So Marion, is this some kind of veiled threat? How appropriate right after a Capital riot.

Notice whenever there is a mass shooting the first thing Republican lawmakers do is tell everyone that the Dems are going to take your guns and gun and ammo sales go through the roof. I wonder if they realize they are only making matters worse? In several surveys over the past couple of years most responsible, law-abiding gun owners want reform, like having to insure your weapons and getting a license that proves you know how to safely use them. I guess lawmakers like Rounds are only interested in making the problem worse, and wasting money on bad art.

All I can say is ‘BRAVO’ to Dusty to have the courage to wear a mask and not be worried about being shamed. Of course he was in the back row and not sitting with Rounds and Thune on the president’s stage. I guess Rounds was wearing a mask to but took it off before the Great Pumpkin showed up.

A lot of people took notice also that the governor must have been hitting the weights, the tanning booth and popping the water pills in preparation for the big night. It’s funny how she had time to get her appearance perfect but couldn’t memorize a couple of minute speech. Oh, that’s right, it’s only about appearance with these folks, substance is for another day.

One of my biggest arguments against building a new administrative building was that many city employees who do administrative duties could work from home and would probably save the city millions of dollars a year.

Many of my friends have worked from home for years. In 2009 I used to work for a financial company as the Creative Director, before we closed due to asset selloff, I was preparing to work from home 3 days a week, and was excited about the possibility.

Even farther back than that, when Governor Rounds was being ribbed about having a state airline fleet, it was suggested to him to do more teleconferencing instead of flying places for meetings.

I also find it ironic that the mayor has been urging employers to have employees to work from home when he has done similar to Rounds and has flown all over the country and even the world for ‘meetings’ he could have done via Skype from the comfort of his office, also saving tax dollars.

I hope if something good comes from this pandemic, it is that employers invest in having their employees work from home. Not only is it less stressful and makes employees happier, it would save millions in capital expenses such as large facilities to house these people. It would also save the employees money because many would not have to get expensive childcare. And happier employees have less health problems.

Working from home is a great idea that has been going on for decades in this country, it’s time to expand this option to more workers in our community. It will keep people safer, it will save money and more importantly it will save jobs. It’s too bad it took a horrible pandemic to get employers to look at this option.

I have been saying for a long time that he is not. These rumors got started when Dusty Johnson had a cow over Borglum running against Rounds in the primary. At the time, the assumptions going around were that Rounds would NOT run and Dusty would run for that seat while TenHaken or someone else would run for Congress. There seems to be a lot of ‘grooming’ going on.

There is also the obvious, Jean Rounds’ continued health issues (which I’m sure would be part of the reason he decides to not run – even though I think the plan was floated before she got ill).

Many have been wondering though about his continued fundraising? There is a simple solution to that, he can transfer those funds to anyone else, so why would he NOT continue to fundraise?

But what if he does run in the primary and wins, but decides to drop out after that? I’m not sure how the rules would work, but I think the SD GOP delegates could pick a candidate, and if they were smart, they would choose the candidate who came in second in the Republican primary. But that may NOT be the case.

Ethically, most would say Rounds would drop out before the primary, but this guy hasn’t had an ethical bone in his body his entire time as a public servant, so I would not put it past him to run and win the primary than drop out. I have often felt that Rounds was more corrupt than Janklow by two-fold. He had many scandals throughout his governorship and it shocked my he got elected to the Senate to begin with.

But some wonder why he would not run again. There are some pretty obvious reasons besides Jean’s health. Rounds doesn’t like DC and has a very large family he is not seeing as much as he would like. It’s also a long term, 6 years. It’s hard to make plans for the future when have those kind of terms. He got some legislation thru he wanted that benefits his private insurance business. And lastly, Marion Mike Rounds does what is good for him, that is why he is such a devote fan of Trump. While Thune-Bag and Howdy Doody sometimes waiver on their support for Donny, Rounds is always quick to defend him.

Mike got what he wanted out of his Senate seat, and now he is ready to boot scoot along. Maybe this will give him time to explain to us how you can shoot yourself using a shotgun and a 5-foot branch.

If he does drop out, it will be one of my better political predictions in a very long time.

There is a story in the Argus today (I can’t read it because it is for subscribers) but the headline suggests that Rounds may not run for re-election due to his wife’s illness.

I have felt for awhile that he would NOT run anyway, even before his wife was diagnosed. I have heard from several Republican insiders that he doesn’t like Washington so much, and secondly, six years is a long term.

I have been suggesting for awhile that he will choose NOT to run and Dusty Johnson will run for the seat. This is the gossip going around, and one of the reasons he is so upset with Borglum.

As for money raised, both Rounds and Johnson can easily move those funds.

So who would run for Congress on the Republican side? I think it is Paul TenHaken, who I don’t think has the appetite for another term as Mayor.

I think this will open it up for a special election (if TenHaken wins) for Sioux Falls Mayor, which we will see Huether return, but I could also see other opportunists like Greg Neitzert looking at running.

This of course is all speculation, and just some early predictions.

In the Trumpist sphere, I agree with a letter writer Cory Heidelberg scrounged up. I have been thinking for awhile that the reason Romney is supporting impeachment is so he can be the GOP’s presidential candidate in 2020. Think about it, he has ran before, he has name recognition, and he is a moderate (more like a corporatist). He will still lose, once a loser always a loser. I’m still on the fence whether or not the Senate will kick the bum out of office, but that political circus changes by the day. If the polling is 55% or higher with American support for resignation, the Senate will remove him. Guaranteed. And our Nightmare maybe finally over with . . . for awhile anyway.