St. Louis Post-Expedition. March 28, 2022.

Editorial: As Holocaust Education Grows in Missouri, Racial Discussions Are Muzzled

Abill demanding that Missouri teach its school children about the Holocaust is moving forward in the Legislature with strong bipartisan support. Aren’t these lawmakers worried that this topic is too controversial? Or that it will make children of German descent “feel bad about themselves”?

Of course, no one is making those silly arguments against this laudable legislation — yet many of the same lawmakers who support the measure are making exactly those silly arguments in separate bills to ban discussion of racial issues in the classroom.

As Grace Zokovitch of the Post-Dispatch reports, the legislation of Rep. Adam Schwadron, R-St. Charles, would create a “Holocaust Education Week” in Missouri schools to highlight awareness of the German Nazis’ genocidal campaign against European Jews during World War II. Some 6 million Jews were systematically murdered, largely in concentration camps established under Adolf Hitler for this purpose. A 2020 national survey revealed a disturbing lack of knowledge among Americans today regarding these and other details about one of the worst crimes against humanity ever committed.

The measure (House Bill 2000) passed through the Legislature without a single vote against. This is not surprising, given that most people understand how important it is to remember the Holocaust, both as a means of ensuring that it never happens again and to counter the modern day anti-Semitism. As Representative Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann, said it: “We need to lock down the vital memory of our history and the harm that our species is capable of doing to each other.”

This valid justification should also apply to another great crime in history: slavery, often considered America’s original sin. Just as the Holocaust is still relevant today in the form of various neo-Nazi movements in America around the world, the legacy of American slavery still affects society today in the form of structural racism. on labor markets, real estate, policing and more. But that hasn’t stopped conservative lawmakers in Jefferson City from tabling a barrage of bills that could effectively eliminate discussion of race from public school curricula.

What began as a movement against critical race theory — an advanced law school concept not usually even taught in primary or secondary schools — has morphed into legislation that could be construed as banning any discussion of race. The common language of many of Missouri’s pending bills would prohibit the teaching of so-called divisive concepts, as well as anything that is likely to cause students “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” because of race or gender.

Teachers who see such broad wording could easily conclude that the only safe way to approach race-related issues is to avoid the topic altogether. Just as silence about the Holocaust could only allow anti-Semitism to flourish, silence about race in America is a recipe for more racism.

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Jefferson City News Tribune. March 27, 2022.

Editorial: Salute reforms with state no-bid contracts

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Missouri has spent tens of millions on emergency contracts that bypassed the normal bidding process.

Now, some lawmakers are seeking to ensure the state returns to competitive bidding and increases transparency when the state uses emergency contracts. We agree that such actions are in the best interests of the state government and Missourians.

We recently published a Missouri Independent article about a House hearing for bills by two representatives. Each would impose more reporting requirements on state purchases when normal processes are not used.

Rep. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, said the bills are “the beginning of an attempt at (request for proposal) reform in Missouri,” the report reported. Independent.

The bills would limit untendered contracts to one year when only one vendor can provide the necessary services or when emergency purchases are an issue, the news source reported.

He said that when emergency purchases are awarded, the state should plan to implement a competitive bidding process within a year, and emergency purchases could be extended if needed for that a tendering process is underway.

No one opposed the bills during the hearing, and only the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry testified in their favor.

“We want to make sure our process is both efficient and effective for taxpayers’ money,” said Kara Corches, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs, the Independent reported.

The pandemic has forced changes in the way we do many things. Quick action sometimes required circumventing traditional bidding processes.

These bills will help ensure the state returns to a competitive bidding process where it can and will provide transparency for Missourians when it is not.

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St. Joseph News-Press. March 28, 2022.

Editorial: It’s not him, it’s us

Eric Greitens appeared on the scene as a fresh-faced newcomer with a biography that was a political consultant’s dream.

He was a Rhodes Scholar and US Navy SEAL. He started a non-profit organization to help injured veterans. He spent his free time running obstacle courses with law enforcement.

What could go wrong? It didn’t help that once elected, he operated in complete secrecy and preferred to hide behind the digital wall of his Twitter account. But Greitens would not be the first politician to be more stylish than substantial. Some have gone quite far with this method of doing business.

Then came a horrific sex scandal involving a hairdresser, which resulted in an invasion of privacy charge for an alleged photo taken without the woman’s consent. Greitens quit but still managed to shake off the worst allegations against him, if not the disgust associated with it all. The invasion of privacy was dropped. The Missouri Ethics Commission found probable cause that Greitens’ campaign illegally coordinated with a political action committee, but found no evidence that he personally knew violations were occurring.

It was all very Clintonian: youth, intelligence, shameless ambition and the ability to bounce back from a scandal.

In fact, Greitens was considered a frontrunner for the U.S. Senate seat when Roy Blunt announced his retirement. Now, Greitens’ ex-wife, in a sworn affidavit that was filed in a custody battle, accuses the ex-governor of physical abuse and threats to use his political influence against her. True to form, Greitens responded by appearing on Steve Bannon’s show and blaming everyone from Mitch McConnell to the woman making the abuse allegation.

All of this is fueling calls for Greitens to drop out of the race. “If you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not in the United States Senate,” said U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, who previously supported Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, in the Senate race. . “It’s time for Eric Greitens to quit racing.”

Certainly, Greitens would be doing the Missourians a favor if he gave up. Republican voters have better conservative choices in the August primary, including Hartzler, Rep. Billy Long and Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

But one thing we learned in his rise and fall is that Greitens is only doing favors for Greitens. Missourians should assume he’ll keep tweeting and smiling well into the primary.

Ultimately, it’s not about Greitens and whether he decides to stay in the race. August 2 is about us. Regardless of what he decides to do, isn’t it time for voters to say enough is enough?

TO FINISH

This story was originally published March 29, 2022 9:55 p.m.