UNDATED (AP) – Willie Nelson will be the host of a new TV show. He will host “Inside Arlyn Studios,” set in a recording studio in Austin, Texas. He will interview and sometimes sit in on performances by different musicians. Merle Haggard and Gary Clark Junior are the first guests. The show is filming pilot episodes but no network has picked up the series yet.
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This is not a post-mortem piece on what went wrong or could have gone better. I am only going to express a few things about the Greg Orman campaign that I learned about the character of Kansas and the difficulty of mounting the first serious challenge by an Independent against an entrenched Republican Senator in modern history.
Just a few days ago, I stood next to a busy street in downtown Manhattan, Kansas. I was holding a sign that said “Orman: Independent for Senate” on it. Thousands of cars would drive by and every once in awhile someone would slow down, roll down their window, and yell “baby killer” at me and the lifelong Republican standing next to me. We never reacted; we just shook our heads out of disappointment in our opponent and the vitriol his campaign unearthed. My colleague, the lifelong Republican, looked at me and said, “They used to say that to us when we came back from Vietnam”.
The vitriol like that really didn’t heat up until October for us. We hadn’t needed to participate in a primary election and Greg chose from the beginning to stay positive. His tug-of-war commercial first aired when Milton Wolf and Pat Roberts were tearing each other apart on the airwaves and Orman’s message was a stark positive contrast.
As we traveled around Kansas collecting signatures to get on the ballot and participating in parades or fairs the overall reaction was positive and the vitriol was non-existent. Folks across Kansas from corner to corner and border to border were encouraging us to stay positive. Greg Orman personally met thousands of people last summer and I watched them all say “Stay Positive”. Greg always promised them that he would and he wanted to debate the issues, he wanted to solve problems.
During the last four weeks of the election, the Roberts Campaign along with various outside groups supporting Roberts began bombarding the airwaves with gross mischaracterizations of Greg Orman accompanied by robo-calls and photo shopped mailers. It got very nasty. I began noticing “trackers” following me to volunteer events, filming the people that came and went out of buildings and taking pictures of their car license plates. It was a form of intimidation or at least our volunteers felt it was.
Public events and parades were no longer positive experiences. Kansans were being misled and they were falling for it. Verbal threats were made against Greg, Sybil, and staff. Actual security was needed. It was not the Kansas I was proud of; it was one operating out of irrational fear. One that was being primed to vote against it’s own interests. The thousands of people who had asked Greg to stay positive when we first started where much quieter now. There were still vocal supporters and cheers along parade routes but the vitriol was poisoning the well for everyone.
People from across the country asked Greg Orman to attack Pat Roberts. To go negative, as they say. Many supporters and staff even thought it might be the best course.
Greg Orman did not. He did not break his promise and he did not go negative. He was called every name you can think of, he was hassled every minute of his life by paid “trackers” from out of state. He couldn’t even sit through one quarter of a K-State game without being cornered and spending more time explaining why the mailer someone got was not at all the way he felt about the issue.
The personal attacks didn’t come only from one particular party either, both parties at some point attacked Greg Orman this year. He stayed positive. He believed Kansan’s were smart enough to see through the smear campaign. Even after the results were final and he gave his concession speech, he stayed positive.
For the first time in modern politics, Americans were presented with a viable Independent candidate who could potentially be a powerbroker in the US Senate. If that were not enough, it was possibly one of the only major campaigns in recent memory that stayed positive the whole way through.
Last Tuesday, Kansas decided to not fix a broken system. They chose to reward negative campaigning. They screamed vulgarities from cars at us as they drove to the polls. Ironically we were combat veterans, who are proud we fought for those same people to have free political speech. The problem is not Kansas or it’s people, the problem is that we American’s just rewarded negative campaigning again. They will govern the same way they campaign and you will be given false choices based in fear for years to come. Staying positive is much harder than anyone realizes, it is the thing I am most proud of about Greg Orman. He is a profile in courage.
Aaron Estabrook, Manhattan, field director, Orman for Senate 2014
MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the eve of Veterans Day, the Veterans Affairs Department is announcing a reorganization designed to make it easier for veterans to gain access to the sprawling department and its many websites.
VA Secretary Robert McDonald calls the reorganization the largest in the department’s history and says it will bring a singular focus on customer service to an agency that serves 22 million veterans.
The department will hire a chief customer service officer and will create a single regional framework that will encompass all aspects of the agency, from health care to benefits, loan centers and even cemetery plots. The VA now has nine organizational maps and at least a dozen websites, many with their own user names and passwords.
McDonald hopes to complete the reorganization within a year.
Before diving into my review of the long-awaited “Interstellar,” I want to briefly discuss a journey of my own. This past weekend I was in Anaheim, California for BlizzCon; a two day convention that celebrates all things Blizzard Entertainment, the video game company that makes “World of Warcraft” and several other award-winning, best-selling video game titles. I have been playing and have loved every product this company has released since before the the world starting worrying about Y2K.
A feature film, based upon Blizzard’s fantasy franchise “Warcraft” is currently in post-production and is set to open in March of 2016. Attendees at the convention were treated to a special first look of at the film, titled Warcraft,” even though the visual effects have yet to be completed. To any Blizzard fans reading this, trust me when I say, this movie looks incredible. The as-of-yet incomplete visual effects are already stunning and the production team has brought the world of Azeroth to life in a way that is both cinematically compelling and true to the origins of the games. I see a lot of movies, and am not sold easily; but I’m here to tell you that when March 2016 rolls around, “Warcraft” will be in the news.
• • •
For many movie fans, the wait for the next Christopher Nolan movie is much like my personal wait for the next Blizzard game. Like many of Nolan’s previous works, including “Inception,” “The Prestige,” and “Memento,” “Interstellar” is a mind-romp that will leave your thoughts battered and bruised for days to come. That’s a great trait. I have so much admiration for a director that sets out to challenge audiences, instead of spoon-feeding them.
The general structure of drama is broken down into three parts, beginning, middle and end. “Interstellar’s” greatest flaw is that it does that first part twice. The film begins, flounders for 20-25 minutes and then begins again. Once reborn, it takes on a new, much greater, life that, in this reviewer’s opinion, is little served by the initial false start.
“Interstellar” is the type of film that can be both commended and condemned based on its writing. In some ways, the writing is elegant – taking hard-to-understand scientific concepts and turning them into heart-wrench dramatic emotions. In other ways, the film’s end-game is so far reaching that it ends up shaking its own foundations.
It’s a fine line to walk. “Interstellar” should be commended for its efforts, which are scientific to the letter; however, the harmonious result to its gnarly equation may end up out of reach for some audiences. As a rule, people have limited resources and can only focus on so many things at a time. With many of Christopher Nolan’s movies, the vast majority of that energy is spent just trying to keep pace. That is not inherently a bad thing, but know I missed beats in “Interstellar” because I will still chewing on a particularly difficult bit of science.
The Matthew McConaughey-led cast performs their given rolls well; however, had some of the character development/writing stretched as far as the science had, then “Interstellar” could truly have been a film for the ages. Furthermore, the film’s transition of studying the nature of the universe to studying the nature of human nature is sometimes jarring. That dichotomy, which was obviously intentional, is not sewn together in a perfect pattern.
Don’t misunderstand, “Interstellar” is a great film, a bold film, and an important film. It’s not Nolan’s best, but it is a strong entry in a remarkable pedigree. The breadth and gravitas of the visual effects are astounding. If possible, this is a film to see in IMAX, and its a film that is not to be missed, period. Does “Interstellar” represent that grand unified theory of filmmaking? No. Is it an incredible journey that explores the depths of the universe and the depths of the human heart and mind? Absolutely.
5 of 6 stars
By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will discuss an office relocation contract at Monday night’s meeting moving one step closer to beginning construction at the courthouse/law enforcement center and jail.
The county received an estimate from Kearney Movers of Kearney Nebraska for approximately $39,161 to move the offices to three different locations in Ellis County.
According to County Administrator Greg Sund’s memo to the commission, phase one would be moving the second floor of the law enforcement center beginning on Nov. 19.
The final phase would be completed between Jan. 6 and Jan. 8.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the courthouse:
• The commission will conduct the Nov. 4 election canvass.
• Discuss exchanging the county’s Federal Road allocation for state funds. A program allows the county to exchange the federal funds for a 90-percent return in state funds. Exchanging the funds eliminates the need to follow federal requirements.
• After receiving more information the commission will vote on whether to join the Kansas Association of Counties salary study.
Click HERE for a complete agenda. A meeting of the commission’s Public Building Commission will begin at 4:55 p.m.
Since 1932, Alberston Hall has been the home for a giant thirteen foot telescope on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Mike Cooper gets all the history of the giant star gazer from University Professor, Dr. Paul Adams.
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Carlos Santana had no difficulty writing about the darker aspects of his life in his new book because he had already dealt with those demons long ago.
That includes the man who molested him as a child. Santana says he had the opportunity to confront the man.
He says he knew if he condemned that man to hell, he’d go there with him.
Santana says he reduced the man to a seven-year-old child, forgave him and sent him into the light.
Santana says the point of his book, “The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light,” is that we all need to heal on a daily basis.
He says cynicism is not good for creativity.
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FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State’s Nathan Lindsey was named the Beyond Sports Network National Division II Athlete of the Week on Monday, November 10 for his efforts in the 49-41 win over Missouri Southern this past weekend. Lindsey had a great all-around game on both defense and special teams.
Lindsey recorded five tackles, a sack, two fumble recoveries, and one interception on defense, and scored two touchdowns in the game, one on defense and one on special teams. His first touchdown was on a 49-yard fumble recovery in the second quarter to push Fort Hays State’s lead to 21-7 at the time. His second touchdown was a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 5:48 to play in the game which gave the Tigers breathing room for a 42-28 lead. His second fumble recovery was on Missouri Southern’s first drive of the fourth quarter at the FHSU 14-yard line, a drive that could have potentially tied the game with the score at 28-21 in favor of FHSU. His interception stopped Missouri Southern’s first drive of the second half at the FHSU 22-yard line.
ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says Internet providers shouldn’t be allowed to cut deals with online services like Netflix, Amazon or YouTube to move their content faster.
In a statement released by the White House Monday, the president called for an “explicit ban” on such deals. Obama also said that federal regulators should reclassify the Internet as a public utility under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act.
Obama’s statement puts him in the middle of a debate between industry, which wants little regulation, and the Federal Communications Commission, which is under public pressure to prevent broadband providers from creating so-called Internet “fast lanes.”
CLAY CENTER, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas woman is awaiting her first court appearance in a hit-and-run accident that killed an elderly man.
Clay County Sheriff Chuck Dunn says the Clay County resident was arrested Friday after the accident on U.S. 24 near Clay Center. She made her $4,000 bond and had a first court appearance scheduled for Nov. 17.
Dunn says 83-year-old Joe Knitter, of Clay Center, died Friday afternoon when he was hit by a car while checking on an injured deer that his wife had hit on the highway.
Joe Knitter died at the scene. His wife was not injured. KCLY reports investigators used a broken mirror from the vehicle to track down the suspect. The woman told investigators she didn’t stop because she thought she had hit a deer.
Hutch Post
GALVA, Kan. — The National Transportation Safety Board says a preliminary report could be out in a few weeks into the collision of two Union Pacific trains in McPherson County September 25th.
An eastbound train struck the last several cars and a locomotive of a west bound train that was pulling onto a siding near Galva.
The NTSB has not released new information about the accident that destroyed three locomotives and about 30 railroad cars. There were no injuries.
The NTSB is working to determine if Positive Train Control would have prevented the accident.
PTC is being installed in all major railroads to help prevent such events from happening.
The expensive and somewhat controversial program uses GPS to position trains, and stop them if they are in danger of an accident, even if the locomotive engineer fails to do so.
TOM RAUM, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service says it’s the victim of a cyberattack and that information about its employees, including Social Security numbers, may have been compromised.
The FBI and other federal agencies are investigating.
Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer says personal information that may have been obtained in the attack includes employees’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, emergency contacts and other information.
However, he also says the customers at local post offices or those using its website, usps.com, were not affected. However, people who used its call center may have had telephone numbers, email addresses and other information compromised.
The agency isn’t recommending that those customers take any action.
SCRANTON, Kan. (AP) — Scranton residents can expect some relief from waterline breaks after the northeastern Kansas city received federal funds to replace roughly half of its system.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Scranton saw an average of more than three water main breaks per month last year.
According to a project engineer with BG Consultants, most of the city’s pipes date to the 1960s. The Osage County city had 44 water main breaks last year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave about a $1.2 million loan and a $843,000 grant to the city to replace about 31,000 feet of its water lines.
The USDA Rural Development hands out loans and grants for water and sewer projects to communities when they can’t get funding at reasonable rates.
