Tag Archives: Sarpy GOP

Fingerprints, Canadians, and Free Comic Books

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Things are keeping busy as the school year is winding down, and activities like Royal Rangers, American Heritage Girls, and Bible Study Fellowship wrap up for the year. On Thursday, Aaron finished up his fingerprinting merit with Royal Rangers on Wednesday, learning how to dust for prints and lift them off of a wine glass.

Then on Thursday, I went to another Sarpy GOP meeting. I’m on a waitlist to be a seated member, but I still got to chat with guests and meet Louis Blouin of the CBC, who stopped by and interviewed congressional candidate Dan Frei. The Canadians are apparently interested.

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We had a couple fun things happening over the weekend. Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, so we dropped by Krypton Comics with the kids to check out their selection. Aaron picked a Street Fighter vs. Final Fight comic book, while I got an Initial D manga. Hannah seemed more interested in looking at the dozens of plush Pokémon characters among the other toys around the shop. We also encounter a few cosplayers dressed as Boba Fett and Darth Maul.

I got a workout that evening mowing our lawn at home and them my parents’. Then for dinner, we had the last of the discount rib-eye steaks I’d picked up at Walmart earlier that week. Tasty.

The next day, Hannah and Aaron got to have soccer practice again. We’ve missed out on a couple weeks due to weather (or going to Fun Fest), so it was nice to have the kids back on the green playing an actual scrimmage together once again. Sunday was also Cinco de Mayo, so we had some nachos for dinner together.

I’m getting in plenty of bike-riding the meantime (when it’s not storming) and enjoying some of the blooms happening along the trail. Vivian also had a clown gig in Lincoln, which allowed her to visit one of the Asian grocery stores there and splurge on some ramen noodles.

Grassroots Shenanigans

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I’ve been keeping fairly busy with politics this week. On Thursday, I dropped by the River City Republicans for a luncheon with Dan Frei, an Omaha businessman who’s running a primary campaign to replace Don Bacon. He gave a very impressive stump speech, leaning into the Libertarian wing of the GOP emphasizing fiscal discipline over spending on war in Ukraine. Tony Sorrentino, who is running for the Nebraska legislature to replace Lou Ann Linehan (who is termed out), was also impressed, and even said, “you’ve got my vote.” I got a chance to chat with Dan briefly afterward for a piece I’m writing on his campaign and the grassroots organization behind it, which you can read over on my political blog.

Also at the luncheon was Stacy Matula, who is running for State Board of Education in District 1. I got recruited by her campaign manager to come take some photos over her kickoff event up at Burrito Envy in Benson that evening, and I saw many of the same faces at that event as I’d seen at the luncheon. There’s some fascinating overlap in the grassroots political circles I’m traveling in.

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Saturday was also an eventful day for politics. It started in the morning with the St. Patrick’s Day parade, which is always a draw for people running for public office. There were groups for Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, as well was one for Tony Vargas, but none of the actual candidates were there. I did see two candidates for Senate, John Glen Weaver and Dan Osborn (running for Ricketts’ and Fischer’s seats, respectively). I saw a few familiar faces along the parade rote, like our friend Lisa and Bob Nordstrom the sign guy. I wasn’t walking with any particular group, but I wound up walking most of the parade with Dan Frei, talking specifically to get a couple worthwhile photos for the piece I was writing on him.

I was somewhat surprised to see how many people Dan Frei drew for his own parade group, which was nearly as large as the Bacon Brigade. We also encountered some loud Palestinian protestors but mostly ignored them as they chanted to “end genocide.” One member of Fischer’s group made the mistake of hanging around to chat with a few of them, which created a bad look that made some waves online afterward.

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After that, I spent the afternoon at the Sarpy County GOP convention down at Trinity Church in Papillion. I made the mistake of going home to change and transfer some photos, so I showed up late and couldn’t vote on any of the delegates. That turned out to be OK, as I was able to mingle with a few of the other people there and snap photos of Dan Frei and John Glen Weaver giving speeches rather than staying with my caucus. I got to say hello to a few “based” people like coffee entrepreneur Beard Vet and the entire foursome from the Nebraska Freedom Coalition, who host the Freedom Fest every year.

The convention had its drama, of course, as some of the “old guard” made a fuss when they learned the “grassroots” people were sending around a slate car of people to vote for. They even threatened to declare the convention unconstitutional, but then it was discovered that they’d been sending around their own slate card as well. From what I heard later, it was a very successful turnout for the “patriots” in the group. I’d attended this same convention a few years earlier when Don Bacon both spoke there and stayed to vote in a caucus as a seated member. This time around, he was nowhere to be found.

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In other news, we’re having a lovely early spring, with weather in the 70s and an actual snowstorm thrown in to the mix on Thursday night. Mostly, I’m getting outside and enjoying the bike trails again, checking out the new graffiti along the way and getting exercise in the brief respite I had between one cold and then a stomach virus.

I also took Aaron by Royal Rangers, where he learned the valuable Christian ritual of stacking chairs before having some salted caramel bars with his fellow Discovery members. I also went to IHOP to talk with Robin at church about the new “Beyond Belief” remodeling project, which should be kicking off in a few months.

Slideshows & Racecars

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It’s been warm enough to melt most of the snow along the bike trails in Omaha, so I was able to get outside for a ride up and down the Keystone Trail a couple times (before yet another spoke broke). They actually opened up the section north of Nebraska Furniture Mart, so I was able to ride up to Democracy Park and back for the first time in many months.

Things have been mostly quiet in the my world since the Iowa Caucuses ended, though I did get to participate in a censure vote with the Sarpy GOP. I wrote a brief post about that on my political blog. I also finally put some photos in my new photo frame, so now I have two collections of selfies gracing the walls in my office (one with photos of Hannah and my Dad joining me).

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On Saturday, I dropped by my parents’ house to have lunch and help with some housework as my mom prepared to have knee surgery in a week or two. My dad also broke out the slide projector so we could see some of the photos he took during a summer trip to England in 1969. They include one interesting historic photo of some office workers in Bournemouth watching the moon landing through some televisions in a store window as it happened.

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Saturday was also the day of the big Pinewood Derby race with the Royal Rangers. Hannah and Aaron both got to enter cars in this year’s competition, each showing a design that reflected their own unique personalities. Aaron’s group had ten different cars, so it was a little more challenging for him this time around. He didn’t take home a medal, but his car held its own among the pack. Hannah actually took home a medal (in the shape of a fidget spinner), partly for being the only family member to compete among the other racers. Her car competed with the Adventure group, and I think she actually did fairly well. (I’ll have to get some actual racing stats from commander BJ to know how Hannah and Aaron both did among their fellow racers.)

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On Sunday, we dropped by Burger King after church for lunch and let the kids have their first romp through the playground area since Covid (they were both nearly too large for it by now). I got some groceries with the kids afterward and then took them by our old Sandy Park to play for an hour or so. It was around 45 degrees but somehow bone-chilling like a damp winter in San Francisco. They got some time playing with Hannah’s Allie doll much in the way Vivian and I played with Hannah back when she was a baby.

Then we went home and watched The Sound of Music with the kids of the first time while having some pizza for dinner. I’d seen the movie more than once as a kid but somehow remembered very little of the latter half. It wound up holding my attention bar better through the three hours than it did when I was Hannah’s age. She’ll be performing some of the songs from the film with her school group at their end-of-year family night.

Vivek, DeSantis, and a Post-Christmas Party

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The Iowa Caucuses are almost here — that means we have Presidential cancidate all over the place in the Hawkeye State. On Wednesday last week, I was able to bump into two of them again — and ask the first question as each of their town halls.

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First up was Ron DeSantis, who I went to see at Barley’s Bar & Grill over the lunch hour. The small venue was nearly full by the time I got there around fifteen minutes after the door opened, but my friend Brandi had a chair for me right up front, so I was able to get plenty of photos once things got started. Iowa state rep Brent Siegrist introduced DeSantis, who then gave a 35-minute stump speech to the crowd of around 90 people.

DeSantis touted his legislative record in Florida, and when I got to ask my question, I wanted to know how he planned to work with the US Congress, which unlike the Florida legislature, doesn’t have a Republican super-majority. He gave a reasonable answer, that Reagan never had a Republican House but got his agenda through via the bully pulpit and constituents pressuring the Democrat lawmakers. I found it interesting that most candidates take questions from guests at their events but not the media, which put me in a unique position as a political blogger able to ask pretty much whatever question I wanted directly to the candidate himself. You can see my exchange with the Governor on YouTube here.

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Then that evening, Vivek Ramaswamy had a town hall at the Palace Event Center in Treynor, Iowa. He had with him his wife Apoorva and former MLB Adam Greenberg (of the Cubs and the Marlins) to endorse him. As with DeSantis, I got to ask t he first question again during the Q&A. This time, I made it a bit more personal, asking Vivek what subjects he thought were most important for kids to learn in K12 education, particularly as I’m in the midst of homeschooling Hannah and Aaron. He gave a fairly detailed answer covering three main points that I was able to roll into a blog post, if you want to read it.

This was the fifth time I’d seen Vivek in person, more than any other candidate previously. This time, however, I’d had the chance to order a book for him to sign — Woke, Inc. from Amazon, which was delivered that day. (Of course, I also got a photo.)

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I had more politics happening for me the next day. First was a luncheon with Secretary of State Bob Evnen. He had pamphlets on Voter ID, which will  be implemented for the first time during the May primary. He talked a bit about the new law and what voters could expect at the polls (and what to do if they don’t have a photo or can’t get one).

Then that evening, I attended my first Sarpy County GOP meeting as seated, voting member. I’m still wrapping my mind around party politics at the county level. The big issue at this meeting was adopting an amendment to limit debate, which I got the impression had been abused by members trying to keep things from getting done. I also learned that some powers-that-be weren’t happy with conservative influencer Scott Presler coming to speak at a meeting at the end of the month, which seems bizarre, as his only goal online seems to be picking up litter and registering people to vote.

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I could have indulged in more politics on Friday as Kari Lake came to speak at the NEGOP campaign kickoff in Omaha, but I had a post-Christmas work party to attend instead. I was being recognized for ten years of service with the Saint Paul VI Institute and got a new plaque to hang on my office wall. Vivian and I also got a free dinner courtesy of A Catered Affair down at St. Robert Bellarmine on Pacific Street. We got to visit with a few of my co-workers, play some Christmas-related games together, and then hear some Christmas songs from Stephen Tefft before heading home,

In other news, our sweet cat Zoey is feeling sick. She stopped eating sometime on Thursday, and on Saturday we took her down to the vet. She turned out to have a fever and a uterine tract infection, so we were sent home with some medicine for her. Say a prayer for her, if you can, because we’re still in the midst of getting her feeling better and eating again.