I had noticed this during the debate on House Bill 1239, the Librarian Lock-Up Bill,  but in the debate over people objecting to books that they wanted declared as obscene, there was once again a reference to violence against librarians for checking out books.

First off, when this bill was first discussed on the House side in Committee debate, White History Month’s Rep. Travis Ismay:

Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell, suggested an arrest might be insufficient punishment.

“If a librarian rented this out to my son or daughter, you’d be lucky if you got hauled out of there in handcuffs,” Ismay said. 

Read that here.

Those aren’t the words of a stable person.

And yesterday, we had the utterly awful (and now Senator) Taffy Howard actually call for librarians to be killed by hanging:

If somebody had knowingly given that to my children when they were little, I’d want them strung up from the nearest tree.

– Taffy Howard

Read that here.

They are calling for violence against Librarians because they don’t like words?  (Literally.)   Who does that?

Most of us would say “Ugh, where did you get that trash,” or “that’s not appropriate,” and send it back, with a note or a call to the person in charge not to allow my kid to check that sort of thing out.

But, you have idiots like Ismay or Laffy-Taffy elected to office, representing a segment of our population, calling for violence, or in Taffy’s case, death to librarians?

If someone had suggested those acts against either of these two boobs, they might be getting a call from the Division of Criminal Investigation. But when they call for violence against Librarians as part of committee discussion or debate? Nothing.

And we wonder why politics have gotten so toxic.

House Commemoration 8024, recognizing the City of Mitchell as the Governor’s Office of Economic Development 2025 Community of the Year, was just killed in the State Senate by Senator Tom Pischke, objecting to it under Senate rules.

One person can object, so it’s done.   That’s what the legislature is now.

An amended version of House Bill 1239, Bethany Soye’s Librarian lock-up bill was passed in the Senate after State Senator David Wheeler proposed that sanity be brought back into the discussion, and Rep. Ismay’s desired image of librarians being hauled off in handcuffs was taken off the table.

Senator Wheeler proposed an amendment which brings discussions over naughty books back into the civil arena, versus frog-walking librarians off to jail..

No more jail for Librarians amendment HB1239 by Pat Powers on Scribd

And thankfully, after an amazing amount of pearl clutching, the amendment passed 18-16, with the bill passing handily after that.

Opponents mentioned changing the bill in the concurrence process.. so this may not be over.

From the Daily Mail, President Trump has been urged to action after the ‘Vape King’ from Gaza has infiltrated the US with illegal Chinese Vapes:

Safa Goods is one of the top vape distributors in the country carrying popular brands like ‘Lost Mary,’ ‘Mr. Fog’ and ‘RAZ,’ all of which are illegal yet widely popular around the country.

He has been dubbed the ‘Vape King’ for his many smoke shop locations named ‘The King of Vape.’

His company has expanded rapidly, building out operations in over 40 states as U.S. consumers increasingly turned to disposable flavored vaping products.

and..

Most of the illegal flavored vape products offered at corner stores and smoke shops across the country are these types of disposables – and almost all originate in China.

Read the entire story here.

But, In South Dakota, too many legislators think it’s ok to distribute illegal Chinese vape products, so it’s apparently OK.

Attorney General Jackley and DCI Release Cause of Death for Person Found Dead at Scene of Feb. 12 Brandon Standoff, House Fire

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) announce that an investigation has determined that Abe Joseph Boushee, 43, died of smoke inhalation and methamphetamine toxicity Feb. 12 following a standoff with law enforcement and a subsequent fire at his Brandon home.

“While the deceased had fired shots at law enforcement during the standoff, law enforcement did not return fire,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues to investigate the origin of the fire.”

The United States Marshals Service and the Brandon Police Department were at the home, located at 113 W. Confier Street, to arrest Boushee, 43. He was wanted on five outstanding warrants from Lincoln County, including felony drug offenses and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number. The remaining three warrants were two felony warrants for bond violations and a misdemeanor traffic warrant.

After the fire was extinguished, Boushee’s body was found in the basement of the house.

Attorney General Jackley said information on the fire’s origin will be released when the investigation is complete and in accordance with ATF policies.

-30-

A member of the House wanted to remind me what the HB 1239, Bethany Soye’s Lock up Librarians bill actually does – nothing but that – it lock up librarians for doing their job:

I see you’re posting on the library bill. Thank you. One thing to remember when these people talk about the books in the libraries, the bill does nothing to remove ANY material from the library. When people say they don’t want this harmful material in their libraries, etc. Fine. But the bill today does nothing to stop ANY materials. It only goes after librarians.

It only goes after librarians. All it is and all it does is to punch down on public employees. 

Call your Senator at 605-773-3821, and tell them to kill the Lock Up Librarians bill (HB 1239.)

Had a reader pass this on to me, as after former District 15 House Candidate/Sioux Falls stuffed animal petitioner Mike Zitterich spent his time trying to oppose Senate Bill 156 which would stop adolescent girls marrying adult men, declaring on facebook that a 13 year old should be able to form their own adult like relationships..

“By the time your children reach their teenage years, ages 13-19 becoming young adults, they begin to earn our respect, earning the the right to become employed (age 13), to drive on public roads (age 14), and beginning to form their own adult like relationships. Mind you, all by pertaining by the rules and guidelines as laid down by the rules of the home, their parents, so by age 16, they may get married to any adult older than 16”

—

“You see even Pat Powers falls victim to the b.s media clam that anyone having sex with a teenager is a pedo, when in fact, it simply violates the consent laws, where the parents must be involved in those types of relationships.”

Ew. Read that here.

That was getting close to 3 weeks ago when Zitterich was defending adult men hooking up with teenage girls.  Which was a deep enough hole.   But as evidenced from a facebook post shared with me yesterday, Zitterich is not done digging his hole claiming it’s ok for adult men to marry underage girls:

Zitterich is trying to defend adults hooking up with teenage girls by noting Laura Ingalls Wilder was being courted at age 14 by a 24 year old?  In 1886?   Last I knew this isn’t 1886.  (And in our modern sensibilities, he manages to ruins Little House on the Prairie for everyone.)

Mike – stop digging the hole that you’re in. It’s just getting deeper.

Today is the day when the rubber hits the road and the offensive Librarian Lock up bill House Bill 1239 – which should be heard on the Senate Floor today.

Who is bringing this mess on South Dakota? Make a list. Because you should really consider whether they should be asked back during the next election:

House Bill 1239
Title:   revise certain affirmative defenses to dissemination of material harmful to minors and obscenity offenses.
Sponsors:  Representatives Soye (prime), Aylward, Baxter, Hughes, Ismay, Jordan, Kayser, Manhart, May, Novstrup, Rice, Schaefbauer, and Sjaarda and Senators Nelson (prime), Carley, Grove, Perry, Peterson (Sue), and Voita

Not a shocker that we have some of the worst offenders to foist big government upon South Dakotans sponsoring this measure, the Lock-Up Librarians Act, to subject librarians, teachers, museum workers and others to up to 1 year in the county jail if a minor checks out a book that someone takes offense to.

This measure is crazy-pants zealotry at it’s worst. Don’t forget that one of the bill sponsors (White History Month follower Travis Ismay) directly stating in committee that an arrest might be insufficient punishment, noting “If a librarian rented this out to my son or daughter, you’d be lucky if you got hauled out of there in handcuffs,” Ismay said. “So, yes, if they’re breaking the law anyway, why would we have any problem with librarians getting hauled out of the library in handcuffs?”

I don’t think some of these legislators realize that this is a bill whose impact will go much deeper than the superficial political flack of the hour, here today and gone tomorrow. But this bill cuts across all political lines. This bill goes directly to joe six-pack and suzy homemaker and is one which digs deep into communities as it will affect families who will no longer be able to send their child to the library to check out a book.  In fact, it may go so far as to shut down libraries who will no longer want to take on the liability.

Why do I keep harping on this issue? It underlines – with an exclamation point – the disconnect South Dakota Legislators have with the true base of Republican voters. Because the base isn’t the 5% squawking about this silliness – it’s messing with the 90% who are usually ambivalent, and gives them an issue to hook into on what’s wrong with Pierre.

If you want to pass it, go ahead. But you will see it back in postcards in the 2026 election cycle. I can guarantee you that.

Don’t let this be the legacy that the 2025 Legislative session leaves South Dakota. Call your legislator at 605-773-3821, or e-mail your legislator, and tell them to kill the embarrassing Lock Up Librarians bill (HB 1239.)

Or don’t. And you’ll hear about it later.

This last week former State Senator Brent Hoffman noted on facebook that he was praying about running for US Senate against former Governor and current US Senator Mike Rounds.

Aside from my noting that this would be a very different race than he’s used to running given Rounds’ string of success, it also looks like that if he’s going to run, he’s also going to face toxicity from the kooky hard-right, in this note from Nichole Braithwait, one of the election hand-counting goofs:

And the only answer they’ll accept is buying into conspiracies.

It’s going to be a long, long campaign season.

Why Should You Care about Medicaid Funding?
Dr. Michelle Powers, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Hills Training Center

In South Dakota, approximately 4,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) rely on Medicaid for their long-term care and support needs. But that 4,000 is not just a number – these are real people who depend on this program for their day-to-day needs. But, perhaps that’s not enough of a reason to consider why you should care about Medicaid funding.

I am willing to bet you have a personal connection to Medicaid and you might not even realize it. Medicaid supports people who might be your co-worker, the person who helped you check out at the grocery store, or the individual who served you a meal last week. My own personal connection to Medicaid comes from my 20-year-old daughter who has a developmental disability.

My other connection to Medicaid comes from my role as chief executive officer for Northern Hills Training Center (NTHC), a community-based support provider, where our mission is to “support people to have meaningful lives”. We exist exclusively to be of assistance to adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and are privileged to support no less than 125 individuals in Spearfish and surrounding communities. You interact with these individuals daily, whether you realize it or not. They are employed in settings across the community, they volunteer, attend local events, and contribute to the Spearfish economy in the same ways you and I do.

For NHTC, almost 90% of the funds we receive are generated through the Medicaid program. These are the funds which pay for staff who help people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to live independently, have careers and thrive in our community. Our staff are the backbone of our organization, and they do everything from coming to an individual’s home to help them with activities of daily life, help them find and keep a job they love, providing transportation to that job, and ensure they can participate in community events and maintain meaningful relationships. We do this day in and day out, feeling privileged to be a part of these individuals lives.

NHTC and its services fuel local economies, not only by creating direct support jobs, but also by helping people with I/DD to stay employed, and allowing their family members or caregivers to stay in the workforce too. Community providers enable disabled workers to secure employment in high-demand jobs while also being a top driver of job creation themselves, with direct support being the fastest-growing profession over the next decade.

Unfortunately, proposals to slash Medicaid funding threaten to unravel the vital support system thousands of South Dakotans with intellectual and developmental disabilities rely on to remain in their homes and communities.

Medicaid is not just a line item in the federal budget, it is a lifeline for our family, friends, and neighbors. As lawmakers consider drastic cuts to Medicaid funding, they risk dismantling a system that allows people with disabilities–and the people who care for them–to live, work and thrive in their communities.

Medicaid is funded by our state with matching funds from the federal government. Any cuts to federal funding for Medicaid will force our state to make impossible choices about crucial and life-saving programs and services.

Significant cuts to federal Medicaid funding will place additional financial strain on the state budget, forcing us to absorb the increased costs. State budgets must prioritize mandatory Medicaid services, leaving optional services like NHTC as a community-based service vulnerable to reductions. Without access to community-based services, people with I/DD will either go without the support they need or end up in high-cost, state-run institutions, the very settings we have spent 50 years and more trying to close.

If you’ve read this far, I ask you to decide if you care enough about Medicaid to call on Senators Thune and Rounds and Representative Johnson to protect people with disabilities and their families, our economy, and our communities by rejecting Medicaid cuts, whether those cuts are proposed through the reconciliation package or through some other federal action.

Simply stated, we need to strengthen–not weaken–our commitment to those with I/DD. Doing so requires both federal and state investments in these services and in the direct support professionals who deliver those services day in and day out.

To contact Senator Thune (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 348-7551
To contact Senator Round (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 343-5035
To contact Congressman Johnson (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 646-6454

(From the Editor – My wife penned this column which recently appeared in papers out west regarding one of the major items that Medicaid funding provides that often gets lost in debates; support for those with intellectual disabilities to live and work in their home communities. – pp)