Congressman Dusty Johnson and the SDGOP spin machine decided last night to peddle the latest tidbit of culture-war bushwah claiming that the Air Force Academy is telling cadets not to use the terms “Mom” and “Dad”. I thus feel compelled to point out that the superintendent of the Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, wrote a letter last week debunking that new myth:
So even when the leader of the Academy makes clear that they are mistaken, Congressman Johnson and his amplifiers keep lying about the Air Force. Tsk, tsk.
At his blog, obese Brookings blogger Pat Powers routinely smears principled conservatives who don’t bend the knee to the South Dakota Republican Party establishment. Pernicious Pug Powers, who makes a stopped clock look like a well-greased machine, salts his blog comment section with a seemingly infinite variety of aliases that threaten or jeer his political enemies. That SDGOP condones, encourages and even pays Powers to threaten, malign, bully and libel women while their party standard-bearers preach the protection of women is a measure of hypocrisy that strains human gauges. He has long been banned from my forum because of a constant stream of bigotry, misogyny and other hate speech.
The rule of thumb I’ve always used is to not believe anything in a politician’s propaganda releases. I don’t get how any credible news organization or blogger could simply regurgitate them. They all need to be checked for facts, at the minimum. When I worked at the “Rapid City Reporter,” our rule of thumb was not to use press releases for anything, except background information. Most of the quotes in those releases are manufactured by a staff person. If the release has some interesting tidbit of information, we would follow up with a telephone call to check it out and to get a quote directly from the politician.
Thanks, Cory, for being a real journalist, and truth teller.
Change is hard. “And it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” – BHO
Recall the last hundred years of those who oppose change vs those who demand change. Which group has accomplished their objective?
On this post I’ll assert that “caregiver” is the term that will go forward, eventually replacing Moms and Pops. No need to explain why to those who oppose change for personal reasons. Change will happen whether you like it or not.
I learned early that getting ahead of change makes life easier and much, much happier. You’re able to sit on your position and watch things happen the way you predicted, spending your time thinking about what even newer things you can get ahead of and how you can be prepared.
~ Also, you’ll make easy money before others do.
Rep Johnson and Ineffective Blogger Powers:
You keep giving the voters more reasons to vote for the well qualified Libertarian candidate Collin Duprel of Sturgis all the time!
I want to thank my parents and Ms. Block for not treating me differently when I wrote a paper in 5th grade where I proclaimed I was a Republican. I thought that because I heard it lots of times when I went camping with my best friend at her cabin. It rained the entire time and so we begged her dad to tell us History lessons. He was a Republican and I remember him always saying, “Money talks and bullsh!t walks”. He even had us repeat it. His stories were interesting and always made the government the antagonist in his renditions of the past.
My mom and Ms. Block must have been so disappointed reading that. They must have known I had been influenced and thankfully had faith I would come around eventually.
However, when I wrote a paper stating I wanted to be a racist when I grew up, there was an intervention. I remember I got called in during recess. Man, I thought I was finally busted for all my transgressions when I walked in and saw my mom was at the school! When they pulled out my most proud writing assignment I was bewildered. Once I explained I really wanted to be a fast runner like the US Olympic Medalist winner, Flo Jo, they started to laugh like relieved spazzes. I figured out that I wanted to be a runner that wins races, not a bigot.
I am grateful the adults around me knew when to let me dabble and grow. I am also appreciative they took it seriously when they thought I was headed down a dangerous and stupid road. There is a clear distinction between the nutso route and sane path and adults need to be able to read a friggin map.
My early experiences being around a republican taught me a ton about the fear they constantly live in of change and diversity. They build a prison around themselves and are afraid to grow. They also do not make ideal Americans. It is too contradicting to say you are a ‘patriot’ but always talk trash about your government and blame it for everything.
You are your country and government. Your Jehovah Witness neighbor is you. You are your Hmong neighbor. We are United. Not sure Republicans will ever come back to America.
All Mammal, very interesting, and hilarious.
It does seem sad that Mr. Powers isn’t man enough to allow comments that contradict his narrative.
My good friend Lar is righter-than-right. grudznick had a benign comment about Ms. Hubbel besting Mr. Kolbeck blocked at Mr. PP’s blogging place, too. Perhaps it is only Lar and I who are blocked for our radical views.
I’ve been blocked on the PP Pee Pee blog for over ten years. At least, under my real name. #grins Sorry to brag, Pat. You’re such a Pierre Pee’er.
Dusty has long been known to have “Noem disease” in his press releases. All over the block with any kind of right wing website nonsense in his press releases. I think he believes he’s being “non-controversial” as far as his target audience goes. His press releases are usually peons to the nobility of South Dakotans, a tribute to all of us raised on hard water. (I’m waiting for him to praise the solubility of Butternur Coffee and the pleasure of wearing slightly smelly clothes.) He benefits by being the least offensive of a very bad lot of Republican elected officials.
PP’s blog is just barely a thing but it looks like Emperor Schoenbeck, Quack Fred Deutsch and Earth hater Charlie Hoffman still go there to prop it up.
Those of us, unlike Howdy Dowdy Johnson, who spent a lifetime living in the world outside of Mayberry RFD, or Petticoat Junction’s Hooterville, know that too many folks don’t have a conventional mother or father, either or both. Addressing people as if they all grew up with the minority ‘conventional’ nuclear family is in-artful, painful, regressive, destructive. Johnson shows his obliviousness to the actual South Dakota human living conditions of his constituents. Johnson should spend a couple dozen hours listening to closed hearings in juvenile family law court, listen to representatives of social services, listen to representatives of non-profits such as the Court Appointed Special Advocates for children, foster homes / orphanages (hey, Mitchell had a great one back in the day – it was across the street from my grandfather’s (DWU prof) house and I loved playing with the kids when visiting gramps . . .) If Johnson needs a REAL education on the impact of poverty on families he has 9 reservations of constituents who likely never had a politician’s visit. Being tone deaf is not an excuse.
LTG Clark is absolutely correct in that there are better ways to build diverse teams than to assume everyone is “you guys” or had a “mom” or a “dad”.
John–Dusty grew up in poverty. He had no silver spoon, he didn’t have any spoon. I knew him and he was a great kid. He has always been ambitious. So far, he has been successful. I don’t prefer his politics, but Dusty has quite a back story and deserves credit for overcoming a considerable disadvantage.
Arlo is right. I lived in the next block north of the Johnson’s. My daughter played with Dusty’s younger siblings. The Johnson’s were poor, poorer than we were. The spoons Dusty didn’t have were in the backyard where my daughter and the Johnson kids would be digging in the dirty. Dusty’s paternal grandfather was pretty well off, and a lobbyist, but there was something a bit off-kilter with the relationship between Dusty’s father and the grandfather. I understand there was substance abuse issues with Dusty’s father for a time, but I recall he overcame that. I knew Dusty’s mom better. She was an earth mother, and very dedicated to her kids. I liked her very much.