Love note from Jeff City

Greetings, My Fellow Missourians

The Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) held its annual meeting during the first part of this week. Between 200 and 300 voting delegates attended from across the state. I enjoyed attending the general session, legislative luncheon, business meeting, and resolution committee meetings. As an effective voice for farmers, ranchers and rural citizens, the MFB delegates annually vote on policy stances on dozens of issues that originate at the county level, where they are then discussed along with proposed solutions or suggestions that are offered in the form of written resolutions. Once approved by the membership, these resolutions/policies provide MFB a unified voice necessary to effectively represent the interests of farmers on a local, state, and federal level to encourage better economic, social and educational opportunities.

One of the resolutions discussed related to a proposal by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to increase the amount of owned land required by a landowner to obtain no-cost hunting permits. Currently, landowners must own at least five continuous acres to qualify. The Missouri Department of Conservation would like to increase that requirement to 20 acres. After much discussion, the delegates voted to retain their policy in favor of maintaining the current five continuous acres. To view a complete list of the current MDC landowner permit requirements, please go to: https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/permits/qualifications-resident-landowner-permits.

During resolution presentations, one delegate offered a motion to change previous MFB policy due to the fact that Right to Work (RTW) failed on the ballot this past August. The delegate offering the motion wanted to recommend that MFB quit supporting this policy (MFB has been in favor of RTW annually for many years). However, after discussion, the majority of the delegation voted to maintain its support of RTW for the 2019 year.

The importance of Pearl Harbor Day:

“A date which will live in infamy” – these were the famous words of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a joint session of Congress the day after a devastating attack by Japan on American forces at Pearl Harbor. His speech was only a few minutes long, but that was all he needed to convince Congress to declare war.

On Dec. 7, Americans once again remember and pay tribute to those heroes who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, and to those who were fortunate enough to survive that tragic event. It was at dawn on this date in 1941 that the United States Pacific Fleet, peacefully anchored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, found itself under surprise attack by Japanese naval aviation forces. The attacking planes came in two waves; the first at 7:53 a.m., and the second at 8:55 a.m. By 9:55 a.m. the attack was finished, and by 1 p.m. the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan.

The American forces in Pearl Harbor were left amidst destruction and chaos. The numbers totaled 2,403 dead along with 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included eight damaged or destroyed battleships.

President Roosevelt received word of the attack the afternoon of Dec. 7. Later, he received word from Winston Churchill that the Japanese also had attacked British colonies in Southeast Asia, and that Great Britain would declare war the next day. Roosevelt told Churchill he would make a move to declare war on Japan by going before Congress the next day to ask for a declaration of war.

About this moment, Winston Churchill wrote, “To have the United States at our side was to me the greatest joy. Now at this very moment I knew the United States was in the war, up to the neck and in to the death. So we had won after all. Hitler’s fate was sealed. Mussolini’s fate was sealed. As for the Japanese, they would be ground into powder.”

On Monday, Dec. 8, Roosevelt signed the declaration of war granted by Congress. It only took Congress thirty-three minutes to declare war, and all voted yes except for one. One day later both Germany and Italy, as partners of Japan in the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the United States. With this, the sleeping giant that was the United States was awake and went on to become the deciding factor in World War II.

The sacrifices made by those at Pearl Harbor, and by all those Americans who played key roles in World War II, must never be forgotten. For their efforts the American people must be eternally thankful.

Reminder:

I would like to encourage constituents to make their voices heard by completing the 2019 legislative survey that is now posted online. This is a great way for everyone in District 125 to provide their thoughts and feedback on the issues we will consider this session as well as the issues that continue to face our state. I urge everyone to take a few minutes to go online and weigh in on the issues that can and will have an impact on our day-to-day lives. I greatly appreciate any and all input constituents can share. (If anyone prefers a copy of the survey be mailed to them to complete, please call my office at 573-751-4065.)

The District 125 Online Survey can be found on the House of Representatives website at the following: District 125 Online Survey 2019. Those interested in completing the survey can also access it by visiting www.warrenlove.org. The direct link to the survey is: https://xeroxcorp.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9WTlan1sXddo3Ln.