Tagged: Code of the West

Posted: January 21, 2013 at 7:21 am

Opening Old Wounds

In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy, a plethora of bills expanding gun rights in every direction have been introduced in the Montana legislature. One of these bills could open old wounds for Indian peoples.

House Bill 215 would designate the Winchester Model 1873 the official gun of Montana because, as the bill reads:

the popularity of the Winchester Model 1873 has led it to be credited as “The Gun That Won the West”.

But “Winning the West” means something much different to the people who were here for hundreds of years before men with guns came and rode roughshod over Indian people, ravaged tribal culture, seized land and devalued Indian women.

This bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Greef (R-Ravalli) told the Billings Gazette that he had “spoken with” representatives from the legislature’s Indian caucus, but didn’t say in the article whether he’d shown them the specific language of the bill.

Last session, Sen. Shannon Augare led Indian legislators and others in opposing a “Code of the West” bill for similar reasons.

Posted: October 17, 2012 at 12:03 pm

Documents: Hill Was in Business with Marijuana Grower

A fascinating item was brought to my attention this week.

It seems that Rick Hill, GOP candidate for Governor, was a business partner with Tom Daubert in some sort of venture. Daubert is the medical marijuana provider who recently pled guilty to federal charges.

And it gets better. The company that Hill and Daubert founded was called….ready? “Mature Leisure.” Bwahahahahaaaaa!

I know this all sounds bizarre, but I’m not making it up. Posted here are Mature Leisure, Inc.’s articles of incorporation, which were filed with the Secretary of State back in the day, and have now been sent to me by a sharp tipster who gets kudos.

Daubert, by the way, is the subject of the excellent new movie entitled “Code of the West” which details the unnecessary prosecution of Daubert and the heavy-handed law enforcement tactics brought into Montana by the U.S. Justice Department.

Daubert worked hard to lobby for the sick, and has paid for it with a suspended jail sentence thanks to a bunch of federal prosecutors who never got laid in college, weren’t cool enough to smoke pot, and so are permanently angry about it.

The question now is, why was Rick Hill in business with Daubert?

Mature Leisure. Hmmm. That has a certain ring to it, like maybe pot or porn. Was Rick Hill a pot smoker or pot grower, or perhaps a porn peddler? Is there some other form of “mature leisure” that he indulges in, or attempted to sell to the masses? Perhaps a swingers’ club or an S&M lounge?

Or is there a perfectly reasonable and mundane explanation for this business venture, as I would suspect there ought to be? Hard to imagine they would have registered a marijuana growing company with the State of Montana in the 1990s.

But what about the mere fact that Hill was once associating closely with somebody whom he now believes (you can be sure) to be a criminal of the first order? What does Hill have to say about that? For that matter, what do Jeff Essmann and the other anti-cannabis crusaders think? I’m sure Montanafesto will want to weigh in here.

Finally, perhaps a more salient point for purposes of this important election: The company appears to have been capitalized with a significant investment, but went belly-up. Add this to Rick Hill’s portfolio of other questionable enterprises, including losing his money (and that of his investors) in a ponzi scheme.

Posted: September 10, 2012 at 10:02 pm

Don’t Miss These

There are a couple of really great documentary showings coming up that will be of interest to Cowgirl readers.

First, the ACLU of Montana is hosting a screening tour of the “Code of the West.“ This is the documentary film tells the story of the medical marijuana debate in Montana during the 2011 Montana Legislative Sessi.on. Here’s the trailer. The ACLU of Montana is hosting the free screenings of the film in September and October as part of its mission to educate the public about medical marijuana, drug law and the impact drug convictions have on prison overpopulation and families.

When the documentary first was shown in Helena, the house was packed. So, if you get a chance to attend one of these don’t miss it.

Date & Time	City	Venue	Address

Sep. 11 @ 7:00	Choteau	The Choteau Public Library	17 North Main Choteau, MT 58422
Sep. 12 @ 6:00	Conrad	Conrad Public Library	15 4th Avenue SWConrad, MT 59425
Sep 19 @ 7:00Sep. 20. @ 7:00	KalispellWhitefish	Flathead County LibraryWhitefish Community Library	247 1st Avenue East Kalispell, MT 599019 Spokane AvenueWhitefish, MT 58837

More screenings will be held across Montana, including: Thompson Falls, Polson, Libby, Butte, Livingston, Gallatin Gateway, Glendive, Red Lodge and Miles City.

See the ACLU website and www.codeofthewestfilm.com for details.

Second, in Helena this Friday September 14th, the Myrna Loy Center will show “The Invisible War“, a film about the epidemic of rape within the US military. Watch the trailer here. The film’s website explains:

“The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem-today, a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The Department of Defense estimates there were a staggering 19,000 violent sex crimes in the military in 2010. The Invisible War exposes the epidemic, breaking open one of the most under-reported stories of our generation, to the nation and the world.”

The Invisible War is scheduled to open at the Myrna Loy Center on Friday, September 14th. Check the Myrna Loy website to find out when the film will be shown, as they don’t yet have the times online.

Posted: May 3, 2012 at 10:09 pm

New Documentary Follows Montana Medical Cannabis Debate

It seems like every day we read about new medical cannabis business owners face serious federal charges. So it’s particularly timely that a new documentary film, “Code of the West” — telling the emotional story of out state’s medical cannabis political debate — will screen in four Montana communities this month. Here’s the trailer:

“Code of the West” documents the infamous imbeciles of the 2011 Montana Legislature as they debate cannabis regulation and repeal of the Medical Marijuana Act that Montana voters passed with a citizens initiative in 2004. It follows key figures on each side of the debate, including Tom Daubert — longtime lobbyist for environmental and public health-related issues including medical cannabis, who recently reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after his former business Montana Cannabis was raided by federal agents in March 2011.

On the other side of the Montana debate, the documentary follows advocates of the medical marijuana repeal effort, including Cherrie Brady of Safe Communities Safe Kids and disgraced Montana Speaker of the House Mike Milburn(R) HD 19 Cascade, who sponsored the bill to repeal the medical cannabis initiative and make all marijuana use again a crime. Speaker Milburn will participate in the film’s panel discussion in Helena on Thursday, May 17, at the Myrna Loy Center, and Cherrie Brady will sit on the Billings post-screening panel. Milburn was term limited in the House but decided not to run for the senate (for obvious reasons) after he presided over the massive disaster that was the 2011 Legislature.

Opponents of the new law, SB 423, have collected more than enough signatures to put a Montana Medical Cannabis Referendum on the November 6, 2012, ballot. If passed, the measure would repeal SB 423. During the 2011 session the Governor called SB 423 “unconstitutional on its face,” and issued an amendatory veto to fix the parts he considered legally defective. The legislature rejected his changes.

Also, the Montana Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on May 30 for Montana Cannabis Industry Association v. the State of Montana, a suit that is appealing portions of state District Judge James Reynolds’ ruling on June 30, 2011. That ruling blocked portions of SB 423 from taking effect. The state of Montana is required by law to defend SB 423.

Screenings and post-screening panel discussions with high-profile figures from both sides of the political debate are to be held in Missoula, Bozeman, Helena and Billings the weeks of May 13 and 20. “Code of the West” screening times, trailer, ticket information, discussion panelists and Facebook event links are available at http://www.codeofthewestfilm.com/screenings.