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~ covering government and politics in Missouri – since 2007

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Monthly Archives: March 2011

Hypocrite Hartzler

31 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Billy Long, Budget cuts, Deficit, missouri, Senate, Vicky Hartzler

By now everybody knows that House Republicans have proposed massive cuts to discretionary spending in the name of cutting the deficit – never mind that such cuts, while wreaking havoc in the lives of middle and working class Americans, will do almost nothing to deal with the actual deficit. Or never mind that the deficit could be halved by 2021 if these same GOPers weren’t so hellbent on preserving the Bush tax cuts – cuts that are one of the main reasons we have a deficit to start with. Or never mind that many of the cuts will actually drive up federal spending and increase the deficit in the long run (see also here).

Many of us have been somewhat bemusedly watching these antics, hoping that the Senate’s usually rather spineless Democratic majority will, for once, provide a bulwark against the GOP cost cutting charade. Recently, in an effort to pressure the Senate to do just the opposite, our obstreperous little GOPers have produced one of those group  publicity stunts letters wherein they figuratively stamp their collective GOP feet and demand that the Senate Democratic majority follow their ill-informed, ideologically driven lead and pass the self-assertion exercise disguised as a budget that they have sent forward, national welfare be damned.  Prominent among the signers of this epistle is Missouri’s own Billy Long (R-7) and Vicky Hartzler (R-4).

In fact, as the Turner Report notes, in her  latest newsletter, Miss Vicky waxes eloquent about the heroic resolve to deal with the depredations of big government spending that led her to sign this insolent opus:

The previous Congress failed to pass a budget for 2011, forcing new Members to deal with the mess left behind. We have come up with proposals that cut spending and create jobs, but the Senate will not do its job. Mr. Reid, pass a bill!

I’d like Senator Reid to pass a bill too – just not the slap-dash atrocity put together by the intellectual midgets that the Tea Party sent to Washington D.C. For one thing, contrary to Hartzler’s assertion, their proposals will do the exact opposite of creating jobs – their simple-minded approach to cost-cutting could actually lead to a 700,000 job loss. That’s not a comforting prospect to those of us who live in the real world and who want to see the economic recovery continue.

The other problem with Hartzler’s zeal, however, lies in the fact that she supports a bill that ignores some real budgetary fat – oil and agricultural subsidies, for instance. I know that Miss Vicky knows about at least one of these unnecessary giveaways because she’s one of those on the dole. As ABC’s Good Morning America noted today:

… some of the Tea Party’s leaders have a case of “Hill Hypocrisy” for attacking government spending while taking millions in government money. ABC’s senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl reported “the Tea Party movement is all about slashing federal spending, but at least five House members  with Tea Party connections have themselves collected more than $100,000 each in federal farm subsidies, totalling [sic] more than $8 million since 1995.

One of those five agricultural welfare recipients is little Miss Vicky. So before Hartzler – who likes to boast about her Christian credentials – signs any more letters demanding that the Senate Democrats cut spending that benefits the poor and the middle class, not to mention our economic recovery, she ought to consider the scriptural admonition, found in John 8:7, that only he who is without sin should cast stones.

 

A vote for Geller in Rockwood School Board race is a vote to harm the district

31 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Mike Geller, missouri, Rockwood School District, school vouchers

Normally, this being a state news site, school board contests are not my beat. But the Rockwood School District in West St. Louis County has a candidate so eminently unsuitable to serve on the board that I wanted to get the word out.

Judging by comments Michael Geller made at a League of Women Voters candidate forum on March 8th, he has an odd way of showing his concern for the district.

  • Despite cutting $6.8 million in spending this year, the Rockwood district faces continuing budget shortfalls. All the other candidates said they would vote yes to place a bond issue on the ballot so that voters in the district could decide whether school taxes need to be raised. Not Geller. He would oppose allowing the district’s residents even to vote on that issue.
  • Rockwood’s Talented and Gifted Program is a model for districts across the nation, and the other candidates spoke in its support. They also support special needs education. Not Geller. His talented child is enrolled in a private school, and his special needs child is in a boarding school. If a child doesn’t conform to a ‘one size fits all’ mold, the parents should pay to school him elsewhere.
  • Except, wait. The parents should pay … unless they can get the taxpayers to do it for them. Mike Geller favors school vouchers. Vouchers would deprive public schools of desperately needed funds, using that money instead not only to pay for a private school for Mr. Geller’s gifted child or for boarding school for his special needs child, but also for putting children in religious schools.  

    Geller defended the idea of using public funds for religious schools by pointing out that “separation of church and state is not in the Constitution.” Yes and no. That exact phrase, it is true, does not occur in the Constitution. But the First Amendment implies it. Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase when he wrote that the First Amendment erected a “wall of separation” between the church and the state. Who would have a better take on the intent of the framers of the Constitution: Thomas Jefferson or Michael Geller?

    The majority of Rockwood School District voters, proud as they are of their schools, are unlikely to want their tax dollars going to religious schools or to private schools for the gifted or to boarding schools for special needs students. It would be overstating the case to say that voters would as soon have Gaddafi as the Superintendent of Schools as they would a board member who approves of vouchers, but you get the idea. Most Rockwood residents would reject Geller if they knew what he stood for.

Rockwood voters need to understand that Mike Geller is a stealth candidate, someone who would undermine the district’s superb schools. He is inserting far right political ideology into the race for an office that has always been nonpartisan. The NEA, very sensibly, does not endorse him. And the voters should turn a cold shoulder to him.

Campaign Finance: for Pete's sake, leave something for the little people

31 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2012, governor, Jay Nixon, missouri, Peter Kinder

Twitter stock must be up.

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Rex Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 Retired Retired 3/30/2011 $115,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER KCS Rail PAC PO Box 219335 Kansas City MO 64121 3/30/2011 $10,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Schnuck Markets Inc 11420 Lackland Road St Louis MO 63146 3/30/2011 $25,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Dennis Bakke 2811 N 24th St Arlington VA 22207 Imagine Schools Executive 3/30/2011 $2,500.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Big Bend Partnership 1244 Powerscourt Dr Ste 170 St Louis MO 63131 3/30/2011 $5,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Ann Dickinson 1200 W 55th St Kansas City MO 64113 Bank Midwest Executive 3/30/2011 $1,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Terrence Kilroy 817 W 61st St Kansas City MO 64113 Polsinelli Attorney 3/30/2011 $1,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER CNS Corporation 500 E. 9th St. Kansas City MO 64106 3/30/2011 $5,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Barnett Helzberg 4520 Main St ste 1050 Kansas City MO 64111 Retired Retired 3/30/2011 $2,500.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Warren Erdman 5340 Ward Pkwy Kansas City MO 64112 Kansas City Southern Executive 3/30/2011 $2,500.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Michael Haverty 6410 Wenonga Rd Mission Hills KS 66208 Kansas City Southern Executive 3/30/2011 $2,500.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Stephen Waltman 35 Frontenac Estates Dr St Louis MO 63131 Self Physician 3/30/2011 $1,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Terrence Dunn 12008 Ensley Lane Leawood KS 66209 JE Dunn President 3/30/2011 $2,500.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Herzog Contracting Corp PO Box 1089 St Joseph MO 64502 3/30/2011 $5,000.00

C091145 03/30/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Bush Helzberg 3117 W 68th St Mission Hills KS 66208 Expedition Capital Executive 3/30/2011 $1,000.00

[emphasis added]

$181,500.00.

That’s another big bucks day for they guy who may or may not be running for governor.

Tomorrow, as the last day of the quarter, is gonna be really interesting.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Why bother with the nickel and dime stuff? (March 28, 2011)

Campaign Finance: throwing bad money after bad – opponent(s) of the Kansas City earnings tax

30 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

campaign finance, earnings tax, Freedom PAC, Kansas City, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission

The opponents of the earnings tax on the April 5th ballot in Kansas City have been moving a lot of money – in and out. From 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

C091269 FREEDOM PAC [pdf] 3/30/2011

American Democracy Alliance

1100 Main Street Suite 2600

Kansas City, MO 64105

3/29/2011

$100,000.00

[emphasis added]

Again?

What are they spending all that money on? From the 24 Hour Expenditure Report filed today:

ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM

FREEDOM PAC [pdf] 3/30/2011

Smart Media Group

814 King Street

Suite 400

Alexandria VA 22314

3/29/2011

Media Buy

$74,955.00

Wilson Research Strategies, LLC

1319 Classen Drive

Oklahoma City OK 73103

3/29/2011

Tracking/Polling

$10,000.00

Advantage, Inc.

2300 Clarendon Blvd

Suite 1004

Arlington VA 22201

3/29/2011

Voter ID

$12,347.13

Axiom Strategies, LLC

1251 NW Briarcliff Pkwy

Suite 85

Kansas City MO 64116

3/29/2011

Mailers

$24,812.00

Yep, that’s a lot of money.

Previously:

Kansas City Earnings Tax: ad in support of yes vote on April 5th (March 30, 2011)

That’s a question a lot of people have been asking (March 29, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Freedom PAC’s spending against the earnings tax in Kansas City (March 28, 2011)

Uh, we already knew about that (March 24, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Freedom PAC funded by the usual suspect(s) (March 18, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Who is bankrolling the bankrollers? (March 10, 2011)

Campaign Finance: your Friday big bucks contribution dump (March 4, 2011)

Campaign Finance: opponents of the earnings tax in Kansas City get a lot of help (February 26, 2011)

CAFO-protection bills plowing through lege

30 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

CAFO, Missouri Big Ag, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Premium Standard Farms, Smithfield Foods

From the Missouri Rural Crisis Center:  

Please Forward!!!

STOP The Factory Farm Protection Bills!

The Legislative Spring Break is Over Monday (the 28th)!  

Please Call Legislators THIS WEEK–

Tell Them to Vote NO on Senate Bill 187 & House Bill 209!!!

Tell them to VOTE NO on House Bill 100, House Joint Resolution 3

& House Joint Resolution 17!

Hundreds of phone calls and emails are making a difference!  SB 187 & HB 209 have become very controversial in the Missouri statehouse.  But the PRO-corporate agri-business, ANTI-property rights, ANTI-family farm bills are still moving!  The following bills would have a radical and damaging effect on the property rights of Missouri ‘s family farmers and rural landowners and on our rights to local control.  

Names of bills and legislators to call are below.

– Senate Bill 187 & House Bill 209 “The CAFO Protection Bills”:

Written to protect Premium Standard Farms (PSF; owned by Smithfield Foods–the largest pork corporation in the world), the CAFO Protection Bills would limit the rights of family farmers and rural landowners to defend their property through the court system.

House Bill 100, House Joint Resolution 3 & House Joint Resolution 17 would:

Restrict the ability of local elected representatives to respond to the needs of their citizens through “local control”.

Please Call/Email “Key Legislators” & Call/Email YOUR State Senator & Representative!

Tell them to VOTE NO on Senate Bill 187 & House Bill 209!

Tell them to VOTE NO on House Bill 100, House Joint Resolution 3

& House Joint Resolution 17!

* See Below for “Key Legislators”.

* You can call YOUR State Senator and Representative by calling the House Switchboard at (573) 751-2000 with your zip code.

An Attack on Rural Private Property Rights (The CAFO Protection Bills)!

Senate Bill 187 & House Bill 209

Corporate agri-business has deep pockets and significant influence in Jefferson City .  At the expense of Missouri’s independent family farmers, rural landowners and their constitutional right to protect their property through the court system, corporate lobbyists have convinced some legislators of the need to protect a very small minority of corporate industrial livestock operations.  Written to protect Premium Standard Farms (PSF), owned by Smithfield Foods, the largest pork corporation in the world, this misguided and dangerous policy would be protecting CAFOs at the expense of the vast majority of Missouri ‘s family farmers and rural citizens.

* Please tell Missouri legislators: “Taking away the rights of farmers and landowners to protect their properties through the court system is unconstitutional and just plain wrong!  Vote NO on Senate Bill 187 & House Bill 209!”

An Attack on Local Control!

House Bill 100, House Joint Resolution 3 & House Joint Resolution 17

For 8 years, family farmers, rural landowners and county commissioners have fought against attempts to take away local control.  Hundreds have journeyed to Jefferson City to ensure that our local elected representatives retain the tools necessary to respond to the needs of their citizens.  

Yet again this year, bills (HB 100, HJR 3 & HJR 17) are moving through the House Chamber that would strip Local Control and the ability of local communities to protect family farmers and landowners from the negative impacts of industrial livestock operations.

* Please tell Missouri ‘s legislators: “Government is best when it is closest to the people.  Don’t Mess with OUR Local Control! Vote NO on HB 100, HJR 3 & HJR 17”

You can call YOUR State Senator and Representative by calling the House Switchboard at (573) 751-2000 with your zip code.

Please Call Key Representatives!

Rep. Tom Loehner (573) 751-1344    Tom.Loehner@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Jerry Nolte (573) 751-1470    Jerry.Nolte@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Casey Guernsey (573) 751-4285    Casey.Guernsey@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Diane Franklin (573) 751-1119     Diane.Franklin@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Keith Fredrick (573) 751-3834    Keith.Frederick@house.mo.gov  

Rep. David Day (573) 751-1446    David.Day@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Kent Hampton (573) 751-3629    Kent.Hampton@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Lincoln Hough (573) 751-9809    Lincoln.Hough@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Mike McGhee (573) 751-1462    Mike.McGhee@house.mo.gov

Rep. Randy Asbury (573) 751-6566    Randy.Asbury@house.mo.gov

Rep. Delus Johnson (573) 751-3666    Delus.Johnson@house.mo.gov

Rep. Anne Zerr (573) 751-3717    Anne.Zerr@house.mo.gov

Rep. Galen Higdon (573) 751-3643    Galen.Higdon@house.mo.gov

Rep. Ray Weter (573) 751-2565    Raymond.Weter@house.mo.gov

Rep. Billy Pat Wright (573) 751-1494    Billy.Wright@house.mo.gov

Rep. Jason Holsman (573) 751-6607    Jason.Holsman@house.mo.gov

Rep. Joe Aull (573) 751-2204    Joe.Aull@house.mo.gov  

Rep. Linda Black (573) 751-2317    Linda.Black@house.mo.gov

Rep. Doug Funderburk (573) 751-2176    Doug.Funderburk@house.mo.gov

Please Call Key Senators!

*You can email all Senators here: http://www.senate.mo.gov/webma…

Senator Rob Mayer: (573) 751-3859

Senator Chuck Purgason: (573) 751-1882

Senator Tom Dempsey: (573) 751-1141

Senator Kevin Engler: (573) 751-3455

Senator Brad Lager: (573) 751-1415

Senator Victor Callahan: (573) 751-3074

Senator Jason Crowell: (573) 751-2459

Senator Dan Brown: (573) 751-5713

Senator Jack Goodman: (573) 751-2234

Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal: (573) 751-4106

Senator Jane Cunningham: (573) 751-1186

Senator Mike Kehoe: (573) 751-2076

Senator Will Kraus: (573) 751-1464

Senator Ryan McKenna: (573) 751-1492

Senator Brian Nieves: (573) 751-3678

Senator Mike Parson: (573) 751-8793

Senator Jay Wasson: (573) 751-1503

Senator Robin Wright Jones: (573) 751-2606

Senator Jolie Justus: (573) 751-2788

Also, Please Call Governor Nixon @ (573) 751-3222-

Tell him to veto any bill (including SB 187, HB 209, HJR 3, HJR 17 & HB 100) that limits the rights of family farmers and rural landowners to protect their property through the court system, or restricts the ability of local elected representatives to respond to the needs of their citizens through “local control”.

Thank you for your time to engage in the democratic process to protect Missouri ‘s farm families and rural property rights!

Please feel free to call Missouri Rural Crisis Center at (573) 449-1336 with questions.

Kansas City Earnings Tax: ad in support of yes vote on April 5th

30 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

commercial, earning tax, Kansas City, missouri, Propostion A, Rex Sinquefield

Announcer: Opponents of the earnings tax just can’t get it straight. On one hand they say it doesn’t account for much in the city budget, that it’s not a big deal if it went away. On the other hand, they say it is so big of a deal that businesses are leaving town because of it.

The truth, of course, is just the opposite. Businesses support the earnings tax. And it is a big deal for the people who live here because it pays for vital city services like police and fire protection.

For the truth about the earnings tax go to KeepKCalive dot com. And vote yes to keep the earnings tax, Tuesday, April fifth.

Previously:

That’s a question a lot of people have been asking (March 29, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Freedom PAC’s spending against the earnings tax in Kansas City (March 28, 2011)

Uh, we already knew about that (March 24, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Freedom PAC funded by the usual suspect(s) (March 18, 2011)

Campaign Finance: Who is bankrolling the bankrollers? (March 10, 2011)

Campaign Finance: your Friday big bucks contribution dump (March 4, 2011)

Campaign Finance: opponents of the earnings tax in Kansas City get a lot of help (February 26, 2011)

Heading into the home stretch on Prop B

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Missouri puppy mills, Prop B, Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, Rep. Paul Curtman, SB113

I’m not as ready as Willy to throw in the towel on Prop B, but her analysis of what’s going on is probably more accurate than mine.  I had all but given up too, but a friend of mine who rescues dogs called me the other night and gently pushed me back into the ring.

One thing that convinced me that there is hope is that some state reps have been convinced to change their votes for repeal simply by pointing out to them that their districts approved Prop B in November.  She told me that Sally Faith of St. Charles and Chuck Gatschenberger of Lake Saint Louis have both agreed to vote against SB113 after it became public that they had accepted campaign contributions from Smithfield Farms.  Evidently, Sally Faith admitted that she hadn’t read the bill and had taken the word of a colleague she trusted.  Oh, sure.

If all 88 of the state reps whose districts voted YES on Prop B in November vote against repeal, that will be a majority and enough to kill the bill.  So it’s up to us to hound those state reps in the districts that passed Prop B to do the right thing – or else.

Through MEC reports I found out that my state rep, Paul Curtman of the 105th accepted a $500 contribution from Jason Smith, the rep whose mother owns one of the “dirty dozen” puppy mills.

Check out the list here.

That same Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation website has tons of good info, including a comparison of Prop B and SB 113 and a list of the voting percentage totals by district.  Check out yours.  If your House district passed Prop B, make sure your rep is voting against repeal. If your district did not pass Prop B, ask your rep to do the right thing for the dogs.  If breeders can’t make a profit by taking good care of their animals, they should close up shop and let someone do it who can.  Check out the BBB reports and all the complaints from customers who bought puppies they thought were healthy.

And click here to see Sen. Parson, sponsor of the bill, lying his head off to an audience where he obviously feels comfortable making up nonsense.

 If you have the stomach for it here are some photos from actual puppy mills.  Friends of mine who have rescued puppies from these dungeons of death tell me they can smell the diseased dogs before they even pull into the driveway.

I’m not ready to give up on this yet.  I hope you’ll get as angry as I am and motivated to do everything you can to protect these animals.

 

Going to the Dogs – Missouri GOP and Proposition B.

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

Breeding kennels, missouri, Proposition B, Puppy mills

Senate Bill 113, which seeks to amend Proposition B, will go before the House Agriculture Policy Committee today. SB 113 passed in the Senate earlier and is now before the House – which already voted in favor of an identical House bill, HB 131 last month.  Sadly, SB113 is probably a done deal – although when the stakes are high, as they are for the animals affected, one should never give up. This, according to an email urging action that I received today, is what SB113/95  and HB 131 would do:

*Remove the provision ensuring that female dogs get a rest between breeding cycles and replace it with an unenforceable vet recommendation provision. 50 breed clubs including the AKC recommend rest between breeding cycles.

* Remove the requirement that the dogs receive an annual exam by a vet and replace it with “two visual inspections” instead.

* Eliminate the exercise provision.

* Remove the provision ensuring continuous access to unfrozen, clean water.

* Make stacked cages lawful again.

* Allow dogs to be confined in cages with only 6 inches of space again.

* Eliminate the cap on having more than 50 adult, sexually intact breeding dogs at a commercial breeding facility.

* Replace the straightforward misdemeanor provisions in Prop. B with allowances for criminal prosecution after repeatedly violating the the law and the violations posing a substantial risk to the dogs

So much for “improving” the bill – which is what our Republican legislators disingenuously claim they want to do. I admit that the pork industry (e.g., Smithfield Farms), for instance – which fears Prop. B as a potential Trojan horse – probably thinks the lege has improved it in just about the right way, and to that effect has been more than willing to exercise some of that dollar- greenback colored speech that the Roberts Court is so fond of.

So go ahead and call your representative – although it’s not likely to do much good. What big agribusiness wants, it gets from Missouri’s GOP legislature. That’s the ironclad rule that the lege has proved once again by their prompt action to undo Prop. B.

Certainly, the legislature is not responding to public opinion. At a meeting of state Democratic representatives  a few weeks ago, all of the lawmakers present noted that they had heard more outcry about the efforts to nullify Prop. B than any of the other issues coming before the legislature this year.  They all also noted that that the outcry was bipartisan in nature – so much so that it occasioned a little bitterness from some of the Democrats – Jill Schuupp, for instance, lamented:

… we have received more information on puppy mill legislation than any other piece of legislation, and I know people love their animals and I support that love for animals, but, my gosh, we have a lot of people out there hurting too and I sure wish people would … stand up and get that involved when it involves other people too.

I sympathize with Rep. Schuupp and share her frustration about the seeming lack of concern for the people who will suffer because of the GOP determination to pursue a destructive legislative agenda. However, I also understand why the plight of puppy mill animals generates a larger and more intense response.

There is at least a perception that human beings who are threatened by the actions of our business/corporate dominated GOP legislature can speak for themselves, but animals can never, under any circumstances, speak for themselves. And while conservatives may buy into the rightwing dogma that presents poverty, deprivation and injustice as the result of poor choices on the part of individuals, nobody, left or right, thinks that dogs live out miserable lives in breeding factories because they have made poor choices. Many of us live with dogs – they’re ideologically neutral – which is why opponents of Prop. B must resort to misrepresenting the concern about conditions in breeding kennels as sentimental excess on the part of those who don’t know better.

While we have probably lost the immediate battle, it is possible to continue the campaign. We can publicize just exactly what happened, refuse to let pols blather about “improving” or “tweaking” Prop. B, and make sure that the memory remains fresh next election. We can ensure that there are consequences.

Legislators who put the dictates of corporate agribusiness before their human obligation to mitigate unnecessary suffering deserve to be held accountable. Businesses, like Smithfield Farms, deserve to hear from consumers who do not appreciate their meddling in unrelated areas of animal husbandry. Finally, in response to those politicians who whine about the hardship that Prop. B would cause “good” breeders, we need to be emphatic that those puppy breeders who cannot conform to the minimal strictures of Proposition B deserve to be put out of business – the sooner the better.

 

Tell These Four Missouri Legislators: Stop Blocking Unemployment Benefits!

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

On April 2nd, Missouri could become the only state in the country to abruptly cut-off federally-paid unemployment insurance benefits to struggling out-of-work job-seekers.



That’s because four Missouri State Senators are holding up a bill that would continue federally-funded Extended Benefits (EB) for thousands of Missouri’s hardest-hit unemployed workers and their families.

As a result, nearly ten thousand Missourians will have those benefits cut-off prematurely next week. Another 56,000 face having those benefits cut-off shortly.

The bill, which is a simple technical adjustment to state law to allow the Extended Benefits to continue through 2011, has already passed the state House. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon supports it and wants the state Senate to pass it so that he can sign it. A clear majority in both parties and the Senate’s leaders support it and want to bring it to a vote.

But Senators Jim Lembke, Brian Nieves, Will Kraus and Rob Schaaf have kept the Senate from voting on it for weeks – endangering this crucial aid for thousands upon thousands of Missouri’s struggling job-seekers.

Tell These Four Missouri Legislators: Stop Blocking Unemployment Benefits!

And why are they blocking the Extended Benefits bill? They say they want to make a point against federal spending. So they have picked these federally-funded unemployment benefits to lodge their protest – for what amounts to 0.002 percent (that’s two one-thousandths of a percent) of the federal budget.

These are benefits that go to Missourians, who spend them on family necessities in local Missouri businesses. Holding up and cutting off these benefits will hurt Missouri workers and their families, and hurt Missouri businesses.

Eleven other states that have had to pass the EB renewal legislation to keep these benefits going have done so without any interruption. Unless the EB bill is passed, Missouri will become the only state to cut off these benefits to its own struggling job-seekers.

Tell Senators Lembke, Nieves, Kraus and Schaaf: Stop Blocking a Vote on Extended Benefits for Missouri.

Tell These Four Missouri Legislators: Stop Blocking Unemployment Benefits!

They and State Senate leaders need to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Senate gets to vote on the Extended Benefits bill this week.

AGs are in conference today with Elizabeth Warren about settlement with Big Banks.

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

Bank of America, big banks, Chris Koster, Elizabeth Warren, fifty state AGs, missouri

I’ve had at least five reminders in my mailbox this morning to call Chris Koster, who is in DC today in conference with other AGs and Elizabeth Warren about a settlement with the big banks. Here’s the heart of one of them:

Call Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster right now at 573-751-3321 and demand nothing less than a strong settlement against the big banks.  Tell your Attorney General, “My Name is [SAY NAME.]  I am a resident of Missouri. The Attorney General must come out in support a settlement that provides justice for millions of homeowners and holds the big banks accountable for their crimes. Nothing less is acceptable.”  

Let your Attorney General know it’s time to choose a side – the homeowners they’ve sworn to protect or the big banks that broke the law and bankrupted the economy.

And, be sure to tell us how the call went.

In case you haven’t had five reminders–or even if you have–I thought I’d sneak another one in on you. The lady I spoke to answered promptly without a hint  of being harried. We need to keep her busier than that.

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