Pre-video release, regarding the (now known to be verbal) dustup State Representative Lynn DiSanto had with State Representative David Johnson, this past weekend she was claiming to be made of stern stuff:

I’m not weak or a snowflake. I’ve engaged in hundreds of debates and heated battles with men and women. That is part of the job, and I’m equipped to battle anyone that way.

Read that here.

And after her show of machismo and bravado, DiSanto adopted a more conciliatory tone:

Many of you and my colleagues also expressed concern regarding the situation and felt that it needed to be addressed. It was a very unfortunate event and for me it was a scary event. I believe that his behavior was unacceptable and unprofessional.

He has acknowledged that his behavior was wrong. Representative Johnson has made a personal apology to me and I have accepted that apology.

Listen/watch that here (about 30 min in).

In fact, to the media, the face that DiSanto put on made it sound like things were down right cordial:

“I wish Rep. Johnson nothing but the best of luck moving forward and I would like to publicly say Rep. Johnson is not just my colleague, but he is my friend,” DiSanto said.

Read that here.

And then the video of the legislator’s back and forth unhappiness was released. So much for friendliness. From all reports, much of that cordiality disappeared. And while legislators were in session, DiSanto was elsewhere, popping back into session around 3:15-3:30.

It sounds like it was only a day trip DiSanto took to Pleasantville, with a detour on the way back through grumpy town. Instead of being friendly with her new friend Representative Dave Johnson, he’s once again a villain in her fairy tale, at the same time she’s also attacking Republican Leadership:

The two representatives say they are upset with the way Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson handled the whole situation.

DiSanto says she felt pressured to let it go by leadership and was trying to take the “high road.”

and…

DiSanto says she felt she was doing what was right for the caucus when told the House she accepted Johnson’s apology and said it was not necessary to form a committee to investigate him further.

“I wish Rep. Johnson nothing but the best of luck moving forward and I would like to publicly say Rep. Johnson is not just my colleague, but he is my friend,” DiSanto said on the House floor on Monday..

KELOLAND News asked DiSanto how she could say someone who called her those kinds of names was her “friend.”

and..

“The video does not show the rage that was in his voice,” May said.

“I think my biggest concern is an event like this occurred at our capitol and there was very little support, from leadership and people we look to handle these types of situations,” DiSanto said.

We reached out to House Speaker Mark Mickelson for comment. Mickelson says the House formed a committee to investigate Johnson’s conduct as a legislator and the committee was disbanded at the request of Representative DiSanto.

Read that here.

Honestly, it is just me that thinks this went way, way farther than it ever should have in the first place?  If there actually was an issue and/or Representative DiSanto was serious about resolving her differences in the first place, then why has it been a non-stop media tour, and barfing of things out on social media?

People were crabby. People had strong words. One of the people apologized. The reaction was strong, but it was finished.  It’s time to stop the silliness parade and the drama circus, along with the accompanying publicity tour.  Legislators can be done with the distractions now, and get back to work.

From Facebook comes a new Dusty Johnson for Congress video:

Thune: List of Tax Reform Good News Just Keeps Growing

“Thanks to tax reform, good news for American workers seems to pour in daily, whether it’s lower utility bills, new jobs, bonuses, or, as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina announced last week, lower rate increases on health insurance.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee and a key voice during the tax reform debate, today discussed the many ways in which tax reform is already working for American families. One of Thune’s examples was the lowering of utility rates across the United States, including in Rapid City where Black Hills Energy is working with regulators to pass tax savings on to South Dakotans.

Noem Provisions to Crack Down on Internet Sex Trafficking Pass House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today led the House in passing the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. If enacted, the legislation would enhance criminal enforcement efforts, make sex trafficking less profitable for bad actors, and expand opportunities for states and victims to bring cases against those who facilitate sex trafficking online.

“In 2013,  a sting operation around Watertown resulted in more than 100 responses to undercover ads placed on the Backpage website,” said Noem. “This is not a major city. This is a hometown. It’s a place with a strong sense of community – a place built around families and a sense of right and wrong. Yet even in this community, websites like Backpage have been able to facilitate the buying and selling of our children. It needs to end, so I’m proud this legislation takes unprecedented steps to crack down on internet sex trafficking.”

Today’s legislation, which was cosponsored by Rep. Noem:

• Holds bad actors accountable by clarifying that Section 23 of the Communications Decency Act does NOT grant immunity to websites that facilitate sex trafficking.
• Creates a new federal crime targeting websites that intend to promote or facilitate illegal prostitution.
• Increases criminal penalties that prosecutors can seek for websites that promote the illegal prostitution of 5 or more persons or act with reckless disregard for the fact that sex trafficking occurs on their website.
• Provides additional restitution for trafficking survivors by creating a pathway for victims to sue bad actor websites for conduct violating the new criminal law.

###

Attorney General Jackley’s Data Breach Bill Passes Full House

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley confirms the SB 62, a bill that requires the reporting of data breaches of personal information to consumers and to the Attorney General has unanimously passed the full House on a vote of 64-0.

“Thank you to our legislators for passing this very important piece of legislation protecting South Dakota consumers and businesses. The internet and social media play a vital role in our daily connectivity to one another, but with this comes an increased risk of theft and fraud. We will continue to see an increase in cybercrime and we need the tools to combat these breaches and thefts of our personal information,” said Jackley.

Under the proposed legislation, upon discovery of a breach of a system security, the information holder must disclose the breach to any resident of South Dakota whose personal or protected information was acquired by an unauthorized person within 60 days of that discovery. Furthermore, if that breach of the security system exceeds 250 South Dakota residents, the Attorney General must also be informed within 60 days.

The notice by the information holder may be by written notice, electronic notice, or substitute notice. A failure to comply with the notice requirement would be a Deceptive Act under existing South Dakota law (§37-24-6) for purposes of criminal and civil enforcement. The Attorney General may also bring an action to recover civil damages of not more than $10,000 per day per violation.

Here’s something that’s good for a laugh this afternoon.

Apparently Facebook is acting as a Jiminy Cricket-like conscience to Lora Hubbel.

So what actually happened?

Hot into my inbox comes the DiSanto/Johnson Video of security camera footage from the House floor on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 of the argument that sparked a complaint, and the withdrawal of the same complaint yesterday. Watch it for yourself:

A few people had asked, and now there is a GoFundMe Campaign page set up to help offset expenses for State Representative Sean McPherson as he battles cancer. You can click here, or click on the image. 

From the Attorney General’s office:

Attorney General Jackley Joins Lawsuit Challenging the Affordable Care Act

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that South Dakota has joined 20 other State Attorneys General in a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act.

“South Dakotan’s deserve more affordable health insurance than mandated Obamacare has provided. I am joining with other State Attorneys General to challenge the federal takeover of healthcare to provide our state and South Dakotans more

affordable options for healthcare,” said Jackley. “The original 5 to 4 Supreme Court decision was based not on healthcare but on Congress’ decision to tax us, and it is time to once and for all end this federal mandate to allow medical doctors more freedom to care for patients and private industry to compete for lower insurance premiums.”

As stated in the Attorneys General’s complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, “Following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the country is left only with Congress’s naked intent to impose an individual mandate on most Americans to buy health insurance, without the fig leaf of a tax penalty to salvage its unconstitutionality.”

The recently enacted tax bill eliminates the tax penalty for failure to obtain health care insurance under the ACA. But in the new tax bill, Congress did not eliminate the mandate to obtain health insurance. The suit alleges that the mandate to obtain health insurance is therefore rendered unconstitutional.

-30-

And from his campaign:

Now they’re all buddies again?

From Twitter.

Motion approved on a 64-1 vote . Committee has been disbanded pic.twitter.com/AxIodtsvMY

— Dana Ferguson (@bydanaferguson) February 26, 2018

I give up trying to follow this. (But at least there’s a happy ending.)