KC Confidential

Can we talk?

When it comes to Melissa McCarthy movies you pretty well know what you are in for.

Some, of course, are better than others.

Her best—and breakthrough film—definitely was BRIDESMAIDS.

In-betweeners include her buddy-cop comedy THE HEAT opposite Sandra Bullock and IDENTITY THIEF in which she co-starred with Jason Bateman.

And SPY opposite Jude Law and Jason Statham also delivered some raw laughs.

However let us not forget the dramedy ST. VINCENT in which we finally saw another side of her talents played out opposite Bill Murray.

At the bottom of Ms. McCarthy’s filmography has to be TAMMY which she co-produced with her husband Ben Falcone who also directed the unfortunate comedy in which Susan Sarandon was cast as Melissa’s grandmother.

Comes now THE BOSS which is also co-produced by the McCarthy-Falcone team and yes, directed by her husband—again.

So how’d they do this time out? Continue reading →

Put away the black armbands, lose the hankies, this is a time of hope!

That’s right, after upwards of nine years of layoffs and buyouts, the Kansas City Star is in a position where…it could.just.go.all.the.way!

Don’t rub your eyes, you heard me.

The past week’s buyouts of over-the-hill reporters and columnists at 18th and Grand may have finally paved the way for a generational beginning, a fresh start. You know, out with the old, in with the new. And it’s about time!

When it all started – this layoffs and attrition business – 10 or so years ago, it was ugly.

Ugly, but necessary…seriously.

Think about it; there were nearly 2,100 staffers at the newspaper, a ridiculously bloated number. That included business “reporters” who spent the majority of their work day monitoring eBay; editors who wrote food books chocked full of factual errors that nobody bought; and editorial writers, columnists and reporters who blathered on about their love of cats and comic books; and self-indulgent news editors who thought they were all knowing and too smart for the room.

Because they operated as news media monopolies and could pretty much mint money, there was little to no accountability. If readers or advertisers didn’t like it, they could lump it. With rare exception, pretty much everybody at the Star was dead certain they knew more than the readers and didn’t really give a fig if anybody thought differently.

It was the Golden Era of Newspapering...for those on the inside looking out, cashing paychecks and mailing it in. But see, now it’s over – really over.

I spoke with the Star’s editor two years ago and he told me he was about two years away from clearing the decks of washed up, tired hangers on and being in a position to repopulate the newspaper with younger reporters, writers and editors who could give it a chance of surviving.

The $64 million question: Did he wait too long? Continue reading →

Another day, another terrorist attack…

Today’s went down in the Brussels airport and subway with more than 38 killed and 170 injured.  A suicide bomber hit the airport terminal and shortly after another explosion took place at Brussels subway.

Naturally Isis is celebrating on Twitter.

This followed the arrest of the Paris attack leader, Salah Abdeslam. And it’s believed his crew was responsible for the attacks this morning. According to military sources Abdeslam’s childhood friend lead today’s killing spree. Word is the two were talking and wanted to make a statement before they were captured or killed.

Naturally CNN, Fox and most news outlets were all over this terrible nightmare early this morning with video and reporters on the scene.

However what was most interesting to me during the early reporting on the attack was the media didn’t seem to get words from President Obama who’s hanging out in Cuba today. Nor did they corner Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or Ted Cruz.

Nope.

The go-to news guy was – wait for it – Donald Trump. Continue reading →

Hello this is Washington, how can I disconnect you?

It flew under most people’s radar. The United States paid $500 million into the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund last week. It was the first payment of the $3 billion the Obama Administration pledged to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Can the government we fund be any more disconnected from actually serving the people paying for it?

In current events, $500 million is the estimated cost to fix the water system that has poisoned the families living in Flint, Michigan. It seems so much more difficult to find that money.

$500 million was the amount the Obama Administration spent on the program to train and equip Syrian fighters. We got four or five fighters from that program.

And $500 million makes the $43 million the Obama Administration spent on a gas station in Sheberghan, Afghanistan seem like a bargain until you realize nobody can use it.

The Paris Climate Change Agreement was born disconnected from American citizens. If you want to put it in historical context, a few days earlier ISIS launched three coordinated attacks in Paris, killing 129 people and wounding hundreds. It was difficult to suspend disbelief as our rulers declared the greatest threat to the world to be climate change.

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Live news feeds showed they had not yet cleaned the blood of the victims from the streets of Paris.

Yet the Obama Administration flaunted this disconnect from those required to pay for the Paris Climate Change Agreement. They publicly bragged about having no intention of submitting the agreement to the democratically elected senate for its advice or consent. Josh Earnest, Obama’s spokesman said, “I think it’s hard to take seriously from some members of congress who deny the fact that climate change exists, that they should have some opportunity to render judgment about a climate change agreement.”

The problem is that it has all the hallmarks of a treaty that should be submitted to the Senate for its approval under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. Also, the agreement contains targets and timetables for emissions reductions. The Obama Administration’s failure to submit the agreement to the senate breaches a commitment made by the executive branch to the Senate in 1992 in regard to ratification of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The treaty itself makes little scientific sense. 

There’s voluntary monitoring of emissions, but its language is mainly focused on actual temperatures and financial pledges.

Basically, it’s an agreement that money will be taken from the taxpayers of larger countries and sent to the UN to be distributed in a vague way to the smaller countries of the world.

Last month, The Supreme Court froze the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan which may have some impact on The Paris Agreement.

However, now that they have US taxpayer money, Héla Cheikhrouhou, the fund’s executive director is hiring 120 new staff members. She’s optimistic that the Obama Administration, without any input from Congress, has pledged $2.5 billion more after making the initial $500 million deposit.

The Republic of Fiji has marked history by being the first country in the world to ratify the Paris Climate Change deal.

Does anyone really think this has anything much to do with pollution?