Ah, just kidding;

I love how the Republican’s chokehold on our state has created some of the poorest working class in the nation but they just can’t resist to kick them when they are down;

Gov. Mike Rounds said Monday he will propose a state budget that focuses nearly all spending increases on providing medical services to residents who have lost their jobs during the recession.

The governor said he will ask the South Dakota Legislature to approve $52 million in additional spending in state general funds, with nearly all of it for the state-federal Medicaid program that pays the medical expenses of poor people.

What?! I thought Republican rule was bringing us all kinds of economic development to our state, how could people be struggling?

“We’re taking care of the very basic needs of people who really are down and out because of the national recession,” he said.

A recession that was caused by that jackass GW Dush and continued to get worse under Obama’s appointment of Geithner.

More than 22,000 people are now unemployed in South Dakota, while 110,000 people are in the Medicaid program, he said.

Rounds said since he became governor in 2003, 51 percent of increased spending has gone to Medicaid and other programs that care for the needy.

You heard right, almost 1 in 7 people in South Dakota are on Medicaid. Pathetic. This is the kind of leadership we have come to expect out of the Republicans, yet we continue to re-elect them to the Governor’s office. Unfcknblvable.

One of my pet peeves I have with Democrats is that they never go for the jugular. Why go half-way?

Sen. Scott Heidepriem blamed years of irresponsible spending for the current hole in the state budget, saying South Dakota has not been governed by fiscal conservatives in the last seven years.

Okay, he is right – but go in for the kill, and explain to the voters what that ‘irresponsible’ spending is (campaign contributor no-bid contracts, unneeded FTE’s, airplane fleets, etc.) What do you have to lose? You haven’t held the governor’s mansion in almost 30 years, obviously your pussy foot approach is not working. Tell the voters of SD straight up – Republicans suck and they are bleeding the working class of this state and getting rich from it. Take the freaking gloves off already!

What is the best way to ask God to unseat God?

While I find nothing surprising coming out of this forum, this little tidbit threw me for a loop;

The three were civil and restrained from attacking one another. The common theme was defeating Herseth Sandlin.

The event started with the reading of a verse from Psalm 109: “Let his days be few, and let another take his office,” a verse directed at Herseth Sandlin and President Obama.

WTF? There is something Republicants need to learn before they can start bringing people into their fold again; tolerance. Using bible verses as justification to unseat Herseth and Obama is not only ridiculous it proves how desperate they really are. God doesn’t solve your (assumed) problems for you, God gave you a brain to solve your own problems, use it.

Were broke? Get outta here!

Revenue to the state treasury is falling and more people are enrolling in Medicaid, triggering significant demands on the entitlement program. Although the state has federal stimulus money to shore up finances in the 2011 budget, which starts July 1, 2010, the federal money won’t be enough to backfill the budget unless there is a major turnaround in the economy.

Well, that’s what you get when you don’t attract young workers to our state to help pay for the program, that, and we think taxing food is a good way to fund government.

The five major revenue sources to the state are down in the first three months of the current fiscal year that started July 1. Combined, they represent 90 percent of the state’s general fund revenues. The most important – sales tax – was down $33 million or 5.2 percent.

It’s time the state implemented an income tax, got rid of retail taxes and reduced property taxes. We’ll see what solutions are offered;

Bernie Hunhoff, the Democratic minority leader in the House, said his party will have ideas about what to do. ”Democrats are here to work with the governor and with the Republicans to get South Dakota out of this,” Hunhoff said. “It’s not one party’s problem; it’s South Dakota’s problem.” The slowdown in state revenues reflects the pain felt on family farms and main street, Hunhoff said. The situation could call for across-the-board cuts. “Unless we really see an immediate rebound in revenues, the hole is getting so deep that everybody is going to have to share in the pain and sacrifice,” he said.

That’s why an income tax makes sense, it makes everyone share that sacrifice fairly. Abdallah wants to touch the sacred cow, better be careful, or King Rounds will cut your fingers off.

Republican Sen. Gene Abdallah said he wants a thorough accounting of how much money is in each of the state’s reserve funds, including some of the more obscure funds, before he’ll be ready to consider more cuts.

I agree it is time to dip into the reserves, that’s what they are there for, a rainy day.

Dear Advocate,

I wanted to share a brief summary of where things stand regarding the smoke free law lawsuit.

The smoke free law lawsuit will be heard by the circuit court judge on November 12th. The hearing will cover a variety of issues raised by the opponents of the smoke free law concerning the validity of the signatures they turned in as well as the legal argument by the American Cancer Society and our partners with the South Dakota Tobacco Free Kids Network that the law is not referrable because of the constitutional clause that prohibits referring laws that are for the immediate preservation of public health.

The judge will hear legal arguments on the referability issue first and if she agrees with us, the trial will conclude and the law, in theory, would go into effect. We are expecting there to be an appeal from the circuit court regardless of the outcome and the implementation of the law will likely be delayed pending all legal steps.

If the judge does not agree with us about the referability issue, the trial will focus on the petition signatures to determine if, in fact, the opponents gathered enough valid signatures to place the law on the 2010 ballot. The issues that will be examined in this area have to do with proper notarization, lack of complete information, and other areas in which we contend the petitions are deficient. Depending on how many of these signatures are ultimately deemed valid, the judge will either rule that the law does not get referred or that the law is referred until the November 2010 election.

This is a big picture summary, as there are many technical issues to be determined during this process. The American Cancer Society and the South Dakota Tobacco Free Kids Network will be part of the process and will offer our legal arguments and insight as appropriate to help the judge make a determination on the issues outlined above.

If you have specific questions, please let me know.

___________________
Erik Gaikowski
Senior Field Government Relations
American Cancer Society
4904 South Technopolis
Sioux Falls, SD 57106
1.800.660.7703
605.323.3545

Help make South Dakota smoke free, visit our website http://www.smokefreesd.com

Somethings never change in South Dakota; fall harvest, pheasant hunting, influenza scares and Mikey’s ‘The Sky is Falling’ speaking tour;

Revenue to the state of South Dakota was down by $33 million in the first three months of this fiscal year, Gov. Mike Rounds said Monday, setting the stage for a painful legislative session next year.

At the same time, thousands of people have been added to the Medicaid entitlement program, which pays some medical expenses for the poor. The 6,400 people who have qualified for the state/federal program since August of last year could represent another $40 million to $50 million in expenses, creating a “huge budget problem,” Rounds said.

Yes, blame the poor for all of our problems, nevermind the rich in the state don’t pay their fair share of taxes or that we handout no bid contracts like candy.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom. Business optimism is on the rebound, and unemployment in South Dakota remains low compared with the national average.

Yet we have the highest number of working moms and the lowest hourly pay of any state in the nation. Unemployment may be low, but underemployment is high.

Heidepriem said he opposes any increases.

“For my part, I don’t think you can tax yourself out of a recession,” he said.

And imagine that, it is the democrat who is the fiscal conservative in all this.

From StormLand TV News:

A South Dakota legislative committee has recommended a substantial boost in taxes used to build and maintain state and local roads, but some lawmakers say the full Legislature will never pass such a large tax increase.

The panel voted 11-6 to pass a bill that would raise road taxes in two stages, with half the increase imposed next year and the other half in 2012.

The state gas tax would rise from 22 cents to 32 cents a gallon and the excise tax on vehicle sales would increase from 3 percent to 4 percent by 2012 to give the state an extra $75 million a year.

Annual vehicle registration fees would rise to give counties, cities and townships an additional $31 million.

While new taxes are never good, I still think that a gas tax and vehicle registration fees are the fairest way to pay for roads. Of course, I’m sure some legislators would prefer to pay for new roads by taxing food more.

This is great news, but I have a feeling this has more to do with swinging indies towards their candidates then anything;

South Dakota Democrats are opening their primary elections to independent voters, as the state’s minority party reaches out to a growing segment of voters with increasing ballot clout.

And how are those NEW Republican registrations coming?

The state Republican Party currently holds a registration edge of more than 35,000 over the Democrats. But the gap has been shrinking in recent years. Democrats gained more than 13,000 registered voters between general elections in 2006 and 2008, ending that election cycle with 204,413. Republicans gained about 1,400 during that period, ending up at 241,528.

Looks like people are flocking to the party of NO . . . BAHAHAHAHAHA!

UPDATE: Joel Dykstra is spreading lies right now on KCPO (Sunday 10:30 AM – Cable channel 2)

Kind of sounds like someone is posturing for the Governor’s race;

Two powerful Republican state legislators say they will fight a bill now in Congress that would allow unions to organize without a secret ballot. State Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson, who also is running for governor, and House Majority Leader Bob Faehn of Watertown will introduce a bill in the next Legislature that would put the issue before state voters. The measure would amend the state constitution to require secret ballots in all political and labor organizing elections.

Only in SD, where we rank 50th in hourly wages, would legislators try to limit union participation and thumb their noses at Federal Law. I’m glad they want to put it on the ballot, because it will fail, just like the stupid abortion ban.

If their effort is successful, the state almost certainly would end up in federal court to defend its authority to require secret ballots in labor votes, Knudson acknowledged.

What’s the point? Instead of trying to limit worker’s rights, why not introduce legislation that actually expands worker’s rights? Oh that’s right, I forget SD’s motto, “Big Business and Special Interests first, citizens second.”

Seriously?

It seems anytime I hear bobbleheads from either party spew crap on local TV I find myself fashioning a noose before the end of a discussion. Are these people really that freaking stupid?

On Inside Smelloland today they had on politicos from both parties talk about 2010.

Let’s start with the RepubliKKKans. They drug rising GOP star Kristi Noem in front of the cameras to talk about her party’s future. I call Kristi South Dakota’s version of Sarah Palin, only 10 times hotter, but not sure who would win in a IQ test. Kristi kept parroting the same old SD GOP talking point that we are a conservative state. We are not.

Do conservatives and asslick neocons live here? Yes. Are they the majority? No. South Dakota is a centrist to right state. We continually send moderates to Washington and we turned down the abortion ban twice. The largest county in the state voted a majority for Barack Obama. You may be conservative in Castlewood Kristi, but that doesn’t make you the majority, but if it is any concellation, you are still the retired farmer turned rancher (whatever that means).

Now let’s move to the SD wuss party, the Demorats. They are poised to lose the Governor’s seat, again. They have picked an ex-Republican, wealthy Sioux Falls lawyer to be their leading candidate who thinks the best way to combat casinos is to build more of them.

I hope there is free tap beer at his concession speech party.