24thState

St Louis Argus Comes Out Against Prop A

The Political Fix has a post up stating Lacy Clay is for Prop A.  Doubtless this is timed to make it sound like he's finally made up his mind, but Clay was an endorser all the way.  What's most interesting is the end of the article by Jake Wagman.

Their support comes as some in the African-American community are voicing opposition against the tax increase. An editorial in this week’s St. Louis Argus urged residents to vote no on Prop. A, citing the lack of Metro rail service in north St. Louis County.

“As you ponder whether another half-cent tax on your wallet or purse is worth it, consider the track record of Metro and its failed promises to improve public transportation in north St. Louis County,” the editorial stated. “Where is the money and the promise of improved bus service and light into our community? Late on arrival.”

I can't yet see it online at St Louis Argus, but this editorial echoes what Burns and others have been saying.  The money spent on Metro never seems to serve the community.  It always ends up in the pocket of construction companies and Democratic consultants who build where it's convenient instead of needed.  As this video from Tom Shrout demonstrated in 2006, the new Metrolink stations were built without a source of long-term funding. The 2008 Prop M and 2010 Prop A are pitched as needed to shore up Metro in the light of drastic service cuts, but if Metro had not built unneeded and money-losing stations, it would be a lot easier to fund bus routes to areas in North St Louis and out in St Louis County.

Don't blame Prop A opponents for cuts to the poor - blame the politicians and management who created money-losing services that made the cuts necessary.  Funding the Metro light rail as currently built and planning for its expansion is a utopian pipe dream that will fail to serve the needs of those who need transit the most.

Those serving the African American community get this, which is why they oppose Prop A.  Those who need the flow of government dollars to pay their staffs and the unions support Prop A for politics, not people.

Time to call them on it. If Citizens for Modern Transit had no funding plan in 2006, why have they have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars to push for expansion?  Is this about Metro, or lining the pockets of the politically connected? 

Stop The Prop At St Louis Community College: Meramec

Tomorrow, from 10-2 - John Burns and I will be at St Louis Community College at the Meramec campus to participate in some kind of Transit Fair to discuss Prop A.  I was roped into the fair because owning your own business apparently means "free time during the day" to some people.  My family sure thinks that when they need something moved.

There will be a pro-Prop A table, and our table, which will be less fancy, but more awesome, seeing as the intellectual firepower involved will most likely cause the Prop A supporters to flee in despair.  I do hear they're going to have free Fresca and face paint because college kids are like, into that fun stuff, and with all the money they're throwing around, they can afford face paint for college kids to get them to go vote.

We're just going to have our massive brains, and the truth.  If you're in the area stop by.

Also - since it's April Fool's, I'm somewhat curious if this is happening at all - so if you don't hear from us, we've been kidnapped by hippies.  Actually, that's a joke - seeing as there aren't enough hippies in the world to take down two red-blooded Americans.  

A Note From The Editor

Something I've learned from 20 years online.

If you have to write that everyone in the known universe is against you, except those few elite fellow travelers who truly understand you and agree with everything you say, chances are you're a lunatic destined for a life of sadness and poverty.   If everyone you write about is an extremist of some kind, then chances are you're just not right in the head.  Very few people really are as horrible as you need them to be to justify your existence.

It helps to get outside the computer and meet people, show them you're a real flesh and blood human being with a family, interests outside of politics, and a conscience.  

If your blog is the only thing of importance in your life, that's a personal failure - not a failure of those who refuse to take you seriously.

Proposition A: Shoring Up Funding For Planned Deficits

We keep hearing that Metro needs Proposition A to pass to continue operations.  We were told the same thing about Proposition M - which threatened tens in millions in cuts if we didn't approve the November 2008 measure.

So what would you do if I told you they planned for these deficits?  YouTube was new at the time but you can see this video of Tom Shrout, misguided champion of St Louis light rail transit, in 2006.

We open new lines, and what is the first thing out of this mouth? We need to find a way to fund what they built.  Pardon me for being naive, but wouldn't it have made sense to figure out how we were going to fund the existing system prior to them building it?

Of course not.  They can always pull out the "Opponents Hate The Poor" card. And they've done that repeatedly.

These people are insane.  We face a $500 million shortfall in our Missouri budget.  40 out of 50 states are in deficit so far this year, and we're only in March.  The federal government is broke.  Social Security just ran out of money and is in deficit, and we're only solvent as a nation because we're buying our own debt in a process called Quantitative Easing.  Short definition?  We're broke as a nation and printing money so all of Western civilization doesn't fall. It would make September 2008 look like a cake walk.  But it only buys us time.

In the teeth of this financial disaster, the far left groups are allying with Democratic donors and consultants to shove another tax down our throat?  Why are they doing this?  They want us to fund their lifestyle.  They want you to think some poor latte maker is using the Metro to get to work, while you cruise on through the drivethrough, but lightrails aren't built for large populations in the suburb.  It's too expensive, inefficient, and like the Shrewsbury line, is more about paying off the connected than it is actually easing congestion.  Shrout says this in his video.  The areas he pushed to out Metro are suburban, and gosh he'd like to see them made more urban.

Get that?  Us rubes - us hicks in the county don't understand the magic of city life, and thus he think those of us who don't convert into urban spaces go ahead and pay for it anyway.

The entire campaign is designed around guilt.  And for that, we should punish them.  The critics will scream that we are punishing the poor, but it is Dooley and Nations who are doing the punishing.  They have allowed this sorry state of affairs to exist.  These people built the Metro knowing it would lose money and require federal funding.  Whether through shortsighted planning or greed at the money involved, they built Metro to lose money. 

But that's the history of lightrail.  It loses money every where it's tried, no matter what the geography or density.  In 2008, a blog called Transport Politic built a chart of transit financial disasters around the country.  

That's a lot of red.  Even in places like San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, and New York, where we hear about how wonderful light rail is, we see massive cost overruns.  Who in their right mind would vote to build something like this if it wasn't funded?

Ask Tom Shrout.  Ask Charlie Dooley.  Ask John Nations.  Ask them why they continue to talk about expansion when their current system, and that of every other system in the nation is in the red.

Proposition A must be defeated.  In the worst period of economic stress we've experienced in generations, it is simply irresponsible to add to the county tax burden to boost the bottom lines of the politically connected.

Jeff Roorda snaps on House floor

Jeff Roorda continued to give all of Jefferson County a good name yesterday when while verbally berating Republicans for "phony baloney amendments" he lashed out at Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka) for screaming "You're a liar!" to him during his speech.  Tensions flared and the two had to be separated on the House floor.  You can view the video here.  From the Associated Press:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two Missouri House members had to be restrained from each other during heated debate on the state budget.

The altercation Thursday was between Democratic Whip Jeff Roorda, of Barnhart, and Rules Committee Chairman Tim Jones, a Republican from Eureka. The chamber's observation galleries were filled with school children at the time.

Roorda was criticizing GOP budget amendments when he and Jones started shouting and moving toward one another. Other lawmakers and staff ushered both to a room in the back of the chamber while House Speaker Ron Richard called for order.

Other lawmakers appeared to join the argument and Richard, a Republican from Joplin, ordered one House member removed from the chamber. No one ultimately was removed and lawmakers calmed down

Way to go Jeff!  Show those school kids how laws are really made in Jefferson City.  In hindsight, Jones' outburst was rude and out of place.  Of course, instead of taking the high road, Roorda decided to charge the Rules Committee Chairman for a one-on-one battle on the House floor.  At least Roorda didn't drop the "T" word on the House floor like he did a couple of weeks ago.  Maybe he was building up to it and Rep. Jones saved him. 

Jones apologized on his Twitter yesterday after the incident.  No such apology came from Rep. Roorda.

If you are tired of these shenanigans at the State House by our elected "representatives", (they're mascot is a donkey for a reason you know) then you can meet some conservative alternatives at the Jefferson County Tea Party on April 10th at Arnold City Park.  There you can meet Charles Huey, Republican candidate for the 101st District (currently held by Tim Meadows), Paul Wieland, Republican Candidate for the 102nd District (currently held by Jeff Roorda) and Richard Blowers, Constitution Party Candidiate for the 102nd District. 

The Political Calculus Of CoffinGate

On Sunday, members of the St Louis Tea Party Coalition held a mock funeral for the victims of healthcare.  Using a flag-draped coffin, the members prayed for the victims and leaders and held a candelight vigil after a motorcade to Russ Carnahan's home.   This is a picture of the coffin from the video.  It's dark, but not scary. It symbolizes the death of freedom.

On Wednesday, the media started running a story of threats of violence against Democratic members of Congress.  The stories were built around some real incidents, and several fake ones, with the intention being to label Tea Party groups across the country as dangerous and violent.  Politico ran with it, Drudge picked it up, and Carnahan spokesperson Sara Howard went on KMOV to say a coffin was left on Carnahan's lawn.  But it wasn't.  Why would she lie?

In the Capitol, Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi are holding House members in session later than normal, specifically to give them cover from having to go back home to their districts. The story about threats of violence, much like the stories about alleged racist taunts and spitting, have one purpose - give vulnerable House members a reason not to face their constituents back home.  Carnahan has been very inept when in his home district.  He's been laughed at, videotaped leaving out the back of a car dealership after promising to speak, and of course, there's the SEIU attack on the Tea Party that occurred outside one of his Town Halls where members of his Carnahan Crew were arrested while members of OFA and SEIU were arrested for assault. 

The August Town Halls were a nightmare for the Democrats, exposing the arrogance, foolishness, and laziness of House members who had not read the bill and thought little of explaining themselves to mere voters.  Those Town Halls were a turning point in the popularity of the healthcare bill, and the Democrat majority in general.

And this is where Sara Howard comes in.  Using a story from three days earlier Carnahan's staff tries to make the mock funeral into a death threat by claiming a coffin was left on his lawn.  That never happened, as Bill Hennessy points out at StLouisTeaParty.com. in fact, Bill has the coffin in his garage.  If it was left on Carnahan's lawn on Wednesday, surely Howard has it?  

The story captured in video, is that a flag-draped coffin was used in protest to symbolize victims. The difference in the two stories is very important, and Carnahan's cynical attempt to make him out to be some target is despicable, but expected. Sara Howard has a history of outrageous press stories, including her defense of a racist flyer in 2004, claiming images of police turning a fire hose on black civil rights protesters was a tactic in use by John Ashcroft and the Justice Department.

This story, like the lies told by Emanuel Cleaver and Andre Carson, is unraveling, but it's already out in the public.  As Carnahan and the rest of the legislators come home, remember this is not about fact, but about politics.  They aren't really proud of their vote.  They're scared of it, and want to hide all House members from the consequences of those votes.

Call it the Howard-Piven Strategy.  Or maybe the "'Coward"-Piven Strategy.

Absolute Proof Cleaver Wasn't Spat On

Video proof at 1:25.  Cleaver is being shouted at by a man who is cupping his hands to shout above the noise.

It's not spitting, despite what some radio station caller claims.  It's an unfortunate affect of yelling.  Note the Capitol police did nothing.  They didn't arrest the guy, they didn't handcuff him.

Cleaver said he was spat upon, but didn't press charges. Now we see why.

Can we finally admit that the whole thing was made up?  Now that full video shows there was no chanting of the n-word, no deliberate spitting, and to be honest, loud but very tame behavior from the protesters. 

There's more violence at flash mobs in Philadelphia then there is from the entire Tea Party crowd.  A nasty, aggressive crowd could have hemmed the congressman in and made them walk a gauntlet.  These folks stood back and voiced their disproval of the bill, but they didn't get in their way.  There was no need for police in riot gear or tear gas or horses.  Just one lady cop calmly walking past the crowd. 

And yet the Democrats scream about the threats of violence.  It must be part of the new Coward-Piven strategy.

Russ Carnahan: Don't Fear The Reaper

Russ Carnahan is divorced from reality and he's an embarrassment to the 3rd district.  He's in Politico trying to claim he's been targeted for violence because some folks from the Tea Party held a mock funeral for those who will die under this healthcare bill. Cue the creepy music.  They used, get this, a coffin, in the mock funeral!  And candles!  Oh, the humanity!

Really?  Is he that clueless?  Note that Politico doesn't point out the coffin was draped with a flag. But there is video. Rush the children out of the room as Bill Hennessy talks about the loss of freedom under healthcare.

If he thinks the coffin is scary, what is he going to say when he finds out there was a carnival game the day before, and in that game, young girls threw shoes at a picture of Carnahan!  The horror!  You can put an eye out if the laces aren't tied!

There have been some outbreaks of vandalism across the country, but the FBI is handling any of the scary ones.  It's no different than the shooting of Bush/Cheney offices in 2004. Sometimes people are stupid.   And of course, we should say that acts of violence are an assault on the republic.  Threats and intimidation should be roundly condemned against any political opponent.

Meanwhile, in St Louis, a man actually beaten in an act of political violence by Carnahan's political allies still waits for justice while his attackers feast on workmen's comp and have expensive criminal lawyers representing them.  Carnahan, despite his shockingly weak claims, is safer than any Tea Party protester at an event with SEIU union members.  

Yet Another Congressman Lying About Racial Slurs

The reports on the alleged and now in question hurling of racial epithets by Tea Party protestors is now entering Twilight Zone territory.

But this we know. 

John Lewis of Georgia, heard nothing.

Dana Bash of CNN didn't personally hear anything.

No Politico reporter was there to report live. 

No video from the cellphones of black staffers has been released.

The incidents regarding Barney Frank is in question, with some people saying Barney cursed at protesters, and then an unaffiliated man ran up and called him a name.

We do know two people who claim they heard multiple chants both representatives.  MSNBC reported:

"Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted "the N-word, the N-word, 15 times."

The Kansas City Star reported:

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said he was a few yards behind Lewis and distinctly heard "nigger."

"It was a chorus," Cleaver said. "In a way, I feel sorry for those people who are doing this nasty stuff - they're being whipped up. I decided I wouldn't be angry with any of them."

We know from the video record that this absolutely didn't happen.  The video evidence explicitly denies this happened.  The entire procession is on camera from different angles and different spots in the crowd, and nowhere has anyone located a mass chanting. 

On one video on YouTube, some commenters claim to hear it muffled once, but you really have to want to believe it. Multiple people disagree.  What is clear, is there was no chanting, no chorus, and no repeated use of the n-word.  If indeed it happened, which I still doubt, it was a single isolated incident.

If so, why did Representatives Cleaver and Carson claim the crowd was chanting the word at them?  There is no way to spin this.  No matter what Cleaver think he heard, he lied to a reporter about it to make it appear the crowd of thousands was motivated by racism.  And then he pivots and compares health care to civil rights, pretending to be a noble man above it all. 

This conclusively makes both he and Carson people willing to lie and use accusations of racism to advance a political cause.  That is the very definition of a race baiter. 

The Truth Just Is

I recieved a piece of mailtoday from Russ Carnahan's office.  I guess the intent was to update consituents about his office's activities in Washington.  But when you look at it, it is a glorified campaign mailer.  That's fine - it's an election year.  I'm going to recieve plenty of campaign material between now and Novermber.  Then I saw the disclaimer and was furious.  It said, "This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense."  I am amazed that we have the money to spend for flashy mailers touting "Holding Wall Street Accountable", even though we are currently adding to the 12.6 trillion dollardebt at the highest rate in history.  We'll leave the fact that while he's fighting Wall Street, he's recieving, or will recieve, campaign contributions from some of the biggest (and some would say most corrupt) Union PAC's in this State for another day.

There is a bigger story than Carnahan's mailer.  It's the fact that for a long time now politicians have been distrubuting propaganda to the public, under the guise of legitimate and trustworthy news sources.  This site is 24thState.com.  The Mission Statement is one of the first things you see.  It is very clear as to where we are coming from regarding our commentaries and stories.  However, there have been many sources of information that have presented opinions and stories from a biased perspective, while not letting the reader know first what that persepctive is.

One group in Arnold has been doing this very thing for a while now.  The are the Political Action Committee known as "Citizens for a Better Arnold".  Many people will not recognize the name, but have seen the newsletterthey mail out every year around municipal election time, called "Community News".  This newsletter glorifies certain candidates while smearing their opponents.  By doing this under the guise of "Community News", it gives the false impression that this is a publication that is intended to present facts to the public.  In reality, it's intended to present only some of the facts, and twist, spin or even lie about other facts in order to help one candidate and harm another.

This tactic is commonly known as propaganda.  It is certainly nothing new to the world.  Yet it is these tactics that have caused much of the distrust and apathy by people towards the political process.  Four words that have become a testament to my ideology is "the truth just is".  It would be one thing if the ideas of higher taxes on the wealthy, free healt care for everybody, or that socialism is more fair than capitalism, actually worked.  But historically it doesn't work.  The more you tax the rich, the less income tax the government recieves.  Every time universal health care is tried, it leads to enormous costs to the government and rationing of care.  And the fact is that the ideology of socialism has killed more people than anything in the history of the world.  In Arnold, the CFABA praised the use of eminent domain in Arnold Commons, said red light cameras were making the roads safer, and that the smoking ban was the right thing to do.  The reality is that after stealing land from homeowners by perverting state law (and leaving a scar on the community in the process) the TIF bonds used to lure developers are now costing the City $3,000 a month from the General Revenue fund.  There have been 19,000 Red Light Camera violations in the past 5 years.  And many businesses have closed partially due to the restrictions placed on them by the smoking ban.  It just doesn't work.  And portraying these issues, local or national, as successes instead of the truth - historically as failures, is dishonest.  It's a disservice to the people that elected these officials.  We must all follow the truth, wherever it leads us.