Today marked the end of an era

For those of you thinking this is in reference to the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller, you would be in error.

Today, shortly after world media outlets learned of Tiller's murder in the lobby of a Wichita church, the BBC announced that the last living survivor of the Titanic's sinking had died. (Read the AP Story via KMOV) Millvina Dean was just nine weeks old, on her way with her family to Kansas City, when they wound up on the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic when their original ride was stuck in port because of a coal strike. She, her older brother and mother survived the sinking; in her case she was placed in a sack and lowered into one of the few lifeboats that carried the survivors.

Her father, who sought to open a tobacco shop in the KC area, was one of the 1500+ casualties. As a result, she spent her entire life living in the Southampton area, not knowing of her milestone in the Titanic disaster until she was eight, and not visiting what could have been her childhood home until 1998. (The BBC's own video obituary of Ms. Dean features 30 seconds of WDAF's Katherine Bliss reporting on the visit.) However, it was not until she was in her 70s that she became the face of the Titanic disaster and its remaining survivors. This became more prominent when in 1985, Robert Ballard's search team discovered the wreckage of the Titanic, nearly 10,000 feet deep in the North Atlantic. It reached greater heights in 1997, when James Cameron's blockbuster movie Titanic debuted, sparking newfound interest in the incident as well as Dean's story.

But the fame wouldn't take care of her expenses into her late years. Facing increasing assisted health care costs and repeated hip injuries, Dean had to part with personal artifacts from the fated cruise that defined her life last month at auction. She was also helped later on by a fund established by distant family members in addition to stars from the movie.

Millvina Dean never married, but leaves behind a most intriguing story that will forever retain a genuine Missouri connection. She was 97.

A Tale of Two Potential Recalls,

Also known as, “At least Gloria didn't find a way to get $20,000 in reimbursements from the city!”

Earlier today, the city clerk in Kansas City, Missouri announced that a committee seeking to recall Mayor Mark Funkhouser fell less than 150 signatures shy of the 16,950 required to trigger a November by-election. The committee that sought the recall pursued the recall, citing that Funkhouser had violated Missouri's nepotism law when he appointed his wife Gloria Squitiro as a full-time volunteer assistant to his office, continuing to do so when the city passed their own ordinance, however by way of meeting with staff at the city's main library. Despite being saved by 150 fans or otherwise apathetic, uninterested, unaware, or uncanvased suburbanites, hopefully the mayor will make amends with critical elements of the city populace before 2011 comes around. KC still has infrastructure to repair.

At least that money can't be sought to reimburse church donations, as the Telegraph today states that Labour MP Frank Cook did just that for a £5 made in 2006. No additional casualties today, but focus turns from new claim reports to the severance pay packages available for MPs that have announced they would not seek re-election. Currently, only one of the 13 MPs bowing out because of the scandal (Speaker Michael Martin) is actually leaving the House before the next election, again to occur no later than June 2010. The remaining 12 (several of whom were also involved in nepotism!) are expecting to sit idly in the back and go home, head secured between their tails, with a hefty retirement package. Unless, of course, they too make their way to the manors at either Chiltern Hundreds or Northstead, or their expense claims warrant criminal prosecution, or Parliament rips away those retirement pensions.

Not an option at the moment are the very petition-driven recalls that have been attempted in KC and also in Portland, Oregon. Citizens have circulated petitions that call on their MP to step down, but those are, legally, mere statements of public opinion. Were this an option, certainly this would be another tool in place to convince a government spiralling out of control and losing support to give up the ghost and put their track record before their constituents. Of course, a recall option would need specific guidelines to make sure that no frivolous reason, mass revolt or a sneaky way to bypass the manors of Chiltern Hundreds & Northstead triggers a recall vote. Already Tory leader David Cameron has suggested that the power of recall be part of sweeping reforms enacted for Parliament.

These remain unprecedented situations, and perhaps one can learn from the other: 1) recalls can work, and 2) nepotism doesn't bode too well in effective democracies. (*cough*Shull*cough*Moriarty*cough*cough*)

Potential benefactors of the MP Expenses Row

Yesterday, three members of the House of Commons (Christopher Fraser, Julie Kirkbride and Margaret Moran) announced that they will not stand for re-election (to be no later than June 2010 under current law.) Today, two more MPs are under fire for their expenses: Bill Cash, a Conservative MP whose £15k claims to rent his daughter's flat when he owns a house closer to Westminster came under fire in today's Telegraph, and Elliot Morley, a Labour MP and one-time minister who is now the 13th casualty of the past month's reports.

These scandals, concerning excesses of a Parliament that can serve anywhere from a few months to five years, then get a severance check for not running for re-election, are taking the forefront of next week's local and European elections. Instead of questions regarding the Lisbon treaty (and Gordon Brown's decision to enact it through Parliament without a public referendum promised by his predecessor Tony Blair) and other pan-European issues, much attention are focused on the public disgust of MP expense excesses. With this albatross potentially weighing down the Labour and Conservative parties, the Liberal Democrats are best able to capitalize, given their current status in the House of Commons as Party #3 and leader Nick Clegg being a vocal proponent of sweeping reforms that others have pitched in the past century. But with the LibDems an established Westminster party (created as a result of the merger of the Liberal and Social Democratic parties in 1988), parties who haven't had much success in Parliamentary elections are vying to gain traction in the UK hope to make a gain next week and make a statement.

(Speaking of statements, all party election broadcasts aired on the BBC are on their Web site. No barrage of sugar-coated 30-second ads here.)

First off is the party that has third-highest representation in the UK's delegation to Strasbourg, the UK Independence Party. Their main goal: keep Strasbourg & Brussels' policy-making out of the UK. They currently have 12 MEPs, and are looking to gain more to establish clout for an entrance into Westminster's elected ranks by next year. While they are third overall, several of their members are former Conservative supporters who turned from the Tories when the UK under John Major signed onto the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, thus establishing the European Union. UKIP put the blame on the EU when it comes to the general decline of UK's economic power, citing reasons nearly identical to what immigration critics and workers unions in the US use for similar problems: porous borders, foreign influence on domestic law & economic policy, among others.

Second is a "party" that sees the expenses row as icing on the cake: Jury Team. Jury Team is set up as a common brand name for independent candidates, and their candidates were selected by use of text messages and other new-age technologies. Jury Team seek to play off the general malaise of the electorate toward the established parties. They have no manifesto outside of fundamental changes to the operation of both Westminster & Strasbourg: term limits, fixed election dates, elimination of party whips, and petition-sparked recall votes and referenda.

Third is a party both UKIP and mainstream parties have sought to keep at bay, the British National Party. Their party rules forbid the admission of non-whites to their party, and their ultra-nationalist policies run akin to the Fascist parties that gained traction in the 1920s and 1930s. In spite of this, they received five percent of the vote in the 2004 European elections, but no seats, and they have been picking up seats on several local councils. Their member base can show greater growth should economic conditions worsen and "Middle Britain" (which is positioned relatively similar to the fabled Missouri bellwether) stay away from the polls, displeased with the three major parties and not interested or aware of the minor parties. This fear during the Great Depression, heightened by the collapse of a Labour minority government in the summer of 1931, resulted in the creation of a series of national coalition governments that lasted until the end of World War II.

Fourth is another Euro-centred party aiming to increase citizen participation in European affairs, Libertas.eu. While they have several branches in other countries that aim to counter the Lisbon Treaty, in the UK its incarnation is Euro-sceptic.

Fifth is a party currently with two MEPs who are a global fixture: the Greens. Their agenda is similar to Green parties across the globe: pro-environment, responsible labelling, pro-civil liberties, etc. etc.

And then you have your really small parties that hope to heck to get at least one percent of the vote: Christian Party, Socialists, Animals Count, etc. etc. It's usually when things go haywire and the wheels come off of the establishment that minor, fringe, and newer parties make their way into the system. A few of these names might find themselves on the world's news tickers six nights from now.

First post from Folkestone, and what else is new?

I'm writing about something back home!

Sure, I could write something up about Barcelona's 2-0 win over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final, or go into detail about recent legislation concerning whether Gurkha troops stationed here in Folkestone should receive the right to immigrate to the UK at the end of their service. But instead, I need to talk about helmets.

Last week, I posted an admonishment toward the Missouri Department of Transportation about their citing statistics from a survey they hadn't sourced in their news release essentially lobbying Governor Jay Nixon to veto Senate Bill 202. Again, that bill would repeal the requirement that motorcycle helmet riders over the age of 21 wear a helmet. Earlier today, in response to a request I made under Missouri's Sunshine Law (RSMO Chapter 610), MoDOT sent me PDF copies of the survey and statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. I have uploaded a copy of both.

The survey, conducted by Abacus Associates of Hatfield, Massachusetts, does generally support MoDOT's findings. Technical details worth noting include that the survey questioned 2050 Missourians via telephone last April, with a margin of error of just under three percent. The three percent comes as a result of the weighted sample areas, divided by MoDOT's ten districts. Abacus has in the past been hired for at least five other MoDOT surveys and one of Kansas City's early light rail feasibility studies, according to their transportation CV.

MoDOT's claim that Missourians support the helmet law nine-to-one is reiterated in the executive summary of the survey. Specifically, the percentage is 84 percent strongly or leaning in favor to nine percent strongly or leaning against the current law. Also, the survey found that over half of those surveyed (56%) had never ridden a motorcycle. Of the respondents who said that they have ridden a motorcycle in the past year, 75 percent are in favor, either strongly (69%) or leaning, while 19 percent oppose, including 15 percent strongly.

The NHTSA statistics indicate both how many lives each state says were saved as a result of people involved in vehicle crashes who were wearing their seat belts, in the case of autos, or helmets in the case of motorcycles. The figures were then, based upon additional surveys concerning seat belt & helmet use, synthesized to create a figure equivalent to 100 percent usage. The figures provided are indeed striking: while Missouri and their helmet requirement estimate that eight additional lives can be saved were 100 percent of Missourians on bikes wearing their helmets, on top of the 42 reported saved in 2007, Arkansas & their lack of a helmet law would double their figure at 100 percent compliance, from 18 to 37.

The surveys are available here in PDF form:
MoDOT's commissioned survey on support for the helmet law
NHTSA Statistics on Lives Saved

Tomorrow it's official

Seems weekends don't like me enough to let me post a story here, and the past weekend's rife with them. For one, The New York Times' Monica Davey brings to the national spotlight the effort to recall Kansas City mayor Mark Funkhowser. My, uh, appreciation for the mayor is not (how shall we say it) enthusiastic. He was a wonderful, no-nonsense auditor but he's a lousy politician. We might need more honest-to-God-and-John-Q-Public people out there in office, but when you make missteps in the first year like not doing a simple background check on a Parks Board nominee (not to mention the only one from North of the River when the previous administration included three Northlanders!) and then waffling on your stance toward her, you start to rub too many people the wrong way. Interesting that the Mayor chose Orange for his campaign colour in recognition of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; sadly, much like how the two catalysts of Ukraine's rejection of Russian influence five years ago lunged at each others' throats afterward, Funkhowser and the City Council remain at odds and, if the recall effort proves successful, a special election on 24 November is likely.

Then comes more fallout from the MP expenses scandal, and reports of its effects rippling into U.S. mainstream media. And, more jovially, Cinderella this year being dressed in black and gold, as Missouri's softball team mercy-ruled UCLA to advance to the NCAA Women's College World Series for only the second time in the program's history. Cinderella will face an uphill climb through the ball, as defending champions Arizona State are first in Oklahoma City. On a close-to-home note, the walk-off home run was sent out of the park by third baseman Gina Schneider, who graduated from Liberty HS along with my brother in 2005.

And thus marks what will likely be my final post for several months from the great state of Missouri as tomorrow, I become The Missouri Expatriate. After attending two commencement ceremonies and a benediction with family, observing debates from both the state house and senate during the last week of session, cleaning out gutters, spackling plaster onto a drywall ceiling, lunches with old friends, and visiting a lot of family, it is time for me to rest and commence with my move to England.

Until my next post, best wishes to one and all.

Nanny knows best and will spend your tax dollars to prove it to the governor!

(For the record, I'm in favor of keeping the law, but I just have the inclination to poke at a certain state agency about their efforts.)

Yesterday, the Missouri Department of Transportation began a campaign to encourage Governor Jay Nixon to veto Senate Bill 202, which would eliminate the requirement for persons over 21 to wear a helmet whilst riding a motorcycle in Missouri. On the front page of MoDOT's Web site is a banner screaming "9 to 1", indicating that Missourians favor the helmet requirement by a 9-to-1 margin. That news release is where I start scratching my head.

From my experience dealing with news releases posted online, it is customary when citing statistics online to also upload the entire survey and the conditions under which it was conducted. MoDOT did not link to this information or even mention how many people were surveyed. Therefore, these figures are not sufficiently backed and must be treated with a grain of salt.

It is my hope that MoDOT, more than likely using state taxpayer money* to push for Nixon to veto SB202 (which passed the Senate 23-6 and House 93-55), will provide the source material for these numbers promptly as to make sure that Missourians are truly in support of maintaining the current law and that states where helmet laws are not in place (namely Arkansas, much to the disapproval of Gravette's Sen. Kim Hendren) are experiencing some of the worst numbers for motorcycle accident fatalities. One cannot rely on vague news releases and bleed-and-lead accident photos to convince people that "nanny laws" are truly needed.

*claim subject to imminent Sunshine Law request to MoDOT.

The next stop in the “Derailing Democracy” tour: Laclede County

I'm a bit surprised by the lack of localized coverage of this particular twist to the decades-long saga concerning the military junta's rule of Myanmar (*cough*Burma*cough*cough*) and efforts by pro-democracy factions to install an actual democracy there. Specifically, this article in Lebanon's Daily Record dated 15 May is the only story actually written by a Missouri newspaper that I could find online – everything else (including the Star, Post-Dispatch, News-Leader, and both Columbia papers) has relied on AP wire with added emphasis on John Yettaw's residency in eastern Laclede County.

Since 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest by Myanmar's military junta, after Burmese voters elected her party over them. Her efforts to fight the detainment have been known throughout the world, highlighted early on by her being named the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. With elections suppose to occurring next year, many of Suu Kyi's supporters are calling Yettaw's swim across a lake to reach Suu Kyi a foolish event and one that played right into the junta's efforts to squash democracy, this just one year after Cyclone Nargis slammed into the country. Further, it comes two weeks before the junta was suppose to release Suu Kyi from house arrest.

This week, their trials are progressing, as Yettaw is charged with illegal entry of a restricted area (Suu Kyi's house) and breaking immigration laws, which could net him five years in prison. Suu Kyi, who appears to be the victim in all this as Yettaw was not invited to the house, and was actually turned away last year, stands charged for failing to report to authorities a non-family guest staying at her house overnight. Simply put: convenient way for the ruling junta to keep a popular candidate out of the next elections. (Two AP wire stories posted by The Columbia Missourian have the fewest cut-for-space omissions and do provide adequate detail of the situation. Read Article featuring Yettaw and analytical piece on Yettaw's motives.)

Given that the global consensus is rightfully focused on Suu Kyi's prolonged imprisonment and are painting the unsuspecting Yettaw in a bad light (to put this in a less serious light, Yettaw's role now parallels that of Steve Bartman in the Cubs' 2003 meltdown in the NLCS), it too is time for Missourians to stand up for those in Burma fighting for democracy. Starting with the media in Missouri's 113 other counties! The first I heard of this man being from Missouri was on CNN, and I recall no mention of it in any other major media. Heck, the story I linked from Lebanon has only one source and the source spoke on condition of anonymity!

Yettaw may have found a serendipitous way to subvert the very progress he and the pro-democracy movements of Burma have desired for over two decades, but perhaps now we Missourians can become educated about these issues and work to support change, however slim the success may be. The participants of the world's greatest democracies should not sit silent while others are punished for striving to establish the same.

More than a mention

In light of the high profile of the impending execution of Dennis Skillicorn, I have uploaded an excerpt from my interview last week with Joplin Rep. Marilyn Ruestman (this was at the end of the third interview posted here on 14 May). I must note that I did not ask other state legislators about this particular case or the death penalty in general.

Rep. Ruestman's comments on the death penalty (excerpt from interview posted last week)

Governor Nixon had denied Skillicorn's appeal at 6 p.m. (note that he was Attorney General when the Carnahan administration sent Missouri upward to number three in the nation for executions; again, Missouri has since receded to fifth.) and has also asked Missourians to offer prayers to the families of the four victims whom Skillicorn has been convicted of, or plead guilty, to killing.

Additionally, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito also promptly denied a stay of execution.

And the same scene will likely repeat itself next month when Reginald Clemons, one of four men convicted of killing two women on the Chain of Rocks Bridge that once carried Route 66 across the Mississippi, is now scheduled for execution.

Tea Party?

After those reports Thursday (and I wish to thank everyone who visited, followed my Tweets and Facebook updates, or found this by way of Google), I continued my whirlwind quote-unquote farewell tour of the Show-Me State, saying farewell to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the 16+ cats among everyone in the family I visited. Also enjoyed listening to quality locally produced radio programs like those all over Moberly's KRES and KWIX, plus KFRU's Morning Meeting hosted by Simon Rose and Renee Hulshof.

I am now back in KCMO, and this time next week I will be falling asleep in the United Kingdom for my first night as a Missouri expatriate. Er, The Missouri Expatriate. And my arrival in the UK could not come at a more exciting time politics wise.

Right now, it is safe to speculate that the 646 people most hated by United Kingdom residents are not Fred Phelps, Michael Savage, or other people the U.K. Home Office won't let enter the UK. Right now, it's Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary whose husband's sordid spending ways were outed in February, and the other 645 members of the House of Commons caught up in the expenses scandal. And the heads are starting to roll.

Today, Michael Martin announced that on 21 June, he will leave his post as Speaker of the House and subsequently make his way to the Chiltern Hundreds as its new Crown Steward, provided other potentially disgraced MPs don't beat him there and he winds up at the Manor of Northstead. Martin becomes the first speaker in 314 years to effectively be forced out of the position, and pundits are already declaring that Martin has secured a place among the greatest follies of Parliament's long history.

Therefore, on 22 June, the House of Commons will select from its remaining 639 active participants (which does not include the to-be-vacated Glasgow East seat held by Martin or the five Sinn Fein members who still billed UK taxpayers $750,000 despite not ever taking their seats!) a new speaker. This will be the first use of a new formalized voting system (BBC's description here) in lieu of the simpler yet dirtier "smoke-filled room" motion a name, amend in a different name, ayes have it, etc. system. Potential candidates for Speaker must have the backing of 12 MPs, three of whom must be from a party not that of the candidate. Upon certification of the nominations, the candidates are given a chance to speak, and then begins an exhaustive ballot, similar to how Olympic hosts are selected (and how Presidential candidates are suppose to be nominated, but the major parties have turned that process into a PR spectacle.) Once a candidate has a majority begins the dragging and the jovial crowning of the new Speaker.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is doing his darndest to save face in the wake of the U.S. Congress' approval ratings potentially being higher than Parliament's (apples and oranges, but it's worth the analogy) has stated that any Labour MP found to have made excessive expense claims will not be allowed to stand as Labour candidates at the next election, (Telegraph article) which is to happen in June 2010 at the latest. (Given that MEP & local elections are 16 days away, this novice observer anticipates a dissolution of Parliament over the summer and a lot of turnover when the new Parliament takes shape. Even with sweeping new restrictions in place like no swapping second homes and a limit of £1250 a month (thus £15000 annually), the voting public will likely not settle for less than a clean sweep and fast.) Prime the harbour, it's time to dump some tea. Or coffee. Or Throwback Pepsi-Cola?

You might find yourself going after all three when you're done viewing this Telegraph slideshow of Tory expenses for their country second homes. Among the more dubious claims: moat cleaning, lawncare around the helipad, and something involving horse excrement.

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Also, I would be remiss if I failed to make mention of the scheduled execution tonight (er, tomorrow at 12:01 a.m.) of Dennis Skillicorn, the first execution in Missouri in almost four years. Two more executions have been scheduled.

Thus, mention has been made.

Insomnia 2009: a surprise filibuster

Little did I know that the interview I conducted with Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence) would foreshadow the bulk of his arguments fueling his ongoing debate against Sen. Brad Lager (R-Savannah) concerning a doubling of funds for a land assemblage project in North St. Louis. Somehow this was tied into the Economic Development bill during the five-hour recess tonight that was hammered out in conference.

On several occasions Shoemyer has referenced Lager's support for the extra $10 million to a mention in a recent Post-Dispatch article, blasting Lager for siding with this project as opposed to farmers in his district.

Looks like we have a real battle of the Hickory Stick brewing between the two. Shoemyer is making firm his commitment to his roots and his constituents' livelihoods. Lager wants to get the bill passed. The clock sits at 14½ hours. We just might have a front runner for Mr. September.

At the capitol: Shoemyer's Grade Card

Final report of the night, and this one comes from the opposite aisle. With an opposite tone. (This interview was conducted just before the Senate adjourned for a conference committee to hash out a deal on the Economic Development Bill.) Senator Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence) expressed dissatisfaction in this interview about the progress of key legislation and a general neglect toward agricultural issues in the state.

Senator Shoemyer's grade card of this session

The Senator did have two positive notes today. HB480, which he introduced to the Senate floor, passed with no issue in the Senate, allowing the governor to prepare a 100th birthday celebration for the State Capitol Building (already the longest-serving in Missouri's history—Missouri went through five in the span of 90 years, two territorial capital buildings in St. Louis and a temporary capitol in St. Charles. The first two buildings in Jefferson City both burned to the ground, first in 1837 and then in 1911). Right afterward, Senate Concurrent Resolution 21, which indicates Missouri's willingness to meet the "25 by '25" mandate where 25 percent of the States' energy comes from domestic, renewable sources, passed the Senate and now proceeds to the House.

At the capitol: Goodman talks accomplishments

Unfortunately, I've opted to head back to calmer pastures in the form of my brother's place in Rolla. He's graduating from UMR this Saturday. Meanwhile, as the House adjusts to Greenwich Mean Time 11 days before I have to on an Irish airliner (midnight is the latest the House announced they would reconvene when they adjourned at 4:30 this afternoon), conferencing continues on one lynchpin of the legislative session, the Economic Development Bill, or as I called it earlier today, "Job Bill Job Bill Job Bill". Missourinet tweeted about 20 minutes ago that Senator Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) informed reporters that a deal was in the works.

As I continue to catch my breath from that whiff of the heartbeat of state politics, I'm now turning to the Senate interviews I conducted this afternoon. I sat down with Mount Vernon Republican Jack Goodman, who was among the earliest to declare his intentions to seek the seat Roy Blunt's vacating in the U.S. House after 2010.

Interview with Sen. Goodman

After this interview, the Senate took up debate on the House's amended version of SB 291, which was then sent to Governor Jay Nixon's desk by a 29-3 vote.

At the capitol: Reflections from Ruestman

With the House now recessed for the past hour and the Senate grumbling about it, I have a chance to catch my breath, cool down from the euphoria of watching the House in action and also upload my sit-down interview with Rep. Marilyn Ruestman of Joplin. For this session, Rep. Ruestman has been the representative I called most when I was reporting on the Missouri General Assembly for KURM.

Yesterday was, to quote Rogers, Ark. Mayor Steve Womack, "a red-letter day" for Rep. Ruestman, as three of her bills cleared the Senate and are on their way to Governor Nixon's desk (from which his aides are probably watching my type this post.) Those include two of the bills she prefiled this session: HB152, which mandates law enforcements to collect a DNA sample via mouth swab from persons charged with a violent crime, and HB154, which gives grandparents first opportunity to become the guardians of their grandchildren should the parents be out of the picture. Below is that interview:

Ruestman recaps the session (with 24½ hours to go as of this post)

On a personal note, this is my fourth trip inside the State Capitol Building. All three previous times I went on field trips organized by Mr. Charles Coakley, my junior high social studies teacher. They happened to be on weekends or well after the General Assembly was done with session. I think I've caught a bug, and hopefully Michael Howard or Gwyn Prosser will have a sufficient remedy for this imminent expatriate of the Show-Me State.

Or I can get away with second-home expense reimbursements in the form of trips back here every 2-3 months. :P

At the capitol: Educator-turned-rep on SB291

Moments after the final vote on Senate Bill 291, which passed 110-46, I caught up with former North Shelby High School teacher Tom Shively (D-Shelbyville), who now represents the 8th district (Linn, Macon and Shelby counties). Shively voted against the measure, which must return to the Senate for another vote on account of sizable changes to the bill.

Shively expresses his concerns about SB291 after the vote

At the capitol: Constitutent visit

Right after my interview with Rep. Marilyn Ruestman of Joplin (full interview forthcoming), a group of home schooled students and their mother stepped in to visit the representative and voice opposition to Senate Bill 291, an education omnibus bill which, at the time, has a provision that would amend the certification of credits necessary to graduate from high school.

Teresa Barnett of Saginaw (south of Joplin) spoke to Ruestman in the representative's office for a few minutes before, during a roll call vote, Ruestman introduced Barnett's three sons Joseph, Phillip and Benjamin on the floor of the house:

Ruestman recognizes three young constituents.

Meanwhile, the bill is on the floor as we speak. Twitter feeds from major sources will carry the way on covering this particular bill, but it's everyday moments like this in the Capitol that make representing and serving the people a special honor for the 197 members of the General Assembly.

At the capitol: Session recap interviews

I am in Jefferson City today at the state capitol, and visiting with several state legislators to get their recap of the session that will be over in 29 hours.

My first visit is with Representatives Tim Flook (R-Liberty) and Doug Ervin (R-Kearney), from neighboring districts and neighboring offices on the fourth floor. Both are working to pass through the House Senate Bill 306, a healthcare omnibus bill which includes provisions establishing patient privacy right, reimbursement for transporting a minor for healthcare, and ensures transparency of cost and quality comparisons. This'll be my first upload of a sound clip, and expect more during the day.

Reps. Flook & Ervin talk SB306

At the capitol: First Post

I am in Jefferson City today visiting with state lawmakers and getting their take on how the session has progressed. With 29½ hours to go,I plan on visiting with several reps and a couple Senators today.

First, though, I'm going to post a list of Chrysler dealerships in Missouri that the company is petitioning bankruptcy court to terminate dealership agreements. This list was initially obtained by the Detroit Free-Press.

Cannon Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, Excelsior Springs
Auffenberg Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Cape Girardeau & Washington
Century Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, Wentzville
Raytown Dodge, Crawford's Raytown Jeep & Crawford's Holiday Motors
Davis Chrysler, Ava
Dodge City Motors, Columbia
Ozark Dodge & Heritage Chrysler-Jeep
Jim Rush Chrysler, Bolivar
Lucas-Smith Automotive, Potosi
Mid-Missouri Motors, St. Robert
Jack Miller Chrysler-Jeep, Kansas City/Gladstone
Milner-O'Quinn Chrysler-Dodge, Harrisonville
Neosho Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge-Jeep
Reuther Dodge & Jeep-Chrysler-Plymouth, Creve Coeur
Ron Hulett, Camdenton
Sam Ogle Chrysler-Jeep, Crystal City
Smith Motor Company, Brookfield
Swafford's of Richmond
Town & Country Motors of Sedalia
Tony Martens Dodge, Platte City
Weinberg Dodge, Grandview
Zeisler Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Truesdale

Northwest Arkansas dealerships listed are both Springdale dealerships: Steve Smith Country on 412 West and Springdale Dodge on South Thompson.

For the record: republishing/rebroadcasting policy

While The Missouri Expatriate will likely refer to & link to other news outlets' stories for various commentaries, it will on occasion feature original reports and personal updates from its creator and (to date) sole contributor, Kyle Hill. With this in mind, the following policy is henceforth established for rebroadcast or republication of items from The Missouri Expatriate:

1. Default policy
Unless otherwise stated in an individual entry, this policy applies to all entries made in The Missouri Expatriate.

2. Terrestrial rebroadcast rights
Original audio files posted on The Missouri Expatriate, which are hosted on a separate server, may be rebroadcast on any terrestrial radio or television station, either in whole or in part, PROVIDED that the following is fulfilled:
a) credit must be given to "The Missouri Expatriate blog" or its author, Kyle Hill
b) notice is submitted, either by commenting on the blog entry or sending an e-mail to kyle at hillonline dot net, indicating your call letters/station identification, Web site address, etc.
c) if an entire clip is used, or a significant segment, please provide at the end the blog's URL address, http://missouriexpat.blogspot.com/

3. Tangible republication rights
Entries on The Missouri Expatriate may be republished in any tangible print publication (newspaper, magazine, etc.) PROVIDED that the following is fulfilled:
a) credit must be given to "The Missouri Expatriate blog" or its author, Kyle Hill
b) notice is submitted, either by commenting on the blog entry or sending an e-mail to kyle at hillonline dot net, indicating your publication and Web site address
c) if an entire entry is used, or a significant segment, please provide at the end the blog's URL address, http://missouriexpat.blogspot.com/

4. Online rebroadcast/republication/reposting rights
Any rebroadcast, republication, or reposting of an entry on The Missouri Expatriate on any online Web site (be it another blog, audio/video Web stream, message board, newsgroup, etc.) WILL REQUIRE a link to the entry where the excerpt, audio clip, or entire entry is posted. Notice should be formally sent, either by commenting on the entry or sending an e-mail to kyle at hillonline dot net, indicating where you are posting this information. If you are using a sound clip, you may host a separate version on your Web site to preserve bandwidth.

5. Reciprocal good-faith effort
The Missouri Expatriate aims to provide original commentary and reporting in all entries, and subsequently will link to and cite all articles mentioned. Notice of usage is requested as to keep tabs on where content is being used. No royalties, trade-outs, etc., are required, except a mention of the blog's URL address as it remains important to give credit where credit is due.

6. Amendments
Amendments to this policy will be made in this thread and may not come with any notice. Changes will not be retroactive to prior usage.

This is what happens when you spend taxpayer funds wrong

Before I finish that thought, first of all my thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Northeast Missouri affected by this afternoon's tornadic activity. One fatality has been reported in Milan, about 35 miles west of Kirksville. The tornado's damage was north of downtown Kirksville and the Truman State University campus.

Now, returning to the bulk of tonight's post, which begins my effort to put a Midwestern perspective on British and European issues.

"What happens when you spend taxpayer funds wrong?" You get your own party members pushing for your recall. The first in 300 years, from the looks of things.

For the past week, The Daily Telegraph has published lists of expense reports filed by members of the British Parliament. Starting last Thursday, a list of expenses acquired through Britain's Freedom of Information Act has embarrassed several MPs on both sets of benches regarding their use of second home expense allowances. (Figures listed with be in British Pounds; current exchange rate is approximately US$1.53 = GB£1.) Most notably is Michael Martin, technically a non-partisan official but previously affiliated with the Labor Party prior to his selection as Speaker of the House of Commons. According to Telegraph's ongoing reports, Martin spent £1400 on chauffeur service around his constituency, including to football matches, and another £3300 on refurbishing his Glasgow flat, mostly on carpeting.

On top of that, the Telegraph (whose editorial board does lean Conservative; however Tory expenses are also under scrutiny in these reports) says that Martin has for the past four years spent £100k to attempt to keep these expense reports from going public. Even after these efforts went in favor of the taxpayer, Commons leadership delayed further on their release, originally told to release it by October of last year but instead announcing they would release it this July. Well, it's out now, and it's not looking pretty.

Among the Telegraph's most startling & high-profile finds:

• The five Sinn Fein members of Parliament, all of whom refuse to take their seats as it would require them to pledge an oath to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and subsequently acknowledge British sovereignty over Northern Ireland, together claimed expenses of over £500,000.
• Several MPs, including then-PM Tony Blair, used allowances from the expenses to refurbish and make profits from selling or re-mortgaging real-estate. In the former PM's case, Blair remortgaged his Sedgefield home for £296,000, then used his expense allowance to pay interest on that and another mortgage for one of five flats he owned in London.
• Current PM Gordon Brown conducted a house-swap upon his elevation to 10 Downing Street, purchasing a home in his constituency, then placing a gardener and cleaner, as well as extensive remodeling, on the public's bill.
• Many other MPs, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, used taxpayer money to pay their taxes. A Conservative shadow cabinet member, Nick Herbert, also has used his allowance to pay taxes and on part of a mortgage on a house in West Sussex he owns with his partner Jason Eades.
  
• Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who is vocally supportive of the movement to oust Martin over his expenses, claimed the maximum allowed, and one month went overboard. His predecessor Sir Menzies Campbell hired an interior designer to refurbish his London flat for about £10,000.
• David Willets, the Conservative's choice for skills minister, needed help changing light bulbs and had taxpayers foot the bill for that lesson.
  

If anything like this came out from a state government, plenty of fur would be flying. In short, this looks like Bob Griffin & Bill Webster on steroids, and no sneaking in village laws or midwife legalization clauses are going to save the day.

Fortunately, with local elections coming up in a month, several MPs (including Campbell) have announced they are reimbursing the fund for their various claims. Sure some of them are acceptable like basic transportation or rent, but having taxpayers foot the bill for items like new carpets, flat-screen TVs, chauffeurs, and real estate speculation, in a time when people need to reprioritize their spending to weather a significant recession, speaks volumes about the lack of discretion several elected officials have when it comes to appropriate tax funds.

It's probably not appropriate for a future resident to make opinionated comments on this, especially as said government's home office has granted a visa for the next six months, but as I am aiming to be a future resident (and thusly a tax payer), I am curious as to how current UK taxpayers are going to respond to this situation. TEA parties (all caps) were all the rage last month in the States; might they take root in the form of a 4 June statement from the electorate when it comes to local & EU parliamentary results?

If at first you don't succeed,

badger the Parks Board and prepare another petition drive.

I'm back home in car-happy Kansas City, and sure enough, another expat who can't get his desire to improving the area out of his system is at it again, and he was dealt 1½ blows by the system today. (Story from KMBC) Longtime light rail activist Clay Chastain's last proposal in 2006, which was uncharacteristically approved by city voters, called for a light rail line drawn through two Northland suburbs, steep hills and even people's backyard, all without bothering to consult engineers and affected suburbs to determine the route's feasibility. The city council, able to do so, voted out the initiated route a year later. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District upheld the decision today, and a challenge to the state supreme court is possible.

At the same time Chastain, appearing to learn from his mistakes from the comfort of his Virginia home, returned to KC today to present a scaled-down, 10-mile proposal similar to one that ten years ago then-mayor Emmanuel Cleaver II (now D-Missouri in Congress) called "tourist frou-frou". Chastain's plan, absent of the Penn Valley gondolas that have characterized previous proposals of his, also called for electric buses and streetcars to tie into the line running from the City Market to the Country Club Plaza. All at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, which will easily by $2.4 million when inflation and typical KC bureaucratic bungling is all said and done. The Parks board granted him 10 minutes to present and offered no questions or took any action. (Sounds like this was done during public comment time.)

Chastain is now calling for another petition drive to enact this plan and amend the city charter to make voter initiatives binding to the city council. Should he proceed with this plan, he had better provide adequate engineering studies on the proposed route and essentially show that this is more than just a convenient line on a paper. Or in my case when I was in Junior High, tacks on a map on the bedroom wall connected by yarn. (My peers had pictures of N'Sync, Sammy Sosa and Mustangs on their walls; I had a map of the KC metro area. Geekiness factor x9 – Star Trek posters would have probably netted a mere x5.)

Before I call it a night,

suppose I need to post something pertaining to mainland China's first confirmed case of Swine Flu as a 30-year-old man pursuing a doctorate at Mizzou. (Story from St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Apparently, the state-run media in China confirmed the guy's name as Mr. Bao, while Mizzou officials would only confirm what China said and not release any additional information, citing privacy laws. (In this case it'd be FERPA, but possibly HIPAA as well.)

At around the time the news broke (roughly 1 p.m. this afternoon), one state newswriter Twittered a comment about Mizzou for being outed by, of all people, the totalitarian megalith of the East, saying: "It's a sad day in American when Communist China is more transparent & open than a major university."

This begs the question: isn't that why the Feds passed HIPAA in the first place? Certainly journalists and the public have a right to know what's necessary to help them better their lives and serve the public interest. Hence why China's taken drastic steps like texting all citizens with cell phones advising those who flew on the same flights Bao took to essentially submit themselves for quarantine. But at the same time, many of the Founding Fathers desired to craft a society where the collective good wasn't paramount, but that of individual freedom. As a result, we have the Bill of Rights, we have universal suffrage, we have Coke, Pepsi, RC, Dr. Pepper, and Sam's Choice.

And our laws do that, in both ways. For journalists, Shield Laws protect journalists who seek to protect their sources and individual sources who choose to remain anonymous. Conversely, several states are seeking to put under lock and key registration lists of gun permits. In this instance, I can understand the rationale behind protecting the list itself, as gun owners who don't hunt regularly, likely paranoid about violent crime in general, would find access to their phone book-type information, especially when it's summarily published afterward, an affront to their security.

Releasing the full name of Mr. Bao would not do a whole lot of good in Missouri, as it's not even been determined where he contracted the H1N1 virus. His itinerary, according to news sources, was four-legged, originating in St. Louis, with stops in Minneapolis, Tokyo and Beijing before finishing in southwestern Sichuan Province (interestingly on the first anniversary of their disastrous earthquake.) Certainly those who might know him on the Columbia campus should have an idea by now who Mr. Bao is. (FERPA does make directory listings of students public, but allows the student to hide the information.)

The right to know is an important tool, and must be utilized responsibly. Certainly the media can find out through multiple means, but we must be respectful and careful in how we do it, as to preserve the dignity of those affected and the sanity of our readers and viewers. Purell can't make hand sanitizer fast enough.

The Final Fortnight…

At this time two weeks from tomorrow, I will be attempting (rather unsuccessfully, I sense) to get some sleep on an Irish airliner flying me to the U.K. Between now and then, I am looking to do a lot of "one-last" type things across the great state of Missouri. If this happens to include a visit to Jefferson City, I'll be posting a formal rebroadcast/reprint policy prior, as such a visit will probably not be just for pleasure and more than merely passing through to Rolla.

Meanwhile this week, as Missouri's 95th General Assembly wraps up its annual session, I will be cleaning out my Springdale flat and returning to the good side of 36°30'. From there, it's visiting with family & friends across the state until the 23rd. Looking forward to catching up with old college and high school friends before bolting for Britain and settling down with my lovely Dawn.

All the while, I'm going to need a crash course in the inner workings (and quite possibly an explanation of the relevance of!) the European Parliament. Again, their elections are next month.

And while I'm on random tangents, I'm listening to the Sunday Night Golden Oldies Party on 94.9 KCMO (online at 949kcmo.com). Umm... an oldies station is useless without awesome announcers. Seriously: if I wanted a full-time jukebox, I'd just power up my iTunes. Which is what I'll be doing in the morning. And countless others. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell me the weather, and certainly won't save me from a tornado. That's what broadcast radio is for, at least when done properly by people who actually care about their community.

McDreamy might be dreamy, but he's not going to save you from a tornado

So I took the night off yesterday in lieu of posting an obligatory picture of Harry Truman and screaming Happy 125th Birthday to him. I took care of the screaming part on my Twitter.

Today, I'm going to gripe a bit. Thursday night, a freak line of thunderstorms rolled through the Grand River Valley in north central Missouri. This storm system eventually ballooned cells to the southwest and caused considerable damage across Southern Missouri the following morning. The worst mess from this storm, however, seems to be focused on Kansas City's television stations who, instead of airing highly popular programs, opted to break away to provide wall-to-wall coverage of the storms, a solid 60 miles northeast of the downtown area, where roughly 41,000 people out of the 1.8 million in Kansas City's Designated Market Area were directly affected by the storm.

Guess what? That's the reason why they're on the air!

Now while residents in the area are more likely to tune into local radio stations like KCHI and KMZU when bad weather hits (and I personally recommend this if you're not in an area dominated by automated conglomerates, by the way), television stations are also obligated by their operating license issued by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast pertinent weather information when the need arises to affected area. And all four counties are in the Kansas City DMA (pictured at right, counties in red; image derived from maps at Digital Topo Maps store and Arbitron.) The other DMAs that could serve them are St. Joseph and Kirksville (both of whom have only one station, both ABC affiliates, and otherwise lucky to have enough advertising revenue to support a weekend meterologist who also reports on sports!) and Columbia. All three of these markets are in the lower half of Nielsen's rankings based on viewers aged 12+, meaning KC (with its 31 ranking) is the main television source of weather for these viewers. Which means, if anything potentially serious were to hit anywhere from Purdin, Missouri to Lone Elm, Kansas, Kansas City's television stations are expected to make a decision on whether to break away to report on it.

If my guess is accurate, these decisions rely not on each stations' radar but more reasonably on trained storm spotters watching these cells from the ground, phoning in reports to the stations and the National Weather Service. And the nature of tornados are erratic, as they can drop down at any moment. Not everyone is going to have their weather radio or AM/FM radio on when severe weather hits. So guess what? TV stations also need to break in and report on it.

Across comment boards on various media outlets, viewers (most of whom have probably never been to Chillicothe, the birthplace of sliced bread) were quite negative about the coverage. Several suggested mere crawlers, placing wall-to-wall weather coverage on digital sub-channels, or simply ignoring the outer areas. Bad, bad and bad, and here's why:

Crawlers at the bottom of the screen. Sure it's there, and you can include a bite-size radar image and ominous warning beeps every two minutes. But the main focus of the viewer is still on the programming. And after awhile, the beeps will get annoying in of itself, not to mention older residents whose eyesight is going bad and who didn't grow up dodging pop-up ads and interpreting icons for instructions might not even get a glimpse of the warning. McDreamy might be dreamy, but he's not going to jump out of the TV screen and escort you to the basement if a tornado's one block away.

Placing wall-to-wall coverage on digital sub-channels. I'm not sure as to what obligations the FCC has on cable companies to carry every digital sub-channel of a television broadcaster, but I sense they'll drag their feet if such provisions aren't in place. Not to mention that while converter boxes will be common place, digital signals typically don't broadcast as far as analog, and because it's digital, it's either on or off, as opposed to intermittent static. Even in areas where digital reception is prime and cable companies are carrying digital subchannels, telling people to tune to another station to watch critical weather information is quite disingenuous. It's essentially the station saying "Hi, your life's in danger from this tornado barreling down on you. If you value your life, you'll tune to this channel. But if you would rather watch two people who don't give a rat's rump about your life tie the knot, then have fun. Don't say we didn't warn you. And now a word from Charmin." In fact, it should be the exact opposite. Put the entertainment on the digital subchannel, asking viewers to decide whether to forgo such vitial information by changing the channel away from the coverage.

Simply ignoring the other areas. One word. Elitist. Surefire way to make extremist nutcases in the boonies nuttier. You might be able to get away with doing this in radio, but that's because it doesn't cost as much to establish & maintain a radio station compared to television.

Another suggestion would be to isolate certain areas affected and send overriding broadcasts. With the technology, it could be possible, but it'll just be too unwieldy for TV broadcasters to send information to specific areas (see prior two paragraphs). Ditto for cable companies. To make it remotely cost-efficient, they'd have to pool resources with other outstate cable companies to put together a full-time staff of 2-3 people, and hope to heck two different areas in the pool don't need coverage at the same time. And then, most critically, it wouldn't be sufficiently local. Sure, advice like "stay away from windows" and "duck and cover" are universal. But something as simple as saying "find a ditch or cellar and stay there" wouldn't work along areas where a cellar would wind up being under sea level or in a heap of permafrost, and worse, you'd have guys in North Carolina or Sacramento saying "if you're near shel-bin-uh" (as opposed to shell-BYE-nuh for Shelbina) and pretending to sound dumb by saying Mizzur-uh.

In short, if your show is pre-empted by severe weather coverage, get the damn episode off iTunes or Hulu the next day. Broadcast outlets have a paramount mission to serve the public interest of its community, not their entertainment desires.

An age old question…

…and it involves high school athletics. Here goes:

“Do private high schools have an inherent unfair advantage in athletics over public high schools?”

Different state activities associations have attempted to tackle the perceived advantage private schools have over public schools with regards to talent and revenue. Seven years ago, Missouri joined Georgia in instituting a multiplier, which artificially increases a private school's population to account for a possible talent increase. Generally works, but my qualms about it are not central to this particular commentary.

In Arkansas, several athletic directors still steaming over the success the Shiloh Christian Saints (operated by the First Baptist Church of Springdale) had during the last football season, losing to national powerhouse Evangel in Shreveport, La. before obliterating their competition in Class 4A. By obliterate, I mean wins of 65-0 over Berryville and 84-10 over Clarksville, among others. Now while Shiloh Christian, located in the heart of Springdale, can attract the brightest, strongest and potentially the wealthiest from around Northwest Arkansas and even neighboring McDonald County, Mo., the remaining schools in Shiloh's conference are towns of approximately 2,000 residents each, with the nearest incorporated communities on average 10 miles away. With this in mind, the small-town coaches have submitted to the entire Arkansas Activities Association a proposal to place schools that offer need-based scholarships to attend their schools in a completely different division. Should the proposal pass in August, it takes effect the following season.

On the surface, it appears all fine and dandy. If you're having to go up against a school that could easily operate their athletic program like a Big 12 or SEC university, then the odds appear stacked against you. To make it fair for you and your public school kin, you push the private schools out of the way. But then you get to some underlying problems with the issue and how it'll ultimately fail. Most noticably, you will have two state champions of equal size in just about every sport: one public (Division 1) and one scholarship-providing private (Division 2). Then you'll have pundits speculate regularly as to who the real state champion is. Would the D2 champ actually mercy-rule the D1 champ? Would the D2 school, in spite of being able (and under this provision essentially given free reign to) recruit, always be treated second-rate just because they can?

And what of the student athletes on these teams? Will their state title feel truly like a title if a segment of their competition (particularly the most challenging) was not able to challenge them for it? And will the quality of play that builds these athletes remain or improve? Most critically, what will this teach tomorrow's leaders about inclusion and citizenship as a whole? We're dealing mostly with Christian schools here. Should public schools, instruments of a relatively secular state, get their way with this proposal, will this result in private schools encouraging their students to essentially shut away from non-religious elements of society altogether? Worse, could this issue morph into a church vs. state debate, or even one on ethnocentrism and socio-economic disparity??

The haste and anger behind this particular provision, while understandable, will ultimately cause this proposal to unravel among schools not directly affected. To put it in a rather precarious paradigm, this is another form of segregation. While the intent is to encourage citizenship during play and among coaching staffs, the end result will result in different societal issues arising and only keep that age old question ripe in everyone's mind.

And I'm saying this as having graduated from a high school where whoever won our football district (already the toughest in the state) wound up playing Rockhurst in the sectionals. Putting them in a private-only division (complete with their students from Johnson County, Kansas!) wouldn't have made a state title any more attainable. Not to mention the multiplier is moot once you're large enough for the largest class to begin with.

This Week's Anniversaries of Note

Photo: Channel Tunnel Loading/Unloading Platforms outside Folkestone, Kent. Folkestone & Cheriton are in the background. (Photo by Stephen Dawson/Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA.)

This week marks three anniversaries of note. Monday was the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher becoming prime minister of the United Kingdom (and I can't get this well-prepared slideshow from the BBC out of my head – catchy soundtrack!) And today (well, yesterday now in Folkestone) marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel between Coquelles, France and Folkestone, England. Contrary to popular belief, the chunnel's entrance is not in Dover, which is five miles northeast of Folkestone, nor Calais, also five miles northeast of Coquelles. (AP story on the anniversary)

Since its opening in 1994, the Chunnel has provided a ground link between Great Britain and Continental Europe, enhancing the arguments for and against greater integration into the European Union. Also, it's become a funnel for illegal immigrants to attempt entry into the UK. Upon my relocation to the area directly impacted by the Chunnel, expect a lot of commentary & anecdotes revolving around the Channel Tunnel.

Also, be sure to circle Friday on your calendars, as that will be Harry Truman's 125th birthday. Celebrations are planned in Lamar (his birthplace) and Independence, as well as a party of one on the wrong side of 36°30'.

Honorary Degree for depriving Habeus Corpus?

Now I get to something serious. And yes, I'm issuing a commentary on a situation six hours away from me.

This weekend John Ashcroft, formerly Governor of Missouri (1985-1993) and later U.S. Attorney General (2001-2005), will address the graduating Class of 2009 at Truman State University, my alma mater. And boy are members of the faculty and student body less than thrilled. Not only will Ashcroft address many of my one-time classmates, but he will receive an honorary degree from the University. Also receiving honorary degrees from the University will be former University president Charles McClain and the late Mel Carnahan, who succeeded Ashcroft as governor and posthumously defeated him for U.S. Senate in 2000.

Last week, the University's chapter of the American Association for University Professors hosted a forum aimed at discussing the virtue of Ashcroft receiving an honorary degree. Most present, according to the Index article covering the forum, expressed disapproval of Ashcroft receiving the degree, citing his role in the prior Administration with regards to the detainment and treatment of suspected terrorists. Also bashed was the lack of faculty and student input into the commencement speaker selection and subsequent decision to confer honorary degrees, leaving it in the hands of Truman's Board of Governors.

The efforts to express the disapproval of Ashcroft's presence this weekend strike me as disingenuine. For starters, when looking at the three honorees of these degrees, it's apparent that the University wants to recognize top figures who facilitated the conversion of Northeast Missouri State University, a regional school largely vacant on the weekends with the average trip to a student's hometown just over an hour, to Truman State University, the state's public liberal arts and sciences university, with the state's most rigorous coursework standard. Ashcroft was governor in 1985 when he signed the bill that changed the school's mission. McClain was president of the University when Ashcroft signed this bill. Carnahan was governor in 1995 when he signed the bill changing the school's name. Jack Magruder, who graduated from the University in 1957, was president when Carnahan signed this bill.

Had the bill Ashcroft signed not come into law, most of the professors and students who are protesting Ashcroft's presence in Kirksville this weekend would probably be at different schools. (Seeing as I'm a fourth-generation alumnus, I probably would have still attended school there, but that's beside the point.) Now granted, someone else could have signed it as governor, and a similar bill passed during a different session of the General Assembly could have done the trick, but the fact remains that Ashcroft signed the particular bill that changed the University's mission. And he happened to be elected to a second term as governor, one full term in the U.S. Senate, and George W. Bush's Attorney General when 9/11 happened.

While I'm publicly making otherwise baseless speculations, I would fathom to guess that most people disapproving of Ashcroft's presence might also be opposed to the death penalty. It is true that Ashcroft was governor when the death penalty resumed in Missouri, shortly upon the start of his second term. (All figures listed here are from missourideathrow.com, a blog maintained by the Missourinet.) During this term, seven men were executed by lethal injection. During the years Mel Carnahan served as governor, 37 men were executed, and a 38th convicted man just one month after Carnahan's fatal plane crash. This amounts to almost five executions per year during Carnahan's tenure. In fact, 39 people (including one woman in 1953) were executed in Missouri between the years of 1937 and 1965, when the gas chamber was the state's standard.

During Carnahan's terms as governor, Missouri trailed only Texas and Virginia in number of executions, a point that was reportedly brought to his attention when Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis in January 1999. If that point was brought up by His Holiness, it didn't last long, as the State's Supreme Court scheduled an execution the day after JP2 returned to the Vatican, which was then carried out on 24 February. More stunning is that 1999 was the busiest year for the execution chamber in Potosi, with nine executions that year. Currently, Missouri has the fifth most active execution chamber since 1976, trailing Oklahoma and Florida along with Texas and Virginia.

For the record, let me stress that I am not advocating the abolition of the death penalty in Missouri; I am illustrating a critical point here. Carnahan could have prevented these executions by granting clemencies, much as Ashcroft could have curtailed or prevented subjecting suspected terrorists to torture, extraordinary rendition, indefinite detainment, etc. And yet, even as Missouri is about to execute its first inmate in 3½ years, all the disagreements concern Ashcroft receiving an honorary degree. If the University community were to prevail in Ashcroft not receiving such an honor, should they not do the same to the late Carnahan, under whose watch Missouri proliferated the practice of a judicial sentence Amnesty International and most of the developed world view as barbaric? If arguments suggest that the University's leadership issuing this diploma to Ashcroft is tantamount to condoning his role in detaining suspected terrorists, would that not also mean that the University supports the death penalty in Missouri?

However, these honorary diplomas mean one thing and only one thing: recognition of service to the University. This is the second time in the University's history that honorary degrees are being conferred; the first was in 2002 when Harry Truman was posthumously awarded a diploma. I seriously doubt that the Board of Governors or interim president Darrell Krueger intend to, nor wish to, convey a sense of support for the actions and policies of Ashcroft or Carnahan outside their role in transforming the University from a regional commuter campus into the state's only highly selective public university. A role Ken Rothman or Bill Webster's successor could have fulfilled had they won the elections prior to the respective bills being signed.

So I suggest one simple thing to everyone in attendance: just hear the guy speak. Clap, shout, whoop, etc. when a graduate receives his/her case that will eventually hold his/her diploma. And let the politics surrounding Ashcroft and Carnahan stay outside Stokes Stadium (or Pershing Arena if the field's not suitable for the ceremonies), provided Ashcroft and Carnahan's representative do the same.

And at the very least, the row raised the past month should serve as a springboard for the University to include student and faculty input in commencement speakers. Considering that prior commencement speakers for the spring ceremonies include the guy who ran several Westlake ACE hardware stores (nothing against him, but not even I can remember his name!), allowing a joint student/faculty committee to field names from the University community and suggest the best options to the Board of Governors could mitigate some of the concerns raised, provided their suggestions aren't controversial in nature.

On a lighter note, at least the Class of 2009 have a significant political figure speaking to them. My commencement speaker was alumna Linda Miller, who broke through several glass ceilings at Ford Motor Company. And we didn't get our diplomas until two weeks later in the mail. Maybe just to placate the faculty, Ashcroft ought to wait two weeks for his honorary diploma to arrive in the mail.

My first actual report on this blog, and it's a sports post

I'm planning to address the controversy surrounding the selection of former Missouri governor and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to deliver the commencement address at Truman State University (my alma mater) next weekend. There is a lot to talk about regarding that, so I'm going to instead start with a commentary on something less testy:

The potential shake-up involving the starting quarterback position at Mizzou.

As reported yesterday by The Kansas City Star, freshman quarterback Blaine Dalton has been suspended indefinitely from the team following his arrest by Columbia police on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance. According to the police report Star reporter Blair Kerchoff mentions in this story, the Blue Springs South standout allegedly had in his possession 10 pills of hydrocodone, a prescription cough suppressant and painkiller, and alcohol. Additional traffic misdemeanors were also listed.

Dalton was, prior to this announced suspension, in the midst of a battle for the starting quarterback role at Mizzou against sophomore Blaine Gabbert (Parkway West). Also waiting in the wings are two names of personal interest, sophomore Jimmy Costello, who was QB at my high school (Liberty), and incoming freshman Ashton Glaser, the best quarterback to come out of Springdale, Ark., since Mitch Mustain.

Dalton has denied all charges, and the suspension is standard procedure according to a spokesman from Mizzou. But this is a disappointing distraction for a promising candidate to fill in Chase Daniel's shoes. With several candidates in the mix, a situation like this involving Dalton will impair his chances now, but hopefully he's learning from this, guilty or not. Quarterbacking in the Suburban Conferences is chump change compared to being a potential starting quarterback in one of the fiercest Division One FBS conferences, where everything from passing targets to off-campus antics is under the scrutiny of coaches, University figures, fans, major media and no-names bloggers like yours truly. If Dalton handles this incident well and/or proves his innocence, he can easily redeem himself. Else, Tiger fans will prepare for the Gabbert era.

The stock of Mizzou's athletic program has been on the rise the past two years, but fans have a lofty expectation of their beloved gold-and-black next season (third consecutive Big 12 North title) and are all too accustomed to being jilted. Hopefully this situation will be resolved quickly and amicably.