• Happy Easter!

    From Our Family To Yours---We hope you have a faith-and-family-filled Resurrection celebration.  
    From Our Family To Yours—We hope you have a faith-and-family-filled
    Resurrection celebration.

    Sometimes it’s easy to get down when we look at all the politics in our Country.  Yet, there are flickers of hope all around.  Now that Missouri is past our Presidential Primary, we can focus on the municipal elections—which are coming up in two weeks!

    Every election, people come into my store asking me for advice on how to vote effectively.  While the issues may be different, the principles are the same.

    I always vote against superficial tax increases.  You’d be surprised at how well a government can function just fine on its current level of funding.  If it can’t function with its existing funds, perhaps it would be better to find elected officials who know how to manage on the current budget.

  • How About A Fresh New Start?

    The picture of Darrell Castle was taken in his office in Memphis,Tennessee and the picture of me was taken in my office in Missouri's State Capitol.
    The picture of Darrell Castle was taken in his office in Memphis,Tennessee
    and the picture of me was taken in my office in Missouri’s State Capitol.

    Every day more news is generated giving us hints about where our Nation is going next. This last year was a rocky road for public policy. The major players were successful at shifting us further to the Left end of the political spectrum. But there is still hope.

    Our Nation has lost some of the respect of other nations we used to enjoy. Other countries used to admire us for our stand on the sanctity of life, the integrity of mankind, faithfulness to our Creator and for the freedoms we once enjoyed. Now we are under the burden of inept leadership in our executive branch and elected officials from both major political parties.

    The elections in 2016 may prove to offer some surprises and may answer the question: “Did they yank too hard?”

  • Ed Martin – White Flag Congress

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    Are you one of the 11-15 % who thinks our congress is doing a good job?

    Does it matter what our elected officials say during the campaign season if they don’t keep any of their promises after the election? So…What can we do about it?

    Solutions are available and you will hear about them on this edition of Home Front.

    We interview Ed Martin who explains the White Flag Congress project.

  • We Believe, We Vote!

    We Believe, We Vote 1

    How many of you are tired of getting bamboozled time and again? A friend called me yesterday to ask me about what’s involved in vetting (evaluating) candidates. That’s a great question because most of the people who care about our country realize that unless we start vetting candidates, we are in for one disappointment after another.

    It’s possible to still be let down by the person we supported, but if we learn to vet the candidates first, there will be fewer surprises.

    Here are some of the problems that make it difficult to vet candidates:

    1.) They usually keep their contact information hidden. Years ago when I ran for public office for the first time, it would have been embarrassing to have an unlisted phone number. I expected my constituents to call me at home. Now, they keep their home information as a tightly guarded secret, and the only way to make contact with most of your city and school officials is to call the district office switchboard and leave voice mail. Good luck getting your calls returned.

    This bothers me because if an elected official doesn’t want voter contact, he shouldn’t put his name on the ballot. They now use the staff to buffer interaction. However, the one moment when they want contact with voters is during the election season.

  • Photo ID Requirements

    Photo ID Requirements 1

    Elections have consequences. Some of those consequences are more severe if few people come out to vote and especially if the people who come out are not legitimately qualified to vote.

    More than 32 other states have Photo ID laws, yet Missouri doesn’t. Regardless of your political party, shouldn’t we all agree that protecting the process is critical? Voter fraud has been happening since voting began.

  • John McCaherty

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    Join us for an inside glimpse of politics in Missouri. Rep. John McCaherty shares with us some of his insights on what a difference it has made to be both a pastor and a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

    You will get to hear from his own lips what it’s like to be on the frontline in the battle for ideas. Rep. McCaherty beat an incumbent and lets us in on some little known “secrets of the House”.

  • How Are You Voting?

    There is no virtue in voting.  There is only virtue in voting the right way.  The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you, but also inspire you to vote in an informed manner.
    There is no virtue in voting. There is only virtue in voting the right way. The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you, but also inspire you to vote in an informed manner.

    One week from today, all states will be holding elections. In addition to having your opportunity to select your favorite candidate, there are some ballot issues to be considered.

    Consider this:

  • Early Voting

    Early Voting 1

    When I went to vote, I was confronted with this petitioner at my polling precinct. A percentage of people will sign petitions just because they are being amenable and can’t think of a reason not to do so.

    I didn’t sign his petition, but I did take his picture. The point is that some people will vote “yes” for whatever is on the ballot just because they figure if someone wants it bad enough to ask, they might as well just give it to him.

    The greatest harm caused by early voting is that a percentage of voters will be pressured to vote for a person or a law whom they might otherwise not choose. When people show up to vote without knowledge of what they are doing or without enough self-motivation to go without prodding, you can be sure that others outside the system are manipulating the process. In some states that have early voting, organizations have loaded up buses to transport people from their work places to go vote. Many of these are voting under compulsion and would otherwise lack the intrinsic motivation to exert the effort.

    On your November ballot, you will see a question of whether we should have early voting. At first glance, most will think this is a matter of convenience, but it is far more devious than that. It has the potential to destroy the honor of our system and will allow the winning side to be determined by who can bus-in and arm-twist the most uninformed voters.

  • Ballot Questions

    Voting is a moral issue. We owe it to ourselves and our government to take the time for thoughtful consideration before we cast our votes. Many people go out to vote for one special candidate or one issue. When they get into the voting booth, where it is too late to ask any questions, they are suddenly confronted with the problem of all these other people and surprise issues they never considered.

    With less than two months to go before the next election, it’s time to start the education process for what you will see in November. The purpose of these next few newsletters is to help you understand what you will see on the ballot, but more importantly, how you should think when you see these questions on your ballot.

    Please be wary of the technique that many political parties employ to put an emotional issue on the ballot just to drive up the vote tally. Many proposals do not belong on the ballot, but overzealous legislators and civic organizations feel they need to prove their validity by attempting to pass more laws. Bear in mind that we already have plenty of laws to cover nearly every topic and sometimes new proposals can be redundant or make things worse with unintended consequences.

    One problem we have in Missouri is that the ballot summary may be written by someone who misses some details. We end up voting for what sounds like a fine idea on the surface, but might be horrible in practice. The majority of voters (but not my readers), are easily manipulated and tend to like the idea of being able to pass laws, but the consequences often don’t come out until later.

    Oftentimes, a proposal comes with a story of something it is attempting to correct. If we are going to pass laws based upon stories, let’s also include the story of what could happen if the worst interpretation occurs.

    Ballot Questions 1

  • Special Insider Scoop on Elections

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    Learn from the experts!  Tonight we bring you an experienced panel of people who have studied elections for years and can help you process what just happened in many states during the primary process.

    Is it true that “Nice Guys Finish Last”?  Tonight we offer some analysis of what happened in the last election and discuss how open primaries affect the outcomes in the states that have them.

    Our panel includes two former Republican candidates, Ike Skelton and Tony Laszacs, along with Jeanine Huskey, founder of the the Eureka Tea Party.  We will ask them to explain what is happening to the conservatives and the Tea Party movement and share some glimpses of where we are heading next.