KTKA:

Former Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kris Kobach has formally announced he’s running for secretary of state.

Kobach confirmed his plans Tuesday in a news release. Kobach appointed a campaign treasurer in January.

He was state GOP chairman for two years, stepping down in January so he could run.

He will face J.R. Claeys, of Salina, for the Republican nomination in the August 2010 primary. Claeys is a former CEO of the National Association of Government Contractors

AP:

The announcement comes in the same week Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools, to the Supreme Court. She would be the high court’s first Hispanic justice. (more…)

AP story here.

CNN:

Although Whitman hasn’t officially announced her candidacy, McCain will endorse the Republican at a town hall meeting in Orange County and then join her in Fresno for a news conference. Whitman’s spokesman Mitch Zak said that McCain’s support “continues the campaign’s momentum.” (more…)

WND:

As President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee comes under heavy fire for allegedly being a “racist,” Judge Sonia Sotomayor is listed as a member of the National Council of La Raza, a group that’s promoted driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, amnesty programs, and no immigration law enforcement by local and state police.

According the American Bar Association, Sotomayor is a member of the NCLR, which bills itself as the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S.

Meaning “the Race,” La Raza also has connections to groups that advocate the separation of several southwestern states from the rest of America.

Over the past two days, Sotomayor has been heavily criticized for her racially charged statement: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

NBC:

Avery Doninger was disqualified from running for school government at Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlington after she posted something on her blog, referring to the superintendent and other officials as “douche bags” because they canceled a battle of the bands she had helped to organize. (more…)

AP:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - If AIG was too big to fail, how about the world’s eighth-largest economy?

In a move with only one modern-day precedent, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration and members of Congress for federal loan guarantees to help the state out of a desperate, multibillion-dollar jam.

California is not asking for cash, like the tens of billions given to AIG, General Motors or Morgan Stanley. (MS) Instead, the state with the worst credit rating in the nation is asking that Washington act as a sort of co-signer on the state’s borrowing, to be backed up with money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

California leaders say that would make it easier and cheaper for the state to borrow money on the bond market, reducing the interest rate by as much as half and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Examiner:

Evidence appears to be mounting that the Obama administration has systematically targeted for closing Chrysler dealers who contributed to Repubicans. What started earlier this week as mainly a rumbling on the Right side of the Blogosphere has gathered some steam today with revelations that among the dealers being shut down are a GOP congressman and closing of competitors to a dealership chain partly owned by former Clinton White House chief of staff Mack McLarty.

The basic issue raised here is this: How do we account for the fact millions of dollars were contributed to GOP candidates by Chrysler who are being closed by the government, but only one has been found so far that is being closed that contributed to the Obama campaign in 2008?

Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan learned from a House colleague that his Venice, Florida, dealership is on the hit list. Buchanan also has a Nissan franchise paired with the Chrysler facility in Venice.

“It’s an outrage. It’s not about me. I’m going to be fine,” said Buchanan, the dealership’s majority owner. “You’re talking over 100,000 jobs. We’re supposed to be in the business of creating jobs, not killing jobs,” Buchanan told News 10, a local Florida television station.

Buchanan, who succeeded former Rep. Katharine Harris in 2006, reportedly learned of his dealership’s termination from Rep.Candace Miller, R-MI. Buchanan owns a total of 23 dealerships in Florida and North Carolina.

Also fueling the controversy is the fact the RLJ-McCarty-Landers chain of Arkansas and Missouri dealerships aren’t being closed, but many of their local competitors are being eliminated. Go here for a detailed look at this situation. McClarty is the former Clinton senior aide. The “J” is Robert Johnson, founder of the Black Entertainment Television, a heavy Democratic contributor.

Tribune:

A group of University of Chicago students think it’s time the campus focused more on its men.

A third-year student from Lake Bluff has formed Men in Power, a student organization that promises to help men get ahead professionally. But the group’s emergence has been controversial, with some critics charging that its premise is misogynistic.

Others say it’s about time men are championed, noting that recent job losses hit men harder and that women earn far more bachelor’s and master’s degrees than do men.

“It’s an enormous disparity now,” said Warren Farrell, author of “The Myth of Male Power” and former board member of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women. He noted, among other things, an imbalance in government and private initiatives that advance the interests of women and girls.

…..

Ali Feenstra, a third-year student and a member of the Feminist Majority, questioned Men in Power’s utility.

“It’s like starting ‘white men in business’ — there’s not really any purpose,” she said.

AP:

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Thursday it had reached a deal with some major bondholders that would give them a bigger stake in a reorganized automaker and could pave the way for a fast-track bankruptcy backed by the U.S. Treasury within days.

The announcement was the clearest indication yet that GM, the No. 1 U.S. automaker, is close to filing for bankruptcy under the direction of the Obama administration. It would be the biggest-ever bankruptcy for a U.S. industrial company.

Under the proposed deal, which is supported by major institutional creditors holding about a fifth of its debt, bondholders representing $27 billion in debt would be offered 10 percent of a reorganized GM — the same stake they had been offered previously.

Weekly Standard:

Gallup shows support for gay marriage declining since 2007, when it stood at 46 percent. That number is now just 40 percent, with 57 percent opposed to legalizing gay marriage. More important politically is the fact that just over half of Democrats favor gay marriage (55 percent), and fewer than half of independents (45 percent) support such unions. Among Republicans the number is 20 percent in favor. All of which means that gay marriage remains a winning issue for Republicans, and one which will remain on front pages throughout the next election cycle. (more…)

NY Post:

WEST POINT — Caroline Miller, a saber in her white-gloved hand, leads cadets of Company D with crisp commands. “Ready — eyes right!” As hundreds of West Point cadets march across the sprawling green grass for review, she is in lockstep.

She also is following in the footsteps of family members who have marched just like this for seven generations, forming a long gray bloodline, longer than any still existing at West Point.

Campaign Standard:

Mark Hemingway reads Harry Reid’s memoir The Good Fight, so you don’t have to:

Released a year ago, the book got one glowing review: from his hometown paper. Every other major media outlet has been standoffish. Take this blurb from the Washington Post, proudly emblazoned on the back of the paperback edition: “Recounts fights with everyone from classmates to the man who would eventually become his father-in-law, preparing him for a senatorial life of battling the Bush White House and Republican filibusters.” Beware the value-neutral blurb: In fact, the Post never reviewed the book - the quote comes from a gossip column published a month before the book’s release. One of the most powerful men in Washington published a book, and the entire journalistic establishment’s reaction seems to have been, “If you can’t say something nice . . . ”

Of course, Reid doesn’t always have nice things to say himself. While no one expects Reid to praise George W. Bush, the degree to which he is judgmental and catty regarding the former president pretty much speaks for itself. Three pages in, after lamely trying to establish his bipartisan bona fides by talking up George H. W. Bush, Reid shares this charming anecdote about his early days in the Senate: “[Former Texas senator and vice-presidential candidate Lloyd] Bentsen went on and on effusively about what a quality man President-elect [H. W.] Bush was. Then he paused and said, ‘But watch out for his wife; she’s a bitch.’ I have never had anything against Mrs. Bush, but guided by Bentsen’s crude advice, I’ve always said that our forty-third president is more his mother than his dad.”

Her quote at Campaign Standard.

Prime Buzz:

Judge Sotomayor certainly has a compelling life story and, like other nominees, deserves a fair hearing before the U.S. Senate. But like many others I have some concerns that I believe need to be addressed as her nomination moves forward.

In particular, I’m troubled that she has said, ‘the Court of Appeals is where policy is made.’

The Star:

Chris Stigall on KCMO-AM asked Roberts this morning whether he feels compelled to support the Supreme Court nominee as a way of avoiding the tag of “bigot.”

Responded Roberts: “I’m a Marine and nothin’ much scares me. That’s not going to be a consideration in my vote.”

This afternoon, Kansas Democrats slammed Roberts for making up his mind too quickly.

“Partisan politics should never hinder the important process of Senate confirmation,” said Kansas Democratic Party executive director Kenny Johnston. “I would hope that all senators, Republican or Democrat, would respectfully wait to hear Judge Sotomayor’s qualifications before rushing to any snap judgments.

The Star.

AP:

 Clinton’s stern statement came after North Korea threatened military attacks against U.S. and South Korean warships and called Seoul’s decision to join an international program to intercept ships suspected of aiding nuclear proliferation tantamount to a declaration of war.

 “North Korea has made a choice,” Clinton said, to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, ignore international warnings and abrogate commitments made during six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

 “There are consequences to such actions,” she said, referring to discussions in the United Nations meant to punish North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests. Clinton did not provide specifics, saying only that the intent of diplomats was to “try to rein in the North Koreans” and get them to fulfill commitments made in the nuclear talks.

A new poll shows Pat Toomey is quickly gaining ground in a general election match-up against Arlen Specter.  Only 39% of voters have heard enough about Pat Toomey to form an opinion, but Toomey is getting 37% of the vote.

“Running as a Democrat, the Senator leads Toomey by 9 points, down from 20 points right after his conversion. But now that he’s got President Barack Obama and Gov. Ed Rendell on his side, Specter should be able to hold the edge over the conservative Republican. At this point none of the other names mentioned as candidates in either party is well enough known to make a challenge.”

Pennsylvania voters approve 51 - 39 percent, including 74 - 16 percent among Democrats, of the job Specter is doing. This compares to a 56 - 36 percent approval, including 81 - 10 percent among Democrats, May 4.

By a 46 - 39 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of Specter. Toomey gets a 27 - 11 percent favorability, but 61 percent don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. Sestak, Gerlach and Luksik are little known to voters, as 76 percent or more say they don’t know enough about any of them to form an opinion.

Voters split 42 - 43 percent on whether Specter deserves to be reelected, down from 49 - 41 percent May 4. Voters also say 52 - 43 percent that he is not too old to serve another six- year U.S. Senate term, down from 60 - 37 percent.

Specter is “too liberal,” 30 percent say, while 9 percent say he is “too conservative” and 45 percent say he is “about right.”

Toomey is “too conservative,” 15 percent say, while 4 percent say he is “too liberal” and 32 percent say he is “about right.”

The Star:

John Currie’s first day as Kansas State’s new athletic director isn’t until June 7. But after K-State officials revealed Wednesday what they called a “secret” financial agreement between former football coach Ron Prince and former A.D. Bob Krause, Currie might be tempted to gain a head start.

There’s a lot of work to do, and most of it is in the form of damage control.

Source:

For Cornyn, the calculus was simple math: Crist is a proven statewide vote-getter who can raise money on his own.

Since the endorsement, Cornyn has touted polling showing the better-known Crist with a 53 percent to 18 percent lead and said he would decide “on a case-by-case basis” which Senate primary contests to get involved in. (more…)

Video demonstration at Mark Perry’s site:

iVisit, a company out of Santa Monica, California that specializes in video teleconferencing applications, has teamed up with the National Institutes of Health to turn a mobile phone’s camera into an eye for the blind. Using advanced image recognition software to identify what is in front of the phone, the system reads off what it is seeing.

Digital Rules:

Let me share two great pieces, which reach opposite conclusions, on what is to become of California, now $21 billion in debt and tottering (or is it teetering?) on bankruptcy. (more…)

Star:

Olathe South High School received nine nominations for its productions of “Urinetown” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Olathe North received two nominations and Olathe East received one. Spring Hill High School received two nominations and St. Thomas Aquinas High School received one. (more…)

Eagle:

The man who drove his car through City Hall last year was sentenced Wednesday to more than 10 years in prison.

Marcus Johnson, 33, faces 122 months of incarceration after crashing through a set of glass doors at City Hall in January 2008 and continuing through the building before slamming into the west wall of the parking garage.

His sentence includes time for convictions of criminal damage to property and two counts of criminal threats linked to the crash into City Hall, and one count of battery of a law enforcement officer later at the Sedgwick County Jail .

De Soto Explorer:

The De Soto City Council gave staff members the green light May 7 to contact 10 homeowners about a possible expansion of sewer service to their properties.

The homes discussed are on Lexington Avenue north of 91st Street and south of Lexington Trails Middle School.

City engineer Mike Brungardt said the septic system on one of the homes needed replaced and others were of the age that they could be expected to develop problems in the coming years. He estimated it would cost each homeowner about $20,000 to replace a system.

CS Monitor:

As I looked over the news release from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detailing a new study that global warming is going to be twice as bad as previously predicted, I knew that anywhere from 30 to 49 percent of people reading or hearing the news were going to be doubtful about some or all of it.

The doubt won’t surprise any regular reader of this blog - where visitors often vigorously debate this issue. But how could I be reasonably confident of those specific numbers of doubters?

Because of a survey last fall from Yale and George Mason universities. It asked more than 2,000 Americans about their beliefs in global warming. Here’s a summary of what they found. (You can read the whole thing by clicking here.)

Source:

De Soto city engineer Mike Brungardt said the city learned earlier this month that the Johnson County Community Block Grant program was to receive $147,000 of federal stimulus money to distribute to county cities. The city promptly made application for two projects, the sidewalk replacement west of the Bleu Tomato on Wea Street and the city’s annual mill and overlay street projects, which this year will be concentrated on older neighborhood streets near the De Soto Baptist Church.

The Star:

Entrepreneur Karalee Shannon speaks authoritatively about what sets her business apart from competitors and how not having to rent a “brick and mortar facility” boosts profits. She figures the cranky economy may be working to her advantage.

Karalee Shannon is 19. She developed the business plan for her venture, Belle Brigade Parties for Kids, in a high school class.

Enterprising young people are nothing new. Lots of people, including Shannon, mowed lawns or washed cars once upon a time. But these days, it seems, more teenagers - not content with bagging groceries or serving fries, jobs that in some cases are harder to come by - are getting an itch to do their own thing.

CJOnline:

Gertrude Valdivia’s story, like many others heard at the Kansas Expocentre’s Agricultural Hall, began with an unpaid medical bill.

She didn’t think she owed the $2,500. Collectors thought otherwise. Then she lost her job and her daughter had a health problem and “all hell broke loose.” The debt subsequently doubled to $5,000.

Sitting at a table with Angel Zimmerman, an attorney attempting to collect the debt from her at the weekly limited action court Tuesday in Agricultural Hall, Valdivia came to a conclusion: It is time to file for bankruptcy.

“I’m on a fixed income, and I can’t get enough to pay that off,” she said. “Bankruptcy is my only option.”

Salina Journal:

What do you get when you multiply some 112 youth soccer teams, times about 15 players each, plus parents, grandparents and other fans? How about $325,000? “And that’s a pretty conservative estimate,” said Tiffany Benien, sports and events coordinator with the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, speaking about the Kansas State Youth Soccer Association tournament, being played at the Salina Soccer Complex starting today and running through June 7. This

Rasmussen:

Fifty-two percent (52%) of U.S. voters now say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. That’s the highest level of confidence found since early February.

Only 18% of voters now believe the terrorists are winning. Twenty-two percent (22%) believe neither side holds the advantage.

While women’s opinions have remained relatively steady, men have grown more confident in the U.S. conduct of the war on terrorism. Now, 58% of men say America and its allies are winning. Just 46% of women say the same.

AP:

Westar Energy Inc. plans to upgrade the pollution control systems on a coal-fired power plant in northeast Kansas.

The Topeka-based utility said Wednesday that it expects the improvements at its Lawrence Energy Center to cost from $370 million to $380 million. The utility hopes to recover the cost through its rates.

Rasmussen:

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of U.S. voters say America is heading in the right direction this week.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% say the nation is moving down the wrong track.

Both numbers are largely unchanged from a week ago. But the number of voters who say the country is heading in the right direction is up 10 points from the week Barack Obama was inaugurated as president in January and up 16 points from the first week in November when he was elected.

The percentage of women who see the country as moving in the right direction slipped from 41% last week to 38% this week. Fifty-four percent (54%) of women say the country is heading down the wrong track. Men remained more steady this week, with 36% who responded right direction and 59% who said wrong track.

Among African-American voters, who have been the most optimistic demographic since the election, 61% say America is heading in the right direction while 33% say the opposite. Last week, black voters answered right direction by a 70% to 18% margin.

CJOnline:

It was encouraging to hear that state transportation officials had begun seeking federal stimulus and highway funding that would grease the rails for a passenger train route connecting Topeka with southern Texas and points beyond.

Earlier this month, the Kansas Department of Transportation announced it was pursuing $20 million to upgrade 85 miles of track between Newton and the Oklahoma border to carry passenger trains. The link would connect Kansas cities such as Topeka, Lawrence and Emporia with San Antonio, where riders could hop aboard east- and westbound trains.

The funding being sought by KDOT would come in equal parts from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the 2010 federal highway bill. It would be used for engineering and to buy and install equipment on the line out of Newton, which currently is capable of carrying only freight train traffic.

AP:

TOPEKA - The leader of a state agency that nurtures fledgling high-technology businesses plans to step down at the end of June, following a debate over the agency’s future and a big cut in its budget.

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. didn’t mention the debate in announcing the resignation of Tracy Taylor, its president and chief executive officer. The announcement came after KTEC’s board of directors had a two-hour closed meeting Tuesday.

KTEC’s board also didn’t say what Taylor plans to do after stepping down from his $280,000-a-year post. KTEC board Chairwoman Linda Reinhardt praised Taylor for “tremendous leadership.”

AP:

Restarted efforts to have state-owned casinos in Kansas’ Sumner and Wyandotte counties are moving along.

After failing to win a needed endorsement of the Sumner County Commission last week, South Central Gaming Partners returned with a first-phase proposal to add a 180-room hotel to its $225 million casino with 2,000 slot machines and 36 table games.

Eagle:

WICHITA - Proposed changes in federal tax laws would cost the Kansas oil and gas industry more than $150 million annually and put a chill on exploration investing.

That was the conclusion drawn by the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association after reviewing the Obama administration’s proposed 2010 budget.

“This would be devastating to the oil and gas industry, not only in Kansas but nationwide,” KIOGA president Ed Cross said.

Cross said the $150 million reflects only direct cost to the state’s industry.

“The trickle-down impact would be much greater than that,” he said.

Cross said the state collected $422 million in tax revenue in 2008 from the oil and gas industry.

The proposed tax changes would pump $36 billion into the nation’s coffers over the next 10 years by erasing some credits for exploration and drilling, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Not everyone appears ready to gawk in awe as the naked emperor struts around in his new clothes. “Already on Tuesday, some drivers were skeptical,” The AP reported. Dixie Bishop, who runs a plumbing business in San Antonio that uses vans, worried the new requirements will drive up her costs at a time when customers are cutting back on repairs.

“Are they going to take my horsepower down?” she asked. “I have to be able to carry old water heaters and toilets. It’s not beneficial for me to haul one water heater at a time. We need the power to pull these heavy items.”

It’s possible a public dizzied by the pace of all this totalitarian “change” has only begun to respond. In fact, we might be willing to wager the average fuel economy of the vehicles on the American road will not be 35.5, any time soon.

We might be willing to bet that Americans will start to hold onto their powerful “old” vehicles, spending more to fix them up rather than falling for “tax credit” gimmicks to trade them in for dangerous little golf carts into which Obama and his bi-coastal elite want to see us squeezed.

Obama and congressional Democrats will fight any such resistance to their schemes by raising fuel taxes to artificially increase the price of gasoline. If that doesn’t work, they’ll try to outlaw the older, better performing vehicles, outright.

Kansas Liberty:

“That’s the key, getting things addressed quickly,” Confer said. “We do currently have a backlog of complaints. We weren’t investigating…”