Transcript of Kermit’s speech at the IM 13 rally last Monday (H/T – DC)

by

Photo; Derek Cecil

“There are a number of things I want you to be aware of in my presentation. I want you to be aware that I do not smoke, and I do not have the desire to smoke. I do not drink alcoholic beverages, and I do not desire to drink alcoholic beverages. I’ve never smoked marijuana, and I have no desire to smoke marijuana. I’ve never taken illegal drugs, and I have no desire to take illegal drugs. The reason I am at this rally for Initiative 13 is for very personal reasons. I’m not here for abstract reasons. I’m not here for theoretical reasons. I’m here for very personal reasons, and that very personal reason is I have somebody who is very close to me who suffers from constant pain. This has been going on for six years. Each day, this person is in pain. Each hour, this person is in pain. Each minute, this person is in pain. And, of course, each second of every day, this person is in pain. Now, for those of you who have other people here you’re aware of that’s in pain, you probably realize that pain can really wear a person down. Really wear a person down. In fact, this person is probably (sic) disabled. Now, I should also mention too that this person takes prescription drugs and that one of the drugs is a narcotic. A prescribed, legal drug. And also many other drugs to try and recover from the pain. So, the question has to arise; If this person is already taking heavy duty, heavy duty, heavy duty prescription drugs, what is wrong with this person being allowed to try marijuana to see if it can provide some relief? Now, as a matter of fact today I was talking to an opponent of Initiative 13 and I told this individual this very personal story of mine and this individual responded kind of interestingly. This person said “Well, if I was in the shoes of that person and suffering all this pain, you know what I would do? I’d just go ahead and smoke marijuana illegally anyway.” Well, this person I know that is suffering in pain is not about to break the law. No way. But this person hopes the law can be changed with Initiative 13. And so, in conclusion, I would like to thank all of you for being here today to possibly make this happen. Thank you, again.” – Dr. Kermit Staggers

Days like this make me miss councilor Staggers

by

I was reading through the budget amendments tonight (item 14) that will be proposed on Monday night at the city council meeting. Yawn. Besides funding more monkey crappers and shifting money around, there really isn’t any thing of importance.

It seems are councilors think amendments are for SPENDING MORE MONEY instead of saving taxpayer money.

Also I see councilor Harley-Davidson Monopoly wants to increase the room tax even though it would not have a purpose, accept to throw more money at a failing Convention Center.

Next week, the Sioux Falls City Council will consider a proposal that would add a $2 fee on every hotel room in the city.

“In my opinion, it’s the best thing to do,” city councilman Jim Entenmen said.  “Dollars are hard to come by and we’ve got to continue to promote Sioux Falls and it’s getting tougher because there’s more competition for that business.”

Right now, the city spends about a million dollars a year to help fund the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

My suggestion? Make people buying Harley’s pay the same sales tax rate as people buying food. Maybe that would raise some money? Looks like Jim is becoming a regular ole patsy for the mayor.

Vernon Brown to the rescue of Staggers?

by

Image: KELO-TV screenshot

Is Vernon defending Kermit over the bogus ethics investigation because he feels Kermit was wronged? Or is afraid it may be his hide next? Makes you wonder if the ethics committee was trying to dig up dirt on Vernon to?

Staggers is concerned that the investigation went beyond the scope of the original complaint. Something that also concerns city councilman Vernon Brown.

“Probably, the most disturbing part for us is the complaint was filed but the investigation went beyond what the complaint was,” Brown said.

And let’s hear the bullshit response . . .

Mike McKnight, the chair of the Board of Ethics, says local laws give them the ability to go where the evidence takes them, and if any changes were made to that part of the law, it would limit their work.

LMAO! You mean the same ‘unconstitutional’ laws that tell people when they are in violation of city code? A city can’t just make up laws that are in violation of the US Constitution and the State Constitution and then use those bogus laws to assert power. Kermit nails it with this comment;

“In making it public then they’re going to be held accountable. When you have a situation where things are done in secret, accountability goes by the wayside,” Staggers said.

What’s the best way to win a mayoral race? Spend lot’s of money.

by

This comes as no surprise, Huether spent 2.4x more then Staggers. As I have said all along, this election was bought and paid for;

In total, Huether spent more than $240,000 for his campaign. Pat Costello followed with $166,000. Kermit Staggers spending more than $100,000, according to campaign finance disclosure statements.

While these numbers are not surprising, this one is;

Huether, a newcomer to the political arena, had more than $97,000 in in-kind contributions, according to city of Sioux Falls campaign finance disclosure statements. It was a hefty amount compared with Costello’s $15,000 and Staggers’ $1,750.

It shows the only real person financially supporting Mike was Mike. Of course he puts his best spin on it;

Huether, who spent $128,000 of his own money on his campaign, said contributing a fair amount of his own money was done in the “spirit of stewardship.”

That’s the biggest line of bullshit I have heard from him in a long time. Allowing you to be our mayor is hardly ‘stewardship’. You hate losing, so you spent as much as possible so that would not happen. It just goes to show how money has destroyed politics.

And this number is a little fuzzy also;

In total, Huether spent more than $37,000 for consulting during his campaign.

That’s interesting, because when I add up all the ‘consulting fees’ it comes close to $74,000. But who knows. Things are often listed twice on the financial reports. Heck, he could have paid Hildebrand a cool $100,000 and we would never know.

Witch Hunt

by

Looks like city attorney Tornow ate too much of the US Constitution. I never knew the fifth amendment could be so filling (screenshot from KELO-TV video).

Here’s an update on the ethics complaint against Staggers.

Tornow also says he thinks the city’s ordinance is in conflict with state law, which is why Staggers says he wants changes to the way the board of ethics operates.

“I wish your best in the consideration of the proposed ordinance which would make it clearer or more explicit in allowing an accused person of an ethics complaint to allow the complaint to be made public. This ordinance that needs to be passed,” Staggers said.

Well isn’t it your freaking job to follow state law? If you know it is in violation, as a lawyer wouldn’t you follow state law instead of protecting the city? You should put a gigantic sticker on the City Attorney’s door at city hall, “The Fifth Amendment is not allowed here.”

Ethicsboardminutes. This is a PDF.

ethicscomplaint. This is a PDF.

response-staggers This is a PDF.

Tornow needs to get a fire estinguisher for his pants;

Owen asked Tornow whether he felt Staggers had adequate notice of what the board was investigating. Tornow replied: “It isn’t how I feel like, it’s how I read the ordinance.” And he said it was “absolutely untrue” that Staggers didn’t receive proper notice, to which Staggers replied, “What are you talking about, Shawn?”

This guy tells so many lies, he begins to believe them. It infuriates me that he still is collecting a paycheck from my taxes. He should be fired, disbarred and ran out of town for his violations against the US Constitution.

s