Birther affect

This is what happens when you watch too much cable TV. The flip side would be something nutty like the Democrats who believed that George Bush was getting drunk in the white house all the time. But that didn't make the mainstream news like this one. And beneath this accusation is not-so-subtle prejudice to paint Obama as a foreigner, outsider and unAmerican.

GOP moderation?

Can a moderate Republican win a primary for a Congressional seat in South Central Kansas? The bet is against it, but it sure would be nice. Jean Schodorf, who heads the Senate Education committee in the Kansas Senate, will probably join the race to replace Tiahrt.

Cowley First

This thing could drag on, apparently. The more it does, the worse is it for the image and productivity of Cowley First. Protecting somebody's privacy is good, but it also breeds suspicion when no words is given on these matter.

I don't fault Alsup or Hill. The problem lies in Kansas public records law, which allows too much secrecy in personnel matters of public officials, in my opinion. We should at least be able to know WHY, she was placed on leave. At least a general reason for such dramatic action by our government officials.

Two amigos

Can't help but point out this local political cartoon. I laughed out loud when I first saw it. It reveals through comedy what is a good point — the TIF forces are strong and outweigh the anti-TIF forces, at least on the commission.

Moran endorsements

Below is a blog entry from KC STAR columnist Mike Hendricks.

"Don’t overlook the significance of last week’s endorsement spree by U.S. Senate hopeful Jerry Moran.

In his battle with fellow Republican Todd Tiahrt in Kansas’ 2010 U.S. Senate primary, the impressive list of Johnson County mayors that Moran trotted out ranks as a hugely significant development.

Seven Johnson County mayors backed Moran: Overland Park’s Carl Gerlach, Lenexa’s Mike Boehm, Leawood’s Peggy Dunn, Olathe’s Mike Copeland, Shawnee’s Jeff Meyers, Prairie Village’s Ron Shaffer, and Mission’s Laura McConwell.

Yeah, it’s just a bunch of endorsements. But with Moran hailing from Hays and Tiahrt from Wichtia, Johnson County Republicans are as valuable as Satchel Paige autographs.

The mayors’ verdict will reverberate all over the state’s most populous county."

Downtown improvement

Foss Farrar's story about financial help for downtown/historical buildings in Ark City. With a Main Street association, we'd be on top of these type of benefits, and more, and be able to promote/highlight what outsiders see as the jewel of the city. One obstacle is buildings owners having to pay dues. But it appears they payoff can be significant.

Tacky Todd

Kind of tacky for Rep. Todd Tiahrt to go around suggesting certain people, including the president of the united states, could have been aborted if abortions were cheaper. His other example of a great mind that could have been aborted was Clarence Thomas.

I understand that Tiahrt is an anti-abortion crusader (in fact this is a good reminder that he is a product of the 1990s Christian Coalition) but Tiahrt makes it sound like mothers would abort more black babies, in particular, just to save a few bucks.