Liz Miller: FAILED REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR CANCELS QUARTERLY ECONOMIC REPORT @ Santa Monica Observer

The "Lion of the Senate" in opposition. 

Yes, it helps to read what others elsewhere write about Gov. Sam

Brownback.  California, no less, who raised the income tax rate for the top 1% to 13.2% and now have a budget surplus, is watching and learning from our #FailedExperiment.  

Own up to it fellow Kansans and clean out the Topeka statehouse this November 8th. 

Reporter Liz Miller hits the mark, but misses the timing of Sam's economic blackout, nearly a month before Election Day, 2016.

She writes:

"Now that his vision has failed miserably, the Council of Economic Advisors, chaired by Brownback himself, has determined that they will no longer compile and distribute the report, which was based on a comparison with economic markers from six neighboring states.

Their excuse: it confuses people."

Read more. 

Tim Carpenter: Topeka Capital Journal Questionnaire Voter Guide

Aug. 31, 2016

Brownback is a 1%er too!

Greetings from The Topeka Capital-Journal.

The Capital-Journal is requesting your assistance with our general election Voter Guide. The objective is to be a conduit of information to your prospective voters.

In advance of the November vote, The Capital-Journal is asking candidates to answer six essay questions and six yes-or-no questions. In addition, we're requesting basic biographical information. The same inquiries will be posed to all Senate and House candidates for the Kansas Legislature.

We recommend essay answers run from 100 words to 300 words. These responses will be published online as submitted, but may be edited for length in print.

The deadline for submitting answers is Sept. 15.

Please send replies to reporter Tim Carpenter at the following email: timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.

Here are the essay questions: (No more than 300 words for each.)

*********************************

Explain why you are the best candidate for the office you seek and highlight a position held by your opponent that you admire.

I admire and respect my opponent, Ronald Ellis for his position within the 47th District communities; he is widely respected both as a livestock breeder and a retired Oskaloosa high school teacher.

I’ve studied and reported on local, state and national issues for 30 years and never witnessed such a suffocating atmosphere of extreme cynicism against the poor, sick and elderly. Reactionary policies favoring the robber baron period of the early 20th century is dangerously stupid.

I am proud the statewide organization of Women for Kansas graded me “A” with 100% for my positions on the issues facing all Kansans.

I have been a lifelong political independent until March 2016. When filing as a candidate for this office I became a reluctant member of the Democratic Party. I am not beholden to any interest group and at odds with the current Brownback administration on virtually every item.

My opponent, a long-time leader of the Jefferson County Republican Party lays forth a blanket record of support for state-wide party leadership.

I strongly suspect based on his lack of any published policy statements, he is another shadow candidate for the retrograde Brownback agenda. Today he and many candidates declare themselves as “moderate” and “independent” without offering any debate for credible solutions.

Too many elected state-level officials seem to consider privileged communications and insider relationships as more important than a public record of considered positions.

Relying on empty allegiances to party membership for votes, rather than rigorous public issue-centered debate, is a horrible hallmark of contemporary governance.

My opponent, Ron Ellis, hasn’t published any positions that I can find other than being anti-abortion, which I consider inherently biased against women and obsessed with one public health care issue.

This questionnaire may change that, but will he debate?

Click image to enlarge.

Outline revenue and spending changes you support to eliminate the state's structural deficit. Be specific in setting out your tax and budget reforms.

Kansas paycheck taxpayers are unfairly now the muscle of the general revenue funding of the state. The abominable state sales tax on food must be abolished.

I am on record in both newspaper and new media describing as "borderline criminal behavior" what the majority of lawmakers have engaged in with their tax structure “reforms”.

I will advocate and coalesce with those who take a “hard and fast” rule to the 1% at the top who have been benefiting the most from the regressive tax “reform.”

An increased income tax on the top 1% to 13.5% will immediately right the ship of state and provide a launch pad to not only restore funding deficits, but enhance economic growth.

A January 2015 study by the Economic Policy Institute determined that the average 2012 income for the top 1% in Kansas was $1,093,986 alongside that of the 99% at $48,312.

The economic disparity between the disaffected in Kansas; being those paycheck taxpayers and the .01% becomes grotesque in that their threshold income average for 2012 was $7,985,550 while averaging $25,879,120.

It can be safely assumed that Gov. Brownback and other state functionaries approach a threshold income of $358,000 annually making them part of the 1% problem. I consider significant number of lawmakers in Topeka as tax avoiding looters after passing the regressive tax schedules of 2012-13.

We should immediately review the LLC tax cuts to ensure it doesn’t provide windfalls to large corporations.

How would you modify the Kansas Open Records Act and the Kansas Open Meetings Act to improve the public's access to work of government officials in Kansas?

Click image to enlarge.

Creation of an inspector general office empowered with a whistleblowers protection statute; including remuneration and severance allowances for any public employee granted such protections.

· Facilitate and make available public applications for records and meeting minutes at all government offices

· Implement a mandatory electronic document transfer option thereby drastically reducing the cost of reproduction of government documents.

· State government committee hearings held with audio live stream available free to all internet users

If you were writing a bill to enhance public safety across the state, what would be three features of that legislation?
· Mandatory KBI fingerprinting, licensed lethal force trainers, liability insurance of all CDW bearers, computer flag and require a CDW insignia on any state mandated identification

· mandatory background checks for ANY and ALL gun transactions

· prohibit CDW from all state funded educational and government facilities

Articulate your strategy for folding citizens without adequate access to health care into a system in Kansas that provides for their physical and mental well-being.

· Expand Medicaid to the federal mandate and initiate restoration of all previous programs for the disabled, elderly and low-income.

· Require all licensed Kansas physicians to take a mandatory percentage number of Medicaid and Medicare patients.

Chronicle what you believe ought to be the central elements of a new school-finance formula for public schools in Kansas.
· Adequate and equitable funding for rural school districts are not the current standards under the clumsy and slapped together policy of the majority in the legislature.

· I will oppose the underhanded motives of many in the legislature toward privatization; i.e. vouchers for charter and private schools, so-called “virtual” homeschooling schemes (operated by vulture corporate speculators) that defund and further undermine rural public schools.

· I will advocate the hard and fast tax policy of 13.5% income tax on the top 1% which will more than adequately fund our state funded public schools.

Here are the yes-or-no questions:

Do you support a state requirement that all Kansas law enforcement officers wear body cameras?

YES

Will you vote to modify or repeal the 2012 state tax law providing an income tax exemption to owners of businesses formed as an LLC?

The 1%ers return Kansas to the "Gilded Age."

YES, but more interested in personal income tax changes than the LLC small business owner tax exemptions. I strongly feel that the top 1% should receive a hard and fast punitive personal income tax rate of 13.5% till Gov. Sam Brownback’s term ends.

Are you a supporter of government requirements that children be vaccinated for preventable diseases?
YES

Have you ever voted for a candidate for public office who represents a political party other than your own?
YES

Do you believe the state should adopt an increase in the minimum wage?

YES

Do you favor ouster of more than one member of the Kansas Supreme Court subject to retention vote on the November ballot?
NO

In terms of biographical information, please provide an outline highlighting your personal employment, public service, volunteerism, education, family, age and a hobby.

I am 61 years old semi-retired having lived in Jefferson County for the last 16 years. I am the executive producer and part-time host of the podcast call in show Radio Free Kansas, 7 years and over 2000 daily shows from the New York based BlogTalkRadio network. I was a state licensed private detective from 1995-2005 my duties included; counter-industrial espionage, installation and training in surveillance techniques, process services for domestic abuse victims, close protection and security chief for four Kansas women clinics providing abortions. I was publisher and editor of three country weekly newspapers based in north central Kansas for three years and the Alternative Index, “the only weekly voice of dissent” in the state.

My companion in life for over 30 years has been fellow native Kansan, Ann Kristin Neuhaus, M.D., M.P.H., and we share our love with son Tristan, aged 19 years, who is attending Highland Community College.

Thank you for sharing your insights with voters in Shawnee County and your willingness to serve the state. It's a hard job.

Philip Nel: ARMED AND UNSAFE: WHY KANSAS UNIVERSITIES MUST REJECT AND NOT ADAPT TO WEAPONIZED CAMPUSES @ Nine Kinds of Pie

WILL THE SEPT. 3rd EARTHQUAKE AWAKEN "RED STATERS" TO THE FOLLY OF INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION?

I was writing early Saturday morning at my printer's pulpit on the first floor of our ramshackle farmhouse when it started to creak and slightly wobble. The pulpit weighs when loaded with paper, supplies and an old typewriter at least a couple hundred pounds. At first I thought one of our dogs was banging against it, then the hanging plant above the window started swinging. It was the second earthquake felt in the 18 years since living here. The first one happened just before dawn years ago while I was upstairs in my office. Then the room swayed north and south, but this time on ground level the hanging plant swung east and west. 

The pulpit creaked for about 15 seconds, but the hanging plant kept swinging for nearly a minute.

Click image to enlarge.

Facebook meme from Kansas City

Muse the cat jumped off the clothes dryer across the room and my big dog Remus woke up and came over and leaned his full weight against my legs. He looked up at me with terror in his chocolate eyes.

My first thought was, "those damn wildcat oilmen down South. They're going to get away with it, again."


There were few news reports immediately created for television, after all, the beginning of the Labor Day holiday had just started. Who would be working in the newsrooms on a Saturday morning? I wondered how long it would take to find the reports?

I next wondered what was happening at Wolf Creek, a place I spent over a year building with thousands of others so long ago. The antiquated 30+ year old Wolf Creek Nuclear electric generation plant located in Coffey County, Ks. is just 140 miles from Pawnee, OK where the epicenter was located. I found out later the plant had been shutdown the day before due to a leak in the cooling system. It remains closed at the time of this post. How far from the comfort zone was the 5.6 earthquake that struck the next day at 7:02 Saturday morning? Reports of feeling the quake came in from North Dakota to Houston, Texas a distance of 1255 miles.

During it's construction the huge reinforced concrete pad the reactor rested on had created a sensation among us. It had a long crack in it running up and down and visibly deep after the mud had cured. It was a massive pour that took days and nights to do, and even longer to patch after the federal nuclear regulators examined it.

The tremors from the quake, with it's epicenter pictured above, according to Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge who produced the earliest and most informed report laid it squarely on the desks of the poorly regulated petroleum industry engaged in widespread fracking and deep disposal wells in the Oklahoma and Kansas areas.

Here's a few of the tweets Durden captured from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) center:

According to the USGS the quake was particularly powerful due to its shallow nature:

The depth of the quake's focus was 6.6 Km or 4.1 miles, which is fairly shallow. #okquake— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) September 3, 2016
Earthquakes w/shallow focus depths convey more energy to the land surface. For comparison, the recent quakes in Italy started @ 10 Km depth.— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) September 3, 2016

The USGS has said on its twitter account that it hopes the M5.6 quake is not a foreshock of a similar or larger quake.

The Prague earthquake of 2011 was preceded by a strong 4.5 M quake. Hopefully this 5.6 was not a foreshock of a similar or larger quake.— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) September 3, 2016

Owing to Oklahoma’s dramatic rise in earthquakes and a now-undisputed link between the seismic events and oil-and-gas disposal wells, the issue has gained political prominence that it didn’t have in 2011.

It will take some work to learn how to use the filters and locate the wells but this interactive map provided by the University of Kansas is very handy in understanding just how pervasive this industry is in the state.

Pawnee, OK @boberrylll twitter

Not that any of the millions of typically conservative climate change deniers in Oklahoma, Kansas or the Red State Belt or for that matter, even the states' lawmakers and governors would ever study it, . They routinely make derisive jokes about climate change and the Environmental Protective Agency, and are quick to equate regulation to "big government" over-reach. I have heard none supporting rigorous regular on-site field inspections by government overseers.  

  KSN.com Stillwater, OK. courtesy @ntifft Nathan Tifft twitter.

It's not like the problem hasn't been studied for a number of years and both states' governors have initiated blue ribbon studies which as far as I can determine had some pretty lame results.
The press coverage of the disposal of the toxic sludge from fracking is as clear as the dangerous stuff it purports to report on.

As an example go to the local Oklahoma newspaper site the Guthrie News Leader from Logan County and a report by Mark Schlachtenhaufen, Wednesday, January 20, 2016.  He wrote: 

When fluids are pumped into a rock formation under pressure, the added pressure may lower the frictional resistance between rocks along an existing fault system, allowing the rocks to slide.

Through July 1, 2015, southern Kansas has experienced a slight reduction in seismicity attributed to state restrictions in disposal rates and volumes and the effects of lower oil prices.

On March 19, 2015, the Kansas Corporation Commission ordered a reduction of disposal volumes in portions of Harper and Sumner counties. The order targeted five areas of seismic concern by applying the Kansas Induced Seismicity Task Force's seismic action score recorded to seismicity in the areas from January 2014-February 2015. The score is part of the Seismic Action Plan initiated by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, the Kansas Geological Survey, the Kansas Corporation Commission and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The order called for a gradual increased limit on disposal volume for a total reduction of up to 60 percent on specified wells during a 100-day period. It directed Kansas Corporation Commission staff to work with the Kansas Geological Survey to review the data, with recommendations to the commission for further action if necessary.

A complete copy of the order (Docket N. 15-CONS-770-CMSC) can be found at kcc.ks.gov.  The Kansas Geological Survey's working hypothesis for induced seismicity is exceeded limited storage and transmissivity in the Arbuckle saline aquifer leads to far-field pressurization and leakage into the basement where faults can be critically stressed. The agency suspects the northward migration of earthquakes in south central Kansas and north central Oklahoma indicates regional fluid or pressure movement along basement faults.

So the Kansas Corporation Commission limited disposal in two counties, but what of the other counties where fracking continues across southern and western Kansas and Oklahoma?  In their order the KCC call it "saltwater" but the content of the toxic sludge like the frackers are under protection of patent laws and don't have to release the exact ingredients. Consider these fantastic numbers listed below for the two counties in that KCC order.

The increased number of recorded earthquakes in Kansas coincides with an increase in the number of injection wells and the amounts of injected saltwater in Harper and Sumner Counties. In Harper County, the number of injection wells increased from 44 in 2010 to 71 in 2013, with 18 new permit applications received in 2014. The number of barrels of saltwater injected in Harper County increased from 9,671,655 in 2010 to 51,827,349 in 2013.

The number of injection wells in Sumner County increased from 53 in 2010 to 79 in 2013, with 17 new permit applications received in 2014. The number of barrels injected in Sumner County increased from 9,763,265 in 2010 to 10,722,360 in 2013. 

Saturday, the afternoon of the quake, Mary Fallin, governor of Oklahoma, declared several dozen disposal wells closed within 500 miles of the epicenter, but that doesn't mean Kansas petroleum lobbyists, politicians and industry wonks will change their positions. Large numbers of Kansans blame Oklahoma for this, but this calamity like the industry running loose in collusion with many state lawmakers, considers state borders a nuisance.

The industry can and do haul by tankers the fracking fluids to be disposed and can cross state borders with little if any notice of the governments.

We'll see if Gov. Brownback and the Kansas authorities will do anything of substance or wait till after the holiday.

I'll finish with posting this from the on-going protests just north of us a few hundred miles. Happening the same day as the quake it connects us, whether we like it or not.

Tim Carpenter: SAM BROWNBACK SINKS TO 70% DISAPPROVAL IN SECRET GOP POLL @ Topeka Capital Journal

John Shaw: ANGER, UNEASE GRIP AMERICAN HEARTLAND AS ELECTION NEARS @ The Washington Diplomat

Ann Mah's "Neighborhood News" Sept. 1, 2016

Neighborhood News from Ann Mah Dear Michael Caddell,  I'm enjoying knocking on doors with Senator Hensley. I believe people are genuinely more interested in and more attentive to the issues our state faces this year. Now we just need to get out and vote! Monday is Labor Day, the day we honor the contribution of American workers and the labor movement to the prosperity and well-being of our nation. My parents were both union members, so "thanks" Mom and Dad! In This Issue Correction Good news! Revenues down Where are we? The fallout Community calendar Quick Links www.annmah.org   Title correction My apologies for a typo in my last newsletter. Tim Keck is the Secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, not KDHE. Sorry for the error.  Good news for Kansas The Kansas Department of Commerce reports that: Spirit AeroSystems will invest more than $1 billion in its Kansas facilities and equipment over the next five years.  Enel Green Power North America, Inc., said it will build a 400 megawatt wind farm in Kansas costing $610 million. The electricity produced there in Clark County will be sold to Google and to the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities.  Airbus Americas said it will build a new state-of-the-art engineering center at Wichita State University. Great news for our state! Revenues down August revenues came in $10.5 million below estimates. That puts the state nearly $25 million below water in total for the first two months of the 2017 fiscal year. Revenue estimates will be re-set in November and then we'll get a better idea of whether more mid-year budget cuts have to be made. So where are we? Seems like the 2017 budget has developed in pieces. It's been hard to get our arms around where we really stand. The legislature left town with a budget that wasn't even balanced. It was $140 million short. They left the Governor to do the dirty work of budget cuts and fund transfers to try and reach zero by June 30. Most of these were one-time gimmicks. Even then the only way we made it through the 2016 fiscal year was by simply not paying bills in June and borrowing a billion dollars or so from our internal funds. Another problem is that they pushed a number of expenses out to 2017 and beyond, but that just exacerbates the problem for whomever comes to town in January. Right now we're looking at a $148 million deficit next June 30, and that doesn't include the $25 million we fell short the last two months.  Where to now? Best case, the budget and revenues are still hundreds of millions of dollars out of balance for years to come. We might hope for $6 billion in revenue this year but our expenses are estimated around $6.5 billion in 2018. The Governor has asked state agencies to prepare for a 5% budget cut just in case. Universities are cutting programs, cutting services, cutting hours, and really scrambling to manage the cuts they got this summer, let alone another 5%. Cities and counties are picking up safety net services the state isn't providing anymore. Even nursing homes are starting to close with the Medicaid cuts. My point is not that we are in trouble. You knew that. My point is that whoever is elected in November has a big mess to clean up. So please research your vote before you enter the booth. Vote for people with the courage to make the tough decisions ahead of us. People who think long-term and won't run out of town like cowards. Those candidates are out there and they need your support. Community Calendar If you have community events coming up, let me know.  This email goes to nearly 3000 homes in Shawnee, Osage, and Douglas counties. I'd love to help you get the word out!  Just remember to send your activities ahead of time.      Saturday, Sept. 3: Community breakfast at the Clinton Presbyterian Church from 7-10 am. Always yummy! Wednesday, Sept. 7: Tecumseh Community Dinner at Tecumseh United Methodist Church from 5 to 6:30 pm. Pulled pork sandwiches and fixings for a free will donation.  Carryout available. Thursday, Sept. 8: Jefferson County Area Democrats meets at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Oskaloosa at 7 pm.  Thursday, Sept. 8: Topeka Women's Connection "Fall in Love with Fall" luncheon from11:30 to 1:30 at the Topeka Library. Cost $14. Pay by Sept 2 to Twila Woodward, Apt 1001 4950 SW Huntoon St, Topeka 66604 Friday, Sept. 9: Backyard music and chili dinner at Prairie Meadow, 7321 SE 45th St.6-9 pm. Chili Bowl or Nacho Plate for $5.50. Gift shop open. Sept. 9-10: 8th Annual Perry Fall Festival in Historic Downtown Perry.  Saturday, Sept. 10: Free movie night at Highland Heights Christian Church, 29th and Tecumseh Rd. Movie: "Woodlawn" - The True Story. Doors open at 5:30 and movie at6:00 pm. Free snacks. Saturday, Sept. 10: Saturday Women's Luncheon Connection from 11 am to 1 pm at the Topeka Library. Cost $14. Reservations by Sept. 5 to Arlene at 233-0701 or by email to leidacloudcox.net . Business, music, speaker and lunch! Monday, Sept. 12: Perry Senior Citizens Lunch at noon at the Perry Community Building. Bring a covered dish to share. This month they are collecting non-perishable items to donate to Alpha Christian Children's Home. Bring your table service and $1 as well. Saturday, Sept. 24: Tecumseh Heritage Day at Tecumseh United Methodist Church from 10 am to 3 pm. Live entertainment, homemade pie and ice cream, wagon rides, petting zoo, craft booths, and more fun family activities.  Saturday, Sept. 24: Harvest Home Picnic and Pie Auction at the Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum. Hot dogs and Brats for a free will donation. Bring a dish to share. Kid's games, raffle, pie auction, and music. Saturday, Nov. 5: Tire Rack Street Survival at Heartland Park Topeka. Full day of classroom and driving experiences for teens. Register at www.streetsurvival.org.  ONGOING EVENTS: Storytime at the Auburn Community Library starts up for the fall again on Sept. 8 and continues on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 pm. Tuesday's Table at Overbrook United Methodist Church. Weekly lunch meal free to the public at noon on Tuesdays.  Swap meet at Premier Farm & Home, 900 SW University Blvd from 7 am to noon the last Saturday of the month through October. Laying hens, pullets, baby chicks, guineas, ducks, geese, and more. CARE meets monthly on the second Thursday at the KNEA building, second floor, at2 pm. For retired teachers or Kansans interested in advocating for education. For info: Larry Brayton at larrydene@cox.net.  Enjoy BUNCO at the Carbondale Community Building once a month on Monday andWednesday afternoons.  Call 785-836-7478 for details about dates, prizes, treats, etc.  The Berryton Pickers are at Berryton Baptist Church the first Saturday of the month from 7 to 9 pm.  Bring snacks and have some fun! Country and ballroom dancing at Croco Hall on Thursday nights from 6 to 9 pm.  For information call Edwina Hamersky at 379-9538.  First Saturday of the month community breakfast buffet at Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church.  7:30 to 10 am.  Free will offering. Larry and I will be helping judge the pie contest at Tecumseh Days on Sept. 24. We must just live right, because it's the best job ever! See you there! Sincerely,    Ann Mah www.annmah.org

John Hanna: KANSAS SCHOOLS PLAN WOULD END LOCAL DISTRICT'S POWER TO TAX @ Huron Daily Tribune

Peter Hancock: SoS KOBACH DEFENDS VOTING LAWS POST-PRIMARY, ACTIONS AS TRUMP SURROGATE @ Lawrence Journal World

Sept. 11, 2016 Downtown Perry, Ks.