House prayer

People who open Kansas House sessions with a prayer usually stay away from political subjects.

But not Richard Edds, a pastor at First Southern Baptist Church in El Dorado.

Edds opened Friday’s House session by praying that legislators protect traditional marriage, the family and the unborn. He added, “Give them the courage not to sacrifice the budget at the altar of education, nor fund the budget from gambling or other vices.”

Impeach Bush

Lawrence resident Dinah Lovitch plans on traveling to Washington, D.C., later this month to hold a sign in front of the Capitol for several days that urges Congress to impeach President Bush.

“I believe he thinks the Constitution is irrelevant and that he is above the law,” Lovitch said.

She argues that the torture of prisoners and warrantless wiretaps are impeachable offenses.

In 2003, Lovitch sent each member of the Senate a copy of George Orwell’s “1984” when they were debating the Patriot Act.

She said she doubts Bush will be impeached but that it was important for people to “tilt at windmills.”

Open meetings

Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, said she is investigating what, if anything, she can do about what she said were possible violations of the Kansas Open Meetings law during negotiations on the gambling bill that was defeated in the Senate last week.

During debate on the bill, Brownlee wanted to know whether there were at any time three members of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee in the closed-door meetings that led to composition of the bill.

Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, and chairman of the committee, didn’t deny that was a possibility.

“I don’t think anyone ever thought about that,” he said.

Under the state open meetings law, meetings with a majority of a quorum of a public board must be held in public. A quorum on the Federal and State Affairs Committee is five members, and a majority of that is three.

Back benchers

Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, D-Wichita, succeeded in getting an amendment to a capital improvements bill, that says when the House chamber is renovated, the floor won’t be flattened. Currently, the House floor raises from front to back, like stadium seating, which allows those in the back to see what is going on.

Things to watch:

2:30 p.m. today: Senate will consider eminent domain legislation.