Patient Protection Affordable Care Act: The interaction of politics and healthcare delivery in the U.S (Obamacare).

Speaker: Delores Furtado, PhD., Professor Emerita, Department of Microbiology, University of Kansas School of Medicine

Date: December 4, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, 9089 W. 135th Street, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.

A brief look at what drove President Obama to create this legislation, what in the Act has already been implemented, the beneficiaries of implementation and changes yet to be realized. The big contest will be between state governments and the federal government. Some requirements will be regarded as an erosion of power of individuals and of groups. The arguments may distract us but we must keep the goal in mind, that is, to control the annual increases in the cost of health care be it increases in the cost of insurance premiums and in the cost of provider services. Will we, as a society, tolerate political gridlock OR will we, as a society, put the needs of the people including our own personal benefits ahead of politics? Understanding the opportunities the ACA brings will help each of us take an informed position with regard to health care reform.

Dr. Furtado was a Faculty member in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine for over 30 years. She is currently Professor Emerita. Subsequent to retirement she was elected Johnson County Commissioner and then to the Kansas House of Representatives to represent District 19 (within Overland Park). She continues to serve on a number of Boards that have a health policy or a tie to providing health services to the most vulnerable.

Her undergraduate education (BS) from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and then at the University of Michigan for her MS and Ph.D. degrees in Microbiology.

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

Kansas Citizens for Science Annual Membership Meeting

What: Annual Membership Meeting

Date: Sunday, November 18, 2012

Time: 2:00 pm

Where: Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 SW 10th Ave

All members are invited to join us for our annual membership meeting. Light refreshments will be served. The election of officers and board members will be held. We will review the accomplishments of KCFS for the year and discuss our future plans.

Microbes That Live In Extreme Conditions – the Extremophiles

Speaker: Kelley Tuel

Date: November 13, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, 9089 W. 135th Street, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.

In the last 20 years, science has developed a new classification group call the Archaea. These organisms live in some of the most inhospitable conditions on Earth. Kelley will introduce what causes these organisms to be grouped together. Genetics and conditions of early organisms will be discussed. Kelley’s emphasis is on a group that survives in extremely salty conditions and this group will be emphasized.

Kelley Tuel is a M.S. Degree candidate in biology at Emporia State University. Her thesis is on the molecular genetics and high school laboratory application of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, an extreme salt-loving microbe. The laboratory in which she has done her research at ESU isolated a previously undescribed mutant that has a novel gene that can move around. They named this mutant KBT-1 (Kansas Biology Teacher). Kelley is a former high school biology/AP biology teacher here in the metro and is planning to return to teaching when she graduates in May.

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

An Evening of Science Video Clips

Speakers: The video clips.

Date: October 9, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, 9089 W. 135th Street, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.

Trying something new this month. A variety of short, science video clips have been selected. We will watch each clip and then discuss what we saw. Clips will include famous scientists giving advice to the President, Richard Feynman explaining how things work, how every atom in your body comes from a star, Earth-rise on the moon, emerging trends in organic chemistry, emerging trends in paleoanthropology, human lifespan -vs- per capita income (very clever), and more as time allows.

No lead speaker, so we will discuss amongst ourselves in the true spirit of the science café. Join us for this evening of science conversation.

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

Kansas State Board of Education

District 2 Candidates Forum

Date: October 15, 2012

Place: Antioch Branch of the Johnson County Library, 8700 Shawnee Mission Parkway

Time: 7:00 PM -8:30 PM

Candidates: Cindy Neighbor and Steve Roberts

With public education being increasingly in the news, come and learn about the two candidates who are running to replace Sue Storm as the District 2 State Board member.

This forum is co-sponsored by Kansas Citizens for Science, The MainStream Coalition, and Kansas Families of Education.

Bring Back the Monarchs

Speaker: Jackie Goetz, Idalia Society (local chapter of Lepidoptera Society) and has tagged Monarch butterflies for 15 years.

Date: September 11, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, 9089 W. 135th Street, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.

Monarch butterflies migrate to central Mexico every fall and back every spring. Monarch Watch is an organization which tags Monarchs and uses recapture information in an ongoing effort to understand monarch biology. Jackie will provide a live Monarch tagging demonstration with information linking to Monarch Watch and their ongoing conservation of the Monarch and its habitats. She will discuss the need for providing replacement habitat for Monarchs and other wildlife, planting milkweeds and native plants. She will include thoughts about how individuals can take actions which will benefit all butterfly populations including monarchs. This will include information about volunteer opportunities in the development of a Pollinator Garden at a toxic waste site in Olathe.

Information about Monarch butterfly population trends can be found on www.monarchwatch.org

Powell Gardens conducts an annual Butterfly Count and has statistics available on their website.

Jackie has been raising and photographing local butterflies for over 20 years. She has been a Johnson County Extension Master Gardener for 15 years. Her home has been on the Home Butterfly Gardens on Jo Co Garden Tour in 1998 and 2008 and she participates in the Speakers’ Bureau for Butterfly Gardening programs. She has participated in Monach Watch tagging for 15 years with 20 tag recoveries and her home is a registered Monarch Waystation, #3. Jackie has provided local butterflies, moths and caterpillars for display at Powell Gardens’ Festival of Butterflies for 15 years and provides critters and tagging materials for Junior Master Gardener, school and community programs

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

Join KCFS on Monday, July 23, 2012 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Manhattan Public Library for a State School Board Candidate Forum.

The Kansas State Board of Education (KBOE) makes important decisions that impact our schools and our students. The board has the responsibility for the supervision of K-12 schools. Take this opportunity to learn more about those seeking office.

Participating candidates:
Usha Reddi, Democratic candidate from Manhattan
Carol Viar, Democratic candidate from Salina
Deena Horst, unopposed Republican candidate from Salina

Come hear why these individuals have chosen to run for the board of education and where they stand on various public education issues affecting our schools. The majority of the forum will be driven by questions from the audience.

For more information, see this flyer.

Added in Edit: A recording of the event is now available below.

In the belief that the Kansas electorate deserves to know candidates’ positions on issues affecting science and science education, KCFS has asked all candidates for the Kansas Senate, Kansas House, and Kansas State Board of Education to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaires that are returned will be posted on our 2012 Kansas Election Questionnaires page.

As a 501(c)3 organization, Kansas Citizens for Science does not endorse candidates. However, part of our mission is to serve as an information resource for all Kansas citizens. This includes information about political candidates’ views regarding science. These questionnaires are an effort to ensure that votes are cast from knowledge about candidates rather than from ignorance.

Making Science Public: Challenges and Opportunities

Speaker: Alex Smith, Senior Leverhulme Research Fellow in Sociology at Warwick University in the UK

Date: July 10, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, 9089 W. 135th Street, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.

Alex Smith conducts sociological research on politics, religion and science in the UK and the USA. He will talk about the $2.5 million, Leverhulme Trust-funded research program “Making Science Public: Challenges and Opportunities”, an interdisciplinary, five-year collaboration between the UK Universities of Nottingham, Sheffield and Warwick. One of the program’s Project Leaders, Alex is directing a four-year project on science, religion and the making of public opinion in the UK and US. Alex has visited Kansas extensively over the last few years studying this subject. Alex will discuss the relationship between recent debates over religion and science in both countries. Visit the program website to find out more about this research.

Alex Smith is a Senior Leverhulme Research Fellow in Sociology at Warwick University in the UK. He is also Adjunct Assistant Professor in Sociology at Kansas University and holds an Honorary Lectureship in the Institute of Science and Society at Nottingham University. A Garrison Keillor Fellow in the Eccles Centre for North American Studies at the British Library in London, Alex is the author of ‘Devolution and the Scottish Conservatives: banal activism, electioneering and the politics of irrelevance’ (2011, Manchester: Manchester University Press). He has a PhD in Social Anthropology from Edinburgh University and edits the ‘New Ethnographies’ book series for Manchester University Press.

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

KCFS Board of Directors 2012

Officers

Harry McDonald – President
Science Education Consultant
Olathe, KS

Cheryl Shepherd-Adams – Vice-President
Teacher – High School Physics
Hays, KS

Charlott McDonald – Secretary
Science Education Consultant
Olathe, KS

Keith Miller – Treasurer
Department of Geology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS

Board of Directors

Phil Baringer
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Jackie Beucher
Sales Representative
Overland Park, KS

Liz Craig
Writer/Producer
Roeland Park, KS

Gordon Elliott
Computer and Electronics Consultant
Computer Signal & Image Systems Corp.
Overland Park, KS

Gene Garmin
Author
Pittsburg, KS

Peter Gegenheimer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Harry Gregory
Retired Teacher
Wichita, KS

Christopher Haufler
Chair, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Mike Herman
Division of Biology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS

Martha Hodgesmith
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Crystal Kerr
Biology Teacher
Wichita, KS

Jack Krebs
High School Teacher and Technology Director
Lawrence, KS

Rev. Douglas Phenix
Retired Minister
Topeka, KS

Patrick Ross
Southwestern College
Winfield, KS

Max Vandament
Feedlot Consultant
Salina, KS

Mark Weiss
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS

KCFS Webmaster

Jeremy Mohn
High School Biology Teacher
Olathe, KS