Archive for October, 2009
It must be so hard to keep track of the his votes, that’s all…the Congressman couldn’t possibly be playing politics with our health could he…. from the KY3 Political Notebook
“Congressman Roy Blunt blamed the Obama administration Wednesday for failing to ensure widespread availability of H1N1 vaccines across the country at a time when Missouri only has about a quarter of the total amount of vaccine it needs.
“The federal government has clearly failed to meet a basic responsibility to move quickly to ensure the availability of H1N1 vaccines,” Blunt said in a statement. “Congress needs to be asking serious questions about why the vaccine isn’t yet widely available, even though we’ve known for six months that we needed to be fully prepared,” he added.
The Missouri Democratic Party quickly noted that Blunt voted against a supplemental appropriation bill this year, which included $7.65 billion dollars to help the government prepare for the H1N1 pandemic. Here’s the vote: Vote 348, 6/16/09].
“Congressman Blunt has turned a public safety issue into a political football and once again he’s on the attack with no real solutions of his own,” said Brian Zuzenak, Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, in a statement.
“The American people expect the federal government to protect them in the face of a pandemic,” Blunt said. “If the current administration cannot manage what is a basic responsibility of the federal government, how can they be expected to micro-manage doctor-patient relationships? Is this what we can expect from government-run health care?,” he added.
Zuzenak fired back: “The real outrage is that Congressman Blunt voted against funding to fight H1N1 and prepare the public, and then has the nerve to act outraged at preparedness efforts.”
From Dave Cantanese
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CALL FOR RENEWAL OF JACKSON COUNTY’S COMMUNITY BACKED ANTI DRUG TAX
NOV. 3, 2009 BALLOT QUESTION: Shall the County of Jackson continue its countywide antidrug sales tax (COMBAT) at the rate of onequarter of one percent for a period of seven years for the purpose of the arrest, prosecution, incarceration, treatment and prevention (including D.A.R.E.) of drug related offenses and violent crimes, and the judicial processing of adult and juvenile violators of such offenses? The proceeds of this tax shall be deposited in a special Jackson County AntiDrug Sales Tax Trust Fund; separate from the general fund or any other county funds.
- When renewed by voters, the proposal will continue Jackson County’s one quarter cent sales tax for the Countywide AntiDrug Sales Tax (COMBAT) for a period of seven years.
- Passage of Question #1 will not raise taxes. Rather, it will extend the small sales tax that has been in place since 1989.
COMBAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Here are some facts about the Community Backed Antidrug Tax, which is now overseen by a Drug Commission appointed by the Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders:
- In 2008, alone, more than $14 million in drugs were removed from the streets of Jackson County. The total is almost $250 million since 2002.
- Since 1991, COMBAT has closed 13,091 drug houses and it boosted prosecutions by 387 percent within just the first five years.
- Since 2002, COMBAT has produced 11,000 arrests and removed 3,100 weapons from the county.
- Drugs are a factor in many crimes. About 53 percent of inmates in state prisons and 45 percent in federal prisons were abusing or dependent upon drugs in the year before their incarceration, according to a U.S. Department of Justice study in 2004.
- COMBAT provides critical funding to 80 agencies that conduct 60 area drug
- prevention programs serving more than 32,000 people – 85% of them youths. Agencies also provide 32 treatment programs serving 4,000 people annually.
- A quartercent sales tax in Jackson County is raising $19.5 million a year for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse and the enforcement of drug laws.
- Every year, thousands of students in the 5th grade and middle school go through the D.A.R.E program, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. In the past 20 years more than 200,000 students have had D.A.R.E., which teaches them about the risks and dangers of drug use. Teachers across Jackson County believe in the effectiveness of D.A.R.E.
- COMBAT funds 24 positions in the Kansas City Police Department and a total of 18 in Blue Springs, Grandview, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Oak Grove and Sugar Creek and in the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
- COMBAT funds 44 positions in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, including 15 assistant prosecutors and 29 investigators and support staff. The antidrug prosecution unit filed 3,826 serious cases in 2008.
- Cases are handled in COMBAT drug court, where many offenders are provided comprehensive drug treatment and job training to deter them from returning to drugrelated crime.
- More than 1,600 offenders have graduated from drug court and moved on to productive lives. Example: Of the 2001 graduates, almost 94 percent have stayed convictionfree of any felonies. Studies nationally have shown drug courts to be much more successful than conventional probation in keeping offenders from committing felonies and misdemeanors.
- COMBAT is critical to incarceration. The tax funds 36 corrections officers, 17 sergeants and lieutenants and seven support staff in the Jackson County Detention Center. Without that money, the detention center would have to close two floors and release some 260 inmates due to lack of supervision, according to the corrections director. The inmates were convicted of violent crimes, sex offenses and other felonies.
- Prevention of drug abuse and drug crimes saves money. Every dollar invested in drug court programs saves up to $12 in potential cost of prosecution and medical care, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
- In 2009, the county obtained over $6 million in matching and nonmatching grant money related to drugs. COMBAT used $1.13 million to leverage $3.6 million of matching funds for prosecution, treatment and prevention services.
from the COMBATWORKS website.
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John Bullard, Jr., for Mo. House District 54 Announces Successful Fundraising Quarter
$33,544 raised to date shows strong early support for campaign
Blue Springs – John Bullard, Jr., a candidate for Mo. House District 54, announced today that he raised $21,600 during the fundraising quarter that ended September 30.
During the quarter, over 200 people made contributions to help with the campaign.
“This campaign wouldn’t be possible without all the support I’ve received so far,” said Bullard. “I think it shows that voters want job creation, safe neighborhoods and quality schools for their children. Those are just some of the priorities I want to take with me when I go to Jefferson City.”
John Bullard, Jr., is running to represent the 54th District in the Missouri House of Representatives. To learn more about this campaign visit: www.johnbullardjrforhouse.com.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rep. Mike Talboy
October 7th, 2009 573-636-5241
Hoskins Record Fails In Accuracy and Transparency
Hoskins is on record using fuzzy math and opposing transparency in government
JEFFERSON CITY In a Press Release sent out today, Rep. Denny Hoskins offered his services as a CPA to the Governor and Senate towards the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) because of what he now claims is proven experience in accuracy and transparency in government. Ironically, he is now admitting that he opposed the stimulus plan before even being trained on the facts.
In a post dated June 8th, 2009 on his official Twitter page, Republican Denny Hoskins claimed that the ARRA would cost $1,311,666 per job as an argument to his constituents for opposing the stimulus plan. He then posted how he came to the calculation saying $7.9 billion dollars divided by $600,000 new jobs equals $1,311,666 per job. After the blog Show Me Progress, pointed out that his math actually equals $13,166 per job (which as a CPA Denny Hoskins should know) Hoskins attempted to cover his misinformation by saying he hit a few extra zeros. Unfortunately, even his cover up was fuzzy math.
Rep. Hoskins is on record consistently failing at basic math when it comes to the stimulus numbers in a failed effort to scare his constituents into opposing the plan, and now, he is admitting he had no previous experience or training on the matter before criticizing it, said Rep. Mike Talboy (D-Kansas City), Speaker-Elect of the Missouri House Democratic Caucus, On top of all of that, Denny argued in support of SB66 which would allow government officials to avoid disclosing any financial conflicts of interest with the use of taxpayer dollars. His record clearly shows that when it comes to taxpayer dollars, he is neither accurate with math nor supportive of transparency in government.”
Fact Check:
5/01/2009- Denny Hoskins uses Knob Noster Mayor Stan Hall as an example during a floor debate on SB66 as to why government officials shouldnt have to fill out documents showing any conflicts of interest with the use of taxpayer dollars. He also argued that having to show conflicts of interest prevents people from running for office.
5/07/2009- Mayor Stan Hall tells the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal that he is opposed to SB 66 and isnt sure why Rep. Denny Hoskins used him as an example since he doesnt feel that filling out a disclosure statement is burdensome.
5/07/2009- Denny Hoskins tells the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal that he doesnt know of anyone who has decided not to run for office because they have to fill out this paper work.
6/08/2009- Denny Hoskins states on twitter that Obama stimulus plan will cost taxpayers $1,311,666 per job created.
6/08/2009- Show Me Progress Blog calls Denny Hoskins out for falsifying numbers that prove by his own math it would cost $13,166 per job created.
10/07/2009- Hoskins admits that he had no previous training or experience on the stimulus plan before criticizing it publicly.
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From the Campaign:
This just in! A new poll conducted by Momentum Analysis shows Robin leading Republican Congressman Roy Blunt 48% to 45% – a narrow 3 point margin.
Now, you and I know that polls are just a snap-shot in time, and like the stock market, polls go up and polls go down. This will be a close race, but it is a fight we must win.
That’s why we need your help. The narrow margin in this poll and the national attention on Missouri means we must redouble our efforts this year to get ready for a huge 2010.
Please click here to invest in our grassroots campaign today!
Consider what we’re up against. Lobbyist big-wigs, Washington insiders…even Congressmen Newt Gingrich and Joe “You Lie!” Wilson – are all working hard to protect their corporate special interest pals and the status quo by funding Congressman Blunt’s campaign.
So, why is the other side racking up corporate special interest contributions and attacking Robin like it’s going out of style? Because they know what you and I both know – Robin is a very strong candidate with an impressive record of standing up for Missourians, and her message of reform and fighting for our families is resonating with voters.
We’re well positioned to win this race, but we can’t do it without your help. If you can, consider making a donation or signing up to be a grassroots volunteer today, and we’ll be that much closer to victory in 2010.
Best regards,
Mindy
Mindy Mazur
Campaign Manager
Robin Carnahan for Senate
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For years I have protested that I have never met anyone who was “Pro-Abortion.” As if anyone would actually encourage women to get pregnant just so they could have an abortion. As if anyone leafleted prenatal clinics with abortion literature or enticements to stop in at a local abortion clinic. Most of us who support women’s right to discuss and choose her best medical option agree that each abortion represents a tragedy. Most of us would agree with our opposites that reducing the number of abortions performed is a worthwhile goal. (And it is not the thrust of this piece, but is a huge hornet’s nest, so I feel obliged to mention that we feel that best accomplished through education, access to contraceptives, and early prenatal care.)
The former argument notwithstanding, consideration leads me to modify my opening assertion. I have concluded that a core element within the Republican National Party comprises a rare cadre whose position is pro-abortion.
This does not imply that this faction advocates specific abortions of specific pregnancies. Rather, their advocacy is abstract. They support continued legal abortion with sufficient actual abortions to jerk their constituents’ knees.
Nor does this imply that rank-and-file Republicans agree with—or are even aware of—this stance. While rare Republicans are pro-choice, and others take the conservative position that government has no place inserting itself into private medical decisions, most oppose any abortion at any time with all the fervor their little fetus-centric hearts can muster.
However, on a national, strategic level, no conclusion is possible but that the Party burnishes their wedge as tenderly as a woodsman maintains the tool providing his livelihood.
Since the Court decided Roe v Wade, a Republican has occupied the Oval Office 64% of the time. Most of these Republican Presidents campaigned on an anti-abortion platform. Yet Roe is still the precedent. For a dozen years between 1995 and 2007 anti-abortion Republicans controlled one or both houses of Congress. For the bulk of that time a Republican sat in the White House who would have triumphantly signed any restrictions on Roe they passed. Yet Roe is still the Law of the land. For at least the last term of the Bush administration there was a decidedly right-of-center, strict constructionist majority on the Supreme Court … yet there stands Roe.
For Republican election strategists Roe is like Cuba since the end of the Cold War: more useful as a boogieman than as a victory. Its very existence marshals legions of single-issue voters who might otherwise stay at home. Or at least look at issues which actually affect them, personally, and wonder why they’ve been supporting the Party of Bloated Excess all these years. To their own detriment.
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Common sense.
Missourians value good old fashioned common sense. We expect it of our leaders, we expect it of our communities. So it just doesn’t make any sense to me why Congressman Blunt doesn’t have any. I have written about this before, here, here and here, honestly just search Blunt on the blog…
Let us not forget Congressman Blunt’s family values, or how he showed absolutely no common sense when he tried (unsuccessfully) to insert a provision into a homeland security bill after 9/11 to benefit his then girlfriend friend, Abigail Perlman’s lobbying firm Altria top client; Phillip Morris.
From an article over at The New Republic.
“But by far the most notable–and notorious–power union of recent times is that of Roy Blunt and Abigail Perlman, director of government affairs for Altria. Since his 1996 election, Blunt’s swift rise in the House has been credited to his close ties to K Street–ties undoubtedly strengthened by his friendly relations with the go-to gal for Altria, which just so happens to be one of Blunt’s top campaign contributors. Perlman, meanwhile, could not have asked for a more energetic champion of her employer’s interests than her congressional beau. In 2002, within hours of being named majority whip, Blunt quietly inserted a provision benefiting Altria-owned Philip Morris into the Homeland Security Act. Unfortunately for the couple, the measure was pulled as soon as colleagues discovered it, and when Blunt ran unsuccessfully to replace Tom DeLay as majority leader earlier this year, the boondoggle provided his opponents with much ammunition–highlighting the complications that can arise from having a power wife.”
 From the Springfield News Leader, Congressman Blunt and his good friend, Congressman Joe "You Lie" Wilson. Now we find Congressman Blunt once again putting his personal interest first, by securing an almost 4 million dollar earmark for a firm in which the Congressman was lobbied by a former staffer. Behaving this way show us the thought process of Blunt, and proves once again that Congressman Blunt cares more about himself than the people of the great state of Missouri.
Congressman Roy Blunt, a man with no common sense.
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