October 19, 2006
A repost from the old blog, first published in July, and lightly edited. This is in part a response to critics of my criticism of Richard Dawkins, but also a chance to break the first rule of Fight Club.
Blog Meridian brings us a discussion of Fight Club. John quotes someone quoting a review…
October 19, 2006
Or rather, why can't they just be honest about what they don't like?
This is the summary of a new ad running against the Missouri stem cell research amendment:
The ad features a woman talking about her daughter, who needed money for college. She “sold her eggs to a fertility clinic,” the woman says…
October 19, 2006
Kansas is a divided state, at war between red and blue and purple. Even setting aside the battle between K-State and KU, there's a war between conservatives, Democrats, and moderate voters who used to think of themselves as moderates.
While the New York Times can only find time to mention that 6…
October 18, 2006
I don't know why, but readers who rely on the RSS feed will be getting truncated material. We're all hoping it's fixed soon.
October 18, 2006
Kansans can go to their county clerks' offices today through noon on the Monday before the election and cast an early ballot. Then you don't have to worry about whether you can make it to the polls on election day.
You can still register to vote until the 23rd.
Before you head out to vote, be sure…
October 18, 2006
Former Kansas AG Bob Stephan explains why he quit Phill Kline's office:
Stephan said Tuesday he resigned because he was upset by Kline’s strategy of using churches to raise campaign funds.
And he’s particularly upset about an instance where a church made donations to a business owned by Kline’s…
October 17, 2006
The bulk of Richard Dawkins' speech at KU last night was taken almost verbatim from the text of his book. His focus was on what I considered the best parts of the book, an explanation of the flaws of intelligent design creationism and the intellectual poverty that it encourages, as well as an…
October 17, 2006
The Johnson County Sun is a fairly Republican paper, and its endorsements of incumbent Republicans as Insurance Commissioner, Treasurer and Secretary of State are pro forma. It's endorsement of Don Weiss over John Bacon is far from automatic. The editors clearly thought hard, and came down behind…
October 17, 2006
Radar Online assesses the ten stupidest congresscritters. But any such list which doesn't include Senator Ted "made of tubes" Stevens is clearly bogus.
Furthermore, the entire premise misses a vital point. These congresscritters may well be dumb, but what made them deserving of mockery is their…
October 17, 2006
SurveyUSA finds the governor favored 55% to 42%, and Paul Morrison is up 56% to 43%. That's among likely voters. Incumbents are ahead in other statewide races.
The governor's numbers have held relatively steady, but this represents a major shift for Morrison. Republican support for the incumbent…
October 16, 2006
Tonight, Richard Dawkins will speak at KU's Lied Center from 7:30 to 9, followed the next morning with a less formal Q&A. In preparation for that, here are some thoughts on The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.
In responding to Atrios' comment that "When people start invoking religion in…
October 16, 2006
Nancy Boyda raised $147,782.99 this quarter, and spent $155,448.17. Jim Ryun managed to raise $157,086.37, and spent $196,453.65. That a political newcomer can go toe-to-toe with a 5 term congressman with copious ties to the DC money machine is remarkable on its own. But Ryun has raised half…
October 16, 2006
Every week, the Kansas Guild of Bloggers gathers to share the finest craftsmanship in the bloggish arts. This week brought us 5 submissions, plus a few posts that I snagged on my own.
In Kalimba-bel's Canon?, John of Blog Meridian:
cannot help but be seduced, at least for this morning, by the…
October 14, 2006
In response to her recent proposal to change the powers of the Board of Education, Steve Abrams, the Ed. board chairman sez Sebelius is an ‘elitist.’ Quoth the Abrams:
"Personal insults from this liberal governor are the only arguments she can make due to the lack of her own accomplishments."
All…
October 13, 2006
Natural history and systematics as we know those sciences were born in Europe a few hundred years ago, and the European fauna is probably the best described in the world. Professional and amateur collectors have combed every part of the continent, searching for new species, and for odd forms of…
October 13, 2006
Democracy Corps just released a major study of 49 House districts currently held by Republicans. The Ryun-Boyda race is not yet in the top 49 races, but pollster Stan Greenberg and strategist James Carville are thinking that Democrats need to challenge more than just those 49. Stan Greenberg…
October 13, 2006
Phill Kline (the extra l is for "lying") has been claiming that his challenger in the race for Kansas Attorney General created a crime wave through a sentencing reform law he helped draft. Morrison has been defending himself vigorously, and now he gets support from a surprising corner. A…
October 13, 2006
Kansans or those who sympathize with Kansas are encouraged to submit to the next Kansas Guild of Bloggers, hosted here next Monday. Submit your entries using the Blogcarnival link, or just send me your best Kansas-ish blogging.
October 13, 2006
Ryun a neighbor to Florida rep 10/13/06:
U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun said he didn't know until recently he lives across the street from disgraced Florida Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned after he was found to have sent inappropriate e-mails to congressional pages. …
When asked whether he knew Foley well, Ryun…
October 12, 2006
Conservative commentator Steve Forman is outraged! What stirred him up enough to write:
This is nothing more than a power grab by the executive branch. Anyone who supports separation of powers should oppose this.
Is it the President asserting that he doesn't have to accept Congress's decision to…
October 12, 2006
The Lancet has published a study of mortality in Iraq, a followup to a similar study from a year ago. In this study, they estimated that over 650,000 more people died in Iraq during the US occupation than would have died otherwise.
The Questionable Authority has some objections. I'll start off by…
October 12, 2006
I didn't have $1,000 to blow on getting a photo with Dick Cheney, so you'll have to conjure up his image in your mind as he told Jim Ryun's donors to "return Republicans to Congress in order to keep tax cuts on the books and U.S. forces in Iraq."
Is there anyone who really looks forward to keeping…
October 12, 2006
Baker's Panel Rules Out Iraq Victory according to the New York Sun. Leaked policy papers suggest the panel is considering either stabilizing Baghdad while working toward political accommodation with insurgents, or a strategy of redeploying troops out of Iraq. The latter plan sounds not unlike…
October 12, 2006
Thoughts from Kansas won "Best History Post" and "Best Find" in the latest Carnival of the Vanities.
There's also a super new edition of the Carnival of the Liberals, and a podcast edition of the Skeptics' Circle.
October 11, 2006
In response to Kathleen Sebelius calling for a reorganization of the state Board of Education, and her comparison between the Board's notoriety and that of fellow Kansan Fred Phelps, Ken Willard told the Capitol Journal:
"What is she doing about it? What kind of communicating are we doing across…
October 11, 2006
Boyda poll shows dead heat with Ryun:
During a news conference, Boyda, of Topeka, said her underdog campaign remains a dead heat.
She released her campaign poll, which she said shows Ryun at 42.6 percent and Boyda at 40 percent with the rest undecided. Last month, she released polling that had her…
October 11, 2006
Mike the Mad Biologist points to a DailyKos diary. The diarist is helping make a video for the Topeka Bible Church, asking people what they pray for, when a woman approached them:
He asked her what she prayed for, and she said this:
"I pray, every day, that my husband, Jim Ryun, wins re-election…
October 11, 2006
Governor Kathleen Sebelius has largely stayed out of the educational battle that has swirled in Kansas over the last year. But she has stepped into the fray with a promise to restructure the Board of Ed if re-elected:
"I think we have a real institutional, structural problem in the state,"…
October 10, 2006
My article at Seedmagazine.com discusses the role of good government in promoting both economic development and in protecting natural resources, a claim some people find counterintuitive.
But examples abound. A week ago, a deal was announced for the U.S. to Cut Guatemala’s Debt for Not Cutting…
