Native GOP Candidate Challenges S.D. Congresswoman
© Indian Country Today February 28, 2006. All Rights Reserved
Posted: February 28, 2006
by: The Associated Press
By Carson Walker -- Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - An American Indian who is chairman of the Shannon County Republican Party says he plans to seek the GOP nomination for U.S. House and challenge U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.
Bruce Whalen of Pine Ridge said Feb. 7 he's in the early stages of the campaign and believes it's what he should do. ''We're going to see how this is going to look and then we're going to get about the work to win,'' he said in a telephone interview.
Whalen, 43, grew up in Pine Ridge, moved to Utah as a teen and returned to South Dakota in 1999 to raise his family. He works for the Oglala Sioux Tribe as coordinator of its judiciary committee.
Whalen said when he was living in Utah, he realized the Republican Party more closely mirrored his traditional Lakota values than the Democratic Party: respect for life, limited government, sovereignty and local control. ''There's a lot more people around here that are seeing that point of view,'' he said.
Whalen lost a bid in 2002 for tribal council and was unsuccessful in 2004 in his campaign for the state House of Representatives. Whalen rallied Indian support for Republican John Thune in his 2004 victory over former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Randy Frederick of Hayti, South Dakota GOP chairman, said Whalen has done more to advance his campaign than any other Republican who has indicated an interest.
''At this point I'm not aware of anyone else, although it's still a wide-open field,'' he said. And Whalen is interested in supporting urban issues, such as funding for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, which would help Sioux Falls, and other issues that affect everyone, such as health care an education, Frederick said.
''Anyone who thinks Bruce is running on a single issue is badly mistaken,'' he said.
Whalen said issues important to Indians will play prominently in his campaign. He said what sets him apart from Herseth is his background. ''The most glaring difference is I come from one of the poorest counties in the nation. I understand poverty firsthand,'' Whalen said.
He also has one child in college and two preschoolers, so education is another major concern, he said. Whalen said he wants to make sure the federal government carries through with its financial commitments to tribes for services such as police protection so the business community can thrive.
True economic growth will only come through fostering private enterprise, he said. ''There's businesses that want to come into the agency,'' Whalen said. ''They're saying, 'How are you going to protect us?''
Russ Levsen, Herseth's press secretary, said several Republicans have indicated an interest in challenging her but only now has someone clearly indicated an intention to run.
''I think that's a reflection that Democrats, Republicans and Independents believe Congresswoman Herseth is doing a good job for the state,'' he said.
Whalen is the second Indian to run for the state's only House seat. Terry Begay of Volin is running as a Libertarian. He was on the South Dakota ballot for the House in 2002 and 2004 as an independent.
The Nuts And Bolts Of terrorism
This is off the topic for “Native Unity” but I have been searching for a basic understanding of the inner workings of fundamentalist Islamic Jihadist groups like the Taliban. Think I may have found a part of the answer in a conversational dialogue I would like to share with Native Unity readers. It is from a 2003 novel – “Liberty” by Stephen Coonts. The following passage has been edited for length and content.
A former Soviet KGB agent is discussing the war on terrorism with an American admiral.
"Islamic terrorists can be placed in three general categories. The foot soldiers are recruited from refugee camps and poor villages throughout the Arab world. They know little or nothing of the western world. They are the shock troops and suicide commandos who smite the Israelis and murder tourists in the Arab world. They speak only Arabic. They blend in quite well in Arab society but are essentially unable to function outside of it. These are troops that bin Laden and his ilk train as Islamic warriors in Afghanistan and Libya and Iraq.
“The second category, if you will, are Arabs with better educations, usually literate, some even possess a technical skill. The fundamentalists actively recruit these people, appeal to their religious sensitivities, wish to convert them to their perverted view of Islam. Since these people have often lived outside the Arab world, they can move freely in western society. These people are dangerous. They are the ones who hijacked the airlines that crashed into the World Trade Center.
“The third category of terrorists can be thought of as the generals, Bin Laden and his chief lieutenants. Financiers, bankers, technical advisers, and so forth. These people are Muslims. For whatever reason, terrorism appeals to their ethnic and religious view of the world.
“And there is a fourth category. Few of these people are Arabs, few are Muslims. They see profit in terrorism. Some of them take pleasure in the pain terrorists inflict, for every reason under the sun. These people are enemies of America, enemies of western civilization.
“I came to talk to you about one of America’s many enemies – a former ------- general. He doesn’t hate America, he loves money. A few weeks ago he sold four missile warheads to a wealthy Arab terrorist for two million dollars.”
A man like the above arms merchant really does exist and supposedly is or was living in the UAE. I checked him out on the Internet the other day.
Can fundamentalist Islamic terrorism exist without the interaction of these four groups?-b.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
Posted: February 28, 2006
by: The Associated Press
By Carson Walker -- Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - An American Indian who is chairman of the Shannon County Republican Party says he plans to seek the GOP nomination for U.S. House and challenge U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.
Bruce Whalen of Pine Ridge said Feb. 7 he's in the early stages of the campaign and believes it's what he should do. ''We're going to see how this is going to look and then we're going to get about the work to win,'' he said in a telephone interview.
Whalen, 43, grew up in Pine Ridge, moved to Utah as a teen and returned to South Dakota in 1999 to raise his family. He works for the Oglala Sioux Tribe as coordinator of its judiciary committee.
Whalen said when he was living in Utah, he realized the Republican Party more closely mirrored his traditional Lakota values than the Democratic Party: respect for life, limited government, sovereignty and local control. ''There's a lot more people around here that are seeing that point of view,'' he said.
Whalen lost a bid in 2002 for tribal council and was unsuccessful in 2004 in his campaign for the state House of Representatives. Whalen rallied Indian support for Republican John Thune in his 2004 victory over former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Randy Frederick of Hayti, South Dakota GOP chairman, said Whalen has done more to advance his campaign than any other Republican who has indicated an interest.
''At this point I'm not aware of anyone else, although it's still a wide-open field,'' he said. And Whalen is interested in supporting urban issues, such as funding for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, which would help Sioux Falls, and other issues that affect everyone, such as health care an education, Frederick said.
''Anyone who thinks Bruce is running on a single issue is badly mistaken,'' he said.
Whalen said issues important to Indians will play prominently in his campaign. He said what sets him apart from Herseth is his background. ''The most glaring difference is I come from one of the poorest counties in the nation. I understand poverty firsthand,'' Whalen said.
He also has one child in college and two preschoolers, so education is another major concern, he said. Whalen said he wants to make sure the federal government carries through with its financial commitments to tribes for services such as police protection so the business community can thrive.
True economic growth will only come through fostering private enterprise, he said. ''There's businesses that want to come into the agency,'' Whalen said. ''They're saying, 'How are you going to protect us?''
Russ Levsen, Herseth's press secretary, said several Republicans have indicated an interest in challenging her but only now has someone clearly indicated an intention to run.
''I think that's a reflection that Democrats, Republicans and Independents believe Congresswoman Herseth is doing a good job for the state,'' he said.
Whalen is the second Indian to run for the state's only House seat. Terry Begay of Volin is running as a Libertarian. He was on the South Dakota ballot for the House in 2002 and 2004 as an independent.
The Nuts And Bolts Of terrorism
This is off the topic for “Native Unity” but I have been searching for a basic understanding of the inner workings of fundamentalist Islamic Jihadist groups like the Taliban. Think I may have found a part of the answer in a conversational dialogue I would like to share with Native Unity readers. It is from a 2003 novel – “Liberty” by Stephen Coonts. The following passage has been edited for length and content.
A former Soviet KGB agent is discussing the war on terrorism with an American admiral.
"Islamic terrorists can be placed in three general categories. The foot soldiers are recruited from refugee camps and poor villages throughout the Arab world. They know little or nothing of the western world. They are the shock troops and suicide commandos who smite the Israelis and murder tourists in the Arab world. They speak only Arabic. They blend in quite well in Arab society but are essentially unable to function outside of it. These are troops that bin Laden and his ilk train as Islamic warriors in Afghanistan and Libya and Iraq.
“The second category, if you will, are Arabs with better educations, usually literate, some even possess a technical skill. The fundamentalists actively recruit these people, appeal to their religious sensitivities, wish to convert them to their perverted view of Islam. Since these people have often lived outside the Arab world, they can move freely in western society. These people are dangerous. They are the ones who hijacked the airlines that crashed into the World Trade Center.
“The third category of terrorists can be thought of as the generals, Bin Laden and his chief lieutenants. Financiers, bankers, technical advisers, and so forth. These people are Muslims. For whatever reason, terrorism appeals to their ethnic and religious view of the world.
“And there is a fourth category. Few of these people are Arabs, few are Muslims. They see profit in terrorism. Some of them take pleasure in the pain terrorists inflict, for every reason under the sun. These people are enemies of America, enemies of western civilization.
“I came to talk to you about one of America’s many enemies – a former ------- general. He doesn’t hate America, he loves money. A few weeks ago he sold four missile warheads to a wealthy Arab terrorist for two million dollars.”
A man like the above arms merchant really does exist and supposedly is or was living in the UAE. I checked him out on the Internet the other day.
Can fundamentalist Islamic terrorism exist without the interaction of these four groups?-b.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
posted by Bobbie Hart O'Neill @ 4:52 PM
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