57Find:Int,Pol,Gov. Legislator and mogul of Rapid City, Stan Adelstein, has set up a blog which is interesting since it provides some insight direct from the guts of the SD legislature. Western South Dakota can use another blog which doesn't charge for the right to provide the blog with free content. I am still aggravated that the RC Journal thinks we should pay $9.95 per month for a digital version of the snail mail paper we subscribe to. Lately with the weather and soon with the new postal changes, mail subscribers may get papers nearly a week late. The digital version should be free at least to subscribers out in the boondocks of South Dakota.
Well, enough of that, check out A Way to Go by Stan Adelstein and John Tsitrian
I have also added a link to the blog in the left side column.
Getting approved to add comments if you are not a Facebook or Twitter user may be a bit of a pain, but your email address and a Wordpress registration will work. If you have problems, contact the blog and Katherine LeClair will likely help you muddle through. I had a few problems, but the primary problems may have been with my Firefox script-stopping addon or the delay with Wordpress intefacing with the A Way to Go blog. I don't know. Strange things happen in the world of flying pixels.
Anyway, a new blog to demonstrate your profound wisdom or acute lack thereof.
*** Stay tuned ..better than being out in the freezing wind--- Doug Wiken
What is dick cheney up to?....there are open sena te seats coming up in 2014 in both SD and Mt. it wd not be that hard for Liz Cheney to move to Bozman, integrate herself into Bozman or (somewhat less so) Rapid City.Running for senate in Wyoming is not a smart strategy for Liz Cheney.
[[[[[ Note by Doug: Don, good to hear from you again. I have no idea what the Cheneys are upto. Liz is apparently running in Wyoming. Dick has his face on TV and papers today because he announced he had carried a resignation letter while VP just in case he got too sick to continue. South Dakota has enough wingnuts without the Cheney clan. ]]]]]
Posted by: don stevens | Oct 18, 2013 at 12:09 PM
1] Obama is the coolest president since Andrew Jackson, but cool makes a better rock star than president. The real character of his presidency was revealed in the recent gun control legislation in which 4 Dem senators voted with the GOP. He didn't know how to handle tham. Here's what he shd have done : Call them into the oval unit ine at a time. To Begich of Alaska, he shd have said "You are up for re-election in 2014. We can help you get money if you are a team player." To Heidekemp of ND "You are new in town. Don't go wandering into the cul d'sacs of DC until you are a lttle more familiar with the twon. If you want to be on the Interior and Ag Comm, then you shd keep in mind to which party you belong." ...Treat Baucus much differently :"Max, folks in DC love you and now you are leaving. You must know that House members in Miami and Brooklyn have built a lot of bridges in Mt and established a lot of grants which were comsumed in Missoula and Butte. So now it's time for you to take one for the team and give these guys something to take back to the voters in Miami and Brooklyn."
2] The govt is fighting about something passed in Mar, 2010 because nothing has been passed or proposed with any gravity since Mar, 2010. Immigration reform? Energy? The USA shd be converting city buses to natural gas and selling natural gas to Europe, which wd lift the Russian yoke from their energy economy, give them a break on prices and give us some money. Wind and solar. Hey, the GOP wd have to go with a big govt move toward wind and solar if Obama ties it to exporting natural gas.
3] It does not help the Speaker for the President to fail. It does not help the President for the Speaker to fail. Obama does not work with Congress, not even really with his own party. Both Reagan, a detached president, and LBJ, a very engaged and hard working president, worked closely with Congress. Obama does not.
4] After being rather quiet on the Arab uprisings, where he could have gained considerably by reciting platitudes about America always being for democracy, Obama really messed up Syria.----At please hear this because the press gets it so wrong----Russia is involved in Syria because it wants a dagger at Turkey's back. Now, 7 of 8 govts wd have done Russia's bidding for cash----and Russia has cash : it's the number petro producer. But it became to bloody and Russia was looking for a way out. Obama was about to rescue Putin by getting rid of Asad, but then Kerry spoke somewhat recklessly in London and Lavrov and Putin seized the moment. Then Obama continued a series of fumbles. Now Putin is saving Obama in Syria and they both may be saving Asad.....Turkey and Jodan and Saudi Arabia must think Obama is a complete fool. CNN calls Putin a Cold Warrior. Dumb. Was Cathrine the Great a Cold Warrior?
Posted by: don stevens | Oct 19, 2013 at 01:01 PM
Saudi Arabia very recently became the first nation ever to decline a seat on the UN Security Council. (One of ten rotating seats on the 15 member council; the other 5 a permanent.) The reason offered is the failure of the United Nations to resolve, to any degree, the Syrian crisis. Indeed, Jordan must feel very much the same and Turkey similiarly. They must believe, as I said a few days ago, that Obama is a naive fool----making threats, then backing down; dealing with them privately but jumping in response to Russia, whom they hate.
Obama was afraid that the Islamic fundementalists would gain too much of a hold in Syria. Well, what he should have done then is to make certain that the non-fundementalists win a quick victory.They prosper in PROTRACTED crises.
So what should he do now? Well, now, he should send Kerry to Riyadh to meet with Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and ask them for direction. I would suggest he follow their advice---even if it means breaking off talks in Geneva. Why? If Asad wins there will be two million permanent refugees in Turkey and Jordan---and 350,000 people will be executed in Syria. We should recall Iraq 1991, when the USA encouraged the Arabs to revolt against Saddam Hussein, then stepped aside to let Saddam kill 350,000 people.{If Saddam were in power today, he would send an army into Syria to save Asad.)
Posted by: don stevens | Oct 21, 2013 at 01:21 PM
There are four countries strongly opposed to American influence : Russia, China, Venezuela, & Iran. It should not be overlooked that these four countries are all pariahs and that none of them like each other. One of the four is really going to sacrifice or risk for any other. To say that Russia is really going to help Iran or Venezuela is naive. Is the USA going to help Australia? You can bet at least 4 aircraft flotillae that it is. (That's 48-52 ships).
Of the four, it would be most easy for Russia to end its isolation. After all, Russia is the number one petro producer and has a great culture and outstanding scientific imagination---if 3rd rate quality control on everything but symphony music. But Russia seems more converted to alcoholism than any religion.
The world doesn't trust China and Iran is just a few numbers down from North Korea on Human Rights Blvd.
The USA is winning in pretty much every arena internationally. What we must appreciate now is that the Middle East is the Middle East. It is neither American interests nor respect for Am that we must first appreciate, but the nature of the Middle East. The key to the region is "Everybody hates everybody". Secondly, the kings survived; the commissars did not. Thirdly, Iran is isolated means IRAN IS ISOLATED! I would not be the least surprised to hear that Israeli aircraft successfully bombed the Iranian nuclear sites---and moreover, these craft were refeuled in Qatar---with the blessing of a king whose surname is "Saudi".
Posted by: don stevens | Oct 21, 2013 at 01:44 PM
It is more than a little likely that there will be more Americans without health insurance on Nov-01-2014 than on Jan-20-2009. This will be an enormous problem for the Dem Party.
Let's just take them in two groups : the individually insured and then those who are covered by employers.
OK, in the first group there will be the angry, the confused, the fearful and distrustful and then the financially modest, who either will not or cannot attain health insurance. Total? Maybe 3-4 million.
Then there are the employees : they and their emploer will be hit with sticker shock in July, Aug, Spt of next year. Total? I don't know : 10 to 35 million.
Even the Republicans have failed to point out that any commodity in universal demand becomes more expensive : gold, paper, hula hoops, beer, sandals or software rise in price as demand rises. As the govt enforces universal demand, prices for health insurance will rise. Companies will back off and the Dem incumbants will be rather naked to their enemies.
Posted by: don stevens | Nov 04, 2013 at 11:06 AM