Big Sky Blog

Looks like Brian Schweitzer’s speech at the DNC was a wowser; he impressed lots of people who normally don’t get to hear a Montana governor speak. If you didn’t see his speech, here it is on his election page. Lots of praise for our governor, from sources such as the LA Times, Utne Reader, the Washington Post, and of course the HuffPo. On the other hand, Reason notes, however, that Schweitzer’s much vaunted “rock star” status lost some serious credibility among libertarians during the course of the speech.
The bottom line: Schweitzer definitely knocked it out of the park at the DNC in terms of media appeal, whether you agree with his message or not.

And now two questions…the first one is addressed to all Montanans: do you think that Schweitzer helped or hurt Montana’s image across America?

The second question is addressed to everyone who who thinks that (a) Brian Schweitzer would have or should have or could have been the best choice as Obama’s VP pick, or (b) Sarah Palin is a ridiculous choice as McCain’s VP: if a first-term governor from a sparsely-populated Western state with only three electoral votes is good enough for Obama, then why doesn’t the same hold true for McCain?

Governor Schweitzer and challenger Roy Brown have agreed to five debates.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republican challenger Roy Brown have set five debates over the next two months.

The first debate will be Sept. 15 in Missoula and is sponsored by the Missoulian newspaper and the University of Montana.

The Helena Independent Record hosts a debate Sept. 25 in Helena. Debates follow Sept. 29 in Butte, sponsored by the Montana Standard, and Oct. 7 in Billings at the request of the Billings Gazette and Montana State University-Billings.

The final debate will be hosted by the Montana Farmers Union and the Great Falls Tribune on Oct. 24 in Great Falls.

The 19th annual ‘Running of the Sheep’ Sheep Drive in Reedpoint is scheduled for this Sunday. If you can’t make it enjoy the gif below to get a feel of the excitement you’ll be missing.

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Thanks to the folks at UltimateMontana.com for the photos.

The dark horse just might turn out to be the front-runner: some sources are saying that they have confirmed that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been selected as John McCain’s Vice-Presidential nominee. You knew that there is a blog about this, right? I suspect that most (not all, but most) Montanans will approve of this selection.

The Billings Gazette has set up a blog for the delegates to the Democratic National Convention to post about what goes on during their stay in the Mile High City.

Depending on which side of the aisle you lean towards it may be interesting or nauseating.

I’m looking forward to seeing if any Montana GOP delegates will be willing to blog about their experiences in Minneapolis.

One of the most “senior” of all Big Sky Bloggers (blogging since at least 2002) — the girl known variously as the Revolving Duck, Your Friendly Neighborhood Geologist, Kimbear, and other noms de blog, has produced a happy, healthy, bouncing little baby girl. Oh, and her hubby had something to do with it, too! Go wish Elise a warm welcome to this wonderful world!

A Kossack is breathless over the possibility that Gov Schweitzer might be named as Obama’s VP pick; also of note is that Obama is visiting Montana again.

Some cool Montana train pics over at Dogcaught; best line: “Don’t let anyone tell you this part of Montana is flat!”

Dirty Red Commie caught Tom Servo and Crow watching the Olympics – at least on an NBC affiliate in Montana.

Looking for a place to rent in Montana? Then check out MTHousingSearch.com and see if you can find what you want. There are over 3,000 listings and they are in English and Spanish so this should make it easier to find a place.

“The Last Best Place,” a phrase long used and cherished by Montanans to describe their sprawling, scenic state, will soon be protected forever, a U.S. senator says, and anyone will be able to use it without fear of running afoul of trademark law.

Read the rest of the article here.

UPDATE from David: here’s some more background about the Last Best Place issue.

August 17, 1940

Just before midnight, a massive earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale, strikes the area north and west of Yellowstone National Park. A mountain slide wipes out a campground, killing twenty-nine people. The great rock slide blocks the Madison River, forming what is now called Quake Lake.
There is also extensive damage in the Hebgen Lake area.

From Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.