by Jennifer Rezac

  TOPEKA – The free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity-Kansas today released a study on the effects of cigarette taxes on the state's economy.

 The study "Masters of Tax Avoidance: Kansans and The Cigarette Excise, 1927-2009" by Patrick Fleenor, chief economist of Fiscal Economics, Inc., outlines the history of Kansas cigarette taxes and the results on the state economy.

 "This study clearly shows that raising cigarette taxes simply drives Kansas consumers to other states to purchase tobacco products," said AFP-Kansas state director Derrick Sontag. "It clearly results in lower cigarette tax revenues, not because more people are quitting, but because people go elsewhere to avoid paying those higher per-pack taxes."

 In 2002, Gov. Bill Graves proposed solving a large budget shortfall with a 65-cent increase in cigarette taxes.  After a legislative deadlock with lawmakers, a compromise 55-cent tax increase was passed.  Fiscal forecasters had predicted an initial drop in cigarette sales that would rebound the following year, but those projections were too optimistic.  In fact, sales taxes dropped by more than 20 percent in fiscal year 2003, and continued to fall another 5 percent in fiscal year 2004.

"It's obvious that raising cigarette taxes to help fund state programs has not provided the desired revenue stream to pay for these programs," said Sontag. " This isn't new information – cigarette taxes have led to numerous unintended economic consequences since they were first imposed in Kansas in 1927.

 "However, despite what history has shown us our Governor and legislators are still talking about cigarette tax hikes.

 "We hope this document will show to lawmakers that raising cigarette taxes is an ineffective deterrent to smoking and that it is simply unwise to fund government programs with revenue that is likely to dwindle once the new tax takes effect."

 The full study is available to download at: http://americansforprosperity.org/files/Kansans_And_The_Cigarette_Excise.pdf

Kansas City, Missouri - The maturing Tea Party Protest Movement claimed its first victory this week when Senator Claire McCaskill, D, Missouri, voted against the Omnibus Spending Bill.  McCaskill cited her opposition to earmarks in opposing the bill’s passage.  

“Evidently we made our point,” Kansas City Tea Party organizer Robert Ballard said of McCaskill’s defection from the democratic party line in the Senate.  “We applaud McCaskill for recognizing the deep level of discontent in this country that’s being driven by President Obama’s desire to reshape America with an agenda we believe moves America toward a socialist society.  We’re counting on Claire to continue her leadership in the fight against funding special interests and corruption in Washington D.C.” 

McCaskill’s surprising reversal on the spending bill comes just 11 days after an estimated 200 protesters marched on McCaskill’s Kansas City regional office to hold one of many Tea Party protests sweeping the nation since President Barack Obama began unveiling his agenda for reshaping America. 

Obama himself referred to the Omnibus Bill as “flawed” as he signed the $410 billion measure that will fund many federal programs into fiscal year 2009.  

Amanda Grosserode, a home-schooling mother who organized a similar protest at the Overland Park, Kansas office of Democratic Representative Dennis Moore expressed optimism for the Tea Party Protest Movement.  “Changing Senator McCaskill’s mind is just the movement’s first measurable victory,” Grosserode said.  “Washington D.C. can not ignore this movement so long as we stand on our principles and never give up the fight to save our values, preserve the American Dream as we know it, and insist on fiscal responsibility.”   

When asked if organizing the Tea Party at McCaskill’s office was worth the effort, not to mention enduring 4” of snow and biting wind, Ballard thought for a minute about the cause.  “To have a leading Senator like Claire McCaskill hear our demands and respond this quickly, and this dramatically, makes it all worthwhile.  We’ll hold as many Tea Parties as it takes to get the job done.”  

Ballard and Grosserode are planning more protests, and seeking ways to grow the movement. 

WASHINGTON {Christian Newswire} -- As promised, President Barack Obama signed an executive order this month opening up the restrictions on taxpayer funding for embryo-destroying stem cell research (ESCr).

Obama had publicly toyed with the idea of opening ESCr funding though the legislative process before settling on the use of an executive order.  The president has also formally begun the process for rescission of the recently passed HHS Conscience Regulations for pharmacists, doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

Pharmacists For Life International (PFLI) condemns this inappropriate and immoral use of presidential power in the strongest terms.  It can never be moral or ethical to kill one set of humans with the ostensible intent of healing other patients.

Current science has shown that embryonic stem cells offer little or no therapeutic value and have even shown to be dangerous and deadly to the end user.  Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have shown great promise and recently had more favorable studies published with significant therapeutic advantages.  All the latter were done using existing adult cells, without harm or destruction to tiny human embryos.

The Carnegie Model of stages of embryology and the preponderance of all scientific data over hundreds of years clearly show embryos are unique individual new humans, different from mom and dad with their own unique set of 23 pairs of chromosomes.  All embryos require is nourishment, time, and love to come to fruition, contrary to the mendacity and deception of some fake "science" and, now, the extremist anti-life regime of Barrie Hussein Obama.

America needs reasoned science and much prayer at this juncture in its history as the government takes an active stand against life, with the overt funding of the Culture of Death, rather than protecting and nourishing all human life, born and preborn.

{Flint Hills WICHITA} – Proposition K, the current initiative to revise the Kansas system for assessing property taxes, is constitutionally legitimate, according to "Constitutional Issues Impacting Property Tax Reform in Kansas" written by Caleb Stegall and published by Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. Stegall is a private constitutional attorney in Perry, Kansas and the 2nd Judicial District Attorney for Jefferson County. He has litigated numerous constitutional claims in both state and federal courts. 

1. On a specific date (January 1, 2010 in the legislation) current property values become fixed as the so-called “baseline value.”  (Property owners will always have the ability to appeal.)
2. Each property’s baseline value increases by 2% each year.  Properties never revalue for tax purposes unless substantially improved or altered.  Upon sale, the new owner inherits the annually-adjusted baseline value of the property.
3. To preserve fairness and promote simplicity, the plan applies to new construction, substantial alterations to existing structural improvements and re-classified land the average per-square-foot annually-adjusted baseline values of nearby properties.   

{The current financial crisis has its roots in the Presidency of Democrat William Jefferson Clinton who pressured both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ease restrictions on loan qualifications as reported by the New York Times in Sept of 1999. Steven Holme's article is available for members in the NYT archives  or in the PDF link below. The change in Fannie Mae lending practices is either a clever scheme to develop the Democrat voting base at the expense of taxpayers or enrich International lenders at the equal expense of the American taxpayer - Ed}

by Steven A. Holmes

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low income consumers, The Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchse from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program, involving 24 banks in 15 markets- including the New York metropolitcan region- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans.  Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

Continued here: NYTimes1999.pdf

WASHINGTON {Christian Newswire}- As promised, President Barack Obama signed an executive order on March 9th opening up the restrictions on taxpayer funding for embryo-destroying stem cell research (ESCr).

Obama had publicly toyed with the idea of opening ESCr funding though the legislative process before settling on the use of an executive order.  The president has also formally begun the process for rescission of the recently passed HHS Conscience Regulations for pharmacists, doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

Pharmacists For Life International (PFLI) condemns this inappropriate and immoral use of presidential power in the strongest terms.  It can never be moral or ethical to kill one set of humans with the ostensible intent of healing other patients.

Current science has shown that embryonic stem cells offer little or no therapeutic value and have even shown to be dangerous and deadly to the end user.  Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have shown great promise and recently had more favorable studies published with significant therapeutic advantages.  All the latter were done using existing adult cells, without harm or destruction to tiny human embryos.

The Carnegie Model of stages of embryology and the preponderance of all scientific data over hundreds of years clearly show embryos are unique individual new humans, different from mom and dad with their own unique set of 23 pairs of chromosomes.  All embryos require is nourishment, time, and love to come to fruition, contrary to the mendacity and deception of some fake "science" and now, the extremist anti-life regime of Barrie Hussein Obama.

America needs reasoned science and much prayer at this juncture in its history as the government takes an active stand against life, with the overt funding of the Culture of Death, rather than protecting and nourishing all human life, born and preborn.

WASHINGTON, March 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Jesuit-run Georgetown University promoted "Sex Positivity" week on campus from February 24-February 28, 2009. Condoning sexual misconduct and deviance places undergraduate students, many of whom are still legally considered to be minors, in a potentially predatory and psychologically abusive environment.

by Iain Martin

Why couldn't President Obama have put on more of a show for his British guests? He looked like he simply couldn't be bothered. Number 10 may be content that they just about got away with the visit to the Oval Office yesterday, as Andrew Porter reports from Washington.

But on this side of the Atlantic the whole business looked pretty demeaning. The morning papers and TV last night featured plenty of comment focused on the White House's very odd and, frankly, exceptionally rude treatment of a British PM. Squeezing in a meeting, denying him a full press conference with flags etc. The British press corps, left outside for an hour in the cold, can take it and their privations are of limited concern to the public.

But Obama's merely warmish words (one of our closest allies, said with little sincerity or passion) left a bitter taste with this Atlanticist. Especially after his team had made Number 10 beg for a mini press conference and then not even offered the PM lunch. We get the point, sunshine: we're just one of many allies and you want fancy new friends.

Well, the next time you need something doing, something which impinges on your national security, then try calling the French, or the Japanese, or best of all the Germans. The French will be able to offer you first rate support from their catering corps but beyond that you'll be on your own.

When it comes to men, munitions and commitment you'll soon find out why it pays to at least treat the Brits with some manners.