Judge: Lederman argument contains "inadmissable hearsay.”

Smells like the SDGOP war toilet is running over again.

State senator Dan Lederman is a flaming slimeball: he wields lawyers like the Adam Lanzas and the James Holmeses employ firearms.

Even the editorial board of the Pierre Capital Journal can't seem to get its head around it:

Heard any really bad ideas lately from the South Dakota Legislature? We have. If corporations want to whisper sweet nothings in the ears of South Dakota legislators, let them come to Pierre and follow the process our Legislature has set in place for lobbying. South Dakotans should not foot the bill so that our lawmakers can go off and flirt with ALEC.

WNAX goes on:

Senator Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes, a republican, has been a member of ALEC for some time. Some democratic legislators have called ALEC an “extremist group.”

Note the small 'r' and the tiny 'd' in that print.

Apparently South Dakota voters love having their courts fielding frivolous lawsuits from party apparatchiks so there's no time for hearing grievances of environmental degradation visited on the state every day while burning up newspaper column inches that would otherwise cover red state collapse.

Wake the fuck up.

SDSMT hires loser

The amount of livestock runoff happening right now in Pennington County and on the Black Hills hydrologic region is horrifying. Parking lots in Rapid City, Deadwood, Lead and Spearfish have piles of snow melting sending PCPs and petroleum waste into storm sewers.

Qo'noS: where old white Republicans go to die.

So, South Dakotans all knew that the School of Mines and Technology was having "a tough time," right?

Even the Daily Caller panned Heather Wilson, the earth hater former New Mexico Representative for District 1:

Wilson is everything Americans despise about politicians, regardless of party. A cursory look at her career reveals profligacy, cronyism, abuse of power, lies, cover-ups and a sex scandal. She’s seldom crossed an earmark she hasn’t liked, including the infamous $398 million Bridge to Nowhere. She is a crony of the first order, landing a cushy state job with a $93,000 base salary for her husband Jay Hone.--conservative activist, Yates Walker, The Daily Caller.

Did someone connected with the lab in the former Homestake turn the screws to get her hired?

According to an October 16, 2012 Santa Fe Reporter article she has had numerous consulting contracts with defense contractors, including Sandia Labs beginning in 2009 and up to her Senate campaign in 2012. Moreover, in the past her congressional staff has included Sandia Labs personnel.--Jay Coghlan, Nuclear Watch

Hello. Who got the stimulus funds in New Mexico? Homestake Mining Co. got $10.4 million smackers.

Noem being enticed by DC: but what about the brothel?

You can bet that the beleaguered South Dakota Secretary of State wishes he could go back in time and not hire a quitter.

We all know how Kristi Noem got to Congress. Now she is dancin' with the ones who brung her.

But, what will she do after South Dakotans turn her out? Her Teabag buddy from Montana, Dennybriated Rehberg became a lobbyist, her friend and ally Michele Bachmann will probably go to jail. Recall that don Juan Thune gave blow jobs between terms as lawgiver in DC.

Why IS the earth hater party in South Dakota worried about our candidates' choices?

Former US House member Stephanie Herseth Sandlin would crush Noem if the election were held today for a fraction of the cost of a Senate bid. Brendan Johnson would run an effective campaign against Noem and anyone in a suit could beat ethically-compromised Mike Rounds or some yacho from the Tea-zone.

In two years SHS could unseat South Dakota's ineffectual current junior senator and force South Dakota from the 19th Century into the 21st.

Sen. Max Baucus won't run for reelection: his office has released his agenda for the time remaining in the term.

Max and his wife have been building a house in Bozeman reportedly talking about retirement for some time. He has led and will continue to lead on wilderness, women's reproductive and LGBTQ rights.

It comes as good news for Montana Democrats as former Gov. Brian Schweitzer is expected to annihilate any contender. He is doing exactly what most of us expected him to do. A draft Schweitzer for Senate movement is being developed.

Sometimes asked if he would run for President in 2106 in the aftermath of recent firearm restrictions legislation against which Baucus voted, Schweitzer was quoted by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle as saying:

In Iowa and Florida, those Democratic voters would ask me about things like gun control and I’d say things like,‘You control yours, I’ll control mine,' that’s not going to sell in a Democratic primary.

Good roundup here. Analysis here.

Fire weather forecast for proposed wildlife refuge

Ted Cruz: need I say more? Here's a guy actively drawing attention from the act of terror committed by one of his own at West, Texas.

Red states are failing their residents: Republicans are spewing propaganda in DC and in South Dakota..

While extreme fire weather persists, the Souris River in North Dakota is flooding. Why doesn't Canada capture that water to refine its tarsands bitumen?

Recall that under threat of arrest then-Governor Bill Janklow was virtually thrown off the Jasper Fire, a federal incident. The Argus Leader's Jonathan Ellis tells readers that during the 2004 election:

There were some unpleasant conversations between the bellicose Janklow and members of the NRSC at the start of the cycle. Janklow asserted that the NRSC didn’t know South Dakota, and he told the committee to stay out of the state.

Wildfire is rarely safe or legal.

Having professional fire managers close at hand if prescribed burns escape planned boundaries beats the hell out of fighting wildfires.

Opportunities to proactively manage grassland and range fuels in the proposed Greater Missouri Basin National Wildlife Refuge are being ignored again. From The People's Weather Service:

THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX WILL REACH THE EXTREME CATEGORY
THIS AFTERNOON. EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OR A VERY LOW
MOISTURE CONTENT OF GRASSES...AND OTHER DRY ORGANIC MATERIAL
ON THE GROUND...INDICATE THAT CRITICAL BURNING CONDITIONS EXIST.
A FIRE WILL START EASILY AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME LARGE
AND SPREAD QUICKLY BECOMING ERRATIC WITH EXTREME BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS. NO OUTDOOR BURNING SHOULD TAKE PLACE.

THE OUTLOOK FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON...THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER
INDEX WILL REACH THE HIGH CATEGORY TO VERY HIGH CATEGORY.

Red flag warnings have been issued for southern portions of the proposed refuge, too. Isolated thunderstorms are forecast over the region in the next 48 hours.

Stupid fuckers.

Rewild the West.

Notes on trek to Klingon home world posted

Wow, you Klingons have standing water here on Qo'noS.

A former earth hater Congress member from New Mexico has taken a job at the School of Mines.

The only significant patch of green between the Galisteo in north central New Mexico and the Niobrara in Nebraska is at Last Chance, Colorado where a wildfire scorched the cheatgrass. The cholla growth ends south of Punkin Center and the Arkansas River looks pretty good but the South Platte at Brush looks like hell. A few lingering snow drifts around Limon huddled in the fronds of some very lucky yucca.

Just south of Scottsbluff, an hour and a half delay to replace a broken serpentine belt (carrying a spare one is essential) ultimately led to a six-pack. The North Platte is very low.

Nebraska 29 north of Mitchell is home to myriad pronghorn goats: long may they run. North of Harrison, Nebraska's highest town and where actual snow banks obstructed the highway at several locations, two elk ran away from the rig but disappeared before a haggard traveler could get the camera up.

Montrose, Nebraska yielded some of the photos below. If this interested party ever buys property in South Dakota again on the Klingon home world, it will be west of Ardmore somewhere.

Fellow blogger, Meg Lanker-Simons was the target of an attack: she is a survivor of rape. Stories here and here.

Lay in a course for Qo'noS

Let's go, Mr. Mayweather: take us to warp four.

Koch products boycott updated

With the Kochtopus buying the news again, this post has been getting traffic.

Here is a partial list of Koch products not to buy:

Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins
Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes

Georgia Pacific Building products:

Dense Armor Drywall and Decking
ToughArmor Gypsum board
Georgia pacific Plytanium Plywood
Flexrock
Densglass sheathing
G/P Industrial plasters (some products used by a lot of crafters)-
Agricultural Plaster
Arts & Crafts Plaster
Dental Plaster
General Purpose Plaster
Glass-reinforced Gypsum (GRG)
Industrial Tooling Plaster
Investment Casting Plaster
Medical Plaster
Metal Casting Plaster
Pottery Plaster

FibreStrong Rim board
G/P Lam board
Blue Ribbon OSB Rated Sheathing
Blue Ribbon Sub-floor
DryGuard Enhanced OSB
Nautilus Wall Sheathing
Thermostat OSB Radiant Barrier Sheathing
Broadspan Engineered Wood Products
XJ 85 I-Joists
FireDefender Banded Cores
FireDefender FS
FireDefender Mineral Core
Hardboard and Thin MDF including Auto Hardboard,
Perforated Hardboard and Thin MDF
Wood Fiberboard -
Commercial Roof Fiberboard
Hushboard Sound Deadening Board
Regular Fiberboard Sheathing
Structural Fiberboard Sheathing

by INVISTA:

COMFOREL® fiberfill
COOLMAX® fabric
CORDURA® fabric
DACRON® fiber
POLYSHIELD® resin
SOLARMAX® fabric
SOMERELLE® bedding products

STAINMASTER® carpet
SUPPLEX® fabric
TACTEL® fiber
TACTESSE® carpet fiber
TERATE® polyols
TERATHANE® polyether glycol
THERMOLITE® fabric
PHENREZ® resin
POLARGUARD® fiber and
LYCRA® fiber

From ProPublica (think FEMA trailers):

(David) Koch sits on the advisory board of the National Cancer Institute—a position he was appointed to in 2004 by President Bush. the National Cancer Institute had also performed a preliminary study that linked formaldehyde to leukemia, but members of Congress including Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and David Vitter, R-La., managed to delay the EPA from officially designating the chemical as a “known carcinogen.” In 2005, Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s largest plywood manufacturers and a major formaldehyde producer. The company has donated to both Vitter and Inhofe.

Guess who is leading the tort "reform" effort. Enron and Koch then. Koch and Enron now.

USGS: High Plains Aquifer in decline

Pass the whiskey.

Americans use more water per person than citizens of any other country — 457,018 gallons per head per year: Face the Facts USA.

A Wyoming study has found E. coli, ammonia and chloride in tributaries of the Belle Founche River writes Laura Hancock reporting in the Casper Star Trib:

The report – technically called a Total Maximum Daily Load report, with “load” referring to the toxins loaded into the river — could be altered as a result of public comments. Then it will be submitted to the administrator of Wyoming Water Quality Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Even South Dakota's state climatologist says the speed of change "has people very concerned."

From an Associated Press report in the Yankton Press and Dakotan.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln climate professor Robert Oglesby, who researches the causes of droughts, said temperatures in Nebraska are expected to rise by 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. He also said extreme weather events will be more common and more extreme in the coming years.

The Nebraska legislature has advanced a bill with an amendment that would charge the state's Climate Assessment and Response Committee with examining the future effects of climate change on farming, water and forests. Its sponsor believes humans are responsible for warming beyond historically observed cycles.

JoAnne Young writes in the Lincoln Journal-Star:

Nebraska has had warmer than normal temperatures since the 1970s, especially in the past 10 years, they said. And future trends of this century of precipitation show a general drying in summer and autumn and wetter winters. Springs could be wetter in the north and drier in the south.

Hat tip to Fred Knapp, NET News Nebraska.

Comes this intersection with at least one previous post:

In 2011, the total water stored in the aquifer was about 2.96 billion acre-feet, an overall decline of about 246 million acre-feet (or 8 percent) since pre-development. Change in water in storage from 2009 to 2011 was an overall decline of 2.8 million acre-feet. The overall average water-level decline in the aquifer was 14.2 feet from pre-development to 2011, and 0.1 foot from 2009 to 2011.

The High Plains Aquifer, also known as the Ogallala Aquifer, underlies about 112 million acres (175,000 square miles) in parts of eight states Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The USGS, at the request of the U.S. Congress, has published reports on water-level changes in the High Plains Aquifer since 1988. Congress requested these reports in response to substantial water-level declines in large areas of the aquifer. --news release, US Geological Survey.

The earth hater party has reacted to the US Environmental Protection Agency's condemnation of Keystone XL's infiltration into pages of the Department of State report on the doomed pipeline project. Read it at The Hill.

Nearly $17 billion has been paid out to farmers in crop insurance indemnities to cover the losses from the catastrophic drought of 2012, the government reported this week.--Who's on the Hook? Donna Vestal, Harvest Public Media.

Earth Day brings moisture to north, wildfires south

So, why should Canada get all the flood water from the pending Red River event?

The US Environmental Protection Agency is calling the State Department review of the ill-fated Keystone XL pipeline "insufficient" according to Zack Colman reporting in The Hill:

In a comment on the State Department’s draft environmental impact statement for the project, EPA said Foggy Bottom failed to fully consider alternative routes for the Canada-to-Texas pipeline.

EPA is also proposing amendments to effluent guidelines for Steam Electric Power Generating plants. EPA's climate change page here.

With the help of the US Department of Agriculture, two generations of Glad Valley landowners are practicing conservation and protecting wildlife habitat:

Conservation has long been a key element on Dan and Sharon Anderson’s ranch. In 1959, Dan’s father, James, purchased the ranch, which had seven pastures. With help from USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service), the elder Anderson started cross-fencing the larger areas to give his livestock better forage options and nutrition. “We want to make the environment the best we can, yet maintain profitability,” says Dan, which is exactly what NRCS helps them do.--Ryan Beer and Seth Skogen, NRCS South Dakota, USDA blog.

Happy Earth Day from the US State Department!

Much needed moisture in the upper Missouri basin is causing some grumbling among those hoping for sunshine while the southwest is beginning wildfire season. Parts of Colorado are under winter storm warnings as red flag conditions rake other counties. New Mexico's wettest areas are at 57% of average.

Areas of Nebraska punished by drought are enjoying some relief and some watersheds in the Black Hills are nearing normal levels of runoff even as water wars escalate. Wyoming's snowpack is normal.

Pursuit of happiness intersects with carbon taxes: Environmental Defense Fund. California and Quebec announce cap and trade merger according to Marc Lifsher writing in the Los Angeles Times:

On April 8, Gov. Jerry Brown certified the two cap-and-trade systems as compatible. As a result, Quebec's permits that let polluters emit carbon dioxide can be purchased and used by California oil refineries, food processors, cement plants and other facilities. And California-issued pollution permits will be valid in Quebec.

Anyone believing that Republicans will protect the environment or the poor is delusional.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has posted transcripts of conference calls on its Tribal Consultation Resource Page. FEMA interacts with tribes on equal footing with states.

On Bill Janklow's idea of public radio Jim Kent tells the story of one Pine Ridge family practicing self-reliance by building a rain harvesting system.

Democrats: safe water, safe food, safe shelter, safe sex. Republicans: what's a condom?.

Rewild the West.

Democracy Now! hosted an exclusive interview with activist Tim DeChristopher:

OST considering abattoir

The libertarian Koch Brothers want to buy some news outlets as if bigotry in red state print wasn't already widespread near Indian Country.

Brenda Norrell at Censored News has posted a scathing essay on race baiting by and racist comments in the Rapid City Journal and in other Lee-owned papers. She included a statement from James Magaska Swan, founder of the United Urban Warrior Society.

The Oglala Lakota Nation is pursuing an economic development opportunity according to Tim Huether writing in the Bennett County Booster

Tribal council member Craig Dillon from the LaCreek District confirmed that they are indeed looking at it but said they have a long way to go, but have also come a long way on the project. The location they are considering for the plant is just under two miles north and west of the U.S. Hwy 18 and U.S. Hwy 73 junction which is 12 miles east of Martin. The tribe owns approx. 220 acres there that Dillon said would be a good location. Slaughtering horses ended in the U.S. in 2007 after Congress began prohibiting the use of federal funds to inspect horses destined to become food during 2006.

In evidence obtained through South Dakota Brand Board Inspection records and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests:

Jim Reeves and Lyle Anderson own Spur Livestock, and have a contract with the Bureau of Land Management for a long term holding pasture for wild horses on private lands within the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, as well as on Indian Trust Lands administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This facility is the Whitehorse Wild Horse Long Term Holding Facility. Wild Horse Freedom Federation received records from the South Dakota Brand Board that reveal on 11/8/2008, while under contract with the BLM, “owner” Spur Livestock sold 34 horses with “BLM tattoos” to JS Farms, owned by kill buyer Joe Simon.--Debbie Coffey, PPJ Gazette.

Two North Dakota counties have asked a judge to rule on horses seized from William Kiefer writes Jenny Michael in the Bismarck Tribune:

Officials in Morton County seized 119 horses after finding 96 dead on Kiefer’s property north of New Salem in late January, and Burleigh County officials seized 38 horses after finding three dead on property in that county. Sheriff Dave Shipman said numerous dead horses were found in a pile and appeared to have been dragged out of view of the road. Others were piled up in barns and a stock trailer.

4/20 expected to be a hit

Read the story of a GOP bill to end the war on cannabis rights here.

Colorado is buzzing with anticipation and security expecting to be on high alert for activities on April 20th: the date reserved for a celebration of cannabis rights.

The AP's Kristen Wyatt has been covering the action for the Coloradoan:

More than 50,000 are expected to light up outdoors in Denver’s Civic Center Park on April 20 to celebrate marijuana legalization. But authorities largely look the other way at public pot-smoking, especially at festivals and concerts, and entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to capitalize on new marijuana laws. One of them is Matt Brown, co-owner of Denver’s new “My 420 Tours,” which gives traveling pot users everything but the drug. Eighty percent of his clients are coming from outside Colorado — meaning it’s illegal for them to bring marijuana from home. “It’s pretty monumental,” said DOPE editor in chief James Zachodni. “This is the first time in the U.S. there’s been a cannabis holiday with a legal aspect to it.”

US Attorney General Eric Holder has been signalling that the Department of Justice is watching Colorado lawmakers working diligently to bring legislation to the floor of their Capitol.

SDGOP politburo urging uranium usury, fracking for yellowcake

Stock in Powertech Uranium had been trading about 152,000 shares a day: it has been sliding, now at .080 .075.

Another Republican-owned South Dakota ministry has thrown caution to the wind: this time it's the Board of Minerals and Environment.

Bob Mercer is on a tear, his stories appear in the Aberdeen American News, among other papers. He writes in the Rapid City Journal:

If approved, it would be one of the permits the Canadian-based company needs to mine for uranium in southwestern South Dakota where it is being opposed by groups and individuals who fear it will deplete and pollute water resources with its system of injection-extraction wells that dissolve and capture uranium from underground formations.

Mercer tells us that the board has signed off on saltwater injection wells, too.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised the schedule for the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Dewey-Burdock uranium factory:

While NRC Staff previously estimated it would issue the Final SEIS in May 2013, NRC Staff's current best estimate for issuance of the final SEIS is October 2013. This estimate takes into account the NRC's current resources, the demands on those resources from other licensing projects and non-licensing work, and the amount of time needed to fully respond to all comments on the Draft SEIS. NRC Staff is also revising its estimate because it continues to work with other agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to ensure that all relevant views contribute to the Final SEIS. Although October 2013 is the NRC's current best estimate for issuance of the Final SEIS, NRC Staff has stated that it will make all reasonable efforts to expedite the issuance date. --press release, Electric Light and Power.

Powertech Uranium Corp. is driving the Centennial Project in Colorado, the Dewey Terrace and Aladdin Projects in Wyoming,too.

More on fracking for yellowcake here.

Benzene has been found in one of the tributaries of the most endangered river in the US, the Colorado: a chemical leak that drillers promised would never happen.

Tribal nations, ranchers resist KXL land grab

Testimony is scheduled to continue from Grand Island, Nebraska until 8 PM CDT. Live from NET here.

The word is out in Indian Country: stop the Keystone XL pipeline.

“This training is a message to Obama and TransCanada that if they try to build KXL we’ll be here to meet them with our moccasins on the ground,” said Oglala Lakota Debra White Plume, founder of the local non-profit Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way). “Our red nations have all opposed the KXL pipeline and called upon Lakota to defend the water,” said White Plume. However, she added, “Say our tribe meets with the American entities of EPA, BLM, etc. and we voice, ‘No, don’t come through here.’ The entities will say, ‘But we have the right to come through there; it does not violate any law.” What’s next?--Talli Nauman, Native Sun News, posted at indianz.

If the land grab being proposed for a pipeline shipping the dirtiest oil on the globe to China was instead for the Greater Missouri Basin National Wildlife Refuge, the outcry from the right wing would be deafening.

Dems return Lederman-tainted donations

Looks like Pat Powers and the office of South Dakota's sleazy, embattled Secretary of State, Jason Gant are at the focus of this investigation: note the incomplete entries while Powers worked in the SOS office and completed after he left. Bob Mercer has the story here and here.

Mercer tells readers of the Pierre Cap Journal:

Ben Nesselhuf called on Republicans to likewise divest their campaigns of what he called “scam money” from the PAC. Nesselhuf said the Democrats – Senate leader Jason Frerichs of Wilmot $350, Sen. Bill Sutton of Burke $250 and Rep. Scott Parsley of Madison $200 – returned their amounts Monday. Nesselhuf said Free Conferencing abuses rural-telephone subsidies and called the matter a “pay to play scandal.”

Rock on, Bob.

The Rushmore PAC blog is an earth hater's wet dream.

One of its authors is a slimeball leading a witch hunt of US Attorney for South Dakota, Brendan Johnson. Dan Lederman is a Zionist state senator known for his close association with South Dakota's Church of the Holy Roman Kiddie Diddlers. Lederman panders to his white readers recently assailing President Obama by quoting Robert L. Bradley, Jr., a shill for Koch Industries. The earth haters believe that drilling willy-nilly is the answer to high fuel costs.

Recall Lederman's role in the Missouri River flooding of the swamp at Dakota Dunes where he built a temple for self-worship.

He was on Bill Janklow's idea of public radio in Spring, 2011 defending his decision to build in a floodway. Lederman was recently fingered for bringing anti-government speakers to his infamous red state.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised the schedule for the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Dewey-Burdock uranium factory:

While NRC Staff previously estimated it would issue the Final SEIS in May 2013, NRC Staff's current best estimate for issuance of the final SEIS is October 2013. This estimate takes into account the NRC's current resources, the demands on those resources from other licensing projects and non-licensing work, and the amount of time needed to fully respond to all comments on the Draft SEIS. NRC Staff is also revising its estimate because it continues to work with other agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to ensure that all relevant views contribute to the Final SEIS. Although October 2013 is the NRC's current best estimate for issuance of the Final SEIS, NRC Staff has stated that it will make all reasonable efforts to expedite the issuance date. --press release, Electric Light and Power.

Powertech Uranium Corp. is driving the Centennial Project in Colorado, the Dewey Terrace and Aladdin Projects in Wyoming, too.

Stock in PWE trades about 152,000 shares a day: it has been sliding, now at .085.

American Rivers lists the Niobrara as the tenth most endangered river in its 2013 survey:

The Lower Niobrara is increasingly threatened by too much sediment backing up in the upper reaches of Lewis and Clark Lake behind the Missouri River’s Gavins Point Dam. Flooding due to sedimentation forced relocation of the Village of Niobrara in 1973. Downstream from the confluence, Lewis and Clark Lake is expected to lose 50 percent of its water storage capacity by 2045 due to sediment accumulation in the reservoir— to date, it has already lost 30 percent of capacity.

GOP fringe implicated in Boston blasts

The lunatic fringe sent ethically bankrupt Rep. Michele Bachmann (earth hater-MN) to the funeral for a fascist autocrat, an Elvis impersonator has allegedly tried to poison the government, and light-skinned talking heads have condemned another dark-skinned phantom.

Where were we?

Okay, so bet me: Patriot Day, fer crissakes. Why are attacks with bombs acts of terror(ism) and gun massacres are acts of deranged loners? The 'act of terror' signification suspends habeus corpus for the perpetrator(s), for one thing.

RT @SoDakLiberal "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a bomb, is a good guy with a bomb."

RT @Nicole1515 "If this is International Terrorism (LEGAL DEFINITION U.S. Code 18 USC 2331), fucking NRA is gonna get a pass. #BostonMarathon"

RT @drgrist "The rush to call this "terrorism" = the rush to set it outside the bounds of criminal law."

RT @Nicole1515 "Ugh - No. Ask the lawyer: U.S. Code 18 USC 2331 (I know you know this ;)). MT @DavidCornDC
Q: is an act of terror necessarily, terrorism"

RT @KWGSNEWS "Oklahoma City Marathon to Go Forward"

RT @Jemima_Khan "My (Muslim) kids watching the news of Boston blasts, worried, 'Maybe it was North Korea?'"

RT @NidaKhanNY "So ...according to conservatives tweeting me, it's ok to highlight that it could have been a terrorist group, but not an anti-gov group, smh"

Looks like the most ethically repugnant member of the South Dakota blogosphere has waddled back up to his keyboard.

Daily dose o' dogma: Daugaard dole discharges domestic debt

An Adelstein connection? A candidate for top spot at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is an earth hater who lost to Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM):

The school said the finalists will be on campus on April 18 and 19. Wilson represented New Mexico in the U.S. Congress from 1998 to 2009.--KOB, Albuquerque.

Thanks to Bob Mercer, ProgressNowNM, and Nadene.

Bill Janklow's heirs should give his campaign haul back to donors. Looks like the pink slime makers are greasing Kristi Noem.

Agenda 21 wasn't intended to be part of a city master plan in Cody, Wyoming. Heidi Hanson hails from The Enterprise:

“It’s not like we think the sky is falling,” Troy Brown of Cody said. Former state Senate candidate and tea party member Bob Berry claimed the council was attempting to “shut up the opposition by playing the audience against itself” before a question-and-answer session occurred. He and other tea party members in attendance who came from as far as Powell, said they were concerned about connections to “Agenda 21” – a nonbinding United Nations action plan adopted in 1992 to encourage sustainable development.

RT @jerenergy

This blog has long advocated that Ellsworth Air Force Base end its mission to kill people and become a wildfire response air tanker base.

Wyoming, North and South Dakota will likely never vote for a Democratic president who is black. Closing Warren, Minot, and Ellsworth but leaving Malmstrom, Grand Forks, and Offutt to anchor the northern nukes would be mostly painless for the party of Truman.

Make it so, Mr. President.

Another skirmish in the Missouri River water wars is finding its way to Congress: a story that the Rapid City Journal finally caught up with and was published by the Lincoln Journal-Star several days ago.

From the Associated Press piece:

Four Republican members of Missouri's congressional delegation contend the federal government should put less attention on wildlife preservation when making decisions about the Missouri River. The issue gained attention after the massive flooding of 2011, which began after the corps began releasing large amounts of water from upstream reservoirs that had been filled with melting snow and heavy rains. While changes to the river aided navigation and improved flood protection, the number of pallid sturgeon, piping plover and interior least tern have shrunk so much they are now listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The corps is under fire from enviros, too.

South Dakota's earth hater governor is slipping Ft. Pierre some Community Development Block Grant dough:

Gov. Dennis Daugaard already has signed the two offers of CDBG assistance to the city of Fort Pierre on April 10. The city council also set a public hearing date of May 6 for Ordinance No. 962, amending some passages of city ordinance having to do with conditional uses and conditional use permits; and it set May 20 as the date for a public hearing on a petition by Dakota Mill & Grain Inc. to vacate a 20-foot alley that isn’t used. No other property owners are affected.--staff, Pierre Capital Journal.

Follow the money.

Noem, Bachmann suffering bimbo images

South Dakota's violations of the Indian Child Welfare Act during the Rounds/Daugaard years are slated to be discussed tomorrow morning on NPR's Morning Edition.

The Huron Plainsman gets a news nod today: Roger Larsen reported on a conference call with Rep. Kristi Noem (earth hater-SD). This stuck out:

While the president’s proposal does start the discussion on entitlements, Noem said she’s also concerned about tax increases and a lack of meaningful spending reductions. Obama also seeks to cut areas critical to South Dakotans like the federally impacted school district program and energy assistance for low-income people, she said.

Right, let Republicans cut assistance to schools and old people because the GOP is so good at ending gun violence.

Minnesota Public Radio posted this:

Any mention of a female candidate's appearance in the media — be it positive, negative or even neutral — damages her chance of being elected, according to a new study. "The voters in our study, when they heard the different physical descriptions of the woman, they immediately started rating the female candidate as being less competent, being less in touch and being less qualified for the job," Rachel Larris from Name It. Change It. told MPR News. "This is really dramatic. Being less qualified is the biggest issue in whether people will vote for a candidate."

Calling her an embarrassment to the people of his district, Jim Graves has announced a run against Rep. Michele Bachmann (earth hater-MN). Bachmann is being investigated for campaign violations and has been scheduled to speak at a christian white supremacist rally.

Earth haters bullied EPA pick

Recall that now-dead earth hater Governor Janklow pocketed nearly a million simoleans before he croaked then spread some of it around like chemical fertilizer. Interesting that some of Jacklow's Janklow's campaign donations came from the gun racket after gutting environmental protection in his state.

Open Secrets has Sen. Tim Johnson's South Dakota First PAC archived linked here.

No date has been set by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to vote on the nomination of The Honorable Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation United States Environmental Protection Agency, to lead The People's watchdog. Testimony archived here.

From an EPA press release:

April 15th at 2:00 pm EDT: Beyond Waste 

Chat with experts from the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response about how we can take simple actions such as recycling used electronics or reducing wasted food to combat climate change. Approximately 42 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are associated with the energy used to produce, process, transport and dispose of the food we eat and the goods we use.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called out Sen. John Bare Asso (earth hater-WY) today at the confirmation hearing for President Obama's pick to lead The People's Environmental Protection Agency.



From real journalist and virtual goddess, Coral Davenport published in the National Journal:

Gina McCarthy, a tough-talking environmental regulator from South Boston who is currently EPA’s top clean-air official, expects a grilling from Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, including a trio of conservatives from oil and coal states who have made no secret of their animosity toward President Obama’s environmental agenda.

"blogging, which is nothing more than the Easy-Bake Oven of media" links are mine.

Keystone Kopp: conservative caveman

What is womb envy? Why faster, baby, faster?

One gets the sense that Don Kopp believes readers are as stupid as he is:

The railroad-equivalent of this single pipeline would be a train of 75 2,000-barrel tank rail cars every day. One also needs consider the tremendous amount of damage incurred in northern states to our highways by truck traffic, particularly during the spring breakup. It is unfathomable to me why this project is being held up.--from Never Never Land in the Rapid City Journal

Of course, none of this environment-crushing crap should even be extracted let alone altered so it will flow, refined using precious water resources, sold to the highest bidder then loaded onto supertankers at terminals in the Gulf of Mexico.

South Dakota, another red state attempting to nullify federal health care law and where Republican legislator Kopp confuses federal scientists' findings on climate change with ass-trologic forces, the hubris in eliminating state-sponsored public comment on in situ uranium extraction while the GOP is actively smothering the EPA, is nothing short of stupefying. Powertech has been suing state legislatures as a matter of course while flouting the reports of fracking disasters in the natural gas industry.

GOP losing military...too

Former US Senator Larry Pressler writes in the Rapid City Journal:

Much to my own surprise, I found myself recently signing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court advocating gay marriage. This was a change of position for me, as I had voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 while in the Senate. Supporters of Ellsworth Air Force Base must watch this matter closely to protect and preserve the presence of Ellsworth in South Dakota, which I think is one of our state's most important goals. And that will probably include the acceptance of gay marriage in our state.

RT @CharlesSDPB: "Ellsworth Officials: on average it costs over $14,000 per hour in fuel alone to fly a B1 Bomber. In total a B1 costs an average of over $43,000 dollars/hour to fly. But some worry cutbacks come as N. Korea heats up."

As Sen. don Juan Thune's door revolves onto K Street, his lack of leadership has put a proposed expansion of bombing practice on hold.

Recall this from Tom Lutey's piece in the Billings Gazette:

Ellsworth Air Force Base officials say plans for a South Carolina-sized training area over portions of four western states are moving ahead. A key piece of the approval process, a final environmental impact statement, has not been finalized. Spokesman Maj. Matthew Reese said the EIS is out of Ellsworth’s hands. The base has moved on to arranging meetings with state and tribal governments in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.

There were numerous concerns when the Air Force held public hearings about the 27,500-square-mile Powder River Training Complex in 2009. Two years ago, U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, D-Mont., asked the Air Force not to expand the PRTC into southeastern Montana.

Several years ago a B-1 crashed in Carter County: a responding volunteer firefighter from Alzada told this interested party the multi-million dollar aircraft was brought down by a rancher with a .30-30 Winchester.

One encouraging result of Thune's lack of gravitas is that endangered sage grouse may be getting a break from extirpation. Ellsworth Air Force Base B-1 bomber training missions over the sage steppe are being suspended for awhile because Gaia is getting tired of white people in South Dakota killing children in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere.

There is a movement in DC aimed at convening the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) so the move to ground the EAFB aircraft should come as little surprise to Rep. Krusti Noem (earth hater-SD).

With voices of the cut, cut, cut from her ALEC/Tea Party handlers in one ear while the armed services industry in her other ear telling her that they are worried about losing their cushy relationships with Ellsworth Air Force Base, Noem mused in committee:

the least disruption to national readiness was to "first focus on support systems such as military schools . . . rather than going after -- seeking to close bases that house bombers or fighter wings."

From a piece by Shaun Waterman at the Washington Times:

Just over one third of U.S. military personnel say they support the Republican Party, down from nearly a half in 2006, according to the latest annual Military Times poll. “It may have to do with the rise of the tea party movement,” said a Marine lieutenant colonel who described himself as conservative and told Military Times that he feels “less connected” with today’s GOP. The survey was conducted between Jan. 28 and March 4. A total of 2,121 active-duty service members responded to a questionnaire sent by Military Times. Because the sample is self-selecting, there is no margin of error.

Pork: the other white meat.

After Rapid City said: fuck you, Mr. President, but thanks for the dough; it looks like the worm has turned.

Sidearms for the pre-born!

The South Dakota Board on Geographic Names is asking for input to come up with new names for some Black Hills sites that contain the word "negro."--Aberdeen American News.

Gov. Denny Daugaard declares disaster: he called from the shitter.

The Vatican has declared a miracle after prayers to Hun German nun heal Colorado Springs boy.

RT @FakeArgusLeader Pat Powers: “Rènhé yǔyán de qúndài guānxì réngrán shì qúndài Nepotism”

Look at the bags under Gordon Howie's eyes and you can begin to appreciate the need for physician-assisted suicide.

I am so prescient:

RT @attackerman: The only thing that can stop a bad fetus with a gun is a good fetus with a gun.

RT @drgrist: You know what hurts fetuses? Mercury pollution. The same mercury pollution conservatives have been fighting for decades to protect.

Read it here.

Gant failing to bridge credibility gap...again

South Dakota's Sec. of State Jason Gant just can't get any respect.

Grappling with the federal government's commitment to monitoring elections in Charles Mix County through 2014, Gant, widely believed to be incompetent and sleazy even by members of his own political party, will likely be rejected for re-election for not talking about taking money from Donors Trust, the bribery arm of Koch.

From a guest post at South DaCola:

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). 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.

Peter Harrison writes in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

At issue is Section 5 of the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act that has exerted a powerful influence in South Dakota for decades in helping Native American voters confront discrimination. “We want to make sure no matter what we do we are not infringing on people’s rights to vote. That’s the No. 1 goal,” Secretary of State Jason Gant, South Dakota’s chief election official, said Thursday. Section 5 of that legislation says that all or portions of 16 states, including South Dakota, had a sufficient history of voter suppression to require them to get any proposed changes to voting procedures approved by the Department of Justice — precleared, in the words of the act — to ensure they do not discriminate against minority voters.

Morbidly obese Gant was recently in Yankton to remind South Dakotans what his job is.

Ice storms expose grid vulnerability

South Dakota snowfall map

The Spring storm now bringing some much-needed moisture to South Dakota is about a week before last year's.

Remember, too, that these utilities are not Google or Facebook. They are not accustomed to a state of constant market turmoil and reinvention. This is a venerable old boys network, working very comfortably within a business model that has been around, virtually unchanged, for a century.--David Roberts at Grist

In 2010, some of the state's American Indian nations were left without power for many weeks because utility companies have succumbed to the moral hazards of disaster declarations that pay them to replace ice-downed power transmission lines year after year.

Now, it's happening again but this time white people are being put upon.

The Sicangu-Lakota Oyate sits above a geothermal gold mine.

More on thermoelectrics here, here, and here.

Noem "award:" corporate unions crushing trade, teachers' unions

Tea-stained Rep. Kristi Noem (earth hater-SD) is reportedly being questioned by federal election officials as the ethics investigation of her compatriot, Michele Bachmann, widens.

The Montana election cycle was altered by dark money groups including Colorado union-buster and furniture peddler, Jake Jabs. South Dakota's own Christofascist, Robert Fischer of Rapid City's Fischer Furniture, likely colluded with those exposed by ProPublica and reported by PBS.

Entitled, solipsistic Representative Kristi Noem (earth hater-SD) is At-large. A favor from her was recently repaid by a trade union-busting "corporate union."

Digging up dirt on Kristi interested party discovered that the group that just conferred her with an “award” is a fascist business union engaged in lobbying efforts to destroy trade, public, and teachers' unions.

Cory Heidelberger at Madville Times caught it:

That’s code for “keep unions off reservations,” the true intent of Noem’s HR 2335, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. Note that Noem has never been able to explain why allowing unions to protect worker rights on reservations is bad. Her bill has sat motionless in the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee since September.

So once again, Noem hasn’t really accomplished anything to deserve praise. She hasn’t made a real difference for tribal sovereignty. As on so many other issues, Noem is all talk and no action.

Organizer Larry Matheney believes the voice of 'business unions' is growing louder:

Associations, or business unions as I prefer to call them, have definitely gained airwave superiority in promoting their members' interests. As this nation's wealth moved from the pockets of middle-class workers to the pockets of CEOs, hedge fund managers and business union members, they consistently repeated over the airwaves, when the rich get richer the American worker will prosper and our economy will grow.

Unfortunately many middle-class workers believed it, while thousands of jobs were destroyed or off shored. The voice of business unions is growing louder. You can hardly turn on the TV or radio without hearing their message: Over regulating our free market economy is slowing growth. You can't tax energy or ask corporations and wealthy individuals to pay their fair share of taxes. Being concerned about the environment is just wrong at this time. Labor unions want an economy that invests in working families, while business unions want to multiply profits for CEOs. Labor's voice may not be as loud, but being right gives us might!

Having employees is a privilege, not a right: organized workers are more enabled to find alternative benefits, affordable insurance coverage, and pocket more of their earnings through union membership.

Part-time ag, dairy, casino, and service personnel get the shaft every day because Republicans are cheap-ass bastards.

From Adriana Maestas at Politic365:

Back in March, Congresswoman Noem voted for the House Republican ”Ryan Budget” which not only slashed Pell Grants, but also doubled the Stafford Loan interest rate from 3.4 to 6.8 percent.

South Dakota is a state where just 24% of the residents have a four year degree or higher. The post-high school achievement rate in the Mount Rushmore State is nearly 3% below the national average of 27.5%; additionally, only six of 66 counties rank above the national benchmark in baccalaureate degree achievement.

Kristi Noem represents a culture of conspicuous consumption, waste, and entitlement at the expense of aquifers, watersheds: for some of the above.

If there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no Republicans during ice storms, floods or droughts.

Madville Times brings the story of a South Dakota-based corporate union busted by the feds.

Fire Kristi Noem.