The allegations of ethics violations by the South Dakota House Republican leadership receive their first official hearing on Tuesday, January 3, as a subcommittee of the Legislature's Executive Board meets to hear testimony "in Regard to Legislative Research Council Work…
Posts published in December 2011
HB 1006 revises a bunch of obsolete and outdated language in South Dakota's Chapter 13, our laws on education. Among the revisions, I find one notable passage: Section 5. That § 13-6-2 be amended to read as follows: 13-6-2. It…
The Madville Times now has one full year under its belt with the new domain and the new WordPress template. No hackers, no server disasters... and lots of reader participation! As I riffle through my stats, I find over 11,000…
The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has mapped out the specific area around which TransCanada must reroute its proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The hope is that, if Keystone XL must be built, we can at least prevent TransCanada from…
An eager reader brings to my attention an opinion column from Rapid City furniture mogul Bob Fischer. The essay starts of gently enough, reminding us that Jesus was poor (Occupy the Temple!) and that we ought to help the poor.…
With 10% budget cuts from which to recover, with the federal aid that keeps our state afloat drying up, with family farms and dairies still declining, with students struggling to afford to college, the South Dakota Legislature is getting ready…
For a moment, I thought maybe the Occupy movement had gotten its message across to the South Dakota Legislature. The first bill in the Senate hopper calls for an increase in taxes on large boats. Take that, 1%! Ah, but…
The Iowa caucuses are five days away. What's going on? You've heard of Professor Schaff's Political Yard Sign Test. Ron Paul supporters will soon be trumpeting the Iowa Pizza Ranch Test: you know you're a contender in Iowa when your…