Category: Uncategorized

A Christmas Story

Pat Powers

A Christmas Story

First United Methodist in Aberdeen was planning to do a Christmas nativity scene with live animals such as sheep, goats, donkeys and camels. The planning was going well as all the animals were located. The owner of the Walter the camel said he was unable to attend as the US Department of Agriculture was demanding that he got a license to travel and display Walter. The cost of obtaining the license was too high and too complicated.

The business manager of First United , Mary Scott, mentioned the problem to State Senator Al Novstrup.  Because it was a federal issue, Senator Novstrup explained the problem to Senator Thune regional director Judy Vrchota. Senator Thune and Judy were able to solve the problem within days.

And courtesy of Novstrup and Thune’s actions, Walter the camel is pictured below in the nativity scene at First United Methodist in Aberdeen.

Thune Pushes Forward on Tax Reform in Conference Committee Meeting

Pat Powers

Thune Pushes Forward on Tax Reform in Conference Committee Meeting

“Under the Senate bill – and I think the House bill, as we merge them together, will be very similar – that family will get a $2,200 tax cut, which represents a 60 percent reduction over what they’re paying under current law.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, urged his colleagues in the House-Senate tax reform conference committee, of which Thune is a member, to support pro-growth legislation that will provide relief to middle-income Americans by doubling the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit, and lowering rates.

“We came at this with a couple of objectives,” said Thune. “One of which was to deliver meaningful tax relief to middle-income families. And, you know, you can argue about distribution tables, which I think the distribution tables reflect that, but there are some basic objective facts that are just undeniable. One of which is that this proposal doubles the standard deduction. Another which is, it doubles the child tax credit. Another is that it lowers rates.

“And so, if you look at what that impact is on a typical family in South Dakota – my colleague from South Dakota talked about the average income – but let’s take a family of four with a combined annual income of $73,000 a year. Under the Senate bill – and I think the House bill, as we merge them together, will be very similar – that family will get a $2,200 tax cut, which represents a 60 percent reduction over what they’re paying under current law.”

To learn more about Thune’s work on tax reform, please visit the tax reform section on www.thune.senate.gov. 

###

Noem Urges Tax Reform Negotiators to Fix Tax Code with Bold Changes

Pat Powers

Noem Urges Tax Reform Negotiators to Fix Tax Code with Bold Changes

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today urged tax reform negotiators to use the debate as an opportunity to fix the tax code so it reflects our priorities: building strong families and a stronger future for all Americans. Noem made the push during the Tax Reform Conference Committee’s hearing this afternoon.  The Tax Reform Conference Committee, of which Noem is a member, is a small group of lawmakers who have been tasked with completing tax reform negotiations.

“What I want to remind each and every conferee here today is that we weren’t called here to make a few tweaks around the edges. We’ve been called here to fix the tax code,” saidNoem during her remarks.  “The American people deserve more control over their paychecks. They’ve worked hard for that money. They ought to be the ones deciding how, where, and when to spend it.”

WATCH Noem’s Full Remarks

Noem’s entry into public service came after her family was hit by the Death Tax following a farm accident that took her dad’s life. Noem went on to serve in the South Dakota State Legislature where she was appointed to the House Taxation Committee. Following her election to the U.S. House, Noem served on a series of committees, including the House Agriculture Committee where she successfully negotiated the 2014 Farm Bill as a member of that Conference Committee. In 2015, Noem earned a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, the first South Dakotan in history to do so.

Today, Noem is a leading voice in support of the Death Tax repeal. Earlier this year, conservative, anti-tax leader Grover Norquist explained Noem’s “hard work and persistence has made our progress to date possible and is our greatest asset in the serious fight to kill the Death Tax once and for all.” The House’s tax reform proposal includes a full and permanent repeal of the Death Tax, which is based on Noem’s legislation.

Noem Presses Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff on Death Tax

Additionally, Noem, a mother to three, has become the leading advocate for a pro-family tax policy, working closely with the administration to dramatically increase the Child Tax Credit and related family provisions. She also fought to save the Child Care Credit, an important provision to a state like South Dakota in which more than 80 percent of moms work.

Noem has also championed the exclusion of the Indian Health Service’s Student Loan Repayment program from tax as well as pro-agriculture provisions relating to interest deductibility and expensing.

###

In response to Tapio release, Krebs announces support for Muslim registry

Pat Powers

In response to Neal Tapio’s call for Congressional Candidate Shantel Krebs to announce where she stands on a proposed Muslim registry, Krebs came out in favor, and announced her support:

In a phone call Wednesday evening, Krebs said she supported Kobach’s proposal to set up a registry for people from areas where terror threats are detected.

“It’s not based on religion, it’s based on migrants that are believed to pose a threat,” Krebs said.

Read that here.

Um…. I think this stupendously awful idea of a registry whether it is based on being a Muslim or because a person is from a “region” goes past a line that should not be crossed.

It’s an idea that has already been vetted. By History.

During an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday night, pro-Trump advocate Carl Higbie drew a shocked reaction from host Megyn Kelly during a discussion of the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump might support making Muslim immigrants to the U.S. “register.” In an apparent attempt to portray the idea as unsurprising, Higbie noted that there was precedent for the U.S. government registering residents according to factors like race, religion and region.

“We did it during during World War II with the Japanese, which, call it what you will—,” he began, before Kelly interrupted him.

And…

In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which offered an official apology and provided restitution of $20,000 to every survivor. “No payment can make up for those lost years,” Reagan said during his remarks about the bill. “Here, we admit a wrong.”

Read that here.

A registry is a step towards rounding identified people up.

Last I checked, this still is America, isn’t it?  Land of the Free, and all….

State Senator Neal Tapio Calls on South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs to Take a Position on Kobach Muslim Registry Program 

Pat Powers

Press Release:

State Senator Neal Tapio Calls on South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs to Take a Position on Kobach Muslim Registry Program 

Former South Dakota Trump Campaign Director Neal Tapio, calls on South Dakota Secretary of State, Shantel Krebs to clarify her own stance on Muslim immigration and refugee resettlement, and to reveal whether she agrees or disagrees with the policies of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, more specifically, dealing with Kobach’s concept commonly known as a “National Muslim Registry.”

Kobach, who recently endorsed Krebs in her race for South Dakota’s lone Congressional seat and will be appearing at a Krebs campaign fundraiser, is a former Trump campaign advisor most famous for his calls for a creation of a Muslim registry.  Tapio, Trump’s campaign director in South Dakota, believes Kobach’s endorsement may be a case of mistaken political identity.

“I’ve known Shantel Krebs for nearly 20 years, I was quite surprised when Kris Kobach endorsed a candidate that would be afraid to even utter the words ‘Muslim, ‘Islam’ and “Terrorism” in public, let alone in the same sentence,” Tapio said.

“The truth is, Shantel Krebs has made a nice, comfortable career being a politician who is much more likely to disavow people who boldly try to solve problems in the way President Trump and even Secretary Kobach does and has, especially on this very important topic.”

“To determine if this newfound boldness is a real conversion or just typical election year pandering, I will definitely offer to work with Shantel this upcoming legislative session to craft stringent new laws addressing Islamic refugee vetting and resettlement, as well as curtailing foreign investment in South Dakota businesses and organizations by nations that embrace the hateful and extremist implementation of mainstream versions of Islamic Law. We must protect all people, regardless of faith, from the dangerous laws of apostacy and blasphemy, where fellow adherents of extremist ideologies will kill you for leaving or even criticizing Islam, as practiced and endorsed by 14 Islamic countries.” Tapio said.

“We need candidates who have a strength of purpose and a boldness of conviction to publicly state what needs to be said and then stand and take the heat, just like President Donald Trump,”  Tapio said.

 #######

Congressional Hopeful Tapio presses Congressional Candidate Krebs on Muslim registry

Pat Powers

From the Argus Leader, on the eve of a visit from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach for Congressional Candidate Shantel Krebs, Neal Tapio is asking Krebs for particulars on how exactly she lines up with President Donald Trump:

A Republican state senator on Wednesday called for U.S. House hopeful Shantel Krebs to weigh in on a proposed federal Muslim registry before campaigning with one of its chief architects.

The endorsement from Kris Kobach was likely a case of “mistaken political identity,” said state Sen. Neal Tapio, a likely GOP House candidate.

and..

But Tapio, a Watertown Republican and former state campaign director for Trump, said it was an effort to get ahead of him. He said he supported Kobach’s proposals to reform immigration and voter ID laws.

“She recognizes that I’m probably the frontrunner in the race because of my connections to the Trump campaign,” Tapio said.

Read it all here.

So, how about that Alabama race? What did you think about the election?

Pat Powers

Republican Roy Moore lost to Democrat Doug Jones last night.

While he had won the Republican primary, you still had to wonder about someone removed from elective office with the Alabama Supreme Court. Twice.

That’s an impression I was never able to get past, and why I think Senator Thune made the right call in noting someone else would be better.

And now we’re here, having lost what had started out as an extremely safe seat.

Your thoughts?