The Source

Dear Lefties: We’ll Build the Nukes, You Hug the Trees

If you’re not a fan of hippies and socialists it’s a good day in Kansas City.

A group that sought to halt a new weapons plant in south Kansas City has dropped its effort to get a petition initiative on the November ballot.

The Kansas City Peace Planters had gathered more than 4,300 valid petition signatures to place a measure on the November ballot. It sought to prevent the manufacture of non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons and to convert the plant into a facility for “green technology.”

(Tree huggers.)

But the city council voted 12-1 against putting the measure on the ballot, saying it was unconstitutional, since it violated federal powers to set defense policy and interfered with numerous contractual obligations.

The Peace Planters had gone to court in Jackson County to try to get a judge to force the city to place the measure on the ballot. The two sides were expected to square off in court this morning. But the Peace Planters just put out a press release saying they are dropping their court fight.

It’s a beautiful thing to see the reality and common sense prevail without the protracted legal battle that liberals love to embroil our country in time after time, year after year… especially the whacko environmentalist nut-jobs who get off at the very mention of a courtroom.

At the end of the day, however, the Mad Libs realized that this was an absolute no-win situation; they couldn’t make the water murky enough to pull it off. It wasn’t up to “constitutional interpretations” or “activist judges” or even their “save the planet” anti-nuke pro-green hellfire-in-a-bottle rhetoric.

They picked a fight with the one element of American government that will never back down and supersedes all others: the military.

You know that old adage that you don’t pick a fight with men who buy ink by the barrel?

Well, you also don’t pick a fight with men who buy nukes by the truckload.

- B.H.

KC Goes Green to Waste Green

Kansas City debuted the new “paperless” ticketing system yesterday in an effort to become the first city in the nation to move away from traditional tickets to what they describe as a more “green” way to handle the municipal court system.

After a year of planning and preparation, the Kansas City Missouri Municipal Court system is officially green as it becomes the first municipal court system in the nation to go completely paper-free.

On Monday, the court debuted its new computerized case management system, with more than two million paper tickets in the system for review digitally.

Wow, a paperless system. (Nothing could go wrong there.) So, how paperless is paperless?

On Sunday, Kansas City Missouri Police began issuing e-tickets, where officers scan the drivers license of violators, and give drivers a paper receipt.

So, not really paperless at all. They’ve replaced being handed a “ticket” to being handed a “receipt” for a ticket. It’s still paper.

The only difference is the equipment used to print on the paper. Last week it was the old-school-but-cheap ballpoint pen… now it’s high tech UPS-style (and much more expensive) hand-held scanner/printers.

So how cost-effective will this program be?

City leaders call the transformation, expected to save the city $1 million annually, a huge success, saying it took place on time and on budget.

Wow, that sounds nice. But don’t take the “city leaders” word for it. You have to read the very last sentence of the article (where the most important statistic usually is) to get an actual answer to that question…

The new paperless system cost the city $6 million to implement.

Bingo!

Cash-strapped and economically screwed, Kansas City spent $6 million to implement a program that will save roughly $1 million annually. So assuming there’s no kinks in the system, no upkeep or replacements for the fancy little scanners, and no other monetary issues to consider regarding the new system, then we’ll start saving that money around 2017… and that’s with the big “if” in play.

This is the same “spend money to make money” mentality that led to the bailouts and stimulus packages and so many other government calamities.

It’s not the first time, even in the last month, that Missouri has been in this kind of dim-witted situation. Just look at how they’ve handled spending on the Rest Stop to Welcome Center conversions in the name of “saving” money. (Those will be cost-effective in about a hundred years.)

If our government, from top to bottom, can’t learn that this “spending money to save money” approach to budgets is exactly what has bankrupted our country over the last decade then we are in for a world of hurt in the years to come.

- B.H.

FEMA Abandons Joplin for East Coast Rainstorm

It was shocking, yet at the same time not.

FEMA announced over the weekend that those precious federal dollars that had been dedicated to rebuilding the roads and schools in Joplin after the devastating storm that nearly wiped them off the map have been, well, “re-appropriated”.

Apparently the barely-a-Hurricane Irene (which was more of a steady rain, really) is more important than an F5 tornado that killed over 150 people and caused roughly $3 billion worth of damage. From NBC:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting off payments to rebuild roads and schools in Joplin, Mo. because of Hurricane Irene.

…FEMA’s disaster relief fund has dropped under the $1 billion the agency likes to keep on hand, and newer disasters like Irene are starting to take priority.

So, what, every time a new disaster rolls through they’re going to drop the last (but still recent) disaster and focus on the newest one? That’s what newscasters do, not what FEMA is supposed to do.

Taking money away from the people of Joplin, a city that was completely destroyed, to focus on cleaning up tree limbs on the East Coast is appalling. Of course, they don’t see it that way:

“What it does do, we stop funding new work in older disasters that have not already been in the system to maintain funds to continue to support the survivors, as well as the response to this disaster,” FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said Sunday. “We are not taking any money away from survivors.”

But that’s exactly what they are doing. They are taking money away from the survivors of the tornado in Joplin. Just because the disaster relief fund they’re taking away wasn’t going directly into the pockets of the survivors does not at all mean that they aren’t taking the money away from the survivors.

Roads and schools are relatively integral elements of any city in America. (I can’t believe I have to state something so ridiculously obvious, but we’re dealing with FEMA here, so I’m somehow not entirely surprised, either.) Removing the funds to rebuild the roads and schools will be a hugely negative impact on the people of Joplin. And when the city and state has to pony up the cash to cover the difference, it will be exactly like taking the money away from them… twice.

Should it be a surprise that Obama’s administration is more worried with focusing on the East Coast than the Midwest? Sadly, not a bit. He’s been doing it with the Army Corps-created flood that’s been inundating states along the Missouri River for months now.  

It’s all about votes… and Joplin residents learned that first hand yesterday, albeit from an extremely uncomfortable position jammed firmly under the proverbial bus.

- B.H.

KC Council Says “NO” to Environmentalist Hippies, “YES” to Weapons Plant

The title kind of gives the whole things away, doesn’t it? But, yes, the Kansas City Council did the right thing and blocked the Mad Libs from putting an initiative on the ballot that, if passed, would have prevented a company from building components for weapons in their new South KC plant.

From the AP:

The Kansas City Council has blocked a public vote challenging a new weapons plant.

The council vote 12-1 Thursday against allowing a vote in November on a measure that would prohibit the production of nuclear weapons components at the plant in south Kansas City.

While this is a major victory for common sense, it may be a while before common sense wins the war:

The Kansas City Star reports the citizens group that gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot is expected to file a lawsuit, possibly as soon as Friday.

The group KC Peace Planters wants the plan to be used to produce "green" technology.

There are so many hypocritical double-standards involved in this I wouldn’t have a clue where to start. Dictating what a business produces when their operation is entirely legal, not to mention government-contracted, is nothing short of an attempt to tear the fabric of this country apart at the seems. And that’s exactly what the environmentalists have been aiming to do for years.

Thankfully, the city has pretty solid reasoning behind their decision that should hold up in even a left-winger’s courtroom:

Council members say the public vote would violate the Constitution because it conflicts with federal powers on national defense and violates contractual obligations for the plant.

Here’s hoping freedom is still the American way, not environmentalist dictations.

- B.H.

KC School District’s Dire Straits

It’s another embarrassment for the Kansas City School District as Superintendent John Covington announced his resignation, and some serious politics are being played over who will ultimately be leaving their post.

Efforts are under way to convince the board president of the Kansas City School District to resign so the superintendent will agree to stay.

Board president Airick Leonard West announced John Covington's resignation Wednesday evening but said the board has not yet approved it.

Longtime board member Arthur Benson says he will quit if Covington's resignation is accepted.

He said West and Covington are "oil and water" and that Covington isn't going to consider coming back if West has anything to do with the school board.

Benson says that if Covington leaves the district will be unable to find a good replacement. He praised the strides the district made under Covington to improve student achievement even as it closed about 40 percent of its schools to fix its finances.

While the “strides” are arguable at best, the seriousness of this situation is not.

Tony over at Tony’s KC put it best:

Yesterday's resignation of Superintendent Covington from the Kansas City, Missouri School District has basically shattered the hopes of everyone who MISTAKENLY believed the district was turning around.

And this could make things a lot worse.

- B.H.

McCaskill’s Champagne Wishes (and Caviar Dreams)

When Claire McCaskill talks about the rich, she really knows what she’s talking about.

Every year since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Claire McCaskill has been noted in the top 20 richest members of Congress.

This year, worth an estimated $17 million, McCaskill scored 18…

And while the rest of the country has seen their savings spiraling down the black hole, how has the McCaskill family held up?

According to the report, McCaskill’s value went up eight percent in the last year.

The estimations are likely on the low end, as members are only required to give a range of the value of their assets.

Well, isn’t that nice. And it’s a safe bet they used a great accountant to find every tax break and loophole and didn’t pay a penny more than they had to.

So, next time you hear Claire McCaskill playing “blame the rich” politics and participating in class warfare, just remember this…

McCaskill is one of the top ten richest Democrats.

…and…

Democrats led the top 10 with seven members.

Hell, with that much money they could own their own jet!

Oh, wait…

- B.H.

It’s About Time: STL School Going Digital

Finally, one school is breaking free of the tired old “teaching from textbooks and lectures” method and moving into the digital age the rest of the world (including their students) have embraced for decades now.

A small high school in suburban St. Louis is tossing aside textbooks in favor of digital tablets.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Grandview High School in Jefferson County will use Android-powered Kyros Coby tablets in place of textbooks this year. Students will be allowed to take the tablets home. They'll be used to take tests, do homework and complete assigned readings.

An Internet filter blocks many sites, including pornography and Facebook.

Students will keep their tablets throughout their high school careers, then keep them when they graduate.

This movement away from textbooks in favor of digital tablets that can be updated with new information and multimedia learning tools has been desperately needed in American schools, not just to re-engage the students in the learning experience but also to save on the ridiculous yearly cost of textbooks.

For many years I’ve been a strong believer that schools must implement this exact teaching plan, especially considering today’s students have grown up with the Internet, cell phones, laptops, and other forms of instant communication and information, never knowing a world without it. (Hard as that is to believe.)

The old way of teaching is obsolete. Having grown up with the technology, today’s student brain is hard-wired to receive and process information at breakneck speed, which is why standing in front of the class lecturing to them from a textbook while telling them they can’t communicate with their friends and classmates – for eight hours a day no less – is a model that simply cannot be sustained if American students are expected to hold any competitive advantage in the emerging global market. They learn more and learn it faster and more efficiently from computers and even their peers than they ever could from the same process that’s been practiced for centuries.

American schools need to catch up, and catch up quick, to avoid turning all of our students into the type of flash-mobbing miscreants we’re seeing daily on the news.

This is simply the best place to start that forward motion, and if implemented across the United States would be a gigantic step in the right direction, for all students of all backgrounds; inner-city, rural, or otherwise.

- B.H.

St. Louis Satire: The Government Ethics Test (Pt. 2)

As we reported yesterday, St. Louis County government employees are now being required to take an “ethics quiz” as part of their new ethics training… a quiz where they will be given all of the answers in order to guarantee that everyone passes with 100% efficiency.

(Or, as the layman would call it, “not a quiz”.)

Considering the unethical nature of the quiz about ethics, we have provided you with a portion of the test itself… for your enjoyment.

St. Louis County: Ethics Quiz

Question 1:

Your first loyalty as a St. Louis County government employee lies with…?

A. The people.
B. The government.
C. Yourself.
D. The Democratic Party.

Please circle anything but A on your quiz.

Question 2:

When determining which company will be awarded a government contract, what should never be a factor?

A. Who is your friend or family?
B. Who is the lowest bidder?
C. Who contributed the most to your campaign?

Sorry! The correct answer is B. Move forward one space for answering incorrectly.

Question 3:

How can political contributions be conducted ethically?

A. Donate 1% of your base salary to Charlie Dooley's campaign.
B. Donate money according to your own personal beliefs.
C. Don’t worry, the union will handle it for you.

The answer, of course, is A: Charlie Dooley needs your money! (C will also be accepted.)

Question 4:

Oh no, Temporiti's son is about to lose a government contract! What do you do?

A. Find a loophole.
B. Introduce a no-bid system.
C. Kill his nearest competitor.

If you answered at all, you’ve earned credit for the question. Please move on to the next question. (That answer is C.)

Question 5:

This ethics training / quiz…

A. Reminds me of Corrigan’s 2010 campaign.
B. Is a rediculous waste of time.
C. Is ethical.

We already told you the answer is C. Good job!

Congratulations! If you answered these ethics questions correctly (and we know you did, because we gave you the answers) you scored 100%, an A+! You are now ethical. Please report to the Department of Public Health for your medical examination / lobotomy before returning to work.

Thank you.

- B.H.

St. Louis and the Ethical Ethics Test on Ethics (Pt. 1)

Did the title drive that point home enough?

Yes, there’s more than beer brewing in St. Louis and – surprise, surprise! – it’s an ethics scandal.

While it may be hard to process the idea of anything unethical going down in the Midwest bastion of political ethics (emphasis on the sarcasm), St. Louis County has mandated that their employees take an ethics course, followed by an ethics test.

But, of course, there’s a (very ethical) catch:

St. Louis County distributed a new ethics guide to employees on Friday, along with a notice on ethics training that will include a quiz that the employees can't fail.

Someday government will implode in on itself because of this kind of BS. A quiz you can’t fail is like a car you can’t crash: there’s no incentive to pay attention.

Taking a test that everyone passes regardless of their performance is unethical enough. But applying this unethical system to a test on actual ethics?

Yes, St. Louis has done the impossible: they’ve created a double-unethical test on ethics.

In their own words:

Employees will also be required to take a 10-question quiz. "Everyone will score 100% because the correct answer will be given immediately if the first attempt is incorrect," [Director of Personnel Kirk] McCarley stated…

You can’t spin a turd (for a variety of metaphorical and literal reasons), and they didn’t even give it a shot.

How seriously are employees expected to take the “ethics course” in the first place when they know going in that the worst score they can get is an A+?

Even better, they provide guidelines for those A-plussers to administer a “self test” if they are conflicted about whether they’re in an unethical situation or not.

The guide also includes a "self-test" for gauging an action's ethical quotient that includes this question: "How would the action and the ramifications of it read in the newspaper, sound on the radio, or look on the internet?"

They could boil this entire phony course, self-test included, into one sentence: “If it will make you and/or the county look stupid, don’t do it.”

And that could fit on a fortune cookie. Instead they’re holding courses and “quizzes” for thousands of government employees and charging the farce to the taxpayers.

This is the state of American politics today: The government will pat you on the back not for your success, but instead for your mediocrity and flat-out failures… not just if you’re a slave to their entitlements, but even if you're their employee.

And they wonder why the people have lost faith in the government...

- B.H.

 

(Check back tomorrow for more, and a sample quiz.)

Libs Worn Out on McCaskill

Claire McCaskill’s predilection to straddle every fence she comes across has finally pushed the committed liberals to their breaking points.

She was lambasted on national liberal blog Daily Kos and in two back-to-back posts by two different writers on lefty Missouri blog Show Me Progress… since Tuesday.

From Daily Kos:

Setting realistic expectations is one thing. Shooting your own party in the foot is quite another, and it sure seems like in trying to do the former, Sen. Claire McCaskill achieves the latter.

From WillyK on Show Me Progress:

[T]he worst of it is the rhetorical trope McCaskill uses to justify this particular walk on the red side.

…she sure has pissed off lots of progressives.

And from Blue Girl on Show Me Progress:

I defy anyone who isn't a Mary Landrieu constituent to make the case that they are more frustrated with their ostensibly-Democratic Senator than I am.

What is Claire McCaskill thinking? Sometimes I honestly believe that she gets up in the morning and consciously, deliberately thinks "It's been a while since I pissed Blue Girl off, I better do something about that."

God-damnit, Claire. What the hell are you thinking?

…and I hope she has the good sense to back off from it and realize the error of her ways and apologize to us city liberals now, because pissing us off for votes from outstate that aren't going to materialize anyway is not how she hangs onto her seat.

Ouch. She’s really hurting with the leftist base of the Democratic Party. Let’s hope she keeps her fence-sitting hobby alive and well.

- B.H.