Kansas Free Press

Brownback's 'Duck and Cover' Strategy Is Troubling

2010-03-10T23:28:24Z

GREAT BEND, Kan. - There is no evidence that Senator Brownback is even slightly worried about losing this year's governor's race. However, a new poll by the Associated Press-GfK suggests he should be worried.

Americans detest Congress, Republicans and Democrats. A dismal 22 percent approve of the job Congress is doing. Over half of people want to fire their congressman. The American people want the two parties in Congress to work together to solve our nation's problems. And they aren't doing anything.

]]> It's a bad year to be an incumbent congressman or senator from either party. And Brownback seems strangely absent from Kansas during this critical time. Where is he?
He is not talking to the press, at least in Kansas. His strategy reminds me of the "duck and cover" drills American children did to guard against nuclear attacks.

Brownback probably thinks he could go on an eight month cruise and be elected easily just based on his name identification and his "Republican" party membership. But the governorship is something you have to fight for. You can't just hide and not explain how you would solve Kansas' problems.

Again, people want both parties to work together -- both in Topeka and in Washington -- to solve the very real problems we have. And Brownback can not do that. He reeks of right wing partisanship. The governorship has eluded the "religious right" in Kansas for a reason: people want a governor who is a bi-partisan "honest broker." People don't want an ideologue in the Governor's Mansion.

State Senator Tom Holland is the only candidate running for governor who can set aside partisanship and solve Kansas' problems. Brownback is simply too divisive to lead a coalition government that gets things done. But Holland can bring people together from both parties to solve real problems.

At the state level, the budget is 65% education funding. And people support education. The rest of the budget is for roads, prison, law enforcement, public safety, etc. Kansans support the idea of a state government that provides quality services.

Brownback's "government is evil" mindset is all wrong for Kansas. His 16 years in Washington, D.C. are a huge negative in this campaign. But most disturbing, he seems to be hiding. His strategy of staying outside the state and not speaking about how he would solve the state budget crisis reminds me of Martha Coakley's disastrous "duck and cover" strategy in Massachusetts.

Brownback is the heavy favorite. But he's going to have to fight for it. He can't just "duck and cover." This is going to get very interesting.

Do Farmers Really Believe Farm Reports?

2010-03-10T04:30:12Z

HAYS, Kan. - I admit I am asking a somewhat provocative question. And I will not name any particular farm reporters because perhaps the most prominent one in Kansas has family roots in Ellis County, which means I am probably related to him. However, I will say that he has given quite a bit of air time recently to Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

]]> About two weeks ago, said Kansas reporter was gloating over a tiff between Stallman and the Union of Concerned Scientists, who wanted to meet with Stallman over the subject of climate change. Said reporter was positively gleeful that no such meeting had taken place. He began sharing his glee by saying something along the lines of, "Now, I don't know who or what the Union of Concerned Scientists is, but it's probably some radical fringe group."

Time for a reality check. Mr. Farm President and Mr. Farm Reporter, the next time someone from the Union of Concerned Scientists calls, writes, or hollers from across the south forty, I suggest that you respond. The organization started at one of America's premiere institutions of higher learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It has been in existence for forty years. Its membership consists of more than 250,000 scientists and concerned citizens across the nation. They are not a radical fringe group.

Furthermore, I suggest for your perusal a UCS document on global warming's potential financial impact on America's heartland if nothing is done about it. You can download the assessment at ucsusa.org.

Or, if you prefer getting your information from a video rather than a print source, I recommend for your viewing an episode of PBS's American Experience series called "Surviving the Dustbowl." You can see it here. The Dustbowl happened because farmers abused the land. It hasn't happened again because farmers learned their lesson and changed their agricultural methods. However, if American grain growers had acted sooner, the Dust Bowl would never have happened.

By the way, doesn't it seem strange--yet apt--that the current Farm Bureau president is named "Stallman"?

Obama's One-note Samba: Let Corporations Have Their Way

2010-03-10T04:01:34Z

WICHITA, Kan. - Like many other progressives, I voted for President Obama with the hope that he could facilitate positive change. But, alas, on issue after issue, Obama has been playing a one-note samba titled "Let the corporations have their way." The guy who was elected because he was "from the outside" has put in place a team that seems to be full of insiders.

In regard to our expectation that Obama would rein-in the banking industry, it's frustrating to find out the banking industry is not only fighting rule changes, but virtually the same rules and same people are still in place that led to our economic crisis.

I agree with Thomas Jefferson, who said, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

]]> Unfortunately, because the very people who were supposed to be guarding our well-being by overseeing the banking rules -- the Congressional oversight committees, the Security & Exchange Commission, the Fed and the Secretary of the Treasury -- are many of the same people. Even Larry Summers -- adviser to Presidents Reagan and Clinton; and the "genius" who led the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 -- is now advising President Obama! What? Yeah, THAT Larry Summers. The very same free-trade, trickle-down Larry Summers is now advising President Obama.

NOTE: In plain English, the Glass-Steagall Act was barrier that was put in place after the Great Depression to protect us regular folks' banks from merging with insurance companies and investment houses and becoming poker chips in big-stakes, all-or-nothing games financial Russian Roulette. Arguing against taking down that protective shield, Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat from North Dakota, said, "I want to sound a warning call today about this legislation -- I think this legislation is just fundamentally terrible."

In spite of Senator Dorgan's pleas, the Clinton advisor -- who had been an economic advisor to Ronald Reagan, remember!!!! -- won the day and the repeal of Glass-Steagall was one of the most important milestones on America's headlong plunge toward our current economic abyss.

And, not only were the members of the SEC -FED Reserve-Treasury-Goldman brotherhood dismantling the protective rules that had been in place for 60 years, but we now find out that what few rules that were still in place were virtually ignored.

On The Daily Show, Monday, March 8, 2010, Jon Stewart interviewed Harry Markopolos, the man who started warning the SEC about Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme as far back as 2000. After hearing him tell Jon Stewart that the very same people are still running the SEC today, I, shared his anger at the incestuous scam that is being called capitalism. Because crony capitalism is not, in any way, what Adam Smith or even Alexander Hamilton envisioned.

Markopolos' message was: Nobody was fired. Nobody was even reprimanded for ignoring his warnings that had emblazoned across their cover pages, titles as subtle as "The Nation's Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud."

Yet, the SEC didn't even lift a finger to look into the Madoff operation.

And, if you STILL doubt that Wall Street is an exclusive club for insiders and fellow back-scratchers, consider this:

While Stephen Friedman was the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he was ALSO a member of Goldman Sach's board of directors ...and he ALSO owned millions of dollars worth of Goldman stock! But, wait. There's more!

As the NY Fed -- under his leadership -- was working a deal that would require AIG to pay billions of its US Government bailout money to Goldman Sachs which would subsequently raise the value of Goldman's stock.

Because the chairman's involvement in Goldman while he was chairman of the New York Fed was a violation of Fed policy, Friedman asked for a waiver, which, after about two and a half months, the Fed granted. As if pushing the rules to the very limits wasn't bad enough, while he was waiting for the waiver Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December, which HE DIDN'T MENTION when he was asking for the waiver.

Gee, d'ya think there might be a conflict of interest? As my son would say, "Well, DUH, Dad!"

If the decisions Friedman made as the chairman of the NY Fed regarding AIG caused his Goldman's stock to increase in value by millions of dollars, I don't know how YOU calculate that little bit of skullduggery, but it sure seems like pretty blatant conflict of interest to me!"

If those "good ol' boys" at Goldman Sachs don't have the rules in their favor, their friends at the SEC are totally prepared to "have their backs" because, according to Harry Markopolos -- who warned the SEC about Bernie Madoff for eight years -- they can probably get away with their scam indefinitely.

Sadly, nothing has changed. The same people at the SEC still work for the very same people they are supposed to regulate.

According to Nomi Prins, a former Wall Street Broker who became angered by the aforementioned grand-scale scam, America's Wall Street bail-out is one of the biggest scams in history. And, Obama went along with the scam.

In her book, "It Takes A Pillage," Prins says the initial $700 Billion "bail out" was chump change compared to the more accurate tabulation of $17 Trillion that the banking industry will ultimately reap from the US Treasury!

And, yet they call those of us who want a public option for health care "dirty lowdown socialists." Talk about the kettle calling the pot black!

Gore Vidal was right when he said of the American system, "The US government prefers that public money go not to the people but to big business. The result is a unique society in which we have free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the rich." 

So, friends, according to our friends on the political right, it's okay to give Wall Street and the Banking industry $17 Trillion, no-strings attached to do with however they please. However, for the American public to propose a public health care option at a mere fraction of that price tag, that is considered a slippery slide toward socialism. How does that compute? It sure doesn't compute as far as I'm concerned. And, to think that Obama assured the Pharmaceutical industry last summer that the public option would not be a consideration. Am I disappointed? You bet!

We're still in Iraq and according to commentary from the Obama Administration on NPR last evening, we are already hedging the withdrawal date of Aug. 2011 with "we may need to reconsider that time line," etc.

And, expanding the Afghanistan war isn't quite what anyone expected from the "peace candidate." But, it's just one more indication that its' silly for any of us to blame Bush or Obama - - or any person who is elected President - - for the course of our ship of state. It should be obvious by now to everyone on both sides of the political dividing line: the democratic process and those whom we have elected are not in charge of our government any longer.

It is being guided by private interests - - the biggest and most influential is BIG OIL. Even Alan Greenspan acknowledged in his recent biography that the US invaded Iraq because of oil. But, I doubt those of us who identified oil as the motivation for the invasion long before the actual invasion will ever hear any apologies from those many, many gullible people who bought into the 935 confirmed lies Bush & Company told to scare the bejeebers out of everyone to justify the invasion. (Source: Fund for Independent Journalism and The Institute for Public Integrity.)

Obama hasn't reinstated Habeas Corpus. Torture is still an official US policy option in regard to those detainees that are designated "special cases." So, America is still in violation of the Geneva Conventions that banned all torture.

A recent headline on AlterNet.com stated: "Seymour Hersh: "Executive Assassination Ring" Answered to Cheney, Had No Congressional Oversight." The story behind that headline speaks to an issue that may very well still be in place if Obama's pattern of adopting and extending Bush era doctrine is any indication. Am I disappointed? You bet I am.

Obama's first act after his election was to assure the financial markets with the choice of Larry Summers as his chief economic advisor and Timothy "I don't need to pay no stinkin' taxes like the riffraff do" Geithner as his Secretary of the Treasury. Sheesh!

What kind of change is that? Treasury, the Fed, the SEC are all just revolving doors for the same fraternity of former Goldman Sachs CEOs and their teams of insider scam artists.

And, as far as our hope that Obama would scale back America's military pursuit of what seems to be an ever expanding array of military bases and outposts in foreign countries -- a number that former CIA analyst Chalmers Johnston says is nearing 1,000 bases in 160 countries. We now have the newly formed Africa Corps that has begun to move into oil rich countries on that continent to "help those governments stabilize their countries." And, in Columbia, we now have a baker's dozen of military bases in preparation of ...what? Dare we even speculate? Should Chavez be worried? Venezuela has lots of oil and oil does seem to be the common denominator that serves as a "magnet" for American military involvement.

And, also nearby, thanks to the recent earthquake in Haiti, that country is virtually under US military occupation. Am I the only one who wonders why Haitians are being displaced right now...today! ...to allow for the expansion of a military base? In preparation of what?

Could it be we decided Haiti is an ideal staging area that will allow us to prepare to go to war against Venezuela? Or, maybe we are getting ready to pursue the oil in the Amazon Basin ...or, maybe, we want to pursue Bolivia's deposit of 50% of the world's lithium that we will need when America phases out gasoline engines and replaces them with electric engines powered by lithium-batteries.

I'm sure I'm not the only progressive who is not pleased with the surprisingly conservative path Obama has chosen for domestic policy; and an equally surprising military-dominant foreign policy around the world.

Though many of us had hope that Obama would represent more change than he has been able to accomplish, or has wanted to accomplish, it could be that he has joined other recent Presidents who have become merely the outward face of government -- who, upon entering the Oval Office, discovered that the real decision-making in regard to wars, foreign policies, etc. take place out of sight, behind the visible facade that we euphemistically call "democracy."

I grapple with the question: Is there a difference between the parties? If you trace the campaign finance donations to Senators and Congressmen on both sides of the isle from special interest groups, one is hard pressed to ignore the perception that special interests own both sides of the isle.

That problem is exacerbated now that the Supreme Court is filled with Judges who proclaim they have no tolerance for activist judges, future elections will see that special interests won't even have to hide behind 600 public relations firms it is alleged that Exxon hired to obfuscate the global warming issue. Exxon can take a few billions of its profits and sink those dollars directly into the election efforts on behalf of anyone they choose to support. Two hundred years of protecting the common citizen down the drain.

How long before there won't be anyone left who actually believes that democracy is still the active ingredient in our government? Not to put too negative a spin on the issue, but I, for one, have begun to wonder about that notion more and more lately.

Thomas Jefferson also said, "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a moneyed aristocracy that has set the Government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.

Man! I sure wish there was a way to bring Thomas Jefferson back to life. He could remind us just how far away from self governance we've allowed ourselves to drift. And, maybe this time, we'd take his advice.

Fort Hays State Visits Oxford, Mississippi

2010-03-09T16:58:49Z

HAYS, Kan. - After seeing the pictures and talking to each individual, it came as no surprise that Brad Will and Brenda Craven should team up to chaperon a Fort Hays State University English Trip to Oxford, Miss. Will, whom I can gather is a Star Wars enthusiast after our meeting (as depicted by the adventurous posters in his office), was less of an organizer for the trip as Craven took it upon herself to do the majority of the planning. I first met Craven when I was welcomed into her office, and my eyes were captured by the enormous canvas that engulfed her pasty white wall with bright ranges of reds and oranges.

]]> Craven, who had already been to Oxford a handful of times to visit her son at Ole Miss, had no problem single-handedly arranging the trip. It seemed that her only hurdle was the budget, but she found that the humble accommodations worked well for integrating the group into the history-rich part of town. They were able to walk from their motel to some of the great eateries and to the cemetery where Estelle and Faulkner were buried. She was comfortable with her decision saying, "We would have been on the outskirts where everything's no older than twenty years old ... to stay in the more affordable part of town would not have had the same ambiance."

The group was almost equally divided between Southern Literature and Faulkner students, one of whom was Justin Brown, then a senior at Fort Hays State. Brown is currently an English graduate student, and works as a graduate teaching assistant in the English department. This was Brown's second trip with the department. He had previously gone on a trip to Louisville, Ky. for a Sigma Tau Delta convention. Brown claims that the food was a monumental part of the trip, "Eating away from Hays' places is probably one of the best parts about going on a trip. We went to this small town, Taylor, south of Oxford, to a restaurant that has been featured on the Food Network." Both Craven and Will recall the delicious, but strange, Southern food; among Will's favorites, an oyster sandwich! However, they weren't there solely for the Southern hospitality and ethnic dining--the highlight of the trip was, unquestionably, Faulkner's home.

The timing of their trip to Faulkner's home was odd enough, a rainy Sunday at noon, but being inside the home wasn't odd; it was profound. Will stated, "I like literature, but I don't get very ... sort of ... gushy-starry-eyed about authors, you know? But um, being there, it was a pretty profound experience." Will recalled a point of excitement during the tour involving the curator: "He said at one point, 'Okay, well, I've got a special treat for you.' There's this little Plexiglas thing he shoved to the side and said, 'Come back here,' so we went back." The group filed through the hallway and saw where Faulkner had penciled numbers and contacts on the wall by his phone. From there they went to the kitchen, where Will later found himself alone listening to the rain spatter against the roof, the same sound Faulkner must have heard while writing in his kitchen.

Oxford's history easily spans across an entire century; from the Civil War to the Riots at Ole Miss where racism and integration each put up a fight, as depicted by the dents and bullet holes in the school's buildings. Brown remembers visiting Ole Miss: "We saw several presentations. One of these presentations was over the Faulkner archives, where we got to see several Faulkner items, including manuscripts and even his Nobel Prize." Behind the historical sites they visited, the Blues Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and William Faulkner's home, works the people that often go unnoticed. However, the people that Craven had arranged for the group to meet were not of the unnoticeable type. Craven truly made the trip special by setting up "meet and greets" with the Director of Southern Cultural Studies, the Director of the Blues Archive, and the Curator of Faulkner's home.

All were reluctant to leave Oxford, but as the story goes, "there's no place like home," which made for mixed emotions. Now settled back into Kansas, they're eager to return someday.

Author Sasha Abramsky to Speak in Manhattan March 27

2010-03-09T12:51:49Z

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice (MAPJ) will hold their Annual Meeting and dinner on Saturday 27 March beginning with at 6:00 pm at the Holiday Inn at the Campus, 1641 Anderson Avenue in Manhattan. The MAPJ Annual Meetings are a time for the membership and progressives from the area to come together and recharge for another year. This year's keynote speaker, Sasha Abramsky, promises to challenge as well as inform those in attendance.

Sasha AbramskySasha Abramsky is a freelance journalist. His work has appeared in The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, New York magazine, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. Originally from England and a graduate of Oxford University, he has since adopted his mother's homeland of America and now lives in Sacramento, CA, with his wife, daughter and son. He has a master degree from Columbia University School of Journalism. In 2000 he was awarded a Soros Society, Crime and Communities Media Fellowship. He is a Senior Fellow at the New York City-based Demos think tank. Abramsky's keynote for the evening is entitled: When Progressives Flinch: The Poverty Challenge in Obama's America.

Abramsky is a well-established author. His first book, Hard Time Blues: How Politics Built a Prison Nation, was published in 2002; his second book, Conned, was published in 2006. His third book, American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment, was published by Beacon Press in the spring of 2007. In 2009 he published, Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It by PoliPoint Press. His most recent book, Inside Obama's Brain, came out in December 2009.

]]> In Hard Time Blues, Abramsky weaves together the story of the growth of the American prison system over the past quarter century primarily through the story of Ochoa, a career criminal who grew up in the barrios of post-World War II Los Angeles.

In September 1996, fifty-three year old heroin addict Billy Ochoa was sentenced to 326 years in prison. His crime: committing $2100 worth of welfare fraud. Ochoa was sent to New Folsom supermax prison, joining thousands of other men who will spend the rest of their lives in California's teeming correctional facilities as a result of that state's tough Three Strikes law. His incarceration will cost over $20,000 a year until he dies.

Abramsky uses immersion reportage to bring alive the political forces that have led America's prison and jail population to increase more than four fold in the past twenty years.

Breadline USA looks at how America's working poor, trapped in a triangle of the housing market collapse, rising energy costs, and an increasingly dysfunctional health care system, are now battling an even more formidable enemy: hunger. Breadline USA tells the stories of Americans in all types of communities who struggle to put food on the table at the end of the month when money runs out and the social safety net isn't there to catch them.

To hear an interview featuring Laura Flanders of GRITtv interviewing Abramsky about Breadline USA, click here. (You will need ot scroll down past the video feeds.)

From the moment he burst onto the national scene, Barack Obama has fascinated people more than any politician in decades. Many biographers have already retold his story, but no previous book truly explains how his mind works, what passions drive him, or what makes him such an effective leader.

Abramsky interviewed close to one hundred of Obama's current and former friends, colleagues, classmates, teachers, staff, mentors, basketball buddies, fellow Chicago activists, media consultants, editors, and even his next-door neighbors from Hyde Park, for Inside Obama's Brain. These people each know a part of Obama's life and career, which the author blends into a uniquely detailed analysis.

Publishers Weekly writes: "This breezy, engaging book does not explicitly attempt biography; instead journalist Abramsky dissects the personality of Barack Obama, examining the qualities -- focus, self-confidence and curiosity -- that fueled his meteoric rise."

Abramsky will used the themes of his writing in the keynote: When Progressives Flinch: The Poverty Challenge in Obama's America.

Copies of Abramsky's books will be available for sale before dinner and after the keynote. He will be available to sign copies.

The Annual Meeting is open to all and will begin at 6:00pm with a meet-and-greet time and cash bar. Information tables will be set up spotlighting MAPJ merchandise and KONZ radio. Buffet dinner will be served at 6:45 pm. Abramsky will speak at 8:00 pm.

Dinner includes smoky beef brisket or vegetable lasagna as the main entrée with roasted Tuscan red potatoes, long grain and wild rice pilaf, grilled asparagus, roasted seasonal vegetables, tossed salad, coffee, tea, and dessert. Cost is $25.00. Half-price tickets are available for those with limited economic resources.

Reservations must be made by 19 March. Make reservations by calling: 539-1956 (business) - leave a message, or 785-564-2583 (cell). E-mail reservations to wmdorsett@sbcglobal.net.

Governor Parkinson Exposes 'Pay-to-Play' Politics in Kansas

2010-03-09T03:02:35Z

GREAT BEND, Kan. - Sometimes, somebody just tells the truth. It's usually a child, like in the "Emperor With No Clothes." Everybody knows the truth down deep, but then someone just blurts it out, and there is a sense of relief and embarrassment.

Johnny Carson once said the only people who really tell the truth are the very young and the very old. There is some truth to that, but sometimes a middle aged person says what everyone knows to be true but is afraid to say.

Governor Mark Parkinson had such a moment last week. Discussing the Kansas legislature's 20 year "tax-cutting binge," Parkinson mentioned that the tax breaks have generally gone to the wealthy and corporate interests. "What have we done for the average person? Virtually nothing. The public has got to understand, they are being left out."

How true.

]]> The thing that is wrong with our political system in Kansas and throughout our country is that it is "pay to play." The wealthy people and the big corporations pay for the campaigns of the legislature's governing majority, and they pay back their political paymasters with tax breaks and other goodies.

Why is nothing ever done for the average person? Because over 98% of people in the USA have never given a campaign donation to a politician. It's "pay to play", and the average citizen is being left out.

Parkinson struck a raw nerve. Longtime statehouse writer John Hanna compared him to the Populists who ruled Kansas in the 1890's. Parkinson is a politician who is not running for anything, who has his own money, and who just tells the truth. Long overdue shades of William Jennings Bryan, "Sockless" Jerry Simpson, and Mary Elizabeth Lease, populists of old.

When I read who gave the retort to Parkinson for the Kansas Chamber, I saw that his name was Mike Maddox. "The governor's refusal to admit that runaway state spending is the true culprit of our budget crisis is as unconscionable as it is ridiculous," said Maddox.

I thought to myself, "Oh, I feel sorry for Mike Maddox, the former KU basketball player. Some guy with the exact same name is running around making outrageous statements."
I even posted something on Facebook that said: "Thank God this is not the Mike Maddox that played for Larry Brown and was on KU's 1988 NCAA Championship team."

But then one of my friends told me the truth. Nobody else wanted to. "Marty, it's THAT
Mike Maddox," he said.

And I was floored. I remember visiting Wint Winter, Jr. at his law firm in Lawrence many years ago. I knew that former KU basketball player Mike Maddox worked there. I sheepishly asked one of the secretaries. "Do you think I could meet Mike Maddox?" She picked up her phone, and out came Mike Maddox, one of my heroes. He was a complete gentleman. I was at Kemper Arena that night in 1988 when "Danny and the Miracles" won the title.

Yes, I got to meet Mike Maddox that day. That's the only time I've ever met Maddox. And Mark Parkinson? Well, I've known the governor since 1981. I know that Parkinson is the one speaking the truth on this one.

Parkinson did something Friday that will prove his point. He cut funding for highways. Slash funding for the elderly, the handicapped, the blind, the crippled, the lame, the students - and most legislators take a "tough luck" approach. Those folks don't pay, so they can't play.

But now the shortfall is hitting the highway contractors. Highway contractors in Kansas do a fabulous job and have given us one of the best highway systems in the country. The highway contractors are not only superb at building highways, they are also politically savvy. It's important that we keep our highways safe and progressive.

After Parkinson's press conference Friday, Republican leaders in the Senate are already scrambling to enhance revenues, and I think the House of Representatives will follow suit.

The truth hurts.

Senate Votes on Unemployment Bill

2010-03-09T02:12:28Z

TOPEKA, Kan. - On March 4, 2010, after a lengthy debate, the Senate voted on legislation that prevented cuts from being made to Kansas' unemployment benefits.

As unemployment rates have continued to rise in Kansas, the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has been drastically depleted. The fund, which is financed by employer taxes, has recently had to borrow money from the federal government to keep up with payments to unemployed Kansans.

I voted to prevent any cuts to unemployment benefits for Kansans. I have always sided with Kansas workers on issues such as wrongful death, worker's compensation and unemployment.

This bill doesn't solve the problem of a dwindling unemployment trust fund, but until we get the economy working for everyone again, the best decision is to help struggling Kansans make ends meet.

Congressional Gold Medal: Fallen Fly Girl Finally Honored

2010-03-08T23:47:27Z

HAYS, Kan. - Those of you who have followed the stories I've written at EverydayCitizen.com (such as this one) regarding Mabel Rawlinson may remember that finally last summer President Obama signed a bill authorizing the U.S. Congress to award her with a Congressional Gold Medal.

In World War II, over 1,100 women, called the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), were trained to fly for the Air Force. All 1,100 of the WASP will be honorees at the ceremony this week in Washington DC.

Of course, Mabel won't be there. I will go in her place. Mabel died in 1943 in the cockpit of her Air Force bomber. Only 38 of these brave women died in service to the country. My mother's sister, Mabel Rawlinson, was one of those 38 fallen heroes.

Wednesday morning, my heart will be heavy as I enter the United States Capitol building.

]]> See, the service of all of these dedicated women were largely ignored by our government for a very long time. Indeed, recognition of Mabel's ultimate sacrifice for her country is overdue by 67 years.

Following her death, her friends had to pool their money to transport her casket back to Mabel's home town for burial. Not only did the military not pay to transport caskets of female warriors, our government didn't offer to bury their remains either.

Only male pilots received such honors when they died.

No emissaries from the Air Force were dispatched to attend her service or see to the needs of Mabel's family. Without authorization or support for a "real" military service, local civilian and aviation groups nonetheless gave Mabel a homemade military funeral anyway. The Civil Air Patrol, the Boys Scouts, the Red Cross and others came in full uniform.

It was a somber but proud day for her hometown. No one really noticed that the Air Force was not present.

Mabel's name was never inscribed on war memorials alongside the names of the men who also gave their lives in service. Making matters even more difficult to comprehend, Mabel's records were sealed for decades. She endured overt discrimination while she served and even posthumously.

Although my grandmother, Mabel's mother, never really saw convincing evidence that her country fully valued her brave daughter's sacrifice, she never once complained. Not once. Though she would not be allowed to be a Gold Star Mother, nor would she receive survivor benefits normally paid to mothers of those who died in service, my grandmother accepted all of this with pure grace.

As a patriot and a mother, my grandmother knew who her daughter was and what she did. With that knowledge, she proudly held her head high, all the remaining days of her life.

I'll be walking into that ceremony carrying not just Mabel's legacy and life's history but also the love of those who knew her and those who have missed her all these many years.

Mabel's good friend and fellow Air Force fly girl, Bertha Link, who reverently brought my aunt's casket home, will also go with me in spirit this week. In my heart will be the love of my mother, my grandmother, my aunts and uncles and all those who died, before this day, not knowing for sure whether our nation would ever recognize our fallen hero's sacrifice.

Just as my grandmother did when she learned of her daughter's death that sad day in August 1943, I, too, will hold my head high.

Justice Should NOT Be Bought!

2010-03-08T17:58:56Z

TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansans for Life has targeted Kansas Supreme Justice Carol Beier. They have bought ads on television, print and radio in an attempt to control and influence the judiciary process. The motivation to remove Justice Beier stems solely from their disfavor with the Justice over rulings surrounding the actions of former Attorney General Phil Kline.

Justice Carol A Beier recently asked the Kansas Ethics Commission to decide if campaign finance rules apply to retention elections for Supreme Court Justices. The ruling stated...

"Since the position of Supreme Court Justice is not included in the definition of state officer, The Campaign Finance Act does not govern your election."

]]> Under ruling of the Kansas Ethics Commission...there is absolutely no spending or reporting limits for the retention election of Justice Beir! SB 563 would change that. Kansas NOW believes that justice should NOT be bought! Kansas NOW supports SB 563 and encourages the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee to pass this bill favorably out of committee for a vote of the entire Senate body.

Mr. Kline spent his career as Kansas Attorney General in pursuit of baseless charges against Dr. George Tiller. To now target a specific justice of the court in a warped defense of Mr. Kline's actions is a perpetuation of a harmful group hate mentality that has forced itself upon our courts for too long. Transparency is needed to combat this.

Tom Holland Visits The Barn in Valley Falls

2010-03-08T02:26:28Z

VALLEY FALLS, Kan. - On Sunday, March 7, our next governor, Tom Holland, spoke to a group at The Barn Bed and Breakfast Inn, Valley Falls. I think Sen. Holland is precisely who we need to lead our state through the difficult times we are in. Don't write him off. That was the mistake made by the last two Republicans he ran against. Both were incumbents; first in a state House race, then a state Senate race. Both districts were conservative. Sen. Holland is a very pragmatic and formidable candidate who will pull no punches in the race against Sam Brownback.

Spotlight on Citizen Journalists: Meet Mildred Edwards

2010-03-07T23:40:09Z

On April 1st, the Kansas Free Press (KFP) will mark its 6-month anniversary. With gratitude for the Kansans who nobly commit their time and talents to citizen journalism, we are celebrating our upcoming half-year anniversary by proudly showcasing each of our own KFP writers.

WICHITA, Kan. - In this profile, we are honored to introduce KFP correspondent, Dr. Mildred Edwards. She is a passionate community leader, mobilizer and advocate. Her professional and volunteer experiences include public policy and advocacy activities, community mobilization, coalition building, capacity building, program evaluation, and non-profit administration and board development. A lifelong student of the art and science of leadership, Mildred's special skills include her abilities to think strategically and provide direction based on national trends and local data.

]]> A community psychologist, her research interests involve the prevention and reduction of disparity among at-risk or underserved populations including: disparity in health status and resource access; social inequity and justice; economic status, and/or; cultural bias.

She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration/Public Relations, Master of Public Health, and Doctorate of Community Psychology from her alma mater. A proud Wichita State University alumnus, she is a former Shocker cheerleader and a Senior Honor Woman. Mildred currently serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Throughout her academic career Mildred focused her research on HIV/AIDS prevention in both African American adolescents and in women. She conducted research on HIV and the risk behaviors of women residing in Mombasa, Kenya and is an internationally published author.

Mildred serves as executive director the Kansas African American Affairs Commission (KAAAC), a seven member body with members appointed by the governor, the president of the senate, the senate minority leader, the speaker of the house and the house minority leader. KAAAC serves as the governor's liaison to the African American communities throughout the state.

Prior to her appointment to KAAAC, Dr. Edwards served as a contract consultant who provided staff development training, non-profit grant writing and federal grant evaluation for numerous agencies and organizations. She served as project director for a Drug Free Communities, a funded community coalition. That coalition was the recipient of the 2007 Andrew O'Donovan Coalition of the Year award.

A true servant leader, Mildred is a past president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - Beta Kappa Omega and Epsilon Alpha Chapters, the Urban League of Wichita Guild, the Air Capital Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and the Junior League of Wichita.

She currently serves as the vice president of the Links, Inc. Wichita (KS) Chapter, is a Links, Inc. Scott Hawkins Leadership Institute Cohort II graduate and Mentor for Scott Hawkins Leadership Institute Cohort IV, and Mid-Western Region Heritage Committee and Regional Program Committee member for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Mildred is also a graduate of Leadership Wichita and a member of the NAACP. She serves on the advisory boards of the Wichita Children's Home, Center for Health and Wellness, Pure and Simple Lifestyle and the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center.

In addition to her career and volunteerism, Mildred enjoys traveling nationally and abroad, reading, watching football, and spending time with her family. She is the proud mother of one daughter Leah and son-in-law William Peoples.

We are indeed honored that this accomplished professional and esteemed leader writes with us at the Kansas Free Press.

To learn more about any KFP writers, we encourage you to browse our directory of citizen journalists.

Do you want to write here as a citizen journalist? Anyone wishing to write with us here can inquire with our publisher directly. We are always looking for Kansans who want to write about Kansas! Let us know!

Spotlight on Citizen Journalists: Meet Travis Swicegood

2010-03-07T23:36:17Z

LAWRENCE, Kan. - In this profile, we are honored to introduce KFP correspondent, Travis Swicegood. Besides writing here, Travis is a professional programmer and owner of Domain51, a web development company in Lawrence, Kansas with a focus on non-profits, NGOs and online activists.

He says that he doesn't personally change the world, he just supports those who do.

]]> Travis' personal focus is on web applications, performance, and stability. He's author of Pragmatic Version Control using Git and he's currently working on his second book. He has been using PHP since '99 and still remembers how revolutionary PHP 4 was, but can't remember why.

He's a TDD, open-source, and open government advocate and sometimes he's called a zealot. Travis lurks on many an open-source project mailing lists when he's not learning other programming languages. He also writes a personal blog.

For fun, he likes exploring his surroundings on his bike, or tasting his latest kitchen and home-brew creations.

We're thrilled that Travis finds time to write at the Kansas Free Press too!

Readers can browse his archives here.

To learn more about any KFP writers, we encourage you to browse our directory of citizen journalists.

Education Rally in Topeka on March 16

2010-03-07T23:08:24Z

"We want what's right, not what's left."

TOPEKA, Kan. - The above is the motto of a grassroots groups calling itself Adequate Yearly Funding. This group is organizing a rally to support education in Topeka on Tuesday, March 16. Everyone, educators, teachers, students, grandmothers, grandfathers, and other interested citizens, are welcome to join this rally.

Why should people rally for education? All one has to do is read the local newspaper or watch the local TV news to know what funding cuts will mean for Kansas schools and the students who attend them. According to an article in the March 7, 2010, issue of the Wichita Eagle, "Senate Republican leaders [have] outlined plans to push for $300 million in tax increases to help close a $450 million budget gap for the 2011 budget." (Parkinson cuts roads funding to fix budget) Tax-wary legislators need citizen support in order to follow through with these tax increases.

]]> The situation is dire. According to Wichita Eagle editorial editor Philip Brownlee, cutting an additional $25 million on top of the $34 million that has already been cut from the USD 259 budget "could cause great harm." Further, Brownlee said, "...the district would need to eliminate some personnel to make such a large budget cut. But that could result in larger class sizes and fewer paraprofessionals, which could undermine efforts to raise student achievement and meet the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind law." (No good options for school cuts) This funding problem has reared its ugly head in every school district in the state.

Participants in the Adequate Yearly Funding rally will meet at 11 a.m., Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at KNEA headquarters, 715 SW 10th Avenue, in Topeka. They will march from there to the Capitol, where they will hear brief statements from Ann Mah, legislative sponsor of the rally, Kansas Teachers of the Year, and invited guests. After speakers' statements, the group will march around the statehouse, chanting and singing to show support for education funding. Parking is available at the KNEA building, across the street at Topeka High School, or in downtown Topeka.

Rally organizers have asked participants to abide by the following code of conduct:

We are advocating for students. As such, we will be prepared to tell our story - how budget cuts have impacted our students and our teaching.
We will share with lawmakers, respectfully, that we want them to fully fund Kansas public schools.
We will walk peacefully around the Statehouse grounds.
We will obey all laws, be courteous and be respectful.
Our signs will be respectful and will advocate for funding for our schools.

Those who want more information, including samples of signs, may go to: https://sites.google.com/site/adequateyearlyfunding/home.

Also, they may contact organizers at: Adequate.Yearly.Funding@gmail.com.

Supporters of education in Kansas need to turn out in large numbers for this rally. Those who live in outlying districts may contact their KNEA Uniserv offices or e-mail organizers for car pooling information.

10th Amendment Does Not Trump the Supremacy Clause

2010-03-07T13:34:44Z

WICHITA, Kan. - Kansas legislators held a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, March 6th at the WSU Metroplex and what a meeting.

Kansas State Rep. Brenda Landwehr sounded like she was trying to resurrect the confederacy. Y'all remember the confederacy? Our southern cousins decided in 1861 that they didn't have to obey the U.S. Constitution's "supremacy clause" and in fact could leave the Union if the national government passed a law they didn't cotton to.

Landwehr has decided she doesn't much cotton to following a president she didn't vote for, let alone being forced to uphold his nasty piece of legislation that would provide health insurance for a bunch of losers who can't afford to purchase their own but want a handout from hard working legislators like Landwehr.

]]> Landwehr has introduced the "Health Care Freedom Act". This is a constitutional amendment that will appear on the Kansas ballot in November IF it gets two-thirds approval of both houses. It EXEMPTS Kansans from being covered by any federal health care law just in case the Democrats get a spine and pass one in the future. The problem with her little ol' bill is that first, states do not get to "exempt" federal law just because they say they can, and two, there is that little ol' thing Landwehr is ignoring, our nation's history.

Imagine, giving states the power to nullify laws made by the U.S. Congress. What kind of nation would we be if states could take their big crayolas and veto legislation they didn't like from Washington insiders like Tiahrt, Moran and Brownback? How long would our government survive under such a system?

Actually, we don't have to speculate on such a scenario. America experienced the devastating effects of allowing the states to be sovereign under the Articles of Confederation government. The Articles was America's first government hastily formed in 1777 after we declared our independence from England. While the war lasted the states worked in some unity with one another, but once America successfully defeated the British, the nation began to splinter apart as sectionalism and loyalty to one's state became paramount.

Landwehr is obviously not aware of her own nation's history. Under the Articles, states were in fact sovereign and essentially America was comprised of thirteen separate governments doing whatever they wanted to do with little regard for the good of the nation. Since the Articles had no method of forcing states to pay taxes, there was no military to protect America against foreign or domestic threats. States were taxing other states to ship goods through their states creating a commercial nightmare which in the end was jeopardizing the economic health of the nation. After the Revolutionary War, America was a mess and Europeans watched and placed their bets on how long it would take before the country dissolved under a confederal form of government where the power rests with the states.

So, Representative Landwehr, we have done this kind of "state's rights" government before and it was a disaster. Let me explain one other little item you may have missed in civics class. The 10th Amendment is a recognition that the founder's developed a new system called "federalism" where the state and federal governments share certain powers. States are expected to carry out the day to day powers necessary for their citizens as long as state law does not violate the constitution nor conflict with national law. For example, powers like establishing a local police force or health clinics are necessary for the welfare the citizens of each state.

The 10th Amendment is brief: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This amendment does not mean only states can take care of the health of their citizens.

From Medicare to Social Security, the United States government has longed been involved and concerned with the economic impact issues of health care on its people and the nation as a whole. This power is established under the the "necessary and proper" clause in Article One Section 8 Clause 18 which empowers Congress to do what is necessary "for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution..." It has long been established law that the national government has the power to implement programs which "promote the general Welfare" of our nation as the preamble so beautifully states the case.

Let me be clear about this. States are not given the authority to usurp the national government under the 10th Amendment just because they resent the supremacy of the national government. This may be painful to hear for some Kansas legislators, but it's true. Too many American men died on the battlefields of the Civil War to make a mockery of this critical fact. It is awful and shocking to hear our elected leaders twist the meaning of the 10th Amendment into a call for the state's to nullify the laws of this land they are sworn to uphold and defend.

If you want to rebel, then rebel, but don't mislead Kansans into thinking this is a constitutional right when it is simply a case of sour grapes. Just because you don't have the courage to admit you don't like who is in the White House and don't want to help the poor obtain comprehensive medical insurance, is no reason to waste the taxpayer's money on an amendment that is stupid and unconstitutional.

Spotlight on Citizen Journalists: Meet Delia Garcia

2010-03-06T19:19:41Z

On April 1st, the Kansas Free Press will mark its 6-month anniversary. With gratitude for the Kansans who nobly commit their time and talents to citizen journalism, we are celebrating our upcoming half-year anniversary by proudly showcasing each of our writers.

WICHITA, Kan. - In this profile, we are honored to introduce KFP correspondent, Delia Garcia. She has served in the Kansas House of Representatives since 2005. She represents the 103rd House District, which includes portions of central Wichita. As a state lawmaker, Delia currently serves on the House Committees on Commerce and Labor, Health and Human Services and Judiciary. She also served on the House Select Committee on Corrections Reform and Oversight.

Her dedication to community service has been a consistent theme in her life.

]]> She has worked for two years as a professor of American Federal Government at Bugler Community College. Delia worked for MANA de Wichita, Women's professional organization. She also participated on the USD 259 Site Council of Horace Mann Middle School and Healthy Kansas 2010. In 2002, Delia worked as the field director of the 4th Congressional District Race. She also worked for the Democratic National Committee in 2000 in Los Angeles as a field director.

Delia proudly points out that her roots in the Air Capitol of the World run deep. Delia resides in Wichita and works as a consultant for a national marketing research firm. Her family owns Kansas' oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant, Connie's Mexico Café on N. Broadway. Delia explains her passion for serving her district,

"It is humbling and an honor for me to have been elected to the Kansas House of Representatives from a district where I was born and raised.
"Representing my district in the Kansas Legislature, I take strong stands on issues important to all Kansans - education, affordable health care, protecting our seniors, creating and sustaining jobs, and preserving our quality of life. These issues we care about so deeply have become the focus of my work in the Kansas House."

We're very honored that this hardworking and dedicated public servant shares her thoughts and observations with the readers of the Kansas Free Press!

To learn more about any KFP writers, we encourage you to browse our directory of citizen journalists.