The Idiot Factor: folly of Kansas politicians

Wichita developers want land owners to put up with a landfill

2011-08-23T18:08:00.000-05:00

From

Steve otto, Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

John Schlegel and his staff found they had received 100 percent opposition to a rezoning request a construction and demolition landfill, according to The Wichita Eagle. The proposed area is at 55th Street South and Ridge Road.
Most of the landowners near by are farmers. There are a few businesses in the area. It’s not hard to see why landowners would oppose this. Besides the ugliness of piles of trash near by, there are also concerns about drainage, pollution, reduced groundwater contamination and property values. One of the main concerns is groundwater contamination. Board members of the Greenwood Cemetery District have opposed the zoning request. They are afraid the noise from the plant will interfere with those who visit the cemetery.
Because of the opposition, four out of five commissioners must vote in support of the landfill for it to be approved.
The Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Commission recently approved the plan, and planning staff has recommended approval. In the past the city has rarely cared what citizens want when the Planning Commission gives an approval. Such an approval was granted by the county a few years ago for a sand digging operation north of Maize, even though local property owners came out in droves to oppose it. Those property owners were ignored and the planners have gone ahead. Rarely has the Planning Commission ever been turned down. They are backed by local developers so the city and county listen to them. The city often does what it wants and ignores common people’s feelings or opinions on many of its plans.
Since this is the first time they have 100 percent opposition, they may actually have to listen to the people for a change and not just rubber stamp what developers want.

Does Wichita need 5 golf courses?

2011-08-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

From

Steve otto Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Once again the City of Wichita shows where their true color as the council schedules meetings with two public golf courses. According toThe Wichita Eagle, the city is considering closing one of its five courses.
The city has recently raised buss fairs after considering cutting Saturday buss service. The buss system is already ridiculously inadequate. The buss has limited access to the city as well as closing at 6p.m. Yet the city has five golf courses for rich folks to stand out on the greens and put golf balls around. All year long Wichita and other cities have cut funding for every type of aid to the poor. They cut buss service but keep golf courses open.
The is also the question of water use. Local citizens are asked to go easy on the watering of lawns in this time of drought and yet large amounts of water are used keeping of all these golf courses up.

At a time when sever drought has damaged the states agriculture, when services are being cut for poor people and buss service is made more expensive, maybe the city just doesn’t need golf courses. This city is big enough that corporate people can provide their own golf courses.

County cuts Reverfest funds

2011-07-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

From

Steve otto

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Sedgwick County Manager William Buchanan's budget proposal plans for the county is to eliminate its funding for the Wichita River Festival and the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open golf tournament, according to The Wichita Eagle. The Riverfest received $25,000 in 2011.
It was a general overall payment, not aimed at one event. Wichita now takes up most of Sedgwick County. It’s hard to imagine that paying for the festival is not in the county’s interest.
I’ve complained in the past about the festival being too commercial and the sponsors more interest in plugging their businesses than putting on something tourist can really enjoy. But now it will be even more commercial.

The festival has already suffered over the years. Many events, such as the bathtub races and the sandcastle contests have been eliminated. The festival also brings a large crowd of both locals and tourist to the City. Moving it to June this year turned out be a disaster. It was way to hot for a lot of people. Cutting the funding is just one more punch. How much can they cut from this festival before it becomes a complete fizzle?

Fussing over fireworks may cost other’s lives

2011-07-20T00:24:00.000-05:00

From

Steve otto

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

The City of Wichita plans to put in another phone line for people who call 911 during the Fourth of July, because of calls by people complaining about fireworks being used near their homes. This will be only for the Fourth, according to the Wichita Eagle.
According to The Wichita Eagle, the emergency lines were fully staffed, yet many people got a busy signal. What really comes to mind is who really needed help and who just wanted the cops to harass some young person for LEAGALLY firing of firecrackers near some old fogy’s yard?
Sometimes fireworks might cause an emergency. There might be a serious injury, a fire on someone’s yard or house. There are also the usual calls that 911 gets such as heart attacks or strokes. But all of these were put on hold because a few stuffy adults simply didn’t like fireworks. Some people believe their piece and quite or the aesthetics of their neighborhood talk presidents over REAL emergencies. They are self-absorbed-egotist who have no respect for the traditional fireworks that were part of this country’s first Independence Day celebrations.

Here is a suggestion for their phone number next Fourth of July. They can call: IMA-JERK.

Fireworks on the Forth are a tradition

2011-07-01T22:42:00.001-05:00

from

Steve otto

, Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

For years Wichita has banned fireworks. The “over-safety crowd” decided they were too dangerous. People set them off for years and when the couldn’t by them legal, they went out of state or out of county.
Bottle Rockets have been illegal for decades in Kansas. But many people bring them in from Missouri. Some people make their own fireworks. They may use black or smokeless powder bought from a shop that sells gun loading equipment. Others use match stick heads. These aren’t the best explosives, but they do make a bang.
According to The Wichita Eagle the city could enact a firework ban sometime this week if the drought conditions continue. The fear is justified. It doesn’t take much to start a prairie fire. But people are already buying the fireworks now. Do they really believe no one will light them because of a last minute ban?
Fireworks have been a tradition of Independence Day for the last two centuries. Who is seriously going to try and stop than now?

According to Wikipedea,fireworks were used to celebrate the fourth as early as1777. On that day thirteen gunshotswere fired, once at morning and again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.

Wichita’s inadequate buss system may not run on Saturday

2011-06-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

The Wichita City Council is considering ending buss service on Saturdays. The City’s bus service is already a joke. This is a major city with almost half a million people and the busses only run until 6p.m. Some people can’t even use it to get home from work, because they get out after the busses have stopped running.
Wichita is one of the few cities that don’t have any real public transportation. Most large cities have a buss that runs late into the night. And most buss systems cover at least most of any large city (that doesn’t have some kind of subway system).
According to The Wichita Eagle the City Council also want to raise fares from $1.25 to $1.75. Even if they raise the fairs, it is cheaper to travel around town on a buss than fill up a car every few days with $50 or more. Once again poor people are the targets of city budget cuts. They city can contribute to investments for a River-walk Project we don’t really need. But anything that helps people, either to get to work, or old people who can’t drive to get around and shop, the City just forgets them.

They also developed a downtown area, with all kinds of bars and restaurants, to bring people back to that part of town, but if people go there to drink, they either have to pay $30 to $50 for a cab home or they get a DUI for driving themselves home. No one has ever thought about the idea of a buss to take people to and from the downtown area. Almost every other city has a system like that. There are also people without cars who could work a third shift if there was a night-time buss. According to The Wichita Eagle article, a lot of people in Wichita rely on the buss system. But the City Council doesn’t care. They only listen to people with big money.

Farmers take a hit from federal subsidy cuts

2011-06-15T00:10:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

The poor, teachers and government workers are not alone in loosing income and financial safety nets. Now Washington’s Representatives are going after the farmers. They want to end farm subsidies.
Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp was one of the Republicans who have supported the plan. He is from the First District in Kansas, which is mostly farmland and staunchly Republican. The GOP spending blueprint’s Budget Committee plans to save $30 billion from the farm program over the next decade.
Heulskamp is the committee too decide where those cuts will be made. According to The Wichita Eagle, the cuts will be an easy sell to some farmers who want to wean even them off the welfare system. Others see it as cutting the throats of some farming communities.
Huelskamp’s own parents have received $1,169,499 in federal farm subsidies from 1995 to 2009, according to Micheal Hahoney’s 20 Pounds of headlines blog. Other congressmen and women from farm states have also received some type of federal funds.

Although many of Heulskamp’s constituents are farmers, they are usually die-hard supporters of their Republican Representative. But they have never been asked to live with the kind of subsidy cuts they are facing today. Their philosophy is pure Republican and for now most believe that they will be better of if they can live without out help from the federal government. Many may find in the long run that it was not in their best interest and that the “rugged individualism” they claim to believe in will leave them in serious financial trouble should there be another disaster such as the dust-bowl days.

June a bad choice for the River Festival

2011-06-08T13:02:00.002-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

The River Festival has always been a kind of commercial extravaganza for local businesses who want to get their name and wares displayed in a large crowd. There’s still a river run that a local bank puts on.
And yet we can’t really blame the city for wanting to put on an event that draws people from miles around to visit an enjoy Wichita.
I’ve complained about various aspects of the festival in the past, but as with the Grinch, I don’t want to steal fun away from the families and the people who actually do enjoy this festival.
On the positive side, they put more events closer to the river. They want people to appreciate the river even it if is too polluted to use for actual events, such as the old bathtub races.
But our city officials always come up with something stupid to mess up an event. This year they moved it from May to June because a few events got rained out in May. Now it is in June and this year we have had triple digit temperatures which are normally rare for this time of the year. Monday through Wednesday was about 100° plus.

How many of us really want to check out the food court and the concerts when the temperatures are at such a dangerous level. Even our kids should not spend much time in this heat.
Last year I heard complaints that people who go to the music concerts are usually crammed into an area open to the hot sun where they can’t bring in their own drinks. They have to buy overpriced bottled water and other refreshments from venders there. They can’t even bring their own water. Many young people I know just don’t go and that was last year when the temperatures weren’t as bad.
The high temperatures could be global warming, but it is way too early to tell. If this happens five years in a row, we will know something is wrong. For this year it may just be bad luck. But the festival is still being held at a really bad time period.

Gov. Brownback—plenty for roads—nothing for art

2011-06-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

From
Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has started a national debate by eliminating funding for arts programs. According to The Wichita Eagle,he wants private donations to pay for all the state’s art. If he and others have their way, public art will disappear and all art will be corporate art. At the same time the state's transportation funding program, has been awarded $529 million worth of road projects for south-central Kansas, according to The Wichita Eagle.
A lot of our art already is corporate art. We have corporate names on just about every building constructed for the public including the new Exploration Place, science museum which has a lot of rooms with the names of the aircraft companies. They no doubt paid for those names to be on those rooms. So Wichita’s public buildings and museums are all financed and then named after local corporations. They probably decide what goes into these museums.
The Wichita Art Museum also has The Emprise Bank Research Library,

another room paid for by a corporation that wants publicity for its
contribution. It has some great works of art by some well known and progressive Kansans. But What about the future. Will the Wichita Art Museum end up begging people to donate as our public radio show does now?
Brownback is not leaving the next generation much to appreciate about Kansas.

Jobs are down—Republicans hope it will get better in 10 years

2011-05-27T00:31:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

When it comes to promoting jobs in Kasas, the Republican Party has kept its pledge of helping business with a better business climate, fewer regulations, better tax breaks, and they are hoping these businesses will hire people at some time in the future.
In the short run they are cutting public sector jobs to save tax money. They are reducing the tax base by causing more unemployment. But they have ignored that in order to please businesses.
According to The Wichita Eagle, The 2011 budget authorized 41,521 full-time-equivalent positions. That is 65 jobs less than the previous year.
Cuts made along the way, tally the final jobs number for the state this year, up at 41,147, which is a loss of 374 positions. The 2012 spending plan, beginning July 1, authorizes 39,184 positions, a loss of 1,963 from the current year. That is about a 5 percent reduction.

The cuts in education are causing a shortage of teaching and school staff positions. The Republicans brag that there will be more jobs as the economy expands. They seem to be in no hurry. It seems they want to replace most public sector jobs with private sector ones. They are also willing to wait several years for all this growth to finally bring in some jobs. The jobless can just wait it out. An estimate from The Wichita Eagle claims we still have 20,000 people in Sedgwick County without jobs. Prosperity is right around the corner. It’s a long corner.

First Annual Blogathon

2011-05-16T11:28:00.000-05:00

We get no government money for this blog. This week we are asking our readers to pledge a one time donation of 1¢. It is also known as $0.01.

Please don’t pledge a 1/2¢ because out government doesn’t mint those anymore. Just push the donation button and give us your 1¢ pledge.

This is based on the idea of a telethon. For an example check below;

Kansas Gov. Brownback wants to kill public art

2011-05-13T21:16:00.002-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Gov. Sam Brownback is trying to cut all funding to the Kansas Arts Commission. He seems to want to put a complete end to publicly funded art and replace it with corporate funded art.
He has already announced that its five employees will lose their jobs, according to The Wichita Eagle. Brownback has made no effort to hide his plans to completely de-fund public art in Kansas.
The Kansas legislature, both the house and senate are dominated by Republicans and many are in agreement with Brownback. However some would like to designate $689,000 in the next budget to keep the commission alive, but Brownback is expected to line-item veto that proposal.
Brownback wants to replace the KAC with a non-profit foundation financed by private donations. Such donations often come from corporations who want their logo on everything.
The US is flooded with corporate funding, which usually shows up as corporate logo or name on items somewhere. We just got a new arena in Wichita and it is named after a bank because that bank gave the city some money for the privilege of getting that name on the building.

Traditional art, which goes back to ancient civilizations, is disappearing from the US and most of our artistic talents now go to commercial enterprises and corporate logos. Italy has the Sistine Chapel, and as a friend pointed out, the US has golden arches. Andy Warhol became an important artist by showing us what our culture really looks like. It is obsessed with movie stars and corporate labels.
We need public art to allow our own unique culture to develop without economic interference. This is one place where corporations don’t belong. Ants, bees and termites build structures for them to live in. Termites build mounds that resemble small buildings. None of these insects have art, despite their well organized societies. We are not insects and art separates us from the purely utilitarian nature of such bugs.

Kansas Legislature is killing Public Education

2011-05-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

We have more teachers, programs and personnel who will be axed from the Wichita School System budget to appease the Kansas Legislators as they take an ax to the state education budget. Other state schools will face similar cuts.
According to KWCH-TV, on Monday, the Wichita school board announced 168 cuts for next year, without saying how many teaching positions will go. Many cuts will be teachers, however others will be other staff positions such as coaches and custodians.
Other state schools will face budget cuts such as Hutchinson, with possibly more than ten positions lost. That school system has been able to meet the cuts through teacher attrition, retirement and by not renewing contracts non-tenured teachers. Salina and Independence are facing similar problems.
Kansas spends more money than most other states on Roads and Highways than it does on education, according to the Lawrence Journal World. It seems the state legislators don’t consider education of its future generations to be a high priority but roadways are very high on the list.

Why are they so worried about future generations dealing with a deficit budget when they won’t be educated enough to really understand it.
Kansas legislators are being short sited and just plain unfair to its school age youngsters. Drivers Ed, foreign language courses and some sports activities are due to be cut. Why is this state punishing an entire generation for its own mistakes? Cutting education to balance the state budget is just plain sick. We are destroying our future for a few numbers on the states accounting books. That is insane.

Alice Cooper - School's Out

2011-05-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

Reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden in Wichita, KS

2011-05-03T19:55:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Reaction to Osama Bin Laden’s death has met with mixed reactions here in Wichita KS. Of course many people, including members of the Patriot Guard, Legion bikers held a parade to support U.S. military. Some Kansas politicians also made positive statements. Mike Pompeo, District 4 of the US House of Representatives issued this statement;
"I am thrilled to learn that America has defeated one of our greatest enemies, the former head of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.
"As a former member of the armed services, I am deeply proud of the courageous work performed by my brethren who worked so doggedly to take down Bin Laden. For years, our intelligence officers, soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors have committed themselves to combating the scourge of terrorism. They deserve our most sincere appreciation for a job well done and I am grateful that those Americans who are responsible for this success are able to return home, unharmed.
"America is now more secure as a result of the strength of our armed services and those who brought this long-running pursuit to a decisive and successful end. We need also to remember those who gave their lives in this effort -- they will never be forgotten,"
Yet there were a few people, many from the Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas, who were not comfortable with the idea of celebrating a persons death, even if that person was bad. According to Janet Perrell;
Since the "war on terror" began, it has created thousands of Bin Ladens. He's a martyr now and this announcement and the way the US is playing it will most likely create even more. To respond to the 9/11 attack with 2 endless wars and occupations, torture, secret prisons and the deaths of around a million soldiers and civilians has not made us more safe and celebrating his death is jingoistic and barbaric.

Kansas Republicans continue to attack abortion clinics

2011-04-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Kansas Legislators have passed some of the strictest bills since Roe v. Wade and it is all designed to block abortions from being performed in Wichita. The bill now goes on to the state governor.
According to The Wichita Eagle abortion clinics would be inspected at least twice a year. There have been no credible claims that abortion clinics are dirty, sloppy or unsafe. Some republicans have accused abortion clinics of “cutting corners” to save money, but no evidence of this has ever been presented. Pro-abortion rights groups have seen the new regulations a different way.
“(These bills are) designed to impose such strict regulations that most abortion providers in Kansas will find it a challenge to keep their doors open,” said Julie Burkhart, of Trust Women. “Here's a video that shows Representative Ritze talking about how unsafe abortion.”
Kansas Republicans are claiming that this bill is being passed because the health and safety of women is at stake."But the reality is that all of these Republicans got elected with the backing of anti-abortion churches and organizations.
It is very likely that this bill will not be the last. The present Republican controlled Kansas House and Senate will continue to pass more restrictions on abortion until it is completely impractical to get an abortion in Kansas. The assumption that the abortion providing clinics are unsanitary or unsafe is just a scare tactic and an insult to abortion providing doctors in Kansas.

Kansans rally for Planned Parenthood

2011-04-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

From Steve Otto

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

A few hundred people came out to show their support for the funding of Planned Parenthood, this Saturday at noon. It started with a rally where several people testified how important Planned Parenthood has been in their life. One positive sign was the amount of young people who came. Some were only teenagers.
“They claim that 99 percent of our services are abortion related,” said Kari Ann Rinker, one of the rally’s main speakers and a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. “That is a lie. The truth is closer to 5 percent.”
She also said that legislators on capital hill have an agenda and they don’t care that the many services offered by Planned Parenthood, such as pap smears, breast exams and prenatal care would not be available to poor women without insurance. She said for every dollar spent on Planned Parenthood, it would cost this society six dollars for poor people’s services.
As most people know, Planned Parenthood provides birth control which prevents pregnancies. It also supplies testing for venereal disease.
After the rally, people lined Central Street with signs supporting Planned Parenthood.
Earlier, people were encouraged to sign cards to send to Kansas legislators to stop the attacks on Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has been in existence for the last 80 years.

Anti-abortion terrorists win in court

2011-04-21T13:26:00.002-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

So far Federal judges have protected an avowed anti-abortion terrorist from keeping away from an abortionist doctor who plans to practice here in Wichita.
A federal judge on Wednesday refused the government's request for a preliminary injunction ordering Angel Dillard, of Valley Center, Kan., to stay away from Dr. Mila Means, of Wichita, Kan., her clinic and her home.
Even though Dillard has written a letter threatening Means, the courts have ruled she is protected by the First Amendment of the constitution.
According to a letter published in The Wichita Eagle;
Thousands of people are already looking into your background…..They will know your habits and routines.
They will know where you shop, who your friends are, what you drive, where you live. You will be checking under your car everyday-because maybe today is the day someone places an explosive under it.
The rest of the letter is mostly an attempt to shame Means, but threatening her with a bomb under her car is a threat not an opinion.
The government has had no problem arresting anti-war protesters for allegedly supporting foreign terrorist, only by meeting with people outside the U.S. or for their opinions on foreign affairs. These people have been refused protection from the first amendment, but local anti-abortionists are a different story.
According to Gonzo Times;
…in response to the FBI raids on seven homes and an anti-war office on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI also handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to fourteen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. These activists are involved in many groups, including the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists and many others came together to organize the 2008 anti-war marches during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. In December, 2010, 9 Palestine solidarity activists in Chicago were also subpoenaed.
What happened to the first amendment rights of these people? It seems only those whose aims are different from the Republican Party can be treated as terrorists and only then can a threat be considered a crime instead of speech.

Why do we need such big vehicles?

2011-04-21T10:42:00.002-05:00

New Workers Comp Laws are class warfare

2011-04-16T15:12:00.001-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

The Kansas Legislature has enacted new worker compensation laws that appear to be nothing more than class warfare against Kansas workers. All the new laws are designed to make it harder for a worker to get compensated for injuries caused by their job.
According to the Wichita Business Journal the new laws will;

Require additional proof that an injury was suffered at work,
Limit the payout to workers who don’t make a good-faith effort to return to work, and
Raise the caps on settlements.

The Kansas House and Senate unanimously voted on the bill. Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill and it will go into law and take effect May 15.
One focus on the bill is to try and eliminate people getting compensated for long term affects of such problems as corporate tunnel syndrome. Many companies have a company doctor who will do anything to keep a worker on the job no matter how bad they are injured. This bill may make it harder for those who get a second opinion from a different doctor.
There is no doubt these new laws will make it easier on businesses. It will save them buckets of money. But it will leave working people with a very limited safety net if they are injured and unable to work. They may even make it harder of an injured worker to get unemployment if they are injured and can’t work before a layoff. They won’t be eligible for unemployment. If they can’t get workers comp. they will have no income at all.
This is the new age brought to us by the new Kansas Republicans.

Brewer new mayor-same old business

2011-04-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Mayor Carl Brewer won re-election as Wichita’s Mayor. The race was never close. Brewer had all the money and businesses behind him. He got 69 percent of the votes according to The Wichita Eagle;

Council winners included Michael O'Donnell, the only candidates that opposed spending the city’s money on business partnerships. The others were, Pete Meitzner, James Clendenin, and Jeff Longwell, all Brewer clones.

With this crew, Brewer and his bunch can continue what they refer to as “down town development.” That does not mean the emphasis is to restore the businesses down town that are now boarded up and closed, but to allow developers to clutter up the Arkansas River banks with new stores, mostly national chains.

This is a town that has nearly half a million people and a buss system that doesn’t even go to half the city. The buss closes at 6pm, before many workers haven’t even got of their jobs yet. Taxis are hugely expensive and for all practical purposes, mass transportation does not exist.

The turnout was low. Usually such elections draw under 30 percent of the voters and little attention is given to them by our local press and TV news. All those who won outspent their rivals, so once again it is moneyed interests that run Wichita.

Wichita is a pro-business city where the needs of wealthy business people get what they want and infrastructure is ignored to the working class neighbourhoods. The poor and working class are completely ignored. In other words, it’s business as usual.

Bill Griffith

Local newspaper points out developer’s campaign contribution

2011-03-30T19:52:00.001-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

The Wichita Eagle came out with an article that shows just how much money the local developers put into local campaigns. It is no secret that land developers have had the city council in their back pocket and this is how they do it.
Of the Developers Dave Burk has backed Mayor Carl Brewer, because of his use of local funding for downtown redevelopment. Brewer also got support from David Wells, co-founder of Key Construction.
Burk and his wife gave three contributions of $500 each to Pete Meitzner, District 2; Joshua Blick, District 4; and Jeff Longwell, District 5.
Wells and his wife gave $1,000 to Blick and Longwell and $1,500 to Meitzner.

Steve Clark, real estate developer, gave $500 each to Stevens and O'Donnell.
Other business people have contributed to campaigns and some with equal or greater value. But the real estate and developers seem to get the most out of local Government and the common people get the least. We get fewer parks, less money for libraries and road work for developers gets a higher priority than the rest of the city’s citizens. When it comes to problems of homelessness, It’s hard to tell this city even has a government.
Big money messes up all our elections so it is no surprise that people need land developers income to get elected here in Wichita.

Wichita didn’t want the casino—Mulvane does—let them have it

2011-03-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

It’s amazing how Kansas Legislators can dance around a bill and not really talk about it. House Resolution 6015 is such a bill. It threatens to shut down a planned casino project in Mulvane. Hundreds of construction jobs will be lost and hundreds of permanent jobs will be lost as well. Chances are that those stopping it are doing so for religious purposes, even though few if any legislators will admit that.
According toKansasReporter.org;
Democrat Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, of Kansas City, said as far as she can tell the law was followed by the developer and the Racing and Gaming Commission.
“We set out certain standards and it appears to me from what I read that all those standards were followed every step of the way—now we’re crying foul and it doesn’t seem fair to those involved,” Wolfe Moore said. “I would like to know is this really about the contract or is this really anti-gaming?”

One of the opponents of this bill is Steve Brunk who has made it clear he doesn’t want such operations in Kansas. Again the KansasReporter.org;
“The intent behind this thing was to keep legislators from doing something nefarious to try to attempt to use their influence over the Gaming Commission to try to get them to decide one way or another … to use their influence to subvert the process,” Brunk said. “But the way it was written says we can’t speak out about it. (The law) was poorly written.”
But the people of Mulvane voted to have this Casino and efforts to stop it are by a bunch of religious sore losers who just don’t want gaming. In these bad economic times, this kind of development could turn unemployment problems around. We need to get rid of House Resolution 6015. It’s just bad economics.

Kansas Republicans target abortion rights

2011-03-26T17:36:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner:

It is not surprising that a house, senate and governor, completely in the hands of the Kansas Republican Party, would try and pass as many obstacles against abortion as is possible under the rules of the U.S. Supreme Court.

So they have passed a law HB 2218, a ban on later term abortion with no exception for fetal anomaly or clear definition of physical conditions that would constitute a threat great enough to the mother to allow the procedure.

Several women’s groups, such as National Organization for Women (NOW) and Trust Women have tried to fight the bill the best they could.

A site for Trust Womensaid;

This bill removes the ability of pregnant women and families to make critical decisions about pregnancy in consultation with their physicians. It puts lawmakers in the position of health care administrator and decision-maker and bans safe, legal procedures. HB 2218 is nothing more than political interference in a pregnant woman’s most personal, private medical decisions.

What is really ridiculous about this bill and others across the country is that they will simply be overturned if the Republican Party looses its grip on power as it did during the Barack Obama election.

The Kansas Legislators know they can’t just ban abortion so they come up with as many restrictions as possible. So far South Dakota has the most restrictive abortionrules on the books. Republicans will continue to chip away from abortion rights even though there are powerful women’s groups to oppose that.

Peck should resign

2011-03-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Even after he apologized onCNN, Kansas Democrats continued their call Friday for Rep. Virgil Peck, Republican to resign, according to The Wichita Eagle.
Peck’s Comments have made it to the national news and he is getting plenty of attention. Most of it is not good.
Jessica Hord of Newsy.com warned someone may be inspired to do such a thing. She said this is just fuel to the fire for some unstable mind who believes it must be OK if Peck thinks it is.
She said a nine year old girl was killed by a vigilante border guard in Arizona.
Various laws are being considered that are similar to the state of Arizona, where a person who simply “looks Latino” could be stopped for suspicion of being an illegal alien.
According to CNN;
"We must call upon Rep. Peck to resign his seat in the House of Representatives and allow someone who will respect the proper role of a state representative to take his place," House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Davis said Friday.
KansasHouse Speaker Mike O'Neal refused to comment on the call for Peck's resignation. O'Neal told reporters he "considers it a private matter" and would not comment further.
Also, according to The Wichita Eagle, calls for Peck to resign have also been from the National Council of La Raza, Somos Republicans, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Latino Information Network of Kansas.
Apparently, Peck and many of his Republican friends don’t realize how serious his “joke” was. Killing innocent people is never funny. Peck should resign as he is being asked to by so many Latino groups.

Will bad driving stop Mark Gietzen -winning a seat on Wichita’s City Council?

2011-03-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Mark Gietzen is a candidate for the District 3 council seat for Wichita. He has also been arrested today on a bench warrant for outstanding driving offences, according to The Wichita Eagle. He was pulled over for “improper left turn.”
Gietzen has been a part of Operation Rescue and is well known for his anti-abortion activities. Operation Rescue also has a “truth truck” that drives around the town with pictures of aborted fetuses to try and offend as many people as possible. It is a large cargo truck with pictures covering the side. It says very little and relies on the emotional impact of the pictures. Some of us would like to know if Gietzen has been driving that truck, even though he had no proper driver’s license?
Gietzen's license was suspended on March 2 for failure to comply with a traffic citation. Among his many tickets are speeding: 45 mph in a 35 mph zone on July 11, 2010; 65 mph in a 50 mph zone on June 7, 2010; 40 mph in a 30 mph zone on July 24, 2009; and driving wrong way, wrong direction or in wrong lane May 1, 2010.
James Clendenin will challenge Gietzen in the general election. Between Gietzen’s bad driving record and his reputation for harassing abortion doctors and their patients, Clendenin should have no trouble beating his opponent.

Once again Wichita develops property in flood plains

2011-03-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Once again we see the negligence of the city planners and council members trying to clean up the damage. The Wichita Eagle reported that a city-imposed deadline for a plant to drain rainwater has passed without action. The subdivision was built in southeast Wichita.
The Maple Shade subdivision, just south of Harry on Webb Road. Originally city officials wanted a water diversion plan by Thanksgiving of 2010. That hasn’t happened yet. Developer Steve Miller and his engineers, Ruggles & Bohm have been given the task of diverting the water from this development. They are still working on a drainage plan.
Complaints have risen about cracked foundations caused by rainwater and the unsettling of the land. Once again, builders when in and built where ever they wanted and paid no attention to consequences, such as flooding. In Wichita this happens again and again. At least one person had to spend $80,000 to fix a flooding problem.
The city has not moved fast enough to fix a problem that is basically their fault. Wichita needs a better planning commission to prevent these problems in the future.
Wichita it notorious for letting developers build in flood plains and other places where houses will face natural problems over time. This is a disgrace.

Don’t make cold medicine illegal

2011-03-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

In the never ending and always expanding war on drugs, we are now being asked to see a doctor and get a prescription for pseudoephedrine products which most of us have use for years without problems. It just so happens that some people use that stuff to make methamphetamine. And for that reason alone, some Kansas congress people want to make this stuff prescription only (Senate Bill 131). That means every time some one gets a slight cold, they will have to pay for a doctor visit to buy simple cold medicine they can now just walk in a drug store and buy.
Why should the majority of people in this state, who do not use, buy or sell meth, have to pay for a small minority who use this stuff? At what point can law abiding citizens stop paying for the mistakes of others?
And while this state is suing the Federal government to stop Obama-care, complaining that it is too expensive, they don’t care that this new restriction will be a heavy medical burden on people who simply have a cold. Do the insurance companies want to pay for over the counter cold medicines they don’t pay for now?
According to The Wichita Eagle, there is already and tracking system for theseproducts and limits on how much a person can buy. The state stops a buyer for more than 3.6 grams for a single purchase or more than 9 grams in 30 days. Claritin-D, Zyrtec-D and Advil Cold are some of the most common products that contain pseudoephedrine. Opponents of this new bill warn of government going into our medicine cabinets. The Republicans have complained for the last three years of government getting into our health care. Now is the time for them to put up or shut up.

Pompeo stands for greed

2011-03-08T13:52:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is about to open an online database on March 11, that would make it easier for consumers to view safety violations of a product.
This all seems perfectly harmless and yet Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, a newly elected US House Republican, is trying to block it. Why would someone block the consumer’s ability to check on the safety of a product?
That’s a tough question to answer because it seems like a no-brainer to let customers see what the truth about what they are buying. According to The Wichita Eagle, Pompeo pointed out the usual evils of “The Federal Government” running this site which he claimed would not be accurate.
It doesn’t take long to see that we have voted in another front man for big business whose allegiance is to those who financed his campaign and not the Kansas general consumers. Pompeo didn’t get elected to represent the people, he ran to represent business interests.
Pompeo blocked the site by pushing for an amendment to post pone the project. It gives the congress a chance to make changes that the business community will benefit from. He seems to have plenty of supporters in the congress with all those new pro-Tea Party—anti-worker/consumer Republican freshmen.
There is no logical reason people can’t get an honest look at the records regarding products they buy in the store. If congress was representing the common consumer, this would not be an issue. However, this country has elected lobbyist for business interests.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" fleeces Kansas

2011-02-22T14:49:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" has come to Wichita Kansas. They are going to bestow a beautiful new home for WSU baseball player Carl Hall. As with any national TV show and its celebrities it is easy to get caught up in all of the glitz and national attention while not stopping to think about what a reality show really gets from a community…….FREE LABOUR.
While Carl Hall may a nice guy and deserving of a new house, this show his given free houses to people who could afford to replace their own. Extreme Makeover came in 2005 and built a new home for one that exploded for Kevin and Cathy Nutsch, from Derby. After getting all the free help it turned out they owned prime real estate downtown where they were planning to build the new stadium. Surely there were some actual needy people the show could have helped.
Then there the free materials and volunteers they use to put up these houses. According to The Wichita Eaglethere were about 2,800 people this Sunday alone, who volunteered, wearing blue T-shirts, which I’m sure had the show’s logo on it (free advertising).
It nice that the show does these wonderful things for people who need better homes, but why do they need to come to town and hustle our people for free labor and materials when they make so much money on TV with ads? With all the TV network makes can’t it afford to pay anyone?
This is just one more reality show run by people who know they can find people who want to be on TV and meet celebrities. All they need is a lot of speeches on “giving back to community” as an excuse as to why the volunteers did it without pay. The same old TV scam since reality shows started to flood the airwaves.

Koch political meddling in our politics

2011-02-11T12:42:00.002-06:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

If anyone thought that voting out Todd Tiahrt would cut into the government influence of the Koch brothers, they were mistaken. A recent article in The Wichita Eagle reveals that the Koch brothers have found new ways to increase their influence in the US Congress.
Billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, of the Wichita-based Koch Industries has formed the largest single oil and gas political donor to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, ahead of giants like Exxon Mobil. They are contributing $279,500 to 22 of the committee's 31 Republicans, and $32,000 to five Democrats.
One of the new Energy and Commerce Committee members include Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita and he hired a former Koch Industries lawyer as his chief of staff. Other key players include its new chairman, Rep. Fred Upton. He is a Republican from Michigan who was once criticized for being too soft on the EPA. Now he and others are likely to try and gut the EPA to the best of their abilities.
Koch Industries has never taken well to the EPA. They have found political allies and loop holes in their attempts to trash the environment without government interference. For the 2004 election Koch gave $587,000 to politicians.
Koch’s efforts have reached other states such as California. This last November they supported California’s Proposition 23, which would kill the state’s landmark global warming law. The Koch brothers’ corporation gave $1 million to the Prop 23 campaign, while AFP (Americans For Prosperity, a conservative lobby group which seeks to stop or even roll back environmental protection,) California attempts to stoke grassroots support, and Koch-funded think tanks attack climate policy.
Besides using the AFT, Koch has also infiltrated the Tea Party. The Battle cry of many of these anti-environmentalists is to “oppose job-killing regulations.” So while they use political influence to destroy our environment, they want you to believe it is in our best interest to do that.
This is one more example of a greedy, irresponsible corporation buying off our government.

Kansas lawmakers never learn from the War On Drugs

2011-02-07T00:38:00.003-06:00

From
Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

There is a new movement, in the Kansas legislature, to ban cold remedies that have pseudoephedrine. It is true that underground chemist can make methamphetamine out of that chemical, but banning over the counter health aids is more likely to cause inconvenience to adults than it will be at effectively stopping meth labs.

According too an article in The Wichita Eagle, two states have made such cold medicines prescription only, Oregon and Mississippi. They have had a large reduction in meth labs. But now people have to go to a doctor for a simple cold remedy. But as more states enact such bans, the underground chemist will simply find another source. Ephedrine actually comes from a bush. It would not be hard to grow those. And pseudoephedrine could be illegally exported from other countries.

The violence from drug wars in Mexico should be first hand proof how creating such a black market is a bad idea.

The Kansas legislature has banned K9 and K2 along with a large number of herbs that keep showing up in head shops that can produce a high. No testing is done to see if there is really any danger to these highs--just the puritan belief that any high besides alcohol has to be sinful. Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug. But allowing less dangerous highs would help prevent people from seeking out these more dangerous drugs.

It wouldn’t hurt our lawmakers to take their time when considering banning legal herbs and medicines.

Voter Fraud or xenophobia?

2011-01-15T01:55:00.000-06:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach still plans to attack what he sees as “voter fraud” even though there is no evidence that such fraud is rampant he said, on Wednesday, he will include provisions dealing with mail-in ballots. He also said he plans to enact the nation's toughest election fraud law.

But the reason still escapes some people. Voters already have to register a head of time and sign in when they go to the polls. It’s just not that easy to cheat on elections. That is especially true with the new electronic voting were one person can’t stuff a ballot box.

Kobach’s main focus is picture IDs. What kind of IDs? Some people don’t drive. Voting is supposed to be open to all citizens. Many already find the process difficult and they don’t bother.

Now he wants a driver's license number, identification number or another form of ID when they submit a request for a ballot by mail. What kind of ID can a person use besides a driver’s license?

What this new bill will really do is prevent poor people from voting and draw suspicion on legal immigrants. It is bigotry and xenophobia. We don’t need that in Kansas.

Citizenship changes are attempted bigotry

2011-01-10T22:39:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Kansas Secretary of State-elect Kris Kobach is now trying to circumvent the

constitution by eliminating citizenship for some people born in the

. Kobach has shown an obsession for bigotry against Hispanics and illegal immigrants ever sense he was elected this November.

Earlier this year he said he planned to push for voter ID requirements to prevent Illegal aliens from voting in Kansas, even though there is little or no evidence that such a problem really exists. Now he is part of a coalition of 14 conservative state legislators who plan to preventing children born on

U.S.

soil to illegal immigrant parents from becoming citizens at birth.

According to ABC News;

“But instead of proposing a change to the Constitution, which has established birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, the lawmakers advocated that states pass individual laws limiting citizenship to children who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen.”

More than likely this is unconstitutional. But conservative anti-Hispanic groups seem intent on trying it anyway. According to Hispanically Speaking News, Kobach has been working on two measures to deal with what they call “the problem” of birthright citizenship. The first defines a “citizen of the state” as a person who has at least one parent who is legally living in the country, and the second measure is really just an urging for Congress to redefine American citizenship using the same requisite.

According to Wikipedia;

“The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868 as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.

Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which held that blacks could not be citizens of the

United States

Its Due Process Clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken. This clause has been used to make most of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states, as well as to recognize substantive rights and procedural rights.”

In the past this country has tried to exclude, not only Afro-Americans, but also Indians, Chinese and other minorities. It took years for other minorities to overcome bigotry for coming to this country. Now conservatives want to turn back the clock and curtail minority rights. This is pure bigotry and it has to be stopped.

Abortion demonstrations return to Wichita

2010-12-23T16:48:00.000-06:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Last Saturday was a blast from Wichita’s past as both anti and pro abortion picketers went to Mila Means office. As reported last week, by The Wichita Eagle, Means and Greg Linhardt have decided to start performing abortions here in Wichita.

The anti-abortionists, led by Operation Rescue; planned to picket there at 10 am. The website put up for Operation Rescue claimed;

“The protest and prayer vigil was conducted smoothly. A small group of pro-abortion counter protesters huddled on a corner and unsuccessfully attempted to cover a huge sign that read “Thou Shalt Not Kill” put up by Mark Gietzen of the Kansas Coalition for Life.”

Yet pro-abortion protesters said their group was not so small.

“We had about 35-40 people. Someone said they had maybe 50 people on the other side. It was hard to tell because people on both sides were standing together on the curb in front of the strip mall where the doctor’s office is located,” said Diane Wahto.

According to the Kansas National Organization of Women website;

“The Kansas National Organization for Women stand in support of Dr. Mila Means and Dr. Greg Lindhardt in their decision to provide Wichita women with abortion care…..

We are grateful for the courage of these two doctors. The fact is that providing abortion care is dangerous work.”

Those pro-choice(abortion) protesters on site had plenty to say.

“It was a chance to confront those I believe with every fiber of my being are responsible for the cold blooded murder of Dr. Tiller. It was also a chance to show support for the heroic Dr's who are stepping up and offering women a legal medical procedure despite the thugs and their threats,” said Bonnie Moss-rodes.

“Until these thugs are treated and seen for the domestic terrorists they are there will be more murders. Some moron tries to make a bomb out of his underwear and the whole nation is threatened, six doctors, two receptionists and a security guard are murdered, to say nothing of the bombs the arsons and the acid attacks by the dozens and all of these are individual incidents committed by lone wolves. What do we have to do to get people to see this for what it is? I for one have seen the results of two bombings first hand in San Diego and I have seen a good man laying in a coffin after a act of terrorism here in Wichita. I think for me the terrorism that claims to be pro-life is obviously more danger than another 9/11,” she added. .

Wichita has been plagued with countless demonstrations and anti-demonstrations for years as the so called “pro-life activist tried to shut down Dr. Tillers office. They will no start picketing this new effort to provide women with abortion services here in Wichita.

Protesters mingle outside of Dr. Mila Means office.

Photo: Kansas National Organization of Women

Wichita developers and the Wichita Metropolitan Area Planning Commission are responsible for flooding

2010-12-14T15:14:00.001-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

For some time Wichita has had its share of flooding problems. But many are caused by bad management. There was flooding along the Cowskin Creek before and now, according to an article in The Wichita Eagle, it is happening in two southeast Wichita subdivisions.

On Sept. 12, 2008 basements flooded and people’s yards turned into swamps according to the article. Also;

“The rain poured off a field owned by a church just south of the Maple Shade and Brentwood South subdivisions. It hit a line of wood fences, veered away from the path that developers intended and pooled around nearby houses, flooding basements.”

This is not the first time there has been flood problems. The Cowskin Creek flooded October 31, 1998 and caused millions of dollars in damages in northwest Wichita. The City of Wichita spent a lot of money on flood control programs, but the biggest problem of all was that developers were allowed to build on flood plains of the Cowskin Creak. The real problem was that developers built houses on a flood plain, put in a small useless dyke, and then lied to homebuyers when telling them they wouldn’t have to worry about floods.

But the people of those homes went to the city. They should have filed lawsuits against the developers. The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission has mostly pro-development people on it. They should have been fired from the board for allowing this to happen.

The City Council of Wichita is in the pockets of the land developers so they never said or say anything that might offend them. They never held them responsible for their negligence.

The Wichita Eagle article goes on to say;

“Metropolitan Area Planning Commission members and city staff gave final approval to the Maple Shade subdivision in June 2001 without requiring a grading plan, even though the city had rules on the books requiring one since October 2000, city records show.

The grading plan could have prevented some of the flooding problems that exist today. It would have set elevations at the corner of each lot and shown how water would drain toward storm sewers or other channels to prevent flooding….

Several factors contributed to the drainage problems:

*City officials and planning commissioners approved the developments without detailed grading plans to account for runoff…

* Developers have balked at the idea of paying a neighboring church $25,000 for a 20-foot drainage easement on the congregation's property.”

Isn’t it time for the City of Wichita to finally hold developers responsible for shabby planning and irresponsible building of homes in places that are not suited for development? And why haven’t they cleaned house in the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission?
Most of us would be fired if we did such a bad job. Maybe it’s time to fire members of the incompetent Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.

The Cowskin Creak: land development has been to close and has caused flooding in heavy rains.

Kobach's voter fraud campaign is about discrimination

2010-12-02T17:36:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Secretary of State-elect Kris Kobach said last month, that he expects to take important steps toward combating potential election fraud in Kansas within a week of assuming office and will move quickly because he has a mandate from voters.

How will he do that? Will he require a photo Id for every voter?

Some people don't drive and about all most businesses and public agencies take for ID is a driver’s license, a military ID, Passport or a birth certificate and a birth certificate does not have a picture.

So how bad is voter fraud in Kansas?

According to the Lawrence Journal World; “there were a few reports of ballot irregularities and no allegations of illegal immigrants trying to vote.”

So where is all this voter fraud that Kobach said we have to fight? NO illegal immigrants are reported to have voted, even though Kobach said this was a major problem. Kobach clearly has made this a special issue with him and voters, but it seems to be over a problem that really doesn’t even exist.

This is no different than the literacy test used in the south. Voting booths in the Southern US had a copy of the constitution for blacks and a “Dick and Jane” book for whites to read.

With this new law a white business man can use a Kansas ID card, that really doesn’t prove anything, that people in liquor stores refuse to allow them as proof of age. Yet a homeless man or a new legal Hispanic immigrant needs something with more validity such as a driver’s license which he or she may not own. Any legal Hispanic person is also going to get profiled and scrutinized to vote under the new system. So it’s discrimination against both minorities and the poor.

It is likely that Republicans don’t want to face poor or Hispanic voters as both categories of people grow and may acquire influence.

In a Republican World.....

Moran a typical corporate politician

2010-11-16T10:58:00.000-06:00

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

It’s hard to understand why working people would support a politician such as Jerry Moran. He is clearly interested in rich people and not the least concerned about poor people being hurt by this recession.

According to The Wichita Eagle;

“Kansas Sen.-elect Jerry Moran said Monday that he would vote to extend the Bush tax cuts permanently, including those for the wealthiest Americans….

But Moran, currently a Republican member of the House, said that he would probably not back extending unemployment insurance for people whose benefits are due to run out.”

People who make above $250,000 really don’t need such tax breaks. While some people worry they will end up in a homeless shelter after working for years, investing in a home, they are now out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Jobs are scarce and those available have many applicants trying for them. I went to one place where the manager said he had a whole stack of applications of just one job opening.

For those who will lose their unemployment, they will lose everything, including their home. So what does Moran expect these people to do once they can’t find work? Does he care at all? His actions indicate he doesn’t. Chances are rich corporate leaders put up the money for his campaign and he takes care of them. He keeps their taxes down and does nothing for the poor saps that voted him into office.

The big question is why any poor worker would support a person who simply doesn’t care about them?

Raj Goyle Unleashes Attack Ad on Mike Pompeo

2010-10-30T14:47:00.003-05:00

From The Huffington Post:

Steven John Otto

Steve Otto is a freelance writer and blogger.

Posted: October 11, 2010 12:07 AM

Democrat Raj Goyle accused his opponent Mike Pompeo of outsourcing jobs from his own company to China last week during a press conference. Goyle is battling Republican Pompeo for the 4th Congressional District seat of Congress left open by outgoing Todd Tiahrt.

"Sentry used to make oil field equipment here," Goyle said. "But under Mike Pompeo's tenure these products are now mostly made in China."
According to Pompeo's website, in 2006, he "sold his interest in Thayer Aerospace and soon thereafter became President of Sentry International, an independent business that is engaged in the manufacture and sale of equipment used in oilfield and industrial applications around the globe."
Goyle gave an example of a plant that used to operate in Hesston, Kansas.
When asked where his information came from, Goyle said, "much of it is on Sentry's website."
Goyle also released an attack ad. Watch it below:
"It is fundamentally my job to bring jobs to Kansas," Goyle repeated. "My opponent outsources jobs."
Pompeo later responded in a press release. Below is an excerpt:

WICHITA, KS - Raj Goyle is now running a commercial and has held multiple news conferences falsely stating that Mike Pompeo has outsourced Kansas jobs to China. In his ad, Goyle states "...Mike Pompeo is president of a company that used to make oil field equipment here in Kansas and now does its manufacturing in places like China."

"Raj Goyle continues to tamper with the truth. He is intentionally misleading Kansas voters," said Mike Pompeo.

"Fact is, the company that I run today, Sentry International, was founded in Kansas in 2003 with zero employees. I was hired as the company's President in 2006, at that time the company had less than 10 employees. Today, the company employs approximately 100 hard working Americans in the United States and provides products and services to the oil and gas industries with customers all over the world."

"Not one single job was moved from Hesston, Kansas - or anywhere else in America - to China. I have more than doubled the number of jobs in Kansas," added Pompeo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-john-otto/for-goyle-outsourcing-is-_b_757554.html

What can we expect from a Tea Party take over of the Republican Party?

2010-09-10T08:50:00.001-05:00

FromWichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

So far polls are predicting that the Republican Party will win next November and they will win big. According to The Wichita Eagle;“November is looking bright for Republicans. According to a new Galluppoll, Republicans lead Democrats by 51 to 41 percent in a generic ballot of congressional voting preferences. The 10-point lead is the GOP’s largest so far this year. What’s even more favorable for the GOP is enthusiasm.”This is not surprising considering that jobs are the main issue and the economy is terrible. Ironically the economy went sour in the George Bush years, so it was not a question of Democrats causing joblessness and a shabby economy. It was a question of fixing it and they haven’t.We only have two political parties in this country so if voters are unhappy with one, they can vote in the other. If things don’t improve after that they switch back. It’s kind of like a yo-yo.If there is one big difference this year it is the Tea Party and its influence on the Republican Party. We know what to expect for the ordinary, traditional Republican candidates, but this new group of yahoos are from the wacky far-right, following such controversial figures as Sarah Palin.According to The Wichita Eagle, several long term Republican incumbents and some open seats are now filled with those who openly have aligned themselves with the Tea Party;“Is the tea party the new Republican Party?The network displayed its power in its biggest triumph of the election year: the toppling of Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's GOP primary. Political novice Joe Miller is the fifth tea party insurgent to win a GOP Senate nominating contest, an upset that few saw coming.With that outcome, the fledgling tea party coalition and voters who identify with its anti-tax, anti-spending sentiments proved that the tea party has taken hold in the Grand Old Party, unseating lawmakers, capturing nominations for open seats and forcing Republicans to recalibrate their campaign strategy and issues agenda.”Some of these people make Bob Dole and Ronald Reagan look like far left liberals. It’s as if they want to roll back every form of progressive change in this country since before Franklin D. Roosevelt. This is no exaggeration. Sharron Angle of Nevada, has proposed either doing away with or privatizing social security. She also favors cutting unemployment at a time when this country has a problem with its citizens finding work. Other Tea Party candidates, such as Ron Johnson, the Tea Party-backed Senate candidate challenging Russ Feingold in Wisconsin; and Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina have agreed with her.Cutting benefits to the jobless workers at a time like this is both irresponsible and dangerous. People who lose their jobs will lose their homes and a lot more. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Tea Party. I plan to write more on this in later blogs.

Where is Pompeo getting his support?

2010-08-13T00:53:00.003-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner-Steve Otto

Mistakes happen, but this one should be a wake up call to all those conservatives who don’t want to rile up the non-racist people and the moderate conservatives who are not out to stick racist labels on others. The Wichita Eagle has alerted the public that Congressional candidate Mike Pompeo, for the 4th district which has been vacated by Todd Tiahrt, had issued an apology to his opponent Raj Goyle for accidentally directing Pompeo supporters to a blog post assailing Goyle’s religion and ethnic heritage.
The offensive posting was brought to light in a story on the liberal Web site Daily Kos.;

“Like his comrad obama, he wouldn't give an answer, only that he was not a Christian. This guy could be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows, only God, the shadow and ...goyle knows! One thing's for sure ... goyle is not a Christian!
Since the 2008 election of the evil muslim communist USURPER, barack hussein obama, political candidate "BIRTH CERTIFICATE & RELIGION" information is now a vital part of the vetting/nomination/election process for any and all American citizens seeking political office.
Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another "turban topper" we don't need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!”

That brought the following apology from Pompeo:

“It was an honest mistake and our campaign truly regrets the error.
"The statements of the blogger in no way reflect my views. There is no place in campaigns or in public discourse for language of this nature. I have placed a personal call of apology and spoken to Rep. Goyle directly expressing our campaign's regret for the error," said Pompeo.
"I have spent a great deal of time visiting with the staff person who inadvertently posted this link. I am convinced there was no malice in his actions. He mistakenly posted a link to the wrong Google alert," Pompeo stated”.

I would not deny that it was an honest mistake. We can assume in the short run that Pompeo is not a complete idiot. On the other hand, who had the link to this site and why would any of his staff members even visit such sites while working for their candidate. It is possible for an honest person to come across such a statement without realizing what it will say. But this also raises the question of what kind of people Pompeo has working for him. Do some of them actually believe such trash? If he wants the support of any moderates he needs to make sure he is not recruiting the kind of right-wing crack-pots who rely on this type of misinformation.

From the Raj Goyle campain:

This is what "mikepompeo" considered a "good read":
"Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barrack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another 'turban topper' we don't need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!"
A "good read"? Disgusted?
CLICK HERE to support Raj and stop this hateful rhetoric right now!
Naturally, the media is hammering Raj’s opponent’s bigoted tweeting. Think Progress posted this story this morning:
Kansas GOP Candidate Removes Tweet Attacking Indian-American Challenger As An ‘Evil’ ‘Turban Topper’ — http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/12/turban-topper/
Other headlines are just as damning: Pompeo calls racist, bigoted screed "a good read"... Mike Pompeo sends bigoted attack to his supporters... Pompeo campaign accused of tweeting to bigoted screed...
This type of campaigning cannot be tolerated. We are asking you to help Raj right now by making a contribution (the maximum is $2400) online ASAP - $250, $175, or $75. Now more than ever, we need your help. It will mean a lot to Raj and our campaign as we work around the clock to combat this ugly rhetoric.
There is some good news: Realizing the magnitude of this kind of smear campaign, Raj's opponent called to apologize. They both reached an agreement that this kind of bigotry has no place in this campaign.
We fully intend to hold Mike Pompeo to that standard. Bigotry is not a Kansas value.

Kiel Brunner
Campaign Manager
PS - As I was writing to you the Huffington Post posted a story. Check it out:
Mike Pompeo, GOP Candidate, Apologizes For Tweet Attacking Challenger As An 'Evil' 'Turban Topper', Could-Be Muslim
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/mike-pompeo-gop-candidate_n_680612.html

Good riddance Mr. Tiahrt

2010-08-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

I’ve wondered if this day would ever come. We attacked Todd Tiahrt relentlessly for four years or more. He finally lost an election trying to move up. I could go over the reasons we attacked his so relentlessly and why we wanted to stop him so bad, but for know I need to change this site to a new direction. I will now go after any Kansas politicians that his ripping off the public for his own personal benefits. The Idiot Factor live on, but out sites are set on new politicians. And since Tiahrt got elected, there are plenty to go after.

Yes SOMETIMES Moran is different from Tiahrt

2010-08-02T15:38:00.001-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner - Steve Otto

There isn’t much difference between Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt, the two Republican rival in tomorrow’s primary for the US Senate seat in Kansas. And yet there seems to be a lot of people planning to go to the polls and vote for Moran simply because they don’t like Tiahrt. To say they “don’t like him” is often putting it mildly. Some say Tiahrt is a slimy and corrupt politician. Is Moran really any better or does he just look nicer?
There are a few differences. The Wichita Eagle has found in their voting record.
Here are a few;
“* Jan. 10, 2007: HR 2, a bill to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over a two-year period. It passed 315-116. Tiahrt: No. Moran: Yes.”
Tiahrt’s salary is about $100,000 a year. Then he has perks, such as taking his family to Hawaii and Europe for a tax-paid vacation. Then there’s left over campaign contributions. The guy rakes in money hand over fist but he doesn’t believe the poorest workers deserve to make a living wage? Talk about a hypocrite. I wonder how many of his constituents want to work for such a small pittance when he makes so much?.
“* Nov. 4, 2009: HR 3639, a bill that moved up implementation of a bill regulating credit card companies. Supporters said consumers needed the protections because the bill gave too much power to credit card providers; opponents said banks would not be able to meet the schedule and that consumers would be hurt in the long run. It passed 331-92. Tiahrt: No. Moran: Yes.”
Credit cards have fed on unwary consumers like sharks on a blood fest. Tiahrt was among those who originally supported all the new bankruptcy rules and laws giving the credit cards more control over people’s lives. Despite outrageous practices and mistreatment of consumers, the credit card companies can count on Tiahrt’s support. Tiahrt is a credit to organized white collar crime.
To be fair, Tiahrt did vote progressively a few times when Moran didn’t. Just click here for the whole article. Maybe Moran isn’t really that much better than Tiahrt.

Money buys Tiahrt's elections

2010-07-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

One of the problems with US democracy is the huge amount of corporate dollars that go to candidates who run for office. Those who take these large contributions are on TV all the time. Candidates who go for small contributions from the common people rarely get their message out, so they can’t win.Those who do win have an obligation to make sure the contribution of a major corporation gets a return on their investment. That amounts to buying a candidate’s votes on issues such as environmental regulations.In an article in The Wichita Eagle Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran have raised $18 million over their careers, and much of that is from big business. While they seem to stand the same on the issues, they have different business interests. Agricultural interests more heavily support Moran; aerospace companies and Koch Industries have heavily backed Tiahrt.A look at Tiahrt's backers gives us a look at his politics. Koch Industries has given five times more money to Tiahrt than Moran. It ranks at the top of the corporate contributors to Tiahrt since 1994 with $318,653.This has inspired Tiahrt to support Koch Industries right to pollute the environment and ignore scientific data that the company contributes to such problems as climate change.According to The Wichita Eagle; Koch is the second-highest corporate contributor to Moran's career at $61,800, followed by the American Farm Bureau ($55,999), the Farm Credit Council ($55,300) and the American Bankers Association, ($54,000).Heavy support from bankers means people who are having trouble financing their homes better not look to Moran for help. He’s on the banker’s side. He owes them.Tiahrt has drawn support from the defence industry. He is a member of a subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending. He became one of the subjects of an ethics probe over earmarks to campaign contributors. The House Ethics Committee cleared him. But that’s not the end of it. The case has been forwarded to the Justice Department by the Office of Congressional Ethics.This explains why Tiahrt is such a hawk when it came to supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as appropriating funds to such countries as the Philippines where there are insurgencies. Tiahrt is supporting his financial interests.Both candidates owe a lot to the corporations that support them. Although all the corporate donors told The Wichita Eagle they like the values of the candidates, what they really want is favors and votes to keep government regulations off their backs.

Senate candidate Todd Tiahrt doesn’t believe in constitutional rights

2010-07-18T23:28:00.002-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner-Steve Otto

A new ad by Todd Tiahrt makes it clear he does not have any faith in the constitution of this country. He has his favourite lackey Gracia Burnham, a self-serving hypocrite who has profited by her own husbands death, and who wrote a book on it called In the Presence of My Enemies about her time as a captive by Moslem rebels in the Philippines. She is trying to save Tiahrt’s slimy campaign for the senate seat vacated by Sam Brownback. Tiahrt has so for failed to get the support of thinking Kansans and has a poor showing in the polls. .
Burnham and Tiahrt seem to agree that constitutional rights for foreign terrorist or unnecessary. So why have them for American serial killers? Are they any less dangerous than terrorists?
The whole idea seems to be those terrorists are not Americans therefore they are not as human as those who just happen to live or be born here in the US. This is plain old racism once again.
Why have a constitution and its protections if we don’t use it. Is it OK to put an innocent, wrongly convicted man or woman to death just to feel safe? If we believe in the constitution we should follow it and not just when it serves our needs.

Racism rears its ugly head.

The Debate between Tiahrt and Moran is heating up

2010-07-08T00:11:00.002-05:00

The following is a fake ad paid for by no-one!

Jerry Moran:

Todd Tiahrt has lied about me. He said I’ve worked with politicians of the other party to get things done about jobs and healthcare. That’s a lie. I have blocked every attempt at Obama’s attempt to fix the economy.

Tiahrt accused me of caring about poor people, especially children, over the need for health care. Wrong again. I’ve supported the rights of insurance companies 100 % of the time.

Tiahrt accused me of concern over the environment. I’ve supported some of the dirtiest air and water in the country.

On immigration reform, I’m an old fashion bigot and don’t let Tiahrt tell you otherwise.

No one is a bigger-self-centered ass-hole than I am and that includes Todd Tiahrt.

When it comes to being a political asshole, I’m the bigger man. All Tiahrt can do is lie.

I’m Jerry Moran and I approve this message.

" I'm the sleaziest bastard and I can prove it."

Palin endorses the bimbo Tiahrt in Kansas

2010-07-01T15:38:00.001-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

Not long ago Sarah Palin endorsed Todd Tiahrt in his Republican Primary Senate bid against Jerry Moran. Tiahrt was quite proud and that is not surprising. Both Tiahrt and Palin rely on the appeal to the less educated people.
Their followers are largely the type of people who scoff at scientists who tell them about global warming and other environmental policy disasters. Tiahrt’s and Palin’s followers hide their heads in the sand. She even tried to blame the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on environmentalists.
Tiahrt’s latest ads show him bragging that he is getting heavy support from Tea Party members. By now many of us see the core of the Tea Party as fringe elements out of control. They talk of armed uprisings against Washington. They support agressive wars such as Iraq. They are against any health care reform that would require them to help the less fortunate. They have accused President Barack Obama of being a Communist, Nazi and of destroying this country. They are largely out for number 1 (themselves). That’s pretty much the Tiahrt philosophy, “take care of number one.”
Tiahrt has used hot button issues such as abortion, to get support of the religious right and collects record numbers campaign contributions. He has used his office for making himself rich, at the taxpayer’s expense. Palin has profited from the ignorance of a segment of the population and Tiahrt has relied on the same crowd. They are meant for each other.

Open letter from the Raj Goyle campaign

2010-06-28T23:20:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends,

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And on June 19th, 2010… poor Tony Hayward did, too. If you’re like Raj Goyle, you probably saw it on TV: Tony “I Want My Life Back” Hayward, the disgraced CEO of British Petroleum, blissfully racing his yacht last Saturday in the open waters of Great Britain. While here in America, millions of barrels of oil continued to spew from Hayward’s deepwater well into the closed waters of our Gulf of Mexico. When Raj saw Hayward helming his yacht, he went ballistic. Are you kidding me?!? Where’s the accountability? Who does this guy think he is? As the momentum continues building in Raj Goyle’s campaign for Congress, you won’t find the accountability with his Republican opponents here in the 4th District of Kansas. Not even close. Raj Goyle needs your help now to keep the momentum going! Donate $500, $250, or $100 online at

http://www.goyleforcongress.com/.

The GOP frontrunner is self-funding multi-millionaire oil tycoon Wink Hartman. Sailing just behind Hartman is Club for Growth favorite Mike Pompeo. You don’t hear a peep out of either of them. Not when Tony Hayward went yachting. Or when Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas issued his nationally-televised apology to the BP CEO earlier last week. There isn’t a single Kansan who believes apologies are in order for Hayward and BP as they wreak havoc on America’s economy. So the silence from Hartman and Pompeo is deafening… but it shouldn’t be surprising. Hartman made his multi-millions as an oil company CEO. Now Republican Wink Hartman is using those millions to run for Congress – when he isn’t busy flying private planes back and forth to his residence in Florida, of course. Hartman probably saw Hayward on TV and got a bad case of yacht envy. And GOPer Mike Pompeo? Like you read, he’s backed by the Club for Growth – a shadowy Washington special interest group, funded by Wall Street bankers and their lobbyists who might as well call themselves the Club for Greed. If Hartman or Pompeo get any wind in their sails, they’ll steer Congress the exact same direction guys like Tony Hayward poster boy. Go to

www.goyleforcongress.com

and donate ASAP before our fundraising deadline of June 30th – every contribution – $500, $250, $100 or even $50 – will go toward demanding accountability in are headed. Raj Goyle won’t let that happen. But Raj needs your help right now to beat the multi-millionaire oil tycoon and “Club for Greed” Washington! Sincerely,

Kiel Brunner

Campaign Manager

Record earmarks and related campaign contributions for Tiahrt

2010-06-22T20:24:00.003-05:00

From
Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

For years I’ve kept track of US Representative Todd Tiahrt, Republican from Kansas, and his finances. The fact that he is conservative and supported by the religious right is not as important as the contention that he has used his office for his own personal gain.
It’s not really exaggerating to say that he seems to vote in favor of businesses that have contributed heavily to his re-election campaigns. He makes good money and has wonderful perks. For example, he spends taxpayer’s money to fund vacations for him and his family to Hawaii and Europe. He can justify taking the trips by attending business meetings by aircraft companies. But is he justified in taking his wife and kids at the taxpayer’s expense?
Then there is Koch industry. He gets more money from them than any other politician. In return he opposes any regulations on pollution that Koch might produce. Tiahrt has been given a zero by almost every serious environmental group.
Other bloggers have also noted Tiahrt’s contributions. According to Forward Kansas
Tiahrt raised roughly $19,750 from PMA’s PAC and employees from 2003 through 2008, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, and According to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly and Taxpayers for Common Sense, Tiahrt secured $5 million in earmarks to PMA clients in 2007, and with others helped secure $2 million.
However the latest news for Tiahrt comes from Steve Kraske, writing for the Kansas City Star. He reports that Tiahrt helped dole out nearly $24 million in earmarks this year to private companies, school districts and universities in Kansas.
He also writes “A new study has found that individuals and political committees tied to those special-interest groups made more than $46,000 in campaign donations to Tiahrt — the second-highest total among all members of Congress.”
"It's related to building the economy in Kansas," Tiahrt said of earmarks, which call for federal money to be spent on specific projects, usually in a lawmaker's home district. "I feel like the people of Kansas sent me to Washington to try to do something about their problems. One of them is the tough economy."
As the August 3 primary nears, Tiahrt’s earmarks are becoming a real liability in his Senate race against US Representative Jerry Moran. Moran is making this a major issue of his campaign.

Brownback investigated by Congressional Ethics

2010-06-17T15:46:00.002-05:00

As the primary elections grow closer, it appears we may lose Todd Tiahrt. But not to worry. I will simply change the name of this site a little and cover the other idiot politicians conservative people keep electing to miss-represent us.

Another Kansas Republican is under investigation for ethics violations. He may be running for governor of Kansas, but Senator Sam Brownback, Republican, is being investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics for possibly receiving an improper gift in the form of below-market rent during his stay in the C-Street House.
The C-Street House is already a controversy in itself. It is infamous for being headquarters to an ultra-secret society of high powered politicians calling themselves “The Family”. C-Street recently made national news for its use of Congressional interns as servants and its relationship to admitted adulterers Senator John Ensign, Republican from Nevada and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Republican.
According to the Associated Press;

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - CREW for short - cites news reports that say House members and some senators have paid below-market rents to live in a house on C Street SE that is owned by a Christian prayer group known as the Fellowship. CREW wants the House and Senate ethics committees to determine whether the monthly rent, reported to be around $950, is below the market value. If so, CREW says, the discount could amount to an illegal gift.

Other Kansas politicians have also stayed there including Todd Tiahrt who gave examples of men who he believed understood the way power should be wielded, (Adolf ) Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama bin Laden and (VI)Lenin. Also Brownback has been called into question over his relationship with Lou Engle, a homophobic extremist who in 1999 applauded Uganda’s President Yowerie Museveni when he declared that Uganda’s homosexuals should be rounded up and imprisoned. Engle is the founder of TheCall and he is known for his antigay, sexual purity obsessed mass prayer rallies.
Once again we see the moral bankruptcy of the Republican Party and their hypocritical “family values.”

Elections are the same all over

2010-06-08T13:16:00.002-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner:

In Kansas, our primary is not until August. But the political ads are popping up everywhere. The amazing this is how much they all sound alike:
“I’m the pro-life pro-family candidate.” “I’m a leading conservative in the senate (or house).” “Congress is out of touch with the American people.” “I plan to take back our government.”
So who isn’t all of those things? Nothing they have said is new. They all claim to be open to new ideas. Yet they campaign on old ideas. And who are they taking the government back for?
A lot of people are already getting sick of seeing Wink Hartman campaign TV Ads. The ads run every hour on most TV stations, Hartman tries hard to look like a serious business leader who is “just like you” and wants common sense solutions to the problems in Washington. “I’m not a career politician,” he said in a recent ad.Some simple questions come to mind with this guy immediately. How many of us have an arena named after us? Hartman does. Were is all that money coming from for all of those ads? The TV is saturated with them and they are not cheap. If he is against spending money so much, why is he spending an exorbitant amount for these ads? If he’s not a career politician why is he paying more in advertising than this job will pay him?
These politicians just assume we are all pro-life. But at a gathered for a memorial for abortion Dr. George Tiller on Memorial Day, Kari Ann Rinker, had a lot to say in favour of legal abortions.“This is not just a choice issue,” Rinker said. “This is a medical issue, an issue of women’s safety. It is a need.”
The real wild card in all of this is the Tea Party. What do they really stand for? There members have pushed for everything from an armed insurrection to ending the department of education and ending social security. Is all of this really in the best interest of the American people?
Rep. Todd Tiahrt was the nimble brain representative of the US House to introduce Sarah Palin to a Wichita crowd a few months ago. She is known for her slogan “drill baby drill,” as a cry for deregulating the drilling of off shore oil wells. After the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, who takes such a stance serious today?

The Tiahrt and Moran campaign—what’s the difference?

2010-05-30T01:33:00.002-05:00

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner

What do two candidates for the Republican nomination do to win over voters when their opponent is really selling the same old slop? They nit pick over meaningless fodder such as who raised taxes, or who raised them the most, or who saved voters the most on their taxes. This has been the case with the campaign between Rep. Todd Tiahrt and Rep. Jerry Moran, in their bid for Republican nominee to replace U.S. Senator Sam Brownback.
According to The Wichita Eagle:

Senate candidate Todd Tiahrt's campaign accused fellow Kansas Republican hopeful Jerry Moran on Wednesday of trying to hide past votes to raise taxes, while Moran's campaign labeled Tiahrt's tactics as desperate.
The two congressmen sparred over a television ad from Tiahrt attacking Moran on tax votes. The ad began airing Tuesday in what appeared to be a light rotation in the Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City markets.
Both Tiahrt and Moran have portrayed themselves as fiscal conservatives, favoring lower taxes and less spending by the federal government. They're vying for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican who's running for governor. The primary is Aug. 3.

The reality is that these are pro-business politicians who will use their seat to vote against government regulations and to make sure their business friends get everything they want. They don’t have much to offer the public other than lowering taxes a tiny amount to convince gullible voters that they are trying to save them money and make their lives easier.
As for hot button issues such as abortion, gay marriage and gun control, there positions are the same. Therefore it is important for them to find ways to look different from each other and provide a contrast.
There really isn’t much difference between Tiahrt and Moran. Kansas Republicans all say about the same thing and they haven’t had any candidates with new ideas for a long time. It’s the same old same old.

It is my belief that Moran is not as sleazy and has more credibility as an honest politician, but even that isn’t really much.

Tiahrt and Moran argue polls, ignore substance

2010-05-23T22:57:00.001-05:00

Once again The Wichita Eagle presents both Rep. Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran, arguing about polling.

Moran’s campaign released a poll last week showing him leading Tiahrt by 26 points. Tiahrt’s campaign responded that the poll wasn’t legitimate. “We have known from multiple reports that the Moran campaign has been conducting a push poll,”

They argue who is the most conservative and who is ahead in the polls, but we can be assured they will not argue anything of substance. Who gets the most money from Kock Industries? Where do their campaign contributions come from and who how much will they owe all of these people before they can spend any time worrying about their constituents? But don’t look for answers. Just expect a lot of meaningless commercials and the usual campaign rhetoric. Also there will be the usual “bandwagon,” “stacked deck” “just plain folks” and other obvious forms of propaganda.

Yes we are already sick of Wink Hartman ads

2010-05-08T16:39:00.001-05:00

A lot of people are already getting sick of seeing Wink Hartman campaign TV Ads. Just recently the PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net posted an article; “Anyone Else Sick of the Wink Hartman Campaign Ads?”

The answer for a lot of us is YES. The ads run every hour on most TV stations and they are designed to drive a deep divide between the conservative Republican majority and the liberal minority.

Wink tries hard to look like a serious business leader who is “just like you” and wants common sense solutions to the problems in Washington. “I’m not a career politicians,” he said in recent ad.
Some simple questions come to mind with this guy immediately. How many of us have an arena named after us. Hartman does. Were is all the money coming from for all of those ads. The TV is saturated with them and they are not cheap. If he is against spending money so much, why is he spending an exorbitant amount for these ads?
Then there is the message itself. There is nothing new about it. Anyone who is over 25 has heard this all before. It’s straight off the Republican Party’s platform. What’s most interesting is his insistence that all the government had to do was get off the backs of small businesses and the economy would be up and running by now.
While many of us would agree that small businesses are not treated well in these modern times, it is extremely simplistic to claim that the present Democratic government (“all those liberals who are ruining the country”) created the economic slump (remember it started during George W. Bush’s administration) and the simple solution is to free up small businesses and quit spending money. It’s all so simple. It’s also a bunch of crap. Liberals have run the country before and they have run it during times of prosperity. Remember the John F. Kennedy era? Hartman acts as if this is the first time a liberal has ever been in the White House. None of these conservatives will admit that our bloated military budget simply never gets discussed when it comes to tax, spend and borrowing by the government.
No serious political scientist is going to believe that one simple solution can end a very complicated economic recession. It’s just not that simple to the more educated voter.
Hartman is trying to fill the seat vacated by Todd Tiahrt. Given that religious fundamentalists have kept him in office all these years, even though he is one of Kansas’ most corrupted politician, shows that Hartman has a winning chance.
For those of us who see through his phoney populism, it is important for us to ask who is paying for all these ads and who is this man going to really represent besides his constituents. Will he just sell his votes to the highest bidder as Tiahrt did? This is the question we need to keep raising.

Tiahrt introduced Sarah Palin

2010-05-03T13:24:00.002-05:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt was the nimble brain representative of the US House to introduce Sarah Palin Sunday night. She is quite popular with the poorly educated. She drew a crowd of several thousand Sunday Night, but never filled the new stadium or even came close.
The event was a fundraiser for the Bethel Life School associated with the fundamentalist preacher of hate Terry Fox. “Palin also paid tribute to Kansas political leaders Dwight Eisenhower, Bob Dole and Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, who introduced her. Pat Boone played Tiahrt up pointing out he’s won 8 terms, even though he didn’t mention that the first few were by the skin of his teeth. Boone said that Tiahrt went to college and studied aircraft. He should have spent some of his time learning about politics, since he isn’t fit for the job.
Tiahrt has aligned himself with one of the most conservative simpletons on the campaign trail in years. Hopefully he will lose his bid for Senate and we will be rid of him for good.

We finally have an ethics probe on the lawmakers at the C Street House

2010-04-14T23:36:00.003-05:00

Todd Tiahrt was one of many Kansas lawmakers who stayed at the C Street house. According to an Associate Press Update by Eyewitness News:

“Ethics Probe Asked on Lawmakers at C Street House

More from Kim Wilhelm
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By The Associated Press/Updated by Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON (AP) - A government watchdog group says it has filed ethics complaints against lawmakers who have rented rooms in a controversial Capitol Hill townhouse.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - CREW for short - cites news reports that say House members and some senators have paid below-market rents to live in a house on C Street SE that is owned by a Christian prayer group known as the Fellowship. CREW wants the House and Senate ethics committees to determine whether the monthly rent, reported to be around $950, is below the market value. If so, CREW says, the discount could amount to an illegal gift.
A spokesman for one resident of the house named in CREW's complaint, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, said the rent covers a furnished room and shared bathroom. It does not include meals, housekeeping in his room or parking and is therefore in line with market prices.”

Some lawmakers named in the complaint did not respond to calls for comment, including Republican Sens. Sam Brownback, and Rep. Jerry Moran, R, both of Kansas.Earlier this week another group called Clergy VOICE asked the IRS to investigate the tax implications of accepting lodging at the C Street house.
Here's a statement from Brownback spokesperson Brian Hart:

"Brownback lives with his wife and kids in Topeka and commutes to Washington to vote in the Senate. When he is in DC, he stays at a condo that he bought in 2003. He stayed in the group house for less than a year several years ago after his place burned down and before he found his current apartment. The complaint is baseless, a quick Craigslist search shows that the rent is on par with the market." – Brian Hart

Moran spokesperson Lindsey Trent sent Eyewitness News the following response.
"Congressman Moran lives in Hays, Kansas with his family and commutes to Washington DC during the week. When he must be in Washington, where he advocates for common sense Kansas principles, he rents a small room in a house near his office, paying market rent." - Lindsey Trent.

Todd Tiahrt admires Pol Pot

2010-04-05T12:06:00.003-05:00

Although the last post was my personal ad for my book, this is a reminder that Todd Tiahrt has taken an interest of such men as Pol Pot and their ability to us political power;

"The Rachel Maddow Show: Christian Conservatism's Shadowy Secret Society"

By Heather Friday

I was listening to the Thom Hartmann show the other day, and Thom was interviewing an author that caught my attention. Little wonder since the topic was "Is there a secret society of Christian crazies and is Mark Sanford a member?".
That author was Jeff Sharlet and after listening to to Hartmann interview, I wondered if anyone in the main stream media would put him on the air. Of course, Rachel Maddow, who seems to be getting all of the best guests lately-- or at least when the "news" hasn't been canceled all week for Michael Jackson's death and she mysteriously ends up taking vacation the same week-- ended up being the first one to have him on.
Sharlet is the author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. Scary, scary stuff for any of us that don't like the idea of our government being run by creepy, extremist, right wing Christain fundamentalists.
Sharlet also wrote a piece for Rolling Stone on Sam Brownback which is well worth the read back in 2006 titled God's Senator: Who would Jesus vote for? Meet Sam Brownback.
Maddow: As part of the research for the book, Jeff lived among the family and saw many of its actions first hand. [...] What is C-Street? I know it's a house on C Street in Washington. How is it part of the family?
Sharlet: Well, the C-Street house is actually a former convent and now it's registered as a church and it's run by The Family and used by them to provide housing for six to eight congressmen at any given time, and to provide spiritual counseling for these congressmen.
Which all sounds fine so far, but what makes it a little bit different than other Christian conservative organizations, two things, you said that it's secretive. Indeed the leader of the group describes, he says, the more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence it will have. And the other things is the nature of the influence they want to have.
I got to sit in on one of these spiritual counseling sessions between the leader of the family and Congressman Todd Tiahrt when I visited the C-Street House, I actually met Sen. Ensign there. As the leader of The Family was counseling Congressman Tiahrt, he had this very standard issue, bill of issues related to the Christian right. He said you've got to have a bigger vision of what we're talking about here. He called it Jesus plus nothing.
He said it's sort of a totalitarian idea of Christianity and he gave as examples men who he believed understood the way power should be wielded. He actually gave as examples, Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama bin Laden and Lenin.
Maddow: Wow. When I read your book, The Family, when it first came out in hardback, my notes on um, I write notes in the flyleaf about what I was thinking about. And my notes about it, I went back and looked, were that it was essentially to promote, it saw its role as promoting American power, world wide, unfettered capitalism with no unions, no programs to help poor people, all with this idea that godly powerful rich men should get as many resources as possible personally, and they should just privately help everyone else. That is the impression that I was left with. Was I close?
Sharlet: That's dead on the money. The family began, it's the oldest Christian conservative organization in Washington and it goes back seventy years. And the founder believed that god gave him a new revelation saying that Christianity had gotten it wrong for two thousand years and that what most people think of as Christianity, as being about, you know, helping the weak and the poor and the meek and the down and out, he believes god came to him one night in April in 1935 and said what Christianity should really be about is building more power for the already powerful. And that these powerful men who were chosen by god can then if they want to dispense blessings to the rest of us, through a kind of trickle-down fundamentalism.
Maddow: Well do you see a connection between that large sort of power theology and the fact that neither John Ensign or Mark Sanford for that matter, who's also affiliated with the group, aren't quitting despite these scandals. Is there something about this type of theology that tells these guys, hey don't worry about the affair, you know, big picture, you're good, stay where you are, it's important for you to stay in power?
Sharlet: Yeah, no, I think actually Gov. Sanford made it very clear when he cited King David as an example of the reason why he wasn't going to be resigning office and that struck a bell with me because I, the King David story, the core teaching of The Family, when I first heard it, I was living with The Family.

Summer read—I Am Pol Pot

2010-04-05T11:23:00.002-05:00

Summer is coming and that means summer reading….I Am Pol Pot….
We all know what the press reported about the Communist Revolution in Cambodia, but what did things look like from the inside? Finally there is a story that gives the reader a feel for those who made up the Communist Party of Kampuchea. This is a fictional biography tries to interpret Pol Pot and see how things may have looked to the rulers who planned and executed Democratic Kampuchea in what is now Cambodia. The book contains quotes from the Black Papers, one of the few books ever released by Democratic Kampuchea. It is also based on many of the records from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge).

This book can be ordered from Amazon.com. Just click on Amazon.com to order or view more of the book.

Moran leads Tiahrt in polls—will we finally be rid of that parasite?

2010-04-03T01:57:00.000-05:00

According to New Appeal to Reason:

Things getting worse for Tiahrt
Swing State Project reports
Things have gotten a little worse for Todd Tiahrt in his race against Jerry Moran in the GOP primary to succeed outgoing Sen. Sam Brownback: SUSA now shows Moran up 42-32. Two months ago, Moran led by seven points - and by just three two months before that. The Kansas primary is not until August 3rd, so Tiahrt still has time, but he doesn't seem to be gaining much traction.

But things are looking up for the people of Kansas. This opportunist, who has taken the people of Kansas for all the money he can get may finally be out of a government job. It’s a few months before the August primary, but at least we have some hope that an actual politician will replace this guy. If that happens I will change the name of this blog and focus on other cretins who get elected to serve in Kansas.

Imagine- a Kansas without Tiahrt

If Tiahrt loses--What a Beautiful World

The Times they are a changing--Tiahrt’s time is over

Tiahrt raises expenses $1 million

2010-04-01T12:29:00.003-05:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt is spending about $ a million for five people to answer phones this year. At a time when Republicans complain that the Democrats are spending us into debt, Tiahrt is increasing his expenses. He then tried to blame it on Obama, because he gets more phone calls.

According to The Wichita Eagle and The Huffington Post:

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), a loud critic of government spending, has an explanation for the $1 million his office cost taxpayers last year: It's President Obama's fault.
Tiahrt's office payroll jumped 22 percent, or $196,000, in 2009, the Wichita Eagle reports. "We saw that spike with the election of President Obama," Tiahrt's spokesman said. "We had to employ a number of people to answer phone calls."
Maybe so, but the bulk of that extra money went to five people, all of whom are also working on and receiving money from Tiahrt's Senate campaign. Four of those five are members of his "campaign leadership team."

Health care reform-A kick in the teeth for Tiahrt

2010-03-21T23:44:00.002-05:00

Health care reform-A kick in the teeth for Tiahrt

HA HA HA!
HO HO HO!
HE HE HE!

Tiahrt and the Tea Baggers

2010-03-19T23:43:00.002-05:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, as with many Kansas Republicans, is doing all he can to win over the Tea Bag movement.

According to The Wichita Eagle:

Posted on Sat, Feb. 20, 2010
“Tea party event draws candidates, voters
BY DEB GRUVER
Barry Cole is 30 years old and says he's never voted because he's never found a candidate in whom he could believe.
He came to Saturday's "Winter Rally 2010," sponsored by Kansans for Liberty, to try to change that, he said.
As supporters of the tea party milled about Century II's Exhibition Hall, Cole stood with some friends and took it all in.
Those running to fill Rep. Todd Tiahrt's seat in Congress set up booths inside Century II, hoping to sway voters to their side. Tiahrt, a Republican from Goddard, and Rep. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Hays, both of whom are vying for a seat in the Senate, made brief presentations during the event.”

Then there is Tiahrt’s role in the event:

”Tiahrt took the stage first and said he wants a "limited Constitutional form of government, and I'm willing to fight for it.”
He said government bailouts should end, leading a "no more bailouts" chant with the crowd.
"When you get a tax rebate, do you consider that a bailout?" he asked the crowd, answering, "No, that's you're own money."

What kind of people are in the Tea Party movement? Here some activist confront a protester with Parkinson’s disease.

Will Tiahrt finally get his tanker deal?

2010-03-19T23:40:00.002-05:00

Finally after years of doing nothing for his district other than take gifts, contributions and perks for his office, Tiahrt may finally get his tanker deal. Not because of his hard lobbying, but because all the competitors are loosing interest in the project.

According to The Wichita Eagle:

“Northrop won't offer tanker bid
Northrop's tanker is based on the Airbus A330 commercial airliner. Boeing said last week that it will offer a tanker based on the 767.
EADS North America chairman Ralph Crosby called the Air Force preference for a smaller tanker "particularly disappointing given that the Air Force previously selected the A330-based KC-45 because of its added capability, lower risk and best value."
"They really wanted to bid," said Lexington Institute defense analyst Loren Thompson.
But after spending $200 million preparing its bids, Northrop concluded it wouldn't make money off the tanker competition, Thompson said.”

For the rest click here.

The Tiahrt Amendment violates the 10th amendment

2010-03-09T09:32:00.001-06:00

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Why the Tiahrt Amendment’s Ban on the Admissibility of ATF Trace Data in State Court Actions Violates the Commerce Clause and the Tenth Amendment

Colin Miller

John Marshall Law SchoolMarch 2, 2010Abstract:
The Tiahrt Amendment provides in relevant part that ATF trace data "shall be inadmissible in evidence, and shall not be used, relied on, or disclosed in any manner, nor shall testimony or other evidence be permitted based on the data, in a civil action in any State (including the District of Columbia) or Federal court..." This Amendment has hamstrung cities and localities which, in an effort to combat crime with civil litigation, have brought actions against the gun industry sounding in public nuisance, with trace data being crucial to the success of such actions. Because this Amendment regulates state as well as federal court proceedings, it is defensible, if at all, under Congress’ Commerce Clause power. President Obama backed away from a campaign promise to repeal the Amendment, but the Amendment appears vulnerable to constitutional attack. In United States v. Lopez, the Supreme Court found that the Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) of 1990 exceeded Congress' Commerce Clause power because it was directed at criminal conduct, not commerce, and in Printz v. United States, it found that interim provisions in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act violated the Tenth Amendment because they purported to direct state executive officers to participate in the administration of a federally enacted regulatory scheme. This article argues that the state court evidentiary provisions on the Tiahrt Amendment are not meaningfully different from the GFSZA and the interim Brady provisions, rendering them similarly indefensible under the Commerce Clause and the Tenth Amendment.

For more click here.

Raj Goyle to run for Tiahrt’s old seat

2010-03-09T09:29:00.001-06:00

Raj Goyle is running for the House seat that Todd Tiahrt will give up to run for senate. If we are lucky, Tiahrt will be voted out in the primary and maybe we will see the last of him. Tiahrt can always make money as a snake oil salesman. He’s a terrific liar and scam artist.
Goyle came to Wichita Saturday night for a fundraiser,
“I was told ‘You can promise not to take gifts, but you know you will,” Goyle said. “I haven’t. I am the only congressman that has not taken any gifts.”
If true, he is the exact opposite of Tiahrt. Tiahrt never met a gift or perk he didn’t like.
More than 50 people where there for a fund raiser.

Tiahrt rips Obama for trying to fix the economy, which he hopes will fail

2010-02-21T22:30:00.003-06:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt is among those who have jumped the Republican Herbert Hoover bandwagon on doing nothing about he economy and tearing into President Barack Obama for trying to fix it.
According to The Wichita Eagle:

“President Obama’s year-old economic stimulus package has created one industry — that of stimulus criticism, noted Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. He counted Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, among those “who have used the measure to build an assembly line of press releases,” quoting a Tiahrt release declaring that “the only thing the Obama stimulus plan has accomplished is building a bigger government.”

Of course Tiahrt has no plan to fix joblessness and homelessness himself. He and the other Republicans are taking a delight in grid-locking congress and keeping the new president from getting anything done at all. Their plan seems to be to keep the president lock in a position where he can accomplish nothing….that is to say, no health reform, no success on fixing the economy, no action of any kind to fix the problems we are in. They will keep the white house impotent until the next presidential elections, in which the figure to win by default,
The have no program or plan of their own to fix the economy. That doesn’t matter. They seem to take it for granted that people will vote out a president that they have rendered ineffective. They have offered nothing new themselves. They strictly tear down what any one else tries to do and they blather on about budget deficits that our children will inherit. They are following the likes of Herbert Hoover, who was voted out of office for doing nothing about the economy and showing indifference to the poor. He was voted out and his philosophy was completely discredited. And strangely enough today’s Republicans think they can win with this philosophy. Given their success at convincing people there is no global warming, this latest strategy is no surprise. The evidence for that phenomenon, global warming, is overwhelming and yet these politicians and their black-shirts, the Tea Baggers, have convinced people not to worry that polar ice caps are melting.

Herbert Hoover and Tiahrt- Prosperity is just around the corner—just trust us.

Palin helps Tiahrt encourage the idiot right

2010-02-08T23:14:00.002-06:00

Sarah Palin is coming to Wichita May 2 as a fundraiser for Bethel Life School, a Christian school serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. She will also be welcomed by most of Wichita’s Republican Party and their Pachyderm Club.There’s no doubt that Palin has her supporters here in Kansas. But this is the same state that gave us the simpleton-snake-oil-salesman US Representative Todd Tiahrt. There seems to be a stark resemblance between the two. Both seem to do well with the Christian right and their religious cults. There also seems to be a new breed of Republicans that are anti-intellectual. If scientists say the artic poles are melting due to global warming, these simpletons stand out with their Tea Party Legions and yell “Global Warming is a scam.” They also insist that all facets of evolution are unscientific and against the Bible.
These are the minions that clamour to see Sarah “Barbie Bimbo” Palin. She knew nothing of foreign affairs when she ran for office as vice president against the Barrack Obama Team. She’s run a state with a very small population. She is not even governor material much less presidential material. Her quippy sound bites such as comparing a soccer mom to a pit bull, are designed for that “I’m just like you” vote. Unfortunately those like her just aren’t too well educated or smart.The press has done its best to make a celebrity of this dumb-as-they-come clueless Barbie doll.
From The Wichita Eagle:

“Palin became an overnight political celebrity when presidential candidate and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chose her as his vice presidential running mate in 2008.Since then, she's resigned her Alaska governorship and has begun to write, speak and provide commentary on the Fox News Channel.Her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," became an instant bestseller when it hit the shelves in November.Palin's conservative views, perky good looks and folksy manner have made her a hero to Republican conservatives and put her on the short list of possible nominees to challenge President Obama in 2012.”

Having her for president would be like having George W. Bush all over again. His simple logic got us in two wars and drove the economy in the ground. There is plenty more damage for this buffoon if she gets into office to finish Bush’s work.Palin has also been to Salina, KS, just recently.

Tiahrt responds to the President--who's the dummy?

2010-01-27T22:59:00.002-06:00

In his response to President Barrack Obama’s speech we see once again the blaitent ignorance Rep. Todd Tiahrt has for his attention to history.
From KSN News:

"Rep. Todd Tiahrt's Response:

"I appreciate President Obama’s desire to freeze discretionary spending—but he’s a year too late," said Tiahrt. "Discretionary spending went up by 57 percent last year—a historical all-time high. President Obama has spent more taxpayer dollars in his first year than any other president in the history of our nation. He has been a national spokesman for multi-billion dollar bailouts, lavish stimulus spending programs, enormous omnibus bills and hyper-inflated discretionary budgets.”

Obama was handed a record deficit handed to him by his predecessor President George Bush, upon taking office. Tiahrt has never cracked a history book, so he is unaware that his former Republicans, including Ronald Reagan have run huge debts to finance bloated military budgets. Of course Tiahrt doesn’t have time to check out the facts before he makes baseless accusations.

Another gaff by the idiot Tiahrt:

"We need bold leadership to cut spending throughout the budget not just around the edges. We do not need more spending programs patterned after other Democratic failures such as the healthcare takeover plan, cap and tax and a rumored second stimulus bill. These are the terrible ideas that are holding our economy back and keeping small businesses from expanding and creating new jobs.”

Again he doesn’t mention that President Bill Clinton balanced the budget and no Republican since Ronald Reagan has been able to do that. DUUU!!
Tiahrt goes on with the usual clap trap about stimulus spending. As usual, his final comments are just hollow blather with the delusion that he speaks for all of those who are unfortunate enough to live in his district:

"The president addressed numerous issues tonight. However, the Kansans I’ve talked with across the state have lost hope in the lofty speeches that are shallow on real solutions that will help create jobs and get people back to work. Washington needs to start paying attention to what hard-working Americans are going through and quickly put in place free-market principles to grow our economy from the ground up rather than the government down."

He rarely talks to the Kansans in Wichita. He knows better.

Yes, He's a wooden dummy!

Tiahrt’s greed and lack of scruples has him under investigation

2010-01-18T14:25:00.001-06:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt has been taking bribes in the form of campaign contributions and other activities to “feather his own nest” for a long time. Now it is catching up to him

The following is from Prime Buzz:

Tiahrt, Murtha, 5 others under scrutiny by ethics investigators
Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt is one Congressman Todd Tiahrtof seven members of a powerful House subcommittee under investigation for ties to an influential lobbying firm.
Ethics investigators are said to be looking at the ties between campaign contributions and earmarks that benefit clients of the lobbying firm, the PMA Group.
The subcommittee in question controls spending by the Pentagon.
The probe includes a review of the actions of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, John P. Murtha, a Pennsylvian Democrat long criticized for his devotion to earmarks and pork-barrel spending.
Click here to see the rest.

Even the NRA opposes Tiahrt’s Pro-guns amendment

2010-01-04T22:38:00.001-06:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt has had to pro-criminal gun policy to, of all people, the National Rifle Association.

According to The Wichita Eagle:

The dispute continues about whether the Tiahrt amendment does or doesn’t restrict police access to gun trace data. A Washington Post commentary, excerpted on this blog, reported that 69 percent of National Rifle Association members polled had a problem with the Tiahrt amendment’s restrictions. The office of Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, responded that the Tiahrt amendment law “explicitly ensures that no restrictions are imposed on the police’s ability to use the data for criminal investigations.”

More on Tiaht’s C Street Scandal

2009-12-10T22:38:00.001-06:00

More news on the C Street house which Rep. Todd Tiahrt lives in and takes part in.

From The Figtin’ Cock Flyer:

The Kansas 'Christian mafia' reaches beyond C Street
Recent rulings have determined that the notorious residence in Washington DC could no longer be considered a tax-exempt "church." There are further updates to the story according to a recorded conversation with Mr. Sharlet, that Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Ks.) still resides there, and other developments, as well, that guarantees interesting listening for Kansans who want to know what their elected officials are doing.Among the Christian fundamentalist elite, including most from the Kansas congressional delegation, they have referred to themselves, arrogantly, as the "Christian mafia" a secretive organization that for more than a half century has reached into Congress and across the world.More than a infamous large townhouse on C Street, the network has a history of bloody relationships involving dictatorships, some cultivated by prominent Kansas officials.From the book description:

“Of all the important studies of the American right, The Family is undoubtedly the most eloquent. It is also quite possibly the most terrifying.”–Thomas Frank, New York Times bestselling author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?

Tiahrt claims Moran is a communist

2009-11-19T10:43:00.003-06:00

This charge sets a new low for Rep. Todd Tiahrt. He actually claims that Rep. Jerry Moran, his opponent in this upcoming bid for re-election, is backed by the Communist Party, USA. That party said on its website that it does not endorse candidates.

From The Wichita Eagle:

The Jerry Moran campaign is seeing red over an e-mail from Senate rival Todd Tiahrt's campaign that implies Moran is a fellow traveler of the Communist Party.
The e-mail subject line asserts — falsely — that Moran has been endorsed by the Communist Party USA.
"The assertion that Jerry Moran would be affiliated with communists is so outlandish, only a desperate campaign like Todd Tiahrt's would make such an assertion," said Moran campaign spokesman Aaron Trost. "It's a desperate public statement by a campaign that's still trying to find a message."
Tiahrt spokeswoman Michelle Schroeder said the e-mail was sent to select supporters to remind them of "the good conservatives who support Todd and Todd's campaign."
Moran, who represents Kansas' 1st District in Congress, and Tiahrt, who represents the 4th District, are locked in a struggle for their party's nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sam Brownback, who is running for governor.

How do you besmirch a corrupt politician?

2009-11-08T17:20:00.003-06:00

According to The Wichita Eagle:

“My name has been besmirched.” — Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, in Pittsburg, saying an earmarks-related ethics probe was started by an anonymous accusation.

Besmirched after an anonymous accusation? What he really means is ‘who ratted me out.’ Tiahrt has no ethics. He skirts the election finance and lobbying laws to make a bundle off his office. He’s in it for himself. What is the probability that he’s innocent? I would guess slim to none. There’s no way to besmirch a politician as corrupted as Tiahrt is.

Tiahrt struggles to get glory for jobs he didn’t get

2009-10-20T00:23:00.001-05:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt keeps trying to get a tanker deal, to bring jobs to Wichita. He’s trying to get elected as a senator this time around, so he needs all the credit he can take, even when he doesn’t deserve it. In a recent article in The Wichita Eagle, he spoke at a ribbon cutting ceremony:

“931st Air Refueling wing gets new maintenance complex

BY BECCY TANNER

The Wichita Eagle

A renovated building complex, more people, funding and resources were reason enough to celebrate Sunday at McConnell Air Force Base.

U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt helped commemorate the new 931st Air Refueling Group's maintenance complex during a ribbon-cutting Sunday afternoon.”

And in this time of economic downturn, when thousands look for work, how many jobs does the Eagle report this will bring:

“The new jobs include 130 full-time and more than 274 part-time positions.”

That’s not a whole lot, But Tiahrt needs to show some success for an office he has held for years, doing nothing for the working people and making a bundle of loot off of businesses he supports.

Moran gives Tiahrt a run for his money

2009-10-20T00:18:00.001-05:00

Rep. Jerry Moran’s policies aren’t that different from Rep. Todd Tiahrt’s, but the two men are different. Tiahrt is so corrupt he has made a mockery of the office he holds. He has taken every advantage, every perk, and every chance to make extra money for himself. He sells his votes to the highest bidder. He’s not the only corrupt sleaze-bag in office, but his corruption is just too brazen to be ignored.

Moran seems to be slightly ahead in the polls and he has raised more money according to The Wichita Eagle:

“GOP candidates report campaign finances

BY DION LEFLER

The Wichita Eagle

Thursday was busy for local congressional candidates as Rep. Jerry Moran extended his fundraising lead over Rep. Todd Tiahrt in the race for U.S. Senate and state Sen. Dick Kelsey released a poll showing himself leading the race for Tiahrt's old seat.

Midnight Thursday marked the deadline for candidates to turn in their campaign finance reports. In the 4th Congressional District race, most candidates seemed to be waiting until the deadline, with only two candidates — Kelsey and businessman Wink Hartman — filing in time for federal officials to post the results by the end of the business day.

In the Senate race, fundraising results obtained by the Associated Press showed Moran, R-Hays, holding more than twice as much cash on hand over Tiahrt, R-Goddard.

The AP reported that Moran has amassed $3.4 million in funds; Tiahrt had about $1.4 million on hand…..”

Blatant lies of Tiahrt

2009-10-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

Tiahrt attacks another program for the poor

2009-10-06T20:37:00.003-05:00

No one can accuse Rep. Todd Tiahrt of being sympathetic to the poor. He has cut funding for and tried to eliminate any one who advocates for the poor. So it is no surprise he has gone after the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

From The Wichita Eagle:

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, wants to revoke ACORN’s tax-exempt status. But in making that case, Tiahrt doesn’t need to follow the example of talk-radio hosts and exaggerate the link between ACORN and President Obama. In a statement Tiahrt read recently on the House floor, he claimed that ACORN was “the political machine of President Obama” and said that Obama paid ACORN more than $800,000 to “help him win the White House.” But as FactCheck.org determined, Obama has had minimal association with ACORN since he helped represent the group and other plaintiffs in a “motor-voter” case in 1995. Obama’s campaign did pay ACORN $800,000 during the Democratic primary as part of a “get out the vote” effort. But that’s 0.1 percent of the more than $700 million Obama spent during the 2008 campaign.

Todd Tiahrt endorsed by Scott Roeder

2009-09-24T21:16:00.002-05:00

A recent report claims an anti-abortion group has endorsed Todd Tiahrt, according to yesterday’s Wichita Eagle, and the group carried Scott Roeder’s signature on it.

Tiahrt plays the fool again

2009-09-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

Tiahrt: “economic advantages promote abortion”

2009-09-17T08:20:00.000-05:00

That is, it is not a moral choice, it’s an economical one.

Tiahrt endorsed rude outburst of disrespect by Rep. Willson

2009-09-17T01:42:00.002-05:00

Recently the House voted to condemn South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson for his "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's address to Congress on health care. [1] While several Republicans crossed the aisle to condemn Rep. Wilson's breach of protocol, Kansas Reps. Lynn Jenkins and Todd Tiahrt again put party first by voting with Republican party leadership to condone Joe Wilson's actions. Neither have released statements about their support of Rep. Wilson.

From the resolution: [2]

“...the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House.”

Seems like a pretty easy decision, but Reps. Lynn Jenkins and Todd Tiahrt showed again who they really work for: Washington Republicans.

On Monday, for reference, Gallup released a poll showing two-thirds of Americans oppose Wilson's outburst including 54% of Republicans. [3]

From Mike Nellis

Online Director -- Kansas Democratic Party

Office: 785.234.0425 Twitter: @KansasDems

[1] http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll699.xml

[2] http://majorityleader.gov/docUploads/HoyerPrivelegedResolution091509.pdf

[3] http://www.gallup.com/poll/122942/Two-Three-Americans-Oppose-Rep-Joe-Wilson-Outburst.aspx

Republican assholes and idiots dominate the Kansas State Fair.

2009-09-15T20:24:00.001-05:00

Well it is Kansas, and the people here just can’t get their minds into the 21^st century. They are still stuck in the 19^th century and this article proves it.

According to The Wichita Eagle:

“HUTCHINSON — When it comes to politics at the Kansas State Fair, the dominant color is Republican red.

A raft of GOP politicians worked hard Saturday to portray themselves as the most opposed to President Obama's plans for health care, the environment and the economy.

Defenders of the president were few.

The Republican Party booth in the Meadowlark Building was a bustle of activity, with four or five congressional candidates and supporters at a time shaking hands and answering voters' questions.

Sue Boldra, a Hays teacher and one of six GOP candidates for Kansas' 1st Congressional District, said one question she heard repeatedly was, "Why is the Democrat booth so empty?"

Not far away, the Democratic Party booth featured photos of the party's state officeholders, a drawing for a book autographed by the president, and little else. During the busy noon hour, it was staffed by a young woman who deferred media questions to a party spokesman in Topeka.

With little opposition to speak of, the GOP candidates had a field day.

Among those working the crowds were businessman Jim Anderson and Republican National Committeeman Mike Pompeo, candidates for the 4th Congressional District seat.”

One thing the party of selfish rich people can count on this year is that many people who need change can’t afford the fair. Joblessness and the general downturn in the economy has left mostly just wealthy people to spend gas and money to go to the fair.

Of course, only in a state such as Kansas could a bunch of politicians brag about being against the environment and fixing the economy. They do represent the most self centered egotists among us.

As for the Kansas Democratic Party, with a few exceptions they have been missing in action for many years.

The usual pack-of-lies were spewed out. Sam Brownback set the tone by stating that polls show more than eight out of 10 Americans are satisfied with their health care. While he acknowledged the system could improve, he said, "the way to do that isn't to put a lot more federal government on the system."

According to a pool on the local TV station just the other night, 62% said they were satisfied and 11% said they had no insurance at all. An MSNBC Poll shows only 52% oppose President Barack Obama’s health plan altogether. Many just don’t really understand it. As usual, Brownback bent the rules to favor his pro-insurance industry position.

Tiahrt said he believes solar activity, not human activity, is the primary driver of global climate change. Calls to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are "based on political science, not hard science," he said.

"We don't need the government to tell us what to set our thermostats at," he said.

Most people in the crowd agreed.

It is hard to imagine a more dangerous stand to take in a state such as Kansas, where global warming might cause another dust bowl in the next 100 years. The temperature is predicted in some scientific circles to get has high as 10˚ while others predict about a 7˚ increase. This will destroy the states agriculture and leave this state too hot and dry to grow anything. But Tiahrt and his idiot followers look only at today and ignore problems they will leave for future generations.

Let’s hope future generations remember this scumbag and all the damage he contributed to when all the global warming shit hits the fan. If we are lucky they will dance on and desecrate his grave.

How to silence a critic—Lies and dirty tricks

2009-09-10T15:09:00.001-05:00

What do you do if you’re an important congress person and someone is writing a negative blog about you? They expose your stupidity and corruption. You can legally close them down, but you can find underhanded ways to cause them problems. How about libelling that person so that it looks as if he/she is a convicted felon? Sure it’s illegal to publish that kind of information about someone, but we can’t sue the government and corrupt people aren’t bothered by a few lies.

So I can’t prove that Rep. Todd Tiahrt was involved in this incident, but it seems an odd coincident:

While applying for a job last week, I was surprised that I got turned down for having a felony criminal conviction. I was surprised because I don’t have a felony conviction. I was arrested and charged with misdemeanour theft and one felony count of theft, in 1980. But those charges were dropped. So I was surprised to see that these charges were listed on a Kansas Bureau of Investigation report as having resulted in convictions.

Any felony charge would prevent me from taking a number of jobs I have been interested in. So I was very upset when I realized that potential employers were getting this report that said I was a convicted felon.

When I contacted the KBI, they explained that the got the report from the Kansas Courthouse where these charges were filed. When I contacted the courthouse and went through several secretaries of various offices, I was finally told they couldn’t comment on the report unless I had the case number. Why would I have kept the court case file numbers to cases that had been settled 29 years ago? And how did the KBI get this misinformation without the case numbers?

I still don’t have answers to all of this. I assume some clerk made a mistake. It just so happens it could cost me my career and reputation. The KBI promised they would check on the matter as they told me they want their reports to be accurate and had no intention of sending out misinformation on people. That is about the only good news that came out of this mess. I haven’t found a lawyer willing to sue the State of Kansas for libel against me, even though that is clearly what they did.

“It’s hard to sue the State of Kansas,” one lawyer told me.

So my best bet is to physically go to the courthouse where these charges were filed and straighten this mess out myself. I may still have to hire a lawyer to get these addle minded in-breads to cooperate with me. So far the KBI told me that the county court has simply ignored their requests for more information

It doesn’t surprise me that someone working for the State of Kansas can be that incompetent. That just goes with the political territory here. It also shows how ridiculous it is to hold a 30 year old conviction against someone when the people in charge of the files can’t even keep up on them.

“Those cases are very old,” a spokesperson at the courthouse told me as if I were trying to dig up ancient records.

But these charges normally stick to a person for life. Obviously a person who would commit a felony theft in his/her mid 20s is not likely to remain the same type of person 20 years later. People change. They usually mature between their twenties and fifties. But don’t tell our politicians or the ignorant people who support a lifetime punishment for a youthful mistake.

As I said before, I can’t prove Republicans did this on purpose, but it sure wouldn’t surprise me if they did.

Recession?—Do nothing

2009-08-31T21:56:00.002-05:00

Rep. Todd Tiahrt , R-Goddard, said the new 10-year budget deficit projections of $9 trillion confirmed the need to repeal the federal stimulus plan and showed that President Obama’s “out-of-control spending is leading our country toward fiscal calamity.”

He obviously ignores the fact that the economy, while far from recovered, is better today than it was under then President George Bush. He stick to the idea that politicians should sit on their ass and do nothing.

According to The Wichita Eagle:

”Tiahrt said that the “skyrocketing deficit numbers should serve as a wake-up call to the administration that you cannot borrow and spend your way out of a recession.”

But he can spends tons of money to get elected and raise millions from lobbyist to get a seat in the senate. I guess spending is only a bad thing when Democrats do it.

Healthcare Town Hall Meeting with Tiahrt

2009-08-27T22:43:00.000-05:00

Friday, August 28th, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Wichita State University
Hughes Metropolitan Complex
5015 E. 29th Street N (Oliver and 29th St ) Wichita , KS

Come stand up for Health Care Reform. Rep. Tiahrt is supporting the status quo.

Molly’s Brigade
Medicare-for-All Sign Holding Vigil
Friday, Aug 28, 4:30-5:30pm
Central & Hillside, near Wesley Hospital

This is an extremely important time in the national debate on Health Care Reform. Come out with us to speak up for the solution to the Health Care Crisis. Expand and improve Medicare for everyone!

From the last town meeting, in Wichita, from Fed Reb:

Tiahrt actually shows up for discussion panel

2009-08-18T09:44:00.002-05:00

Todd Tiahrt took part in a panel discussion last Sunday, at the Kansas University Health Center in Wichita.
“We have the best health care in the world,” Tiahrt said with some in the audience agreeing with him.
Of course he is wrong and our own newspaper printed an article from MClatchy that said:
“If U.S. health care's so good, why do other people live longer?”
The article went on to say:

“People live longer in just about every industrialized nation, from Canada to our north, throughout much of Europe, and around the Pacific in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
New mothers and their babies also face a rockier start here, with U.S. infant and maternal death rates double some of our industrialized peers.”

So as usual, Tiahrt was wrong. He made it clear he was opposed to any public system for those who can’t get insurance. He even said that Medicare wasn’t a good system because it doesn’t pay for everything and some doctors don’t like to take Medicare patients.
“Health care needs reform,” he said.
Then he went over all the usual blather of the Republican party, ….“less waste, less bureaucracy.” In other words nothing will really change.
It is ironic that The Wichita Eagle ran a opinion piece warning the Republicans to “Keep false claims out of debate.”
The article said:

“Still, the first half of August’s great health care debate has left The Eagle editorial board wishing that Tiahrt and the other Republicans in Kansas’ delegation would get real themselves.
If Tiahrt really believes that, as he told an overflow Topeka crowd last week, “if you look at health care, it’s not a crisis,” he isn’t really looking at health care.
According to census and other state-by-state data released last week by the Department of Health and Human Services, in Kansas: More than 340,000 people, or 13æpercent of residents, don’t have health insurance, although 71æpercent of them live in families with at least one full-time worker. Providers lose more than $801æmillion to bad debt in taking care of the uninsured, a cost passed to covered Kansans in premium increases of roughly $900 per year. The average cost of a family’s health insurance premium has risen 105æpercent since 2000. Only 40æpercent of small businesses .”

American health care….Eewww!!

Todd Tiahrt has come out against health care reform

2009-08-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

It’s no surprise that Rep. Todd Tiahrt opposed health care reform. He has always been a man for the lobbyist and large corporations, such as health insurance companies. He has never shown any concern over the common working person and as far as he’s concerned, those who contribute to his re-election campaigns are the only people in his district who matter to him.

Todd Tiahrt – Moron

Tiahrt and town hall meetings

2009-08-08T20:33:00.001-05:00

Please try to attend at least one meeting this week to support universal health care. To date, Rep. Tiahrt has opposed any and all health care reform options.

Rep. Tiahrt Town Hall meeting— Derby

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Time: 10:15am – 11:15 am

Location: Derby Recreation Center

Street: 801 E. Market Street

City/Town: Derby , KS

Rep. Tiahrt Town Hall meeting— Newton

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Time: 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Location: Harvey County Courthouse- Community Room

Street: 800 N. Main Street

City/Town: Newton , KS

Rep. Tiahrt Town Hall meeting-- El Dorado

Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: El Dorado City Commission Room- City Hall

Street: 220 East First Street

City/Town: El Dorado , KS

Rep. Tiahrt Town Hall meeting-- Independence

Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Time: 8:30am - 9:45am

Location: Memorial Hall

Street: 410 N. Penn Avenue

City/Town: Independence , KS

Tiahrt opposes Pay-go act.

2009-07-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

Todd Tiahrt is the only Kansas congressperson to vote against Pay-as-you-go bill. This would force congress to pay for tax cuts or increases. There’s little doubt that Tiahrt is just looking out of wealthy lobbyists. But once again he believes he knows more than the rest of the country. All other Kansas US legislators voted for the bill.

Tiahrt: “abort Obama, too many Moslem children, Hitler’s a nice guy”

2009-07-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

More information on this can be found on Everyday Citizen.

Tiahrt is mentioned on this C Street special report

2009-07-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

From Fightin’ Cock Flyer

More from Tiahrt’s the Family/C Street cult

2009-07-12T16:31:00.000-05:00

Projection of U.S. Power Abroad

When they’re not philandering and violating their own professed Christian morality, C Street members push for the projection of U.S. power abroad. As Obama went to Port of Spain, Trinidad for the Summit of the Americas in April it was Ensign who criticized the President for shaking Hugo Chávez’s hand. “I think it was irresponsible for the president to be seen kind of laughing and joking with Hugo Chávez," he said. Ensign, a big booster of corporate-style free trade, voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA in 2005. He also supports the coup government in Honduras and signed a letter to Secretary of State Clinton calling on the Obama administration to revoke its support for deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.
Coburn, who is an obstetrician, has advocated the death penalty for any of his peers who carry out abortions. In the foreign policy realm he has stuck to a moralistic credo. He criticized a USAID program for example which sought to teach commercial sex workers in Central America about condom use to prevent HIV AIDS. An irate Coburn wrote President Bush to demand that the United States cease financing the preventative program, run by the non-profit Population Services International (PSI). Apparently the note had the desired effect and shortly after Coburn made his appeal PSI received word that USAID was cutting off money for the program. When not working to defeat sexual education in Central America Coburn supports free markets in the region, voting like his colleague Ensign to support CAFTA. He also supports the coup regime in Tegucigalpa.
C Street’s real free trade messiah is South Carolina native son Jim DeMint who just chastised the White House for supporting Zelaya, thereby carrying out what he called “a slap in the face to the people” of Honduras. Hondurans “have struggled too long to have their hard-won democracy stolen from them by a Chávez-style dictator,” he remarked. The South Carolinian, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, went even further and attacked the Organization of American States for “trampling” over the hopes and dreams of a “free and democratic people.” It’s hardly surprising that Demint would come out for the military takeover in Honduras given that he’s been a long time booster of Central American free trade. In this sense, he shares the ideological views of newly installed Honduran President Roberto Micheletti, a former businessman and conservative politician who has supported CAFTA. Demint has long been on the other side of the fence from the likes of Zelaya and Chávez. First elected to the House in 1998, he has been an eager promoter of far right wing economic orthodoxy like privatizing social security and abolishing the federal minimum wage.
Zach Wamp is another free trade zealot at C Street. Like his fellow Christian members, he supported CAFTA. At the time Wamp conceded that America’s trade policies were unpopular but defended his vote remarking that the trade agreement was beneficial to his native Tennessee. In the never ending race to the bottom, Wamp said that “if we ever want to compete with China, we must build alliances in our region with countries - like these CAFTA partners - so we can preserve American jobs and not lose any more manufacturing jobs to China or the Pacific Rim.” The southerner then went on to explain his other reasons for supporting the trade agreement. “During this critical time in American history,” he declared, “we are facing multiple national security implications for U.S. leadership and the Western hemisphere. The influences of communism and dictatorships are on the rise to our South.”
Warming to his theme, Wamp continued “in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez rules with an 'iron fist' and stands ready to team up with his mentor, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, to expand their influence in these Central American countries. Countries such as Nicaragua and El Salvador impacted by CAFTA must see the United States as a partner - not the adversary - so this region can be stable and secure.” Raising the alarm bell, Wamp continued “instability in Central America might also jeopardize U.S. border security. Should the Communists succeed in spreading their philosophies and regimes throughout Central America, even more illegal aliens will want to flee their countries and cross our southern border.”
Wamp has also signed on as a co-sponsor to legislation which condemns former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya for carrying out unconstitutional moves. The resolution chastises Zelaya for forging close ties with Chávez and Cuban rulers Fidel and Raul Castro and for joining the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA), an anti-free trade initiative including Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba and Nicaragua.
In their own personal lives, C Street members have made a mockery of the group’s Christian teachings. Yet when it comes to the far more important and consequential issue of foreign policy these Republicans have stuck to their guns. From Chávez to Zelaya to free trade in Central America they have been consistent in seeking to overturn progressive reform and working to maintain U.S. imperial hegemony.Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008)

Tiahrt belongs to the Family/C street cult

2009-07-11T14:26:00.001-05:00

It has now been established that Rep. Todd Tiahrt is a member of the Family or C Street. It is a religious cult that many member of the US congress belong to. Here is an article from Counter-Punch:

C Street Band

By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF
As the Republican Party implodes the public is becoming aware of a secretive Christian society known as the Family or the Fellowship. The group was founded in 1935 in opposition to FDR's New Deal and its adherents subscribe to a far right Christian fundamentalist and free market ideology. A minister named Abraham Vereide founded the Family after having a vision in which God visited him in the person of the head of the United States Steel Corporation (no, I’m not making this up). The Family has a connection to house on C Street in Washington, D.C., known simply as C Street. Officially registered as a church, the building serves as a meeting place and residence for conservative politicians.
Few members of the fellowship talk about the group’s mission. The organization organizes the annual National Prayer Breakfast which is attended by the president, members of Congress, and diplomats from around the world. Earlier this year Obama presented his Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the event. According to Jeff Sharlet who wrote a book about the group the Family’s philosophy is based on “a sort of trickle-down fundamentalism,” which believes that the wealthy and powerful, if they “can get their hearts right with God ... will dispense blessings to those underneath them.” True believers in market orthodoxy, Family members think that God's will operates directly through Adam Smith's “invisible hand.”
The Family’s current leader Doug Coe is secretive but enjoys considerable political influence as a spiritual adviser. When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, himself a visitor and a kind of honorary alumni at C Street, compared his political difficulties involving his affair with an Argentine woman to those of biblical King David the South Carolina politician was falling back on a central figure in Family theology. You could “almost hear Doug Coe’s voice” coming out of Sanford, Sharlet remarks.
C Street’s stately red brick, $1.1 million building is subsidized by secretive religious organizations and is located a mere stone’s throw away from the Capitol. Lawmakers who live there include Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Bart Stupak, D-Mich.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; and Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, and Sam Brownback, R-Kan. The lawmakers, all Christians, live in private rooms upstairs and pay an incredibly low rent --- a paltry $600 --- to live at C Street.
Tenants dine together once a week to talk about religion in their daily lives. Richard Carver, a member of the Fellowship’s board of directors who served as assistant secretary of the Air Force during the Reagan administration, says “Our goal is singular—and that is to hope that we can assist them in better understandings of the teachings of Christ, and applying it to their jobs.” Senator DeMint, a Presbyterian who moved into C Street less than a year ago, says that members are wont to share a verse or a thought in Bible Study “but mostly it's more of an accountability group to talk about things that are going on in our lives, and how we're dealing with them.”
It’s not uncommon for C Street residents to invite fellow congressmen to the lodging for spiritual bonding. Sanford for example turned to C Street for answers and support as his marriage crumbled apart. Now Sanford is joined in his troubles by another C Street member, John Ensign, who had a sexual relationship with a staffer. The Ensign affair has threatened to take down yet another C Street member, Tom Coburn. In February, 2008 Coburn and Ensign’s former mistress’ husband confronted Ensign and urged him to end the affair. Reportedly, Ensign paid the woman more than $25,000 in severance when she stopped working for him in 2008.
Now comes word that that Ensign’s parents paid his mistress and her family almost $100,000 “out of concern for the well being of longtime family friends during a difficult time.” The severance payment could lead to campaign finance or ethics issues for Ensign. But the scandal is also damaging for Coburn who is said to have encouraged Ensign to compensate the couple and to help them relocate. Coburn has denied any knowledge of the payments.
Coburn, who is a physician, will not comment on the advice he provided Ensign saying his position as a doctor and ordained deacon required that he keep all information private. “I'm not going to go into that — that's privileged communications,” the Oklahoma Senator said. “I'm never going to talk about that with anybody. I never will, not to a court of law, not to an ethics committee, not to anybody — because that is privileged communication that I will never reveal to anybody.”

Tiahrt gets software confused with a web site

2009-07-10T12:25:00.001-05:00

Once again we see evidence that Todd Tiahrt can’t debate. According to The Wichita Eagle: “Tiahrt ad quotes software, not a site.” He tried to claim that Barack Obama has cost this country 2.19 million jobs. His source was a blog and he listed only the software, which is WorldPress.Com. World Press is a software used for bloggers to set up a site. It is not a news source.
Once again, Tiahrt plays the idiot.

Tiahrt wins Olathe test

2009-06-30T12:28:00.001-05:00

According to The Wichita Eable:

"As the GOP Senate primary unfolds over the next year between Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Goddard and Rep. Jerry Moran of Hays, Tiahrt can now point to an early show of strength in crucial northeast Kansas: He won 165 votes to Moran’s 46 in the Olathe Republican Party picnic and straw poll over the weekend. According to the Kansas City Star, Tiahrt was there with a busload of supporters from the Wichita area. Moran did not attend."

OK we know Tiahrt has his own troops of zombies from Wichita, but still, CAN’T OLATHE do better than that. Polls are showing Tiahrt and Moran running neck and neck in the polls. Moran has something that Tiahrt doesn’t… a brain. While Moran is conservative, Tiahrt is a corrupted idiot.
If Tiahrt is our next Senator, Kansans will really have something to be ashamed of.

This global warming bill could actually hurt chances to stop global warming.

2009-06-18T13:50:00.002-05:00

From Credo Action:
Rep. Todd Tiahrt is about to vote on legislation designed to stop global warming. Unfortunately, members of the House who answer to the worst polluters have succeeded in including a Trojan Horse at the heart of the legislation — a prohibition on Obama's EPA being able to use the Clean Air Act to take additional action on CO2.This little known, almost secret provision actually guarantees that the United States will fall short of doing what the scientists tell us must happen — a reduction of 80% of CO2 emissions from their 1990 level.Mr. Obama ran for president on a very strong global warming platform which achieved the 80% reduction, launched a cap and trade market without giving away free permits to polluters, and set strong standards for boosting clean renewable energy. Special interests are warping his pledge almost beyond recognition.But the worst and most important compromise — and the one most secret and hidden from view — is the crippling of EPA's powers. This is precisely what Newt Gingrich and the Republican-controlled House of the 1990s did to President Clinton's EPA from 1995 on. They simply prohibited EPA from enforcing many laws. We cannot let the House strip President Obama of his most powerful tool to stop global warming.
Click here to tell Rep. Tiahrt to remove any provision that prevents President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency from using the Clean Air Act to reduce CO2 emissions.