Hey Gloria, did they ever find the missing 80k? The Star is conflicted!!!

Reporters are experts with words and misleading phrases . . . Luckily, so am I.

Despite my frequent misspellings, bad grammar, horrible punctuation and irrational love of ellipses . . . I can read between the lines when I'm mucking through B.S. from The Star.

Take the case of the missing 80k and the widely unreported but ongoing Missouri Ethics Investigation of Mayor Funkhouser.

On Feburary 2nd, The Star attempted to absolve Mayor Funkhouser of any guilt or even questions about his "rag tag" (ugh) finances:

Overall, the amended reports account for more than $82,000 in expenditures not previously disclosed — which essentially corrects the discrepancy reported earlier by The Star.

Then, after the Missouri Ethics Commission gets involved, The Star backs off quite a bit in a passage buried in an article:

The amended filings ATTEMPT to resolve the discrepancy by showing more than $82,000 in expenditures previously not disclosed.

So why the change? The reports went from an account to an attempt in less than a week. My guess is because The Star was proven wrong by an entity with some real authority but didn't want to bother printing a correction . . . I know the feeling. The Star wants to have a monopoly on information and opinion but their own reporting suggests there is a lot of room for interpretation and maybe the editorial board comprised of Johnson County suburbanites shouldn't always have the final say on politics in Kansas City proper.

So here we are, with no definitive word about the missing 80k. I haven't forgot and there are a lot of other folks who are still curious as well. We're at:

Day 34!!!

Maybe the Funkhouser Administration will bother to answer bloggers regarding the missing funds with something other than empty assurances. The missing 80k isn't the only question that has been raised in the talk of this investigation, there are also inquiries about:

Gloria Squitiro's accounting and dispersal of gifts coming into the Mayor's Office.

Questions about the Funky Bunch turning in campaign finance reports that he knew were false - He admitted as much.

A weird foot-like smell accompanying all of the reports - That's just unnecessary.

Sadly, The Star and most other media outlets in Kansas City have stopped asking questions and have let this Mayor slide on this ongoing Ethics investigation.