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Sunday Potpourri: Daugaard’s Recession, Noem’s Hair…

Even my lovely wife says I have too many tabs open on my browser (current count: 19). Time to clear the queue! Here's the South Dakota news I'm reading about:

David Chicoine, president of my noble alma mater South Dakota State University, says Governor Dennis Daugaard's 10% budget cut would force around 75 layoffs from campus. Cutting 75 well-educated professionals from the Brookings workforce would cause another 112 workers around the community to lose their jobs providing goods and services. Lose those 187 jobs, and by current Department of Labor stats, Brookings would see its unemployment rate jump a full percentage point. How again is decreasing public services and increasing unemployment better for the economy than raising taxes?

In another example of a Republican plan producing exactly what it was meant to prevent, Senator John Thune says he's avoided Iowa to keep rumors from starting. The only thing that plan is tamping is any chance Thune has of winning the presidency: he finished behind eight other people in the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll.

Most degrading and objectifying portrayal of Rep. Kristi Noem comes not from me but from NY Post blogger Kyle Smith, who refers to our Congresswoman's "delightful topping of just-fell-out-of-bed hair." We know what Smith is fantasizing about. Of course, Smith also says Noem "demolished Obama in the most personable way" and is "the one to watch." They should have put her in the CPAC straw poll.

Locally, Heartland exec Mike McDowell still agrees with me that the efforts to repeal ObamaCare in our state legislature flow from a failure to grasp the Constitution... or a sinister desire to nullify it and refight the Civil War. He wishes the Legislature would get on with real issues. To their credit, Hosue State Affairs has judiciously killed two nullification bills (HB 1088 and HB 1165) and... but a silly nullification resolution (HCR 1004) passed the House 42-26.

5 Comments

  1. Michael Black 2011.02.13

    The legislature needs to worry about passing a budget. PERIOD.

    ObamaCare has been declared unconstitutional. It would be nice if we could get the Supreme Court to decide its final fate sooner rather than later. The insurance companies must plan for a worst case scenario which means everyone premium will go up for no reason but uncertainty. ObamaCare's promise of savings and improved health care may never be realized. In the meantime, just where is my money going?

  2. Kyle Halgerson 2011.02.13

    I always hoped that Daugaard's budget was just a bluff, that he expected the legislature to propose another measure (increasing the sales tax a penny, for instance) rather than just going along with this job-killing cut. Apparently, I was wrong. Bummer.

  3. mike 2011.02.13

    It's amazing what looks will do for a political candidate.

    She's hot and exciting... oh let's forget that she isn't conservative on ethanol, farm subsideas, EAS... pretty much anything that benefits her.

    I think in a lot of ways we become enfatuated with a candidate before we know anything substantial about them and that is too bad.

  4. mike 2011.02.13

    Her families wealth is sustained by fed $$$.

  5. jana 2011.02.13

    I don't think it's the Governor's recession.

    It's the Republican Deficit and the Daugaard Cuts.

    Both will have a significant and long term negative impact on our state and more importantly out people for years to come. Face it, they own this mess and they own the long term fallout, the individuals that are hurt and the damage done to our educational system.

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