The Farm Bill encompasses a big-government/big-spending program I have been working against for a while. And for those that do not live in an agricultural area, perhaps the $1Trillion price tag, or the fact that 80% of the bill involves food stamps, will pique your interest. For those unfamiliar with the Farm Bill, Heritage has a primer on the 10 things you should know about it. It covers the basics of the program, but suffice it to say that the food stamp side promotes the progressive social welfare agenda of the Obama Administration and the farm subsidy side engenders everything... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

As many know by now, Jo Ann Emerson will vacate the Missouri 8th Congressional District seat for a cush lobbying position, which is not surprising from the lowest rated Republican in Missouri's congressional delegation, according to Heritage Action. The SEMO Times lays out the contenders for that seat, though I would argue Sarah Steelman, Jason Crowell & Peter Kinder are the main contenders. However, I want to focus in on Peter Kinder, and the vacancy of the Lt. Governor position should he be the appointed nominee. I have heard arguments that the Governor cannot appoint a replacement, but my reading... Continue reading

At 24thstate, we have dealt with several issues surrounding Prop A, the so-called 'local control' of STL City police proposition. All lead us to the the conclusion that Missouri should Vote NO on Prop A. 1) Prop A Promotes Partisan Policy, Not Principles: proponents have carefully couched their message in Jeffersonian principle taken out of context, and have intentionally confused the relationship differences between state & national (federalism) and state & municipal (Federalist #45). 2) The End of Transparency: the Civil Service Commission, appointed by Mayor Slay, holds hearings closed to the public, and will conduct police hearings in the... Continue reading

Proponents of Prop A have been selling a tainted bill of goods to grassroots conservatives. Supposedly, 'local control' of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department represents the purest of Jeffersonian principles, identified in this quote: It is by dividing and subdividing these republics, from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man's farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government, which has ever existed... Continue reading

On Wednesday, October 10, the Heritage Foundation will be holding a Panel Discussion & Dinner featuring Steve Forbes in St. Louis. At 4:30pm, the panel discussion will include Jennifer Marshall & Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, and Tim Chapman of Heritage Action for America on "The End of Welfare Reform As We Know It." The Hon. Jim Talent will moderate. A reception will follow at 6pm, and the dinner featuring Steve Forbes will occur at 7pm. It will take place at the Hunter Engineering Company Training Center. Registration Information: $75 registration fee per Heritage Membership (Two-person maximum at Member... Continue reading

The only preface I wish to give regarding this press release pertains to the fact that I have the utmost respect for these state Senators, especially Jim Lembke. And Jason Crowell has been at the forefront of tax credit reform, an issue I think is central to this race, with sharp distinctions between the candidates. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Ray Bozarth Wednesday, July 18 2012 (573) 268-8177 Senators Crowell, Lembke, Nieves, Schaaf Endorse Lager SAVANNAH, MO—Brad Lager, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, today announced endorsements from conservative Senators Jason Crowell, Jim Lembke, Brian Nieves, and Rob Schaaf, reflecting a clear... Continue reading

I have been politically aware most of my life, but I did not awaken to reality until 2002. Foreign affairs burdened the minds of most of us, but a domestic spending bill caught my attention in early 2002 - the Farm Security & Rural Reinvestment Act of 2002. I remember hearing about the largest spending bill in the history of the US, and alarm bells went off in my head. I very much supported the Bush Administration post-9/11 & considered myself a (R)epublican, but I was floored by this bill. Something clicked in my political brain. I believe this to... Continue reading

Now that Brad Harriman (D) dropped out of the race to replace Jerry Costello (D) in Illinois 12, perhaps Russ Carnahan could run to greener pastures in the sprawling district across the river. We know he co-owns a yacht in Illinois, so he probably owns some property, as well. And he may not even have to worry about allegations of carpet-bagging, since the Republican opponent for Illinois-12, Jason Plummer, has had the same allegations of carpet-bagging thrown at him. Continue reading

 The 'Your Money, Your Values, Your Vote' Bus Tour form the Heritage Foundation will have two stops in St. Louis. Tonight, Heritage Tavern will host an event at Two Hearts Banquet Center in Sunset Hills from 6-8. $10/person with pub fare & cash bar. MO Heritage Tavern Event - May 10 Tomorrow night, a panel of speakers will present at Westminster Christian Academy's Theater in Town & Country from 7-9. This event is free to the public. The Values Bus website has more information on the events. Continue reading

Legal Insurrection provides the charge & jury instruction against George Zimmerman, regarding the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. I figured I would delve into this in an objective manner, and provide parallels in Missouri law. The Jury Instruction: There are three elements to prove 2nd Degree Murder in Florida: (1) the victim is dead; (2) the death was caused by the criminal act of the defendant; and (3) an unlawful killing occured in an immenently dangerous manner, demonstating a depraved mind without regard to human life. (1) Trayvon Martin is dead. (2) Trayvon Martin is dead because George Zimmerman shot... Continue reading

If you have not heard, St. Louis Tea Party is planning a 3rd Anniversary Tea Party (with an emphasis on training & preparing for the 2012 elections), for February 24 & 25. The event will take place at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clayton. Here is some info on the event: Friday, February 24 Hors d'oeuvres & Speech from Dr. Larry Schweikart, author of A Patriot's History of the United States Saturday, February 25 Breakfast, Activist Training (Beginner to Expert), Lunch & Learn with local hero Bill Federer, More Activist Training, and a Mock Caucus (to prepare for MO's March 17... Continue reading

Just in case anyone forgot where Claire McCaskill stands: Continue reading

The following two links are to documents containing public information crowdsourced from FEC.gov. It is the campaign contribution reports from Ann Wagner's campaign for Missouri's Second Congressional District. The first is the total for donations from Enterprise Rent-A-Car employees, spouses, holding companies, financial companies and subsidiaries. The second is a list of those donations solely in the third quarter. The information has been unaltered from its form in the FEC reports. Download AnnEnterprise Download Enterprise3Q Make your own decisions about what they mean, but let's not pretend these don't exist, or that transparency in campaign finance is a bad thing,... Continue reading

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The only editorial I want to add to these graphs relates to the notion that Ed Martin was backed by Enterprise in the 2010 3rd Congressional District race versus Russ Carnahan - the numbers speak for themselves. The first graph shows 2010 contributions, up to $90,000. The second graph compares the 2010 contributions with the 2012 contributions to Ann Wagner. Continue reading

Well, I could not resist putting these together in one post (make sure you check out the linked articles for context): H/T Reboot Congress H/T MOPNS Now combine those with this video: Between these samples, Aerotropolis, support for red light cameras, opposition to right-to-work, and countless other examples, is Steven Tilley sure he has the correct letter behind his name? Most disappointing Speaker and legislative session ever... Continue reading

We were really hard on Russ Carnahan in 2009 and 2010. The weakest of the Carnahans, we assumed he was just another empty suit with no fire and no brains, running on an old name in a safe district. And then he surprised us. Carnahan has been running on all four cylinders since it became clear his district was toast. After picking fights with Lacy Clay and the Congressional Black Caucus (going so far as to say F*** You to Lacy on the House Floor), Carnahan switched gears and is working feverishly for a job in January 2013. But what... Continue reading

I will be in Jefferson City today to observe the special session. Look for updates on Twitter (@24thstate), and if I have time, I will write up a blog post before this evening on our legislators' activity. If you get the opportunity, ask your state legislators why the special session was called at all, and expect a load of hogwash. The only thing they should be addressing is Joplin, but they have taken this opportunity to push through pet projects at taxpayer expense. All in all, pretty disappointing from a state legislature we all worked so hard to elect. "We... Continue reading

Many progressives pretend to be pro-individual rights and pro-civil liberties, which could not be further from the truth. Powers (state or federal) run contrary to rights, and the imposition of governmental power to ensure a "right" (as in Obamacare) highlights the lack of political logic among progressives. For some reason, classical liberals and "libertarians" that vote Democrat allow the wool to be pulled over their eyes when it comes to progressive logic, or the lack therof, simply because they disagree with social conservatives. Oregon provides an interesting case for us. Last week, in Willis v. Winters, the Oregon Supreme Court... Continue reading

Missouri progressives are in a tizzy over Koster's amicus brief challenging Obamacare, going so far as to call him a DINO (don't they realize that socialists are democrats in name only?) Well, apparently they read the amicus brief as closely as Congress read the Obamacare bill; that is, not at all. Tucked away in the middle of the brief, Koster lays out arguments the government could try to use to achieve constitutionality of the presently unconstitutional Obamacare: Third, and despite undermining the historical continuity of Commerce Clause precedent, a bright-line exception could be constructed to aggressively limit this Court’s decision... Continue reading

On February 21, Naevius reported on a rumor that was floating around the interwebs, relating collective bargaining to ACT/SAT test scores: Only 5 states do not have collective bargaining for educators and have deemed it illegal. Their ranking on ACT/SAT scores: South Carolina - 50th North Carolina - 49th Georgia - 48th Texas - 47th Virginia - 44th Wisconsin is currently ranked 2nd. Welcome to the race to the bottom. Naevius had this to say about the above talking points: This is astroturf at its finest. A low-paid intern or first year employee cutting and pasting a talking point into... Continue reading

For those not familiar with the local control issue, a bill originated from the state House to eliminate the citizen-board that oversees the St. Louis City Police Department, in exchange for exclusive mayoral control. This was sold by various organizations and legislators as a solid tea party issue. Myself and others argued there was no solid tea party principle behind the bill, and that in fact, the measure was anti-tea party because it flies in the face of responsible government. Well, it passed the House last week, and will now make its way through the state Senate, where the seasoned... Continue reading

After the Missouri House passed HB 71 (local control) I noticed that Carl Bearden posted an article about opponents: It’s almost been amusing to watch and read the latest and greatest reason du jour for not returning control of their police department to the taxpayers of St Louis City. Kinda reminds me of the “whack-a-mole” game. You knock down one false reason not to return local control and up pops another. Those pesky citizens questioning authority and their uppity attitude towards the issue du jour of the establishment! So let me get this straight, questioning whether HB 71 was a... Continue reading

Perusing the interwebs, I found this photo from the Wisconsin public employee union/communist/anti-Tea Party protest: H/T to Althouse. Notice the distress signal broadcast by the loafers in Wisconsin's capitol on the left side of the picture. It's nice to see an American flag at a progressive rally, but since when did paying 6% of one's pension constitute distress? It might make more sense for the students missing valuable classroom time to be displaying that distress signal. Or maybe the private sector workers that make a fraction of what these loafers make. An interesting aside, OFA could not muster the numbers... Continue reading