I try to keep it light considering the smug kind of retort to be expected from the willfully clueless. Yeah lawdeedaw, Dorothy ain't even near Kansas anymore and it's folks who could give a fuck about humanity letting the place go to police-state shit.

I used to get lots of swelling and extreme itch from a normal mosquito bite, but after living in Thailand for 7 years and getting much more frequent exposure (read: I get bit a lot more here than I did in near-desert Kansas, which isn't that surprising), my reactions to mosquito bites seem to be a lot smaller than they used to be.

Do we develop a tolerance/lessening in allergic reactions to mosquito saliva with frequent exposure?

You're kidding, right? Gays should "respect" that religions think they're perverts? Or that they are responsible for everything from pedophilia to earthquakes and hurricanes? I'm not even being funny, those are all things the religious right have accused gay people of. Even on this site, we frequently see opponents of gay marriage trot out the tired "if gay marriage, then incest and bestiality" argument as if they were equivalent.

So let me be absolutely unambiguous: FUCK.... THAT.....SHIT.

People absolutely have the right to say they don't want to serve gay people, or blacks, or irish or jews or whoever, and then everyone else has the right to boycott their business and call them out as bigoted assholes on the wrong side of history.

But unless they're in Kansas, they have no right to actually refuse service.

You should probably avoid Kansas then...at least for the foreseeable future. Considering the House passed a bill that legalizes and protects bigots from lawsuits for discrimination.

I found out through two incidents in as many days (back-to-back) which happened while working on a contract job on a state highway outside of Newton, Kansas back in the summer of 2002 of an imprinted and innate capacity to "switch-on" in the most dire of circumstances while others on the crew either went into pre-shock or became completely functionless.

Two accidents. two days inna row during our road closures on a dangerous highway fulla truckers trying to beat tolls on the interstate and take the short cut:...both days, 18-wheelers in cruise control blew thorough the closures and caused major fatalities. I was one of 4 people on the crew to switch into rescue and control-mode, when the rest of the world nutted-up. Had state police thinking I was EMS already on the scene...(in my flagman uniform)....Did not know I had it in me, it simply happened. Exhausted me but I had no post-traumatic inabilities the next days, went back to work after the first accident when a couple of guys burned to death with no jaws of life there to save them...did all i could for the victims and my fellow crewmen after.

Next day, assumed flagman position (after having worked on on the main crew having handed my fagging position over to a greenhorn) and another accident, fully-loaded gravel truck was struck by a another 18-wheeler hauling two butane trucks...commanded the scene and kept a woman form going into shock by taking control...5 fatalities when the truck simply compacted two car-fulls of peeps into the back of a fully-loaded gravel truck in the front of the flag line.

I was one of the only people there with my wits about me-Guess I was there for a reason.

I have been in a lot of accidents i simply walked-away from-God works in mysterious ways with the damnedest of sorts.

You want a guy like me around for any potential shit-storm maybe??

Sebelius was a pretty popular Democrat governor in Kansas, which is a bit of an oxymoron considering how solidly Red-State KS is. It is all just political grandstanding, but being from KS originally it makes me happy to see her do the very (IMHO) Kansas-type thing and refuse to pass the buck for the website snafus in her opening statement.

Especially when it becomes very clear that all the Republican questions were expecting her to fit their stereotype of what they think of as an "East-Coast Liberal" and spin, pass the buck, and shift blame at every opportunity.

Kansas has a track record with a lot of political epic fails (evolution in schools comes to mind), but one thing your average Kansan is usually pretty proud of is personal integrity and owning up to one's mistakes. Seems like Sebelius is a good representative of that quality that most Kansans would claim to hold dear.

I remember pomegranates being very expensive in the US, to the point that they were a "once a year on Thanksgiving" kind of thing for my family. But that was in rural Kansas - maybe they aren't so expensive in cities with more fresh fruit import infrastructure.

Now that I am living in Thailand, they are cheap and readily available. And interestingly enough, the flesh around the seeds is clear or possibly with a very slight red/pink hue -- but not at all like the deep red they were in the US version.

So, here I've gotten into the habit of just ripping the fruit open with my bear hands and eating handfuls -- no staining issues. But, this will video definitely come in handy if I want to be a little more dignified when cracking one open. Thais call the deep red version "Indian Pomegranate" (translated), so maybe the US sources most of their imports from there.

Have seen them a couple times, each time at the tiny outdoor stage of The Hurricane in Kansas City. What's-his-face with the tambourine was totally gone each time. Here's my favorite of theirs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SYtjTAhkcI

@shang-Mmmmm, mmm-Love me some game fowl, haven't had any inna while-Last time I was in Kansas I saw doves there the size of chickens-Hanging-out near corn fields and grain elevators they get a bit plumper than they do here in the southwest. Squab is good eatin'!

From YouTube:

These are some highlights of Mission Police Departments Finest!
This is Mission, Kansas PD to be clear.
UPDATE 7/8/2013 - The lead prosecutor for Mission, Kansas, has communicated to our late criminal defense attorney that he would like me to remove my YouTube video of the officers arresting my wife. Should I choose not to remove it, Martin states he has the ability to get a judge to sign a protective order that would force me to take it down. Martin also mentioned some type of diversion if my wife would be willing to release The Mission PD of any liability as they were only responding to the Postal workers call. When all this is over I'm moving. I don't want to even live near Mission Kansas.

After nearly two months of being told repeatedly by the Mission police that there was no dash-cam video, here it is! It's a MIRACLE we even got it. The officers in the video are Michelle Pierce & Officer Tim Gift. Special appearance by the bald-headed officer who is NOT named nor even mentioned as being on the scene in the police reports. This officer is the one who was threatening my wife with having CPS take our two youngest daughters away. This could happen to YOUR wife & daughters next if these officers are allowed to get away with this!

-HOW WE GOT THE VIDEO-
We had to have an attorney subpoena the videos of all three officers on the scene. We ALSO had our attorney request of the Post Office in writing AND in person for any video footage. We kept getting the same answer. "There is NO video!" FINALLY, My wife called the courthouse to ask about the videos. The courthouse transferred her to a woman named Suzanna at the Mission PD. My wife asked Suzanna if she had gotten a subpoena for video evidence. The woman instantly said "IS THIS ABOUT THE POST OFFICE INCIDENT?" My wife said "Yes", shocked that this woman already knew what the phone call was about before my wife could even explain... The woman quickly said, "There are NO videos." My wife then told Suzanna, "That's a LIE. I KNOW there is a video because I was THERE when Officer Pierce walked in & asked Officer Gift if his cam was on & he said yes. Officer Pierce then asked for Officer Gift's dash-cam password which he gave her in front of me!" The woman on the phone got very quiet. She then asked my wife, "So you were THERE-- IN the building?" My wife said "Yes! I was sitting RIGHT THERE!" The woman on the other end got quiet again & my wife then hung up. THE VERY NEXT DAY, our criminal defense attorney called & said he had good news. To his surprise, Officer Gift had a dash- cam video & they sent it to our attorney! Wow-- What a coincidence! =/
It's a shame we only got one video, but it's better than nothing.

Yeah, I think it was working. Winds can get very strong in Eastern Colorado / Western Kansas; if the wind was blowing hard the other way it might make the jump but as long as it didn't shift that way I bet it was OK.

I agree with @song77 - I think it was just a wheat stubble field. In older days it was pretty standard practice to plow that stubble back into the soil, but the more modern style is to leave it standing to serve to catch snow in the winter and then let that melt and add to the soil moisture (called no-till farming). Fires that burn off stubble can result in insurance claims for damages related to lost potential water collection from that melted snow, but the assessed damages aren't usually very high.

Source: Grew up in a Western Kansas farm family, had an incident where my family was burning tumbleweeds and caused an accidental fire that burned up some stubble in a neighboring field. Our insurance had to pay some damages to the neighbor farm.

I's assuming Atmos is some sort of atmospheric surround sound for a theater? I hope the Alamo Drafthouse of Kansas City has that, because that's the only theater worth going to.

I can't believe all of the things they say about me
Walk in the room they throwing shade left to right
They be like, "Ooh, she serving face"
And I just tell 'em cut me up and get down
They call us dirty 'cuz we break all your rules down
And we just came to act a fool, is that all right?
(Girl, that's alright)
They be like, "Ooh, let them eat cake."
But we eat wings and throw them bones on the ground

[Pre-Chorus]
Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I'm coming up, don't cut me down
Yeah I wanna be, wanna be

[Verse 2]
Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?
And am I weird to dance alone late at night?
And is it true we're all insane?
And I just tell 'em, "No we ain't" and get down

I heard this life is just a play with no rehearsal
I wonder will this be my final act tonight
And tell me what's the price of fame?
Am I a sinner with my skirt on the ground?

[Hook]
Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I'm coming up, don't cut me down
Yeah I wanna be

[Verse 3]
Hey brother can you save my soul from the devil?
Say is it weird to like the way she wear her tights?
And is it rude to wear my shades?
Am I a freak because I love watching Mary? (Maybe)

Hey sister am I good enough for your heaven?
Say will your God accept me in my black and white?
Will he approve the way I'm made?
Or should I reprogram the programming and get down?

[Hook]

[Spoken Word]
Even if it makes others uncomfortable
I wanna love who I am
Even if it makes other uncomfortable
I will love who I am

[Breakdown: Erykah Badu]
Dance 'til the break of dawn
Don't mean a thing, so duh
I can't take it no more
Baby, we in tuxedo groove
Monae and E. Badu
Crazy in the black and white
We got the drums so tight
Baby, here comes the freedom song
Too strong we moving on
Baby there's melody
Show you another way
This joints for fight unknown
Come home and sing your song
But you gotta testify
Because the booty don't lie

No, no, the booty don't lie
Oh no, the booty don't lie

[Verse 4: Janelle Monae]
Yeah
Yeah, let's flip it
I don't think they understand what I'm trying to say

I asked a question like this
"Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they'll never make us equal.
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel.
So why ain't the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy,
But when it's time pay they turn around and call us needy.
My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti
Gimme back my pyramid, I'm trying to free Kansas City.

Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman.
Well I'm gonna keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman
You can take my wings but I'm still goin' fly
And even when you edit me the booty don't lie
Yeah, keep singing and I'mma keep writing songs
I'm tired of Marvin asking me, "What's Going On?
March to the streets 'cuz I'm willing and I'm able
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep?
Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?"

I "got" it, except not in exactly the way you meant. Here's how I qualified:

1. I'm the right age -- 1981. *edit* ahh, the commercial is from 1981. So nope, I probably wasn't comprehending TV beer commercials just yet.
2. Nope, Kansas.
3. Nope.
4. While watching the video, I remembered my college Geology 101 "Rocks for Jocks" class and learning abouthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer>artesian aquifers. Kansas has conditions that are good for those in some locations due to water in our local aquifer system flowing down from the Rockies (all subterranean, but still down). I'm betting that isn't what you were referring to?
5. Is the joke that Olympia Brewing used an artesian well, and he plays it like "Artesian" sounds like a nationality or ethnic group? Or is it a Pacific Northwest region/group? Wikipedia disambiguation refers to an Artesian South Dakota, but I don't think that's it.

Anyway, I've honestly enjoyed this little snipe hunt I embarked on due to your comment mentioning "artesian" which was my first thought when watching the video, but now I'm coming up empty trying to nail down your actual reference (and therefore the reference of the video you linked also). But it's been fun!

When I said "just about any" kind of firearm should be legally obtainable, I should clarify that I mean guns. Explosive ordinance, anti-vehicle weapons, fully-auto vehicle mounted machine guns, etc. is where I see the line between reasonable and unreasonable.

My problem with getting into regulating "assault weapons" is that I see it as a very real slippery-slope hazard -- unlike restrictions like waiting periods, registration, legal obligations to keep guns locked in cabinets when not in use, etc. etc.

Here's an example: my gun-nut friends had in their extensive arsenal 2 rifles, an AR-15 and a Ruger Mini-14. The AR-15 is basically equivalent to a military M-16, except the one they had didn't have selectors for 3-shot burst or full-auto (semi-auto only). The Mini-14 was designed around the M-14, which was the military standard-issue rifle until being replaced by the M-16.

Trying to get the government to regulate those firearms seems like a nightmare to me. Is just the AR-15 (M-16) an "assault weapon"? Are they both? I've fired both and I don't think that there is any reasonable way to say that the AR-15 is "over the line" of what a civilian owner should have with the Mini-14 being "ok". The Mini-14 is a fantastic farm/hunter rifle; safe, reliable, and easy to handle -- but in the event of somebody going off the deep end and shooting people up, it is going to be just as deadly/tragic as if they had an M-16.

Basically I think that the right-wing types have a pretty legitimate beef when they say that gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained weapons, and that therefore most heavy restrictions just affect legitimate, responsible gun owners while doing very little to keep guns out of the hands that you really want them out of. I should look for data about gun crime rates comparing legally purchased guns versus black market sources, and gun-related injury and death rates between gun-nut havens like Texas and my neck of the woods in Kansas compared to more liberal urban areas.

Finally, I guess that I should make it clear that I'm OK with restrictions that require you to prove that you are a responsible owner to have any firearm. Waiting periods, background checks, loss of privileges to anyone with a criminal record, having to register and periodically present your firearms to prove that you aren't re-selling them, etc. I consider all that kind of stuff reasonable limitations on our right/privilege to own firearms. But getting into trying to figure out what does or does not classify as an "assault weapon" goes the wrong direction in my opinion.