South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2012

ALEC Kristie Fiegen PUC

SD ALEC Queen Kristie Fiegen

l3wis 12Comments

This is an interesting turn. As we work on the our ALEC funded SOS Mr. Gant, we keep turning more corners in our journey.  Now we find out how needy Ms. Fiegen has been for attention from all the wrong people and companies. As we have been digging we wondered why and then how Ms. Fiegen was receiving money from the out of state Koch Brother allies and then this showed up in our mailbox.

You see, Kristi Fiegen has been running for one office or another for several years now with a curious string of money, legislative and PUC decisions trailing behind her. Why would a keeper of the public trust, with a position to hold the utility companies feet to the ‘fire’, cave into every big utility companies at every turn. All you farmers, do you know what will be happening to your local REA once ALEC controlled Chris Nelson and Kristi Fiegen have their full terms? Kristi has been going to training ALEC sessions paid for by the State of South Dakota.

We find Ms. Fiegen begged the 1999 Republican led Legislative Interim Executive Board for some special funding.  According to Item #6: “The Board reviewed a letter from Representative Kristie Fiegen, state chair of ALEC, requesting that registration fees and up to $250 of travel expense be authorized for ten legislators to attend the 1999 ALEC convention.” This is $2,500 plus registration fees to learn how to ‘legally’ rip-off the people of South Dakota.

You see, ALEC is an organization operated by the billionaire Koch Brothers for the benefit of their friends. These brothers are the sons of one of the founding financiers of the John Birch Society, an organization known for advocating some very non-Christian, anti-South Dakota, anti-family farmer, small business positions.

Kristi Fiegen was asking, in her position as the South Dakota ALEC Leader, to have the State of South Dakota pay the trip expenses and registration fees for a select group of legislators to the next training sessions. These training sessions teach “our” representatives how to rape and pillage the treasury, resources and people of the State of South Dakota in creative ways.  As a side benefit, these representatives get to learn how to be good ALEC members in order to receive money in the form of campaign contributions. If the ALEC members are really nice to the out of state money changers, money will come their way.  This will give them the ability to run for bigger and better offices. Governmental offices like SOS, PUC, judgeships, legislative leadership, Attorney General, Congress and more become available if the game is played right. If you are ambitious with low standards, ethics or morals, sign up to be an ALEC member and rip-off your neighbors.

When you look at the finance records of your GOP legislators and consider this question, “What part of their souls did they have to sell to get the out of state money contributions?”

Kristie has also been busy with some other ‘projects’

Cosponsored legislation to eliminate the one-year ban on lobbying by former state employees:
Voted to raise gas taxes in 1997:

 

Sioux Falls snow removal Snowgates

Like clockwork the Argue Endorser Pooh-Poohs snowgates.

l3wis 7Comments

How funny is this, while talking to a member of the pro-snowgate petition drive tonight, they said to me, “You know the Argus will write an editorial tomorrow that is negative to the petition drive in Sunday’s paper”. How sad is it when your local rag is that predictable?

Of course it is full of the usual BIAS inaccuracies;

Some officials in communities who have adopted the snow gates also say they don’t work as effectively as advertised and the narrowing of streets that is a byproduct of snow gate usage can cause serious problems for traffic flow in neighborhoods.

Let’s review. Since citizens in Bismarck, ND approved snowgates 12 years ago, the city has not used them twice, both in 2009 when they experienced, wet heavy snow. That’s it, twice in 12 years.

As for the narrowing of streets, like I said before, this happens without the use of snowgates, that is just a product of winter and a lot of snow, not snowgates.

But it seems silly to mount such a ballot campaign to make snowgates happen when we have an elected council and mayor who just might end up doing that anyway.

This just proves how out of touch not only our local paper is, and our mayor. It is no secret the mayor says he supports them. But only one councilor has been vocal about support, Kermit Staggers. Councilor Jamison says he supports them and ‘rumor’ is Anderson does to, but we have not heard a peep out of the rest of the council. This isn’t about them anyway, this is about YOU and whether YOU support them, it’s about a public vote. How awesome is that?

But this idea just seems premature.

Not at all. While the city LOVES to spend money on recreational and entertainment to the tune of millions each year, what is wrong with asking citizens if they want to spend money on an actual service? Premature? WTF? Snowgates are used nation wide with much success. Mind you, you must use GOOD equipment, and the operator should know what they are doing, but they work. I doubt manufacturers like Henke would be selling this equipment for decades if they did not work.

The snow gates require slower street cleanup, and the effect of those delays on city drivers has to be considered.

Another flat out misconception. A properly trained and seasoned operator can run these devices at the same speed as regular snowplowing. Sure, the first couple of years will be a little rough, but change never comes easy. I have often been of the opinion that government’s job is to provide services to us for the taxes we pay. Snowgates are a service.

I also want to say that the outpouring of people that want to sign the petition has been incredible, it crosses party lines, Dems, Republicans and indies have said, “It is time.”

If you would like a petition, please email me, and we will get you one. (I’m sorry, I cannot post it, we want to make sure people gathering signatures are doing it correctly, so we would like to consult you first.)

Bob Newland Medical Mary Jane

Legislative letter sent by SD NORML (Bob Newland)

l3wis 2Comments

Best regards, Rep. Concise Thinker;

We believe you want what is best for the majority of South Dakotans. We do, too.

That said, we see no benefit in punishing people with criminal laws and prosecution for using cannabis (“marijuana” is the legal term, a slang term chosen from the vernacular for its sinister sound). Further, we see a great deal of harm being done –to the majority of South Dakotans as well as to those directly affected by arrest and prosecution– to no apparent purpose.

Current laws regarding cannabis achieve several effects, none of them beneficial.

1. The prices users pay for cannabis is inflated roughly 1700 per cent by the “risk” factor involved in producing, transporting and marketing the product. This benefits the most vicious people on Earth, while making the distribution of the product completely ungovernable.

2. Distribution of cannabis to minors is therefore inevitable. A legal market in cannabis among adults could allow regulations making it more difficult for children to obtain it. The current system guarantees the opposite.

3. The benefit of cannabis to a wide age of people with a wide range of adverse medical conditions is apparent. While cannabis is easily obtained by healthy, active people, it is much harder for a person in a wheelchair to make the contacts necessary to obtain what might be life-sustaining aid from cannabis. One intense irony of current policy is that it denies access to cannabis most efficiently to those whom are most in need of its benefits.

We believe, for these and other reasons, that it goes counter to any interpretation of sound public policy to maintain criminal punishments for anyone for ingestion of cannabis. We believe that adults have the inherent right to ingest cannabis (or anything else they want to ingest). We believe that those accused of possession of “marijuana” should have the right to present evidence of medical use in court and to have juries determine justice from the evidence. We believe that any steps in the direction of improving South Dakota law along these lines is a step in the right direction and we will vigorously support legislators who undertake those steps.

“We” are SoDakNORML, the South Dakota Affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. We are comprised of thousands of South Dakotans arrested, prosecuted, imprisoned, frightened, amused, angered, or marginalized as a result of cannabis Prohibition, a policy so absurd in its derivation and results that it defies characterization.

On behalf of any of the folks described above who want to endorse these sentiments, I am

Bob Newland
President, SoDakNORML

P.S. Please read the essay on the politics of cannabis at the following website:http://hemphasis.net/Politics/politics.htm (the capital P is important).

Co-signed by:
Jesse Grimm, combat veteran, Hot Springs

 

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