Boycott South Dakota - abortion rights in jeopardy

Contact Gov Rounds of South Dakota - legis on his desk

I heard on a pro-life radio station yesterday, that the legislation is on Gov Rounds desk and he may not sign it. There have been signals from President Bush not to pass the legislation. Bush said "I have always supported a women's right to an abortion in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother". The pro-lifers are feeling they are losing the battle because of Bush's statements.

Boycotting South Dakota is a good way to put pressure on the governor.

http://www.state.sd.us/governor


Boreal Avenger's Letter
I love vacationing in the prarie states

Dear Governor Rounds,

Prarie states may not have coasts and mountains, but they have an lively ecosystem with interesting plants and animals. The migratory birds find the lakes that are there. The skies and storms are wonderful viewing.

I'll never forget the first time I saw South Dakota. We entered your state late in the afternoon on interstate 90, having driven all the way from Ohio. I had never seen the short grass prarie before and it captivated me. The long views and the big skies in the approaching sunset as we reached our destination in Chamberlain were true beauty. Seeing my first antelope in the western plains was a sight that I will always treasure.

But I have serious reservations about vacationing in your state again. Your government is advancing a bill that will attack an individual's rights. The South Dakota legislature thinks that government officials should have the power to intrude into one's personal and reproductive rights.

Succinctly, if that bill to wholly outlaw abortion becomes a law or if the bill itself has not been killed, I guarantee you that I am never again going to patronize your state. This is where you learn that the real power in America is the almighty dollar. Please take my comments into account. I love vacationing in the prarie states and I can pick another.

Sincerely,
TBA

[madame defarge]

1. Read here on DU yesterday...

about how cyclers are going to boycott Sturgis. (Sorry, I can't find the post now.) The organizer in Sturgis recommended that everyone write to express their opinion and potential boycott.

[aquart]

2. How do you boycott them? Do they have products?

[pitohui]

4. yeah really

not to be mean but it's pretty durn easy to boycott south dakota, now isn't it?

if you actually have proof of previous visits for tourism and can mention specific trips you have made in the past, then your boycott may be meaningful

now if you can say something like, "for the past 5 years i have attended the rally at sturgis and participated in X number of events and spent X number of dollars and i would love to feel good about spending my money in south dakota again" -- that would be effective and likely to at least get some attention

but as someone who has not stepped foot in that state in 30 yrs i have a strong suspicion that my boycott would end in the circular file

the Original Poster's letter is a good one because it offers specifics abt the poster's past tourism in the state and why the person would otherwise be willing to return and spend more tourism $$$ there

8. Well you can say you will not take a vacation

there. The Christian radio station yesterday was asking people to go and visit, so this would be an antidote to their campaign.

Why are they so much more organized than us?

[aquart]

14. Does anyone vacation in South Dakota?

What on god's earth do they do there?

[pitohui]

18. used to be good hiking in the badlands

the area has been in dispute between the park service and the native americans for some years now so perhaps people don't vacation there any longer but it used to be quite beautiful scenery and an attraction for the hikers and campers

[King Coal]

3. They can have all the babies they want for all I care.

[pitohui]

5. well they have some terrible poverty you know

this is where pine ridge is, for example

[CottonBear]

9. Do the Indian Reservations have to obey the proposed anti-aboriton law

or are they exempt because they're sovereign?

[pitohui]

15. i don't know

that's a good question, i was wondering myself

unless my information is out of date -- and i hope to god it is -- life expectancy at pine ridge is something like 43 years old, so i don't think there can be much in the way of medical services on the reservation itself

[Ioo]

6. I always do, can not think of any reason why I would go to SD.

I mean really, it is not even on my top 200 places to visit...

Let me look..

423 Visit a hotel made of shards of glass
424 Visit Hell
425 Visit any place in South Dakota
426 Visit Hell again to get visit to South Dakota out of head.

Nope I am good

[StClone]

7. Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Gambling, Badlands, Sturgis

Corn Palace and touristy stuff like the Wall Drug. Super areas to visit for fun...just don't and write a LTE to some nice paper in South Dakota. They don't have to do what we want but may want to.

[LeftHander]

11. Daktronics - Sturgis Bike Rally

Daktronics and FinishLine timers. Daktronics makes timing equipment for sports.

Sturgis Bike Rally....lots of free spirited female bikers will not be too pleased with South Dakota this year.

CitiBank - Back Card operations are in Sioux Falls.

Angus Beef...can come from South Dakota.

[StClone]

12. Thanks

[fujiyama]

19. I want to see Mt Rushmore

but I had no immediate plans of doing so anyways. I doubt I have any trips to make where I'd have to go through SD.

I don't use Daktronics products for anything. I don't have a CitiBank card or account. And I don't eat beef.

So I think I'm good.

[noonwitch]

13. Don't forget DeSmet for all of us Little House/Laura Ingalls Wilder fans

I read all those books as a kid. They are such good reading for little girls. Laura's life is a study in women's progress, considering she lived from the 1870s until the 1950s. All the changes she must have seen!

In "These Happy Golden Years" there is a great exchange between Laura and her fiancee Almanzo. She tells him she won't say obey in her marriage vows. He asks her if she's a feminist who wants to vote, the way his sister (Eliza) does. She says not really, but she just won't make a vow that she can't keep. He then reassures her that Rev. Brown, a radical Congregational preacher (the predecessor of the UCC), refuses to use the word obey in wedding ceremonies.

It's really interesting to compare the education she received with current standards, or her perspective on indians and african americans in the earlier books (in LHOTP, she describes the first time she meets a black man, a doctor who treats the family when they get malaria).

[Katherine Brengle]

10. Instead of constantly questioning what there is to boycott, why not find

out by reading the threads some of have worked very hard to compile here in the last week?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=217&topic_id=3294&mesg_id=3294

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x517459

There is information in these threads on what there is to boycott, how to contact different offices and businesses, and the potential impact of the boycott.

Unless we all work together, this isn't going to work.

[in_cog_ni_to]

17. The OP wasn't questioning what there is to boycott.

There are people who miss threads in the "Choice" forum because they don't go there. I didn't even know the forum existed and I've been a member forever. There are people who miss threads because they sink like rocks and are gone by the time they get on DU.

The questions on this thread are legit and the OP didn't ask the questions on what there is to boycott in SD, other posters did and they have that right.

[Iris]

16. Oh, Wow! I saw a tiny article about Bush's statement yesterday.

No fan fare or anything. Wow. The Republicans are realizing this may bite them in the ass?