South Dakota
updated
4:04 a.m.
Jeffrey Feldman suggests , "For joking about the assassination of Sen. Obama, Mike Huckabee should be removed from the rosters of all the various cable and network stations on which he regularly appears." What do you think? Does this remove Huckabee from any consideration as John McSame's running mate or was it just a (not funny at all) joke? P.S. Huckabee's joking about killing peopl...
Badlands Blue - 4:04 a.m.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend but depending on who you listen to, the Obama event at the Sioux Falls Arena drew between 5000 to 7000 people. Maybe if Hillary comes to the state 4 or 5 more times she can get those numbers, combined… addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdmoderate.com%2F2008%2F05%2F16%2Fobama-in addthis_title [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Fri 9:40 p.m. - 4 clicks 
If you want to see the wingnuts in all their splendor, the NRA Convention is always a good place to start and Mike Huckabee didn’t disappoint. During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Fri 9:40 p.m.
George McGovern opens for Senator Obama at the Sioux Falls rally tonight ( see the live feed at KELO ), in front of an audience KELO's Lou Raguse estimates at 5,000 (o.k., it's Lou Raguse counting -- your grains of salt are acceptable). McGovern notes that after he endorsed Senator Clinton last October in Iowa, his four kids and ten grandkids all enlisted in the Obama campaign. "Shows how much inf...
Madville Times - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 5 clicks
McGovern delivered the benediction; now Daschle takes the stage to pump up the crowd. Podium gone, he's working the stage (and making the KELO cameraperson earn her/his pay). Policywise, Daschle notes his current policy focus, health care, and says Obama is the one to bring everyone quality, affordable coverage. He also says Obama will make it possible to pay teachers what they deserve (no mention...
Madville Times - Fri 7:11 p.m.
Senator Barack Obama takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. and exclaims, "Thank you, Sioux City!" Oops... thankfully, the good Senator catches himself, notes he spent eight months campaigning in Iowa. Senator Obama notes that Tom Daschle has been with him from the beginning, when there weren't a lot of "poobahs" backing him. Obama says when he announced, people asked him why he was running now, so early....
Madville Times - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
Obama continues his address to a Sioux Falls Arena audience KELO estimates at 5,100: Health care: Obama repeats his vow to pass some form of universal health care by the end of his first term. Save each family $2500, make the Congressional plan available to everyone, get rid of exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and focus on prevention -- "we don't need disease care; we need health care." E...
Madville Times - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
According to Barack Obama's website : U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will visit South Dakota [Friday] to talk with voters about his plans to change Washington and finally tackle the challenges facing hardworking American families. Obama will hold a town hall meeting on rural issues in Watertown [Friday] morning before heading to Sioux Falls in the evening to hold an early vote rally at Sioux Falls Ar...
Badlands Blue - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
Bolding added by me for emphasis... Remarks of Senator Barack Obama As Prepared for Delivery Rural Town Hall Watertown, South Dakota May 16, 2008 It's good to be in South Dakota with my friend Tom Daschle. Now before I share some thoughts about my plan for rural South Dakota, I want to say a few words about a little dust-up that we had yesterday. You see, after almost eight years,...
Badlands Blue - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 5 clicks
This story is heartbreaking. From the Rapid City Journal : The story, told in the Journal last Saturday , was of an 88-year-old former ranch wife from Faith ( Florence Steen) who gathered strength enough to cast a deathbed vote for Clinton. Steen, who was born in 1920 seven months before women won the right to vote, was dying of congestive heart failure and was in hospice care through Rapid C...
Badlands Blue - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 5 clicks
As usual, George W. Bush is doing a "heckuva job." This time, it's his pathetic, demeaning groveling and begging to the Saudis on oil prices. Believe it or not, this groveling even includes an offer to "help [Saudi Arabia] in developing peaceful nuclear energy." Wait a minute, the country that supplied 15 of 19 hijackers on 9/11 -- not to mention Osama bin Laden himself -- and which...
Badlands Blue - Fri 7:11 p.m.
40 years after Sen. Robert Kennedy won South Dakota in the primary, Ethel (Sen. Kennedy's wife)and Max (9th of Sen. Kennedy and Ethel's 11 children) returned to South Dakota to host a rally in support of Sen. Obama before the June 3 primary. I was there and got pictures and video for you all to enjoy. Video after the fold Pt. 1 Pt. 2...
Badlands Blue - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
The following is a comment from a a good friend of mine here in Sioux Falls in response to yesterday’s California Supreme Court decision according similar treatment to gay couples and married couples. Karen Mudd is also the chair of Equality South Dakota, a new GLBT lobbying and education group. Karen is like a sister to me. She is a hard working, smart, good humored, and responsible per...
SD Watch - Fri 7:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
Hillary Clinton speaks from the front porch of a Bath, SD, farmhouse and draws 600 people (Bath population: 574), then stops in Rapid City to boost the donut business . Bill Clinton speaks at the Pine Ridge High School gym and draws 800 listeners . Barack Obama comes to Watertown, SD, draws 1400 ( Sioux Falls paper ) to 2100 ( AP-KSFY ) listeners, and gets Watertown a byline that makes the in...
Madville Times - Fri 2:11 p.m. - 10 clicks
Kevin Woster reports that the ballot of Florence Steen, the 88-year-old woman who cast a deathbed vote for Hillary Clinton, is being thrown out . Mrs. Steen got to fulfill a dream and mark her absentee ballot for a female presidential candidate on April 29. She succumbed to congestive heart failure on Mother's Day, and was laid to rest yesterday. Given this due proof of the absentee voter's death...
Madville Times - Fri 2:11 p.m.
A reader sends me a Bloomberg News article via the Houston Chronicle about billionaire T. Boone Pickens's effort to expand wind power in Texas . $10 billion, 667 wind turbines, 4,000 megawatts -- enough juice for 1.2 million homes. Uff da -- and I thought 34 wind turbines out by Wessington Springs was a big deal. The article concludes with a note on how Pickens's company, Mesa Power, is goin...
Madville Times - Fri 2:11 p.m.
A reader e-mails me a very good question related to Wednesday's potpourri that mentioned the connection between fuel prices and the rising feasibility of local agriculture: The quote "But their economies of scale come from mass distribution, and with diesel fuel costing more than $4 per gallon in many locations, it's no longer efficient to transport food 1,500 miles from where it's grown [Dan B...
Madville Times - Fri 2:11 p.m.
It's always nice to see some South Dakota conservatives and liberals finding common ground. Lake County organic farmer and ag activist Charlie Johnson submitted the following comment to Rick Knobe's Viewpoint University the other day: I wonder if you share my opinion that the 2007 (or better put) 2008 Farm Bill is a legislative vehicle for personal greed not good policy. Also I'm sure that yo...
Madville Times - Fri 6:13 a.m. - 13 clicks
Hillary had a busy day in South Dakota today. In the morning she started off at Jones' farm near Bath: Then she flew across the state and ordered donuts at Jerry's Cakes & Donuts here in Rapid. After the fold there is some more pictures Bath Rapid City ...
Badlands Blue - Thu 10:01 p.m. - 10 clicks
In a previous post, I noted that Microsoft Vista is so huge and ungainly without significant improvements ...apparently...because The South Dakota Moderate dumped his PC in favor of a Mac after tangling with Mr. Gate's latest OS. In the other direction of huge and ungainly are the very, very small programs written in assembler language that do a lot. The......
Dakota Today - Thu 10:01 p.m. - 17 clicks
From my group, Equality South Dakota: Equality South Dakota FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 15, 2008 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Mudd, 605.214.1299 or Todd Epp, 605.351.5021 CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS RIGHTS OF ITS GLBT CITIZENS EqSD Applauds Decision Which Gives Hope to GLBT South Dakotans And Their Friends and Families SIOUX FALLS, SD--Today, the California Supreme Court ...
SD Watch - Thu 4:41 p.m. - 16 clicks
Need students for your school? Import students from overseas! Why didn't we think of this sooner? Mayor Munsterman of Brookings directs our attention to the Wausa, Nebraska, school district , where Superintendent Bob Marks decided to tackle declining enrollment by recruiting foreign exchange students . The plan brought eight students to Wausa this school year -- a pretty big deal in a high ...
Madville Times - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 17 clicks
Silly me, I always thought the purpose of a campaign event was to get as many people as possible to show up. Apparently Hillary Clinton has another idea as her surprise visit to Rapid City this afternoon would attest. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton made a surprise trip to Rapid City today, making a stop at [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 18 clicks
This ruling will surely get the religious right going. The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry. The case involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter- approved law that defines marriage as a union [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 2 clicks
From Sen. Johnson's office... Johnson Comments on Senate Passage of Farm Bill Washington, DC-U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today commented on Senate passage of the Farm Bill: The Senate is moving today to pass this bill and now it is up to the President to work with Congress and not throw up another roadblock. This final farm bill is not a perfect piece of legislation, but it is the...
Badlands Blue - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 13 clicks
This is great news except for one big problem: The House on Thursday passed a Democratic plan sharply boosting education benefits for Iraq-Afghanistan veterans and awarding people whose unemployment benefits have expired with a 13-week extension. The 256-166 [vote] fell short of the two-thirds needed to overcome a promised veto by President Bush. The Democratic plan would impose a surtax on...
Badlands Blue - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 2 clicks
It's pretty bad when even Pat Buchanan thinks George W. Bush is nuts. UPDATE : McCain doesn't know that the Reagan Administration negotiated with the mullahs of Iran? He's forgotten Oliver North, John Poindexter, the "cake shaped like a key," etc? The Iran-Contra scandal? Well, alrighty then! ...
Badlands Blue - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 2 clicks
Okay, this is my first diary, and even though I read the rules, so I apologize in advance for any and all inadvertent rule-breaking, typos, grammatical errors and other gaffes. Now to the substance. I read Hillary Clinton's West Virginia victory speech with interest and, like many, was particularly struck by the anecdote she shared about an elderly supporter who placed an absentee ba...
DailyKos (South Dakota) - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 13 clicks
Senator Obama is coming to South Dakota tomorrow, I know hard to believe, South Dakota! I will get to hear Senator Obama speak in Watertown, South Dakota at a Town Hall Mtg on Rural Issues . I can't really give anymore details about the event, other than the seating was limited and I had to go on a very trecherous search for tickets! My question for all of you is, if given a...
DailyKos (South Dakota) - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 17 clicks
My Man Crush, Sen. Barack Obama, will have at least one vote in the June primary. I am sending in my absentee/early voting ballot today to the auditor in Canton. It's good to know that Barack won't be skunked. Speaking of which. How much do you think Barack will win by on June 3d? Put your predictions in comments. I predict a solid win for Sen. Man Crush--57 to 43 percent. That might be a ...
SD Watch - Thu 2:00 p.m. - 2 clicks
Dr. Schaff at South Dakota Politics offers a clever post on Obama's blatant marketing to Christian voters in his Kentucky literature. Given my own complaints about the conflation of piety and patriotism, I can only say, Touché . Well, actually, I can say a little more. If I were running for office and I could Google "Heidelberger is a Muslim" and get 130,000 links, and if that misperception...
Madville Times - Thu 7:07 a.m. - 17 clicks
My heart sinks to hear on SDPB (and read on KELO ) that Judge Jack Von Wald has approved TransCanada's use of eminent domain to claim South Dakota land for the Keystone pipeline: Judge Jack Von Wald says the Canadian firm has proved that the pipeline is a public use, citing increased demand for oil in the U.S. He further ruled that TransCanada did not engage in fraud or bad faith in dealings w...
Madville Times - Thu 7:07 a.m. - 14 clicks
This just came across my email: Dear Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Representative Boehner, We urge you to support the new "Post 9-11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" (the "Post 9-11 GI Bill") (S. 22 and H.R. 5740) and pass it as part of the current Department of Defense Supplemental Appropriations bill currently under consideration by the U. S. Congress. Doin...
Badlands Blue - Wed 7:52 p.m. - 19 clicks
A day after losing by 40 point in West Virginia, Barack Obama is still making more positive news than Hilary Clinton who still blindly believes that she will be the nominee. First the powerful abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America threw their support to Barack Obama. NARAL president Nancy Keenan said in a statement: “Today, we are [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Wed 4:14 p.m. - 3 clicks
Sen. Johnson has released these comments on the passage of the Farm Bill in the House: Washington, DC -U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today commented on House passage of the Farm Bill. This final negotiated version of the Farm Bill will now move to the Senate for debate and final passage: This final farm bill is not a perfect piece of legislation. However, it does contain som...
Badlands Blue - Wed 4:14 p.m. - 18 clicks
Ladies backing Obama: NARAL Pro-Choice America endorses Obama. Says NARAL Pres. Nancy Keenan: Sen. Obama has been a strong advocate for a woman's right to choose throughout his career in public service. Since joining the Senate in 2005, he has worked to unite Americans on both sides of this debate behind commonsense, common-ground ways to prevent unintended pregnancy. He supports legislation t...
Madville Times - Wed 2:02 p.m. - 2 clicks
The presidential campaigns are really hitting the state this week. Here is the latest list of events that I'm aware of. Senator Hillary Clinton will return to South Dakota TOMORROW, Thursday, May 15, attending a campaign event in Bath. Event is free and open to the public. Thursday, May 15 Bath, SD Doors Open: 9:00 a.m. CDT Event Begins: 10:15 a.m. CDT Senator Hillary Clinton Attends...
Badlands Blue - Wed 2:02 p.m. - 21 clicks
Dave Dreeszen of the Sioux City Journal gives the lawsuit against Hyperion CEO Albert Huddleston and his wife Mary some welcome mainstream media attention : Trustees for the Hunt family trust denied a request from Albert Huddleston and his wife, Mary, to spend trust funds on a proposed oil refinery in Union County, S.D., a lawyer for one of the trustees said Tuesday. The trustee, Miro Vranac...
Madville Times - Wed 10:26 a.m. - 17 clicks
Updated Below I guess we all need to make some sort of sacrifice because of the war in Iraq. US President George W. Bush said in an interview out Tuesday that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of US soldiers killed in the conflict in Iraq, now in its sixth year. “I [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Wed 10:26 a.m. - 4 clicks
Just received in my inbox, details of Barack Obama’s Sioux Falls event this Friday Please join Barack Obama for a One-Stop Early Vote Rally in Sioux Falls, where he’ll talk about his vision for bringing America together and creating the kind of change we can believe in. One-Stop Early Vote Rally in Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Arena1201 N. [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Wed 10:26 a.m. - 15 clicks
The South Dakota Moderate blogger has had enought of Mr. Gates Microsoft Vista operating system. SD Moderate gives up on MS Vista He gave up and bought an Apple Mac. I have yet to read one good comment of consequence about MS Windows Vista operating system. It sounds as if it is a system bloated with options nobody needs and......
Dakota Today - Wed 10:26 a.m. - 14 clicks
SDPB reports this morning that Governor Rounds has indeed responded to a coalition of nine organizations on the issue of unintended pregnancies. Last month, Democracy in Action, Planned Parenthood, the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women, and others sent the governor a letter asking him to take steps to reduce abortion by reducing unintended pregancies. SDPB describes a typical Roundsian re...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 21 clicks
Rapid City Journal : and so does Clinton.... I saw the KJAM headline -- " Obama Supports Rural America " -- and thought I was reading my own blog. But nope, this was our paid local media, KJAM, posting what looked like a pro-Obama editorial. Actually, there's not a lot of boosterism, just a note on ag booster (and former Madisonian) Dallas Tonsager's support for Senator Obama. Tonsager and Denni...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 20 clicks
--I hear on the Marketplace Morning Report on SDPB today that the Labor Department has released Consumer Price Index figures for April: just a 0.2% increase. Food is more expensive (0.9% April increase), but cars are cheaper. Too bad I'm not hungry for a Chevy sandwich for lunch. The CPI also says energy prices actually stayed flat in April... but real weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, ...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 2 clicks
I've just wrapped up the first of my Madville Times Presidential polls. With 37 readers weighing in (meaning a margin of error of a good 120 points!), Senator Obama outpaces Senator Clinton in the South Dakota primary 59% to 38%. But Dems of most stripes can take heart: both Obama and Clinton beat McCain. Out of 48 voters (again, love the margin of error), Clinton beats McCain 44% to 33%, while ou...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 16 clicks
Last night I commented on how Hillary was proclaiming that her West Virginia victory was just more proof that she appeals to the core base that will propel her and not Obama to the White House. The New York Times takes that premise and runs with it and gives us some interesting facts, some [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 2 clicks
I again break my self-imposed exile for important news. My good Republican friend Lee Schoenbeck--former S.D. state legislator, oft mentioned candidate for governor, and great beige hunter--turns 50 years old today. I can't imagine being that old. Wait, I'm 49 and turn 50 this year. I guess I'll have to face my own mortality soon just as Lee is doing today. Anyway, hunting buddy and blog com...
SD Watch - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 3 clicks
Got this in the email inbox this evening after Hillary’s landslide in West Virginia After tonight’s tremendous victory here in West Virginia, it’s clear that the pundits declaring this race over have it all wrong. The voters in West Virginia spoke loud and clear — they want this contest to go on. I’m listening to the [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Tue 8:12 p.m. - 2 clicks
George McGovern is in the New York Times today urging Senators Clinton and Obama to go on the road together for the rest of the primary season: After today’s vote in West Virginia, the two candidates should agree to make joint visits to the sites of the five remaining primaries (in Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota). During these visits, Senators Clinton and Obama shou...
Madville Times - Tue 4:41 p.m. - 26 clicks
Here is the latest West Virginia Democratic Presidential Primary information. Refresh occasionally for updates. Click for "Primaries News Feed". Powered by RSS Feed Digest Technorati Tags: West Virginia Primary , 2008 election , Presidential Primaries , Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton ...
SD Watch - Tue 4:41 p.m. - 2 clicks
Union County voters considering the approval of rezoning for the oil refinery Hyperion has proposed to build north of Elk Point might want to pay attention to Todd Epp's reports at SD Watch on the lawsuit against Hyperion CEO Albert Huddleston by Hunt family trustee Miro Vranac, Jr. Vranac was chief financial officer of Legacy Investments, the firm in charge of the Bunker-Hunt family trust, unti...
Madville Times - Tue 10:37 a.m. - 19 clicks
KJAM reports this morning that Lake and Moody Counties have issued overlay protection for the strip of Highway 34 between Madison and I-29 that the Four for the Future committee dreams of expanding to four lanes someday. State Representative Russ Olson (R-8/Madison) is given a little press space, saying the overlay district will "protect the price of the already costly project by dis-allowing ...
Madville Times - Tue 10:37 a.m. - 2 clicks
State Senator Sandy Jerstad (D-12/Sioux Falls) just secured my vote... should she ever move to District 8 or run for a higher office I can vote for. Sen. Jerstad addressed a packed house (not just tax protestors, but lots of bike folks, reports Tez at Journey, Not Destination ) at the Sioux Falls City Commission meeting last night about the need to make Sioux Falls more bicycle-friendly. SDPB p...
Madville Times - Tue 10:37 a.m. - 19 clicks
KJAM reports an " unusually busy session " of the Madison Central School Board last night... so busy, apparently, the news couldn't cover everything... ...like the proposed $11.4 million budget approved at last night's meeting. That's proposed budget, as in not set in stone. As in, you citizens still have plenty of time to give your input, either by calling or writing your school board membe...
Madville Times - Tue 7:33 a.m. - 2 clicks
Hand me an energy bar... hey! This isn't granola! Darn right that's not granola: that's bison! And according to the Rapid City Journal , Native American Natural Foods of the Pine Ridge Reservation is making money off their Tanka Bar. NANF spent two years developing this modern version of Lakota wasna and pemmican , a mix of bison meat, cranberry, and a " secret, patent-pending herba...
Madville Times - Tue 7:33 a.m. - 18 clicks
Media Matters has done a study on the invasion of military experts on the nation’s airwaves and cablewaves. Don’t assume you’re getting unbiased analysis. There is apparently an agenda—a pro-Pentagon/Bush Administration agenda at work with many of the retired military brass and others who comment on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and other conflicts. ...
SD Watch - Tue 7:33 a.m. - 2 clicks
I emerge from my hiatus with some interesting news on the Hunt Trustee litigation against Hyperion’s Albert Huddleston. I have obtained a copy of the Texas lawsuit (click here for .pdf 4-29-08 Original Petition re Vranac v. Legacy, Inc. et al.pdf ) as well as a listing of major players in Hyperion from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office (click here Hyperion Mgt team.mht ). Th...
SD Watch - Mon 9:35 p.m. - 25 clicks
In all the years I have been in politics, there has been no election where the stakes are as high as they are this year. We face critical choices about the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The economy is slipping into recession, making it even more difficult for working families to make ends meet. I am running for Senate because it is absolutely essential that the next Congres...
Badlands Blue - Mon 1:53 p.m. - 3 clicks
First Hillary, then Bill... now Barack! KELO reports that Senator Barack Obama, whom George McGovern says may be " a second Lincoln ," will be here in South Dakota in the flesh on Friday, May 16! I told you he should come for South Dakota's free state parks weekend ! No word yet on whether Obama will stop at Lake Herman State Park for some walleye fishing, but we'll keep our fingers crossed and...
Madville Times - Mon 10:34 a.m. - 24 clicks
As the fight continues over retooled FISA laws that would give the US Government more power to legally spy on us without warrants and that would give telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for what has already occurred, the LA Times tells us just how much losing some of our civil liberties has helped to this point. The [...]...
South Dakota Moderate - Mon 7:21 a.m. - 2 clicks
Sure, Twitters are a poor excuse for real blog posts, but hey, they’re better than nothing. They’ll be about all I have time for. Enjoy while I take care of other matters during the next month! follow SDWatch at http://twitter.com ...
SD Watch - Sun 9:37 p.m. - 2 clicks
It pains me to do this, but I have some heavy duty work (including preparing for a likely one week-plus federal drug conspiracy trial) ahead of me as an attorney over the next month, plus trying to fit in almost a season's worth of soccer games for my son Matt's team and officiating over the next week and a half, and handling some duties for EqSD PAC. Further, the Obama campaign keeps bugging...
SD Watch - Sun 4:38 p.m. - 2 clicks
If SNL gave Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign life several months ago with the “press is ga-ga over Obama” skit, well, um, this skit from last night might just be the knife in her back and her campaign. Warning: If you are a Hillary Clinton supporter, you are not going to like this clip at all. Frankly, it is unfair. But it does seem to capture some of the zeitgeist about he...
SD Watch - Sun 10:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
In yesterday's poll something happened which I haven't seen done in such an obvious and blatantly stupid way in any other poll before. The voting on the next Sec. of the Interior was pretty much done, maybe a vote here and there was still coming but it was pretty much over. Then I noticed how the vote total for Les AuCoin (who had somewhere between 5 and 8 votes before this started) was slowly ri...
DailyKos (South Dakota) - Sun 5:56 a.m. - 40 clicks
Despite well received events in Sioux Falls and Rapid City this week by Hillary and Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton is just plain losing in her bid for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. First, the objective. She’s now losing—for the first time—the Superdelegate vote. For more information read: Superdelegate Transparency Project. Next, the subjective. There is th...
SD Watch - Sat 11:34 p.m. - 37 clicks
Yesterday's Attorney General poll needed no runoff as John Edwards won more than 50% in the first round. Results below the fold. With the Obama Veepstakes poll now concluded and Gov. Bill Richardson as your chosen running mate (which was covered by the Santa Fe Reporter ) it's time to take this a step further: Who would you like to see in an Obama cabinet? Today you can vote on the ne...
DailyKos (South Dakota) - May 10 - 85 clicks
Here’s another story that hasn’t hit the local media—but should. Albert Huddleston, CEO of Hyperion, the company that may build a refinery in Union County, has been sued by a trustee of the Hunt family trust for what the Dallas Business Journal says is “misrepresent[ing] what they were using trust money for….” An excerpt: In his suit, Miro Vranac Jr. a...
SD Watch - May 9 - 32 clicks
Surprisingly, this story in the Sioux City Journal seems to have gotten little play--but should have. (I've seen no non-Sioux City media with it.) Read: County board says signs too big Excerpt: ELK POINT, S.D. -- The Union County Board of Commissioners will send letters to anti- and pro-refinery groups informing them that campaign signs in the county cannot exceed 25 square feet. ...
SD Watch - May 8 - 20 clicks
Yesterday was sunny with a blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Apple blossoms were very striking and pretty. Got out the camera. There are other trees in town with white blossoms. Maybe a photo of them when it stops drizzling and the sun shines again. And, in the e-mail info from the Sen. Johnson organization. They have a new campaign......
Dakota Today - May 8 - 18 clicks
A few days ago, I missed one of those classic photos. A small neighbor girl and her smaller brother had picked some dandelions out of our weedy grass and were proudly walking up the sidewalk with their bouquet in their hands held out in front of them. Anyway, the yellow pests look good in photos even if they look like......
Dakota Today - May 8 - 2 clicks
It's unusual that it's a Republican who gets this treatment, but the national press hearts Sen. John McCain, according to Media Matters. Here's an email from Media Matters and an excerpt from the book, Free Ride: John McCain and the Media: Today, Paul Waldman and David Brock are releasing a new chapter to their book, "Free Ride: John McCain and the Media." The new chapter is an update...
SD Watch - May 8 - 2 clicks
Looks like a nice spring day for Sen. Hillary Clinton's visit to Sioux Falls this afternoon. Better see her while you can! <grin> Here are today's other, Hillary-free Must Reads. SOUTH DAKOTA MUST READS: What the Heck is Going on in District 15? 08/05/08 00:00 from DakotaWomen I don't live in District 15, but I do come from a District 15 family, so I know a little abo...
SD Watch - May 8 - 14 clicks
Recently, The Madville Times blog mentioned a new pipeline apparently snaking past Winner, SD being planned by the same outfit building the east river South Dakota pipeline. And noted I should be checking on this. NWLINK to Madville Times on Pipeline Skimming through the local rag today, I notice in the city council news..not front page news...that some surveyors have......
Dakota Today - May 7 - 11 clicks
A Black preacher from Sioux City, Ia today on SD Public Radio made the case that essentially the gospel is colorless. Not his phrase, but he said it is the gospel for Blacks, Whites, Yellows, Reds, whatever. He also said that members of a church do not have an obligation to make a scene when a pastor such as himself......
Dakota Today - May 7
There are no short-term solutions to the energy problems and the foreign policy problems that spring from hopelessly flawed energy "policies". Anything intentionally short-term is not a solution. Anything long-term that can't be turned into an actual real short-term SOLUTION with commitment of a massive program and resources is also not a solution. There is not time for half-hearted non-existent.....
Dakota Today - May 6 - 2 clicks
A colleague of mine and I were at an open house yesterday and discussed the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's performance at the National Press Club. Neither of us thought it was as outrageous as the media has portrayed it. In many respects Wright was theologically on the mark. A point that confused some people was when Wright said the black church has the tradition of "playing the dozens." Actually, the...
Northern Valley Beacon - May 5 - 4 clicks
The Aberdeen Barack Obama campaign office held its open house this afternoon and introduced four young but seasoned campaigners who will coordinate the effort in this part of the state. They are signing up volunteers to man the telephone banks, canvass the precincts, and provide general help in restoring America to what it can and should be. The office also needs equipment such as tables, cha...
Northern Valley Beacon - May 4 - 18 clicks
I am from Illinois. I was raised, schooled, and worked there 45 years before I moved west for a professorship. I have family in Illinois, I have an interest in many enterprises in Illinois, including politics, and so I keep up with goings on in that state. While I lived n Chicago at various times. I was for the most part a downstate resident, living on the western border on the Mississippi Rive...
Northern Valley Beacon - May 4 - 3 clicks
Dizzy Gillespie Ken Blanchard offered some welcoming words at my return to blogging, and I appreciate them. He noted our shared love of jazz, and noted that he has instituted a web log on jazz, for which I heartily commend him and hope to enjoy the exchange of information on America's original art form. Ken notes my fondness for the Prez, Lester Young, one of the great innovators on te...
Northern Valley Beacon - May 4 - 3 clicks
SD Magazine sends out an e-mail newsletter now and then. The text below was in the May version. Interesting if you happen to have a mother and live or lived in South Dakota. Mother's Day Originated in South Dakota Although Mother's Day has origins that date back to the Greek sages, South Dakota actually played a significant role in its......
Dakota Today - May 4 - 17 clicks