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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

  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

From  

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Kansas Secretary of State-elect Kris Kobach is now trying to circumvent the US constitution by eliminating citizenship for some people born in the US. 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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.