Obama speaks to UN: New World Order
The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy, but there are doubts national governments will bow to external advice.

Indoctrination Shocker: Kids taught to sing Obama's praises
School children in New Jersey have been taught to both chant and sing praises to President Obama, with a YouTube video revealing them singing, "Mr. President, We Honor You Today" to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The children also are seen being taught the chant: "Barack Hussein Obama."

Holdren says Constitution backs compulsory abortion
Obama science czar John Holdren stated in a college textbook he co-authored that in conditions of emergency, compulsory abortion would be sustainable under the U.S. Constitution, even with Supreme Court review.

Obama's Agenda Would Bring $13 Trillion in Budget Deficits, Not $9 Trillion
President Obama's budget will likely produce $13 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years--nearly $4 trillion more than forecast. The White House figures are based on unrealistic estimates of discretionary spending, interest payments, and interest rates. The White House also used budget gimmicks to hide the full cost of certain entitlements and failed to account for the full costs of cap-and-trade energy legislation and health care reform.

Administration Will Cut Border Patrol Deployed on U.S-Mexico Border
Even though the Border Patrol now reports that almost 1,300 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border is not under effective control, and the Department of Justice says that vast stretches of the border are “easily breached,” and the Government Accountability Office has revealed that three persons “linked to terrorism” and 530 aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints last year, the administration is nonetheless now planning to decrease the number of Border Patrol agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Cops, deputies warned again about right-wing 'terrorists'
A private activist organization apparently is picking up where the federal government left off when the Department of Homeland Security issued its "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" warning that returning veterans and people in a long list of other categories were potential terrorists. Only the new warning, delivered recently to police officers, sheriffs and other law enforcement personnel across the country, is lumping those dedicated to the constitutional principles on which the nation was founded together with crazed killers. The fall 2009 "Intelligence Report" was issued recently by the Southern Poverty Law Center, where officials confirmed to WND it was published specifically for and delivered to law enforcement personnel across the nation.

Surprise: Demand for new cars collapses after Cash for Clunkers ends
As predicted, the “hangover” is upon us. Here’s the glorious result of dangling $3 billion in free taxpayer money in front of car-buyers: Two months of artificially stimulated demand which spurred manufacturers to ramp up production, leaving dealers now with showrooms full of new cars — and no customers to buy them. At the moment, no one’s even sure if overall sales will be higher for the year. Genius.

Obama Czar: Fetuses 'use' women, abortion limits 'troublesome'
Restrictions on access to abortion would turn women's bodies into vessels to be "used" by fetuses, according to President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein.

On-the-air prez seems like endless 'infomercial'
During his first eight months in office, President Obama has sat down for three times as many television interviews as his most recent two predecessors combined. And with yesterday's run of the Sunday-morning news show circuit and tonight's airing of "Late Night with David Letterman," Obama continues to blaze through the media hotter than any political figure in modern history. "He's turning the presidency into an infomercial," warned former White House speechwriter Matt Latimer. "It's not just damaging to the White House. It will also ultimately hurt President Obama's image as a fresh, non-Washington leader.

Limbaugh: Democrats Aim to Control People's Lives
Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh says President Barack Obama’s plan to control healthcare is a pivotal point in his quest to control every aspect of Americans' lives. Limbaugh, appearing Thursday on NBC’s “Jay Leno Show,” said the Democratic plan will regulate everything that affects healthcare costs, right down to what Americans should eat, drink, and drive.

Obama WH “biggest bunch of crybabies”
What, this White House is thin-skinned? Do tell! Chris Wallace dishes on the Obama administration’s press relations group, which he calls “the biggest bunch of crybabies” he’s seen in 30 years of reporting. Wallace compares the Obama administration very unfavorably to the Reagan media handlers, who always acted professional even after a stinging news report. Wallace says that attitude came “from the top down,” as Reagan himself approached the news media with poise and comportment. The new administration? Not so much.

5 Things Congress and the President Are Doing to Bring Back Sky-High Gas Prices
Instead of clamping down on domestic energy supplies, American energy policy should embrace these ideas: Expand offshore and onshore oil production into previously restricted areas, including Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil--16 years of current imports from Saudi Arabia--lie beneath a few thousand acres that can be accessed with minimal environmental impact; Reduce the regulatory and legal delays that can slow and sometimes stop production; Allow further progress on oil shale; and Prevent costly new anti-energy regulations from being imposed in the name of addressing global warming.

New Audio Reveals White House Using NEA to Push Partisan Agenda
Should the National Endowment for the Arts encourage artists to create art on issues being vehemently debated nationally? That is the question that I set out to discuss a little over three weeks ago when I wrote an article on Big Hollywood entitled The National Endowment for the Art of Persuasion?” The question still requires debate but the facts do not. The NEA and the White House did encourage a handpicked, pro-Obama arts group to address politically controversial issues under contentious national debate. That fact is irrefutable.

Demand Congressional Investigation: NEA Conference Call Broke Laws
Violation of the Anti-Lobbying Act carries punishment: “Any person who makes an expenditure … shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such expenditure.” And that’s not all: “An imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection does not prevent the United States from seeking any other remedy that the United States may have for the same conduct that is the basis for the imposition of such civil penalty.” In other words, criminal prosecution is available here. Every government employee involved in this conference call should be fined and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We need a full Congressional investigation – we already know that it infects members of the White House staff, including Buffy Wicks. The transformation of our government into a self-entrenched continuous campaigning machine must be stopped now.

Obama fund-raiser charged in $290 million fraud
Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, HSBC and Citigroup Inc out of more than $290 million in loan proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday. The announcement follows last month's indictment of Nemazee, head of a private equity firm and an Iranian American Political Action Committee board member, on one count of defrauding Citigroup's Citibank.

Sunday Obamathon Turns Into Media Critique; Says Press is Perpetuating 'Rude' Behavior
They say you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you. But the 44th President of the United States doesn't seem to be worried about that. President Barack Obama, still with no fear of being overexposed, made the rounds on five Sunday morning talk shows on Sept. 20 to make another attempt at winning the hearts and minds over on his vague health care proposal.

Elderly pro-lifer assaulted while protesting in Arizona
Pro-life activist Johnny Wallace, 69, was attacked on Friday by two women as he stood holding two signs in front of City Hall in Flagstaff, Arizona. The women, both 48, yelled profanities at him, attempted to take his signs and wrestled him to the ground. On the day of the attack, Wallace, who daily protests in front of City Hall, held two text-only signs. According to Operation Rescue, the signs said, “Abortion kills more black Americans in four days than the Klan killed in 150 years,” and the other, “Life begins at conception and ends at Planned Parenthood." The two women who accosted Wallace were identified as Denise Redsteer and Laura Chapman. According to Northern Arizona Today, Wallace was knocked to the ground as he attempted to protect his signs from one of the women. The other woman then joined in the struggle.

Polish Priest Fined for Comparing Abortion to Holocaust
In a ruling that Church leaders are calling a serious infringement of freedom of speech, a Polish judge has accused the Archdiocese of Katowice and the priest-editor of their Catholic weekly newspaper of comparing a woman who sought an abortion to the Nazis, and has ordered them to publish a court-dictated apology.Judge Ewa Solecka, further, fined the Gosc Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor) paper $11,000, objecting to comments from editor-in-chief Fr. Marek Gancarczyk that she deemed offensive, such as his statement that in seeking to get an abortion, the woman sought to 'kill' her child.

Global Warming Update: Fall Gone Straight to Winter!
Southern Wyoming this morning has already seen upward of 2 inches of snow, said Don Day Jr. of DayWeather, the Coloradoan's weather service. Parts of Larimer County above 7,500 feet saw snow this morning, including Red Feather Lakes and Glacier View Meadows. While that snow hasn't stuck much, Day said, it's a harbinger of things to come. Autumn officially starts tomorrow. “Fall was cancelled and we've gone straight to winter," he said as a joke.

Life! All ages are precious!
Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic.

TKF In Tranisition
Soon, TKF will be sent from a new e-mail address -- editor@kansasfederalist.com. Put this address in your addressbook to ensure you receive future updates.

TKF on Facebook
Look for the "Kansas Federalist" on Facebook and become a Fan!

Parkinson: Green America needs all-out effort
Saying it will take "almost a Marshall Plan" to develop green energy in America, Gov. Mark Parkinson on Friday called for national standards to require use of renewable power sources, especially wind.

Gov. appoints Union board member to KS Supreme Court Nominating Commission
In a press release today, Gov. Mark Parkinson announced his appointment of a 4th Congressional District member to the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission but was silent on the many labor union and political connections of his appointee.

Rose Quits Race: Out of Gas!
A little more than a week ago, Steve Rose, publisher of the Johnson County Sun, announced he was joining the GOP primary race to run for Democrat Dennis Moore's Third Congressional District seat. A day or two after that, Rose canceled out of a JoCo candidate forum. Friday, Rose went one better and pulled out of the race entirely due to Bowel issues.

Godsey Editorial: JACO Lowers Taxes
Unlike some local governments who are looking for ways to squeeze even more money out of taxpayers, the Jackson County Legislature has voted unanimously not to increase tax rates. Because of a drop in property values, this means that Jackson County taxpayers will actually see a decrease in their tax bills. This contrasts sharply with other local governments who are seeking to make up budget shortfalls by raising user fees and with Missouri school districts who sued in a failed attempt to get more state funding. The action of the Jackson County Legislature will necessarily mean trimming expenses at county agencies. That's refreshing, and it's the right thing to do in this weak economy. Families are dealing with loss of employment and income. Many have had to reduce their household expenses. It's about time local governments are asked to do the same thing.

To prevent ecological disasters, including "global warming," the U.S. Constitution would permit involuntary abortions, government-imposed sterilizations and laws limiting the number of children as steps justified under the banner of "sustainable well-being."

– Obama Science Czar John Holdren

Gospel - Lk 9:43b-45

43b And all were astonished at the mighty power of God. 44 But while all wondered at all the things he did, he said to his disciples: Lay you up in your hearts these words, for it shall come to pass, that the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this word; and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not. And they were afraid to ask him concerning this word.

Kansas is slipping in an important national ranking with large implications for businesses and economic development.

Kansas dropped one place to 32nd, second to last among its neighbor states, in the Tax Foundation’s 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index just released this week.

The index ranks South Dakota #1, the most “business-friendly,” and New Jersey comes in last, as it was in the 2009. Nebraska ranks 33rd, last place among Kansas and its neighbors. Missouri ranks 16th and Colorado 13th. Oklahoma fell to 31st, a 13 place drop from its 18th rank in 2009.

The Index measures the competitiveness of states’ tax systems and ranks them based on the taxes that matter most to businesses and business investment: corporate income, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. Scores are weighted based on relative importance or impact of the tax to a business. The final ranking is an indication of how well a state’s tax system encourages investment by maintaining a broad tax base and low rates.

Businesses, and the jobs they bring, locate and relocate based on how favorable conditions are for long-term growth. Some conditions, like availability of deep-water ports or weather, are beyond human control so the report stresses that lawmakers need to make wise decisions about what they can control.

“Although the market is now global, the Department of Labor reports that most mass job relocations are from one U.S. state to another rather than to an overseas location.” State lawmakers should be concerned about global competition for jobs and capital, but they need to be more concerned with companies moving from their state to a neighbor.

Kansas received good marks, 6th place nationally, for its approach to unemployment insurance taxes. Individual income taxes (21st) and sales taxes (24th) were also better than average. Property taxes ranked 32nd.

Opportunities for improvement
The state’s worst mark in the index is for corporate taxes, a 40th place rank. The state has problems with several factors used to calculate this component of the index: tax credits, treatment of net operating losses and an “other” category that includes the taxation of “throwback.”

Proponents of tax credits and other incentives say they’re good for luring businesses to a state. But Padgitt says tax credits or other special incentives mask bigger problems. “They’re often used to make up for a bad broader tax policy.” He also notes that credits and other tax exemptions often result from lobbying efforts on behalf of small segments of the private sector. This allows government to control and distort business development.

Kansas tax law allows businesses to carry operating losses forward for 10 years but allows no carry back of losses as other states do. So, if a business has a $1 million profit in 2009 and a $1 million loss in 2010 it can’t pay taxes based on the true average income.

When businesses make sales into states where they do not have sufficient operations to justify taxation, businesses can end up with income that is not taxed by any state. Kansas is one of 24 states that have “throwback” rules to capture taxes from income not taxed in other states. The rules determine where the income is derived and throw it back into a state where it will be taxed.

The problem with brackets
The state’s top corporate income tax rate of 7.05 percent kicks in at $50,000. The index penalizes states with tax brackets for individuals or corporations. The report’s author, Kail Padgitt, and other economists agree that an ideal tax system should be simple, transparent, stable, neutral to business activity, and pro-growth. Brackets cause problems with all of these ideals.

Brackets add complexity to tax codes and therefore increase costs for businesses to comply with or find ways around the tax law. Government also spends more time and taxpayer money enforcing the law.

Brackets hide the real costs of the tax. Even though corporations in a higher tax bracket pay the tax bill, individuals bear the costs. Taxes, like other operating expense are either passed on to the consumer or reduce the businesses ability to compete. “These costs come in the form of either lower wages to workers or lower returns to stockowners.”

Brackets are not neutral and can be a disincentive to growth. Before expanding and hiring new employees a Kansas business making just under $50,000 annual taxable income would have to also consider the effect of an additional 3.1 percent surtax on income above $50,000.

“The bottom line is taxing corporate income will not necessarily affect income distribution in what some think is a desirable direction,” Padgitt said. “The tax code should not be used a tool of fiscal policy but as a neutral revenue raiser.”

Senator Les Donovan (R-Wichita), chairman of the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, owns a large auto dealership in Wichita. He says it’s frustrating to see Kansas continue to receive poor marks in the Tax Foundation index. The Legislature recently reduced the corporate income tax rate and has provided a number of incentives for business.

Donovan says there are several major obstacles in the way of a more friendly business climate in Kansas. He says some elected leaders don’t seem to understand the importance of a business-friendly environment and controlling spending.

“The ones who want to use the money, especially the governor – and especially our last governor, Sebelius, – really didn’t have a grasp of how this works,” Donovan said in a phone interview.

Unrestrained spending leads to calls for increased taxes. The Michigan Legislature in just one day, September 17, proposed 21 bills calling for new or increased taxes, many on businesses. Such changes, if enacted into law, would likely drop Michigan from its current 17th ranking.

Personal income tax changes, mostly increases, accounted for much of the shifting in the index. So-called “millionaires’ taxes” were also levied on high-income earners (often on income far less than $1 million) in Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon. Some states’ rankings improved without changes in tax laws because other states are implementing changes, mostly tax increases, that are not favorable to economic development. Kentucky’s ranking improved the most – up 14 spots from 34th in 2009 to 20th in 2010.

Oklahoma fell because the Tax Foundation was able to gather much more detailed nationwide data on local-option sales taxes, as high as four percent in some municipalities and much higher than local sales taxes in most states.

The report’s author has recommendations for state legislators considering tax policy changes. “When policymakers are considering tax changes in their states, they should remember two rules: Taxes matter to business, and states do not enact tax changes – increases or cuts – in a vacuum.”

Source