A significant chunk of the introduction before this excerpt sounded suspiciously like “He has his faults, but at least he doesn’t kick his dog.”

And, again, projection, with absolutely no sense of irony, in the republican controlled House chamber. Speaker Steve Tilley (r) on intolerant liberals:

Speaker Steve Tilley (r): ….But these aren’t the kinds of things that the radical liberal groups want to make known when they talk about Rush. Instead these liberals who try to put forth the illusion that they believe in a philosophy of tolerance or understanding, they’re anything but tolerant. And they’re anything but understanding

But fortunately there are only a handful of them here in Missouri. I think I read where the latest anti-Rush rally in Columbia actually broke single digits. [laughter] Which, Rush, it’s actually an improvement because they had an anti-Rush rally at the Capitol where there were more media than protesters….

Because we should always display tolerance for people who use their power and influence and microphone to call a young woman expressing an opinion on public policy a slut.

Oh, we understand all right.

“….I think I read where the latest anti-Rush rally in Columbia actually broke single digits. [laughter] Which, Rush, it’s actually an improvement because they had an anti-Rush rally at the Capitol where there were more media than protesters…”

The march to the Capitol, April 28, 2012.

Does anyone think that the general public will ever have direct access to that bust of Rush Limbaugh? Just asking.

Previously:

There’s no room for sluts in the gallery. There is for prostitutes. (March 5, 2012)

Destined to be one of the top political quotes in the history of Missouri (March 5, 2012)

Steve Tilley owes Dred Scott and Buck O’Neil an apology (March 6, 2012)

Rush’s Bust (March 6, 2012)

What has your representative said about honoring Rush? (March 7, 2012)

Rush Limbaugh’s bust ain’t exactly a hit in small town Missouri (March 7, 2012)

Rush Limbaugh (r): on derangement (May 14, 2012)

The first inductee into the Hall of Infamous Missourians (May 15, 2012)

Projection, with absolutely no sense of irony, in the republican controlled House chamber.

Rush Limbaugh (r) spoke in the House chamber today on the occasion of his bust being placed in the Hall of Famous Missourians by Speaker Steve Tilley (r). By all accounts the ceremony was closed to the public.

Rush Limbaugh (r): ….I’m sorry I, I take it for granted but in, the Speaker when he announced this, uh, and I’m sure that any of you in the room [inaudible] your share of it. But the Speaker’s office and people in his office and the Speaker himself have been under assault for wanting to do this and, believe me, uh, it’s, it’s east to s, you know what, Rush, be better off me trying this some other year. He didn’t do that. Um, he hung in, it was tough. He did not give them any quarter. Uh, laughed at them when they called his office, which is what you have to do ’cause they’re deranged. [laughter] They literally are deranged, our friends, so called friends on the other side of the aisle are deranged. This is when my family now forgets I’m here. [laughter] Uh, but, but, he stood up to it and, uh, in fact, enjoyed it and threw right back at them….

That would explain why the ceremony was by invitation only.

Remember that. Give them no quarter, expect none.

We must make a pilgrimage to the hall.

Previously:

There’s no room for sluts in the gallery. There is for prostitutes. (March 5, 2012)

Destined to be one of the top political quotes in the history of Missouri (March 5, 2012)

Steve Tilley owes Dred Scott and Buck O’Neil an apology (March 6, 2012)

Rush’s Bust (March 6, 2012)

What has your representative said about honoring Rush? (March 7, 2012)

Rush Limbaugh’s bust ain’t exactly a hit in small town Missouri (March 7, 2012)

Steve Tilley (r), who is not running for office, has a campaign committee [pdf] that’s sitting on almost $1.3 million. Though he did drop $10,000.00 on Peter Kinder (r) and another $10,000.00 on the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC). And, a few meals:

Inaka Sushi 9285 S. Cimarron Road Las Vegas NV 89178 1/23/2012 Meals $133.40

Alexandro’s Restauran 2125 Mo-C Jefferson City MO 65109 2/16/2012 Meals & Entertainment $419.68

Domenico’s Italian 3702 W. Truman Blvd Jefferson City MO 65109 3/1/2012 Meals & Entertainment $604.17

[emphasis added]

And:

C. INVESTMENTS HELD AT CLOSE OF THIS PERIOD

12000 SH Reliable Community Bancshares In Reliable Community Bancshares Inc. $900,000.0[0]

Scottrade Brokerage Account Scottrade $210,000.0[0]

[emphasis added]

Those probably aren’t as liquid as cash holdings. And that also probably means Steve Tilley (r) won’t be laying those big bucks on republican candidates during the 2012 election cycle.

It’s not like the rest of them won’t get all the money they need from someone else.

There were a few refunds:

ADDENDUM STATEMENT

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF 9/28/11 CONTRIBUTION FROM PHYSICIANS PROFESSIONAL

INDEMNITY ASSOC, 80A N OAK, UNION MO 63084. RETURNED ON

1/30/2012

Amount: 1675.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO GREG HORTON, 782 N. SQUIRES LN,

SPRINGFIELD MO 65802. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012.

Amount: 3082.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO PAUL REINERT, 3473 INVERNESS CT,

SPRINGFIELD MO 65809. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012.

Amount: 3082.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO PPG PROPERTIES, LLC, 4247 S.

GLENSTONE, SPRINGFIELD MO 65804

Amount: 3216.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO INTEGRITY HOME CARE, 2960 N.

EASTGATE, SPRINGFIELD MO 65803. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012

Amount: 3015.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO INTEGRITY HOME CARE, 2960 N.

EASTGATE, SPRINGFIELD MO 65803. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012.

Amount: 335.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION TO GEORGE’S PHARMACY, 3650 E

SUNSHINE, SPRINGFIELD MO 65809. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012.

Amount: 335.00

Miscellaneous Disbursment:

RETURN 67% OF CONTRIBUTION FROM DAN’S DISCOUNTY PHARMACY, 2625

N. KANSAS EXPY, SPRINGFIELD MO 65803. RETURNED ON 3/20/2012.

Amount: 335.00

It’s not like it was because of campaign finance limits.

Via The Turner Report.

We journeyed to Jefferson City this morning, checked in at the House Communications Office and then set up our still cameras in a side gallery. Over the course of the morning session we had conversations with Representatives Joe Aull (D), Jason Kander (D), Chris Kelly (D), Jill Schupp (D) and Mary Still (D). Representative Denny Hoskins (r) crossed the aisle and we had a lengthy conversation in the side gallery about redistricting and its aftermath, the budget, revenues, and HB 1229.  

Speaker Steve Tilley (r) at the dais.

Stained glass above the press gallery and dais in the House chamber.

Representative Jill Schupp (D-82).

Old media in the press gallery above the dais. There’s a lot of space up there, but not very many people occupying it anymore.

 One gets the feeling that the paradigm has been changing and it isn’t finished just yet.

Debate across the aisle.

Representative Stephen Webber (D-23).

Representative Mary Still (D-25).

Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy (D-37)(left) and Speaker Steve Tilley (r)(right) in conversation at the back of the House chamber.

After the noon recess in the House we encountered American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Communications Workers of America (CWA) members with signs marching to the Capitol steps. After a few cheers the union members were instructed to leave their signs in a pile for collection before the went into the building. Later in the afternoon we encountered small groups in the halls  and offices speaking to individual members of the House.

Which side are you on? Which side are you on?

As the AFSCME, CWA and SEIU members gathered in front of the steps Representative Mark Parkinson (r) was exiting the building. We greeted each other and had a pleasant enough conversation. Apparently, Representative Parkinson believes public workers should be happier then they are.  

Students for a Better Missouri at the Missouri Capitol.

“Misogyny is not a Missouri value”

We received the following report from an individual at the capitol in Jefferson City today:

Twelve University of Missouri students from the group Students for a Better Missouri traveled to the Missouri Capitol today to tell Governor Nixon, Missouri State Senators and State Representatives about their disapproval of Speaker Steve Tilley choosing Rush Limbaugh for induction into the Missouri Capitol’s “Hall of Famous Missourians”.  Limbaugh’s recent comments about female college student Sandra Fluke, who testified about insurance-paid birth control February 23, 2012 in the U.S. House Democratic Steering Committee, have enraged many women and men across the nation. Since making the comments about Fluke, many of Limbaugh’s radio show sponsors have stopped advertising with his program.

House Speaker Steve Tilley met with the college students in his office, but no one from the press was allowed, nor was recording or videoing allowed by the students. Speaker Tilley, who chose Limbaugh’s bust to be inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians as part of the honor of being Speaker, explained that, while he does not agree with every comment Limbaugh makes or has made, he feels his choice to include Limbaugh into the Hall of Famous Missourians is appropriate.  He said Limbaugh is a Missouri native who grew up in southeast Missouri “and started with nothing, but is now the most recognized radio announcer in the nation.” Tilley said Limbaugh is very successful both on the radio as well as having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research.  He said there have been other controversial figures inducted into the Hall, including Mark Twain whom Tilley called racist as well as bank robber Jesse James, but that none these inductions should be politicized and not everyone agreed with all of the inductees in the past.

One of the male students asked if the way a person is chosen for induction should be changed to avoid controversy, but Tilley did not respond to the question, instead again saying he believed his choice to induct Limbaugh was the correct choice.

Several in the group said the words, and the continued use of those words,  by Limbaugh used when talking about Fluke – “slut”, “prostitute”, “whore” – were offensive and abusive to all women, and told Speaker Tilley it would be a poor reflection on the State of Missouri, and that it would seem Missouri condoned this treatment of women, if the State went forward with the induction.  Tilley said Limbaugh’s comments, while unfortunate, would not deter anyone from coming to the State Capitol.  One woman said she would not feel welcome in the Capitol if the bust is placed in the Hall of Famous Missourians.  Tilley said that was unfortunate but did not feel it would stop any others from going to the Capitol.

When asked if he had ever called a woman a slut, Tilley said he could not remember if he had. “Maybe when I was younger I might have,” he said.

Representative Mary Still (D 25) spoke with the students and introduced them on the House Floor.  She encouraged their continued participation with this and all other issues, and invited them to stop by her office any time the students went to the Capitol.  One student asked Still if a bill could be introduced in the House to stop the induction of Limbaugh and Still said she’d look in to the possibility.

Governor Nixon was unavailable to speak with the students, but they spoke with Nixon’s aide and she received the students’ letter to the Governor.

Senator Kurt Schaefer, while he listened to the students about their disapproval of Limbaugh’s induction, would not comment whether he did or did not support the Limbaugh induction.

“….He said there have been other controversial figures inducted into the Hall, including Mark Twain whom Tilley called racist as well as bank robber Jesse James, but that none these inductions should be politicized and not everyone agreed with all of the inductees in the past….”

Uh, Jesse James is not, in fact, in the Hall of Famous Missourians.

Students for a Better Missouri with Representative Mary Still (D).

A letter from the students:

March 7, 2012

Students for a Better Missouri

[….]

To Whom It May Concern:

Members of students for a Better Missouri are outraged by the recent nomination of Rush Limbaugh by Missouri House Speaker, Steven Tilley, into the Hall of famous Missourians. We are demanding reconsideration by the House before honoring a man who has gained notoriety through a career polluting the public sphere with general negativity.

Rush Limbaugh financially benefits by purposely being insulting, offensive and discriminatory, and for the state of Missouri to honor such achievements is an utter disgrace.

We feel this induction would turn our hall of fame into nothing but a hall of shame. We should be honoring people who better society, not people who outwardly and purposely offend the citizens of this country.

Limbaugh would be joining the likes of mark Twain, Sacajwea, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Harry S. Truman. All of these figures are people w ho, despite any controversy surrounding their induction at the time, have undisputedly made some positive impact or significant artistic contribution to society.

By inducting Rush Limbaugh in the hall of famous Missourians, the Missouri House of Representatives is revering the dissemination of sexist, racist, misogynistic and offensive ideals.

In the words of past inductee, Mark Twain, “A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” The words of Limbaugh do not speak to a character that deserves this sort of reward or recognition.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Previously:

There’s no room for sluts in the gallery. There is for prostitutes. (March 5, 2012)

Destined to be one of the top political quotes in the history of Missouri (March 5, 2012)

Steve Tilley owes Dred Scott and Buck O’Neil an apology (March 6, 2012)

Rush’s Bust (March 6, 2012)

What has your representative said about honoring Rush? (March 7, 2012)

Rush Limbaugh’s bust ain’t exactly a hit in small town Missouri (March 7, 2012)

So I leave Missouri for a week and guess what happens when my back is, figuratively speaking, turned? The Speaker of the Missouri House, Steve Tilley, decides that Rush Limbaugh, who just made headlines for particularly vile behavior in regard to women, deserves to be enshrined in the State Capital’s Hall of  Famous Missourians along with such significant individuals as Dred Scott and Buck O’Neil. Which is to say, Speaker Tilley has decided to join Limbaugh and spit in the faces of Missouri’s women.  The irony is, of course, that Tilley, partisan GOPer though he may be,  has something of a reputation for inspiring a more civil tone in the House than has been the case in the recent past. Oh well …. score zero for civility and one for the triumphant GOP zeitgeist.

Tilley seems to think that celebrity, distasteful as Limbaugh’s may be, is sufficient justification for one of the state’s signal honors. By that standard, Missouri ought to put a bust of Ma Barker in the Statehouse – she was born in Springfield, after all,  and is still as much a byword as Limbaugh.

A defiant Tilley claims that to deny Limbaugh a place in the capital’s gallery of honored sons and daughters would be giving in to “intolerance,” because “many of the honorees … are “people who in their time said controversial things or took controversial actions.”  To think that Limbaugh can be compared to other “controversial” Missourians that Tilley cites, people like “Mark Twain, former Gov. Warren Hearnes and John Ashcroft,” is insane. Each of those men, whether or not you agree with the views they expressed, were individuals who devoted serious effort to thinking about either public good, as in the case of the two statesmen, or the nature of the human condition. How could a reasonable person claim that Limbaugh – a nasty-tempered bully who made a fortune exploiting the prejudices of a few of the more mean-spirited souls on the right – belongs in such a group. I mean, really, can you imagine comparing Mark Twain and Rush Limbaugh?

As for Dred Scott and Buck O’Neil, the two African-Americans who will be honored, it’s probably a good thing they are no longer with us. I imagine they suffered enough from the behavior of men like Limbaugh during their lives; it’s a shame that they are to be sullied by association with him in death. Limbaugh, after all, does not only consistently revile women, but is notorious for such racist remarks about African-Americans as:

They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?

Just think about the chutzpah it takes to lump O’Neil into a group with the man who famously declared:

Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.

So I say to Speaker Tilley, as far as I’m concerned, this sort of nastiness, which is all Limbaugh has to offer, goes way beyond controversial, and I’m ashamed that anyone in my state thinks not only that it’s acceptable, but that it deserves to be honored.

Last sentence of 2nd paragraph moved to third paragraph to increase stylistic clarity.

(Cartoon source Wikimedia commons;by Ian D. Marsden of marsdencartoons.com. Licensed under under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.)

….”It’s not the hall of universally loved Missourians. It’s the Hall of Famous Missourians….”

– Speaker Steve Tilley (r) defending his decision to place a bust of Rush Limbaugh in the state capitol.

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?

Previously: There’s no room for sluts in the gallery. There is for prostitutes. (March 5, 2012)

Progressives pride themselves on being members of the reality-based community. This preference for reality directly pits them against today’s GOP, the members of which are almost uniformly enthralled by ideological fantasies that involve assumptions unsupported by facts (e.g. low taxes on the wealthy support growth) and that result in simplistic, often destructive policies (e.g., cutting government spending during a recession). Nowhere is this attitude more evident than in the battle over how to finance government.

In Missouri this dynamic has played itself out in what threatens to become a yearly ritual: the effort to impose TABOR-style spending caps. This year is no exception; GOP legislators are  proposing a a resolution(HJR 43) that would place on the November ballot a constitutional amendment to enact a TABOR variant, a tax and expenditure limit or TEL:

The proposal, which would amend the Missouri Constitution, would limit the growth in annual state spending to the inflation rate plus the percentage change in population for Missouri. Any extra revenue would help pay off state debt, cover emergencies or go back to taxpayers as temporary tax cuts.

Similar efforts to handcuff future legislators have failed in the past, but there are two factors that could make a difference this year. First, Missouri’s plantation master, Rex Sinquefield, supports the concept and has supplied his main man in the House, Speaker Steve Tilley (R-106), with a sizeable payout. Second, the inevitable Democratic quisling has been secured, in this case, Rep. Chris Kelley Kelly (D-24), who thinks it will be fine to handicap future legislators as long as the cap is high enough – based on 2008 revenue – and does not take effect right away, but is delayed until state revenues reach that highpoint.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s never a good idea to decrease legislative flexibility, particularly when dealing with future conditions that cannot be accounted for in the current environment. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes, here are numerous factors that belie the seeming simplicity of this approach to enforced government spending restraint.

— No existing measure of inflation correctly captures the growth in the cost of the kinds of services purchased in the public sector, so the inflation adjustment generally is not sufficient to allow the continuation of existing services. State governments spend much of their money on education and health care, which typically have cost increases greater than the general rate of inflation. […]

— The subpopulations that state governments serve tend to grow more rapidly than the overall population growth used in the formula. […]

— The rigidities of formula-based budgeting, such as a population-plus-inflation growth factor, do not allow funding of new priorities that may be embraced by the public, such as reduced class sizes or more stringent corrections policies. They do not allow states to adapt to federal mandates that require states to spend more in areas such as security and education, and they may have no provisions for emergency spending on natural disasters or other unanticipated problems.

— A TEL based on a population-plus-inflation growth factor, or any other artificial formula, moves the budget process away from the careful weighing of competing priorities and consideration of the value of new initiatives and toward a process defined by sterile limits that require the shrinking of government services in most years.

Most damming, of course, is the Colorado experience with its TABOR law which had a disastrous effect on the state. Speaker Tilley seems to think that this new effort to limit future finance options is  “very, very different” from the Colorado law, but it is difficult to figure how it really differs in substance, or how it answers any of the objections outlined above.

Of course, the Missouri TEL wouldn’t take effect until state revenues have recovered significantly, but even in the highwater year of 2008, revenues were arguably not sufficient for the state’s needs. Rep. Ginese Monticello (D-66) expressed concerns about education and social services in Missouri under the proposed formula:

Even if I could get all the money in the world for education I have some concerns for social services as well. So, it seems to me that we’re kind of locking some groups into a continued future of being under funded when our needs in our state are becoming greater with unemployment still at really high levels

Bear in mind that Missour’s infrastructure was in sad shape long before the recession; Missouri’s bridges, for example, are the seventh worst in the nation in terms of decay. Also stop to consider that Missouri is already a very low tax state – 43rd lowest in the nation.

Wouldn’t this low tax status combined with the need for greater social, educational, and physical infrastructure investment lead one to think that Missouri’s legislators would be better employed if they were to spend some time overhauling the moribund state tax system, or perhaps looking for some revenue enhancements, like setting up a mechanism for collecting Internet sales taxes, or raising cigarette taxes that are also much lower than in most states? But such rational activity, of course, would mean abandoning ideology for reality.

Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C001135 01/01/2012 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI Teamsters 245 Political Action Fund 1850 E. Division Street Springfield MO 65803 12/30/2011 $20,000.00

C001135 01/01/2012 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI Thompson Coburn LLP One US Bank Plaza Saint Louis MO 63101 12/31/2011 $15,000.00

C001135 01/01/2012 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI Michael Ketchmark 15454 Iron Horse Circle Overland Park KS 66224 Davis, Ketchmark, McCreight & Ivers, PC Attorney 12/31/2011 $10,000.00

C091145 01/01/2012 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Friends of Tilley 100 S. Jackson Perryville MO 63775 12/31/2011 $15,000.00

[emphasis added]

These big bucks contributions came in under the wire for the last quarter of 2011.

That’s $45,000.00 for Governor Jay Nixon (D) and another mercy contribution for Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (r).

Well, now we know where Speaker Steve Tilley (r) stands, but don’t cry for Brad Lager (r). Pass the popcorn.  

The October 2011 quarterly campaign finance reports are showing up at the Missouri Ethics Commission. The active Lieutenant Governor campaign committees:

Since former State Auditor Susan Montee (D) just formed her campaign committee there isn’t a quarterly report:

Date Established: 10/3/2011

COMMITTEE: MECID:C111177

MONTEE FOR MISSOURI

JEFFERSON CITY MO 65102

CANDIDATE: SUSAN MONTEE

JEFFERSON CITY MO 65109

OFFICE SOUGHT: LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Date of Election:8/7/2012

Political Party:DEMOCRAT

Paper Filed Reports (Scanned)

Amended Statement of Committee Organization 10/03/2011 2011 [pdf]

[emphasis added]

Becky Plattner (D) filed her quarterly report on October 10th:

REPORT SUMMARY

PLATTNER FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR [pdf] 10/10/2011

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $250.00

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $1,767.30

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $14,444.89

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $20,000.00

[emphasis added]

That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the campaign plan.

There is one republican and an all too familiar representative of the lunatic fringe in the race now representing the Constitution Party:

REPORT SUMMARY

ELECT CYNTHIA DAVIS [pdf] 10/12/2011

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $995.40

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $636.97

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $983.17

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $30,000.00

[emphasis added]

You, too, can run for Lieutenant Governor if you have $30,000.00 in campaign debt. This is priceless:

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

ELECT CYNTHIA DAVIS [pdf] 10/12/2011

B. Itemized Expenditures All Over $100

State of Missouri Ethics Commision [sic] Jefferson City MO 65102 8/17/2011 Late filing fee $150.00

[emphasis added]

This inspires confidence in the campaign, no?

And, finally, the big money, for Steve Tilley (r) who filed his report on October 17th:

REPORT SUMMARY

FRIENDS OF TILLEY [pdf] 10/17/2011

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $575,940.00

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $96,959.94

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $1,544,024.01

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $0.00

[emphasis added]

$1,544,024.01 cash on hand. That ain’t no typo. It is good to be the Speaker.

Let’s take a look at the expenditures:

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

FRIENDS OF TILLEY [pdf] 10/17/2011

CHASE PARK PLAZA ST LOUIS MO 63108 7/5/2011 TRAVEL $189.31

CHASE PARK PLAZA ST LOUIS MO 63108 7/11/2011 TRAVEL $161.68

CHASE PARK PLAZA ST LOUIS MO 63108 7/11/2011 TRAVEL $195.04

CHASE PARK PLAZA ST LOUIS MO 63108 7/18/2011 TRAVEL $362.43

ST LOUIS BASEBALL ST LOUIS MO 63102 7/7/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $685.08

ST LOUIS BASEBALL ST LOUIS MO 63102 7/11/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $635.35

ST LOUIS BASEBALL ST LOUIS MO 63102 7/11/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $1,361.45

PERKINS RESTAURANT POPLAR BLUFF MO 63901 7/12/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $1,184.45

12 WEST BAR & GRILL FARMINGTON MO 63640 7/14/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $195.10

HILTON HOTELS ST LOUIS MO 63103 8/2/2011 TRAVEL $1,180.38

MORGAN STREET BREWERY ST LOUIS MO 63102 8/22/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $124.62

CHASE PARK PLAZA ST LOUIS MO 63108 8/22/2011 TRAVEL $495.02

SUNSET COUNTRY CLUB ST LOUIS MO 63127 8/25/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $2,310.52

J. BUCKS ST LOUIS MO 63102 8/26/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $108.21

ST LOUIS BASEBALL ST LOUIS MO 63102 9/12/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $315.75

BUFFALO WILD WINGS FARMINGTON MO 63640 9/23/2011 MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT $478.41

[emphasis added]

And on and on…

A lot of lodging, dining out, and baseball(!).