Part-time Governor Kristi Noem got Freedom Fest off to a boring start last night… but if you wanted to hear our elected leader’s campaign speech to a skeptical Libertarian audience, you had to give up 40 movie tickets:
The event costs $400 for South Dakota residents to register. Media representatives pay $150 and a live stream of the sessions costs $125 [Lee Strubinger, “‘Freedom Fest’ Brings Thousands to Black Hills,” SDPB, 2021.07.20].
Actually, the Freedom Fest rate page says South Dakotans get in for $399 and a media pass costs $149. But charging reporters any amount to perform their vital public function, like keeping an eye out for the next Russian plant tossing puffball questions at extremist Presidential candidates, is uncool. Paying $125 for the Freedom Fest livestream does spare one the trouble of crowding into the Rushmore Civic Center with a bunch of likely Delta vectors.
South Dakotans are getting over 27% off the regular at-the-door price of $549. High school and college students get in for $149; grad students, professors, and professionals under 30 can get full passes for $299.
Noem has not tweeted from the event she was so proud to bring to Rapid City. Perhaps she was surprised to realize she was opening a conference where attendees can enjoy these presentations:
- Is Prostitution the Next Marijuana? The Path to Decriminalizing Sex Work
- Sex Work DecriminaLIES: Exposing the Failed Global Policy to Regulate Prostitution
- My Body, My Choice: Ending the Endless War on Drugs
Plus, a governor who celebrates hoarding the people’s tax dollars in a budget surplus created by socialist wealth redistribution as an exercise in Freedom™ might face some awkward questions from real Libertarians.
HA HA HA HA HA!!!!
I can hardly wait to read her speech on decriminalizing sex work to an audience that is entirely in favor of it.
Here is some interesting history regarding one of the keynote speakers, Dave Rubin.
Rubin used to hold progressive views, or at least pretended to. He was once part of the progressive podcast/YouTube news program The Young Turks, but got into big disagreements with Cenk Uygur on various issues, and left TYT. Ever since leaving, he has slowly shifted from progressive to right-wing views.
RationalWiki lays this out in much more detail:
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dave_Rubin
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/kristi-noem-president-campaign-2024-south-dakota.html
Someone rilly wants to be potus in the drumpf mode.
Freedom Fest exec Valerie Durham drops me a note to say that “all valid media credentialed journalists” can get comped media passes if they call ahead; Freedom Fest advertises the media rate to weed out the “personal” bloggers who call themselves “media” “as a way to game the system.”
The viability of sex work is a sad byproduct of a woefully broken economy.
Sex is beautiful when organic and natural between people who have attraction for one another.
To me, when paid for, it is the most deplorable form of slavery imaginable.
I know John Dale, when commerce steps in it ruins sex. I’m sure all natural and free loving repubs agree.
Update on Dusty/Trump/Putin/Butina shenanigans link Cory links above:
Yesterday twttr
@charlie_savageEXCLUSIVE: Data intercepts showed GRU-to-Taliban $ transfers & a key intermediary fled to Russia, bolstering earlier detainee accounts about a Russian bounty op. Trump WH omitted in its briefing to GOP lawmakers as it downplayed intel as murky/contested.
This Russian assault rifle is developed for sniper use to pierce USA military troop kevlar body armor. Thanks NRA.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/image/10002280-16×9-700×394.jpg