The story so good, it brought me out of retirement.

Rare steak is now safe to eat.

Hallelujah! I'll be printing out this article and carrying it in my wallet so I can hand it to the waitress every time I'm told that I can't get my steak rare.

(Thanks, FAD...)

Back when I fancied myself a political blogger, my inspiration was drawn in large part from Matt Welch, somewhat liberal Californian blogger turned a bit hawkish after 9/11.

Well, he's still the best out there, and I am really digging his takes on reaction to the torture scandal. I'm too busy trying to get my work done so I can go on a much needed vacation this weekend to quote anything, so just click here and read everything he's written for the last two and a half years.

OK, I will quote the upshot of his take on right-wing reaction to the torture scandal:

Good Christ this is bringing out the ugly & stupid in a lot of people.

When you're done with his site, head over to Reason's Hit & Run and read all his stuff from there.

Wow, it seems like everyone is quitting smoking these days...

Don't forget that today is Free Giant Shrimp Day at Long John Silver's. Stop in your local LJS between 2:00 and 5:00 PM for a free giant shrimp today...

I have not been a baseball fan nearly long enough to be a baseball purist.

I'm not some sort of anti-capitalist freak who thinks that advertising is the root of all evil.

I like Spider-Man.

But this idea to put advertising for the new Spider-Man movie on all the bases and pitching rubbers in Major League Baseball is just dumb.

I'm not a Yankee's fan, but I will give them respect for opting out.

Well the House and Senate drafted a compromise. The compromise would have allowed cities state-wide to allow Sunday sales, but only by passing an ordinance or resolution. Residents could also protest and force an election on the issue.

Sounds reasonable, right? The House passed the bill 71-50. The bill then came up for a vote in the Senate and seemed to be headed for passage.

Then somebody changed his vote. Nick Jordan. My Senator. I've just sent an email to Sen. Jordan asking him to explain his vote (with a bit more civility this time), and to the Secretary of State's election office asking who has filed for office in Senate District 10. If I find out that Jordan will be running unopposed, I will be filing to get on the ballot next week.

The upshot isn't all that bad, though. Since it seems no bill will be passed, cities will remain free to opt out of the non-uniform liquor act. As a matter of fact, it seems that since the act remains non-uniform, cities can opt out of everything in the act. That includes the requirement that grocery and convenience stores sell only "cereal malt beverage" (weak-ass beer), and some have even said the legal drinking age.

I suppose this means that my home town of Shawnee, KS will now need to put Sunday sales on the ballot in November. There is still a slight chance that the legislature could pass a liquor bill, but they're already overdue finishing their wrap-up session. Looks like the act will remain non-uniform until at least next year.

In the meantime, we need to get some of the anti-Sunday folks out of office. If I have to run myself, I'll do it, but I'd certainly prefer to just help out the campaign of someone who has a better shot at actually getting elected. Hopefully I'll hear back from the Secretary of State's office soon.

1. Find the nearest solid surface to you.

My desk

2. Bang head repeatedly on or against that surface.

Ouch!

3. Which Disney character do you think you are, now?

The bass player from The Country Bear Jamboree.

(Found at Farm Accident Digest)

The Kansas Legislature is in their wrap-up session right now. In the last action on The Most Important Issue in Kansas Politics, the Senate had passed a liquor uniformity act which would have re-banned Sunday sales statewide. This conflicted with the version of the bill passed by the House, which would have allowed Sunday sales statewide. So the bill was sent back to the House, and they apparently will decide today whether to pass the bill as passed by the Senate, banning Sunday sales statewide, or scuttle the bill, continuing the status quo in which cities can decide on an individual basis whether to allow Sunday sales.

Marshall Rimann, owner of Rimann Liquors and supporter of Sunday sales, had two Kansas state senators on his radio show last Saturday. One of the representatives he had on was John Vratil, mentioned in this post a while back. Vratil was on the show as an opponent of Sunday sales, but he claimed on the show that he was fully in support of Sunday sales. Vratil did vote for an amendment to the liquor uniformity act that would have allowed Sunday sales, but when the amendment was not passed, he did vote for the final bill which would ban Sunday sales. As mentioned in today's article:

"The choice becomes clear," said Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, his chamber's lead negotiator. "Which do you value more? Uniformity or Sunday sales?"

I think the answer is obvious that Vratil values uniformity in state law over local control. I suppose I have the opposite view on the subject.

The House should act on this bill today. More later.