Free Republic

Cannot be posted due to copyright issues: http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS01/805110367

The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote. The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card. Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting...

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. - , an influential gospel singer and songwriter, died early Sunday when her tour bus ran off the highway and struck an embankment. She was 74. Seven other people on the bus were injured in the wreck about two miles east of Mount Vernon on Interstate 44, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. They were hospitalized in Springfield with moderate to severe injuries, according to the patrol. It was unclear whether the crash was related to the severe storms and tornadoes that hit the region on Saturday. Storms also swept through the area later in the night, according...

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region. At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher before the funnel struck about 15 miles away near Seneca, Mo., and killed at least three, authorities said. The death toll in Oklahoma could climb, said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The tornado in Picher — a depressed and pollution-scarred mining town that many residents had already fled...

here is the leatest info. Picher, OK Several people have been reported killed in Picher after at least five tornadoes reportedly touched down Saturday in eastern Oklahoma, officials said. The south end of the city has been completely destroyed. Medical examiners are on their way to the area, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol dispatcher said. Troopers are helping local authorities with search and rescue operations in the area. 2) At least 3 dead in SW MO 3) Major damage reports coming in on the SE side of Stuttgart AR

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Missouri shows that John McCain retains a significant lead over his likely opponent, Barack Obama. McCain attracts 47% of the Show-Me State vote while Obama earns 41%. A month ago, McCain led Obama 53% to 38%. In February, before McCain wrapped up the nomination and before the Democratic competition became so heated, McCain’s advantage over Obama was just two percentage points. has opened a significant lead over both potential Democratic opponents in the state of Missouri. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds John McCain leading Hillary Clinton by nine percentage points, 50%...

JEFFERSON CITY — Voters could decide whether to enact a photo ID requirement for voting under a proposed constitutional amendment given first-round approval Wednesday by the Missouri House. Legislators approved a photo ID law in 2006, but it was struck down by the state Supreme Court as a violation of the state constitution. The proposal approved Wednesday would present the idea to voters as a constitutional amendment either in November or in a special election. House members gave the resolution first-round approval on a party-line vote, 89-67. Republicans brought up the proposal after the U.S. Supreme Court said an Indiana...

Washington University's decision to bestow an honorary degree on conservative political activist and author Phyllis Schlafly has stirred outrage among some students and faculty. Opponents of Schlafly's honorary doctorate formed a group on the social-networking website Facebook and had 1,023 members as of Monday evening. ... [Senior Kevin] Hess ... said the outrage is not over Schlafly's politics but over comments she has made that he called "unquestionably inflammatory and unfounded." ... Schlafly already has a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the university. Mary Ann Dzuback, the director of the women and gender studies department at Washington University...

Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- A measure that responds to the 2006 Amendment 2 proposal Missouri voters narrowly approved will not make the ballot this November. The measure would prohibit somatic cell nuclear transfer, a type of human cloning practice used by scientists to create and kill human beings for research purposes. It is designed to close a pro-cloning loophole in Amendment 2 that opponents hard warned would lead to human cloning. On Friday, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that part of Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s ballot summary was “insufficient and unfair.” Carnahan released the ballot summary in...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 – National Guard troops are standing by to assist storm-lashed Kansas City, Mo., residents, a Missouri National Guard official said today. “The Missouri National Guard is prepared and ready to support the citizens of Missouri when called,” Army Capt. Tamara Spicer, public affairs officer for the Missouri National Guard, said in a statement. Up to 80 mph winds, rain and hail reportedly pelted areas north of Kansas City last night and early today. The storm uprooted trees, damaged homes and businesses and caused an areawide power outage. There have been no reports of fatalities, but several...

Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- After a long and successful legal battle, Missouri residents are now able to support adoption efforts with the purchase of a Choose Life license plate. Plate supporters unveiled the artwork for the plate in a capital reception surrounding by leaders of pro-life groups and state legislators. In January, a federal district court judge ruled Missouri officials must let a proposal for Choose Life license plates move forward despite a rejection from a committee of lawmakers.Choose Life of Missouri has been working on securing this life-affirming license play since 2005.Using a 2004 law that allows...

Sirens going off in Prairie Village.

With gas prices at $3.60 nationally, and on a steady march toward $4, would you support responsible energy development in the Arctic, and in areas far offshore, if it would mean cheaper prices and less dependence on foreign, unstable nations?

Newspaper carrier Bruce Pitts knew the elderly couple only by the prayers the wife made for him while he was working at night and in bad weather, but he felt something was wrong when the papers piled up outside their home."It was never like them to leave a newspaper in their tube," Pitt said Tuesday. "That wonderful, small voice inside me said, `This isn't right.'"After his route early Sunday, Pitts went home, napped briefly and, with his wife, returned to Blanche and Fred Roberts' home, just outside Marion, Ill.They repeatedly rang the doorbells but got no answer. Pitts then eased...

Rep. Ike Skelton endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, wading into the presidential fray after months on the sidelines. In a statement, Skelton, D-Mo., said he decided to back Clinton because of her support for "rural America, her commitment to National Security, and her dedication to our men and women in uniform." A spokeswoman said the Lexington Democrat, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, was not available for comment.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield police say a man tried to steal T-shirts from a store while his girlfriend was in another part of the business applying for a job...

... He ... heard a pounding at his door. ... Police officers ... massed outside. Visors covered their faces. They rushed in, pushed him onto his sofa and announced that they had a warrant. ... Child pornography, said a policeman. Oh, God, the man thought. ... It will take them a while to process the computer, the defense attorney said, and what happens next will depend upon what they find.... The man said they would find child pornography. ... It seemed to him that people who molested children often got less time than men who possessed child pornography. ... So...

Constitution Party stunner: Chuck Baldwin KOs firebrand Alan Keyes Convening its national convention in Kansas City today, the Constitution Party picked radio talk-show host Chuck Baldwin over former Ambassador Alan Keyes as its 2008 presidential candidate. The pick was seen as something of an upset, given Keyes' higher national profile. Known for his fiery stem-winders, Keyes is a two-time GOP presidential candidate who abandoned the Republican Party this month to join the Constitution Party, which believes in limited government and is committed to ending abortion and bringing American troops home from Iraq. But Baldwin's roots in the Constitution Party run...

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH, blamed labor unions and partisan politics for a U.S. House vote this week rejecting an amendment that could have kept the Delta Queen riverboat from having to phase out its overnight cruise packages. The historic riverboat has been operating with a special Congressional exemption from the federal Safety at Sea Act since 1968, an exemption that has been renewed eight times. The safety act bans the use of wooden vessels for overnight cruises. Backers of the exemption claim the Delta Queen deserves special treatment because of its historical significance and recently upgraded fire-safety systems. With...

KIRKSVILLE - A Kirksville man faces a felony indictment after trying to purchase a LCD television for less than $3 by allegedly replacing its UPC code with that of a water bottle. Reginald Newman, 44, was indicted Monday by the Adair County Grand Jury and has been charged with attempted stealing by deceit. According to documents filed in Adair County Circuit Court, Newman allegedly tried to purchase a 26-inch Viore LCD television from Wal-Mart, claiming the UPC code valued at $3.16 was the proper code the television, which normally sells for more than $517. * If convicted, he faces up...

While Democrats and Republicans look months ahead to the national conventions of their parties, one political group gathers in our backyard this week to declare its presidential nominee. The Constitution Party is holding its national convention through Saturday at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City. As its name implies, the party has as its guiding principle a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Its mission statement reads, in part: "It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations." The party began in 1992...

ST. LOUIS -- Federal investigators early this morning swept through a 24-hour professional cleaning service company and found five people who agents say were working and living in St. Louis illegally. The workers at the cleaning service were working at 24-hour fitness centers in the overnight hours, said Carl Rusnok, spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforment agency (known as ICE).

When about 75 people gathered outside the international headquarters of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod this week, it was a rare display of public dissension among the members of a relatively quiet Christian denomination. . . . When the church pulled the plug on its KFUO-AM program, "Issues, Etc.," and fired its host and producer, the show's fans turned up the volume. . . . The show had a conservative, traditionalist theological bent. . . . Many of the protesters said the current administration is too focused on recent evangelical megachurch growth models instead of on traditional Lutheran doctrine. . ....

Decatur, Illinois My wife and I just felt a very noticeable earthquake.

… Last year, 400-foot-tall wind turbines were erected near King City, some less than 2,000 feet from Charlie Porter’s house on his small acreage. Soon the sounds from the blades swooshing through the air and other noise were driving Porter and his family crazy, he said. “The sound gets in your head like a saw and you can’t get rid of it,” Porter said. “Some people compare it to a train that never arrived.” … Just how healthy is the noise from wind turbines? … One researcher calls it “wind turbine syndrome,” a collection of symptoms that include headaches, anxiety...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Prosecutors are not expected to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while he was trying to install a satellite TV system in their home. Henry County investigators ruled that Patsy Long's March 22 death was accidental. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired his .22 caliber pistol from inside their Deepwater home after he couldn't punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

DADEVILLE, Mo. -- A burglar in southern Cedar County found himself in a standoff this week -- not with police but with a 57-year-old woman armed with a pistol and training for a conceal-and-carry permit. She held the burglar at bay until police could arrive to arrest him at the rural home where whe found him in the closet.

A St. Louis-born U.S. Army colonel was killed in Iraq Sunday, according to his sister, Kathleen King of O’Fallon. Col. Stephen K. Scott, 54, was serving at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad where he was working with Iraqi leaders on weapons intelligence and defense. Scott, who was an avid runner, was in the workout facilities in the green zone when he was killed during a mortar attack, King said. -snip- After basic training, Stephen Scott worked at the Army Aviation and Troop Command facility on Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis until it was closed in 1997. He then moved to...

Kansas City voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure to ban smoking from the city’s bars and restaurants. With results from all but one precinct, the smoking ban won by a 52 to 48 percent margin, with voters both north and south of the Missouri River signaling their support. The measure also calls for Kansas City’s casino gaming floors to go smoke-free when casinos in neighboring cities approve similar bans. Health-care advocates and civic leaders countered that business rights stop when they infringe on nonsmokers’ rights to breathe clean air. Those supporting the ban said they were especially concerned about...

Obama is our only hope for peace in Middle East Published Saturday, April 5, 2008 Editor, the Tribune: Ever wonder why so many independent-minded conservatives are choosing Barack Obama over John McCain and Hillary Clinton? Peace. Obama has opposed the war in Iraq since its start. Clinton supported the war at first but changed her mind for political reasons. McCain has been behind the war all along. Listening to Obama’s speeches and debates, and researching his positions, reveals a man who will not only bring our troops home but will not start new wars. McCain jokes about starting new wars...

PLATTE CITY, Mo. — Kansas City officials say they plan to appeal a jury's $2.1 million award to a woman who claimed she was passed over for a city judgeship because she's white. Clay County assistant prosecutor Melissa Howard claimed in a lawsuit filed in Platte County that Kansas City council members wanted to fill the vacancy with a racial minority. Howard was one of three white women who were finalists for the post vacated by Marcia Walsh in 2006. City officials deny Howard was discriminated against. City attorney Galen Beaufort said that the state law upon which Howard based...

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - Legislators are seeking to ban mixed martial arts competitions—sometimes called "cage fighting"—among children in Missouri, which appears to be the only state where youth matches are allowed. The sport is a blend of martial arts styles made popular by cable television's "Ultimate Fighting Championship." Republican state Reps. Bryan Stevenson of Webb City and Steve Hunter of Joplin introduced the measure Monday, days after an Associated Press report about the practice. "I think it borders on child abuse. I just don't think it's appropriate behavior at all," said Stevenson, adding that he has never attended a youth...

A congressman backing Hillary Rodham Clinton says white voters are supporting Barack Obama based on the view that he is articulate and his election would allow the nation ‘‘to get this boogeyman called race behind us.’’ Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who is black, told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Obama ‘‘is articulate. In the black tradition, he would probably be mediocre.’’ ‘‘For white Americans, it’s like, this guy can speak,’’ Cleaver said in the radio interview. ‘‘If you put him on a level with a lot of other African-American public speakers, he may not even measure up.’’ But Cleaver also conceded...

Eight workers for a get-out-the-vote effort in St. Louis city and county have pleaded guilty to federal election fraud for submitting false registration cards for the 2006 election, authorities said Wednesday. The workers were employed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), gathering voter registrations. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said they submitted cards with false addresses and names, and forged signatures. They are Brian Bland, 23, Bobbie Jean Cheeks, 50, Cortez Cowan, 21, Golden Gibson, 21, Radonna Marie Smith, 24, Anthony Reliford, 21, Kenneth Williams, 21, and Tyaira Williams, 23, all of St. Louis. Williams was sentenced...

JEFFERSON CITY — State senators gave quick preliminary approval today to legislation cracking down on illegal immigrants and those who hire them. The bill would require police to check immigration status after arrests; block illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits such as aid for food, housing or retirement; and withhold state money from cities with policies to not cooperate with immigration authorities, among other things. It's the first immigration bill to be brought to the Senate floor this session. Senators endorsed the bill after barely an hour of debate. When the first-round vote was taken by voice vote, just five...

Teen Admits She Created Profile and Wrote Messages; Testifies Against Neighborhood Mom In an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America," Ashley Grills, 19, admitted she was part of a scheme to create a fake persona on MySpace and start an online romance with a 13-year-old neighbor, Megan Meier. Ashley Grills discusses her role in a MySpace scheme linked to a girl's suicide. Grills insisted, though, that she was not the only adult involved in the cruel hoax, which eventually led the emotionally vulnerable Meier to commit suicide in October 2006, after her spurious online boyfriend and others began making nasty...

KIRKWOOD, Mo. - Six weeks after a deadly shooting rampage rife with racial overtones in Kirkwood's City Council chambers, the issue of race has spilled over into the contest for mayor of this St. Louis suburb and produced a uniquely tense campaign. A community activist, Michael Moore, is running as the sole black candidate in the four-way contest and has portrayed the Feb. 7 rampage as a symptom of smoldering black resentment in Kirkwood. At a recent standing-room-only candidate forum, the 37-year-old truck mechanic let voters know he wants to overhaul a city government that he says ignores poor, black...

NSSF has identified increased anti-gun movement at the state level nationwide, most notably seen in legislation to require bullet serialization in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington. Track all of these bills.

“Peace” rally counterprotest!!! On March 29th, from 3-7 pm there is going to be a loud, annoying, possibly sickening, peace rally at 95th and Quivira in Overland Park, KS. There might be 100, 200 or 300 or more “peace” loving folk there. So will I, and I will loudly be supporting our troops AND their mission! Their rally is supposedly going to be a peace rally, but my past experience tells me it will definitely be anti Bush, somewhat anti American and sometimes anti troops whether they mean to be or not. I won’t take it standing down, won’t you...

It has been rumored that Gov Blunt has recommended huge increases in funding for autism because he has a family member (not immediate) who has autism. Can anyone confirm this?

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV. But the sport often derided as "human cockfighting" is branching out. The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer. The changes were evident on a recent evening in southwest Missouri, where a team of several young boys and one girl grappled on gym mats in a converted garage. Two members of the group called the "Garage Boys Fight Crew" touched...

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV. But the sport often derided as "human cockfighting" is branching out. The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer.

John McCain has opened a significant lead over both potential Democratic opponents in the state of Missouri. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds John McCain leading Hillary Clinton by nine percentage points, 50% to 41%. He leads Barack Obama by an even larger margin, 53% to 38%. Those figure reflect a major gain for the presumptive Republican nominee over the past month. In February, he was essentially even with both Democrats in Missouri. Since that time, however, McCain wrapped up the Republican nomination and the two Democrats have been locked in a tight contest that has gotten nastier by...

DEEPWATER, Mo. -- Officials were trying Tuesday to decide whether to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite TV system in the bedroom of their home. Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. Henry County sheriff's deputies said the woman was hit by the second of two shots fired by her...

MegaWest Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas company, specializing in non-conventional oil and gas projects with a focus on North American heavy oil, is pleased to announce the start of steam injection and production operations at its Deerfield, Missouri Project by its wholly-owned subsidiary, MegaWest Energy Missouri Corp. MegaWest is embarking on the first phase of commercial production of heavy oil from the Warner sandstone in Vernon County, southwest Missouri. The Company's existing land position includes a 100% working interest in over 10,000 acres of leases in Missouri and will support multiple projects, so this project will be referred...

SEDALIA, Mo. | Officials are trying to determine whether to file charges against a man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite television system in their home. Patsy D. Long, 34, of Deepwater, was pronounced dead early Saturday evening after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. The woman, who was outside the house, was hit by the second of two shots fired by Ronald Long,...

Missouri: Candidate Runs Against Quotas, Cameras Documents prove chief of police uses ticket quota performance standards to shore up the city budget deficit. A candidate for city council in Washington, Missouri has launched a campaign with a platform opposed to both ticket quotas and red light cameras. Guy W. Midkiff says he will bring a platform of lower taxes and less government to his city. But unlike most candidates, his campaign against traffic ticket quotas is based on evidence collected through extensive freedom of information act requests. Midkiff cites internal city documents that show city officials obsessed with shorting up...

Presidential Nominating Convention Event day: 4/22/2008 Event end day: 4/27/2008 City: Kansas City, MO Organization: Constitution Party Location: KANSAS CITY MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN, 200 West 12th Street Cost: $0.00 Message was posted at: 3/22/2008 3:03:39 AM Alan Keyes and Ron Paul (who is still a Republican) vie for the Presidential nomination of the Constitution Party

Academia’s Big Tent by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 24, 2008 You can get a pretty good idea of where academics are coming from politically and where they expect their junior colleagues to fall on the political spectrum by what they tell each other, particularly when they put it down on paper. “The numerous ways of teaching suggest that there are varying philosophical or personal visions put forth about college teaching,” Michael W. Galbraith writes in College Teaching: Developing Perspective Through Dialogue.... “Once you discover what beliefs, values, and attitudes you hold, you will have the basis for a focused and...

FENTON, Mo. (AP) — With more than a dozen people killed by floodwaters and rivers still rising, weary Midwesterners on Thursday weighed not just the prospect of a sodden cleanup but the likelihood that their communities could be inundated again. Families in some areas have been forced from their homes multiple times in the past few years, making the routine of filling sandbags and rescuing furniture into a familiar drill. The first day of spring brought much-needed sunshine to some flooded communities, but many swelling rivers were not expected to crest until the weekend in Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, southern...