New West Network

My Page: Courtney Lowery

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>

GOP Convention Notes

Sen. John McCain just gave his acceptance speech in St. Paul, focusing his address on change -- taking back Washington and telling his fellow Republicans that the party had "lost the trust of the American people."

One of his more powerful quotes:
“Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first-country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming.”

The theme of McCain's speech, as was the theme of the entire convention, was that of dedication and selfless work for the country and he punctuated that sentiment by telling the story of his capture and time spent imprisoned in Vietnam.

As to Western issues, the Arizona Senator touched on energy, calling for immediate off-shore drilling, but also saying, "... we'll build more nuclear power plants. We'll develop clean-coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind, tide, solar, and natural gas. We'll encourage the development and use of flex-fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and restore the health of our planet."
[more]

Aircraft was just inspected

Investigators have not found the cause of a Missoula-based firefighting plane crashing Monday near Reno, Nevada, killing all three crew members, two of them from Montana.

The Associated Press' Scott Sonner reports that investigators say the plane -- owned by Neptune Aviation in Missoula -- was just inspected and wasn't even close to its next 100-hour required inspection. The investigators also said there has never been a similar incident with the Lockheed P2V aircraft.

Authorities identified the victims of the crash as 41-year-old Gregory Gonsioroski from Baker Montana, 25-year-old Missoulian Zach VanderGriend and 61-year-old Calvin Gene Wahlstrom from Huntsville, Utah.

Click here for the full AP story.

letter from the Editor

We've been thick in the discussion of how to offer readers and commenters a better experience when interacting on our site and have batted about the idea of requiring users to register to comment.

It's not a move we take lightly, and it's one we've actually tried to avoid for a long time. But because we continue to have issues with keeping a handle on the trolls, on spam, sock puppets and the other unsavory things that comment sections can attract, we'd like to give required registration a shot -- but only if it won't deter the meaningful comment threads we've been able to foster here.

So, tell us dear readers and commenters, how would you feel about having to register, or log in, to comment? (Keep in mind that once logged in, you won't have to log back in unless you've logged out or are on another computer.)

Thoughts? Questions? Fire away. [more]

From KUNC

If the Democratic and Republican National conventions are any indication, Colorado has cemented its status as a swing state in the November election. Last week Democrats said the road to the White House runs through the West - and Colorado delegates in St. Paul this week are hearing more of the same. In this radio piece, KUNC's state capital reporter Bente Birkeland talks to delegates who say energy, water and national security are the issues on Westerners minds in Minnesota.

The delegates also heard this week from First Lady Laura Bush, who says Colorado is going to be a battleground.

"I do think we're going to work really hard. We can't take Colorado for granted," she said.

Click here for the radio story from Colorado's KUNC. [more]

The Republican National Convention

Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin brought her wit, her solidarity with small-town America and plenty of barbs for Sen. Barack Obama when she took the stage tonight at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Palin, who herself has been absent from the public eye since John McCain first announced her as his running mate, came out swinging, taking shots at the media, her critics and most of all, Obama, while touting her work on reform and energy in Alaska and stumping for McCain. But, as the New York Times' David Brooks said on the PBS broadcast, she did it "in a cheer way."

One part of her speech that played well with the group was her response to criticisms about her lack of experience, particularly those aimed at her time as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, pop. 10,000.

"Since our opponents in this election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves..." she said, turning it into a dig at Obama. "I guess a small-town mayor is kind of like a community organizer, except you have actual responsibilities."
[more]

The Republican National Convention

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle took the stage tonight at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul to tout Vice President candidate Sarah Palin, citing her strength and experience as an executive.

Lingle took aim at criticisms lobbed at Palin over the size of the Wasilla, Alaska where Palin was mayor before becoming governor, saying she too fought claims that as mayor of Maui, she was not qualified to be governor of Hawaii. To cheers from her home state delegates, she told the crowd that if you asked people from either state would tell you that being mayor was good preparation -- Palin and Lingle are doing just fine. And, she said, being mayor in a town the size of Wasilla means Palin had to be accountable for every decision she made.

Being mayor means being a CEO, being Governor means being a CEO, Lingle said, after pointing out that neither Sen. Barack Obama or his running mate Sen. Joseph Biden had had executive experience. "Zero," she said as the crowd began chanting "zero" shaping their hands into the number and raising them in the air. Only Palin, she said, has had experience managing a multi-billion budget.

The Alaksa governor is "an outstanding pick" for the party, Lingle said, because among other things, she is a strong social conservative and a "fiscal hawk." And, Palin will serve the race well by "reaching out to independents, young people and women."

[more]

[more]

First Friday Showing

We're very proud to host internationally renowned artist and illustrator Joey DeRuy -- and a whole new body of work -- at the NewWest.Net office in September.

DeRuy's work is colorful and abstract, often inspired by his time in Africa, Hong Kong and Scandanavia. But for this show, opening Sept. 5 at the NewWest.Net office at 415 N. Higgins, DeRuy is focusing soley on Montana, specifically Missoula, where he had his first show at the age of 11 and where he found his early inspiration.

He says he hopes to paint Missoula with the same spark that helped him to the success he's achieved and that "the reason for the show for me was to connect in a way."

"From my first fender bender in a car, job, date, the buildings, streets and alleys," he says, Missoula and Montana have raised him. They "more then raised me. They helped to form me…" [more]

From Colorado's KUNC

In this interview with KUNC's Brian Larson, Jody Hope Strogoff, the editor and publisher of the Colorado Statesman, says Colorado delegates to the Republican National Convention -- going on this week in Minneapolis -- are united behind Sen. John McCain, despite the large majority of the state voting for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the primary election.

Strogoff also gives us a peek into the delegates' first days at the RNC, how they're responding to news of VP pick Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy and why the McCain and Palin have scheduled their first campaign stop together for Colorado Springs.

Strogoff tells KUNC, "He just wants to wrap up the conservative vote in Colorado and Colorado Spings is probably the place to go if you want to do that."

Click here for the full interview on KUNC.

Breaking News

A firefighting plane from Missoula-based Neptune Aviation crashed near Reno after taking off to make the day's final drops on a fire burning in the Sierra Nevada. All three crew members died in the crash.

Names of the victims have not been released and FAA investigators were headed in to investigate the crash.

The tanker was one of Neptune P2-Vs, aircraft that had been grounded in 2004 when the Forest Service revoked firefighting contracts on several tankers for safety review -- after three crashes, including one that killed a crew of three near Reno in 2002. In 2005, the Forest Service, after doing more research, renewed the contracts and deemed the tankers safe to fly. [more]

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>