If it’s Thursday it must be Must See Must Reads on SD Watch!

SOUTH DAKOTA MUST READS:

Like a bull snake making love to a slinky
17/01/08 01:52 from Northern Valley Beacon
That’s what Legislative District 3 resembles. It has so many twists and kinks that everybody who has tried to draw a map of it has ended up in the Redfield Developmental Center, aka the Funny Farm. It makes me wonder why blog editors…

• Nuke, this is the best damn headline I’ve seen in ages!

Sen. Johnson concludes whirlwind tour
16/01/08 20:09 from Hog House Blog
By Denise Ross Sen. Tim Johnson will wind up his extensive tour of South Dakota - and in January! What could be more fun than that? - with tour of Ellsworth Airforce Base on Thursday. Wednesday, he toured the Fort Meade VA hospital near…

• Sen. Tim Johnson, our own Energizer Bunny of a Senator! You go, guy!

The Nanny State: Don Van Etten goes into the yard and digs up 2007’s worst legislation. The “Tan Ban” rises from the grave
16/01/08 16:47 from South Dakota War College
Some people just don’t learn their lesson. Last year, the biggest object of ridicule in the in the legislative session was the bill that intended to perpetuate the misguided mentality of saving us because “ us citizens is just too…

• The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades—if mom gives me a notarized permission slip.

Klaudt Scheduled For Sentencing Today
17/01/08 09:22 from KELOLAND.COM: News, Weather and Sports
He’s had two sentencing dates delayed, but today, former state lawmaker Ted Klaudt could be back in a Pierre courtroom…

• I say the over/under on how long Ted lasts on Penalty Hill is two years.

NON-SOUTH DAKOTA MUST READS:

 State of New Hampshire stops issuing ID cards to journalists
17/01/08 08:54 from Romenesko
Associated Press The state employee who handled that chore says just about anyone can call himself a journalist these days, and he doesn’t want to be put in the position of having to decide who’s a legitimate member of the news media…

• In New Hampshire, apparently everyone is a journalist.
  

With women, Matthews administers the “Chris Matthews test”
17/01/08 08:48 from Media Matters for America
As Media Matters for America has extensively documented, MSNBC host Chris Matthews has a history of making degrading comments about women, particularly Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY)…

• Chris Matthews has a woman problem.  Ha!  More misogyny, next on Hardball.

Merrill Lynch posts $7.8bn loss
17/01/08 06:14 from BBC News | Americas | World Edition
Merrill Lynch reports a net loss for 2007 after it is caught up in problems from a slump in the US housing market…

• That’s a lot of bullish left to clean up!