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

You South Dakota Republicans mystify me.

In 2004, you kicked out of the U.S. Senate a man who was able to bring many worthy projects to our state and replace him with a man who said “values” were more important than programs.

In 2000 and 2004, you elected a President who wouldn’t know the truth if it was shot out of a cannon and hit him in the chest who led us into a needless war in Iraq.  That war has robbed us our our fine young men and women and emptied our nation’s treasury.

Yes, my South Dakota Republican friends, you’ve given us the twin disasters of John Thune and George W. Bush.

And today, not surprisingly, it all came home to roost with Bush deciding not to propose funding for the much needed Lewis and Clark Regional Water System.

The lack of funding could literally leave us all in the Sioux Empire high and dry.

Yes, “values”—or the appearance of them is more important than water for the growing Tri-State area.

Yes, bogus tax cuts in a time of war are more important than an assured source of water for our children and grandchildren.

My GOP friends in South Dakota, you have no right to bitch about the complete erasure of money for Lewis and Clark.

Your votes and your delusions about your “leaders” and what they would do make it all possible.

I’ve known for years that Thune, Bush, and their fellow Rightwingers in Pierre and Washington don’t give a damn about me.

But how’s it feel to finally realize that that your “heroes” don’t give a damn about you either? 

Technorati Tags: Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Sioux Empire, South Dakota, John Thune, George W. Bush, water, water projects, federal budget

Looks like SDPB's Buddy and PBS's Barney picked a bad week to quit smoking.

This from Anne Lewis of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee:

Maybe Big Bird should take up smoking

The front page of today's Washington Post shows just how wrong-headed Republican priorities have become.  Two stories - one about dramatically cutting funding for public broadcasting and the other about giving tobacco companies a $120 billion dollar bail out - are perfect examples of just how far outside the mainstream radical Republicans are.

The Post reports that Republicans have proposed "the most drastic cutback of public broadcasting since Congress created the nonprofit [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] in 1967."  The proposed cuts would affect children's programs like "Sesame Street," "Arthur," and "Reading Rainbow."

On the same day Republicans were taking money from Bert and Ernie, they were handing it out to Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds.  Justice Department prosecutors who had been seeking to have tobacco companies cough up $130 billion dollars for smoking cessation programs suddenly, and for no apparent reason, changed the damages sought to just $10 billion. Are you sensing a trend?

Thanks to Republicans, big tobacco companies are laughing all the way to the bank.  The Post quotes a Philip Morris attorney describing the Justice Department's explanation as "almost comical."

Sincerely,