“Do all you can with what you have
In the time you have in the place you are
Do all you can – Do all you can”-Written By Devotion

I am not only the Executive Director of this County Democratic Party; I am also a minister and trained chaplain. I feel a sacred responsibility to make a positive difference through personal example and active service.   That is exactly why I do what I do, that’s what God wants me to do.  I’m not “supposed” to talk about religion and politics, but I often find that those two are so intertwined, it is almost impossible to separate them.

Matthew 7:12 

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law

Luke 6:31 ESV / 16 helpful votes

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Mark 12:31 ESV / 11 helpful votes

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

If service to God is really about the “golden rule”, then the question really should be where should our kindness end ?

My favorite story in the bible comes from Luke

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, ”What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”²⁷And he answered, ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸And he said to him, ”You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus replied, ”A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³²So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.³³But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And the next day he took out two denarii^[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, ”You go, and do likewise.”

Reading this story, about the state of the GOP makes me wonder, do any of these people, the candidates or the participants have any connection what so ever to the principles of Christianity that the majority of them espouse.  Just wondering.

 H/T FiredUpMissouri

Senator Danforth Embarrassed by Own Republican Party

Submitted by Parker on December 1, 2011 – 12:22pm

On KTRS yesterday (FF to ~7:00), Former Sen. John Danforth had some choice words in describing his fellow republicans, especially those running for president:

I’ve been watching some of these republican debates and they’re just terrible. Terrible.  How many have they had?  Something like nine, ten, something like that, it seems like every week there’s a debate and, uh, and it’s embarrassing for me as a republican to watch this stuff.

Tell us, sir, what exactly has been so embarrassing about your fellow republicans?

What have been the big applause lines in these debates? Well, a statement that the governor of Texas is responsible for killing 234 people on death row.  Or that we favor torture. Or that we’re creating a fence on the Mexican border that electrocutes people when they try to cross it. Or when people show up at the emergency room at hospitals and they’re not insured don’t treat them. And that, I mean these are the big applause lines, people just hoop and holler when they hear all that.

Yep. I have to agree, those are some pretty despicable and embarrassing statements coming out of the mouths of your fellow republicans.  I’d be ashamed, too.  But by all means, do go on.

It doesn’t have anything to do with the republican party that I was a part of. This is just totally different. And all of these people who are saying this, y’know, and claiming that, y’know, they’re for all this stuff, they also sort of ostentatiously say, “Oh, we’re very religious people.  We really, we’re just very pious, Christian people.”  They were for torture, and electrocution of the people on along the border and all of that. That doesn’t have anything to do with, is contrary to the Christianity that I understand.

Let’s just stop right there.

This isn’t the party Danforth was a part of?  He didn’t endorse Ed-Minuteman-Martin in 2010? Pretty sure he did.

Instead of distancing himself from the republican party he claims to be embarrassed by, why doesn’t Danforth start by calling out the extremists republicans in our own home state like Martin? Or Akin, who thinks that, “At the heart of Liberalism is a hatred for God.”

Danforth claims later on that he dislikes divisive politics, but let’s be honest, he’s continually endorsed candidates who do nothing but spread fear and division across Missouri and our country.

Senator Danforth, start reforming your party with constructive criticism instead of continuing to endorse the same divisive republican politicians you claim to be embarrassed by. Show some leadership.

These are interesting times for Peter Kinder,

you almost feel for the guy!

From LarrySabato:

Here is some interesting reading for the weekend!

The Pitch

Kansas City Star

PoliticMo

St. Louis Post Dispatch

Politico

Vets’ group blasts Kinder for ‘peacetime’ tweet, statement

By Eli Yokley, PoliticMo

– Lt. Governor Peter Kinder’s Twitter page is one full of interesting tweets. The Lt. Governor manages it himself, and whether the tweets are about “tramp-stamps” or ill-timed tweets about a “hot wife” blogger, the page has caused quite a stir among opponents and nervousness from supporters.

But late last month, Kinder tweeted something that caught the eye of a national veterans’ group. Re-tweeting executive editor of The Weekly Standard Fred Barnes, Kinder said the cause of the “rapidly growing national debt” is “spending levels never before seen in peacetime.” Kinder used similar language in an interview last week, reusing the term, “peacetime.”

That term didn’t sit well with Richard Allen Smith, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007. Smith, writing on a blog for VoteVets, accused Kinder of “degenerating” the service of Americans serving in three theaters abroad.

“Peter Kinder can’t even acknowledge the sacrifice of 150,000 plus Americans who have put their lives at risk each day for nearly a decade,” wrote Smith.

Smith notes that, to date, some 88 Missourians have been killed serving in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Now they’re gone,” Smith wrote, “and Peter Kinder feels that they never even fought for their country.”

Spokesmen for Kinder’s campaign and for official office were not immediately responsive to requests for comment.

Kinder isn’t alone in making the ‘peacetime’ gaff and igniting displeasure from veterans groups. Earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made a similar statement, and was forced to walk back his comment.

A spokesman for the presidential candidate later clarified that Romney meant post World War II, the last time the United States officially declared war.

Twice in One Week: Kinder Insults Military Families, Blames Deficit on ‘Peacetime’ Spending

Jefferson City, Mo.—For the second time in a week, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder blamed the federal deficit on unparalleled “peacetime” spending. In a tasteless effort to score political points, Kinder’s assertion completely disregards the reality that thousands of Missouri’s military families face on a daily basis and ignores the real circumstances that led to the nation’s debt crisis.

“Peter Kinder is clueless at best and completely dismissive of Missouri’s military families at worst. Once again, Kinder’s comments show he’s more interested in scoring political points than acknowledging the realities that Missouri’s military families are dealing with on a daily basis. Kinder needs to set the record straight and apologize for being so insensitive to their sacrifice,” said Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman.

In an interview with PJTV at this weekend’s Smart Girl Summit, Kinder said: ”You know, the peacetime average of government expenditure as a percentage of GDP is 18-19 percent, these people took it up to 25 percent and want to keep it there permanently.” [PJTV Interview, 7/29/11]

Previously, Kinder tweeted that the federal deficit is a result of “spending levels never before seen in peacetime.” [Kinder Tweet, 7/24/11]

Video of Kinder’s interview is available here.

BACKGROUND

• There are roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. [WhiteHouse.gov; Reuters,7/23/11]
• That includes about 100,000 U.S. troops in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater and 50,000 in Iraq.  [USA Today, 6/23/11; Bloomberg, 7/10/11]
• Candidate Romney Was Forced to Admit Similar Claim Was “Mistake.” In April, Mitt Romney told readers of the Union-Leader in an op-ed that President Obama had engaged “in one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history.”  Six hours later, in the wake of criticism from the press and veterans, his campaign was forced to admit that Romney’s use of the phrase “peacetime” had been a mistake.   [TPM, 4/25/11]
  • Sargent: Romney’s Gaffe “An Easy Way to Avoid” $1.5 Trillion in War Costs. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post wrote: “Peacetime? I guess that’s an easy way to avoid mentioning that our fiscal problems have been badly exacerbated by the two wars Obama inherited from Bush (one of which Obama escalated), which have cost north of $1.5 trillion.” [Washington Post, 4/25/11]
  • Slammed By Veterans Group: Under the headline “Servicemembers: You’re not at war,” VetVoice’s Richard Allen Smith listed the name of 36 servicemembers he said have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since April 1.  ”Romney forgetting that we have troops in harms way in three different theaters is astonishing,” wrote. “Or at least it should be.” [TPM, 4/25/11]

###

An Explanation, Please: Kinder’s Car Allegedly Stolen, Kinder Doubles His Money?

Reports: Kinder purchased vehicle for $10,700; Received nearly $20,000 Insurance Settlement

Jefferson City, Mo.—The Missouri Democratic Party called on Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to reveal the circumstances that allowed Kinder to receive an insurance payment nearly twice the reported value of the car that was allegedly stolen from his driveway in late April. Kinder’s car was reportedly stolen and lit on fire after he left the keys in the ignition and the car unlocked at his home in Cape Girardeau.

According to MEC reports filed Friday, Kinder’s campaign received $19,863 in “Insurance Proceeds.” [see attached] The Kansas City Star confirmed the payment was for the 2009 Ford Flex that was taken from Kinder’s driveway. [Kansas City Star, 7/15/11]

“The circumstances around the alleged theft of Peter Kinder’s car are increasingly curious,” said Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman. “If Peter Kinder refuses to explain why he left the keys in his car before it was taken, then he should at least explain why it appears an insurance company gave him nearly twice as much as he paid for it.”

As reported by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, “The car is registered to Friends of Peter Kinder, the lieutenant governor’s campaign committee. Disclosure forms filed with the Ethics Commission show his campaign paid $10,700 for a car in January from a Ford dealership in Park Hills, Mo.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/27/11]

BACKGROUND

Kinder’s story about the theft of his car is already murky:

After Car Theft, Kinder Told Police He Had Left Keys In “Center Console.” In April, news broke that Kinder’s campaign vehicle — a 2009 Ford Flex — had been reported stolen and later torched outside Cape Girardeau.  According to the police report, Kinder “said the vehicle was unlocked and the ignition key was in the center console.” [Incident Detail Report, Cape Girardeau Police Department, #11003209; KCRG, 4/25/11]

However, Probable Cause Statement Indicated Keys Were in the Ignition. According to the probable cause statement, “the keys were in the ignition and the doors to the vehicle were unlocked.” [Detective Henry Voelker, Probable Cause Statement, 4/26/11]

###

THE TRIBUNE’S VIEW

Via Progress Missouri

Crossroads GPS has a new ad in Missouri with misleading claims about the Recovery Act and Affordable Care Act. You’re shocked (shocked!) that Karl Rove’s Crossroads outfit isn’t shooting straight, I know.

A few of the lowlights….

The ad incorrectly claims that the Recovery Act was a failure.

• Independent experts agree that Obama’s economic policies kept unemployment from shooting up to 12% or higher. We still have a long road back, but under the Obama administration Americans created jobs for 15 straight months.
• While Republicans publicly accuse President Obama of not doing enough to create jobs, they have backed proposals to eliminate nearly 7 million jobs this year.
• Right-wing politicians say we need to give more money to the millionaires and big corporations and wait for the benefits to trickle down – but right now corporations are sitting on record profits, and they’re not spending it to create jobs.
• We tried it the conservatives’ way — the Bush tax cuts created record deficits and were followed by the slowest job growth since World War II.
• By a 4-to-1 margin, voters want leaders to focus on jobs and the economy over long-term budget deficits.

The Affordable Care Act will reduce the federal deficit.

• Repealing health care reform would increase the deficit by $210 billion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said in February.
• When the ACA was enacted, the CBO estimated that the law would shave$124 billion from the deficit.
• The New England Journal Of Medicine wrote last year that the ACA phases out “substantial overpayments” to Medicare Advantage plans. “A phased elimination of the substantial overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, which now enroll nearly 25% of Medicare beneficiaries, will produce an estimated $132 billion in savings over 10 years.”

And let’s get real: Part of the reason debt is up is that President Bush left a $1.2 TRILLION deficit for 2009 behind him.

For more information on claims in this ad and Crossroads’ long history of misleading the American public, check out:

• http://politicalcorrection.org/adcheck/201106270008
• http://mediamatters.org/research/201107050015
• http://politicalcorrection.org/adcheck/201011010010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cross-Posted from Missouri Watchdog

Kinder silent on Twitter following national report

By Brian R. Hook On June 9, 2011

After a national report cited his “ubiquitous use of Twitter” as an “enduring worry” among fellowRepublicans, Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder appears to have stopped, at least temporarily, sending out messages.

The national political website Politico published the story by David Catanese, a reporter who previously worked at a Springfield, Missouri TV station, about Kinder on Tuesday.

As of Thursday evening, Kinder’s last tweet was on Monday.

The main point of the Politico story is that unnamed members of the Missouri Republican Party are writing off Kinder as the top Republican choice to reclaim the governor’s mansion.

“At times, his tweets appear to be ill-timed or even tone-deaf,” writes Catanese, citing a tweet urging Kinder’s followers to “go vote for [a] hot wife in the Top 25 Political Mom blogs” a day after Joplin was hit with a tornado. Another time Kinder, who is single, retweeted a message referring to “tramp stamps.”

The Missouri Republican Party declined to comment on the story and a campaign staffer would only talk on background, accusing the Democrats of placing the story with Politico.

A staffer at the Missouri Democratic Party, meanwhile, said they were not aware of the story until after it was published. The staffer, speaking off the record, pointed out to Missouri Watchdog that Kinder has not used Twitter in three days.

In addition to frequently sending messages on the social media platform, Kinder follows Twitter avidly. He has had his staffers call Missouri Watchdog on numerous occasions following messages viewed as unfavorable.

Kinder is widely expected to run against Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon in 2012. He will face Bill Randles, a Republican from Kansas City in the primary. Randles declined to criticize Kinder, saying that he wants to focus on issues.

http://missouri.watchdog.org/17281/kinder-silent-on-twitter-following-national-report/

—

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 18, 2011

CONTACT:

Caitlin Legacki

clegacki@missouridems.org

Auditor’s Office Announces Leisurely “Review” of Kinder

Missouri Democratic Party Calls AGAIN for Independent Audit

Jefferson City, Mo.-Nearly one month after Deputy State Auditor and Kinder campaign donor Harry Otto announced he would conduct an audit of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s practice of billing taxpayers for his lavish and bizarre lifestyle, the State Auditor Tom Schweich’s office announced today it is finally beginning a “limited scope review” of Kinder’s travel.

“Tom Schweich and Harry Otto have already said they are not interested in figuring out how much of the taxpayers’ money was wasted by their pal, Peter Kinder,” said Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman. “This should be about more than just checking Peter Kinder’s math – it’s about showing the taxpayers how much of their money Kinder used to finance his extravagant lifestyle.  Schweich and Otto clearly refuse to do their job, which is protecting taxpayer funds, so a third-party, independent audit is the only way to restore any semblance of dignity to the Auditor’s office.”

Details about what the “limited scope review” might involve were not readily available, as the Auditor’s announcement was only two sentences long.

Otto and Schweich have already gone out of their way to lower expectations about the veracity and integrity of their “audit,” but here’s what we can expect:

• Otto Will Have Access to the Calendars. Otto said the auditor’s office has the technical experts needed to deal with any technical issues, and access the calendars. The auditor’s office also plans to make its findings public — without charge. [St. Louis Beacon, 4/28/11]

BUT…

• Otto Will Not Review Appropriateness of Kinder’s Stays. Deputy Auditor Harry Otto said the review will focus primarily on Kinder’s math and methodology in determining his payment – not on whether each reimbursement Kinder had received for lodging, meals or travel was appropriate based on the breakdown of official, political or personal functions he attended. “We don’t intend to drill into a calendar and make a determination with respect to whether a trip was 82.5 percent state and 17.5 percent non-state business,” Otto said. Rather, he added, “We want to see the supporting documents that justify the calculation that office has made.” [AP, 4/28/11]
• Otto Will Not Delve Deeply into Whether Trips Were Personal or State Business. Otto said the audit would not delve too deeply into examining whether or not trips were for personal or state business purposes, unless contradictions were obvious. “A statewide elected official has some discretion with respect to determining what or what is not in the best of interest of the state government when it comes to traveling,” Otto said. “We don’t second guess every trip.” [Missouri News Horizon, 4/28/11]
• Otto Will Not Evaluate Whether Kinder Mixed Political & Personal. The deputy auditor assigned to the inquiry, Harry Otto, said the focus is not whether Kinder mixed official business and political activity. Instead, “we want to see the supporting documents that justify the calculations that were made,” Otto said. But, Otto said, if auditors notice a trip that was overtly personal or political, “we’ll make the appropriate adjustments.” It’s also possible, the auditor’s office said, that the review could find Kinder paid too much, in which case he could get money back. [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/28/11]
  • But We Know Kinder Billed Taxpayers While Attending Personal & Political Events. As reported by the Post Dispatch, “Kinder billed the state for hotel stays and meals when he came to St. Louis to attend society balls, baseball games and political events” and “often listed no official reason on his expense reports for billing taxpayers for nights at the Chase or Four Seasons.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/3/11]
  • And the St. Louis Stays May Only Be The Tip of the Iceberg:Earlier this month, the Kansas City Star raised new questions about Kinder’s use of the Kansas City Intercontinental Hotel at “taxpayer expense” after raising over $9,000 for his campaign and attending a fundraiser with Republican strategist Karl Rove. As reported by Star, “the bill for Kinder’s three-day stay at the Intercontinental may have exceeded the limits on government lodging reimbursement.” [Kansas City Star, 4/7/11]

  • What About Meals Associated with Politics/Personal Travel? Kinder told the press that the $52,320 check he wrote last month reflected all of the money Kinder was reimbursed by the state for in-state travel. But according to public records, Kinder has been reimbursed for over $11,000 in meal costs since 2006. An audit is needed to confirm these costs were associated with official state business. [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/26/11; Missouri Accountability Portal, Accessed 4/5/11]

Here’s why an independent review of Kinder’s travel is so critical:

State Auditor Tom Schweich — and his staff — have serious conflicts-of-interest when it comes to Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder.

• Deputy Auditor Harry Otto, a Schweich Appointee, Contributed to Kinder. In 2004, now-Deputy Auditor Harry Otto contributed $200 to Peter Kinder’s debt committee. Schweich appointed Otto to the position of Deputy Auditor by in January 2011. Otto has also contributed generously to former Gov. Matt Blunt, State Sen. Brad Lager, and the Missouri GOP. [Missouri Ethics Commission; AP, 1/13/11]
• Kinder Emceed Schweich Fundraiser Before Billing Taxpayers for a Night at the Chase. In 2009, Kinder was the master of ceremonies at a fundraiser for Schweich fundraiser, after which he billed taxpayers for a night at the Chase Park Plaza. [St. Louis Beacon, 10/5/09; Kinder Hotel Receipt]
• Kinder Helped Persuade Schweich Not To Run For Senate & Contributed More Than $200,000 to His Auditor Campaign. The lieutenant governor kicked in a whopping $220,000 for Schweich’s 2010 campaign for state auditor. In fact, according to the Associated Press, “Kinder played a role in persuading Schweich to run for auditor instead of challenging Matt Blunt’s father, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, in a Republican primary for U.S. Senate.” Matt Blunt later forgave a $300,000 loan made to Kinder’s 2008 re-election campaign. [AP, 12/30/10; Kansas City Star, 1/9/2011]

Meanwhile, Kinder Continues to Give Missourians the Run-Around:

• Kinder’s Calendar “Perfectly Intact” and Accessible…But Not to Missourians. According to the Post-Dispatch, Kinder’s calendar “is perfectly intact, with more than 18,000 entries from 2005 to the present.” All of the calendar entries “have been and remain accessible to the staff of the Lt. Governor’s Office,” said the Department of Administration’s Deputy Director, Renee Slusher. “But viewing the calendar comes with a price tag, at least for the public. Kinder’s office said it will cost “well over several thousand dollars” and take several weeks for the office to release the lieutenant governor’s calendar.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/27/11]
  • Post-Dispatch Editorial Calls Kinder’s Explanation “Ludicrous.” In an editorial, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called for an independent audit of Kinder’s records, given “the lieutenant governor’s evolving story.”… “One of the key records in determining whether Mr. Kinder’s payment is accurate would be his official state calendar. When asked for his calendar by reporters, Mr. Kinder’s office said it had been destroyed by the Office of Administration. But that office says the record is intact. Now Mr. Kinder’s office is suggesting that it would cost several thousand dollars to comply with a Sunshine Law request to examine the calendar. That response is ludicrous on its face.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/27/11]

###

—
Caitlin Legacki
Senior Spokeswoman
Missouri Democratic Party
clegacki@missouridems.org
314.472.5373 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 314.472.5373 end_of_the_skype_highlighting