SALINA, Kan. - Sometime in the next few months, when the obituary is written for Michele Bachmann's 2012 Presidential campaign, commentators will look back at her announcement and note the seeds sewn for her demise. On that day, June 11, 2011, her habit of playing fast and loose with the truth finally started to catch up with her.

Upon launching her campaign she likened her determination and spirit to that of hometown hero John Wayne. Problem was, John Wayne was from the town of Winterset, IA, three hours away. Bachmann actually shares hometown roots with serial murderer John Wayne Gacy. The mistake brought attention to one of Mrs. Bachmann's glaring faults - her propensity to set facts aside in pursuit of her political goals.

WICHITA, Kan. - Governor Brownback wants all of the single Kansas moms to say, "I do," especially those on any kind of government assistance. He's even offering to pay for some coercion (I mean "counseling") to get all those single ladies in the mood for matrimony.

Heck, he'll even pay for the marriage license. How sweet of a deal is that? "We'll just put this ring on your finger little lady, sign on the dotted line and now you have become some other chump's responsibility." Welfare mom problem solved!

Governor Brownback, the women of Kansas have a proposal for you!

We, the women of Kansas, take you, Sam to be our wedded governor. To have and to scold for the next 4 years, for better or worse. It won't get worse, will it?

COLBY, Kan. - The purported debates by the Republican contenders for the presidency are not debates at all. They are contests to see who can out bash the present administration.

Dr. Margaret Flowers, of Physicians for a National Health Program, will bring her expertise and discuss her experiences at a free presentation, "Medicare and The Deficit: How to Improve Health Care and Save Money at the Same Time," 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011, at the Murdock Theater, 536 N. Broadway, Wichita, Kansas. A reception will follow the presentation. For more information call 316-440-3271.

WICHITA, Kan. - Margaret Flowers, MD, mother, pediatrician, human rights activist, crackles the phone line with her passion as she speaks about single payer health care. Dr. Flowers, of Baltimore, Maryland, is the mother of three teenagers. She trained and worked as a pediatrician until 2007, when she left her practice to become an advocate for health care reform with Physicians for a National Health Program. Because of her advocacy and activism, she was arrested when she spoke out at the Senate Finance Committee Roundtable on the Expansion of Health Insurance Coverage.

SALINA, Kan. - Not that many were paying attention in our country, but the long reign of one of the world's most despotic dictators ended last month. And while the road ahead for Libya will be treacherous and uncertain, it will not be directed by Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi. President Obama and American diplomacy deserve a share of the credit.

Ever since the United States emerged as a world power in the aftermath of World War I Americans have struggled with the continuing question of when and whether to intervene in foreign conflicts. President Woodrow Wilson believed that American engagement with the world community would help prevent another world war. But a wave of isolationism swept the country in the aftermath of the "Great War," and the U.S. Senate refused to ratify United States' membership in the League of Nations.

WICHITA, Kan. - Governor Brownback has certainly been no friend to reproductive justice in Kansas. He has signed numerous anti-choice bills into law, which have resulted in several lawsuits. The women of Kansas have discovered that we must fight harder than ever to keep what remaining rights and access we have within our state. This fight does not begin and end with each legislative session, it must carry on throughout the year. Kansans must stand in support of those organizations fighting for reproductive rights in spirit, with action and with contributions.

It is a full time, high energy fight for our very rights and freedoms. Freedoms that are seemingly eroding by the minute. As the roasting of our rights commences from the governor's mansion, Kansas NOW is planning a fundraiser to enable them to continue to fight for the women of Kansas.

Join us as we serve up some BBQ, dish some dirt on the radical right and party like socialist swine...

WICHITA, Kan. - I am sure I am not alone among the many people who voted for President Obama, who are disappointed that so many of Mr. Obama's promises have not been kept.

However, I think we need to view Mr. Obama's reticence to follow through on his promises in light of the track-record of all Presidents in the last 50 years who tried to use the power granted to the office of the President.

To wit: I contend there are powerful -- though unelected -- individuals who wield enormous influence over presidential decisions, national legislation and all governmental policies in general.

Winston Churchill referred to these individuals as "the high cabal." Sociologist C. Wright Mills referred to them as The Power Elite, in his book of the same name. And, in the book, Propaganda, that Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goering used as a "how-to-guide" when they whipped up the German public into a hate-filled killing machine, the book's author, Edward Bernays, referred to these powerful individuals thus ...

SHAWNEE, Kan. - After hearing talk about a faith based marriage initiative in Kansas, I can't help but wonder if perhaps Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is stuck on repeat on Governor Brownback's iPod.

Sitting comfortably in one of the many rooms at Cedar Crest mansion, the married father (our Governor) thinks he can curb child poverty and crime rates by encouraging single parents to get or stay married. While I want to believe his intentions are pure, his actions once again show how out of tune he is with us, the common folk.

Obviously, this man does not truly grasp the reality of our lives and the problems that single parents face.

With a baby on my hip, and lacking a college degree, I was 24 years old when I walked away from the unhealthy nightmare that was my marriage.