Author: Pat Powers

Larry Kurtz, who throws out nonsense in support of South Dakota Democrats has long been banned from this and other South Dakota related web sites because of a constant string of profanity, bigotry and other hate speech.

After Kurtz, who writes the ‘South Dakota Progressive‘ blog recently claimed that exposure to plastic makes people gay, it was hard to think that such a ridiculous (& offensive) statement ciuld be topped.

But somehow, he managed to say something more offensive. Especially after a recent string of incidents where police have been injured or killed in the line of duty.

Those in the law enforcement/corrections industrial complex eke out existence on the public dole, are overwhelmingly Republican, are alcohol and domestic abusers living violent lives, most are obese and usually die early after miserable careers.

Read that here.

I’m not sure what to say, except if that represents the opinion of the Democrat rank and file in South Dakota, there’s a good reason their support continues to erode in the state.

And it says more about the person throwing out offensive statements like an attention seeking child than the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line for the public on a daily basis.

9/8/2015 Update

I notice Larry has rewritten his post 2 or 3 times, now chasing after me like a kid who just can’t admit his mistake, but still squirms in his chair.

A few are asking me why I point it out, as it probably generates 10 times the attention he’d otherwise get. Yes, I know that, and it’s a bit of a double edged sword.

My response is that whether it’s Brad Ford spouting racist commentary on Gordon Howie’s website, Kurt Evans’ anti-Catholic bigotry, or Larry Kurtz calling cops drunken wife beaters, wrong is wrong, and evil must be challenged.

Agree or disagree on issues. But there are just some things you can’t ignore.

The South Dakota Family Heritage Alliance issued the following statement via email regarding the matter of the county clerk who was me who was jailed for refusing to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple:

As most of you are very aware, the first individual to be jailed as a result of the Supreme Court’s epic overreach on same-sex marriage is now sitting behind bars. The public is safe from her for the time being. It seems that the promises of tolerance we consistently heard from those campaigning for the rights of same-sex couples were rather short lived. On top of her incarceration, County Clerk Kim Davis is now the object of a great deal of hostility and the subject of an ongoing merciless smear campaign.

The Family Heritage Alliance has prepared a simple statement which reads as follows:

Whereas the Family Heritage Alliance is gravely concerned about the health of the family and especially the cultural view of marriage, we do not consider the events in Kentucky where County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed, to be a marriage issue. We see this simply as one more in a long string of events that demonstrate the deterioration of religious freedom in our country. Religious liberty has been a birthright of every American from the very beginning of this nation. We are deeply saddened by the blatant judicial overreach and ongoing persecution of the Christian faith in this country. It is our hope that citizens everywhere, in all fifty states, can see the need for and be active in the defense of all religious freedom, regardless of the views of the person or persons in question.

Your thoughts?

If you read the comments in the story below regarding Fred Deutsch becoming president of South Dakota Right to Life, you might’ve caught some commentary from Spencer Cody, One of the board members of the organization.

They were very telling, as Spencer minced few words in his literary dismantling of State Representative Isaac Latteral’s abortion legislation that he’s brought at various times. In this instance, Spencer took aim at the Representative’s legislation to ban beheadings in abortion:

I commend Rep. Latteral’s strong commitment to life, but there were so many things wrong with that bill that it needed to just go away. For starters, it did not actually ban dismemberment abortions to begin with. Latteral did not catch this obvious error among others because he does not vet his bills and was too busy and interested in making the connection to ISIS beheadings hence the “beheading ban bill.” Don’t worry. Abortionists prefer to rip the child apart one limb at a time anyways. The idea that a beheading ban would prevent dismemberment abortions shows one’s unwillingness to understand the very problem they seek to remedy. Meanwhile, Latteral was so busy showboating this insane bill to realize his Down Syndrome counseling bill was going down in flames even though we likely had the committee votes if he were willing to get his act together. If he brings something that silly again this session, we might just stand back and let him own it. He can explain to the AG’s office how they are going to defend it in court and work on the futility of defending one of his poorly-written bills in court while we go on with the business of saving lives. At least it will keep him busy.

Read it here.

There has often been a difference in opinion between those are aligned with South Dakota Right to Life, and those who take a more agressive approach.

RTL always has one eye on the Supreme Court when they present measures, whereas those Who might take a harder line in the life movement are well prepared to challenge all the way up to the Supreme Court, regardless of whether others view it as folly.

What do you think? Is Spencer’s scolding of Latterel an outlier which has no relation to the larger battle? Or does it represent one group who has long represented the life battle telling the more radical forces on the same side not to screw it up for all of them?

  
Slick Rick Weiland says the Republican AG is fair? Well, no kidding. We always knew Marty was a straight shooter.

But coming from Weiland and crew… Not sure how to take that.

  
It’s always unintentionally funny watching KDLT news. 

So, are there a lot of cats in “Mew Orleans?” Or do they constantly see how many times they can add meow to a conversation?

  
Representative Les Heinemann, Dale Bartscher, and Representative Don Haggar wait to catch the same flight to Minneapolis with me. 

  
And the Augustana College University students look ready to be home as well.

As I’m sitting in the airport café, enjoying a nice breakfast before I have to find my gate, I was pondering the ride I took to get here.

And wondering – why in the heck don’t we have Uber in South Dakota?

Now, it’s not perfect. That whole surge pricing/multiplier thing is confusing, so a ride I thought was going to cost me $11-15 ended up costing me thirty. 

It doesn’t explain ahead of time that the multiplier is added on top of the fare instead of being the fare. But, my ride was pleasant, arrived on my location within two minutes, and I didn’t have to leave a tip.

In a taxi, with the tip, the ride would have been $30 anyway, so it was a wash.

The ease and convenience of using Uber was tremendous. So, of course, in South Dakota it runs up against attitudes like this:

Assistant City Attorney Keith Allenstein said though the companies themselves would fall outside of Sioux Falls’ jurisdiction because they don’t operate local brick and mortar dispatch centers, existing city rules governing both independent contractors and taxi cab drivers would apply to ride-hailing drivers.

“If they keep a vehicle as a vehicle for hire, then these do apply,” Allenstein said. “I don’t think there’s a need to change anything in ordinance right now to regulate the drivers.”

Uber drivers are independent contractors and in Sioux Falls would need to apply for operators permits, have their vehicles inspected, obtain independent contractor licenses, provide proof of insurance and get commercial license plates. Sales tax remittance would also be required.

And…

But others aren’t so sure the rules should be tinkered with. Councilor Rex Rolfing said although he’s always open to revisiting city ordinances, certain parts of what’s on the books are necessary for public safety and fairness. Waiving the sales tax requirement, for instance, would create an uneven playing field between Uber drivers and traditional taxi cabs, he said.

“Who would (pay) it if they didn’t do it?” Rolfing asked. “It’s like doing things in a cash-only situation. That’s not going to be good for everybody in the long run.”

Read it here.

With attitudes like that, we should not be shocked if it’s reported that politicians like Rolfing bemoan the use of an automobile over the horse and buggy.

With attitudes like that at the city level, it also becomes incumbent upon legislators at the state level to provide a framework for modern notions of the taxi service, since local officials are still wondering where all the dinosaurs went.

In our society, one certainty is progress. In all aspects, we simply don’t do things as we have for the past hundred years. In business, “It’s the way we’ve always done things” is a recipe for failure and extinction. 

If business finds better and more efficient way of doing things, such as a modern notion of the taxi, government should be there to facilitate. 

So, legislators….  If the city of Sioux Falls is too bound by inertia and a desire to be trapped in the past, ignore those still looking for dinosaurs and standing around. Take the lead. 

from Newsmax, some of my fellow South Dakota AFP attendees were mentioned in a new story today on whether they like Trump:

A group of college students in a Republican club at Augustana College in South Dakota felt he was too much of a bully.

“He’s mocking it with his presence,” said Cara Beck, 20, as she stood with five male students between 19 and 21 years of age. Their picks were Bush, former Ohio Governor John Kasich, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Rubio.

Read it here.