Examiner:

You mean some folks at a Catholic university would actually object to a “pro-choice” president of the United States giving a commencement speech? (more…)

From Operation Rescue prior to last week’s hearings:

Topeka, KS - The Kansas Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments in the criminal case against a Kansas Planned Parenthood organization on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. The arguments will be related to an appeal filed by former District Attorney Phill Kline of a ruling made by Judge Stephen Tatum rejecting four of Kline’s subpoenas and other matters related to the case. (more…)

May 13, 2009

PRESS RELEASE

Attirubute to Mary Kay Culp, KFL Executive Director, 913-406-4446 or culpmk@aol.com

PP calls Prosecution “Political” while truly “Political”Interference
by Supreme Court and A.G.  is on Full Display

“Oral arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court today provided yet another act in the theater of the absurd. That this high Court has again interfered in the prosecution of illegal abortions is outrageous, but all too expected in a state where abortion political funding destoyed Phill Kline, elevated Kathleen Sebelius, and secured this arrogant Supreme Court.

“This case against Planned Parenthood ought to be simple– but because it deals with abortion, all the ordinary legal rules change. (more…)

Prime Buzz:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - President Barack Obama on Sunday called for greater understanding on both sides of America’s abortion debate as he delivered a much anticipated University of Notre Dame commencement address and sought to quell a divisive controversy.

“I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” he said, according to prepared remarks. “At some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.”

Chris Stirewalt at the Washington Examiner:

A politician as good as Barack Obama knows his opponent’s argument better than he knows his own.

But while Obama may have enough rhetorical command of conservatism to build straw men or to ingratiate himself to a hostile audience, he still does not understand what really animates the Right.

Obama tried to dodge the resurgent issue of abortion in his commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday, explaining that people who disagree can still work together.

Obama pointed to the favored Democratic common ground of reducing the number of abortions while retaining unlimited access to the procedure.

Michael Rosenberg:

If you can’t put the University of Southern California in jail, you might as well close up shop. Declare amateur athletics dead. And get rid of your most beloved rules, which wouldn’t mean anything anyway.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that USC basketball coach Tim Floyd paid Rodney Guillory at least $1,000 in cash, according to Louis Johnson, a former Guillory associate. Guillory is a) a runner for an agent, according to Johnson, b) the guy who delivered star O.J. Mayo to USC, and c) the guy who supposedly gave Mayo $30,000 when he played for the Trojans (also according to Johnson, via ESPN last year).

Recent message from the anti-robo-call group StopPoliticalCalls.org:

I’ve just returned from Capitol Hill discussing the introduction of Robocall regulations with Senate and House Staffers.  It is looking very good.  That is why I wish I did not have to send this message to you.

This message is being sent to all 85,000 StopPoliticalCalls.org members to alert you that the non-profit and non-partisan National Political Do Not Contact Registry (NPDNC) may STOP OPERATING and CLOSE if we can not raise additional funding quickly.  (more…)

From Mark Harris, with Toomey for US Senate:

Another week has passed and momentum for Pat’s candidacy continues to surge. Contributions are rolling in from across the country and residents from every county in the Commonwealth are signing on as volunteers for Pat’s campaign. (more…)

Redstate:

GOP leader: Pelosi should show proof or apologize

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A key Republican leader demanded Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi produce evidence to back up her assertion that she was misled by the CIA on the use of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

[snip]

“Lying to the Congress of the United States is a crime,” House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“If the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress, then she should come forward with evidence and turn that over to the Justice Department so they be prosecuted. And if that’s not the case, I think she ought to apologize to our intelligence professionals around the world.”

CQ Politics:

The GOP contest has drawn both of the state’s veteran Republican U.S. House members: seven-term incumbent Jerry Moran of the sprawling, mostly rural 1st District and Todd Tiahrt , an eight-termer from the south-central 4th District that includes Wichita. Hardly surprising, given that job security is a fringe benefit for Republican senators in this longtime GOP stronghold. Kansas voters last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1932.

Brownback won three times, comfortably in a 1996 special election and by landslides in his 1998 and 2004 re-election campaigns.

Open seats historically are more difficult for a party to hold than those defended by incumbents, and retirements in Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio are causing headaches for national Republican strategists in the run-up to the 2010 elections.

Democrats’ hopes for making a serious run at Brownback’s Kansas seat for a while appeared to hinge on the prospect of bid by Kathleen Sebelius , whose 2002 and 2006 wins for governor made her a rare success story for Democrats in statewide politics. That came off the table when Sebelius was tapped by President Obama to be secretary of Health and Human Services and was confirmed by the Senate on April 28.

Even Sebelius would have been no more than an even-money bet to once again trump the inherent advantage Republicans hold in Kansas politics. In 2008 - a terrible year for the Republican Party nationally - presidential nominee John McCain easily outran Democrat Barack Obama in Kansas by 57 percent to 42 percent and Republican Sen. Pat Roberts cruised to an easy win for his third term.

Obama’s Notre Dame Speech

Consensus, conscience and conflicts….these three words came up it Obama’s speech to Notre Dame graduates in South Bend, Indiana over the weekend.  The speech was artfully woven into a charming and emotion-generating treatise that sounded reasonable and surely fit the bill for a graduation speech, but I have to wonder at how the tapestry of well-chosen sound-bytes will look on the “wall of American - ideals.

 First the combination of ideas he expressed are a clash of colors that don’t go together….how can you merge “conscience” with “consensus” and not have conflict?  He stated in his speech that in order for us to work through these pesky conflicts like abortion, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage we have to find common ground and work together in common efforts. 

We hear a lot about “consensus” in our culture…everyone thinks of it as a good word…an admirable goal.  Looking into what it means I discovered that it means unanimity; to be in complete agreement.  For Marxists it is a ruse; an attempt to disguise the conflict in a society….to give the impression everyone is agreeable and on the same page when in reality the factions still exist under a thin veneer of state-imposed party line.  Margaret Thatcher states “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies.  So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.”  To reach consensus on whether or not the government can give the right to choose to end the life of another human being based on choice seems to me only attainable if one side agrees to give up. 

On the other hand President Obama states that our society should “honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause and make sure that all of our health care policies are ground in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.”  Huh?  This is the president who just rescinded the “conscience clause” protecting health care workers from violating their conscience in medical procedures and practices.  When he talks about “clear ethics” whose ethics is he talking about?  Ethics that have been established by “consensus”; a consensus reached by squashing any opinion that might violate the “equality of women?”  Does that “equality” include female unborn babies? 

He acknowledged in his speech that “at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”  Yes, protecting innocent life cannot be reconciled with choice…in my book “choice” can never trump life, so what are we left with?  Conflict.  Clearly the president stated that he wasn’t going to change his position so where does that leave us in the consensus?  He promised Planned Parenthood that one of his first priorities would be to pass the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) and I have not heard that he has backed off of that position…a position that would nullify any state restrictions on abortion…including the ban against partial birth abortion; parental notification, and informed consent laws to name a few.  He overturned the Mexico City Policy freeing up tax dollars to fund abortions abroad…not much consensus there. 

He talked about the same old rhetoric that committed pro-abortion folks always fall back on….reducing unintended pregnancies (he eliminated abstinence funding…abstinence is the only sure way to eliminate unintended pregnancies by teaching kids how to live intentional lives free from pregnancies before marriage); making adoption more available (if children were allowed to live, there would be more to adopt); and support for women who choose to give their babies life…yet his administration has yet to give funding for that purpose.

President Obama talked about not demonizing the other side, but it was his administration that released a memo about “single-issue” individuals (like those who are against abortion) as being possible domestic terrorists.

It seems clear to me that the “tapestry of words” so cleverly delivered in his speech at Notre Dame would offend the sensibilities of most people of conscience.  The consensus he wants is to destroy the conscience of most Americans in order to eliminate conflict.  This is not the America I know.  Lucy

The Dispatch:

Keith Bunselmeyer of Shawnee said when he first moved to the area 10 years ago, he put deer in the same category as teddy bears.

Living on 70th Street near Shawnee Mission Park, he used to get excited when he’d see a deer near his home. Now, as he finds large groups of them tearing up his yard, and as he notices signs the deer are weak and starving, his feelings are different.

“I’ve had to take them out of the category of teddy bears, and I’ve had to put them in the same category as mosquitoes because they are a nuisance to me,” he said.

Bunselmeyer was one of more than 40 residents who took time Saturday at the Shawnee Civic Centre to tell the Johnson County Park and Recreation District what they thought should be done about the deer overpopulation in Shawnee Mission Park. While some said they would prefer a solution that didn’t involve killing the deer, about two thirds of those who spoke said they were not opposed to allowing a hunt to cull the herd.

The Fix:

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today that he will not challenge Sen. Richard Burr (R) in 2010, robbing Democrats of a top recruit in a state President Barack Obama carried in 2008.

“While I am honored by the encouragement I’ve received, I don’t want to go to Washington and serve as a U.S. Senator at this time,” said Cooper in a statement. “I am committed to public service and I want to serve here in North Carolina rather than in Washington.”

Knowledgeable Tarheel State strategists said Cooper’s decision was based heavily on his desire to be governor and his interest in staying in state rather than federal office in order to accomplish that goal. (Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue was elected in 2008 and will likely stand for a second term in 2012 so Cooper has a while to wait.)

Without Cooper, the Democratic bench is somewhat thin.

Newsmax:

The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the country, with a long record of campaigning hard for gun rights sheltered by the U.S. Constitution. It has nearly 4 million members, 60,000 of whom were expected to attend the three-day event that began on Friday. (more…)

Newsmax:

Attorneys for Norm Coleman filed their final brief with the Minnesota Supreme Court Friday in the bitterly contested 2008 election that the former Republican senator lost to Democrat Al Franken by 225 votes after a partial recount. (more…)

From Tim Phillips at AFP:

Washington , D.C. is an endlessly frustrating place isn’t it?

President Obama continues to tell us he “only” wants to raise taxes on “the rich” – whatever that actually means.

Then he calls for massive new energy taxes through his “Cap and Trade” scheme that will dramatically increase the cost of gasoline for our automobiles for every American while also increasing home energy costs by thousands of dollars for American families and small businesses.  All this, in the name of Global Warming. (more…)

Mac World:

What has changed, though, is that you can now run a close relative of Chrome on your Mac-and no, I don’t mean the Windows version of Chrome in VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop for Mac. I mean a real, live, honest-to-gosh version of (what will eventually be) Chrome that runs directly in OS X. How, you might ask? First, a bit of background.

Much like Apple’s Safari browser is based on the open-source WebKit project, Chrome is based on Chromium, another open-source project. To further muddy the waters, Chrome itself uses WebKit, so Chromium also incorporates the WebKit open source project. As a user, though, all that really matters is that Chromium builds are now available for OS X. While this isn’t Chrome for OS X, it’s a very good look at what will become Chrome for OS X. As such, I thought I’d download a build and check out the state of Chrome-to-be on the Mac.

MacWorld:

Back in March when I reviewed the early-2009 version of the Mac mini, I concluded that if you’re going to be using the newest mini for more than the most basic tasks, you’ll want it configured more like the $799 model (2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive) than the $599 model (1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive). (more…)

KFL message:

While the state Attorney General and Supreme Court continue to stall criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood, wouldn’t it be refreshing for the new governor, Mark Parkinson, to chart a new course?

Ask Governor Parkinson to keep his veto pen away from the legislature’s decision not to underwrite Planned Parenthood in the state budget he is now reviewing.

This year’s budget contains a provision specifying that public “safety net” clinics and bona fide hospitals will get first crack at money that Planned Parenthood has been gobbling up annually.

In the last two fiscal years alone, Kansans have paid out more than $550,000 to Planned Parenthood, which is the nation’s top abortion business.

Please contact the governor, encouraging him not to line-item veto this amendment that re-orders better priorties for health service funding.

Thank you!

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/ksfl33203693.aspx

From Marco Rubio last week:

I just got off the phone with Anthony Elias, the 5,000th person to join our movement for Florida’s future at MarcoRubio.com.  It was terrific to hear his energy and enthusiasm for the movement we are building.

Together, we will return our party to common sense, free market solutions that have the power to really fix the problems that face our economy, our state and our nation.  This movement is making a difference, and I have you to thank for that as much as anyone.

I need you to stand with me each day until we return this party to what we both know it can be.  Help us keep the momentum going.  Email your friends and ask them to stand with us at MarcoRubio.com.   Together, I know our movement can succeed.

Proud to stand,

Marco Rubio
http://marcorubio.com

The Hill:

Democrat Joe Torsella is exiting the race for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat, stepping aside for newly Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) and clearing the primary field — for the moment, at least.

Torsella, a former deputy mayor of Philadelphia and head of the National Constitution Center, was the only major Democrat in the race until Specter switched parties last month. He raised a very   respectable $600,000 in the first quarter and vowed to stay in the race after Specter switched.

On Thursday, though, Torsella said in a video that he will no longer be a candidate.”Now that the dust has settled, it’s clear to me that the kind of campaign that this would become is not the kind of campaign you or I signed up for,” Torsella said. “It will probably be negative, personal and more about Sen. Specter’s past than about our common future.”

From Mike Kiegerl:

After a contentious fight over SB 51, the annexation bill that both chambers passed, the Kansas legislature adjourned Friday morning until the Sine Die session June 4th. We started Thursday 9 am and ended 2:37 am Friday. I got home at 4:30 am and I’m still recovering from the marathon session but I wanted to get my thoughts to you while their still fresh in my tired brain.

This was the most difficult session in my 5 year tenure and, according to old timers, the most difficult ever. Overshadowed by the deep recession and consequent sharp declines in revenue, the budget for fiscal 2009 had to be completely revised and a workable budget for fiscal 2010, which begins July 1, needed to be finished before the 90 day span allocated for each annual session. At times it seemed an impossible task made more complicated by a Governor whose attention was focused on national office and not the needs of the state. Sadly, her contribution to the budgets was limited by what she did not want and there were no practical solutions offered. Therefore the 2009 budget is essentially the version of the House while the 2010 budget is entirely the work product of the Senate. (more…)

Rasmussen:

Given last year’s record-high gasoline prices and the still-fluctuating price at the pump, most Americans aren’t interested in the government tacking on any more, even in the name of fuel efficiency.

Just 10% of adults think the federal government should increase the tax on gasoline by a large amount as a way of encouraging people to buy more fuel-efficient cars, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Eighty-one percent (81%) oppose a large tax hike for that purpose, and eight percent (8%) are undecided.