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Madville Times: Latest Comments
CAH: Just thinking out loud here, but have you he...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 10:12pmCAH:
Just thinking out loud here, but have you heard any comparisons between the US and Greece if the US had instead chosen to cut government spending like Greece as opposed to ramping it up?
I have a Greek professor in my department and what we are hearing from him sounds pretty terrible. By slashing government wages, they have cut consumer spending to the bone which in turn has decreased the government tax income. I think Greece might be a good example of how the US could have ended up without the stimulus.
Indeed, Troy, judging candidate debates the way I ...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 9:10pmIndeed, Troy, judging candidate debates the way I might judge high school debate is problematic, in part because my biases are clear and harder to set aside in a real Congressional debate than in an academic exercise, in part because we aren't debating a specifically worded resolution, and in part because we don't have clearly defined stock issues or paradigms according to which we would expect all judges to evaluate the round. The criteria I'm judging on—specificity to the question, demonstrated depth of knowledge, and rhetorical skill and force—are not at all the majority of voters in the room and in our statewide audience may be looking for. (And a lot of my fellow "judges"/voters aren't looking for anything beyond "R" or "Not Steph!")
I do see that goverment borrows too much. I could even be persuaded that government taxes and spends too much. I have yet to hear a coherent plan from Noem on what she would do differently that would not mean fiscal ruin for the government and disaster for the economy.
And my liberal tendencies do not prevent me from seeing in Noem and in many of her supporters the same belief in magic I once had. I too once believed that faith in the free market and American destiny justified not having specific plans for fixing problems.
On subsidies and stimulus: the fundamental contradiction remains that Noem complains about money from Washington doing all ill and no good, as we expect the GOP/TP to do, yet that money has saved her farm and her state budget. She should not get to profit from shouting general slogans while profiting from the specific programs those programs criticize. If the stimulus hasn't done us any good (and that's what Noem said at various points in Sunday's debate), then indeed, why did we take it? Why didn't we let that useless money be sprinkled around other states to do even more nothing there? Why did we take useless, counterproductive dollars... unless they were somehow useful and productive? From a pure debate judge/English teacher perspective, if I were grading Noem's words in a vacuum, outside of any political agenda, I would circle those words and say they contradict each other. I would give Noem the loss and tell her she has to rewrite her case to explain her position in language that does not contradict itself to win my ballot.
Alas, debate judges like myself, Bob Swanson, Donus Roberts, Judy Kroll, and even that Lee Schoenbeck fella do not constitute a governing majority. (Troy, have you judged? Maybe you and I should hit some tournaments together this year!)
Cory, I've read your analysis. As I can't go thr...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 6:52pmCory,
I've read your analysis. As I can't go through each point you make as rebuttal, let's just say this old debater disagrees with you assessment.
I will concede Noem wasn't as specific with "solutions" as she doesn't believe the government is the solution, but the problem.
I will concede Noem could have stressed this point with greater enthusiasm.
However, you seem to think opposition to the Stimulus or pointing out it hasn't done what Obama/Herseth promised means Noem should have advocated sending the money back to be distributed to other states. But, I shouldn't be surprised. You think Noem's farm should try to compete without farm subsidies in an environment of "cheap food policy" which holds commodity prices down.
And, most importantly, your liberal tendencies don't allow you to see the attractiveness to alot of voters that the government is too intrusive, taxes too much, borrows too much and spends too much.
According to "Dakota Midday" on SDPB today (Tuesda...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 3:56pmAccording to "Dakota Midday" on SDPB today (Tuesday), a recent poll shows SHS leading Noem by nine points.
If Marking gets 2 percent of the vote, and assuming all of those votes would otherwise go to Noem, then SHS leads Noem by 11 points.
Polls have bias, of course; in another recent poll, Noem leads by several percentage points. In any case, Republicans had better come out in unprecedented force if they want Noem to replace SHS next year.
I suspect that Noem's traffic tickets and apparent disregard for the legal consequences have hurt her considerably. I still plan to vote for her -- but only because of my (perhaps irrational) distrust of a continuing left-wing "regime."
Even that personal bias could change! My advice to Kristi Noem: Stay away from Exit 30 going west on I-90. I almost got killed there on Labor Day, and I haven't had a speeding ticket since 1975.
Thad, are you saying SHS and Noem both are plottin...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 12:56pmThad, are you saying SHS and Noem both are plotting to purge the kulaks?
Larry, take two aspirin! I'm not saying clearing out shelterbelts is a good thing. I'm not even agreeing with the position SHS and Pelosi are taking. I'm wearing my debate-judge hat on this one. Even where I disagree with the points SHS made, she still made them much more articulately, more forcefully, and, most importantly, more informedly than Noem.
Plus, I suspect that when I do disagree with SHS, I have a better chance of getting her to listen. Princess Kristi has trouble paying attention to things like questions, voters, facts, stop signs, court dates....
Both ladies missed the point. Indirect Land Use t...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 12:18pmBoth ladies missed the point. Indirect Land Use takes the individuals right away to succeed or fail with their own choice and property. I.L.U. gives power to someone else to decide for you what to grow.
Sounds and looks like the Ukraine 1932-33.
This hurts my head, Cory. Are you saying that the ...
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 10:29amThis hurts my head, Cory. Are you saying that the shelterbelts being cleared en masse East River is ok if the land is converted for biofuels that are carbon-chained-chemical-intensive to grow?
In the second segment of the SDPB radio program th...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 7:01pmIn the second segment of the SDPB radio program that featured BT Marking, Creighton economist, Ernie Goss, responded to a listener's question about the sustainability of ethanol that seems to reinforce Representative Herseth Sandlin's appraisal.
Sounds like an instructive read! Since joining the...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 5:46pmSounds like an instructive read! Since joining the Lake Herman Sanitary District board, I've been surprised at how interesting waste disposal can be.
Yikes: If the customer is students/parents, then u...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 5:34pmYikes: If the customer is students/parents, then under Richard's totally private system, families making less than $30K lose all access to the best teachers.
Twitch: Is the customer the District or the studen...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 4:22pmTwitch: Is the customer the District or the students.
Cory and David, David's story is NOT an example of...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 3:31pmCory and David,
David's story is NOT an example of any market model failing. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the market is the system of profit and loss, an aspect completely absent from this sort of "merit pay". Good or bad, parents are coerced through property taxes into paying, and students are coerced into attending. THAT is the problem, not David's notion that somehow the "business model is irrelevant to the business of education."
David is wrong. The focus of business not "managing employees." Business is about serving customers. You can be the best manager in the world, but if you have no customers, you will have no business.
I think that teacher pay should be determined by how valuable their services are to students and their parents. Privatize the system entirely, and, as in every private industry teachers will tend to be paid according to their MRP--how much they contribute to the revenue of the school by helping to produce the successful students necessary for giving the school a good reputation.
This system wouldn't be perfect. As you point out, it is difficult to determine criteria to judge the effectiveness of say, a debate coach. But at least a market system rewards those administrators who are better at making judgments that correspond to consumer desires, and punished those that don't through profits and loss.
Should have asked them both how they're going to v...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 2:43pmShould have asked them both how they're going to vote on the Medical Marijuana bill. That would bring it all to the present moment.
Ding! Now the point is well-taken. The Daugaard ca...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 1:15pmDing! Now the point is well-taken. The Daugaard campaign does have its poop in a group. But isn't Daugaard's issue easier to spin to minimal importance?
My point is Noems campaign did a bad job with as i...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 1:09pmMy point is Noems campaign did a bad job with as issue and speedgate Dennis's campaign made drug use a non story. Most South Dakotans would would normally be more outraged by drug use than than speeding. Dennis campaignbetter spun that Norms.
[And how does Heidepriem respond to the "buried" s...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 10:46am[And how does Heidepriem respond to the "buried" story? "Heidepriem said he never participated in the school's drug culture. He said anyone's recreational drug use in the 1970s should not be an issue. 'I don't think it's relevant to who leads the state of South Dakota,' he said.]
Meanwhile, Noem's disregard for the law this year and her inability to move beyond emotion and image to real policy debate are quite relevant.
Um, "John", Noem and Daugaard are in the same part...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 10:41amUm, "John", Noem and Daugaard are in the same party. Your "point" eludes.
Wow this is the,story of how 2 campaigns r run. No...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 10:17amWow this is the,story of how 2 campaigns r run. Norm gets a few speeding tickets and it is a 2 week story. Dennis drops that he is a pot head and the story is buried in the Argus on a holiday weekend. Last weekend of summer is a good time to take out the trash.
Whew! Thanks for the update and commentary. I'll...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 9:29amWhew! Thanks for the update and commentary. I'll look for the next posts.
Mr. H! I was so glad to see this post. At Penn a...
Mon, 09/06/2010 - 8:55amMr. H!
I was so glad to see this post.
At Penn all of the freshmen read a book that is thought provoking and relevant to society and this year it was called The Big Necessity; the Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why it Matters. It was an excellent book; it was all about poop and how cultures dispose of it. The sewer systems in America are abysmal and not many Americans care. It is good to know that South Dakota is doing its part.
~Stacy Burkhalter
