Rte 90 Run-N-Gun Tour cont. (at warp speed): In the last entry, I forgot to mention we stopped at the world famous — or at least pretty famous in South Dakota — Wall Drug. This has morphed from a small town pharmacy, to a rather extensive set of tourist stores with all kinds of Wall Drug memorabilia, arts and crafts, and the like. People were here from all over the country, so we walked about passing out a good number of campaign cards. I talked with people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida… In fact, an elderly man from Florida said he was absolutely sick about our federal deficit (almost $13 trillion now). I said our platform plank in this area is: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone in D.C. with a calculator, that worked.” He smiled… In Mitchell, South Dakota, we met with Nick and Laura Baus. Great couple. They have a number of children, including a foster child they adopted six years ago. He has “verbal aprexia,” which is basically slowness in speech. His birth mother had been mentally handicapped, said Nick, and hadn’t been very conversant with the child early on. This led to the speech problem. Both Nick and Laura have been very patient with this child, as they laboriously work to help him improve his speech pattern. Both Nick and Laura said that in their teens, they both had a child (from different relationships) that they gave up for adoption. Now, reciprocally, they wanted to help in a different capacity. Note: Nick is very pro-life, and noted that we shouldn’t be surprised that there is a massive attack against the babies in the womb, because, after all, it is children that we can learn so much from. Jesus once said that you have to become like a child in order to enter the kingdom.”
30 minutes to doomsday
Rte 90 Run-N-Gun Tour cont.: We stopped at the National Park Service’s Minuteman Missile Headquarters just outside Cactus Flat, South Dakota. Among the displays here, was the simulated flight course of a Minuteman nuclear missile from southern South Dakota to Moscow. It would take 30 minutes. Chilling. At the height of the Cold War, there were 150 Minuteman missile sites in South Dakota. Each missile could deliver a payload equal to 60% of all bombs dropped during World War II… We then headed east to Murdo (pop. 550, including this one poet guy.) While I was passing out campaign literature on the street, I came across M.J. McMillan. He read the campaign card about me being a “common man,” and replied: “Wow, that’s what I write about.” Turns out he’s written two books of poetry titled: Common Man Poetry and Common Man Poetry 2. He recited a short, four-line poem that’s essence was that one can experience sunshine, or rain, dependent, not necessarily on the weather, but rather your perspective. Common sense… After putting up one more flier on Murdo’s downtown community bulletin board, we headed to Pesho, S.D. and then Chamberlain, S.D. where we passed out yet more campaign literature. One man-on-the-street said running for president must be some undertaking. “Yeah, it’s an uphill thing,” I joked. “And we’re not even sure if we’ve gotten to the hill yet.” But we are sure that we got to Mitchell, S.D. by sunset. Note: I just read where China’s one-child policy has been in effect for 30 years now, resulting in some 130 million abortions. Because many of the babies being killed are girls, some are calling it ‘gendercide.’
Hell, with the fire burned out
We stopped in rural Wasta, South Dakota, where we spent the day at the Trax Ranch. Pat Trax, with a group of other local ranchers, are fighting monopolies by four major Packing Companies “who control 80% of the slaughter industry,” said Pat. He told me the Obama administration is “right minded” in some areas in respect to fighting this type of monopolistic control. And he said the administration has been fairly good in general about helping the small family ranchers and farmers… While in Wasta, I also interviewed Ray Olsen, who had been on his ranch for three generations. His grandparents had come from Norway and established the beginnings of the ranch here in 1889 (you can still see wagon ruts nearby from the early settlers heading across). The family originally homesteaded here on 160 acres, under the Homestead Act signed by President Lincoln. Olsen added his would be the last generation on the land because, in part, it was becoming too hard for small ranchers to make a living off the land… We then headed further east, just skirting the “Badlands” of South Dakota. It is writtten the topography here is like: “Hell, with the fire burned out.”
Cold War era, and ‘war’ in general
We stopped in Rapid City, South Dakota, where they have bronze satues of many of the U.S. presidents on various street corners in the downtown area. My in-laws are here from New Zealand and are currently traveling with us in another motor home. They took our kids down to see Mt. Rushmore, just south of Rapid City. I stayed behind to go to the Bargain Barn Automotive Repair Shop (Have I mentioned it’s a low budget campaign?) to have our tail pipe and muffler replaced… This particular weekend in Rapid City, the Civic Center was displaying a replica of part of the Berlin Wall, a symbol from the Cold War era. We then headed east on Rte. 90 to the South Dakota Air & Speace Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Here, too, were many reminders of the Cold War, and war in general. This included the mamoth B-1B Bomber standing at the entrance of the museum and about 15 other older planes (Corsair II, Skymaster, Thunderstreak, Sabre…) around the periphery. Another of the planes was the same model that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima… Just as we were leaving the parking lot of the museum, another motor home pulled up beside us. I struck up a conversation with Tom Sitler, and his wife, from Reading, PA. He said he was recently in Hamburg, PA, doing volunteer work for Advent World, which trains Christian missionary pilots. Tom had done all the wiring for the runway lights there. Note: I recently saw a bumper sticker that read: Who Would Jesus Bomb? Note 2: Another Cold War is currently playing out in the Middle East. The threat of a nuclearized Iran.
‘pro-motorcyle’
Route 90 Run-N-Gun Campaign Tour continued: We headed into southern South Dakota where we first stopped in Spear Fish. The city limits sign has a picture of (that’s right) a fish with a spear through it. Clear enough. I put up a flier in the town grocery store, then Jonathan and I walked about a bit, including passing out some campaign cards to patrons in the Common Grounds Coffee Shop. Then it was on to Sturgis, SD, where the week before there had been the annual (and massive) Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This year it was estimated there were some 600,000 bikers. We came across a few stragglers, but for the most part the bikers had cleared out. I stopped in at the Motorcycle Museum here, then walked about town passing out more campaign cards. Every chance I could, I said I was “pro-motorcycle.” Well, when in Rome… Then it was on to Rapid City, South Dakota. Note: We are asking our supporters to go about their town(s) posting and passing out handouts in as many places as possible. This is our answer to the big money campaigns. Grassroots.
Butch Cassidy and, well, Harry Longabaugh?
The I-90 Run-N-Gun Tour continues: While still in Wyoming, I noticed the tail pipe on our campaign vehicle was hanging by a thread. I went to Nappa for some muffler tape. I’ve gotta be the only presidential candidate buying muffler tape. And that populist appeal goes on, and on… We stopped in Sundance, Wyoming, right near the eastern border of that state. This is where Harry Longabaugh spent 18 months in jail for “horse rustling.” When Longabaugh got out, he helped form the Wild Bunch Gang, which then set out to establish the longest string of bank robberies in Old West history. Because of his time in the Sundance jail, Harry Longabaugh was dubbed: “The Sundance Kid.” Which was probably good. I mean, how much draw would a movie title like: Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh have had, huh? Note: Speaking of crime (sort of), we have an extensive position paper on how to cut crime dramatically in this country (‘horse rustling’ notwithstanding). Note 2: While in downtown Sundance, I walked about passing out campaign cards to people on the street, then stopped in at the Aro Restaurant (town hub), where I put up a campaign card on the notice board and got a cup of coffee to go. While waiting, I noticed a sign behind the cash register. “Warm beer, lousy food, terrible service… Have a nice day!” Yet another five-star “average Joe” restaurant.
Street Fair
We have headed east out of Billings, Montana, on our I-90 Run-N-Gun Tour. (I realize this is a bit of a departure from our Moseying in Montana Tour, but the polls are showing we’re behind — and no one else has even declared yet!) Yesterday we stopped in Sheridan, Montana, where I lifted some weights at The Body Shop Gym, then the family and I headed downtown for a Street Fair with, it seemed like, a couple thousand people. Liz, the kids and I walked about passing out a lot of “average Joe” campaign cards, and talked politics. (Incidentally, we urge our supporters to get creative with making up some “average Joe” cards yourself and stump in your respective areas — and beyond.) At the street fair, I got in a conversation with Alex Lee, who is running for City Council in Sheridan. He said his biggest plank is a one cent tax on everything sold in Sheridan, which he estimates will generate $5 million a year for local roads, a senior center, and other city services. Shortly after talking to Mr. Lee, I found myself in a conversation with a couple from Clovis, NM, who were vacationing here. They said they’d like to see a simplified tax system where a certain percentage was taken from every dollar they made (with no tax loopholes, etc.). They weren’t adverse to paying taxes. “We are willing to pay taxes for the privilege of living in this country,” the husband said. Note: We propose a simplified, progressive tax with an easy to decipher one-page form.
Log Cabins, and such
Montana Moseying Campaign Tour cont: We stood in solidarity with a group protesting in front of an abortion clinic in Billings. (I told the Lewiston-Argus newspaper in Lewiston, Montana, several campaigns back, that as president I’d be protesting abortion on the streets as well.) Afterwards, we met with some of the pro-life group for coffee at the Log Cabin Bakery here. Move over Mr. Lincoln… We then headed southeast through the Crow Reservation, which includes the Little Big Horn Battle site… We got to Sheridan, Wyoming (voted the country’s best “western town”), at sunset. Note: Our Native American position paper was recently featured in a Cengage Learning college text book. Note 2: The Billings Gazette noted that Social Security is now 75 years old. Benefits are currently being paid to 53 million people, with an average monthly pay out of $1,026 a month. The SS Fund is in trouble because, in part, the government has continually borrowed money from the fund to finance various government projects, including waging war, according to a Gazzette op-ed piece. It is our belief, the SS Fund should be a “lock box” that the government can’t borrow from.
Mustangs
We went to a Billings, Montana, Mustang game with some friends. The Mustangs are a farm team of the Cincinnati Reds. (And no, they didn’t ask me to throw out the first pitch. I’m starting to get a complex.) For the first three innings, I walked about the stadium (it seats 3,500) passing out campaign cards. One Mustang fan, tongue-in-cheek, said he just heard that there was a new proposal for term limits. “Congresspeople get two terms. One in Congress — and one in prison,” he laughed, sort of… Earlier in the week, I talked at length with a man in Billings, who used to work for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska. He said a key to healthy forests is regular selective cutting, to cut down on the intensity, and frequency, of forest fires, insect infestations, and the like. For more on our position on the environment…
right out of Mayberry
Having ended our Roaming Wyoming Campaign Tour, we have embarked on our Moseying in Montana Campaign Tour. (Notice, not only the consonance in ‘Moseying in Montana,’ but the implied western theme as well. And I even do my own speech writing, too.) Anyway… Crossing into Montana on I-120, we stopped first in Belfry, Montana. Belfry High School’s mascot (What else?): a bat. In fact, there’s a big black one, wings extended (the whole thing), hanging ominously in front of the school. In Belfry, I also passed on a campaign card to Earl Black who runs the town’s one-pump service station. It’s a throwback to, say, Mayberry. The services station has a small bay, air for town kids’ bicycles and no snacks inside. Earl said this little “Mom & Pop” station is having trouble anymore competing with nearby truck stops, convenient store gas stations, and the like. I paid for the gas, then offered Earl an extra five dollars — as a donation to help keep him going. Note: We do that periodically at small town “Mom & Pop” places (service stations, hardware stores, barber shops…), because we think it was these small stores, these small family farms, that was once the backbone of America. And should be again. See our position on this…