10th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds state's approved route of South Lawrence Trafficway through the Baker Wetlands

You all should look up the history of Haskell. It didn't start out as a University. Its intention was a boarding school for Indian children to basically "civilize" them. They were taken or given up by their families to become "white people", even though the education they were given was second rate and did little to prepare them for life in a white society. Basically this was the solution because settlers didn't want "uncivilized, non-Christian" Indians in their area, but it was wrong to kill them. (uh yeah).

"Kill the Indian to save the man". More like ethnocide if you ask me.

Anyway, a lot of the bodies buried in the area outlined for the traffic way are children who died in the horrible conditions of the boarding school.

My whole point is this: Go ahead, build your road. Don't come crying to the opposition though when that becomes THE most haunted roadway in America.

July 10, 2012 at 2:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kansas revokes doctor's license in abortion case

Abortion should remain legal as stated in Roe vs Wade. People who crusade against abortion so passionately ignore the issue of the mother's life. Regardless of what the laws say, women are still going to get abortions. The only thing banning abortion would do it force women into extremely unsafe, even potentially life-threatening, situations in which they'd seek unsafe procedures. Abortion provider witch hunts do nothing but oppress women.

I stand 100% by a woman's right to choose. Every single woman and every single pregnancy and situation is different. The decision whether or not to have an abortion is NOT black and white. It is a personal decision that only a woman and the people she trusts (as in, people SHE approaches for advice, not those her force their opinions on her) can make.

Keeping safe, medical abortions legal is not going to encourage more people to get abortions. Just because it's legal, does NOT automatically mean every pregnant woman out there is going to have the procedure.

As I write this, I'm really coming to understand exactly how the issue of abortion in this country really does trample on civil rights. The old farts in the Capital can't trust me to make my own medical decision. So they make it for me. Like they can't trust two people in love to make their own, personal decision about marriage. Like they couldn't trust a person of color to choose where they sit on the freakin bus.

Hey Government: why don't you just send me packages of food every week so you control exactly what I put into my body? Force me to exercise. Ban hair cuts. Make me take out my piercings. Issue me a uniform.

You know what? We can make babies in test tubes now. Why even bother with pesky women anymore? Female infanticide works in other countries, right? Why not America? You're shooting yourselves in the foot here, Government.

June 23, 2012 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Brownback gets heat for 'real live experiment' comment on tax cuts

Recall Brownback!

June 20, 2012 at 2:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Evolution returns

For me, the Bible is a fascinating historical document that chronicles both physical history of ancient MIddle-eastern society and also describes the evolution of their religious beliefs. Early Judeo-Christian beliefs are constantly changing, and modern Christian beliefs should do the same. Holding so tightly onto outdated tradition is ridiculous to me, especially if it causes tangible, wide-spread negative effects.

June 15, 2012 at 12:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Evolution returns

Hm, good point. I guess I was just trying to be fair. I suppose it matters how it's presented. If you're talking about "Human Origins" then there's room for multiple viewpoints. If the subject is "Evolution", then it's evolution only.

I staunchly believe in evolution. Unfortunately, in situations like this where there are such extreme views, the only way to resolve the issue is compromise. Teaching creationism/ID in conjunction with evolution is a compromise and should make everybody happy.

This country is so rich and powerful but ironically so far behind so many other first world countries in education standards. We need to compromise in order to shut up and let our kids learn.

June 15, 2012 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Evolution returns

Evolution should be presented in science classes, as should opposing views. There's no reason there needs to be a debate. What gets me is that these so-called educators cannot trust their own children to weigh the evidence and make their own decisions.

I was raised Catholic. I went to after school Bible study classes until I was 12 years old.

In high school, I remember having one lecture dedicated to Darwin and following evolutionary scientists. I remember the mention of intelligent design and I remember the mention of creationism. We focused on evolution because there is heaps of scientific evidence supporting evolution. It was science class.

In high school I also learned a ton about the history of Christianity in my European history class. Having gone through Catholic Bible classes, I had a head start on some other classmates in understanding the doctrine. In college I've studied parts of the Bible multiple times as well. I see the tremendous value Christianity has in the lives of people who follow those teachings. I see religion in general as an extremely valuable part of humanity. There are so many different religions in the world however that to try and force a single religious view on such diverse people is ludicrous.

I made a decision in my life to follow the science of evolution instead of the doctrine of Christianity in regards to human origins. I made a choice. I was not indoctrinated either way. Evolution makes more sense to me. I have friends who received the same education that I did who chose to believe the Christian doctrine.

My point is, your beliefs are ultimately a choice. These legislators do not trust that their children can make their own decisions, and that scares me. Human beings are intelligent creatures. I believe being educated involves being exposed to as much as possible. I feel like these board members are unconsciously forcing Kansas children to be uneducated and single minded.

Another point: Unless these kids choose to follow a scientific or religious career path (oh look, there's that pesky "choice" idea again), where humans originated is not going to make a difference in their day to day lives, just like calculus has no bearing on my day to day life.

Ultimate point: Trust our children. Teach everything which is relevant.

June 15, 2012 at 11:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )