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This is your Sunday fun link: a NASA animated gif of dust devils swirling across the surface of Mars. (The image is a 1024x256, 6,000 KB plus monster, so you might want to click on the link and take a...

This blog by Michael Yon has received much attention in the last couple days, including stories from the Star Tribune and Powerline. If you want real Ernie Pyle type war reporting, Yon seems to be the only game in town....

Public vote on feedlots prohibited, court says

In a case originating in Moody County the SD Supreme Court upheld the permitting of large dairy operations in the face of opposition from activists, therreby jabbing a finger in the eyes of Dakota Rural Action et al. The decision effectively upholds a rational and orderly oexercise of property rights, without activists'having veto powers.

The case began when the Moody County Commission, acting as the board of adjustment, granted permits for two dairies - Britannia Dairy just west of Flandreau and the Rex Nederend Family Trust southwest of Elkton. Opponents of large feedlots pressed for a vote, and the commission denied their petitions.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the county was correct: Because the commission was acting as a board of adjustment, a referendum is not allowed. The decision applies across much of eastern South Dakota because boards of adjustment grant permits in most counties, said Todd Kays of the First District Association of Local Governments in Watertown

.

Unfortunately we haven't heard the last out of the DRA crew yet:

In March, lawyer Jim Abourezk argued that feedlot permits are legislative decisions. But on Thursday, the court ruled that the distinction applies only to decisions made by the state, or by cities or county commissions.

Wouldn't you know that former Donk (appointed) Senator Abourezk is involved here. At times he makes McGovern look like a conservative.

"In once sense, it's a big loss," Abourezk said. "In the other sense, it gives great urgency to that initiative to plug the loophole that the court wouldn't plug."

Oh no! A LOOPHOLE that allows property owners to develop something on their property without the activists approval! Horrors!

He was referring to a petition that would change state law to subject all feedlot permits to a public vote. A vote could come in November 2006 if enough people sign on. "I think the public is very much for it," Abourezk said.

The libDonks, envirowackos, NIMBYs (Not In My BackYard) will unfortunately probably get enough signatures to get thsi onto the ballot, but the Chief still hopes not. This whole concept needs to be shot down in flames, and then fed through a dairy's manure processing system, where it belongs.

A tip of my hat (if I were wearing one) to Unpartisan.com, a sort of left-right blog/news aggregator that has picked up a couple of my posts this week. Thanks....

With the decision this morning by an 8-1 vote, South dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base was removed from the list of recommended closures by the BRAC Commissioners.

Some coverage on the facts of the decision in the Rapid City Journal...
Ellsworth saved

Like the phoenix from the ashes, the status of Ellsworth Air Force base rose from expendable to essential in a matter of seconds when the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC, voted Friday to save the base.

South Dakota's top lawmakers and the head of the Ellsworth Task Force were at the edge of their seats in the suburban Washington, D.C., hearing room when BRAC commissioner Samuel Skinner made a motion to reject the Pentagon's recommendation to close Ellsworth and move its 29 B-1B Lancer bombers to Dyess Air Force Base.

Looking for at least five commissioners to raise their hands in support of Skinner's motion, the South Dakotans instead saw all but one of the nine-member panel vote to save Ellsworth.

...and in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

ELLSWORTH SPARED

Ellsworth Air Force Base was taken off the Pentagon?s recommended list of closures this morning, a decision that sent jubilant Rapid City residents leaping to their feet as they watched the proceedings on live TV.

The nine-member independent commission voted 8 to 1 to reject the Pentagon?s recommendation to close the base as part of the Defense Department?s plan to restructure the military.

Meanwhile, some of the politics of the situation which provide a boost to Sen. Thune's position were not lost on others:

Base Closing Choices Impact Politics

When the Pentagon announced that it wanted to shut down Ellsworth Air Force Base, it was an enormous setback for Sen. John Thune. The Republican got elected in part by repeatedly telling voters he could save the base because of his close ties to President Bush.

Thune responded to the Ellsworth news by going on the offensive: He and fellow South Dakota leaders from both parties launched an intense lobbying effort. He also stopped fund-raising for the Republican Party and opposed the Bush administration on a few important Senate votes.

On Friday, Thune's political future got a big boost when a federal commission decided to save Ellsworth, home to B-1B bombers and a major player in the Cold War. He and other South Dakota politicians hailed the decision as the result of an extraordinary bipartisan campaign that convinced the commission that the military and nation need Ellsworth.

All in all, a very good day for South Dakota!

To: Journalists Everywhere From: Me Let's either a.) stop talking about "looting," or b.) at least note that there are probably significant numbers of citizens right now who are scrambling for food and water. Looting is bad. But looting is...

In today's Washington Post:washingtonpost.com Thune Delivers on Campaign VowSenator's Future Brightens as S.D. Base Survives the Cut By Mike AllenWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, August 27, 2005; A06 Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sat tense, crouched and glowering as the base-closing commission...

Senator Thune is in the New York Times this morning in a story about the war....

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