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Open thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Dec. 7, 2006 at 1:05 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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58 Comments
I’m up late but Park City’s city council, Dee and friends, voting to take Greyhound Park Property and noise, why so late they voted on city business?
Park City has a right to take property she says. Park City should just buy Greyhound Park from Phil Ruffin but they can’t.
Park City is in the news for Wild West World, Cowtown relocation crazy dreams, downtown arena vote abandoning the area and now Greyhound Park land grab.
Park City is no different than Andover and Derby. Goddard. Those growing cities make less noise about taking Wichita’s things.
Park City past news, Dee was working with Bob Knight’s Tribal Casino project and went to Topeka screaming. It’s a federal decesion to allow Tribal casinos first, not Topeka’s.
We should be able to vote for a casino in Sedgwick County. A full casino that would be better placed downtown. Within walking distance to the arena. Casino near the best hotels in this county.Would we like local casino ownership if Ruffin is interested? He hasn’t liked the full casino license plans from Topeka. This next legislation expanded gambling should happen.
Ruffin isn’t promoting slots at Greyhound Park on their company website.
Should slots be in a full Sedgwick County casino and in GreyHound Park at the same time. The spread of slot machines in other buildings might spread like weeds. Topeka has never liked the amount of slot machines offered. It’s been way too many wanted by Ruffin and his dog track industry players.
If Dee and friends are successful in the land grab and they keep making the grudge vs. Sedgwick County gov worse and worse, its their best interest to buy Greyhound Park, because Ruffin could close the place whenever he wants to. Their desired property tax increases would disappear.
He has mumbled aloud moving the dog track already.
Dee could scream more at Topeka for dog track slot machines if Park City owned it. But its Sedgwick County sole decesion to allow it. She’s burning bridges and leading Park City council on that dead end path.
JWink, try to get your bowling alley idea in the same area. Bother Dee about it. Take the Grey hound Park building and land complety if Ruffin moves the dog track. Bowling alley with slot machines!
Park City council’s decesions today aren’t making a friend of Sedgwick County gov. There will be no “giving” ownership of the Coliseum ever to Park City.
Can the County sue and win over Park City land grab decesion?
If its gambling Dee’s after this area is better served with any kind of gambling to be downtown. We don’t want just slot machines.
I don’t care about the dog track but Park City has been making too much noise. It has gained the Wild West World project. Everything else Park City is trying to steal.
Steal in ideas being floated around. Dee too much in the news.
MRage: Your visions seems to be congruent with ex-county commissioner, Ben Shortino’s expensive, misguided visions. But Mr. Shortino was summarily expelled from office by the voters in the November election.
Regarding Post gives Gov. Sebeliusa better Profile.You Go Girl! This post as head of the Governors’ Association will give her excellent visibility to showcase her many talents and experience.When the rest of the USA becomes aware of her abilities, Kansas’ best kept secret, will become as famous as “Dorothy and Toto”.
…and what does she intend to do about the water crisis right here at home?
Walt Chappell is a fool! He lost fair and square. I’m a hard core Democrat, but I did not bote for him and this election contest is a good example as to why. The man is seriously insane.
He came to my door and started lecturing me about school finance when I pointed out that I disagreed with one of his points on the subject. I would have still voted for him had I been spared the very rude lecture.
I hope this challenge gets tossed out and Walt goes away!
Funny how it’s always a Democrat who gets cheated and cries foul. I suppose this means Democrats are easily duped by those wiley Republicans (or Democrats are sore losers).
Give it up Chappell, you whiner, you lost fair and square.
Park City has never met a tax dollar that it didn’t like.
I am a good, loyal Democrat and I don’t think our party is made up of a bunch of sore losers. However, Walt Chappell is an exception. Maybe it’s because he was a Republican up until this past spring. Who knows. Either way, he’s terrible and needs to go away forever!!
It’s Sciortino…and he wasn’t “expelled” because he was doing a poor job, he was voted out because people saw “Democrat” next to Welscheimer’s name and voted for her.
The people have spoken, don’t get me wrong…they don’t like the current Administration’s policy and they did a good job of letting Bush know that.
It does NOT, however, mean that the best candidate was picked…or even that people KNEW who they were voting for or against.
There were people walking up to Democrat candidits who hadn’t the foggiest idea of what that person’s platform was based on…in one clip of news coverage I saw, the idiot didn’t even know the candidates name, but he was sure going to vote for her!!
~Dubyahttp://wichitavoice.com
According to my calculations Chappell lost by 373 votes or 5.8% of the total. Maybe it would be worthwhile to pass legislation that the margin of win/defeat has to be within 1 percent in order to automatically trigger a recount. Some states do this.
Chappell does seem to be going to great lengths to cry foul — something about the voting machine software was against him and ballot samples had republicans marked as examples.
I think he is going too far. This from someone who would have loved to have seen Brenda “F-bomb” Landwehr sent home.
I thought Sciortino made a principled decision to raise property taxes even though he knew it would not be popular with voters. The voters let him know how unpopular his position was. That was the way I heard the story. Is that not correct?
Elections can be purchased. Especially those that use Diebold equipment. They are having a problem in Florida with the recount because of the touch screen voting booths.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Diebold_CEO_resigns_after_reports_of_1212.htmlhttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0307/S00065.htmhttp://www.bartcop.com/111102fraud.htm
Check out ‘Hacking Democracy’ on HBOhttp://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/02/2252227http://gnosis.python-hosting.com/voting-project/August.2006/0057.htmlhttp://100777.com/node/1056
Watch the video showing how easily this is done:http://2politicaljunkies.blogspot.com/2006/09/fox-news-on-diebold-voter-fraud.html
Dubya: I usually can agree with some of what you say … but not today. Scortino was “expelled” because the voters saw him for what he was — another “Bob Knight” clone, concerned only with lining his developer buddies’ (and his own) pockets from the public trough. Maybe BK should pay a little attention to Scortino’s fate before he tries to get on the teat again. But he won’t. I keep forgetting how much smarter he is than the rest of us peons.
We’re so dumb we didn’t know how badly we needed the “Scortino Arena” with its VIP seating in the “Bob Knight Pavillion”. With parking in the …. whoops, sorry, forgot about that part. I guess I just got carried away there for a moment. :)
Careful, there rm; could be bad for you.:)
Your comments re:BK are spot on, IMO, based upon some of my dealings with said person.
‘Gore To Bush On Iraq: It’s Not About You’
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/06/gore-iraq-bush/Has a transcript and video clip.
It has to be tough to be Al Gore. It would I guess he must feel like a scholar passed over for a position in academia in favor of the village idiot.
Walt Chappell is not the victim of “hacked” voting. He just has a “wacked” personality. Seriously, the man is loony.
Here’s a scary “sneak peak” from scientists and new NASA satellite data.
‘Warmed-up oceans reduce key food link’http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061207/ap_on_sc/warming_marine_life
Not onlt Chappell …
“Kansas Republicans are back to their dirty tricks again by filing a baseless lawsuit this week to challenge the election of Democrat Gene Rardin to the Kansas House.
Rardin’s opponent already asked for a recount, and the recount conducted by the Johnson County Election Office confirmed that the voters in District 16 chose Gene Rardin. The Governor, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State all certified the election results at their meeting November 29.”
Maybe they BOTH should drop it.
JR,
Is it a double-wide?
Steven Davis – There is already a law in Kansas that requires an automatic recount when the vote is within the 1% margin.
What this Chappell guy is trying to do is get the taxpayers to pay for the recount that he wants but is not willing to pay for. He is also costing the taxpayers money by going through this procedure. He does not care about anyone but himself. He should check his ego at the door and move on.
I guess that little glitch in the timing outs SM as my troller.
Busted!
I would say that unless Chappell has some really srtong evidence of fraud he whould drop this. So should that Republican in JoCo.
JR,
Wrong you are. Stop trying to be smart and clever. How does a “timing glitch” show you anyting? Egads.
An interesting defense of SecDef Rumsfeld, offered for consideration:
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120706B
interesting … thanks VT …
Arena news…
We are “stuck” with 15,000 seats, expandable to 17,000 for basketball.
No increasing seats in the future or redesign as the plan is right now.
I blame HOK. Maybe the city with its limited number of seats equaling cost of the tax as the vote choice. That’s where it began. The County allowed a vote to happen with city discriptions.
I voted to replace the Coliseum and move it from the Park City location.
We have the Sprint Center in KC and KU as an example event. KU should play more often outside of Allen Fieldhouse and still be within our borders.
We had a chance to make a bigger seating arena to 18,000 if people had paid attention to regional facilities. Sprint Center is 18,000 seats and a little more. The facility is larger because it will have more museum space. http://www.sprintcenter.com
Sprint Center as titled, early on corporate investment.
Someday we have to make a facility where KU hosts basketball tournaments from Wichita. Keeping TV money in state.
In the mean time, before KU ever plays in Koch against WSU they might join WSU and play two other teams in the downtown arena.
If WSU stays near being ranked or within the top 25 for a few more seasons. Gets a rep on TV for winning against other ranked teams.
WSU sponsored tournament and KU, could get network TV interest focused on downtown Wichita.
It would have been nice if we built a 18,000 seating facility, KU hosting tournaments from it, against Duke and Kentucky or North Carolina. KU in KC takes dollars there that should stay in our borders.
If WSU stays highly ranked for a few seasons, maybe TV asks them to play in KC at the Sprint Center in a KU hosted tournament.
The event facility game isn’t a joke.
This season for WSU is win the MVC, get into March Madness and hope the NCAA puts WSU and KU in the same bracket. KU has to overcome losing in the first round problems.
Mrage, not to burst your balloon, but:
On TV money, most, if not all, conferences have a revenue sharing agreement on such. Thus, assuming a game/tournament as you envision, the TV $$ would be split between the two teams playing; each team’s share would then be divided among the conference and its member institutions as the conference’s agreement provides. IIRC, the Big 12 agreement works like this: the conference gets 1 share; the other schools each get 1 share; and the “host school” receives two shares. I’m sure the MVC has a similar arrangement. Thus, all the TV money would not stay in state. BTW, the above description applies to Big 12 basketball; there is a different allocation scheme for football, which “rewards” the host school with a bigger share of such revenue.
I love how the Arena people are already coming up with excuses for failure (it’s too small). I’m suer they will point the fingers at those of us who opposed the thing.
hmmm, “Garonteed”.
Mrage, to supplement a bit, that’s why other conference schools, while grumbling a bit, will rearrange their schedules, etc., should a member school have the opportunity to appear on a nationally televised game, for each benefits financially therefrom.
Not to change the subject, but just got back from Dallas after seeing the Dixie Chicks in concert. It sold out, in Texas no less!! Great performance and everyone was so eager to show their support.The election restored my faith in the democratic process, and the sold out Chick’s concert restored my faith that even powerful corporations can’t snuff out the enthusiasim Americans have for freedom of speech.I think there is hope for our country afterall.God bless America!
Roscoe, you say it’s always a DEMOCRAT who cries about cheating?
I guess the lawsuit from the Republican really must make you feel funny today.
In Florida, they have a right to ask for a revote period after all the hanky panky. Isn’t it odd that the SAME county always is having voting fraud problems? And the republicans always come out on top there?
Oh mary-We all have freedom of speech. Radio stations have freedom of speech. The freedom to not play their music. The Dixie Chicks have the freedom to speak, we have the freedom not to listen
Gawd, Mary. Thanks so much. I needed to try to find something to regain faith in my country. Damn, why didn’t I see it? And all I needed to do was go to a Dixie Chicks concert. We’re saved !!!! It was soooooo simple. Sorry for my oversight !
Here something funny!
Not work safe!
http://www.strmz.com/Clip6167
Mary,
I’m glad the Dixie Chicks concert sold out, etc. I bought their ‘Taking the Long Way’ CD and really enjoy it. Has a great sound mix, especially piano and strings.
I’d also guess that a large majority of rational (and now better informed) people now understand Natalie Maines’ 2003 remark… and agree with her.
Cosmos: Why didn’t you go to the concert? It’s not that far. But then again, you would have to be smart enough to follow I-35. I just aswered my own question.
Frankly, I like their music too. Having totally missed the point, I’ll try to explain it to you. The Dixie Chicks are artists, very talented at that. Rummy was a fucking idiot, and very talented at that. This is like Johnny Carson ( circa 1969 ) asking Eva Gabor her opinions on the Viet Nam situation.
Of course they have every right to speak and say whatever they want. BUT, they shouldn’t have done it in another country. It’s tacky and self serving.Dixie Chicks = I’d still hit it
STS,
Thanks for the info. As I said before, Chappell’s complaint (at least as reported in the Eagle) seems like a stretch to me. If I were him, I wouldn’t count on somebody else paying for the recount.
JR,As a bit of converging evidence that SM is your troll, in one that appeared yesterday, the poster as “JR” referred to our friend TRACY as a female. The only person posting on the WE Blog to ever do that, to my knowledge, was SM. I meant to write you an email about it, but work intruded into my space today.
Of course, this is not irrefutable proof, but as I suggest, converging evidence.
Thank you Steven.
What an idiot of a troll. He trolls my nic making the same statement on 6 threads. THEN he comes here, forgets to troll me, and answers the post I supposedly made.
Laughable
But to more important matters.
SAFE TRIP DISCOVERY!
For whatever it is worth, I know Tracy. He is neither a troll nor a female. I can guanrantee that, friends! Absolutely!
DARN! Oh well, couldn’t get your video Joe; will have to have the geek upgrade my computer. From the rest of the link I suspect it should be funny.
JR, Steven Davis,
I’m afraid you’re both wrong on your theory of troll detection. I do find your guesses amusing though.
“converging evidence” ha! ….more like wacky lib theories. Reminds me of “global warming” Oh, I mean “climate change”…yeah, that sounds better don’t it.
rm6046,
I would not “follow I-35″ to see their concert, but you’re not smart enough to know that.
You’re also not smart enough to realize that some musicians can have informed and valid opinions about non-music issues.
Vaughn,
I don’t know details of college conference affliations, its spirit of competition, a facility exists games get played. In other words, details be damned. Let’s get the game on to determine the best.
KU wants to use an argument their Big 12 associations precludes WSU getting more being the host of tournament they won’t play. They demand the same whereever the source of money comes from.
Business advertising during the TV event goes more to KU.
They can use any argument, but if WSU asks KU to play in Wichita for a four team tournament, they should do it.
WSU attracts network TV because they have done well in basketball should be rewarded. Let the lawyers work it out and WSU stays getting a bit more host money than KU.
We had to suffer a long time going to Kemper. Its time KU and their fans came here for a game every now and then, when the downtown arena is open.
There is a chance they wouldn’t even play WSU. Risk a loss, the horror.
KSU playing it KU’s way the same thing. If WSU hosts a four team tournament, KSU should come here.
Kevin Weiberg, Big 12 Commissioner surely remembers WSU when he worked there and helps to make the basketball games between WSU, KSU and KU happen.
All our colleges come from the same regents when asking for state money. Their all on the same bottle no matter the Conference they play in.
Let the games play!
We just didn’t build a large facility downtown for KU to host a game in, maybe. They might who knows. No matter the Sprint Centeris wanting to be a Big 12 forever basketball championship facility, KU is still crossing the border.
Border wars existed between Kansas and Missouri, economically is still alive.
One day KU will host a basketball tournament in Wichita from the same facility where WSU plays football games. It will have more seating for basketball, than the Sprint Center.
Smaller amount of seats than Chiefs stadium. Seat levels hidden when not in use. Unless KU hosts an incredible tournament with 8 teams invited. Ranked teams from across the country. TV very interested then.
WSU football, of course no seats unused hidden. Every seat filled.
We’ll love Wichita Shockers University football.
mrage – you should act now to gt your arena ‘up-sized’ to 18,000 seate. Get a re-vote to authorize it.
As for “One day KU will host a basketball tournament in Wichita from the same facility where WSU plays football games” – outdoor basketball? Or is this going to be a half-billion dollar domed stadium? I can’t wait for the taxpayers revolt if you try to force that on our backs.
Damn, all the old threads are closed.
My family, friends and everyone I’m familar are taxpayers Ben. Why would I do to them, for profits sake. I don’t like strangers taxes to go up either.
Length of time building the facility we need, that could do grass field football and closed roof basketball won’t cause tax increases.
I don’t know how KC folks keep pumping tax money into improving stadiums for Chiefs and Royals. They embrace sports as their own.
Here, its like some germ is being offered to citizens causing disgust.
Sons and daughters grow up somewhere to play college and professional sports. We’re only building witness seats and cheering while they grow up before our eyes.
Is a college team better than a pro team, I think so. We can get behind a local college football team.
I won’t rush and scream at the downtown arena group, unless its only a money issue about changing the downtown arena for more seats.Redraw the plans.
They probably already pre-constructed steel beams, so slapping the arena together pretty fast happens when the financing is all in.
I was told, two years too late voicing concern about seating size of the downtown arena.
That’s fine if we’re building a facility with seats more than the Sprint Center and less than Chiefs stadium.
This is a for profit facility and not tax only financed. Investors will pay much more into the facility.
The risk is faith that Sedgwick County citizens and Wichita fans find time in future busy Saturday schedules to stop and witness a college football game. 5 or 6 times a year in the fall months. A few hours is all it will take.
Everyone will have years to save money too, as the stadium is being constructed. Budget to see a college football game. Buy season tickets and save.
The process improves Wichita Shockers University to benefit our growing community in the long term.We would have comparable event facilities with Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lincoln.
Competitive with KC, St. Louis, and Denver. We would have a unique facility, four states around us won’t have.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“Unconstrained by any superpower rival or system of global governance, the US giant has rewritten the global financial and trading system in its own interest; ripped up a string of treaties it finds inconvenient; sent troops to every corner of the globe; bombed Afghanistan, Sudan, Yugoslavia and Iraq without troubling the United Nations; maintained a string of murderous embargos against recalcitrant regimes; and recklessly thrown its weight behind Israel’s 34-year illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as the Palestinian intifada rages.”
The Guardian, 2001 Sep 13
“Three years ago, in response to embassy bombings, America attacked a pharmaceutical factory in one of the poorest countries in the world. The Clinton administration said that the Sudanese factory was linked to Osama bin Laden and involved in the production of chemical weapons.
In the following months, that justification fell apart. Although it was not widely reported, it appears that our leaders reacted too hastily, with tragic results. While there were few injuries from the bombing itself, the people of Sudan have suffered enormously as a result of losing this crucial source of medicine.
Please, let’s not let that happen again.”
Jeff Kandt 2001 Sep 13
“George Bush’s administration yesterday blasted another lethal hole in the vital structure of multilateral arms agreements that has so far protected most of the world from the worst dangers of the modern military age. America’s lone, wanton wrecking of long-running negotiations to enforce the 1972 treaty banning biological or germ weapons is an insult to the pact’s 142 other signatories, a body-blow for the treaty itself and a major setback for international efforts to agree practical curbs on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
By this action, the US suggests that its national security interests, narrowly defined, and the commercial interests of its dominant biotechnology sector should take precedence over responsible global collaboration to meet a common threat. By rejecting the proposed inspection regime, it further, dangerously, suggests to others that the US is not really worried about germ-warfare controls and wants to develop its own, advanced biological weapons.
This in turn could have a serious impact on continuing efforts to bolster the equally important chemical weapons convention. Since Tony Blair’s government has been particularly active in promoting the BWC enforcement protocol, it may now be expected to be particularly active in condemning this latest piece of Bush vandalism. Jack Straw should summon the US ambassador, a Bush appointee, to the Foreign Office and demand an explanation.
The US move confirms a pattern of reckless, unilateralist behaviour on arms control, as on environmental and other issues. Since taking office, Mr Bush has spoken in grandiose terms of the need for “new thinking” and for a “new strategic framework”. But to date, this supposed post-cold war global security “vision” has largely amounted to trashing existing agreements without any clear idea of what to put in their place.”
The Guardian, 2001 July 26
“The Korean War, which caused 3 million deaths and the Vietnam War, which killed 2 million people, were the most deadly conflicts. All 138 wars were fought in the Third World, and many were fuelled by weapons provided by the two major powers or their allies [...]
The surfeit of weapons, especially small arms, left over from this era is a key enabling factor in many conflicts now scarring the world [...] Yet the arms trade continues. [...] The five permanent members of the security council provide 86% of the arms exported to developing countries. In 1992, the United States alone accounted for 46 percent. ”
“Our Global Neighbourhood: The Report of the Commission on Global Governance”, 1995, Oxford University Press
“The US contains 4% of the world’s population but produces about 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison, Britain emits 3% – about the same as India which has 15 times as many people ”
BBC: The US and climate change
“The Soviet economy had suffered enormous devastation. [...] The death of an estimated 20 million [Soviets] is an index of the enormous costs of the war to the Soviets. Although the united States had suffered some 300,000 casualties, the ratio of Soviet to American war deaths was about seventy to one”
“American Foreign Policy” by Kegley & Wittkopf
The Final Truth is that without any of the allies, the war would have been lost. without material aid from the USA, Russia and the UK would have taken many more years to finally defeat Germany – if at all. USA bombers and UK fighters (Battle of Britain) were the only serious returns we made on Germany other than Russian ground forces. The much repeated phrase that “USA saved Europe” is very much untrue, and completely dismissive of the intense war that actually occurred far from the USA and for years without USA involvement. Russia saved Europe, so did the UK, so did France and the other allies… for any country to claim that it is more of a benefactor than the others is untrue and shows an emotionally disturbing lack of empathy. I would reckon that historically only the poor, suppressed Russian civilians and soldiers could claim to have saved anyone.
rm6046, I’d bet that the Dixie Chicks are more informed about what’s going on in our country than you are. Why do you assume that because someone is famous, that they don’t have the right to speak their mind and that they can’t know what they’re talikng about? How are they any different than you?What happened to the Chicks was the same thing that happened in the MeCarthy era, they were black balled by a mega broadcaster in an attempt to punish them by ruining their careers. The largest radio broadcaster in the world is based in San Antonio and the owner is one of Bush’s “homebase…the haves and the have mores”.I love it that CCC wasn’t successful in it’s attempt to muffle the dissent that many of us feel. That’s what makes me feel good about America, the fact that MOST of us don’t buy the spin and rehtoric put out by enept leaders the way some of the more dimwitted in our country do.