John David Lee --- 09/29/1959

Happy Birthday JOHN DAVID LEE!

Walter and the Staff Car

Why we weren't in the St. Patrick's Day Parade this year.

The bus went to Texas

Wal-Mart passes city council, 5 - 4

This evening Springfield City Council, on a 5 - 4 vote, approved the re-zoning of the church property at 444 West Grand, between Campbell and Grant, to permit the construction of a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.

Councilman Rush, Mayor Stephens, Councilwoman Fisk, Councilman Compton and the little guy who works for the Chamber of Commerce in his day job Siegfried, all voted in Wal-Mart's favor.

When I got home this evening from the City Council meeting, this was in my email box:

 "After Ruining America, the Era of Giant Chain Stores Is Over" by James Howard Kunsler.

The coming implosion of big box retail implies tremendous opportunities for young people to make a livelihood in the imperative rebuilding of local economies. February 24, 2013

Global currency wars (competitive devaluations) are about to destroy trade relationships. Say goodbye to the 12,000 mile supply chain from Guangzhou to Hackensack. Say goodbye to the growth financing model in which it becomes necessary to open dozens of new stores every year to keep the credit revolving. Then there is the matter of the American customers themselves. The WalMart shoppers are exactly the demographic that is getting squashed in the contraction of this phony-baloney corporate buccaneer parasite revolving credit crony capital economy.

Unlike the Federal Reserve, WalMart shoppers can't print their own money, and they can't bundle their MasterCard and Visa debts into CDOs to be fobbed off on Scandinavian pension funds for quick profits.

They have only one real choice: buy less stuff, especially the stuff of leisure, comfort, and convenience. The potential for all sorts of economic hardship is obvious in this burgeoning dynamic. But the coming implosion of big box retail implies tremendous opportunities for young people to make a livelihood in the imperative rebuilding of local economies.

 Back in the day when big box retail started to explode upon the American landscape like a raging economic scrofula, I attended many a town planning board meeting where the pro and con factions faced off over the permitting hurdle. The meetings were often raucous and wrathful and almost all the time the pro forces won — for the excellent reason that they were funded and organized by the chain stores themselves (in an early demonstration of the new axioms that money-is-speech and corporations are people, too!).

The chain stores won not only because they flung money around — sometimes directly into the wallets of public officials — but because a sizeable chunk of every local population longed for the dazzling new mode of commerce. "We Want Bargain Shopping" was their rallying cry.

The unintended consequence of their victories through the 1970s and beyond was the total destruction of local economic networks, that is, Main Streets and downtowns, in effect destroying many of their own livelihoods. Wasn't that a bargain, though? Despite the obvious damage now visible in the entropic desolation of every American home town,

WalMart managed to install itself in the pantheon of American Dream icons, along with apple pie, motherhood, and Coca Cola. In most of the country there is no other place to buy goods (and no other place to get a paycheck, scant and demeaning as it may be). America made itself hostage to bargain shopping and then committed suicide.

Here we find another axiom of human affairs at work: People get what they deserve, not what they expect. Life is tragic. The older generations responsible for all that may be done for, but the momentum has now turned in the opposite direction. Though the public hasn't groked it yet,

WalMart and its kindred malignant organisms have entered their own yeast-overgrowth death spiral. In a now permanently contracting economy the big box model fails spectacularly. Every element of economic reality is now poised to squash them.

Diesel fuel prices are heading well north of $4 again. If they push toward $5 this year you can say goodbye to the "warehouse on wheels" distribution method. (The truckers, who are mostly independent contractors, can say hello to the re-po men come to take possession of their mortgaged rigs.)

At this stage it is probably discouraging for them, because all their life programming has conditioned them to be hostages of giant corporations and so to feel helpless. In a town like the old factory village I live in (population 2500) few of the few remaining young adults might venture to open a retail operation in one of the dozen-odd vacant storefronts on Main Street.

 The presence of K-Mart, Tractor Supply, and Radio Shack a quarter mile west in the strip mall would seem to mock their dim inklings that something is in the wind. But K-Mart will close over 200 boxes this year, and Radio Shack is committed to shutter around 500 stores. They could be gone in this town well before Santa Claus starts checking his lists. If they go down, opportunities will blossom. There will be no new chain store brands to replace the dying ones. That phase of our history is over. What we're on the brink of is scale implosion. Everything gigantic in American life is about to get smaller or die.

 Everything that we do to support economic activities at gigantic scale is going to hamper our journey into the new reality. The campaign to sustain the unsustainable, which is the official policy of US leadership, will only produce deeper whirls of entropy. I hope young people recognize this and can marshal their enthusiasm to get to work. It's already happening in the local farming scene; now it needs to happen in a commercial economy that will support local agriculture. The additional tragedy of the big box saga is that it scuttled social roles and social relations in every American community.

On top of the insult of destroying the geographic places we call home, the chain stores also destroyed people's place in the order of daily life, including the duties, responsibilities, obligations, and ceremonies that prompt citizens to care for each other.

We can get that all back, but it won't be a bargain. © 2013 James Howard Kunstler

Good Bye Old Friend

This olelongrooffan has previously shared some of the vehicles my family and I  have owned over the years. But one of the most beloved vehicles was the one my older brother, Bus-Plunge, owned for over twenty years. I am, of course referring to the short bus that has played an important role in not just Bus-Plunge's life but his kids, grandkids, family members and friend's lives as well.

Should any of my fellow Hoons be so inclined to make the jump, please accept this olelongrooffan's apologies for the wonkiness of the size of some of the old school photos. They are over a 1/4 century old by this point. Thanks.

More Obfuscation from Billy Long

In addition to signing the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity bus while it was in Springfield on a campaign tour (pictured above), Billy Long has signed a lot of things that take some explaining...




“For the last two years I’ve pressed the United States Postal Service for real numbers on cost-saving options,” said U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield. “Dropping Saturday delivery was one of the first questions I asked about and was surprised to see how little they would save by ending Saturday delivery.”.

PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Is there anyone on staff with the SN-L who has institutional knowledge of Springfield, Greene County, SW MO and MO7?

Remember when David Stoeffler News-Leader wrote a couple of weeks ago that the SN-L would be watching out for us and even unveiled a little 'watchdog' journalism logo?

What happened David?, did you miss the boat on this? Or perhaps, because it was not originial content to the News-Leader you decided it wasn't news worthy?

To allow Billy Long to make a statement like above with no follow up questions is a pretty poor example of watch dog journalism.

Do you remember when Long added -- not signed, not read, not typed but WROTE in his own handwriting in response to the following statement:

"Privatization: I will support legislation aimed at protecting taxpayers by privatizing government sponsored corporations and enterprises such as THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, the housing government -sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Tennessee Valley Authority."

Long hand wrote the following in the comment section under that statement:
"Entities like the USPS Fannie and Freddie are proven economic failures that operate at losses constantly. Service and profitability would be enhanced by privatization."

Long's crocodile tears and snake charmer words reek of insincerity, pandering and signify that his allegiance and votes are NOT to workers and constituents of MO---

Long has not given constituents any explanation of his statements or votes regarding this issue. As a matter of fact, he has not allowed critical constituents to question his votes, actions or statements on any issue. Why he turned into the FBI and Sheriff Arnott the names of people who dared to question his positions.

ah jeez.

Jim Lee

http://bus-plunge.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-can-catch-more-flies-with-honey.html

http://bus-plunge.blogspot.com/2012/01/var-gaq-gaq-gaq.html

http://bus-plunge.blogspot.com/2012/04/billy-long-straddles-fence-on.html

Billy Long goes on a diet

Where's Billy?
He's on the television shilling for a diet plan.

Ah jeez.

On CBS evening news this evening:



Why's he's even got an "infomercial"

But wait, there's more!

Congressman Billy Long Can Barely Get Out of His Chair and Walk Across the Capitol

Leave it to Billy Long to show the worst side of the Ozarks once again. When it comes to politics, Congressman Long is nowhere to be found. We in Missouri are a bunch of fat-assed, fried food eating, red necks...

When asked to come on the Eric Farris and the Super Dave radio shows to discuss how John Boehner purged conservatives from leadership roles, Billy Long was AWOL.

When the News-Leader asked Billy Long about gun control after Sandy Hook, Billy Long gave an answer that left me puzzled as to how committed he is to the Second Amendment, and the answer was provided by a staffer of course.

A spokesman for Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, declined to make the congressman available for an interview. And he would not say whether Long could support a proposal to prohibit some automatic weapons or high-capacity ammunition clips.

However, Southwest Missouri constituents can go to bed at night reassured their Congressman is on a needed diet. Weighing in at 320 pounds, Billy Long could barely get out of his office chair, let alone walk down the halls of the US Capitol. We now know why Congressman Long has been dodging interviews and questions. He's walking 90 minutes a week to get healthy--90 minutes. No time for Eric Farris or Dave Day to discuss the conservative purges in Congress as Long auctions down the pounds.

I guess Billy Long doesn't want to expire too soon after that Congressional pension kicks in. He's looking to feed off the American taxpayer for a very long time.

Geez, these people make Southwest Missouri look like a bunch of white trash idiots. Did you catch Gordon Kinne? "Why Billy just loves a good steak!" Yeah, who doesn't except for those folks at PETA.

Remember, it's the day before the Christmas holiday kicks off. It's Sunday night. It's a slow news day.

Wishing no ill will on Billy, and hoping he gets down to a healthy weight and enjoys good health for many years to come, it would just be nice if this guy faced voters, answered the tough questions, and did interviews that might actually challenge him since that guy in Joplin will only throw him softballs. But no, we get another "look at me" story about Billy Long.

By the way, anyone notice Billy Long speaking Spanish in the first part of the interview? What's that about?

Lots of chatter on facebook about this also.

Secessionists take note.

Dear Red States:

We're ticked off at your Neanderthal attitudes and politics and we've decided we're leaving.

We in Maryland intend to form our own country and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware that includes New York, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and the rest of the Northeast.

We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation and especially to the people of the new country of The Enlightened States of America (E.S.A).

To sum up briefly:
You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches.

We get Andrew Cuomo and Elizabeth Warren. You get Bobby Jindal and Todd Akin.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.

We get* Intel* and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard (*Princeton, Penn, Haverford, Colgate, U of R)*,. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get Alabama.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. 

 

With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, *95% of America's quality wines* (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90% of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the US low sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92% of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

We're taking the good weed too. You can have that crap they grow in Mexico

Veteran's Day 2012 --- Salute!

Korean War Casualties, 25th Infantry Division, 27th Infantry Regiment

 KLEIN LOUIS J 
Rank=CPL 
Serial Number=RA37864847 
Branch=Infantry
Military Occupation Specialty=04745 
Year of Birth=27 
Race=Caucasian
State of Residence=MO 
County of Residence=St Louis City
Unit=27th Inf Regt 
Division=25th Div 
Type of Unit=Inf Regt
Place of Casualty=South Korea 
Date of Casualty (yymmdd)=50 09 02
Type of Casualty=DOW
Detail of Casualty=SWA/Seriously wounded in action by missile
Group of Casualty=DOW or DOI (Far East Command)
Evacuation Disposition=

Below is a photo of Louis and his step sister Frances "Schotzie", taken in St. Louis in the late 1940s.

 

Below is the letter Schotz received in response to her inquiry as to the events that led to her brother's death.
 

 

The photo above is of my Uncle Frank, my Dad and my Uncle Bill. It was taken in St. Louis around 1945.

LEE, FRANK D
SGT US ARMY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/26/1926
DATE OF DEATH: 11/15/2000
BURIED AT: SECTION 1Q SITE 168
JEFFERSON BARRACKS NATIONAL CEMETERY
2900 SHERIDAN ROAD ST. LOUIS, MO 63125
(314) 845-8320

LEE, ROBERT G
SGT US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/18/1924
DATE OF DEATH: 10/31/2003
BURIED AT: SECTION J SITE 392
SPRINGFIELD NATIONAL CEMETERY
1702 EAST SEMINOLE STREET SPRINGFIELD, MO 65804
(417) 881-9499


LEE, WALDEN CAMPBELL
LTJG US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/15/1921
DATE OF DEATH: 11/23/1959
BURIED AT: SECTION D SITE 1147
JEFFERSON BARRACKS NATIONAL CEMETERY
2900 SHERIDAN ROAD ST. LOUIS, MO 63125
(314) 845-8320


These three men, my Dad and his two brothers, served gallantly our country in World War II and the Korean Conflict.

I, and my brothers and sisters, salute their memory and the memory of all those who have worn the uniform of our beloved country.

Soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division transport a wounded comrade to a dustoff site, somewhere in the Mekong Delta, Republic of Vietnam, 1969. The soldier on the stretcher is my older brother Bob.

Veteran's Day, November 11, 2007

How to set your Atomic Clock for Standard Time

1. Remove the battery from the battery compartment for 30 seconds and then re-install.

2. Press the SET button for a few seconds until the hour starts flashing in the display. (You may have to push the reset button with a paper clip first.)

3. Press the ADJUST button to set the hour.

4. Use the SET and ADJUST button to set the rest of the time and date. The setting sequence is hour-minute-second-month-date-year.

5. Press the MODE button to exit the setting mode.


TIME ZONE SETTING:

1. Press the MODE button to enter the Alarm Time Mode.

2. Press the SET button to change the time zone.

3. Press the MODE button to exit.


If I help just one person set their atomic clock then my life will truly be a purpose-driven life.

Bob Lee, February 18, 1924 - October 31, 2003

 Bob Lee in Chancery Office, Landers Building, Springfield, MO, circa 1969

Robert Graham Lee, Sr., passed away unexpectedly on October 31, 2003 at Cox South Hospital. Born on February 18, 1924, Bob is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary Lou, their ten children: Bob, Jim, Tom, Mary, Carol, Jane, John, Ed, Ellen, Joan and their spouses. Fifteen grandchildren and five great grandchildren also survive him.

A decorated World War II veteran who fought in the great battle of Pismo Beach, Bob was in the newspaper and publishing business all his life. A prolific reader and thinker, Bob authored numerous books, articles and pamphlets. He was an editor and publisher for The Queen’s Work, a Jesuit publishing house and Ligouri Publications, a Redemptorist publishing house. He was the founding editor of The Mirror, the Catholic newspaper for the diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

He did not want a list of his accomplishments (of which there were many) in his obituary. Instead he wanted everyone to know he loved his wife, he loved his children, he loved his grandchildren, he loved his great-grandchildren and he loved his friends, of whom there were many.

Bob was proud that all of his children believe, as he did, that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and kindness. He didn’t tolerate mendacity very well. He had a well-developed sense of humor.

After Bob retired, he and Mary Lou enjoyed traveling and their cabin in Rockaway Beach. Bob especially enjoyed the companionship of his good friend, Fr. Bob Landewe.

Bob donated his organs so that others might improve the quality of their lives.

A memorial mass for Bob will be celebrated at St. Agnes Cathedral, Springfield, MO, on Monday, November 3, at 1 p.m., followed by a celebration of Bob’s life at his daughter’s house. Directions will be given at the mass.

In lieu of flowers, Mary Lou wishes that donations in Bob’s name be made to The Kitchen, 1630 North Jefferson Avenue, Springfield, MO 65803. Bob was a good husband. He was a good father. He was a good friend.

He lives on in our memories.

"Are we having fun yet? Well, you shoulda been here last night."

A "Rose" for Billy Long, really I mean it.

When the Springfield News-Leader endorsed Billy Long last Sunday, (complete with grammatically incorrect usage of verbs in the headline, correct usage: Long proves or Long has proven), Congressman Long has proved he deserves a second term almost 50 comments were posted disputing the endorsement.

One comment that really nailed it---

I noticed in the N-L's endorsement of Claire McCaskill that it labeled Todd Akin's views as "well outside the mainstream." Yet, when it's time to endorse Billy Long, who endorsed Akin when others backed away, who calls himself the most conservative congressman in Missouri, that suddenly Long is a "pragmatic conservative" because he told the N-L he was? The editorial does a terrible job describing Jim Evans and thereby does a disservice to the public in misrepresenting the general views of both candidates.

The N-L said that in their endorsement of Billy Long in 2010, the N-L asked Long "to bring common sense to Washington" Well, no. the 2010 article says "Long promises to bring common sense to Washington." This wasn't an objective viewpoint given by the N-L, this was something Billy Long told the N-L he was going to do. Here we are again in 2012. Looking at Billy Long's rhetoric, record, and lack of providing the public information it needs to make the best choice, the N-L endorses saying "Long was quick to emphasize an emerging role as a pragmatic conservative" Again, this is not an objective viewpoint given by the N-L, this was something Billy Long told the N-L he is going to do.

  From the News-Leader endorsement:

Reflecting the views of his constituents, Long has been a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, but he recognizes the value of key components, such as prohibiting denial of coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

The catch here in this discussion of 'pre-existing conditions' is in the definition of 'continuous coverage'.  Romney's plan (which Long supports) extends preexisting condition provisions only to those insured with continuous coverage,  to those without gaps in coverage.

After his last vote (of 30 plus) in July to repeal ACA, Long released a press release in which he or his staff said, "Today I voted to repeal this law because of these and many other bad provisions.  I will continue to work hard and ensure the president’s government takeover of health care is replaced with free market reforms that put patients first."

So, with that in mind, I sincerely present this "Rose" to Billy Long for his 30 plus unsuccessful attempts to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, "Obamacare".  If Long had been successful in his attempts our daughter would have had no health insurance coverage for injuries sustained in a terrible horse accident. She was starting a new job and was between insurance coverage.  Thanks to "Obamacare" she had health insurance which is covering the injuries she received in her accident.

Shane and his wife had a fee office but "we didn't ask for it", part deux.

Today (October 15, 2012), the print edition of the Springfield News-Leader has a top of the fold story, byline Josh Nelson, with the headline: Conflict of interest alleged.  The on-line headline is different: Kander attacks Schoeller's past connection with Nixa license office Opponent alleges Schoeller may have violated conflict-of-interest laws

The article is a recap of this story  from the Bus Garage, October 3, 2012: Shane and his wife had a fee office but "we didn't ask for it":

A major point in both Nelson's article and the Bus article is the patronage aspect of the fee offices.  As Nelson writes, 

Prior to 2009, only nine license office contracts were awarded with a competitive bid. The rest of the 183 offices were awarded by governors to politically connected allies in the form of no-bid contracts.

In 2005, Gov. Matt Blunt gave the contract for the Nixa license office to the Schoeller Group.

Shane Schoeller was the chief administrative aide for Blunt when Blunt was secretary of state.

 
On August 1, 2006, Schoeller talked to KY3 News political reporter David Catanese about the fee offices: http://ky3.blogspot.com/2006/08/shane-schoeller-aims-to-end-roark.html:

License Fee Office Reform - This may be a touchy topic for Schoeller because his wife operates a fee office in Nixa. He said he does not yet have a position on Rep. Mark Wright's plan to change the way the offices are awarded and run. "I haven't taken a position, I'd have to see the details but so much has been mischaracterized about these license offices. Unfortunately it has become an issue, but for me it is already out there. My wife has one office in Nixa, but we didn't ask for it. We were approached about running it and I encouraged my wife to do it. People rarely ask me about it, most aren't interested in it."

People who know about how the fee offices were awarded (and I am one of those people) know that these contracts do NOT drop of out the sky and ARE GIVEN as as patronage jobs, rewards given to, as the SN-L reporter states, "given to politically connected allies in the form of no-bid contracts."  For Schoeler to state otherwise is not how it works.

And Schoeller knew that in 2006 when he talked to Catanese and he knows that now.

Schoeller, except for one brief stint with SIFE, has worked for Kit Bond, Roy Blunt, John Ashcroft, Matt Blunt, and Rod Jetton. The Nixa office was given to Schoeller's LLC as a political favor. Schoeller should have given up the office after he was elected state representative.


Another 'spin' on this story is Schoeller's assertion that the fee offices do not collect money directly from the state. "Schoeller campaign officials have said that because the offices do not receive money directly from the state, the statute cited by Kander does not apply."

When you and I go to the fee office and buy plates, we write the check out to the "Department of Revenue". Not one check to the "Department of Revenue" and one check to the fee office operator. The state, using our money, pays the fee office operator for the performing the service of selling license plates.

Schoeller seems to be spliting hairs here, trying to make the best of a bad situation. However, Kander correctly notes the law prohibits lawmakers or spouses from “for any” consideration or service.

From Kander's news release:

The Schoeller Group L.L.C., which was founded by Representative Schoeller and is now owned by his wife, Mendie Giles Schoeller, was awarded the Nixa Contract Office by Governor Matt Blunt – Schoeller’s former boss – without a competitive bidding process in 2005. Representative Schoeller ran for and won a seat in the Missouri General Assembly in 2006, entering office on January 3, 2007.

State law prohibits members of the Missouri General Assembly or their spouses from performing any service for the state that pays $1,500 a year or more unless it is part of a publicly bid contract and the legislator or their spouse was the lowest bidder. This prohibition also applies to businesses where the member or spouse own more than ten percent of the company.

Timeline of Events
October 14, 2003: Shane Schoeller files Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State’s office to start The Schoeller Group, L.L.C.
March 17, 2005: Department of Revenue informs Mendie Schoeller that she has been tentatively selected as the Contract Agent for the Nixa Fee Office.
April 12, 2005: Mendie Schoeller submits business plan for operation of Nixa Fee Office.
April 13, 2005: The Schoeller Group L.L.C.’s registered agent is changed from Shane Schoeller to Mendie Schoeller. In The Schoeller Group’s bid to keep the office in 2010, Mendie Schoeller wrote “In April 2005, sole ownership was transferred to Mendie Giles Schoeller…” No public record exists suggesting the Schoellers have separated or divorced, making this distinction meaningless as a practical matter.
January 3, 2007: Shane Schoeller is sworn in as a State Representative, making section 105.456.2 applicable to both him and his spouse, Mendie Schoeller. As of this date, because they received the Nixa Fee Office without the benefit of a competitive bid, it became illegal for Shane Schoeller, his spouse, or their LLC to continue to operate the office.
January 3, 2007 – January 6, 2010: The Schoeller Group L.L.C. operates the Nixa Contract Office in violation of section 105.456.2. In this time period, the Nixa Office processed approximately 184,298 transactions worth $612,101 in processing fees, which exceeds the $1,500 per year allowed by section 105.456.2.
January 7, 2010: Department of Revenue announces Alternative Opportunities, Inc. won the competitive bid for the Nixa office. The Schoeller Group was the only other bidder for the office.

Sara fell off this horse and fractured her skull.

A month ago, our daughter got her dream job of working at an equestrian center in Apex NC.

Yesterday, she was riding this horse and took a fall resulting in a fractured skull with an epidural bleed.

She is currently in nuero trauma intensive care and is being monitored very closely. We are thankful the bleed has not worsened.

If no changes occur she will move out of intensive care tomorrow to a lesser level of care.

Please keep her in your thoughts during this trying time.

Maybe Todd's right?

In an article published Tuesday by Slate Magazine,  Jane Obert self-identified herself as "the city of Neosho's finance director".

I never heard of her before I was forwarded this article by Dave Weigel about Todd Akin: Welcome to Akin Land: Southwest Missouri made the Todd Akin candidacy, and southwest Missouri could save it.

 Jane was quoted in Weigel's article: 

Shortly before I leave Joplin’s AFP rally I talk to Jane Obert, the city of Neosho’s finance director. Off duty for the day, she’s wearing the red-and-blue colors of the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, another one of the umbrella groups down here that’s weathered the decline of the Tea Party.

“What he actually said, that riled people up, was not said eloquently for a politician,” says Obert. “But it was actually true. Any time women are in a highly stressful situation, they’re not likely to get pregnant.” She points me to the Department of Health and Human Services website, which says this much in a HealthTip. “It’s a clear choice.Do you stand for life, or do you stand for murdering unborn babies for any time and any reason. Claire McCaskill wants to make it legal to suck an unborn baby’s brains out. How barbaric is that?”

The HHC website Obert refers to,  Stress and Pregnancy was first published on October 10, 2010 and revised on May 7, 2011:

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A study indicates being stressed may reduce the chances of becoming pregnant. Researchers in the United States and England measured women’s levels of a body chemical in saliva that’s considered a barometer of stress – alpha-amylase. They followed the women for six months. And they say women with higher levels were less likely than women with lower levels to get pregnant each day during the fertile window.
At the National Institutes of Health, researcher Germaine Louis:
``However you best relax, as long as it’s healthy and won’t have further implications for trying to get pregnant, is something that you might want to consider.’’ (8 seconds)
Dr. Louis cautions that alcohol and smoking should be avoided as a means of reducing stress.
The study is in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011

 I googled "Jane Obert".

The Joplin Globe's Roger McKinney reported that on September 7, 2012 Obert was fired by City Manager Troy Royer.  Neosho finance director fired after nearly a year at post.

Royer said he couldn’t reveal the reasons for firing Obert.

“She was dismissed, but that’s all I can say,” Royer said.

Obert, reached by phone at her home, said she was told that her dismissal had to do with relationships. She said after receiving the explanation, she still wasn’t aware of the reason.

 Obert said her dismissal had to do with relationships.  How barbaric is that?

Shane and his wife had a fee office "but we didn't ask for it."

Jason Kander, who is in the running for Secretary of State, has some questions for Shane Schoeller:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jason Kander today called on Rep. Shane Schoeller to explain to Missourians how his family business’s ownership of the Nixa fee office at the same time he was serving in the legislature does not violate Missouri’s conflict of interest laws.

The Schoeller Group managed the fee office in Nixa from 2006 until 2010. According to publicly available documents, The Schoeller Group continued to manage the Nixa fee office after Representative Schoeller was sworn into office in 2007, which appears to violate RSMO 105.456.

 When the process of awarding fee offices was opened up to competition instead of cronysim, The Schoeller Group lost the contract.

“Shane Schoeller may have violated Missouri law by serving in the legislature at the same time his family operated a no-bid fee office for the state,” said Rep. Jason Kander. “From all the publicly available documents, it appears that The Schoeller Group improperly managed the Nixa fee office from 2007-2010. I am calling on Representative Schoeller to release all of the documents relating to the fee office so Missourians can determine if The Schoeller Group’s management of the fee office violated state law.”

The Schoeller Group L.L.C., which was founded by Representative Schoeller and is now owned by his wife, Mendie Giles Schoeller, was awarded the Nixa Contract Office by Governor Matt Blunt – Schoeller’s former boss – without a competitive bidding process in 2005. Representative Schoeller ran for and won a seat in the Missouri General Assembly in 2006, entering office on January 3, 2007.

State law prohibits members of the Missouri General Assembly or their spouses from performing any service for the state that pays $1,500 a year or more unless it is part of a publicly bid contract and the legislator or their spouse was the lowest bidder. This prohibition also applies to businesses where the member or spouse own more than ten percent of the company.

As a result, on the day Representative Schoeller became a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, all of the relevant factual predicates for application of Section 105.456.2 were met:

1) Shane Schoeller was a member of the General Assembly.

2) His spouse, Mendie Giles Schoeller, owned more than 10% interest in The Schoeller Group L.L.C.

3) The Schoeller Group L.L.C. provided services to the state (operated the Nixa Fee Office) for consideration in excess of $1,500 per year.

4) The contract to operate the Nixa Fee Office was awarded without the benefit of a competitive procurement process.

Timeline of Events
October 14, 2003: Shane Schoeller files Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State’s office to start The Schoeller Group, L.L.C.
March 17, 2005: Department of Revenue informs Mendie Schoeller that she has been tentatively selected as the Contract Agent for the Nixa Fee Office.
April 12, 2005: Mendie Schoeller submits business plan for operation of Nixa Fee Office.
April 13, 2005: The Schoeller Group L.L.C.’s registered agent is changed from Shane Schoeller to Mendie Schoeller. In The Schoeller Group’s bid to keep the office in 2010, Mendie Schoeller wrote “In April 2005, sole ownership was transferred to Mendie Giles Schoeller…” No public record exists suggesting the Schoellers have separated or divorced, making this distinction meaningless as a practical matter.
January 3, 2007: Shane Schoeller is sworn in as a State Representative, making section 105.456.2 applicable to both him and his spouse, Mendie Schoeller. As of this date, because they received the Nixa Fee Office without the benefit of a competitive bid, it became illegal for Shane Schoeller, his spouse, or their LLC to continue to operate the office.
January 3, 2007 – January 6, 2010: The Schoeller Group L.L.C. operates the Nixa Contract Office in violation of section 105.456.2. In this time period, the Nixa Office processed approximately 184,298 transactions worth $612,101 in processing fees, which exceeds the $1,500 per year allowed by section 105.456.2.
January 7, 2010: Department of Revenue announces Alternative Opportunities, Inc. won the competitive bid for the Nixa office. The Schoeller Group was the only other bidder for the office.


Frequent bus riders will know that the bus garage is not only the receptorium for the Jim Lee Vehicle Collection (aka 'rolling junkyard') but also is a vast repository for sometimes totally useless information and a few zingers.

So when this information about the Nixa fee office and the Schoeller's involvement entered the bus garage alarms went off alerting this driver to previously stored information regarding the topic.

Prior to Jay Nixon's revision of how fee offices were awarded (and I have a file on that also-- Today's lesson: don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining), the offices were given out as political favors, patronage.

In a posting on Tuesday, August 1, 2006, then KY3 political reporter David Catanese wrote about Shane Schoeller who was making his first bid for public office: Shane Schoeller aims to end Roark legacy

 

Schoeller talks to Catanese about the Nixa fee office:

License Fee Office Reform - This may be a touchy topic for Schoeller because his wife operates a fee office in Nixa. He said he does not yet have a position on Rep. Mark Wright's plan to change the way the offices are awarded and run. "I haven't taken a position, I'd have to see the details but so much has been mischaracterized about these license offices. Unfortunately it has become an issue, but for me it is already out there. My wife has one office in Nixa, but we didn't ask for it. We were approached about running it and I encouraged my wife to do it. People rarely ask me about it, most aren't interested in it."

Shane worked for Bond, Roy Blunt, Ashcroft, Matt Blunt, Rod Jetton and the license office just fell out of the sky. Of all the politicians he has worked for Schoeller, in Catanese's post, said he's learned the most from his four years serving as a legislative aide to Rep. Roy Blunt.

These offices are awarded as political favors and don't try to kid anyone by saying they are not.

I don't know Schoeller or his wife, but it strains his credibility with me when he says he or his wife didn't seek the fee office.
 

Judge not lest ye be judged.

• A friend and I were having a political discussion. 
  
  He is a Republican and he didn't want me to judge all republicans by Billy Long. 
  
  Or Dave Spence.
  
  Or Todd Akin. 
  
  Or Ed Martin.
  
  Or Shane Schoeller. 
  
  Or Tim Jones.
  
  Et Cetera. 
  
  Et Cetera. 
  
  Et Cetera.
  
   

When Politicians Lie-- Billy Long lies to Springfield News-Leader: HOT DIGGITY DOG

Today's Springfield News-Leader has an article on the MO7 congressional race of incumbent Billy Long and challenger Jim Evans:  Long, Evans sound alarm on cuts

In reporter Josh Nelson's article he writes:

Long noted he didn’t agree to debates during his primary race this summer either. Long also refused to debate Democrat Scott Eckersley in 2010.

Here is a photo of  Scott Eckersley and Billy Long at an October 2010 debate,  you know, the one Billy said he refused to do.  Photo credit to Brett Piper, KOLR-TV and KSFX-TV.

Hot diggity dog. Anytime you lie, Billy, I'm going to holler out 'Hot diggity dog.

Long did not debate during the primary race this summer but he did debate during the primary 2010. In fact there are numerous accounts, complete with photos, of Long being text'd answers to debate questions on his cell phone during the debate. http://longiswrong.blogspot.com/2010/04/democrat-tim-davis-watched-billy-long.html

Here is a photo of  Tim Davis and Billy Long participating in that debate.

Getting back to Nelson's story: Did Billy Long directly state he refused to debate Democrat Scott Eckersley in 2010 or did he just imply that and let Josh Nelson reach that conclusion?

Either way, "HOT DIGGITY DOG" Billy.

Billy Long and Scott Eckersley debated three times during the 2010 election.

Long's campaign even sent out a press release:

Republican Seventh District Congressional Nominee Billy Long has agreed to three more debates/forums before the general election.

“I’m pleased that voters will have an opportunity to hear about real issues,” said Long. “I am fed up with Washington. We need to get our country back on the right track and stop Nancy Pelosi’s agenda.”

The one-hour debates/forums agreed to are sponsored by: KSNF - Joplin. October 6th. KWTO- Springfield. October 7th. The Young Conservatives-Springfield. October 19th.

The Springfield News-Leader published a story about the debate you and Eckersley had in Joplin on October 6, 2010: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20101009/NEWS06/10090363/Anti-Social-Security-website-backs-Long?nclick_check=1

Of course, Billy may not want to remember that debate--- that's the debate where Long denied filling out surveys stating that he wanted to dismantle Social Security and Medicare.

"Hot diggity dog. Anytime you lie, Scott, I'm going to holler out 'Hot diggity dog.' And you lied last night. You lied consistently about me that I signed some kind of a questionnaire."

Unfortunately for Billy, he DID fill out and sign quite a few questionnaires and surveys where he states, quite emphatically I might add, that he was in favor of dismantling Social Security, privatizing the Postal Service and ending farm subsidies. Long also voted "YEA" for the Paul Ryan budget which changes Medicare as we know it and turns the program into a voucher system.

From the bus garage, October 9, 2010: Pedaling backwards as fast as he can and my new favorite Billy Long quote: "Hot Diggity Dog, Hot Diggity Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!"   

So when Long accepts money, endorsements or signs pledges from groups and individuals that advocate the privatization of Social Security, as does Conservative Congress, Americans for Tax Reform (see link above), John Boehner, the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and others Long is aligned with, then that is a pretty reliable indicator that Long favors dismantling the Social Security program and privatizing it.

Billy Long is lying when he says or implies to the reporter (who wasn't on the SN-L staff in 2010) that he did not debate Scott Eckersley in 2010.

Again, from reporter Josh Nelson's article:

Long said he still identifies with some of the ideals of the Tea Party such as cutting spending and rolling back the size of government."

What ideals does he NOT identify himself with? And when did he stop identifying himself with these ideals?

Last time we heard, Billy was "tea party before tea party was cool"

Remember when he told the NPR reporter (and the Philadelphia Inquirer reporter and the C-SPAN reporter and The Daily Caller-- well you get the drift he was talking to EVERYBODY!) : "You remember that old Barbara Mandrell song 'I was country before country was cool?'" Long said. "We've been tea partying. in the seventh district of Missouri before the tea party was cool* We believe in smaller government, lower taxes and sticking to the constitution."

I guess 'sticking to the constitution' is one of the tea party ideals Billy's not identifying with anymore.  Remember when Billy told us his copy of the constitution was "like a horse: rode hard and put away wet"?  I do.

Billy doesn't like sequestration either.  Again, quoting Nelson's story

Long called the sequestration plan a 'bill of goods,' because the plan was crafted in such a politically harmful manner that lawmakers would not let it go into effect..."

What Long conveniently neglects to tell the reporter is that Long vote "YEA" for the Budget Control Acto of 2011 and, on August 1, 2011  Long's office issued  a press release about his "YEA" vote:

Today in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Billy Long voted in favor of the Budget Control Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill that would cut excessive federal spending, create enforceable spending controls, form a deficit reduction committee, establish a balanced budget vote provision, and prevent America from defaulting on debt obligations."

When did Billy change his mind about this bill and why did Billy change his mind about this bill?

From Talking Points Memo, July 2012 Republicans want off the hook for voting for defense sequester:

Republicans have been been clear that they do not regard deep, looming cuts to defense and domestic programs — the enforcement mechanism at the heart of last year’s debt limit agreement — as a reason to compromise with Democrats and put real tax revenues into the mix of cuts and reforms required to reduce deficits over time.

But in recent weeks they’ve taken things a step further. They’ve disavowed the so-called “sequester” altogether and handed full responsibility for its existence to President Obama — despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of them voted to implement it last August.

This is why Billy won't debate: he can't get past the talking points.

That and he's afraid of Jim Evans.

Oh, lots of things to remember about Billy Long.  Remember in Tampa, during the Republican convention, when he appeared at that comedy club?  I do.  

LIVE, FROM TAMPA FLORIDA, IT'S BILLY ""I'm a congressman. Not too proud of that, but I am." LONG!

Remember Billy's first speech on the floor of  The House of Representatives?

I do.

He said he wanted to cut the cheese. (read the comments, they're funny)

Remember when Billy told me that "he ain't afraid of nobody"



---  I guess he was lying then too.

Billy's lied to us before.  Remember what he said at the post office meeting?   
You catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. So, when you tell stories about me through some of your representatives that I want to privatize the Postal Service, which is an out and out lie, that doesn't help you any with me or my office. So...


Of course the problem here is that Billy DID say he wanted to privatize the Postal Service: On June 10, 2010 Long signed his name to this statement: "I will support legislation aimed at protecting taxpayers by privatizing government-sponsored corporations and enterprises such as the United States Postal Service, adding in his own handwriting that "..the USPS...would be enhanced by privatization."

The News-Leader article said that Long "also noted he regularly makes himself available for constituent meetings when he's back in the district." Contrast that statement with the implied threat in Long's own words "that doesn't help you any with me or my office, so...."

And that's the problem with Billy Long.  When he lies about -- or conveniently forgets -- that he participated in three debates with Scott Eckersley in 2010, that he did say he wanted to privatize the Postal Service, that he did vote "YEA" on sequestration in August 2011,-- all statements that are well documented, what else is Billy lying about?

Ah jeez.

*Turns out Billy wasn't even the author of that statement, Joe Barton of Texas was. http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/17/joe-barton-i-was-the-tea-party-before-tea-party-was-cool/

For more on the Billy Long / Scott Eckersley debates during the 2012 campaign, google Billy Long Scott Eckersley Debate.