25 October 2018

October Chills


It's October in South Dakota, and the leaves are turning, where they're not just being whipped off the trees by bellowing winds.  It's pheasant season, so there are a lot of people in camouflage, carrying weapons, running around.  At least, I hope they're pheasant hunters.  Play safe, boys, and remember that pheasants are pretty dumb and pretty skittish!
It's also election season, and if I see one more political ad, it will be too late.  If I were god-empress of the universe, I'd ban them all.  For one thing, they cost a fortune, millions are being spent that could go to something useful, like education, or perhaps putting a few more poverty-level full-time employees (like teachers) back on Medicaid, now that the last shreds of the ACA is being gutted like a fish.

As a freeze-dried hippie liberal, I've been just standing in shock when I hear the President of the United States declare that we are all "radical socialists, Venezuela, open borders, the party of crime."  (Washington Examiner)  And then there's the Future45 (dark money super pac) "Any Democrat" ad runs every single morning on the national news, claiming that voting for "any Democrat" will lead to "screaming, violence, smears, and death threats..." if anyone votes for any Democrat.  Really?  As Bette Midler said, "What do they think we're gonna do, attack them with our PBS gift bags?"


Meanwhile, as of this very morning (October 24, 2018), there have been explosive devices mailed to the homes of George Soros, Bill and Hilary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama, as well John Brennan at the offices of CNN and Maxine Waters at her offices.  (New York Times)  Since I do not believe for one second that these bombs were manufactured and sent by liberal operatives, my question is,
"Has the Republican base been ginned up enough yet?"  
Or do we have to have another Charlottesville, this time with more victims?

Meanwhile, our South Dakota gubernatorial race has hit the national news, because for the first time in forty years, there's a viable Democratic candidate. Billie Sutton (D) is running against Kristi Noem (R) and they both look good on a horse:

  Image result for kristi noem on horseback 
Noem retweets hubby's crop insurance biz 2016-05-30.
(In fact in one ad, Sutton had his whole family up and riding the ranch.)  They're both ranchers, they've both served for years in the South Dakota legislature, and Noem, of course, more recently was our Representative to the US Congress.

Sutton also has a strong personal story:  a professional rodeo rider in his young days (top 30 worldwide), in 2007, a horse flipped upside down on top of him in a chute, paralyzing him from the waist down.  Even though he's in a wheelchair for life (he rides in a special saddle) he still ranches, still rides, still works.  He is also an investment counselor.

Noem's husband owns and operates Noem Insurance, which sells federally subsidized crop insurance (see Rep. Noem's interesting retweet on the right, put out on her Congressional feed).  Kristi's family farm - the Racota Valley Ranch, still hosts fishers and hunters - pheasant, turkey and waterfowl - with a lodge and bunkhouse.

Disclaimer:  I have never voted for Kristi Noem, who has consistently voted against authorizing and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, for a variety of non-reasons.  (Dakota Free Press and its links)

Meanwhile, November 6th - election day!  And even better, November 7th - no more political ads!

Image may contain: text







8 comments:

  1. Stay warm, Eve. Though I'd like some of your cold air -- and rain -- here. And I'm tired of the political ads too, not only cause they're so numerous but because most of them are BS and don't say anything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the cartoon. I hope you didn't miss the PBS POV on Dark Money. It focused on Montana, but I think you would still find it relevant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Paul! The BS is why I want them all banned. Make the candidates put out printed statements about their positions, and have debates, but NO ADS.
    Janice, thanks - and yes, I think everyone I know watched Dark Money. Montana's pretty close...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Over half the political ads in Colorado are now negative ads. They make you wonder why we aren't out in the streets stoning the other candidate. One ad slams, the next denies and they both quote facts and sources. Not sure how both ads can keep running. The truth becomes so twisted and spun that it makes you consider if the truth is the real truth. Think we need to get rid of all the politicians and start over. Term limits would be a good beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm praying the day after Election Day is a happy one. And about the ads, at least it's not like the money is being burned. There are people who work for the ad agencies who are being employed because of these ads, and there are the people at the local TV stations, who can afford to keep more people on staff and maybe put on better programming because of the ads. We hear so much these days about shopping local (which I think is great) because big corporate companies are bad--but the folks who work at those companies live in communities across the country, like yours and mine. Anyway, sorry for my tangent. Good post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. In New York we have a Republican Congressman named Chris Collins, who is under indictment for insider trading, but whose name is still on the ballot. He was one of the Donald's earliest supporters & the ad he is currently running starts out by saying *resident *rump is making America great again, blah, blah, blah ... but then starts talking about the Democratic candidate, Nate McMurray. And it lays out McMurray's platform very well ... I never could stand Chris Collins, but I'd like to thank him for the lovely informative ad for candidate McMurray!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I worry about the elections because we're hearing so much about tampering with ballots. Georgia is tossing minorities and absentees if the signature doesn't look right (?), and North Dakota is forcing Native Americans to invent addresses after living on a reservation for decades and having that be enough.

    As for ads, my wife and I keep our cell phones turned off and screen calls on our landline. We're averaging nine political calls a day (up from six two weeks ago) and expect it to increase. My snail mail and email are up to twenty-plus solicitations for money daily, too. Only someone in the 1% could afford to give three dollars as frequently as they ask me now. I can hardly wait for the election to be over...and I'm still hoping the real votes get counted.

    Bless the pheasants...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can see that ads are, for all of us, something to be grimly borne until November 7th. Of course, by November 10th, someone will start work on 2020...

    Elizabeth, what a nice twist!

    Barb, I understand that they do employ people, but there's got to be a better way...

    RT, I want term limits. I also want Citizens United repealed - as the meme says, I'll accept that corporations are people when Texas executes one!

    Steve, I, too worry about tampering with ballots, tossing voters off the rolls through a dozen different ways. All I can say is that if you have to suppress the vote to win, your ideas stink!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome. Please feel free to comment.

Our corporate secretary is notoriously lax when it comes to comments trapped in the spam folder. It may take Velma a few days to notice, usually after digging in a bottom drawer for a packet of seamed hose, a .38, her flask, or a cigarette.

She’s also sarcastically flip-lipped, but where else can a P.I. find a gal who can wield a candlestick phone, a typewriter, and a gat all at the same time? So bear with us, we value your comment. Once she finishes her Fatima Long Gold.

You can format HTML codes of <b>bold</b>, <i>italics</i>, and links: <a href="https://about.me/SleuthSayers">SleuthSayers</a>