Racist Kansas Half Staff Flag

So interesting. Governor Sam Brownback, of Kansas, has ordered that flags be flown at half staff in memory of the victims of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, but did not do the same when Dylann Roof waltzed into a South Carolina church and shot nine people at a Bible study. Both incidents were unexpected, both incidents were unjustified, both incidents resulted in untimely death, and both incidents resulted in terror, and could therefore be labeled "terrorism". Why would Brownback care about one set of victims, but not the other? Here's a guess: Dylann Roof's victims were black, while the people shot in San Bernardino were mostly white. Yep. Brownback and most of Kansas appear to have double standards. 

 

May all of the victims of both mass shootings rest in peace.

Federal Law Applies To Kansas, Too

It's really about time. It has been found that the Constitution grants marriage licenses to all couples, regardless of sexual preference, and that the fourteenth amendment offers legitimacy to the marriages of gay men and women. But Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has a problem with America's Constitution. He refers to the Supreme Court as an "activist court", and promises to "review the ruling carefully to understand it's effects on the people of Kansas." Is he serious? When was this governor ever concerned about the effects of anything on the people of Kansas? From fighting Obamacare tooth and nail to stripping public schools of funds, Brownback has not shown much concern at all about the people of Kansas. But now Kansas will be required to recognize marriage, everyone's marriage. And about de-funding public schools; block grants do not work as well in funding numerous, tiny, redundant schools as they do in funding larger, more efficient, better staffed schools. In order for the type of funding for which the Kansas GOP has opted for the public schools in Kansas, the schools will have to be consolidated, county by county, and answerable to the state, rather then to hundreds of "unified school districts". This would actually be a very good idea for Kansas, but the legislature has put the cart before the horse......the small, community schools should have been shut down and reorganized first, into bigger schools. Then, block grants, rather than the yearly handouts based on the number of students each school contains, would have been more sensible. The Supreme Court in Kansas made a decision for Brownback, though: de-funding education this way is unconstitutional. Brownback has vowed to appeal this decision. It seems he cannot get around the Constitution today!

If Kansas Republicans were truly conservative, the Kansas Department of Education and all of the "unified school districts", along with their schools, would have been in receivership a long time ago. Instead of small schools, serving less than one hundred students from kindergarten to twelfth grade in some cases, schools would be consolidated. Rather than forcing tax payers to fund the lifestyles of three or four high school principals in a county that only has three or four hundred high school students, there would only be one high school principal to pay. We could completely eliminate nonsense positions, such as "curriculum adviser", because the curriculum would be dictated by the state and by national and global standards. Allowing small towns in Kansas to waste money on tiny, inefficient schools is a frivolous waste, and no conservative worth his salt would allow such a thing to continue under his watch.

In other news, a legislative panel has dismissed a charge against Congresswoman Valdenia Winn, D; Wichita, Kansas. It seems that some Kansas Republicans did not like it when she referred to them as "racist bigots" when they tried to deny in-state tuition to immigrants. The Constitution strikes again! This time, with the First Amendment! It appears that the Constitution is sending a message to Kansas bigots today.

Petition To Oust Brownback

Governor Brownback, (R) of Kansas has at least inspired some creativity. He has also inspired a petition for a recall. Beyond getting the attention of the appropriate people, an online petition to recall a governor in Kansas doesn't really accomplish anything by itself, which is why your blogger ignored it until now. Brownback probably knew there would be mass disapproval of his performance. He does not show any signs of actually caring. The voters in Kansas really shouldn't be surprised.

People In Kansas Boo Governor Brownback

Surprise, surprise. The republicans who thought Brownback was nifty when he led some silly-assed public prayers (some people will fall for anything) are now disenchanted with his Republican approach to the educational needs of children. The only reason the grownups here can be blamed is because they were all warned that the education budget would take a big hit if Brownback were re-elected; the real victims are the children.

A solution that has been resisted, so far, by Northeast Kansas is consolidation of all the public schools in Kansas. Instead of a bunch of small, largely disenfranchised and independent school districts run by uneducated morons with more interest in downloading porn than in educating children, school districts could be divided by counties; the way other states manage schools. All counties would answer to the state for all matters, from curriculum to finances. Academic requirements would be the same at all schools, rules would be the same for everyone, and there would be no push to keep tiny, under-performing schools open for nostalgic reasons, despite their inefficiency. Requirements for teachers would also be the same at every Kansas school; no more hopping from one "independent school district" to another when a license or qualifications to teach are lacking in one district, but not another. We could also eliminate any unnecessary positions held by untalented former teachers, such as "curriculum adviser". (What the hell is a curriculum adviser, USD 380? Just fire the dumb bitch!) because every school would teach the same subjects. Think of all the money that could be saved if every county just had one school board, instead of three or four! Marshall County Kansas has two and a half school districts and school boards! Half of USD 380 is in Marshall County, the other half in Nemaha County, for a county with less than ten thousand people! Just cut off the dead wood and employ one school board.

Rather than booing Brownback after voting for him, maybe Kansas should look long and hard at the way other schools in the nation are run. Stepping out of the comfort zone of doing things that don't work and amount to nothing, such as public prayer and multiple school districts in each county, will probably help a lot more than blaming a politician who's been bought and sold by the Koch Brothers, for the problems in Kansas public schools. Maybe someone will start picketing Kansas Department of Education to stop answering to politics and make some of these changes for our children.

Bill Maher On Kansas

Interesting. While delving into the past of Paul Davis, who is running against Sam Browncrack for governorship of Kansas, Republicans discovered that Davis once went to a strip club when he was in his twenties, before he got married. Once. He's never taken bribes, violated anyone's civil rights, pandered to big businesses while forgetting about everyone else, outlawed medical care for women, or compromised education in public schools; but a night on the town sixteen years ago would simply be too much. Quite a bit of Kansas is rather permissive about such things as clubs and drinking: when parents complain about the behaviors of predominantly christian high school boys in public schools that function as if they were private, predominantly christian school, (lots of drinking and sexaul exploitation-not much reading, writing, and 'rithmetic) the "unified" school boards look the other way, saying "boys will be boys". But now we have the same religious Republicans who give their own sons the latitude to drive drunk and take advantage of our underage daughters crying the blues because a contender for the office of governor went out one night and drank in a bar. The only reason Republicans in Kansas wouldn't be comfortable with Davis as governor is because Davis would not be in favor of bar hopping every night, or of driving home drunk. And Davis would definitely not favor allowing children to do such things.

Davis also does not use religion in order to push anyone's buttons or gain a reaction from a voter. Brownback does. That's a big reason to vote against Brownback. Religion is personal, and Kansas routinely expresses far too much disrespect for it.

A Zombie Apocalypse In Kansas?

Today, Governor Brownback officially declared that October is Zombie Preparedness Month here in Kansas. He did it with a straight face, too. His reasoning is that if Kansans are prepared for zombies, they should be prepared for anything. That's an interesting notion, but do zombies really compare to tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes? And if they do, doesn't Kris Kobach (R-Kansas) have some helpful ideas, such as self deportation for zombies?

A "zombie" is a corpse that has been brought back to life, according to the mythos of the Voudon folk religions of Africa. A legendary zombie has no will of it's own, and exists to only follow the direction of the person who enslaves it. As a somewhat realistic practice in times past in Haiti, certain drugs, capable of creating brain damage, were occasionally administered by less scrupulous practitioners of folk religions. This could produce a "zombie-like" state in a victim. As a result, such practices were outlawed in Haiti in the late 1800's. It all seems somewhat comparable to modern children on medications for ADHD, and brainwashed, even without ADHD medications, in public schools! Perhaps that's why Governor Brownback feels that there is a need to be prepared for zombies........ the influx of graduates from our nation's public schools!

There will be an event Saturday from 10 AM to 2:30 PM in Topeka at the Crestview Shelter House on Sunga Drive to learn more about zombie preparedness. The first three hundred people will receive free "disaster-on-the-go"packs. Somehow, it seems unlikely that Brownback has considered including any counterspells in these packs; either for Kobach's legislation, Kansas public schools, or zombies.

Kansas Public School Teachers Protest

Governor Brownback, of Kansas, was met by a small group of protesting teachers in Hays one day last week because he recently signed a bill into law that he hopes will help redistribute funding for Kansas public schools more equally among school districts. The bill has some language and clauses that allow tax credits to those of us who do not use local public schools, and strips public school teachers of their tenure and due process if they happen to get fired from their jobs. Normally, I would be inclined to sympathize with the teachers, but not here in Kansas. My children do not attend the local public school, Frankfort, part of USD 380, because a teacher abandoned my fourteen year old daughter four miles away from school, and when he realized she was lost, did nothing to find her. He went home and had dinner, thinking she could find her own way back to Frankfort. No worries about my daughter being slowed down by an accidental injury, a bee sting, asthma, or an unsavory stranger. The school responded by failing to fire this teacher, and failing to make any changes to ensure safety at school. For this reason alone, I find the tax credit for families that home school and removal of tenure for Kansas public school teachers only fair. Another reason why I think public school teachers in Kansas do not deserve tenure is the way some of them treat children and parents. Below is a rather ugly message sent to me by a teacher who thought she could remain anonymous online. She was attempting to pressure me to vote for a candidate she favored in the 2008 presidential election, and in the 2012 presidential election. She also got very angry with me for enlisting the assistance of the ACLU in the enforcement of Abington School District v. Schempp, which gives children the right to learn in school, unhindered by religious pandering.

"Oh Miss Juli! Once again you just crack me up :) If Mitt doesn't win this election you can pretty much kiss the USA goodbye, but then, you would really like that, wouldn't you? You are the type that doesn't really give two shits about the flag, thinks God doesn't belong....ANYWHERE"

Nowhere else have I had interactions with public school teachers who engage, unsolicited, in disagreeable discourse about politics and elections! A post on this site and a bumper sticker revealed my political leanings to this teacher, and she was unable to stop herself from harassing my children and me! This is actually in conflict with the Constitution, which allows me to vote for the candidate of my choice, and for this reason, it pleases me greatly to see teachers a little bit closer to the unemployment office when they fill their salaried hours with activities other than teaching.

Note: Lemme clarify something about my last picture right here; there isn't a problem in bearing a love child. The problem arises when we pretend to be holy, when in fact, we are not.

Kansas Board Of Education Dude On Drugs

I'm a little late in mentioning this interesting Kansas incident, because it happened earlier this month, but here's what a Kansas board Of Education president looks like on drugs. John Reeder, of Trego County, was arrested on charges of possession and intent to distribute with one thousand feet of a school. Because of his position, he really should have known better. There was also a handgun involved, but isn't this why Governor Brownback allows teachers in Kansas to take guns to school? Reeder resigned immediately, so that his district could carry on with it's "business" without distractions; gotta wonder what is meant by "business". He doesn't look the slightest bit upset by all this in his booking photo, does he?

Paul Davis Throws His Hat In The Ring

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, (D) has thrown his hat into the ring to run for governor of Kansas, against Sam Brownback. He is less flamboyant than Brownback, more down to earth, much more concerned about the quality of public schools in Kansas, and does not lead public prayers. He's already looking good, and the "D" for Democrat doesn't hurt, either, although Davis has a reputation for working with both parties. His website is Davis For Kansas.

 

 

Listen To Your Elders, Brownback

Ya learn something new every day! The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature, an advisory group to governor, led by senior citizens, has recommended legalization of medical marijuana in Kansas to Governor Sam Brownback! Senate Bill 9, written by Senator David Haley, of Kansas City, Kansas, calling for legalization of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, has gotten no traction as of yet, but Kansas seniors would like something less addictive than oxycodone and easier on the kidneys than ibuprofen and acetaminophen for pain. Who knew?

That said, I will reiterate what I have stated on this site several times in the past: I do not use any recreational drugs, and condone no unlawful activity, but would like to see violations of prohibition laws relegated to a lesser place on court dockets, and charges for the same as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Prohibition of alcohol in this country, from 1920 to 1933, was unproductive, barely enforceable, and created opportunities for organized crime. Can anyone say "Mafia"?

The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature also consulted with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) prior to making their recommendation. This gives Governor Browncrack a perspective about the legal aspects of medical marijuana as well as the health aspects. Hopefully, Brownback will listen to his elders.

 

 

Life Imitates Art

Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? In this case, I really think life, unfortunately, imitates art!

 

To My Trolls, With Love

Among all the genuinely nice people who contact me through this blog, I seem to have picked up a couple of trolls. Oh well.......I always knew they were out there! But here's the thing: everyone else is not always going to agree with me, and I am not always going to agree with everyone else. Most of the time, that is not a problem. For instance, on this blog, I have been known to make fun of Republican politicians. I have been making fun of such individuals since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I do not intend to stop. Don't misunderstand, I have, on two occasions, voted for Republican candidates in local elections, because according to the information I had, they were the BEST people for the job each one wanted, but I will probably always find something about which to call out a Republican. It's nothing personal inasmuch as my friends and associates are concerned. I also bust on Fundamentalist Christians.....the ones who keep pestering yours truly to convert, yet never giving her a solid reason to believe what they have to say. I do not believe any more is required in terms of explanation for this, so I will move on to the next group of people I occasionally "hate on" here in Siri's World, and that includes anyone who murders, kidnaps, abuses, or harms a child.

There is one commenter out there who, along with refusing to learn punctuation and spelling, thinks that I sit around all day and insult everyone in the midwest and in "my community". If everyone in the midwest and my community fit into the above catagories, than perhaps you are right, bitter Kansas person, but since I know that isn't the case, shame on you for suggesting it! And if you do not like what I choose to do with my time, then go do something you enjoy with your time, dumdum! Or go back to the produce aisle from which you emerged.........

I also have another commenter out in cyberland who feels that it is necessary to keep bashing Emma Sullivan for her reluctant role in exposing Kansas Governer Brownback's twittergate moment to the world. It does not matter how rude or polite Miss Sullivan was at the time it happened. Unless she was addressing the entire crowd, she was not representing her school. That accusation is simply false, and the person who keeps wanting me to post that only wants to be hurtful. Miss Sullivan may be the biggest, most stuck-up snob in the school, (she prolly isn't) but I find myself face to face with a much bigger issue in this incident, and that is censorship and privacy. Anyone who wants to focus on the individual involved rather than on the importance of the issue involved is a fool. Seriously. From Richard Nixon and Watergate to Joseph Stalin to Mao Zedong, the results of telling citizens what they can and cannot say to their friends have always been dangerous. And Miss Sullivan is not the one who hung the principal of her school out to dry, in terms of email responses and threats. That was Brownback. His public apology to Miss Sullivan was politically the best move he could make in that situation, and Dr. Krawitz would have been well advised to do the same.

To my "gentletrolls", one more thing I would say to you is this, you already know I bust on Republican politicians, Christian fundies, murderers, child molesters, and other assorted criminals. What makes you so upset to see them catagorized as such? If you wish to see such individuals cast in a better light, I'm sure Rush Limbaugh has a blog. And if you wish to defend these people, why do it anonymously?

Brownback Still Sucks And Leaves Krawitz Holding Bag

I have gotton lots of hits indicating searches for a picture of Karl R. Krawitz, and searches for a possible public apology to the Shawnee Mission East senior, Emma Sullivan, for attempting to force her to write an apology for tweeting "Brownback sucks" to her friends at a statehouse field trip in Topeka. Krawitz is the principal of Shawnee Mission East, and apparantly a local stooge of republican politicians. Initially, Miss Sullivan had intended to go ahead and write the apology, but has since changed her mind. Then, in a very political turn of events, Governer Brownback apologised to Miss Sullivan, stating that his staff had overreacted. Considering the fact that almost every publication in the nation had run the story, this was politically savvy of him.

I perused all available information to find out if Karl R. Krawitz has any intentions of apologising to his student for bullying her and humiliating her in front of her peers, but did not find much about him at all. What I did find was the website for Shawnee Mission East, where the incident is not mentioned. And...while I suppose one could email Mr. Karl Marx Krawitz, (another "Krawtiz" search) a couple of other bloggers and posters had a better idea. On the school website is a link for the reporting of bullying incidents, and I clicked on that and wrote my concerns about school administrators who bully students over politcal issues, depriving them of their constitutional rights. If you wish to do the same, just click on the link to Shawnee Mission East, provided above.

The last item I wanted to cover in this post is Karl R. Krawitz's picture, something for which lots of people have searched today. All I could find was a thumbnail, which I will include. I absolutely look forward to his public apology to Emma Sullivan, for bullying her concerning matters political and pressuring her to write a letter she did not need to write, and his public apology to the student body at Shawnee Mission East, for setting such a terrible example. Now that Browncrack has apologised, Krawitz is left holding the bag.

                                                                          Karl R. Krawitz

Kansas Insurance And Abortion

One more event to take place in Kansas on September 16, besides Kansans United in Voice and Spirit meeting at the state capital in Topeka.....the court will hear arguements about abortion, and about whether Governer Browncrack can tell insurance companies that they cannot cover abortion in Kansas, while they do in other states. This is really nonsense. Really.......it is. First Trimester abortions have been legal in the United States since 1972. The procedure, known as a dialation and cutterage, or D & C, is not only used for first trimester abortions, but other health problems. Browncrack wants to tell women that in order to have this procedure, they must have separate insurance. Insurance companies are saying that they cover this procedure everywhere else, refusing to cover it in one state would be complicated. So....if I am pregnant, and the baby dies in the first trimester, but I fail to miscarry (this actually happens; it's called a "missed abortion") I have to pay out of my pocket in order to avoid the ensuing life-threatening infection that could result from not having a D & C, or go to another state? Also, what's to stop women from having abortions in other states? Oh........that's right! Browncrack wants to make sure we don't have policies that cover it. Maybe we can all buy insurance in other states to begin with. Maybe I will just keep the insurance I have always had in Maryland. There are, and will always be, ways around this. And.....what if a woman is raped? Or is pregnant with a child who, for medical reasons, will not survive after birth? Is Browncrack forcing that woman to remain pregnant? Why? Is there something more sinister to this than meets the eye? Human trafficking, maybe?

It was just a thought. Here's the article.

Kansans United In Voice And Spirit

September 16, 2011. Save the date, everyone. Kansans United in Voice and Spirit, a new group with a focus on communicatin disapproval to Brownback of some of his "work" as governer of Kansas, will meet on the steps of the capital in Topeka. There have been at least half a dozen fundamental problems with Browncrack's governance of the state, but the issues that have inspired the creation of Kansans United in Voice and Spirit are the the closing of Social Services offices and the failure of Browncrack to reveal that he was going to do this while he was running for office.

Another reason Kansans have questioned Brownback is his stance on abortion, coupled with his restrictions on medical care for pregnant women. This has raised a lot of eyebrows, both in and out of Kansas. I will quote from the article:

Gerry Heil, a semi-retired Hays resident, said she hopes the rally can bring enough people together to force the governor to take a step back and see what is happening.
“What he’s done has been a tragedy,” Heil said. “I hope people realize that he was a mistake.”
She points to the new regulations on abortion and laws aimed at blocking funding for Planned Parenthood services in Kansas. Heil also said many people question why Brownback has hired so many people from outside Kansas to fill key positions........cjonline, 8/28/2011

This looks appropriate and promising. It will undoubtedly take much more to get Governer Browncrack's attention, since he is obviously owned and operated by someone other than his constituents, but we have to start somewhere. Hopefully, I will see you there.



 

Browncrack Is Doing What He Does Best

....................Sigh. Once again, Governer Browncrack is doing what he seems well adapted to doing here in Kansas, attacking womens' healthcare in the name of religion. Somehow, it pleases an imaginary, white bearded, sandal wearing genie in the sky to try to limit contraception, prenatal vitamins, and other healthcare to women. Only today, the Supreme Court decided not to play his game.

According to WIBW, Aug. 18, "A federal judge won't suspend an order blocking Kansas from denying Planned Parenthood federal dollars for non-abortion services while the state appeals his decision." The more I read this, the more it looks like a really stupid game, played by conservatives, at which the ultimate losers will definately be women and children. Brownback does a lot of fake public praying, but the rest of his actions, particularly cutting budgets for schools and children with disabilities, suggest that the fake prayers are nothing more than fake.

Once again, Governer Browncrack, I will reiterate this to you: if you pay more attention to education, especially of girls, and do more for the economy in Kansas, so that these girls who see nothing more to life than getting knocked up will have futures and careers to which they can look forward, instead. Your imagined problem with abortions in Kansas will be even smaller than it is now. And it's a very small problem .......I don't know how you succeed in getting so many people riled up about it. And................I will stop calling you Browncrack if you will put your character where your legislation is and adopt a disabled child. I may not agree with everything that comes out of your mouth, but I will treat you with a little more respect.

What happens to these children whose parents cannot care for them, anyway, Browncrack? Are you familiar with Adam Herrman's case? Sometimes, people should simply have the means to plan a family instead of having a family just "happen". Where do you suppose Adam Herrman is now, anyway? If he isn't dead, I doubt that he ended up in a place that is safe and happy. Could he have been trafficked? Is that why you don't want birth control available to lower income women, here in Kansas? What a creepy, sinister thought......but hey, when I see government officials "fake pray" in public, that's the kind of stuff that goes through my mind.

                                                             Governer Browncrack

Who's he in bed with, concerning all of his fake prayers in public and foolish legislation, anyway?

A Brief Recent History Of The Republican Party

Kansas. Land of farms. Land of wheat. Land of Dorthy and Toto. Land of..........Republicans...............

Ok. It's nothing personal. It's just that.............well; the comments section in a couple of Kansas news sites was filling up with too many comments about Governer Brownback and his stance on abortion, so rather than keep the comments going there, I decided to start posting my opinions here. First of all, why is abortion a big discussion here in Kansas? We really don't have a lot of abortions per capita, and I don't think it's a worthy pursuit for Brownback's time or my tax dollars. Secondly, why can't Brownback consider the benefits of reducing the market for abortion, and change the nature of womens' medicine in Kansas that way? Third, if birth control and abortion are unavailable here in Kansas, why can't better education for children with disabilities be available? Before he runs for governer again, I would like those questions answered.