Back to School Sales Tax Holiday

Section 144.049, RSMo, establishes a sales tax holiday during a three-day period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the Sunday following. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute, are exempt from sales tax for this time period only.

For Immediate Release

08/05/2010

Pelosi Statement on Senate Passage of Legislation to Deliver Funding to States and Create and Save American Jobs

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Senate passage of a bill to deliver critical funding to states and local communities, and create and save 290,000 American jobs – including 140,000 teacher positions and 150,000 police officers, firefighters, nurses and private sector jobs throughout our economy. The Senate passed the legislation by a vote of 61 to 39.

“Today’s Senate vote illustrates two vastly different approaches for getting America out of the economic ditch Republicans left us during the Bush Administration. Democrats support the urgent resources needed for the education of our children, the health of our families, and the safety of our neighborhoods. Congressional Republicans demean educators and first responders as ‘special interests’ and prefer to see teachers, nurses, and police officers on the unemployment line instead of in our classrooms, in emergency rooms, or on the beat.

“This legislation is about creating and saving American jobs, and preventing a double-dip recession – averting massive teacher layoffs and keeping law enforcement officers from losing their jobs. It’s about educating the students in our public schools; assisting vulnerable Americans who can’t afford medical care; and keeping families safe in their communities. It is fiscally responsible and fully paid for. By voting against this bill, Republicans chose to protect corporations that ship jobs overseas rather than strengthening our schools and securing our neighborhoods.

“With today’s action, Senate Republicans’ tactics of delay, obstruction, and political posturing will no longer deny states and communities the aid they need to create jobs and provide vital services to the American people. We will bring House Members back next week to pass this urgent legislation and send it to the President?s desk without delay.”

Projected FY 2010 Education Jobs Fund Allocations

U.S. Department of Education preliminary analysis, 7/6/2010

Missouri

Projected Allocation: $189,727,725

Estimated Jobs Funded: 3,100

Just asking.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be back in session next week to act on HR 1586.

There was a three way republican primary in the 28th Senate District race. One Constitution Party candidate and no Democrats filed.

Unofficial Election Returns

State of Missouri Primary Election  – 2010 Primary Election

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

State Senator – District 28 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 151 of 151

Wilson, Larry D. REP 9,588 31.3%

Emery, Ed REP 6,533 21.3%

Parson, Mike REP 14,516 47.4%

Hatfield, Bennie B. CST 107 100.0%

Total Votes   30,744

[emphasis added]

Do you think there was a favorite?:

CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $5,000.00 RECEIVED BY ANY COMMITTEE FROM ANY SINGLE DONOR – TO BE FILED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE CONTRIBUTION

C091129 PARSON FOR STATE SENATE [pdf] 8/1/2010

Ron Richards 2010

Joplin, MO 7/31/2010

$10,000.00

Friends of Tilley

Perryville, MO 7/31/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Bandwagon anyone?

The amount of money expended by the winning republican is astounding, via the Missouri Ethics Commission (“eight day” report):

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: PARSON FOR STATE SENATE

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $352,434.26

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $55,697.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $409,554.62

10. TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $135,965.03

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $166,939.54

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $302,904.57

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $66,870.80

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $0.00

[emphasis added]

That almost approaches the budget for a freakin’ statewide race.

Look what Ed Emory (r) received right before the primary:

CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $5,000.00 RECEIVED BY ANY COMMITTEE FROM ANY SINGLE DONOR – TO BE FILED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE CONTRIBUTION

C010086 CITIZENS FOR ED EMERY [pdf] 7/31/2010

David & Debra Humphreys

Joplin, MO

Proprietor – Tamko Products

7/31/2010

$25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Ouch, that had to hurt.

Ed Emery’s (r) “eight day” report, filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: CITIZENS FOR ED EMERY

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $37,186.60

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $11,810.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $49,026.60

10. TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $28,380.36

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $13,972.15

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $51,545.51

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $4,807.39

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD

(SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $10,606.93

[emphasis added]

Larry Wilson’s (r) “eight day” report, filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: FRIENDS OF LARRY WILSON FOR SENATE

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $74,681.70

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $1,890.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $76,571.70

10. TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $24,417.58

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $16,892.30

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $41,309.88

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $34,719.12

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $43,000.00

[emphasis added]

Ouch! The debt.

Yeah, Mike Parson (r) expended quite a lot more per vote, didn’t he?

Bennie Hatfield’s (Constitution Party) “eight day” report, filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: BENNIE B HATFIELD

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $1,153.00

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $1,378.50

[emphasis added]

Now that the primary is done the general election race is gonna be like watching someone club a baby harp seal.

I just hope Bennie doesn’t have sad, forlorn eyes.

Television Reporter: Uh, they claim that you took nearly a million dollars from big oil and energy interests. Is that true?

[Roy Blunt

KSPR-ABC, 11/11/2009]

Roy Blunt (r): Well I don’t know if that’s true or not.

Announcer: Actually, congressman, public filings showed you did take big contributions from big oil.

[$1.2 Million

BP $12,000.00

Exxon Mobil $41,500.00

Koch Industries $39,500.00

Valero Energy $35,500.00

Occidental Petroleum $29,500.00

Chevron Corp $25,000.00

National Propane Gas Assn $23,499.00

El Paso Corp $21,999.00

Devon Energy $16,000.00

Petroleum Marketers Assn $15,500.00

Marathon Oil $13,500.00

Jacobs Engineering Group $10,000.00

Williams Companies $11,500.00

Halliburton Co $8,000.00

ConocoPhillips $7,000.00

Cargill Inc $6,000.00

Andarko Petroleum $5,000.00

Chevron Texaco $5,000.00

Center for Responsive Politics, 8/4/2010]

At the same time Blunt voted for billions in tax breaks for BP and Exxon.

[Blunt voted for billions in tax breaks

HR 6, House Vote 40, 1/18/2007

HR 6, House Vote 145, 4/11/2003]

And against clean energy jobs for Missouri.

[Blunt voted against clean energy jobs

HR 2454, House Vote 477, 6/26/2009]

Congressman Roy Blunt, right for big oil, wrong for Missouri.

The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund is responsible for the content of this advertising.

The press release from the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 5, 2010….

LCV Action Fund Launches Ad Campaign on Roy Blunt’s Million Dollar Energy Ties

[….]

Ad Claims Blunt is Right for Big Oil, Wrong for Missouri

WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, today launched a new TV ad highlighting Congressman Roy Blunt’s confusion over the one million dollars in campaign contributions he’s received from Big Oil and other energy interests and his record of continually siding with Big Oil in Congress. The ad will run on broadcast and cable networks in St. Louis and Kansas City and is being complemented by a door-to-door grassroots canvass in the Kansas City area.

“Roy Blunt can’t keep track of the truckloads of campaign cash he’s received from Big Oil but that hasn’t stopped him from siding with the industry vote after vote during his 12 years in Congress. Blunt has taken good care of Big Oil by maintaining their billions in tax breaks while voting against opportunities to create new clean energy jobs for Missourians,” said LCV Action Fund President Gene Karpinski. “It’s clear that Roy Blunt is the right for Big Oil, but wrong for Missouri families.”

Rep. Blunt has consistently voted against legislation to create clean energy jobs, against repealing subsidies to Big Oil, against increasing the use of renewable energy and against efforts to help Missouri drivers go further on a gallon of gas (1). Roy Blunt has accepted more than $1 million from Big Oil and other energy interests over his entire career, $532,898 from the Oil and Gas industry alone.(2) Rep. Blunt’s full voting record can be found at http://www.bigoilblunt.com/

Rep. Blunt is a member of LCV’s 2010 “Dirty Dozen” list. Rep. Blunt’s lifetime LCV environmental score is an abysmal 2%. In 2009, he received a 0% score after voting against every major piece of clean energy and environmental legislation.(3)

[….]

###

Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, http://www.lcv.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

(1) http://www.bigoilblunt.com/p/m…

(2) http://www.opensecrets.org/pol…

(3) The non-partisan LCV Scorecard is a nationally accepted yardstick used to rate Members of Congress on conservation and clean energy issues. Based on key conservation votes in the House and Senate, it is often used by the media to quickly describe a Member’s record.  For more information, visit http://www.lcv.org/scorecard

Th, th, th, that’s oil, folks.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

__________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 4, 2010

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Recovery Act Broadband Awards for Missouri

Projects to Bring Jobs, Economic Opportunity to Local Community

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the funding of 8 new Recovery Act broadband infrastructure projects in Missouri. Overall, 126 new broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide rural residents in 38 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved service are receiving Recovery Act funding today.  Broadband access plays a critical role in expanding economic, health care, educational and public safety services in underserved rural communities. Today’s announcement is part of the second round of USDA broadband funding through the Recovery Act….

….According to analysis released by the National Economic Council last year, overall Recovery Act investments in broadband are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in the near term and expand economic development and job opportunities in communities that would otherwise be left behind in the new knowledge-based economy. Recovery Act broadband projects help bring down the cost of private investment, attract Internet service providers to new areas, improve digital literacy among students and workers, and help create new opportunities in employment, education, and entrepreneurship by wiring homes and businesses. With new or increased broadband access, communities can compete on a level playing field to attract new businesses, schools can create distance learning opportunities, medical professionals can provide cost-efficient remote diagnoses and care, and business owners can expand the market for their products beyond their neighborhoods to better compete in the global economy….

You think a lack of access to broadband in rural Missouri isn’t a problem that needed to be addressed? Senator Claire McCaskill heard about it in a town hall in Sedalia, Missouri on May 27, 2009:

…Question: My question was about Internet for rural areas. I currently live in Kansas City but I’ve built a house near… Probably got everything the government wants, geothermal, and [crosstalk]…

Senator McCaskill: Good for you.

Question: …thermopane glass, and things can I get tax credits. ‘Cause I’m trying to move my job from Kansas City to…I can’t get Internet connection.  I can’t apply to the government to get my tax credits. I can’t get a job because I can’t get Internet. Well, the local Internet company, you can fill the name out here…

Senator McCaskill: It’s okay, you can do it [crosstalk]

Question: …Communications, they told me a year ago, cable’s coming up the highway. I have to have Internet secure DSL cable, which is what they provide for my job to let me work from home. So, they said it’s coming. So we started building.  So now my house is done. All’s I have to do is put up a mailbox and I can move in. Well they went in the other direction. They stopped and went north of…so now they, I’ve got Internet to the south of me, Internet to the north of me, but they won’t come between us ’cause there’s not enough people there for them to make a big profit. So [crosstalk]…

Senator McCaskill: We can help.

Question:  Well I asked about the stimulus money from them.

Senator McCaskill: There’s a bunch.

Question:  And there’s a bunch, and they [garbled] that money. So, a mutual friend of yours…gave me the document for the Internet companies. This money for them is for technology, buy technology to access the lines so they can hang our wires and buy equipment. But it’s not providing jobs. …Communications needs another crew so they can put my Internet in, or they need somebody to say, “Hey, they need a little boot in the behind. Say hey, here’s somebody that can…” [crosstalk]

Senator McCaskill: Well I’ll loan my boot. [laughter]

Question:  I need [crosstalk] [garbled]…

Senator McCaskill: Seriously, you need to talk to my staff when this is over because I think we can help.

I’m on the Commerce committee and there’s two pots of money for rural Internet, both USDA and over in Commerce. And it’s ridiculous, you know why there’s two pots of money? This is embarrassing. There’s two pots of money because of the jurisdiction of committees. [laughter] The Agriculture committee didn’t want to let go of it and so they wanted it under the Ag committee for USDA. So that’s where the RUS program started. But then the Commerce committee didn’t want to give it up, so they have another program over, under Commerce. You got two competing programs, and by the way, they are not the same, they’re different, and it’s a mess. And, and frankly, one of, one of those programs allowed people to use that money to put Internet in the suburbs of Dallas. As opposed to rural Internet. Okay? Because, of course, it was more, they’re gonna make more money in the suburbs of Dallas and the way they defined the area. So, we know a bunch about this and there is a bunch of money in the stimulus and it’s supposed to be for crews. And if they’re not using it for crews I want to know about it. So, let me get involved, we’ll find out about your particular situation. It might be a good case study for me to go, “Hey, what about this guy in…?” Okay? All right, we’ll do that. That’ll be fun. [applause]….

The grants [pdf] announced on August 4th for Missouri:

Orchard Farm Telephone Co. MO

This $604,000 grant to Orchard Farm Telephone Company with an additional $201,000 of outside capital will bring high-speed DSL broadband service to unserved establishments within its rural service territory, which is comparable to the DSL service provided in its more populated areas. Orchard Farm Telephone’s project stands to benefit approximately 221 people, 47 businesses, and 3 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.

Grand River Mutual Telephone Corporation MO

This $12.3 million grant to Grand River Mutual Telephone Company will provide broadband service to the towns of Browning, Purdin, Linneus, and Meadville, Missouri, and their surrounding rural areas via a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. Grand River Mutual Telephone’s project stands to benefit approximately 2,800 people, 750 businesses, and 20 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.

Grand River Mutual Telephone Corporation MO

This $9 million grant to Grand River Mutual Telephone Company will provide broadband service to the towns of Denver, Gentry, and New Hampton, Missouri, and their surrounding rural areas via a fiber-to-the-home network. Grand River Mutual Telephone’s project stands to benefit approximately 1,500 people, 350 businesses, and 8 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.

Socket Telecom, LLC MO

This $23 million award to Socket Telecom, LLC will offer Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) service to households, businesses, and critical community organizations who are currently underserved in mid-Missouri. Approximately 6,500 people stand to benefit, as do more than 260 businesses and 36 community institutions. Socket Telecom estimates the project will directly support 525 jobs upfront, and will also drive economic deve
lopment and create jobs for decades to come.

Utopian Wireless Corporation MO

This project, funded through this award of approximately $250,000, will bring WiMAX infrastructure to rural communities in and around Benton, Missouri. More than 2,600 people, approximately 56 local businesses and 30 community institutions stand to benefit from this improved service. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, it will help drive economic development in the community that creates jobs for years to come.

Big River Broadband, LLC MO

This $24.3 million award to Big River Broadband LLC, with an additional $4.3 million in outside capital will bring High Speed Internet Access to a seven county area in southeast Missouri at download speeds up to 14.4 megabytes per second and upload speeds of 5.8 megabytes per second. Big River will be deploying a wireless broadband network using its existing AWS licensed spectrum along with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology over these licensed frequencies. This technology supports high speed connectivity to the Internet for data, voice and video applications, for both mobile and fixed locations. Big River Broadband’s project stands to benefit more than 100,000….

Windstream Corporation MO

This $10.3 million grant to Windstream Corporation with an additional $3.4 million of outside capital will allow Windstream to extend its broadband network to provide broadband to many currently unserved homes and businesses. Windstream proposes to use industry standard ADSL2+ (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) protocols that will allow customers to enjoy broadband at speeds of up to 12 Mpbs. Windstream’s project stands to benefit more than 10,000 people, approximately 200 businesses, and 40 community institutions. Windstream Corporation estimates that this project will directly create at least 225 jobs upfront and help drive economic development in the community that creates jobs for years to come.

Finally Broadband, LLC MO

This $1 million award to Finally Broadband, LLC will high quality value priced broadband Internet services to rural families and businesses and high quality discounted broadband Internet services to Community Anchor Points. Finally Broadband’s project stands to benefit more than 100,000 people, 7,000 businesses, and 400 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.

Hmmm. You think some folks will reject their new high speed Internet because it’s socialism? I don’t think so.

We started at this blogtopia (y, sctp!) thing three years ago. And, yes, we’re still here.

A photo of candles and cake as an illustration of our celebration at reaching another milestone is becoming a tradition here at Show Me Progress corporate headquarters. Actually, it’s just an excuse to get the cake and eat it after the photo shoot – along with the ice cream thawing off camera.

Our front pager, Sarah Jo, also writes for the Franklin County Dems website and had this to say on that site about a Franklin County Republican rep, Scott Dieckhaus:

Follow The Money

Scott Dieckhaus and his friends

Date Posted: Saturday, July 31, 2010 by sarah jo

It’s traditional in political campaigns to follow the money in order to predict how an elected official will vote on specific bills. If this model holds true for Scott Dieckhaus, (R-109) it’s a safe bet that he will be one of King Rex’s boys when he heads back to Jeff City.

Franklin Countians concerned about Ameren’s plans for a huge coal ash dump in Labadie can take no comfort either.

According to MEC filings reported in the Missourian today, Scott’s largest contributor to his campaign is Rex Sinquefield, the billionaire puppet master of Missouri Republican politicians. We can expect Scott to show his appreciation for King Rex’s $4,500 donation during the next legislative session.

AmerenUE’s political action committee gave Scott $1,000, a paltry sum by utility company standards. But Labadie is in Scott’s district, and he has been noticeably absent from any of the public hearings on the coal ash dump. I wonder if any of the Republican voters following the coal ash controversy have come to realize how little the GOP cares about local health, safety and environmental issues. For them, it’s all about money and power.   Ameren knows it can get away with using our county as their toxic waste dump because no one in a position to stop them will.

To give Dieckhaus credit, he actually got on the blogsite and responded in the comments section. Several times, in fact. Here’s part of his first:

I’m always happy to answer questions when asked of or about me. First, I’d like to clear up a few misstatements from Sarah Jo’s initial post: 1) Most campaign contributions do not come to influence votes; rather, they are usually a result of having already made votes and people agreeing with those votes. 2) Rex Sinquefield has given to my campaign, but he is hardly a “puppet master of Missouri Republican politicians”. If he were, wouldn’t we have had some significant education reforms by now? Maybe a “Fair Tax” system in place? We do have a Republican majority in both houses of the General Assembly. Rex gives to just as many Democrats as he does Republicans (I don’t know that the numbers are exactly the same – but VERY close). As I stated in my first point, Rex has taken an interest in my campaign because I am a former teacher who is in favor of many of the reforms that he seeks. I stated those views openly when I ran for office in 2007-2008 and have filed several bills related to my beliefs. Rex has contributed to my campaign because he and I share a vision of providing a quality education to each student in this state.

As for the AmerenUE issue, I am staying on top of it. It is the biggest issue in my district, and I have talked to many of the residents in the Labadie/St. Albans area – as well as other concerned citizens – about it. My personal view is that if AmerenUE meets the regulations that have been established by the federal, state, and county governments, they should have the right to place the landfill on their property. Admittedly, I believe that the county should proceed VERY cautiously. I think a conditional-use permit that would prohibit AmerenUE from bringing coal ash from other facilities and possibly raising the landfill to the 500-year flood plain are fair proposals.

With that being said, I included a question on this issue on a survey that was recently sent to my constituents. At this time (probably about 1/3 of the surveys I expect to receive have been returned), my constituents district-wide are opposed to the landfill in any capacity by a narrow margin. If that holds true, I will openly oppose the landfill as their representative because that is my job.

Dieckhaus strikes me the same way Sen. Eric Schmitt does, as a “moderate”–until you scratch the surface. As the Democrats challenged Dieckhaus’ assertion that Dems get almost as much Sinquefield money as the Rs do, he kept backing away from that statement, until finally one commenter wrote this:

You are still bending the truth on this, Scott. If you look just at lawmakers in Jeff City Sinquefield contributed directly to only 4 Democrats and 17 Republicans. If you also include Democrats from St. Louis City and County governments that makes six. Even then Sinquefield gave a total of 125k to these six Democrats while giving nearly $10 million to Republicans and Republican committees and causes. That’s not “just as many Democrats” as Republicans. That’s not “about 1/3 of his contributions”. And that’s not “over 1/4” of his total contributions, per your latest walk back. The fact is, Sinquefield has contributed to every single Republican in the state house and Senate by way of the House Republican Committee, the Senate Leadership Committee and the Missouri Republican Party.

Another commenter tackled the way Dieckhaus pretended not to be carrying water for Ameren:

Representative Dieckhaus,

You say you have been “staying on top” of the Ameren issue. Were you at any of the three Planning and Zoning meetings where this was discussed? I do not recall seeing you there. Please correct me if I am wrong. You said you have spoken to “many residents in the Labadie/St. Albans area”. Other than the meeting with you in Jefferson City early this year, and a couple of follow up emails from us, to the best of my knowledge you have made no attempt to contact the Labadie Environmental Organization to stay current on the issue. How can you “stay on top” without getting up to date information first hand from one of the main parties involved in the issue?

Your survey results on the landfill issue would have a wider margin opposing the landfill if it would have been written and posed in an unbiased manner. It is heavily slanted in favor of Ameren’s proposed landfill and mentions the opposition just as an afterthought. It is no accident that those who know little or nothing about the facts would vote yes just relying on the information on your survey. This happens all too often. Questions and ballot initiatives are crafted to get the results the authors want.

Most importantly “meeting the regulations that have been established by the federal, state, and county governments” is not the full story. That statement gives people a false sense of safety and security. Number one, the federal regulations are currently under review by the EPA to possibly regulate coal ash under Subtitle C hazardous waste rules. Number two, the state regulations are weak and not protective of public health and the environment. Number three, there are no regulations on the county level and that is what this issue is all about. The Labadie Environmental Organization is fighting to insure that the county does the right thing in being thorough and thoughtful in their consideration of this issue.

I appreciate the fact that Dieckhaus was willing to walk into the lions’ den by responding to Sarah Jo. But he needed a whip to protect himself in the form of demonstrable facts. He didn’t have those. The Franklin County Democrats examined his whip and pointed out to him that it was really just a wet noodle. They may have left him with a few scars.

Congressman Ike Skelton (D) now knows who his opponents will be for the November general election.

The residents of the 4th Congressional District get to look forward to seeing these through November.

Illustration of the vote by county between the top two republican candidates courtesy of RBH.

Results from the Missouri Secretary of State:

Unofficial Election Returns

State of Missouri Primary Election  – 2010 Primary Election

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

U.S. Representative – District 4 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 417 of 417

Steinman, Leonard DEM 6,264 19.5%

Skelton, Ike DEM 25,914 80.5%

Scholz, James REP 4,259 4.8%

Madden, Arthur John REP 2,483 2.8%

Hartzler, Vicky REP 35,853 40.5%

Viessman, Roy REP 3,702 4.2%

Riley, Brian REP 3,196 3.6%

Stouffer, Bill REP 26,570 30.0%

Clark, Brian REP 2,655 3.0%

McElroy, Eric James REP 1,928 2.2%

Parnell, Jeff REP 7,968 9.0%

Braun, Jason Michael LIB 165 50.6%

Holbrook, II, Thomas LIB 161 49.4%

Cowan, Greg CST 296 100.0%

Total Votes   121,414

[emphasis added]

An understated (single color!) campaign sign – apparently there just weren’t enough of them.

When right wingnuts collide, the results aren’t always pretty, though the ice cream imagery is greatly appreciated during the current heat wave. Bill Stouffer (r) tried to use direct mail to paint Vicky Hartzler (r) as one of those tax raising politicians.

31 Flavors Of Ice Cream

Good

31 Tax Increases

Not Good

State Representative Vicky Hartzler’s record on taxes is Not Good.

You hear that, Ike? Vicky Hartzler is a tax and spend liberal. Go figure.

Right wingnut rhetoric on any government revenue has gotten so extreme that anything greater than 0% is a grievous affront to their orthodoxy.

State Representative Hartzler served up 31 ways to scoop your money into big government.

Can You Believe…

…now she wants you to send her to Congress?

Higher Property Taxes

Senate Bill 348

New Sales Taxes

Senate Bill 193

A New Farm Tax

House Bill 1207

Even A Tax On Pets

House Bill 1099

August 3rd say No to Higher Taxes! Say No to Vicky Hartzler for US Congress.

Republican

Bill Stouffer

Farmer.

Small Businessman.

Conservative.

I guess we can be thankful that it wasn’t fifty-seven ways, otherwise there’s be ketchup splatters all over the mailer.

Given the results of the primary 40.5% of republican primary voters wanted those 31 taxes and weren’t willing to join the fight. Either that, or there were 35,853 Democratic voters with a sick sense of humor who crossed over to vote in the republican primary.

That would have been awesome.

The second mailer:

Bill Stouffer

Republican U.S. Congress

“Our children should have the freedom to prosper and enjoy a quality of life comparable to our own. I refuse to let the tax-and-spend liberals force our families, economy, military and nation into a position of weakness. If you’re willing to join the fight and ensure our nation’s best days are ahead of us, I ask you to join my campaign.” – Bill Stouffer

Priorities –

Restore fiscal discipline in government

Make private-sector job creation a priority

Streamline the tax code and cut income taxes

Reduce regulations and bureaucracy for businesses

Reduce regulations and bureaucracy for businesses – because bad things wouldn’t have happened if we had left British Petroleum alone. Oh wait, we did.

Bill Stouffer

Conservative Republican For Congress

Bill Stouffer is running for U.S. Congress because Washington is failing to hear our concerns and leading our nation down a dangerous path. Bill is a son of the soil, former school board president, and graduate of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture. As a father and a grandfather, he refuses to let government jeopardize our children’s future with more debt and reckless spending.

As a citizen legislator, Bill Stouffer heard your calls for fiscal responsibility and delivered on his promise to cut spending and lower taxes. Widely recognized as one of the most conservative members of the Missouri Senate, Bill lead the fight to cut more than $450 million dollars in spending and balanced the state budget. As our conservative problem solver in Washington, Bill will continue working hard for the results we expect.

Conservative Republican – because there are just too damn many moderate and liberal republicans in Missouri. You know, like Vicky Hartzler.

Poor Bill Stouffer. He wasted part of his mail plan on a Democratic Party household. We didn’t get any of Vicky Hartzler’s mail (if there was any). Even at that, Vicky Hartzler only beat him by ten points. Interesting.

Ike, have you been listening to Vicky’s opponent? He’s laid out your game plan for the general election.

A question, though, for Bill Stouffer – where were your complaints about fiscal discipline and economic policy in the federal budget from 2001 to 2009?

Just asking.

Same planet, different worlds?

Today the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the ongoing efforts of St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil (R-Defiance) to get bikes banned from rural Southwestern St. Charles country roads – seems he listens closely to those folks who resent having to share the road with bicyclists. As a person who frequently commuted to work by bicycle when I lived in the San Francisco Bay area – where, incidentally, droves of bicycles regularly share narrow, curving mountain roads with cars with few accidents – I could easily visualize the type of folks who might complain.

I have vivid memories of elderly people on deserted streets who, despite having acres of space in which to pass me as I hugged the side of the street, instead reduced their speed to a crawl and made exasperated faces and gestures as they followed me slowly along the street. Or the teen-age girls who yelled obscenities at me as I followed prescribed procedure for making a left-hand turn in traffic. This didn’t happen too often in Palo Alto, and the perpetrators were not people whom one would accord much credibility. In retrospect, however, their rather irrational sense of entitlement suggests that they might have been just the type of folks who would be at home at a Tea Party – which could explain our Republican pol’s concern for their druthers rather than those of bike riders.

Such speculation is spurious, of course, but it does seem that I might not be too wrong about many anti-bicyclists’ political sympathies. According to TPM, the Denver Post is reporting that a Tea Party friendly gubnatorial candiate, Don Maes, is opposing a public bicycle program in Denver as one more encroachment of the evil United Nations. In Maes own somewhat breathless words:

At first, I thought, ‘Gosh, public transportation, what’s wrong with that, and what’s wrong with people parking their cars and riding their bikes? And what’s wrong with incentives for green cars?’ But if you do your homework and research, you realize ICLEI* is part of a greater strategy to rein in American cities under a United Nations treaty,” he said. Well then: it all becomes clear

Now that I understand what’s going on, I guess it means that there’s no point in my petitioning to keep trucks off the roads because sharing road space with them is so unpleasant and potentially unsafe. We know who counts in Missouri, and they’re not usually Prius drivers.

* ICLEI: Denver is a member of the ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), an international association that according to the Denver Post article  “promotes sustainable development and has attracted the membership of more than 1,200 communities, 600 of which are in the United States.” – Denver’s membership, however, predates the current Mayor’s public bicycle program.