Shanah Tovah
Rosh Hashanah greetings, one and all.
Political campaigns are heating up in the Kansas 3rd district congressional race between incumbent Dennis Moore (D) and Kris Kobach. (R). Mitch and I went to hear Mr. Kobach speak at the KU College Republicans meeting Tuesday night. I wasn't really sure what his positions were, but I was aware that he was the conservative candidate. A very smart man, graduate of Harvard, Yale, Oxford, professor of constitutional Law at UMKC. These are his accomplishments and I do not dispute them. I am a little surprised that one who (insert dripping sarcasm here) would get all those degrees to come home to *Kansas* to tell us yokels how great his representation will be for our state if we would only deign to help him get elected to Congress.
Though my praise stops there. He's my second disciple of John Ashcroft this week, and I have to say I liked the other guy (the one who wrote the patriot act) better. I was so infuriated listening to this man prattle on about how immigrants who have had 3 years of Kansas high school should not entitled to instate tuition, takes money from white supremacist gun groups, is adamantly pro-life (and would like to have control over my uterus, too) which he ascribes to the birth of his daughter, Lilly.
Lilly, sweetie, I hope you feel better. Your dad said you had a respiratory infection. In 15 years, when your dad wants to lock a chastity belt on you and ban all information about birth control and reproductive health, please tell him he can kiss your ass.
Mr. Kobach, your campaign (and your appearances) indicate that you are a religious man. Please remember that God's revenge on males is the gift of daughters. Be advised.
Eh, M. will probably vote for him anyway just to spite me and his liberal democrat parents.
However, the thing that really pissed me off was totally unrelated to his campaign. It was wrongly treading on one of my pet peeves...See, this guy in the audience asked the loaded question, "Should evolution be taught in Kansas high schools?" (For those of you who've been living on Mars, Kansas had an enormous debate of national repute about the school board removing reference to evolution from the state's curriculum.)
Anyway, Kobach started, "As a congressman, I really have no say in what is taught in Kansas schools." And he should have stopped there...
Because then he continued... (and I paraphrase) about how evolution should be taught as only a theory and other alternative should be presented and then said some half-assed Michael Behe argument of irreducible complexity and enormous time needed for evolution of modern life...blahblah...Dude, there was smoke coming out of my ears.
If have to hear one more educated person (and this guy has a Ph.d and JD) *deride* evolution as only a theory, I will personally kick his or her ass. First of all, the term "theory" in science requires a drastically different burden of proof than say, a conspiracy theory. Second, science doesn't take itself as seriously as the public does...if evidence arises that significantly shows a new result or the formation of a new hypothesis, scientists are more than willing to reconsider their old ideas in the light of new discoveries....IF THEY CAN BE SUBSTANTIATED by the process of peer review. Gravity is a theory, especially how we think it works in extreme situations like black holes, but it seems to work well enough on this planet.
The thing is, I don't blame Kris' education (or lack of it) for his ignorant comments. I think that he has deluded himself in order to win this race. He believes the 3rd district of KS needs a bible-thumping Republican candidate to win the election. He says its a national mark of shame to the Republican party that a district with as many registered republicans at the 3rd has a Democratic congressman. Well, maybe Mr. Kobach, that's because we don't like wacko congressmen who are disciples of John Ashcroft...whom our neigbors in Missouri disliked so much they picked the dead guy over him in the senate race in 2000.
My dad says that 3rd district won't vote for a conservative, and they didn't in the last election. We'll see. Well this Republican (or Republican-in-name-only as some would call me) is voting for the Democrat.
(hehe. Mitch heard me hit the space after I typed the period.. "That sounded angry," he remarked. Hells yeah.)
Political campaigns are heating up in the Kansas 3rd district congressional race between incumbent Dennis Moore (D) and Kris Kobach. (R). Mitch and I went to hear Mr. Kobach speak at the KU College Republicans meeting Tuesday night. I wasn't really sure what his positions were, but I was aware that he was the conservative candidate. A very smart man, graduate of Harvard, Yale, Oxford, professor of constitutional Law at UMKC. These are his accomplishments and I do not dispute them. I am a little surprised that one who (insert dripping sarcasm here) would get all those degrees to come home to *Kansas* to tell us yokels how great his representation will be for our state if we would only deign to help him get elected to Congress.
Though my praise stops there. He's my second disciple of John Ashcroft this week, and I have to say I liked the other guy (the one who wrote the patriot act) better. I was so infuriated listening to this man prattle on about how immigrants who have had 3 years of Kansas high school should not entitled to instate tuition, takes money from white supremacist gun groups, is adamantly pro-life (and would like to have control over my uterus, too) which he ascribes to the birth of his daughter, Lilly.
Lilly, sweetie, I hope you feel better. Your dad said you had a respiratory infection. In 15 years, when your dad wants to lock a chastity belt on you and ban all information about birth control and reproductive health, please tell him he can kiss your ass.
Mr. Kobach, your campaign (and your appearances) indicate that you are a religious man. Please remember that God's revenge on males is the gift of daughters. Be advised.
Eh, M. will probably vote for him anyway just to spite me and his liberal democrat parents.
However, the thing that really pissed me off was totally unrelated to his campaign. It was wrongly treading on one of my pet peeves...See, this guy in the audience asked the loaded question, "Should evolution be taught in Kansas high schools?" (For those of you who've been living on Mars, Kansas had an enormous debate of national repute about the school board removing reference to evolution from the state's curriculum.)
Anyway, Kobach started, "As a congressman, I really have no say in what is taught in Kansas schools." And he should have stopped there...
Because then he continued... (and I paraphrase) about how evolution should be taught as only a theory and other alternative should be presented and then said some half-assed Michael Behe argument of irreducible complexity and enormous time needed for evolution of modern life...blahblah...Dude, there was smoke coming out of my ears.
If have to hear one more educated person (and this guy has a Ph.d and JD) *deride* evolution as only a theory, I will personally kick his or her ass. First of all, the term "theory" in science requires a drastically different burden of proof than say, a conspiracy theory. Second, science doesn't take itself as seriously as the public does...if evidence arises that significantly shows a new result or the formation of a new hypothesis, scientists are more than willing to reconsider their old ideas in the light of new discoveries....IF THEY CAN BE SUBSTANTIATED by the process of peer review. Gravity is a theory, especially how we think it works in extreme situations like black holes, but it seems to work well enough on this planet.
The thing is, I don't blame Kris' education (or lack of it) for his ignorant comments. I think that he has deluded himself in order to win this race. He believes the 3rd district of KS needs a bible-thumping Republican candidate to win the election. He says its a national mark of shame to the Republican party that a district with as many registered republicans at the 3rd has a Democratic congressman. Well, maybe Mr. Kobach, that's because we don't like wacko congressmen who are disciples of John Ashcroft...whom our neigbors in Missouri disliked so much they picked the dead guy over him in the senate race in 2000.
My dad says that 3rd district won't vote for a conservative, and they didn't in the last election. We'll see. Well this Republican (or Republican-in-name-only as some would call me) is voting for the Democrat.
(hehe. Mitch heard me hit the space after I typed the period.. "That sounded angry," he remarked. Hells yeah.)