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Tag Archives: Ed Emery

SB 132: I’ve got secrets I want to keep

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Senate

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Amendment 1, CLEAN Missouri, Ed Emery, General Assembly, lobbying, missouri, Missouri Sunshine Law, SB 132

Because lobbyists shrivel up when exposed to sunlight?

A bill, prefiled in the Missouri Senate by Ed Emery (r), which would broaden disclosure exemptions in the Missouri Sunshine Law for members of the General Assembly:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 132 [pdf]
100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR EMERY. Pre-filed December 1, 2018, and ordered printed.
ADRIANE D. CROUSE, Secretary.
0625S.02I

AN ACT

To repeal section 610.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the closure of certain records.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 610.021, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 610.021, to read as follows:

610.021. Except to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, a public governmental body is authorized to close meetings, records and votes, to the extent they relate to the following:

[….]

(25) Any record maintained in the office of a member of the general assembly that is related to a constituent of the member; and
(26) Any record maintained in the office of a member of the general assembly, an employee of either house of the general assembly, or an employee of a caucus of either the majority or minority party of either house that contains information regarding proposed legislation or the legislative process, however, nothing in this subdivision shall allow the closure of a record that has been offered in a public meeting of a house of the general assembly, or any committee thereof.

[emphasis in original]

We wouldn’t want anyone to figure out who’s been pushing those ALEC cut and paste bills on the Missouri General Assembly now, would we?

SB 466: maybe if we just ignore him he’ll stop filing lunatic fringe right wingnut alternate universe successionist fantasy bills

24 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Senate

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Ed Emery, General Assembly, missouri, SB 466, tenther drivel

No, that doesn’t work now. Everyone else already ignores him.

Oh, and tenther drivel, too.

SB 466 Adopts the Prosperity States Compact
[….]
SB 466 – This act adopts the Prosperity States Compact, an interstate agreement for the creation of political subdivisions (“districts”) which are exempt from state and federal laws not otherwise made continually applicable by the Prosperity States Compact or by federal supremacy. The Compact also places certain limits to districts’ authority to govern and raise public funds, in addition to those limitations that are ordinarily placed on political subdivisions, including a ban on the taxation of district residents.

Districts are municipal corporations with the power to form contracts and be party to lawsuits. Districts are led by a board of seven administrators who serve four year terms. A process is created for the board to create and administer district bylaws, ordinances, policies, and procedures. All of the board’s meetings and records are open.

The authority of the district government is limited to certain law enforcement activities, the furnishing of transportation, utility, and transmission infrastructure, the operation of a municipal court, the borrowing of money in accordance with other limitations placed upon borrowing by this act, the power to accept certain gifts of real and personal property, and other incidental activities that are necessary for government as determined by the board. The district government is prohibited from exercising any government function of taxation, eminent domain, civil property forfeiture unless the forfeiture is based in a criminal violation and the forfeiting party has been convicted of that violation, establishing or enforcing any monopoly or cartel, accepting certain gifts, delegating all or any portion of its authority in any manner other than which it is permitted to do so by the act, or permitting any other unit of government to exercise authority within the district, except as permitted to do so by the act.
[….]

You’ve just got to love some of the particulars:

[….]
(c) Governing Authority. The governing authority of every Prosperity District is strictly limited to the following powers, which shall be exclusive of the exercise of the same or like powers by any other governmental unit within the district’s boundaries, as they exist from time to time, and no other governmental unit shall within such boundaries exercise the same or like powers as are granted to the district under this subsection, except as expressly contemplated in this Compact:
(1) police power consisting solely of: (i) enforcing the Malum in Se Criminal Law, Common Law and Regulation adopted in its formation petition as contemplated…
[….]

By my reading of the bill spitting on sidewalks would be out.

[….]
Section 7. Preservation of Person Status for Artificial Persons. A corporation, trust, company, association, organization or other non-natural person entity (“artificial person”) that enjoys or is capable of enjoying certain duties, rights and powers of a natural person under law existing outside of the boundaries of a Prosperity District, such as the right to sue or be sued, contract or own property in its own name, shall be recognized as enjoying the corresponding duties, rights and powers, if any, of a natural person within the boundaries of a Prosperity District upon giving notice in such form and with such content as may be specified in the district’s bylaws to the managing board of the district of its intent to conduct operations, do business or establish a place of business or domicile within the Prosperity District.
[….]

Can you abort an artificial person? Just asking.

Read the whole thing. It’ll be worth the waste of your time, if only for the mocking laughter.

Ed Emery (r) sponsored this bill. As if it could be anyone else.

Ed Emery thinks hungry Missourians should be treated like animals

03 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

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Ed Emery, food insecurity, hunger, Missouri Hunger atlas, SNAP

Know someone who’s hungry and not because he or she skipped a mean or wants to cut down on calories? If you don’t think you do, you might be wrong. The UM Interdisciplinary Center for Food Study recently released the 2016 Missouri Hunger Atlas which reports that:

[…]  nearly 1 million Missourians faced food insecurity or the worry about not having enough food. This means nearly one in six individuals lacked adequate access to food, with the most vulnerable populations including children and the elderly.

“Missouri households are the hungriest they have been in decades,” said Sandy Rikoon, director of the MU Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security and co-author of the Hunger Atlas. “The increase in the percentage of Missouri citizens who reveal anxiety about not having enough food at some point during the year and those who experience skipped meals and involuntary diet reductions is concerning, and among the highest increases nationwide.”

Keep that in mind when you hear what I’m going to tell you next. State Sen. Ed Emery (R-31) has got several bones to pick when it comes to food aid, especially food stamps (SNAP). On his Facebook page he compares food stamp recipients to wild animals in order to make a case for terminating the program:

Titled as a lesson in irony and attributed to a friend, the post states that 47 million people received food stamp benefits in 2013.

It then states that the National Park Service has a policy against feeding animals.

“Their [sic] stated reason for the policy is because ‘the animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.’”

Not much you can say about that, even after you pick your jaw up off the ground. It does make it very clear how corporate flunkies like state ALEC* co-chair Emery regard tax-based assistance for anybody except the very rich guys like those who sponsor ALEC .

It’s true that officials at national and state parks encourage people not to feed animals. They do so because the natural food which the animals forage or hunt is healthier for them – food that they may reject after becoming habituated to human food, just as your toddler might eschew his veggies if unlimited candy were an option. But it’s important to remember that original food source hasn’t gone away.

Emery’s effort to draw an analogy based on animal life fails because the conditions that the human individuals in the SNAP program experience are not the same. For most humans, getting food requires, first off, a source of income. Unfortunately, Missouri is one of the states where the economic recovery has lagged behind the rest of the nation. According to analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline publication, Missouri saw employment growth of only 3.95% since 2010 when the state’s jobs figures were at the lowest point. Hard to get a job that doesn’t exist.

Second, the jobs that do exist have to pay workers enough to handle their necessities, including food. More than half of all food aid recipients are employed, but they don’t make enough money to adequately feed themselves and their families without aid.

Actually, despite Emery’s seeming panic about the corrupting influence of SNAP, Missouri saw a 5-10% decrease in SNAP recipients between 2013 and 2015. Why then, you must be asking, if fewer people need food aid, is food insecurity increasing in the state?

Could it be that the decrease in the numbers of SNAP recipients has nothing to do with need, but rather reflects the efforts of GOPers like Emery to restrict access to food assistance? There’s lots of evidence to support this case. The state has made and continues to make it difficult for individuals to apply for aid, and last year the legislature enacted rules that will deny food assistance to between 30,000 – 58,000 Missourians. Legislators like ALEC fanboy Emery also push that organization’s pre-digested, anti-union, anti-worker policies that help to hold down wages in the state.

In nature, when animal food sources are diminished, there is widespread starvation. Perhaps what Sen. Emery is trying to tell us when, in order to support the policies he promotes, he compares hungry people to wild animals, is that he’s just fine with letting them starve to death, just like animals in the wild starve when they can’t find food.

*American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC

Ed Emery might go on the attack to defend SJR39 – but only if brave Torry revolutionaries get his back

13 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Boycotts, Ed Emery, SJR39

State ALEC chair, Senator Ed Emery is pretty riled up because it’s becoming clear that the freedom-to-discriminate bill, SJR39, is attracting negative attention from businesses that think it might hurt their bottom line to be associated with bigots. He’s clearly aware of the economic firestorm that descended most recently on North Carolina after its Governor signed a similar bill. He’s even gone so far as to suggest a boycott of businesses that have made their opposition to SJR clear:

… It is disappointing to see a number of businesses, who depend on Missouri customers, publicly oppose the religious protections of SJR 39 and hammer legislators to oppose it. Some of them include MasterCard (makes me glad I use VISA), Edward Jones, Monsanto, AT&T, Ameren and Dow Chemical. Their opposition has motivated me to begin checking product labeling more closely than ever before.

Get that? These national companies “depend” on Missouri customers who, Emery obliquely suggests, might just follow his lead and refuse to purchase their goods or use their services. Kind of like nipping at the backside of the dog that’s got your backside gripped in it’s vice-like jaws. I’ll wait to see how badly potential Missouri refusniks manage to scare MasterCard.

But the subtly proposed boycott of the boycotters isn’t the best that Emery is capable of giving us. Consider, for instance his justification for going after these businesses:

The Tories, you may recall, resisted any separation from England, preferring the assurances of the King’s provision and protection to the individual liberty and economic freedom sought by the Whigs. The love of liberty prevailed, and the Declaration of Independence was composed and issued. The colonists that signed that document and those that armed themselves in support were not unaware of the economic and military measures that the King could take against them. The blockade of the port of Boston was just one of the “Intolerable Acts” that the King took in hopes of bringing the colonies back into submission.

It was clear during the NPR program that the Tories’ arguments of yesteryear are being used today. They fear another “Boston blockade” of Kansas City or any other Missouri city. They threaten economic disaster to those who would stand against the elitist oligarchy of five Supreme Court justices. The oligarchy redefined marriage and thereby overturned the expressed will of the people in thirty states. Somehow they discovered same-sex marriage in the Constitution even though the state had neither created nor sustained it. At least King George’s actions might be explained in that he reigned in the age of the divine right of kings. No one will find a divine right of the judiciary anywhere in the U.S. Constitution.

Somebody explain to Senator Emery that the majority opinion of the Court is based explicitly on the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment. While the constitution does not spell out a right to “same-sex marriage,” neither does it specify a right to any other type of marriage. Nevertheless, the court has long recognized that there is an abstract right to marriage itself based on the degree to which the institution has been traditionally recognized. The Equal Protection Clause forbids arbitrarily excluding any class from the benefits accruing to the holders of such established rights.

And, while we’re at it, what’s with the Whigs and Torries business? We know that it’s fun to play revolutionary good guy – remember when some fervent Tea Partiers sported tricorn hats and knee breeches at their pep rallies? Of course, logicians tell us that analogies like this are liable to fallacy. The parts of the analogy need to actually correlate with the parts of the entity to which it is being compared.

Does anyone really equate businesses that resist bigotry with oppressors? Or, to put it another way, does anybody really equate business owners with heroic revolutionaries when all they want is the freedom to refuse service to members of the public based on their private biases?  Didn’t we take care of this type of discrimination when we integrated dime-store lunch counters back in the sixties?

Given the degree of indignation Senator Emery feels about the Obergefall v. Hodges decision, it’s amazing that he didn’t feel moved to hold forth about “Whigs and Torries” when the Supreme Court’s “elitist oligarchy” employed far more creative 14th Amendment arguments in Citizens United v. FEC. Could the difference in his erspose be explained when one considers that Citizens United trashed campaign finance rules that were hobbling the ability of rich men like Emery’s ALEC mentors to buy the kind of government that they want?

Edited for clarity.

Wrongway Hanaway makes a list and checks it off

06 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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ALEC, Ann Dickinson, Ann Wagner, Catherine Hanaway, Ed Emery, elections, John Hancock, Kit Bond, missouri, republicans, Rex Sinquefield, Todd Akin, Tom Schweich

From Catherine Hanaway’s “How to become Governor of Missouri” checklist:

1. Goal: Find a simpatico billionaire to pave the roads with gold.

Achievements to date:

— Nearly $1 million dollars from one donor, megabucks political meddler, Rex Sinquefield.

Next steps:

— Ask Rex what he wants; submit bill.

2. Goal: Make nice with GOP crazy wing.

Achievements to date:

— Channeled the spirit of Todd Akin; attributed poverty, depravity and pedophilia to female sexual autonomy.

— Kudos from Constitutional Party, holly-rollier-than-thou, Cynthia Davis who responds to the Akin imitation with thanks to “brave women, like Catherine Hanaway, for having the courage and moral fortitude to speak the truth” about the sluts who “who have been beguiled into making their bodies available to men outside of Holy Matrimony.”

Next steps:

— Continue talking about keeping the sluts barefoot, pregnant and under Big Daddy’s thumb.

— With the understanding, of course, none of that talk applies to educated, rich Republican women who run for office.

3. Goal: Make nice with Missouri GOP power-brokers.

Achievements to date:

Endorsements:

— Former Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator Kit Bond – will put loyalty to former employees and friends over policy differences.  

— Former GOP National Committee Missouri member Ann Dickinson – goes where Kit Bond leads.

— Very connected U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner – all in for Hanaway – and why not since she’s the GOPs A-1 talent scout for women who can mouth the Republican anti-women line without retching.

— State Rep. Ed Emery, ALEC’s main man in Missouri.

Next Steps:

— Take a loyalty oath to ALEC.

— Hit the country club circuit.

4. Goal: Squash the other main GOP primary contender, Tom Schweich, like a bug.

Achievements to date:

— Long Version: Read former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth’s eulogy for Tom Schweich to get the whole story.

— Short Version: Read TPM’s description of the way the old, political one-two works – or what Hanaway supporters and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bill McCellan want to call politics as usual.

— Issued statement after announcement of Schweich’s suicide about what a mensch he was … oops! Make that what an “extraordinary man with an extraordinary record of service to our state and nation.”

Next Steps:

— Suspend campaign, lie low and maybe State GOP Chair and former Hanaway oppo researcher John Hancock will take all the heat.

* Edited slightly; inadvertently omitted text added back under achievements on 4th point.

SB 555: a quick and easy formula for clogging the courts with lawsuits

02 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Ed Emery, General Assembly, marriage equality, missouri, SB 555, teh gay

The cult of the lost cause.

A bill filed by Senator Ed Emery (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

SENATE BILL NO. 555 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR EMERY.

Read 1st time February 26, 2015, and ordered printed.

ADRIANE D. CROUSE, Secretary.

2369S.01I

AN ACT

To repeal section 451.022, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to marriages other than a marriage between a man and a woman, with an emergency clause.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 451.022, RSMo, is repealed and one new section

2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 451.022, to read as follows:

451.022. 1. It is the public policy of this state to recognize marriage only between a man and a woman.

2. Any purported marriage not between a man and a woman is invalid.

3. No recorder shall issue a marriage license, except to a man and a woman.

4. A marriage between persons of the same sex other than a marriage between a man and a woman will not be recognized or enforced for any purpose in this state even when valid where contracted.

5. (1) No state or local taxpayer funds or salaries of an employee of the state or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state shall be disbursed for an activity that includes the licensing or support of marriage other than a marriage between a man and a woman.

(2) Any employee of the state or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this section may be terminated and shall no longer receive any salary and employee benefits.

(3) Any active employee who is a member of any retirement system established by the state of Missouri or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state for the purpose of providing plan benefits for elected or appointed public officials or employees of the state of Missouri or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state, who is not yet vested as of the effective date of this section, and who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall not be eligible to receive any retirement benefits from the respective plan, except such member may still request from the respective retirement system a refund of the member’s plan contributions, including interest credited to the participant’s account.

Section B. Because of the need to clarify licensing procedures, section A of this act is deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety, and is hereby declared to be an emergency act within the meaning of the constitution, and section A of this act shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval.

[emphasis in original]

He must have inadvertently left out the death penalty. Stoning could work.

Priorities. Think of all those localities and the legal fees they’re going to pile up.

With an emergency clause? Let it go, dude.

Sen. Ed Emery (r): okay, now it’s just social media trolling

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Ed Emery, General Assembly, missouri, social media, trolling, Twitter

This afternoon, via Twitter, Senator Ed Emery (r) continues his requests for constituent concerns:

Ed Emery ‏@edemery

If you could prevent one piece of legislation from passing the Missouri Legislature this year, what would it be? Leave a comment below. 2:30 PM – 5 Jan 2015

The replies:

Grow More ‏@GrowingInMO

@edemery This questions seems backwards, don’t you think? What work will you actually do this year? 2:32 PM – 5 Jan 2015

Is that the people with the blimp?

Brian K ‏@Briligerent

@edemery Right to Work 2:32 PM – 5 Jan 2015

And a comment in passing:

Sean Nicholson ‏@ssnich

The psychic canine one RT @edemery: If you could prevent one piece of legislation from passing #MOLeg, what would it be? 2:31 PM – 5 Jan 2015

There’s a story in there somewhere.

Previously: Sen. Ed Emery (r): be careful what you ask for (January 5, 2014)

Sen. Ed Emery (r): be careful what you ask for

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Ed Emery, General Assembly, Medicaid, missouri, right wingnut, Twitter

On January 2nd Senator Ed Emery (r) made a request of constituents about their wish(es) for the new session of the General Assembly:

Ed Emery ‏@edemery

If you could choose one piece of legislation for the Missouri Legislature to pass this year, what would it be? Leave a comment below. 11:30 AM – 2 Jan 2015

Much social media hilarity ensued:

Jake McDaniel ‏@jacobmcdan

@edemery Medicaid expansion 11:55 AM – 2 Jan 2015

That’s never going to happen. Especially if Senator Emery (r) has a say.

Hal Higdon ‏@HalHigdon

@edemery Badly needed equity funding for community colleges. Thanks 12:50 PM – 2 Jan 2015

Probably not going to happen.

Andrew Shaughnessy ‏@andrewshag

@edemery Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA) 12:50 PM – 2 Jan 2015

Probably not going to happen.

David Johns ‏@davidjohns11

Repeal of the death penalty. [….] 12:54 PM – 2 Jan 2015

Definitely not going to happen.

John Jackson ‏@JumpinJezebel

@edemery @eyokley Ethics, followed by a manditory redistricting committee for 2020 of neutral members with charges to encourage competition. 2:23 PM – 2 Jan 2015

Definitely not going to happen.

Darrell Boyer ‏@MrDBoyer

@edemery I would like to see only law makers that have taught to create legislation impacting education. 8:18 PM – 2 Jan 2015

That’s never going to happen.

rebecca l. gorley ‏@rebeccalgorley

@edemery Medicaid expansion for 300,000 Missourians! #MOMedicaid #moleg 9:38 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Brian K ‏@Briligerent

@edemery Missouri Medicaid Expansion. Thank you for asking.10:14 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Glic ‏@Glic

@edemery #MOmedicaid expansion 10:19 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Alison Dreith ‏@alidreith

Medicaid expansion! @edemery #moleg #MOMedicaid 10:21 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Seth Bundy ‏@SethBundyMO

@edemery – closing the coverage gap, strengthening rural hospitals & bringing our tax dollars home through #Medicaid expansion & reform 10:23 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Jillian Adams ‏@JillianRAdams

This Missourian wants #MOmedicaid expansion, @edemery. #moleg 10:55 AM – 5 Jan 2015

Jennifer Bernstein ‏@JenKBernstein

@edemery Please pass Medicaid Expansion this session. Lives are on the line. 11:09 AM – 5 Jan 2015

He did ask.

Sadly, Senator Emery (r) pre-filed the following bills before he asked that question of his constituents:

SB 27 – Emery – Modifies provisions relating to elementary and secondary education

SB 28 – Emery – Requires the State Board of Education to develop a simplified annual school report card for each school attendance center using a letter grade of A to F

SB 29 – Emery – Modifies provisions relating to the employment of teachers in school districts

SB 64 – Emery – Requires the State Board of Education to classify the school districts as either unaccredited, provisionally accredited, accredited, or accredited with distinction

SB 65 – Emery – Creates the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Program to grant scholarships to students from unaccredited school districts for certain educational costs

SB 66 – Emery – Requires the Senate to try all impeachments except for the impeachment of the Governor, which shall be tried by the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court

SB 85 – Emery – Authorizes certain social workers and licensed professional counselors to provide behavioral health services in the MO HealthNet program

SB 86 – Emery – Allows a court to place a person on electronic monitoring with victim notification if a person has been charged with, or found guilty of, violating an order of protection

SB 87 – Emery – Requires persons who submit petitions for political subdivision audits to reside or own property in the subdivision and allows for signatures to be rescinded

SB 92 – Emery – Modifies bond requirements for certain county offices

SB 93 – Emery – Creates the Campus Free Expression Act to protect free expression on the campuses of public institutions of higher education

SB 94 – Emery – Modifies retirement benefits for newly elected members of the General Assembly and statewide elected officials

SB 98 – Emery – Exempts capital gains on gold and silver from income tax and authorizes the storage of gold and silver in private repositories

SJR 4 – Emery – Requires the Senate, beginning January 1, 2017, to try all impeachments except for the impeachment of the Governor, which shall be tried by the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court

Nope, nothing about expanding Medicaid in there.

Going for the gold and silver (market)

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Ed Emery, General Assembly, gold, missouri, right wingnut, SBB 98, silver

It just goes to show you – right wingnut priorities remain right wingnut priorities.

A pre-filed bill in the Senate – by Ed Emery (r):

SB 98 Exempts capital gains on gold and silver from income tax and authorizes the storage of gold and silver in private repositories

Sponsor: Emery

LR Number: 0369S.01I Fiscal Note not available

Committee:

Last Action: 12/1/2014 – Prefiled

[….]

Current Bill Summary

SB 98 – This act creates an income tax deduction for the amount of capital gains income incurred by the resident from the exchange of gold or silver issued by the federal government. Such gold and silver held in an nonbank depository will not subject to disclosure except under warrant. The value of gold and silver held by a nonbank depository will be based on the London PM fix for that day. The act also repeals provisions making silver coins of the United States legal tender and limiting the amount that a payment may be made with silver coins.

[….]

It’s a good thing, because we were all so worried about this. Not.

Previously:

HB 421: channeling the Specie Circular (February 5, 2013)

HB 421: important things first (April 24, 2013)

You were expecting anything different? (December 1, 2014)

It’ll be a cold day in the General Assembly… (December 1, 2014)

Now we’re just waiting on the Agenda 21, Sharia law and nullification bills (December 1, 2014)

Oh, and Obamacare is evil, too (December 2, 2014)

Sen. Ed Emery (r): issues with reading comprehension and critical thinking

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Ed Emery, facebook, General Assembly, higher education, missouri, right wingnut

Previously: Sen. Ed Emery (r): if you want Medicaid move to another state (May 19, 2014)

In the Missouri Constitution, in not one, but two places:

Missouri Constitution

Article I

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 7

Public aid for religious purposes–preferences and discriminations on religious grounds.

Section 7. That no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect or denomination of religion, or in aid of any priest, preacher, minister or teacher thereof, as such; and that no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made against any church, sect or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or worship.

Article IX

EDUCATION

Section 8

Prohibition of public aid for religious purposes and institutions.

Section 8. Neither the general assembly, nor any county, city, town, township, school district or other municipal corporation, shall ever make an appropriation or pay from any public fund whatever, anything in aid of any religious creed, church or sectarian purpose, or to help to support or sustain any private or public school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other institution of learning controlled by any religious creed, church or sectarian denomination whatever; nor shall any grant or donation of personal property or real estate ever be made by the state, or any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, for any religious creed, church, or sectarian purpose whatever.

Senator Ed Emery (r) on higher education yesterday, via Facebook:

Ed Emery

[….]

“Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” – Harvard University Original Mission Statement, 1636

During this legislative session, as seen with passing both the student transfer bill and the Common Core bill, education was a top priority for the General Assembly. As the graduation season is upon us, many students will be preparing to head to college this fall.

During the session, we heard a higher education bill, which included performance funding – meaning that starting in 2016, a certain amount of state funding – based on performance – will be distributed, holding these schools accountable for the quality of education they provide. It is common for parents to be unaware of what their child is learning when they are away from home, but it is crucial that parents stay involved. In a recent report published by Phyllis Schlafly, she discusses the drastic shift on college campuses and the breakdown of traditional values among students. Schlafly makes some startling observations and passionate admonitions which are summarized below.

Before you send your child off to college, think for a moment about the quality of education you are getting for the $20,000-$50,000 a year. To get a glimpse into what your child will be learning, visit a university bookstore and browse through the required text books. Many of the history books give a one-sided perspective of the United States being a bully that is exploiting third-world nations and paints the Founders as racist slave owning elites who only declared their independence to preserve their own wealth and social status. Many text books describe big government as the only humane way in which a country can be ruled and claim that it is the duty of the government to provide for everyone, rather than protect their lives, liberty and property.

The problem is the way this information is being taught. If a student takes a history class in which they learn about Marxism, they may study and fulfill all of the requirements to pass without ever being challenged to think critically about the topic. For example, students learn about the ideas of Socialism and the basis on which it is built, but they seldom learn of the instances throughout history where this ideology has been tried and failed, from the pilgrims to Zimbabwe to the USSR. Schlafly’s research points out that at Columbia Teachers College, students learn that non-Socialist societies are the root cause of all violence.

Today on many campuses, students are given the opportunity to take a variety of classes including those on gender studies, many of which teach that the traditional roles of male and female are learned behaviors which can be changed if the person so chooses. In Schlafly’s report, she talks about a course at the University of Missouri-St. Louis that uses a textbook entitled Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions. She states that this textbook explains to students that heterosexuality only exists because of socially imposed stereotypes and homophobia, and has nothing to do with nature or morality. It teaches students that the oppression of minority groups is one of many ways for the majority to keep its special privileges. Frequently those expressing their own belief in traditional values are condemned as being ignorant or unaccepting. Even at the simplest levels, students are kept from expressing traditional ideas.

The outcry for “equality,” as opposed to exceptionalism on college campuses, has created a gross double standard. To teach traditional values or concepts is considered politically incorrect and students who want to live by these values find themselves persecuted. In Schlafly’s article, she describes a situation at Rollins College in Florida which recently ruled that Christian student clubs, who require student officers to be Christian, are in violation of the school’s “non-discrimination policy” and will not receive any university funds allotted to student organizations. Many often forget that most universities were founded as Christian learning institutions. Harvard’s original motto was “Truth for Christ and the Church,” and Yale University was originally founded to train Christian ministers. As you can see, today’s universities have exponentially strayed from this idea.

For many students, college can be a time in which their faith and values are tested. It is important as parents to help your student select a college carefully and to arm them with the tools they need to remain strong in their beliefs and values. Education forms the future. We cannot leave the future of Missouri or this great nation in the hands of the amoral education elite. Parents must take charge, and that requires involvement-not just in K-12, but in every institution that either forms or conforms the minds of our children.

“Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” – Harvard University Original Mission Statement, 1636

Uh, you do know that Harvard University was and still is a private, not state, institution, right?

“….During the session, we heard a higher education bill, which included performance funding – meaning that starting in 2016, a certain amount of state funding – based on performance – will be distributed, holding these schools accountable for the quality of education they provide. It is common for parents to be unaware of what their child is learning when they are away from home, but it is crucial that parents stay involved….” [emphasis added]

Uh, once an individual is eighteen years of age or older (achieving the legal age of majority) parents have no right to be involved:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”

[emphasis added]

And:

[…..]

Section 99.31(a)(8)  Prior Consent Not Required for Disclosures to Parents of a Dependent Student

The Secretary clarifies that educational agencies and institutions may disclose education records to the parents of a dependent student, as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, without the student’s consent. An educational agency or institution may disclose education records to either parent of a dependent student, regardless of which parent claims the student as a dependent.

[….]

[emphasis added]

The language is permissive, not mandatory.

“…Schlafly’s research points out that at Columbia Teachers College, students learn that non-Socialist societies are the root cause of all violence…”

Uh, the Teachers College, Columbia University is a private institution:

Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States.

Controversy preceded the founding of the College, with various groups competing to determine its location and religious affiliation. Advocates of New York City met with success on the first point, while the Anglicans prevailed on the latter. However, all constituencies agreed to commit themselves to principles of religious liberty in establishing the policies of the College….

“…In Schlafly’s article, she describes a situation at Rollins College in Florida which recently ruled that Christian student clubs, who require student officers to be Christian, are in violation of the school’s “non-discrimination policy” and will not receive any university funds allotted to student organizations….”

Rollins College?:

Founded in 1885 by New England Congregationalists who sought to bring their style of liberal arts education to the Florida frontier, Rollins is a four-year, coeducational institution and the first recognized college in Florida.

Uh, Rollins College is a private institution.

That “performance funding” thing in Missouri, from SB 492 [pdf]?:

[….]

….Each public four-year institution, each community college, and the state technical college shall utilize the five institutional performance measures it has submitted to, and that were approved by, the coordinating board for higher education as of the effective date of this act, for performance funding under sections 163.191, 173.1540, and 178.638.

[….]

[emphasis added]

Performance funding in SB 492 applies to public institutions in Missouri.

“….Many often forget that most universities were founded as Christian learning institutions….As you can see, today’s universities have exponentially strayed from this idea…”

Not according to the Missouri Constitution as it applies to public institutions in the state. Unless, of course, one has difficulties with reading comprehension and critical thinking.

Gee, the University of Missouri, St. Louis has a course that uses a textbook that Phyllis Schlafly and Senator Emery (r) don’t like. Apparently that qualifies the institution and its entire curriculum as enablers of heresy. Except it is a public institution, not one operated as an instrument of “Christian learning”.

“…We cannot leave the future of Missouri or this great nation in the hands of the amoral education elite…”

That says it all, doesn’t it?

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