Sibby Online

The evidence supporting IM10’s need

Here is a South Dakota example of a no-bid contract:

Supporters of a controversial measure on Tuesday's ballot have released about two dozen state contracts they say are evidence of a need for comprehensive reform.

South Dakota's tourism department awarded about $25 million in no-bid contracts to Sioux Falls advertising agency Lawrence and Schiller in recent years, while members of the firm were contributing to state politicians and a former state Office of Tourism director became employed there. But officials with the state and Lawrence and Schiller scoffed at the idea that the firm's political contributions are related to the awarding of contracts.

South Dakotans for Open and Clean Government, the group promoting Initiated Measure 10, accumulated the contracts and released them publicly as part of their campaign to show voters what they hope to abolish.

"It's an overarching example of why transparency is needed in contracting and why there needs to be restrictions on pay-to-play contracting," said Lee Breard, a member of South Dakotans for Open and Clean Government.

That was the play, and now comes the pay:

Officials with Lawrence and Schiller donated more than $16,500 to political candidates from 2002 to 2006, records show. Most of that money went to Gov. Mike Rounds, and Breard notes that many donations weren't made until after Lawrence and Schiller started working for tourism in 2003.

Breard said it's a conflict of interest for people to donate to political candidates when they have a government contract.

Lawrence said he and others are proud to be active in the political process, but they have nothing to do with business.

"We make political contributions. You're dang right we do," he said.

Yes, they want to keep that status quo, which includes this:

Billie Jo Waara was the director of the state's Office of Tourism through January of this year. Several weeks after leaving her post, she joined Lawrence and Schiller.

Measure 10 includes a "cooling off" period in which some state officials would be prohibited from working with any company that has a state contract for at least one year. In Waara's case, however, Measure 10 would not have prohibited her from joining Lawrence and Schiller because she was not a legislative staff member.

But Breard said it's still a potential conflict.

"She's the one who was involved in getting half those no-bid contracts," he said.

Waara said she's "offended" by the implication that the job was a reward. She said she moved back to Sioux Falls after her husband had a job opportunity that allowed them to stay in South Dakota.

A team of state officials of which she was a part approved the contracts, she added. She also said she never signed the contracts.

"It is certainly something I categorically deny was the result of some behind-the-scenes maneuvering," she said.

If there was favoritism, would she admit it? And how are we going to know when so much is done in the dark? Breard summed it up this way:

Breard said the purpose of Measure 10 isn't to root out corruption, but to stop corrupt practices before they happen. "South Dakota has a great standard of ethics," he said. "It doesn't mean corruption can't slip into here."

Same is true of internal control procedures in business. They are most effective as a deterrent to wrongdoing.

SDGO endorses IM10

From my email:

News release: October 31, 2008

Contact: Zach Lautenschlager, Communications Director

[email protected]

605-221-5766

SOUTH DAKOTA GUN OWNERS ENDORSES INITIATED MEASURE 10

Tax dollars should not be used to lobby against the Second Amendment, group says.

RAPID CITY, S.D. -- South Dakota Gun Owners endorsed Initiated Measure 10 on Friday, stating that tax dollars should not be used to lobby against the Second Amendment.

Initiated Measure 10 is a statewide ballot proposal to prohibit elected officials from using tax dollars for lobbying or political campaigns. The official ballot description of Measure 10 authored by the Secretary of State reads as follows: "An initiative to prohibit tax revenues from being used for lobbying or campaigning, to prohibit governmental bodies from lobbying, to prohibit government contractors from making campaign contributions, to prohibit government contracts when the contractor employs a legislator or legislative staff member, and to require contracts with government contractors to be published."

Zach Lautenschlager, Communications Director of the 3,500-member statewide South Dakota Gun Owners group, said its members resent city and county officials' use of tax dollars to fund organizations that push Congress for more restrictive federal gun laws.

Lautenschlager said the group was also alarmed last week to learn that officials of the National Education Association (NEA) have contributed $1.1 million to the campaign against Initiated Measure 10.

"NEA officials have a long history of aggressive opposition to Second Amendment freedoms," Lautenschlager said.

"We're urging our members and all South Dakotans to vote yes on Measure 10 to stop politicians from funneling our tax dollars to anti-Second Amendment lobbyists in Washington," Lautenschlager said. "The fact that multiple tax-funded national anti-gun rights lobbies are working to defeat Measure 10 is a red flag that should get the attention of all gun owners."

"It simply is not right for South Dakota politicians to use our tax dollars to directly fund national organizations that lobby Congress for unconstitutional gun control," Lautenschlager said. "If passed, Measure 10 will finally stop that outrageous injustice and violation of our rights as taxpayers."

The following information details the flow of city and county tax dollars to anti-Second Amendment lobbyists, and public school and state university officials' use of tax dollars to fund the anti-Second Amendment NEA.

National Association of Counties

Every county in South Dakota is a member of the National Association of Counties (NACo), using county tax dollars to pay its annual membership dues.

http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&statecode=sd

NACo's American County Platform and Resolutions 08-09 states that they support "Lock-Up-Your-Safety" laws, which make it a crime to keep a firearm ready for self-defense in a person’s home. They also support the outdated waiting period on purchasing a handgun.

http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=American_County_Platform&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=27952

National League of Cities

Hundreds of cities in the state are dues-paying members of the South Dakota Municipal League, using city tax dollars to pay their annual membership dues. The Municipal League is in turn a member of the National League of Cities (NLC), using it's tax-funded revenues to pay its annual dues.

http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=American_County_Platform&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=27952

The cities of Brookings, Ft. Pierre, Rapid City, and Watertown are also dues-paying members of the NLC, using city residents' tax dollars to pay their annual membership dues.

http://www.nlc.org/inside_nlc/membership/membership_rosters/413.aspx

NLC's Resolution 2008-49 states: "The National League of Cities calls upon the United States Congress and Administration to assist municipalities across the nation in combating crime by taking the following actions: reinstate the ban on semi-automatic…weapon sales to civilians."

http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/141A038B920A40FF8D56D35E01AB4271/PSCP%20Resolutions.pdf

South Dakota Gun Owners joins the National Rifle Association in opposing such a ban on semi-automatic firearms. The NRA has stated: "In America, the burden of proof is not upon those who wish to exercise rights, it is upon those who wish to restrict rights, and there is no evidence that an 'assault weapon' ban reduces crime. An irrational bias against guns, mixed with an assumed sense of intellectual, social or cultural superiority to gun owners, may seem to gun control supporters like sufficient grounds to ban firearms, but such notions are insufficient in a democracy."

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=238

National Education Association

Local school districts in the state, and the University of South Dakota Board of Regents,* use local and state tax dollars to withhold NEA-SDEA union dues from educators' paychecks, then transfer the dues to union officials.

The NEA's Resolution I-31 (2007) states: "The Association further believes that strict prescriptive regulations are necessary for the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale and resale of handguns and ammunition magazines. The possession by the private sector of automatic weapons and military-style semiautomatic assault weapons should be illegal, except for historical and collection purposes, which must be strictly regulated. A mandatory background check and a mandatory waiting period should occur prior to the sale of all firearms."

http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/images/PreliminaryReport_2007-08_Final.pdf

*

The South Dakota Board of Regents administers the following state universities:

Black Hills State University

Dakota State University

Northern State University

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

South Dakota State University

University of South Dakota

The Board of Regents has a collective bargaining contract with the "Council of Higher Education," which according to the U.S. Department of Labor is an affiliate of the National Education Association, covering 1,150 university employees. http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/cba/Cbau_sasz.htm

The publication Inside Higher Ed identifies the Council of Higher Education as "the National Education Association union for professors at public colleges in the state." http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2006/02/09/dakota

From page 91 of that contract:

-------------------------------------------

XXIV. DUES DEDUCTION

24.1 STATEMENT

During the term of this agreement, the Board agrees to deduct COHE membership dues, in an amount established by COHE and communicated in writing to the Board by an authorized official of COHE, from the pay of those faculty unit members in the bargaining unit who individually and voluntarily make such request on the dues deduction authorization form as depicted in Appendix H of this agreement.

...The dues deducted will be remitted by the institution to the local COHE treasurer as soon as possible, but not later than fifteen (15) working days following the end of each pay period.

Accompanying each remittance will be a list of the faculty unit members from whose salaries such deductions were made, and the amounts deducted.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/cba/pdf/cbrp1903.pdf

Pat Powers is on whose payroll?

I received this comment on an earlier post:

Powers pretends to have an axe to grind with the Rounds administration for banishing him to the clipping-boy job and chasing him out of state government, but he has mellowed out and is actually attacking this using tax dollars right now. He's on their payroll!

Is this true?

SD GOP losing out

Keloland reports the fact that the South Dakota GOP is losing ground to the Democrats:

The South Dakota Democratic Party gained about 13,500 registered voters in the past 2 years compared to just 1,400 Republicans.

Republican Party Executive Director Max Wetz says part of the disparity has to do with high interest in the June Democratic presidential primary in South Dakota between U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Wetz adds that voter registration numbers change all the time, and he says it's unfortunate that the Republican Party brand is just not as popular as it used to be.

And Pat Powers reacts with this:

Okay, that’s about the last thing I want to hear from the Director of the State GOP in the days leading up to the election. In fact, it irks me more than just a little. Isn’t he supposed to be the head cheerleader for the party?

If he’s saying "it’s unfortunate that the Republican Party brand is just not as popular as it used to be," then I’d like to know what he’s going to do about it.

The last thing Pat Powers wants to hear is the truth. And it is typical of a big government liberal to expect somebody else to do something about it.

What about the SD GOP returning to conservative South Dakota values? I suppose that thought never entered Pat Powers head.

UPDATE:

Here we learn that as a percentage, independent registration is growing even faster than the Democrats:

Since the 2006 general election, the number of voters registering Democrat increased by more than 13,000 voters, or 7%. The number of voters registering Independent has jumped 9%-percent, which represents more than 6,500 voters. Registered Republicans have only increased 0.5%, but still have about 37,000 more voters in South Dakota.

And secretary of state Chris Nelson says the shift in numbers has to do with the primaries in June. Nelson says, "The Democratic presidential primaries that we saw in June was obviously a very heated primary, and a lot of people registered to vote specifically in that party primary." And Nelson says because South Dakotans can only vote in primaries within their registered party, many were interested in registering and voting as Democrats, and not Republicans.

Sorry, but that does not explain the large increase in independents. But this does:

As for the rising number of Independents, Nelson says many voters weren't completely happy with either major party. Nelson says, "That indicates just a little bit of disatisfaction[SIC] with both of the major political parties, and folks not wanting to specifically be identified with a political party.

The "SIC" shows that Keloalnd also has some hillbilly traits. (grin)

Daschle & Johnson against veteran’s health care?

I noticed their have been ads run by the Tim Johnson campaign regarding a "special interest group", but they don’t name that group. I assume they are talking about the Foundations for Secure and Prosperous America. Tom Daschle joins in with this:

Last week, Steve Jarding sent you an important message about an outside special interest group that has just spent a shocking $165,000 on a new attack ad aimed at my good friend Tim Johnson.

That amount of money goes a long way in South Dakota. We cannot afford to let false and misleading attacks go unanswered. Tim needs your help to respond right away.

But then he doesn’t explain what is false and misleading about their position, but instead asks for more campaign money. Here is more on what the "special interest group" stands for:

The Foundation has begun "running a television commercial urging the citizens of South Carolina to tell Congress to pass" the Wounded Warriors Act, "legislation intended to improve health care for veterans."

So the Tom Daschle and the Johnson campaign are attacking a "special interest group" of veterans whose purpose includes improvement in health care for veterans. Why? Because the "special interest group" is also holding the Democrats accountable for their role in the financial meltdown.

Ethanol company looking at bankruptcy?

The troubles of a government subsidized industry continue:

Shares of VeraSun Energy Corp. fell Wednesday after a report surfaced saying the ethanol producer is looking into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Debtwire, a financial news service owned by the FT Group, reported late Tuesday citing two unnamed sources that the Sioux Falls-based company found debtor-in-possession financing from Ableco "as its imminent Chapter 11 filing gains momentum."

VeraSun shares slid 32 cents, or 31 percent, to 73 cents in afternoon trading.

Calls to a VeraSun spokesman were not immediately returned.

But Oppenheimer Research analyst Joseph Gomes quoted VeraSun management in a client note as saying, "We have not made that decision."

VeraSun, facing a liquidity crisis last month, retained Morgan Stanley to help it evaluate "strategic alternatives" that could involve anything from a buyout to a partial sale of assets. The company found itself short of cash after it locked in corn at higher-than-market prices. VeraSun converts corn into fuel.

After reporting a third-quarter loss of $63 million to $103 million in September, the company tried to raise $20 million in a public offering. VeraSun then said several companies had expressed a "strategic interest" and canceled the offering.

So, will Democrats step up to the plate with their own money to save a renewable energy company? No, that they will push for the government to step in. But so would the liberal socialist Republicans.

Thune not optimistic

Senator John Thune is also seeing a 2008 GOP meltdown:

Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune says the GOP faces a difficult political environment going into Tuesday's election.

The first-term senator says the party that controls the White House generally gets the blame when things aren't going well. Thune says he's hearing concerns about the economy, the war in Iraq and the nation in general in his travels around the country.

He says it's unlikely that Republicans will regain a majority in the House or Senate in this election.

Looks like a landslide is coming

Are you all ready for a Marxist based White House:

Democrats are dominating early voting in six key states, putting the Republicans behind even before Election Day dawns.

Election and party officials say Democrats have been outnumbering early-voting Republicans in Iowa, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. President Bush won all six of those states in 2004, and McCain needs to win most of them to claim the White House.

Pat Powers goes paranoid

The latest fantasy of Pat Powers seems to be driven by a paranoia about Lee Breard taking control of the black helicopters:

We never had a hint of as to why Breard felt the need to take up the banner of smashing state government and the GOP.

Lee Breard is not smashing the GOP. The liberals of the Party are smashing the GOP and they have been doing it for some time now. Powers needs to revisit the MAINstream Coalition.

And Pat Powers again tells the truth about his inalbilty to comprehend conservativism. Conservativsim is not about smashing government. It is about keeping it within the scope of "limited", so that it doesn't smash our freedoms.

Pat Powers tells the truth

Pat Powers can’t defend his political positions ideologically, so his typical mode of operation is to personally attack those he disagrees with. So he says this:

The other people he’s recruited for his group are equally outsiders for state government, such as Steve Sibson, a radical blogger who has found nothing but rejection at the hands of South Dakota media and most involved with the GOP.

So I have to be accepted by the liberal media and the liberals running the South Dakota GOP in order to be an involved citizen in the political arena? Next thing Pat Powers will add is the requirement to be a card carrying member of the NEA, who is bank rolling the deceptive ad campaign against IM10.

I thank Pat Powers for finally bringing forward the truth in regard to the attitude of the Pierre Capitol Culture. If you do not go along with the liberals who use conservative as wool on a wolf, then you are a radical.

But the truth in attitude is not the real truth. The real truth is that the NEA’s agenda is what is truly radical as explained here via Obama’s Shell Game:

The shell game was a favorite of con men and charlatans of past eras. Using the tricks of diversion and fast-talking and faster hands, they would relieve poor unsuspecting marks of their money in seconds flat.

Barack Obama must have seen these scams on the mean streets of Harvard or the pathways around the Ivory Tower of University of Chicago Law School, because he sure does have the con down pat.

Today he released his economic stimulus policy proposals. They are the very definition of a shell game: getting the public to look one way while he lifts their wallets and leaves them worse off than before.

One of the core elements of the Obama Plan is a $50 billion "job stimulus package." Sounds great, right? To be sure, some economists believe a recession has already begun. Friday's jobs data marked the seventh straight month of job losses, bringing the total decline to 463,000 so far this year. Still, Senator Obama wants to "create jobs." So where does he propose to send the $50 billion—the $50 billion we will have to borrow and go even deeper in debt to fund?

Well, that’s where the tricky part comes in. First, he wants to send half the money to state governments that have big budget shortfalls. How does that create jobs? you might ask. Simple. The money would bail out spend-thrift state governments that have saddled themselves—and the taxpayer—with ridiculous and wasteful public employee union contracts. Remember, nearly half of all money spent by the states goes to fund education. And education has become a bottomless pit of spending to appease the radical NEA teachers union.

Deception by the radical left includes painting those who oppose their policies as being radical. They have to use that method, because there is no way to honestly promote socialism, Marxism, and communism and remain a powerful force in American politics.

Looks like the NEA will have their man in the White House come January. And it looks like South Dakota will send two supporting cast members to DC. The only sign of hope for true South Dakota conservatives is the passage of IM10. Obama’s hope sign is not very attractive.

Too bad the majority of voters will not see what is the core value of Barack Obama's worldview. If they did, the "change" would be rejected.