Hearne: The Good, Bad & Ugly Side of ‘Sin Taxes

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

The flip side of what they call Sin Taxes …

I’m not talking about the sales tax you pay when you buy a Playboy or Playgirl magazine. Actually you can’t buy either now. Playboy – in magazine form – died in May 2017. Playgirl, in the winter of 2016.

Think of all those “dirty bookstores”  like the former Time to Read  on 12th and Main in downtown Kansas City that have bit the dust.

Now the folks my twin daughters call “creepers,” have to buy computers or  go to lame-looking adult stores along the Interstates.

Sad, huh?

Black Friday alert: Not-to-worry, you can still buy Playboy T-shirts, hoodies and “wellness” supplements” – calendars, ibido Gummies, thongs and socks on Playboy’s website at discount prices no less.

Back to those sin taxes… Continue reading →

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Hearne: Stop The Gosh Darn Presses

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Why do so many folks seem to be running around with their hair on fire? 

It’s like some sort of Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World condition has overtaken our culture. I remember growing up when our parents and their friends – on opposite sides of the political spectrum – could still joke about politics. And they didn’t seem to think their world was coming to an end when their side lost.

My parents were republicans, old school republicans. They had some dough, didn’t like being in those 70 to 90 percent tax brackets, but they didn’t lose it when JFK beat Nixon.

Oh, they gave it their best shot – campaign contributions and let people know who they thought was in the right. They also went to high society election parties – or hosted them – and nobody got beat up or black balled because they saw things in a different light.

And everybody lived to tell the story, or so it seemed.

Fast forward to today…

We live in a time where the sky-is-falling when the party of our choice takes an election night bullet. Everybody’s either cheating, or wish they had, when their side looses.

True confession:  I voted for Trump – the first time almost as a lark. Like the times I voted for Ralph Nader. Even though as a “car guy,” most automotive enthusiasts thought of Nader as the Great Satin – an enemy of automotive fun. Making all those obnoxious, burdensome safety regs…the annoying seat belt buzzers people used to unplug or string their belts behind them and plug them in without actually wearing. Remember?

People tend not to like change, and I have to admit that it took me some time before I started putting my seatbelt on without feeling a little annoyed, Then again, most of my earliest cars were two seater convertibles, so I wasn’t exactly a safety nut – just a regular nut.

Back to my original point…

These days people seem hell bent on over overreacting to anything and everything. I feel sorry for my more liberal friends that have to put up with some of the crazy picks Trump is making. They’re besides themselves.

Am I missing something?

Yet after the past four years, even inanity seems refreshing. Continue reading →

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Dwight: Cat Ladies of the World Unite

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

It’s seldom that one person so neatly encapsulates an entire way of thinking and the demographic that embodies it…

Such a person is 47-year-old Sharon McMahon, a former American Government teacher from Minnesota. (If you’re wondering who elected Tim Walz look no more!)

Ms. McMahon is a tall, willowy blond who has the Minnesota accent that could get her on Garrison Keillor‘s old radio show, as well as the politics that go with it. She first rose to prominence on social media when she launched a systematic campaign to disabuse the rest of us of misconceptions about COVID and the 2020 elections. As she coyly put it, it is not easy dealing with people who are so dumb they think that the Electoral College is a place, an actual degree granting institution, with itís own campus. (Yeah, and infant Kamala Harris’s first word was Fwee-dom.)

As McMahon’s web site points out, it’s only natural that as a former high school teacher she would dedicate herself to fighting ‘misinformation’. As she said, once you understand the non-partisan facts, you will feel less ‘afraid.’ You know, obvious factual propositions, empirically verifiable, like ‘Trump is literally Hitler,’ or ‘Kamala Harris is one of the most accomplished people in American politics today’ or ‘Inflation is transitory’ or ‘The border is secure, or would have been except for Trump’ or ‘Crime is way down in the U.S.’

You know, propositions that every thinking person who drives a Prius with a COEXIST bumper sticker instinctively understands to be true.

Ms. McMahon has now parlayed her fame as an internet warrior against misinformation into becoming a bestselling author. Her first book is ‘The Small and the Mighty’ – actually a very enjoyable anthology of biographical sketches of half a dozen Americans in history. These include educators, philanthropists, and local civic leaders. None are household names, and each overcame incredible misfortune to achieve their dreams. Continue reading →

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Hearne: Sign Of The Times

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Once again, this year’s big election is behind us…

Now it’s time for our know-it-all neighbors to take down their bossy yard signs. The ones letting everybody know how superior they are. Smarmy signs that got updated from the ones four years back.

Remember? COVID was starting to wind down, “Bidenomics” was just around the corner, and the burbs were awash in colorful signs that read:

“In This House, We Believe: Black Lives Matter; Women’s Rights Are Human Rights; No Human Is Illegal; Science Is real; Love Is Love & Kindness Is Everything.”

They were everywhere, or so it seemed.

Ah, but the times they are a changing, and there are new moralities to be lectured on. And new tell-off-the-neighbors signs – equally colorful and arguably kinder and gentler – but still very much to the point.

In case you missed em, check it out: Continue reading →

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Hearne: Move Over Taylor; Chiefs Star The Next O.J.?

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Tony, Tony, Tony

Insult comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s controversial joke about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of garbage” at Donald Trump‘s star-studded Madison Square Garden rally, may have been the most controversial part of the the Donald’s big, NYC fandango.

That said, for Kansas City Chiefs fans, another dark side of Hinchcliffe’s set came when he went NFL, midway into his set.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think football should be all year round,” Hinchcliffe began. “And I think Travis Kelce might be the next O.J. Simpson.”

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Hearne: Regarded KU Coach On Thin Ice?

Posted on October 14, 2024 by admin

For years KU had the w0rst NCAA Division One football program…

Coach after coach failed to remedy matters, until three years ago when the Jayhawks snagged a dude named Lance Leipold from the University of Buffalo. Leipold was only 37-33 in six seasons at Buffalo, but had two division championships and three consecutive bowl appearances – which while not an amazing record – beat the heck outta the nine games KU won over the same period.

And it worked, albeit not right away…

Leipold went 2-10 his first year (2021), 6-7 in 2022 and 9-4 last year.

The latest: many pollsters picked KU to win the Big 12 this year, now that Texas and Oklahoma have departed. Unfortunately, they’ve won just one of their first six games, against the lowly Lindenwood Lions of St. Charles, Missouri.

The latest: Leipold lost the offensive coordinator that made him look so good.

“Leipold spoke to the team and compared the season to a book or movie that starts slow but gets better and has a strong ending.”

A theory yet to unfold…

And with games against rated teams such as Kansas State, Brigham Young, Iowa State and Colorado remaining, it’s not looking good.

As in, maybe a 2-10 season.

“About the only team left they might beat is Houston this week,” one KU booster says.

On top of that, there’s no such thing this year as an actual home game with KU’s stadium under construction and having to convince KU students and fans to drag to a mostly empty Arrowhead Stadium in KC.

While it may not affect the team’s play, Lawrence’s charming downtown, that lives and dies this time of year on post game shopping and partying, is dying on the vine.

“The merchants downtown are hating it,” says the source. “They’re all screeching about it.”

Back to the pigskin…

What most agree is the somewhat obvious reason for KU’s poor play is the absence of Leipold’s offensive coordinator left for a big bucks and more prestigious job with highly rated Penn State. Which incidentally is rated No. 3 nationally and just knocked off USC in a huge game this past weekend that was decided by a trick offensive play.

The $64 billion question: Was Leipold’s brief success an illusion? And while to date, he took most of the glory and was signed to a larger contract earlier this year prior to his dramatic fall from grace.

As for Leipold leading KU to back-to-back bowl games, nobody with half a clue is holding their breath on that happening.

Truth be known, the only thing halfway attractive about KU football these days is getting its home games back in that fancy new stadium and in Lawrence next year.

Yet even that’s not a given, sources say.

“I’m very doubtful it will get finished in time to start the season next year,” says one business insider. “They might be done halfway through the season, but having people walking through the stadium safely trying to buy concessions and the like while the construction is still underway would be a tall task.”

 

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Dwight: Vote Labour,Sleep Tory or For a Fascist Beast, You’re Kinda Cute

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.
The first phrase is attributed to Oswald Mosley, the British parliamentarian of the 1930s..
He was serving in  the first socialist government Britain had, and some churlish soul asked him how he reconciled that with the fact that his choice of romantic partners always seemed to be from the most aristocratic Conservative families.
I thought of his flippant come-back when the odd story surfaced of the relationship between political journalist Olivia Nuzzi and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Nuzzi was suspended from New York Magazine after news broke of an inappropriate intimacy between the two.
What ís clear is that the two only met about a year ago.  Nuzzi interviewed Kennedy and then published a piece highly critical of him.  It was published in November of 2023, and was entitled, “The Mind-Bending Politics of RFK Jr.’s Spoiler Campaign.”
Here’s where things get murky.
Both sides admit there was no further in-person contact between them.  Kennedy and his friends, one of whom also knew Nuzzi well, insist that the journalist began texting him with photographs of herself, described  as “discrete” nudes.  Kennedy and his friends also maintain that he started blocking her messages, but that she would contact him in other ways.  Kennedy admits that she was able to reach him by claiming she had news of another hit piece that was about to come out, only to then bombard him with more inappropriate texts and photos.
Kennedy’s mistake was to share these images with friends in bemused disbelief.
Kennedy is 70 years old, Ms. Nuzzi is 31.
Word got back to her bosses at New York Magazine, and she has been suspended for violating “journalistic ethics.”
Just by chance, news of a similar occurrence broke last week.
The CNN contributor Michael Eric Dyson on BBC had attacked Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace for mispronouncing Kamala Harris’s name  on CNN News Night and labeled her a racist.  After their appearance, Dyson asked Mace to have their picture taken together, and she graciously agreed.
Next thing Mace knew, she was getting “flirty” emails and texts from Dyson.  (First, he calls her a racist and then he flatters her.)

Continue reading →

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Hearne: Once Again, Tyreek Hill is Tyreek Hill

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

When I was a lad, I learned one thing…

The kids we called “jocks,” were celebrated by schools, teachers and students. They got their perks, and aside from playing big shots, acting tough, intimidating mild mannered students, stuffing them into trash cans and making flatulent sound effects, they often lead classy existences.

For the record, I attended to one of the snootiest, high dollar private schools in KC – perhaps you’ve heard of it, Pembroke.

So listening to ESPN talking heads discuss former Chief Tyreek Hill’s high profile arrest earlier Sunday was, uh, familiar.

“I cannot fathom this (happening),” deadpanned former Chiefs QB Alex Smith who I believe was a Chiefs when Tyreek was drafted.  “I don’t know what happened.”

First, let’s take a brief step into what passes for the real world.

The one where Oklahoma State kicked Hill off the team despite his skills, which enabled the Chiefs to draft him on the cheap because nobody else wanted the risk.

Remember?

Hill is quoted yesterday as saying something like, he didn’t do anything to deserve to be cuffed and laid face down on the street, because that’s not the way his mother raised him.

Seriously…

How about the time he roughed up the pregnant mother of son Zev? She raise him to do that?

Check out Hill’s official statement at the time:

“I was in a fight with my girlfriend that turned physical between us and I wrongfully put her in a headlock, putting external pressure on her neck that compressed her airway causing bodily injury.”

Hill’s testimony that helped cause OK State to cut him lose:

“I — I did something that — I did something that I shouldn’t have done that night, which was I just let my feelings take — take control of me…I wasn’t thinking. I just — I just reacted and hit her, choked her. I’m real sorry for that.”

Continue reading →

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Dwight: A Bodyguard of Lies – Protecting Joe Biden’s Failing Brain

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.
One of the chief delights in life is being able to tell people who mocked you for your beliefs, I told you so…
I had the recent opportunity to do this after I recalled an exchange I had with a member of the Obama and Biden administrations in 2022. John MacWilliams was speaking to a club I belonged to on, “Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure.”
  He had an impressive background with degrees from Stanford (B.A. in International Relations), MIT (B.S. in Political Science) and Harvard Law (J.D.). MacWilliams had held an equally dazzling array of jobs in the government, including Special Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor (what a master work in bureaucratese, i.e. The Advisor To The Advisor), and Associate Deputy Secretary at the Department of Energy. Now (of course!) he is in academe and teaches a course at Columbia on Energy  and National Security.
Like most political animals, MacWilliams made himself the hero of his story, with a cameo role for President Biden.
He focused largely on two events from the early days of the Biden Administration in his remarks.
The first was the calamitous winter storm that struck Texas and other parts of the Southwest in 2021. As readers may recall, a big part of the problem was the loss of power from wind turbines freezing up due to record low temperatures, leaving millions without heat.
MacWilliams started with a verbal ju-jitsu, claiming that the arctic blast was further evidence of climate change, formerly known as global warming. In this regard he reminds me of a limousine liberal/trustafarian I knew in college. A few years back he was flogging blue green algae (“from a volcanic lake in New Mexico”) as an all purpose health and wellness supplement. He sent out a recorded promotional message with the following deathless words; “After you take my special formula, you may feel better, you may feel worse, or you may feel exactly the same. All this means, it is working! Keep taking it and order more so you’ll never run out.”
In MacWilliam’s case he’s saying, “The weather may get hotter, it may get colder, it may remain the same! All prove that climate change is real and that we need to spend $10 trillion on the Green New Deal.” Never mind it was the alternative energy source, wind turbines, that failed most dramatically in the crisis and caused untold suffering. (Don’t confuse me with the facts! Net zero carbon emissions by 2030 or bust!)
To add insult to the injury, the speaker ridiculed the Republican governors in the region as hypocrites because they’d asked for emergency assistance from the federal government in dealing with this crisis. (“You would think they were Democrats the way they were begging for help!”)

Continue reading →

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Hearne: Big 12 No Longer ‘Watchable’ Experts Say

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Well, it was fun while it lasted…

Local Big 12 podcaster wannabes like John Kurtz can’t stop blathering about how the “pending” demise of the Atlantic Coast Conference will benefit K-State and KU.

Just like when the demise of the Pac 12 enabled the Big 12 to snag Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado.

Just one problem…

While teams like our lovable local losers are taking down $31.7 million in annual TV revenue, Big 10 schools are projected to get between $80 to $100 million each going forward, and SEC teams like Mizzou’s revenues are projected to soar from like $51 million a year to an estimated $68 million – more than double the Big 12’s numbers.

The bottom line: While the Big 12 may get a handful of halfway decent ACC teams like North Carolina State, Pitt and Louisville, none of those schools come close to having the impact of teams like North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia and possibly Miami – that will likely join either the Big 10 or SEC.

In other words, the ACC’s demise will do little to bridge the massive revenue gap between “us”and the big kids.

Worse yet, check out how two of college sports biggest and brightest – Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd and podcaster John Middlekauff see the future of college football: Continue reading →

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Dwight: ‘La Trahison Des Clercs’ Befalls Nelson Atkins Museum,or Me and Julian Down By The School Yard

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

Out with the old…

One hundred years ago – in 1927 – French writer Julien Benda published a book with the above referenced title, translated loosely as “Treason of the Intellectuals.”

The gist of the book is that European intellectuals had led their nations astray by encouraging political dogmatism at the expense of intellectual and moral values.

I think of this phrase when I consider the arrogant elitism of a different Julien, Julian Zugazazoitia, director of the Nelson Gallery here in Kansas City.

It’s been four years since the Z-man ordered the Kansas City,  Missouri Police Department during the 2020 George Floyd riots off the museum’s property.

No one has ever explained to me how a single employee of the museum had the authority to commit that institution to a public political position.

Not only did the Z-man emphatically state that it had a moral obligation to withhold cooperation with local authorities at a time of civil unrest, but he broadcast this by adding a Black Lives Matter screen saver to the Nelson’s website and committing it to support that movement in statements to the press.

What did the Trustees say?

Was this dramatic move their call?

Apparently not.

Because after I raised these issues in a post here on KC Confidential, ‘The Necessary Murder’-Nelson Atkins vs KC Cops,’ 7/1/20, I sent copies to every member of the Board. And not one person bothered to respond to the dozen copies I sent to them.

I thought of that when I heard my friend Jack Cashill, a local author and journalist, interviewed on talk show host Pete Mundo’s program last week. He later asked about how Kansas City has changed since he moved here in 1975, and Jack said:

“It’s not the place it was…I mean by this that when I drove down Ward Parkway 50 years ago, there was substance behind those walls. The people who lived there cared. There were adults in Kansas City running the city. You had an adult newspaper. You could tell the truth…When we stripped the J.C. Nichols name from the fountain on the Plaza that was the turning point, the archetypal surrendering to the woke masses by the city’s corporate leadership. I don’t have any confidence in the city’s leaders after this, a real decline further evidenced by their abandonment of the Country Club Plaza to crime because of fear of being called racist.” Continue reading →

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Dwight: For My Friends, Everything. For My Enemies, The Law

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

Many of us have read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped…

Those are probably his two most famous books. Stevenson himself thought his best work was Catriona. It’s a story set in 18th Century Scotland about a young heir fighting to recover his patrimony from a corrupt and vicious Establishment, one that uses every means possible to thwart him.

When David Balfour, the protagonist, goes to the state prosecutor to seek the prosecution of his enemy for murder he is told; “This is a political case-ah, yes Mr. Balfour. Whether we like it or not, the case is political-and I tremble when I think what issues depend on it. To a political case, I need scarce tell a young man of your education we approach with very different thoughts from one which is criminal only.”

Nothing has changed in 250 years.

Your ability under the legal system to get redress if you have been wronged depends largely on who you are and who hurt you. You only have to consider the sick, co-dependent relationship between the Kansas City Star and local politicians to see this confirmed again and again.

I’ve written about how local prosecutors will throw the book at you if you’re from a disfavored demographic, and let you get away with murder-literally -if you are a favored constituency of the Democratic Party:

                                Crime and Punishment on Grand Blvd., 1-9-15

                                Living in the Guilted Age, 5-11-16.

                                Why Not Rename the Nicholas Fountain, 6-11-20.

                                The Necessary Murder, 7-1-20.

                                Useful Idiots-KC Edition, 9-10-20.

                                More Racial Arson from the KC Star, 5-14-23.

The latest joint venture in race baiting, i.e. making whites feel guilty and blacks feel angry, between the Star and a local politician was highlighted in a prominent story from February: “Jackson County Prosecutor started a conviction review unit. Some say it’s ‘smoke and mirrors’.” 2-5-24.

It describes the role of a Conviction Integrity Unit in reviewing criminal convictions from years earlier when there is a reason to believe they were wrongfully decided. The goal is to see to it that innocent people are freed when new evidence emerges that they did not commit the crime for which they were convicted.

The article highlights the record of the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office in acting to vacate the conviction of an inmate on Missouri’s death row. The inmate was Marcellus “Khaliffah” Williams. The other murder case focused on was that of Kevin Strickland, a man convicted of a triple murder in 1978 here in Kansas City. Continue reading →

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 2 Comments

Hearne: Down Periscope For Royals ‘Ballpark’

Posted on April 3, 2024 by admin

Greg HallWas a time, baseball was huge…

I shoveled snow, mowed lawns, saved my money – anything to get a buck to buy a 24 count box of baseball cards. With luck, I’d get cards of childhood heroes like Mickey Mantle, but my real objective was to get Kansas City A’s players like Norm Siebern, Jerry Lumpe or Bob Cerv.

I look back on those days as a time when baseball mattered.

Unlike today…

I mean, what else in sports really mattered in the 1960s?

After I completed my passage from loser kid to loser adult, like many, I became a Chiefs fan. And judging by some of the crowds at Arrowhead and the team’s Super Bowl rallies, there are lots of those.

All of that said, in the scheme of things, I’m still far from fervent.

So tearing down Royals Stadium – or as Greg Hall anointed it, The K – is close to the bottom of my list of things I’d like to see happen here – if it’s even on such a list at all.

Frankly, I’m more worried about preserving downtown’s Gallup Map and Birdies than I am a giant slab of concrete. 

And as an Arizonan, recently relocated back to Kansas I didn’t get a vote in the matter. However, in truth, I look at a “downtown ballpark” here as an unnecessary waste.

I mean, it’s not like the current stadium is on its last legs.

Rather, that in the scheme of things baseball strikes me as a dying sport. Not that it’s going completely away, but just as gladiatorial combat beat out javelin throwing, old school baseball reminds me more of watching golf on TV as a child. Continue reading →

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Dwight: Soul Brothers or Nothing New Under the Sun

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

Followers of totalitarian ideologies often take on the mindset of religious cult members…

One such attribute is the compelling need to create holy martyrs, whose deaths can be used to lend the cause a tragic nobility.

The all-time classic example of this is how the Nazi’s transformed a small-time hoodlum, Horst Wessel, into a secular saint. Wessel was born in Germany in 1907, the son and grandson of respectable Lutheran ministers on both sides of his family.

He grew up in Berlin and went to university to study law. Initially, his politics were mainstream, conservative, supporting the return of the German monarchy after the Kaiser’s abdication at the end of World War I.

By the time Wessel was out of his teens, however, his views had become extreme, and he joined a series of ultra right-wing paramilitary organizations with names like the Viking League and the Black Army.

Dedicated to brawling with their left-wing Young Socialist and Young Communist counterparts, these groups were banned by the Weimar government as threats to the constitutional order. At this point-1926-Wessel switched his allegiance to the Nazi Party’s Brown Shirts, the S.A. (“Sturmabteilung.”)

Under the leadership of Hitler’s lieutenant, Joseph Goebbels, the Brown Shirts acted as the shock troops of the Nazi movement, breaking up opposition meetings and breaking heads of their opponents.

Wessel’s personal life also took a downturn at this time. He dropped out of the university and started hanging out at seedy bars and brothels. Continue reading →

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Hearne: Are Sports Talk Hosts Really This Dumb?

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Talk about dumb and dumber…

Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd is about as high up on the media food chain as a guy can get. And why not? He spends the majority of his time talking NFL football – which is money-in-the-bank-popular. And he does an excellent job garnishing his sports news and views with down-to-earth, friendly common sense.

How good is he?

His daily show reaches an estimated 139,000 + sports losers and by some estimates he’s worth upwards of $25 million and has however many vacation homes.

In other words, he gets around…

The other day he was interviewing KC radio refugee Nick Wright now of Fox Sports.

“So I know this will sound confusing to you, but I might have a reason for you to check Kansas City off your list of cities you haven’t been to,” Wright begins. “Because in the spring, I’m getting married in KC.”

Long story short, Wright’s been shacking up a woman for years. But instead having a formal wedding, when he left KC for Houston 10 years back, they spent their wedding savings on a house.

Cowherd’s lame retort:

“I didn’t know Kansas City had an airport. Because my entire life I’ve never walked through an airport and seen a sign (that read) ‘to Kansas City.’ I swear to god. I see London; I see Paris; I’ve never seen Kansas City.”

Talk about clueless… Continue reading →

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Hearne: Last Call For Alt News?

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

It’s not easy working for free…

The long hours, pouring your heart and soul into your craft, putting up with every imaginable insult and critique, then at the end of the day no paycheck on top of which, you’re deeper in debt.

Not a formula for a wildly happy life. Fact is, it sucks and many of us have been there – me included.

That appears to be the situation with alt weekly the Pitch.

At least when I got involved years ago, there was a seemingly obvious upside – editorially and financially. Ah, but no mas today, at least on the money part of the equation.

The days of making big bucks in print pubs are history.

Some media can make a bit of dough online, but that’s far from easy. Especially with a limited readership. Frankly, the upside’s just not there anymore.

Best thing the Pitch has going: There’s always some other loser wannabe willing to throw caution to the wind and blow their (or their parents) life savings to get in the game. You know, chasing what passes for truth, justice and the American way.

And in some ways, that’s a good thing.

However risky bets can be unhealthy to one’s financial well-being, and there’s only so many “Tony” types, willing to slave away morning, noon and night, free-of-charge. Just to attain minor league celebrity status.

Which brings us to the Pitch’s latest pitch…

Continue reading →

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Paul Wilson: The Weak in Review

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.
Caution, provocative opinion ahead… 

                “Wisconsin Human Resources Director Arrested on Child Porn and Exploitation Charges.”                                                                                                                                                                                2/19/24

                “No Charges for Democrat Staffer Who Filmed Gay Porn in Senate Hearing Room.”                                                                                                                                                                     2/1/24

“Former Maryland Mayor and LGBTQ Activist Sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to child pornography.”                                                                                                                                                                            3/3/23

“Oklahoma City School District Hires Drag Queen Elementary School Principal Once Arrested for Possessing Child Porn and Illicit Drugs.”                                                                                                                                                                             9/1/23

“Former Redlands Planning Official tailored children to LA USD teachers likes, police allege.”                                                                                                                                                                    10/24/23

                “Former Louisville Teacher Could Face Up to 120 years in Prison for child porn.”                                                                                                                                                                       10/4/24

                “PA Sheriff’s Deputy arrested on charges of possessing and distributing child porn charges.”                                                                                                                                                                   2/21/24

                “NJ Teacher charged with child porn possession.”                                                                                                                                                               10/16/23

“Yamhill County Sheriff’s Deputy Criminally Charged for Creating On-line Gay Porn While In Uniform.”                                                                                                                                                            12/15/23

“New Mexico State Police sergeant arrested on child porn.”                                                                                                                                                                 7/21/23

“Former Maryland Government Official Pleads Guilty. Chief Operating Officer with Department of Commerce, Deputy Legislative Officer for the Maryland Governor’s Office.”                                                                                                                                                                  10/5/23

“A spokesman for the LA County Department of Public Works was arrested on Tuesday on felony charges of producing, possessing and disseminating child pornography.”                                                                                                                                                                 10/4/23

*******          *******       *******       *******      

Notice the increasing number of times this exact story is hitting the media…

There’ve been multiple arrests in the last year, where people are being charged with child pornography and sexual abuse of minors. These include schoolteachers, law enforcement officers, government officials-all manner of people in various jobs and positions you’d never expect.

I have more friends in the LGTBQ community than arguably the average straight guy. My gay friends are not friends because they’re gay. I could care less.

Their sexuality is the least interesting thing about them. They’re my friends based on WHO they are, not their private sex lives.

Most, if not all, of these cases involve adult gay men sexually exploiting young boys. However, it’s my firm belief that they’re not representative of the larger LBGTQ community.

The existence of Gays Against Grooming, a non-profit organization of gay people against the sexualization of children under the guise of gay or trans rights, shows that there’s push back in the larger community against extreme positions, e.g. sex change operations for 7-year-olds.

Continue reading →

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Elliott Templeton: Slow Learners / Karenhood Is Powerful

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.
Here are only a few of the nuggets dear Aunt Karen has shared with us over the years:
“All organized religions” (What about “disorganized” religions? Never mind!) “are based on ignorance and fear.”
“Nature is my God!”
“The world would be a lot better place if humanity just died off and disappeared.”
“Whatever else I do in my life I’ll always be morally superior to you because, unlike you, I chose not to have children and thus haven’t polluted the earth and used up scarce resources.”
Then, later, “Who is going to look after me now that I’m getting old?”
Not withstanding her fervent commitment to the environment, Aunt Karen drives the largest gas guzzling cars and trucks she can buy. She also charters private jets two or three times a year for cross country trips – each of which generates more carbon in a day than the average American family does in a year.
Karen also says she can’t be bothered with recycling. She also throws out any food she prepares, but which is not consumed at a meal. (“I don’t eat leftovers.”)
“People who insist on so-called gun rights are acting out of a sense of sexual inadequacy.”
“I don’t care that this state doesn’t allow concealed carry. By God, I’m going to carry a pistol in my purse to protect myself!”
“Traditional morality is rigid, arbitrary and judgmental. It is an artificial construct based on what advances the self-interest of the patriarchy”
(SeeReligion as Fraud above.)
“There is no such thing as absolute good and absolute evil. The terms are relative, only reflecting what is socially useful at a point in time.”
“Racism is evil. Sexism is evil. Homophobia is evil. Capitalism is evil. America is a force for evil.”
“Throughout history American business has exploited workers and consumers here at home and throughout the world.” Aunt Karen’s income is derived from inherited wealth, invested in stocks and bonds of American corporations.

Regarding the recent spike in gas prices, Karen told us: “Americans have been spoiled by cheap energy…Besides, it doesn’t really affect me, though I did notice how much aviation fuel had gone up when I chartered a private jet recently.”

“The Canadian truckers are thugs. They should be arrested, jailed, and their property seized! By protesting COVID restrictions they’re no better than the MAGA types.”
“Why would I give my housekeeper, my hair stylist, my gardener, my dog sitter,or anyone else who works for me a bonus at Christmas? I pay them for their services the rest of the year, don’t I?”
I should add that as far as I know Aunt Karen does not donate to any charities for the less fortunate. The 1,200 young German women assaulted on New Years Eve by Moslem men in Cologne in 2016.
“It’s their own fault for dressing provocatively! They justhave to change their culture mores to reflect diversity!”
“With all our arrogance of power, our much-vaunted technology and expensive weapons systems” – (Why weapons systems? Why not just weapons? I, guess it’s like saying ‘systemic’ or ‘structural’, showing how sophisticated you are by using pretentious language.)
“We deserved to be defeated by simple Third World peasants in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.”
“The whole problem in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, etc. is that we were ignorant of those country’s history and culture.”
Karen clearly implies by this that she is knowledgeable. In fact, Karen is knowledgeable about these things; and our Cold War paranoia, our misguided patriotism, our McCarthyism, our heritage of militarism, and our legacy of racism.
She watched MASH, All In The Family and The West Wing!
“As leader of the so-called ‘Free World’; we have consistently failed to learn THE LESSONS OF HISTORY.”
Aunt Karen never bothers to say what these are. Nor do the geopolitical experts she relies upon, e.g. Joy Behar, Jimmie Kimmel and Steve Colbert.
“There is no such thing as liberal media bias. After all, media outlets are owned by corporations. As everyone knows,“ (a sure tell that something dubious is about to follow, as I know from listening to dishonest lawyers and lazy judges for decades).
“All corporations are conservative. Therefore,corporate media cannot be liberal.”  Favorite Syllogism No. 1. (Syllogism meaning ‘subtle,’ ‘specious,’ or ‘tricky’ reasoning.)

“Blacks cannot be racist, because in order to be racist you have to have power. Since blacks have no power in America today, by definition they cannot be racist.“Favorite Syllogism No. 2. This pronouncement was made at the time our Congressman, our Mayor and the President were all black – so so much for black people having no power.

“It’s just classist, sexist, thinking to insist that ‘Honey Boo Boo’ is not as worthwhile as War And Peace. How many millions enjoy the reality TV show versus an elitist few who enjoy Tolstoy’s novel? Why must we privilege something from the so-called Canon of Dead White European males over Art that speaks to The People?”
At this point Aunt Karen tears up, her voice goes tremulous, moved by her passion and the sweep of her intellect.The George Floyd protests represent a peak life experience for Aunt Karen. The sanctimony and hectoring go full bore, e.g.
“This is all the result of the militarization of the police…every black father has to have The Talk with his son, telling him that police are just looking for an excuse to kill him as an unarmed young black man.” I agree with Karen here.Every father, (black, white, brown, or yellow) should have a conversation with his son, telling him not to mouth off to the police or fight the police. End of story!
Aunt Karen commented on the vandalism and destruction of two hundred historical monuments and war memorials as part of the George Floyd protests: “Who cares? They are all bad pieces of art anyhow!”
“All countries rise and fall and this one is clearly on the decline. Why should itmatter to me? I don’t have children.”“Why shouldn’t North Korea have nuclear weapons? As a small, poor, non-aligned Third World nation they don’t have the right to defend themselves? Or is that limited to rich, white countries?”
“I hate what this country has become. We’re thinking about leaving for Canada to avoid all the Republicans who have destroyed it.”
I think you get the picture.
In fact, this is just a fraction of the Woke Speak I’ve had to endure at family gatherings for 50 years. Any attempt to reply to these talking points is met with “I don’t want to argue.”
If you insist on rebutting any of this P.C. boiler plate, she bursts into tears, says she feels threatened, and vows she will never be in your presence again.Who is more at fault? Old Uncle Joe, from rural Missouri, who doesn’t know he’s being offensive?
Or Woke Aunt Karen, who deliberately goes to great lengths to bait people, knowing her views are anathema but also knowing you can’t even respond without being accused of “triggering her.”
The Stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said it best; “When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.” Book II,§2, Meditations.

Walk it off, big guy! It’s only pain!

 

 

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Hearne: Does KC Really Need a ‘Downtown Ballpark?’

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

In a word, no…

Not all locals worship at the altar of former Star business writer/downtown ballpark cheerleader Kevin Collison and the Kansas City Royals.

For years Collison – reduced to blogging now – was the poster child for campaigning for the Royals to bail on The K and move downtown. Yet, despite his heaping helpings of hype, to many, a downtown ballpark was the last thing Kansas City wanted, let alone needed.

In part because, block after block of towering stadium walls doesn’t paint a very pretty picture. Actually, the opposite. Add in crime stats suburbanites find worrisome, tight parking, and the team’s limited prospects of achieving playoff success – plus zillions in public tax dollars and many see it a lose-lose deal.

Take Westport business leader Bill Nigro…

“Downtown’s doing fine and our current ballpark is world class,” he says. “Everybody that drives by our stadium now, the first thing out of their mouths is, ‘Wow!’ And if they go by at night, it’s, triple wow.”

To former KC councilwoman Becky Nace, it’s about a millionaire owner wanting to roll the dice with public money – by floating romantic imagery past clued out voters – who don’t have much of an idea what’s truly at stake.

Outside of aging baseball fans and supporters like former Entercom radio main man Bob Zuroweste and Collison, does a downtown ballpark make sense?

“It doesn’t, we don’t need it,” Nace says. “They’ll have to bulldoze 20 or 30 buildings in the Crossroads to build this and everybody’s property tax is going to go up.”

The top  Reasons Not to Build a Downtown Ballpark:

“The Royals stadium is beautiful and nationally recognized,” Nace says. “So it’s a waste of money. And you’re not gaining anything when you move it from one part of Kansas City to another. In doing so, you’re choosing winners and losers. Thirdly, anyone who knows downtown, knows that parking is a problem. So when you go down there, you’re going to be on a mission to see where you can park. They are being intellectually dishonest to say there will be no problems.” Continue reading →

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Paul Wilson: Race Card Trifecta

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

The racial animosity sweepstakes by local Democratic officials in conjunction with the Kansas City Star continues unabated…

On February 14 twenty-two people were shot outside Union Station at the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl Victory Parade. One died and 15 others suffered life threatening wounds. Nine children were among those injured.

At the time little was known about the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The next day, the 15th, Kansas City Police said they did not believe the incident was terrorism, but thought it possibly was a private dispute that turned violent. They also said two arrests had been made, but that both were juveniles, and thus no information could be disclosed about the suspects.

That same day, Missouri Governor Mike Parsons who, along with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, had been at the rally, issued a strong statement condemning the violence. He said it was a shame that what should have been a joyous occasion was spoiled by this violent act. He said, “We can’t let some thugs just take over and ruin what happened.”

Remember, this was on the 15th.

The next day, the 16th, KC Mayor Quinton Lucas was interviewed by radio host and former Star journalist Steve Kraske. He said of Governor Parson’s remarks: “I certainly do think this was criminal activity, it’s lawlessness and I think that’s troubling.” Lucas said, “But ‘thugs’ is a dog whistle in the most classic sense, and I have seen this dog whistle time and again.”

Lucas’s comments and the resulting Star coverage were a preemptive strike. Make the story about white racism (a “classic” dog whistle.) and Missouri gun laws, and not the reckless criminals who caused the tragedy. Otherwise, Lucas’s comments make no sense.

I’m sorry, Mayor Q, but the urban dictionary says the definition of “thug” is an aggressive and violent young criminal. Synonyms include “goon,” “hood,” “hoodlum,” “punk,” “strong-armer,” “tough,” and “bully.”

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term as a violent, aggressive person, especially one who is a criminal, e.g. “he was attacked by a gang of thugs.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as a man who acts violently, especially a criminal. If you notice, none of these definitions mention race, creed, color, or religion. Continue reading →

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