2009

Less talk and more action

Rounds hard at work fixing another dilemma

I guess the recession came out of nowhere, according to Rounds;

Like the rest of the nation, South Dakota is in a recession. Governor Mike Rounds says the dramatic drop in state revenue linked to sales tax is unlike anything he’s ever witnessed. He says this current recession is the largest since the great depression.

This has been taking shape for over 13 months, and when a entire country, heck even world, go into a global tailspin, you take action, fast. Nope, not Mike’s style. Let’s wait until the entire bottom drops out before we take action. When would have been a good time? Well if I was Mike I would have started making cuts this summer when gas prices went through the roof. I think if the governor would have at least made an attempt to cut back across the board 7-8 months ago we wouldn’t be in such a pickle right now.

It tells me something I have known about Mike, for a very long time;

He is an incompetent leader that is more concerned about paying back his contributors in no-bid contracts than helping the hardworking citizens of this state. It think it is grounds for impeachment leaving the taxpayers of this state holding the (empty) bag. Sad. Very sad.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re done. Next year, this same legislative body will be back here for our budget proposal for the next year which is 2011. It’s not that far away. They will begin with a structural deficit of $30 million,” the governor said.

And now I am wondering when Mayor Munson is going to wakeup from his deep sleep and take action. It’s no secret a big chunk of that budget comes from Sioux Falls so what is Northside Davey gonna do? Keep borrowing and spending on projects that are either unneeded or would have been paid for by the Feds? It seems Dave would prefer to hand his financial irresponsibility and massive debt service over to the next mayor and council.

Big government Republicans – scary stuff.

“You can eat all the meat, just leave me with the gristle.”

You know the cowboy hat trend? The Supersuckers started it, not a bunch of gay fashion designers in New York.

Forget everything you know about Rock & Roll. Forget about AC/DC, Sabbath, The Stooges, The Stones and Detroit rock gods The MC5. The Supersuckers embodied all of this in one single album.

I first heard this record when I was a lowly DJ at KAUR Augustana college radio, it changed my whole opinion about modern rock and fortified in me that you can be punk rock, but you can also be a good musician. A lot of people were taken back by the SS because of that. Unlike other bands on the Sub Pop label, they didn’t suck. Not only are their albums well produced, their live shows smoke.

The Supersuckers hold a special place in my heart, the first time I saw them live I got my front tooth knocked out. When I told Eddie Spaghetti (the lead singer) about it at another gig several years later, I told him he owed me something, he handed me a bumpersticker. Priceless.

I want to go over the tracklist of this album and give you my take;

  1. “Creepy Jackalope Eye” A song about our state myth.
  2. “Seventeen Poles” A song about rural teenage parties.
  3. “High Ya!” A song about Bob Newland’s favorite pastime.
  4. “On the Couch” A song about being lazy.
  5. “Clueless” Not sure?
  6. “Sugie” Again, brainfart.
  7. “Mudhead” The greatest SS song evah!
  8. “Gold Top” A song about the greatest electric geetar ever invented, the Les Paul.
  9. “How to Maximize Your Kill Count” A song that was banned after Columbine.
  10. “I Was Born Without a Spine” A song about politicians.
  11. “Glad Damn Glad” A song about being in a band . . . and the benefits.
  12. “She’s My Bitch” A song about why the Beatles suck. Because they truly do.
  13. “The Schmooze” A song about poser record producers.

If you are light at heart, don’t pick this album up. It is offensive and vile. It’s f’ing great!

SD is the Rushmore state . . . but what does that mean? We better advertise and let the rest of the country know.

I’m sure you noticed that Rounds didn’t make one single cut to tourism in his budget. His argument is tourism brings in $26 million to the state (I would like to know whose ass he pulled that number out of). For the sake of the argument, let’s suppose that’s true, but who’s to say if we cut the tourism budget or even did no advertising at all except on inexpensive websites, people wouldn’t come to visit our state anyway? I mean, how many people who take summer vacations don’t know where Mt. Rushmore is? If they don’t know, they don’t deserve to visit anyway.