September 11, 2025:
Fellow Patriots,Yesterday was a grim day for all of us who love our country and have been laboring towards peaceful solutions to the issues that separate our body politic. There was no one better at peaceful debate than Charlie Kirk. His loss is a dagger to the heart of us all.Political assasination alters the trajectory of history, and we cannot pretend otherwise. Some of us are old enough to remember the assasinations of the 1960s. 1968 was a very difficult year–one that started with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Soon after we saw Martin Luther King Jr. assasinated followed by Robert F. Kennedy a few months later. We have been through this before, and we have weathered it. I would not say, however, that we are the same people afterwards that we were before. Assasination alters history, and changes what could have been.While there have been a few instances of conservative acts of violence (very few), those acts have never been cheered, applauded, or celebrated by us the way the media and even some elected Democrats did yesterday after the murder of a 31 year-old husband and father. Those people self-identified the content of their character.Through prayer and a great deal of hard work, we put Donald Trump back in the White House, and the new President Trump is stronger, wiser, and better than ever. Focusing on what is true, maintaining unshakeable faith, and working hard to sustain and expand the work of our forefathers will win the future and help us defeat the vicious and evil violence so readily embraced, celebrated, and practiced by our opposition.The spirit of evil has captured the hearts of those who oppose us. Many of us have seen first-hand, even in family members, how ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ has caused people to slip into the arms of bitter, vengeful darkness. They have allowed themselves to become the foot soldiers of destructive division, and we cannot allow their irrational hatred to destroy our country no matter who they are or their place in our lives.“Fight, fight, fight!” were the words of a downed but not defeated President Trump. Keep praying and keep fighting.We remember and honor Charlie Kirk, his legacy, and his family through doubling down on our efforts to make America great again. As we take time to mourn this senseless murder, let’s ensure that, in the end, the now altered trajectory of history accelerates the achievement of the vision of greatness for our country that Charlie was working towards.God Bless America, and may God give comfort to Charlie’s family and loved ones.TracyChair, Lake Country Republican Central CommitteeRepresentative Tracy SharpHouse District 12* * *
Austin Knudsen listens to Lake County residents (pictured on April 7)
Attorney General (AG) Knudsen met [April 29] with the Lake County Commissioners at their Conference Room. Most local law enforcement was present and the AG brought the Colonel of the Montana Highway Patrol as well as a lead attorney from the Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI). Here are my (LCRCC Chair, Tracy Sharp) conclusions from this meeting:
- The AG had nothing to offer.
- He is short staffed. The Department of Justice has no entity it can send to assume the law enforcement task.
- The Highway Patrol has legal restrictions that stop them from taking on the job unless the Legislature alters those restrictions.
- All of the agencies including the Highway Patrol are extremely short on personnel.
- Even if granted funding and permission, it would take years to get up to speed with specialized training and personnel.
- As with the entire State, it isn’t just the money–it is finding housing and paying a salary that will entice people to stay once trained.
- DCI handles the most horrible crimes across the State (murder, sexual abuse of a child, etc,.). They have only 5 attorneys. (Staff, staff, staff….)
- The AG said the County should continue to carry the weight of the State and the Feds burden and, in the next legislative session, the Legislature should propose funding and the Governor “would sign it.”
- Faith in the governor’s signing given his veto of the Bill in the last session smacked of relying on “hope” and was, understandably, not well received.
- “Hope” is not a plan, of course, but it sums up the entirety of all the AG could offer (through no fault of his own).
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY: Everyone thanked AG Knudsen for showing up in person with his staff. After years of unresponsiveness from Helena, his attendance was gratefully appreciated by everyone.
- From the State, it is clear that those who could help won’t, and those that would (AG Knudsen) can’t.
- After the Bill in the last legislature was vetoed, the notion that Gianforte would approve the next one seems either wishful thinking or a bad joke.
- Perhaps the Governor was politically embarrassed by his veto; perhaps he met his promise to unspecified constituencies. Not knowing means his actions the next time around are equally difficult to predict, and claiming otherwise is, again, wishful thinking.
- In the interim, Lake County is left paying for an obligation identified by a judge and agreed to by the AG as a State responsibility.
- The possibility of a special session of the Legislature to discuss this issue and a few others was held out by Representative Read as well as the AG.
- Again we’re talking ‘maybes,’ ‘ifs‘ and ‘perhaps‘; nothing solid.
- One approach mentioned by the Commissioners in a previous meeting was to withdraw but put forth a decree/resolution/statement that says they will continue, under duress and to protect the citizens of Lake County, to operate as if they haven’t withdrawn. Lake County would then bill the State for expenses incurred.
- The Legislature would then meet in 2025 and devise a Bill to address the issue of funding, retroactively refund the County, and put yet another Bill on the desk of the Governor to establish long term funding. (And then “hope” he signs it.)
- No credible way forward was determined during this meeting; no innovative ideas or concepts came forth.
- It appears the inertia right now is to remain stationary, fear monger about how awful things will be if we abandon PL 280, and to suggest there are really no significant costs to Lake County taxpayers after all.
- As of today, 29 April 2024, Lake County is on its own. Status quo.
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Fellow Patriots,
Here is the report authored by Bruce Cartwright, Chair of the Legislative Committee, that we discussed at the TIGER TEAM meeting today. I forward this to you to get you thinking about our committee for this next session and lessons learned. This is not a front burner issue right now, but we had some good ideas pop up today on how to do this better once the time comes.
We will re-attack this topic a bit further down the road.
Thanks,
Tracy
April 24, 2024
Please read the report and see how we, the grassroots, can help in the legislative process instead of staying on the sidelines and possibly end up with laws that we do not approve of.
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Guest article from Epoch Times:
It is however, strongly recommended that you use social media to stay informed and help inform others. See “On the Web” under Resources for suggestions on platforms, websites, books, movies and more that give you tools for Controlling the Narrative!
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21 February 2023
2023 January
LCRCC Resolution on the 2020 Presidential Election!
