KC Confidential

No need to rub your eyes, it’s true…

Ten years after I fumbled a layoffs deal that would have continued my column in the FYI section of the Kansas City Star – and after dozens of online columns questioning and/or criticizing different individuals and aspects of our local newspaper of record, the waters have parted and they’ve offered to rehire me.

That’s right, what’s left of the newspaper wants me back.

Not a big surprise, considering that for the better part of 16 years I had the highest read column there. On top of which, for some strange reason they don’t have anybody writing a column, column anymore – nobody.

Outside of a new collection of editorial opinion writers whose job it is to tell folks how to differentiate right from wrong.

And hey, what grown adult doesn’t want or need a daily dose of micromanaging?

Anyway, here’s the actual deal… Continue reading →

Pic of criminal illegal alien’s kids the Star ran to generate rancor toward ICE for arresting and deporting him

Almost everyone’s familiar with the pop culture definition of insanity…

Why then does the Kansas City Star persist in reporting day old stories as if they were breaking news while bagging on Donald Trump and talking down to readers by force feeding agenda-driven, liberal leaning stories and views?

How about reporting sans the sermons? It can be done, you know.

Fat chance…

That said, these days if you want to find out what’s going on locall, you have to wade through headlines ripping the prez and conservative-leaning pols,  past stories reminding us how heart warming illegal immigration can be and how evil the government is for trying to enforce the laws of the land.

Gone are the business and entertainment sections of the Star, along with the writings of those pesky journalists who used to be known as “columnists.”

You know, folks like Art Brisbane, that goofy Mike Hendricks dude and…oh yeah, me.

About the only thing remaining aside from slanted news coverage is a sports section that revels in insightful headlines like, “The Chiefs must prove they are not who they appear to be” and “Mahomes needs to be even even better in postseason.”

Pretty deep, right?

Or how about a few weeks ago when that Gregorian dude they imported from St. Louis a couple years back told readers that the “simple truth” was that newly shit-canned, star running back “Kareem Hunt was a luxury, not a necessity, for Chiefs.”

So much for that prescient peek into Kansas City’s sports future. Continue reading →

Some OF YOU may wonder IF I’ve given up on the movies…

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let’s just say that a temporary, severe health issue placed an unfortunate fork in my writing and reviewing road, preventing me from attending advance screenings.

The good news: I’m on the mend and am inching back into the movie spiel.

In the meantime—thanks to earlier previews and studio-provided screeners—here are my nine best bets at the box office during this December’s holiday season.

Not based on ticket sales, mind you, but on what I believe will provide you the most fun nights at the movies.

1.- The biographical, comedic-drama “VICE” starring Christian Bale as VP Dick Chaney and Amy Adams as Lynn Chaney. Continue reading →

Star editor Mike Fannin’s second DUI mugshot

When you unleash a seriously good expose, you shouldn’t need to engage in behind-the-scenes manipulations for affirmation…

Yet that appears to be exactly what the Kansas City Star’s been doing ever since its attempted “bust” of newly elected Missouri senator Josh Hawley went down right before the election last October.

The newspaper used last minute, spoon fed information alleging Hawley’s wrongful use of political consultants to try and save Star -backed candidate Claire McCaskill‘s failing campaign.

A few days after its “scoop” failed to attain liftoff, the Star doubled down by trotting out disgraced editor Mike Fannin to try and breath life into it.

“We have the story documented,” Fannin argued. “Those documents spell out clearly what happened: That Hawley turned over management of his office to consultants almost immediately after being elected and contrary to what he told the public. This is an easy story to stand by. The sourcing and reporting are unimpeachable.”

Unimpeachable or not, McCaskill took an election day bullet and the Star continued for weeks to try and get Hawley in trouble.

Which brings us to today…

“State Opens Hawley Inquiry,” shouts the newspaper’s front page headline alongside an unflattering pic of Hawley.

So now here’s how the journalism game is being played…

The Star is reporting that a legitimate-sounding group called the American Democracy Legal Fund has sparked an investigation by the Missouri Attorney General’s office into Hawley based largely on Fannin’s Star story.

“This constitutes a misuse of public funds,” the group’s complaint reads.

Conveniently, the Star somehow “obtained” a copy of the attorney general’s confirmation to the ADLF of an investigation into Hawley.

In other words, unable to spark the investigation based solely on its reporting, the newspaper succeeded in siccing  a faux “nonprofit” on Hawley that Wikipedia notes “has been accused of existing solely to create ‘a steady stream of lawsuits accusing Republicans of ethics and campaign finance violations.”

The National Review has called the dude behind the group, a “right-wing assassin turned left-wing assassin”

Cozy.

Now let’s follow the bouncing ball. Continue reading →

Here’s a don’t miss event at Argosy Casino. Says, “No refunds!” on the ad!

Now that the faux handwringing on the Chiefs cutting Kareem Hunt is starting to subside…

How about we take a moment for a bit of reflection and some finger pointing?

Because somewhat obviously the sexist excuses making the rounds about Hunt’s shoving and kicking a 19 year-old woman last winter are fast becoming the least of his issues regarding being allowed to play football for the NFL now that he has at least three (that we know of) incidents of getting wasted and roughing up losers.

Even the video game market has turned on the disgraced former Chiefs running back with Madden 19 axing his doppelgänger from newest version the game.

Seriously…

You know you’re in deep doo-doo when a kid’s video game – an arena where beyond-belief sex and violence are celebrated to the 10th power – thinks you’re too bad to the bone.

Oh yeah, former Star blowhard Jason Whitlock weighed in yesterday on TMZ – at pretty much the exact wrong time – on how Hunt could get back into the NFL.

“If he goes out and makes an earnest attempt to get proper help, and continues to stay humble and contrite, makes amends with the victim – yeah, I think he gets another shot in the NFL,” Whitlock told the gossip site.

Had “Big Sexy” waited a couple of hours – or does a bit more research into already reported instances of outbursts of violence by Hunt, he might have sounded more informed and less sanguine. Continue reading →

Tis the season, right?

And what better time to lay a little positivity on our new friends at The Pitch. Guess what? They deserve it!

I’m not going to nitpick last month’s “Best of Kansas City” issue. By now pretty much everyone has figured out that these deals are money grabs by small pubs wanting to garner the attention of new readers and prospective advertisers.

For the most part they’re bogus, because nobody really thinks in terms of stuff like best laundromat or convenience stop. But they’re informative for folks who don’t get out much.

More to the point is The Pitch’s relatively stellar November issue…

Seriously, given the obvious state of the mag’s financial affairs, that they’re still publishing is a minor miracle. Yet the Pitch delivers some relatively high quality goods.

For example, in “The Scooter Chase” we get a behind the scenes peek at locals cashing in on those ubiquitous, rentable, about-town scooters dotting KC’s urban landscape.

People grab ’em on the go, pay a buck then 15 cents a minute to ride them, then abandon them wherever. I coulda swore I saw Ivan leaving one off at Casey’s General Store the other day. The story’s about the people who make a few bucks by wandering around, picking them up, taking them home and charging them, then dropping them back off to their so-called nests.

And with 23 pages 0f ads – three short of a profitable number – the Pitch is doing better.

Trouble is, running a freebie pub is a losing battle…hence the following plea:

“A word to our readers:

For nearly 40 years, The Pitch has served as the independent voice of Kansas City — a source of investigative reporting, unflinching political commentary, and street-level arts and culture coverage. We have always been free, whether in print or online, and we intend to remain so. Unfortunately, online advertising alone cannot sustain the kind of independent local journalism to which Pitch readers have been accustomed for the better part of the last four decades.

If you appreciate what we do, we hope you will consider making a financial contribution, which you can do by clicking the “Support Us” button in the bottom-right-hand corner of your screen. It takes less than a minute, and your generosity will help us continue to produce vital, progressive, and honest journalism in the city we all love. Thank you.” Continue reading →

Sometimes you can try too hard…

In today’s competitive market, where you can make it but the label won’t put it out until it’s convinced it’s a hit, everybody feels the pressure, and this works against music.

Whereas Eric Clapton‘s Christmas album seems to be a toss-off, getting a group of people together in a studio to jam, to create product as opposed to shooting for stardom. And that’s why it’s so great, it’s REAL!

If you were alive back in the era of jams, when it was about the feel first and foremost, you’ll get this. You’ll close your eyes and you’ll be at the Fillmore, swaying with the crowd, enraptured by the music.

This is the past, but it could also be the future.

You’ll be stunned that this sound is still around, it’s totally in the pocket. It’s like running into a cousin or a college roommate, but they don’t look like they used to. They’re experienced; they’re world-weary, just like you.

They’ve got a tale to tell and this is it.

Now if you need the Clapton of yore, where he’s working out on his axe, play “Christmas Tears” – he wails enough for any fan. But truly, Clapton’s learned the lessons of his old mentor Delaney Bramlett, that less is more, and there’s no upside in showing off. You’ve got to be in service to the song, the track.

And even though you recognize some of the titles – if you didn’t read them you probably wouldn’t know the track.

The song is just a starting point. Continue reading →

This just in…

Most – okay, not all – sports media types are jock sniffers. In some cases, glorified, nerd jock sniffers.

I realize this may not be wildly surprising, but it’s a good jumping off point to talk about Star columnist Vahe Gregorian’s piece about Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes breaking former Chief’s star Len Dawson‘s touchdown record.

Lame because anyone who knowns Dawson, knows he has an ego that won’t quit.

Case in point, when KC signed legendary quarterback Joe Montana in the early 1990s, Chiefs fans were delirious over the prospect of landing the greatest quarterback that ever lived. In 14 seasons with San Fancisco Montana started and won four Super Bowls.

That while wearing a jersey with No. 16 emblazoned on it.

Which some of you may recall, was Dawson’s number here.

Chiefs fans flooded talk radio saying Montana should get to keep No. 16.

Dawson appeared to take the high road – acting as if he didn’t care – but his wife told me the opposite was the case. That he felt betrayed that the team and fans would even consider letting jolting Joe use his hallowed jersey number.

In the end, Montana joined the Chiefs wearing No. 19, so Dawson’s sanctity was preserved – but it was clear he didn’t want anyone messing with his legacy.

Which brings us to Gregorian’s column about Mahomes breaking Dawson’s  single season touchdown record. Continue reading →

So many surveys, so little time…

What would we have to talk about if it wasn’t for those endless surveys pitting Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri against competing cities and states?

Not much, apparently.

Two of the more interesting of late include The Top 20 Foodie Cities and Fattest States in America from the personal finance website WalletHub.

Cutting to the chase on the first one, KC didn’t make the list.

But that’s just the tip of this foodie iceberg. Continue reading →

I get it…

When skating on ice as thin as the Kansas City Star is the last thing one can afford to do is sit back and mail it in. So it’s not surprising that the know-it-all editorial board folks at the newspaper weigh in daily on anything and everything….regardless of their expertise and biases.

One concept that seems to escape them is that sometimes less is more.

And a modicum of unbiased coverage could go a long way when it comes to attracting readers of a less radical persuasion.

        But the same old, same old beat goes on.

Take today’s editorial on Josh Hawley’s dismantling of  Claire McCaskill, for example.

It’s hard to imagine a big city newspaper being more petty and catty, Especially given that the Star went out of its way to exonerate McCaskill from getting majorly busted via an embarrassing under cover investigation that revealed that she was lying to conservative voters in order to try and get elected.

But forget McCaskill’s dishonest duplicity…

The Star seized on the fact that the investigators busted McCaskill by using hidden cameras, which they say is a violation of the newspaper’s so-called reporting guidelines.

Memo to the Star: The folks that busted McCaskill don’t work for McClatchy.

What really rankled the newspaper about McCaskill’s loss last night was that its attempted PR bust of Hawley turned out to be a snoozer that nobody outside of the Star’s two-time DUI busted editor gave a rip about.

So the editorial board rang in Hawley’s victory by giving him a scolding.

“Missouri voters rewarded Josh Hawley for running a completely generic and thoroughly dishonest campaign by electing him to the senate,” it begins.

Talk about poor losers…

“They overlooked the hypocrisy involved in claiming that incumbent Claire McCaskill had become a creature of Washington…Yet unlikely as it seems right now, we have to hope that Hawley will be more serious about this new post…”

Geez, it reads like a social media post by some friend of a cheerleader who got dumped by the captain of the football team.

Given the paper’s predictable, Dem dominated editorial endorsements, it’s amazing that the Star’s circulation hasn’t plummeted further from its glory days when they had more than 2,000 employees (versus maybe 200) 10 years back.

And make no mistake, unless somebody higher up the corporate ladder steps in and restores a modicum of balanced reporting and opinions, things will continue to get more and more desperate until people start looking to jimmycsays for news and guidance.

Talk about getting the run around…

Between Lawrence police and the city prosecutor, I’m going to venture a guess that drowsy drunken city KC councilman Quinton Lucas has a decent shot at dodging a pretty nasty public relations bullet. One where the embattled Kansas City mayoral candidate’s recent DUI charges are concerned.

In the early reporting, Lucas made it sound as if he was doing the world a favor and taking the high road (pun intended) by sleeping off the two to two a half beers he claims to have consumed over like a three hour period. That while in his car parked just off Mass in the heart of Lawrence’s party zone.

Instead of hot footing it back to KC in an impaired condition,

But wait!

Since when did two and a half beers over such a period of time make for a 0.08 blood alcohol level?

Since never…not according to most experts.

“The general rule of thumb is that 2 standard drinks (12 ounce beers) in the first hour will raise your BAC to 0.05%, and 1 standard per hour thereafter will maintain that level,” according to breathalyzer maker Andatech.

According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission a 160 pound male would need to exceed 3 beers within one hour to be “legally intoxicated” and you can subtract 0.15 for each hour after drinking.

In other words, Lucas getting hammered on two and a half beers over however many hours is bull hockey.

On top of which, why do you think Lawrence police arrested Lucas if he was stone sober? Continue reading →

Another one bites the dust…

Wondering where last week and this week’s movie review went?

I’ve got news.

As in that movie guy Jack Poessiger has been under the weather – a viagra overdose, perhaps?

Nah…

Probably not, but fear not, Jack’s on the mend and has no intention of joining the Scribe down by the River of Styx.

Or anything close.

He’ll probably be out another week or two though, so stay tuned.