Republican Party Newsletter - Leavenworth County, February 2012

The month is starting of fabulously with temperatures resembling those more like spring than the dead of winter. If global warming was in fact real, I would love it. It is not real but, I do love the warm temperatures. The nice weather is great for getting out and there is much to get out and do this month. The Republican Party State Convention is being held February 16-18 at the Overland Park Marriot Hotel. There is an all-star lineup of national party leaders who will be speaking throughout the weekend - Texas Governor, Rick Perry; Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal; Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and former Presidential candidate Steve Forbes; plus our own Governor Sam Brownback. There will be meetings, receptions, hospitality rooms, and dinner events. For details on these events, visit ksgop.com.

The following weekend, we will host our annual Lincoln Day Dinner event. Our guest speaker this year will be Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer. This is our fundraising event where we raise money to support the upcoming 2012 election operations for our Republican candidates. You will not want to miss this event; it comes complete with a silent auction sponsored by the Republican Women's Club.

I hope to see everyone at all these events.

Connie Obrien

Connie's Corner

This week the House worked the first two bills of the session on the House Floor. The process for moving a bill to the Governor's desk starts in committee where bills are worked after they are introduced. The committee chairman after being assigned a bill will hold hearings to receive public testimony. In our lawmaking process, any individual or group may explain as to what they agree with or don't agree with and suggest changes to proposed legislation. After the hearings, the committee members may make amendments and modify the existing bill. This process is call "working" or "marking up" a bill. Once a bill is passed out of committee, it then goes to the Majority Leader who will decide when it will be heard on the House Floor and debated. Once a bill has been designated to be worked in the Committee of the Whole (on the House Floor), all House members have an opportunity to amend the bill. If the bill passes the Committee of the Whole, it is set on the agenda for the next day for the final vote and that vote is recorded in the journal as the public record.

If you ever wish to testify or send written testimony to any committee hearing, just let me know. You can find the house calendar at www.kslegislature.org and click the "calendar" button in the top right.

The two bills passed this week were HB 2412 and HB 2436.

HB 2412

This bill would deal with the dissolution of cities in Kansas who have been affected by lead and zinc contamination. The city of Treece on the Oklahoma border has been offered buyout money by the Environmental Protection Agency to relocate. This bill would dissolve cities which have received buyout money. Current law requires that there must be an election of the residents of the city to dissolve a city. In the city of Treece, however, there is only one resident left and an election cannot be held.

HB 2436

This bill relates to the certificate of public convenience which is an operating document required in Kansas to build transmission lines. The document details the plans the utility has for building transmission lines and where they would be built. The need for this bill arose from the building of the wind farms in western Kansas and the need to get that electricity to where it is needed. Currently there are no requirements for the Kansas Corporation Commission to act on an application. This would require the KCC to act within 180 days on a utilities application, either yes or no.

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We have been very busy in the House holding our hearings on bills. I serve on the Federal and State Affairs committee and our chairman Representative Steve Brunk decided to hold hearings on all of the gun legislation in his committee this week. We heard bills HB 2421, HB 2422 and HB 2353.

HB 2421 is often referred to as the Kansas Firearms Freedom Act would allow Kansas firearm manufacturer to sell firearms made in Kansas to Kansas residents-who are legally eligible to purchase firearms-without going through the extensive restrictions imposed by Federal law. This bill does not interfere with the Federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce.

HB 2421 was passed out of committee on January 31 favorable for passage and will now go to the floor of the House.

HB 2422 is the Personal and family protection act for correction officers, federal correction officers and parole officers. It is similar to legislation passed for police officers in regards to conceal carry. If a correction officers has been certified through the department of corrections and the federal correction officer has been certified, he will not be required to take a conceal carry class. A parole officers who is certify to carry a weapon in the line of duty, will not be required to take a class on conceal carry. They can obtain their license the same as all citizens who apply for a conceal carry license and will still require a background check. This bill passed out of the committee favorable for passage and will go to the house floor.

HB 2353 proved to be the most interesting as it is also a Personal and family protection act dealing with the ability to conceal carry in public buildings that fail to provide adequate protection when in these buildings. We held hearings for two days because of the interest in this bill. The main concern was should we allow students to conceal carry on college campus. We are still working on this bill.

Here are some of the other issues we will be discussing and working on:

Water Policy

This week the committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources took the first step in reversing a decades old policy on water rights commonly referred to as "use it or lose it". This controversial policy forced those with water recourses to use their cap without the possibility of carrying over their credits from year to year. It makes little sense for farmers to use water they don't need just so they don't lose out on it in the next year. The phrase "use it or lose it" might better be said "waste it" so you are given permission to use more. A bill was passed on the house floor February 1, 2012 concerning the issue of "use it or lose it".

The Governor announced his policy at the State of the State address earlier this month.

School Sales Tax Holiday

The House Taxation committee held hearings on a bill to create a four day sales tax holiday in August before school starts. The tax holiday would rival a similar tax holiday currently in affect in Missouri. The tax holiday would apply to any article of clothing having a taxable value of $300 or less; all back-to-school supplies not to exceed $100 per purchase; all computer software with a taxable value of $300 or less; and all personal computers or computer peripheral devices not to exceed $2,000.

Improved Career and Technical Education

Governor Sam Brownback has proposed improvements to career and technical education (CTE) programs. His plan aims to boost the percentage of students who are career and college ready upon high school graduation. The Governor's proposal would provide a little more than $20.5 million for student tuition, school transportation costs, and incentives to high schools for certificates earned in key occupations and for marketing to increase participation.

As always if there is anything I can assist you with, please don't hesitate to call me at 785.296.7671 or email at connie.obrien@house.ks.gov

Rep. Connie O'Brien

Kansas State House 42nd District

Resolution Exposing U.N. Agenda 21/I.C.L.E.I.

Passes R.N.C.

WHEREAS, the United Nations Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of extreme environmentalism, social engineering, and global political control that was initiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992; and,

WHEREAS, the United Nations Agenda 21 is being covertly pushed into local communities throughout the United States of America through the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) through local "sustainable development" policies such as Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, and other "Green" or "Alternative" projects; and,

WHEREAS, this United Nations Agenda 21 plan of radical so-called "sustainable development" views the American way of life of private property ownership, single family homes, private car ownership and individual travel choices, and privately owned farms; all as destructive to the environment; and,

WHEREAS, according to the United Nations Agenda 21 policy, social justice is described as the right and opportunity of all people to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment which would be accomplished by socialist/communist redistribution of wealth; and,

WHEREAS, according to the United Nations Agenda 21 policy National sovereignty is deemed a social injustice; now therefore be

RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee recognizes the destructive and insidious nature of United Nations Agenda 21 and hereby exposes to the public and public policy makers the dangerous intent of the plan; and therefore be it further

RESOLVED , that the U.S. government and no state or local government is legally bound by the United Nations Agenda 21 treaty in that it has never been endorsed by the (U.S.) Senate, and therefore be it further

RESOLVED, that the federal and state and local governments across the country be well informed of the underlying harmful implications of implementation of United Nations Agenda 21 destructive strategies for "sustainable development" and we hereby endorse rejection of it's radical policies and rejection of any grant monies attached to it, and therefore be it further

RESOLVED, that upon the approval of this resolution the Republican National Committee shall deliver a copy of this resolution to each of the Republican members of Congress, all Republican candidates for Congress, all Republican candidates for President who qualify for RNC sanctioned debates, and to each Republican state and territorial party office.

Chief Sponsor:

Helen Van Etten Republican National Committeewoman for Kansas

Co-Sponsors:

Carolyn McLarty Republican National Committeewoman for Oklahoma
Kim Lehman Republican National Committeewoman for Iowa
Paul Reynolds Republican National Committeeman for Alabama
Demetra DeMonte Republican national Committeewoman for Illinois
Solomon Yue Republican National Committeewoman for Oregon
Donna Cain Republican National Committeewoman for Oregon
Cindy Costa Republican National Committeewoman for South Carolina
John Sigler Republican State Chairman for Delaware

Steve Scheffler Republican National Committeeman for Iowa

Peggy LambertRepublican National Committeewoman for Tennessee
Jim Bopp Republican National Committeeman for Indiana
Bruce Ash Republican National Committeeman for Arizona
DeMarus Carlson Republican National Committeewoman for Nebraska

Joys of Muslim Women

(Written by Nonie Darwish, a woman born in Egypt as a Muslim)

In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child; consummating the marriage by the age of 9.
The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.

Even though a woman is abused she cannot obtain a divorce. To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses. Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.

The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion. The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.

In the Western World (America and Britain) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law so the wife cannot obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her. It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American Universities and British Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Shariah law. By passing this on, enlightened American and British women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.

In the Book Ripping the West in Two, author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two. She also recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.

Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel. He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza.

When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society. But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television.

In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping sharia law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries. For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual. Islamic law (Sharia) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world. Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world.

While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Sharia teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Sharia encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others. While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Sharia advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism.

It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticize Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation. While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petro dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere.

(In twenty years. there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. and Britain to elect the President by themselves! Rest assured they will do so... You can look at how they have taken over several towns in the USA. Dearborn Michigan is one. And there are others) Britain has several cities now totally controlled by Muslims)

It is too bad that so many are disillusioned with life and Christianity to accept Muslims as peaceful. Some may be, but they have an army that is willing to shed blood in the name of Islam. The peaceful support the warriors with their finances and own kind of patriotism to their religion. While America and Britain is getting rid of Christianity from all public sites and erasing God from the lives of children the Muslims are planning a great jihad on America (and Britain).

In this coming Year, 2012,
both Groundhog Day and

the State of the Union address will
occur on the same day.

This
is an ironic juxtaposition of events.

One
involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to an

insignificant creature of little
intelligence for prognostication.

The other involves a groundhog.

ELECTION 2012 IS COMING

From now thru November 2012, this should be required weekly or at least monthly, reading - BY ALL WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE!!!
Did you notice who Obama threatened when he wasn't getting his way on raising the debt ceiling? He threatened to not pay: Social Security Retirees, Military Retirees, Social Security disability and Federal Retirees.

NOW......... Let this really sink in!!!!
He did not threaten to stop payments to illegal aliens.
He did not threaten to take frivolous benefits such as Internet access away from violent inmates.
He did not offer to fire some of the thousands of unnecessary federal employees that he hired.
He did not offer to cut down on his or his wife's frivolous gallivanting around the world.
He did not threaten to take benefits away from welfare recipients.
He did not threaten the food stamp programs.
He did not threaten not to pay foreign aid.
He did not threaten to cut back on anything that involves his base voters.
The list could go on and on. He is in full political re-election mode!
Why are we allowing this person to destroy this wonderful country with his selfishness and his lies? His type of change is killing our country. He needs to be stopped and only our votes can stop him. Do not forget about his tactics when it's election time. Vote Obama out of the Presidency in 2012.
THE END OF AN ERROR! ELECTION 2012 IS COMING!

A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!

Putting Things in Perspective

What Does it Mean to be an American

Dennis Prager - Q & A at the University of Denver

The Federal Budget explained by a college student

National Debt Road Trip

Election Humor (Reality)

An Anonymous Observation

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

Who should I contact?

Leavenworth County Republican Party Leadership

John Bradford..............................Chair

Connie O'Brien........................Vice Chair

Barbara Paulus........................Secretary

Linda Flanagan........................Treasurer

County Commissioners

First District

Robert (Bob) Holland..............913-772-2221

Second District

Clyde Graeber......................913-682-4514

Third District

John C. Flower.....................913-634-0061

State Representatives

Kansas House of Representatives, 39th District

Owen Donohoe.....................913-484-1152

Kansas House of Representatives, 41st District

Jana Goodman..................... 913-785-2577

Kansas House of Representatives, 42nd District

Connie O'Brien......................913-369-2933

National Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives - 2nd District

Lynn Jenkins........................785-234-5966

U.S. Senate

Jerry Moran.........................202-224-4774

Pat Roberts.........................202-456-1414

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The views stated herein are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Leavenworth County Republican Party.

This newsletter is paid for by the Leavenworth County Republican Party. It is not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee. The intent is to provide information relevant to our voters and to current issues of the day. Linda Flanagan, Treasurer.