TWO DAYS UTNIL CHRISTMAS… 319 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY… 228 DAYS UNTIL THE AUGUST PRIMARY 

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS — ‘Adjutant General welcomes last troops from Iraq,’ MissouriNet: “The last Missouri National Guard members have returned to the state as part of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Iraq. Major General Stephen Danner says the 23 members of the 139th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard are home just in time to be with their families for Christmas. Those soldiers were providing security at Bagdad International Airport. The 139th is based in St. Joseph. Danner says for a military man or woman, being home for the holidays is tremendous. … Had it not been for this withdrawal, the General says it is unclear how long the Guard might have had a presence in Iraq. The 139th was on a 6 month deployment.”

GRIDLOCK IN DC —After strong pressure from the president and Senate leaders, the U.S. House agreed to a compromise that will extend payroll taxes for two months, in a deal that forces Senate leaders to meet immediately after the holiday break to work out a year-long extension. Freshman Republican Vicky Hartzler was unavailable for comment last night, but Rep. Billy Long did provide us this quote: “I am disappointed. I knew it would be settled one way or the other. I just wish it had been the other. That may have been too much to ask from a Senate that hasn’t passed a budget in over 975 days.” 

ECONOMIC WIN — ‘Missouri manufacturing jobs increasing, Nixon says,’ PoliticMo: “Missouri added nearly 10,900 manufacturing jobs in the past year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Speaking at a manufacturing facility about 50 miles west St. Louis, Gov. Jay Nixon touted the increase as a success of his administration’s Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth. … Advanced manufacturing was a one of seven target industries Nixon’s plan hopes to expand. Some of the growth came from significant investments by the auto industry, like the ones announced by Ford and General Motors in October. Nixon said Missouri is ‘an optimal location’ for modern factories. Over the same time period, Missouri’s unemployment rate dropped from 9.6 percent to 8.2 percent in November 2011, its lowest point since Nixon took office.”

AND THIS: ‘‘Springfield among national leaders in job growth,’ Missouri News Horizon: “Using figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall Street ranks Springfield third behind Fort Wayne, Indiana and Pueblo, Colorado in the number of jobs gained between November of 2010 and October of 2011. According to the statistics, Springfield had a net gain of 3,610 jobs during the period that a 4.96 percent increase in the total number of jobs during the period. The new jobs dropped the city’s unemployment rate to 7.4 percent.” 

— GOV. JAY NIXON: “This good news about Springfield’s job growth is another clear indicator that Missouri’s economy is continuing to move forward. Jim Anderson and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce are to be congratulated on this recognition of how their hard work in showcasing Springfield as a great place to live, work, and run a business is paying off.” 

TERM LIMITS QUESTIONED — ‘Rep. Nasheed: Extend legislative term limits,’ PoliticMo: “State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, announced Thursday she will seek to have the terms extended from eight years to twelve years for both chambers of the General Assembly to try to address the gap. ‘Although term limits provide the benefit of ensuring steady turnover in the legislative ranks, there is something to be said for experience,’ said Nasheed, in a statement Thursday. ‘Extending term limits would provide a better balance between ensuring a regular infusion of new people with new ideas and retaining experienced veterans.’ The change would require a constitutional amendment, which, if approved by the General Assembly, would go before the voters for ratification in November 2012.” 

HAPPY FRIDAY MORNING, and Happy Christmas eve-eve. You can still send our tips, comments, and scoops to eli@politicmo.com. 

GOVERNOR CANDIDATE Dave Spence showed up at the Mizzou-Illinois game last night. PHOTO

REACTION TO SOME STORIES IN RUNDOWN YESTERDAY —

+ Reax to Jeff Smith’s analysis of Rep. Russ Carnahan’s chances in the first congressional district, per a St. Louis Democrat who wanted talk on background: “His analysis it totally flawed and it leaves out several key facts: The election projection model that will decide the August Democratic primary on MO-1 is NOT a racial measurement of all residents or even voting age residents. … If you look at the newly expanded district, where Congressman Clay will be running as the incumbent, based on actual voter turnout over the last ten years, 62.5 percent of likely Democratic Primary voters are Black. So bottom line on election day, among the projected pool of likely Democratic Primary voters in MO-1,  63.5 percent are non-white. Over the last decade, Congressman Clay has received an average of 91% of the vote in Majority-Black precincts.

“A little known fact is that he has also received an average of 65% of the vote in Majority White precincts. 80% of the newly expanded 1st CD is already in the existing 1st CD. And among the 20% that is currently in MO-3, half were represented by Congressman Clay when he was in the Missouri State Senate. …  Much is unknown about what will happen, but I can assure you of only two things…..Congressman Clay is running for re-election in MO-1, and he is going to win decisively.” 

+ Reax to our story about Missouri Roundtable for Life’s new push for an amendment to the Missouri Constitution regarding cloning from Dena Ladd, Executive Director of Missouri Cures:  “Despite all of the stem cell breakthroughs that have occurred since passage of the Missouri Stem Cell Amendment in 2006, a fringe group of stem cell opponents continues to target the voter-approved initiative that protects this life-saving research. This single group of anti-stem cell activists is the same one that filed more than 30 failed ballot initiatives in the past, as well as numerous unsuccessful lawsuits against the State of Missouri. … As the latest attempt indicates, this group continues to look for any tactic to force their will — no matter the cost to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, macular degeneration, sickle cell disease or another affliction that stem cell researchers are working tirelessly to cure.” 

REDISTRICTING FALLOUT — ‘Lawmakers demand Apportionment Commission info,’ Columbia Tribune: “In a letter claiming new legislative district lines have “done substantial damage” to democracy in Missouri, leaders of both parties in the Missouri House are demanding documents showing how those maps were drawn. House Majority Leader Tim Jones, R-Eureka, and Minority Leader Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, sent their letter to the six members of the Appellate Apportionment Commission, which drew new boundary lines for House and Senate districts… The commission has turned down requests it disclose its documentary and electronic records. It withdrew and resubmitted the Senate district plan without posting any notice it intended to do so. Talboy and Jones asked for ‘all documents’ pertaining to the commission’s work. … The letter adds momentum to a movement that seems likely to force future commissions to work in public, even if the records being sought by Talboy, Jones and others, including the Tribune, remain hidden.” 

PETITION PROPOSALS —  ‘Initiative petition on taxing tobacco on ballot,’ Rolla Daily News: “Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that two initiative petitions have met state standards for circulation. One of the petitions relates to taxation on cigarettes and other tobacco products, and the other petition relates to a municipal police force. … Estimated additional revenue to state government from this proposal is $283 million to $423 million annually with limited estimated implementation costs or savings. The revenue will fund only programs and services allowed by the proposal. The fiscal impact to local governmental entities is unknown.” 

EDUCATION — A News-Leader editorial is another in a series of major newspapers blasting Gov. Nixon’s administration for considering tapping in to education reserves to address the budget shortfall: “Gov. Jay Nixon’s scheme to borrow from the reserves of state universities should go away — quietly and quickly. There’s real work to be done.  … No one questions that the state is facing a tight 2012-2013 fiscal year. And, as has become typical in Missouri, higher education will likely be targeted yet again for bigger cuts in state revenue. … We think the state should avoid the governor’s accounting trick and let our universities decide how they will use the reserve funds.” 

SPORTZZZZZ — ‘No. 8 Missouri holds off No. 24 Illinois,’ AP: “The Tigers have won three straight in the series and they’re 12-0 for the first time since opening the 1981-82 season 19-0. … Illinois led 70-68 after three free throws by D.J. Richardson with 2:01 to go, but Missouri answered with seven straight points Ratliffe scored twice inside, recovering an errant pass on one and putting back his own miss, and also forced a turnover. Illinois got no closer than three points the rest of the way, with Paul committing two turnovers. … Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon were among a sellout crowd of 22,087. Missouri’s first-year coach was impressed.”