Illegal Immigration is not a Crime in Kansas?

The Judicial Branch in Kansas has made such rather unbelievable ruling in recent years. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional – the U.S. Supreme Court overruled. The Kansas Supreme Court declared that morality and ethics should have absolutely no role in lawmaking. And most obviously, the Kansas Supreme Court ordained themselves the Supreme Legislature by appropriating your tax dollars for an ill-founded argument that education spending is a constitutional issue, not a political one.

Given these outrages of the Kansas Courts, I guess one should not be surprised that a Kansas Court of Appeals has taken the strange step of declaring that illegal immigration is not a crime in Kansas. That’s right. If an individual enters the country illegally and remains present in the country, the entry is illegal, but the presence is not. That’s like a thief breaking into your home – the breaking and entering is a crime, but the remaining is not? So said Judge Patrick McAnany (pictured here).

Judge McAnany’s opinion for the three-judge panel threw out the one-year prison sentence for one Nicholas L. Martinez, an illegal alien cocaine dealer, who used his young son to deliver cocaine! Instead, Martinez will remain in this country on probation – that’s right, he will remain free on probation – illegally free in this country.

Don’t try to find the common sense here – there is none. There is simply legal and linguistic gymnastics by a court system absent of common sense. One that bends over backwards to coddle criminals – including those who are not Americans and thus have no constitutional protections – and including those who break into our country to peddle cocaine to our children.

Given his legal logic, one might speculate – perhaps Judge McAnany is hoping for an appointment to the Kansas Supreme Court?

Oklahoma Attacks Illegal Immigration

Ignoring the silliness of the Kansas Courts on illegal immigration, the Oklahoma Legislature instead recently passed the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007. The law sends a strong message – we can’t wait on Washington to fix our illegal immigration problems! And, of course, it doesn’t coddle illegal aliens like Judge McAnany does.

Considered one of the toughest laws in the nation, the legislation provides common-sense solutions in multiple areas: it makes it illegal to transport or harbor illegal aliens, prevents those illegally in our country from receiving many government hand-outs (including subsidized tuition to government colleges and universities), limits the production of government-issued identification to those legally present in our country, requires all public employers to verify work authorization status of all new employees, directs the Oklahoma Attorney General to negotiate with appropriate federal agencies to assist in enforcing federal immigration laws, and much more.

Many folks have contacted me about supporting this law – and it does look good. In fact, some of these provisions I have been fighting for already in the Kansas Legislature, such as stronger identification, welfare limits, and requiring Kansas agencies to verify their employees are legal. We haven’t been too successful yet on these provisions, but the pressure of this action from the south may help us move forward in the next legislative session.

The statement below is from the actual Oklahoma law – it very succinctly outlines this problem:

The State of Oklahoma finds that illegal immigration is causing economic hardship and lawlessness in this state and that illegal immigration is encouraged by public agencies within this state that provide public benefits without verifying immigration status. The State of Oklahoma further finds that illegal immigrants have been harbored and sheltered in this state and encouraged to reside in this state through the issuance of identification cards that are issued without verifying immigration status, and that these practices impede and obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration law, undermine the security of our borders, and impermissibly restrict the privileges and immunities of the citizens of Oklahoma. Therefore, the people of the State of Oklahoma declare that it is a compelling public interest of this state to discourage illegal immigration by requiring all agencies within this state to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The State of Oklahoma also finds that other measures are necessary to ensure the integrity of various governmental programs and services.

Government Growth Rolls Ahead

Recent data indicates jobs are on the rise in Kansas. While overall job growth is positive for the state, AFP-Kansas director Alan Cobb said 39% of those new jobs were in the government sector, making Kansas number one in government job growth.

"Private sector jobs are continuing to increase, which is good news for the state, but government jobs are also on the rise," said Cobb. "In fact, the state ranks first in government job growth, which is clearly cause for concern."

Using seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kansas added 17,200 government jobs in the last year.

Federal government jobs are lower today than one year ago; state government jobs are slightly higher. Nearly all of the growth is in local government.

Government jobs make up 19% of the total workforce in Kansas. The 50-state average is 16.1%.

Sebelius and Parkinson Sacrifice Western Kansas

Although Kansas often seems a long ways from the liberal environmental politics of either coast, recent announcements by Governor Sebelius and her lieutenant governor Mark Parkinson suggest otherwise.

The Sunflower Electric Power Company has proposed a $3.6 billion energy expansion project near Garden City. The Hays-based utility wants to build two new 700-megawatt coal-fired electrical-generating plants next to their existing 360-megawatt plant. The project will create hundreds, perhaps thousands of new jobs in our part of the state. It will provide a long-term energy source for economic growth in this region of the country.

But Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson, self-proclaimed, supposed supporters of rural economic growth, are fighting the project! There are two possibilities as to why Sebelius and Parkinson are willing to sacrifice this investment into rural western Kansas – neither good.

First possibility – pure liberal politics. It is well-known that Sebelius is busy wooing potential support for a bid to run for Vice-president next year. And with a Democrat party clearly in the hands of Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and other environmental alarmists, a new coal-fired plant in Kansas would not look good on Sebelius’ resume. And if the national Democrats don’t want Sebelius on the presidential ticket, Parkinson would not assume the gubernatorial throne.

Second possibility – Sebelius actually agrees with the global warming and other environmental alarmism. You see – the environmentalists in Lawrence (yes, they are the ones running the Department of Health and Environment, the agency who permits these facilities) and elsewhere intend to prevent any new coal-fired, or new nuclear-powered electrical generation in the country. To do so would harm mother earth and destroy the planet. (These are the same folks who now argue that Kansas cattle are environmentally destructive and must be stopped before they produce more methane gas -- from either end -- and also destroy the world.)

These two reasons – political expediency or environmental alarmism – are both very scary. But in either case, Sebelius and Parkinson have made it very clear – they don’t care about western Kansas, or about the growing energy needs of a growing economy. They intend to leave western Kansas (and perhaps the entire region dependent upon this energy) in the cold again.

But hey, let your heart not be troubled, for Governor Sebelius’ is still leading the way of the future. On a day with no other public events, Governor Sebelius did boldly proclaim October 3, 2007, as Change a Light Day. Yes, if all Kansans would pledge to change one light bulb in their house to an energy efficient model – we could save energy, money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, SAVE THE WORLD one light bulb at a time. I kid you not – this was the entirety of her public actions for all of October 3rd.

Hmm…change a light bulb and stop new electrical production. Sounds like a message from former President Jimmy Carter in a heavy sweater…

The Coming Ice Age....err...Global Warming

Speaking of the global warming, an old Washington Post article has resurfaced.

On July 9, 1971, the Post published a story headlined -- U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming. It outlined a prediction by NASA and Columbia University scientist S.I. Rasool. The culprit: man's use of fossil fuels.

Rasool argued that in the next 50 years fine dust that humans discharge into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuel will screen out so much of the sun's rays that the Earth's average temperature could fall by six degrees. Sustained emissions over five to 10 years, Rasool claimed could be sufficient to trigger an ice age. Aiding Rasool's research, the Post reported, was a computer program developed by Dr. James Hansen, a Columbia University research associate at the time. At about the same time, numerous news magazines and scientific journals were also highlighting the growing scientific consensus about this coming Ice Age.

Now move forward 36 years. The headlines are alarmist – but not about an Ice Age. And the biggest media pusher of the newest so-called consensus of global warming is none other than the Dr. James Hansen noted previously. Interesting…

The Path to Victory

One of my legislative interns, recognizing the battles of life and legislature, brought the following words to my attention. I have not discovered the author, perhaps you may know.

Now pleasure and comfort, say farewell,
For tonight begins the onslaught of hell,
Tolled by the eternal bell
Bringing Satan to his miserable fate,
By the Maiden never late.

Still, let them come-the demons of dark face.
Let them be crushed by almighty grace
To retreat to their evil place.
For tonight, heaven's battle wages;
This battle bridging the ages.

The fight! The fight! The fight!
Victory only made through steadfast will,
Through humility's way up life's hill.

Yes, this IS the incredible plan-
To take our honorable stand
In the shade of hardship's darkness,
With brief time's of consolation's caress

Yes, the path to victory. The path to heaven.