2009 Ice Sculpture
The top Meadowlark topics for 2008 were all about political money and governmental ethics. The following is a topic summary with details given below.
1. New reports for last minute political money can make a difference.
2. More transparency is needed in Kansas governmental ethics.
3. Why is franking abuse ignored?
4. Why do political appointments often correlate with political contributions?
5. IRS stonewalls non-profit political money investigation for 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Campaign Finance, Elections, Ethics, government transparency, Kansas Government, PACs, political money disclosure, Verified Statements
Local Kansas City area fiscal policy activist, Philip Klein, has been a critic for years of eminent domain abuse in the Kansas City area. Klein was so motivated to act on this issue that he became the producer/director of a video “Begging for Billionaires: The Attack on Property Rights in America.”
Klein’s video tries to warn the public of the real danger of government abuse of eminent domain when property is taken from rightful owners and given to others, sometimes so the government can get more tax revenue. Watch Klein’s recent video here (or below) or visit his web page. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Eminent Domain
Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest population estimates for July 1, 2008. USA Today shows this nice summary table of all the states.
Kansas shows a 4.2% increase in population from 2000-2008 with 113,318 new residents. In just the last year Kansas added 24,752 new residents, which was a 0.9% growth rate and ranked #21 among the states.
But, a census population estimate comparison against the number of registered voters in Kansas shows some curious results. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s no single answer to the question, “How do I find a job?” One must explore all possible options in these tough economic times, and area “Job Clubs” are a great source of support and networking opportunities in looking for work. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: career transition, Job Clubs, unemployment
The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission met yesterday to review several matters, including six fines and three advisory opinions.
Tags: Civil Fine, Ethics, failure to file, Statements of Substantial Interests
One can ask hypothetical questions and get guidance about Kansas Law and ethics rules from the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, but once specific information about any wrongdoing is provided to the Commission, there is no way to find what action, if any, the Commission takes. Kansans need more transparency in the operation of the Commission.
At today’s monthly meeting of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, a civil fine hearing was scheduled for January 2009 when there may be sanctions against a citizen, Kris Van Meteren, for bringing a complaint of wrongdoing to the commission, and then talking to the press about the complaint. Don’t we have a Constitutional First Amendment right in Kansas to freedom of speech, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances? How can the government silence an accuser, or fine an accuser, in any way?
Meanwhile, the subject of the original complaint, Senator Dwayne Umbarger (R, Thayer), was allowed to quietly “fix” the problems in his campaign reports, and was not subject to any hearing or fine. In Kansas, will an accuser in an ethics complaint be fined for talking to the press, when the subject of the complaint is not subject to any sanction when money had been improperly spent?
State government spending in Kansas has been out of control for some time, resulting in some poor economic rankings, which will hurt Kansas in these tough economic times.
Last week the Tax Policy Blog from the Tax Foundation published a map and data comparing states on property taxes for owner-occupied homes. Kansas was #15 with its overall 1.24% tax on homes and “qualified” as one of the top 15 high-tax states. In the map below, the top 15 high-tax states are shown in blue, while the bottom 16 low-tax states are shown in yellow:
Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing by State
Kansas is #15 in home tax percentage
[Updated Dec. 16] The criminal complaint (alternative source), recently filed against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and his chief of staff John Harris, described Blagojevich’s desire for a high-paying position with Change to Win, likely since he saw the money and power of organized labor:
HARRIS noted that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is interested in taking a high-paying position with an organization called “Change to Win,” which is connected to Service Employees International Union (”SEIU”). HARRIS suggested that SEIU Official make ROD BLAGOJEVICH the head of Change to Win and, in exchange, the President-elect could help Change to Win with its legislative agenda on a national level.
According to LaborPain.org’s article, SEIU’s Pay-for-Play Scandal:
In the proposed deal, he [Blagojevich] would give the SEIU and Obama their pick for the vacated Senate seat and in return would receive either a high-paying job in the Change to Win Coalition, or leadership of a new 501(c)4 issue advocacy group with $10 to $20 million to spend.
This article explores connections between Blagojevich and Change to Win. At present Blagojevich has many ties to labor, but the reason for his interest in Change to Win must be the money and power he sees in that organization. No existing connections between Change to Win and Blagojevich were found. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Change to Win, IBT, Illinois, IRS 501(c)(5), IRS 8871, IRS 8872, IRS 990, LIUNA, LM-2, Rod Blagojevich, SEIU, UBCJA, UFCW, UFW, UNITE HERE
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
Governor Kathleen Sebelius will pick a replacement Kansas Supreme Court justice by Jan 12, 2009, when Chief Justice Kay McFarland retires. Will Gov. Sebelius appoint a judge, or a donor to her campaign and Barack Obama, to be the next Supreme Court justice?
In October only eight Kansas attorneys applied for consideration to fill the vacancy created by McFarland’s retirement. A May 8, 2005 Topeka Capital-Journal article, “Fewer state bar members belly up for court vacancy,” said that the 13 who applied in 2005 was “the smallest field in years.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Nominating Commission
Today the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling in a long-running case of Planned Parenthood against Phill Kline. The Kansas press seems to miss how bizarre this case is, which was summarized in this brief:
This Court should be under no illusions about what Petitioner [Planned Parenthood] is asking of it. Petitioner, a criminal defendant in a pending criminal proceeding, is asking the Court to strip the prosecutor in that action of evidence lawfully obtained and, essentially give that evidence back to the criminal defendant.
Tags: Attorney General Steve Six, District Attorney Phill Kline, District Attorney Steve Howe, Planned Parenthood, Supreme Court