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I think I’ve lost count on how many Non-Republicans that former State Senator Stan Adelstein has supported in the past, but apparently, he’s adding another one to the list:

—– Forwarded Message —–

From: Senator Stanford Adelstein <dakotamentor@gmail.com>
To: Stanford Adelstein <sdsenstan@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2016 3:50 PM
Subject: An opportunity for our small state to make a big difference in the presidential election

After careful thought, I have agreed to be South Dakota chairman of the Johnson/Weld presidential campaign. 

In a presidential election year when both major party candidates are so unsuited for the position, many of us are wishing for another option. Fortunately Gary Johnson, former Republican Governor of New Mexico, and his running-mate William Weld, former Republican Governor of Massachusetts are that option. 

Yes, we are a state fiercely proud of our Republican identity and values. Sadly, we will have to look outside our party to find a candidate whose values are in-step with our own this presidential election.

More so than in previous years, we will have to look personally at the substance of those we are electing more than the letter next to the name. With Governor Johnson on the South Dakota ballot we can enter the voting booth with excitement to cast our vote for a president with the experience, heart, and judgement that this country needs.

The Johnson/Weld ticket will appear on the ballot in all fifty states for the Libertarian Party. If Governor Johnson can secure enough votes to deny both the Democratic and Republican candidates a majority of electoral votes the House of Representatives could still eliminate still both candidates—and our magnificent Constitution might rescue us once again. 

The Johnson campaign considers winning South Dakota to be important and will have staff visiting the state next week. You are among a small group on individuals who I am reaching out to first, because of my respect for your leadership and experience, to ask to help this strong ticket achieve a majority vote in South Dakota.

I believe that South Dakotans of both parties care more about what happens in the future, than partisan politics. Also, we are a small state whose people are rather connected together—we are uniquely positioned to take this opportunity to make a difference in this year’s presidential election. 

I will call you in the coming days to discuss what a win for the Johnson/Weld ticket could mean for America and with the hope that you will agree to join the campaign.

Stan

So, when you do get that call, at least you can let it die on voicemail, and not wonder what it was about.

In case you were wondering about Johnson’s positions….

Abortion
Johnson supports “a woman’s right to choose up until the point of viability”[43] and wants to keep abortion legal.[44] He has been very vocal in his beliefs.[45] He supports legislation banning late-term abortions and mandating parental notification for minors seeking an abortion.[46] Johnson believes Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned because it “expanded the reach of the Federal government into areas of society never envisioned in the Constitution.” He believes that laws regarding abortion should “be decided by the individual states.”[42]

Crime
Johnson asserts that much of the violent crime in the United States stems from the failure of the federal drug policy of the United States, just as occurred with the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States between 1920 and 1933.[47] He says, “Since only criminal gangs and cartels are willing to take the risks associated with large-scale black market distribution, the War on Drugs has made a lot of dangerous people and organizations very rich and very powerful.”[47] He says that, like alcohol prohibition, prohibition of drugs creates “overdose deaths, gang violence, and other prohibition-related harm.”[47] He points to his views on ending the War on Drugs as a remedy for most violent crime in America.[47]

Johnson believes that crimes “committed online,” including “fraud and child pornography,” “should be investigated and treated identically as crimes not committed online.”

Death penalty
Johnson opposes the death penalty completely.[49] Initially, as Governor of New Mexico, he had sought to expand capital sentences to minors, while limiting appeals; he now calls that position “naïve.”[49] He believes government inevitably “makes mistakes with regard to the death penalty,” and does not “want to put one innocent person to death to punish 99 who are guilty.”[49]

Drinking age
Johnson is in favor of lowering the legal drinking age to 18, or eliminating the drinking age outright.[50]

Read it all here at Wikipedia..

Interesting story up in Aberdeen this AM, where the Ultra-liberal State Senate Candidate Cory Heidelberger decided to verbally spar with a speaker at an event where he was an uninvited member of the audience:

Things got heated at a lecture by Ron Branstner at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Aberdeen on Thursday when Corey Heidelberger defended a piece from his blog, Dakota Free Press, that Branstner critiqued in front of the group of about 200 assembled.

Heidelberger and Branstner began talking over each other, and members from the audience began shouting “get out” to Heidelberger, who is running for state Senate.

This happened during the question-and-answer portion at the end of Branstner’s lecture.

Branstner asked that things not get violent and the crowd quieted down.

Read it here.

Libertarian Ken Santema of the website SDliberty.com was in attendance, and has pictures, and promises upcoming video of the confrontations that the Democrat Senate Candidate had with the speaker and members of the crowd, who called for him to “Get out!”

Cory H from Dakota Free Press caused a ruckus at the event.

A photo posted by Ken Santema (@sodakliberty) on Aug 11, 2016 at 7:07pm PDT

Is it just me, or does inciting a near riot not seem like very candidate-like behavior? At the least, it comes off as very poor judgement.  People are allowed to have opinions, especially at events that they are hosting and paying for. And they might be contrary to the opinions held by politicians.

They’re actually allowed to say that they don’t think much of what he has to say. He certainly has the right to disagree, but what did it earn him by picking a fight over not liking what people think about what he writes? What did it do other than massage Cory’s ego, and nearly get him assaulted?

If his intent is to defend what he writes to a mass audience and pick a fight, I suppose he can do that. But, I was under the impression he is running for office.

What Heidelberger did was confrontation for the sake of confrontation. It didn’t help his candidacy, and if anything, reinforced some of the negative perceptions voters already have about him. It actually moved the ball backwards, and courtesy of the Aberdeen American News, it defined him as a bit thin skinned for people who knew nothing about him until now.

Some of the best advice you can give to a candidate is “Don’t do stupid things.” Going to the lair of someone who might be your enemy and picking a fight that makes the newspaper… I’d offer the opinion that it might just qualify as stupid.

UPDATE: Check out the Video from SoDakLiberty, where I’m starting it about 1 Hour, 55 minutes in…

Exactly as I’d mentioned, Cory wades into it, and picks a fight. And later, he comes back and starts shouting over the presenter.  Not very Senatorial at all.

Does this mean that if elected, he’s going to wade into other meetings of people he disagrees with, such as county commissions, or school boards, and attempt to shout over them? It comes off as a lot of the oppression you see in college kids trying to drown out by shouting conservative presenters on college campuses.

Except Cory isn’t a kid. He’s a candidate for office. And it isn’t acceptable for him, either.

The Rapid City Journal has an excellent article on the forced name change to Harney Peak that had been previously been rejected by the state board on geographical names, but forced on the state by the Federal Government.

Because as a state, we have the right to absolutely ignore the decision:

Excellent concert last night with the Doobie Brothers, Journey and Dave Mason from Traffic. Except there were all these “old” people there. (The guy in the row ahead of us fell asleep during the Doobie Brothers.)

My wife and I are trying to hit some of the bands we enjoyed in our younger days and couldn’t afford to catch at an earlier date, as many of them are retiring, or in the case of Glen Frey, departing this mortal coil a short time after we saw the Eagles in Sioux Falls.  Next weekend, I’m combining a long overdue visit to Denver to visit a few siblings with seeing Huey Lewis & the Go Go’s (who are on their farewell tour).

Is it bad that our favorite bands are retiring or having their founding members pass away? Dammit. I’m one of those old people too. Hopefully I can manage to stay awake next weekend. 🙂

From Facebook:

Thune-Led Commerce Committee Examines Freight Rail Reform Implementation

“I introduced the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 to make the STB a more efficient and effective agency … While many of the most important provisions of the law are still in-progress, thus far the Board has met or is on track to meet each deadline in the legislation, a feat most other Federal agencies regularly fail to do, and I greatly appreciate their efforts.… I hope the Board will continue the good progress since enactment of the legislation, and I expect this Committee to continue its active oversight to maximize the benefits of the law.” 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today held a full committee field hearing titled “Freight Rail Reform: Implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015” in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

At the hearing, witnesses testified on the implementation of the recently-enacted Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act, the first reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) since its creation two decades ago. Sen. Thune introduced this legislation to make the STB more efficient and effective. The hearing continued the Committee’s oversight work to help ensure a competitive, efficient, and reliable national rail system.  The hearing featured all three appointed members of the STB and four representatives of farmers, manufacturers, and energy suppliers that depend on rail. 

Excerpts from Sen. Thune’s opening statement:

“[A]bout three times as many rail carloads originate in the state compared to the number that end up here, South Dakotans disproportionately depend on rail to get our products to market, create jobs, and grow incomes. That’s why it’s so important that, when problems arise in our nation’s rail system, we have efficient and effective oversight.”

“Last year, following intensive oversight activity, I introduced the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 to make the STB a more efficient and effective agency. After working on a bipartisan basis with cosponsor Ranking Member Bill Nelson, and working with my colleagues in the House of Representatives, I was pleased to see it signed into law last December. This hearing marks about eight months since the enactment of my legislation, and it is an opportunity to examine completed and on-going implementation work at the STB and hear about ways to maximize the law’s benefits for the businesses that depend on rail.”  

“While many of the most important provisions of the law are still in-progress, thus far the Board has met or is on track to meet each deadline in the legislation, a feat most other Federal agencies regularly fail to do, and I greatly appreciate their efforts.… I hope the Board will continue the good progress since enactment of the legislation, and I expect this Committee to continue its active oversight to maximize the benefits of the law. This legislation is another example of the Senate getting back to work for the American people. That works includes the five-year, $305 billion highway bill, FAA reauthorization and aviation security bill, and the pipeline safety bill as significant Committee achievements within the past year to improve our nation’s transportation and infrastructure.” 

Key hearing takeaways: 

The Honorable Daniel R. Elliott III, Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board:

“I want to reiterate my thanks to you, Chairman Thune, for your deep interest in freight railroad issues both in South Dakota and throughout the nation, and your work with the Surface Transportation Board on rail service issues, and for this Committee’s thoughtful oversight of the STB.”

“As a result of the Reauthorization Act, the Board has achieved greater transparency and efficiency, which directly benefits the stakeholders that we serve.”

“I would like to thank Chairman Thune in particular for the enhanced reporting provided by the Reauthorization Act.  As you may have seen, we have issued a number of major decisions in the first six months of this year.  Significant credit for this development is due to the reporting established by the Reauthorization Act and the support it provides to our continuing timeliness improvements.” 

The Honorable Deb Miller, Vice Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board:

“Senators Thune and Nelson and the entire Committee drafted and passed an excellent bill and I think the Board has done an excellent job in carrying out the goals of the Act.”

“The Act has wisely addressed the need for the Board to be more transparent and accountable by allowing the Board Members to communicate more easily and by providing progress reports on its workload. I also appreciate the requirements under the Act for the Board to examine ways to improve our rate case processes and methodologies, which are long overdue. The addition of investigative power and changes to the arbitration process will also be beneficial, as they will give the Board additional means of resolving issues between railroads and shippers.”

The Honorable Ann D. Begeman, Board Member of the Surface Transportation Board:

“Chairman Thune, thank you for your efforts to reauthorize our agency and hold the Board more accountable to shippers, rail carriers, and the public.  Because of you and your Committee’s efforts, the agency can no longer operate under a ‘business as usual’ mentality.”

Mr. Michael Skuodas, Vice President of Distribution and Business Development at POET:

“Prior to the enactment of this critical legislation, the procedures and institutional barriers at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) made lodging legitimate complaints about rail service difficult and costly to execute. Timely, effective, and meaningful resolution to genuine issues was elusive for so many in our industry.” 

“With this in mind, we are here to say thank you on behalf of POET, the ethanol industry, and shippers from South Dakota for your leadership on all of these key rail issues and in particular for your work to enact and implement the recent STB reform legislation. You, your Senate colleagues, and your staff gave us the opportunity to be heard, and while we still have work to do to ensure STB will fully implement the new regulations, we have reason to be optimistic that conditions will improve.”

“Chairman Thune, you have been instrumental in addressing the rail concerns of our industry including the service related issues in 2014 and now with enactment of STB reform. On behalf of all of our employees and their families we thank you.” 

Mr. Dan Mack, Vice President of Transportation and Terminal Operations at CHS, Inc.:

“Regarding the subject of today’s hearing, I want to especially thank Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson and members of the Committee for your bipartisan work passing the STB Reauthorization Act of 2015 (S. 808). This is the first freight rail policy reforms to pass Congress in a generation and the first time the agency was reauthorized since its creation. The rail industry has changed a great deal over the past twenty years, and this law is helping to modernize the STB to better reflect this new reality. 

Mr. Tom Heller, Chief Executive Officer of Missouri River Energy Services 

“MRES and FRCA applauds you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this very important hearing on the implementation of the STB Reauthorization Act of 2015.  Your personal and steadfast oversight, accompanied by the efforts of your staff, is helping to make the difference in transforming the STB into a more effective, accountable, and transparent agency – desperately needed in today’s market for both shippers and railroads as freight demands increase here at home and overseas.” 

Mr. Troy Knecht, Vice President of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association:

“The SDCGA is grateful to Senator Thune for addressing rail concerns shared by everyone in agriculture. We appreciate his leadership in passing of the STB reauthorization bill. It is a critical piece of legislation that affects all major markets. 

“I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the 12,500 corn farmers of South Dakota, and Senator Thune for his vision in addressing this issue.”  

Watch the hearing HERE.

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Thune Statement on Federal Board’s Unilateral Decision to Rename Harney Peak 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the U.S. Board on Geographic Names announced it had renamed South Dakota’s Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak. The South Dakota Department of Tourism, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, and the State Board on Geographic Names all recommended the name not be changed.

“I’m surprised and upset by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names’ unilateral decision to rename Harney Peak, one of South Dakota’s most well-known landmarks,” said Thune. “The national board’s choice to reject the state’s recommendation to leave the name as-is defies logic, since it was state officials who so carefully solicited public feedback and ultimately came to their decision. I’m also disappointed the board grossly misled my office with respect to the timeline of its decision, which wasn’t expected until next year.”  

###

Is it me? Or does it seem like there’s a lot of old people here? 

An attorney friend who was in the court room watching the proceedings today gave me the inside scoop on the judges ruling in the IM21 challenge:

St & Ave are not required to be valid signatures; petition meets criteria under substantially compliance..enough valid signatures to be on the ballot…challenge denied IM 21 will be on the ballot according to the circuit court..writ of mandamus denied…excellent lawyering by both sides

So there you have it.