BlogNetNews is a feed aggregator on steroids that also uses some kind of super secret algorithm to rank the “influence” of the various blogs in their respective categories. The rankings are released weekly and you can pretty much count on either the War College, SD Watch, or Madville Times finishing on top for the week in the South Dakota Blog category with me somewhere at the bottom.

Well something must have gone wrong with BlogNetNews’ algorithm this week (man hackers are expensive, thank goodness for that rebate check) as the screenshot below shows.

I have no delusions of grandeur nor does this mean anything in the overall scheme of things but what the heck, it is nice to know that there is a change of seasons in hell from time to time…

Chad Schuldt, of Clean Cut Kid fame, was charged with Grand Theft for stealing $200,000 from Obama campaign political consultant Hildebrand Tewes Consulting Inc.

Chad Schuldt, 37, stole nearly $200,000 from his former employer by overpaying himself, misusing a company credit card and causing federal tax penalties, according to a Sioux Falls Police affidavit for an arrest warrant.

Schuldt pleaded not guilty earlier this month to a two-count information charging him with grand theft. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The old adage that the wheels of justice turn slowly surely hold true here as this story first broke 9 months ago and was all the buzz in the blogosphere but pretty much no where else until now.

UPDATE: This morning’s Argus has more details on what Schuldt has been accused of that up until now had only been speculated on and the possible reason why charges have now been filed 9 months after the fact.

According to the affidavit, the accountant found that from April 2005 to June 2007:
Schuldt overpaid himself $28,750;

issued $30,560 in cash advances;

# made $9,988 in unauthorized purchases at hotels, restaurants and retailers using the firm’s credit card.

Schuldt is accused of embezzling $69,298, but the total loss to Hildebrand Tewes Consulting is calculated at $198,146, including IRS penalties, professional fees and other costs.

Schuldt admitted to the thefts in e-mails with Hildebrand and said he would cooperate with the investigation. But police said Schuldt did not respond to their interview requests as of Dec. 17 and he had made no attempt to repay.

Yesterday, we got a mention from Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post , who wrote an article asking for the best state political blogs. Lo and behold, Badlands Blue got named as the best political blog in South Dakota.

Badlands Blue??? Feel free to comment on this among yourselves.

In other words, according to the Rapid City Journal’s blog, Mt. Blogmore, Rep. Herseth Sandlin is an extremist, Bush-hating, terrorist-loving librul because she voted against granting immunity to big telecommunications companies for past warrantless wiretapping? Because she voted in support of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution? Amazing.

And while I definitely agree with Lowell’s criticism of the Herseth-Sandlin hit piece and with his point that we should not be granting immunity for past warrantless wiretaps, I have to wonder where his anger was just a few weeks ago when Tim Johnson broke ranks with Democrats and voted for similar FISA changes that included the same retroactive Telcom immunity that he is now defending Herseth-Sandlin for not allowing.

Selective memory?

All the back and forth used to be funny, now it is just sad…

That same Argus Leader today called out the blog for a post this morning that gloated over their successful stalking campaign and all but took credit for these tactics forcing Steve Kirby to stay out of the race. But unlike the Argus which relented and changed the headline, Badlands Blue pulled the post completely.

Who said a Virginian with only one visit to the state was out of touch with South Dakotans?

Hat tip to PP over at the SDWC whom has the sorted details including the text of the now MIA blog post.

UPDATE: How hard can it be? Todd Epp asks that question in regards to blogging about politics in a state that you don’t reside. He has started his latest blog project, Tidewater Blue, a blog all about Virginia politics written by someone that should know, A South Dakotan with 3 or 4 visits to the state.

- Why is Virginia based blogger Lowell Feld one minute heralding Johnson’s seemingly insurmountable lead in the polls then ripping someone that can only be labeled a possible challenger the next?

- Why is this SDDP funded blog spending, from my count, 9 posts as of this writing on their front page alone dedicated strictly to ripping one non-challenger while completely ignoring the 3 announced challengers Joel Dykstra, Sam Kephart, and Bert Tollefson?

- Why is there so much venom directed towards Kirby that they have even resorted to ripping local Johnson supporters who question their tactics?

- Why worry about any Republican challenger until after the primary vote determines who the GOP opponent actually will be? I am sure they could find another Tim Johnson or Stephanie Herseth Sandlin press release to post in the interim.

I have no idea why the writers over at Badlands Blue and by extension the SDDP are so afraid of Steve Kirby’s possible run against Tim Johnson but all the attention aimed at Kirby makes one wonder what is going on. Are they starting to see flashbacks to 2004 and Tom Daschle? Maybe so but from what I’ve seen, Steve Kirby has no where near the political resume that John Thune did so again, why are they so afraid?

Maybe we’ll find out Monday after Kirby’s email announcement (does that sound like a serious challenger?) or maybe not…

What nonsense. South Dakota Democratic Party money is being used to host a website that criticizes a loyal South Dakota Democrat who has worked for the party for years, who has taken all sorts of public heat for the party, and who has staunchly defended Senator Johnson since before Lowell Feld knew how to say “Pierre” (and who doesn’t get paid for it).

These comments — and Lowell’s tacit approval of them — prove that the state Dems need to reclaim their own blog. Paying someone from Virginia to host a discussion that publicly criticizes a loyal South Dakota Democrat is insulting and counterproductive. Lowell Feld, NotPP, and Barely40Dem can wage all the personal attacks they want on Todd Epp, but not on the Dems’ dime.

But, if you listen to just about everyone else, the opposite might just be the case. Not only is full on Johnson supporter Epp criticizing the tactic, just about every South Dakota blog on both sides of the isle is following suit and condemning the campaign for ripping Steve Kirby despite the fact he has yet to even declare he is running.

Ok, so you might think that it’s no big deal, who reads the blogs anyhow? Most people don’t even know that the Johnson attack dogs have latched onto Kirby and before today I might have agreed. A funny thing happened this morning that might give this story just a bit more pub as the infamous South Dakota liberal rag, aka the Argus Leader, has also penned an editorial criticizing Johnson for going negative.

As much as we might have hoped that the days of negative campaigning were behind us, that clearly is not the case. Every election cycle, it seems, is earlier and dirtier than the last.

And while we would have hoped Sen. Tim Johnson would swim against that rising tide of negativity, his campaign for re-election already has been part of problem.

While the Argus does go out of their way to show that their liberal leaning hasn’t been totally forgotten when they commend Johnson for asking that the site responsible for the smears be taken down, it is noteworthy that they at least mentioned this story. The Argus editorial now takes it out of the blogosphere and puts it squarely into the homes of many South Dakotans that might have never known that this was happening.

It is also noteworthy that while much of the controversy over the Kirby smear centers around the fact that he has yet to even announce his intentions to run against Johnson, it is being reported that his intentions should finally become known when he plans on making an announcement of some sort on Monday. If the claws have been brought out and sharpened before Kirby is even officially in the race, just imagine how ugly this might get if as is expected, he does decide to run.

Johnson has built up quite a bit of political capitol over the past year with most South Dakotans after his illness and has been allowed to campaign without much criticism from those that have announced their candidacy (Joel Dykstra who? ), but with this latest tactic has he made it ok for his challengers to finally take off the gloves? If so, hold onto your hats as what was once thought to be a somewhat boring and successful re-election campaign for Johnson could now be much more interesting.

There are so many pundits, politicians, and experts in the field of education – each with their own focus or philosophy. In this new blog, my focus will be to share my ideas, dreams, concerns, musings, goals, love and passion about issues relating to education in our great community and school district in Watertown, South Dakota, as well as discuss the ramifications of state and federal educational issues on us at the local level. This will all be provided from my perspective as a Watertown School Board Member. Input from parents, community members, educators, legislators, other policy makers, or “anyone” is welcome.

Good luck with your blog Fred and welcome to the blogosphere!