Category: Uncategorized

From KELOland, something I’d heard about over the course of the last decade finally happened – the great insurance death spiral that is the Associated School Boards Insurance plan finally came to greater light – and school districts are now having to pay the piper for not adequately funding the insurance pool that many of them are part of:

How would you feel about a $13.5 million bill that you didn’t even know you had?

School districts across South Dakota are in that situation.  53 districts in a health care insurance pool to cover their employees found the fund was millions of dollars in debt last year.  Now the schools have to pay it back.

Since public schools are taxpayer funded that means, in part, you’ll be paying it back too.

and..

The fund is managed by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, a non-profit organization out of Pierre.  It gets paid nearly $1.5 million a year to manage several trusts, including the health insurance fund for many school districts.

and..

Over the last decade, the South Dakota Health Benefits fund has plunged deeper and deeper into the red.  In 2005, it was $1.4 million in debt.  And last year, after the first full audit of the fund, that debt added up to $13.6 million.

Read it all here.

The “No on 23” group fighting to preserve South Dakota’s Right to Work Laws against Labor Unions which want to strip that status from our state has joined advertisers row for the next few weeks.

Take a moment, and visit their website, and find out why we don’t want to be forced to pay a portion of our salaries to labor unions that we didn’t decide to join in the first place.

The No on Amendment V people are rolling out a new commercial to show what is going to happen if that awful measure passes on November 8th:

This is what it looks like when everyone knows you’re taking one for the team. Even the most ardent supporters know not to send good money after a lost cause

Jay Williams 2016 q3 FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

$18K Contributed, $13.7K Spent, $24K cash on hand.

This looks more like a State Legislative race than a US Senate Campaign.

Try not to get caught pushing those liberal policies and politicians. Or parties.

Another interesting data dump from the Clinton Wikileaks files. Apparently Tom Daschle was busy lobbying… er, “not lobbying”… Clinton aides on behalf of one of his “not lobbying” clients.  Why was he “not lobbying?”  Well, he couldn’t be a lobbyist yet, as he wasn’t registered to be a lobbyist until nearly a year later:

Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle pushed Hillary Clinton’s top aides to consider supporting a massive health insurance merger for one of his clients — even though at the time he was not registered to be a company lobbyist.

Daschle registered to be a lobbyist for Aetna in February of 2016, which subjected him to disclosure and ethics regulations. However, an email released Thursday by Wikileaks shows Daschle pressing the company’s agenda with political power players in October 2015.

“I wanted to reach out in reference to Hillary’s statements today regarding the insurance mergers,” Daschle wrote to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta on the day Clinton publicly raised questions about the merger. “I certainly understand her concerns over the pending deals. I’ve been working with Aetna on ACA [Affordable Care Act] involvement for the past several years. That has led to other health related matters including the merger. Their team has what they view to be compelling arguments around the benefits of the Humana merger and why it will be beneficial for consumers.”

Then Daschle said: “Would you and your team be willing to have a conversation with them?”

Read it all here.

 

Thune Requests Immediate Assistance for Producers Affected by Cottonwood Fire

“[P]roducers in this area urgently need timely assistance from USDA due to the devastating feed and livestock losses caused by the Cottonwood Fire, and I strongly urge you to take whatever action necessary to provide assistance to these producers …” 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today wrote to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), encouraging him to provide immediate disaster assistance to ranchers who have been affected by the Cottonwood Fire. The fire has burned more than 31,000 acres between Wall and Kadoka, a portion of the same area impacted by winter storm Atlas, which claimed more than 44,000 head of cattle just three years ago. Thune’s letter also requests additional assistance to ensure ranchers in the affected area have access to hay that’s been donated as a result of the Conservation Reserve Program’s mid-contract management.

“Once again, the producers in this area urgently need timely assistance from USDA due to the devastating feed and livestock losses caused by the Cottonwood Fire, and I strongly urge you to take whatever action necessary to provide assistance to these producers through FSA disaster assistance programs, including the Livestock Forage Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Conservation Program, and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program,” wrote Thune.

Thune authored the Livestock Forage Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program, all of which were included in the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bills. Thune played an integral role in ensuring the Farm Service Agency (FSA) was able to authorize the donation of hay removed from CRP acres due to mid-contract management by inserting key language in the 2014 Farm Bill conference report.

Full text of the letter can be found below: 

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

I write today concerning a devastating wildfire that has burned more than 31,000 acres in Western South Dakota and to date is not fully contained.

The fire started Sunday, October 16, in an area near Interstate 90 between Wall and Kadoka, which was under a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning for low humidity, high winds, and high temperature. Due to high, gusty winds of more than 50 miles per hour, the fire spread quickly across thousands of acres and destroyed hay, fences, winter pastures, livestock, and outbuildings that were in its path. 

The Cottonwood Fire is in the heart of the area that was devastated just three years ago by winter storm Atlas, which killed more than 44,000 head of livestock in Western South Dakota. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) was exceptionally responsive in implementing the livestock disaster programs following winter storm Atlas, and I appreciate the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) making livestock disaster program delivery a top priority after passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.

Once again, the producers in this area urgently need timely assistance from USDA due to the devastating feed and livestock losses caused by the Cottonwood Fire, and I strongly urge you to take whatever action necessary to provide assistance to these producers through FSA disaster assistance programs, including the Livestock Forage Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Conservation Program, and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program.

 In addition, I urge continued coordination between FSA and the South Dakota State Department of Agriculture to ensure ranchers in the Cottonwood Fire area are provided the opportunity to obtain any remaining hay donated as a result of Conservation Reserve Program mid-contract management.

Thank you for your timely consideration of this request. 

Sincerely,

##

Defeat 22 Coalition Welcomes SD Cattlemen’s Association and other organizations
Three new South Dakota organizations join coalition opposing taxpayer funded elections

Sioux Falls, S.D. – The Defeat 22 coalition today welcomed aboard the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, the South Dakota Republican Party, and the Yankton County Republicans. The organizations bring the total coalition opposing taxpayer funding of elections to over 20.

“We welcome our newest partners in the fight to stop taxpayer funding of elections,” explained  Ben Lee, Spokesman  for Defeat 22. “Our coalition represents thousands of hard-working business owners, ranchers, contractors, and citizens who know that tax dollars should pay for roads, bridges, and schools – not robocalls, television ads, and junk mail. We look forward to continuing to educate South Dakotans about Measure 22 and urging them to defeat it this November.”

Jodie Anderson, Executive Director of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association saId: “In addition to the pitfalls of taxpayer funded elections, SDCA opposes Measure 22 due to concerns that our members’ privacy would be endangered simply because we advocated for our policy goals or mentioned a candidate in passing. We believe this would diminish civic engagement  and open  our members to harassment and intimidation.”

Ryan Budmayr, Executive Director of South Dakota Republican Party said: “IM22 is yet another example of outside, big money interests trying to change the way we do things in South    Dakota.”

Jason Ravnsborg, Chair of the Yankton County Republicans, said: “For a measure that claims to limit the influence of money in politics, Measure 22 sure does a poor job of it. Measure 22 would have taxpayers contribute up to $12 million each election cycle to political campaigns. We have better priorities for our states limited funds than forcing taxpayers  to support political campaigns.”

Defeat 22 is a coalition of over 20 South Dakota businesses, charities, political leaders and organizations who agree that tax dollars shouldn’t fund political campaigns. They have released multiple radio ads and multiple mailers to supplement a grassroots door knocking effort. The coalition plans to continue heavy grassroots advocacy and paid media through November.  All  details  about the coalition-led effort  can be seen at www.defeat22.com

Now I’ve got that Beatles song stuck in my head. Because the South Dakota GOP is helping the Liberal Democrat candidate for State Senate in District 3 with his memory again today, as they remind him of his statements in favor of raising taxes all over the place!

Statements promoting a personal state income tax… a corporate income tax… a new penny of sales tax.. and removing $800 Million in Sales tax exemptions?  And all of them are from this year? Ouch.

This might be a tough election for our little liberal in Aberdeen, unless he can find a majority of people want to be taxed far, far more than they are now.

Moving on…

Update!

They zinged him in the newspaper too. (Which I’m hearing he wants to remove the tax exemptions on, so it’s probably appropriate).