Free Republic

Kansas City councilman Jermaine Reed wanted to have an “honest” discussion on race. But like Attorney General Eric Holder and former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien, who made similar pleas before him, he did not really say more than that. Green’s call for honest talk came after three years and dozens of episodes of black mob violence at the Plaza in Kansas City. He wanted an explanation as to why police only cited black people. I could not tell if he was unhappy with the black people for frequent and large-scale episodes of mob violence – or with the police for...

Let me preface by saying that I'm not criticizing Bill Karins for his choice of words. Thank, uh, goodness, we live in a country where we're free to believe in any God or no God at all. But I do see Karins' construction as a sign of the cultural times. The Morning Joe meteorologist today aired dramatic footage of the weatherman at the NBC affiliate in Wichita, Kansas ordering his colleagues to take shelter because a tornado was headed right at the station. Said Karins: "By the grace of whatever, God or whatever else, it lifted the second it got...

Live coverage: http://www.ksn.com/weather/live-radar-and-storm-coverage/ Large tornado confirmed on the ground. Weather service has issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation warning.

A Burkburnett man is jailed after allegedly trying to break into a home in Wichita Falls and being met by a resident with a gun. According to a probable cause affidavit: Wichita Falls police responded to a burglary call on Anita Street on April 30. They were told the resident was holding the suspect at gunpoint in the backyard. The resident told officers he heard someone trying to get into the house and saw a man removing the glass from a storm door. He confronted the would-be intruder and held him until police arrived.

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

Authorities on Tuesday were investigating the deaths of three people whose bodies were found on a rural property in eastern Kansas, a day after friends of the residents called police to report a foul smell at the site. Meanwhile, investigators in a nearby county were waiting to see if one of the bodies is a suburban Kansas City mother who has been missing with her 18-month-old baby since last week. The bodies of two adult men and one woman were found Monday on the farm west of Ottawa, which is located about 60 miles southwest of Kansas City, Sheriff Jeff...

Kansas signed the Second Amendment Protection Act (SB 102) into law last month. The bill protects gun owners from from new federal gun control laws and would actually make it illegal to enforce those laws within the state of Kansas. Eric Holder threatened Kansas last week calling the new state law unconstitutional. In response Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, fired back. The general gist of the message was, “You’re wrong. You don’t understand the Constitution. Bring it on.” Via Guns Save Lives: Kobach insisted the State of Kansas was determined to restore the Constitution to protect the right of...

The Obama administration is on a collision course with the state of Kansas over a new law that claims to nullify federal gun controls. Attorney General Eric Holder has threatened litigation against Kansas over the law in what could the opening salvo of a blockbuster legal battle with national ramifications. “This is definitely a case that could make it to the Supreme Court,” Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Friday afternoon. “There is nothing symbolic about this law.” Kobach, a former constitutional law professor, helped craft the statute, which bars the federal government from regulating guns and ammunition manufactured...

The Hill reports that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback just signed into law a statute that "bars the federal government from regulating guns and ammunition manufactured and stored within Kansas state lines." Moreover, the new law makes it a felony for federal authorities to attempt to enforce federal gun control laws, treaties, or rules related to firearms within Kansas state lines. Federal agents would not be arrested but will be prosecuted on "a complaint-and-summons basis." Naturally, U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder is furious. Already he has sent a letter to Brownback promising, “The United States will take all appropriate action, including...

A fight is brewing in Kansas over the constitutionality of laws that aim to bar enforcement of federal gun-control measures. In late April, the Kansas legislature passed and Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed a law that blocks enforcement of any federal gun laws on guns produced and used within the state of Kansas. Under the law, “any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas.” Attorney General Eric Holder has written to...

Kansas Governor to AG Holder: We Will Continue to Defend 2nd Amendment Written by Joe Wolverton, II, J.D. As we reported yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Brownback informing him that the Obama administration would ignore a new Kansas law nullifying federal gun control laws. Furthermore, Holder warned the governor that federal agents would “take all appropriate actions” to enforce federal gun control laws, calling the Kansas statute “unconstitutional.” In a response to Holder's letter sent on May 2, Brownback defends his state’s right to protect its citizens’ right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed...

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback received a letter today from Attorney General Eric Holder threatening action against the state should it enforce SB102, the pro 2nd Amendment law Brownback signed into law last month. The new law declares that the federal government has no power to regulate guns manufactured, sold and kept only in Kansas. Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas. The legislation made it a felony for a federal...

A new law in Kansas that criminalizes the enforcement of federal gun controls in the state is unconstitutional, Attorney General Eric H. Holder said. “In purporting to override federal law and to criminalize the official acts of federal officers, [the law] directly conflicts with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional,” Mr. Holder wrote to Gov. Sam Brownback in a letter dated April 26. “Federal officers who are responsible for enforcing federal laws and regulations in order to maintain public safety cannot be forced to choose between the risk of a criminal prosecution by a state and the continued performance of...

Opponents of federal gun control won a victory in the Senate Wednesday. But without a doubt, Congress will pass some sort of gun-control legislation. And that act will certainly violate the Constitution. Our founding document does not delegate firearm-regulating power to Congress or the president. No clause in the Constitution empowers the federal government to ban any type of gun or magazine, create a gun registry or implement a national system of background checks, and the Second Amendment actively restricts federal power in this area. It prevents the federal government from infringing on the right of people to keep and...

Tuesday Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed what is being called the strictest Second Amendment protection law in the nation. “The Second Amendment Protection Act” does exactly as the name implies: It provides residents protection of their Second Amendment rights by exemption from federal gun control laws, including bans or restrictions on certain guns, magazines or ammunition, for all guns and accessories within the state’s borders. “Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the...

Bills 'nullifying' Washington overreach gaining momentum across the country It was called the strongest pro-gun bill in the country, and now it’s the law in Kansas. The law is designed to counter the push by liberal federal lawmakers for increased restrictions on gun rights. It nullifies any new limits on firearms, magazines and ammunition – whether enacted by Congress, presidential executive order or any agency. If Congress would have passed the Senate amendment expanding federal background checks, for example, the Kansas law would nullify it in the state. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 102 into law...

During a hearing into the constitutionality of voter identification laws enacted across the country, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) tore into claims by the Department of Justice that those laws were racially discriminatory. In the space of five minutes, Gowdy knocked down the claims, one by one, that a voter ID law passed in South Carolina in 2011 discriminated against African-Americans or was dissimilar to laws the Justice Department had cleared in a variety of other states. Gowdy began by noting that, when the Palmetto State’s voter identification law was passed, a third of the state’s congressional delegation were African-American; former...

Since the abortionist George Tiller was shot and killed in his church in 2009, his former clinic has remained empty – until now. Julie Burkhart, the founder and executive director of Trust Women (and former co-worker of George Tiller), has been working for some time to open a new abortion clinic in the same building she worked in years ago under Tiller. Her efforts were brought to fruition when the new clinic – South Wind Women’s Center – opened on April 3. Like many abortion clinics, this new clinic advertises that it will provide comprehensive health care services for women,...

The Photographer Senior Airman Courtney Witt, United States Air Force   Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200905.htm (medium, large, huge) 

Monday, 08 April 2013 16:05 Kansas Legislature Sends Governor Strongest Pro-gun Bill in Country Written by Bob Adelmann Late last Friday, as both houses of the Kansas legislature were winding up its current session, Senate Bill 102 and House Bill 2199 were passed overwhelmingly, putting the matter firmly on the desk of pro-gun Governor Sam Brownback (shown) for signing. The House passed its measure 96-24 while the Senate's bill was voted through 35-4. As both pieces of legislation are identical, no conference was necessary and the final bill will be on Brownback’s desk this week for signing. As the votes...

Friday afternoon Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed 11 bills into law, including SB 21 which amends several firearms-related statutes including authorizing official recognition of any valid concealed carry permit from another state for individuals traveling through or visiting Kansas. Thanks to Gov Brownback, Kansas now has the best Concealed Carry reciprocity in the nation!

A phrase declaring that life begins "at fertilization" tucked into new abortion legislation in Kansas is creating concern among abortion rights advocates that the wording will inspire new attempts to prevent the procedure. Supporters of the measure said the language is no more than a statement of principle — similar to those found in several states, including neighboring Missouri — rather than an attempt to prevent any pregnancies from being terminated. But advocates on both sides of the issue acknowledge the wording could prove helpful to abortion opponents over time. The bill, sent late Friday to Gov. Sam Brownback, would...

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s threat to filibuster any new gun restrictions is gathering steam, as a dozen of his Republican colleagues have now signed onto his plan. The Kentucky Republican and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) first wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late last month to warn him of their intention to try to tie up the Senate if, as planned, Reid moved forward with legislation that would expand background checks and attempt to crack down on interstate gun trafficking. Reid is expected to bring a gun-control bill to the floor as early as next...

Kansas legislators gave final passage to a sweeping anti-abortion measure Friday night, sending Gov. Sam Brownback a bill that declares life begins “at fertilization” while blocking tax breaks for abortion providers and banning abortions performed solely because of the baby’s sex. The House voted 90-30 for a compromise version of the bill reconciling differences between the two chambers, only hours after the Senate approved it, 28-10. The Republican governor is a strong abortion opponent, and supporters of the measure expect him to sign it into law so that the new restrictions take effect July 1. In addition to the bans...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), the author of S. Con. Res. 7 – the bipartisan resolution which makes clear a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that undermines Constitutional freedoms of American gun owners will not be ratified by the Senate – released the following statement today on Iran, North Korea and Syria blocking the U.N. ATT last night."I have said all along that negotiating the ATT with dictatorships was a bad idea. Last night, Iran, Syria, and North Korea made clear they have no intention of abiding by any such treaty. Therefore, any ATT would only...

Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables.

Topeka, Kansas, March 27, 2013 (OperationRescue.org) – As North Dakota’s Governor Jack Dalrymple was signing the historic Heartbeat Bill that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, another drama played out at the Kansas Capitol where national pro-life leaders came together in an eleventh hour effort to pass a version of the Heartbeat Bill that advocates say has the best prospect of successfully challenging Roe v. Wade. David F. Forte, a highly esteemed Professor of Law at Cleveland State University who carefully crafted the legislation to withstand a Constitutional challenge, addressed the House Federal and State Affairs committee...

The United States is in the midst of one of the biggest droughts in recent memory. At last count, over half of the lower 48 states had abnormally dry conditions and are suffering from at least moderate drought.... ...U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist and Drought Monitor team member, Brad Rippey, explained that when the drought began in 2012, the worst of the conditions were much farther east, in states like Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan — the corn belt states. Based on pre-drought estimates, corn used for grain lost slightly more than a quarter of its potential. By the Summer of...

On Thursday, HB2175, a bill that nullifies the Transportation Security Administration’s overreach at airports, was passed out of committee. It seeks to criminalize TSA misconduct and bring strict and harsh punishments upon them for their misconduct. According to the bill, which seeks to amend the 2012 Kansas statutes, “Official misconduct is any of the following acts committed by a public officer or employee in the officer or employee’s public capacity or under color of the officer or employee’s office or employment.” According to Section 7, “as part of a determination of whether to grant another person access to a publicly...

On Thursday, March 14, the Kansas House of Representatives approved House Bill 2199, the Second Amendment Protection Act, which would nullify any new federal restrictions — passed either by Congress, presidential executive order, agency order, rule, or regulation — on firearms, magazines, and ammunition. The bill originally passed Wednesday, March 13, by a voice vote, but the actual official recorded vote was not taken until Thursday, when it passed 94-29. On Tuesday, during a debate over the bill on the floor, one representative who was against the bill stated that Kansas should not “punish” federal agents ordered to enforce federal...

Kansas State University civil engineers are developing the right mix to reduce concrete's carbon footprint and make it stronger. Their innovative ingredient: biofuel byproducts. "The idea is to use bioethanol production byproducts to produce a material to use in concrete as a partial replacement of cement," said Feraidon Ataie, doctoral student in civil engineering, Kabul, Afghanistan. "By using these materials we can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete materials." Concrete is made from three major components: portland cement, water and aggregate. The world uses nearly 7 billion cubic meters of concrete a year, making concrete the most-used industrial material after...

Today, the Kansas Senate voted 32 to 8 to pass Senate Bill 45, an important pro-gun reform that would prohibit taxpayer money from financing gun control campaigns in any manner. This bill now goes to the state House of Representatives where it will be assigned to an appropriate committee for further consideration. SB 45 is a common sense reform that would help preserve the rights of taxpayers to ensure that public funds are not used to pursue a political agenda against our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Another bill of interest to sportsmen and hunters in Kansas has been...

Kansas transportation officials said about 300 of the 61,000 applications for vanity plates are rejected each year. The Kansas Department of Revenue's Division of Vehicles said its list of banned plates includes nearly 1,200 entries, including curse words, racial slurs, sexual references and slang terms, The Wichita Eagle reported Monday. Donna Shelite, director of vehicles, said applicants will "go to all kinds of lengths" to attempt to circumvent the list, including using "ph" in the place of the letter "f" or using numbers in place of similarly shaped letters, such as a "5" to mean "s." Shelite said officials sometimes...

“We’re not going to pursue criminal charges,” Chambers said. “Based on the scene and a witness and the history of the gentleman, we don’t feel this was anything more than self-defense.” The Kansas Highway Patrol had been looking for the 41-year-old man, who Chambers said had several warrants out for his arrest in Iowa, shortly before noon. The man had driven through a Kansas Turnpike tollbooth without paying. His car, which Chambers said was stolen from Indiana, was found abandoned a short time later. He was seen running into a wooded area near the tollbooth. Kansas Highway Patrol authorities searched...

Some Kansas lawmakers want to stay a step ahead of any new federal gun laws or regulations by reintroducing a bill that would exempt some Kansas-built firearms and accessories from any federal regulation. House Bill 2199, known as the Second Amendment Protection Act, is seen by some as a declaration of states' rights. It is seen by others, including a Wichita firearms manufacturer, as politics as usual.

New Jersey’s governor has branded them “political thugs.” A former federal education official has likened them to terrorists. Less vilified in Kansas than some other parts of the country, those teachers unions still find their clout under attack in the Legislature. The battle over teachers unions has marched its way across the country. Ohio. Michigan. Wisconsin. Idaho. And now it’s in Kansas, greeted by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative allies in the Legislature. Lawmakers are moving to undercut the tenuous power of teachers unions by barring them from using voluntary paycheck deductions for politics. And they’re going after...

Sumner County law enforcement authorities said they finished their investigation of a fatal shooting Monday night in which a 41-year-old man from Iowa was shot by a farmer. Sumner County Sheriff Darren Chambers said no arrests will be made in Monday’s shooting, and that the farmer shot the man in self-defense. “We’re not going to pursue criminal charges,” Chambers said. “Based on the scene and a witness and the history of the gentleman, we don’t feel this was anything more than self-defense.” The Kansas Highway Patrol had been looking for the 41-year-old man, who Chambers said had several warrants out...

A House committee on Wednesday passed a gun rights bill after removing — for now — a provision barring doctors from asking patients about gun ownership. House Bill 2199, dubbed the "Second Amendment Protection Act" by supporters, mainly focuses on prohibiting the federal government from regulating guns manufactured and sold within the boundaries of Kansas. But a secondary provision that would have made it illegal for any doctor other than a psychiatrist to ask about gun ownership threatened to hold it up.

The first clue is a sign "Fresh Eggs for Sale" in front of the school. There is a sheep pen on the baseball field and the sounds of farm animals greet pupils every morning. This is not your ordinary elementary school. It is the Walton Rural Life Center, a kindergarten-through-fourth grade charter school in rural Kansas that uses agriculture to teach students about math, science, economics - and responsibility. The farm theme is so popular that the center has a waiting list to enroll and has given the town of Walton, population 235, a boost, said Mayor Evan Johnson. "It's...

Add Bob Dole—former senator, former presidential candidate, grievously wounded in World War II—to the list of Republican heavy-hitters urging the Senate to confirm the embattled Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. “Hagel’s wisdom and courage make him uniquely qualified to be Secretary of Defense and lead the men and women of our armed forces,” Dole said in a statement released by the White House. “Chuck Hagel will be an exceptional leader at an important time.”

Republicans in swing states that went for President Obama are pushing for a big change in how the Electoral College works, reports the Washington Post. The idea is to apportion electoral votes according to congressional district, instead of the winner-take-all system that most states employ. In Virginia, for example, the difference would be dramatic—Obama would have taken only four of the state's 13 electoral votes in 2012.

The Sierra Club has announced its approval for a "one-time" use of civil disobedience. The civil disobedience is intended to step up their efforts to oppose the Keystone pipeline. Many of the other groups opposing Keystone have been engaging in civil disobedience as a tactic, including arson-based ecoterrorism. This will be the first time in the Sierra Club's history that they have approved violating the law.

More than half the Senate on Wednesday urged quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama to move ahead with the project just days after he promised in his inaugural address to respond vigorously to the threat of climate change. A letter signed by 53 senators said Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s approval of a revised route through his state puts the long-delayed project squarely in the president's hands. “We urge you to choose jobs, economic development and American energy security,” the letter said, adding that the pipeline “has gone through the most exhaustive...

Kwame J. Thomas, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty on Jan. 8, 2013, in a 2011 “knockout game” attack on a man in St. Louis. ... In April 2011 an elderly man was attacked by a mob of black youths playing “the knock out game” while walking home from the grocery store with his wife. They killed him. In June 2011 a group of black youths beat a gay man bloody playing “the knock out game.” In August 2011 black teen mobs targeted St. Louis cyclists in the knock out game. In September 2011, a 73-year-old man was knocked unconscious just...

Bishop, 28, of Hutchinson, nearly unseated Rep. Jan Pauls, D-Hutchinson, in the August primary in the 102nd District. He requested a recount, but ended up eight votes behind Paul. She went on to win re-election in November. Around 2:25 a.m. Dec. 24, police went to a home in the 100 block of South Ford Street. The offense report is heavily redacted because it involves alleged domestic violence against an adult male and 48-year-old female victim. Domestic battery is described as "rude, insulting or angry physical contact." The address of the incident was Bishop's home address during his campaign. Alcohol is...

WICHITA, Kan. — An illegal immigrant accused of assuming the persona of a Texas teacher pleaded guilty Monday in a case that put a face on the growing crime of “total identity theft” in the United States.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- A sperm donor in Kansas is fighting a state effort to force him to pay child support for a child conceived through artificial insemination by a lesbian couple. William Marotta, 46, of Topeka said he is "a little scared about where this is going to go, primarily for financial reasons," The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/132b7Ji) reported Monday. When he donated sperm to Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner in 2009, Marotta relinquished all parental rights, as well as financial responsibility for the child. When Bauer and Schreiner filed for state assistance this year, the state demanded the donor's name...

The State of Kansas, which does not recognize same-sex unions, is pursuing child support from the man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple because the child’s mother is seeking financial aid. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's administration is seeking to pass the cost of that child support on to the sperm donor of the lesbian couple involved. According to the Huffington Post’s Dec. 30 report, William Marotta, a Topeka mechanic, may have to pay child support for a child he signed away all his parental rights to. The story begins when Marotta answered a Craigslist ad for a sperm donor....

<p>A sperm donor has been ordered to pay child support for the biological daughter he fathered to a lesbian couple who found him via Craigslist.</p> <p>Angela Bauer, 40, and partner Jennifer Schreiner, 34, placed an ad on the site three years ago for a donor which was answered by William Marotta.</p>