Flag burning amendment fails in the senate

In another mid term election stunt, the Republicans neo-conservatives have again intorduced more wedge legislation. This of course was expected, but is disappointing nevertheless. Several days in the legislative session were wasted in this debate, as was the case the last time the amendment was introduced, which was, not coincidentally, another election year.

Like the anti-Gay Marriage amendment, this is meant to be a distraction. I personally have never in my life seen anyone burn an American flag. This is probably due to the fact that their life expectancy would be reduced considerably by those nearby. I don't recall being stuck in traffic because of all the people running out to buy lighter fluid and flags. In fact, I don't think I've even seen anyone burn a US flag inside this country, even on the news. So what exactly is the problem?

The problem is more style over substance. It's an effort to elevate the symbol of freedom above freedom itself. The trouble is, there are many symbols out there that are very important to people. Like the flag, they represent many of our core ideals. If we outlaw the burning of the flag on the grounds that it's disrespectful, why stop there? Why not outlaw burning pictures of a flag. Why not outlaw speaking out against the flag? If someone cussed the flag out publicly, isn't that tantamount to burning it? And what about those other symbols, like the Bible, or the Koran, or my Voter's registration card? Those should be protected as well, right?

What is the point of freedom if you're only free to say and do things that the government doesn't find offensive?

1st anneversary of the Kelo decision

Tommorow is the 1st anneversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Kelo vs. New London. This was a case where the City of New London, Connecticut decided to seize land from a group of homeowners in order to make room for a new facility. The new facility was for the Pfizer corporation, so that they could open a research facility. Some of these residents had held land and/or homes in the area for over 100 years. Despite this, the city condemned their land and seized it. Below is an excerpt from the dissenting opinion in this case (written by Justice O'Connor):

Today the Court abandons this long-held, basic limitation on government power. Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded–i.e., given to an owner who will use it in a way that the legislature deems more beneficial to the public–in the process. To reason, as the Court does, that the incidental public benefits resulting from the subsequent ordinary use of private property render economic development takings “for public use” is to wash out any distinction between private and public use of property–and thereby effectively to delete the words “for public use” from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly I respectfully dissent.

The most frightening sentence in this paragraph is the last one, that this decision effectively deletes the eminent domain clause from the 5th amendment.

Because of this, some states have decided to take action. In Kansas, a constitutional amendment was introduced in the legislature this year, HCR 5025. This amendment would put a question on the ballot in the November general election. It would be up to the people to ratify, and it would bar this type of abuse from ever happening in our state (which ranks as the 2nd worst abuser nationwide). The resolution failed by 3 votes.

Why is it that our lawmakers denied us the right to vote on a constitutional amendment? Do they really think only they know what's best?

Tommorrow, at the Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe, KS, we will be holding a demonstration to remember this anneversary, and to promote a constitutional amendment to stop it. The demonstration begins at 11:00 and will conclude at 1:00.

Over the next hill

I decided to take yesterday off for two reasons. 1) It was father's day, and 2) I had to go help with preparations for next weekends "Janie's over the next hill" ride for the Imacculata Manor.

Father's day went well. The kids got me a very nice box of cigars, each individually encased in glass, and stored in a very nice box. The cigars are hecho a mano en Honduras, which for those non-Spanish speakers means "Made by hand in Honduras". Honduran tobacco is generally regarded as second only to cuban in terms of strength and quality. Not surprising since many of the tobacco farmers there took their seeds and knowledge from Cuba when Castro took over and migrated to places like Honduras. At any rate, it was a very nice thought, and I'm proud of my kids for being so politically incorrect.

Now a break for a great cause: Janie's over the next hill ride. The ride is an annual event promoted heavily by 99.7's "Slacker", Gail's Harley-Davidson, Shawnee-Cycle Plaza, and many other great sponsors. Visit www.overthenexthill.com for complete details. The ride is a benefit for The Immaculata Manor, which is a home for mentally challenged girls and women. My friend Gary Brownsberger is in charge of the ride, and his sister is a long time resident at the facility.

We're expecting 600 riders this year. That's 600 bikes, lined up in formation, going just over 85 miles through the beautiful countryside North of the river (they call it God's country, but I'm not really sure about that!). We've got great cooperation from the local police departments to help stop traffic for us, and yours truly will be one of the Road Captains that will help ensure a smoothe ride.

If you've got a bike, no matter what kind or brand, gas it up and meet us for the ride, this Sunday morning at Bob Evan's in Liberty!

Kansas Republicans Revise State Platform

Recently I was surfing political websites, as I'm known to do from time to time. One of the sites I visit regularly is www.johnsoncountyrepublicanparty.com There are some interesting, and even humorous parts of this site (such as RINO sightings, RINO being Republicans in Name Only). This helps me to keep tabs on the 2 parts of the republican party, the conservative Christian Right wing, and the moderate wing. It seems there is quite a power struggle going on there.

Another part of the website lists some excerpts from recent changes to the Republican Party State platform. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hold a candidate responsible for his platform, nor am I naive enough to believe that every party member has to march in lockstep with it. We're all human beings, and we all have opinions. It is worth noting, however, the slant that I see more and more in GOP politics. That slant is the "God is on our side" angle. Consider the following excerpts, taken from the site above (click on "Key Issues"):

We oppose pornography in all forms... (A very open ended statement. I wonder if your harlequin romance should be burned?)

The benefits of marriage shall be between one man and one woman (I don't know about you, but I feel much safer knowing that gays can't marry each other.)

Kansas students should be allowed and encouraged to fully discuss and critique all science-based theories for the origin of life in science curricula. ... (It's official folks, Intelligent Design is now in the GOP platform).

... Gambling should not be expanded to include state-owned facilities. (Can't have that now can we? After all, anyone with an internet connection already has gamblin in his living room. There's no reason for us to want to try to increase our tax revenue by allowing citizens the right to gamble)

Private property rights are essential to individual liberty. Government should be prohibited from seizing private property for economic development. Eminent domain is intended for essential public purposes (funny, the Republican controlled Legislature couldn't seem to pass any real eminent domain reform this year)

We support: The overturning of Roe v. Wade. ... AND The role of parents as the primary decision makers in the medical care of their children. ... (OK, which is it? Oh, I get it, medical decisions involving their children, but not their own bodies, even if there is a good medical reason for it)

I don't know about you, but this bothers me. The far right is making inroads into the GOP (and therefore the controlling part of our government) at astonishing rates. I used to just be concerned with our virtual police state, but now I have the added fear of going back to the dark ages....

What ever happened to tolerance? Is that not in vogue any longer?

"The Decider" signs new penalties for smut into law

President Bush (who gave himself the nick-name "The Decider") signed a new bill into law today. That shouldn't shock anyone, since he has yet to veto a single bill in 6 years. This one, however, deals with "smut" on our airwaves, increasing the fines for "smut".

Parents are justifiably concerned with what their kids are exposed to. As a parent myself, I monitor my kids activities when I can. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to be with them, because we all have careers and social lives. As a social liberal, I'm probably a little looser with my kids than a typical socially-conservative family, however that is a choice I make for my own kids. There have been times when there were programs I didn't want them to have access to on satellite (when I had that service) and cable. Both my control box and my TVs have password restricted settings, however, and I took the time to learn how to use them. They work quite well.

Evidentally The Decider is not real interested in learning how to use a V Chip or a control box. What he is obviously interested in, however, is placating his religious rightwing base, and once again, he's remained loyal to that group. I guess we should expect nothing less at this point.

Supreme court upholds no-knock warrants

In a 5-4 ruling today, the U.S. supreme court upheld the right of the police to barge into your home without annoncing themselves. At first glance, this seems like a victory for law enforcement and a setback for criminals. I'm sure that no-knock warrants help police to preserve evidence in certain cases, but I do have some serious concerns about this.

There have been numerous reported instances of police barging into the WRONG home. Usually this happens when they've gotten the address wrong. When I was a volunteer firefighter, I remember one such occasion. A fire chief on another department in our county mistakenly kicked in someone's door because he got the wrong address on a fire call. This is dangerous business. What is a person supposed to think when he is a law abiding citizen, asleep in his room, and in the middle of the night hears his door crashing down? I can tell you what my first thought is, and it would probably result in getting someone a very bad case of lead poisoning.

This scenario is not only a terrible thought, but it has happened. This policy is extremely dangerous to both police and citizens, and is almost always used to seize drugs. Are we really willing to gamble with citizens' and police officers' lives in order to enforce our prohibition policy?

Justice Breyer wrote for the dissenting 4, and said, among other things that the decision "erases 90 years of supreme court president".

Sleep tight.

Wingnuts, dog bites, and op-ed pieces

The last few days have been pretty interesting. The day before yesterday I was out campaigning and was treated to my first dog bite. I was on the sidewalk, and didn't think the dog could reach that far on his teather. By the time I realized he could, he had bitten me already. Thankfully no skin was broken so I didn't have to go through all the medical procedures. The owner was on the porch and didn't seem to mind the fact that his dog (which looked at least half pit bull) had just bitten me. Shortly after that, I got to talking to another man walking his dog and we ended up standing on the sidewalk talking politics for over an hour. He is very active in area politics and was quite knoweldgeable. I really appreciated his insights.

I don't think I'll be going door to door today. I did, however, stop by the Bullet Hole to introduce myself to the guys and give them some flyers for their counter. As a long-time customer, I know them by face, but have never actually talked with them. Needless to say, they are excited to have a pro-gun owners' rights candidate on the ballot.

Tonight is the battle of the wingnuts, as I like to call it. The left wing versus the right wing, on Jay Leno. In the left corner, wearing a dark suit, and tipping the scales heavily to the statist side, is none other than George Carlin. In the right corner, known for her fiery, unapologetic rhetoric, Mrs. AAaaaannnnneeee COOUULLLTEERRRRR... I just had to do that. Ann Coulter of course. Yes, the woman best known for criticizing 9/11 widows and her book which prominently states that anyone who doesn't share her beliefs is godless will be squaring off with a long time comic. Although I'm not on the left or right, I think if I had to take sides I'd put my money on Carlin. It should be interesting.

And now for the most exciting thing of the day: The Kansas City Star published another of my op-ed pieces under the "As I See It' column of the opinion page in the local section. It explains eminent domain abuse, and what we can do to stop it. The link can be found here:

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/14810785.htm

Pitch Cover Story - High Above the Law

The cover story on this week's Pitch magazine is entitled "High Above the Law". It is an extensive piece written about the efforts to legalize medicinal marijuana in Missouri. Unfortunately, after reading the article, one gets the distinct impression that the advocates for this policy are not well organized, and definitely lack the people skills needed to make their point. I got to wondering why this might be.

Solvay Pharmaceuticals is a drug manufacturer that markets a product called marinol (http://www.marinol.com/) It is a synthetic version of marjiuana that is available by perscription to those who benefit from this form of therapy. It is rather expensive of course. The current excuses for having this legal, but not marijuana is that the delivery vehicle is ingestion rather than smoke inhalation, and the fact that it does not contain the other chemicals known to be in the cannabis sativa plant. Ignoring the facts that marijuana can be effectively injested, and that there have not been any conclusive studies done to prove harm with the other chemicals, politicians remain steadfast in their opposition to the weed. What is the real reason for this, you ask? In this writer's personal opinion, it's because the drug company probably is organized, and has some polished speakers to lobby on its behalf.

Our drug policy makes absolutely no sense. Why do we put people in prison for drug posession, where they can readily obtain more drugs, but not the treatment they so desparately need? Do we expect prison guards to treat drug and medical problems? Most offenders are non-violent, but are taking up huge amounts of prison space. Why do we freely admit that prohibition of alcohol (one of the most destructive drugs) was a failure, but refuse to admit that prohibition of drugs (the "war on drugs") has been a failure as well? Why do we allow physicians to perscribe some of the most destructive and addictive substances known to man, but we won't allow a person to grow a weed in his back yard to save his life? Nobody has ever died from a marijuana overdose, yet thousands die annually from perscription drug overdoses.

It's high time we take a serious look at our drug laws. The advocates of a sensible drug policy need to come out of hiding, organize, and form a strategy. The war on drugs is not a war on drugs, it's a war on the American people, and our civil liberties. Where are the voices of reason?

The candidates for the 24th are now in place

Today is the first of several important dates on the election calendar. The reason today is imporant is that it is the deadline for filing for the August 1st primaries. Since my party (the Libertarian Party) does not have primaries, I bypassed this step and went directly to the ballot (the LP nominates and votes on candidates internally at our state convention). The other two parties must have primaries because they are considered major parties. Since only one candidate from each party filed, we now know who the participants in the November race are.

I will be facing Mr. Ed O'malley (R) (incumbent) and Mr. Andy Sandler (D). I know very little of Mr. Sandler, and I have absolutely no idea what his campaign issues will be. I do know something of Mr. O'Malley since I have been his constituent and have followed his voting record. This presents several challenges to me, but the most significant challenge is recognition. Since it's a 3 way race, there is a possibility that I will have to struggle in this area because I'm from a minor party. That's not a new problem for the Libertarian Party unfortunately.

In the last presidential election, the Libertarian Party had a candidate on the ballot in 48 states, more than any other 3rd party. This is not as easy as it sounds. We work very hard to maintain our ballot access. In some cases, petition drives are required, and in some cases we have to earn a certain percentage of votes in a statewide race. In the case of Kansas, it's the latter. At any rate, not only did the media largely ignore our candidate, but he was arrested trying to get into the national debates. Is this the America you know? A legitimate presidential candidate denied participation in critical discussions? Do you even know his name? I bet not. It's Michael Badnarik, for the record.

At any rate, even with the odds against me, I will press on. In poker circles there is a saying, "if you have a chip and a chair, you're in the game". Well, I recon I've got a printing press and ballot access, so I'm in the game here as well. It should be a very interesting next few months. Regardless of your party affiliation, or your political leanings, please celebrate your patriotism by studying the issues, the candidates, and GO VOTE!

Hail storm moves through Overland Park

I know this is a political blog, but I'm taking the day off from politics (at least here). There isn't much of any real substance going on today in the news anyway.

Last night a hail storm moved through our area. We had some golf ball sized pieces of ice in our yard, and the kids really got a kick out of it. I'm glad they had fun, because I was busy trying to think of some way to save my garden!

I've spent more time and effort on my garden this year than any other year. I have (had) two rows of beans that would probably qualify for a magazine picture, a row of corn that grows so fast you can almost watch it, and some good looking okra specimens as well. They've survived previous strong storms (I had to go out and give them a morale bost afterword by straightening them up), but this one really pushed the envelope.

The good news is the corn and okra was not affected. My 60 or so bean plants are a different story. Their large leaves and long stems made them easy targets. Some appear untouched, but at least half are looking quite sickly. Only time will tell whether they make it or not, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Maybe I should petition the city for an increase in sales tax to install a rolling roof in my back yard?

Campaign season is underway

The door-to-door phase of my campaign is now in full swing. I have the blisters to prove it! So far I've visited over 500 houses in my district, introducing myself and distributing flyers. I haven't ever really gone door to door (well, once when I was a cub scout to sell popcorn) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I must say that so far, it has been a very positive experience.

People have been very nice, and the vast majority are actually taking the time to read my flyer. I know firsthand how busy a person can get with work, family, errands, cooking dinner, sports practice, etc., so I was worried that I might encounter a few less-than-happy campers on my campaign trail. Not so. A few did appear slightly distraught when they saw me approach with a brief case and a handful of flyers, and mutter something along the lines of, "OK, whatcha sellin?". But as soon as I explained why I was there, their countenance changed considerably.

Among the things I've seen so far that have been noteworthy: An elderly couple who was flabergasted that any candidate still walked door-to-door, a sign on someone's door saying, "Don't knock, don't ring the bell, or we'll call the police. You have been warned", and a man who told me he had just switched to the Libertarian Party (my party of course). I'm sure I'll have many more stories by the end of the campaign.

There are over 10,000 houses in district 24. I have hit 500 this week. It will be difficult (and expensive) to cover all 10,000 houses, but I'm going to try. If I don't run out of time or money, I believe I've got a fair-to-midlin' chance of it. The heat was almost unberable yesterday, but I strapped on my Camelback (a backpack that has a huge water bladder and a drinking tube in it) and forged on.

If you live in district 24, I hope to see you soon.

Your family now owes $500,000.00 in Gov't Debt.

Don't believe it? Well it's true. The article ran in USA Today on 5/24/06, and can be found here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-24-retiree-taxpayers_x.htm

Yes friends, our runaway freight train of a government has put us all in the poor house. We have virtually guarnateed a future of slavery or economic chaos for our children. Politician after politician has railed on us proponents of smaller government time and time again. How can we advocate eliminating the welfare state when people are out of work? How can we think about cutting or privatizing social security? How can we say no to our seniors' perscription drug costs? These are all very troubling questions. Questions that nobody wants to answer. The subject Social Security is so touchy that it's often referred to as the "third rail of politics". Well I guess I have one question for everyone: How can we sell our kids into slavery?

All of the government entitlement programs sound great, but unfortunately don't work. We had better face that fact soon, or our children will be working overtime just to pay down the interest on the debt. This year, congress voted to raise the federal debt ceiling to $9 trillion in order to avoid a default on our obligations. That alone amounts to $30,000.00 in debt for every living soul in the US. If someone doesn't put the brakes on this runaway train, we will ALL be living in a 3rd world country within the next generation or two.

It's not always fun to face reality. Unfortunately it has to be done. The government can not go on functioning as Santa Clause.

Intelligent Voting and the Kansas School Board

I suppose I should tackle this issue at least once between now and the August first primaries. As anyone who follows politics knows, the ultra-conservative majority of our Kansas School Board has made us an international laughing stock with several of its recent actions.

First there was the introduction of Intelligent Design (ID) as a viable scientific theory, on a par with evolution. Then there was the changing of the definition of science from "seeking natural explanations..." to "seeking logical explanations...". If that wasn't enough, just to add insult to injury, the board voted to make sex education "opt-in" rather than "opt-out".

ID has a place in our public schools. Unfortunately for conservatives, it is certainly not in science class. Most in the mainstream, including myself, have no problem whatsoever with teaching ID in a philosophy or comparative religion class. It does not qualify for science, however, since it advances the idea of a supernatural being. Proponents say it's just a theory that there was intelligent design in our universe. For some reason the logic train derails at that point, because they don't seem to understand that following this line of thought, there must be an intelligent designer. By definition, this has to be God, or, I guess, just someone else who is capable of creating a universe.

Science does not seek to find logical explanations for things. That's philosophy's job. Science as a discipline is subordinate to philosophy because it is limited only to natural phenomena, whereas philosphy is not. Changing one word in our definition of science does have an enormous impact on what ends up in the classroom.

As for sex-ed, once again, we're paying for Connie Morris' past. In her book, "From the Darkness: One Woman's Rise to Nobility", Morris talks about being sexually abused as a kid, and later her promiscuity and expiramentation with drugs. Of course this was followed by a conversion to Christianity, which is not uncommon. Like most in her position, she went from one extreme to the other, but evidentally her pre-occupation wtih sex still pervades her thoughts. Hence the entire state must now go out of their way to have their kids tought basic biology and disease prevention in sex-ed.

There was a time when religion ruled the world. It was called the dark ages. Let's not go back to that time. Instead, ultra-conservatives like Morris need to be thrown out, and the sooner the better. If you live in a district that has an incumbent extremist, make sure you're registered to vote, and vote AGAINST them in the primary. I am in Sue Gamble's district, and I believe she is one of the few voices of reason on the board.. (oh, and I can't vote in the primaries anyway as a registered Libertarian, small detail).

Get out and vote, and let's restore our acedemic standards to the modern age.

Lawrence KS cell phone ban

The City of Lawrence is currently debating a proposed ordinance that, if enacted, will be the strictest cell phone ban in the country. The ban applies to everyone while they're driving, and even includes conversations made on cell phones in "hands-free" mode. This means that if you're driving down the road, talking into your speaker phone, you could be pulled over and cited. I have to assume it also means that if you're driving down the road and singing, you could be pulled over, since police have no way to know the difference.

There are already laws on the books against inattentive driving. Evidentally the City of Lawrence has not done a good job of enforcing those laws, so now they want even more laws to compensate. I've never quite understood this thinking, but it seems to permeate all levels of government. So what really is the point of this new law?

During the course of the debate, one official made the following comment:

“This (ban) would send an important message that safety is more important than personal convenience,” Traffic Safety Commissioner Paul Graves said.

Following this logic, if safety was more important than personal convenience, we wouldn't be driving cars in the first place, as they are nothing more than personal convenience, and, statistically speaking, extremely dangerous.

Anti-gay marriage amendment a distraction

The conservatives are at it again. Once again, social issues are rearing their ugly heads in our nation's capitol in an effort to posture for mid-term elections. These debates are a useless waste of resources, and are intended only to attempt to shore up the conservative base that the G.O.P. so often panders to.

With the Preident's approval rating at 29%, I suppose he thinks anything is worth a shot. And Anti-gay marriage has been a real crowd pleaser in the past, so why not try again? And while we're at it, let's throw in a ban on flag burning just for good measure.

The GOP sponsors of these bills admit that they have no chance of passing. "Why introduce them, then?", you may ask. Good question. The only answer I can come up with is pandering. Regardless, it's a waste of our time and money.

Personally I don't feel that it's the government's place to dictate the terms of a private, religious relationship between two people. I'm clearly a minority here, and my state of Kansas has a constitutional amendment to prove it. As a candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives, however, I must say that I don't think the average voter in my district is losing sleep over this. It's just not that important to anyone I know. So why don't we move on to the real issues of the day? Namely, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (yes, we have troops there too, remember?), and the impending war with Iran. Then there's the staggering federal debt, (the "elephant in the living room"), immigration.... the list goes on.