400 to 500 people demonstrated on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in Warrensburg, Missouri starting at noon today. The No Kings rally included a number of speakers who emphasized peacefulness, purpose, persistence and voting.
“No Wars, No ICE, No Kings”
“Save Our Democracy…”
“Kindness can’t sit down…”
“No Kings”
“Morons Are Governing America”
“FDJT”
“Freedom…”
“No War”
“Resist the Constitution, expect a Revolution”
“…Human Rights…”
“No Kings”
“Only caring about your own rights is exactly how you lose them”
Yesterday in Warrensburg the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee hosted its 19th annual James C. Kirkpatrick celebration. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) was the keynote speaker.
Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D).
.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): ….It was one of the tur, turbulent moments in the history of our nation. In fact, it was the time of the birth of our nation. And General George Washington, uh, had committed himself to lead the Continental Army. There was no turning back. And that was, uh, they’d gone too far in their fight against, uh, the Brits.
But in 1782, uh, one of the colonels in the army, a guy by the name of Lewis Nicola, uh, wrote a famous letter to General George Washington. And in that letter he asked that the general consider becoming the first king of the United State of America. In May, May twenty-first, 1782 General Washington responded to the colonel and said, that no graver disease can befall me as a general in this army than to even remotely consider being the king. After all, we’ve just been fighting the king. [applause] And so, um, that hushed the talk of making him a king although it, it was very, very popular among the soldiers. Uh, many of them, uh, saw themselves, you know, the soldiers protecting the, the king. And so he put it to a standstill and then, uh, everything was fine until the Don [laughter], King Don [laughter], uh, came to the throne. Uh, who is a, uh, a dictator [voices: “Yeah.” “Yes.”], uh, and I have seen it first hand….
….I have never seen anybody who could lie, uh, repeatedly, and actually believe themselves [laughter]. The hoodlums that I was around, they, they knew they were lying [laughter]. And they would confess if you got around the corner. ‘Oh, yeah, I was making it up.’ This man lies, I say he lies on the lie….
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): …Ladies and gentlemen, this is a crisis that even those early soldiers could not have anticipated. And all of a sudden it becomes a requirement if you are a Republican – you have…the first place you have to respond to is that you have to lie and say that, uh, Donald Trump won the election. First thing, you gotta lie. And the second thing you have to do is become politically subservient to a man who knows nothing about government, or frankly…[laughter], doesn’t know anything about government. And, uh, is just making up stuff. His chief of staff, one of the top generals in the United States Army, said after he resigned, Donald Trump, he said, I’m quoting him, is the most flawed human being he had ever been around in his life. And when people come out, when they retire or quit, and then finally it’s okay to tell the truth. Then, some of them, by now publicly saying, yeah, this happened and this happened, and he said this, he lied about that. It goes on and on and on….
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): …So, I think that, uh, we’re in a, a troublesome spot. Uh, but, we have had dark days before. And if you look at the history of the United States there, there was a moment of darkness before we became a nation. Then we became a nation and then there was a great light. And then, uh, periodically there have been dark, dark, dark moments for us.
But we’re the light. We’re Democrats. What I’d like all Americans to know is that there is no such color of dark or black. It’s not a color. We’re thinking, we have dark days, we’re trembling. Black is not even a color. Black is the absence of color….
….And the way that you defeat darkness is with light [voice: “Yeah.”]. And you are the lamplighters for America. [applause] The lamplighters for America. We, we are going to defeat darkness. [applause]…
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): …I want to make sure that all of us understand right now that we’re gonna vote. What do we want to win, t’ain’t enough. We right now are willing to do whatever we can to make sure that this nightmare ends. T’aint enough. We are the men and women who will save this country. Our children and our grandchildren will talk about the fight we put up and how we won. And brought back the light into the United States. And make it the citadel of justice and peace….
Yesterday in Warrensburg the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee hosted its 19th annual James C. Kirkpatrick celebration. The program started with a welcome and Tribute to Immigrants by Roberta Burford and an invocation by Barbara Curtis. The master of ceremonies was Judge Joe Dandurand and the keynote speaker was Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D). Raymond James was recognized with the Doris Houx Kirkpatrick Service Award. Marion “Woody” Woods was recognized with the James C. Kirkpatrick Heritage Award. There were over 150 individuals in attendance. The annual event honors individuals who have served the community in the spirit of the Kirkpatricks and serves as a fundraiser for the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee.
Jeanette Cass (D), candidate in the 4th Congressional District (left) and Taigen Plummer (D), candidate in the 54th Legislative District (center).
Sunday afternoon over a hundred Missourians gathered in the cold and snow on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in downtown Warrensburg, Missouri. It was another one of many community organized demonstrations against the excesses of Donald Trump (r), his administration, and his paramilitary.
“Worst of the worst…”
“Trans Rights = Human Rights”
“No to Trump’s Fascist, murdering regime”
“ICE is Trump’s Gestapo!”
“…Defund ICE”
“….just stupid and reckless”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere”
This afternoon over a hundred Missourians gathered in the cold and snow on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in downtown Warrensburg, Missouri. It was another one of many community organized demonstrations against the excesses of Donald Trump (r), his administration, and his paramilitary.
As one part of the thousands of No Kings events protesting Donald Trump (r) and his administration residents and neighbors of Warrensburg, Missouri gathered yesterday for a demonstration at the Johnson County Courthouse which was scheduled to start at noon. People started showing up well before then. There were speakers and petition groups had set up tables (also circulating in the crowd) to gather signatures. We heard they did get a lot of signatures. Around 750 people attended the demonstration.
More images:
“We the People…”
“Wrong is wrong…”
“How long before Trump hurts you?!!”
“No Kings”
“We love America…”
“No Kings”
Media interview.
A significant number of signature for petitions were gathered at a table and by individuals circulating in the crowd.
Gathering petition signatures.
Explaining the petitions.
“Fight Fascism…”
“…Defying tyrants.”
“Make Fascists Afraid Again”
Read the womb.
“Separate Church and State”
“They blame immigrants so you won’t blame billionaires”
“…I’m not to old to say ‘Hell No’ this time”
“I love America…”
Anti Fascist should be the default setting”
“When cruelty become normal, compassion looks radical”
“I am AUNT TIFA”
“Remember, only you can prevent Fascism”
“Resist”
Listening:
“Resist”
Emily Wales, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) and Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes (PPGPV).
“There is nothing MORE American than Standing up for Democracy”
As one part of the thousands of No Kings events protesting Donald Trump (r) and his administration residents and neighbors of Warrensburg, Missouri gathered yesterday for a demonstration at the Johnson County Courthouse which was scheduled to start at noon. People started showing up well before then. There were speakers and petition groups had set up tables (also circulating in the crowd) to gather signatures. We heard they did get a lot of signatures. Around 750 people attended the demonstration.
“Fight Fascism”
Tyrant.
“They’ll try to bury us. They don’t know we are seeds.
Warrensburg, Missouri is hosting its annual downtown fall street festival – “BurgFest” – this weekend. Johnson County Democrats host and staff a street both during the daytime and nighttime hours of the event.
This morning:
At the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee booth.
Gathering initiative petition and referendum signatures.
[left to right] Brandon Phelps (r), Rick Brattin (r), Bruce Uhler.
Rick Brattin (r – 31st Senate District), Brandon Phelps (r – 54th Legislative District), and Warrensburg Mayor Bruce Uhler attended and spoke at “Coffee & Concerns” – a community event hosted by the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce – on Wednesday morning. Around fifty individuals were in attendance.
Rick Brattin (r).
A moderator from the Chamber of Commerce started with questions for the panel, then opened up questions from those in attendance. The event lasted over an hour and a half.
The complete audio:
.
A question from the audience:
Question: …One of my children has a severe disability. So, my question is going to be asking about how will you, um, make sure and, and a specific plan to insure that we are fully funding our schools, especially in those areas of special education. Um, I fear, based on a previous answer you gave, even as the vice-chair of the Education Committee, that you think our schools have more money than we do. Um, and I can tell you that is not the case. Um, so I am curious how you will insure that we are fully finding our schools, not leaving local districts to cover the gap, and how will you make sure we are not diverting funding away from our public schools, uh, via vouchers?
Rick Brattin (r): Why…I’m just like you, I mean, my, I have a daughter that’s a severe dyslexic. I’ve had to privately pay for years and years of tutoring [….] out of my pocket. Uh, and it has been, you know, transformative to be able, but it’s, it’s a life long deal, but I have to, to continually invest in my, my daughter’s capability to be able to flourish. Uh, and I think every student should have that capability. And that’s why I, I’m perplexed at the, the, the opposition to vouchers. You know, why, why I’m paying out of pocket for something that, that yes, if we’re sending taxpayer dollars, why shouldn’t I be able to have that allotment to be able to go to pay for the education that I know my kid is going to be able to flourish in? Uh, instead of walking into a, a type of school system that, uh, is, is a one size fits all approach?
Question: And our taxes pay for public schools. [crosstalk] That cover all students.
Rick Brattin (r): Well, your taxes, our taxes pay for the education of our students. Uh, it doesn’t state that it’s required that it’s public schools. Now we’ve set up that frame work but that doesn’t mean that the legislature and the people don’t want, uh, the capability to go elsewhere if they’re not receiving a good quality education. I mean, look at Kansas City, St. louis, even Lee’s Summit area that I represent a, a portion of. Where they’re at, at twenty, thirty percent, uh, proficiency rates in their readings and math. What are we supposed to do there? Continue to spend money and send our kids there to, to abysmally fail? I, I think it’s a detriment to our students. And especially those that are dyslexic, uh, or have other, uh, disabilities that are totally going under the radar because the school district just, uh, honestly has policies in place that, uh, allow them to be able to, to not be caught.
Well, Congressman Eric Burlison [r – MO 7] is a perfect example. He’s a great friend of mine. His daughters actually through a school district in, in Springfield were, both of them were diagnosed through the school district with dyslexia. The school district opted not to tell the parents. And not to even do anything to, uh, to remedy, trying to help fix their, the, the dyslexia. Until they took them out, got their private, uh, testing done and then the school district after they, actually, caught that they did the testing and refused to, to give that data to the parents, uh, the school district just basically said that they just, you know, uh, didn’t have to. [laugh] And so, I mean, not all school districts are acting in, in good faith and that’s where I think giving the individual parent that capability to take their money, uh, and, and educate their kids where they see fit. Like I had to pull my kids out of, of, Pleasant Hill. Uh, Uh, the public school district and now they’re going to Summit Christian Academy, it’s a private school, and, and they’re, they’re learning well beyond, uh, the, their years of what they would have received, uh, when, when they were at, it’s a, a public school. [….]
Question: Senator, this is not answering my question.
Rick Brattin (r): But, I, I’m just explaining that, that I saw that the school was failing my student and my kids and I had to pull out [crosstalk]…
Question: So you come from a place of privilege where you’re able to pull your children out [crosstalk]…
Rick Brattin (r): I, I make thirty-five thousand dollars a year [crosstalk] as a state senator. I’m not a [crosstalk]…
Question: In, a community like this doesn’t have the access to other schooling systems or, or abilities to send children [crosstalk] to those other places…
Rick Brattin (r): But that’s what it, that’s what [crosstalk] I, if, if we have the systems and processes in place to where we allow the student, uh, the money to follow the student I guarantee you that that will rise up. But when we have a, a monopoly system in education that doesn’t allow for it, of course you’re not gonna have [crosstalk]…
Question: It’s not a monopoly, it’s public education, thank you, senator.
Rick Brattin (r): well it is a monopoly because your taxpayer dollars are forced to go there and regardless if your student is actually even going to that school district. I’m still sending my money to Pleasant Hill School District and I’m paying for my kid’s education as well, on top of the tutoring for my daughter. So yes, I’m paying twice and it’s wrong and people that can’t afford it, they’re trapped. So, I, I’m the chair of Education [Missouri Senate Committee] and this is one of those things that I am emphatically for, is making sure these, these funds follow the student so they can get out of these trapped areas.
Voice: That’s bullshit.
Voices: All right, all right.
Rick Brattin (r): Hey, if you have a great school district then, then you have nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry [crosstalk]…
Question: If you fully fund it.
Rick Brattin (r): It, it is fully funded. At fourteen thousand dollars per pupil, it is funded….
Rick Brattin (r): …Now, as for the separation of church and state, that is nowhere in the Constitution. In fact the, the right to, to freedom of religion is in the Constitution. Uh, the first public education book in the United States is the New England Primer. I highly advise you to go to, to Amazon or Google or, or Ebay, whatever, and purchase a copy and see if separation of church and state of the first ordained public education book was was not religious. I assure you it wasn’t. That, that was not the case. Uh, so this, we, we’ve gotten to this place in America where all the sudden if, if money is utilized to educate students can’t in [inaudible] of faith. I, I think is absolutely the antithesis of America. Uh, we look at things like evolution being forced upon in all public education. Well, that’s, that’s a religion of science that, that’s been adopted and is forced upon the kids. Uh, and, and we’re funding that. I mean, so, to, to say that there’s not that, that aspect of it, it’s already occurring in public education. It’s just the, the secular, uh, world view which the Supreme Court ruled is a religion is, is what the dominant, uh, religion is of, of the school districts. But again, I am not and I do not want to attack the schools. I just want to make sure that, that parents have that capability, ’cause they know what’s best for their kids. Now, do all parents know, there is some crummy parents, there’s some parents that don’t care about their kids, I mean it, and that, that is terrible but, but, we try to do everything we can do with, and, and to make sure that they, they know that. And that’s, that’s my part in it is making sure that they have that capability, uh, to have access to all, uh, educational opportunity as possible. Now, again, we may differ in how and what that looks like, but I assure you I’m not an enemy trying to dismantle everything. I just, I just want there to be a level of competition that makes us all better. I mean, we, we educate and bring up our children to be competitors in every aspect and every realm of life. And then when we talk about vouchers all the sudden it’s, oh we can’t have any level of competition and so on and so forth. I just think that’s, uh, that’s a huge disservice….
[Note: The New England Primer was first published in Boston between 1687 and 1691. Extant copies date from 1727. All well before there was a United States of America.]
[Note: Amendment I – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” – U.S. Constitution
I Section 6. “….That no person can be compelled to erect, support or attend any place or system of worship, or to maintain or support any priest, minister, preacher or teacher of any sect, church, creed or denomination of religion…” – Missouri Constitution
I 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….” – Missouri Constitution]
Warrensburg Mayor Bruce Uhler.
Brandon Phelps (r).
Brandon Phelps (r): …Just on a, just on a side note, just something, uh, that was mentioned, and actually, I’ve said this before, maybe it gets mentioned quite often. Um, and, and I can’t speak for the senator, but I imagine that I am. We as legislators listen to you significantly more than you can possibly imagine. The problem is, and I told this to a group a while back, that just because maybe we have voted in a manner that you don’t agree with doesn’t mean that we didn’t understand the legislation. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t listen to constituents. It doesn’t mean that, uh, perhaps, if we haven’t met with you, it doesn’t mean that we’ve met with nobody. Um, and, uh, I discussed this with a group a while back that they just, I think they loved probably ninety-five percent of the things that I voted on and the way that I voted, but there were a few things they just simply didn’t like. And they asked me on those things they didn’t like, they said, well, why didn’t you listen to the people? Why didn’t you read the legislation? How come you didn’t, how come you didn’t understand and educate yourself on the legislation? And I said, so, wait a minute, let me get this clear. So on all the things that I voted in the manner that you like, you assumed I did educate myself. You assumed I did speak to the people. You assumed I did listen to the constituency. But on the three that you didn’t like, you assumed I didn’t read those bills. You assumed that I didn’t listen to constituency, and so I want you all to understand that believe it or not, while we are together right here, and for many of you this is the first opportunity, but for many of you it is not. These events, for me at least, I don’t know about for the senator, um, and so everybody knows, and I, I’m a first year legislator. I will tell you that I was actually just stunned that when session ended how many of these events started getting put on my calendar. I will tell you it’s almost daily. Uh, and when the superintendent told you that we spoke, um, a week and a half ago, we did, for two hours. We, we’ve had an opportunity to speak multiple times. During session he came to my office and we had a long conversations. But, that is that way with everybody. I just would ask people, number one, I want you to understand me. I’m gonna listen to you. I’m gonna hear you. I am going to research. But I would also ask that you don’t make the assumption that if I have not agreed with you on a hundred percent of the issues a hundred percent of the time that I just don’t listen. Because that’s not fair. Because we have thousands, tens of thousands of phone calls and emails. And I actually would tell people that’s one of the things I actually, I, I, I think, I think I told the mayor this, um, I know I told [….] this. That’s one of the things I love most about the job. I’m getting a free education when people come in and share their thoughts and concerns with me. They don’t always agree with me and I don’t always agree with them. But I do listen, I do research, and I do understand that we will not agree one hundred percent of the time on one hundred percent of the issues. It’s not possible. Uh, many of these events I go to, the people in the room, some of them in the room contacted my office or contacted me personally with one opinion, while other people in the room contacted me with another. I actually think that’s what makes us great. I actually believe that you are not supposed to agree with me on everything. And I am not supposed to agree with you on everything. I actually believe that that is what we want to see. Because your competing ideas with my competing ideas make us all better people. I can learn from you. And you can learn from me. But I would only say that that is possible when we have enough open mind to assume that the legislator making the vote didn’t just do it willy-nilly. Perhaps the legislator was listening and did have the info. And at the end of the day we’ve got to vote yes or we’ve got to vote no or we could take the coward’s way out and we could just go for a walk down the Capitol and not be there. I’m always there, I’ve always voted. My door in my office, uh, there are some that are open all day, there are some that are closed during the day. Mine’s never been closed. Uh, and I will tell you, these events, like I say, I, I bet I’ve been to a hundred now since the session ended in May. So we’re listening and I want you to know we’re listening and if you call me I will listen. And if you want to meet, I will meet and we will talk. Because I value it, I really do. I, I just really think that we need to share ideas and I am willing to accept the fact that you’re idea may be better than mine. My idea may be better than yours. But when I vote please don’t make the assumption that I only voted based on my ideas and I did it without any other input….
“…But I do listen, I do research, and I do understand that we will not agree one hundred percent of the time on one hundred percent of the issues. It’s not possible…”
There was a peaceful “Rally Against Truth Decay” at 12:30 p.m. today on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in downtown Warrensburg, Missouri. The temperature was in the 90s. There were about 75 individuals in attendance who listened to speakers, held protest signs (against the excesses of the Trump [r] Administration), and signed initiative petitions.
It’s been one hell of a week in America.
Johnson County Courthouse lawn, Warrensburg, Missouri.
Pastor Tim Whitmore.
“…easier than hiding a family in your attic later.”
Speakers and organizers:
“Veteran…”
“Trans Rights = Human Rights”
“Land of the Oligarchs, Hate & Violence Has Replaced Our Constitution”
“Wake Up!”
“Do Not Oppress…”
“I know you are asking today, how long will it take?….
I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again.
How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow….
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, March 25, 1965.
