Greetings from excessively humid Bella Vista, Arkansas!

No, I’m not vacationing. My pickup is loaded up, the estate sale people are coming today, and I’m hoping I’m on my last trip to clear out my in-laws’ home in preparation for sale.

We’re breaking for lunch at the moment, as you can tell from a couple of my dining/working companions:

They’ve been ‘toting that barge,’ and ‘lifting that bale’ since 7am, so they’re entitled to be fed at least once today.

Packing boxes, unloading cabinets, moving furniture, loading trucks – It’s just like the 20-plus years I spent in the auction business again. And a reminder why none of my daughters had any interest in it. Not even clerking! My boys still have a smile… for now.

So, light posting for a bit. It’s time to get back to the grind.

AFP Calls For Overturn of EPA Water Rule

Thanks South Dakota Delegation for Doing Their Part To Repeal This Onerous New Regulation

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Americans for Prosperity South Dakota issued the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly finalized “Waters of the United States rule” which will drastically expand the power granted to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

“The amount of regulatory overreach coming from the EPA is astonishing,” explained Ben Lee, State Director of Americans for Prosperity South Dakota. “The Waters of the U.S rule threatens property rights and drowns land owners in red tape. This new rule will have a serious impact on the South Dakota’s economy– particularly in agriculture. It’s important that our lawmakers support efforts to overturn the rule. We thank Senators Thune and Rounds as well as Congresswom Noem for their efforts to stop this regulation and for standing up for the rights of South Dakotans all across our state.”

The new rules proposed by the EPA will drastically expand the reach of the EPA to regulate water on private property. By redefining the “waters of the U.S.” from its current definition in the Clean Water Act to “navigable waters” the EPA now has the ability to regulate conceivably any area water flows through. This would include dry creek beds, irrigation ditches, and even simply standing water. This new rule would come with significant compliance costs for South Dakota landowners and family farmers and infringe upon their rights.

Here we go again! From AP/Brookings Radio News:

An attorney for a former South Dakota U.S. Senate candidate who has been convicted of felony election law violations says they plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Bob Van Norman, an attorney for Sioux Falls physician Annette Bosworth, said Thursday they plan to appeal after her planned July sentencing.

and…

Van Norman says Bosworth is “devastated.”

Read it here.

Ugh. Can we get off this carnival ride already?

The jury has spoken, and found Annette Bosworth guilty on all counts.

What are your thoughts; on the trial, the coverage of it, and what we might expect from a sentence?

Does she need to go to jail for a spell? Or are the felony convictions, which could cost her a license to practice Medicine in South Dakota, enough?

Hughes County Jury Convicts Bosworth of Election Law Violations

PIERRE – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that a Hughes County jury has found Annette Bosworth, 43, Sioux Falls, guilty of 6 counts of offering false or forged instrument for filing and 6 counts of perjury.

All counts are class 6 felonies punishable by a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine.

“I want to thank our citizen jurors for their service, the prosecutors and the witnesses for preserving the integrity of our election process in South Dakota,” said Jackley.

Bosworth was indicted in June 19, 2014, on multiple counts of perjury and filing false election documents for attesting to voter signatures for her nomination petitions for United States Senate while she was out of the country.

The case is being investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

-30-

I was trying to listen while at and end of year soirée with my better half, but it sounds as if Bosworth was found guilty on all, it not most of the counts leveled against her.

A plus for her, it sounds as if she doesn’t have to get the perp walk, and is free until her sentencing in July. Bad for Boz, sounds like they might be requesting that she turning over her passport.

PIERRE, S.D.- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that two Attorney General Explanations for initiated measures have been filed with the Secretary of State. These statements will appear on petitions that will be circulated by the sponsors of the measures. If the sponsors obtain a sufficient number of signatures (13,871) on the petitions by November 8, 2015, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measures will be placed on the ballot for the November 2016 general election. 1. An initiated measure to set a maximum finance charge for certain licensed money lenders.

2. An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution to allow referral of state and municipal laws affecting public peace, health, safety and the support of government and also to limit the ability to amend or repeal initiated laws.

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. It is anticipated that additional Attorney General Explanations for initiated measures will be filed in the near future.

To view the Attorney General Explanations for the measures, as well as the final form of the measures submitted to this office, please click on the link below:

http://atg.sd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qgOrPY9ZC18%3d&tabid=442

(Or, you can view here: )

2015 Initiated Measure to Set a Maximum Finance Charge

I still believe the Republican Presidential Primary is a race between Jeb Bush and . . . . .  (with my gut telling me the “and” is Rand Paul) and the General Election will be against Hillary Clinton.

However, three things recently happened which might give us a new “and-”  Carly Fiorina:

1)  MSNBC limosine liberal Andrea Mitchell and Hillary sycophant thinks she has a gotcha question for Fiorina regarding Iraq and Carly turns it around and says “every single Republican candidate has been asked about their vote for the war in Iraq. The one person who’s not been asked  that question, because she won’t answer the question is Hillary Clinton. One person who was on the job in 2011, when Iraq started to fall apart, was not the Republican nominees or — candidates for president, it’s Hillary Clinton. she hasn’t been asked yet. What would she do now in Iraq?”  Reminded me of Reagan’s take-off on Teddy Roosevelt when he said about Iran and the hostages, “(Carter) speaks loudly and carries a fly swatter.”

2)  As we all know, Hillary Clinton has become infamous for not taking questions from the press.  Anyway, Hillary is hosting a roundtable OBSERVABLE by the press in a South Carolina hotel.  Florina decides to have a press conference in the same hotel on the same day where Florina will actually take questions from the press.  Reminded me when Reagan took his anti-Communism to the Berlin Wall and dared Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

3)  Not only was Carly given the biggest kudos for a recent Iowa Lincoln Day Dinner (11 GOP presidential candidates were there), she didn’t pretend to be “Iowan” as she found it remarkable breakfast in Iowa was “huge cinnamon rolls” or going to a Pizza Ranch (she called it “Pizza Palace”).  Reminds me of when Reagan was asked what he thought about Clint Eastwood running for Mayor and said “What makes him think a middle-aged actor who played with a chimp could have a future in politics.”

Few people can use pointed rhetoric, take the fight to their opponent, and remain personally humble.  Might the dark horse to take on a former Secretary of State be a former Kelly Girl secretary?

Sidenote-  Current Vegas odds on the next US President (different sites have slightly different numbers):

1/1 (even odds)-Hillary Clinton, 4/1-Jeb Bush, 7/1-Scott Walker, 8/1-Marco Rubio, 16/1-Rand Paul, 33/1-Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, 66/1-Carly Fiorina, Rahm Emmanuel.

Update:  Former Governor of NY, George somebody just announced.  He is definitely a guy looking to be Veep or in the cabinet.  Traction out of the NE is definitely not likely and puts a damper on Christie.