Jericho's Journal

Picture tells 1000 Words

2009-12-07T09:07:00.002-06:00

Wow. I checked this out. It was true.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/forthood.asp

The real Santa Clause

2009-12-04T09:01:00.001-06:00

A lot of folks called in and wanted this: the story of the REAL Saint Nick.

http://www.joyfulheart.com/christmas/st-nick.htm

The Great WKRP Turkey Drop

2009-11-25T14:20:00.001-06:00

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Les Nessman!

Copy Paste and then click where it tells you too. Happy Thanksgiving!

http://radio.about.com/od/thanksgivingradio/qt/WKRP-Turkey-Drop-Video-Audio.htm

How to Poop at Work

2009-11-12T10:06:00.001-06:00

We've all been there but don't like to admit it...
We've all kicked back in our cubicles and suddenly felt something brewing down below. As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the *WORK POOP* is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.

*CROP DUSTING* When farting, you walk really fast around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff, but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.

*FLY BY* The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping.
Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a *FREQUENT FLYER*. People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

*ESCAPEE* A fart that slips out while taking a pee or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen. If you are a man and are standing next to the farter in the urinal,
pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.

*JAILBREAK* When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

*COURTESY FLUSH* The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of air time the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the *WALK OF SHAME*.

*WALK OF SHAME* Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk up the bath room.. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist. Can be avoided with the use of the *COURTESY FLUSH*.

*OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER* A colleague who poops at work and is Doggone proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under their arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

*SAFE HAVENS* A seldom used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.

*TURD BURGLAR* Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall until the *Turd Burglar* leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

*CAMO-COUGH* A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall.. This can be used to cover-up a *WATERMELON*, or to alert potential *TURDBURGLAR*. Very effective when used in conjunction with a *SHIRLEY TEMPLE*.

*SHIRLEY TEMPLE* A subtle toe-tapping that is used to alert potential *TURD BURGLARS*that you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear a *SHIRLEY TEMPLE*, leave the bathroom immediately so the pooper can poop in peace.

*WATERMELON* A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an arrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See *CAMO-COUGH*.

SOME VARIETIES OF POOP YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF:

*The King Poop* = This kind is the kind of poop that killed Elvis. It doesn't come until you're all sweaty, trembling and purple from straining so hard.

* Bali Belly Poop* = You poop so much you lose 5 lbs.

*Cement Block* =You wish you'd gotten a spinal block before you poop.

*Cork Poop* = Even after the third flush, it's still floating in there. How do I get rid of it? This poop usually happens at someone else's house.

*The Bungee Poop* = The kind of poop that just hangs off your rear before it falls into the water.

*The Crippler* = The kind of poop where you have to sit on the toilet so long your legs go numb from the waist down.

*The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* = The kind of poop that hits you when you're trapped in your car in a traffic jam.

*The Party Pooper* = The giant poop you take at a party. And when you flush the toilet, you watch in horror as the water starts to rise....

NOW EVERYONE TRY TO GO POOP IN PEACE

Alfred Lord Tennyson "Charge of the light brigade" animation

2009-10-15T09:01:00.003-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv7JxckewKc

From this morning. A fun link:

"a virtual movie of Alfred Lord Tennyson reading his much celebrated poem "The charge of the light brigade" The sound track comes from a wax cylinder recording he made for an Edison Recording".

Yea I know you've seen this before...but it is SOOOO true!

2009-09-30T13:54:00.000-05:00

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he feels that no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
If a liberal is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative has chosen to be a homosexual, he respectfully leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God or religion silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

I Pledge?

2009-09-04T06:35:00.003-05:00

You have got to be kidding me.

Have the puke bucket handy

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92974?fp=1

The US Debt Clock in Real Time

2009-08-27T12:22:00.001-05:00

This will sober you up fast!

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

A letter I got

2009-08-27T12:15:00.001-05:00

Yesterday when I was at the dr.'s office, I met the most AMAZING two year old boy named Zachary. He had incredible manners and was talking up a storm. His mother and I were talking and she asked him to say the Pledge of Allegiance for me. He stopped playing with the toys and stood in front of me and said it.....perfectly!!! I was blown away!! I told the mom "kudos" for teaching him the Pledge of Allegiance, especially at such a young age. I then said it was great for him to learn it now, because he won't learn it once he gets in school.
Then she said, "It's his favorite thing to say. He also loves singing all kinds of patriotic songs. His favorite is "I'm Proud to be an American". I asked Zachary if he would sing it for me, and he did. I got goosebumps, and tears welled up in my eyes.
Then she said that her parents are both Vietnam Vets. On the 4th of July, he sang it for them and everyone that was at their celebration couldn't help but cry.
I was so impressed with this little two year old boy and his mother for being so patriotic. Why can't ALL Americans be this way???
I just wanted to share this story with you. It gave me some hope yesterday......and maybe it will give you some hope as well.

Sara
an avid fan of KSGF

McCaskill confirms Springfield Town Hall

2009-08-21T13:35:00.001-05:00

This time they really mean it!!!

News from

Senator Claire McCaskill

For Immediate Release

***Media Advisory***

McCaskill Hosts Health Care Listening Forums Across Missouri in August

In West Plains and Springfield, McCaskill hosts events to listen to concerns related to health care reform efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As more and more Americans and businesses struggle to afford health care coverage, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has been hearing from Missourians who are concerned about health care reform efforts in Washington. During the August home work period, McCaskill will be traveling across the state hosting a series of town hall events and roundtables to gather input and listen to concerns.

On Monday, August 31st, McCaskill will be traveling across the state to host health care forums in West Plains and Springfield. Visit McCaskill’s website to sign up to attend the West Plains forum or the Springfield forum. McCaskill has already hosted forums in Kennett, Poplar Bluff, Jefferson County, Hannibal, Moberly, and Kansas City. Forums are scheduled for Warrensburg and Jefferson City on Wednesday, August 26th for a total of ten open forums across the state. For more information, please contact one of McCaskill’s five Missouri offices.

McCaskill is committed to reforming health care in America in a way that does not add to the federal deficit. As the health care reform bill makes its way through the relevant Senate committees, McCaskill will be looking for a bill that provides consumer choices, brings down the overall cost of health care and delivers better outcomes for patients. During her listening tour, she intends to gather Missourians’ views on health care and take them back with her when she returns to Washington to debate the health care bill in the fall.

Constituents are highly encouraged to register for the events. Depending on the turn-out, there may be more people wishing to attend the event than there is capacity to hold them. Seating may be limited and will be first come, first serve. Additional events will be advised in the next few days.

Individuals with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services to participate in these events should contact Crystal Quade at 417-868-8745, no later than Friday, August 28, 2009.

Upcoming Events with Senator McCaskill:

Monday, August 31, 2009

9:00 AM Health Care Listening Forum – Howell County

West Plains Civic Center Theater

110 St. Louis Street

West Plains, Missouri 65775

12:30 PM Health Care Listening Forum – Greene County

Gillioz Theater

325 Park Central East

Springfield, Missouri 65806

I don't do chain mail but I will share this with you!

2009-07-14T14:06:00.002-05:00

This was sent by Maj Joe Sturtevant, USMC ret, VMO-6, 1st MAW, QTCB 68-69, and forwarded to me.

One of the "Band of Brothers" soldiers died on June 17, 2009.

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.

If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne, or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said, "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said, "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy. . . do you know where Normandy is?"

At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was and I know what D-Day was.

At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem."

I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said; "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know hat to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said, "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall-to-wall, back-to-back, 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.

Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially, to the veterans.

Links from this morning's show

2009-07-06T10:16:00.003-05:00

Some asked how can they help Sarah Palin with her legal bills. Here is website:
http://www.thealaskafundtrust.com/about/

Here is article on Palin from American Thinker
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/sarah_palin_the_best_is_yet_to.html

Well Fed Neighbors and 1000 Gardens

2009-06-29T10:33:00.003-05:00

Ruell and Galen did and awesome jon this morning on the show. You can hear them here:
http://www.ksgf.com/Portals/67/KSGF%20Audio/This%20week/062909-%20hr%203_4.mp3

and read about them here: http://www.wellfedneighbor.com

Springfield City Council Meeting Agenda

2009-06-26T11:43:00.001-05:00

Please Note: This is the first meeting of a pilot project for earlier start times for City Council meetings. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.

Springfield City Council
June 29, 2009
6:00 p.m.

SPEAKERS MUST SIGN UP WITH THE CITY CLERK TO SPEAK TO AN ISSUE ON THE AGENDA.
SPEAKERS ARE TO LIMIT THEIR REMARKS TO FIVE MINUTES.

Note: Sponsorship does not denote Council member approval or support.

* * * *

1. ROLL CALL.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. – June 15, 2009.

3. FINALIZATION AND APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDAS. CITIZENS WISHING TO SPEAK TO OR REMOVE ITEMS FROM THE CONSENT AGENDAS MUST DO SO AT THIS TIME.

4. CEREMONIAL MATTERS.

5. Swear in Andrea McKinney, Sidney Needem, and Bob Horton to the Springfield/Greene County Park Board.

6. Presentation from Mike Kromrey, Chair, Environmental Advisory Board.

7. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS RAISED AT THE JUNE 15, 2009 MEETING AND CITY MANAGER’S REPORT.

8. COUNCIL BILLS FOR PUBLIC HEARING. CITIZENS MAY SPEAK. NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE VOTED ON.

9. COUNCIL BILL 2009-155. (Compton) A special ordinance vacating a portion of public alley generally located on the west side of the 400 block of N. Campbell Avenue and on the south side of the 400 block of W. Phelps Avenue (Planning and Zoning Commission and Staff recommend that City Council approve the Vacation request with conditions.)

10. COUNCIL BILL 2009-156. (Ibarra) A general ordinance amending the Official Map of Springfield, adopted pursuant to General Ordinance No. 1478, by naming a new segment of street “Deer Lake Avenue”. (Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend approval).

11. COUNCIL BILL 2009-157. (O’Neal) A general ordinance amending Article I, Zoning Ordinance, of the Springfield Land Development Code, Divisions IV District Regulations and V Supplemental District Regulations, by modifying various requirements of the Government and Institutional Use District. (Both Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend approval.)

12. COUNCIL BILL 2009-158. (Bailes) A general ordinance amending Section 1‑9 of the Springfield City Code, City Limits, by annexing approximately 265.41 acres of private property and 0.28 acres of Greene County right-of-way into the City of Springfield generally located on the east side of the 4100 block of South US Highway 65 more fully described in this ordinance, generally referenced as Annexation A-1-09, and amending Section 46-1 of the Springfield City Code, Election Wards, Precincts and Council Zones, Ward Boundaries, by adding this property to the ward and precinct assigned by the County Clerk.

13. COUNCIL BILL 2009-159. (Bailes) A general ordinance amending the Springfield Land Development Code, Section 1-1600, Zoning Maps, by rezoning approximately 500 acres of property generally located on the east and west sides of the 4100 block South US Highway 65 from a City R-SF, Single Family Residential District and Greene County A-1, Agricultural District and R-1, Residential District to Planned Development District Number 330. (Both Planning and Zoning Commission and Staff recommend approval). (By: Larry Childress Etal; East and west sides 4100 block South US Highway 65; Planned Development 330.)

14. FIRST READING BILLS. CITIZENS MAY SPEAK. NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE VOTED ON.

15. COUNCIL BILL 2009-160. (Compton) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, to accept donations from the Friends of the Garden, through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, and Greene County for construction of a Botanical Center, as approved by county voters, and to amend the budget for the City of Springfield, Missouri, in the Parks Department by increasing revenues and expenditures for Park’s County-Wide Sales Tax Fund 4165 for fiscal year 2009‑2010, in the amount of $964,458.00, and to do all things necessary to carry out the acceptance and use of the donations, including the execution of contracts.

16. COUNCIL BILL 2009-161. (Rushefsky) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager to accept a $10,000 donation from the Springfield R-XII School District to provide for public improvements along Cherry Street adjacent to Bingham Elementary School and amending the budget provided for the Public Works Department of the City of Springfield, Missouri, for fiscal year 2009-2010.

17. COUNCIL BILL 2009-162. (O’Neal) A special ordinance amending the budget for the City of Springfield, Missouri, in the General Fund for the fiscal year 2008-2009 in the amount of $1,800,000 to increase revenue and expense appropriations in the General Fund in the same amount.

18. RESOLUTIONS.

19. EMERGENCY BILLS.

20. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

21. GRANTS.

22. AMENDED BILLS.

23. SECOND READING AND FINAL PASSAGE. CITIZENS HAVE SPOKEN. MAY BE VOTED ON.

24. COUNCIL BILL 2009-148. (Chiles, Burlison, Compton, & Rush) A general ordinance amending the Fee Schedule for certain municipal services as provided in the Springfield City Code, by making such adjustments as provided in the attached Evaluation of Charges for Municipal Services and by adopting new fees for certain city services, in order to recover all or part of the cost thereof and declaring an emergency. (The Finance Committee recommends approval.)

25. COUNCIL BILL 2009-149. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager or his designee, to accept the donation of funds from Blue Noodle LLC d/b/a Metropolitan Grill for the benefit of the Springfield Police Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System.

26. UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

27. PETITIONS, REMONSTRANCES, AND COMMUNICATIONS.

28. Mr. Ron Ard wishes to address City Council.

29. Ms. Patty Ingold wishes to address City Council.

30. NEW BUSINESS.

31. As per RSMo. 109.230 (4), City records that are on file in the City Clerk’s office and have met the retention schedule will be destroyed in compliance with the guidelines established by the Secretary of State’s office.

32. Financial Statement for April 2009.

33. MISCELLANEOUS.

34. CONSENT AGENDA – FIRST READING BILLS. SEE ITEM # 3.

35. COUNCIL BILL 2009-163. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) in the amount of $10,500, for Fiscal Year 2009-2010, through the Missouri Health Literacy Enhancement Demonstration Project for the purpose of enhancing health literacy.

36. COUNCIL BILL 2009-164. (Ibarra) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, to enter into a transportation cost apportionment agreement with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission (“MHTC”) to coordinate participation by the City in the cost of the Commission’s Project No. J8S2157 relating to rehabilitation of the Route 13 (Kansas Expressway) bridge (viaduct) over the BNSF railway and Locust Street between Atlantic Street and Division Street.

37. COUNCIL BILL 2009-165. (Ibarra) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, to enter into an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (“MHTC”) for the purpose of installing Phase I Wayfinding signage for the City of Springfield on Missouri Department of Transportation (“MoDOT”) right-of-way.

38. COUNCIL BILL 2009-166. (Bailes) A special ordinance authorizing the Director of Planning and Development to accept the public streets and easements to the City of Springfield as shown on the Preliminary Plat of Sulgrove Place Subdivision generally located at 3524 South Sulgrove Avenue, upon the applicant filing and recording a final plat that substantially conforms to the preliminary plat; and authorizing the City Clerk to sign the final plat upon compliance with the terms of this ordinance. (Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the Preliminary Plat. Both Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend that City Council accept the public streets and easements.)

39. CONSENT AGENDA – ONE READING BILLS. SEE ITEM # 3.

40. COUNCIL BILL 2009-167. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager to make a joint application with Greene County, Missouri, to apply for and to accept an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) from the United States Department of Justice for law enforcement purposes; to enter into an interlocal agreement with Greene County, Missouri; and to amend the budget provided for the Police Department of the City of Springfield, Missouri, for fiscal year 2008 - 2009, in the amount of $153,554, and declaring an emergency.

41. COUNCIL BILL 2009-168. (Bailes) A special ordinance relinquishing a public drainage easement generally located on the south side of the 2100 block of E. Republic Road, authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a license agreement for work in, and maintenance of, a storm detention facility and amending the budget in the Department of Public Works in the amount of $312,500.00 for FY 2009-2010 (Planning and Zoning Commission and Planning and Public Works staffs recommend approval subject to a condition.)

42. COUNCIL BILL 2009-169. (Ibarra) A special ordinance to accept the bid of Rockbusters, Inc. in the amount of $62,782.30 for the construction of sanitary sewers in Sanitary Sewer District No. 104 of Section No. 5, located in the vicinity of Livingston Street at Fort Avenue in the City of Springfield, Missouri; declaring the work to be necessary; stating the intention to pay for all or part of the improvements from the proceeds of bonds; specifying those costs and expenses to be specifically assessed against the properties in the district and the method by which the costs will be apportioned; setting forth the manner of payment, the lien of the assessments and the duration of the lien; setting forth the interest rate to be charged on the tax bills; authorizing the City Manager, or his designee of the City of Springfield, Missouri, to enter into a contract and to approve the bond for said improvement; and authorizing progress payments to be made to the contractor.

43. COUNCIL BILL 2009-170. (Rushefsky) A special ordinance to establish and define the boundaries and adopt the plat, plans, specifications, and sealed estimate of construction costs, and authorize acquisition of necessary right(s)-of-way, including condemnation thereof, for Sanitary Sewer District No. 50V of Section No. 6 of the main sewers of the City of Springfield, Missouri, located in the general vicinity of Norton Road at Fremont Avenue; further providing that all labor shall be paid the prevailing wages; providing for participation by the City in the cost of construction; directing the City Manager, or his designee to advertise for bids for the construction of said sewers; and providing for payment therefor.

44. COUNCIL BILL 2009-171. (Bailes) A resolution approving the plans, specifications and the bid of Hartman & Co. Inc., in the amount of $583,000 for the construction of Fort Avenue and Sunshine Street Intersection Improvements, Plan No. 8PW6104.

45. COUNCIL BILL 2009-172. (O’Neal) A resolution approving the plans and specifications for the Springfield Wayfinding Installation, Arterials and Expressways project and to accept the bid of Modern Neon & Plastic, LLC in the amount of $104,783.88 for installation of the arterial and expressway Springfield Wayfinding signs.

46. COUNCIL BILL 2009-173. (O’Neal) A resolution approving the plans and specifications for the Springfield Wayfinding Installation, Freeways and Interstate project and to accept the bid of Modern Neon & Plastic, LLC in the amount of $53,964.00 for installation of the freeway and interstate Springfield Wayfinding signs.

47. COUNCIL BILL 2009-174. (O’Neal) A resolution appointing Pat O’Reilly, Tim O’Reilly, Tom Rankin, Mary Lilly Smith, and Sarah Wilson to serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Shoppes at James River Community Improvement District.

48. COUNCIL BILL 2009-175. (Ibarra, Rushefsky) A resolution adopting the scope of duties and appointing the members for the Commercial Street Task Force.

49. CONSENT AGENDA – SECOND READING BILLS.

50. Confirm the following reappointments for Substitute Municipal Court Judge: Angela D. Acree; Shantel Alberhasky; Gregory Dorshorst; and Aaron Jones with terms to expire June 30, 2010.

51. Confirm the following reappointment to the Traffic Advisory Board: Richard Walker with term to expire April 1, 2012.

52. Confirm the following appointments to the Traffic Advisory Board: Larry Butler and Teddy Fleck with terms to expire April 1, 2012.

53. Confirm the following appointment to the Tree City USA Advisory Committee: Kay Johnson with term to expire December 1, 2010.

54. Confirm the following appointments to the Springfield/Greene County Library Board: Kenton DeVries and David Richards with terms to expire July 1, 2012.

* * * * END OF CONSENT AGENDAS * * * *

55. CLOSED SESSION: The City Council will hold a closed meeting for the purpose of discussing legal actions, causes of action, litigation, privileged and confidential communications, pursuant to Section 610.021 (1), RSMo. 2009, and this meeting, record, and vote be closed and the City Council shall stand adjourned at the end of the closed session.

Crap and Tax

2009-06-26T06:50:00.003-05:00

The Wall Street Journal analysis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124588837560750781.html

The Heritage Foundation Report
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/wm_2504.pdf

The Cato Institute
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10313

We NEED to Laugh!

2009-06-12T09:01:00.002-05:00

We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute. It's silly but lets be silly for a short time and have a little fun.

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. If we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.

Here is your dose of humor...

And don't go all adult - a senior manager is now known far & wide as Dorky Gizzardsniffer!

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants And the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...

So:-

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:

a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:

a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

So my new name is Sloopy Chicken-Doodle while Miss Kortni shall henceforth be known as: Dorfus Farkle-Tush

Remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day.

Springfield City Council Agenda - June 15, 2009

2009-06-11T13:29:00.001-05:00

Springfield City Council
June 15, 2009
7:00 p.m.

SPEAKERS MUST SIGN UP WITH THE CITY CLERK TO SPEAK TO AN ISSUE ON THE AGENDA.
SPEAKERS ARE TO LIMIT THEIR REMARKS TO FIVE MINUTES.

Note: Sponsorship does not denote Council member approval or support.

* * * *

1. ROLL CALL.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. – June 1, 2009 and June 9, 2009.

3. FINALIZATION AND APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDAS. CITIZENS WISHING TO SPEAK TO OR REMOVE ITEMS FROM THE CONSENT AGENDAS MUST DO SO AT THIS TIME.

4. CEREMONIAL MATTERS.

5. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS RAISED AT THE JUNE 1, 2009 AND JUNE 9, 2009 MEETINGS AND CITY MANAGER’S REPORT.

6. COUNCIL BILLS FOR PUBLIC HEARING. CITIZENS MAY SPEAK. NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE VOTED ON.

7. COUNCIL BILL 2009-148. (Chiles, Burlison, Compton, & Rush) A general ordinance amending the Fee Schedule for certain municipal services as provided in the Springfield City Code, by making such adjustments as provided in the attached Evaluation of Charges for Municipal Services and by adopting new fees for certain city services, in order to recover all or part of the cost thereof and declaring an emergency. (The Finance Committee recommends approval.)

8. FIRST READING BILLS. CITIZENS MAY SPEAK. NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE VOTED ON.

9. COUNCIL BILL 2009-149. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager or his designee, to accept the donation of funds from Blue Noodle LLC d/b/a Metropolitan Grill for the benefit of the Springfield Police Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System.
10. RESOLUTIONS. CITIZENS MAY SPEAK. MAY BE VOTED ON.

11. EMERGENCY BILLS.

12. COUNCIL BILL 2009-150. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager or his designee to apply for and accept on behalf of the Mayor’s Commission for Children, a grant from the United States Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, for the Ready to Learn Project; and declaring an emergency.

13. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

14. GRANTS.

15. AMENDED BILLS.

16. SECOND READING AND FINAL PASSAGE. CITIZENS HAVE SPOKEN. MAY BE VOTED ON.

17. AMENDED COUNCIL BILL 2009-110. (Chiles) A special ordinance adopting a budget for the City of Springfield, Missouri, for the fiscal year July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 and providing that certain amounts shown in the budget document are appropriated for the various departments specified in said budget, and declaring an emergency.

18. COUNCIL BILL 2009-111. (Chiles) A special ordinance setting a preliminary levy tax on real and personal property for current expenses and debt retirement of the City of Springfield, Missouri, its boards and agencies, for the fiscal year 2009-2010, and declaring an emergency.

19. COUNCIL BILL 2009-126. (Bailes) A general ordinance amending the Springfield Land Development Code, Section 1-1600, Zoning Maps, by rezoning approximately one (1) acre of land generally located at 3830 South Lone Pine Avenue, more particularly described in this ordinance, from a LB, Limited Business District to a GR, General Retail District. (Both Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend approval.) (By: Samuel Watts; 3830 S. Lone Pine Avenue; Z-10-2009.)

20. COUNCIL BILL 2009-127. (Compton) A general ordinance amending the Springfield Land Development Code, Section 1-1600, Zoning Maps, by rezoning approximately 1.18 acres of land generally located at the 200 block of West Sunset Street, from GR, General Retail with Conditional Overlay District #26 to Planned Development District Number 331 to allow an existing nonconforming detached sign to remain, allow development activity to occur in conformance with the Zoning Ordinance and provide enforcement provisions for the removal of the sign on or before September 31, 2025. (Both Planning and Zoning Commission and Staff recommend approval.) (By: Empire Mortgage Co. Inc; 200 Block W. Sunset Street; Planned Development 331.)

21. COUNCIL BILL 2009-128. (O’Neal) A general ordinance amending the Springfield Land Development Code, Zoning Ordinance, Article I, Division II, Section 2-1100, Definitions, and Division V, Section 5-1200, Temporary Uses, for the purpose of modifying the requirements for temporary promotional activities for large establishments. (Planning and Zoning Commission and Staff recommend approval.)

22. COUNCIL BILL 2009-129. (O’Neal) A special ordinance approving a Petition requesting the formation of The Shoppes at James River Community Improvement District; establishing the District as a political subdivision of the State of Missouri; approving a form of Cooperative Agreement among the City, the CID and other parties named therein; and directing the City Clerk to notify the Missouri Department of Economic Development of the creation of the District.

23. COUNCIL BILL 2009-130. (Ibarra) A special ordinance approving a Petition requesting the formation of the Commercial Street Community Improvement District; establishing the District as a political subdivision of the State of Missouri; and directing the City Clerk to notify the Missouri Department of Economic Development of the creation of the District.

24. COUNCIL BILL 2009-131. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, to enter into an agreement to provide planning and administrative services to the Ozark Transportation Organization for the amount of $47,000.00. (Planning Staff recommends approval).

25. COUNCIL BILL 2009-133. (O’Neal) A general ordinance amending Chapter 2, Section 2‑92 of the Springfield City Code, known as the salary ordinance relating to pay grades for various job titles within the City service as contained in the Professional, Administrative and Technical (PAT) and Crafts, Trade and Labor (CTL) pay schedules, by making provision for 9 new job titles and deleting 6 existing job titles; amending Chapter 2, Section 2-91, Merit Rules 17.7, 18.2, 19.4, 21.1 and 22.1 relating benefits to Budgetary Approval.

26. COUNCIL BILL 2009-134. (Compton) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, to enter into an agreement with the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, including the 2009-2010 budget and marketing plan needed to continue the program to encourage tourism and conventions in the City.

27. COUNCIL BILL 2009-135. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, Missouri to enter into an agreement with the Greater Springfield Area Sports Commission and Foundation, Inc. (“Sports Commission”) whereby the City will provide the Sports Commission with a share of the City’s collection fees from the Hotel/Motel Tax to fund the Sports Commission’s efforts to bring regional and national sporting events to the City.

28. COUNCIL BILL 2009-136. (Ibarra) A special ordinance authorizing the Springfield/Branson National Airport Board to sell the Air Park South airport in Ozark, Missouri.

29. UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

30. PETITIONS, REMONSTRANCES, AND COMMUNICATIONS.

31. NEW BUSINESS.

32. The Mayor recommends the following reappointment to the Traffic Advisory Board: Richard Walker with term to expire April 1, 2012.
33. The Mayor recommends the following appointments to the Traffic Advisory Board: Larry Butler and Teddy Fleck with terms to expire April 1, 2012.
34. The Mayor recommends the following appointment to the Tree City USA Advisory Committee: Kay Johnson with term to expire December 1, 2010.
35. The Mayor recommends the following appointments to the Springfield/Greene County Library Board: Kenton DeVries and David Richards with terms to expire July 1, 2012.

36. MISCELLANEOUS.

37. CONSENT AGENDA – FIRST READING BILLS. SEE ITEM # 3.

38. CONSENT AGENDA – ONE READING BILLS. SEE ITEM # 3.

39. COUNCIL BILL 2009-151. (Ibarra) A resolution declaring it necessary to construct district sanitary sewers in Sanitary Sewer District No. 110 of Section No. 5 in the City of Springfield, Missouri, located in the general vicinity of Missouri Avenue at Woodridge Street and providing for publications and notices.

40. COUNCIL BILL 2009-152. (Compton) A special ordinance accepting the bid of Horgan’s Plumbing in the amount of $95,844.57 for the construction of sanitary sewers in Sanitary Sewer District No. 203 of Section No. 17, located in the vicinity of Melody Lane at Kansas Avenue in the City of Springfield, Missouri; declaring the work to be necessary; stating the intention to pay for all or part of the improvements from the proceeds of bonds; specifying those costs and expenses to be specifically assessed against the properties in the district and the method by which the costs will be apportioned; setting forth the manner of payment, the lien of the assessments and the duration of the lien; setting forth the interest rate to be charged on the tax bills; authorizing the City Manager, or his designee of the City of Springfield, Missouri, to enter into a contract and to approve the bond for said improvement; and authorizing progress payments to be made to the contractor.

41. COUNCIL BILL 2009-153. (O’Neal) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager to accept a grant from the State of Missouri, Division of Workforce Development, for the receipt and use of Workforce Investment Act program funds for Youth Program activities offered through the Missouri Career Center; to amend the budget of the Department of Workforce Development of the City of Springfield, Missouri, for fiscal year 2008-2009, in the amount of $1,159,107.00; and to declare an emergency.

42. COUNCIL BILL 2009-154. (Ibarra) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield, Missouri, to allow Drury University to temporarily close a portion of Summit Avenue and a portion of Central Street from June 29, 2009 through October 2, 2009 to permit use of City rights-of-way for construction activities on the street itself or abutting properties, for the development of the O’Reilly Family Event Center, and to protect the general public health and safety, on terms and conditions acceptable to the City Manager, or his designee, and contingent upon obtaining necessary bonding, insurance and permit, and declaring an emergency.

43. CONSENT AGENDA – SECOND READING BILLS. CITIZENS HAVE SPOKEN. MAY BE VOTED ON.

44. COUNCIL BILL 2009-139. (Rushefsky) A special ordinance authorizing the Director of Planning and Development to accept the public streets and easements to the City of Springfield as shown on the Preliminary Plat Renewal of North Creek Industrial Park 1st Addition Phase 2, generally located at East Jean Street and North Packer Road, upon the applicant filing and recording a final plat that substantially conforms to the preliminary plat; and authorizing the City Clerk to sign the final plat upon compliance with the terms of this ordinance. (Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the Preliminary Plat. Both Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend that City Council accept the public streets and easements.)

45. COUNCIL BILL 2009-140. (Compton) A special ordinance authorizing the Director of Planning and Development to accept the easements to the City of Springfield as shown on the Preliminary Plat of Kickapoo Prairie Place, generally located on the east side of the 4000 block of South Fairview Avenue, upon the applicant filing and recording a final plat that substantially conforms to the preliminary plat; and authorizing the City Clerk to sign the final plat upon compliance with the terms of this ordinance. (Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the Preliminary Plat. Both Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend that City Council accept the easements.)

46. COUNCIL BILL 2009-141. (Ibarra) A general ordinance amending Chapter 106 of the Springfield City Code, Traffic and Vehicles, by adding a new section authorizing the traffic engineer of the city to permit annual closure of portions of Commercial Street, Robberson Avenue, Court Street, Campbell Avenue, Pacific Street and Boonville Avenue on one Saturday in the month of July for the Queen City Twilight Criterium bicycle race, subject to conditions as set forth in the ordinance.

47. COUNCIL BILL 2009-142. (Compton) A special ordinance authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, on behalf of the City of Springfield to enter into an interlocal governmental agreement with the City of Republic for the treatment of sewerage and the use of sanitary sewers.

* * * * END OF CONSENT AGENDAS * * * *

48. ADJOURN.

----

Louise Whall
Director of Public Information
City of Springfield, Missouri
(417) 864-1010

Please note my new e-mail address: lwhall@springfieldmo.gov

I don't believe it!!!

2009-06-09T17:32:00.000-05:00

From: "Whall, Louise"
To: "Whall, Louise"
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 16:57:38 -0500
Subject: News Release/Special City Council meeting cancelled
June 9, 2009

News Release

For Immediate Release

Mayor Jim O'Neal said the special City Council meeting scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday to hear public input on City Utilities' proposed use of eminent domain for its new bus-transfer facility has been cancelled.

City Utilities informed City staff late this afternoon that it is withdrawing its motion in Federal Bankruptcy Court to lift the stay on the St. Louis Street property proposed for the bus-transfer facility. CU also has asked that its request to acquire that property be tabled at Thursday night's Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.

City Utilities presented information about its three-year site-selection process to the City Council in a special meeting today. Following the open presentation, the Council and CU representatives met in closed session under the Missouri Sunshine Law exemption for real-estate negotiations.

The Council did not take any votes in closed session, which was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

For more information, contact: Mayor Jim O'Neal, 881-1843.

----

Louise Whall
Director of Public Information
City of Springfield, Missouri
(417) 864-1010

KSGF Line Up

2009-04-28T12:09:00.003-05:00

Starting Monday, May 4, 2009!

6 am - 9 am The Vincent David Jericho Radio Program
9 am - 11 am Neal Boortz
11am - 1 pm Glenn Beck
1 pm - 2 pm Clarke Howard
2 pm - 5 pm Sean Hannity
5 pm - 6 pm The Late Afternoon Show with Randy Raley
6 pm - 9 pm Mark Levin
9 pm - Mid The Savage nation with Michael Savage
Mid - 5 am The Midnight Radio Network
5 am - 6 am The Best of Vincent David Jericho

Fair Tax Update

2009-04-27T09:10:00.001-05:00

This was just sent to me:

Dear Vince,
As you know, MO HJR 36 has passed the MO house and is headed for the MO Senate this week. The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday, April 29 at noon in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This is a key time for your listeners to participate in the legislative process. We are asking people, if at all possible, to spend the day in Jefferson City lobbying in support of the MO FairTax (MO HJR 36).

Tentative Schedule:
12:00 noon - Senate Ways & Means committee hearing - MO State Capitol - Hearing Room TBA
1:00 - 5:00 pm - BRIEF personal calls of support to your State Senator
5:00 or 6:00 pm - FairTax Rally at the Capitol - Location TBA

People who cannot travel to Jefferson City can help by contacting the following members of the Ways & Means Committee and their personal Senator:

In your listening area, we need special help with:
Gary Nodler R-32 @ (573) 751-2306 or Gary.Nodler@senate.mo.gov
Dan Clemons R-20 @ 573.751.4008 or Dan_Clemons@senate.mo.gov
Norma Champion R-30 @ 573.751.2583 or http://www.senate.mo.gov/webmail/mail_form.aspx
Chuck Purgason R-33 @ 573.751.1882 or http://www.senate.mo.gov/webmail/mail_form.aspx

W & M Committee members:
Jim Lembke, R-1 (573) 751-2315 or Jim.Lembke@senate.mo.gov
Matt Bartle, R-8 (573) 751-1464 or Matt_Bartle@ senate.mo.gov
Brad Lager, R-12 (573) 751-1415 or Brad.Lager@senate.mo.gov
Chuck Purgason, R-33 (573) 751-1882 or Chuck.Purgason@senate.mo.gov
Eric Schmitt, R-15 (573) 751-2853 or Eric.Schmitt@senate.mo.gov
Joan Bray, D-24 (573) 751-2514 or Joan.Bray@senate.mo.gov
Robin Wright-Jones, D-5 (573) 751-2606 or Robin.Wright-Jones@senate.mo.gov

If you could announce the calls to personal senators on the air and post this information on your web site, it would be greatly appreciated. This situation is fluid and DEVELOPING. It could change on short notice. We will keep you informed...

The bill can be read at:
http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills091/billpdf/perf/HJR0036P.PDF

If you want to talk about the bill's progress on the air, please contact me.

Best Regards,

John Putnam
Co-State Director, MO FairTax.org

Background:
MO HJR 36 has passed the MO House and will be heard in the Senate Ways & Means Committee (currently promised for Wed at 12 noon but subject to change at the Chairman's discretion). Opposing groups have misconstrued the facts of the bill claiming it will raise the current MO state sales tax from 4.225% to 9%. In reality, it will raise the sales tax from the current rate TO 5.11% NOT BY 5.11%. Liberal advocates of the progressive income tax are calling for people to show up en mass to protest this bill and prevent its passage in the MO Senate. If passed in the Senate, the MO FairTax (the first state bill modeled after the national FairTax bill [HR-25] including a prebate resulting in a totally untaxed low-wage earner) will go straight to a referendum by the people without need for the Governor's approval. It would be on the ballot in Aug or Nov 2010 (probably Nov) and be effective in 2012 if it passes a vote of the people.

The biggest significance of this issue is that, if passed, MO could be the incubator for proving that the FairTax works and offers to be an economic magnet to business. Once the FairTax's validity is established in time, instead of theory, the path would be paved for other states and eventually the federal government to switch to this economic model.

Shopping Music

2008-12-12T12:43:00.002-06:00

No explanation; if you were listening, you get it.

Ladies suggest:
I wanted to send in my best Shopping song. It would have to be Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out. There is a great tempo change in the middle that is just GREAT!

Prince - International Lover

Slow Ride

3 times a lady

time in a bottle

Just the way you are

truly, madly, deeply

endless love (the one with diana ross and lionel richie)

unchained melody

eternal flame

what is love (don't ask me why, I just like it)

so contagious - acceptance

Guys suggest:
Anything Barry White

Diana Krall – Love Scenes

David Sanborn – Pearls

Good songs to get things to jump into your shopping cart (as opposed to pulling them off the shelves):

Pink – Aerosmith (naughty is good)

Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye

In These Shoes – from Kinky Boots original soundtrack – Kirsty MacColl

The Man I Love – Etta James

Black Magic Woman - Santana

Popsicle Toes – Diana Krall album is “The Look of Love” (also a good album)

Night Moves - Bob Seger

Chains - Tina Arena (this is really a hot song in my opinion)

Addicted to Love – Robert Palmer

Adult Education – Hall & Oates

Aerosmith - Love in an Elavator.

Bob Rivers - Walking 'Round in Womens' Underwear ;-)

Maurice Rivel, BOLERO

Exile’s song “I want to kiss you all over”.

Album Aeterna by Constance Demby

Obama wants to BANKRUPT the Coal Industry.

2008-11-03T09:44:00.005-06:00

Don't take my word for it listen to what he says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ

DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS MAN!

Doug Burlison - Statement on City Priorities-Public Safety

2008-11-03T09:40:00.001-06:00

Look for Doug to be our guest before week's end!

Since the selection of our new City Manager Greg Burris, we have had some meetings where the Council has discussed our views on what priorities we should pursue as a city. In reality, each Council-member, out of respect to the others, may not have had enough time in these settings to fully elaborate opinions which deal with very important and complicated matters. With this in mind, I personally feel the need to provide more detail from this one councilman's perspective.
First off, the highest priority is to fix once and for all our under-funded Fire and Police pension system. This pension program is one that the voters of Springfield approved, and in my mind, are promises that must be kept. With hindsight being 20/20, we now realize that the pension fund was not sustainable under it's original design. We have already taken steps to improve it's health, such as moving new hires into the state-level LAGERS system, supplementing contribution rates, altering investment strategies, etc. Some of the basic shortcomings have already been addressed, but we still have more work to do. It is becoming apparent that a sales tax is the only way to raise the funds necessary to make the required financial repair in a quick enough time-frame to be effective.
Our challenge at this point, is to provide the tools and incentives to make the duration of this tax as short as possible. I believe that this is what it will take, to win the approval of a majority of Springfield citizens, and to minimize the negative economic effect that higher taxation causes. Taxpayers want to see in the ballot language that this money will exclusively go to fix the pension fund only, and completely. We will also want to see assurances on the ballot of real efforts by our city government to do everything possible to supplement this repair with non-tax revenue. We should designate 100% of available funds from any pending court awards coming to this city for deposit into the pension fund. We should also continue to explore the liquidation of any non-essential municipal assets to supplement this fund. Current legal complications that prevent this from happening may, in some cases, be overcome by specific ballot measures with voter approval. The assets that potentially fall into this category should be discussed and identified for liquidation. In addition, in light of the current economic conditions, we should again look at our pension fund investment protfolio, and consider the possibility of adding high performing precious metals to our investment strategies.
To sweeten this tax request, I would propose a couple of ideas that would make some real promises to the taxpayer. One, is the idea of a tax shadow, a period of time where no new municipal tax measures could be proposed, both during and for some time after the sunset of this tax. We as a city, should determine an appropriate time-frame with which we could guarantee an absence of new requests for revenue from the citizen. To provide incentives to identify the most non-tax revenue that could supplement the pension fund, assuring the shortest tax-duration possible, I propose tying this request to a witholding of 50% of our city government's upper management bonuses during the life of the added sales tax. This would give the city's management team, the people most able to identify non-essential funds/assets, a vested interest in doing so. These bonuses, referred to as deferred compensation bonuses for non-classified personnel, can be altered by Council action, without having to obtain voter approval.
On another front, once we are well on the road to pension repair, we need to examine the current pay structures of our public safety personnel. As a city, we are working on realistically updating the list of other cities which are very similar to us in most areas, to provide an accurate way to benchmark the level of compensation we provide our Police and Fire employees. I believe we need to do this in order to maximize our training dollars, reduce police and fire employee turnover, and ensure the highest level of public safety in Springfield. Providing a decent retirement is one thing, but paying someone to stay to continue doing a good job is also essential. My recommendation would be to identify a compensation level that is close to, if not equal to the same benchmark level that our City Management personnel are at. I realize that in order to afford this, budgetary changes may need to be made, but as we are designing this road to recovery, we need to keep theses adjacent issues in mind. It may mean stretching out lump sum pension payments over a few years, it could mean consolidating some city and county functions, but it is important that the discussion starts.
Make no mistake, the rest of our city's employees deserve to be included in this benchmark re-evaluation, as well. I personally feel that not all departments in our city government should be treated equal, and that Public Safety personnel should be compensated for the extraordinary real dangers that they have a duty to deal with daily. Our other employees, however, are also very important to the functioning of our city, and we need to make sure that we are not neglecting any of them in the big picture of Springfield's future.
In closing, I would mention some options that would be counter-productive and unacceptable. One is a sales tax without some guarantees to the taxpayer. Second, is any kind of legislation that prevents citizens from providing for their own safety. Another is any kind of job-killing earnings tax in this city. I also believe that measures that would require the closing of any fire station to be very unwise. Finally, leaving this economic/public safety problem unresolved is definitely unacceptable. Years from now, I'd like to be able to point out to the time in our city's history when we dealt with our looming issues, instead of passing them on to the next generation. I pray the buck stops here.

Oh my gosh!

2008-09-10T14:17:00.001-05:00

Don't think about it, don't find something else to do; just copy and paste this into your browser and then spend 2 minutes getting blown away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

Sarah Palin

2008-09-10T09:22:00.003-05:00

OK. She is NOT the second coming, she is NOT the "chosen one", she is just a woman but what a woman. No not her looks....her politics. This lady has almost single handedly resurrected the conservative hopes for 2008.

As you would expect the FLAAPL's {Flaming Liberal Anti-American Pagan Lunatics} are doing all they can to destroy the "hockey mom" from Alaska including "fabricating" stories.

No Vince say it isn't so, FLAAPL's telling LIES!

Here are some links for you to bookmark.

http://www.factcheck.org

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122098190668515511.html?mod=opinion_journal_political_diary

http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/sarah-palin-lies-exposed-and-truth-revealed/

If you have found a good site that debunks the FLAAPL - trap let me know.

See ya on the radio!

Right...Again!

2008-08-12T14:26:00.002-05:00

So it was last Wednesday morning, {Aug 6, 2008} I told you Greg Burris would be the new City of Springfield Manager and at 2 pm today {Aug 12, 2008} the city confirmed what you already knew.

My sources tell me the search committee had the rankings #1 Oklahoma, #2 Arkansas and #3 Burris.

The chamber and other powerful people had ALWAYS wanted Mr. Burris and even though his set of qualifications do not match the job posting, {see Jackehammer} Mr. Burris gets the job.

The good old boys strike again...yes.

Discouraging for those of us trying to break their hold and turn this city in a direction beneficial for the many...absolutely

Defeated...Never.

April is coming and we will have the last laugh.

Letters to "Dave" serving Over There!

2008-05-30T16:12:00.002-05:00

Vince, please pass this along to all of "our" soldiers in the middle east.

Dave, and all of the men and women serving in the military during this difficult time. I am a retired USAF officer so you know my connection with the military. My wife,Connie and I are very grateful for what each of you are doing to protect our freedom. Words cannot express enough our appreciation and admiration...I have to believe many, many Amercians feel the same. We have a soon to be(June 3) sixteen year old grandson who knows the value of freedom and very definitely respects the men and women serving. He assures us that he is not alone and that many of his peers feel the same way. I see great admiration in his eyes when our thoughts and discussions center on the Middle East and the War on Terrorism. Yes, the younger generation ..."gets it" despite what you may being hearing newswise. Our thoughts, prayers and hearts are with you and will be always.

Good morning Dave,
Hope this letter finds you & your fellow soldiers well & in good spirits. It is 10:17 A.M on Friday May 30 2008. Vince read the email you had sent to him this morning. It is good to hear from any one serving over seas. I myself am a former Marine but was never sent overseas but have several friends who were in the sand box. Having never been to war I will not pretend to know everything that you guys must be going through. As per your email you do stand on the shoulders of giants, but someday you will be those giants & a new breed of soldiers will be trying to fill your shoes. Myself & countless others here at home have the upmost respect for you soldiers. It doesn't matter what branch you're in or what your M.O.S. is. It is the fact that you raised your hand & you chose to serve. So since your there & I'm not you have all my respect. Best of luck to you & all those around you. Be safe & keep your head down. Hopefully when you get back home there will be bands & parades. But if there's not, I hope you can find comfort in a job well done & the gratitude of one brother to another.
Semper Fi

Hi Dave,

I heard on the KSGF this morning that you and your fellow guys needed emails to help cheer you up. There are a lot of us here in America that sure owe you guys a lot. You and those with you have done something that most of us have never had the guts to do – and that is to step up to the plate, put on a US military uniform and fight for our country. Sometimes I feel guilty for not joining the military when I was younger. I always thought basic training would be fun..figured a good tough farm girl would have no problems with it….who knows how naive I was, but I always considered myself stronger and tougher than most and figured it would be fun to join up. But, my heart was in agriculture and there were not any jobs in the military that dealt with what I wanted to do in ag. I hope that my job is important. I hope I help people, educate folks, help them make a better living for themselves. To offset the guilt I sometimes feel for letting others fight my countries battles, I try telling myself that after the military, agriculture has to be the most important job. If it wasn’t for the farmers, the world would starve. If it wasn’t for the military I would never have had the right to be in the field I love. So, thank you for allowing me to do what I love.

I don’t understand those who do not support the war. I hate war, I wish we could all hold hands and sing and roast marshmallows (especially the coconut ones..yum) but we can’t. We have to defend this nation and we have to defend those who cannot defend themselves – the Iraqi people. We have women over here hollering about how the military is allowing our young men and women to die but yet those same women said nothing about the treatment of women and children over in Iraq. They have said nothing about the rape rooms, the torture, the shear misery that Sudam and his fellows imparted upon the people. I realize that America cannot save the world, but shouldn’t we save those we can and blow a few terrorists away in the process??? Just makes sense to me.

Again, thanks and I hope you know how special you and your fellow military guys and gals are.

Thanks

Dear Dave,

I didn’t have time to get the entire scenario about this letter. But because it’s to, and about some of my personal hero’s, the military: I decided to take a little time and write you a letter to reinforce the idea that as an entity; you and your buddies there are certainly appreciated by the real people of this country!

I’ve walked a few miles in your shoes. Well, boots really. But you get the idea. I too have put my (now) fat ass on the line for the stupid ingrates in this country. I went into combat for the U.S. Marines as a non-com in Viet Nam on three occasions. First with the highly politicized Air America flying out of Thailand to support the guys flying helo’s out to pick up their downed colleagues. We were flying those old propeller driven A-6’s that were left over from WW2. But, they got us there and back. And against the poorly armed Vietnamese that we were lighting up at around 300 miles per hour, they worked well. To tell the truth, it was a hoot every time we came across a dugout crossing the Mekong River importing explosives into Thailand for the Communists. When we blew them up it sent enough dead fish down the river to feed the next village down stream for a week.

Then after a time back home I went back over with 3rd Div Recon and was attached to A Co. S-2, 3rd Tank Bn. near the “de-militarized zone” in I Corps, South Viet Nam. Where I guess I got a little careless because I ended up in the hospitals two times and was later evacuated out to the States on the last trip.

Much of what you guys are going through today is similar to what we experienced back in those days. The sort of stuff that you can’t quite explain to folks well enough so that they really get it! You know, if you haven’t been there you can’t really fathom what really happens. Personally I think that it’s tougher on you guys today than it was on us. We had the good fortune to have a tough enemy who was poorly fed, armed, and supported. Where as you are having to fight an enemy who benefits from the “FLAPLS” ( Flaming Lunatic Anti-American Pagan Left-wing Socialists ) in this country as well as the Communist inspired murdering A-rabs that hate everyone, there.

You guys and girls (wait, we didn’t have any girls with us) will make it out and it’s then up to you ALL to get into politics to work for our country to return to the values that we all shared in days gone by. We didn’t do that in our day and look what’s happened to our country now. We have a society that believes that it’s up to you and me to protect them and put our lives and futures at risk for them. They don’t care what happens with us (mostly you). As long as it doesn’t impact upon them. It’s taught to them in schools today.

So take good care of each other out there. You are the only thing that’s keeping the Islamic terrorists out of the shopping malls here. And be comforted in the thoughts that many of us here are praying for your safe return.
Semper Fi

Hello Dave,
Just a note to thank you and your fellow soldiers for what you are doing over there. I am always impressed by someone who puts their civilian lives on hold and voluntarily puts themselves in harm's way.
Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you daily. Hang in there--though the main stream media continues to spew its bad news, the majority of Americans are supporting you and your efforts to bring freedom to the people of Iraq and defeat radical Islamic terrorism around the world.
Thank you for your service to our country.

Hey Dave, we will keep you in our prayers and thoughts, it is men and women like you that keep this country the strongest in the world. Thank you for your sacrifice.
Keep your powder dry and stay safe.
God Bless all of you.

Dear Dave and fellow servicemen and servicewomen,
My father volunteered in World War II and was in Patton's Army in Europe. My uncle served in the Pacific theater in World War II. Neither of them would talk about their war time experience after the war. I grew up during the Vietnam era when the military was held in contempt. I have been a physician in Springfield for the last eight years and have numerous current and past military personnel in my practice. From speaking with them, I have developed a great respect and admiration for all of our citizens in the military, especially the ones that are willing to pick up a rifle, go into harm's way, and defend our freedom. Thank you for all that you do for our country. You will be in our prayers.

Brothers in Arms,

It was not long ago, or at least it seems, I stepped off of an airplane and hugged my son for the first time in a year.
In my cammies, the onlookers knew the importance of the hug… they applauded.
At that time more than any other I felt the importance of what I had done.
I felt American.

Maybe its at a gas station, maybe its driving down the road on a hot afternoon.
It’s not every day, sometimes a week goes by… but somebody notices my “Iraq Vet” bumper sticker.
Maybe it’s another veteran thanking me, or a citizen that never served giving a salute.
It makes me feel the importance of what I have done. It makes me feel American.

It doesn’t matter how hot the day is.
It doesn’t matter how sleepless the night is.
What you do matters.
You are American.

When I drive with my hand out the window,
On a cool sping or warm summer day,
I have no one else to thank but you,
For the price that you are willing to pay.

When I am at my grill,
Watching my children safely play,
I have no one else to thank but you,
For the price you are willing to pay.

Like many others who have gone before you, you are the few in your generation that is willing to do what is right, honorable and just. Words cannot describe the gratitude that my family and I have for what you did yesterday, what you are doing today, and what you will do tomorrow.

May God be with you. May your hearts be at peace. May the 91st Psalm lead the way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Your thankful brother,

Dear Dave over there:

I have no idea who you are or the buddies that are with you, but I wanted to thank you guys for being willing to step up and save the rest of us. I know that as long as you are over there, I will not have problems with those guys coming over here.
Also, as a prosecutor, I could not do my job here had it not been for fellows like you. God bless you and all of the people you serve with. May God protect you and bring all of you home safely.

Dear Vince,

Please forward this on to Dave if you think it's worthy. If not, please tell me how I can improve expressing my thoughts and feelings. Also feel free to edit it as necessary for the your blog should you put this there.

The corner flag I told him about is available here: http://www.tigertech.com/download.html or DeskFlag 1.0.3

The desktop wallpaper is attached.

Thanks for all you do for our military,

Your loyal listener,

Dear Dave and Company,

This is just a reminder that some of us in the U.S. truly appreciate what you are doing for us by your heroic service in the Armed Forces. I had a brother (now deceased) who was in the Navy 25 years, then worked for NASA. And I have a son-in-law who is currently in the Air Force and has been for more than 20 years.

I know you make many sacrifices to do your job. I know that it takes a special "calling" to say "yes" to being in the Armed Forces. And it is a difficult task at best.

I also believe that you are among the very blessed people on earth, in a sense. For one thing, you get tested every day. And you have the courage of your convictions, without a doubt. (That's not to say you aren't afraid or discouraged, especially when you're tired to the bone.)

I believe that you are God's ambassadors, spreading His love throughout the land. You are making a difference every day by the work you're doing.

I have a prayer partner who prays with me every week. Every single time we pray, we pray for all of you in the military. We ask God to keep His holy angels with you 24/7 and ask that they will use every weapon in their arsenal to keep you alive and safe. We pray that God will help you to focus on your job, to be always aware of your surroundings, to be careful in every way, and that you will also ask the Lord to be with you. We also pray for your families and as God to be with them and to help them network together for greater strength, etc.

Please know that we will not forget you; we will always pray for your safety and wellbeing; and we will continue to ask God to help you make a difference with people everywhere.

Remember Jesus' words, "Come unto Me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Look unto Him for your strength. Ask Him to carry the load for you.

We love you and can't wait until you're safely home again.

From one of your fans in the U.S.,

Dear Dave,
It does not matter that I don't know what is hurting your heart because our Heavenly Father does.
He knows the end from the beginning. He knows that trials, tribulations and heartaches do make us stronger.
He does not (always) keep things from us that are so hurtful and troubling. These are the things that cause us to grow into the person He wants us to be.
Children have growing pains but so do adults. We are growing into the ones He would have us to be.
We are growing more character, strength, wisdom and love.
We are forever trying to grow into His image.
Since desserts are fun to eat, they do not give us the grit we need. They might be considered the fun things of life.
Meats, veggies, and fruits are the things that allow our bodies to grow stronger.
My prayer for you dear Friend, is to listen very carefully, submitting yourself, and confessing that you are unable to do this thing alone. May God Bless you. In Christ,

May God bless and keep you and your families in his utmost care. We in our
family say a prayer of thanks each and every day for you all in our
military. We stand firm in our resolve to support our military! You are
true heroes, we believe and support all that are doing and will be
cheerleaders for you all till the job is done and you can return home.
We who live in the very freedom you provide owe you a debt that can never
be paid in full. But we pray that God will shine his light and blessings
upon each and every one of you and your families.
Thanks again.

To the brave people overseas…

I work for a company of 50-60 people. Everyone that I talk to in our company is VERY proud to have brave people
Such as you, who have put yourselves in harm’s way, so that we, in the USA can continue our lives without fear of
Being attacked.
I know you hear day after day, that the war is lost, no one cares, everyone is against you, but, that is far from the
Truth. I have never been so proud as I am, knowing that you are over there, helping a country struggle with the idea
That all men are created equal, and that freedom does not come cheap. There is no better legacy than helping another
Human being pull themselves out of the abyss of a dictatorship, into a democracy.
I make it a point, that anytime I am in public, and see a person in uniform, to shake their hand and say thank you.

Know that all of you are in our prayers, we thank you for the sacrifices that you have made, and that we hope for
Your safe return soon.

God bless!

To: Our US Troops

Do not be discouraged. Your profession and mission are admirable. I truly believe the majority of Americans support you and your efforts. I and my family do, as well as my friends and neighbors. I'm sick of the press and their distorted message but you must not let it get you down. They are WRONG.

You guys are my heroes. I'm sure bringing democracy to the middle east is tough, but do not lose sight of the real reason you're there. The fight against global terrorism and the fight against radical Islam. Fight the good fight, and God bless.

Sincerely

I don’t know what to say but thank you for putting your life on the line every minute of every day so that I am able to raise my children in the greatest country in the world. It is the greatest country in the world thanks to men and women like you. I know it seems like what’s going on over there isn’t a very popular thing but there is one thing you need to know. God forbid something should happen over here while you are there, there are many men like me that will stand to protect your family with whatever it may take until you return. My family and I say many prayers for all the men and women serving to protect and uphold the freedoms we have in this country of ours. I’m really at a loss as to what else to say but thank you.

Dear Dave,

I have no idea who you are, or even what your real name is, other than that you are someone that Vince thinks well of and is concerned about, and that is enough for me.

Vince said you are going through a difficult time. Somehow I bet that is a necessary understatement. You know there is nothing more and nothing less that I can do other than drop you this line, and lift you up in prayer (which I will do).

I want to let you know that I, and others like me, appreciate what you are doing even if we never see it, and even though often our media don't give us the full picture of the good you are doing. We have a volunteer Army and you chose to be a part of it. I believe you chose to become a part of it for reasons of honor and integrity, not as an escape-valve for some anti-social streak or because you could not read well and had no other opportunities (thank you, Steven King).

You have a job that I cannot begin to fathom. You are faced each day with images you would rather not see; a cacaphony you would rather not hear; odors you would rather not smell; concussive changes in air pressure that our bodies were not designed to endure; and with necessary tasks that in a perfect world would be unnecessary. Thank you for what you do.

You put yourself in harm's way because you believe that what you are doing is just, and that your actions are making the possibility of a better life for many. If you are Vince's friend, then I know you see yourself as a servant, both of our nation and also of those for whose lives and liberty you fight today.

You continue to face this day to day, while a few in our nation work to undermine your efforts and steal the dignity of your service (they cannot--they merely display their own lack of dignity); they attempt to do this primarily for their own political gain, though some do it from an innocent ignorance, a naivete that does not accept how human being really believe and what is necessary to protect the vulnerable. They do it while saying they support you, while they do not support your mission.

I support you and your mission, Sir. To paraphrase Martin Luther (not King, but the guy some 500 years ago), he was not certain as a christian that he had the right to use deadly force to defend his own life; but he was certain that he was OBLIGATED to use deadly force if necessary to protect the life of another. I believe that is why you do what you do. Solomon wrote, essentially, that what is there that is better for men than to enjoy the work of their hands while on this earth...

There are those who would look at the Soldier and say, "He or she may take pride in the results of their deeds, but should never enjoy their deeds." Dave, I don't see it that way and I hope that whatever enjoyment God gives you, whatever pride in a job well done, whatever excitement and rush of adrenaline as all your resources are engaged in your task...I hope you take not only pride but also enjoyment, as much as it is possible. If it feels good to accomplish something difficult, even if your actions result in harm or loss to others--enjoy your accomplishment. Do not let others take your enjoyment away from you, but thank God for gifting you to be effective in your calling.

You don't need forgiveness for what you do, but you do need a place of solice and rest and comfort when possible, and a reserve of strength and encouragement at all times. "The king does not bear the sword in vain" is how the Apostle Paul put it. Likewise neither do you, and I pray that your presence and those of your fellow-soldiers will be a terror to your enemies, and that God will set them to flight before you. Would I rather see all men everywhere lay down their arms, beat them into plowshares and (kum-ba-ya, hand me a coke) live in harmony? Of course--but that is not the world in which we live. Instead where others say, "No, that is not my problem," or, "No, that is too dangerous," men like you step into the gap and fight for those who are too weak to defend themselves. As you have heard, during the last century with all our military victories, our nation has never asked for more ground from another nation than that which is necessary to bury our fallen. We truly are unique in that, and men like you are what make us unique.

I hope that as you close your eyes you might say, "God, this is not the world that I would like it to be, nor is this a task I would undertake except of necessity, but I thank you for calling me to this mission and equipping me. Guide and lead me. Strenghthen those around me through your life in me. Teach me in all things to be humble...and humbly to thank you for equipping me for this role today. As your servant David said, "Is there not a cause?" Yes, there is a cause, and thank you for calling me to it."

Dave, do all you do as unto the Lord. Take joy in what you do, and at the same time cast the cares you have on the shoulders of God. Let him do your caring for you while you focus on the task at hand. In those quiet moments, though, when there is some respite from the living hell that surrounds you, let the life of your Lord shine through you and continue to guide you; preach always, and when absolutely necessary, say something. In whatever part of the world you find yourself, when you touch a life and he/she sees that you are no monster, but a servant of righteousness, he/she will be touched by God and shown (whethery they acknowledge it or not) that you are there for their good, and that the love of God and the values of our Republic drive you.

I hope that today you see something that encourages you or gives you a measure of peace. I hope that the thought of completing your task and returning home sustains you. I hope that you can feel proud of the job you are doing and let no one take that pride from you. I hope that as you lay your head down you can sleep deeply and well, knowing that you are fulfilling your calling and have nothing to be ashamed of, but only to be proud of. I hope that you inspire others around you and draw strenght from them, and I hope that your deepest desires are met in due time.

Thank you for serving our nation. We are not worthy of such as you, yet there you are...giving of yourself each day and night. All we can say is "Thank you."

Soldier,
Everyday I wake up, I thank God that you are there for my family, and my country. I wanted, want, to join you in arms against the tyrany of Islamism, however my life was guided down a different path. The path of family. Thank you for taking the battle to them, so I don't have to worry too much about them taking the battle to my wife, my child, my parents, my in-laws, friends. God bless you and your brothers and sisters in arms. We will stand by you, as you stand up for Freedom.

Snow DAZE

2008-02-22T14:07:00.002-06:00

WOW. Did we get emails. Check these out we will talk more Monday morning!
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Vincent,

I listen to your show today and I had a thought. You know when people get mad or irritated, they don't necessarily direct their attention to the real problem? What do you think about this:

The real problem people have with school closings is due to the fact that over the years the liberals have changed the dynamics of the family. What I mean is that when people say "when I went to school we did this and this, etc", what people forget is mom use to stay home and the dad was able to make a living on one income. Now, it takes both parents working to make ends meet. A parent drops a child off or send them to school and the announcement is made that school is a half a day, or pick up at a certain time, then the parent has to use vacation, sick, etc. day to go pick up the child. It seems that people don't want to or can't "baby-sit" there kids when school is closed or partial day. This is sad to me. It is not about kids being soft or administrator's making bad decisions, it is about parents having a harder time adapting to a changing economic situation that brews over into this issue.

It irritates me sometimes listening to your callers and trying to figure out what the real problem is, not the one they are addressing. We all are guilty of this to some degree, and if you haven't figured it out yet, we "Ozarkers" are againers, yes I spelled it right, againers. We will complain about anything and everything even if we can't substantiate the argument with good facts or not. It is like we all have opinions, right or wrong, however we don't always use good rational facts to back up what we argue. But, that is what makes us, us.

I enjoy your show, I don't always agree with your methods, point of view, or how you use names to label people, but that is what makes America, America. Freedom of speech. Your show is a great forum to get the issues out and talk about them. We have tendency in this country to not talk about the "elephant" in the room. But the only way to make things better is to do what you do, recognize the "elephant" in the room.
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Vince,

In response to all the conversations about school closings here are a few of my thoughts:
Is it really that inconvenient to add a couple of days to the end of the year? In my humble opinion, the true inconvenience is for parents to have an unscheduled absence during the winter. Especially for those that have no one to watch their kids on those days. Find a day care that will hold a spot for a kid that only needs it for a few unscheduled days. YEAH RIGHT, GOOD LUCK! This leaves those parents missing work. I don't know about yours, but my boss doesn't look too kindly at me calling in more than once or twice a year.

Here's a thought: How about announcing the closing the night before, instead of an hour or two before parents have to be at work? Give us time to make arrangements. Nooo, that would be too easy!

It's all about the funding. If all the kids are not in school a minimum number of hours on a scheduled day, the school looses funding for that day.

The same goes for individual absences. I have a child in elementary school in Springfield. She misses very little. A couple of years ago she was sick for a week. We were contacted by the school with threats of hearings if she did not return. While on the phone with them I questioned their actions, & was told about the funding issue. It has nothing to do with the missed education, it's all about the funding.

For years I have been searching for a definitive answer as to why we have a three month break in the summer. I didn't understand this when I was in school, & still don't over 15 years later with my kid.

Why not change the school year and put that three month break in the winter? Or better yet make the school year last all year?

This recommendation was officially made in 1994 by the US Department of Education in a document titled "Prisoners Of Time." It's a quite interesting read, outlining what I feel to be a very well thought out proposal.

In this document they not only recommend school lasting all year, but (here's a radical thought) the schools working with the parents on an individual basis for each students needs on education and vacations. One example they gave was Beacon Day School (elementary) and Beacon High School in Oakland, California, where the school year never really ends. At these private schools, the school day is over ten hours long. There is no set vacation period; parents plan vacations to fit family needs; students work in teams by achievement level, not age; letter grades are unknown. Leslie Medine, co-director of the schools, described different approaches to their two levels of schooling. Based on students' developmental needs, she testified, Day School students attend school 240 days a year, whereas high school students attend 215. Both schools are open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 240 days a year, with teachers working on flexible schedules for 210 days. Every six weeks, at least two teachers are on leave throughout the year, their places taken by eight permanent, full-time, substitute teachers known as "flexes." Yes this is a private school, but remember, this was the recommendation of the Department of education in 1994. Here we are 14 years later, using the same model as they were 40 years ago with my parents.

It's not an end all solution but if you want to check it out here's the link: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/PrisonersOfTime/index.html
Keep up the good work! I don't agree with everything you have to say, but I do enjoy your program every morning during my commute.

I'd vote for you if you do decide to run for mayor. You care & it shows, that's what Springfield needs!
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Litigation! C'mon Jericho, you've reported on some of the worst of these abuses.

25 kids on a bus slide off the ice...how many parents are going to sue the school district? Is there a chance that some "Slip n Fall" lawyer will contact all the parents and try to get something going on a group basis?

I just had a teenager in a brand new Jeep almost take me out and flip her vehicle on a county road. Is there a chance that her parents are going to try to sue the county because that particular curve was not salted and it was on the way to the High Shcol that should have been closed? I bet there is.

I hate to say it, but the culture today makes it even more difficult for administrators to make these calls.

To their credit, maybe SPringfield and most cities can get the major roads cleared by the morning. Sure, you can drive to Joplin and back with no problems. Before you judge the rural schools too harshly, try driving a school bus around icy roads in Forsyth or Chadwick.
It's a little different from I44!

By the way, I have lived and driven in the Pocono Mountains, Philadelphia, Germany and Holland. I would rather drive in after a foot of snow than 2 inches of ice!

Have a great weekend,
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Hi. I was listening this morning to the debate over school closings.
Moving back here from Chicago after a 23-year-absence, I think the weather here has changed. We used to get more snow here, and ice was rare. Now it is more dangerous to drive because ice cannot be removed the way snow can be removed. A 2 1/2 foot snowfall in Chicago did not result in school cancelations because the equipment was available to move the snow.

The larger issue, though, and one I'd like to suggest you discuss
sometime: Low educational standards in Missouri. It is quite a shock moving my kids from North Shore Chicago schools to Springfield. School in Illinois goes until June and all snow days are made up. My kids go to Greenwood - which has been a disappointment to say the least - and that school does not make up for educational time lost to snow days.
Before we left Illinois, I sent off for both Missouri and Illinois educational standards. The Illinois standards took up a small book, with learning goals written out for each subject. Missouri's? It was one page, with generalities such as "Missouri schoolchildren will learn to think and analyze." The lack on hands-on inquiry learning styles we've seen here bespeaks antiquated teaching techniques, too, so I worry how Missouri students are going to compete with other states, let alone other countries.

Is this something you could address on your show? Perhaps gets experts from different states to speak to differing standards across this nation? The disparity in tax based funding? Where we used to live, per student expenditure was $17,500 per student; 20 minutes north in the town of Waukegan, IL, it was a fraction of that amount. The levels of achievement between the two areas were astounding. This seems to me a violation of equal access and protection under the law. I'd love to hear a panel of experts discuss this.
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Dear Vince,

I am a teacher and I come from CA. The children go to school until around June 17 or so all the time. Some schools are year round. We didn’t have snow or ice, but it could easily be 100 degrees – this is inland about 40 miles. That is the way it is - so what. Also, last week during the previous storm we never got salt on our street and the main street into our subdivision and the farm roads nearby didn’t get any attention until Tuesday night. We live in a hilly area within the city of Springfield. People can side off into ditches on these narrow roads – buses too. Why can’t they plan better and get out during the night or as soon as it starts – like in Omaha or Denver (I lived in Omaha) where they are prepared – if they want to keep schools open. Some people are from other areas – Springfield is growing – more people aren’t used to ice, especially when it is hard to walk. I grew up in St. Louis in the fifties and sixties and we had snow days.

Thanks,
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Vince - i've lived in MO my whole life - never have i seen ice like this. we are fogetting to talk about one thing - RESPONSIBILITY. Springfield called it right yesterday because no one got hurt and there were no accidents. One bad crash. One child hurt. Then think of the discussion we would be having now. And also think about the school SI and the hot water he would be in... right now he's a hero. he went against every other school district in the area and kept school in session and it was a good call. Personally I think we should have school year round OR simply build in the snow days and take them off. Extend the school year - SO WHAT! Anyone who has ever experienced a bad accident on ice (and I have) should realize not everyone has the capability or ability to drive in inclement weather. This attitude of "when I was kid we walked to school up hill both ways in the snow, ice, sleet, and rain AND WE LIKED IT!" Is simply irresponsible and frankly stupid. If you're parents knew the risks back then they would have never let you in your horse & buggy! I'm in favor of calling school in inclement weather and i'm in favor of a parent's right to keep their kids home if they feel it is unsafe to be on the roads.
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Vince,

I lived in Southern California since birth, with the exception of one year in Flagstaff. My experience with ice and snow was very limited prior to moving my family here 6 years ago. Bottom line – The schools should be open unless the roads are impassable (blizzard conditions), in order to allow the parents and children who want to make the effort to get there for the benefit of unbroken learning. The schools system should also allow parents to keep their children home if they can not get them to school, and be allotted a certain number of days a year for this outside of the normal number of days allotted for absence. Every time the schools are closed, there is a gap in homework, attentiveness and responsibility. It also forced me to drive my daughter from one end of this city to the other to take her to the daycare at my wife’s work, or forces me to bring my daughter to work with me all day. Fortunately I have both options. We shouldn’t be closing up shop and learning every time we get some bad weather. Learning and responsibility suffer.

You have an awesome show! Thank you for being on top of the issues.

Thank you,
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Vincent,

I grew up in Mexico and lived several years in Southern Texas. This is our first experience in Ice and Snow... I agree, yesterday did not merit school closing.

In some place in Mexico we have a term Hydro-Idiots, these are the ones that go crazy behind the wheel when it rains... do you think Springfield has Hypo-Idiots (those that go crazy behind the wheel when it snows or ices over)?

Have a nice day!
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In surrounding areas schools close when buses cannot reach country roads not kept up by city or county.

Also it is the cities' inability to keep up with the weather. They don't have the resources like say KC does.
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Vince I wanted to make a comment on the Snow Days.
I don't mind driving is this weather at all.
But we seem to have alot more ice or a mix than most places.
And we don't seem to have the infrastructure to clean more than the main roads. If they even decide to clean those off.
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GREAT thoughts! We WILL continue Monday

Thank You and YAHOOOOO!!!

2008-02-02T14:25:00.000-06:00

I hope you will indulge me for a moment.

For those of you who have been listening for a while to Kortni and I you know how hard we have worked to become relevant in the Springfield radio market.

I am not going to say we have arrived but man oh man…

I have just got the ratings with the hourly reports for the Springfield market. As you know News Talk KSGF’s Target market is Persons 25-54.

Monday though Friday during our show 6 – 9 am we now rank NUMBER 3!!!!!!!!

Given we were not even top 10 a few years ago so I hope you can understand how excited we are.

Just for fun we rank #1 with Men 18- 34 and #2 with Men 25 - 54; Kortni takes credit for this...come on ladies you are making this middle aged guy look bad. ;-}

I want to thank those who have been in our corner and encouraged us and I want to renew our commitment to you all that we will keep bringing it and be shooting for #2 next book.

As always THANK YOU for listening and PLEASE keep us in your prayers

Ratings are out!

2008-01-31T15:09:00.000-06:00

WOW. All I can say is "WOW" and thank you.

Hey I didn't write this

2008-01-30T09:30:00.000-06:00

I received this from a friend of mine who...ah...makes his living......ah..a friend of mine.

Subject: Democrat, Republican or Southerner

Here is a little test that will help you decide. The answer can be found by
posing the following question:

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.
Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks
eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges
at you.

You are carrying a 40 caliber Glock, and you are an expert shot. You have mere
seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

THINK CAREFULLY AND THEN SCROLL DOWN

Democrat's Answer:

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!

Does the man look poor or oppressed?

Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?

Could we run away?

What does my wife think?

What about the kids?

Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?

What does the law say about this situation?

Does the Glock have an appropriate safety built into it?

Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send
to society and to my children?

Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?

Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?

If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was
stabbing me?

Should I call 9-1-1?

Why is this street so deserted?

We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day, and make this a happier,
healthier street that would discourage such behavior.

This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days
and try to come to a consensus.

Republican's Answer:

BANG!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southerner's Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! Click..... another magazine into the gun

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! Click….another magazine into the gun, scan and holster.

Daughter: 'Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow
Points?'

Son: "Can I shoot the next one!"

Wife: "You're not takin' that to the Taxidermist

2007 Darwin Awards

2008-01-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

It's that time when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least-evolved among us.

And the Winner for 2007 is:

1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold- up in Long Beach , California , would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

The Honorable Mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-
cutting machine and submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop andoffered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.
The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

5. A Texas teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly
provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer: $15.

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."

9. The Ann Arbor Michigan News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti , Michigan , at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.

***And the 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER***

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd had in a very long time.

City's Response {Finally} to Pythian Castle

2008-01-09T11:51:00.001-06:00

LAW
DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL
Redacted for public release pursuant to Section 610.024.2 RSMo
.
TO: Mayor Tom Carlson, Members of City Council and City Manager
FROM: Thomas E. Rykowski, Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: Pythian Castle – Issues raised by Tamara Finocchiaro at December 17,
2007 City Council Meeting
DATE: January 7, 2008
This report is in response to issues raised at the December 17, 2007, City Council
meeting regarding Pythian Castle. While this matter may appear to be a recent
controversy, these issues began in 2004. While Ms. Finocchiaro implies that her
problems only began with the City Law Department in 2007, she has been dealing with
City staff in various departments for over three years. This memo will outline the
timeline in which the Pythian Castle owner has had to complete all necessary items to
operate the castle in accordance with all applicable City ordinances. If anyone wishes
to receive a more detailed review of this matter, I will be happy to meet with you.
Under City code, all businesses are required to have a license except those exempted
by state statute. Since 2004, or earlier, the Castle has operated without a business
license or valid Certificate of Occupancy. Springfield requires businesses to be licensed
to (a) keep a record of businesses operating in the City; (b) provide a mechanism for the
City to track sales taxes once a Tax ID number is provided by the State; (c) insure that
buildings being used for business operations are safe for the public; and (d) verify that
the uses of the building are permissible within the City’s zoning ordinances.
Additionally, if the business is an eating establishment, the licensing process triggers
health inspections.
Normally, someone applying for a business license must establish that his or her
proposed business is permitted by the applicable zoning classification for that particular
area. In addition, any structure open to the public must meet certain building code
requirements. Springfield, like many other communities, has adopted and follows the
International Building and Fire Codes. These standards vary for residential versus
commercial uses and safety requirements are even greater for an establishment
providing overnight accommodations. One of the initial uses explained to the City by
1
Ms. Finocchiaro was to use the facility as a bed and breakfast, boutique hotel, or themeevent
sleeping quarters.
From 2004 to 2007 staff from Planning, BDS, Finance and Fire Departments have had
intermittent contact with Ms. Finocchiaro. Staff has repeatedly advised Ms. Finocchiaro
that she needs to comply with City Code on various items and that she needs to obtain
a business license and Certificate of Occupancy. On occasion, these meetings would
involve Laura Derrick, an architect hired by Ms. Finocchiaro. Staff has also received
anonymous complaints regarding the operation of the Castle without a valid business
license.
In late August or early September of 2007, the law department was approached with an
issue regarding Pythian Castle. Ms. Finocchiaro may have been operating her business
since late 2003 or early 2004 without either a business license or final Certificate of
Occupancy. While City staff was aware of this, enforcement was stayed since Ms.
Finocchiaro appeared to be trying to work through various building issues. However, it
had become apparent to the Building Development Services and Planning Departments
that Ms. Finocchiaro either did not have the means or the desire to fulfill Code
requirements by completing her development plans and making the required building
changes. The requirements placed upon Ms. Finocchiaro were essentially the same
throughout the entire process.
Based upon the apparent unwillingness or inability of Ms. Finocchiaro to complete the
development plans, BDS and Fire requested the Law Department take steps to require
the owner of the Castle to cease operating until the necessary permits and licenses
were obtained. Prior to taking steps to close the business, the City, through various
departments, continued to work with Ms. Finocchiaro to encourage her to comply with
the development process. Ms. Finocchiaro continued to ignore repeated requests to
cease business operations and had been booking parties greater than 60 people and
allowing the public access to all floors in the building. In fact, when inspectors went to
the building on November 16, 2007 to terminate the illegal uses, inspectors discovered
an occupancy sign allowing 300 customers.
Even though immediate closure was warranted due to Ms. Finocchiaro’s willful
violations for over three years, staff continued to assist Ms. Finiocchiaro by trying to find
a way she could continue to operate in order to avoid placing her in breach of future
contracts. It is important to keep in mind that these bookings should never have been
made since the Castle was not licensed at any time. In an effort to show good faith,
staff obtained permission from the City Manager to meet with Ms. Finocchiaro and her
architect to establish a timeline for finalization of her development plans and completion
of the required building modifications while allowing her to continue to operate under her
original proposal.
At that meeting, the City laid out the evidence of improper uses for Ms. Finocchiaro and
her attorney. Once again, Ms. Finocchiaro, her architect and her attorney all expressed
a desire to continue to operate. Following the October 17 meeting, an Interim Use
Agreement was proposed by the Law Department. Ms. Finocchiaro provided a copy of
2
that Interim Use Agreement to each of you, she omitted page 2 of the document and a
copy of that page is attached as Exhibit 1. The proposal was not negotiable, but
nothing in the Interim Use Agreement was more than had been required by the City
since November 2004.
In the normal process, building permits are not issued until plans have been completely
approved. To allow her to continue to operate under the Interim Use Agreement, one
requirement was the immediate inspection by BDS and the Fire Department. This
inspection resulted in a punch list being provided to Ms. Finocchiaro of items that
needed to be rectified in the final plan, but was designed more to provide a list of
temporary “fixes” that would allow her to continue to operate while more permanent
modifications were being completed. This punch list was essentially the same list that
had been given to her originally in 2004. See Exhibit 2. To the extent building permits
would have been required to make any of the temporary immediate repairs needed for
continued operation under the agreement, those permits would have been issued. Ms,
Finocchiaro ultimately rejected this proposal, and therefore none of the terms of the
agreement were in effect, including the provision allowing her to obtain “special” building
permits without fully complying with standard procedures.
There were two or three events planned during the period that the City was allowing Ms.
Finocchiaro to review the proposed Interim Use Agreement. Since adequate fire safety
measures were not in place in the building, the City offered to allow her to proceed with
these events under the condition that a Fire Marshall was present. This proposal was
not unique to Ms. Finicchiaro. The City had previously utilized this same arrangement
with the Gillioz Theatre. The cost for utilizing a Fire Marshal was set as the cost of
salary and benefits for the Marshal position in the City Salary Schedule. This is the
same process used in calculating the cost of staff time to reply to Sunshine Law
requests.
Thereafter, Ms. Finocchiaro’s attorney advised Mr. Rykowski that his client had decided
that rather than attempting to comply with the Interim Use Agreement she would shut
down her business to devote her attention to completing her development plan and
restoring the Castle. In that discussion it was mentioned that, although she was
rejecting the Interim Use Agreement, there were a few upcoming events that she would
like to host and that she would do so with the presence of a Fire Marshal. Since Ms.
Finocchiaro did not agree to enter into the Interim Use Agreement, this option was not
available to her. A confirmation email was sent to Ms. Finocchiaro’s attorney, a copy is
attached as Exhibit 3.
From advertisements on radio, the “Sci-Fi” cable network and the Castle’s website, the
city learned that Ms. Finocchiaro was continuing to operate a business at the Castle.
On November 16, 2007, inspectors from the Building Development Service Department
and the Fire Marshal’s office went to the premises and discovered individuals being
allowed to roam freely on all floors of the building. The Castle was once more held
open to the public without a proper business license or Certificate of Occupancy and
contrary to the representations made by Ms. Finocchiaro’s attorney.
3
4
During the November 16, 2007 inspection, cars were parked on either side of the
driveway approaching the Castle. To the east side of this driveway, the vehicles are
parking on land that is apparently owned by Evangel University. One of the
requirements for final approval of Ms. Finocchiaro’s development plan was establishing
a parking area sufficient to accommodate the number of patrons she intended to bring
into the facility. Photographs taken during this inspection are attached: Exhibit 4 –
cars parking on both sides of the driveway; Exhibit 5 – dangerous building placards
posted on the building; Exhibit 6 – 300 maximum occupancy sign; Exhibit 7 – guests
descending from the second story; Exhibit 8 – basement door open to occupancy.
Due to the violations noted above, the building was posted as a dangerous building for
failure to comply with the Springfield Building Code. The building was closed for use by
the public as it does not possess a valid Certificate of Occupancy, is not in compliance
with building and fire regulations to allow public use, and was illegally operating without
a business license.
Staff has made every effort to assist Ms. Finnochiaro in obtaining proper permits and
licensing for her business. She has refused to comply and is very belligerent when
advised of her continuing violations. In addition to building code issues, we have
received telephone calls from caterers requesting temporary liquor licenses for events
at Pythian Castle. Since there is no valid Certificate of Occupancy or business license
for the address, caterers have been advised that no temporary liquor licenses could be
issued. This has been ongoing since 2004 and Ms. Finocchiaro has not obtained
easements from Evangel University or the U.S. Military for access or parking, yet she
continues to operate illegally.
____________________________
Thomas E. Rykowski
Assistant City Attorney
Complete Timeline
The following represents a timeline of the city involvement regarding Pythian Castle.
• August 18, 2004 – application received for commercial development.
Reported anticipated uses exceed current zoning. Applicant provided GI
regulations, and advised to contact Planning and Zoning to begin process.
• October/November 2004 – preliminary assessment of the items that might be
needed to bring building into compliance provided to owner. See Exhibit 2.
(Note: all major issues identified in this document continue to be unresolved
today.)
(It appears as though applicant was already operating the business without obtaining a
business license, Certificate of Occupancy, necessary zoning changes, or submitting and
obtaining approval of plans.).
• Fall 2004 – Licensing Department contacted with questions regarding obtaining a
liquor license. No information reported to suggest business already operating.
Record reflects applicant was unhappy with information provided as to the
procedures necessary to obtain business and liquor license. Blank application for
business license sent to Tamara Finocchiaro.
• November 22, 2004 – to assist applicant, city provided documents from a similar
PD to guide her in preparing her development request.
• January 10, 2005 – letter to Pythian Castle owner advising that her application to
the Planning and Zoning Commission was tabled at her request while she waits
for sealed drawings to attach to her application.
• January 14, 2005 – Licensing Department receives anonymous call inquiring if
Pythian Castle is legitimate business and has all necessary licenses. Check by
Licensing Department and BDS show no registered business at that address.
Anonymous individual leaves advertising flyers for Pythian Castle at licensing
desk.
• January 20, 2005 – PD 277 approved by Planning and Zoning Commission 5-0.
• February 10, 2005 – Licensing Department sends letter to Pythian Castle advising
of the illegality of operating without a business license. Pythian Castle is given
10 days to file appropriate paperwork and pay license fee or request a hearing.
• February 10, 2005 – Pythian Castle mentioned in Springfield News-Leader article
regarding Valentine’s Day activities.
Pythian Castle Timeline
January 7, 2008
1
• February 2005 – License application dated October 25, 2004 received in return
envelope provided by Licensing Department following earlier inquiry.
• February 22, 2005 – City Council approves PD 277. Applicant advised to submit
final development plans for review, comment and approval before building
permits and licensing can be obtained.
• March 2005 – facility toured by development review team. Letter sent advising
of requirements for plan submittal.
• October 2005 – complaint received by BDS that business is operating without
license or Certificate of Occupancy. BDS calls designer and receives no
response.
• November 2005 – BDS sends letter to owner outlining steps to comply, orders
public occupancy to cease and business operations to terminate until property is in
compliance with city ordinances. Plans for phase 1 are still not approved, and
only suggest occupancy limit of 60 and all uses confined to first-floor. Complaint
and investigation reveal occupancies greater than 60 and uses on other floors
being allowed by owner.
• December 2005 – letter to owner outlining required corrections.
• January 2006 – code administrator sends additional letter advising owner to cease
operations until in compliance. Code administrator met with owner and designer
to discuss. Owner advised to discontinue business activities until properly
licensed.
• January 2006 – Fire Department comments that site does not have adequate fire
apparatus access. Structure needs to have sprinkler system for public use.
Existing private hydrant may not be operational and is unlikely to be sufficient to
fight fire. Hydrant must be tested for proper pressure and sit may need new
hydrants installed. Parking issues still not addressed from initial submission,
storm water issues still pending, Landmark Board approval still pending, no
lighting plan or signage plan submitted.
• February 2006 – ARC meeting held with designer and owner. Unresolved issues
discussed. Designer promises plans to be resubmitted within two weeks.
• February 24, 2006 – Fire Department notes road must be paved, fire truck turn
around must be improved, sprinkler system may be required depending upon uses
of the building.
(No further contact with city by owner or designer until March 2007. During that time,
Licensing Department was contacted regarding temporary liquor licenses for catering
services and a permanent liquor license for facility. No action was taken at this time as
Pythian Castle Timeline
January 7, 2008
2
licensing believed owner was working with appropriate city departments to obtain
necessary permits.)
• March 2007 – BDS investigator contacts owner twice to establish time frame for
plan submittal and repeats order to cease business uses.
• Plans for phase 1 resubmitted, they are incomplete and are not approved. Plan
review letter sent.
• August 2007 – Law Department sends letter to property owner outlining steps to
comply, orders public occupancy to cease until in compliance.
• Phase 1 plans resubmitted but not approved.
• City Departments meet to discuss the continued illegal operation of this business
and consider options for obtaining cooperation from the owner in moving forward
with the development plans.
• October 2007 – Law department contacts owner advising legal action will be
taken to stop illegal operation. Meeting offered to determine if agreement could
be reached to allow limited uses and a timeframe with definite deadlines to
complete development of phase 1.
• October 17, 2007 – property owner, designer and owner's attorney meet with city
attorneys to discuss project status. Further advised that her activities must cease,
and she must comply with regulations as required of every other business. It was
determined that specific deadlines for compliance should be implemented to assist
the owner in completing her development plans, obtaining permits and finalizing
building modifications. This agreement would also allow her to continue
operating her business while the development process continued, provided such
operations were limited to a maximum of 60 persons on the first floor of the
structure.
• October 26, 2007 – Interim Use Agreement provided to owner and her attorney.
Deadline to accept is set forth. See Exhibit 9.
• November 3, 2007 – attorney for owner advises city attorneys that owner will shut
down to devote full efforts and time to completion of the development project.
• Fire Marshal, and BDS inspectors requested to monitor site.
• November 16, 2007 – inspection by the Fire Marshal, and BDS investigator
reveals castle is still operating with the public being given access to all floors and
the owner has posted a sign indicating an occupancy maximum of 300. Building
posted as a dangerous building and closed.
Pythian Castle Timeline
January 7, 2008
3
Pythian Castle Timeline
January 7, 2008
4
[Paragraph redacted pursuant to Section 610.024.2 RSMo]
Regarding specific issues raised by Tamara Finocchiaro and her supporters
1) “They are good neighbors and friends to many in Springfield. . .”
City response: Ms. Finocchiaro’s character and “neighborliness” is not at issue, she is required
to comply with City ordinances just like all other citizens.
2) “Tamara is doing a brilliant job of restoring the castle to its original grandeur. She
invested a great deal of work in the castle the first year, then applied for a business license three
and a half years ago. Her business plan included exact uses the castle was originally built to
accommodate, yet she has been delayed by Planning and Zoning, red tape, and senseless
requirements for years.”
City response: The amount of time and or money Ms. Finocchiaro has invested in the property is
unknown to the City as no building permits were ever applied for to show what, if any, work was
done to restore the building. Regarding the statement relating to “red tape and senseless
requirements,” the City has only asked Ms. Finocchiaro to comply with fire and building codes
just like every other business in the City. The primary requests involve basic safety equipment
such as sprinklers, fire hydrants, fire apparatus access, appropriate egress exits and emergency
exit lighting. Any improvements made by Ms. Finocchiaro were not inspected as they were
completed without proper building permits. Ms. Finocchiaro has indicated that her intended uses
of the property may include offices, meeting/banquet rooms, art galleries, theater, an indoor
sports facility, a boarding house, a restaurant, retail uses, schools/studios, a bed and breakfast
inn, and residential uses.
3) “Improper administration and denial of permits, unfairly closing the Castle in the face of
events, and plastering dangerous building on the face of a fireproof castle.”
City’s response: At no time was the applicant advised she would be allowed to take out permits
until her final plans were approved. Interim building permits were offered as part of an Interim
Use Agreement which she declined.
The building is dangerous in as much as it meets the code definition of a dangerous building by
its lack of sufficient life safety and other necessary building requirements. The castle was closed
due to continued illegal operation of the business without obtaining a proper business licensing
or passing an inspection.
4) “Little technical details should be overcome.”
City response: Technical details such as requiring adequate ingress and egress, proper
emergency lighting, and fire safety equipment are hardly “little technical details.” All of the
code compliance requirements could have been completed in a matter of months if Ms.
Finocchiaro had continued to move forward with her project. Ms. Finocchiaro is not being asked
to follow any additional or special procedures that are not required of any other citizen.
5) “The City blocked everything and would not leave their desk to inspect the castle.”
City response: The building has been inspected by the City of Springfield on more than one
occasion and Ms. Finocchiaro has been provided with numerous memos and letters regarding the
steps needed to proceed with development of the property. The first memo came from Bob
Hosmer in November 2004. Additional correspondence outlined the findings of the development
review site inspection in March 2005, ARC responses and findings, and the findings of the
inspection done in late 2007 in connection with the proposed interim use agreement.
6) “Tamara Finocchiaro was forced to sign a contract.”
City’s response: Ms. Finocchiaro has never been “forced” to sign anything. An interim use
agreement was proposed and she voluntarily refused to enter into that agreement. The City has
attempted to accommodate Ms. Finocchiaro and has patiently waited for the final development
plan. After nearly two and half years, it became apparent that absent extreme measures on the
part of the City, Ms. Finocchiaro would continue to illegally operate this business and ignore
City regulations which are applicable to every business within the City.

A Thomas Jefferson Education

2008-01-07T09:50:00.000-06:00

FACE TO FACE WITH GREATNESS:
A THOMAS JEFFERSON EDUCATION

A GEORGE WYTHE COLLEGE SEMINAR SERIES
PRESENTED BY TOUCHSTONE, R. E.

A HANDS ON WORKSHOP
FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
ON HOW TO MENTOR THE CLASSICS

Students become great by coming face-to-face with greatness; as we spend time with the
greatest thinkers, leaders, prophets, inventors, mathematicians, scientists and statesmen
of history, their greatness begins to rub off.

• The 3 Types of Learning
• The 7 Keys of Great Teaching
• The Phases of Learning
• How to Inspire Math, Arts, and Science through the Classics
• How to Make Every Colloquium Great
• 90-Day Thomas Jefferson Education Start-up Plan
• Colloquium on Little Britches, The Chosen, and The Taming of the Shrew

How can a generation that wasn’t mentored in the classics, mentor their own children in the classics? Do you want to help your children get a superb, leadership education… but just aren’t sure how?
THIS SEMINAR TEACHES YOU HOW!!

Date: January 11-12, 2008
Location: Branson, Missouri
Cost: Before December 20th $159.00 per person*
$298.00 per couple*
$79.00 per youth*
After December 20th $189.00 per person*
$338.00 per couple*
$94.00 per youth*

This George Wythe College seminar is hosted by the Hughes Brothers Celebrity Theatre and is open to the public.

Registration is limited to 70 participants
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information or to register, please contact Mara Hughes at:
Phone: (417)239-3845, E-mail: MaraH@hughes-brothers.com
Or Cindy Hughes at:
Phone: (417)239-1095, Email: CindyH@hughes-brothers.com

*Seminar fees are transferable person-to-person, not seminar-to-seminar, and are non-refundable.

To the Moron known as Joe America

2007-12-27T14:34:00.000-06:00

The spelling errors you are chastising me for...are in fact errors made by others. If someone sends me a note I post it verbatim.

I know you want to blame me for every evil that ever befell the earth but I am not the world's spelling teacher. I am not responsible for their poor spelling or your stupidity!

Letter from Tamara

2007-12-20T06:23:00.000-06:00

Vince,

I have been so busy keeping up with this issue, I have not had a chance to talk to you. I am embarassed to say I still don't have a radio so I can wake up to you. That is on my "To Do" list. I hear you have been discussing it. Thank you. In case I don't get to touch base with you personally I am forwarding some responses I have given to questions and concerns. Use the information as you like.

#1 - Fire Hydrant/Minimum Fire Standard
We the owners of Pythian Castle did our first flow test on our hydrant in June 2005. City refused to acknowledge it or the hydrant. They demanded we put a new one in with an 8" line. We dug up the dirt to show them we have an 8" line feeding from a 10" shutoff located on our property. All of this could have been avoided if City of Springfield followed international fire code which recognizes the use of private fire hydrants along as they are flow tested annually. They city has finally adopted this standard this year. Three years after our request for a business license.

Claims have been made we haven't met minimum fire standards. We are one of the only buildings listed in the assessors book as fireproof construction.
Egresses from the rooms can evacuate over 500 people in less than three minutes from doors 2' wider than modern code. Most of our doors and openings are 5' wide, code requires 3'. From the inception of this building, we exceed the standards of modern codes which simply require 1 hour fire ratings. While modern code requires you have enough time to get out of a burning building, ours was built not to burn in the first place.
Very few buildings in this city can claim the same above code standards.
This does not mean we do not have exit signs or emergency lighting. We still live and work in a place where power goes out and people need to exit safely. In the rare case of a fire, we have extinguishers every 75 feet (twice code) and four internal fire hoses (no longer recognized in modern code, but they exist and work all the same).

2) General Response to Absurb Escallation of the Issue

In response to all the people that think I have been willfully operating unlawfully, I would like to remind them I asked for my business license in August of 2004 long before I planned to open. My request to operate a business here should have been a simple request handled by low level employee. To use an existing occupiable building for uses allowed in the current zoning in a structure designed for its use, is a decision that should have taken no more than a week to approve.

Instead of granting us a license, they forced us to rezone to the most expensive and complicated re zoning that exist saying our zoning did not include all our uses. Rather than inspect the building, they converted us to a never developed piece of land and a brand new never been occupied structure. This required us to pay an architect to redraw an existing building with no changes than color in the areas being used and by the public and noting existing egresses, something they could have done in a 20 minute walk thru.

This change then required these plans to be reviewed by the director of building and development, the highest ranking employee in building department. Our renovations requests which entails upgrades to the road and parking and no structural changes to the building could have easily been handled by lower level staff. Permits could have been authorized by the appropriate specialist. Now, after three years of attempting to get a license (the same time it took to build this entire building in the first
place) we are dealing with the second in command of the city's legal department.

To waste our tax dollars on planning and zoning staff, the time of the director of building and development and top legal staff to oversee minor projects is an egregious waste of tax payers money. It could be equated to having the chief of police issue parking violations.

If the people of Springfield thinks three to four years and is appropriate time for businesses to wait for such licenses and the use of this many city employees is acceptable to them, I have no argument. But, they should know, businesses are not going to choose to invest their money here if it requires four year of carrying cost with only the possibility of getting permission. Unfortunately, since my property is not portable, I can't simply move it to a more friendlier place. As a consequence of their actions the city won't only lose a business it is going to lose a historical site.

3) Response to the following question:
"As much as I don't want to say this, you have been operating without a business license. It may not be fair how the city has dealt with you and I can understand the frustration in that and wanting to be up and running but the law is still the law. A lot of folks, myself included, have a hard time getting past that. If anything, I'm wondering if you shouldn't have gone public with this years ago instead of waiting until you were shut down by the city".

For those of you who believe the city is right is shutting down unlawful businesses, you can be assured that we are not free to operate at this time. But, it is our opinion, the city is willfully withholding our certificate of occupancy and license as means of political control and they are intentionally creating fear in the minds of the people to seek support for their agenda. This tactic has has been used by many prominent political persons in history as a means of controlling the minds of the masses. And, it works, even you believe it. We have tried to bring attention to this matter earlier and we have been successful in changing the law regarding private fire hydrants. Unfortunately, people did not realize how bad the problem was and did not take it seriously until we were shut down. And for those supporting the shut down, it should be noted that even now and when I was voluntarily shut down for repairs, I was not able to get permits or inspections for completed work any more than I was before I was open or when I was open. My legal business status has no bearing on the issue.

My apologies for a horribly long email assuming you actually read this far.

Let me know what I can do for you.

Tamara

Galloping Goose

2007-12-14T11:03:00.001-06:00

http://www.examiner.net/stories/062907/new_174025786.shtml

Yea I am making it all up.

This too:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/341623/01659666p pg11 top paragraph.

A Christmas Present

2007-12-11T12:55:00.000-06:00

WATCH this video!!!!

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

Flaapulence

2007-11-30T10:02:00.000-06:00

As described by a great listener

the presence of a mixture of gases known as flaapus found in the minds of liberals expelled from liberals through the processes commonly known as flaaple. Flaapus is expelled under pressure as voluntary or involuntary tensing of the liberal brain. This pressure results in the rapid evacuation of nonsense gases from from all bodily opening. Usually is expelled from the mouth but at times it is difficult to tell the origin of flaaple.

The major components of the flaapus by percentage are:[4]
* Oxygen - 0% - 1%
* Nonsense - 20% - 90%
* Haywire - 0% - 50%
* Condonation- 10% - 30%
* Methane - 0% - 10%

Also see Flaapulation, Flaaplating Butthead, and Liberal Democrat

Man to Man

2007-11-27T10:11:00.000-06:00

The person used his name. I removed it to save him from FLAAPL backwash!

Good morning Vince,

I am XXXXXXX, USMC!

I listen to you every morning!!!! I do not miss. I have called you before a couple of times and had a very good dialogue with you. I am a Marine, I do not serve any longer, but, once a Marine always a Marine. Some would say that I am THE baddest SOB in the valley.

Ha ha ha.

Most important I am a Christian!!!! All be it, a struggling Christian, but a Christian none the less. I believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that ONLY through him are we able to ascend to Heaven and live forever in the presence of God. I also believe that God makes WARRIORS; warriors to protect his flock here on earth so that they may spread His word.

As far as this cat that called in this morning and said that "he attends the Episcopalian church", here in town or where ever. Then turns around and proclaims that he is an avid player of World of Warcraft?! What an idiot, I agree that his pastor has fallen way short of doing his proper duty, as so many do now days. And the smart-a_ _ that called in and said "where in the Bible does it say 'Thou shalt not play W.o.W.', it doesn't". I would like that stupid SOB to mouth off to me!!!

I've looked through the scope at the enemy 900 meters away and told myself, "This is for the good of mankind", and known it to be true.

I've seen atrocities that would make most people sick to their stomach, and asked "WHY?". It was at these times that I realized "Why", because Satan was given rule over this earth; while man was given free will. If God did not make WARRIORS, then these atrocities would go on and on, and the word of God would only reach a very limited few and those few would be and in most cases are severely persecuted.

I believe NOW is the time that the Church as a whole should be teaching, not only about the Lamb of God, but; about the spreading of radical Muslim teachings and how we should be preparing for war against it. I attend South Haven Baptist Church, over on south Campbell. Recently a few of us men got together and started a "Mens Group", and no, it is not PC, nor is it dumbed down. We agreed that we would speak our minds, and talk about real world and every day subjects. You would not believe the looks that I get and the severe rebuttals that I get when I speak of these things. And that is from my OWN church.

You know my kids play video games, but they do not play anything with witchery or satanic symbolism in them. They have racing games and sports games and a Bible game. The only reason they don't have more Bible games is because there are not alot out there for young teens. Don't get me wrong, we do have some (3) "shooter" games, but they are Marine Sniper, and the Bros. in Arms(WWII).
So they are about real battles between good and evil. They do not have any witchery and you do not have to become a beast or wizard in order to be able to play. You do have try to make sure that your team members do not die.

They also receive on going real world self defense training and are talked to about God every day! We set down as a family AT the dining room table EVERY night and talk about our day together. We do not sit in front of the tv and eat in silence while we let the days events go unspoken. People don't know their own children because they don't take the time to visit with them. Kids need to know that their parents are interested in what they do.

I didn't mean to ramble but what is it going to take to reach these people?!

You know, I could be wrong, I'm not. I could be, but I'm not!

May God Bless you and your family Vince.

Your friend,

XXXXXXX

A Christmas Poem

2007-11-26T12:10:00.000-06:00

Sent to me by a listener. It fits what we have been up to lately.

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

*December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!*

FLAAPL

2007-10-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

Flaming, Liberal, Anti-American, Pagan, Lunatic. Sadly there are a lot of these types running loose in society. You see them on the street corner protesting against our troops calling them murderers and baby killers. You hear them spouting rhetoric like Global Warming is a fact and you are impacted by them in our schools when they fight to keep God out and “sexual diversity” in.

I have dealt a lot with these types of late and have a few observations.

1. Approach slowly and talk softly. They are not long on courage and hate being confronted.

2. Don’t refer to absolutes. There are none in FLAAPL – World. There are no rules and if you do agree to any they will be changed or ignored when they get in the way of feelings.

3. Never use facts. Facts confuse FLAAPL’s. You would be better served to restrict yourself to feelings. Feelings no matter how irrational and lacking basis in fact are given far more weight and credence than facts. In fact facts, seem to confuse FLAAPL’s. If you use more than 2 in a 10 minute conversation FLAAPL’s tend to start to turn color and there have even been reports of spontaneous FLAAPL combustion.

4. Don’t use God in a conversation. In FLAAPL-World everything and everyone is a god – hence no moral absolutes, everything is relative to whoever your god is.

Now that you have a few suggestions never take a FLAAPL for granted and never plan on winning a debate with them as soon as things start to go in your favor they will change topic and start to attack your character. Again be warned there are no rules in FLAAPL world so whatever assertion they make will not be based in fact {see rule 3} in fact it will not be based on anything so as to make it impossible for you to refute them.

Remember the American Constitution guarantees their rights even while they are trying to take ours away.

My latest Column in The Community Free Press

2007-09-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

Are Satanists on the Square?

A question no one wants to talk about, particularly after dark on a Sunday. Although at that time you may not find anyone on the square but rather UNDER it. According to sources on the Springfield PD there are a series of tunnels that run under the down town core; one of which opens into a cavern directly beneath the City Square. This cavern shows evidence of much use, runes on the wall and bits of sacrificed animals on the ground.

Is anyone aware of this? Yes some very significant people have known for some time. Is it believed these activities are tied to the role playing game “The Masquerade” played by those found above ground on the square? Yes! There are even some who believe the murder of a woman and her two children is tied directly to some of those who play their games on and under the City’s focal point.

Have you heard about this? Unless you have been talking with someone who participates in the game or you know someone who interacts with such, probably not. Are my sources above all reproach? Yes they are and I have no problem going public with this. Will I be mocked by the foolish and non believer? Of course.

Do I care? No!

Why am I telling you this? Because there is a heart of evil beating in this city; it has been there a long time. It was there when a despicable being by the name of Hickok killed another on the square in 1865. It was there when three innocents where lynched in 1906. It was there when a woman and her two children were murdered in 1995 and it remains there today encouraging mayhem and murder and is I believe the root of much of what is weighing Springfield down today.

Oh I know we educated and sophisticated don’t speak of such things and mock and laugh at those who do but I wonder how many would want to spend a Sunday Night on the square in downtown Springfield?

As a matter of fact I am issuing a challenge to refute me on any of my craziness if you can and what’s more I am challenging those who believe in The Book to get on their knees and pray about all of this and then DO as they believe and are led.

Just do it.

2007-09-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

Don't ask why, don't put it off just click on the like.

http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

Lord please protect ALL of our troops.

Busy Day

2007-09-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

WOW. Lots of links for you.

To learn more about Denise's walk this Sunday: http://hikeforlunghealth2007.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=235615#

To email me for more info or if you want to sponsor Denise:
vjericho@ksgf.com

To download your own copy of the Community Focus 2007: http://www.springfieldcommunityfocus.org/2007_report/communityfocus07.pdf

Silly List This weeks column in CFP

2007-08-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

Recently I did a program on all the silly and ridiculous things the city of Springfield, {administration and council} has done or attempted to do over the past few months. I started the show with a list of 12 items over the course of the next 3-hours that list grew to 22!

The point of this column isn’t to expand on any one of group of items but rather there are so many of them. Given we pay three city Managers/Deputies/Assistants six figure salaries I would expect better….MUCH BETTER..

1. Lack of consultation on moving route 266 to the airport

2. John Q’s shame…the derelict buildings the city allows to continue standing.

3. Heers Tower…We own it, we are paying for it…we ran one developer out of town…one other gave up on us and a third is holding the city for ransom.

4. Downtown Hotel…The property beside the Expo Center is supposed to have a hotel built on it…that is the lot less 90 feet that John Q controls adjacent to Expo Center…and why does BDK have to have office space in this new building…does it have anything to do with all the business Carlson Gardner does with BDK…just asking!

5. Police Fire Pension…$45,000,000.00 under funded…enough said

6. CU Pension…$74,000,000.00 under funded…more than enough said.

7. Phelps Grove Neighborhood…Oh if you didn’t know The City has decided it is closing the street…ah a week ago…sorry about the short notice to the citizens on that one.

8. No Cruising…last thing we want is people going downtown.

9. Knoxville. Why is city paying for a junket to Knoxville for Tom Finnie and other city leaders? Why would we be paying for anyone working a contract basis…Finnie?

10. Gangs…Oh I forgot we don’t have a gang problem in Springfield.

11. The Memo…the internal memo that told city police and fire not to send material to Council Members unless the material was run past City manager’s office first..Wouldn’t want Cindy R, Dan C and Doug B to find out what is really going on.

12. Municipal Court…oh yea Mayor “Bow-Tie” doesn’t think $1,300,000.00 is that much money.

13. City Police…we don’t have any…we are down 50 COPS right now with not much hope of catching up on the numbers anytime soon. Why…see # 5.

14. Crime Lab Design…Oooppps…the design costs are a little more than we budgeted for.

15. Parking Garage…OOOOpppps…the bids were a little more than we budgeted for.

16. Parking Garage…the one beside Expo Center that no one uses but everyone is paying for because…Oooppps we over-estimated how many people would pay to park there.

17. Ice Storm Emergency Plan…..Did we have one? Oh yea call Vince Jericho he is putting together an assistance plan…Call Vince he will help you. I am not making this up that was the Emergency Plan.

18. Red Light Traffic Camera…OOOOpppps we underestimated how many people would run the light so now we are ALL paying for the camera.

19. DARE Program…doesn’t exist anymore.

20. DWI Police Squad…Doesn’t exist anymore

21. Ice Arena…OOOOpppps we overestimates how many people skate in the Ozarks. We ALL are paying for this one too!

22. Broadway Crossing Closed. Great idea, create an eyesore and more traffic snarls for rest of us.

I am sure there are more that could be added but by now you get the point…we have a bunch of incompetents running this city…incompetent who should do the honorable thing and resign.

Container Ordinance

2007-08-10T09:14:00.000-05:00

Here is the link to read the Container Ordinance.

http://springfieldmo.gov/egov/agenda/2007-254.pdf

Gentlemen find your Popsicles!

2007-08-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

SW Missouri is an interesting place. We have a resident millionaire who puts up buildings using others people’s money and then puts his name on the building and takes all the credit. If he doesn’t get enough credit he puts up a larger than life statue of himself.

Then we have a mayor who puts a “mayortorium” on the building of new apartment buildings which artificially holds down supply which increases demand which raises rents…oh did I mention this mayor owns a whole bunch of multi-resident buildings in the area.

How about a county that announces it is going to build a museum on property it hasn’t bought yet from private landowners?

Then there is the new road to the airport that Modot has decided is going to mysteriously veer for several hundred yards just so the new road can go through one powerful businessman’s land and help him make more millions.

Yep have you ever wondered?

I have. I have wondered about all of these things.

The other thing I have wondered….where are all the MEN in SW Missouri . I mean the ones with big….popsicles! Big enough to stand up to all this garbage. Big enough to allow them to say “stop this stupidity it is time to run this city, county and state for the betterment of all not just a privileged few!”

Look guys it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to point out all the weirdness that is going on around here. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know you stand up to a bully. All it takes is popsicles. So gentlemen I suggest you go to a private place, do a self exam and find your popsicles. Once you do pull a little juice out of them and start standing up for yourselves and this community.

I guarantee as more of you start standing up the more politicians and liberal media types will run and hide because search as they might we all know THEY have NO popsicles!

Air Show

2007-07-27T07:26:00.001-05:00

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp

Subject: A Wake Up Call From Luke AFB, AZ
Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded bycivilization that complains about the noise from the base and itsplanes, forgetting that it was there long before they were.A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on theback. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFBwrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s thatdisturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read theresponse from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.
The complaint:"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank forthe morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., atight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over ArrowheadMall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet.Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we needthis wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers atMervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."The response:Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday): OnJune 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flybyof F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flewover the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques.
Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationedat Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, MemorialDay. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered atSunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband,son and friend.
Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because ofthe jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, theplaying of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt.Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the Presidentof the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and womenwho understand the sacrifices they have endured. A four-ship flybyis a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give theirlives in defense of freedom. We are professionalaviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letterwriter witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimaterespects.
The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks tothe widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, forit was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorableformation of their lives.
Lt. Col. Scott PleusCO 63rd Fighter SquadronLuke AFB

Volunteer

2007-07-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

I love what Greene County Prosecutor, Darrell Moore said this morning, "Don't let your only legacy be a but imprint on the chair!"

If you would like to learn more on how to become a volunteer here are some websites for you:

CASA: www.casaswmo.org

SHAPES: www.shapes.ag.org

Thank you!!!

Going over the wall!

2007-07-23T09:09:00.001-05:00

There are various factions all with an interest in the piece of property adjacent to the Expo Center. This is not the sexiest issue, not the most emotional but the perfect issue to demand transparency from our civic politicians. So often I have heard from listeners upset by the back room dealings of the city. This is THE issue to force them to do business in public. I guarantee The Care Bears will not like it which persuades me even more this is the right time and the right issue.

Be respectful but please call and encourage the following Springfield Council Members to do all they can to have all the discussions with the four developers and the city management IN PUBLIC. If there needs to be a special council meeting then have a special council meeting. Lets us ALL hear from the developers and let us ALL hear why the city decides in favor over the other three. We want to ALL HEAR!

John Wylie 887-8022
Dan Chiles 447-8051
Ralph K. Manley 889-5909
Cindy Rushefsky 496-6804
Doug Burlison 865-7175

By "clicking" on the name you will be sent to their email.

We ALL need to go over the wall on this one!

WOW what a show!

2007-07-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

Busy show. Here are the contact details.

Barbra Smith is quite a lady. She is the woman helping to start The Christian Educational Cooperative. The website is
www.cec-educate.net

David Marlett, Founder of ProAmerica Companies. ProAmerica Companies is a new and rapidly growing free service that promotes American companies which refuse to hire illegal aliens. www.ProAmericaCompanies.com

The outcome of the last round of EU negotiations sets a bad precedent for those opposed to George W. Bush's "dream merger" of the United States with Mexico and Canada, says controversial author Jerry Corsi, whose new book The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada (ISBN 0979045142, WND Books, hardcover, July 2007) details just how Bush plans to destroy American sovereignty as part of his "legacy."

Says Corsi, "Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's last, most disgraceful official act was to give Britain's sovereignty away to the European Union. The land of the Magna Carta, a land like no other, will soon be extinguished as an independent nation, just to feed Tony Blair's insatiable ego." And Blair's successor has been told by the EU that the Brits are 'stuck with Blair's deal' - no matter how many citizens might vote against it in a referendum. Could that happen here?

www.worldnetdaily.com

The Real Cost of Corn Ethanol

2007-07-16T09:20:00.001-05:00

I think Ethanol is a massive financial disaster. Difference between market led vs government driven..higher taxes and commodity prices.

Here is the information I based much of this morning's discussion on:

http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/cooke/2007/0202.html

I don't agree with everything in the article but great food for thought.

Oh and I checked out this idea of burning water for fuel. Here is a link:
http://hytechapps.com/

If you put HHO Technology in your search engine you will get all kinds of links to check out!

OSHA wants your bullets

2007-07-12T12:41:00.000-05:00

Is this a back door move around our constitution? Read and decide for yourself.

Here are the proposed changes in OSHA regulation:
http://www.nssf.org/share/PDF/FedReg041307.pdf

Here is response from Gun Owners of America:
http://www.gunowners.org/fs0702.htm

Department of Labor memo:
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=19695

NRA Memo:
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3151

Decided? Call your Senator or Congress-type.

Carleson-Gardner in the News...in Columbia

2007-07-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

Once again the "fish-wrapper" shows their incompetence by being scooped on a Springfield news story by a Columbia newspaper.

Here's the link:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Jul/20070701Feat006.asp

For related story links the Community Free Press has them for you:
http://www.cfpmidweek.com/press/press.htm

More on this Tuesday Morning 6 - 9 am on News Talk 104.1 FM and 1260 AM KSGF!

Contact Bond

2007-06-27T09:11:00.000-05:00

He betrayed us once. Let us all make sure he understands we will not tolerate twice;

Call Kit Bond in Washington, DC 202-224-5721.

Amnesty by any other name

2007-06-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yes I know the current Bill is SB 1639 but little is available under that bill number

Here is link to SB 1348
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=summary&bill=s110-1348

Here is link to SB 1639:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=summary&bill=s110-1639

You are more likely to find comment on 1348. Whichever number you use it is a disaster and it IS amnesty.

The Whoring of America

2007-06-21T14:43:00.000-05:00

The Community Free Press
Vincent David Jericho/June 20 - July 3, 2007

The Whoring of America

The last edition of the Free Press featured a story on immigration. It was well researched and written but I confess I did not agree with some of the inferences.

Is the immigration system a bureaucratic mess? Yes.

Should the process be more consistent, shortened or made easier? Consistent yes; it is unlikely that you will get the same answer on the same question when asked of 2 or 3 different people working within the INS. THAT needs to be fixed. Made shorter or easier; no.

When you have to work at something it has value. When you struggled in school to learn your multiplication tables and them mastered them there was a sense of satisfaction you never would have enjoyed had you just turned to your computer for the answer. You sweated, worked, studied, memorized and mastered and it felt good! I had the same feeling when I struggled and worked my way through the bureaucratic jungle, persisted and was ultimately rewarded with my US Citizenship: something I hold almost as dear as my Lord, my wife and my children. I was SO excited when my day to raise my hand to swear allegiance to The United States of America, finally came. Had I not had to work for it, spent countless sleepless nights worrying about it and years waiting for it, IT would have had NO value.

Boys my age had a word for a girl who gave herself to you easily, it is not a very nice word, whore. Sadly the girl was used by some guys to fulfill a need but was she the girl you brought home to mom or ever considered as a candidate to be the mother of your children? Never! SO by giving up her citizenship easily does America in effect become a harlot and does anyone other than the desperate and criminal value a harlot.

If you have no romance, no relationship only one person forcing themselves on another, you have rape. To allow yourself to be violated and in fact to take payment for the act you become, by definition, whore. If you act as a whore, {payment here is cheap votes for the Democrats and cheap labor for the American Chamber of Commerce}, the act and the institution loose their value and meaning. Granting amnesty and ultimately citizenship to illegal aliens will in the end make the phrase “citizen of the United States of America”, meaningless and valueless and leave America, the country, a tired worn out whore valued only by those seeking to use her and get self gratification from her!

Salute to Veterans Blood Drive

2007-06-15T13:27:00.000-05:00

Chris Pilgrim of The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks is a great guest. I will be giving Blood on Monday; hope you will join me. More info at: www.cbco.org

Just the Facts

2007-06-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

On illegal immigration here you go:

From the Los Angeles Times:
40 percent of all workers are working for cash and not paying taxes.

75 percent of people on L.A.'s most-wanted list are illegal aliens.

In Los Angeles, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (which total 1,200 to 1,500) are for illegal aliens. Up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants (17,000) are for illegal aliens.

Over two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by the taxpayers.

Nearly 25 percent of all inmates in California detention centers are here illegally.

The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal from south of the border.

Nearly 60 percent of all occupants of HUD properties in California are illegal.

Less than 2 percent of illegals are picking crops but 29 percent are on welfare.

It cost Los Angeles $276 million in welfare costs for 100,000 children of illegal aliens.

Sixty percent of the county's uninsured patients are not U.S. citizens, more than half are illegal.

2 million undocumented aliens in Los Angeles County.

In 2004, Los Angeles County spent $340 million to treat the uninsured – roughly $1,000 for every taxpayer – while illegal aliens receive medical treatment for free.

MSU School of Social Work - Toxic Waste Dump

2007-04-06T09:37:00.000-05:00

Go here first!

School of Social Work Site Visit Report

http://www.missouristate.edu/provost/socialwork.htm

Final Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression Policies and Procedures

http://www.missouristate.edu/President/committees/expression/finalreport.htm

Reeds Spring Teacher

2007-02-22T11:24:00.000-06:00

Like with most things you see, read or hear there is more to the Mike Collins story. Given the Fish Wrapper is the source take it for what it is worth but according to an "anonomous" teacher in Reeds Spring there may be a back story to his suspension.

Go here:
http://forums.news-leader.com/viewtopic.php?t=6214

look for the comments from:
Running Scared Teacher

I am going to make some calls. I'll let you know what I learn, Friday morning.

See you on the radio!

City of Springfield

2007-02-02T10:46:00.000-06:00

Here are the candidates. Only General D and Zone 2 are part of run off on Tuesday.

Don't care who you vote for but please vote!

If you missed my interviews with candidates you can listen again Monday morning or go to the podcast.

Feb 07 Elections: (For each Zone seat 2 candidates will continue on to the Spring elections)

General D:
Dan Chiles
Randel H. Hanes
Jack Steck

General C:
Conrad Griggs (incumbent)
Doug Burlison

Zone 2:
Shelia Wright (incumbent)
Cynthia Rushefsky
Steven Lloyd Reed

Zone 3:
Ralph Manley

Please keep Denise and I in your prayers.

The Bigg Boom, Minutemen and Adult Stem Cell Cures

2007-01-04T09:35:00.000-06:00

Here is the link to Shane Conner's "The Good News about Nuclear Destruction":
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51648

The link to learn more about preparing and surving The Big Boom:
http://www.americandefenseforces.com/nucleardisaster.htm

Looking for a Minuteman? Call them at: 417-299-1192
email: ozarksminuteman@yahoo.com

A lot of calls regarding Christian Wilde!
His website: www.myheartbook.com
Phone: 866-782-6123
A review of his book, Miracle Stem Cell Heart Repair: http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=13890

See ya on the radio!

Remembering Ford and Flag Etiquette

2007-01-03T05:31:00.000-06:00

A lot of people were very taken by Dick Chenney's eulogy for President Ford. You can read it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16409183/site/newsweek/.

There are several others posted at: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/.

Look at the column on the left hand side of the page.

As to Flag Etiquette someone at the Boy Scouts suggested this link: http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html

Does this qualify as plagiarism?

2006-12-27T05:59:00.000-06:00

Compare Column in Washington Post published Dec 10 to Column in todays Fish Wrapper

What 'War on Christmas'?
By Ruth MarcusSaturday, December 10, 2005; Page A21
I've been hearing about this "War on Christmas," so I headed to the Heritage Foundation the other day for a briefing from one of the defending army's generals: Fox News anchor John Gibson, author of "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought." Gibson -- and Bill O'Reilly, his comrade in the Fox-hole -- see this as a two-front war: Assaulting Christmas from the government end, they say, are pusillanimous school principals, politically corrected city managers and their ilk, bullied by the ACLU types into extirpating any trace of Christmas from the public square. Battering the holiday from the private sector are infidel retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart, which balk at using the C-word in their advertising in favor of such secularist slogans as "Happy Holidays."
The assault, Gibson told the Heritage crowd, has reached a "shocking level this year."
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After the lecture, I wandered over to Union Station to check out a retail battlefield. Inside and out, the station was festooned with giant You Know What wreaths. A huge You Know What tree, with presents wrapped in red and green underneath, stood in the main hall, near a placard announcing "Norwegian Christmas at Union Station." A high-tech player piano was playing "Go Tell It on the Mountain," proclaiming the birth of You Know Who; the next selection was You Know Who Else Is Coming to Town. The most generic element was a small sign reading "Happy Holidays," but even then the words were bracketed by reindeer -- and let's just say, they weren't eating latkes. It was beginning to look a lot like You Know What.
If the anti-Christmas forces are winning, then the war in Iraq is nothing short of total victory.
It may seem strange -- even foolhardy -- for a nice Jewish girl to be writing about Christmas. So let me say: I'm a huge fan, always have been, in a kind of nose-pressed-against-the-glass sort of way. When I was growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, my family used to pile into the car every Christmas and drive around looking at the lights, with my mother and I engaging in earnest discussion of what color scheme we'd choose. If I were Christian, I suspect, I'd be the sort of over-the-top type who buys ornaments year-round and has a drawer full of Christmas sweaters, the kind featuring pompoms as tree ornaments.
This is the time of year, though, when those of us who aren't Christian, or who don't celebrate Christmas, most feel our minority status. I've experienced this especially acutely since my children started to look longingly at shopping mall Santas (Santa's a nice guy, honey, but he's not for us) and ask why there are so few menorahs or dreidels among the reindeer and Christmas trees. (How to break this gently? Their team has a lot more players.)
I'm not one who would argue that we ought to Grinch our way out of this discomfort by aggressively de-Christmafying. And to the extent that the war-on-Christmas crowd is simply reacting to knee-jerk political correctness, I'm with them. It's idiotic to call the Capitol conifer a Holiday Tree -- as it has been for the past several years, until it was re-, um, christened this year. If, as Gibson reports, the Plano, Tex., schools really have an edict banning red-and-green decorations (was it either color or just the combination?) -- well, you don't have to be Christian to find this more than a little silly.
But there is an ugly, bullying aspect to this dispute, in which the pro-Christmas forces are not only asking, reasonably, that their religion be treated with equal status and respect but in which they are attacking legitimate efforts at inclusivity. It's this sense of aggrieved victimhood that confuses me: What, exactly, is so threatening about calling the school holiday a winter break rather than Christmas vacation?
The latest alleged perfidy is the failure of the White House Christmas card to mention Christmas, instead expressing "best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness" and featuring a verse from Psalms. William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, calls this evidence that the administration has "capitulated to the worst elements in our culture." I call it a recognition, especially welcome at a time of sectarian violence, that not all the 1.4 million folks on the Christmas list are Christian.
This has reached its most imposition-of-Sharia-law-like level of intolerance in the campaign to cow stores into saying Christmas. O'Reilly, escalating his "Christmas Under Siege" campaign, has posted a list of naughty and nice retailers. The American Family Association goes further, calling for a boycott of stores -- it's targeted Target -- that fail to use the word Christmas in their advertising or in-store promotions. "Target doesn't want to offend a small minority who oppose Christmas," says AFA's chairman, Donald Wildmon. "But they don't mind offending Christians who celebrate the birth of Christ."
Really? I've just gone on the Target Web site and plugged Christmas into my product search. "We found 39,197 match(es) for 'Christmas' at Target," it reported. How offensive is that?
marcusr@washpost.com

Published December 27, 2006
OUR VOICE »Can we please drop the fake war on Xmas?Proposed legislation is worthless.Yes, we said it. Xmas.
Why? Because it fit in the headline space. We'd better watch out, however. If we're not careful, Missouri legislators will pass a law making use of the shorthand for Christmas illegal entirely.
We realize Xmas — oops, Christmas — is over, but before the season leaves us, we've got one more "bah humbug" to get off our chests.
Can we please stop with the war on winter break?
What did poor, little old winter break ever do to deserve such unmitigated attacks?
Sure, the last couple of winters have been a bit mild, and we can't remember the last time a winter break actually brought us a white Christmas, but do the two words that mean "no school" to thousands of Missouri school children deserve such a barrage of criticism?
We think not. But the folks who imagined the "war on Christmas" think otherwise.
One of them is state Rep. Mike Cunningham of Marshfield. Cunningham has filed a piece of legislation that is an absolute waste of time. His proposal, House Bill 68, would require state agencies and public schools to use the official name of holidays when referring to such holidays. No more MLK Day to save ink. No sir. It must be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Say goodbye to Presidents Day and hello to Lincoln's Birthday and Washington's Birthday.
The bill, of course, is targeted purely at winter break.
Some school districts call the two-week break around Christmas winter break. How dare they!
Cunningham's bill would change that. Actually, the bill doesn't say anything about winter break because it's not really a holiday. Same with spring break. To comply with the bill, school districts would just have to call Christmas, well, Christmas. The break can be anything they want to call it.
What Missouri really needs is a break from useless legislation.
It's fine if local attorney Dee Wampler wants to go school district to school district and make the case that calendars get changed from winter break to Christmas break. Some local districts, Strafford and Nixa, for instance, made the change. That's fine. And it's fine if they don't want to change it. It's an arbitrary two-week break on the calendar, and we don't care what school districts choose to call the time off.
Cunningham shouldn't care either. If he and his fellow legislators want to focus on real problems facing education, more power to them.
But bah humbug on your manufactured war on Christmas.
It's really winter break that's under attack. Leave the poor guy alone.

Some Useful Information on Gangs in Schools

2006-11-16T15:49:00.001-06:00

FINDINGS FROM THE K-12 SURVEY PROJECT
A Special Report of the NGCRC
by
George W. Knox, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to provide findings from a preliminary analysis of the data from an NGCRC research project called “The 2006 School Survey of Gang-Related Issues”. The purpose of this study was to examine how the gang problem and related problems in American public schools. It is important to emphasize that this particular report is a preliminary report providing only the descriptive statistical findings of the research. There are many qualitative findings from the research not yet reported, including the content of narrative comments, documents, written policies, etc. Additional analysis is currently underway at the NGCRC and more findings can be expected in the future.
THE TASK FORCE APPROACH
The task force approach was used for this research project. Sponsored by the NGCRC, the task force included volunteers who offered ideas for item development, suggestions, and other types of useful feedback. There were a number of people who were contributing in this fashion who were particularly helpful during the early and formative stages of the research process.
The task force included the following persons whom the NGCRC would like to take this opportunity to express special gratitude (listed in alphabetical order): Jennifer Adams, Ph.D. (West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV); Benjamin Anthony (Dept. Of Juvenile Justice, Richmond, VA); Lamont Applegate (Gang Specialist, Hudson, Michigan); Lianne Archer (CSD of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY); Ron “Cook” Barrett (Gang Prevention Specialist, Albany, NY);John Beasley (Security Police Specialist, Plano ISD, Plano, TX); Lebbeus Brown (Gang Specialist, Gays Mills, WI); Marcel W. DuBois (Youth Gang/Graffiti, Calgary Police, Calgary, Alberta, Canada); Andrew Grascia (Gang Specialist, White Plains, NY); Aida Hernandez (Rippon Middle School, Woodbridge, VA); Shirley R. Holmes, Ph.D. (North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA); Janice Joseph, Ph.D. (Richard Stockton College, Pomona, NJ);George Knox, Ph.D. (Director, NGCRC, Chicago, IL); Sonja E. Manning (Dept. Of Juvenile Justice, Bon Air, VA); Dr. William Marginson (Gang Specialist, New Bedford, MA); Fred Moreno (Gang Specialist, Chicago, IL); Robert Mulvaney (Gang Specialist, Lansing, MI); Sgt. Jerome Rudie (Gang Specialist, Viroqua, WI); Jeffrey P. Rush, DPA (University of LA at Monroe, Monroe, LA); Sgt. Correa Sergio (USMC, Alameda, CA); Chriscelyn Tussey (Gang Specialist, Indiana, PA); Charla Waxman, Ph.D. (Gang Specialist, Grayslake, IL); Anton Welsh (Dept. Of Juvenile Justice, Mitchells, VA); Doris D. Yates, Ph.D. (Gang Specialist, Hayward, CA).
There were of course others who helped in a variety of ways throughout the duration of the research project. We are grateful in particular to NGCRC volunteers who provided editing assistance, typing, and data base management help.
METHODOLOGY
The survey methodology sought to study public K-12 schools, with a special emphasis on high schools where most problems are found. The characteristics of the final sample therefore reflect that goal: the sample for this research includes 83.7 percent high schools, 10.7 percent middle schools, and 5.6 percent elementary/other schools. High school staff tend to know more about the problems associated with gangs, violence, drugs, hate groups, etc.
At the same time, we did not want to completely exclude other types of schools because it was also important to have geographical representation. We wanted a very representative and geographically diverse sample. Our final sample therefore reflects data from N = 46 different states. We did not get respondents from four states: Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky or Oklahoma. Still, 46 out of 50 states gives a very broad cross-section of American schools. The type of city represented is generally very random. The zip code distribution as well is very clearly dispersed throughout the USA.
Our sample size for this research includes N = 212 respondents from cities large and small.
ESTIMATED ADA NATIONWIDE IS 90.7 PERCENT
The survey included the question “please estimate the average daily attendance (ADA) for students attending your school during the most recent year”. The mean was a value of 90.7 percent overall. Which means, basically, at any given time during the school day: an average of one out of every ten public school students is not in school throughout America.
SRO STAFFING PATTERNS REMAINED FAIRLY CONSTANT
Staffing patterns in K-12 schools for security staff such as School Resource Officers (SRO’s) has remained fairly constant during the last year. Most of the respondents (82.9%) indicated that there was no increase and there was no decrease, but rather that the number of security staff such as SRO’s remained about the same during the last one year time period. Some 8.8 percent indicated that they had added new security staff such as SRO’s, and some 8.3 percent indicated that they had lost security staff such as SRO’s.
SRO COVERAGE IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS
The survey asked “does your school have a part-time or full-time School Resource Officer (SRO)” where the response modes included “no SRO” as well. Some 13.1 percent of the responding schools indicated that they had a part-time SRO, this would typically be the situation where one SRO is shared with several schools. About two-thirds of the schools in America have a full-time SRO, as some 67.1 percent of the respondents indicated that they had a full time SRO at their school. Still, about a fifth of American public schools have no SRO at all, as some 19.8 percent indicated they had no SRO.
INCREASED ENROLLMENT IS THE NORM
The survey asked “during the last year, has your school experienced and increase or decrease in student enrollment”. Some 50.9 percent indicated an increase in student enrollment during the last year. Only 13.1 percent indicated a decrease in student enrollment. And36 percent indicated that student enrollment had remained about the same as in the previous year.
ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE WRITTEN POLICIES AGAINST GANG ACTIVITY
The survey asked “does your school have a written policy that prohibits gang activity on campus”. Some 67.9 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”, that their school does in fact have a written policy against gang activity. Thus, about a third (32.1%) of the schools in America are reporting that they do not actually have a written policy that prohibits gang activity on their campus.
Gang activity might normally include a long list of activities that young gang members engage in, not necessarily limited to, but probably including some of these behaviors and offenses: bullying, gang recruiting, gang intimidation, gang extortion, gang threats against students, gang threats against teachers, gang graffiti/tagging, gang shoutouts in the hallways and open areas around the school, gang sales of drugs, gang involvement in “protection”, etc.
MOST SCHOOLS PROHIBIT GANG SYMBOLS IN CLOTHING
The overall vast majority of American public K-12 schools have policies in place that prohibit the wearing of clothing with gang symbols. The survey asked “does your school prohibit the wearing of gang symbols on the clothing that students wear to school”. Some 92.3 percent of the schools responding indicated “yes”, that these schools do in fact prohibit such gang related clothing. Only 7.2 percent of the schools indicated that they did not prohibit this kind of behavior.
SOME SCHOOL COLORS/SYMBOLS GET MISTAKEN FOR GANG COLORS/SYMBOLS
The survey included the question “are there any colors or symbols that are commonly represented at your school that probably have a secondary meaning with regard specifically to the gang that uses such colors and symbols”. Some 56.9 percent said “yes”. Some 43.1 percent said “no”.
OVER A THIRD OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS ENFORCE A GROOMING CODE
The survey included the question “does your school enforce specific types of grooming codes for hair, make-up, etc”. Some 36.9 percent of the responding school indicated that “yes”, they did in fact have and enforce such grooming codes. Some 63.1 percent of the respondents indicated “no” they did not enforce such codes.
ALMOST ALL SCHOOL PROHIBIT GANG/HATE GROUP SLOGANS ON CLOTHING APPAREL
The survey included the question “does your school prohibit gang and hate group slogans on clothing and apparel (shirts, belts, shoes, socks, etc)”. Some 96.4 percent indicated “yes”, that they do prohibit gang/hate group slogans on clothing. Only 3.6 percent indicated “no”.
HIGHER PERCEPTION OF SAFETY IN WEARING SCHOOL UNIFORMS
The survey asked the respondents to express their perception of school safety as it related to the policy of mandatory school uniforms. The survey asked “in your opinion, are students safer with a policy that requires them to wear a uniform mode of dress to school”. Some 76 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”, that indeed they believed students are safer with a uniform mode of dress. Only about a fourth (24%) did not believe school uniforms would result in higher student safety.
SCHOOL UNIFORMS COULD REDUCE GANG ACTIVITIES
The survey also asked “in your opinion, do you believe that a policy requiring students to wear uniforms can reduce gang activities in the school setting”. Here the support for uniforms increases in intensity, as there is an even greater level of support for school safety when it is linked to the issue of reducing gang activity. Some 78.6 percent of the respondents felt “yes”, that school uniforms can reduce gang activities in the school setting. Only about a fifth of the respondents (21.4%) did not believe in the notion that wearing school uniforms would reduce gang activities. The idea behind the link between school uniforms and reducing gang activity is to not allow a gang to exploit color patterns (black and blue, black and red, etc), sports team logos, or specialty brandname clothing as ways of “representing” their gang identity. Gang members commonly find such ways to “fly their colors”, “represent their nation”, “fly their flag”, in ways that while on the surface they appear harmless, might in reality have considerable local subcultural meaning.
FOUR-FIFTHS BELIEVE SCHOOL UNIFORMS ELIMINATE CERTAIN GANG PROBLEMS
The survey asked “in your opinion, do school uniforms eliminate a lot of the problems associated with gang colors and gang symbols”. The results showed that 80.5 percent of the responding schools said “yes”. Some 19.5 percent indicated “no”.
TWO FIFTHS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS REPORTED GANG FIGHTS NEAR THEIR SCHOOL IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey asked “were there any gang fights between rival gang members in and around your school during the last one year period”. Some 42.2 percent indicated “yes”. Some 57.8 percent indicated “no”.
OVER A THIRD OF AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS REPORT COMPLAINTS OF GANG RECRUITING NEAR THEIR SCHOOL IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey asked “were there any complaints of gang recruiting going on in and around your school during the last one year period”. Some 35 percent indicated “yes”. Some 65 percent indicated “no”.
FEW SCHOOLS PROVIDE MANDATORY GANG TRAINING TO TEACHERS AND STAFF
The survey asked “do the teachers or staff members in your school receive any mandatory training on or about gang issues”. Only 16.4 percent of the schools responding indicated “yes”, that their teachers or staff receive such mandatory gang training. That gang training provides basic “gang identification” information and “do’s and don’ts” in responding to gang problems, and is valuable particularly to prevent or de-escalate gang problems. But 83.6 percent of American schools are not ensuring that their teachers or staff receive such mandatory training.
TEACHERS AND THE TRAINING THEY RECEIVE
The survey included the baseline question “how many teachers are employed in your school”. The mean or average was 109. The range was from a low of 15 to a high of 350.
The survey included the question “estimate how many of the teachers employed in your school have been trained in gang awareness”. The result indicated a mean of 31.6.
The survey included the question “estimate how many teachers employed in your school have been trained in gang identification”. The result indicated a mean of 27.4.
The survey included the question “estimate how many teachers employed in your school have been trained in dealing with hate group issues”. The result indicated a mean of 23.8.
MASSIVE LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR THE IDEA OF REQUIRING SCHOOL TEACHERS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF GANG AWARENESS TRAINING
The survey included the question “do you feel some level of gang awareness training should be required for K-12 public school teachers”. Some 94.6 percent said “yes”. Only 5.4 percent indicated “no”. Thus, there is massive support for the idea of requiring some level of gang awareness training for the teachers in America’s public schools.
MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR THE IDEA THAT SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS NEED GANG TRAINING
The survey asked “do you feel gang training should be required for certain types of school administrators”. Some 93.1 percent said yes. Only 6.9 percent said no.
A FOURTH OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS REPORT A GANG SHOOTING NEAR THEIR SCHOOL IN THE LAST YEAR
“It’s starting to look a lot like Iraq”, said a mother of an elementary school student in Chicago who shared her views about gang violence, particularly gun violence, near and around school buildings in recent years, “we shouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing, it seems like something more common to a third world country in the throes of civil war”. The fact is gun fire in and around school property is a major issue in larger cities such as Chicago.
The survey asked “during the last year, have there been any gang shootings nearby the geographical location of your school”. Some 26.1 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”, that there had in fact been gang shooting near their school in the last year.
PERCENT OF SECURITY PROBLEMS THAT ARE GANG-RELATED
By “gang related” here we are saying that the security problem was caused by or involved gang members or gang associates. The survey, therefore, included the question “please estimate what percentage of the security problems in your school last year were caused by or involved gang members or gang associates”. They either caused the problem or were involved in the problem in some way is what this means in terms of “gang related”. The mean was that 11.3 percent of the security problems in the last year were caused by gang members or gang associates.
PERCENT OF THREATS OF VIOLENCE IN SCHOOL THAT ARE GANG-RELATED
The survey asked “please estimate what percentage of the threats of violence in your school last year were caused by or involved gang members or gang associates”. Here the mean was that 12.4 percent of the threats of violence were gang-related (caused by or involved gang members/associates).
OVER THREE-FOURTHS WANT A GANG PREVENTION PROGRAM
There is a high demand for gang prevention programs according to this survey. The survey asked the question “in your opinion, would it be good public policy to implement a gang prevention program in your jurisdiction”. Some 77.2 percent said “yes”, that they do support the idea of having a gang prevention program in their jurisdiction. Some 22.8 percent did not feel they needed a gang prevention program in their jurisdiction.
VERY HIGH LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR FAITH-BASED GANG PREVENTION SERVICES
There appears to be a fairly high level of support, on the surface at least, for what are called faith-based gang prevention services in terms of their potential utilization in the K-12 curriculum. The survey asked “if they could be offered at your school, would you like to see faith-based gang prevention services integrated into the K-12 curriculum”. Some 46 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”, that they would in fact like to see such faith-based gang prevention services integrated into their publicly funded school curriculum. About half of the respondents (54%) did not want this option.
STUDENTS WHO ARE GANG MEMBERS
The survey included the question “if you had to estimate, how many of the students at your school do you feel are active gang members”. The mean was 37.6 students per school were gang members. So the typical or average public school would be expected to have about 37 gang members, on average; with a range from zero to 500 overall.
STUDENTS WHO ARE ASSOCIATING WITH A GANG
The survey included the question “if you had to estimate, how many of the students at your school do you feel are associating with gang members”. The mean or arithmetic average for this variable was 125.6 per school. The range though was from a low of zero to a high of 2000.
MORE THAN A THIRD OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS REPORT GANG CONFLICTS
The survey included the question “are there periodically any gang conflicts between students in your school”. Some 37.7 percent answered “yes”. Some 62.3 percent indicated “no”.
PERCENTAGE OF DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY STUDENTS IN GANGS
The survey included the question “please estimate the percentage of disciplinary problems at your school during 2005 that were caused by gang members or gang associates”. The result showed a mean or arithmetic average score of 12 percent for this factor. Thus, the best estimate is that about 12 percent of all school disciplinary problems are caused by students involved with gangs.
GANG DISTURBANCES MORE COMMON IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAN IN STATE PRISONS
The survey included the question “were there any gang disturbances or fights involving gang members inside your school during the last year”. Here we found that 38.4 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”. That is actually higher than the rate of “gang riots” or “gang disturbances” in American state prisons (see: www.ngcrc.com: prison gang research studies). If there was any one “social indicator” that was important for trying to estimate how serious the gang problem is in a local school, this one particular variable would probably figure prominently in such an equation explaining the variance in the severity of the local problem. By which we mean to say: we are predicting more problems in American public schools in the near future with regard to gang violence.
FEW SCHOOLS HAVE A GANG PREVENTION PROGRAM
The survey included the question “does your school currently have any type of gang prevention program”. The results indicated that 13.7 percent reported “yes”, that they do have a gang prevention program up and running. Most, some 86.3 percent, indicated “no” that their school lacks any kind of currently operating gang prevention program.
GANG GRAFFITI IS NOT DISAPPEARING
The survey asked “have you noticed an increase or decrease in gang graffiti during the last year”. Some 32.1 percent felt it increased in 2005. Some 12.1 percent felt it actually decreased in 2005. Some 35.3 percent felt there was no change in 2005. And some 20.5 percent reported no gang graffiti. The trend seems to be that gang graffiti is not going away. It is five times more likely to increase or remain at the same level than decrease is what the data suggests.
MORE THAN A HALF OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS REPORT GANG GRAFFITI IN THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD AREA
The survey included the question “in the area surrounding your school location, is it possible to find examples of gang graffiti in the neighborhood (e.g., where a gang marks its turf or puts down another gang)”. Some 62.8 percent of the responding schools said “yes”. Some 37.2 percent indicated “no”.
FEMALE GANGS ARE FOUND NEAR A FIFTH OF ALL AMERICAN SCHOOLS
The survey included the question “are there any all female gangs that operate in and around the location of your school address”. The results showed that 22.5 percent indicated “yes”. Some 77.5 percent indicated “no”.
OVER HALF REPORT FEMALES INVOLVED IN LOCAL GANGS
The survey asked the question “are females also involved in the gangs that operate in or around your school jurisdiction”. Some 59.8 percent indicated “yes”. Some 40.2 percent said “no”.
FEMALES AS AN ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL LOCAL GANG POPULATION
The survey included a follow-up question for those jurisdictions reporting that females are involved in the local gang problem. This follow-up question asked the respondent to “please estimate what percentage of the total gang member population in your area are females”. The results ranged from zero to 60 percent. The mean or arithmetic average was that about 9.7 percent of the local gang members were females. That figure parallels many other similar parameters for the estimate adding concurrent validity to the overall research methodology.
FOUR-FIFTHS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE WRITTEN POLICIES PROHIBITING BULLYING
The survey asked “does your school have a written policy that prohibits bullying behavior”. Some 80.3 percent of the schools reported that “yes” they do have written policies that prohibit bullying behavior. Thus, about a fifth of American schools (19.7%) do not have their student behavior policies sufficiently articulated in written form to be able to specifically prohibit bullying behavior. The school that does not have such written policies prohibiting bullying behavior might be a school deserving of closer scrutiny as a school facing higher risks in terms of school safety issues.
BULLYING BEHAVIOR IS NOT LIMITED TO CLASSROOM
If we just put video cameras in all classrooms, would that eliminate bullying behavior in American public schools? “No” according to the results of our survey, because it is a matter of where exactly the bullying behavior occurs. Some of it does occur in the classroom, but it is not limited to the classroom, it can be anywhere else the students are located. The survey asked “from your experience, where does most of the bullying behavior actually occur”. Only 1.4 percent indicated the classroom. Some 61.5 percent indicated “outside of the classroom”, and some 37.2 percent indicated both the classroom and outside of the classroom. So, clearly, bully prevention initiatives need to be implemented outside of the classroom as well.
HALF THINK THEIR SCHOOLS NEED BULLY PREVENTION SERVICES
The survey asked “in your opinion, do you think your school needs more bully prevention program services”. Some 61.8 percent indicated “yes”, that they felt their school did need such bully prevention services. And 38.2 percent indicated “no”.
TWO-FIFTHS OF SCHOOLS REPORT BULLYING AGAINST GAY/LESBIAN STUDENTS
The survey asked the question “has your school seen the pattern where a bully picks on a victim because the intended victim is gay or lesbian”. Here some 44.3 percent indicated “yes”. Some 55.7 percent responded “no”.
THREE-FOURTHS BELIEVE SOME BULLYING IS RELATED TO RACIAL CONFLICT
The survey asked the question “in your opinion, do you think that some bullying behavior is related to racial or ethnic conflicts”. Here we find that 74.8 percent of the schools responding indicated “yes”, that indeed they believe some bullying is related to racial conflict. Some 25.2 percent indicated “no”.
BULLYING BEHAVIOR THAT IS ALSO A “HATE CRIME”
If some bullying behavior occurs because of the motivation of hatred towards the race of the victim, then it might be more than bullying, it might also be a hate crime or bias crime. The survey asked “has your school seen the pattern where a bully picks on a victim because of his/her race”. Here we find that 31.5 percent of the responding schools indicated “yes”, that they have seen this scenario. Thus, about two-thirds of the respondents (68.5%) indicated they had not seen this pattern in their school.
TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE WRITTEN POLICIES PROHIBITING HATE GROUP ACTIVITY
The survey asked “does your school have a written policy that prohibits race/ethnic/religious “hate group” activity”. Here we find that some 64.2 percent of American public schools do in fact have a written policy that prohibits such hate group activity. Still, that means about a third (35.8%) of American schools do not have such written policies in place to expressly prohibit hate group or extremist group activity in school. This is, obviously, a growing area of concern for the public and school administrators alike.
PERCENTAGE OF DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS CAUSE BY RACIAL EXTREMISTS
The survey included the question “please estimate the percentage of disciplinary problems at your school during 2005 that were caused by persons with racist extremist group affiliations (neo-nazi, skinheads, etc)”. The arithmetic average or mean value for this was that 3.2 percent of the American public school disciplinary problems could be explained by students from such extremist groups.
Sometimes local or regional or national extremist groups will intentionally recruit from the ranks of K-12 public school students, by handing out literature and “hate group” propaganda to children near the schools.
A FOURTH OF AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS REPORT WHITE RACIST GROUPS OPERATING IN AND AROUND THE LOCATION OF THEIR SCHOOL ADDRESS
The survey included the question “are there any groups of skinheads or others who espouse a white racist philosophy that operate in and around the location of your school address”. The results indicated that 25.9 percent reported “yes”, that they do face this kind of problem of local skinhead or white racist groups.
ABOUT HALF OF SCHOOLS CONDUCT LOCKER SEARCHES
The survey asked “does your school conduct locker searches at some point during the school year”. There is no requirement that American public schools search student lockers. It is rather something that is at the discretion of the school principal, usually in consultation with higher authorities in the local board of education. The results of our survey show that 50.2 percent of the school reported “yes” that their school does conduct locker searches at some point during the year; and that 49.8 percent indicated “no”.
DRUG SNIFFING DOGS APPEAR TO BE EASIER TO USE THAN LOCKER SEARCHES
Drug sniffing dogs can be used to “walk by” lockers and then zero in on any locations that come up hot, reducing the number of lockers that might have to be searched. So the survey asked “does your school make use of drug sniffing dogs to conduct drug searches”. Here some 60.5 percent indicated “yes”, and 39.5 percent indicated “no”.
METAL DETECTORS RARELY USED IN AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
It appears that it is a rarity for an American public school to regularly use working metal detectors. The survey asked “does your school require all students to pass through a metal detector when they seek to enter the school building”. Only 2.7 percent indicated “yes”. The overwhelming vast majority (97.3%) indicated “no”.
SCREENING FOR SEX OFFENDERS A RARITY IN AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
It appears that it is also a rarity for an American public school to regularly screen for whether or not a visitor to the building is or is not a sex offender. The survey asked “does your school scan the Drivers License of visitors to your school building to see if they are sex offenders”. Only 2.3 percent indicated “yes”. Thus, the overwhelming vast majority (97.7%) did not check to see if visitors were sex offenders.
TEACHER AND STAFF MEMBER ASSAULTS
The survey included the question “how many teachers or staff members or your school were assaulted during the last one year (12 month) period”. The results for this survey question ranged from a low of zero to a high of 30. The mean was a value of 1.2 per school.
THE RISK OF ABANDONED BUILDINGS NEAR AMERICAN SCHOOLS
Abandoned buildings are a risk for any community, and particularly school students, if the abandoned building is located or situated near a school property. The survey asked “are there any abandoned buildings located nearby the location of your school’s campus”. Most respondents stated “no”, that is some 84.9 percent indicated that there were not any abandoned buildings located near their school. Still, some 15.1 percent of the respondents indicated “yes”, that in fact there were such abandoned buildings located near the school campus. So it would appear to be a problem worthy of further analysis and social policy development.
A FOURTH OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS REPORT A DRUG SHOOTING NEAR THEIR SCHOOL IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey asked “during he last year, have there been any drug shootings nearby the geographical location of your school”. This parallels the gang shooting data, because more often than not it is in fact the gang selling the drugs. The gang problem and the drug problem are one in the same. What the survey reveals is that 26.4 percent of the respondents indicated “yes” that indeed there had been a drug shooting nearby their school in the last one year time period.
STUDENTS WHO ARE ASSOCIATING WITH DRUG ABUSERS
The survey included the question “what percentage of the students at your school do you feel are in a social network consisting of one ora more persons who regularly use illegal drugs”. The mean or average for this variable was 34.5 percent.
ABOUT HALF FEEL D.A.R.E. IS AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM
The survey included the question “in your opinion, is the DARE program an effective program for preventing drug abuse among students”. Some 46.8 percent responded “yes”. And 53.2 percent responded “no”.
MOST SCHOOLS REPORT STUDENT DRUG ARRESTS IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey asked “were there any students arrested for drug sales or drug use at your school during the last one year period”. Some 84.7 percent responded “yes”. Some 15.3 percent indicated “no”. Thus, over four-fifths of American public schools report that in the last year there have been students arrested for drugs at the school.
ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS USING DRUGS
The survey included the question “what percentage of the students at your school do you feel are regularly using illegal drugs”. The mean, or arithmetic average, score was 24.5 percent.
ONLY HALF OF THE SCHOOLS HAVE A DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM
The survey included the question “does your school currently have any type of drug prevention program”. Some 48.8 percent indicated “yes”, and the other half (51.2%) indicated “no”.
A THIRD OF AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS REPORT STUDENTS ARRESTED FOR METHAMPHETAMINE DRUG OFFENSES IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey included the question “have there been any arrests for possession, distribution or sales of methamphetamines among the students in your school during the last year”. Here we find that 34.9 percent of the respondents reported “yes”, that they have had students arrested for this type of “meth” drug offense during the last year.
MOST PREDICT THE METH DRUG PROBLEM TO ESCALATE IN THE FUTURE
The survey included the question “do you predict the methamphetamine problem for your students will grow, decrease, or remain the same in 2006". The results showed that 57.4 percent felt the meth problem would grow or increase. Only 2.4 percent felt the meth drug problem would decrease. And 40.2 percent felt the meth problem would remain about the same.
ABILITY TO IDENTIFY GANG/HATE SYMBOLS WHEN THEY SEE THEM
Would school officials be able to correctly identify gang/hate symbols if they saw them? We tested this in the survey, we included a series of questions asking the respondent to identify which – if any -- of some symbols would be allowed or disallowed at their schools. Therefore the survey was more than a survey, it was an actual cognitive test of school officials. Further we did this with multiple questions or items, and by use of both symbols and verbal expressions as will be explained.
Low Ability to Identify Which of the Five Signs Are Gang/Hate Group Signs:
Question number 50 in the survey gave five different symbols, four of which were clearly hate group or gang symbols. How did the respondents do at correctly identifying them?
Question number 50 asked “which of the following types of symbols would not be allowed at your school if a student had these symbols on an item of clothing (shirt, hat, etc). Please put a large “X” through any and all of the symbols that wound NOT be allowed at your school”. Then the pictures of the five symbols followed: (1) Aryan Nations standard symbol, (2) Aryan Nations symbol for security/racial purity, (3) twisted cross or the swastika, (4) a placebo symbol, and (5) the standard “King” symbol for the Latin Kings street gang.
The standard symbol known as the Aryan Nations symbol was identified by only 42.1 percent of the respondents. Therefore in most schools (57.9 percent) the symbol would be allowed. Allowed, of course, only until the issue blew up in the local media.
A second variation of the Aryan Nations symbol, the hate group symbol for Aryan security and racial purity (also used by the KKK) was identified by only 34.4 percent of the schools; thus in 65.6 percent of the schools it would be allowed.
The third symbol was the twisted cross or a swastika, the fifth SS division, a “hate group” symbol frequently used by Skinheads, and it appeared as symbol #3 in item50, and was identified by 59.7 percent of the schools. But again, 40.3 percent did not identify the symbol.
The fourth symbol was a placebo, but 24.5 percent said it would be banned.
The fifth symbol was the Latin Kings, and was identified by 42.3 percent of the schools. Thus, in over half of the schools (57.7%) they would allow the gang symbol for one of America’s most vicious gangs.

Low Ability to Identify the Four Major Chicago Gang Signs
Question number 51 in the survey gave four different gang symbols, all of which were the actual symbols used by four of the largest and most vicious gangs in Chicago. Could the respondents identify these gang signs if they saw them. Again, the survey was more than a survey: it was in many respects a field experiment — could school personnel actually identify these common street gang symbols if they saw them.
Thus, question number 51 asked “which of the following types of symbols would not be allowed at your school if a student had these symbols on an item of clothing (shirt, hat, etc). Please place a large “X” through any and all of the symbols that would NOT be allowed at your school”. Then, four symbols were printed which were: (1) the pyramid and five pointed star symbol with the initial BPSN commonly known as the standard symbol of the “Black P. Stone Nation”, aka “El Rukns”, (2) the King’s crown symbol with five points, and the expression “Amor De Rey” commonly known as the symbol of the Latin Kings, (3) the top hat, and cane, and the initials “C.V.L.” commonly known as the symbols and expression for the Conservative Vice Lords, and (4) the initials “G.D.”, the number “74", the expression “B.O.S.” under the six pointed Star of David symbol, commonly known as the full set of symbols for what is probably America’s largest gang, the Gangster Disciples.
So, how well did the school respondents do in identifying these actual gang symbols?
Not very good, overall is the answer. About “half and half” is another way of looking at it. Half of the time they would get it right.
The first sign in item number 51 was an actual real gang sign: the sign for the Black P. Stone Nation (BPSN). For the Black P. Stone Nation, only 45 percent got it right: some 45 percent of the respondents indicated this symbol would not be allowed at their school. Which means, 55 percent of the time, the symbols would be allowed; until parents or the mass media discovered this symbol was associated with one of the first middle eastern foreign terrorism attempts on U.S. soil (their leader Jeff Fort had agreed to blow up some U.S. planes for Libya’s dictator).
For the second sign in item number 51, the standard Latin King street gang sign, unmistakable to anyone who knows about this gang, some 50 percent of the respondents indicated the symbol would not be allowed at their school. Which means, of course, that half of the schools in America would in fact allow the symbol: because they would not know it was the symbol of a very large American street gang.
The third symbol, that for the Conservative Vice Lords, one of the oldest gangs in America, which has existed since 1959 ---- only 46.4 percent of the respondents indicated the symbols and the expression would not be allowed at their school. Thus, in most cases (53.6%) the schools would overlook the violent symbolism. Until, of course, someone outside of the local school authority structure discovered this trend.
The fourth symbol, was the standard set of symbols for the Gangster Disciples, said to be the single largest gang in the United States. Here some 57.2 percent of the respondents said by crossing it out, that the symbol would not be allowed at their school. Still, though, some 42.8 percent did not reject this as a blatant gang symbol.
Low Overall Ability to Identify Verbal Taunts/Verbal Phrases/Standard Shout Outs of Gangs/Hate Groups
How would the school officials perform in correctly identifying which if any of a set of verbal phrases were actually the standard phrases or shout outs of gangs and hate groups or which unrelated to gangs/hate groups? Again, we tested this in the research. Item number 52 provided five subtests, five different phrases or alphanumeric expressions, four of which were obviously gang/hate group related.
The first of these was the expression “14 words - 88", and this is patently racist in its nature as a phrase. It refers to the infamous “14 words” that racist extremist groups use as their mantra, and “88" refers everywhere in that subculture to “Heil Hitler”. Only 23.4 percent of the respondents indicated that this expression would not be allowed at their school. Thus, in over three-fourths of American schools, the phrase would in fact be allowed because the people in charge lacked the ability to identify it as a patently racist/hate group expression.
The second of these was the expression “1-3-22-12", a series of numbers, again, though, a standard gang code. The numeric code is the traditional prison gang alphabet code (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc) of the Almighty Conservative Vice Lords gang, which originated in Chicago, and now exists throughout the USA — thanks in part to federal aid and foundation grants to spread the gang back in the 1960's. Some 21.6 percent of the school officials indicated they would not allow this expression of the Vice Lords at their school, which means that most other schools would allow it.
The third symbol was the expression “Free Larry Hoover” and is a kind of t-shirt commonly sold in shopping malls throughout the USA, and refers to specifically the gang leader “Larry Hoover”, who is portrayed as a political prisoner, a ghetto prisoner. Larry Hoover is the leader of the Gangster Disciples, said to be the single largest gang in the world. Only about a fourth of the school officials responding to the survey (24.8%) indicated they would ban this phrase at their school, which means at three-fourths of American schools they would not recognize the significance of the symbols until it was perhaps too late.
The fourth expression was the phrase “Level 74 Clothing” which is in fact the commercial name for a fashion clothing line having nothing to do with gangs or hate groups. It is widely marketed to American youths But, here, strangely, we get a “false positive” situation: because 21.2 percent of the school officials indicated they would ban it, when in fact it meant nothing in the context of gangs or hate groups. They would get sued in court, and they would lose. They would have a lot of egg on their face in the mass media as well if they banned such a symbol.
The fifth expression was “Boulders for your Shoulders”. This is a drug phrase. It means “rock cocaine for sale”. It is a standard expression in that particular drug subculture, which overlaps obviously with the gang subculture, because the gangs run the crack houses and have a lot of control over crack distribution. So, how did the school officials in this survey do? Not very good. Only 20.7 percent indicated they would not allow the phrase at their school. So, about four fifths of American public schools would not recognize the significance of the phrase and clearly allow the use of the phrase on clothing until perhaps it was way too late.
ALMOST A THIRD OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS REPORT OCCULT-TYPE STUDENT ACTIVITIES IN THE LAST YEAR
The survey included the question “have there been any reports of occult-type activities among students in your school during the last year (e.g., dabbling in satanism, witchcraft, odinism, etc)”. Almost a third of all American public schools responding to the survey (32.6%) indicated that “yes”, such occult-type activities had been reported among their students in the last year. About two-thirds of the respondents (67.4%) reported no such occult related activities.
VAST MAJORITY WANT TO HOLD PARENTS FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR JUVENILE CRIMES
The survey included the question “do you believe parents should be held financially responsible for the crimes committed by their children who are juveniles”. Some 87.7 percent said “yes”, that parents should be held financially responsible for the offenses committed by juvenile children. Only 12.3 percent did not believe this should be done.
LOCAL CITY GOVERNMENTS NOT EARNING AN “A” FOR ADDRESSING GANG PROBLEMS DURING THE LAST YEAR
The survey included the question “what kind of Report Card grade would you give your city government officials for addressing the gang problem during 2005". Some 8.9 percent gave an “A”, some 30.7 percent gave a “B”, some 30.7 percent gave a “C”, some 22.3 percent gave a “D”, and 7.4 percent gave out an “F”. This translates, by means of a grade point average into a low be (B minus).
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GETS A LOWER GRADE FOR ADDRESSING GANG PROBLEMS DURING THE LAST YEAR
The survey included a separate question that asked “what kind of Report Card grade would you give elected federal government officials for addressing the gang problem during 2005". Here some 3.0% gave “A”, 15 percent “B”, 38 percent “C”, 29.5 percent “D”, and some 14.5 percent “F”. This is a “C” grade. Somewhat lower than the grade given to local government officials.
ALMOST ALL BELIEVE IN ZERO-TOLERANCE AS A POLICY
The survey included the question “A zero-tolerance policy is the best approach for controlling the outbreak or spread of the gang problem”. Just over half (54.8%) responded that they “strongly agree” with that policy, and another 30.3 percent indicated that they “agree” with that policy. So a total of 85.1 percent either strongly agree or agree with the zero-tolerance policy toward the gang problem. Only 7.2 percent indicated they were uncertain. Some 5.8 percent indicated that they “disagree”, and another 1.9 percent indicated that they strongly disagree with that policy.
MOST REJECT THE OSTRICH APPROACH TO DEALING WITH GANG PROBLEMS
The survey included the question “If gang wannabe’s start in a school, the best thing to do is to ignore them (don’t do anything about it), as the problem might go away on its own”, where the respondents had an opportunity to strongly agree, agree, etc. This is also known as the “Ostrich approach” to dealing with local gang problems. Only 1.9 percent indicated a response of strongly agree or agree. Some 4.8 percent were uncertain. Most disagreed or strongly disagreed. Some 24.9 percent indicated that they “disagree”. Some 68.4 percent indicated that they “strongly disagree”.
GANG DENIAL IS SOMEWHAT HIGH FOR AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The survey asked the question “do you believe that some politicians or officials in your jurisdiction want public school personnel to downplay or even deny the gang problem”. The results showed that 40.2 percent felt this was true. Three fifths (59.8%) did not feel the pressure of gang denial from local political forces.
GANG DENIAL BY ELECTED OFFICIALS
The survey included the question “to what extent do elected officials in your school district deny the gang problem? (Check one rating, the higher the number, higher the denial; lower the number, the lower the level of denial)” and the values were from zero (no denial) to 10 (high denial). The results showed a mean score of 4.47, which is a moderate level of gang denial. Thus, on the average it is not a low level of gang denial, and not a high level of gang denial, it is a moderate level of gang denial: perhaps school districts engage in gang denial on an “as needed basis”.
NEARLY A FOURTH OF THE SCHOOLS RECEIVED OJJDP REPORTS
The survey asked the question “during 2005, did you receive any reports or periodicals from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) about such topics as gangs, gang prevention, etc”. Some 24.1 percent indicated “yes” that they had in fact received such reports in the last year. Three-fourths reported they had not seen such reports.
A follow-up question, for those who had received the OJJDP free reports about gangs, asked them to rate their level of satisfaction with the free materials. The response mode allowed for an answer between zero for “not satisfied” to a high of 10 for “very satisfied”. Thus, it is similar to the 100 point scale used for a grade at many schools. The mean score was 5.6 for the level of satisfaction with OJJDP materials. Which is a moderate or mid-point score. It is not a terribly low score, it is not a high score.
OVER HALF BELIEVE THE MASS MEDIA CONTRIBUTES TO THE GANG PROBLEM
The survey included the question “do you feel that if less attention was given to gangs on television, in newspapers, and in movies, video games, etc, that fewer people would join a gang”. Some 61.6 percent of the respondents said “yes” that they felt this was true: less attention in the mass media would lead to fewer people joining gangs. Some 38.4 percent did not accept this premise about the role of the mass media.
TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS PROHIBIT OR BAN SOME TYPES OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA
The survey included the question “are there any movies, videos, or types of music that are prohibited or banned at your school”. Some 67.2 percent said “yes”, and 32.8 percent “no”.
IN MOST CASES BAD BEHAVIOR AT A LOCAL MALL IS NOT GOING TO BE MADE KNOWN TO LOCAL SCHOOL OFFICIALS
The survey included the question “hypothetically, if one of your students is expelled and banned from a local area mall (assume for disruptive conduct, etc), does this information get formally transmitted to your school guidance counselor or other school official in a routine fashion and on a timely basis”. Only 18.1 percent said “yes”. Most (81.9%) said “no”.
TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE NO FORMAL LIAISON TO LOCAL MALL SECURITY STAFF
The survey included the question “our school has no formalized liaison policies and procedures for receiving information on student conduct at malls in the area from security staff who may work there”. Some 65.8 percent answered “yes”, and 34.2 percent “no”.
SECURITY PROBLEMS TENDED TO INCREASE MORE THAN DECREASE IN THE LAST YEAR
One step forward, two steps backward describes the finding here. The survey asked “during the last year did your school experience an increase or decrease in security related problems (gangs, drugs, fights, etc)”. Some 27.4 percent indicated their security problems increased in the last year. Some 11.8 percent indicated their security problems decreased in the last year. Most (60.8%) indicated their security problems remained at the same level.
SCHOOL SAFETY IMPROVING SLIGHTLY
The survey included the question “during the last year, do you think your school became safer, less safer, or remained about the same”. Some 28.4 percent of the respondents indicated that during the last year their school became safer. Still 14.9 percent indicated their school became less safe and more dangerous. And the single largest group (56.7%) felt that there was no change in the level of safety/danger in their school during the last year.
TWO-FIFTHS EXPECT AN INCREASE IN GANG PROBLEMS
The survey included the question “do you expect an increase or decrease in gang-related problems in the next year”. Some 41.2 percent indicated they expect an increase in gang-related problems. Only 8.3 percent expected a decrease in gang problems. And about half (50.5%) felt there would be no change or the gang problem would remain at the same level as in the past.
SECURITY PROBLEMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE NEXT YEAR
The survey included the question “based on current trends, what is your expectation for next year, in the school year 2006-2007, will your school experience an increase or decrease in security-related problems (gangs, drugs, fights, etc)”. Some 39.1 percent expected an increase. Only 9.4 percent expected a decrease. About half (51.5%) expected the problem will remain about the same.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The research reported here has helped to clarify how the gang problem overlaps with a variety of other problems: drugs, violence, bullying, hate/extremist groups, etc. The validity and reliability levels for the research reported here are considered acceptable for the fields of social science. Below we summarize our major findings and conclusions from this study.

The Average American School
Most schools state that they prohibit the wearing of gang symbols on clothing the students wear to school. Most schools prohibit gang and hate group slogans on clothing and apparel as well. The issue to be resolved, though, is can school officials correctly identify such gang symbols or hate group slogans if they saw them. Four-fifths of the schools have written policies prohibiting bullying. Most schools reported drug arrests for students during the last year, even though only half of the schools had a drug prevention program.

Recent Trends and Prognosis for Future
Based on a number of different questions we can summarize some recent trends as well as expectations for the future based on information analyzed in the research reported here.
During the last year security staff such as SRO’s remained at about the same force level overall, with increases offsetting decreases equally, and most staffing patterns remaining about the same. Even though security problems increased last year for a fourth of the schools. But this is occurring in many cases when there is an increase in student enrollment. We also know that in the last year: one out of four schools reported gang or drug shootings near their building. A third reported arrests for meth drug crimes in the last year among their students. Nearly a third also reported occult-type activities in the last year. About a third saw an increase in gang graffiti. Two-fifths expect an increase in gang-related or security-related problems next year.

Where There Exists Massive Consensus
There was strong agreement that gang training should be required for certain types of school administrators and basically all teachers. There seems massive agreement that gang and hate symbols need to be kept out of the school environment. There was also some strong support for the idea of holding parents financially responsible for the crimes committed by their underage children. Most are in favor of a zero-tolerance policy towards gangs. Most do not believe it is a good idea to ignore the gang problem even if the gang problem consists of “gang wannabe’s”. Another area of strong consensus was the issue of school uniforms: over three-fourths felt students were safer in school uniforms and that school uniforms reduce gang activities. Over three fourths also felt it would be good public policy to implement a gang prevention program, as currently only about one in ten schools report having a gang prevention program.
The Issues of Gang Identification Skills Among School Personnel
We were able to field test over 200 public school personnel in 46 states using 14 different symbols or expressions. This was really the first research of its kind in this area, so there is absolutely nothing to compare our findings to. The present research has paved a pioneering path into new problem areas. A third to half of the time, hate group symbols would be correctly identified. About half of the time major gang symbols would be correctly identified. About a fourth of the time gang verbal expressions or codes would be correctly identified. Is that an acceptable level of gang identification skill for public school officials? Such an issue is beyond the scope of the present report, but it is certainly suggestive that American public schools need a huge infusion of new funding and resources to address basic needs and basic issues.
This has been a preliminary report on the research project reflecting only descriptive statistical findings. Further analysis is currently underway and it is reasonable to expect additional findings, insight, and discussion of the various issues in a future report from the NGCRC.

Sex Offenders for Halloween

2006-10-31T07:07:00.000-06:00

Links to find the preditors:

http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov

http://www.greenecountymo.org/Soffend/

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Karpinski

2006-09-29T07:27:00.000-05:00

For some background of this DIVA of the left go here: Some of language questionable

http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/005278.html

She's a co-signer on the site of a petition (the whole thing, including the notables who signed it at below the fold) which pretty much takes on all the moonbat Hitler-simile talking points and is signed by everyone from Mumia to Cindy Sheehan to Susan Sarandon, with a few Democratic Congressmen thrown in for good measure

Here's the petition:
Sign the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime
Your government, on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights.
Your government is openly torturing people, and justifying it.
Your government puts people in jail on the merest suspicion, refusing them lawyers, and either holding them indefinitely or deporting them in the dead of night.
Your government is moving each day closer to a theocracy, where a narrow and hateful brand of Christian fundamentalism will rule.
Your government suppresses the science that doesn't fit its religious, political and economic agenda, forcing present and future generations to pay a terrible price.
Your government is moving to deny women here, and all over the world, the right to birth control and abortion.
Your government enforces a culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance.
People look at all this and think of Hitler — and they are right to do so. The Bush regime is setting out to radically remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. We must act now; the future is in the balance.
Millions and millions are deeply disturbed and outraged by this. They recognize the need for a vehicle to express this outrage, yet they cannot find it; politics as usual cannot meet the enormity of the challenge, and people sense this.
There is not going to be some magical "pendulum swing." People who steal elections and believe they're on a "mission from God" will not go without a fight.
There is not going to be some savior from the Democratic Party. This whole idea of putting our hopes and energies into "leaders" who tell us to seek common ground with fascists and religious fanatics is proving every day to be a disaster, and actually serves to demobilize people.
But silence and paralysis are NOT acceptable. That which you will not resist and mobilize to stop, you will learn — or be forced — to accept. There is no escaping it: the whole disastrous course of this Bush regime must be STOPPED. And we must take the responsibility to do it.
And there is a way. We are talking about something on a scale that can really make a huge change in this country and in the world. We need more than fighting Bush's outrages one at a time, constantly losing ground to the whole onslaught. We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where the Bush regime's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking society is reversed. We, in our millions, must and can take responsibility to change the course of history.
Acting in this way, we join with and give support and heart to people all over the globe who so urgently need and want this regime to be stopped.
This will not be easy. If we speak the truth, they will try to silence us. If we act, they will try to stop us. But we speak for the majority, here and around the world, and as we get this going we are going to reach out to the people who have been so badly fooled by Bush and we are NOT going to stop.
The point is this: history is full of examples where people who had right on their side fought against tremendous odds and were victorious. And it is also full of examples of people passively hoping to wait it out, only to get swallowed up by a horror beyond what they ever imagined. The future is unwritten. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US.
The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!
Sign the call now!Co-signers include (heck, here's the whole list - it defines the beating heart of the "Amerikka" crowd):
ACT UP, New York City
Mumia Abu-Jamal, political prisoner, journalist
Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, mosque of Islamic Brotherhood; Justice Committee, Majlis Ash-Shura, NY
Pam Africa, Move Organization and International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
After Downing Street Coalition
Vicente "Panama" Alba, Organizer, Laborers Union Local 108, New York
"Alberto Lovera" Bolivian Circle, New York
Aimee Allison, army conscientious objector (Gulf War
90)/counter-Recruiter
Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Anti-Flag
Aris Anagnos, Los Angeles
Arab American Community Coalition, Seattle Washington
Carlos Arango, director of Casa Aztlan*
Edward Asner
Asociacion Tepeyac de New York
Axis of Justice
Rosa Ayala, Justice for Janitors*
William Ayers, professor and author
Russell Banks, writer
Father Luis Barrios, Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas, New York
Rev. Willie Barrow, Women Connecting*
Ed Begley Jr.
Harry Belafonte
Dave Berenson, Cleveland, OH, U.S. Green Party
Michael Berg, anti-war activist
Jessica Blank, writer, actor
Blase Bonpane, author
Bob Bossie, SCJ, 8th Day Center for Justice*
Father Roy Bourgeois, MM
St. Clair Bourne, film maker
Elombe Brath, Patrice Lumumba Coalition, NYC
Catharina Breinholm, musician (Nina Hagen)
Jane Bright, Co-founder, Gold Star Families for Peace
Carol Brightman, author, "Total Insecurity: The Myth of American Omnipotence"
Dennis Brutus
Gabriel Byrne, Actor
Campus Anti-War Network(CAN)
Tim Carpenter, Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Center for Constitutional Rights
Chicago ADAPT
CHOICE USA
Ward Churchill
Citizens For Legitimate Government
Kate Clinton, humorist
Clothing of American Mind
David Cobb, 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate
Code Pink: Women for Peace
Steve Colman, poetJohn Conyers, US Representative
Carlos Cornier, percussionist, Funkadesi, Old Town School of Folk
Music
Barry Crimmins, writer/correspondent, Air America Radio
Culture Clash
Charles W. Dahm (Father Chuck), Pastor, St. Pius V, Chicago
Chris Daly, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Julie Delpy, Actress
DC Anti-War Network
Democrats.com
Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party
Leonard "Len" Dominguez, Candidate for Cook County Commissioner, Illinois
Dominican Women's Development Center, New York
Ariel Dorfman, writer
Tom Duane, NY State Senator
Michael Eric Dyson, author, "Is Bill Cosby Right?"
Steve Earle, musician
Niles Eldredge, curator of the Darwin Show at the Museum of Natural History, NYC
Edwin Ellis, President of Veterans for Peace, LA*
Daniel Ellsberg, author of "The Pentagon Papers"
Eve Ensler
Michelle Esrick, actress, poet, filmmaker
Donelle Estey, artist, Artists Against the War
Christian Ettinger, exec. prod. of film "The Weather Underground"
Jodie Evans, Code Pink
Nina Felshin, curator, writer
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Rev. John Fife
Jane Fonda
Prof. Barbara Forrest, Southeastern Louisana University (testifed in Dover against intelligent design)
Michael Franti, musician
Aaron Freeman, comdian
Samina Faheem Fundas, American Muslim Voice*
reg e. gaines, poet, playwright
Martin Garbus, NYC
Deborah Glick, NY State Assemblywoman
Ted Glick, Climate Crisis Coalition
Global Justice and Peace Ministries, Riverside Church,
New York
Frances Goldin, literary agent
Sam Greenlee, poet
André Gregory, theater director
Andy Griggs, US Labor Against the War, Exec. Board of United Teachers of LA*
Jose Guerrero, artist and muralist, Chicago
Lawrence Guyot, former SNCC member and former Chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Paul Haggis, Academy Award Winning Director/Writer of Crash, screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby
Haitian Coalition for Justice
Suheir Hammad, poet
Sam Hamill, Poets Against War
Kathleen Hanna, Le Tigre
David Harris, founder of The Resistance*, writer
Jon Hendricks, jazz singer/lyricist
Jon Hendricks, artist
Warren M. Hern, MD, MPH, PhD, Director, Boulder Abortion Clinic
Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation
Hip Hop Caucus
Dorothy Hoobler, PEN
Marie Howe, poet and writer
Impeach Bush Coalition
Mesha Monge Irizarry, Idriss StelleyFoundation
Islamic Association of America
Abdeen Jabara, past president, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee*
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson
Ron Jacobs, writer
Dahr Jamail, independent journalist
Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director, Hate Free Zone Washington
Alan Jones, Dean of Faculty at Pitzer College*
Bill T. Jones, dancer
Sarah Jones, poet and actor
Rickie Lee Jones, musician
Esther Kaplan, author of With God On Their Side
Janis Karpinski, Brig. General (retired)
Casey Kasem
M. Ali Khan, American Muslim Council
C. Clark Kissinger
Frances Kissling, President, Catholics for a Free Choice*
Yuri Kochiyama
Ron Kovic, author, Vietnam Veteran
Jonathan Kozol
Joyce Kozloff, artist
Jim Lafferty, Executive Director of the National Lawyer's Guild of Los Angeles
Ray Laforest, organizer, DC 1707, AFSCME*; member, Pacifica National Board*
Beth Lamont
Jessica Lange
Lewis Lapham, former editor, Harper's Magazine
Martha Lavey, Chicago
Mark Leno, California Assemblyman
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine
James Levin, co-director of Cleveland Festival of Arts & Technology (Ingenuity)
Simon Levy, director, "What I Heard About Iraq" at Fountain St. Theatre
Toby Devan Lewis
Bruce Lincoln, professor, History of Religions, University of Chicago
Margarita Lopez, New York City Council Member
Haki R. Madhubuti, chairman, publisher, Third World Press
Devorah major, poet & novelist
Make the Road by Walking, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY
Mike Malloy, syndicated radio talk show host
Lucinda Marshall, Founder Feminist Peace Network*
Bill Martin, philosopher
Bill Martinez, Attorney, Producer
Father Matthius, Pastor, St. Pius V, Chicago
Malachy McCourt, actor & author
Rosie Mendez, New York City Council
Allen Michaan, owner, Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, CA
Cynthia McKinney, US Representative
Ellen McLaughlin, actress and playwright
Camilo Mejia, conscientious objector
Dave Meserve, Arcata California city council member
Carol Migden, CA State Senator
Carly Miller, Clothing of the American Mind
Mark Crispin Miller, author, "Fooled Again"
Alderman Joe Moore, Chicago's City Council
Millions More Movement, Pittsburg /Antioch CA organizing committee
Bill Mitchell, co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace*
Leon Mobley, musician
Tom Morello, Audioslave
Tracie Morris, poet
Andrew Muñana, Images Salón, East Los Angeles
Steve Murphy, editor of Tales of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Cecil Murray, Retired Minister First AME Church, Los Angeles
Craig Murray, former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan
National Lawyers GuildArmando Navarro, chair and professor, Ethnic Studies, UC Riverside
The Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines
Bill Nevins, teacher, Albuquerque
Northwestern College Feminists
Not in Our Name
Mike and Julie Nussbaum
Efia Nwangaza, director, African American Institute for Policy Studies, Greenville, SC
Brian O'Leary, PhD., author, former astronaut
Bertell Ollman, prof. Dept. of Politics, NYU
R. Tomás Olmos, President, Mexican American Bar Foundation, Los Angeles County*, Dean Emeritus, People's College of Law*
Barbara Olshansky, Center for Constitutional Rights
E. Rendel T. Osburn, Southern Christian Leadership Foundation*
Outernational
Major Owens, 11th Congressional District, D-NY
Ozomatli
Jose Padilla*, executive director, California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA)
Cristina Page, author of "How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America"
Grace Paley, writer
Patrick Henry Democratic Club
Harvey Pekar, American Splendor
Sean Penn
Bill Perkins, New York City Council
Rosalind Petchesky, prof., Hunter College & Grad. Center, CUNY
Peter Phillips PhD, Project Censored, Sociology Dept Sonoma State University
Jeremy Pikser, screenwriter, Bulworth
Harold Pinter, Nobel Prize winning playwright
Frances Fox Piven
Sterling Plumpp, poet
Kevin Powell, writer
Sr. Helen Prejean CSJ, Moratorium Campaign to End the Death Penalty*
Progressive Democrats of America
Francine Prose, novelist
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party - New York Branch
Queers for Economic Justice
Jerry Quickley, poet and playwright
Malik Rahim, New Orleans Community Organizer
Michael Ratner, Center for Constitutional Rights*
Reach Hip Hop Coalition
Raghava Reddy, stem cell biologist, biomedical scientist, film maker
Maggie Renzi, filmmaker
Eric Resnick, Gay People's Chronicle* reporter, peace activist, one time candidate for US Congress
Allan Rich, screenwriter/actor
Boots Riley, The Coup
Walter Riley, lawyer
Dennis Rivera, President of Local 1199 SEIU
Joshua Rosenblum, Composer/ Director of Bush is Bad
Mark Ruffalo, actor
Bobby Rush, US Representative, Chicago
Douglas Rushkoff, author
Kalamu ya Salaam, Listen to the People
Angelica Salas, executive director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles*
JD Samson, Le Tigre
Sonia Sanchez
Rev. Henry Sanders, Fountain of Life Missionary Baptist Church, Watts, CA
San Francisco Bayview Newspaper
Sapphire, poet, writer
Sheley Secrest, Attorney, President NAACP Seattle-King County Branch
Susan Sarandon
John Sayles, filmmaker
Rinku Sen, Colorlines*
Richard Serra, artist
Rev. Al Sharpton
Lou Shaw, writer, creator of Quincy MD
Cindy Sheehan
Martin Sheen
Stanley Sheinbaum, economist, LA
Nancy Spero, artist
Dona Spring, Berkeley Council member
Gloria Steinem
Malcolm Suber, People's Hurricane Relief Fund*
Serj Tankian System of a Down
Sunsara Taylor, Revolution newspaper
Studs Terkel
Marianne Torres, Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane*
Dwight Trible, jazz vocalist
George Tuttle & Ben Cushman, grapegrowers
Gore Vidal, writer
Kurt Vonnegut
Alice Walker
Maxine Waters, US Representative
Wavy Gravy
Leonard Weinglass, lawyer
Rev. Dave Weissbard, senior minister, The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL
Cornel West, Princeton University
Rev. Phil Wheaton, Episcopal Co-pastor, Community of Christ, Washington DC
Joan Wile, Director, Grandmothers Against the War
Saul Williams, poet
Standish E. Willis, National Conference of Black Lawyers
S. Brian Willson. Veterans for Peace
Krzysztof Wodiczko, artist
Ann Wright, former US diplomat, resigned in protest of Iraq war
Daphne Wysham, Institute for Policy Studies
Leland Y. Yee, Speaker pro Tem, California State Assembly
Juanita Young, courageous resister, leader in October 22nd Coalition*
Dr. Quentin Young, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group*
Dave Zeiger, filmmaker, "Sir, No, Sir!"
Zephyr, graffiti artist, writer
Robert Zevin, Robert Brooke Zevin Associates, Inc.
Howard Zinn, historian, "A Peoples' History of the United States
David Zirin, author, "What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States

Pat Buchanan says...

2006-08-21T13:56:00.000-05:00

This is taken from The Drudge Report:

http://www.drudgereport.com/

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN AUG 20, 2006 16:02:35 ET

XXXXXBUCHANAN DECLARES: THIRD WORLD CONQUEST OF AMERICA**
Exclusive**“

As Rome passed away, so, the West is passing away, from the same causes and in much the same way. What the Danube and Rhine were to Rome, the Rio Grande and Mediterranean are to America and Europe, the frontiers of a civilization no longer defended.” So begins a new work of warning from Pat Buchanan.And this time Buchanan goes all the way.STATE OF EMERGENCY: THIRD WORLD INVASION AND CONQUEST OF AMERICA streets this week and is designed to jolt readers with stats/analysis of illegal immigration gone dangerously wild.Buchanan warns: “The children born in 2006 will witness in their lifetimes the death of the West."One in every twelve people breaking into America has a criminal record.By 2050, there will be 100 million Hispanics concentrated in the U.S. Southwest.Between 10 and 20 percent of all Mexicans, Central Americans and Caribbean people have already moved to the United States.Every month, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehends more illegal aliens breaking into our country, 150,000, than the number of troops we have in Iraq.[The book was ranked #571 on AMAZON's sales chart Sunday evening.]Buchanan slams the president: “Concerned about his legacy, George W. Bush may yet live to see his name entered into the history of his country as the president who lost the American Southwest that James K. Polk won for the United States."In EMERGENCY, Pat Buchanan charges the Mexican regime with an Aztlan Plot, a conscious campaign to use America as a dumping ground for its poor and unemployed, both to relieve social pressure and effect a cultural re-annexation of the American Southwest. La Reconquista, the reconquest of the lands lost by Mexico in the Mexican-American War, Buchanan charges, is underway.The Republican Party, a wholly owned subsidiary of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is in the grip of a cult called “Economism.” It is all about money now. The GOP worships at the “Church of GDP”• Both parties are paralyzed by guilt over American past racial sins.• Powerful Mexican and U.S. elites seek to erase America’s borders and merge the United States and Mexico into a “North American Union.”In his controversial final chapter, “Last Chance,” Buchanan lays out a national plan to deal with the State of Emergency, before it makes an end of America:• An Eisenhower-type deportation program, beginning with all illegal aliens convicted of felonies and every gang member not a U.S. citizen.• A ten-year moratorium on all legal immigration, at the level JFK favored in 1958 -- 150,000 to 250,000 a year. • A $10-billion, 2000-mile double-line security fence between the United States and Mexico, built with no apologies to Mexico City.Developing...

Letter to the Care Bears

2006-08-21T13:53:00.000-05:00

You wanted something to copy and paste. Provided by a loyal listener

I am extremely angry that you have chosen Tom Finnie to serve on the board of Springfield City Utilities, considering that it was he who was city manager when approximately $1.5M in taxpayer money disappeared. As city manager, Mr. Finnie should have made sure that improvements recommended by the state auditor(s) were implemented; they weren't and this theft is a direct result of slovenly procedures. By putting forth Mr. Finnie, you are telling the voters and taxpayers of Springfield that you take this matter lightly.

City of Springfield

2006-08-02T09:09:00.000-05:00

Listeners have asked for a board where ideas could be discussed to bring effective change to Care-a-Lot. Post via replies here.

Fair Tax Song

2006-07-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

Download at"

www.jeffparnell.com

Fair Tax Informational Meeting at Holiday Inn North
Springfield
9AM Saturday

RSVP to 1-800-FAIRTAX

Free Lunch included. Session goes from 9 am - 4pm.

See ya on the radio.

Stand Up

2006-07-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

WHY MOST MEN ARE REPUBLICANS

Hope you heard new themse song this morning. For more info on the Right Brothers go to:

www.therightbrothers.com

hE hATE mE!

2006-07-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

wANT TO HAVE A GOOD JUCKLE. hERE IS LINK TO ONE OF MANY WARM HEARTED AND LOVING TYPES WHO ARE bLOGGING ABOUT mE:

http://417pundit.blogspot.com./

First some history for my blogger friend.

The copy of the Articles in the U.S. National Archives has a series of signatures on page six. The signing of the Articles was a process that has caused some confusion. The Articles were approved for distribution to the states, on November 15, 1777. A copy was made for each state and one was kept by the Congress. The copies sent to the states for ratification were unsigned, and a cover letter had only the signatures of Henry Laurens and Charles Thomson, who were the President and Secretary to the Congress.
But, the Articles at that time were unsigned, and the date was blank. Congress began the signing process by examining their copy of the Articles on June 27, 1778. They ordered a final copy prepared (the one in the National Archives), and that delegates should inform the secretary of their authority for ratification.
On July 9, 1778 the prepared copy was ready. They dated it, and began to sign. They also requested each of the remaining states to notify its delegation when ratification was completed. On that date, delegates present from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina signed the articles to indicate that their states had ratified. New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland could not, since their states had not ratified. North Carolina and Georgia also didn't sign that day, since their delegations were absent.
After the first signing, some delegates signed at the next meeting they attended. For example, John Wentworth of New Hampshire added his name on August 8. John Penn was the first of North Carolina's delegates to arrive (on July 10), and the delegation signed the Articles on July 21, 1778.
The other states had to wait until they ratified the Articles, and notified their Congressional delegation. Georgia signed on July 24, New Jersey on November 26, and Delaware on February 12, 1779. After a wait of two years, Maryland ratified, and her delegates signed the Articles on March 1, 1781. The articles were finally in force.
Congress had debated the Articles for over a year and a half, and the ratification process had taken nearly three and a half years. Many participants in the original debates were no longer delegates, and some of the signers had only recently arrived. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were signed by a group of men who were never present in the Congress at the same time.
The signers and the states they represented were:
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett and John Wentworth Jr. Massachusetts Bay: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Francis Dana, James Lovell, and Samuel Holten Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: William Ellery, Henry Marchant, and John Collins Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, Oliver Wolcott, Titus Hosmer, and Andrew Adams New York: James Duane, Francis Lewis, William Duer, and Gouverneur Morris New Jersey: John Witherspoon and Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Daniel Roberdeau, Jonathan Bayard Smith, William Clingan, and Joseph Reed Delaware: Thomas McKean, John Dickinson, and Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland: John Hanson and Daniel Carroll Virginia: Richard Henry Lee, John Banister, Thomas Adams, John Harvie, and Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina: John Penn, Cornelius Harnett, and John Williams South Carolina: Henry Laurens, Will Henry Drayton, John Mathews, Richard Hutson, and Thomas Heyward Jr. Georgia: John Walton, Edward Telfair, and Edward Langworthy

Second my ability to type. I have none. I hunt and peck as best I can. Trying to work The Mavis Beacon thing but....time....

As to cut and paste nature of my Blog...Actually blog is a misnomer. I use the space to get info from show out to listeners..Phone numbers, addresses, short article I have read. My own thoughts...for the most part I save those for the show.

My accent...it amazes me how "tolerant" liberals are!
I wonder if their Grandfather was the same guy who belittled immigrants from Italy, Japan or Poland?

The obsession with my name: I legally changed my last name to Jericho when I became an American Citizen. For the safety of my family I did not publicize this. Given the ranting of the lunatics you can understand why I would be cautious and protective of my family.

Also just so you know I thought it disengenuine of me to use a name that was not my own. Given what I stand for I made the decision to change my name 1-year before arriving in Springfield but I had to wait for my citizenship to be approved before I could do it.

Bottom line if we have the nut cases this worried then you know our message is resonating and we are having an impact.

Don't be concerned by these people, they are rather amusing.

Oh I do not block any comments unless they are libelous or could be hurtful..like posting someone's address etc. You see I believe in personal responsibility and accountability. It's my blog and I am responsible for everything on it.

Oh.. Oh... one last thing: unlike most of my "friends" I blog and post everywhere under my own name. I don't hide behind no name a misname or "anonymous"

sEE YA ON THE RADIO!

Miracle or Random Chance?

2006-07-10T12:28:00.000-05:00

This is almost too fantastic to believe. I took part of story from KY3's site link, for whole story go to link right beneath.

SPRINGFIELD -- The building that served as the only abortion clinic in the Ozarks for nearly three decades has a new tenant with a much different message.After the abortion clinic on East Cherry Street closed last fall, the building's owners looked for someone to fill the space. The Loftis family announced Sunday that it is donating the facility to a group working to reduce the number of abortions by women in the Ozarks.

http://www.ky3.com/news/3315696.html

To contact Pregnancy Care Center call 877-0800 or go to:
http://www.pccchoices.com/home.htm

See ya on the radio

Shapes Mentoring Program

2006-07-07T11:42:00.000-05:00

We voted down The Community Safety Initiative believing we the people could do better for our kids than a government run Child Development Center.

Time to put up. Shapes is doing incredible work and provides us all a chance to do something positive in a kid's life.

Learn more here:

http://shapes.ag.org/

Ooops

2006-07-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

A few days late but always worth reading!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Bush was right!

2006-06-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

OK Here it is:

BUSH WAS RIGHT!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o762HKxYMeA&eur1

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html

Party on!

Need some more links to share with our liberal "friends" on the existance of Weapons of Mass Distruction

http://www.m4radio.com/main/messageboard/1178.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120137,00.html

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1528363,00.html

Oh and the next time one of the "phone solicitors" intrudes on your day you might want to remember this.

The phone rang as I was sitting down to my anticipated evening meal,and as I answered it

I was greeted with, "Is this William Wagenhoss?"

This didn't sound anything like my name, so I asked, "Who is calling?"

The telemarketer said he was with The Rubberband-Powered FreezerCompany or something like that and then I asked him if he knewWilliam personally and why was he calling this number. I then said off to the side, "Get really good pictures of the body and allthe blood."I then turned back to the phone and advised the caller thathe had entered a murder scene and must stay on the line because we had already traced this call and he would be receiving a summons to appearin the local courthouse to testify in this murder case.I then questioned the caller at great length as to his name, address,phone number at home, at work, who he worked for, how he knew the dead guy and could he prove where he had been about one hour before he made this call. The telemarketer was getting very concerned and hisanswers were given in a shaky voice.I proceeded to tell him we had located his position at his workplace and the police were entering the building to take him intocustody. At that point, I heard the headset fall and the scurryingof his running away.

My meal was cold, but oh-so-very enjoyable.

My Space

2006-06-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

Wow did we strike a chord this AM. Countless emails on the subject. Want to share a few with you and a link.

Mr. Jericho,

I was listening to your show this morning, and I have to admit, I had to fight back the tears. For the past few years I have seen what you are talking about. I have spent extensive amounts of time trying to figure out what is causing the breakdown of society’s relationships. There is only one thing I could narrow it down to. I think we have lost our vision. And I’m not talking about our country; I’m talking about the backbone of our country, the church. Prayer meetings, Teachings, House Churches, have all been replaced with programs. In the history of the church, has it ever functioned more like a business? I am a 29 year old male construction worker that does not trust people. I have been stiffed on bills by Christians, punched by a fellow church member, and twice now been a part of two major church split ups because of the selfish nature of man. I love Christ with my whole heart, but the Church has hurt me. I am not the only one. In the construction world, I meet countless “sinners” (though most of these people I cherish for their worldly integrity, at least they have integrity) and most of them feel the same way. The one place where you used to be able to go and let your guard down now condemns. Many years ago I was unfaithful to my first wife. Did the church offer assistance; no they snubbed their noses at me at the grocery store, and gossiped about me at the beauty salon. My contempt for church grew when a local resident committed suicide. She was a lesbian. I thought what a great opportunity for the church to reach out to her lesbian friends and put their arms around them and show Christ to them. My expectations were too great. Person after person went to speak, telling them they will go to hell if they don’t repent. Mr. Jericho, this breaks my heart. We have all forgotten where we came from. I want to be loved, the way Christ loved. So an answer to your question about what can we do? I think it starts with some of us that are tired of the condemnation and the social barriers that keep us apart. It is time we of all color, all social status, and mostly of all denominations, come together and worship. Let us show these people that use myspace.com the right kind of love, so they will not fall into the trap. And maybe, just maybe, we can save some of them.

Thank You, Mr. Jericho.

Vince,
There is at least one church that was formed specifically to be a virtual church...the message streamed on the internet, etc. Now it is (I believe) live...not podcast...but so much for the koinonia of the christian fellowship.

Here is a different perspective...
God placed within every human the instinctive desire to share our most personal things, preferably our relationship with God our Father, thus giving us the push even the most shy of us need to go forth and witness to our neighbors. Also, as Christians, we have been given instructions to gather and have fellowship with other Christians in order to keep positive in a world ruled by Satan.
These inate qualities, however, are by no means guaranteed to be powered by our Lord, and in fact, prove to be a great place for Satan to step in to the lives of unsuspecting individuals and get his foot in the door! Think about it just for a minute...Satan, by sneaking into our lives through all forms of media and especially the internet, can not only provide a place for people to feel warm and cozy and share their innermost feelings (although very rarely may this be about Christ) and at the same time almost completely limit contact (fellowship) with other children of our Lord. Sly dog is the Devil!
About these things we have many times been warned and should take heed. I have read but do not recall the exact scriptures that verify all of this, but trust me--it's in the Bible somewhere!!

Here's one of the articles I used to prep for this AM:

http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/interpersonal/indisclosure.html

Miss Kortni's MySpace:

www.myspace.com/browneyez060881

See ya on the radio!

Money in: Garbage out!

2006-06-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

There is no question there is NO correlation between money spent and increases in the quality of education. In fact there seems to be an inverse relationship. Our education system IS broken.

Read more here:

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/education.htm

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Features/agenda_education.cfm

http://news-info.wustl.edu/pdf/Podgursky.pdf

See ya on the radio!

Roast in Hell

2006-06-08T09:06:00.000-05:00

I appreciate God will have the final judgement and I have NO doubt he will be far more gracious and forgiving than I would ever be but for now I do take some satisfaction the Al - Zarqawi is in a very hot place with NO virgins anywhere in sight.

Why am I feeling good. Knowing a man such as this is no more.

{Taken from Fox News}

Fast Facts: Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi

The following is a list of attacks and kidnappings claimed by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and his followers.

2005:
* Dec. 27: Volley of rockets fired from southern Lebanon into Israel.
* Nov. 9: Triple homicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60.
* Aug. 19: Rocket attack in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, killing Jordanian soldier. One Katyusha rocket lands in neighboring Israel — causing no casualties — and another misses a U.S. Navy ship docked at Aqaba.
* May 7: Two explosives-laden cars plow into an American security company convoy in Baghdad, killing at least 22 people — including two Americans.
* Feb. 28: Car bomber strikes crowd of police and Iraqi National Guard recruits in the southern city of Hillah, killing 125 people.

2004:
* Dec. 19: Car bombs tear through funeral procession in Najaf and main bus station in nearby Karbala, killing at least 60 in the Shiite holy cities.
* Oct. 30: Body of hostage Shosei Koda, 24, of Japan, is found decapitated in Baghdad, his body wrapped in an American flag.
* Sept. 30: Bombings in Baghdad kill 35 children and seven adults as U.S. troops hand out candy at the inauguration of a sewage treatment plant. Al-Zarqawi's group claims responsibility for attacks that day, but it is unclear if these include the explosions that killed the children.
* Sept. 16: British engineer Kenneth Bigley, and U.S. engineers Jack Hensley and Eugene "Jack" Armstrong kidnapped in Baghdad. By Oct. 10, 2004, all three men have been confirmed beheaded.
* Sept. 14: Car bomb rips through a busy market near a Baghdad police headquarters where Iraqis are waiting to apply for jobs, killing 47.
* Sept. 13: Video purportedly from Al Qaeda in Iraq shows Durmus Kumdereli, a Turkish truck driver, being beheaded.
* Aug. 2: Video from followers of al-Zarqawi showing shooting death of hostage Murat Yuce of Turkey.
* June 29: Bulgarian truck drivers Georgi Lazov, 30, and Ivaylo Kepov, 32, are kidnapped. Al-Zarqawi's followers suspected of decapitating both men.
* June 22: Kidnappers behead South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il; Al-Jazeera television says the killing was carried out by al-Zarqawi's group.
* June 14: Car bomb attack on a vehicle convoy in Baghdad kills 13, including three General Electric employees.
* May 18: Car bomb assassinates Iraqi Governing Council president Abdel-Zahraa Othman.
* May 11: Kidnapped American businessman Nicholas Berg is beheaded while being videotaped, and the voice of the knife-wielder is identified as al-Zarqawi's.
* March 2: Coordinated blasts from homicide bombers, mortars and planted explosives strike Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, killing at least 181. U.S. and Iraqi officials link the attacks to al-Zarqawi.

2003:
* Aug. 29: Car bomb in Najaf kills more than 85 people, including Ayatollah Mohammad Baqr al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
* Aug. 19: Truck bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad kills 23, including top U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
2002:
Oct. 28: Laurence Foley, a diplomat and administrator of U.S. aid programs in Jordan, is gunned down outside his home in Amman.

See ya on the radio!

Does La Raza Have It's Own School in the US ?

2006-06-02T09:17:00.000-05:00

Doug McIntyre KABC in LA has been doing some great work on this story. Yes American Tax Payers are paying for a school that teaches only in spanish and teaches Mexican History and Culture . No Blacks, Asians or Whites need attend.

http://www.kabc.com/listingsEntry.asp?ID=437469&PT

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_152141129.html

Ya I know, me too.

See ya at Boortz and see ya on the radio!

Encourage a Soldier

2006-05-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

As we approach Memorial Day our thoughts turn to our soldiers, past and present. IcCan't get him show online but will be sending him some good stuff. You might considersending a letter to.

Mr. Jericho,
I am writing from Whiteman AFB, Mo. I live in Ozark, Mo but am here for medical reasons. I will be here for sometime (have been since nov 06). I feel I should tell you that it is major problem that I am here for. I was in Iraq and hurt both shoulders.

Now Uncle Sam is fixing them both.

Is there anyway to listen to you over the internet? I miss your show. Thank you, Robert

Robert Reeves PO Box 213, Knob Noster, Mo. 65305

We are on the air Memorial Day with a whole cast of veterans. Don't forget to get your Minuteman application in and then let me know.

See ya on the radio!

James Clary

2006-05-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

What a fabulous guest. I had so much fun being a goof and trading recipes and ideas with James.

Here are the links you need for the recipes mentioned.

http://www.clarysrestaurant.com/recipes.php

email James with any questions at: jamesclary@clarysrestaurant.com

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes!

2006-05-17T12:54:00.000-05:00

Tax his land, tax his wage,Tax his bed in which he lays.Tax his tractor, tax his mule,Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his cow, tax his goat,Tax his pants, tax his coat.Tax his ties, tax his shirts,Tax his work, tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,Tax him if he tries to think.Tax his booze, tax his beers,If he cries, tax his tears.

Tax his bills, tax his gas,Tax his notes, tax his cash.Tax him good and let him knowThat after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more,Tax him until he's good and sore.Tax his coffin, tax his grave,Tax the sod in which he lays.

Put these words upon his tomb,"Taxes drove me to my doom!"And when he's gone, we won't relax,We'll still be after the inheritance TAX

Hey maybe you'll get a refund!!

Accounts Receivable TaxBuilding Permit TaxCDL license TaxCigarette TaxCorporate Income TaxDog License TaxFederal Income TaxFederal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)Fishing License TaxFood License TaxFuel permit taxGasoline Tax (??? cents per gallon)Hunting License TaxInheritance TaxInterest expense (tax on the money)Inventory taxIRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)Liquor TaxLuxury TaxesMarriage License TaxMedicare TaxProperty TaxReal Estate TaxService charge taxesSocial Security TaxRoad usage taxes (Truckers)Sales TaxesRecreational Vehicle TaxSchool TaxState Income TaxSocial Security TaxState Unemployment Tax (SUTA)Telephone federal excise taxTelephone federal universal service fee taxTelephone federal, state and local surcharge taxesTelephone minimum usage surcharge taxTelephone recurring and non-recurring charges taxTelephone state and local taxTelephone usage charge taxUtility TaxesVehicle License Registration TaxVehicle Sales TaxWatercraft registration TaxWell Permit TaxWorkers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

See ya on the radio!

Who were the Minutemen

2006-05-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

Here's the link you need to sign up to become a Minuteman:
https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/registration.php?a=100

If you know someone who is internet challenged they can call: (520) 829-3112

Once you have signed up email me: vjericho@ksgf.com so I know to put you on the list and invite you to the organizational meeting.

Put "Minuteman Volunteer" in the subject line.

REMEMBER: Registration fee waived if you have a License to Carry a Concealed Weapon, and a copy is sent with registration to HQ. Call (520) 829-3112 for details.

Want to know your history? Here's a brief article from Brandywine Battlefield on the original Minutemen.

Although the terms militia and minutemen are sometimes used interchangeably today, in the 18th century there was a decided difference between the two. Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war. Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly.

Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen, performing additional duties as such. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle.

Although today Minutemen are thought of as connected to the Revolutionary War in America, their existence was conceived in Massachusetts during the mid-seventeenth century. As early as 1645, men were selected from the militia ranks to be dressed with matchlocks or pikes and accoutrements within half an hour of being warned. In 1689 another type of Minuteman company came into existence. Called Snowshoemen, each was to "provide himself with a good pair of snowshoes, one pair of moggisons, and one hatchet" and to be ready to march on a moment's warning. Minutemen also played a role in the French and Indian War in the 1750's. A journal entry from Samuel Thompson, a Massachusetts militia officer, states, "...but when our men were gone, they sent eleven more at one minute's warning, with 3 days provision..." By the time of the Revolution, Minutemen had been a well-trained force for six generations in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Every town had maintained its 'training band'. The adversity that this region faced-Native-American uprisings, war with France, and potential for local insurrections, social unrest, and rioting-provided ample reason to adhere to a sound militia organization. In his recent book, perhaps David Hackett Fischer puts it best, "The muster of the Minutemen in 1775 was the product of many years of institutional development...it was also the result of careful planning and collective effort." (p. 151). By the time of the Revolution, Massachusetts had been training, drilling, and improving their militia for well over a hundred years.

Unfortunately, one thing the Minutemen lacked was central leadership. This disadvantage would lead to their dissolution. In February of 1775 Concord was one of the first towns to comply with the order to create Minutemen companies out of the militia. Of approximately 400 militia from Concord's muster rolls, one hundred would also serve as Minutemen. When a battle took place Minutemen companies from several towns combined their units. An officer from the 43rd Regiment of Foot was sent to the North Bridge in Concord with a number of light infantry. Minutemen from Concord, Acton, Littleton, and other towns combined forces. After a few volleys were fired, the British light infantry retreated back to the Concord Common area. Lacking central command, with each company of Minutemen loyal to their own town, they did not pursue the redcoats. In the running battle that ensued fifteen miles back to Boston the Massachusetts militia would see their last action as Minutemen in history. The militia would go on to form an army, surrounding Boston and inflicting heavy casualties on the British army at Bunker and Breed's Hill.

Thus, although lacking central command, the Minutemen were still better organized and battle-tested than any other part-time military. They were a vital and necessary force, playing a crucial role in not only the Revolutionary War, but in earlier conflicts. Without these "ready in a minute" men, our history may have been written in a very different way.

– Andrew Ronemus

The Pretender and The Professional

2006-05-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

The pretender:
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060507/COLUMNISTS20/60507002/1109/OPINIONS

The Professional:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/05/not_a_day_without_racism.html

enough said.

If you want a little fun, the snopes of the food world:
http://www.robertwolke.com/

Info on how to volunteer on the petition to ban minors from bars tomorrow.

See ya on the radio!

Jericho's Journal

Picture tells 1000 Words

The real Santa Clause

The Great WKRP Turkey Drop

How to Poop at Work

Alfred Lord Tennyson "Charge of the light brigade" animation

Yea I know you've seen this before...but it is SOOOO true!

I Pledge?

The US Debt Clock in Real Time

A letter I got

McCaskill confirms Springfield Town Hall

I don't do chain mail but I will share this with you!

Links from this morning's show

Well Fed Neighbors and 1000 Gardens

Springfield City Council Meeting Agenda

Crap and Tax

We NEED to Laugh!

Springfield City Council Agenda - June 15, 2009

I don't believe it!!!

KSGF Line Up

Fair Tax Update

Shopping Music

Obama wants to BANKRUPT the Coal Industry.

Doug Burlison - Statement on City Priorities-Public Safety

Oh my gosh!

Sarah Palin

Right...Again!

Letters to "Dave" serving Over There!

Snow DAZE

Thank You and YAHOOOOO!!!

Ratings are out!

Hey I didn't write this

2007 Darwin Awards

City's Response {Finally} to Pythian Castle

A Thomas Jefferson Education

Top Local Stories 2007

To the Moron known as Joe America

Letter from Tamara

Galloping Goose

A Christmas Present

Flaapulence

Man to Man

A Christmas Poem

FLAAPL

My latest Column in The Community Free Press

Just do it.

Busy Day

Silly List This weeks column in CFP

Container Ordinance

Gentlemen find your Popsicles!

Air Show

Volunteer

Going over the wall!

WOW what a show!

The Real Cost of Corn Ethanol

OSHA wants your bullets

Carleson-Gardner in the News...in Columbia

Contact Bond

Amnesty by any other name

The Whoring of America

Salute to Veterans Blood Drive

Just the Facts

MSU School of Social Work - Toxic Waste Dump

Reeds Spring Teacher

City of Springfield

The Bigg Boom, Minutemen and Adult Stem Cell Cures

Remembering Ford and Flag Etiquette

Does this qualify as plagiarism?

Some Useful Information on Gangs in Schools

Sex Offenders for Halloween

Karpinski

Pat Buchanan says...

Letter to the Care Bears

City of Springfield

Fair Tax Song

Stand Up

hE hATE mE!

Miracle or Random Chance?

Shapes Mentoring Program

Ooops