could you please remove the last sentence of your title ...

Solidarity

and mess with retirement

Please send good vibes to Kansas. Right now (yes, at 10 pm on a Saturday night), the capitol building is full of teachers who are there to watch the legislature vote to revoke their tenure. 500 teachers are sitting in the gallery while the legislature keeps going into recess, waiting for the teachers to leave. But the teachers are staying put. Kudos to them for their courage and stamina!

There is an appalling lack of transparency in the KS legislature. And their lack of respect for teachers is well known. These reps need to come on out of hiding and own their vote.

I'm almost out of power, but I have tl post this. After hiding from us for 10 hours, House Repubs are now crying crocodile tears over children, saying they've been abandoned. Damn right, by the Legislature failing to adequately fund public education. Now they say it is the fault of schools and teachers.

They are passing themselves off as the saviors of children. Makes me want to puke.

Not surprisingly, Republicans forced another recess, until 9:40. We all stood up, completely silent, and raised our hands for Kansas kids and schools. We're getting stronger. I'm so damned proud of these teachers!

Thank you for reaching out to me! I’m very supportive of teachers (my mom is a teacher) and find teaching to be the most important job in the world! I’ll make sure that teachers can still have bargaining rights, etc. and I’d like to protect education funding. You mentioned Colorado paying teachers more, I’m waiting to get funding information regarding Colorado spending per pupil as various reports show Kansas spending more per pupil than Colorado.

In regards to your claim about jobs, Kansas’ unemployment rate has gone down since Brownback took office. We have lost Boeing, etc. but other aviation companies have hired more people as well as other sectors.

Please keep in contact with me.

For Kansas,

Michael O'Donnell

I'm almost out of power, but I have tl post this. After hiding from us for 10 hours, House Repubs are now crying crocodile tears over children, saying they've been abandoned. Damn right, by the Legislature failing to adequately fund public education. Now they say it is the fault of schools and teachers.

They are passing themselves off as the saviors of children. Makes me want to puke.

For years, development on the Kansas side south of town has far exceeded development on the Missouri side for one reason: schools are better in Kansas. Just compare Leawood with Martin City. That can and will end if this continues. Look at 135th St west and east of State Line. Do they have any idea with the economic effects of this will be? Even if they don't care about kids, I'm surprised that they don't care about money.

they are still at it. This is the first day past the end of session. I wonder how long they will go and how many days past session this will take? They come back on the 26th I believe for veto session. Good grief, can't they just pay for the schools like they are supposed to? From what I have heard they are trying to make up the required increase in education spending by using the teachers retirement funds. They will still get their retirement until it runs out of money because they will eventually be used up. I don't know for sure about that but that is one of the things I heard yesterday from a friend involved. More pass the buck for someone else to have to deal with it later.

I think we can prove once and for all that a teabagger legislature is a very very bad thing.

Don't know if anyone is still awake reading this. We're not done. House has not recessed or adjourned (on break), wnich means the bill could be reconsidered. The Senat may be meeting soon, and would consider the House bill. And the House also created a new conference committee for a substitute bill, which would allow them to put the whole conference bill they just defeated back into play.

So we're stuck here. Thank God Kansas Democrats brought in candy bars and sodas!

I heard a bunch of little rumors about what was going on yesterday, talked to my friend who plays it very close to his vest and he was not really talking much so they stay rumors. He is there still. He has to be in Wichita tomorrow to present to something then I guess back here on Monday if they do not settle this. If I am still awake when he gets home I will see if I can get something out of him. My guess is he will look at me like I am a nut, climb the stairs and be asleep before the door to his room closes. He left here are 8:30 AM.

They will be back in session this morning. My friend came home about 3:30 AM. I believe they go back in around 10:30 this morning. I don't know if we will end up more screwed with the totally funded education they come up with because of the Kansas Supreme Court orders or if we would end up with it being worse the way it was.

After this year I don't know how much of anything can be worse. The Health Care decision the other day made me cry. Most of it made someone cry while the 1%, the Kochs in particular, and the NRA made out happily.

intended to break us

How on earth could they actually get away with taking due process away from teachers? Today will be interesting. If you are still at the Capitol keep us up please. I want to check in from time to time and hopefully get some good news for a change. Will we get it? We live in Kansas, home of the Kochs and the teabaggers. We have had a few victories but not a lot. Hopefully we will be able to add this.

Both House and Senate are meeting today. Teachers! We need you now. We shamed the House into rejecting the bad funding bill because we stood as witnesses, and we won!

But we need you now! I know it's Sunday, but there are people who say you should have fewer rights than an accused criminal. Grab your phone and chargers, and get in your car and come to Topeka. The nation is watching us. Your students are in need. What will you say years from now about this day? That you stood in the gap? Or that you stayed home?

@RepJimWard: Rumor is conservative leadership has changed 8 votes they will now vote to deny basic due process to teachers. #ksleg

Please continue to do so. Did teachers show up again today to protest? I wish I could be there with them.

in Susan Wygle's office

They want people to teach math and science without teaching certificates? Seriously? How covert their attempt to Intelligent Design our schools by adding math into the mix, . Who would ever guess ? Why math? That is a new one to me.

Is this going to be settle today, one way or another?

they will play games all day long and hope that teachers leave because they will be in their classrooms tomorrow and when the majority of teachers leave they will pull out the dirty tricks

giving them advice

There is confirmation that the Kansas NEA director Heistand has confirmed that the Koch Bros have traveled to Topeka Kansas and have set up shop in a Senate office of Sen. Wagle to personally oversee the attack on public education in Kansas. The Senate went into recess until 3pm which I'm guessing was to escort the legislators to a make shift throne room to kneel before their rulers.

These guys get personal here in Kansas. The fuck with everyone but it is personal here. They have been testing their product and screwing with our elections and laws for a good long time. The teabagging here has been going on long before the teabaggers ever even got started. I seriously doubt the Koch brothers make personal appearances in other states Senate Presidents office very often but they do here.

Senate still not in session. House recessed until 6 pm. I'm calling these GOPers out. They're yellow, they won't act when the/people are watching, and they lie easier than the rest of us breathe. ‪#?notgoinganywhere

you all had to go home and teach to lower the boom. This is pretty much why our lobbyist has to stay even though there is nothing there for him or our organization. The minute your presence is not felt they KO all you worked for, all you hoped for and all of anything that had been already productively taken care of.

wonder if Monday might be #BlueFlu

RIGHT NOW the KANSAS Legislature is voting to strip KS teachers of their right to Due Process. The most disgusting part is that the Koch Brothers have been spotted in the Capital trying to sway the vote. If you are on twitter or have friends on twitter please tell them to tweet to ‪#?ksleg‬ and ‪#?ksed‬ to .@KansasGOP and tell that that teachers and Kids matter over Koch money!! If you don't tweet here is the Senate roster http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FSEwtWG1p5M&h=cAQHriNDe and here is the House roster http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FYjcvvhKEc1&h=HAQGzq-Hu -->please start sending some emails and calling!!!

Let us know what happens.

I can't stand this. I really thought that I could hack it here. Great great grandaughter of some serious Free Staters and LIBERAL elected state officials. It meant enough for me to stick it out this long but I just want to go to an island and live out the rest of my life in peace by the sea until I die or it swallows me up. I am so seriously depressed after this year. Nothing even makes sense. Teabagger thought never does and it hurts.

for the rest of our lives

will not be voting for this. Thankfully she was one of the moderates that made it through the Koch brothers/Brownback killing field last election. She is a good woman and will and always seems to do the right thing. Pretty liberal for a Republican, was a much better deal than the Democrat that ran.

and installed a Michael O'Donnell he is nothing but a puppet for them

Jean was a republican but she was a decent person

I am never all that happy when they come over with all their conservative baggage but she is a decent woman. She is running against Kobach right? I hope she beats the snot out of that snarky, snotty little man.

I think she will win if the Koch mafia stay out of it.

Well there ya go. I think a whole lotta things would be different in this state if the Koch mafia stayed away from all of it. It is too late now. There is nothing even resembling common sense coming from any of our elected officials.

and it is all sad

reading some of the stuff that comes out of our legislature and I scratch my head and wonder what in the hell I just read. I read it again. Same thing. These people don't think well. Everything this session was put into terms of predicting what was coming and legislating against something that has not happened yet and might not but we are ready boy oh boy. Just let those Obama liberals try this just let the feds try this, we are ready for them. Put one of "our animals" on the endangered list? HA! Beat you to it. You can't cause we say so and we said so way back int 2014, HA. It is simply crazy shit. I am so tired of it. It almost feels like being in Jr High school again passing notes about who like who and how to make them look at you.

Gotta run for a while. Will check back when I return. I hope all goes well but with the Koch's there twisting arms I have a terrible, bad feeling that even the few moderates we have left on the Right we will not have enough to stop this.

or Koch Brothers that

Susan Wagle is an ALEC member and on the National ALEC Board. Corporations with anti union ideology, push her swing. The Koch Bros were just reminding her of that fact today...up front and personal. Checking the ALEC rolls at AlecExposed.org...I counted 29+ Kansas ALEC members ...all GOP. This bill is an ALEC template bill...whew hard work...all that photocopying must wear them out!

KS House has adjourned! Thank you. Your support means so much to all of us in the Sunflower state. The legislature was supposed to go on a 3 week break. Haven't heard if they will now or not.

without a resolution to this bill. Veto session is the 26th I believe. I think they have to come back tomorrow and keep working. Did they pass a bill and send it to the Senate? If the Senate does not vote for it they have to come back. ***I could be wrong but am remembering back from the year they had to deal with the budget and they went a month or longer over session time.

DONT FORGET: Sen. Arpke (R-Salina) was the original sponsor of the amendment that stripped Teachers of Due Process Rights!

(and then he voted against the bill because it didn't CUT education funding enough!) ‪#?SnakeInTheGrass

Tom has been there every step of this horrific mess.

http://cjonline.com/news/2014-04-06/equality-kansas-lobbying-against-bill-end-teacher-tenure

We lost in the Senate. We have to defeat this bill in the House! House reconvenes at 9:00. Keep calling and emailing your House Reps. They need to hear your voice!

Was it close? I'm so sorry and angry.

The Senate just passed the bill with the ALEC corporate tax credit "scholarship" provision and elimination of due process for teachers. Time to contact your representatives in the House and urge them to vote against it. Otherwise it becomes law, assuming Brownback would sign it.

#2 Remember, the House is less crazy this year than the Senate. Last year it was the other way around. Hopefully, and that is a huge leap of faith to even hope, they will not vote for this.

Tonight? They want to go home. There is also that. Those people would vote to kill off half their constituents if it meant they could go home.

We lost tenure rights in Michigan, too.

giving the Koch's the right to buy all politicians.


We are all F@#%

OK, the Senate approved the conference report 22 - 16. More on who did what later. The House goes into session at 9 pm. We're not done!
Last night, many of us thoughg we were defeated. But we held firm and won! Many of us, MANY, are staying.

We need you to again call and email legislators. Tell them the people of Kansas are watching! News crews are all over the place. Stand with us! ‪#?notgoinganywhere

Hear are the Sedgwick County State Senators who voted (big time hateful) against public education and are clearly dedicated to doing what the Kochs and the ALEC tell them to do ...no may matter how many hard working teachers and schoolchildren it hurts. The anti-teacher, anti-public school vote passed the State Senate and know goes to the State House tomorrow and if they pass it, the Governor's desk.

Sen. Susan Wagle - Happy host for the Koch Brothers

Sen. Michael O'Donnell who probably has the most middle income and lower income public school children in his district than any other Sedgwick County state senate district.

Sen. Mike Petersen (tons of working families in his district that DEPEND daily on teachers and public schools)

I say 'big time hateful' because the things that were said today during the debate about teachers and public schools today were shameful and sounded like they came straight out of the right wing crazy GOP playbook. The State House will vote tomorrow. Will try to post names of our local State Reps tomorrow who vote to hurt our local schools.

Voting against the bill in the Senate on Sunday (public education supporters): Abrams, Bowers, Faust-Goudeau, Francisco, Haley, Hawk, Hensley, Holland, Kelly, Kerschen, Longbine, McGinn, Pettey, Pyle, V. Schmidt, Wolf.

The House gallery is filling up, and a lot of the people are those who came in today to take over for those who had to leave. Is this the beginning of a new age of activism for Kansas teachers? Time will tell. ‪#?notgoinganywhere

we are fucked

I am so sorry for you and all the educators, heck I am one although I never taught in a school even though I was educated to do so. I am sorry for the Kansas school children who will suffer even more from this and I am sorry for Kansas. If anyone needs a spur to get others to become active all they need do is show them what happens when you house criminal billionaires and let the entire party that would fight them go without funding or attention for years. THIS is what happens. What you have done, you and your friends and the teachers is all we have. What Equality Kansas has done is nothing short of miraculous when you think about it yet....yet.....we will never be better than this after 20 years (that is a guess, I don't know how long they have actually been working on this state) of Koch brothers work and nothing to help those of us who do fight get even close to in the game. There is now at least one generation grown and probably two considering what the Koch brothers father was up to before, who have been raised on the breast of the teabaggers/libertarian Koch brothers idea of what life should be in the country. I don't know how we ever change it now.

and broken


and quite honestly faithless

I know what it feels like to work so very hard and get clobbered anyway. It sucks and it hurts. You will continue but since this part is over go rest, read a good book or two then put your toe back in. As long as I am here and draw breath I will fight these bastards but I gave up any notion of making any real progress quite a while ago. I do have to say, Equality Kansas is still hanging tough and making a slow slog through but it should not be so hard as it is.

I am so sorry.

So I expect we will be seeing a lot of The Brothers now hmmmm? I guess they are our honorary mascots? How dare they flaunt their unelected asses into the middle of our legislature on the day they vote on their very own outside the government bill.