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In the less than earth-shaking news, I heard yesterday that Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin announced she will resign in July. Kind of a surprise what with all the GOP rhetoric about personal responsibility, etc. All kinds of guesses trying to interpret her convoluted language, but a few of mine below which may be about as good as all the other speculation.
Take your pick. We may find out soon how quickly we forget a political meteoric rise and fall.
*** Stay tuned but watch for fireworks elsewhere..perhaps at 321Fireworks. Have a happy, fun, safe, and sober Fourth of July--- Doug Wiken
Today, Monday June 29,2009, the Mitchell Daily Republic has a Bill O'Reilly column titled "Do not be deceived by shoddy polls". It ostensibly concerns a NYT poll on health insurance. The message here about O'Reilly is do not be deceived by shoddy analysis of a shoddy columnist.
I will be a bit generous and assume that O'Reilly cannot be so ignorant he unknowingly deceives, and suggest he knows and chooses to ignore some obvious facts about the data he presents.
In short, O'Reilly alledges that the NYT and CBS and others intentionally deceive when they report that there poll shows 57% of the respondents say they are willing to pay extra taxes so that all Americans will have health insurance. He notes the data below from the poll results.
O'Reilly claims this must be a carefully selected sample because when asked whom they voted for in the 2008 presidential election, the respondents:
Then O'Reilly notes that the actual election results were more like
He then leaps to the conclusion that the poll sample is hugely skewed to Obama voters and that directly relates to the 57% support for increased taxes to pay for health insurance.
Without having access to all the information, two things immediately jump out. A sample of voters in which 19% did not vote may represent the general population. A "sample" of all the voters does not include the people who did not vote.
O'Reilly is comparing apples and oranges. To further muddy his "analysis", is the generally accepted fact that some part of the population will claim they voted for the winner in a previously held election whether or not they actually did.
In short, it does not take a sinister eastern liberal elite plot to have a poll turn up with support for increased taxes to pay for universal health care. It does however take either a columnist who fails to understand polls or understands them and intentionally distorts results to generate his claim that a poll is "shoddy".
In reality, Bill O'Reilly is a shoddy columnist who never lets facts stand in the way of his favorite myths in support of Republican policies or positions of the very rich executives in the insurance industry.
** Stay tuned for more on the attempts to generate FUD..fear, uncertainy, and doubt among voters who would actually benefit if the private health insurance industry disappeared--- Doug Wiken
Madville Times has a post on Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina who cheated on his wife by flying off to Argentina to screw some former newswoman.
Madville Times on Blogger Hypocrisy and Mark Sanford, etc
That post got me thinking about the issue and I made most of the comment below concerning two perspectives on cheating on spouses there.
1. Extramarital affairs are mostly irrelevant factors in evaluating political or government management or politicians. That mostly seemed to be the case with Bill Clinton. He could obviously multi-task, even if Republicans who couldn't claimed his policies involved the tail wagging the dog and worse.
2. Extramarital affairs demonstrate that politicians or officials have no honor and cannot be trusted to be honest in anything related to business or real life or government or elected office if he cheats on his wife and lives that kind of a big lie. In short, if even a man's wife can't trust him, why should we trust or tolerate him? For that matter, why should he expect us to ever trust him again on anything without first verifying?
I lean slightly toward the latter perspective and believe such affairs warrant very careful examination of all decisions and behaviors of such politicians and officials if the scandal does not destroy their political status or career immediately. It is a variation of forewarned is forearmed. I write this even if at the time, I viewed most of the sanctimonious hypocrites (some of them cheating on spouses at the time or previously) attacking Bill Clinton as "White House Window peepers".
As I waffle between positions, my current attitude may depend on the relative hypocrisy involved and the unwarranted sanctimony and hypocrisy of either critics or supporters. When I see the apparent agony and misery of betrayed wives and families it is hard to forgive these self-centered selfishly arrogant SOBs who seem to think their behavior won't be noticed and only their feelings count. John Edwards has pretty well destroyed his chances of using his other talents for good in the world of politics by betraying his wife and family and even those of us who believed him a good man with good intentions.
But, in a related situation, when push comes to shove, I wonder how the holier than thous who are single-issue voters on abortion issues would decide in a situation choosing between an obviously faithful man who supports women's rights among other things and an obviously unfaithful rogue who promotes anti-abortion rulings or laws, denial of funding for abortions and family planning, aid, etc. Is this a matter of situational ethics or hard and fast brightline yes-no option situation no matter what or who?
We have had John Thune campaigning in South Dakota on "family values" as he brought in serial adulterer RUDY GIULIANI ,who had his mistress living in Gracy Mansion, telling South Dakotans how wonderful Thune really is. It was more than a little difficult to even pretend Giuliani warranted any press or voter attention in such a situation and mighty easy consequently to view Thune as a partisan politician who put cheap misleading expediency above honesty and integrity.
Steve Hemmingsen is taking no prisoners in his comments on Mark Sanford at his Steve Hemmingsen KELO Blog on "Bunch of.....".
But whatever, I guess it is up to the people who voted for these guys and up to their spouses to forgive them or make the rest of their lives living hell or ignored oblivion.
*** Stay tuned for less ambivalence---- Doug Wiken
President Obama held a press conference today and was asked the GOP's current empty leading question. Something to the effect of, "Why aren't you making tougher statements on the election uproar (uprising?) in Iran?"
Obama has stated that giving encouragement to the protesting Iranians would have a negative consequence in that it would give an excuse for the ruling religious leaders to attack the protesters as tools of the "Evil Satan" USA.
Today a few GOP senators where riding their latest lame hobby horse and attacking Obama. CBS Hotsheet on GOP Attack Dogs
I guess they think the US should repeat what Eisenhower did regarding the 1956 revolt in Hungary.
Eisenhower statement on Uprising in Hungary
You may be old enough to remember that Eisenhower's statements were viewed by Russians as giving the Hungarians more rope to hang themselves.
Of course, on the other side of the great moves of the Republican Party, we have the GOP State Department apparently giving a wink and a nod to Saddam attacking Kuwait. April Glaspie and Saddam Hussein
Obama seems to be taking a sensible middle road showing no great desire to repeat great GOP errors and boondoggles no matter how much the GOP noise machine bangs on their empty political garbage cans in the hope that doing the same things over again will produce a different result. Which as you may remember is one definition of insanity.
** Stay tuned for more from the sensible middle--- Doug Wiken
The Mitchell Daily Republic today June 22, 2009 carried an AP story they titled "FTC to monitor blogs for claims, payments". Sounds OK to me since I have never received a dime for posting information in Dakota Today and if I did endorse any product or candidate, I have tried to provide relevant information regarding reasons, etc.
Anyway, the article sort of notes in passing that blogging has risen in importance and sophistication and is somewhat like traditional community journalism but without any real consensus of ethical practices.
If somebody pays a blogger $YYY for posting a glowing review of product X, it seems appropriate that payment information should be provided as part of the review. FTC regulation of that would seem just as appropriate as regulation of a glowing product label that is patently false or only partially or irrelevantly true.
The problem does come in regarding endorsements of political candidates. Newspapers in nearly every election endorse candidates or legislation even though they accept advertising from such political or partisan political candidates or organizations. It may have happened, but I don't remember any established paper or any other business media noting, "Candidate Smith Jones bought $10,000 in ads in our paper before we would give him any publicity let alone an endorsement."
Such disclosure might be good for bloggers, newspapers, TV, Radio, etc. Candidates are more and more marketed as products as if they were rose-scented laundry detergent. BUT, would that violate freedom of press, etc.
Some SD bloggers were busy endorsing John Thune in a previous election even as they were essentially on Thune's payroll but giving the impression they were independent. For all I know that may also have been the situation with BAD LANDS BLUE blog supporting Democratic candidates and Party in the most recent election, but I really don't know.
But, whatever ox is gored by such legislation or regulation, I am in favor of it. If Truth in Lending is a good idea (and it is), Truth in Publishing or Truth in Blogging by whatever means is probably also appropriate.
If some of us bloggers want now and then to be taken seriously, we better adhere to some reasonable standard of truth and also disclose factors which might influence us and content that readers really should be provided... even if the FTC never gets around to doing it or is as woefully lackadaisical in enforcement even if no blog is going to get too big to let fail like banks and insurance companies that have pretty much successfully fought regulation and truly informational disclosure useful to customers or potential customers, etc
[[ NOTE: Prairie Progressive Blog has a post which handles the freedom of speech issues better than I did here: Prairie Progressive on FTC Regulation of Blogs --Added June 27, 2009]]
*** Stay tuned even if Dakota Today doesn't have an official Regulated by FTC Seal of Approval---- Doug Wiken
Just a single link here. Keystone oil pipeline is promoted as a huge economic benefit for US and Canada, but a good bit of the materials involved such as steel pipe come from India and now a bit of news indicating those pumping stations in the Dakotas and other central states will come from Germany.
Reuters: Siemens wins Keystone XL pump, electrical contract
** Stay tuned even if the hum of pumps and motors sounding like "Let the Oil Rivers Run Free" is not really music to your ears--- Doug Wiken
I am a bit surprised with my rather jaundiced view toward ethnic specialness and the illegal alien invasion from Mexico, that anybody from the "Spanish Channel" would decide to push a song and video via Dakota Today. But, give a listen to "The Biggest Loser in Winner, SD" anyway. Below is a copy of the e-mail I received with a link to the video and music.
Hi Douglas,
I was stumbling through blogs and came upon yours. I like how you are not afraid to state your views!
I know it's a little off track of your normal beat, but I wrote a song about the rancher in Winner, SD who won all that money last week. Here's a video if you care to post it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64oRxEPMZjY
"Biggest Loser" video and Music
If you do, we'll be sure to give your blog a prominent link on our website as well.
Thanks! Jaime
-- The Spanish Channel 617-429-1812 myspace.com/TheSpanishChannel
sonicbids.com/TheSpanishChannel reverbnation.com/TheSpanishChannel
twitter.com/SpanishChannel
Winner, SD. has more biggest losers than this guy could ever imagine and Neal Wanless is really from Mission, SD and bought the winning ticket at Winner Ampride instead of Lil Feller, but guess there has to be a bit of poetic license allowed for singers and guitarists.
Anyway, if you actually even sort of enjoyed the music, let the singer Jaime Garamella know.
*** Stay tuned even if this isn't the day that the music died --- Doug Wiken
Bill O'Reilly in a column today in the Mitchell Daily Republic has a column titled "Debating the Strategy of Destruction". Mostly the acid-tongued attacker of everything he perceives of as liberal is upset that he is being attacked by "far-left loons" because of his attacks of doctor George Tiller.
So-called "far-left loons" have noted that O'Reilly attacked Tiller in columns and TV shows at least 25 times...apparently with O'Reilly repeating the "Tiller the Killer" phrase. Now O'Reilly is claiming that criticism of him is part of some well thought-out, coordinated campaign to "silence Americans who are appalled by late-term abortion". You can read his whole long whine in the paper or wherever O'Reilly's dribble is posted.
First, I think O'Reilly is trying to have it both ways here. He is trying to claim that his attacks were not a factor in the assassination of Dr. Tiller. He is also implying that he is terribly significant in the fight against the actions of people like Dr. Tiller..so significant that any criticism of him is somehow an attempt to silence a whole bunch of people. While David Brooks is fretting about the lack of humility he sees in President Obama, he seems to be missing O'Reilly's simultaneous "I am the greatest" and his "What me as a columnist aid and abet murder of an abortionist?" line of BS.
But, here is the free advice to Bill O'Reilly (less affectionately known as "Bile O'Lielly): "If you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, stop throwing gasoline on the fire."
In a somewhat related issue, The June 15, 2009 TIME magazine page 45 has a comment on Islamic leaders who within years of the 632 death of Mohammad began conquering lands far and wide giving birth to the "jihad" idea which mandated battles to the death against unbelievers with the aim of conversion.
This cautious phrasing seems to be describing the Islamic "better dead than infidel" version of the rightwing "better dead than red". I do wonder if both kinds of these right-wing fanatics see their reflection when they see their "opposite" and fully comprehend and appreciate the incredible harm and damage their lunacy does in the world.
In any case, "Better read than dead", So.......... **Stay Tuned--- Doug Wiken
.
Local Winner breathless boosters of suspense and speculation kept the PowerBall bouncing in the media for a few days. I got an e-mail indicating that an Arlen Wanless of Mission, SD had won. But neither the writer nor I knew for sure, so readers here got only the initials A.W. in a previous post. I guess we were about half right. Turns out the winner was Neil Wanless of Mission, SD. apparently the son of Arlan Wanless. AP story and KeloLand stories are in links below.
AP says Neil Wanless of Mission is Powerball Winner
Keloland says Ampride gets $50,000
The local Winner officials' hopes for the swimming pool payoff and the school problem payoff solution aren't likely to be fulfilled if my guess is correct.
My only contact with Arlan Wanless was (if my memory is correct) his buying from me some old batteries for scrap a year or two ago..maybe his son Neil was with him then...I don't really know for sure.
Whatever, congratulations to the Wanless family and I hope their good luck continues and the winnings bring happiness and success to you and future generations.
***Stay tuned, but not for more news on the PowerBall Winner in Winner, SD (NOT) -- Doug Wiken
I usually just pay my credit card bills as soon as they arrive without paying much attention to details. After all, I really should be able to trust a credit card which came from those good Lutherans who sold my parents a life insurance policy on me back in the 1950s.
Lutheran Brotherhood pushed Thrivent credit cards. Looked like a pretty good deal. Handy now and then for paying things like the bill for TypePad hosting Dakota Today and purchases of some minimal software or books.
I noticed two things this month. The interest rate on balances had become 35% per year even though I don't think I have ever been late on a payment since my credit limit is now about 5 times larger than when I opened the account.
And then there is the 45 cent international conversion charge because I bought TomeRaider software from a British company. I knew that one of my credit cards was going to tack on such a new fee, but remembered it would only be for charges made in June. Guess it was for billings arriving in June. Not much of a charge since the software was inexpensive.
Today on SDPB an economist was discussing Credit card companies and the liklihood they would be inventing new ways to extract disproportionate fees from their customers..both borrowers and commercial operations paid by credit cards.
Looks like some of the credit card companies aren't waiting.
And, who do we have to thank for some of this mess. Why its that saint of Republican Conservatives Ronald Reagan:
Paul Krugman on "It was Reagan's Fault"
**Stay tuned. There is no interest charged and no late fees for reading Dakota Today-- Doug Wiken
Years ago there was controversy involving "situational ethics". It turned into a political battle as well as a source of some turmoil in religions. My recollection may be wrong however. Wikipedia has some details:
Wikepedia on Situational ethics
I seem to remember conservative Republicans and Democrats ranting and raving that western culture and governments would collapse if their perception or presentation of "situational ethics" were widely adapted.
While not a perfect match perhaps, Norm Coleman's behavior in the followup evaluation of the election between him and Al Franken seems to be an example of highly flexible ethics if not highly flexible situational ethics.
When it appeared Coleman was ahead prior to recounts, Coleman was all in favor of quick settlement of the race in his favor so Minnesota could get on with full representation in the US Senate. Then the situation changed and Coleman was the loser. Oops, time to reset all those pious election ethical concerns and switch to the need for court examination after examination and investigation after investigation. Something like 7 or 8 months have now been burned up in the process and Coleman wants more court involvement.
Minnesota Post on Coleman at Minn. Supreme Court
But on the other hand, Coleman might not be so excited about getting into court with this case which allegedly involves some tricky campaign funding arrangements which may involve Coleman's wife and a rich supporter.
Coleman and wife have some high-powered lawyers
I don't remember any conservatives who were eager to attack situational ethics now ranting and raving about Colemen's highly flexible ethical gymnastics. Has there been one of the likes of Limbaugh, O'Reilly, . Charles Krauthammer, et all going all ballistic about Coleman's flexible ethics?
Might be of course that these Republicans have not recovered from Al Franken's disembowelment of Bill O'Rielly.
**Stay tuned for a new reason tomorrow..your reasons for reading can be adjusted with impunity--- Doug Wiken
A recent Argus had a story on a proposal for a new arena, event center, or whatever (they are looking for a name) that would cost an estimated $150 Million and seat 15,000. Last night I heard the following:
That's substantially higher than the market value of about $450 million that GM was worth based on Friday's closing stock price of just 75 cents a share. But the last time GM was worth as much as $25 billion was late 2007. What's GM worth? - May. 29, 2009 (2 June 2009) http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/29/news/companies/gm_worth/?postversion=2009053008 http://snipurl.com/jaf35
Money Link to above GM value estimate
If Sioux Falls has a population of 100,000, that arena boondoggle idea amounts to about $1500 per person or $6000 for a family of four in Sioux Falls.
I don't think most families will ever get that kind of return out of an expensive arena.
Let's call it Sioux Falls Super or SFS. The SFS might benefit a few realtors and a handful of speculators and a few show promoters. Bring in a spectacle show and most of the money paid for tickets leaves Sioux Falls and South Dakota as if on jet plane or actually on one. Residents of Sioux Falls might be better off owning 1/3 of GM than owning all of a big boondoggle entertainment facility.
Perhaps a few South Dakota cities and the state should get together and buy up all the 75 cent per share GM stock available. Then start moving the car manufacturing business to South Dakota.
If a big new Arena or SFS is such a hot idea, let it be done privately. A facility that expensive will never make any sense in Sioux Falls. Let the promotors use their own money instead of milking the public in and out of Sioux Falls for a grand public boondoggle
**Stay tuned just for the hell of it--- Doug Wiken
In response to my previous posts on the Winner winning Powerball winner ticket sold in Winner, SD...note all the "winners" in there..just like papers and other media, I just can't resist that now trite combination...anyway..the response suggests that the actual winner lives in the Mission, SD area.
May recently have had serious money problems and is also alleged to raise a fine crop of prairie dogs which must keep hunters happy. Of course, I don't know how anybody knows all that and why somebody does, or why it has leaked out now.
But, the manager of Lil' Feller has been quoted in newspapers as guessing a prairie dog hunter was involved. That might be close even if this isn't horseshoes.
But just in case, remember the initials "A.W. " And those happen to be mine as well if we add a D in front, but it ain't me and I'm not from Mission, SD.
Isn't speculation and beating a barely breathing horse just wonderful when real news is short?
(EDIT)Just noticed that the Mitchell Daily Republic this morning (May 30, 2009) has a story on the Powerball buzz around Mission.
**Stay tuned, maybe the big Winner secret is actually a big Mission, SD secret--Doug Wiken
"The person provided details that only the winner would know, so we're reasonably certain it was the real deal," said Norm Lingle, executive director of the Lottery. "We talked about a number of decisions that need to be made … but, for now, we'll wait to hear back when the winner is ready to come forward and claim the prize."http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/33537/
Link to full Mitchell Daily Republic Story--May require Login
**Stay tuned even if your best advice to the Winner is find the Bush, Inc Economic Advisors--- Doug Wiken Big news for Winner, SD today has been the announcement that somebody bought a winning Powerball ticket here at either Ampride or Lil Feller. So, if you have a ticket in your pocket, you better compare it with the winning numbers below. The lottery machines at Ampride and Lil Feller were loaded up this morning with all paper supplies as well and hauled off somewhere by the State of South Dakota.
The PowerBall link below should always work for finding current winning numbers. Image above was captured there.
Powerball Winning Numbers
Of course, if Dakota Today happens to prevent you from tossing the winning ticket, I would sure appreciate a few thousand out of that $100 or $200 Million. The few people I talked to about this were really wondering if it was somebody from Winner, SD or South Dakota who bought the ticket because a lot of the tickets were purchased by Memorial Day visitors and prairie dog hunters, truckers, etc. Most were hoping it was bought by a Winnerite. I suspect anybody with that kind of money would likely quickly find a better place to live however.
The other news in Winner today was the presence of KELO TV and KSFY TV media satellite trucks looking for the PowerBall Winner..in vain apparently.
By this afternoon, the KELO truck was camped alongside Ampride alternately known as old Farmers Coop, Country Pride, Ampride, etc.
The KSFY truck was setting across a highway and south of Lil Feller. Will be interesting to see
which bet wins.
Well, as of 5:30PM,
KELO TV news is reporting that the person holding the winning lotto ticket has still not turned up with it.
All the above, because it is here mostly because it is kind of local Winner, SD news, does not mean I favor states or other governments raising money via lotteries. It is another indication of politician's political cowardice in honest taxing and honest spending.
A tiny bit of irony on the news paper shelf right inside the door at Lil' Feller, the Mitchell Daily Republic cover story was titled something like, "Lottery Sales (or Revenue) Down".
CBS News has a story mentioning Craig Schaeffer Of Lil' Feller and also the Ampride store manager Ulmer:
CBS NEWS notes WINNER IN WINNER, SD
**Stay tuned even if you never care what the expected value of a bet is really worth or whether or not promoted by cowardly politicians-- Doug Wiken
The current WIRED magazine has a story on Marc Weber Tobias. In the print magazine version, about 3 pages in, South Dakota is mentioned with Tobias's connections with a former governor and attorney general. No names, but both might be the same...one Bill Janklow.
WIRED Magazine on the Keymasters
Interesting story. KELO-TV several years ago had a story on Tobias picking some variety of lock with the inside of a ball point pen if my memory is correct.
May also have been a story or two about a big house he purchased. WIRED doesn't mention Tobias in connection with South Dakota wired schools or state radio, but my probably faulty memory suggests that there was some news there that never got the investigation it deserved...but then my memory might have him and them confused with those and that..or something and maybe the Prison Industries don't get monitored by the South Dakota Legislature.
Tobias may also have had something to do with the Brown murder case investigation here in Winner, SD years ago. Ironic that SDPTV has been showing video about the first real "Wild Bill" right now. Wikipedia can't get much of a topic going on Bill Janklow (not that Wild Bill) without having much of it either mindlessly laudatory or libelous and then deleted. Nothing there. But, Google did find this:
Court Reports on the Winner, SD Brown Murder case trials and retrials, etc.
Fill in the details if your memory is better than mine. WIRED story is interesting reading no matter what are the connections to South Dakota.
**Stay tuned even if South Dakotans on Oprah aren't my kind of news-- Doug Wiken
The Sunday May 24, 2009 ARGUS LEADER has an article titled "Abstinence-only focus loses favor, money". The article discusses the decline in funding expected under Obama budget proposals which consider the general ineffectiveness of Abstinence-Only as a government policy. Perhaps indisputable is the argument that a personal policy of abstinence prevents unwanted pregnancy, but as a public policy, it is a failure.
Anyway, in the article, Leslie Unruh is quoted as saying something like, "I've never liked federal money, " she said, decrying the restrictions attached to such grants. "If I had my way, I'd want no federal money going for this." I do wonder why anybody in the press ever takes anything Leslie Unruh says seriously without doing some checking.
In fact, Leslie Unruh has pursued federal funding like a nymphomaniac whore pursuing funding for an unlimited source of Viagra for her clients. Note the information below in a long story on Leslie Unruh, the twice-married, once-divorced messenger of virtue for others and master exploiter of federal funds.
Her timing could not have been better. After years of watching hundreds of millions of government dollars flow to such ideological rivals as Planned Parenthood, abstinence advocates could finally drink deep from the federal-funding trough themselves. In 1996, Rector's abstinence-education program was inserted into the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (aka the Welfare Reform Act); Republicans argued that reducing teen pregnancy would help fight poverty, and President Clinton signed the bill into law. Fifty million dollars a year for five years was earmarked for education programs that would, as the act specified, teach "the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity," and that "all sex outside marriage is likely to have harmful physical and psychological consequences."
In 2000, Congress authorized another multimillion-dollar abstinence-education initiative, Community-Based Abstinence Education grants. "I'm pretty certain President Clinton did not understand what would happen [when he signed abstinence-only education into law]," Unruh crowed to a reporter in 2002. In fact, funding has more than quadrupled in the United States.; all told, more than $1 billion in federal money has been spent on domestic abstinence education in the past 12 years. This windfall is exclusively for school programs that teach only about abstinence. By 2005, government contributions and contracts accounted for 71 percent -- about $1 million -- of Abstinence Clearinghouse's annual revenue.
That same year, government grants accounted for 41 percent ($241,839) of the revenue at Unruh's crisis pregnancy center. Today, Abstinence Clearinghouse affiliates -- among them hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers -- pay Unruh and her staff to show them how to secure federal grants and then how to negotiate the government's review process. And today, says the women's rights advocacy group Legal Momentum, about 12 percent of all abstinence education funds go to crisis pregnancy centers or groups closely affiliated with them.
Leslee Unruh's Facts of Life - Page 6 - MORE Magazine (25 May 2009) http://www.more.com/2050/2814-leslee-unruh-s-facts-of-life/6 http://snipurl.com/iqtpx
Other links suggest that Unruh has pulled out something like $154,000 per year out of such programs to enhance her own lifestyle. She has been part of the distribution of the same federal funds she decries in her sanctimonious sour-grapes, pious GOP current cant.
A Google search for -- leslee unruh federal funding -- is all it takes to get more than you want to know about the woman with friends in former high places.
Barack Obama and Abstinence-Only
Anti-Abortion site decries federal cuts
Lesliee Unruh on Bristol Palin... a truth bridge to nowhere
Leslee Unruh explains how to suck in money from the gullible..(pdf on fundraising) Probably actually some useful information here for any group on any side of any issue. The kind of stuff that Pat Powers used to put regularly into SDWC.
The Free Republic Wingnut site on Leslee and Funding
Todd Epp on the tactics of Unruh and her friends
Unruh and the Laws she and friends ignore
Well, those are a few items for those who might want to think twice about assigning any credibility to anything Leslee Unruh says. A charitable observer might suggest she was a bit disingenuous, an uncharitable observer might suggest her name should be changed to "LesLIE Unruh".
EDIT at 6PM May 25,2009: It appears that the ARGUS should be happy to see that a number of people still try to find news buried in the ads there and also that South Dakota has more than a few bloggers who like to read newspapers since "Leslie's Lies" caught the attention of a number of them and was conspicuously ignored by a few: Those who also noticed include:
Dakota Women note "Leslie never really wanted all the money"
Cory Heidelberger noted "Leslie's Latest Lies"
SD Humanist asks, "Say What, Leslie?"
Stay tuned even if you too are too old to ever need an abortion and long past the point of needing abstinence-only "education"--- Doug Wiken
Jerry Falwell stops spinning in his grave and Liberty University bans the Democratic organization on campus.
Washington Post on Liberty U censorship of Democrats
Somehow this doesn't really surprise me. What also won't surprise me is that the docile student folk intent on keeping women barefoot and pregnant and keeping kuchen, kindern and kirchen going strong in the US won't be picketing the administration and holding protest love-ins in the library or coffee shops..if there is a library.
Note: I found the link at J-Walk blog. There is a link in a previous post. Now and then there is some interesting stuff there.
** Stay tuned, maybe I will find something shocking--- Doug Wiken
Some thermometers in Winner, SD today showed 100 degrees fahrenheit, but the official temp high at Winner Regional Airport (doesn't that sound impressive) was 93 degrees. That is a rather sudden change in the hot direction after some unseasonably cool temperatures. Sure made the air in Winner have the sweet aroma of Lilac blossoms.
Meanwhile, SDPB TV after giving notices that I forgot until this evening had switched from the temporary digital channels to the new channels which I assume will be more permanent from now on. Nope, the towers did not collapse out here in the boondocks, all that was actually required was a "New Scan" with our digital converters or if you have a newer digital TV, of your TV channels if you have one that tunes in the new digital off-air signals.
By now most of you pulling TV from off-air antennas are aware that SDPB-TV has three digital channels: one is essentially same as the old analog channel content, Channel two is the "World Channel" with mostly documentary and news content, and channel three which is the "Create" channel, with some good do-it-yourself and cooking info and some near terminally silly cooking and decorating fluff. There is some duplication which can be nice if you miss a good program. I have noticed that the extra program information is often incomplete however. Don't expect to find any extra info on a Charlie Rose program for example and check later in the morning for some information may turnup late.
Interesting technology, but some surprises in the mix if you think it is going to work without good antennas, amplifiers and splitters if you hope to use your old analog TVs with a digital to analog converter. There may also be some tuners in the digital TVs which really don't work as well as the converters for analog TVs. That seems a bit strange, but I tried a small Sansui "digital-ready" TV which would only produce "weak signal" messages no matter how good the antenna system.
**Stay tuned for perhaps more tuning information..ironically-- Doug Wiken
While digging around yesterday for a photo of Pat Mckeever and family from back about 1972, I rediscovered a bag of photos etc that was about all I ended up with from my parent's farm home. In it was a copy of the last weekly paper printed in Volin, SD. The Volin Advance was later printed as a part of the Irene, SD paper. I scanned a few images from what is now really and truly a dead tree news source.
You might notice that the annual subscription rate was $2.00 and that the paper had been printed since August 26, 1909 and the "30" edition was published August 11, 1949.
A regular feature in the paper was news from past issues. One of those stories was about the "rage" of local car trades back in 1912 It mentioned about 4 vehicles that I had never heard of before in the two-trade "rage" (news was scarce in Volin even after the paper folded).
You can dig through the story and will find mention of these vehicles: Flanders Runabout, Marion Roadster, Regal Auto, and a 35hp Cutting Car. You might also notice the name of the farmer with 100 acres of 32 bushel wheat was E.S. Volin, There are still a few "Volins" in South Dakota I think who share their name with a small town.
This morning, I did a Google search for these vehicles and turned up a few interesting links.
ConceptCarz Manufacturer's List
On that page can be found some photos of the Flanders, Marion, and Regal.
There was no mention or photos of the "Cutting Car" at that site, a bit of information turned up at Wikipedia on "Cutting Car"
Hope you find those interesting. You will note in light of today's problems for large manufacturers of vehicles and dealers that a lot of vehicle manufacturers have disappeared from the market as car manufacturers and dealers became much fewer and much less interesting. It appears now that both Chrysler and GM are aiming at making their dealerships as well as themselves "too big to let fail" so that in the future they can plead for rescue of both themselves and their dealerships in order to maintain the incredible salaries, golden parachutes, etc. that drive car prices sky high even as the manufacturers are failing.
I will dig some more info out of the old paper about SD college costs in a later post.
***Stay tuned for more from the dead tree sections of Dakota Today-- Doug Wiken
Pat McKeever has the posthumous "honor" of being the first person to have his obituary inserted into the SD Today Notebook section for Obituaries (see menu above).
I worked on Pat McKeever's 1972 campaign for US Congress. Pat was a very decent guy, but I don't think he had the tremendous ego and overweening ambition to be that kind of politician. It also really doesn't seem like that was 37 years ago however.
Having worked on Pat McKeever's campaign is something less than a huge feather in a campaign worker's cap. We suffered what might be called a landslide loss. But, Pat deserves some recognition for making the try that year and what he also accomplished prior to that and after that.
I spent most of this morning trying to find a photo I had of Pat and his family which I snapped in Mitchell, SD. We used in some of his campaign literature with a slogan something like, "Pat McKeever wants good tomorrows for you, your family and the USA." That slogan or something much like it was picked up by other campaigns in years following.
I think it probably actually applied to Pat, but I have become convinced in my later stages of cynicism that far too many of our politicians are primarily interested in ego enhancement and feathering their own nests and their family fortunes or shifting ever more taxpayer resources to one of their wealthy campaign contributors in hopes of later rewards for themselves.
My sincere condolences to Juanita and the family.
Some Good Commentary on Pat McKeever by Troy Jones at SDWC
[[[ Link added May 18, 2009 ]]]
** Stay tuned for some old and new news on the US Auto industry--- Doug Wiken
Got a link from my brother this morning that might be interesting or amusing to those at least modestly interested in moving stuff...like heavy rocks, blocks, buildings, etc without benefit of modern machinery or a small army of workers..maybe.
J-Walk Blog embedded video of moving heavy stuff
I don't imagine this video explains everything or shows everything, but spinning stuff around and moving it on small rocks works if everything is already on a nice flat concrete slab. Not sure how he does it across a rolling pasture however. Interesting anyway and as he claims, may even explain how Stonehenge was put together without backhoes, cranes, and bulldozers.
The J-walk blog has other interesting stuff too.
Cut across the internet highway to J-Walk Blog
Still working on the great compilation of about 6 years of Dakota Today posts in e-book form. It is basically all there, but needs a lot of housecleaning removing blank lines and inserting at least some of the photos and images which never made it when TypePad exported the blog to a text file.
**Stay tuned for more "stuff"--- Doug Wiken
Sunsets can be spectacular on the plains. Sometimes they change by the minute. Tonight was one of those evenings. Red, purple, yellow, gray, and then darkness.
The more or less purple phase is below.
Tonight on SD public TV SD Focus, the discussion was on education of Native American students in South Dakota. Sounded like a lot of ideas to dump a lot of money into native pride humbug when better math, better English language, and better science teaching is needed.
Native American students don't need to learn more about the evil white guys of the past who destroyed their culture or the brave chiefs and wise medicine men, they need to realize that their ability to survive on the plains in the past is a reason they can survive in the present day if they work and study. Their plight by now is not a whole lot different than that of most students from rural areas who have not spent time in dormitories or spent much time away from the small town for farm. All rural students need some good direction and information on college and other education options. It is not just a problem for Native Americans. It is a problem for all school students not lucky enough to have been born to parents with college educations and that related experience.
Their cultural specialism demands are no more relevant to modern culture and eduction than my demanding that my children should have gotten a lot more information on the wonders of longboats and Viking culture and "opportunity" to eat lutefisk in school lunches, learn net weaving and ocean fishing lore, etc. etc.
I noticed the panel participants must have had every relative lined up to keep the phone lines loaded with supporters of special cultural privilege and of course jobs for the specialists of cultural privilege and specialness. This is no more relevant to education than is the celebrity news on which celebrity is screwing which other celebrity or which celebrities are divorcing or really gay after all... see CBS Morning "News" for all of that crap that anybody could ever use.
Whatever, we should all be able to enjoy a good sunrise or sunset.
**Stay tuned. The sun will shine tomorrow--- Doug Wiken
Dakota Today has been short of posts in the last week or so. I have been occupied learning to use a newer version of a program TomeRaider which I found years ago when I thought that would be a good name for something and found out somebody else thought that ...a couple years earlier.
Anyway, TomeRaider makes it relatively easy to make e-books that are well indexed and with a search engine that is fast. The main problem with it is that readers of any book you or I make also has to have the program to read the e-book. The good part however is that the current version is only around $20 US for the PC version. There is cross-compatibility with a bunch of portable e-book devices however...but probably not a Kindle or Kindle DX.
To finally get to something of a point, I used TypePad's export option and have that text file in first stages of working in TomeRaider. I have not gotten all the blank lines out of the 1700 posts made in about 5 years nor have I gotten the photos inserted yet and I have a couple of other problems that aren't that serious. That means I haven't been posting a lot here which is kind of the irony indicated in the title. The exported file of Dakota Today for five years had about 800,000 "words" in it, but many are not actual text I wrote...lot of "stuff" anyway.
If you can export your blog, and can use a text processor to insert a " <new> " at the beginning of every title of a post, you can then compile, and compress the file and have an e-book with a fast table of contents and and also a fast search possiblity...which can be even faster and more versatile if I can figure out a bit more of the category definition system. The progam works, but the documentation really, really sucks.
Well, that may be more than you wanted to know, but if this interests you, let me know.
***Stay tuned for something about something...maybe photos of new kittens...ah, isn't that just so sweet..and Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there--- Doug Wiken
Today in the ARGUS another reminder that the years slip past altogether too fast whether or not we notice. David Kranz writes about Bill Dougherty slipping out of the lobby.
ARGUS Columns--David Kranz on Bill Dougherty
Back in er, um..well a bit over 40 years ago I guess, Bill Dougherty, Pete and Dorothy Ecker and I think Bob Williams of Aberdeen were stirring up the Old Guard and some wings of the New Guard in the South Dakota Democratic Party. It was both interesting and frustrating to see what a coalition of Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Aberdeen could do at Democratic conventions.
I was still taking party politics seriously enough to be involved and was trying to decide if I would be on the McCarthy or Kennedy slates back in those days. I went with the McCarthy group. Dougherty and his gang were pushing for Kennedy.
My recollections of the clash between ideals and organization have dimmed a bit. McCarthy was locked on the war issue and even though he had a good record on other issues relevant to South Dakota, he refused to talk about them. Not sure if that bit of political reality would have helped or not however.
Whatever else, the "don't get mad, get even" hardball kept everybody working...on all sides.
By now, it is all water under a bridge complete with multiple and unforgettable tragic "shipwrecks" and triumphant landings.
*** Stay tuned for more on tomorrow, tomorrow ..take one Dakota Today at a time-- Doug Wiken
The barn swallows that make our porch a mess have returned. I think they got here yesterday or day before, but today was first chance I had to photograph one of them.
They fly gracefully and fast catching mosquitoes ...I hope.
They also drive the porch cats about have nuts and have a rather irritating squawk for a bird "song". Nothing at all like the Prairie Meadowlarks which got here some time ago just in time for one of out snow storms.
I usually write down on a calendar when these birds get here, but right now can't remember if I did it last year or not. Anyway, that is the excitement for the day....besides getting our dishwasher running again with the help of a $46 solenoid fill valve. I suspect the time spent will make my wife much happier since her slacker husband isn't real great about washing dishes otherwise.
I ordered some e-book creating software after finally getting the order system to work. I will try to get Dakota Today past posts into an e-book form. That may take a while however...even if the software works as I expect.
***Stay tuned even if birds can fly and pigs still can't..even if "swine flu" can sure get around--- Doug Wiken
Winter of some widely varying quality and some gray, damp days have seemed to make the seasons move rather too slowly. But, there is hope. The tulips finally opened out here in the boondocks. If you want a bright color for computer wallpaper, click on the larger version and save it. Edit as you like for your screen. Cheery for a day or two.
Well, that isn't a really heavy weight post, but it fits well with the Sunday Argus Shopper today. There were so many ads inserted in the paper that the local gas and read store had to put them in about six piles with only 3 or 4 papers in each pile; otherwise, the papers and junk would slide apart and spill off the counter onto the floor.
In the spirit of yesterday's post on the pipeline volume, etc., I weighed the paper on an old baby scale. No guarantees of precise measurement, but anyway. The total paper with included junk weighed about 33 ounces. The actual news, views, and sports pages weighed about 5 ounces..roughly a sixth of the total.
But weight (pun intended), the pages with actual news on them also had a lot of ads. Adding the ads together into front and back of a sheet indicated that about 33% of those "news" pages were also display ads. After all that, the actual "news" in the paper was about 9% of the total weight of ads and news.
The paper would be a real bargain if we were paying 9% of the $2.00 cover price or 18 cents...or for that matter, free like the other shopper papers.
Anyway, enjoy the nice weather while it lasts and
** Stay tuned for something weightier ...maybe...--- Doug Wiken
A previous post concerned the PUC Hearing/meeting in Winner, SD. TransCanada has a number of brochures available. Most of what was said by the executive doing most of the speaking was in the brochures here and there.
Click on image for a larger version.
It is obvious from the information provided that this is one huge complex construction and business project. The pipeline and pumping station cost in South Dakota alone is expected to be around $931 million or roughly $3 million per mile including pipe and pumping stations. Moving 700,000 barrels of ail a day takes a tremendous amount of electrical energy. Each pumping station may have between 2 or 5 6500hp electric motors.
Here is a page of my scribbling with some calculations on what that volume of oil is in terms of understandable volumes, etc.
Click on image for a larger version.
You may note if my calculations are correct that each mile of the pipe holds about 275,000 gallons of crude oil. If South Dakota has three hundred miles of the XL pipeline, it will hold about 83,700,000 gallons of oil. If crude is about $40 a barrel, it is about a dollar a gallon, so the pipe at any time has something in the neighborhood of $80 To $90 million of oil in it or roughly 1/10 the value of the $931 million cost of the South Dakota part of the pipeline.
The "commerce" clause of the US Constitution may cause problems for the idea of charging a small amount per each gallon piped each day to build up an insurance fund. On the other hand, since there is always that pipe which is effectively a huge tank, perhaps South Dakota could tax that like property to produce an insurance fund.
From my scribbled sheet, you may be able to see the volume represented by 700,000 barrels of oil. The information in the brochures provided suggest that a significant pressure drop would be monitored and that the pipeline could effectively be shut down in five to twelve minutes. I take the company people at their word and assume that a major huge pipeline leak is rather unlikely, but if the full flow moving at about 4.4 mph in the pipe under 1440 PSI of pressure spills out, quite a mess could result in even a few minutes.
An open pipe end would dump out about 340 gallons a second or over 18,000 gallons per minute or 90,000 gallons in 5 minutes and perhaps around 200,000 gallons in 12 minutes. 700,000 million 42 gallon oil barrels per day is over 29 million gallons per day which would cover over 1000 acres with an inch of oil.
Now a little comparison of the power demands of the pumping station with the best output of electrical energy from a wind generator "farm". The WAPA meeting here in Winner apparently suggested plans for enough wind generators to produce 150 megawatts of power. That is quite a bit of energy, but it also happens to be roughly how much electrical energy the six or so pumping stations in South Dakota would require to keep 700,000 or 900,000 barrels of oil per day moving through the pipeline.
Each pumping station would use 17 to 25 megawatts of power. Well, that is probably enough numbers for now. I have read too many newspaper stories which don't seem to present any grip at all around the hugeness of this project in ways comprehensible by most of us. I hope some of this helped instead of just generated more confusion. If you see any gross errors in calculations, etc., please let me know. I relied for much of the conversion information on a web site. Units of measurment conversions at AskNumbers
But, look at results carefully, because some may include exponents which can make for some amazing appearing results if you fail to notice the "E" in the long decimals.
Whatever is your perspective on fossil fuels, global heating, etc. this pipeline ia bit of a Hobson's choice or at least a bit perplexing. As the companies slick propaganda indicates, the US is likely better off getting a lot of oil from friendly Canada and getting a lot less from Islamic countries that detest the US and US values or from Venezuela with its crazy leadership and perspectives. On the other hand is the idea that a better way to reduce that reliance on the unreliable sources would be a total shift away from fossil fuels.
**Stay tuned even if the idea of 45 feet of oil atop 2 acres of ground doesn't help you see this in a new perspective-- Doug Wiken
Some news from the DSCC. Hearing this, the Republicans intent on "purifying" their party should be so gleeful they cannot help but wet their pants or panties with joy.
The Democrats welcomed Sen. Arlen Specter into our party today. He gave one simple reason for switching parties: "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."
The extreme right wing lost the American people in 2006 and 2008. Now, they've lost their hold on another moderate voice in the United States Senate. This one's a game-changer. Specter's move immediately improves the prospects of President Obama's bold change agenda.But make no mistake - Republicans still have the votes they need to mount a filibuster. Sen. Specter's decision will make our opponents even more desperate. Norm Coleman will dig in his heels and fight even harder to deny us that filibuster-proof 60th seat.
That bit of news is of course followed by a plea for contributions.
** Stay tuned for less schadenfreude.. I promise -- Doug Wiken
Today, April 27, 2009, 4 members of the SD PUC put on a dog and pony show with executives and others from the TransCanada pipeline company. About 160 local residents and press turned out to mostly fill 158 seats in the community theater and a few spot along the aisles.
Below is part of a SD highway map on which I have made a rough approximation of the pipeline route from the Nebraska border at the SE corner of Tripp County and diagonally through Lyman, Jones, Haakon and Meade counties. I did not get a good photo of the route past there on the way to Canada. Apparently by the time the pipeline reaches the Nebraska border, it will have moved crude oil either 600 miles from the US-Canadian border or from the actual tar sand oil fields.
Click on image for a slightly larger version
The blue numbers 400, 450, 500, 550, and 600 are apparently mile markers. The red blotches are approximate location of pumping stations. Company information pamphlets indicate pumping stations about every 50 miles.
The pipeline apparently moves oil under 1440 pounds of pressure per square inch. That takes a lot of horsepower and electric power. If the line is to move 700,000 barrels of crude per day, each pumping station requires three 6500 hp electric motors running on 17 megawatts of power night and day. If the flow rate is increased to 900,000 barrels per day, five 6500hp electric motors are required. That would use 25 megawatts of power. So the four pumping stations will use 68 megawatts of power or 100 megawatts if the higher flow rate becomes possible.
Below is a better photo of the PUC commissioners here today.
I recognized Dusty Johnson, Steve Kolbeck, and Gary Hanson, but don't have name of the fourth person at the table. I got the impression that these PUC hearings give the idea that the PUC has real power, but apparently the real power rests with a federal pipeline authority and the US State Department since treaties and national borders are involved.
More information and better photos are at the PUC site, also information on the next meetings with the PUC and XL pipeline corporate personnel.
Public Input Meetings - HP09-001 - TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP
* Monday, April 27, 2009, noon (CDT) at Winner Community Playhouse, 7th and Leahy Blvd., Winner, S.D.
* Monday, April 27, 2009, 7 p.m. (MDT) at Fine Arts School, 330 Scottie Avenue, Philip, S.D.
* Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 6 p.m. (MDT) at Harding County Recreation Center, 204 Hodge St., Buffalo, S.D.
SD Public Utilities Site By now the Phillip meeting is probably over however. The meeting here in Winner lasted for around 2 hours. Questions about the property tax revenue, right of way required, noise level of the pumping stations, arrangements for other utilities intersecting with the line, pipeline deterioration, depreciation for tax purposes and lifespan were asked and mostly answered.
The company is running large ads in newspapers and also putting on TV ads promoting the pipeline as good for national security and the local tax base, etc. More on this tomorrow, but they are very skillful in presenting a good propaganda package. Ads with pretty little girls don't show huge cuts through the landscape or powerlines to the pumping station, etc.
A pipe sample was a classic example of a propaganda tool. The pipe thickness is somewhat less than 1/2 inch and is 36 inches in diameter. The four or so inches of steel pipeline mounted on a stand and looking like a piece of art had an edge beveled at about 45 degrees. This gives the impression to casual viewers that the pipe is about an eighth or quarter inch thicker than it actually is.
One woman in the audience noted that she wasn't educated or informed enough to know about the information being presented, but she felt it was a lot like being in a poker game and feeling that you were actually losing without knowing the reason why.
BUT, get info from Corporate site: Proposed Transcanada Pipeline
***Stay tuned for more on the NOT A lead-pipe cinch--- Doug Wiken
Sad to say, but the News from Lake Woebegone at Prairie Home Companion beat Ole and Lena's Lutefisk Press in getting out the sad news.
Ole and Lars went into to a pet store. Lars came out with two birds in sacks. Said, "Let's go.
They drove to a nearby cliff. Lars jumped off with the two budgie birds on his shoulders. He crashed into rocks below and died. Ole shook his head and knocked off the tears and said, "I don't tink I vill efer take up budgie jumping."
Within minutes, Olaf, another friend of Ole's, shows up. He has a parrot and a shotgun. Jumps off cliff with them. Half way down releases parrot and shoots it. Same dreadful result. Olaf too has plunged to his death. Ole fights back sobs and says, "Don't tink I vill efer vant to take up parrot-shooting either."
But wait...as bad as an infomercial, there is more. Within mere minutes. Franz, shows up and he has one pretty good-sized bag from the pet store. He pulls out a big chicken and jumps off the cliff holding it over his head. Same bloody dreadful result. Ole starts walking away saying, "I Will nefer, efer vant to take up that hen-gliding either."Compared to Garrison Keillor telling it, it Loses something typed, but I would guess you could tell it pretty good too.
Needless to say, there are more dreadful jokes at the Lake Woebegone site. This example might still be there. Ole and Lars..the Genie in the Fishing Box
I guess this means the Dakota Today NOTEBOOK will be getting a humor and jokes page. It is long overdue. Bush has been out of office for over 100 days now.
*** Stay tuned for something..maybe about the weather which went from 90 degrees to 3 inches of snow faster than a new Corvette on an open interstate stretch-- Doug Wiken
Below is the start of an editorial "other voice" published Friday April 17, 2009 in the Mitchell Daily Republic. It suggests that wingnut right gasbags are trying to have their cake and eat it too when they attack Obama.
Other View: Talking nice won't end piracy The Fargo Forum Published Friday, April 17, 2009
Critics of President Barack Obama will find some excuse to censure him over the rescue from pirates of an American sea captain. In fact, until the events Sunday in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, the president was being savaged on right-wing radio for failing to act. But he had acted by giving his Navy commanders on the scene the goahead to do what was necessary to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips, who, the officers concluded Sunday, was in "imminent danger."
U.S. Navy SEAL sharpshooters killed three pirates who were holding the American captain in a small boat. One reportedly was pointing an automatic weapon at the hostage's head. Sharpshooters took out the pirates on orders of the Navy officer in charge of the operation. As commander in chief, the president had been kept fully informed of the changing situation.
That won't be enough for the gas bags in the anti-Obama crowd, but they have no credibility on this one.
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=32852§ion=Opinion http://snipurl.com/g68pe
Read the rest of it at the Mitchell Daily Republic page. They seem to have noticed the rather hollow nature of the pitiful right wing loud howling from the wilderness. The Full Editorial at MDR
I am not one of those who the rightwing portrays as believing Obama is an angel or a messiah. He makes mistakes, but let us hear actual alternate real solutions from the right instead of logical double talk. We have had eight years of failed Bush policies and years of GOP control of Congress that answered the prayers of the right and what have we gotten as a result? Now they want more of the same apparently.
*** Stay tuned even if I resort to quoting editorials from the Mitchell Daily Republic when they stumble and fall in the right direction --- Doug Wiken
I happened to see a short feature on KELO TV news about parking meters with a diagonal slot on them to accept debit cards that soon could be purchased/recharged at Sioux Falls city offices. A video and some text at KELO link below:
KELO Debit Cards for Parking meters
Some procedural information from Concord, New Hampshire already using such a system
Concord Debit cards for parking meters
I mention these not so much because of the utility which such parking meters may or may not offer, but to suggest that such a debit card system can be used with a new South Dakota set of licenses to purchase alcohol, gamble, and perhaps at some point to purchase legal marijuana. These debit cards for gambling and purchasing alcohol could be purchased with license to buy alcohol or to gamble and recharged only at South Dakota county treasurers offices or state licensed agents.
No alcohol or gambling or perhaps marijuana could be purchased directly with cash or with credit cards, etc. This would allow actual control of such licensed "vices" in a way to reduce the dangers of addiction, bankruptcy, family abuse, etc. In the case of gambling cards, the state's take could be peeled off from the recharge fee and then gambling casinos be subject to something like the bank franchise fee system.
The social devastation associated with gambling and alcohol could be sensibly controlled with this system and the apparent relatively low cost of the parking systems suggest it would be affordable and efficient. There really are perhaps some actual solutions to problems that state legislators and other politicians spend a lot of time talking about and wringing their hands, but never actually solve because it is such a convenient issue to exploit year after year, election after election without ever actually solving the problem.
**Stay tuned..no debit card swipes necessary to read Dakota Today --- Doug Wiken
The Winner, SD School District in Tripp County South Dakota had another opt-out election combined with election of two school board members. I have some of the approximate unofficial results. I doubt there will be much change unless I copied something down incorrectly or did not hear correctly. With that or those caveats, the unofficial results are below:
In the opt-out election which would have tacked on another $500,000 in school taxes for three years for a total of $1.5 million of extra real estate taxes, there were 1046 NO votes (aprox 69.4%) and 461 YES votes (approx 30.6%) Total approx 1507.
This is the second rejection of an opt out this year in Winner district. The first rejection was for an opt-out or opt-up of $1 million $900,000per year for three years. The rejection may be tempered somewhat by the approximately $138,000 $238,000 of Title 1 stimulus money that according to the ARGUS LEADER will get to the Winner district. It is chicken feed compared to the $4,000,000 or so which will go out to Shannon County, but helpful in any case depending on restrictions on use.
In the school board member races, incumbent Clint Vanneman was defeated. The approximate unofficial results are below:
Mike Calhoun........ 790 votes
Steve Kubik............587 votes
------------------------
Dawn Covey...........542 votes
Brad Norid.............442 votes
Clint Vanneman ....327
votes total counted.2688 votes
There appeared to be a significant pile of spoiled ballots as well.
Two slots were open, so it appears likely that Mike Calhoun and Steve Kubik will be two of the new school board members. Congratulations to them in walking into the middle of a hornet nest.
That is about all I can write tonight. Perhaps more tomorrow on related education issues.
[[ Edit April 17, 2009: I noticed in the Mitchell Daily Republic yesterday that Supt. Hanson has indicated it is unlikely that the Winner School Board will push for a third election on the opt-out --Doug Wiken ]]]
*** Stay tuned even if this particular local election is as interesting to you as last weeks spilled coffee--- Doug Wiken
Perhaps I should link to more cartoons. Often the cartoonists seem to have a better handle of the issues than the oh, so erudite hand wringers and sage prognosticators of the past pontificating with the Sabbath gasbags.
Animated Cartoon...Worst Side Story by Walt Handelsman
Now on the cars: my son had a 1989 Saab running pretty well for a few weeks. Just ordered another front axle and a replacement for a broken front light..roughly $200 of parts on the way when... On the way to work, he smelled something burning or hot, then smoke started coming up from under the dash and up through the air vents when he parked. Got the fire out with an extinguisher. Today got the car towed to where he could look at it. Appears a bundle of wires in a cable shorted out and melted two 6 inch sections of the wire and melted some electrical parts ...perhaps a relay.
We are now wondering if such Saabs have a serious wiring problem. We have never had this happen with any other vehicle and actually I have never even heard of any of my friends or acquaintances with such a problem.
So, If you know something about 1989 Saab 900S and a propensity for serious electrical wiring fires, let us know.
SaabUsa site is worthless for contacts or anything else. Next step is government recall site.
**Stay tuned for more in the parade of older vehicles...stories from the shade-tree-less plains-- Doug Wiken
My wife subscribed to a magazine she really liked for a few months until it died and her subscription was converted to another. Today an issue arrived. One article was related to computers and software for female geeks. The rest of it appeared to be new ways to twist ribbons or whatever and a whole lot of ads for drugs with dreadful side effects. Anyway, most of the software was stuff I was already familiar with, but one at least seemed new to me. It is called Essential PIM.
I downloaded the free version. Looks like it might be useful for reminders, etc. You may prefer the pro but not free version. As usual, with software, YMMV. Check it anyway. Essential PIM info, download
Recently, I had been looking at a number of other programs in the nature of PIMs, personal databases, etc. I found a few of them including azzcardfile and wikipad, and easynoterlite. BUT, it still appears to me that the best way to keep track of stuff is with THE JOURNAL by DavidRM Software. It is not free, but there is a 45-day free trial and it can be purchased for use on two computers for $39.95 and somewhat less by students who might use it for digital class notes, etc. I used the program several years ago, and have an older purchased version on another computer. Recently I tried the program again and it has more features, etc. I put together templates for an appointment system for professionals such as doctors, lawyers, etc. I suspect there are very special programs that might do the same or even EXCEL or ACCESS could serve, but also at a likely higher price and for some professional software a very much higher price. The Journal is a really a very easy to use personal database or diary or bookwriting system, etc. etc.
Anyway, enough of that. If you wish to purchase or try it for 45 days, check out the site below. I should be getting commissions for pushing this software, but am not sure that I have yet persuaded anybody that it was worth buying despite my good impression of the software.
THE JOURNAL..David RM Software ..purchase, test, download
** Stay tuned even if you have your computer already loaded with too much software-- Doug Wiken
SD budget cuts and GOP mismanagement hit the academic institutions. Student workers on campus at USD in Vermillion have lost jobs. Also faculty and staff have been canned. From the Volante article linked below, perhaps 20 some people lost jobs of one kind or another. No indication that Jim Abbott's salary is being cut however.
USD's Volante on firings or layoffs on Campus
Some interesting comments there. Looks like a few people have their priorities aligned in regard to athletics and redundant new campuses.
**Stay tuned for more groves of academe timbers to fall..perhaps silently with no one hearing. Call up your philosophy prof if that idea interests you and he or she hasn't been canned-- Doug Wiken
Prairie Business Magazine covers North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota business and innovation. It is available free and is almost always interesting with a few stories you are unlikely to find elsewhere.
The recent April 2009 issue page 32 has an article written by Loretta Sorensen of Yankton, SD. It is available unline at
Prairie Business Magazine "Medical records go electronic"
It discusses Avera and Sanford's work toward electronic medical records (EMR) or Personal health record (PHR).
What it does not discuss is the Veteran's Administration VISTA records system and the MUMPS programming language associated with it.
I don't know enough about these systems to me more than puzzled about why AVERA and SANFORD appear to be re-inventing the wheel at great expense when the VA system has been working for years and is available free and is continuously being improved. I first read about it a year or two ago in one of the Linux magazines.
It will run on the free Linux operating systems. That may be why it is not being considered by South Dakota Health operations. Nobody is traveling the country with a briefcase and free lunch pushing a free medical records system that doesn't generate huge profits for some corporate entity that continues to generate huge profits with expensive maintenance contracts.
More information on the VISTA and MUMPS can be found via Wikipedia. Wikipedia on Veterans Health Information Systems (many links to more info)
If you know more about the VA system and the AVERA and SANFORD systems, I would appreciate your comments and any other information you believe the taxpayers and patients paying medical bills in South Dakota should know. And, if you want a free subscription to PRAIRIE BUSINESS MAGAZINE, check their PrairieBizMag Homepage. Click on the "subscribe" option in small text at top of page. It is well worth the time it takes to get on their mailing list.
**Stay tuned and stay healthy--- Doug Wiken
Zooming above SD highways in an unidentified flying object kind of alien craft, a space alien got lost over northern South Dakota.
If also seems that English was not his native language..big surprise.. anyway, when the ALF kind of guy from Uranus saw the Athol, SD sign, he thought he was home again.
As you may have guessed, the valuable information came from the Ole and Lena Digital Photo Company-- Division of Sophomoric Humor. They got UFO mixed up with Uffda.
If you want serious stuff today, you better check some of the other SD Blogs. Todd Epp has some interesting info on the Hyperion project in Union County, and Cory H. of the Madville Times gets serious about "nookie". The Northern Valley Beacon has several posts worth reading and thinking about. PP at SD War College is as usual rolling out the Grand Old Party propaganda of the day. Worth reading anyway to see that train of thought rolling off the rails.
**Stay tuned even if you never got sore shoveling snow-- Doug Wiken
Yesterday noon (April 06, 2009) on SDPB Midday, Kevin Woster and David Kranz and Paul Guggenheimer as moderator spent an inordinate amount of time considering the wonders of John Thune as a potential GOP candidate for VP or some other high post.
What Woster and Kranz seem to have forgotten is that running a dirty misleading campaign to defeat Tom Daschle did not auto-magically convert Thune from GOP hack into a statesman of Daschle status. If a David slays a Goliath, he does not become Goliath. If a crocodile devours a water buffalo he does not become a buffalo.
Thune does look good...if only compared with the current collection of GOP has-beens, anachronistic ideologues, religion exploiters, flagwaving scoundrels, tools of big business, and Governor Moose Drool that still populate the GOP post-Newt Gingrich party.
In short, Thune is not Daschle. Thune is not Abe Lincoln. Thune is a Republican ex-high-school basketball player with a degree from a Bible college who has sucked a state or federal teat most of his life except when he was getting paid outrageously well by health systems while lobbing others who have spent lifetimes sucking on the public teat.
*** Stay tuned and tune into SD Midday when it isn't diving into sports excrementa--- Doug Wiken
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