November 10, 2006
Billy D. writes of The Flat Earth Myth:
Anyone who writes “Is your Earth still flat?” is trading on an anti-Christian myth promoted by late-nineteenth century Darwinists.
I'm not terribly interested in the historical arguments about when flat earth arguments originated. The Flat Earth Society, as…
November 10, 2006
Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics, argues that:
In this election, both the Religious Right and the secular Left were defeated, and the voice of the moral center was heard. A significant number of candidates elected are social conservatives on issues of life and family, economic populists, and…
November 10, 2006
Loss of species that pollinate is cause for global alarm, researchers say:
Birds, bees, bats and other species that pollinate North American plant life are losing population, according to a study released Wednesday by the National Research Council. This "demonstrably downward" trend could damage…
November 10, 2006
An IBM 650 found in the basement of Learned Hall is believed to be the University's first computer. It was bought in 1957.
An emeritus professor of computer science was told about the discovery, and has been taking the components to his home, where he plans to restore the computer to its full…
November 9, 2006
The Interfaith Alliance put Phill Kline's memo laying out his strategy to use churches as his campaign bank at the top of their list of the worst abuses of religion in politics for 2006. The group, which works to preserve separation of church and state, wrote "Attorney General Phill Kline often…
November 9, 2006
In keeping with my promise to stop writing about politics if Dems took the House and Senate (which I confess I didn't think would happen), it's time to talk policy. Adventures in Ethics and Science asks What's your legislative agenda for the first hundred days?:
To streamline things a bit… let's…
November 9, 2006
Siege mentality has put together the county-by-county numbers on the Boyda victory. There were 220,442 votes cast for Boyda and Ryun. Last time there were 286,857.
You can see the whole spreadsheet here.
Even with 60,000 fewer votes, Boyda got nearly as many votes in each county, in most cases…
November 8, 2006
Pober asks Where Will They Go Now?:
Phill Kline and Jim Ryun are unemployed (sometime soon).
Where will they go now? What do people like this do once they get booted from office?
My theory: Phill Kline moves to the second district and lays the groundwork to run against Nancy Boyda in 2008.
Jim…
November 8, 2006
Chris Bowers points out the major victories that netroots candidates won, often in races that the national party would have written off. Many people wrote of the blogosphere as a political force when the Dean for President campaign collapsed. But we didn't just pack it in, we built a strong…
November 8, 2006
I'm still coming to grips with the astounding upset in the Kansas 2nd. Since it looks like the Virginia Senate race is almost over, I have to get this in fast.
The Journal World writes:
U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Kan., didn’t know what hit him.
Kansas political commentator Dennis Hawver explains:
All…
November 8, 2006
Ms. TfK, normally not a fan of my political posts, asks for clarity on the Senate situation.
Two races are too close to call right now: Jim Webb and George Allen in Virginia, and Conrad Burns and Jon Tester in Montana.
George Allen was a frontrunner in the 2008 GOP presidential race until his…
November 8, 2006
Hell yes! Nothing would have changed if we hadn't changed Congress.
November 8, 2006
Last night was an unmitigated Democratic victory. Democrats control Kansas politics to an historic degree. Nationally, Democrats won not just the House, but took stronger positions in state legislatures and Governors' mansions. And the Senate is still in play.
Furthermore, the success of…
November 8, 2006
Congressman Moore congratulates Nancy Boyda. Moore will be a little less isolated in Congress with another Kansas Democrat to work with.
More photos below the fold.
Yer's truly with the newest Congresswoman from Kansas. Note the KCFS shout-out.
One of the Moore grandchildren celebrating her…
November 7, 2006
The predictions
Sebelius 57% (based on SUSA polling)
Morrison 54% (below SUSA's last poll, negative ad campaigns will make people think twice)
Moore 60% (Chuck who?)
Boyda 51% (This race will go down to the wire)
Weiss 53% (McDonald did well in the primary, add in Democratic votes and Weiss wins)…
November 7, 2006
I promised that if Democrats took the House and Senate, I would not write anything political until the new year. Until the Virginia Senate race is resolved, I can still squeeze in a few last political posts.
The Boyda win certainly, as Diane says, shows that "even in the reddest of red states…
November 7, 2006
Voters across the nation sent a clear signal about change by passing minimum wage hikes on state ballots. It's been far too long since the federal minimum wage was increased, and voters are getting anxious. Nancy Pelosi has made it clear she intends to pass such a raise, and it's impossible now…
November 7, 2006
In the election where Democrats took 27+ seats of the 435 in the House of Representatives, Democrats in Kansas took 6 seats in the state House. Moving from 42 Dems to 48 means that Republicans cannot override a veto on a party-line vote.
A popular Democratic governor and an unpopular Republican…
November 7, 2006
I was hanging out with the Boyda gang when Speaker-to-be Pelosi called to congratulate Nancy Boyda.
Meanwhile it looks like Republicans swept the challenged Board of Ed seats. There will be 6 moderates on the Board, and I believe they've all stated a desire to see Bob Corkins fired, and all…
November 7, 2006
Rumors are circulating that Jim Ryun has conceded to Nancy Boyda.
Things are winding down here in Topeka, the media have left, but it looks like team Boyda is waiting for the final counts.
November 7, 2006
The race had been close to tied, but at the end it broke heavily for Bacon.
Jana Shaver looks likely to win her race against Kent Runyan, and the race between Jack Wempe and Ken Willard is still too tight to call.
Moderates have a guaranteed majority, but it looks like it won't be as large as I…
November 7, 2006
Dennis Moore took a brief victory lap before heading to Topeka for the state Democratic Party's celebration. Ahner has conceded.
Nancy Boyda retains a 6 point lead with half of the precincts reporting. Ryun may have to take a lobbying job soon now.
Board of Ed races are still too close to call,…
November 7, 2006
It looks likely that Republican Sally Cauble will win the State Board of Ed. seat in western Kansas. Not a lot of precincts have reported, but the margin is huge and the district is Republican.
The Weiss/Bacon race is still too close, with only 8 of 295 districts reporting. The 9 of 400 districts…
November 7, 2006
Everyone seems to be making numeric predictions, so here we go:
Sebelius 57% (based on SUSA polling)
Morrison 54% (below SUSA's last poll, negative ad campaigns will make people think twice)
Moore 60% (Chuck who?)
Boyda 51% (This race will go down to the wire)
Weiss 53% (McDonald did well in the…
November 7, 2006
In the key races for Board of Education and the US House, the balance of power rests on who can turn out the most voters. Republicans love to crow about their system, and in Kansas that system is dominated by church-based groups.
Democratic volunteers are out knocking doors, ringing phones and…
November 7, 2006
Grab three friends, toss them in your car, go to your polling place, and vote.
I have my preferences: Sebelius, Morrison, Moore, Boyda, Wempe, Weiss, Runyan, Cauble, Bill Shirley, Paul Davis, Barbara Ballard, Tom Holland, Cindy Neighbor, Raj Goyle, Marty Keenan, Dennis Phillips.
But hey, I…
November 6, 2006
Kevin Vranes gives some insights into what to expect after the election:
The D's will have to make a choice between doing serious oversight of the executive branch and pushing a strong leadership/change agenda. In this I agree with what David Wessel of the WSJ told NPR this morning. The D's can…
November 6, 2006
TPM and TPM Muckraker have been following the story of illegal calls being made by the NRCC to try to smear Democratic candidates. The plan seems to be to call, say "I'm calling with information about Democrat X," and then either hang up and call back right away, or just make some negative comment…
November 6, 2006
Yesterday, the President told Kansas: "if you vote Democrat, you're voting for a tax increase."
In fact, the exact opposite is true. Were this a Woody Allen movie, I'd pull Marshall McLuhan Milton Friedman from behind a movie poster to explain for me. It is not, so I'll pull out Max Sawicky:…
November 6, 2006
Every week, the Kansas Guild of Bloggers gathers to highlight the finest of Kansasish blogging.
This week, we are not surprisingly heavy on the politics.
New blogger Howls from Kansas reviews the events that led to this Kansas election becoming interesting. "I LIVE IN A NOISY STATE where the wind…
