The Right's "Radical Fringe"

Just got this media inquiry posted to the Profnet service:

POLITICS/TODAY: The Far Right's 'Lunatic Fringe' -- WUSB 90.1 FM (NY)
For a live radio interview on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 1:15 p.m. EDT, I want to hear about how far this is this going. Is it damaging the GOP? Is it damaging the conservative movement? Is it dangerous? A brief pre-interview chat is required.

I wrote him back and asked exactly what "lunatic fringe" he's talking about. Does he mean the lunatics who got naked to protest the war? How do they damage the GOP?

(I, of course, presume he's referring to the patriotic tea partiers. It's nauseating the media obsession with portraying real Americans who want to preserve the nation the founders established and soldiers fought and died for are "lunatics" but those who want to "fundamentally transform" it are the good Americans.)

Tiahrt Meet-and-Greet Tomorrow

I am co-hosting a reception at my office (2850 SW Mission Woods Drive) for US Senate Candidate Todd Tiahrt tomorrow morning at 10 am. The commercials between him and Jerry Moran are really overwhelming in terms of their slinging of mud-coated facts. It's good to meet the candidate and ask him in person because it's way too confusing to sort it out based on ads alone. I've met Todd and, while I think we'll be represented by a conservative either way, Todd will champion conservative causes while Moran will more often than not vote the right way. That's fine in the House, but in the Senate you are only 1 of 100 members and we need a champion. Todd Tiahrt seems to be the guy who will not just vote right, but will fight right.

I hope you'll come out to meet him and ask him your questions.

These Numbers Don't Lie -- The Carnage of Democrat Rule

Here's a report from my friend Ken Daniel:

Unemployment vs. Employment

By Kenneth Daniel, TIBA Governmental Affairs Director

Unemployment statistics, to me, are confusing and usually misleading. They don't count people who have quit looking for work or have exhausted their benefits, they ignore population growth for the most part, and have other shortcomings. I'm interested in unemployment statistics only when I'm trying to figure out how much the State of Kansas is paying out in unemployment benefits and how it might affect my business in the future.

Usually, I concentrate only on employment statistics. This is true whether it is city, county, state, or national employment. Specifically, I concentrate on the seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment statistics tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. I also track total Government employment, which is included in the total nonfarm employment, but published in a subset so one can separate it out when desired.

Soon I will publish some employment information about Topeka and ShawneeCounty, which may contain some surprises for locals. Today I will concentrate on federal statistics.

EMPLOYMENT UNDER BUSH AND OBAMA

When George W. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001, total U.S. employment was at 132.469 million. The highest it had ever been was the previous month, when it was 16,000 higher.

When Bush was sworn in, the country was in a mild recession. Then on September 11, 2001 the WorldTradeCenter bombing occurred. In the 23 months between then and August 2003, the number of jobs shrank by 1.696 million.

Then jobs began to grow again and grew for 40 straight months, increasing by 7.245 million by January 2007 to 137.067 million or 4.6 million more than existed when Bush took office, notwithstanding Sept. 11.

In January 2007, the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives 233-202, and of the Senate 51-49. Note that many Senate issues require 55 votes to pass, so the 51-49 split is not a blank check.

With the Democrats in control, job growth continued slowly for five months, then leveled out for ten months, then began to plummet in April 2008, losing 4.16 million by the time Obama took office in January 2009, nine months later.

In summary, during the first 6 years of the Bush administration, 4.6 million jobs were gained in spite of 9/11. During those 6 years both the House and Senate were in Republican control.

During the first 3.5 years of the Pelosi-Reed Congress, 6.9 million jobs have been lost.

During the first 15 months Obama has been in office, 3.4 million jobs were lost. (There are not yet any final counts for any months after April 2010.)

Topeka Earns More Kiplinger Accolades

I was interviewed for this article on Topeka. Our city was the winner of Kiplinger's Readers' Choice designation as "Best City for Your Future" through a competition on Facebook.

The interesting thing is I just posted a comment on the Facebook page about an experience in Boston when a neighbor of some friends came over for a cookout and mentioned he'd read about Topeka in Kiplinger and began asking me some questions about the city. That post resulted in a call from the Kiplinger writer.

Anyway, great job Topeka! You pulled together once again and showed your positive attitude. Not long ago, this was a pretty negative town and this kind of thing wouldn't be possible. It's very refreshing to see an infectious positive spirit in the city!

City of Topeka: Here's Your Sign

I attended this planning commission meeting a week or so ago in which they discussed an ordinance banning large signage on commercial vehicles:




If you want to claim to be pro-business, then cities need to allow small businesses the ability to promote their businesses in the most cost efficient means possible. For plumbers, electricians, home construction companies, movers, etc., their vehicles are the best forms of advertising they may have!

You may notice in that news story the back of my own little Business Center mobile...which was never in violation of this ordinance because the ad on it is so tiny. Still, I support small businesses and when neighbors complain because a small business owner parks his signed vehicle in his driveway but doesn't seem to care when someone parks their RV on the street, that says you either just don't like small businesses (and don't appreciate their impact on the community) or you don't want business in your neighborhood (which is more understandable, but would you rather have a vacant, deterioriating home in your neighborhood?).

No More Texting in Kansas

Don't type letters with a Selectric II typewriter while driving.
Don't drink excessive alcohol and then drive.
Don't change your clothes while driving.
Please don't make out while driving.
Don't pick lint from between your toes while driving.
Ladies, don't apply your makeup while driving.
Dudes, don't shave while driving.
Ladies, that goes for you too.

And, finally, don't type text messages on your cell phone while driving.

Duh.

John Paul Stevens, Part 2

It looks like John Paul Stevens, the annoyingly liberal justice appointed by a REPUBLICAN (!!!!) will continue serving on the court for another 30 years --channeling himself through Obama's appointee, Elena Kogan.

Elections have consequences people, and this is the biggest one. To me, other than protecting the homeland, the most important role of the president is selecting Supreme Court nominees. This role is more important than ever as these unelected justices not only interpret the constitution, but create law through their own revisioning of what the Constitution says.

A big problem I'd have with Kogan, other than knowing what she's all about based on the person nominating her, is this statement she made -- a recitation of Thurgood Marshall's declaration that "the Constitution, as originally drafted and conceived, was 'defective.' ... The Constitution today ... contains a great deal to be proud of. '(B)ut the credit does not belong to the Framers. It belongs to those who refused to acquiesce in outdated notions of 'liberty,' 'justice,' and 'equality.'" Kagan said, "Our modern Constitution is (Marshall's)."

Yep, she's a re-writer alright...and thinks that is the job of the court. If you can't appreciate the brilliance and forethought of the Founders and view the Constitution that set this nation on its course to becoming the world's greatest nation that ever existed, then we don't need you anywhere near the Supreme Court. But what shall we expect from a nominee of the president who believes our nation needs to be "fundamentally transformed"?

Another gripe I have is that Democrats don't nominate candidates that become more conservative over time, but Republican presidents consistently nominate justices like Stevens and Souter who reveal their liberalism once on the bench.

Thank God for the Bush II justices! And I can only hope that this is the final seat Obama gets to fill during his only term in office.