Mr. Beck never disappoints with his love letters. One day he is photoshopping former Mayor Munson’s face on Dr. Suess’s Cat in the Hat, the next he is preparing a bed of roses for our current mayor, Mike Huether. (I skipped over all the BS about people parking boats on the street and the he said, she said stuff);
Civic gadfly I.L. Wiedermann, who sued to shut down the red-light cameras at 10th and Minnesota, thereby restoring motorists’ God-given right to veer into pedestrians’ path without getting caught or fined, has filed an ethics complaint against the city and Huether.
First off, I don’t think any citizen thinks it is their RIGHT to run a red light and hurt or kill someone. However, we do have the right to be lawfully served as individuals if we are accused of breaking the law. And that was the point of the lawsuit, and he prevailed, so it is time to STFU about the red light camera issue. The US Constitution is right, and you are wrong. Next topic please.
Their self-righteous cries to the contrary, this brouhaha is all about a simmering personal animosity toward Huether that is as deep as any I’ve seen in my decade in South Dakota – with the possible exception of that guy who used to be governor, and I don’t mean Mike Rounds.
You couldn’t be more wrong on this. I guess I don’t really think about Huether personally, never have. He would never be my friend, and I am sure he thinks the same about me. I also think a lot of SF residents think about him in the same way I do – he has made some good choices, and he has made some bad choices. Nothing personal. It is pretty obvious he has made some bad choices on the EC. Does that mean we should hate him? Hell no. He has been on top of trying to fix other problems in our city and I commend him 100%.
I think Beck is trying to stir the pot by turning the EC issue into a personal thing, and Mike has played that card to. Give me a F’ng break! Politicians make stupid decisions sometimes, that’s part of the bizzo. But to spite or hate them for it is just ignorant. What is even more ignorant is to accuse your readers of doing that.
Then you sit around with your finger up your ass wondering why subscriptions and advertising is down. Gee, I wonder why?
I rolled my eyes through that whole stupid article. And can we stop with the cutesy names the columnists use in their articles? “Best little city in America”, etc. blah blah blah.
Agreed. The A-L hasn’t seen a dime from me for quite some time; and seeing crap like this from their top management (online, for free) will help keep it that way.
Another thing this fool at the newspaper doesn’t understand that it is likely that the majority of people who read this rag may have not lived in Sioux Falls more than two or three or even four years. So many of his points would be irrelevant to most the readers.
I wonder if this Beck guy is the type who says to the hostess at a popular restaurant, “Hey, I work for the Argus Leader, do you know me? I’m famous!!”
The quote that bothered me the most –
But in barely 18 months in office, while earning generally high marks from most citizens, Huether has managed to elicit a level of personal venom from a cadre of political and business insiders that is rarely seen in our brand of pleasant prairie politics.
Keyword here is “insiders” because people on the inside know that the personal venom flows both ways. Say what you will about Munson but he wasnt out to crush anyone who opposed him, unlike this “pleasant prairie politician” we currently have running (clearing) City Hall
Apparently Beck isn’t interested as to the “why” people can’t stand this Mayor.
For starters, not even Janklow was slimy/pathetic enough to pretend cry when convenient or put his family in the process then whine about phantom attacks on them.
I, for one, agree with Beck. I hate huether and everything he stands for. I hope the events center fails for no other reason but to spite his arroganceahip. (not a word but someday it may be)
“The only way a reporter should look at a politician is down.” – H.L. Mencken
Randell, bubi, what’s with meek attitude? Where are the professional journalists in this country, much less this town?? Woodward and Berstein are rolling over in their graves and they’re still alive!
Maybe the level of rhetoric has gotten heated at times, but, in today’s society, that’s par for the course (try watching FOX news). But, that’s one of the gauntlets you must face as a public official. And, lest we forget, the mayor himself isn’t above snarkiness and over-the-top behavior himself (the reported closed door f-bombs and clearing the Carnegie Building – never heard about Munson doing those!!).
Real journalists would have done their own economic impact study instead of swallowing the numbers from the mayor’s handpicked group. Real journalists would have excoriated the mayor for having them thrown out of a public building. What are we worried about here, ad revenue?? You’re the only newspaper in the state’s largest city – where they gonna go?!?!?!?!? Sigh…
He wonders why people are spiteful towards Huether? Like I said last week, I know the reason Owen was fired, and let’s put it to you in another way, It would be like your parents disowning you for forgetting to take out the garbage when you were 12 years old, except you did take out the garbage, but not in the way they wanted you to 🙂
I have not bought an AL paper since Robert Morast left. The man at least wrote interesting articles and you either loved him or hated him but much, much better than this pathetic old lady style of writing that makes Sioux Falls sound like Mayberry. Either report the news or at least write an article that is not intended for old ladies at the nursing home that smell like lavender and rotten eggs. The Argus Leader is not even fit enough to be used on the bottom of a bird cage.
“that smell like lavender and rotten eggs.”
LMAO!
Morast hated me. I made fun of him constantly on my old blog, and on this one. He even skewered me a bit in his final column. He did write some interesting stuff, but he didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground when it came to music.
http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2008/01/another-resignation-at-the-best-little-city-in-america-times/