Are South Dakota Republicans Like John Boehner Or Do They Have A Plan?

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner or one of his staffers send out the following inartful tweet.

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ #5pts4jobs → http://t.co/DR9MAb4X5d
— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) October 7, 2014

In fairness to Boehner, the tweet does contain a link not just five blank lines. I have to wonder, do South Dakota Republicans, who will likely control the governor's office, increase their margin in the state house of representatives and the state senate, have any plan for jobs or anything else? Keeping wages low doesn't count really count as a plan.

Chad Haber Becomes Twitter Officially Notorious

When the young'uns talk about romances, they tell me nothing matters until it's "Facebook official." As one who agrees with those who assert that Facebook is malware, I have never checked to see which of the young handholders in lust populating the school's hallways are official.

There seems to be another kind of social media official. For the purposes of this post, let's call it "Twitter Officially Notorious"; one gains this notoriety when one is worthy enough to get a parody account. (It's unclear if they become TONners once they gain such status. I will be applying for trademark status if no one else has)

South Dakota has had fake accounts for Kristi Noem and Governor Daugaard. The newest to merit such an account is Chad Haber, attorney general candidate. Congratulations Chad. I hope the tweets do you justice.

Those so inclined can follow ChadNotALawyerHaber @AttorneyGeneral.

Two quick observations,  Ididn't set up the account, and I'm surprised @AttorneyGneral was still available.

Has Anybody Else Noticed Some Republicans Are Getting A Little Testy Lately?

The first item for consideration is this Robert Skjonsberg tweet:

@People4Weiland @MikeChapman @RinoMikeSD You really want to push this, pal?
— Robert Skjonsberg (@RSkjonsberg) May 31, 2014

The next words after "pal" are usually "You wanna take this outside?" Since this is an online version of a prelude to a challenge, I'm guess that "taking it outside" will mean they'll move from Twitter to Facebook for the real fisticuffs. I am saddened by that possibility. Nothing is more fun than watching the equivalent of a drunk football player trying to hit the local smartass, but I have avoided Facebook religiously

Speaking of religon, there's this Reverend Steve Hickey effort to contain his exasperation.

Since RepHickey is NOT having a press conf he encourages SD media to meet up drink beer and dream up an SNL-style sketch of #sdsen craziness
— stevehickey (@stevehickey) May 30, 2014

First, this is what happens when parents political parties let their children United States Senate Candidates run with scissors hold press conferences and debates without adult supervision. Parents get angry and pastors tell people to start drinking. I am of an age that I remember pastors eschewing the recommending of drink to solve problems, and I grew up in a denomination that forbade alcohol, so Pastor Hickey's advice is a bit jarring. I was also of the belief that conservatives didn't want anyone telling the press what to write or how to write it, but I will not look for splinters while afflicted with a plank.

I also don't want anyone to stay unhappy for long. I think the following tweet is sardonic, so if morale is low, Republicans shouldn't schedule any meetings to fix it.

Apparently morale is low at the office, and the CEO thinks he can solve it by holding a 2-hour meeting about it next week.
— Meeting Boy (@MeetingBoy) May 31, 2014

The South Dakota Senate Campaign In 280 Characters Or Less*

It's promising to get ugly before Nelson even officially announces.

@ArgusMontgomery Oppo on @roundsforsenate & @rhodenforsenate #SDSEN fills a phonebook. Don't worry...
— RINO Mike (@RinoMikeSD) August 13, 2013

*Update: I suppose I should point out that correct grammar usage is fewer before someone calls me on it in comments. Less just seemed to fit better.

A Minor Musing Wherein I Ask Advice About Teaching

I'm getting ready for the upcoming school year. As always, I want students to learn to write more concisely. (Insert your own "Do as I say, not as I do joke here.).

This morning Alan Jacobs, a Baylor University professor, tweeted the following series that made me think about trying to use Twitter as a tool.

Trying to put complex ideas in a series of 140 character sentences requires careful word choices especially if one cannot use "2" for "to" or "b4" for "before." Jacobs illustrates that one can easily create a series of events that can become a paragraph. Certainly dealing with Pascal or reducing a key thinker's main idea to a tweet requires careful thought.

Further, Twitter seems to be growing as primary source of news. Major news sources tweet, post, and broadcast simultaneously. One can certainly gauge reactions to events by following trending hash tags.

On the other hand, most people seem to believe that Twitter is still reserved for status updates: "I'm watching Colin Cowherd on ESPNU, writing a blog post, and petting my cat." That perception will cause a few emails to be sent to the boss's office. Further, unless things have changed dramatically, web filters will block Twitter and getting anything unblocked takes God, Congress, and 47 scissors to cut the mountain of red tape. YouTube became available for teachers at my school last just last year.

So Jacobs makes a great point, but I'm left with questions. Are parents willing to accept their students using Twitter or do parents believe it's the ultimate time waster? Most importantly, is it worth the effort to get Twitter unblocked so that I can use it in the classroom?

I Respond To The Most Vapid Tweet In The History Of Twitter

When people care all things are possible.
— Mitzvah Circle (@MitzvahCircle) July 19, 2012

Facts That Prove The Above Tweet True

1. The Cubs will win the 2012 World Series.

2. No one will die tomorrow.

3. Ice cream, cookies, and bacon will be discovered to be healthy foods when eaten in excess.. (I don't know anyone who doesn't care about at least one of those great foods,)

4. Teenagers and their parents will never experience communication errors.

5. John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi will have a love child and name Rachel Rush Olbermann. The child will not have orange skin.

6. I would have the self control not to write a post about a vapid tweet. (If no one cares what I post about, this one probably doesn't count.)