Monthly Archives: August 2017

Campaign Finance: following the money

08 Tuesday Aug 2017

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Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C161416 08/08/2017 Missourians For Worker Freedom A New Missouri 6614 Clayton Road #181 Richmond Heights MO 63117 8/7/2017 $100,000.00

C161416 08/08/2017 Missourians For Worker Freedom American Democracy Alliance 1100 Main Street Suite 2700 Kansas City MO 64105 8/7/2017 $150,000.00

C171080 08/08/2017 Liberty Alliance American Democracy Alliance 1100 Main Street Suite 2700 Kansas City MO 64105 8/7/2017 $350,000.00

[emphasis added]

Let’s unpack some of this.

C161416: Missourians For Worker Freedom
Committee Type: Campaign
7509 Nw Tiffany Springs Parkway Suite 300
Kansas City Mo 64153
Established Date: 12/23/2016
[….]
Ballot Measure History
Ballot Measures Election Date Subject Support/Oppose

Constitutional Amendment To Article I, Relating To Collective Bargaining, Version 1 Through 10, 2018-092 Through 2018-102
11/06/2018
Shall The Missouri Constitution Be Amended To Prohibit Impairing, Restricting Or Limiting The Ability Of Employees To Negotiate, Enter Into And Enforce Certain Collectively Bargained Agreements With An Employer?
Oppose

Referendum For Senate Substitute 2 For Senate Bill 19
11/06/2018
Do The People Of The State Of Missouri Want To Adopt Senate Bill 19 (“Right-To-Work”) As Passed By The General Assembly In 2017, Which Prohibits As A Condition Of Employment The Forced Membership In A Labor Organization (Union) Or Forced Payments Of Dues In Full Or Pro-Rata (Fair-Share); Make Any Activity Which Violates Employees’ Rights Illegal And Ineffective; Allow Legal Remedies For Anyone Injured As A Result Of Another Person Violating Or Threatening To Violate Employees’ Rights; And Which Shall Not Apply To Union Agreements Entered Into Before The Effective Date Of Senate Bill 19?
Support

Okay, the recipients of $250,000.00 today are opponents of organized labor and are supporting “right to get paid less”. Catchy committee name, though.

Prior to today they had no money:

C161416: Missourians For Worker Freedom
Committee Type: Campaign
7509 Nw Tiffany Springs Parkway Suite 300
Kansas City Mo 64153
Established Date: 12/23/2016
[….]
Information Reported On: 2017 – July Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $0.00
Monetary Receipts + $0.00
Monetary Expenditures – $0.00
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $0.00
Ending Money On Hand $0.00

The American Democracy Alliance (previously Ridgely PAC [pdf]) had a little over $100,000.00 in their last quarterly campaign finance report:

C171141: American Democracy Alliance – Ridgely Pac
Committee Type: Political Action
Po Box 26777
Kansas City Mo 64196
Established Date: 05/17/2017
[….]
Information Reported On: 2017 – July Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $0.00
Monetary Receipts + $100,100.11
Monetary Expenditures – $5.00
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $100,095.11
Ending Money On Hand $100,095.11

There was a single $100,000.00 contribution on June 27, 2017 which they reported [pdf] to the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 14, 2017.

So, how can a committee which last reported a little over $100,000.00 in the bank (as Ridgely PAC) make $500,00.00 in contributions in one day? Just asking.

Liberty Alliance is an opponent of organized labor and supporting [pdf] “right to get paid less”. They didn’t have much money in June:

C171080: Liberty Alliance
Committee Type: Political Action
7509 Nw Tiffany Spring Parkway Ste 300
Kansas City Mo 64153
Established Date: 02/15/2017
[….]
Information Reported On: 2017 – July Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $69.00
Monetary Receipts + $21,010.00
Monetary Expenditures – $18,336.80
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $916.37
Subtotal $1,756.83
Ending Money On Hand $1,825.83

They got a lot in late July and earlier this month:

Campaign Finance: pull up a PAC, add more money, campaign against organized labor (July 28, 2017)

Campaign Finance: okay, now they’re getting serious… (August 1, 2017)

What they lack in grassroots support they make up for in average contribution amount.

So much for looking after the little guy.

March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017 – more photos

07 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in Standing Rock

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Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska a broad coalition of native American tribes, environmental groups, landowners and others gathered to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline on the day before the Nebraska Public Service Commission starts a week of hearings on the pipeline.

On the steps of the state capitol.

“Just following instructions”

Before the rally and march:

“No oil in our soil”

Protect the land, water, and climate”

“…before it ends us”

The founder of Bold Nebraska speaking at the rally, flanked by a landowner and leadership of several tribes:

Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska.

Someone was watching.

One of many drones flying over the rally and march. Landing on the capitol grounds.

Apparently one of the many drones flying over and near the march collided with a building. We missed that.

Banners leading the march.

“Water is life”

Flag runners shadowing the march.

Previously:

March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017 (August 6, 2017)

Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network – March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017 (August 7, 2017)

Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network – March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017

07 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in Standing Rock

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Immediately before the rally and march to protest the Keyston XL pipeline yesterday in Lincoln, Nebraska the organizers held a press conference and then individual press availabilities. Due to our close proximity, we were able to catch one of those short interviews:

Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017.

Reporter: And why do you think a march like this, how much do you think this is going to help the process of the public hearings? How is the public support that is here today going to help?

Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network: I think it’s important for the Public Service Commission to recognize that they do have a large opposition to Keystone XL [pipeline]. And by actually seeing it manifested here is a good way to show to the government of Nebraska that this pipeline is unwanted.

Reporter: And you mentioned that Keystone, or Trans Canada I should say, picks out spots with indigenous people.

Joye Braun: Yes.

Reporter: What facts do you have to support that?

Joye Braun: Well, I come from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. That’s my home. And originally Keystone XL wanted to go straight through my reservation. Another point is, with Dakota Access pipeline, they originally wanted to go just north of Bismarck. They moved it because of the outcry of the non-native population in Bismarck, to just north of Standing Rock. Those are two very recent ways of showing that.

Reporter: Then I’m guessing you had, so you were a protester with the Dakota Access pipeline?

Joye Braun: I am a protector, not a protester. [crosstalk] I’m a protector.

Reporter: Protector, fair enough. And how are these two situations similar and how are they different?

Joye Braun: They’re similar because we’re going up against big oil. Trans Canada or Energy Transfer Partners, which was Dakota Access, is a [inaudible] with Keystone XL. Both of them don’t like safety issues brought up. Both of them don’t like to do environmental impact statements. Both of them do not look at the indigenous populations or other populations that don’t necessarily have access to big lawyers, farmers and ranchers. They don’t have access to big lawyers. So they target these areas to, to, to push their pipeline through. Pipelines leak. We know that. Dakota Access has already leaked twice. And…

Reporter: And, so, you say this does happen. You think it’s just going to leak and ruin a lot of your land as well?

Joye Braun: It will leak a lot of our land. It’s going to leak a lot of Nebraska land as well. Nebraska has the Ogallala Aquifer underneath it. Without that aquifer underneath it the breadbasket of America is not, not going, to be no longer. I mean, what are people going to do when, when they have to pay fifteen dollars for a loaf of bread? I know I, as a family, can’t afford fifteen dollars for a loaf of bread. Can you afford that? I don’t think so.

Reporter: Thank you.

Previously:

March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017 (August 6, 2017)

Laugh of the day – Ann Wagner’s constituent outreach

07 Monday Aug 2017

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GOP Rep. Ann Wagner seems to be getting all hot and bothered by the fact that constituents who want to talk to her collectively in an open venue, one that is not stage-managed to avoid real give-and-take – something in which she has never, during her entire tenure, participated – aren’t quieting down, but keep getting in her face. Hence, her latest email newsletter’s opening salvo:

While there is tremendous focus on the work Congress does in Washington D.C., the time I spend in the district assisting my constituents is equally, if not more, significant. In addition to listening to your concerns and having a presence in the community, my district office provides extremely valuable services. …

Try to control your laughter.

I don’t doubt that Wagner’s staff perform their routine duties involving constituent requests adequately. I would expect nothing else. But trying to take credit for their efforts and pretending that it amounts to “listening to your concerns”? Yeah sure. And I just saw a flying pig take off from my backyard.

We’ve noticed how carefully Wagner has been listening to us over the past few years. We’ve deluged her with letters begging her not to take away our healthcare, we’ve trekked to her office time and again, to let her know how much we need her to hear us.

And what outcome have we gotten?

Wagner called a diverse group of folks trying to preserve their healthcare “radical leftists” who wanted to do her bodily harm – a big leap based on the fact that, since she wouldn’t come to us, several of us went to her home and church and, at a respectful distance, monitored by police, tried to engage her in dialogue.

Tetchy Ann claimed we “leftists” were threatening her life when some of her desperate constituents drew the outline of bodies in her driveway, symbolizing those of us who would likely die if the House Trumpcare bill prevailed. An extreme measure, perhaps, but can you blame people when they can’t manage to get the attention of their representative any other way than by big (or biggish) symbolic gestures?

Evidently believing that she could stifle constituent voices through such public whining, Wagner not only voted for the House’s mean-minded Trumpcare bill, but appeared giddily yodeling “freedom” after the foul deed was done.

When discussing the putative “harassment” she received, Wagner told one radio interviewer that ” she’s willing to sit down and discuss any concerns in a civil manner,” a claim which, based on past experience, many of her constituents doubt. But there’s an easy way for her to prove that she’s telling the truth – and it isn’t to be found in the cloying prose of her email PR newsletters. If Wagner wants folks in the 2nd district to believe her story about “listening” to the whole range of her constituents rather than just a few supporters, she can come to a real town hall – a venue where her responses could be publicly shared with the media and those unable to approach her during occasional, private, office visits, the content of which can always be swept under the rug.

Since Wagner’s been unwilling thus far to schedule such a town hall, her constituents have, once again, decided to start the ball rolling. She’s been invited to a Town Hall meeting on Aug. 24 – which will take place at the St. Charles County Center with or without her august presence.

If Wagner’s smart – and wants to be re-elected – she’ll surprise everybody and attend. Otherwise we’ll know just how important she thinks our needs really are, newsletter protestations to the contrary be damned. Or, alternatively and just as damning, we’ll finally understand that our delicate Annie is incapable of ever dealing forthrightly with the range of opinion that characterizes her district.

Wagner needs to learn that if you want to take the credit, you need to do the deed – not just talk about it.

March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017

06 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in Standing Rock

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Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska a broad coalition of native American tribes, environmental groups, landowners and others gathered to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline on the day before the Nebraska Public Service Commission starts a week of hearings on the pipeline.

“Water is life”

Bold Nebraska, 350.org and the Sierra Club sponsored a Pipeline Fighter Summit in Lincoln before the march, bringing together groups and individuals from surrounding states to share and discuss strategies in fighting tar sand pipelines. People from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and other states attended the summit and marched in protest.

“Water protector”

Various local news reports stated that anywhere from 500 to 600 or more people attended the rally at the state capitol and marched through downtown Lincoln.

“No KXL”

“Science is real”

“Adrian”

“Pipeline fighter”

“We build”

Campaign Finance: at the last minute in the 50th Legislative District

05 Saturday Aug 2017

Posted by in campaign finance, Missouri General Assembly, Missouri House

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The special election to fill the vacancy in the 50th Legislative District is on August 8th:

At the Missouri Ethics Commission, for Sara Walsh (r):

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
24 HOUR NOTICE OF LATE CONTRIBUTIONS/LOANS RECEIVED
C161082
Friends Of Sara Walsh 8/4/2017

Missouri Realtors PAC, Inc PO Box 30635 Columbia, MO 65205 8/4/2017 $1,000.00

Ameren Missouri PAC PO Box 780 Jefferson City, MO 65102 8/4/2017 $500.00

Alliance For Business & Technical Ed 101 E. High St. Jefferson City, MO 65101 8/4/2017 $500.00

[emphasis added]

For Michela Skelton (D):

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
24 HOUR NOTICE OF LATE CONTRIBUTIONS/LOANS RECEIVED
C171041
Friends Of Michela Skelton 8/2/2017

Taxpayer in Support of Public Education 1810 East Elm Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 8/1/2017 $500.00

EMILY’s List – NF Fund 1800 M Street NW Ste 375N Washington, DC 20036 8/1/2017 $1,500.00

[emphasis added]

And:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION 24 HOUR NOTICE OF LATE CONTRIBUTIONS / LOANS RECEIVED
C171041
Friends Of Michela Skelton 8/3/2017

GRASSROOTS VICTORY PAC 1225 I ST NW SUITE 1250 Washington, DC 20005 8/2/2017 $2,600.00

Missouri Democratic State Committee Po Box 719 Jefferson City, MO 65102 8/2/2017 $893.83

We’ll found out what worked on Tuesday night.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: HRCC spending with less than a week to go in the 50th Legislative District special election (August 2, 2017)

Humpety Trumpety sat on a wall

04 Friday Aug 2017

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IMG_20170802_140203 (3).jpg

It’s pretty clear that the young architects in training at Washington University don’t want to build His Orange Majesty’s vanity wall – as clear as an uplifted middle finger. They’re in agreement with numerous engineering, architectural, and design organizations and firms that have indicated that the project not only violates professional ethical norms but poses unacceptable financial and reputational risks.

They’ve got lots of company.

As of last April 60% of Americans who were polled opposed the border wall.

Republican congressmen from districts on the border don’t support building a wall.

Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill says it won’t even keep those pesky Mexicans out. She also says it’ll cost U.S. taxpayers -you and me – at least $67 billion, or $200 per person. And McCaskill, a former state auditor, knows her numbers.

And it’s damn sure that the Mexicans aren’t going to pay for it – no matter what the Dark (Orange) Lord claims. (Of course, the recently leaked transcript of his phone conversation with the Mexican president made it clear that he doesn’t really care who pays – as long as Mexico goes along with his story publicly so he’ll look like a “winner” at least once.)

Looks like nobody with the sense God gave a turnip would allocate money for Trump’s border wall, certainly not those “fiscally conservative” members of the GOP who control the entire government apparatus just now.

But wait – did I just hear that the GOP-controlled House passed an appropriations bill, The Make America Secure Appropriations Act, that parceled out the first installment of that $67 billion?

I sure did.

It was my congressperson, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-2), who gushed that an appropriations bill that “fully funds President Trump’s request for the border wall,” meets “our conservative priorities.” Every Republican member of the Missouri delegation joined Rep. Wagner – and all but five other Republicans – and voted “yea” on this bill.

Same folks voted to take health care away from Medicaid recipients and Obamacare participants just a few weeks ago. Yet they’re more than willing to begin throwing billions at Trump’s boondoggle.

Are they inherently mean? Or maybe they’re just bone stupid? Or perhaps they’re that frightened of Donny the Orange Menace and his immigrant-hating pitchfork corps?

In any case, they might keep in mind that perching on walls can, politically speaking, lead to great falls – falls that all the king’s men can’t fix.