It must be the heat, or maybe our upcoming primary elections, or something, but it’s been a fairly quiet past two weeks in the Kansas blogosphere. Some new blogs, however, make their appearance.
There is a new political blog in our state — sort of: Kansas Watch by Todd D. Epp, who appears to be a lawyer practicing in South Dakota. This blog’s introductory post on July 12 (Hello, Kansas!) provides background information on the author and the blog’s purpose. I think this blog will be useful to read … if it changes its color scheme! Some of the text I can’t read at all.
Another new blog, not political, is Cycling in Wichita. Its maiden post is The adventure begins, and it looks like this blog will provide a lot of useful information for cycling enthusiasts in Wichita.
On the topic of new non-political blogs here’s one that’s not really new, but new to me: Welcome to Planet Tess: Combine a few simple ingredients and what have you got? This blog’s topic is food and its preparation. Prepare yourself before viewing this blog: the recipes and the accompanying photographs are absolutely delicious. I wish I knew how to take photographs like this, but first I’d have to learn how to cook something worth commemorating in a photograph.
Also noticed for the first time is the still relatively new blog Lou Heldman on the News Media. The author is former publisher of the Wichita Eagle and its companion website, and is now Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism at Wichita State University. This blog looks to be a useful resource on new media from someone with much experience in traditional media.
The mysterious “Boondoggler” at Wichita 259 Truth contributes two articles exposing the mess at the Wichita public school district. It’s good to be Kevass Harding reports on a local minister and school board member’s involvement in real estate deal that tangles several units of local government. Bond Poll Results reports on a recent poll conducted by a local television station, and wonders why school bond supporters haven’t released the results of their poll taken earlier this summer.
The Kansas Republican Assembly blog notices a problem with a Topeka television station’s analysis of a Pat Roberts campaign ad, and tells how a Wichita television station arrived at a very different conclusion.
At The Kansas Federalist, a guest columnist explains Why Raising Taxes Doesn’t Work.
The Kansas Republican endorses a candidate for the Kansas House (The Kansas Republican Endorses Roger Hannaford) and comments on a few television campaign ads (The Kansas Republican Ad Off: Roberts, Jenkins & Ryun, Breaking News: Slattery Ad Filmed in……. Washington?), but otherwise is pretty quite for what is usually an active multi-author blog.
The heat or whatever didn’t seem to bother The Kansas Meadowlark, as there are some very good new posts. In Ethics Commission’s “Top 20? PAC list missing 10 PACs?, the Meadowlark develops a system for ranking the influence of Kansas political action committees.
The post JoCo League of Women Voters doesn’t believe in transparency in their candidate forums? describes how this organization won’t respond to requests for information about the background of the moderators of their forums.
In Kansas, the Meadowlark notices that “liberal” might be a dirty word that candidates don’t want applied to them. Instead, use the term “moderate,” as in “Using the moderate-conservative continuum … characterize your political views…”
The Kansas Taxpayers Network has published their annual ranking of legislators as noticed in Kansas Taxpayers Network (KTN) Issues 2008 Legislative “Friend of Taxpayer” Vote Rating.
Finally, sometimes to learn about Kansas political money you have to sniff around in Missouri: Missouri sunshine exposes Kansas political money.
The anonymous blogger(s) at Boyda Bloc contribute lots of coverage on the race for the second congressional district in Kansas. There was a debate between the two Republican candidates (Winner, Losers from Last Night’s GOP Debate, I got you, babe).
Personally, I took some time off to attend a conference last week, as reported in Defending the American Dream, or RightOnline in Austin 2008.
A letter writer to the Wichita Eagle is misinformed about the role that speculators play in our economy: Where’s Leadership on Oil Speculation?
Government Art in Wichita describes how government seems to want to weasel its way into everything, and newspaper editorialists think that’s fine.
The Christian Science Monitor has an uninformed view of the American West and markets: Efforts to Regulate ‘Wild West’ Markets are Long Overdue.
Some coverage of Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group and climate change: Jack Pelton, Leader of Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group, Kansas Climate Profile: Cause For Alarm?, KEEP’s Goal is Predetermined and Ineffectual, Wind Production Tax Credits Aren’t Free of Cost, and Kansas Owns the Carbon, Says the Governor.
I’ve had some issues with the Wichita public school district: For Wichita Public Schools, Even Simple Information Requests Seem a Problem and Wichita School District: Tax Rates Not Increasing, But Taxes Paid Are explain.
Wichita City Council’s Misunderstanding of Tax Increment Financing explains how this financial shell game works.