Sutherland: The Letter to the Editor That Sparked a Decades’ Long Feud

420110616155454003_t607Here’s the letter I wrote to the Kansas City Star in 1998 after its hatchet job on me…

It predictably created a firestorm because I dared to criticize the Star, one of my law firm – Lathrop & Gage’s – clients:

       July 27, 1998

Letters Department

ATTENTION: Rich Hood

The Kansas City Star

Dear Mr. Hood:

I was very disturbed by the tone of The Kansas City Star‘s article about the American Heritage Festival and Expo held in Carthage, Missouri the weekend of July 17-19.

The Star’s writer, Judy Thomas, quoted an out-of-state source who described the event, sight unseen, before it had even occurred, as a gathering of “white separatists.”

In the admittedly brief time I was at the festival, I saw absolutely no indication that those that were in attendance were white separatists, racists, neo-Nazis, or members of any other hate group. I did see many people wearing T-shirts honoring American POW’s and MIA’s and bearing the names of U.S. Navy vessels on which the wearers served. In fact, the crowd seemed to be comprised to a large degree of veterans and their families, which should not be surprising for an event celebrating American patriotism. Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 47 Comments

Sutherland: Piling On at the Kansas City Star

1364993628372.cachedOne could argue that it isn’t sporting to heap further abuse on the Kansas City Star, circling the drain as they are…

However, their violation of every known standard of fairness over the years when they had a monopoly here means, to me at least, that they deserve every sling and arrow they get.

In 1978, I got into an argument with Laura Scott of the Star over the paper’s coverage of a U.S. Senate candidate in Kansas.  I may have won the argument, but not the war.  The Star editorial page, initially under Ms. Scott’s direction, has now waged a vendetta against me for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS! Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 14 Comments

New Jack City: JoCo’s New Bus Shelters—Uh, WHY?

mtc_renderI’ve been noticing all those modern, new bus shelters popping up in Johnson County

Transit Stops, I guess, if you want to be politically correct. Flashy, new covered bus stops for The Jo, including a spiffy new terminal at 5251 Johnson Drive in traffic ticket-hungry Mission.

It doesn’t get any better…or does it? Continue reading

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 21 Comments

Starbeams: Hooters Dads, Disc Golf @ Swope & BBQ Flavored ice Cream

Overland Park is the #1 city in the country to pick up single dads.  I knew putting that Hooters on Metcalf was a bad idea.

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The Disc Golf circuit came through Kansas City over the weekend.  Players competed in Swope Park for a $27,000 prize.  It was refreshing to see guys in Swope Park playing with something other than their balls.

******* Continue reading

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Hearne: Lefsetz Rates News Media, KCC Rates Lefsetz

image_statistics_how_to_lie2It’s always a hoot getting different people’s takes on the news media…

Having spent years conning, kissing up to – and at times – dodging reporters, then running and gunning at the Pitch and later playing hide-and-seek with editors at the Star for 16 years, I’ve got a fairly broad perspective from both inside and out on how things work in the news biz.

Most folks don’t quite get it. Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 10 Comments

Lowe: Chuck Dials in Some Humility & Humanity for ‘F Day’

fathers-dayJust a short note to the KC Confidential commenting cognescenti and the many readers who depend on this site for news, humor and most importantly sarcasm…

To all your fathers, may God bless them in their struggles, their familial relationships, their vocations and their prayers. Continue reading

Posted in Chuck Lowe | 16 Comments

Hearne: “KU Boobs’ Bust a Sign of Big Time College Athletics Overreach

935409_548287428547269_1237079474_nEver see one of those tee shirts that read, U.S. Olympic Drinking Team?

I always figured they were little more than crass college kid magnets, but saw enough of them around that somebody must have liked ’em.

Kinda like some of the shirts Joe-College.com in Lawrence was selling a few years back. They weren’t my cup of tea – “Muck Fizzou,” “Our Coach Can Eat Your Coach” and “My Babysitter Went to K-State,” but…

Hey, different strokes.

Enter the lovely, blue wristbands KU Boobs was selling for $5 until they got busted by the legal eagles that convinced KU to let them run Joe-College out of town. The wristbands read: “I ♥ KU Boobs” Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 17 Comments

Edelman: ‘Catch Me If You Can’ Sizzles @ Starlight

press-image418Sexy stews, hot nurses, a hooker with nothing on under that fur coat– who says it hasn’t been hot at Starlight this week?

Check out the well-produced and wonderfully acted national tour of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (now thru Sunday) if you feel a chill and are looking for a thrill. Continue reading

Posted in Mark Edelman | 3 Comments

Leftridge: Advice to Home Sellers, From a Guy Who’s Looking to Buy

skd273191sdcSo I’ve been house-hunting. For the first time ever. And I’ve learned some things. Not things that new buyers need to know, necessarily—I think I’m still figuring that part out—but things that sellers should know. Things that I’ve learned after evenings spent traipsing from hovel to abode and from palace to shanty, my vision blurred from sweat, my disposition already soured by the constant, needling thought of how much money I’ll be spending.

So much new debt, so long ridiculous dream of retiring at 40.

Well, if I find a house, that is. Because frankly, it’s ridiculously hard. And yeah, I’ve heard everyone state that they looked at 50-1,000 houses before buying, and maybe I’ve only looked at 15 or so. And maybe Prairie Village is an unforgiving mistress due to her insatiable appetite for dollars-per-square-footage, penchant for scary basements and undying desirability.

But honestly, I don’t think I’m asking TOO much. I don’t expect a mansion, or anything even remotely close. All I want is a few bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, and a deep well in the backyard that I can chuck shit down. (The well is negotiable.)

What I DON’T want, however, is a crap-shack. And believe me, I’ve seen plenty. On more than one occasion in this journey, I’ve walked into a house and had an almost immediate desire to turn right around and pretend like the whole thing was an accident. I literally couldn’t even fathom how some of these people were expecting to sell their house. Continue reading

Posted in Brandon Leftridge | Tagged , | 27 Comments

Sutherland: The Real Downton Abbey

downton+abbey+wallpaperAnything which would double a television network’s audience is bound to get our attention…

That is exactly what happened with PBS after it screened the popular series “Downton Abbey,” three years ago.  Naturally the elitist cultural gate keepers dismissed it as the silliest of soap operas, made marginally socially acceptable by Anglophilia and snobbery.

Leaving aside the production values of the series – which are painstaking and meticulous – critics are almost universally dismissive of the plot line, saying it is ludicrously improbable; filled as it is with scandal, gossip, and intrigue, both downstairs and up, in a great English country house. Continue reading

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

Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Man Of Steel’—In The Beginning There Was Krypton

man+of+steel+wallpaper+superman+posterFaster than a speeding bullet? Maybe…

But this Superman isn’t your grandparents’ caped crusader, and that could be a good thing. Especially when you compare it to director Bryan Singer‘s 2006 version that starred Brandon Routh and misfired with both barrels.

Don’t underestimate the teaming of DARK KNIGHT director—now producer and co-writer—Christopher Nolan with WATCHMEN and 300 director Zack Snyder. Their combined mission: Warner Brothers SECOND reboot of the Superman franchise at an estimated pricetag of $225 million.

What to expect from Henry Cavill‘s interpretation as the MAN OF STEEL? Continue reading

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 5 Comments

Hearne: Local Women Lament Pending Passing KC’s Finest ‘Ladies Room’ @ Halls Plaza

Halls Plaza Department StoreA moment of silence please for the ladies room at Halls Plaza

That’s right, while upscale, elite shoppers are bemoaning the pending passing of Kansas City’s finest department store, women from all walks of life are dreading the loss of Kansas City’s finest-by-far women’s restroom.

“I overheard some gals talking about it in a restaurant,” says Theater League honcho Mark Edelman. “One said that’s what she’ll miss the most about the store– she’d walk all the way from  the West side – Better Cheddar, Anthropologie or whatever stores are over there – just to use the Halls powder room.” Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 7 Comments

Donnelly: Sporting Eliminated From Open Cup by Their Minor League Affiliate, Orlando City

Damn the field looked good, perfect, green and lush – especially when compared to that travesty that they put down in Seattle the night before, for the US-Panama World Cup qualifier.

But there wasn’t much time to think about things like that, or the great Wednesday night crowd.  In just the 2nd minute off a Paulo Nagamura giveaway in  Sporting KC‘s defensive third, Orlando City broke toward goal and put a ball into the side netting.  So, 1-0 Orlando. Just like that. Continue reading

Posted in Matthew_Donnelly | 2 Comments

Hearne: Star Publisher Drops Furlough Bomb on News Staff, Self

furloughThis just in…

The bad news beat goes on at the Kansas City Star. Publisher Mi-Ai Parrish emailed staffers today that they would get a second week of unpaid vacation this year.

“While we have had many signs of recovery, we continue to track below prior year revenue,” it begins. “As such, the decision has been made to require a one-week furlough in the second half of the year.

“Most full-time employees  at The Kansas City Star will be required to take the furlough…”

Hold it right there and brace yourselves for a humility check. Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 13 Comments

Starbeams: KU Swats Boobs, Mission Traffic Ticket Explosion & Benny Hill

The University of Kansas Athletics Department doesn’t want to shut down @KUboobs on Twitter, they just want the site to stop selling merchandise with the word “KU” on it.  I have a simple fix:  Tell them all KU merchandise stands for “Kelly Urich!”  I’ve been associated with boobs for years.

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And investigation by The Kansas City Star reveals Mission, Kansas hands out more traffic tickets than most cities three times the size of the small town.  And I work exactly half-way between the Mission Lamar’s and Krispy Kreme, so I’m at GROUND ZERO. Continue reading

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Paul Wilson: Game Over. More Softbank Cash Means Ergen’s DISH is COOKED

Tapout-bully-shirt-1I called this one a month ago…

Last weekend, while headed to the West Bottoms for First Friday, I was standing in line waiting for coffee behind a dude wearing one of those lame TAP-OUT t-shirts. It struck me funny as to why someone would actually wear one of those in public.

But when he turned to leave and noticed me gawking at him and made eye contact, I said something like, “Thank you so much for not kicking my ass for no apparent reason.”

He turned, shook his head and walked out.

Dish Network honcho Charlie Ergen wasn’t so lucky. Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | 30 Comments

Sounds Good: Hospital Ships @ Replay, Father John Misty @ Granada, Mumford & Sons @ Sandstone

Full week of events in the KC metro…

We’ve got Sporting Kansas City defending their US Open Cup championship on Wednesday at the Legends.  The Westport Summer Beer Festival goes down Saturday in front of McCoy’s (sponsored by Sporting KC).  And then there’s all the usual stuff that comes with the temperatures finally reaching into the 90s, like heading out to the lake, hitting a park for a picnic, or making a jaunt to the local pool.

Plus, some good shows… Continue reading

Posted in Matthew_Donnelly | 4 Comments

Hearne: Do Sports Really Matter? Royals Fans, Anyone, Anyone?

rollerballIt must be maddening for you people

Do you mind if I call you “you people?” Of course you do. Chances are you won’t like the rest of what I’ve got to say much either, but here goes.

Do sports really matter? I mean, really, truly matter?

The obvious answer is no, but for the sake of argument, let’s go with the more nuanced, yes and no, and then cover it from both sides. Do sports matter to most folks to the extent it does to say, Craig Glazer, your beloved former scribe?

Of course not. Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 40 Comments

New Jack City: Is Gay Hollywood Under Seige?

liberace-behind-the-candelabraDirector Steven Soderbergh‘s BEHIND THE CANDELABRA was apparently too gay for commercial theatrical exhibition in the United States…

So instead it ended up on HBO where it has performed surprisingly well in the ratings. In world markets though the Michael Douglas-Matt Damon lovefest will make it to the big screen prior to reaching secondary distribution platforms.

Raising the question, is Hollywood starting to hold back on gay themed movies? Continue reading

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 19 Comments

Paul Wilson: Week in Review – Halls Plaza Bails, Ferret Fever, Sister Twists & Snakes on the Plains

snakes-on-a-planeDeck the Halls…

Halls Plaza will close next summer and consolidate into a larger, remodeled Halls Crown Center some 20 blocks away. The downside; this is the last anchor tenant and old guard, local store left on the Plaza. On a positive note, this will consolidate all the pretentiousness into a single location.

Reliable sources tell me that three new tenants will occupy the old Halls space; Dollar General, Dollar Store and Dollar Tree. Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | 12 Comments