Daily Kos

Reposted from Bethesda 1971 by poopdogcomedy

John Thune, Senator from South Dakota appears to have won the competition for Worst Tweet of all Time:

Six million people risk losing their health care subsidies, yet @potus continues to deny that Obamacare is bad for the American people.

Pretzels turn to salt and flour en masse when they hear "logic" like that.

It reminds me of that line from a lot of movies, where a group is planning something and one of them says, "Y'know, this is so crazy it just might work!"

The Scene:  Rove, McConnell, Boehner, Ryan etc. gathered in a DC Townhouse, discussing what to do about the shitstorm if the Supreme Court kills federal subsidies in King v. Burwell.  

Someone suggests amending the ACA to take care of it -- He is laughed and hooted out of the building.  Then, someone says,

"Wait, we can blame Obama and Obamacare themselves for the disaster."

"You're kidding.  How can we do that?"

"Easy.  Just say it enough times."

"Of course.  It worked with death panels.  Why not?"

"You're right!  Just get it out there -- Maybe some grass-fed, cardboard Senator can tweet it."

"What about Thune?"

"He's perfect."

"First Thune.  Then Fox and Rush.  Then Walker, Cruz, Bush et al. Then John Dickerson on "Face the Nation" asks Christie, "Some say that the real culprits in loss of subsidies are Republicans in Congress and the Courts."  And Christie says, "You don't know much about the King case do you John?"  Dickerson changes the subject to firing teachers.

"Then Cokie says,'It doesn't matter if its true.  It's out there."

"Y'know, this is so crazy it just might work!"

Reposted from Joan McCarter by poopdogcomedy

Here's Republican logic for you.

No, it doesn't make any sense, from the part where it's not exactly President Obama's fault that the Supreme Court could destroy subsidies for those six million people to the part where he's somehow suggesting that it's a bad thing that this law is bad for American people is now threatened? It's a bad law and bad for Americans and bad it's going away, apparently.

He followed up with this.

A one-sentence fix could certainly take care of Thune's supposed initial concern, that six million people are going to lose their subsidies. I guess that's quibbling. He finishes big. Stupid, but big.
I asked him to show us his work on that one, but no response so far.

Reposted from DIVA by meralda I'm hoping this photo brings you as much pride as it did me. You all helped get out the vote to change the name of Shannon County to Oglala Lakota County in South Dakota.

This past December I wrote about the Daily Kos Community's many progressive accomplishments in 2014. One of those achievements was raising $163,739 to fortify GOTV efforts on South Dakota reservations! This campaign helped to build a long-term American Indian voter infrastructure that will pay off in the future of this state with a long, long history of suppressing the Native vote.

Excerpts of a statement from State Representative Kevin Killer who organized the South Dakota NDN Election Efforts PAC:

The efforts of the SD NDN PAC in the 2014 elections made a tremendous impact at the Federal, State and Local levels. With the generation [of] contributions from the Daily Kos community, we were able to hire organizers on 7 of 9 reservations and the urban areas of Sioux Falls and Rapid City. As South Dakota's voter turnout declined statewide, the only increases in turnout were in the Native communities of South Dakota.

[...]The turnout in the 2014 Senate race was higher than what Sen. Tim Johnson received in 2002 and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin received in 2010. With investments in off election years and voter registration, the Native Vote will be prepared in 2016 and beyond to make their voices heard at all levels of government.

[...]History was also made this election with the voters of Shannon County approving changing the name to Oglala Lakota County by a 4 to 1 margin with thanks to the support from the Daily Kos community. [Shannon helped take land away from the Oglala Lakota in the 1800s.] This was the first time in over 100 years this happened in South Dakota. This successful campaign has helped spark conversation for other Native communities in South Dakota to consider chaining their county names and provides an opportunity to engage a new generation of voters to make history in their communities.

Shannon County is entirely within the Pine Ridge reservation and was named for a white guy who was key in grabbing the land away from the tribes in the late 1800s. Residents of Pine Ridge were very motivated to change the name to Oglala Lakota, the name of their tribe. Pine Ridge has the largest population of all the South Dakota reservations. The votes there and on the other reservations can be critical in elections in which the winning margin might be only hundreds of votes.

As you know, these motivators are not enough. Traditional get-out-the-vote methods are needed, and their grassroots efforts were supported by this community and shared with your networks. This was critical for folks who live on reservations where their homes are often several miles apart. Many don't have transportation. GOTV takes money and there's not much of that on the reservations, especially at Pine Ridge. It's important to reach out to disenfranchised communities in your state. They often can be huge voting blocks.

Thanks once again for supporting our reservation efforts. You helped raise that new sign above.

Reposted from meralda by meralda

In a sweeping victory for Indian families, a federal court has ordered South Dakota officials to stop violating the rights of Indian parents and tribes in state child custody proceedings on several grounds according to a release today.

Reposted from coyote66 by robbinsdale radical

House Bill 1094 would remove the "In no case shall the minimum wage be decreased" provision from the voter enacted min wage increase.

More here.

Also on tap: Senate Bill 166 which changes the number of required signatures for any initiated measure. Buy current results and standards, it would effectively double the number of required signatures!

More here.

Republicans here in SD show what they really think of "The Will of the People".

The South Dakota 2015 Legislative session is in full swing. This is my 21st winter in South Dakota, and it still kind of makes my hair stand on end when Pierre gets rolling.

This year, Republicans continue to use their supermajority status to basically cement their stranglehold on our political process. Two great examples this time:

• Doubling the number of signatures required to refer a law or initiate a statewide referendum (to punish us for passing an indexed minimum wage last year -- and, they are going to repeal the index part!)
  
• Repealing the "Daschle law" -- passed to prevent Sen. Daschle from running for VP and the Senate in 2004 -- so you know who can in 2016. Because freedom.
  

And if the power grabbing isn't ugly enough, they have a bill in the mill to prevent our high-school activities association from setting any anti-discrimination or anti-bullying policies that concern sexual orientation or gender identity, and of course we have  the obligatory ask to the SCOTUS to repeal Roe while shaming women. Of course, I could go on (they certainly do).

I'm just glad the session only lasts a few fortnights (39 legislative days). Can you imagine what damage they would do if they were there longer?

Reposted from Scout Finch by poopdogcomedy You really do have to wonder just what in the hell is wrong with some people:

Some 57 charges of child abuse and assault reportedly will be filed against the drunken hockey fans who subjected 57 American Indian students to racially-charged taunts the included spraying the students with beer and lacing them with racial slurs, according to unnamed sources.

.........

THE STUDENTS, WHO ATTEND THE AMERICAN HORSE SCHOOL IN THE HAMLET OF ALLEN ON THE PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION, SUFFERED THROUGH AN ONSLAUGHT OF BEER BEING SPRAYED ON THEM AS THEY WERE TOLD BY THE PERPETRATORS TO “GO BACK TO THE RESERVATION.”

The trip was a reward for students who'd achieved academic and classroom behavior goals this year. The offender has not been named, but police say they know who he is:

Eagle Sales of the Black Hills, a beer distributorship, rents a skybox from which the alleged harassment came. President Tom Helland has said guests in the company's suite exhibited poor behavior, and he has apologized to the students.

Totally outrageous. Most of the children were elementary students and were whisked away:

Because of the racially-charge assault, the chaperones removed the youth from the game before its conclusion.

The American Horse School is a K-8th grade school on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris said the investigation revealed a crime and charges appear to be forthcoming.

“We’re going to be looking at assault. We’re going to look at the hate crimes statutes. We will look at the child abuse statutes. And, we will look at any other relevant statutes,” Jegeris said. He did not reveal the name of the person identified.

See an emotional interview with parents below the fold.

(I'm reposting this on behalf of Equality South Dakota.)

The Black Hills Center for Equality hosted a wonderful first annual Dakotas Equality Summit January 16/17 in Rapid City. Other sponsoring organizations included the Center For Equality (Sioux Falls), Common Ground, PFLAG Sioux Falls, and Equality South Dakota.

More than 85 individuals registered and we estimate 150 were in the room Judy Shepard's keynote address after dinner in the evening. (Remember, we're talking about Rapid City, South Dakota.) Change is coming!

Reposted from Dadamsaim by meralda

With the new Senate taking their seats in Washington, and the House voting to put through the pipeline for the tenth time, Natives across America find themselves gearing up for another battle with the Keystone Pipeline project, pausing only long enough to feel thanks for President Obama's promise of another veto.

Reposted from Kossacks for Marriage Equality by meralda A federal judge in South Dakota has granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and in favor of marriage equality in that state. Federal District Judge Karen Shreier ruled that South Dakota's ban(s) on marriages of same-sex couples violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The ruling is stayed pending a possible appeal to the Eighth Circuit.

Statement From NCLR:

“We are thrilled for our clients and for all same-sex couples in South Dakota, who have watched and waited as progress has been made in so many other states, and who can now see light at the end of the tunnel in their own state.  We are also grateful to Judge Shreier for writing such a detailed and powerful analysis and for affirming in such strong terms that same-sex couples have the same fundamental freedom to marry as others.  We hope this decision will hasten the day when the Supreme Court decides this issue for the country and ensures that all families are treated fairly and equally under the law.”

Congratulations #SouthDakota & @madialaw! Fed Judge grants Plaintiffs' summ judgment in marriage case: http://t.co/... @bhcfequality

— Equality Case Files (@EQCF) January 12, 2015

Federal judge Karen Schreier: "Little distinguishes this case from 'Loving.' Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry. #SouthDakota

— freedomtomarry (@freedomtomarry) January 12, 2015

Also, the SCOTUS has denied cert. in the Louisiana marriage equality case. They have rescheduled the four cases from the Sixth Circuit for their conference on Friday.

Reposted from Village Vet by meralda

In Loving, the Supreme Court addressed a traditionally accepted definition of marriage that prohibited Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving from marrying. Because Virginia’s laws deprived that couple of their fundamental right to marriage, the Court struck down those laws. Little distinguishes this case from Loving.

Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry. South Dakota law deprives them of that right solely because they are same-sex couples and without sufficient justification.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment (Docket 20) is granted, and defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Docket 43) is denied.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that SDCL 25-1-1, SDCL 25-1-38, Article 21, § 9 of the South Dakota Constitution, and any other provision of state law that precludes people from marrying, or refuses to recognize an existing marriage, solely because the individuals are of the same gender are unconstitutional because they violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a separate judgment will be entered and the effects of that judgment will be stayed until the judgment is final. Dated January 12, 2015.

Signed by Judge Karen E. Schreier.

EDIT: I did not realise that librarisingnsf also posted about this in Kossacks for Marriage Equality.

I did look first before posting, honest (though my post is a bit longer and includes a link to the entire document issued by the District Court).

Must be my slow Internet connexion.

More below the orange bustle.

Reposted from Notes from the Isabel Okiciyap Director by robbinsdale radical We here at the Isabel Okiciyap in Isabel, SD have been trying hard to get more grants to keep us functioning. BUT until the next one comes in it would be great to get some help to keep us afloat in order to keep the pantry open and stocked with food and winter stuff, including funds to keep the people warm!

I am currently trying to get the website updated but i do not have access to it. The lady that does it for us has been apparently busy busy! So i will get that updated ASAP because we need to put our actual Board Members up on the site as well.

Hopefully we will have a grant soon and our employees can get back to work and keep the community warm and fed and keep the office running!

Thank You All
Emily Penick - (i was the program director until the grant ran out, now I'm back to volunteering, and i was the Chairwoman prior to being the director and prior to that i was the secretary since 2010 when Georgia Little Shield started this organization)

I guess i shouldn't have tried to do a diary without talking to betson08 first. She's been helping us with diaries and fundraising, but lately no one wants to. We've been having a hard time at the Okiciyap because of limitations on the grant we received and things haven't gone the way we were told it would.

I am removing the fundraising link because i feel that we have jumped the gun, again, the chairwoman and i were just trying to get us some funding to pay bills and buy food for the pantry. We've gone from serving 50 families to serving around 400 families (800 + individuals) on the Cheyenne River Reservation. We were doing heating assistance for our local natives living in Isabel and it helped a lot last year! But again, this year is harder and different because we do not have funding for that type of assistance.

In our community we have Tribal Members from both Cheyenne River and our neighboring tribe to the north, Standing Rock, who live and work here. The majority of the Standing Rock members live in the Cheyenne River Housing homes and have done so for MANY year. They are a large part of this community. But our grant would not allow us to assist these people because they were not Cheyenne River members. Standing Rock will not help them because they live on Cheyenne River. I think this is wrong. We are trying to help all our natives, not just a few. We also get a lot of non-native elderly that come to the pantry because they are on fixed incomes and we help them too because we know they need it. The grant we had wouldn't allow us to help them either with the grant funding. Regardless, we helped them anyway, mainly because we felt it was the right thing to do. You shouldn't have to say "no, you cant have any of this food or assistance because you're not from this tribe." It's not right.

I apologize for posting this before i spoke to the right people. Me and my Chairwoman were just trying to get some help. Thanks.

Emily Penick