Obama should demand that Gettelfinger be fired
A Florida congressman today called on the Obama administration to demand the firing of UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, saying the union was just as responsible for the predicament at General Motors Corp. as ousted chairman Rick Wagoner. U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., said Gettelfinger had called strikes which had hurt the industry and refused concessions to improve the finances of Detroit’s automakers. “If President Obama is willing to fire the CEO of General Motors because of his failures, then he should be even-handed in demanding Ron Gettelfinger’s resignation for his equally egregious failures,” Mack said in a statement.

Tax Problems for Sebelius
Here we go again: tax problems for another cabinet nominee. In this case, HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius has informed the Senate Finance Committee that an audit of her and her husband's 2005, 2006, 2007 tax returns has revealed some "unintentional errors, which we immediately corrected." As a result, Sebelius and her husband have filed amended returns and paid $7,040 in back taxes and $878 in interest.

Daniel Hannan: When exactly did we become less fiscally responsible than France?
Yes, it’s him. No comment needed here from me if there’s any conservative politician out there whose words don’t require elaboration, it’s this guy! We are looking to the Germans and French to now rescue us from this incredible government spending. Happy Obamians!

Incredible! Obama bows to Saudi king
President Obama greeted the king of Saudi Arabia with a full bow from the waist yesterday, a move one commentator described as a violation of protocol and not worthy of the office he holds. "I am quite certain that this is not the protocol, and is most unbecoming a President of the United States," writes Clarice Feldman in an American Thinker commentary.

Cavuto goes nuclear on Democrat for trying to regulate “excessive” pay
The Supreme Court has said: “That Congress cannot delegate legislative power to the president is a principle universally recognized as vital to the integrity and maintenance of the system of government ordained by the Constitution.” And the court has said that properly delegated discretion must come with “an intelligible principle” and must “clearly delineate” a policy that limits the discretion. EESA flunks that test.

So you think it’s a fetus and not a baby, huh?
During a spina bifida corrective procedure at twenty-one weeks in utero, Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother's uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this "Fetal Hand Grasp" photo. See the surgery that changed a doctors life!

Secretary Clinton Hails Margaret Sanger as Heroine
Speaking at Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s national conference in Houston this past Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that promoting “reproductive rights” –including abortion- will be at the top of the government’s international agenda. After being honored by Planned Parenthood with the Margaret Sanger award for her “work on behalf of women’s health and reproductive rights,” the Secretary of State said “I have to tell you that it was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award. I admire Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision.” Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was openly sympathetic with to Nazi Germany’s eugenic practices and was strongly committed to preventing blacks, Hispanics and poor people from reproducing.

Obama Forcing Management Decisions on Corporate America
Neither General Motors nor Chrysler submitted acceptable plans to receive more federal bailout money, the Obama administration said as it set the stage for a crisis in Detroit that would dramatically reshape the nation's auto industry. The White House pushed out GM's chairman and directed Chrysler to move quickly to forge a partnership with Fiat if it expects to receive additional government assistance.

Do New Bulbs Save Energy if They Don’t Work?
But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don’ts.

Actress tired of being called “Racist” for disagreeing with Obama
Angie Harmon is not afraid to come out and say she doesn’t like how President Obama is handling the job but she’s sick of having to defend herself from being deemed a racist. "Here's my problem with this, I'm just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it's not because I'm a racist, it's because I don't like what he's doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you're called a racist," Harmon said. "But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. If I'm going to disagree with my President, that doesn't make me a racist. It has nothing to do with it, it is ridiculous."

Another Obama Nominee in Question: This time illegal wiretapping
President Obama’s nominee for secretary of the Navy was involved in a divorce that drew national attention for his secret taping of a conversation between his wife and his family priest that he used against her in court proceedings. The nominee, Ray Mabus, is a former governor of Mississippi and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia under Clinton, and he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Mr. Mabus, a Democrat, was a strong supporter of Mr. Obama in the campaign last year.

Reports of Internet crime jump 33 percent
A group that monitors Internet crime says complaints jumped 33 percent in 2008. The Internet Crime Complaint Center said it received more than 275,000 complaints last year, up from about 207,000 the year before. The total reported dollar loss from such scams was $265 million, or about $25 million more than the year before. About one in three complaints were for nonpayment or non-delivery. The other most common complaints were for auction fraud or credit and debit card fraud.

Beyond AIG: A bill to let Big Government set your salary
But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the "Pay for Performance Act of 2009," would impose government controls on the pay of all employees -- not just top executives -- of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

Study: Abortions Cause Future Relationship Problems, More Domestic Violence
Some women decide to have abortions because they think having a baby will contribute to problems in their relationship with their husband or boyfriend. However, a new national study finds abortion causes more future relationship problems than carrying the pregnancy to term and parenting.??Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University headed up the study with Vincent Rue of the Florida-based Institute for Pregnancy Loss and post-abortion researcher Catherine Coyle. "For both men and women the experience of an abortion in a previous relationship was related to negative outcomes in the current relationship: perceptions of improved quality of life if this relationship also ended and intimate partner violence," they write.

Christendom College Will Honor Pro-Life Leader at Graduation Ceremonies
While the University of Notre Dame is drawing condemnation from pro-life Catholics for honoring pro-abortion President Barack Obama, Christendom College in Virginia will honor a nationally-respected pro-life leader at its graduation ceremonies in May. The college, which allowed all of its students to take part in the recent March for Life, will honor Father Frank Pavone, the head of Priests for Life at its May 15-17 event. Since its first graduation ceremony in 1980, Christendom College has honored outstanding individuals who have rendered faithful service to the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church. This year’s invitees are no different. Christendom officials will present Father Pavone with its Pro Deo et Patria Medal for Distinguished Service to God and Country.

Rush tells New York “See Ya”
Well, I announced that I was officially vacating New York after these stupid, punitive, massive tax increases, and basically I go to New York now for hurricane relief, whenever a hurricane hits. No other reason to go there. Well, sometimes I visit the overrated staff, but it would be cheaper to fly the staff down here to visit me than to pay these stupid tax increases! Anyway, the point is that I have affiliates from all over the fruited plain now offering their studios as a hurricane relocation location. Well, we're not going to go to Hawaii, that's certainly not a no-income tax state, either. We're not going to California. We're not going anywhere that pays massive taxes and they audit people left and right.

Notre Dame Appoints New Pro-Abortion Law School Dean
Adding insult to injury, the University of Notre Dame announced today the appointment of a new law school dean who made donations to pro-abortion candidates, including President Barack Obama. The Catholic college is already under intense criticism for inviting Obama to give its commencement speech.

Congress Gives Staffers Pay Raise!
While Congress has been flaying companies for giving out bonuses while on the government dole, lawmakers have a longstanding tradition of rewarding their own employees with extra cash -- also courtesy of taxpayers. Capitol Hill bonuses in 2008 were among the highest in years, according to LegiStorm, an organization that tracks payroll data. The average House aide earned 17% more in the fourth quarter of the year, when the bonuses were paid, than in previous quarters, according to the data. That was the highest jump in the eight years LegiStorm has compiled payroll information.

Census: We’ll Work with ‘Community Organizations’ to Count All Illegal Aliens
The acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Thomas Mesenbourg, told CNSNews.com that the bureau intends to work with community organizations to make sure every illegal alien in the United States is counted in the 2010 Census.? ? The Census is used to apportion the seats in the U.S. House of Representative. There are 435 House seats that are divided among the states in proportion to their population, which is determined by the decennial census. States with more people get more seats in the U.S. House.? ?This means that a state harboring more illegal aliens can gain more House seats as long as the Census Bureau finds the illegal aliens and counts them. This also means that the illegal alien population resident in the United States during a census year has the potential to alter the regional and philosophical balance of power in Congress.

House Republicans Release Low Tax, Less Spending Federal Budget
Claiming that President Obama’s 2010 budget, which came to the House floor on Wednesday, “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much,” House Republicans unveiled their own budget on Wednesday. Their plan would “spend less, tax less, and borrow less,” they said.

Archbishop Beltran: 'Notre Dame has certainly turned against the Catholic Church’
Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran of Oklahoma City has sent a letter to University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins in which he says that “Notre Dame University has certainly turned against the Catholic Church,” and that he is “appalled, disappointed, and scandalized” by the school's honoring of President Obama.

‘Bella’ star Verástegui returns from Sudanese relief trip
Returning from a tour of relief projects in the Sudan, both the star and producer of the movie “Bella” praised the work while drawing attention to the plight of the Sudanese people. The two emphasized the need to put faith in action. On the trip over $2 million in food, medicine and other aid was distributed under the aegis of the Persecution Project Foundation, the Human Rights Education and Relief Organization (HERO) and Manto de Guadalupe (MdG). “I hope that all will recognize that it is possible to make a difference to those who are suffering," said Eduardo Verástegui, founder of MdG and star of the movie “Bella.”

Vatican Unhappy with Obama Ambassador Picks
As President Barack Obama continues to focus on his political base and push through policies that are anathema to the pro-life movement, he is having difficulty finding a suitable candidate to represent his administration at the Vatican. According to Massimo Franco, author of "Parallel Empires," a recently published book on U.S.-Vatican relations, the Obama administration has put forward three candidates for consideration but each of them have been deemed insufficiently pro-life by the Vatican.

No Media: More Protestors at Tea Party Event than G-20 Event
"I got a note from a friend of mine in Orlando who pointed out there were more people at a taxpayer tea party in Orlando a week ago then there are in London, they just didn't get any coverage out of the media."

Masters of Tax Avoidance: Kansans and The Cigarette Excise, 1927-2009
These are just a few examples of how consumers, businesses and criminals have reacted to Kansas’s most recent cigarette tax hike.5 The Department of Revenue’s data show that tax evasion reached near-epidemic proportions after the 2002 hike, as sales of legal, tax-paid cigarettes plunged 21 percent. Wishful thinkers claimed that many of the state’s smokers had gone cold turkey overnight, but health surveys show that this did not happen; many merely found an untaxed source of cigarettes. And health wasn’t the only area of wishful thinking. Revenue officials had learned from previous tax hikes that they could expect a sudden drop in legal sales. They certainly didn’t anticipate such a large drop as 21 percent, but they remained confident that revenue would bounce back because it had in the past.

Tiahrt cosponsors bill to make concealed permits valid from coast to coast
Concealed-carry permits issued by states would be recognized from coast to coast – just like drivers licenses – under legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt. “The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill recognizes that those who have a valid state-issued concealed firearms permit should not have to forfeit their safety when traveling," Tiahrt said in a release issued Wednesday. "Not only does this bill protect the rights of concealed firearm permit holders, it also maintains the right of states to issue concealed weapons permits as they desire. As a mobile society, legal firearm permit carriers should be able to travel from state to state and exercise their fundamental right to self defense—this legislation ensures that."

Don’t You Just Love Going Green? Energy Rates Going Up
Westar Energy customers are likely to see their rates rise $80 million or more over the next year, on top of a significant increase Kansas regulators approved about two months ago. The higher rates would cover costs associated with upgrading Westar’s transmission system, improving pollution controls at its power plants and investing in wind farms.

Sebelius’ Cronyism
Articles written from Jan. 2005 through March 2009 about how Gov. Sebelius helped her political friends, appointed her donors to state boards, judicial nominating commissions, district courts, and even the Kansas Supreme Court. Kathleen Sebelius was elected in Nov. 2002 at a time when researching political contribution information in Kansas was not easy. A Sept 2003 Lawrence Journal-World article, Kansas gets ‘F’ in campaign finance disclosure, underscored how bad the problem was.

Kansas Speedway resubmits casino bid
Kansas Speedway president Jeff Boerger drove to Topeka in the speedway’s new, black show car today and personally hand-delivered to the Kansas Lottery offices a resubmitted bid for a Hard Rock Casino at the track.

Kansans to vote on gun ownership amendment
Next year, Kansans will vote whether to change the state constitution to guarantee individual gun rights. “It is the law of the land today in every state. We would like to make sure it stays that way in Kansas,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican. Sen. Mike Petersen, a Wichita Republican and one of the resolution’s top supporters, said he was surprised to learn that Kansas did not protect individual gun owner rights. “I think a lot of voters thought that they already had this right, but they don’t,” he said. Currently, the Kansas Constitution guarantees those rights for “the people not the individual.” The proposed amendment would give the right to each person. The resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611, cleared the Legislature last week. If approved by voters, the measure would replace the phrase “the people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security” with “a person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose.” “It’s a technical fix to bring us in line with what most believe is a right we already have,” Petersen said.

Faith in the skipper: Royals manager Trey Hillman talks about his religion
The boss walks in with a steaming hot cup of coffee and the biggest Bible around. The pages are worn at the edges. A leather bookmark keeps his favorite verse handy. Sunday morning. It’s early still, and cold in this tent. And Hillman is wearing his eyeglasses. The pastor asks if anyone can recite John 3:16. There is a moment of silence. Then Hillman clears his throat. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son…” he begins.

New sales tax rate for Johnson County takes effect
You may not notice it if you’re buying socks in Johnson County. You will if you’re buying a yacht. Both will cost more now because the new sales tax rate for Johnson County takes effect today. The rate will increase from 7.525 to 7.65 percent because of the Johnson County Research Triangle sales tax voters OK’d in November.

God Squad in Wichita is Popular with Students
Every morning during Lent – Monday through Saturday – teams of Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas students gather in the school’s auditorium for their spiritual workout. This Lent marks the God Squad’s fifth anniversary. Initiated by Father Jarrod Lies, the school’s chaplain, the squad’s intent is “to take the training for spiritual life as seriously as music, sports or other things.” He based the idea on 1 Timothy, 4:7, which encourages us to “train yourself for devotion, for while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future.” Because Fr. Lies is so involved in sports at the high school, he adopted sports terms for the God Squad’s activities. There are “coaches” (chaplain and teachers) who assist in organizing and arranging God Squad events, and “captains” (students who facilitate small groups) who lead prayers and discussion.

Cashill: How Sebelius subverted the Tiller abortion trial
After reluctantly axing Morrison for his role in an impressively seamy sex scandal, Sebelius appointed obscure Democrat Stephen Six the new attorney general. Six picked up where Morrison left off. He announced he would not conduct any further investigation of Tiller as such was "an invasion of privacy." Instead, he continued with the watered down case against Tiller that he had inherited from Morrison. Meanwhile, Tiller's defense attorney, Dan Monnat, argued that every abortion Tiller performed was a heroic effort to save the mother from severe and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. The jurors were told nothing different.

Man dies after being severely beaten, run over by car
Video surveillance from a nearby building showed two men beating a third man and leaving him unconscious on a Downtown street Wednesday night. A short time later, a vehicle struck the 47-year-old man in the middle of Grand Boulevard near 10th Street about 10 p.m. The man died of his injuries at a hospital. Kansas City police are investigating the death as a homicide.

Man shot by police aimed empty gun later linked to a homicide
A gunman fatally shot by Kansas City police last week was holding an empty gun that has been linked to a homicide committed minutes before his encounter with police. The 9 mm gun that Fritz M. Leandre, 19, pointed at officers matched shell casings at a homicide scene about six blocks away, police said Wednesday.

Funkhouser won’t veto KC budget
Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser has decided not to veto the city budget. Funkhouser said Wednesday that he would let the budget become law without his signature. The mayor was the lone “no” vote when the City Council approved a $1.3 billion budget last week.

MAST executive Doug Hooten resigns
MAST’s chief executive officer resigned Tuesday as the Kansas City Council considers making the ambulance service a city department. The Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust board agreed to pay Doug Hooten about $315,000, which includes one year’s severance in pay and benefits, plus a consulting agreement of six months, with an additional three months possible if he doesn’t find another job first. The board and city also received a release from litigation.

Dress code dispute won't cool down
Just days ago it seemed the long and impassioned tug-of-war over the dress code in the Power & Light District was almost over. But as they prepare to vote today on an ordinance to prohibit discriminatory dress codes, Kansas City Council members are being bombarded by e-mails from opponents. And at least some council members say they are reconsidering their support for the new law.

Kansas Commerce Department looking for workers to come to Kansas
Despite the recession and a 6.2 percent unemployment rate, Kansas is looking outside as well as inside the state to fill thousands of job openings. Next week representatives from the Kansas Department of Labor will attend a job fair in Omaha, Neb. It’s not uncommon for them to go to other states to recruit, labor department spokesman Joe Monaco said. Its called lowering taxes! That will get people to come to our state.

Lawrence looking at increased fees for parks and recreation
When you pump that iron at city recreation centers, you might need to pump your wallet a bit too. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is conducting a forum later this month to get public opinion on creating new fees that would help the department deal with expected financial shortfalls in 2010.

Who Investigates the Ethics Commission?
"The moment you walk in this door and file a complaint, you are prohibited by law, a class A misdemeanor, of discussing the fact that you walked in here and gave us that complaint.” -- Carol Williams, Executive Director, Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission Oct. 19, 2008. But what happens when the Ethics Commission doesn’t follow the law? That’s the question I’ve been asking since discovering the commission is apparently more interested in secrecy than enforcing campaign finance laws. After the commission fined a citizen $7,500 for talking to the press, including a reporter from Kansas Liberty, about a complaint he had filed, I re-examined a Kansas Open Records Request I had received last year. In the request, Carol Williams, executive director of the Ethics Commission, and Judy Moler, general counsel for the commission, had disclosed an e-mail communication between Williams and a man in Wichita who alleged campaign-finance violations.

“I have to tell you that it was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award. I admire Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

From Proverbs 16:2
“All the ways of a man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves the spirit.”

Gospel according to John 8:51-59

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death."
52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, `If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?"
54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God.
55 But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad."
57 The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." ?59 So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

To most that meet him Roeland Park Mayor Steve Petrehn makes a good first impression. He is genuinely nice, very amiable, and takes enormous pride in his 35 years as a Roeland Park resident.

A self-proclaimed activist, Petrehn is very comfortable 'stirring the pot' in order to get his way and enjoys attending committee meetings and different functions in Roeland Park and outside of Roeland Park in order to push his extremely liberal agenda. Steve is the first to tell you that he knows more about the subject at hand than anyone else in the room, regardless really of the subject matter, or regardless if he really does know.

To Steve, being a politician is part of who he is and he sees being duplicitous as a strength and believes that words mean nothing and actions mean everything. He is very positive and sees himself in a very positive light and he is critical of those who disagree with him. Sometimes critical to the extreme. Point in fact. Councilwoman Fosters did not conform to the Mayor's opinion on a recent issue. Instead of debating the matter as government civics teaches us, the mayor gaveled her into silence. A meeting or two later, the Mayor was censured with a vote of 7-0 by the City Council for abusing the power of the Chair and discriminating against those who disagreed with him, while giving full license to those who agreed with him to speak ad nauseum.

Their sentiment is fully expressed by the fact that they will not come forward to voice their concerns because they are afraid of being made to feel stupid, uninformed, un-enlightened, and insensitive. He makes it a point to "gossip" about others rather than face them to engage in meaningful dialogue.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor with respect for the Office, respect for the Citizens, and respect for the staff. Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can run meetings and get along with the City Council.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can set the agenda, listen to others, take criticisms constructively, and help push the City forward to meet the needs of it's Citizens.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that engages others for their opinions and can build consensus to keep the City on track.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can assist city staff in accomplishing their agenda without micro-managing them to a point where they are second-guessed at every turn.

Roeland Park needs Adrienne Foster!