Brownback continues his effort to woo the pro-life crowd and changing his track record on issues of special needs.



That starts by recognizing that everybody is a beautiful somebody. Our culture is at its best when we protect and encourage the weakest. Every life, at every stage, in every place has a dignity beyond our imagining. Every human – especially the most vulnerable, the unborn, the infirm, those ravaged by age and those desperate in despair – should be protected in law, loved, and told repeatedly of their incredible beauty and worth.

Brownback, here signalling that Kansas will be the home of more anti-choice legislation also wants to note his success helping to take care of those who are 'sick and informed'. This policy, which in the last year resulted in the closure of the only public homeless shelter in Crawford County, Kansas and is seen by many healthcare advocates as damaging to the longterm work in Kansas has led to an uptick in jailing those with mental health issues - and at least one known suicide as a result.

Governor Brownback, however, loves to remind us that we should look for the beauty and worth in people - assuming you aren't LGBT, a student or have a mental disability.

As Governor Brownback continues, he takes veiled swipes - a dog whistle - at the rise of gay marriage, choice, and other issues that are 'immoral' as the cause of Kansas problems.



The truth is we have tried something else in our country for too long. We have focused on personal satisfaction and chance, not obligation and sacrifice. That is not the way “to the stars.” At its core the renewal of America, comes down to the family. No government should ever be big enough to substitute for the family. While many of our problems are economic and we will be second to none in addressing them, the reality is the solutions are principally cultural and moral. While it isn’t always easy to talk about, we should be talking about our culture and its renewal. We should be talking about things like character and courage. Faith and freedom. Sacrifice of self. Morals. Obligations and Responsibilities. Not as dictated by government, but as emitting from our hearts alive with a loving God.

Ours is a particularly difficult time because our biggest challenges are internal. We must renew the American culture. We must renew the American family. They both need the intangible traits our Founders put in the Seal of our state. The heart of a pioneer. The love of a healthy family. The courage of a warrior. The work ethic of a farmer and the Soul of an everyday Saint. Those traits don’t come easily. They are the product of much sacrifice, day after day. They are also the product of clear vision. The aspiration of a society that knows where it is headed…to the stars!

Of course, simple words often don't quite address how we feel about the big issues. Leave it to Governor Brownback to chose his role, equating himself with modern day sainthood.The question now remains: what will be the sacrifice at Governor Brownback's alter in Topeka to reach the goal of a new Kansas that matches his family values to solve our economic tax related issues?

And while healing the family may matter, you have to also wonder if the state might be prepared to admit that turning over the collection of child support to private entities has not been entirely successful.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

In March 2013, however, the Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced that all child support services would be outsourced, and a request for proposal was issued. Not limited to enforcement, the contracts would include services connected to court petitioning, locating parents, and establishing paternity, which had never been in private hands before. "Collection is a function that can be carried out more efficiently and more cost-effectively by private companies," DCF secretary Phyllis Gilmore said at a press conference. Similar blanket statements, seldom backed by empirical evidence, are often echoed by privatization proponents, regardless of which public services they want to outsource.

With a speech in front of the capital, Governor Brownback has offered his vision for a new, morally focused Kansas that will solve all economic problems. The question remains: how much penance is in it for those who are in those "Spiritually Dark" areas?

Time will tell.