Check out this story in The Hill that shows Matt "Baby" Blunt benefitted from Roy Blunt's shady fundraising practices. For the full story, click here.

In this letter to the editor from the KC Star, Claire Kuddes shares her views on nursing home reform. For the full letter, click here.

After surviving a vicious political attack by John Ashcroft and Senator Kit Bond, Judge Ronnie White keeps making history. Read all about it in this piece from the St. Louis American.

2002 Federal Register Is Longest Ever
Page Count of Regulations Grows Under GOP, Study Finds

According to a story in the Washington Post, the libertarian Cato think tank found that the Federal Register boasted 75,606 pages of federal regulations in 2002, up from a high of 74,528 pages in 2000, when President Bill Clinton was still in office. The surge is part of a decade-long rise in this crude index of federal regulatory activity, with the number of pages in the Federal Register increasing by 24 percent between 1993 and 2002.

According to the Washington Post, a federal appeals court Tuesday rejected the Bush administration's bid to stop a lawsuit that seeks to delve into the energy industry's ties to Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

Check out this story from the Hannibal Courier Post in which Senator Kinder yet again advocates for local property tax increases to make up for the Missouri GOP's devastating cuts to education. For the full story, go to http://www.hannibal.net/stories/070303/edu_0703030026.shtml. (Sorry, cut and paste is the only way I could get it to work.)

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According to the story:
It was suggested last week by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder that "school districts could make up most of the shortfall in state funding with local property taxes."
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Thankfully, Governor Holden has announced his strong opposition to the GOP's proposal to raise local property taxes. He has also said he will oppose their efforts to force consolidation of rural schools.

Speaker Pro Tem Rod Jetton would surely get the award for his SEVEN page letter on June 20, 2003 to Missouri physicians. As Winston Churchill once said, "this paper, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read." Jetton should get some credit for creativity though. On the first page, he managed to work in the word "socialists" twice.

Holden signs redevelopment bill

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Hoping to give Missouri's economy a boost, Gov. Bob Holden on Monday signed into law a measure intended to promote development in urban and rural areas by offering incentives to communities and developers.
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For more of this story click here.

The current rumor floating around the State Capitol is that in addition to the entire Blunt family, Phillip Morris now has former Missouri GOP head honcho John Hancock on the payroll. Remember, you heard it here first.

Check out this piece by the Democratic Leadership Council

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But as the president's political advisors seek in the coming weeks and months to press the GOP's advantage among voters on national security issues, it is worth remembering that his predecessor, a Democrat, and his predecessor's defense advisors and uniformed service leadership, placed him in a position to both talk and act tough in the days since 9/11. ---

Be sure to look around the rest of the site. There's lots of useful stuff there. To sign up for the New Dem Daily click here.

On a sad note for all you Beverly Hillbillies Fans....

Ebsen dies at 95

This letter to the editor by Lou Birenbaum in the St. Louis Post Dispatch poses a very important question.

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What exactly did the Republicans win? A blue ribbon for causing thousands of teacher vacancies and larger class sizes? A trophy for pricing higher education out of reach for many moderate-income individuals?
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Lou, I couldn't agree with you more.

The impact of the Missouri GOP's devastating cuts to education is already starting to take its toll. Click here for the story from the St. Joe News Press.

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"The biggest expense in any school budget is people," said Don Lawrence, superintendent of schools for the Savannah School District. "Our district has had to eliminate teaching and support positions through attrition. We have assigned people additional tasks, reassigned staff, reduced administrative support and we have also simply had to release people from their teaching positions."
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Check out this editorial from the Jeff City News Tribune which takes aim at Kit Bond.

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In less than 24 hours last week, we received six press releases from Bond, one of Missouri's two Republican senators.
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Maybe Senator Bond could save some of the taxpayers money by cutting back on the self-congratulations.

Check out this thoughtful letter to the editor in today's Kansas City Star.

Here's the catchy part:

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So the "no-tax increase" stance came down to it being OK for Missourians to pay increased property taxes to keep schools going so Republicans could say at the next election, "We did not vote for a tax increase?"
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Makes you think doesn't it?

Check out this piece by David Broder of the Washington Post on Grover Norquist, the evil-genius behind the GOP's long-term strategy.

In an AP story by Robert Sandler on Thursday July 3, 2003, House Budget Committee Chairman Carl Bearden was quoted extensively.

Here is an excerpt of Bearden's absurd comments:

Check out this piece from the Kansas City Star by Steve Kraske on Governor Holden's rising fortunes.

Governor Bob Holden weighed in against the Republican plan to raise local property taxes. The Governor believes this plan would have devastating consequences for Missouri's schools. See this press release for more information.

Hanaway Pledges More Cuts to Schools Next Year

In the attached Southeast Missourian story Hanaway pledges, "they will continue to hold the line against taxes even if it means additional budget cuts."

Of course we should do all we can to hold the line on taxes. But at what cost? When it comes down to closing corporate loopholes or protecting our schools from devastating cuts, Governor Holden says the loopholes should go. Hanaway sees it differently I guess.