I thought that they collapsed in the early 80s, but recently came back as Native Window . . .

Oh, and if she claims to be a wise legislator, it surely means that she doesn't know. . .

I blame Kansas's needlessly bloated nuclear weapons program.

The Topeka Elite?

You've gotta be kidding me

Kansas will collapse!? Yea!! That means Colorado will have a man made beach!

The midwest is crazy. I know, because im forced to live here. If somebody wasn't forced to, they wouldn't live in the midwest. Unless they were crazy.

/whiteman afb, about an hour east of KC. It's shiatty here. After four years, overland park actually seems like a decent area.

Please, please don't let my state become any more batshiat crazy. Please oh please oh please.

KittenMittons: The midwest is crazy. I know, because im forced to live here. If somebody wasn't forced to, they wouldn't live in the midwest. Unless they were crazy.

/whiteman afb, about an hour east of KC. It's shiatty here. After four years, overland park actually seems like a decent area.

Racist!

Bigdogdaddy: Please, please don't let my state become any more batshiat crazy. Please oh please oh please.

It won't, but you'll have to stay there to ensure at least one point of sanity.

jayhawk88: jayhawk88: Oh go straight the fark to hell, you Overland Park biatch. "Topeka elite", give me a farking break. Has this biatch ever even been eastwest of Emporia before she came down for this interview?

/shut up, my EMR is taking a crap

lol there's nothing west of Emporia! Wait, Garden City has a Wal-Mart. And there's that grain elevator just outside of Bird City. Nevermind.

sweetmelissa31: Isn't Kansas already worse than Russia right after the collapse of Communism?

Actually, it's been quite nice lately.

rfronk: sweetmelissa31: Isn't Kansas already worse than Russia right after the collapse of Communism?

Actually, it's been quite nice lately.

Except for that retarded politicians.

/"Otherwise I love the Ford Theater" - Mary Todd Lincoln.

Goodfella: The Topeka Elite?

You've gotta be kidding me

I think that's a euphemism for Double-Wide

I'm starting to think that the party system is stronger than all human nature. Every year we can't believe the republicans get stupider, but they do, and they still are about 50% of the national vote. I think it's like the theory that Batman summons the villains into existence by his presence: people will simply become more insane as necessary to keep the Republicans at 50%.

Omahawg: what a derp

farmer co-ops are one of the most positive socialistic enterprises in american history

kansas is collapsing because anyone with half a brain flees the state after high school.

She lives in Overland Park, which is a suburb of Kansas City. I doubt this suburban shiatstain has even seen a farmer co-op, let alone heard of one

eurotrader: A good argument can be made the Soviet Union fell because of a large central government dictating production of goods and services not the market and of course Reagan.

I'm with you until the last bit.

As a Leeb, I will give credit to Reagan for that, but not for the reasons Cons want to give him credit. I think Reagan won the Cold War at Reykjavik. He saw this new guy in Gorbachev as someone he could sit down with and reason with one on one. He got Gorbachev to change the dying Stalinist Old Guard ways that everyone on both sides knew had failed which set the ball rolling. And once it started, Gorby couldn't stop it and the USSR was no more.

Cons want o believe that Reagan took out a super-high-tech laser cannon, aimed at Gorbachev's head and said, "Go ahead, Punk, make my day. Tear down this wall!" And Gorby cried uncle.

Ronald Reagan wasn't our brightest president. But one thing he was was an extremely good judge of Character. And a great one-on-one persuader. And a guy willing to compromise with people like Tip O'Neill and Gorbachev to get what he wanted Long-Term, rather than what you want today or what your ideology tells you.

You know you've become an Old Liberal when you wish Today's Republicans were more like Ronald Reagan. Not the fantasy superhero Reagan Cons make up in their heads, but the REAL Reagan.

I wish Ronald Reagan's ghost would come back and biatch slap Dubya and the Tea Partiers and the Right-Wing Media and school them about what being a True Conservative means.

sunsawed: eurotrader: A good argument can be made the Soviet Union fell because of a large central government dictating production of goods and services not the market and of course Reagan.

I'm with you until the last bit.

As a Leeb, I will give credit to Reagan for that, but not for the reasons Cons want to give him credit. I think Reagan won the Cold War at Reykjavik. He saw this new guy in Gorbachev as someone he could sit down with and reason with one on one. He got Gorbachev to change the dying Stalinist Old Guard ways that everyone on both sides knew had failed which set the ball rolling. And once it started, Gorby couldn't stop it and the USSR was no more.

Cons want o believe that Reagan took out a super-high-tech laser cannon, aimed at Gorbachev's head and said, "Go ahead, Punk, make my day. Tear down this wall!" And Gorby cried uncle.

Ronald Reagan wasn't our brightest president. But one thing he was was an extremely good judge of Character. And a great one-on-one persuader. And a guy willing to compromise with people like Tip O'Neill and Gorbachev to get what he wanted Long-Term, rather than what you want today or what your ideology tells you.

You know you've become an Old Liberal when you wish Today's Republicans were more like Ronald Reagan. Not the fantasy superhero Reagan Cons make up in their heads, but the REAL Reagan.

I wish Ronald Reagan's ghost would come back and biatch slap Dubya and the Tea Partiers and the Right-Wing Media and school them about what being a True Conservative means.

They'd call Jindal and exorcise Reagan before he could denounce them.

St. Ronnie is much more useful to them dead than alive.

sunsawed: He got Gorbachev to change the dying Stalinist Old Guard ways that everyone on both sides knew had failed which set the ball rolling. And once it started, Gorby couldn't stop it and the USSR was no more.


Bullshiat. The ball was rolling in the 60's when the USSR got tired of having to squash all the uprisings and couldn't feed their citizens. The speech from Khrushchev denouncing Stalin was the ball rolling.

cretinbob: eurotrader: A good argument can be made the Soviet Union fell because of a large central government....

Except it was the prolonged war in Afghanistan that bled them dry of cash....kinda like......

But... but... military spending is good for the economy. Krugman told me so.

Did the 4-h clubs get defunded?

sunsawed: Ronald Reagan wasn't our brightest president. But one thing he was was an extremely good judge of Character.

"...the moral equal of our Founding Fathers." - President Reagan, describing the Nicaraguan contras, March 1, 1985.

Lawnchair: To feed into the EuroSocialistCommie paranoia, the biggest STAR bond project to date in Kansas helped in the construction of a *soccer stadium*. Can't get much more evil than that.

Soccer's one a them "European" things, therefore socialist. No real American is a soccer fan.

Terrified Asexual Forcemeat: I'm starting to think that the party system is stronger than all human nature. Every year we can't believe the republicans get stupider, but they do, and they still are about 50% of the national vote. I think it's like the theory that Batman summons the villains into existence by his presence: people will simply become more insane as necessary to keep the Republicans at 50%.

It's been mathematically shown that winner-take-all elections like ours (as opposed to proportional-representation elections like they have in parliamentary systems) push everything towards a two-party stable equilibrium.

I've been wondering how that would interact with the "keep one-upping each other by being more right-wing and anti-intellectual" derpfest going on these days in one of those two parties.

You'd think said party would flame out, the other would absorb the sane remnants, and then split in two. But that sure doesn't seem to be happening.

fusillade762: Lawnchair: To feed into the EuroSocialistCommie paranoia, the biggest STAR bond project to date in Kansas helped in the construction of a *soccer stadium*. Can't get much more evil than that.

Soccer's one a them "European" things, therefore socialist. No real American is a soccer fan.

But I thought Real Americans enjoy football?

Gaseous Anomaly: Terrified Asexual Forcemeat: I'm starting to think that the party system is stronger than all human nature. Every year we can't believe the republicans get stupider, but they do, and they still are about 50% of the national vote. I think it's like the theory that Batman summons the villains into existence by his presence: people will simply become more insane as necessary to keep the Republicans at 50%.

It's been mathematically shown that winner-take-all elections like ours (as opposed to proportional-representation elections like they have in parliamentary systems) push everything towards a two-party stable equilibrium.

I've been wondering how that would interact with the "keep one-upping each other by being more right-wing and anti-intellectual" derpfest going on these days in one of those two parties.

You'd think said party would flame out, the other would absorb the sane remnants, and then split in two. But that sure doesn't seem to be happening.

Money is no longer dependent on the party. The RNC is broke, as the big money is bypassing them now.

Can't say much about delusional Tea Party coont that hasn't been said above.

Just wanted to comment on that HuffPo slide show on "10 Scariest Tea Party Signs." HuffPo, if you're scared of that inane bullshiat, I suggest you get a dog -- a big farking dog.

Marcus Aurelius: O'Hara also used the radio show Friday to attack moderate senators for voting to increase education funding in the state

I don't even know where to start with that.

It helps to insure a new crop of undereducated cretins who would elect someone like her.

Frankly, Charlotte, I don't give a damn.

vygramul: ...So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

...and the irony there is that of the two major superpowers, the Soviets were the ones to develop a theater-scale missile defense shield that had a reasonable chance of success in the event the ICBM's ever rained from the sky, and hella cheaper than what we pissed away on SDI.

Granted, their grand scheme to intercept incoming nukes was to nuke the nukes before they could nuke the USSR. But it was cheap and had more potential than SDI...

sunsawed: As a Leeb, I will give credit to Reagan for that, but not for the reasons Cons want to give him credit...

Reagan doesn't even get credit for that. His election, and subsequent retarded cowboy behavior, nearly pushed the USSR into electing Viktor Grishin instead of Gorbachev in '85. As it was, Gorbachev was set to succeed Andropov in '84 but the hardliners, fresh with credibility and fervor vis-a-vis Reagan, managed to put Chernenko in office over Gorby. As it was, Grishin's candidacy for the position of General Secretary was only sunk by a singular act that turned public opinion massively against him and rendered him an untenable candidate.

All of this in an environment in which after the Nixon and Carter administrations, detente coupled with the massive costs of their Afghanistan War had put the moderates and reformers squarely in power which put an end to the Cold War in sight, and damn closer than simply waiting for the Soviet Union to collapse on its own. Reagan's election changed all that.

Now, back to Grishin. He was an old school hardliner, and completely batshiat insane. He was one of the ideological forebears of the guys who attempted the coup against Gorbachev in '91. He probably would have been one of the guys backing the attempted coup but for the fact he was terminally ill at the time and had been drummed out of the Politburo in '85 for the fact he was a batshiat insane hardliner.

Maybe she's got a fark handle.

Sabyen91: KittenMittons: The midwest is crazy. I know, because im forced to live here. If somebody wasn't forced to, they wouldn't live in the midwest. Unless they were crazy.

/whiteman afb, about an hour east of KC. It's shiatty here. After four years, overland park actually seems like a decent area.

Racist!

Well, it does autocorrect to "white man" on my stupid phone.

that bosnian sniper: vygramul: ...So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

...and the irony there is that of the two major superpowers, the Soviets were the ones to develop a theater-scale missile defense shield that had a reasonable chance of success in the event the ICBM's ever rained from the sky, and hella cheaper than what we pissed away on SDI.

Granted, their grand scheme to intercept incoming nukes was to nuke the nukes before they could nuke the USSR. But it was cheap and had more potential than SDI...

We had a similar system - with Nike missiles - and we scrapped it a while before SDI. The ABM treaty meant you could only have one ABM base anyway, and Russia's was outside Moscow.

Interestingly enough, the US had stopped targeting cities with nukes. Mostly, it's because we didn't need to, and the world would be over anyway, so to some degree it was a public relations move.

that bosnian sniper: vygramul: ...So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

...and the irony there is that of the two major superpowers, the Soviets were the ones to develop a theater-scale missile defense shield that had a reasonable chance of success in the event the ICBM's ever rained from the sky, and hella cheaper than what we pissed away on SDI.

Granted, their grand scheme to intercept incoming nukes was to nuke the nukes before they could nuke the USSR. But it was cheap and had more potential than SDI...

We had a very similar system in the Dakotas. Both countries were allowed to deploy one such system under the ABM treaty. They picked Moscow, we picked SAC.

A hellhole? Definitely. A Communist hellhole? Welllll that's up for debate.

The window's dirty, the mattress stinks
This ain't no place to be a man
I ain't got no future, I ain't got no past
And I don't think I ever can

The floor is filthy, the walls are thin
The wind is howling in my face
The rats are peeling, I'm losing ground
Can't seem to join the human race

I'm living here in Kansas!
Don't want to stay here in Kansas!
Don't want to die here in Kansas!
Girl get me out of this Kansas!

vygramul: We had a similar system - with Nike missiles - and we scrapped it a while before SDI. The ABM treaty meant you could only have one ABM base anyway, and Russia's was outside Moscow.

Interestingly enough, the US had stopped targeting cities with nukes. Mostly, it's because we didn't need to, and the world would be over anyway, so to some degree it was a public relations move.

Whoops, I meant to add the important word there: first. Totally changed the meaning of what I meant to say. My bad. The Soviets rolled out the A-35 system before we got Project Nike to the point it could intercept ICBM's.

To The Escape Zeppelin!: I really don't understand the hate for him. Opposing a new bridge is a dick move but is something that anyone in his position would do, and it takes decades to get government to get around to building new large bridges anyway.

It takes decades in part because self-interested f#ckers like Moroun fight any and all progress. And in addition to his bridge, Moroun owns numerous huge, historical properties in Detroit that he has allowed to go completely to sh#t for decades, in the hope that their value will increase when someone else comes along and un-f#cks the City of Detroit. He ties up everything in court as long as possible, knowing that he'll eventually lose but raking in as much money as he can in the meantime. He was a complete and total piece of sh#t before he even owned the bridge.



To The Escape Zeppelin!: The man owns the bridge and charges toll on it and somehow people are outraged by that fact.

Nice straw man, but no one is "outraged" that he makes money owning a bridge. We're outraged because he's spent millions of dollars in bullsh#t legal challenges over the years to prevent the goverments of America and Canada from building another (desperately needed) bridge between the countries. He's holding the entire region hostage for his own financial benefit.



To The Escape Zeppelin!: I've heard people who want the government to take his bridge because it "isn't fair" that he makes money on it as if the tolls will magically go away.

No, you haven't. This fairly reeks of Fox News "some people say..." line of commentary. And no one has a problem paying a toll, they have a problem with waiting for hours at a time at the most important border crossing between two major countries, because allowing Canada to build a new bridge at their own expense would cut into the profits of a sh#tty, selfish old billionaire whose only interests are lining his own pockets.

Oh goddammit.

vygramul: that bosnian sniper: vygramul: ...So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

...and the irony there is that of the two major superpowers, the Soviets were the ones to develop a theater-scale missile defense shield that had a reasonable chance of success in the event the ICBM's ever rained from the sky, and hella cheaper than what we pissed away on SDI.

Granted, their grand scheme to intercept incoming nukes was to nuke the nukes before they could nuke the USSR. But it was cheap and had more potential than SDI...

We had a similar system - with Nike missiles - and we scrapped it a while before SDI. The ABM treaty meant you could only have one ABM base anyway, and Russia's was outside Moscow.

Interestingly enough, the US had stopped targeting cities with nukes. Mostly, it's because we didn't need to, and the world would be over anyway, so to some degree it was a public relations move.

threadjackistan: that bosnian sniper: vygramul: ...So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

...and the irony there is that of the two major superpowers, the Soviets were the ones to develop a theater-scale missile defense shield that had a reasonable chance of success in the event the ICBM's ever rained from the sky, and hella cheaper than what we pissed away on SDI.

Granted, their grand scheme to intercept incoming nukes was to nuke the nukes before they could nuke the USSR. But it was cheap and had more potential than SDI...

We had a very similar system in the Dakotas. Both countries were allowed to deploy one such system under the ABM treaty. They picked Moscow, we picked SAC.

This is what happens when you hit add comment and forget to check the "post comment immediately button."

that bosnian sniper: vygramul: We had a similar system - with Nike missiles - and we scrapped it a while before SDI. The ABM treaty meant you could only have one ABM base anyway, and Russia's was outside Moscow.

Interestingly enough, the US had stopped targeting cities with nukes. Mostly, it's because we didn't need to, and the world would be over anyway, so to some degree it was a public relations move.

Whoops, I meant to add the important word there: first. Totally changed the meaning of what I meant to say. My bad. The Soviets rolled out the A-35 system before we got Project Nike to the point it could intercept ICBM's.

I doubt either system would have worked.

Kansas Tea Party legislator believes her state is a Communist hellhole and will collapse like the Soviet Union

Then what's her opinion of the two not-libertarian brothers that took over Wisconsin like they did Kansas?

sethstorm: Kansas Tea Party legislator believes her state is a Communist hellhole and will collapse like the Soviet Union

Then what's her opinion of the two not-libertarian brothers that took over Wisconsin like they did Kansas?

She voted for the giant tax cut bill that was largely funded by the Kochs. I guess you could say **puts on sunglasses** she's a Koch sucker.

dickfreckle: Last year, she issued a letter calling for "patriots with pitchforks" to get the attention of the "Topeka elite" after Brownback signed a state budget calling for a 6.7-percent spending increase.

Quick, grab the pitchforks! We're off to protest on behalf of the ultra-wealthy elite! I don't care what them elitists professors say!

Wait, Sam Brownback isn't conservative enough? Sam farking Brownback?

Stop all farm subsidies.
That will "help" Kansas.

Diogenes: "Senator Apple voted for that and he does not know what true economic development is," O'Hara said of her opponent's vote for STAR Bonds.

While that may or may not be true, she doesn't understand what Communism is or the actual reasons the Soviet Union collapsed.

Most people who mouth off about communism and socialism don't know what they are and do not even realize that they are not the same thing.

Lionel Mandrake: Another teabagger displays her remarkable grasp of history.

No wonder Republicans are always slashing the Education budget - their survival depends on the votes of idiots.

That's the most elegant description of the situation I've read to date.

vygramul: DamnYankees: vygramul: So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

While that's a nice story, it nicely illustrates the difference between "being" beaten and "realizing" you are beaten. In terms of actual human lives, the former is obviously the more important factor.

It's amazing that we (meaning humanity) didn't manage to wipe ourselves out in those 45 years.

Don't worry there's another cold war on it's way. This time with China.

Satanic_Hamster: Man, there's so much retarded in there...

So she's against government giving incentives to businesses... I suppose she's also against zoning laws.

O'Hara also used the radio show Friday to attack moderate senators for voting to increase education funding in the state, saying it was a "liberal" vote.

What....?

Extremists of any political hue are afraid of educating the masses. For example, Mao tried to wipe out the intellectuals during the cultural revolution in China. It would seem that the Chinese have now rediscovered the value of education just as the US has turned against it.

kg2095: vygramul: DamnYankees: vygramul: So in a sense, Reagan did have an effect, because once someone realizes they're beaten, they're beaten.

While that's a nice story, it nicely illustrates the difference between "being" beaten and "realizing" you are beaten. In terms of actual human lives, the former is obviously the more important factor.

It's amazing that we (meaning humanity) didn't manage to wipe ourselves out in those 45 years.

Don't worry there's another cold war on it's way. This time with China.

Nah. China is turning to capitalism, and their interests are in trade in ways the Soviet Union was never willing to try.