The 2010 Kansas Legislative Session began on Monday, January 11th. At the end of that first day, I listened intently to the State of the State Address given by Governor Mark Parkinson. The Governor told legislators that we must increase taxes in order to get the state out of debt. The Governor proposed a .01 cent sales tax increase for 36 months. It has been my observation that once a tax is implemented, despite good intentions, they seldom go away. Part two of his plan was to raise taxes on cigarettes by .64 cents per pack. My response is that Increasing the tax burden on businesses and consumers during a time when our economy is depressed will only further depress the economy. The governor seems to think raising taxes on cigarettes will encourage people to quit smoking but I doubt that. Raising the tax on smokers will simply encourage them to buy online, and cigarettes are cheaper on line than they are at your local store. Raising taxes is not the solution. It fails to address the main problem which is, and has been, overspending. From 2005 to 2009 general fund spending increased 40%. This is simply an expansion of state government at taxpayers expense. Why should you and your family be forced to live within your means but the government doesn't have too? The state needs to curtail spending and balance the budget. This is your money and it is imperative that the government spends the same way you spend at home, with careful consideration and proper priorities. Recently we heard the governor from our neighboring state of Missouri give his State of the State address. He pledged to hold the line on taxes and to encourage job creation. If Missouri's governor and legislators are able to stick to that plan they will emerge from this recession better able to take advantage of economic opportunities. If Kansas hopes to be competitive with neighboring states we must abandon Governor Parkinson's prescription for failure. We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity. The solution to our economic problems are not that difficult. We must cut spending, balance the budget, do what we can to create jobs and just say no to tax increases.

Recently there's been talk of establishing a rainy day fund. The idea of a rainy day fund is long overdue. Last session the House passed a budget stabilization bill. That shows we are trying to head in the right direction. There is a proposal being offered now which would required the voters to pass a constitutional amendment. This is great policy. It should be noted that if we had implemented a rainy day fund several years ago, when times were good and revenues were up, we would not be in the bind we are today. One thing remains very important, if we pass legislation securing funds for a rainy day that legislation must require that the money saved cannot be looted for pet projects or non-essential purposes. After all, we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. 

 Last Friday's support of the 10th amendment resolution was good to see. Over 500 people turned out to offer their support and hear people testify on the resolution. Much of the legislation coming from Washington D. C. is not helpful to the states. It usually comes with mandates or strings attached often costing state taxpayers thousands, if not millions, of dollars. This needs to stop. States have the ability to manage their schools better, address their health care issues better and decide their environmental issues better. One size does not fit all. I support the 10th Amendment Resolution.

During the first week House and Senate leadership agreed to adjourn each of the next three Thursdays, basically giving legislators the next three Fridays off without pay, in an effort to reduce spending but the senate decided to change course. According to legislative joint rules neither chamber may adjourn without the other adjourning. In the 2009 session I voted with House members to cut our pay by 10%. unfortunately the senate didn't agree.  

Education remains a top priority for legislators. There are those who are concerned that upcoming budget cuts will affect the classroom dollars allocated to our children's education. I want to make sure that everyone knows that legislators are not targeting classroom dollars. The education budget is roughly divided 65% - 35%, with 65% gong to the classroom and 35% being allocated to expenses that don't directly impact the classroom. There is the misconception that every dollar cut from K-12 funding directly affects a child's education. I am confident legislators will make prudent cuts consistent with the education community's own distinction between the 65% classroom figure and the remaining 35%. Legislators must focus on long term budget solutions. Applying the governor's quick fix to the 2010 budget would be irresponsible. The quick fix will only increase our economic burden in following years. Keep in mind our budget problems are probably worse than they appear. There was a failure on the part of some House and Senate members in the previous session to recognize that fact. Their, lack of vision, will make balancing the budget this session more difficult. That being said, it is very important for legislators to reach a consensus quickly in order to shore up the 2010 budget. Reasonable solution will requires that education and its 51% share of the budge are considered in any long term plan.

I will be introducing two bills that concern public safety. One deals with the proper installation and inspection of medical gas lines in health facilities. The other addresses safety regulations concerning postal delivery services on major highways. Current law requires motorists to move to the left lane when passing any police or emergency vehicle which is stopped on the road side. This bill would include postal delivery vehicles which are properly equipped with emergency warning lights.  

I look forward to sharing with you the finer points of the House Republican budget plan as it begins to take shape in the House Appropriations Committee. Thank you for allowing me the Honor to serve you as your 42nd District Representative. My door is always open, please feel free to stop by or contact me by phone at my new number; 785-296-7656 or by email; connie.obrien@house.ks.gov.  Also; check out my web site; www.connieobrien.net.

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

Who said it? The quote has been attributed to several including Malcolm X, Ginger Rogers, British journalist Alex Hamilton (not to be confused with the American founder) and Martin Luther King. I would have thought perhaps Will Rogers might have quipped such a wry statement, and it has even made its place into a country music song recently. But while the sentiment is common and these folks among others have used it in one form or another, it first came into the public record in the chambers of the United States Senate in 1947.  Asking God to give direction to America's leaders, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed, "Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for - because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything."

The Chaplain was obviously making reference to Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." and a post-war American culture becoming increasingly influenced through academia, media, and politics manipulated by Humanists and Agnostics. The agnostic believes that there are no absolutes, and therefore can't say whether God exists or not; The Humanist believes he is god.

The Humanist Manifesto dedicated in 1933, defined Humanism as a religion of the brotherhood of humanity to end all theistic religions; those which revere a superior deity or deities. This document came on the heels of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial" which was basically an "O.J SimpsonTrial" broadcast live on radio (the first ever) and brought to America by the ACLU in hopes of driving a wedge between "science and the Bible", therefore delegitimizing Bible based Judeo-Christian beliefs. Long story short, ACLU had its way even though they lost legally.

Darwinian Evolution consequently got another foothold on society, the greatest since the initial publication of his book "Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life", (that is the full title) in 1859. (The release of which gave "scientific" credence to the argument by many that the black race was inferior, therefore attempting to justify slavery of the African people. Such is the problem with evolutionary thought; throughout history evolutionary theories have been used to justify many forms of racism resulting in atrocities from slavery to genocide. Evolution by necessity will always dehumanize or subjugate some race or culture. Think about it.)

The Cold War was beginning to heat up in the late '40's and Communism was on the march in Europe and Asia, along with its atheistic ideology. In an effort to thwart Communism within our borders and to re-iterate America as "God fearing", the words "under God" were added to our Pledge to the Flag in 1954.

The "vision" continued to become more clouded, if not lost, throughout the '60's after Marxist revolutionaries took Cuba and began to infiltrate Universities across the United States. By 1973, the Humanists were no longer satisfied with the original 'manifesto' and revised it, stripping the religious nature of Humanism from the old document and redefining the movement's goal of "a system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal government. This would appreciate cultural pluralism and diversity". [Humanist Manifesto II, Section 12] It goes on to promote open borders, environmental controls, redistribution of wealth, and actually closes out reading much like John Lennon's "Imagine", released only two years prior. Aside from the added tenets and the much longer list of signers, the most revealing stroke in my opinion, was the "secularizing" of humanism; that is stripping away the many references to "religious humanism" found in the original document.

Secular Humanism has been the driving force for the last 40-50 years that has resulted in the spiritual retardation of American culture. By pushing Judeo-Christian ideology to the margins of society, the Bible is removed as the basis for ethics, laws, and morals. Secularization has made possible Pluralism, which basically says that no ideology, philosophy or faith belief system is of higher social value than any other. All are equal and must not only be tolerated, but embraced. This is the last great virtue of a secular society. Tolerance- Which brings us back to the opening quote that I would modify to say: 

"By attempting to embrace everything, you can hold onto nothing."

This is where history finds us, America. Amidst a culture which cannot define itself, lacking a foundation to stand upon, and floating aimlessly in a sea of political correctness fed by the river of pluralism. We don't know our own narrative. Could this be the reason that no one in the media, academia, or government can say definitively that America is in a fight for survival? Is it possible that this 40 year drunken binge on "pluralism" has inhibited our ability to see the enemy when he is standing before us, smiling that sinister grin with one hand extended and the other holding a sword?  

Second Timothy chapter 3 speaks of "perilous times" when all manner of spiritual and societal ills are magnified and people are "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth...men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith."

This is why we cannot identify the religion of Islam as a detriment to American culture. We don't know who we are! We are reprobate concerning our faith and our heritage. And although you don't have to be a Christian to be a patriotic American, those Judeo-Christian principles were the foundation that the Fathers built upon making possible the forging of this country, and are as much a part of American culture as the Declaration, baseball, and the Statue of Liberty.

We deny the power of the Christian "religion", so how could we expect to recognize the power of another religion? We have relegated "religion" as a crutch for the weak and soft headed. No wonder we cannot accept the fact that a "jihadist" is wholly committed, body and spirit, to the advancement of his own religious ideals. If Christians were as committed to our cause and principles as Islamic jihadists are to theirs, we wouldn't have to worry that Shari'a law may be coming to a town near you. (And I do not mean Christians should become suicide bombers! I simply mean be willing to invest your whole being into the Great Commission and walk the walk, not just drop a buck or two in the plate on Sunday.)

Someone said, "If you don't know where you've been you cannot know where you are. And if you don't know where you are you cannot know where you are going." I fear America has sold her soul. Not only our spiritual heritage which I deem as most important, but our national heritage has been wrested from us and revised to tarnish our heroes and motives. America's pride has been taken and she no longer holds her chin up, facing the challenge. History has ceased to be taught in a manner that children can relate and replaced with social programming in order to create global citizens. No wonder we don't know who we are. Little wonder a militant Muslim in Lawrence, Ks told a business owner, "We can take America because it's the land of boys with no testicles". He actually believes it.

I would echo Chaplain Marshall's prayer for a vision: A vision that would show us where to stand and what to stand for, because if we fail to take that stand, we shall fall for anything; and for nothing.       

Oh by the way, the chapter doesn't end there. You finish it.