Tom Johnson Speaks (kind of)
Check out the latest in one of the most bizarre South Dakota political stories I've ever seen:
Police learned the driver, who was dressed as a woman, was actually a man. Johnson said the driver was someone he knows — not a campaign worker, as reported in other media outlets — but he didn’t want to disclose how long he has known the 18-year-old man, whom he knew as a woman named Trina Seviera.“I’m not going to give you that information,” Johnson said. “This is about turning into a witch hunt.”
Police Chief Craig Tieszen, who is taking media calls on the incident, said he has seen photos of the driver. “Appears to be Trina to me,” Tieszen said.
Johnson said he had not been drinking at all Monday night — “zero, not a drop” — and had been putting out campaign signs after leaving a Rapid City Council meeting that ended late Monday. Johnson said he had no idea his companion had been drinking, but he didn’t want to explain how they had met that night.
“Again, that’s all the information I’m going to give you,” he said.
and...He said the driver was bailed out “by someone” but would not disclose if he was involved in arranging bail.
Johnson, 50, said he was growing weary of the questions he was fielding from the media. Johnson said he didn’t break any laws, didn’t buy or provide alcohol to anyone and wasn’t aware he was in a car with an under-aged person who was driving under the influence.
He said the man whom he thought was a woman had told him once that he was older than 18. But Johnson, who is recently divorced, declined to offer many details into their relationship.
What? "Johnson, 50, said he was growing weary of the questions he was fielding from the media." Well, no kidding. I'm sure he is weary of the questions. Because the media, as much as everyone else in the state are scratching their heads at this one.
Somehow, I think it would be hard for any 50 year old candidate to explain why they were in a car with a drunk, 18 year old girl at night. Adding the fact that it was a boy in drag, and the candidate *claims* he had no idea it was, doesn't instill any additional confidence.
In a campaign year with all the utter nonsense that the Rapid City municipal elections have brought forth, this was just the cherry on top.
- Hunter S. Thompson
Comments
“I wasn’t terribly surprised,” he said. “I knew the community was going toward a change and wanted to go for the most far-out alternative.
“Sam (Kooiker, who finished first) was the furthest out there for change and Alan (Hanks, who was second) was next.”
Give them a read if you have the time.
Kevin Woster has continues his personal vendetta against me my not allowing one comment I have yesterday. As I reported yesterday, the Rapid City Journal run Mount Blogmore has allowed anti-Christian bigoted statements on their web site, but has deleted my attempts to respond. But they have deleted my attempts to provide dissent to the far-left dominated web site. Remarkably, comments about eating puppies are allowed. Here is a comment I sent in response to that issue:
Hey Wiken, thanks for the anti-puppy comment. I posted it on my web site along with explaining the anti-Christian bigotry of this web site. And speaking on anti-Christian bigotry, here is an excerpt from yesterday’s Rush Limbaugh where he talks about people like Frankenfeld:
Well, now, wait a minute, the Republican Party is doing everything it can to diminish the role of Christian conservatives in it's structure." Well, not every Republican is, but face it, there are many moderate blue-blood Republicans out there just embarrassed all to hell that there are 24 million conservative Christians in the Republican Party. They're known primarily as pro-lifers and of course these moderate country club blue-blooders, it's embarrassing to be in the same party with them.
That comment was not allowed. In case you don’t know, Don Frankenfeld was one of the Republicans for Daschle in 2004. Later another comment about eating puppies was allowed:
i ate dog once in korea. i’m pretty sure it was fully grown, and not a puppy though, because it was very tough to chew.
i would expect puppies to be more tender.
while in korea, i also ate chicken feet, silk worm larvae and living, squirming squid tentacles.
…..and all without complaining (in fact i quite enjoyed it).
This response was not allowed:
17: Wow, you really ate all that stuff? I wonder if those anti-Christian bigots who say a fetus is not a person would complain about the idea of eating aborted pre-borns?
South Dakota Democrat activist Bill Fleming (who adores Frankenfeld) referred to me as a whiner, and this response was also not allowed:
15: "Maybe they should just ad "no whining" to the bullet list of rules at the top of the blog and leave it at that."
It is because of your "whining" that I am being Chavezed.
The last comment of mine allowed by Woster was on his thread regarding the Federal game warden. I responded to a response Woster made on that comment:
6: "Sib: I think you made a joke! Excellent. K.W. "
Yes Kevin, I know you like Fleming because he is funny. And Fleming wants this web site to be a fun loving neighborhood. This ties in to a post I found on the Dakota Voice Blog. Excerpt:
Thomas Sowell examines "Adolescent Intellectuals" today at TownHall.com.
The piece carries a theme I explored a few years ago when I wrote for Toogood Reports. I said that liberals were like children because all they know is their want, their "need," without regard for the wisdom of restraint. In their single-minded pursuit of pleasure and fulfillment, they sound and act very much like petulant, spoiled children.
So Fleming’s neighborhood is actually an elementary school playground. And the reason why I am so hated is that I am just too adult for you kids.
That was deleted too. As the Drive-by media insists on "open government" in order to be able to report on what is going on with our government, they refuse "open journalism" in order for us to better understand what they do and don’t report. The biggest part of media bias is in what they do not report, and in this case, it is my comment to their web site. Their excuses for banning me are void of substance because they allow the far-left to violate those same rules.
can no one put their name to anything anymore?
Aside from that, I wasn't taking a position on anything one way or another. I was just reporting what was observed.
You'll know when I'm editorializing.
You are a voter. So am I. You have a right to your opinion. So do I.
Thune obviously isn't sure where where he should stand publicly on this issue. Now he says he will vote against his belief. Of course no one will ever know how he votes so that is more empty rhetoric.
Can South Dakota politics become any more weird? In all probability, yes.
Congratulations, you got that right. The State sets the general fund levy for K-12. Which means, because of varying increases in assessments, the total taxes collected could go down, while actually raising taxes for some. And the folks that had the increase in taxes, did not have to be in a school district that was increasing expenditures, taxes increase because of INCREASING ASSESSMENTS, and not because of increasing spending. Spending has been capped, but taxes collected from an individual tax-payer have not been capped.
If assessments go up, boards that are prudent spenders can lower the levy to offset the increased assessments.
Does South Dakota have a limit on the levy amount?
Tax levies for the capital outlay fund part of the school assessment are set by law at maximum of 3%. The school district can levy anywhere from 0% to 3% depending on how much they think they need for capital outlay projects. Our school district built a new elementary school and thus the levy is at 3% (actually had been there most of forever I think even before this). Based on rising assessments and new home construction in our district and rising prices of farm land, even though the capital outlay levy reamins at 3%, the amount taken in by the school district is rising dramatically every year. In other words, the levy stays the same but my taxes are going up!
For the general fund, the levy is set each year by the state legislature. It varies a little but not much from year to year, but as assessments go up, so do taxes. The levy is supposed to keep the ratio between local vs state contributions about the same every year, so there are not the huge rises that are seen with the capital outlay levy.
As I said, this is on the wrong thread, so just might find the right one and post this there too.
http://sibbyonline.blogs.com/sibbyonline/2007/06/democrats_just_.html