State Fair opinions: Daily Republic has had plenty in recent years

Cheers to fair for being fine S.D. event
Sept. 8, 2009
CHEERS to the State Fair, which ended its 124th run over the holiday weekend in Huron. Although we have not yet heard final attendance numbers, fair officials were optimistic last week when the event was just beginning to get its wheels turning. We suspect that the pleasant weather may have been beneficial to gate numbers, and hope that turns out to be the case. Either way, it’s a fine South Dakota event and one that we relish each year.

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Editorial: Wishing for another 125 birthdays for S.D. State Fair

For 125 years, the South Dakota State Fair has ebbed and flowed with the state’s economy, the state’s heritage and the attention span of this state’s residents. It has seen great successes. It has been the pride of an entire geographic region and, at times, a thorn in the side of the Legislature. This week, the State Fair marks its 125th anniversary, with the gates scheduled to open at 7 a.m. today. Between this morning’s opening and Monday’s final day is a schedule that includes the traditional (musical acts), the historic (ag displays) and the modern (geocaching). It’s a great week for South Dakota. It hasn’t always been.

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Opinion: Milk a snake? Now that would be worth the wait

I once stood in front of a booth at a carnival in Chamberlain for more than an hour listening to the patter from the guy running the place.
I can’t recall what he was trying to sell. I mean, I know he was asking people to buy something. That’s the point of a carnival booth, to get the folks strolling past to stop, listen and buy something, take a chance on something, try their skill at something, whether it is matching numbers, pitching pennies into dishes or knocking cleverly weighted dolls from a shelf with a baseball. I can’t remember hearing what the guy in the booth in the carnival in Chamberlain was trying to sell.

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Opinion: Thanks to Internet, Dodson newest phenom

NEW YORK — August finally redeemed itself from shark-jumping hysteria with an original, spontaneous, transcendent event — the accidental intersection of one Antoine Dodson, his sister, her would-be rapist, and some musical magicians who tapped into that uniquely American reservoir of salvation — irreverence.
Voila, we have a new American idol, a fresh icon to distract us from the drudgery of madness and remind us that humor is the best weapon against anger or angst.

Editorial: State could have woes enforcing smoking ban

If South Dakota voters enact Referred Law 12 — which could outlaw smoking in places such as bars and restaurants — one overriding factor could become a problem in the state.
According to the state attorney general’s official explanation, Referred Law 12 would broaden “the state’s ban on smoking to apply to all restaurants, bars, package liquor stores, Deadwood casinos and video lottery establishments. It requires owners, managers, and operators of places where smoking is prohibited to inform violators of the smoking ban. …”

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Opinion: Public in need of a good dose of stout medicine

In 2008, “60 Minutes” visited Denmark to report on a survey of international happiness conducted by Leicester University in England that concluded Danes are among the happiest people on Earth. The reason? They have low expectations and thus, as Morley Safer noted, “are rarely disappointed.”
This ought to be a Republican Party theme in the November and subsequent elections. If our expectations about politicians and government are lowered, we will then start expecting less from them and more from ourselves, then our prospects for happiness will likely be much improved.

Opinion: Protest that became a dream

WASHINGTON — I did not stick around to see Glenn Beck’s extravaganza at the Lincoln Memorial, not out of protest but because I had work to do in Philadelphia. But I was more than satisfied by my memories of the earlier event at that site I’d covered for the old Washington Star, when the theme was civil rights and the speech of the day turned out to be the historic “I Have a Dream” oration by Martin Luther King Jr.

Editorial: S. Dakota candidates’ driving record should not be taken lightly

Kristi Noem evidently likes to drive fast. The Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives has had 20 speeding tickets in the last 21 years, according to recent reports. She also has had two warrants issued against her for not paying her fines on time.
In addition, she’s had three citations for stop-sign violations and has received six notices for failing to appear in court.

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Prediction: Muslim center won’t be built

With polls showing about 70 percent of Americans believe building an Islamic cultural center containing a mosque just two blocks away from Ground Zero is inappropriate, the far left is once again on the run. Failing with the bogus “freedom of religion” argument, the crew that is offended by the manger scene at Christmas is now saying the mosque controversy is another attempt to “scare white people.” Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson has put forth that loopy argument on his second home, MSNBC.

Opinion: On plains, they don’t call the wind ‘Mariah’

John Raitt, Broadway legend and father of singer Bonnie Raitt, used to belt out an old song that suggested there are places where, “They call the wind Mariah.”
Out on the Great Plains the locals have many other names for the wind and not a one of them is Mariah. In fact, many of the really choice names for the howling winds begin with the letter “F.”

Editorial: Week in Review

HISSES to the people who are stealing and damaging traffic signs in rural Davison County. Highway Superintendent Rusty Weinberg last week told the Davison County Commission that signs are disappearing at a record pace and that the practice could have catastrophic circumstances for unsuspecting drivers. Not only is the actual theft a problem, but another problem is that Weinberg and his department sometimes have no idea that a sign may have been stolen, which makes it difficult to get it replaced in a timely matter. If someone notices a shiny “Stop,” “Yield” or other type of sign in the wrong place — i.e., a backyard, a kid’s room, etc. — please do the right thing. And for rural drivers who notice a sign has been stolen or damaged, please call the county offices.

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Opinion: Letters to the Editor

Other N.Y. locations better for mosque To the Editor: Would Mr. Duffett feel differently about a mosque being built at Ground Zero if one of his daughters was killed there? The heart of the matter isn’t about religious freedom but impropriety.

Opinion: South Dakota Editorial Roundup

Cabin shouldn’t be perk A unique piece of South Dakota history named Valhalla sits in the middle of Custer State Park. For many years, use of this historically-significant summer home of a former South Dakota governor and U.S. senator, Peter Norbeck, has been restricted to a select few South Dakotans — mostly governors and their inner circle of family, friends and colleagues. We think that’s wrong and urge Gov. Mike Rounds and Custer State Park officials to change the policy.

This Crazy Horse photo has a story behind it

Greg Latza saved my life one afternoon in the parking lot of a hamburger joint in Lead. The farm kid from Letcher is an inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame this year. They will tell you he’s going into the hall because he makes amazing photographs with his cameras. In truth, he makes the pictures somewhere in his soul. The camera simply records what he sees there.

• Terry Woster

Opinion: Country needs responsible opposite party

WASHINGTON — There are times when I flirt with the notion that the country would be better off with divided government.
If Republicans took control, say, of the House, there would be pressure on both parties to behave more responsibly. The GOP would be pushed to stop carping and posturing, and start governing. Democrats would have political cover to make hard choices on entitlement spending, taxes and the like. As every politician knows, bipartisan cliff-jumping is a safer sport than going solo. That’s the theory. Then there’s John Boehner.