July 2011

Maybe we should start letting SD Repugs blow wind up our asses instead of smoke?

South Dakota’s version of modern wind technology

I think these two paragraphs say it all;

South Dakota ranked 50th among states and the District of Columbia, registering about 6,600 of the 2.7 million jobs in the “clean economy,” according to the Brooking Institution’s “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment.” Only Wyoming had fewer such jobs.

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According to information from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota has a greater wind potential than 92 percent of the nation, with only three states with the capability to produce more wind: North Dakota, Texas and Kansas.

Hmmmm? So let me get this straight, we rank 4th in the nation for potential wind energy but rank 50th for taking advantage of that energy? What did God say about the flooding? Keep electing the same old regime South Dakota, and you keep getting the same results, last place, everytime.

And going on in other parts of the country, gay bashing, anti-christ talk, and normal Texas politics (H/T – Helga)

Rachel Maddow: Dangers of sex with demons highlighted by Perry prayer participant. I wonder if governor DooGard is going to this fun event?

Jon Stewart asks Seinfeld if Bachmann’s husband is closet (scroll down to see video)?

In honor of Dr. Marcus Bachmann‘s gay therapy clinic, Jon Stewart dedicated his opening segment today to suppressing his “natural” urges to ridicule Bachmann for being both a gay conversion advocate and a very, um, flamboyant character. He kept his mouth closed, tried to switch gears, and even brought in a comedic therapist– Jerry Seinfeld– to resist the temptation, but ultimately, Rep. Michele Bachmann‘s husband was just too gay for Stewart to resist heckling.

Beginning his segment by highlighting the fact that Rep. Bachmann is leading polls in Iowa, a state arbitrarily chosen as pivotal to primary races, Stewart noted that she was gaining traction despite Rep. Bachmann having some questionable views on the LGBT community– namely, believing that homosexuality is “bondage, personal bondage, personal enslavement” and that “gay” is a “satanic” thing. Standing right beside her on this sentiment? Her husband Marcus, who works in the mental health industry attempting, it has been reported, to help gay people cope with their orientation by renouncing it.

Stewart kept his jokes fairly on target until he played a video of the Bachmanns dancing, to which his initial reply was only, “that’s the guy teaching people not to be gay?” After sputtering to himself a bit about how gay Bachmann appeared, he allowed himself a few jokes, comparing Bachmann to “the Green Mile guy just absorbing it all” and calling him “one Izod shirt away from being the guy on Modern Family.” Then began the attempts to suppress his desire to ridicule Bachmann, which failed pretty significantly– “is he curing them so he can hoard all the gayness for himself?”– even with the help of Seinfeld. Stewart’s “comedic therapist” reminded him that he wasn’t “born” a comedian, “comedy is a choice,” and then proceeded to make some harmless jokes about Bachmann, like how his name is weird. Needless to say, it didn’t work.

 

Happy Birthday Kristi

These music videos are a dedication to my friend who turned me onto to these great musicians;

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r24_T-HOcyg[/youtube]

And I’m sure tonight she will be singing this fabled song

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GjyGdDrXXs[/youtube]

Are Sioux Falls taxpayers being hoodwinked by the Mayor’s office with an advisory vote on the Events Center?

There has been a lot of talk about this on the internets over the past few days. But what does an advisory vote mean?

When the public approves bonds it requires 60 percent to pass.  Advisory votes only require 50 percent plus one.

In other words when the public votes on the events center, they are NOT approving a spending resolution, or for that matter locking into a certain dollar amount. They are simply being asked if they want a new events center. That’s it. There will be no set pricetag. There may be a really nice, ornate, well orchestrated guessitmate, but that is all we will be getting. Once voters say they want this thing, the city can borrow and spend whatever they want to. The council would be wise to nail the Mayor’s office down on a pricetag, and make this a non-advisory vote (bonding approval).

I think if voters really want the Events Center, the most responsible thing to do is lock in a price tag and have this a bonding vote. We quickly forget the Pavilion costing us twice as much as what was quoted. I think it is time citizens started controlling the purse strings and not a few elected officials. Just look at Lewis & Clark. We have spent $80 million so far and have yet to get a drop of water from it, and when we finally do turn on the tap, it might drip a little, at best, over the next decade. If citizens would have known the details of this project, there would be no Lewis & Clark pipeline, unless L & C wanted to kiss our asses and sell it to us down the road. We basically propped up this sorry second string water source at the advice of a few public officials. The Feds knew it was a waste of money, that is why they didn’t pony up. The same goes for the EC. Are we going to let a former marketing exec from the worst CC in the nation and an in the dark council make a decision on the cost of this project? Gawd help us. Have we not learned from our past spending mistakes?

This is an important decision by tax payers. It shouldn’t be taken lightly, and we should have a say in the economics of it. Afterall, we are the ones paying back the debt.

Think about it in these terms. If you have ever bought a home, isn’t the price agreed upon before the paperwork is signed and the bank gives you the loan? Taxpayers deserve to know the final price tag, up front, before approving this project. And if this mayor and council are not willing to supply that information to us, it’s time we remove them all from office and start from scratch.

FOOD REVIEW: Tre Lounge

Okay, I think I have reviewed Tre in the past, but someone recently asked if I would do it again.

I invited some dear friends to Tre tonight, they are recently retired and bought a home in Colorado and are leaving soon. Anyway, the main reason I invited them was because they have never ate there before, and I have always gotten good food there, so I knew it wouldn’t be a bad experience. Tre did not disappoint. I almost feel bad that I haven’t been there in a long time, because it was so good.

Our server was wonderful beyond belief, I didn’t catch her name, but she was bubbly, which usually annoys the fuck out of me, but it was a sincere happiness not intentional, so I will let it slide this time. She took my drink order promptly while I waited for my guests, and got it to me right away. Instant points with me. She was very attentive along with her fellow servers and food runners. In fact when the food runner dropped off our appetizer, he said to us instantly, ‘I will grab you silverware and plates right away’, noticing before us that we didn’t have any. I know this sounds like a small thing, but it is something that restaurants fail at, big time. Our food runner not only knew what his job was, but was polite and professional about it. It is something I have been battling at the place I work at for months. There is nothing more annoying then getting a salad or appetizer that looks incredible and you have no means of eating it.

FOOD

Like I have said in the past, the food at Tre has always been to spec. Tonight it was no different. My friends, who are not originally from SD have never tried chislic. I explained to them, that while it is traditionally lamb, sirloin will do. The only other place in town besides Tre that has great chislic is Minervas. I will give Minervas a better grade because their pieces are larger and they ask for temp while Tre does not. But Tre’s presentation is much better. They give you fresh lime slices to squeeze on the chislic and a bed of fresh cilantro and seasoning to dip in. Delicious twist on a classic. And even though the beef sirloin was well done, it was juicy and tender.

While the entire dinner menu looks very appetizing, we all decided on the shrimp tacos. Great choice. The only complaint I would have about the dish was there was really small portion ‘chunks’ of shrimp, but once you put the plate together, if really doesn’t matter. The shrimp was cooked in a tomato chutney with red onions (I absolutely love red onions!) and served with 3 tortilla, diced tomato basil, monterey jack cheese, sliced cabbage and an interesting spicy mayo. For $12 dollars the portion was huge. Even after making 3 tacos you still had fixins’ to spare. I liked the cabbage instead of lettuce twist. The only improvement on dish I would make besides more shrimp is including sliced cucumbers to the plate.

While Tre may lack some ambience, though comfortable (the entire place is painted grey with really bad Rothko knockoff paintings) the service and food is top notch.