I have decided to start a new series that will be posted simultaneously on this blog and CFT Phalanx. The series will be titled "Simple Steps that Make a Difference". I realize that this isn't the most creative series name, however as the focus of this series is on simplicity, I believe that a straightforward title is the most appropriate.

This series is based on the belief that most people really would like to make a positive difference in their community, but they also often face obstacles in doing so. This series is designed to offer tips on simple things we can do in our everyday lives to help. This steps aren't designed to supplant charity work or donations, but simply to provide additional opportunities to make contributions. Without further ado, here we go:

Simple Step #1: "Target" better schools while you shop.

If you ever shop at Target (as I do, since there is one right across the street from my apartment) you might find this tip helpful. Target offers its own charge card called the REDcard.This in itself is not noteworthy, but what is noteworthy is their Take Charge of Education program that they offer in conjunction with the REDcard. With this program, you can designate a school of your choice and Target will donate one percent of all that you charge at Target to your school. One percent may not seem like much, but if you are going to spend the money anyway you might as well have one percent go towards education (at no additional cost to you).

For example, I have selected my old elementary school (Wanda Gray) for my account. You can view on the Target website how many people have selected each school and how much Target has donated. So far this year Target has donated $3,167 to Wanda Gray with only 87 people have designated it as their school, you can see the data here.

Now, I am hesitant about advocating any credit cards with the debt problem that faces many Americans today, but this is a different situation. You can use the Target card to pay for your purchase, then stop by the service desk on your way out and pay off your balance so you don't ever have to encounter interest rates. The only cost to you is the short period of time it takes to pay off your balance on your way out and the potential reward to society is significant.

Again, it may not seem like 1% of your purchases is much, but what if everyone adopted this simple step? In 2006 Target's revenue from sales was $57,878,000,000 (according to their annual report), just think if everyone who shopped at Target adopted this approach then about $578,780,000 would be donated to our schools annually at the cost of only minutes per shopper.

I have started a new blog advocating the expansion of passenger rail service in Missouri and providing relevant news. If you would like to visit it, you can find it at: missouritrains.blogspot.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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Howdy all!

It has been a long time since I have posted here and I sincerely apologize for my remissness (which I don't think is don't think is a word, so I'll apologize for using that too).

However, I do bear some exciting news...two good friends and I have just started our own blog that you can visit (free of charge) at cftphalanx.blogspot.com. The three of us will be posting there very often and I will resume posting here as well, though not as often as at Phalanx. Hope you like the new site and be sure to "Share and enjoy!"

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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I know that most all of my posts are either political or humorous in nature, but I would like to use today's post to ask for your assistance in supporting a very worthwhile organization-the American Cancer Society.

I am on my Hall Council's Relay for Life team and we are in the processing of raising money that will go to the ACS. Here is a brief excerpt from them about this event:

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is one important way to make a difference in the fight against cancer. This year, three million Relay For Life participants in 4,200 local communities across the country will raise millions of dollars to fuel the American Cancer Society's mission. As the nationwide, community-based volunteer heath organization, the American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and patient services.

I would like to not that I am not implying or attempting to imply through this that the American Cancer Society in any way endorses my personal politics as expressed on this blog. This is an entirely apolitical issue and one in which all Americans can unite in support of a good cause.

If you would like to make a donation that would help me out (and my team) you can do online at this address: http://www.acsevents.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=73699&u=73699-72692895
(If the link doesn't work then just copy and paste the url into your address bar.)

Even a donation of a couple dollars would be greatly appreciated as many small donations add up to make a big difference. I would like to thank you for reading this and allowing me the opportunity to make this personal appeal for donations. I will return to subjects that don't involve me asking you to open up your wallets next post, but I know this cause is worth spending time on.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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UPDATE (Tuesday, March 1 at 2:55 PM): The House of Representative just approved SB 98, aka the name change bill, with 120 votes in favor. The bill will be sent to Governor Blunt for his signature.

It has been a long hard battle, but we have done it! I'll update more later, but for now I'll conclude with:

YES!

I have decided to continue updating this post until the name change is adopted, normal posts should resume somewhat soon. Please continue to check back for updates on the progress of the name change.

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES

(MOST RECENT UPDATE: JAN. 23 at 10: 10 PM)

I have just been listening to some of the first day's debate on the name change bill in the Missouri State Senate and this has pushed me over the edge on a commitment I have been considering for some time: to make it a personal goal to do my best to ensure that any Representative or Senator that votes against the name change will suffer electoral defeat in any attempt they make to run for higher office.

The Senators trying to prevent the bill being voted on were using the argument that there are more important issues we should be dealing with. This argument is disingenuous and fallacious even when it is being used to defeat a bill through a vote, much less when it is being used by a Senator who is trying to prevent a vote by extending debate. If we cannot consider issues when there are other, more important issues we should be considering then we can never consider any issues. There will always be morally compelling situations that would prevent us from considering any other issues, even those which also address morally compelling issues or those that are necessary for effective governance. Additionally, if the Senators opposition to this bill comes from a belief that we should be spending this time on other issues then they would not be drawing out debate, they would be seeking to bring this bill to a floor vote as soon as possible.

Of course, these Senators real motivations for opposing this bill are self-serving and don't sound as good as a concern for "more important issues"...so they use this facade of an argument.

Anyway, this issue is most certainly worthy of consideration if one cares about higher education in our state. SMS has the largest enrollment of any university of a bi-directional name in this country. We have the second largest enrollment in the state beating CMSU by several thousand. We have students from every county in Missouri, 49 states, and over 70 countries. We have a statewide mission as Missouri's Public Affairs University. We have campuses in Springfield, West Plains, and Mountain Grove. We have achieved national recognition from the Templeton Foundation as a Character Building College and from the Princeton Review as a College with a Conscience. We have achieved this success despite receiving vastly less money per student from the state and also charging substantially less in student fees and residence charges than MU. I could continue going on, but I think I have established the point that we are simply asking for a name that reflects our university as we have long outgrown our regional moniker.

receiving this accurate name would benefit not only the over 20,000 students, staff, and faculty of our University, the residents of Missouri's third-largest city and those of Missouri's fastest growing region: Southwest Missouri. It would also benefit the entire state of Missouri by improving our system of higher education relative to regional states which already have a "University of" and a "State" (Kansas State, Illinois State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas State, Kentucky State...). Finally, it would benefit all the students of Missouri through competition and through allowing MSU to bring in even more out-of-state students who would be contributing financially to our higher education system through the payment of their student fees.

UPDATE (11:39 PM): Senator Dolan is one of my new heroes. Listening to him tear into the filibustering Democrats has almost made it worthwhile...the key word there being almost. Unfortunately, he is bound by the limits of Senate decorum and he is unable to use words that are stronger than duplicitous to describe the arguments of these hacks..."duplicitous" only describes their actions and debate when they are looked at through rose-colored glasses. Senator Dolan's occasional truthtalking is the only bright spot in the hours of listening to inane legislators drone on endlessly with mock outrage about how we shouldn't be spending time on this issue. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPEND TIME ON THE ISSUE, THAN LET IT GO TO A VOTE. I would hope that our state Senators would have this basic understanding, as Senator Dolan clearly does, but it is apparent that several either do not or, more likely, are manipulative liars. Not only that, but they can only honestly be described as cowards. Masking your opposition to an issue with a concern for "more important issues" and drawing out a debate in the name of "not wanting to spend time on this issue" when in reality you simply know you will lose the vote and don't want it to occur can be described as nothing less than cowardice.

Is it really too much to ask for us to allow a vote on this bill? I hope not. Two more things: 1) I have decided to amend my recently adopted personal goal above to add that I will also make it my personal goal to do my best that vocal name change supporters, like Senator Dolan, enjoy electoral success in future runs for electoral office; 2) If you care about this issue please contact your legislators.

I will continue to post updates throughout this so-called debate between substance and unintelligent, manipulative obstruction.

UPDATE (12:41 PM): Continued inane babbling from Senator Graham and his fellow Tweedledums. I am losing faith in the democratic process to the point which I have decided to go to bed. Hopefully, I will wake up to some good news. More updates to come (but hopefully not many).

UPDATE (10:35 AM): Well, I did suprisingly wake up to some good news. In the wee hours of the morning the senate did give initial approval to the name change bill. This occured, apparently, after Senator Graham recieved an e-mail from MU's President Floyd asking him to end the filibuster. A deal was then struck placing certain language placing restrictions on the academic programs we can offer and stating that we cannot recieve extra money on the basis of the name change, once this language that MU wanted was added (and another amendment allowing CMSU's Board of Governor's to change their name to the University of Central Missouri) then the bill passed by a vote of 23-7. It must be approved one more time and then go to the House and the supporters of this bill are still confident the bill will reach Governor Blunt's desk before our 100th Birthday on March 17. It doesn't sit well with me that we rewarded Graham and his allies' fillibuster by giving them concessions, but I am just glad that the name change now appears as if it will finally go through. I can't say I am a big fan of President Floyd but I will commend him on taking a step to bring this unnecessary kerfluffle to an end. Now our work begins lobbying the members of the house (which should be helped by the fact that we have 39 co-sponsors including the Speaker), but at least the fillibuster concern is done with.

UPDATE (WED., 11:00 AM): The Senate voted a second time and passed the bill with no problems. Now, we go onto the House.

UPDATE (TUES., 10:45 PM): Today the name change bill was aproved by the House Higher Education Committee by a vote of 10-1. It now heads to the House Rules Committee and is likely to reach the House next week.

This is an important development and is made more notable by what transpired at the Committee Hearing. Those testifiying from the University of Missouri-Colombia not only weren't able to convince the Committee to vote the bill down, they managed to alienate the Representatives and increase support for the bill. These excerpts from the Kansas City Star describe what transpired:

An attempt by University of Missouri supporters to win lawmakers' favor backfired Tuesday.

[...]

But some lawmakers said opponents of the legislation seriously damaged their case with their committee testimony.
During the hearing, University of Missouri-Columbia journalism professor James Sterling accused Gov. Matt Blunt of threatening to withhold millions of dollars from the University of Missouri unless Floyd signed off on the bill during an all-night Senate debate. He added that lawmakers were allowing themselves to be pressured by the governor's office.

[...]

Rep. Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, called Sterling's claim a "wild accusation" and told him he had lost all credibility as a witness.

[...]

Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, said he had entered committee meeting unsure how he would vote on the bill. But he said the aggressive and antagonistic approach of the University of Missouri's supporters turned him off. He voted for the bill.

So, things are looking extremely good for the name change. One other positive development to report, that I forgot to comment on last week, is that CMSU has reversed its opposition to the bill and now supports it.

UPDATE (Wed., 10:10 PM): The name change bill was passed by the Rules Committe today, which allocated 5 hours for debate, and is now on the House calendar. It could come up Thursday, but it will likely be dealt with early next week. Things continue to look very good.

Also, see this editorial from today's Columbia Daily Tribune (which has been a consistent opponent of the name change). It is well worth reading.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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Well, I have noted with some dismay that Andy has not yet issued an apology for his slanderous statements on his blog. I do not want to have to escalate this situation so I will give him one last opportunity to issue a retraction and apology. If this does not occur, I will be forced to make another post containing a very severe "tsk"-ing and shall work up from there.

Also, you can click here to see It's A Wonderful Life, one of my favorite movies, re-enacted in thirty seconds...by bunnies.

And since the subject of bunnies was brought up in that last sentence, I would like to conclude with a rabbit with a pancake on its head:




Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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Somewhat related to today's earlier post, I found that mlb.com had Game 7 (in Kansas City) from the 1985 World Series on their Cooperstown channel today and I got to watch the first few innings. Watching those innings makes me wish even more that I would have been around to see the Royals of the 1970's and 1980's. The atmosphere at the stadium was raucous-it was louder than most basketball games or other indoor sports. I did have the privilege of seeing George Brett play when I was young (though I don't remember much of it), but I never got the chance to cheer for the great Royals teams with Brett, Hal McRae, Brett Saberhagen, Frank White, and others.

That being said, I am a fervent Royals fan and will remain so. I hope that I will get to see them play in the postseason soon, but even if they never have another winning season I will remain a fan; that is just the way I work, I have been a KC Royals, KC Chiefs, and SMS Bears fan from birth and will remain so no matter how poorly they do or how well other local teams do.

On that note, I discovered the blog of an old friend from middle school and high school that focuses on the Royals: http://kevinagee.blogspot.com/

For any fellow Royals fans out there, or just baseball fans, his site is well worth checking out.

To conclude, my Royals prediction for this year is that they will win the AL Central and make the playoffs. To be candid, this is my prediction every year and I have yet to be right but it is still my prediction and I believe in it. I can't wait for baseball season to start again.

GO ROYALS!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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Well, Andy in today's post congratulated me for siding with "the minions of Beelzebub" (his words) in the Super Bowl. I was dead on in my prediction of how many points the Pats would score, but the Eagles did surpass my expectations by 8 points. However, Andy then proceeds to suggest that I will soon be cheering for the Yankees.

This insinuation is as false as it is offensive. I would sooner embrace a lifestyle of unadulterated hedonism, cruelty, and secular humanism than root for the evil empire of baseball. Even if they didn't represent all that is evil and impure about professional sports, I would still despise the Yankees. As a Royals fan the intense playoff rivalry between the Yankees and the Royals in the late-70's into 1980 is built into my ancestral memory although I never saw those games. In 1976, 1977, and 1978 the Royals meet the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and we lost all three hotly contested series: 3-2, 3-2, and 3-1 (this was well before they expanded to three divisions and expanded the playoffs changing the Championship Series to 7 games). The last time we met the Yankees in the ALCS, 1980, we swept them 3-0 winning our first World Series trip. Although we haven't met them in the playoffs since, the rivalry over those 4 ALCS meetings in the course of 5 years has been ingrained in the memory of all true Royals fans.

So, I will not ever root for the New York Yankees and I would hope that Andy would apologize for his insinuation that I will.

My outrage at Andy, of course, is really mock outrage...but I am very serious in explaining my disdain for the pinstriped Evil Empire. There are many issues I feel passionate about, but this issue is prominent in the upper echelon.

To return to the Super Bowl, I have to agree with Andy's honest assessment of Donovan McNabb's performance (which I am sure was difficult for him): it was awful. He had a number of poorly thrown and/or ill-advised passes and he is frankly lucky that only three of them were intercepted. Almost as bad as this, though, was his clock management at the end of both halves (for which Andy Reid must share some of the blame). You do not keep calling your team back to the huddle when you are losing by 10 in the Super Bowl with less than 4 minutes to play in the 4th Quarter.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, God Bless our Troops and God Bless the United States of America.

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