Voice For Liberty

Category: Politics

  • Tea party event planned in Wichita

    Here’s a message from Lynda Tyler.

    Kansans for Liberty presents

    An American Tea Party

    Friday, August 28, 2009, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
    Sedgwick County Park, Wichita, Kansas (Click for a Google map to this location.)

    This is more than a protest, it is a celebration of patriotism and an opportunity.

    People want to get involved but don’t know where to go to become involved. This event invites you, your organizations, your business, your campaigns and your government agencies to showcase what you have to offer.

    We have a large enough area that we are offering areas where a group can set up a table, tent or booth to hand out literature, sign up members, sign petitions, solicit campaign funds, register voters and invite people to volunteer and become more active citizens.

    If you want to do a fundraiser we are looking for people who want to provide food and beverages or other types of vendors. The cost of a space is $100.00.

    This event is expensive to put on so we would appreciate ANY and all possible donations. This event will include music, speeches, presentations, vendors, food and beverage. The idea is to have fun, be heard and get involved.

    It is a NON-Partisan event and will be free to the public. Everyone who behaves courteously is welcome regardless of their party affiliation.

    Send donations or space requests to:

    Kansans for Liberty
    11509 Valley Hi Drive
    Wichita, KS 67209

    For more information call Lynda Tyler at 316-722-8031 or email to info@Kansansforliberty.com. The website is at Kansans for Liberty.

  • Nancy Armstrong memorial radio call-in show

    Nancy Armstrong Memorial Service, August 4, 2009
    American Legion Riders provide a flag line at the memorial service for Nancy Armstrong in Garden Plain, Kansas.

    Tomorrow there will be a radio show in Nancy’s honor, as described in this message from BettyJean Kling:

    “I am trying to get people to come on the show Wednesday at 8:30 pm central time to tell stories about their interactions with Nancy Armstrong, to make a memory tape record of stories for her family. A record for posterity about her work in sexual abuse in the Navy, or PTSD, her work on the road for Hillary, her work on ACORN and her dedication to the TEA parties!”

    BettyJean Kling
    The Majority United Radio for Women’s equality, laws and rights
    Mon 10:00 pm & Wed 9:30 pm Eastern

    www.blogtalkradio.com/FreeMeNow
    Call-in Number:(347) 838-8011

    More infomration about Nancy and her passing is at Nancy Armstrong, advocate for liberty.

  • Nancy Armstrong, advocate for liberty

    Nancy Armstrong, 1959 - 2009
    Nancy Armstrong being interviewed by the news media at the first Wichita tea party on February 27, 2009. Nancy organized the tea party protest in Wichita after attending one the week before in Overland Park. It was a bitterly cold day in Wichita. I’ll miss Nancy.

     

    Update: A photograph from Nancy’s memorial service and announcement of a radio call-in show in her honor is at Nancy Armstrong memorial radio call-in show.

    Today I learned that Nancy Armstrong died yesterday.

    Nancy was an activist who organized the first tea party protest in Wichita at the end of February. Those who knew her admired her passion and energy.

    The post announcing her passing at her blog is Sad news. The obituary in the Wichita Eagle is at at Nancy H. Armstrong.

    Wendy Aylworth has learned the details of a service as follows:

    A Memorial Service for Nancy will be held in Garden Plain, KS on Tuesday, August 4th at 4 p.m. at Wulf-Ast Mortuary, 911 Biermann St, Garden Plain, KS 67050-9142 Tel. (316) 535-2211.

    Here are some links to video of Nancy in her role as activist:

    Nancy speaking at the first tea party in Wichita
    Nancy speaking at the tax day tea party in Wichita
    Nancy’s appearance on the Glenn Beck television program

    Here’s more information about Nancy’s service on Tuesday, August 4, 2009:

    American Legion Riders Funeral Services for:
    ALR 136 Member US Navy Veteran Petty Officer First Class Nancy Armstrong
    Date: Tuesday August 4, 2009 4:00PM
    Location: Wulf Ast Mortuary, Garden Plain, KS

    Andy Armstrong, husband of Nancy Armstrong, has requested us to attend his wife’s funeral service. US Navy Petty Officer First Class, Surface Warfare, Nancy Armstrong, 49, passed away unexpectedly. Nancy served in the US Navy from 1979 to 1992 as an Electronics Technician. She was one of the first group of Women in the Navy to earn the Warfare designation. Nancy and Andy both left the Navy during the Clinton administration when ships and squadrons were being decommissioned at an alarming rate which caused Andy to be gone to sea a lot. Nancy enjoyed her political activism and many of us saw her energetic personality during the local Tea Parties. She also leaves behind 2 children, Samantha and Justin. Please keep Andy, Samantha, and Justin and their family and friends in your prayers.

    Flag Line at Wulf Ast Mortuary:
    Tuesday August 4, 2009
    American flag, Kansas, and all military service branch flags will be flown

    Pre-Staging for Derby, Douglass, Haysville, Mulvane, Rose Hill, Udall, and southern area riders & vehicles
    1:30PM Meet at Derby Quik Trip, 1430 Nelson Drive (71st Street & K-15)
    1:50PM Depart Derby Quik Trip via K-15 to I-235 to US-54 to KS-163 exit to Garden Plain (30 miles)
    Final Staging
    2:30PM Garden Plain Phillip 66 Service Station, corner of 295th Street S. and 15th Street W. (As you exit US-54 you will make a left at the stop sign and go about 1/4 mile to another stop sign. Phillip 66 is on your immediate right)
    Flag staging: Brock Hayes will transport flags and assist in lining up bikes at final staging area
    Road Guards will be needed
    2:55PM Depart final staging area and form Avenue of Flags at Wulf Ast Mortuary (911 Bierman Street – 1/4 mile from staging area) for arrival of family
    4:00PM Services begin (Upon completion of services we will provide an escort from Wulf Ast Mortuary to Nancy’s home (2600 S. 327th Street, Garden Plain) approximately 2 3/4 miles (last
    1 1/2 mile is on fairly well maintained dirt road. Andy will ride his bike and carry Nancy’s Urn for one last ride.

  • Jean Schodorf’s education credentials

    Kansas state senator Jean Schodorf, a Republican from northwest Wichita, is testing the waters in the race for the Republican nomination for Kansas’ fourth congressional district.

    It appears that she’ll use her public education experience and advocacy as a selling point. As reported in today’s Wichita Eagle:

    She has served in the Senate since 2001 and is chairwoman of the Education Committee, where she has developed a reputation for fighting in favor of schools and school funding.

    At her Monday news conference, Schodorf was introduced by former state Board of Education member Carol Rupe, who served with her on the Wichita school board and was one of several current and former USD 259 officials in attendance.

    When judging Schodorf’s record on education, we should keep in mind that when considering educational freedom, Kansas is one of the very worst states in the nation. Kansas has no charter schools to speak of. Any hope of a voucher or tax credit program is a faint and distant goal. This is all well and good, according to Schodorf, and she has a fair degree of influence over education in Kansas stemming from her role as the chair of the senate education committee.

    Instead, the Kansas public school spending lobby seems to pretty much control the legislature and the governor’s chair. Yes, Kansas had to scale back on school spending this year. But schools fared much better than did other state agencies and spending lobbies. It’s a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans that allow this to happen. Schodof is one of these moderate Republicans, with several Democrats in the Senate possessing a more taxpayer-friendly voting record.

    If Schodorf starts to talk about the many years of rising Kansas test scores, I hope she calls for an independent audit of those scores. This is needed so that Kansans can see for themselves whether these scores are a valid and reliable measure of student achievement. This is important because the results on the federal NAEP scores don’t support the rapid rise shown on the Kansas tests. See Are Kansas school test scores believable? for background.

    Also, the public school monopoly and its supporters in Kansas — Schodorf being in this group — continue to dismiss a way to save Kansas a lot of money and improve educational freedom and results at the same time. As shown in my post School choice would save, not cost, Kansas, we can save money by implementing school choice programs.

    Let’s ask presumptive candidate Schodorf some of these questions, and then judge the validity of her purported care and concern for the education of Kansas schoolchildren.

  • Howard Dean lies about Sarah Palin

    I’m really not comfortable defending Sarah Palin, so this is more about Howard Dean and how the left lies.

    Today, while watching the former governor of Vermont on MSNBC television, I heard Dean say this about Sarah Palin: “…and I don’t think she can see Russia from her house.”

    But Palin never said such a thing. Tina Fey, portraying Palin, did. It was funny when she said it. It was great and biting satire.

    To Howard Dean, however, that evidently counts as a fact.

    He then went on to tell lies about health care, but that will have to be covered in another post.

  • Raj Goyle’s lecturing at Wichita State University sporadic

    Raj Goyle, a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, has recently announced that he is a candidate for the U.S. Congress seat for the fourth district of Kansas. That’s the seat being vacated by Todd Tiahrt.

    His website, in announcing his candidacy, states: “In addition to his legislative duties, Goyle serves as a lecturer at Wichita State University.”

    Past versions of his campaign website have him mentioning “… the same values that guide me every day in my career as a lecturer at Wichita State University, attorney, and active member of the Wichita community.” (emphasis added)

    While perhaps satisfying the technical description of a lecturer at Wichita State University, his career as that is spotty. According to records received from WSU, Goyle was a lecturer teaching a single class in the university’s honors program during the Fall 2006 semester. According to the same records, he hasn’t worked at WSU since. He’s scheduled to teach a class in the Fall 2009 semester, again a single class in the honors program.

    His work schedule for the semester he was employed by WSU was light. The Fall 2006 class, titled “Politics/Public Policy” met from 1:00 to 2:45 on Wednesdays. The class scheduled for Fall 2009 is titled “White House” and will meet from 1:00 to 3:00, again only on Wednesdays.

    Here’s another quote from Goyle’s campaign website: “In teaching at Wichita State I am helping to educate and shape our city’s youth while maintaining a deep commitment to public service and civic involvement.”

    The clear intent of these statements is to represent Goyle as someone actively and continuously employed by the university. Someone with a career, in Goyle’s own words. An examination of his record, however, leads to a different conclusion.

  • Forum to to discuss conservative principles to be held in Wichita

    On Saturday, July 18, 2009, a forum will be held in Wichita to “discuss conservative principles, and why we must return to them.”

    The forum will be held at the Wichita Public Library Downtown at 223 S. Main. The time is from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm.

    The event is part of the Great American Forum, created by Benjamin Sauceda. Participants include:

    • Kenya Cox, Wichita Vice-Chair NAACP, Vice-Chair of the Sedgwick County Republican party, and past candidate for the Kansas Senate
    • Kasha Kelley, Member of the Kansas House of Representatives and government transparency advocate
    • Jason Watkins, Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
    • Rick Macias, Adoption Lawyer
    • Ben Sauceda, Sedgwick County Young Republicans
    • Jordan Yost, College Republicans

    There’s a Facebook page for the event. Or send email to greatamericanforum@yahoo.com for more information.

  • Articles of interest

    Chemical security, national health care, global warming cost, school order.

    Extending security standards better decision

    A letter in the Montgomery Advertiser makes the case for extending the present Chemical facility anti-terrorism standards. Legislation is under consideration that would give government the ability to regulate processes and technologies.

    “Although we believe CFATS should be reauthorized and made permanent, we do not support current draft legislation that replaces CFATS and extends the power of the DHS to dictate how a product is made. Decisions pertaining to feedstocks, processes and products should be left to the engineers and safety experts at local facilities.”

    The Stealth Single-Payer Agenda

    George F. Will’s column explains that while President Obama and Congress are presently considering a “public option” health care plan, this is just the first step on the road to a single-payer plan. “The puzzle is: Why does the president, who says that were America ‘starting from scratch’ he would favor a ‘single-payer’ — government-run — system, insist that health-care reform include a government insurance plan that competes with private insurers? The simplest answer is that such a plan will lead to a single-payer system.”

    The Big Chill
    Congress shouldn’t fight global warming by freezing the economy.

    In a Wall Street Journal column, Pete Du Pont explains the enormous cost of the Waxman-Markey global warming bill and how little warming it would stop. “Manzi estimates the additional economic costs of the bill would be 0.8% of gross domestic product, while the economic benefits would be just 0.08% — so the costs would be 10 times the benefits. The cost of reducing emissions turns out to be greater than the cost they impose on societies. According to a 1999 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimate, the emissions cuts the Kyoto Protocol would have required in 2010 were likely to reduce America’s GDP by $275 billion to $468 billion, or $921 to $1,565 per person, and of course Kyoto does not apply to fast-growing developing countries such as China and India.”

    Taking back control of the classrooms

    “The dirty little secret of America’s schools is that teachers have lost control of the classroom. Disrespect is commonplace. Disorder is an epidemic — 43 percent of high school teachers say they spend more than half their time maintaining order instead of teaching, according to a Public Agenda survey. Learning is impossible in these conditions. One misbehaving student steals the floor, spoiling the learning opportunity for the other 29 students. ‘You know, it really doesn’t take very many kids to ruin a classroom,’ observed David Adams, superintendent of Shelbyville Central Schools.”

    Phillip K. Howard explains that the problem is too much law: “There is a broad perception — by teachers and students alike — that teachers lack the legal authority to enforce respect and order.”

  • Faust-Goudeau’s concern selective

    In today’s Wichita Eagle, Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate representing parts of north-central and northeast Wichita, writes this in a letter to the editor:

    I would like to commend Mayor Carl Brewer and the Wichita City Council for having the courage to vote down a rate increase for water and sewer charges for customers in our city (“Water rates to hold steady,” June 17 Local & State). As we continue to face economic down times, I am very concerned about our senior citizens and people with disabilities who are on fixed incomes and struggling to make ends meet. This increase would have certainly added an additional financial burden for them in paying utility bills.

    The proposed rate increase Faust-Goudeau refers to was in the amount of $2.00 per month.

    I suppose it’s admirable that she’s looking out for the interests of her constituents in this matter. But her concern is selective.

    The problem is that Faust-Goudeau voted against the expansion of the Holcomb Station coal-fired electricity generating plant. Her votes mean that Kansas would have to rely on wind power backed by natural gas, which is much more expensive than relying on electricity generated by coal.

    Wind power is very expensive, despite being heavily subsidized by the federal government through the production tax credit.

    It’s so expensive that Westar, the electrical utility that serves Wichita and Faust-Goudeau’s constituents, has had to ask for several rate increases recently. The cost of wind power was cited in some of the requests.

    One of these rate increases was estimated to add $10 per month to the cost of electricity for the average house.

    Part of the reason for the water department’s rate increase request is to fund capital improvements the department needs to make sure it can continue to deliver water now and well into the future.

    Paying much higher electric bills just so we can build more windmills to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, and even if it did exist, can’t be solved with windmills in Kansas: that’s a burden that no one should have to pay.

    Not even Faust-Goudeau herself, no matter how she votes in the Kansas Senate.