Ten candidates have filed for four Aberdeen City Council seats. Running in the southeast district against incumbent councilman Clint Rux is political newcomer Kaleb Weis. His campaign website offers this mixed imagery:
“Your Voice of Reason”? His profile picture, used here and on his campaign Facebook page, suggest he meant a different R-word:
When a guy is running for office and the first thing he shows us is a cross bigger than he is, I can’t help wondering whom he wants to crucify.
Alas, I can’t find out more about what reason or religion Weis would bring to city government, since his “Learn More” button is still inactive as of this writing.
On the good side, I am pleased to see below that a stock photo chosen from the Wix gallery that possibly depicts a naturalization ceremony—folks dressed up, seated in neat rows, holding little flags. Amidst renewed anti-immigrant paranoia (funny how these xenophobic outbursts coincide now in Aberdeen with elections), it’s nice to see an Aberdeen candidate signal welcome to new Americans.
Unfortunately, that subtle message may be outshouted by his family’s support for Donald Trump and Lora Hubbel. Last September his wife Kayla (proudly displayed in Kaleb’s campaign photo, so we can only assume he welcomes her as a partner in his campaign) added a photo of herself proudly sporting a Trump sticker as her Facebook profile pic:
Just last week, Mrs. Weis forwarded and embellished paranoid rantings from Lora Hubbel, a generally discredited source even among conservative Republican circles, in the Aberdeen Online Rummage Sale Facebook group:
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED:
At 10 am tomorrow (March 24) at Zion Luthern Church in Aberdeen there will be a meeting with a US Attorney and a “Loretta Lynch appointed” Civil Rights Attorney.
How is it that citizens in Aberdeen concerned about the status of refugees and the identification of illegals in their midst are left out of this meeting? Yet those who are opposed to the failures and negative incidents that have happened in Aberdeen do NOT get an invitation to be there?
Where are the statistics and media reporting about the crimes committed in their city by those brought in as refugees/illegals/secondary migration? Will anyone come forward to help Aberdeen and listen to the people? Will our Governor’s office or Attorney General’s office come to the aid of Aberdeen’s concerned citizens, who have had legitimate negative encounters and hence feel unsafe in their own community? Has someone turned the lights out in South Dakota and now everyone must run around in the dark on the issue of refugee resettlement and illegals in our cities and towns? We have a responsibility to our South Dakota families and especially Aberdeen to fully vet every refugee and immigrant we place in our great state.
Of special note: There is a tape of a high ranking LSS official stating she does NOT and CANNOT currently vet all these people coming in because for some there is no government in place from which to retrieve documents. In that case “vetting” is based solely on the word of those wanting to come into our country. We need to stand behind President Trump in his efforts to keep America Safe. Let us pray that this is not “human trafficking” of a different sort by placing displaced people in South Dakota where some do not want to assimilate [Kayla Weis, posted to Aberdeen Online Rummage Sale Facebook group, 2017.03.23; adapted from Lora Hubbel, public Facebook post, 2017.03.23].
Hmm… your spouse criticizes local institutions by implicating them in some vast “human trafficking” conspiracy, and then you feature that spouse in your campaign materials as you run for city office? I hope Kaleb Weis will explain that on his “Learn More” page… when he gets around to posting it.
Meanwhile, Clint Rux focuses on experience and “common sense” on his Facebook campaign page. His recent posts—not a lot, but more indicative of his councilman’s mindset than Weis’s material—deal with pretty mundane stuff. He mentions the negative impact WEB Water’s moratorium on new hookups will have on regional economic development and the need for Aberdeen to pick up the slack. He notes approving the appraisal of the old library and receiving bids for the next phase of the Kline Street storm sewer upgrade. And has his campaign season cover photo, he offers this photo of the new Merton Street holding pond:
Muddy, not colorful, but practical. The Weises may be worried about keeping certain people out of Aberdeen; Rux appears more concerned about keeping water out of his neighbors’ basements.
Aberdeen holds its city election June 6.
I’ll guess. What is it? One of them wingdings that wear their sincerely held religious beliefs on their sleeves where they can read and recite on demand?
After reading Kaleb’s so called platform I’ll borrow the words of wisdom from President Bush upon leaving the Trump inauguration, “that was some weird sh*t”.
We need freedom from religion at all levels of government. Dave Rubin just did a good interview with Andrew Seidel with the Freedom from Religion Foundation that does battle with those who forget separation of church and state. He’s an interesting constitutional scholar on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AyWPRwDFGc
Dear happy, there is no “freedom FROM religion” guaranteed you, promised you are written down in our law for you. Specifically the 1st Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Those are simple words with great meaning. These people have the guaranteed right of free exercise of their religion. Just as this family is not dragging you into a church, forcing you to recite scripture or (as the writer so eloquently put” it “I can’t help wondering whom he wants to crucify” you have no right to suppress, force or strip Americans from their Dog given right to practice their faith as they wish without your input. In a civil world you would believe as you wish and respect the rights of others to believe as they do.
But OldSarg, in 2017 we should be able to ridicule superstition. Religion is a very dangerous thing ISIS is killing Syrian civilians at this moment. We are founded on separation of church and state but they keep trying to push it into schools. Reason is what we learn from a modern education. If you want to teach your kids about a boogeyman in the sky, that’s your right you say, but it should be considered child abuse. Fire and damnation, hell, god will take you to heaven, kill the infidels. When are these dangerous fairy tales going to end? Why should we have to respect it the mass delusion needs to end. It would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so grave.
Must be April Fool’s day when I find me and HC agree on something. Who knew?
How long till they’re raptured?
Oh lord I’ve been preachin against idealogy for at least a year. Any ideology including Progressivism, Liberalism, Coryism: You can’t turn off your brain simply to comply or fit in the point of the first amendment is to get your cage rattled and rattle other cages. The founders are generally considered deists, way ahead of their time, but they were the educated class.
Netflix just came out with The Most Hated Woman in America on Madalyn Murray O’Hair. She’s complicated by corruption and her own personal problems, but it wasn’t that long ago we had prayer in public schools. She was a tough lady too easy to be quiet as a church mouse.
No offense, Ror, but I believe you misspelled ruptured. :)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P0LVjrx8Nxc/WM70B-B-s9I/AAAAAAABlsY/2Iwpwf6Jn64DR8oi7IWD8pEQqjSWFlNNACLcB/s640/z%2Bchristian%2Bviolence.jpg
JF Kennedy economist John Kenneth Galbraith was right: “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” That fits old Kaleb to a T with the meaning of his last name in German.
These guys are all the same old same old tripe.
Where’s grudznick to decry the overgodders among us? If he won’t do it then I’ll do it.
Nobody that gets their news from Lora Hubbel and actually believes it ought ever be elected to anything.
Some religions have to be “superior.” Modern day Christianity has mellowed a great deal, probably as a result of public education without forced theocracy. A relatively high percentage of Jews are atheist as well, but today Muslims are the scary ones ISIS is killing other Muslims at this very moment. We must recognize the difference.
Hap, there is no Coryism. There is my commitment to pluralistic democracy.
Roger, I still find no platform straight from Kaleb. I do see on his Facebook page he’s promoting the Brown County Republicans’ Lincoln Day Dinner… which seems funny for a candidate for non-partisan office. Maybe just a rookie slip, but maybe another sign that he’s more interested in party ideology than in the practical problem solving that takes up pretty much all of a good city councilor’s time?