24thState

Why is Missouri's Ag Director Avoiding Deposition?

The Cavalry Group has emailed the following press release about Missouri's Agriculture Director, Jon Hagler.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2013

MISSOURI AGRICULTURE DIRECTOR
ATTEMPTS TO EVADE DEPOSITION
Jon Hagler seeks to avoid deposition in legal challenge
to the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act

Saint Louis, MO -  In 2010, Missouri voters narrowly passed the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act.  The Missouri legislature subsequently amended the bill with what later became known as the 'Missouri Solution' in order to address vague language and unconstitutional elements in the measure.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture was then tasked with writing the rules for the implementation of the law.

The associated rules unlawfully expanded the reach of government and were written to allow the Missouri Department of Agriculture to apply the rules inconsistently and unfairly, and to make compliance impossible for most current licensees.

Under state law, Hagler was required to work with a 13 member advisory committee to assist in the drafting of the rules for this law.  No such committee was formed, and according to sworn testimony and a private conversation with Mark Patterson of The Cavalry Group, Matt Rold, Animal Care Facilities Act Coordinator for Missouri Department of Agriculture, indicated that Hagler disregarded State Law, disbanding the committee in early 2009.

Rold also indicated that Hagler produced the rules with significant direction and input from his friend, Bob Baker of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, a close ally of the anti-agriculture, animal rights group, Humane Society of the United States.

In September of 2012, The Cavalry Group, a national member based company which defends animal owners and animal related businesses, filed suit against the State of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Agriculture on the grounds that elements of the law are unconstitutional, arbitrary, and capricious.

Attorneys for the State of Missouri now claim that Hagler should be exempt from deposition because testifying would subject Director Hagler to undue “harassment, annoyance, or oppression.”

The Cavalry Group president, Mindy Patterson, released the following statement about Hagler's evasion: "75 percent of Missouri's lawful, licensed dog breeders were driven out of business in 2012 resulting in a loss of $1 Billion to the Missouri economy. The small business owners affected by Dr. Hagler's unfair and illegal writing and implementation of the rules deserve answers. It is time for him to quit hiding behind the veil of his title and take responsibility for his actions. The people of Missouri deserve the truth."

###

Contact:
The Cavalry Group
Phone: 855-748-4210
email: cavalry@thecavalrygroup.com

 

Credit Where Credit is Due

Heritage Action recently Key Voted against the American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act, and the entire MOGOP US House delegation took the solid conservative stance against another pork-laden bill.  Ann Wagner, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves and Billy Long voted against taxpayer handouts to state & local governments in a time when budgets should be tightening, not expanding.

The bill passed with a minority of Republicans, violating a rule promoted by fiscal conservatives in the US House, including Matt Salmon.  During Dennis Hastert's tenure as the Speaker of the House, if a majority of the majority party opposed a bill then leadership would block the vote.  Interestingly, the NY Times has tracked every violation of this rule by Speaker John Boehner & the House Republican leadership.  GOP leadership has violated this rule 3 times this session, each one scored by the Heritage Action Scorecard.  If you want your congressman to support the rule, go here.

Now, if we could just get our state legislators to take the right stance on tax credits....

Carnahan Blog Now Signals End of an Era

With both Russ Carnahan and Robin Carnahan leaving elected office last January, the time has come to wind down their family blog: FiredUp! Missouri. And so they have:

Here at 24thState.com we have followed the hollow work of FiredUpMissouri (FUM) for years. Now seems a fitting time to remind our readers of the racist lies the Carnahans trumped up against Roy Blunt (R-MO). That was during Robin's failed bid for US Senate in 2010. We caught them red-handed manufacturing political "news" on multiple occassions in that campaign. Of course, FiredUp used similar tactics to go after Ed Martin when he was running against Russ. And who can forget our satrical press release about FiredUp merging with the Missouri Democratic Party?

With Russ Carnahan's loss to Lacy Clay in the MO-1 Democrat primary and Robin Carnahan's stint as Secretary of State coming to an end earlier this year, a glorious new day has dawned on the Show Me State. We have entered the era of Carnahan-free government. May it ever remain thus!

 

Why Individual Liberty is Everything

From time to time in our great nation we get into passionate battles that separate "red staters" from "blue staters" and I find these moments very sad. While the 2nd Amendment is the subject at the moment, health care liberty is another, and there will be new ones tomorrow. Many well-meaning neighbors ask simple questions like "what is wrong with banning assault weapons?" and cannot understand the impassioned reactions from people they might dismiss as knuckle-draggers. There is a simple reason why people so forcefully fight for individual liberties that has nothing to do with the NRA.

This history video by Dick Morris explains how the horrific Dred Scott decision (from the lawsuit beginning in Missouri) had our majority, slave-holding Democrat Supreme Court deciding that blacks were property. This is why I so revere the bedrock principle enshrined in the Bill of Rights of individual liberty. No one should have the power to enslave you. Sadly, the Democrat Party then AS NOW, wanted to put foundational civil liberties up to popular vote or the rule of judges.

We must never forget that majorities of our forebearers voted away the actual humanity of our black brothers and sisters. By stripping an entire ethnic minority of their humanity the white Democrat majorities then had no qualms depriving blacks of their 2nd Amendment rights. These irreconcilable inconsistencies spurred the creation of the Republican Party which was founded on the bedrock belief that the Constitution that fails to protect any of us will fail to protect all of us.

It is with a tremendous expression of faith for so many to entrust any politicians, especially a Congress that never enjoys more than 20% popular support, with control over our health care or our right to self defense. If you are one of those who believes that individual liberties should be subjected to control by politicians or popular vote, remember Dred Scott and prepare to inherit the wind.

The Arch Tax: A Windfall for One California Business

Darin Morley has submitted the following article about the April 2nd ballot initiative, Prop P also known as the Arch Tax. Morley blogs at Reboot Congress.

.    .    .

Those pushing the Arch tax have been promoting it's positive economic impact on the region. Here's a recent flyer that they mailed to area voters. One side promises that "Propostion P will Get People Working and Stimulate our Local Economy"

The other side promises that Prop P will "Improve our Economy and Create Jobs:
In fact, mailings like this one from the pro-Arch tax folks have failed to benefit the St. Louis region. According to their own reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission, they've spent at least $40k on mailings to convince voters to support the tax.

As you can see, they also spent $47k dollars on the same California company for "telemarketing campaign planning and production". The problem is that the money was spent in California instead of on a St. Louis area business:

Ironically, they sent over $87,000 that could have supported Missouri telemarketing, printing, and direct mail businesses to California for a media campaign to convince you that Prop P will benefit the local economy. With unaccountable public-private partnerships directing the funds raised by Prop P, how could you be certain?

The bottom line is that this is a neighborhood improvement project for the wealthiest land owners in St. Louis city financed by county residents.

On April 2nd, vote No on Prop P.

The Arch Tax: Bryan Cave Lobbies for Neighborhood Improvement Project, Invoices St. Louis County

Darin Morley has submitted the following article about the April 2nd ballot initiative, Prop P also known as the Arch Tax. Morley blogs at Reboot Congress.

.     .     .

Improving the Arch grounds has been a dream of Bryan Cave attorney Walter Metcalfe since at least 2007. As the St. Louis Beacon reported in January of this year:

Back in late 2007, then-Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne took a walking tour of the Arch grounds with Bryan Cave attorney Walter Metcalfe and former U.S. Sen. John Danforth. Metcalfe said that Kempthorne, a former Idaho governor, wasn't impressed.

“He said at the time, this is the worst entrance to a national park in the United States,” Metcalfe said.

After the tour, Kempthorne went back to Metcalfe’s office with Danforth, Missouri Botanical Garden President Emeritus Peter Raven and then-Missouri History Museum President Bob Archibald.

I've included a map below so that you can better understand the arduous journey these men under took when they "went back to Metcalfe's office". Looks like a four block walk from the Arch grounds--the green line on the map.

The men probably had to wait for traffic lights while cars zoomed by on I-70 below. Unsurprisingly, Metcalfe took up the cause of revitalizing the St. Louis Arch and boosting the property values of neighboring businesses like his own law firm, Bryan Cave, as well as Arch tax cheerleader Civic Progress.

You might wonder: Who is Civic Progress? They are the lead donor pushing for the passage of the Arch tax. They're also a client of Bryan Cave. None other than Walter Metcalfe is listed as Civic Progress's legal counsel.

 

Part of the Arch improvements include a roof over I-70. That should improve foot traffic from the Arch to Bryan Cave, but since the tax that appears on the April 2nd ballot is a sales tax, downtown law firms will not be collecting it. In short, Bryan Cave will reap the benefits of the Arch Tax while someone else foots the bill.

In fact, Bryan Cave has already realized some revenue from this project. The pro-Arch tax Committee (Citizens For Safe And Accessible Arch And Public Parks Initiative In Collaboration With Civic Progress Action Commitee) filed a report 2/21/2013 which shows that Bryan Cave had already been paid about $5,800 for legal services. That report also identifies the sources of the pro-Arch tax Committee's funds: about $250,000 from Civic Progress, $75,000 from the Regional Business Council, and about $34,000 in in-kind donations from Washington University.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that in total the tax will raise $780 million over twenty years. What they don't report, is where that money will be raised. If we assume that everyone in the region is hit by the tax about equally, then we can use the 2010 census numbers to approximate how much St. Louis city and county are each contributing to these projects. The 2010 census put the population of St. Louis city at 319,294 and the population of St. Louis county at 998,954. In other words, roughly three-quarters of the funds come from St. Louis county.

If the Arch tax passes, other parks in the St. Louis area will benefit from some of the funding. And a portion is slated for the unaccountable public-private Great Rivers Greenway. The Arch portion is 30% of the project or about $234 million. That means that roughly $175.5 million of St. Louis county funds will be exhausted on a project that boosts the property values of the most valuable land in the St. Louis region. In other words, those who own property adjacent to the area's premiere venues--the top 1%--reap the financial benefits while Target shoppers in the county foot the bill.

Mark your calendar and remember to vote NO on Prop P on April 2nd.

 

Monarch Fire District - Vote Cunningham April 2nd

We have written on this race before where you kind find the bigger picture details, so we will not cover those here. It is entertaining watching fire board candidiate, Cole McNary try to have his cake and eat it too, meaning taking the union money while claiming to be the candidate of fiscal prudence. He actually claims to be unaware of their support while Mary Shapiro, a seasoned professional with the Suburban Journals, schrewdly points out that Steve Swyers, the man McNary claims he will model, is one of the two union endorsed sitting members of the board. Like McNary, Swyers claimed to be a Republican, independent of the union all through his campaign, but Shapiro has officially ended the charade by calling him out. The question now is whether voters will reject the dishonest campaigns of RINOs claiming to be independent of the union or if the six figure woolen eye covering campaigns will lull them into confusion.

24thState has always been about unraveling tangled webs woven by politicans seeking power. For taking the union dough, and opposing the reform faction, Monarch Concerned Taxpayers, McNary deserves to be rebuked by voters a second time. His opponent, Jane Cunningham is not without controversy of her own, but to our knowledge screwing taxpayers is not one of them. McNary is eating the union cheese now so he has chosen his banner even if he will not be honest about it. Monarch Concerned Taxpayers is the rallying organization for taxpayers and the union is the rallying point for well, the union members. Voters, you do the math.

Public/Private Partnerships are Bad For Taxpayers

Prop P, the Arch Tax, which appears on the April 2nd ballot in St. Louis city and county, will distribute 60% of tax receipts to the Public/Private Partnerships of Great Rivers Greenway and CityArchRiver. These organizations collect taxpayer money and private donations to fund their operations. What makes this arrangement bad for taxpayers is that Public/Private Partnerships are not accountable to the taxpayer. If an elected official misspends taxpayer money you can vote that politician out. Public/Private Partnerships can spend your tax money on dreadful projects with no repercussions.

Currently city and county taxpayer dollars fund 70 million dollars to the following Public/Private Partnerships in the city of St. Louis, the Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center, Botanical Garden and the History Museum. Ten million taxpayer dollars fund 2/3rds of the History Museum budget. Unaccountability led to the waste perpetrated by former History Museum President Robert Archibald.

Investigative reporters at the Post Dispatch uncovered that Robert Archibald had purchased with History Museum money a rib shack on an acre parcel of land for $875,000.00 from ex mayor of St. Louis Freeman Bosley Jr. This purchase was made with no appraisal or environmental study. It was subsequently revealed the land has soil contamination and is appraised at $225,000.00.

Archibald receives a yearly pay package $515,000.00 in salary and benefits and then hired the public relations firm Fleishmann Hillard a stipend of $15,000.00 a month for damage control. To make matters worse Archibald resigned and was given a golden parachute by an unaccountable board at the History Museum a 6 month consulting contract at $270,000.00 and $567,000.00 for unused vacation time. County Supervisor Charley Dooley is quoted regarding the scandal involving Robert Archibald, “I want to thank Dr. Robert Archibald for his years of service helping the History Museum become an important cultural institution that has enriched our community.”

The only person enriched was Robert Archibald on the taxpayer dime. Charley Dooley can make those types of statements because he is insulated by the Public/Private Partnership arrangement. A No vote on Prop P is a vote for accountability and against corrupt Public/Private Partnerships.

 

Website and Post Dispatch Expose Missouri Communist Web

The website Key Wiki just released a report exposing Missouri communists with very high level connections. Before the "clean fingernails crowd" dismisses the label "communist" as shrill they would be wise to review the writings of Glenn Burleigh covered here before. The former chief of ACORN actually proclaims in an argument against capitalism that the arguments of Marx, Engles and Lenin "stand up today".

What is perhaps more impressive than the Key Wiki piece is the accidental collaboration in the outing of communists by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the most prominent newspaper in Missouri. We doubt that when the paper was owned by Emily Rau Pulitzer, a reporter could have outed communists and kept his job. Such generalizing of the owner's friends and political allies could be hazardous to one's career. The outing of Burleigh as a Communist in the Post Dispatch shows that Burleigh has broken a key tenet of communist organizing by blowing his cover. Taken together, the Key Wiki and Post articles show Key Wiki outed commie and campaign fund absconder Wright-Jones has a new job thanks to her fellow commie. Further, the pieces raise questions regarding why the big city mayoral candidate Lewis Reed would choose commies to serve as his campaign chief and head "community organizer".

While Burleigh is the former head of the criminal enterprise, ACORN that was defunded by Congress and collapsed as a result, his cohort of St. Louis activists include John L. Bowman - convicted for credit card fraud in concert with a banker and Robin Wright-Jones - who lost her Senate election after a host of ethics law investigations resulting from a $95,000 campaign fund discrepancy. Interesting that while the commies have always been known for thug behavior, the creative ways they use government to fund their operations and lifestyles is equally troubling. Beware.

Subverting the GOP into Medicaid Expansion

Serving on an obscure committee might seem like a minor point. It's not. At last summer's Republican convention there was a floor fight involving the Rules Committee's efforts to shut out the grassroots.

 

Until a few days ago, Ed Martin, Catherine Hanaway, and Lance Beshore had a deal.

Ed Martin was recently elected Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party and had an agreement with Catherine Hanaway and Lance Beshore that Martin would serve on the National Republican Rules committee. Hanaway and Beshore are the Missouri GOP's National Committeewoman and Committeeman respectively. Along with Martin, the three decide who serves on the Rules committee and they had all agreed that it would be Martin.

Lance Beshore has served on the Rules committee for the past twelve years and would like to continue in that capacity. He's the wrong man for the job. Beshore's bio on GOP.com indicates that he:

...serves on the Board of Directors for the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce and he has chaired the Board of Directors of the Freeman Health System for the past nineteen years.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce recently voiced its support for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Nixon (D-MO) is touring the state touting Medicaid expansion:

The expansion also has the backing of hospitals and health care providers in the state. Nixon met with officials of Freeman Health System, Mercy Hospital and others before his presentation.

Paula Baker, president of Freeman Health System, said the session was primarily to review the points Nixon would be making in the presentation.

“He didn’t need to sell us on it,” Baker said.

Say what?

The grassroots Republican fight for the past several years has been opposition to Obamacare and, therefore, Medicaid expansion. Beshore appears to support it. Now, perhaps he's opposed it, but just done so ineffectually at both the Chamber of Commerce and Freeman Health System. Whether he's on the wrong side of the issue or just ineffectually, he's clearly the wrong person for the job.

Ed Martin has a track record of fighting Obamacare and would fight for conservative principals if called on to serve on the Nation Republican Party's Rules Committee.