Kansas Blog Roundup for August 1, 2008

on

I’ve noticed two new Kansas blogs this week. One, Blog For Kansas, displays the disclaimer “Paid for by Jim Slattery for Senate,” so this appears to be, and not only for that reason, an official campaign blog. Keep that in mind while reading.

The second is Douglas and Main, obviously located in Wichita, maybe right downtown. From the author’s “about” page: “I like blogs and I like ideas and I like Wichita.” Already this blog has introduced me to three Wichita-based blogs that I wasn’t aware of. I hope this blog’s author keeps posting and developing this useful blog.

In Wichita, some news was made at the Monday evening Wichita school board meeting. The Boondoogler reports in CARE, Recommending Less for More. At Voice For Liberty in Wichita, the posts Who Runs the Wichita School Bond Issue Campaign? and Wichita School Bond Issue: What We Don’t Know provide more coverage.

At The Kansas Progress, the post Flaherty: Don’t be bullied by Surbaugh provides analysis of a Johnson County ballot measure to raise taxes.

At the Kansas Republican Assembly blog, there’s a bit of a kerfuffle going on at the Kansas City Star regarding the Kansas Meadowlark and his investigative reporting. Basically the Star (or “Red” Star, as it is often called) has some issues with the Meadowlark’s selection of issues to research and report on. As if a one-man team holding down a full-time job has time to cover all issues. One commenter to the posts wondered why the Meadowlark was taking so long to respond to his comment, when it turns out that his reply was marked as possible spam by the Star’s system. The Star has dozens and dozens of reporters who could cover these issues, but they decide not to.

Also at the KRA blog, the post Statehouse renovations: Did your Senator sign a blank check? provides advice to those voting in the Kansas primary next week on their senate candidate’s attitudes toward runaway spending on the statehouse renovation.

These KRA blog posts are anonymously authored. I would encourage the writer or writers to identify themselves.

A while back Kansas Democrats poked fun at Kansas Republicans for having a “loyalty committee.” Now it turns out that the Democrats are engaging in some party squabbling of their own. Breaking News: I agree with a Democrat at the Kansas Trunkline explains. The Kansas Meadowlark provides excellent coverage in the post Kansas Democratic Party’s “Loyalty Committee” complete with scanned examples of the mailings. This coverage by the Meadowlark is invaluable. His post Kansas Democrats to spend another $22,000 to take out Democrat incumbent Senator Gilstrap provides even more coverage.

Then, can a clerk at Wal-Mart afford to give Jim Slattery a $4,600 campaign contribution? See Slattery Fundraising Report Raises Questions.

Who’s filing their campaign finance reports, and who isn’t? Missing Campaign Finance Reports tells.

Just how biased is the Kansas City Start in its reporting and editorializing? The Meadowlark post Kline vs. Kansas City Star in an August Primary Election? provides some background. The Star recently suffered large cuts in jobs.

Some political intrigue is noticed in Netroots Nation used to buy Kansas State Rep District 15? I have been aware of the campaign of Sean Tevis for some time. When I first looked at his website I couldn’t figure out which political party this candidate belonged to. But I liked him, because I spotted this in the html source code of his site: “Hello person who cares enough to read source code. Please donate $8.88 to my campaign. Any amount with 88 cents at the end is flagged for me to let me know that it came from someone who I guess is a lot like me. You’ll also be entered into a drawing to win a prize and it will help save the world. Thank you.”

(By the way, he’s a Democrat. You have to sniff around his site for a while before you’ll learn that.)

At Boyda Bloc, we learn in Jenkins Endorsed by the Kansas City Star of an endorsement in Kansas’ second district congressional Republican primary race. Also, see links to candidates’ television advertisements.

Kansas Watch has a post that’s sure to start a debate: Who Is Kansas’ Greatest Modern Governor?

The Wichita NAACP Blog offers an invitation to an event marking an important point in Wichita’s history: JOIN US for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Dockum Sit-In.

A Wichita Eagle article on TIF districts provided the Voice For Liberty in Wichita with inspiration for two posts: What Wichita Vice Mayor Sharon Fearey Doesn’t Understand and Do Wichita TIF Districts Create Value?

Also a sports columnist reveals his thoughts on school bond issue strategy in Will Bob Lutz Follow Jeff Davis on the Wichita School Bond Issue?

Comments

2 responses to “Kansas Blog Roundup for August 1, 2008”

  1. Thanks for the mention. This is a great daily round up of what’s up in the Kansas political blogosphere and one of my daily “must reads.”

    Todd Epp
    Kansas Watch http://kswatch.squarespace.com

  2. Bob,
    Thanks for the mention and the encouragement. I chose the name “Douglas and Main” because its the central cross roads for Wichita. My intent is to help Wichita-area people who blog, or read blogs, to make connections with each other.
    Bobby Rozzell

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.