Some Montana Schools are putting out litterboxes for the use of students who identify as cats.
So says Elsie Arntzen, who identifies as Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In an August 15, interview on Voices of Montana Radio, Superintendent Arntzen had this say on the subject:
It’s imperative that we talk about these challenging issues. Let’s talk about boys in girls’ bathrooms and that safety issue. Let’s talk about those litter boxes that some schools are putting out for children who want to view themselves as some sort of an animal. Is this where public education should be? I say no.[1]
Well, we, too, want say No! to these challenging claims. However, based on our constitutional rights to a free press and to know, (Article II, sections 7 and 9), inquiring minds need some evidence (defined as an item or information proffered to make the existence of a fact more or less probable) that these problems exist.
The Superintendent must make public her list of Montana schools which have had a safety problem with boys in girls’ bathrooms and her list of those schools providing litter boxes for students who identify as cats.
Although Superintendent Arntzen says she has the evidence, in fact, no complaints have been made to her office nor have any been made to the Montana School Boards Association of such problems.
And then there’s Austin Knudsen, who identifies as Montana’s Attorney General.
In an interview last month with Missoula radio station KGVO’s “Talk Back” program, General Knudsen implied that local election officials have “stonewalled” state investigations into alleged voter misconduct.[2]
Again, this is a serious matter, and we the public have Article II, sections 7 and 9 rights to know what evidence there is of this misconduct and to publish the proof. Who are these officials? What is the nature of this voter misconduct? How have these miscreant officials stonewalled the AG’s investigations?
A Montana Free Press (MTFP) reporter tried to get to the bottom of this only to learn that there were no state investigations into local election-related allegations nor were there any conflicts between state and local election administrators reported, documented, or otherwise referenced in the public record.
Indeed, the reporter sent four emails to General Knudsen’s office requesting information about these matters and any state-level investigations into election allegations directed at Missoula County—always a favored suspect of voter misconduct, being the bastion of Democrat, woke, miscreants that it is. No reply from the AG was forthcoming, however.
So, the reporter sent a fifth email inquiry requesting confirmation that the office had received the MTFP’s requests and requesting further clarification of General Knudsen’s comments.
In response, Department of Justice Deputy Communications Director Emilee Cantrell responded: “Got it. Looking into it is not something we have time to do for you.”
An email to Christi Jacobsen who identifies as the Secretary of State and the statewide elections’ administrator inquiring about any such investigations also went unanswered. Though, when allegations of misconduct surfaced in—you guessed it–Missoula County in 2021, Jacobsen issued her “open letter” proclaiming that Montana “already sets the standard across the country” and vowing to “strive to make the best even better.”
Long story short, there’s no evidence for General Knudsen’s allegations of election officials stonewalling state investigations into alleged voter misconduct, of any state-wide investigations of same, or any voter misconduct to investigate, for that matter.
These aren’t the first baseless allegations of corruption, fraud, and misconduct that have been made by persons in state government who identify as public officials, sworn to support, defend and protect our constitutional rights.
But there is a pattern: these officials make some inflammatory allegation that catches the public eye, and then, when the press tries to get the facts and evidence supporting the allegation, the inquiry goes unanswered or some “spokesperson” on the public payroll tells the reporter basically to stuff her or his (and our) rights to freedom of the press and to know. In the end, it turns out that the allegation is false or there’s no evidence to support it.
Here’s the lesson: when you hear or read about some misconduct claim from a person who identifies as a Montana public official, just put the allegation in the litter box.
And leave it there.
Notes.
[1] https://montanafreepress.org/2023/08/21/state-superintendent-arntzen-claims-to-have-evidence-for-litter-box-use-in-montana-schools/?utm_medium=email&mc_cid=af7c618ef6&mc_eid=cf87abc54a
[2]https://montanafreepress.org/2023/08/15/montana-attorney-general-promotes-election-misinformation/?utm_medium=email&mc_cid=2ed08f6c54&mc_eid=cf87abc54a