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Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post's "Under God" blog reports that Faithful America's petition calling for Kansas House Speaker Michael O'Neal to resign now has 40,000 signatures. That's up from 30,000 a week ago ago when I reported for AlterNet the continuing story of imprecatory prayers directed at president Obama. (See also my Daily Kos diary ) The "joke" for ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - 11:05 a.m. - 10 clicks ![]()
From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner; Kansans may see one of the largest Occupy demonstrations since the movement began in New York, Feb. 17 through 19, with Occupy Koch Town. Wichita is the headquarters for the Koch Industries. People in this town and many people throughout the country are tired of Charles and David Koch, and their multi-millionaire PACs, buying elections, jus...
Otto's War Room - Thu 9:21 p.m. - 12 clicks ![]()
-In Wichita: NoWar on Iran! National/InternationalDay of Action Sat. Feb. 4, 2012– 11 A.M. Demonstration Downtown CityLibrary – 2nd bl. south Main Bring signs – sponsored by: Peace & Social Justice Center;Molly’s Brigade - Women of Peace; more info? 263-5886 From The World Can’t Wait; I know I am not the only one to experience déjà vu over ...
Otto's War Room - Thu 11:02 a.m. - 12 clicks ![]()
Education, taxes and poor leadership show how much Gov. Sam Brownback is out of touch with Kansans' priorities. A new poll highlights the disconnect, Kansas Democratic Chair Joan Wagnon said Tuesday. Only 36 percent of registered voters approve of the job Brownback is doing, a SurveyUSA poll reported. Sponsored by KWCH-TV in Wichita, the poll was conducted Jan. 19-24, 2012. Brownback'...
Buffalo Blog - Wed 7:49 p.m. - 15 clicks ![]()
Happy 151st Birthday Kansas Kansas Day commemorates the admission of our state as the 34th in the Union on January 29, 1861. ...
Prarie Populists and Progressives - Sun 4:08 a.m. - 16 clicks ![]()
From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner; According to an organization called Kansans Count, About 1/4 of our Kansas legislators have ties to a lobby group called ALEC, that is American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC claims to want “ Limited Government · Free Markets · Federalism”. But opponents argue that the real attempt is to give almost all government control to corporate inter...
Otto's War Room - Jan 26 - 17 clicks ![]()
From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner; Wichita doesn’t have any public transportation after 6pm. They lack a lot of services. But not when it comes to investing public money in downtown hotels. According to The Wichita Eagle , the city will spend $30 million on a hotel on the southeast corner of Douglas and Broadway. Some citizens have launched the Wichita Petition drive to...
Otto's War Room - Jan 25 - 5 clicks ![]()
In Sam Brownback's Kansas, constitutionality is optional This won't be a particularly insightful post, mainly because I'm just tired of these people and wish they would go away, or secede, or whatever it is they need to do to separate themselves from the rest of modern society and live out their lily-white no-immigrant no-Muslims no-athiests no-gay-people no-liberals no-moderates no-funn...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 25 - 2 clicks ![]()
The beneficiaries of tax overhauls proposed by Gov. Brownback and House Republications are likely to be wealthy corporations -- and not just small businesses that create jobs, The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities says in a report it just released. The major beneficiaries of such a giveaway are unlikely to be the small businesses and job creators that Governor Brownback says he is i...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 24 - 3 clicks ![]()
For kids! The state of Kansas has found a way to deny children who are American citizens nutritional assistance they would be eligible for—if only their parents weren't undocumented immigrants. While undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, many have children who were born in the U.S. and are, as citizens, eligible for aid. ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 23
Yesterday I wrote about my own experiences from the free lunch system and how Arizona is planning to allow schools to opt out of it. Now here in Kansas we found a way to take food out of children's mouths a different way. Through the food stamp system. ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 23 - 2 clicks ![]()
Today's New York Times reports that Brownback created an Office of the Repealer "to recommend the elimination of out-of-date, unreasonable and burdensome state laws that build up in any bureaucracy over time." Guess which law, disabled by a 2003 decision of the Supreme Court, hasn't been sent to the Office of the Repealer for elimination. Can't guess? ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 21 - 3 clicks ![]()
http://www.kansascity.com/... That is the link for those of you who don't know which state Brownback is Governor of. However, the topic of this diary is not the tax cuts for the wealthy in Kansas, and tax increases for the working poor, covered in the article. The topic of the diary is a different Kansas policy idea that my new bride, Tonia, doesn't like. The title is from ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 20
...it's not bad for the Democrats. Let's look at the "least change" map that was posted in today's live digest. McCain '08 Obama '08 District 1 67.2% 31.0% District 2 52.9% 45.1% District 3 48.9% 49.8% District 4 58.6% 39.5% The new 3rd is actually a bit worse for Team Blue than the old one was (old KS-03 went 51-48 for Obama), but its not...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 19
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports today that Gov. Brownback's proposed tax plan would increase taxes for the vast majority of Kansans, while cutting taxes for the richest of the rich. The Institute writes: An ITEP analysis of the plan finds that the bottom 80 percent of the state’s income distribution would collectively see a tax hike under the Brownback plan, while ...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 17 - 9 clicks ![]()
Recently retired Secretary of Revenue Joan Wagnon said Tuesday that the tax plan proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback hurts working families and the poor by literally picking their pockets as it preserves tax credits for banks and wealthy corporations. Wagnon analyzed the list of tax credits the Brownback plan proposes to remove, and the credits it proposes to preserve. She determined that the...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 17 - 9 clicks ![]()
Mitt Romney has gotten slammed for celebrating his endorsement by Kris Kobach , the Kansas Secretary of State and notorious author of Arizona and Alabama’s “show me your papers” laws. (Along with several similar nasty laws.) Of course, immigration advocates have pounced all over the endorsement and the press has written a lot about how this move is straight-up dumb if he’s trying to win...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 13
Mitt Romney has gotten slammed for celebrating his endorsement by Kris Kobach , the Kansas Secretary of State and notorious author of Arizona and Alabama’s “show me your papers” laws. (Along with several similar nasty laws.) Of course, immigration advocates have pounced all over the endorsement and the press has written a lot about how this move is straight-up dumb if he’s trying to win...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 13
7:02 PM: We agree with the Governor - we're the people of Kansas, and we're not quitting. We're not stopping in the fight for good schools. We're not stopping to fight to restore education cuts. We're not stopping in the fight to bring good jobs to Kansas and to make certain small businesses get a fair shake. We need leaders who have the right priorities. And we need leaders who are willing to st...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 11
House and Senate Democrats today announced the Kansas Kids First plan to restore cuts in education funding, lower property taxes and make certain everyone pays their fair share.
"Cuts to Kansas schools have gone way too far in the last few years," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka said, “Our proposal ...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 10
Wichita, Kansas is known as 'the air capital of the world'. In WWII, the B-29 bomber was assembled in Wichita. Private aircraft have been assembled there for years. Boeing and Wichita have a rich history together. What follows is a sad tale of what a 'job creator' really does when everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is handed to them, from tax breaks to a congressional delegat...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 6
Kansas Democratic Party Chair Joan Wagnon issued the following statement in response to an email forwarded by Kansas House Speaker Mike O'Neal. Wagnon's statement: The emails Speaker O'Neal has been caught forwarding about First Lady Michelle Obama are highly offensive, disrespectful and unacceptable. Regardless of how he feels about President Obama's politics, Speaker O'Neal's d...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 6
I guess we can say: at least he apologized. The speaker of the Kansas House has apologized after forwarding an e-mail that made fun of first lady Michelle Obama’s appearance and referred to her as “Mrs. YoMama.” In Republican Mike O’Neal’s apology, first reported in the Lawrence Journal-World, he said he forwarded the e-mail without even reading it, and had no idea it referred to Mrs. Obama...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 6
When you have clowns like Sam Brownback running my state of Kansas, you might imagine the circus of Republican nutbags who control our state Congress. Add " racist " alonside the word "nutbag" while you're at it. Here's the latest of our House Speaker who apparently forwarded an outright racist email to his fellow Republican bretheren: Topeka — House Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, has ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 5
A family in our neighborhood is facing the New Year without the home they’ve lived in and paid the mortgage on for the past eleven years. This is the fifth family in the past three years to meet such a fate. The people in this neighborhood who lost their houses have jobs and are upstanding citizens just trying to get by. We live in older neighborhood in Midtown Wichita. Our immediate area compri...
Everyday Citizen (Kansas) - Jan 5
This is a sad day in Kansas. Boeing announced that it is closing its Wichita facility, a move that will throw 2,100 employees out of work by the time the location closes in 2013. Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has reported that this will mean the loss of $1.5 billion in wages over 10 years. Kansas Democratic Party Chair Joan Wagnon ...
Buffalo Blog - Jan 4
Kansas NOW's state director and special to RH Reality Check 's Kari Ann Rinker testifies before a committee of Kansas state representatives. Written by Editor-in-Chief Jodi Jacobson for RH Reality Check . This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post . ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 4
A calling to all Kossaks who reside in or around the Kansas City area! I have begun a new group to act as a rally point for all news or activity in the KC area. It is my hope that the page can become a hub for discussion, calls to action, volunteerism, GOTV, news, and everything else relating to our little corner in the middle of nowhere! The groups name is Kansas City Kossaks, so if you are i...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Jan 3
I've railed over the last few months about the potential for shocking and horrific results thanks to the change in mental health care policy in Kansas. Well, in the last two months, the situation has moved from "Bad" to "destructive". Mental Health Care Facilities in our state have been shuttered; services stopped.. and now, even long term care facilities are under too much pressur...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 23
A political organizer who helped a Democratic challenger knock off a Republican incumbent in Kentucky will take over as executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party. Jason Perkey will leave his position as a regional field director with the Kentucky Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in Louisville, KY, to start as the KDP’s executive director on Jan. 3. "Jason has a wealt...
Buffalo Blog - Dec 21
Kansas jobs won’t be exported, unemployed workers will be protected against job discrimination, work training and post-secondary/technical educational programs will be strengthened and unscrupulous hiring practices will be halted under a Kansas Democratic plan announced today. The Kansas Jobs First effort is a fiscally responsible, budget-strengthening plan that will bring job oppor...
Buffalo Blog - Dec 20
My name is Burt Humburg. I grew up in a suburb of Wichita, KS called Andover, KS. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper there, Adam Knapp, has written a wonderful account of my story. Here's his intro to it: This former homecoming king at Andover High is a homosexual. Why is his story important? Because he refused to let it destroy him. http://www.andoveramerican.com/... Recommend it if y...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 17
The Kansas City Star says President Obama "hit all the right points" when he visited Osawatomie. "This is the defining issue of our time," Obama said, referring to income inequality. "At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement. "T...
Buffalo Blog - Dec 8
Yeah, Osawatomie, Kansas. That's pretty much all the details I have on that, but hot damn. ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 2 - 2 clicks ![]()
I just called out a chance to help education in Baldwin, but here's one for Emporia. It will be attended by Brownback himself. December 7th, during the day, when people who aren't paid to be a mouthpiece for their propaganda machine have a hard time attending, but possibly we could get some bright students, some concerned stay at home parents? Register here: http://events.ksde.org/... At...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 1
Yeah, I don't diary much. Ok, ever. But this is something near and dear to my heart. Brownback has been pushing to dismantle public education in Kansas, and he'll get his way if we don't stop him. 6:30 p.m. Monday, December 5th at Baldwin City High School . Be there if you can. You'll get to see the Koch mouth piece Dave Trabert (president of Koch-funded Kansas Policy Institute and member o...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 1
SUSA: Kansas is a blowout for the GOP. Unless, of course, it's not. When I was touring the Midwest, a local actually delighted me with the most shopworn of observations about Midwestern weather: If you don't like it, wait 15 minutes. It'll change. Well, if you don't like SurveyUSA's assessment of the political landscape in Kansas, just wait ... well, longer than 15 minutes. But you onl...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Dec 1
http://news.yahoo.com/... TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — When a high school senior tweeted that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback "sucked," among other invectives, reaction at the state Capitol led her principal to demand an apology. Instead, it was the Republican governor offering a mea culpa Monday, forced to admit to a self-described overreaction by his staff that subjected him to ridicule for efforts t...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 29
Sam Brownback, who sucks, has now apologized for his staff sucking Remember this ? “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot,” [high school student Emma] Sullivan thumbed from the back of the crowd. She actually made no such comments. “Joking around,” Sullivan says of the incident. Brownback’s director of communication wasn’t am...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 28
Good news from Kansas. Emma Sullivan's school has backed down and said she won't have to apologize to Sam Brownback after all . A statement from the district says officials have reviewed the facts surrounding Sullivan’s tweet last week. During a visit as part of a student government program Sullivan tweeted comments critical of Brownback. Staff members saw the tweet and notified the pr...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 28
Just wanted to quickly update the story about Emma Sullivan , the Shawnee Mission East senior who was browbeaten to apologize for her #HeBlowsALot tweet about governor Sam Brownback. At first, she was going to issue the apology. Today she changed her mind. ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 28
Here's Governor HeBlowsALot His reputation's kind of shot Is for free speech? No he's not He's Governor HeBlowsALot Emma tweeted to some friends But that's not where our story ends She was told to make amends But fascism does this portend. We still have free speech (if barely) Brownback's simply not aware, he Told Emma "Make nice or we Will make things very hard for thee". Exactly...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 28
Unless people have been hiding beneath a rock, they are familiar with the Emma Sullivan/Sam Brownback incident . It outrages me to see a student bullied, especially by the school's administration. Therefore, I searched for a way to report this injustice. Thankfully, Emma's high school has given me the opportunity to do just that. The method follows the squiggle of truth. ...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 28
Sam Brownback, known nationwide for sucking Let me set the stage: A high school senior, Emma Sullivan, was on a field trip to Topeka, Kansas, in one of those school trips that supposes you will learn something about government if you pop in for a day and absorb it via osmosis or having politicians speechify at you or the like. You know, standard stuff. But this high school senior w...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 26
I will let the KC Star article speak for itself: Teen's joking tweet on Topeka trip creates a capital fracas Emma Sullivan’s trip to Topeka with other high school students to learn about government taught her a few unexpected lessons: • Gov. Sam Brownback’s office monitors social media for postings containing the governor’s name. • Some folks exhibit little sense of humor or...
DailyKos (Kansas) - Nov 25