Sounds fairly serious...

http://www.billingsgazett...03286.html

Just to play it safe, I called my broker, and put a sell order in on my shares of InBev (parent company of Anheuser-Busch) NOW!

Well, at least HE has healthcare!

ROFL, Kelly you have my vote for best comment of the day!!!!!

or ?

Gunnar! Hal! Remember when I posted about catching a lake trout from shore at Flathead Lake!? That's the spot! He woulda run my ass over if I'd been there last night!

Spooky!

Did they figure out who was piloting the boat?

The republican majority whip of the Montana senate,Greg Barkus, I believe...It was his boat as well...At least the article said that a while ago but I noticed they took out that fact now lol....wonder why??

[This message has been edited by howdy (8/28/2009)]

Where's Judy Martz when you need him her?

[This message has been edited by Bob L. (8/28/2009)]

I am still puzzled why they took out the fact of who was driving...but they forgot to take out the next paragraph about the Whip feeling terrible about all of this lol...Doth we have a coverup lol???

At least there were no innocent females killed that couldn't get out of the wreckage...

"At least there were no innocent females killed that couldn't get out of the wreckage"

There weren't any guilty females either. No reason to poison the water with more Kennedy "humor".

As Hunter S. Thompson (my hero) once said, "Trust in God, but row away from the rocks."

"No reason to poison the water..."

Excellent pun there, Richard. Excellent point, too.

Oh, this is freaking golden. Denny, you're the man.

I heard on the TV news last night that one of the State Staffers is still in a coma. Meanwhile, Erik Iverson, Denny's right-hand man, is quoting to the newspaper all about how great Denny is, and how he is shouting at the TV because Tiger missed a putt. Couldn't at least fake-it that he cared about the other people who were with him? Now, I also heard later that Denny was keeping the other folks in his prayers, which sounds like one of his PR people had the same thought as me.

I'm sure you're right, JCF. Denny has had those people in his heart while he's on his knees, sacrificing his dinner to the porcelain God (hopefully it was enough of a sacrifice to convince someone to take the bullet for the whole situation).

I thought it was strange that Iverson would bring up Rehberg's blood alcohol level.

He said it was .05m, which is below the impaired level.but that was three hours after the accident.

I think that the alcohol level goes down approximately .01% for every 40 minutes after drinking.

That would make Rehberg's blood alcohol around .10% at the time of the accident.

Yup yup

Funny that no one else's BAC has been released, innit?

Some positions in life have their privileges....Sad really cause at this point it is so obvious...

The DA will get a hold of the BAC, plus the boat. As for the young guy with a head injury - I smell lawsuit.

Barkus was supposedly driving the boat. His boat. Interesting that he has already hired an attorney. If this was nothing more than an innocent accident, does he really need an attorney? Any bets on his blood alcohol level? I'm not saying..........I'm just saying.......

Why do I get the feeling that Heath WON'T be copying/pasting "Wayfarers" 120+ times in a post 40 years from now?

Here's a local take:

http://www.flatheadbeacon...ash/12774/

The comments attached to the article are interesting. One of the commentators quoted a BAC of .23 on Barkus but unless they work at the hospital or have some other connection, I don't see how they'd know. If it turns out it IS .23, that'll be interesting.

[This message has been edited by Bob Netherton II (9/2/2009)]

Barkus was arrested for drunk driving but bargained down to something less a few years ago. He refused the breath test at the time.

Typical.

One set of laws for the chosen few, another for the rest of us...

Just the way it is, I guess.

And spending $$$ on a good attorney is usally helpful - you (usually) get what you pay for...

[This message has been edited by Bob L. (9/2/2009)]

I cannot imagine how drunk you would have to be to be speeding thru the darkness toward rocks...Geezzzzzzzzzzz....in normal circumstances how do you navigate in the darkness anyway??? I have no idea...but he had to be going at a pretty good clip to launch that boat up onto the rocks...

I think you could tie in the ole' Beer Goggle theory concerning his ability to see at night.

It's weird, there is a well-lit boat ramp not far from where they ran it up the cliff, it should have been clear that land was nearby - .23 can do that to you, though.

Howdy - I'm guessing his sextant was broken.

I went boating on the lake earlier this summer. Up north, near where these guys crashed, there was a lot of sticks, logs and etc. floating around that you had to look for while tooling around. I'm guessing at night you wouldn't see that stuff, especially if you're speeding around.

Sounds like a terrible place to be speeding around at night...I cannot imagine doing that...

A .23 BAC is incredibly drunk unless you are a accustomed to drinking liberally all the time. When I was at the County Attorney's office, my job was prosecuting all the DUIs. I had a nifty little guide that estimated your BAC based on number of drinks, weight and time. After a particularly disappointing trial, my co-workers and I drowned our sorrows at the local pub. After several hours I pulled out my chart and determined that my BAC was somewhere close to .08. I was absolutely hammered. I have no idea how anyone could possibly function at .23.

p.s. No, I didn't drive home. My hubby picked me up.

unless you are a accustomed to drinking liberally all the time

So maybe he wasn't that messed up.

No kidding! If he had been drinking liberally, we wouldn't be discussing a boating accident right now. Unfortunately, drinking in moderation has come to be frowned upon in today's GOP.

I repeat: that .23 is just a number someone threw out there. I just hope we get to hear what the real number is.

Bob's Doppelganger - But .23 is on the INTERNETS now. It's fact.

The local DUI lore when I was prosecuting included a guy who blew a .6 BAC. Not .06, .60! Most people would be dead with this but he wasn't because he was a severe alcoholic who drank copious amounts everyday.

Brian, drinking is one thing the good ol' boys will do liberally - spending money that Grandpa earned is another.

From my cousin:

What is the new drink sensation in Big Fork?

Rehberg on the rocks.

Ho.

Ho.

Now the district atty is talking about possible felony changes against the driver of the boat...he is awaiting blood tests from the state....

http://billingsgazette.co...03286.html

Good one Amorette!

From that Billings Gazette story:

HELENA - Authorities say that state Sen. Greg Barkus was driving his boat at 40 miles per hour when it crashed into a rocky cliff on Flathead Lake last week, injuring U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg and three other passengers.

40 mph on a dark lake in any watercraft is... nuts. Grossly irresponsible. Ever wonder how people like this wind up in power positions? Being smart and responsible is not a prerequisite.

Even if his blood alcohol comes back legal, charges should be filed for reckless endangerment, at the very least. But I suspect the reckless charge will need to be added to the DUI.

http://www.billingsgazett...03286.html

[This message has been edited by International golf (10/7/2009)]