TresSugar

Health Nominee Sebelius Has Bipartisan Pros and Cons

LibertySugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:30:31 -0800

When it comes to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius's ability to be bipartisan, the diagnosis is mixed. As a Democratic governor of red-state Kansas, President Obama's pick for health and human services secretary has worked with a Republican-led legislature. But when it comes to policy, many conservatives will fight her stances like a deadly virus.

National pro-life groups have already expressed opposition of Sebelius, a choice some say is worse than your run-of-the-mill pro-choice nominee. In April 2007, she held an event with a reported late-term abortion provider and his clinic's staff at the governor's residence. Thus, pro-life advocates view Sebelius as an abortion-rights radical.

Besides abortion, Republicans, at least in Kansas, don't seem to agree with her healthcare plans either. She has failed to convince lawmakers to raise taxes on tobacco for increased coverage. During her two terms as governor, the rate of uninsured Kansans have grown seven times as fast in the sate compared to the national average. Still, Sebelius's healthcare expertise is considered one of her greatest assets.

Do you think Kathleen will have a better time getting bipartisan support for reform than the candidate Obama passed over - Howard Dean?

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Zombies Sing "Dust in the Wind"

GiggleSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Zombies doing pretty much anything makes my day. (Except, of course, coming to get me!) But when they step up their game, step away from all the brains and entrails, and sing a rendition of Kansas's "Dust in the Wind"? I weep a little inside.

Citizens Start Grand Jury Investigation of Abortion Doctor

LibertySugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:28 -0700

Thanks to an 1887 law, pro-life Kansans have circumvented their prosecutors and called a grand jury to investigate a doctor they accuse of providing late-term abortions for three decades.

The dusty state statute only asks ordinary citizens to gather enough signatures, before they call a grand jury to investigate an alleged crime. A 15-member grand jury is now investigating Dr. George Tiller, thanks to the prosecutor-not-needed mechanism.

Active citizens have begun to use the statute, long ignored, to investigate abortion clinics, as well as stores selling explicit videos and magazines. Leaving polarizing issues like abortion aside, I could imagine this law invigorating citizens to get involved in their community and set an agenda that may differ from the prosecutors. Of course, civically active individuals don't always accurately represent the community as a whole.

Should communities reserve this sort of people's justice for only the most necessary cases, like government corruption and abuse of power? What sort of reaction would citizens have if politicians tried to repeal the statute?

Front Page: Gaza Blast Kills 5, US/Iraq Talks Stall, Midwest Pounded

CitizenSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:55:45 -0700

Gaza Blast Kills 5: A large explosion in Gaza yesterday killed at least five Palestinians, including several Hamas militants and a baby girl. Despite the death and destruction of a residential building, responsibility is unclear. Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, first blamed the blast on an Israeli air strike, causing them to fire rockets and mortar rounds at Israeli towns and villages around Gaza. The Israeli military has vehemently denied any involvement in the explosion.

US/Iraq Talks Stall: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki declared that talks with the US aimed at reaching a long-term agreement allowing US forces to remain in Iraq have "reached an impasse". According to Maliki, the US demands compromised Iraqi sovereignty. President Bush has said he wants an agreement by the end of July, as the UN mandate for US forces to be in Iraq expires at the end of 2008. Maliki said of the proposal, "We cannot allow US forces to have the right to jail Iraqis or assume, alone, the responsibility of fighting against terrorism."
Midwest Pounded: Iowa's Cedar River broke its banks yesterday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of homes and causing a railroad bridge to collapse. Officials estimated that 100 blocks are underwater in Cedar Rapids, where preparations weren't enough to hold back the water. The sheriff said of the weather crisis, "We're just kind of at God's mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start." Estimates show that 3,200 homes were evacuated and 8,000 residents have been displaced. This news comes after a deadly tornado hit an Iowa Boy Scout camp, and a similarly deadly twister tore through Kansas, leaving residents to dig out of the destruction.

To see an exclusive, first-hand photo account of the Kansas aftermath, read more.

Will There Be a Madame Vice President Not Named Hillary?

LibertySugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Three women, none named Hillary Clinton, are on Politico's short list of potential Barack Obama running mates. They include: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

They all bring red state credentials, have avoided focusing on gender during their campaigns, and are not considered polarizing figures by Republicans in their home states.

For some background info on each potential running mate, read more.

From the article:

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius: Sebelius, who won the governorship two times with a Republican runningmate, knows how to win over Republicans. She also has some serious swing state cred - her father was a two-term governor in Ohio.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano: Napolitano is an extremely politically savvy former federal prosecutor. She has managed to address controversial issues like immigration, while protecting her popularity.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill: McCaskill probably is a long shot, considering she is a Senator like Obama, but she has proven her ability to appeal to rural Missourian voters. Her populist flavor may help Obama appeal to voters that were inclined to vote for Clinton.

As obnoxious as it is, I'm not convinced the Democrats are willing to place their bets on a "two firsts" ticket. But, maybe Barack will appeal to Hillary's base by tapping a well qualified and otherwise strategically useful woman for the VP spot. Should these demographics be considered at all when choosing a Vice Presidential candidate?

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Sex Offender Must Post Signs Advertising His Crime

CitizenSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:04:09 -0700

A Kansas man who has admitted molesting a boy is under judge's orders to advertise his crime. He's been sentenced to post signs around his house and affix a decal on his car proclaiming that he is a sex offender. The hand-painted signs read, “A Sex Offender Lives Here” and cover all four sides of Leroy Schad's white house in this central Kansas town. The entire population of the town is only about 150 people. His vehicle did not escape the sentence, and has been fitted with a large decal with bold yellow lettering reading “Sex Offender In This Car.”

Schad, 72, original charge was four counts of taking indecent liberties with a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy in 2005. His plea-bargain in March 2007 was to a lesser charge of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child, and the original charges were dismissed. The judge has ordered the signs to remain during Schad's entire sentence, which includes house arrest for five years.

Schad is appealing the sign requirement which replaced about three years behind bars. “I know that I deserve something for that, but I don't think I deserve what I got,” he said, adding, “It's been pure hell.” Schad has lived in the small town since 1971.

Is this exactly what he deserves, or unusually cruel and creative punishment?

Who Would Oprah Pick For First Female President?

LibertySugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:00:42 -0800

Oprah is keen on a woman politician not named Hillary Clinton. The latest issue of O magazine features Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in a piece about the virtues of female executive know-how. Governor Sebelius, an Obama supporter, gave this year's Democratic response after Bush's State of the Union.

Today the New York Times explored Oprah's apparent pick for first female president, along with some other likely candidates. The short list also includes Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor of Arizona, and Condoleezza Rice.

The article explains that Sebelius and Napolitano have Clinton's ambitious appeal without all the baggage. It goes on to praise Napolitano for having bypassed "any of the old-fashioned ways of gaining political prominence: on the coattails of a doting daddy (see Susan Molinari), a dead husband (see Mary Bono), or a politically dead husband (see Elizabeth Dole)."

Do you think Hillary Clinton, with her connections and name recognition, is the female gender's best shot at capturing the White House? Or, are we just beginning to tap a generous supply of able female leaders?

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Girl Rocks Out on Organ

GiggleSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0800

It's stuff like this that renews my hope in girlkind. (Yes, it's my made-up word.) If girls would stop dressing like hookers and twirling around stripper poles in their bedrooms while filming themselves on webcams so pervy middle-aged men could get off, they could develop some talent. I mean, a teen playing an epic Kansas tune (Wayward Son) on the organ-unironically? I. Heart. Her.

Mrs. Mayor? Critics Says Mayor's Wife Runs Kansas City

LibertySugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:30:59 -0800

Gloria Squitiro, the wife of Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser says she volunteers 70 hours a week to help her husband fulfill his campaign promises, but critics say she's doing a job that she wasn't elected to do. After resigning, the mayor's former chief-of-staff said, "It was kind of like having your mother-in-law go along on your honeymoon."

Controversy has surrounded the duo for a while now. According to the Associated Press, when Ms. Squitiro set up a desk outside her husband's city hall office and proceeded to call a black aide "Mammy," the city council passed an anti-nepotism ordinance sending Squitiro back home. So what did Mr. Mayor do? He started working from home.

The mayor has stood up for his actions, saying: "The idea that once we won the prize, I was going to dump her and say, 'See you, honey, in four years. Go on back home and bake cookies, fold some laundry. I'll be there when I get there,' is absurd."

Should the mayor be allowed to have his wife advise him?

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Infamous Reform School For Girls Closes Its Doors

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

The idea of a reform school for girls seems to come straight out of a B-movie from the '50s, complete with stock characters like the naïve innocent, the hardened mean girl with a heart of gold who ends up plotting a way for them both to escape, and an evil warden who gets in their way. It's hard to believe that such a place could still exist.

Until August of this year, the notorious Beloit reform school for girls in Beloit, KS did exist, and the school, founded in the 1890s, only recently shut down because the state could no longer afford to house the remaining 21 girls to the tune of $200,000 a year.

Although the school's founders had good intentions, Beloit's dark history includes the severe mistreatment of girls, many of who were running away from physically and sexually abusive homes. In effect, the abused were shipped off to be further abused. How bad did it get? In the '30s, a superintendent who was influenced by Nazi eugenics practices had 62 of her charges involuntarily sterilized. To read more about the history of Beloit and how it evolved, read more

Beloit was founded and in part funded by the suffragist and pro-Prohibition group The Women's Christian Temperance Union in the 1890s. Sometimes, the girls there were practically "indentured" by farm families in this rural town in order to earn the food they ate. (This was all before the state took over.)

At the time, according to Russell Jennings, commissioner of the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority, girls "were really viewed in our society much more as property." They didn't even have to run away to be deemed "incorrigible" or "wayward." They only had to be, as he put it, "a pain in the neck."

In a file from a girl housed (incarcerated?) at Beloit in the '30s, her offenses were that she "associated with Mexican men" and "became intoxicated at dances." Another woman was sent to the reform school for "being immoral (with father)."

A federal law passed in the mid-1970s ended the practice of sending girls to reform school when their offenses, if they'd been committed by adults, would not be considered crimes. But their incarceration continued in Kansas until 1983. Now, troubled teenage girls are sent to community centers where they can get the help that they need.

In spite of its history, for some who stayed there, Beloit was a haven from abuse at home. "I will always believe that because of Beloit and the staff, I am where I am today," said a 50-year-old who is happily married with three children and counsels survivors of sexual abuse. "They saved the lives of unwanted children."

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