Author: Pat Powers

US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has been selected to speak at Augustana University this coming March, and already liberals are attacking and trying to pressure the school to rescind the invitation:

Scalia is known for interpreting the Constitution with what he believes the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote it, as opposed to the more modern and arguably more popular belief that the Constitution is a “living document” that changes with the culture. This philosophy is called originalism, and, according to Center for Western Studies Executive Director Harry Thompson, it will be the topic of Scalia’s talk in March.

Scalia also has very clear opinions about where the lines of power should be drawn. He is not only concerned about what the Court decides, but how they decide it and whether it is its place to make a ruling.
And…

Sophomore Rachel Polan sees it differently.
“He rubs a lot of people the wrong way,” she said. “I think they should have chosen someone less controversial.”

Read it here.

And outside of the Augie community, Obama campaign manager Steve Hildebrandt was on Facebook this weekend trying to paint Scalia as a racist, also campaigning for the invitation to be yanked:

I hope Augustana University here in Sioux Falls will retract their invitation to Scalia after his hateful and bigoted comments about African Americans.

In case you haven’t heard what he said, here it is: “There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said.

And..

Please contact Augustana and encourage them to take the invitation back.

(Steve Hildebrand, Facebook, 12/12/15)

I have not looked at the context of the comments, but I sincerely doubt that a Judge of his stature is a raging racist as they seem to be trying to portray.

The call to deny him an invitation seems more designed to whip students into a frenzy by yelling racism to deny a conservative an appearance on campus as they have been doing across the country, as an atmosphere of campus political over-correctness has been popping up nationwide.

I think we should count ourselves as fortunate that one of our country’s top judicial officials would come for a visit and lecture at one of our states universities. 

Unless there are those whose grasp on their worldview is so tenuous, they might be forced to curl up in a ball when it’s subjected to a challenge.

I’m not sure why my newsfeed seems to have gone haywire, but I’m working on it. It might have been the latest WordPress upgrade. Hang on!

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Update: Yeah, I’m not sure what’s happened, as it all seems to have gone goofy after the latest wordpress update. If it remedies itself after a database update, I’ll go back to it. But in the meantime, the old newsfeed seems to be running fine for the moment, so I reactivated it.   Enjoy.

AFP Reacts to Medicaid Expansion in Governor’s Address

“Across the country, states that have expanded Medicaid have experienced major cost overruns that are busting state budgets,” says State Director Ben Lee

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Americans for Prosperity South Dakota released the following statement in response to Governor Daugaard’s budget address and Medicaid Expansion. The Governor’s FY17 budget would add $373 million dollars to our national debt and 55 new employees to the state payroll to expand Medicaid.

“We share the Governor’s concerns about Medicaid expansion and appreciate his past record of fiscal responsibility,” said Americans for Prosperity South Dakota State Director Ben Lee. “We’re still reviewing the details of the plan but we do know a few things: expansion hasn’t gone as planned in other states and taxpayers can’t afford to keep growing our unsustainable national debt.”

“Across the country, states that have expanded Medicaid have experienced major cost overruns that are busting state budgets. These cost overruns have forced states to make painful cuts to priorities like roads and schools or raise taxes. And we can’t forget that choosing to expand Medicaid will add $300 million to the national debt — that’s money our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay off years down the line. South Dakota can’t afford to make the same mistake.”

Across the country Medicaid Expansion states have seen costs surge out of control “Across the country, states that opted into Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion have seen the number of able-bodied adults on welfare skyrocket beyond expectations. In fact, after just one year of Obamacare expansion, several states have already seen more adults sign up for Medicaid welfare than they thought would ever sign up or even be eligible.” (The ObamaCare Expansion Enrollment Explosion, Foundation for Government Accountability, 4/20/15)

Government Accountability Office: Arkansas’ “Private Option” Medicaid Expansion plan $778 million over budget “GAO estimated that, by including these costs, the 3-year, nearly $4.0 billion spending limit that HHS approved for the state’s demonstration was approximately $778 million more than what the spending limit would have been if it was based on the state’s actual payment rates for services under the traditional Medicaid program,” the report said. (Medicaid Demonstrations: HHS’s Approval Process for Arkansas’s Medicaid Expansion Waiver Raises Cost Concerns, Government Accountability Office, 8/4/14)

With Medicaid Expansion in Colorado, one in five adults are now on Medicaid “Colorado decided to expand. That’s led the state to enroll about 450,000 people in the last two years. One in five Colorado residents is on Medicaid.” (In Colorado, More People Are Insured But Cost Remains An Issue,National Public Radio, 9/16/15)

Illinois’ Medicaid expansion ran $800 million over budget in the first year alone “Medicaid expansion in Ohio has run $1.5 billion over budget so far, Washington state has had to boost its biennial budget by $2.3 billion “solely due to higher-than-expected” expansion costs, and Illinois’ expansion ran $800 million over budget last year.” (Higher costs for Obamacare’s new Medicaid patients, CNBC, 6/13/15)

Kentucky’s program running $1.8 billion over budget “By the end of the first year, more than 375,000 able-bodied adults enrolled into ObamaCare expansion, roughly double the number the state thought would ever sign up. As a result, Kentucky budget officials now estimate Medicaid expansion will cost $1.8 billion more than projected in fiscal years 2014 and 2015.” (The ObamaCare Expansion Enrollment Explosion, Foundation for Government Accountability, 4/20/15)

Michigan faces budget shortfall of more than $100 million thanks to Medicaid Expansion“Michigan’s Medicaid program faces a budget shortfall this year of more than $100 million. That’s because a new tax on health insurance claims is not producing as much revenue as state officials expected.” (State lawmakers look to patch Medicaid shortfall, say long-term solution critical, Michigan Radio, 2/21/14)

Ohio $1.5 billion over budget for Medicaid Expansion program “In its first 18 months, Kasich’s Obamacare expansion enrolled 243,373 more people than projected and ran $1.5 billion over budget.” (Report: Three-fourths of Ohio Obamacare enrollees are on Medicaid, The Highland County Press, 9/16/15)

Washington State forced to increase state budget by $2.3 billion in order to compensate for unexpected Medicaid Expansion costs “Medicaid expansion in Ohio has run $1.5 billion over budget so far, Washington state has had to boost its biennial budget by $2.3 billion “solely due to higher-than-expected” expansion costs, and Illinois’ expansion ran $800 million over budget last year.” (Higher costs for Obamacare’s new Medicaid patients, CNBC, 6/13/15)

West Virginia enrollment 177% higher than expected “West Virginia has already boomed past the extra 93,000 people the state expected to enroll by 2020 under a Medicaid expansion plan ushered in by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in 2013.” (A look at the Medicaid expansion in West Virginia, Associated Press, 7/19/15)

Putting funding for roads, education, and the truly vulnerable at risk of being cut “With Medicaid expansion enrollment far exceeding projections, states that adopted the expansion will soon need to find additional funds to pay for the inevitable cost overruns. States will begin paying a share of Obamacare expansion costs in 2017, assuming the federal government even lives up to its funding promise that long…Obamacare’s perverse funding scheme encourages state budgeters to steal resources from seniors, children, pregnant women, and individuals with disabilities in order to free up funding for Medicaid expansion.” (The ObamaCare Expansion Enrollment Explosion, Foundation for Government Accountability, 4/20/15)

  
Governor Dennis Daugaard proposed today in his budget address that, while more details will be forthcoming, we can anticipate that new funds will be sought to put towards teacher salaries in the upcoming session. 

At the onset, let’s just understand that Paula Hawks is going to lose her race for Congress badly. And with that said, it leaves you wondering why she’s admitting she’s going to use her time in Pierre to benefit her campaign, and not her constituents:

One South Dakota lawmaker says she’s crafting a resolution about debt-free college. Democratic State Representative Paula Hawks says she wants to start a conversation with fellow lawmakers about the cost of higher education.

And..

Hawks says she supports a national movement that involves progressive thinking to address higher education and student debt. She says in South Dakota that begins with a legislative resolution she plans to file ahead of January’s session start.

The democratic state lawmaker is also campaigning for United States Congress. Hawks faces incumbent Congresswoman Kristi Noem in November 20-16’s statewide election.

Read it here.

So, she’s going to use her position to promote Bernie Sanders’ platform of “free college,” as she stakes out a campaign position asking people to vote for her because she wants to give them free stuff?

And I use the ‘free college’ term loosely, because it’s not free, it just shifts the cost to taxpayers… basically, people not in college.

I have the sneaking suspicion that endorsing the proposals of an avowed socialist running for president is not going to serve Hawks well in conservative South Dakota. But when you’re already being written off, I suppose you can throw anything to the wall, no matter how bad it smells, and see if it sticks. Hawks is already identified as supporting an income tax & planned parenthood. So, why not add socialism to the mix?

Your thoughts?

I heard a rumor today… And don’t classify this as anything but…  But I had someone tell me they’d heard that there could be a primary challenger for State Senator Deb Soholt. And one name that was brought up was really, really interesting. 

It was a name that had been brought up in the past for various offices: Leslee Unruh.

As a grassroots organizer, and not unknown in Sioux Falls, Leslee could potentially be very formidable.

But, there’s no indication at this point that it’s something that’s going to actually happen. Just part of the background chatter that pops up from time to time.

I’m starting to update the 2016 Candidate list with things I’ve heard… or at least updated with those things that I haven’t been asked to keep confidential at this point. You can read it here. and e-mail me with updates, corrections, deletions, etc.

Wow! There are some Democrats out there who don’t like the way their party is run. And not just a little. They really, really don’t like the way their party is run, and are openly accusing South Dakota Democrat elites of favoritism and self-dealing. They even throw out the word “corrupt.”

But don’t take my word for it. Read it here as described by the Sioux Falls Chapter of the Democrat group “Drinking Liberally,” in a post from Friday attributed to Sheldon Osborn:

Despite the poor showing by the Democratic Party in 2014, its leadership and staff tolerated no self-examination and allocated no time for reflection at its post-election meeting last December. Instead they applauded everyone’s efforts ad nauseam and retreated to executive session to allocate election bonuses, pay raises, and interim consulting contracts to its staff. (Some might describe this as corrupt given the active favoritism the Party leadership and its staff practiced in the election of new Party officers.) It was a classic example of top-down leadership from a group desperate to maintain its grip on the remnants of its power. It is little wonder that Democratic registration continues to decline.

“Instead they applauded everyone’s efforts ad nauseam and retreated to executive session to allocate election bonuses, pay raises, and interim consulting contracts to its staff.”

The South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) meets next week in Chamberlain to change its Constitution and plan for the future. The new Constitution, after numerous requests, has finally been published for review. It continues the Party’s trend toward top-down leadership. It allows Party officers to exclude the public from all Party meetings except Central Committee meetings, empowers Legislative District organizations at the expense of County Parties, and, by allowing the appointment of Precinct Committee people from anywhere in a County or Legislative District, opens the door for narrow demographic groups or cliques to more easily dominate the ideological and strategic direction of a County Party or Legislative District. As an example of this arbitrariness, in Minnehaha County, where a small group has already imposed this open appointment policy, the current Party Chair arbitrarily cancelled (not postponed, but cancelled) a previously scheduled Central Committee meeting at which, among other things, the proposed constitutional changes were scheduled for local discussion.

Read it all here.

Ooo….  So the leadership of the Sioux Falls Drinking Liberally group is telling tales of Dem Party leadership… “Despite the poor showing by the Democratic Party in 2014, its leadership and staff tolerated no self-examination and allocated no time for reflection at its post-election meeting last December. Instead they applauded everyone’s efforts ad nauseam and retreated to executive session to allocate election bonuses, pay raises, and interim consulting contracts to its staff….”

That’s actually great news going into this years’s coming election season, and a good indication that the South Dakota Democrat ‘formula for success’ that they’ve used for the past two cycles will continue to be used.

Of course, that means complete dominance for my party, but I’m not complaining.

But did they actually award election bonuses for the past election? What was the benchmark for these bonuses? Showing up? Sobriety? Not committing suicide in despair? Achieving 20% in elections?  Claiming that bonuses were paid last year is pretty remarkable, as in most political elections where bonuses are paid, it’s actually based on winning.

Since in no way did Dems win anything last year, the proposition of anyone receiving a bonus is downright shocking, not to mention the accusations of favoritism and self-dealing! And apparently, even that particular writer in the state Democrat party’s rank and file thought so as well when he added “Some might describe this as corrupt given the active favoritism the Party leadership and its staff practiced in the election of new Party officers.”

Wow. As much as people might complain about Republicans, apparently in South Dakota, the alternative is far, far worse. As noted by the party’s own members.

Noem Helps Drive Long-Term Highway Bill through the House

First long-term highway bill since 2005
receives final approval in the House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Kristi Noem today helped the U.S. House of Representatives move forward the first long-term highway bill since 2005. The bipartisan Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a fully funded, five-year highway bill aimed at improving the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure. With House approval of the conference agreement, the legislation will move to the Senate before heading to the President, who is expected to sign the bill.

“South Dakota has 80,000 miles of highways, roads, and streets. We have about 6,000 bridges and thousands of miles of railways. Our farmers, our businesses, our families depend on the safety and reliability of this infrastructure,” said Rep. Noem. “Today’s legislation is going to give our state and local governments the certainty they need to plan and conduct necessary maintenance on this intricate network of roads, bridges and railways. It’s going to give our local teams more flexibility to address their unique transportation priorities as well. In the end, I’m hopeful this will be a big win for all of South Dakota, helping to fuel continued economic opportunity and greater safety for our families and communities.”

The fully funded FAST Act increases highway spending by 15 percent and transit spending by 18 percent over five years, meaning South Dakota would receive $133 million more than it would have under current funding levels. Additionally, the bill creates an incentive grant for states with 24-7 sobriety programs for drunk drivers and removes a requirement that asked states to collect excessive data on unpaved and gravel roads – both are important priorities for South Dakota.

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