South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

ALEC

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GOP controlled South Dakota Legislature continues to pass unconstitutional laws

l3wis 2Comments

Isn’t it sad? Riot boosting, petitioning, etc. Why does our state legislature continue to pass laws that are violations of our 1st Amendment rights? I will tell you why, because we are allowing a super majority to legislate us.

I have often been baffled by how South Dakotans vote for initiatives that overturn the foolishness and inaction in Pierre yet continue to send these same fools to Pierre.

Want to have fewer initiatives on the ballot? Start electing legislators that pass laws that benefit you and that can hold up to a constitutional smell test.

I told Cory when he first announced he was suing the state over this issue he would win, I considered it a ‘slam dunk’ and if you read the opinion of the judge, it is very apparent. Cory pointed out to me that this paragraph says it all in the ruling;

And that’s all our legislature really does, put’s regulations on our rights to petition the government. And instead of apologizing and vowing to stop passing these restrictions they argue they are right;

Rep. Jon Hansen, a Republican from Dell Rapids, sponsored the bill to regulate petitioners last year. He disagreed with the ruling and said the law was intended to prevent out-of-state petitioners from influencing South Dakota laws.

If Hansen and his fellow lawmakers were so concerned about out of state influence, maybe they should stop taking marching orders from ALEC and the NRA. The party and it’s members also receive millions in donations from out of state entities. I would go so far to say that Noem could not have been elected if it weren’t for out of state contributions. It’s the norm with the SD GOP, it’s okay for them to not follow the rules, but the rest of us minions have to. This time they got their butts handed to them, and rightfully so.

ALEC Sioux Falls

Dan Kirby makes the Koch Brothers secret donor list (H/T – Ruf)

l3wis 4Comments

Seems Dan Kirby has some friends in high places;

There’s one main rule at the conservative donor conclaves held twice a year by Charles and David Koch at luxury resorts: What happens there stays there.

The billionaire industrialists and their political operatives strive to ensure the anonymity of the wealthy conservatives who fund their sprawling political operation—which funneled more than $400 million into the 2012 elections—and to keep their plans private.

Oops! Who lost that list?!

Dan Kirby: He’s president of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Kirby Financial.

Glad to see him funneling all that hard earned SD money to these yahoos.

ALEC Drugs Meth State Legislature

What is really behind AG Jackboots Electronic Record keeping legislation

l3wis 34Comments

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Hey, sounds great, right? Anything to curb people from making meth is a good thing right?

Methamphetamine. South Dakota is experiencing a significant increase in the number of meth lab incidences as well as meth arrests.

“As Attorney General, I do not support requiring a doctor’s prescription for basic cold medicine.  The more reasonable approach is to utilize electronic record keeping of information already being provided in order to address inappropriate use of cold medicine for methamphetamine manufacturing,” said Attorney General Jackley.  Cold medicines containing Pseudoephedrine are often utilized in the manufacturing of
methamphetamine.  South Dakota law currently provides for a written record keeping system for the
sale of Pseudoephedrine products that cannot be efficiently checked by either retailers or law enforcement.  The proposed legislation addresses the problem through electronic record keeping and further allows for a waiver if a retailer does not have these electronic capabilities.  There will be no additional cost to the retailers, consumers or taxpayers for the electronic record keeping system being funded by the industry.

Interesting stuff, especially when you connect the dots.

What are the key components of adding up these dots? Let’s see, they want to implement electronic record keeping, retailers will have access to the information and lastly it will all be paid for by the ‘industry’.

What industry you ask? Big Pharma. See, this legislation is model legislation through ALEC. Who gives ALEC and ALEC members (state legislators) lots of campaign donations? Big Pharma. Who has received a lot of big Pharma money in the past? AG Jackboots. Can you imagine the usefulness of this kind of information to Big Pharma? Being able to track the sales of their over the counter drugs (being sold mostly to innocent consumers not interested in making meth) right down to the actual person purchasing the product, all the while requiring retailers to train their employees to do this extra work, ultimately costing them more in labor costs.

Once again, ALEC is well on it’s way to hoodwink our State Legislators and voters on this legislation.

GP will be posting an extended/closer look at this issue in the near future.

ALEC Secretary of State

Is Gant positioning himself to be an unbeatable incumbent?

l3wis 4Comments

I wonder if Gant can serve either position if he is not re-elected?

KELO – South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant has been named treasurer to The National Association of Secretaries of State.

As treasurer of NASS, Gant will be a member of the executive committee and serve as President of the organization in 2015.

The organization is the oldest nonpartisan organization of public officials in the United States. The association focuses on elections and voting, state business services and digital archiving, and international relations and state securities regulation.

That last paragraph should worry us the most. Remember, Gant is a prestigious member of ALEC, and part of ALEC’s agenda is voter suppression. As treasurer and then possibly chair, he will have the opportunity to spread the ALEC agenda nationally.

Hopefully State Republicans, who are sick of Jason’s bungling, will put up other candidates. I know of at least three now that are considering a run against Jason in the convention. Will Jason use these positions to convince convention delegates that they can’t replace him?

I actually think these appointments will hurt him. Jason will be pulled away from his duties as our SOS performing his national duties (propaganda). That guy has trouble running his own office, let alone handling a national piggy bank. As a high ranking State government employee told me recently,

 “There’s always some kind of problem or mess going on in that office. I just try to avoid hearing about it as much as possible.”

Besides the fact that Jason has no ethics, is an ALEC defender and will pretty much take money from the devil to help state candidates, he does a crappy job as a SOS. He had to hire Sue Roust to bail his ass out, and she didn’t come cheap, after him and Whopper Jr. got caught playing internet games. Unfortunately, AG Jackboots investigated them for something he knew they would be innocent of, stealing (financially) from the state. Everyone knows the only thing Jason is good at stealing is our voter freedoms. But who cares about ethics in Pierre?

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