We're Not In Kansas Anymore, Folks

And for those of you who are, my condolences.  Your governor is an idiot.

While many Americans on Saturday were enjoying the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Kansans were gaining the dubious distinction of becoming the nation's only citizens to live in a state without an arts agency.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback took the major step of privatizing the arts in Kansas, turning back the clock to a pre-1960s era. The governor erased state funding for arts programs, leaving the Kansas Arts Commission with no budget, no staff and no offices. The commission was founded in 1966, a year after Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts.

Oh, but that's not the only thing Brownback has gotten rid of.

Gov. Sam Brownback on Tuesday defended his approval of a bill that prohibits insurance companies from offering abortion coverage unless the procedure is necessary to save the woman’s life.


“The abortion debate is a difficult one,” said Brownback, an anti-abortion Republican who has signed several anti-abortion measures this year.

“There are a number of people that do not believe it is appropriate to use taxpayer dollars for abortion. There are a number of people, they don’t want it in their insurance policy that they are paying for and that is the issue that came up in the Legislature, and the Legislature passed it and I signed it,” Brownback said.

Keep in mind Brownback here is going after private insurance policies.  Starting July 1, women in Kansas are no longer covered under their insurance for an abortion unless they or their employer have bought a special policy that covers only abortions, or the life of the woman is in jeopardy.  So if you're a rape victim in Kansas and you get pregnant, too effing bad.  You should have bought a spare tire.

Another "free market solution" from the Republican Party.  Including abortion coverage in group insurance policies is "unfair".  You know, by that logic, if you're white and you make the argument that black people have higher incidences of sickle cell anemia or Native Americans have higher incidences of diabetes, shouldn't those groups have to get special riders to cover those?  It's driving up the cost of your group insurance plan, you know.

Just imagine what will happen should Republicans gain control of the Senate and White House in 2012.