Dems must expose Trump"...The eye on the prize is exposing a reckless and risky reality TV star for the selfish narcissism that he represents for this country." ---Sen. Claire McCaskill speaking to a ...more

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Judging art "There's always been a struggle between art and commerce, and now I'm telling you, art is getting its ass kicked, and it's making us mean, and it's making us bitchy. It's making us cheap ...more

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Welcome to Trump County, USA "On the last day of my trip [to West Virginia], a man with a beard creeping high up his cheeks and a 30-case of Busch Light in one hand is on his way out of a convenience ...more

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Tell it the way it is "If you ask me I am one week about asking what type of terrorism...and I'd be happy if you prove me wrong." ---Waleed Phares, FOX Midwest analyst on terrorism, discussing San ...more

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President's comments at press conference in Turkey "It's best if we don't shoot first and aim later." ---President Barak Obama's comments regarding why he and his advisors aren't sending troops on ...more

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Eliminating the estate tax The death tax disproportionately hurts states like Missouri, which relies heavily on agriculture revenue. This tax is often a crushing blow to family business owners and ...more

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Fair and possibly unbalanced "Journalism that stimulates debates isn't enough because the powerful do not respond to debates. They respond to an informed people who are able to show them where power ...more

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Terror in Paris--Je suis Charlie "Yesterdays murders at the magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris were not just an attack on journalism, they were yet another declaration of open warfare on free speech. ...more

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On President Obama's Cuba announcement "I oppose this move, and I believe it is a mistake. It's hard--if not impossible--to normalize relations with a Castro-led Cuba. And I don't see anything in the ...more

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Stopping Ebola spread As we were reminded this week with the third confirmed case of Ebola on American soil, we must do everything possible to contain this deadly disease at its source. Implementing ...more

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What Isil doesn't embrace "Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people. Before you tell me how much you love your God, show me how much you love all ...more

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Ferguson, MissouriI've thought from the start that a parallel federal investigation into the death of Michael Brown is important. I also believe that our state and local elected officials have been ...more

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Open border rampageThe joint criminal and humanitarian crisis at our southern border is a tragedy that lies squarely with the President. It is also a tragedy that could have been avoided. Along with ...more

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Stressing religion is the Republican response "...So, tonight I simply offer a prayer..."---Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) giving the Republican response to Obama's State of the Union ...more

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Pot law brings justice and savings "In Colorado, we see the first state in the nation to implement a truly common-sense approach to marijuana. By legalizing marijuana, Colorado has stopped the ...more

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Congressional goals"The federal government spends too much and borrows too much. Those must be the two main targets after todays vote [Oct. 16, 2013] and until we get our spending under control. ...more

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Obominable (sic) Care "Even if the administration manages to fix the Web site and finally implement the individual mandate, people still may not join because the plans being offered are so ...more

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Obamacare, no exceptions "Congressional Republicans should make certain ALL Americans are included in the funding for Obamacare....therefore Republicans should remove all exemptions, waivers, ...more

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In support of the Excellence in Mental Health Act "Instead of merely talking about this issue in the wake of tragedies, it is time to finally take bipartisan action to improve our mental health care ...more

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Wouldn't you sell the Martin Luther King speech? "Nope, because I would like to think somewhere out there my mom and dad and my grandma taught me better than that and everything in life you can't ...more

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Legacy of one man "I don't know why we called it a mouse. It started out that way. We never changed it."--Douglas Engelbart ...more

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Regarding Missouri tax cut bill "This legislation is an ill-conceived, fiscally irresponsible experiment that would hurt our economy and jeopardize funding for vital public services" ---Gov. Jay ...more

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Another dumb Missouri law struck down--Yay, for Missouri Attorney General's decision not to fight U.S. District Court ruling citing provision in the U.S. Constitution that federal laws take ...more

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Claire came outI have come to the conclusion that our government should not limit the right to marry based on who you love. While churches should never be required to conduct marriages outside of ...more

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It's not all business' interests In response to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt's YouTube, "Missourians Discuss the Fiscal Cliff" was this comment, "This video doesn't remotely get its facts right. The tax ...more

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Controversial remark about rape "If it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."---by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin who said that "legitimate rape" victims don't get ...more

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Success "If youre a talented person and youre not successful there is probably something inside you that is stopping you from being successful, and sadly, it might be your talent.---from "WTF with ...more

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Commenting on Iran"The world's most dangerous regime must not have the world's most dangerous weapons."---Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime ...more

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Tough talk "I'd argue with a rock and then try to beat it up."---Actor Robert Blake during interview with Piers Morgan (CNN, July 11, ...more

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Reflecting on Plyler v. Doe "This June, it will be 30 years since the Supreme Court ruled that all children should have equal access to public education, regardless of citizenship or immigration ...more

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How much is too much?"The price of fuel in Israel is 8 nis per litre. That factors out to about $2.13 per 1/4 gallon. Just thought I'd mention that for people in the U.S. concerned over the price of ...more

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Paying off the national debt "...Current deficits are so big that no income tax increase could cover them. Government debt and entitlement obligations are so large that confiscating all private ...more

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Birth control matters "It's really important to separate the concept of the religious institution, the community of believers, from the corporate entity. When a church, including my church, is ...more

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On medicating foster children "About a year after I was adopted I found out I was on 20 different drugs total, and sometimes I took up to five drugs at one time.... Some of the things I was diagnosed ...more

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Ramifications "If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel." --- Shira Sorko-Ram (Maoz Israel ...more

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Facebook vs. Google: The battle for the future of the Web "If you want to learn about a medical condition or decide which television to buy, you search. In that world, Google's algorithms, honed over ...more

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When summer's gone... "Autumn is a second coming of spring when every leaf is in flower." ---Albert Camus (1913-1960), French ...more

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On death"No one wants to die. Even people wanting to go to heaven don't want to die to get there."---Steve Jobs ...more

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Brit criticizes demonstrators "'Earlier, a group of English Defence [sic] League protesters were ordered to move on to accommodate the anti-American demonstration' That just about sums up how PC our ...more

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Late show host wisdom "The price of gas is going down. Did you see this? They say it could soon be under $3 a gallon. You know what that means, huh? You now can afford to drive by the house you used ...more

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UN vote to recognize Palestinian independent state "If we assume the Palestinians are not looking for a confrontation with the U.S., that the Israelis dont want to be isolated [by the UN], and that ...more

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Assessing Joplin's losses "With 'dozers scraping the landscape clean, I have a fear we are losing something we'd like to keep."---Joplin artist Jed ...more

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Tornado survivor "We lived around 20th and Connecticut and there was just nothing left. We were in the house at the time it was destroyed. I've always taken having a roof over my head for granted. ...more

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Removing smoke screens "American women made their voices heard today [April 9, 2011] and Washington, D.C. listened. A handful of members of Congress tried to use the debate over our nation's deficit ...more

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Food for thought "Temptations speak TO you...addictions speak FOR you."---Melodee Colbert-Kean, Joplin mayor pro ...more

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Advice offered "Dear Egyptian rioters, please don't damage the pyramids. We will not rebuild. Thank you."---posted on Facebook by an Israeli (unknown ...more

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Baby boom "Teen pregnancies are 15-percent higher than state average so there's an issue in this area that needs to be addressed." ---R-8 Superintendent of Schools, Dr. C.J. Huff in an interview Dec. ...more

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New Year's Day now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."---Mark Twain ...more

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Wi-Fi insecurity "'Sending messages over Wi-Fi is kind of like sending messages by smoke signal. You're connected through an open access point, anybody who can see the smoke can read your message,' ...more

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The Barack Presidency"...Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic ...more

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Losing candidate speaks out "The U.S. Congress needs Representatives who know, understand and follow the Constitution. Sending a member of a liberal party to Congress will take away our liberties and ...more

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On people "Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. ...more

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Allegations of child abuse "It's 2010. I'm not trying to hurt the pope. The pope should do something. I'm just telling my story. That's all I'm doing."---Arthur Budzinski, 61, allegedly molested as a ...more

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Not quite spring "It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold--when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." ---From Great Expectations by Charles ...more

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In memoriam "Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody." (Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye)---J.D. Salinger ...more

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The Supreme Court's ruling that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress brought this dissenting opinion: "...In a democratic society, ...more

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Playmobil Security Checkpoint I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5-year-old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be ...more

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War in Afghanistan "It would be a mistake to assume that the only motivation for the war in Afghanistan is oil. The whole agenda of military and business interests in the region and the continuing ...more

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MDR's word of the day "Hannanity," n. a right-wing inanity repeated ad nauseam such that those unaccustomed to thought mistake it for such. Used in a sentence: "If we must endure the hannanities of ...more

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The Mind "To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." --Jules Henri Poincar, French mathematician, physicist ...more

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The king that popped "A tragic case like Michael Jackson's reinforces the recurring story of addicted celebrities and their enabling doctors. Being a celebrity does not change the simple fact that ...more

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Judging Judge Sonia Sotomayor"The most important issue when considering a Supreme Court nominee is their judicial philosophy and whether they are an activist who would attempt to legislate from the ...more

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Living in Joplin "I feel free here. I have the freedom to go anywhere I want in the country. If I want to go to New York, I go to New York and spend a couple of weeks there. If I want to go to ...more

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Owning the news"Newspaper companies became gatekeepers of information due to the happenstance of technology. They happened to own what was, for several decades, the most efficient medium by which to ...more

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Guiding economic principle "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws."---Mayer Amschel Rothschild, early 19th century war profiteer ...more

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Britain's fighting lady "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." --Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher (1925-), G.B.'s first female prime minister. She was ...more

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Nuances of greed "There's nothing wrong with making money, but focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition."---Barack Obama (From Hopes and Dreams - The Story of Barack ...more

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Neosho, MO's 12 Days of Christmas "On the twelfth day of Christmas the City gave to me, 12 D.R.E.A.M. Initiative grants, eleven city buildings, ten construction projects,nine free Civic Center ...more

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Advice for the holidays "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one ...more

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Empowerment "Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked, so Obama could run. Obama is running so our children can fly."---Text message from a friend of Ed Welch, an instructor in the St. Louis non ...more

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Abe's words of wisdom "You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot ...more

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Pertinent to W There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine of it and defend it with every weapon of communal stupidity.---William Robertson Davies (1913-1955), ...more

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A letter Dear Sirs or Ms--In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the moment, I was wondering if you could advise me correctly...If one of my checks is returned marked ...more

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What closed minds have wrought "When I told a right-wing friend of mine about what the president had done [ie. remain in the Sarasota elementary school classroom listening to kids read after being ...more

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On the national convention: "It is not a political event; it is a retail event. Nothing will be decided here. Everyone knows this, and yet they are all here anyway, the media chattering in their vast ...more

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The asininity of anonymity "If it's worth saying or putting in writing, it's worth signing. Otherwise, it's worth nothing." ---David L. Burton, civic communication specialist, in response to unsigned ...more

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Whoopi's senior moment "I couldn't remember if I did the Tonys. We had to Google it to find out."---Whoopi Goldberg reminiscing about accepting the role as 2008 Tony Awards emcee during a segment of ...more

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A simile from an Israeli "Guess we have Arabs; you have tornadoes. Each takes a toll of death! I saw a nice slogan written on a wall in Tel-Aviv, 'If there are no Arabs .. there are NO Arabs.'" ...more

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Charlton Heston's legacy “...Opponents would have you believe the law would change Missouri into a Wild West shootout. I've got advice for those critics: Leave deception to the Hollywood ...more

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On being black in a white world"...My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my "Blackness" than ever before. I have found that at Princeton no matter how liberal and open-minded ...more

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A political conundrum?"Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are ...more

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In response to TSA's new website blog "This will just make it easier for them to receive complaints for them to ignore in the name of 'national security.'"---David Stempler, president Air Travelers ...more

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Govern with a prayer "...In reflecting on this year's theme of guidance and direction, we must remember that we should not take actions and then seek God's approval after the fact. We must ask God ...more

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Anti-Semitism As Paul Johnson (an English Catholic) wrote in "A History of the Jews," anti-Semitism is a poison that corrupts and ultimately destroys the societies that harbor it. It happened in ...more

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Independent thinking "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” ---Ralph Waldo ...more

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Results of national poll: Buckle up, St. Nick, it's going to be a bumpy ride "Fifty per cent of U.S consumers report in October 2007 that they intend to spend less for Christmas this year than last. ...more

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Government of the people, by the people...bah humbug "The conservatives complain bitterly about government regulation and such being the "nanny state". So with less government oversight and ...more

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Wisdom unearthed:"The greatest danger we face is not that we aim too high and miss it, but that we aim too low and hit it!" ---Author ...more

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Bedrock of CAFO-decision-making "Agriculture is the bedrock of our state’s cultural heritage and major driver of our state’s economy....."---Gov. Matt Blunt speaking at a roundtable ...more

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Attributed to Pat Lionetti, third-grade teacher "George was one of my students. I remember how eager he was to learn. He'd sit right in the front row. His eyes were always wide open as if he was ...more

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What's important in life? "Google: Well, that's about everything right there; between Google and the library I'd have all the information I'd ever need." ---Martha Stewart in answer in part to a ...more

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Corporate activism "New Rule: If you have to eat crap, at least eat humane crap. This week, Burger King announced that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that don't keep animals in ...more

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Local identity theft rankings "Data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that in 2005, Missouri ranked 19th on a list of states with the most Identity Theft Victims with 67.6 victims per 100,000 ...more

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A military officer speaks out "Just because we volunteered for the military doesn't mean we volunteered to put our lives in unnecessary harm and to carry out missions that are illogical and ...more

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Root of all evil?: "Money can't buy you happiness. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." ---Spike Milligan: Irish writer, musician, and black humorist (1918-2002) ...more

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From Molly Ivins' last column-- "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this ...more

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The wavy line "Missouri is proud of its waterways. On our license plate, a wavy blue line appears under the state name. The line symbolizes the state's many bodies of water--rivers, streams and ...more

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Analyzing the ISG recommendations Recommendation 77: The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense should devote significantly greater analytic resources to the task of ...more

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Let the taxpayers handle it "MoArk and other ag industries have a vested interest in doing business in a 303-D EPA listed watershed for livestock nutrients. It just seems to be a happy coincidence ...more

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On being an American "In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact ...more

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The Jihad Way"Poor Islamists. They get insulted. We get beheaded and we apologize and they say we gonna kill you anyway."---a quote attributed to John Alstad, a U.S. Marine ...more

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Don't muddy the water: "There has been much discussion about the water quality of the Illinois River [and any other waterway for that matter] and its impact on local tourism, recreation and land use ...more

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Values and forgiveness "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their ...more

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More consumption equals more waste"No matter what technologies are available and how careful people are, it's almost impossible for someone who makes and spends $100,000 a year to create fewer carbon ...more

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Washington, D.C.'s shifting morality "Indeed, the chicanery, the bullying, and the flouting of the rule of law that emanates from the nation's capital these days make Richard Nixon look like a ...more

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Was the 2004 Election Stolen?:..."But what is most anomalous about the irregularities in 2004 was their decidedly partisan bent: Almost without exception they hurt John Kerry and benefited George ...more

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Cracking down on illegal immigration "...I have stated many times that any immigration solution I will support must address our porous border, must not provide amnesty or reward illegal behavior, and ...more

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Why did you lie? "Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary, that has caused these kinds of casualties? Why?"Ray McGovern questioning Donald Rumsfeld, May 4, 2006, ...more

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Joplin makes the national news"Missouri got reportedly $6 million to relieve traffic in Joplin...all money critics say could have been much better spent....."Tom Foreman for CNN Headline News, 4/6/06 ...more

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Repression "Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it ...more

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Let's be pragmatic: "If we ban the lobbyists there wouldn't be anybody to write the laws." ...more

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Poor Richard's advice: "If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing." Benjamin ...more

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Republican morality: Lies, lies and more lies "The grand jury indictment charged Lewis "Scooter" Libby with one count of obstruction of justice, two of perjury and two of making false statements. It ...more

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Missouri governor lauds anti-choice legislation: “I am grateful to the Missouri General Assembly for passing a good pro-life piece of legislation that will reduce the number of abortions in our ...more

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What is the nature of this, Gary?: "I don't believe there to be much credibility to blog sites like this one, as they don't conform to journalistic ...more

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Bill Moyers speaks out: "Who are they? I mean the people obsessed with control, using the government to threaten and intimidate. I mean the people who are hollowing out middle class security even as ...more

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Payback for conflict of interest:"If CAFO passes the Missouri Legislature, I plan to buy some land close to Wilson (Kevin Wilson, Republican representative, district 130) and put in a big chicken ...more

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Point Counterpoint: Sciavo on Sciavo: "This is a sad day for Terri. But I'll tell you what: it's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United States government is going to come ...more

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Ecological education: "One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist ...more

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Is there an answer to peace in the Middle East? A weighty question for a one minute response: "...Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently." ---Shimon Peres, Israeli ...more

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And then came Iraq: "...It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor, both black and white, through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the ...more

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USA redefined: "Communities all over America must come together to hone a perception of what being a citizen of a democratic country means. A country split into red and blue states is a nation ...more

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On fluorides: "If the stuff gets out into the air, it's a pollutant; if it gets into the river, it's a pollutant, if it gets into a lake, it's a pollutant; but if it goes right straight into your ...more

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