What is happening in Wisconsin in simple terms.

A unionized public employee, a Tea Party member and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches over and takes 11 cookies and then says to the tea partier, "Watch out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie."

FiredupMissouri is reporting the Missouri House passed legislation to phase out the state's corporate franchise tax today, which will cost the state up to $87.5 million in lost revenues every year when it's fully enacted.

As far as I know, no plan has been put forward detailing how many teachers will lose their jobs if this becomes law. Or how high tuition will need to go. Or how taxes will need to be raised on working people so that the already wealthy can pay a little less.

Firedup provides this link to this video posted by the Missouri News Horizon, in which Speaker Steve Tilley makes it clear that "he is in no hurry to move ahead" on right to work for less legislation.



ON WISCONSIN!

What we got for our $14,500* -- Billy Long votes last week include approving a 7 million dollar decal for a race car

Here are some selected votes cast by Congressman Billy Long on amendments to H.R.1 last week:

Eliminates Financing for Planned Parenthood(H.AMDT.95)
This amendment proposing cutting the entire $317 million program of aid for family planning. It would also bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds for any purpose.
Long voted YES to eliminating financing

Reduces Financing for the N.E.A.(H.AMDT.52)
Citing the high federal deficit, many Republicans have questioned the need to support arts programs with government financing. This amendment was introduced to reduce financing for the National Endowment for the Arts back to fiscal 2006 levels (about $21 million).
Long voted YES to reduce financing for the NEA (not sure if he got the N.E.A.'s confused on this one or not.

Restores $50 Million in Heating Subsidies for the Poor(H.AMDT.55)
The chamber rejected this effort by Representative Charles F. Bass, Republican of New Hampshire, to add $50 million back to the budget for the Low Energy Assistance Program, which provides heating subsidies for the poor.
Long voted NO to restoring funding.

To Reduce Funding for Amtrak(H.AMDT.75)
There were enough supporters of the rail service in the chamber to defeat this amendment, which would have slashed the service's budget by $447 million.
Long voted YES to reduce funding.

Cancels F-35 Jet Engine Program(H.AMDT.16)
This proposal to cancel the alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would cut an additional $450 million and save up to $3 billion over the next several years. It won bipartisan support and overcame the opposition of House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio
Long voted YES to cancel the alternate engine program.

To Reduce Financing for Iraq by $1.5 Billion(H.AMDT.18)

This amendment would have eliminated $1.5 billion allocated for security forces in Iraq. "If we are going to be cutting Pell grants and energy research and heating assistance for families here in the United States, we certainly should take a hard look at Pentagon spending as well," the amendment's sponsor, Representative Rush D. Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, said.
Long voted NO to reducing financing for Iraq by $1.5 billion.

To Eliminate Financing for the Draft Boards(H.AMDT.37)

The amendment's sponsor, Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon, called the Selective Service System "a dead bureaucracy that does nothing and never will do anything." He urged that the $24 million allocated for 2011 be eliminated.
Long voted NO to eliminating financing for draft boards.

To Eliminate $19 Million From Defense Budget (H.AMDT.11)

This amendment would strip nearly $19 million from an operations and maintenance account. "I realize the amount of savings in this amendment is relatively small compared to the overall defense budget, but I think the point has to be made here that the defense budget is not sacrosanct," the amendment's sponsor, Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, said to no avail.

Long voted NO to eliminating $19 million for the Defense Budget.

Prohibits Government Sponsoring of Nascar Cars(H.AMDT.92)
This amendment would prohibit the Defense Department from sponsoring cars in Nascar races. According to the amendment's sponsor, Representative Betty McCollum, Democrat of Minnesota, the Army, Navy and National Guard have all sponsored race cars. "Incredibly, over the past decade hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have subsidized race car owners and millionaire drivers in the name of military recruitment," she said.
Long voted NO, keeping the 7 million dollar decal on the #39 Ryan Newman car.


Make up your own jokes.

*Long's monthly government paycheck is around $14,500. This $14,500 does not include his per diem and his gov't paid health insurance plan.

Contrast this to the average Social Security benefit received by retirees in the 7th Congressional district which is around $13,000.

Contrast this to the average wage of Springfield which, as reported in Sunday's SN-L is around $30,000. Long makes more on the government payroll in two months than the average Springfieldian makes in a year.

Billy Long butts into your sex life and it ain't pretty!

If you wrote a letter to Congressman Billy Long regarding the Title X Family Planning funding, this is the reply you probably received:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Title X Family Planning funding; I appreciate hearing from you regarding an issue important to constituents of the Seventh District of Missouri.

As you may know, the United States House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 1, a bill continually funding the federal government's operations until September 30 of this year. An amendment sponsored by Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana prohibiting federal taxpayer funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America or any of its affiliates through the Title X Family Planning programs was introduced and approved; I voted for the Pence amendment along with 246 of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

I supported the amendment because Planned Parenthood and its affiliates participate in abortion services. Even if this organization claims funding is set aside for non-abortion purposes, there is no guarantee the money will be spent that way. Moreover, if it is proven that federal funding was only used by an organization for non-abortion purposes, it frees up the organization's other funds to be used for abortions.

I have also signed on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 217, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, also authored by Congressman Pence. This bill would amend the Public Health Service Act, prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform abortions or provide any funds to any other entity which performs abortions.

Abortion is an intensely personal issue which inspires deeply-felt passion on both sides, and I recognize the strong feelings it evokes. I strongly oppose abortion and am 100 percent pro-life; I will continue to advocate for that position in the U.S. Congress. I support efforts to reduce the number of abortions in this country, and I also support efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that a "right to abortion" does not exist within it. In addition, nearly every year, Congress addresses whether taxpayer dollars should be used to fund abortions and abortion-related services. I believe that those services should not be provided using the tax revenue from citizens who hold fundamental moral and religious objections to abortion.

There will always be differing views on important issues, and I fully respect and consider both sides. The people of the Seventh District of Missouri have consistently voiced their opposition to abortion and federal funding of abortion. I appreciate you letting me know your thoughts and look forward to continuing to represent all my constituents in Congress.

For additional information regarding current legislation and my representation of the Seventh District, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.long.house.gov.

"The people of the Seventh District of Missouri have consistently voiced their opposition to abortion and federal funding of abortion." -- again with the absolutes. I am part of "the people" of the seventh District and I don't think the government has any business in anyone's sex life. Apparently Billy Long does.

"Crazy Eddie" brings his silliness to Springfield

First read this account of who showed up for Ed Martin's hearing in St. Louis last week.



Listen as Martin fires the first shot in his war to kill medicare.



"Crazy Eddie" brings his silliness to Springfield tomorrow night. It's at the Drury Inn & Suites. The St. Louis 'hearing' was at the Drury Inn up there also.

B.O.S.S. Business Owners Supporting Sheriffs

While attending his local Sheriff’s academy, Dr. Robert O'Block witnessed firsthand the devastating effects that budget cuts had on his Sheriff's Office. Realizing, his county was not alone, he conceived the concept for a national program that would increase public awareness on the funding issues affecting Sheriffs and help to promote community partnerships nationwide.

In 2010, he created, and trademarked, B.O.S.S., Business Owners Supporting Sheriffs, to encourage business owners and civic leaders nationwide to incorporate and use in their own communities.

At the official web site, www.BOSSheriffs.org, community leaders and Sheriffs can find all of the information, resources, and tools needed to establish independent B.O.S.S. chapters in their own counties.

Dr. O'Block's professional career spans a lifetime of work within the field of law enforcement. At only 19 years old, he served as a police dispatcher, at 20 he worked full time as a city patrol officer and attended college full time, and by the time he reached the age of 24, he had graduated from college four times and obtained three graduate degrees in three distinctive fields. He became a college professor at the young age of 25 and by 27, published his first book, Security and Crime Prevention. Dedicated to the field of law enforcement, Dr. O'Block continued to serve as a reserve sheriff deputy (without pay) as he taught criminal justice full time at the university. Always a high achiever, he departed from the world of Academia at the age of 40, to further develop and merge his passions for law enforcement and education with his entrepreneurial and visionary spirit. Acknowledged and recognized for his many personal and professional achievements, Dr. O'Block's biography is also listed in the following publications: Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in America.

Committed to expanding knowledge and opportunities through continuing education and advanced credentialing, Dr. O'Block founded the following five professional associations:

American College of Forensic Examiners Institute (ACFEI),

The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security (ABCHS),

The American Psychotherapy Association (APA),

American Association for Integrative Medicine (AAIM).

The International College of The Behavioral Sciences, (ICBS)

Dr. O'Block is also the Publisher of three professional peer-reviewed journals and the author of three books:

Journals

The Forensic Examiner®,

Inside Homeland Security®,

Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association®,

Books

Security and Crime Prevention,

Crime Justice Research Sources,

The 7 Steps to the Cure of the Souls.

Attune to the many needs of the law enforcement community, Dr. O'Block continues to strive towards finding creative solutions for enhancing the personal and professional lives of the many men and women, who are so passionately committed and dedicated to this profession.

Legal Notice: Dr. Robert L. O'Block, nor any of his companies or subsidiaries, shall accept, receive, or require any revenues, fees, of any other forms of compensation from the BOSS program, or from the use of this trademark. The BOSS program is strictly established as a trademark and tool to promote community partnerships for the support of Sheriffs. Chapters of BOSS will not be governed, managed, or r

I like Ike

"This is what I mean by my constant insistence on 'moderation' in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid,"

Is Billy's new BFF?

From Miracle Reports, "The National Center for Reporting and Investigating Miracles":

Some time ago, Dr. Robert O'Block, founder of the Society for the Cure of Souls, discovered the WatchWORD BIBLE video series produced by WatchWORD Worldwide. After viewing the series, Dr. O'Block was inspired by the program's innovative and effective method of broadcasting the word of God to viewers. Enthusiastic about the program and its mission, he contacted Jim Fitzgerald, developer of the series. Through their interactions, he learned that Fitzgerald's mission was to provide the series to Muslims living in Arabic nations and all over the world. To do this, Fitzgerald would need the assistance of Arabic translators to interpret the WatchWORD BIBLE series and express the Biblical teachings of the series in the Arabic language. He would also require financial support to get his project underway.

While driving on a road he didn't normally travel, Dr. O'Block noticed a church set on a beautiful hill. It was called Immanuel Lutheran Church. The church, small, white, and simple, was perched in an idyllic setting surrounded by mature trees and green lawns. He felt drawn to the church, and diverted his route in order to drive into its parking lot.

After parking his car behind the small building, He entered the church and found the doors open. He called out, and got a response from a small office inside the building.

There he found Vincent Will, pastor of the church, studying in his tiny office filled to near bursting with books that were stacked from floor to ceiling.*

Dr. O'Block felt compelled to discuss the WatchWORD BIBLE series he had discovered earlier with him. During their discussions, Dr. O'Block mentioned the important mission that Fitzgerald, the developer of the series, had embarked on, to provide the New Testament via satellite broadcast to Muslim nations.

Pastor Will was intrigued by Fitzgerald's mission and decided he wanted to help. He drove from Springfield, Missouri to Oklahoma to meet with an elderly retired oilman he knew to discuss the project. He believed this Christian man would be happy to provide financial support for Fitzgerald's project, and he was correct. This gentleman, who was in declining health, took action and agreed to support Fitzgerald's mission in any way he could. He happily pledged substantial financial support to help Fitzgerald get his project underway.

Fitzgerald now had the means necessary to embark on what would become one of the most important missions of his life. He contracted the work of Arabic translators, and the project was officially in operation.

Dr. O'Block is proud to see the great progress the WatchWORD BIBLE series is making in Arabic nations across the globe.

* Pastor Vincent Will, former pastor for Immanuel Lutheran Church in Springfield, Missouri, has passed away. However, his wife Eunice Will still volunteers much of her time at Immanuel Lutheran.

Readers interested in Biblical-based counseling or spiritual direction and those who are already engaged in Biblical counseling are encouraged to join The Society for the Cure of Souls, a professional organization of Christian Spiritual Directhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifors and Biblical Counselors. It is also recommended that you refer to the book The 7 Steps to the Cure of Souls, written by Robert L. OBlock. For more information, to join The Society for the Cure of Souls, or to purchase a copy of The 7 Steps to the Cure of Souls, visit The Society for the Cure of Souls website at www.cureofsouls.com.

Not much to read, but look at this.

Now read this

Also read this.

Now read this.

A long piece, but read this.

Read this.

Bungalow Bill's Conventional Wisdom also weighs in on this subject.

I think I'll let the mystery be

Everybody's wondering what and where they all came from
Everybody's worrying 'bout where they're gonna go
When the whole thing's done
Nobody knows for certain,
And so it's all the same to me
I Think I'll just let the mystery be

Some say once gone, you're gone forever
Some say you're gonna come back
Some say you rest in the arms of the Savior
If in sinful ways you lack
Some say that they're comin' back in a garden
Bunch of carrots and little sweet peas
I Think I'll just let the mystery be

Some say they're going to place called Glory
And I ain't sayin' it ain't a fact
But I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatory
And I don't like the sound of that
I believe in love and I live my life accordingly
But I choose to let the mystery be

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 87.

Billy Long co-sponsors bill to defund Planned Parenthood

From the Riverfront Times comes this story by Melissa Meizer: U.S. House Voting to Defund Planned Parenthood

As soon as today or tomorrow, members of the U.S. House of Representatives could approve bills to strip Planned Parenthood and other reproductive care centers of federal funding. Such a move would leave millions of low-income women nationwide without access to free or low-cost reproductive health care, cancer screenings and contraception.

A bill currently awaiting a vote, HR 217, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) and 165 cosponsors, would make Planned Parenthood ineligible for federal funds set aside by Title X. (Missouri legislators who've signed on as co-sponsors include Blaine Luetkemeyer, Billy Long, Vicky Hartzler and Todd Akin.) Another bill would strip all funding from Title X, meaning that any group that uses Title X funds would be broke.

"[Title X] is a program that provides preventative services to over 6 million women each year in this country," says Paula Gianino, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region. "Planned Parenthood centers are a huge part of the Title X family. If we were defunded, millions of women would lose access to free preventative services."

Title X, the family planning funding law, was signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon. Congress sets aside funding for it every year as part of the Department of Health and Human Services budget. The money -- $327 million last year -- goes to clinics and health care centers around the country that provide subsidized contraception and services like Pap tests and annual gynecological exams, as well as STD testing and treatment.

In the St. Louis area, Planned Parenthood operates two Title X centers that serve nearly 9,000 patients a year. Half of those patients qualify for free care based on their incomes. Title X dollars support contraceptive care and screenings for cancer and STDs; Gianino says that 60 percent of women who use Title X centers say that's their only health-care provider.

Pence's bill, which he's calling "Defund Planned Parenthood Now," holds that any entity that provides abortions cannot receive Title X grants. But exactly zero dollars of Title X money have ever gone to pay for abortion -- that's written into the law.

"It's really a pretty inane justification," Gianino says. Yes, she acknowledges, Planned Parenthood does indeed provide abortions. But, she notes, "women who receive abortions pay for them out of their own pockets. Not one penny of Title X money goes to abortions." She says that 97 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is preventative care. As well, she says that nationwide, Title X centers prevent more than 600,000 pregnancies each year.

If Planned Parenthood and other Title X centers lose their federal financing, she says, "we will have more disease, we will have more unintended pregnancy, more teen pregnancy, and more abortions. All of these things are linked."

Gianino expects the bills will pass in the House, with a Senate vote coming in the beginning of March.

I would have hoped that Congressman Long, with two daughters in their mid-twenties*, would have been more receptive to the health and reproductive care of women.
But what does he care. Thanks to HCR (what he calls "Obamacare") his daughters are on his health insurance policy.*

Another example of the "I got mine too bad about you" mentality which is about all we get from Long.

While on the subject of HCR, remember this? I do.

When will Long wake up and smell the roses -- even Michelle Bachmann now realizes that ain't gonna happen.

*Up until now, I have avoided any reference to Long's wife and daughters. However, Long's co-sponsorship of this bill puts reproductive healthcare out of the reach of a large segment of his constituency.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Shame on Billy Long.

The girls took the Model T out for a spin today. ...

Sadie didn't think much of Sophie's driving.

Press Release - Wardell comments on the President's Budget.

Whether you support the President or not, a spending plan that once again adds another $ 1.7 or so TRILLION dollars to our debt is not only ludicrous but threatens our freedom and Nation Security.

The People in Southwest Missouri understand this simple but seemingly impossible concept for DC to understand, you can’t spend more than you make and expect to stay in business.

The U.S. pays approximately $530 billion annually just to pay the debt on what we owe and with around $ 2 trillion in income, that leaves us only $1.5 Trillion to operate government. Not counting paying down the debt, or the liabilities that Social Security and Medicare have.

Billy Long has once again shone us no leadership in even attempting to rectify this situation or for that matter, even opine.

This is in addition to his remarks in the Springfield News-Leader about what the exact cuts were going to be and he waffled by stating that it will be discussed in committee. However just days before, he was proudly banging his drum on the cuts that were accomplished. Sorry Billy, you can’t have it both ways.

Michael Wardell

Michael Wardell is a retired U.S. Marine and former GOP candidate for the 7th district in Missouri.

Thrift store finds

These first two plaques I found a thrift store last Monday.

The engravings still have the plastic covering on them.



This one below I found today. Written on the back: 1st Place Ozark Empire Fair, 1998. (Photo of Madison and Roscoe) Published. Photographer Kerry Foreman.



And, on the back, in a little girl's handwriting: To Roscoe from Madison



Read more about Roscoe Jones

This scroll I found in a Commercial Street thrift store. What do you think? Is that Powersite Dam or Bagnell Dam?

Model T Ford / Happy Valentine's Day

Follow up: How to buy eggs for 7 cents in Malta and sell them for 5 cents in Sicily and still make a profit

The bus stopped here on April 9, 2009. It's a complicated scene but if you can understand how Milo was able to buy eggs for seven cents in Malta, sell them for five cents and still make a profit for the syndicate- of which everyone had a share, including Hungry Joe, then you will be able to follow this scheme.



This morning's edition of the SN-L has a follow-up. The guy got sentenced to 28 months in prison without parole. The court also ordered Feller to pay almost $740,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Feller will also be required to pay an as-yet-undetermined amount of restitution, not to exceed $3.9 million, to Yakima Products Inc.On Aug. 4, Feller pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of income tax evasion.

The scheme involved submitting fictitious invoices to defraud Yakima Products Inc. of approximately $4 million.

Yakima operates a luggage/bicycle rack manufacturing and distribution facility in Beaverton, Ore.

During the time of the conspiracies, Yakima also operated a watercraft (canoes, kayaks, etc.) manufacturing and distribution facility under the name Watermark Paddlesports Inc.

Watermark changed its name to Yakima in May 2005.

Feller was a transportation consultant and later the director of distribution and logistics for Yakima.

He was a contract employee who worked out of his Springfield residence. Feller was responsible for approving invoices submitted by the carriers.

Feller admitted that he created Cooper Enterprises, a fictitious company that Feller used to bill Yakima for freight that was purportedly hauled by Cooper Enterprises, but which in fact, was never hauled. Feller received approximately $3.8 million from Yakima, which he deposited in Cooper Enterprises bank accounts.

Feller was assisted by Christopher Levato, of Simpsonville, S.C. Levato represented himself as an agent or employee of Cooper Enterprises and would field questions from Yakima employees regarding the Cooper Enterprises invoices.

Levato received a portion of the scheme proceeds. Levato also pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in December 2010.

Feller also received more than $110,000 from fictitious invoices that he approved, and which were paid by Yakima, for freight that was purportedly hauled by Southern Logistics, but in fact was never hauled.

In addition, Feller submitted false inflated invoices under the name of United Transport, to Yakima for payment. Once payment was sent to United Transport, the funds were used to pay legitimate freight charges, and the inflated additional amount was split between Feller and another co-conspirator.

Feller's role in all schemes was to approve the invoices for payment and submit them to Yakima.

Yakima's accounting department relied on Feller's approval of the invoices as the basis for payment.

During the 2004 and 2005 calendar years, Feller had taxable income from the false invoicing schemes in the amount of $1 million and $765,000.

Based on the taxable income figures, Feller had an income tax due of $300,000 in 2004 and $250,000 in 2005.

Feller attempted to evade and defeat the income tax due by failing to file a 2004 or 2005 income tax return, by failing to pay the IRS the income tax owed, and by concealing and attempting to conceal his true and correct income.

Feller agreed that the total amount of unpaid taxes due and owed to the Internal Revenue Service for tax years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 is $738,941.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robyn L. McKee. It was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Long compares himself to "Larry the Cable Guy" at CPAC Conference

In an article about the CPAC Conference, Slate Magazine quotes Ozark Billy Long:

"We worked all day yesterday, we had meeting after meeting, to get this $100 billion we promised we would cut," said Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo. "As Larry the Cable Guy would say, we got 'er done. Trouble is, $100 billion is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic, so we've got to work harder."

Yesterday, through the magic of Tweets, I learned Billy Long has a "Press Secretary". You can insert your own joke here.

Dairy leader: Nation's dairy industry needs "total reform"

A family milking cows in 1943. Alfred Eisenstaedt photo

Jim Hamilton of the Marshfield Mail reports on the 2011 Missouri Dairy Forum held late in January in Springfield:

The nation’s dairy industry needs “total reform,” Rogersville dairyman Randy Mooney told a gathering of his peers Friday, Jan. 28, at the 2011 Missouri Dairy Forum at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield.

Speaking as the chairman of the board for the National Milk Producers Federation, Mooney outlined new dairy policies developed through a collaborative effort of several dairy organizations, including Dairy Farmers of America, the nation’s leading milk marketing cooperative, where he also serves as chairman of the board.

Mooney said DFA members today face “winds of change” in the dairy industry, including increasing volatility in feed and milk prices, increased focus on margin over feed (rather than just price), and increased global trade (14 percent of dairy products are exported, only 2 percent imported).

“Extreme volatility threatens our industry,” Mooney said. DFA’s “Foundation for the Future” proposal offers protection, stability and growth.

The DFA proposal eliminates the present dairy price support program and milk income loss contract (MILC) payments, while protecting producer margins through base and supplemental programs.

The proposal also changes federal milk marketing orders to a simpler system. “We need to write new rules, and make sure we preserve dairy farmers’ income along the way,” Mooney said.

The proposal also includes a dairy market stabilization plans to address imbalances in supply and demand.

Dairy policy will be part of the next Farm Bill. The proposed reforms will have to be supported by members of Congress. Following Mooney, Jackie Klippenstein of DFA flashed pictures of Sen. Roy Blunt and Reps. Billy Long and Vickie Hartzler on a screen and said, “The dairy industry has one shot at success. Your job is to call them.”

In addition chairing the NMPF and DFA boards, Mooney is a member of the Missouri State Milk Board, Hiland Dairy board, Southern Marketing Agency, the Dairy Cooperative Marketing Agency and the Fluid Milk Processor board.

He and wife, Jan, operate a dairy on the Greene-Christian counties line.

Other topics addressed at the Jan. 28 forum were fly control, milk quality, cattle worms and rumen efficiency.

Held in conjunction with the annual Missouri Holstein Association meeting, the 2011 Missouri Dairy Forum was sponsored by the Missouri Dairy Association, Missouri Brown Swiss Association, Missouri Guernsey Breeders Association, Missouri Jersey Cattle Club, Missouri Dairy Growth Council and the Sho-Mo Dairy Heifer Growers Association, as well as the Holstein group.

The two-day event was also supported by more than 50 Missouri agribusiness, association and agency exhibitors and sponsors.

Last October, prior to the election, when Billy Long was filling out "jillions of surveys", on one of them he wrote that he was against farm subsidies. He later modified his statement to mean that he was against farm subsidies to big corporate farms but not to family farms. (Note Billy's reference to "they" in the story. Who's "they"? Maybe it's an algebraic term, like "x", meaning an unknown quanity or, in this case, "they" is a known unknown?)

The comment on that post is interesting enough to stand alone:

Anonymous said...

Milk marketing orders have made it more favorable to produce milk Texas,New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Missouri's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) made it virtually impossible to produce milk in this area because of regulatory restrictions. In fact, most of our dairy cows were sold at auction to find new homes on the golaith farms out West.

The once great milkshed (milk producing area) of Southwest Missouri was ruined by Mid America Dairymen. MidAm's attitude was that they would rather have one trailerload of milk produced on a hugh farm out West than have to have 100 farmers produce the same quantity in Southwest Missouri.

At one time, our area was the largest milk producing milkshed between Wisconsin and Texas. The benefits were many. Dairy farm income was spend with local businesses and the local and farm economy grew.

Now, about 85% of the fluid milk we consume comes from this area. The rest comes from out West.

We have former MidAM executive Gary Hanman and the idiot board members like that guy from Purdy, Missouri to thank for that.

What does this have to do with Billy Long? Well it's pretty simple.

City Boy Billy does not know which end of the cow the hay goes in and which end the crap comes out. But again, he is spouting off about something he knows nothing about.

Pity the poor farmer with him in Washington. And, the rest of us.
10/19/2010 3:18 PM

DR. Magill says, "Defend CPAC from phony conservatives"

From the Washington Times, February 9, 2011, is this article written by local Republican activist and founder of Veterans in Defense of Liberty (VIDOL), Dr. Scott Magill. Magill is the executive director of Veterans in Defense of Liberty and a local OB/GYN doctor.

Defend CPAC from phony conservatives

Many conservative organizations have chosen to boycott this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but Veterans in Defense of Liberty will be there in force. Our group is going to CPAC to fulfill our sworn and solemn oath to “defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.” Unfortunately, the nation’s pre-eminent grass-roots conservative gathering has become a showcase for the enemies of the American tradition.

The American Conservative Union‘s (ACU) board of directors, led byGrover Norquist, Suhail Khan and until he stepped down yesterday,David Keene, seems to have forgotten the constitutional grounding of American society. The board continues to espouse the ACU‘s founding conservative ideals of economic growth through smaller government, reduced taxation and lower government spending but has disconnected them from the funda- mental issues of liberty and the personal responsibility upon which that liberty rests. It likewise ignores the ACU‘s original principles of traditional religious values and national security based on peace through strength. In truth, without the traditional social foundation, the economic principles from which it is derived cannot survive.

The ACU has landed solidly behind the radical homosexual agenda. Veterans in Defense of Liberty does not oppose people who are homosexual, although we do object to their behavior. However, we forthrightly oppose the policy prescriptions expressed by GOProud. We recognize the truth in the words of John Adams in his address to the military in 1798: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.” GOProud intends to be that whale. Adams continued, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” When traditional morals fade away, the Constitution is sure to follow.

Mr. Norquist serves on the GOProud advisory board and also has advocated legalization of drugs, open borders and amnesty for illegals; supported closing the detainee facility at Guantanamo Bay; opposed aspects of the USA Patriot Act; and supports the construction of theGround Zero Mosque. He is actively promoting the Obama administration‘s “engagement plan” with Islam, which has the Muslim Brotherhood‘s seal of approval. He certainly has a right to hold those views, but it is false advertising to call them conservative.

The homosexual agenda of GOProud parallels that of other homosexual ideology, militantly demanding social approval and that homosexual principles assume the same moral high ground as heterosexual ideals. GOProud members use the Saul Alinsky-like strategy of seeking to subvert traditional morals: marginalization of their enemy and destruction of the traditional family. They favor repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment and seek to brainwash America’s youth through the school system by inserting favorable references to homosexuality in the curriculum as early as kindergarten. Religiously based moral objections to this approach are swept aside in the name of “separation of church and state.”

Church and family are the basis of the traditional values upon which our Constitution rests. Church and family have been the bedrock of American exceptionalism. Twentieth-century Italian communist Antonio Gramsci, who inspired a generation of radicals, taught that leftist revolution is only possible if these hallowed institutions are first marginalized and then defeated. Any organization that works actively to undermine faith and family cannot by rights claim to be conservative.

Because we former members of the military have sworn to defend the Constitution, we have but two choices: Surrender and abdicate the CPAC battlefield or refuse to be pushed to the sidelines, stay on the moral high ground, fortify our defensive perimeter, roll up our collective shirt sleeves and return the ACU and CPAC to their original foundations of liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values and national security.

It would violate our organization’s mission statement, several of our general orders and the basic instincts of our members to abdicate the field and allow irreparable harm to be done to the conservative movement. If we pulled out of CPAC it would create a vacuum that other organizations would attempt to fill, claiming to speak for America’s veterans but supporting policies that the vast majority of those veterans abhor.

Veterans in Defense of Liberty will not neglect our oath by putting our heads in the sand and pretending that this is not a serious constitutional matter. We will defend the turf hard won by so many of our brothers who came before. We call upon all conservative groups to demand the resignation of any ACU board member who does not understand, advocate and live by the traditional conservative principles enshrined in the Constitution and sanctified by the blood of those who died to keep America free. They should be replaced by constitutional conservatives who understand the principles that have made America a “shining city on a hill” and are willing to fight to ensure that the concepts of conservatism, capitalism and American exceptionalism do not become servants to those who would destroy them. We are up for the fight. Bring it on.

Doctor John Lilly, State Representative Eric Burlison (136R) and Doctor Scott Magill in this undated photo on Burlison's website.

ps-- here is the privacy notice on Burlinson's website:

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ATTENTION Legislators, both state and federal:

"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it." Stephen Colbert

Schweich gives a pass to Sinquefield petitions; Non-partisan analysists agree they will bankrupt the state and kill off the middleclass

"It's not fair, Daddy! These guys want to bankrupt the state and kill off the middleclass. I guess I expected more out of Tom. Why do they hate us so?"

Developing story out of the Auditor's office right now.

I called to express my concern with Auditor Schweich not identifying a fiscal impact on Sinquefield's petitions.

Scweich's phone number is 1-573-751-4213, Vanessa Chandler is his communications director. You will probably get her voice mail.

Firedup Missouri has this report:

Auditor Tom Schweich boldly announced today that he's not going to try to help Missouri voters understand the cost of Rex Sinquefield's sales tax hike proposals. The closest he came to providing an honest assessment of Rex's plans was to say that he can't "predict that the petitions will have little or no fiscal impact on the state." Impressive stuff, right there.

Sinquefield helped get Schweich elected and has made huge contributions the Republicans around Schweich, of course, so perhaps this isn't all that surprising. It's also not surprising that Sinquefield's hired guns in Jefferson City were quick to tweet out the news of Schweich's big punt.

Lobbyist Travis Brown, Sinquefield's top lobbyist and Speaker Steve Tilley business partner:

And unethical hack Carl Bearden, a Sinquefield lobbyist and director of the Sinquefield-funded "United for Missouri" organizations:

Any questions?

Despite Schweich's punt on the issue, Missourians have plenty of research to know how devastating Rex's plans would be. Last year, the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Tax Policy found that the 7% cap on sales taxes would be far from revenue neutral, and would have to be much higher if a prebate program was instituted.

We also have the recent analysis of Sinquefield's petitions by Jim Moody, a lobbyist who used to be Governor John Ashcroft's Commissioner of Administration, who found that Rex's plans would "bankrupt the state, or in the alternative, bankrupt the poor and the working lower and middle income classes." GOP gubernatorial candidate Peter Kinder cited Moody's research in his explanation for why he isn't endorsing Rex's plans (this year, any way).

And the Missouri Budget Project and Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy have determined that a sales tax rate with a prebate program would need to be close to 11% to be revenue neutral.

Charlie's plan hit a pothole....but Christmas is safe!

The talk a couple of days ago was about Charlie's plan to require drivers' license testing to be given in English only.

Well, that plan appears to have hit a bump in the road.

The Columbia Tribune's Rudi Keller reported yesterday that Charlie's "English-only driver test idea hits barriers".

The bill is popular among his constituents, Denison said.

But people who interact regularly with immigrants and insurance companies know it is a bad idea.

From Keller's story:

Richard Brownlee, a lobbyist who represents State Farm Insurance said the insurance industry doesn’t like the bill because it will mean more unlicensed drivers who have no insurance will be on the road.

“The idea that a person who doesn’t speak English wouldn’t understand road signs doesn’t make sense” because road safety signs have international designs, he said.

Other opponents saw it as a slap against hardworking immigrants.

“This bill would hurt refugees whom we, the state of Missouri, have promised we would welcome to build new lives in Missouri — they can’t do that without a driver’s license,” wrote the Rev. Chuck Tobin of St. Sabina Parish in Belton.

Tobin said he has done mission work abroad and knows how long it takes to learn a new language.

“In the meantime, to be successful, viable, healthy members of our community people need to be able to drive to church, to work, to school, to spend money in stores (grocery, malls, etc.), to doctors and hospitals etc.”

Attorney Angela Williams was more blunt.

“I am saddened by this bill and several others that have been introduced in the House and the undercurrent of hatred, intolerance and exclusion that seems to be sweeping our society. I fear if we do not take a stand against this type of blatant bigotry, one day we will wake up to find an America we do not recognize.”

Hear, hear.

Meanwhile, Charlie's bill, HB 198,

December twenty-fifth of each year shall be known and designated as "Christmas Day" in Missouri, and shall be set apart as a day in honor of the Christian feast commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

seems to have found kindred spirits down here in Southwest Missouri.

When he's not shilling for killing the property tax and replacing it with a sales tax (remember when he said "I do not like the idea of increasing sales taxes to accomplish the elimination of the income tax." I do.), Representative Eric Burlison is co-sponsoring his own version of the Christmas bill, HB 424:

The day after Thanksgiving Day until midnight December twenty-sixth of each year shall be known and is designated as the "Christmas Season" in Missouri.

How long before Melissa Leach jumps on this bandwagon?

Does making Missouri more job-friendly always requrie screwing the working class?

This report just in from the Columbia Tribune's Rudi Keller:

JEFFERSON CITY — On a party-line vote with no debate, the House International Trade and Job Creation Committee voted to eliminate cost-of-living raises for people on minimum wage.

The 10-5 vote is the first step in this year's attempt to overturn a provision of the state minimum wage law voters approved in 2006. The measure is one of the six top priorities of business groups lobbying lawmakers this year.

After the vote, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone and the committee chairman, said the bill will help keep Missouri competitive. If the provision were allowed to stand, Missouri's minimum wage of $7.25 an hour would grow to exceed that of most states on its borders.

“We are in a recessionary period,” Nolte said. “We have got to poise ourselves so when the economy takes off, we are ready to ride the wave.”

Voters approved an initiative petition increasing the state's minimum wage to $6.50 an hour by passing an initiative measure. The proposal received 76 percent of the vote across the state. It included a provision increasing the minimum wage by the amount of inflation, calculated once a year in September. It also required that the state minimum match the federal minimum if the national minimum wage was higher than that set for the state.

The inflation adjustment has been implemented twice, at the beginning of 2008 and 2009, and the wage increased again in July 2009 when the federal minimum rose to $7.25 an hour. For the past two years, the lack of inflation has meant no increases in the state wage.

After the vote, Rep. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, said arguments that a lower minimum wage means more jobs can't be proved. “When we tie the minimum wage to the federal minimum, we are overriding the will of the people,” Holsman said.

Nolte said he didn't see it that way because the state law was passed by voters after nearly a decade with no increases in the federal minimum wage.

Earlier, this was discussed on The Erstwhile Conservative:

FiredUp!Missouri alerted us to an outstanding piece at the Riverfront Times by Chad Garrison. Provocatively but understandably titled, “Does Making Missouri More ‘Job Friendly’ Always Require Screwing the Working Class?” Mr. Garrison explores the consequences of our fanatically “pro business” anti-worker Republican legislature:

One of the proposals would repeal Missouri’s minimum wage law, allowing employers to pay low-wage employees even less. Another would make it easier to terminate employees. Also in the sights of Missouri legislators is an effort to eliminate the state income tax and replace it with a higher sales tax — a move that allows poorer Missourians to shoulder more of the state’s tax burden.

I recommend all readers go to the site and read the entire piece, which among other things discusses Missouri’s 2006 Proposition B. The initiative passed in every county in Missouri and statewide garnered 76% of the vote, in support of raising the state minimum wage and indexing it to inflation. Garrison points out that Darden Restaurants, which has two franchises in Joplin—Red Lobster and Olive Garden—donated $25,000 to an effort to kill the proposition. Various McDonald’s also donated money to stop the effort to raise the minimum wage.

As Garrison notes, the beef with the wage mandate is this:

Missouri law states that tipped employees must be paid half of the prevailing minimum wage (a.k.a. $3.63 per hour), which is more than the federal law for tipped employees of $2.13.

Oh my God. Pay them $3.63? Why, that’s outrageous.

All Missouri workers should read Garrison’s piece, especially those working stiffs tempted to support Republicans, who are doing everything they can to wage war on those who make the country what it is. Garrison links to an organized effort in Missouri to change Missouri’s labor laws—which are already heavily tilted in favor of employers—to make them even more anti-worker.

Is this why Billy flew to DC when he said, "They won't let me fly"?

From a February 4, 2010 story in the SN-L, Fractured Foot Hobbles Long:

Rep. Billy Long is hobbling around these days.

The new congressman, who met Friday afternoon in Springfield with parents and other relatives of people with juvenile diabetes, was quizzed on the walking cast on his right foot.

"I'm styling," Long said. "I went skiing, and I forgot to take my boots off."

It turns out Long has been walking around for months with fractured bones in his foot. X-rays didn't show anything, but he had an MRI which revealed the broken bones. Long said he injured his foot during a parade.He gave out autographed copies of the Constitution and posed for pictures with members of the group in front of the office window bearing his name.

Long said the snowy weather doesn't bother him because he has a four-wheel drive, but he can't drive now because of his foot.

"They won't let me drive in this boot, and they won't let me fly," he said.

Again, with the ambiguous "They".

Who is they? Is "they" doctors? Billy seems to imply that, that "they" refers to doctors. But if it does, why doesn't he just say "doctors"?

So we were wondering how Billy would make it to Washington this week if he couldn't fly up there-- you know, because "they won't let me fly."

Follow the money.

Billy had a fund raiser tonight, limited to five people, at $2,000 a pop for co-hosts.

Ten grand for a meeting over drinks at the Capitol Club.

Of course he's gonna fly up there.

personal to tea party members: Why aren't you mad as hell at Billy for his vote on the Patriot Act?

this from Neosho "Republicans must be proud":

The big Tea Party names, Michele Bachmann, Kristi Noem, Allen West, voted to pass the authorization. Billy Long voted to pass it. Only eight Republicans first elected in 2010 voted nay. The Teabagger Contingent doesn't get the cred for opposing Big Gummint overreach.The defecting Republicans include a lot of guys who have been opposing this stuff for years (Paul, Broun, Young, Duncan, Jones, Rohrabacher). In 2010 64% of dems voted for it and this year only 34% voted for it. While pubs still vote ~86% yay each year. Those numbers are enough to pass it under normal rules.

Teabaggers don't care. The Patriot Act dying does nothing to prevent them from having to pay for poor black people's welfare baby doctor visits.

Remember, government in health care = bad, government roving wiretaps = A-OK.

Billy “wasn’t sure where he might come down on the proposal" to end airport subsidy in Joplin.

From the Erstwhile Conservative:

Closer to home, Ozark Billy Long made the local paper. The front page of Sunday’s Joplin Globe prominently featured an article on the possible elimination of a federal program that subsidizes airline service to about 150 cities around the country, including here in Joplin. Whoops! When we sent Ozark Billy to Washington to shrink the government, we didn’t mean shrink the part of the government that makes life easier for business travelers and other local bigwigs who can afford to pay the expensive fares to fly out of Joplin!

Our airport manager and city officials, according to the paper, say the subsidized service is “a vital link to economic development.” Yeah, that’s what they all say. These officials will, of course, lobby our legislators to keep the subsidy in place.

As for Ozark Billy, the Globe points out that he is a member of the House Republican Study Committee, a radical bunch of tea partiers that has already proposed killing the subsidy program, which will pay American Eagle nearly $3 million annually for service to Dallas twice a day.

But the paper reported that Ozark Billy “wasn’t sure where he might come down on the proposal.” Ah…It’s so easy to talk all that smack about cutting government spending, as long as it is spending on the poor or the working class. Cut! Cut! Cut! says our congressman. But when it involves cutting subsidies for business travelers and wealthy jetsetters, it gets a little harder for some Republicans.

Here's what Billy had to say to the Joplin Globe on July 10,2010:

Americans are fed up with federal programs that never end. Ronald Reagan said the closest thing to eternal life is a government bureau. I favor looking at all federal programs and assessing whether or not they work or if they are needed anymore. I would work to end Visa Lottery that literally allows people from countries on the terrorist watch list to get a visa with a minimal background check, if their number is pulled in the lottery. We also have over 2 million federal employees. We need to put the federal government on a diet and reduce its size.

We're still waiting, Billy.

Does Billy Long bring bad luck to people who get their photo taken with him?

Sure seems that way:

Not long after Billy Long had his photo taken with Tim Davis, Davis lost an election.


Not long after Billy Long had his photo taken with Scott Eckersley, Eckersley lost an election.


Not long after Billy Long had his photo taken at the Mount Vernon parade, he broke his foot.


Not long after Billy Long had his photo taken with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, she lost her speaker's position.

Not long after Billy Long had his photo taken with Speaker of the House John Boehner, news broke of his involvement in a sex scandal which put his speaker's position in jeopardy.


Here's hoping:

Boehner in sex scandal? Did you ever wonder if he bawls when he balls?

This from Firedoglake

John Boehner’s speakership in the U.S. House of Representatives might be short lived.

Boehner has been involved in extramarital affairs with at least two women, according to a new report in the National Enquirer. We don’t normally cite supermarket tabloids as primary source material. But the Enquirer was first to write about the John Edwards’ infidelity, and the newspaper proved to be right on target. And back in the early ’90s, the mainstream press picked up on the Bill Clinton/Gennifer Flowers story after it broke in a tabloid.

In Boehner’s case, the Enquirer gets into specifics–and that gives the story a ring of truth:

Capitol Hill insiders and political bloggers have been buzzing about an upcoming New York Times probe–detailing an alleged affair that the 61-year-old married father of two had with pretty Washington lobbyist LISBETH LYONS.

And an ENQUIRER investigation has uncovered a bedroom encounter that Boehner–second in line of succession to the presidency–allegedly had with LEIGH LaMORA, a 46-year-old former press secretary to ex-Colorado Congressman JOEL HEFLEY.

Who is Lisbeth Lyons? Here is her biography from the Printing Industries of America Web site. Here are her duties:

Lisbeth Lyons is the Vice President, Government Affairs for the Printing Industries of America, having joined PIA/GATF in March 2005 as Director of Legislative Affairs. In this position, she is responsible for providing direct advocacy before Congress and the Administration on key industry legislative initiatives, as well as for the strategic direction of the organization’s grassroots and external outreach activities.

You can check out her Facebook page here. Among her likes? John Boehner. That’s our girl. Sounds like her advocacy, indeed, has been rather direct with Mr. Speaker.

As for Leigh LaMora, here is some background from her LinkedIn page.

With the somnolent nature of today’s mainstream press, there’s no telling if this story will gain traction. Mike Stark at StarkReports.com is giving the story serious attention. In fact, Stark contacted Lisbeth Lyons and found her to be not terribly anxious to comment:

I don't think Blake and Billy are brothers, or even cousins.

But they sure have some of the same habits and they even resemble each other.

Here's a photo of Blake acting like a kid:

And here's a photo of Billy acting like a kid:

Here's a photo of Blake using his phone:

Here's is a photo of Billy using his phone:


Here's another photo of Billy using his phone:

Here is Chris Leahman's Blake:

Here is Chris Leahman's Billy:

This from Bungalow Bill:

Meet Blake. Blake is a fun loving guy, who likes the wine, women, and song, who coincidentally sounds like a Tea Party guy as well. Pay attention to what he says on his campaign Web site. It's impressive.

I believe our government is too big and too expensive. We need to return to the ideals outlined by our founding Fathers in our Constitution and return the power to states, local governments and most importantly the individual. I believe in less government (which means more freedom) and lower taxes (which means bigger paychecks). I’ll fight to defend your freedoms including freedom of speech & religion, the right to bear arms and the right to be free from discrimination.

Right on, right on, right on. A funny thing happened to Blake, he became Congressman Farenthold and bought into John Boehner's rhetoric.

Soon he began acting like the establishment, promoting big intrusive federal government that our founding fathers would be furious over. One of the first bills he sponsored was the "If You See Something Say Something Act of 2011" which increases the size and power of the Department of Homeland Security--you know the same people that want to touch Blake's junk when he travels back to Corpus Christi.

He began to listen to the establishment like gun grabbing Republican Peter King who chairs the Homeland Security committee that Blake sits on. Then he began listening to Boehner, who decided it was in the federal government's best interest to continue spying on Americans in the name of national security without any warrants.

He also began to meet other Tea Party frauds like Billy Long from Southwest Missouri, who also pretend to care about what the founding fathers had to say while voting exactly the way the establishment tells him to vote.

Wouldn't you know it. Both these self-proclaimed champions of liberty decided to a very bad thing last night. They didn't join the 26 Republicans who remained true to the Tea Party. Oh, now both Blake and Billy voted against freedom and liberty and the Constitution. They voted to extend the Patriot Act. In other words, all those nice words Blake said on his blog are quite meaningless, because he believes the federal government has the right to wiretap your phone, e-mails, and text messages.

ROCK ON!