Randall Harris, Utility Manager of Chisholm Creek Utility Authority, spoke on the topic “An Overview of the Chisholm Creek Utility Authority.” This was recorded on August 26, 2015, at the Park City (Kansas) Chamber of Commerce meeting. This is an audio presentation. The accompanying visual presentation is here.
Wondering if “the GOP isn’t on course to nominating their very own [Michael] Dukakis?” the Weekly Standard suggests a few possibilities, including Kansas’ Mike Pompeo:
Who could such a mysterious dark horse be? Well, it’s not as if every well-qualified contender is already on the field. Mitch Daniels was probably the most successful Republican governor of recent times, with federal executive experience to boot. Paul Ryan is the intellectual leader of Republicans in the House of Representatives, with national campaign experience. The House also features young but tested leaders like Jim Jordan, Trey Gowdy and Mike Pompeo. There is the leading elected representative of the 9/11 generation who has also been a very impressive freshman senator, Tom Cotton. There could be a saner and sounder version of Trump—another businessman who hasn’t held electoral office. And there are distinguished conservative leaders from outside politics; Justice Samuel Alito and General (ret.) Jack Keane come to mind.
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Debate and communications coach and expert Rodney Wren explains the recent presidential debate. What should viewers look for as they watch? View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 93, broadcast August 23, 2015.
Cato Institute Senior Fellow Michael Tanner speaks about his new book, “Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt and the Entitlement Crisis,” at a luncheon of the Wichita Pachyderm Club, July 31, 2014. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Video production by Paul Soutar.
A celebrity roast of Donald Trump provides insight into the honoree’s character.
Anyone who is thinking of supporting Donald Trump for president might want to view the Comedy Central Roast of Trump. This was recorded in 2011, and several roasters referred to Trump’s possible presidential candidacy. You can find it on YouTube.
In these roasts the humor is raunchy and vulgar. The language is foul. I’m not sure I understand all the jokes, and I’m a little ashamed to admit that I do understand many. The roasters — a collection of has-beens like Larry King and celebrities who seem to do nothing but appear on roasts — poke fun at the roastee, in this case Donald Trump.
Well, it’s much more than poking fun. The roasters skewer Trump. No aspect of his life seems off limits. Multiple jokes refer to his several young wives and his sex life. These jokes are often funny. They’re funny because they exaggerate some aspect of Trump. They have to have a whiff of plausibility, some grounding in reality, in order to be funny.
If, for example, a roaster were to poke fun at Trump for being poor or short, that wouldn’t be funny. Trump is not poor; he’s extremely wealthy, and he’s tall. There’s no platform from which to exaggerate for humorous effect.
But when a roaster crudely jests at how Trump’s ego intrudes on his sex life (it has to do with Trump being more interested in himself than in his partner), that’s pretty funny. It references things that are true about Trump — his massive ego and his several beautiful young wives — and exaggerates a little.
Jokes like this could not have been a surprise to Trump. He (or his people) must have known the nature of the humor employed at these roasts. So the question is: Why did he appear in such a forum? Is this a way to appear presidential?
A series of short videos from the Independent Institute entertains and teaches lessons at the same time.
The Independent Institute has produced a series of humorous and satirical videos to present lessons about the nature of government. The Institute describes the series here:
Love Gov depicts an overbearing boyfriend — Scott “Gov” Govinsky — who foists his good intentions on a hapless, idealistic college student, Alexis. Each episode follows Alexis’s relationship with Gov as his intrusions wreak (comic) havoc on her life, professionally, financially, and socially. Alexis’s loyal friend Libby tries to help her see Gov for what he really is — a menace. But will Alexis come to her senses in time?
There are five episode (plus a trailer). Each episode is around five minutes long and presents a lesson on a topic like jobs, healthcare, and privacy. The episodes are satirical and funny. They’d be really funny if the topic wasn’t so serious. I recommend you spend a half-hour or so to view the series.
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Radio talk show host Joseph Ashby joins host Bob Weeks to discuss his interview with Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, the end of the legislative session, and Republican presidential candidates. Episode 87, broadcast June 21, 2015. View below, or click here to view at YouTube.
In this excerpt from WichitaLiberty.TV: What recourse do citizens have when elected officials are not responsive? Initiative and referendum are two possibilities. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Originally broadcast May 3, 2015.
A Wichita statistician is thwarted in efforts to obtain data that might explain a strange observation.
A paper details the discovery of unexplained patterns in election returns. The paper is titled 2008/2012 Election Anomalies, Results, Analysis and Concerns. The authors are Francois Choquette and James Johnson. A passage from the introduction explains what has been noticed:
Back in February 2012 during the South Carolina primaries, a keen observer noted that Republican candidate Mitt Romney had an unusual gain of votes in larger precincts. Analysts noted this effect violated expected statistics. Specifically, the percentage of votes in each precinct strangely increased as a function of precinct size (vote tally). The vote gain is correlated to precinct size, not the precinct location, be it in cities or rural areas. This anomaly is not apparent in other elections that don’t include Republican candidates. In 2008, Mitt Romney had the benefit of this anomaly and then the gain switched to John McCain once Romney exited the campaign. The Democrat Party elections we looked at don’t show this problem. (emphasis added)
There is a mysterious correlation between votes for Republican candidates and the number of votes cast in a precinct. So far no one has advanced a convincing reason why this should happen.
Results from Obama vs. Romney, Sedgwick County, 2012, showing Romney’s lead increasing with precinct size. Click for larger version.In Wichita, WSU statistician Beth Clarkson has sought to obtain the paper tapes that Sedgwick County voting machines produce as voters make selections using the electronic machines. (“WSU statistician sues seeking Kansas voting machine paper tapes,” April 1, 2015 Wichita Eagle)
The Choquette and Johnson paper gives the method for examining the relationship between precinct size and candidate vote percentages. I applied the method to three recent Sedgwick County elections. The anomaly appears to be present.
Results from Brownback vs. Davis vs. Umbehr, Sedgwick County, 2014, showing Brownback’s percentage increasing with precinct size. Click for larger version.If Kansas law does in fact prevent the release of voting machine tapes to Clarkson, we need to change the law, and right now. It’s curious that Secretary Kobach is not interested in investigating this apparent anomaly. Voting fraud has been one of Kobach’s key issues.
I was concerned that the paper tapes produced by voting machines might contain information that would link individual voters with the votes they cast. That would be a potential problem concerning the confidentiality of votes. But when I voted this week, I watched the information printed on the tape, and I don’t believe there is a concern.
Results from the Wichita marijuana ballot question, April 2015.
Randall Harris, Utility Manager of Chisholm Creek Utility Authority, spoke on the topic “An Overview of the Chisholm Creek Utility Authority.” This was recorded on August 26, 2015, at the Park City (Kansas) Chamber of Commerce meeting. This is an audio presentation. The accompanying visual presentation is here.
The Independent Institute has produced a series of humorous and satirical videos to present lessons about the nature of government. The Institute describes the series here:
