Rep. Casey Guernsey's Capitol Report for April 15th, 2010

Missouri State Sovereignty

America’s founders thoughtfully designed our country with a federal system of government. This system of balance between state and federal government has been the reason our form of government has been so successful. It wasn’t because of Socialism or Communism. The United States Government has grown by enormous leaps and bounds in the last year and a half. This unprecedented growth threatens the relationship the Fed shares with the states. Here’s what the preamble outlines as the role of the Federal Government: establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for common defense, promote general welfare, & secure blessings of liberty. That’s it. The tenth amendment highlights who has responsibility for duties outside of the constitutional role of the federal government. The tenth amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.”

As your elected representative, I am committed to protecting your constitutionally guaranteed rights, at any cost. The immense power grab we have seen in the areas of healthcare, commerce, taxes & personal freedoms are unprecedented. I’ve read just this morning where the Justice Department is trying to gain access to our email accounts without a warrant. Personal privacy is at a premium these days it seems. This is why we passed HJR 88, the State Sovereignty Amendment, out of the House. This proposed constitutional amendment, which requires voter approval, reinforces Missouri citizen’s constitutional sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. I firmly believe the federal government should be limited only to powers granted in the Constitution – without exemption. This amendment serves as a warning to the federal government that we do not approve of any unconstitutional mandates and federal laws forced on Missouri such as the disastrous ‘Cap and Trade’ bill or recently passed Healthcare bill.

HJR 88 prohibits the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of Missouri's government from recognizing, enforcing, or acting on federal restrictions on the right of private citizens to bear arms; federal laws legalizing or funding abortions or the destruction of human embryos; certain specified federal actions involving health care including a federal public option (which is outlined in our Health Care Freedom Act); federal actions requiring the sale or trade of carbon credits or the taxing on the release of carbon emissions (Cap and Trade); federal actions mandating the recognition of same sex marriages; federal actions increasing the penalty for a crime based on a perpetrator's thoughts or designating hate crimes; federal actions regarding the Establishment Clause based on a "wall of separation" between church and state; and federal actions restricting the right of parents or guardians to home school or enroll their children in a private or parochial school or placing restrictions on the school's curriculum. The resolution also requires Missouri courts to interpret the United States Constitution based on its language and the intent of its signers at the time of its passage, rather than leaving interpretation up to sponsors and co-sponsors of bills. Finally, HJR 88 allows Missouri solid ground to bring suit to enforce the provisions of the resolution.

Experts urge mushroom hunters to eat with caution

Mushroom hunters love gathering and eating tasty fungi, but you need to know what you’re eating or an enjoyable outing could go disastrously wrong.

Ken Gilberg knows the risks firsthand after eating the rare mushroom Tylopilus eximius on a camping trip in Maine. That meal sidelined him with vomiting and diarrhea instead of letting him enjoy his vacation.

“It’s a rare mushroom that not many people have tried, and although my books didn’t identify it as poisonous we got sick from it,” said Gilberg at his home near St. Louis. “The risks are rare, but you should know exactly what you’re eating.

“The old adage is that there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.”

University of Missouri mycologist Johann Bruhn echoes that warning.

“In Missouri we’re blessed with some of the best-tasting edible mushrooms, but also some of the most poisonous,” said Bruhn, who researches mushrooms at the MU Center for Agroforestry. “I recommend that if you want to eat a morel or an oyster mushroom, for example, you should learn all about it and any fungus that even looks vaguely similar so you don’t make a sickening mistake.”

Bruhn noted that just because a mushroom tastes good doesn’t mean it isn’t poisonous.

“Some of the most poisonous mushrooms apparently taste very good,” he said. “I know of a woman who once ate a very poisonous type of deadly white Amanita in southern Michigan, went into a coma and when she luckily recovered she cried and said it was the best-tasting mushroom she’d ever eaten.”

There are many misleading myths about mushrooms, Bruhn said. “People say if it’s growing on wood it’s safe, if it tarnishes silver it’s poisonous – but the only rule of thumb is there is no rule of thumb. People have to learn one kind of mushroom at a time along with look-alikes.”

Despite Gilberg’s bad experience, he’s become an avid mushroom hunter who has scoured the woods for more than 28 years looking for tasty finds. He notes that there’s no substitute for really knowing and checking your mushrooms.

“You could confuse a zucchini and a cucumber if you didn’t know what each was, so it’s not hard to see how it could be confusing when there are thousands of mushrooms,” he said. “The risks are rare, but there are deadly mushrooms in Missouri, so you can’t just go out and eat anything or you can end up quite sick, or even dead.”

Bruhn says he doesn’t want to frighten off would-be mushroom hunters. “My job is to scare people silly first and then build knowledge. For me mushrooms are inextricably linked to food, friends and enjoying the outdoors.

“There aren’t many dishes that can’t be improved by mushrooms and they can truly add to the importance of food and camaraderie in our lives.”

For pictures and more information on mushroom species, see www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mushrooms/mushroom/edible.htm.

You can learn more about mushroom hunting through the Missouri Mycological Society, which will host Morel Madness at Cuivre River State Park April 23-25. See the organization’s Web site at www.missourimycologicalsociety.org.

Mulching defends trees from chemical attack by turf grasses

The grass in your lawn might be stunting the growth of your trees, says a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.

Certain grass species, including tall fescue, give off chemicals that can inhibit tree growth, said Chris Starbuck. “The effects can be dramatic.”

The chemical inhibition of one plant by another is called allelopathy.

Creating a 6- to 8-foot diameter mulch ring around a newly planted tree can help overcome this problem and speed establishment before the tree has to do battle with turf roots, Starbuck said.

At the MU Southwest Center in Mount Vernon, stunted walnut trees doubled their growth rates after mulching eliminated a 6-foot strip of fescue along tree rows. This suggests that mulching can aid even some large, established trees if they are growing in fescue turf, he said.

Improving soil drainage also may reduce allelopathy by speeding the leaching and microbial degradation of the inhibitory chemicals.

Many tree species, including black walnut, wield chemical weapons of their own. “Any experienced gardener knows that it is a waste of time to plant tomatoes anywhere near a walnut tree,” he said.

“Trees and turf are adapted to entirely different ecosystems. It’s not surprising that they sometimes resort to underground warfare,” he added. “In many landscape situations, it may be best to create some turf-free areas where trees and shrubs are mulched together to simulate the forest floor.”

MCCASKILL: AFGHAN POLICE TRAINING CONTRACT KEY TO U.S MISSION

The Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight’s Chairman Claire McCaskill today questioned top State and Defense Department officials about the continuing failure of government contractors responsible for training the Afghan police force, a task key to the success of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

U.S. success in Afghanistan is dependent on our country’s ability to fight insurgents and maintain basic rule of law, and the Afghan police force is vital in achieving this objective. Over the past eight years, the United States government has spent over six billion dollars on police training contracts, yet numerous government watchdog reports have indicated serious problems with contractors’ work and agencies’ failure to adequately manage and oversee the contract.

“Training the police in Afghanistan is part of our military mission. It is as important as anything else we are doing in that nation right now,” McCaskill said. “So what has happened in that regard? It is an unbelievably incompetent story of contracting. For eight years we have been supposedly training the police in Afghanistan. And here’s what we’ve done. We’ve flushed six billion dollars. Six billion dollars.”

Watch video of McCaskill’s opening statement

Reports have repeatedly cited problems such as insufficient mentors, equipment shortages, inadequate pay, corruption, and deteriorating security conditions, with government officials and contractors failing to adequately address these issues. When David Johnson, the Assistant Secretary at the Department of State, tried to explain away problems by citing how many police officers have been through the training program, McCaskill responded by pointing out that there still is no effective police force.

“You can say all you want about how many [people] have been trained, but I think if we’re honest about how many are currently operative at an effectiveness level in the country of Afghanistan, Americans have not gotten a good deal on their investment,” McCaskill said.

The State Department and Department of Defense currently share control of the police training contract. McCaskill raised concerns that having the contract under control of more than one agency created a lack of clear authority and oversight, undermining the success of the mission.

“The ultimate recipe for disaster is not having one single agency with clear line of authority in charge, able to make sure the mission is accomplished with efficiency, effectiveness and that money is not walking away. None of that happened for eight years,” McCaskill said.

In December, a ruling by the GAO spurred the move of the contract to sole control by the Department of Defense. However, five months later, the Department of Defense still does not have a firm plan in place for moving forward with the contract. When McCaskill asked what the plan was for getting contractors committed and in place to train police officers in Afghanistan under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Department of Defense, David Sedney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, could only say that they did not have a final answer.

“That’s unacceptable,” McCaskill responded. “The moment the complaint was filed all hands on deck should have been looking at this at the Pentagon to say, what’s Plan B? If this objection is upheld, what is Plan B?”

After being pressed by McCaskill, Sedney explained that the government has decided to hold a full and open competition to award a new contract.

Watch video of McCaskill questioning witnesses

McCaskill: We Must Continue to Help Keep Food on the Table for Thousands of Missouri Families

During one of the worst economic recessions in decades, thousands of hard-working Missourians have lost their jobs at no fault of their own, but must continue to find ways to provide for their families. That’s why U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill yesterday voted to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA health insurance aid, lending a helping hand to many families struggling to make ends meet.

“We were able to pass a crucial emergency extension of programs that are helping keep food on the table for thousands of middle class Missouri families fighting to stay afloat during these tough economic times,” Senator McCaskill said. “For those who haven’t been able to find new employment during this recession, this help could mean the difference between barely making ends meet and foreclosure.”

After a series of objections from Senate Republicans, Democrats were successful in paving the way for a vote on an emergency extension through the end of May of the two programs. The programs expired at the end of March. The 60-day extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA passed with a bipartisan vote of 59-38.

Careful When Planting Corn after Ammonia Application

Careful When Planting Corn after Ammonia Application

As growers plant corn after applying anhydrous ammonia, care should be taken. Most ammonia injury to corn occurs during a dry spring, however, wet soil conditions can lead to ammonia injury to seedling corn also.

A rule of thumb is to wait seven to ten days after ammonia application before planting. If one needs to plant quickly, then if ammonia placed at the correct depth in good moisture. The key is placing the ammonia at six to eight inches deep in the soil and not too shallow.

With any ammonia application, it is best not to plant directly on top of the ammonia fertilizer injection band. If any free ammonia moves upward because of wet side walls or air pockets, then this can move upward and come in contact with the new corn seedling causing injury. Apply ammonia at an angle in the field so a planted row will not be directly on top of the ammonia band.

When ammonia is injected into the soil, it will create a zone of concentration of approximately four-inches in radius. The highest concentration will be where the ammonia left the knife. The lowest the further away from the injection point.

Ammonia moves further away from the injection point in dry soil and in sandy soils. Instead of being a circular band, it can be oblong, moving upward. Also, if the injection knife smears the sidewall if the soil is too wet, then ammonia can move back up the knife slot. Another related situation would be ammonia moving up as the soil dries and opens up the knife track.

Diagnosis of corn ammonia injury is lack of corn emergence over the knife track or corn seedling roots looking like they have been burnt. If there is injury, there will be a distinct pattern wherever the row crosses the knife track or follows.

For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-446-3724 or Heather Benedict at 660425-6434, Regional Agronomists, University of Missouri Extension.

Election Results for April 6th, 2010

Sheridan Mayor:
Leland Wake 51
Gene Via 12

Grant City Marshall:
David Snow 31
Tyler Hann 86
Lenny Campbell 36

Allendale Board of Trustees:
Kevin Harding 22
Bill Calhoon 19
Willie Stewart 12
Darrell Lamb 17
Joe Hertl 2
Bobbie Novak 3

Allendale Levy Renewal:
Yes 25
No 0

Denver Levy Renewal:
Yes 13
No 2

Worth County Levy Renewal:
Yes 345
No 97

Phone Franchise Fee:
Yes 275
No 160

Worth County School Board (includes Nodaway County):
Karen Fletchall 271
Mary Jo Fletchall 191
Jubal Summers 319

Nursing Home Board District Six:
Anthony Steinhauser 62
Sharon Nonneman 43

Northeast Nodaway School Board (Includes Worth County):
Chris Redden 137
Charlie Standiford 111
Diane Wiederholt 248
Cecilia Gallagher 153

55 Cent Levy:
Yes 181
No 159