Egypt Announces Election Reform

Does anyone think this would have occurred absent the policies of President Bush? 

More on Ward Churchill

Instapundit:

FAKE ART creates an angry reaction.

UPDATE: The Belmont Club says it looks as if Ward Churchill is taking the University of Colorado to the cleaners. On the other hand, the video linked above doesn't seem to portray the reaction of a man who's sitting pretty . . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: Heh.

Internet Licensing

I also learned this morning that there is a bill working its way through the legislature that would ban the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks from issuing licenses over the internet.  You can follow the history of the bill and read the language here.  Rep. Frost from here in Aberdeen supports the bill because he wants to support the retail outlets that sell licenses.  I am sympathetic to that argument.  Yet, from a hunter's perspective, it's very convenient to go to the Game and Fish website and get a license.  This is how I have applied for deer licenses the last couple years and would like to keep doing it that way.  I guess I would like to know how many licenses are sold via the internet versus what is sold through retailers.  But to those legislators who indicated that they could be persuaded on this bill, right now mark me down as a "no." 

A Love Letter From SoDak

At this morning's Brown County Cracker Barrel I think the highlight was Rep. Al Novtrup's suggestion for a cure for South Dakota's prairie dog woes.  He noted that the federal government is trying to protect prairie dogs while the state of South Dakota is trying to get rid of them.  The solution, Rep. Novstrup suggests, is to send a couple pickup trucks of prairie dogs to Washington DC and within a few weeks they might start seeing things our way.

Saturday

Here's a picture from one of the major Powwows at South Dakota State University.  It's going on again today in Brookings.  You should go.  I was planning to, but decided to go to this.  Report tomorrow.

Day Care Regulation

The bill to more tightly regulate day care facilities in SD has died. 

How Should A Professor Act

The Rocky Mountain News publishes a piece by one Rabbi Hillel Goldberg on the role of the college professor in the classroom. This is in response to the Ward Churchill imbroglio that has been well noted on this site. I find the piece sobering and contains many good lessons for college professors. Rabbi Goldberg (who is a former college professor) writes:

The role of the professor is to teach - to enable students through careful tutelage in critical reading and careful research to reach their own conclusions. The role of the professor is not to spout off, and the definition of a good university is not a place where the spouting is equally balanced between left and right.

Wherein, then, lies quality and diversity in the social sciences and humanities? Not in the university as a whole. Not in a faculty equally liberal and conservative. But in the integrity of every single classroom. Professors in a genuine bastion of the social sciences and humanities expose their students to a variety of interpretations of history, politics and literature, without favoring any particular position.

The professor with integrity in, for example, political science can teach an entire course without his students being able to guess at his political predilections (at least based on his classroom performance).

The professor with integrity can debate, at least to a draw, any religious, political, or cultural position diametrically opposed to his own.

I obviously find his comments on political science professors of special note. I agree that a professor should be able to teach a political science course without the students knowing his politics. I have particular success with this in my bread and butter American Government course where every semester I have half a dozen students asking me what my politics are because they can’t figure them out. They always ask, “Are you a Democrat or Republican,” and my answer is always, “Yes.” Although, in fact, I am registered as an independent, it won’t surprise any reader of this blog that I tend to vote Republican (with exceptions) and have volunteered for the party (for example I am campus advisor for College Republicans, without myself being registered as a Republican). My upper division students, certainly after they’ve taken a class or two with me, can usually guess that my politics are right of center. But they don’t know the exact content of my politics, which are usefully eclectic so I can honestly make arguments that surprise them. I do not think that a professor has to keep his politics in a shell, although I have great respect for those that do, but I do think he must give his students various points of view and show them how to take opposing views seriously. For example, in my current American Foreign Policy course, the students have probably figured out that I am basically a supporter of the Bush foreign policy. But we did spend a day reading Democratic alternatives (from Peter Beinart, Sandy Berger, and Nicholas Von Hoffman) and are currently reading John Judis’ The Folly of Empire which is a critique of the Bush foreign policy from a Wilsonian perspective. My job as a professor is to present these materials in an honest fashion, making sure the students know the basic arguments, and then feel free to subject the works to criticism. We will do the same with Niall Ferguson’s Colossus which is an argument for American Empire (written, interestingly, by a Brit). In this the professor can serve as a model to his students in the proper approach to opinions that are not are own.    

Hunter Thompson's Unusual Wake

We have noted the passing of Hunter S. Thompson on this blog.  It was hard not to love him in the way one can love Hemingway and his characters.  This article in the Rocky Mountain News describes a rather bizarre ritual of passing.

The literary champ was sitting in his command post kitchen chair, a piece of blank paper in his favorite typewriter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier.

But a small circle of family and friends gathered around with stories, as he wished, with glasses full of his favored elixir — Chivas Regal on ice.

"It was very loving. It was not a panic, or ugly, or freaky," Thompson's wife, Anita Thompson, said Thursday night in her first spoken comments since the icon's death Sunday. "It was just like Hunter wanted. He was in control here.

PoliPundit describes this as creepy, which it is, kinda.  But it also seems to have an ancient elegance to it that Thompson would have appreciated. 

The last paragraphs, though, are the best  I have seen on what was fascinating and appalling about his life.

Hunter Thompson was huge on swimming for his exercise. But he was also known for his love of fine whiskey, and to put it far too mildly, for experimenting with most every intoxicant known to man.

"He loved his body, look what he did to it," Anita Thompson jokes. She then adds a line that maybe even she fails, on its face, to grasp the significance of: "He gave his body everything it wanted."

 

Blanchard on Daschle

SDPolitics has had a lot of fun lately with the intemperate language of our sister blog the Northern Valley Beacon.  See the post by my colleague Jon Schaff, below.  Readers might want an example of how we talk about the other side, especially in a forum other than the blog.  Below is a column of mine published in the Aberdeen American News.

When Tom Daschle was chosen leader of the Senate’s Democrats, he probably thought he was bullet proof. I certainly thought so. Incumbent senators are nearly always favored to win reelection. Well established and powerful incumbents usually enjoy more job security than an hereditary monarch.

I did not really believe in the possibility of a Daschle loss until I came to be in Sioux Falls, shortly before this year’s election. At maybe a half dozen intersections, including one across from the Empire Mall, I saw crowds of young Thune supporters cheering and waving their signs at the stream of traffic. I do not mean to slight Daschle’s people. No doubt they too were working their fannies off for their man. But on that day, all the momentum looked to be on the Republican side. And this was in a Democratic stronghold.

I first met Senator Daschle in 1994, when he appeared at a campaign event on behalf of Jim Beddow, the Democratic candidate for governor. One of my students who worked on the Beddow campaign invited me to that event, held in an Aberdeen home. But when she introduced me to Tom, I think she was a bit worried that I was going to cause some kind of trouble.

I did not entirely disappoint her. After we shook hands, I asked the Senator what were his chances of becoming minority leader. I had in effect asked him two things at once. Was he going to lead the Senate Democratic caucus, and were the Democrats going to loose their majority? He feigned a motion as if he had been punched in the stomach, but then proceeded to candidly answer both questions in the affirmative. He was right on both counts.

Since that evening I have had a fondness for the man. In several subsequent encounters he always been thoughtful and honest in answering my questions, at least when the mikes were switched off. I’ve known politicians who wouldn’t give you a straight answer to a question if the two of you were trapped alone in an elevator.

Daschle is also short, and I like that in a man. He might be one of the few members of Congress I would have a chance against in a good round of fisticuffs, and I include Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi. When Daschle addressed that room in Aberdeen he did so from over a banister, half way up a flight of stairs. This was an elegant means of rising above his physical limitations.

Other limitations could not be so easily surmounted. As a party leader, Senator Daschle confronted a problem that has become critical for many congressional Democrats. He was elected from a solidly red, conservative state, but belonged to the blue, and increasingly more liberal party. This can create what social scientists call “cognitive dissonance.” Daschle represented a party that is fond of such things as animal rights and gun control. He was bound to look a bit odd then, when he showed up on the campaign trail carrying a hunting rifle and wearing hip waders.

Daschle lost, I would guess, because his enemies could exploit this dissonance. They managed to make the case that he wasn’t really from South Dakota anymore. His real home is in a cushy beltway suburb. Like those expatriate Arkansans, Bill and Hilary, he is now more akin to a Heinz-Kerry or a Kennedy, than to anyone who really enjoys killing ducks and deer. John Thune, by contrast, gives the impression that he only ran for Senate out of a sense of duty, that he’d much rather be here. This may be unfair to Daschle, but fairness has never been a conspicuous feature of politics.

Daschle’s political career says at least a couple good things about South   Dakota.  It says that we are capable of producing extraordinary persons, one of whom briefly led the upper house of the U.S. Congress. It also says that our senators and representatives belong to us, and not the other way around. When the citizens of this state decide to replace one of them, not all the glitter and power of the nation is enough to save him.

I would like to think that this is an example of moderate political speech.  I advance an explanation of Daschle's defeat that will not, perhaps, be convincing or pleasing to those who voted for him.  But I also try to give him his due.  While this blog has been famously critical of Daschle, I for one genuinely admired him.  That's not to say I voted for him. 

But I do not believe, as does the NVB, that American politics is a war between good and evil, the righteous, and the perfidious.  Rather, it is an argument between distinct conceptions of public justice and public interest. 

Buffalo

Indian Country Today:

The return of the American buffalo to the northern Great Plains is now a well-established trend. The sacred relationship between human beings and the buffalo, a longstanding tradition for many Native cultures, never died. It is still the driving force for the involvement of many American Indian groups in this wonderful process.

One recent signal was the return of 100 buffalo from Catalina Island in California to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This move required the cooperation and support of several entities, including three tribes and the Catalina Island Conservancy, a non-profit group based in Los Angeles.

These particular buffalo were part of a genetically pure herd of 14 animals set loose on the island in 1925, after being used as extras in the early motion picture, ''The Vanishing American.'' The Catalina Island herd grew to as many as 600 animals since that time, outgrowing the natural carrying capacity of the island. Managers from the Conservancy sought out ways to relocate the Catalina Island buffalo back to a more adequate habitat, although there was some concern as to whether the southern California-bred herd could readapt to the natural conditions in the Northern Plains. In an earlier experiment, however, the Cheyenne tribe took in 50 test animals, mainly intact families, to their lands. The animals adapted well to the stronger winter conditions and variety of prairie grasses, to which they are genetically adapted. They gained on average 100 pounds and had no trouble growing winter coats again.

#88 Goes Deep

Lynn Swan is thinking about running for governor of Pennsylvania.  I think he needs to put Mean Joe Green in charge of corrections.  And Terry Bradshaw in charge of nothing.  Hat tip, NRO. 

What do South Dakota Democrats Believe?

 I have a series of questions for the following officials: Sen. Tim Johnson, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, State Sen. Jim Hundstad, State Rep. Burt Elliot, and State Rep. H. Paul Dennert. These are all Democrats who represent Brown County, the first two in Washington DC, and the latter three in the Legislature in Pierre. Here are some words from the Northern Valley Beacon, which if I read the url and masthead correctly, is the blog of the Brown Country Democratic Party. Here is what the Brown County Democrats said just the other day:

In 2004, we not only lost an election. We lost cause for hope. Some people in the Democratic Party see the loss as an occasion for remartialing our forces and going on the attack. Others see that the current opposition has redefined itself as a vicious enemy that has more interest in imposing a regime of discrimination and oppression than it does in participating in a democracy. They, who include some families that built Brown County, have serious questions about whether the county, the state, and the nation have become hostile environments for their values and beliefs. Strong Party members are faced with the same issues that brought some of their forebears to Brown County. If we want genuine democracy, we may have to look for it some place other than South Dakota. Perhaps even some place other than the United States. It may be time to build again.

Do the elected officials listed above agree with the Brown County Democratic Party that genuine democracy does not exist in South Dakota?  Like the Brown County Democratic Party, have they given up hope? Do they agree that those who believe in democracy should seriously consider leaving South Dakota? The Brown County Democrats continue in reference to the Thune-Daschle race:

In so doing, [Thune and his supporters] destroyed a fragile intellectual and moral environment in a state that has a very difficult time in surmounting its history of racist and bigoted malignancy. The values of malice and derogation of personhood are state doctrine, and it is being dispensed from even the state univerisities (sic).

Do the elected officials named above agree that that the “intellectual and moral environment” of the state has been shattered? Do they believe that a “racist and bigoted malignancy” lies just beneath the surface of South Dakota politics? Do they believe that “the values of malice and derogation of personhood are state doctrine”?

We have noted that the John Thune and George W. Bush campaigns have depended heavily on malicious propaganda techniques used by totalitarian regimes to establish their holds on people and hold them in repression through policies of discrimination and intimidation… George W. Bush seems to have studied the State of South Dakota for lessons in totalitarianism.

Do the elected officials above believe that John Thune and George W. Bush tend towards totalitarianism? How about Bill Janklow? Was he a totalitarian?

However, the totalitarian state of South Dakota did not end with prison camps. In becoming the usury capitol of America, the state made arrangements with credit card companies that have never been uncovered. It squirreled away money in state accounts that the Janklow regime refused to reveal to the state officer who is supposed to monitor all the financial goings on. The information has never been made known to people to whom the government is supposed to be held accountable.

Again, do the Democratic officials of the State of South Dakota and Brown County agree with the Brown County Democratic Party that we are “the totalitarian state of South Dakota”? Do our local Democratic officials believe that the efforts to bring credit and banking industry into this state were a mistake? If it is true that money from these operations has been misappropriated, will Sen. Hundstad, or Reps. Dennert or Elliot look into this for us? Will they attempt to remove any so called “gag-law” that prevents investigation, or perhaps challenge such a law in court? And finally:

And excuse us if we do not support those who perpetrate malicious frauds to gain power. Excuse us if we no longer support the massive federal subsidation of South Dakota. Excuse us if we do not support a universities (sic) that have become servants of the party line. And excuse us if we join those who believe that America is a better country than the one it has become.

As some of us, in the words of the New Testament, shake the dust of this place off our feet and move on, excuse us.

Do our federal Democratic officials oppose the “massive federal subsidation of South Dakota”? And do any of the Democrats who have an interest in Brown County agree with the Brown County Democratic Party that Democrats would be better off if they shook the dust of South Dakota off their feet? Just asking.

Nanny State or Quality Day Care?

As you can see, I am making up for lost time.  Lot's going on at the legislature.  The folks down in Pierre are arguing about raising the standards for day care providers.

HB1229 would require in-home day-care providers who care for more than six children to register with the South Dakota Department of Social Services. Currently, those who care for 12 or more must register with the state.

Day cares that register with the state must follow certain rules and be inspected once every two years. For example, registered day-care operations cannot care for more than four children under age 2, must provide nutritious meals, must report communicable diseases to the state Health Department and must complete CPR training.

I am of two minds on this. Clearly, we don’t want creeps and losers taking care of kids. But the bill about day care also smacks of the nanny state. There is a mentality in some circles that taking care of children is a specialized activity that only those who go through training should be allowed to perform. I recall a few years ago reading about a controversy in Washington State where some childcare activists were worried that too many children are being cared for by people who have no credentials and are not inspected by the state. The activists had a name for these miscreants: grandparents. Gasp! When states start considering whether grandparents are competent to take care of children, it is only one step from questioning parents. How many parents out there have degrees which qualify you as a professional child care provider? Big Brother is asking. 

Legislature cuts Scholarship

I will say this slowly so the penny pinching Republicans in the South Dakota legislature can understand:  If you want young people to stay in South Dakota, give them scholarship money! This is from the Rapid City Journal:

Senate Appropriations Chairman Jerry Apa, R-Lead, said that under the law passed last year, scholarship winners would get about $785 apiece because 827 students qualified but lawmakers budgeted for only 650. Through the amendment added to HB1028 Thursday, an extra $177,000 would keep the scholarships at $1,000 each this year.

Senate President Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown, said the move more than meets the promise made to students.

"To pro-rate the money, that is the promise in (last year's) bill," Schoenbeck said. "But I think that's wrong. We have doubled our commitment, and we're doing it in a way that's fair."

Senate Majority Leader Eric Bogue, R-Faith, said that because no Opportunity Scholarship winners are close to their senior year, he doubts they would miss the extra $1,000.

"As a college student, I was barely able to plan to the end of the current term, let alone the next student year," Bogue said. "I would argue that no one would feel robbed of the $1,000 that was originally in this plan."

So let me see if I have this straight. Because we actually have more smart kids than we thought, we will cut the promised scholarships. What kind of commitment to education is that? God forbid we should actually (shudder) increase funding to meet our commitments. And according to Mr. Bogue, because college kids are frivolous, they won’t even notice that we are decreasing the promised scholarships in the senior year. Thanks for the kind words, sir. What they will notice, though, is that the total scholarship packages from schools in other states might be larger, and then choose to go there instead. This reduction in scholarship money won’t affect those who are in college now, but may influence the decision of a high school senior who sees South Dakota cutting back its commitment to higher education. 

Super Size Me

Like Aberdeen, Rapid City might get a Super Wal-Mart. It looks as though the defenders of the status quo have lost here in Aberdeen and we will actually get more jobs and lower prices. Not so in New York City where they have recently defeated Wal-Mart’s attempt to build.  Luckily the people in New York all have excellent jobs and are extremely rich. Or are they? Here is Jay Nordlinger today on Wal-Mart in NYC:

The activists, of course, had no need of Wal-Mart: They didn't need jobs, and they didn't need goods at Wal-Mart prices. They have the fortune to work and shop elsewhere. Wal-Mart is a godsend to the poor and the lower middle class. They generally don't get a say in whether a Wal-Mart goes up. The activists would greatly prefer a vacant lot — with weeds growing between the cracks — to a Wal-Mart, which they deem an unmatchable offense.

Wal-Mart is an all-purpose bogeyman, responsible, in some people's minds, for an array of ills. The anti-Wal-Mart mindset is a kind of religion, like dumb environmentalism, or dumb devotion to gun control, or dumb hatred of the SUV. You can't reason with these people, can't have an honest debate with them: Wal-Mart is simply their devil.

 

At least that takes the pressure off Target and McDonald's.

But I've written a lot about this, and, as I say, I'm Wal-Marted out. I just find it heartbreaking when Wal-Mart is defeated on the basis of economic ignorance and class snobbery. The activists — because they are activists — get their way. And the people who would benefit from Wal-Mart, both as employees and as shoppers: screwed.

More Churchill

Here's some more on Ward Churchill, including video.

What's the Matter with Nebraska?

From the Center for Rural Affairs:

NY Times Bestselling Author Thomas Frank headlines the Center for Rural Affairs Annual Gathering Feb. 26, 2005 in Norfolk, NE.

(Lyons, NE) – Best selling author Thomas Frank will be the guest speaker at the annual gathering for the Center for Rural Affairs this Saturday, February 26. The Center is celebrating 32 years of advocacy for rural America at the day-long event to be held at the Lifelong Learning Center on the Northeast Community College campus in Norfolk, Nebraska. Frank headlines a strong program of speakers and workshops on issues facing rural communities. ...

"Some topics highlight policies and practices that harm rural communities, and others demonstrate methods that individuals and communities can use to change the situation. Additional sessions will preview new opportunities." Chuck Hassebrook, executive director for the Center, will give the keynote address, "Why Rural Matters" over a lunch of locally grown food from family  farms. Tickets for the lunch are $7.00 at the door.Thomas Frank will speak at 4:00 p.m. Called "the second coming of H.L. Mencken – but with better politics," Thomas Frank brings Mark Twain’s "pen warmed up in hell" back to the examination of today’s politics. His best selling book "What’s the Matter with Kansas?" digs into the apparent contradiction of Midwesterners embracing a conservative agenda that is frequently at odds with their own self-interest. Frank’s conclusions are as searing as they are far-sighted. Hassebrook will conclude the day with a look at "Where We Go from Here." "The goal is to empower people," says Hassebrook. "Individuals, communities, and organizations can make a difference. Rural America is  vital to the interests of all America, and we will not allow it to become an endangered species."

Sullivan Weighs In

Andrew Sullivan:

ON GANNON-GUCKERT: I haven't written about it because I agree completely with Glenn. The substantive case against Gannon is trivial; the irrelevant case against him (the one that's fueled this story) is that he's gay, has allegedly been (or still may be) a prostitute, and may not agree with everything the gay left believes (although I agree with David Corn that the evidence that Gannon has written anything even remotely "anti-gay" is laughable). The real scandal is the blatant use of homophobic rhetoric by the self-appointed Savonarolas of homo-left-wingery. It's an Animal Farm moment: the difference between a fanatic on the gay left and a fanatic on the religious right is harder and harder to discern. Just ask yourself: if a Catholic conservative blogger had found out that a liberal-leaning pseudo-pundit/reporter was a gay sex worker, had outed the guy as gay and a "hooker," published pictures of the guy naked, and demanded a response from a Democratic administration, do you think gay rights groups would be silent? They'd rightly be outraged. But the left can get away with anything, can't they? Especially homophobia.

Howard Dean and Red America

Powerline:

CNN reports that the Democratic governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sibelius, will not appear with Dean during his two day visit to that state. And CNN expects that Dean will receive a "similar reception" in Mississippi next week.

History

Insty has noted that the latest History Carnival is posted, which notes Robert KC Johnson's article saying he has several new books coming out based on the old LBJ tapes: "Two volumes of LBJ tapes that I co-edited will be published by W.W. Norton this spring; two more of my co-edited LBJ volumes will come out with Norton next year; and I’ve finished a book on the 1964 presidential election in part based on the tapes."

ND

Dakotapundit: "Here in North Dakota, we're a little isolated. We don't have a lot of museums, or concerts, or shopping malls. ... But at least we know better than to spay and neuter stray cats in an elementary school cafeteria." 

DWI etc.

Remember tht guy in Rapid City who supposedly was arrested for DWI 30 times?  It looks like those numbers have been amended to 17 arrests and 9 convictions.  That first number did seem absurdly high.  But then again, so does the second number.  Also, here's an update on a strange North Dakota situation that lots of people were following:

The deaths of a southwestern North Dakota couple have been ruled a murder-suicide, nearly four months after their bodies were found in an abandoned house.

Adams County Sheriff Eugene Molbert said he and state Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents gave their report to the children of Norman and Yvonne Olson family on Wednesday night.

Authorities believe Norman Olson, 73, killed his 69-year-old wife and then killed himself shortly after they disappeared from their Hettinger home Aug. 14. Norman Olson had been treated for depression and Alzheimer's disease, authorities said.

More on the Politics of Sparsity

It looks like the SD House has killed that sparsity funding bill:

A bill to give extra money to small, isolated schools died in a House committee Thursday after several lawmakers said a broader debate is needed on how South Dakota funds education.

The House Education Committee voted 8-6 to kill the so-called sparsity bill, a proposal to direct about $2.6 million in additional state aid to about 18 schools whose boundaries encompass vast stretches of land, mostly west of the Missouri River.

The schools are too far apart to consolidate. If they cease to exist, whole sections of western South Dakota could lose any chance of having families continue to live there, Senate Republican Leader Eric Bogue of Faith argued.

"These districts are so large now,'' Bogue said. "I'm not asking for Faith to have a building and a program similar to Sioux Falls Roosevelt. It's never going to happen. ... I'm identifying districts that are unique, sparse.''

Who the Hell do you think you bloggers are?

A few questions and a few answers, from Julie R. Neidlinger. 

Thune's Fast Start

http://www.nationalreview.com/beltway/beltwaybuzz.asp

PAC Man
02/24 08:37 AM 
John Thune is proving himself a rare first-year
senator in many regards. Along with the heightened
level of attention he is receiving in GOP circles for
defeating former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle,
Thune has started his own PAC, Heartland Values. Not
wasting any time, Thune has already signaled at least
one Republican senator up for re-election that he
plans to help with his PAC’s funds, Jim Talent.

On the left, media darling Barack Obama has also
started his own pack. This won’t come as any great
shock to BB readers, but consider the gap in coverage
between these two men in their respective victories.
Obama understandably deserves coverage for his victory
as an African-American into the Senate. But he did so
beating Alan Keyes. Regardless of his ethnic
biography, the media was more focused on the fact that
he was essentially the only positive story for
Democrats out of last year’s election and they weren’t
going to let his success go uncovered – again, and
again, and again.

On the other hand, Senator Thune captured a historic
victory over Daschle. Regardless of one’s political
views, it’s a great story. Nonetheless, he has not
received the level of coverage he deserves. Imagine if
his victory had played out under the exact same
circumstances, but he had a (D) after his name. In the
meantime, I’m sure Thune and his supporters can
reconcile themselves with winning – both in their
great 2004 victory and in helping good candidates like
Jim Talent in the future.

Thanks to an alert reader's e-mail.  



		

Manure Blogging

Ryne has taken up the challenge of competing against Instapundit's famous catblogging: "my posts regarding the smoldering manure pile in Milford, NE have generated some good humored e-mail. However, a few of you seem to think that Nebraska (or the Plains in general) are just wall-to-wall mounds of burning cow shit. The Milford pile isn't exactly the rule, more like the exception. So, like, get a grip. (P.S. I hope the next time you're eating a $25 steak, you think of that manure pile.)" 

SDSM&T, Valley City State make ESPN

As Jon notes below, a storm is brewing over after Valley City State's Matt Klabo elbowed Tech's Korey Kirschenmann (with picture) last Friday, causing the Kirschenmann 27 stitches and a concussion.  ESPN has picked up the story, placing it on the home page tonight: "Prosecutor calls foul, to charge player for elbow." Should be interesting to see how this story plays out.

The Nation etc.

David Corn of The Nation, which has been a rock-solid bastion of liberal thought for a century, says of the Talon/Gannon deal: "What I found leads me to ask--gasp!--if Gannon/Guckert, on a few but not all fronts, has received a quasi-bum rap."  Corn says of the Congressmen wanting an investigation that it "shows how far off the rails well-intentioned people can go when scandal is in the air."  Tim Graham of the Media Research Center also has an article featuring 16" softballs for President Clinton: "If anyone who asked softball questions at the White House "had to go," the White House briefing room would have almost emptied out in the Clinton years."  And from Instapundit:

I agree with Rik Hertzberg [of the New Yorker] that it's a nothinggate. Or, as Marc Cooper says, a "big yawn." I don't think it's in any way comparable to the use of forged documents in an attempt to swing a Presidential election -- and I think that anyone who does think so is pretty much beyond rational discourse.

I also think that the people who are trying to inflate this into a big issue are making a dreadful mistake. I eagerly await the reaction when the White House responds to this criticism by requiring everyone who attends a press briefing to make a full financial and sexual disclosure, and starts rating news outlets as "real" or "fake" according to bias. (If I were Rove I'd make some rumblings about this to the press corps, and I'd explicitly cite the lefty bloggers by name, just to stir up trouble . . . .) ...

I think that the gay-baiting from some of the lefty bloggers -- and my emailers -- does them no credit. And it really is gay-baiting. And the focus on the gay angle, which nearly all this email features, also betrays a rather deep misapprehension of how I feel about stuff -- do I look like a social conservative? As James Lileks wrote:

I just find it amusing that people think that because I support less aggressive taxation and the War I must therefore believe gays should be driven into a pit lined with sharp stakes, and therefore I’m a hypocrite. How does that work? It’s like saying “you oppose partial privatizing of Social Security? Well, then you obviously want abortion legal up the moment when the baby crowns.” Doesn’t follow.

Nope. Not to anyone with a clue, anyway. I think the Gannon-bashers are diminishing themselves by overplaying this issue.

Ryne has more.

Elbow

A college basketball center has been charged with assault for throwing an elbow during a game in Rapid City, which seems odd.  But then again, I guess I haven't seen the video tape.

US Army Court of Appeals

As I mentioned a couple of days ago the US Army Court of Appeals held an oral argument here at the law school yesterday.  I was fortunate enough to attend the proceeding and see one of my fellow law students, Damian Richard, become the first USD Law student to argue before the Court of Appeals.  Damian did an excellent job and handled himself as well as any of the other attorneys.  The Argus has a good story talking about the argument. It also sheds some light on how historic an opportunity it was to see a fellow student argue before the court.  Congratulations Damian. 

News on Minnesota and Nebraska Senate Races

From today's edition of The Hotline:

MINNESOTA: Klobuchar Announces... Now Accepting Donations, Just In Case

      Hennepin Co. Atty. Amy Klobuchar (D) "today plans to take her first official step in declaring her interest in running" by filing a statement of candidacy with the FEC. Klobuchar, 2/23: "We've had tens of thousands of dollars of contributions come in, many of them unsolicited, and the law says that we have to file when we start to get these contributions in."
      "Even though she plans to file the papers, Klobuchar said she is not yet ready to officially announce her candidacy." Klobuchar: "I am moving ahead. I'm close to deciding. ... I'm very serious about this." Others Dems still mulling include: '00 candidate/atty. Mike Ciresi (D), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-04), Univ. of MN counsel Mark Rotenberg (D), state Sen. Maj. Leader Dean Johnson (D), state Rep. Tom Rukavina (D) and state Sen. Steve Kelley (D) (Hotakainen, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2/24).


Is Pawlenty On Board With Kennedy After All?
      TBFKADVK (The Blog Formerly Known As Dayton V. Kennedy) reports on its first day trailing the camp of Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-06): "Morning coffee also reveals the DFL rumor" of Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) supporting Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-01) "to be absurd" -- Pawlenty, Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and Rep. John Kline (R-02) "will be hosting a Kennedy St. Patrick's Day event (but the campaign claims they have not received Pawlenty's endorsement)."
      While in Chaska, Kennedy was endorsed by Kline, who called Kennedy a "friend and mentor." Kline joked about the early days of the '02 cycle "when neither was sure who was going to run" in what CD (2/24).

NEBRASKA: No Promises Of Help From Mehlman

      In Omaha 2/23, RNC chair Ken Mehlman "was a bit vague on how much of a priority" the Bush admin. places on defeating Sen. Ben Nelson (D). Many of the GOPers considering a bid "have been looking for assurances that Bush would actively work on their behalf. Mehlman said only Bush can speak to how much he would work to defeat" the Dem he recently praised.
      Mehlman: "Obviously, working for a Senate Republican majority has been one of the things the president will work hard to do because of what he wants to accomplish as president, but I will also say this president looks forward to working with both Democrats and Republicans to pass his agenda."
      When asked whether defeating Nelson was a priority to him, Mehlman replied, "I'm here to raise money" for the Pottawattamie Co. GOP (Cordes, Omaha World-Herald, 2/24).

An Early Encounter with the NVB

Here is a Reader's Response I wrote in reply to a column by David Newquist in the Aberdeen American News.  Just right this minute I can't locate the date his or my piece appeared.

 

David Newquist's columns are always a delight to read. The last paragraph of his latest piece, "Big Brother Lives," was especially entertaining for the way in which he refuted his own argument. He says that “Big Brother is big corporations that are as totalitarian, as oppressive and as contemptuous of your rights and privacy as the Soviet Union ever could be.” 

 

This is, of course, absurd. If it were true, Newquist's column would never have been printed. If somehow it were printed, the editors of the American News would have disappeared by the end of the day, along with Newquist himself. Real totalitarians kill their critics. If his comparison were reasonable even as a metaphor, surely Microsoft, or Norwest, or maybe Victoria’s Secret would have used their corporate clout to silence him. I persuade myself that David is nonetheless safe, and that the paper will continue to be published as usual. 

 

The notion that Big Brother is taking over is not just misleading, it is almost opposite to the truth. Americans today have more independent sources of information than anyone has ever had before. We can read newspapers from virtually every conceivable place and perspective. And while it is true that technology provides all those sinister bureaucrats out there with many new ways to invade our privacy, it offers us an increasing number of devices for protecting it. There are dozens of free encryption services that make it virtually impossible for your internet activity to be watched. Moreover, the shear volume of internet traffic is increasing beyond the capacity of any supercomputer to monitor. 

Those would-be Stalins down at Chucky Cheese Headquarters cannot hope to keep up with it. 

 

The most insidious of corporate dictatorships, we are told, is the credit industry. Their reports invade rights of privacy “derived from the Bill of Rights.” This is an elementary confusion: the Bill of Rights places limits only on governments, and not at all on private parties. But never mind that. The financial Fuhrers down at the Credit Union, Newquist complains, are so heartless as to charge interest for the money they lend. And if that doesn’t chill your blood, consider the poor soul whose apartment is filled with DVD players, an idle Stairmaster, and a jet ski or two. Because of recent legislation, he will actually have to pay back all the money he borrowed. This guy is Newquist’s idea of a victim of totalitarian oppression. One wonders what the millions who rotted in the gulags would have thought of that.

 

This is what historians call the paranoid style of American politics. Some of us see communists behind every bush, others, a conspiracy of Jews, Catholics, and Bankers. Timothy McVeigh waged his war with Federal Government, the Unabomber with, well, college professors, like David and myself. I suspect that in this case the enemy really is us. Corporations are just different groups of people, selling to each other all the things we are willing to buy.

 

Ken Blanchard.

 

. 

What Disinformation?

Much like Jeff Gannon I have never met Todd Epp.  As a law student I have great respect for him as he is a lawyer though.  Nevertheless, I have a hard time understanding his recent string of tirades regarding the entire Jeff Gannon fiasco.  I understand that Mr. Epp's candidate lost and I understand that in his mind Jeff Gannon and the rest of the DBA somehow conspired to cause that loss.  What I don't understand is what exactly Gannon reported on that in Mr Epp's mind was disinformation? 

What I do care about is why a U.S. Senate candidate who professed such high moral values would utilize a person with such a checkered past, appear on his radio show, and use him to help feed disinformation to the press and the public about Tom Daschle.

Professor Lauck correctly pointed out last week that while Democratic bloggers across the US have been quick to jump all over the Gannon/SD connection story, none and I stress none, have ever given one single account of disinformation presented by Gannon. In Gannon's biggest piece on the race, he brought up issues with Daschle's residency and the fact he claimed the homestead exemption in D.C.  How was that disinformation?  Roll Call, thought a similar story was important enough to report on it way back in August of 2003.  (Note Roll Call refers to Talon News as a "conservative Web-based publication").  The Argus wrote a story on Daschle's residency more than a year after the Roll Call piece.  If Roll Call knew in 2003 that Talon News was a conservative news organization  then the Argus would have surely known by the time they ran their story a year later.  The fact the Argus chose to run a piece after one was written by what was known as a "conservative Web-based publication" in and of itself is a good indication that there was merit to the story.  Though Mr. Epp was quick to criticise the Argus for their lack of coverage on "nothing-gate", he was quick to praise a liberal Web-based publication the Nashua Advocate saying:   

If you believe in good journalism and clean politics YOU MUST READ THIS ARTICLE!

All that I can gather from his busy week of trumping up a non issue is left wing web based media good, right wing web based media bad.  Rather than attempt to disprove anything Gannon wrote about the South Dakota race, Epp has chosen to throw out accusations and conspiracy theories all while demanding the news media report something.  What exactly should they report?  That a "conservative Web-based publication", to quote Roll Call in 2003, wrote stories that were legitimate?  Gentlemen hold the presses.  I'll gladly look into any examples of "disinformation" out there as soon as Mr. Epp provides me with some. 

Dean in Kansas

From David Corn of The Nation:

"There are Democrats everywhere, but many of them don't say who they are anymore because the culture has said it's not socially acceptable to be a Democrat."

That's Howard Dean, new Democratic Party chief, speaking. He made that comment while in Kansas for a fundraiser. This is the defeatist talk--or dumb talk. I was agnostic on the question of Dean taking over the DNC.

Janklow

Argus Leader: "Janklow convictions upheld."  Excerpt:

Manslaughter and reckless driving convictions of Bill Janklow, a former congressman and the state's longest serving governor, have been upheld unanimously by the South Dakota Supreme Court.

A decision released Thursday by the high court said Janklow received a fair trial and there was enough evidence to convict him.

Janklow was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter for killing Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., when his motorcycle collided with a car Janklow was driving on Aug. 16, 2003, near Trent.

Authorities said Janklow sped through a stop sign at an intersection of two rural highways. Janklow has said he was in a diabetic stupor and remembers nothing about the crash.

Janklow argued in his appeal that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he recklessly killed Scott, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

"There was sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that Janklow was aware of, yet disregarded, the risk of an accident occurring as a result of his conduct," wrote Circuit Judge Glen Severson of Sioux Falls, one of five circuit judges appointed to consider the appeal.

All five Supreme Court justices disqualified themselves from the case because Janklow had appointed four of them while he was governor and had named a fifth justice earlier as a circuit judge.

Legislature

Argus Leader:

South Dakota abortion foes, unsuccessful last year in trying to ban the procedure, persuaded a Senate committee Wednesday to endorse three smaller steps against the practice.

The Senate State Affairs Committee passed and sent to the full Senate a bill requiring more information for women considering abortion. The panel also approved a task force to study abortion and its effects, as well as a bill to trigger a state ban on abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court should change its position first outlined in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Noon Gannon Roundup

Tom Maguire has even more on the Gannon deal.  He also notes how the New Yorker is calling it "nothinggate."  More:

...the hapless Dems can not find enough help at the WaPo, the Times, CBS, ABC, and NBC to drive one story about one phony reporter?  Pathetic.  And even the New Yorker is calling it "Nothinggate".  Humiliating.

Well, Sen. Durbin is no quitter!  No whining and excuse-making for him - he is busily writing a letter and doing wind sprints, trying to chase down his Senate colleagues who, we imagine, are fleeing before his wrath as though he were a Fox interviewer.

Later, Sen. Durbin may prepare a letter describing an actual crime for Bush and the Justice Dept. to investigate.  Or not.

Also, a guy who worked for Howard Dean's Presidential campaign and for Eric Alterman's liberal outfit has put together a review of the last Senate race and the role of blogs.  It's not very well argued, suffers from errors, and certainly has a left Alternman-esque perspective, but note this interesting excerpt when thinking about the "objectivity" of Talon News:

Was the Argus biased in its coverage of Tom Daschle? A bit. And the paper ought have disclosed that Kranz had old ties to Daschle to avoid at least the appearance of collusion between the two.

A rather big admission for an Alterman ally.  Also, although I'm certainly not a fan of her tone generally, Ann Coulter makes some interesting points in this article about the Gannon deal:

The heretofore-unknown Jeff Gannon of the heretofore-unknown "Talon News" service was caught red-handed asking friendly questions at a White House press briefing. Now the media is hot on the trail of a gay escort service that Gannon may have run some years ago. Are we supposed to like gay people now, or hate them? Is there a website where I can go to and find out how the Democrats want me to feel about gay people on a moment-to-moment basis?  Liberals keep rolling out a scrolling series of attacks on Gannon for their Two Minutes Hate, but all their other charges against him fall apart after three seconds of scrutiny. Gannon's only offense is that he may be gay.

No offense to Talon News or anything, but, as Coulter snidely notes, the thought that they were a very big deal in the SD Senate race is overblown.  Here are the 26 factors that lots of important/smart people agreed were decisive/influential in the race.  Talon News isn't among them.  The basic problem Daschle had was leading a Deaniac-energized Party while running in a red state.  Remember that the final exit poll showed 16% of South Dakotans considered themselves "liberal" while 40% considered themselves "conservative."  That was tough territory for Daschle.  More Coulter:

Democrats in Congress actually demanded that an independent prosecutor investigate how Gannon got into White House press conferences while writing under an invented name. How did Gary Hartpence, Billy Blythe and John Kohn (Gary Hart, Bill Clinton and John Kerry) run for president under invented names? Admittedly, these men were not reporters for the prestigious "Talon News" service; they were merely Democrats running for president.

She also notes invented names for Larry King, Michael Savage, Geraldo etc...  Lastly, here's a post from some outfit who talked to Daschle's former campaign spokesman, who said he was sending a photo of Gannon to members of the press a long time ago:

In fact, said Pfeiffer, in the summer of 2003 there was "not a single minute" the campaign thought Gannon was a real journalist.  Nor did the campaign keep this information to themselves.  According to Pfeiffer, the campaign sent Gannon's website address and news of his attempted deceit of the Daschle camp to several reporters.

How startlingly mean of them.  It seems that the saints from the Daschle made a "negative attack!"  Finally, the reporter who told me that the Daschle campaign sent him/her a Gannon photo said he couldn't verify it was meant to "discredit" him.  Well, ok.  I guess it was meant to boost his credibility. 

Bush impresses Aberdeen native

From the Aberdeen American News. 

Times on Blogs

The New York Times: "Latest Initiative in Congress: Blogging."  Excerpt:

Blogging, the Web-based craft of diary-keeping and commentary, is taking root on Capitol Hill.

The nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation, which helps educate Congress on running its business, says at least four members - Mr. Pence; Representatives Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, and Katherine Harris, Republican of Florida; and Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont - have taken up the task on a continuing basis. (Others have used temporary blogs to document trips, said Brad Fitch, the foundation's deputy director.)

The Congressional bloggers praise the power, popularity and potential of blogging, citing it as one of the most frequently visited parts of their Congressional Web sites.

Churchill Update

Some are now saying there are reports that he is an Indian (see Insty).  According to this Indian Country Today article, however, the tribe he claims to be a member of says he's not. 

Bill Passes SD House to Allow "emergency redistricting"

AP:

Rep. Thomas Deadrick, R-Platte, said HB1265 is needed because of a federal lawsuit that was filed last month by the American Civil Liberties Union against Charles Mix County. ACLU alleges that commissioner districts in the county illegally dilute the voting strength of American Indians, he said.  The districts have not been redrawn since 1950, Deadrick said.

Should the county be found in violation of state or federal redistricting laws, existing state law does not provide for emergency redistricting, he said. County redistricting is only permitted once a decade, Deadrick said, and the next time Charles Mix County could redraw its voting boundaries is 2012.

thermophilic anaerobic manure digester

More cool science, this time regarding manure (Ryne, we could start a 'manure blogging' thread to compete with 'hospiblogging' and 'catblogging'), from the AP:

PIERRE, S.D. - Legislation headed for Gov. Mike Rounds would allow the Agricultural Experiment Station at South Dakota State University to spend $2.9 million for a system to turn cow manure into fertilizer and electricity. ...  Rep. Larry Tidemann, R-Brookings, said no state funds would be used to design, build or maintain the manure conversion system, which is called a thermophilic anaerobic manure digester.

The system works by turning manure into methane gas that can be used to make electricity or be sold as natural gas for heating purposes. The dried solids can be sold as fertilizer.

Madden

Mike Madden, who formerly covered South Dakota issues for Gannett (which owns the Argus Leader) in Washington, is moving on to other beats, including Tennessee issues.  Mike:  as Insty says, all roads lead through Nashville, so you'd better go down to U. Tennessee and take him to lunch. 

Rep. Kennedy Using Blogs for Minnesota '06 Race

From today's edition of The Hotline:

The Blog "First Ring" writes: "yours truly is joining" the Kennedy camp kick-off tour today "as an invited journalist, blogger, er... bloggerist?" The First Ring and TBFKADVK (The Blog Formerly Known As Dayton V. Kennedy) "certainly won't be the last to take this step, but we may be the first. Candidates have discovered the perks of the blogosphere and have invited us to the table in much the same form as journalists have followed them on the campaign trail for generations."
      "Expect posting here to be light for the next three days -- I will be (according to plan) recording and photoblogging the campaign trail over at the site eventually to be renamed a symbol"  National Journal (2/22).

Also, word on the street is that The New Republic could be doing a story on blogs which might discuss, among other things, TBFKADVT.

The Politics of Rural America

From the Las Vegas Sun:

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Sen. John Kerry lost the presidential election partly because Democrats "neglected rural America," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday.

"I think around the country people just thought they could win in the cities," the Nevada Democrat told The Associated Press.

Reid said he expects new Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to help reverse that trend, especially in the South and West, and he predicted Democrats will close the gap Republicans hold in the Senate in the off-year elections.

I'll be looking for Dean in duck hunting regalia.

Churchill

Ryne is noting that Ward Churchill taught for a year at Black Hills State University in Spearfish.  Again, I haven't followed this religiously, but I don't think there's been much in the South Dakota press about this story even though he does seem to have a lot connections to South Dakota.  I'm just guessing from what I've seen around the blogosphere, but it seems that the Rocky Mountain News has been doing a good deal of the reporting on this.  It seems like a West River story, so maybe the Rapid City Journal will do something.  Powerline has more on the Churchill news.

The Minnesota Front

Kennedy 2006 is underway.  Lots more pictures here compliments of the Dayton v. Kennedy blog:

The Truth Is Out There

Iowahawk:

Psst... you... citizen investigator... over here. Here, by the permalink.

Okay, stop. Let's hear the countersignal.

Excellent. Now edge closer to the BlogAd shadow. Rove's ears are everwhere, even in TypePad... especially in TypePad.  Okay, that's close enough. And no questions, you're here to listen. And learn. Poppy's Rolex is ticking and you need time as much as you need clues.

Finally got here, eh? I've been waiting. Nice work on Gannon/Guckert, but don't get cocky, citizen sleuth. Every time you unravel a thread, Rove and the Skull & Bones PsyOps boys are knitting two steps ahead of you -- crocheting their next Afghan macrame adventure.

Remember: connections. Connections.

We both know that Rove's puppets in the rightwing media control tower have cancelled all flights to Truth City. That doesn't mean they've confiscated the roadmaps. Quick... act like you're asking me for a cigarette. When I hand to you, I want you to "accidentally" drop it... okay, now pick it up along with the manila envelope.

Dammit, nonchalantly!

Good. Now open it slowly.

Tread softly, because Rove's roots run deep and crooked. For every real clue you find, BushCo has planted two to lead you down a blind alley.

The first thing you have to ask yourself: why was this whole White House fake document gay prostitution CIA spy outing ring just waiting there for you, wrapped up nice and tidy in a little bow? Please. You only know what you know because that's exactly what Karl wants you to know.

Stop being so naive. So far you're just another sucker huckstered Into Rove's Machiavellian Texas Funhouse of Mirrors. If you want to find the exit, listen for the carnies that aren't barking.

Gannon? A well-endowed red herring. Let's just say "gay escort Repugnican journalist" makes a very distracting cover when your real gig is, say -- pool cleaner for a certain Mr. and Mrs. "Joe Wilson" of Alexandria, VA.  Shocked? Don't be. Plame and Wilson have been on the Rove payroll for years. Karl brilliantly used them to nail three birds with two undercover stones: take progressives' money, discredit them, and get some high-impact product placement for the Duncan Hines cartel.

Those CBS conveniently forged, yet entirely accurate documents? Obviously the handiwork of Karl's West Wing elves. But if you think "Gannon" was the conduit to Mapes you are barking up the wrong homo, my friend. Karl has more than a few panicked moles inside Black Rock hoping to throw you off the scent. Let's just say you may want to start "connecting the Dotties," because the plot is about to thicken like a TANG-y sweet salad dressing. Remember: the truth is out there. Buried below a modern 64,000 square foot plant in Duncan, Nebraska.

Seeing a pattern? Rule #1 in the Rove Matrix is careful who you trust. That website with the impeccable progressive credentials could easily be a Rove / GOPig front operation -- draining millions of dollars from credulous liberal dupes and throwing it away on doomed campaigns. If your instincts tell you someone to trust somebody, then run. He's probably a plant, and the voices could be from Rove's mind control drones.

Shhh! Did you just hear that?

This meeting is getting too dangerous -- too dangerous for both of us. Here, take this. If Rove's operative get hold of you, swallow it. It will help you maintain your cover as just another FauxNews brainwashed sheeple. 

Now get out of here you magnificent, foolhardy bastard. And remember -- like all communiques of the Underground Reality-Based Resistance, this conversation never happened.

THIS BLOGPOST WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 5 MINUTES

Elliminating Voter Fraud

Senator Jon Kyl has issued a paper entitled "Putting an End to Voter Fraud".  Some of the suggestions Sen. Kyl offers are mentioned in a piece by Paul Weyrich. 

First, Congress should require that voters show a photo ID at the polls. I have to show a Photo ID at various stores. I even had to show a photo ID at a doctor's office. Senator Kyl says "without genuine, photographic identification, the avenues for manipulation and fraud by unscrupulous individuals will remain open to exploitation."

Second, Congress should examine the integrity of the voter registration process and the ongoing failure of states to maintain accurate voter lists. Senator Kyl points out that current federal laws governing registration list maintenance prevent local officials from taking a zero tolerance approach to voter fraud. In addition Kyl says that "Congress should make certain that non citizens are not illegally registering and voting: only Americans should decide the results of American elections."

Third, Congress should examine the extent to which early and absentee voting increases the likelihood of fraudulent votes being cast. The Arizona Senator said that alternative voting system should have at least as many fraud protection safeguards as are available on election day. He calls on Congress to examine how states conduct early and absentee voting (to) determine whether legislation is necessary to protect voters against vote dilution through others' fraud.

I think the South Dakota Legislature did a fairly good job of addressing these concerns in 2002.  To the best of my knowledge the process worked fairly well this November.  There were a few problems with a local election in Charles Mix County in June but these problems apparently were solved by November.  The Secretary of State did an excellent job making sure all poll workers knew what the new laws regarding photo Id's meant and how they should be enforced. 

The author of the piece mentioned that he spoke with a lawyer who was in South Dakota watching the polls in November. 

I spoke with one of the lawyers who was assigned to the Indian reservation in South Dakota which miraculously produced the winning margin of victory for Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002. There were enough GOP lawyers watching the process in 2004 that probably the vote in 2004 was honest. Surprise, Thune won this time. Still, it isn't possible to have lawyers in every questionable precinct.

Hopefully, South Dakota can continue to have elections that are run smoothly in the future and that the US can adopt some of the provisions that Sen. Kyl has suggested.  This would go a long way toward eliminating some of the controversy that has surrounded the last two presidential elections.

Churchill Update

Apparently, University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill is now saying he's not Native American.  Note the sign on the right: