As I exited the main lobby of Union Station I was approached by an individual who saw my press identification from the McCain event. She pointed me to the crowd at Liberty Memorial Park across the street. When I arrived at the location I found Bridgette Williams, Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO president, and Mike Sanders, Jackson County Executive, along with a backdrop of thirty or so AFL-CIO members and Obama campaign supporters.

Bridgette Williams, President of the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO, and Mike Sanders, Jackson County Executive, at Liberty Memorial Park across from the entrance to Union Station.

Bridgette Williams’ statement for the media:

Today Senator John McCain will try to convince Missourians that his economic agenda represents a departure from the disastrous policies of George Bush. Bust as the old saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.” The truth is that Senator McCain’s plan is little more than a carbon copy of the failed Bush agenda that has led to a rapidly collapsing economy. From skyrocketing gas prices to the health care crises, McCain offers more of the same…

…McCain’s ill conceived plan to extend the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy and add billions more in tax breaks for the health insurance industry and Big Oil is just one example of his misguided agenda for Missouri’s working families. He also supports unbalanced trade deals, privatizing Social Security, and taxing people’s health care benefits. Nearly every part of the McCain economic agenda mirrors the Bush adminstration’s failed approach. And McCain stubbornly refuses to stray even an inch from his most damaging recycled Bush proposal, to continue the war in Iraq for up to one hundred years, costing America’s taxpayers ten billion dollars every month and dragging down the fragile economy.

With no end in sight to the current economic downturn, the last thing Missouri working families need is another four years of senator McCain towing the same lines as President Bush, “you’re on your own.” Thousands of families are losing their homes to foreclosure, energy prices are skyrocketing, good jobs are moving overseas, forty seven million Americans without health care, including seven hundred seventy thousand right here in Missouri. More than one hundred sixty thousand people in our state are unemployed.

We call on Senator McCain to change course by listening to working families’ concerns and supporting our priorities like good jobs, health care for all and fair trade. Anything less simply won’t cut it with Missouri’s working people.

Update: Home Depot responded to the blog posting I sent them. They don’t seem to have read it particularly carefully because they wrote:

We would like to inform you that The Home Depot has recently launched a national in-store compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb recycling program. We apologize that the Ferguson Home Depot store have not started the program for recycling compact fluorescent bulbs.

The problem was more than that one store. The problem was that in a given store, the left hand and the right hand were offering different pronouncements about whether they took CFLs.

But the letter did offer this concrete piece of information: “We would also like to inform you that this program was developed to recycle CFL bulbs and not fluorescent tubes.”

Yesterday the fluorescent tube in the light over our kitchen sink began flickering and had to be replaced. I’ve been planning to pass along to you the news that Home Depot now accepts burned out CFLs (or, as they prefer to call them “expired” CFLs), so that the mercury in them can be safely recycled. Before writing about that, I thought I’d find out whether Home Depot also accepts the tube type.

The answer is–as far as any fluorescent lights go–Kinda Sorta.

I don’t want to be too hard on Home Depot because at least their heart is in the right place on this issue, but so far their implementation reminds me of McCain’s advance press credential organization: the home office isn’t communicating with the on the ground operations.  

The first store I called said they didn’t accept the bulbs. The second store I called, in Ferguson, said they did, but they had no idea how many of the other stores in the area are actually doing it. To find that out, they suggested I call the home office. I did. And got a lowly clerk who read me a statement from corporate HQ saying that all stores are doing it. She offered to lodge a complaint against the store that told me it wasn’t taking them.

Meanwhile, I had forgotten to find out if the Ferguson store would take the tubes as well as the CFLs, so I called back. “We don’t take them,” I was told the second time I called.

Let’s put it this way: sometime in the not too distant future, you can probably take expired CFLs in to Home Depot for recycling. Even that much is progress.

Meanwhile, let me put the whole mercury content in CFLs in perspective for you. In a blog posting titled “You’re Either with Us, or You’re with the CFLs”, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg says:

what’s the bigger danger to the American public: Al-Qaeda, or compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)?

If you follow the conservative punditry, online or off, it’s a tough call. Today’s (April 24) “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip is just the latest example of conservatives taking aim at these energy-saving bulbs, focusing primarily on the fact that CFLs contain mercury.

McIntire-Strasburg points out how teeny the mercury content is, though–in fact, how teeny the whole issue is:

• A CFL contains about 5mg of mercury (and manufacturers are working to lower that). In comparison, a watch battery contains 25mg, the average mercury thermometer contains about 500 mg, and older mercury thermostats can contain 6-18 grams of mercury.
• Regardless of the amount of mercury, CFLs, like other mercury-containing devices, can be disposed of safely.
• The electricity produced to power an incandescent bulb from a coal-fired power plant will create 13.3 mg of mercury emissions (which is much more likely to end up in water, Mr. Tinsley).
• Finally, there’s never been a $2000 cleanup required for a CFL breaking… ENERGY STAR has clear guidelines for cleaning up a broken CFL. There’s probably more danger of mercury poisoning from a tuna sandwich than from a broken CFL.

So, why all the fuss? You don’t have to read very far into any of the above-linked examples to realize that publications like WND, and commentators like Milloy, Sowell, and Tinsley have a political agenda partly based in a dislike/distrust of environmentalism, and partly based in reaction to legislation banning the use of incandescents. In other words, the treehuggers are trying to take away your freedom as consumers… and undermine the free market… and toss us all into the shackles of godless communism…

When you consider that CFLs use 75 percent less energy than incandescents, I wouldn’t so much say that using CFLs is a no brainer as I would say that Tinsley, Limbaugh, et. al. are no brainers.

Tell you what: hang onto any used CFLs for a month or two. That’s what I’m going to do with that burned out fluorescent tube. (And if it gets broken in the meantime, I won’t run screaming from the house.) Home Depot will probably get its program sorted out. In fact, I think I’ll mail a copy of this posting to their corporate headquarters.

After two days of calling McCain headquarters asking for credentials (they don’t do credentials) to today’s town hall at Union Station in Kansas City I was told to show up with my identification. They put me on their media notification e-mail list and I received the press logistics notice. So I hauled myself out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and got to Union Station at about 7:30 a.m. Then we waited around for a while. Then we went through security.

The early line up in the lobby at Union Station.

They didn’t know what to do with all the “freelancers” who showed up to cover this event. After a bit of head scratching from the people on the ground they decided to let us “media orphans” in.

Then we were informed we might be asked to leave. Then we were informed we’d be allowed to stay. Right now I’m here, waiting for the event to begin and watching the crowd and the media. At least there’s WiFi.

Two other “media orphans”.

The audience gets seated.

I probably won’t live blog, considering how well that went last time, but I may post a comment or two. Probably not, but it could happen.

Yeah, this became a process story, instead of an event story.

Our previous coverage:

The Jimmy Kirkpatrick Heritage Celebration Dinner in Johnson County

Former Governor Roger Wilson’s remarks:

Thank you. Please have a seat. For those of you that know me, you should know better than to applaud. It only encourages me. Thank you Jim [Matthewson], very much.  We did have a wonderful time in the Missouri Senate and working for the people of the State of Missouri. And, I think, you can just tell a good public official, no matter what our quirks or idiosyncrasies, you know when you’ve been to the office, if we’re trying to help you or not, if we’re trying to help the State of Missouri or not, if we’re trying to help your kids or not….

…It’s real simple. That’s why Democracy has lasted as long as it has, because you can not fool the American public. It just can’t be done. You might pull the wool over their eyes once or twice. You may get away with something, but even the last eight years, this country is going to survive.

It’s been the most embarrassing time I’ve seen in my political life, to have someone as arrogant and as ill informed, time after time after time embarrass us in front of the world.  Now, we’ve got [applause], we’ve got a chance to improve things for the United States and its citizens. And we’re gonna do it…

…I’m not gonna pussy foot around about this because my son’s future  [he served three tours in Iraq], your children’s futures are on the line.  And you can’t have a third idiot in the White House. [applause] You’ve got to have somebody who can make a decision. [applause] If this was a poker game you’d be all in. I’m dead serious.

We’ve never seen our economy teetering on the brink of a cliff like this.  And someone who can not, I mean this guy is gonna make Hoover look like a piker. What he is doing is shoveling money to his friends in Halliburton and to his oil buddies is despicable. It may be criminal. I don’t care what Nancy Pelosi says, and I don’t care about impeachment, I want to find out who was cutting’ deals in private meetings in the Vice President’s office and the President’s office and I want to know why the American people weren’t put first. [applause]

I need these therapy sessions every now and then. [laughter] Now, Every elected official in here I’m sure has the sense and the obligation and the duty to work for everybody when they are elected. You better erase the battle lines. These constant political battle lines are what’s bankrupting this country right now politically. And it is wrong and it is to the detriment of the United States. So, the minute the election is over I’ll expect every Democrat elected official to make it abundantly and painfully clear to their entire community, the entire state, and the entire nation, that we are in this with everybody, no matter what they said about us, no matter what they did. However, this turning the other cheek has got to stop. If somebody accuses and abuses you, like I have seen Barack Obama, Jay Nixon, and other friends of mine abused, it’s time to rare back and dot both of their eyes. I don’t expect you to do it physically, ’cause I don’t want to go there, but I want you to do it verbally. I want you to tell ’em, “How’s that four dollar a gallon gas working for yah?” Or I want you to tell ’em, “You know what? I know you. And you’re a good person and I do business with you. And I go to church with your family. And I know you don’t abide crooks and criminals. So we’re gonna be glad to have you vote Democratic this year. And it’s really your only choice.” [applause]

There is a lot to do to run this state and to run this nation. And the next president and the next governor are going to inherit some very difficult messes to straighten up. I know Jay Nixon and you know Jay Nixon. Jay is capable of it, I expect Jay to surround himself with good people. I expect Jay to make good decisions and I expect him to make a good governor. And I think the State of Missouri is on much better footing than the nation is, if that could be possible.

The next president of these United States is gonna have the biggest mess to clean up any president has been faced with in fifty years. This next president is gonna have to be another FDR. You mark this down and you mark my words. Because I [garbled].  Nothing used to scare me. Nothing, Then I had kids. And after that, I thought, well, nothing but my own kids can scare me. Well I’m telling’ you right now the cuts that people are putting on, our kids, our handicapped, our elderly, are unfair and ungrateful. The cuts that have been made to the veteran’s programs, and the president who said, “I will veto the GI Bill,” are unpatriotic. Period, End of sentence. That’s all there is to it. [applause]

There’s a field hospital in Columbia, Missouri and those people work their head off. But there are people sitting in those waiting rooms constantly. And there’s a reason for that. That’s because the campaign rhetoric has not matched fact.

People who are saying, “I am for education,” and then vote for a voucher system that will undermine the productivity of a good education and the productivity of the country [applause] are unpatriotic. I just can’t have any truck with that. You can’t tell me that “Let’s give every kid a chance too go to Pembroke or Country Day.” What is it? Twelve thousand dollars? Eighteen thousand dollars? “Well, we’ll give them a twenty five hundred dollar voucher and then everybody will get that kind of education.” Do I look like I was born last night? That’s crazy. That nonsense didn’t go on in the Missouri Senate when Jim Matthewson was pro tem. That kind of nonsense didn’t go on until you got a group of people who were bought and paid for. And Jim Matthewson never walked off the dais of the Missouri Senate and got in somebody’s face and said, “I’m gonna take your chairmanship away from you.” Democrats don’t do it that way. Now let me tell you one, if you don’t goose step, the right wing, you’ll lose a chairmanship. Ask Bob Johnson from Lee’s Summit about that. He had avote for labor one time and “boom” he was off the committee. There’s Democracy for yah. Don’t get me started. [laughter]

I’m planning on going knee deep. I’m only going back here to protect you. I’m gonna be knee deep in this election and I’m gonna be one hundred per cent for Barack Obama. And we [applause]…

…Everyone of you is gonna have to stick your face right into the fire. You really are. I’m gonna have you do it…Let me tell you what, if you had a hundred Claire McCaskills in the U.S. Senate this country wouldn’t be in the shape it’s in right now, and I’m [applause], she could make up her own mind.

This guy came from modest beginnings. He’s worked his way up, now they’re trying to brand him as too ambitious. Hey, the re isn’t a dog catcher elected that didn’t start thinking about president the day after the election. So don’t give me that stuff about political ambition. You wouldn’t be a politician if you didn’t have ambition. Ambition is just like capitalism, it can be great, or it can be the ugliest thing on earth. It just depends on how you wear it. Well, let me tell you what, that guy wears it with style and grace. [applause] And I’m happy about it…

…Barack Obama is going to open thirty offices in the State of Missouri. You know he’s gonna hit the college towns. I think young people in this state have a chance to just rock the foundation of Missouri. There’s not a doubt in my mind, not since John Kennedy, that you and I have seen that kind of youthful response. And if they will follow through, and match their enthusiasm with their registration, and with showing up at the polls in November, a lot of people that didn’t think that that Missouri would necessarily be in play are going to be strongly, strongly surprised. This is gonna be a fun campaign. But it’s gonna be a
real serious campaign, too. This is for all the marbles.

If we think four more years of this kind of administration, I’m not sure what you’re gonna be looking at in America. And I don’t think, thankfully you’ve got a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, and I think they’re gonna pick up some real strength there. I think Jay Nixon is going to run well around the state. I  think we’re gonna have a handsome slate of under ballot candidates. And that’s gonna help us pick up seats in the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate, because it is trending back that way now.

When this happens, when this happens, because Republicans were so organized, so effectively went after labor, and education, and critical things in the state like health care, we’re gonna have more work cut out for us than we’ve ever seen before…

…And there are two groups in this room tonight, three groups, excuse me, that have tremendous reach [garbled], educators, public safety, and labor unions. If the message emanates through all of the above, with strength, that these are goals that we expect to achieve…

…There is a lot of ground to recover. The quality of life has been diminished by the last eight years. I expect Missourians to be good enoughto get this done.[applause]…

…Let’s go out there and have some fun. It is fun to be among Democrats. It is fun to know that you’re a hundred per cent right. Every now and then they can throw an issue at you, and maybe, you know, a thoughtful person will say, “You know, I, I, at least I see their point. I don’t agree with it, but I see their point.” They’re just dead wrong. [laughter] They’re just dead wrong. They bring the ship of state into the mud and now you and I are tasked with pulling it out. We’re gonna do it. We’re gonna get it done. Our country deserves it, our country has given us so much that we can never repay it, all that we owe. I love this feeling of being a hundred per cent right. I love this feeling of helping our country.

And there’s one other thing that I’ll close my speech with, and that is, I love every one of you, and there’s not a thing you can do about it. You have a great evening and thank you very much for having me tonight. [applause]

Three of the four candidates for state treasurer–Andria Simckes, Charles Wheeler, and Clint Zweifel–spoke at the candidates forum at West County Dems on Monday. (The fourth candidate, Mark Powell, did not attend.) You’ll get the most accurate idea of them if I just let them introduce themselves, as they each did in a three minute speech.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is twelve minutes of video worth? I think it will tell you a great deal about who you want to vote for. … But it will still leave you with a tough choice.

David Pearce (r), advocate of automotive deer hunting, had a much better fundraising quarter when compared to the last one, thanks a whole lot to banks. Chris Benjamin (D) had another good quarter. Rex Rector (r) is, well, Rex Rector and has started to raise some money and work his grassroots empire, if you can trust word on the street.

The 31st Senate District includes Bates, Cass, Johnson, and Vernon counties and the cities of Warrensburg, Butler, Harrisonville, and Nevada (among many others). This is an open seat race – Chris Koster (D) who currently holds the seat is running for Attorney General.

David Pearce (r) filed his second quarter 2008 campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe[e]: PEARCE 08

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $133,665.06

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $73,895.00

3. ALL LOANS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $0.00

7. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS PERIOD (SUM 5A + 6A) $74,237.36

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $207,902.42

10. TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $37,847.66

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $28,229.51

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $66,077.17

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $146,268.45

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD

(SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $49,000.00

[emphasis added]

Let’s look at what he spent:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe[e]: PEARCE 08

Report[ ]Date: 7/15/2008

Capitol Consulting Jefferson City MO 06/03/2008 Fundraising $1,178.47

Campaign Toolkit St. Louis MO 05/31/2008 Campaign Signs  $7,608.92

5500 Real Estate Belton MO 06/07/2008 Campaign Office $1,200.00

Schmidt Photography Kansas City MO 06/23/2008 Photos $1,000.00

Greenfield Marketing Doe Run MO 06/24/2008 Campaign Supplies $2,460.00

Callis & Assoc Sedalia MO 04/14/2008 Campaign Services $11,357.10

A little bit of fundraising and pictures!. He got the t-shirts last quarter.

And where did the money come from?:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: PEARCE 08

Report Date: 7/14/2008

34th Republican Senatorial District Committee St. Joseph MO 06/06/2008 $6,750.00

Bank of Bolivar Boliver MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Central Bancompay Jefferson City MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Consumer Lending Alliance Wright City MO 06/20/2008 $675.00

County Bank Brunswick MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

F & C Bank Holden MO 06/20/2008 $500.00

Farmers & Merchants Bank St. Clair MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

First Community Bank-Windsor Windsor MO 06/20/2008 $675.00

First State Bank Robert MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Heritage Community Bank Chamois MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Palmyra State Bank Palmyra MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Security Bank Cassville MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

Senath State Bank Senath MO 63876 06/20/2008 $100.00

Southern Comercial Bank St. Louis MO 06/20/2008 $250.00

State Bank of Missouri Concordia MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

The Bank of Missouri Perryville MO 06/20/2008 $100.00

[emphasis added]

What, was June 20th some sort of bank holiday? Yeah, David Pearce is gonna look after the little guy.

Let’s take a look at Chris Benjamin’s (D) second quarter 2008 campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th.

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committee[e]: BENJAMIN FOR SENATE

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $57,815.35

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $43,000.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $101,125.

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $29,611.46

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $67,313.54

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD

(SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $0.00

[emphasis added]

Not bad, not bad at all. No debt.

My favorite right wingnut, Rex Rector, also filed his second quarter 2008 campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committee[e]: CITIZENS FOR REX RECTOR

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $1,710.00

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $18,035.00

3. ALL LOANS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $0.00

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $16,193.75

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $8,217.93

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD

(SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $0.00

[emphasis added]

And where did his money come from?:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: CITIZENS FOR REX RECTOR

Report Date: 7/14/2008

Missourians Needing Education Alternatives PAC Heartland Jefferson City, MO 04/02/2008 $325.00

Missourians for Economic Growth PAC East Jefferson City, MO 04/02/2008 $325.00

…and so on and so on…

“Missourians for Economic Growth”. Where have we seen that before?

One candidate with $49,000.00 in debt and one with no debt at all. Tell me again, which party is the one of fiscal responsibility?