Rashed joined Tom for an entire hour, the podcast is segmented below:

Everybody is looking for him, but I can’t seem to shake him.

I mean, I go to the Capitol to give a speech at a TEA Party rally….The Mexico Goat is there. Maybe that’s what my daughter, Amber, was actually watching.

A couple days before, Abby Grimmett and I stopped by the lot where hundreds of Missourians were loading up the charter bus caravan to attend Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” Rally and, well, guess who was eagerly waiting to make the trip and graze on the grass along the National Mall attend the rally?

Yep, The Mexico Goat.

He won’t even leave us alone here at the World Headquarters of the Zimmer Radio Group. I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep informative and engaging guests coming to the studio if the Goat keeps this up.

In fact, earlier this month, State Representative Allen Icet and I were having an intense conversation about the upcoming football season and our fantasy draft picks the state budget, education funding and local control of schools and, who decides to barge in?

You guessed it – the Goat. Please, somebody just buy him a radio so he can listen each day!

Was it a non-political rally about honor and faith and the values of America’s greatness or was it an ideological slap in the face to Dr. Martin Luther King, who delivered his “I Have A Dream Speech” at that very spot 47 years earlier?

So, depending on your viewpoint, it was either a hateful, right-wing TEA Party or it was an non-political, inclusive call to return the nation to the values that have been abandonded. Either way, it’s still the talk of the nation.

Chris O’Connor from the Mid-Missouri 9-12 Patriots was there. In fact, he and his wife Penny coordinated the trip for over 220 people. He’ll share his experiences and take your calls about the event.

On a side note : Rep. Chris Kelly had to reschedule because of an unanticipated change of his schedule- he’ll be in the studio later this week.

A special thanks goes to our friends at AT&T on Rangeline for making it easy to give a one-time $10 donation by texting “KID” to 85944.

I’m looking forward to today’s show – and, don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss and debate the hot issues….tomorrow morning. I’m filling in for Gary Nolan and will be back in the studio from 8:00 to 10:00 Saturday morning.

We’ll be in Jefferson City THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON, starting at 2:30.

Here’s the speaker/music schedule for this Saturday’s “Rally For Honor” at the Missouri Capitol. Thank you to Diane Kitchell and Phil Todd at Show Me Tea Central for all your hard work in puttng this together!

I hope to see you there! – MAF

2:30:  Mike Ferguson, Emcee, Welcome

2:35:  Clay Kahler, member MO Patriot Guard, President of SOC-CMC

        (Soldiers of the Cross – Christian Motorcycle Club)

        Invocation

2:40:   Intro CD of Beth Schoeneberg (“Derry Brownfield Show”)

        CD is recitation of story of writing of National Anthem

        Invite attendees to sing along with the Anthem

2:50    Salute to our Military – please sing along with your anthem

3:00    Mike Ferguson – speak

3:10    Clay Kahler – speak

3:20    Jeff Parnell – speak and sing “America the Beautiful”

3:30    Col. Fred Berry (Ret) –  speak

3:40    Barb Smith – Leavenworth 10 – speak

3:45    Sara Dickson- Central MO Young Republicans – speak

3:50    Earl Williamson – MO FairTax – speak

3:55    Herb Brownell – MO State Sovereignty – speak

4:00    Intro of local Tea Party leaders – take turns speaking

4:15    OPEN MIC for Attendees

Despite the claims of the business owner to local media , yes, it did happen – police were nearby, heard the shots and saw the getaway car speed off. (after this story hit the web, the business owner quoted in the paper declined my invitation to give his side of the story on my show) If that weren’t enough evidence, officers found the shell casings.

…but no one saw anything. Hundreds of people were there. Donzens were involved in the fights, but there are no witnesses or leads.

The “stop snitching” trend and culture isn’t just for big cities anymore, it’s here. It also leads to unsolved crimes and violent thugs getting away with hurting more people because there’s some bizarre, unwritten code that has even victims of their crimes keeping quiet.

What does this mean to Columbia and central Missouri? What does this mean to you and your family?

We’ll talk about that in the 4:00 hour today. – MAF

“HONOR FLOAT” to Benefit Central Missouri Honor Flight, Launches on Aug. 24^th!

What is Central Missouri Honor Flight?  “Honor Flights” acknowledge that we are in a race against time to honor our aging World War II Veterans. It is important to many in this generation, that continues to enjoy the freedoms purchased by those who served in WWII, to demonstrate our understanding of the words spoken by William Churchill, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

A typical Honor Flight as conducted by Central Missouri Honor Flight involves gathering WWII Veterans from the Central MO area that are still able to make a day trip to Washington D.C. to see their WWII Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The day starts very early by gathering the Veterans by bus and transporting them to St. Louis Airport for a chartered flight, switching to ground transportation again in Washington D.C., then flying back late in the evening, and  then bused back again to Central MO. These Veterans are greeted with warm ovations of gratitude as they de-board their plane in D.C., and at other points along their journey, by those who acknowledge the need to express their gratitude while they still can. Their long day then ends as each individual veteran comes off the bus with a tremendous “Welcome Home” displayed by large crowds of cheering loved ones and admirers. (You can learn more about CMHF at their website, http://www.centralmissourihonorflight.com/.)

All costs and arrangements for the trip are raised and provided by CMHF. The cost for each Veteran runs around $300.00 plus. Because of the heat, they do not schedule Honor Flights during the summer months. However, funds are needed to be raised quickly for 3 Honor Flights scheduled for this fall.

OK, so then what is this “HONOR FLOAT”?  I am part of a team entered in the MR 340 canoe race. The MR 340 will begin in Kansas City at 8:am, Tuesday August 24^th, and continues down the entire length of the Missouri River that passes through MO, and finishes at St. Charles. Our 20’ boat consists of my brother, both of our teenage sons, and myself. We are boat #9657, “The Family That Paddles Together”, in the Team Division. Our goal is to sleep aboard the canoe in shifts and finish within 60 hours. If you would like more information, and even follow the race once it begins, you can go to, http://rivermiles.com/mr340/page2.html.

So here is what I’m humbly asking you to consider doing… Since the cost to send a WWII Veteran on an “Honor Flight” is in the neighborhood of $300.00, and the length of the MR 340 is 340 miles, I’m asking for “Honor Float” donations of just $1.00 per each mile of the race. Sponsor as many or as few miles as you would like, this would be an easy way for those who have wanted to contribute to an Honor Flight, but couldn’t afford a larger amount.  As miles are sponsored, I will be placing your name on a form to show the sponsored veteran the people who chose to show them their gratitude in this way.  If you wish, feel free to write a short statement to be placed by your name that expresses your appreciation for their service. If you would like to sponsor a specific portion of the river, maybe where the river goes through an area of MO where you or family comes from, I’d be glad to try to accommodate that.

My Primary Goal is to raise the total cost needed, about $340.00, to send one of our aging heroes on an Honor Flight. My Secondary Goal; because of the health and mobility considerations of these aging veterans, another need of the Honor Flights is to have Nurses with Geriatric experience go along as Guardians, and I happen to be married to one! My wife Monica has agreed to serve by going on a flight if enough can be raised to send her. This would also serve as my way of honoring her for standing by me as I have involved myself causes that I believe are needed to keep our country strong and free.

As you reply, please include contact information that will be needed to gather up the donations to deliver to CMHF.

Thank You So Much!
Paul Brugmann, Columbia, MO 

573-999-1878, brugmann@centurytel.net

Amy Ridenour says the answer to that is “yes”. She’s the president of the National Center for Public Policy Research. She says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is going too far when it’s warning employers about “discriminating” against those with criminal convictions.

Ms. Ridenour will be on in the 5:00 hour.

The judge says the law violated the protesters’ First Amendment rights. Today, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said he plans to appeal that ruling.

Does a right to pay final respects to someone – soldiers, in this case – negate the right to say what you want, where you want, when you want, even if what you say is disgusting? Was the judge right or are both Missouri legislators and the Attorney General right? We’ll talk about that and alot more on Tuesday’s show.

Just over 3,000 Callaway County households will get high-speed internet access through the project the money is funding. Socket says this will result in over 500 jobs being created throughout the process.

Is this a good thing or is it simply more irresponsible spending that’s just happened to land in our area this time?

John Payne from the Show Me Institute says government should not be in the internet provider business. He’ll be on in the 5:00 hour to tell us why we should oppose this spending even when it provides a temporary boost to a business and some peopel in our area.