Daily Wrap

Gov. Jay Nixon signed two new laws ended a longstanding tradition of political patronage for the state's system of 183 license offices.

Speaker Ron Richard no longer thinks a bond issue will "bury [the state] under a mountain of debt for the next two decades."  That is soooooo yesterday.

An audit released today faults former Gov. Matt Blunt's office for slow payments and poor record-keeping concerning his use of private attorneys in a legal fight over office e-mails.

The birthers met in Jefferson City and St. Louis.

Roy Blunt claims to have raised more than $1 million this quarter.

Governor Jay Nixon signed State Treasurer Clint Zweifel's legislation to allow the state to maximize its investments and help Missouri businesses get low interest loans. 

AG Chris Koster launched an initiative to halt puppy mills in their tracks. 

An interim legislative committee began regional meetings on how to draw down more federal dollars through competitive grants.

Roy Blunt locked down the endorsement of the inside-the-beltway NRSC.

According to the Department of Economic Development, jobs most in demand in the state are:  Nursing, Healthcare Attendants, Child Caregivers, Hospitality workers and Food Service workers.

Governor Jay Nixon made his budget decisions public today. His conservative approach include $105 million in vetoes and $325 million in spending freezes. Nixon made the moves to cope with declining tax revenue, which he characterized as "at least 2 points below (projections) and not headed in the right direction."

Pressure is mounting for Speaker Ron Richard to remove Cynthia Davis from her role as Chairwoman of the Children and Families Committee.

Davis was spotlighted as Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" last night, for the second time this week.

Rep. Russ Carnahan announced that the U.S. Dept. of Energy has released $22.9 million in economic recovery money to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Missouri.

Sen. Claire McCaskill will chair the bipartisan Senate committee that will look into the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Texas.

A new audit of the Missouri Housing Development Commission from State Auditor Susan Montee's office highlights conflicts of interest, possible misuse of funds, poor record-keeping and an unfriendly working environment.

Cynthia Davis still thinks "hunger can be a positive motivator" for poor children.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is no longer planning to speak at the Values Voter Summit with Roy Blunt, Rush Limbaugh Michele Bachman, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Bill O'Reilly and other like-minded paragons of virtue.

Thomas Schweich (rhymes with "bike") is running for State Auditor.

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel called for new ethics reforms for the MHDC.

State Auditor Susan Montee released a new report detailing excessive expenses by the St. Louis Department of Health.

Executions are effectively on hold again in Missouri.

Cynthia Davis. There has been a nationwide reaction to last night's Countdown feature on Cynthia Davis. Davis was named Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" for her opposition to summer meal programs for poor children, a story first reported right here on Fired Up!. 

Gov. Jay Nixon announced a new deal with the Kansas City Chiefs to guarantee 10 years of team training camps in Missouri and protect taxpayers.

Barack Obama enjoys a 63% approval rating -- 25 points higher than Bill Clinton's and 10 points higher than George W. Bush at this point in their presidencies.

The Senate passed a $106 billion supplemental defense bill today that included good news for Boeing St. Louis workers who make C-17 cargo planes. Roy Blunt, Todd Akin, Sam Graves, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Jo Ann Emerson voted against the legislation in the House.

AG Chris Koster's office has removed 373 Missourians from MySpace because their profiles appear to match those of registered sex offenders.

Gov. Jay Nixon signaled support for a massive new state building project that would require voters to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in state bonds.

State Sen. Chuck Purguson wants to represent the "silent majority" in the US Senate, and may challenge Roy Blunt for the GOP nomination. Blunt and his Congressional colleagues "have forgotten our values, what we stand for, and what made us a great nation," Purgason said.

Roy Blunt failed to produce an actual health care reform plan AGAIN. His failures as leader of the House GOP effort are now reaching epic proportions.  He know "believes" that he may have a plan in the coming "weeks."

The MO GOP fell on its face in a transparent media divsersion, alleging that Robin Carnahan failed to disclose income from a business that never existed. Seriously.

Sarah Steelman says she shouldn't be counted out of the US Senate race just yet, no matter what yesterday's story in The Hill may suggest.

Sen. McCaskill says the White House has failed to follow proper procedures in firing an Inspector General.

Carl Bearden claims he's banned from Sen. Carl Vogel's office. Bearden previously banned people from his own legislative office, but only "because they could not be trusted to tell the truth on the issues we disagreed upon." 

Puff piece (n., pronounced pf ps). A journalistic form of puffery; an article or story of exaggerating praise that often ignores or downplays opposing viewpoints or evidence to the contrary. See here.

Iran. People who know more about Iran than we do say there are essentially three scenarios that explain the results of Friday's presidential election. It just isn't clear yet whether Ahmadinejad and his allies simply stole the election (very likely), the military attempted a coup (possibly), or if he actually won cleanly (not likely).

Approximately 272,000 Missourians were jobless in May.

The health care status quo is unsustainable.

A consumption tax ("Fair Tax") would increase taxes for the middle 20% of Missourians an average of $2,036 every year.

Schweich is out.

Gov. Nixon talked about tax cuts for 16,558 Missouri small businesses.

Gov. Nixon said today that he is making at least $100 million in last-minute budget cuts.

The US Senate approved the government's strongest anti-smoking measure in decades, 79-17.  Kit Bond missed the vote.

Absent any plan of his own, Roy Blunt is cranking up the scare tactics in opposition to the President's health care reform efforts.

The Fair Tax is a manifestly bad idea. Spread the word.

A lone gunman shot and killed a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC. The suspect is an 88-year-old white supremacist.

The MO House held a hearing to air conservatives' grievances over a MIAC report released in February which focused on the "Modern Militia Movement."

Sen. McCaskill is a key Senate leader for Prez. Obama's “Pay As You Go” legislation.

Show Me Progress has a two part series looking at the challenges of being a freshman female legislator (Part 1 and Part 2).

Pitch Weekly has a great feature examining the extreme(ly) cruel health care policies of the Missouri House. 

Happy Tuesday -- hope everyone stays safe from the storms.

• There's no evidence to back up Kinder's accusations that colleges have been extorted into offering more opportunities for training health care professionals. Gasp.
   
• Sen. McCaskill will be the go-to lawmaker for the White House new “PAYGO” campaign initiative to rein in government spending.
   
• A Guantanamo Bay detainee appeared in a civilian US courtroom in New York today, under the careful watch of federal law enforcement agents. Amazing how that works.
   
Read More »

Happy Monday!

• The U.S. Supreme Court delayed the sale of Chrysler LLC, potentially throwing into jeopardy the bankruptcy proceedings of two of the three large American carmakers.
   
• SOS Robin Carnahan was in Lebanon this weekend to observe the just-completed parliamentary elections. Voters handed an American-backed coalition a victory.
   
• Kevin Elmer declared his candidacy for HD141 this evening.
   
• Tweet of the Day: @gmcelyea "@ChadLivengood No. @PeterKinder is too busy governing to update his twitter."
   
• Runner-Up Tweet of the Day: @DLHoskins "Whoops, Kander I know you can relate. Thumbs hit 00 key by accident. Last post was incorrect."

Some of the more notable items from this beautiful Thursday:

• Gov. Nixon signed the state's new economic development bill (HB191).
   
• Missouri's jobless rate increased in all major metropolitan areas last month.
   
• Activists and lawyers are escalating their campaign to convince the public and Gov. Nixon that Reginald Clemons should be spared the death penalty.
   
• Sen. McCaskill met with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
   
• Randy Turner is under the skin of a few Gary Nodler supporters.

Happy Hump Day!

• There has been an "extremely significant" response to Governor Nixon's new Small Business Loan Program.
   
• Missouri revenue dropped 5 percent in May.
   
• Some big MoDOT projects are coming in cheaper than expected.
   
• AG Koster has sued a Texas company, alleging it falsely promised to help Missouri customers with credit card debt.
   
• Lt. Gov Peter Kinder squeezed the brakes on planning for His Bike Race to pay down his $600k+ in campaign debt.
   
• Nixa Alderman Kevin Elmer will not run for Congress in CD7.
   
• Private First Class Matthew W. Wilson of Miller and two of his fellow soldiers were killed Monday in Nerkh, Afghanistan.