Congresswoman Kristi Noem is now handing "challenge coins" to children who complain about school lunch. If that's all it takes to get a "challenge coin," Congresswoman Kristi Noem is going to need to press about 144,000 more coins, one for every school kid in South Dakota.
Rep. Noem gave Aberdeen Roncalli sixth-grader Sam Olson a "challenge coin" today for writing a letter to South Dakota's Congressional delegation to complain about school lunches. Unfortunately, Noem took the coin back when she noticed the sign behind Sam and realized Sam and her Catholic school friends have embraced Agenda 21's sustainability campaign.
Kristi apparently predicates her "challenge coin" handouts on "outstanding performance." I'm not sure what's "outstanding" about aping the empty and self-contradictory political rhetoric of the GOP, but I guess we can qualify Noem's grandstanding on school lunches as performance art. Now if we could just get Kristi to perform her job, that would be really outstanding!
True to anti-intellectual form, Kristi is not predicating her prizes on spelling. 12-year-old Olson wrote in her letter that (I quote verbatim) "It's hard to learn on an emtey stumich."
Noem made learning spelling and other useful skills even harder today by making Sam and friends wait for lunch:
The students, who normally eat lunch just after 11 a.m., waited for Noem's noon arrival [Kay Nguyen, "Aberdeen Roncalli Student Gets Representative Noem's Attention over School Lunch," Aberdeen American News, October 4, 2012].
Kristi, how am I going to get a challenge coin when you make blogging this easy?
I hope she runs against Rounds in '14 so she gets her clock cleaned.
Nothing like giving kids incentives for not eating their vegetables.
If Varliek cant get it done send me I willd ebate her any where.
@Anne: Some kids love vegetables and some don't. I've always loved vegetables since I was a child. Personal choice for the kids I guess.
@Moses: Noem doesn't want to debate anybody. She's too afraid of being called out on her BS. :)
I would call it more of a personal choice for kids' parents. They can buy a subsidized meal with vegetables or pack a sack lunch.
Anne, Vickie, Justin, right on! Noem should be ashamed of herself for undermining the efforts of parents and Michelle Obama to get their kids to eat healthier meals.
It is hard to learn on an empty stomach. Rep. Noem should share that sentiment with her fellow House Republicans when they push to cut $16 billion from SNAP.
Joel: touché!
Has anyone else noticed the blog SD Politics doesn't cover SD politics?
yer a funny guy, mike.
KB is ticking away the moments that make up the dull day; he's frittering and wasting the hours in an offhand way: if you get my drift.
(Why yes I have, Mike. I miss SD Politics' local commentary. Blanchard is the sharpest, sanest conservative SD blogospherian.)
I don't get what is so bad about making kids eat healthy? I have two kids in the school system and they love the food!
Kay! No challenge coins for your kids from Noem! But hey, I'll give them a free subscription to the Madville Times. :-)
Cory, what the hell, you rip on her for meeting with a kid about the school lunch programs. Noem would give you a million dollars and you would still bitch b/c had to pay taxes. Seriously, find something worth bitching about.
@Joel: $16 Trillion...get it right. Half is the current president's fault
So Noem, didn't debate, and I agree, shame on her. But where were you 4 years ago, when Timmy was too good to debate Dyskstra. Oh that's right, his ass would have been handed to him. Maybe the SD Dems need to get candidates that are worth a damn, that are electable, and truly have the best interest of South Dakota at heart. Tim Johnson will be the last DEM you have in a statewide office for a long, long time.
Yup, sure do, DR, since it represents the emptiness of Noem's rhetoric. She didn't "meet with" a kid. She held a photo op for herself. Your comment about finding something worth complaining about ought to be directed at Noem. She's fanning a silly and counterproductive issue to avoid talking about her non-performance.
Where was I four years ago on Johnson vs. Dykstra? Right here: "Instead of spinning, we Dems would do better to acknowledge and accept Senator Johnson's own honest explanation: he's just not recovered enough to make a public debate a fair fight." Before you accuse me of hypocrisy, DR, you'd better do your homework.
(Cory, are DB and DR the same person? )
(Bill, nope!)
So, what is Tim Johnson's excures for missing over half of his meetings? If Matt and your group are going to attack Noem for her attendance, maybe he/you should look at Matt's former boss.
SO, if Tim Johnson wasn't well enough to debate Dykestra in 2008, then maybe he wasn't/isn't well enough to be the Senior Senator From South Dakota.
Ok, so maybe the million dollars was a bad example. Maybe the deal was a photo op, maybe the kids had to wait until noon, but do you know what she was doing at 11am? I do. No it wasn't a campaign stop either.
Did you call me stupid?
And my bad on the previous blog, I wasn't a reader then....That was a bad year for us republicans so I tend to forget that.
Whoops! My apologies, DR: as Bill points out, I mistook your handle for "DB," who was making illogical ripostes elsewhere. I have edited my previous response to focus my fire appropriately on your comment and not the person for whom I mistook you.
That said, I'll say here what I said at DWC when Pat tried to fan the "We can't defend Kristi's laziness, so let's rag on Tim Johnson" red herring: show me that Johnson is neglecting his duty the same way Kristi is, and I'll support whatever Dem may challenge him in the 2014 primary, if he runs. If Johnson runs and either faces no primary or wins the primary, I will not spin any Noem-like committee absences.
And Dan, for Kristi, everything is a photo op and campaign stop. But enlighten us: what was she doing at 11 a.m.?