Global warming alarmism Archives - Page 2 of 6 Voice For Liberty

May

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Monday May 23, 2011

Wichita City council. As it is the fourth Tuesday of the month, the Wichita City Council handles only consent agenda items. The council will also hold a workshop. Consent agendas are usually reserved for items thought to be of non-controversial nature. Today's Wichita Eagle spotlights one item where the city is proposing to hire an outside firm to inspect the roof of the airport for damage from last September's storm. Some, including Council Member Michael O'Donnell (district 4, south and southwest Wichita) wonder why the city can't do the inspection with it's own engineering staff and resources. ... Of further…

May

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Tuesday May 3, 2011

Why not school choice in Kansas? WhyNotKansas.com is a website that holds information about the benefits of giving families the freedom of school choice. The site is new this week, and is a project of Kansas Policy Institute and Foundation for Educational Choice. Innovation in school choice programs is common in many states. Kansas, however, still grants the education bureaucracy a monopoly on the use of public dollars in education. Economics in one lesson this Monday. On Monday (May 9), four videos based on Henry Hazlitt's classic work Economics in One Lesson will be shown in Wichita. The four topics…

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Study looks at spending, strategy in cap and trade debate

While those who advocate cap and trade legislation charge that conservatives, particularly Charles and David Koch, have outspent them, a study finds the opposite. According to American University Professor Matthew Nisbet, in 2009 environmental groups spent $394 million on climate change and energy policy efforts such as promoting cap and trade. Opposition groups spent $259 million. Information like this helps place the reports of conservative spending, including that of Charles and David Koch, in perspective. Without this, we're left with the one-sided reports from Greenpeace and the New Yorker magazine, in which numbers are mentioned without -- or with little…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Thursday March 23, 2011

Owens still blocks judicial selection reform. Kansas Reporter writes that one man, Senator Tim Owens, an attorney and Republican from Overland Park, is still blocking judicial selection reform. But a move by the House gives Senate President Stephen Morris a chance to let Senators vote to concur with the reform measure passed by the House. Or, Morris could refer the measure to Owens' Judiciary committee, where it will die. See New way of picking appeals judges gets second shot. Greed is killing Detroit. Greed is often portrayed as a negative quality of the rich. But Investor's Business Daily tells what…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Monday March 21, 2011

Wichita City Council this week. As it is the fourth Tuesday of the month, the Wichita City Council handles consent agenda items only and often has a workshop. Consent agenda items are thought by the agenda-builder to be non-controversial, and are voted on by the council as a group, unless a council member requests to pull an item for individual discussion and voting. ... This week's meeting will also feature the awarding of a key to the city to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. Perhaps the governor will take a moment to comment on his economic development plan, which discourages the…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

More left-liberal environmental hypocrisy

This time it's Robert Redford caught in a few "do as I say, not as I do" moments. He opposes environmentally-friendly development near a vineyard he owns, as reported in the New York Times: "Robert Redford, the actor and environmental superhero, is a vocal supporter of renewable power and sustainable growth -- but it seems that doesn’t include a proposal for an ecofriendly housing development in his corner of the Napa Valley." But if you have $1,975,000 he'll sell you a lot for a luxury vacation home. He campaigns against the use of oil -- while at the same time…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Friday December 31, 2010

This Week in Kansas. On This Week in Kansas guests Rebecca Zepick of State of the State KS, Kansas Public Radio Statehouse Bureau Chief Stephen Koranda, and myself discuss the upcoming session of the Kansas Legislature. Tim Brown is the host. This Week in Kansas airs on KAKE TV channel 10, Sunday morning at 9:00 am. Tax increment financing. "Largely because it promises something for nothing -- an economic stimulus in exchange for tax revenue that otherwise would not materialize -- this tool [tax increment financing] is becoming increasingly popular across the country. ... 'TIFs are being pushed out there…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Wind power again reaps subsidy

The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is at the forefront of letting Americans know just how bad an investment our country is making in wind power, as well as other forms of renewable energy. A recent Review and Outlook piece titled The Wind Subsidy Bubble: Green pork should be a GOP budget target holds these facts: The recent tax bill has a $3 billion grant for wind projects. The 2009 stimulus bill had $30 billion for wind. Wind power installations are way down from recent years. The 2008 stimulus bill forces taxpayers to pay 30% of a renewable…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Thursday December 2, 2010

Kansas lags in charter schools. It won't be a surprise to regular readers of this site, but Kansas is way behind most states in taking advantage of charter schools. This is a school reform measure that, while not perfect and doesn't succeed in all cases, provides a way to increase opportunity for often the most disadvantaged students. It also increases opportunity for those students who don't directly use them. Paul Soutar takes a look at how Kansas earns such a poor evaluation regarding charter schools in his article Weak Charter School Law Works Against Taxpayers' Interests. Bureaucrats Gone Wild in…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Tuesday November 30, 2010

AFP to host climate conference event. This week the United Nations Climate Change Conference meets in Cancun, and Americans for Prosperity is taking its Hot Air Tour there. There are two ways to view this event: online, or by attending a watch party. There's one in Wichita Thursday evening. Click on Hot Air Tour: Live from Cancun for more information and to register. Christmas organ concert tomorrow. On Wednesday December first, Wichita State University Organ Professor Lynne Davis will present the First Annual Christmas Organ Concert. This event is part of the "Wednesdays in Wiedemann" series. Tomorrow's program includes voice…