Voice For Liberty

Category: Politics

  • Pachyderms to host panel on Republican Party’s future

    At this Friday’s meeting of the Wichita Pachyderm Club, the topic is “What does the Republican Party have to look like to be successful in 2010?”

    This meeting will feature a panel of

    • Kelly Arnold: Sedgwick County Republican Party Chair
    • Jason Watkins: State Representative for 105th district
    • Dave Trabert: President of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy
    • Derrick Sontag: Kansas State Director Americans for Prosperity.

    The moderator will be John Todd, Vice President, Wichita Pachyderm Club.

    Each panelist will be asked to make a 2 to 3 minute introductory comment, followed by group discussion with the audience.

    All are welcome to attend Pachyderm meetings. Lunch is $10, or you may attend the meeting only for $3. The meeting starts at noon, although those wishing to order lunch are encouraged to arrive by 11:45. The location is Whiskey Creek Steakhouse at 233 N. Mosley in Old Town. You can view a map of this location by clicking on Google map of 233 N. Mosley.

  • Articles of Interest

    Kansas budget, expensive college, Kansas education funding, alternatives to ObamaCare.

    Budgeting outside the box

    Reporting by the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy covers last week’s meeting of the Kansas House Appropriations Committee. (Although the Kansas Legislature is in session from January to May, there are many “interim” committee meetings during the summer and fall.)

    School funding is always a topic, and as usual, spending advocates focus on the small portion of spending that makes their case: “Committee members challenged school districts on focusing only on reductions in state base aid per pupil and ignoring all other funding sources which, taken collectively, have schools budgeted to receive just 0.2% less this school year.”

    There was also discussion of the Flint Hill Center’s work in exposing huge balances in funds.

    Maybe this is why college is expensive

    The University Daily Kansan reports on the generous deals given to three former Kansas public university chancellors in the news story Hemenway stays with University.

    ‘Montoy’ threat again hangs over education-funding discussions

    Kansas Liberty reports on the hammer used whenever Kansas K-12 school funding is the topic of discussion. At the same time Kansas school districts complain of lack of funds, they resist accounting system reforms that would increase transparency and provide better information about how efficiently districts use funds:

    A 2007 audit conducted by the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit determined that out of the 20 states sampled, Kansas was one of six states that did not have requirements for how accounting transactions are recorded. The audit concluded that “Kansas’s reporting requirements are at a very summary level of detail.”

    An audit released in July determined that some Kansas districts appeared to be using state dollars inefficiently for non-instructional purposes. The investigation was supposed to include fieldwork so auditors could actually see how funds were spent; however, the scope of the audit was limited after superintendents complained to the 2010 Commission.

    The commission then stopped the audit, saying it would be too stressful for schools to accommodate auditors at a time when budgets were being cut.

    The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

    John Mackey of Whole Foods Market Inc. reports on ways to reform health care without bigger government. Some of these would be very easy to accomplish, such as “Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.” That law might take, maybe, one page of legislation to implement.

    Mackey’s reform proposals, because they are market-based rather than government-based (his article starts with Margaret Thatcher’s quote “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out
    of other people’s money.”), has earned him much hatred from liberals. Currently the “Boycott Whole Foods” Facebook group has 31,000 members. Too bad we don’t have Whole Foods Market in Wichita. (The locally-owned Whole Foods in Wichita is not the same company.)

  • Astroturfers get benefits

    The headline at Michele McGinty’s blog reads Wow! Lefty astroturfers get benefits! Who could have figured?

    Here’s the video she’s referring to:

  • Wichita tea party paid its expenses

    After Friday’s American Tea Party in Wichita, complaints rolled in. The Wichita Eagle article reporting on the event drew over 200 comments, many complaining about one or another aspect of over 700 people gathering for a peaceful event.

    In particular, the squawking of one member of the Kansas House of Representatives only revealed the ignorance of the speaker in his attempt at finding irony. As reported on the Wichita Eagle’s editorial blog: “‘We need taxes to support their protests.’ — Rep. Dale Swenson, D-Wichita, about how Friday’s anti-tax tea party was held at the county-owned and taxpayer-supported Sedgwick County Park.”

    As reported in the following submission by event organizer Lynda Tyler, the tea party paid quite a sum in order to use the park.

    Those who came to the TEA party had an enjoyable evening. The compliments were 10 to 1 over complaints and frankly those were all valid complaints that could only have been fixed with more resources.

    What gets me are those who like to hide behind their computer and nip at the ankles of those who are actually getting off their buttocks and doing something. Even if that something is waving a flag and socializing with like minded individuals. But there are two reoccurring comments that are really getting to me and I would like to address them.

    One is the criticisms is the “irony” of holding the event at a public park. They claim that the “taxpayers paid for our protest.” Taxpayers paid for our protest about as much as they pay for any other event held out there. We were charged a large event rental of the property of $310. Since we were following the laws and contracts we had to pay for our own $500,000 liability insurance policy to protect the public lands against damage. That policy cost $682. Then instead of depending on tax paid facilities our contract with the county required we supply our own portable restrooms, trash bins and trash pickup of $580. The county sheriff’s department required that we hire two off duty officers for $240. During setup we discovered that there is barely enough power there to run a hair dryer so we had to rent a generator to run the food vendors for another $72. So all in all our “public park” cost us $1,884 to use. Did any of you pay that for your kids’ birthday party or to walk your dog out there?

    Now had we done this the way most liberal protests we have seen over the years, we would have gone downtown (without permits), walked down the middle of the street during rush hour (blocking traffic), assaulted those in opposition (like the police), turned over and set fire to any cars that got in the way (destroyed property), thrown rocks through business windows (destroying property without insurance), and the county (tax payer) would not only have to pay for the clean up but for the police who had to use riot gear to stop the protest and then the expenses of arresting some protesters, pay for their public defender attorney and possibly pay for their room and board while the protester was in jail.

    None of that happened at our TEA Party. All were welcome and nobody got hurt, arrested, or assaulted. There was very little trash to pick up after it was over and the vendors and groups were all very happy. We had people of opposing views there and they were treated with respect and welcomed to participate.

  • Tea party and fine weather tonight in Wichita

    Tonight, at 6:00 pm at the Sedgwick County Park, Kansans For Liberty hosts “An American Tea Party.” It looks to be a great event, with many speakers and exhibitors.

    The weather looks to be nice, too. By 6:00 pm, the starting time, the forecast calls for a temperature of 79 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and light northeast winds. Probability of rain is 0%.

    For more information, see my post Wichita tea party more than protest and Lynda Tyler’s site Kansans For Liberty.

  • Tiahrt endorsed by popular conservative figure

    Yesterday, former Secretary of Education and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Bill Bennett endorsed Todd Tiahrt‘s campaign for the United States Senate in a Wichita appearance.

    Bennett said there is not an oversupply of good people in Washington, and when they’re found, we should elect them to higher office. Tiahrt is such a person, he said. He also praised Tiahrt’s character and integrity.

    In other remarks, Bennett said that these are consequential times. 2010 will be an important election year and will tell us a lot about the mood of the public. Last year’s election was of historical consequence, but now it is time to govern, he said.

    In response to a question about the concerns of callers to his conservative radio show, he said that people are concerned about the direction of the country. People have a sense that we drifting, and not only since the election of President Obama. He said that the major concern is not individual issues such as gay marriage, abortion, or guns, but the general status of the United States of America.

    As Bennett served as Education Secretary under Ronald Reagan, I asked a question about the Obama’s administration’s support of charter schools and differential or merit pay for teachers. Charter schools are good, and so is merit pay, he said. But if merit pay means what it has in a few experiments across the country — “give us the money first, and then we’ll figure out some system of merit” — he wouldn’t be in favor of it.

    He also said it “rings a little hollow” for the administration to talk about school choice when it is closing down a school choice program in Washington, D.C.

    Politically, this endorsement should give a boost to the Tiahrt campaign. Bennett is a respected statesman and very popular with conservatives.

    Wichita Eagle reporting of this event is at Bennett endorses Tiahrt for US Senate. Topeka Capital-Journal reporting is at Bennett backs Tiahrt’s Senate bid.

  • John Stossel to speak in Wichita

    ABC television journalist and author John Stossel will be in Wichita on October 12 to deliver a lecture as part of Wichita State University’s Elliott School of Communications 20th anniversary celebration. The Wichita Business Journal article ABC’s Stossel to speak in Wichita provides more details of this event.

    Stossel is an anomaly in the mainstream media, as he is one of the few libertarians in that business. Milton Friedman wrote this about Stossel’s first book Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media: “Stossel is that rare creature, a TV commentator who understands economics, in all its subtlety. Read this fascinating book to learn — example by example — how the indirect, unseen effects of government policies often dominate the direct, seen effects. Again and again, policies have the effects opposite of those intended.”

    P.J. O’Rourke wrote this about the same book: “There’s nothing matter-of-fact about John Stossel’s fact-finding. He seeks the truths that destroy truisms, wields reason against all that’s unreasonable, and uses and upholds the ideals that puncture sanctimonious liberalism. He loves liberty in a way that goes far beyond liberalism. He makes the maddening mad. And Stossel’s tales of the outrageous are outrageously amusing.”

  • Wichita tea party more than protest

    This Friday, August 28, Wichita’s having another tea party. This event seems more like a carnival or fair, although the spirit of protest and discontent — especially regarding the proposed energy and health care bills — will likely be on display.

    I spoke with organizer Lynda Tyler. She says that this event is more than just a tea party. “It’s a ‘get involved’ event where people can come and find an organization or candidate they would like to support and get involved with.”

    “People are angry and frustrated. They don’t know what to do or where to go to make a difference. That is why we are hosting this event.”

    “Many talk about non-partisan organizations. Kansans for Liberty is a multi-partisan organization — we have Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and conservative Democrats involved in this organization.”

    The Kansans for Liberty website is at kansansforliberty.com. This site holds more information about the event, including a map to the site at the Sedgwick County Park.

    Unfortunately, one Democrat who will not be able to attend is Nancy Armstrong, who tragically died in July. Nancy brought the first tea party protest event to Wichita at the end of February.

    The event is Friday, August 28, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at the Sedgwick County Park, 6501 W. 21st St North in Wichita. That’s just west of the Sedgwick County Zoo.

    There will be food vendors and restrooms. Lynda says to be sure to bring your own chairs.

    Admission is free, and donations will be accepted to defray the substantial costs of holding this event.

    Here’s a list of speakers appearing at this event.

    • Paul Ibbetson — Author & Radio Personality — the Conscience of Kansas www.ibbetsonusa.com
    • Jim Anderson — Candidate for United States Congress 4th District
    • Dick Kelsey — Candidate for United States Congress 4th District
    • Mike Pompeo — Candidate for United States Congress 4th District
    • Kansas Senator Jean Schodorf — Candidate for United States Congress 4th District
    • David Powell — Candidate for Kansas Insurance Commissioner
    • Flint Hills Center for Public Policy — www.flinthills.org — President Dave Trabert on Hidden State Funds
    • Wichita — South Central Kansas 9-12 Group — Proponents of the 10th Amendment
    • Americans for Prosperity www.AmericansForProsperity.org/Kansas
    • Kansas State Rifle Association — State NRA affiliate — President, Patricia Stoneking on the 2nd Amendment
    • The Kansas Coalition for Life — “Abortion isn’t Healthcare” petition signing — www.Abortionisnothealthcare.com
    • Wichita Pachyderm Club www.wichitapachyderm.net
    • Sedgwick County Pachyderm Club www.scpcwichita.org
    • Republican Women United www.republicanwomenunited.net
    • Kansans for Liberty — Sponsor of this event www.kansansforliberty.com
    • Kansas Libertarian Party — www.lpks.org
    • The John Birch Society — www.jbs.org
    • Dennis Hedke — Hedke-Saenger Geoscience, Ltd.- Myth about Global Warming
    • Morticians for National Health Care Reform — www.morticiansforhealthcare.com — an Anti-ObamaCare group.
    • Roy Helm — Will be singing the Star Spangled Banner — www.ChaseandCompany.com

    For a printable flyer, click on American Tea Party in Wichita.

  • Astroturf, Obama style

    At the recent New Hampshire town hall meeting, President Obama took a softball question from a young girl. It seemed innocent enough. Almost natural.

    The Boston Global article Question by a Malden girl becomes the target of conservative critics contains this: “The critics point to campaign donations and other partisan links of the girl’s mother, Kathleen Manning Hall, who was an early Obama supporter and donated money to his campaign. But a White House spokesman insisted that audience members are selected randomly.”

    The girl’s mother denies that her daughter was a plant by the White House.

    Astroturf? (Meaning fake political activity, organized from somewhere above, passed off as the genuine action and concern of real, genuine people.)

    The Left takes great glee in portraying actions by those on the political right and by libertarians as astroturf. Doing this allows them to ignore the substance of the criticisms. Instead, they can focus on the personal characteristics of the critics and sidestep the issues.