South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Marijuana Medical Mary Jane Sioux Falls State Funding State Legislature

After the Failure of IM 27 lawmakers attempting to restrict Med MJ even more

l3wis 8Comments

Well, we should have seen this coming, a NEW drug war has emerged after right wingers killed IM 27 with a campaign littered with lies;

Lawmakers want to make it more difficult to expand the list of conditions that might qualify a citizen for a medical marijuana card.

Patients who want relief for conditions not explicitly listed in the law ought to ask their elected lawmaker to add the condition for them during the legislative session. 

Yeah, that sounds convenient and legitimate! NOT! As I have told people in the past, all Medical Cannabis is, is aspirin that gets you high. It’s a pain reliever, sleep aid and relaxant. It can and should be prescribed for ANY ailment. Isn’t it funny how a group of mostly white male business owners with NO medical, chemistry or biology degrees seem to know so much about reproductive health and chronic pain disorders.

I mean, I knew they were big group of smart fellers (or was it fart smellers?) but they constantly amaze me with all of their genius medical advice and recommendations 🙁

MIDCO Aquatic Center Sanford Sports Complex Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

City of Sioux Falls pushing for MORE indoor pools

l3wis 5Comments

Weren’t we told the MAC would do gang busters because there was such a need? The need has been SO great attendance goes down each year and subsidies go up ($700K a year approx.) If the MAC was at capacity and was being used that much, wouldn’t it at LEAST be breaking even?

Designs for both Frank Olson and Kuehn Park pools included both an indoor and outdoor option, and an indoor pool would also likely mean more indoor recreation like a running track, gymnasium space and multi-purpose rooms.

We don’t need another municipal indoor pool OR rec center. We should encourage Sanford to build a large facility at the Sports Complex and get out of the broken window and broken sidewalk fixing business and money losing adventure the MAC has been.

Employment Media Sioux Falls Unemployment

UPDATE: Gannett Employees set up Go Fund Me

l3wis 2Comments

Well, yah gotta know employees are NOT happy about a holiday furlough when they blatantly set up a Go Fund me page;

Gannett, which owns the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Watertown Public Opinion and the Aberdeen American News, is requiring all of its employees to take a week unpaid over the holidays. This decision affects 15 journalists.

The funds raised will be distributed evenly to help cover the lost income during the furlough week. Many of the journalists affected are young and not from the area. They are worried about not being able to pay rent and their bills while still being able to go home and see their family. This fundraiser aims to help them enjoy the holidays without stressing about rent payments.

Gannett has been doing this for several years now and it should be NO surprise to the employees. I guess over the years I have personally just gotten used to NOT getting vacation, insurance benefits or holiday pay from several of my employers (mostly hospitality). While I agree it sucks, one week unpaid is not the end of the world. If you can’t afford to miss one week’s pay out of the year, you really need to take a closer look at your finances.

UPDATE: I was informed that this page was setup by a NON employee for the employees of Gannett

Mayor TenHaken

Mayor TenHaken shares text

l3wis 14Comments

On the Mayor’s official, non-official, Facebook page, he shared a text he received after the election;

Someone was obviously high when they sent this 🙂 and I have NO doubt if PTH knew who sent it, the police or sheriff’s department were probably dispatched to have a convo with this individual.

I agree with the sentiment, but I would have wrote it a bit differently;

You would think as the mayor of the state’s largest city you wouldn’t be so ignorant when it comes to adult use cannabis. But you Republicans are not big on facts, science or telling the truth (e.g., Kristi Noem). Now go do something you are good at, like licking windows.

I’m not even sure what it means to lick a window?

I do agree with Paul this is NOT the best way to interact with your elected officials;

Paul TenHaken

I share this only to highlight the state of diminishing dialogue I see in our democracy. A state where people feel this is an appropriate way to contact an elected official. A state where people are so angry and frustrated by all they see on social media that they lash out in knee jerk ways that I believe they really don’t mean. I see these messages very often, and use it only to highlight the fact that we can do much better as a city, state, and country. But it starts with each of us modeling the way.

A better way is to address them at public input so you can get them on audio calling you a loser, or have them accost you in the lobby of Carnegie, because you know, it is okay for them to name call constituents but don’t dare treat them the same way. The only thing that has truly been diminishing is the grey matter between the ears of our local elected officials. Instead of encouraging them to lick windows, maybe we need to get them to stop eating paint chips?

1st Amendment Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council

This looks familiar

l3wis 4Comments

If you follow my rants on here and at city council meetings, you know my thoughts on limiting public input by the chair of the meeting and prior restraint.

Well, what do we have here? A chair of a city council meeting trying to talk down public commenters, except this time, they are suing;

As I have mentioned in the past, as long as you are addressing the body about policy and government they cannot shut you down.

Here are some highlights from the suit (PDF DOC);

Mayor Owens frequently uses her authority as Presiding Officer of Eastpointe’s City Council to suppress dissent and criticism by interrupting and shouting down members of the public who criticize her or raise subjects she finds personally embarrassing.

At one point in the meeting, the city attorney even intervenes and tells Owens that public commenters are free to say what they want to.

I have argued for a long time that the city council and it’s chair (Mayor TenHaken) have been violating citizens 1st Amendment rights when it comes to public input and trying to shut them down (while huffing and puffing, sucking on candy and calling commenters losers).

I will be watching this case closely . . .

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