http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sd-news/ en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:52:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286034/posts To think that Boris and Natasha lived right here in South Dakota, and we didn't even know it! Recently, Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Steingraber-Trebilcock-Myers - a couple who once lived in Aberdeen - were arrested for spying. The news rocked the nation. Well, actually, the nation immediately forgot the story. Still, South Dakota hasn't forgotten. It's not every day suspected spies are found traipsing through your own neighborhood. The espionage likely started after they left Aberdeen, but you still wonder if that abandoned shopping cart you saw in aisle 8 of Kessler's might have contained a coded message. The... Aberdeen American News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286034/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:52:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281400/posts The government has taken unprecedented actions over the past 15 months to stabilize the economy, including taking direct ownership stakes in private companies.  This creates a dangerous conflict of interest between the federal government and the private sector.  The government shouldn’t be an owner of companies it regulates in the private marketplace. Ends government ownership of private companies by: Preventing the U.S. Treasury from purchasing additional ownership stakes in private companies in any form, including preferred stock, common stock or warrants.Requiring the U.S. Treasury to sell any ownership stake of private entities by July 1, 2010.Requiring the Secretary of the... johnthune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281400/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:36:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279340/posts Senate Republicans on Thursday unanimously tapped John Thune and Lisa Murkowski for new leadership positions in the wake of John Ensign's resignation due to a sex scandal. Thune (S.D.) was tapped as GOP Policy Chairman, the position that Ensign held until his admission last week of an affair with a female staffer. Murkowski (Alaska) was tapped to replace Thune as Senate Republican Conference vice chairman. Thune, who defeated former Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in 2004, is considered a rising star among Senate Republicans. Murkowski — daughter of former Sen. and Gov. Frank Murkowski — has fended off rumors of a... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279340/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:08:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279022/posts Government programs don't believe in heaven, but many seem to have eternal life. That federal initiatives grow old but never die is particularly significant today. Fueled by ideology and equipped with a large majority in Congress, President Barack Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill are injecting steroids into Washington's normal propensity to expand. But is there an exit strategy for the new largesse? The deck is normally stacked against government shrinking itself. Washington rarely takes steps to limit its own power. Ensuring that outmoded or ineffective programs don't live in perpetuity is a daunting task. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.,... St. Paul Pioneer Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279022/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:58:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277178/posts We're hearing that South Dakota Sen. John Thune has locked up support to replace Sen. John Ensign as chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. The opening came when Ensign admitted to an affair with an ex-aide and could clear the way for Thune, talked about last year as a vice presidential nominee, to run against President Obama in 2012. Tall, somewhat quiet, and Western handsome, Thune is already considered a dragon-slayer, having taken out former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004 and beating back a base closing in his state during the Bush administration. Should he nail the... US News & World Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277178/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:39:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276007/posts Now I can safely cheer up. Senator John Thune (R-SD) has introduced a bill he calls the "Government Ownership Exit Plan Act of 2009." At the site he has established to promote public support for the bill, he explains its purpose. "The government has taken unprecedented actions over the past 15 months to stabilize the economy, including taking direct ownership stakes in private companies. This creates a dangerous conflict of interest between the federal government and the private sector. The government shouldn't be an owner of companies it regulates in the private marketplace." The bill aims to prevent further government... Loyal to Liberty http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276007/posts#comment Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:13:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270847/posts Senators who oversee the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package held stocks in many of the banks bailed out towards the end of last year, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday. According to the reports detailing senators’ finances in 2008, nearly half of the members of the Senate Banking Committee had holdings in financial institutions that have taken funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The panel has jurisdiction over the bailout fund and other relief efforts directed by federal regulators to save the nation’s financial system. For example, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), a Banking panel member, has... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270847/posts#comment Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:21:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268307/posts UNDATED (AP) - A couple charged with spying for Cuba over the last 30 years lived in South Dakota. Retired State Department worker Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, are charged with passing U.S. secrets to the communist government. KSFY/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268307/posts#comment Tue, 9 Jun 2009 22:20:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265624/posts Recent articles have raised questions about whether or not it is ethical for David Chicoine to continue in his position as South Dakota State University president while at the same time receiving $400,000 per year as a member of the Monsanto board of directors. First of all, it should be noted that Chicoine's $300,000 yearly salary as SDSU president is quite modest by the standards prevailing in academia today. Salaries for university administrators are shooting up at an unprecedented rate. During the 2007-2008 school year, compensation packages for public university presidents averaged $427,000 per year. Topping the list: Ohio State... Aberdeen American News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265624/posts#comment Fri, 5 Jun 2009 17:09:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265208/posts Special to AIPNEWS.com Just when you think you have heard it all, there is more. The Republican party has failed time and again to stand on the party planks, and failed to listen to the voices of the members of the party, the voters, whom they are allegedly supposed to represent. NOW we cannot even be assured that our voices are being heard, when it is our own voice, in Washington DC. The Senate Judiciary Committee is hoping to make fast moves today, while under the smoke screen of Obama's support of Muslim rights and his selection of Sotomayor for... America's Independent Party http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265208/posts#comment Fri, 5 Jun 2009 04:23:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259425/posts United States Attorney Marty J. Jackley announced that a man charged with distribution of child pornography was sentenced on May 20, 2009, by US District Court Chief Judge Karen E. Schreier. Ryan Murphey, age 33, of Rapid City, was sentenced to 12 ½ years’ imprisonment, twenty years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment of $100 to the Victim's Assistance Fund. Murphey was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2008. On February 27, 2009, he pled guilty to possessing thousands of images minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct (child porn) on his home computer. This... Department of Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259425/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 23:54:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255003/posts ...Thune was not alone in voting "no." A Democrat — *gasp* — and fellow South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson — also voted "no," probably for the same reason Thune voted "no" which was because it was going to kill 3,000-5,000 jobs in their state, which is simple math. Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255003/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 21:45:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235461/posts It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God... Click here to support your favorite conservative website! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235461/posts#comment Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:10:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2233573/posts Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,... Click here to support your favorite revolting website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2233573/posts#comment Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:16:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2232343/posts Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!! Click here to support FR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2232343/posts#comment Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:36:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230843/posts If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said.... The Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230843/posts#comment Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:58:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230139/posts Symbolic tea boxes dumped in Sioux Falls rally3 hours ago By WAYNE ORTMAN Associated Press Writer (AP:SIOUX FALLS, S.D.) Spurred on by a crowd chanting "Dump that tea," two men in colonist garb threw boxes carrying labels like Tarp, Stimulus and Bailout into Covell Lake as part of a national tax day protest Wednesday. Turnout for the noon-hour re-enactment and modernization of the Boston Tea Party in a city park was difficult to gauge. Police handling traffic in the area said it likely was lower than the 3,500-4,000 given by rally organizers. But people stood 10-15 deep in a broad... INO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230139/posts#comment Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:13:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2229220/posts After the 2010 census has been held, the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives will change. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently estimated what the 2010 reapportionment will mean for each state. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each, in the U.S. House and in the Electoral College. They are Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. States that will gain will be Texas (3 seats), and one each for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. If the bill now pending in Congress to expand the... Ballot Access News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2229220/posts#comment Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:46:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226505/posts A 23-year-old Brookings man was shot and killed after trying to enter a home that wasn't his. Multimedia In a release sent to Action News, Brookings Police Captain Jeff Miller says Bradley Joe Odens was trying to get home late Thursday morning. At just before 2 a.m., he tried entering 129 Main Avenue, but there was a problem. Odens lives at 143 Main Avenue. Reportedly, the 28-year-old Brookings man inside the home tried telling Odens that he has the wrong house. But the man tells police that Odens didn't listen and continued to kick his way in. In a 911... KSFY http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226505/posts#comment Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:31:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2220204/posts The war of words continued yesterday in the battle of the budget on Capitol Hill. Sending a very interesting message to their Democrat counterparts in the House, the Senate yesterday voted to pass -- by a whopping 89-8 margin -- an amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) that would prohibit the collection of funds from any future cap and trade proposal if that proposal would increase electricity rates and gasoline prices for American households and businesses. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007 released the results of their study of a proposal similar to President Obama's cap and trade framework.... HumanEvents.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2220204/posts#comment Wed, 1 Apr 2009 22:00:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2221849/posts Are you ready for a FReepathon!!? Well, it's a new quarter and a new president and he's everything we knew he would be. In less than 90 days he's managed to take an economic downturn and turn it into an unmitigated disaster for good old American capitalism. Never let a good crisis go to waste! The government is now printing money as fast as they can run the presses. Our federal budget is doubling and tripling and the Fed is running with no controls or oversight whatsoever from the congress, pumping trillions more into the "economy." The government now spends... Click here to pledge your support http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2221849/posts#comment Fri, 3 Apr 2009 22:04:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2221531/posts The recession has prompted another newspaper to fold. Thursday's edition of The Rapid City Weekly News was the last to hit the newsstands. Associated Press - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2221531/posts#comment Fri, 3 Apr 2009 14:37:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2220752/posts Thune Introduces Amendment to Protect Deduction for Charitable Giving Thune's Effort to Increase Charitable Giving Draws Praise from Charities, Nonprofits April 1st, 2009 - - Washington, D.C. - Senator John Thune has introduced an amendment to the Democrat budget that would fully preserve the federal income tax deduction for charitable giving. President Obama's budget framework proposes reducing the deduction, which would result in less charitable giving nationwide. "Private charities provide essential services to the most vulnerable people in society, especially when times are tough," said Thune. "Congress and the White House should continue to use the tax code to... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2220752/posts#comment Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:19:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2216519/posts Folks in Rapid City, South Dakota have now confirmed they are a GO for a Tax Day Tea Party. It will be from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM on April 15 (location TBD) and will feature speakers and more. For more information go here: http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/03/rapid-city-tax-day-tea-party-is-on/ Dakota Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2216519/posts#comment Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:57:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215735/posts We've had two good weeks of gubernatorial fun in the Crystal Ball, reviewing the early match-ups for the 2010 midterm Governor battles here and here. Now it's time to examine the remaining sixteen statehouses, all currently controlled by Republicans. ALASKA--Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK): Assuming Palin runs for Governor again instead of challenging U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), as is likely, Palin is close to a shoo-in for a second term, despite her recent troubles in and out of the state. John McCain had been faring poorly in Alaska until Palin was put on the ticket, and then the GOP won... Rasmussen Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215735/posts#comment Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:18:30 GMT