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Good Monday Morning everybody!

In case you hadn't heard gas prices are going INSANE! AAA reports the average price is $4.10. Kay Barnes has written an op-ed from her series "Show me State of Mind." This is 11th in the series.

"Small towns suffer more during these tough times. In some rural counties, residents spend three times more on gas than those who live in cities or suburbs. The St. Joseph News Press reported recently that the average commute time for Andrew County residents was almost 30 minutes. At that rate, someone in Andrew County pays nearly $200 per month for regular gasoline!

We can't just expect people to stop driving. A woman from Holt County who is on Medicare recently told me that she had to skip a doctor's appointment in Kansas City to treat a degenerative eye disease because she couldn't afford the nearly $35 in gas to make the trip. I wish that this story were uncommon, but it's not. It's just a reminder that the cost of gas affects everything including health care." Barnes

Right wing trying to get special tax day where they can endorse candidates. If you haven't heard of this - read it, its frightening...

Teen Pregnancy outbreak

A Schleicher County grand jury is expected to hear evidence next week of possible criminal charges against members of a West Texas polygamist sect.

CapJournal has an interesting article about the extent to which valid polling can be done with the rate of cell phone only house holds on the rise. More info on these problems specifically targeting the youth movement - read here. Gallup recently decided to begin polling cell phones to combat this problem.

South Korea is protesting US beef

Detention of journalists in Vietnam

Scott's Congressional testimony


According to Jim Slattery's campaign, on Friday

Senator Pat Roberts held a press conference at Jayhawk Pharmacy. At the event, Roberts said he was opposed to allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies for lower drug prices for the Medicare Part D program.

This cycle alone, Roberts has accepted over $90,000 from prescription drug companies and voted to protect the profits of prescription drug companies at the expense of the over 340,000 Kansans enrolled in Medicare Part D.

In 2003, Roberts voted for a Medicare prescription drug bill loaded with perks for drug companies (HR 1, 11/25/03). The bill prohibited Medicare from negotiating prices with drug manufacturers, forcing seniors to pay higher prices for prescription drugs, ballooning the cost of the entitlement for taxpayers, and resulting in an estimated $139 billion a year in additional profits for drug companies. (release)

Dirty Writer brings us some noteworthy things about our fellow voters. These are not things we don't already know, but they are helpful in understanding who we are.