By Denise Ross

One of the ususal suspects as the potential secret $750,000 donor to the 2006 Vote Yes for Life campaign has been the Catholic Church, a notion I dismissed almost out of hand. For some reason, I thought the church wouldn’t funnel its money into political campaigns, even on an abortion measure.

Not being Catholic, I shouldn’t have assumed such things. What do I know about the culture of the church, beyond the sadly salacious headlines about pedophile priests and the lawsuits they generate? (The massive payouts that have brought some parts of the church to its financial knees accounted for part of my belief that it wouldn’t spend money on campaigns.)

As it turns out, not only did the church contribute to the campaign that turned back a law legalizing gay marriage in Maine, but it was former Sioux Falls Bishop Robert Carlson taking part. (Read it all here.)

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By Susan Smith

If the Legislature was one big popularity contest (wait a minute … ) and the smoking ban bill was the homecoming dance, Gov. Mike Rounds would be this year’s most sought after date.

Will he (ask me) or won’t he, those who have made their investments on either side of the bill might nervously wonder.

House Bill 1240, which bans most public smoking in the state, excluding that done in smoke shops, cigar bars and motels and hotels, was delivered to the governor on March 11.

According to an Associated Press report released today, Rounds hopes to make the decision soon. His staff is reviewing the bill to make sure it’s written correctly. He’ll make the decision after that process is completed, he said. A potential loss in state gambling revenue will not influence his decision, Rounds said. His budget office estimates that revenue from video lottery could drop 15 to 25 percent.   That amounts to a possible $15 million cut from an estimated $111 million in lottery money.

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Yes, it’s true. Your wait is over. The guest blogger is I, Susan Smith, former legislative reporter and current adviser to The Collegian at South Dakota State University. I worked as the publications manager for the South Dakota Newspaper Association for nine years, covering the Legislature, designing various publications and running the state’s newspaper contest. Now I spend my days helping The Collegian students put together their newspaper, providing them with a place (my office) to eat their lunch and generally giving them reason to question my sanity. But I digress. I am happy to be able to help Denise out with her blogging and hope to continue as time and blog topics allow. In the interest of full disclosure I will admit an unobjective and biased admiration for the yarn and the people working at The Collegian. I also enjoy a low-fat cheese stick at the end of a long publication day. And now, the real reason for my post.

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This post was to be titled ask and you shall receive but I couldn’t avoid the cheesy smoking reference. Yes, I am funny. (CLUE!) And Denise, here goes.

The bill banning smoking in most public places except tobacco shops, cigarette bars and motels and hotels awaits only the signature of Gov. Mike Rounds before it becomes state law. The measure would go into effect in July along with the majority of the other bills lawmakers passed this year. The House approved changes made by the Senate with a vote of 46-23 March 9.

 Rounds was quoted in the Argus Leader today as saying he was unsure whether he’d sign the bill but the newspaper reported that in the past he has said he is against smoking. However, before Rounds was governor he also ran an insurance business. The rights of independent businesses to control what goes on in their establishments has continued to be one of the biggest arguments against the bill. 

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The Senate delayed debate March 3 on the House version of a state smoking ban. Pat Powers at the War College blog argues that proponents didn’t have the votes to pass it. The official word, according to Associated Press reporter Chet Brokaw, was that lawmakers needed to adjourn session early in order to attend a meeting about the stimulus package. Individual readers can decide which version they believe. In the end, Rounds and lawmakers will likely decide amongst themselves how to use the federal money, but that’s just insider talk.

At any rate, March 4 is now slated as smokeout day in the Senate, incidentally, that’s a legislative term for bringing a dead bill out of committee and onto the floor of either house.

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By Denise Ross

In a screed that singles out the abortion issue, Focus on the Family is asking its supporters to ask their senators to oppose Tom Daschle’s confirmation as Health & Human Services secretary.

“Tom Daschle is a disaster appointment, the opposite of a national protector of health and human services,” pro-life blogger Jill Stanek told the Catholic News Agency. “Daschle ardently supports abortion … and he disdains abstinence education.

“The only reason Obama appointed Daschle was to assure Obama’s radical support of the abortion industry would be extended through HHS.”

Well, I don’t know if that’s the only reason. I seem to recall some discussion about overhauling America’s entire health care system.

When even John Thune isn’t conservative enough for James Dobson - at least on abortion, and when the GOP is asking itself whether hammering away on these social issues has left it weakened, how much success will Focus on the Family find with its call to arms?

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By Denise Ross

The South Dakota Supreme Court ended 2008 with a bang when they ordered a trial to determine whether the mystery donor of $750,000 to the 2006 Vote Yes For Life campaign would have to be named.

It’s important to note that the Court did not order the donor to be named but ruled, unanimously, that a trial is needed to decide whether that person/organization will be named or not. Speculation over the donor’s identity has run rampant in the years since the donation was made - including the Catholic Church, Sioux Falls venture capitalist and sometimes politician Steve Kirby and a handful of out-of-state anti-abortion activists whom I know almost nothing about. I haven’t heard a convincing case yet for any of the theories, and one is probably as likely as the next.

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By Denise Ross

If you haven’t yet read the lively discussion going on over at the SD War College in which my friend Pat Powers goes all Church Lady on weed (and I mean that in the best possible way, Pat), you must read it. Click here.

My favorite entry at the time of this writing is this comment from “Detroit L”:

You’d think a guy with 23 kids would be sucking on a J at least once a day.

Followed closely by this laugh-or-cry observation from “DPW”:

put it on the ballot,tax it big,, promise all the money will go to k-12,,it will pass big,,,then funnel all the money into the general fund,,,hahahaha

Meanwhile, Bob Newland has made some valid points in his Tuesday e-mail outlining plans to take another run at legalizing medical marijuana in South Dakota. (Read the full e-mail on the jump.)

Here are some facts:
1. We put medical cannabis on the ballot for the 2006 election in South Dakota.
2. We obtained 48% of the vote.

If they can turn out some of those young, new Obama voters, the pro-medical MJ crowd could cross that 50 % threshold.

I don’t agree with Newland’s analysis that the tide has turned so dramatically that a bill to legalize medical marijuana could pass in the Legislature. (That is, however, a great way to get a ton of free publicity - also known as “earned media” in the campaign world. And that would set up the public debate for a November vote.)

Pat makes a good point that, if we want to treat cannibis as a medicine, perhaps some pharmacology controls on consistency and cleanliness ought to be imposed. Why not get the MJ prescription down at Wal-Greens, Boyds or Lewis like the rest of it?

It seems that whether SD gets another crack at voting on medical marijuana depends on whether Newland can round up some money. Might not be the year for that, but who knows?

To read the full e-mail, click “CLICK HERE” below.

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By Denise Ross

I am delinquent in posting this information, but a one-hour version of my documentary - Unplanned Democracy: America’s First Vote on Abortion - about South Dakota’s 2006 abortion ban vote airs tonight on SD Public TV.

Here’s the trailer:

The film airs at 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain. For more information and to order DVDs, visit www.unplanneddemocracy.com

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By Denise Ross

I saw this story out of Minneapolis over the weekend and thought it would immediately enter the debate over the abortion ban on South Dakota’s ballot next week. That doesn’t seem to have happened.

In any case, I was fascinated by how a couple’s story of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome further illuminates the treatments available for that problem.

Unlike the Campbell family featured in ads for the SD Healthy Families campaign working to defeat the ban, the Cassellius family opted for an experimental (emphasis mine) treatment in an effort to save both of their identical twin boys. The odds were against them.

Even with the procedure, officials said the chance of both boys surviving was around just 40 percent.

“We don’t know what the outcome is going to be for several weeks,” the surgeon said.

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