Most lawmakers wouldn’t want to be caught appearing to vote against God, especially in an election year. That’s surely why a bill creating an “In God We Trust†specialty license plate attracted a whopping 117 votes in the House this week. But give state Rep. Nile Dillmore (in photo), D-Wichita, one of only two “no†votes, credit for having the courage to use the bill to make a point: Nearly halfway into the session, he said Monday, “we have not talked about health care, minimum wage, immigration or tax relief for fixed-income seniors. Instead, we spend our time naming highways and issuing commemorative license plates. Someone needs to say enough is enough and demand we get down to business.â€
Let it also be said that the “In God We Trust†plate does not seem to fit the specialty plate program, which is designed to raise money for colleges and causes, or to honor Kansans such as veterans or, as in the case of another bill that passed the House this week, “gold star†mothers.
41 Comments
Are they going to also do “In Allah We Trust” and “IN Buddah We Trust”?? If not a lawsuit should be filed. It is a clear case of establishment of an official state religion.
I agree with Legislator Dillmore on this one. The State should refrain from putting religious sayings on license tags especially when the legislature can’t seem to get any of the important business accomplished.
Perhaps the saying should be: “In God we trust … since we can’t trust the Kansas legislature to get it done.”
I applaud Rep. Dillmore’s bold challenge to his colleagues, and especially to Speaker Neufeld and the Republican Party WHO CONTROL the House agenda. Quit pandering to the electorate and the special interests.
Kansas deserves better legislatures!
Phantom
Posted February 29, 2008 at 6:52 am | Permalink
Kansas deserves better legislatures!
Hmmmm…stupid is as stupid does. Remember, most Kansans believe that the infinite universe was created in six 24 hour days.
Good for Representative Dillmore.
As it turns out, the people who serve in the Kansas Legislature are the lowest-paid of all state employees.
Obviously, Kansas operates on the merit system.
Glad to know my volunteering and working on his re-election two years ago was not a waste of time. My kind of representative! Nice to know common sense, tho rare, is not completely dead in Topeka!!!
Carbon dating can be fudged, creation did only take 6 days. Dinosaurs helped build the pyramids. Picture The Flintstones with a Bible.
Yay! Dilweed - er Dilmore made his objection by a “no” vote.
The measure passed and Dilmore made a statement.
Let’s move on, nothing here to see.
That has been a complain of mine since I was able to once again watch CSPAN. It is truly amazing the amount of time wasted on pandering and not doing the important things. You are free to have every surface of your car covered except where it concerns your visibility. With any slogan or proclaiming of your stance you wish. If you have ever seen “the truck” the one whom sides are covered with pictures of aborted babies. You may wish that was not so, but this is state recognition of a particular Religion. That is unconstitutional to say the least, if you wish to have something put on your vanity plate that is your privilege. There are some restrictions, such as it has to be somewhat different then anyone else since there are registered to an individual. I have seen “R-U-SAVED” once, but that again is the person and not the States whom made that recognition.
Reg–
Have you ever met Rep Dillmore? He is a hard working, dedicated representative who listens to his constituents, puts in a lot of time and effort and really does care. I have worked with him (am heading for Topeka this afternoon) and found him to be responsive, reasonable and a decent person.
As such…I take exception to your cheap shot on his name. That is pretty juvenile.
Voting against God, he’ll probably get recalled
Oh, you mean like Bushco, Repukes, Bushbot, Reichwing, etc. etc.
Or perhaps you favor MonkeyHawk using Todd Tiahrt dead son to make his own ideological spew.
Whatever floats your boat Taz.
The story is still a non-issue and Mr. Dilmore’s objection, while so noted, is trivial and an unimportant news story.
Leave it to the WE Editorial Department to make a mountain out of a molehill.
If you’re going to try to raise money, you want to sell something people will buy.
They will buy a lot of “In God We Trust” specialty license plates.
Nope…I don’t like any of those cutesy insulting names that people have used. It reminds me of 3rd graders making fun of peoples’ names, and strikes me as nothing more than childish taunts.
If someone needs to resort to such immature tactics, they obviously don’t have much to contribute.
Okay Taz, fair enough. I apologize for calling Mr. Dilmore - “Dilweed.”
Hear hear, I totally agree with Representative Dillmore. If half these goverment officials had their way they would make a license plate “en espanol” that this immigration thing is out of control.
What upsets me is that its no small secret, its just selective ignorance by goverment officials that the feds have passed the buck to the states. Step up people!
It really irks me that when I call a goverment office in this state I have to press one to speak English. What that tells me is that our state is contributing to the support of illegal immigrantion.
It would seem they have more rights than the handicapped.
I think the idea of a bi-lingual country is crap. America is supposed to be an assimilation of cultures united under one ideal.
I’ve worked construction for 30 years and worked beside and with many illegal immigrants, it’s not that they don’t understand English it’s that they don’t want you to think they do.
Do not perpetuate our ignorance by catering to theirs.
I’ve been coming to Topeka every session for the past four years, and, quite frankly, this is the most “do nothing” session I’ve *ever* seen. Today’s floor fight is going to be over campaign finance laws. The moderate Republicans and the Democrats want them passed. The so called “conservatives” who control this place (although that control is slip slip slipping away) like the status quo, and like the ability to play “hide the sausage” with campaign money.
Rep. Dillmore is right. This legislature has better things to do than to argue about renaming highways and issuing commemorative license plates. He’s not exaggerating - that’s the most substantive stuff that’s been passed out of here so far. All else this year has been gamesmanship and posturing.
May can’t come fast enough.
Blogging from the Rotunda,
Tom
Outlander,
For whom would “In God We Trust” specialty license plates be raising money? Your church? John Doe’s? ‘Cause “all” churches doesn’t work. Try again.
Well, I don’t know RD. Where do you think the extra fees that the purchasers of specialty license plates pay, goes?
Maybe to the State of Kansas?
“Charles Simpson” (Homer’s stupid brother?) says –
“…with many illegal immigrants, it’s not that they don’t understand English it’s that they don’t want you to think they do.”
Yeah, and any time “they” speak Spanish, they’re talking about you! aren’t they?
So did you turn in the “many illegal immigrants” you’ve worked with? Did you turn in their employer for hiring many illegal immigrants? Or were you the employer of those msny illegal immigrants?
BTW Taz, my representative is Oletha Faust-Goudeau.
outlander, while the extra fees from the “In God We Trust” plates may well go to the state treasury in total, that is not true as to all specialty plates. For example, if one looks at the link in the header, the KU, KSU, etc., specialty plates related to colleges and universities, e.g., some of the extra fees go to the alumni associations of said schools, which, of course, are not public agencies.
OK, counselor, I should have added, “fees not elsewhere directed”.
Thank you sir, may I have another!
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Vaughn Tolle
Posted February 29, 2008 at 9:41 am | Permalink
outlander, while the extra fees from the “In God We Trust” plates may well go to the state treasury in total, that is not true as to all specialty plates. For example, if one looks at the link in the header, the KU, KSU, etc., specialty plates related to colleges and universities, e.g., some of the extra fees go to the alumni associations of said schools, which, of course, are not public agencies.
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KU and KSU are not public agencies/universities?
When is the last time license plate fees went to Friends University?
As I understand it, the extra fees for the newest specialty plates for the fight against breast cancer will go to that group.
No, Regular, the extra fees to the alumni associations of the universities, not the universities themselves.
RD, yes, you are correct. As there is no group, as such, for the “In God We Trust” plates, all the extra fees would go to the state, which, as was pointed out by Rhonda, is a departure from the normal practice.
Folks, ya gotta realize that we had a choice of either electing these “Do nothing Pillars of the community” or building another prison to keep them in. Except for the excessive cost of a new state facility, both would have the same results: Nothing, 0, zero, zip, nada. In God we Trust? You betcha! He endowed us with the good sense to elect’em. Already have a building and security ready to go! Elect ‘em so everybody can watch the “circus clowns” do nothing but flapjaw. Glad we have at least one guy who hasn’t lost site of the goal.
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Vaughn Tolle
Posted February 29, 2008 at 10:04 am | Permalink
No, Regular, the extra fees to the alumni associations of the universities, not the universities themselves.
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So Alumni associations of Public Universities are not chartered as Non-Profit organizations under public law for the purposes of providing financial /motivational support of said State/Public universities?
Are you saying that Friends University Alumni Organization could request and receive funds from License plate fees?
Regular, I believe that the Friends University Alumni Organization could approach the legislature for a bill which, if it passed and signed into law, would allow for Friends University specialty plates, with some of the extra fees paid to the said Alumni Organization. IIRC, there must be as a part of this, a showing of a potential market for these plates (note: limiting this discussion to college/university specialty plates) which would justify the production of the same. Note that the specialty plates that provide the additional fees for the alumni associations are the ones bearing the Jayhawk, the PowerCat, the Ichabod, the WuShock, etc., and the general license plate fees do not become a source of funding for these alumni associations.
I could give a crap if theirs In god we trust license plates, and I beilive it Mr Dilmores position that it was a waste of the Legislatures time to have hearings and debates on the issue when their are more important issues to be done, especially considering that the Legislature often has to go into special sessions to get the work they have to get done finished. On that point I dont disagree with him on. But this doesnt seem as big a waste of time as the recent lets condemn rap music debate.
I like the concept of being able to ram your belief in God down someone else’s throat and to be able to feel self-righteous and holier-than-thou about it at the same time.
That’s what radical right-wing Christianity is all about.
But these license plates don’t go nearly far enough.
I want one that says “My Christian God can kick your non-Christian god’s ass, you heathen POS”
:roll:
If a Christian can’t be proud of his superiority to every other religion (and many Christian denominations), what the hell is there to be proud about?”
I ask you . . .
Regular
Posted February 29, 2008 at 7:57 am | Permalink
That’s exactly the point Reg, nothing here to see. They are doing nothing in Topeka but apparently twiddling their damn thumbs!
Can we have a license plate that says, “In Reason We Trust” or “In Science We Trust” for those of us who don’t believe in magical sky pixies and other silly childish superstitions that gullible, small minded people believe in?
Thanks, Reg…
And Doug, I totally agree with your thought, but I want MINE to read “In Flying Spaghetti Monster We Trust” or “Touched by his noodly appendage”.
Just requesting equal time….
When will they propose the “No Evolution Here” tag?
Perhaps they can use all that money to fund the abstinence only anti-birth control lying misleading fundy indoctrination they’ve insisted on putting on our kids in school.
I wonder if they contacted opponents to the bill to come testify before they opted to discuss it…you know, because Zigfried says that when it comes to legislation, the opposition has to be contacted before a hearing date can be proposed.
Do you suppose they contacted the atheists?
I’ll bet not.
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