now and could give a shit about owning a firearm in the 21st Century. Even when just speculating, to think more than 10% of citizens (which if accounting for every person is ~30,000,000 people) are against a basic background checks -- not rounding up guns as if they were jews and undesirables under Nazi occupation -- is pushing the realm of reason.
To even invoke the Bill of Rights for such a proposal is on the order of saying we shouldn't require a license to operate an private automobile or aircraft. And before anyone starts thinking that is completely different or whatever, stop and spend more than three seconds thinking about it. Those two things didn't even exist for an entire century after the 2nd Amendment was conceived, besides the fact is was decades more before any significant amount of people would even owned them. Being a citizen of a nation requires some sacrifices for the benefits that come being a country in the developed world. If you consider checking to make sure a person isn't a criminal or a mentally unstable person is over the line of gun ownership and not worth the hassle for the societal benefits that come with it, then you really should consider moving to a non-developed country.
Re: “Imaginary majority”
Gotta love democracy, if 90% of people decide that it is okay then we do it. What about if 90% of people decided to stick queers into concentration camps, would you go along with that too???
Re: “Imaginary majority”
Yeah......to hell with the second amendment.........
Re: “Outsourcing”
LMAO, Hey you leftists who lost your jobs to India.....remember, we are all " one world" and we are all the same, so really whether they pay you to do a job or some guy named Singh, it really doesn't matter, we all bleed red, one race the human race and all that stuff........
Re: “Cultivating the Creator's Game”
I would like to thank all involved! The time and effort spent by the volunteers are paying off HUGE in the enthusiasm and excitement I see in the players. They live for the sport. They are active, engaged in a wholesome direction and building bonds with others they may not have ever come in contact with. I see the dream of the kingpins that are working so hard to grow this sport effecting the players as well as the parents lucky enough to be involved. Lacrosse opens the door for a lot of athletes that don't fit into the molds of the other sports. The future looks very bright.
Re: “Cultivating the Creator's Game”
Thanks so much for all the efforts of Kevin and the rest to bring this wonderful sport to Missoula. It is such a wonderful oportunity for kids who are not able, for whatever reasons, play typical high school sports. Too small, not the right last name, what have you. Lacross is the perfect fit for so many athletes! Hats off to you guys!
Re: “Hard day's night”
I hope this band finds a bigger audience and large financial reward.
Re: “Imaginary majority”
Thank God Max has decided to come home! You had a great run Max, but you have
compromised so much over the years I am not even sure you know what you believe
anymore. Come home and enjoy the beauty of our state, you can leave Washington
politics behind! Thanks for your service.....
Re: “Imaginary majority”
I hear what you're saying, Glen, but I personally believe the 90(ish) percent claim. All four of the polls mentioned in the article found support for background checks between 83% and 90%, and there's little reason to believe they made it all up. Some things reported in the media aren't true, but I think we should be careful about deciding that nothing is true.
Re: “Animal rights”
Many people believe that animals exist for the sole purpose to feed, clothe, and entertain us. Those like Mr. Hartman lack the ability to empathize with the animal kingdom.
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Re: “Arrested development”
Cal Pickens sure talks a good game but never provides evidence for any of his personal or professional claims. In my opinion, this reeks of snake oil.