Book Report: Missouri by Bill Nunn (1982)

Book coverCenterre Bancorporation brought us this book to celebrate the opening of its new headquarters in St. Louis in 1982. Don’t remember Centerre Bancorporation? Boatmen’s Bank bought it out in 1988. Don’t remember Boatmen’s Bank? NationsBank bought it in 1996 and sent the Boatmen’s Bank Guy pitchman to MagnaBank, where he became Magna Man. Don’t remember MagnaBank? That’s not relevant here. Don’t remember NationsBank? It eventually became Bank of America.

Whew.

At any rate, I got this book from the library as a picture book I could browse while watching football games, but the text-to-photos ratio is not particularly conducive to that. The book is almost endcapped by glowing tributes to the revitalizations of St. Louis City and Kansas City, and it’s almost handicapped by those tributes. For the last 30 years or so, St. Louis has always been on the verge of returning to its glory back in the days where it had the only bridge over the Mississippi River. But it never gets there, and any boosterism text is suspect.

But the book also takes a bit of a tour through small towns in Missouri, and it has a lot of pictures of historic Missouri (of 1982!). So it’s got that going for it, and it wasn’t an unpleasant couple of hours of browsing.

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Book Report: Daytrip Missouri by Lee N. Godley and Patricia M. O’Rourke (1998)

Book coverThis book essentially collects and standardizes information from the various visitors’ bureaus in a number of cities and towns throughout Missouri to show you what you can find if you hop on a highway for an hour or two in the state.

The book is sectioned into highways; that is, a collection of towns on or near Interstates 44, 55, 70, and 29 and Highway 36. Each section is broken down into major cities on the route (Springfield, Columbia, Kansas City, Cape Girardeau, Hannibal, et cetera). Each chapter then has a brief history of the city (a couple paragraphs) and then information on historical sites, arts destinations/venues, shopping, dining, and sometimes a map or checklist of tips for traveling to the city. When applicable, the book also lists other towns nearby with interesting points of interest, although sometimes “nearby” is a little flexible.

A healthy little primer on some of the cities in Missouri, especially the distant corners where one has yet to visit. And if you’re in a traveling mood, it might give you some ideas. Although the book is the 1998 edition, since the book focuses on enduring sites within the cities–historical venues and shopping districts–the information has a better shelf life than if the book had identified the hot shopping spots and the latest faddish restaurants at the height of the tech bubble. So one should not fear for the timeliness of the information. It’s probably pretty accurate for the most part.

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Tu Kochue

Kudos to Dave Helling of the Midwest Democracy Project, who finds a way to bring up the Koch brothers in discussing Claire McCaskill’s airplane problems:

Sen. Claire McCaskill might want to think about calling David and Charles Koch for some financial advice.

The political world now knows McCaskill owes about $280,000 in back property taxes for an aircraft she used to travel around the state — a plane owned by a company tied to her and her husband.

As the Kochs know, though, McCaskill could have avoided this embarrassment had she simply chosen to keep the plane in Kansas. In Kansas, you see, business aircraft (but not personal aircraft) enjoy a property tax exemption.

Awesome. We witness the birth of a new logical fallacy, the Tu Kochue. It refutes Democratic misdeeds by pointing out that right now, somewhere, the Koch brothers are doing something.

But what about Rex Sinquefeld? How can analysts and commentators work him into the story, too, to make sure all the contemporary Missouri conservative boogeymen jump out and say, “Boo!”

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Ask A Simple Question

The Democratic Party National Convention is not going to be in St. Louis in 2012.

The New York Times has some rumor that Claire McCaskill did not want the convention in St. Louis because it might hurt her re-election chances:

Ms. McCaskill, one of the president’s closest friends in the Senate, took her concerns directly to the White House, according to party leaders familiar with the selection process. She argued that her re-election could be complicated if the convention was held in St. Louis, because the Democratic gathering will almost certainly attract protesters and compete for fund-raising.

Rob Port asks: Did Tea Partiers Scare The Democrats Away From St. Louis?

St. Louis has an extremely active tea party movement (in which blogger Jim Hoft is active), and McCaskill has been plagued by their protests for some time now.

If this is why Democrats moved their convention from St. Louis to Charlotte, it’s a real coup for the movement and its influence.

Uh, it’s not the Tea Party she fears.

Go check out the Google Image Search for protests democratic convention 2008.

That’s what McCaskill doesn’t want. A couple protests from leftist organizations, some proud progressives rioting in downtown St. Louis (although I’m not sure there’s anything worth looting), and campaign managers for Martin or Steelman would tie both to Claire.

Those are the protesters she does not need helping her campaign.

(Link seen on Instapundit.)

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Book Report: Buried Treasures of the Ozarks by W.C. Jameson (1990)

Now this book is what I’d hoped for out of this book (although, to be honest, I read this book before I browsed the other one watching football).

This book collects stories, legends, and perhaps a bit of history regarding old mines, hidden caches, and buried dollars throughout the Ozarks. Grouped by state (Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma), the stories within this book run the gamut from old Spanish mines from the days of De Soto’s explorations to late 19th century outlaw money hidden hereabouts.

The Missouri section of this book talks about the nearby region, including a snippet that talks about an old mine hidden near the creek running southwest out of Missouri. That could be Wilson Creek, which is not that far off. So I have those neat things to think about, and I have ideas for not only articles, but also about fiction. So this book was quick and enjoyable to read and it might earn back its $4.50 price tag at Redeemed Music and Books.

It was written by a professor of geography and is part of a series of similar books. I might look for the others.

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Book Report: Missouri Bandits, Bushwhackers, Outlaws, Crooks, Devils, Ghosts, & Desperadoes by Carole Marsh (1990)

With a title like this, I’d hoped for a collection of thought-provoking and perhaps article-launching anecdotes. Instead, I got a young adult book self-published in a very rudimentary style circa 1990. How rudimentary? The pages are only printed on one side, the dust jacket is a stock dust jacket with the title pasted on, possibly from work-at-home-in-your-spare-time people, and the pages were designed with DOS-based, if that, desktop publishing not far above the old Print Shop software. And the author liked to make things fun by putting wingdings in words. I kid you not.

Revel in that glory.

And for all that, the pieces in the book aren’t that specific to Missouri. There are some things about Ma Barker and whatnot, but then they get into President Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, word finds with synonyms for Thief, jokes, and urban legends set elsewhere in the Midwest. All the better for the recycling of the material.

Hey, apparently Carole Marsh made a go of this judging by the sheer number of titles associate with her. Good for her. However, I cannot recommend anything from this book.

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When Alligators in the Back Seat Are Outlawed….

Haw, haw, this is a quirky story:

Kansas City police officers made an unusual discovery when they pulled a car over in a McDonald’s parking lot and found a live alligator in the back of the vehicle.

Kansas City animal control officers were called to the scene around 10:30 p.m. and took it to an undisclosed location.

That’s roughly half the story; I can’t in good conscience quote any more of it, but I will note that it ends by saying the paper doesn’t know whether the driver was issued a citation of some sort.

This sort of story gets my libertarianesque blood boiling. For starters, as a story, it leaves out some vital details. Including by what right can law enforcement come seize your alligator.

Seriously. Is it illegal to possess an alligator in Kansas City, or is it simply illegal to transport one in an automobile? Did the driver violate alligator-restraint laws by not having it in an alligator seat? The paper notes the reptile was only 3 foot long, and you have to be 4’8″ if you’re human to ride outside of a booster seating system.

It’s just a little story, but aside from its nugget nature (Did you know that in Kansas City, it’s illegal to chauffeur a reptile longer than 18 inches?), it really doesn’t address by what right law enforcement seized this animal from its rightful owner (assuming it was seized from its rightful owner, but the story doesn’t say so either way. The article doesn’t evoke any sort of discussion about what animals law enforcement can take to an undisclosed location just because they can. Well, none except the alarum raised by the extremists (those with principles and who want this sort of potentially arbitrary action backed up).

It’s just funny because it’s an alligator in the back seat at a McDonalds.

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Book Report: Missouri Trivia by Ernie Couch (1992)

This book is a collection of questions and answers loosely grouped into categories where the questions are about people, places, and things in the state of Missouri. I browsed it during a couple of football games and in advance of our recent trivia night triumph. The book didn’t help in that regard, however, as there were no Missouri-centric questions at the trivia night.

Unfortunately, the format of the book as questions and answers grouped loosely at the chapter level means this book is better for, say, quizzing someone during a long drive rather than reading it straight through to pick up knowledge about the state of Missouri. I might retain a couple of nuggets, but the loose grouping and the format make for poor retention. For retention, organization by title, region, or something might have helped.

Although for the sheer quizzing of a companion, some of the answers are going to be marvelously trivial. What was the corn production in 1870? I don’t remember if that actual question is in there, but there are some looking for particularly specific numbers that you’d get from an old almanac and nowhere else.

Oh, and the final little asterisk? The answer given in this book to the question Who won the 1981 World Series? is The St. Louis Cardinals. So any answer you don’t know for sure is suspect anyway. Maybe it’s better if you not retain them.

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GottaSpendTheChineseMoney.Gov

Remember how I poked fun at this Department of Education billboard last month? Well, apparently, the government is not getting a multimonth discount on the billboards, since we have a new one there at the corner of Scenic and Battlefield this month:


The US Government Implies Hispanics Are Bad Fathers
Click for full size

The text of the billboard is “Take the time and be a good father today.”

The message: The United States Department of Health and Human Services has too much budget.

Seriously, what is it with the government that it spends so much money on signage at the expense of doing things like governing. As I drive along Republic Road south of Springfield, which crosses the James River Freeway several times, the road narrows each time it crosses the highway. Because the government does not have enough money to replace the two-lane bridges with four-lane (and room for six lanes eventually) bridges.

But the governments have the money for billboards, radio ads explaining the dangers of radon, midnight basketball, and lots of social services. Why? I’m cynical enough to think because those things are easy and are done by cool people. Building things? Uncool people who probably bowl on leagues.

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So What Is Missouri Constitutional Amendment #1?

Downstate here, we have not seen any sort of advertising or much explanation of Missouri Constitutional Amendment #1, so voters are a little unclear on it. Let me do my best in layman’s terms to talk about it, and take the explanation with a grain of salt.

Here is the text:

Official Ballot Title:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to require the office of county assessor to be an elected position in all counties with a charter form of government, except counties with a population between 600,001-699,999?

It is estimated this proposal will have no costs or savings to state or local governmental entities.

Fair Ballot Language:

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to require that assessors in charter counties be elected officers. This proposal will affect St. Louis County and any county that adopts a charter form of government. The exception is for a county that has between 600,001-699,999 residents, which currently is only Jackson County.

A “no” vote will not change the current requirement for charter counties.

If passed, this measure will not have an impact on taxes.

Ultimately, this is the Let St. Louis County Elect Its Assessor Amendment. The Moberly Monitor-Index explains different sizes of counties and the meaning of charter government. Of the charter governments, St. Louis County (which does not include the city of St. Louis due to some poor planning on the city’s part over 100 years ago) does not elect its assessor.

In recent years, the assessed value of properties in St. Louis County has continued to chug upwards, with some properties going up as much as 20% in a single year for no apparent reason. The assessor’s office has also used unpopular drive-by assessments, where assessors don’t spend much time evaluating the properties under “scrutiny.”

St. Louis County citizens want more accountability in the assessor’s office. Currently, it’s an appointed position. Residents hope that making it an elected position will make the assessor more responsive to citizens’ concerns and perhaps less apt to raise assessments in down years and stagnant real estate markets.

You might say, “Gee, Brian, you’re against top-down solutions, so certainly you’re against this.” However, this is a top-down solution that increases electoral accountability, so I’m for it. Until recently, I lived in St. Louis County (and I still have property there, so although I cannot vote, I will be impacted by the decision), and I know how concerned citizens there are about this issue. Even as the Tea Party was ramping up, this issue engaged citizens independently.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, and Hallowe’en is over.

(Cross-posted to 24th State.)

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A Conservative Argument Against Constitutional Amendment 3 and Proposition A

As I have said before, I’m a good conservative who does not like taxes. However, these two ballot measures are not simple votes against taxes. Instead, both are top down (or at least middle-down) prohibitions that limit the choices cities, towns, and other municipalities can make to fund their priorities and prevent voters from making revenue decisions in the future.

The text of Constitutional Amendment 3 is:

Official Ballot Title:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate?

It is estimated this proposal will have no costs or savings to state or local governmental entities.

Fair Ballot Language:

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate.

A “no” vote will not change the Missouri Constitution to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing a new tax on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate.

If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.

Basically, it Constitutionally prevents municipalities from imposing taxes on real estate transfers. That is, it prevents additional sales taxes that hit you when you buy your home (or when you sell your home, depending upon your negotiating acumen). Realtors love this because it lowers the actual costs involved with selling a house or piece of land, but ultimately, it’s not a big concern. Meanwhile, cities, states, and municipalities still get thousands of dollars of taxes on houses every year, with the exact percentage of each assessed value creeping up every ballot and the assessed value creeping up pretty much annually.

The text of Proposition A is:

Official Ballot Title:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:

* repeal the authority of certain cities to use earnings taxes to fund their budgets;
* require voters in cities that currently have an earnings tax to approve continuation of such tax at the next general municipal election and at an election held every 5 years thereafter;
* require any current earnings tax that is not approved by the voters to be phased out over a period of 10 years; and
* prohibit any city from adding a new earnings tax to fund their budget?

The proposal could eliminate certain city earnings taxes. For 2010, Kansas City and the City of St. Louis budgeted earnings tax revenue of $199.2 million and $141.2 million, respectively. Reduced earnings tax deductions could increase state revenues by $4.8 million. The total cost or savings to state and local governmental entities is unknown.

Fair Ballot Language:

A “yes” vote will amend Missouri law to repeal the authority of certain cities to use earnings taxes to fund their budgets. The amendment further requires voters in cities that currently have an earnings tax, St. Louis and Kansas City, to approve continuation of such tax at the next general municipal election and at an election held every five years or to phase out the tax over a period of ten years.

A “no” vote will not change the current Missouri law regarding earnings taxes.

If passed, this measure will impact taxes by removing the ability of cities to fund their budgets through earnings taxes. The only exception is that voters in cities that currently have an earnings tax may vote to continue such taxes.

Again, my main sticking point with this amendment is that it absolutely prohibits cities and municipalities from using an earnings tax. I favor forcing voters to reapprove these taxes periodically and favor lower taxes generally, but if the remaining residents of the city of St. Louis want to continue to pay 1% viggorish and to compel employees of companies that are located in the city due mainly to the complex web of incentive packages that lure and retain businesses to a decidedly unbusiness friendly environment so that the city can continue to pay mortgages on failed public-private development deals, to offer unaccredited schooling, and to provide lunar landscape simulators instead of streets, that’s up to voters in the city of St. Louis.

Both of these initiatives bring two conservative principles into conflict: lower taxes versus power pushed to lower levels of government.

Proponents seem to base these blanket prohibitions merely on the principle that We Don’t Like Taxes, a principle that could yield similar initiatives to ban other revenue types like parking meters, home occupancy inspection fees, and sales taxes on food. As principles go, it’s not a firm foundation for these measures, and the principle of allowing local governments to make their own revenue decisions and to thereby somewhat compete and test ideas independently should trump it.

Proponents like to say that the measures give the voters the chance to decide. No, each gives voters one single vote one time to make a decision that will render city, state, and municipal governments impotent into perpetuity to use these types of taxes. They do not give future voters the chance to decide based on community needs 20 years fom now.

Tomorrow, I’m voting no on both measures.

(Cross-posted at 24th State.)

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I Told You So

Back in August, I said:

Over at The Missouri Record, David Linton argues in favor of repealing the 17th Amendment which allows the direct election of Senators.

I agree, but I think this is going to be a hard sell to the American public which has come to believe that the key to an open government is more and more transparency and direct accountability of officials, where more and more citizen votes means better and better government. Of course, this more accountable system allows incumbents to go to Washington, vote for government expansion for five years, and return home just before the election to claim they’re independent and fiscally conservative. Thusly, the ruling class can fool the inattentive, and the whole More Accountability benefit falls by the wayside.

Democrat Scott Eckersley is not only the attempted nemesis of Ed Martin in the 3rd District, but he’s running for Congress in the 7th District. In the course of a debate with Billy Long yesterday, Eckersley opposed states’ rights and hit the same tropes I mentioned in August:

Then Eckersley pointed out that Long actually has advocated repealing the 17th Amendment, the amendment that allows people to vote directly for U.S. Senators. “If we were to go ahead and do what you had advocated none of us would have a vote for United States Senate in this room.”

The Democrats will oversimplify and play upon the ignorance foisted upon the populace by the Dem-symp educational system to try to convince voters that the Republicans want to take away their rights to vote.

That’s not to say that the 17th Amendment repeal effort is not worth consideration; however, it will take a lot of educational groundwork on our parts to explain the original intentions of the Founding Fathers and why that is a better idea.

(Cross posted at 24th State.)

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You Can’t Use A Gun To Fill A Carrying Case In St. Charles

Shotgun triggers lockdown at Francis Howell campus:

Francis Howell High School and Francis Howell Union, the district’s alternative high school, were shuttered about noon after security spotted a Remington shotgun in a nylon case in a silver Pontiac Grand Am that was parked in the rear of the campus, said Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Tiefenbrunn.



The brothers never entered the school and had no weapons on them when they were arrested, Tiefenbrunn said. Authorities withheld their names pending charges of misdemeanor trespassing and unlawful use of a weapon. [Emphasis added.]

Just having a weapon apparently is unlawful use to St. Charles prosecutors. How awesome is that?

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Teaching The Unemployed To Text

A Missouri government program teaches the unemployed valuable skills:

For Miklos, technology is a bit of a mystery.

“Cell phones are a new thing,” he said, “and I’ve just recently found out how to send pictures on my cell phone.”

He knows he’s at a disadvantage in today’s workplace.

“The young kids today, they get taught that in school. They’re a whiz at it. You see them with both hands and all ten fingers [texting].”

Thanks to the Work Ready Missouri program and the Taney County auditor, he is getting up to speed. The program teaches new skills for new careers.

Is that seriously going to land him a new job?

No, but it’s what the community organizers and liberal arts majors that the program employs know how to teach, so that’s what the program participant learns.

And when the program fails, you want to know why it will fail? Because they didn’t have enough money.

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch Reminds Voters That Robin Carnahan Doesn’t Think You Can Handle Guns, Citizen

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch runs a piece that reminds the world that Robin Carnahan was behind the effort to defeat Proposition B in 1999:

Democrat Robin Carnahan’s official campaign bio catalogs her feats in flying (she’s an instrument-rated pilot), endurance (five marathons) and farming (she runs the family cattle ranch).

Nowhere in the U.S. Senate hopeful’s list of achievements are voters told about her efforts leading a group of underfunded advocates that took on — and defeated — one of Washington’s most powerful special interests.

In a year when even veteran office-seekers such as Carnahan are running against the political establishment, such a David-versus-Goliath tale would make prime grist for an outsider’s campaign narrative.

But not when the issue is guns — and Goliath is the National Rifle Association, known for its deep pockets and long memory.

Eleven years ago, Carnahan led the successful opposition to a statewide ballot issue backed by the NRA that would have changed Missouri law that, at the time, prohibited carrying concealed firearms. The victory was pivotal to Carnahan’s political development, yet also short-lived: Four years later, the Legislature overturned the results of the vote.

Hey, thanks for reminding us. I wonder if Jake Wegman is trying to gin up some grassroots support for Carnahan by reminding them she’s really leftist or if he’s engaging in some real journalism here. However, only in a journalist’s prose does a citizen organization become Goliath and the government and a daughter of a political dynasty represent David in metaphor.

(Cross posted at 24th State.)

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Robin Carnahan’s Work Gloves: Wrong for Missouri

On Robin Carnahan’s official campaign Web site, RobinCarnahan.com, we see several photos of Robin Carnahan sporting work gloves. Three of the seven photos where her hands appear, in fact. And what do those work gloves tell us about Robin Carnahan.

<dramatic chord>

Robin Carnahan's work gloves: cowhide and clean

Those are some good quality workgloves. Definitely cowhide. Probably set her back $8 to $15 dollars, but they’re worth it, since they don’t tend to wear holes in them like the $4 fabric gardening gloves. Why, you could a couple hours swinging a pick or turning soil with a shade and not feel that at all.

But wait a minute. Those work gloves are clean.

That’s not the way used work gloves look. Used work gloves look like this:

My work gloves: cowhide and unclean

That’s some dirt and whatnot ground into those work gloves, and I’m not a manual laborer. I just wear them when I’m landscaping, sweeping, mowing, or using power tools repetitively.

Here’s another picture of Carnahan taking those gloves off after a long, grueling photo session:

Robin Carnahan's work gloves: cowhide and dirty this time?

Is it dirt, or is it shadow? Does Robin Carnahan have more than one pair of favorite work gloves? What on earth kinda hoity-toity has more than one pair of work gloves? Or does Robin Carnahan’s wardrobe and prop department have more than one pair of work gloves?

The third image from the Web site has a completely different set of gloves:

Robin Carnahan's tractor gloves

These are not her cowhide gloves. Those look like fabric gloves. Are they special tractor driving gloves? Does she have goggles and a scarf to go with them? Or am I the only peon in the state of Missouri who has a favorite pair of work gloves and uses them for most things?

Roy Blunt’s Web site depicts him in dozens of images with his hands showing, and none of them that I saw show him in work gloves. Roy Blunt is in government service, but unlike Robin Carnahan, he’s not pretending to be a brush-clearer like George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan.

Robin Carnhan’s Work Gloves: Wrong For Missouri.

(This post was far funnier in my head. Try to put yourself there for the full effect.)

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The Money Acted Alone, On Its Own Initiative

Nearly $82 million will help expand high-speed Internet service in rural Missouri.

Well, that’s right neighborly of that money, at loose ends since it left the military, to volunteer for community service like that.

Oh, wait.

The federal government has approved nearly $82 million to expand high-speed Internet access in rural Missouri.

The Missouri money is part of $1.2 billion of Internet grants announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Well, it’s right neighborly of foreign bondholders and domestic institutions that buy t-bills to throw this money away in an endeavor that will not only cost a billion now, but will cost money on upkeep that the ISPs will not be able to cover with subscriber fees.

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When You’re In Government, You Never Have To Prioritize

Springfield, Missouri, recently put up a set of wayfinder signs. What are wayfinder signs, you ask? Expensive. Springfield spent $700,000 out of its capital improvement budget to put up signs with helpful arrows to Downtown, the Battlefield Retail District, Bass Pro Shops, and so on.

Granted, I can understand why you might need a sign to indicate downtown, since there are few buildings over four stories tall in Springfield and a visitor might not realize that this cluster of short buildings is downtown. But does it really need signs indicating the Battlefield Retail district? You’re on Battlefield Road and there are shops. I suppose if there are tourists who cannot figure that out, we do need to point them to the right places to part them from their money. And Bass Pro Shops? If you’re someone who’s going to Bass Pro Shops, you’re someone who knows where it is.

No, the wayfinding signs are just a pretty way to spend money and to bow to peer pressure of other cities that have wasted money putting these things up. I can’t be the only one to notice that candidates for office often stress that they’ve lived in an area all their lives and know the solutions the region needs, and then they go on a junket–I mean fact-finding mission or conference trip–to some fabulous location and come back with a bunch of imported ways to spend money to make this city look like that city.

Me, I just moved from a small municipality (Webster Groves) in the St. Louis area that put up its own wayfinding signs in the last two years so people could find the various districts within its 5.9 square miles, so I’m particularly stricken by them. In an era of GPS, people need these things less and less, and municipalities are going for them more and more.

A city that finds almost a million dollars (close enough for me) to put up these signs cries poverty for its capital improvement budget enough to extend a tax for its projects. Here’s a screenshot from the Springfield city government site listing those programs, many of which could have been paid for with this $700,000.

Instead, Springfield gets wayfinder signs. Like this one:

Wayfinder sign blocking the way

This sign, appearing on Eastbound 60/160 (The James River Freeway) just before the Campbell exit, stands less than 20 feet in front of a MoDOT sign that says pretty much the same thing and obscures the larger, already paid for, sign’s view.

(Cross-posted at 24th State.)

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Democratic Party Official: Some Free Speech Just Begs For The Purification That Fire Offers

Up in the KC area, a local farmer’s expression of his political views have been torched. Twice.

So when the 72-year-old Raytown man wanted to speak out politically, he used what he had handy: a 45-foot-long, semi-truck box trailer.

Are you a Producer or Parasite

Democrats – Party of the Parasites

He planted the trailer with its professionally painted message in his Bates County cornfield along heavily traveled U.S. 71 about an hour south of Kansas City. He wanted lots of people to see it.

They did. Including at least one with a good case of outrage, matches and a can of gas.

On May 12, Jungerman’s trailer was torched. The Rich Hill volunteer fire department responded. A week later, it was set afire again. The firefighters put it out again.

Then flames erupted in an empty farm house that Jungerman owns.

A local Democratic Party member thoughtfully mused:

Local Democrats don’t want to be linked to the arsons. Jungerman has every right to speak his mind, said Kay Caskey, a Bates County Democrat and wife of longtime state Sen. Harold Caskey.

“Obviously our country is in disarray now because of economics, jobs and foreclosures,” she said. “We are hurting as a country. But there are too many people who want to tear it down instead of build it up. Yes, there is anger out there, and we are a long way from Washington.

“This man has a right to do what he did, but around here some people might wonder at what point do you cross the line?”

According to Kay Caskey, the word parasite might reasonably call for arson. Well, maybe not parasite. But some words might cross the line to make Molotov cocktails a reasonable response. Maybe tick. Tapeworm. Somewhere, a speaker hits a noun that crosses the subtle line enabling property damage.

Unfortunately, the news article does not follow up to get Ms. Caskey’s idea of proper burning words nor does it get her to explain how short a skirt a woman can wear before it crosses the line and invites sexual assault. But some legal freedoms and exercise thereof might call for illegal response. A modern Democratic Party recasting of Thoreau if I ever heard it.

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Another Government “Cut” that Costs More

In time of a recession, bonuses come under fire for some government pension plan employees. No problem: the pension system will just give them raises instead:

Most employees at the Missouri State Employees Retirement System will get their last bonuses this month. The annual incentives, which drew sharp criticism from Gov. Jay Nixon, are being discontinued.

But under a proposed new pay plan, the workers wouldn’t lose much money when the bonuses disappear. On July 1, when the state’s new fiscal year begins, MOSERS staffers would receive raises worth 90 percent of their average bonuses the last three years.

A compensation committee made up of MOSERS board members voted 3-1 Friday to recommend the plan. The full 11-member Board of Trustees will consider it later this month.

Gary Findlay, MOSERS executive director, said afterward that it would be incorrect to say employees would get raises under the new plan. “Actually, they’re getting a cut” since only 90 percent of their bonuses would be rolled into base pay, he said.

Only a longtime government employee, long enough to get to directorship of a government pension plan, would be audacious enough to try to convince citizens this is a cut. However, by “cutting” this money into a base pay rate, Mr. Findlay is also ensuring that this money is “cut” into base pay increases in the future (that is, the percentage increases will be greater since this 90% becomes part of the salary that the percentage increase is part of) and this money will “cut” into the amount of money used to calculate the pensions of employees (which is based on base salary when the employee retires).

The government is the only place in the world where cuts cost more money than non-cuts.

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