Sebelius Proposes another Tax Hike
What is a tax increase? Is a fee increase really a tax increase? That is a question that Governor Sebelius is now trying to avoid.

After campaigning last year as balancing the budget without a tax increase (and not mentioning her $1.3 BILLION attempt rejected by Republicans), Sebelius has now proposed another way to get more money out of your wallet.

Sebelius announced yesterday an increase in Kansas Turnpike tolls to the tune of $300 MILLION over the next five years. Would these monies be used to pay for highway repair? No. Would these fees be used to pay off the massive debt she has accumulated in the current highway program? No. Would these fees be used to fund a new highway program due in two years? No.

Instead, this $300 million fee increase would be used to for repairs on buildings at our state universities that have been neglected for years – they call it “deferred maintenance.” A reasonable question is, of course, why our universities have failed to be good stewards of public buildings? When did they plan on taking care of our properties? And where did the dollars go that we sent to them? Why did their enormous fee and tuition hikes in recent years not pay for these?

Whether this is a fee, a toll, an assessment or a tax increase, the principle is the same – you will be paying more.

State Party Chairman
In the last three months, I have visited with hundreds of Republican Party activists and elected officials all across this great state! My message of the need for organization, experience and principled, conservative leadership was well-received.

However, in the final vote to select the next Republican Party Chairman, I came in second out of three excellent candidates. Instead, my friend Kris Kobach was selected as the new Republican Chairman. Congratulations Kris!

Upon taking his office, Kris immediately appointed me and Mike Pompeo, the third candidate in the race, to the State Executive Committee to assist in our party rebuilding efforts. And there is much to do!

Earlier this week I offered to head up the party’s efforts at Candidate Recruitment and training – and Kobach eagerly accepted my offer. As Co-Chairman of this function, I am excited to continue to move forth our positive, conservative agenda in Kansas.

Economic Mis-Direction
2006 was not a good year in Kansas if you were looking for a job – unless you wanted to work for the Government.

According to the final employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kansas again ranks near the bottom (44th) among the 50 states for private sector job growth. But we rank near the top (7th) in the nation in the growth in government jobs. Ouch!

Kansas businesses employed 6,000 new employees – but Kansas governments added another 5,000 public sector jobs. The comparison in job growth rates is most revealing – government job growth grew at FOUR times the rate of the private world.

We all know that this is taking the state of Kansas in the wrong direction. Simply put, we need more taxpayers, not government workers. We need growth in the private, not the public sector. This economic direction is simply unsustainable.

A Few Puns
A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.

Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says – Dam!

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, I've lost my electron. The other asks, Are you sure? The first replies, Yes, I’m positive.

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birthmother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, but they’re twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.

These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to persuade them to close. Hugh beat-up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn’t close up shop. Terrified, they did so, --- thereby proving that only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

How Gullible Are We?
A student at the Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho won first prize at a recent science fair.

He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project, he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

And for plenty of good reasons, since:

• it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
• it is a major component in acid rain
• it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
• accidental inhalation can kill you
• it contributes to erosion
• it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
• it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

Prayer for Guidance
Far too often, we forget to pray for our elected leaders. More often though, our elected leaders forget to pray for His Guidance! Knowing this, our Senate Chaplain, Fred Holloman offered the following invocation last week: