War Pron

The Navy's new railgun. Yeah... that sound you heard... that was my O-face. Excuse me while I go change my shorts.

Presidential Politics

I have to say that I am not at all excited about the remaining GOP candidates for President. All of them make me feel like I just kissed my sister. McCain supports amnesty and will apparently not support conservative judges like Alito. Romney has changed positions on issues more times than John Kerry. Mike Huckabee strikes me as a televangelist invoking the name of his god while trying to reach into my pocket. Ron Paul is well... Ron Paul. At this point I don't know if I want any of them to win the nomination. Is it possible for the GOP to get a do over on this whole election thing? I will say this... not since Reagan have I heard a politician that can invoke as much feeling from his listeners as Obama can. I don't know if any GOP candidate would be able to beat him in a general election.

Thune For President

The Hog House has linked an interesting article regarding favorite sons and an unlikely twist to the current presidential campaign. It makes for interesting reading so stop over and give it a glance.

Super Bowl

So... I have examined all the usual sources and considered this game from every conceivable angle, and I have come to the same conclusion I had a week ago. I predict the Patriots to beat the Giants but I think the Giants will cover the spread.

What's for dinner?

MMMM...Yummy!!

SB 160

For some reason SB 160 bothers me. Do I need to know that when my 45 year old neighbor was 18 he got convicted of assaulting someone? Do I need to know that the same neighbor's now 25 year old son had a drug problem when he was 18-19? The information is already available to the public, it just requires actually going to the clerk of courts and requesting it. This bill in my opinion only serves to satisfy our human desire for gossip. Perhaps there is a need to know if your new neighbor is a multiple times violent felon, but I don't think you need to ruin a man's life or career because he made some stupid choices a decade or two ago. At some point serving your debt to society has to actually mean that the debt is served not that it's a life sentence.

Naughty Lawmakers

Related to my previous post... General PP makes an excellent point.

Bleeders and Spenders

I see Smilin Mike has found a new catch phrase. I watched his press conference last night and I think he defined "bleeders" three or four times. He had a look on his face that reminded me of a small child that has just told his first joke. Maybe he is going to run for Senate. He certainly has the sound bite politics of Washington down. I wonder at what point did this State and especially the Legislature cede all authority to the Governor? Marion seems supremely pissed that the Legislature would even dare challenge his budget proposal. Its funny... when the Gov. wants to spend on extra programs it comes from the reserves. When the Legislature wants to spend more money Marion demands they find new revenue streams (TAXES for those who don't understand the code words). The Governor is elected to run the executive branch of state government. The Legislature is elected to represent the people of the State of South Dakota. Who do you think should have the ultimate authority of preparing the budget?

Session

If the entire budget process hinges on the 4th quarter numbers that aren't available until mid-end of February why don't we start session a month later? The biggest problem everyone seems to have is that the appropriations process is so rushed at the end of Session. If we have more time between when the 4th quarter numbers come out and the end of Session couldn't we have a more thorough discussion on how we appropriate our money. I personally would also extend the Session to say 50 days and set different time tables for different parts of the appropriation bill. For example the transportation budget comes out a week after the 4th quarter numbers come in etc etc. There simply needs to be more time and more transparency in the budget process.

Gone For a Bit

So I started the blog and then took a long absence. I apologize, but I'm not going to say it won't happen again.