Rapid City Mayoral Candidate: “I am not a racist.”

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From the Rapid City Journal:

During a debate this morning, Rapid City mayoral candidate Steve Allender admitted that he engaged in racially charged “insult humor” with co-workers two decades ago while he was a police officer.

“I’m not a racist,” Allender said, “but I am a human being.”

In his group of co-workers between 1990 and 1993, he said, everyone participated in what Allender described as friendly ribbing. He stopped participating in 1993 when he learned that fellow officer Glen Yellow Robe, a Native American man, was tape-recording the interactions.

Read it here.

Uh oh. That could be a tough one to explain away in the racially tinged atmosphere of Rapid City city politics.

Patrick Duffy, RIP

Troy Jones

I have just read that Rapid City lawyer and native of Ft. Pierre has died.

For many, Pat is known as a partisan Democrat and an aggressive attorney.  I know him as a high school basketball player (least talented player in his family but better than most), a member of a close-knit clan, and a man of faith and reflection.  To say I knew him well by many interaction would be inaccurate.  I knew him well because he did his best to live the values instilled in him by his family and his Faith.

As you know, I have written many pieces when people die and often with regret I didn’t say something to them before they die.  I don’t have that regret with Pat.  He is a Duffy.  He said what was on his mind.  He expected the same.  He gave respect to others even if they didn’t give it back.

Pat, the world has been made better because you were in it.  Forgive me for not being able to give you a more expansive eulogy but I have a golf tourney and tee off shortly.  As an Irishman, you understand.  🙂

By the Mercy of God, may you Rest in Peace.

Rounds looking for more oversight of EPA, Fish & Wildlife, & Corps of Engineers through existing rules

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US Senator Mike Rounds is looking for more oversight of government divisions such as the EPA, the US Fish & Wildlife, and the Army Corps of Engineers – all familiar entities to many South Dakotans – through enforcement of already existing oversight rules, and relying on inspector generals to do their job:

Senate oversight of federal agencies will rely more heavily on the work of inspectors general and the Government Accountability Office to root out waste, fraud and abuse, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told Bloomberg BNA May 7.

Rounds, the new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight, said he would like to rely more on the existing work of the inspectors general and GAO in overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“In the past, I think the inspectors general have not been utilized fully and, in some cases, it would appear they have not had the ear of the subcommittee to go through,” Rounds said in an interview. “I don’t intend to have a flash in the pan where we’re out looking for something to make a headline. What I want is good government.”

Rounds said he wants to improve the function of the federal agencies. That may not mean introducing new legislation but instead ensuring that existing rules and procedures are used properly.

Read it all here.

The upcoming court case isn’t Bosworth’s first time at the Rodeo. Allegations of fraudulent disclosure dogged her in 2010.

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Funny what you stumble across when doing background research.

In anticipation of Annette Bosworth’s upcoming court case involving allegations of falsely attesting that she witnessed signatures that she actually didn’t (because she might have been in the Philippines at the time), I was reviewing some of the documents involved in her going round & round with the state medical board.

And I stumbled across something interesting in this Argus Leader article by Jonathan Ellis, that I’m surprised have remained quiet until now:

Annette BosworthThis isn’t the first time that Bosworth has tangled with the board over its disclosure questions.

Now an independent physician, Bosworth worked for Sanford Health in 2010 when she disclosed that she was leaving the Sioux Falls hospital for Brookings. She said she got a notice that her license would not be renewed. After a 14-week investigation, her license was renewed. She was told she had to sign a form saying she had fraudulently filled out the disclosure and pay a $5,000 fine.

She refused. Her license was renewed last year.

Read it here.

(At the time in 2010, I believe she might have been represented by Bill Janklow or another attorney.)

The allegation from the Medical Board that she had fraudulently filled out a disclosure is eerily prescient with what she’s alleged to have done in 2014, when she signed the oath that she witnessed all the signatures on the petitions she claimed she circulated.

The charges Bosworth now face, via an indictment by the grand jury, are six counts of offering false or forged instrument for filing, and six counts of perjury. A little stronger than a license violation, but you’d think after that experience where she fought tooth and nail over the language of the form versus what she believed was accurate information, she would have been equally cautious about filling out the portion of her Senate petitions which clearly stated that as circulator, she witnessed the signatures?

Somehow in 2010, she managed to pull a rabbit out of her hat, keep her license, and not pay a fine. I’d be very interested in the resolution that did take place, and I’m continuing to dig.

But for now, as the trial date approaches, we’ll have to see if she find a lucky foot off of the same old rabbit.

Rounds Praises Senate Passage of Iran Bill

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Rounds Praises Senate Passage of Iran Bill

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the bipartisan Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which passed 98-1.

“I’m pleased the Senate passed the bipartisan Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act today,” said Rounds. “The American people deserve to have a voice in any nuclear deal with Iran. It is important that any deal is enforceable so that we can keep Iran accountable. What’s most important though, is that Iran never be able to gain a pathway to nuclear weapons.”

###

USA Today: Obama coming to SD? Meh.

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There’s a great column by Joseph Bottum in USA today on the unusual level of indifference that most of South Dakota is treating President Obama’s visit with.

It’s an unexcitement matched by the general reaction of the state. Part of that is cultural. “This is the Midwest,” explains Mary Bibby, a longtime Republican activist from Brookings, S.D. “What’s to get excited about?”

And…

“Locally, having a president visit is a big deal,” notes Lee Schoenbeck, one of Watertown’s representatives in the legislature. Still, although he offered the bland comment deliberately to avoid controversy, that diminishing qualifier “locally” adds, yet again, a curious sense of indifference to the presidential descent on the state this week.

Even Bernie Hunhoff, founding editor of South Dakota Magazine and an enduring Democratic figure in the state, couldn’t find much to say in praise of the visit. “Watertown is the right place for the president to shine light on workforce development,” he began — before launching into a diatribe about the failure of Washington to address the “150-year-old problem in South Dakota that was directly created by Washington.

Read it all here.

Noem recognizes national day of prayer in email to constituents

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From Congresswoman Noem:

IMG_1424.JPG

Today, I join millions across the nation in prayer and thanksgiving for the abundant blessings found within our great state and nation. I hope you’ll join me and my family in praying for those most in need, and for a future of prosperity and happiness for friends, neighbors, and loved ones.

National Day of Prayer

I am honored to serve you in Congress, and to have your support.

Have a blessed day.

Sincerely,

Kristi

Another oil train derailment which didn’t have to happen.

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From the Associated Press:

A train that derailed and caught fire early Wednesday in rural North Dakota was hauling crude from the state’s oil patch, but it wasn’t immediately known whether it had been treated under new state rules aimed at reducing the volatility of oil from the region.

and..

The train had 109 cars, 107 with crude oil and two buffer cars between the tankers and engine that were loaded with sand, BNSF said. It was unclear how many derailed. There was no immediate word on the cause.

Since 2006, the U.S. and Canada have seen at least 24 oil train accidents involving a fire, derailment or significant amount of fuel spilled, according to federal accident records reviewed by The Associated Press. The derailment Wednesday was the fifth this year and comes less than a week after the Department of Transportation announced a rule to toughen construction standards for tens of thousands of tank cars that haul oil and other flammable liquids.

Read it all here.

And if we had a better oil pipeline infrastructure, would it have happened at all?

Rounds Questions FWS on Aggressive Confrontation Tactics

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Rounds Questions FWS on Aggressive Confrontation Tactics

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today questioned Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe about the agency’s aggressive techniques used to intimidate landowners regarding land easements. During the hearing, Rounds cited a letter he received from a South Dakota farmer who reports encountering an aggressive FWS agent he feels was using intimidation tactics regarding Waterfowl Management Rights despite proactively enacting conservation measures on his land for decades.

“I’m particularly troubled that taxpayer dollars are funding this type of truly aggressive approach to citizens who are voluntarily and proactively enacting conservation measures on their own land, as they have been doing for generations,” said Rounds.

 

Slick Rick Weiland promising Initiated Measure this month. But nothing seems to have been filed yet.

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Losing US Senate Candidate Slick Rick Weiland is out shilling for money again for his organization “takeitback.org.”  And in the latest edition of his “Send me money” e-mail, Weiland claims he’s going to introduce an initiated measure in South Dakota:

tib

One of our favorite cartoonists is “Tom Tomorrow” who, once a week, delivers a cartoon that brilliantly satirizes current events, and was just nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. You can visit his website here: http://thismodernworld.com/, and be sure and visit Daily Kos on Mondays for his weekly cartoon.

Between the tragedy continuing to unfold in Baltimore, the gridlock and disarray of Congress, it sort of feels like our country is slowly coming apart at the seams.  People feel a sense of hopelessness and abandonment.

What happened yesterday, with the Senate passing their 10 year budget blueprint, the first joint congressional budget plan in six years is certainly worth a comment or two.

This new budget cuts 4.2 trillion dollars from benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps; it kicks 27 million people off of Obamacare and Medicaid, cuts Pell Grants, slices $600 billion from school lunch programs, nutritional assistance for poor mothers, and tax credits for the working poor.
Hmmmmm. It gets worse….

Medicaid is slated to become a block grant program to the states. Medicare will be turned into a voucher program to buy private health insurance policies. Obamacare will be repealed – not replaced, and there will be more tax cuts for wealthy.

As President Clinton was so fond of saying – “Give me a break!”

Balancing the federal budget on the backs of those who can least afford it is a cowardly act, one perpetrated by the powerful and privileged who have rigged our politics and now own our politicians and our government.

How about some tax fairness for starters by requiring that corporations pay their fare share of taxes? Repeal the tax law that allows them to hide their profits in offshore bank accounts before you start cutting food stamps and education? You can read about here: its call “Inversion.”

With Republican control of the House and the Senate, and a Presidential election around the corner, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

While the political process has been bought and paid for by ‘big money,’ TakeItBack.Org has a plan to fight back, to use populist ballot initiatives in the 24 states that allow them.

We will send a message, starting in South Dakota, that “We The People” have had enough! How? By passing our ‘anti-corruption/big money’ initiative which will be released at the end of the month and, when passed, will be proof that the public is mad as hell, pure and simple, and that we are not going to take it anymore.

Please contribute and join us in making this pledge: that working together, using direct democracy, we will take our country back, one state at a time!

Yes, I've disabled this functionality. If you're foolish enough to give ding-dong your money, you can find another place to do it.

Paid for in part by TakeItBack.Org-Political Action. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Contributions to TakeItBack.Org are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

All content © 2015 TakeItBack.Org, All Rights Reserved
P.O. Box 20‌17 Sio‌ux Falls, SD 57‌101

So, Slick Rick claims that “We will send a message, starting in South Dakota, that “We The People” have had enough! How? By passing our ‘anti-corruption/big money’ initiative which will be released at the end of the month and, when passed, will be proof that the public is mad as hell, pure and simple, and that we are not going to take it anymore.”

And don’t forget to send him money. Which seems to be a common thread in all the e-mails he’s sending.

If Weiland is going to release this ballot measure at the end of the month, that would assume that he’s  done their pre-clearance of the initiated measure through the Legislative Research Council and Attorney General. In the middle of all this fundraising.

But if you look at the Secretary of State’s web site on ballot measures, what do you see regarding what Weiland is proposing?  Nothing. No state ballot measure group. Nothing on potential ballot measures.

I’m double checking, just in case something hasn’t been posted yet. But barring that, I’m not thinking we’re going to see anything from Weiland this month. Outside of more fundraising e-mails.