South Dakota War College

On the eve of her wedding, State Senator Orv Smidt writes to the Argus Leader condemning Congresswoman Herseth for her actions on the Iraq funding bill - calling them "emboldening to the enemy:" I ask you to consider how Herseth has gotten to be such an expert that she can deny the commander-in-chief, the Defense Department, the Secretary of State and our brave soldiers the resources they need to fight and win in Iraq? Why it is OK to embolden our enemy by publishing a timetable for withdrawal? I was once a soldier in Vietnam. The actions by our political leaders of the time told me that my service to our country was not appreciated. and... Our brave soldiers in Iraq don't want to hear that either. Go read it all here . Considering (as a Brookings residnt) he's her State Senator in Pierre, this is particularly stinging.

CCK was kind enough to remind me of my own bit of hubris with a post he did today. Argh. Yes, that was me. Fresh after completely kicking butt in the Pennington County elections, when other Republicans took a bath in the Clinton election victory. I started off attending a couple of events, and I forged on by myself with no active committee. (What the hell was I thinking?) Yup, I started to make all the bad mistakes. Fortunately for my own sake, God intervened, and my exploratory effort which was destined for doom was quickly cut short by finding out my wife was pregnant with my #2. A paycheck which came in regular intervals suddenly seemed much more important than fame and glory. 14 years later and wiser, I have no regrets about pulling the plug. And I have a soft spot for those willing to roll the dice.

I just caught one of the comments about the adelstein ad in the Pennington Co. Lincoln Day Dinner Program . Aside from being surprised anyone read it, I was floored that this might be indicative of the content: The ad states that he hopes the people in distrist 32 will have the priviledge of letting him respresent them again. Shouldn't that be the other way around? Nah. He couldn't be that arrogant, could he? Let's figure out if the rumor is true. Does anyone have this? E-mail me a jpeg or .pdf of it here. UPDATE - Here it is. "Thank you... for choosing me to represent District 32 in six elections. I hope that you will have the opportunity to do so again."After reading this, there's only one thing that comes to mind: Hubris. Hubris or hybris according to its modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution. Lucky them that they might have the opportunity for Stan to represent them again. For t...

It's always been speculated that Democratic judges hold on to their seats until they die, or a Democratic President is assured, so they can pass the seat on to another Democratic Judge. Of course, this has caused a severe disconnect between what the people want, and judges who like to legislate from the bench. Today, according to the Associated Press, a South Dakota judge seems to be admitting that it's the sole reason he's hanging on: U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann, 69, put off his retirement after two fellow Democratic judges agreed to share his workload - a move that could allow someone from their party to get Kornmann's job if a Democrat is elected president in 2008. Kornmann and one of the other judges acknowledged the arrangement in interviews with The Associated Press. Joseph Haas, the federal clerk of court for South Dakota, also confirmed some of the Kornmann's caseload was reallocated last fall. and... "The other judges don't want me to reti...

Busy morning. Just got my wife on the road to her conference after the Kindergarten screening for PPjr, and the new dishwasher (courtesy of my tax return) is in. MrsPP is supposedly going to be president elect of her professional organization, so I'm in Brookings a couple days early to hold down the fort. And at this point, I think I'm going to go hide and take a nap. Last night's thunderstorms turned my 9:30pm flight into a driving trip to Brookings with a starting time of 10:45pm. So, I'm going to take some time off of blogging, do some grocery shopping, and try to slip a nap in before I have to run kids to Tae Kwon Do, and pick others up from day care. (In home day care, in case you're asking). And for the smarty pants who said "PP for Congress" - I wasn't sure if I was asleep and having nightmares already. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I have this streak of brutal honesty which has never done me any favors. Oddly enough, people don't ...

Ouch - Check out this spanking that the Mitchell Daily Republic just served up to our Congresswoman with regards to her vote on Iraq. And only a few days preceding her marriage: If this is the “new leadership” promised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then she shamelessly misled the public by promising to end partisan politics. While we believe Herseth erred in voting for the bill, we don’t doubt her sincerity when she said she believed the measure was a compromise between those who demand an immediate withdrawal for Iraq and those who want no timetable at all. A better course for Herseth lay in a third option. She should have opposed the measure and explained to her constituents that while she continues to support agriculture — which no one doubts — she could not endorse a measure that forced lawmakers to choose between two equally unattractive positions. By taking this path, she would have demonstrated that the measure was flawed because it included only two options, neither of them a...

The Argus is reporting tonight that another California group is looking at South Dakota to be it's ballot initiative laboratory: A national group that spearheaded successful ballot initiatives in three states to end racial preferences in hiring and other areas may soon target South Dakota. and... “South Dakota has been on our list since day one,” said Diane Schachterle, a spokeswoman for the group. Read it here . And read about the organization here . Unlike the J.A.I.L. lunatics who preceded them, ending affirmative action type programs might not necessarily be a bad thing. But by the same token, I don't know if I could support it without (#1) reviewing it in depth, and (#2) it was actually initiated by South Dakotans because of abuses of the system we were having here. I mean, when was the last time this was a problem in South Dakota? Is this going to affect anyone's employment practices? Is it going to affect University enrollment preferences? Who knows? And until the ...

"Cabled" Definition: (verb ) A new term for an instance when a South Dakota boy goes for a walk by himself at night in a major urban center and makes a turn on to a dark side street, and gets assaulted and robbed by several assailants. Example . "Ole left the hotel he was staying at in Manhattan. He got bored, and decided to go for a midnight walk, but got cabled after he turned down that dark alley. Lena had to wire home for more money after that." See here at the Argus Leader for details . Yes, Thank god he's ok. But who walks on dark side streets by themselves in cities?

In a press release issued today, Democratic State Senator Frank Kloucek is taking his case for the public to be concerned about Ridgefield to the Government Operations and Audit Committee. Senator Kloucek Requests Government Operations and Audit Committee Investigate Ridgefield Farms State investment issues March 26th 2007 News Release: for immediate release, for more info call Senator Frank@ 583-4468 Senator Frank Kloucek formally requested that the Government operations and Audit committee do an in depth investigation of state involvement in the Ridgefield farms investment issues. Kloucek said, "I presented a formal written request for a Ridgefield investigation based on advice from the Legislative Research Council. The time has come to hold hearings and demand full accountability of the Dept. of Agriculture and Governors Office of Economic Development. Those development dollars, staff time, resources and direct state involvement cry for full disclosure and transparency. We must...

I'm trying to get my hands on this, as I heard a brief clip, and it was hilarious. Apparently, some tech savvy politicos are taking portions of attorney Pat Duffy's arguments and recorded statements on the Sutton matter, remixing them, and setting them to music. The one I heard was set to an R&B track, and the result was a very "Barry White-eque" mantra about getting "lathered up." Ok, SOMEONE out there has it . E-mail me , and tell me where I can find it.

My sources tell me that former Senator Adelstein was very visible at the Pennington County Lincoln Day Dinner this past weekend. Given how much he spent to defeat Republicans this last election (as well as his blatant self-promotion of himself as a Democratic choice for Lt. Governor), I would have thought he'd be as comfortable at a Republican event as the devil in a cathedral. Shameful.

According to Lifenews, as a non-candidate yet at this point, former Senator Fred Thompson is affecting presidential polls as a non-establishment conservative outsider. And people are starting to ask - Is he the next Ronald Reagan? Pro-life advocates have been looking for an alternative to the current crop of Republican presidential candidates and they may have found their man. Since saying he's considering a bid for the GOP nomination, actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has shown well in his first poll. The results are enough to make some political observers say he could be the next Ronald Reagan -- a conservative political outsider who bests the Republican Party's establishment candidates. The latest USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Friday through Sunday shows Thompson, who recently said he is pro-life and favors overturning Roe v. Wade, at 13 percent among Republicans nationally. Ironically, the poll also finds pro-abortion ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani ...

If anyone is interested, click on the image to get your own "Draft Fred Thompson" link for your website, and to show your support.

The Argus had already mentioned it, but an official announcement is out from the Huckabee Campaign naming South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Huckabee for President Campaign: Campaigning in Iowa today, Mike Huckabee announced that Governor Mike Rounds (R-SD) will serve as Chairman of the National Steering Committee of his presidential exploratory campaign. "I'm truly proud to have the strong support and backing of Mike Rounds -- a distinguished governor and true leader -- who also shares my governing philosophy and political ideas," said Huckabee, who served as Arkansas governor from 1996-2007, during a media availability in Sioux City. Huckabee said Rounds, whose state shares a border with Iowa, will work with 2006 lieutenant governor nominee Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City and former Iowa House Speaker Pro Tem Danny Carroll of Grinnell to help deliver Iowa and the early primary states. Huckabee previously named Vander...

The Mitchell Daily Republic has a story from that area's legislators noting that Abortion, the 150% rule and School Enrollment Numbers are issues that are all coming back in 2008. The issue of educational funding was another hot button issue. Sen. Ed Olson, R-Mitchell, said the debate on educational funding highlighted a philosophical difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives. “They’re far more conservative than we are,” he said. “They don’t really look as much as we do as education being an investment.” and... “It is going to come back,” said Rep. Lance Carson, R-Mitchell. “As long as the Legislature is around, there will be some kind of abortion bill.” After voters shot down an abortion ban in November, HB 1293 was introduced. The bill, which made exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother, was passed by the House but was deferred to the 41st day by the Senate State Affairs Committee, effectively killing the plan. Olson said he fielded many que...

As referred to in the Argus Fluff article on the Herseth wedding - Here's one for those who aren't familiar with the song set to be played for the couple's first dance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtadUsFwhhQ Someone out on You Tube has posted the song as recorded on TV back in 1967. Groovy, man.

The Rapid City Journal has a story today on the plethora of candidates that are jumping into the Mayoral race. Despite it all, the mayor has one thing he wants to be clear. He is not accepting any paid consulting from Alderman Mike Schumacher: Shaw clarified Monday that he would not accept paid consulting from Schumacher. “If Mike is paid by Mr. Hamilton, I don’t need or want any campaign manager,” he said. Two weeks ago Shaw said he would accept Schumacher’s help if offered, but said he and his family would run the campaign itself, like they have done in the past. and... Schumacher, who is running for re-election to the council, said he doesn’t know if the controversy generated about the situation will harm his own election chances. At least two people are running against Schumacher in Ward 1. Read it all here . This comes a day or so after one of Mike's former supporters, State Senator Bill Napoli just lambasted him in the letters to the editor column in the same newspaper. Ch...

(HT to Argus .) Apparently the South Dakota GFP is going to be stocking Rainbow trout April 1st just a little ways down the street from me. “The first stocking of trout will be released in the Oahe Marina below the Oahe Dam by April 1 with additional stockings planned throughout April,” Hanten said. “Trout will also be released in Downs Marina and, if these fish follow the same patterns as they have in the past, they will migrate out of the marina and spend several weeks in and around the LaFramboise causeway fishing piers. Read that here . Maybe I can catch them off the deck at the American Legion Cabin. Mmmmmm. My mouth is already watering. But don't tell anyone they taste good sauteed in butter. Someone might try to ban it next year as being bad for you.

Score one for Good Government. The Argus is reporting that the veto was sustained, and the vote to overturn failed 22-46. Thank you to those House members who voted to halt nanny-government in it's tracks. Hopefully this vote was strong enough we won't see it again.

This is basically the note that I'm sending out to many of the Legislators this AM on HB 1189 : As the parent of six, soon to be seven children, I can assure you that this bill is a burden for your constituents with larger families, as well as an unreasonable intrusion of government into a decision best left to individuals. It is not based in sound logic, because if it were, all persons regardless of age who didn't meet certain height and weight criteria would be forced to use booster seats, whether they were 7, 10, or 30 years old. In this instance one needs to ask oneself - at what point does government's role in our lives become overreaching? At what point are we no longer allowed to exercise our own judgement or free will? It's easy to ban something because someone says "it's dangerous" or "it's bad for us." But absent a public outcry, should a legislator's personal objections give a legislative body the right to impose a law upon th...

Sorry if I've been incommunicado over the weekend. I've been in Brookings working on home projects such as cleaning out the garage. While I was doing that, there was lots going on. First and Foremost, South Dakota lost one of the true greats in politics this weekend. Dr. William "Bill" Farber passed away at the age of 96. Bill, who has had many students close to him over the years (typically known as "Farber Boys") reach national heights in politics and government was one of the true deans of South Dakota politics. Go read the article about him by Meagan Meyers at the Argus Leader . The last time I saw him, was at USD during the 2002 campaign. I was present at the dedication of his statue, and the whole ceremony touched me a real reminder of how much one teacher could make a difference in so many lives. Rest in Peace. -- Next, the Argus 16 were released - and the big fluffy puff piece on Herseth's wedding plans was written as expected ( at the Argus...