TOPEKA, Kan. - Conservatives in the Kansas legislature are once again up to their old tricks of trying to turn the Capitol into a religious body. A new proposal was announced this week that would provide Kansas state lawmakers with a very special privilege; an "All-faiths" chapel inside the Capitol building. There are many legal concerns as well as practical arguments against the All-faiths chapel. However, the important question to raise is why such a proposal has suddenly appeared?

The whole effort is nothing more than religious mischief concocted by the religious right. If the proposal goes nowhere in this session, the idea still gets out in front of the public to build momentum and support down the road for a chapel. Make no mistake that behind this audacious proposal, the All-faiths chapel is a very calculated and concrete challenge to elevate religion in Kansas government and devalue secularism. This proposal essentially demands that Kansas government accommodate and provide for religion to establish a real presence within the Statehouse and serve as a visible reminder that faith is paramount in governing when in fact, governing should be neutral when it comes to religious promotion. Establishing a chapel in the Capitol building is hardly a neutral act.

WICHITA, Kan. - Is the Catholic Church above the law and therefore, exempt from the law? We can't have a stable society if we allow a religious group that has set itself up in the secular world with its hospitals,charities and other organizations, to run for cover under the 1st Amendment's freedom of religion protections.

The 1st Amendment is about the right of individuals to freely believe what they wish to believe without the government arresting an individual for their personal religious, or nonreligious beliefs. It is about the freedom to worship in one's house of prayer without the fear of a government entity barring the doors and preventing such access, or forcing those of no belief to attend services or face a heavy penalty.

The 1st Amendment is not about allowing a giant religious conglomerate to operate in the secular world with the mindset that any citizen who enters a Catholic hospital or works for a Catholic institution, must obey the teachings of that church regardless of their own beliefs.

TOPEKA, Kan. - It's official. Kansans can breathe a sigh of relief. According to David Epps with the group Transform Topeka, God has made it possible for Sam Brownback to rule over Kansas.

The Capitol was turned into a Christian Church as the third floor reverberated with songs and prayer. In the small group that assembled, Governor Brownback stood with radical evangelical, anti-abortion messianic prophets (shades of crazy John Brown) to anoint the 2012 legislative session for the glory of their Religious Right God; a God who just happens to support their extreme social agenda.

This Christian pep rally was part of the "Prayer on the Hill" event organized by the Culture Shield Network. CSN is a faith based advocacy group from Wichita founded by Donna Lippoldt . She maintains that they have "people that pray in the Capitol all day, every day during the whole legislative session,"

Lippoldt might be familiar to some Wichitans. She takes credit for keeping casino's out of Sedgwick County but her real claim to fame would have to be the wasted years she spent harassing patients who sought legal abortions in Wichita, Kansas. Nice to know the governor is hanging with the very people who did so much to demonize, threaten and elevate the climate of violence in Kansas against Dr. Tiller.

WICHITA, Kan. - According to the Wichita Eagle, Congressman Mike Pompeo is announcing an 'America Flies' aviation campaign.

That's right. Pompeo seems to think Americans need to be educated about what an indispensable asset aviation is for Wichita and America as well.

Yes, just after Boeing stuck it to the people of Wichita and has run out of Dodge with its Tanker deal, Pompeo has shown real political courage by reminding us how much we rely on the aviation industry for jobs and the need to bow down and prostrate ourselves to the gods of aviation.

This "I love airplanes and flying along with my congressional job" campaign, is an about face from last week's performance of outrage and protestations. Pompeo, along with other politicians were lined up like jilted lovers.

WICHITA, Kan. - As the Kansas legislature gears up for another session of spending most of their time on abortion bills, I could not help but reflect that Rick Santorum would be the presidential candidate to win Kansas.

Everyone knows a candidate in Kansas only has to support one issue to be electable; support the unborn. Nothing else matters; not a good jobs bill, not money for the arts or providing good healthcare and funding public education, but forcing women to give birth is the ticket to elective office in Kansas. This one issue defines evangelical conservatism across America as well.

Nothing illustrates this better than Rick Santorum's campaign leading up to the Iowa Caucus. A voter in Newton, Iowa asked Santorum about his reaction to a liberal journalists who criticized Santorum's decision to take his deceased infant home to show his other children.

The question quite naturally caused Santorum's wife to tear up.

WICHITA, Kan. - All across America there is a noticeable rise in police brutality against nonviolent citizens courageously speaking out against corruption and inequality within the American political system.

On November 16th, in Wichita, Kansas a group of protesters were unaware they were about to face some brutal treatment by the Wichita police for exercising their First Amendment freedoms, too.

As citizens, the group of protesters decided to register (which was required) and attend Governor Brownback's Town Hall Meeting. The meeting was publicized as an event to discuss child poverty in Kansas.

Most of us think of a town hall meeting like the Norman Rockwell painting where citizens stand and speak while officials listen and learn something. This was not the format for the meeting. It was a very controlled affair with far more show than substance. As others have rightly complained, the meeting was held in the early afternoon. The odd time frame made it impossible for the people who work full time but have the most knowledge or insight about child poverty from attending.

Those citizens who did attend were required to sit at assigned tables. Instead of a panel discussion of various views or open discussion with everyone in the room, the meeting was simply a lecture sponsored by the the Heritage Foundation known as a very bias, conservative think tank.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a vote that surprised no one (just in case you missed it), our hard working representatives in D.C. reaffirmed for all Americans by a vote of 396 to 9, the unconstitutional national motto: "In God We Trust".

Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), who is also an ordained minister voted against this resolution. Cleaver stated he didn't think Congress should be telling anyone to trust in God. That's something people have to choose for themselves. It's not the business of Congress to force this on the people.

Talk about being religiously incorrect! If only more representatives had the backbone to stand up to the bullies in the House but sadly, they dare not if they want to keep their seats in Congress. This pandering to religious beliefs when the going gets tough, has been a hallmark of politics since Washington took office. Until men and women of BOTH parties have the courage to denounce it, the trivialization of religion and the real threat to freedom of conscience for all Americans will continue.

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said he voted against the resolution because Congress already reaffirmed the motto back in the 107th Congress . He noted that the resolution has no force of law. Bobby Scott (D-VA) voted no because "when we were sworn in as members of Congress, we took an oath to uphold the Constitution. This resolution is inconsistent with that oath."

WICHITA, Kan. - Over 100 citizens from the Wichita metro area and people throughout Kansas met in Chisholm Creek Park to exercise their freedom of speech by protesting KOCH Industries on October 29th, 2011.

This historic rally and march was organized by a new grassroots group called "Kansans United in Voice & Spirit " with the goal of bringing together, "Concerned citizens of Kansas united to support, advocate for and protect valuable state services, programs and policies." Founders Tamara Werth and Cyrstal McComas, want to preserve such communist inspired programs like public education, Medicaid and assisting abused and neglected children. They understand that further cuts by the Kansas State Legislature and Governor Brownback will decimate the lives of Kansans just barely holding on.

The mobilization weekend events were part of a state wide grassroots effort beginning first in Kansas City then followed by a meeting in Lawrence, Kansas. People in attendance listened to speakers discuss how radical changes already in the works could drastically alter the quality of life for vulnerable Kansans and the middle class.

WICHITA, Kan. - Below is a running tally of the damage done to this state in just eight short months thanks to the Brownback Administration and radical republicans in the Kansas Legislature.

1. Supported action to sign Kansas onto the Virginia/Florida lawsuit declaring "Obamacare" unconstitutional. Even though President Obama won a decisive victory in 2010 on the promise of affordable healthcare for all, the republicans refused to admit they lost the general election and act as if it was treason for the federal government to pass such a dastardly, socialist inspired idea. Bottom line is the state of Kansas has many citizens who need healthcare. Protesting a duly passed piece of legislation by the federal government is sour political grapes and sticking it to the poor as you sanctimoniously claim it will hurt Kansans.

2. Vetoed funding for the Kansas Arts Commission after citizens rallied across the state and lobbied their representatives to save the arts. The Kansas Legislature listened to the people, and approved funding, only to have Sam wipe out the funding with the stroke of his magic pen.

3. Brownback maintained Kansas would still get funding from the NEA(National Endowment for the Arts) even though he wiped out the Kansas Arts Commission. Brownback was wrong; the state received notice it would NOT get matching federal funds from the NEA since the Governor's pet group-Kansas Arts Foundation, was hardly in a position to be trusted with taxpayer money without any clear organization or ability to prove it would not soon collapse.

WICHITA, Kan. - George W. Bush has been invited to speak before the Wichita Chamber of Commerce on November 3rd, 2011.

Citizen activists in Wichita are outraged by the decision to invite Bush. It does appear to be a rather puzzling choice. The Chamber is either suffering from acute amnesia or else does not truly believe in its own goals of creating a positive and strong economic climate by electing "pro-business" candidates since it has no problem inviting a former official who nearly drove the American economy over the cliff.

Bush not only created the nation's crippling deficit by committing troops to fight in two extremely expensive wars, but also gave tax breaks to the most wealthy in society. On top of these grave errors, the banking industry and financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers were running wild with their derivatives scheme by passing off bad mortgages to another company and making their cut until the bubble burst and the scheme was realized. Even as companies were run aground and people evicted from their homes, the CEOs of the very companies that had created the financial meltdown were awarded huge bonuses for their incompetence and thievery. This pathetic story of greed and more greed continues to threaten any real economic stability and financial recovery in America.