Category: Uncategorized

Johnson, Schrier Unveil Plan to Repurpose $1 Trillion in COVID Funds

The SUPPORT for Mental Health Act repurposes existing COVID-19 funds for mental health resources

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA) introduced the Supporting Underserved Populations by Placing Our Resources in Trusts (SUPPORT) for Mental Health Act. The bipartisan bill would allow states to utilize remaining COVID-19 relief funds to create a trust fund dedicated to mental and behavioral health.

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), during the height of the pandemic, anxiety and depression symptoms were three to four times higher than the previous year. Nearly 13% of respondents said they have turned to substance abuse, and one in four Americans between 18 and 24 years old say they’ve considered suicide in the past month because of the pandemic.

“When states across America completely shut down for over a year, people’s lives and livelihoods were completely disrupted – an unfortunate consequence of this disruption and restrictions was many Americans’ mental health,” said Johnson. “The SUPPORT for Mental Health Act allows states and tribes flexibility to utilize previously allocated relief funds to address rising mental and behavioral health needs.”

“The last 15 months have been difficult for many Americans who have felt the economic and emotional effects of the pandemic, and with that has come an increase in people needing mental health support,” said Schrier. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce this legislation with my friend Dusty Johnson to allow COVID-19 relief funds to be used by states and tribes to meet mental and behavioral health needs. Let’s make sure help is available to meet the increased need.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated the underinvestment in mental health care in our country, resulting in a substantial unmet need for mental health and substance use disorder services. Affording states and localities the flexibility to direct uncommitted COVID relief funds towards behavioral health services is a common-sense approach to help address the mental health needs of our nation.” – American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A

The SUPPORT for Mental Health Act would utilize nearly a trillion dollars in unspent pandemic related funds. States, tribes, and localities are required to allocate COVID-19 relief funds by December 31, 2024.

Click here for a one-pager on the SUPPORT for Mental Health Act.

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From Facebook:

After neglecting it for quite some time, I’m trying to be better about posting items to instagram.  I do like the visual nature of the platform, as I have a ridiculous number of pictures related to South Dakota politics, I’m accruing more all the itme, and it’s a bit more personal than facebook has gotten to be anymore.

If you want to give me a follow on that platform, you can find me at @dakotawarcollege.

Remember when the South Dakota Democrats world turned upside down, when their chairman and ED abandoned ship because of the party’s shaky finances? It took them a while after the chair took out a personal loan to get some fiscal discipline, but picking apart their latest FEC Report, I can’t help but think they’re starting to slip into some old habits.

SDDPDems July2021 FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

Starting with $58,219, they took in an additional $29,471. But they spent $35,221. Sure, they might have had some unusual expenses this month, but keep in mind that the South Dakota Democrat Party is on welfare from the national Democrat Party.  Of that $29,741 they raised, nearly $13k of that is comprised of funds transferred in from other Dem committees.

$10,000 is a monthly stipend from the “DEMOCRATIC GRASSROOTS VICTORY FUND,” and $2,941 is another monthly welfare payment contribution they received from the Democratic National Committee.

State Democrats also reported a unusual donation came in to their coffers from the creator of the “Family Guy” cartoon, producer & actor Seth MacFarlane:

That one was kind of surprising. But in researching, apparently MacFarlane is a significant donor to Democrat causes..

As the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week, Seth MacFarlane is one of Hollywood’s most generous donors to liberal and left-wing political campaigns and causes. Since he began his philanthropy in 2005, MacFarlane has donated $4.6 million to liberal and progressive politicians and groups, including the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

“After MacFarlane contributed $2.5 million to Democrats in 2018, his company, Fuzzy Door Productions, was ranked second in Hollywood giving behind DreamWorks SKG and ahead of Disney, according to data from OpenSecrets.org, a nonprofit research group tracking money in U.S. politics,” the Times reported.

Read that here.

So, of the $29,741 state Democrats raised this month, $22,941 is Dem Party welfare plus a one-time check out of the blue from Hollywood. Meaning they only brought in $6,800 from regular donors to offset $35,221 in expenses.

The problem gets to be what their problem has always been, which is their overhead. Against that $6800 in regular donations, I’m counting roughly around $13k in salaries, which does not include anything for their new Executive Director, Berk Ehmergerd or whatever his name is who just started.   So this shortfall is before they started paying their new guy dollar one.

Whether they’ll be able to raise enough to pay the hired help will be interesting in the coming months. Could be that State Democrats might be facing a rocky road even after being subsidized by the national party on a monthly basis.

It’s been a few months, so it’s time to update our election infographic on who we can expect is running for what in the 2022 Republican Primary. While it has largely stayed the same, there are a couple of notable updates, including a possible opponent emerging for Congressman Dusty Johnson, and US Senator John Thune’s opposition firming up. If they can get on the ballot, that is.

And with that, it’s time for the Tale of the GOP Tape Summer 2021 edition!

Any updates or new information? Drop me a note!

This week, Sanford Health announced that they are requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 1, in an effort to make sure that their own employees aren’t exposing already sick people to the virus which has already proven deadly in many cases, and seems to be mutating into some stronger versions (i.e. the Delta Variant). According to the Argus Leader:

According to a press release by the healthcare company, more than 90% of clinicians and 70% of nurses are already fully vaccinated. The new requirement also includes employees at all of Sanford’s Good Samaritan Society locations.

“This is the right thing to do for our patients and residents, people and communities,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “As more contagious COVID-19 variants continue to spread and threaten our communities, we must do everything we can to protect each other and our loved ones.”

Read the entire story here.

Of course, not every one is going to agree, which is entirely their right.

And since Sanford is a private organization, and we’re a free country, those that disagree have the right to go work elsewhere.

But for those that disagree, long-time anti-vaxxer and gubernatorial candidate Lora Hubbel stands ready to assist them in countermanding this action by telling them to go back at their employers with a stack of complete gobbledygook, encouraging them to make “a citizens arrest”:

She gave this to the Sioux Falls PD? How long do you think it took them to roll their eyes, and put it in the circular file?

If you look at the actual laws she’s citing, it makes even less sense than this crazy-person packet already did, as 34-22-6 says you can’t hold someone down and use physical force to vaccinate them against their will, and 34-22-45 is a law that offers first responders vaccines on a voluntary basis if they’re deployed to areas of bioterrorism attacks.  Neither of which apply to a health care employer saying that their employees need to be vaccinated so they don’t infect and possibly kill the sick and elderly who walk through the door.

So, waving this pile of nonsense will likely have no effect to those who choose to wave it at their employer.

Except maybe to hasten the amount of time until the HR Person asks for security to escort them from their office.

A Spending Spree at South Dakotans’ Expense
By Sen. John Thune

If you’ve noticed the cost of everyday items going up lately, you aren’t imagining it. Inflation, which describes consumers’ purchasing power and the price of goods, grew in June to its highest level in 13 years. As a result, American families are – literally – paying the price. In South Dakota and across the country, families are seeing increases in rent, grocery bills, and gas prices – the list goes on. Unfortunately, this is a direct result of many of the policies coming out of Washington, D.C.

Most students learn the concept of supply and demand early in their education. Perhaps even on the kindergarten playground if the number of kids ever exceeded the number of toys. When demand is high and supply can’t keep up, it causes tension. This is a natural occurrence on any playground, or in any economy. However, the inflation we’re seeing today isn’t a reaction to the natural pendulum of supply and demand.

In the last six months, the economy has been flooded with trillions of federal government dollars. This money is driving demand to a significantly high level – throwing off the balance of our economy and driving prices up for Americans.

So, how did we get here? Senate Democrats’ first order of business after gaining the majority was using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to pass a massive “relief” bill that was filled with unnecessary government handouts. Republicans, and many respected economists, warned that this massive spending plan could overstimulate the economy, but Democrats plowed ahead anyway. Flash forward to today, and it’s no surprise that their flood of unnecessary federal spending is causing problems in the economy.

With inflation on the rise, Democrats are now preparing to double down on that strategy. Despite passing a largely unnecessary nearly $2 trillion bill just four months ago, Democrats now want to spend another $3.5 trillion in reckless spending. One estimate suggests that the Democrats’ new proposal is likely to be closer to $5 trillion or $5.5 trillion. That’s an inconceivably large amount of money. To put that number in perspective, the entire federal budget for 2019 was less than $4.5 trillion. Consider that for a moment. Some members of Congress are just casually tossing out a new spending bill that might very well exceed the ENTIRE federal budget for all of 2019.

South Dakotans are smart, commonsense people. They know that dollars and cents don’t grow on trees and that the grocery store clerk won’t take monopoly money to pay for this week’s food. They know what it means to live within a budget and the consequences of living irresponsibly outside of one. Unfortunately, it seems that many of my colleagues in Washington either don’t know these fundamental truths or they’re simply unwilling to accept them. I’m open to working with Republicans and Democrats to find solutions to today’s problems, but by unnecessarily adding trillions of dollars to our national debt, we’re only creating new challenges for future generations.

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Great Places
By: Governor Kristi Noem
July 23, 2021

In the past when Americans were planning their vacations, their top destinations were always beaches and big cities. For the first time in decades, that’s changing. Now, the American people want to visit the great outdoors. They want to see beautiful parks and small towns that remind them how life used to be. Well, South Dakota has that in spades.

It’s no wonder that South Dakota is No. 1 in America in year-over-year tourism. Our state record for visitations was set in 2019, and we’re on pace to blow that number out of the water. People are looking for freedom and fresh air. And word has gotten around that South Dakota is the place to get it.

Given that tourism is our state’s 2nd largest industry, this is tremendous news for our economy. Visitor spending so far this year is 9% higher than 2019, our record-setting year. And that visitor spending leads to higher tax revenues for our state, helping drive our record surplus announced earlier this month.

What’s really remarkable is how many folks are taking road trips to South Dakota. In fact, even though airport arrivals are down 24% compared to 2019, we’re still on pace to shatter visitation records, meaning that more folks are driving here than ever before. We love to see license plates from all across the country decorating our roads!

As South Dakotans, it can be easy to forget that these beautiful national treasures are right in our own backyard. Don’t forget to take some time and enjoy them with your family. We have beautiful summers here, but the summer is already halfway gone. So take in the fresh air. Catch a baseball game. Visit a state park. Celebrate the great places that make South Dakota special. If you can’t go on a full family vacation, visit some of the natural beauty that’s not too far from home – we have it in every corner of our state. Summer is a fantastic time to make memories together.

I’m sure that many of you have friends and family visiting our state, maybe for the first time. Show them around. Share our state’s breathtaking landscapes with them. Make a day trip to Mount Rushmore. These folks are coming to South Dakota to make memories. I’m glad that they have such wonderful South Dakotans to share those memories with.

Above all, remember to be happy. We woke up this morning in the United States of America. Better yet, we woke up in South Dakota, the freest state in the Land of the Free. As record-breaking visitors continue to roll into our state, remember to greet them with smiling faces. After all, “great faces” isn’t just about Mount Rushmore; it’s about the fantastic people that make our state so special.

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Coming from the “Primary Dusty Johnson” facebook group…

Looks like the anti-incumbent forces may have talked someone into running against Dusty Johnson, and they should soon be schooled how a good campaign is run, as Dusty is one of the toughest campaigners in the state.

First guess is Taffy Howard, especially since she was speaking at an event recently, but we’ll see.

Stay tuned.