The Panic Button

Child Governor Licks Insurance Company Boots

2005-05-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Health care costs are a problem, no? As twisted and backwards as Blunt's response to this issue has been (punish the poor, limit ability for average Joes to sue bad doctors) in his actions is a tacit admission that the problem does exist.

Health insurance costs are skyrocketing beyond the reach of many ordinary Missourians. So what does the governor do to reign in the powerful insurance companies and protect our citizens?

He passes legislation that protects insurance companies from consumers.

What? Wait, ain't that all bass-ackwards again? Yep, he's siding with big business, the kind of folks who lobby for a living (like his brother, sister, stepmom, father[sic], etc.) and zip him around in private jets. Blunt has signed a bill that protects these massive companies from consumer complaints, and it prevents other consumers from finding out when an insurance company has been screwing over other Missouri citizens.

He's making complaints on insurance companies a secret. Here's what Sen. Green had to say:

"It seems to me we continue to try to make it more difficult for the individual that purchases insurance to receive it," said Green, D-St. Louis. "We're not helping the consumers of the state of Missouri, we're helping the industry and that's a shame."

Unbelievable.

Roundup of Panic Boy's "Accomplishments"

2005-05-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

This editorial from the Post is a fine summation of the child governor's first legislative session and his tenacious quest to turn Missouri into a parody of a third-world nation.

Sociopath Makes National Spotlight

2005-05-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Matt Blunt is now doing for Missouri what Gerald Allen and Roy Moore have done for Alabama, or what Kansans have been doing to themselves. Blunt's poverty creation initiatives are making national headlines.

Democracy Now even picked up Panic Boy's campaign to crush the working poor, and they usually reserve their air time for the likes of John Negroponte, Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissenger--the sort of people who get their kicks out of helping dictators trash small countries or carpetbombing civilians.

Blunt probably afraid

2005-05-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Senator Victor Callahan from Independence challenged Matt Blunt to give up his state health care until the crisis is resolved. The senator gave up his own state health care as well as that from his private employer.

It's a nice gesture Senator Callahan, but don't hold your breath. After all, this is the guy who wouldn't move into the Gov's mansion until panic buttons were installed.

Blunt endangers cops, kids, worshippers

2005-05-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Panic Boy has promised to pass House Bill 365, which allows knuckleheads to keep a gun hidden out of sign in their cars without training or a permit. The police, as you might guess, are thrilled about this.

The bill also does not make it a crime to carry guns into churches, daycares and public schools...violators are merely escorted out of the building. I'm sure folks are lining up for that escort job.

I suppose Blunt assumes that schools, churches and daycare centers are perfectly safe and no extra precaution is needed. Tell that to the folks in Columbine, Red Lake High School and the Living Church of God in Wisconsin.

Any plans to install panic buttons in these public locations? Nope, that luxury is reserved just for the Gov's mansion.

So much corruption...

2005-05-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

...so little time. Here's this week's corruption roundup:

Here's an editorial from the Post on Blunt's fiscal responsibility. Spending tens of thousands of dollars removing a sheet of plywood sounds real cost effective, Panic Boy.

And just for the record, here are the legislators (all Republican) who voted for Blunt's plan to slash heath care for the disabled while also voting to keep their own premiums down.

Remember the legislators who traveled to Arkansas on handouts from lobbyists like the Gov's brother, Andy? Here's the breakdown so you can see just how cheaply the bastards can be bought and sold.

Blunt to Kids: You Don't Need Technology

2005-05-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, our fearless [sic] leader slashed technology funding to our K-12 students, plus colleges and universities. Evidently, Panic Boy thinks that Missouri kids are ahead of the curve when it comes to computers, science, math and technology.

But that's not what Bill Gates says. In this interview Gates claims that he's moving Microsoft offices over to India because they're simply doing a better job of producing quality engineers than we are.

So if the U.S. is lagging behind countries like India and China when it comes to educating engineers, then where does that leave Missouri? Well, we're bringing up the rear, ranking 46th when it comes to per-capita funding on higher education.

Brilliant, Blunt, just brilliant. At least you're keeping the cigarettes cheap, so our grads will have a way to pass the time while they stand in the unemployment line.

Coward Ducks Wheelchair Crowd in Whore's Office

2005-04-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Matt Blunt spent Wednesday afternoon hiding in House Speaker Rod Jetton's office while wheelchair-bound protesters waited outside. The disabled citizens were demanding an explanation for his ruthless cuts to their benefits.

But the Speaker's office was a safe haven. Jetton is close to the Blunt Family. He was recently caught vacationing on money doled out by Andy Blunt, the governor's lobbyist brother. What's more, Jetton has taken more than a thousand bucks in graft (and counting) from lobbyists this year alone, and that's just the above-the-table gifts. One wonders if they were comparing notes on lobbyist largesse or chuckling at the irony living high on the hog while simultaneously punishing Missouri's most vulnerable citizens.

Upon leaving, do you think that Panic Boy confronted his critics? Nope. He gave them the silent treatment, refusing to defend his actions. If only there'd been a panic button handy, he might have been able to sound the alarm to cover his escape from these disabled citizens.

Matt Blunt to Missouri: Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em

2005-04-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

The American Lung Association gives Missouri an 'F' and ranks the state as having the 46th-lowest cigarette taxes in the country.

Even worse, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids ranks Missouri 49th-lowest (PDF download). You can download a PDF showing how raising cigarette taxes always increases revenue and reduces smoking, as well as one estimating a $240 million revenue increase (as well as even bigger healthcare savings) by increasing cigarette taxes by 50 cents a pack.

Funny how Matt Blunt never mentions any of this.

Is it because increasing cigarette taxes would cripple our tobacco-based state economy? Nah. According to the USDA's 2002 Census of Agriculture, in terms of agricultural product sales, tobacco constitutes .1% of Missouri agricultural product sales, and Missouri ranks 14th out of 23 tobacco-producing states (PDF).

Or could it be because his family is so tight with Big Tobacco? Hmmm.

No, Panic Boy prefers to talk about how Missouri was ranked as the 41st worst legal climate in the country. And by whom? By the Institute for Legal Reform, an arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that uses its muscle for legal change favorable to big business.

But interestingly, Missouri is 41st in a different ranking. The Tax Foundation--hardly a liberal organization--ranks Missouri as having the 41st lowest tax burden--as well as the 11th most business-friendly tax system.

Just think--if we can just get our taxes even lower and more business-friendly, we can join the ranks of economic powerhouses such as Alabama and South Dakota.

Updated April 29th, 2005.

All in the Family

2005-04-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

This editorial succinctly outlines the Blunt Family lobbying interests. With two lobbyist siblings and a lobbyist stepmother, one has to assume that the line between public interest and family concerns is definitely blurred. That is, unless you are completely willing to give your trust over to a politician. The wise Missourian Mark Twain once said, "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."

Blunt family...we're watching.

Matt Blunt to Missouri Education: Bend Over

2005-04-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

You know how Matt Blunt is committed to public education in Missouri?

You know how he's kept his campaign promise not to cut funds for education?

Actually, none of that is true. In fact, Matt Blunt is a big fat liar--or a little pipsqueak liar, if you prefer.

According to this article in the Columbia Tribune, Blunt recommended over a $4 million dollar cut to MOREnet, and the Senate obeyed.

What is MOREnet?

According to the article, MOREnet, "a unit in the University of Missouri system," provides Internet services to "all of the state’s public colleges and universities use the system, along with 513 K-12 school districts." If the state cuts those funds, the director says, services will have to be cut or prices could be increased.

So public education is going to lose services or have to pay more for them.

In other words, Matt Blunt is cutting funds to public education after all--a "back-door" cut, if you will.

He's just hoping you won't figure it out.

Blunt Introduces Republican Era of Whoring

2005-04-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Within weeks of taking office, Matt Blunt was "Jetton" around the state on special interest money and House Speaker, Rod Jetton, wasted no time in following the lead. In fact, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission, Jetton has recieved $1,076.00 in meals, travel and gifts and entertainment from lobbyists in the first few months of 2005 alone!

Compare that to his Democratic counterpart, Jeff Harris, the minority leader. In the same timeframe, Harris accepted only $164.40 in meals from lobbyists.

Prostitution seems to be de rigueur for the new Republican leadership of Missouri. Of course, when the boy governor comes from a family of lobbyists, what do you expect?

Leading by example, indeed.

Panic Boy's Pappy Tight with DeLay

2005-04-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

We all know that Roy Blunt is a tobacco whore...well, maybe "whore" is a little off considering he actually married a head cigarette lobbyist...so it's no surprise that Panic Boy's old man is tight with the Texas Weasel himself, Tom DeLay.

It's no longer a question of if DeLay goes down, but when, so it will be interesting to see if anyone in the media pool has enough pelotas to directly question Panic Boy on his old man's connections with the corrupt Speaker of the House.

Collective Punishment and a Twisted Bastard

2005-04-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

John Adams, often regarded as a father of conservative thought, once wrote that it is more important in a democracy to protect the innocent than punish the guilty. But Blunt's firm belief in collective punishment shows that he's no true conservative, but rather a sociopath. Consider the following:

"For every person who cheated to get Medicaid health coverage last year, the governor and Legislature are cutting off 400 people who didn't cheat. For every dollar lost to cheaters last year, the state is taking away $600 from honest, needy recipients."

Blunt claims that he's punishing freeloaders by cutting off Medicaid. The fact that he's losing no sleep over the majority of the truly impoverished folks whose lives he's destroying betrays him for the sick, squeaky little bastard that he is. Read the whole article here.

College Director Writes Blunt Fantasy Fiction

2005-04-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Community College Director Norman K. Myers opened his recent editorial with the following:

"Gov. Matt Blunt has recommended level state funding for Missouri higher education..."

Ordinarily no fan of fantasy fiction, I was instantly gripped by the sheer audacity of this inverse world created by Myers in the opening passage of his editorial. Not since "Through the Looking Glass" or Orwell's "1984" has a writer managed to pack so much Swiftian irony in so few words. In this alternate reality where war is peace and freedom is slavery, Myers has created a governor who actually supports education rather than the real-life Matt Blunt who has already withheld funding from higher education, and who has recommended cutting or eliminating university programs such as MOREnet, MOBIUS, the Alzheimer's research program, UM's teaching hospital, the Missouri Rehabilitation Center and more.

Look for Norman K. Myers at an upcoming science fiction convention. His next work is expected to portray George W. Bush as a compassionate conservative.

Matt Blunt to Daycares, Nursing Homes: We're Not Watching

2005-04-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

"Investing in our children is investing in our future. Our children deserve no less," Matt Blunt said recently at a rally in Jefferson, MO.

Big words, Governor Blunt. Nice words.

So why are you slashing funds for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, forcing it to lay off workers and drastically reduce its monitoring child day cares, nursing homes and other facilities?

"This is very bad news for children and families," said Andi Schleicher of the Child Day Care Association in St. Louis. "Fewer staff means you can't do the number of inspections you need to do."

After some reflection, I realized that you can actually reconcile the governor's statement and his cuts to this department. After all, he says that investing in our children is investing in our future. He says our children deserve no less.

Doesn't mean he's actually going to do anything about it.

Matt Blunt, Ward of the State

2005-04-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

If you head over to Matt Blunt's website and read Panic Boy's biography, you'll see that before being elected governor, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy, then served in the military, and then was elected secretary of state.

Nothing wrong with any of that, but then consider Panic Boy's frequent claims to knowledge that the private sector can do things more efficiently and less expensively than the government.

Hmm. How would he know? After all, his biography tells us that Matt Blunt's been living off the public dime his entire life.

But let's be fair. Maybe he's referring to Big Tobacco, an industry his family's intimately familiar with. It's been very efficient at producing addiction and cancer. And it operates very inexpensively in Missouri as well, considering that according to this 2002 report, Missouri ranks 46th out of 50 states in terms of cigarette taxes.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Matt Blunt

2005-04-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

You know how Missouri's Medicaid spending is out of control? How Missouri spends more than all but one state on Medicaid?

All that's a big fat Matt Blunt lie.

An article in today's Columbia Tribune describes a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which finds that not only is Panic Boy Blunt conveniently counting federal dollars when he adds up our Medicaid spending, but that when Missouri’s Medicaid expenditures from the state general fund per state resident or as a share of total personal income in the state are analyzed, we end up ranking 34th and 38th, respectively. Not second.

Of course, none of this should come as a surprise from a spoiled little boy with Tom Delay's toady for a daddy and big tobacco's queen dissembler for a stepmommy.

Blunt Possibly Clever

2005-04-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Governor, I had initially thought you something of a ninny for installing those costly little panic buttons in your mansion. But despite all of the evidence to contrary, there may actually be a mind at work behind your ideological grin.

It seems that you're planning on cutting the funding of another Missouri success...the nationally recognized juvenile rehabilitation program. It now appears that you showed great foresight in installing the panic alarms since the elimination of this program is bound to cause a spike in Missouri crime. Of course one could also credit this to pure coincidence, as it's difficult to give up the notion of your being a ninny.

Blunt to House: DeLay-Style Corruption OK in MO

2005-04-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

After the governor ushered in a new era of friendly relations with lobbyists by allowing special interests to fly him around the state in private jets, Republicans in the Missouri House of Representatives have been inspired to collect their own graft. House Speaker Rod Jetton and others recently enjoyed Arkansas vacations with special interest money. For the overworked legislators it was a well-needed respite from slashing funding for the working poor, the disabled and quality programs such as MOBIUS.

"I don't think it's a big deal," Jetton said. "Lobbyists pay for meals and travel sometimes when you're in the state." This new era of Tom DeLay style politics can be credited to Governor Blunt and his "ethics-be-damned" family. Jetton and crew were on the dole from none other than Blunt's own lobbyist brother, Andy. Blunt's father and stepmother are both professional tobacco lobbyists (sic!).

So not only do the special interests wine and dine our legislators right here in Jeff City, but they follow them around the country to pick up the tab.

Missourians should feel proud that their legislators are so well cared for in these lean economic times.

NO to Quadriplegics, YES to Sports Fun!!!

2005-04-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

At the same time the Missouri House (peg boys for enemy of the state Matt Blunt) was slashing funding for Medicaid--a move that will send productive citizens like quadriplegic English instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College Randy Francka to a nursing home--the State Senate was approving $20 million a year for stadium and entertainment center projects statewide, money which currently flows into the state's general revenue.

This makes perfect sense. Who cares about a bunch of damn cripples? There's games to be played! Go Cards! Go Chiefs!

Special Interests Fly Panic Boy

2005-04-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Instead of using state planes, Panic Boy Matt Blunt is letting campaign contributors (i.e., corporate fatcats) fly him around on state business.

A spokesman for the state Republican party says "it saves taxpayers money"--hardly a surprising statement from a Republican, but one has to wonder how just how much money the taxpayer will save with a governor whoring himself out to special interests and corporations.

'Nuff of that Booklearnin'

2005-04-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

After proposals to toss paraplegics onto the streets and to slash spending on Alzheimer's research (why bother now that the Gipper's gone?), Missouri's very own little governator has decided to tackle the evils of booklearning head on. The Missouri Bibliographic Information User System (MOBIUS) is the latest worthwhile program to feel the heat in the governor's crosshairs. Blunt plans to eliminate $649,000 in state funding.

MOBIUS serves as the computer system for libraries across the state, and it facilitates library-loan so that educators and students can track down needed resources. But this governor knows the dangers that can arise out of the exchange of knowledge...after all, folks might start sharing little tidbits like: Hey, didn't this governor campaign on a promise to fund education? Hmmm, not sure, let me look that up...

A cut to MOBIUS is a direct cut to education in Missouri. The director of MU libraries notes that he'll have to dig up an additional $119,691 to offset the loss.

I'm not surprised that this governor lied during the campaign...one expects that from the son of a big tobacco congressman (stepson of a big tobacco lobbyist). But to welch on a campaign promise so early in his career in such an obvious manner confounds me. Someone hit the panic button in the governor's mansion, please.

Welcome to The Panic Button

2005-03-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

In one of those political stories that's almost too good to be true, Missouri's fledgling governor, who has been reveling in the role of pragmatic, tough-love hatchet man, has installed panic buttons in the governor's mansion prior to his assuming residency.

The young governor, the spawn of a big tobacco congressmen from near the Arkansas state line, is apparently spooked by the fact that inmates often help out around the mansion, performing odd jobs and even serving the occasional black-tie dinner. The inmates are always under armed supervision. It's a tradition that dates back nearly a century, and there's never been any trouble. All inmates are nonviolent offenders nearing parole, and it seems like a clever way to both rehabilitate deserving prisoners while saving a few bucks on the hired help. But Blunt, true to his uncannily appropriate moniker, has never been one to allow facts to interfere with his decisionmaking.