Posted by: Todd Epp at 8:48PM EST on December 31, 2009
As selected by you, the readers, and me, the editor, here are the winners of the Second Annual Middle Border Sun (f/k/a South Dakota Watch) Best SD* Political Blogs of 2009!
Readers' Choice: Decorum Forum, Pure Pierre Politics
Editor's Choice: Decorum Forum
Runner Up: Badlands Blue (the new and improved version)
Best SD MSM Political Blog
Readers' Choice: Pure Pierre Politics, Mount Blogmore
Editor's Choice: Hemmingsen Weighs In,
Runners Up: Republic Insider, Jay Stream, Politically Speaking
Best SD Special Interest/Single Issue Political Blog
Readers' Choice: Dakota Women
Runner Up: Voices Carry
Editor's Choice: Take It Outside
Runner Up: Voices Carry
SD Political Blog Lifetime Achievement Award
Editor's Choice: Black Marks On Wood Pulp, Rant A Bit
Congratulations to the winners! I'm going to try and come up with some sort of online certificate that you can link to if you like. And thanks to all the *South Dakota/Sioux Empire/Siouxland bloggers for all you to do inform, entertain, and make us think!
Posted by: Todd Epp at 12:22PM EST on December 29, 2009
I about threw up last night watching the Vikings-Bears game on ESPN. The announcing crew of Mike Tirico, Jaws, and Chucky tried to out Madden John Madden in their constant praise of Brett Favre. Brett can apparently do no wrong in their opinions and the Number 4 has super human attributes.
Then to make matters worse, every time Favre got knocked on his can by the fired up Bears defense, the NFL referees would help him up. It wasn't like the Brettenator was hurt. I guess even the Zebras can't help worshiping at the feet of the Scraggly Bearded One.
So, I started wondering. What can't Brett do? It's actually kind of a short list;
Best SD* Political Blog Best SD* Lefty Political Blog Best SD* Rightwing Political Blog Best SD* New Political Blog Best SD* MSM Political Blog Best SD*Special Interest/Single Issue Political Blog SD* Political Blog Lifetime Achievement Award
I will try to limit the number of times a person can vote. However, people often use multiple computers to get around protocols that limit voting. Chris Nelson is not supervising this election.
What do the winners get? The satisfaction of knowing they are beloved.
Rather than letting people make their own decisions about whether it was safe to travel in our recent blizzard, he closed the state's Interstate highways--even before things really got bad.
Here, Gov. Rounds took away every citizens' right to go out in to the teeth of a blizzard, get stuck, and freeze to death like people did in Nebraskaand other states where far wiser governors allowed their Interstates to be open before and during the recent blizzard. Nanny Stater Mike had no one die on his watch in South Dakota because he wouldn't let them go out and exercise their right to be stupid.
I'm sure those who died in Nebraska and elsewhere in the blizzard were glad that they had governors that cared enough to let them be foolish, unlike that mean Nanny State governor from South Dakota who saved people from themselves.
For the irony challenged, let me spell it out for you. While I at first thought Gov. Rounds' decision to close I-90 and I-29 was kind of wussy, it was obviously the prudent thing to do. People didn't head out into a blizzard. Rescue crews didn't have to risk their lives to go rescue the stupid. And the plows could go out and clear the highways without hundreds of abandoned cars in the way.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 1:18AM EST on December 25, 2009
Staring out into the black of Christmas Eve night broken only by the white of the snow on the ground, memories of Christmases past swirl in my head like the snow blowing outside my windows.
Memories of GI Joes and blizzardy trips to Grandmothers in Nebraska drift in my mind, crossing more recent memories of my own first Christmas in a one bedroom apartment in Topeka as a newlywed and my own kids knee deep in wrapping paper. They are like finger drifts blowing across the roadways of my memory. I break through some, drive around others.
The loneliness of an only child looking at the stars in an inky Nebraska sky wondering if one was the star that led the Magi to the Christ child blows into last year's happy memory of our Merry Canine Christmas. But yet even that is tinged with sadness as three of the six dogs in the fun picture have either been put to sleep or have run off, never to be seen again.
Even dogs, it seems, can become just mere memories too.
And some of the drifts are funny, like when my Grandpa Epp made the following comment about my cousin's church Christmas program: "I couldn't see it, I couldn't hear it, but it was pretty good." But that drifts like tonight's snow into a pre-Christmas funeral for my favorite aunt who lived in Kansas City who died of cancer. Kansas City's beautiful Christmas decorations mocked the supreme loss I felt.
Later as an adult, I attend a Christmas Eve funeral for my Grandma Epp. The trip to Nebraska to the Grandparents for Christmas that used to be so fun as a kid mocked me even worse as an adult.
Christmas break when I was a student was second only to summer vacation. Now, I'm lucky to get a few days off then back to the grind. Playing in drifts during Christmas vacation that went to the gables of the house has given way to meeting with clients and court appearances.
If only our Christmas memories were so self-contained and linear like my favorite Christmas movies, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story. If only they had a beginning, middle, and end with a nice resolution and all is well.
Instead, like the snowy wind outside, they ebb and flow with no real plot but with characters I know. The memories mount like wind-driven piles of snow, only to be sorted out, if at all, with a snow shovel--and a stiff drink.
The Christmas memories are all a blizzard right now, like the one going on outside my window. But unlike the snow--some pristine and virgin, some tracked with road grime that will eventually disappear--my Christmas memories, for better or worse, linger on and on and on.
I'm not saying we shouldn't be prepared, we should. And weather prediction, despite all the new technology, is still an imprecise science. But right now, there's been far more bad predictions than snow. We'll see what the next couple of days hold.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 2:45PM EST on December 23, 2009
I wrote the following article on my legacy site, South Dakota Watch, a little over four years ago, the last time we were in for a "Blizzard of the Century." Believe me, our pioneer and Native American great great grandparents had it a lot worse when it came to snow storms. Just something to keep in perspective while the local media goes koo-koo la-la over Snowzilla.
"The recent blizzards in parts of South Dakota were a major problem for some of our fellow citizens. But despite KELOLAND-TV's constant blaring of "Blizzard 2005," being caught in a blizzard in the early days of South Dakota were indeed a matter of life and death. Yes, it was worse then than now.
Prof. Herbert Schell reminds us of this fact in his History of South Dakota (3d ed., 1961, 1968, 1975, University of Nebraska Press) at pp. 180-1: The winter of 1880-1881 often has been called "the hard winter." A blizzard occurred as early as October, and although most of this early snow disappeared, heavy precipitation throughout the winter resulted in an accumulation of more than eleven feet of snow in many communities. Hardships were due not so much to low temperatures as to the privations caused by the snow blockade. Food and fuel grew scares as connections with the outside world were cut off. Some of the newly settled areas along the Upper Sioux and in the James Valley were snowbound for as long as from October to March. *** The discomforts and perils of the old-fashioned blizzards are largely things of the past. Settlement and windbreaks check the storm's sweep in many localities. More important, however, is the effective protection against the weather provided by better built homes, more adequate clothing, and improved communications which give ample warning of the storm's approach. The Dakota blizzard of today, although still a menace to rancher and stockman, has lost much of its ferocity and deadliness.
So fellow babies, it could be and has been worse. It is winter in South Dakota. It happens.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 4:37PM EST on December 22, 2009
I was on a panel last week on South Dakota Public TV's "South Dakota Focus" program discussing youth sportsmanship issues. The program will air in late January. "Focus" typically airs at 8 p.m. CT on Thursdays.
I appeared as someone involved in youth club sports as both a coach and referee. My sport is soccer. I was joined by a high school football coach, the head of the S.D. High School Activities Association, and an actual high school athlete. There were also guests via satellite and other technology who were coaches, athletes, and academics.
We all came to the conclusion that be it a high school or club sport, the biggest trouble makers were not the kids on the field or court or even their coaches. It is the parents. Some are pushy, rude, make horrible remarks during games, and meddle with coaches. The kids seem to understand it is a game; some of the parents do not.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 12:18AM EST on December 22, 2009
We might be in for a snowstorm Wednesday through Friday here in eastern South Dakota. And of course it would come at a bad time--just before, during, and after Christmas--when lots of people are traveling.
My friends at KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls are not going to let this possibility be lost on you. Their screaming red graphic on their very busy website lets you know that snow is possible.
I know this doesn't come from KSFY Chief Meteorologist Phil Shreck as he has too good of a head on his shoulders to cry wolf like this. Others at his station? Not so much.
For the love of God Sioux Empire, take cover! KSFY seems to say.
To which I answer: It's winter. It's South Dakota. Snow happens. If this surprises you, then you must either be a complete idiot or you come from a planet that has no winter.
I will guaran-damn-tee you that once the snow hits, KSFY will bring us the usual hack snowy fare stories like "snow shoveling safety" and "get a winter survival kit for your car." Watch and see your IQ spin downward.
So, instead of thinking about his own welfare and the playoffs, Number Four got in a verbal kerfuffle with his mild-mannered but Favre sucking-up coach and told him he wasn't going to leave the game. Period. Never mind that the Vikings are in a solid spot for the number two seed and home field for most if not all of the playoffs already.
I guess Brett knows what's best from a coaching point of view as well.
I predicted (ok, and hoped) that Favre, which must be French for massive, insufferable egotist, would pull a Mangino and stink like a smelly pile of unmelted Minnesota snow in December.
Kids, it looks like it might just be happening. Don't be purchasing your Super Bowl tickets just yet, Vikings fans.
Since my Mom tried to raise a nice young Methodist boy who believes in the perfectibility of people, I'll take them at their word. And it is the Hanukkah/Christmas season so everyone's better angels/Buddhas are out in force this week, my own included.
So now for my "last word" on this, which isn't even my own words. Over at the Sioux City Journal where I also feed this blog, one of my readers noted:
Good point. While in several states the Jewish vote is a big block of votes, in South Dakota, not so much. I'm guessing there are three synagogues in South Dakota--Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Aberdeen.
So what have we learned through all this? Maybe commenting on what politicians do regarding their own and others' religious beliefs and ascribing motives thereto is a dangerous, difficult business. I'm just saying.
So, was Barack pandering too? I don’t think so. I think he, like Nelson, was showing respect and appreciation for a religion not his own. (The photo is undated so I don’t know if President Obama was there as a U.S. Senator or before that as a state legislator or whatever.)
Google your favorite national male politician’s name and yarmulke and you’ll get lots of other similar, bipartisan kippah wearing photos. And gee, here’s a photo with Republican Presidential candidate John McCain–and a kippah! He must be pandering too!
Friends, politics and religion is a dangerous mix. Particularly when South Dakotans who don’ know much about other religions try to make partisan hay out of yarmulkes.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 2:34PM EST on December 15, 2009
My Democratic colleagues at Badlands Blue appear to take Republican Secretary of State and Congressional candidate Chris Nelson to task for wearing a kippah or yarmulke--a "skullcap"--at a menorah lighting ceremony with two Republican state legislators Monday.
Reporter David Montgomery reported the following (along with a picture, included at right), which in my opinion, is straight forward about what happened at the event and correct as to the etiquette for non-Jews to wear a kippah.
Anyway, here's a shot I nabbed of Nelson wearing a yarmulke, the Jewish skullcap donned even by non-Jews at Jewish ceremonies as a sign of respect. (Sattgast is in the background; there were not enough yarmulkes to go around. I believe Nelson was wearing one of Lederman's.)
The way I read it, it certainly seems as if they were attacking Secretary of State Chris Nelson for attending the lighting of the menorah at the state capitol, and for wearing a yarmulke at the ceremony as a sign of respect:
Young David had the tradition correct as I can find from my own research and experience at synagogues and at such holy Jewish sites as Yad Vashem and the Western Wall. Not only may non-Jewish males wear a yarmulke, it is encouraged. It is a sign of respect. It is not "pandering."
Frankly, it is similar to taking your shoes off before entering a Muslim mosque or Buddhist temple or taking your hat off when entering a church. It is not "pandering" but politeness and respect to another's culture and religion.
I'm not sure I go as far as my friend PP and call this an attack on someone's religion. However, the Badlands Blue posting shows a lack of sensitivity and understanding of Judaism and its traditions. I don't know why Chris Nelson was at the ceremony. But I'm guessing it wasn't just politics but a sincere wish to show respect to his colleagues' religion and Hanukkah holiday. Those seem like qualities we would want all our leaders to have, whatever political party they belong to.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 6:39PM EST on December 14, 2009
With the exception of Indian Country Today in its prime and sometimes from South Dakota Public Broadcasting and the Rapid City Journal, you'd really never know that a chunk of our fellow citizens live on Indian reservations and that often times, that existence is bleak and mean.
The NYT features a devastating story on Indian gangs. Yes, terrible, criminal big-city like gangs right here in KELOLAND. But since they are in Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River and other remote places, most of us South Dakotans don't care--and our MSM doesn't care either. It's takes the fancy-pants Easterners to shine a light on our problems.
An excerpt from the NYT story that should make your toes curl:
One 15-year-old member was mauled by rivals. A 17-year-old shot himself; another, on a cocaine binge and firing wildly, was shot by the police. One died in a drunken car wreck, and another, a founder of the gang named Gaylord, was stabbed to death at 27.
The press in South Dakota does not function beyond its pseudo-political pontificating. Except for an occasional flare of intelligence and enterprise, the South Dakota media is as dysfunctional as reservation life can be.
And here's the comment I left at the Nuke's posting:
To most of the SD MSM, the Reservations are out of site and out of mind. And it takes some time to develop contacts and become trusted to get the access one needs to tell the story well. Plus, much of the news is demographically driven. Are Native American gangs something that all important 18-54 year old women demographic want to watch? Nah. The editors and news directors assume they want to learn how to redecorate their homes on a budget.
Nuke, you probably know better than most that it’s been a good 20 years or so that most news organizations took seriously their obligation to inform people of “important” things like government and what really happens to 1/7th of our state’s population on a daily basis. We live in a time of celebrity goings on, “news you can use” and other triflings that now constitute “journalism,” particularly at the local level.
I was once proud of some of my work as a journalist to inform citizens of things they should know about. I’d never be able to do that today.
As much as they are hated by much of the public, thank God for the NYT, the WaPo, the WSJ, NPR, and once in a while, CNN, when they take on actual important issues with good reporting, facts, and insight.
Our state and local media doesn't have to solve the problem of Native American gangs. But it would be nice if it grew a set and at least tried to tell us about the problem. New Yorkers shouldn't have to be the only ones with the huevos to go to Pine Ridge and poke around for the truth in our own state.
Social media consultant Chris Voss says there are nine secrets to happiness. I don't want to give away his post since you should go read it yourself, but here are a couple of his "secrets":
Can't say that I disagree with these or the other "secrets." Actually, I'd place most of them in the common sense/Buddhist/cognitive psychology category of mindfulness.
Voss, Jefferson, and the Buddha are all pointing in the same direction--toward happiness if not at happiness.
Give Voss' "secrets" a try now and in 2010 and see if you at least get closer to that evasive happy place in your life.
It is all about, well, strange maps, both intentional and unintentional. Some are absurdly drawn maps made by humans. Others are "found" maps made by nature--or things like a leaky oil pan.
This one caught my eye for several reasons.
First, I'm a Nebraskan by birth. I still have a boatload of Epps and James in the Cornhusker State.
And second, it's a cool looking "map". It looks like Nebraska.
And third, is this map human made or did it just happen.
December 12, 2009 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)—Photography SAREX: A “SAREX” is military shorthand for “Search And Rescue EXercise.”Aerial photography and processing those images so they are suitable for use by the U.S. Air Force and local, state, tribal, and the federal governments is an important part of the CAP’s mission.CAP photos missions have included flooding in the Dakotas and showing where new radio and cell phone towers might conflict with the flight paths of the S.D. Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing’s F-16s.The Sioux Falls Composite Squadron will host the South Dakota Wing’s training on aerial photography and the use of various imaging software to process those photos.The S.D. Wing is one of the test sites in the North Central Region for ARGUS geologgers and data processing.Location: SFCS HQ, 3401 Aviation Ave. December 13, 2009 (6-9 p.m.)—SFCS Christmas Party:Senior Members, Cadets, and their families celebrate the holidays.Location: S.D. Air National Guard NCO Club. December 18, 2009 (5-5:30 p.m.)--We’re on the radio!: After their successful appearance December 6th on Inside KELOLAND, Deputy Commander 1Lt. Jerry Foy and Cadet Commander C/2Lt. Kendra Lauer will appear on KSOO-AM’s VPU with Ruth and Rick to talk about CAP and the SFCS.If you’d like to book Jerry, Kendra or other members of the SFCS for your public affairs or talk show, contact Capt. Todd Epp at 605.351.5021 or at eppcap@gmail.com. All Month--68th Anniversary of the Founding of the CAP:The Civil Air Patrol was founded just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 1, 1941. All Month—Newly Revamped SFCS Website:The squadron website at http://www.sfcap.us is newly revamped with lots of active content.Check it out! Promotions and Assignments—Cadets: Mark Huntington, promoted to Cadet Second Lieutenant; Zachary Erickson, promoted to Cadet Senior Airman; and Katie Dwire, promoted to Cadet Airman. Other Awards—Cadets: The SFCS had sevenCadets earn their Rocketry Badge and Patch, the most in recent Squadron history.The Cadets earned their badges by learning about rockets and then making and launching a progressively more complicated series of launch vehicles.Cadets earning their Rocketry Badge and Patch, which they can wear on their uniforms include: Mark Huntington, Sam Huntington, Seth Huntington, Kendra Lauer, Eric Menholt, Christopher Madsen, and Jacob Thom. December 17, 2009 (6:45-9 p.m.)—SFCS meets most Thursdays at 6:45 p.m. at Landmark Aviation’s Hangar 2 at 3401 Aviation Avenue just north of Joe Foss Field.Visitors are welcome.No meetings on December 24 and December 31, 2009.
The Civil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered private, non-profit corporation that is theauxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.Its primary missions are emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education.There are approximately 350 cadets and senior members in the S.D. Wing and 85 members in the SFCS.For more information about the SFCS or CAP, browse http://www.sfcap.us, http://www.sdcap.us, or http://www.capvolunteernow.com/media_center//online_media_kit.cfm.
Best SD* Political Blog Best SD* Lefty Political Blog Best SD* Rightwing Political Blog Best SD* New Political Blog Best SD* MSM Political Blog Best SD*Special Interest/Single Issue Political Blog SD* Political Blog Lifetime Achievement Award
I will try to limit the number of times a person can vote. However, people often use multiple computers to get around protocols that limit voting. Chris Nelson is not supervising this election.
What do the winners get? The satisfaction of knowing they are beloved.
But yesterday, when I had written here that I was having one of the worst birthdays in my life and had a terrible, terrible day, he left the following comment:
Todd I pray before I go to bed and reading this made me think It'd encourage you to listen in to my next prayer...
Heavenly Father I pray for Todd Epp and thank you for his 51 years and who you've made him to be. He is a gift to many people and your plans for him are good and specific. I pray he'd find encouragement in you and the people who love him. I declare this next year will be a breakthrough year in his search for what is true and that he'd learn even in this suffering that pain is not wasted in your economy. Show him how much you delight in him. In Jesus' name. Amen
I cannot tell you how touched I was by his concern and his prayer. I felt a burden lifted off of me after reading it.
He rolls as a Christian. I roll as a secular Buddhist with tinges of Mennonitism and Methodistism sprinkled in.
As I have been on my own spiritual path with Buddhism and the strength and comfort it gives me, I have also come to better appreciate religions and spiritual viewpoints that others believe (or in the case of my agnostic and atheist friends, don't believe).
Faith and belief (or non-belief) are intensely personal matters. And frankly, when you look at most religions and wisdom traditions, they all look kind of silly if they aren't yours.
That Pastor Steve would pray for me after some of the heated exchanges we've had means a lot to me. And it also makes another point. Our American culture is diverse. We're not always going to agree with each other on difficult issues like abortion and LGBT rights.
But our opponents are not our enemies. They are our fellow country men and women who come at things differently but just as sincerely as we do. Like a family that bickers, we can still love one another, or at least like one another, or at the very least, act civilly toward each other.
And Pastor Steve did that last night. And who am I to turn away help, whether it's my cup of spiritual tea or not. Life and spirituality are both great unknowns. While I think I'm right, Pastor Steve might also be right.
Pastor Steve, thank you very, very much. We may never agree on some pretty big issues, but you're more than alright in my book.
But to the Siouxland readers, who the heck am I am why do I care about Siouxland?
Well, I grew up in Siouxland. Yankton, SD to be precise. In the 1960s and 70s, Sioux City, not Sioux Falls, was the "big city" we went to. So much of my youth was spent in swim meets, basketball games, and shopping in Sioux City and South Sioux City. Now, it is soccer matches that bring me to Siouxland as a coach and referee.
And Sioux City and Sioux Falls are always confused with each other. And Sioux Falls is Sioux City's younger brother. We share similar histories and economies.
I'm a lawyer in private practice in Sioux Falls. I also referee soccer, I'm a captain in the Civil Air Patrol, I'm a Buddhist, married, and have 20 year old daughter who works for me and 15 year old son who is a freshman at Harrisburg High. I am a progressive Democrat but also rather independent thinking. I do have a man crush on President Obama. I am also a long suffering Kansas City Chiefs fan.
I hope you enjoy what I have to say. And if not, leave a comment and set me right.
As I noted yesterday, I figured our local scribes and newsreaders would get at least some chance to ask Sarah Palin
a softball question or two before she dribbled Sharpie ink on her new
coloring book for suckers who: A. Bought her coloring book; and B. Were
willing to stand hours in 15 degree temperatures for a chance to get a
few rays of reflected mavericky teabagginess from Miss Wasilla.
But, alas, as she showed in the 2008 Presidential Election,
Sarah talking with even the greenest of greenhorn local journalists is
simply a tire fire waiting to happen. So, our non-hard-hitting journos
were reduced to talking to the great unwashed who were waiting in line
to glimpse the reason why Sen. John McCain lost in 2008 or the poor, harried Barnes and Noble staff who had to help put on this freak show.
No interview with my buddies at KELOLAND. No interview with KSFY-TV. No interview with KDLT-TV. No interview with the Argus Leader. Maybe Pastor Steve Hickey got the local exclusive and I just haven't come across it yet.
Obviously, my lower darkside Republican babilicious companion Sarah has
every right to stiff the local 4th and 5th Estaters. I've done it
myself on behalf of clients and candidates. And frankly, it feels good
to do that sometimes.
But if you're looking to make or remake a name for yourself and maybe
run for President in 2012, it might not hurt to practice on the Sioux Falls media before taking on Katie Couric, David Gregory, and Diane Sawyer
in just a year or two when you're playing for big stakes. It might be
a good idea to know how to construct one or maybe two coherent
sentences in a row for a decent sound bite.
I'm just sayin', Sarah..
Sarah, as the great point guard you once were, think of it as Wasilla
High's varsity team playing the freshman. Otherwise, it will be like
going from the Alaska high school league to the NBA in one big jump. And you ain't no Kevin Garnett, sweetie.
But hey, you're "Going Rogue," and that means never having to say you're sorry--or anything else outside of a controlled situation. Good luck with that.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 3:55PM EST on December 7, 2009
Yesterday in my post about Sarah Palin's magical mystical tour to Sioux Falls, I had a throwaway line that perhaps the reason why Miss Wasilla stiffed the local press on interviews was that she gave an exclusive to Pastor Steve Hickey, he of anti-choice and Voices Carry blog fame.
Lo and behold, I may have stumbled upon something.
An anonymous commenter (yes, I'm now using the MSM's new "standard" of relying on unnamed sources I don't even know) said that maybe I was closer to the truth than I had kidded about:
Pastor Hickey did not speak in any of the services at his church yesterday; your assumption is correct, the Hickey's spent the better part of the day with the Palin's. Sarah Palin does not need the help of the dying media to connect with millions who support her.
(On this point we agree--the dying media.)
I emailed the good pastor and he promptly and politely emailed me back with a "no comment." To which I replied if I was hanging around with my Man Crush Barack Obama, I'd let everyone know.
So, inquiring minds want to know: Did Pastor Steve squire Gov. Palin around Siouxland and the Sioux Empire? If so, that's actually pretty cool.
And says something interesting about America's Most Famous Hockey Mom.
Posted by: Todd Epp at 10:18PM EST on December 5, 2009
Be sure to tune into KELOLAND-TV Sunday, 6 December 2009 at 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. CST for interviews with 1Lt. Jerry Foy, SFCS Deputy Commander, and C/2Lt. Kendra Lauer, SFCS Cadet Commander.
Host Perry Groten interviews them on the history of the CAP, the CAP's various programs and missions, why they joined CAP, and how you can become a member.
And our local media will be falling all over itself to get some mindless yet innocuous comment from her babiliciousness for the night’s ten p.m. “news” and Monday’s fishwrap. (Of course, no scorn is included for KELOLAND, the news leader of, well, KELOLAND.)
Don’t expect any hard questions. That’s not the South Dakota media’s way. I’s way is to be nice–particularly to the famous and the powerful when they parachute into our backyard.
Not that I’d walk across the street see ex-Governor You Betcha, but if I did, here are five questions I’d ask her:
2. Do you think there will come a time in your life when you will quit acting like a beauty queen and say something that is both: A. Intelligible; and B. Not some platitude?
3. How exactly did you “help Alaska” by resigning your office of governor before the end of your term?
4. Do you really think it was a good idea while Governor to address an Alaskan group that was calling for the secession of Alaska from the United States? Do you know that the last time states tried that we had this thing called the Civil War?
5. People started lining up this morning to read your new coloring book. Would you wait in line that long to read your book?
And a bonus question:
You obviously have a thing for guys named Todd. What are you doing after the book signing, don’t you know?
Don’t let the private jet hatch hit you on your butt on your way out of town, Sarah baby!
We are now unable to distinguish the “real” news media–the MSM–from the scandal sheets and gossip mills in print and on TV.*
The MSM and the “celebrity” news purveyors have effectively become one in the same in their news coverage of personal scandals.
The scandal hustlers actually broke the Woods wandering wood story using MSM-like investigative tactics–and lots of cash.
Initial MSM reports about the Tiger crash were “just the facts, ma’m.” Tiger was in an accident. Tiger was hurt. Tiger was taken to the hospital.
But not long after the Escalade hit the tree, the proverbial you know what hit the fan in the MSM about Tiger’s busy driver, thanks in large part to “reporting” prompted and performed by the gossipteers.
Even my long standing favorite MSM news source, National Public Radio–perhaps as stodgy, snooty, elitist, comprehensive, and high standard of news organization there is in America–has Tiger Fever.
Typically, NPR only covers “serious” topics like the economy, the Supreme Court, or countries you’ve never heard of. But even NPR can’t get enough of Tiger.
So if even the gold standard of American journalism jumps the shark into National Enquirer and Midnight and Star and TMZ territory, there is no longer effectively a difference. Maybe only in degree but not in kind. Scandal sells. Maybe NPR should have its local public radio affiliates do “friend raising” around the next celebrity sex scandal that breaks.
In fact, at a personal level, I’ve taken tangible action on this point. I’ve set up Feedly as my new RSS feeder. Rather than putting “News” and “Celebrity” feeds in separate categories, I now have them in the same category of “News.”
Why bother parsing the difference. It’s now all the same b.s.
In our brave new world of Lewinsky’s loose lips and Tiger’s deviating driver and “news” coverage thereof, the distinction between news and gossip has been lost. Worse, the distinction between news organizations and scandal whores has been lost.
And we can blame the MSM all we want for this dumbing down. But it is really us who are at fault. We watch, we read, we tune in. We share the details with our co-workers. The MSM now gives us what we used to secretly glance at in the grocery store checkout lane and snickered at. Only now we consider it news.
It is now only a matter of time before we hear NPR’s Renee Montagne tell us that aliens who impregnated Dr. Phil and Angelina Jolie while on a no exercise weight loss plan will visit us before the world ends in 2012.
*One could argue the date goes back even farther, thanks again to President Clinton, to 1992 and Bill’s various “bimbo eruptions” that were similarly covered. I’ll let future historians sort that one out.
Here is a portion of the South Dakota Department of Education organizational chart from December 2005. Guess who's towards the top of the org chart? The daughter of the Governor's business partner--and the Governor's own political appointee, Rep. Kristin Conzet.
Again, Rep. Conzet may turn out to be the next Rep. Joe Barnett or Rep. George T. Mickelson in the S.D. House. But it doesn't hurt to have the right name and the right pull in the right places to get your start.
No biggee, right? We get a new Republican legislator because someone else had to step down. (And Rep. Dreyer, my best wishes to you and your colleagues as you go defend our nation.)
But if you know a little something about South Dakotapolitics, you'll also remember that Rep. Conzet is the daughter of Karl Fischer.
Karl Fischer was the Fischer of Fischer-Rounds Insurance fame in Pierre. As in Mike Rounds the insurance company owner.
So, Gov. Rounds appoints his business partner's daughter to be a legislator in the Governor's last year of office.
That's something that just makes me want to go "hmmm."
I cast no aspersions upon Rep. Conzet. She's probably as qualified as anyone else in the state to be a legislator. It's not like there is some test to be a legislator. And heck, somebody has to fill the seat, so it might as well be a nice young woman from Ft. Pierre.
But I would like to hear my young Republican friends now who complained about Brendan Johnson being appointed U.S. Attorney for South Dakota solely on the basis of his father--Sen. Tim Johnson--and politics. Brendan was and is well qualified--and even had to be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate. Rep. Conzet is basically bestowed to her position by her dad's former business partner, the Governor.
I don't find any of this horrifying or spelling the End of Democracy As We Know It. Maybe a little disappointing because I like Gov. Rounds and kind of expected a little more from him. But politicians of both flavors try to obtain power so they can use it. This is just Exhibit A in that age old quest.
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