There was a South Dakota U.S. Senate candidate forum tonight at the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City. The event was sponsored by the College Republicans and Citizens for Liberty. The forum was moderated by Brian Fisher of KIMM AM Radio. In attendance were South Dakota Rep. Stace Nelson and Dr. Annette Bosworth. Former South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds and South Dakota Senator Larry Rhoden said they had schedule conflicts and were not able to attend.

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today issued a statement on the Senate Democrats’ use of the nuclear option to change the Senate rules for confirming executive and judicial nominees.

Alliance Defending Freedom issued a letter Wednesday to more than 13,000 school districts nationwide to explain constitutional protections for religious Christmas carols that some districts have censored due to misinterpretations of the First Amendment. The letter also backs up the legitimacy of schools participating in community service projects sponsored by religious organizations and offers free legal assistance to districts that need help.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is ignoring senate rules to change the filibuster rule and clear the path for the Senate to ramrod President Obama’s agenda and nominees through.

A while back, I detailed the complaints concerning Deland, Florida’s 131 year old city seal; complete with its Christian symbol. Now, it seems as though the Volusia County School Board will be ignoring the public outcry against a 10th grade World History text book; which as the protestors believe, tends to subtly devalue Christianity with mere references while dedicating a thirty plus page chapter to the study of Islam.

In the modern world, where energy flows, commerce and prosperity follows. The growth of the United States’ economy is being stunted by the Obama administration’s activist energy policies which are bankrupting the producers of abundant, affordable energy.

John F. Kennedy called us the “heirs of that first revolution” and spoke of rights that come not from the state but from God. “Let the word go forth,” he said, “that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.”

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that the Division of Criminal Investigation has concluded its investigation into the death of Richard Benda, Sioux Falls. Benda was the former South Dakota Director of Economic Development under former Governor Mike Rounds, and was the loan monitor for Northern Beef Packers. An investigation is underway into potential financial misconduct in that office.

Did you realize that if you have a dollar bill in your pocket, you actually have a fairly reliable standard of measurement? Regrettably, what you don’t have at your disposal is a dollar. You see, as a standard of linear measurement, the dollar bill might be a reliable tool, but as a measure of wealth the dollar bill is a disaster.