This is almost like round two of the political trough from earlier this week. More from the mayor of Sidney, 11 facts about the North Dakota oil boom, a new player in Lewis & Clark County oil and gas, Sidney Herald reporter says “maybe those crazy conservatives were right” in a new column, and much more is below.
Sidney Herald: Legislators Don’t Override Bullock’s Vetoes
Quote from the article: When the veto of House Bill 218 occurred, Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser told the Herald, “I’m so disheartened in the whole process, After 22 years of local service, this is the biggest slap I’ve seen.”
The Fiscal Times: 11 Shocking Facts about the North Dakota Oil Boom
Here’s just a sample:
• Oil production in North Dakota has increase more than 600 percent, going from 36 million barrels of oil in 2005, to 237 million in 2012. There are now 8,360 active wells in the state, producing 783,000 barrels of oil a day. The state has gone from the No. 8 oil-producing state to No. 2 in just seven years.
• A new well costs about $10 million dollars to build in the Bakken region—about $3 million more than in other U.S. oil-producing regions like Texas. Each well is expected to generate $20 million in profits, about $4.4 million in taxes, $1.6 million in salaries and wages, and $7.6 million in royalties.
• There’s only one hospital in the Williston area and its seen wait times quadruple—from 30 minutes in 2010 to more than 2 hours in 2011. It’s had to double the seats in the waiting room and hire security guards.
Fairfield Sun Times: Another Oil Player In Lewis & Clark County?
Darryl Flowers has this:
With the recent state Oil and Gas Lease Sale, it was discovered that another player is eyeing oil and gas potential along the Eastern Slope.
Bighorn Oil and Gas picked up several parcels at the most recent sale, adding to the holding the company acquired in earlier sales.
Maybe those ‘crazy’ conservatives were right
Louisa Barber writes in The Sidney Herald, “Maybe those ‘crazy’ conservatives were right.”
Here’s an excerpt:
Remember when TEA partiers and all the others identifying as right-wing thinkers were labeled as “crazy,” “paranoid” and “idiots” after President Obama took office? I think 2010 or 2011 was the height of it. It was kind of like those people who invest thousands of dollars in underground cellars as they wait for zombies to take over…or the end of the world.
I’ll admit, I thought some really were paranoid and ignorant, particularly the “birthers.” But I’m starting to think these skeptics, who are all suspicious over the media’s blatant bias and favoritism (we all know it’s true) and who don’t possess one ounce of trust in the federal government, may be on to something.
Click here to read more:
It just goes to show that those “crazy,” “redneck,” “gun-totin’,” “Bible-thumpin’ “ conservatives may have been on point all along, and myself an probably many others are catching on. We should all be as skeptical as they.
KTVQ.com: Report reveals dozens of Montana bus drivers have criminal histories
According to the report:
– 64 active bus drivers have some sort of criminal history
– 8 drivers have been arrested for felonies
– 1 has an active warrant out for his arrest
~ 1 inactive driver is on the Sexual and Violent Offender Registry
And finally- Sorry Mayor Bloomberg, he’s not running again, you have Obamacare to thank for that one…
From Politico Playbook:
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG today will mail a letter to more than 2,000 top Democratic donors, urging them to withhold contributions from the Democratic senators who joined with Republicans in April to oppose an expansion of background checks for gun purchases : “Instead of rising above politics to pass a law that would save lives, these four Senators-Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas-sided with a gun lobby increasingly out of touch with Americans’ priorities. I am writing to ask you: the next time these four Senators want you to support them with donations to their campaigns, tell them you cannot. … [U]ntil they show they will stop bowing to pressure from the gun lobby, you should not support them.”