It’s that time again!  It’s time for not-so-youngish anymore Mr. Powers to go to Washington!

I’m tagging along with my wife who will be in Washington DC next week for an education conference, and I’ll be in our nation’s capitol with all the time on the world on my hands.  The downside is that I’ll be getting there Thursday afternoon… probably about the time things wrap up for Easter recess.   But there’s still tons of things to do.

I plan on making a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, which is a place I have yet to visit.  I’m also planning a return visit to the Newseum, which has an exhibit running on Music and politics.

Saturday is probably going to be largely dedicated to the National Cherry Blossom Parade, which is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival taking place that week. Also on the list is the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival in conjunction with the Cherry Blossom events.

Still trying to figure out Sunday, which will probably involve me walking some of the monuments. And I was told I was able to snag a couple of White House Tour tickets (I have never been before) for Monday. And while I enjoy my Twins games when I can make it, I grabbed some nice seats for the Washington Nationals v. St. Louis Cardinals game Monday night.

That’s probably enough for any vacation.  But it’s always a treat to get back to the nation’s capital, and I anticipate this trip will be no different!

in case you wanted to show your support for ending someone’s life:

Looks like the Gordon Howie Campaign machine has gone from this….

to this….

Over at his web site, the Gordon Howie Truth Train is for sale at a bargain price. Never to park in a WalMart along the campaign trail again.

I note over at the Liberal Democrat website this morning that apparently Shantel Krebs for Congress sent out a fundraising e-mail claiming a superior position in the race for Congress against Dusty Johnson. It’s the same line as a facebook sponsored ad that has been pushed in the last week or so.

It’s all based on a newspaper web poll….. with 90 respondents?

Little wonder I wasn’t on the list to receive that e-mail. Because it is silly. For that kind of poll, you can just erase your web browser cookies and vote multiple times. Even for those that limit it to IP address, you can vote from your phone, your home, and work, and in many cases, reboot, and do it again.

It’s not like we haven’t pointed out this kind of silliness before. Others have jumped on the “OMIGOD we’re ahead an a newspaper web poll” bandwagon in the past:

Read that here.

If the 2018 Congressional election is going to be all about who is more popular in newspaper web polls, it’s going to be a long, long campaign.

Attorney General Ballot Explanations Released for Two Initiated Measures on Legalizing Marijuana

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that Attorney General Explanations for two proposed initiated measures have been filed with the Secretary of State. These statements will appear on petitions that will be circulated by the sponsor of the measures. For each petition, if the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures (13,871) by November 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measure will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The measures are titled:

1. “An initiated measure to legalize marijuana for medical ”
2. “An initiated measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed measure.

To view the Attorney General Explanations for the measures, as well as the final form of the measures submitted to this office, please click on the links.

http://atg.sd.gov/docs/IMLegalizeMJformedical.pdf
http://atg.sd.gov/docs/IMlegalizeMJgen.pdf

SD District 8 Conservatives Monthly Luncheon

The monthly District 8 Conservatives Luncheon will be held Thursday, April 13th, 2017, 11:45AM, at the Second Street Diner, 610 Washington Ave. S., in Madison. Our three District 8 Legislators will give a presentation on “2017 South Dakota Legislative Summary” highlighting their accomplishments in Pierre this year. This will be a very special meeting!

South Dakota Legislative District 8 consists of Sanborn, Miner, Lake, and Moody Counties in the East Central part of the state.

Conservatives from District 8 are invited, as well as from the surrounding area. Order off menu, daily special available. For information call 605-270-2991.

Coming at the end of the legislative session, the last day for purposes of considering Governor’s vetoed measures can sometimes also be a time to fix those last minute things that legislators feel is important. Including a problem legislators saw with juvenile justice:

But thanks to a ‘suspension of the rules’ lawmakers were able to pass S.B. 179 in just one day.

“Once we have an idea that is going to make South Dakota better, there’s no reason to wait a year to implement it,” says Sen. Al Novstrup, a sponsor of S.B. 179.

The new bill increases the current maximum length of probation for juveniles from 4 months to 6 months.

Sen. Novstrup says it’s needed to ensure juveniles have enough time to get through the programs a judge requires them to complete.

“It gives the probation officer, and the person on probation more time to figure out which way they are going in life,” says Sen. Novstrup.

Minnehaha County Deputy State’s Attorney Carole James says before legislation reduced the maximum length to 4 months, the average time assigned was actually 6 months.

She says going back to this amount will help decrease program wait-lists and increase early releases.

Read it here.

The Governor has already indicated his willingness to sign the measure.

Good job legislators, and Senator Novstrup!

From facebook:

According to House Bill 1072 sponsor Lynne DiSanto, Both candidates for Congress as well as both of the current (we haven’t forgotten about Matt Michels) major candidates for Governor are in favor of permitless concealed carry.

Is it just a matter of time before it happens?

Attorney General Jackley Joins State Attorneys General and Mississippi Governor in Support of Temporary Immigration Policy

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined 12 State Attorneys General and Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi in a lawsuit supporting the President’s power to temporarily suspend entry into the United States of two limited classes of identified aliens.

“The President of the United States has extraordinary power and authority to restrict alien entry into the United States for public-safety and national-security reasons. Because the Executive Order expressly identified a heightened national- security risk on six countries, the President exercised his broad but not unlimited authority to act to protect citizens with a temporary suspension. Our nation’s inconsistent immigration policy is affecting public safety in South Dakota,” said Jackley.

The Attorneys General argue that the challenged Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority under the circumstances. Federal law 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) gives the President the broad discretion to suspend the entry of any class of aliens. In recognition of that broad authority, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that there is no “judicial remedy” to override the Executive’s use of the delegated § 1182(f) power to deny classes of aliens entry into the country. See Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc., 509 U.S. 155, 188 (1993). The broad executive power in § 1182(f) reflects the President’s unique role in protecting our nation. The President’s national-security decisions are “supported by the strongest of presumptions and the widest latitude of judicial interpretation,” Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 636 (1952) (Jackson, J. concurring).

The President has temporarily suspended the entry into the United States of two classes of aliens:

• Nationals of six listed countries, if they are not lawful permanent residents of the United States, were outside this country ten days after the executive order here issued, and do not qualify for other exceptions (such as holding a valid visa ten days after the executive order issued); and
• Aliens seeking entry under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
  Executive Order 13780 §§ 2, 3, 6, 82 Fed. Reg. 13209, 13212-16 (Mar. 9, 2017).

The President’s temporary order has been challenged, and the 12 State Attorneys General and Governor of Mississippi have weighed in to support the action taken by our President to protect our national security. The State Attorneys General and Governor argue they “have a significant interest in protecting their residents’ safety. But because the States possess no authority to restrict or set the terms of aliens’ entry into the United States for public-safety and national-security reasons, the States and their elected officials rely on the federal Executive Branch to carry out that function, pursuant to the laws of Congress. See Arizona v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2492, 2507 (2012).

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