Last month, the anti-war women group CODEPINK St.Louis drove through the night to New Orleans for V-Day, the 10th anniversary of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues”, and to share in the struggle and celebration of 1,200 women who returned to New Orleans after being previously displace by Hurricane Katrina.

A new Gallup Poll released today show President George W. Bush with the highest disapproval rating of all time!

Bush registers a staggering 69 percent disapproval rating, the highest in that survey’s history, according to CNN, even higher than President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

From CNN:

But he can take comfort in the fact that the lowest positive rating in history still belongs to another commander-in-chief: Harry Truman, whose 23 percent mark in 1951 still bests Bush’s 28 percent approval. The runner-up in that category is Nixon, with 24 percent in 1974, shortly before his resignation.

That can’t be good news for the Republican nominee for President, Senator John McCain, who just a couple of months ago was having a tough time even convincing a majority of Republicans that he was their man.

In a CNN poll of polls from back in Feb, less than 50% of Republicans supported McCain.

Senate Bill 830 & Senate Bill 1036

Senator Maida Coleman thinks the best way to say “thank you to the brave men and women from Missouri who have answered this nation’s call to duty” is to help combat veterans and their families get a college degree.

Coleman is sponsoring a bill (SB 830) that would cap tuition at $50 per credit hour for returning Missouri veterans who are seeking a degree or certificate. She is sponsoring another bill that would pay up to 50% of the college costs for children and spouses of Missouri veterans who are killed in combat (SB 1036).

SB 830, known as the “Missouri Returning Heroes’ Education Act,” is cosponsored by Republican Senator Kevin Engler. It has unanimously passed the Senate and moves onto the House for consideration.

SB 1036 is currently in the Pensions, Veteran’s Affairs, and General Laws Committee. It would create 25 new educational grants that would pay up to 50% of the survivor’s tuition costs, $500 per semester for books, and $2000 for room and board.

Coleman sponsored legislation similar to both bills during the 2006 and 2007 sessions.

Senate Bill 771

Senator Ryan McKenna (D-Crystal City), introduced legislation to create an income tax credit for contributions made to provide military personnel with armored protection.

This dollar-for-dollar tax credit is limited to $1000 per taxpayer per year and works like a donation to a non-profit organization. The credit would also apply to in-kind contributions of body armor, armor plating for vehicles, or other materials used to make armor.

Senate Bill 1062

Senator Frank Barnitze (D-Lake Spring) says that “A lot of folks serving in the military…should not have to worry about filing (tax) reports in a timely manner in order to avoid financial penalties when they are putting their lives on the line for our country.”

His offering a bill that would allow active duty soldiers and members of National Guard and Reserves to delay filing corporate and franchise tax reports with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office for 120 days from the completion of their military service. The bill is designed to help farmers or small business owner serving in the military.

SB 1062 is currently being reviewed by the Pensions, Veteran’s Affairs, and General Laws Committee.

When former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales steps onto the campus of Washington University tonight, he will be met with a the familiar scene of hooded figures wearing bright orange prison jumpsuits—the kind made famous infamous by the photos of prisoner mistreatment at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

A coalition of student and community protesters will be staging the demonstration as part of a protest of the the Student Union’s decision to pay the controversial former Attorney General $30,000 to speak on the campus.

Adam Shriver, leader of the Wash. U. Peace Coalition, hopes the protests will show that many Wash U. students do not support Gonzales or the war and tactics he defended while in the Bush administration.

This video has been floating around the Net…

This morning, nearly 200 people from St. Louis and surrounding areas will ride out of town on the 6:00 am Amtrak train to Chicago, or as they call it, the Peace Train.

The passengers are going to the Windy City to take part in the Mobilization to End the War, a demonstration against the war in Iraq. Chicago is one of eleven cities taking part in the Mobilization, and it will serve as the Midwestern hub for those taking part in the protest.

170 Peace Train tickets were available, and all were sold by Friday afternoon.

For more details about the demonstration, click here.

Friday is the start of parents’ weekend at Washington University. It’s also the day thousands of tombstones will adorn the lawn north of the school’s library.