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Posted
by Joel Mathis
February 16, 2007 at 9:38 a.m.
Kobach in NYT: State antiwar resolutions 'colossal waste of time'
Here are today's headlines from Kansas government:[(New York Times) State lawmakers pushing resolutions opposed to war:][1] Frustrated by the inability of Democrats in Congress to pass a resolution opposing President Bush's policies in Iraq, state legislators across the country, led by Democrats and under pressure from liberal advocacy groups, are pushing forward with their own resolutions. ... "These resolutions are a colossal waste of time," said Kris Kobach, chairman of the Republican Party in Kansas, where a resolution was killed in committee. "Legislatures are spending valuable and limited time acting in an area where they have no authority. If all we are doing is sending messages, we should be concerned about the fact that soldiers are being told that their states are not behind them. I think that is particularly troubling."[(Harris News Service) Measure would help young drivers:][2] The biggest danger with teen drivers isn't that they're irresponsible, it's that they're inexperienced. That's why lawmakers should pass legislation implementing a graduated driver's license system, proponents of the change told the Senate and House transportation committees Thursday in the Statehouse.[(Topeka Capital-Journal) Bill aimed at Fred Phelps:][3] A Senate committee signed off Thursday on a bill aimed at undermining funeral picketing by members of the anti-homosexual Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka.[(Topeka Capital-Journal) Tighter regs sought on payday loans:][4] Attorney General Paul Morrison made a case Thursday for two bills tightening regulation on payday and car title loans, evoking the wrath of lenders intent on shielding that industry from greater oversight[(KC Star) Regents pares down repair list:][5] The Kansas Board of Regents has whittled a list of $727 million in needed repairs on the state's university campuses to $200 million of priority projects. The shortened list, approved Wednesday at the board's monthly meeting, includes projects that would be tackled immediately if state lawmakers appropriated the money.[(LJW) Ban on domestic partnership registry debated:][6] Several Lawrence residents Thursday testified against a bill that would prevent the city of Lawrence from establishing a domestic partnership registry.[(AP) House advances `Alexa's Law':][7] A proposed "Alexa's Law" for protecting mothers-to-be and their fetuses won first-round approval Thursday in the House, despite questions from abortion rights supporters about whether it's needed.[(Wichita Eagle) Tax cut proposed for seniors:][8] Annual real estate taxes paid by many Kansas seniors 65 or older would be deferred under a bill considered Thursday by the House Taxation Committee.[(Kansas Health Institute News Service) Application forms don't mention document requirement:][9] On a slow day, the Kansas Family Medical Clearinghouse receives about 400 applications from parents wanting to get their children on Medicaid. They're supposed to include documents - birth certificates, for example - that prove the children are U.S. citizens and confirm their identity. "Very few do," said Carla Deckert, deputy project manager at the clearinghouse. There's a reason they don't. The one-page, front-and-back application form doesn't say anything about including copies of school records or birth certificates. [1]: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16pressure.html?ex=1172293200&en=3a014bda8e92859c&ei=5070&emc=eta1 [2]: http://www.harrisnewsservice.com/news/teendriving1.html [3]: http://www.cjonline.com/stories/021607/sta_148540489.shtml [4]: http://www.cjonline.com/stories/021607/sta_148540978.shtml [5]: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/16710125.htm [6]: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/feb/15/speakers_defend_lawrence_registry/?kansas_legislature#comments [7]: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/feb/16/alexas_law_advances_critics_question_need_it/?kansas_legislature [8]: http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/legislature/16712034.htm [9]: http://www.khi.org/s/index.cfm?aid=349
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Comments
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Centrist (anonymous) says…
First of all, Kris Kobach ... NOBODY is "telling the soldiers" that their states are not behind them. In case you missed it, the Spin Machine left last year.
Secondly, since when is Kobach an expert? He was soundly defeated, wasn't he??
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Graduated licence system:
YES!! They have it in other countries and it WORKS!
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Fred Phelps - please go away. You are vile.
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Payday loans - by all means, regulate the heck outa them. But remember, every time you pass a new regulation, it makes it harder on the people taking out the loans.
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Domestic registry:
WHY does Lawrence always try to be so avant-garde?
How about some 'basics' for a change - like fixing the roads.
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Yeah, silly me. Dadaism is more important :)
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
Kobach lied to the City Commission, lied about the misuse of the Patriot Act. So that establishes him as a clear-cut liar.
Who would take him seriously now?
grimpeur (anonymous) says…
Frustrated by the inability of Republicans in Congress to pass a resolution opposing gay marriage policies, state legislators across the country, led by bigots, Republicans and others with apparently nothing better to focus on, and under pressure from right-wing liberal advocacy groups, are pushing forward with their own resolutions. ... "These resolutions are a colossal waste of time," said Kris Kobach, chairman of the Republican Party in Kansas, where a resolution is still under debate. "Legislatures are spending valuable and limited time acting in an area where they have no authority or reason to be concerned. If all we are doing is sending messages, we should be concerned about the fact that hard-working, long-term families are being discriminated against under the guise of 'protecting an institution.' I think that is particularly troubling."
captain_poindexter (anonymous) says…
last time I checked, grimpeur, kansas passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. no resolution there - just overwhleming support from the people of kansas for the amendment.
sorry man, I really am.
Machiavelli_mani - what did he say?
Jamesaust (anonymous) says…
Kobach:"Legislatures are spending valuable and limited time acting in an area where they have no authority."
I thought this guy taught constitutional law at UMKC?
Is this the same Kobach who spearheaded (in conjuction with his Congressional campaign) a lawsuit based on a theory that the State of Kansas could not offer lowered tuition to residents who were not U.S. citizens because it discriminated against other States' residents? The lawsuit the judge looked at, laughed, and then dismissed?
Now, according to Kobach, by some unspecified mechanism, the War Powers granted to congress in the Constitutution, including the very creation of the military and its organization and policies and its power to declare (or not declare) war itself, just evaporates. Isn't this the same Kobach who makes noise from time-to-time about 'strict construction' of constitutional provisions?
Naw...must be some other lunatic.
nugget (anonymous) says…
Ah, Kris Kobach, the new full throttle siren of the Kansas Republican extreme right. He's showing himself well by disagreeing with 2/3 of the American electorate. With his leadership, Brownback and Roberts better darn be worried about getting re-elected. Remember Jim Ryun, the candidate that couldn't be beaten? The Republican party is in disarray with Kobach at the helm, and it can stay there as far as I'm concerned.
laughingatallofu (anonymous) says…
nugget,
I agree. Kris is a loose cannon on an unsteady ship. somewhere, there has to be a moderate element to the republican party. Where are they?
As far as Brownback is concerned, for the moment, I'm GLAD that he's running for President, because that means that he can't misrepresent Kansas more than he already has. If he wins the Presidency, the best that we can expect is that "Family Hour" will return to TV on Sunday night at 7 pm. The worst? I shudder at the thought.
fletch (anonymous) says…
"somewhere, there has to be a moderate element to the republican party. Where are they?"
They all went to the Kansas Democratic Party.
staff04 (anonymous) says…
I fail to see how any expression of the public sentiment is a "colossal waste of time."
BigDog (anonymous) says…
I fail to see how any expression of the public sentiment is a "colossal waste of time."
*************************************
I doubt that many state legislators heard from their constituents during their campaigns that one of the issues they wanted them to handle was expressing their unhappiness with the war.
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
It comes down to doing what you know and were hired/elected to do..........not what propagandists convince you to do.
Head-in-hole-ostrich democrats and dumb-as-stumps repulicans.......where's the all-knowing decider when you need one!
The dedicated-to-your-conversion Imam .........he(no-women-allowed-muslim leader) will have answers while we bicker!