Worst Run Cities and Missouri Takes a Hit

There's another one of those "Best in America" and "Worst in America" lists out on the interwebs this week and once again, Missouri takes a hit. Here you go.

Worst-run cities in America

To start, neighbor Topeka is on the list at 48.

The bad news? Kansas City, Missouri is on the list. The good news? It’s in the bottom half at 42

KCK, however, is in the top half and very nearly in the top 10 at 13.

And side note, once again, they show a picture of KCMO when trying to represent the cities.

Makes one wonder about the scale they use.

Anyway, other rather comparable notables from here in the Midwest:

Indianapolis #46
Nashville 43
KCMO 42
Wichita 38
Tulsa 34
Ft Smith and Little Rock, 30 & 29, respectively
Chicago 25
Memphis 9
Toledo 8
Gary IN 7
Flint MI 5

But dang.

St. Louis.

What a ranking. 

Check this out.

2nd worst in the nation at number 2 for worst run city. 

 Ow.

Worst----Detroit. Not a shock.

The flip side?

Best-run cities in America

Las Vegas 47
Washington DC 46
Denver 44
Minneapolis 40
Des Moines 39
St Paul 37
Cedar Rapids 23

New York 16

Lincoln NE 14

Number one belongs to Huntington Beach, CA, which is outrageously unfair. Mountains, ocean, beaches, great weather, all that and well run, too.

Disgusting.

Science in Our Upcoming Elections, State by State

Another fascinating article out this week, this one on the national elections, state by state.

The Most Important Science Policy Issue in Every State

Lots of these issues have to do with flooding, wildfires, chemical runoff and corporate farming.

Missouri’s contribution to this is fascinating and at the forefront of an issue and change.

Missouri: The fake-meat debate

Missouri has become the epicenter of a fracas between meat producers and the burgeoning “fake meat” industry, a market that has jumped 24 percent since 2015. This past May, the legislature passed a bill that bars makers of flesh substitutes from using the word “meat” on their labels. Backed by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and pork producers, the bill could stifle growth of a new industry, according to meat substitute producers. Columbia-based Beyond Meat, for instance, could likely have to change its name, and warns that the measure could result in job loss. The company, together with University of Missouri researchers, has developed plant-based burgers, chicken strips, and sausages that closely resemble real meat. Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown says the bill would do little to convince consumers to opt for the real thing.

This part is especially interesting.

In late August, vegan food maker Tofurky, along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, filed suit against the state, arguing that the new law stifles free speech and hampers competition.

From Kansas, it’s one more example, and a great one, of why we need newspapers and their reporters. In this, the Wichita Eagle-Beacon came to the rescue.

Kansas: Dry-cleaning chemicals in residents’ water

This past summer, an investigation in the Wichita Eagle newspaper found that hundreds of residents drank and bathed in water fouled with the dry-cleaning chemical perchloroethylene (PCE) for more than six years—and that state officials failed to inform the communities. At one site, PCE levels in the groundwater were 8.1 parts per billion; EPA limit is 5 ppb. As many as 22 other contaminated sites may have gone unaddressed, according to the investigation. A 1995 state law lobbied for by the dry-cleaning industry appears to be largely to blame. The Kansas Drycleaner Environmental Response Act included a provision that directed state regulators to refrain from looking for contamination from dry cleaners and “make every reasonable effort” to keep sites off the EPA’s Superfund list. Residents are calling for the state to scrub up the areas and for lawmakers to strike the part of the legislation that bars checking for PCE leaks in groundwater.

All these, from state to state, point out why we so desperately and completely need government—state and federal both. If we don’t have these governments, there are no ways to keep our air, water and soil clean and clear. Corporations would be able to do whatever they wish, people and animal life be damned.

You might also check out Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Virginia and their issues, especially.

Kansas, You're Killing Us Here

So Kansans elected and then re-elected the Right Wing, Republican, uber-conservative, "trickle down economics" demagoguing numbskull that was and still is Sam Brownback as governor and we all know how that's gone.

Deficits, slashed school spending, robbing children of state funding for programs, lowered state debt rating, etc., etc.

It's not gone well, to say the least.

And with all that, it seemed they were learning, finally, at long last. Kansans had and have a large disapproval rating of Mr. Brownback, albeit far too late. So you'd think they'd be learning, right?

Well, turns out you'd be wrong. This broke in the last 24 hours.

Poll: Trump leads Clinton in Kansas

What the freak?

Are you kidding me?

Do you people not know Donald "Don't Bother Me With the Facts" Trump supports the same kind of slash-the-taxes-for-the-wealthy policies as your failed and failing governor? Do you not know that?

Do you learn nothing?

Not only that but The Donald is far more emotional and less educated in politics and government than the Guv'. This guy is and would be a walking nightmare.

But what the heck. It isn't like we don't have our own problems over here in Missouri. Eric Greitens, Catherine Hanaway and the entire Republican roster for our own governor being the source of many.

Las Vegas billionaire contributes $200,000 to Greitens campaign

Link:  The Shameless Catherine Hanaway

Vulnerable GOP Senators In-Line with Dangerous Trump/Pence Agenda

The Republican, Right Wing Nightmare Kansas Has Become

Along with Republican Kansas Governor Sam Brownback wanting to take money from the state's pension fund in order to pay for his and the Republican Party's fiscal screw ups and nightmares, there's this, too:

Gov. Sam Brownback is cutting aid to Kansas schools by $44.5 million

I won't paste the entire article here, describing what these irresponsible putzes are doing or trying to do but here's a snippet:

Brownback’s plan takes $28 million, or 1.5 percent, out of elementary and secondary education, including $5 million from Johnson County schools. The districts taking the biggest hits will be Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley. The Republican governor also sliced more than $16 million, or 2 percent, from higher education.

So much for the education and growth of our children for our own and their futures, huh?

It's a pretty important article. I would absolutely recommend any and every adult Kansan read it and see what these chuckleheads are doing or trying to further do to your state and take from your children and even you, yourself.  

Really, Kansas.  You're better than this.  You were always smarter, much smarter than this.

Could we dispense with that whole "trickle down", cut the taxes for the wealthy and corporations idea now, locally and nationally?

Please? Finally?  Forever?

Meanwhile, seems the Republicans just don't have anything going right for them over in our neighbor state:

Director of Governor's Council of Economic Advisors arrested after DUI

Put another way, this news makes much more sense:

Brownback advisor arrested on suspicion of drunk driving

For a "Brownback advisor" to be drunk. 

Yes, I have to say, that explains a lot.

It explains, maybe, the last several years of governance in Kansas.

How Is What Kansas Governor Brownback Wants To Do Even Legal?

Kansas Governor Brownback and his very Republican cohorts are at it again.  Some more.

They haven't screwed up the state enough so they've come up with yet another terrific idea.  Have you seen this?

Brownback defends using public pension funds to fill Kansas budget hole

This is incredible.

There they are, Kansas pensions---people's money, retirement money, at that, just sitting there, like a big pile of rescue for Governor Sam "I Can Screw Up Anything" Brownback  and he wants to tap into it, take money away from and out of it, and all because he and the Republicans in his state slashed taxes for the rich and corporations, screwing up Kansas' budgets.

This is conceivable, sure, just as sure as the first robbery by one person from another ever was. 

What it also is, however is unconscionable.  

He and his Kansas Republican Party screw up, they deplete the state's coffer and budgets and so what does he want to do to fix his empty bank accounts?

He wants to take money from former and current Kansas state employees pensions and all because, well, hell, it IS just sitting there, after all.

I ask again---how in God's name is this even legal?

Why can a sitting state governor arbitrarily tap into an already set up retirement fund of working people when it has and had nothing, ever, whatever to do with a state's budgeting or taxes?

And more, is there no one in Kansas to stand up and call this out for the blatant, ugly, irresponsible, misplaced theft and wrong that it is?

No Kansas Churches or clergy or ethicists or ANYONE in the entire state who cannot and will not call him out on this?

Anyone??

Bueller?

I ask again, how is this legal?  Why is this legal?  Can't it be made illegal and soon as possible so this highly immoral travesty doesn't take place and so it can't possibly happen again, in the future?

Anyone?

At least there's this. At least our own Kansas City Star is standing up against this theft, this nonsense.

Don’t let Gov. Sam Brownback delay payments for Kansas pensions

Kansas City In Top Ten Cities Facing the "Most Danger Days"

With the warming of the planet, proven, scientifically, it becomes important to know what's in front of us.
There's a rather important article out last month from the online environmental magazine Grist:

Top 10 cities facing the most “danger days” due to climate change

So what is a "danger day"?

A danger day is when the combination of heat and humidity (also known as the heat index) make it feel like it’s 105 degrees F or hotter. Warming temperatures are about to push U.S. cities into a new regime where danger days happen regularly.
With the globe's warming temperatures, it's projected we will continue to have ever-climbing temperatures.

Of the 144 U.S. cities Climate Central analyzed, only 12 of them averaged more than one danger day per year since 1950. Most of those cities are clustered in the South where humidity tends to be worst in the morning while temperatures peak in the late afternoon.

But by 2030, a whopping 85 cities — home to nearly third of the U.S. population — are projected to deal with at least 20 danger days annually. Only nine cities are projected to experience less than one danger day per year. By 2050, just three cities could have as little as one danger day per year, while 109 cities that are home to 125 million Americans will experience 20 danger days or greater annually.

So where does this tend to look likely to hit worst? Where, in the nation, will be most heated and have the most of these "danger days"? Here are the top 10 cities projected now. And look who's right about in the middle of it all:

There is a lot of the Midwest there. Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jackson, Missouri, Wichita, Kansas all along with our own Kansas City.

Some of the ripple effects?

All that added heat will change the daily rhythm of life across the U.S. The impact on health will be a top concern, particularly for children and senior citizens. When the heat index rises above 105°F, heat exhaustion can set in and cause fainting, dizziness, confusion and vomiting. When humidity crosses 60 percent, the body also loses its ability to cool itself by sweating. Hot, humid conditions have made high school football a focal point for heat exhaustion as heat-related deaths have tripled since 1994.

Some states and cities have responded by setting up rules to cancel sports practices based on the weather forecasts while others have cooling centers and warning systems to help deal with oppressive conditions. Rising temperatures mean those plans will have to be adjusted and relied upon more regularly.

Outdoor laborers will see their productivity fall. According to findings in the Risky Business report, the productivity of farmers, construction workers, landscapers, and others who work outside could drop by 3 percent by century’s end.

It will also drive up how much people spend on energy as air conditioning goes from being handy to being a necessity. If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trend, energy expenditures could rise by up to 7 percent by 2050 and 21 percent by 2100. That added capacity will strain the electricity grid, and even violent crime could rise.

Once again, it doesn't look pretty, ladies and gentlemen.

It would be nice if our legislators---all of them---would start taking action on climate change. Heaven knows some in the business community and the lots of the military, both, already have.

Kansas Financial Woes Getting Worse

It keeps getting worse over the state line in Kansas. This, yesterday, from the Wichita Eagle-Beacon:

Kansas lowers estimates for cash reserves less than a month into new fiscal year

A bit of the story:

The state’s cash balance could be even smaller next June than lawmakers realized when they approved a tax plan in June.

When lawmakers left Topeka last month, it was with the understanding the state would have $86 million in its cash reserves by the end of June 2016, which marks the end of the fiscal year, if the governor went ahead with $50 million in cuts.

But those estimates have already been lowered less than a month into the 2016 fiscal year. The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Research Department now says that the state will have about $67 million in its reserves by the end of the fiscal year – and that’s assuming Gov. Sam Brownback makes a full $50 million in cuts.

So far, the governor has identified only $2 million in cuts.

Since Republican Governor Sam Brownback and his Republican cohorts have taken over in Topeka, things have gone to bad to worse and now, to getting much worse.

Kansans need an election.

A great, big, fat, many state officeholders election, those poor things.

As further proof of the rather ugly financial, Kansas situaion, this broke late last evening:

Despite strict budget, midyear cuts could occur, Wichita schooldistrict superintendent says

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article27954994.html#storylink=cpy

How Far Down, Kansans, How Far Down?

How far down, Kansans, are you going to let Governor Brownback and the Republicans take you before you finally, finally say "Enough!"?
Now, this, today, from the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, no less, from right in the heart of the state:

Technology education incentives cut for Kansas school districts

Kansas school districts this year will get less than half the monetary incentive they expected from the state as part of a 2012 initiative to enhance career and technical education.

A memo sent to school districts from the Kansas State Department of Education last week says the per-pupil payment for students who obtained certificates in certain high-demand fields will be “approximately $450” for the just-completed school year. That’s down from a $1,000 per-student incentive promised in the initial legislation.

“It’s been a great program. It’s been highly successful,” said Dale Dennis, deputy education commissioner. “But the appropriation was just reduced due to the state’s fiscal condition.”

So it's a great program, it's for the kids, for the students and for education in technology but due to Governor Sam Brownback's and his Republican Party's "trickle down" tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, the program gets cut and the kids go wanting.

Less education.

Less experience.

And this is a good idea how?

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/education/article25701169.html#storylink=cpy

How Much More Can----and Will---Kansans Take?

Everything Republican Governor Sam Brownback and his political party cohorts have touched, fiscally, financially and dealing with taxes, it seems, have turned to debt and red ink.

We've all been following them for these few years now and watched the debt rating be downgraded and debts rise and budgets be slashed, sure. But the latest budget cuts, now to the schools, are being the unkindest and even worst, the most painful and even hopeless, of all.

I saw this last evening:

Wichita schools would lose $22 million on possible state spending cut

And that, I thought, was horrible, for one not-that-large a school district.

But then I saw this:

Schools could lose $197 million under spending 

cut scenario

Truly horrible.

Just short of 200 million dollars, nearly one quarter of a billion dollars, to be cut from the school budgets across the state.

How do you have hope for your children, for the future, for your state, if you don't--hell, can't--invest in the next generations?

Missouri Makes A Good to Great List For Business Starts

Yes, sir, Missouri made a good list for people wanting to start a new business and here it is:

The Best (and Worst) Cities to Start 

a Business In

Trouble is, Kansas City is not in the top ten.

Not close.

Springfield is, however.

Best Cities to Start a Business
1. Shreveport, LA
2. Tulsa, OK
3. Springfield, MO
4. Chattanooga, TN
5. Jackson, MS
6. Sioux Falls, SD
7. Memphis, TN
8. Augusta, GA
9. Greensboro, NC
10. Columbus, GA

Surprised me.

Kansas City, meanwhile?

KCMO came in at number 36.

Wichita, Kansas, a not-too-shabby 16.

Omaha---30

If you check the list, the worst cities for it are in California and most of the best come from the heartland, the midwest. One thing that surely contributes, surely, is the lower costs associated with beginning a business, I should think.

One thing to note however, if "Best Cities to Start a Business In" means either next to no government oversight and/or that they pay little or no taxes, then the list becomes not just unimportant but a negative in my book. They need to be responsible members of the society, it should go without saying.

Side note: Someone needs to remind these people it's still not good grammar to end a sentence with a preposition. But especially the headline.

Link:   2015's Best Cities to Start a Business

Brownbackistan--and der Leader--in national news

And it's good news for Kansas, Kansans and even the nation, I'd argue.  From Daily Kos
 today:

Sam Brownback, in deep red Kansas, is in dire shape

Whoa! We knew GOP Gov. Sam Brownback was unpopular, but this unpopular? A new SurveyUSA poll finds Democrat Paul Davis, the state House minority leader, beating Brownback 47-41 (with Libertarian Keen Umbehr at 5), an improvement from Davis' already-remarkable 43-39 edge last October. A pair of PPP polls taken in between also placed Davis on top, and the only contradictory numbers have come from a Republican pollster (which had Brownback at just 42) and Rasmussen, which, well, Rasmussen.

What's more, Brownback has a weak 55-37 lead in the GOP primary against his Some Dude opponent, Jennifer Winn, the mother of a man charged with felony murder after a drug deal turned deadly. Winn has now become an advocate for marijuana reform (as well as hemp legalization) and says she has no specific beef with Brownback. In other words, she's a classic non-serious candidate who should be polling in single digits at best, but here she is nearly cracking 40. Ya think Kansans are sick of Brownback? (If you want to know more about why, click here.)

But wait.  It gets better.

In fact, Kansas voters don't seem to be too thrilled with Republican office-holders in general. In the Senate race, veteran GOP Sen. Pat Roberts only manages a blechy 43-33 advantage on Democrat Chad Taylor, his most likely general election opponent. A Taylor upset seems almost impossible on paper, but for an inoffensive incumbent like Roberts to be mired in the low 40s in a state like Kansas is really remarkable. Roberts does seem to be keeping his tea-fueled primary challenger at bay, though, with a 56-23 lead on physician Milton Wolf. Given that Wolf has actually gotten some attention and is at least running a traditional outsider's campaign, that makes Brownback's primary showing look even worse.

Seems as though at least Kansas, if not more and more Americans, the country over, are finally catching on to the Republicans and who, exactly, they are and are not working for.

'Cuz it surely ain't the average citizens and workers on the street.

Article and video on Wichita, KS and the Koch brothers in NYT today

First the video:

Koch County, Kansas

The Koch brothers have their name on a lot of things in Wichita, home of Koch Industries - a zoo exhibit, a YMCA, a basketball arena. But even in a city they've given millions to, there are skeptics.

And then the article:

In Wichita, Koch Influence Is Revered and Reviled

For residents of the Kochs' hometown, Wichita, Kan., the brothers are known less for their political agenda and more for their extensive philanthropy, which some see as a mixed blessing.

"More Guns!", Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita Police say a toddler died after he was accidentally shot by his four-year-old brother.

Just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, 911 received a call about a shooting. The caller was extremely upset, and dispatchers were unable to get a location from the man. Moments later, two men showed up at Wesley Medical Center with a 1-year-old child who had been shot in the chest.

Officers learned the shooting happened in a bedroom of a home in the 1300 block of North Pennsylvania, near 13th Street and I-135.

Police say three children: a four-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a 19-month old boy, were in a bedroom when the oldest child opened a nightstand that contained a loaded 9mm handgun. Lt. Todd Ojile says the child didn't pick up the gun, but was able to pull the trigger.

The 19-month-old, Tomarion, was standing near the nightstand and was shot in the chest.

The 33-year-old father of the children and his 22-year-old brother were in the living room when the shooting happened. Both men took the child to the hospital, where he died about 45 minutes later.

Link to full story with video: 

Police: Wichita toddler shot, killed by 4-year-old brother

And then there are the studies: 

 

Study: Guns in home increase suicide, homicide risk

But this is America, after all.

Finally, some good news out of Kansas

And that good news out of Kansas is this, earlier this week, from The New York Times:

School Funding Deal in Kansas Complicates Governor’s Campaign for Re-election

It seems the Guv's and Republican's earlier legislative work, IS, in fact, coming back to haunt him and hopefully, his political future:

Kansas lawmakers agreed over the weekend to send more money to the state’s poor school districts, addressing a State Supreme Court ruling last month that school financing had to be equalized around the state.

But policy changes that lawmakers added to the bill, most significantly diminishing job protections for teachers, seem all but certain to become a thorny campaign issue for Gov. Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican, as he seeks a second term.

In a state where a debate over financing for education has simmered for years, Mr. Brownback has yet to say whether he will sign the measure, approved late into the night on Sunday. But a statement from his office suggested support, reading, in part: “The bill ensures that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently, putting money in the classrooms to help teachers teach and students learn.”

If anything, the measure — and a grueling, round-the-clock battle in recent days to reach it — was an election-year reminder to Mr. Brownback and other state leaders of the complexities of Kansas politics: While the state capital is firmly controlled by Republicans, they are by no means of a single view.

It seems the Republican Party in Kansas is once again deeply split on an issue. Some are for the bill, others against. The state's Supreme Court said more money needs to go to poorer school districts, too, which a lot of Republicans want to fight but others, wisely, want to support. Then there are the extra "ornaments" which were put on the bill they're also fighting over.

It all gives Democratic Representative Paul Davis far more political ammunition and ability to stand up for the schools and school funding and so, for the people of Kansas, the "little people", the working-, middle- and lower-class people who mostly make up the state and not the top "1%."

As I've said before, I love the smell of Republican division, if not self-destruction, in the morning.

And afternoon. 

And evening.

Sam Brownback's Kansas

Did you see the latest results of Republican Governor of Kansas Sam Brownback's and his cohorts handiwork?  It's a real beauty:

Census shows more people leaving Kansas

A bit from the article:

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - New census figures show that more people have been moving out of Kansas than have been moving in recently.

From 2010 to 2013, Kansas lost 10,197 people because of outward migration, according to numbers released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The census also showed that Kansas gained 16,752 people from international migration over the last four years, but lost 26,949 to other states, which resulted in the net 10,197 loss.

From 2000 to 2009, Kansas had a net migration loss of 17,574, with most of it occurring from 2001 to 2005, when Kansas had a net loss of more than 27,000 people.

As if that isn't bad enough, it really does get worse:
As if Kansas was among the bottom 10 states in the number of people who moved in from other states compared with the number who moved out during the 12 months ending July 1, 2013. Kansas ended the year with a net loss of 12,557.
Now, sure, the people leaving very rural, nearly empty Kansas isn't completely, totally due to the results of the Republican work of slashing the taxes of the already-wealthy and heaping those taxes, instead, on the middle- and lower-classes but one thing's for sure, it surely isn't helping. It isn't helping the workers and working class people of the state, it hasn't helped businesses increase and/or expand in the state and it surely hasn't helped the budget of the state or of their schools.

Not only that but it's not expected to get any better any time soon, according to the Lawrence paper:

Study: Kansas' population to drop more | CJOnline.com

 

WICHITA — A decades-long decline in population is likely to continue in Kansas, particularly in the west of the state, and four counties could have fewer than 1,000 residents by 2040, according to a study by Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research.

 

All I can say is, Paul Davis can't become governor soon enough.

 

 



The fit is hitting the shan, economically, in Kansas

Breaking, if bad, news in and for Kansas this week:

Moody's calls school finance ruling a 'credit negative' for Kansas

Kansas Representative Paul Davis' Facebook page called it last night:

For the second time in two years, Governor Brownback's reckless tax experiment has caused Kansas' credit rating to be downgraded. This is just more evidence that his "real live experiment" is failing.

And it's more than a little bit difficult to disagree with that assessment. When you raise taxes on most people in your state--the middle- and lower-classes yet raise them on the wealthy, it's just not a wise recipe for growth or strength.

Kansas' WuShock and WSU in today's NYT

Big sports article:

The Pride of Wichita State, Whatever It May Actually Be

The really wealthy vs. you and me

Proof positive, if we needed any further, of how, exactly, our legislators, their legislation and so, our laws and finally, our government is being bought and sold, day after day in our country. From The Nation:

The Koch Brothers Spent Twice as Much on the 2012 Election as the Top Ten Unions Combined

Rocket scientist goes into a bar... in Kansas

A headline from an online rag really gave Kansans a lot to proud of a couple days ago:

Kansas man in a bar with concealed carry permit accidentally sho

True.

Wichita, Kansas:

A Kansas man accidentally Second Amendmented himself in the thigh and shot another person on Saturday morning at a bar called  – wait for it — the Shot Time II in Wichita, Kansas. The other man was described as a victim of aggravated battery.

That's not enough stupid, no. People in the state of Georgia are taking it further:

Georgia House votes to allow weapons in bars,churches

Which begs the question, what would Jesus carry?

"Small government" Republicans?

Oh, sure they are.    Well, until it comes to bringing home the bacon for their own district.

I got this email last evening from none other than Kansas Senator Jerry Moran:

NBAF Funded in Omnibus Bill
Today, we received good news — the Omnibus appropriations bill includes $404 million for construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan. For those who have questioned whether NBAF will be built in Kansas, the passage of this funding bill will provide a clear answer: yes. This investment means Kansas will become a research epicenter, and the construction of this modern, world-class facility will ultimately create jobs for Kansans in the fields of engineering, science and technology. The talented young men and women who grow up here will have the opportunities they need to stay in Kansas.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have worked to make certain NBAF remains a top priority for the Department of Homeland Security, the Administration and among Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle. I am grateful to Governor Brownback, the Kansas legislature and Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz for their leadership and support as this process continues.

A January 2012 economic impact report found the NBAF will employ approximately 326 permanent employees and support some 757 construction jobs. The facility is expected to have a $3.5 billion economic impact on Kansas in the first 20 years alone. In addition to creating an economic boom for Kansas, NBAF will protect our national economy by researching foreign animal disease threats, which are very real with devastating impacts. The cost of an outbreak far outweighs the NBAF construction cost, not only in the loss of human life but also its damage to the animal and agricultural industry.

The state-of-the-art biosecurity lab is to be built adjacent to Kansas State University. The main laboratory will boast safety and security features recommended by the National Academies of Sciences. The state of Kansas showed its commitment to this project by contributing $202 million. A funding commitment was also made to provide infrastructure repairs at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center to guarantee a smooth transition of research from Plum Island, N.Y., to Manhattan, Kan.

And of course, that wasn't enough pork, oh, no. He's not done yet:

Basing Tanker at McConnell AFB Funded in Omnibus Bill
The Omnibus appropriations bill also includes $219 million in military construction funding for upgrades to McConnell Air Force Base (AFB) to accommodate the new KC-46A tankers. The KC-46A tanker fleet will begin arriving at McConnell in 2016, bringing more than 200 airmen to the base. The economic impact in Wichita and around the state will be felt before their arrival, as military construction of the infrastructure necessary to safeguard and house the new, larger tankers begins. 

The various McConnell facility projects include: installation of the weapon system trainers to be ready for the aircraft arrival in 2016; construction of fuel cell and corrosion control hangars; construction of a parking space and hydrant fuel system; and, construction of a squadron operations and aircraft maintenance unit building. This investment is great news for our state and the city of Wichita, which is and will remain the air capital of the world. The Omnibus appropriations bill is expected to be voted on in the U.S. House and Senate this week.

Oh, yeah, they're "small government" all right.   As long as it's the other government representative that isn't getting money in HIS or her district, sure, they are.

In the meantime, this is the political party that wants to cut your, our Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, folks.

Small spending, my eye.

He goes on to say, in his email about "Discussing the Best Ways to Create Jobs and Opportunity."

Never once in the following information did he say anything of, say, a jobs/infrastructure bill he or his fellow Republicans might propose.

So much for growth in our economy, eh?