Did the City of Sioux Falls Health Director ask for a vaccination mandate for city employees?

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I don’t know the answer to that question because obviously there has been NO mandate at this point, and I don’t expect the city’s top employee manager, Mayor TenHaken, a (closet) right-winger, to mandate one. I believe he could do so by executive order, but lacks the spine to do it.

Several of my city moles have told me that Dr. Chima, the Health Director, did ask that the city has a vaccination mandate. If that is true, he was obviously denied, which is no surprise.

I have also heard from people visiting Falls Community Health that many people working at the clinic don’t wear masks even though the CDC requires a clinic receiving Federal money should require the employees to wear masks. Supposedly one person working at the clinic was asked wear their mask was and they said, “The mayor said I don’t have to wear one.”

I wonder how the CDC and Medicare would feel about that and future Federal funding of the clinic?

I find this concerning, because this place does receive Federal and Local tax dollars, and common sense would tell you that when working in a medical clinic you should be wearing a mask. The private clinics require it and follow CDC guidelines. Heck, Burger King employees even still wear masks.

I fully support vaccination mandates for taxpayer funded employees. As major employers like Sanford and Tyson Foods have proven, compliance is over 95%. Mandates work and the handful of employees you would lose wouldn’t be missed. Maybe the city has $49 million laying around for severance 🙁

‘I’m just filling in.’ (H/T JR)

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A foot soldier sent me this video of some roaming gun rights dude (who first calls it Sioux Falls, Minnesota) and reveals some interesting rules about carrying weapons in public buildings in South Dakota. As far as I know, he was correct in his assessment, you can’t legally carry into courthouses, schools or the capital building, but all other public buildings are free game. I have often told the city council that Carnegie Hall is a dangerous place because they don’t limit firearms, and as we saw in this video just filmed a few weeks ago, apparently you can bring them into public health facilities.

Oh, and Mr. Filling In security guard . . . WOW!

Mayor TenHaken asking housing providers to embrace socialism

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Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice sentiment on his official stationery, but there are a few issues with it. First off, while the bigger housing providers can probably float people for a few months, the little guys certainly cannot, and are in the same boat as the rest of us.

But what is even more glaring is the obvious hypocrisy. Isn’t it tragically funny how all these supposed free market conservatives are embracing socialism? Unlimited unemployment benefits, free virus testing and healthcare, deferred income taxes, deferred student loans, and sending checks to Americans (who might not even need them). Funny how socialism all of a sudden is the answer, while Dems vote for Biden over Sanders as the guy to beat Trump. What an incredible missed opportunity, TWICE! Sanders whole platform that NO ONE said he could accomplish as president is playing out before us in a matter of weeks! I watch this sometimes while imagining pig blood being splattered on me in the poor seats of the Globe Theatre.

The representation of private interests … abolishes all natural and spiritual distinctions by enthroning in their stead the immoral, irrational and soulless abstraction of a particular material object and a particular consciousness which is slavishly subordinated to this object.

Marx, On the Thefts of Wood, in Rheinische Zeitung (1842)

Like I said, I support helping my fellow brothers and sisters, but we would probably not be in this predicament if it weren’t for the greed of the few at the top. While the rich will argue they did not cause the virus or it’s spread, they are gravely mistaken. Global warming has caused disease and viruses to spread more rapidly. There is also the argument that by destroying the middle class (basically starting in 1980 by electing Ronald Reagan) most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and cannot weather an economic crisis with savings. It’s not the virus that will kill us, it’s greed folks.

Make us proud Gov’nor! (H/T – Helga)

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Love all the national attention Denny is getting us on his (non) ideas for Medicaid expansion;

South Dakota is among the “hell no” states when it comes to Obamacare. No state-established insurance exchange and surely no Medicaid expansion. They don’t want no stinking federal aid to help more people have health insurance. To be clear, though, that’s the legislature and the governor talking. Not the people.

Despite a poll showing a majority of South Dakotans favor Medicaid expansion, Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s office said Wednesday he has no plans to introduce legislation to expand health care in the state.In a survey released earlier this week by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, 63 percent of 400 state residents favored Medicaid expansion while 31 percent opposed it.

The others polled had no opinion. Republican pollster Glen Bolger conducted the poll for Alexandria, Va.-based research firm Public Opinion Strategies. The poll’s margin of error is 4.9 percent.

Yes, that’s a small sample size, but it’s still a pretty astounding result in such a conservative state. But South Dakota has about 48,000 people who are uninsured, also quite a lot for a small state. Medicaid expansion would save about 25,000 from falling through the Medicaid gap their governor has created, and bring about $57 million to the state this year.

Oh, but wait, no-bid contracts to foster care programs in the state that adopt kids into abusive homes? That seems to be a good way to spend taxpayer money. Right? But that controversy seems to be suffering the same fate as Benda’s autopsy report. CLOSED CASE.