November 5, 2006
The final SurveyUSA poll of the Kansas election is out. Morrison has 56% support, Sebelius has 57%.
The interesting elections will be the KS-2 House race, several state house races, and the Board of Ed races.
November 5, 2006
A month ago, Democracy Corps released a survey showing that Democrats were showing remarkable strength in the most competetive 49 House races. On a conference call announcing the results, James Carville quipped that Dick Cheney must be coming out to stump for Jim Ryun in Kansas because that's the…
November 5, 2006
Catharine Ryun has made an ad for her daddy, in which she explains why we here in Kansas have benefitted from her Papa's reign in DC.
Which is odd, because she's worked in the White House since 2001. Shortly after starting work there, she took a meeting with none other than Jack Abramoff. Like…
November 5, 2006
Ask a ScienceBlogger, November 3:
What's the most important local political race to you this year (as a citizen, as a scientist)?
I have to pick just one? There are two important Board of Education races in the area where a creationist can get ousted. There's an Attorney General's race where a…
November 4, 2006
By the time the next Congress is sworn in, as many Americans will have died in Iraq as died on 9/11.
At 6:00 Sunday evening, the Prez will blow into Topeka. A report on his speech in Colorado gives a sense of what we can expect:
[A] blistering message against Democrats on taxes and terrorism. And…
November 4, 2006
Ecological Economics highlights an essay about the ongoing battle against fundamentalism:
There are too many false prophets in our profession—the kind who like to assert policy opinions in black-and-white terms, such as 'there is only one right way' and 'no other way will do'. This is what I like…
November 4, 2006
March 13, 2006 – US puts Iraqi documents on the Web:
conservative bloggers, eager to bolster the case for going to war against Iraq, have long argued for release of the documents. They gained a powerful ally last month in Michigan Republican Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence…
November 3, 2006
They have teeth. Kansans receiving blitz of phone calls in A.G. race:
Scores of automated phone calls have been coming to Kansas households during the past few days, blasting the candidates for attorney general. …
the tenor of the calls has yielded complaints.
"One woman was almost in tears," said…
November 3, 2006
The Journal World editorializes that:
we believe it is important President Bush have the support for his entire program, both domestic and foreign. For this reason, we believe it is best for Kansas, as well as for the entire country, to have Rep. Jim Ryun in Washington to support Bush’s plans for…
November 3, 2006
KC Buzz Blog asks the question, having observed:
Claire McCaskill and Jim Talent will probably spend $18 million, combined, on TV before Tuesday -- yet their race is roughly where it was a year ago.
Nancy Boyda, by contrast, hasn't spent a lot on TV -- but has pulled close to Rep. Jim Ryun in…
November 2, 2006
Hotline reports:
Tomorrow, Pres. Bush visits the Topeka-based district of Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS). As of early this week, an NRCC poll showed Ryun down 2 points to Dem Nancy Boyda.
Up to now, I've only heard about a Sunday visit. Is anyone else hearing about a Friday arrival? And if they got that…
November 2, 2006
Right-Wing Agenda reports that a Kline supporter explain why the AG is running a campaign so filthy that his own base is abandoning him:
there's not much Kline can do when voters are so stupid as to ignore the good and focus on the bad.
This has been your Phill Kline deep thought for the day.
November 2, 2006
I've been fairly negative about the way that Richard Dawkins approaches the relationship between science, atheism and theism. Rather than just being negative, I'd like to offer a positive defense of my view on the issue.
Two years ago, when Thoughts from Kansas was an unknown hovel by the side of…
November 2, 2006
The Washington Post reports:
Prompted by a request this fall by 14 Democratic senators, the IGs are examining whether political appointees have prevented climate researchers at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from conveying their findings to the public.
Muzzling…
November 2, 2006
I've said before that I don't care for Gregg Easterbrook, and my views on Richard Dawkins' latest book are amply documented as well. So what do you get when a very silly person reviews a flawed book about complex issues? Easterbrook's review hits a few points that everyone seems to agree on –…
November 1, 2006
"Who would have thought that some little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."
Like the witch in The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Phill Kline's future is melting before our eyes. Sleazy ads peddling accusations that the alleged victim chose to drop, his Republican predecessors…
November 1, 2006
Kansas City Star | 11/01/2006 | Boyda would support welcome changes:
Kansans in the 2nd U.S. House District who want to see significant changes in Washington have a logical choice: Nancy Boyda, an outspoken advocate for reform at home and wiser policies abroad.
In view of Washington’s poor record…
November 1, 2006
Majority Leader John Boehner, fresh from offering to beat John Kerry to death if he doesn't apologize for calling the President stupid, tells CNN:
Let’s not blame what’s happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld, the generals on the ground are in charge.
Does anyone honestly think that whoever would become…
November 1, 2006
Dr. Myers, after noting that a mere 1% of Americans things God is a chick (compared to 36% who think he's a dude), writes about Muriel Gray's idea to rebrand what once were called freethinkers (or Brights, or …) as Enlightenists:
Enlightenists believe in the awe-inspiring, wonder, beauty and…
November 1, 2006
Balkinization offers A Concise Guide for Independent Voters on Nov. 7:
Best reason to vote for Democratic candidates for Congress: Take away majority control of Congress from the corrupt, big-spending, huge deficit-creating, radical religious right-pandering, cut taxes for the rich to help them get…
November 1, 2006
In poking around for information on a forthcoming post, I encountered an aspect of the life of John Dewey that I had previously been unaware of.
I know of Dewey for his work in education, and for advocating pragmatism as a philosophy. It turns out that, in addition to his famous applications of…
November 1, 2006
Reposted from ye olde site, in preparation for another post soon to come.
Ed Brayton asks Is Risk of Theocracy Overblown? His answer is a slightly qualified "Yes." And he highlights why I don't rail against theocracy, but against "religious authoritarianism." While he may be right that Dobson…
October 31, 2006
On All Hallows' Eve, the NRCC has decided it's time to scare Kansans with TV ads about…
TAXES!
Boo.
In a poll of the fifty most endangered Republican districts, taxes were the 5th most important issue, behind the war in Iraq (the clear leader), jobs/economy, health care, and terrorism. But that…
October 31, 2006
The Capital Journal reports:
High-ranking Republican officials said Monday the president would most likely be in Kansas on Sunday.
"We would welcome him with open arms," said Jeffrey Black, campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Kan. "What an amazing opportunity to rally Kansans together."…
October 30, 2006
Candidates for state office in Kansas filed their reports today.
In the State Board of Education races, incumbent creationist John Bacon raised $4,500, for a total of $3,146 cash on hand. Don Weiss, the TfK endorsed candidate, raised $11,738 and has $3,283 on hand. Bacon managed to win the…
October 30, 2006
A series of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act:
show that [deputy assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie] MacDonald has repeatedly refused to go along with staff reports concluding that species such as the white-tailed prairie dog and the Gunnison sage grouse are at risk…
October 30, 2006
Since 2000, scientists have been working to identify every species occurring in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Just down the road from Dollywood, the researchers and volunteers have cataloged 12,000 species, 651 of them unknown to science. They expect to find 100,000 species in the park…
October 30, 2006
From Insight on the World, 1997 (shortly after his first election):
Insight: Has your lack of political experience been a problem?
Jim Ryun: No. In the campaign that was a strength. Part of our campaign was to go door-to-door talking to people instead of spending time in forums, television or radio…
October 28, 2006
A month ago, Jim Ryun's campaign planted a story about how Nancy Boyda wasn't a serious challenger because the DCCC wasn't putting any money into her campaign. Of course, she's been saying that she wasn't seeking DCCC involvement since she announced this campaign, but Ryun was desperate.
In…
October 27, 2006
A few weeks ago, Phill Kline swore to the Wichita Eagle's editorial board that he would not make a 15 year-old lawsuit, long since dismissed, an issue in his campaign. A newly released video of the event shows that he even told them specifically that he wouldn't make those unproven charges part of…
