What if This Isn’t an Accident?

What if it’s all on purpose? The country’s biggest talkers have unabashedly taken this question into consideration in recent weeks as the state of our nation’s economy continues to worsen. Even Rush Limbaugh, the most listened-to man in America, argued that an economic collapse or a default on our national debt would be “intentional” on…

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The Top 14 Things Said to the Wisconsin Democratic Senators by Their Spouses Upon Their Return From Illinois

This past Saturday the 14 Democratic Senators from Wisconsin who had brazenly shirked their responsibilities to the people of Wisconsin by opting for a cowardly month long escapade across the border in Illinois, finally came back to their rightful place – Wisconsin.

And while the labor union and other assorted leftists gave them a “hero’s welcome” when they “bravely” (think storming the beaches at Normandy) made their way back to the capital in Madison, evidently the welcome they received from their spouses at home was not so welcoming.

Here is just a sampling of what might have been said to them by their spouses:

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Wisconsin Craziness Continues

It’s hard to believe that protests have now been going on in Madison for 16 days and 14 State Senators have been AWOL for 13 days now. Here is some of the latest news. A private citizen is suing one of these Senators to compel the Senator to return to the state Capitol. The Senate has voted on a resolution to impose a fine for Senators missing two or more days. Taxpayers continue to pay the salaries of these 14 AWOL Senators and are wondering when this all will end.

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The Karate Kid and Ronald Reagan

As a child of the 1980’s, I protested vehemently when my wife recently went and rented the updated, Will Smith-ified version of The Karate Kid. The film stars his son, Jaden, and is a remake of sorts from the CLASSIC film of the same name that came out when I was six. And yes, I…

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Cutting Spending Isn’t Easy

Once a person benefits from government spending, they rely upon it and will be extremely motivated to contact their elected officials if there is even a rumor of cutting that spending. Almost without fail, there will be stronger political pressure to not cut spending than the political pressure to reduce the spending. Moreover, government agencies always think their budgets should grow, regardless of the effectiveness or necessity of their programs. It takes a tremendous amount of courageous and commitment to see a proposed spending cut through to be enacted into law.

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What Elections?

If I were to walk up to a random person today and ask him/her to share their thoughts on the upcoming spring elections in Kansas, I’m willing to bet that the response would be, “What elections?” These elections are so often forgotten about, and so few people actually vote in them, let alone volunteer on…

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Transparency is a beautiful thing….

So, the elections are over and the legislative sessions have begun. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what those freshmen legislators are going to do, and tea partiers are hanging on every quote and vote to hold them accountable. If you don’t think times are changing, think again. The Pulaski County Quorum Court…

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City Mayor Plans to Broadcast Bird Chirping

Recently, a city mayor declared that he wanted to broadcast “bird songs” on the streets of his city. The rationale? Bird chirping makes people happy. Never mind the fact that I personally think bird chirping is the most annoying sound on the planet, I nonetheless stopped to wonder, is this really what our cities should…

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TO BAIL OR NOT TO BAIL, THE UPCOMING QUESTION

Mixed in the debate among the many issues swirling around Washington is the question on federal bailouts for cash-strapped states. Following the practice of using taxpayer money to prop up failed banks, the auto industry and the notorious AIG, the ‘too big to fail’ approach is being thrown around to lend assistance to a handful…

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Taxing Times in Wisconsin

The Packers may have beaten the Bears on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl, but Wisconsin’s individual income tax rates are still 2.75% higher than Illinois’ rates in the highest tax bracket. While Wisconsin may have lower corporate tax rates than many other states, the individual income tax rate in Wisconsin is particularly unfriendly to flow through entities (Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Partnerships, Subchapter S Corporations, etc.) that are taxed at the partner/owner level .

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Campaign Friendraising

Here in the great state of Kansas, we are fast approaching the deadline to file to run for local offices like city council and school board. Many active and passionate citizens are currently throwing around or already committed to the idea of running for some of these available positions. They’re tired of seeing their tax…

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BATTLEFIELD SENATE

On a hot day in June 1815, standing atop a distant hill facing a red sea of British troops, Napoleon Bonaparte surveyed the military mass before him and realized Arthur Wellesley — the Duke of Wellington — was notably protecting his right flank with heavy amounts of cannon and artillery. Interpreting this to mean the…

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Kansans Speak on Charter Schools

Interesting story on Kansas Watchdog regarding current laws in Kansas and what voters think of charter school restrictions. The report cited in the article mentioned three states which earned strong A’s (the District of Columbia, Minnesota and California) share these five characteristics: Set charter schools aside in creation and oversight from the conventional system. Ensure…

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Grown-Up Conversation Needed

One element of this past election rests in the fact that our elected officials have spent vast amounts of public monies we don’t have and are stretching the financial house of this nation to its limit. Like a family with maxed out credit cards, the piper is due and we have little money to pay…

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Notice of Another Crisis? Storage …

In a story that has been playing out for a few days, outgoing Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk, Pat Obrien is wanting to shred court documents. In an article from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette “O’Brien said the records needed to be shredded to help avert a storage crisis. The files had been electronically duplicated, and made easily…

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Grassroots and the Beltway

Today at RedState, Erick Erickson has a great post about the battle to limit earmarks and pork spending from Washington.  Most recently? Roads, bridges and interchanges should be exempted from the earmark moratorium, high-ranking officials protest.  It’s a great reminder that advocating for limited government must continue to be top-of-mind for all of us as…

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