Today, remember the loss and take a stand
To the Editor:
Jan. 22, 1973, a day that will live in infamy. In the United States, one baby is sacrificed to abortion every 20 seconds. That’s over 3,500 abortions every day. Over 50 million innocent American lives have been legally snuffed out since Roe v. Wade. In South Dakota, 848 unique and irreplaceable unborn children were aborted in 2008 alone.
Unborn children die while mothers, fathers, families and our society mourn the loss. Life is good and there is hope.
For information on where you can get help and find out how you might help others, go to www.sdrl.org.
On Jan. 22 remember the loss, know there is hope, take a stand, make a difference.
Valerie Johnson
SDRTL Education Coordinator
Mitchell
Legislature: Why revisit smoking ban?
To the Editor:
I would like someone to explain to me why the South Dakota Legislature is reopening the smoking ban law debate.
It passed in the Legislature last year and got referred because of a statewide petition to put it to a public vote. The South Dakota residents spoke by passing the smoking ban with almost two-thirds of the majority in favor of it last November. Now it seems the majority had no right to speak and those few representatives in Pierre get to make any changes that they see fit.
Why do they even bother to have elections if, because some of the minority doesn’t like the outcome, they can pressure the reps to change the laws?
It appears that the voting majority has now become the minority and their voices meant nothing.
Makes a person wonder why we even have elections at all.
Deb High
Plankinton
Look to economy as a lesson for students
To the Editor:
Regarding the articles in The Daily Republic, good for you, Dennis Daugaard. It’s about time to make a few cuts, don’t you think? As a business owner, I have found ways to make cuts over the past couple of years. It’s about time for those whose salaries I work so hard to collect start cutting back, too.
But my confidence was shortlived as I read the outlook from Joe Graves. No parents want to see their child impacted by cuts in the school district. But I wonder if there is a bigger point here. Maybe this is actually a teaching moment for our children. Something about not spending more than you make. The Daily Republic article listed several cuts that have been made recently, such as selling off unused buildings, closing the middle school pool and eliminating some programs and positions. Yet there was still enough money to construct a nice electronic sign at the middle school that tells the time and temperature. Was this necessary? I know Mr. Graves found a little extra to give himself a raise, also. As a business owner, you don’t give yourself a raise when times are slow.
And on a city level, do we really need the nice outdoor skating rink by the hockey arena? There must be several thousand dollars worth of lumber there, plus the labor to construct. It gets a little ridiculous to keep handing down the regulations from Washington, D.C., and from Pierre for that matter, only to find our tax dollars continuing to be wasted.
Let’s all look at this as a way to teach our children something so the next generation doesn’t screw it up, too.
Stacy G. Nettinga
Mitchell
Consumer may get bill for wind towers
To the Editor:
Bad roads and the weather saved an REA gathering in Pukwana from hearing the following statistics about wind farms.
An engineer who has worked for a large power company for 39 years was sent to investigate a wind farm. He came upon some interesting figures that should have been no-brainers to those in charge. But it wasn’t.
Maintenance problems with gear boxes have been continuing since their beginning. In one instance, all 30 turbines offshore failed after less than two years. In another case, turbines were already on their second or third gearbox after only five years of service. It was found that it cost from $300,000 to $500,000 to replace one gearbox. I understand the wind farm north of White Lake will have over 100 turbines. Unless my arithmetic has failed me, that could cost $50,000,000 every five years for 100 gearboxes installed.
I wonder if anyone has figured that rate increase yet and who will it be that puts his name to it? A couple of years ago I called one of the head cheeses about these failures. He said they are guaranteed. For how long?
Oh well, it doesn’t matter, I’m sure the consumer will get the bill.
Robert G. Keiner
Chamberlain
Rich getting richer; poor getting poorer
To the Editor:
I read with interest The Daily Republic’s coverage of the governor’s budget proposal, the reactions of Superintendent Graves and the school boards and recent proposals to build new “community centers,” unable to shake the fact that my property taxes went up 4.8 percent this year, and my health insurance premium increased 12 percent this year on top of 24 percent last January on top of 24 percent in 2009.
I read without interest Cal Thomas’ column “Anyone want to lead the next revolution?”
We remember, at the end of the movie “Planet of the Apes,” “Dr. Zaius” opines that Taylor (Heston’s character) “Might not like what he finds.”
The right-wing gasbags such as Thomas who seem to love throwing around the word “revolution” should be reminded daily to draw on their bottomless pit of knowledge of world history and human nature and remember these 17 words:
“The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Take it to its logical conclusion.”
Jack H. Mueller
Chamberlain
Lawmaker asks for input from residents
To the Editor:
My family and my wishes to you and yours for a very happy and blessed New Year. With my swearing in on Jan. 8, I humbly undertake the responsibility of serving and representing you, the great people of our district.
By many indications, our state economy is following the national economy, which still has strong indications of not recovering. We must get our budget balanced. I believe that we must do so using every method South Dakotans would use in their own budget, and that is what I will express as that process moves forward.
Since Nov. 2, I have attended dozens of meetings with concerned voters, voter groups, school staffs and with legislators from across our great state. Fairness to our children’s education and getting control of state spending within our state budget has been the major issue. Other issues that voters have brought up are reining in and bringing Game, Fish and Parks back under the control of the people via legislative budgeting and oversight of land purchases; capping/cutting executive public employee salaries; lack of cost-of-living or pay raises for state employees; veterans’ cemetery in Eastern South Dakota; South Dakota veterans’ tuition statute; composition of the state veterans’ commission; legislation to address studies showing fetal pain in abortions at 20 weeks; revoking current state law that requires adults to wear seatbelts; calls for state legislative resolutions to nullify Obamacare; legislation to address the growing illegal immigration problem; texting ban while driving; to name just a few.
I want to hear from you on these and other issues that you may have concerns on. To that end, I am paying for periodic public service ads with newspapers within our district so voters will have my contact information readily available while in session and throughout the year. Please follow all legislation and feel free to contact all of the legislators online via the state Legislature portal at www.Legis.State.SD.US. While in session, the best way to get in touch with me is via my state email address, rep.nelson@state.sd.us; by the legislative fax number, 773-6806; or by message on the floor at 773-3851.
God bless and Semper Fidelis.
Stace Nelson
District 25 Representative
Fulton
Tags: letters to the editor, opinion
More from around the web
RSS Feeds