Category: Uncategorized

Are you one of those fellow South Dakotans who are getting tickets for the Eagles when they play the Sanford Center on June 4th?  My wife has wanted to see them in concert for longer than we’ve been married, so you know where this one’s going…

First I went here,

until I realized it was a scalper or “resale” web site, where the cheapest tickets were $257. Each.

Once that was cleared up, I hit Ticketmaster, where it wasn’t much better. I managed to get a couple of main concourse seats for $173. Each.  And that’s from the venue. Supposedly not-the-scalper.

Really?  Paying that much for concert tickets just grates on me personally, but it’s for the wifey, so sometimes a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

But it still grates on me.

One of my readers who was in Pierre during session offered his opinion to me today on why the democrats squawking about it’s passage by Republicans & signing today by Governor Daugaard are way off base:

Democrats have abused the law for years by using placeholders so they can recruit past the deadline. This fixes that.

They have also taken advantage of their horrible gubernatorial campaigns to have a much lower signature requirement than Republicans. This changes so both are based on registered voters – which is the universe of voters who can sign. Daugaard got lots of votes from Democrats and Independents – none of those people can sign a petition for a Republican candidate. Why should R candidates need 2x the signatures that D candidates do, when R’s have 45% of the registered voters and D’s have 35%?

The last change is with independents. This puts them on equal footing with the R’s and D’s – collecting signatures from Independents and requiring the same percentage.

What will the anti-69 campaign say? “Let Dems continue to abuse the placeholder law” or “Save easy petitions for Dems” don’t have a great ring to it.

This all happened because Bernie Hunhoff tried to amend SB 69 to make it EVEN EASIER for Dems to name candidates after the deadline. Listen to the Senate State Affairs hearing – both days – and you will see.

So the righteous indignation wears a little thin.

Food for thought.

From Salon:

Rick Scott may have found a way of making climate denial state policy, but the Florida governor is going to have a hard time ignoring this. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just updated its guidelines for state disaster preparedness plans, and under the new policy, plans will only be approved — and federal funds appropriated —  if they address the threats of climate change.

“The challenges posed by climate change, such as more intense storms, frequent heavy precipitation, heat waves, drought, extreme flooding, and higher sea levels, could significantly alter the types and magnitudes of hazards impacting states in the future,” the guidelines explain. They direct states to”assess vulnerability, identify a strategy to guide decisions and investments, and implement actions that will reduce risk, including impacts from a changing climate.”

Read it here.

I’m thinking the next Republican President is going to have a heck of a job cleaning out the US Government.

Well, the latest FEC Report is in from the Democrats. What’s new?

It looks like Zach Crago might have finally been weaned off of the payroll (At least the federal one), but the Democrats are still hugely dependent upon the national party to keep the doors open.

Democrat March20 FEC

Out of $19,240 in receipts, $7,026 came from the Democrat National Committee – 37%! That does not bode well for the SDDP, especially if they are suddenly cut off.

Stay tuned.

I’m hearing reliable rumors out of Sioux Falls this afternoon that the Democrat’s loss leader, 3-time candidate Rick Weiland, is supposedly teaming up with former Tim Johnson Chief of Staff Drey Samuelson to form a new liberal attack dog group.

Word is that Weiland is pushing the story this afternoon with reporters about his new liberal group.

I suspect he’s forming this group in an attempt to remain nominally relevant. The outlook on it is somewhat doubtful, given his complete implosion at the end of his ill-fated US Senate campaign where he went on the attack against the DSCC.

No word on what Democratic US Senate Leader Harry Reid thinks about this latest Weiland effort.  Although, I suspect it would go along these lines:

“Desperation is an ugly thing, and it’s sad to see Rick Weiland ending his ill-advised campaign and brief political career by attacking fellow Democrats,” said Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Reid.

Read it here.

Update – Yep. Scooped them again.

After I pointed out that Weiland was shopping the story, a rushed press release was dropped about his takeitback.org website. And once you look past his barfy platitudes, it looks like he’s setting up an organization to channel money to candidates through:

So, just like when he was campaigning, he’s once again demanding that people send him money to ‘take it back’ from special interest groups….

Just like the one he’s forming.

Rounds Calls for an End to Sequestration

 

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,  today at a hearing made the following remarks reinforcing his desire to end sequestration and increase spending for defense:

 

“I would like to briefly address an overarching theme that has dominated this committee’s dialog over many weeks.  That theme is, of course, the critical importance of properly funding our armed forces. We have heard over and over from leaders from throughout the Defense Department about the devastating impacts that would accompany sequestration.  But I believe sequestration is part of a larger threat to our defense establishment and our national security.  At a time of great fiscal pressures we can expect to see continued pressure for defense spending that is below a level of acceptable risk.  In short, we can expect to see as never before advocacy of a national security strategy that is budget and not strategy driven.  This committee is positioned to keep that from happening.  So I would like to take this opportunity to state my strong support and great appreciation for the ongoing efforts of Chairman McCain and Ranking Member Reed to not only avoid sequestration but to truly provide the funding levels needed to keep our nation safe.”

 

Full video of his remarks is available here: 

 

 

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I missed this gem in the Associated Press version of the article about incoming Thune Campaign Manager Josh Shields. Former Teacher’s Union Boss Ann Tornberg is Democratic Party chair, and in charge of everything that they do.

And even she had to admit that against John Thune, ‘Dem’s got nothing’:

South Dakota Democratic Party Chairwoman Ann Tornberg says she’s not currently aware of any candidates that are interested in running against Thune. He ran unopposed for a second term in 2010.

Read it here.

But wait a minute? Why is Tornberg commenting?  Wasn’t there supposed to be someone else manning the shop by this time?

The South Dakota Democratic Party is looking for a new executive director.

And…

The Democrats are accepting applications for the position, which they hope to fill no later than Jan. 31.

Read that here.   And they also mentioned on their own web site:

The South Dakota Democratic Party plans to fill the Executive Director position before the end of January. Interested applicants can learn more about the position here: http://www.sddp.org/we-are-hiring/

Read that here.

But, two months later, they still have nothing. Much like I’d anticipate they’re going to have against Senator Thune next fall.  Nothing.