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Noem Offers Thoughtless Bromides to Girls Staters

Congresswoman Kristi Noem spoke to hundreds of South Dakota's best and brightest young women at Girls' State in Vermillion Monday. Instead of telling these ambitious young women how government really works, Rep. Noem defaulted to her usual fluff and folksy nonsense.

"My grandma said, "˜The only advice that I would have for Kristi would be to say yes as much as you possibly can, because as a mom, so many times you have to say no.' I have applied that to my entire life since then.

"All of you have so many opportunities in front of you ... I hope that when you see an opportunity in front of you, that you say "˜yes.' There are so many other times in life when you won't have the opportunity to say yes," Noem said. "You'll find that amazing things will happen to you if you just will say to yourself "˜I'm going to say yes before I say no'" [David Lias, "Noem: Say 'Yes' to Every Opportunity," Yankton Press & Dakotan, 2011.06.01].

Say yes all the time: What rotten advice for teenage girls! Noem seems to be replacing critical thinking and discernment with a flimsy absolute.

Say yes all the time: Does that mean when the federal government offers handouts that violate your party's espoused principles of small government and free-market capitalism, you say yes? Apparently.

Does that mean when you have a chance to say yes to funding programs that support public brodcasting, promote women's health, and save America from default and global economic chaos, you say yes? Apparently not.

Does that mean when the Madville Times invites you to Madison for a half-hour interview before a live audience on August 5 at noon, you say yes? We'll see....

Noem babbles to the Girls' Staters about the importance of staying positive (anyone want to review her campaign ads against Herseth Sandlin?), working hard, and looking for opportunities. But as usual, she's not really saying anything... at least not anything I want my daughter saying.

Bonus Babble: In her Girls' State address, Rep. Noem recycled her line about how her father's death triggered problems with the federal estate tax, an experience that motivated her to get interested in government. This is a fun campaign line, shielding a tough policy position in a sensitive emotional issue that might make reporters hesitate to serious questions. However, Noem has yet to explain why there were problems with the estate tax when her mother was still alive to act as sole owner of the operation. Maybe the Congresswoman will discuss that with me at our August 5 interview.

27 Comments

  1. Chris S. 2011.06.02

    Isn't saying "Yes" to everything going to lead to lots of premarital sex and unplanned pregnancies?

  2. Vincent Gormley 2011.06.02

    How does our representative reconcile her advice with all of her "NO" votes in the House ?

  3. Troy Jones 2011.06.02

    Your obsession with KN is getting a bit bizarre. She didn't say to say yes all the time. She said to say yes when presented with opportunity. She didn't say one shouldn't be discerning. If one has deemed it an opportunity, they have already discerned the merits.

  4. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.06.02

    So what does she mean by "opportunity"? An opportunity to have sex with a cute boy? An opportunity to fund valuable social programs? An opportunity to advance one's career? An opportunity to make money? There's no guidance her, no discernment, just more empty-headed precious-moments nonsense, indicative of Noem's weak communication skills and lack of coherent practical governing principles.

  5. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.06.02

    (And on my "obsession": could someone pull the Dakota War College archive of constant criticism of Herseth Sandlin, which has gone on long after SHS's loss and leaving office, and identify the comments Troy has left criticizing Pat Powers and fellow commenters for their "bizarre" obsession?)

  6. larry kurtz 2011.06.02

    Fascinating. Madville Invites Life's Fluff.

  7. Guy 2011.06.02

    Troy, lol. "Obsession with KN?" Really, but, not as bad as that obsession you and your cohorts at DWC have had with SHS over the years. In fact, your obsession came out like a personal vendetta against Steph and continues to this day. So, please dispense with your holier than thou attitude. Good Day.

  8. Guy 2011.06.02

    Corey,
    If Stephanie had been the guest speaker at Girls State, I bet she would have lead a useful discussion about her work in Congress. This would have been much more useful for the political astute at Girls State and I can say this since I attended Boys State years ago. Another reason I believe Stephanie would have grounded her speach in useful career experience is because she actually took the time to address the cadets at South Dakota Tech about her Congressional trip to Afghanistan, an area that she knew would be useful knowledge for those going into military leadership. One thing about Steph, love her or hate her, she knew her audience and she provided useful knowledge and was always ready to discuss as well as learn from *listening* to her constituents.

  9. mike 2011.06.02

    Noem shouldn't be such an easy target. Someone has to do this and I'm glad Cory takes the time. The DWC was good at going after Herseth. What bothers Troy is that we all have an outlet to complain about Noem.

    Guys I want to see Turbak-Berry go after Noem in '12.

  10. mike 2011.06.02

    What is the deal with the estate taxes Cory?

  11. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.06.02

    That's what I want to know, Mike. Noem gives the same brief story each time, but I've never heard the details to explain why there was a problem in the first place.

  12. mike 2011.06.02

    Estate Tax Law
    Can I avoid the federal estate tax by leaving everything to my spouse?
    For a while, although you may wind up significantly increasing the total estate tax payable on your spouse's death.

    You can pass all your property - in whatever form or amount - to your spouse (as long as that spouse is a U.S. citizen), free of any estate tax. This is called the "unlimited marital deduction". However, the property that has passed must still be included in the decedent's gross estate in order for the deduction to apply. If the gross estate does not include the transfers to the spouse, no marital deduction applies.

    Although this seems to be a tempting planning strategy, it can be a double-edged sword:

    (1) the assets you have left tax-free to your spouse are all taxed when your spouse later dies -at higher brackets. Your surviving spouse would have to remarry and give his/her entire estate to the new spouse in order to get another unlimited marital deduction. Most people would rather their children or other relatives benefit from the estate, rather than a new spouse and his/her family.

    (2) you waste your exemption by leaving all to your spouse. To avoid this result, consider (1) giving the exempt amount to your children and the balance to your spouse or (2) placing up to the current exemption amount in a trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse. (In estate-planning lingo, this trust is often called a by-pass trust, a family trust, a credit shelter trust, or an A/ B trust. This type of arrangement can provide for the health and support of your survivor but its assets are not included in the survivor's federal estate when she or he dies later.)

    http://law.freeadvice.com/tax_law/estate_tax_law/spouse_tax_avoidance.htm

  13. mike 2011.06.02

    I don't know what the tax law was in the 1990's.

    Noem also hasn't told us if any of her businesses were successful and she doesn't put them into a context of time. How long did you own the restaurant you ran? How long did you have a hunting lodge?

    How many employees do you have on your farm? I've heard their are 18-20. That doesn't sound like a typical family farm to me.

  14. mike 2011.06.02

    Since she brings her businesses up so often as a model of her qualifications I think we should start asking her to be specific and answer questions about their success.

  15. mike 2011.06.02

    Also if taxes are such a big deal to Noem did she propose any legislation in the state legislature or US Congress to change the laws that bothered her?

    This story seems to have developed since the election.

  16. kwn 2011.06.02

    Another MILF comment, Larry? (Please give it a rest - act your age, not your IQ)

  17. larry kurtz 2011.06.02

    Thank you for the compliment! You should know that i don't look 160. We should get a rheum sometime.

  18. kwn 2011.06.02

    Let me rephrase --- MILF is so, so, so 2005. Get over it. Move past it. Please quit saying it!

  19. Cupcake 2011.06.02

    As far as I know, Ron Arnold, Krispie Noem's father did not have a will and the State of South Dakota law divided up the farm. Krispie received her share 16 1/3 which she has sold a couple of years ago. The cafe in Watertown was upside down and Krispie did the books. She was only in there a year and helped her mother get rid of that dead horse. Hunting Lodge was operated as a hunting preserve,

    releasing pen raised birds, a pay to hunt outfit. The home on the farm is used as a hunting lodge. She is no longer operating the preserve and takes in hunters that stay in the farm house. Her hunting operation as a preserve only lasted 3 years. The so called "rancher; own no cattle, she takes in horses, Horse boarding on the 46 acres that she and her husband own. She is a fake and loves to be the center of attention. It's all about Krispie being first.

  20. mike 2011.06.03

    Ok so the restaurant thing would've been nice for voters to know about and perhaps it would be nice for her to explain what else she has done with her time.

    I believe she was secretary of her 4 square church in watertown but didn't want that to come up because she spoke in tongues and is pentecostal.

    I was told that her sister took her position as secretary but notice Noem never brought up her religion during the campaign? It's because she speaks in tongues.

  21. mike 2011.06.03

    Notice Noem worked for her church and never once has brought this up while campaigning... I heard she asked her pastor to take things off of his website but he refused and was offended. Family Worship Center. I don't know much about it but rumor around Watertown is it's a CULT!

    http://fwcsd.com/about-family-worship-center/meet-our-staff/
    Oh wait I guess it was "Director of Children's Ministries".
    Cindy Grantham - Kristi's sister. This was Kristi's old job but she never mentions it. Why?

  22. mike 2011.06.03

    I think people need to look into Kristi's church.

  23. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.06.03

    It is possible Noem just wants to keep her religion to herself... a position I would find much more tolerable than, say, Tim Pawlenty's megachurch posturing. Her religious beliefs might illuminate her science denial (but not her vote for astrology). Beyond the contradiction I pointed out last October, we might also want to know where FWC stands on male headship. However, if Noem doesn't want to wear her piety on her sleeve, I can't blame her for that.

  24. kwn 2011.06.03

    @Cupcake and @Mike - you're both wrong on so many levels. Please do some fact checking prior to spreading lies.

    And her church is a CULT? It isn't. You should check it out, it sounds like you're from that area. Check out the BIBLE, it talks about speaking in tounges.

  25. Guy 2011.06.03

    Yes, I must agree with Corey on the subject of one's "Faith," and this pertains to everyone, including Rep. Noem. As a supporter of Herseth, I do not believe that Kristi Noem's religion or faith is anyone's business, but, her's alone. So, yes, I must stand up for Kristi on this one and I am happy that she does not wear her religion "on her sleeve" like Tim Pawlenty or even Mike Huckabee does.

  26. Guy 2011.06.03

    BTW Corey, not to change the subject, but, will all your daily posting, staying fresh and current, and the recent response you get, I bet you may be close to becoming the number #1 blogsite in the state of SD? I know you like to keep your blog hits to yourself and I respect that. At least if you were #1 you do not brag about it like Pat Powers did all the time with the DWC. That's another thing I admire about you, if you were #1, knowing that yourself would be enough. A true man does not have to brag about his achievements...he just knows.

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