By Kevin Woster

Admittedly, I bring clear prejudice to this issue: I like open records.

They help me do my job, of course. But they also help me understand my government, and what it’s up to. And they make me feel more comfortable that my government isn’t up to no good.

How can more openness in government be anything but good?

So I’m puzzled that so many state legislators join Gov. Mike Rounds in fighting the notion that all state-government records be considered open unless specifically stated otherwise, with a reason given for their closure.

That seems reasonable to me. If you want to close a record, tell us why. If you don’t and can’t, it’s an open record.

A state task force on open government discussed the issue, seriously I think. But as we wait to see if the entire task force will agree to send it on to the state Legislature, that seems unlikely.

One task force member, Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry of Watertown, wants to put the presumption of openness on public records into state law. She doesn’t figure to win that one, however.

Most state legislators don’t seem to embrace the idea. Neither does Rounds.

I don’t get it. Do you?

By Bill Harlan

I know, I know. The Iowa caucuses are Thursday, Jan. 3.
“Goodbye Rudy a week from Thursday” just didn’t do it for me. (See embarrassing question.)

More to the point, the man who finished second to Fred Thompson in the South Dakota straw poll at the State Fair last summer seems to have bailed from Iowa. Or HAS he? The assassination in Pakistan yesterday might make Iowans take a second look at the 9/11 candidate. At least that’s what this Washington Post blog thinks.

I know some Blogmorites have seen Rudy speak recently. Maybe some have met him in person. Whaddya think? Snowball’s chance?

(My original headline, “Goodbye Rudy Tuesday,” was even funnier when the Iowa caucuses in my head were going to be held on Tuesday instead of Thursday. Come to think of it, a lot of the things in my head are “funny,” in every sense, which is why I was I was rejected from astronaut training. )

By Kevin Woster

Some county officials are pushing a nickel-per-drink tax hike to help pay for law-enforcement costs that land in the counties related to alcohol use.

The idea is to bump the cost of every shot or cocktail or bottle of beer to generate money for the state AG’s office, alcohol-abuse prevention programs and, especially, for the counties.

No big deal to me. I barely finished my half-glass of celebratory red wine at Christmas dinner yesterday. And I could count on one hand my on-sale booze purchases in a year, and have fingers left over.

But wait, as a helpful Blogmore reader points out, I do occasionally buy a bottle of wine at the store, mostly for my wife and guests, as well as a 12 pack of beer, mostly for my stepsons and guests. And I’ll pay a tax on those purchases, handed down from the wholesale level.

Nickel a drink really doesn’t tell the whole story, since the tax would actually begin at the wholesalers, who would figure their overall tax burden based on the number of individual drinks - by volume - in the total sales. Then it’s passed on to the retail level, whether in the liquor store or at the lounge.

So it’s a nickel-a-drink tax, sort of.

Whatever its called, it might get at least some people steamed up. Don’t you think?

By Bill Harlan

I was exchanging e-mails with an old college pal, and we agreed we were glad to see 2007 end. Deaths in our families and among close friends. Various other traumas. Nonetheless, a white Christmas, a lovely lamb’s wool sweater from Santa and a perfect morning with family has rescued my mood at year’s end and my outlook for 2008.

Mount Blogmore’s best to all Blogmorites. Families and friends too! God bless us every one.

PS: Click on the “Take it outside” blog button at the upper right for an image from Kevin W. that’s worth a thousand ho ho ho’s.

By Kevin Woster

I agree with state legislators who say that Gov. Mike Rounds’ proposed 2.5-percent increase in state funding for K-12 education isn’t enough.

It’s not enough for me, either. Although 2.5 percent is a bigger raise than I got this year from Lee Enterprises. In fact, it has been a number of years since I got a 2.5 percent raise. I think I managed 2.4 percent a couple years ago, and I felt pretty good about that.

Looking back in a journalism career that began in the late 1970s, I can remember one monstrous raise of 10 percent, which was intended by my employers at the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls to get me “caught up” for the reduced pay rate they started me at a year earlier - reduced because I didn’t have a college degree.

Along the way, I can recall a couple of raises at 4 percent, and one that stands out at 3.8 percent. I also recall a 1.5 percent annual bump, and a 1.8 percent, I think (although that might have been the estimate, in millions, of the state pheasant population in 1976. Sometimes I get numbers confused…). Mostly over the years, my annual pay increases have been 2 percent to 3 percent, and in recent years more typically 2 percent.

I’m not saying that means K-12 funding - most of which goes to salaries, I think - shouldn’t be more than 2.5 percent. Education is a great place to put state money, if you can find it. I’m saying that at that level, it puts education in the same situation with a lot of us in SOuth Dakota: Living on annual pay raises that do little to move us forward financially and often don’t even keep up with inflation.

I suppose a guy really ought to give up and move someplace where the pay is better.

Except, shoot, I like it here.

By Bill Harlan

South Dakota’s own Leslie Unruh has weighed in on Britney Spears’ pregnant 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, who plans to keep and raise her baby. An excerpt:

“The news about Spears was greeted with mixed emotions by Leslie Unruh, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, activist who has campaigned against abortion and for abstinence-only sex education.

“When I heard the story, I felt sad at first,” Unruh said. “Already her life is not the norm of other 16-year-old girls.

“You have a lot of teens who look at those people as role models,” she said. “There’s a danger of them thinking, ‘She got pregnant? I guess I can have a baby too.”‘

The message from Unruh and others: It’s not that simple.

My guess is the AP called Leslie for a reaction.

By Bill Harlan

This is a continuation of the topic below about Russell Means’ declaration of independence from the United States. Here’s an excerpt from my story.

Means said anyone could live in the Lakota Nation, tax free, as long as they renounced their U.S. citizenship. The nation would issue drivers licenses and passports, but each community would be independent. “It will be the epitome of individual liberty, with community control,” Means said.

This is “no taxes” idea is not new for Russell, who once ran for president as Libertarian. And say what you will about the ever controversial Russell Means (and I mean that rhetorically), he does now how to get guys like me to use up ink.

I did try to get some comments from other Lakotas. Everyone is over at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for the Lakota Nation Invitational basketball tournament, so you’d think it would be easy. Most folks I talk to hadn’t heard about the declaration. The ones who had heard the news, to a person, did not want to talk about it on the record. Oh well. I got to see the Red Cloud Crusaders thump the Custer Wildcats.

By Bill Harlan

Speaking of symbolic gestures (see the post on university closings) the Lakota Freedom Movement has renounced treaties and declared its independence. The graf of interest in the AP story — at least for property owners in South Dakota and four other states — is this one:

If the U.S. government does not immediately enter into diplomatic negotiations, the group said in a news release, liens will be filed on real-estate transactions across the region — an action it says could cloud title issues over thousands of square miles of land and property.

By Scott Aust

The Rapid City council is setting goals for itself that include typical things like revitalizing downtown, increasing economic development and improving the budget process.
What goals do Blogmorites think city, county or state officials should set for themselves?

By Bill Harlan

State Rep. Mark Kirkeby proposed a study to see whether South Dakota should close one or more of its six state universities. (See my story.) His idea has been reported and commented upon previously in the state’s blogosphere, so I called some regents and legislators to get their take. My own initial reaction was, “Hmmm. Let’s see. Should we close a state university or launch a South Dakota manned mission to Mars? Which mission would be easier?” My next thought was, let’s build the launch pad at Murdo. Then you could use that Mars/Murdo alliteration to full advantage. (Hoping, of course, that LeMars, Iowa, didn’t pull a Sputnik on us.)

But seriously folks, close a state university? Can you imagine the outcry in (fill in your home town here). Mark seemed pretty realistic about the idea. He floated it to get the discussion going. His point is, we might not have enough population to support six schools. You have to admit, if we consolidated all 30,000 students at a single school, we could field stronger Division I teams than SDSU can manage. I’m not saying we’d be a football powerhouse, but basketball ….

My question for Blogmorites: solid fuel or liquid fuel?

By Bill Harlan

Time magazine has named Vladimir Putin “person of the year.” Nominations are now open for Mount Blogmore Person of the Year. Here are the rules:

-Qualifications: we don’t need no stinkin’ qualifications.
-Accomplishments: You’re sitting at your computer, right? Sounds like plenty to me.
-Impact of person of the year on the Mount: If Time chose Putin, I guess we’ll allow “good” and “bad” impacts alike.

By Kevin Woster

Gov. Mike Rounds acknowledged recently that he instructed the state Game, Fish & Parks Department in 2005 to initiate a policy of rescuing lion kittens orphaned when their mothers are shot during the fall lion-hunting season.

Now, there’s nothing particularly new about politicians fiddling with biological issues. But this is one of the more pronounced cases of a governor going far beyond appointing GF&P commissioners and outlining a general philosophy in key issues.

Now we have this odd policy, which seems to run contrary to accepted wildlife-management principles and GF&P’s generally hands-off philosophy on the young of other species that happen to end up without adult supervision for one reason or another.

We have Black Hills lion kittens being “saved” and sent to zoos, and classrooms of kids putting names and faces on individual lions in a way that, I would think, has to make most lion hunters - and GF&P biologists - kind of nervous.

Uh, can you spell BAMBI?

And we have a lion season that’s aimed at cutting the lion population and a management policy that’s aimed at preserving the lives of certain individual lions.

Shoot one, save the other. Hmmm.

But we also prevent a few lion kittens from starving or becoming lunch to coyotes. Some people - maybe a substantial number - seem to think that’s a very good thing, if contradictory.

All this kitten fuss also highlights the structure of the current lion season with its random killing style - and, particularly, its widespread use of injured-critter calls to attract lions. And it makes you wonder if the season design makes it more likely that more female than male lions will be killed.

It’s an interesting mix of wildlife management problems, principles and departures all wrapped up in a policy largely drive by politics.

It’s certainly likely to make for some interesting news stories next spring, when it comes time for the GF&P Commission to set the 2008 lion season.

The 76-10 vote on the telecom immunity bill is illustrated above in a cartographically correct map from GovTrack.com The map gives every state an equal area. (Hey Rhode Island, give us back our land!)

By Bill Harlan

The Senate voted 76-10 to allow a vote on S 2248, which would give telecommunications companies immunity from lawsuits related to warrant-less spying by intelligence agencies. Does this mean some of those Verizon guys on “the network” in the TV ads working for the CIA?

The vote among South Dakota senators was a landslide 2-0, which means John T. and Tim J. voted to move this bill along. (A no vote was a vote to stall it.) What does Mount Blogmore think? (And who was that guy in the trench coat I saw lurking in our moderation queue?)

This is a more geographically correct map though it, too, is distorted because it’s flat. (When we get that holographic Mount Blogmore I’ll put up a globe. Woster’s working out the technology now.)

GovTrack describes itself as “an independent, non-partisan, non-commercial website founded in September 2004.”

By Kevin Woster

Bill says it’s going about like he expected it would for Hillary.

The presidential campaign, that is.

Appearing on the Charlie Rose show, the former prez said last night that he knew from the start that Hillary would have a tough run to the Democratic nomination. All those early leads? He figured they’d fade, as she was challenged for being part of the political establishment, a divisive force, etc.

I don’t know if Bill really did predict that. He hasn’t always been 100-percent truthful about everything. But his analysis - which is also part sales pitch for his wife, of course, as he tries to minimize her slippage in the polls - makes some sense, whenever it came.

Having been in the spotlight for so many years, and connected with so many controversial points of the past - many sharpened by her husband - Hillary wears plenty of targets. She also is unlikely to face many surprises as reporters dig for something to swat her with. They’ve already been swatted, time and again. And, even her harshest critics have trouble denying her intelligence and toughness.

She will indeed be, as GWB said not long ago, “a formidable candidate” in the general.

The hardest part for Hillary, her hubby says, will be the primary. If she survives there, she wins the general election handily.

And who am I to argue politics with Bill Clinton?

By Bill Harlan

It’s energy bill time again. See our story. I’ve had a number of private conversations lately about the pros and cons of ethanol — weighted toward the con said. If you buy a paper tomorrow morning (it’s what doctors recommend) you’ll find my column on the subject.* I wrote about a vocal melange of pundits — financial, environmental and agricultural — who say ethanol as a fuel, especially from corn, can’t work. But wow, what an impact this energy bill could have on South Dakota.

So, ethanol: boondoggle or energy saviour? I’m confident that this time Blogmorites will settle the question once and for all.

*Columns are no longer available online.

Photo by Pfc Christopher T. Grammer, 50th Public Affairs Detachment,
LIFE SUPPORT AREA, Kuwait: Staff Sgt. Tim Jenson of Rapid City
meets Gov. Mike Rounds in the dining facility at Life Support Area
in Kuwait on Tuesday. (Kuwait was the jump-off point for the
governor’s trip into Iraq.)

By Bill Harlan

My story about Gov. Rounds in Iraq generated a RapidReply debate over whether the trip was warranted. I’m more interested in an evaluation of what he said. The governor told us all the soldiers he talked to said the same things: that violence was decreasing in Iraq, that the country was still a dangerous place but that Iraqis were beginning to take control of their own security.

Most Iraq veterans I’ve talked to supported the war. But not all of them. I don’t think there’s much room for public dissension among active-duty military personnel. That makes sense, especially in a combat zone. Separation of the military and politics serves the same purpose as separation of church and state. It protects both sides. Still, readers should remember that we’re less likely to hear from military personnel who think the war is going badly.

Rounds said he believed we have no choice but to continue providing security in Iraq. Can anyone explain how immediate withdrawal would NOT result in much worse violence? (Rounds also said military leaders told him that even an “immediate withdrawal” would take many months.)

Meanwhile, another South Dakota Army National Guard unit is preparing to go to Iraq.

By Scott Aust

The Mitchell report came out today providing a who’s-who list of current and former Major League baseball players suspected of being juiced up on steriods.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Lenny Dykstra, Mo Vaughn, etc.
Frankly, I’m not surprised by any of the names I’ve seen so far, but I wonder what impact it will have on the game. Suspensions? More testing? None at all?

And for a South Dakota political spin (in the spirit of fun), which local and state politicians do you suspect of using steroids? Who SHOULD be using steroids?

By Scott Aust

After a season of angst, Pennington County and the Rapid City library appear headed for a long-term agreement for library services.
The library board approved it last night, and the county will likely approve next week.
The county will pay increasing amounts to the library indefinitely — unless some other alternative comes along.
One of the alternatives I’ve heard kicked around is working with Western Dakota Tech on something that would allow county residents to use the college library.
And the late involvement of the school system in brokering a deal between the county and city makes me wonder if there’s more to come.
Or the maybe all sides were just feeling the Christmas spirit.
Either way, it’s another Festivus miracle!

By Bill Harlan

Since we’re on the subject of the mayor’s $95,000 annual salary, I’d like to raise a subject broached by the Blogmorite known as “Anton” in a recent comment. What about the benefits package? I think the mayor qualifies for the city’s health-insurance plan, but we elect our mayors for two-year terms. Who could afford to drop their current plan for the city plan, knowing that in two years your job would be on the line? My guess would be most mayors somehow keep their old health insurance — either through a business they own or a spouse.

Which brings me to my real subject. Should terms for mayor be four years?

By Bill Harlan

If all you want for Christmas is a subsidy cap, Santa’s elves may or may not deliver. See RCJ reporter Steve Miller’s story that reports the likelihood of a farm bill by Christmas. Sens. Thune and Johnson say, Yes, Virginia, there will be a farm bill.

Hmmm. High grain prices, moisture (in some areas) and a brand new farm bill (maybe). Does that convergence make anyone else nervous?