Years from now political scientists may still be studying Jan. 18, 2012. That’s when Wikipedia and other websites went dark and social media lit up in a protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., an original sponsor of PIPA, long ago withdrew his support and changed his Twitter avatar on Wednesday in sympathy with the protesters. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, spent the day tweeting about his opposition. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., made the Kansas delegation’s opposition unanimous later Wednesday, also via tweet: “Put me down for NO. The current #SOPA and #PIPA bills could destroy online entrepreneurship and innovation.” By Friday, both the Senate and House had retreated from action on the bills in their current form. But the problem of online piracy isn’t going away. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said his House Judiciary Committee “remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”
Gov. Sam Brownback’s goal of a “fairer, flatter and simpler” state tax code doesn’t extend to the state’s nearly 100 sales-tax exemptions. As a candidate, he likened ending such exemptions to raising taxes, and he told The Eagle editorial board last month that he’d been advised by current and former legislators that trying to end such exemptions would invite “a big fight for not a lot of money” – though they add up to $4.2 billion a year in tax savings for select groups. But state Sen. Dick Kelsey (in photo), R-Goddard, argues that doing away with dozens of sales-tax exemptions would enable the state to lower both the statewide sales-tax rate and individual income-tax rates. “My mantra is very simple. Everybody or nobody,” Kelsey said. “Why should government decide that my good works are better than your good works?”
Human trafficking cases have more than tripled in four years, with 28 cases last year, according to Wichita police statistics. That’s shocking and intolerable. The Legislature needs to heed prosecutors and victims’ advocates who appealed last week for tougher laws. Sedgwick County Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett urged lawmakers to increase penalties on those who buy sex. Currently, men who pay 16- and 17-year-old girls for sex face only a Class C misdemeanor, which carries the same type of penalties as driving with a suspended license. As Bennett argued, “We need to do more to attack the guys who are the purchasers.”
“They’re probably closer to 1 percent.” – U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (in photo), R-Fowler, on how Congress’ approval ratings in the 1st Congressional District compare with its 11 percent nationally
“To clarify my video – I’m not wearing a pink shirt! It’s just the lighting!” – Huelskamp again, tweeting about a Fox Business network interview on the debt ceiling
“I’m hopeful that we will be strong enough, actually have the guts to do this.” – Rep. Melody McCray-Miller, D-Wichita, on whether the Kansas House will take action against House Speaker Mike O’Neal for forwarded e-mails mocking the Obamas
“I’m just thankful that the speaker hasn’t put me on any of his e-mail lists.” – Wichita schools superintendent John Allison, when asked by The Eagle editorial board about whether he’s enjoying his job despite state budget cuts, boundary struggles and claims by O’Neal and others that the district has plenty of cash
“I see this being a nightmare for all providers.” – Sen. Dick Kelsey, R-Goddard, on the governor’s plan to convert Medicaid into a managed-care program
“The dark lord of the anti-immigration movement.” – Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., referring to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and his new alliance with Mitt Romney
Years from now political scientists may still be studying Jan. 18, 2012. That’s when Wikipedia and other websites went dark and social media lit up in a protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., an original sponsor of PIPA, long ago withdrew his support and changed his Twitter avatar on Wednesday in sympathy with the protesters. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, spent the day tweeting about his opposition. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., made the Kansas delegation’s opposition unanimous later Wednesday, also via tweet: “Put me down for NO. The current #SOPA and #PIPA bills could destroy online entrepreneurship and innovation.” By Friday, both the Senate and House had retreated from action on the bills in their current form. But the problem of online piracy isn’t going away. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said his House Judiciary Committee “remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”
