Kansas blogs

WichitaLiberty.TV: Author Bud Norman
20
Jul
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Author Bud Norman

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Journalist, author, and blogger Bud Norman joins Bob to discuss the local newspaper, Donald Trump, and the Kansas governor contest. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 202, broadcast July 21, 2018. Shownotes Blog: The Central Standard Times Bud's novels: The Things That Are Caesar's and This Town is Nowhere. Bud Norman archive at the Wichita Eagle (may require library card login)
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New Kansas blog: Cold Friday
26
May
By Bob Weeks

New Kansas blog: Cold Friday

I've noticed a new conservative blog in Kansas, Cold Friday. It describes its goal as "to provide thoughtful opinions on current events and the moral issues of the day." The founder is J. Christopher Pryor of Topeka. He has been published with the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog, The Remnant, and Catholic Family News among others. He has a J.D., M.B.A. and B.A. in Philosophy. Pryor writes predominantly on issues of antisemitism, philosophy, current events and his hobbies of science and ham radio. To view the blog, click on coldfriday.org.
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WichitaLiberty.TV: Gidget Southway, or Danedri Herbert
08
Aug
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Gidget Southway, or Danedri Herbert

This week on WichitaLiberty.TV: Danedri Herbert, also known as Gidget Southway, visits Wichita and WichitaLiberty.TV. Her blog is Kansas GOP Insider. This interview was recorded on July 27, 2016. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 126, broadcast August 7, 2016.
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20
Sep
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas, Community Bridge Blog lies — in photographs

Falsely altered photograph of Kris Kobach posted on Community Bridge Blog In debates over public policy, words matter. But readers recognize that words represent the opinion of the writer, and as such can be incorrect, misinformed, or simply stating a preference that the reader may disagree with. But photographs are different. When presented with a photograph purporting to convey a message, readers (viewers) don't know if it is real or has been altered. So when the Community Bridge Blog, a Manhattan-based project, uses a doctored photograph of Republican Kansas Secretary of State Candidate Kris Kobach, readers might be justifiably confused.…
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25
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Kansas Republican online efforts lag

If online political activity has any value, Kansas Republicans aren't providing much. Many Kansas Republican websites and online outreach efforts are stale and lagging behind in providing timely and quality information. As of today, the most recent post on The Kansas Trunkline (promoted as "The Official Blog of the Kansas Republican Party") is dated November 30, 2009. That's coming up on three months old. If blogs have any defining characteristics, one is frequent updates with timely material. That's not happening here. This blog is promoted on the front page of the Kansas Republican Party website. That site doesn't fare much…
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21
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Kansas alternative media senate access discussed on WIBW

Kansas Watchdog reporting at Kansas Senate decides who is press and who is not may have caught the eye of Topeka radio talk show hosts Raubin Pierce and Megan Mosack, as they invited me to appear on their show today to talk about my inability to obtain press credentials at the Kansas Senate. (By the way, isn't it great that people in Topeka and northeast Kansas have a radio talk show that covers politics and public policy? We definitely could use something like this in Wichita.) My appearance is available for listening at the show's archive page under the heading…
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01
Aug
By Bob Weeks

In Anaheim, I am the press

In Kansas, alternative media outlets like this blog can't get the same level of access that traditional media has in the Kansas statehouse. My post Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access gives details. This week I in was in Anaheim, California on a fact-finding trip. As part of this, I asked to meet with a planner for the City of Anaheim. Shortly after we started our meeting, he asked to leave the room for a moment. When he came back, a media relations person for the city was with him, and stayed with us during our meeting. This…
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26
Jun
By Bob Weeks

Kansas alternative media discussed on Kansas Week

Bob Weeks discusses the difficulty of alternative media obtaining press credentials at the Kansas Legislature. From the KPTS public affairs television program Kansas Week on June 26, 2009. Tim Brown is the host. Randy Brown, Senior Fellow in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University also appears. Read the story behind this by clicking on Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access.
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21
Jun
By Bob Weeks

Journalism’s obituary, in advance

Referring to an article on the Drudge Report, a local Wichita blogger writes "According to this report on June 24th 2009 the 'Free Press' died without a whimper. It rushed head long into suicide." The entire post is Journalism died 24 June, 2009.
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17
Mar
By Bob Weeks

Kansas blogger prone to exaggeration

Jason Croucher, writing in the Kansas Jackass blog, says that we're spending trillions on the Iraq war and little domestically. Is this really the case? A running tally of the cost of the war from CostOfWar.com is at about $605 billion. That's in line with other estimates. It's true the war is going to continue to cost a lot for some time, and the cost may well exceed $1 trillion at some time in the future, but that's a lot different from saying "all those trillions spent in Iraq." Then there's this from Croucher: "Ah, but then, suddenly, the federal…
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12
Mar
By Bob Weeks

We really don’t know what Kansas taxes should be — except lower

Today's edition of the Kansas Jackass blog has a post written by Jason Croucher that criticizes Americans For Prosperity because the group doesn't like taxes. That's not quite accurate, as Croucher himself says he doesn't like paying taxes. Instead, the post seems to argue that we have to pay taxes because they're there, and we don't know whether they're too high, and anyway, we can't identify and agree on what is waste, so let's just pay. Something like this, anyway. But there are a few problems with this post that deserve discussion. He likens paying his cable television bill to…
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23
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Kansas budget drama unnecessary

Kansas news reports and blogs are still trying to decide who won last week's showdown between Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Republican legislative leaders. GOP message lost in drama provides an example. But as reported on this blog (Sebelius’ Proposed Cuts Not Likely Enough, Kansas Governor Not Facing Reality of Budget Crisis) and in other places, this crisis was solely of the Governor's own making. Her budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 from January met the legal requirement she faced, but came nowhere near facing the economic reality. Had she proposed a reasonable budget in January, this crisis -- such…
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09
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Kansas voter data difficult to use

At the Kansas Meadowlark, Earl Glynn has an article that illustrates some of the difficulties that researches face when working with voter data. I haven't done nearly as much of this as Earl has, but I can tell you there have been times when I've been quite frustrated with voter data that I've received. I've had to spend time manipulating data in order to get it into useful formats. The Meadowlark story is Comparing Voter Registration to Nov. ‘08 Ballots in Allen County. Too Difficult?
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31
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Kansas Jackass spotted at Kansas days

Through several methods, including excessive tweeting and plain old gumshoe work, the identity of the anonymous blogger Kansas Jackass was deduced. One tweet by the Jackass told me that the blogger would be entering the event hall at Kansas Days in a few minutes. I waited by the door and had a conversation with the Jackass.
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16
Jan
By Bob Weeks

What impact do Kansas voters have on judges?

Recently a Kansas blog covered a political event and wrote this in a post titled Defending America Summit Brought out the Wingnuts: Stephen Ware, Professor at the University of Kansas Law School: "What’s unusual about Kansas is about how little the people’s wishes matter. There are no checks and balances in the judicial selection process." ********. It's called a retention voted [sic]. Don't like Justice Dan Biles? Vote him out in a year. And, hey, aren't all professors supposed to be crazy liberals? I asked Mr. Ware about the value of retention votes in giving a voice to the people.…
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13
Jan
By Bob Weeks

And the basis for your criticism is?

A blogger in Kansas has an issue with a talk given by Jonah Goldberg at Americans For Prosperity's Defending the American Dream Summit in Wichita. As it turns out, the basis for the criticism is ..., well, let the speaker himself explain. See the post titled Well-Named.
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11
Nov
By Bob Weeks

Top 100 libertarian blogs. I’m in.

Sarah Scrafford has produced a very useful list: The Top 100 Libertarian Blogs. I'm happy to report that my blog, The Voice For Liberty in Wichita, made the cut. This list is divided into categories, which should make it easier to find just the right blog for your interests. Thank you to Sarah Scrafford and Kelly Sonora for this useful service.
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22
Sep
By Bob Weeks

Wichita and Kansas General Election Coverage

My page of coverage of the general election for Wichita and the surrounding area is available. Click here to view it. I don't think I have all the candidate websites listed yet, so if I'm missing any, please send it to me though the contact page. I'd prefer an email message rather than a comment.
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