Is South Dakota Finally A Key Player ?

South Dakota Senate Race Gets Spirited By Mark Peters

The GOP is taking interest in South Dakota's Senate race this year. They are backing Mike Rounds in his campaign so that Republicans can be one step closer in taking over the majority in the Senate. They have tough competition because his competitors are creating a wave of TV ads criticizing his actions as governor. However, they fought back with their own commercials using the GOP national campaign's $1 million support. Even with that support recent polling shows that the four-way race will not consist of a double-digit lead for Mr. Rounds. Also, lower turnout in off elections has typically boosted the chance for a Democrat victory. Rick Weiland has taken this into consideration so he is also using the Democratic Party's Senate campaign arm, which has given $1 million to the race.

The winner of this election can play a role in what party will be in control of the Senate. There seems to be a equal race between the Democratic and Republican candidates, so it is hard to tell the outcome before the last round of debates on Thursday. If the Senate was controlled by Republicans there would be greater legislation passed because there would be a larger majority to vote bills through. I think it is interesting that both the GOP and the Democratic Party Senate campaign is assisting two candidates from South Dakota because we have not been seen as having a key role in national government.

Mother Nature's Role In Politics

Environment Is Grabbing Big Role in Ads for Campaigns

By Coral Davenport and Ashley Parker

This year ads mentioning the environment, climate change and the environment, used in Senate campaigns have drastically increased to over 125,000 spots. Many say that this reflects the priorities of the nation's wealthiest donors. A survey found that energy and the environment are the third-most mentioned issue in political Senate advertisements. This spike in environmental ads suggests that this will play the prominent role in the 2016 presidential race. There are many environmental groups that have already invested record amounts of money in this election cycle. Democrats support Obama's new climate change policy, which will elevate the issue in the 2016 campaign. While republicans are attacking democrat candidates for supporting the Presidents environmental regulations. 

The increase in environmental issues will impact how much money and type of ads used in this years general Senate election as well as 2016's presidential campaign. It will raise awareness of previously neglected topics and hopefully help create new legislation on environmental issues. Many environmental companies will benefit from the free advertisements and it could cause an increase in revenue. Overall this increase in environmental ads will play a major role in 2016 presidential campaign, and create interest in new climate change policy. 

You might want to take another look at your Halloween candy this year

 Tricks, treats, and THC fears in Colorado

by Kat Kinsman

This Halloween many parents in Colorado have another problem to worry about when their kids go out trick or treating, marijuana infused candy. Since the drug has been legalized there has been a large tourism boom which has led to an increase in the popularity of infused candies with customers. The Colorado Department of Revenue has issued a plan to require child-proof packaging as well as clear health warning labels before being sent to distributors. The department's plan however will not be put into effect until the day after Halloween, so the Denver Police department created a video outlining the potential dangers of marijuana infused candy. They recommend that when your child brings home their Halloween candy that you check the labels to insure that they are from a well known major brand, and that there has not been any tempering to the packaging. This is because many weed candy distributors take knockoff candy and spray them with  THC oil, and after that dries it is almost impossible to tell the difference from non infused candy. They hope that parents will do their part to help keep weed candy out of the hands of kids this Halloween. 

This increase in marijuana infused candy will effect not only parents, but their children as well. It will be hard to monitor ever piece of candy that a child will consume this Halloween, so the kids should also be aware of the dangers and be on the lookout for warning signs as well as parents. After the Colorado Department of Revenue's policy of labeling candy goes into effect their will be less of an issue of weed candy being in the hands of those under 21. I believe that there should have been stricter labeling put into place way before the Halloween season to insure children's safety. However, I believe parents will protect their children from this new danger along with Colorado's police department, so this issue will be handled in the correct manner. 

The End Of Global Warming?

Senators Call On Obama To Regulate Methane Emissions From Oil And Gas Development By Kate Sheppard 

Fifteen senators believe that there should be mandatory regulations on methane gas emissions from oil and gas production, and they are pressing the Obama administration to take action. They argue that voluntary regulations are not enough because methane is a "key component" to global warming and many oil and gas companies have failed to follow the regulations. The Obama administration did issue a methane strategy in March, which included the voluntary standards as well as the new studies on natural gas emissions. In addition the Environmental Protection Agency is developing a strategy to deal with the natural gas emissions, but that will not be released till later this fall. There was not clear indications that the new strategy would recommend additional voluntary regulations or new mandatory regulations. The senators letter also included a statement urging the Obama administration to ensure that the Bureau of Land Management releases its proposal this year that includes a strategy to protect our natural resources, land, and climate.

This article was interesting to me how the senators looked toward the executive branch for help and action in their fight against methane gas emissions. Also, I was not aware of the impact that these emissions had on global warming, and I support the senators effort to create mandatory regulations for oil and gas companies to follow. If the senators' letter to the Obama administration is successful that could mean cleaner air and less pollution for our country. 

Will airport security lines be a thing of the past?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/tech/innovation/mci-alfa3-scanner/index.html?hpt=wo_t3            "New airport scanner could make going through security a breeze" by Jacopo Prisco and Nick Glass
There is a new body scanner on the market that will cut down the lines for security at the airport and perhaps eliminate those lines for good. It is called "Alfa3", that uses "millimeter wave imaging", which is standard in every body scanner around the world. The main difference in "Alfa3" is that it uses "thermal imaging", so it eliminates the need for individual scans, and it can process and detect items as you walk by. The thermal imaging allows the senor to detect items that are not part of the body, and can revel their location without revealing any anatomical details. Those who are still worried can opt out and have a pat down instead. The company promises accuracy and automatic detection of threats, which the body scanners in use today cannot provide because of the high statistic of almost 50 percent false positive readings. The last two advantages of the scanner is it has a high throughput of, 400 people per hour, and it can be used in a convert manner. 

This new scanner could be very beneficial to not only airport security, but also in military operations and in high security buildings. It will allow the convert scan of possible threats without evading a persons anatomical privacy, which some body scanners in use today exhibit. The best advantage of using this scanner would be the elimination of lines at airport security while maintaining the same or better level of protection. This will cause less stress for passengers and an easier flight experience. Overall I think this would be a good investment for companies and airports to pursue because it will eliminate threats while improving how threats are detected. However there is an extremely high price tag of almost $250,000 per scanner, so they should wait to purchase the scanners with the hope that "Alfa3" will become more affordable.