Alonzo Ganks American Gangster

This came a lot quicker than I thought it would . . .

Check it:

Today (11-30-06) Verizon Wireless officials announced that they have pulled their support from the American Gangster 6 series television program and that no more Verizon Wireless advertisements would appear during the TV show.

That's a pretty big coup for local activist Alonzo Washington who started the boycott just a couple of days ago.

And now I must admit that I have to pay more attention to my neglected Myspace page. I figure if he can can earn this kind of noteriety, then I can at least garner a few nude photos from chubby women.

People of KC support cancer instead of Chuck Eddy

One small sign of hope for folks (at least small biz owners) in KC is that today marked a rare occasion when Chuck Eddy's enormous appetite (for credibility among the anti-smoking Nazi's in this instance) was curtailed.

The smoking ban that the KCMO City Council voted on today FAILED.

One of the reasons for the failure was reportedly a number of small business people calling their local council person and voicing their disapproval of the measure.

Personally, I thought it was a tad shady that the ban didn't include the Casino floors given that I wasn't aware of any recently discovered health benefits to smoking while gambling away your retirement money or your kid's college fund. Actually, the exclusion of the casinos in the smoking ban really just spelled out for everyone that big money excludes you from having to comply with city ordinances or give a damn about the dumb/addicted people your robbing.

While I'm not a big fan of lung tumors I believe that Chuck Eddy's hypocrisy is nearly as unsavory. Personally, I'd like a smoke free environment as well a City Council that is free from Eddy who wants to help save your life in one breath and then destroy your home in the next.

Fat people rarely embrace change

For the first time in more than 30 years, the Midwestern candy bar staple Cherry Mash is changing its recipe. And yes, that photo is one of the most sexy things I've ever stolen to put up on this page. It almost looks good enough to give you diabetes.

Blizzard '06

There is nothing going on in this city other than the snow which means that the terrorists Katie Horner and Brian Busby have won.

Also, is there any X-mas tune more gully than "I'm dreaming of a white X-mas?" Every time I hear that tune I can feel my credit rating go up.

Finally, here's a quick list of things you can do given the fact that almost everything in this town is closed:

1. Summer and beach themed porno - It will cheer you up for at least 1 minute and 28 seconds.

2. If you live Downtown - look outside and guess which homeless bum isn't going to make it through this weather cycle.

3. Guess which weather person is the ghey - good odds and very few surprises but it's a simple and fun way to make you feel like a winner.

Down and out in KC: Or please blame this on Mexicans and not lackluster results of urban redevelopment

The Kansas City area's October unemployment rate tied for the second-highest rate among the 49 metropolitan areas with at least 1 million residents, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.

The Gospel According to Larry Johnson: Blacks and whites can't work together

I haven't regularly watched Inside the NFL since I was in grade school but I decided last night would be a good time to start since rumors were circulating that Larry Johnson would be offered yet another platform for him to make a fool of himself. Certainly, he did not disappoint.

The most banal insight by LJ was his assertion that it was Herman Edward's Blackness and NOT the fact that Priest Holmes had his spine shoved up his ass that led to Johnson's ascendancy. Here's the money quote in a series of softball questions from ex-jock (read: functional illiterate) Cris Carter:

"I think so. I could relate to Herman. I couldn't do that with the other coaches I had because they had not done it. You know, they haven't put those pads or they haven't been in the situation as a young black athlete and know what we had to go through."

First of all, I'll let it slide that Johnson's logic overlooks the fact that he ran well enough in college under Joe Paterno (the whitest of white men) to earn a place in the pros. Instead, I'd like to point out that if the softball interview of Johnson was truly supposed to be a tale of a young man overcoming obstacles to achieve success then they might have mentioned that he has seemingly kicked his penchant for beating the shit out of white women in public for the moment.

Thing is, I didn't think that you could play that "It's a black thing, you wouldn't understand" when 90% of your fan base are white people from Johnson County (one of the richest suburbs in the country). I would say that they are, in fact, paying his salary BUT that wouldn't be completely true considering that broke ass and much more brown Jackson County chumps are the people contributing to Johnson's rushing records, touchdowns, instances of domestic violence and his most recent propagation of the notion that Blacks and whites can't work together.

Actually, we aren't all in the same gang

Today's column from Steve Penn refers to some silliness about the use of the N-word and how some unheard of academic is not only gonna save cRap music from itself but also reverse 400+ years of history by bringing the use of the N-word to an end. Good luck with that one, I'll meet you at the bar.

Anyway, this reminded me of local activist Alonzo Washington's most recent fight is against BET's American Gangster.

Mind you, on the surface the concept is brilliant. It's kind of like one of those History Channel Documentaries only instead of Nazi's they profile "some of the most violent Black criminals in history" according to their promotional material.

On the other hand, I can see where Alonzo is getting bent out of shape with this one. Think about all of the violence in the Black community, the disproportionate number of Black men in jail and then think that Ving Rhames is doing the narration and not one cent is going toward Jack Lemmon's estate!!! It's a travesty!

And seriously, in your heart of hearts you know that there is no way that a documentary "Suburban/Child Molesting Uncles across America" would make it to prime time even though the footage would be equally interesting and disgusting all at the same time. It's a question of perception and public consumption. Sadly, from watching the media closely for most of my life I hate to admit that the public has an appetite to see Black people in situations pertaining to crime and very few other places (oversexed or angry Black guys on MTV's Real World don't count) . . . Unless you count sports, which is a far more organized form of violence.

Anybody else notice a hell of a lot of homicides during this holiday season?

Peace on Earth? Eh, I'll just take a little bit more quiet East of Troost. Here's the latest holiday bummer that's slightly more depressing than that fact that IPod prices aren't really coming downt hat much yet: A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot outside a liquor store at 24th Street and Spruce Avenue Tuesday night, police said.

A few more insights into the Appleby trial

I've never been to a murder trial, mainly because they all had it coming and nobody bothers to investigate . . . Anyway, local blog "My World as I Shot It" has a couple of great posts the provide even further detail into the coverage of the court case.

The blogger writes: "They're playing the 911 call now and its just heart breaking. Majority of people in court room are crying, as Appleby just sits and stares."

And then he observes: "This is some of the most gut wrenching testimony,this poor man is having to re-live all this with the guy who killed his daughter just a few feet away."

Honestly, it's pretty chilling and exciting stuff and the closest I want to come to a murder trial. So, I guess I should probably rethink that anger management class and maybe stop practicing my "Are you talking to me?" routine so much.

Calling your mother

Here's a charming post from my favorite Irish blogger. The title alone dictates that it earns a link on this page:

A Kansas City Phone Call To An Irish Mother

Check out the post to read a transcript of the conversation. There are a lot of sentiments that go across cultures so I enjoyed it thoroughly and I think I might have even detected a bit of Catholic guilt depending which part of Ireland the guy is from . .. It almost read like a conversation with my mom, only less swearing, Spanish and references to murder.

Ice, Ice, Baby

If you have television, radio or a window you've no doubt figured out that the weather sucks around town lately and it's only gonna get worse. Now that the ice is gone, the snow is on it's way. I don't feel a need to comment on it other than to remind you to be careful and how freaking lucky I am to have a roof basement ceiling over my head right now.

Oh, and my pick for the least annoying and most accurate weather dude for Blizzard '06 is Gary Lezak . . . Katie Horner was not eligible for an award because . . . She's a woman.

Appleby killed her "in the heat of passion"

In opening statements, this morning, Benjamin Appleby's attorney admits his client killed Leawood teen Ali Kemp four years ago in what has to be the worst defense ever. You might remember (I do) that one of his previous attempts to get off the hook involved blaming nearby Mexican lawn care workers so you'll understand if I'm also a bit "enthusiastic" about whatever guilty sentence the guy gets.

Suggestion: If found guilty, they should beat the guy to death with the kid's arm he shot off

Police question a 20-year-old Grandview man in two slayings and the wounding of a 9-year-old boy. Doctors amputated one of the boy's arms. He remained in a hospital Tuesday with serious injuries to his other arm. His mother, Kimberly C. Ford, 30, and her boyfriend, Rickey L. Gardner, 27, died.

Katheryn doesn't need anymore cake

Mike Sanders is going to throw a party for the outgoing Jackson County Executive, it's going to cost less than 500 BUCKS THIS TIME compared with her 60th birthday party which reportedly cost the people of Jackson County 5K.

Here is a photo from the party in case you don't get an invitation:

I think we can all agree with snitching on cheap ass employers

Starting in '08, The Missouri Health Care Responsibility Report will narc on companies that don't offer health benefits and list them on a Web site.

Spoiled or dying kid will get to light X-mas tree in Brookside

Instead of an athlete or celebrity, one lucky child will get to light the Brookside Christmas tree at Thursday night's ceremony.

KC forced to pay more for an attraction that attracts no one

Budget director Troy Schulte said Tuesday that City Manager Wayne Cauthen had agreed to give the memorial an additional $207,000 in the current budget year and $620,000 more in the city budget year that begins in May.

That is on top of the $625,000 in annual operating subsidies the nonprofit Liberty Memorial Association already receives.

Correspondents across the metro forced to suppress laughter when reporting on a "Suspicious Package"

The Bomb and Arson squad, tactical response and sex crimes units (WTF???) were called to the scene at the 6500 block of N. Mercier off 169 Highway last night. Authorities later gave the all clear.

Go ahead and add a hot dog to your Ramen noodles!

House Dems Back 12.6 Percent Increase For Missouri Higher Ed

God help this town

18-year-old charged in knifepoint robbery at church

KCMO spends 500k to avoid drinking tap water

Ever since I was a kid I've been told that tap water in Kansas City is the best in the country. Recently, KSHB did an investigation and found out that this town's water is still not good enough for most of the people at City Hall. Thing is, I don't like criticizing the worker bees who have to toil at the place so I have to assume that all of this water waste is done by City Council members who are trying to get themselves clean.

Here are the highlights for the report:

Why would City Hall spend more than $500,000 on something they could get for free?

City departments are using tax dollars, again, to buy the bottled water back to the tune of another $61,500.

NBC Action News Investigators found a state-of-the art Innowave Water Filtration System at City Hall. The company's promotional video says the machine hooks right up to the tap, filtering the water with a special UV light. But Kansas City's drinking water already ranks #1, so we asked Cauthen why the city was spending tax dollars on the systems.

And we found them in at least 62 city departments around the metro, totaling another $215,000 in taxes.

I know, I know there are a lot of good Evian jokes to make at Country Club Kay's expense but everybody knows she doesn't drink water because it makes her melt.

Brett Saberhagen has screwed up priorities

Local blogger Dan talks about 3 baseball players, only one should be in the Hall of Fame. Guess.

Arenas make me itchy

Nice shot from ThingsKC of Kemper in all its buggy glory.

More judges, less diversity and I guess the current level of corruption is fine

This is the funniest news I could find this morning: A local judge is trying to provide some ethical and financial advice to the KC City Council.

You know it, I know it and it's a safe bet that everyone in town knows that there is no way either one of these institutions knows anything about leadership in the areas of finance or ethics.

To wit, the presiding Jackson County Circuit Court judge on Monday said city officials have not provided enough judges or staff for a growing Municipal Court caseload.

The Star quotes Judge J.D. Williamson reminding everyone that the court's budget this year is about $6.5 million, while court fines bring in about $17 million to city coffers. He said money should be available from that additional court revenue to alleviate the staffing problems.

However, his REAL PROBLEM is that the KC Council recently rejected a panel of three finalists for a vacant city judgeship. The finalists were all white and I think that everyone knows that that the only people who complain more than minorities about discrimination are, in fact, white people.

The City Council voted 7-6 this month to reject the panel because it included no racial minorities and to send the matter back to the nominating commission.

Therefore the judge is making a stink and trying to garner more funds, political leverage and clout by making this pronouncement while further embarrassing the uber PC KC Council whose only interest in funds relates to those that are going directly in their pocket.

Meanwhile, mainly po'folk from this town are providing those funds that the council and the judges are so desperate to squander utilize.

Civic Duty . . . Hehe, I wrote duty

Mark Funkhouser will be on KCUR's Up to Date program this Wednesday. Hear all of his good ideas now that he's finished hiding under his desk for nearly 30 years. Via Heidi.

Planners recommend denial of TIF for City Walk as the suburbs are getting tired of paying people for real estate development let's hope the trend takes hold in the City as well.

Donate a $10 Christmas toy and you'll get a free dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. You fat, generous bastard!.

Children's Mercy Hospital and the family of Jake Clough have reached a settlement in a year-old wrongful death lawsuit. His feeding tube had dislodged from his stomach and emptied into his abdomen.

The Star approves of the KCMO School District planning school consolidation, which is nice considering that most of their kids are educated in JoCo.

Crime in the morning

Student Brings Gun to Lee's Summit High School. Suburban kid arrested and reminded that he's too old for show and tell

Shot, Killed in Kansas City

House Riddled With Bullets

Badda Boom! House bombed in the Northland and lots of names with vowels. Arson Unit Investigates Northland House Fire. Fughedabout getting any answers. And does anybody know when the next season of the Sopranos starts?

Intruder Handcuffs Teen,Leaves Empty-Handed
- Thankfully, criminals are becoming very forgetful during the Holiday Season rush. It must have completely slipped his mind to assault her in some fashion.

Reward Jumps To $16K In Bonner Springs Slaying

Leet Hackorz prove that even while watching porn in mom's basement they can still trump any guy in a business suit: Community America Credit Union confirmed to KMBC that a hacker managed to redirect people from the company's Web site to a phony site. Community America said it caught the intrusion within a few minutes, but that was enough for the hacker to get information to access 180 accounts.

A massive effort to make life tougher for pet owners who obey the law: KC pit bull law to be enforced starting Friday

Police say a 37-year-old father faces child abuse charges for allegedly spanking his nine-month-old daughter until her body was bruised. On the bright side this pasty, suburban white guy will probably be somebody's "baby" in the pen

I guess we should all double bag it until she gets the results back

Jenee Osterheldt writes her obligatory World AIDS Day column. She's getting tested and setting a good example while the rest of the local hipsters are crossing their fingers and hoping that all of their ex's die of drug OD's and not nasty diseases WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY refusing to have unprotected anonymous sex with anybody at the club who has a cough during this annoying first week of December when we're all forced to realize that their are bigger problems out there than people not returning your calls.

One last joke about how these bitches are nuts

ACORN is calling for larger child-care subsidies, paid sick days and lower taxes on low-income workers.

Clearly, you should pay attention to what these women have to say not only because they are street walkers who get their payoffs from political leverage and not man juice money but also because they have a MANDATE from imaginary, fake, dead and forged voters who will back them up.

You can't cry at KU Med

KU Hospital recently ejected a mother who had just lost a child.

A grieving woman who lost her infant daughter in a house fire was handcuffed and her 2-year-old son placed in protective custody after a confrontation at the hospital.

The grieving mother says the hospital mistreated her while I'm sure that a nifty, comforting commercial featuring Tom Skerritt will assure us all that the broad was crazy to cry in such a cutting edge, newly remodeled, state of the art facility.

Yet another example that this town has too many musesums that nobody visits

LIBERTY MEMORIAL is in the red which is slightly ironic because I noticed the color of the lights illuminating the monument and they are red too . . . Almost like a bat signal only directed toward Country Club Kay to come to the rescue with her credit card.

By any other name

There was a bit of a dust up over the original name given to an upcoming 18th and Vine District restaurant. I guess the name "Empty" would have been too descriptive.

Anyway, the Star reports the the owner "naming her restaurant Strange Frut, after a Billie Holiday tune that dealt with lynching in the South, caused a public outcry. As a result, her new venue will be known as Harper's."

Considering that the place is going to solely serve organic food, I'm guessing that this new venture will only be using the name for about 4 months. Finally, in a story that involves someone upset about a name and organic food I guess it probably should have been titled "The bland leading the bland." Bleh.

Fred Phelps: Movie Star

J.D. over at Evolution has filed an amazing post regarding an upcoming documentary about the Phelps clan.

Apparently, the film must be pretty good considering that it has not only earned a bit of critical acclaim but the Phelps family seems to like it as well in much the same way that so many Mexicans don't understand that the film Nacho Libre was actually making fun of them in an ironic, non-threatening hipster way the might offend if hipsters weren't the ghey.

Here is the trailer for the film and a bit of advice: Odd remarks about buttering popcorn don't make anyone laugh but me.

Opie Come Home

I don't wanna get too jokey in this post because I think everyone knows that this is probably going to end badly.

Jesse Ross, known to 95.7 fans as Opie, has been missing for quite a few days now.

DJ's at his radio station have been sounding frantic this week and are now actively asking for help determining his whereabouts during broadcasts.

Friends and relatives are using the Internet in an effort to find out what led to his disappearance in Chicago.

And here's the guy's Myspace page that seems justifiably desperate and pleading for information. (Also, a bad time for a friend request for you jerks who think like me)

And in more disquieting news that should probably prepare you for the most likely outcome of this story, authorities have begun searching the Chicago River for the missing UMKC student.

Animal abuse is not a crime

Hard to believe that so many people are in a fervor over a local vet smacking around a few mutts and yet few people seem to have any idea about the horrific number of civilian causalities in Iraq.

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time at all you know that I don't regard any violence against animals as a crime only a form of overenthusiastic tenderizing. Yet, I know the following line will tug at the heartstrings of some people who never had any human friends as children:

"He punched and he kicked dogs"

Thing is, you can't tell me that it's okay to stalk, hunt, surprise the hell out of and then kill one kind of animal at a record level and that it's somehow inhumane to manhandle a far more mangy, domesticated beast. Deers, dogs, door mice . . . There are all things that can be disposed of without much afterthought. However, I guess disposing of deer is actually good practice for combat and a training of some sort, it's just like killing Iraqis . . . They even have the same kind of horns, I've heard.

I'll have a blue X-mas without you

Jerry Agar is leaving Kansas City

There hasn't been a huge dance party among this many Mexicans, homosexuals, Black people, liberals, readers and agnostics since Lou Bega's Mambo Number 5 hit the rave circuit back in 1999.

UPDATE: Alonzo Washington shares his thoughts and experiences about the "local Hannity wannabe."

The Crazy Train

Just a couple quick thoughts about the WORST initiative for mass transit in Kansas City that so many young, dumb, naive (read: white) voters approved:

Many (most people) who voted for the thing had absolutely no idea what they were approving. Including the fact that you can basically say goodbye to Broadway in the unlikely event that any construction will start.

Additionally, all of the recent conversations with Clay Chastain confirm that he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about . . . And yet, it's important for the people leaving City Council (most of them hopefully) and the people entering (don't mind the smell) to understand that this initiative has absolutely NO political capital and only a few politically savvy white folks will throw a mild tantrum once this thing disappears. And then they'll probably move on to their other pet causes like the environment, starving kids or finding the next great restaurant that doesn't serve bloated duck or whatever in the hell foie gras happens to be . . . Even though I think it sounds delicious.

My Lord, too bad so many of the local brown people couldn't vote against this whole light rail silliness because of the previous felony convictions or because they were late.

Blogger Backtalk: They've been everywhere

Death's Door offers this weekend report and review: "To me the sign of a good bar is its hangoutability and the New Hurricane just doesn't have that yet. "

You can apply the following review of a local Mexican restaurant to pretty much anything having to do with Latinos: "It's never going to win any awards, but El Cerro Grande contains everything that's absent from the adequate but lifeless chain restaurants surrounding it."

Finally, a realistic holiday message I can fully endorse: "Get over yourselves. You're not that fucking important."

Some candidate for prxy might be getting a little jealous over Sebelius, a local blogger maintains the following: "I bet that Sam Brownback is pissed about all the attention she gets."

Local blogger Scooter goes All about Midtown and provides some nice photos of his journey.

Save your energy this X-mas

One of my favorite Missouri bloggers provides an important tip about conserving electricity with the X-mas lights you chose during the holidays.

By grouping several LED's together, they are much brighter and more efficient than a conventional bulb. They don't produce heat, should last 5 times longer and operate with 98% less energy. So it turns out they make beautiful Christmas lights, without the worry.

I know what else would make the season bright . . . If the local radio stations would stop reminding me how broke I am with all of their X-Mas garbage, music and phony love for their fellow man. That would be a good start and then I can concentrate on all of the important family gatherings, social events and X-mas time traditions that I must avoid by employing clever excuses in order to save my own energy . . . Which is the only natural resource I really want to conserve.

Was it one of the worst ass kickings in Kansas City history?

For the most part, I'm proud of our little Internet community in Kansas City except for those douchebags at MK-12 . . . Anyway, here in KC there is a very low key vibe that's more about accomplishment than the insane speculation that exists on both coasts.

I don't know if Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka counts as somebody from KC since he's out in Lee's Summit but I'm drawing that loose connection in order to link today's top story from Wired that reports the embarrassing details of the head honcho from Something Awful getting his ass kicked.

But he's back up in a flash and taking another trip around the ring before Boll surges forward with a left to the body, then a right to the head. The webmaster crashes faster than an overloaded server. "You hit me in the face!" he says, glaring up at Boll. He climbs to his feet and prolongs the match by yo-yoing to his knees whenever the eager director threatens to take another crack at him. But Boll catches him off guard and hammers him with three solid punches. Kyanka sinks to the mat and stays there as the ref counts to 10. The fight is over in less than two minutes.

It only gets worse from there with even more whining from Lowtax about how he doesn't know how to fight (not getting punched in the face is a good start) and more classic complaining like what happens to your average suburbanite when they get served.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the guy isn't representative of this town at all. If he was really from KC . . . He would have brought a gun.

With an admissible confession this should be the quickest trial ever

Also, Fox 4 provides an informative time line and history of the Ali Kemp case.

Ten Killed in Group Home Fire in Southwest Missouri

This tragic story is getting a ton of coverage local coverage today and I'm not sure why, I thought we put people in these kinds of homes in the rural areas of this state expressly for the purpose of ignoring them . . . Anyway, it's pretty horrific so I'm guessing it'll be the top story at least at 6.

Exemplar

As a dude, if you would not do anything and everything in your power, move Heaven and Earth to get along with this woman and keep her happy for longer than 4 months then OBVIOUSLY the institution of marriage is over in the Western World.



Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock divorce

Forecast: Cold, bitter, and a gust of whining from clueless parents

School closings are likely to be on table in KC . . . After decades of shrinking enrollment, some 30 percent of the space in occupied district buildings is going unused. The school board has long understood that the district needs to consolidate schools and close buildings. Many buildings are old and in need of expensive repairs.

Grandma always was trashy

All right, admit it when you heard about the story of a local grandma getting dumped in the trash yesterday you couldn't help but laugh a little especially given that fact that you'll probably be avoiding contact with all of your relatives for at least a month after Thanksgiving and then only to pick up that X-mas check.

An 84-year-old woman is recovering after she was robbed, beaten and thrown in a trash bin Saturday.

According to police, the woman was having dinner in her Red Bridge home near 104th Terrace and Wornall Road Saturday night when a man broke in through a window.

A few other observations: South KC continues its downward slide and since the incident took place near Red Bridge I can only suspect that Chuck Eddy has finally found a more efficient way to get residents to go along with his efforts to destroy their homes. Also, the phrase "white trash" is a lot more hurtful than you think, especially when used on women who won't date you, please use the term "hillbilly" instead . . . It's a lot more fun and reminds us not only of the roots of this nation but also explains why Britney Spears and Larry the Cable guy still have careers.

Brokeback patrols

Police On Horseback Patrolling KC Again . . . Seems like they're bringing back all the old traditions, like not talking to Black people.

I love the crazy stuff people send me in e-mail

You might wanna check out Delusional Democracy. It's a pretty optimistic book from the same guy who writes at The Smirking Chimp and OpEdNews which are two websites that have yet to state that all of the world's problems are solved just because the Democrats won a few victories. Actually, the promo material for the book held my interest almost as much as all of the penis pill info I get everyday. And if it was possible for me to grow 3 to 4 inches, I think I'd take it in height because I always felt like I could have been better at basketball and that's probably much more important than "her pleasure" which those ads mistakenly think I care about . . .

Downtown Development is all smoke and mirrors

Today our local newspaper is celebrating all of the cheap looking glass buildings downtown along with the upcoming Sprint Center. I guess I can understand the excitement of this town's fish wrap given that the big investment will no doubt boost their property values as well, but the average KC citizen is getting nothing but tax increases out of this deal given that it's a long shot that the facility will ever host a decent team and there was little minority participation in the construction of the project.

Strangely, the gushing of today's latest Star article failed to note that the paper's own glass house was the victim of a lot of broken windows earlier this year.

Oh, and another thing that the Star failed to celebrate in this glowing article about the Sprint Center . . . Most of the glass for the building was manufactured in China.

A bit of bad news for you

Here's a bunch of bad news from over the weekend:

2 killed in shooting, 7-year-old 9-year-old boy seriously injured

House Destroyed By Fire In KC

House fire kills baby

1 Person Dead In KCK Shooting

UMKC Student Still Missing
- That's "Opie" to 95.7 fans.

"If you weren't a police officer then you were going to be killed."

We've had a few problems with police brutality in Kansas City, most notably a few years ago a local granny was tasered without as much as an apology in the aftermath BUT THANKFULLY folks in this town have never had to endure anything as bad as the trigger happy NYPD. In a recent post Dallas Penn takes apart a recent shooting and provides some interesting details regarding the story that you won't see on your evening news.

At the end of the evening the gentlemen all decided that they had enjoyed themselves enough without adding any extra curricular activities to the night's festivities. This however was unacceptable to the police who had already begun to tabulate their overtime paychecks and departmental promotions the minute these Black men walked into the club. Unwilling to allow these men to proceed home without arresting at least one of them a male officer harasses and provokes the groom-to-be outside of the establishment. The young man is inebriated, but not enough to accept the apparently homosexual challenge to fight that the officer presents. This is a popular tactic the police are trained to use when they decide that they would like to kill a Black male.

It's a pretty amazing post that you should probably read for yourself and if you think Dallas is overreacting, I'd still venture to guess that he is a bit more controlled than a group of people who would shoot at some guy 41 times for showing his wallet.

A second local blogger seeks public office

Mark Forsythe was the first and now the Hip Critic has thrown his hat in the ring.

There probably won't be any women on Mars or at this upcoming local conference

Via Mac

All kinds of conspiracies will be revealed at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday, December 9 at 3 p.m. at the Dark 30 Tour except the great mystery as to why my ex-girlfriends still call me even though they are soooooo happy. My guess is that they're disappointed that Voodoo dolls don't really work and I'm not the only guy who won't put down the toilet seat or jokes about anal. Rock on.

Additionally, I'd like to solve the great conspiracy of all my missing socks and I wonder if the guys running this conference can help, because blaming the Tall Israelis just isn't productive.

"Everybody is a racist, the only variance is the degree and willingness to admit their faults."

I know, I know I'm late linking this but these are actually some pretty great thoughts on race and the media from this local blogger.

Anytime is a good time to check out Sparrow's Fall

Click the link above in order to get a glimpse of some awesome new posts, pics and comic book pages from local blogger Parrish Baker.

I love my buddies at Bloglines

Not much sarcasm here, I'm actually a big fan of Bloglines. They recently fixed my feed and made my life less miserable during the holiday and for that I have to give the kind of admiration that computer geeks never get . . . Now if only I could get my settings fixed so I could actually see Bloglines in Firefox!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Actually, the kids are pretty far from all right

Recently, it's been revealed that violent crimes by juveniles on the rise in and around Kansas City.

Unless we're calling this "practice" for locking up Black kids in the future than the following numbers are pretty depressing:

African-American children make up a disproportionate number of Jackson County children in detention, accounting for about 70 percent of those detained when they make up about 30 percent of the population.

This year's increase in violent juvenile crimes follows a similar jump in 2004, when the number reached 332, up from 244. Last year the number fell to 242. This year they are projected to hit 331.

The two leaps are the biggest yearly increases in violent Jackson County juvenile crime in the last decade.

And somehow I'm sure that the answer to this vexing situation is probably more luxury condos given that's the only thing that local elected officials in KC have proven successful in providing.

Removing the Mexican Aftertaste

They say that they are "Planning a new flavor for Strawberry Hill" which I think is just a nice way to describe getting rid of all of the poor brown people who live in the neighborhood.

Now two nonprofit groups are proposing a 67 town-home development that would require tearing down a handful of the hill’s more blighted homes. They say the town homes, priced at $170,000 to $210,000, would be a welcome addition to downtown Kansas City, Kan., which has recently attracted a new hotel, scores of new rental units and a new regional headquarters for the Environmental Protection Agency.

I guess it's a good idea if it weren't for the fact that unless they plan to tear down EVERY poor person's home in KCK there is still a decent chance that these new nicer homes will be built in the middle of a small city that has hosted more than its share of recent murders. And if they could take a lesson from KCMO, it's clear that a building boom does little to decrease murders.

Politicos make it rain

The phrase "Make it rain" can be defined in some circles as throwing a bunch of filthy money at an even filthier stripper in appreciation for her showing her naughty bits (Note: the purple lights of a strip club not only make everything look nicer but also hide the track marks). The practice is the equivalent to a "money shot" only it supplements alkaline man juice with currency yet still manges to stay just as degrading.

Anyway, while politicians have only a slightly better reputation than strippers it seems that they are ready to have some more money rain down on them because of tricky ballot language.

By Dec. 1, the Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials panel is supposed to recommend new salaries for judges — who are significantly underpaid, according to a long line of speakers Friday — while also addressing the salaries of lawmakers.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a measure Nov. 7 that makes it easier for lawmakers to approve whatever salary increases the commission recommends. But critics say the wording of the state constitutional amendment purposefully disguised that part of the measure.

First of all, the notion that judges are underpaid is completely false. I haven't noticed a serious drop in murders or in crime, in fact, most people know that any statistical downward trend has more to do with how the stats are compiled rather than the reality on the street for most folks. So, just as I've always voted NO on every judge because of these facts . . . I don't see how they deserve a raise. Also, there is always a slight risk that any money given to a local judge will simply be gambled away.

As for elected officials? Recently, Councilman Fairfield proved that more money is merely a phone call away after an important vote and Saundra McFadden-Weaver had more than a quarter of a million dollars floating around her bank account recently so I have to assume that all of the people on the Council are doing fine. If anyone wanted to really improve the standard of living for these people than I would simply suggest a 5 dollar investment in an air deodorizer for their nests chambers.

Giving you the business

I've almost always been broke yet I still follow business news . . . Seems that it's been a mixed bag (nullus) for local folks who might have money to buy things:

'Black Friday' brings the green to KC-area retailers
- I'm sure that the Chinese kids forced to do slave labor in order to make the goods that everybody bought yesterday are somewhat proud.

KC-area house sales decrease
- Kansas City house sales fell 3 percent in October from the previous month and 5 percent from the year-earlier month to 2,686. One of two things happened here: Either houses have now become obsolete in lieu of condos OR Neighborhoods in KC have become so neglected that anybody with the kind of cash to move in has thought better of it.

Ida McBeth Interview

A local blogger post an amazing interview with the legendary Kansas City singer. Lots of interesting and heart breaking details in the post and the interview. The fact that McBeth isn't a world renowned singer is somewhat disappointing but it makes her singing that much more believable in very much the same way that all of the mean spirited commentary on this blog should clue you into the fact that I'm actually a horrible person in real life as well.

Sometimes, creative expression is so creative expression is so convincing that it becomes reality which is how you might explain the phenomenon behind Jesus and why Susan Lucci has to be careful that she isn't slapped when she goes out in public. And that's right, I just compared myself to our Lord and Savior and one of the greatest soap opera stars of all time . . . I think I might have caught a little food poisoning at the Casino buffet this Thanksgiving. And for that I'm thankful, dizzy and still might be hallucinating just a little . . .

KC Council's power hungry antics are much more disgusting than a nicotine addiction

A Kansas City committee is considering whether to remove the trigger (read alter legislation without anyone's consent) altogether and impose the smoking restrictions in January 2008 to coincide with Overland Park.

New people set to bother you tomorrow

Outreach International is to help the poor build the capacity to solve their own problems and they are doing something with shovels tomorrow in the metro. I guess this is a change for the better give that most people who try and help po'folk usually just end offering a few handouts and then telling everyone to vote Democrat.

International Cheifs Games Could Cost Missouri 500k

However, they might finally come up with a convenient German word to describe a bunch of overrated jerks who still probably won't win a playoff game this year.

"Can you really make Kansas City just as appealing a place to live as Prairie Village?"

Already I'm getting sick of all the good press that Mark Funkhouser is getting and with this one quote I can tell he knows a lot less about this town than you'd like to think. Honestly, I know a lot of local bloggers love the guy as well but I'm not sure that someone should go from hiding under their desk when Country Club Kay roams that halls to running the city.

The valiant struggle for second best

Chiefs Beat Broncos, Tie for Second Place in AFC West. Also, I think I'm ready to take over Herm Edwards jobs if it only consists of calling two plays: Giving the ball to LJ and telling Trent Green to make a 8 yard pass.

Black Friday shopping strategies

Other than, ya know, stop buying junk you don't need.

Fast Cash and Ass Bandits Foiled

Two Kansas City men have been charged with a rape and kidnapping at an area car wash on Oct. 30.

Honestly the guys should have just left their drivers license and directions to their house at the scene. Nice to see that the clarity of the photo is so good that you can almost make out how this guy is going to do in the joint . . . Not well, some lucky con is going to get to play with some newbie braids for X-mas. Ewww.

It's just not Thanksgiving in the Midwest without a Turkey-fryer fire

Turkey-fryer fire burns home Thanksgiving morning in Blue Springs

Wittig might walk (???)

Stay in school kids . . . White Collar crime actually pays pretty well: "An appeals court has vacated former Westar Energy chief executive officer David Wittig's five-year prison sentence for a 2003 conviction of concealing from bank regulators a $1.5 million loan (ahem) he made to former Capital City Bank president Clinton Odell Weidner II in 2001., saying the sentence exceeded guideline maximums."

Lamar Hunt Hospitalized

Rule No. 4,384 NEVER make too many jokes about someone whose family was implicated in the Kennedy Assassination. Get well soon Lamar and then trade Tony Gonzalez, hopefully for a less fragile quarterback.

Obligatory Plaza Lighting link

Warm weather gives thousands a chance to see why they hate strangers just a little bit more than relatives.

In your face in Independence

A person was shot in the face in a drive-by shooting late Wednesday night, but that person's injuries were not considered life-threatening. This link is from the middle of the week but it reminds me that I've heard of more than 6 people now who have been shot in the face and lived. One was a broad and the shooting didn't even inspire her to leave the guy. Strange world.

Who the Funk does this guy look like?

The blogosphere has lots of suggestions (other than a guy with a bad idea if he thinks this city is ready to handle the control of its own police force) . . . Anyway, over the holidays a few suggestions came to light. I'll link if you haven't seen already but you must decide:

Does Mark Funkhouser look like Saruman from LOTR?

OR

Does Mark Funkhouser resemble Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon?

Clearly, this could be the most important vote in which you partake . . . Ever.

Aw, cute family Thanksgiving pics

I wanted to take some turkey day photos of my own as well but people tend to frown on that kind of thing down at the Salvation Army giveaway. Also, I nearly killed a man with a plastic knife for looking at me the wrong way.

Tryptophan edition

Tony is punchy! Tony gonna try his best to update this puppy for old times sake. Expect a bunch of lame Thanksgiving stories and a lot of references to myself in the third person.

The 2nd Annual TKC Turkey Awards

It's that time of year again folks and I'd like to acknowledge the biggest turkeys in this town and give you a few brief details about why they deserve this honor. Here we go:

Turkey Trivia: A few thousand rushing yards is enough for everyone to forget Larry Johnson beats white women.


I guess Cosmo Kramer might have a few things to say about the fact that just a few short months before LJ took over rushing duties for Priest Holmes (remember him?) the male model who no occupies the number one running back spot for the Chiefs was best known for smacking around just about any broad silly enough to date him. I don't know what that kind of punishment that practice would have merited 50 years ago but today in KC, the whole town simply overlooks what an indefensible A-hole the guy is because of some decent rushing stats. And then people have the nerve to get upset about OJ's snuff interview that I'm hoping will debut on the Internet sometime soon.

The man who won't be Mayor is a Turkey

Most of you didn't know John Fairfield before he decided to run for Mayor. In that short time he has not only become loosely associated with a guy who was arrested for child porn but he also was caught soliciting donations mere hours after a influential vote. And to think that some broads say that I make a horrible first impression when I ask: "So, do you have herpes?" as an ice breaker.

I've run out of Jabba jokes in much the same way that Kathryn Shields will run out of turkey at around 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning

There's not much I can write about the queen of pork, bad ideas and Chiefs sponsorship in KC that hasn't already been written. However, if you needed a reason WHY women shouldn't hold elected office (other than my word) then the career of this lady is a perfect example. One bad set of allocations after the next, somebody should create a mural devoted to her incompetence as an elected official . . . Wait.

This Turkey finally got KC to pay for his train

I was going to include everyone who voted for this light rail thing in this category but I think the stupidity of this initiative rests solely with a turkey known as Clay Chastain. A quick review: The guy doesn't even live here, there are more important priorities than light rail (namely the roads and the sewers) and the plan is one of most silly things put on paper this side of your parents marriage certificate. Still, I can't really take this thing too seriously if only because it's never gonna happen AND the thought that a bunch of hippie, liberal, young white voters are "outsiders" in the current political system is laughable. Turkeys love to waste time.

Would you like some ACORN with your Turkey? Only if you're nuts.

Because I live in what might be considered a shitty neighborhood, earlier this year one of the ACORN broads knocked on my door like I owed her money. Right then, I knew these broads were a bunch of turkeys. While I'm all for empowering minorities by registering them to vote, the tactics of these ladies have only served to further isolate minorities from the voting process with little or no noticeable increase in voter registration in the communities they worked . . . Now that is kind of nuts.

Thanksgiving is just another day for a turkey on a losing streak

Again, I feel strange about the award for this turkey given the fact that this recipient has done more to advance the cause of undocumented workers than I could ever dream. In one town after the next Kris Kobach files a nasty complaint and invariably loses so that the constitutional protections for so-called illegal aliens are EVEN STRONGER than when he began his crusade. While the mean spirited legal quest to get rid of people like my Grandma gives me the creeps, I have to admit that following the guy's failures have provided a decent amount of entertainment and hope that there are people out there even more incompetent than our national Latino leadership. Also, I find it strange that they guy gets such a vehement defense from UMKC when he obviously could only be proficient at teaching young lawyers how to lose.

Free range Turkeys prefer condos and lofts

People who reside in lofts and condos in Kansas City just might be the biggest turkeys in town NEXT TO developers of these overpriced and largely empty luxury residences. They say that when the stock market crashed prior to the Great Depression in the previous century many speculators hurled themselves off of tall buildings. Luckily, current speculators banking that the real estate bubble will never burst don't need to worry about such a fate given that TIF money takes care of most of their risk.

Good Lord This Woman is a Turkey

Saundra McFadden-Weaver survived a bitter recall attempt last year only to be done in by herself. You would think that a member of the City Council would know better than to screw around with phony mortgages and the like but turkeys aren't very good with numbers. Still, this woman gets this award because the phrase "Kansas City Ethics Commission" should make just about everyone laugh.

Wild Turkeys running Liquor Control Board

Over the past year the local Liquor Control Board has done it's best to stifle any activity in this town after 5 p.m. for some strange reason. The Crossroads and the Mutual Musicians Foundation's jams are now dry enough for people to realize that bad art and Jazz aren't really worth watching . . . Thanks a lot turkeys.

Stay tuned Turkey

Finally, KCTV5 News gets this last turkey award if only because they have consistently proven that pervs and hyperactive weather coverage can attract a huge audience.

And that's it you turkey . . .

I hope all of the recipients of the awards were honored. Truly, things would not be the same in this town (they would be better) without these turkeys. However, I am thankful that all of these locals have provided laughs if nothing else (nothing else) to this community.

Thank you all and enjoy your Turkey Day tomorrow.

The film "Kansas City" wasn't so bad, I guess

I never liked most of Robert Altman's movies but I guess it's worth noting that the KC born filmmaker died today.

Many of his films engaged directly in social comment and the Kansas City, Missouri, born Altman was always considered a maverick and outsider in Hollywood where profits takes precedence over politics.

He was nominated as best director five times: for "MASH," "Nashville," "The Player" (1992), "Short Cuts" (1993) and "Gosford Park" (2001), but never won.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of arthouse movies unless there is some explicit non-homo sex displayed BUT I think one of Altman's greatest achievements is capturing a full frontal crotch shot of Julianne Moore in Short Cuts. Truly, that is one of the great moments in Cinema history.

However, I have to say that I always liked "Kansas City" because it did a fairly decent job in depicting the corrupt and racially divisive roots of this town. Also, it was fun seeing Harry Belafonte talk crazy about something other than politics.

I remember that the production had a lot of people excited about the future of filmmaking in Kansas City when I was first entering college. However, like most other trends that white, hipster kids celebrate . . . That never really panned out. Still, a few of my friends had a chance to see just how screwed up Steve Buscemi's teeth are in person and I can tell you for a fact that Jennifer Jason Leigh is every bit as cute in person as she is on screen and you don't get half of that molested teenager vibe that she puts on in her better acting roles. On a personal note, a year after the movie was completed I received college credit for making sure another Hollywood film crew had a steady supply of beer and discreetly leading hookers to the rooms of visiting TV personalities.

So I guess, in the end, this passing of a Hollywood connection to KC is a little sad.

We need this kind of traffic control initiative in KC!

Thanks to a tipster who sent this my way. This is the kind of forward thinking idea we need in Kansas City related to traffic. It sure beats the hell out tearing down people's homes in order to speed things up. NSFW unless you're the boss.

Why she/we/they fight

Critics say that a mailing from County Executive Katheryn Shields, explaining real estate tax hikes and criticizing the school board, also serves as advertising for her mayoral campaign
- Her critics might also want to complain about the horrible conditions she forces upon the Rancor in her basement.

After voters approved a measure making it easier for Missouri's judges and elected officials to get pay raises, a commission is moving rapidly to make salary recommendations.

Affirmative Inaction
- MU and KU receive low marks for recruitment and aid distribution but insist that problems are a priority.

MARC cleans up thanks to misguided environmentalists
- Public money can be dirty but cash is always green.

Even more questions for Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver

Poor People Don't Deserve Privacy

Both KCK and KCMO plan a one-year trial of the surveillance technology in high-crime neighborhoods.

On Monday, police officials in both cities released the proposed locations for the digital cameras. They would be mounted on utility poles and buildings during a one-year test of the technology.

Kansas City police say they want to see how the cameras hold up to weather conditions and whether they reduce crime, help solve crimes and boost residents' peace of mind.

The Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission still must raise the startup money for the program, estimated to cost $250,000. The commission will seek private funds, although Kansas City, Kan., has kicked in $50,000. Kansas City, which earlier this year bought four portable surveillance cameras, has not budgeted any money for the pilot project.

As usual some dimwit neighborhood activist is serving as the spokesperson for the project. Her grandson was killed so I guess it's okay that everyone else has to witness the death of their civil rights in his honor. It's callous to note (but also true) that maybe if his family had kept a better eye on him then maybe we wouldn't all have to endure 24 hour police surveillance.

Additionally, this kind of Nazi like public spying should thwart any complaints from the local cops about reporters looking into their lives. With cameras watching us all, the police have to kowtow to the same rhetorical trick that the rest of us must endure: "If you're not doing anything wrong, then you don't have anything to worry about" the saying goes. And I'm pretty sure that this is the same kind of argument you might hear right before somebody offers you a ride on a train with a hot shower and meal waiting at the end of the trip.

Coupled with the blatant disregard for civil liberties is the basic admission in employing this tactic that the KCPD cannot facilitate a working relationship with this city's most violent neighborhoods. Local police have made absolutely no progress in reaching out to these communities and are now forced to treat entire neighborhoods like criminals in order to make arrests. The sad thing is, this tactic is also doomed to failure given that many of the citiess who use these systems haven't been able to claim any noticeable improvement in their standard of living. More often, the people who really benefit from this effort are those folks who are selling the equipment that can usually doctor any statistical data in order to close a sale.

Still, the use of technology on the most violent streets in the metro area reminds me of the sophisticated weaponry used in Iraq to no avail. Despite generations of technological superiority over the Iraqis this country still finds itself in a quagmire because it failed to understand the realities on the ground . . . As the KCPD now seeks to emphasize technology over talking to people, it's clear that the same losing strategy will yield similar results in Kansas City.

Another LINC in the chain

The first controversy to mark the tenure of newly hired Superintendent Anthony Amato makes one fact perfectly clear when it comes to the KCMO Public School District:

Nobody Really Wants to Change Anything.

The School District is not only facing a slew of financial cutbacks but also steadily decreasing enrollment. It's clear that if anything is going to change in the District there is going to have to be some serious belt tightening, SCHOOL CLOSINGS of beloved neighborhood (empty) facilities and a general acceptance that the status quo has failed.

However, once changes were proposed to the LINC program the vast network of people who ate at this trough were quick to invoke "the benefit to students" rather than simply admit that the program is flawed and mainly serves as a warehousing operation for parents who obviously didn't realize that they were too poor to have children in the first place. And the silly notion that an after school program is a substitute for a responsible adult/parent is merely a reflection of the backward thinking of so many local Education officials. A closer look at this story reveals many administrators and proponents of this program who stand to lose in its demise. These people are far less concerned with the program becoming more academically-focused under Amato's regime than simply holding onto their jobs with whatever sound byte that will evoke the most sympathy.

Yet, even as it became clear that the LINC cuts won't be significant as first reported there is a sense of entitlement that is pervasive among those who continue with the program. The Northeast News reports a sense of jubilation among the nearby schools that won't see much change.

Still, if there is any hope of Amato turning the School District around then more cuts and drastic changes are in the offing. Meanwhile, entrenched programs, administrators and teachers seek to persuade the public and the media that their presence benefits students when the steady downward slide of the District over more than a generation suggests otherwise.

Town Topics: Now tell me what you're really thinking

The City has had its fill of the Filling Station
- KSHB reports: "Kansas City officials want to revoke the bar's liquor license. This year alone, the filling station has been the scene of three shootings. Last October, one employee was killed and another employee was critically hurt."

Molotov Cocktail's & CVS
- Crazy, flame throwing people and Commies who want socialized health care have a lot in common.

"smelling like onions"
- One of my favorite bloggers reports what we all know: Being the designated driver stinks.

New Hearing To Be Held In Olathe Murder Case

Men With Knife Scare Girl Walking Near School
- Obviously, this article doesn't refer to a kid in the KCMO Public School District, because I'm sure the girl would have had access to better weapons than the guys in question if that was the case.

FBI Searches For Roeland Park Bank Robber

Inmate Mistakenly Released From Jail Turns Himself In
- Or Conspiracy theorists like myself would have you believe that the secret white guy "Get out of jail free card" was almost made public.

KC office market remains weak
- Can we please forget about Condos and get back to business?

American Century plan aims at younger investors
- Mutual funds are like Fantasy Football only you waste money instead of time and no one wins except the salespeople.

Suspects in Attempted Rape, Carjacking Caught on Tape
- Security cams are very much like YouTube for po'folk.

Lawyers Withdraw in Murder Case Against Radio Reporter
- 2nd take

Kansas City poet Mbembe Milton Smith Remembered
- I bet you didn't know it that this guy was a great local poet. Blah.

Miguel "Mambo" DeLeon has his own mambo orchestra and is a big promoter of Kansas City’s Latin music scene
- OR, the anti-immigrant crowd want them to play something along the lines of traveling music.

The "moxie" of Kansas City Voters
- Note: Moxie now means ignoring more important priorities like sewers and roads in favor of pipe dreams that completely abandon last year's pet cause . . . The ATA.

A Grandview special ed teacher said a student assaulted her.
- What this educator won't explain is the mysterious phenomenon that is cruelly and accurately referred to as "retard strength."

Again, only bloggers will care about this one

You may have noticed a little bit of a lull in posting yesterday. Let me find something new to blame it on: This time will go with Bloglines. Seems like I've grown complacent with this tool. I've used it like a fat girlfriend and only recently realized that I've grown pretty slothful myself in my dependence on the web application. So, I'm breaking up with Bloglines in favor of the Google Reader.

The transfer of my links was easy enough but I find that the Google interface is a little slow and I miss those cool little clicking sounds that Bloglines offers. On the bright side, I can already tell that the platform is far more stable, the interface is somewhat intuitive and it beats having to go back to my bookmarks just because Bloglines has trouble reading javascript settings in Mozilla. Yes, I'm sure it's my fault and something I'm not checking but honestly it was easier just to move to a different system. Yet, still I find myself missing the ugly, 70's blue set up so I'll keep on checking back from time to time and maybe Bloglines tech support might send me a line OR Hopefully, whatever problem that kept it from working in the first place will figure itself out. I guess I'll just play the waiting game in lieu of making any real decisions . . . Very much like what the Dems plan to do in Iraq, only I actually care about the outcome of this struggle.

Insert some clever use of the word "Funk" here

Mark Funkhouser has formally announced his mayoral campaign. I don't know how to feel about this now given the fact that his candidacy so far has been "backed" by The Star, so obviously he's not the green candidate since his agenda won't involve much about recycling. But who cares? I'm sure he's qualified to do something other than leak documents to the press, which has been his only major political achievement so far.

Complaining to the Mexicans about something other than Immigration

A lot of people ask me: "Tony, is Mexico really so bad that it seems that their entire populace is sneaking across the border to escape?"

And then I say: "Who in the Hell are you? How the Hell am I supposed to know that? The only time I've ever been to Mexico was to go to Cancun in order to get drunk, watch young white chicks act like the dirty skanks they pretend not to be Stateside and smoke Cuban cigars. Why won't you let me eat my burrito in peace? Go Away!"

However, I should note that the situation in Oaxaca, Mexico is looking even more bleak which means that you can probably dock your maid a couple of days wages if she's late this morning.

A few people in KC (who probably have bad tattoos) are planning on noting the crisis today:

Kansas Mutual Aid and the Cross Border Network are having a protest and meeting at the Mexican Consoluate in Kansas City at 3:30pm. Four will go inside for a meeting at 4pm.

While I'm not sure these protests do any good I think it's wonderful that liberal white people start yelling at the Mexicans in order prevent a Conservative monopoly of the practice. I wonder if the Mexican government officials will be able to tell the difference? Probably not, I'm guessing they'll be too busy applying for American citizenship. Power to the Pocho!

Finger Licking Good!!!

A recent story about a young kid stabbing his brother to DEATH OVER CHICKEN STRIPS should remind you that Thanksgiving is quickly approaching.

Coverage of this story has been pretty comprehensive over the weekend but one important detail is missing:

What brand of chicken strips are so good that they would inspire a homicide?

No kidding, this information would make the best commercial for some lucky franchise. Forget those silly KFC ads where everybody gets their cholesterol filled dream meal and that silly illusion that a middle class white family would eat that kind of stroke inducing tripe. An ad promoting food that's SO GOOD you would take out the steak knifes and engage in a Kirk vs. Spock Death match for with loved ones . . . That's something I wouldn't mind bringing back to a secluded corner of my mom's basement.

Of course there is a racial element to this story but I think the whole "Black people and Chicken" bit has been pretty well covered by Dave Chappelle AND every household is most likely accustomed to family drama during dinner time. I can only hope that this tragically delicious chicken inspired murder does not foreshadow more violence over the Thanksgiving holiday. To wit, I'm guessing that many liberal hippie kids will come home for the holidays and gloat about the recent victories of the Democrat Party to their Republican parents. The chiding might be well deserved if it weren't for the fact that the money grubbing racism of Republican parents is usually a vital component in raising privileged, spoiled, liberal kids so rattled by white guilt that they actually think the Democrats are different.

Anyway, over the holiday it's important to give thanks for your family and NOT kill them, it's also best to eat the really tasty chicken strips in the car by yourself.

Town Topics: Can a city have too many cheerleaders?

Kansas City Could See NHL Team
- Ah, nice to see that they're employing white guys with sticks in order to finally get the minorities out of the urban core.

Teen suspected in stabbing death of his own brother
- Cain & Abel in KC is definitely the most interesting local story lately

Man charged in shooting deaths of four
- Let's start taking bets: Was the motivation for the senseless shooting worth more than 100 bucks?

Missouri River dangerously low . . . Again

Caroline Kennedy's doll collection at the Kemper
- OR, Take a look at how a Kennedy practices at manipulating the masses.

Leawood City Council considers smoking ban

Just about every sports writer in town seems to agree that the Chiefs victory yesterday was no big deal

Private Clubs in Olathe can still smoke
Mike Hendricks reports that smokers can now become part of a death cult/club in Olathe. Other than the Klan, of course.

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame opens in KC
- Relive your fond memories, like when college basketball wasn't completely corrupted by TV/Advertising money.

Holocaust is still front page news for The Star
- Strangely, they're not referring to the Holocaust on the Eastside. Also, when you have no major news to report . . . People always like WWII stories.

Blogger Backtalk: Making the big time

Also, thanks to those of you who send the nice notes after my interview on KMBZ!

Shots of blogger and funny man Bradley Meehan coming up in the comedy world

A photo montage dedicated to downtown from this local blogger

Lyric blog - Behind the Scenes: Producing a Radio Spot

To The Plaza and Back: Walk with a local blogger.

Down with illegals and Don Bosco OR Very pissed at pretty much everyone

A bit of legalese regarding lap dances in KC

The municipal code prohibits certain kinds of behavior - including lap dances where the dancer touches the customer - in city-licensed bars and restaurants.

Accordingly, two local strippers/dancers/whatever have been fired and Golddiggers was recently penalized - hehe - for behavior at the South KC club.

And while I may think this is an important issue that requires further examination and maybe a few free example dances for myself from this town's best strippers, I'm surprised that this town's is devoting so much attention (resources) to it.

Higher minimum wage really means higher prices in Missouri

The upcoming boost in Missouri's minimum wage has some small-business owners frowning and could mean scattered layoffs and higher prices at some restaurants, particularly in rural areas.

Carol Coe still crazy

She was one of my favorite people on the City Council and I think that even if she was recently arrested it's good that she's still kicking and still sticking it to the man, the people at the animal shelter, random people on street, the police, the post office, cats, the guy taking orders in the fast food lane etc., etc., etc.

Why is the Star stumping for Mark Funkhouser?

The guy is great. No problems with him really. But this statement really makes my skin crawl regarding this town's paper of record: "Soon-to-be former city auditor Mark Funkhouser plans a news conference late Monday morning, after a meeting with The Star's editorial board." Not that statement you'd expect to hear from anybody who might want to be "objective" about the whole thing. However, I will note that Funkhouser is a not a politician and is as exciting to listen to as Charlie Brown's teacher "Wonk, Wonk, Wonk" ya know? But who knows, he could come out and announce that he's NOT going to run. Still, what's clear is that in this crowded of a field ANYBODY COULD WIN.

Ass kicking in Overland Park

Not really news but this self-aggrandizing statement from KCTV5 actually shocks me: "When KCTV5 News viewers saw some police activity in Overland Park, they called the station to have KCTV5 News crews check it out."

Surprisingly good score on this test

Normally, I skip good news about this town all together but a recent story about an upcoming convention caught my eye.

Educational Testing Service (ETS) develops and administers the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program for the College Board along with work for other organizations. Yesterday the group made a two-year commitment to book Kansas City's largest convention.

During that time ETS will use virtually every hotel room in Downtown and Crown Center. The event projects to book 32,755 room nights in 2008 and 34,995 room nights in 2009. ETS also has tentatively reserved space in Kansas City through 2014, Hughes said.

Professors and other educators will come to Kansas City to score standardized college and graduate admissions entrance tests.

As culturally biased as I think the work of this organization is . . . It's good news that at least KC will benefit from keeping po'folk and minorities out of college. I'd also like to note that this major victory for Kansas City comes without a downtown arena, without decent roads and without much to do downtown after 5p.m. This shouldn't be interpreted as a victory by any number of the politicos who would like to take credit for it but a statement of how gully KC really is and how much this down has to offer OTHER THAN high priced pork items pushed through by local politicos.

The Democrats are doing what about Iraq?

The Pentagon announced recently that more than 6,000 Fort Riley soldiers have been told they're going to Iraq next year.

A 13 year timeout

A former Shawnee Mission East volleyball coach convicted of having inappropriate relations with two of his players is sentenced to more than 13 years in prison.

"Frankly, the only reason anyone would go there would be to purchase crack cocaine."

St. Louis Tourism official argues that new lofts, restaurants and offices downtown coupled with safe suburban hideaways would "dilute" crime stats that make STL the most dangerous city in America. This is pretty much the same argument they make in KC when this town's cheerleaders ignore the violence East of Troost. It's all tantamount to one simple idea: Crime doesn't count when it only affects minorities.

Mac has some pretty artistic fans

Somebody pays homage to local blogger/writer Mac with this NICE graphic.

"Greedy applicants need not apply"

Mark Forsythe has some AMAZING comments on the East Village deal with JE Dunn. Read this and realize that nobody running for elected office in KC thinks this way and that's why he would be perfect for the job given that nearly every other member of the Council has done their best to kowtow to construction people and follow our Mayor's example.

Goodbye Bogie

I'm in a strange mood today. As cynical as I am I still find a story about a community mourning a cat just a little bit touching.

A moment of silence for Bogie the Liberty Missouri Courthouse cat who recently passed. A memorial today drew around 35 people who paid their respect to the beloved cat.

Sniffle.

"Becky Nace bucked the good ol' boy system and sided with neighborhoods."

An insightful appraisal of recent City Council maneuvers in light of the upcoming election.

"The media does not want you to know how good I am"

A strange complaint from a guy who is on TV almost as much as Grey's Anatomy but lots of good info on missing persons advocates in the minority community and screw ups from The Star.

More money, more problems

You have to have limits, in this case the City Council is "limiting" themselves to taking MORE contributions in terms of the legal amount of campaign donations. Only in local politics does the term LIMIT mean MORE . . .

Thanks to a tipster for this info:

Missouri legislators have abolished campaign contribution limits as of Jan. 1, but Kansas City Council members still want limits on giving in council races.

On Thursday, the council voted 8-0, with one abstention, in favor of new campaign contribution limits, which will apply to donations received Jan. 1 or after.

The limits apply to each election. A primary election and the succeeding general election or run-off are considered separate elections.

The new limits for contributions from individuals:

Mayor: $3,000 (currently $1,275)

At-large candidate: $2,500 (currently $1,275)

In-district, $1,500 (currently $325)

The limits will be adjusted upward every two years, based on the consumer price index. The limits do not apply to contributions from the candidates.

On the bright side

Don't let the 4 murders this morning get you down (I know you don't really care because they're on the Eastside).

What's really important is the second chance you'll have to listen to me on local radio!

If you're not too hung over on Sunday Morning tune it to Bill Grady's show on KMBZ NEWS RADIO 980 at around 9:30 in the A.M. in order to hear me misrepresent what's going on in the local blogosphere along with other hopefully more important observations.

Time to get in the X-mas spirit once again

I imagine that all of these local Happy Holiday crimes were committed while listening to KUDL's seasonal full time X-mas tune marathon.

A local father said a knife was held to his throat at an Overland Park Toys R Us.

Man Beaten During Liquor Store Robbery

Men Storm Convenience Store, Pulls Knives on Clerks

A woman on probation for having sex with a teenage girl and taping it will now face jail time.

Tossed Beer Bottle Breaks Bus Window, Injures Student

4 Die In Shooting At East KC Home

What's that you were saying about the slightly improved homicides stats this year?

Who is paying Saundra McFadden-Weaver???

Okay, here's yet another reason why you shouldn't take me too seriously.

Previously, I had expressed some tacit support for Kansas City Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver because she is the ONLY person on the Council to express concern about minority hiring in downtown construction projects and I liked her practice of visiting almost every homicide scene in her district.

However, I was completely wrong about her given that $365,000 has recently been discovered flowing through her bank account. The money in her account was supposedly to fight off her earlier recall battle but the funds were not reported on campaign finance disclosures, which is reportedly a potential violation of state campaign-finance laws. Here are more details from The Star:

The flow of money into and out of her account in early 2005 came to light after McFadden-Weaver submitted three years of bank statements to the city's ethics commission, which is investigating her purchase later in 2005 of a Lee's Summit home. McFadden-Weaver obtained two loans totaling $400,000 to buy the home.

She submitted the bank statements to prove she had remained a resident of the 3rd District. The statements, she said, showed utility payments on a home in the district.

The city's Municipal Employees Ethics Commission has not voted to expand its investigation of McFadden-Weaver into the large deposits and spending in early 2005.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that she's a minister and then I don't know what other job she holds down but I'm SURE that she's not a brain surgeon in her spare time which would be the only way to explain that kind of bank.

Sorry, I know I posted this earlier in the week but I don't mind repeating myself:



Frankly, I have no idea what she does for a living but the prospect of that kind of cash flowing through the hands of a local politico in this cowtown just makes me cringe. The Ethics Commission is slated to vote again on whether this subject requires further investigation and it's clear that this vote will have a greater impact on the course of politics in this town than any other measure the Council has recently examined.

Can our local commuter campus attract a crowd?

UMKC says that it wants more students . . . Except, you know . . . Blacks and Latinos. And please don't send me e-mails about doctored enrollment stats. Truth is, The University's continued support of Kris Kobach is one reason OF MANY that it hasn't been able to attract Latinos or make much headway in my community and I've always been amazed how few Black people attend the college given that it's one block away from Troost.

Reminder: They're crooked in JoCo as well

Rep. Patricia Kilpatrick of Overland Park has been charged by the state's ethics commission with nine counts of violating Kansas campaign finance laws.

KCPD doesn't want anybody snitching on them OR is KCTV5 a "Cancer" in KC?

Welcome to the strange world of Internet rumor folks . . . Many thanks to local blogger Cara who had the guts to post this first (along with Landsberg at BLC): Apparently, KCTV5 is following cops around to see what they're up to . . . Obviously, local police don't like this . . . In retaliation/response/whatever there is a rumor that a member of the KCPD has decided to turn the tables on KCTV and claims to be setting up a message board where dirt on their employees will be posted.

Which can only mean that we'll soon find out who is the ghey are the local station.

Again, it's hard for me to get worked up about this one because the police have always seemed to fall on the "If you're aren't doing anything wrong then you have nothing to be afraid of" defense. However, even the craziest of crazy talk radio show hosts have begun to speak out on the tactics employed by KCTV5. BottomLine Communications has covered this topic (more thoroughly) than I have and recently reported on KCMO-710 morning talker Chris Stigall calling the local CBS affiliate "a cancer in the community."

I guess it would be nice if we lived in a world where spokesman for the police weren't hypocritical about personal liberty or where dirty rumors were fit to display on the web . . . But then, that would make television and the Internets horribly boring.

P.S. - I believe this rumor started on the Gateway City Message Boards where the alleged cop posted his first angry message. Ah, Gateway is so gully and the home of so much of this town's media gossip. Rock on

Chuck Eddy Cares About Your Health If Not Your Homes

The City Councilman introduced an anti-smoking ordinance that would ban smoking in the city's bars and restaurants in 2008. Thankfully, the locals will still be able to smoke outside, which should be good news for all the people along Red Bridge Road that will soon be homeless because of Eddy.

EVERYTHING you wanted to know about what's going on this weekend in KC

Things KC posts another comprehensive list.

"Sometimes, you gotta love Missouri"

A big shout out again to Rusty on his graduation . . . Also, check out his this slice of life post detailing a combination drug/liquor/gun store in the middle part of this great state!!!

Local weekend music from the EventDriver.com

Ramsey Lewis at The Gem...
Alice In Chains at The Uptown Theater...
Cate Brothers at Knuckleheads...
McFadden Brothers at The Blue Room...
Links to O'Dowd's, Barley's, 75th Stree brewery, Blue Moose, Toney's,
Blayney's, BB's Lawnside, Record bar, Jardine's, Alley Catz, Valentine,
Big Woody, Mickey Finn, KC All Stars, Sean McNown, Kevin Jacks, Andy
Masters, Mark Montgomery and more at the URL above . . .

Thought for the Day: OJ Simpson isn't all that bad

I don't believe in righteous indignation because it assumes that anybody walking upright is righteous.

And as for all of the hoopla involving OJ, his interview and book and the media frenzy. Frankly, I was more offended in the case of Paul McCartney's divorce . . . I mean, here is a one legged broad who presented herself as sweet but it turns out she's just another money grubbing skank.

Ya know who else has one leg: Pirates.

But I digress . . .

My buddy B points me to a great argument by Judith Reagan who is publishing the book and doing the interview. She says:

"They have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him. A death, I might add, not called for when Katie Couric interviewed him; not called for when Barbara Walters had an exclusive with the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in cold blood, nor when she conducted her celebrated interviews with dictator Fidel Castro or Muammar al-Gaddafi; not called for when 60 Minutes interviewed Timothy McVeigh who murdered hundreds in Oklahoma City, not called for when the U.S. government released tapes of Osama bin Laden; not called for when Geraldo Rivera interviewed his dozens of murderers, miscreants, and deviants."

That makes a good point but here is a much more silly observation: Who cares?

The only thing I found interesting about the OJ case last time around was how mad the Not Guilty verdict made white folks. This time there is merely a violation of good taste which isn't that surprising coming from TV News. The thing I find really funny about all of this is the misconception that OJ is the only murderer walking the streets freely. That's just funny. Truth is, on any given day you might pass any number of potential killers from drunk drivers to SIDS faking Munchenhausen by Proxy moms. I've always thought that the thing which really upset people about OJ (other than interracial couples obviously) is that his story awoke all of us to the fact there is nowhere people can feel safe from a violent fate.

On a final note, there is not one fan of the KC Chiefs who could logically express any outrage over OJ's latest publicity stunt given the fact that last year's the Chiefs had a flurry of violent run-ins with the law and their ex-girlfriends and I didn't notice a drop in ticket sales.

PS3 dorks in KC

Gamers Campout to Buy the Playstation 3 in order to prove that nobody ever taught them about planned obsolescence or the fact that grown men shouldn't be playing video games . . . Unless it's as cool as this thing . . . I can't lie, I can't wait to get my hands on a PS3 and the X-Mas "rob a housewife in the mall parking lot" season can't come soon enough!!!

Janice Ellis has a touching piano theme song so of course she should be Mayor!!!

Here is the first commercial in KC's Mayoral Race: Janice Ellis weighs in with this classy clip.

It's a great ad in the classic KC politics sense:

1. She looks good.
2. She says absolutely nothing meaningful about why she should be Mayor.
3. The soundtrack makes you feel good about yourself!

Clearly, Claire McCaskill taught all the local politicos that music is very important in a campaign with her sampling of a Turtles tune in her race.

Anyway, this commercial does a great job of persuading me that I should spend EVEN MORE time on the Internet, watching porn and HBO in order to avoid political ads on the tube.

Even kids should know not to mess with the Feds

A teenager will be tried as an adult in the case of a July stabbing death of 39-year-old Pamela Marquez, a federal prosecutor's wife, at their suburban Kansas City home.

KC's Southside Seniors should probably become shut-ins

KCTV5 asks: Is a robber targeting seniors in one part of the Metro?

Police said it was possible after another senior citizen was robbed in just five days on the south side of town.

Ignoring murders all over the KC area

KSHB reports: Nedra Dunn doubts if police will ever find her son's killer, and she said she believes the lack of police response is costing more lives. Here's some background on the story via Alonzo Washington who, it should be noted, helped to garner publicity for the story.

Documented proof that you shouldn't pay attention to anything women have to say

I couldn't help but notice a recent article that proves that violent young thugs in Kansas City have fallen off their game. The Star reports that a fight between two girls about a year ago touched off a dispute that escalated into at least six separate shootings in recent weeks.

The sixth (shooting) occurred Monday when occupants of a blue car drove past a truck parked in the 6200 block of East 12th Terrace and opened fire, hitting one person in the leg.

The victim told police he fired back. No one in the blue car was struck.

Shortly after the shooting, police arrested two cousins. Jackson County prosecutors on Tuesday charged both Juan Teran-Cordova, 19, and Humberto Cordova, 18, with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. Both cousins told police that Teran-Cordova fired at the victim only after the victim fired at them, court records show. They were in jail Tuesday night. Bond for each was set at $50,000.

I'm sad to note it but it's important to acknowledge that these dumbass, gun toting kids were local Latinos. KSHB was the first to break the story of the most recent shooting before The Star provided the background.

The recent bust of gun carrying cousins reminds of how stupid I was as a teenager and how I was VERY lucky to avoid getting caught up in similar dust ups that were rampant in my younger/dumber days.



Sadly, it isn't revealed what inspired the initial fight that subsequently inspired all of the shootings but I'm sure it had something to do with someone looking at somebody else the wrong way. What the local media won't tell you is that hard feelings over this kind of thing usually reverberate in the community over the course of years and not just months. Sigh . . . There are still so many parts of KC I can't show my face in because of ancient squabbles.

However, this story reminds me that Local Latinos love cRap music but have obviously failed to garner the most important lessons from the music. Mainly, that women aren't worth fighting over . . . Seriously, did we learn nothing from Jay-Z's last album in which he wisely maintained that he had "99 problems but a bitch ain't one?" Well, we should have learned something because I heard his latest release is horrible.

Actually, forget about the Hip-Hop influence or lack thereof, this kind of attention to women is completely out of place in Mexican-American culture given the fact that my Grandpa barely acknowledged my Grandmother's presence and they were married for decades.

There is no end to my disappointment in this story and the reports of beatch like behavior among my Latino brethren. It almost makes me wish that they (read: white people) would start deporting Chicanos like these instead of making life hard for mostly hard working mojados. So let's do that, starting with Edward James Olmos.

That East Village thing probably isn't going to happen

JE Dunn Construction Co. on Wednesday threatened to scrap plans for a new headquarters in Kansas City. In other words, one of KC's biggest developers clearly demonstrates that Kay's precedent of grabbing ankle for every construction project is dangerous given that everyone expects the same treatment.

For those of you who are broke and care about KC

KCUR is looking for an individual to work 8 to 15 hours per week with the producer of the award winning "KC Currents", KCUR's news magazine. The job involves research, planning, and hosting programs for broadcast. S/he will also be responsible for generating subject ideas and will be involved in the interview and editing process. Candidates should have a particular interest in news, culture and issues related to diverse communities in the Kansas City area.

And I know what you're thinking, this job would be perfect for me . . . If only I cared about diverse communities other than Black and Latinos. Also, I'm not very fond of Blacks or Latinos.

The Minutemen are mostly a media created phenomenon

The biggest PR stunt for mean white people since the advent of the gated community is getting big coverage from The Pitch this week. I'm guessing that the story of local Minutemen is more about crazy white people since The Pitch doesn't bother to interview many (any) Local Latinos on the subject of small insane supremacist club. It's the same problem that all local news stations seem to have on the subject. Not only are they over-reporting this tiny contingent of exceptionally nasty people but also they fail to report on the people in the Latino Community in KC on the opposite side of this conflict. Most local news outlets are either too lazy or ignorant about Latinos in KC to get even as much as a quote. This is the same cookie cutter coverage you're seen countless times before . . . Only now there are coupons for local restaurants in between the pages. Use them, they're the only way you'll benefit from this piece.

Update: If you're really interested in the subject of The Minutemen in KC (because you're racist) KCUR reported on the fledgling group a few months ago in a much less tawdry manner.

Tech N9ne has been touring nonstop for nearly 4 years

Just another example of the indignities that men suffer in the name of Child Support. A great interview with a lot of interesting quotes . . . And somehow it makes me like N9ne a little less given that he has such a cozy relationship with the New Times/Village Voice (TI media) Crowd. They're even pimping his new CD on their Myspace page.

Hipsters hate old people

Funny fake transcript of an interview between Charles Wheeler and Walt Bodine. What's even funnier is the notion that a dead tree edition that's basically a guide to local STD laden hookers is manned by a bunch of dorks who think they're doing service journalism.

Obviously not enough racial profiling in Overland Park

After A Spate of Daylight OP Burglaries, Residents are Concerned (police are looking for a white male, 5'10, slender build and unshaven driving a forest green Ford Taurus with Missouri tags).

Secret Santa . . . So what?

Ground breaking investigative reporting from The Star today:

KC's Secret Santa revealed

Here's a better idea related to the subject:

"A society could make no greater mistake than asking charity to do the work of social justice."

Party on . . . Have the keys to your car ready

Man Accused Of Carjacking Woman In Westport

Must KILL Robocallers

Automated Political Calls Need to be Covered by Missouri's No Call Law

"The man had just stuck the gun back into his waistband when it fired, shooting him in the left testicle."

Man Shoots Self In Groin During Kidnap Attempt

Newflash: Underage broads still dig horrible haircuts!!!

24 year-old Man Accused Of Having Sex With 16 Year-Old Baby Sitter

Let's maniacally clean this place up like we're on Meth

The Great Northwest Independence Neighborhood Initiative!!!

Maybe the ghosts of crispy Japanese people?

What's Inside The Trumans' Attic?

Prices TOO HIGH in the Power & Light District

BlogKC reports that 810 Zone is expanding to the Plaza because moving downtown just didn't make financial sense.

"First thing I think is that someone shot at me and missed which is entirely possible since I was on the Eastside."

AMAZING photo and story about a GLASS EXPLOSION affecting a local blogger's car. Welcome to winter in KC.

"Denial is not a plan"

A great post from this Missouri blogger about the Bush Administration's approach to environmental issues.

Mark Parkinson has no power

You probably don't remember Mark Parkinson even though he once had a HAWT step-mama. Well it was recently reported that he will be co-chair of the Kansas Energy Council. I guess that's great and all but it seems like a low rent gig. Which might prove that fence jumpers really don't get that big of a reward after they are no longer useful.

All women should be Deborah Harry

I received a strange Myspace message yesterday that got me thinking. First of all, I have no idea why anyone reads this blog, let alone why a woman (who is capable of reading something other than US weekly) would bother.

Secondly, the hot little broad asked me if I was really a misogynist. All this before I had a chance to request that she send nude photos or some image of her holding a gherkin and two brown eggs.

And then I thought to myself, "Self, isn't it a tad the ghey to hate women?"

The jury is still out.

However, in the meantime I've come up with a few rules on the subject:

A. I actually really like/love white women for up to 5 minutes at a time.

2. Hate is a strong word. The only women I hate have either dated me, been one of my teachers or are currently mayor of Kansas City.

III. Hate implies a strong emotional investment that I've never given any broad. I'd hate to have to commit to "hating" women all of the time because that might interfere with my strict schedule for napping or cut into my X-box appointments.

Finally, I have to note that (like many things) the topic of women is one that confuses me. There are quite a few broads that I have a lot of respect for and the majority of the other skanks simply disappoint me by not living up to those standards. Not that it's important but I think that many dudes who were raised Catholic have a serious Madonna/whore complex which many broads can use, in turn, to explain why act they like tramps and then hypocritically demand respect. And all of these stupid opinions probably explain why I never went to my high school prom . . . Coupled with those slanderous rumors about date rape and foot odor.

Of course, all of this ranting pertains to personal relationships where some vestige of equality is necessary lest one person get tired of pulling too much weight and decide to leave for brighter pastures. On the topic of professional interactions with the small brained female race (other than prostitution), it's always safe to assume that all women are nowhere near as qualified as their male counterparts.



P.S. - None of this applies to Deborah Harry who is the embodiment of all that is right and good about womankind. Take notes bitches.

G-Code in KC

Here's a neat video on the subject of local lowriders if you haven't seen it already.

Things to watch for:

1. Looks like the "Mandatory White Guy" at Ghetto/Barrio events almost got nailed in the head with a tire.

2. Kansas City thugs, hood rats, hangers on and "gangstas" are almost always overweight. Is that a local trend or does it simply represent another manifestation of inadequate education and nutrition among po'folk.

3. Chorus of this KC hood opus: "We Don't Talk to Police." From The Geto Boys "G-Code" if only to prove that people in KC rock the 18 month old music to make a point. For my nerd readers G-Code has almost nothing to do with G-Code because computer programming languages come and go but hood stupidity seems as if it's here to stay.

Note: For the record I think Lowriders are the coolest thing on the planet and yet another example of technological marvels among the po'folk, it's just too bad that the long standing barrio tradition seems to have been co-opted by the thug cRap music crowd and other "urban" marketers.

Wishing Elson Floyd a Merry X-mas while many of students eat Ramen

University of Missouri President Elson Floyd is receiving a pay raise of more than $11,000. That boosts his salary to more than $382,000 dollars. Additionally, doing grad work in the UM system I constantly had to endure the bitching of adjunct professors who didn't realize that they would make more working at Fast Food Restaurants then putting their Ph.D to use.

Kids learn that people in nice cars always have the right of way

4 Students Injured When SUV Collides With Bus

Praise the Lord for military contracts and pass the ammunition

Independence plant gets $7.3M Army ammo order.

Women voting: Where it all went wrong

An excellent, politically charged review of Iron Jawed Angels from LMC.

55k in NY = 7k in KC

MM&I isn't sure about the accuracy of the calculations but from what I've heard . . . Many of the people renting nice places in KC couldn't even buy closet space in NYC.

Not even open but already broke

The National World War One Museum is asking Kansas City officials to cover a projected $620,000 deficit next year by increasing its annual subsidy. That amount already totals about $838,000. Sadly, anything short of actually handing money out at the door and the White Elephant will inevitably fail.

"I just see this as a bunch of crazy cocksuckers reaching"

With amazing clarity, Death's Door takes on regional politics.

REJECTED!!!

In the early part of last century the Citizens Association once served as a force for reform in Kansas City.

But things change . . .

Nowadays, Political Action Committees are responsible for some of the sleaziest tactics imaginable during a campaign and it's hard to distinguish one decent group from so many others that have less than honorable reputations.

Somewhat correspondingly, Mark Forsythe's campaign has been one few signs of hope in the local political scene given that he has pledged not to take money from any PAC's and it's nice to see that he is fulfilling that promise.

Today, Forsythe has declined to seek an endorsement from the Citizens Association. He gives a number of good reasons and pays the group much more respect than I think they deserve but here's what seems to be his primary motivation:

As a councilperson I must be a steward of the public trust. To avoid even the appearance of undue influences this campaign has not, and will not take contributions from Political Action Committees. While an endorsement from a respected organization like yours would certainly be a tremendous boost to any candidate, accepting valuable services such as sample ballots and other publicity would be in direct conflict with the principles of our grass roots campaign.

And this is good news for a lot of reasons but mostly because it involves a political hopeful choosing NOT to pander to anyone who will listen or might have the ability to do a favor.

And so BridgeZilla begins . . .

Wednesday morning, the KCMO City Council will begin the process of condemning the land needed to put BridgeZilla and the five-lane highway in Minor Park.

From the link above, please send a message to the Council that you are opposed to this use of eminent domain . . .

Chuck Eddy can't wait till KC is indistinguishable from the suburbs

Kansas City Councilman Charles Eddy will introduce an ordinance Thursday that would mimic Overland Park's new law, prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars as of Jan. 2, 2008. As this town bends (grabs ankle) to his will and makes sure not to disturb his meals.

So I guess Lazlo is coming back?

That's the rumor on the Internets . . . Anybody heard anything on the subject? Does it qualify as a "triumphant return" or is it a "tail between legs" kind of thing like what happens to most chubby college girls when they get tossed back this way. Word to the Freshman 15.

Trent Green cleared for his next concussion

After ten weeks recovering from a severe concussion, Green was given the green light to play again. The information contained in the article did not include where to send flowers.

Crippled kid's cat shot in Olathe

The family is offering 5k as a reward for any tips. Probably a bit more money if can refrain from laughing while delivering the information.

Works for her

Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill is the only one of 10 newly elected members of the U.S. Senate who is skipping this week's orientation for freshmen.

Judge Calls KCPD sloppy

The judge in Lorenzo Gilyard's murder trial rules key evidence can't be used because of police errors.

Rebuilding the ghetto/barrio mall in order to attract someone other than broke minorities

Plan calls for demolition, rebuilding of the 100-acre Indian Springs site. And while it may seem like a good idea, I can't help but wonder how the meager long term benefits of yet another Abercrombie or Body Shop will justify all of that TIF money.

It's kind of like "Candid Camera" only it features only poor people and minorities

KC SWAT Team To Be Featured On A&E Program

Nearly everyone on this list is worthless

Things to note: Please don't vote for anyone who is currently holding elected office unless your idea of KC's future includes a lot of potholes, a huge debt load and expensive construction projects with virtually no (real) minority participation. In keeping with my "Kay Barnes is a Vampire" theme . . . It's really time for new blood in City Hall.

Here's the latest list of candidates in the upcoming KC election via KC Buzz Blog:

Mayor's candidates: Becky Nace, Janice Ellis, John Fairfield, Henry Klein, John David DiCapo, Chuck Eddy, Stan Glazer, Al Brooks

First in district: Bill Skaggs

Second at large: Ed Ford

Second in district: Russ Johnson

Third at large: DeBorah Dee Williams; Melba Curls

Third in district: Teola Powell; Saundra McFadden-Weaver; Sharon Sanders Brooks

Fourth at large: John Tancredi

Fourth in district: Ezekiel Amador; Jan Marcason

Fifth in district: John Shields

Fifth at large: Kimiko Gilmore; Cindy Baker Circo

Sixth at large: Cathy Jolly; Octavia Southall

Sixth in district: John Sharp; Darrell Curls; Garret Denzer

One more thing to note: I notice that one of the toughest districts in the area is a little light on bidders. Jan Marcason's candidacy is pretty much a joke and will consist of nothing more than looking pretty in a business suit and I see the Mel Solomon has yet to weigh in . . . So I can only assume someone forgot to remind him at the last Illuminati meeting.

Strange leaf circle spotted in Brookside

The aliens (non-Mexican) either don't like to rake or they are in the mood to eat at overpriced, but conveniently located, restaurants.

KC Proper Episode 7

Most likely good stuff as usual from these guys and a lot of info on local bands. I'll go back and check it out later because I've had enough of listening to white people today.

Local blogger discovers strangest pick up line ever

"What, you don't date your fellow Jews?"

So you should probably start deciding who you're not going to vote for . . .

The first Mayoral forum is tonight. Will Councilman Fairfield even bother showing up considering that he's been pretty much buried by the local media and his own poor choices?

Now if they could only figure out a way to blame Mexicans for failed marriages

Local bloggers care more about mojados than I do. Peep two local bloggers pointing out that white people are lazy, love abortions and need illegals to do their work for them.

Lazy Americans

"According to the wingnuts, abortion is creating a worker shortage and welfare is making the remainder of Americans too lazy to work."

Personally, I think this all a step forward from the days of blaming Black people for all the problems in this country. In this version of scapegoating version 2033.11 everyone gets to pretend that they're an economist.

Evolution and Adaptation

Obvious headline but I like the new look at one of my favorite Kansas blogs.

Time to trade Tony

Tony Gonzalez sprained left shoulder last week, he's going to miss the upcoming game against the Raiders and I've noticed that he's just as much a fixture at local clubs as he is in the end zone.

I know there is a potential for "loyal" Chiefs fans to feel some kind of sentiment for the guy but if he was that great then the team would have won a playoff game some time in the last 10 years.

Nope, I don't know about the status of his contract but I doubt it would matter. He would definitely fetch a decent price and his career is clearly on the downward slide. C'mon, he won't even be in the league in 5 years so it's best to get rid of him now. Finally, if the guy is as talented as they say he is then it would be nice to see him win a Superbowl somewhere else (ala Neil Smith), because it'll never happen in KC.

Who should we trade for? My vote: Ocho Cinco if only for all great quotes he would provide local sports writers and he would be a welcome change from that "Nice Guy" schtick that the Chief's front office likes to run on this town.

No Description in Loose Park attack makes a recent news story useless

Young Women Attacked, Robbed in Loose Park . . . Condescending coverage courtesy of KCTV5. And YES, a few people (maybe even me depending on my mood) might call it racist if it turned out the description was the one you think it might be (Chinese kids - heh) but at least then it might make for a story that someone could actually use.

Beer Robber Punches Store Clerk In Face

I've always been convinced that alcoholism is an over used term. I know so many people who might be defined as alcoholics but somehow manage to lead completely miserable (and functional) lives just like everybody else.

However, a recent story of a guy punching a clerk in the face in order to make it away with beer reminds me that some people do, in fact, have a problem with liquor. Also, I think some hazard pay has to be in order for the clerk, usually you have to be dating or married to someone to take a fist in the head for this kind of behavior.

One last thing: The Fast Stop at 700 E. 75th St. should probably be closed down because it simply serves as nothing more than a stomping ground for crooks and a fixture in local crime reports. I feel sorry for all the clerks who work there, it seems nearly as bad as making change in Iraq.

Reason #328 why I want that "Go Away" Doormat

A man is recovering after he was shot moments after opening the door to his home early Tuesday morning.

I can only assume they were asking for it

Channel 9 reports that no charges will be filed in the alleged rapes occurring after 2 women left O'Dowd's at Zona Rosa last week.

Let me be clear, and don't get nasty this time. There is no such thing as "Date Rape." There is rape and there is a woman going back on a guy because she's a hypocrite OR maybe Catholic. Rape is rape and it doesn't matter if you're on a date. Everything else is just politics.

Additionally, what's more important about this news story is that it gives women "The ALL Clear" to act like complete and total whores at trendy Northland clubs. Right? . . . Now that the threat of "consequences" for skanky behavior has been removed. I know, I know rape is a horrible crime that merits getting your tallywacker getting cut off in some cultures and not just a risk endured for showing too much ass. However, I think there should probably be a more severe penalty for "crying wolf" and impeding the nightlife plans of so many party babes which is an equally tragic and horrible act that also negatively impacts club owners, jerky dudes looking to take advantage of drunk babes and society.

P.S. - I want bonus points for calling bullshit on this story early on . . . My Jedi powers are top notch and I can also tell that every woman who has ever used the "It's not you" excuse was also lying to me.

Town Topics: Waiting for St. Anthony and other stories

Send the seniors bowling, instead of visiting
- Just like the pin in your hip Grandma!

Toddler Found Wandering At Ninth, Chestnut
- Crack heads are affordable child care but you get what you pay for . . .

Passersby Find 2-Year-Old Wandering Alone
- Baby come back - alternate headline.

Train Severs Man's Foot In East Bottoms

Car Hits Kindergartner Walking Home From School
- I'm sure this wasn't the kid's fault but it makes me wonder if they still teach the "How to cross the street" info in the SUV laden suburbs.

Kansas City paints over pink jail cells
- Old news, but still I wonder if it wasn't somehow related to all of the nasty prison sex jokes.

Annual Brookside Tree Lighting Ceremony
- X-mas already. Sigh.

Blogger Backtalk: A post on KC's giant penis in the sky and other important subjects

A pretty great lady blogger on the subject of the new gate at the Liberty Memorial: "Yes, I'm perturbed. It's ugly, in no way art-deco or classical, and apparently cost $200,000. I support public art, but this is just obnoxiously ugly. It makes the trailers at the Nelson seem almost appropriate."

My kind of Birthday Bar Review. An excellent round-up of almost every club in Westport.

I'm late to link this but I'm always interested when local bloggers are learning things.

In other news from the Northeast: "Kansas City, Missouri is still one of the nastiest places to live in the known universe"

"Between you and me, I think Anne Frank was out of her damned gourd."

"The new Hurricane looks very nice by the way; think of the same place except that it smells really clean with all new shit." And other insightful observations from Death's Door.

Probably all B.S., but damn!

Via Dethroner.

WARNING: Once you start reading this sick bastard's list of sexual conquests on Craigslist, you'll never be able to stop.

Yet, most links pointing this list won't point out an essential truth about human nature: Men always exaggerate while women always under-report their sexual exploits. For my part, I almost never want to hear a dude talk about his conquests but I can't get enough when some broad finally admits what a skank she is . . . Also, because I care about your relationship I've devised a handy chart so that men will know what women are really talking about when they report the details of their sex lives:

"We just made out" = "Everything but intercourse (probably intercourse)"
"We're just friends" = "I'm considering (and probably have had) sex with him"
"She's so cute" = "I'm a lesbian"
"He's hawt" = "Your beer gut is becoming a problem"
"I'm going out with the girls" = "I'm cheating on you"

Monsters under the bed? Real.

A 22-year-old pedophile abused a 12-year-old girl for three months by living in her room and hiding in a hole under the child's bed so her mother wouldn't find out.

Sad, twisted story but it reminds me that sometimes a kid's instinct is correct given that children usually hate fat and ugly people. I should also note: To this day I try and sleep next to the door when I'm at my girlfriend's house. That way, the boogeyman gets her first.

Show me the money (to vote)!!!

John Combest has some interesting thoughts on why the Republicans can't pay Black people to vote like the Dems do. Here's the money line:

"Cultural" (read: racial) and institutional factors will prevent Republicans from ever making street money part of their GOTV playbook.

Now there's a lot of great ideas in the post but nothing better than the video of a huge line of Black people waiting to get paid by Claire McCaskill on election day. How you might react to this clip says more about you and your political leanings than it does about any facts that will inevitably get twisted. What I see: Politics as usual and a clear sign that McCaskill isn't anything that much better than Talent was . . . Actually, my only real thought is that I'm a little peeved that I didn't get invited to the Latino payoff "work" line.

Anyway, while this isn't anything new that Combest is reporting, it's a great look at the way patronage politics really works at the ground level and it's something that most KC news organizations normally overlook in favor of sign stealing stories. I'm looking forward to his upcoming column in the Arch City Chronicle given that the KC Star normally overlooks all but the safest (lamest) aspects of the minority communities in KC and rarely reports on the crooked political structure that's pretty much universally accepted when it comes to non-whites in this town.

IT'S ALL ABOUT TIMING

In the latest news that should convince you not to re-elect anyone who is currently on the City Council (or anywhere in the vicinity) please note that, according to The Star, after voting to restore the old plea agreement system in Municipal Court, John Fairfield Kansas City Councilman asked how much defense attorneys were contributing to his mayoral campaign mere hours later.

This means exactly what you think. Which means that once again it has been proven that politics, politicians and so many other public officials in KC have always been and will always be FOR SALE.

Here's (some of) the damage:

Laws, a local attorney, said that he had set up a fundraiser for Fairfield at least three months before the defective-equipment vote and its timing wasn't connected.

Missouri law prohibits candidates from voting or acting officially in return for a campaign contribution. Elizabeth Ziegler, general counsel for the Missouri Ethics Commission, declined to comment on whether Fairfield's solicitation might violate state law.

So here's hoping the KC Voters might decide that one of our elected representatives might get dooced over their Internet activity. It would be a refreshing change from simply cubicle workers getting canned over the Net.

Also, most lawyers in this town are scum as well but you knew that a long time ago.

MY FAVORITE POT SMOKING TALK SHOW HOST IN KC TODAY FOR ANOTHER GOOD CAUSE

Montel Williams will be in Kansas City today to publicize a drug industry campaign to enroll people in programs offering free or low-cost prescriptions.

THIS STATE IS ALL WET

Missouri among top states in wetlands reserve program

BUT IS IT ENOUGH TO MAKE THE WIZARDS DISAPPEAR? STADIUM MAGIC (LIES) LOSE AGAIN IN THE BURBS

Overland Park Mayor Withdraws Support for Soccer Stadium Star Bonds

SADLY, ONE POLITICIAN OR ANOTHER HAS TO WIN

Steve Kraske notes who's up and down. It's an informative and entertaining article in much the same way that both masturbation and political talk can equally hold your interest until you inevitably start to chafe and begin to feel guilty along with a horrible sense of emptiness.

LET'S HOPE A FEW WHITE PEOPLE SEE THE LIGHT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Overhead street lamps in their Brookside neighborhood are failing.

OH DEER! AND THEN ANTLERS THROUGH YOUR WINDSHIELD

Deer-vehicle crashes a growing problem

CORPORATE POLLUTION ISN'T ALL YOU'LL FIND ON THE KAW

A crazy Hippie clean up crew known as Friends of the Kaw are trying to clean up the dumping ground for bodies and other biohazard and chemical waste.

KILLER CITY

Here's the two latest homicides I've read about this morning:

Man dies in KC shooting

One Person Found Dead In KCK

"I'M NOT SOUPED"

I don't care if fall and winter are the beginning of "Soup Season" I just can't stand the stuff. Okay, maybe Chicken noodle but only if I'm sick, I don't have to do any work and I can watch cartoons all day. But there better be a sandwich on the way. Put simply, I've always hated soup and I am desperately afraid of getting old or being too poor because I hear that's all they get to eat. Until that point, screw you and soup. I'm going out for Chinese. Also, the "souped" reference dates me (I know) but it was actually quite popular when I was in 8th grade.

KCK COPS GET A CRASH COURSE IN THE RENTAL CAR BUSINESS

Suspect Escapes In Stolen Police Vehicle: Police officers said the stolen police vehicle was spotted 20 minutes later in the area of 59th and Lane in KCK with minor damage. Investigators said the suspect had ran from the scene and a K-9 unit was called into search for the suspect, which turned up empty.

KC GETTING CLOSER TO BANNING SMOKING WHILE STILL IGNORING HOMICIDES EAST OF TROOST

More suburbs ban smoking

GET WELL SOON IRISHKC

And the rest of you go out there and get your flu shot and dress warm!

THE (SACRED) FINANCIAL CONDITION FORUM OF 2002

In eulogizing the career of Mark Funkhouser, local blogger Joe explains one of the most damning documents in Kansas City's history. I've excerpted the highlights from Joe's post and here's the damage:

The city's financial condition is precarious and unstable, and the situation is worsened by a lack of direction and priorities . . .

The future might be a problem, according to another participant, who said the city is like a large corporation that could go down the tubes with a couple of bad decisions . . .

Kansas City, like other older urban cities, balanced its recent budget by using reserves and deferring maintenance . . .

The condition of streets has gotten worse over the past twenty years and infrastructure has decayed . . .

There is a ton of other good stuff in Joe's post (as always) but the most fascinating passage for me was the following: Proponents of the "big idea" or sexy idea are listed as one of the most powerful influences on KC's political environment. To me this means the whims of the construction cheerleaders who are always touting the next big thing from the Sprint "Glass bowl, manufactured in China, without a team" Center to the dumb idea of a downtown baseball stadium to the current Clay Crazy Crowd that has frantically ABANDONED their support of the ATA and now favors misguided light rail plans despite overall low ridership for public transportation throughout the Midwest aren't just crazy white people with nothing better to do . . . They represent a real threat to this city's financial well being just because they never got enough time playing with Legos as a kid. And while my stupid opinion is easy to ignore, it's surprising to see that there is documented proof that MANY others acknowledge the same phenomena.

POLITICAL PREDICTIONS FROM A RINO

Apparently, jumping fences gives people extra sensory perception.

NEW AKON CD REVIVES "CONVICT MUSIC" AS CURRENT RAP TREND

Dubbed, "The new Nate Dogg" Singer/cRapper Senegal born Akon has a new CD entitled Konvicted (sp? He's worse than I am) that is due to be released on Tuesday. So-called "convict music" is on the rebound in the hip-hop world and overlooks the prevalence of CONSENSUAL the ghey sex in the joint in order to profit from stereotypes.

A BURRITO IS NOT A SANDWICH

First, the border crossed us. Now the Democrats are getting ready to sell us down the river AND THEN even further evidence attempts to take Latinos out of the U.S. mainstream. I'd feel threatened if I didn't remember that Salsa is this country's numero uno condiment.

FLU SHOTS FOR GROUPS

Mainly poor people. Wanna see why this country needs socialized health care? Just visit one of these things and look around. The only place you kind find more folks in need of a break is at one of the casinos.

NOTE TO NY TIMES: YOU AREN'T A "POPULIST" IF YOU LIVE IN A HOUSE THAT COSTS 1 MIL

Claire begins her term by insulting all of her colleagues, which I'm not necessarily against. Thus she spake: "The problem with Washington," Ms. McCaskill added, "is you have so many senators who are from bright blue and bright red states; they're not interested in common ground. They're interested in making each other look bad." Not that Claire needs much help looking bad. Still, this question remains: Will another month with more than 100 U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq convince anyone that Democratic control of the House and Senate doesn't mean much?

I CAN'T SAY THE THOUGHT HASN'T EVER OCCURRED TO ME

Violence is wrong, I guess . . . But news of a Party Bus Shot At On I-470 only makes me wonder why this hasn't happened sooner seeing as those things seem like a rolling exhibit of drunken jerks.

"I represent KC till I die" Also, "Fuck St. Louis"

You know, they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing Kansas City and the so-called progress of the downtown area but I think these two guys do a great job with just a video camera and a couple of grills. No shit, I'm not trying to be ironic or make fun at all. I actually dig this video and it's much more convincing about the (drunken?) love some people feel for this town . . . Much more so than any of the corporate "bring your conference here" commercials that cost big money to make and rarely persuade anyone.

Also, you may want to check out a really nice representation of real world KC nightlife entitled: Bout To Go The Club. Money line: "He don't shit on fools. He fucking boo-boo." Or some facsimile thereof.

Good stuff. No shit.

And don't be put off by the hard talk. Obviously, these are kids who have (or more likely their parents have) a decent amount of cash given that their gear looks like it costs more than what I took home last month after taxes. The "Lots of Papah" video demonstrates this fact clearly and also captures all of the fun of similar Jackass clips without any of the homoerotic undertones.

A FEW QUICK LOCAL LINKS

Two Teens Wounded in Drive-By Shooting

Locals Take Part In FBI's Citizens Academy
- OR, white people prove once again that they'll never stop snitching.

Olathe officer dies in crash

Police seek man seen near schools
- Or, nothing strange is allowed to happen in the suburbs. Ever.

WE WANT THE FUNK

The Star reports: "There's a budding effort to draft Mark Funkhouser to run for Kansas City mayor, but Funkhouser isn't commenting" This rumor has been going around since the beginning of this week but the truth is, it would only further crowd the field and assure that almost anyone could win in this race:

This explains some of the cheerleading: Tax abatements on The Star's block

KC will look at abatement for block near Star's plant