Despite the struggles of the Great Recession and the need for jobs, Republican legislatures across the country have engaged in a concerted effort to legislate a woman’s right to choose. There is settled case law that abortion is a legal medical procedure in the United States, and yet several states have banned late-term abortions after 20 weeks, the so-called “fetal pain” bill, so far this year. This conflicts directly with the fetal viability standard ruled by the Supreme Court, and seems destined for a challenge.

The murder of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita in 2009 changed the landscape for women in the state of Kansas and the medical personnel who provide services to them. With Sam Brownback’s election as governor, the legislature rushed to take advantage of this new landscape, and by mid-May had passed new restrictions on abortion providers.

The specific rules and regulations were just announced, and they take effect July 1, leaving the three providers about a week to meet the new requirements. One has already announced that they won’t be able to do so.

Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore. It’s looking more and more like Gilead.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach campaigned heavily last year on stopping voter fraud by illegal immigrants and manipulation of elections by “unscrupulous attorneys.” Fast forward to last Thursday, when the FEC accepted an audit of the Kansas Republican Party’s books during 2007 and 2008 that shows illegal contributions from businesses, misstatements of contributions and expenditures, and undisclosed expenses for delegates to the 2008 GOP national convention.

The head of the Kansas GOP at the time? Kris Kobach. Sounds like he really knew what he was talking about when it comes to unscrupulous attorneys trying to manipulate elections.

In one of the local Kansas City area school districts, a proposed levy increase that would have put an end to three years of major budget cuts failed, and so the cuts continue even as enrollment rises. In Wisconsin and elsewhere, cuts are driven not so much by the economy but by union-busting politicians. Elsewhere in the US, teacher layoffs are being announced. ‘Tis the season . . .

And yet, despite all this, the teachers still teach.

I am so grateful for those who taught me, and even today I am still realizing just how much of a gift they gave me.

Today’s installment of Republicans Are Totally Not Racist At All Nope pays tribute to Kansas state rep. Connie O’Brien, who has zeroed in on a foolproof way to identify undocumented immigrants:

Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State is pushing for new laws to stop what is essentially nonexistent “voter fraud.” These laws would just happen to also make it much harder for younger, more urban, and poor individuals to register and vote. These are groups that tend to vote more often for Democrats.

You may remember how, in 2008, Michigan’s Republicans planned to conduct voter caging at the polls based on foreclosure lists (Democrats went to court to stop this).

It appears the Republicans–this time in Kansas–are trying similar cynical efforts to capitalize on the housing crisis with robocalls telling voters they must own a home to vote.

Kansas – Carry On My Wayward Son Them old geezers can still wail…! What’s on your mind tonite…?

Today, important primaries are taking place in Michigan, Kansas and Missouri. FDL Elections will be live blogging the results as they come in this evening.

The disconnect between the Masters of the Universe, whether on Wall Street or at the Fed, could not have been clearer in this last week. When you compare the mindset of Wall Street and the Fed with the economic conditions that local city managers are seeing, people notice that city services are being squeezed and jobs are being lost. In places like Topeka, the city budget for next year envisions lower revenue, which is hardly a sign of economic recovery. When the monthly consumer sentiment survey showed people are losing confidence in the economy, Wall Street was shocked. Maybe they ought to get out a little more, and talk to some city managers.