From THINK PROGRESS:
Yesterday, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) said much of the legislation his state’s Republican lawmakers are pushing is “in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people of Montana.” So, as promised, Schweitzer took his red-hot “VETO” branding iron to a stack of GOP bills that range from legislation to weaken Montana’s “clean and green” energy standards — a highly beneficial tax incentive that encourages clean energy projects — to a bill that would eliminate same day voter registration.
Notably, among the 21 bills vetoed, Schweitzer rejected GOP legislation that sought to open up cyanide gold mining operations — a process that places citizens in grave risk of cyanide poisoning from contaminated drinking water. Similar proposals have already been rejected by voters in two separate initiatives. Schweitzer also rejected GOP legislation to cap damage awards for motor vehicle accidents, a bill that would forbid schools from allowing abortion-related course materials in sex education, and legislation to repeal Montana’s medical marijuana law.
(Video at the THINK PROGRESS link)
By the way, that’s Jag, Governor Schweitzer’s Border Collie. From THE BARk:
Born April 7, 2004, on a remote ranch in Whitefish, Jag is a rising star in the Democratic Party. The last pup in a litter of eight, he moved to the state capital of Helena when the newly elected Schweitzer took office. Since then, Jag has gained the hearts and minds of liberals and conservatives alike, charming the historically red state with his one blue eye and one brown eye. Politically neutral (his main concern is preserving squirrel habitat) and socially liberal (he’s fixed), Jag stands high with the citizenry; a recent poll shows Jag’s approval rating at 80 percent—a howling ten points higher than Schweitzer’s—and he has name recognition that exceeds Montana’s lone congressman, Republican Dennis Rehberg.
…snip…
The sign on the door reads “Office of the Governor.” And below that, “Caution—Area Patrolled by Border Collie Security Co.”
…snip…
When Schweitzer showed up for his first day of work at the capital wearing jeans, with Jag trailing along behind, the Republicans tried to spin it as “disrespecting the office.” The strategy, predictably, backfired. In a lot of ways, Montana is a dog culture, a kind of exaggerated kennel—147,000 square miles where cattle outnumber people three to one and everyone has a dog. “To criticize a guy who wears jeans and brings his dog to work, I mean, in Montana? Not so smart,” Schweitzer quips.
Since the inaugural celebration, Jag has accompanied the governor nearly everywhere he goes, posing for photos with a cow dog’s exceptional dignity and calm. Jag’s only faux pa[w]s so far has been to leave a quick scent mark in a camera woman’s bag, “But that was just to show the other girls who was his favorite,” Schweitzer volunteers.
“He’s the one with the brains and good looks,” Schweitzer likes to say.
…snip…
More importantly, is Jag a Democrat? “Oh, he’s a Democrat,” Schweitzer says. “He’s a Democrat because (a) he’s very smart and (b) he’s a working dog.”
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
Love it! Veto away Gov. Schweitzer…. & keep that VETO branding iron handy, you’re going to be using it a lot!
Props to the dog….. probably makes more sense than most in the State legislature!
i thought that was awesome! we need more dems to do dramatic stuff like that to call attention to the rethug craziness.
He’s my kind of governor!
and that’s my kind of puppy!! i love that jag goes everywhere. he’s a 4-legged goodwill ambassador.
The voters need only remember four words when they step into the polling booth and see a Rethug on the ballot, cyanide gold mining operations. If that doesn’t accurately describe the depraved indifference that Rethugs have to people, and their total feality to their corporate masters, I don’t know what will.
i know, jeb! isn’t that scary? it’s just as bad as being able to light your water on fire in west virginia and wherever fracking is allowed.
In the words of Artie Johnson … very interesting. Hmmmmm … wonder if he’ll get re-elected.
i don’t think arte johnson was ever elected to anything in the first place. ohhhh, i guess you didn’t mean him. 😉
Speaking of image, the newly elected governor Jerry Brown (back in 70s) refused to live in the newly constructed multi-million mansion that the godman had built, telling the press “it looks like a Safeway store”. Instead, he rented a room a few block from the capitol and kept driving his old Dodge Dart. Even now he doesn’t do the perks. Recently he flew to LA for some state function and traveled alone with a round trip SWA ticket of $127. …and speaking of dogs…I took the brown hound in to have repairs done today. After some leakage, sis said run it down to the vet, who did an X-ray showing a large white thing that gave the appearance of the dog being involved in cocaine smuggling. Doggie doing fine and I got a souvenier of a big white thing the size of a big plum and hard as a rock!
dem governors just do it better than rethug ones. they seem to relate more to the people they govern. rethugs, on the other hand, get into office and become the snotty elites they claim to despise so.
i hope brown hound is doing well. what did the big white thing turn out to be and where are you going to display it?
Some kind of crystalized dog pee feom the bladder. I shall call it “dogstone” and since it cost $956 to mine it, it will have yo be kept with the valuables. If times get real hard I will sell it to tourist up from the bay area and tell them it has magic powers.
the poor puppy! why did that happen and will it keep happening?
don’t sell it as a magical stone. sell it as something that rejuvenates skin. that’ll make a mint, especially in california where all the old broads have turned to leather under the hot sun.
Wow…. a Governor acting in the best interests of the citizenry….. what a novel idea! Maybe it will spread!
we need schweitzer to school other dems on how to use dramatic flair to display the stupidity of the rethugs.
I love Border Collies, I’ve lived with Borders. I called a Border my son, but I have to pick two TEENY little nits with ya. Borders are SHEEP dog – you wanna chase cattle, get an Aussie Cattle Dog, their skulls are so thick, they’d shrug off a 50-calibre round! And Borders aren’t as smart as people say. They are eminently trainable, but they’re not big-time schemers. Again, for that, you need a dingo. Those guys are sneaky little …. turds! 😀 But all that said, if I had to choose, I’d take a Border every day. I loved my Zingo – but there were times……
And God bless the governor for allowing himself to accompany Jag around. 😉
the opinions about border collies are those of the writer of the article and the governor, not me. i’ve never had a border collie. my heart belongs to labs and beagles (and any generic mix involving them). damn, i need to get another dog.
Yeah, I want another dog to pair up with our slightly undersized Mastiff. The wife doesn’t want to get another dog right now. So we have cats. We don’t go out and get cats, they just appear. One was deposited by its’ mother in our living room. 4 more were left by their mother on our porch (different house). One of those got pregnant by her brother (EW!) before we could get them fixed. A few more have popped in here and there. The dang things are like tribbles – born pregnant! (We’ve finally stablilised at 6 and fixed – I’d STILL rather have a dog. Or maybe a goat!)
i am definitely not a cat person. they creep me out. cute when they’re kittens, but they grow up to be evil and sneaky. dogs, on the other hand, are cute when they’re puppies, and they stay cute and sweet forever. even when they’re evil, they’re cute.
But when you’re a dog person, you just raise cats as dogs. Honest – I had taught a friend’s cat to sit, give paw, and speak (a little yip). Our first cat plays fetch with me – more than the dang dog does. I’m working on teaching the youngest how to fetch. Besides, you keep one young kitten in the house, and it spends all day terrorising the others. Or maybe the kitten has just picked up on my evil? 😉 But never, NEVER go into a cat relationship without a laser pointer and a squirt bottle. And make sure YOU terrorise THEM! 😀
i’m always hearing how someone’s cat is just like a dog. you know what, they’re still cats!!! sorry, but a dog is a dog and a cat is a cat, and never the twain shall meet. a cat can fetch and do other doggie tricks, but they still have no bones and jump on your lap when you least expect it.
Maybe I should move to Montana! Our gov here in Idaho is dumber than a stump. Dogs would shun him. He’s no one’s best friend.
maybe we can get a duplex, sds. i’m not very thrilled with the criminal who’s in the governor’s mansion up in tallahassee.
Montana’s got a lot of open land. Can’t we start a commune, or compound, or whatever? I always wanted to live in a compound, but the ones I kept finding meant that I wouldn’t be the strangest person in the room. Hey, I gotta have SOME claim to fame! 😀
i hear montana is beautiful. my brother lives there, but we haven’t spoken in years, and i’ve never been there. i think we had better check with jerry. i think he was making plans for the commune in california. maybe one can be the main commune, and the other can be the vacation commune. after all, it gets cold in montana in the winter and hot in california in the summer.
That works for me. I’ll be full-time groundskeeper at the Montana site. A few dogs, a goat or two (I wonder if my buddy Blackjack would like a vacation?), some horses for reliable transport (trust me,vet surgery is easier than rebuilding a fuel injection system!), some windmills and waterwheels to supplement the still-powered generators – all the comforts of home! 😀
sounds good to me! i’ll make brisket for all the raisinettes (i just made one tonight, and it was my best ever! sooooooo good!) 😀
I bet we can get a good deal on the abandoned compound of Elizebeth Clair Prophet up there in Montana. She ran a doomsday cult for years and then just came out one day and said “forget it, everybody go home”! Of course, if we start a mighty raisin commune people would call us all commune-ist. I have figured out an excellent way to finiance such an operation. Me and John will form up a platoon of volunteers to go up in the Seirra to the “other” gold fields Once the bountifull plantation is located, we set into motion our raid to liberate the goods. When the twilight has all the amigos kicking back, we burst onto the encampment wearing skeleton suits with a mirror in each hand waving wildly and shreiking. The planteteros will run off the mountain a hundred miles an hour, never to be seen again. Then we bag up the bud and disburse it to the clinics, specifying that it can not be sold for more than ten bucks for a fat bag. Just the book and movie rights will make us all rich but not enough to turn goper. Now the only question would be which actress to play Nonnie now that Bette is no longer with us…….Dogs have owners…Cats have staff….!
or we can just continue to mine dogstone and sell it at outrageous prices. then we can buy whatever property we want anywhere.