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SLEASIAST SAM GRAVES

BY GLORIA JEAN ABERCROMBIE, MBA BSBA, AS

THIS IS MY STORY AND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE CONTENT
I am a Consultant for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to construct safe, descent, and livable Elderly Housing, also for people with disabilities.

I HAVE SERVED MY COUNTRY AND I LOVE KANSAS CITY AND DOES NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO ABUSE THE ELDERLY.................SAM YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN REPORTED!

I have been knowing Former Mayor Kay Barnes for over 10 years personally, but I have always followed her career through a mirror. She is full of aliveness, honest, accountable, has a moral attitude, committed, and sincere. Kay keeps singing her song that is in her heart, that she is going to still serve and lead the residents of Missouri, so they can have a better life.
Former Mayor Kay Barnes cousin Walter Cronkite is the greatest anchor man of all time, and has done a great job protecting his cousin, but now he needs others support. I feel like I let her down and wasn't there when she needed me, because I was grieving over my big brothers death, in February of 2008. He was a retired Marine, a war hero. He fought in Vietnam twice, the first time they just made him mad, so he insisted on going back to Vietnam to serve his Country. He has received Presidential Honors and was commissioned by the Presidential Administration to perform his self taught skills, Art and Sculpturing. My big brother and I were like twins, we looked alike, we had the same mannerism, and we both believed in serving our Country, because we are Americans.
When I found out about how Graves treated Former Mayor Kay Barnes in the Congressional Race for the Sixth District. All I thought about was Walter Cronkite.
I come from a family of nine, 6 brothers and 2 sisters. I know if someone did to me what Graves did Kay, my brothers would have handled it, the wrong doing would have been taken care of. They wouldn't have told me what they did specifically. But, it would have been handled. That is what they taught me to do to the sharks and snakes.
The former Mayor Kay Barnes was raised to respect people and to not disgrace them in the media or any place.
But, I am different two of my favorite books are The Prince Machiavelli, by Niccolo Machiavelli and the Art of War, by Sun Tzu, I had to master that book to graduate and get my MBA. So the next time you want to be a sissy and abuse women look me up.
Yes, I better introduce myself, I am Gloria Abercrombie, MBA, I know you are use to degrading professional women in the media just to win a seat that pays about $100,000 a year. Well, I am a native of a small town, Waskom,Texas. When I was born there it was just country and oil wells, called Abercrombie Hill. So, I am a country girl, it is in my blood, genes, and brains. And I was blessed that my father and mother made it possible for me to get a private ivy league Jesuit education and to receive the highest level business degrees, the University offered, which is accredited in Missouri. So, I challenge you to sick your rural population on me.
I TRIED LIVING IN THE YOUR SIXTH DISTRICT AND I WAS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BY THE PROPERTY MANAGER AND THE RESIDENTS IN MY BUILDING BECAUSE I AM BLACK.
THE NEIGHBORS PLAYED WAR GAMES ON ME CONSTANTLY. MALES AND FEMALES.
ON ONE OCCASION I CALLED 911 AT 4:00 P.M AND THE POLICE WOULD SHOW UP AT 2:00 A.M. IN THE MORNING. AND WHEN THEY SHOWED UP THEY ASKED ME IF I COULD PROVE WHAT WAS HAPPENING EACH TIME. WELL AT 4:00 A.M. IN THE MORNING, DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD LEAVE ANY EVIDENCE.
THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WAS IN ON IT, SO THEY PROBABLY TOLD THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE THERE TIME SHOWING UP, BECAUSE I WAS A NIGGER.
MY NEIGHBORS WERE PUTTING KOTEX PADS WITH BLOOD ON IT IN MY FRONT DOOR. I LIVED ALONE SO I FELT THAT MY LIFE WAS IN DANGER. I HAD NO BACKUP BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO BE AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN.
I FILED A FEDERAL LAW SUIT WITH HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (HUD). I WON MY CASE. SO, I AM A BLACK ACCOMPLISHED FEMALE AND I CAN'T LIVE IN YOUR RACIST AND SEXIST PART OF THE DISTRICT THAT PROVED TO BE LIKE YOUR SUPPORTERS, OVERLAND PARK KANSAS, THE SAME THING HAPPENED THERE, BUT IT WAS MORE LEATHEL, THEY WANTED ME TO DIE AFTER THEY USED MY CREDIENTIALS FOR AMASS MARKETING CAMPAIGE TO CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING. AND WHEN THE CELEBRATION WAS OVER, I WAS FORCED TO RESIGN AFTER WORKING 7 DAYS A WEEK FOR 8 MONTHS, BECAUSE I HAD A FARMERS MARKET ALSO. THE REASON THEY WANTED ME TO RESIGN WAS NEVER TOLD TO ME. THAT WAS AFTER I WAS A VERY ILL PERSON BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT WOULD MAKE HEALTH CARE A PART OF EMPLOYMENT PACKAGE. I FILED MY SUIT AND WON AGAIN. YOU CAN LOOK IT UP, IT IS ALL A PART OF PUBLIC RECORD.

FROM OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS BRUTAL TREATMENT, I LOST MY MEMORY AND DID NOT GAIN IT BACK UNTIL FOUR YEARS LATER. THEY HAD A TIME LIMITS ON FILING DISCRIMINATION SUITS AND SINCE I WAS SO ILL, THE TIME PASSED. I COULD'T WRITE ANYWAY BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY HUNG ME FROM MY NECK, THAT IS WHAT IT FELT LIKE, I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE ALL OVER AGAIN AND THAT TOOK YEARS.

SO GRAVES DO YOU SEE NOW HOW ABUSE AFFECTS PEOPLE. I LIKE SOMEONE TRYING TO RAPE YOU, AND YOU ARE HOLLOWING NO, NO, NO AND YOU KEEP PUCHING.

Well, again Former Mayor Kay Barnes supported me with her Christian Love, and now now I know what love is. How do you like me now! Former Mayor Barnes is an educator and she always recommended reading. She said that �being effective as individuals in government is no longer merely an option�survival in today's world requires it. Also, accessing the higher levels of human genius and motivation in today's new reality requires a sea of change in thinking. The crucial challenge of our world today is this: to find our voice and inspire others to find theirs. And you cannot do that with racism and sexism.
When Kay visited the people of the Sixth District they said they got too many problems to enjoy life. Kay puts joy on the inside of each one of them. She said they need to tap into this joy, and they will be happy, because her plans to improve the Six District will allow them to live with enthusiasm in spite of what comes against them, on a continual basis. Kay has been involved in influencing public decision making because she has been a public servant for over 1/2 Century. And Graves it was your mission to destroy that.
Former Mayor Kay Barnes had an overwhelming win in the 2008 Democratic Primary for United States Congress, on Tuesday, August 5th. She received 85% of the votes. People say Kay takes her mission serious, because the decisions she makes affects future generations. Her campaign issues seems to be based on her desire to leave a legacy for the the Sixth District and America.

The primary results was proof that negative campaigning did not work. She set the standards of this race by concentrating on issues. Kay shook off the negative mind-sets of Sam Graves and did not allow his negative press or attitudes take root, and stopping her from pressing forward.

From reading some of the comments of Sixth District residents on the Internet and in print, past leadership soured their outlook on life, instilled fear, insecurity, which kept them from looking to a positive future.

But, the August 5th vote, showed they were ready for a new day.
Now, they can reject those old ideas, let the hurt go and move on to new beginnings. The residents realized that Kay was not going to let them sit back and settle for where they were. In Kay, they have discovered that her actions, wisdom, talent, ability, values, attitude, resources, and comments, encourages them to reach their potential and believe that they do have a promising future in this world.

Also, Barnes burst of international attention on Kansas City's Downtown Development, Sprint Center ranks in top 30 out of 100 spots among world arena venues, reports POLLSTAR, the entertainment industry's in leading trade magazine maintains the world's largest database of international concert tour information. And Sprint Center ranks No. 14 of arena cities in the United States. This development increased employment, business development, and upscale housing choices.

Women and politics go back to 1880 and this economic news makes history and should stay in the forefront of all policy makers . Furthermore, Kay Barnes out fund raised her opponent. The competitive environment also matters, as a non incumbent in a open seat contests raises more money than the incumbent. She is so dynamic because of her prior experience in politics and also as serving as a two term Mayor.

Thanks to the leadership and mentoring of Former Mayor Kay Barnes I look forward to challenging you and your brother in Court for the charge of discrimination: age and sex. And it will allow me to try an getover the ills of what the Downtown Overland Park Partnership did to me with therover 300 private sector caucacian businesses and Politicians just like you.

I can not believe, the former President George Bush supported you in everything you were doing. Because Bush supported me, he provided about $5,000,000 for low income elderly housing, to be constructed in Kansas City, Missouri Northeast, they believe in cultural diversity.
I was the Author of the Grant. When Bush was President no one could construct elderly housing without his blessings and you better have your ducks in order. And the Big Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes had to put her stamp on the Grant before it could be advanced to President Bush.
And if you were a racist, sexist, and abused the elderly you couldn't construct elderly housing. Because it would be constructed based upon your beliefs.

According to the newspaper and other printed documents residents opinion is that the former leadership of Graves, caused too many people to go around negative and discouraged, and allowing their problems and circumstances to weigh them down. They lived stressed out, dragging through each day, and not really excited about life.
With the distinct differences of Kay Barnes for Congress and Graves, we have someone who understands the major issues and not just give lip service to the residents. She has the appropriate experience, character, the knowledge of what is needed for economic growth, and more importantly, the wisdom to do the job, all of this is going to bring about more love to America.


SAMS GRAVES BROKE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS

I would love as a citizen to audit your office to find out how many of these laws you have broken. I would love to simply look at of your staff and find out if you have hired any minorities in responsible positions. And that has an opportunity for a political position if that is what they want.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has interpreted the prohibition of discrimination based on conduct to include discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Protect America Act institutes Big Brother government in the United States. It betrays American liberty. And Representative Graves failed to vote against it.
When the Head Start program of early childhood education came up for reauthorization in May of 2007, Rep. Howard McKeon tried to offer an amendment that would provide special permission for religious organizations to engage in employment discrimination when using government-provided funds to hire Head Start Workers. That sounds complicated, but what it boils down to is that the McKeon amendment would have let churches take government money to hire workers for the government-funded Head Start program, and yet refuse to hire particular workers because they were from the "wrong" religion.

The Head Start program is not a religious program in its content, so there is no substantive reason for this discrimination to occur. If churches want to run a preschool and discriminate on the basis of religion, they can already do so -- they just have to pay for it themselves. If churches want to grab government money to run a government program, on the other hand, then the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is perfectly clear -- government resources can't be used to establish advantages for a religion or its adherents.

The McKeon amendment would have let government resources be used to discriminate against people who were not religiously correct. It fortunately was rejected in a roll-call vote. But Rep. Sam Graves didn't help in that regard. By failing to vote against the McKeon amendment, Rep. Graves showed a disregard for the constitutional basis of American government.
Rep. Sam Graves failed to vote for H.R. 2, a bill to increase the minimum wage, which is currently at its lowest point since the 1950s. The bill was not dedicated to raising the the minimum wage to new highs. It would only have returned the minimum wage to a level comparable to that of the 1980s, which is in turn much lower than the minimum wage level of the late 1960

It is a shame that Representative Graves does not even have the respect for America's workers that they deserved 20 years ago.
H.R. 137 was a bill put before the Congress which declared it "unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, buy, transport, or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture." In more brief terms, it outlawed the tools used solely for cockfighting, the ritual mutilation of birds for sport.

H.R. 137 passed on a 368-39 vote, with the vast majority of members of Congress recognizing the needlessness of this particular brand of animal torture. But Sam Graves failed to cast a YES vote, showing a disturbing disregard for the unnecessary suffering of other living beings.
Any reasonable person who believes that trust in America's democratic institutions is important can see the value in being able to determine with assurance how a person has voted. It should be a matter of common sense, for instance, that when an electronic voting machine malfunctions and loses votes (as has happened in the past), a backup paper record of the actions of the machine would help elections officials set things right and make sure that every person's vote has been counted. Yet today, despite a history of malfunctioning electronic voting machines, there is no requirement for a backup paper trail. It's as easy as attaching a printer to a voting machine. It's a matter of simple common sense for those who are interested in reliable verifiable, democracy. So why has Congressperson Graves failed to lend formal support to H.R. 811, a bill which would require the establishment of such a paper trail? It's a mystery to me. Ask Congressperson Graves to leave a verifiable paper trail of support for H.R. 811 -- in the Congress, that's called co sponsorship.
H.R. 897 is a bill before the House of Representatives that would "require the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to provide to Congress copies and descriptions of contracts and task orders in excess of $5,000,000 for work to be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan." When Republicans controlled the Congress, they killed efforts to uncover corporate corruption and war profiteering.


f there is really nothing going on with the contracts, then why is there a problem with looking at those contracts? Only those who think there is a problem and want to hide the problem could be opposed to Congressional oversight. Sam Graves apparently is comfortable with something being hidden, since the name of Rep. Graves does not currently appear in co sponsorship of this legislation. Contact Rep. Graves and ask why.
H.R. 2620, The Child Soldier Prevention Act, prohibits the government of the United States of America from providing military aid to any foreign government that uses child soldiers in its military, paramilitary forces, or other official or sanctioned armed groups. The Child Soldier Prevention Act also requires the Executive Branch to research and publish reports on the use of child soldiers around the world, providing important information that can be used to more effectively counter the use child soldiers.

There are some clauses that make the bill less strong than it could be. One gives the President of the United States to issue a waiver to the law when he decides that giving military aid to a government that uses child soldiers is in the interest of the United States. However, the President is required to register every such waiver, and report on the justifications for each waiver to the Senate and to the House of Representatives. Another clause permits support for armies that recruit volunteer child soldiers as young as 16 -- because that's what the U.S. Military currently does.

These clauses make the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 an imperfect piece of legislation, but it's pretty darned good, and it's the only legislation to even address the issue. It is therefore a piece of legislation that all decent Americans ought to be willing to support, regardless of political party affiliation.

So why hasn't Representative Graves offered co sponsorship of even this mild, unobjectionable bill? Something seems askew with Representative Graves's priorities.
Back in February, Congressman Tom Cantos introduced a bill to the US House of Representatives called the Advance Democracy Act of 2007. It is registered by the Library of Congress as H.R. 982. The legislation would:
Establish a Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the Department of State
Create positions for Democracy Liaison Officers in the Department of State
Require the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Directory of National Intelligence to monitor and document the flow of money within the United States from foreign nondemocratic governments
Establish a Democracy Fellowship Program to encourage coordination between Congress and the Department of State on matters related to the promotion of democratic institutions around the world
Create two studies by the Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion to evaluate the ways in which organizations are working around the world to promote democracy, and understand how the Department of State can better help these organizations
Create a government web site dedicated to global democracy and human rights
Develop pro-democratic programs by the United States missions in nondemocratic nations and nations transitioning to democracy
Provide funds for an International Center for Democratic Transition, dedicated to helping nations move from dictatorship to democracy. The center has already been proposed by the government of Hungary, and has the support of other European nations
Strengthen the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, already in place
Give new energy to the effort to create a Democracy Caucus within the General Assembly of the United Nations
Require the White House to use the Department of State and the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues to investigate violations of international humanitarian law by the leaders of other nations


Promoting democracy around the world without dropping bombs on anybody. What a radical idea.

The Advance Democracy Act of 2007 has a number of co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, but unfortunately Sam Graves is not among them. Please make a call and ask Representative Graves to co-sponsor of the Advance Democracy Act of 2007.
H.R. 1257 is a bill that, if signed into law, would simply permit shareholders in a public corporation -- aka the owners -- to cast an advisory, non-binding vote approving or disapproving of executive pay packages. H.R. 1257 would also allow shareholders to vote their non-binding approval or disapproval of Golden Parachutes, the gigantic pay packages corporate executives often give themselves as a condition of being fired for poor performance. Who would not support the idea of the owners of a corporation being able to publicly express their position on executive pay and severance packages? Only those who have an interest in keeping executive pay and severance packages hushed up. Sam Graves failed to vote for this bill when it came up for a roll call vote. Why is Representative Graves interested in hushing up executive pay and severance packages? Ask Representative Graves.
H.R. 1415 is a bill before the House to repeal many of the most onerous features of the Military Commissions Act. If passed, some of its main acts would be to:
Restore the right of habeas corpus for people detained by the U.S.
Narrow the definition of the MCA term "unlawful enemy combatant" to individuals who directly participate in attacks against the United States.
Let United States detainees invoke the ethical codes of the Geneva Conventions again.
Let U.S. detainees obtain a civilian lawyer for their defense.
Prohibit the use of evidence garnered through torture.
Prohibit the use of hearsay, upon the discretion of a judge.
Let juries know how statements were obtained from detainees.
Permit federal appeals courts to review the decisions of military commissions.


In short, H.R. 1415 would restore respect for the Constitution and a modicum of humanity to the government of the United States. Sadly, Sam Graves has failed to recognize how important the restoration of constitutional standards are to our country. Perhaps Rep. Graves ought to review the congressional oath of office again.
In late March of 2007, Representative James McGovern of Massachusetts introduced H.R. 1755, the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007, to the United States Senate. The law forbids the United States government from spending money to use, sell or transfer cluster bombs unless the following requirements are met:

1. The cluster bombs are proven to have a 1 percent or lower rate of malfunction

2. The cluster bombs will not be used against anything but a clearly defined military target, in an area where there are no civilians and in places where civilians do not ordinarily live

3. A plan is submitted, with the costs included, for cleaning up all the undetonated explosives that come from cluster bombs, whether they are used by the US military, or by other countries to whom the United States has supplied the cluster bombs

There is a waiver in the law for the first requirement (for the malfunctioning rate of 1 percent or lower), in cases in which it is "vital" to use cluster bombs in order to protect the security of the United States. However, even in such cases, the President is required to submit a report to Congress which explains how civilians will be protected from the cluster bombs, and revealing the failure rate of the cluster bombs, as well as whether the cluster bombs are equipped with self-destruct functions.

The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act is not a perfect law. We are not too fond of that waiver. However, the law is a big improvement over the status quo. Right now, there's nothing to stop the United States from using cluster bombs, as it did during the invasion of Iraq, or selling them for other countries to use, as was done last year with the cluster bombs that Israel used against the civilian population of Lebanon.

The thing that makes cluster bombs so much worse than ordinary bombs is that they have a high failure rate, combined with a high number of small bombs that are spread over large areas of land by the larger bombs in which they are originally obtained. Cluster bombs are designed to kill people, not to damage buildings or roads. Like land mines, they continue to kill people long after the battle in which they were used. It is typical for a large number of these smaller bombs to remain undetonated, waiting to explode, after their initial deployment. The Federation of American Scientists reports: "Studies that show 40 percent of the duds on the ground are hazardous and for each encounter with an unexploded sub munition there is a 13 percent probability of detonation. Thus, even though an unexploded sub munition is run over, kicked, stepped on, or otherwise disturbed, and did not detonate, it is not safe. Handling the unexploded sub munition may eventually result in arming and subsequent detonation."

Cluster bombs kill civilians when they are used. Our government knows this, and yet our government continues to manufacture, use and sell cluster bombs to foreign countries.

Representative McGovern deserves our thanks for introducing the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act to the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Rep. Sam Graves has failed to date to support this bill and the effort behind it. Who could stand for the continuation of cluster bomb civilian death? We cannot say, but we do know that through inaction Rep. Graves has decided to passively sit for it.
One of the historic firsts of the United States was the rejection of taxation without representation. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why the USA is independent of Great Britain today. H.R. 1905, a bill that has passed on a vote of 241-177 in the House of Representatives, fits in that historical context. If signed by George W. Bush, the bill will provide for congressional representation to the residents of the District of Columbia, who pay taxes just like you and me but who have no voting voice in Congress. Sam Graves failed to vote for this bill. According Rep. Graves, these citizens should not have a voice in government.
A bedrock principle of American progressivism is the right of the individual to self-determination. A person should be able to choose how to govern their own body, not some Big Daddy government. H.R. 1964 defends individual autonomy with the declaration that "It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman," and with the institution of a variety of policies to ensure this policy is enacted. Sam Graves has to date failed to support this bill through co sponsorship. If you believe Congress ought to defend the individual against patronizing government intrusion, please contact Rep Graves and ask when co sponsorship of H.R. 1964 is going to happen.




Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Title VII: 1964 - 2004
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): 199

The Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination are:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government; and
the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these laws. EEOC also provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.
Other federal laws, not enforced by EEOC, also prohibit discrimination and reprisal against federal employees and applicants.
But on the rare occasions they disagree, the friction comes because Graves looks at the issue � immigration changes, AIDS or national park expansion, for instance � through a more conservative lens.



Sometimes there are exceptions to Graves' conservative streak. He is more liberal than his party on private school vouchers, opposing them wholesale. Graves was among Republicans caught up in a controversy over Kansas-based Westar Energy, which sought an exemption in the big energy bill that would limit federal oversight. Graves used his connections to help the company get the exemption in the energy bill. Then, after Westar executives disclosed their company was under federal investigation, Graves in 2002 dropped his support for the legislative provision.

BREAKING NEWS: GRAVES IN HOT WATER,
MAY HAVE VIOLATED HOUSE ETHICS RULES

The KC Prime Buzz has breaking news from the website Roll Call.

According to Roll Call, Republican Sam Graves (R-MO) may be in serious hot water for possibly violating House Ethics Rules for failing to report numerous flights given to him by a large contractor in St. Joe, the Hertzog Company. His spokesperson Jason Klindt may have him in even more hot water for admitting that Graves does not pay for the use of the plane, but simply the gas. Graves's argument is that "it is no different than borrowing someones car."

That is obviously not going to fly. Especially, when this developer has given over $100,000 in campaign contributions to Graves, aside from the numerous costs of flying him around the nation. The airplane is reported to even have a bumper sticker on it THAT READS "SAM GRAVES PILOT".


GRAVES ALSO MAY BE IN HOT WATER FOR TELLING CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT (the committee that approves the flight) that Vice-President of the company Stanley Herzog "had no business before Congress".

Records show that Herzog Services Inc.--a rail testing subsidiary company of Herzog Contracting--has been paying the lobbying firm Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell $121,000 a year since 2001 for lobbying services on railroad and transportation issues. Herzog Contracting also paid Ann Eppard Associates over $400,000 since 2001

According to the Associated Press[9], Rep. Graves spent nearly half of a $273,000 US Grant for spending on urban youth programs in his district on curbing Gothic subculture in Blue Springs, Missouri in 2002. Graves sought to spend $118,000 of that money for therapy, assessment and case management, as well as a series of town meetings to discuss the issue.
But because there was not enough interest, Graves' project shifted from Goths to counterculture and negative influences.

Over the last two terms Graves has targeted areas where his winning support is in question. He then designates those areas for financial support/gifts/subsidies/loans/ grants.

The means in which Graves accomplishes getting this money into the right voting districts
is cloudy. For instance he is given credit for bridge money that would seem
to fall under the MO Department of Transportations priority spending schedule. Sometimes the money he hands out is months or even years away from arriving, but the announcement and subsequent celebration of each is done right in front of the election.

Here is how Sam works his campaign. His office sends the local editor/publisher, City Council, and Chamber of Commerce out personal invitations to attend a limited audience for the announcement of monies awarded. The special few or chosen then dress up (always supporters) and show up to pay homage to Sam for his personal government gift to their community.

The general public is kept away, eliminating the possibility of any pesky critics who might show up and ask an embarrassing question. The impressed press gives him the front page worth 50 times its ad value in purchased space.

He plays a conservative lawmaker, once the youngest member of his state Senate chamber, also has worked on farm issues. With about a third of his northwestern Missouri district classified as rural, Graves has worked to weaken the Endangered Species Act and to place a moratorium government land purchases. He also opposed a plan to alter the Missouri River to restore the population of the endangered pallid sturgeon. "We're playing with people's lives and putting the best interest of the pallid sturgeon, I believe, ahead of people," he said.

Sometimes there are exceptions to Graves' conservative streak. He is more liberal than his party on private school vouchers, opposing them wholesale.
Graves was among Republicans caught up in a controversy over Kansas-based Westar Energy, which sought an exemption in the big energy bill that would limit federal oversight. Graves used his connections to help the company get the exemption in the energy bill. Then, after Westar executives disclosed their company was under federal investigation, Graves in 2002 dropped his support for the legislative provision. In October 2005, Graves gave a Westar contribution he had received during the 2002 campaign to charity.
The American Conservative Union gave Graves' 2005 voting record 92 out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him zero.


GRAVES UNREPRESENTED CONSTIUENTS


A resident has a TV in almost every room of her home. She has two cars, a house full of furniture, a backyard pool, a patio set and playground set.

But every TV in her home comes from a trash bin. The cars don�t run. And practically every piece of furniture in her house is a throw away or garage sale leftover. The rickety above-ground pool, the faded playground set and patio furniture that needs seat cushions in her backyard is stuff nobody wanted.
It�s a piecing together of the American dream through a resourcefulness forged by having no money, a husband in prison, no job and a bad mortgage. A struggling effort to make life livable for a family of five.
The sun shines on a day when her daughter is out of jail and her son is doing fine after spending three weeks on life support from injuries suffered in a December car wreck. With this life, you grab a blessing wherever you can.
The couple, struggle to raise four kids on pawn loans and one income. Illness, lost jobs and helping family members snatched this Dearborn couple out of a middle-class lifestyle and plopped them in a two-bedroom apartment with air conditioning they can�t afford to run.
When ice cream season is done, he�s out of work and we�re out of a vehicle, trying to raise her voice above the whirl of fans all turned on high and working hard to cool her apartment. �That�s the only way we�re able to buy groceries.�
That�s the American dream today for many families. They�re waking up to an American nightmare of foreclosure and bad debt.
Ones who haven�t already fallen into a dark abyss of debt are struggling to hold onto a slippery ledge of security. Desperation forces new rules of survival on an American landscape pocked with huge craters of personal debt created by high energy, gas and food prices, bank failures, sub prime mortgages and lost jobs.
The resident makes ends meet by working two days a week at a restaurant, with food stamps and $82 dollars a week unemployment. She�s not only supporting herself and 6-year-old daughter, but her 22-year-old son.
The husband is still recovering from injuries suffered in a car wreck last year. Jessica James just completed a stint in jail where she was picked up for parole violations.
Every day is spent looking for work, trying to keep her house or just trying to keep the lights on, she said. She started going to church regularly a year ago.
I went to church before when I was doing drugs. Now I mainly go because I want my kids to do what is right. That�s where you get peace. I had to go to church to keep away from everybody � no arguing, no fighting, nothing to worry about. It gives me something to fall back on.
The wife, took sick, and that�s when things started spiraling out of control. Doctors found a cyst on one of her ovaries, and she needed emergency surgery. She was no longer able to work.
Right before the surgery was scheduled, the cyst ruptured and I was basically bleeding to death, He left work, the doctor called and told him to get to the hospital in a hurry.
Her immediate boss said it was OK for him to take off, but when he came back, he found out he was fired. �The owner of the company told him to park the truck where the sun don�t shine.
They eventually lost their home and were forced to move into an smaller apartment. They quickly got behind on their bills and didn�t have money to fix the family van. They ended up selling it last fall for junk.
Raising four school-age children with no car isn�t easy, especially when three of the children are active in sports and there�s no school close by.
Fourteen-year-old starts track this year,. More importantly, without a car, they�ll have to find another way to get to the grocery store.
They said she never imagined life would be like this when they got married. increase in the number of patients served over a year ago.

In short, energy woes are the new terrorism.
Energy woes were also the old terrorism.
We�ve always paid people who hate us. Maybe therapy would help.
They take our lunch money, bleeding us a gallon of unleaded at a time. Yet other countries call the United States a bully.
Think we need some better public relations people?
So, energy woes probably aren�t the new terrorism, but they have to be the new something. Human nature depends on the latest and greatest.
Most times, anyway. In St. Joseph, a city rich in history, folks let bygones become foregone. If boxing matches last 15 rounds, this community�s fights seem perpetually stuck in round eight.
There has never been an economy like this because of the global implications
People will try to reduce purchases where they can with $82 dollars a week unemployment. Every day is spent looking for work, trying to keep their house or just trying to keep the lights on.

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