From the home office at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the Top Ten Reasons why the 4th of July Rocks!

10. You can legally blow stuff up.

9. There are no presents to buy.

8. We can remind ourselves that we don't have to speak with silly British accents had we remained English.

7. If unexpected relatives show up, we can tell them to eat outside--and get rid of the potato salad that's sat in the sun all day to boot.

6. Drinking beer is pretty much expected.

5. We can watch politicians sweat profusely during the noontime 4th of July parade.

4. It's a day off!

3. The Boston Pops plays the 1812 Overture on PBS and fires off those big cannons.

2. We remember that no matter what political party we belong to, what country our ancestors came from, what religion we believe in, we're all Americans.

1. We get to celebrate the 232d birthday of the rockingest democracy the world has ever seen, the good ol' U.S. of A.!

Enjoy the Fourth. Don't blow up any of your fingers.

Uncle Sam graphic courtesy of HistoryImages.com.

Technorati Tags: 4th of July, July 4th, Uncle Sam, patriotism, Top Ten

CHICAGO, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network, is showcasing a week long photo essay in an effort to spotlight the many faces of hunger in America. Each day, a powerful image of an American who relies on one of the nations food banks for their next meal, is revealed in the week long photo essay. Congress is currently debating a new version of the expired 2007 Farm Bill that is necessary to bring much needed relief to 35 million hungry Americans.

Today's Photo:

Philomen, Mission, South Dakota

Life on the Rosebud Indian Reservation is difficult for Philomen. He lives in Mission, South Dakota, which has a population of 900 and is located in one of the five poorest counties in the United States. Mission, with its limited infrastructure and isolated location, offers little in terms of jobs or opportunities for advancement. "Some days, it's hard to earn a dollar in this town," Philomen says. But thanks to the work of a local soup kitchen that receives product and assistance from the Community Food Banks of South Dakota and America's Second Harvest, he gets a hot meal several times a week, and the support and encouragement of friends and neighbors. For Philomen, and thousands of other individuals across South Dakota, the food they receive through the America's Second Harvest network provides the nourishment to survive and hope for a better future.

To learn more about how you can help, please visit www.sdfoodbanks.org

Technorati Tags: Philomen, Mission, South Dakota, hunger, Second Harvest

Here’s the answer. LegiStorm has posted the latest congressional staff salary data from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

You’ll be shocked by some by how much they make. You’ll be shocked by others by how little they make.

I was just happy to see my buddies Jon Lauck and Mark Haugen land on their feet with Sen. Thune’s office. Hate to see my friends have to get on Food Stamps, particularly as small government Republicans.

Have fun!

Technorati Tags: Congressional salaries, Congressional staff salaries, your tax dollars at work, federal budget, Tim Johnson, John Thune, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

Here is my column in this week's Tea-Harrisburg Champion about the Harrisburg School Board and Administration's failure to come clean about the additional $10 million dollars that patrons could be stuck with.

Technorati Tags: Jon Loos, Jim Holbeck, Harrisburg, South Dakota, school district, open government

I'm thinking that SD Watch has defeated the evildoer porno popups. Unfortunately, SD Watch will have to occupy the porno popups for the next one hundred years and install a favorable puppet popup government to ensure peace in our time.

Seriously, if you spot a porno popup, let me know in the comments or send me an email at epplaw(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thanks for your help. In the meantime, SD Watch will reduce the threat level to yellow.

The countdown to the Fourth of July continues. Don't blow you digits off shooting fireworks!

Here are your Must Reads.

SOUTH DAKOTA MUST READS:

3 posts in a row?
02/07/08 07:07 from South Dakota War College
I see for the third day running, the mountain man of the northern plains is aiming at me with an almost marshmallow-like focus . If he starts asking for a lock of my hair for his pillow, or calling himself “buffalo bill,”....

• Welcome once again to the show that never ends! (With apologies to Emerson, Lake and Palmer.)

Good names and bad names
02/07/08 02:00 from Matt Zimmer's Highway 61 Revisited
A couple weeks ago me and some friends were debating the best and worst band names in the history of music. For at least an hour we went back and forth on names that ranged from clever to boring, creative to pretentious...

• Matt also disapproves of the aforementioned band and name, Emerson, Lake and Palmer (and sometimes Powell). Says it sounds like a law firm. Um, what's wrong with that?

Mayor Munson’s July 4 Picnic and Parade
02/07/08 08:45 from siouxfalls.org - Official Web Site for the City of Sioux Falls, S.D.
Join Mayor Munson for Sioux Falls’ annual July 4 Picnic and Parade....

• Sounds like fun but the $500K per entry fee to reduce the city's indebtedness and pay for Lewis and Clark strikes me as a bit steep.

OUT OF STATE MUST READS:

Rush on $400M Deal: "I'm Having More Fun Than a Human Being Should Be Allowed to Have"
02/07/08 09:21 from mediabistro.com: TVNewser
The lead on Drudge Report right now is Rush Limbaugh 's new mega deal that keeps him on the radio until 2016. Rush is also the subject of the New York Times Magazine cover story set for this Sunday's paper....

• That ought to buy a lot of Oxycontin--or days in rehab.

AstraZeneca Wins Key Patent Victory
02/07/08 06:05 from WSJ.com: Law
AstraZeneca won an important court decision that will likely delay U.S. generic competition to the company's top-selling schizophrenia drug Seroquel until 2011....

• Like AstraZeneca doesn't have enough money as it is.
  

Technorati Tags: Rush Limbaugh, Sibby, PP, Pat Powers, Steve Sibson, AstraZeneca, patents, Sioux Falls, Dave Munson, 4th of July, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Matt Zimmer,

Via press release. My boss is running for the South Dakota House of Representatives from District 10 (S. Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Worthing, Brandon):

PRESS RELEASE

July 1, 2008

Mary Ann Giebink announces her candidacy for State House District 10

(Sioux Falls) Mary Ann Giebink today officially announced her candidacy as a Democratic candidate for the State House District 10.

Giebink lives in rural Minnehaha County with her husband Brad and their two children, Alexa and Jacob. She graduated in 1986 with a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota Law School. Since 1987, Giebink has successfully operated her own business in Sioux Falls, Galland Law Firm, P.C.

The 2008 election is an important time in South Dakota’s history. Giebink will offer citizens a new perspective and fresh ideas to the state House of Representatives.

Giebink has been active in several community and service organizations over the past twenty years. She is currently a Rotarian, a member of the Downtown Lions’ Club and a member of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. In addition, she is on the Board of the Sioux Empire Community Theater. Further, she is a presidential delegate for South Dakota and will be attending the Democratic National Convention in August. In 2004, Giebink was named Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women (BPW) organization. This year, she is president-elect of Sioux Falls BPW.

South Dakotans are facing a number of pressing issues with mounting health care costs, skyrocketing gas prices, rising local utility costs and high grocery costs. As a small business owner and working mother, Giebink’s priorities are to help families thrive, not barely survive.

Giebink will work with the legislators to address and remedy these concerns. During a time of economic peril, Giebink is prepared to step up to help provide opportunities for working families in the state. Rather than focusing on issues that divide citizens, Giebink will fight hard to ensure that the South Dakota legislature responds to citizens’ needs and priorities.

A campaign kick-off event will be held on Saturday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Pine Lake Hills Clubhouse, 7101 E. Pine Lake Drive, Sioux Falls, SD.

For more information contact Angela Shubert, Campaign Manager, at 605.334.0446.

Technorati Tags: Mary Ann Giebink, District 10, South Dakota House of Representatives, Brandon, Harrisburg, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Worthing