It seemed that former Kansas City late night TV host and convicted sex offender Ed Muscare disappeared for a time after he was discovered making, by turns, brilliant, disturbing, and just plain odd videos of himself.

But Ed is back, this time singing in faux Italian to one of his dogs while tying a tie.

Ed, nice to see you back.

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Over at the South Dakota War College, Republicans' heads are exploding like kernels of microwave popcorn over the utterly expected nomination of Brendan Johnson by President Obama as the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota.

Image of Brendan Johnson

Besides cries of nepotism, there are attacks on Brendan's character and qualifications.

First, it's not nepotism. He's not working for his father, Sen. Tim Johnson. He's working for us and for the US Attorney General and the President.

Second, he has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Tim has already said he'd recuse himself.

Third, if you were to ask South Dakota lawyers who some of the best younger lawyers were in the state, his name would be at the top of their lists.

Fourth, the U.S. Attorney's Office is more than just criminal prosecutions. It is also the government's lawyer in civil cases, condemnations, and other types of cases. And Brendan has that breadth of experience in criminal and civil matters.

Image via Wikipedia

Fifth, his critics at the War College have obviously never met him. He's bright, personable, level headed, and able to deal effectively with people from all social strata.

And sixth, the idea that the USA is a springboard politically is just plain wrong. It can be a springboard to be a U.S. District Court Judge (see Karen Schreier) but to Senator, Representative, Governor? I don't know of any. Please provide examples in the comments.

This is a tremendous appointment of someone who just happens to be a U.S. Senator's son. Get over it.

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I'm a little behind this story as Scott Ehrisman at South DaCola had the first inkling about additional layoffs at the Argus Leader this week.

Gannettoid, a blog that follows layoffs at Gannett owned newspapers, puts this week's layoffs at 25, including at least one reporter.

There's additional scuttlebutt on Gannettoid's reader forum that suggests that the Argus might go to Sunday only publishing with the rest on the web. Other commenters pooh-poohed that idea, saying the Argus isn't as sick as its sister papers.

Nonetheless, 25 layoffs, however they are divided up at the Bogus Loader in news, sales, circulation, etc. is pretty hefty even for a paper of that size.

Part of me has a good case of schadenfreude over the Argus' and Gannett's issues. They are basically a monopoly yet they can't make any money. They've failed to adapt to the times and how people want their news delivered.

I'll just use my friend Dave Kranz as an example. He used to be a must read about political news. Now, not so much. His stuff is now either days old or even weeks old. You can get equally reliable political insider stuff at a variety of citizen journalist/blogger places almost instantly here, at the SD War College, South DaCola, Hog House Blog, a host of other local blogs, or even other MSM political blogs like Mt. Blogmore, Republic Insider, and Behind Government Lines.

Dave's once great column and its near irrelevance now is my Exhibit A in the inability of the Argus to adapt to the new media environment.

On the other hand, I came out of high school and college student newspapers, was a Brookings stringer for the Argus, and later, a freelancer for them. Newspapers serve an important role in informing people in a democracy. I also hate to see anyone lose their job when it is not their fault. Good people will be on unemployment and they, their families, and our economy will suffer.

Just like this economy, we haven't seen the bottom of what is happening to our local, state, and national newspapers.

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Today's Yankton Press & Dakotan has the sad tale of a Nebraska lady who was fined for keeping chickens as pets in her back yard.

And, they are both food and pets, according to the story:

She (Shawna Mason) told the judge Wednesday that although the six pullets were too young to lay eggs, they eventually would provide her sustenance.

Worden wouldn’t let Mason submit a note from her doctor regarding what Mason said were her anxiety disorders.

On Thursday, Mason said she’s on medication for depression and has a social phobia, “so this is really overwhelming for me.”

I don't mean to make fun of anyone's mental health issues. The chickens probably did give her some comfort. I remember a guy who lived down the street from my apartment in Houston, Texas who would go out in the rain, barefooted, and route around in the puddles in his front yard for no apparent reason. He seemed happy as could be when he was doing it. Go figure.

So, people with mental issues will do things that are goofy to the rest of us. And some people just like chickens, maybe just a little too much.

Apparently the chickens will live at a friend's farm for a while.

Ms Mason also noted that there are "crazy cat people too," which I thought was a pretty good response.

*Line from an old SNL skit starring Dana Carvey as a Chinese guy who tried to keep a chicken as a house pet.

In the morning, I was a basketball ref in stripes; in the aftenoon, a lawyer in a suit. Different roles but the same person.

As not just a proud liberal, Democrat, and Obama supporter, I am also a proud member of the NRA. And they are nice enough to send me lots of mail and emails as part of my membership.

Image via Wikipedia

A recent email caught my attention. South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long has joined a number of other states attorneys general by filing an amicus brief in a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals case concerning the application of the 2d Amendment through the 14th Amendment to the states.

Frankly, I thought that was already the law, but hey, you learn something every day.

I haven't read the underlying lawsuit or Larry's brief but I would be in general agreement with the 2d Amendment being applied to states just as the 1st Amendment is.

I'm sure Sibby will be blown away by my stand and some of my liberal fellow bloggers will think this is worse than putting photos of pretty women on my blog.

Anyway, here's the NRA's release on the matter.

Image via Wikipedia

South Dakota Attorney General Signs Amicus Brief Supporting Second Amendment Incorporation
Please Thank Attorney General Larry Long!

Two-thirds of the nation’s attorneys general have filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the case of NRA v. Chicago and hold that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This bi-partisan group of 33 attorneys general, along with the Attorney General of California in a separate filing, agrees with the NRA’s position that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms, disagreeing with the decision recently issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Attorney General Long was one of the many who agrees that the Second Amendment is a fundamental individual right and signed the amicus brief. Please call Attorney General Long at (605) 773-3215 and thank him for standing up in support of the Second Amendment. You may also e-mail him at atghelp@state.sd.us.

The State Attorneys General Amicus Brief can be found by clicking here.

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Not that I'd say that to these guys' faces.

Now the story can be told.

I was able to visit Madison, SD today without protests from irate feminists or SD's Most Enlightened Non-Woman.

Obviously, I am not enlightened enough to grace his fair city, but I was able to pull it off.

I was even permitted to be around young women.

I fully expected SDMENW to be leading a full-scale protest of my visit either at the east entrance to Madison on SD 34 or at the Madison High School where I was officiating games for DSU's Women's Basketball Camp.

But I was able to sneak into town and get out without incident. I even briefly got to see my young cyberbuddy and fellow blogger, Matt "The Voice of the Bulldogs" Hendrickson, who had just finished his early morning workout.

And yes, he was sweaty. And hot. Really hot. No, not THAT kind of hot, but just, you know, temperature hot. But that's not to say he's not also the other kind of hot too. He's just not my type. But I might just make him Today's Hunk one of these days for all the ladies out there.

In all, a good morning in Madison. And Matt, thanks for visiting with me and being my friend.

Tubby as I am, I'm not in need of a fatbulance--yet. Yikes!

I'm guessing the rig has heavy duty shocks on it. I also thought the winch (below) was a nice touch.

Kevin Woster over at Mt. Blogmore raises an interesting question: Was Judge Delaney's abridgment of Bob Newland's free speech rights on marijuana issues for a year after his release constitutional?

Weigh in at the poll at right.

I haven't seen the plea agreement so I don't know if Bob has waived his rights to appeal his sentence or not. If so, this may all be moot. Judges generally can impose conditions on defendants upon release. Typically, these are things like not drinking or using drugs, no similar offenses, and restitution.

As someone who has litigated some First Amendment cases, I don't know what the answer is. Judges have broad discretion in South Dakota in sentencing. And I can even see Judge Delaney's logic: this more than anything might get Bob's attention to, er, um, straighten up and fly right. And upon conviction of a felony in SD, one loses their right to vote.

On the other hand, even defendants have a right to speak out. That doesn't mean anyone has to listen but as long as that speech isn't causing riots in a prison, they still have the right to write letters to the editor and so for.

So, what say you, gentle readers? And how vote you, gentle readers? The poll is open until July 15th.

Mike Huether's campaign website for Sioux Falls mayor is up and running.

From the campaign:

Website www.MyManMike.com Officially Launched

Candidate for Sioux Falls Mayor, Mike Huether, officially launched the campaign’s website today. It can be accessed by going to www.MyManMike.com. It provides a number of avenues for interested citizens of Sioux Falls to learn more about Huether while also allowing them to have their voices heard and provides an opportunity to play a role in the campaign as well.

“My campaign is going to be unique and fun and our goal will be to make the citizens of Sioux Falls take notice and ultimately get excited about how they can make a difference in the Mayor’s race and City Government”, said Huether.

There is a section on the website that allows visitors to tell Huether what they would recommend if they were Mayor of Sioux Falls, such as ways to improve City Government and eliminate wasteful spending. “I know that we can improve the efficiency, the organization and the productivity of City Hall. I have heard from many in Sioux Falls of ways they think we can do this as well. My website gives them another avenue to express their own ideas to make government stronger,” said Huether.

Huether is a successful Sioux Falls businessman with over 25 years of executive management experience and is also a recognized community leader within Sioux Falls and South Dakota. Huether volunteered over 400 hours of community service in the last year alone. “Sioux Falls is a city that ultimately expects more. As their Mayor, I will ensure that we meet those expectations and ultimately make a difference for them and their families” he said.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced today that she will seek re-election to the U.S. House.

I was hoping she'd take a bit of a chance and run for Governor, as I thought she'd have an outstanding chance to win (and help rebuild the State Democratic Party in the process), but she made a perfectly logical decision.

She'll be unbeatable. She's conservative, she's a new mom, she's likeable, and she's a babe. Plus she has the best political instincts of any recent South Dakota politician.

She's gaining seniority in the House and she's the Momma of the Blue Dogs. Plus she's sitting pretty for a run at Sen. Tim Johnson's seat in 2014.

Here's the announcement she emailed to supporters earlier today:

Dear Friend,

I wanted you to be among the first to know that today I am announcing my intention to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.

I strongly believe I can best serve the state by building on the work I’ve undertaken over the last five years in Congress, including effective implementation of the new Farm Bill and Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, promoting biofuels and wind energy within a comprehensive national energy strategy, and advancing key priorities for South Dakota’s economy such as the Lewis & Clark and Mni Wiconi water projects, Ellsworth Air Force Base and the DUSEL at the former Homestake mine.

In addition, as the Co-Chair for Administration of the Blue Dog Coalition, I also believe the role of moderate Democrats in Congress is essential to achieving deficit-neutral health care reform and constraining spending to ease the financial burden the country now carries.

To be sure, difficult decisions lie ahead over the next few years in order to avoid passing this enormous debt on to future generations. I’m prepared to make those decisions and will continue to work hard to do right by South Dakotans of all ages.

Last and certainly not least, my husband Max and I also believe that this is the best decision at this time for our family. Over the past six months, we’ve been able to find a good balance between our professional lives and the time we’re able to spend with Zachary.

As always, thank you for your friendship and support as I seek to continue serving as South Dakota’s independent voice in the House of Representatives.

South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson spoke to the Sioux Falls Downtown Lions Club at noon today.

Chris is always very informative. Here are a few of the more interesting points from his talk about this office.

• He has a staff of only 15 people.
• The staff is now reviewing the smoking ban referendum petitions after the signature challenge. He says they have to match that the signer is a registered voter in the county they indicated. He says it's going to take a while.
• Chris says it is his "gut feeling" that should the referrers not have 16,776 valid signature to put the referral on the ballot, the smoking ban would go into effect. He adds that there would also likely be a court challenge and a probable injunction.
• Corporate reports will be able to be filed online in the coming year or so. Part of the current filing fee is put aside to pay for the project.
• He joked that nearly everyone in Pennington County has applied for a concealed carry pistol permit.
• All four constitutional officers are term limited in 2010--himself as SOS, Larry Long as Attorney General, Rick Sattgast as Auditor, and Vern Larson as treasurer.
• He said that there is paper back up at every step of the SD election process.
• He said that SD does not face the problems with uncounted/uncountable absentee ballots like has been the bugaboo in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race.
• He said that RV voters registered to vote in SD are cross-checked with a consortium of other states to make sure they are not double registered.

The SDSOS office is always great to deal with. Excellent customer service. I also think Chris, a Republican, is a straight shooter in administering election laws. I hope whomever takes over continues the great tradition of fairness and quality service.

We love celebrities because they help us connect--and we're too lazy to learn about other people who have achieved.

Which explains, in part, our obsession with Dead Michael Jackson.

A recent psychological study has some interesting results:

Common Ground and Cultural Prominence:
How Conversation Reinforces Culture
Nathanael J. Fast, Chip Heath, and George Wu
Why do prominent ideas and people remain popular even if there are better alternatives? When given the choice, volunteers in a laboratory experiment opted to discuss familiar baseball players (even if they were underperforming in the current season) more often than unfamiliar players who were having stellar seasons. This effect was seen also in analysis of discussion groups (sports related and otherwise) on the Internet. These findings suggest that prominent ideas (e.g., stereotypes) and people (e.g., celebrities) remain prominent because they help people connect and create social bonds during conversations.

PP v. Decorum Forum Day 2 (and Bob Newland) has turned into possible business for my legal brothers and sisters. The term "libel" is getting bandied about.

Important safety tip: Before you decide to sue someone for defamation, make sure they have some pockets with money. Otherwise, you'll get your day in court and be chasing a judgment the rest of your life.

But whatever. Anything that keeps us lawyers employed can't be all bad.

Below is an email I received from Bob Newland after today's sentencing in his drug case.

As an attorney who sometimes gets court appointed to federal drug conspiracy cases, I can tell you that Bob Newland is nothing like most of the people I see who get indicted. He's not violent. He's not looking to harm other people. He just likes his weed and thinks it might have some medicinal value.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Given the laws and precedent that Judge Delaney has to operate under in state court, I think the sentence of 45 days jail (the remainder of the one year sentence suspended) and no contact with the medical marijuana campaign is moderate.

But in this latest skirmish in the war on drugs, it is still too harsh. I don't use marijuana. But I also think it is far less harmful than alcohol and causes far fewer social problems. And medical marijuana should be legal. Who am I to take away something that might alleviate a suffering person's pain?

Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

Bob's letter is eloquent. Please read it. And Bob, if I had a job to give you, I would so I could spring you on work release.

This will be the last email I send under the banner “South Dakotans for Safe Access,” at least for a year.

By now, most of you know I pled to a felony count of possession of marijuana in May. Today I was sentenced.

In an hour-long sentencing hearing, Judge Delaney waxed reminiscent as he described his admiration for Muhammad Ali's stance against an illegal war, which cost him millions of dollars and his peak performing years, during which time he did not complain, nor did he leave the country that so abused him for his beliefs.

Then, citing the fact that he (Judge Delaney) had to account for his actions to the hundreds of kids he sees in juvenile court, he sentenced me to a year in the Penn. Co. jail, with all suspended but 45 days. During the suspended part of the sentence I will wear a bracelet that senses alcohol use and I will be subject to arbitrary piss tests by a probation officer to detect illegal "drug" use. In addition I may have no "public role" in cannabis law reform advocacy during that year.

Work release is an option, but I have few saleable skills, especially in a time when everyone else is getting laid off. I'll follow any leads any of you might have.

It was somewhat harsher than I expected, and probably less than I deserved. At least it did not cost me a career worth millions, and my peak performing years won't begin until July 6, 2010. And that's about all I feel comfortable saying about it. For a year.

I'll turn 61 in prison, doin' six weeks for smokin' a joint. Mama tried.
*****

I will do my time beginning sometime in August. If I have a job of the conventional sort (you know, with a time to get there and a time to leave) I can get work release. So, if you have any ideas for me along those lines…

Thanks again to all who sent letters to the judge, and to those who have sent messages of support to me.

For 40 years I have watched as dozens of people I know and thousands I know of go through this same, ummm…, procedure. Now it’s happening to me, and I feel the same frustration over the purposelessness of it all as I have felt for all those other people, many, many, many of whom were treated far more viciously than I.

Someday this war will be over.

So long for now,
Bob

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Practice makes perfect. But perfection is impossible. Is the saying some sort of koan?

U.S. Senator Al Franken. Has a nice ring to it. A 60 vote ring to it.

Also, it appears Sen. Tom Daschle lent him his Sally Jesse Raphael glasses.

Here are photos from his introduction to the U.S. Senate today.

*Franken's old Saturday Night Live routine.

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To be fair, The Decorum Forum has also been an active site in the PP v. Newland Blog War or as I call it, the Battle of Potville.

My young Republican friend Pat Powers is taking a bit too much schadenfreude over medical marijuana proponent/gadfly Bob Newland's sentencing for marijuana possession today.

I can see giving Bob some grief about his predicament but my friend PP (and he is my friend) is really laying the wood to Bob about cannabis. He calls Bob a "recidivist" and "addict." I'm not sure, clinically, one can be a marijuana addict.

And it's not like Bob sexually molested young girls in his care like one of Pat's GOP legislative buddies did.

Anyway, it's a little unseemly to see Pat go after someone who essentially committed a victimless crime. At the least, Bob is having a really bad day, so maybe a little slack might be in order.

Plus, Pat, you never know when the shoe might be on the other foot (or the other bong) and you might want a little grace for your own public missteps (not that you have any that we know of). None of us are perfect.

And Bob, hang in there.

Forbes says Kansas City is the fifth thriftiest metropolitan area in the USA.

Now, is that because Kansas Citians are frugal or that the economy is in the stinkpot?

I just happen to think Kansas City if nifty if not thrifty!

Click here for the Top 20 Thriftiest!

Gov. Sarah Palin resigned because it was going to come out that she and Michael Jackson were having an affair and she shot MJ up with a bunch of Demerol. Then he died.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge at Oacoma I'd like to sell you.

But as odd as MJ was and as odd as Gov. Palin's announcement was, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch if were true, would it?

*Satire alert!

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Sioux Falls businessman Mike Huether kicked off his run for mayor at the Sioux Falls 4th of Jul Parade.

Here are some photos I took of his participation.


Volunteers carry Mike's banner.


Mike's wife Cindy, a fellow Yanktonian.

One of Mike's volunteers hands out candy along the parade route.

Mike works the crowd on Phillips Avenue.

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It was cool and rain was threatening, but the Sioux Falls 4th of July parade went off like a Blackcat this morning.

Here are some of the photos I took.

Pretty much says it all: Kids, flags, wagon, parade.

VFW Color Guard leads the parade, including my colleague, Harry Engberg, smack in the middle.


Part of the crowd just prior to the parade near the entrance to Phillips to the Falls.

Maybe this young Kermit Staggers supporter should be running for office. He was taking charge by pointing out kids for Kermit, a probable mayoral candidate (below) to hand out candy to.


Close-up of the two of the McCrossen Boys' Ranch Belgians.


Mayor Dave Munson leads the parade in a classic hot rod.

Who knew Sioux Falls had a Unicyle Club?

A cowboy and his trusty steed.

City Councilor Kermit Staggers works the crowd and the hands out some candy.


Sioux Falls Groove, a drum and percussion group, and their leader with some major moves.

Photographic proof that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Knudson will actually shake a commoner's hand.

A Sioux Falls neighborhood and its kids take part again on their bikes.

Terri Lawrenz of Outdoor Adventures with Terri and Todd shows off her reptilian friend.

Kids in the National Guard Hummer wave Old Glory.