AN EXCLUSIVE TKC WARNING!!! Don't get killed on New Year's Eve Kansas City!!!

Okay, the murder rate is out of control and there hasn't been any workable solution proposed; but as much as I can't stand the vast majority of d-bags who read this site . . . I want as many readers as possible and that means keeping TKC alcoholics safe so that I can wield my awesome influence somewhere down the line.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE PEOPLE!!!

Remember that Kansas City is exceedingly violent and keep your head on a swivel at all times.

DON'T DRIVE DRUNK KANSAS CITY!!!

Assuming that drunk drivers don't kill some innocent person for which they should probably be killed in return, paying lawyers for an easily avoidable offense is just plain wrong.

To wit . . .

BECAUSE OF AMAZING, INFLUENTIAL AND AWESOME COVERAGE BY TKC . . . HOLIDAY CAB IS BACK IN ACTION AND WILL PROVIDE A WAY HOME FOR KANSAS CITY PARTY PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T MADE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS!!!!

Holiday Cabs will be available from 7 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2008 to 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2009

The phone number to call is 816-777-1115.

D-bags dispute the claims of this blog all the time but there's no denying that Kansas City Party People need to protect themselves.

Wear a condom, watch out for yourself, don't drive drunk.

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve Kansas City!!!

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year!!!

Sadly, The Kansas City Area still loves pets far more than people!!!

One more story about screwed up priorities:

Injured Dog Gets Wheelchair: Shelter Dog Undergoing Physical Therapy

It's cute, almost funny until the realization sets in that this kind of privilege ignores the fact that most people don't have access to this level of medical coverage.

A New Year's Eve KC Link Look

The news doesn't stop just because you only care about getting drunk.

Here's the newsy links I'm reading right now:

Kansas City Keeps Losing Business: From the KC Biz Journal, The November occupancy rate for Kansas City hotels was 49.9 percent, down from 56.9 percent in November 2007, according to a new report from Smith Travel Research.

DUI Crackdown Planned in Overland Park

Northeast News broke this story, TKC blogged it during the summer and now it's on TV: Judge Nominee Facing Complaints About His Home

Pay it forward for the New Year (or something): Mo. Court Rules Against Kan. Payday Lender

Just a bit of holiday opportunity: Independence plant wins $49M Army contract

Po'folk have it worse on the outskirts of KC: Suburban bus fares increase January 1st

KCK looks back: Casino, BPU, Woodlands at top of the list in 2008

Local economic outlook still sucks: KC Fed district manufacturing stays weak

Last words: KCPD statement on 2008 homicides

Deep Thoughts: Kansas City Blogger New Year's Eve Contemplation!!!

Personal reflection isn't one of my strong points, I also can't tap dance. Luckily, local bloggers are the best at defining parts of their lives for the public.

Here are the most interesting Kansas City Blogger Posts considering the New Year on a personal and professional level:

May's Machete: "Year In Review"

Midtown Miscreant: "New Year resolutions and non-change you can believe in."

Ramsey: "My super-deep thoughts on 2008 and 2009."

I don't really have any insights that I'd like to share other than the fact that I think I might start enjoying Zebra Cakes more than Swiss Cake Rolls . . . As far as personal reflection goes . . . TKC is going to do my best to keep writing, posting, linking and (above all else) KICKING ASS!!!

Oh yeah, and I guess I'll try to step up my game when it comes to posting awesome bikini photo galleries like this nice sunset photo gallery of Vera Jordanova.

DEAD TREE NEWS MODEL IS DONE: THE KANSAS CITY KANSAN CALLS IT QUITS!!!

The Kansas City Kansan will no longer be publishing a printed newspaper after Jan. 10.

It'll be interesting to see if the KC Kansan can sustain itself only with Internet revenue . . . In 2008, Kansas City has seen the future of print media and it consists mostly of layoffs, cutbacks and a growing suspicion that the dead tree epoch of news is finished. Face it, printing day old news on sheets of paper is just not sustainable . . . Now print rags will struggle to define themselves using technology that allows ANYBODY to publish, compete and freely borrow in a digital world.

The best of JoCo (other than white women)

One of the best JoCo blogs puts together an impressive list of Golden Ghetto favorites!!!

Pitch Cover Punks Mayor Funkhouser!!!

All right, I despise these d-bags but I have to admit that the current cover of The Pitch is pretty funny.

Never mind that The Pitch hasn't managed to cover much news related to the Funkhouser Administration and is really just rehashing stuff reported by DeAnn Smith at The Star and trying to avoid giving TKC any credit for publishing at least a quarter of the incidents reported in the article first . . . Nevertheless, this attack on the Mayor's credibility is damn creative from the hipster class who was previously unwilling to take (my) criticisms of Mayor Funky seriously.

Nice work!!! The photo is so good, they have yet to publish it to the Internet . . . So I thought I'd make the photo a bit of a TKC post-modern retouch and report it as original content . . . Natch.

Like it or not, this is how Mayor Funky has defined 2008 at City Hall.

TKC ULTIMATUM!!! MAYOR FUNKY MUST DROP THE VOLUNTEER ORDINANCE LAWSUIT IF HE WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH KANSAS CITY!!!

During 2008 Mayor Mark Funkhouser lost every last shred of his credibility because of his wife's unprecedented influence in his administration.

Mayor Funky promised that he would be "smart with the money" and would look after local interests related to infrastructure. Instead he has wasted time with a lawsuit due to his wife's inappropriate behavior in the mayor's office and cost this City thousands of dollars. Close political watchers have noted that Mayor Funky and his wife have adopted a "bunker mentality" and alienated nearly all of their former friends and advisers. The most recent insults to the voters of Kansas City reveal that Mayor Funky has not only abandoned his post at City Hall in order to hold meetings at home with his spouse but also he is working a second job while spouting propaganda regarding his day and night devotion to this town.

Nearly every bad decision in Mayor Funky's troubled tenure can be traced to his wife Gloria Squitiro. Still, the Mayor has vowed to fight for her return to City Hall and has even conducted a nationwide media blitz that ultimately backfired when residents of this town expressed almost universal embarrassment over the Mayor's misplaced priorities and criticism of his constituents along with their elected representatives. The real tragedy is that the Mayor has blamed everyone but himself and his wife for his inability to form a consensus, his lack of success as a leader and his many failed initiatives including but not limited to the search for a new City Manager, His Honda Sponsorship deal gone wrong, the many failed defenses of his wife AND his failed light rail plan. The last remaining supporters of the Co-Mayors can only cling to tired campaign rhetoric and cite conspiracy theories about the "powers that be" opposing the "change" proposed by Mayor Funky . . . These conspiracy theories don't make sense given the fact that the only significant change that Funkhouser has brought to the Mayor's office is the unprecedented role of his wife and their dangerous adoption of a working relationship that obviously employs nepotism.

All of these factors and many more have worked to destroy Mayor Funky's career and could force him out off office by the end of the year.

But the New Year and the merciful spirit of the Holidays have inspired TKC.

To wit . . .

TKC DEMANDS THAT THE MAYOR DROP HIS LAWSUIT AGAINST KANSAS CITY IF HIS CLAIMS OF "MOVING FORWARD" ARE TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!!! IF NOT, FUNKHOUSER DEMONSTRATES THAT HE LACKS THE GOOD JUDGMENT TO SERVE AS MAYOR!!!

Already, Mayor Funky is so unpopular that even the most modest recall effort against him could probably find a great deal of support. The Mayor has squandered all of his political capital and has very few friends left in this town. He is politically vulnerable and only the fact that Kansas City hates open political confrontation accounts for him holding onto his job for this long.

But everyone has a breaking point and if Mayor Funky continues down this road, continues with his lawsuit than he is very clearly asking, begging for a political challenge to his current role as Mayor.

Mark Funkhouser can't move forward with his current course of action, his lawsuit against Kansas City and remain the Mayor. We're at a Crossroads: Mayor Funky can either keep his job as Mayor and abandon his crusade to put Gloria Squitiro back at City Hall or he can continue on his current path and face an unprecedented political backlash. What Mayor Funky can't do is expect the vast majority of voters in Kansas City to endorse nepotism based only on the dictates of his media sound bytes.

Like the rest of us, Mayor Funky has a choice to make to start the New Year. Sadly, the Mayor's talk of "moving forward" seems just as empty and doomed to failure as every other resolution I've ever heard.

Last day at work: Jackson County Sheriff Tom Phillips served with quiet dignity

What was lost in this year's embarrassing and childish Jackson County Sheriff's race was the fact that the office was held by a local class act.

This blog almost never praises the performance of a public servant but upon hearing of the legacy of outgoing Jackson County Sheriff Tom Phillips, I felt obligated to acknowledge his record of service to this community.

A lot of people may not know this but Phillips rose through the ranks to attain his position which is rare in a County known for such contentious politics. Phillips served as a deputy for the county, he has provided 30 years of service in the Jackson County Sheriff's office and amassed a solid network of community contacts and professional relationships that benefited his work as Sheriff.

Another interesting fact that folks may not know is that Phillips served as security for Larry Stewart, Kansas City's Secret Santa, for at least 20 years. In a recent interview, Phillips cited the experience as one of his most rewarding experiences during his career in Law Enforcement.

The controversey surrounding the incoming Sheriff shouldn't take away from the achievements of Phillips. Luckily, Phillips has set a great example for the next person to hold the office and his legacy can only benefit the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

Kansas City Kills Mr. C's!!!

THANKS TO A VERY AWESOME AND KICKASS TKC TIPSTER FOR SENDING THESE PHOTOS MY WAY!!!

Apparently, yet another business owner is blaming Kansas City for the demise of their local storefront.

According to a very observant TKC TIPSTER, Mr. C's Vacuums is located on 63rd street, nearly adjacent to the troubled Citadel project. What with the asbestos and shaky finances related to the Citadel fiasco, it's a miracle that Mr. C's didn't got out of business earlier just because of the proximity to the Kansas City taxpayer funded disaster.

Sadly, Mr. C's is finally calling it quits . . .

AND BLAMING THE CITY ACCORDING TO THE SIGN IN FRONT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT PHOTOGRAPHED BY A VERY KICKASS TIPSTER!!!



Famous last words: "The City Did It."

Now, I don't know if Mr. C can blame his bad business on Kansas City . . . After all, for some odd reason people want to buy flimsy looking vacuum cleaners from guys with British accents.

Still, for the longest time small business people in KC have felt neglected by local government and it doesn't look like anything is changing given that most politicos in this town are either bureaucrats or non-profit people with little real world business experience and only consider KC entrepreneurs when developing a cheap political payoff strategy.

JoCo and The U.S. losing confidence!!!

I have a rule that's probably racist but it has always served me well . . .

When serious white dudes start to panic, then it's really time pay attention.

Earlier this year when Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that his faith in the free market system had been somewhat mistaken I understood that whatever the direction of the global financial crisis . . . It wasn't going to be over any time soon.

Now it looks like harsh times have hit Kansas City where it counts (i.e. the upper class) . . . To wit, the Golden Ghetto is getting down about the economy:

Johnson County, national consumer confidence fall

The wost thing about this isn't the suffering of the petty bourgeois, which is actually kind of funny.

The reason that hash times in the Golden Ghetto matters is because so much of the economy in KC Proper is based on catering to these debt-ridden scumbags. Even worse, Mayor Funky is still carelessly floating the idea of regionalism and hoping against hope that JoCo d-bags will want to pay higher taxes just to help out with the bill for empty museums that KC unwisely funded.

Let's not forget that KC is on the hook for the P&L District and so many other worthless "cultural attractions" that aren't pulling their weight . . . Now it looks like counting on the upper-class from JoCo was a tragic mistake since that community is mostly scared to death and trying to cut back. For far too long, this town has been a "city that works" to entertain the horrible people of JoCo and now that their money has dried up . . . It's clear that building museums, stadiums (like Mayor Funky's soccer experiment) and funding other attractions to lure those vampires into town was a dangerous strategy that ultimately backfired.

Last day of the year KC morning link look

Here are the local links I'm looking at on this last morning of the year:

A celebration of the lady riding Obama's coattails who has little in common with most of her state: 2008 was quite a year for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius

The Westside hated Barcelona Banquet Hall and most people are glad that it's gone.

Update WyCo molestation story that's not really related to the Sheriff at all

New Year's Eve Hot Spots Tempt with Incentives . . . Other than watered down drinks, of course.

In lieu of real news: Kansas City Police Badges Going Retro

There's a reason this anti-red light camera story is reported in KC Proper . . . The New Year will find many locals emboldened by that kind of reaction to public surveillance.

Kansas City loves artsy interlopers!!! Especially when they buy condos!!!

A recent Stacy Keibler photo gallery is a fine way to star contemplating the end of this year.

Shanahan to Kansas City?

The question that all of the sports-minded Internet denizens are asking in Kansas City:

Nick Sloan: "You Have To Consider Shanahan"

RDM: "Should the Chiefs hire Mike Shanahan?"

Arrowhead Pride Speculation on the subject in their comments!!!

I'd just like to point out that in order for the Kansas City Chiefs to consistently beat and demoralize a rival coach . . . They have to hire him.

Missouri shows Obama & Company that privacy is an essential part of Democracy

State amendment effort seeks to guarantee privacy for union and other voters . . . Again, I support Unions but not any more than the private ballot that defines American Democracy. TKC Note: I always thought Obama's support of the end of secret ballots was misguided and it's a good thing that this non-issue will be out of the way early so the new President can concentrate on bailing out American Industry rather than opening the doors to bullying and intimidation.

Show Me Stem Cell Second Thoughts

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan said the ban on using the funds for abortion and human cloning is likely unconstitutional, at least because it restricts future lawmakers and also possibly because of the stem cell amendment.

KILLER KANSAS CITY RACE!!!

Once again, I'm hoping that Kansas City will fail.

A recent murder once again highlights the lack of progress in this city:

Kansas City Homicide Count Increases to 126

To wit . . .

IF KANSAS CITY CAN GO LESS THAN 24 HOURS WITHOUT A HOMICIDE THAN THIS COWTOWN WILL FAIL TO MATCH THE TOTAL OF THE BLOODIEST YEAR IN A DECADE!!!

From elected officals, there's almost no leadership on this issue so (as always) Kansas City is on its own. Sadly, this is New Year's Eve so it's not the ideal time to ask any part of the metro to calm down. Consider the latest crime story which I think accurately reflects Kansas City's culture:

"Robbers Steal Entire Register at Liquor Store"

It'll be close . . .

But as always, I'm hoping and praying Kansas City will fail to set this benchmark. I hope you'll join me.

JoCo Trees are on lockdown

Emaw reports that there are locks on trees in JoCo . . . That just might be the perfect metaphor for life in that part of town OR yet another sign that the subprime mortgage crisis is a lot more serious than everyone initially suspected.

"If the Palestinians would just hurry the fuck up and die I don’t see why we couldn’t swap our beloved Chief Wahoo for a Sheik Abu. Smarten up Gaza."

Dallas Penn puts worldwide conflict in perspective in a way that makes all other punditry on the topic seem useless.

It's important to be open

For a so-called "slow news cycle" during the holidays . . . TKC readers, Tipsters (STAND UP!!!) and commenters have been quite awesome.

Thanks to people who visit this site . . . There are a couple of pretty good posts coming up on the last day of 2008. THANK YOU!!!

In the meantime, I'm gonna go take a nap.

Also, in the spirit of "transparency" that Mayor Funky never got right, I should report that the "show/hide" function didn't turn out the way I wanted it to . . . It seems that I'd rather have you d-bags scroll than risk one word of this blog being unnecessarily hidden. So, of all the up front, and back end (heh) changes I've made around here . . . That one will probably add up to a "successful failed experiment." Still, I'm glad I was able to publish the instructions in case anyone else wanted to give it a try.

Now . . . On to the bigger business of the day . . . Right after my nap. In the meantime, take a look at a recent photo gallery of Italian model Federica Fontana displaying a wonderful level of openness in her bikini.

Peak Oil Panic in Song

Here's a late night link that I thought I'd just throw out there . . . Some d-bag singing "Kansas City" from Oklahoma! the musical while fretting about gas prices.

Sutera's SHUT DOWN!!!

One of the most KICKASS TKC TIPSTERS recently sent a few photos my way documenting Kansas City's ongoing journey down the financial crapper.

Sutera's is/was a venerable Kansas City institution and its closing demonstrates not only that the local economy is much worse than anybody believes but also that this town doesn't care about the West Bottoms. Remember that the West Bottoms was something like the P&L District version 1.0 back in the day. Now it doesn't even register a blip on the radar of local politicos who threaten to close down Kemper in order to thwart any real competition with the ill-conceived Sprint Center.

Unlike other businesses shut down recently, it's hard to blame Sutera's for their lack of success. The food was excellent and the service was much better than any of the chain restaurants in the P&L District . . .



Nope, Sutera's is closed because Kansas City has put all of its proverbial eggs in the P&L District basket.



While local biz struggles to stay open with absolutely no help from local government, Chain restaurants and generic bars are destroying the competition thanks to the interest paid on KC bonds. To fund discriminatory dress codes and lame offerings, Kansas City is turning our back on the culture of this town. It's not a great choice and it is something the locals are already starting to regret.

Paris of the Plains

I know I've blogged this before but re-posting this isn't really a problem. Kansas City: Paris on the Plains is the online companion to an exhbit at UMKC chronicling Kansas City during the Jazz age 1920-1940 i.e. the last time this cowtown was somewhat important.

Union Station Body Snatcher (non-Chinese)

KMBC: "Police have arrested a man at Union Station in Kansas City in connection with the kidnapping of his non-custodial child. The two were on an Amtrak train from Arizona."

"Maybe the future is 8 dollar beer"

The headline above is Midtown Miscreant's money line of the day regarding the Power & White District that's putting everyone else in KC not on the subsidy train out of business . . . Damn if I didn't LOL when I read that . . . Let's hope he's wrong.

TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! INSIDE THE ANNUAL KANSAS CITY NAACP MEETING!!!

Mainstream Kansas City media decided not to cover a recent meeting of the local chapter of the NAACP last night but it was actually quite an eventful gathering.

Recent statements to the press by Missouri State Rep. Jonas Hughes dominated discussions during the evening.

Remember that Hughes expressed his interest in taking control of the Kansas City School District away from the current School Board and handing it over to an appointed board of local community leaders.

The idea was greeted with a cold reception last night, School Board President Marilyn Simmons was in the crowd stirring up discontent against Hughes and his proposal. Others joined in and questioned the loyalty to constituents demonstrated by Hughes . . .

UNFORTUNATELY, VERY FEW PEOPLE NOTED THAT ALLOWING THE FAILURE OF THE KANSAS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT TO CONTINUE IS THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL TO VOTERS AND STUDENTS!!!

Also, I should note that leaders in the crowd continually expressed that they "weren't attacking" Hughes in the typical Kansas City Passive Aggressive Political style that called into question loyalty and judgment but then feigned civility at the end of these statements in order to guard against a pointed response.

The overriding conclusion that could be derived from this meeting is that The Black Political Elite in Kansas City are seemingly content with the disastrous results the school District produces year after year. Sadly, this issue of control and The Black Leadership is more important than the prospect of producing yet another lost generation of students in the urban core woefully unprepared for the information economy. They're still trumpeting the meaningless success of the Central Debate Team, they're still searching for success amid massive failure . . . They're still attempting to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.

The only thing that's clear is that radical change is not an option and any move to challenge the control of The District will be met with nothing but underhanded contempt.

Kansas City shooting to start the day

KCTV5: Man Arriving Home From Work Shot In Arm . . . Drove himself to the hospital.

Countdown KC!!!

The KC Biz Journal: "The U.S. Census Bureau will kick off the 2010 Census for the Kansas City area on Jan. 7" . . . And here's where we find out there are more Mexicans in this town than anybody initially suspected. More importantly, this might be the start of realigning Kansas City City Council Districts.

KC Crawling out of bed links

Progress on new features for this blog is going well . . . In the meantime, here are some the most recent newsy links I'm looking at . . .

Check it:

This town loves a dead art form: Coda Jazz Fund wraps up a busy year . . .

Rescuers Pull Child From Icy KC Pond

Starting the year on a optimistic note: USA Today names Kansas City one of the five top destinations to watch in 2009.

Life in the suburbs is one big standoff: A Shawnee man barricaded himself in a house for about four hours Monday afternoon, before finally giving up and surrendering peacefully.

Too bad our current Mayor doesn't really have a clean record: Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport Receives Perfect Inspection for Second Consecutive Year

An interview with the new "Laura Croft" reveals that she's a fascinating person who also looks great on all fours!!!

Kansas City Riverside Dance

Expensive renovations at the behest of a few dozen middle-class people will fail to produce any significant benefits other than smiles from hipsters and big media reporters . . . In much the same way that so-many so-called environmentalists don't contribute much but would club live puppy seals to death for a profile in the paper (waster) of record.

Kansas City "Catch & Release"

A great report by NBC Action News reveals that burglars basically don't face serious prosecution for their crimes for years on end . . . Meanwhile, politicos simply want more funding to increase the Prison Industrial Complex that already hasn't helped solve the problem.

More Diversity for KCK!!!

The Kansas City Kansan reports that early next year "the Unified Government could have an ordinance on the books requiring much greater diversity from suppliers doing business with the UG."

Meanwhile, minority participation for construction people in Kansas City proper has mostly been proven to be yet another myth surrounding the so-called Downtown Renaissance.

Stinky Promise Keepers

TfK comes up with the greatest blogger post title in recent memory: "Abstinence pledges still don't work, still encourage unprotected anal sex"

"Do I feel compassion for the Palestinians? Not really."

A Kansas City blog with a Russian Accent makes a case for killing more brown people . . . It's actually very convincing in as much as all fights between high tech armies and a mobs of INSANE brown people over Real Estate/God/Apartheid are somewhat captivating. I don't really care who wins this one (call me when the fighting gets to the Westside) but I think the alternative perspective is worth noting . . . And, like everything else, somehow this will all be blamed on Mexicans eventually.

More Mexican success stories on Kansas City's Northeast Side!!!

I'm going to ignore yet another white guy calling me racist (ugh) for the sake of the bigger point: Here's yet another example Mexicans both illegal and otherwise have benefited Kansas City's Northeast far more than anybody else . . . Especially liberals. (TKC REAL LAUGH LINE: I think Miller was calling me (a Latino) racist because of a reference to other Latinos, therein lies the failure of liberalism and why they started calling themselves "progressive" to mask their shame.)

Show/hide links for Blogger.com: Take a peek at a new TKC feature!!!

I use the old school version of Blogger because it's reliable, easy to use and I fear change. But recently, I've found a way to incorporate "show/hide" links into this template and the info contained in this post might help other blogs make their front page just a bit more readable as well.

Now, back in the day when the blogger help page was useful, they provided some info on this practice and their page on the subject is still the best place to start.

Thing is . . . The disadvantage of their method is clear: "Only the title of each post is displayed, with no summary information. The feature is applied to all posts, rather than letting you selectively apply it (for instance, only on long posts)."

That's why I never implemented their solution. But the workaround I discovered is much better. To start, I just followed their first step when it came to the CSS and the style sheet:



Also, the Javascript they provided is part of the solution as well when placed in between the "head" tags (hehe):



Now, the best part of the solution is that it's now up to the blogger's discretion when to run the script via a "span" link!!!

Like so:



The best part about this is that the original post where I found the majority of this instruction is set for Blogs using the very latest that blogspot.com has to offer. Use the "view source" info on the guy's blog and his solution is clearly elegant.

So far, the simple hack seems to work great and should benefit users because they don't have to scroll as much. Also, unlike The Pitch and The Star, I'm not trying to artificially boost page count by having readers go to the post page just to continue browsing and I think once again this method that I'm using demonstrates that only bloggers really care about the overall experience of online reading while newsies are simply slaves to their corporate masters and obviously are more interested in phony circulation numbers.

Additionally, since the script set up to use this feature is in the Stylesheet and CSS there shouldn't be any screwups with search engine indexing which is always a concern for any serious blogger . . . In fact, this solution is much simpler than I thought it would be . . .

This minor adjustment for TKC is something I wanted to implement for a long time and I can only hope that other bloggers wanting to make their front pages more user friendly will find this information somewhat helpful.

UPDATE: The experiment worked, these instructions are solid. However, I didn't really like what I ended up with and I think that simply putting effort into being as captivating as possible is far more important than web tech. So, as always, I'm going to try and make my writing tighter rather than counting on javascript tricks to compensate.

Binge: Yet another KC Irish News Source

IrishKC recommends: "The Midwest Irish Focus, serving the Irish-American community of several midwestern states and particularly the Kansas City area, has launched a blog." This new blog is the finest in niche offerings for the KC Area, then again I've never met an white person who doesn't claim to be at least a little bit Irish so their appeal is probably broader than anyone thinks. (TKC NOTE: There's an exception to every rule and for Italian-Americans I've heard that Hell = St. Patrick's Day 24/7/365.)

This blip.fm thing isn't too bad

It's like Twitter but with music instead of people trying way too hard to be clever. Thanks Leigh Ann!!!

KC Politics doesn't take a vacation

There's lots of stuff still going on in the metro . . . More links forthcoming as all of the politicos start to make their plans for world domination in the New Year. Meanwhile, I'm just happy that this basement is extra cozy as the first two months of the year just might quiet complaining about the cold.

Stay tuned . . . Here's a nice vacation photo gallery of Katy "two hit wonder" Perry in a bikini to start the morning.

Did you miss all of the important Kansas City holiday parties?

Here's the thing about political power in this town . . . All of the important people pretend to be friends with another.

Therefore, missing out one of their holiday parties is a bad career move. So, while Mayor Funky spent most of his time bunkered down in a cabin away from this town's movers and shakers . . . I don't want TKC readers to overlook any networking opportunities.

Here's the quick way to judge whether or not your holiday party was worthless:

Did you have fun?

Was your Grandma there?

Where you thankful for everyone in the room while acknowledging your own blessings just for being there?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then you're not only a loser but you have almost wasted the Kansas City Holiday party circuit.

At real Kansas City Power Parties . . . Look for the following:

City Council People

Lawyers

Drunken socialites pretending to do some kind of business while hooking up with a reasonably attractive dude with a decent career.

More lawyers, maybe a few developers.

Holly Starr

Yep, if you see any of these things at your local party then you're at the right place. Pull up a chair and prepare to talk about getting some TIF. Most importantly, realize that hanging out with friends and family is for children and losers . . . You have a couple days to find a real KC New Year's Eve party that doesn't involve puking JoCo consumers trading STDs. Kansas City is working for the holidays and from what I've heard the two biggest topics of conversation are directing blame away from the City Council regarding the screwed up City budget AND wondering if incoming Attorney General Chris Koster will carry through on alleged promises to start an investigation into Mayor Funky.

Will the Power & White District allow Westport to compete? Probably not.

KMBC reports: "The Westport Business League is hoping to get a special open-container license. The license requires changing the state law. Currently, the only place in Missouri where open containers are legal is in Kansas City's Power & Light District. Westport wants the same kind of festival license when they have special events."

WyCo Family Affair (ew)

Wyandotte County Sheriff's Son Wanted for Child Rape

TV News Understatement of the Day

NBC Action News: "KCMO Residents Don't Like Idea of a Trash Fee" . . . I wonder what gave them that idea? Other than, of course, talking with anybody in this town.

If you're just using the Internets for social networking, by all means stay on Twitter!!!

There are a few posts about Twitter in the local blogosphere today . . . Nuke shared his insights. A local librarian had the most articulate thoughts on the subject.

Mind you . . . Kansas City blogs are a little slow to the debate given that this is a discussion that everybody else was having last year . . . Also, an October blurb in Wired Mag gave credence to pouty bloggers who haven't been able to attract an audience.

Honestly, for folks who just think the Internets is about making friends, going to bars with buddies and sharing all the goodness that is being white in Kansas City . . . Twitter is probably the best option.

Still, there is competition in everything and DarrenRules is undoubtedly the King of All Kansas City Twitter users.

Meanwhile, a great many people who lack the intellectual capacity or the will to think about media critically may not understand that it's all just personal publishing . . . But the way that Twitter and Facebook allow people to shut out the rest of the world may be better suited to Kansas City Bloggers with delicate sensibilities who act like old women despite a well-concocted and hard-nosed online persona (yes, I'm referring to you) . . . I follow tons of Kansas City people on Twitter and my presence there has been a fun little quick writing exercise . . . Despite the fact that it's a glorified chatroom.

Kansas City once again ignores the murder rate going into the New Year!!!

Kansas City hasn't solved its homicide problem.

We're not even close.

Year after year so many parts of this town turn into killing fields while local news media and most politicos don't seem to care. During the typical murder spike in the summer, the Mayor and a few Council people showed up in the Northeast and put on a press conference for an afternoon . . . So far, they've haven't mentioned much more on the subject.

Let's not forget that the pattern of Eastside homicides is part of a national trend.

Study: Murders among black youths on rise . . . The number killed in gun crimes has jumped 40 percent since 2000

Meanwhile, during this same period of time local media has focused mainly on Missing White Women and stories about good deeds performed to benefit local pets.

Time and time again it has been noted: If these same numbers existed in the white community, we would be in a national state of emergency . . . But as long as people of color are killing themselves, ALMOST EVERYONE is content to let the massacre continue with very few questions. Mayor Funky won't answer his critics on the topic of crime and he has joined a group that believes taking away 2nd Amendment rights is a solution. Mayor Funky doesn't have any answers or credibility on this subject, he's simply another politico trying to score points on the issue in between his struggle to secure the right of his wife to walk barefoot at City Hall.

And yet the slaughter continues unabated . . . Talk of the economy or a war half a world away dominated the election while Democrats didn't like mentioning problems closer to home, problems they couldn't blame on President Bush. Kansas City's higher than average homicide rate has been ignored and overlooked during every election cycle. The result has been year after year of dead bodies on local streets. In this town, hope for the New Year is focused on economic revival and infrastructure while neglecting to realize that nothing in Kansas City can be accomplished until residents feel secure in their communities and a serious effort to curb the homicide rate is undertaken.

Speculation and the Kansas City Chiefs!!!

Another horrible season is over . . . And while I couldn't care less about what happens to the losers playing for The Chiefs . . . Unfortunately, there are gluttons for punishment still interested.

APPARENTLY, LJ WANTS TO START SMACKING WOMEN IN OTHER CITIES!!!

KCTalk speculates that the Herm is gone and Marty Schottenheimer (sans Mistress) might be the next President of the organization. Again, this would be exciting news from any team that didn't take 6 downs to score a touchdown from the 1 yard-line.

By the way, I think the cheerleaders featured in the photo above belong to the "Redskins" but NFL and pop culture racism is too prevalent to deserve accuracy.

Nick Sloan dispels the Marty rumor . . . Cocktail waitresses in JoCo breathe a sigh of relief.

Lenexa loves non-Mexican immigrants!!!

The KC Star: "Turkish cultural center offers immigrants a taste of home"

TKC Note: Immigrants who aren't brown and destitute get a much warmer reception and their culture is portrayed as quaint rather than a threat to this nation's sovereignty. That's life I guess, but it makes me cringe every time a white immigrant wants to earn points for their story of oppression . . . Unless they're a hotass blonde from a non-nasty nation . . . Preferably Holland.

Mayor Pro Tem Bill Skaggs should finish out Co-mayor Funky and Squitiro's term!!!

MyFoxKC reports that Kansas City Council member Bill Skaggs offered help to a soldier stranded at KCI.

Meanwhile, Mayor Funky is in hiding and still hard at work at the volunteer ordinance. This story highlights the fact that our Mayor has some insane priorities and his wife (the co-mayor) only goes to the airport to pick fights with security people.

Not quite over X-mas KC links

Fewer posts today, I'm working on some new features for this blog and just trying to take it easy while most of the bigger name local newsies are still on vacation.

NBC Action News Reports: "Three college endowments in Kansas have lost tens of millions of dollars because of the stock market's plunge, and it could cause a drop in the number of student scholarships." Luckily, TKC has a huge endowment that I'd love to share with college women of age who are willing to work hard. Har.

I'm sure they've reported this story before but it's even less interesting the second time around: Hordes of deer threaten Shawnee Mission Park

This town blows: Strong Winds Batter Parts Of KC

This is nice, but believe me, learning Spanish is easier: Kansas City Kansas Community College to offer free English classes

High Art with a Russian Accent: "Russian National Ballet Theatre Comes to Kansas City "

Stupid neighbors are dangerous in the suburbs: 10-Year-Old Shot; Hit in Leg in Lee's Summit

Baby Blunt the Beneficent: Gov. Blunt Grants Pardons, Allows Parole Hearing

Here's a leftover Danielle Lloyd photo gallery as my present to you d-bags.

Kansas City "belt tightening" won't cut it

I'm always amazed that people in Kansas City can't do math. I hear talk about City Hall cutback as if firing a few people OR EVEN FIRING HALF OF THE PEOPLE AT CITY HALL WOULD RAISE $90 MILLION!!! Sorry, all City Hall layoffs will do is even further reduce City Services. There's nowhere left to cut and that kind of clueless chatter only works on talk radio. This town can either hopelessly bank on an economic turnaround (not going to happen) or raise taxes (like the E-Tax) . . . Nothing else is going to put a dent in the budget despite the political games played by Mayor Funky.

New (to me) blog: Kansas Sity Sinic

This blogger Comments sometimes on TKC, I just happened to read some of the posts from "The Kansas Sity Sinic" and they're pretty great. Description: "An even mixture between a pretend socialite and a conservative realist. i.e. close to perfection."

Let's have just one more push for light rail in Kansas City next year!!!

After countless defeats the light rail dorks are talking about yet another push for a regional light rail plan. Why? Because they make money even in a losing campaign. Pat Gray's career managing the best doomed campaigns in Kansas City proves me right.

Anyhoo . . . There's always the temptation to brand Kansas City as a backward town because we don't have environmentally unfriendly trains that are often dangerous.

In fact . . . The vast majority of Kansas City's populace remain far behind Japanese officals who push light rail on their people with as much grace and skill as ham-fisted construction, architectural and political interests looking out for nothing but their own interests.

Lee's Summit soon to get a sense of humor

The Star reports: "The Martin City Melodrama, a popular theater group known for decades of satire and vaudeville, is preparing to make Lee's Summit its home." Punchline: Neither the group nor people from Lee's Summit are intentionally funny.

Midtown is hot (not really)

Fire damages a vacant storefront in midtown Kansas City.

KC Carrot Mob Tees

A local group of environmentalists using their collective buying power is in need of cash. They're hoping the T-shirt economy can help them.

Normally, I try to ignore this kind of nonsense but I think these Tees are wonderful and an awesome way to identify local suckers who think they can make a difference in this world.

New Year's Party info for the last remaining people in Kansas City with any cash!!!

BlogKC dutifully links local hotspots charging white people way too much for watered down liquor and the chance at a hookup with a stranger.

I hate Waldo Nazis

Translate a recent post from Mtoast and you might be able to figure out that local Nazis are leaving their droppings around old, local hangouts.

Another place for local discussion

Kansas City News and Events now has comments enabled.

The Kansas City Area Internets will start serving up winners in 2009!!!

So far, the Internets hasn't really played a big part when it comes to getting people elected locally.

Of course, Obama bought won the election by accepting untraceable donations but the power of the Internets really hasn't been utilized by a local candidate . . . Yes, yes I know some naive dorks were tricked into supporting Mayor Funkhouser but it was really The Star who served up the election for Gloria's bare feet and smudge sticks.

Now things are going to change . . .

In his race for Grandview Alderman, local Libertarian Mike Ferguson is employing a low budget web-based strategy that will likely lead to a victory!!!

The best thing about Ferguson's strategy . . . He isn't counting on the web to do his work for him . . . He's building on the solid rep that he has in his community and supplementing his web presence for big media buys.

Granted: Grandview is dying so it's not like there's going to be a lot of interest in who is the captain of the sinking ship . . . Still, this is going to be the metro's first web-based election win . . . And considering that so many parts of the Kansas City area are headed the way of Grandview, I think we're witnessing the beginning of a trend.

Bonus: Here's a late night photo gallery of Tori Praver from Sports Illustrated to help us celebrate.

The TKC Saturday Night Playlist and Present Magazine's best of Kansas City blogs!!!

Bloggers across Kansas City have been posting and discussing a local "best of" list compiled by this town's premiere arts and culture magazine. Here it is:

KANSAS CITY'S TOP TEN BLOG LIST FROM PRESENT MAGAZINE!!!

There are a lot of great blogs on the list and even a few I didn't know about . . . What's clear is that for the most people picked their friends and with only a few exceptions bloggers are by no means objective . . . This is a good thing.

Another recurring theme: People actively didn't want to list TKC as one of the best according to some of the folks on the list who were brave enough to speak the name of this blog . . . Now, there's just a little bit of significance to this because throughout history the achievements of people of color have been downplayed which is also one of many reasons why Alonzo Washington is regarded as a controversial figure by some despite the fact that he stands for police cooperation and community outreach to fight violent crime - Which are things that most people agree on.

For the record, my top blogger of the year was Ramsey Mohsen. Along with Nick Sloan . . . These young dudes (and maybe even a broad or two) are going to define what the blogosphere looks like in the immediate future . . .

KANSAS CITY BLOGGING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN 30 AND 40 SOMETHING HIPSTERS MEETING UP AT A BAR!!!

Ideally, what I've always hoped is that the Kansas City blogosphere would become a digital "place" where the opinion of a 19 year-old emo blogger on LiveJournal has the same impact and relevance as a veteran big media columnist when speaking on the subject of life in this town.

Additionally, it's important to note that Kansas City blogs are far more diverse in terms of women and people of color than any big media newsroom in this cowtown. That represents more opportunity than what the people playing gatekeeper provide.

Finally, since this is basically what everybody else does whenever these lists come up, I'm going to excerpt what people are writing about TKC:

MoxieMamaKC: "Love him or hate him, he's the most read blogger in KC."

Shanelife.com: "Say what you will about Tony...his method's aren't exactly the kind that make you want to take him seriously, but he breaks a lot of news."

MToast: "Join in Tony’s dissing or refuse to play (I won’t blame you either way), but you can’t deny this one is still a force to be reckoned with."

Jeff is a geek: "A blog about the KC scene"

KC with a Russian Accent: "I only added him to fulfill my affirmative action quotas. Actually, TKC performs a useful service - like an oyster he sifts through tons of crap, finds a pearl (not always, but who cares), attaches it to a beautiful woman and presents it to the world."

Gone Mild: "A lot of people are carefully constructing their lists to avoid Tony, but no serious list of top Kansas City bloggers can ignore Tony. Even if you don't like him, he creates more posts on all Kansas City topics than the rest of combined, and it wasn't very long ago that a link from Tony would bump my own numbers up for the day. He's used his humor to hurt people, but he's also created the most-read and most powerful blog in Kansas City."

Erin in the Real World - "If Kansas City is high school, Tony is the bitchy and gossipy head cheerleader. I love it and I want to be her friend, if for no other reason so she doesn't turn on me." (TKC NOTE: I think this might be my favorite - NO HOMO!!!)

James F. Freeman - "I only follow 5 local blogs. Everything else reads the same, even TKC. Maybe especially TKC. And if I could interject a wish, it would be that blog authors start editing their copy - misspelled words (especially at the rate that bloggers publish them) drive me crazy."

I think I pretty much agree with everything . . . What surprised me is that there was little mention of blog offerings from big media especially The Star. So far, Kansas City's paper of record has only one major undisputed blog success in Crime Scene KC pioneered by Greg Reeves and pushed to new heights by James Hart.

Again, what I think is important here as this thing we call blog moves forward isn't the social network or cliques or even the impressive array of half naked white women that help TKC to dominate . . . THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE KANSAS CITY BLOGOSPHERE IS AN OPEN COMMUNITY!!! This is the only form of communication in the world that is a true meritocracy. Blogs are only as popular as they deserve to be and any blogger is only as good as their next post.

Kansas City blogging has come a long way but it will face an inevitable decline if its members forget that diversity, debate, discussion, dumbass comments, in-fighting and the freedom of expression guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution are what made this media platform great.

Nobody knows what the New Year will bring, I can only hope that local bloggers will continue to scheme and compete with as much vigor as before . . . As we all attempt to profit and gain influence from a medium in which neither of those things are a barrier to entry.

To wit, here's my playlist inspired by the New Year and Kansas City blogs:

New Year's Day (original version) - U2

Kansas City Star - The Replacements

Fame - David Bowie

Controversy - Prince

Life your Life - T.I. (featuring Rhianna)

Rumors - Timex Social Club

Pedestal - Fergie

99 Problems - Jay Z (prod. Rick Rubin)

Don't stand so close to me - The Police

Why Can't We Be Friends? - War



As always, thank you for reading and have a safe and fun weekend.

THE LOSER BOWL!!!

Tomorrow is a match-up of two of the NFL's worst teams, I'm calling it the Loser Bowl.

My only hope is that the Chiefs won't try and win not only because it'll give fans the wrong idea but also because it'll put the team even further out of decent draft position (Not that it matters).

Anyway, there will be a few entertaining aspects of this game other than the fact that Chad Johnson doesn't know how to use Babelfish in order to translate the number 85 into Spanish . . . As always, I'll be watching local sports newsies try and spin whatever happens into good news for next year (keep selling those season tickets!!!). Also, I'm advising people: Please don't play any drinking games using the words "rebuilding" because those Asian livers and other body parts aren't as easily attainable as people say.

Did I mention that the Chiefs were favored to win this sad game that only counts in the converse?

All things considered, it's going to be a pretty dismal and disappointing game no matter who wins . . . Very much like this (and almost any other) Chiefs season.

"Blogs of the Year" by Nick Sloan

A special thanks to Nick Sloan on his "blogs of the year" post look for great things from this guy who has a better understanding of the Internets than any newsie out there . . .

Proof: Grandview blows!!!

Roof Blown Off At Grandview Apt. Complex . . . Sometimes, it's important to write for yourself.

Kansas City Ice Patch - Yeah!!!

I need all the readers I can get so obviously I don't want all of you d-bags to die in a horrible, gut-wrenching and messy traffic accident.

So be careful out there, from my basement window I can see a bit of snow and ice coming down.

As usual, when the conditions outside are really important (i.e. whenever I want to go outside), the local weather newsy people are nowhere to be found (except on the Internets) and didn't provide as much up-to-date/advanced coverage as their commercials claims . . . Still, it's nice to have them around because I'm really interested in recent local weather history and bad jokes. Obviously.

Abouhalkah and a blog from The Star bow to commenter complaints!!!

Actually, it's quite nice to see The Star take their readers seriously on one of the many complaints regarding their Internet presence. Just like any blogger, Yael T. Abouhalkah wisely listened to what his readers were saying, fixed the problem and posted news of the solution on the blog. Because I know this was a major issue for one of the more insightful news readers in town, I'm actually pretty pleased that the Star worked to solve their bloggy problems . . . It benefits everybody when the Internet(s) is taken seriously. Or not.

Kansas City is nothing more than a series of sinkholes, ruined streets and complaints!!!

A sinkhole closes 61st and Agnes as Water Department workers suspect damage to the sewer line . . . Notice how "green" solutions never come into play at a practical level and when the sewers and streets bust apart without warning, people just want them fixed. It may not seem like it, but that's an important sentiment to remember.

Standoffs define Kansas City

Man Arrested after Standoff with KCMO Police . . . Thankfully, nobody was killed but I was thinking that no other police action speaks to the ethos of this town like a standoff . . . Here's hoping that streaking with replace this stereotype in the New Year.

The Best of Kansas City SHUT DOWN!!!

There have been a great many Plaza failures as of late. In fact, on a strangely warm winter night it was apparent that the only people doing good business on the Plaza were potential date rapists and their skanky prey.

Still, I had to take a moment of pause when I noticed:

THE BEST OF KANSAS CITY STORE ON THE PLAZA IS OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

Actually, they just moved to another location and a sign in the window advised theoretical patrons on other places they could look for KC related junk.

But with my brand new X-mas phone, I had to take a photo of what might be the best visual metaphor Kansas City has to offer right now.

ILLEGAL MEXICANS SAVED KANSAS CITY'S NORTHEAST SIDE!!!

Sadly, Kansas City white people can't stop their love affair with gentrification.

Despite the crappy global economy, the failure of the Downtown Renaissance, Kansas City's condo collapse and so many local eateries going belly up . . . D-bags in this town are still atwitter over speculative real estate development like an ugly broad who actually expects to get a call back after giving it up on the first date.

“We really do anticipate the next wave,” said Bob Long, staff development specialist at Kansas City Development Corp. “Old Northeast really is the closest residential area to downtown. It has fabulous access to the interstate and excellent housing stock. It’s all a matter of how they position themselves and determine who is most likely to be interested in moving there and how to reach them.”

As usual, the article paid lip service to "diversity" but only managed to interview white people who are far too eager to push minorities and po'folk out of their homes for pennies on the dollar.

It's not that I'm opposed to people making a profit but the key to any gentrification ponzi scheme is to get rid of people on the lower end of an income scale by making them think and feel like their property isn't worth anything and they aren't wanted. Gentrification-loving-home-rehab-scumbags rarely want to pay market value, instead they only prey upon people in crisis or work with government collaboration to selectively enforce codes . . . It's class and racial warfare on an economic level. Nothing less.

Sadly, the idiots at The Star trumpet this kind of rip-off scheme as if it's the second coming and provide all of the PR. Meanwhile, very few people realize that it was ILLEGAL MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS who purchased houses in Northeast back when no one was interested, who opened and frequented stores in the Northeast when no one else would buy and have now created a vibrant community with a crime rate far lower than the Eastside. Instead of a simple "thank you" . . . The morally reprehensible supporters of even more gentrification in Kansas City are offering up their neighbors because they mistakenly believe that a neighborhood has to be white in order to be nice. If there is only one thing wrong with Kansas City - It's white people hoping and praying for gentrification on the Northeast who fail to acknowledge that illegal Mexicans are responsible for any financial gain they might make . . .

Luckily, the grand plans of development d-bags rarely work out in Kansas City. The Westside endured this same glut of foolish middle-class speculators wanting to buy cheap property and sell it at a huge markup . . . Now my neighborhood is littered with 400k homes & condos that rich white people don't want and po'folk can't afford.

It looks like the Northeast is next but any developer would be remiss if they didn't realize the reality of what transformed that neighborhood into a place where some opportunity might exist. Illegal Mexicans revived Northeast Kansas City without question and speculators anxious to cast them aside should consider that Kansas City's fickle white, middle-class home buyers already have a history of bailing out and can't be relied upon to contribute to a community; in fact, speculators in this situation are only good at using misleading PR to try and make a buck.

Jesus, this economy is bad!!!

Lisa Simpson once said that "Prayer is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Meanwhile . . .

A nearby low rent church uses their meager surroundings and the bad economy as a selling point.

Jackson County Drug War Needs Cash!!!

COMBAT — the Community-Backed Anti-Drug Tax — was first approved by voters in 1989. Since that time Kansas City hasn't seen much benefit from it. This year the murder rate ramped up again and I don't think any serious person can say that the availability of drugs has seriously declined no matter what doctored stats claim.

Still, as always, the County wants more cash:

Jackson Countians may be asked next year to approve a sales tax extension to fight illegal drug abuse, despite a worsening economy and growing pressure on family budgets. County Executive Mike Sanders said he's considering an August vote on renewing the quarter-cent COMBAT sales tax for seven more years, through 2018.

The people of Jackson County should know that po'folk and minorities are disproportionately targeted by most anti-drug laws and initiatives. Honestly, I'd like to see any of the so-called progress made by the additional tax when it comes to anything quantifiable. TKC is all in favor of substance abuse programs and even funds for community outreach . . . But like everything else, this program has a long history of controversy and payouts that obviously don't produce the desired results.

Take your meds Kansas City

The Kansas City Partnership for Caregivers is holding a meeting from 9:30 to 11 a.m. today at the St. Luke's Hospital Peet Center Conference Room, 4401 Wornall Road, to discuss quality and access to health care for older adults in the metropolitan area.

The people of Merriam, Kan. try to stop a crazy woman while a few people in KC still want a barefoot lady in City Hall

KCTV5: Drivers try to stop a suicidal woman from jumping off a Merriam, Kan., overpass and motorists below break her fall. The lady fell more than 20ft., broke her leg and was taken away by ambulance rather than Volunteer Ordinance.

Show Me a chance to replace the Old Guard

KMBC reports: A St. Louis lawmaker has urged the Gov.-election Jay Nixon to consider replacing the adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard after accusations that the commander has discriminated against women and blacks.

Say hello to Kansas City Saturday Links

Here's what I'm reading this morning . . . When not looking at half naked celebrity models on the Internets:

Student investors make hypothetical cash . . . Very much like real world investors.

Leavenworth Lady pulls $600 Popcorn Scam

Cowtown bullets are exceedingly unkind: Police investigate after a teenager is shot in the neck in Kansas City, Mo.

Missouri Riverfront Trail in Riverside will soon be easier to find . . . For the half dozen people of privilege who actually use this thing . . . Other than the homeless of course.

You call it, I'm not interested: Jackson County and developer are near a deal in land dispute

Renaissance with the lights out: A section of downtown Kansas City businesses and residents were without power Friday evening.

One-car accident kills driver on I-435

Again, X-mas will kill you: Holiday Weight Gain Holds Hidden Danger

Slumlord Tax slightly effective: Absentee landlords paying up on fines thanks to new enforcement program

Jodie Marsh just might be the best thing about any party in Great Britain.

Tony Gonzalez is a "Crybaby"

Nick Sloan has a great take on some recent NFL name calling . . . Even better, check out his blog for a pretty funny sports screw up for NBC Action News.

Blogger Beef: Catfight over MU

Kansas Watch picks a fight and attacks Nick Sloan's beloved Tigers . . . Meanwhile, I've always thought that college sports was just something that white guys did while I was banging their girlfriends.

Santa Claus killing spree could be a manifestation of white guy privilege!!!

RDM has provided a flurry of posts as of late, so far my favorite has been his take on the Santa Claus Killer. The powerful deconstruction of the slaughter leads to some interesting conclusions and has already provoked a strong reaction . . . TKC NOTE: History has taught us that making white guys with guns really mad is never a good idea.

Couldn't stand the Kansas City weather

Once again we've seen that Al Gore was right . . . Friday was balmy (ew) but Saturday is supposed to be a freezing rain hell . . . Kansas City weather is acting nearly as erratic as Gloria Squitiro without her smudge stick.

Did I mention there's a Tornado Watch right now? Which should be just as unlikely as a workable light rail plan.

Sadly, none of today's current weather drama really matters much because I hear that Sunday will be unseasonably warm again . . . Or maybe it's unwise to listen to local weather newsies at all . . . Katie Horner has lied to me so much, I feel as though I ought to be dating her.

Happy Kwanzaa Kansas City!!!

Okay, I want to make sure that I acknowledge Kwanzaa on TKC without the lame joke about not knowing what it means.

Like all other holiday celebrations, Kwanzaa is not that hard to understand or mock.

And while the holiday hosts different days celebrating a variety of principles. I think I'd like to start this first day of Kwanzaa by celebrating the love of Council Lady Sharon Sanders Brooks and Linwood Tauheed, a member of Kansas City's Black Political Elite . . . Whenever it serves their purposes they say they aren't going out but the (love) connection is there (like it or not) and it's one of many Kansas City Kwanzaa Miracles!!!



Actually, it's kinda nice that the two have allegedly used their "love" to further the career of Tauheed now that he's a big time member of Mayor Funky's "New Tools" pipe-dream payout program . . . Or at least that's what so many on the Eastside are saying.

So celebrate Kwanzaa any way you like . . . TKC doesn't suggest taking your dangerous online hookups to Black Planet instead of Craigslist for a few days . . . It's probably more productive to maybe just read a book.

After X-mas Kansas City Crime Spree!!!

Kansas City is awash in violence and crime after X-mas . . .

Here's the round-up:

KC Police Investigate Several Shootings

2 Arrested Following Midtown Shooting, Chase

Woman Hospitalized After Being Shot In KC

Couple Drives Backward During Police Chase

Your Christmas Tree will kill you!!!

I'm really tired of writing about X-mas but I just highlight yet another destructive aspect of the holiday. The flammable tree carcass that has killed at least two people I know (seriously):

Christmas Day Fire Destroys Olathe Home

Solution:

Recycle your X-mas Tree

Or, start celebrating Hanukkah because those candles are probably easier to control.

Kansas Counting Jobs

U.S. Census Bureau Regional Manager Dennis Johnson, whose Kansas City, Mo., office oversees six states, says the bureau plans to hire about 1,000 people in Kansas, with at least a few workers in every county.

And while I'm not an expert in this kind of thing, I will note that speaking Spanish might be a bonus given that "minorities are a majority" in a few Kansas Counties.

Boulevard New Year's Beers

A Tumblr blogger posts Boulevard's Press release regarding their latest offerings.

Kansas City Comparison

My Town, My Take makes an apt (but sad) comparison between Times Square and the so-called Downtown Renaissance.

TKC EXCLUSIVE QUESTION!!! Will Co-Mayor Funky make it past Spring?

Don't let the holiday doldrums fool you . . . There are STILL a great many people out there dedicated to getting Mayor Funky out of office and the level of animosity toward the guy make it entirely possible.

If it does go down (hehe) here's the way it might happen:

So many folks in this town are keeping their fingers crossed for Chris Koster's (allegedly upcoming Nepotism investigation ) . . . If anything even close to this comes up, it'll be the

Believe it or not (I don't care) the rumor I keep hearing is that the Council doesn't need any help to dump Mayor Funky

Co-Mayor Gloria Squitiro could always fly Mayor Funky away to safety on her broom.

A recall is rough, expensive and the Governator's rise to power in California years ago is the exception to the rule that they generally don't work. Nevertheless, there is recall talk and even word of big money players ready to throw down a few bucks to get the guy out of office.

Of course, I'm starting to think that this cowtown is more than content to limp along for 2 years with what is essentially a lame duck Mayor . . . And a growing list of candidates for the next time around.

The Death of Local Literacy!!! Libraries across the Kansas City metro area give up on books in order to attract teens!!!

Recently, there has been even more evidence that new media literacy is probably more important than voracious reading (or even cracking a book). Here are two local headlines that prove my point:

"The Kansas City Public Libraries have created teen spaces at all of its locations with video games, podcasts, YouTube workshops and movie nights."

"KCK library's Wii systems foster fitness"

And while it's encouraging that local libraries are being creative in attracting newer, younger patrons . . . The lack of interest in reading anything substantial by younger people tells me that short posts are the way to go, with lots of photos and maybe all of us should look at video blogging a lot more seriously.

KCPT CUTBACKS!!!

KCPT trims 10% of staff, promises new CEO by March . . . Like print media, public television is forced to do some belt tightening . . . Which is the fate of every form of media that fewer and fewer people are consuming.

Harry Stopped Here

Just a neat little factoid for today: In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.

Even Kansas City Phonies are Second Rate

Counterfeit bills turning up in Kansas City lack quality which puts them on par with most desktop publishing.

Misleading Liberty Memorial story doesn't make their financial situation any better!!!

AWESOME!!! Liberty Memorial is getting good ticket sales (but still below projections). Sadly, the place is running out of grant money and would be mothballed without a huge subsidy from Kansas City and A LOT of wishful thinking about the future.

New Hotness: Helping Westside Students

Hey, here's a human interest story that has more to do with the disparity that exists in our society rather than the sappy melodrama that's usually played out on TV. For folks looking to help somebody during the holiday season . . . This might be a good place to start:

MyFoxKC: Elementary School Asks for Help from the Cold

The Star: Help rallies to aid KC school whose boiler went out

Show Me yet another horrible X-mas

KCTV5: A man held his wife and three children hostage while he threatened police on Christmas morning in Greenwood, authorities said.

UNDERCOVER IN THE GOLDEN GHETTO!

21 Jump Street jokes abound but none of them are worth jotting down not only because that show is really old but also because the fact that Mall Security is the biggest priority in JoCo makes me sad: Overland Park, Kan., police send undercover officers to blend in with the crowd at Oak Park Mall.

Friday Kansas City Link Layout

Here's just a bit of what the big time media newsies have come up with during over the holiday . . .

Chastain delayed for just a bit . . . It's just a matter of time Kansas City's worst person (living in another town) strikes again.

One more KC water main break and subsequent cold weather ice rink

Huge family made homeless after fire gets some help just in time for holiday human interest story extravaganza!!!

Alleged bad cop could get pwned: A southwest Missouri police officer is charged with stealing a motorist's laptop computer during a traffic stop.

An X-mas story about illegal Mexicans from Mary Sanchez doesn't bother to quote any.

Financial news is probably better when it's boring: Federal Reserve Bank of KC reappoints chairwoman (Lu Cordova), deputy (Paul DeBruce)

Shawnee Mission Medical Center sued over accident (again)

Kind of interesting: KCK rapper profile.

KC Tribune: Two Female Philanthropists Brightened Kansas City’s Parks & Boulevards

A photo gallery of hot lady Brooke Burns isn't too bad.

Heartwarming Holiday KC Blogger Post

Unless you're made out of stone, you'll probably agree that local blog "Pomegranate Pretty" has recently filed what may be one of the best 1st person holiday posts of the year.

SANTA CLAUS KILLS 8, THEN SELF!!!

I guess my X-mas wasn't that bad, neither was yours if you made it out alive.

The mind of the Mayor (don't laugh)

Thanks to an awesome reader who sent this link my way . . .

The Wednesday recently conducted a nice Q&A with Mayor Funky. Sadly, he's still engaging in the same double speak and his trademark pathological stubborness. Here's what he has to say about the City Council:

"Yes, of course. I would love to move on if we could. They passed the volunteer ordinance. They could have chosen not to do that. I was perfectly happy moving along as I was, working on the issues as I wanted to work on them. I haven’t brought up all this stuff. The lady that filed her complaints against me – would I prefer that didn’t happen? Well, of course. Put me in front of the class of folks that want to move on. I have been moving on."

Funny how the dude with the barefoot wife at City Hall is questioning the class of the City Council!!!

Obviously, the article reveals that the Mayor and the Council are still at war, which means that he won't get anything accomplished.

Again, Mayor Funky plays the victim role and seems to claim that his failure of a tenure is everyone's fault but his own. He takes absolutely no personal responsibility and attempts to mislead the reporter about the facts of his record.

It's a nice, quick read and definitely worth a look when even a small, community paper makes Kansas City's Mayor start playing the blame game and scrambling for credibility.

From one blighted burg to another!!!

MyFoxKC reports: The Missouri Department of Transportation on Wednesday opened voting on five finalists chosen from more than 8,300 name submissions. Voting runs through Jan. 23 and the winner will be announced Jan. 30. The finalists chosen were: Missouri Rail Blazer, Missouri River Runner, River Cities Corridor, ShowMeMO and Truman Service. Vote Here.

TKC's favorite X-mas bloggy post

Quite a few bloggers have shared stories about how they spent their X-mas . . . So far, General Blather has the best title and a perfect amount of bitching in her latest missive: "Merry Kissmyass!"

KICKASS KANSAS CITY STAND UP!!!

Just took a look at the website of local comedy dude Elliott Threatt, it's pretty funny stuff and the guy has an impressive clip page that would make any entertainer envious.

Back to work: Kansas City doesn't care about your X-mas package!!! (Ew)

X-mas is mostly about life's disappointments and it's actually a really great teaching opportunity for the young ones . . . If done properly all of their consumerist fantasies will turn out horribly and they'll be left with only an empty feeling and stuck with their equally malcontent elder family members.

Like it or not the holiday is over and there's no reason we should pretend to be nice to one another . . . Additionally, there's really no justification for enduring the horrible weather with a smile.

Someone else coined this phrase but I'm stealing it because I'm a blogger:

"The only gift is the grind"

It's something cool to say while pretending to work hard . . . Very much like the "Not So Smart with the Money" Mayor who is working a second job while telling everybody he works night and day for this town (when he's not suing).

White Christmas in Kansas City

With only a bit of irony . . . Or whatever.

Seriously, Merry Christmas!!!

A special thanks to all TKC TIPSTERS, fellow KC Bloggers and even critics.

As always, thank you for reading.

THE WORST KANSAS CITY X-MAS EVER!!!

I did all my X-mas shopping in one day, about an hour really . . . I started around 4p.m. and was headed home before five. The only thing I purchased was a pack of gum, a case of Dr. Pepper and a few microwave burritos but I'm calling that X-mas!!! Everyone knows better than to bother me in my mom's basement and sometimes I can smell cookies and hear laughter when I press my face against the door . . . Which is about as close as I ever want to come to holiday cheer.

Anyhoo . . . While I was making my purchases I noticed that the stores were pretty much empty. A trip to the mall over the weekend alerted me to pretty much the same thing. The people I did see buying stuff were old white ladies paying with credit cards and they had horribly worried looks on their faces.

The bad economy pretty much destroyed X-mas . . . Next year, those of us who don't get hit by a bus will have the privilege of blaming Obama for all of our problems.

However, in Kansas City there are a variety of reasons in addition to a global economic collapse that helped to create a crappy X-mas:

I don't notice any fewer steel plates on the street. But then again, mainstream media (like TKC) hate doing follow-up reporting.

I'm not sure where we are with the murder rate . . . But it's horrible and it only gets worse whenever this town bothers to keep proper statistics.

David Cook

The Sprint Center and the P&L District didn't create a Downtown Renaissance for X-mas, instead they only brought even more racial division, business closings and crime.

More than anyone else the Mayor and his wife have ruined Kansas City's X-mas spirit and I think a lot of that is due to revelations regarding Gloria's infamous "smudge stick" . . . Which obviously represents the values and culture of Kansas City, right?

On the bright side, going by Wal-mart I noticed that tortillas are on sale and in a great variety. The Mexicans weren't buying gifts, mostly food and there were a lot of them with their offspring. . . Also, Missouri government may hate Spanish but Wal-mart is bi-lingual now . . . Which is probably more important.

I'm not going to say Merry X-mas yet because there are quite a few people who won't live out tonight to see the holiday . . . So, in the meantime just enjoy a photo gallery of Kandyce Proia.

Celebrate the ignorance, consumerism and SUPREMACY of U.S. pop culture!!!

The news stopped reporting news and started broadcasting Santa so I guess I should take a brake for a bit . . . Ugh.

Kansas City Holiday Trash Free-for-all!!!

BlogKC reminds us that December 26-31 is a "no trash tag" period in KCMO . . . It's a glorious time of year and it may be the last time that Kansas City won't have pay for the privilege to throw out trash if Mayor Funky has his way.

A local suburban hate crime?

Alonzo Washington considers an X-mas shooting . . . Let's not forget the local anti-crime activist had two major crime tips in the second half of this year alone . . . What have you done with your blog? (I've had a lot great stolen bikini pics!!!)

TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! CITY HALL OFFICIAL CLAIMS RED LIGHT CAMERAS WILL BE A MAJOR SOURCE OF REVENUE THAT COULD HELP BUDGET WOES!!!

Already some of the most observant people in Kansas City are looking up at local stoplights and taking notice of those ominous red light cameras. A TKC TIPSTER working at the highest echelon of Kansas City politics tells me:

CITY HALL IS COUNTING ON THE REVENUE FROM RED LIGHT CAMERAS AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF INCOME THAT COULD HELP TO ALLEVIATE THIS TOWN'S MASSIVE BUDGET PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE!!!

In other cities, red light cameras are seen as nothing more than money making scheme.



Hell, even Santa hates traffic cameras.

However, the important thing that most TV newsies are afraid to think about is that that red light camera in Kansas City are regarded mostly as a cash cow with little interest on their impact when it comes to traffic safety. In fact, even a cursory search regarding red light cameras will reveal that company claims regarding their effectiveness at reducing accidents are wildly exaggerated and mostly untrue. It gets even more sinister . . . While talking with this TKC TIPSTER, he told me this town was already preparing denials related to yellow light tampering that was going to be controlled by maintenance people so any public official would have plausible deniability. But let's make it clear, in Kansas City . . . YELLOW LIGHTS ARE JUST ABOUT TO DISAPPEAR!!!

Red light cameras cause more accidents, and not just because drivers slam their brakes to avoid getting a robo-ticket -- also because the optimal money-making strategy for red-light cams is to make them less safe.

If city planners want to reduce traffic accidents at intersections, the best practice is to make the yellow last longer and insert a pause between the red signal on one side and the green on the other. However, if the objective is to make as much money as possible from red-light cameras, the best thing to do is shorten the yellow signal, eliminate the pause, and enrich the city coffers (even as you kill its citizens).

That's even worse than the fact that red light cameras mostly just fine people making rolling right turns.

Finally, given that this is a financial concern and not something related to safety I can't help but conclude that so many TIF giveaways and the Mayor's ongoing legal battles have directly contributed to the streets of Kansas City looking like a police state.

THE PITCH BOWS DOWN BEFORE KANSAS CITY BLOGOSPHERE!!!

By now, ardent news and bloggy folk already know that Kansas City blogger Mark Smith otherwise known as the Midtown Miscreant is the subject of the latest Pitch cover story.

Unfortunately, there has been little insight into what this news really means.

Allow me to help . . .

The article contains glowing praise of Smith's work and his series of posts highlighting local blight. There are a few biographical details that Smith hasn't already revealed on his blog but for the most part, there's nothing shocking in there that loyal KC blogosphere denizens don't already know. Hopefully, this kind of front page coverage of a local blog will translate into even more readers for MM who is already quickly gaining a significant readership in this town . . . Unfortunately, what this story means for The Pitch isn't so great:

ON THEIR FRONT PAGE THE PITCH BASICALLY ADMITS THAT A BLOGGER WORKING ALONE HAS PROVIDED BETTER COMMUNITY COVERAGE WITH MORE PERSONALITY THAN THEIR ALT-MAG COULD MUSTER!!!

It gets worse . . .

In the article, the emo dork writer also cited an online kerfuffle between Smith and anti-crime activist Alonzo Washington . . . It's an interesting passage but what it reveals is simple:

PITCH WRITERS FIND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE LOCAL BLOGOSPHERE FAR MORE INTERESTING THAN THEIR OWN MAINSTREAM MEDIA LANDSCAPE!!!

I'll put it even more plainly . . .

The Pitch has the Kansas City blogosphere on the brain because they've essentially been beaten as a community resource . . . They're now forced to report or highlight old news i.e. the fact that the Midtown Miscreant is one of this town's best bloggers.

I know, I know . . . The more cynical of the d-bags who read this blog might have expected jealousy despite the fact that nobody links more local blogs than TKC. By contrast, I think what this article really represents is that The Pitch has become a reactive news source mainly recycling what everyone already knows and repurposing it to match ads for futons and escorts without nearly as much style as a blogger like MM. Yeah, their calender is still pretty cool but other than that:

The Pitch blog has floundered.

Their sister publications have all faced serious revenue declines that seem to be starting at the Coasts and moving inward.

The make believe alt-news source is nothing more than a training ground for journalists who use KC as nothing more than a stepping stone to bigger markets. All of the best talent from The Pitch is gone in less than a two year term.

The Pitch is nothing more than a small, tired outpost for the New Times Media conglomerate.

Meanwhile, Kansas City blogging is booming with an array of diverse blogs, unique voices and independent coverage of this cowtown. Heck, there's even a group of about a dozen 30-something white people who want to claim they own the Kansas City blogosphere!!! While The Pitch might have wanted to play blog king maker . . . What they've really done is to demonstrate that the conversation in Kansas City has moved beyond the pages of their alternative rag.

It's all out in the open now: State Takeover of Kansas City School Board Now "offically" Under Discussion!!!

The Kansas City School Board drama could soon be coming to an end . . . Check it:

Missouri state Rep. Jonas Hughes and others, including former school board member Bill Eddy, imagine a legislative remedy handing control to an appointed board of local community leaders, separate from the politics and troubled history dragging at Kansas City’s elected board.

The story also confirms an interesting detail that TKC reported over the weekend:

Rep. Brian Yates of Lee's Summit said he was planning legislation that would require all Kansas City's school board members to be elected at large rather than having some elected by subdistricts. He also wants term limits.

All things considered, it's probably good news that elected officals at the state level are obviously looking at solutions to an ongoing problem that Kansas City has been unable and unwilling to solve on its own.

Kansas City 911 Crank Calls

Once again local news confirms TKC's assertion that the people of KC are panicky, a bit crazy and can't really prioritize: More than 3,000 times this year, residents called 911 in Kansas City for reasons other than an emergency.

Jesus likes the way you look!!!

I can't believe I almost missed this one: Kansas City-area church members dress like Jesus

Members of Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship began showing up at their jobs, shopping malls and restaurants last week dressed in flowing robes and crowns of thorns as a hard-to miss reminder of the holiday's religious roots.

This is really old news in Kansas City's more conservative communities but I think the marketing gimmick on behalf of JC is pretty creative . . . Unfortunately, local church folk dressing like Jesus is a nice thought but not at all historically accurate given that they should all be very short brown people in order to get the resemblance right.

Nimrod might get choice appointment!!!

A very loyal reader wanted TKC to know that Nimrod (Rod) Chapel, Jr, a candidate for Circuit Judge of the Sixteenth Circuit (Jackson County) has a bit of an interesting history as an alleged slumlord of a party house that was documented in community newspaper and this blog.

Kansas City Housing Crash Continues!!!

Kansas City area housing stats during November released last week show existing home sales of 1,356, down 22 percent from a year ago, with an average price of $136,140, down 12 percent. For new homes, area sales of 162 were down 62 percent.

Did weather panic on the wrong day lead to Kansas City Area Highway Deaths?!?!?!

KC Star: Two killed on icy metro highways . . . Again, the weather predictions weren't as panicky because local newsies were embarrassed earlier in the week . . . Obviously, I'm not blaming weather people for getting anyone killed . . . But the recent ice storm was a little sneaky and KC's weather personalities certainly were a lot more timid when making predictions.

Morning link look back: Just about every X-mas cliché reported as Kansas City News

The vast majority of Kansas City newsies have been phoning it in since Monday . . . Here are all the typical (and mostly useless) recent holiday stories I've been reading which include heartwarming human interest articles, people giving out of the goodness of their heart even a bit of holiday danger:

Metro Soldiers Have Merry Homecoming from Afghanistan

Spreading Holiday Cheer for Young Children of Jailed Parents

The Kansas City Police Department adopts several families for Christmas.

Anonymous Donor Gives Gold Coin to Salvation Army

Hallmark Snow Globes Recalled Over Fire Risk

Looking at local music hipsters

A local music blog has a fascinating take on the personal appearance of local bands . . . And while that kind of thing really isn't my bag. I will note one rule that is generally helpful for all dudes who don't want to look back at their fashion choices in disgust: Men have haircuts, women have hairdos . . . Learn it, Live it.

Child Neglect Charges Only Take About a Year to Come Through in Kansas City!!!

In January, a local woman was arrested for neglect and endangerment of her 1 year-old and dangerously underweight daughter . . . She was just charged this week.

TKC inspires Mike Hendricks to write about the Latino Community!!!

Of course, I don't want to overestimate my influence here . . . But Mike Hendricks doesn't know that his co-workers talk and he's been bad mouthing this humble blog and getting even more red faced than usual whenever the topic of TKC comes up (in discussions related to bikini models, of course) . . .

Anyhoo . . . Because Hendricks is a bit of chump and easily influenced, it's nice to see that he is reaching outside of his JoCo neighborhood and urban exploring on the Westside . . . Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe the number of Latino-themed articles from this JoCo writer has increased ten-fold since this local Latino started appropriately calling Mike Hendricks "garbage wrapped in skin." If so, that's probably the most passive-aggressive response I've ever received from this blog but it doesn't matter.

His recent column regarding the former Imperial brewery just off Southwest Boulevard is sorta interesting. Sadly, just like every other plan on the Westside, there's a lot of chatter but very little money or solid planning.

As for anyone from Kansas City "paper-of-record" solving Kansas City's blight problems . . . The last thing they did on that front was to serve as a PR rag in the mayoral election for a guy named Funkhouser who has been far more interested in City Hall foot massages than anything else.

KC Business Buyout Bah Humbug

The KC Biz Journal Reports even more bad times: A spokesman for Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. said 145 employees participated in the voluntary separation program announced last month. (Note: It's nice that companies are starting to describe their personnel maneuvers in the same way adults might explain a divorce to a children.)

The abysmal failure of The Sprint Center is Kansas City's Story of the Year!!!

Nick Sloan cites all of the broken promises regarding the place and then notes that that Kansas City's multi-million dollar downtown arena is actually losing tenants . . . Even worse, the new year isn't looking that great for the place given the horrible economy and the fact that Britney is one of the biggest acts soon to be appearing and dependent on her diet.

Kansas City Ice World

Late night TKC readers know that the streets are slick as hell right now.

I just have to reiterate that the reason there isn't panic on the street is because the weather newsies are all on vacation right now . . . So much for round the clock, live and late-breaking coverage . . .

Still, I don't really care about the weather but the ice on Kansas City streets gives me an opportunity to post a nice photo gallery of Brit model/singer Nikki Sanderson . . . And that should keep late early morning denizens of this blog busy for about a minute and a half.

A winning season after all: The Kansas City Chiefs can only score when it comes to handouts paid to Missouri politicians!!!

A very thoughtful and awesome TKC TIPSTER send this link my way. The story didn't get enough local coverage in this cowtown which is what usually happens when The Star gets scooped i.e. it happens all the time.

Anyhoo, it turns out The Chiefs actually had a great year when it came to putting money in the coffers of politicos. Check out a story from a Springfield outlet that was totally downplayed by local press:

Three top Missouri politicians at the center of a proposed $25 million taxpayer subsidy to the Kansas City Chiefs have taken a combined $10,925 in campaign contributions from the football team or its parent company, records show.

The team is seeking a $25 million state tax credit to fund renovations at Arrowhead Stadium and build a new training facility at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

Gov.-elect Jay Nixon has received $6,225 from the Chiefs and their parent company, Hunt Midwest Enterprises, records show.

The Chiefs and Hunt have given Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder $2,700, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records.

And incoming Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields has accepted $2,000 in contributions from the Chiefs and Hunt Midwest Enterprises. The St. Joseph Republican has spearheaded the effort to land the Chiefs' training facility in his hometown.

I don't want to claim that this tale didn't receive any coverage because then Mike Hendricks might show up in my comments anonymously (and angry) and mention a story in the back section.

The point is . . . Most local newsies, pundits and sports fans regularly overlook the political element to Kansas City's sports teams which ends up manifesting itself when it comes time to pay the bills.

But make no mistake . . . The Chiefs won big this year in terms of campaign donations; the stuff that happens on the field doesn't really matter.

KC's Holiday Concern = Nobody really cares

It just occurred to me that all of this belabored moaning and bitching about Kansas City's messed up budget fits in perfectly with the X-mas season.

Overwrought budget talk and feigning interest in what other people think was Mayor Funky's X-mas prank on this town. Notice there was no real commitment to any solid plan and most newsies left with the impression that it was nothing but another PR stunt . . . Only the handful of dimwits in the crowd who weren't there representing a corporate interest or politician got suckered into sacrificing good shopping, sleeping or work time.

It's not a new tactic, during the holiday season Kansas City also pretends to care about:

The Homeless

The working poor

Other people's beliefs

Baby Jesus

Crime

Cutting back on drunk driving

Family

For the most part, these interests occupy little bits of human interest coverage during the year but they aren't what really drive the news.

Put simply:

MAYOR FUNKY HAS SPENT MOST OF THIS YEAR FIGHTING FOR HIS WIFE AND ONLY TRIED TO RECLAIM HIS "SMART WITH THE MONEY" CREDENTIALS DURING A HOLIDAY BREAK!!!

It's misleading, cynical and typical "leadership" (or lack thereof) from Kansas City's Co-Mayor. Any half-way observant City Hall watcher knows that Council Lady Deb Hermann has been in the lead as far as the WORK going into the upcoming budget debate. Meanwhile, Kansas City is stuck with a Mayor who has put more planning into a defense of his wife's right to run barefoot through the 29th floor than any concern for Kansas City's finances.

Afternoon Kansas City Link Spread

The top story made me think about Brazilian bikini models for some reason . . . Not that I need much of an excuse . . .

Brazilian restaurant Fogo de Chão will be opening soon . . . It's actually a Dallas-based restaurant but then again nothing on The Plaza is real.

Things are tough all over, I guess: A million-dollar house caught fire in the early morning in Leawood, Kan.

Mutts flock to this town, maybe because of the screwed up priorities of animal lovers: St. Louis Dog Gone Since October Found In KC

X-mas isn't for clues: No Leads Yet in Lee's Summit Shooting

Juicy Blunt e-mails settled and still get to stay sorta secret (or something).

Kansas City Prospect (not really)

Midtown Miscreant posts a depressing, frightening and thoughtful photo essay regarding the most ironic street name in Kansas City.

Dangerous Kansas City Icy streets didn't create panic this time!!!

So, I hear the streets are horrible out there . . . Sadly, most celebrity newsy weather people are one vacation or doing last minute shopping after being embarrassed by bad predictions a few days ago. So be careful and as usual, paying attention to what's happening on a street level is always more informative than predictions on TV.

DUMP THE KANSAS CITY TRASH TAX!!!

I don't know where local politicos come up with the garbage they spew but the subject of a trash tax ignited quite a few tempers according to what I hear.

Get it straight . . .

ANY POLITICO THAT COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF A TRASH TAX IS PRETTY MUCH ABANDONING THEIR CAREER IN THIS TOWN!!!

Kansas City hosts a variety of horrible services and civic attractions . . .

Crappy Schools.

Horrible Sports teams.

Lame, old school music.

Dangerous streets filled with potholes, steel plates and crime.

A tax for putting out trash would simply be too much for any KC resident to abide . . . Shame on Mayor Funky for even mentioning something even more silly than his wife's smudge stick.

The trash tax is a loser and it won't make up nearly as much money as what it'll cost in "citizen satisfaction" . . . Sooner or later, TKC's high-powered financial sources who hold sway over local government are going to have to be heard and the E-Tax will be presented as the only option to save this town from bankruptcy. In the meantime . . . Lame half-measures like the trash tax are floated in a stupid attempt to make it seem like there's any kind of budget progress.

Nevertheless, the only thing further mention of a trash tax will accomplish is to provide an issue on which KC politicos can throw their careers away.

No one wins at Kansas City Casinos

Crime Scene KC: Scam using fake chips costs local casino $100K

Mike Hendricks is the reason people don't read the newspaper anymore!!!

Yet another column hoping for a Funkhouser renaissance from one of the biggest dorks in all of Johnson County. My God, Man . . .

EVEN WHITE PEOPLE IN KC PROPER HAVE FIGURED OUT THAT SUPPORTING MAYOR FUNKY SIMPLY BASED SOLELY ON HIS COMPLEXION IS WRONG!!!

Sadly, Hendricks hasn't learned as much and is seemingly hoping against hope for the Mayor to get back on top . . . No homo?

Kansas City Cabbie Conviction provokes Hatred against Muslims!!!

Like it or not, just about every crime story in Kansas City is used to back up racist stereotypes.

A recent conviction of a pervy, local cabbieta has now become an indictment against Islam and and the hundreds of millions of people who practice it . . . All this after information efforts attempting to explain Islam to this cowtown. Check it:

In other words Islam screws men up and makes them more prone to see raping non-Muslim women as a sanctioned activity.

Again, if these generalizations are going to hold up then that means that just about every white dude out there is potentially a serial killer . . . Or should at least be regarded with the suspicion that they want to enslave me, steal my culture and replace it with Hollywood celebrities staring at me with "their dead eyes!!!"

Ads for Kansas City come off desperate!!!

Newsies are touting an ad campaign for KC Proper today . . . And no matter if it's tourism or local investment, these commercials only signal to me that this town is exceedingly desperate and now relying on the hard sell.

Rewarding all kinds of local Hard Luck

Family of 18 Gets Free Holiday Feast

Metaphysics in KCK

It's entertaining to read that crazy-ass pseudo-religious practices are developing in every corner of the metro during these harsh economic times.

The Kansas City School of Metaphysics will hold intuitive reports at 1 p.m. tomorrow at its center located at 4323 Rainbow Blvd. in Kansas City, Kan.

The School of Metaphysics mission is to aid any individual to become a whole functioning self, not dependent on any person, place or thing for peace, contentment or security. The Intuitive Reports support this ideal through providing a means by which people can access truth that they can apply to their life and learn lessons that are significant to their lives.

Sheila Benjamin, director of the Kansas City School of Metaphysics, said intuitive reports were developed as a means of drawing from the subconscious part of mind.

I'm pretty sure that this event take place in KCK's fast food alley for patrons who might want another kind of snack after finishing up with this junk food for the brain.

Kansas City X-mas miracle: More lawyers in this situation is actually a good thing!!!

The KC Biz Journal reports: Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP went on a hiring spree during the weekend, grabbing up 100 lawyers . . .

J-School dorks get a lesson in the inevitable demise of dead tree media

The university-backed daily newspaper at the world's first journalism school will attempt to cut mounting losses by scaling back to five printed editions a week . . . This kind of real world learning is very valuable to future newsies; now if only a professor would simply break down and tell them that there aren't any jobs available in their chosen profession.

A shot of Kansas City Morning Links

Almost every big media blog highlight has to be sad in some way: A sick toddler's blog touches lives

A local newsie is still a much better person than you: Elizabeth Alex Donates Car to Single Mom

Making life harder on local Latinos: Kansas Lawmakers to Revisit Immigration Issue

Meanwhile, some KC Proper Latino kids still need a bit of help: Donations Still Needed to Fix School's Boiler

KMBC, KCWE Briefly Knocked Off Air . . . Luckily, it was prime time so nobody noticed.

Chopper blaze brings suspicion: Building Used By Motorcycle Club Burns

Yet another Kansas City leak that still . . . Innocently turns out to be an indictment of the Mayor: Water Leak Turns Hill Into Icy Nuisance

Scrooge-like JoCo Salvation Army Bandits

KCTV 5 reports: Salvation Army Bucket Stolen, Recovered . . . Police: 2 Teens Confess To Heist

Because the TV said so

KMBC: Snow To Return To KC Tuesday

Kansas City Drag Queen "walkin it out"

Flo of Missie B's fame puts on a workshop in club dancing and concludes the instruction/performance with some clever advice, "Get off my stage."

Obviously, the requisite NO HOMO applies on this nice KC web clip featuring yet another place I can't visit due to the simple fear of having to use the bathroom at the establishment. Overly sensitive and humorless people might call it homophobia but I can't visit the Public Library or most coffee shops because all of the scumbags who hang out and drop off their nasty DNA in those places as well.

UMKC Professors are getting prepared to beat up on a businessman

KC Currents: "Sylvia Maria Gross recently spoke to the new UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton about the shift from the business world, to academia." OR . . . Suit about to be given a lesson in losing money, operating with little or no logic and wasting a lot of time. (TKC Backstory: UMKC is one of the last Universities in the nation at which professors and their politics run the campus and the Administration.)

Obama keeps pretending he's from Kansas

A northeast Kansas couple and their wagon will play a part in President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration next month.

Facebook High School Reunion

MoxieMamaKC comes up with a fantastic missive regarding Facebook "what ifs" and how they apply to former high school colleagues that everyone has seen on Facebook. It's a fantastic look at the phenomena from a female perspective . . . Whereas I am absolutely certain that most dudes simply look through old friends on Facebook and wonder which broads they could have, should have or might still be able to bang. Natch.

Former Junkie and Sopranos actor cleared of murdering off-duty cop

This isn't Kansas City related but I find it interesting nonetheless.

Growing up, I've known a few Italian dudes and they all seem to have incredible luck when it comes to getting out of legal trouble. Here's the somewhat surprising conclusion of a case that caught the eye of Sopranos fans like myself:

A former Sopranos actor has been cleared of murdering an off-duty policeman during a shooting three years ago.

But Lillo Brancato, who played bumbling aspiring mobster Matthew Bevliqua in the U.S. show about the Mafia, was instead convicted of attempted burglary by a jury in New York.

He faces a minimum of three years in jail.

Brancato and accomplice Steven Armento were accused of breaking into an apartment in the notorious Bronx area of the city to steal prescription drugs.

When Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, who lived next door, came out to investigate, Armento, 48, blasted him with his .357 Magnum, hitting him in the heart.

Three years for participating in the murder of a cop? That's almost incredible if I hadn't seen it time and time again as a young adult . . . Meanwhile, I've always avoided crime because I'm absolutely certain that if I forgot to pay for a soda . . . I would be deported. Meanwhile, the American TV watching public only gets indignant when a minor celebrity is declared innocent of murdering a white woman . . . And then celebrates years later when a sting is set up to correct the "injustice."

The Chiefs inspire something besides contempt, dissappointment and anger

A recent promotion by a Kansas Hockey Team could be the most brilliant marketing gimmick I've ever read: The Wichita Thunder have announced they will host "Carl Peterson - Blame the GM Night" for this Saturday's home game versus the Rapid City Rush . . . Any Thunder fan with the first name "Carl" or the last name "Peterson" will receive free admission to Saturday's game. Any fan wearing Chiefs gear will receive buy one get one free tickets to the game. Anyone in attendance named "Clark Hunt" will receive Thunder season tickets for the rest of 2008-09.

Via Ancillary Adams.

Get a whiff of this Gaslight Grill review

Local blog Life in SoJoCo claims that the Gaslight Grill is uninspired at best (like most everything in the Golden Ghetto) . . . More importantly, KC Proper needs to be very concerned about what this blogger calls an "explosion of new JOCO restaurants right now" even if they are all mediocre offerings that might cause immature potential patrons to think about lighting farts.

Thinking about Kansas City newsies

Recently, I got a glimpse of how much harder other newsies work than TKC . . . Yesterday was an amazingly busy day that included blogging but wasn't centered on it. I was up and down and all around the basement and a few other places and even managed to blog a few "EXCLUSIVE" items . . . But upon comparing notes I wasn't half as busy as the people doing this thing for a living . . .

For the best among of Kansas City media along with a glimpse into how many people John Landsberg from Bottomline Communications knows . . . Take a look at his year end round-up of movers and shakers in Kansas City's media landscape. It's actually quite nice to see the people listed who write, report and broadcast some of the stories that shape this town . . . And since I'm a blogger, I think I'm gonna steal the idea sometime soon.

And upon reviewing the KC Media guide . . . Feel free to take peek at a photo gallery of Pania Rose, a bikini model from Australia who should make us all thankful that the world is getting hotter, with less body fat and clothes.

Cold and committed Kansas City Teacher Sing-along Protest outside School Board Member Arthur Benson's house!!!

Here are photos from this afternoon's protest two minutes before Kansas City MSM has them: 5:58p.m. Let's not forget that a great many newsies learned about this protest via TKC. Natch. Admittedly, MSM actually had interviews but it was way too cold to talk to anybody . . . And, I only pretend to listen to most people and their problems.

What I found most creative is that they rewrote the words to X-mas classics in order to crack on Benson, the main architect of Kansas City School District Failure.

I heard remixed versions of:

The 12 days of X-mas
Frosty The Snowman
and Silent Night

It was actually kind of funny and for an important cause.







Benson was on the street as well . . . Denying everything, claiming the School Board was operating in good faith and obviously a little bit perturbed that almost 50 people showed up on his street in order to send him a message.

Good stuff.

The KCPD says NO to Mayor Funky's scheme at today's financial summit!!!

Here's just a bit of reporting from today's "financial summit" which surprisingly drew about 100 people . . . And maybe even 4 who didn't have a vested and direct financial interest in the meeting other than higher taxes, of course.

Anyhoo . . .

When pressed Mayor Funky said the meeting resulted in "No Specifics" or solid plan but instead attempted to provide "clarity about the process" of contentious budget talk.

I guess Mayor Funky and Deb Hermann must have made up over their fight a couple of weeks ago because Councilman Hermann was noted as a point person of sorts and she'll be feigning interest regarding more public input in the coming months.

Still, the most important thing that happened was that Terry Brady, Board President of the KC Police Board of Commissioners basically backhanded Mayor Funky and offered a clear and concise "NO" to the prospect of Kansas City getting back control of local law enforcement. Of course KC and STL are the only two cities in the nation who don't have this power over their own police and that seems like a bad thing . . . But consider this:

CAN KANSAS CITY AFFORD TO HAVE GLORIA SQUITIRO GAIN ACCESS TO THE POWER OF THE KCPD?!?!?!?!

I have to claim self-interest here . . . Gloria can have her dominion over the spirit world and smudge sticks because her voodoo is powerless over me but think about her abuses in local government already with permission from of Mayor Funky . . .

She asked for more protection for Mayor Funky when simply talking with Kansas City minorities.

She had the City Hall elevator specially reserved for her.

Oh yeah, Squitiro's showdown with airport security clearly demonstrates that she's willing to pull rank with people just doing their job trying to protect the public.

So yeah, thinking about Co-Mayor Gloria Squitiro in charge of Kansas City's finest is a frightening prospect and I'm happy to hear that the KCPD wants to protect their people from having to give foot massages to the "first lady."

Back to the financial summit . . .

For the most part, everybody referred to it as "A dog and pony show."

It was a meeting designed to facilitate more meetings. However, at the close of the summit there was an interesting surprise . . . Some audience members were provided electronic clickers and asked to vote on this town's financial priorities.

1. It's no surprise that Police and fire services earned the top spot.

2. Streets, maintenance and infrastructure-y stuff came in a close second.

3. However, it's worth noting that the people in the crowd voted for public health services as one of their top priorities!!!

The last item is exceptionally funny given that Mayor Funky came into office spouting a lot of doublespeak when it came to this town's indigent health care funding. Please try and translate this statement from Mayor Funky:

"Most municipalities (no one else in the metro area) do not provide indigent health care. Thus, Kansas City is put at a considerable competitive disadvantage when it comes to funding broad-based basic services. People receiving indigent health care are a vulnerable population who also rely upon a wide variety of other services provided by the City including adequate public safety, transit, illegal dumping enforcement, basic infrastructure, etc. The City should focus on providing outcomes addressing these primary functions affecting everyone and spend money wisely to provide the most overall good for these vulnerable citizens while recognizing the potential trade-offs.

There's enough coded language in there to keep almost everybody happy but remember that no other candidate for Mayor put indigent health care on the chopping block like Mayor Funky.

In the final analysis, the most interesting thing about today's financial summit is that Mayor Funky once again found that the rest of Kansas City doesn't share his screwed up and self-serving priorities.

MSM:

KMBZ: "No Answers from Mayor's Economic Summit"

KMBC happy news: "Financial Changes Likely Coming To City Hall"

Downtown Grocery Store Sneak Preview

Ramsey takes his viewers on an EXCLUSIVE and awesome tour of Cosentino's Downtown Grocery Store.

It looks really nice but too expensive for me considering that all I've been eating for a week is Mexican cookies and Orange Mexican Soda which I purchase from the other Downtown grocery store - The bodega at Summit and W. Pennway.

Anarchy for X-mas in Hyde Park!!!

From her Midtown retirement home, I have no idea why my Grandma likes going to the Eastside to shop for groceries . . . But today I took a few photos while I was helping her.

Apparently, the Anarchists have laid claim to a bit of Hyde Park.

I got another tip about another protest at a School Board Members home and I decided to take my Grandma on a bit of a detour down Troost . . . I don't even know if I ended up at the right place but I thought the contrast in these photos made them worth posting. Meanwhile, my Grandma simply grew impatient that I was taking time away from her making her usual holiday heart clogging special: Ham hocks and tamales - It's a Latino Eastside Classic.

Anyhoo . . . Here's some more photos of a nice looking street in Hyde Park defaced by white people who didn't guide their reading during college.







Ah, the lame-ass anarchy symbol that also substitutes for a personality or a sense of style.



Yeah, I think this is supposed to be threatening to last remaining members of Kansas City's upper class . . . However, the fact that "Rage Against the Machine" music was somehow involved in this minor bit of childish tagging makes it seem more like skaters pouting because they slipped on icy streets. Meh.

Kansas City Tent Family

Hard luck, holiday, local human interest story reminds me to appreciate this dank but cozy basement, bloggy battle station.

Show-Me Stimulus

NBC Action news: Missouri Governor-elect Jay Nixon unveiled his plan to create jobs and stimulate the economy . . . It couldn't be any worse than Blunt's Medicaid fiasco which was his first move that guaranteed he wouldn't have a second term.

Leaky Kansas City Health Department

Yet another sign that health care in Kansas City is full of holes:

Water leak in heating system forces Health Department to close

Here's the City Press Release:

The City of Kansas City, Mo., Health Department will be closed today while crews work to repair a large water leak in the heating system. The repairs are expected to be completed in time to reopen all services tomorrow.

"When staff arrived this morning, they discovered the building did not have heat," said Clyde Bolton, deputy director of the Health Department. “Maintenance staff then informed us that the water supply must be shut off to make the repairs, so we unfortunately will not be able to provide services today.”

The Health Department is located at 2400 Troost Ave.

A special holiday thanks to the AWESOME TKC TIPSTER who sent me this news and notes: Not a good day for the low income people who depend on the Health Dept. for vaccinations, flu shots, std clinic, etc. But all the employees get a paid shopping day today!

KC WEATHER HAT ADVISORY SCALE

FuKCed City comes up with a quick and easy guide to gauge outdoor conditions and appropriate headcovering.

Kansas City Fence Drama (non-Mexican)

I'm sorry . . . I have a weakness for home improvement posts and "Frighteningly Uncommon Sense" has been posting the captivating & torrid tale of her fence building project that has now successfully come to completion.

TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! ON THE DAY OF KANSAS CITY'S FINANCIAL SUMMIT IT TURNS OUT MAYOR FUNKY ISN'T SO SMART WITH THE MONEY AFTER ALL!!!

It's "Financial Summit Day" in Kansas City.

Sadly, very few people are expected to attend the financial preparedness forum held today from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Liberty Memorial World War I Museum, 100 W. 26th St. Despite the fact it's open to the public.

I heard a great many of the Council members are skipping out.

Still, while we're talking money in this town . . . It's worth noting that Mayor Funky has a history of being anything but "smart" with his own finances.

Thanks to TKC TIPSTERS . . . Remember that Mayor Funky's multiple mortgages were revealed on this blog. Typically, the Mayor's money wasting excuse was typically lame liberal garbage.

Now even more information regarding the Funky Mortgages is being offered to TKC Readers:

APPARENTLY, EVERYONE IS SAYING MAYOR FUNKY IS UPSIDE DOWN IN HIS HOME MORTGAGE!!!



The record of weird Co-Mayor refinancing schemes and second mortgages are anything but "smart with the money" and it raises even more questions. One AWESOME TKC SOURCE WRITES:

He was refinancing every 24 months. Did he knowingly look the other way when bogus appraisals were submitted to this out of town (some I think are on-line lenders)? How can you get loans at 130% or more of home value? Earlier, the county assessed his home at $325,000 but that is from last year. Add all of these mortgages up and they come out to more than $400,000.

Again, this is anything but leadership by example and it demonstrates that when it really counts . . . In his personal life, Mayor Funky is anything but "smart with the money."

In fact, it's quite clear that the Mayor and his wife don't know what they're doing and this pattern has continued during their tenure in office.

TKC EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW!!! FIGHT OVER CONTRACTS FOR KANSAS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHERS ESCALATES!!!

KICKASS TKC TIPSTERS provided the following details to this blog about a an upcoming protest put together by the teachers union:

WORD IS . . . TONIGHT TEACHERS PLAN TO PROTEST IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER ARTHUR BENSON!!!

According to KICKASS SOURCES . . . This up close and personal show of commitment to a contract for teachers demonstrates two things:

1. The Union representing Kansas City Teachers has upped the ante and they are now getting serious about causing some political damage to the opposition.

2. It's becoming apparent that Arthur Benson may be running the show at The Kansas City School Board and not Marilyn Simmons. Taking on Benson is a new tactic and it is signaling to some that Simmons may not be in charge anymore . . . The current School Board might now belong to one of the architects of its previous multi-Billion dollar failure.

None of this is good for Kansas City Schools but that fact that teachers have went this long without a contract is a slap in the face to collective bargaining in general.

Make no mistake . . . The Kansas City School District is in upheaval and nobody knows how all of the recent in-fighting will end.

Kansas Mixes it up!!!

This just might be the best news I've heard about the Sunflower State -

Minorities a Majority in 3 Cities in Kansas

New Census numbers show that minorities now make up at least half the population in four of Kansas' 18 largest cities.

The figures show that non-Hispanic whites are now a minority in Liberal, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kan. In Garden City, at least 50 percent of the residents are minorities . . . The numbers show that 16 of the 18 cities have become more racially diverse since 2000. The suburban communities of Derby, Olathe and Overland Park showed some of the fastest gains in minority population.

While posh images of celebrity interracial marriage are hard to criticize . . . There's little doubt that this rise in minority supremacy is almost completely due to more Latinos in Kansas . . .



And while I think this is a great thing . . . I'm sure other opinions might vary but nobody has ever been able to tell me how immigration authorities or anyone else for that matter can distinguish between a legal resident Latinos and illegal immigrant Latinos without first engaging in unfair, unjust and sometimes illegal racial profiling . . . Look for this Catch-22 to become the subject of even more contentious debate as someone from the X-files once said: "No man can fight the future."

Ice Cold Kansas City Links

All of the important newsies are on vacation . . .

Here's a bit of what the B-Team came up with:

JoCo has problems too: Shawnee Mission Superintendent Gene Johnson discusses challenges facing school district

STL spent $1,987 each on gold-filled badges for the new chief and other top officers.

Holiday happy thoughts about local law enforcement: KCPD officers help single mom, 5 kids

Weekend blaze that lit up the Kansas City sky in case you missed it.

Even more people out in the cold: Family Forced Out In Cold After House Fire

Broadway Bridge partially closed after serious crash . . . Careful out there . . .

The Kandyce Proia photo gallery is kinda like an early X-mas present from me . . . You're welcome.

"The Uncanny Work of Michael Williams"

Like most local artists . . . Kansas City film (i.e. video with filters) people tend to be a little freaky . . . A recent Independent Film Coalition of Kansas City (IFCKC) award winner captures the collaboration of two local subcultures.

"The Uncanny Work of Michael Williams" was the 1st place entry for the IFC KC's 2008 "Every Picture Tells A Story" festival. The idea is for local artists and film makers to collaborate an original way to present the artist and their work.

The clip starts off slow but then quickly picks up and looks as if a murder is taking place . . . The fact that it's not a slaughter of a Tarantino movie means that this group of artists has actually made a bit of progress since my days with the group.

Inside the Kansas City Scout control center

The Wednesday offers a some great photos and facts concerning the Lee's Summit based Kansas City Traffic Control system.

Imitation and flattery: TIPS Hotline wants to be more like Alonzo Washington

The local TIPS hotline is attempting to take their message to the Internets and hopefully earn a few tips online . . . It's a good move but something that local activist and blogger Alonzo Washington thought of years ago with a great deal of success.

Success: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party '08

Ramsey has a comprehensive breakdown of the event along with some more great photos of local people wearing the most hideous sweaters for a great cause.

"Pathetic"

In a word, Shane sums up The Chiefs perfectly.

"Have A Jewish Christmas!"

Dallas Penn comes up with a great X-mas playlist and the perfect holiday sentiment.

"A lot of people are carefully constructing their lists to avoid Tony, but no serious list of top Kansas City bloggers can ignore Tony."

I found a couple of new links thanks to a great blogger list by Dan.

TKC Hanukkah Hotties Part Deux

It's Hanukkah and that provides TKC yet another excuse to post images of hotties . . . Last year I did pretty much the same thing and was pleasantly surprised to discover that there's actually a pretty long list of Jewish and/or Israeli bikini models from which to chose.

I don't know if I'll be posting a bikini clad broad for every night of the celebration but, as always, I'll do my best for the sake of scantily clad women and diversity!!!

This morning we'll start off with my favorite Israeli bikini model: Moran Atais. For some reason, her curvy figure and natural beauty make me feel better about the planet in general . . . Speaking of, a recent article about "Going green for Hanukkah" also makes me thankful that environmentalists are taking time to ruin traditions from every culture.

The TKC Saturday Night Playlist: Requisite X-mas tunes in lieu of contemplation!!!

I'm not usually in front of this computer so late but it has been a weird and wonderful night . . . Thankfully, I was able to see a few people that I haven't had a chance to visit with in a while . . .

The holiday season is weird in that the nice people among us feel obligated to be even nicer and it's up to the rest of us to take advantage of this fact.

I'm not really gonna go on about X-mas or the holiday season because embracing this time of year, rejecting it, looking for "true meaning" (ugh) or any other insight is entirely cliché. Contemplating it all too much drives people crazy, barefoot and celebrating the solstice just like the Co-Mayor.

I'll simply forgo any observation or analysis in favor of TKC's all-time favorite X-mas tunes:

Do they know it's Christmas? - Band Aid

Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano

Christmas in Hollis - Run-DMC

White Christmas - The Drifters

Christmas time is here - Charlie Brown Christmas Special

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies (featuring Sarah McLachlan)

Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie & Bing Crosby

As always, thank you for reading. Have a safe and fun weekend.

TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! UPCOMING MISSOURI LEGISLATION!!! TERM LIMITS COMING FOR KANSAS CITY SCHOOL BOARD!!!

This story came my way from one of the best and brightest people I know . . . This drastic action should come down soon and I'm kind of glad that The Missouri State House is finally taking interest in the disaster that is the Kansas City School District.

Check it:

WORD IS MISSOURI REP. BRIAN YATES (R) IS INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO CHANGE THE WAY MEMBERS OF THE KANSAS CITY SCHOOL BOARD ARE ELECTED!!! YES, WE'RE TALKING TERM LIMITS!!!

This move basically spells the beginning of the end for the Kansas City School Board as we know it . . . It's also the start of Jeff City backlash against the School District.

Honestly, I don't care that this move comes from a Republican but I expect some folks to make a big deal of it . . . Also, it's important to note that cries of racism are always the first defense from well-dressed, elite and high powered KC School District leaders when any real change is proposed.

This should be interesting . . . A special thanks to TKC TIPSTERS who provided readers of this blog the sneak preview information first (in order to generate discussion and debate) rather than Midweek if The Star ever decides to print it.

Kansas City Hardcore X-mas!!!

A classic Kansas City X-mas tale from NBC Action News: Man Shot in Stomach; Waits to Call Police - Kansas City police are investigating a shooting early Saturday morning after the victim takes a taxi cab.

Expensive Kansas Medical Make Believe

An audit of the Kansas Medicaid program found $13 million in suspicious claims including one that claimed a Caesarean section was performed on an 8-year-old boy.

X-mas time disaster, the last days of Mayor Funky's horrible year and other quips!!!

I just realized, as this year comes to a close . . . 2008 is the year that the so-called "Orange Revolution" died . . . Even the Mayor's closest supporters are ashamed to use the term . . . Here's hoping that he recycles it, just for giggles.

Anyhoo . . . Here's a bunch of Kansas City area bad news:

X-MAS BULLETS!!! An 18-year-old Lee's Summit girl is shot in the face as she drove away from her house.

KCK X-mas Ambush: Two Men Sitting In Car Shot In KCK Overnight

Getting better after gut-shot: Woman Shot In Stomach In Kansas City Recovering

Sometimes suburban policing isn't as easy as they say: Two Mission police officers were treated and released from an area hospital after being involved in a one car accident Saturday morning.

Frigid Temps Create Danger for Metro's Homeless . . . If these people were cute puppies, maybe somebody would care.

Tragic sideswipe: A metro man trying to put gas in his car when he was struck and killed by a passing vehicle.

Another perspective on local highway danger: Man Killed While Trying to Move Disabled Car in KCK

The best thing about the Funky's failed "Orange Revolution" is that there are a ton of photos of broads in Orange Bikinis like this Sports illustrated set (hehe) featuring 21 year-old Brooklyn Decker.

NOT A KANSAS CITY DRAG QUEEN!!!

Check out the latest issue Camp - KC's LGBT publication of record.

Credible sources tell me that the cover lady IS NOT a drag queen and she's showing enough cleavage that I might even be inclined to check under the hood to confirm.

X-mas is no time to be timid.

So far, the most informative article I've found is a missive regarding the impact of the floundering economy on the Transgender Community . . . It's a serious piece (hehe) and if I link it again on TKC it'll be title: "Fabulous is not free"

Seriously, lots of great stuff . . . Check it out.

Even Small Time Dead Tree Media is dying

Independence Examiner to Stop Producing Monday Edition

Kansas City's Secret Santa on CBS

No matter how great the temptation to be sentimental during this time of year . . . ALWAYS REMEMBER: CHARITY IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE!!!

KC's top ten with a Russian Accent

Local bloggy all-stars that you should already be reading . . . Nice description and info on the best Kansas City blogs for the uninitiated.

The Bad Economy is Killing Kansas City!!!

It's sad to read unacceptable, horrible and dangerous news related to people saving a buck at the expense of everyone's safety:

KC's Holiday Cab Program Cut Due To Economy

KMBC reports that Yellow Cab just couldn't find a sponsor. This town can only hope that somebody steps up.

MAKE NO MISTAKE, CUTTING BACK ON THIS SERVICE COULD MEAN THAT PEOPLE ON KANSAS CITY STREETS WILL DIE BECAUSE OF THE DECISION!!!

Think about it this way: The Mayor is fighting for political patronage to help his career, the City Council (despite their flimsy justifications) is pushing outrageous tax subsidies for risky projects and this simple program which helps provides safer streets on amateur night can't find any cash. It really is a shame and yet another example of Kansas City's misplaced priorities.

Stay safe Kansas City and look out for yourself, because nobody else is . . .

More dim, dismal returns for Union Station

Ticket sales for described as "sluggish" for "Dialog in the Dark" which has prompted Union Station to cut back the hours of the exhibit next month.

Folks who haven't had a chance to "see" the exhibit should definitely give it a chance . . . I hear it's really interesting and patrons might even smell or accidentally feel people having sex.

All things considered, that's definitely worth the price of admission.

Cold Kansas City Link Compilation

Here's a pretty good list of what I'm reading this morning:

Check out one of Kansas City's best music bloggers on KCUR!!!

It always sounds dirty when politicos "tap" people: Nixon taps deputy to lead Department of Revenue

Screw the not-so-cute human homeless: An animal shelter expands hours to meet its adoption goal by the end of the year.

Indy Schools unwittingly force more people with substance abuse problems into hiding: An Independence teacher arrested for driving drunk has been fired.

KCK on fire: A high rise apartment building caught fire in Kansas City, Kan., on Friday morning.

Stolen Car Sacrilege: Police are searching for a carjacker who drove a tow truck through a cemetery, damaging dozens of headstones.

I didn't think the Don King Turkey Pickup Story was a big deal . . . But some people did: Legendary promoter Don King was in the metro area Friday to pick up 100,000 turkeys.

A KC train story that doesn't require hyperbole and too much tax money: KC Southern changes mean well-paying jobs for KC

Cold weather might win a game since The Chiefs can't do it on their own

Everybody seems to think that that Dolphins won't be able to play in the cold . . . As opposed to the year-round problems the Chiefs have had securing a victory in any temperature. I still think Kansas City's football team can find a way to throw away a victory.