Adelstein Estimation

Former state senator Stan Adelstein has made a very generous donation to help digitize historic photos of the Black Hills.

As Todd Epp points out at SD Watch, Adelstein's actions in this regard are commendable and he deserves a pat on the back for them.

In fact, I wish he did more things like this...and fewer things that tear South Dakota apart, especially the political party he says he belongs to.

I've never said, and I don't know of anyone who has said, that Stan Adelstein is a totally evil person who has never done anything good. As Pat Powers has also said at the South Dakota War College, Adelstein has done a number of positive things for his community and for South Dakota.

But no amount of benevolent acts can erase the destructive and divisive things he's done, especially as long as he refuses to acknowledge those wrongs.

The unnecessary partisan attack on Sam Kooiker and his supporters in the recent Rapid City mayoral race, and the "wing nut" mailer in the same campaign that Adelstein was behind, funding multiple candidates to oppose his own party, his vehement support for killing the unborn, and his efforts to undermine marriage...his charitable acts to the community don't make up for this kind of behavior.

I hope someday Adelstein has a change of heart; many of us have, thank God. But only genuine, heart-felt repentance can make up for the bad things we've all done...and only God can accept that repentance and grant absolution. As nice as benevolent acts like this are, they can't buy, excuse or erase acts to the contrary.