Area417

Important Reminder for Missouri Voters!

January 9^th: Last day you can register to vote for February presidential primaries!

From the Inbox: Minuteman Chris Simcox Coming to Missouri

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— 23  February 2007
Contact: Bryan Rudnick (703) 822-4665

WHO:  Chris Simcox, Founder & President, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

WHAT: To address the need for securing our nation’s border and the strict enforcement of immigration laws.

WHEN: Saturday, February 24 @ 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Valley Park Middle School (in the cafeteria) ,  1 Main Street ,  Valley Park, MO (directions)

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) is a peaceful, law-abiding and citizen-led initiative organized to stand watch at our borders and in our neighborhoods, report illegal activities to the proper authorities, and build border fencing on private lands using private donations.  Additionally, MCDC seeks to urge local and federal officials to enforce our immigration laws in order to keep our families and country safe.  MCDC conducts border watch operations that assist the activities of the U.S. Border Patrol, reports employers of illegal aliens, and advocates to keeps tax dollars from being used for illegal alien benefits.

Citizens Against Government Waste Name Claire McCaskill And Six Others As "Porkers Of The Month"

 

Citizens Against Government Waste honor Senator Claire McCaskill with a joint Porker Of The Month award.

...For failing to live up to campaign promises to reform earmarks or eliminate corruption and attempting to preserve a giant loophole in earmark reform legislation, CAGW names the seven freshmen senators who voted to kill the DeMint earmark amendment its Porkers of the Month for January 2007.

Link to Citizens Against Government Waste: porkerofthemonth

The Reformer, Claire McCaskill

KC Buzz Blog has also noted Crusader Claire's little problems with donations to her campaign.

The Federal Election Commission says Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign may have accepted “excessive and/or prohibited” donations from 19 people in the final weeks of the 2006 election.

The commission sent a letter to McCaskill for Missouri this week, asking for further information about the donations, which were made between Oct. 19 and Nov. 27, then disclosed Dec. 7 of last year.

How is it that this former state auditor, who says she's going to use her auditing skills to closely monitor government spending, can't even keep tabs on her own campaign finances?

Claire McCaskill And Reform (Or Not)

Update: While McCaskill claims she wants to see more transparency regarding lobbyists, all of her fundraisers are closed to the press. (Stearns, Matt. Ethic reforms won't change D.C. overnight)

Continuing from the previous post, it should be noted that Crusader Claire recently hired a former lobbyist as her chief of staff.

Sean Kennedy’s appointment last week as McCaskill’s chief of staff follows his tenure since 2004 as a lobbyist for SBC Communications, now part of AT&T.

...McCaskill will serve on the Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications and reviewed the AT&T-SBC merger.

“If I were AT&T, I’d probably be pretty happy that my guy is now chief of staff to a member of the Commerce Committee, and I would have expectations,” said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan Washington watchdog group. “The challenge for Sen. McCaskill’s office is going to be not giving undue access to a former employer. It’s hard to say ‘no’ to people you used to work with and give other people the same access and treatment.” (Sterns, Matt. Senator hires ex-lobbyist Kansas City Star

Missouri blogger The Source sees problems with McCaskill too:

Unfortunately, Claire McCaskill’s finance committees have a history of discrepancies and inaccuracies. Now that she is attempting to skirt the law and raise money for them, the Source thought it would be a good idea to make sure she’s doing so legally this time around...

Claire McCaskill: Politics As Usual

Missouri's junior senator knows which side her bread is buttered on.

While on the stump, she knew voters were sick of the undue influence of lobbyists, so she styled herself as a crusader for change. The banner on McCaskill's campaign site still trumpets "Claire McCaskill, Bringing Real Change and Accountability to Washington" and features her "15 point plan to make sure Washington works for us."

But, like most politicians, once she arrived in Washington, it was a different story:

Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, won election last year with a populist campaign bashing special interests and corporate lobbyists. This week, she invited dozens of them to a fundraiser: $1,000 per political action committee, $500 per individual. Among the invitees were some of Washington's biggest interests: Big Ag, Big Pharmaceutical, Big Telecom, Big Tobacco.

Hosting the fundraiser: Blackwell Sanders, a law and lobbying firm that Richard Martin, McCaskill's campaign manager, just went to work for as a "government affairs" specialist. (Sterns, Matt. Culture of money, access enduring under Democratic control McClatchy Washington Bureau

Do you suppose the clients of Blackwell Sanders (listed here on Open Secrets) will have easy access to McCaskill's office?

McCaskill defended herself, noting that it takes mountains of money to get elected. "Each individual senator has to make sure that their moral compass stays sharp and that they don't blow the line." (Hananel, Sam. McCaskill raises money from "broken system" she wants to change Kansas City Star)

Missouri Sunshine Laws

Since the previous post was about Missouri's Sunshine Laws , I thought I'd offer these links--test your knowledge of the law here. The MO Attorney General also has a page devoted to the law here.

Missouri Amendment 2

Formula for the passage of a constitutional amendment:

Wads of cash + artful deception + shameless play on emotions = the passage of the Stem Cell Research Initiative.

O'Reilly & St. Louis Talker Jamie Allman On The MO Stem Cell Debate

Hat tip to PubDef

Missouri Amendment 3: Just Say No

John Kennebec of Camdenton wrote this wry letter to STLtoday.com concerning the the tobacco tax amendment:

The tax envisioned in Amendment 3 is wonderful. This remarkably forward-looking tax is all that a truly progressive tax measure should be. Since it is primarily a tax on the poor, who smoke in far larger numbers than those who are better educated and compensated, it provides a number of advantages that largely have gone unmentioned:

— The poor are unlikely to raise any meaningful complaint about being disproportionately taxed. 

— It gives the elite, educated, wealthy and politically correct an opportunity to control the behavior of their fellow citizens.

— Instead of addressing the health concerns of smokers, the tax can replace health care money, which will be directed into the general fund to avoid increasing the taxes of the elite, in the exemplary manner of state lottery moneys.

All in all, a perfect tax.

Missouri Amendment 2: Follow The Money

In reference to the Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which has sunk boatloads of money into supporting Amendment 2, blogger X-Catholics notes that "about 97 percent of the group's funding has come from just two people -- Jim and Virginia Stowers, founders of the Stowers Institute.."

Most Missourians assume that the Stowers Intitute is a not-for-profit research facility and that their interest in passing Amendment 2 is strictly on philanthropic grounds. Such is not the case. Jesse Water', the producer of the O'Reilly Factor, did some research on the Stowers Institute:

...it has been reported that the Institute has made a $300 million expansion project contingent on Amendment 2 passing. If Amendment 2 fails, the project could well be move to another state and jeopardize the Stowers’ long term goals. (ed: Hence Gov. Blunt's support of the amendment.)

...The Stowers Institute has also formed the BioMed Valley Partnership, which includes a for-profit arm, BioMed Valley Discoveries Inc., set up to “patent, develop and market the discoveries of the Stowers Institute” and its partners to medical and pharmaceutical companies such as Merck or Pfizer. The BioMed Valley Partnership includes Kansas University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, whose researchers cede their intellectual property rights to BioMed Valley Discoveries in exchange for large endowments. Although Stowers officials claim that the conglomerate’s current business plan requires that profits be plowed back into Stowers Institute activities, this plan could be changed by its board of directors at any time. BioMed Valley Discoveries could go public at any time and possibly create billions of dollars in value, much of it generated by the tax dollars provided by Amendment 2 that would finance research at Stowers Institute. Stowers’ investment company could potentially be an early investor.

Virtually the same individuals serve as board members or officers in Stowers’ non-profit and for-profit entities. In fact, the IRS was reportedly wary of Stowers’ organizational structure several years ago. Also a concern for many is the almost $2 million in federal tax-payer grants that the Stowers Institute receives each year, which could potentially be used for harvesting human embryos after November 7th. Records indicate the Jim & Virginia Stowers have donated significantly to lawmakers sympathetic to his research.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin.

A Doctor's Thoughts On Missouri Amendment 2

This letter was was written by a doctor in Washington, Missouri. Since the author invited readers to share his thoughts, I am reposting his letter in it's entirety. The only editing has been to change the letter to single spacing and bolding some sections. PC


Friends,

This letter is about the stem cell amendment. It is a far bigger deal than
all but a few realize.  There is a lot of misinformation out there and as I
have some knowledge of the subjects of medicine and law, I would l like to share, admittedly unrequested, my point of view of the matter.

First off let's be clear this is not a law we are voting on, it is not a proposition, it is a Constitutional amendment, the highest law in our state, and can only be changed by another Constitutional amendment or Federal action.  We should be careful in changing this document.  The reason we are discussing a constitutional amendment as opposed to a law so that the researchers, businessmen and administrators don't have to worry about the legislature trying to impose community standards on this research every legislative session.

Be aware that this amendment will clearly and explicitly place the right to pay women for the harvesting of embryos and eggs into our state constitution.  Never before has the right to purchase a body part been placed in any state constitution anywhere.  It is a certainty that women will be exploited to their detriment under this provision.  I am a big believer that everyone gets to go to hell in their own way.  I am also a big believer that the strong should not exploit but rather should protect the weak.  There are women who will, without really understanding the risks, sacrifice their long term health for a little short term cash under this bill. I cannot sanction such exploitation.

An activist court could, and there is no reason to think it could not, extrapolate this right and interpret this amendment as a constitutional right to sell other body parts such as organs and fetuses.  Some might be in favor of this, fine, but for reasons similar to above, I am not and I think
that the pros and cons of such an issue needs to be debated on its own merits in the light of day, not in some sneaky underhanded way.

Also be aware that any restriction in place concerning the practice of abortion in our state will be challenged under this amendment.  This would include, parental notification, age restriction, and partial birth abortion. Please see the advocacy sections of the web sites of the national office of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU to review discussions of this.  This
amendment represents among the states a truly unique approach to the regulation (or deregulation) of all sorts of reproductive questions and is being watch very closely by a number of national advocacy organizations. Once again, your position on this may be different than mine (and you might be surprised what mine is), but shouldn't such a debate be held out in the open on its merits, rather than using underhanded language to subvert open debate.

This amendment is being disingenuously pushed by those with an enormous financial interest in its passage.  Be aware of this fact when anyone who argues in favor of this is from a large academic institution such as Wash U. or Mizzou. There are billions of dollars of research grants depending on the passage of this amendment. We will be the only state in the country with
such an amendment.   Its passage will turn our state into the destination for anyone who wants to do any federally approved research on embryos free of any kind of community standards.  Any standards we want to impose will have to be done by another constitutional amendment.  What Las Vegas was to gambling, we will be to stem cell research.  This is an important bias to remember when listening to "experts" describe their support for the amendment.  All this is not to protect the right to access to lifesaving cures, It is to protect the access of these researchers to this money.  In
their quest for cash, they are cynically playing on the hopes of the ill and buying the support of an additional segment of out community who hopes to use the language to support their own agenda of backdoor deregulation of abortion in our state.  For this dissimilation alone, the amendment should be defeated.  Honestly, I would look on the amendment more favorably if it was being pushed as a vehicle for economic development, at least that would be more honest.

Look, these researchers are people just like you and me.  They mean well and are not evil money grubbers.  They do great work.  But they do themselves and us a disservice by not admitting to all the horses they have in this race.  It makes me concerned they are overstating the promise of their work for a few bucks.  I would rather they avoid all these issues and spend more effort on stem cells that don't require the destruction of human embryos (so called somatic  stem cells).  It seems to be more promising but there is currently less money in the pipeline for it.

Aside from the economic stimulation, there is no real benefit to you and me in changing the constitution in this way.  Cures will still be researched. Wash U will just get less money at the expense of women who want to sell their embryos.  We will reserve our right to debate these other ethical issues openly and honestly while ensuring this research is done within the standards of our community.  This amendment gives us a head start in the race to the bottom of embryonic stem cell research.  It is not a race I personally wish to win.

If you found this useful forward it to your contacts to stimulate the
debate, let me know what you think, even if I made you angry.

Tom
(Thomas Davis MD)

More On The Cloning Bill, Missouri's Amendment 2

Missouri Roundtable for Life notes that we can't even foresee all the problems this amendment will create:

The length and complexity of the proposed initiative ensures that it will change the Missouri Constitution in ways unrelated to cloning and unforeseen by the voters. The Secretary of State here lists at least 45 specific sections of the Constitution that may be altered by this proposed amendment. The true extent of these changes will not be known by Missouri citizens until they are litigated in the courts. For this reason alone, the proposed amendment should be rejected.

They properly note that it would be more appropriate to call this the "Human Embryo Cloning and Destruction Initiative."

Check out their site for an in-depth critic of the amendment. (Hat tip to Blonde Sagacity for the link.)

Tom Hanna, of Tom Rants fame, has this to say:

Some sections of this proposal might be desirable as statute law. The total package is some of the worst legislative sausage ever made. The language is so misleading that it is either purposefully misleading or written by idiots. Whether it’s the work of liars or the work of idiots, it shouldn’t be enshrined in the state Constitution.

Cigarette Tax: Vote NO On Admendment 3

Proponents of the huge, CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED tax hike think that one good reason to raise the tax is because our's is the second-lowest rate in the nation. Reminds me of the sort of reasoning your average 5 year-old child would come up with.

The increase, at 97 cents per pack,  would have a person with a pack-a-day habit spending just under $355/year more and would hit lower income families (who seem to have a higher percentage of smokers) hard. Looks like the extra tax will take a big bite out of the minimum wage increase, should it pass.

And do we really trust them to spend the money like they say they will? This money is supposed to be spent treating "individuals with medical conditions associated with tobacco use or secondhand smoke" (which could mean almost anything) and only 17.5% of the money would go to treatment and cessation programs.

The Kansas City Star has this to say:

About 53 percent of the new revenue from higher cigarette and other tobacco taxes would be directed to the doctors, hospitals and others who see Medicaid patients and those without insurance.

...Under the proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution, 29 percent of the new tobacco tax revenue would go toward expanding health care benefits for the poor.

So first we'll tax poor people more for their cigarettes, then we'll use the money to provide health care for them.

The Star goes on:

Missouri has received more than $1 billion through the national settlement with big tobacco companies but has spent very little on anti-tobacco efforts. Most the money was used to shore up the state budget in lean years.

Representative Mark Wright isn't a fan:

...We as a state cannot afford Amendment 3. Amendment 3 is a constitutional amendment. If passed, it creates huge funding deficits because it mandates that the state of Missouri must make payments for services regardless of how much money is generated. And because it amends the states constitution, our legislators and governor are hapless [sic] to take corrective actions.
I am asking you to join with me, the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Minority Leader of the House and even the Attorney General against this measure.

You might be surprised to learn that even Missouri Right To Life is against Amendment 3:

For pro-life reasons, social justice, and moral common sense, the tobacco tax initiative should be defeated. 

The proposed constitutional amendment to tax tobacco products in order to raise money for health care poses significant problems for pro-life citizens. The most serious is that the initiative fails to contain any language preventing the money from being used for abortion and abortion referrals.

Don't be fooled by all the hype. VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 3.

I Vote NO On The Missouri "Stem Cell" Amendment

After doing some reading and listening on the subject, I'll be voting NO on Amendment 2 (the Stem Cell Initiative) for the following reasons:

• It involves the destruction of a human embryo. You can disagree with me all you want about when life begins. We'll have to agree to disagree.
• We have no business amending Missouri's constitution for the purpose of funding research. Even the News-Leader calls it economic blackmail. (I find it strange that some of the very same people who scream about corporate welfare have no problem with this.)
• To date adult stem cells have shown more promise, though Harvard University did find that embryonic stem cells can help repair heart tissue.

There are some, such as Hands Off Our Ovaries,  that are worried about the exploitation of women:

Biotechnological research and development often affects women more directly than men. In the case of human embryonic cloning, women’s health and safety have already been affected—adversely. Sadly, there have been too many instances of coercion and deception, and violations of informed consent. Left uncontrolled, research demands will place undue burdens on young, poor women. Read the Entire Manifesto

For more on this issue, check out the following links: The Truth About Stem Cells, A Bad Amendment,The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, Adult stem cells affect a cure, Natl. Institutes of Health: Stem Cell Information. Missouri blogger Ask The Pastor has compiled lots more useful links.
 

My Hero, Judge Daniel Kellogg

Twenty-six-year-old Mandy Nelson was shocked, SHOCKED, when Judge Daniel Kellogg enumerated the conditions of her probation: community service, restitution, getting her high school diploma (or the equivalent GED) and the instruction to have no more children out of wedlock while on probation.

Nelson said that "he made it seem like I was just having kids, kids, kids." Nelson's mother is of the opinion that "Mandy has always taken care of her kids. It made her look like a welfare bum." (Nelson has three kids and apparently no father(s) in sight.)

Welfare bum, skank--you decide. You see, the reason Nelson was in court is because she provides for the kiddies by FORGING CHECKS.

Aside from her enabling mother, Nelson had another bed-wetter in her corner:

The judge's order angered Constance Monroe, who founded Women of Vision Ministries Inc. of St. Joseph. It's a non-profit organization that assists women who are either coming out of the correctional system or who are dealing with drug addiction or teen pregnancy.

"We're in what century?" asked Monroe. "That, to me, is a moral statement, not a judicial statement."

Would that we had more judges like Judge Kellogg.

Link: St. Louis Today MO judge tells woman: no more pregnancies

Dead Silence In Missouri

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 calls for a public database of entities that receive your tax dollars via Federal funding. You can read the text of the bill, S2590 (there are two versions) here.

Missouri taxpayers might want to contact Senators Bond and Talent and ask them why they aren't among the 29 cosponsors of this bill.

While we're on the subject, would you people in Alaska do the rest of us a favor and GET RID OF TED STEVENS! Citizens Against Government waste has the pork-filled Stevens profile here, where they note that Stevens has been holding up S2590.

Gov. Blunt Signs Tough Sexual Predator Bill Into Law, Repeals Same-Sex Sodomy Law

A mandatory sentence of 30 years to life is now the law in Missouri for for anyone who rapes or sodomizes (or attempts to)  a child  under the age of 12.

The new law also provides for lifetime monitoring of those offenders. Persistent sexual offenders will face 30 years to life under this new law.

And no matter what the child`s age, anyone convicted of forcible rape or sodomy or of even attempting those crimes cannot receive a suspended sentence. (Link: KOLR 10 news)

There was a provision tacked onto this bill which finally takes the Sexual Misconduct Law, aimed at gays, off the books.

The law had been unenforceable after the ruling but when it was in effect it set a sentence of one year in jail for sex between consenting adults of the same sex.

Despite the invalidation of the law it remained on the books in Missouri until now. (Link: 365gay.com)

 

Couple Accused In Videotaped Rape & Murder . Updated

Richard Davis and Dena Riley turned themselves in earlier today; they are  accused of videotaping the rape and murder of Marsha Spicer.

 

Police say the video found on a TV stand in the couple’s Independence   apartment shows the 41-year-old Spicer with duct tape over her eyes and her   hands secured behind her back. She is beaten, raped and sodomized as she   pleads for the attack to stop.

The room portrayed on tape matches the   bedroom at the home of Davis and Riley, police said, and detectives noted that   the couple had a camcorder aimed at their bed when officers interviewed them.   Officers also say a notebook at the home made references to “sexual desires,”   “choking,” “chasing” and “victims.”

Police interviewed the couple last   week, but they fled soon after, before authorities obtained a search warrant   and found the incriminating tape. (Link: Springfield   News-Leader)

Friend and family member of Davis and Riley told police that the couple planned to commit similar acts in the future.

 

At least one woman believes that there already has been another victim.

Authorities have not said they suspect Davis and Riley in other killings,   but a Shawnee woman, Sherry Ballew, has said that she fears that her   36-year-old daughter, Michelle Ricci, is a victim of the two. Ricci was   reported missing early this month. Her mother said Ricci knew Davis and Riley.   (Link: Kansas   City Star)

 

UPDATE: Davis and Riley had a 5-year old girl with them at the time of their arrest. The girl was taken from her home in Pittsburg, Kansas. Local radio stations have speculated that the girl had been sexually molested, but these reports are unconfirmed.

Killing is just too good for some people.

Photos below from The Examiner.

Dena Riley   

 

                         

Richard Davis                                                               

                                                      

Raising The Age For Car Seats

Missouri legislators are contemplating requiring children up to 8 years old to be seated in booster seats while riding in a vehicle.

Norma Champion (R, District 30) doesn't think the bill is workable and I agree.  A couple of the points she raised:

• What are people supposed to do in car pool situations?
• What about someone picking up your kid as a favor?

Link: STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County.

Immigration Poll

Senator Jim Talent has an online poll where you can vote on which should be our number 1 priority, border security or a guest worker program.

Republican Liberty Caucus: Liberty Index

The Republican Liberty Caucus has a "Liberty Index" where you can see how your Senators and Representatives rate on personal and economic liberty. (You can find an overview of the index here.)

At the top of the heap is John Ensign (R-NV), while Mark Dayton (D-MN) is at the very bottom of the pile.

As for Missouri, Senator Bond (R) is at the top with a combined rating of 85%. Russ Carnahan (D) is at a low of 32.5%.

Immigration Scores For Missouri's Elected Officials

It seems like a good time to repost this.

Americans for Better Immigration have posted updated "report cards" on how Missouri delegates are doing on immigration issues.
 

• Todd Akin (R) A+

• Sam Graves (R) B+

• Roy Blunt (R) B
• Kenny  Hulshof (R) B
• Jo Ann Emerson (R) B

• Jim Talent (R) B-
• Ike Skelton (D) C-

• Kit Bond (R) D+
• Russ Carnahan (D) D-

• William Lacy Clay (D) D-
• Emanuel Clever (D) F

We will remember on August 8th.

Greene County, MO Tax Proposals

Here in Greene County, voters can expect a barrage of tax proposals throughout 2006:

April 4th: Springfield Public Schools will be asking for a tax hike on property taxes. You see, we have to build more schools because we keep closing schools...

June 6th: Voters will be asked to approve a $615M bond for a new coal-fired plant. Your won't see the hit on your electric bill until 2010. According to the Spfd. News-Loser, residential bills are anticipated to rise an average of $9.63/month. I could swear that the figure I saw was almost twice that amount, but we are going to have to do something, folks. Time to bite the bullet on this one.

August 8th: The Greene County Park Board wants voters to approve a 1/4 sales tax increase for "new projects" over the next five years. (Actually, 1/8 of that tax is a continuation of a tax that was approved in 2001.) " The measure has yet to be formalized by the County Commission," which translates "we don't know exactly why we need more money, we just do."

November 7th: the Committee for a Healthy Future wants to slap an 80 cent tax on cigarettes (20 cents on other tobacco products). The tax is expected to generate $351M/year for prevention and cessation programs (hey, it's working so well with our war on drugs)and non-tobacco related health care programs. I'm going to assume that those "non-related programs" are probably for low-income families--the very families that will be hit hardest by this tax. 

Hmmm, could it be that some of those "non-related" programs involve funding portions of the Early Childhood Development mess that was rejected last year? (Marketed under a different name this time around, of course). Anyone care to bet?

Greene County is also considering hitting up voters for a 1/8 cent increase in the sales tax for 911emergency services. The increase would go towards new hires and pay increases. While I'm not  automatically against this tax, they could probably do with fewer new hires if they would stop telling residents to call 911 with non-emergency calls.

Link: News-Leader.com | Politics/Elections.

St. Louis Radio Host Fired Over Comments

Oh, those St. Louis radio personalities.

First, there was Kaos and Silli Asz, who were fired from KATZ FM for informing their listeners on how one should go about disarming and injuring police officers.

And now, KTRS morning host David Lenihan has been fired during the show after using the word "coon" during a segment about Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice.

Lenihan insists that he meant to say "coup" during the discussion about Rice and the NFL commissioner's slot.

“She’s just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such serious skill,” Linehan [sic] said on the air. “She loves football, she’s African-American, which would kind of be a big coon, a big coon – oh my God, I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that, OK? I didn’t mean that. That was just a slip of the tongue.”

STLtoday has an audio link to Lenihan's on-air comment.

Listening to his blooper in context, it does seem a little odd that he would intentionally make a derogitory statement, since he had just gotten through praising Rice.

Link: STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County.

56 Illegals Rounded Up At MO Job Site

It is way past time to start hitting these companies where it hurts:

A group of 56 illegal immigrants is being held in the Christian County jail after immigration officials raided a job site in Carthage on Wednesday. During the next few days, the workers will be processed for deportation back to Mexico.

The Carthage bust comes only weeks after two Ozarks residents were charged with falsifying work visas for 300 workers. It also comes as Sen. John McCain kicks off a publicity blitz for his proposal to legalize the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.

Of the contractors hit, one of them had been previously been cited 3 times in the past four months!

Reich Installation Services, a Wisconsin-based warehouse installation company, employed 28 of the Mexicans picked up in Carthage. Others worked for other subcontractors on a future distribution center for Schreiber Foods, according to immigration officials.

...Two insiders told investigators that over the past three years, Reich has "consistently undercut industry competitors by as much as 30 percent."

During that time, the insiders had observed "a marked increase in the number of Hispanic persons employed by Reich," the affidavit states.

Hats Off To Montgomery Bank

Montgomery Bank, which has six branches in St. Louis and five branches in Southeast Missouri, announced late last week that "it will not lend money for projects in which local governments use eminent domain to take private property for use by private developers.”

In a press release issued by the bank, Chief Operating Officer Troy Wilson said, “The sanctity of private property ownership is one of the hallmarks of our individual rights as private citizens. Eminent domain should only be used for public projects, not to benefit private developers.”

Link: Glenn Nielsen : Weblog.

Terrorism Watch: FBI Checks Out Truck Driving School in West Plains

For West Plains, Missouri, this is more than a little strange:

Most of the people who’ve been tested to drive big rigs at a trucking school here have names that sound as if they are Middle Eastern in origin. The FBI has been scrutinizing the South Central Career Center’s Truck Training Program since at least early this month.

...Since the terrorists’ attacks in 2001, truck driver training schools, like flight schools, have undergone increased scrutiny by the FBI.  The agency is worried that under-qualified drivers, some of them illegal immigrants, are slipping through the cracks.  Even worse would be that drivers who aren't citizens and haven't passed a terror threat assessment could be hauling thousands of gallons of hazardous materials. The FBI looks at it as a terrorism threat.

   The FBI has executed search warrants on driving schools in Utah, Tennessee and Illinois. Some so-called third-party license examiners have been indicted for helping immigrants and legal residents sidestep stringent laws, as was the case in an FBI bust at a school in Utah called Operation Road Warrior.

Strange indeed, since the vast majority of immigrants in this area are not from the Mid East and yet the trucking school says 26 out of 30 people who took the exam in May  2004 had Middle Eastern names.

Link: KY3 - News.