Gambling still a leading source of anguish in chemical toilet

According to WalletHub, gambling is a leading source of anguish and despair in South Dakota with a high suicide rate and few avenues for treatment. The state is tied for first in the number of casinos and machines and second in overall addiction to the poison. The reasoning is hardly mysterious. It’s all about the money video lootery, a too big to jail banking racket, a medical industry triopoly, prostitution, the Sturgis Rally, policing for profit, sex trafficking, hunting and subsidized grazing bring to the SDGOP destroying lives, depleting watersheds and smothering habitat under single-party rule. 

Source: WalletHub

South Dakota ranks as the second-most gambling-addicted state, with some of the most casinos and gaming machines per capita. It also has a high prevalence of gambling through lottery tickets, with the 11th highest lottery sales per resident age 18+. South Dakota has legalized betting on fantasy sports, regular sports and horse races, and it allows gambling machines to be put in stores. With so many different legal ways to gamble, it makes sense that many residents have a problem. The grip that gambling has on the Mount Rushmore State is evident in the fact that it has a high number of Gamblers Anonymous meetings per capita. 

Local author opening Epstein files

Here is more from Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez.

I’m working on a big piece about the Albuquerque contractor that built the main house at Zorro Ranch. You know, the house that seems to have been designed to intentionally mimic George Washington’s Mt. Vernon plantation house, down to and including a parallel to Mt. Vernon’s slave quarters, with the Epstein outbuilding having a prison-like sally port and being the only structure on the 7,600-acre property with bars on the windows. That one. Yeah. We know now who the general contractor was. And they continued to be the GC after Epstein’s conviction. Buried in the DOJ files are communications between Epstein’s people and this contractor, in which the contractor reassures Epstein that minimal documentation is being recorded for new upgrades to the property, including sub-basement floors. Unsurprisingly, this same contractor held multiple contracts with Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratories, and Kirtland Air Force Base. They were also sending heavy packages to Les Wexner’s company in Ohio, via private plane, on behalf, it seems, of Zorro Ranch. Including diskettes. One 12-pound package was labeled, simply, PRINCESS.

New poll means doom for Trump's Earth haters

Trump Approval Polling: Disapprove: 63% Approve: 37% NBC / April 13, 2026 (Worst Trump Approval from NBC polling)

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM

Trump Net-Approval On: 🔴 Border Security: -12% 🔴 Iran: -34% 🔴 Cost of living: -36% NBC / April 13, 2026

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM

Among Dems - "Do you consider yourself more a member of..." 🟢 A Progressive Movement: 55% 🔵 The Democratic Party: 45% NBC / April 13, 2026

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM

House Model Update: 🔵 DEM: 230 (+15) 🔴 GOP: 205 (-15) - April 19, 2026 - (Seat change with 2024 Election) Full article available for Substack subscribers here - open.substack.com/pub/usapolli...

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— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 9:23 AM

Doeden, Crabtree rocking affordability concerns

What are Trump/GOP even doing?!? Americans are in a stinking affordability crisis due to Trump/GOP’s illegal tariffs (taxes on consumers) increasing costs; a war of choice in Iran causing soaring gas prices that we’re paying for; inflation pushed from the high costs; & healthcare subsidies gutted!!!

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— Analisa Swan (she/her) (@analisaswan.bsky.social) April 17, 2026 at 9:11 AM

As far back as 2015 a company representative told WNAX radio that the state's attractions, road conditions, nightlife options, scenic byways, tourist attractions, cost of traveling, hotel affordability, gas prices and camping all suck. 

Today, a state that calls itself conservative depends on federal Social Security benefits to pay the property taxes that currently bankroll South Dakota's red state failure while video lootery drives poor residents even deeper into despair. 

And, as the Trump Organization touts deregulation and tax cuts as keys to making life affordable critics and recent economic data suggest that because of the war on Iran costs for essentials like housing, gas, and groceries remain high. Just recently while apparently thumbing their noses at Herr Trump, Toby Doeden mentioned affordability at least three times during the Earth haters' gubernatorial debate and in a Dakota Town Hall discussion State Senator Casey Crabtree did, too. Crabtree cited the dysfunction in his own party as as part of his decision to end a run for congress.

“I think without a doubt, the number one issue across the state is affordability. It is strengthening the economy,” Crabtree said during the episode. He added that the candidate who best explains how to put “more money back in people’s pockets” will likely gain the edge in the final stretch before Election Day. For western South Dakota listeners, the affordability conversation may resonate especially strongly as Rapid City continues balancing growth, housing pressure and infrastructure demands, all of which tie directly into the larger statewide tax and economic development debate now taking shape ahead of November. [Affordability Dominates Dakota Town Hall Debate]

A Clinton era housing bill is awarding funds for tribal communities so there is that.

As of post time Doeden is leading Trump lover, Dusty Johnson at Polymarket.

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