What makes Valerie run?

This photo by Alex Sakariassen is quickly becoming the most-used image in Combat! history.

This photo by Alex Sakariassen is quickly becoming the most-used image in Combat! history.

The sum news disseminators of western Montana are so close to producing one Ravalli County treasury item per day. This morning, we hear from KGVO that embattled treasurer Valerie Stamey claims no one has contacted her about the audit and investigation of her office. It’s possible that’s because she’s the primary object of that investigation. It’s possible that most government officials would not comment on an ongoing investigation, particularly not to imply that it is bullshit. But Stamey is not most government officials. My column today in the Missoula Independent tries to come up with a unifying theory of Stamey, based on her bizarre ad lib while leading Bitterroot Republicans in the Lord’s Prayer. Surely, someone who adds a joke to a prayer must be a particular kind of person, but what? “Sociopath” is too easy. We’ll be back tomorrow with Friday links.

Friday links! Pleiotropy edition

A male guppy you totally want to bang because he looks like an orange fruit

A male guppy you totally want to bang because he looks like an orange fruit

Pleiotropy is the scientific term for when a single gene produces two unrelated effects. For example, male guppies like the one pictured above tend to be orange and have that spot on their tale—possibly because that color and pattern are sexually attractive to females, but mostly because they look like a piece of fruit. Props for the link to my girlfriend Lucretia, who can read and understand scientific articles much better than me. Nature has made wild male guppies orange not because it’s useful or sexy, but because breeding females mistake them for food. Today is Friday, and cause precedes motive in such a way that sense comes only after effect. Won’t you explore some terrifying coincidences with me?

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