Fact Checking the White House
Rather than debate the substance, the White House is in full campaign mode in order to label any opposition to its government-heavy health reform agenda as “misinformation” or “myths you’ve heard.” Case in point: The White House now has a taxpayer-funded Web site to “reality check” credible criticisms and arguments. Problem is the videos “debunking” each “myth” are low on facts. See Heritage response here.

White House disables e-tip box
Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box — flag@whitehouse.gov — that was set up to receive information on “fishy” claims about President Barack Obama’s health plan. E-mails to that address now bounce back with the message: “The e-mail address you just sent a message to is no longer in service.

Cambridge Cop gets standing O at FOP Convention
The police sergeant who sparked a national debate on race relations when he arrested a Harvard University professor in his home received a standing ovation Monday from thousands of police officers at a Fraternal Order of Police convention. More than 3,000 officers cheered Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley when he briefly spoke to kick off the five-day meeting. Dozens left their seats to take snapshots of him on the podium at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Conservatives Now Outnumber Liberals in All 50 States, Says Gallup Poll
Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to the Gallup Poll. At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years. In 2009, 40% percent of respondents in Gallup surveys that have interviewed more than 160,000 Americans have said that they are either “conservative” (31%) or “very conservative” (9%). That is the highest percentage in any year since 2004. Only 21% have told Gallup they are liberal, including 16% who say they are “liberal” and 5% who say they are “very liberal.” Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are moderate.

Obama's Official MySpace page: I'm 52 years old, not 48
If President Obama were indeed born in Hawaii, was it while the islands were a territory of the United States? A new wrinkle in the dispute over his birth – and whether he is eligible to be president under the U.S. Constitution's requirement that the president be a "natural born" citizen – appeared today when Obama's official MySpace page declared his age is 52, thus placing his birth year at 1957 instead of 1961 as has been claimed. That would mean he would have been born during the archipelago's time as a territory of the U.S., the islands' status from about 1900 until statehood in 1959. The birth year also conflicts with campaign and other White House information that have discussed his 48th birthday this month.

Burkinis: British swimming pools are imposing Muslim dress codes
Under the rules, swimmers – including non-Muslims – are barred from entering the pool in normal swimming attire. Instead they are told that they must comply with the "modest" code of dress required by Islamic custom, with women covered from the neck to the ankles and men, who swim separately, covered from the navel to the knees.

Public Safety and how liberal policy is effecting crime
Adult Times for Adult Crimes: Life Without Parole for Juvenile Killers and Violent Teens. An excellent report on crime from our friends at the Heritage Foundation.

Cap and Trade Will Kill the Travel Industry
If you want to kill the travel industry, cap and trade is the way to do it. Cap and trade is nothing more than a massive tax on energy, and as we saw last summer with $4-a-gallon gas prices and expensive airline tickets, people will respond to high prices by canceling their travel arrangements.

Health Care Reform Bill Would Allow Abortion Business in Public School Clinics
Most of the focus on the pending bills in Congress for a government-run health care system focus on either the abortion funding and coverage or the rationing aspects of the legislation. But, the bills also contain a section allowing the nation's biggest abortion business to enter public schools. In Title V of H.R. 3200, Subtitle B, called School-Based Health Clinics, outlines a new federal program where the government would fund health clinics near or in the nation's public schools.

U.S. bishops launch website on health care reform
As the American health care debate continues, the U.S. Catholic bishops have launched a webpage to promote support for a “truly universal” health policy that respects human dignity. The page on the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) includes letters for bishops to Congress, videos, facts and statistics, frequently asked questions, and links for contacting members of Congress.

Catholics Urge National Fight Against Abortion in Obamacare Bills
Roman Catholic leaders are stepping up their fight against the Obama administration’s healthcare plans, urging their faithful nationwide to contact legislators to strongly protest abortion provisions in Democratic bills. Catholics who attended Mass Sunday in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for example, found in their weekly bulletins a call to action from Cardinal Justin Rigali, head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pro-life committee. The archdiocese, one of the largest in the nation, serves 1.45 million Catholics.

UN Health Data Show Liberal Abortion Laws Lead to Greater Maternal Death
The world's largest abortion provider, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), has recently acknowledged an alarming "surge" in maternal deaths in South Africa, challenging the pro-abortion mantra that liberal abortion laws decrease maternal mortality. Maternal deaths increased by twenty per cent in the period 2005-2007 in South Africa, a country that since 1996 has had one of the most permissive abortion laws on the African continent. While deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS account for the biggest portion of maternal deaths in South Africa, IPPF acknowledges that a portion of deaths are "due to complications of abortion" in a country where the procedure is legal and widely available.

Thousands of Under-Age Abortions in Scotland under Government Sex-Ed Push
A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Britain's National Health Service (NHS) has sponsored dozens of abortions for underage girls in Scotland in recent years. The Daily Record newspaper reports that 87 13-year-old girls and eight 12 year-olds as well as almost 3,000 girls under 15 had NHS abortions between 2000 and 2008. The government has responded to the statistics with promises of still more sex education in Scotland for young people, despite statistics demonstrating the failure of the strategy.

VA pushes vets to consider death as an alternative to treatment
The ObamaCare bill may not contain “death panels,” but even Charles Lane and Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post wonder why the bill incentivizes end-of-life consultations with the elderly and ill as part of its cost-containment strategy. Maybe Lane and Robinson should take a look at the VA, where the Obama administration and former General Eric Shinseki have reinstated a program called “Your Life, Your Choices.” The Wall Street Journal reports that this program amounts to a high-pressure sales pitch for refusal of treatment for veterans.

Guess who screened White House appointments!
Was a far-left think tank partnered with the community activist group ACORN and founded with input from President Obama instrumental in securing the appointment of controversial White House "environmental czar" Van Jones? A key member of the think tank reportedly was also a founder of a socialist party that, evidence indicates, included Obama among its members. In March, Jones was named the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Kerry has hip surgery to address chronic pain
U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had surgery last week on his right hip to address chronic pain and flexibility problems. Kerry is 65 year of age. Under Obamacare if Senator Kerry would have been you it would have been denied due to age. President Obama has stated that we should take a pain pill and deal with it at that age. But as a Senator, Kerry has his own private insurance plan separate from us little people.

Beck on Rahm
What the Media Refuses to Tell You About President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel featured by Glenn Beck.

Conservative Robert Novak passes away
The death of Robert Novak has led many to remember the career of the expert political journalist. Some noted his conversion to Catholicism later in life, with one former colleague calling it his “most important” change of heart. Novak died of a malignant tumor at his Washington, D.C. home on Tuesday. One half of the Evans-Novak “Inside Report,” begun in 1963 with journalist Rowland Evans, Novak was known for his ability to explain the feuds and factions of American politics with the help of his many inside sources. For a long time he was co-host of the CNN debate show “Crossfire.” Though a political conservative, he opposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Later in 2003, he became the object of controversy for exposing the identity of a CIA agent married to retired diplomat John C. Wilson, who investigated and questioned the factual basis for the justifications of the war.

Navy Chaplain and CMH Winner Remembered at Mass
Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a U.S. Navy chaplain whose heroic ministry to U.S. Marines in Vietnam won him the nickname “the Grunt Padre” and a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor, will be remembered with a Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the evening of September 3. During Operation Swift on September 4, 1967 Fr. Capodanno was injured by an exploding mortar round which caused multiple injuries on his arms and legs and severed part of his right hand. The chaplain’s Medal of Honor citation says that despite his injuries he “steadfastly refused all medical aid.” The priest directed Marines to help the wounded and continued to move about the battlefield, encouraging Marines with his words and example. “Upon encountering a wounded corpsman in the direct line of fire of an enemy machine gunner positioned approximately 15 yards away, Lt. Capodanno rushed a daring attempt to aid and assist the mortally wounded corpsman,” the citation continues. “the priest died while using his body to shield a wounded corpsman from enemy fire.”

Jim Caviezel, actor: How being a dad has changed his life
The other day my little girl jumped in my lap, put her hand on my face, and whispered in my ear, "Papa, I love you so much." It pulls on your heartstrings. When you come home and the kids run to you, come up and grab your leg. We have a little thing. They stand on my feet and I walk them into the kitchen and we just laugh.

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Bishop Finn Exhorts Pro-Life Volunteers to Prayer and Action
Bishop Robert W. Finn spoke to a group of pro-life volunteers on Sunday at a Respect Life Banquet held at St. Pius X High School in Kansas City, MO. The theme of his address was "moving from ideas to action." (To read the complete speech, click here) Bishop Finn highlighted four main components in being pro-life: belief, teaching, prayer and especially action.

Moore supports Government Run Healthcare
Speaking at a Breakfast in KCK, Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS) took a few questions from the audience. Moore was asked to clarify the differences between Obama's call for a "public option" and others who are calling for a "co-op" effort. "I think the public option is probably a pretty good idea," Moore replied. "Co-ops are a pretty fuzzy thing to me." Moore was also questioned on how the health care legislation would address public funding for abortion, as one version of the legislation would allow. "We are looking at funding medical procedures that are legal in this country," Moore said. When asked what timeframe legislators might adopt health care reform, Moore admitted he didn't have a good answer.

Godsey on Independence Police Tax
It might be the economy, or it might be that voters are finally getting tired of being asked to approve new taxes for basic services. For the first time in nearly 10 years, Independence voters said no to a sales tax increase. Last week, 60 percent of the voters turned down a proposal to add 42 officers to their police department. It's happened in Kansas City. It's happened in Johnson County. Voters are repeatedly asked to pay more for essential services, while officials throw money at other projects. Independence is building an arena when it needs more police officers on the street. Maybe Independence voters finally caught on. Maybe they finally figured out that officials fund their pet projects from existing revenues, then seek higher taxes for things that they think voters cannot turn down. Not this time. Independence must now fund its police department the way it should have in the first place -- from existing tax revenues.

KC Home Builders Plea to Congress to Save the Housing Market
Members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City recorded their personal stories during a rally on Aug. 13, 2009 to tell Congress how the housing industry is suffering and may be on the brink of collapse without action now. Dennis Moore, Emanuel Cleaver you are part of the problem! Too much government and too much regulation is killing our small businesses, especially in the housing industry.

KC firm owned by Uzbekistan Nationals charged in human trafficking case
The indictment says Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, owned and operated Giant Labor, a labor-leasing company, and controlled a dozen other businesses that filed fraudulent applications for foreign workers. Askarkhodjaev and other Uzbekistan nationals used false IDs to create the companies and open dozens of bank accounts for them, prosecutors said. The workers, who were mainly from the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Philippines, paid thousands of dollars — often taking out loans in their home countries — for Giant Labor to bring them to the U.S. and get them temporary visas, authorities said. But once they arrived, the workers were stuck in small, sparsely furnished apartments, had no access to their mail and were charged so many fees that they were sometimes told on payday they owed the company money.

Protesters beg park board to spare the lives of deer
About 40 people showed up tonight at a meeting of the Johnson County park board, begging the board to spare the lives of deer in Shawnee Mission Park. Many of them spoke during the public comment session, urging park officials to find non-lethal ways of thinning the deer herd at the park near 87th Street and Renner Road.

Douglas County BOCC trying to take away FOP Firing Range
Another anti-Second Amendment move is occurring in Lawrence. A Douglas County judge is deciding whether to rule in favor of the County Commission or the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter over a firing range at the FOP lodge southwest of Lawrence. The FOP Lodge No. 2 filed the suit in 2007 intending to resolve a dispute about whether the 95-acre tract of land violates land-use policies because of a firing range there that has existed for decades. The range is also used by other law enforcement agencies, such as the KBI. “While the county could have insisted on a conditional-use permit back when any of these building permits were issued, it should be stopped from making that demand now, 30 years after the fact,” FOP attorney Mike Riling wrote in a recent court motion.

Women's Handgun Basics Course
Have you ever wanted to learn more about handgun safety? Are you interested in buying a gun for recreational shooting or self defense? The Missouri Department of Conservation at Parma Woods Shooting Range in Parkville is willing to put on a training course for us for FREE. Learn the basics in a classroom setting, and then practice on the shooting range. You can bring your own gun, or use theirs for free. You must RSVP. The classroom training is September 24th from 6-8pm. The actual range practice is Saturday, September 26th from 8am-10am.

Has the Kansas Supreme Court quietly hobbled Jessica’s Law?
So far this issue has received very little press coverage. Articles have dealt with the individual cases as the decisions were handed down but there does not seem to have been much comment as to the overall impact of the ruling, which by returning this batch of cases to the Sentencing Guidelines regime effectively nullifies the intent of the Legislature that these criminals not be released for a very long time. To be clear, this is something, which individual prosecutors and Judges are in a position to correct going forwards by asking Juries to determine that the defendant is in fact over 18. However with the limited coverage of the cases it is quite possible that this is still happening, dooming further Jessica’s Law sentences.

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“Why won’t some members of the Congressional Delegation from the KC Metro Area even sit down to listen to our concerns?”

Mike Brown, Brown Midwest and former HBA President

Gospel according to Matthew 20:1-16a

1 The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle. 4 And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. 5 And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner. 6 But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle? 7 They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard. 8 And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first. 9 When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny. 11 And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, 12 Saying: These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats. 13 But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? 14 Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee. 15 Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? is thy eye evil, because I am good? ?16a So shall the last be first, and the first last.

The American people do not like President Barack Obama’s health care plan. According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll 42% of Americans “think his plan is a bad idea” compared to only 36% who think it is a good idea. 40% of Americans believe Obama’s health care plan “will result in the quality of your health care getting worse” compared to 24% who believe their care will get better. And 47% of Americans oppose “creating a public health care plan administered by the federal government” compared to only 43% who support it. Facing this cratering of public support, the left in Congress is now considering abandoning moderates and independents to pass their narrow partisan ideal of health reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spokesman Jim Manley promised yesterday that Democrats will pass Obamacare “by any legislative means necessary.”

What exactly does Senator Reid mean by ‘any legislative means necessary’? The Wall Street Journal explains: “Most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but certain budget-related measures can pass with 51 votes through a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation.” The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created reconciliation, but Congress didn’t really use it until the 1980s. In 1993, President Bill Clinton tried to use the rule to press his health care plan through the Senate, but Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) resisted, introducing the Byrd Rule which allows any Senator to strike specific provisions or amendments from legislation if a 60 vote Senate majority agrees that the item is “extraneous” to the budget. At the time Byrd specifically argued that health care was out of bounds for a process that was intended to only apply to budgets.

But Democrats in Congress are undeterred by history, precedent, and public opinion. They are now planning to split the bill into two parts: one bill with budget-related matters and another bill with policy changes such as the insurance market reforms. They even are prepared to argue that the core of the left’s health care vision: a government-run health care plan can be considered a budget related item. The WSJ reports: “Democratic leaders have concluded they can pack more of their health overhaul plans under this procedure, congressional aides said. They might even be able to include a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, a key demand of the party’s liberal wing.”

The American people are already sick and tired of 1,000 page bills and strong arm legislative tactics. A new Gallup poll shows that 82% of Republicans and even 40% of Democrats disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Even more troubling for the “by any means necessary” crowd is that 70% of independents share a negative view of the House and Senate. Finally, a new Pew poll shows that for the first time since President Barack Obama took office the percentage of Americans who hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party has slipped below 50%. How will independents feel about liberals in Congress if they pass a health plan that 40% of Americans believe “will result in the quality of your health care getting worse”?

Courtesy the Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell