Entries Tagged 'Secretary of State' ↓

The pre-pat-power pdf reports have not been working. The site has been down completely.

http://apps.sd.gov/applications/ST12ODRS/CommitteeViewlist.asp?cmd=resetall

Previous Year’s Finance Reports (2010 and Older), NOT AVAILABLE

Every time there is a change in Pierre officialdom, this website seems to crash.  What is Gant doing? Or should we say, what is hiding?

A sorry movement has been growing over the last couple of years at a feverish rate.  The people have voted against FAUX News and Rove even after the vote fix was in.  Something must be done.  Consider what is happening in Pierre and other state capitals as the elected and appointeds work to figure out how to roll our nation back to the 1800’s.  Senator Stan’s Adelstein’s proposal to have direct primary nomination election of constitutional candidates in South Dakota is a throwback to the Progressive Era our current ‘leaders’ wish to destroy.

DWC – Pat Powers’ recent rants to continue his destruction of all things related to Senator Stan.  We must not forget Pat’s job loss was a result of last May’s expose’ of SOS Jason Gant and his ethically challenged / legally questionable activities.  South Dakota was in the center of the nation’s Progressive movement.  Much of what we currently have as average Americans is in no small part because of what happened in Sioux Falls and South Dakota.  Governor Lee, Peter Norbeck, Governor Tom Berry through Abourezk and McGovern were prairie progressives who believed in the average person.  Only the rich, selfish or wish to be selfishly rich have fought the ideals of expanded rights for all people.

So when I read about more idiots who wish to roll back the Progressive Era advancements, the more I want to remind everyone of our collective history.  The absurd right has it wrong on all counts, how can we go back to something that never existed in the first place?  So we have reactionaries like Pat Powers who lost his job to save a leader of South Dakota RSLC – ALEC.  Jason Gant had to be saved.  Jason has funneled funds and support to many of the right people to make sure Keystone XL pipeline destroys the ecology of South Dakota.  The John Birch Society controlled RSLC – ALEC will never let the common person have any say in the affairs of governing.  It is not in their plan.  Pat Powers is only a mouthpiece.  A person who proudly boasts either way, he makes money.  Remember this, he is a mouthpiece for the rich, selfish or wish to be selfish rich. Here is another example of what ‘conservatives’ want to do for voters;

National Review Blogger Calls for Repeal of Women’s Suffrage

By Amanda Marcotte
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 9:15 EST

Thanks for getting arrested, but since your forebears chose to use their rights to get more rights, all rights have to go.

Michael Walsh of National Review Online called for the termination of women’s right to vote last week:

Nevertheless, you’re on to something I’ve been advocating for years now. And that is the repeal of all four of the so-called “Progressive Era” amendments, including the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, which were passed between 1911 and 1920.

One of those has already been repealed—the 18th amendment, which ushered in Prohibition—which Walsh admits. That’s not really what he’s on about anyway:

The income-tax amendment was a self-evident attack on capitalism and led to the explosive growth of the federal government we currently enjoy today. (Without it, there’d be no need for a Balanced Budget Amendment.) Direct elections of senators has given us, among other wonders, the elevation of John F. Kerry to, now, secretary of state. Prohibition was directly responsible for the rise of organized crime and its unholy alliance with the big-city Democratic machines. And women’s suffrage . . . well, let’s just observe that without it Barack Obama could never have become president. Time for the ladies to take one for the team.

I suppose we’re supposed to imagine it’s a “joke”, because he takes a jovial tone for the last one. But if so, it doesn’t make sense. He’s dead fucking serious about the other two—three, really, because he only seems to be against Prohibition because he believes it gave Democrats a leg up, which is one of those deaf-to-historical-change moments that lead Republicans to imagine that Lincoln would have anything to do with the modern version of their party—so, as a joke, it falls completely apart. If he hadn’t rolled it up with the other amendments initially, the “joke” defense he clearly has in his pocket would be an easier sell. Something like, “I’ve long advocated for the repeal of 3 of the Progressive Amendments (though one has already been repealed), and hey, ladies, sometimes you make me wish to repeal all four.” It would still be a misogynist joke, but easier to sell as a joke, even if not a very funny one.

As it stands, it’s clear he’s doing what Al Franken calls “kidding on the square“, where you say something you mean but pretend it’s a joke so you don’t have to take responsibility for it. Franken has some fun with it in his books, calling himself out for it and therefore turning a typically unfunny bit of passive-aggression into a for-real joke, but I’m guessing you all know that because of course you’ve read his books. Kidding on the square is a favorite tool of sexists, who want to say sexist things, but are too cowardly to say them directly. Walsh is just a particularly obvious example. And no, none of the other National Review bloggers argued with him on this point.

I’m trying to imagine the shitstorm that would erupt if a feminist dare say men should forsake their right to vote until they shape up and start voting correctly. It certainly wouldn’t slide under the waters, like this did.

I just caught this today;

Adelstein’s first secretary of state reform bill dies

The Senate State Affairs Committee killed a proposal to bar political activity by employees of the secretary of state’s office.

Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, had proposed banning the secretary of state or any employees of that office who oversee elections from endorsing, supporting or advising any candidates for political office.

He said he modeled his bill on the federal Hatch Act, which prevents most federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.

But the committee voted 7-2 to kill his bill, saying they saw this as a question of ethics for those employees but not something that should be legislated.

So the ethics of the voting public should be legislated (abortion) but the ethics of state employees, specifically SOS employees should not legislated? Beisdes, I don’t think this is about ethics, it’s about doing the right thing. The person in charge of safe and fair elections should NOT be endorsing candidates, and his employees certainly should not be selling candidates campaign materials.

It is being reported in the national media the deeper ambitions of the Jason Gant financers, RSLC.  For those who might need a refresher course here it is.  In the election seasons prior to Jason’s ascension to the Secretary of State’s office in Pierre he was South Dakota’s leader of the Republican Senate Leadership Committee (RSLC).  We here at SouthDaCola.com have discussed at length during 2012.  In these articles we showed how the RSLC was dumping major money into their chosen equally right wing candidates.  These candidates are now running constitutional offices in Pierre and operating as circuit court judges.  These people are in office only because Jason Gant and the RSLC gave them the money and cover to win.

Major media outlets in presenting the RSLC to the broader audience are still missing the power and funders behind the RSLC.  The RSLC is not a Republican Party operation.  When we first look into it we thought so also.  The power and money is the Koch Brothers and their arm: ALEC.  Jason Gant and his ilk in the legislature are financed by out of state rich benefactors who care nothing of South Dakota or its people.  They only care about power.  The Kochs are accomplishing it through RedMap, The RSLC Redistricting Project.

The About page on the RedMap Project page tells us much:

What is redistricting and why does it matter?
At the conclusion of the 2010 national census, congressional seats will be reapportioned to each state.  The states with a shrinking population will lose congressional seats and states with a population boom will gain seats.  A massive effort to redraw state legislative and congressional lines will take place according to each state’s laws. The party controlling that effort controls the drawing of the maps – shaping the political landscape for the next 10 years.  In 38 states, governors and state legislators play a determining role in the redistricting process.

What is REDMAP? 
REDMAP (REDistricting Majority Project) is a program of the RSLC dedicated to winning state legislative seats that will have a critical impact on congressional redistricting in 2011.

How can REDMAP succeed? 
REDMAP succeeds with your help.  Only by staying up-to-date on the latest news, and engaging your friends and family about the importance of our effort, can we succeed.

How can I help? 
REDMAP is a grassroots effort.  We are funded solely through contributions from commonsense conservatives throughout the country – and we rely on grassroots conservatives as our best means of alerting fellow conservatives across the country to our efforts.  Make a donation here today.

Look at the bravado in the above quote.  RedMap is currently bragging about their successes in stealing the 2010 and 2012 elections from the citizens of their states.  Read their bragging points now on line.  Nowhere in the bragging does your voter rights ever get presented.

Senator Stan Adelstein of Rapid City has begun the process to clean up the SD Secretary of State office but the needs are much bigger.  We have a nation of gerrymandered states including South Dakota.  We currently have a one party state in South Dakota.  South Dakota is a cheap state.  We live in a state where politians are easily purchased.  Look at the finance records now coming on-line at the SOS website. We will be researching these records and will be reporting our findings.  With these records we will be updating our list of ALEC members who are working for their out of state masters.  You will be seeing who has allowed their South Dakota principles compromised by the Koch Brothers money.  Senator Stan needs our help to bring South Dakota fairness and sanity to Pierre.  We at SouthDaCola.com intend to help him.

In the John Birch Society – ALEC model of limited public participation we have the examples of what to look forward to.  Good Luck to anyone who tries to vote in the future. If this is allowed to continue.  Do no pay casual attention to Gant’s press releases of Yankton County success.  The fear of election rights advocates is coming true across the United States, the abuse of the system by the Koch Brother’s ALEC and their assorted friends are destroying our electoral system.

It does not matter what we do on election days if the people who count the votes do not allow us to vote.  Look at the following headline grabbed from Huffington Post on Monday morning, this will be South Dakota with our hyper partisan SOS Gant.

To paraphrase Joseph Stalin, it does not matter who votes, it only matters who counts the vote.  Be careful when you vote this year in South Dakota and for most, enjoy the last local  vote you will actually try to record.  Gant is planning our state’s move to Intercivic electronic voting systems where the totals can be manipulated from anywhere in the world without a trace.  Intercivic, ES&S, GSS&S, Sequoia, Premiere and any number of other players leave security of our country’s voting to whoever counts the vote.  South Dakota must return to 100% paper ballots counted by people, no machines allowed.

GOP Ballot Tampering Investigated in Oregon

Voter Suppression: Florida Early Voting Fiasco, Voters Wait For Hours At Polls As Rick Scott Refuses To Budge

Virginia Republican voter fraud case expands to focus on GOP firm associated with the infamous Nathan Sproul

Voter Suppression Update From Ohio: Cleveland Early Voting Lines Run For Blocks In The Cold

FL Voter Purge Disenfranchises Active Duty Military Troops

Guest Poster contributed;

It appears the state Treasurer’s office has joined the effort to make on-line access even dumber.  The lack of ergonomic design in website development shows those of us who have to use their sites, how little they themselves actually use them. Let’s explain, the state of South Dakota, in an effort to collect funds from unsuspecting individuals and businesses decided to make it harder for the owners of lost funds to actually reclaim them.  The excellent State Treasurer at the time actually fought all the way to the Supreme Court to protect the average citizens against the greedy hands of bankers and the Governor’s office.

As a result, the state, bankers and other keepers of our assets have collected millions of dollars through hard to use processes.  Recently I had to use the SD State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property website to assist in reclaiming a savings account.

What we found was amazing.

No wonder so little is returned to the rightful owners.  The state actually used to actively assist and find the owners – but no more.  They now have this cute website where it only allows you to only search by exact spelling.  Do you know what is wrong about this?  This takes data from many databases where the names are misspelled.  In our Scandinavian land of *sen and *son plus the Irish apostrophe names leaves us with no way to accurately find lost assets Why can’t we search by address? Why can’t we search by city? Zip code County?  Phonic spelling?

How about searching by the bank or business name where deposit was made? If there was an ability to search by business where property was found, we citizens and customers could actually discover how bad their databases are.  So why isn’t there an ability to search by business?

Treasurer Sattgast must have asked SOS Gant how to design an ALEC based website.  This is an insider’s website for insiders.  The design of this site is not for the average user to use.  Try it for yourself and see how bad it is.

I’ll give Bobby Mercer credit, at least he expanded a bit about former SOS Chris Nelson’s money sucking. Don’t forget all the money Nelson took indirectly from ALEC through vendors.

Let’s all remember, Guest Poster broke this story waaaaayyyyyy back on August 22, over here on the DaCola.

Gant says he will comply, sorta;

Gant said in an email he would not be recalling the existing ballot guide pamphlets lacking Adelstein’s statement.

Hey, Jason, then what is the point of re-printing the guides?

What an arrogant putz.

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