Danged ornery critters
MONTANA
It's a Tea Party world in Montana's Legislature these days, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, sometimes can't believe his ears as newly elected representatives talk blithely of creating armed citizen militias and "nullifying" a slew of federal laws, reports The Associated Press. Schweitzer calls many of the proposals from the new Republican majority "kooky," noting that they include "a plan to make it legal to hunt big game with a spear." But because some of these laws are bound to land on his desk, Schweitzer has ordered a new cattle-branding iron that reads "VETO." Says the governor, "Ain't nobody in the history of Montana has had so many danged ornery critters that needed branding."
UTAH
It was understandable that District Court Judge Marvin D. Bagley was getting fed up: William Beck never showed up in court to answer charges of passing bad checks, reports the Southern Utah News. Beck always had good excuses: First, his lawyer explained, his mother died. Then, at the second attempt at a trial, the lawyer said that Beck's grandmother had just died. This led the judge to comment dryly: "If this continues, he's going to run out of family."
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