South Dakota War College

Stop him before his family vision creates another one!! Sorry. Too many comic books and B-movies when I was a kid. That and I couldn't resist the family vision thing.

If you hadn't noticed, I discovered Churchsigngenerator.com this morning.

With a snarky attitude and a sharp tongue, some might consider me "the most" fun South Dakota Republican Blogger. Some might consider me "the most" annoying SD Republican Blogger. And others have complimented me as being "the most" informative on such issues as the legislative and local races. With six kids, it's probably undisputed that I'm "the most" prolific South Dakota Blogger. Somehow I don't think that one isn't up for challenge. And I've also been described as having "the most" grammatical and spelling errors. (But I keep trying) Today, I'm informed there's a new honor for me. One of the readers was nice enough to point out that someone else thinks I'm "the most" - none other than Bonnie Russell of the South Dakota Judicial Accountability movement. Check it out from Amendment E xecrable... Amendment E for short: Welcome to South Dakota's Amendment E. This website was created to edu...

It's probably an understatement that Bill Napoli has takes some crap for his comments about abortion. In state, out of state. He even made Cruel Site of the day at cruel.com for Monday March 13 . Bill thinks a clarification is in order, so by gosh, the SDWC is as good a soapbox as any to respond to the criticism. Without further ado: Some friends have urged me not to write this article. They claim it could be political suicide. I realize my comments will be dissected and distorted once again by those on the other side. But, I feel it is necessary and important to tell you about my 45 minute interview with the Lehrer NewsHour. I went into this interview knowing that the outcome might be brutal, yet I did not feel I should be afraid to discuss these issues. My comments about “simple rape” outraged people who told us in no uncertain terms, “There is no simple rape; all rapes are vicious and horrible”. With all due respect, South Dakota has a clear definition difference between non-v...

This afternoon, Don Carr over at the SDDP threw a few partisan stones at the GOP today on the Blue Note: The Governor and Republican legislators have fumbled the ball so often that even the Miami Dolphins wouldn’t entertain a trade. As it’s been pointed out before, South Dakotans are hungry for leadership. They are fed up with fringe issues trumping the meat and potato concerns of average South Dakotans. They are tired of clumsy spin and empty rhetoric. South Dakota Democrats will deliver a better education, better wages, better opportunities for our farmers, and an open government by and for the people. ( Read it all here ) Zzzzz... Zzzz... Oh, sorry. I dozed off listening to the empty spin and clumsy rhetoric. I was waiting onthe edge of my seat to hear about all the Democratic accomplishments this year. C'mon guys. Do you think the heated rhetoric means diddly? Right now I don't see the SDDP announcing it's legislative accomplishments. Voters don't vote for you becau...

I had a report tonight that my buddy Russell Olson , with the Heartland Consumers Powers District in Madison has thrown his hat into the ring for the District 8 House Race as a Republican candidate against Gerry Lange and Dave Gassman . (Think they're invincible? Click here for a recording of a stupid Lange statement s, and here for a Gassman's observation ) I'm looking for great things from Russ, as I heard he did a dynamic job speaking tonight. Also, my report from tonight's Lincoln Day Dinner in Madison where the announcement took place also had the locals announcing a candidate for the Senate. I didn't get the name yet, but I'm sure I'll have it tomorrow.

The Argus Leader is reporting tonight that there is a new organization forming to place the hb1215 measure on the ballot as a referred issue. Great. Just what we needed. An organized battle. Opponents of the ban have been planning a petition drive to refer the law to a public vote, and that effort will likely begin tomorrow. After Friday's announcement, a training session will be held on how to gather petition signatures, Planned Parenthood told its supporters today." It is very important that we have lots of activists there," according to an email from Planned Parenthood's regional office. Several groups opposed to the ban have expressed support for such a referendum. To get the abortion ban on the Nov. 7 ballot, opponents would need to gather 16,728 signatures by June 19. Friday’s news conferences by the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families are set for 11 a.m. central time at the downtown library in Sioux Falls and a senior citizens' center in Rapid City...

Add Sioux Falls Libertarian John Anderson to your list of candidates this year. He's running for the House in District 12. (That makes 2 legislative candidates for the libs). In District 17, Democrat Patricia Norin of Centerville has turned petitions in to run for the House, as has Diane Kastner of Kennebec in District 21 (Also a d). Republican Dale Gunderson has turned in petitions to run for the House in District 35, increasing the size of that primary with Mark Kirkeby , Jeff Haverly , and Stacy Wollman . Checking out CCK , he's mentioning that District 14 Democrats will have House candidates by the name of Marc Feinstein and Jacey Harmon in the race. Don't be afraid to e-mail me at red_touch@yahoo.com and keep me informed on this stuff!

Good Advertising - Bold name and office. and only a few bulleted points. As an added bonus, he'd appreciate your support. I don't have to think, I just have to read it in 15 seconds, and I have it. Not so good - Name and office only stand out so-so. He has bullets, but I'm wondering if I can take my kids in for Family Vision care. And then there's these long rambling paragraphs. Too much for such a small ad. Keep it short and sweet, and put your emphasis on those things you want the voting public to remember - Name and Office!

If you haven't heard, Dennis Wiese is in . As posted on the SDDP Blue Note : Dennis Wiese, Flandreau, confirmed today that he will be seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor. Wiese intends to formally announce his candidacy after his petitions are filed. Wiese is a Moody County native and served as President of the South Dakota Farmer’s Union for 12 years. Dr. Jack Billion, Sioux Falls, has already announced his intention to run. Tyler Smith of Aberdeen is also currently circulating petitions. No information is known at this time about whether Tyler is going to run, but it certainly seems like he's still getting signatures.

From today's Mitchell Daily Republic's letters to the editor: I read this, and my immediate thought was "What the hell does this confusing letter about lawsuits and bad acts, murder and mayhem committed by police officers in California have to do with anything in Mitchell?" It was confusing, and didn't have anything at all to do with South Dakota. That was my first clue what it was all about. My second was the author of this odd letter. Bonnie Russell. Yeah, THAT Bonnie Russell. Apparently the South Dakota Jail for Judges contingent has decided to run a stealth campaign which has little or nothing to do with the issue they're campaigning on. They're going to convince the people of South Dakota to support their measure by clouding their minds with inane letters to the editor describing bad acts of police in paragraph after paragraph. And then without identifying why they are writing the letter or who they represent, they'll swoop in at the end of th...

Without a doubt, this is the nicest state legislative newspaper campaign ad I've seen to date this election. And it's likely going to remain the best one. Full color, big and bold - it's just how I like them. Except it has a slight problem. I went to look at that website, and there was nothing there. It's not a big deal. It happens. So I went to Network Solutions and did a whois search to see who is doing the site for him. But Network Solutions wasn't showing www.AlvineForSenate.com as having been registered. That's a problem. If I had decided to purchase the website being advertised, all I would need is my credit card, and I'm good to go. THE SITE WOULD BE MINE. That would really stink if it was your opponent purchasing it. It's entirely possible that it's already registered under another service, purchased and good to go. Maybe. Or maybe not. If a person is running for office, and they are advertising a website at a specific web address, it might b...

I had this e-mail sent to me by a reader who recieved it, and I'm very appreciative. I'm going to reserve comment for after you have a chance for the JAIL point of view. So, Read it . Subject:My resignation from J.A.I.L. Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:30:21 -0600 From: Bill Stegmeier Dear Friends and South Dakota Judicial Accountability supporters: I have resigned from Jail4Judges as of today. I have NOT resigned from the South Dakota Judicial Accountability Amendment cause (which will now be known as simply "Amendment E"). In fact, I am more determined than ever. Our opposition has latched onto what they probably think is the "Achilles heal" of Amendment E, that being the dishonest assertion that Amendment E is being forced on South Dakota by a bunch of wacko Californians known as "Jail4Judges". This has to change, and it will beginning with my resignation. It is unfortunate that it has come to this. I as well as several others tried to convince Ron ...

What was with Blogger today? After fighting with it at lunch to no avail, I just finally got back to it, and it's all goofy. I was enjoying a meal this evening with Todd Epp of SD Watch fame, and afterwards when I go to check the RSS buzz, I see my blog has gone to white. That, and my page hits are in the dumpster today. I've got everything finally fixed now, but my apologies nonetheless.

You know, I come up with these neat ideas for blog content, and I need to make sure I keep doing them. So this is another edition of Campaign Lit 101. I'm not so sure it isn't too early for a lot of campaign literature. Aside from statewide candidates putting out early materials, you only have legislative hopefuls... also putting out early literature. Here's an example: This campaign piece from Dennis Arnold in Watertown was distributed at the Codington County Lincoln Day Dinner, and a reader was kind enough to get me a copy for review. I get and try to keep all of this stuff for reference. I try to emulate the best, ignore what doesn't work, and see if there are any statements that I would classify as goofy in case it's needed for the future. Anyway, this campaign piece is just a quick one off so there was something at the dinner that introduced people to his candidacy. For something quick and dirty, I actually don't mind this. While the layout is good lookin...

I'm noticing slim numbers of readers today in comparison to yesterday. Yes, I got one quick one off this AM, and otherwise haven't had time to look at it until now. I spent my lunch hour reviewing a couple of potential business opportunities in Brookings and making phone calls on them which took precedence. I had hoped to do a quick post at noon from information I got last evening. I was out eating dinner last night with Senator Greenfield who got to town late in preparation for Session today, and we ended up running into Senator Frank Kloucek. Frank had a legislative release he asked me to post, and I agreed. But I go to put it up, and I see Todd Epp beat me to it. What? I'm in the number two position on Frank's hit parade after Todd? Rats. At that point, posting it seemed silly, since there's a link on the left to the same post on Todd's blog which would give people the same thing. Speaking of Todd, I'm hoping to catch up with him this evening, or for Lun...

If you're not checking here for your legislative candidate fix, I'm not sure what you're thinking. "The List" as it sits today from the Secretary of State's office: 1 House Democratic Halverson, Clayton 3/16/2006 1 House Democratic Sigdestad, David 3/21/2006 1 Senate Democratic Hanson, Gary D. 2/27/2006 2 House Democratic Dennert, H. Paul 3/21/2006 3 House Republican Novstrup, Al 3/13/2006 3 House Republican Novstrup, David 3/13/2006 4 House Democratic Street, Steve 3/20/2006 4 House Republican Noshbush, Mary E. 3/21/2006 4 House Republican Rausch, Val 3/21/2006 4 Senate Democratic Peterson, Jim 3/21/2006 5 House Republican Faehn, Bob 3/21/2006 5 House Republican Koistinen, Al 3/21/2006 5 Senate R...

From the Rapid City Journal: Royal "Mac" McCracken announced Monday that he is seeking a fourth term in the South Dakota Senate representing District 34, which includes much of Rapid City west of Sheridan Lake Road. McCracken serves as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and is on the Senate Transportation and State Affairs committees. During past terms in office, he was elected and served as the Senate majority whip (2001-2002); assistant majority leader of the Senate (2003-2004); and on the executive board of the Legislative Research Council (2001-2004). Nationally, McCracken serves as an elected member of the executive committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures; on the executive committee of the Task Force on State and Local Taxation of Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce; as past chairman and current member of the Standing Committee on Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce; and as a South Dakota delegate for the Streamlined S...

Corey Vilhauer over at Black Marks on Wood Pulp sent out an e-mail today that he will be doing a blogpost on his top 100 songs of all times. He's also enlisted friends and bloggers for suggestions and their own top 10 lists, and tonight I provided mine. As part of the prelude to his list, he's going to provide listings from the requested lists, so I'd encourage you to watch for his posts as they begin to go up, starting on the 24th.

As announced in the comment section in Mt. Blogmore : Being Jankow’s #1 enemy, I hope to give, anyone who challenges the establishment, the information to win. We need to get the Janklow thugs, like Abdallah, out. I emailed Napoli when he was quoted in the paper suggesting some senator get off his ass and attend the meetings that perhaps he should get his head out of his. I plan to run in district 23 for the senate ( my emphasis - pp ) and see if we support justice or not. Comment by Merlyn Schutterle — 3/19/2006 @ 1:26 pm Yes, you're reading it here second (after Mt. Blogmore). Merlyn Schutterle, a.k.a. the Phantom Molester, is telling people on the internet that he's running against Republican Senator Jay Duenwald. I'm not sure what party he's representing, but he's verbally throwing his hat in the ring. Not familiar with the Phantom.. er, Merlyn that is? Here's his own website on geocities , and a KELO link on his considering the US House race back in 2002...

From Saturday Night Live Weekend Quotables : From Saturday, March 11, 2006 'WEEKEND UPDATE' CO-ANCHOR TINA FEY -- "South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds on Monday signed legislation banning almost all abortions in the state. As a result, South Dakota is changing its motto from 'Under God The People Rule' to 'You Should Have Thought Of That Before Prom.'"