The Federal Elections Commission is not known for letting things go, so it’s very curious as to why goofy South Dakota Congressional Candidate James Bialota is able to be remiss in having proper filings in on a timely basis.
So, FEC Reports were due yesterday. Marty Jackley’s report is in, and I will be posting it later. But for James Bialota who gets on social media and is big on making wild-eyed claims about the AG somehow being a lawbreaker, Bialota isn’t big on following campaign finance laws. As there does not appear to be a FEC report of income and expenditures into the federal campaign finance watchdog.
What’s there is from yesterday at about 10:30 at night, which consists of a scrawled bank note that he’s blowing a lot of money out of his pocket:
Okay… but where is the F3 report? The one where the candidate is supposed to explain specifically what his expenditures and income was, which would include the proceeds from this loan to himself.
Hm. Someone should ask the candidate whether he intends to follow federal law or not when it comes to his campaign finance disclosures?
All of the views and opinions Professor Simmons expresses here on are his as an individual and do not reflect the views of the Board of Regents, the University of South Dakota, its Knudson School of Law, their employees, faculty or administrators. The foregoing editorial represents only his views as a private citizen.
Guest Column: Happy Memorial Day Weekend! by Thomas E. Simmons
On this Memorial Day, let us remember that freedom is not free.
That’s not an original quote. It was President Ronald Reagan who quipped “freedom is not free” at a Memorial Day address in 1982 forty-four years ago. But the origin of the idiom is credited to Colonel Walter Hitchcock, who popularized it, and – reaching further back – to Australian John Henry Austral, although he was a fictional character and so couldn’t have come up with it on his own.
The quote’s deepest origins are obscured. But it is famously inscribed at the Korean War Veterans Memorial – my favorite, but often overlooked, Washington, D.C. memorial. It’s just south of the Lincoln Memorial and includes nineteen larger-than-life soldier-statues – a platoon on patrol. If you are in Washington, D.C., I highly recommend it. And like all the Washington, D.C. memorials, there is no admission charge. Visiting it is free.
On this Memorial Day, let us also understand that free is not free
As to the aforesaid quote, I claim sole credit.
Before unpacking my point, let us first acknowledge that some things – perhaps the most valuable things – are, indeed freely given, exchanged, and enjoyed. Friendship is one of them. Love is another. Sexual intimacy yet another. If a price is placed on such things, they are degraded. Attaching a monetary value to them cheapens them. They are not only free as a general rule, and in fact deteriorate if they become fee-based. They deteriorate into things like bribes and human trafficking.
Many things, however, have a cost, and justly so. They are acquired at a cost, improved and modified at a cost, produced at a cost, and preserved at a cost. And we seem to often lose sight of this.
Perhaps Madison Avenue advertising wizards are to blame. Few things are as alluring as those which are free. A free haircut! Free healthcare! A free car!
But obviously goods and services produced by human beings are not free. Nor are crops or song lyrics or minerals extracted from the earth. They come at a cost – a cost in labor, materials, design, transportation, and yes – marketing, too.
Often, what a vendor really means when it boasts, “Free!” is “The cost to you is shifted to others and it is they – not you – who must pay. Enjoy this free thing and know that the cost has been borne by strangers so that you may avoid paying for it.”
In certain contexts, “free” might also mean that the cost is shifted away from a present you and upon a future you. Remember those Columbia Record House Deals? Ten records for free? The cost came to the consumer herself in the form of a dozen future obligations of overpriced record purchases. Buy now, pay later.
And what of radio station broadcasts? They are free to listen to, but the listener still pays in an indirect way when she absorbs the commercial announcements accompanying her favorite radio program.
Then there is the free ice water at Wall Drug. We understand this to be a sort of loss leader. Wall Drug will make up its lost profit margins on ice water with the sale of jackalope mounts.
Finally, there are presents and gifts. They might be given in appreciation of past commercial exchanges. Or they might be given to family and friends.
But all of the foregoing are not free in the same sense that free healthcare is supposedly free. Or public libraries and fire departments.
I guess what I’m really thinking about is the illusion of something which is free when the cost is widely dispersed among a large population like taxpayers. We don’t naturally feel gratitude toward them when we receive a “free” government service.
The fact that we lack gratitude for “free” government services indicates that there’s a certain greediness involved. Our natural inclination when offered a free sandwich ought not to be “yippee!” but rather “I wonder to whom I owe the gratitude of bearing the cost of this ham on rye since I ought to thank them and perhaps offer them a sandwich in return.” The same could be said of state parks or public schools.
I also don’t claim credit for the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” But the same principle is at work.
Thune: Democrats Cling to Open Borders, Republicans Want to Secure America
“As long as [Republicans are] in charge, there will be agents at our borders to prevent terrorists, traffickers, and other dangerous individuals from making their way into our country, and there will be agents to take criminal illegal immigrants off of America’s streets.”
A criminal investigation is underway in Minnehaha County against the person or persons who conspired to file false precinct committeeman and committee woman forms after the filings were flagged by the auditor, but currently, there is no official information out there about the subject of the investigation, as well as how long it might take until a criminal indictment is handed down:
“I can confirm that I had to turn some forms over to the sheriff’s office for investigation,” Anderson said. “And that’s about all I can say at this point, because it is an ongoing investigation.”
and..
Minnehaha County GOP Chairman Korry Peterson said he is aware of the investigation into the potentially fraudulent filings and hopes that, if wrongdoing is confirmed, it is prosecuted.
“It’s just crap that something like this is going on,” he said.
There’s nothing official on who the subject of the investigation is just yet, but there is one name – a familiar one – who keeps coming up.
If true, we can only hope that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for committing an act to defraud the voters of the State of South Dakota.
A new KELOLAND Media Group/Emerson College poll has a new leader in the Republican primary race for South Dakota governor.
Businessman Toby Doeden now holds a 3% advantage over second-place U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson. Doeden has 26% of the polled voters to Johnson’s 23%. The two switched places from the poll released on March 11 when Johnson had the lead with 28% followed by Doeden with 18%.
In this latest poll, Gov. Larry Rhoden was at 19% followed by state Rep. Jon Hansen with 16%. These are gains from the Rhoden’s 17% in March and Hansen’s 14% in March.
Those results seem to be an outlier, and far, far different than any other polling I’ve heard, including whispers of internal polling. I mean, they all show Hansen in last place, but for Doeden to have any advantage over Dusty? I’m a doubting thomas.
As one politico remarked to me unsolicited this morning “There is n F’n way the new KELO poll can be accurate. Most people I talk to say anyone but Doeden.” And I would tend to agree.
South Dakota Board of Regents Announces Systemwide Strategic Objectives for Artificial Intelligence Integration
CUSTER, S.D. — The South Dakota Board of Regents (BOR) announced a strategic set of objectives designed to position the state’s public universities to become leaders in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. As AI continues to reshape workforce expectations, academic disciplines, and operational practices, the Regental system is taking coordinated action to ensure students, faculty, and staff are prepared to succeed in an increasingly AI‑driven world.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming every sector of our economy, and higher education must evolve just as rapidly,” said BOR President Jeff Partirdge. “These strategic objectives ensure that South Dakota’s public universities prepare students to be AI-ready, responsive to workforce demands, and capable of responsibly utilizing emerging technologies. This is an investment in the long-term success of our students and our state.”
The Board emphasized that intentional, ethical, and future‑focused engagement with AI is essential for maintaining the competitiveness of South Dakota’s public higher education system. This work will be organized into five core components:
Governance and infrastructure needs,
Curricular and programmatic impacts,
Optimization and utilization of agentic AI,
Research, and
Development of AI literacy and fluency among students, faculty, and staff.
“AI is not a distant concept; it is already shaping how students learn, collaborate, and prepare for their future careers,” said University of South Dakota President Sheila Gestring. “By building a strong support system and investing in training across our campuses, we are helping ensure students, faculty, and staff can use these tools responsibly, confidently, and in ways that strengthen learning and opportunity for everyone.”
The Board of Regents’ strategic decisions reflect a commitment to preparing South Dakota’s public higher education system for the decade ahead, ensuring students and institutions remain competitive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
5pm at the Goss Opera House in Watertown today, with a number of Watertown leaders sponsoring the event to return him to the State Senate. You can RSVP Here.
She’s doesn’t worry about being elected by voters. Because as she declares on facebook, she’s endorsed by God.
Does God get on the phone to talk to her often?
Is she imagining he got her on the horn and said “hey, you goofball, I’m endorsing you because I need to punish District 5, I’m all out of locusts, and I only reserved the first born thing for the Egyptians.”
If God called her, and she pulled an endorsement, she needs to provide a recording. Because I’m a bit of a skeptic, and am going to say that this claim might indicate she needs to speak with someone about the assumptions about her “God conversations.”
**UPDATE**
Garcia changed her facebook image.
… I’m guessing God withdrew his endorsement, as blasphemous as it was.
Outgoing 1-term State Representative and declared enemy of jet-powered aircraft Dylan Jordan decided to lay it all out there last night on facebook in a last ditch effort to go out in a blaze of glory.
First, the grandma-house cohabiting Jordan decided to do some ‘truth-telling,’ and declared that Fred Deutsch only hung around him in the prior election only to bolster Fred’s conservative credentials:
Because no one would consider Fred a conservative without Dylan telling him how to be one (face palm).
Then in a double-shot of doofus, Jordan announced he’s going to vote for every losing candidate on his ballot.
McNeal.. hasn’t campaigned or advertised? Jordan has his back. Biolata stands his ground on the playground, battling 12 year olds? Dylan is going to be standing next to him. Don’t even get me going on Doeden or Dylan’s uncle, Tim “Cut my own taxes” Begalka.
Up and down the ladder every single candidate Dylan Jordan has chosen is going to lose.
