Blog Trashes Conscientious Journalist with Wild Distortion

Alternative headline: Tea Parties More Rational than Dakota War College?

The Rapid City Journal's newest political reporter, David Montgomery, made an error in a story he wrote in Saturday's paper. Writing about Senator John Thune's presidential aspirations, Montgomery miscontextualized a quote from the Murdo Marauder. Our senator said something about not being "particularly concerned about how that may play here," that referring to running for President, and here referring to South Dakota, whose voters have a historical tendency to get owly* with local pols who presume to get all presidential.

Full disclosure: David Montgomery attended a picnic at my house in 2009. So did Steve Sibson. Make of that what you will.

Then Montgomery discovered he got the here wrong. Thune meant Washington D.C., not South Dakota. Montgomery saw, as did some RCJ commenters, that the miscontextualized quote could be interpreted as Thune poo-pooing the home crowd. Montgomery moved quickly to fix the error, not just editing the story, but posting a lengthy apology and explanation (on a Saturday, same day of publication):

The mistake is entirely my fault. I’ve removed the inaccurate quote from the story, deleted comments responding to it and am writing a correction.

It’s particularly regrettable because people are already interpreting that quote as saying Thune has abandoned South Dakota. Even in my original, incorrect misunderstanding of the quote’s context, that’s not what I thought he was saying — I thought he was saying he’s not worried that running for president might cost him his reelection.

But given my mistake, people attacking Thune for this quote are entirely wrong. I hope no one uses that out-of-context quote to attack Thune; if blogs or the media do so, I’ll gladly contact them and tell them as much [emphasis in original; David Montgomery, "Making Mistakes," Mount Blogmore, 2010.10.02].

Check that out: Montgomery not only takes full responsibility for the error and fixes it, but promises to take ongoing responsibility to stamp out any rumors or political spin folks might try to wring from the original erroneous text. Problem solved, political fracas averted, right?

Wrong. Not satisfied with an apology, and evidently feeling the need to break up the tedious stream of recycled press releases, Dakota War College runs this headline: "Reporter trashes Thune, gets caught and tries to pass it off as an oops." Brookings blogger Pat Powers proceeds to wildly distort the affair. In Powers's world, Montgomery wrote a "hit piece." Demonstrating the power of generalization and imagination over facts, Powers claims without examples that Montgomery "has always been a Herseth Sandlin apologist, almost never offering anything other than gushing and glowing for our embattled congresswoman." He also issues the standard DWC headline distortion, saying Montomgery got "caught," while providing no evidence to suggest the correction was motivated by anything but Montgomery's perhaps late source-checking.

The DWC peanut gallery proceed to pile on with unsubstantiated accusations that scratches their "Rush told me the media was evil!" itch.

Meanwhile, leaders of Rapid City's two battling Tea Parties take a much mellower view of Montgomery's error. Their comments appear in the comment section beneath Montgomery's correction and apology:

Barb Lindberg Says:
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Hey David... Just wanted you to know how I appreciated you making the adjustment and correction on the Thune article. It says a lot about you – at least in the eyes of those whose “word” is still their signature. We’re in crazy times right now, I can relate with the “fish bowl” effect of what you say and do. It always amazes me when the critics and doom sayers so quickly jump at the first sight of blood. I appreciate also your heart and intent in not wanting to thwart John’s representation to his constituents. Without sounding “sappy” “WELL DONE”

Ed RandazzoSays:
October 3rd, 2010 at 7:57 am
Good going, David. We can all empathize with you feelings on this, as we have all made mistakes... [from the comment section, Montgomery, 2010.10.02].

(Randazzo proceeds to some criticism of not working harder to boost SD conservatives like Kristi Noem; Montgomery, ever the journalist, uses the comment section to ask Randazzo what impact he thinks Thune could have on Noem's campaign.)

So the Rapid City Tea Parties, arguably the most radical conservatives in the state, read Montgomery's apology and see responsible journalism. Dakota War College reads the same text and sees a political dupe trashing Senator Thune. DWC's rabid response against the Tea Parties' mild shrug and turning to other issues bespeaks the ill turn of the quality of Brookings's loudest blog and its mudthirsty commenters.

I've seen trashing. I've been trashed (with greatest frequency by lily-livered anonymi at DWC). I gain nothing by defending a professional journalist (we bloggers get our cred from trashing paid reporters... right?). But Montgomery's one erroneous line was not a trashing. If Montgomery had intended it to do damage to Thune, he'd have let it hang out there longer and then buried the correction and apology. Now, I can't even find a version of the line in its original context online, and Montgomery has very publicly vowed that he will straighten out anyone who does try making anti-Thune hay from the original error.

The only trashing taking place is at Dakota War College. Montgomery is an asset to South Dakota's all-too-small Fourth Estate, yet the venomous, ad hominem peanut gallery manufactures indignance and screams rumor and resign! What childish rot.
---------------------------------
*Update: Note that it's professional journalist Bob Mercer who, six days prior to the Montgomery article, said of Thune's presidential aspirations, "John however seems to forget from where he comes." Now why didn't DWC scream "trashing" about that?

Vote Now: Polling Bartling vs. Barnett for State Auditor!

Yes, we will poll everything on the ballot! Up for your clicking now: the South Dakota state auditor's race. Who's your pick for your elected taxpayers' watchdog: Democratic State Senator Julie Bartling, or Republican Party official and Thune aide Steve Barnett?

The state auditor poll will be up in the right sidebar here through Wednesday at 8 a.m., then talk about the results. Tell your friends, and vote now!

Heidepriem Trailer: Another Example of Medium over Message

We have a governorship to win. I should not be writing movie reviews.

But the Scott Heidepriem campaign seems to think it's making movies. Whoever the magic marketers are behind the Democrat's gubernatorial campaign, they continue to put medium over message.

The latest misdirection: the campaign releases a trailer for Thursday's half-hour Heidepriem campaign commercial.



The first two lines are great. Heidepriem speaks of needing to leave no regrets. Republican Don Frankenfeld says we face a choice between "eight more years of complacency, or are we going to have decisive action." Ding! Pow! Nice one-two of the eager, earnest leader and the hard attack.

But then the trailer gets fuzzy. In an apparent effort to overdevelop the theme, the kids in marketing dilute a series of pretty good attacks and endorsements from other pols with a scattershot blast of disjointed personal comments from Heidepriem. His statements make little sense without context:

• "It was a wild summer" with high soybean, corn, and cattle prices... but we don't hear which summer, or what that has to do with state ag or tax policy.
  
• Heidepriem chokes up recalling a funeral... but we don't hear whose, or when.
• "By the time we were a few songs into it, the crowd had evacuated..." from where? into what? Was the State Senate singing lieder in the middle of a bomb scare?
• "She was a rock star, and I was a security detail..." Who was she? where? And what does this have to do with anything?
• "...the balance that I thought was so important for South Dakota had vanished..." getting back on message, probably referencing the Legislature.
• "You can see that arrow point up dramatically, then flatten for a generation..." and that arrow would be... what? the average income of South Dakotans that your economic development policies will rescue from stagnation? the amount of funding for education that you will increase? the percentage of healthy baby deliveries on the reservation?
  

Compare that mostly meaningless hodgepodge with the good lines Heidepriem's endorsers get:

• Scott Abdallah (I think that's him) gives a good line about things not getting done because of too much partisan politics.
• Ann Tornberg gets a decent line about education not getting another dollar until we get our priorities straight, although there's a pronoun without an antecedent that obscures the argument.
• Russ Janklow offers a quote from his dad (that would be Governor, Congressman, Republican icon and ex-convict Bill Janklow) that could get huge mileage encapsulating the Rounds/Daugaard Administration's drifting, visionless governing through the economic downturn: "Anybody can be governor on a good day, but sometimes we don't have that many good days."
• Frankenfeld comes back with the cookie jar line, which we know has to do with state government balancing the budget with stunts and stimulus money, not Bob Mercer in the press hospitality room.
• Former Governor Harvey Wollman returns with the "put in a new team" line.
  

I can just imagine the brainstorming session with the filmmakers. They said they needed a theme. Someone said, "We need to show this campaign ad is different." Someone else said, "Let's show that it's personal as well as political." Another gal said, "And let's build excitement by leaving people asking questions!" Some dude with donut crumbs on his shirt says, "Yeah! Do a fast montage, strip the context, get people excited to watch the movie!" And the policy wonk with the 17-inch laptop in the corner considers mentioning the need to include some notes about the Heidepriem-Arndt plan to retool the state economic development loan fund, but decides to keep quiet, knowing how temperamental these artsy types are.

Now maybe the creators of this shiny little trailer will complain, "We're not making a campaign ad! We're making a movie trailer!"

No. Horsepuckey. This ain't cinema school. You are working for a candidate for governor. When you brush your teeth, it's a campaign ad. Every communication that comes out of your office must add value to the campaign by screaming "Vote for Heidepriem!" Every communication you issue should stand on its own as a campaign statement.

This trailer fails in that regard. In its Youtube version, it doesn't even sell the advertisement it advertises by telling us when to tune in. The trailer thus wastes viewers' time, and that's really, really bad marketing.

But far be it from me to complain without offering solutions. Here's how to turn this disjointed video into a butt-kicking campaign ad:

1. Cut all the personal Scott moments.
   
2. Move Heidepriem's line about the loss of balance to come right after Abdallah's.
   
3. Keep that "arrow" quote, but tell us what the heck the arrow is!
4. Insert captions for each endorser so every viewer knows exactly who these impressive people are.
5. After Wollman's line, splice in a nice video of Heidepriem and Ben Arndt shaking hands before a cheering crowd.
6. Then fade to Heidepriem and Arndt looking straight at the camera: "I'm Scott Heidepriem." "I'm Ben Arndt." "It's time for a new team. That's us."
   
7. Over that last ten seconds, you display the campaign URL in very clear letters.

Scott, it's time to get the kids with the cameras back on message. We have 29 days until the election. There isn't time for anyone spending your money to say anything that doesn't end with the words, "Vote for Heidepriem!"

Daugaard Policy Armor Cracks; Heidepriem Primed for Offensive

South Dakota GOP candidate for governor Dennis Daugaard must be reading too much War College. Daugaard apparently believes the propaganda that the campaign is over, it's a blowout, it's hopeless for Heidepriem... believes it so much that he's starting to slip.

First Team Daugaard puts out an ad so doggedly designed to deny reality that even mild-mannered journalist Bob Mercer, not the most obviously liberal journalist in the state, felt obliged to point out that the ad outright lies when it claims we balanced our state budget without raising taxes. Mercer catalogs a few tax and fee increases propping up our state budget; contact your local county commission and school board to learn the tax hikes they've had to pile onto your local assessment to make up for the state's budgetary neglect.

Then Daugaard tells nursing homes that they probably won't get the $21 million in medicaid stimulus Washington sent them. "We need to guard against the increasing tendency to look for the government to save us," Daugaard lectured the nursing home workers' convention in Sioux Falls Wednesday, even as he defended Pierre's pouring that stimulus money into the general fund to save our budget. That's the same shell game Daugaard and his boss are playing with the $26.3 million in education stimulus approved in August, diverting it from its intended purpose and guaranteeing it won't have the stimuluative effect lawmakers intended.

Now Daugaard skips a great opportunity to defend his record and his plans on a major state policy issue. Tonight's Inside KELOLand (10:30 p.m. CST) will discuss the recent Zogby poll, sponsored by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, on South Dakota voters' views of K-12 education. Democrat Scott Heidepriem will be there. So will an ASBSD official. Daugaard was invited, but he won't be there. Team Heidepriem is telling supporters that Daugaard said he doesn't want to debate this issue with Heidepriem. Maybe Daugaard, like fellow Republican Kristi Noem, is just getting tired of having his indefensible claims challenged and thinks he can coast to victory in November with fluffy ads and nice hair.

Whatever Daugaard's reason for skipping this discussion, Heidepriem gets free shots for a half hour on the highest-rated TV station in the state. And what will those free shots include? Paraphrasing the latest Team Heidepriem e-mail, Heidepriem will likely cite various expenditures the state has incurred even while breaking its promise to schools and shorted K-12 education this year:

• Rounds and Daugaard happily sent TransCanada an extra $10.5 million in tax refunds to incentivize a pipeline TransCanada had already built through our state.
• The current administration has given over $533,000 dollars in pay raises to their top 19 executive branch staffers... who have turned around and given Daugaard over $62,000 in campaign contributions.
• They've refused to sell any of the state airplanes.
• They closed the Black Hills Playhouse while spending over $200K to renovate "Valhalla," the historic Peter Norbeck cabin just up the trail that Governor Rounds has turned into his personal playground.
  

Tonight's KELO broadcast is the beginning of what could be a big media week for Heidepriem. His big 30-minute documentary is already making the rounds at Dems events and hits the airwaves on all the major South Dakota channels this week Thursday. And by dodging a discussion of education and papering over bad policy with cheery optimism and plainly false claims, Daugaard may be making it that much easier for Heidepriem to grab folks' attention and make the big push for November.

Johnson Outpolls Karpen 60-40 for PUC

The latest Madville Times poll shows perhaps predictable though not heartening results for Dems hoping to knock off a GOP golden dude and expand the Dems' bench here in South Dakota. I asked, "Who will get your vote for SD Public Utilities Commissioner?" From the poll's opening on Wednesday afternoon to closing at breakfast this morning, 129 of you eager readers gave a majority nod to incumbent commissioner and peppy Republican Dusty Johnson:

Dusty Johnson	77 (60%)
Doyle Karpen	52 (40%)

Votes: 129

Given a margin of error slightly wider than TransCanada's ability to accurately project oil spills, what might we read in these Sunday-morning tea leaves?

1. Incumbency has its advantages. In a poll on the Secretary of State's race, another statewide office that many voters ignore, Madville Times readers gave Democrat Ben Nesselhuf a 70–26 edge over the GOP's Jason Gant. Both of those candidates are state legislators seeking to replace the outgoing Republican Secretary of State. In the PUC race, Commissioner Johnson can point to achievements in the office he wants to hold for another six years. Evidently the "throw the bums out!" sentiment doesn't extend to Republicans on the PUC.
2. Commissioner Johnson's been fixing more phones than mine.
3. Even if the PUC can't do a thing to stop it, the Democrats out there who read this blog are still struggling to justify a vote for a county commissioner who thinks the Hyperion refinery will be "fantastic."

We've got more ballot to cover and big races to re-poll, so stay tuned for more chances to click your picks for November 2! Just four weeks to Election Day—goosebumps!

Sneak Peek: Stricherz on the Issues

Patricia Stricherz, candidate for District 8 House, forwards the Madville Times her responses to a questionnaire from the Mitchell Daily Republic. Who am I to turn down a scoop on tasty policy questions? Here are the questions, candidate Stricherz's answers (verbatim, unedited), and my own commentary:

1. What qualifications do you possess to be a state lawmaker?

Stricherz: In 1992 I joined the Army, was deployed to Kuwait and was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for my work to generate new computer based files that would assist 24th FSB Company in easily locating and identifying each work order, their status and the parts ordered. After the Army I worked several years in Retail Management. In 2003 I felt I needed a change of employment and began attending the University of Sioux Falls working on my BA in Social Work. This decision came as a result of my time as a CASA Volunteer as well as a Foster Parent. My junior year I had to drop out to care for my husband, who was injured during his deployment to Iraq. The last two years I have been running a nonprofit organization that provides emergency services to the troops and the families they leave behind during deployments. This is where my heart is. Speaking on behalf of our military hero’s and their families. This position has allowed me to gain experience advocating on behalf of families, fundraising, speaking publicly, organizing, training new volunteers, working with the media, and so much more. Locating the best service providers for home repairs, appliance repairs and vehicle repairs has given me additional speaking experience. The overall day to day functions of running a business has given me additional experience in balancing budgets, applying for grants and approaching donors for financial assistance and in-kind goods.

2. Roads have become an issue this year because of extensive flooding causing a lot of damage, forcing some counties to seek opt-outs or wheel taxes. What action do you think the state Legislature should take to assist counties and municipalities with funding? What proposal would you introduce?

Stricherz: Roads are an important part of our infrastructure that allows for the organizational structures needed for the operation of society. Allowing for the funding needed for regular maintenance is a necessity, allocating funding for emergency repairs is a must needed priority. In balancing the state budget, funds must be set aside for times such as these that counties and municipalities are currently experiencing. Cutting back on unnecessary spending, cutting failed and unsuccessful programs will give some additional funding for infrastructure. In today’s society we can not afford wasteful spending in our personal lives, expecting this same standard for our government should not be any less required.

CAH: I am heartened to hear a Republican who remembers that we do need government spending to maintain the basic "operation of society." However, the standard line about cutting wasteful spending represents wishful thinking, not hard fiscal analysis and decision-making. We face a 100-million-dollar state budget shortfall. I do not believe the state of South Dakota is currently wasting 100 million dollars. There's a strong argument to be made (especially by the counties trying to pass opt-outs and wheel taxes) that we need to spend more to fix our flood-ravaged roads and failing bridges. Candidates need to tell us exactly which $100-million-plus worth of programs they plan to cut to cover the deficit and the increasing road repair bill... or they need to be honest as the counties are and say, "You know what? We need to pay our own way with tax increases."

3. Do you think education is under funded in the state? If so, please explain how you would increase funding and where the money would come from? If not, please explain why you think that way.

Stricherz: Education is the foundation of our economic development, and the future of South Dakota’s economy depends upon creating highly-educated young South Dakotans. Currently, education takes 31% of the states budget, we need to work on increasing that number to no less than 36%. South Dakota schools perform at a high level and produce high quality students, in order to maintain this standard we must view education as an investment and not an expense. Therefore, it is important to the future of our schools to provide for a yearly increase in the funding that is available, one possible solution would be to lower property taxes and equalized the funds available to schools for operations. Another option would be to find alternate solutions to the schools laptop program. The 2.9 million dollars it takes to fund this program could instead be used to boost general state aid to schools.

CAH: For a moment there, Stricherz sounds like my man for governor Scott Heidepriem, who recognizes the state is failing to shoulder its share of the burden for funding education. But then Stricherz drops back to cutting taxes, which returns right back to the problem of the state doing less and expecting locals to do more. Even the reallocation of laptops may cause the same problem: the state may withdraw its tech support (the state dropped expansion of the classroom laptop program last year), but local schools will have to pick up the tab... and making each local school do its own tech support may only increase costs. Still open for debate: whether those school-supplied laptops are essential for education in the first place....

4. Gov. Mike Rounds has asked that state agencies and departments prepare a 2012 budget that should include a 10 percent decrease. Do you support or oppose a budget decrease? If not, please explain why you think that way.

Stricherz: I agree with Governor Rounds proposal that state agencies and departments decrease their budget by no less than 10%. As I stated above, we should expect no less from our government than to live by the same standards as that of our states citizens.

CAH: Ah, there's a step toward closing the $100 million shortfall. But does that include Board of Regents? Department of Transportation? Highway Patrol and Corrections? Again, I don't believe there's $100 million in waste, so I want to hear the good programs the governor and our legislators want us to do without.

5. Other than education and road issues, what legislation do you plan to introduce next year if elected or re-elected?

6. What issues are occurring within your district that will prompt you to propose legislation to address them?

Stricherz: 5./6. Answered together: I oppose increases in sales and use taxes without significant cuts in current government spending, as well as oppose increases in property tax. During this time of recession it is irresponsible for our government to increase taxes adding burden to our struggling South Dakota families. We, instead should be focused to finding sensible solutions to the creation of jobs that would allow our South Dakota families to take care of themselves.

During the 2010 session, the state Legislature considered the “South Dakota Health Care Freedom Act” ( SB 137 ), as we learn more and more what this extensive bill contains, I believe it is as important, more than ever, to reintroduce this bill to protect our citizens from the mandated and regulated laws coming out of Washington, DC.

The security of South Dakota families is important, instead of cutting funding to our Police, Sheriff and Highway Patrol Dept.’s it is more responsible to increase funding. Without a strong security system, we are placing our citizen’s in undue harms way.

CAH: Dang—Stricherz is preaching Gordon Howie's nullification again. Can we just accept the health care law and work to improve it? Can Republicans just accept defeat and look for real solutions? I guess not.

And evidently Stricherz wants to exempt law enforcement from the governor's proposed 10% cuts. It's hard to argue with funding public safety... but again, there lies the challenge we face in squaring Republican tough talk on budgets with Republican tough talk on law and order. Government is not all waste: in South Dakota, government is mostly things we like and need. If our candidates spent less time railing about how bad and wasteful government is and instead focused on how necessary police, roads, and education are for our well-being, we might have an easier time convincing taxpayers to support the funding necessary to keep society running.

I still plan to vote for Mitch and Gerry here in District 8. Stricherz won't get my vote, not because she's Patty Stricherz, but because she sounds too much like Russ Olson and every other Republican. The South Dakota GOP says things we like to hear about cracking down on waste, supporting education and police, and not raising taxes. But they never offer a consistent and straightforward explanation of the fiscal realities of turning our fiscal wishes into workable policy.

Winfred Woes: Edicks See Unfair Zoning Rules Against Scholl

Maybe Winfred needs its own blog... Winfred Waler? Winfred Whopper?

First Republican candidate for District 8 House Patricia Stricherz, who now calls Winfred home, fires her missive missile at Independent opponent Jason Bjorklund. (It still sounds weird to say opponent there, since Stricherz and Bjorklund are logical allies in the battle to unseat incumbents Mitch Fargen and Gerry Lange. But unless there's some serious kiss-and-make-up in the coming weeks, Stricherz, at least, appears to see the race in those terms.)

Now another Winfred denizen, Ken Emick, has some grumbling to air. His wife Sue brings me a hand-written letter to the editor which they said the Madison Daily Leader would not print. The Emicks are unhappy with the treatment their friend and neighbor Charles Scholl has received in his dealings with the Lake County Commission. (For some background, see these MDL articles on Scholl's permit requests, nuisance complaints, and county acquisition and auction of his Winfred property.)

In his letter, Ken Edick says some negative things concerning people I like and trust—States Attorney Ken Meyer, zoning officer Deb Reinicke, and local salvage and gravel guru Lee Yager (heck, I just bought a good load of gravel from Lee and his son Rick to fix my rain-rutted driveway). I don't agree with everything Edick says, and I'm editing out a few words, since some of Edick's complaints are more personal gripes than direct critique of local government.

But Edick is a citizen, and he has some questions about the fairness with which our local government applies its laws. The Edicks also don't have Internet at home (what? you mean the rest of the world doesn't revolve around the Web the way it does here at Madville Times world headquarters? inconceivable!), so it can't hurt to extend the convenience of instant and interactive global griping to some non-digitized Lake County neighbors.

Here for your consideration and comment is what Edick has to say, followed by some Madville commentary:

First of all I would like to thank Paul Nordaune for his letter of support to the editor of the local paper for Charles Scholl. I know there are many others who support him out there who need to come forward. I totally agree with him that we need to elect new people for our County Commissioners' board and States Attorney's Office.

I would never have voted for Ken Meyer for States Attorney if I had known what he was like. He and others in Winfred ran Charles out of town. Then those people benefited by getting his land cheap when the county auctioned it off. The County Commissioners said it cost in excess of $100,000 to clean the land up. So why would they sell the land so cheap? We taxpayers paid to have the land leveled and new dirt hauled in and put down that Charles Scholl would have done at no cost. So the taxpayers get cheated again and the ones with the money are laughing all the way to the bank. Now Ken Meyer is trying to stop Charles from running his business elsewhere. He should not be allowed to be involved in the meetings with the board of Commissioners and Charles Scholl for his permits. Does Ken Meyer control the County Commissioners and why is he rewriting the zoning rules? Has the county given him that much power?

Is it proper for the zoning officer, Deb Reinicke, to refuse to even give Charles Scholl an application for a permit to operate a repair shop without restrictions as are being issued for others? I've heard rumours that Deb was assuring them that they would not be required to comply with the same restrictions placed on Charles Scholl and that they would just be given a permit. She told them the restrictions will only be enforced on Scholl. Evidently this is true given the fact that she ignored the violations I complained about Yager's junkyard (The Can Pit). She ignored the violations and gave Yager a permit without restrictions. Yager's Junkyard (The Can Pit) is prohibited use of that building on that site. The Can Pit per zoning rule definition section 2-39 is larger than 1000 square feet and is being used to buy, sell, and store scrap metals. Further this junkyard does not meet the 200' setback from the road right-of-way for storage of salvage and etc.

I live in Winfred, just up the road from a large open pit sewer. I believe that the awful stench from this sewer pit combined with the potential for small children or pets falling into it creates a public health and safety hazard as set out in state and county nuisance laws. I have filed complaints with the county board and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with no response. Is this something that Ken Meyer has used his position to block or cover up?

...Greg Pulford has his own junkyard in the country and it's not fenced in. It is well weeded up and clearly visible from the road.

Ken Edick
Winfred, SD

Neighbors, your observations on Edick's letter and the matter of fair enforcement of zoning in Lake County are welcome. I feel compelled to weigh on a couple issues myself.

I am always sympathetic to calls for fair enforcement of the law. However, I have difficulty accepting accusations of unfairness from States Attorney Ken Meyer. He may be the straightest-shooting lawyer I know. The suggestion that he should not be involved in county commission zoning deliberations is, to put it gently, unworkable. Meyer earns his pay by providing legal expertise to our part-time commissioners. If I were on the commission, I'd certainly want Meyer at every meeting helping me understand what local and state law requires and allows.

I also visited with our zoning officer Deb Reinicke before publishing this letter. She flatly contradicts the claims of this letter. She says Mr. Scholl delayed even coming to her office to pick up the permit, and that when Scholl complained to her, she told him the application was waiting for him right on her desk. The zoning officer has no authority to deny anyone a permit application. She exercises no decision-making power over permits: she only processes the paperwork and transmits it to the county commission, which has the final say.

And of course, I have little truck with arguments that begin with, "I've heard rumors that...." I could throw that introductory phrase at the beginning of any number of political statements that I want to believe and persuade others of, but that wouldn't make them any more true. If you've got sources for the claim of favoritism, say so. If you have other people who will come forward and say, "Yup, that's what happened to me," then bring them on. If the county is doing anything wrong, people should step forward and say so, not whisper that other unnamed people are saying so.

I take no position on the nature of the permits received by Lee Yager, Greg Pulford, or any other businessmen in the county. I am all for landowners being able to use their land as they see fit, within the limits of reasonable regulations and public safety. Edick's letter shows there is at least a perception that the county is enforcing those limits with less than an even hand. And our candidates (there is no election for states attorney this year, but we do have four people vying for two county commission seats) should be aware that the Edicks' perception is shared with significant fervor by at least a few voters in Winfred and around Madison. Those who share that perception would do well to approach our county commission candidates and ask them what they know and where they stand on zoning and enforcement.

Madison Biz Opp: Downtown Corner Retail, <$100K

The Madison Daily Leader marks the retirement of longtime local pharmacist Bob Schamber. Schamber's retirement also brings the closing of Dakota Drug, a fixture of downtown retail since I was a kid...

...which brings us to this morning's underappreciated business opportunity. Go to HJN Team Realty's website, dig up Listing #2100643 for the Dakota Drug building. 6800 square feet. Two stories, including the really cool staircase and open second-floor retail space where I always looked at the puzzle books and comics when I was little. Great corner street parking and a big municipal parking lot right out back. Spectacular visibility, with a popular local restaurant right across the street. There's even an apartment included in the west side, the space where John Green used to have his studio.

Asking price: $99,900.

Less than $100K, for one of the best retail locations on Madison's Main Street.

Now if I had $100K burning a hole in my pocket, I'd still rather acquire the Masonic Temple and put a down payment on renovations. But the more sensible entrepreneurs among you, dear readers, must be able to see the potential of this prime downtown location. Perhaps Madison's bookstore could expand and open a used book emporium in the upstairs. Perhaps another electronics store could open to compete with Radio Shack across the street for the burgeoning market of technogeek DSU students. Perhaps a second coffeeshop could open and put out shady tables where we prairie intellectuals could gather to mock the tacky signs at the Stadium grill. Perhaps a frame shop and gallery could open to serve the remarkable number of artists in the neighborhood... and rent out the apartment as a rural artist retreat!

Given the importance of this building as a Main Street retail anchor, it's surprising the LAIC isn't promoting this business opportunity. (Then again, the LAIC's "Available Properties" page also fails to mention Bub's Service, Kearin's Service, and Doug's Auto, three other business opportunities just waiting for progressive, ambitious buyers eager to serve Lake County's automotive needs.) But hey, don't let the LAIC's blinders keep you from seeing the possibilities. Can you find the niche (sports equipment? outdoor store? baby gear?) that lets you compete with Pamida and Lewis? Can you repurpose this building into a community cultural center? Put your thinking caps on, get out your checkbook, and think up a new use for the Dakota Drug building!

Obama Presides over Smallest Executive Workforce in 50 Years

Hat tip to Ned Hodgman at Understanding Government!

The Tea Party and Kristi Noem are imagining things. Noem recites the standard GOP slogans about how government is getting too big.

However, the plain truth is that President Barack Obama currently manages an Executive Branch workforce that makes up the smallest fraction of the U.S. population in the last 50 years.

Federal Government Employment Levels Through the Years (including the U.S. Postal Service)

	Executive Branch civilians	Total U.S. population	Executive Branch employees per 1,000 population
1962 (Kennedy)	2.48 million	186.5 million	13.3
1964 (Johnson)	2.47 million	191.8 million	12.9
1970 (Nixon)	2.94 million*	205 million	14.4
1975 (Ford)	2.84 million	215.9 million	13.2
1978 (Carter)	2.87 million	222.5 million	12.9
1982 (Reagan)	2.77 million	232.1 million	11.9
1990 (Bush)	3.06 million*	249.6 million	12.3
1994 (Clinton)	2.9 million	263.1 million	11.1
2002 (Bush)	2.63 million	287.8 million	9.1
2010 (Obama)	2.65 million+	310.3 million+	8.4+

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget, via Washington Post. *= Figure includes temporary Census Bureau workers. += Estimates by OMB and U.S. Census Bureau.

The Executive Branch currently has 2.65 million employees. That's only a 20K increase from George W. Bush's 2002 Executive Branch workforce. That's less than the 2.77 million who worked for Saint Ronald in 1982.

And President Obama's 8.4 Executive Branch workers per 1000 citizens is the smallest proportion on the modern chart. Under Obama, it's easier than ever for us to surround them.

But hey, why let facts stand in the way of a fun party? (By the way, still no commitment from Noem to appear with fellow radical conservative Ted Nugent to thrill her teabagger fans.)

$700 Billion TARP Price Tag Reduced to $50 Billion

When President Bush proposed the $700 billion bailout two years ago, I had misgivings. So I appreciate this reminder from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that we're coming out a lot better than we might have. As the Troubled Assets Relief Program ends Sunday, projected losses in the worst-case scenario are $50 billion. With a couple lucky breaks, we might even make a small profit.

Senator Bob Bennett, who lost the Republican nomination in Utah because of conservative rage over TARP, thumbs his nose thus:

“For those who were screaming at me — and screaming was the operative word — ‘You’ve just saddled our children and grandchildren with $700 billion,’ I said, ‘No, I haven’t,” Mr. Bennett said in an interview.

“My career is over,” he added. “But I do hope that we can get the word out that TARP, number one, did save the world from a financial meltdown and, number two, did so in a manner that, I believe, won’t cost the taxpayer anything. And even if it did not all get paid back, it was still the thing to do” [Jackie Calmes, "TARP Bailout to Cost Less Than Once Anticipated," New York Times, 2010.09.30].

The economy still needs work. We have an awful lot of restructuring to do. But we have to admit: TARP worked a lot better than a lot of us thought it would.

Republicans Worse Drivers Than Democrats?

The Daily Beast crunches some numbers to determine which states have the most dangerous drivers. A very odd result: nine out of the ten worst states (North Dakota, Montana, Kentucky, Louisiana...) voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Nine of of the ten best states (Connecticut, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts...) voted for Barack Obama.

Daily Beast finds South Dakota has 11th worst drivers in the nation. We rank 5th worst for DUI and failure to obey traffic signs or signals.

No comment yet from Kristi Noem....

Memo to Tea Partiers: You Still Have to Pay Taxes

Dr. Edward Picardi of Sturgis faces five counts of income tax evasion. The IRS alleges that Dr. Picardi has cheated American taxpayers out of $811,000 over thirteen years by moving cash around to overseas accounts. Helping Picardi, says Uncle Sam, was Maryland lawyer Anthony Ira Kritt, who's in court right now for allegedly helping a West Virginia doctor do the same thing.

A possible defense for Dr. Picardi: he was simply acting as any good Tea Partier would, refusing to pay those oppressive taxes. Perhaps Dr. Picardi is where Gordon Howie got the idea. But it seems odd that Dr. Picardi wouldn't pay his taxes; after all, as a long-time employee of the federal government, he surely appreciates the need to pay a decent wage to the men and women serving our country.

This indictment is bad news for Republicans: according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Picardi and his wife and employee Sandra donated $11,200 to Senator John Thune over the past few years. Mrs. Picardi has also given Kristi Noem's House campaign $2000 this year.