The night in 1983 before Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was popped for heroin possession at Rapid City Regional Airport he was partying with us at Durty Nelly's in the basement of the Franklin Hotel in Deadwood.
Kennedy sat with Pam Pearson Cleveland, Shelley, my wife at the time and myself at a booth near where Bill Walsh was tending his own bar: catholics on parade. Bobby bet me ten dollars I couldn't eat a packet of saltine crackers in less than a minute without drinking. He laughed so hard while i tried to get those crackers down he spit beer across the table. I lost and bought the next round.
Jo Roebuck Pearson, an heir to the Sears retail enterprise, her husband, Bill Walsh, Orville "French" Bryan, his wife, Taffy Tucker and another couple, the Mike Trucanos, if memory serves, had recently bought the Franklin. French had been Mayor of Deadwood for a time; Walsh had left the priesthood to marry. Trucano had the coin-op monopoly in the Black Hills. He'd go on to reap a fortune after gambling came to the Gulch. Pam later divorced then married into the Republican Kirby family of Sioux Falls.
It took the lobbying of Republican Lt. Governor Walter Dale Miller, Democrats Bill Walsh and Tom Blair to bring legal gaming to Deadwood to finance historic preservation; but, Republican greed has turned it into the prostituted cultural wasteland that it is today. At least a decade ago the Franklin sold to the Silverado group and is now crumbling under deferred maintenance.
Today, “Five Dollar Bill” Walsh is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a doddering old man.
Billie Sutton was a fart in a haboob who bought Susan Wismer's mailing list and bombed my inbox begging for money. The South Dakota Democratic Party has apparently learned nothing from the failure of a cowboy running for Montana's At-large congressional seat. Primaries are expensive and allow far too much mischief: since turnout is so pathetic especially during midterms the drain-circling South Dakota Democratic Party should end them and choose candidates at the state conventions.
No South Dakota Democrat will get a dime from me until the county chairs are filled and unless Democrats weave cannabis into their platform at their state convention and arch-conservatives run for offices outside the Greedy Old Party it's curtains for SDDP in 2020, too.
Kennedy sat with Pam Pearson Cleveland, Shelley, my wife at the time and myself at a booth near where Bill Walsh was tending his own bar: catholics on parade. Bobby bet me ten dollars I couldn't eat a packet of saltine crackers in less than a minute without drinking. He laughed so hard while i tried to get those crackers down he spit beer across the table. I lost and bought the next round.
It took the lobbying of Republican Lt. Governor Walter Dale Miller, Democrats Bill Walsh and Tom Blair to bring legal gaming to Deadwood to finance historic preservation; but, Republican greed has turned it into the prostituted cultural wasteland that it is today. At least a decade ago the Franklin sold to the Silverado group and is now crumbling under deferred maintenance.
Today, “Five Dollar Bill” Walsh is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a doddering old man.
Democrats have long taken a leadership role out here in Western South Dakota. You only have to look at people like Ted Hustead and his spouse, who founded Wall Drug. They were strong Democrats. [column, Bill Walsh]Uh, Bill? When Ted Hustead the Elder founded Wall Drug in 1931 the Democrats were the party of racism and segregation. The Husteads helped to unleash predator priests on American Indians, fergodssake!
I could go on, Mr. Editor, but I do welcome you to the state of Democrats, Republicans and independents. I also challenge you to support all three parties as without them, western South Dakota will never achieve full economic independence and development, but will continue to be dependent on the federal government for economic progress. [column, Bill Walsh]Jesus F. Christ, Bill: independents aren't affiliated with any party but the Libertarian Party of South Dakota could very well destroy any chance of a viable two-party system in my home state.
Billie Sutton was a fart in a haboob who bought Susan Wismer's mailing list and bombed my inbox begging for money. The South Dakota Democratic Party has apparently learned nothing from the failure of a cowboy running for Montana's At-large congressional seat. Primaries are expensive and allow far too much mischief: since turnout is so pathetic especially during midterms the drain-circling South Dakota Democratic Party should end them and choose candidates at the state conventions.
No South Dakota Democrat will get a dime from me until the county chairs are filled and unless Democrats weave cannabis into their platform at their state convention and arch-conservatives run for offices outside the Greedy Old Party it's curtains for SDDP in 2020, too.
Come join the Libertarian party Larry. You would be very welcomed.
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard watching the SDDP implode and if i lived in South Dakota the LP makes sense. I like you and Gideon but i can't stand Bob Newland and Devin Saxon.
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