The Lee's Summit Conservative

Re-Directing to New Site For The Lee's Summit Conservative

2011-07-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

Lee's Summit, July 8, 2011 - The success of the Lee's Summit Conservative blog has made it simple to make the decision to move to our own, simpler and more agile site. We're moving to "http://www.lsconservative.com" and every blog has been transferred.

We look forward to seeing you there.

You will now be re-directed... (or click here if it fails).

Washington; What a Town…

2011-07-07T02:05:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, July 7, 2011 – I just arrived from a long day’s work (just after 11:00 PM) and read a story that truly made me wonder why I don’t blog more often. The issues that set me to the task of running a blog are still as true today after almost 3 years of doing this, as they were in the run up to the 2008 election: fiscally this country has a disconnect. Washington wants liberal (meaning freewheeling) spending, while Main Street wants Washington to be Fiscally Conservative.

In 2010, Mr. Boehner we elected literally hundreds of republicans to office with one single and very loud message; get Washington’s spending under control. Republicans promised us to fight Obamacare (you’re not doing so well there), to reduce the 2011 budget by $100 billion (you didn’t do so well there either), and to bring conservative spending habits back into Washington: Mr. Boehner, are you caving in there now too?

I used to live in Van Wert, Ohio Mr. Speaker, and I know farmers are a very conservative lot. They know that with a single rain at the wrong time, they can literally lose thousands of dollars. They spend money when they “have to” not when the “want to” because the land is an unforgiving taskmaster. I would have thought, Sir, that with Ohio as your home State, you’d understand the reasons why so much of Ohio is truly fiscally conservative.

I now live here in Missouri, and I see the same kind of people here in Lee’s Summit: hard working Americans that love to have fun, but only spend when they have to, not just when they want to.

Something must happen to Congressmen when they leave their home states and move to Washington and start to pass laws, and decide how to spend money, and how much to tax people.

NEWSMAX is running a story tonight that Republicans in the Senate have agreed to “Revenue Increases” a Washington euphemism for increase in taxes:

"If you add up all of the revenues that we Republicans have agreed to, it's between $150 billion and $200 billion," said Senator Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

Republicans, amongst themselves have agreed to “more revenue” that is a tax increase – and yes, I know I repeated myself, but this is just incredible if true.

The house Majority Leader – Eric Cantor – weighed in on the same topic and is quoted in NEWSMAX as saying:

"Any discussion about loopholes must be accompanied by offsetting tax cuts," Cantor said at a news conference.

The problem is that we cannot tax ourselves out of this situation. Tax increases are not the answer.

Let me put it this way. If you took the combined wealth of the top 400 wealthiest Americans – those that we apparently envy so much that we want to redistribute their wealth (I guess we must think that they obtained it by less than honest means) – we only come up to a measly one point four (1.4) Trillion Dollars (see the FORBES list).

Keep in mind that the list starts with Bill Gates at $54 Billion, and ends with Tamara Gustavson at a paltry one billion ($1 B) dollars. I’m certain that if you’re considering someone who makes a million dollars a year as evil and worthy of stripping their wealth, you must be a thousand times more willing to take Tamara Gustavson’s money from her.

So we strip the wealth of the entire top 400 wealthiest Americans. We leave them with a zero (0) balance in their account; and put it to paying down the debt. How big of a dent do you think it will make?

We owe 14 trillion dollars.

Their combined wealth if fully redistributed to pay the debt only covers a bit less than 10% of the debt: Then what? Who do we go after then?

In fact, if the Wall Street Journal is correct, the 1.4 Trillion we’d obfuscate from the top 400 wealthiest won’t even cover the 2012 budget deficit. The deficit is projected to be 1.48 trillion (see article here).

So tell me, is “Revenue Increase” the answer to our fiscal irresponsibility? Even when or if, or is it when actually, we strip the wealth of 400 Americans with Personal Worth of over 1 billion each, we only get rid of one year’s deficit, and not cut into the debt one cent.

We could sell the family jewels, but if we don’t quit spending, we’re going to be broke, very quickly and have nothing left to hock.

Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and the rest of the Republican’s in office thanks to the fiscal conservative nature of the 2010 mid-term election: have you forgotten why we sent you to Washington? So soon?

Washington must be one hell of a town to be able to do that to you. But, keep in mind, Main Street from Hoboken to Santa Ana, from El Paso to Minneapolis and every small city and town in the country has not forgotten.

We sent you to Washington to stop the spending – real spending, not the funny math of the 2011 budget compromise.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Creator versus Consumer of Wealth

2011-07-01T00:02:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia, June 30, 2011- Today my day started in Lee’s Summit at 3:15AM headed for a 6:15 flight out of MCI through Detroit to Philadelphia. The reason for the trip was strictly business; but I was surprised about what I learned about a small company that at one point was purchased by a much larger conglomerate: they, like the small company I work for are dedicated to the creation of jobs and the personal wealth it brings.

This company makes a unique niche market product; something no one else in the world makes. We did not know of this company a month ago, but when a critical process needed to be improved and our team went searching they found them. The company understood the immediacy of our need and provided support, adjusted schedules, and literally made what seemed only a few weeks ago to be impossible, not only a possibility but a reality.

So what?

Well, because they have this unique technology that we can use, our products are better and will reach professionals to make their jobs better. They in turn will generate more revenue (some would call it wealth) and have the opportunity to either keep people employed or hire more folks. Our customers buying from us will also help us to either keep people employed or make enough of a difference that we may hire additional people: All in the process of creating wealth for our ownership, for our suppliers, and if done properly for our customers and theirs as well.

Creation of wealth is not evil. It does not mean that our owners, suppliers, and customers are out to destroy the world. It simply means that if you have an idea, and you work hard to make it into a business you “may” reap the economic rewards. You are not ensured to obtain it, you are simply in a position to do so. Many small firms don’t last; but if their ideas were good, then others will step in with more good old “know how” plus a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears, and make a difference by generating business both upstream (suppliers) and downstream (customers).

In President Obama’s press conference he set his sites on the challenges our government faces with the debt crisis. He was right when he said that “…congress is spending too much…” but the sad thing is that he [the leader of the Free World] was passing the buck. Those who compared him to Truman missed the point. Truman knew where the “buck stopped”. Truman understood that as President you are the one who is responsible and the one who has to make tough decisions and LEAD.

I think of it this way. This week AT&T had an outage that caused our communication lines to break down. It is the end of the month, the end of the quarter and the end of the first half of the year. We could have just called our customers and told them the super hot order they had placed was not going to go out [imagine this conversation]:

Mr. Customer, we can’t ship that part your customer needs to fix Mrs Smith’s car like they promised.

Oh, why not?

Well, Mr. Customer see, AT&T lost power on our substation and we can’t communicate with UPS nor our computer system. So you see, it’s their fault not ours.

What do you think our customers would say? Would it be “oh, those terrible people at AT&T!” or maybe Mrs Smith who’s car won’t be fixed “Oh, dang my luck…. It’s ok though – it’s not your fault”

Ah, a nice dream but the reality is that no one cares that AT&T had a substation go out. They simply care that the parts they ordered arrive on time.

We did not blame AT&T (thought obviously we were not very happy) we simply understood that the day was going to be difficult, and people would have to use Cell Phones, and faxes, and printed PDF’s to get the orders to the floor, picked, packed and shipped.

President Obama blaming congress is like me blaming AT&T and thinking I’m going to get a “pass” from our customers. We both know better than that.

Leaders have to LEAD. It does not matter if we are right, wrong, popular or unpopular. Leadership is difficult; and it should be. Leadership has its perquisites and its price.

The debt situation was not created overnight. It has taken dozens of years, and many congresses to get it to this point. It is unpleasant to have to cut the budget. It is unpleasant to have to cut our favorite program. No one likes the job ahead. And no one asked Senator Obama to run for election; he chose to do it all on his own. He wanted to be the Leader of the Free World. Now is not the time to be passing the buck to Congress: past, present or future.

Now, President Obama, is the time to lead!

Do not take the American voter for idiots who won’t see what you are trying to do by passing the buck to Congress, blaming CEO’s for the uncertainty in our economy that freezes them out of hiring people, blaming the private jet industry, and blaming Bush for all your problems.

American’s believed you when you said you’d bring “hope and change” to Washington. Now is time to stand up, tighten the belt, and get the debt under control. The United States of America is not [under taxed] it is [over spent]. Greece looms large in our horizon; don’t let that happen to us. The Greek Parliament understands that cutting costs is their only solution; they know they are over taxed and still over spent.

Lead us Mr. President, don’t pass the buck.

Respectfully submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Guest Column - Missouri Senator Will Kraus

2011-06-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

June 29, 2011

A Holiday Worth Remembering

With the Fourth of July holiday upon us, I feel the need to say thank you. This holiday is typically one we celebrate with family and friends, barbeque and fireworks, whether we travel across the state or just to our own backyards. But it means so much more than that. It’s a day of gratitude and remembrance, as well.

Independence Day is recognized as the day upon which the forefathers of this country made the distinctive move to separate themselves from the tyranny and oppression of the British Empire by signing the Declaration of Independence. The freedoms those men were seeking, the self-evident truths and unalienable rights, the aptly named “American experiment,” were so important, they were willing to lay down their very lives to attain them. With their decision and their signatures, they set this country on the path to become the nation that it is today. Their strength imbued a country with the conviction and the courage to stand up against subjugation, and it is for that purpose on July 4 we celebrate the event that began the history of our great nation.

While we are discussing Independence Day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those men and women that choose to take up the mantle of continued courage and serve our country. We hear often that freedom isn’t free. I know that firsthand. I am honored each and every day, knowing there are brave people standing up for this country I love and keeping it safe, no matter where they may be stationed in the world. Our country is great for many reasons, but not the least of which is our soldiers’ belief in its greatness. They fight our battles, both here and overseas, so that we might have the opportunity to celebrate with our friends and families this Independence Day.

It is for these reasons I say thank you. I thank the men and women that rose up against those that would have kept us bound to their way of thinking. And I thank the people that still today believe that this country is great and choose to defend our very way of life.

As you celebrate this weekend, please take a moment to remember what it is the celebration stands for. We have the opportunity to gather together because we are free. We set off fireworks emulating the rockets and cannon fire that was necessary to secure our freedom. On Independence Day, let’s celebrate the fact that we are Missourians, that we are Americans, that we have the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and these gifts have been handed down to us at a considerable cost.

Please feel free to contact the 8^th Senatorial District’s Capitol office with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 573-751-1464, or e-mail at will.kraus@senate.mo.gov.

Senator Kraus - Joplin Relief Effort

2011-06-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

In the last week or so, we have witnessed the power of Missourians helping Missourians. The devastating events in Joplin have unleashed a wave of support across the state. Organizations from first responders to churches to civic groups have stepped up in various ways to offer assistance.

In the first week, officials in Joplin made it clear that, while they needed and wanted help, volunteer efforts needed to be organized and focused. Thankfully, the rescue efforts have located all unaccounted for individuals, but we know that they still need even more help with the recovery effort.

Using contacts from my church, which has already made one authorized trip and plans to make several more, I have decided to coordinate a District 8 Day Recovery Trip for June 11. We will carpool to Joplin early in the morning and return later that evening. We will have to be prepared to tackle whatever tasks that are most needed by recovery coordinators at the time. We may work in a warehouse, clean up yards, cut wood, or simply provide companionship for those affected by the tornado.

For now, please let me know, by phone or e-mail, if you are interested in attending. Also, if you know anyone in the district who might like to join us, please feel free to forward this e-mail (post). For those interested, I will send a second e-mail with more details later.

It is important to know that we will be coordinating this trip with the City of Joplin and an organization that is managing volunteers. Joplin is still asking that no one self-report to the city to help. Staying organized will be critical to managing the clean-up effort, and the city wants to stay on top of that.

I hope many of you can join me in helping our fellow Missourians.

My door is always open,

Will

Capitol Office
State Capitol Building
Room 220
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Website:
www.senate.mo.gov/kraus

Phone Number:
573.751.1464

__________________________________________________________

District Activities

This Friday, June 3, I look forward to attending the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast. I also welcome the opportunity to meet with Mayor Carson Ross.

__________________________________________________________

If you find the information in this report valuable, please consider forwarding it to friends and colleagues. They can receive these regular legislative updates by clicking on Subscribe, and providing name, city, and e-mail address.

If you would like to be removed from the mailing list for this report, please reply to this e-mail with “remove from list” in the subject line. Thank you.

Senator Will Kraus serves Eastern Jackson County in the 8th State Senatorial District.

Streets Alive During Lee’s Summit Downtown Days

2011-06-04T13:13:00.000-05:00

Streets are truly Alive in Lee's Summit

Lee’s Summit, June 4, 2011 – This year’s Downtown Days in Lee’s Summit is far more successful in the first day than last year. Marilyn Bryan of Magnetic Jewelry and Gemstone Designs has seen great foot traffic and people are willing to stop in, browse and buy our products. A couple from Greenwood that had been shopping at the booth (see picture) thought that the expansion of the food and bar-b-cue court gave people more to enjoy at Downtown Days this year.

The crowd mingled down Third Street in Lee’s Summit’s Downtown and enjoyed the great variety of products and services throughout. Places like CJ Creations who offer Handcrafted Wire Jewelry, and Stone River Natural Soaps and Goat Milk Soap.

Couple from Greenwood enjoy Downtown Days Shops

Downtown Days is for all ages and offers a great area to sit and relax, and watch life go by in a peaceful manner. As a train went by people mingled and talked waiting for it to pass. No one was upset, no one worried, no one cared: it was a moment to enjoy Lee’s Summit’s Downtown and get to know those around you.

Train at Downtown Days - a time to chat

This is what a revitalized Downtown brings to our city. It has not lost the charm of a vibrant downtown, it has adapted to the 21st Century without giving up the small town atmosphere of hard working American individuals.

Fire Twirler Entertains the Crowd

As you walk through the festivities you have great entertainment. Not only the bands on the stages throughout downtown Lee’s Summit, but also on the corner of 3rd and Douglass where a limber young lady twirled fire ropes to the delight of the audience. Young and old were mesmerized as the ropes whirled through the air in a nicely choreographed dance.

Streets Alive with Food

With all of the entertainment and shops there is one thing you have to have sooner or later: Food! Ah, the scent of bar-b-cue filled the air as you turned from Third Street along the rail road tracks: The scent of great food and hardworking people preparing the meals for the next onslaught of customers.

Streets Alive is more than the slogan for Downtown Days in Lee’s Summit; it is a matter of fact. Come down and enjoy it with the rest of us.

Relaxing at Downtown Days

Respectfully Submitted,
The Lee’s Summit Conservative

2012 Election - The Road to the White House

2011-05-15T18:05:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, May 15, 2011 – The 2012 Presidential campaign is getting underway and the list of candidates is beginning to take shape. It is very early at this point to think about exactly who is going to win the Republican Nomination but it is not too early for all of us who truly care about who the next president will be to start doing our homework.

Throughout the next 17 months, leading up to the November 6, 2012 election, I will post various posts to help you gather information about the group of candidates.

The list of 2012 candidates can be found at http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/ and you’ll find introductions, profiles, issues, websites and head-to-head comparisons for Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and Republicans.

On Saturday May 14^th 2011 Governor Mike Huckabee announced that while “All the factors say [Go]” it was his “heart says [No]” so Huckabee is out of the potential pool of presidential candidates.

The list of those who have formally declared or formed exploratory committees are:

Herman Cain (R - Exploratory) - has a strong knowledge of business. He started at Coca-Cola, moved on to Pillsburry where he quickly reached the level of Vice President before resigning and moving on to the Restaurant Industry at Burger King, where he engineered a great turn-around in a low performing segment of the hamburger giant. Next he moved on to be CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, again masterminding a turnaround that took the company from the verge of bankruptcy to a growing and successful business.

Newt Gingrich (R - Declared) – The Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and was the architect of the 1994 Republican victory in the House. He was accredited with the development and promotion of the “Contract with America” that made all national politics about local issues.

Gary Johnson (R - Declared) – He is the former Governor of New Mexico. He has a strong business background starting a door-to-door handyman business to help pay his way through college. He grew that company over 20 years to be the largest construction company in New Mexico with over 1,000 employees.

Fred Karger (I – Declared) – A political Consultant with a long track record of success getting others into office, now he’s trying to do the same for himself. Karger was the first to officially announce for President on July 10, 2010.

Tom Miller (R – Declared) – A career as a Flight Attendant. His website lists all his positions which can be summarized as “too much government” not enough “common sense” in Washington.

Barack Obama (D - Declared) – Current president of the United States of America.

Ron Paul (R - Declared) – Currently a U.S. Representative from the State of Texas, and is has practiced medicine since graduating from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon. He has served politically as the 14^th Congressional District Representative for the State of Texas since 1997.

Additional Candidates with Exploratory committees include:

· Tim Pawlenty - Current Governor of Minnesota

· Mitt Romney – Governor of Massachusetts

· Rick Santorum – Governor from Pennsylvania

It will be important for all of us to get to know our candidates, make sure we understand their positions and are able to challenge them to turn this country around from the economic malaise that is chocking the American dream today.

President Obama faces an uphill battle for his re-election campaign: Unemployment is in double digits (all unemployed, not just those still collecting unemployment benefits), $4.00 a gallon gasoline, Runaway spending, a federal debt that exceeds $14 trillion dollars, and a Democratic party that is more and more dissatisfied with his leadership (the latest example is his decision to “drill-baby-drill”).

The pundits on Fox who said that if the only thing that we have to say negative about the new drilling initiative is that it is late then we have no solid argument: the fact is that you don’t thank someone for closing the barn door after the horse got out.

I am looking forward to the debates leading up to the primaries for the 2012 election season. I think the candidates for office will have one thing in common: Smaller Government that spends less and promotes business growth.

Let’s get back to work America! It starts with the run up to the election.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

China’s Conundrum

2011-04-23T12:53:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, April 23, 2011 – Chinese Autocracy is not all that simple it seems. In Shanghai, now the most active port in the world, truckers are on strike. Yes, that’s right even China is seeing some growing pains.

My company is one of only two manufacturers of our products left in the United States; yet we both import some of our products from China. The decision is made base on what the American professional consumer is willing to pay for a product. Our highest performance products are made here in Kansas City, while our medium power units come from China.

The interesting thing is that Shanghai’s truck driver strike is only affecting some of the port; yet the Chinese Government and the Shanghai Government are both rightfully worried. At the root of the strike are two issues: 1) Fuel Prices, and 2) Fees charged to the truckers by the freight companies.

In a Reuter’s article from April 22, 2011 (see here) it claims that “A crowd of up to 600 people milled about outside an office of a logistics company near the Baoshan Port, one of Shanghai's ports. Some threw rocks at trucks whose drivers had not joined in the strikes, breaking the windows of at least one truck…”

For those of us in the United States, 600 people gathering is not a major deal; but for China – a country who does not allow demonstrations – this is a big deal: “…The strikes and protests, if they continue, could become a worry for the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which fears public discontent that could erode its authority and alarm investors…” That’s the crux of the whole thing.

I work with companies in China on a daily basis. For the most part the business community is full of entrepreneurs who seek to build wealth, make product, and provide jobs – roughly in that order. Yet, these company owners have a lot to experience yet before they catch up to the west.

Owners, like everywhere, look to the bottom line. One driver said, “…his transport company was passing on more and more costs to drivers, including for fuel, because it was making losses…”. In the United States the Freight companies pass on the dreaded “fuel surcharge” as part of their rates. We all hate it, but the reality is that fuel is a variable cost that the fleets have little control over. Granted, the fuel surcharge can be outrageously high and bears little resemblance to the actual cost of moving a truck from point A to point B.

In China’s young market economy company owners still only see “price” as their only competitive weapon. The grew up competing with Western nations and their costs after more than a hundred years of the industrial revolution. Now these companies face the most difficult of all challenges: competing with each other.

The first thing they are doing – as most have done – is to try to shift the cost burden to the labor side of the equation. This works for a while but eventually you get the pushback that is natural “Mr. Owner, you get all the profits, and I have all the cost burden – stop it!”

Seeing China go through this tells me that there have to be multiple factors in place. If fact there are:

Currency:

The value of the Chinese Currency (RMB) is strengthening against the dollar. This means that even if a Chinese company can hold their cost stable, it costs more to buy from the US and from Europe – the two biggest importers of Chinese Goods.

Prosperity Brings Inflation:

If you do not manage the situation carefully, the more prosperous a country is, the higher the demand for goods. If you couple that with people making more money, then you have a higher demand with people willing and able to pay more for things. If the demand outstrips the supply prices are pushed up – if people have the money to pay: and in China a larger and larger segment of the population has the means.

The official inflation rate for March 2011 in China hit 5.4% “…prompting officials to renew vows to use all available means to contain price rises…”

An Industrial Society Consumes Fossil Fuels:

The days of goods traveling down the river to the port are over in China. The old days of Junks doing the heavy lifting has given way to the trucks on the new Chinese infrastructure. Fuel costs, controlled by the Central Government, have to yield to market forces at some time.

Fuel costs for trucks that transport containers to the ports is climbing and someone has to pay that cost. If the buyer in Europe or in the US buys products delivered to the port (which most of us do) then the costs are incurred by the manufacturer. The trucking company loses business when other freight companies find a way to not pass the cost to the manufactures. This forces the first company to match the second and thus the cost is passed not to the manufacturer, not to the buyer but to the trucker: Bad Plan!

Rules Need To Be Enforced:

If there’s one thing I learned in my 8 years traveling to China and being driven around is that Chinese love to see how far they can push a rule. If you’ve not seen it, I truly cannot explain it to you in less than a book. Let me try to put it this way, traffic laws are only [suggestions] to most drivers, and the horn is the necessary survival tool.

However, all good things must come to an end. Rules are there to promote efficiency in transportation (at least in someone’s mind). So, the Shanghai police are starting to crack down on unsafe driving; and truckers are not exempt, nor are they happy as this man points out, “…his main problem besides rising fuel prices was that police had started fining drivers for all sorts of infraction without warning -- for not meeting environmental standards, for instance…”

So, in total you have rising fuel costs, inflation in general, pressure from buyers to hold costs, national competition, and the application of rules that were ignored for the most part till now. It is creating the perfect storm; and the Chinese Government understands the meaning of a 600 person demonstration. To the US it may be nothing; but to China it is a signal that things can quickly get out of control, especially if you put it in context with what is happening in Egypt, Syria, Libya and the rest of the region.

Things could get very interesting for all of us who import from China, and for our consumers who are used to the low cost of Chinese goods.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Redistricting of Missouri; a call to citizens to speak their mind

2011-04-19T00:26:00.001-05:00

Lee’s Summit, April 18, 2011 – Every 10 years politicians protect their own; it is time for Missouri to stand up and speak out; or accept the consequences for the next ten (10) years.

Since I earned the right to vote in 1992 at the tender age of 34, I paid attention to politics, but mostly kept my opinion to myself. In 2008 I realized that this country was built on opinions expressed openly, honestly and as factually as possible. Let the debate settle the question in the end.

In 2010 we had the census as is called for in the Constitution. We all were counted, one way or another, and Missouri lost people to other states, and thus we lost one seat in the Congress. That means the current Missouri Legislature, among all their other duties have to redraw the district maps. The last time we lost a seat in Congress was 30 years ago.

We the people of this state have a responsibility to let our Congressman, and our Senators know how we want to be represented. We all tend to behave as I used to; quietly grumble at the water cooler and then move on to our work day. What has that attitude brought us:

1) Higher taxes

2) $14 Trillion in debt

3) Recession that only the politicians feel is improving

4) More regulations than anyone in business has time to read

5) More government intrusions into private citizen’s lives.

To those who read my blog it will come as no surprise that I believe Congressman Emanuel Cleaver is one of the reasons why the last congress let spending go out of control – even worse than the previous congress.

Cleaver voted for:

1) The Health Care Reform act.

Brace yourself for British style rationing of care: That too far for you; no problem, ask the mother and father of the Canadian baby Joseph who was pulled from life support at the decision of the government (read more here).

2) TARP 1, TARP 2 (Toxic Asset Recovery Plan) – money that went to the banks (did you get any back?)

Bush was dead wrong, Paulson was dead wrong, and Obama and the last congress were worse because they knew it was wrong, and the doubled down on it.

3) Economic Stimulus Plan (the first bailout) – that the numbers show has not helped employment, but has required the bureau of labor statistics to change the counting rules to show unemployment is down to 8.6% because the rules excluded 2.4 million persons “…because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey…”

I wonder if they know they are no longer unemployed. (if you don’t believe me, check the BLS site by clicking here)

4) Wall Street Reform – that most experts say gave Wall Street more power and less oversight, while creating a larger bureaucracy in Washington. One that many believe will actually put the US at greater risk of major financial crisis (read more here).

These are things that Congressional Districts mean to you and to me personally. Gerrymandering is wrong: Period, end of sentence.

What is Gerrymandering? Here’s the Merriam-Webster definition:

1: to divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible

2: to divide (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group

I don’t agree with “defending” seats in congress or in government. When politicians split up natural voting groups to ensure that one party or another has a lead, politicians may win but I know that the citizens lose – every time.

Why do politicians get away with gerrymandering? It’s simple; we let them. Don’t let them this time.

Last November I was happy to see Senator Will Kraus fight so hard to win a race he was destined to lose. Big money came into the district and there was a strong pull for one side. Senator Krause fought valiantly and tirelessly to make sure people saw him, got to know him, understood his values, achieved a sense of how he would vote, and made the decision to elect him. Who won? The people of our district because it was an open and fair contest of ideas, and hard work backed by a proven record in the Missouri Congress.

In the same election Gary Cross fought to overcome the obstacles present with a district that narrowly swings to the Democrat side, but his work and effort and record spoke loudly and he too won election, but in the end it was the people of the district who won.

In neither case did the people simply win because they elected these two men to represent us; they won because they had a chance to make their vote matter. There was enough of a common locality that the people understood the issues of the district and had a fair fight in their hands.

That is not the case in the US Congressional District #5, that re-elected Emanuel Cleaver for another term in office. Jackson County had a record turnout and a strong support for Jacob Turk. The vote in this part of the District was predominantly conservative and we were electing Jacob to represent us. Then the Kansas City returns came in; and the election was over. The predominant Democrat voting Kansas City outnumbers the rest of the district and Turk lost – again.

Worse than Turk loosing was the fact that the 5^th District lost the chance at a fair electoral fight: The Fifth District was – many years ago – gerrymandered to provide a Democratic seat in congress. We allowed it. It is our responsibility. We punted and we have the results to measure our lack of participation in this process.

This year it is our turn again. Are we going to speak up and let the Missouri Legislature know that we disagree with the current maps? Do you even know what the current redistricting maps look like?

Missouri District Map 2003 to 2012

The current map for District 5 shows a rather odd shape when put over a county map. It is obvious that something is being done with it, but since it has been the same shape – mostly – since 1993 it might as well be left to be what it is; at least for the point I’m trying to make.

House Proposal		Senate Proposal

There are two proposals being evaluated now. Take a look at District 5 and notice the major change that is being applied to the 5^th Congressional District. As you can see Missouri is going down from 9 down to 8 Congressional districts. But a good look at district 4 shows a small reasonable change for both the House proposal and the Senate proposal. Districts 6, 7 and 8 remain much the same.

A close up view of District five (the left picture below is the current district boundaries) shows that it will have a major change. But if you look closely you see how a major section of Jackson county will be part of the 6^th Congressional district.

House & Senate Plan for CD5		County Overlay of CD5

This makes no real sense unless you study what the politicians in Jefferson City are trying to do. The Gerrymandering is not as bad as can be seen elsewhere in the united states where Districts have, in the past, been drawn only a few city blocks wide and very long to reach a specific political demographic group that meets the requirements of the current party in charge.

Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of such practices. This is not about political boundaries, but about targeting certain districts to specific parties regardless of what is best for the country as a whole.

There is no place in the constitution that tells us that there are to be Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians or any specific party properly represented in the Capitol. No, it says that the enumeration of the people is to be used to apportion representatives to the House of Representatives.

As a Lee’s Summit resident, and a constituent of both Representative Gary Cross and Senator Will Krause, I will be contacting both and asking them to keep Jackson County whole in the re-districting of Missouri. Let the voters of Jackson County and the rest of the 5^th District elect representatives based on their ability to represent the people, to be leaders in congress, and to ensure that the United States and its citizens prosper – regardless of political affiliation.


Click to see full size

The 6^th District is a rural district and its needs need to be properly represented. To add to it a large portion of the Lee’s Summit City will not help the 6^th District and it will not help us here in Lee’s Summit. Rural communities have their very own specific needs. Those should not be diluted by the needs of those of us who chose to live in the metropolitan area. The same is true when considering the needs of a metropolitan area in comparison to the surrounding rural community.

I think I would be just as negative on this plan whether I lived in 6^th District as it currently stands, not wanting the large numbers of City voters affecting the person we elect for a rural district.

We cannot sit idly by and not make our opinions know to those who represent us.

Call, write, e-mail, or text your State Representative and Senator and let them know that the current redistricting plan is bad for Missouri, it is bad for Jackson County and it is bad for us in Lee’s Summit.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Paul Zainea

Missouri HR918 - Freedom to Choose Trash Collection Services Act

2011-04-07T22:04:00.001-05:00

Lee’s Summit, April 6, 2011 – Representative Sheila Solon (MO-55) introduced a bill which requires voter approval of any contract with a single-source provider of trash collection in certain cities, towns and villages. The bill has been read twice and has been assigned to the Local Government Committee, Chaired by Chuck Gatschenberger (MO-13).

The bill introduced by Solon is of interest to the Lee’s Summit community because City Council is currently evaluating a single-hauler proposal. The text of the bill can be found at: http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills111/biltxt/intro/HB0918I.htm

Today the public hearing was completed, and Representative Gary Cross was in attendance to, as he put it “Hear both sides before I make up my mind.”

Representative Cross said that there were several speakers in opposition to the bill that included the Missouri Municipal League, Mid America Regional Council, the City of Kansas City, the City of Branson and Solid Waste Management.

Speaking for the bill were Deffenbaugh and an individual from Raytown who owns a Trash Hauling service.

Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. [according to their web site] offers a variety of services, including residential and commercial waste disposal services. They are one of the largest recyclers in the Midwest; Deffenbaugh Recycling collects, processes, and markets a wide range of commercially-generated fiber and paper products, and many other recyclable materials.

The bill did not come up for a vote and a lot of work remains to be done.

I find it very interesting that someone like Deffenbaugh would support the bill since they are sufficiently large to be very competitive in the region to gain these single-hauler contracts.

Lee’s Summit has a public Council meeting this Thursday where the Single Hauler proposal is going to be discussed (City Staff Information)

In an e-mail from Lee’s Summit District 2 Councilman Brian Whitley he stated his own opinion on why the single-hauler proposal makes sense from the city’s perspective.

1. Individuals (not covered by a Home Owner’s Association Contract) pay as much as $20.00 a month for trash, recycling and yard waste removal, however some HOA’s have much better pricing:

a. Winterset pays $9.58/mo.

b. Stoney Creek pays $9.15/mo;

c. Longview Farm and Meadows of Winterst pay $8.40/mo;

d. Oak Ridge Meadows pays $7.83/mo.

e. Woodland Glen pays $8.00/mo;

f. Timbercreek pays $7.09/mo;

Whitley wrote “The thought is that the city can leverage the homes to achieve a low price to residents”. Further commenting on fixed income residents he wrote “We have a fair number of families looking for relief”.

2. Fewer trash days of service provide for a cleaner city and eliminate the possibility of having trash cans out every day of the week.

3. City staff estimates that the additional wear and tear on the roads is $400,000 per year with 15 trash trucks on the road versus 3 with the single-hauler proposal.

The most significant point that Councilman Whitely brought up is that, “Lee's Summit can better manage its landfill. As I understand it, the city is responsible for maintaining the landfill for 30 years after closure (circa 2017) by State law. The city needs a certain amount of tonnage to keep it operationally positive but also to extend the life as long as possible.” He further added, “I want to convey that I want to keep the landfill going as long as it is economically viable for the city and its citizens.”

A point to consider as we evaluate the single-hauler proposal is that by better managing the tonnage going into the city’s landfill; it will allow the city to achieve both a profitable landfill and one whose life will be maximized.

Both State Representative Gary Cross, and City Councilman Gary Whitley have an open mind on the issue and are working to understand all the ramifications.

I don’t see the conflict here between what the City is considering and what Representative Solon proposed in HR918. Each of us can evaluate the benefits as well as the detractors from a single-hauler proposal; and if we get the chance to vote then Democracy has had its course. What I fundamentally object to is an action of this sort by City Council without the voter’s approval.

The voters of Lee’s Summit have proven time and again that they understand the issues and will support the city’s growth.

Present the facts, and let us have a chance to vote on the single-hauler proposal.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

The 2011 Budget: Government Shutdown Looms

2011-04-06T00:19:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, April 5, 2011- OK, will you explain something to me please? Was the 2011 budget not the responsibility of Reid and Pelosi last year at this time? Why are we still talking about it? Oh, yeah: Because they did not do their job in the Pelosi Congress so now Boehner has to resolve the old issue.

So, again, if that is a fact (and I don’t think you can dispute that “is” a fact) then why is President Obama saying (Fox News Story), "We've already done that twice…That is not a way to run a government. I can't have our agencies making plans based on two-week budgets."

I’m shocked, no not mockingly but seriously. I’m truly shocked about the “two-week budgets” comment. Nancy Pelosi should have done this in 2010 and the Government has been running on Continuing Resolutions since September 30, 2010. It’s not two weeks, or four weeks, and it’s not even six weeks. It has been nearly twenty seven (27) weeks (actually 188 days).

In 2009 and 2010 President Obama said, when speaking about Obamacare and the Republican opposition that “Election’s Matter” and it was widely interpreted (and acted upon) to mean Democrats won, Republicans lost so we run the show now.

The beauty of the American system of governance is that in November 2010 we had another election, and the wisdom of the Founders was demonstrated again. When 100% of the House of Representatives had to fight for their jobs, the people voted and sent a far more Conservative group to Congress with the demand that they “cut the budget and restore fiscal responsibility”.

Boehner, the Republicans and more importantly the Conservatives have been debating and arguing over the 2011 budget; with a promise to keep “cut the budget for 2011 by $100 billion”. Now the pro-rated numbers are between $33 and $61 billion. Personally I think there is $100 billion to cut; but I’d be happy with only $61 billion.

Yet President Obama is quoted in the Huffington Post as saying “…American public expects that its leaders "act like grown-ups, and when we are in negotiations like this, that everybody gives a little bit, compromises a little bit in order to do the people's business."

I can’t believe that quote; yet it read it and found the context to be accurate. So, wait one minute; it was ok for Reid, Pelosi and Obama not to do their job when they controlled both houses and the presidency. Now Boehner is the one that needs to grow up? Or maybe I have it all wrong, and what President Obama stated was a rhetorical question about the last Congress.

Let’s us cut to the real heart of the matter.

1. We are operating the Government on a $1.2 Trillion budget that was not approved by Congress.

2. The Pelosi Congress failed to pass a budget, but through continuing resolutions loaded a $105 billion requirement to support Obamacare implementation.

3. The House of Representatives passed a budget.

4. The Senate did not even deem it worthy of a vote.

5. Representative Boehner (yes Speaker of the House) has been negotiating not on the bill passed, but simply to try to get a deal that Senator Reid will deem to vote on.

6. Reid claims that the fault is with the House Republicans listening too much to the Tea Party (should have said Conservatives, but that’s ok).

7. Obama claims “…I can't have our agencies making plans based on two-week budgets…”

OK, I give – again – why is this a Boehner Congress and Conservative’s issue? Mr. Reid, you had your chance to pass a budget for 2011, you chose not to. Ms. Pelosi, you had a chance to pass a budget for 2011, you chose not to. Mr. President, your Speaker of the House, and your Senate Majority Leader could have passed the budget you wanted – you had both the House and the Senate; you chose not to.

It was your choice Mr. President, and Mr. Reid. You decided, for whatever reason, not to pass a budget and now you blame the new Congress for not wanting to negotiate with you? Either your purposefully did not pass a budget, or you could not get Democrats in 2010 to negotiate with themselves to pass a budget, and all the spending resolutions. Why are you asking the Republicans and the Conservatives to negotiate now?

I’m truly confused and ready to say “Go ahead, shut the government down; please.” If you can’t agree on the $61 billion (or its prorated amount) now; what chance does America have of ever being prosperous again? Taxing the population like some medieval surf is not going to get us out of the financial disaster quickly approaching. No, a prosperous economy is what it’s going to take.

Shut the government down, and let’s hear the voice of the people like we did in November 2010. One way or another we’ll know exactly what the American people truly want.

If you’re reading this, and got this far: What do you want from congress? More taxes? Any Budget? Or, do you want fiscally responsible actions that restrain government from over spending? Speak up; I’m curious to see if I’m the only one who feels this way, please.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Kansas City Earnings Tax Finally Comes to a Vote

2011-04-04T18:01:00.001-05:00

Lee’s Summit, April 4, 2011 – On Tuesday the City of Kansas City comes up for a vote on the Earnings tax. The current Earnings tax accounts for roughly 40% of the budget for the city. This is a major issue for the folks in Kansas City but more importantly for city council who will have to figure out how to fill in the $200 million brought in by the earnings tax.

Proponents of the tax argue that it is “not” a disincentive for businesses to move into Kansas City; yet City Officials use the exclusion from the earnings tax as a way to incent companies to come to the City itself. Lenexa has taken advantage of the Kansas City earnings tax to bring companies there. Overland Park has been the greatest beneficiary of the exodus from Kansas City, and now Lee’s Summit is finding ways to meet their budget and still be attractive to new businesses.

The earning’s tax is a debate that is truly worth having on periodic basis. The five year intervals both give some stability and some incentive for cities to prove the value of the earnings tax. This is a debate that will not be finished tomorrow at the Polls, it will come back up.

The question that I’m going to be most interested in is; will people vote themselves a 1% pay raise or vote to let the city to keep the earnings tax. I’m going to assume that a large portion of those who fight to make ends meet every day and every week just to get to the end of the month will find it difficult to not give themselves a raise.

Before we go jumping to conclusions, a recent study shows that wages from 2010 to 2011 for the reporting month of March were up 1.7% over the previous year. Yet inflation over the same period was up nearly 2.5% so in fact those who struggle, are now struggling harder as we lose our fight against inflation.

Kansas City and the metropolitan area are far better served if Kansas City’s City Council spent their time, effort and energy to bring in new businesses to the City than by focusing on keeping the Earnings Tax.

Note to KC City Council and to the Mayor: Focus your energy on jobs and bring to the inner city strong job opportunities so that those who are unemployed today, can be working, earning and spending: but it all starts with jobs – not an earnings tax.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative.

Missouri Budget Crunch - Guest Column Will Kraus

2011-03-31T18:01:00.002-05:00

Week of March 28, 2011- We’re back in session, and the key word for this next five to six weeks is “budget.” This week, the House passed a collective group of 13 budget bills, House Bill 1 through House Bill 13, which have been sent to the Senate for our consideration. The House budget totaled $23.2 billion for the fiscal year 2012 state government operating budget.

After introduction into the Senate, the budget bills will be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member. While this committee has already held extensive hearings on each state department budget, we will still discuss and amend the House proposal as we think needed before passing the bills out of committee.

When the Appropriations Committee begins to meet, I expect to start at 8:00 a.m., break for session, but then re-convene in the afternoon. Committee meetings can go until 11:00 p.m. or midnight as we pore over every item of the budget and try to squeeze out greater efficiency or eliminate waste where ever we can. Traditionally, the Committee takes about a week of this hectic schedule to do its work and then sends the bills to the floor of the Senate.

Once in the full Senate, senators take about a week to review, debate, or amend as deemed necessary, and then pass the budget bills. Generally, this process results in differences between the House and the Senate version of the budget. A conference committee, composed of members of both Chambers, is appointed to reconcile the differences. In the end, both Chambers must agree on the final version. Both Chambers must approve the 13 budget bills by May 6. The budget is then sent to the governor for his signature.

It is a long and time-intensive process – as it should be because we are spending taxpayer dollars and we need to be as watchful as we can. For the rest of the session, the pace will be fast and furious as we finish the budget, as well as finish up debate on a variety of priority bills. The last day of session is May 13.

Will the government shut down on April 9: If so, then what?

2011-03-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, March 30, 2011 – This year we may finally be getting the attention of Congress and start the country on the right path. In November American’s voted overwhelmingly for expense reduction by Washington. Dozens upon dozens of new congressman were elected on the single-minded vote: Cut our runaway spending.

The pundits are arguing amongst themselves about the impact of a government shutdown. Some say the Republicans will lose. Others claim that the Democrats will be able to take advantage like they did in the 90’s. Yet, when you look at it, it wasn’t till the Republicans lost sight of managing expenses in the 21^st century that they lost the Congress and the Senate. If that’s a loss for the Republicans, then can I have another please!

The Tea Party stands for one thing: Fiscal Responsibility. Those who hold allegiance to the Tea Party movement should stand up for what is right for the Country, not for anyone’s political career.

We in Missouri have the fun of Clair McCaskil who “forgot” to pay for a political trip taken in her own plane. Then, she also “forgot” to pay taxes on that plane; yet she did not forget to reach into our pockets for $105 Billion per year to implement Obamacare. Leadership like that, needs to enjoy retirement! Not our votes.

The same is at stake for the republicans recently elected. We wanted them to take a message to Washingon: Cut our runaway budget – significantly!

The current proposal to cut $30 billion dollars is a joke. We are $14 Trillion in the hole; let’s make the cuts that need to be made.

The one thing that the Republicans in congress need to learn from President Obama is that you get one chance to make a significant change. He bet his congress, his senate, and his 2012 re-election on Obamacare. He pushed it with all he had, and now we’re having to try to pick up the pieces. I hope we can turn things around; but I don’t think it’s going to be done till Obama is out of office.

The Conservatives need to take a page from Obama, and make the most of the opportunity they have to set the country in the right direction. Make the cuts that need to be made, and let Democrats defend their position; I think the country is tired of spend, spend, spend some more, spend even more, and tax the life out of our economy and our citizenry.

Missouri is doing it:

1) Lee’s Summit said no to the School levy

2) Missouri said cities no longer have the right to tax without a vote,

3) Now Missouri is in the process of removing the Franchise tax.

4) New Jersey is taking on special interests and reducing their budget.

To Washington: Learn from Missouri, Wisconsin, New Jersey and all the states who are mandated by law to balance their budgets. If you control it every year; on bad years you have a chance. If you lose control (as so many states have done) then you need bail outs from Washington – who simply prints more money.

The only thing our congressman need is to hear from us; often and consistently. They have to realize that those of us who voted for them are still behind them, and will be behind them through the 2012 election.

Contact your elected officials; let them know that a Government shutdown is not such a terrible thing; if the aftermath is a reduced budget. I don’t think we want to follow in the footsteps of Greece, Great Britain, Spain and now Portugal

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

The Obama Doctrine – is there one?

2011-03-30T00:21:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, March 29, 2011 – The more I hear what the pundits have to say on television about the new Obama Doctrine, the more confused I get:

Wolf Blitzer on CNN said “…the clearest form of what we can call the Obama Doctrine, when to deploy US military forces around the world…”

David Gergen a political analyst on CNN said “…the emerging Obama Doctrine. Unless we are directly threatened, he’s only going to use force in extremely limited circumstances…”

Ed Hornick on CNN Politics said “…The U.S. can intervene in conflicts overseas "when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and values are," he said. Case in point: The potential slaughter of Libyans rebelling against Col. Moammar Gadhafi.…”

Eliot Spitzer said “…there is the beginning of a doctrine about how President Obama views the use of force…”

Denis Kucinich said about the speech, “…this is a new Obama Doctrine, which is that you act on threats…”

Piers Morgan on CNN summed up my feelings – not about the speech, but the supposed Doctrine when he said “…It’s an unusual Doctrine…”

The experts can’t figure out what the Obama Doctrine is, so how are we mere mortals supposed to figure it out?

What happened (as Hornick points out in his article) to the simplicity of the Monroe Doctrine that warned European powers to stay out of affairs in the Western Hemisphere? Or George W Bush’s doctrine that the US will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise its right of self-defense by acting pre-emptively against terrorists?

Ronald Reagan had a simple and very consistent doctrine that he outlined in his 1985 State of the Union Address “We must stand by all our democratic allies. And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives -- on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua -- to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth”

No, our current president is still searching for his Presidential personality, and so far in the challenges we’ve faced – whether foreign policy, or the national debt – he has been taciturn about the tough decisions; thus the 9 day delay in speaking to the American people, and his avoidance of seeking congressional approval.

Some of the right wing pundits call it a regime and his totalitarian mentality, even Chicago style politics. I see it very differently, I see it as a human being struggling with the harsh reality that he must do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons – regardless of personal consequence. In fact, he has a hard time with the last part of it; it chides his political side too much.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Obama Addresses the Nation on Libya

2011-03-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, March 28, 2011 – President Obama addressed the nation tonight and discussed his logic for the current mission in Libya.

If you did not see it, the text of the speech can be found at: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134935452/obamas-speech-on-libya-a-responsibility-to-act

Or you can watch it on YouTube.

The thing that bothers me the most about this speech is that we should have had it weeks ago and it should have given the talking points to all those who’ve been out trying to express the intent of the united states.

Gates said that “…there are no vital interest to the United States in Libya…”

Secretary Clinton said that “… there are vital interests in the region to the United States…”

Do those two seem contradictory to you? The certainly do to me, and I can imagine what they mean to the rest of the world. Of course there is a very good thing about all the different comments, if you are looking for something you like: you find it. If you look for something you don’t like: you find it.

The problem is, what is the true policy of the United States? What are we going to do while we are there?

The President said: “…We struck regime forces approaching Benghazi to save that city and the people within it. We hit Gadhafi's troops in neighboring Ajdabiya, allowing the opposition to drive them out. We hit Gadhafi's air defenses, which paved the way for a no-fly zone. We targeted tanks and military assets that had been choking off towns and cities, and we cut off much of their source of supply. And tonight, I can report that we have stopped Gadhafi's deadly advance…”

He further said that this was a limited role for the United States, and as proof he said: “…Our most effective alliance, NATO, has taken command of the enforcement of the arms embargo and the no-fly zone.”

Yet on the same breath he went on to contradict himself by saying: “…Last night, NATO decided to take on the additional responsibility of protecting Libyan civilians. This transfer from the United States to NATO will take place on Wednesday. Going forward, the lead in enforcing the no-fly zone and protecting civilians on the ground will transition to our allies and partners, and I am fully confident that our coalition will keep the pressure on Gadhafi's remaining forces.”

So I have to ask, who is the bulk of the force and military might in NATO? Is it England? Is it Germany? Is it France, Spain, Norway, Greece, or Turkey? No, it is America, so we’re still involved and the conflict (that’s Politically Correct speech for “war”) in Libya.

Even in trying to explain how America is not involved or leading and that the mission is limited; he makes the statement that NATO has already expanded the mission to “protect civilians”.

Further to my confusion is the comment by a US Military spokesman who says (around 1:38 in the video) that “…we are not in direct support of the opposition… that’s not part of our mandate…” So if that’s the case who are we helping? Libyan opposition is moving westward towards Tripoli and breakneck speed (perhaps outrunning their own supply lines and support).

We are in a quagmire in the making. This is not a good idea, we don’t know who we’re helping, we don’t know what is going to happen, and the sad part is that it is evident that Washington doesn’t know either.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Single Hauler - Just because you “can” does not mean you should

2011-03-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

Lee’s Summit, March 16, 2011 – The fact that Government can do something, does not mean they should. It appears to be a repetitive and consistent theme with Government; they tend to do things that are not necessarily best for the community, simply because they can.

Lee’s Summit city council is forging ahead with a terrible idea, wasting councilmen’s time and micromanaging the individual rights of the citizens of Lee’s Summit. This is not a new position for me, I was dead set against a single hauler when the Sterling Hills Home Owner’s Association pushed it for all of us who live here; and more so against the infliction of unnecessary City Council Control into the lives of the citizens.

In all that I’ve read, I have not found a single savings claimed by the city; yet I received an update from Councilman Brian Whitley telling all of us in his district what the next step was going to be, and what was decided at the March 10 City Council meeting.

What business is it of City Council who picks up my garbage, and my recyclables? Why should anyone tell us who we should pick to provide a service; so long as we meet the city’s requirements?

Having said all that, what did the city council discuss?

On March 10th the Lee’s Summit City Council heard discussion on a revised citywide solid waste and curbside recycling program. You may watch the discussion on the public access channel or online at: http://lsmo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?clip_id=719 (Jump to 3B.)

Outcomes of the trash/recycling discussion:

(1) There was significant opposition to only two zones or a no zone approach. If the city were to proceed, the RFP should have multiple zones (four or more);

(2) There was discussion on an alternate proposal (i.e., licensed requirement program) whereby the city increases the license conditions for the haulers as a possible step towards improving the recycling program. The new conditions would require that a curb-side recycling service be included in the base cost of any residential curbside program offered by a licensed Lee’s Summit trash hauler. The trash hauler would also be required to take the household waste that is not recycled to our landfill;

(3) there will be further discussion and the Council expressed a desire to vote this matter “up or down”;

(4) city staff will further research comparisons of municipalities that have a “designated hauler program” vs. cities that have a “licensed requirement program”;

(5) city staff will create mock service zone options for the City Council’s consideration that don’t include HOAs that have existing programs;

(6) city staff will conduct a legal analysis to determine if we can have HOAs “opt out” of the city-wide program;

(7) city staff will prepare the conditions that could be placed in the “licensed requirement program”;

(8) city staff will gather more information regarding the school recycling program, how much is being collected and how much it generates in funds for projects;

(9) city staff will conduct a landfill life analysis based upon all of the LSMO household trash being sent to our landfill; and

(10)City staff may contact the haulers and have them assist us with the zone maps to make certain we have their operational perspective of what works best.

Since you know where I stand on this, let me ask a few key questions about this discussion:

What if I have a problem with my pick up service? Who do I call to seek redress? If I call the hauler, what incentive do they have to solve my problem? I’m only one of many thousands of homes that are all forced to use them for the service. If they only upset less than ten percent of the people, there won’t be a reason to make any improvements. Let’s face it, they are running a business, and will do everything to maximize profit from this contract. There will be a maximum level of unhappiness that they will know to be acceptable, and those of us who fall into that group will have no recourse.

Today if I don’t like the service I can call the hauler and discuss it; if I’m not satisfied, I can talk to the Home Owner’s Association and we can easily monitor it and get the issue resolved. Yet, if the city wide single hauler is chosen, that ability will be ripped away from us, and the City will decide what service we deserve.

My question to City Councilman Brian Whitley and the rest of City Council, do you truly think that Trash should be part of whether or not you get our vote? Should it not be about how many jobs you brought to Lee’s Summit? Should it not be about your ability to manage the resources available to the Fire Department and the Police Department? Should it not be about the City’s infrastructure like sewers and roads and storm drains? Yet many of us who will be unhappy with the trash service, the costs we cannot control, and the service we cannot influence will look at the name on the ballot and make a decision on a weekly problem.

The question to City Council is this; although you have the power to do this, should you? I think not. I think you should focus far more on the Economic Development of Lee’s Summit. Bring jobs to the city, increase the tax base, this is a waste of your valuable time, and it does not unite the city, it divides it.

Respectfully Submitted,

The lee’s Summit Conservative

Senator Kraus to Shave His Head

2011-03-10T22:57:00.000-06:00

Senator Will Kraus

Shaves Head for Charity

JEFFERSON CITY —On Saturday, March 12, at 4:00 p.m. Sen. Will Kraus will be at John’s Barber Shop to have his head shaved in return for at least $1000 in donations to Hope House, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

“I hope that my involvement with this auction will be meaningful, both in the form of raising money and raising awareness for a serious issue,” Sen. Kraus said.

Hope House offers a lifeline of safety from abuse for thousands of local women and children by providing education, prevention, and support. With the help of Hope House, women have been able to change their lives in a positive way.

According to Sen. Kraus’ wife, Carmen, his offer was quite a surprise to her. She noted that, “Will has worn his hair the same way for 19 years."

John’s Barber Shop is located 217 SE Douglas Street in Lee’s Summit 64063. Credit goes to Nick Swearngin, owner of the shop, for organizing this charity auction.

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On a personal note; this is something I'm going to have to go see for myself. It is a great cause, and bound to be a good time since as his wife said, he's not changed his hair style in 19 years.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee's Summit Conservative

Wisconsin, a Lesson for Conservatives

2011-03-10T22:31:00.000-06:00

Lee’s Summit, March 10, 2011 – Wisconsin’s legislature fought long and hard to accomplish what was promised during Governor Walker’s Election campaign. This is a lesson for Washington Conservatives, and I hope they are paying attention.

The most important lesson from Wisconsin has little to do with the budget, nor with the government employee unions, it has to do with keeping a promise made during the campaign even though it may be difficult.

Governor Walker campaigned on the failure of his predecessors to gain control of government spending. One could, at this point, blame the loss of collective bargaining powers to him and the republicans. However, that would be rather narrow minded. The real culprits are those who allowed government to act as though taxpayers have deep pockets and are willing to pay for anything government wants.

Here in Lee’s Summit our own School District learned a difficult lesson this year. For the first time since 1995 the citizens of this city said no to the district. A large number of people showed up to the polls and voted “No”. This was a special election with only one, very significant, question to be answered.

Wisconsin faces a huge deficit, and Missouri itself has much the same problem in 2011 and 2012. States all over this country will face very tough budget decisions that will call for deep cuts in spending and each of us will hate one or more of the line items that will see those cuts. Just like in Wisconsin we’ve made choices in the past that will come back to haunt us.

The Federal Government faces the same issue this year, a year where the last Congress decided not to pass a budget and saddle the current House with the burden of establishing a budget not only for 2012, but also for the rest of this year.

Fiscal discipline in hard!

People want a better future, and for over 200 years that has been accomplished. Yet, we now face the same issues as Wisconsin – too much spending, too little revenue. Just like you and I, the Government has to live within its means, and when we avoid it for a while we set ourselves up for tougher and harsher decisions in the future.

The future is here; we have to pay the bills.

While everyone has been focused on the Collective Bargaining issue in Wisconsin, we forget that the true issue is that the State budget must be balanced, and while we may all want to give teachers, fire fighters, police and other government employees better wages and a good retirement, the fact of the matter is that most States can’t afford it, and the $14 trillion Federal Government deficit shows that the Country can’t afford it either.

Deep cuts are coming our way, and many of our favorite programs will suffer. But while placing the blame on the Democrats, the Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals is appealing, the reality is that it is our own fault for electing people to office who try to buy our votes by spending the treasury.

Limited Government was established because Government Largesse tends to outstrip the taxpayers ability to pay enough taxes. George III learned the hard way, when the Colonies fought for independence fueled by taxation without representation.

Conservatives were elected into office in 2010 with one mandate: Regain Fiscal Discipline and balance the budget. I hope they remember that as the obstacles come their way, as they came Governor Walker’s way.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

School Levy Failure a Clear Signal: No More Taxes

2011-02-12T12:53:00.000-06:00

Lee’s Summit, February 12, 2011 – The voters of Lee’s Summit evaluated the proposed tax levy (from $6.05 per $100 in assessed valuation, up to $6.94 a 14.7% increase) and of the over 15,000 who voted on the special election, 63% voted a resounding NO.

This is a continuation of the “No More Taxes” and Fiscal Responsibility wave that swept the conservatives into power. We will see if they understand their mandate and are willing to do the tough things that need to be done. As for Lee’s Summit, for the first time in the 21^st Century the voters said no to the schools.

It is understandable to see disappointed comments from people like David McGehee, School District Superintendent, and Terri Harmon, co-chair of the Building our Future Committee. Two men who believed in what they were doing, putting their best effort forward, and still the voters said, no.

It is not a comment on their good intentions nor is it a comment on their evaluation of the pro’s and con’s of what needed to be done. They are well meaning men who lead the community in a direction they believe in strongly. It is, however, a strong referendum that City Hall should pay attention to as well on the taxation limit of the citizens of Lee’s Summit.

In an impromptu poll walking out of Precinct 13, I was talking to a small group of voters. I did not care how they voted, but had this column in mind so I asked them what do you want of Lee’s Summit Government, including the School District management. This was certainly not a scientific poll, there were six of us walking out.

Lee’s Summit voters want lower taxes, they want more job opportunities, they want less city government intervention in things that don’t require it, and oh yes one last thing; better synchronized lights on Chipman (I’ll leave this one in cause I made a promise to include it.)

In reading February 10th’s story on the Lee’s Summit Journal by Emily Jarrett and Miranda Wycoff, I was caught short by two comments that are quoted on the paper. The first:

“The people made their choice and their decision and now we’re going to have to start making our cuts,” said David McGehee, R-7 superintendent. “We’ll start working with the individual schools to figure out who’s going to go.”

The second one was;

“I hope those who voted no won’t regret it in three to four years when the impact of their decision starts to hurt their business,” Harmon said. “I’m disappointed so many people put personal gain ahead of our children.”

If they are not misquoted, and if they are not taken out of context, these two statements show that they don’t really understand the true challenge they face. Lee’s Summit did not say “fire people”, nor did we say “harm the children’s future”.

In fact the voters clearly challenged the leadership of this community to make the most of our tax dollars. There is a limit to what we have to spend, and we refuse to give a blank check with endless funds to any part of the city.

Every company that is surviving this never ending (always improving) recession has had to make hard choices. Our small company has faced record years, and yet we are looking very hard at how to improve, how to do more with less, how to satisfy our customer’s demands without increasing our operating costs. We’ve learned to squeeze the nickel till the buffalo excrements.

We are asking our District and School Administrators to find the truly important things that need to be done, and get those done – educate fully our children. The important things like classroom size, teaching tools, and electives get what is left. The nice things don’t get the money.

As a top level manager in the operation side of our company I’m constantly challenged to find the truly important things and make sure they are fully funded, and to put aside the nice things till a time when the economy is in better shape. It was the same in the early 80’s and the mid 90’s and it appears that now it is again the same.

The timing of the special election and the levy was wrong. People want government to be more frugal, to make the hard choices, and to be creative – not in how they tax us, but in how they get things accomplished with less. Necessity is the mother of invention.

We respectfully challenge our District and School administrators to be creative, to find solutions to the tough problems and to accomplish their mission with the money they have.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Tax Credit Reform Legislation

2011-02-10T20:17:00.000-06:00

Lee's Summit, February 10, 2011 - As the General Assembly looks for ways to cover as much as a $500 million shortfall for this budget year, we are forced to look in every nook and cranny for savings. From my perspective, we are fortunate to have an opportunity to take such a close look at how Missouri does business. In doing so, we can reinvent how government works for you, the taxpayer.

Because of the budget situation, one of the areas to focus on this year will be tax credit reform. Missouri has over 60 tax credit programs. Most tax credits were started with good intentions, but many have either outlived their usefulness or become ineffective. I was honestly surprised to see we had tax credits for both charcoal producers and wood energy. I was disappointed to learn that we had some tax credits that were focused on a single development or business.

This summer, a commission met to go over each of the state’s tax credit programs and offer recommendations for how each should be handled going forward. The commission was made up of elected officials and business leaders from across the state. While some of their recommendations will take time to enact, on the whole, the commission’s suggestions were solid.

This week, I introduced four tax credit reform bills related to those recommendations. One bill, Senate Bill 256, would eliminate several tax credit programs entirely. The second bill, SB 259, would put sunsets on tax credits that would previously continue to exist, meaning that legislators have to re-approve each specific tax credit program every few years. The third and fourth bills, SB 257 and 258, would put restrictions and a spending cap on the two largest tax credit programs — low income housing and historic preservation.

While some tax credit programs can, and have, yielded positive benefits for Missouri, it is my duty as your senator to make sure your tax dollars are spent wisely. Programs that are not efficient or effective deserve a closer look. I hope my colleagues in the General Assembly will be willing to move this legislation forward to have a positive impact on Missouri’s bottom line.

As always, my door is open if you have comments or suggestions on how Missouri can work better for you and how we can spend your tax dollars more wisely.

Please feel free to visit my Senate website, www.senate.mo.gov/kraus, where you can submit your ideas via e-mail.

Freedom of Speech Under Attack

2011-01-18T23:44:00.000-06:00

Lee’s Summit, January 18, 2011 – A quick review of Google News will show you quickly how much under attack our First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We are the only nation who has in the Constitution the freedom of speech. Yet over the last decade we’ve seen how far people in general are willing to accept the constant infringement into our God given and Constitutionally affirmed right to speak our minds, to make our points and move forward to find a solution.

On the web you can find places like Death and Taxes, which says they are an Indie music and culture website publishing a supposed News story by Stephen Blackwell “Should Sarah Palin Be indicted for Incitement to Violence?” At first glance it appears to be a simple minded and factless attack on Sarah Palin. But if you read it carefully you find that the key point Mr. Blackwell is making is that, even without any evidence, people like Palin, Limbaugh and Beck should be held accountable for Tucson.

No, not for their actions, but for their speech.

Paul Krugman’s OpEd piece Januray 8, 2011 in The New York Times Assassination Attempt in Arizona takes another shot at the Freedom of Speech that allowed Mr. Krugman to write his opinion piece. He hides his disdain for opposing free speech by attacking Palin, and then going further to say the following:

You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.

Again the focus is in the spoken or written word, and not as the title of the piece suggests; the acts of killer.

Another article by Carl Hulse and Kate Zernike, published on the New York Times on January 8, 2011 titled “Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics” takes a not so hidden attack on our Freedom of Speech by saying:

…it quickly focused attention on the degree to which inflammatory language, threats and implicit instigations to violence have become a steady undercurrent in the nation’s political culture…

The good news, if there is any, is that they are not trying to prevent your freedom of speech or mine, but they attack it in the halls of Congress as well.

If we’re going to talk about Tucson, then let the conversation be about the sadness and the unfairness of a one man killing spree: it is immoral to use such a tragedy to continue to attack the First Amendment, and to try to sensor our speech.

In the decades that led to the American Revolution, the writing of the Constitution and the Federalist papers people remembered what it was like to live in 18^th Century Europe where the Royals defined proper speech, and the right religion. Our founders knew – from personal and family experience – that speech and religion were fundamental rights that had to be protected.

They could have baked it into the Constitutional Articles, but instead used the Amendment process to pass the Bill of Rights, so they would stand out and be noticed by all.

These God given inalienable rights are under attack today. They are challenged by the common phrase “Political Correctness”, and by the constant barrage of offended people who claim that words are harmful.

What ever happened to “sticks and stones may break my bones; but Words Will Never Hurt Me”?

To those who will inevitably point out that there are limits, I will agree with you. The limit is set when you cross the line and libel someone. The line is crossed when a mob incited actions purposefully to do harm to others. Yet peer pressure does not justify the actions of the individual.

Stand up for your rights!

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

The Public Arena

2011-01-12T22:18:00.000-06:00

Lee’s Summit – I was shocked and saddened by the attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the shooting deaths of six others. This attack was unconscionable. It is a time for all of us to come together to grieve with the families and friends, and my prayers are with them as they weather this difficult time.

I have heard no credible evidence that this violence was related to any particular organization; it appears to be the work of an unstable individual. However, since the attack, there has been a great deal of talk about the nature of public discussion. When I served in the Missouri House of Representatives, I was part of and witness to many heated debates. The nature of American politics – and it is also reflected in the media – is to debate and argue many sides of a question. We hope that, as a result of the airing of different points of view, a path forward can be found.

We must have dialogue. However, we can take this opportunity to recognize that, just because we disagree, we need not be vicious enemies. Without violating or regulating our basic right to free speech, people can still seek to avoid violence or allusions to violence as part of the rhetoric. In our U.S. Constitution, it gives us the right to peaceably assemble, and peaceably it should be.

As public officials, we all live with an inherent risk of being a target for disturbed individuals. However, my door is always open. It is an important public service to make myself available to District 8 constituents. My hope is that this horrific crime, which was committed during an open meeting between the representative and the public, does not stifle communication between an elected official and those who elected him or her to speak for them. That communication is as crucial to the American process as is open debate.

I am currently planning a series of local town hall meetings in March. I have resolved that these tragic events in Tucson will not discourage me from listening to the people of Eastern Jackson County.

Sadness

2011-01-12T22:04:00.000-06:00

Lee’s Summit, January 11, 2011 – On Saturday I sat down for a moment to watch TV, turned on the news and was stunned into sitting down and listening to the events that unfolded in Tucson Arizona. Immediately I prayed for those who were in harms way, who were wounded, and those who died; may God be with them and their families at this hour of their need.

I sat there, saddened by what I was hearing. I listened to the story of Representative Giffords tragic encounter with someone bent on making a point, any point, just to rise up above the crowd and be noticed: A person who, for their own motivation, decided to bring harm to others.

I find that person’s actions totally horrific, reprehensible, unwarranted, and outside of acceptable human behavior.

In the same moment, while one person was out for destruction, others ran to help. In the middle of the insanity, people ran to stop this gunman and stop the madness.

Daniel Hernandez (story by The Ticket) a 20 year old Junior at the University of Arizona immediately rushed to Giffords’ side, held her head in his lap and applied pressure to the wound. At one point telling her “Just grab my hand to let me know you’re okay.”

Another man ran out of a store and moved towards the shooting, participating in the tackling and subduing of the man with the gun. A woman, who by all rights should have run the other way, noticed he was trying to get a clip onto his gun, and took the clip away.

I’m sure they handled the individual with some force. I’m certain he was not easy to keep under control. But today, by the action of the members of the community, this man was brought to justice. No lynching took place. No immediate retribution took place. No, unnecessary roughness nor foul play took place: Simply, humans reacting to a situation, helping others regardless of age, sex, race, religion or political affiliation.

These Americans helped to stabilize a situation quickly enough that in the precious moments that followed, Representative Gabby Giffords could be rushed to University Medical Center where, according to doctors, she was in surgery within 38 minutes of the shooting.

There are so many people bad mouthing America and the tone of the discourse in our country; yet I can’t help by read the stories and realize that we have changed since September 11^th, but in many ways for the better.

We as a country have taken severe blows to our collective psyche, yet we continue to prove the mettle of America. People rose up to the occasion. People in Tucson refused to be victimized on Saturday. They knew that there were victims of violence in the crowd that needed help, and they rose to the challenged. Ran towards – not away – from the danger, and gave help in every way they could.

And, it made a difference!

God Bless You All for what you risked, for what you did, and for what great losses you suffered on Saturday. My heart truly goes out to each and every one of you who were involved. There is great sadness in my heart for what you’ve gone through. And, there is great pride in seeing how you all showed America and the world, what it means to be Americans.

We don’t run from danger, we gather together and do what must be done, for the right reasons.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative

Senator Will Kraus Sworn in as Senator for the 8th District

2011-01-07T12:00:00.001-06:00

JEFFERSON CITY, January 6, 2011 — Senator Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, took the oath of office today, officially becoming senator for the 8th District in a ceremony that began the First Regular Session of the 96th General Assembly.

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve in this position,” Sen. Kraus said. “Today marks a new chapter in my life as a legislator. As part of this new Senatorial class, I am ready to hit the ground running in order to make this state a better place to live, work, and raise a family for all.”

Senator Kraus spent six years serving the 48th District in the Missouri House of Representatives. He is a decorated Army pilot whose practical experience will stand him in good stead navigating the difficult terrain of Missouri’s economy.

“While today is a day for celebration with friends and family, tomorrow begins the real work,” Sen. Kraus said. “People need to know that we are here for them and to work on issues such as our economy, job creation, and a responsible state budget in order to make Missouri a stable home for generations to come.”

Senator Kraus serves the 8th District in Jackson County. To stay current on Sen. Kraus’s legislative actions, please visit his website in the Missouri Senate www.senate.mo.gov/kraus.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative