“May you live in interesting times” – Chinese proverb
Well, we certainly do!
I’ve always thought of this expression as a blessing. You know, like how when you discover a new tv series or something and it’s very interesting? Not boring.
But now, after our world has revealed itself to be utterly corrupted and FUBAR’d (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition), I’m not so sure “living in interesting times” isn’t a curse. Frankly, I miss the simpler times (to me, the 1980’s represent Peak America), when there seemed to be solid ground to stand on. When your average conservative believed that at least some of the people we elect, and whose salaries we fund with our confiscated taxes (Yes, taxation is theft. Just try to get the IRS to send you back your own money when you discover you have overpaid your taxes, sometime. They don’t respond; you can’t charge them interest or penalties; it may take months or years, or you may never get it back. But, if some bureaucrat decides you have underpaid your taxes, they can show up to your home and shoot you!) https://www.businessinsider.com/irs-hiring-special-agents-prepared-use-deadly-force-2023-4
actually care about the plight of the average American citizen.
Yes, we now officially live in “interesting times”, and it sucks. A fella can’t keep track of all the ways our freedoms, liberties and mores are being undermined by people and groups more powerful than us.
This week’s episode is focused on the latest flareup (that will surely be ignored by 99% of the public, sadly) emanates from a source that many readers of this Stack are familiar with - the Minnehaha County Commission. The current regime is in lame-duck mode, as long-time Commissioner Jean Bender is retiring to be (hopefully) replaced by young patriot Cole Heisey in January 2025, changing the balance of power to be (hopefully) more responsive to We the People in all the issues that affect the taxpayers, voters and citizens of Minnehaha County. By the way, these 3 groups are by and large separate non-mingling clusters of people.
It’s kinda weird when you think about it. We have tax-payers who don’t vote, voters who don’t pay taxes, and citizens who do neither. I would suspect that the 3rd category is larger than our Founding Fathers would be comfortable with.
Interesting times….
Anywho, I recently discovered whilst in a conversation with one of our current commissioners that he believed now, right now, is a fine time to put forth an idea that has been the longtime dream of a certain Average Joe; an idea that I would bet good money no normal person outside of civic government knows anything about whatsoever, or ever will. This idea is the epitome of the word esoteric. The few politics-obsessed people I’ve polled about this issue have, like myself, expressed nearly complete ignorance.
Even the name sounds inscrutable: Home Rule Charter.
Sounds like something from beer league softball.
You can Google it , & end up just as befuddled. And since South Dakota patriots are already overloaded with threats coming our way, from the Left & Moderate RINOs, this Homerulecharter business seems like just another mosquito to swat.
But it's bigger than that.
In my last post I mentioned the strategy of “Flooding the Zone”, and made the analogy of all of these threats coming at us as impending meteor strikes. But a more relevant metaphor today is the apocalyptic mosquito invasion that has overwhelmed every single outdoor space in Eastern South Dakota this past month.
We just can’t get any relief from these pests.
Let’s take a peek at what the primary sponsor of this scheme, our very own elitist self-appointed “fixer of local government” sioufallsjoe.com has to say on his blogsite>>>>
In case you missed it, here’s the juicy part: “Voters are not well-positioned to discern who would be best qualified to perform technical supervisory jobs like treasurer, register of deeds or auditor.”
And here we get to the crux of the matter. Behind all the jargon about “local control” and “more efficient government”, there lies the truth of their motivations: certain County Commissioners are trying to take away the voters’ ability to have a say in our local governments.
This Homerulecharter is the opposite of “democracy”, my friends. It decreases the citizens’ level of influence, consolidates power to a small cabal of five who only need three for a majority vote. It also creates more bureaucrats for us taxpayers to have to deal with. By their very nature, bureaucrats are antithetical to the Will of the People, as they by law only answer to someone else in government, not the citizen who pays the taxes that pays their salary, perks and benefits.
After the Communist Party took control of the Soviet Union, they set about creating the most brutal bureaucracy the world had ever seen; one that completely voided any concern for the welfare of the People.
Here’s an example of the top-down strategies employed by the Communists in 1935 Soviet Union>>>
“This commission laid down formal patterns of administrative structure, reformed existing bureaucratic practices, fixed levels of staffing, standardized systems of job classification, and eliminated unnecessary functions and staff. The inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance ensured that the commission’s general policies were carried out in the ministries. The commission itself remained under the close supervision of the Council of People’s Commissars to ensure that it complied with party directives, and the commission’s members were appointed directly by the council.” -- https://www.britannica.com/topic/public-administration/The-Soviet-Union
I’m sure we all I agree that we need a lot LESS Soviet-style Communism in America today.
A lot LESS appointing of so-called “experts” (hello Dr. Fauci) to lord over us.
A lot LESS arrogance from our elected officials.
A lot MORE accountability & respect for the patriots who daily contribute to the ordered functioning of our society.
To be fair to one of the sponsors of this resolution’s on the Commission,Dean Karsky, I reached out to him yesterday with a few questions about this >>>
I have yet to receive any response.
So, I am compelled to ascertain my own answers to these questions.
Homerulecharter will save us taxpayers no money, nor make our lives any easier, & will do even more harm to our diminishing trust in our institutions.
It's a LOSE LOSE LOSE proposition. For us anyway.
If passed, this complete overhaul of our local government will benefit a very select few worthies who obviously want to control even more aspects of our lives, in the largest county in South Dakota. The covid years provided a stark example of how consolidated power can ruin the lives of Americans. We remember well how Fauci and his ilk took it upon themselves to dictate how every aspect of our daily lives should be lived. Never again!
Finally, the 2 instigators of this bill, Kippley & Karsky, have taken pains to assure us that this effort HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH their previous attempts to stifle duly-elected Patriot - and hero to many- Leah Anderson. Me thinks they doth protest too much.
To our County Commissioners I offer this message: We see what you're trying to do, and make no mistake, we will not stand for it.
Any attempt to remove Leah from her position as our County Auditor during her lawfully allotted term will be met with stern resistance.
I call on all of my fellow patriots to show up to next Tuesday's Commission meeting & make know your convictions, & flood their Zone by calling (605) 367-4206 as many times as you possibly can.
It’s our turn to be the mosquitos.