"Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" By Tom Waites

One Of These Things Is Just Like The Other!

In the category of best original campaign literature piece disguised as a public document, the nominees are: Congressman Roy Blunt of Missouri and Congressman Denny Rehberg of Montana.









And the winner is (may I have the envelope, please)....
IT'S A TIE!
IT'S A TIE!

And a tip o' the hat to Fired Up Missouri.

To read what Tony Messenger has to say about this, click here.
To read what Chad Livengood has to say about this, click here.
To read what Jo Mannies has to say about this, click here.

Ethics Charge To Be Filed Against Blunt: Another Misstep For Roy

Click on image to enlarge.

To see Blunt's mailer, click here.

The St. Louis Beacon has a link back to the Busplunge in this story on Blunt's mailer and the fallout.

Blunt has made a series of missteps in addition to this mailer. Earlier this year he appeared before the SN-L editorial board. It was during this meeting that Blunt stated that because he was 59 and if he lived in either Canada or Great Britain and broke his hip, he couldn't get it replaced.Fool me once, won't get fooled again or something like that.

New Credit Card With 9.9% Interest-- Premier Bank

For those who DON'T read the fine print, that's 79.9% interest!* Read about it here.
Below are the account fees, rates, costs, limitations, available credit limit and other terms for First PREMIER® Bank Credit Card offer.

*Please print these disclosures and keep them with your records. If you are unable to print these, write to First PREMIER® Bank, C/O Correspondence, P.O. Box 5524, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5524 and request a copy. By submitting this application you understand that your initial credit limit will be at least $250.00 and the following fees will be billed to your first statement: Annual Fee of $48.00, Account Set-Up Fee of $29.00, Program Fee of $95.00, Monthly Servicing Fee of $7.00, and an Additional Card Fee of $20.00 per card (if applicable). These fees will reduce your available credit until they are paid. You will be eligible for consideration of a credit limit increase as soon as six months. In addition, by submitting this application you certify that you have read, meet, understand, and agree to the account fees, rates, costs, limitations, available credit and other terms listed below.

Fees, rates, costs and limitations
(Please print these disclosures and keep them with your records)

Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases and Cash Advances 9.9%
Fees for Issuance or Availability of Credit Account Set-up Fee: $29.00 (one-time fee)
Program Fee: $95.00 (one-time fee)
Annual Fee: $48.00
Monthly Servicing Fee: $84.00 Annually1
Additional Card Fee: $20.00 Annually per card, (if applicable)

There was a whole long list of conditions and terms I had posted here, they are accessible through the link above. The main point was that with Premier Bank, to get a $250.00 line of credit, the cardholder has to pay $227.00, $247.00 if they want two cards!

AND the line of credit is reduced by the amount of the fees that are unpaid.
Think about it, it costs $227.00 to get a credit line of $250.00. Your first month's payment, IF YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN CHARGED A THING, would reflect a balance due of $227.00. And, if you didn't pay it off you would be charged interest on that $227.00.


HAH!

The Interview (With Enhanced Interrogation Techniques)

Congressman Blunt Uses Taxpayer Money To Send Out This Flashy Brochure. Is It A Campaign Mailer? Sure Seems To Be...

This ad has been on tv for over a month.

Roy attempted to spin it here in an interview with Michelle Sherwood. Notice how Congressman Blunt sidestepped the question in the first 21 seconds of the interview.

This afternoon, a uniformed representative of the United States Government hand delivered the following four color, four page brochure printed on slick paper to the box that I keep close by my front door, the box I use to communicate with people with whom I interact, folks like Sam, Mr. Sears, J.C. Penney, "The City", etc.

At first I thought it was a campaign advertisement. After all, the most recent Rasmussen poll shows Congressman Blunt down 2 points to Robin Carnahan. I figured Roy was getting an early jump on the 2010 election.

The brochure looked to be a direct reply to that television ad mentioned about. It's called a "Energy Report and Issue Update" but the opening sentence is "Don't be fooled, I don't work for the interests of big oil or the energy industry."

Later in the flyer (four pages, four colors, 11" by 17") Blunt is quoted as saying "My record in Congress is being falsely reported to Missourians."

On the back page, above Roy's picture (when was that photo taken? 1986?), in small print, are two statements:

PUBLIC DOCUMENT / OFFICIAL BUSINESS

This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.

I called Congressman Blunt's Springfield office and spoke to an attendant whose name I took to be Jennifer (?). I told her I thought this was a campaign flier and was disappointed that Representative Blunt felt it necessary to use taxpayer funds in this manner.

I also called his Washington office and left the same message with Jack McCaan, the gentleman who answered the phone up there.

I was courteous and succinct in stating the purpose of my call and my opinion. Both of the staffers seemed not to know what to say. I left my name and address and thanked them for listening to me.

What do you think? Here is the brochure (click on image to see full size)






Updates on this story are available here.

Congressman Denny Rehburg of Montana sent the same mailer to his constituents. It is just like Blunt's except the names are different. You can compare the two mail pieces here.Click on image to make it bigger.

Coleman Home Liquidators

Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions

Gettin' In The Xmas Spirit!

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just 'cause it's 'tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of '81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,
Chilled this room for twenty-four days,
Evergreens, sparkling snow
Get this winter over with!

Flashback to springtime, saw him again,
Would've been good to go for lunch,
Couldn't agree when we were both free,
We tried, we said we'd keep in touch.

Didn't, of course, 'til summertime,
Out to the beach to his boat could I join him?
No, this time it was me,
Sunburn in the third degree.

Now the calendar's just one page
And, of course, I am excited
Tonight's the night, but I've set my mind
Not to do too much about it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.

Hardly dashing through the snow
Cause I bundled up too tight
Last minute have-to-do's
A few cards a few calls
'Cause it's r-s-v-p
No thanks, no party lights
It's Christmas Eve, gonna relax
Turned down all of my invites.

Last fall I had a night to myself,
Same guy called, halloween party,
Waited all night for him to show,
This time his car wouldn't go,

Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late,
Trudge on home to celebrate
In a quiet way, unwind
Doing Christmas right this time.

A&P has provided me
With the world's smallest turkey
Already in the oven, nice and hot
Oh damn! Guess what I forgot?

So on with the boots, back out in the snow
To the only all-night grocery,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
In the line is that guy I've been chasing all year!

"I'm spending this one alone," he said.
"Need a break; this year's been crazy."
I said, "Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?"

Then suddenly we laughed and laughed
Caught on to what was happening
That Christmas magic's brought this tale
To a very happy ending! "

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!

Written by Chris Butler
(c) 1981 Future Fossil Music, BMI

Homeless Surge Spurs Action: Baby It's Cold Outside

Today, I am proud of My City.

From this morning's SN-L comes this lede:

The homeless in Springfield frantically searching for an emergency-shelter bed could soon turn to facilities that have been off-limits -- local churches.
Reacting to the swelling numbers of homeless people flooding local agencies, the City Council next Monday will vote on a resolution declaring the city to be in an economic calamity.

If approved, churches and other facilities long hamstrung by zoning regulations will be allowed to open their doors to homeless.

The City sent out this news release this morning on the same subject:

The Springfield City Council will consider at its Dec. 14, 2009 meeting a resolution to expand the definition of “emergency shelters” to allow more types of buildings in Springfield to be used to house and provide food for people who are homeless.

Council Bill 2009-308 will declare an “economic calamity” based on the current Greene County and Missouri unemployment rates of more than 8 and 9 percent respectively. It would remain in effect until May 1, 2010, or the local unemployment rate drops to 5 percent for two months in a row, whichever occurs first.

The resolution is intended to address the need for additional temporary shelter space based on the waiting lists for families and individuals to be placed at recognized homeless services’ facilities. The resolution will move forward for the Dec. 14 agenda after receiving endorsement from the newly formed Task Force for Homeless Young Children at its initial meeting Tuesday.

If the resolution is approved Monday, it would allow individuals, churches or other agencies that meet building, safety and health codes to voluntarily offer temporary shelter or offer food without being defined for that use in the City land-development code. The Springfield Fire Department would perform an initial inspection and possible random inspections during this time period to assure that life-safety requirements are met.

One of the comments at the end of the SN-L article:

This is Jim Harriger, Executive Director of Victory Mission. The Church is already involved in helping the poor and homeless in our community! Individual churches do it in so many ways that they honestly can not all be counted. The Victory Mission, the Missouri Hotel and the Salvation Army are full. It is cold. What is moving forward is a delclartion of "calamity", which allows a local church --cleared theough the Council of Churches (don't get hung up on this)-- to take people in. It is cold. Right now it doesn't matter why a person needs shelter, it is cold. What they did in the past doesn't matter. As a community we need to get them in out of the cold.Because of the Commercial Street Task Force, we have an awareness of the issue in a way that we haven't have for several years. NOW is the time to come together, to get over the name calling, accusations and criticism and get on with helping families learn how to earn a living, take care of themselves and contribute back

Explanation to Council Bill 2009-308.

Matthew 25: 35-40

Finally, please no more references to "skin in the game", "800 pound gorillas" and "eating elephants".