If you recall, the Confederate Republican county organizations decided on their lonesome to have a meeting yesterday in Oacoma.  The group, now calling themselves the “By-Law Compliant Counties,” supposedly met. And we’ve had nothing.

Nevermind the fact that the meeting was not called by the SDGOP chair, the SDGOP completely disavowed it, and underlined that fact by noting they’re not paying for it.  Because they already had a Summer Central Committee meeting – called the State Republican Party convention.

People are e-mailing me asking what happened. And in the hours since… there have been crickets.  It’s like they held fight club, where the first rule of fight club is that “You do not talk about fight club.”

No one is really talking about the meeting.  No pictures, comments, anything on social media.

I’m not sure what they’re going to talk about, other than almost none of these county groups have sent money into the SDGOP (per the county quota they’re supposed to be using to support the party), and their antics are keeping outside donors from investing with the GOP to support Republican candidates.

These are lean times for the Republican Party. It would be nice if they could be part of the solution.

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UPDATE!  

Just got a big update on what went on, literally 10 minutes after my post. And it sounds as if the truth was weirder than the speculation.  It was a glimpse into what we may see as the next iteration of the Republican Party after party elections in January/February.  And, have to say, not getting a warm fuzzy.

As was related to me, the group felt they needed to gavel themselves in for some reason and elected Tom Brunner, as their pseudo-chair.. kind of a consolation prize from the last time he wanted to be chair. I’m told they selected Starla Russell from Fall River County to be “Secretary Pro Temp,”  and Travis Ismay to be Sgt. at Arms.  The head table was manned by R. Shawn Tornow, Stu Cvrk, Brunner and Amy Wagner from Pennington County.

What else? They apparently charged everyone $21 for this event, because that’s how much lunch was. And then they moved into presentations on ballot measures.

I’m told Jon Hansen presented on Amendment G, Ezra Hayes on Amendment H, and someone on 21. They decided to oppose all three.  Nathan Sanderson presented on IM 28, which they decided to oppose.  Jim Kinyon presented on IM29, which they also decided to oppose.  Tony Venhuizen spoke on Medicaid work requirements, Amendment F, which they voted to support – the only one they voted to support.

The group did all of this by voice vote.  Which, since they hosted an echo chamber, you can imagine how it went.

They also discussed Amendment E, removing gender from the constitution. I’m told there was a little bit of debate on that – some people saw it as unnecessary – and they decided not to take a position.

What else? I heard the group did resolve that the party should spend $10,000 opposing the open primaries measure, Amendment H.  I’m also told spokesman Ezra Hayes told them they should work raising it themselves, given the party’s finances. But thinking there’s an unending well of money is a trend with these guys.

After that, they invited Kristie Fiegen to speak as a PUC Candidate. I’m also told Attorney General Marty Jackley was in attendance.

It sounds as if the primary result of this meeting was to motivate those present to work on ballot measures.  With only a passing glance to the actual reason we have a Republican Party organization – to elect candidates. Why aren’t they rallying to get our guys elected? It seems as if they consider it a foregone conclusion.. nevermind the fact that the party’s finances are dire at this point.

Honestly, what are these people doing?  It’s as if the Republican Party of 2024 has become the Democrat Party of the late 1990’s/early 2000’s, when they started tying their fortunes to ballot measures.  And we all know how that’s gone for Democrats. It’s a massive shift of resources and focus – and not for the better.

It’s taking the Republican Party’s eye off the ball, and choosing the golden calf over the ten commandments.

But, this is South Dakota politics, and there are some who just want to take Republicans from complete electoral dominance to wander around in the wilderness for a few decades.

Protecting Kids Online
By Sen. John Thune

Social media has become a big part of Americans’ lives. It’s a source of entertainment and information, a way to connect with friends and family, and a place to shop, do business, and advocate for causes that are important to us. But I don’t need to tell anyone that social media has a dark side as well. Social media can have negative effects on mental health. It can foster negative and divisive engagement and serve as an outlet for illegal activity. And it can be especially detrimental to teenagers’ still-developing psyches.

In the last few years, reports and whistleblowers have sounded the alarm on social media’s impact on young people. In 2021, the Wall Street Journal released a series of reports highlighting, among other things, Facebook’s knowledge of the harm its products can cause, including its own research into Instagram’s impact on teenage girls. Another report revealed how easy it is for teens to be bombarded with inappropriate content on TikTok, a risk-plagued platform with flaws far beyond this one. And many of us have also read tragic stories of eating disorders and suicide linked to social media. The status quo is unacceptable.

For several years now, including my time as chairman, I’ve worked with a number of my colleagues on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to address some of these issues. After years of hard work, the Senate recently passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, which takes important steps to protect young Americans online.

Championed by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, my colleague from Tennessee, this bill provides safeguards for teens by requiring that Big Tech platforms default to the strongest privacy settings for minors. It puts the responsibility on these platforms to prevent and mitigate harm to young people, and it prohibits internet companies from collecting personal information from minors without their consent. These and other measures in the bill are critical steps to protect children online and hopefully begin to reverse social media’s ill effects, of which we’ve seen too much in recent years.

In addition to these provisions, I’m proud that this bill includes my Filter Bubble Transparency Act. One big problem with social media platforms stems from platforms’ ability to decide what information to show you based on a secret algorithm that you can’t inspect or change. Not all algorithms are bad – some can even be helpful, like YouTube queuing up another song from your favorite band instead of something totally unrelated. But algorithms that expose a 15-year-old to inappropriate videos, that’s problematic, to say the least. And unfortunately, consumers are not always aware of just how much of their experience is being shaped by opaque algorithms.

The Filter Bubble Transparency Act puts consumers and parents back in charge by requiring Big Tech platforms to disclose when they are using an opaque algorithm, and it requires platforms to give consumers the option to view content that has not been curated by the secret algorithm. It provides more transparency for consumers and gives them more control over the content with which they interact online. I’m glad to see this bill advance alongside other important measures in this bill.

As always, there’s additional work to be done to update our laws for the social media age. But the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act is an important step forward in protecting young Americans from harm on the internet. I hope the House of Representatives will soon take up this bill, and I will continue working with my colleagues on this important issue.

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Big Connections
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
August 23, 2024

BIG Idea

Children look up to adults young and old as examples of how to live. Friends of the Children – He Sapa is ensuring children have role models who teach the Lakota values of fortitude, wisdom, courage, generosity, honor, respect, and humility. As the first and only long-term professional mentoring program in the country, Friends of the Children puts the children first to help them overcome childhood adversity.

BIG Update

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a preliminary review of employment data that shows there were 818,000 fewer jobs in March 2024 than previously reported. The Department of Labor initially reported 2.9 million new jobs between March 2023 and March 2024. This 30 percent reduction is the largest downward revision in 15 years. Two years after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve seen how these policies have increased gas, food, and electricity prices. Businesses are experiencing the same squeeze families are, and employment data shows these challenges.

It’s time for change. We must cut government spending, ease taxes, and reduce unnecessary regulations from the Biden-Harris Administration. I’ve voted against $13 trillion of spending supported by President Biden and Congressional Democrats. I’m working to decrease spending and block Biden’s rules that are costly and unrealistic for our economy.

BIG News

For nearly 35 years, the city of Madison has waited and worked towards connecting with the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System. At the beginning of August, the town completed the pipeline project that connects Madison to the system. I joined Madison city leaders and Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds for the ribbon cutting to celebrate the newest L&CRWS connection.

The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System will process more than 45 million gallons of water per day for nearly 350,000 people. The system spans 5,000 square miles across southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota.

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Not sure ‘sticky’ Tom Pischke can give up being booted from the State House this year, reminding voters of the incident over 6 months later:

South Dakota Sturdy
By: Gov. Kristi Noem 
August 23, 2024    

It’s back to school time! My kids are all grown up with their school days behind them, and though my grandkids are still young, Miss Addie is starting preschool! This time of year means so much to me. Everything that I do is about making our state safer and stronger for our kids and grandkids – and making sure they get an excellent education is a huge part of that.

This year, we’re kicking off the school year with a new initiative called South Dakota Sturdy. This is a free resource that we’re offering to each South Dakota school district to teach our students resiliency, work ethic, and that driving pursuit of achievement.

South Dakota Sturdy provides ten free lesson plans for students between fourth and sixth grade. It’s available to school counselors and teachers alike. As an added benefit, these lesson plans are rooted in our state standards – so teachers can use aspects of South Dakota, tribal, and American history, and even science to teach these important lessons.

Let me give you an example: One of the ten lesson plans covers my favorite president, Teddy Roosevelt. As a young man, Teddy refused to let asthma and poor eyesight get in his way. He adopted an outlook that he called “the strenuous life,” exercising and spending time outdoors – and he overcame his asthma .

When Teddy’s mother and wife both died just hours apart, he moved to the Dakota Territory, became a tremendous outdoorsman, and proved himself to the other cowboys as a man full of grit. And when America went to war with Spain, he personally led the Rough Riders into combat, defeating the Spanish in a battle and becoming a war hero.

As president, he strengthened America’s Navy, built the Panama Canal, and set up the national parks system that we know today. Throughout his political career, he took on seemingly insurmountable corrupt political machines – and won.

Teddy was able to overcome challenges because he believed that he was in control of his own life. He made the world around him greater because he took charge of his own destiny. Today, his face is on Mount Rushmore – the greatest symbol of American Freedom – because of his leadership.

That’s the type of lesson that South Dakota Sturdy will teach our kids. No matter what challenges they face, even the most unimaginable difficulties, they can overcome with the lessons that this initiative will teach.

I do want to be clear; these lesson plans are not mandatory. They’re available to give additional flexibility to our teachers who work so hard. Maybe they could be used as an easy option for a substitute teacher who has to drop into a classroom at the last minute.

To our knowledge, South Dakota Sturdy will make us the first state to provide such specific lesson plans in this area of resiliency and student wellness. This is the latest way that South Dakota is raising the bar for our kids, making sure that our students receive the very best education possible.

We appreciate everything that our teachers do for their students. We raised their pay this past legislative session because we respect their work. South Dakota students deserve to learn these important life lessons. With this effort, we will make it easier for teachers to provide an excellent education for our kids.

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State Senator Ryan Maher is in the spotlight for serving his community as a small town business owner:

Loading groceries has become Ryan Maher’s regular Monday and Thursday morning routine. On those days, he’s up early to pick up groceries from the Timber Lake grocery store.

and..

It seems The Occidental is exactly what this community needed.

“That’s why this has been successful. Because we are so far removed from the Walmarts and the Sam’s Clubs and the Costcos,” said Maher. “If Walmart was just 20 miles down the road, this wouldn’t work.”

That makes this middle-of-nowhere location the very key to its success.

Read the entire story here.

Always great to read about a community-minded businessman serving a need for their community.

From NPR, while nearly every other state could point to something musical relating to their state, South Dakota Democrats were unable to offer up musical tribute relating to their brand:

DJ Cassidy and the Democrats played special tracks for each state and territory during Tuesday night’s roll call.

But what song — or songs, in some cases — repped your state? We found them all so you don’t have to. Better yet, we offer some reasons behind the choices.

—

South Carolina: Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine – James Brown. James Brown was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnswell, S.C.

South Dakota: What I Like About You – The Romantics

Tennessee: 9 to 5 – Dolly Parton. Country music star Dolly Parton was born in Pittman Center, Tenn., and currently lives just outside of Nashville. Her Dollywood theme park and resorts are located in Pigeon Forge.

Read that all here.

Did they even try? That’s just.. kind of sad.

Hot off the press is a release that was sent out from the Life Defense Fund today where the group’s Co-Chair and State Legislator Jon Hansen expresses his concern over avoiding ‘ethical boundaries’ he may cross if he would have to debate his group’s position on Amendment G.

In part:

Jon Hansen Says Debate on Abortion Measure Violates “Ethical Rules as an Attorney”

Concerning tomorrow’s “Ballot Talk: weighing the Pro’s and the Cons with Greg LaFollette regarding putting abortion up to birth in South Dakota’s State Constitution, Jon Hansen, Attorney for Life Defense Fund, issued the following statement:

—

“As much as I would like to nail down Weiland on his organization’s repeated and blatant violations of petition laws and the engagement in fraudulent activities, to do so would violate legal ethical rules as an attorney.”

“Because I represent Life Defense Fund, which is suing Weiland’s organization “Dakotans for Health” in the case Life Defense Fund and Leslee Unruh vs. Dakotans for Health – Lawyers are not permitted under legal ethical rules to speak to opposing parties represented in an ongoing case about matters related to the litigation.”

Of course, no mention was made about Jon Hansen doing double-duty co-chairing the Life Defense Fund, being paid as a consultant by the Life Defense Fund, and (as State Representative) introducing legislation to aid the Life Defense Fund’s attack against the petition filed by Dakotans for Health.

In case anyone has forgotten the oath that legislators sign:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I …have not accepted, nor will I accept or receive directly or indirectly, any money, pass, or any other valuable thing, from any corporation, company or person, for any vote or influence I may give or withhold on any bill or resolution, or appropriation, or for any other official act.”

Article III, Section 8, South Dakota Constitution
South Dakota Legislative Oath of Office.

I’m not sure.. is the oath of office considered an ethical rule too? Or more of a suggestion?

Does that also mean that the Life Defense Fund is going to just duck Amendment G debates from here on out?

Has it been an active week or what? Traffic has been high, even when people might not like to read public documents.

And adding to the conversation is our latest advertiser, the Yes on 29 Ballot Committee, asking South Dakotans to also listen to their side of the conversation regarding Initiated Measure 29 when people are making up their minds how to vote. Please click on the ad and hear from the side that didn’t divert nun’s money to primary elections.

With two and a half months until election day, SDWC has advertising opportunities for reaching South Dakota’s opinion leaders, based on a first-come, first-serve basis for available positions. The #1 spot in the left-hand column and down page advertising spots are available, and there are discounts for longer ad commitments.  Information on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here.

Please take a moment to visit our advertisers such as South Dakota’s chief executive Governor Kristi Noem, our friend South Dakota Senator John Thune,  Congressman Dusty Johnson, and Republican United States Senator Mike Rounds. Our friends at South Dakota Ag Alliance are also here to fight for landowner rights and common sense ag development, as Summit Carbon Solutions will keep our farmers and ethanol producers competitive on a world stage.

Aside from IM29, we also have the opponents to IM28 making sure South Dakotans know IM28 is a trap.. as badly as I’m sure they want to use the Star Wars meme.. And we have SD Open Primaries asking voters via Amendment H to let everyone who pays for our elections to vote.

Of course, at Dakota Campaign Store, down on the right, you’ll find me already busy in 2024 with yard signs, postcards, and all the things a professional campaign needs to make an impression.

Thank you to our advertisers for your support, and please reach out if you’d like to join them!

From SDAHO:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker shows an 18.1% test positivity rate for the week ending Aug. 10, the highest it has been since January 2022. Wastewater surveillance, “an early warning sign of COVID-19’s spread in communities,” demonstrates “very high” viral activity for COVID-19 across the U.S. indicating positivity rates could be even higher than reported test results. CDC recommends that everyone ages six months and older receive a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine.

Read that here.

That does not make me excited to hop on a plane at the end of the week…