January 12, 2007
Forthekids forwards a meme. I think I did this once upon a time, but it stays interesting.
Grab the nearest book.
Check. The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity by James Lovelock, J. E. Lovelock
Go to page 123.
Check.
Write down the 6th through 8th sentences:
Today it…
January 12, 2007
Gavin Sutter had no problem describing "What I Did Over the Summer" when he started 2nd grade. In July, the eight year-old Californian went on a fossil dig in Nevada with a local museum team. His mother found the antler of an early deer, others found rodents, canids, rhinos, turtles and mustelids…
January 12, 2007
Sez new Secretary of Defense Bobby Gates: "I would confess I’m no expert on Iraq." Which would be OK, except that "Later, asked about reaching the right balance between American and Iraqi forces, he told the panel he was 'no expert on military matters.'"
This will go brilliantly, I'm sure.
January 12, 2007
Bald Eagle to Be Taken Off Endangered List:
Seven years after the U.S. government moved to take the bald eagle off the endangered species list, the Bush administration intends to complete the step by February…
The delisting, supported by mainstream environmental groups, would represent a formal…
January 11, 2007
It's far too early for me to endorse any candidate for President in '08. I hope to wait until '07 is a little older, maybe even until '08 actually arrives. We've got a good crop out there. I've met Barack Obama, and found him to be an incredibly smart, incredibly charismatic guy, not to mention…
January 11, 2007
Tiller didn't break law in reporting underage abortions:
The Women's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita, operated by George Tiller, followed mandatory reporting laws for underage teenage sex in 15 abortions performed in 2003, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said today. The…
January 10, 2007
I'm disappointed that the troops being brought into Baghdad will not be given ponies. Unless everyone gets a pony, this plan hardly seems worth it.
I'm glad we have decided not to let the Taliban take over in Iraq. It's too bad we're going to continue allowing them to crawl back to power in…
January 9, 2007
In your astounding brilliance, you've managed to make the coolest thing ever. Again. The iPhone has an 8 gig hard drive, a 2 megapixel camera, and OS X. It can play video, it can connect to WiFi networks and view normal websites.
In my bag, I usually carry my laptop, a black and white Palm…
January 9, 2007
I would never compare a snowstorm, even one that dropped feet of snow on Colorado and western Kansas, to the devastation of a city by hurricane Katrina. But there were important lessons in the days preceding and following that destruction which should have been learned, not least about the…
January 9, 2007
At the DI's official blog, DI associate director/vice-president John West asks Why Does National Center for Science Education (NCSE) Spokesman Think "Mocking Traditional Religion" is OK?
Set aside that the spokesman in question doesn't defend the act of mocking traditional religion. He responded…
January 9, 2007
The best of Kansas blogging returns this week to Thoughts from Kansas.
We didn't get a lot of submissions this week, so I've picked some on my own.
From Blog Meridian, we get a close reading of Hopper's Conference at Night. I've been a big fan of Hopper since I designed a set for Inge's Bus Stop…
January 9, 2007
School Board Moves Quicker Than Expected to Rewrite Science Standards:
A new majority on the Kansas school board is moving faster than anticipated to rewrite anti-evolution science standards adopted less than two years ago.
The board decided Tuesday to put the science standards on its agenda later…
January 8, 2007
The Washington Monthly asks:
Nobody seems to mind when, say, soldiers or longshoremen cuss. It's usually described as "salty" or "colorful." So why can't bloggers be described as salty and colorful too?
Which reminds me of the sorely missed Suck.com, and its occasional series of filler graphs like…
January 8, 2007
A survey by a company that wants to build a casino resort in southeast Kansas fins support for more gambling:
The polling firm’s survey of 500 registered voters in Kansas showed that when voters were initially asked if they wanted to allow state-operated casino gambling, 46 percent supported it, 39…
January 6, 2007
One of the various labels variously applied to the group of people who don't believe in the supernatural is "secular humanist." This emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior by and toward other humans. Indeed, you'll sometimes see "secular humanist" and "atheist" used interchangeably.…
January 6, 2007
We already knew that joking in line at an airport was a bad idea. Now we know that the line at the county clerk's office is a bad place to joke also:
A wedding was postponed after a woman said "no" as a joke when asked if she took her fiancé as her husband.
Despite protests from a now blushing…
January 6, 2007
Proposal would give immunity to schools that spank:
One Kansas senator thinks that a quarter-inch of pine might be part of the solution to school disciplinary problems.
Sen. Phil Journey, R-Wichita, plans to introduce a bill on Monday that would shield educators from legal liability for…
January 6, 2007
J.D. asks does the kansas gop hate me?:
Look. I’m a secular conservative and a non-combatant in the "culture war". I think we (my readers and I) can all agree on that.
You already chased me off with this unhealthy fixation on gay marriage and this "intelligent design" crap. I’m not really a "joiner…
January 5, 2007
NASA tells us Bodele Depression Dust Feeds Amazon:
By studying NASA satellite data of the spread of dust across the globe, scientists discovered that more than half of the mineral dust that fertilizes the Amazon soil comes from a single spot in the southern Sahara, a large mountain-rimmed valley…
January 4, 2007
This t-shirt, despite the various forms of awesomeness Preshrunk describes, is unacceptable.
It shows blood moving out from the atria. The pulmonary artery is flowing into the heart (and possibly also out from it!). Blood is shown going backwards into the aorta! This sort of biological…
January 4, 2007
Finally, someone or other has put together a means by which you can evaluate the important question of the day: Is President Bush Psychotic?
Take the test, decide for yourself.
January 4, 2007
Via preshrunk we learn that miele fresca has an octopus t-shirt.
I don't have anything particularly cool to say about this except that it appears to be a very cool octopus, and anyone who celebrated Cephalopodmas should consider shelling out the exorbitant price that the manufacturer is charging…
January 4, 2007
The Pitch has a nice piece on Kris Kobach, examining his ongoing role in a racist anti-immigrant group, his failed campaign for Congress, the reversals of the policies he pushed while at the Justice Department, and controversy surrounding his classes at the UMKC law school. The piece, and frankly…
January 3, 2007
The article I cited earlier reports that:
By mid-September, Mr. Bush was disappointed with the results in Iraq and signed off on a complete review of Iraq strategy — a review centered in Washington, not in Baghdad.…
This year, decisions on a new strategy were clearly slowed by political…
January 3, 2007
GOP Lawmakers Divided About 'Surge' in Troops:
Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) … said in an interview Saturday that he could favor more troops if they were a "precursor" to political stability. But he added: "A short-term buildup in troops, if it simply is to impose military order without the possibility…
January 3, 2007
Yesterday, the Bush administration awoke from its long slumber and noticed that chaos overran Iraq plan in ’06, Bush team says. The Times story barely requires commentary:
President Bush began 2006 assuring the country that he had a "strategy for victory in Iraq." He ended the year closeted with…
January 1, 2007
As both parties urge aging lawmakers to hang on for one more term, "Memory Pills" Roberts quips, "'I have my track shoes on,' …, still feisty at 70, who said he intends to seek another term."
Track shoes may not be the best good luck charm, I don't think that they did much for Jim Ryun. Indeed,…
January 1, 2007
Please welcome Evolving in Kansas to the fold. The blog is still young, but Mousie Cat has a lot to say, and will make a nice addition to the internets.
December 31, 2006
A brief note before a New Year's dinner. The 3000th US soldier has died in Iraq. I suppose that means it's 2007 in Iraq, but the landmark fatality will be mourned in the United States as we swallow the dregs of 2006.
I hope that future generations remember last November's elections as a turning…
December 27, 2006
A few years ago, a number of small children got sick from E. coli infections; the bacteria were traced to petting zoos. Ms. TfK and I both thought that a smart Congresscritter could win the suburban mothers' votes by requiring better scrutiny of hygiene at petting zoos.
Little did we know that…
