Joel Dykstra Interview

Hello all-

This past Tuesday I sat down and had a chat with Joel Dykstra, the republican challenger to Tim Johnson’s senate seat. Mr. Dykstra and I discussed a wide range of issues, from abortion to gun control to education, just to list a few. The senate hopeful was kind enough to let The Volante video tape the interview, and I thank him for that.

Be sure to check out the interview back at the homepage. We have broken it down into three parts. Part one is up already, and the remaining two parts will go up tomorrow and Monday. You can look forward to my interview with Senator Tim Johnson in the next couple of weeks.  

Politicians Play with Personal Freedom

This week in The Volante print edition, in order to give students a better understanding of the 2008 South Dakota ballot, I have laid out what the seven constitutional amendments and initiatives are and what they are about.

This task got me to thinking about what isn’t on the ballot. The two things that come to mind are the video lottery and smoking ban concerns. I feel it is unfortunate that these debated issues didn’t make the ballot. Citizen passed legislation, in my opinion, is preferred to politician passed legislation when it comes to issues concerning personal freedoms; and the mentioned issues being left off the ballot only invites the state legislature to do its own tampering with our freedom.

When it comes to video lottery, I can be somewhat at ease; being that every push for a ban has failed since the conception of video lottery in 1987. Not to mention the state makes bank off of video lottery taxes. You have to believe everyone at the capitol likes playing with that chunk of change.

The smoking ban issue, however, is in jeopardy of being resolved in Pierre and not by South Dakotans. One reason for the notion: Iowa and Minnesota have recently implemented smoking ban in bars and restaurants, which will most definitely put pressure on South Dakota legislators to do the same.

I am not saying whether or not smoking bans should be put in place in South Dakota; I am merely suggesting freedom issues are better off left up to the masses the freedoms pertain to. Let’s hope there are enough folks in Pierre that think like me, right?    

Desperate For Depression

The second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain provided nothing new. This reporter is getting tired of chewing on the same rhetoric day after day and night after night. There are, of course, tidbits of sound bites that could be mentioned, however, none of which I find sufficient to elaborate on.

I am beginning to get frustrated with the whole thing obviously, and can’t wait for Nov 4. However, I did find one question to be thought provoking.

I will paraphrase here, but the question went something like this:

At no time since the Great Depression have Americans been asked to sacrifice outside of the military. What will you ask the American people to sacrifice in order to get the country back on track?

McCain proposed freezing spending, and Obama said the government is going to have to fix the problems. Neither really implied the American people would have to make sacrifices. My frustration peaked at this point. Before being a journalist, I am an American. I hold nationalism in very high regard. My love for America is the bedrock of my interest and passion for journalism.

With that being said, America is in such a deep hole we will, without a doubt, have to make sacrifices. The recession, though alarming to most, comes as a relief to me. Some time ago, being ignorant during an era when life’s perceived expectation were predisposed to the finer things of societal norms, yours truly had yet to realize the latter. Despite the churlish behavior, the idea maintained was always that the masses are asses.

With that said, the discussion shall progress.

Human existence and trade coupled at the dawn of man. Along with the birth of assets and monetary commodities came financial responsibility. Beings rationed their resources or died.

Before continuing, let be reiterate my disenfranchisement with any party in modern American politics. The thoughts expressed are explicitly this American’s perspective on the problems at hand.

 

 

 

It is my belief that the financial behavior of its citizens in the last three and a half decades has spoiled American society. Since the seventies, constant advancement toward the hazardous behavior, which is hasty financial decision making, has ultimately created a recession, and most have no right to dissent.

South Dakota, America, and the Capitalist West, listen up!

Be proud of our governmental processes, but it’s vital that individuals understand freedom isn’t free. The thought currently being conveyed is not the common notion of blood being spilled for freedom, but a less primitive idea. In order to maintain an efficient democracy with fundamental free enterprise underpinnings, the average citizen must realize their stake in this magnificent machine, which we call a country, is a dictating conductor of direction and transgression.

Recession, or even depression, will cure American apathy and reinstate a sense of nationalism. We are all in this together. The sooner we realize it, the sooner we can do something about the problems the baby boom generation left us to deal with.

Where do we begin?

It’s simple really. Read a newspaper, watch the news, chitchat with your neighbors, and above all else, don’t constantly think of yourself.

JFK said it best.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

 

 

Higman V. Nesselhuf

The South Dakota District 17 senate race is an interesting one to say the least. The school year has been the fuel on the flames without a doubt. The first fall print of The Volante offered a spirited opinion column from USD College Republican President Matt Hittle about Democratic incumbent Ben Nesselhuf and, in Hittle’s opinion, his lack of productivity as a District 17 Senator during the past four years.

The USD College Democrats are hitting back with their own onslaught of writing letters to the editor of The Volante advocating their candidate. Hittle has reported Nesselhuf’s competition, Jerad Higman, has had campaign signs torn down throughout town. Who the culprit is cannot be speculated on by this journalist, but Hittle is not shy in insisting the vandals must be Nesselhuf supporters.

The campaign fireworks have already been bright this fall, but are about to get brighter. On Oct 23 at 7:00 pm in the Al Neuharth Media Center, The Volante will hold a debate between Republican Jerad Higman and Democratic incumbent Ben Nesselhuf. The debate will be lively, I guarantee you that.

The College Democrats, the College Republicans and the Political Science League will provide a pool of questions to me and The Volante’s editorial staff. We will then choose which questions we see relevant and fair. If you would like to offer a question or questions, feel free to send questions to me or an editor at The Volante. The last portion of the debate will be questions from the audience.

It is an honor to say that yours truly will be moderating the debate.

I hope to see many of you there.  

Where’s the Beef???

The VP debate in St. Louis was fun to watch. A seasoned veteran of Washington up against an up and coming phenomenon from Alaska makes for good entertainment. From my perspective, I feel it’s safe to say neither side definitively won the debate, not unlike the presidential debate. They were very cordial with each other, as expected, and both commended each other at various times for various achievements or viewpoints.

Entertainment aside, the debates so far are lacking meat. I have yet to hear any substantive policy discussion from either side. Both sides talk about how they envision the future but fail to illustrate just how they plan on making their vision a reality.

Obama has proposed $800 billion in new programs if elected. He has not, to my knowledge, explained how he plans on paying for such programs during a time of economic struggle in America. McCain is just as guilty. He’s riding the age old conservative fall back of deregulation. The same deregulation that some say has gotten our economy in the mess it is in.

The campaign season is so long, and I feel as if I’ve been hearing the same rhetoric for 18 months now. I can only hope, for the sake of the democracy itself, that at least one of the next two debates digs into the real issues and the candidates give real answers.

Bailout, Bailout, Bailout

I can’t really blame anyone for being tired of hearing about the bailout situation, and whether the proposed legislation should or shouldn’t be passed. The crisis has consumed most media during the last two and a half weeks or so. I think, however, the media is justified in giving so much coverage to the situation at hand. Realistically, all taxpaying Americans should pay attention to what’s happening in Washington.

The proposed legislation is unprecedented. The fundamental dynamics of our so-called capitalistic economy are about to change before our very eyes. I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know many in Congress think they do.

The skeptic in me immediately wants to know who Congress is heeding advice from. It appears to me many are following instructions from the fed and Henry Paulson. Paulson and the fed got us into this mess to begin with, so why are legislators looking to them for solutions?

Congress will vote on revised legislation Wednesday after Monday’s bill tanked. The new bill has stipulations on healthcare as well. The legislation includes a “Mental Health Parity.” Apparently it would mandate insurance companies to offer coverage for mental illness in the same way they do physical illness.

No matter what the outcome, the effects of the crisis are going to become more immediate in many aspects of American life.

The Great Debaters

Friday night’s debate was a success no matter who you ask.  Political pundits from both sides of the isle have been claiming victory for their candidate since it ended.

I feel I can say it was a hard fought debate by both. It seemed to be a back and forth slugfest. It was apparent that McCain had the upper hand on foreign policy. It’s no secret Obama doesn’t have the foreign policy experience his adversary has.

Obama fared better when discussing the economy which shouldn’t have been a surprise either. McCain himself admits he’s not an economic expert, and the economy isn’t his strong point.

Both candidates did a descent job at playing to their strengths.

I found it thought provoking when both men told stories of receiving bracelets from the mothers of fallen soldiers. McCain said the soldier’s mother told him to make sure his son didn’t die in vain by ensuring “victory” in Iraq. The viewpoint is understandable.

Obama responded with his own bracelet story. Obama said this particular mother asked him, “Can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I’m going through?” This, also, is an understandable position to have.

What I’m getting at is, on issues such as Iraq, neither candidate did anything to persuade anyone, as far as I could tell. They simply reiterated the partisan platform they’ve been standing on since the campaigning started, and reaffirmed already held viewpoints by the viewers and voters. So…, if there isn’t any ground gained on the issues during the debates, are they even debates?  

Passing the Buck…even if it isn’t worth much.

Because of the recent events on Wall-Street and in Washington, presidential hopeful John McCain said today that he is going to “suspend” his campaign until the financial situation is stabilized with legislation and urged Obama to do the same. He also asked call for postponement of Friday night’s debate in Mississippi.

 In response to the Arizona senator’s statements, Obama said he would go to Washington to discuss and pass the bail-out legislation, but doesn’t find it necessary to stop campaigning or postpone the debate.

“We’ve both got big planes… that can get us from Washington to Mississippi fairly quickly,” Obama said.

Obama also said he thinks it’s important for Americans to hear what their presidential candidates have to say about the situation.

McCain said the situation is too dire to have the debates and in doing so legislation could be passed by the end of the weekend.

“I’m confident that before the markets open on Monday, we can achieve consensus on legislation,” McCain said.

I’m not an economist or a financial expert by any means, but anyone can see something needs to be done to stabilize the economy.  Hell, even Democrats and Republicans can agree on that, but I can’t help but think both candidates are politicizing the situation just a bit. The attack ads are flying. Both men are blaming each other for the problem. As said previously, I’m not an expert; but it’s obvious that this problem is much larger than two men. Millions of taxpayers are being affected by whats happening in Washington and on Wall Street, and all these men can do is pass the buck.

Maybe they are both to blame. They are in fact senators. Maybe their culpability lies in congress’ failure to act sooner. Either way, it’ll all come down to what the public thinks on Nov. 4.

Nesselhuf Strikes Back, sort of…

 

In the first print edition of The Volante, which came out on Constitution Day (Wednesday), the political mud was already flying. Verve columnist Matt Hittle’s first opinion piece of the fall was an attack on Ben Nesselhuf, the incumbent District 17 senator from Vermillion. The column was a focused assault on Nesselhuf’s voting record.

It’s not up to this journalist whether or not the attacks were warranted but, by the way it read, Hittle is absolute in his beliefs. He criticized the senator for voting in support of the statewide smoking ban last year. He criticized him for voting to regulate preschools. And he criticized him for voting to raise the minimum wage. Hittle also made claims that, although the senator is a USD student, Nesselhuf has “rarely impacted the university in any meaningful way.” In concluding his column, Hittle listed the accolades of Nesselhuf’s competition, Jerad Higman(R-Vermillion).

Hittle’s rhetoric, and I use rhetoric in the most literal sense, should not take anyone by surprise. It’s no secret Hittle is the president of the College Republicans on campus and is notorious for having strong libertarian views. However, what may be relatively surprising to some is in a press release issued Wednesday afternoon in response to Hittle’s column, Nesselhuf’s camp only addressed one of the columnist’s claims, the claim accusing the senator of not doing enough to benefit the university he attends.

The press release cited four occurrences where, from their viewpoint, the senator has benefited the school and students statewide. One could assume that in analyzing the column and the press release Nesselhuf feels justified in voting for a statewide smoking ban, preschool regulation and a minimum wage hike. I can’t really speculate on why he feels the way he does or whether he does at all, but you can be sure I will find out.

Have no doubt the College Democrats are preparing a response. I cannot wait to see if the mud is thrown back, or, if by some incredible means, a more positive stance is taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Joe Sneve Political Blog

Hello all. I am, of course Joe Sneve, senior political writer for The Volante. This semester we at the paper want to expand our coverage, especially political, beyond the weekly print and deliver more information to you through the powerful medium of the internet. Throughout the fall I will be making posts concerning the current political environment and atmosphere. I hope to discuss many different viewpoints and campaigns. This election season should prove to be a very exciting time for political buffs.

I suppose I will begin this virgin endeavor by telling you a bit about myself. I am a junior political science and mass communications major and have been with The Volante for roughly nine months. I graduated from Dell Rapids Public High School in 2003. After graduating I took a couple of years off to sew my wild oats and get my head on straight. In 2006 I decided to enroll here at the U and have loved every minute of Coyote life.

I understand as a journalist and a citizen the responsibility the media has in offering fair and just news coverage. I have always felt that the media is basically the forth branch of government. It can be argued the media is the most important keeper of checks and balances.

I look forward to covering and discussing the events surrounding many of the campaigns this fall.