US Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: ISIS Must Be Stopped

thuneheadernew John_Thune,_official_portrait,_111th_CongressISIS Must Be Stopped  
By Sen. John Thune

Our continued thoughts and prayers are with the victims of last week’s senseless attacks in Paris. Our admiration goes out to the law enforcement and military personnel who so bravely rushed toward danger to protect the innocent and weak. While the Paris attacks have dominated the headlines, we cannot forget the people of Beirut, Lebanon, who just days before the attacks in Paris also suffered great loss at the hands of ISIS terrorists. It is oftentimes hard to be strong when faced with such adversity – the American people know it all too well – but despite the hardship, France and Lebanon have stood strong, and the American people stand with them.

ISIS has proven to be one of the most brutal instruments of evil the world has ever known. They kill and maim the innocent with no regard for humanity. ISIS’ campaign of violence is not limited to certain regions, nationalities, or religions. Faced with these dangers, we cannot be naïve to think that if given the opportunity, ISIS would not try to perpetrate an attack on U.S. soil. ISIS represents a clear and present danger to the world, and it must be stopped.

Unfortunately, I don’t think President Obama is willing to take the necessary steps to ensure ISIS’ reign of terror is stopped. When asked about ISIS the day before the Paris attacks, the president said, “I don’t think [ISIS is] gaining strength … From the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them.” Less than 24 hours after the president’s comments, nearly 130 people were massacred in the streets of Paris by the very people he said were “contained.” Following the attacks, the president described this enormous loss of life as a “setback” and said, “We have the right strategy and we’re going to see it through.”

This is much more than a “setback,” and unfortunately it is the president’s failed leadership and foreign policy that have escalated this situation. It was the president’s politically motivated decision to withdraw troops from Iraq that ultimately allowed ISIS to expand into northern Iraq. By controlling territory in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is able to train and recruit, as well as launch attacks through proxies in other countries.

In ISIS’ quest for further death and destruction, there are now fears it is trying to infiltrate the population of peaceful Syrian refugees trying to flee the civil war caused by the dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sadly, because of this threat, I believe the United States should hit the pause button with respect to accepting more Syrian refugees at this time. Should the president try to act unilaterally, Congress should cut off funding to prevent him from taking any action that would put Americans at risk.

Real problems demand real leadership. Without it, America and our allies are increasingly vulnerable to future attacks. The president needs to stop talking about containment and start acting on a strategy that will root out and defeat ISIS wherever it can be found.

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Senator Rounds’ Weekly Column: Standing with our French Allies

RoundsPressHeader MikeRounds official SenateStanding with our French Allies
by Senator Mike Rounds

South Dakotans – and all Americans – stand united with France after last week’s terror attacks in Paris. With 129 murdered and more than 350 wounded, they were the deadliest terror attacks in Europe in more than a decade. We continue to pray for those we lost and stand united with our friends in France as they recover from this terrible tragedy.

The attacks in Paris are a sobering reminder that we are at war with radical jihadists who seek to harm Americans and invoke terror throughout the world. These extremists, who propagate brutal violence and reject peace, must be destroyed. This starts with a coherent plan to completely defeat ISIS, the vicious terrorist group behind the November 13 Paris attacks.

The administration has been lackluster in its response to ISIS, with the President and Secretary of State downplaying its growing influence in the Middle East and our need to fully counter them, placing tight constraints on our military’s campaign against them. Meanwhile, ISIS has spread from Iraq and Syria to Northern Africa and Afghanistan and now to the restaurants and concert halls of Paris. It is clear that ISIS is not “contained,” as President Obama claimed just hours before the Paris attacks, nor is it merely a regional threat in the Middle East. We must act now to defeat them or risk a Paris-like attack on U.S. soil in the near future. I believe the best way to achieve this is to direct our military, the Department of Homeland Security and our nation’s intelligence leaders to put forth a clear and coherent plan to completely obliterate ISIS.

Because of ongoing war in Syria, as well as ISIS’s continued terror in the region, millions of Syrians are fleeing their homeland seeking refuge elsewhere in the world. While most are being relocated in Europe, many South Dakotans, including myself, are concerned about the prospect of a terrorist slipping into the United States, taking advantage of the refugee program. Refugees have been coming to America for generations seeking safety from war-torn regions of the world. I support efforts to help others seek shelter from persecution. However, we must not do so at the expense of our own national security.

I have joined a growing number of my colleagues – on both sides of the aisle – calling for the administration to put a pause on those coming to the U.S. from Syria until we are able to take a second look at the security of our current vetting processes. We need to remember that it only took 8 people to commit the carnage in Paris. While we continue to press the administration for answers as to our ability to protect Americans from these threats, we must not accelerate the Syrian refugee program as the President has requested.

As we continue to seek answers regarding last week’s horrific attacks in Paris, we must remember that we are at war with Islamic jihadists. Clearly defining a plan to defeat ISIS and keep Americans safe must be our primary goal. We have the best armed forces and intelligence agencies in the world. With resolve and determination, we can and will defeat ISIS and Islamic extremists, but this still requires leadership and a plan.

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Congresswoman Kristi Noem’s Weekly Column: A Thankful Nation

noem press header kristi noem headshot May 21 2014A Thankful Nation
By Rep. Kristi Noem

I am finding it tough to get into the right mindset to write this column.  In recent days, we’ve had to have some difficult conversations about how we’re going to keep the American people safe and away from terrorism’s deadly fist.  I’ve traveled to Pine Ridge to talk to young people and tribal leaders about a tragic suicide epidemic afflicting Indian Country.  My team and I have received hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls from South Dakotans who are concerned about how the federal government is caring for veterans, supporting our seniors, and digging out of debt.

Our world can be such an ugly place.  But in the midst of it all, most of us will sit down with family or friends on Thursday and give thanks for our many blessings.  What an incredible national tradition that is.

Especially when times are tough, we need to take the time to reset – to step back and take an account of what we do have.  For me, I’m grateful for my family, for the partner I have in my husband Bryon, for the time I get to spend hunting with my oldest daughter Kassidy, for the laughter that seems to follow our second oldest daughter Kennedy wherever she goes, and for the tender heart of our son Booker.

I’m grateful for my mom and the incredible grandma she is to my kids and their cousins.  I’m grateful for the time I had with my dad and all the lessons he taught me.  I’m grateful for my mother-in-law and father-in-law who have been there to support us at so many turns along the way.  I’m grateful for my siblings and their spouses and my nieces and nephews; they have made our family of five so much bigger (and so much louder!)

I’m so incredibly grateful to live in South Dakota.  I’ve always loved our state and after spending a week or so in Washington, D.C., I become even more appreciative.  I call coming home my detox.

I’m grateful for the people of our state – for those who offer words of encouragement, those who challenge me, those who pray for me, and those who ask questions and offer solutions.

I’m grateful to live in a nation that has made freedom the first tenant of our Bill of Rights; a nation that promises opportunity and strives to better itself and the world around us; a nation that takes the time every year to give thanks.

From my family to yours, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

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Apparently cities want another penny too.

From the a Rapid City Journal comes notice that it’s not just education who wants a penny sales tax. Cities are going to push to make it two, because they want one for themselves:

Other ideas included raising the sales tax to boost pay and retention of quality instructors at vocational and technical colleges; more freedom for local governments to find innovative ways to create economic incentives to foster growth; generating new revenue streams to improve municipal infrastructure; finding money to pay for proposed Medicaid expansion; and even finding more money for the South Dakota aeronautics fund.

• Yvonne Taylor, director of the South Dakota Municipal League. Taylor said her group may propose a one-cent jump in the state sales tax to pay for local roads, sewers, workforce housing and other projects that she said create a platform for growth and development. Taylor also wants to change the trigger point for when rural land bought for development is re-assessed. Now, it is assessed at a new rate when platting is done, even if the development isn’t planned until long into the future. That can stifle long-range plans for growth, she said.

Read it all here.

So, a portion of the property tax, and 2% of the sales tax isn’t enough for cities?

Increasing the sales tax for schools is going to be difficult enough. I think a further increase for municipalities is completely D.O.A., and woe be to the legislator who sponsors it, as they shall see it in campaign ads.

What do you think?

Noem working to address teen suicide rate on Pine Ridge

From KELOland comes a story on how Congreswoman Kristi Noem is working to address the teen suicide rate on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation:

Representative Kristi Noem returned to the Pine Ridge Reservation Friday to talk about the area’s suicide problem, and this time she brought along a key member of Congress on youth mental health issues.

It’s an ongoing tragedy that won’t leave Rep. Kristi Noem alone.

Five weeks after she heard first-hand accounts of suicides and near misses, Noem returned to Pine Ridge with Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy.  Murphy is a child psychologist who’s now pushing a sweeping mental-health reform bill.

He was moved, too.

and…

“That’s a program that’s used to give hope to students and youth and turn their lives around,” Noem said. “The fact that it’s ending in December means we’ve got to figure out ways to extend that program and keep their funds flowing.”

Murphy’s presence in Pine Ridge and the mental health law overhaul he is guiding through Congress could matter there.

Read it all here.

Coming up in the 2016 session: Student Privacy Act, Education, Medicaid Expansion, and the first Legislative budget.

I was at a Republican meeting today getting a preview of bills we can expect this next session, and it seems that this next session is going to be anything but mundane.

Everyone in attendance agreed that education and medicaid expansion are going to be the highest priority and overreaching topics of the next session. And some thought that given the funding challenges, the two were literally going to be connected at the hip, given the savings opportunities afforded if the federal government agrees to the state’s proposed plan for the feds to pick up Native Americans receiving off-IHS services which had been funded by Medicaid.

The impression given was that the intent of the legislature is to look strongly at finding money within the system before any new taxes are discussed. Otherwise known as “looking in the couch before we pass any tax increases.”  There was also discussion over the basic philosophy of the medicaid expansion, which goes back to the Governor’s thoughts on it some time back – should we be providing entitlements to able-bodied adults who are perfectly capable of going and getting jobs to pay for it themselves?

Since these are the two big ticket items in next years’ proposed session, I’d expect we’re going to hear much more about them in the remaining weeks before the legislative session.

State Representative Fred Deutsch was there and spoke about a couple of bills he would be bringing – first and foremost being the Student Privacy Act. The “SPA” is designed to disallow the opposite sex – according to biology – to be in any state of undress amongst each other, such as in locker rooms and bathrooms.  He indicated the bill is designed to protect and shield school districts by setting the guidelines forth in state law.

What came as the biggest surprise to me was being informed that for the first time, the group was informed that the South Dakota Legislature intends to being it’s own budget to the table as part of budget discussions, in addition to, and as opposed to simply reworking the Governor’s Budget.

That’s right – for the first year, the Legislative Research Council apparently has a computer program to allow the legislative branch to develop it’s own budget, and it was noted that part of the process is intended to reconcile the legislative budget and the Governor’s budget.  It’s a small step, and will be the first time they’re trying it, but in the big scheme of things, it’s huge in terms of legislative independence.  Stay tuned on that one.

Lots more to come as we move past turkey day next week, and tick down until the legislative session.

And if there are legislators out there who want to give a preview of what they’ve got coming up, drop me a note here.

Lawsuit filed by Attorney Joel Arends against Chad Haber, Annette Bosworth, and Rose Bosworth for defamation, tortious interference, etcetera..

How is your week going? Because by the sounds of it, it’s going better than the Bosworth family’s is, as three of them had a lawsuit filed against them by Annette’s former attorney Joel Arends, whom she rolled under the bus in an attempt to shift blame from herself when it all hit the fan as she was arrested for falsely attesting that she circulated and witnessed the signatures being placed on certain petitions.

It has been quite some time in coming, but not entirely unexpected, after Bosworth’s campaign of blame.

Arends v Bosworth, Bosworth and Haber

If you read the lawsuit, filed in Lincoln County: “This action is brought by Plaintiffs to recover for defamation, false light, defamation by implication, tortious interference with business relationships, civil conspiracy, and other tortious conduct committed by Defendants.”

And the lawsuit accuses the defendants of “….knowingly and intentionally engaged in a multi-year, sophisticated, and coordinated disinformation campaign against Plaintiffs by publishing numerous false and disparaging statements regarding Plaintiffs on radio, television, and the Internet, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.”

And, it also says that they “also recruited various legal agents to publish comments on website “comment” sections and Face book postings.”

Continuing… “Upon information and belief, Defendants used Defendant Annette Bosworth’s United States Senate campaign assets and resources to fund their disinformation campaign against Plaintiffs.”

And it continues on with the details for thirty pages of alleged misconduct. And as detailed in the document, Arends does not put a specific dollar amount on his claims, but does ask for:

Plaintiffs respectfully request a judgment against Defendants as follows:

(a) Actual and consequential damages;
(b) Punitive (exemplary) damages;
(c) Joint and several liability;
(d) Reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees;
(e) Costs of the lawsuit;
(f) Prejudgment and post-judgment interest at the statutory rate;
(g) Injunctive relief prohibiting the distribution of false and
misleading information by Defendants regarding Plaintiffs; and
(h) Such other and further relief as the Court deems reasonable
and appropriate.

So, take a look. Take a read of the detailed document, and let us know what you think.

Thune Welcomes Sioux Falls Pastor Named U.S. Senate “Chaplain for a Day”

thuneheadernew Thune Welcomes Sioux Falls Pastor Named U.S. Senate “Chaplain for a Day”

“It’s a great honor for me to welcome to the United States Senate today our pastor from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jeff Wheeler …”

WASHINGTON — Pastor Jeff Wheeler of Sioux Falls Central Baptist Church today served as U.S. Senate “Chaplain for a Day.” U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) nominated Pastor Wheeler for the honor.

“It’s a great honor for me to welcome to the United States Senate today our pastor from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jeff Wheeler, who just offered our invocation this morning,” said Thune. “I’d like to express how much Kimberly and I have appreciated the opportunity to worship and to benefit from his ministry and enjoy and are blessed by his teachings each and every week when we are back home in South Dakota.”

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