SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

Saw the movie “Julie and Julia” this weekend. A real treat!

When I left the theatre I was light hearted and had completely forgotten about looming Democrat power grabs and un understandable so called health care reform. It was another great performance by Meryl Streep. As I pondered the movie, the real star became the screenwriter (and also director) Nora Ephron.  

Don’t get me wrong Streep was flawless and perfect for the role. She keeps putting notches in her six shooter adding yet another accent to her repertoire. Meryl Streep’s career is amazing. She still has star power and box office pull at 60. Most actresses lose it at 40. I think it has something to do with their waistline. Watching Streep in “The Bridges of Madison County” make you love your wife even more and when watching her recent performance in “Mama Mia” you just lose your real world in her emotion and upbeat joy of life.

Amy Adams too was heart warming. The movie was very comfortable. It begins with the sight of Child arriving in Paris and the unloading of her car, a post WWII (probably a ’47 or ’48) vintage Buick Roadmaster Station Wagon woody. The sweetness of the characters, the determination of the women, the understanding of the husbands, and what could be more comfortable than people enjoying good food.

Nora Ephron stole the show. She will win a couple of Academy Awards for this one, certainly Screenwriting (Original or Adapted as the case may be) and Directing. Perhaps as a long shot the film might win Musical score. Julie and Julia capture Ephron’s style and stagecraft.

Ephron is great at whatever she does. She juxtaposes the trials (and the trivial sagas) of daily life against what we wish to be the best of human nature. Further she has the power of timing and (at least to me) understands the nuances of changes in the popular culture. Some of her outstanding prior works that I will watch over and over are: “When Harry Met Sally”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, and “You’ve Got Mail”.

Ephron often highlights the Internet into her works as she did using email as the romantic conduit in “You’ve Got Mail” (an update to the old movie, “The Shop Around the Corner”) and as she does with the Amy Adams character (Julie) in “Julie and Julia.” Julie connects with Julia Child by blogging about her.

“Julie and Julia” is a well developed story. Following are outtakes from the movie’s website that explain the genesis of the screenplay and the story.

Synopsis – “Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two best selling memoirs: Powell’s Julie and Julia and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme. Based on two true stories Julie and Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, separately by time and space, are both at loose ends…until they discover with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.”

“Julie and Julia” - Nearing thirty and trapped in a dead end secretary job. Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life and cooking in the span of a single year everyone of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves liver and aspic, but a new life – lived with gusto.

“My Life in France” – Indeed when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into the French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her new found passion for cooking and teaching. Julia’s unforgettable story – struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers whom she sent her now famous cookbook, a wonderful nearly fifty-year long marriage that took them across the globe unfolds with the spirit so key to her success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of the most enduring American personalities of the last fifty years.

More on Nora Ephron – Ephron has had an interesting life – to say the least. Ephron comes by her writing and the movies very naturally. She was the daughter of two screenwriters. Nora grew up California and is a graduate of Beverly Hills High School.

She interned in the White House for John Kennedy and recently suggested that having been given the chance would have like to had an affair with him. I take this as extreme literary license.

Ephron has been married three times. Her second husband was Carl Bernstein of Watergate and “All the President’s Men” fame. At Bernstein’s and Bob Woodward’s request, then wife Nora, rewrote the screenplay for the movie. The Producer did not use it but doing the (attempted) rewrite resulted in Ephron getting her first screenwriting job.

Very interestingly, Wikipedia reports that Ephron was told by then husband Bernstein who Deep Throat was. As reported by Wikipedia, she alluded on occasion the name to others and when asked about his identity, which was often (after all she slept in the same bed with Bernstein). She would reply – My Friend. When it was revealed who Deep Throat was, it was Mark Felt.

Ephron must like writers as her third and current husband of more than twenty years is writer and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi. Pileggi wrote the books “Wiseguy” (that he wrote into the movie “Goodfellas) and the book and movie “Casino.” (BTW Casino is a very good book.)

I purchase very few DVDs (DVDs are going the way of newspapers, and 8 track tapes – we’ll just subscribe to an Internet service) but for the time being “Julie and Julia” is going next to my television when it is released.

DVDs aside – Do not miss this one on the big screen.

Straight Talk Commentary – Mega Capitalist, Warren Buffett, and Obama economic advisor (too bad the President isn’t listening to him) weighed in this week on fiscal sanity and what deficit spending is doing to our economy and to the future of our Country.

These are my words and not Buffets but at the rate we are going our country will be a third world  country in one or two generations if we continue to pursue policies of equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity.

Politically non partisan elections analyst Charlie Cook reported yesterday deficit spending and the President’s handling of the economy are lowering both Congress and the President’s approval ratings.

Read Buffett’s Opinion piece!

The Greenback Effect

By: Warren E. Buffett

The New York Times

August 18, 2008

In nature, every action has consequences, a phenomenon called the butterfly effect. These consequences, moreover, are not necessarily proportional. For example, doubling the carbon dioxide we belch into the atmosphere may far more than double the subsequent problems for society. Realizing this, the world properly worries about greenhouse emissions.

The butterfly effect reaches into the financial world as well. Here, the United States is spewing a potentially damaging substance into our economy — greenback emissions.

To be sure, we’ve been doing this for a reason I resoundingly applaud. Last fall, our financial system stood on the brink of a collapse that threatened a depression. The crisis required our government to display wisdom, courage and decisiveness. Fortunately, the Federal Reserve and key economic officials in both the Bush and Obama administrations responded more than ably to the need.

They made mistakes, of course. How could it have been otherwise when supposedly indestructible pillars of our economic structure were tumbling all around them? A meltdown, though, was avoided, with a gusher of federal money playing an essential role in the rescue.

The United States economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery. But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself.

To understand this threat, we need to look at where we stand historically. If we leave aside the war-impacted years of 1942 to 1946, the largest annual deficit the United States has incurred since 1920 was 6 percent of gross domestic product. This fiscal year, though, the deficit will rise to about 13 percent of G.D.P., more than twice the non-wartime record. In dollars, that equates to a staggering $1.8 trillion. Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory.

Because of this gigantic deficit, our country’s “net debt” (that is, the amount held publicly) is mushrooming. During this fiscal year, it will increase more than one percentage point per month, climbing to about 56 percent of G.D.P. from 41 percent. Admittedly, other countries, like Japan and Italy, have far higher ratios and no one can know the precise level of net debt to G.D.P. at which the United States will lose its reputation for financial integrity. But a few more years like this one and we will find out.

An increase in federal debt can be financed in three ways: borrowing from foreigners, borrowing from our own citizens or, through a roundabout process, printing money. Let’s look at the prospects for each individually — and in combination.

The current account deficit — dollars that we force-feed to the rest of the world and that must then be invested — will be $400 billion or so this year. Assume, in a relatively benign scenario, that all of this is directed by the recipients — China leads the list — to purchases of United States debt. Never mind that this all-Treasuries allocation is no sure thing: some countries may decide that purchasing American stocks, real estate or entire companies makes more sense than soaking up dollar-denominated bonds. Rumblings to that effect have recently increased.

Then take the second element of the scenario — borrowing from our own citizens. Assume that Americans save $500 billion, far above what they’ve saved recently but perhaps consistent with the changing national mood. Finally, assume that these citizens opt to put all their savings into United States Treasuries (partly through intermediaries like banks).

Even with these heroic assumptions, the Treasury will be obliged to find another $900 billion to finance the remainder of the $1.8 trillion of debt it is issuing. Washington’s printing presses will need to work overtime.

Slowing them down will require extraordinary political will. With government expenditures now running 185 percent of receipts, truly major changes in both taxes and outlays will be required. A revived economy can’t come close to bridging that sort of gap.

Legislators will correctly perceive that either raising taxes or cutting expenditures will threaten their re-election. To avoid this fate, they can opt for high rates of inflation, which never require a recorded vote and cannot be attributed to a specific action that any elected official takes. In fact, John Maynard Keynes long ago laid out a road map for political survival amid an economic disaster of just this sort: “By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.... The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”

I want to emphasize that there is nothing evil or destructive in an increase in debt that is proportional to an increase in income or assets. As the resources of individuals, corporations and countries grow, each can handle more debt. The United States remains by far the most prosperous country on earth, and its debt-carrying capacity will grow in the future just as it has in the past.

But it was a wise man who said, “All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there.” We don’t want our country to evolve into the banana-republic economy described by Keynes.

Our immediate problem is to get our country back on its feet and flourishing — “whatever it takes” still makes sense. Once recovery is gained, however, Congress must end the rise in the debt-to-G.D.P. ratio and keep our growth in obligations in line with our growth in resources.

Unchecked carbon emissions will likely cause icebergs to melt. Unchecked greenback emissions will certainly cause the purchasing power of currency to melt. The dollar’s destiny lies with Congress.

Being a good listener is the essential quality of being an effective elected official and is critical to being a successful politician.

Not wanting to listen to citizens is the real wonderment of the current brouhaha over holding public “listening” meetings during the so called “Summer Work Period”, Congressional recess or vacation depending on your viewpoint.

The heart of what has become in some places shouting matches and unruly crowds are genuine intense concern and personal feelings people have about their own healthcare. There is nothing manufactured about that. As we repeatedly hear, healthcare represents about one sixth of our national economy. Thus the stakes are high and everyone wants to get any changes right. There should not be a rush to just get something done. Good public policy must require some study of what we believe the costs are and the results. With the White House’s ever changing position it seems the President just wants to pass “something” (which I believe he eventually will (no matter how hollow)) and hold it up as an achievement.

This post was not supposed to be about the healthcare debate (that is way too complicated) but before moving back to Listening, I’ll simply add the essential debate is between making healthcare affordable or creating another national entitlement.

The stage for the outrage at public meetings was set because of public sentiment and outrage over the unfunded stimulus package passed last February and the President’s and Democrats adopted budget that includes adding 1.8 Trillion to the deficit. Remember the Tax Day Tea Parties? They were a precursor of public opinion on healthcare.

Without question attendance and participation at many of the events we have seen on television and the internet were organized by those who oppose the Democrat version of healthcare reform. Of course this is core of political freedom and has much to do with what America is about. For some to suggest that this is anti American or Nazi tactics is completely wrong headed. If you don’t like the message shoot the messenger.

Political analyst Juan Williams hit the nail on the head when he said it depends who is protesting. If it was against the War in Viet Nam or the Reverend Dr. King then it’s ok. If it’s against healthcare reform then it’s Nazi tactics. Williams added that President Obama was a community organizer and whose job it was to get people to attend public meetings to protest government policy (in this case the City of Chicago).

I have organized several political events and it requires determination and focus. It is hard work. But success only comes when people are interested and motivated. You just don’t say lets go see the Congresswoman and talk about healthcare. While unfortunately rowdy, I saw people at these events who were not acting. They are concerned, scared and very real.

It is too bad that some of our Senators and Representatives have chosen to avoid these meetings. Come election time next year there may be a very real price to pay. Before cramming a solution down our throat they must take some time to listen.

Endbar – It is ironic. Usually during the summer timeout, the Solons hold meetings no one really shows up, and the opposing political party complains that they are Campaigning on the Public Dime. This year the party (in this case the GOP) is not complaining that they are holding meetings but complaining they are not. In politics, arguments can take some interesting turns.

The Manson Family is back in the news.

Yesterday Squeaky Fromme (whom the New York Times dignifies by referring to her repeatedly as Ms. Fromme or Lynette A Fromme) was released from Federal prison custody for her 1975-attempted assassination of President Jerry Ford. The Squeekster was a member of the (now) legendary Manson Family who carried out the Tate-La Bianca murder of 9 people in Hollywood in 1969.

While Squeaky’s parole has been expected an unexpected and far stranger story about Manson also appeared recently. Manson however will not see the outside of a cell in his lifetime.

Coincidentally sharing Manson’s digs at one of the Hotel California’s location is none other than music producer legend Phil Spector. Spector is cooling his heels for about 19 years for the murder for actress Linda Clarkson. According to Spector’s wife Rachelle, Phil told her in a telephone call that he received a note from prison mate Manson. Manson told Spector he wanted to meet with him to discuss his musical career. Reportedly the note said, “Come over to my house.”

Manson had always harbored the desire for a musical career. The Family murdered mistakenly murdered Sharon Tate and others who were staying at a home being rented from another record producer Terry Melcher (the husband of actress Doris Day.) Manson sent his “Family” to Melcher’s home to murder Melcher after he had refused to help Manson.

Rachelle Spector reported that Phil told her he was “creeped out.” Spector also told his wife, 'I used to pick up the phone and it was John Lennon of Celine Dion or Tina Turner, and now Charles Manson is trying to get a hold of me."

Endbar – One of the greatest True Crime reads of all time is “Helter Skelter” – The True Story of the Manson Murders by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. I also note with some interest that Ms. Fromme was released from the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Forth Worth.

Former South Dakota U S Senator George McGovern spoke last Thursday at Zandbroz Variety in Sioux Falls about the latest book he authored, “Abraham Lincoln“(The American President’s Series : The 16^th President, 1861-1865).

McGovern as he ages in these informal settings is engaging. He is long in the tooth and has seen a lot of American History – and interesting to see and interact with. He is wonderfully anecdotal in his old age and speaks a great deal with perspective of himself while talking about others. Just as when I interviewed him last year, he is as ever the political battler.

When he began his about 30 minute presentation before the book signing he mentioned that he had earlier been at the Argus Leader submitting an OpEd. He said he was taking issue with John Thune in regards to the criticism that Tom Daschle was out of touch with South Dakotans. He specifically referred to a page one story in the July 5^th Argus Leader.

Research shows the July 5^th article was headlined “Perils that sank Daschle look different for Thune”. The article talked that was well done by Ledyard King, Gannet Capitol Political Writer made no mention of Thune criticizing Daschle. I do not know if this is what McGovern was referring to or not but the article did say (referring to the 2004 South Dakota U S Senate race)  

“Daschle faced a well-funded Thune, a former congressman, as well as third-party organizations who ran negative ads against him.

Perceptions of The Beltway

With a national profile and a lobbyist wife, Daschle was portrayed as a Washington insider out of touch with the concerns and needs of South Dakota. The clincher might have been Daschle's purchase of a mansion in an exclusive Washington neighborhood that became the fodder of a television ad by a conservative political group.

McGovern explained Thune was wrong in accusing Daschle of being out of touch with South Dakotans.

McGovern in defense of Daschle specifically detailed the fact that Daschle for many years made it a point to visit every one of South Dakota’s 66 counties each year. That is true and it was well known (and advertised) that Daschle did touch every County. While these forays not staffed they were planned and orchestrated travels.

McGovern though said that Daschle gave notice to his schedule and always made himself available to anyone who wanted to see him. At best this statement is spin if not untrue. Generally in Travels with Tom, locations, persons, organizations were noticed that Tom might be in the area and would like to see for example, the hospital administrator, school superintendent, mayor or other leaders. And yes he did make and I emphasize surprise stops at coffees shops, grain elevators, and other public gathering places.

I do not know what Senator McGovern will say in his Leditor if published but that is what he said on Thursday. To conclude Daschle’s annual mission verifies he was in touch with South Dakotans is false.

No one who is in the least bit informed about South Dakota politics would ever believe that Tom Daschle did not know what South Dakotans were thinking or experiencing in their day to day lives. He knew. Since I was not a privileged Daschleista insider I can not verify this, but I understand for many years that one of Senator Daschle’s most trusted assistants did only South Dakota work and was laser focused on South Dakota. This aide was Nancy Erickson who is now the Secretary of the U S Senate. I understanding she is an outstanding person and very capable.

That is not to say and this is the point, he represented us. There were very real question of how he voted against the beliefs of the majority of South Dakotans over the years on many issues. Personalities are always a part of campaigns. It is part of what voters look at when they assess candidates and make their choice. This is why Senator Daschle talked about his annual trips to the 66 Counties. This is why John Thune showcased his daughters. This is why there is always talk about lifestyle and yes even paying or not paying your taxes. This however has little to do about being in touch.

Ironically, I believe the reason that Tom Daschle did his annual trip is he graphically wanted to demonstrate he was not out of touch. He learned from George McGovern’s loss in 1980 that you can’t forget the people back home.

McGovern too had been portrayed as losing touch and his vote to give the Panama Canal back to the Panamanians did not help. Nor did McGovern’s massive PR screw up when he went to buy a South Dakota small game hunting license and produced a Washington, DC or Virginia driver’s license. The GF&P agent (Ace Hardware in Sioux Falls I believe) refused to sell him an instate bird license. (Governor Bill Janklow did immediately have the drivers license bureau issue the Senator a South Dakota driver’s permit).

It should be noted that McGovern never won his elections by the size of margins that Daschle generally enjoyed. I believe McGovern’s loss in 1980 had far more to do with Jimmy Carter’s butchering the job of the Presidency and the mood of the Country than his “losing touch”.

Endbar – I like and actually enjoy listening to George McGovern far more today than I did in 1980. I hope he writes more books and makes more appearances. I plan to be there. Finally I plan to read his biography of Lincoln (I bought a copy) and at a minimum post on his interesting presentation. I posted on the Lincoln Bicentennial that in honor of Lincoln’s 200^th birthday, I read the great James McPherson’s new brief biography. In a review on Amazon in comparing McGovern’s Lincoln to McPherson’s says that our George bested the historian McPherson. The reviewer concluded –

“Compared to McPherson's book, McGovern seems diffuse in places. And McGovern gets some trifling details wrong. (For example, McGovern says that Lincoln was nominated for president on the second ballot at the Republican convention of 1860. It was the third ballot.) For all that, it is a difficult choice between these two books. I wind up leaning towards McGovern because of its personal touches, greater detail, and fuller consideration of Lincoln's character and appeal.”

If you have the slightest interest in sculpture, get to the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls to see the Rodin exhibit.

The exhibit, “Rodin A Magnificent Obsession” is a rare treat for South Dakota. August Rodin was a late 19^th Century / early 20^th Century sculptor considered to be the Father of modern sculpture.

There are 62 pieces in the Exhibit that are on loan to the Pavilion from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor foundation. The highpoints of Rodin’s career are display including elements from “The Gates of Hell”, “The Burghers of Calais”, and “Monument to Balzac”.

Former Sioux Falls Mayor, Rick Knobe, and I in March of 1982 at the conclusion of a National League of Cities meeting (junket) to the nation’s capitol before going to catch our plane took in the “Rodin Rediscovered” exhibit at the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery exhibit was far reaching and covered all four floors of the Gallery. There were extensive pieces from “The Gates of Hell”.

The exhibit closes in 3 days (Wednesday, August 5^th is the last day)!

The “Sioux Falls Business Journal” reports today that Sioux Falls Mayoral Candidate, Mike Huether has left his job as executive vice president of Premier Bankcard to focus on his candidacy.

Huether said, “I am excited about focusing full time on community service interests, including my campaign to become mayor of Sioux Falls.”

In South Dakota, with the possible exception of State Senator Frank Kloucek we have not had candidates that abandon their day jobs. Most candidates campaign around their employment, take a leave of absence for maybe two months or even a take a sabbatical to campaign but have never resigned their job.

Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard also recently announced that he would be leaving his job as executive director of the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota later in the year to campaign full time for Governor.

Historical fact check – When Dennis first ran for the State Senate in 1996 he took three month sabbatical from his job as development director at Children’s Home (not sure of the number – might have been two or four months). If his ’96 campaign serves as a guide he will put his time to good use.

Is full time candidacy a trend or are Huether and Daugaard’s resignationas just coincidental? South Dakota politics at the State level (differentiated from the federal offices) is citizen government. South Dakota just doesn’t have nor do I think want full time professional politicians for elected officials.

If Huether and Daugaard are successful will other ambitious candidates believe that this is the essential route to victory? Time will tell how South Dakota voters will react to these professional candidates.

Our orderly society depends on our obeying laws and following rules. In a free society people obey voluntarily because there is the expectation of enforcement. The United States is the freest of nations because the People grant power to the government and we freely elect those who make and administer our laws.

We expect that laws and rules will be administered and enforced blindly and equality without regard as to the Who. Lady Justice wears a blindfold.

This week there were two news stories that highlight the importance of following the rules.

First was the announcement by South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson that the petitions to overturn the recently enacted smoking ban lacked the required number of signatures to refer the law banning smoking in public places to a public vote. Second was President Obama interjecting himself into the police response to a break in at the home of a noted Harvard lecturer, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The Petitions – Chris Nelson followed the letter of the law that is his job. It is not his job to take it upon himself to decide that some signatures are valid because of what the smoking ban opponents are characterizing as an inadvertent mistake. That is the job of a Judge and apparently that is where this dispute is going. I too have been involved (though not always as a direct participant – just as an interested party (no pun intended) with the Chris Nelson over petition dispute. You can always expect him to consistently follow the rules.

Several declarations of candidacy petitions Chris disallowed because of misdating of by notaries. Chris and I did battle in Court several times though but not over dating. While I was unhappy about dating, rules are rules, everyone knew them in advance and they should have to play by them not cry when they were on the losing end. The Lindell Howard petition comes to mind where the wrong form was used. “My” candidate used an outdated petition form, all be it one he was given by the errant Davison County Auditor. The Circuit Judge agreed with us that use of the incorrect form was the fault of the State and should not prevent ballot access by the candidate.

One of the most memorable petition failures and Secretary of State rejection was Senator Tom Dempster’s failed petition to get on the ballot as a Republican in the 2008 election. Circulators and petitioners on several of his petitions failed to insert the word Republican. Dempster subsequently refilled as an Independent. There was a lot of hullabaloo about that. Dempster subsequently refiled and was elected as an Independent. He was elected, caucuses with the GOP and serves as the Assistant Senate Majority Leader.

Smoking proponents are planning to appeal Nelsons rejection of their petitions saying that the dating issue is inadvertent. Certainly Nelson followed the rules and the law. What a Judge does we will see. While in this case it may seem “inadvertent”, in what other instances is the “date” important? Should the law be applied blindly and consistently?

The Pro Smokers I don’t think are as concerned about the sanctity of the law. As I pointed out previously the Pro Smokers are buying time by delaying implementation of the ban.

The Gates Affair – This story too is about unbiased execution of the law. The facts as we know them and even with all the coverage and editorializing about this does not seem to be much disagreement are. A break in to Professor Gates home was reported and the Cambridge Police responded. They found that the door was indeed broken into. When they entered the house, they found a man who claimed to be the homes resident.

Following Police procedure they ordered the man outside. The man protested and refused. When he was removed out of the home he was asked to provide identification and he at first refused. There are differing reports about this but apparently the man to some degree was belligerent in his refusal to reply.

Lawful and well established police procedure is that during break ins all persons are to be removed from the premises. The law prescribes that lawful orders from law enforcement are followed. When a cop tells you to get out of the car, stop or in this case come outside, you must obey. You can argue or even litigate later but this is how order is maintained.

It makes no difference who the subjects are, everyone must be treated equally. Like the smoking petition the law must be applied blindly and consistently. People must obey the law not just when they agree with them. In our Democracy if you don’t like the law we have the ability to change them.

Obama / Gates sidebar – The President “acted stupidly” politically stupidly when in his Presser Wednesday night, said he did not know the facts but maintained that the Cambridge Police “acted stupidly” in their handling of the Gates incident. Then the President acting more like a community organizer than the President went into a colloquy on racial profiling.

President Obama has hurt himself politically by remarking on the incident besides indicating he was unaware of the facts. First he instantly put racism and racial politics back on the national stage. His election has done to erase race as a timely political issue.

The President otherwise created a firestorm that removed attention from his legislative blitzkrieg to overhaul and nationalize healthcare. The President also handed the law and order issue back to the GOP.

The venue and the player’s make this drama unique. Gates is a prominent Black American. Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley is an exemplary officer who in fact teaches other officers sensitivity training and the don’ts of racial profiling. The residence in question is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, within spitting distance of Harvard Yard not Jenna, Louisiana. The drama will continue to play out.

Those are the words on Slater Barr, President of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, in the on in one of the lead stories in the July 19^th “Argus Leader”. The story was about the believed adverse effects of a Casino being proposed on the South Dakota border in Lyon County, Iowa just a few miles east of Sioux Falls.

Barr said you can’t blame anyone for looking out for their interests. That is what everyone in the story is doing, whether it’s the Santee Sioux Tribe (protecting their Casino interests), the State of Iowa (seeking more revenue), Sioux Falls Development Foundation, or the State of South Dakota (trying to keep their revenue in South Dakota).

Senator Scott Heidepriem this past Legislative Session even introduced retaliatory legislation attempting to stop the Lyon County Casino from proceeding. The legislation didn’t go anywhere. Scott however was disemboweled by Representative Kristi Noem when she public claimed he had a potential conflict of interest because his law firm represented the Santee Sioux Tribe.

My thoughts on this issue I suspect are a bit out of the mainstream. People like to take a chance and I too take that opportunity from time to time. Sports and Casino gambling should be only in Nevada or perhaps even Atlantic City. I do not favor the expansion of legal gambling that has expanded across our nation. Gambling is not a good way to finance government and I believe it can hurt people. Hypocritical perhaps – but it is the easy availability to gamble that is at the crux of the problem for me. Keeping gambling in remote spots allows an occasional opportunity to take a chance without having it in every adult watering hole which makes gambling far too tempting and accessible.

I opposed both the lottery (scratch cards) and video lottery in South Dakota as well as Deadwood Gambling (that allowed the subsequent expansion of Tribal Casinos) when they were established. I voted for video lottery repeal each time it was placed on the ballot.

However the horse is out of the barn. We are not going to stop gambling in South Dakota. I accept that. The Tribes are entitled and the State is hooked. When video lottery was introduced it was expected to earn the State somewhere in the range of $5 million annually. Governor George Mickelson wanted to spend and established the precedent that directed lottery revenues into the General Fund. That was a mistake. Lottery revenues should have only gone for one time expenditures – not built into the base for ongoing government programs. Contemporaneously no one realized that video lottery through expansions of the State increase of the take would reach $100 million a year. The Argus article estimates that the Lyon County Casino could cost the State as much as $18 million in video lottery revenues.

Most importantly the State and We the people have given up the high moral ground of being able to say we oppose gambling, and that is why we don’t want an Iowa Casino on our border. As Slater Barr noted we are now just looking out for our interests.

Since gambling is not the argument, having a new destination resort close to Sioux Falls might not be that bad of a development. Reportedly Kehl Management Company the Casino license applicants (and who apparently run a first class and profitable Las Vegas style casino near Iowa City are planning for the Lyon County, if approved by the Iowa authorities a first class establishment. The development reportedly will include several upscale restaurants, a spa, a PGA quality golf course, a 1500 seat theatre for concerts and performances in addition to the table games and maybe as many as 1000 or more slot machines.

Yes, Sioux Falls and South Dakota will probably lose the revenue from many of those one armed bandits we call video lottery. But with tourists coming to the Casino on our border we will gain traffic for other businesses and there will be some economic development accruing to the Sioux Empire. They will travel west across the boarder to shop both for entertainment, food, visit our wide variety of shopping and they might even make a major purchase like an automobile or a large piece of farm machinery. Traffic and disposable income is the lifeblood of retailing. Sioux Falls will get a share of the traffic coming to the Lyon County project.

We also shouldn’t forget nor take for granted the Iowans who visit us daily from bordering communities who make Sioux Falls their major retailing venue

Raiding across borders is not new to South Dakotans or development officials. This is not a knock on Mr. Barr who I like and think is doing a good job. Bill Janklow made part of his success as Governor by going to Minnesota in particular but across the U S to recruit businesses to South Dakota for the advantages that we offer them. George Mickelson put an electronic billboard on the 494 in Minneapolis talking about the low worker’s compensation rates in South Dakota and inviting Minnesota businesses to come to South Dakota. Governor Rounds and even Slater Barr work to bring businesses to South Dakota and Sioux Falls hoping to take someone or something away from some other locale.

It’s appropriate but should we complain about competition or should we embrace it? Competition makes things better.

Rumors, propaganda, and speculation have been increasing recently concerning the viability of the Argus Leader. There have been many rumors but little information coming from the source.

About a week ago South Dakota’s largest Daily reported in a very short article that there would be a staff reduction of about twenty. However this would only affect some ten or so persons (my numbers are from memory and thus approximate) as about half of the positions are currently vacant. No names, no positions, no reasons, no further explanations – just not much information.

Contrast that to today’s edition with three front page stories (all newsworthy) about other organization just full of facts, statistics, and substantive information. The stories were the big story above the fold on the Sanford MertiCare merger, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission decision to proceed with a possible casino near Sioux Falls, and Morrell cutting thirty jobs at the Sioux Falls plant. In particular the Morrell story was loaded not only the facts surrounding the job cuts and those affected but a look at industry trends and interviews with economists and Morrell’s parent company.

There have been times when I have questioned news coverage, political bias of the editors, and their relationship with the business management. I have been told that there is a WALL between the newsroom and the business office. Hell, I have even been told that reporters do not even know who writes the headlines.

That is why it is surprising that news coverage of the several changes at the Argus is so sparse. While coverage of a possible Larchwood casino, Sanford, and Morrells is extensive, nary a peep of what is happening at the Argus. And yes what happens there is important to our community.

Sidebar – Really not because they are our prime source of news, or the best place to advertise but because they presently are part of the fabric that connects our community and helps to hold our government accountable (although many times they can get self-important and go overboard).

Surely the newsroom wants to hear about the changes more than even the community. Why aren’t the reporters telling us what is going on at the paper? Perhaps it’s not such good news.

There have noticeable changes at the Argus Leader. First there was the makeover of the print edition, then a refocus on their brand; no longer the Argus Leader but Argus Leader Media. The old model died. The new model is missing important revenue producers. The new has basically few classified ads (hello Craigslist), few employment ads, few car ads, and fewer readers. (Few people less than forty years old read a paper.)

Their attempt to integrate their newsgathering with an Internet model was way too little, too late. Their attempt at blogging and podcasting have been miserable with the notable exceptions of when Dave Kranz was webcasting once a week from Kaladis, Terry Wooster (perhaps their best writer whom they pushed out) was podcasting daily from the Legislature, and currently the brilliant blogging and twittering by Terry Vandrovec.

On Monday mornings I go out to my driveway to retrieve my paper and invariably have to walk over to the neighbors to pick up the paper because the paper weighs so little it has literally blown away. Just this week the Sioux Falls Business Journal announced it was changing its format from a weekly to a bi weekly paper. Surely the Business Journal was an attempt to differentiate their product and produce additional revenue; but I always wondered why they just didn’t beef up the very poor business section in the daily Argus. Another change this week is the arrival of the Harrisburg Champion in my mailbox (free of charge). They took their “Harrisburg Champion” newspaper and simply converted it to what is essentially an advertiser. It’s a shonde that Lincoln County and the City of Harrisburg have to place their public notices in it.

Some of the persistent rumors are the Argus will continue to cut staff, they will be completely gone by the end of this year or the end of next year if things do not turn around, they are going Internet only and become a Weekly with just a Sunday paper, or that they are going Internet with four printed editions weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday). And these are just some of the rumors I’ve heard. If they want us to read them and trust them, why don’t they tell us what is going on?

Otherwise KELOland.com has kicked their butt. KELOland.com is the most accessed website in South Dakota second only to the State of South Dakota’s page. My guess is KELOland.com is profitable because they have great automall pages, employment pages, even obituaries. Simply put they are committed to the Internet and are putting significant emphasis on it and resources toward it. While their parent company, Young Broadcasting is in bankruptcy, I’ve got to believe they have a prosperous child in South Dakota.

Local Daily Newspapers as a model are dead. They really have to do something different to hang on. It doesn’t look like Argus Leader Media has figured it out soon enough.