Palin brought the excitement; McCain brought the biography

Kansas delegates: GOP 'excited' by McCain-Palin ticket

John McCain turned lukewarm supporters in the Kansas delegation at the Republican National Convention into fans, and attendees from Kansas said they believed the GOP emerged from the event united and energized.

While Kansans applauded McCain’s highly personal and often moving acceptance speech Thursday, they said Sarah Palin stole the show with a stunningly effective address Wednesday accepting the vice presidential nomination.

“Not to take anything away from John McCain – he gave a great acceptance speech and said a lot of things I liked – but Palin was magnificent,” said Christy Andruss, who attended the convention as a GOP volunteer. “She proved with all the media attacks going into the convention that she could take it, and Wednesday night, she proved she could dish it out.” [ Read more...]

KU speech professor: Sebelius did what was expected. Palin was 'fantastic.'

Two women, two parties, two speeches

It’s predictable that party members would cheer a speech from a vice presidential nominee - or even a would-be VP nominee - even if it were less than inspiring.

In the national political party conventions, Kansans have seen two interesting women give speeches that have a definite connection with the Sunflower State.

Last week, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius addressed the Democratic National Convention and claimed she had been successful in persuading red-state Republicans to support her blue-state policies. [ Read more...]

• KansasLiberty from the floor. Read Maria Holiday's GOP convention dispatches - and see exclusive photo coverage - here.

Does back-to-school mean back-to-spending? Voters will decide.

Education PACs gearing up for November

It's only two months away from election day. Supporters of increased education funding are working hard to make sure the vote goes their way.

Between January 1 and July 24, more than a dozen political action committees that advocate for public school spending contributed at least $182,000 to like-minded candidates and organizations, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.

In addition, Gov. Sebelius’ Bluestem Fund doled out $73,862 to candidates and organizations partly on the basis of their position on education spending. [ Read more...]

Despite years of controversy and screaming headlines, commission sees no evil, speaks no evil

200 judges evaluated - but not a single one recommended for ouster

Although a relentless string of stories about judges giving taps on the wrist to convicted criminals and helping cover up non-enforcement of state laws might suggest otherwise, judges in Kansas who are seeking to be retained in office in November are apparently doing a bang-up job meting out justice.

That’s according to the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance.

Out of more than 200 state judges reviewed by the commission, not a single one was recommended for ouster in November. [ Read more...]

Critic says it's because they don't want their dues used for political purposes. Democrats backing new law that would eliminate secret ballots.

Fewer and fewer Kansans joining labor unions

Last Friday, Labor Secretary Jim Garner pointed to an increase in manufacturing jobs in Kansas as one of the bright spots of 2007's economic year. Garner made his comments while unveiling the new state economic report.

In the past, an increase in manufacturing jobs would mean an increase in union membership. But that's not the story in Kansas, where union membership has decreased by approximately 25 percent since 1992.

That's not good news for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, the state's Democratic Party and liberal Republicans - all traditional recipients of union financial support. [ Read more...]

Far from Topeka, the cost of living may have jumped, but nobody's very worried

Western Kansas residents take energy price hikes in stride

The Kansas Corporation Commission recently approved a rate increase for Midwest Energy, an electricity and natural gas supplier to approximately 90,000 Kansas residents.

The average increase residential customers can expect is about 13.6 percent, said Bob Helm, Manager of Corporate Communications for Midwest Energy.

“All of the prices are going up because the price just to do business is going up,” Helm told KansasLiberty.com. [ Read more...]

Chalmers and Arthur flunk out of NBA's 'good-behavior' school

Two stars on Jayhawks title team 'banished' from rookie camp

Two stars on the 2007-2008 University of Kansas men's basketball team that claimed KU's first national NCAA title in 20 years have reportedly been banished from an NBA rookie transition camp designed to teach incoming rookies proper decorum for an NBA player.

Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were reportedly asked to leave the camp after caught with marijuana and women in their hotel room.

The AP, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Sports Network, the Seattle Times and the Fox Sports Network are among publications reporting on the incident. [ Read more...]

Week on the Web

Like a space program - without the space. Sometimes, scientific projects yield civilian bonanzas. The space program for example gave us Tang. And Teflon. And, uh...Buzz Aldrin! But $4 billion to bang protons against each other? Nobody's supposed to criticize scientists, but maybe a CERNite should go explain to Kansas' newly-hidden impoverished (see last week) why it's a great idea to spend $4 billion on a fancy collider. Hey, sci-guys. Want a free collider? Cross an F-150 with a six-pack.

Wonder what it's like in Sturgis. Our favorite eastern Kansas anarchist, blogger Chuck Munson, formerly of APR, has unearthed a story in a science mag claiming that the more bicyclists there are on the streets, the safer it is for each individual cyclist. That makes sense in urban areas. But as parents in small towns from Norton to Clay Center can tell you, kids on bikes don't seem to have any effect at all on speeding cars. Cops on bikes - that works. Not a very anarchist-friendly solution, though. We always thought anarchy was driving a Volvo without a seat belt. Turns out it's more complicated than that.

Candles have carbon footprints, too. It 's a long way from St Francis, where electric bills are growing tall, to Fran White's real estate office, but rising costs for power are spreading from west to east and now they're ready to hit the land of Fran bigtime. Fran's Kansas City North Real Estate blog might seem like it's a long way from Chuck Munson, too, at least philosophically. But a few more rate hikes in Kansas, like the one Fran complains that KCPL wants, and we'll all be humming Chumbawamba's greatest hit and raging against the machine, especially if it's Kathleen Sebelius' big green political machine.

A Preview of the Coming Week