There's Something Rotten in Johnson County...

Johnson County Community College rightfully boasts of its well-deserved reputation as one of the nation's leading community colleges and most affordable choice for students seeking a variety of career and degree-focused programs, but a recent controversy over free speech threatens to tarnish that legacy.

Kathy Brown, a professional attorney, nurse, and student at JCCC in early 2009 alleges that the college violated her First Amendment rights and has stonewalled an internal investigation into the matter.

Brown says she was told by one professor she could not criticize Islam, and she was reprimanded by another professor for arguing her opposition to gay marriage in a private conversation with another student.

The response from college administration officials? The "Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion" (which aptly reeks of political correctness run amok) informed Brown of the unwritten and informal (but apparently, enforced) "Discomfort Policy" at JCCC, which bars any speech that could be construed as offensive or cause someone to feel uncomfortable.

After met with such ridiculous free speech restrictions and justification, Brown took her case to the JCCC Board of Trustees, but in the 15 months since she launched her complaint, but strangely, the Board has offered no details for the delay and stonewalling, and no hints that a resolution is even near.

Brown gave a detailed and impassioned account of her story and determination to achieve a just resolution and acknowledgment of wrongdoing at last month's Board of Trustees meeting, but the Board was strangely tight-lipped on the matter.

It's difficult to prove discrimination, bias, and violation of one's rights if you are not of a protected or favored class in today's society, and that challenge is compounded by
a policy that is unwritten but very much enforced.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. I have information from a current student who was belittled and asked by JCCC officials to change her shirt on two different occasions: once, when she was wearing a College Republicans shirt and on another occasion where she wore a shirt commemorating our troops' sacrifice in Iraq.

Kansas Watchdog, Kansas Reform, and Ben Hodge have reported on this local controversy. Now we at the Kenig Konnection call on JCCC and the Board of Trustees to respond to Brown's complaints, provide a resolution, hold the offending parties responsible, and end this "Discomfort Policy" once and for all.

Video courtesty of KansasWatchdog.org

2nd District: Sen. Pyle faces state investigation over improper use of campaign funds

Dennis Pyle has some explaining to do. Pyle, the Hiawatha state senator mounting a challenge against incumbent Republican Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (the only house incumbent in KS facing a primary challenge--an unusual move) is being investigated by the state Ethics Commission for allegedly using funds from his state senate campaign to finance a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with campaign consultants for his congressional bid. Using funds raised for a state race for federal campaign activities is a violation of campaign finance law and could carry a heavy fine, and possibly cripple Pyle's campaign before it has the chance to gain any traction.

Pyle's response? According to KC PrimeBuzz:

“I expect the left to resort to these tactics,” Pyle said. “The people of
the 2nd District deserve a true conservative.”

News to Sen. Pyle: if you made a mistake, man up to it. This has nothing to do with being a conservative and your "conservatism" should not provide cover for breaking the law. A lapse in judgment or oversight can happen without any malicious intent--especially with the myriad of rules and regulations in Kansas campaign finance law. However, it is better to admit the mistake and move on then to feign innocence and presume that your ideology trumps violating the law.

Major GOP win in Hawaii

The GOP is on a roll. After winning the governorship of New Jersey, Republicans rocked the political establishment by winning Ted Kennedy's seat in the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts.

Now, Republican can add Hawaii's 1st congressional district to their list. Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou won the special election this past Saturday to succeed Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for Governor. Due to the special circumstances of this race (two Democrats--Colleen Hanabusa and Ed Case--ran in this open, free-for-all, winner-take-all election), Djou did the impossible and won with 40 percent of the vote, compared to 31 percent for Hanabusa and 28 percent for Ed Case. Djou won't have much time to rest though, as he will be defending his newly-won seat in congress this November.

Hawaii's first congressional district is its most urban, and includes all of Honolulu. The win is a major victory for Republicans--not only did Djou run as a fiscal conservative opposing Obama on healthcare, Cap-and-Trade and other initiatives, his win represents the first time Hawaii will be represented by a Republican in more than 2 decades and only the second Republican to represent the islands on Capitol Hill since statewood.

And let's not forget that this district is Obama's childhood home and gave him 70 percent of the vote in 2008. Will it be difficult for Djou to retain this seat? Yes, but not impossible: George Bush garnered 47 percent of the vote here in 2008.

Here's a visual breakdown of the district's vote. Notice the sea of red!

Which state will be the next to turn from blue to red? Republicans can't take anything for granted--as the Democratic retention of Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district proved last week. But with the right candidates, the right message, and the right ground game, Republicans can continue to pile up wins in blue states.

And the Winner Is...

Yesterday, UK voters came out in droves to vote in their first national elections since 2005 and the winner is...

Well, let's just say that the British Elections are like our 2000 U.S. Presidential Election Redux. It's like deja vu all over again. The Conservative Party needs to gain an absolute majority in Parliament (326 seats) to form a government on their own. The vote counting lasted long into the night, along with reports and complaints of long lines at polling places and masses of people being turned away (again, similar to our 2000 election).

Check out the BBC's live feed for the latest results, vote count, and news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/liveevent/

Most recent estimates have the Conservatives at 305 seats, Labour at 258, and the Liberal Democrats (a third, center-left party) at 57 seats. The Conservatives are just shy of a majority, and will need the support of the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government, a phenomenon that Britain (a country that prides itself on stable governance unlike its neighbors in Europe that often see coalitions form and governments fail routinely) has not witnessed in several decades.

It is disappointing that the Conservatives under-performed considering the weakness of the British economy, the unpopularity of Gordon Brown, and a wave of scandals that have plagued the Labour party, but it is worth noting that Labour suffered it's worse showing since 1931. Based on current estimates, Labour ranks in the House of Commons will be reduced from 341 to 258, a net loss of 83 seats, while the Conservatives will increase their share from 193 to 305-307 seats, a net gain of 112-114 seats. And despite the buzz over Liberal Democrat candidate for Prime Minister Nick Clegg's performance at the debates and the possibility that his party would make its strongest showing ever, the final results demonstrated that the opinion polls were not to be trusted: the Liberal Democrats will actually lose 6 seats in Parliament, falling from 63 seats to 57.

Despite the outcome of a hung Parliament, the shift to the right in the UK in in line with recent shifts to the right throughout Europe. Add Great Britain to the list of western nations with center-right governments amidst discontent with the European social democracy-style welfare states and the high taxes, massive deficits, high unemployment, and stagnant GDP growth. France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, and now Great Britain, among many others, are trending rightward.

Barring any major surprises, it is safe to say that David Cameron will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the first Conservative to hold the nation's highest office in more than 13 years.

Tax Freedom Day

Americans worked from Jan. 1st to April 9th of this year just to pay federal, state, and local taxes. That's 27 percent of the year! If we were required to pay for the government spending that has added to the deficit, we'd be working until May 17th.

Check out this analysis from the Tax Foundation: http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday.

GOP frontrunner Yoder continues momentum, raises over 500K in congressional bid

Last quarter, Rep. Kevin Yoder sent shockwaves through the political establishment in Kansas by raising 233K in less than a month. Now, Yoder has surpassed that incredible fundraising benchmark by raising nearly $267,000 during this 1st quarter--bringing his total fundraising to over $500,000. And this was all done without personal loans to his campaign.

To put that in perspective: Kevin's fundraising prowess surpasses that of leading candidates for statewide office, clearly demonstrating the excitement and energy here in the 3rd District to replace Dennis Moore with a real fiscal conservative.

Kevin Yoder has decisively maintained momentum as the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination and the overall favorite to win the GOP primary and beat Stephene Moore in November.

The 3rd District is clearly responding to Kevin Yoder's message of fiscal restraint, accountability, and reigning in Washington spending and regulation. Yoder will cast his first vote against Nancy Pelosi for speaker, unlike Congressman Moore's wife, who has already pledged to be a party-line vote for government healthcare, cap-and-tax, expensive and economically counter-productive stimulus bills, and abortion-on-demand.

Interested in becoming a Yoder Voter?

Check out www.yoderforcongress.com.

Call these House Members Now!

Konnection Readers:
I apologize for the long lapse in any updates to this blog. Work (a.k.a., real life for most of us in the private sector) has consumed my time and I recently took a brief week haitus to travel to Sydney, Australiato visit a friend. I will be updating the blog with my travel experiences in Sydney later, including some interviews and insight gleaned from their current local debate on healthcare reform and the local mood ahead of President Obama's visit later this weekend, which has (ironically) been scaled back due to the healthcare takeover his party is attempting to ram through this week. More on that soon.

For now, this is a crucial week as the Democrats still do not have all the votes they need to pass healthcare even on a simple majority vote using the "nuclear" option, especially in the house. If you oppose this heinous bill and want the congress to completely start over from scratch and work out a fiscally-conservative healthcare reform bill that empowers individuals and doctors rather than the federal government while expanding opportunity for medical innovation and promoting competition to bring down prices, contact the House Democrats listed below. The list below is provided courtesty of DickMorris.com as all of these members have been identified as swing votes whose support or opposition will make or break the bill, possibly ensuring its defeat once and for all.