Would Jesus Vote Yes on Amendment 3?

As our political season approaches its final week, it is interesting to see the political signs, especially here in the Truman Neighborhood. Some signs of particular interest are the four signs supporting Missouri Constitution Amendment 3 on the property of Heritage House Apartments at 660 North Spring. Most folks don’t know this but Heritage House is actually a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization affiliated with the Community of Christ Church. And the proposed Amendment 3 would ban governments from establishing a sales tax on real estate transactions. This ballet measure was initiated by an association of “for-profit” real estate professions. So why would a tax-exempt religious institution want neighborhood voters and, in particular, their renters (most who don’t own real estate), to vote to ban real estate sales tax? This is actually the million dollar question. And this is not the real irony. The rest of the story is that Heritage House is actually the polling place for the most of the neighborhood. Yes, that’s right, the landlord that pays no taxes and actively campaigns against taxes is the host of our neighborhood polling place where the voting booths are just an elevator stop for their hundreds of renters, where votes are cast concerning, yes you guessed it, taxes. And this particular campaign is somewhat deceptive. The fact is that purchasing a home is one few things that average middle-class American families can do to actually lower their tax bill. Whoever said that politics and religion don’t mix apparently never lived in the Truman Neighborhood. “Read my lips, no new taxes, pass the tea, and Praise the Lord!” I’m Tongue&Groove and I approve this message.

Truman Homes & Independence get Exposure

Problems associated with Truman’s Neighborhood and Old Town finally got some attention in the press. No it was not The Examiner or the KC Star. It was the New York Times and the Herald Tribune. Yes, the NY Times has a paper circulation of 1 million and 18 million daily visits (national and international) on their website.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101016/ZNYT02/10163015/2055/NEWS

This is what happens when your community hosts an important presidential history and you don’t take it seriously. The article speaks for itself and does not depict our community as good place to invest or raise a family. Will our community leaders read this and respond appropriately?

Lady Liberty Liberated

As a ship full of young soldiers was returning home from Europe in the aftermath of World War I, a war that generated 37 million causalities and 16 million deaths, a young Army Captain wrote to his future bride, “I’ve never seen anything that looked so good as the Liberty Lady in New York Harbor.” That soldier was Harry Truman writing a letter to his childhood sweetheart, Bess Wallace. This vision and setting of the statue where, “even the most hard-bitten veteran had trouble blinking back the tears,” was presented again in a speech by President Ronald Reagan at the Opening ceremonies of the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration in New York on July 3, 1986 where the president actually quotes from this letter written by Truman. Only three years prior to this speech, President Reagan would sign the legislation to create the Harry S Truman Home National Historic Site. Flash back again, this time one hundred years to the summer of 1884, the corner stone for the foundation that supports Lady Liberty in New York Harbor was laid, the statue was officially handed over to the ownership of the United States, and a child was born in Lamar, Missouri who would eventually help preserve liberty and freedom in the world as Commander and Chief. In more recent history, midway through President Truman’s second term, the Boy Scouts of American would dedicate a replica of the Lady Liberty in front of the Palmer School building and across the street from the old Memorial Building, a building dedicated to those WWI veterans who did not make it back on those returning ships through New York Harbor. The Memorial Building, Palmer School, and the Statue of Lady Liberty would eventually become contributing elements of the Harry S Truman National Historic Landmark District. President Truman would pass by that statue thousands of times during his walks through the neighborhood during his time in office and in his retirement. In 2003 the Independence School District celebrated the renovation and preservation of the Palmer School Building while receiving the W.Z. Hickman Award for Historic Preservation. Unfortunately the restoration of statue which had suffered from vandalism and a lack of maintenance was excluded from the School District’s plans. Last year, the City of Independence Beautification Commission was successful in resurrecting Lady Liberty and tasked with finding a more appropriate location for its home. In June of 2009, the restored Statue of Liberty was praised and celebrated at its new location at the new Midwest Genealogy Center located 4 miles away in a suburban site. The Beautification Commission should be congratulated for their successful restoration and relocation. And as the city’s Heritage Commission works diligently to review the smallest of detail for a tiny window on the second floor of a home on Delaware Street, we somehow need to recognize that a big and important piece of the Truman National Historical Landmark District not only was moved out of the neighborhood but its move was actually a celebrated event. It is my hope that we have a neighborhood where these historic and patriotic symbols of our liberty and freedom are always considered appropriate. We apparently still have a lot of work to do. And maybe we should add a third plaque to the base of Lady Liberty that states, “This statue used to reside in Harry Truman’s neighborhood on the property where he attended school, across the street from where he voted, and on the sidewalks where he walked.”