Which way, Western Man?

I'm not gonna do one of those year-in-review posts because I find them tedious. I mean, we already had to live through it once, right?

But, New Year’s always seems to lead one to engage in some reflection on the past year's journey; reflection to self-analysis; then inevitably to questioning the purpose & effectiveness of one's efforts over the past year. Invariably we find ourselves wondering if perhaps a change in strategy, or the eradication of a habit, or even the development of a new habit, may be in order.

For many of us, 2024 was a year of Fighting.

And winning, ultimately.

But definitely lots of fighting. Without the fight there would be no victory, so the battles were righteous while also soothing to our thrumming discontent.

For me, fighting is often an endifying experience; and in fact I credit my willingness to fight as a key reason for my business success. Running a small business, particularly one that involves building and manufacturing, can be described as an unending series of battles that must be fought to survive. Your only choice is to fight, or to fail.

We live in a fallen world, and while we give our Creator gratitude for everything in our lives, we also understand that He made us active agents, with significant responsibility for our attitudes and actions. What and who we love, and hate, matters. I believe that some things are worth fighting for.

Marriage, family, home and hearth, governance, livelihood, justice & truth.

If you aren't willing to fight for them, you don't deserve to keep them; & in fact you will likely lose them at some point.

Many modern Christians - Lovebunnies - get squeamish with this particular “F word”. To them, fighting represents a violation of Jesus’ 2nd most important commandment: Love your neighbor.

To them I ask “Who is your neighbor, and what does Love mean exactly?”

Is your neighbor every single human alive?

Does Love mean only Affirmative tolerance?

Anyone who reads my posts knows where I stand on this thorny issue.

But for The past 4 years I have made an intentional practice of living all of my life BASED; meaning based on the Word of God.

I say all this so that my friends, and my enemies, know where I'm coming from. I didn't “get into politics” in order to build my brand, run for office or promote my business. Like all of the many new friends and courageous fighters that I have been blessed to know in South Dakota, I fight for truth & justice. At least, I aim to.

When I pray for guidance, I ask God to direct my words, focus my passion and obliterate my ego. I am not interested in writing for clicks & claps, nor picking fights with powerful people/bullies for the adrenaline rush.

If the Lord wills, I will leave this field of battle, gladly and full of contentment.

Heavy on my mind these thoughts have been, these past few weeks. “Should I take a rest from calling out the most powerful people in South Dakota for a while?” I wondered. Maybe making so many enemies isn't really that great for my business, or peace of mind. Maybe I should back off a bit.

Maybe they got the message.

Enchanting, these ruminations can be to a weary soul.

But then, out of the blue, Dan Kippley came a callin’.

There I was, working on my tan on a boat, fishing pole in hand, when a couple friends texted me about something odd that happened at the last Minnehaha County Commission public meeting on December 31st. By all accounts this meeting's real purpose was to execute yet another public humiliation of our long-suffering Auditor, Leah Anderson, at the conniving hands of the vindictive little twerp Joe Kippley, son of Dan.

The events of that day are worthy of an article all by itself, and so I shall endeavor to address it properly in the near future.

For now, let us focus on the comments made by Joe's dad Dan. As you can see in this picture, Dan took the time to write down his speech ahead of time.

Exactly who helped him write it, & what they hoped to accomplish, we likely shall never know.

The people texting me about it had some difficulty explaining Dan's short strange performance, other than to say it was “weird”, “off the wall”, he was making “stupid jokes”, & it was “super gay”.

Ok, I made up the last one, but after watching his “Open Mike Night at the Comedy Club” routine for myself, that was my impression.

Dan started out paying his respects to the departing commissioner Jean Bender, which was nice.

He ended his bit by taking a cheap shot at Cole Heisey about something to do with tardiness for some unkown reason. Cole, you will recall, vanquished Dan quite thoroughly last June in the primaries, so Dan's probably not a huge fan of Cole, knowing those Kippleys. I wrote one of my most popular articles -- -- just before the Primary vote laying out my misgivings Dan's true motives for his camapign.

This could be why, sandwiched in the middle of Dan's remarks, he dropped a non-sequitar specifically naming me and my business- Comfort King.

Here's the full clip >

It is clear to me that I was being offered the carrot AND the stick, in a very public way by a very well-connected man, to stop fighting them. Stop fighting and my business will thrive. Stop fighting or my business shall suffer.

“Was this a message from God?” I wondered.

Maybe I should transition into the kinder gentler man, join the Country Club, re-join the Chamber of Commerce, buy a suit, become a Shriner, lay down my weapons, sell my soul…

I mean, it would certainly be better for my business. Maybe I could finally sell some mattresses to the Kippleys.

It is tempting…

You see, I am a jealous mattress man. When I see a different brand in the back of someone's pickup, I can't help but squint my eyes in a Clint Eastwood snarl at the idea of this fool paying more money for a lower quality bed with such a flimsy warranty. It makes no sense to me. I want every South Dakotan to be sleeping on a Comfort King, on an emotional level. On an intellectual level, I could make the case to why this should be so. I am giving you some insight into the caliber of my ambition, which I am neither proud nor ashamed of. My life’s passion has been to create the finest sleeping products, innovating in design and service on an upward trajectory that is the exact opposite of what most of my industry is focused on. What I have never done, however, is to attempt to manipulate the levers of governmental power to enrich myself, unlike so many other industries and business leaders in our community. Nor have I engaged in deception in my marketing, even though that is S.O.P. within my industry.

So, gaining even more business and friends is definitely tempting.

Ahh, but who am I kidding. I could never be a kippley or a kirby kinda guy. I just wouldn't fit in. As they say, “You can take the boy outta the trailer park…”

Besides, if after 30 years, the Kippleys haven't discovered the fact that the world's best beds- - are built right here in their own hometown, then they deserve to keep sleeping on mass-produced low-quality rectangles of cheap polyurethane foam covered in bougie fabrics.

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Maybe's Dan's still butthurt cuz I Wrote about him and Joe last spring before the primaries »>County Comi$$ion , in which I speculated about Dan’s true motives for wanting to take a seat on the Commission.

Dan tried to hit back by somehow convincing the Dakota Scout (who refused to run my very well researched piece) to publish obvious campaign propaganda masquerading as a boring article, directly taking aim at my previous posts relating the to the Great Normie Awakening. I found out later that Dan didn’t even write it, but was actually penned by his son Joe. Sadly for them, it had no positive effect on Dan’s political aspirations, along with providing no real insight into this interesting societal phenomenon.

We can easily image that Dan cannot enjoy hearing people denounce his son in public. It must be infuriating for him.

But you know who else has a dad who just might be upset? And a husband too? Auditor Leah Anderson that's who.

Leah, as I can personally attest to, is a decent, honest, trustworthy, competent, God-fearing woman who presents an example of a true public servant, full of grace & humility.

In contrast, Joe Kippley is a cad, a bully, rude, bellicose, and frankly, (all apologies to our more genteel readers) an obnoxious dink.

In point of fact, if Joe Kippley wasn't all of these things, I never would have started writing in the first place. My very first poltical article - The Rise of Skepticism - was inspired by Joe's petulant attacks against both Leah & anyone who dared question anything that happened in the 2020 elections.

I'm going to speak to Dan directly here, as I know that he is an ardent reader of this Substack »>

You see Dan, it's your son's own damned fault for creating the massive level of dedicated opposition he faces today.

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7

It must be hard, but you must be honest with yourself and realize that Joe is the least popular politician in Minnehaha County for good reason. It's not due to our noticing and providing feedback. If this were a Diehard movie, we're Bruce Willis & Joe is that German mastermind villian.

So, I don't think I'll be taking your friendly advice Dan. I won't be nodding off back into my Normie slumber, just yet.

In fact, your words have provided some inspiration. Maybe I will run for a county commission seat, as so many friends have urged. I've got $, and a lot of experience in persuasion marketing, so a victory is in little doubt.

Or, I could try to convince my friend Adam Long to run, who possesses so much effervescence that he could probably win two seats at once with no advertising dollars spent.

Or, I can convince one of the hundreds of Patriots that I personally know in Minnehaha County to run.

So many possibilities.

So much fun to be had.

In the end, I want to be someone who cares less about what certain people think of me, & more about what God thinks.

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Psalm 143:8–12

⁸ Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.¹

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit ^zlead me

on level ground!

¹¹ For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

¹² And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your servant.

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Lastly, Dan, if I misread your statement, somehow, please feel free to contact me at info@TheBasedPodcast.com