Here is a sentence we never thought we’d write:

Kristi Noem has a lot in common with David Eason.

Or at least one major thing in common, we should emphasize.

Eason, the estranged husband of former Teen Mom cast member Jenelle Evans, confessed awhile ago to killing his family’s pet dog after it nipped his young daughter.

Now, the South Dakoka Governor has admitted to having done the exact same thing.

On April 26, The Guardian released an excerpt from Noem’s brand new biography in which the Vice Presidential hopeful looked back about two decades ago… when she was the owner of a 14-month-old female hunting dog named Cricket, whom she described as having an “aggressive personality.”

During a hunting trip, Cricket refused to listen to Noem, she writes.

After the canine killed chased after some birds and killed some chickens, Noem says she “realized she had to put her down.”

Why not give the dog away? Or hire a trainer? Instead of taking it out into the woods, shooting it and burying it in a hole?

“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” Noem wrote on Twitter after the story got out.

“Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”

Over the weekend, meanwhile, amid endless backlash from those on both sides of the aisle, Noem jumped back on social media and tried to defend herself in greater detail.

After previously referring to her dog as “less than worthless,” Noem wrote this time around:

“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back.

“The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.”

The polarizing politician continued that she’s learned through her “years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through COVID” that folks want to be led by authentic individuals who aren’t afraid of challenges and who take lessons from the past.

This might be true.

But we’re guessing almost none of them want to be led by someone who would murder a puppy. Full stop.

“My hope is anyone reading this book will have an understanding that I always work to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life,” Noem added, hiding behind the letter of the local law as follows:

The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.”

With Donald Trump considering Noem to run alongside him for the White House this fall, the Governor concluded:

“Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to hand.

“Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.

“It wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”

Kristi Noem Explains Why She Killed Her 14-Month Old Puppy was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

70 years on the throne. 13 American presidents. One extraordinary queen.

From the moment she first enchanted the world as a youthful princess, Queen Elizabeth II found a unique place in American hearts—and she also played an unprecedented role in forging transatlantic ties. Over her seventy-year reign, she developed extraordinary and varied personal bonds with thirteen U.S. presidents—Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, both Bush Sr. and Jr., Clinton, Obama, Trump, and Biden—that other diplomats and leaders could only dream of.

A fascinating, in-depth look at international relations and interpersonal intrigue, Royal Audience peels back the curtain on the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K. as embodied by the Queen herself—charting Elizabeth II’s distinctive brand of one-to-one diplomacy through the eyes of those who experienced it firsthand. From horse-riding with Ronald Reagan, to sharing her recipe for scones with Dwight D. Eisenhower, to striking up a kinship with the Bushes and the Obamas, the Queen’s interactions with her U.S. counterparts often acted as a restorative tonic for relations between two nations, even when political tensions ran high. Not all royal encounters with U.S. presidents went smoothly, though. Between Jackie Kennedy’s complaints about Elizabeth and the Queen Mother’s shock at being kissed on the lips by Jimmy Carter, there was never a dull moment.

Throughout the years, Queen Elizabeth II’s sense of duty and service remained steadfast, and her iconic legacy is unlikely to be repeated.

Review

Looking at the cover and reading the blurb, I went into this book hoping for a bit of “behind the scenes” and maybe little tidbits of historical information from the many meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and the fourteen US presidents she met over the course of her life. I did learn some things but as was often mentioned in the book “what happens at private lunches/teas/dinners/meetings with the Queen, stayed with the Queen.”

I’ll be frank and say that the extensive background on the international events of the day was probably needed – especially in the case of the things that influenced US/UK relations 70 years ago (how up are you on the Suez Canal Crisis of 1955?) – but these were inserted as history lessons and they read as one. After the major UK/US kerfluffles during each presidential term(s) were outlined, there usually followed a tit-for-tat exchange of excruciatingly correct notes and letters that could be studied as an etiquette guide. Only after that stuff did the meetings between the Queen and the presidents get discussed.

Once things got personal and the trips/state visits were delved into, I enjoyed the little glimpses of these relationships. Beginning with President Truman while she was still Princess Elizabeth, including President Hoover long after his term, and continuing through President Biden, the Queen was seemingly wielded as diplomatic “oil on troubled waters.” When the Special Relationship (use that as a drinking game and get drunk quickly) between the US and UK needed work, out would come an invitation from one side or the other and she would be put to work.

Despite the protocol filled meetings, from the information and recollections of those there, her tact, charm, sharp sense of humor, and decades of experience did seem to work a charm. From being on the receiving end of a hug from a woman in Maryland, visiting a US grocery story along with Prince Philip, exchanging views on standing for hours in heels with Michelle Obama, or enjoying private visits to the US where she could “let her hair down” a bit more than was possible in the UK, the Queen rolled with the punches, smiled through summer humidity in DC, and forged relationships with the presidents that they fondly recall.

After I began skimming some of the more recent political events and crises – since I lived through them and already knew them – and then also skipping the note exchanges, I cherry picked out the bits that I came for. Perhaps it’s better that the curtain not be entirely pulled back and some of the mystique remain but there are quick flashes here that give a peek into what made her special and such an unrivaled asset for British relations with the US. B-/C+

~Jayne

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