This is interesting.

Citizens for Liberty via their representative Tonchi Weaver are weirdly trying to interject themselves into the Attorney General contest by writing Sheriffs who have endorsed AG Candidate Jason Ravnsborg:

Of course, it doesn’t help Weaver’s credibility that there actually isn’t a primary in the Attorney General’s race, so right off the bat, she’s providing these sheriffs with erroneous information.

It’s a GOP convention race among delegates, so there’s really no information for them to gather for a mailer. Much less people to mail it to, other than republican delegates.

That might be an important piece of information for her offer to the sheriffs up front. (Never works out well to lie to law enforcement.)

Moving on….

Gubernatorial candidates Kristi Noem, Marty Jackley, and Billie Sutton were on stage today at the tourism conference’s gubernatorial forum in Pierre:

(No Lora Hubbel, oddly enough.)

Noem Applauds Trump’s Protection of Religious Liberty for Healthcare Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today applauded a Trump administration announcement to better protect doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who have moral or religious objections to providing some services, including abortions or certain transgender treatments. Noem, who has urged the administration to support such steps, helped introduce legislation in January 2017 that would achieve similar goals. More specifically, Noem’s Conscience Protection Act would guard healthcare professionals from discrimination if they refused to perform an abortion.

“No job should force a person to deny their deepest moral or religious convictions – convictions that are constitutionally protected,” said Noem. “With the establishment of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, the Trump administration is taking up a cause I’ve been fighting for years and seriously defending our rights of conscience. By doing so, President Trump is reaffirming the beliefs held by our Founding Fathers: A nation that protects religious liberty, diversity of thought, and individual rights is a freer and stronger nation.”

Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) effectively creates a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the HHS’s Office for Civil Rights.

###

Jackley Announces “Destination South Dakota” Tourism Initiative

PIERRE, SD: Today, Marty Jackley announced his “Destination South Dakota” Tourism Initiative featuring a five-point plan to promote the tourism industry, create new jobs and grow the economy:

1 Double the “Million Dollar Challenge” to increase funding for the Matching Dollar Challenge Grant Program to $2 million annually.

2 One More Day Campaign to encourage visitors to spend another day during their trip to South Dakota.

3 Increase the Pheasant Population to restore the pheasant population, including the creation of a voluntary habitat stamp and license plate to help fund habitat.

4 Recreation Infrastructure Development to invest in recreation infrastructure across the state that will increase tourism, improve our quality of life, and grow our economy.

5 Year-Round Economic Engine to expand the tourism industry beyond the traditional “peak season” to all months of the year.

“Investing in our state’s tourism industry is one of the best investments we can make to create new jobs and grow our economy,” said Marty Jackley. “Every $1 invested in the Department of Tourism’s marketing campaign results in $51 in visitor spending and $4 in tax revenue for our state.”

The full plan is available at http://action.martyjackley.com/tourism and a copy is attached.

-30-

Senate Ed is where the action is with committee hearings on several Education nominees..

Appointments this morning are for Jacqueline Sly, to the South Dakota Board of Education Standards, Becky Guffin, to the South Dakota Board of Education Standards, and Don Kirkegaard, Meade County, Sturgis, South Dakota to the position of Secretary of the Department of Education.

More coming!

After several long hours of crossing flat prairie in the twilight, I’ve entered the bubble at the center of the State. For the next 2 days, I’m in “the Pierre bubble.”

I’m here for a little work, a little pleasure, and a lot of politics. And that wasn’t more evident than the first person I ran into this evening – US House Race candidate in waiting, Neal Tapio, who was asking for something from the front desk of the hotel we’re sharing when I returned my bellman’s cart.

We spent ten minutes or so chatting, and I asked him the inevitable question.. “So, when are you announcing?” And I got the same answer I’ve been getting when I’ve asked the few times over the past few months.. I haven’t gotten one.

Now, he’s not being entirely evasive, as much as the time is not right for his tastes. In talking with Neal, he will know when he’s ready. He has a plan, and I’m told we’ll see more of him in the media before he gets around to announcing.

I questioned him as to whether he was concerned about gathering petition signatures and meeting the late March deadline. And in speaking with him, it didn’t represent a concern as much as an opportunity to flex the grassroots muscle he believes he’s building at the moment from people reaching out to him on the issues he’s speaking on, such as stopping radical islam.

“Since the article came out in the Argus, I’ve had over 2500 likes on Facebook,” Tapio notes as he sees interest grow in his budding candidacy.

Tapio also suggests he has a far different campaign style from his opponents.

“When I went door to door running for State Senate, I was out for three months going to each house, and for 30 to 45 minutes at each stop I sat and explained my position on the issues.”

While in-depth, Tapio might find such campaigning difficult at the frenetic pace of a congressional primary where early voting begins already at the end of April.

As I nibbled at my meal in-between conversations with legislators and old friends, coincidentally Tapio’s competitor Dusty Johnson was in town, briefly working the room greeting friends and colleagues at the Red Rossa restaurant before heading to the Tourism conference taking place next door at the Ramkota hotel.

While not as in-depth as Tapio’s approach, Johnson understands that he has to reach out and touch as many of the 180,000 Republican voters as he can before the June Primary.

As he stopped by to greet me, Dusty apologized for the briefness of the encounter as he had to get next door, noting that he wished he could stop and shoot the breeze longer, but noted there’s “a ton of people at the Tourism conference I need to stop and say hi to.”

While Neal isn’t stepping into the race yet and is busy concentrating on issues important to him, the race is already afoot, and his opponents are out working with June closer than anyone thinks.

As posted to Facebook today, Candidate for Governor Marty Jackley has a new commercial:

State Senator Neal Tapio penned a guest editorial column in response to the criticism leveled at him in recent weeks over his appearance at an Interfaith event at the South Dakota State Capitol:

A packing plant in Aberdeen, S.D., which currently employs over 400 Somali Muslims, actively recruits workers from the Somali community in Minnesota. Lutheran Social Services buses them into our communities, and if you object or simply ask questions, they partner with groups that label you a hater, extremist, xenophobe and Islamophobe.

I’ve had enough.

I will not stay silent as these political activists market themselves as soft and cuddly “Interfaith” groups or deceptive front groups like “South Dakotans for Peace,” while they label fellow South Dakotans members of hate groups.

and..

It’s time to address the war on terror head on, just like President Trump has so bravely done. I’ve spent the last three years of my life preparing to lead this conversation.

Let’s roll.

 Read it all here.

State Representative Michael Clark is receiving some press recently as a result of his bill to protect Free Speech on University Campuses, a measure that’s being opposed by the South Dakota Board of Regents:

“This bill protects free speech on college campuses, it removes the idea of the free speech zones and informs staff and teachers and the students of their right and responsibilities regarding free speech,” the bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Michael Clark, said in a phone interview with The College Fix.

Clark said he filed House Bill 1073 this month after seeing free speech come under attack at campuses in other states across the country. While noting that South Dakota hasn’t had such problems, he said it’s important to take action to ensure speakers can come to campus and speak without violence or the threat of violence.

“I’m trying to stop this before it actually becomes a huge problem,” Clark said.

and…

The bill does allow universities to “maintain and enforce reasonable time, place and manner restrictions,” but notes that such measures must “employ clear, published, content, and viewpoint-neutral criteria, and provide for ample alternative means of expression.”

and..

However, the head of the South Dakota Board of Regents, which oversees six public universities, said in a statement provided to The College Fix that the bill addresses issues that have arisen in other states and is not needed in the state.

“There is no problem in South Dakota that this bill will solve. The Board of Regents already established system-wide policies that safeguard First Amendment rights of students, employees, and private visitors,” said Mike Rush, executive director and CEO of the Board of Regents.

Read that here.

You might be reading this, wondering “Why is this needed?”  Or sticking your head in the sand just like the CEO of the board of regents, claiming “The Board of Regents already established system-wide policies that safeguard First Amendment rights.”

If that’s the case, then why are there stories like this:

A professor at the University of South Dakota is refusing calls to cancel the screening of a controversial documentary that depicts brutality against Muslim women.

The “Honor Diaries” is scheduled to be screened at the university’s annual women and gender conference on April 10. But another screening of the film that was supposed to take place Sunday didn’t happen for reasons unknown, and there is pressure from some staff and faculty members to cancel next month’s showing.

Miglena Sternadori, a professor of media and journalism and the women and gender studies coordinator, is refusing to bow to that pressure, saying the film depicts issues that are relevant to the women and gender conference.

“It’s just the wrong thing to do to censor a movie,” she said.

Read that here.

Or this….

The Foundation for Individual Right in Education, or FIRE, has taken note of USD’s policies, and has given the university a “red” designation.

This means that USD has at least one policy that “clearly and substantially restricts free speech.” According to FIRE, there are two policies that warrant a “red” label at USD.

The first resides in the Student Handbook under Guidelines for the Awareness and Prevention of Acts of Cultural Insensitivity and Bullying at USD. Specifically, section five states: “Using university property (i.e. the USD internet server) to bully other students (cyber bullying) or express feelings of hatred via Facebook, Twitter, email or other forms of social media is not allowed.”

and…

The second red light policy lies in USD’s Free Speech Policy, which outlines areas where free speech is allowed. The policy states that the Muenster University Center, Muenster University Center Courtyard and the I.D. Weeks Library Courtyard are the only areas where free speech is allowed.

Much like hate speech codes, free speech zones have come under legal scrutiny. The University of Cincinnati’s speech zones were recently ruled unconstitutional in federal court.

Beyond the legal issues, there’s a principle at stake: the principle of free thought and free inquiry.

Read that here.

When the Argus Leader writes about censorship at USD, and the University of South Dakota’s own student newspaper cites areas of concern where there are issues with the freedom of speech, it might be time to critically evaluate who to believe in this debate over whether the measure should be passed.

Do you take the word of the people on campus who are citing real and existing instances of censorship and the infringement upon free speech at one of our Universities?

Or the University system’s CEO who doesn’t want the measure passed, and would be responsible to report to the legislature on how they implement it?

I know who I believe.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Local Pastor Michael Boyle Seeks District 19 House Seat

Parkston, S.D. (Jan. 11, 2018) – Local Pastor Michael Boyle of Memorial Baptist Church in Parkston, South Dakota has announced his candidacy for the South Dakota House of Representative’s seat in District 19.

Pastor Boyle has a passion for families and children. He has been active with the Family Heritage Alliance’s annual Ministry Leader’s Capitol Summit and as a community volunteer at the children’s home in Parkston and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer. In his announcement he said that he has been deeply concerned over the decline in traditional family values and increase in government growth.

“South Dakota has a proud Conservative heritage of strong families, working hard, and living within our means, but in recent years these basic values of our heritage are being ignored and it has hurt everyday working South Dakotans as a result,” said Pastor Boyle of his reasons for running. Pastor Boyle who is the President of the Ministerial Association in Parkston stated that his concerns are shared by others within the faith community.

Pastor Boyle with his wife Isabel, is a father of six children, from ages four to thirteen, said he is also concerned about the effect recent legislation has had on rural school districts. “We must be focused on our children, our future, and the legacy we’re leaving for them,” Pastor Boyle said regarding his focus on education.

Pastor Boyle who has served his community, said his years of experience as a volunteer and working within the faith community are the sort of hands-on approach he believes the people of District 19 are looking for in a candidate. “Our society and state need strong moral leadership now and we are not getting it.”

“I’m excited for the possibility to work for the people of District 19 and represent the values so many of us were raised on,” said Pastor Boyle.

###