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We all make mistakes….
And some of you like nothing more than to document mine. Be it a lowly typo or spelling error. Fair enough. But within reason, KC Confidential has been reasonably transparent about allowing readers to have their say. Even against our/my better judgement.
That said, how lame and transparent is it, when Kansas City’s paper of record writes a story about a prickly subject – a curfew aimed at young blacks on the white-as-can-be Country Club Plaza – and puts it to bed tonight sans the ability for readers to register a comment.
Not one.
Are they afraid – in their largely white, Anglo-Saxon worlds – that someone may utter something politically incorrect while they slumber in suburban beds. Of course they are.
While they prepare to pilot their $40,000-plus Volvo Coupe convertibles to the office on Monday.
So it is tonight, as easily predicted, that everything was quiet on the Plaza. Funny, they didn’t bother to report on the other entertainment zones being curfewed; 18th and Vine, Power & Light, Westport. Speaking of which…
The word I got is, the Young Jeezy festival thingy went off without a hitch. That said, chances were, if there was to be any trouble tonight, that would have been the top candidate. The moral of the story being that every gathering of urban, black youths is not destined to end in violence.
Most of the summer-long Plaza youth gang bangs – the ones the Star and other media largely ignored – went off for the most part without a hitch. A fight maybe, some pepper spray here or there. You don’t think that happens on the Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Waldo and gosh-knows-where week in and week out anyway?
Let’s end this one a positive note, shall we?
My favorite quote line from the Star‘s puff piece tonight headlined, ‘Kids Enjoy Plaza – With Their Parents’:
"The scene bore no resemblance to the chaos of many Saturdays this summer."
A tacit admission that the newspaper had ridden out a summer of uncomfortable news about unruly black kids until shots were fired.
Nice!
Well Said!
You got that right! There were comments allowed on Mary Sanchez’ editorial, but that’s normal. She thrives on controversy.
The Star’s overall agenda is blatantly evident.
Be aware, however, that when comments are allowed on anything edgy, the Star has at least two employees constantly shilling amongst the group in order to pose ultra-liberal antithesis to nearly every conservative post, and siphon off any electricity a poster might create. I don’t think they post until an editor clears their every word.
A poster said the other day something about the Star using the Berkley playbook with every company-line retort. I agree.
Good Point Hearne
Now thats staying on the job, late night.
Palin and Botello Fans Have Similar IQ
I understand why the Star shuts down the comments section on certain articles.
Just read the comments on TKC about this issue.
You’ve got the NWORD ruins everything guy. Then there’s the I’d sodomize her and ejaculate on her face “gentleman”. He doesn’t say it quite that elegantly.
The ocassional Black Glazer who wants to meet up and pound some cracker ass.
Oh, don’t forget the let’s turn Bannister Mall into Auschwitz contingent.
I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes, in context and maybe tongue in cheek, poor taste can be in good taste. Or maybe I say that in righteous indignation to defend some of my posts?
It would be a 24/7 job to read and vet all the crap that would get posted. Most of which would be in extremely poor taste even by my libertarian standards. Easier to shut it down.
Tony’s comments are like BEAVER HUNT in Hustler. I think the Star is shooting more for TOWN AND COUNTRY.
One city. Two forums 180 degrees off axis from each other. Both overseen by clueless idiots that fail to see the ultimate power of “proper discourse”.
agreed
Agreed Smartman but there’s a optimal between those 2 extremes.
A basic registration with a verified email address is the way to go. Then you ban offending posters but do this in a fairly wide open manner. Sure a poster can reregister under a different name and email address. Thats fine. Its tedious. But the host can also ban IP addresses.
I say this with almost 12 years of starting and managing an online community and message board on peak oil issues. That’s right. How many blogs/message boards do you know that have operated continuously since 1999? Probably, none.
Tony! Thumbs up!
Go over to Tony’s KC and take a look at his top story and picture for the weekend. HA! Love it. He’s not going to knuckle under. He’s going to go down swinging but its pretty evident to me he’s not going down. Its just like the Arab Spring. The game has changed and the Louie Wrights of the world are too clueless see it yet. Zero networth (or offshore $) = freedom!
Offshore, Hearne, offshore!
@robertoe
Louie has already taken the one thing Tony might have had a little of. His DIGNITY. The more venom he spews Louie’s way the stupider he looks.
I’ve spoken casually with several attorneys about this case. Based on what they’ve read about it they feel there is a great deal of merit to Louie’s claim. Louie is not stupid. He has good very good counsel. This is not some desperate action of an aging and impotent union thug trying to silence free speech as Tony would have us believe.
As cornpone as we may be at times in the local media does anyone really think if Louie was breaking the law or acting unethically that it would have gone unreported?
The outcome of this case, if it goes to trial will have impact on the blogosphere.
I suspect that when all is said and done Tony will feel the impact of Louie in his life until the day he dies.
Tony may think his work is noble but he’s no Thomas Paine. He’s a titty obsessed bomb thrower who pisses in the wind of the very air he longs to breathe. He’s
Janeane Garofalo with bigger boobs and probably a better chance a finding a man to love him.
Maybe Louie is the father figure Tony lacks in his life and this is his cry for help.
Problem is that Tony is more like Fredo than Michael. I don’t think Louie is gonna let him in the family.
Get real: someone with a first grade education knows why The Star closes comments on such stories. If you bothered to read up on the matter you’d know why. They have made it perfectly clear.
“Comments on stories about crime, accidents and race relations always become ugly very quickly. Readers have complained vociferously for years that kansascity.com allowed those types of comments, and editors decided on the new policy in direct reaction to those complaints –which were by far the No. 1 criticism I heard for a long time. If you want to read that sort of thing, there are thousands of places on the Internet for it. KansasCity.com and The Star would never print that kind of ugliness elsewhere, and I see no reason to expect it to be allowed online either. Readers are consistently adamant that they don’t want to read that kind of thing on the site. And really, are you saying that anonymous commenters creatively misspelling the word “nigger” or flinging other invective are adding to the conversation?”
But the idiots get their say otherwise.
Comments Closed on KC Confidential in show of hypocrisy
This story goes on to bitch about closing comments and yet Tracy Thomas isn’t allowed to comment on here? What gives?
http://www.blogger.com/profile/08788162706544317190
Double standard? Hearne’s ego to big to handle the criticism? How long before this post is removed?
Merrill makes a good point
Whats the difference between the star closing comments and you blocking an ISP. Don’t get me wrong, that Tracy broad was kind of annoying, but mostly she just took relatively mild pot shots at you. So what’s the scoop?
Hearne can’t take Tracy’s heat. Sad.
Merrill makes a good point
I guess it is do as I say, not as I do.
Hearne was born on third-base but thinks he hit a triple.
Maybe because TracyKCC is coming online?
Did you really ban Tracy?
If so, why? I’ve seen a lot of disgusting comments on this blog, but none from her.
banning comments from her…
is a briliant idea. Banning comments from half of these yahoos is even more
brilliant. None have a clue. That’s why they’re here.
Glaze has some good comments but he’s an angry guy.
Hearne’s got some good comments but he’s an angry guy.
So the problem is for hearne…who do i LET POST HERE.
Of course all my posts are allowed…their concise…informative…
fun….eay to reed…no mispelings…. grammatikallie correct and
never out of line.
thanks.
TT TIME!!!
he will erase this in just moments. But yes Hearne has banned me. Can’t practice what he preaches.
I Dew, I Do, Adieu
C’mon Tracy or Mildred. Things didn’t work out with you and Hearne for whatever reason. Breakin’ his balls or havin’ other people break his balls doesn’t substantively change one fucking thing.
Move on or moveon.org. Like me you can be a bit much at times. But in the interest of gentility I will gladly defer to your skill in that area.
Women like you are why some men become homos, murderers or join the Foreign Legion.
You can be too intense, too righteous, too perfect, too everything.
Free world. Hang out your own shingle. Fitz and Hall seem to be happy with their followings. Hell, people love Tony so much I heard from my awesome tipsters that he pulled in a little over TEN LARGE. That’s a pimple on the go to trial elephants ass but it’s a start and probably the end.
I doubt you will pull any NAMBLA style traffic numbers on your site but show me some proof and I’ll donate two-fiddy to the charity of your choice.
Good luck C’est la vie! Save the World
Louie Wright
Isn’t he a law school grad? If so, he knows very well what he’s doing.
Just like I didn’t erase Tracy’s other comments critical of me – ridiculous though they were – I won’t be erasing this one.
Did I block her for making stupid, inaccurate comments after warning her? Yes.
Do I feel sorry for her? Yes, again.
I don’t delete many comments but when someone, ostensibly on the inside of KCC goes on this site putting words in my mouth that are untrue and bogus, yeah I blocked her IP.
Hard to argue your point. But in a perfect world, the Star would moderate the comments and remove the offensive ones.
However the world they live in is one where they don’t even have the guts to report that the kids causing the problem are black.
Hard to hide from that shadow.
Nope, I left her comments up. Go back and read ’em.
But I won’t allow her to go on this site and put words in my mouth that are incorrect. Not anymore.
There’s plenty of people that leave critical comments here as you well know. Your included.
People make choices. I made a choice. It’s that simple.
The scoop is I don’t have time to deal with however many emails, phone calls and now texts explaining to me why Tracy can’t find her dozen or so stories on KCC when they’re right there in the search box and in Google.
On top of which she goes into the comments section and rants that I’ve somehow erased them for whatever imaginary reasons. Look at her comments last week, they’re still up. Now you see if you can find ’em.
Granted, in a playground fight sort of way those kinda comments are probably somewhat interesting.
But I’ve got too much to do to nursemaid somebody with that many issues.
I feel bad for her but I just don’t have the time. I need to spend my time writing and getting more stories on KCC that you guys will find interesting.
Maybe you’re right. But I’m pretty sure you have little idea what that entails.
Dreamer
See above
That’s right. Step aside and allow us all to worship at your alter, Oh Might Harley.
Signed,
The Angry Guy
Ah, you clever devil! You did catch one of her aliases.
As I understand it, he took some time off years ago and got a law degree, so yes.