Feltner represented by former Boone County judge who resigned after sexual harassment charges were leveled

Cole County Circuit Court documents indicate that Eric Feltner, the former chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who was fired after word of his arrest on sex charges became public, is being defended by a former judge who resigned the bench under pressure after being accused of sexual harassment.

As noted in the June 27 Turner Report, Kenneth Stanley Clay, better known as Stan Clay, filed a motion June 20 asking for a second change of judge in Feltner's case.

Clay, who has listed an e-mail address of "squeakystan@hotmail.com" on documents filed in U. S. District Court, served as a judge in Boone County for more than a decade until sexual harassment charges were brought against him in 1991.

The Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline issued a report on June 17, 1991, saying that Clay was "guilty of nine counts of sexually harassing female officers of the court over a period of 12 years," according to a June 27, 1991, Associated Press article.

"In one incident," the article continues, "Clay reportedly placed a knife momentarily under the chin of a probation officer and fondled her."

The Commission recommended that Clay receive a 30-day suspension and undergo psychological counseling. A July 7, 1991, AP article indicates the Missouri Supreme Court was considering taking stronger action against Clay and had scheduled a September hearing. The hearing did not take place after Clay resigned later in July.

Clay's new client, Feltner, was arrested by the Jefferson City Police Department on two counts of furnishing pornographic material to a minor.
***

A thank-you to a commenter on the Fired Up Missouri website, who initially asked if Kenneth Stanley Clay and Judge Stan Clay was the same person. It was something that had not occurred to me.

Yet another all-time low for GateHouse Media

After a three cent improvement Monday, GateHouse Media was back to its recent pattern today, dropping five cents to another all-time low, $2.41 per share. The stock dipped to $2.34 earlier in the day.

GateHouse Media owns The Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, and several hundred newspapers across the United States.

Kinder outlines proposal to outlaw legislators working as political consultants

In what has widely been seen as a knock on Speaker of the House Rod Jetton, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, in a series of campaign stops today, outlined a proposal to outlaw legislators working as political consultants.

That is something, of course, that Jetton has been criticized for doing.

Steelman to call for repeal of ethanol mandate

State Treasurer Sarah Steelman will call for a repeal of Missouri's ethanol mandate during campaign stops today in Joplin, Springfield, and St. Louis:

A state law that took effect in January requires gas stations to sell a 10 percent ethanol blend whenever it is not more expensive than traditional gasoline.

The ethanol mandate was one of the priorities that Republican Matt Blunt announced when he campaigned for governor four years ago.

But it has come under criticism from people who believe the increased supply of corn-based fuel is partly to blame for rising food and livestock feed prices.

Greenfield storm shelter locked when tornado siren sounds

The city of Greenfield's storm shelter was locked when tornado sirens sounded Saturday, according to a report from KY3:

When residents went to the town's public shelter to take cover, they found themselves locked out, and potentially in more danger.

Police couldn't reach the person who has a key to the school and its shelter. The police chief says every officer will now receive a key, ensuring the shelter will be opened when weather threatens.

Nexstar in danger of falling below $4 per share

Nexstar Broadcasting stock fell 10 cents per share Monday, closing at $4.09. Nexstar owns KSNF in Joplin and KSFX in Springfield and also operates KODE in Joplin and KOLR in Springfield.

The stock price for Saga Communications, owners of KOAM and KFJX in the Joplin/Pittsburg market, dropped 44 cents Monday, closing at $5.01.

Steve & Barry's faces growing problems

It appears Joplin shoppers should not get too used to having recent Northpark Mall newcomers Steve and Barry's around.
The company is having serious financial troubles, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Though no specific locations are mentioned, the company is reportedly planning to close more than 100 of its 275 stores:

If the Port Washington, N.Y.-based retail chain cannot find emergency financing, it may have to liquidate its 275 stores in 40 states, including 10 stores in the Chicago area, according to the Journal report.

Previous media reports have said that Steve & Barry’s was unable to pay its vendors because of the cash squeeze.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the principals of the chain have sought help from Sears Chairman Edward S. Lampert, a hedge-fund billionaire, as a possible investor, but that it has received little interest from potential retail investors.

Obama speaks on patriotism in Independence

Sen. Barack Obama brought his presidential candidacy to Independence today, addresing patriotism in the home town of President Harry S Truman.

Roy Blunt has wanted Hulshof as governor for a decade

While officially endorsing Kenny Hulshof for governor, Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt said he has been encouraging Hulshof to run for the position for the past decade.

Of course, Blunt's son Matt got in the way and Hulshof stepped aside:

"I believe Kenny Hulshof understands the people of Missouri as well as anybody who has ever run for state office," Blunt told a crowd of Hulshof supporters gathered this afternoon at the Candlewood Suites hotel on N. Glenstone Ave.

“He understands our state, he shares our values, he’s going to be a great governor,” Blunt said.

Blunt, R-Springfield, also said he started encouraging Hulshof to consider running for governor "eight or nine years ago."

Much speculation has centered around when Gov. Matt Blunt will endorse Hulshof. For Hulshof's sake, sometime in December would be nice. Hulshof already has the endorsement of the Blunt that still has the ability to get him some votes.

A link to KSN/KODE video of the Blunt/Hulshof announcement can be found here.

July 3 hearing set for Barton County sheriff's wife

A 10 a.m. July 3 hearing set is for Susan Michelle Higgins, 36, Golden City, who is charged with identity theft.
Mrs. Higgins is the wife of Barton County Sheriff Shannon Higgins.

Missouri's first lobbyist does it again

The amazing streak of Missouri's first lobbyist Andrew Blunt continued in May, as he filed another no-expenditure report with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The multi-talented first brother has not paid a cent on behalf of his powerful clients since Matt Blunt became governor in January 2005.

Stevenson tops area legislators in May gifts from lobbyists

Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, more than doubled his lobbyist gift total for 2008 during May, according to documents posted today on the Missouri Ethics Commission website.
Stevenson, who had received $287.93 during the first four months of 2008, collected $505.22 in gifts during May, the documents indicated.
Most of that amount came from Ameristar Casino lobbyist Jorgen Schlemeier, though his disclosure documents spread the wealth among five other Gamble & Schlemeier clients, imcluding the Missouri College of Emergency Physicians and the Missouri Pharmacy Association. The five clients paid $50 for a meal, $100 in certificates listed as "entertainment," and $240 for "hotel accomodations."

Runner-up to Stevenson, and the top gift recipient for the year is Rep. Steve Hunter, R-Joplin, who received $382.07 in gifts in May, bringing his 2008 total to $2,239.59. Hunter's gifts included $142.56 on May 15 for meals from Phillip Schnieders of the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association.

Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, who has $1,551.28 for the year, received $153.27 in gifts during May, including a $55.97 meal from Rodney Boyd, lobbyist for Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal on May 27.

Ed Emery, R-Lamar, picked up $126.77 in May, upping his 2008 haul to $867.55. His big ticket gifts were a $35 meal from Missouri Southern State University lobbyist Kyna Iman on May 7, and a $31.35 meal from Larry Cole, Cornerstone Health, the following day.

Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, has $557.63 for the year, including $58.92 in May, and Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, has the smallest total of gifts for the first five months, $402.25, with $97.30 of that coming in May, including a $51.09 meal May 15 from Robert W. Wilson, lobbyist for the Missouri Motor Carriers Association.

Roy Blunt to endorse Hulshof today

Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt is expected to endorse Rep. Kenny Hulshof for governor today, according to KY3 Political Notebook:

Asked how sure the source was about the announcement, the Springfield Republican replied, "100%." Hulshof and Blunt are scheduled to unveil the endorsement in Springfield, Joplin and Mt. Vernon Monday. The duo will then follow-up with appearances in other southwest Missouri towns, including Branson and Bolivar on Tuesday.

Southwest Missouri blogs take top three spots in Blog Net News most influential poll

Southwest Missouri blogs are back on top in this week's Blog Net News poll of most influential political blogs in Missouri.
LIfe of Jason captured the top spot, with The Turner Report finishing second, and KY3 Political Notebook third.
This area claimed eight of the top 10 positions with the JackeHammer blog finishing eighth, Bus Plunge 12th, Branson, Missouri 14th, Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind 18th, and Desdinova 20th.

Dupont: Feds attempting strongarm tactics to extort guilty plea

Anderson Guest House owner Robert Dupont says he pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge to prevent his stepdaughter from going to prison.

Five years later, federal officials appear set on getting the same results, even upping the ante by indicting not only Dupont's stepdaughter, but his wife...only this time things are not going to work the same way.

"I'm going to fight this," Dupont said. "These charges are wrong."

Dupont was indicted in September on fraud charges, with the government claiming he was illegally hiding his ownership and operation of the Anderson Guest House, as well as facilities in Joplin and Carl Junction. The Turner Report was the first to reveal, in an April 14 post, that Dupont, his wife Laverne, and stepdaughter Kelley Wheeler were indicted for health care fraud and money laundering.

The charges, Dupont claims, are politically motivated, coming only a few months after 11 were killed in a November 2006 fire at the Anderson Guest House.

"It's time to get this right," Dupont said. The biggest obstacle standing in Dupont's way is his 2003 guilty plea, a guilty plea he says came under duress as federal prosecutors threatened to send his stepdaughter and codefendant, Ms. Wheeler, to prison if Dupont did not change his plea.

"They said if I did not plead guilty, they would send her to prison for five years." Dupont and his lawyer thought they had worked out a deal in which Dupont would plead guilty and his stepdaughter would not receive any prison time.

It was not long before Dupont says he discovered that the government was not going to hold up its end of the deal...and nothing had ever been put in writing. One of the two charges against Ms. Wheeler was dropped, but she ended up spending six months in prison on the other.

On Feb. 21, 2003, Dupont was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Dupont appealed his conviction, saying the government had reneged on the deal, and he had received ineffective assistance from his lawyer:

"(Dupont) believes that he had meritorious and adequate defenses to the charges, and waived said defenses and right to trial by his plea of guilty in order to effectively release his stepdaughter Kelley Liveoak. Defendant's counsel Richard Fredman believed that all of the charges would be dropped against Kelley Liveoak upon (Dupont's) plea as per a letter received by (Dupont) following his plea and so advised (Dupont) prior to the entry of his plea."

In the motion, Dupont said his lawyer's failure to enforce the agreement, or to even review the written agreement "constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel."

The appellate court rejected Dupont's motion, noting that there was no evidence of an agreement in the written record, and also noting that Dupont signed documents indicating he had not been coerced into the plea.

So Dupont's guilty plea on a charge of defrauding the government through use of Sandhill, Inc., and Sterling Home Health Care, companies he allegedly owned, stayed on the books...even though an FBI agent had testified before the guilty plea was entered that Dupont did not own Sandhill or Sterling Home Health Care during the times in which the crimes were allegedly committed.

According to a trial transcript, FBI agent Janet Butkus said, "There was a sale, a parting of the ways between the owners of Sterling Home Health Care, Inc., that being Robert Dupont and Karl Householder, who originally owned Sterling Home Health Care by themselves. Dupont and Householder, they decided to split about this time and part of Sterling Home Health Care, Inc. was sold to Karl and Julia, and they changed the name. And Robert Dupont kept part of Sterling Home Health Care, Inc. and took it with him when he moved out of the Joplin area. (Note: This was actually when Dupont made his move into the Joplin area.) If I might add, at that same time when he sold, when they made their split, originally Sandhill assisted in the Butler Guest House, Lamar Guest House and St. Louis Guest House. When they made their split, at that time, not only did Dupont sell part of Sterling, the home health agency, but he sold Butler Guest House and Lamar Guest House to Karl and Julia and he kept St. Louis Guest House for himself."

It was noted in the trial testimony that the doctors who had been involved in the scheme, had been billing patients through the Lamar and Butler Guest Houses, the ones owned by Householder at that time, according to Ms. Butkus, and not at the St. Louis Guest House, which remained under Dupont's ownership.

During the current case, the government is likely to note Dupont's guilty plea, as well as note that Dupont is Householder's brother-in-law, and indicate that those two facts show that Dupont has experience in trying to hide his connection to running businesses.

At this time, the next hearing in Dupont's case is not scheduled until December.

Book signing set for Lamar author

A signing for Lamar Democrat reporter Richard Cooper's latest book, Hickory Bob: The Bob Harmon Story, will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at Always Buying Books, 5357 N. Main, Joplin.

This description of the book comes from its page on Amazon.com:

Before the days of Stan "The Man" or Lou Brock or Bob Gibson, there was one of the most durable pitchers ever to wear a St. Louis Cardinal uniform. He was Missouri-born Bob Harmon. In 1911, "Hickory Bob" won 23 games and was the starting pitcher in 41. The 41 starts remains the Cardinal franchise record, likely never to be broken. This is the first biography of this dead ball era Cardinal star. His remarkable life from virtual orphan to baseball great to the heights of business success are all documented here, along with pages of vintage photographs.

Hearing date reset in Rowan Ford murder case

The next hearing for the two men accused of the brutal rape and murder of nine-year-old Rowan Ford of Stella has been moved to 11 a.m. Aug. 19, in Barry County Circuit Court.
The hearing for Rowan Ford's stepfather David Wesley Spears and his friend, Chris Collings, was originally scheduled for July 22, but was delayed at the request of Collings' new attorney, Thomas Jacquinet.

Wheaton superintendent takes assistant job at Carl Junction

Dr. Jim Cummins, Wheaton superintendent, has signed on as the new assistant superintendent for the Carl Junction R-1 School District. He replaces Dr. David Stephens, who is the new superintendent for the Nevada R-1 School District.
Cummins previously served as high school principal in Diamond and as a teacher in the Neosho R-5 School District.

A little more from Natural Disaster

Those of you who have followed this blog know that our group Natural Disaster was hit by a setback last month when our drummer, John Scott, lost his house, and nearly all of his possessions, including his drums, in the May 10 tornado that hit Newtonia.
It appears we will not be back for a third year in a row at Old Mining Town Days in Granby, so I'll leave you with this video of the group performing the Chuck Berry 1964 standard "No Particular Place to Go" at last year's Old Mining Town Days.

We hope to be back in action soon. Check out more songs at the Natural Disaster MySpace site, which has our versions of Memphis, This Magic Moment, Suzy Q, Fools Rush In, Time is on My Side, and Singin' the Blues.

Mental evaluation on tap for Memorial Middle School shooter

Judge David Mouton signed an order of transport Monday for Memorial Middle School shooter Thomas Gregory White, indicating that a mental evaluation to determine if he can assist with his own defense is either taking place or about to take place.

White, 15, was 13 and a seventh grader at Memorial when he took an assault rifle into the school, fired the weapon into the ceiling, and then pointed it at Principal Steve Gilbreth and tried to pull the trigger, according to police. The gun jammed.

White is charged with two counts of assault, and single counts of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and attempted escape.

Feltner asks for second change of judge

Documents filed June 20 in Cole County Circuit Court indicate Eric Feltner, former chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, has asked for a second change of judge in his sex crime case.
Feltner, being represented by Columbia attorney Kenneth Stanley Clay, has a 9 a.m. July 7 arraignment scheduled before Judge Patricia Joyce. Feltner was arrested on two counts of attempting to furnish pornographic material to a minor after falling prey to an uncover internet sex sting of the Jefferson City Police Department.

When word of his arrest became public, he was forced to resign (fired).

Alito: Candidates with money should not be penalized

Justice Samuel Alito came out in favor of the little guy in his majority opinion declaring part of the Campaign Reform Act of 2002 unconstitutional.

In this case, the little guy is the poor billionaire who was hurt by rules allowing larger campaign contributions to be given to candidates who are facing people who are dipping into their own wealth for their campaigns:

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the amendment required "a candidate to choose between the 1st Amendment right to engage in unfettered political speech and subjection to discriminatory fundraising limitations."

Alito said that by attempting to level the playing field, Congress was in effect attempting to influence voters' choices.

"Different candidates have different strengths. Some are wealthy; others have wealthy supporters who are willing to make large contributions. Some are celebrities; some have the benefit of a well-known family name," Alito wrote. "Leveling electoral opportunities means making and implementing judgments about which strengths should be permitted to contribute to the outcome of an election."

Under the law, he said, those are judgments for voters alone.

In other words, if you are not an incumbent or a billionaire, the odds against you are astronomical. The justices in the majority may consider this to be protection of free speech. It seems apparent that it is protection of free speech for the wealthy.

Another all-time low for GateHouse Media stock

GateHouse Media dipped to another all-time low, $2.43 per share, at the close of trading today. The stock has dropped 18 cents per share in the past two days after a slight rebound to $2.61 on Wednesday. The previous low price had been $2.51 per share on Tuesday of this week.

GateHouse Media owns The Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, Big Nickel, Neosho Post, Greenfield Vedette, Aurora Advertiser and Pittsburg Morning Sun.

Price on Turner books reduced at Always Buying Books

My books, The Turner Report, Devil's Messenger, and Small Town News, are on sale at Always Buying Books in Joplin for $10 apiece.
More information about the books can be found at their pages on the Amazon.com and Iuniverse.com websites.

Northpark Mall owner schedules second quarter earnings report

Chattanooga, Tennessee-based CBL & Associates, owner of Northpark Mall in Joplin, has scheduled its second quarter earnings report. A news release issued by the company says:

CBL plans to issue its earnings release for the second quarter after the market closes on Tuesday, August 5, 2008, and will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 6, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (303) 262-2130. A replay of the conference call will be available through Wednesday, August 13, by dialing (303) 590-3000 and entering the confirmation number, 11110989#.

The live broadcast of CBL's quarterly conference call will be available online at cblproperties.com, as well as www.streetevents.com and www.earnings.com on Wednesday, August 6, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue until Wednesday, August 13

, 2008.

Steelman unveils endorsements to single-digit audience

Since much of the Republican political establishment has been either openly or surreptitiously backing Kenny Hulshof for governor, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman has emphasized the support of ordinary, every day citizens for her candidacy.

The support of three more ordinary citizens was announced today at the Joplin Public Library...with a total of nine people in the meeting room, including Mrs. Steelman, the three who were endorsing her, two of her campaign workers, a reporter from KSN, and me. I didn't ask who the other guy was, but he appeared to be a reporter.

I am not sure if the low turnout was an indictment of the Steelman advance team or of our local media. .

The endorsements came from Don Stubblefield, Carthage, a former teacher at Joplin Parkwood High School and my alma mater East Newton High School, Bill Early, Mount Vernon, a retired law enforcement officer and Vietnam veteran; and one of my former students at Diamond Middle School, Ben Taylor, 18, who will be attending Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg this fall.

(Photos: Sarah Steelman answers questions following the announcement of three endorsements. Retired schoolteacher Don Stubblefield tells why he supports Mrs. Steelman.)

(Video- 2008 Diamond High School graduate Ben Taylor announces his endorsement of Sarah Steelman's candidacy for governor.)

Ethics Commission issues opinion on entertainment tickets given by lobbyists to politicians

Though the names are carefully blacked out on the opinion, it appears an elected official who has been accepting tickets to entertainment events from lobbyists tried to get a ruling which would allow him or her to accept the tickets, keep one, report that one, and then spread the tickets around to others without having to count them as gifts.

That effort failed.

The opinion, issued June 5, indicates the person requesting the opinion asked the following question:

"If an elected official accepts more than one ticket to a sporting event or an entertainment performance, uses one ticket for his or her use and then give the remainder to another person, not related to him or her and not employed by him or her in an official capacity, does the lobbyist disclose only the value of the ticket used by the elected official or the total of all tickets received and accepted on behalf of the elected official?"

The opinion said that the lobbyist must report the value of all tickets.

Of course, the value of all the tickets must be reported. The whole idea of reporting gifts is so the public can know which lobbyists are lavishing gifts on which elected officials. If the lobbyists are giving the gifts to the elected officials and then those officials turn right around and provide them to others, it is still something that ultimately leaves the elected official feeling kindly toward the lobbyist and whatever special interests he or she represent.

When we see our elected officials trying to get around those reporting requirements, it becomes obvious why the requirements are necessary. Of course, banning all gifts from lobbyists would be the best solution. That would not keep them from exercising their constitutional right to petition the government, it would just allow the public's business to be conducted in a more businesslike fashion.

What is in those Blunt e-mails?

Word is beginning to circulate in Jefferson City and Washington that a major revelation is coming in the next few weeks which will clearly delineate why Gov. Matt Blunt chose not to stand for re-election.

It would also appear we might be headed for some answers about some of the information that is included in those state e-mails that the governor has tried so hard to keep hidden. It might also explain the frantic, desperate efforts that Blunt has made to change the subject by going after everyone's e-mails from Jay Nixon to Rep. Jeff Harris.

It is becoming more and more obvious that Kenny Hulshof and Sarah Steelman should do everything they can to disassociate themselves from Matt Blunt.

I will go one step further and, as hard as it for me to say this, the performance of the Blunt administration and its rapidly approaching implosion are making me reassess the terms of Joe Teasdale and Bob Holden as governor. In comparison to Matt Blunt, those two are beginning to look like political geniuses.

Special price on Turner books at Books n Java in Neosho

Copies of The Turner Report book, Devil's Messenger and Small Town News are on sale at Books N Java on the east side of the Neosho square for $10 apiece.
More information about the books can be found on their web pages on Amazon.com and IUniverse.com.

Missouri Growth Plan approved by federal education officials

Perhaps it is because of the nearly universal opposition to No Child Left Behind, but federal education officials have finally added a touch of common sense to the way schools are judged.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a news release today saying the federal government has approved "growth" plans submitted by Missouri and Michigan:

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials outlined the growth model today in a discussion with the State Board of Education during its meeting in Jefferson City.

The growth model looks at the academic performance of individual students to determine if they are “on track to be proficient” within four years. If students who are scoring below the “proficient” standard in reading or math are making progress and appear likely (“on track”) to achieve proficiency, then they may be counted with the school’s other proficient students.

Schools will be able to count students as “on track” for no more than four years and only until the eighth grade.

Of course, even this still does not eliminate the impossibility of ever reaching the lofty standards of No Child Left Behind. There is no activity in which 100 percent of the people are proficient. When it comes to school, some children are better at math than reading, or better at science than history.

Besides, what No Child Left Behind does is place 100 percent of the responsibility for the schools. Of course, teachers and administrators should be held accountable for a portion of the blame when students do not succeed, but placing all of the blame in one direction does not solve the problem. How can teachers and school administrators deal with students who do not care whether they learn and do not receive any encouragement at home. How can teachers be expected to be successful 100 percent of the time with students who come from homes where drugs and alcohol are present, and where the students suffer through physical, emotional, and sexual abuse?

And how can schools be expected to cope with the kind of poverty that makes students more concerned about when or if they will have their next meal than whether they have completed their homework.

The fact that teachers are able to reach so many children who live is these kinds of conditions is consistently overlooked by self-serving politicians who want to gain a few extra votes or more dollars from well-heeled contributors by using the public schools as a scapegoat.

The federal government's decision to accept this sensible growth plan is a positive step, but since it is an election year, I expect it won't be long before the other shoe falls.

Webb City native wins national award for newspaper column

Webb City High School graduate Susan Campbell, a columnist for the Hartford Courant, took first place in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Writing Contest. The winners were announced Saturday in New Orleans. Ms. Campbell won for best column in newspapers with more than 100,000 in circulation:

"Susan Campbell stood out in a crowd of exceptional columnists both for her ideas and her delivery," the judges wrote. "She's refreshingly blunt and edgy without being preachy. The reader hears a raw, tell-it-like-it-is voice. Campbell takes tired, old topics and turns them on their heads, presenting a view that most of us probably never considered.

"

ACLU opposes lunch prayer at Naval Academy

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening action against the U. S. Naval Academy's tradition of lunchtime prayer.
According to an article in today's Washington Post:

In a letter to the Naval Academy, Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, said it was "long past time" for the academy to discontinue the tradition. She said the practice violates midshipmen's freedom to practice religion as their conscience leads them.

The Naval Academy rejected the ACLU's request that the prayer be eliminated.

"The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements," the university said in a statement. It said that some form of prayer has been offered for midshipmen at meals since the school's founding, in 1845, and that it is "consistent with other practices throughout the Navy."

Nine midshipmen have complained to the ACLU about the practice, Jeon said yesterday. Some have since graduated. One recent graduate, an agnostic who objected to the chaplain-led prayer, said she felt pressured to take part in it.

The article indicates that the Naval Academy may be fighting a losing battle since prayers at other such institutions have been ruled unconstitutional.

The idea that the First Amendment is designed to protect us from religion is ridiculous. While I can understand prohibiting teachers and school officials from leading prayers or religious activities in elementary and secondary schools, we are talking about adults here. The idea that traditions should be altered or completely eliminated because they cause momentary discomfort for a few is a far cry from what the Founding Fathers intended.

Governor praises Supreme Court Second Amendment decision

Gov. Matt Blunt has issued a statement praising today's U. S. Supreme Court decision striking down Washington D. C.'s gun ban:

"I commend this landmark decision today by the United States Supreme Court affirming the freedom and right of law-abiding Americans to own firearms. Today’s decision is a blow to those groups and liberal politicians who oppose gun rights and who seek to sabotage the Second Amendment rights of Missourians and all Americans.
"Missourians maintain a deep reverence for the freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment. My administration has a proud record of supporting those freedoms for law-abiding Missourians. We understand that our Constitution and Bill of Rights were created to limit the powers of government, not the rights of the people."
Today, Gov. Blunt is signing House Bill 2034, a pro-Second Amendment package at stops in Boonville at River Hills Sporting Clays and in Park Hills at a shooting range. The bill protects Missourians’ access to ranges and strengthens the state's firearms laws.

Taking the low road to the governor's office

(Note: The following post is my column for this week's Newton County News.)

A message to Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof- You’re no Bill Webster and Roy Blunt.
I have heard this year’s race for the Republican nomination for governor compared to the infamous 1992 GOP bloodbath, but as a reporter who covered the ’92 race, I can tell you, this year’s race is just a pale imitation.
Yes, the 1992 race featured plenty of negative advertising, much of it coming from Roy Blunt, but it was substantive advertising based on real ethical problems that Bill Webster had. If Blunt had been given one more week before the primary, his momentum may well have carried him past Webster and saved the GOP a resounding defeat. Instead, Mel Carnahan, considered by some to be a sacrificial lamb to Webster, was able to use the material from Blunt’s advertisements to win the race and eventually Webster landed in a federal prison.
What have Mrs. Steelman and Hulshof given voters hungry for substance? Viagra.
Thanks to Mrs. Steelman, we know that Kenny Hulshof cast a vote that included funding for Viagra through Medicare. Thanks to Hulshof we know Mrs. Steel man voted for Viagra for prisoners when she was in the Senate.
Neither bothered to mention that those votes were not as simplistic as the ads made them sound. That would be letting the truth get in the way of good old attack advertising.
We also have the odd situation of the Republicans having the incumbent governor, but neither candidate wanting to be too closely linked with his record. The circumstances surrounding the sudden departure of Matt Blunt from the race have still not been explained in any satisfactory fashion. Blunt announced he would not seek a second term, claiming he had accomplished everything he wanted to do in his first four years. I would love to have a look at what his original goals looked like. Talk about setting the bar low.
In fact, whichever candidate emerges to face Attorney General Jay Nixon in November, whether it is Hulshof or Mrs. Steel man, should benefit from not being too closely connected with the governor.
Had the Republicans chosen someone like Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder or Speaker of the House Rod Jetton, the woes that surround Blunt could have been convincing campaign issues.
As it is, it will be nearly impossible for Democrats to connect Sarah Steel man or Kenny Hulshof with the infamous license fee office for sale scandal, with the current misuse and probable destruction of e-mails, or with the 2005 decisions which removed thousands of people from Medicaid eligibility.
It would be nice if the general election became a referendum on the leadership abilities and positions on the issues of Jay Nixon and whomever the Republicans nominate.
It would be nice, but I am not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen. Sad to say, we may reach a point sometime in October when we long for the good old days when the candidates discussed substantive issues like Viagra.
***

For those who want to relive the 1992 governor's race, several chapters from the book version of The Turner Report are devoted to that race. More information about the book can be found at this link.