Why Governor Kristi Noem Could be the Next President

“South Dakota has the highest growth rate and lowest unemployment in the country.”  — Governor Kristi Noem

Mark Skousen (aka Ben Franklin) in between two beauties, Governor Kristi Noem and Jo Ann Skousen.

FreedomFest had the biggest turnout in its 14-year history, with over 2,700 attendees registered. The buzz was palpable as Kristi Noem, the popular governor of South Dakota, stepped to the podium and welcomed us to her state.

After being shut down in Vegas last year, we decided to move FreedomFest from Las Vegas to Rapid City, home of Mount Rushmore, and it turned out to be a good decision.

While Las Vegas just reinstated its mask mandate, South Dakota is the land of the free and home of the brave. There are no mandates here.

Governor Noem reported that her state maximized freedom of choice and allowed businesses, institutions and individuals to make their own decisions and take their own “personal responsibility.” She was criticized for her laissez-faire decision, and while the number of COVID-19 cases was high on a per capita basis, people didn’t lose their jobs and the economy recovered more quickly.

She got a standing ovation from a packed audience. Clearly, she is a contender to be the next president of the United States.

“Healthy, Wealthy & Wise” is our theme, which is perfect for this year. Many of our speakers focused on exercise, diet and preventing disease, rather than the standard approach of dealing only with the symptoms (masks, social distancing, vaccines, etc.).

The speakers at the conference also celebrated the fact that private enterprises and business entrepreneurs were the heroes in the past year, rather than government bureaucrats and politicians. A global survey reported that businesses now enjoy the title of the most trusted institution in the world, rather than government, non-profits, charities or the media.

Why? While the government created the problem (China releasing the virus, states locking down the economy, destroying small business and taking away our liberties), private enterprises were solving problems — Amazon delivering products to homes; Zoom providing online education and remote meetings; Netflix providing entertainment and Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies creating vaccines in record time.

FreedomFest Update

For the first time in our 14-year history, FreedomFest is SOLD OUT. All the hotel rooms are full. Over 2,700 people have signed up for our big show.

The good news is that we are offering, for the first time, LIVE STREAMING of the general sessions from the opening ceremonies, at noon on Wednesday, July 21, through Saturday, including speeches by Governor Kristi Noem, Larry Elder (who is running for governor of California), Dr. Drew, Larry Arnn, JP Sears, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an interview with actor Dennis Quaid, the mock trial on the pandemic/lockdown and the closing panel with Senator Mike Lee. For the full schedule and how to register, go to Livestream — FreedomFest.

The cost is only $125.

Note that the live coverage does not include the hundreds of breakout sessions and the Anthem film festival. But, it is a great way to find out what FreedomFest is all about, and why it’s so popular.

You Nailed it!

Taxpayer Victory

There is good news out there. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, as well as members of other patriotic groups, sent out the alarm that the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill included $40 billion of new funding for the IRS to harass taxpayers, including hiring 87,000 new IRS agents. Pressure from voters forced the Senate to remove the new IRS funding.

Grover wrote, “The purpose of this new IRS funding is not to help taxpayers navigate the tax code or receive better customer service but to raise $100 billion in new revenues. It would have empowered the IRS to audit and harass millions of American families, self-employed people and small businesses including cash-heavy businesses like nail salons, barbershops and food trucks.”