Big Sky Blog

Shaping up to be a busy few days in Montana: the “full court press” is on as candidates and proxies begin criss-crossing Big Sky Country to rally support for our last-in-the-nation primary on June 3. Hillary Clinton appeared in Pablo today; Bill Clinton will be appearing at several locations this weekend, including Stevensville, Great Falls, and Helena; and Barack Obama will be in Great Falls on Friday evening. Meanwhile, the Flathead Beacon has an interview with both Democratic candidates, the Liberal Wacko proclaims fealty to Obama, and a homeowner in Great Falls displays an unusual pro-Clinton sign.

And if you’d like to talk about the political campaign, you should give a listen tonight (Wednesday) to Montana’s very own “Small Town, Long Streets” call-in podcast, hosted by Craig of MT Politics.

This week, Small Town, Long Streets returns to its regularly scheduled 9:00 p.m. slot. On the agenda tonight: Obamagasms, the upcoming primaries, and whatever else rings our bell. Remember, this is a call-in program, so I encourage you to do so.
Phone: (718) 664-9769
Email: podcast@mtpolitics.net
Yahoo! IM: mtppodcast

Other tidbits to get you in the mood for the primary: latest M-D poll shows Obama with a huge lead over Clinton; the view from Miles City; and the Montana division of Operation Chaos is up and running in an effort to keep the Dems in turmoil.

Whew. Promises to be an interesting – entertaining, even – several days!

This has been posted before, but it’s been a few years, and everyone who lives in Montana really needs to read it.

SIX THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT MONTANA

Here’s a little snippet of each of the Six Things:

1. No, we’re not all survivalist freaks. Plan a move — or even a visit — to Montana and the first, second and last question anyone will ask is if you’re off to become an anti-technology right-wing hermit/gun nut in a rundown log cabin somewhere

2. We’ve also got the country’s largest Superfund site, and it’s so big that to call it a “site” doesn’t do it justice.

3. Yes, Virginia, Montana does have a speed limit!

4. Think of Montana as your home away from home. If you’re rich, anyhow.

5. And so there remain, like the tingling of ghost limbs, residual rites of passage required of newbies, and these tend to revolve, Fear Factor-style, around the eating of nasties.

6. If Montana were to secede from the union to become its own sovereign nation (and don’t push us, man, we’ll do it), we would instantly become the world’s fourth-largest nuclear power.

You really need to read the whole thing.

On Memorial Day, it is fitting to remember and pay tribute to those who died while serving America, while also acknowledging both those who have served and continue to wear the uniform.

Their service shall never be forgotten.

Remember back in February the Big Sky Blog got hacked? And I had to start from scratch, because I wasn’t able to import all of the old entries from the backup? Well, the good news is that I was finally able to do it! So everything is back, going all the way back to the beginning in August 2004. The bad news is that everything from late February 2008 until May 2008 is gone, but that’s a small price to pay to have just about everything else back.

Here’s a list of the blogs that I’m pretty sure were new to the Big Sky Blogroll since February:

Oro Y Plata: from Maleesha, who recently returned to her Montana roots after exploring life outside Big Sky Country.
Lamnidae: a lefty political blog.
Roots & Leaves: from Beatrix, a massage therapist and herbal specialist in Great Falls.
Fancy Rants: pop-culture observations and rants from Miss Fancy Rants.
Livingston Weekly: happenings in and around Livingston.
From The Front Porch: Another returning Montana native!
Charming My Life: this one is brand-spankin’ new!

If you haven’t already, go say hi to our newest blog-neighbors!