Winter is coming.
And thanks to President Biden, it will be expensive. pic.twitter.com/USPjn0OBf8

— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) October 19, 2021

I had to laugh at the Game of Thrones reference.

Rolling Stone magazine just dropped an article which pointed out State Representative Phil Jensen appears to be a member of the anti-government Oath Keepers group, and he may have used his legislative e-mail to sign up for participation in the organization.

In light of this controversy, the Rapid City newspaper ran a headline touting Jensen as “South Dakota’s most conservative lawmaker.” That same year, it appears, Jensen added another appellation to his political resume: Oath Keeper.

The Oath Keepers are an extremist militia group that challenges the authority of the federal government. The organization asks its members to swear to a 10-point oath, steeped in conspiratorial thinking, insisting they’ll stand up against government tyranny that the group imagines is fast approaching.

and..

The vast majority of alleged Oath Keepers in these rolls signed up with private emails and without any details that would readily identify their employers. The record for Jensen is markedly different. It lists a state legislative email address, and his name appears with his honorific at the time, “Senator Phil Jensen.” (Jensen has served in both chambers of the state legislature; he is currently representative of District 33, which includes part of Rapid City.) The record appears to show that Jensen signed up for an annual membership in 2014; the database does not indicate his current membership status.

Read it here.

According to Wikipedia…

Oath Keepers were present wearing military fatigues during the 2014 and 2015 unrest in Ferguson, Missouri when members armed with semi-automatic rifles roamed streets and rooftops. Many members of the group participated in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. By September 2021, twenty members had been indicted for federal criminal offenses, with four pleading guilty.

Glad Phil can provide Oath Keeper representation in the South Dakota State Legislature.

(That was sarcasm. Jesus Christ. Why do people in District 33 keep electing him?)

Since the last edition of the “Tale of the Tape” we’ve picked up a possible candidate for US Senate, one made it official for Congress, and we’ve maybe even lost a couple.

Here’s the newest version of SDWC’s “Tale of the Tape infographic – Fall 2021” edition

Flags at Half-Staff in Honor of General Colin Powell

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff statewide, effective immediately until sundown on Saturday, October 22, in honor the life and legacy of General Colin Powell. This is in accordance with a presidential proclamation from President Joseph R. Biden, which can be found here.

###

Looks like legislative leadership disagrees on whether taxpayers should bear the cost of defending Speaker Gosch’s refusal to release how House Members voted in convening a special session for impeachment.

Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck who released the Senate’s vote is saying no, Gosch can pay it himself, and Speaker Gosch disagrees, saying that it was an official duty, where taxpayers can cover the cost of defending him:

Schoenbeck, who had released the names of senators who petitioned for the session, emailed fellow legislators last week to press for a meeting of the Legislature’s executive committee if Gosch intended to involve the Legislature in the legal battle.

“There is no legal basis for the Speaker’s actions and I will not support any expenditure of taxpayer funds on this behavior,” he wrote in the email obtained by The Associated Press.

Gosch replied by asserting that he was acting in his official capacity as speaker when he made the decision not to release the names and he expected the attorney general to represent him if the state Supreme Court considers the lawsuit.

Read it here.

Had a legislator share this constituent spam that’s being blasted to all legislators, no matter whether they represent the South Dakotans who sent it or not.

Not to mention the fact there’s no evidence of election fraud in South Dakota, but they’re demanding an audit anyway:

I usually delete these types of email as quickly as they come in, but prior to deleting this one I thought you might be interested to see legislators have been receiving pressure to “sign the list.” I’ve received three or four similar requests.

From: [Redacted]
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2021 12:58 AM

Subject: [EXT]: FW: Demand a Full Forensic Audit of SD 2020 Election

We are highly disappointed in the government entities across South Dakota, as well as across the country.  In August, we sent the email below demanding a full forensic audit of the 2020 election to all 105 SD Legislative Representatives, as well as our Governor, Secretary of State, Senator Thune, Senator Rounds, and House of Representative Dusty Johnson, amongst others.  Ironically, of all these emails, only three individuals responded (Steven Haugarrd, Julie Frye-Mueller, and Taffy Howard).  It is highly disappointing that we did not even receive a response from our own representatives – Josh Klumb, Lance Koth or Paul Miskimins.

It is obvious that there was fraudulent activity in the 2020 Presidential election, and it is apparent that the bulk of our legislative representatives are turning a blind eye and choosing not to execute their job in accordance with the oath they took.  Attached is a document signed by many state legislators across the nation exercising their power in accordance with the U.S. Constitution ensuring oversight of the Presidential election.  The letter is requesting all states decertify their electoral votes where they were certified prematurely and inaccurately.  Only two SD State Legislators, Julie Frye-Mueller and Taffy Howard, have signed this document.  We would have expected the majority of our legislators to have signed the document.  The more important question is why did you not sign it?  There are numerous allegations in the news that raise concerns regarding the integrity of the 2020 Presidential election, as well as accusations of a pattern of fraud in the five swing states.  In SD, we need to audit our election process to ensure every legal vote is counted and ensure that we don’t have problems with vote discrepancies because of ballots being cast for deceased people, those who have moved out of the state, votes of illegal aliens and criminals (who don’t have the right to vote), absentee ballots, as well as votes by those not properly registered.  Conducting an audit in every state is a win-win, if the election outcome based on legal votes does not change it restores the faith of the election process.  If the audit produces different results, and we rectify any fraudulent activity, then it restores integrity of the process for future elections.

Remember your job is to represent the citizens of SD and what is best for our state, not your own personal or political agenda, or one that is contrary to best interest of We the People!  We ask that you look deep into your heart, step-up and support a full forensic audit in SD and in all states.

[redacted]

cc:   Stand for Freedom

Why on earth do these election conspiracists think we need “to audit our election process to ensure every legal vote is counted and ensure that we don’t have problems with vote discrepancies?” We have paper ballots, and then after the vote, the state canvasses the election to verify the accuracy and cross-checks against screw ups.

The county auditors do a pretty good job, and as the state’s chief elections officer, the Secretary of State also keeps the process on the up and up.

This is all just silliness at this point.

 

From the Hill, former Secretary of State Colin Powell has died from COVID 19:

“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19. He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment,” the Powell family said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Read that here

A branch of the ACLU filing a brief to limit people’s freedom of speech? That’s messed up.

From Twitter:

I read this ACLU brief. This is the first time, at least to my knowledge, that ACLU is explicitly arguing in court that the First Amendment’s free speech clause has been interpreted *too broadly* by courts, and are advocating *a more restrictive view* of what free speech means. https://t.co/RKfmDVLGw7

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 17, 2021

The Marty Jackley for Attorney General campaign has sent out another fundraiser announcement, this time for Thursday October 20th in Rapid City with over 100 event sponsors.

Again, they’re contributions of $1000 per couple, with a lot of familiar names.

I had written about Taffy Howard signing on to this document earlier, but it looks like the other half of the self-titled “Dynamic Duo,” State Senator and awful person Julie Frye-Mueller has joined Rep. Howard in calling for the 2020 election to be investigated, decertified, and remanded to the House of Representatives:

Two South Dakota legislators — Republican Reps. Julie Frye-Mueller and Taffy Howard — signed this. https://t.co/jdPG1beGW4

— Kevin Woster (@KevinWoster) October 17, 2021