Kansas in the (historical comparisons) news

Also, will Steele beat the Roberts' record for shortest RNC Chairmanship ever? Matt Cooper discovered that the current record holder appears to be Sen. Pat Roberts' (R-KS) dad, C. Wesley Roberts, who was chairman for four months in 1953 before a reporter discovered he'd collected a $10,000 commission on the sale of a hospital the state of Kansas owned. Good times. I wonder if Steele can top it. |TPM|

November surprise

You people need to take a Zoloft or something. Obama will win, and win big. His grandmother has made the final, ultimate sacrifice for her little Bear. All of those stupid undecided voters conditioned by a lifetime of Hallmark cards and afterschool specials will be wiping away tears as they vote for the big O.

Still not convinced on the bailout

Many of us are still not convinced. I trust the instincts of Kevin Drum and Paul Krugman, but I also trust the instincts of Russ Feingold. And when Feingold agrees with the two Republican senators from Kansas, it gives me pause.

I understand how the credit market freezing would be bad, I think. What I don't get is why that freezing would be permanent. That is, if the bill passing today would keep credit from freezing up, would the same bill passed in two months--after the chill has really set in--would the bill really fail to unfreeze the market?

I guess I'm still wondering... what's the rush?

Time to start rooting for the Heat

Item: With the number two pick in the draft, the Heat select Michael Beasley out of KSU.

Item: With the fourth pick of the second round, the Heat acquire Mario Chalmers out of Kansas.

Item: Sports minded sister lives in Miami, sports minded father moving there soon.

A guy walks into a doctors office with a carrot in his ear and a piece of celery up his nose. The doctor told him he wasn't eating right.

I see that IHOP is running a special featuring, among other things, 'Kansas Carrot Cake'. I can't say for certain that I've ever had carrot cake outside of Kansas, but then again the only places I can recall encountering carrot cake are weddings, funerals, and university dining halls. Anyway, I find myself wondering: in the American culinary imagination, is carrot cake associated with Kansas?

I find it hard to believe that it could be so. Truth be told, I can't think of any distinctive foods of Kansas. I guess you could make a case for sunflower seeds, but it's not like there's a sunflower seed festival in Topeka^[1] or anything.

Somewhat relatedly, I've lately been craving a runza. Which, of course, is the distinctive delicacy of Nebraska.

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1 'Topeka', according to folk Kansas etymology, means 'a good place to dig potatoes'.

Ahhh, Kansas!

Speaking of Kansas, one of the less appealing things about the state is that it is home to Fred "Got Hates Fags and I'm going to hold up signs saying so at the funerals of Iraqi vets" Phelps and his noxious Westboro Baptist Church.

On the brighter side, Kansas also has folks who will go to Westboro's rallies and do this:

All your money won't another minute buy

Here's a phrase I never expected to see: "...an ancient, secluded exotic location 650' below the Kansas prairie!"

It's part of a description of the Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson.

The Underground Salt Museum, I'd have you know, is one of the eight wonders of Kansas. Can you imagine? Kansas has eight wonders when the ancient world had only seven. Land of Ahhhs is right!

The other seven:

• The world's largest hand-dug well
  
• The Cheyenne Bottoms/Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
  
• The Eisenhower Presidential Library
  
• The Kansas Cosmosphere
  
• Castle Rock
  
• St. Fidelis Catholic Church
  
• The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and the Flint Hills

Hillary on the NCAA Men's Basketball Champions

"In a move that's sure to be seen as controversial, Hillary has contacted the NCAA Board of Directors to argue that Memphis is actually better qualified to be National Champion."

Journal of a different Jim

Longtime Jason watchers will remember Jim's Journal, a sublime piece of Eastern wisdom reincarnated in the rude body of a 4-panel comic strip (note the K-State shoutout in the wikiped article!).

Well, this guy is removing Garfield from Garfield comics. And in the absence of the suck? It's... Jim!




Okay, it's not the same. But it feels right.

Let's go Wildcats!

woot! 84-75!

Also, it seems clear that the time has come for a blogular endorsement of Obama. Edwards is out and, as we all know, Obama is a Kansan through and through.

A measured response

A brief notice on the University of Kansas ResNet site explains the university's new position very succinctly. "If you are caught downloading copyrighted material, you will lose your ResNet privileges forever," reads the notice. "No second notices, no excuses, no refunds. One violation and your ResNet internet access is gone for as long as you reside on campus." Presumably, the University is referring to illegally downloaded copyrighted material, as there is plenty of copyrighted material that can be downloaded legally.

Cory Doctorow says:

The law doesn't require universities to spy on their students' network use. It doesn't require them to bear the enforcement costs of the RIAA's business model. Students' tuition is being spent to subsidize giant corporations bent on subverting the rule of law, free speech and free inquiry, and now, students caught in the entertainment industry's fatwa will be locked out of the network.

Honestly -- doesn't the University of Kansas have a law-school? What the hell is wrong with Kansas?

I'm not sure that I endorse Cory's view that these giant corporations are "bent on subverting the rule of law," but I'm a lot closer to his point of view than I am to the RIAA's.

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