January 2009
l3wis Back from the Dead
We will be continuing our petition drive, the Argus Leader writes about it today;
A petition drive to lower the sales tax in Sioux Falls will continue after sponsors sought legal advice Tuesday, one day after a lawyer representing the city said that lowering the tax would be illegal.
People have to remember this is about sending a message to city hall that spending, borrowing and taxation is out of control and we expect better from the next council and Mayor in 2010. It is of no consequence to Mayor Munson or the other last term councilors. They have had their chance to be accountable and have failed on some fronts.
The worst part about this is that the city paid an out-of-state attorney (with our taxdollars) to mislead the very citizens that paid her tab.
On Monday night, Minneapolis lawyer Betsey Aby told city councilors it would violate state law to lower the sales tax because portions of the city’s sales tax are obligated to pay its outstanding bonds.
Sioux Falls lawyer Dan Brendtro disagrees with Aby’s opinion.
“I think that she is flat-out wrong,” he said after meeting with Stehly.
Brendtro said the decrease sought by Citizens for a Responsible Sales Tax would not imperil the city’s ability to pay off existing bonds. He argues that the state constitution requires local governments to collect a “sufficient” amount of money to honor debt payments.
“It doesn’t say you can’t lower your taxes,” he said.
Remember, this initiative is about letting the citizens decide. How you vote on it is up to you.
AG; Medicinal or Recreational Cannabis, still illegal
Larry Long, not a fan of ‘Getting Mongolian’ when dying of Cancer
Bob Newland brings us up to date on his fight with AG Larry Long. Though I support Newland’s measure, it doesn’t surprise me Long opposed it, he is our Attorney General and responsible for upholding the law. Marijuana is still illegal by Federal standards, no matter what you use it for. I don’t think you will get him to budge on it.
There is some irony here though. Long had no problem helping the anti-choicers write an abortion measure that was unconstitutional, so why the refusal to help with this measure?
It’s all about priorities I guess. The wrong priorities.
Listen to the program below;
Jan. 6, 2009
Today I engaged in a discussion for an hour with Larry Long, the Attorney General of South Dakota on So. Dak. Public Radio’s Midday Show, on the issue of SDSA’s proposed medical cannabis law.
You can listen to the archived show atÂ
http://www.sdpb.org/Archives/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgID=7583
After several mentions by the A-G of sections of our proposal with which he disagreed, during which I mentioned several times that I had tried to engage him in working on a bill that we could all live with, I finally asked him if he would work with me to come up with a bill that would work for the patients who need it.
“No,†he said.Â
Even though he did not deny that some patients benefited from cannabis therapy, nor that sometimes cannabis is the only therapy that works, he simply, throughout the entire show, continued to denigrate our motives, saying that we were only after general legalization of marijuana.Â
And then, “No, I will not try to help draft a law that will protect sick people from arrest for trying to save their own lives.†(not his actual words, but that’s the essence of what he said)
Read the letter we sent General Long on Dec. 9, 2008.Â
http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa_files/campaign/081209AttyGenl.htm
Six days left until the legislative session starts. We’re down to seeds and stems in the finances dept.Â
Please go to http://www.sodaksafeaccess.net/ and hit the “Donate†button, or send a check to the address on that page.
Best regards,
Bob
Once again, Doug Lund couldn’t be more wrong
Once again, Lund proves to be the worst SD Blogger (besides Ellis and Sibson) – But he does have nice hair.
Doug’s portrayal of Franken on SNL is pretty accurate, but he doesn’t know a damn thing about him politically.
It’s sure going to be interesting to see if Al Franken has the rocky mountain oysters to continue being as outspoken on the floor of the United States Senate when actually confronting the sources of his irritation just across the aisle.
We’ll be watching, Al, to see if you’re good enough and you’re smart enough.
Just don’t turn your head too far to the left or we’ll lose the signal.
This is one of the main reasons we need Franken more then ever. Ever since Wellstone Mysteriously died in a plane crash we haven’t had a good old fashioned fanatic liberal from the Midwest representing us. Do I think ALL Dems need to be bleeding heart liberals? Not at all, but it’s good to have people like Franken and Dennis Kucinich to shake things up a bit. I think Franken will be a very outspoken and effective senator for Minnesota.
The thing I admire the most about Al is his ability to be serious about politics but still have a sense of humor and wit, and willing to defend it. Just because you are involved in serious political matters doesn’t mean you can’t be funny. I get my balls racked quite a bit about it. I think it is essential for people to have some cynicism when comes to politics, otherwise you’ll just end up being dissapointed in the end.
I suggest Lund reads Franken’s book, Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them, it is propably one of the most truthful political books about the lunacy of the right, and how their policies have blown up in our faces. The book has been praised for it’s abundance of FACTUAL information. It has been said that their has been only one point in the book partially disproven.
Maybe Lund shouldn’t read it, he did work for KELO-TV and I would hate for his fine reputation as a TV journalist covering stories about antique tractors and leftsa feeds to be tarnished.
