This week at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Date Established:11/23/2010

MECID:C101577

ROORDA FOR SENATE 2014

CANDIDATE: JEFF ROORDA

OFFICE SOUGHT: STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 22

Date of Election: 8/5/2014

Political Party: DEMOCRAT

[emphasis added]

There’s more – there was a contribution from Jeff Roorda’s legislative district campaign committee to this new senate campaign committee:

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

C101577 ROORDA FOR SENATE 2014 [pdf] 11/23/2010

Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda

Barnhart, MO 63012

11/22/2010

$32,611.08

[emphasis added]

Senator Ryan McKenna (D-22) is term limited out in 2014.

No rematch two years from now in the 102nd Legislative District?:

Unofficial Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election  – November 2, 2010 General Election

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

State Representative – District 102 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 16 of 16

Roorda, Jeff DEM 4,964 42.2%

Wieland, Paul REP 5,928 50.3%

Blowers, Richard CST 883 7.5%

Total Votes   11,775

The termination of Jeff Roorda’s 102nd Legislative District committee probably indicates that there won’t be that rematch in 2012:

Date Established: 4/14/2004

Date Terminated: 11/24/2010

MECID:C041263

COMMITTEE TO ELECT JEFF ROORDA

[emphasis added]

Previously:

Will ’12 be better than ’10? (November 4, 2010)

Rep. Tim Jones (r) loses it on the floor of the House (March 25, 2010)

The White House press release and transcript:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

November 25, 2010

Weekly Address: President Obama Delivers Thanksgiving Greeting

WASHINGTON – During this holiday season, President Obama used his weekly address to give thanks for the blessings of America, in particular that distinctly American impulse to give something of ourselves and do what is required to make tomorrow better than today.  With that sense of determination and sacrifice, America has built a powerful economy, stood against tyranny, fought for equality, and connected the globe with our own science and imagination.  And by working together as one people – as Americans — we can overcome the challenges currently facing our nation.

Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends – and a few helpings of food and football, too.  And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we’ll spend some time taking stock of what we’re thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another.

This is also a holiday that captures that distinctly American impulse to give something of ourselves.  Even as we speak, there are countless Americans serving at soup kitchens and food pantries; contributing to their communities; and standing guard around the world.

And in a larger sense, that’s emblematic of what Americans have always done.  We come together and do what’s required to make tomorrow better than today.  That’s who we are.

Consider our journey since that first Thanksgiving.  We are among the world’s youngest of peoples, but time and again, we have boldly and resiliently led the way forward.  Against tough odds, we are a people who endure – who explored and settled a vast and untamed continent; who built a powerful economy and stood against tyranny in all its forms; who marched and fought for equality, and connected a globe with our own science and imagination.

None of that progress was predestined.  None of it came easily.  Instead, the blessings for which we give thanks today are the product of choices made by our parents, and grandparents, and generations before – whose determination and sacrifice ensured a better future for us.

This holiday season, we must resolve once more to do the same.

This is not the hardest Thanksgiving America has ever faced.  But as long as many members of our American family are hurting, we’ve got to look out for one another.  As long as many of our sons and daughters and husbands and wives are at war, we’ve got to support their mission and honor their service.  And as long as many of our friends and neighbors are looking for work, we’ve got to do everything we can to accelerate this recovery and keep our economy moving forward.

And we will.  But we won’t do it as any one political party.  We’ve got to do it as one people.  And in the coming weeks and months, I hope that we can work together, Democrats and Republicans and Independents alike, to make progress on these and other issues.

That’s why, next week, I’ve invited the leadership of both parties to the White House for a real and honest discussion – because I believe that if we stop talking at one another, and start talking with one another, we can get a lot done.

For what we are called to do again today isn’t about Democrats or Republicans.  It’s not about left or right.  It’s about us.  It’s about what we know this country is capable of.  It’s about what we want America to be in this new century.

A vibrant nation that makes sure its children are the best-educated in the world.  A healthy, growing economy that runs on clean energy and creates the jobs of tomorrow.  A responsible government that reduces its deficits.  An America where every citizen is able to go as far as he or she desires.

We can do all this, because we’ve done it before.  We’re made of the same sturdy stuff as the travelers who sat down to the first Thanksgiving, and all who came after – who worked, and sacrificed, and invested, because they believed that their efforts would make the difference for us.

That’s who we are.  We shape our own destiny with conviction, compassion, and clear and common purpose.  We honor our past and press forward with the knowledge that tomorrow will be better than today.  We are Americans.  That’s the vision we won’t lose sight of.  That’s the legacy that falls to our generation.  That’s the challenge that together, we are going to meet.

To every American, I am thankful for the privilege of being your President.  To all our service members stationed around the world, I am honored to be your Commander-in-Chief.  And from the Obama family to yours, have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you.

Thanksgiving, our annual celebration of gluttony, shopping, dysfunctional families, and football.

“…If I cook it inside the turkey, is there a chance I could kill my guests? I’m not saying that’s necessarily a deal-breaker…”

Is this a great country, or what?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

February 2010:

Blunt Launches “K Street Jobs Tour”… Fun for the Whole Family!

…Discover how Roy Blunt became a leading K Street acolyte and a star pupil of Tom DeLay’s, learning the art of deal-making, back-slapping, and go-along-to-get-along politics that have served him so well for the last 14 years….

Uh, oh…

Jury convicts DeLay in money-laundering case

By Mike Ward and Laylan Copelin | Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 04:52 PM

Updated 4:53 p.m.: Tom DeLay, the former U.S. House majority leader whose name became synonymous with the Republicans’ controversial rise to power in the Texas House, was found guilty this evening of laundering money in connection with the 2002 elections.

Jurors sent a note on yellow legal paper that a verdict had been reached to the judge at 4:46 p.m. They had deliberated for nearly 19 hours, since Monday afternoon.

It was read to a hushed courtroom three minutes later. DeLay appeared shocked….

…He complained that the “criminalization of politics undermines our system….”

He complained that the “criminalization of politics undermines our system….

Seriously? Tom DeLay said that?

Twelve years ago:

Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.):

…I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.

Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

The president has many responsibilities and many privileges. His chief responsibility is to uphold the laws of this land. He does not have the privilege to break the law…

Sanctimonious asshole. Karma is a bitch.

Today, from our good friends at Fired Up!:

Smith Still Doesn’t Want To Talk About His Deceptive Robocalls Questioning Democrats’ Faith

….St. Luke’s sued the company hired by the HRCC to make the calls, Survey Saint Louis, which just happens to be owned by Speaker Ron Richard’s legislative director, Tom Smith. Last week, the AP reported that Smith claimed no knowledge of the bogus caller IDs until he learned about them in the media, but was nevertheless paying St. Luke’s legal bills in their lawsuit against him.

Wagman reports today that Smith still isn’t interested in explaining why his company lied to voters.  And incredibly, HRCC Chairman and Speaker-elect Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) claims that he hasn’t even talked about issue with Smith.  Even though he’s in charge of the caucus and professes to dismayed by the calls, he says he hasn’t actually talked to the government/campaign staffer in charge of the calls.  (Maybe he’s been too busy moving into his new Las Vegas mansion?)  In fact, Tilley hasn’t even pretended that he’s taken any action to stop this sort of garbage in the future, except to condemn it in the media after the fact.

Impressive stuff from the Party of Personal Responsibility.

Previously on the republican robocalls:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

Tilley (r), the HRCC robocalls, and the media: “…testing, testing, testing, is this thing on?” (October 29, 2010)

Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal Headline: “GOP robocall attacks Cole’s ‘family values'” (October 29, 2010)

Campaign Finance: old media needs to learn to do some freakin’ research (October 29, 2010)

I guess I’m going to have to go with “No Comment” (October 29, 2010)

Another Democrat fights sleazy robocalls (October 30, 2010)

HRCC? What HRCC? I just like their swag… (October 30, 2010)

Missouri’s HRCC and the robocalls: follow the money (October 31, 2010)

HRCC? What HRCC? I’ve never heard of them… (November 1, 2010)

Bumper stickers spotted today on a vehicle in Harrisonville, Missouri:

The full effect. Yep, that’s an NRA sticker on the upper left.

Well, no, you’re not paying for a number of people who do have insurance. Yes, there is Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Administration. But since you were at an event today in support of veterans I’d say you were at least good with the VA part, right? And, since the United States has the highest per capita cost of health care in the industrialized world, are you good with all those uninsured people who get their health care when it’s the most expensive? Yes, those who do have health insurance pay for those who don’t right now – in higher insurance rates.

July 8, 2009, 7:51 pm

U.S. Health Spending Breaks From the Pack

By CATHERINE RAMPELL

Despite the fact that the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not ensure that all its citizens have health care coverage, the United States spends a (much) higher percentage of its gross domestic product on health care than its peers. It also spends (much) more per person on health care than its peers….

That’s an International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) sticker on the left. It’s rather ironic considering that the IAFF is interested in health care reform (mostly):

Healthcare Reform

As both consumers of healthcare and the nation’s primary providers of pre-hospital emergency medical care, professional fire fighters know first-hand the shortcomings of our current health care system.  

The cost of health care has risen dramatically in recent years, and fire fighters have been forced to give up wage increases and other benefits in order to maintain their health care coverage.   And fire fighters witness the problems of the uninsured on a daily basis, as Americans without coverage increasingly rely on the 911 emergency response system as their primary health care provider.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is intended to expand access to health insurance and reduce the cost of health care.

The IAFF supported certain parts of the legislation, but strongly opposed provisions that sought to reduce spending on health care by taxing the value of high cost insurance plans.   The IAFF succeeded in limiting the scope of the tax and delaying its implementation for several years.

[emphasis added]

As for the bumper sticker on the right? Oh, I get it.

There’s nothing new in these type of “jokes”. Yes, it’s protected by the First Amendment, which is ironic considering where the vehicle was parked today at a large public demonstration about the First Amendment.

In May, 2008:

FOX Pundit Wishes for Obama Assassination, Laughs

….Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I do not believe there are very many people in our country–or anywhere else for that matter–who laugh or find it remotely funny when broadcast pundits stoop to the level of making jokes about killing an elected leader. It does not feel funny. It feels like someone spitting in our faces….

Two years later, evidently not.

That secession thing didn’t work out so well the last time, did it? And I’m not so sure Texas (that is a Texas bumper sticker, right?) would like to secede since they’re a leading beneficiary of federal dollars:

Texas near the top for raking in federal dollars

By BENNETT ROTH Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

Oct. 9, 2007, 10:07AM

WASHINGTON – Texas has long viewed itself as a conservative bastion, but the Lone Star State ranked third in the nation between 2000 and last year in receipt of federal dollars, raking in aid and contracts worth more than $1.2 trillion….

Guns:

Armed Protesters Thank Obama For Allowing Guns in Parks

– By Stephanie Mencimer

| Mon Apr. 19, 2010 9:29 AM PDT

….And the greatest irony of all? This rally would not have been possible during the Bush administration. That’s because it was Democrats who helped pass, and Obama who signed, a new law that went into effect in February allowing people to carry guns in national parks….

Freedom:

March 2nd, 2009

Bush Administration Claimed Fourth Amendment Did Not Apply to NSA Spying

News Update by Kurt Opsahl

In an October 23, 2001, Office of Legal Counsel memo released today, the Bush Administration concluded that “the Fourth Amendment does not apply to domestic military operations,” including “intercepting electronic or wireless communications” by “employing surveillance methods more powerful and sophisticated than those available to law enforcement agencies.” See Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities Within the United States at pp. 4, 18, and 25 (emphasis original).

When news of this memo first surfaced in a footnote to another memo, we wondered if it meant that the Administration’s lawyers advised that the National Security Agency (a component of the military) could spy on Americans with impunity and face no Fourth Amendment claim.

Turns out that the Bush Administration did think it could spy on Americans in the U.S. without regard to the Constitution….

Where were those bumper stickers from 2001 to 2009? Just asking.

The God part probably doesn’t apply to people born in Kenya who won’t produce their Hawaiian birth certificate.

Previously:

As if contributions still come in if you’re not running for reelection? (November 19, 2010)

Campaign Finance: not quite keeping up with the Kinder (r)… (November 9, 2010)

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

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

C001135 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI [pdf] 11/22/2010

J.E. Dunn Construction Company

1001 Locust St

Kansas City, MO 64106

11/22/2010

$10,000.00

UAW Region 5 PAC

721 Dunn Rd

Hazelwood, MO 63042

11/22/2010

$100,000.00

Missouri Professionals Mutual

287 N. Lindbergh Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63141

11/22/2010

$25,000.00

AT&T Missouri Employee PAC

One AT&T Center

St. Louis, MO 63101

11/22/2010

$10,000.00

Ironworkers Political Education Fund

1750 New York Ave NW, Ste 400

Washington, DC 20006

11/22/2010

$25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Yep, that’s $170,000.00. It is good to be the governor.

It could be that rational people ante up when the alternative is right wingnut batshit crazy.

We’re gonna have to take that crack back about keeping up with the Kinder.  

On Saturday, a group of us met in Clayton to discuss ways to get the attention of state Democratic Party leaders in order to make them fix the problems in the party infrastructure.  We concluded that we need a paid, dedicated state party director, a talented communications director who will proactively get the message out that we are the better choice if voters want to keep America from sinking to third world status, and someone who actually makes the township and county central committee members work to build the local networks critical for winning elections.

If we don’t see some improvement in the way the state party functions, we’re withholding our campaign contributions and volunteer time.  The word is already out that we’re doing this and many Dems are calling saying they want to join us.

Claire McCaskill is already sending out donation requests to be part of “Claire’s Crew.”  No thanks.  Not until we see some backbone on the part of our elected Dems.  It’s not enough to say the alternative is worse.  We have to have a reason to shout from the rooftops why we love our candidates.

This is the letter going to Gov. Nixon this week:

November 21, 2010

The Honorable Governor Jay Nixon

Missouri Capitol Building

Room 216

Jefferson, City,Mo.65101

Dear Governor Nixon:

I am sure you are aware that progressive Democrats around the country are regrouping in response to the disappointing results of the recent midterm elections.

Today a core group of active Democrats in St. Louis County met to discuss how to we can make the Missouri Democratic Party more effective.

We concluded that we Democrats have much to be proud of and our values clearly reflect the best interest of the majority of citizens. The Republicans have purposely degraded a lot of what progressives hold dear.

Our Democratic priorities which include equal educational opportunities, a fair tax structure, civil rights, security, protection of the environment, basic health care and decent paying jobs need to be spelled out clearly and persuasively. We need someone to generate talking points that we can all use so our message will sink in and motivate voters to side with us.If false information is generated by the media we need it to be quickly addressed and the true facts given out.

Therefore we’re asking you, our Governor and head of the Missouri Democratic Party, to meet with us to discuss how to improve the effectiveness of the State Party.

We would like to talk to you about hiring a full-time paid Director, a publicist/message developer,and an outreach co-ordinator to reach all of our state’s townships with our democratic objectives.

There is so much that can be done with the internet, with direct mailers, and other media opportunities.

Today we pledged, as a group, that we will not get involved in campaigns for State and National candidates until we meet with you and we feel a more effective party is established. I will be sending a copy of this letter to Craig Hosmer,Clint Zweifel and Chris Koster.. Copies of a similar letter have been sent to Sen.Claire McCaskill, Representative Russ Carnahan and Representative Lacy Clay.

We hope you can find time in your busy schedule when you are in the St. Louis area to meet with us. If you have no trips planned in the near future, we will come to your office.

Thank you for your attention to our serious concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Army Corporal Jacob Carver died in action in Afghanistan on November 13, 2010. He was from Freeman, Missouri. His funeral was held in Harrisonville, Missouri today.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas had stated their intent to protest at the funeral (we’ve covered them in the past). The community around Harrisonville, Missouri stated their intent to shield the funeral from that protest.

The American President (1995)

….America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say “You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours….

I drove into Harrisonville from the north on Highway 7, arriving at about 8:30 a.m. The location for the funeral, Our Lady-Lourdes Catholic Church, is on the highway. As I drove past the church there were already hundreds of people, dressed for the cold, many holding American flags, lining both sides of the highway. I drove about a half mile beyond the church and parked in a shopping center parking lot.

I walked back toward the church.

The crowd lining the highway near the church was a mix of young and old. Their demeanor was respectful – most engaged in quiet conversation. Some appeared curious as I took photographs, though when they saw my identification they went back to their conversations. They were unfailingly polite.

Television satellite trucks in the background, parked in the lot at a neighboring church.

There were two helicopters from Kansas City television stations flying over the crowd. A reporter standing with a cameraman in the crowd along the highway smiled at me, probably spotting my identification, as I was taking photographs.

After taking photographs of the crowd near the church I walked back toward my parked car. About halfway there, at Elm and Mechanic, the Westboro group was surrounded by large crowd of people.

Two huge American flags were displayed at the corner of Elm and Mechanic (Highway 7), about a quarter mile from the church.

There was more of a circus atmosphere around the Westboro group. The crowd surrounding them was vocal. Apparently, at one point, there was a scuffle:

…There appeared to have been some shoving between some of the protesters and church members.

Police were able to break up the incident. At one point, the van belonging to Westboro members was surrounded. But they were able to leave the area without any further confrontation…

You can barely see the Westboro group’s signs.

As I made it back to the shopping center where I parked my car law enforcement stopped traffic to make way for the funeral procession. In those few minutes while I waited to cross the highway I spoke with an individual holding an American flag. He told me he was there because his grandson is a Marine – he was doing this for him. I almost replied, “You’re doing this for yourself, too.”

The funeral procession about a half mile from the church.

As we continued our conversation I stated, “Maybe the good thing is that good people showed up today to speak out.” That’s a start.

As the procession approached and passed a state trooper saluted and held his salute.

Go. Read the whole thing at Motor Trend:

Rush to Judgment

….Back to us for a moment, our credibility, Mr. Limbaugh, comes from actually driving and testing the car, and understanding its advanced technology. It comes from driving and testing virtually every new car sold, and from doing this once a year with all the all-new or significantly improved models all at the same time. We test, make judgments and write about things we understand….

….You’ve made two king’s ransoms by convincing legions of dittoheads to tune into you every day. I wonder, do you ever ride in anything that’s not German or Anglo-Saxon? Do you have any idea how powerful IG Metal is, and of the size of Germany’s social safety net?….

Now, that’s punching a hole in a gasbag.