Re: Hog Hunt

This is from a memo I received this week in Jefferson City:

"Representative J.C. Kuessner has inquired if any of the Sportsmen's Caucus members would be interested in a wild hog hunt in the Counties of Reynolds and Iron. One would need a horse to keep up due to the really rough territory. This will not be a hunt for the faint of heart. If you would be interested contact Representative Kuessner and he will be glad to set it up."

Really. I gotta find a horse.

Yesterday I filed a concurrent resolution calling for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

First proposed in 1923 this simple idea, that women should be treated as equal to men under United States law, is still not part of the U.S. Constitution. On March 22, 1972, after it passed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the ERA was sent to the states for ratification. It takes 38 states to ratify an amendment. To date, 35 states have ratified the amendment. If this concurrent resolution passes, we will be the 36th state.

It's hard to believe that the fight to ratify the ERA in the states has been raging since I was a one-year-old. Maybe this will be the year!

Say My Name

Saturday night I was asked to give a quick speech before President Clinton in Independence.

First off -- Bill Clinton is a rock star. He spoke for almost an hour and had the crowd's attention the entire time. No notes, no teleprompter -- just Bill and a few thousand of his biggest fans. The Washington Post has posted the transcript of his entire speech.

I'm not going to deny that I got caught up in the excitement of it all. The few seconds that I had to meet him were amazing, and I was blown away when he thanked me before his speech. Bill Clinton said my name! Just in case you missed it -- you can check it out on youtube.

It's Like Taking DNA From Babies

While the Capitol buzzed with political gossip yesterday those of us in the Senate forged ahead as scheduled, even if it wasn't always business as usual.

After another brief session, where I introduced three new bills, I had a quick visit with the KC delegation at the Chamber of Commerce dinner, then back to the Capitol for the weekly Judiciary Committee hearing. This week's theme: crime labs and DNA.

The Rolaids moment of the night came when we were asked to vote for Senator Bartle's SB 794 which would require a DNA sample to be taken from anyone guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and also from juveniles adjudicated of felony offenses. The bill was combined with Senator Mayer's SB 754, which is virtually identical. Senator Bartle indicated during the hearing it was his intention that the misdemeanor provision be extended to juveniles, which essentially means that we would take a DNA sample from every kid busted for joyriding in a stolen car, shoplifting a six-pack or fighting in a schoolyard brawl.

The primary goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation. The juvenile's record is sealed once she is an adult. It would be counter-intuitive, not to mention extraordinarily expensive, to take a DNA sample from every juvenile. The counter argument, that it could help solve cold cases in the future, was not compelling enough to convince me that this invasion of privacy is a worthwhile endeavor.

In the end, the bill was stripped of the provision relating to collection of DNA from adults charged with misdemeanors. It passed out of committee with one no vote (mine). Now that the bill is out of committee, it will most likely be reported to the Senate floor. Once reported to the Senate floor it may be given time to be debated on its merits by the body as a whole. I will, therefore, have additional time to prepare research regarding the goals of the juvenile justice system and why this bill is not only detrimental, but unreasonably expensive and difficult to implement.

Justus Campaign Promise Fulfilled . . . .

Matt Blunt is leaving office . . ..

When I ran for office in 2006 I promised to come down here and stand up to Matt Blunt and the Republicans. I'm just saying . . .

Blog for Choice Day

I'm excited about Blog for Choice day, but unfortunately my Senate duties have me tied up in committee hearings and such, so in honor of the day, here are some links to some oldies, but goodies:



Women's Health Night

Here We Go Again

Women's Health is Not a Priority in Missouri

HPV

HPV Vaccine Update

Just Don't Do It

What Happens in the Capitol . . .Doesn't Stay in the Capitol

On Friday The Missouri Budget Project held a meeting in Kansas City called "What Happens in the Capitol Doesn't Stay in the Capitol . . . How State Budget Decisions Impact You." I attended the meeting along with several dozen of my concerned colleagues from around the metro. The Missouri Budget Project ("MBP") is a great resource with tons of analysis and information regarding all things budgetary.

As a progressive legislator worried about the impact of the current administration's continued cuts in services to Missouri's most vulnerable citizens, the MBP is one of the tools that I use to keep up to speed on fiscal policy issues and options. It's also an invaluable resource when it comes to wading through the immense amount of information and propaganda that is fed to us from The Gov's office and countless departments and divisions that make up our state government.

Friday's presentation was timely, just days after The Gov's State of the State Address where it felt a little like a game show the way The Gov was handing out fabulous cash prizes. I'm not normally one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but as the MBP and many others have pointed out, we are headed for a budget shortfall of at least $300 million in 2010, making The Gov's election year announcements a decidedly non-conservative move. After the meeting on Friday I spoke to a legislative working group at the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce where two Republican legislators were even moaning about The Gov's spending spree -- you know it's bad when his own party is complaining.

So how does this affect the people of Missouri? Well, another budget shortfall in 2010 means more service cuts and if the current administration has anything to do with it, those service cuts will once again affect those in the state who can least afford it -- the poor, seniors, children and disabled.

And now we head into another legislative session -- in an election year -- and we have legislators talking about MORE tax cuts. Am I missing something? We're headed for a budget shortfall, we are already dead last or near the bottom in the nation on spending for higher education, child care subsidies, spending per capita, K-12 spending per capita, the list goes on . . . . we are one of the lowest taxed states in the nation already and we are going to cut taxes again? I am continually amazed how this administration can call itself fiscally conservative.

I'm glad we have the MBP on our side. I look forward to their timely, accurate analysis to the complex budget issues that are going to hit us hard this session.

Something Stinks

Last night we suffered through a rather painful experience known as The Gov's State of the State address.

Highlights? Well I'm not sure how he did it, but somehow The Gov managed to bring up gay marriage again. It's 2008. Get over it. Gay marriage is soooo 2004. Of course it was in the context of bashing judges, which is always a favorite topic of the far right.

The biggest jaw-dropper of the night came when The Gov made the promise that he "will not rest until every Missourian has access to affordable health care." Oh no he didn't. Isn't this the same guy that in 2005 slashed Medicaid resulting in health care cuts for 400,000 people including 100,000 who lost there coverage completely?

So now that The Gov is facing a tough election battle he is trying to repair his health care image with a weak plan that does nothing to help a single kid, senior or disabled Missourian.

It was difficult to sit and listen to the speech last night. The applause and standing ovations from his Republican colleagues was particularly difficult to stomach. When The Gov made his health care promise I was tempted to get up and walk out, but an older and wiser senator leaned over and reminded me that this will be The Gov's last State of the State address -- we'll have a new Governor next year.

And They're Off . . .

We're back in session and things are busier than ever. We only meet for a few minutes every day, but I'm staying swamped outside of Senate the chamber.

Senator Bartle scheduled the first judiciary committee hearing of the year today. Regular readers may remember that Senator Bartle typically likes to schedule theme nights so that those people who want to testify on a particular topic can make one trip to Jeff City, rather than several different trips on several different nights.

It looks like this afternoon's hearing doesn't have a specific theme, so I'm going to call it liquor, drugs and stealing. The two bills that give me the most heartburn are drug testing for high school athletes and jail for drunk moms to be.

The drug testing bill causes me some conflict, because while the civil libertarian in me opposes random drug testing in students, I'm worried about steroid use among student atheletes. The second bill is more worrisome in that it seems we will actually discourage an already at risk population of women from getting prenatal care if we threaten them with jail time for drug or alcohol use during pregnancy. I will be curious to hear more from the bill's sponsor regarding the motivation for this bill.

Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City

For all you political junkies, there will be a preview of the coming legislative session on the KCUR show Up to Date today at 11:00 AM, 89.3 FM. Senator Bartle and I are both scheduled to appear. Should be good times. If you miss the show live you can also check out the podcast online.

Happy Birthday Jim & Eddie

Two of my favorite boyfriends share a birthday today and since I'm stuck in our state's capital and I don't get to spend the day with them, I want to give them a shout out. I hope you're having a great day! Happy Birthday Jim & Eddie!

Twas the Night Before Session . . .

And so tomorrow we start again. The 2008 legislative session gets underway at noon tomorrow (Wednesday). The first few days of session are pretty slow. Kind of like the first few days of class -- we'll get a copy of the syllabus and class will let out early. I've filed 9 bills and I have several more bills that I intend to sponsor and co-sponsor over the next few weeks.

As much as I would like to give you a preview of the upcoming legislative session, I'm glued to the television tonight, watching the returns from New Hampshire. Go Hillary!