The Community Bridge Blog

Podcast Special: The Hidden Hands in Redistricting

2011-10-09T08:02:00.003-05:00

Special podcast: In the first story of a new series, Propublica reporter Olga Pierce and news application developer Jeff Larson examine how corporations, unions and other special interests are manipulating the redistricting process in their favor by funneling money through purportedly independent redistricting groups.

As these murky groups play a more dominant role, Pierce and Larson explain on the podcast this week that voters are the ones ultimately losing.

“What we're trying to point out is that drawing the maps to benefit a particular person is kind of problematic. If you're an outside group creating a safe district for a particular person, then essentially what you're doing is you're taking away people's votes,” Larson says.

Pierce adds, “What more fundamental tenant of democracy is there than ‘one person, one vote?’ If that's gone, then what else is there?”

For complete transcript, visit: http://www.propublica.org/podcast/item/podcast-the-hidden-hands-in-redistricting/

Meeting Community Healthcare Needs

2011-09-18T10:50:00.002-05:00

On August 30, 2011, the Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice sponsored a community forum featuring representatives from local hospital, mental health and dental services who responded to questions from the audience regarding the needs for low cost health care in the Manhattan area and service accessibility.

Podcast Special: Kansas Equality Rally Speeches

2011-08-08T16:35:00.003-05:00

On August 6th, Kansas Chapter of the National Organization of Women and the Kansas Equality Coalition held a rally for equality at the state capitol building in Topeka. The rally was in response to attacks on the free speech rights of Kansans by the Brownback administration. You will hear Tom Witt, Kari Ann Rinkner, Pedro Irigonegaray, and Mark Manning as well as the voices of four participants.

Additional Links:

Kansas Equality Coalition

Kansas NOW

As Brownback prays, opponents rally, by Phil anderson, Topeka Capitol Journal, August 6, 2011.

Statehouse Live: People rally at Capitol to protest Brownback policies, by Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal World, August 6, 2011.

Gay rights group protests Gov's trip, by Fredrick J. Johnson, Topeka Capitol Journal, June 24, 2011.

Kan. gay rights group protests at Statehouse, by John Hanna, Associate Press (via Dessert News), June 24, 2011.

Kansas Equality Rally

2011-08-02T11:44:00.003-05:00

Community Bridge opens this week with Tom Witt, President of the Kansas Equality Coalition, for a discussion of the upcoming equality march and rally at the state Capitol on August 6th. The rally is being called in response to Sam Brownback's hijacking our state government for his own agenda and his efforts to hijack as well the First Amendment rights of all Kansans who disagree with him by treating opposition groups differently than those who support his imperial governorship. Then we will hear a short clip from the Best of the Left podcast and close out the hour with Lynne Davy from the Riley County Humane Society.

Additional Resources/Links:

Sam Brownback downplays his involvement in creepy prayer rally, by David Martin, The Pitch, August 2, 2011.

Critics blast Brownback for attending prayer day hosted by ‘inhumane’ anti-gay groups, by Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal World, August 2, 2011.

Brownback Stops Gay Rights Group From Flying Rainbow Flag, by Christina, Plucky Magazine, July 26, 2011.

Dissent Is Patriotic: 1st Amendment, Freedom and Equality!, by Kari Ann Rinkner, Kansas Free Press, July 15, 2011.

Gay rights group protests Gov's trip, by Fredrick Johnson, Topeka Capitol Journal, June 24, 2011.

Kansas NOW sends complaint to Brownback, by Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capitol Journal, June 13, 2011.

Kansas NOW delivers $4,000 worth of miniature tires to Rep. Pete DeGraaf for his rape comments, by Peter Rug, The Pitch, June 3, 2011.

The Christian Patriarchy Movement

2011-07-22T09:50:00.003-05:00

Community bridge opens this week with Kathy Cook, Executive Director of Kansas Families for Education, discussing the upcoming Save Our Schools Rally that will take place at the Capitol building in Topeka on July 30th beginning at 11:00 am. The rally is part of a national effort to put the public back in public education! A national rally will take place in Washington DC at the same time.

Then Community Bridge welcomes Kathryn Joyce, author of "Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement," published by Beacon Press in 2009, for a discussion of the movement, how it saddles women with a life of submission and near-constant pregnancies, and a look at evangelical Christians new campaign to adopt children from around the world in order to spread its ideology.

Addition Links/Resources:

The website for the Save or Schools Rally.

Save Our School rally on Facebook.

Read Kathryn Joyce' s article on the patriarchy movement on Alternet

Read Kathryn Joyce on Quiverfull for Babble.com

Read an article based on the book in Mother Jones

Read Kathryn Joyce' s article on the Quiverfull movement on Newsweek.com

Read Kathryn Joyce' s Salon.com feature on a former Quiverfull adherent and how she left the movement

Read Kathryn Joyce an essay by Kathryn Joyce on Killing the Buddha.

Read an interview with Kathryn Joyce on BuzzFlash

July 21: Global Warming - What every person needs to know

2011-07-22T07:53:00.002-05:00

In the second hour, Charles Rice, distinguished K-State Professor of Soil Microbiology and President, Soil Science Society of America, joins us for a discussion of what science knows about global climate change - and it isn’t what the corporate media is saying! Contrary to what the US media and the New York Times in particular has been saying, there is not disagreement in the scientific community on this topic. Global warming is happening and it could drastically alter life as we know it. Rice also gives a report on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting preparing for the 5th Assessment Report which took place this past week in South Korea.

Additional Links/Resources:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Help Fight Climate Change - The Nature Conservancy

The Basics of Global Warming - Environmental Defense Fund

Climate Change - the Environmental Protection Agency

What is Global Warming - The National Geographic Society

Global Warming - National Resources Defense Council

The Heat Is On: The Climate Crisis, The Cover-up, The Prescription, by Ross Gelbspan

The Heat is On website.

What's Causing the Flooding on Wildcat Creek?

2011-07-16T14:21:00.002-05:00

Community Bridge opens this week with representatives from the Wildcat Creek Watershed Council to discuss the recent flooring in west Manhattan, the impact development is having on the watershed and what alternatives exist. Joining for the discussion in studio will be Rod Harms, Commissioner Rich Jankovich and Eric Bernard.

Additional Links/Resources:

Wildcat Creek Watershed Council webpage.

Rising Waters: Flooding nearly reaches 500-year storm levels, Rachel Spicer, K-State Collegian, June 8, 2011.

Quick Flooding Prompts Evacuations in Manhattan, John Milburn, Associated Press, printed in the Lawrence Journal World, June 2, 2011.

Manhattan and Riley County plan for future flooding, Lindsey Elloit, KTKA News (Channel 49), June 16, 2001.

Photos of the June 2, 2011, flooding on Wildcat Creek from NBC Action News.

Exposing the American Legislative Exchange Council

2011-07-15T15:50:00.004-05:00

In our second hour, Christopher Renner connects with journalist Beau Hodai for a discussion of the American Legislative Exchange Council. What Is ALEC? They meet in secret. They write our laws. And they want to silence the American people.

On March 15th, University of Wisconsin Professor Bill Cronon posted a study guide on his blog on the history and actions of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). He asked: What is behind the “sudden and impressively well-organized” wave of right-wing legislation targeting workers, students, women, immigrants, and the environment in state legislatures? He found that all roads led to ALEC.

ALEC is a conservative think-tank run by right-wing politicians and corporate and financial interests within the banking industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the big oil and gas industries, and others. They are aligned to many right-wing and conservative interests, including the election-manipulating Koch Industries. ALEC is funded by the Koch brothers to promote an agenda that curbs individual liberties, attacks unions, the social safety net and seeks to insure that corporations pay no taxes, but benefit from all sorts of tax-payer dollars in return. Much of the legislation passed in the during the 2011 Kansas Legislative session was ALEC inspired, including cuts to public education, the "administrative reforms" Governor Brownback has imposed on the state, and Kris Kobach's Voter ID bill.

Additional Links/Resources:

ALEC Exposed, website - a project of the Center for Media and Democracy.

Publicopoly Exposed: How ALEC, the Koch brothers and their corporate allies plan to privatize government, Beau Hodai, In These Times, August 2011.

Corporate Con Game: How the private prison industry helped shape Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, Beau Hodai, In These Times, June 19, 2010.

ALEC Exposed, John Nicholas, The Nation, July 12, 2011.

ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection, Lisa Graves, The Nation, July 12, 2011.

ALEC Bills in Wisconsin, Mary Bottari, PR Watch, July 14, 2011.

The Latest Threat to Health Care, Andres Grimes, MS Magazine Blog, July 15, 2011.

ALEC Exposed: State Legislative Bills Drafted by Secretive Corporate-Lawmaker Coalition, Democracy Now!, July 15, 2011.

Billy Bragg website.

ACTION ALERT: Stop ALEC's end run around the law

From Common Cause:
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a secretive front group of hundreds of corporations that are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation at the expense of the middle class.

ALEC has drafted more than 800 model bills for state legislators, including efforts to privatize everything from schools to prisons, to weaken workers' rights, and to make it more difficult for citizens to vote. They even wrote a resolution in support of the horrendous Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for corporate money in our elections.

Worse, they are lobbying in state capitals across the country, all while claiming to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that they are a charitable organization. That means that their corporate backers can take a tax deduction by giving money to ALEC to – guess what? – push for more tax breaks and less regulation for their companies!

Under the law, charities are allowed to lobby, up to certain limits, and they must disclose what they spend on that lobbying work. ALEC's annual filings state that they have engaged in zero lobbying activity.

Tell the IRS to launch an immediate investigation into whether ALEC is committing tax fraud.

The Flint Hills Discovery Center

2011-07-08T20:01:00.003-05:00

During our first hour this week we take up the Flint Hills Discovery Center with its executive director, Bob Workman. The Flint Hills Discovery Center celebrates the importance of the tallgrass prairie, through a presentation of its geology, biology and cultural history. With 7,000 square feet of dynamic permanent exhibits, visitors will learn the importance of this rare eco-system and its rich biological diversity. Visitors will also learn how the first Native peoples lived here in harmony with nature for 13,000 years, and how Euro-Americans adopted grazing as the principle economy of the Flint Hills that has essentially saved it. Workman discusses the architecture of the building, its green features, and what the Center will offer the people of Manhattan and the state of Kansas.

Additional Links/Resources:

Kansas - Flint Hills: tourism resource site.

Flint Hills map and resources - Kansas Geological Survey resource site.

Flint Hills Scenic Byway is the gateway to the tallgrass prairie. It offers travelers an unchanged view of the grasslands of the Great Plains. Explore historic sites, quaint towns, and scenic vistas as you discover where the West truly begins.

Flint Hills Nature Trail is a 117 mile rail-trail in northeast Kansas. It crosses 7 counties along its east-west course.

Protect the Flint Hills is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information and education about issues that affect the Flint Hills of Kansas, the last expanse of tallgrass prairie on the continent.

National Geographic Photo Gallery: The Splendor of the Grass.

Konza Prairie

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Beattie Linestone

The Future of Water in Kansas

2011-07-08T19:00:00.002-05:00

For our second hour, Chris Cardinal, Legislative Director for the Kansas Sierra Club, joins us for a discussion of water policy for the state of Kansas as well as discussing some strategies people who are concerned about the environment can employ given the actual political reality.

Additional Links/Resources:

Kansas water policy must transition from development to management, by Doug Rich, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, 2010.

Perspectives on Sustainable Development of Water Resources in Kansas, by Marios Sophocleous, editor, Kansas Geological Survey, 1998.

The Future of Water - Podcast from American Public Media.
Water on earth may be more scarce than you may think. Charles Fishman, author of "The Big Thirst," talks about what people should do to help secure the world's water future.

Vision: The Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth Is Our Roadmap to a Liveable Future, by Nnimmo Bassey, AlterNet, June 6, 2011.

Gas Drilling Companies Hold Data Needed by Researchers to Assess Risk to Water Quality, by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica,May 17, 2011.

Federal Budget Deal Slashes Key Community Water Funds, by Judith Lewis Mernit, High Country News (via AlterNet), May 12, 2011.

Privatization Has Failed to Deliver Safe, Affordable Water for All -- Here's a Better Idea, by Mthandeki Nhlapo and Peter Waldorff and Susan George, AlterNET, April 28, 2011.

Discovering Queer American History

2011-07-03T12:57:00.002-05:00

Community Bridge celebrates the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots this week with Michael Bronski, Senior Lecturer, Women's and Gender Studies Program at Dartmouth College for a discussion of the his newly released book A Queer History of the United States.

Related Links:

A Queer History of the United States - ordering info from Beacon Press.

How Gays Helped Make and Remake America, Johann Hari, Slate Magazine, May 23, 2011.

The Gay Bar: Can It Survive?, June Thomas, Slate Magazine, July 1, 2011.

Gay Heroes - website dedicated to educating about famous LGBT people throughout history.

People with a History - online guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history.

GLBT Historical Society

What is the People's Budget?

2011-07-03T12:56:00.002-05:00

For the second hour Stephanie Mott, Executive Director of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP), joins host Christopher Renner for a discussion of transgenderism and to show support for transgender Kansans and their families. Mott kicks off a state-wide tour at 7:30 am Friday morning at the Bluestem Bistro to raise awareness of K-STEP and transgenderism in the state.

Community Bridge closes out with Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's Peter Hart for a discussion of the People's Budget. This week Sen. Bernie Sanders challenged President Obama - and over 50,000 people co-signed his letter to the President - to stand with the poor of our nation and demand that the Republicans raise taxes on the wealthy. People's Budget was put forward by the co-chairs of the 80-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. Their plan is humane, responsible, and most of all sensible, reflecting the true values of the American people and the real needs of the floundering economy. Unlike Paul Ryan's almost absurdly vicious attack on the poor and working class, the People's Budget would close the deficit by raising taxes on the rich, taming health care costs (including a public option), and ending the military spending on wars and wasteful weapons systems.

Additional Links:

The People's Budget - Congressional Progressive Caucus.

CHART: As Services For Main Street Are Gutted, Richest Pay Lowest Taxes In A Generation

People’s Budget offers sound alternative to Ryan’s draconian plan, Economic Policy Institute, April 13, 2011.

The People's Budget, Jeffery Sachs, the Huffington Post, April 8, 2011.

Progressive Caucus Budget: The Only Honest Plan on the Table, Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, April 28, 2011.

The Only Responsible Budget in Town, Michael Tomasky, The Guardian UK, April21, 2011.

Wonkbook: A Congress problem, not a deficit problem, Erza Klein, The Washington Post, June 23, 2001.

The Truth About the Economy
Robert Reich connects the dots on the economy, in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Who knew he could draw!?!

Little Apple Jazz Festival 2011

2011-06-27T17:55:00.005-05:00

Community Bridge opens this week with Beth Bailey and Ben Hopper, Union Program Council, along with musician CJ Manning for a preview of this year’s Little Apple Jazz Festival. At about half past the hour, Ashley Long, Lindsay and James Thompson of the Riley County Humane Society join us in studio to discuss the work of the organization and how people can support it.

2011 Little Apple Jazz Festival Line-Up
5:00 - 6:00 pm KC Youth Jazz Band
6:00 - 6:30 pm Barefoot Dixieland Band
6:30 - 7:00 pm Kelly McCarty Band
7:00 - 8:00 pm Pablo Sanhueza Latin Jazz Trio
8:00 - 9:00 pm Steven Richard Band
9:00 - 9:30 pm Swing Machine, a KSU Jazz combo
9:30 - 10:45pm CJ Manning and Company

Related Links:

Our Animal Selves, Linda Hogan, YES! Magazine, March 9, 2011.

10 Best Things We Can Do For Animals, Jane Goodall, YES! Magazine, March 31, 2011.

What’s So Special About Humans?, James Trimarcom YES! Magazine, April 13, 2011.

How Happy Was Your Meal?, Madeline Ostrander, YES! Magazine, March 27, 2011.

Collusion between KDHE and Sunflower Energy

2011-06-27T17:55:00.004-05:00

In our second hour, we are first joined by Stephanie Cole, Kansas Sierra Club, and Scott Allegrucci, Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy, to discuss the collusion that was revealed in KDHE e-mails between the department and Sunflower Energy over the proposed Holcomb plant permit process. Then at half past the hour, Elaine Mohr and Darrel Parks from the Manhattan Farmers Market join us to talk about what's new at the market this summer.

Related Links:

Kansas agency, utility worked closely on permit for plant, Karen Dillion, Kansas City Star, June 18, 2011.

Kansas failed its residents on Sunflower power plant, Kansas City Star editorial, June 20, 2011.

The Message to Kansans: ‘Let Them Eat Coal Dust’, Editorial, Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy.

KDHE had close ties with Sunflower Electric Co., Associate Press in the Lawrence Journal World, June 20, 2011.

“The Cleanest Coal Plant in the Country?” Not., report from the Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy on whether or not Holcomb 2 is the "Cleanest Coal Plant in the Country."
Read the GPACE White Paper here.

New Coal Plants Fail To Provide Promised Jobs, Beth Buczynski, Care2.com, April 2, 2011.

Kansas Farmers' Markets, website of the Kansas Rural Center.

World Social Forum 2011

2011-06-17T13:53:00.002-05:00

Community Bridge opens this week with Jim Hamilton and Gwethalyn Williams for a discussion of this weekend’s youth experimental theatre project at the Manhattan Arts Center. Then Mallory Knodle joins host Christopher Renner for a discussion of the World Social Forum that took place in February in Dakar, Senegal.

Additional Links/Articles:

Experimental Theatre Workshop

World Social Forum 2011 Dakar - in pictures, The Guardian UK, February 9, 2011.

World Social Forum activists buoyed by fall of Egypt and Tunisia regimes, Liz Ford, The Guardian UK, February 14, 2011.

Climate Justice Declaration at World Social Forum 2011

Axelrod claims Bush saddled Obama with a big deficit, PolitiFact.com, January 2010.

Bush Administration "the Least Fiscally Responsible in History," Budget Hawk Says, Aaron Task, Newsmakers, March 31, 2010.

Bush Era Tax Cuts Increased Budget Deficit, Joshua Sanders, The Economy in Crisis, August 188, 2010.

GOP Cuts To Food Aid For Seniors And Food Banks Equals One Day Of Bush Tax Cuts For Millionaires, Pat Garofalo, Think Progress, June 14, 2011.

Study: Bush Tax Cuts Cost More Than Twice As Much As Dems' Health-Care Bill, Susie Madrak, Crooks and Liars, September 9, 2009.

The Community Bridge Blog

Podcast Special: The Hidden Hands in Redistricting

Meeting Community Healthcare Needs

Podcast Special: Kansas Equality Rally Speeches

Kansas Equality Rally

The Christian Patriarchy Movement

July 21: Global Warming - What every person needs to know

What's Causing the Flooding on Wildcat Creek?

Exposing the American Legislative Exchange Council

The Flint Hills Discovery Center

The Future of Water in Kansas

Discovering Queer American History

What is the People's Budget?

Little Apple Jazz Festival 2011

Collusion between KDHE and Sunflower Energy

World Social Forum 2011

June 16 - Obama and the Gays

Mark Potok on the Rise of Right-Wing Extremists

The Impact of Budget Cuts on Kansas Schools

Coming Up with a City Budget for 2012

The Future of the Arts in Kansas

An Interview with Robert McChensey

Arts in the Park and Flint Hills Pride 2011

GOP's War on Women

May 19 - American Empire

State of Kansas Media Part 3

New Breitbart "investigation" reveals his dishonesty

El Salvador's Sister City Program

More Voices Against Plutocracy

April 28 - Living in a Fact-Free Political World

April 28 - David Solnit on Social Activitism

An Interview with David Bacon

Public Transportation Implementation Meeting Thursday @ 4:00 pm

The State of Kansas Media - Part 2

Public Transportation for Manhattan

When We Were Strangers: An Interview with Pamela Schoenewaldt

MRFF - Fighting for the Soul of the US Military

Fight Plutocracy; Defend Public Services

Brownback's War on the Mental Health Services

Clippings for 3 April 2011

March 24 - Abolishing the Kansas Death Penalty

More on Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck and His Hog-Wild Comments about Immigrants

The State of Media in Kansas

Clippings for 19 March 2011

My Written Testimony Against HB 2372

A conversation with Rich Jankovich

International Women's Day 2011

Clippings for 13 March 2011

An Interview with Tim Wise

Manhattan City Commission Candidates

Kansas Rallies to Save the American Dream

Feb 24 - National Spay Day 2011

Feb. 24: Anti-Immigrant Legislation in the KS House

Clippings for 25 February 2011

Sesquicentennial Tour of the Underground Railroad

Mountain Top Removal - Coal Mining on Steroids

Clippings for 18 February 2011

Clippings for 14 February 2011

Kobach's Boondoggle Vote ID Law

Robert Scheer on the Great American Stickup

A conversation with Roger Hodge

Funding Public Education in Kansas