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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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An abridged version of a public letter from renowned activist Percy Green on the Special Advisory Committee on St. Louis Public Schools appeared in today's Post-Dispatch as a letter to the editor. It reads:
Commissioner of Education Kent King's Special Advisory Committee is a fraud. Mr. King appointed to the committee people who supported St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's failed policies. Such policies led to the accreditation drop from 64 to 39 points, three years of mismanagement, outsourcing, turmoil and five superintendents. Two fair election processes have begun to repair the problems that the Slay board majority created for our St. Louis Board of Education.
The final two Slay members of the board (Ronald Jackson and William Archibald) are up for election in 2007 and must be replaced for the sake of our children and stability on the board. Because the community rejected Mr. Slay's failed experimental programs for public education, he now calls for a state takeover of public education, implying that St. Louisans are too stupid to vote correctly.
Board president Veronica O'Brien's behavior is a distraction from moving the new board majority's agenda forward. Ms. O'Brien launched a series of attacks on Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. After Ms. Bourisaw refused to be intimidated, Ms. O'Brien supported state control.
The committee recommended that the current elected school board members should not have full authority over the St. Louis Public School District. The excuse was a survey that everyone knows was not representative or credible.
If Mr. King should accept the Danforth-Freeman committee's recommendation, lawsuits and protest demonstrations should emerge targeting those throughout the state who are responsible.
For years, Green has been a vocal critic of Mayor Slay and policies of SLPS under the Slay-backed majority. In August he lost a lawsuit against the city in which he claimed Slay fired him as director of the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification program because he was openly critical of what he called a "broken" certification system.
At Friday's press conference on the need for public hearings before any state action, Green called out Post education reporter Steve Giegerich for what many see as biased reporting.
It would help "if the newspaper would print the news fairly," said Green after a question by Giegerich.
"I know you don't like me saying that, but it's the truth, Steve," he said.
An article in Friday's Post-Dispatch gives props to Pub Def for our political coverage throughout 2006. Thanks to political reporter Jo Mannies for the love.
French, who operates Pubdef, said political activists at all levels had better get used to the relentless characteristic of these blog sites.
As he sees it: "The Internet has introduced the 24-hour news cycle to local politics."
Two members of the city's school board stood by other community leaders today to defend their embattled school district from state takeover.
Board members Bill Purdy and Donna Jones said that now that the district has changed course, after three years of de facto rule from the mayor's office, it is once again focused on gaining full accreditation -- which Purdy noted it is closer to attaining than many other districts around the state.
"The confusion you see on the board is a manufactured confusion," said Jones.
State Reps. Robin Wright Jones and Jeanette Mott Oxford, Teachers Union President Mary Armstrong, and Rev. James T. Morris, a parent of children in SLPS, were among the speakers at this morning's event.
Check back later for videos of two school board members defending the district from takeover.
More elected officials are joining calling on state education officials to conduct public hearings before any action on St. Louis Public Schools is taken.
State Representatives Jamilah Nasheed, Jeanette Mott Oxford, Robin Wright Jones, school board members Bill Purdy and Donna Jones, Committeemen Jesse Todd and Jay Ozier, Rev. James T. Morris, activists Percy Green and Jamala Rogers, school board and aldermanic candidate Bill Haas, and representatives of the unions representing teachers and admin istrators joined with parents this morning for a press conference outside the downtown headquarters of SLPS.
Nasheed, who was the first to call for public hearings, said there should be no takeover of the school district at this time.
"We're demanding that the Missouri Department of Education hold public hearings here in the City of St. Louis before they make any decision to take over the public schools and take away the people's right to vote," said Nasheed.
Also this morning, Comptroller Darlene Green and state senators Maida Coleman and Jeff Smith issued statements in support of public hearings.
"Public input will be essential to forming a consensus about the direction of our schools in the important weeks and months ahead," said the joint statement from Coleman and Smith.
"Ultimately, we all want the same thing, which is for our children to have a safe environment to gain a quality education. To help achieve this goal, the public should feel it has been involved in the process."
Comptroller Darlene Green has joined in the call for public hearings before any state action on St. Louis Public Schools.
"I support the community's call for the State Department of Education to conduct a public hearing on the St. Louis public schools report," said Green in a statement released today.
"With the School Board election just three months away, the state and the committee should consider that a change in board members may be all it takes to end the turmoil. A state takeover, on the other hand, could result in a continuation of the political controversy instead of focusing efforts on what’s best for the children"
"Any of the committee’s recommendations, short of a takeover, need broad public support to be successful. A public hearing on the issue here in St. Louis would go a long way towards doing just that," said Green.
Last week State Rep-elect Jamilah Nasheedsent a letter to the president of the State Board of Education requesting such a public hearing.
In April, parents Peter Downs and Donna Jones pulled off a huge political upset by defeating two incumbent school board members that were backed by Mayor Francis Slay and were well financed by some of the city's business interests. But the support of the city's elite nor spending more than $50 per vote could make up for the incumbents' lack of parental and teacher support.
"There are a lot of angry people out there," James Buford told the St. Louis American. Indeed there were, and still are -- maybe even more today.
Pub Def asked has Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan become the Che Guevara of southside liberalism? Don't ask us. Ask The Bill McClellan Motherfuckers!
In his state of the city address, Mayor Slay announced plans to seek voter approval for a sales tax that would pay to hire 50 new officers and fund a "Career Criminal Unit" in the city prosecutor’s office.
Post-Dispatch publisher Terrance C.Z. Eggerresigned. "Even in a job you love, sometimes 10 years is enough," he said.
The five-way race to replace the term-limited State Sen. Pat Dougherty began to heat up with the candidates attending forums around the city. Pub Def's camera was there at many.
Maxine Johnson, a homeowner in the 3rd Ward, picketed on Easter Sunday in front of Bethlehem Lutheran Church to call attention to a plan supported by Ald. Freeman Bosley, Sr. to use eminent domain to take her home as part of a planned redevelopment project.
On April 21, Vince Schoemehl and his supporters celebrated the 25th anniversary of his swearing-in as mayor of the City of St. Louis.
Pub Def's camera was there as Air Force One landed in Columbia carrying President George W. Bush (Click here to see our exclusive photos). Anti-abortion activists parked two large trucks in front of the State Capitol displaying graphic photos of aborted fetuses. They were meant to send a loud message to President Bush and others during his visit.
Continuing to hold State Senator-elect Jeff Smith as the elected official all black officials should strive to be like, the St. Louis American today labeled State Rep-elect Jamilah Nasheed the "un-Jeff" for requesting public hearings on the issue of state takeover of St. Louis Public Schools.
The still anonymous authors of the "Political Eye" said that Nasheed's suggestion "overlooks the fact that the Special Advisory Committee has been doing its business in public, as required by the Sunshine Law. Also, if the powers in play wanted the fate of the pubic schools decided by the folks who show up at school board meetings, then it would never have appointed this committee in the first place."
Of course the "Eye" fails to mention that Donald Suggs, publisher of the American and former campaign treasurer for the original 2003 slate of school board candidates backed by Mayor Francis Slay, was one of the members of that Special Advisory Committee.
And they also fail to mention that while most of the committee's meetings took place in public, those meetings never allowed time for public comment.
Nasheed's suggestion is a good one and, quite frankly, is the least the state should do before acting to disenfranchise 300,000 people.
BTW, cops hated CRB. "Where do they get the idea that some shitbag should have the right to investigate a police officer?," wrote one person on the St. Louis CopTalk electronic bulletin board.
Committeeman Francis Slay, Sr. jumped on the Jeff Smith bandwagon.
RFT editor Tom Finkelapologized after his reporter, Chad Garrison, lifted quotes from one of our exclusive videos without giving us credit.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, the lone black Republican in the state house, bucked his party and filed to run against a fellow Republican, Congressman Todd Akin.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Riceaccepted the apology of Dave Lenihan, of St. Louis' own KTRS 550AM. Lenihan was fired after he used the racial slur "coon" when discussing the Secretary. He quickly said it was an unfortunate slip of the tongue and just as quickly (and inexplicably) had Harold Crumpton of the local NAACP jumping to his defense.
Pub Def was the first to report the selection of Julie Szymula Feier to replace Frank Ollendorff as city manager of University City.
We also presented the first-of-its-kind video voter guide for the U-City's mayor's race.
The St. Louis Americanresponded to observations we made about the relationship between political advertising and newspaper endorsements in that paper and others.
The Missouri Republican Party sent out a press release this afternoon attacking State Senator-elect Jeff Smith, a Democrat, on his decision to oppose Gov. Matt Blunt's appointment of Donayle Whitmore-Smith to the State Board of Education.
"Smith today showed that he is more interested in bowing to Democrat Party bosses than doing what’s right for Missouri students," said the Republicans.
"Smith contradicts himself by praising Whitmore-Smith's efforts on behalf of urban education in the St. Louis area then in the same breath rejects her nomination because of a lack of experience," said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party.
"Jeff Smith’s politically-motivated rejection of Donayle Whitmore-Smith is a slap in the face to the African American community and to our urban schools. Jeff Smith is turning his back on his constituents in order to garner favor with Democrat leaders who have opposed Whitmore-Smith’s nomination," said Sloca.
"It is this kind of dismissive attitude toward our urban schools that have led to problems like those currently surrounding the St. Louis Public School District. It’s a disgrace."
Meanwhile, Gov. Blunt is also voicing his displeasure with Smith's decision.
"I am deeply disappointed that one of the Senator-elect's first actions is obstructing the appointment of a well-qualified African-American woman who would have done a magnificent job on the State's School Board," said Blunt.
"Donayle Whitmore-Smith was one of two African-American leaders I appointed to the State Board of Education. I am pleased that Reverend Stanley Archie of Kansas City will at least be given the courtesy of a hearing even though the same courtesy was not extended to Donayle."
Senator-Elect Jeff Smith's Statement on Gubernatorial Appointee Donayle Whitmore-Smith:
Donayle Whitmore-Smith is a leader of courage and action. She has dedicated the last decade of her life to improving urban education by founding the Ptah Academy in St. Louis and attempting to provide additional educational options to children across the state. As an educator, an activist, and a parent, she has much to be proud of.
That said, she is not an appropriate candidate for the State Board of Education.
The State Board is the steward for Missouri's public schools. As such, its members should possess a breadth and depth of experience in public education and/or a background as strong advocates for public schools. Given Ms. Whitmore-Smith's lack of experience as a public school teacher, administrator, or advocate – and the fact that she has spent much of her adult life promoting private educational options – I am concerned about her ability to focus on improving our public schools. At a time when the St. Louis Public Schools are on the verge of losing accreditation and falling under the purview of the State, all members of the State Board must concentrate on the task at hand.
Equally troubling was Ms. Whitmore-Smith's noncommittal response to my question about the relative merits of teaching creation vs. evolution in public school science classes. In order to train a workforce that will help Missouri become a biotechnology hub, our schools must teach modern science and ensure that religious doctrine remains in appropriate venues.
It should be noted, as the co-founder of a group of public charter schools, I have advocated some of the very alternative educational options that Ms. Whitmore-Smith has supported. I neither retract my advocacy nor disparage hers. In fact, I appreciate her energy and her work. While I have not always agreed with Ms. Whitmore-Smith's policy prescriptions, she has been a passionate advocate for her cause and fresh voices like hers should be welcomed.
I have truly appreciated the input of thousands of Missourians while evaluating this nominee. Lamentably, however, some on both sides have succumbed to histrionics and demagoguery. Ms. Whitmore-Smith is not out to eviscerate public education; conversely, voucher opponents are not out to trap poor children in failing schools. And the abysmal outcomes of St. Louis public schools are not solely the result of bureaucratic dysfunction but, more broadly, the consequence of decades of segregation, benign neglect, and middle-class flight.
For the sake of our children and our state's economic future, we must move past petty political bickering to come together and find practical solutions to these problems. That means considering open enrollment policies so that children can choose any public school in a district, lateral certification opportunities for trained scientists, mathematicians, and linguists to ease the shortages of qualified teachers in their subject areas, continuation of St. Louis's voluntary transfer program, and expansion of innovative charter schools [such as the Knowledge is Power (KIPP) model] that provide increased choice within the public school framework while remaining accountable to the State Board.
Finally, I wish Ms. Whitmore-Smith the very best in her future endeavors. I hope we have opportunities to find common ground and work together on some of the above initiatives. And I hope that, in keeping with tradition and the historical mission of the State Board, Governor Blunt's future nominees have more extensive experience in public education.
U.S. Senator Kit Bond today issued the following statement on the passing of former President Gerald Ford:
"Gerald was a kind and decent man who led this nation in a difficult and divisive time. A respected leader in the House, he brought a conciliatory, frank, and open attitude to the White House which gave him the respect of people on both sides of the aisle. He was a wonderful person to know and will always have a warm spot in our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Betty Ford and his family."
Gov. Matt Blunt today announced that all flags at state facilities in Missouri will be flown at half-staff to honor the memory of President Ford.
"President Gerald Ford was a man of solid character," Blunt said. "He led our country with integrity during a difficult time and for that we should all be grateful."
The governor's order to lower flags follows a presidential order to lower flags at all federal facilities. Flags will remain at half-staff for a period of 30 days in accordance with the presidential order.
State Senator Maida Coleman announced that she was not running for state auditor.
Fallout from the videotaped beating of Edmon Burns by Maplewood and St. Louis City police officers continued in February. The Coalition Against Police Crime and Repression held a press conference outside of Maplewood's city hall calling for the firing of all of the officers involved.
The incident helped add to the calls for the creation of a civilian review board. But Mayor Francis Slay said he was "hard pressed to explain" why the media focused on the push to get a civilian review board in the City, but not in other municipalities.
"Does the taped beating suffered by a fleeing suspect at the hands of several pursuing Maplewood police officers and a single City officer support the conclusion that the City of St. Louis – but not Maplewood nor any other local police jurisdiction – needs a civilian review board for its police department?" wrote Slay on his blog.
On February 2, Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt lost his bid to become the new Republican majority leader in the House. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) beat out the pop of Gov. Matt Blunt.
Northside Aldermen Bennice Jones-King and Freeman Bosley, Sr. said citizens should be "outraged" by the decision to move the Annie Malone parade out of north St. Louis.
A decision by the State Tax Commission to side with Nestle Purina in its case against Tax Assessor Ed Bushmeyer and the City of St. Louis meant that the company would pay taxes on its property valued at $19 million and not the $47 million that the city had assessed. That openned the door for other St. Louis companies to seek re-evaluations of their property taxes, costing the city and our public schools millions of dollars.
At a meeting of the Public Safety Committee. Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe (D-1) called upon the City's Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) to improve the way they maintain and sell their property.
The LRA maintains, markets, and sells acquired properties and performs land assemblage for future development. Land assemblage (or "land banking") can take decades. In the meantime, critics argue, buildings sit in unsafe and undesirable conditions. This is a very large problem in north St. Louis, where many blocks look more like war zones than part of a city experiencing a comeback.
Gov. Blunt appointed former journalist and anchorman Julius Hunter to the St. Louis Police Board.
Angeletta McCormick Frank resigned as a Republican commissioner with the St. Louis Board of Elections to become Community Liason for Senator Talent.
In his St. Louis Schools Watch newsletter, school board candidate Peter Downs reported that food vendor Aramark served moldy apples and wormy oranges to SLPS students.
Responding to comments by Comptroller Darlene Green saying that perhaps it was time to cut back from 100% TIFs to maybe 50% so that developers and new residents would start to help pay for schools and police, developer Kevin McGowan told the Post-Dispatch that was "a terrible idea... I think the timing is not right." He said the time will be right when he and his colleagues can sell $300,000 to $500,000 lofts in 30 days. Right now, he says it takes him six to 12 months. Boo frickin' hoo. Could it be because of the schools and the crime?
Alderman Greg Carter (D-27) later introduced a bill that would have required future TIF projects to pay a minimum of 50% of taxes on any residential component of the redevelopment.
PUB DEF called attention to the continuing conflict of interest that is Barb Geisman, Mayor Slay's deputy mayor of development, and her live-in boyfriend, Richard Callow, lobbyist for several companies doing big business with the city and reaping millions in city tax dollars.
Concerned that the St. Louis school board's willingness to sharply raise its superintendent's salary will have an inflationary affect on smaller school districts around the state, State Rep. Terry Young (R-49), of Independence, MO, introduced the bill which sought to limit a school superintendent's salary to 1.5 times the highest teacher's salary.
Rev. Nathaniel Colewas killed as a car being chased by police collided with the car carrying Cole and his wife.
Congressman Lacy Claysigned onto House Resolution #635 calling for an investigation of possible grounds for impeachment of President George W. Bush.
Scott Leiendecker, the Republican elections director for St. Louis City, testified in favor of Senate Bill 1014, which required a photo ID be shown at the time of voting.
On Feb. 15, the school board approved a plan by Superintendent Creg Williams to make some big changes in the City's public schools. The plan, which was kept secret until the night of the vote, included no public input, and was never funded, included mandatory school uniforms at some schools, separate 9th grade academies, year-round school for 9th graders, some all-boy and all-girl schools, and smaller "learning academies". PUB DEF exclusively reported that Capitol Police were called after Luther Boykins, Jr., the brother of State Rep. Amber Boykins, confronted State Rep. Rodney Hubbard about his support of one of Boykins' state senate opponents. According to police reports, Boykins said he would "not let anyone fuck with his sister."
Also in February, Dorrie Wise, owner of DKW Construction, found the body of a dead raccoon hanging from a rope on her construction site on the I-64 project in St. Clair County. After seeing the "lynched coon", Wise said she immediately called her union and advocates of the black contracting community. "It's 2006 and we've still got to deal with this," Wise told reporters, shaking her head.
Aldermen Craig Schmid and Jennifer Florida butted heads after Schmid ignored the tradition of "aldermanic courtesy" and spoke against a proposed McDonald's development in Florida's ward. Florida said she felt like she was "slapped" or "beat up" and was "completely blindsided". "I question his ethics," Florida told the Post-Dispatch. "I would not do that to an enemy. Let alone a colleague."
With the school board race shifting into high gear, PUB DEF began to beef up our video offerings and stalked the candidates from forum to forum. In this video, the candidates were asked at a 1st Ward forum, What is the biggest problem with the school board?
An unidentified man walked in front of City Grocers protesting the fact that downtown's only grocery store does not accept EBT cards (food stamps), something we reported back in October 2005.
Washington University renamed its the Hilltop Campus after William H. Danforth, life trustee and chancellor emeritus.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, the Missouri House's lone black Republican, went to Washington to be a panelist in a debate on the impact of the Bush Administration's policies on African Americans.
Wrapping up the month, we ventured south for the annual celebration of beer, boobs and beads known as the Soulard Mardi Gras. Click here to see our photos (viewer discretion is advised).
In January, the local chapter of the ACLU announced a plan to arm northside residents with video cameras to protect themselves from police attacks.
A few weeks later, the beating of 33 year-old Edmon Burns by Maplewood and St. Louis City police officers was caught on tape by local television helicopter cameras and became national news.
Alderman Phyllis Young (D-7) took a page from the Bush Administration's playbook and counted on ignorance as the best defense of stupidity in defending why the city picked Nov. 3 to send a local Muslim group a letter notifying them that they had to shut down the house of prayer. That date just happens to be the day of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.
"No one is familiar enough with their religious holidays to purposely send a letter at that time," said Young.
Shortly before Mardi Gras, Alderman Ken Ortmann (D-9) introduced a bill to lessen the penalties for public urination. The bill was co-sponsored by Alderman I.P. Freely.
At the beginning of the year, State Sen. Maida Coleman was looking for a new job -- any job! After forming a committee to run for state auditor, Coleman said she was then thinking about about running against Mike McMillan for license collector. Neither panned out and she was happy to be re-elected later in the year as the Democratic leader in the senate.
On Jan. 18, former Speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrichspoke before the full body of the Missouri Senate during regular session in the Senate chamber.
With Mayor Francis Slay, President Jim Shrewsbury, and senior Alderman Phillis Young out of town, Alderman Fred Wessels was briefly acting mayor of the City of St. Louis.
The campaign for school board quickly got nasty with the circulation of a flier which depicted then-school board president Darnetta Clinkscale as "Aunt Jemima" and recently-appointed board member James Buford as "Uncle Tom". The leaflet claimed to be paid for by an organization called "St. Louis for Kids Too!", but there was no such committee registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The bill to create a civilian review board moved closer to a vote by the full Board of Aldermen. Here's our video (Can you appreciate how much better these videos have gotten?).
On Jan. 24, a phone call from PUB DEF to Kay Gabbert, VP of The Roberts Companies, was the first that Mike and Steve Roberts had heard of the news that they had just lost their UPN network. "I'm in the middle of everybody that owns TV stations," Mike Roberts said on his cell phone at a TV convention in Las Vegas. "Nobody knew."
Statistics released in January by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department showed violent crime in the city increased nearly 20% -- Coincidently, that nearly matched the proposed raise in pay for the city's top cop, Chief Joe Mokwa. Hmmmmmm.
Also in January, PUB DEF published letters from Sister Mary Ann McGivern written from the Middle East, where she observed firsthand Hamas' victory in that region's historic elections.
Alderman Craig Schmid sponsored a bill that sought to make it illegal to own large speakers -- not just play loud music, but simply owning the equipment! To add injury to insult, the law allows the police to take a citizen's car (before being found guilty) and force them to pay a fine of $250 to $500.
And Resurrection Lutheran Church, on the corner of West Florissant and Fair Avenues in north St. Louis, was destroyed by fire last night. Click here to see Channel 2's report.
When the balance of power shifted on the St. Louis City School Board back in April, the Post-Dispatch and its education reporter, Steve Giegerich, suddenly began to watch the district with a critical eye.
Before, when the board members were going through superintendents like Kleenex, thumbing their noses and the state's Sunshine laws, and talking fiscal responsibility while voting in favor of budgets that actually added to the financial crisis, Giegerich and his paper barely printed a critical word.
But suddenly, after the new board took over, around the same time Pub Def first reported that Mayor Francis Slay and board members Bob Archibald and Ron Jackson began secret communications with state officials about taking over SLPS, the Post began its series of attacks on the district and members of the new board majority.
As a matter of fact, the "good reporting being done by P-D education writer Steve Giegerich" (as Mayor Slay notes on his blog) is actually used as evidence in the Special Committee on SLPS' report calling for a state takeover.
Just today, Giegerich writes under the headline "Bourisaw slapped over wage issue at school board meeting", that one board member attacked the superintendent last night for him not knowing what he was doing when he voted against her recommended budget amendment last week.
Nowhere do Giegerich or his editors inform their readers that this particular board member, Robert Archibald, was the first public official to call for a state takeover of the district, a complete abdication of his own responsibilities, and therefore has an invested interest in attacking the superintendent.
And nowhere does the Post note in today's article that the majority of other board members did not blame the superintendent. They either voted for her request in the first place or acknowledged that maybe they just weren't paying close attention at the last meeting.
The fact is that many (if not most) of the reporters and editors at the Post-Dispatch do not live in St. Louis City -- and neither do their readers. Maybe that is why they seem to have no problem actively destroying the image of our public schools -- especially now that the mayor is leading the charge.
In fact, our crisis seems entertaining to their suburban readers who have their urban neighbors' education and crime problems to discuss until the new season of "American Idol" starts.
But for those of us that do care about this city, and deeply resent the constant attempts of outsiders to take away our power in the name of fixing our problems for us, I have to say that the Post is indeed disgraceful in its cheerleading for our disenfranchisement.
Paychecks for all employees of the St. Louis Public Schools will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 27, as a result of an agreement between the Board of Education and Teacher's Local 420.
Employees who are not enrolled in direct deposit may pick up their paper checks on Wednesday between 2:00 and 4:00 pm at the District’s central office, 801 N. 11th Street. A second individual paper check distribution will be held on Thursday, Dec. 28, between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the central office. Proper identification will be required.
Direct deposits for all employees will be available in their bank accounts on Wednesday.
A special school board meeting is tonight at 5:00 p.m. in the Foundation Room at the Administrative Building, 801 N. 11th Street. Click here for the agenda.
And the Central Democratic Committees of both St. Louis City and St. Louis County are hosting their Second Annual Holiday Party tonight at the Electrical Workers Hall, 5800 Elizabeth, from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
In New Book, Newly Re-Elected Judge Attacks the "Tyranny of Tolerance"
By Antonio D. French
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
A new book by Circuit Judge Robert H. Dierker Jr. is sure to make some waves in the new year.
In "The Tyranny of Tolerance", which goes on sale December 26, Judge Dierker examines why a Christian is fired when he voices opposition to his employer's favoring homosexuals? Why are white and Asian students denied admission to colleges and universities in the name of "diversity"? And why does a judge who defends a monument to the Ten Commandments in a courthouse lose his job?
According to his publisher's website, "Even those outraged by America’s courts will be shocked by Judge Dierker’s story of activist judges, deep-pocketed special interest groups, pandering politicians, and others who claim to stand for tolerance, equal rights, and social justice, but actually stand for something quite different—something closer to totalitarianism."
"Judge Dierker shows how we can defeat the radical liberals’ tyranny of tolerance. By wresting back control of the courts and restoring the legal, moral, and religious principles embedded in the Constitution, we can ultimately reclaim the republic the Founders bequeathed to us."
Funny how this book wasn't released before Dierker was re-elected last month by nearly 70% of the vote in this "liberal", Democrat-leaning city.
Here is a joint statement from 6th Ward aldermanic candidates Kacie Starr Triplett and Patrick Cacchione:
There has been a compromise reached between Kacie Starr Triplett and Patrick Cacchione regarding the 6th Ward endorsement meeting. In order to ensure inclusiveness and attempt to strengthen our Democratic Party, the deadline to join the organization has been extended until December 28th at 6pm. All members who have joined the organization at that point and are registered to vote in the 6th ward will be allowed to participate in the ward election. We encourage all interested Democrats to participate. Both Mr. Cacchione and Ms. Triplett would like to thank Alderman Lewis Reed for his role in reaching this compromise.
Click here to read our earlier report on this story.
Also... Starr today received the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
UPDATE: Cacchione has launched his campaign website, www.patcacchione.com (thanks to the ACC for the link).
State Rep-elect Jamilah Nasheed has sent the following letter to Peter Herschend, President of the State Board of Education, requesting a public hearing on the recent recommendations calling for a takeover of St. Louis Public Schools.
Dear President Herschend:
As a newly elected official, I am writing to you and the other members of the State Board of Education concerning the recent report and recommendations of the Special Advisory Committee established to assess the condition of the St. Louis Public Schools. Specifically, I am requesting that your Board take no action on the Report until a public hearing on its contents and impact is held in the City of St. Louis.
Although the esteemed members of the Advisory Committee may be well intended, this process is now like déjà vu. For whatever chaos the school district may presently be experiencing, it began when and because the prior school board ignored public input. Instead they sought to ramrod policies and recommendations of their hired consulting firm. The public responded by ousting them in the most recent school board election.
That election sounded a clear mandate that the public expects and demands to be involved in the major decisions affecting the city’s school system – such as those being recommended by the Advisory Committee. In my humble judgment, it would not only be a serious mistake to not permit or seek public input about the Committee’s Report, it would be both a grave disservice to the St. Louis community and a dereliction by the Department of Education.
I strongly urge your Board to not take any action without first giving the citizens of the city a fair opportunity to voice their feelings about the Committee’s Report. Your consideration is greatly appreciated.
In the same week that President George W. Bush finally realized that America is not winning the war in Iraq, Police Chief Jow Mokwa has apparently realized that he is losing the war against crime in St. Louis and he says he has a plan to address it -- but he isn't saying what it is. Not yet.
The Post-Dispatch's Tim O'Neil reports Mokwa told the Police Board yesterday that he is preparing a "major reorganization" of the department to fight an increase in crime that was outlined in a new FBI report.
"Mokwa did not provide details, but said after the meeting the reorganization would include new assignments for some ranking officers and some changes in unit structures. He said he will announce some of it before Jan. 1," reports O'Neil.
"Everything we are figuring on will be about combating crime ... and reducing crime," Mokwa said. "Throughout the nation, crime is going up, and we are never immune from that trend. Nobody wants St. Louis to become the crime epicenter."
At this point we can only hope that Mokwa's plan involves shuffling cops to put more of a police presence in those areas of the city where most of the violent crime is occuring.
UPDATE: Mayor Slay says the city will pay for the police departement to hire 40 new police officers. Again, no word on how (or where) these cops will be used differently.
DONE FOR A WHILE -- Outgoing Senator Jim Talent said Monday he doesn't intend to seek political office again in the near future, but wasn't ruling out a later campaign farther down the road.
"I don't foreclose anything, but I don't have any plans to run for anything for a while anyway," Talent told the Neosho Daily News.
The Daily News ponders that Talent "could try in 2008 for the Republican nomination for election to his former western St. Louis county 2nd Congressional seat or for Missouri's other Senate delegation in the same year if incumbent Sen. Kit Bond decides not to run again. A stab at the Republican nomination for governor in 2008 is also an option but not likely unless Gov. Matt Blunt unpredictably makes a go for national office."
BLUNT BETS AGAINST BEAVERS -- Gov. Blunt and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski have made a gentleman's wager as the University of Missouri Tigers and Oregon State Beavers prepare to meet in the 73rd Annual Brut Sun Bowl on Friday, Dec. 29, at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso.
"With Missouri poised to win back-to-back bowls and our second Sun Bowl, a sampling of Oregon products to help us celebrate will be most appreciated," Blunt said.
Should the Tigers defeat the Beavers, Kulongoski has agreed to give Blunt a bounty of Oregon goodies including a large selection of premium Oregon craft microbrews from the Oregon Brewer's Guild, three full wheels of globally-recognized Rogue Creamery bleu cheese, and a sampling of fresh Oregon seafood.
Should the Beavers win, Blunt has offered Kulongoski a selection of Missouri branded beef, Missouri award-winning wines and an AgriMissouri basket containing Show Me BBQ, Fitz’s Root Beer, blueberry amaretto syrup from Persimmon Hill Gourmet Foods and apple butter from Bekemeier's Fruit Butters.
YOU'RE INVITED -- U.S. Senator-Elect Claire McCaskill is invi
Commissioner of Education Kent King's Special Advisory Committee is a fraud. Mr. King appointed to the committee people who supported St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's failed policies. Such policies led to the accreditation drop from 64 to 39 points, three years of mismanagement, outsourcing, turmoil and five superintendents. Two fair election processes have begun to repair the problems that the Slay board majority created for our St. Louis Board of Education. 
