KC Confidential | Hearne Christopher, Uncensored

Valentine: Time to Rethink Capitalism, Kids

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Mark Valentine

Original art by Mark Valentine

Don’t call Bernie Sanders a socialist…

The Democratic presidential candidate is a Democratic Socialist. When you try to look that up, you will find that it pretty much only ends up on sites about Bernie Sanders. At first, it seems to be a made up term like “compassionate conservative.”

Go to the official website DSAUSA.org and see the picture they paint of themselves.

“The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of The Socialist International.”

So unlike “compassionate conservatives,” these socialists are affiliated with a foreign organization. That organization was formed in Germany in 1951 and it has put 54 political parties in power in other countries.

Has the U.S. ever had a domestic political party affiliated with an external party?

There has been several other political parties besides Republicans and Democrats but none have called a foreign political organization their affiliate.

This might be a good time to question the source of Sanders fundraising.

Millions of small donations are very hard to track. An internet search will turn up several blog posts that come from Europeans who have donated to Sanders. That would be illegal, so I am sure Bernie has returned all of that money. After all, he’s only spending about $5 million a week on ads.

Socialists don’t seem to be great at math, so it should be noted that that’s sarcasm. Sanders is spending a lot more than Clinton. Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Valentine | Tagged Mark Valentine | 11 Comments

Stomper: Judicial Activism / Is the Constitution a Living Document ?

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Stomper

The death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia in a contentious presidential year has created a firestorm…

It leaves the court with a split of four left leaning justices and four right. On top of which it’s brought to the forefront the topic of how the constitution is to be interpreted and how Justices are influenced in reaching their decisions.

Which begs the question: “ Is the Constitution a living document?”

Well, DUH !!

To some, the statement that the Constitution is a “living document” is pure heresy. To me it’s fairly obvious that it is and should be.

Allow me to plead my case.

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

First let’s consider a few definitions so we can hopefully at least start on the same page. Because I seriously doubt we’ll be ending on the same page.

Judicial Activism; Judicial rulings suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law.

Judicial Restraint; The theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power. It asserts that judges should hesitate to strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional, though what counts as unconstitutional is itself a matter of some debate.

Strict Constructionism/Originalism; Interpreting the constitution based on a literal and narrow definition of the language without reference to the differences in conditions when the constitution was written and modern conditions, inventions, and societal changes. It should be noted that originalism , textualism, strict constructionism, and conservatism share many traits but are not necessarily synonymous terms.

Living Constitution; Interpreting the Constitution in accordance with its original meaning or intent is sometimes unacceptable as a policy matter and thus an evolving interpretation is necessary. The framers specifically wrote the Constitution in broad and flexible terms to create a dynamic, living document.

******* ******* ******* Continue reading →

Posted in Stomper | Tagged Stomper | 12 Comments

Glazer: Crafty Trump Manhandles Ted Cruz, The Pope & Pretty Much Everybody

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Craig Glazer

Besties?

Stop the presses!

A lawsuit’s been filed in Cook County, Chicago against Ted Cruz‘s eligibility for the high office of President of The United States. And guess what, It will be heard. Wow.

This may dominate the political news for the next several weeks.

The surprise is that is was filed by a lawyer named Lawerence Joyce who just happens to be a Ben Carson supporter. Even though it had been Donald Trump who had come after Cruz on this issue.

The basis for the lawsuit is real.

Cruz was born in Canada, and while his mother was a U.S. Citizen his father was not. The rules state you must be born in the United States or if you migrate to the U.S. both parents needed to be U.S. Citizens. Clearly that’s not eh case with Cruz.

Oh, boy. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged Craig Glazer | 35 Comments

Sutherland: What’s Wrong with America?

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

People have been asking for my take on this year’s presidential race…

And as someone who’s been a political enthusiast for decades, I should be able to make an informed guess on what’s likely to happen in both parties, right?

However, this year we are in uncharted waters, with voters so angry and frustrated that they are willing to support protest candidates they never would have considered before like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

The first question that must be answered to get even a semblance of an understanding of what’s going on is why are people so upset.

I would submit the answer is so obvious that it is like the Edgar Allen Poe story, “The Purloined Letter,” where the critical evidence is “hidden in plain view.”

The root cause of American anxiety is the precipitous decline in the manufacturing sector of the economy over the last 45 years, a trend particularly marked in heavy industries like steel and automobiles.

Economists and social scientists agree with impressive unamity that two years are of particular significance in post-war history: 1973, when wage growth stopped for average Americans, and 1979, when the income gap between the wealthy and the rest of society widened significantly.

These trends are usually conflated into the catch phrase, “the erosion of the middle class.”

I would submit that they are different and distinct phenomena and that what we’re really seeing is the disappearance of high paid (often union scale) blue collar jobs in manufacturing, WHICH AFFORDED WORKING CLASS FAMILIES A MIDDLE CLASS STANDARD OF LIVING e.g. a chance to own their homes and send their children to college. Continue reading →

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | Tagged Bernie Sanders, Dwight Sutherland, Hillary Clinton | 21 Comments

Kelly’s Heroes: Lawrence’ O Cafe Rocks Korean Out of the Park

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Kelly Hodges

Kelly Hodges

Dae-bok!

It’s really nice to feel, see and taste good food made by people who care about what’s coming out of their kitchen!

I was referred to O Cafe in Lawrence by a good friend who told me it’s one of his current faves and I couldn’t agree more. The atmosphere’s – you know – OK and all, but I’m not one to put too much weight in an owner’s taste in decorating. Hey, if it’s clean and tidy and the food’s top notch, you can pin posters of Farrah Fawcett on the wall for all I care and I’m good. And O Cafe most certainly is clean and tidy with great food. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Race’ Bio-Drama Sinks Hitler’s Vision

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Jürgen Poessiger

Sports themed movies have always been a tough sell for Hollywood…

Most fail at the box office.

One of the more successful sports films in modern times was probably Kevin Costner’s 1989 baseball movie FIELD OF DREAMS which ended up with a total box office gross of $64.5 million.

Other Costner sports movies weren’t so lucky.

His feel-good McFARLAND, USA only brought in $44.5 million in ticket sales while DRAFT DAY flamed out at $28.8 million.

Of course there HAVE been a few hits along the way as well.

The most recent probably being the Jackie Robinson baseball story ’24’ starring Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman.

It wowed them with $95 million at the domestic box office.

Now comes RACE, the greatest face-off at the 1936 summer Olympics.

But it didn’t all happen on the field.

It went down instead between black American athlete Jesse Owens and Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. Continue reading →

Posted in Jack Poessiger | Tagged Jack Poessiger, Jesse Owens | 4 Comments

Glazer: Hating On the Rich & Famous

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Craig Glazer

America’s true pastime – sadly – the hate and scandal game…

Who can we burn, how bad can we burn them and how fast? And the meaner, more tied to sex or money the better, right? It’s a daily and constant media onslaught, the new opium of the people.

Why has this blown up to be so big today?

Simple: life is hard for most Americans. Bills and family issues as well as trouble at work makes it easy to want to hate on others who seem to have it made.

Just this past week two more famous winners – quarterback Peyton Manning and comic Amy Schumer – were under attack.

Manning’s being tied to a sex scandal from his days at the University of Tennessee. Seems he was accused by a female trainer of pushing his private parts into her face while she was working on his injured foot. Manning says he was mooning a fellow jock and it just happened by accident when he moved forward.

Manning says he thought she would take it as a joke.

She didn’t.

It was in a report she filed nearly 20 years ago against him that was settled at the time. She has her side he has his. Manning wrote about the incident in a book. So now just after he wins Super Bowl 50 it’s all being brought back up. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged Craig Glazer | 25 Comments

Glazer: The Best ‘Sports Season’ in Kansas City History?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by admin

Hail to the chief!

Future Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self has navigated Kansas back to No. 2 in the nation and is on the verge of a number 12, Big 12 title. It was just a few weeks ago that KU lost three out of five games. Talk was this would be the year Kansas didn’t win the Big 12, that it would go to Oklahoma.

Nope, KU found its energy and new hot stars like Devonte Graham to fire them up to beat OU, West Virginia and now Oklahoma State last night in a runaway at Allen Field House 94-67.

KU is looking to be a No. 1 seed in the big dance next month.

If KU and OU win out – and they should – both will be No. 1’s. In fact the Big 12 has six teams in the top 25. Nice. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Stomper: Republican Supreme Court Strategy Could Backfire

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Stomper

Be careful what you wish for…

As noted by a plethora of postulating punditry, the unexpected death of conservative SCOTUS stalwart Antonin Scalia has provided the GOP a new and critical lead issue to use against each other in the primaries…

And certainly against President Obama and the Democratic nominee once we get to that point. While those on the left are bound to throw fits, it’s almost certain that the GOP controlled Senate will stall on the confirmation hearings and try and leave it to the next president (praying it will be a Republican) and next Senate to address that constitutional requirement.

Delaying is a calculated risk for the GOP, but more on that later.

It’s been mentioned already that the incoming president would have the ability to fill any vacancies on the court, but that was on the back burner among issues in the debates thus far. With liberal justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg at 82, Anthony M. Kennedy at 80, and Stephen G. Breyer, at 78, it was generally anticipated that the current voting justices would present the first openings.

However now with the loss of the anchor voice for strict constructionist conservatism on the court resulting in a four-to-four voting split, we should expect that appointing the next member of SCOTUS will be the lead issue from here until November, especially on the GOP side.

It also gives GOP candidates Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush additional ammo to point out that Donald Trump is not a true conservative and would not name an appropriately conservative Justice for the Senate to consider.

In addition it places a critical focus on the Senate and about a half dozen or so crucial races this year. The current Senate is made up of 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents ( Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine).

The two Independents currently caucus with the Democrats so it is effectively a 54/46 split. If the Democrats can pick up a net gain for four seats and the Democrats win the White House (the sitting vice-president would break the tie in a senate vote) and the senate Democrats would be able to confirm a nominee.

And if you feel confident that the minority Republicans would filibuster, remember the “Nuclear Option” is always on the table. Continue reading →

Posted in Stomper | Tagged Pembroke Hill School, Stomper | 34 Comments

Glazer: Presidential Election a ‘Bad Reality Show’

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Craig Glazer

I feel your pain…

That was former president Bill Clinton‘s brand when he ran for the high office of president of the United States. He won. Now his wife, Hillary Clinton is trying to follow in his footsteps. And so far she’s still favored to win the nomination and be elected president, however the big knock on her is she doesn’t feel anybody’s pain.

In fact, voters are looking to Republican candidates for sympathy about their feelings. The GOP folks have flipped the script and are pushing the pain and anger buttons and so far it’s working.

Donald Trump has clearly established himself as the man to beat.

Bill Clinton was supposed to be Hillary’s secret weapon. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 18 Comments

Glazer: Newton Strikes Out as ‘The Great Black Hope’

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Craig Glazer

We all know who won the Super Bowl and who lost…

However there was much more on the line than merely a win one of the teams. The average fan will only remember who won. The losers are too soon forgotten except for their fans and their city. Many fans remember the great Chicago Bears team of 1985, but who did they crush in the Super Bowl? Who were the two teams John Elway defeated at the end of his career?

See, you have to really think about it.

The big loser this year is Cam Newton.

Now let’s be honest.

Most NFL observers behind closed doors (and a few in front of them) will say, that there has never been a great black quarterback. We have seen some very good African American quarterbacks over the years, Donovan McNabb likely being the best. Warren Moon was too little too late with no Super Bowls. Mike Vick, well, you know that story.

So Cam was to be THE MAN.

He was to be the face of the NFL. Cam would replace Tom Brady as the NFL’s best. Yet not only did he lose the game, Newton was embarrassed. He did little to turn the tide. Cam looked lost. He had zero touchdowns and few big plays that mattered.

And then Newton’s not trying to recover the fumble late in the fourth quarter – his own – made him look really bad. His post game comments were brief. Understandably. He got crushed. It was HIS loss. He did not measure up to what fans and the observers were expecting.

Cam Newton was the big loser. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged Craig Glazer | 24 Comments

Valentine: An American Cliff Hanger

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Mark Valentine

Original art by Mark Valentine

If we shot a picture of the world from the heart of America six weeks into the new year, it would seem like an unlikely scene from a bad movie…

In the foreground, the election process is in full swing. The Republicans have the usual governors, a young Cuban senator, a black brain surgeon, a female former head of a Fortune 500 company and an unfiltered, self-funded billionaire.

The Democrats have a grandma who would already be in jail if she wasn’t so well connected and an aging Socialist. The electorate is so unhappy with the government that the bellicose billionaire and the angry, old Socialist are trouncing the more mainstream candidates.

President Obama has just signed a nuclear treaty with Iran, a nation that was founded on the concept of “Death To America” that now has a path to a nuclear weapon. The President says it is a good deal although most generals and intelligence officers disagree.

And right before Obama releases over 100 billion dollars to Iran, Iran fires a ballistic missile to signal that they can reach the USA with a bomb. Right after he releases the money to Iran, they capture an American Navy vessel, film the sailors and use the footage as propaganda. And in an odd plot twist, The US Secretary of State thanks Iran for their actions. Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Valentine | Tagged Mark Valentine | 9 Comments

Edelman: KC Stages Offer Laughs When We Need ‘Em

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Mark Edelman

ISIS, Sam Brownback, the water in Flint— there’s a lot out there to make us frown or get down…

To the rescue come a pair of Kansas City’s best theaters, churning out laughter yuge-r than a Trump ego.

Have fun with these happy hits!

OUT OF ORDER, now thru Feb 14 at the New Theatre Restaurant, offers Brit farce king Ray Cooney in fine form — a three door/one window laughfest starring WKRP in Cincinnati‘s Gary Sandy as a philandering Senator who gets caught with more than his pants down. Under the able direction of Joe Fox, who learned his craft from that fine farce facilitator Dennis Hennessy, scantily-clad babes, dead bodies, a badgering bellhop and more skullduggery than a Ted Cruz primary campaign keep things rolling merrily along. New Theatre favorite Craig Benton does a nice job as Sandy’s fixer, who just barley keeps all of Sandy’s balls in the air. Joining the beat-upon Benton are a talented cast of scenery-chewers, notably James Wright as a supercilious hotel manager and Alan Tilson as that fleecing factotum. These folks are pros and the laughter confirms it. Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Edelman | Tagged Mark Edeelman, New Theatre Restaurant | 7 Comments

Lefsetz: The Bernie Sanders Revolution is Unfolding

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Bob Lefsetz

This is exactly what happened in 1964…

Elvis was king.

And then the Beatles wiped him off the map.

We had a decade of rock and roll. It had been whittled down to a formula. Sure, Bobby Darin had talent, but Fabian and the other Bobby – Bobby Rydell – were marginal players. But that was music, a sideshow.

And then…

A band with roots who didn’t believe in convention, who’d honed their sound off the radar, delivered an honest wallop that was undeniable.

And overnight the youth switched allegiance.

Could happen again. Probably will if Bernie Sanders is an indicator.

You know it’s not your mother’s world anymore when Gloria Steinem is on the wrong side of the issue. She famously told Bill Maher that young women were supporting Bernie because that’s where the young men were. Talk about no respect, Rodney Dangerfield‘s rolling in his grave. When the paragons of envelope-pushing are tone deaf as to what is going on your know you’re in the midst of a revolution.

The millennials were supposed to be pussies, whiners, coddled for life by their parents to the point they couldn’t survive on their own. Continue reading →

Posted in Bob Lefsetz | Tagged Bob Lefsetz | 15 Comments

Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Deadpool’ a Wild Adult Super Hero Romp

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Jack Poessiger

DEADPOOL is definitely NOT a kid-friendly Marvel movie character adaptation!

Maybe, ANT-MAN WITH SEX?

Yeah, that’s the ticket—up to a point.

So how do we do justice to Marvel Comics’ most unconventional and lesser known anti-hero?

Simple.

By predicting that he’s about to become a household name.

He’s Deadpool – a.k.a. Wade Wilson – who before becoming a super hero of sorts was an underground mercenary. But when cancer set in he finds himself recruited by a secret research group with promises of a miracle cure. Instead he is hideously disfigured and ends up with an unstoppable human force.

The key element here is human, but with some of the funniest and raunchiest lines ever to come out of a super hero’s mouth.

Deadpool is perfectly portrayed by Ryan Reynolds who also co-produced this action comedy.

And Reynolds pulls out ALL the stops in this very R-rated big screen adventure, delivering heavy doses of violence, racy dialogue, sex and nudity. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dead Pool, Deadpool, Jack Poessiger | 15 Comments

New Jack City: The NOT So Super Super Bowl Ads

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Jack Poessiger

I was NOT impressed!

Is it just me or has creativity of the TV commercials produced for their initial airing during the Super Bowl been steadily going downhill? With this year’s batch being some of the poorest?

Here they come – the mighty corporate geniuses of commerce – green lighting some of the goofiest, silliest commercial concepts presented by their mega ad agencies.

Do you think some of those corporate business heads are intimidated by their (perceived as) hip agencies?

I think they are!

Think about it, a reported $5 million for a 30 second spot during the game.

And probably another million—give or take a couple of hundred thousand—for conceptuals, production and whatever else these agencies can tag on.

And that’s ALL we get?

So who’s REALLY the winner here?

For one the network is. And, of course, the ad agencies themselves are too. Continue reading →

Posted in Jack Poessiger | Tagged Jack Poessiger | 9 Comments

Glazer: Super Bowl 50 — Was I Ever Wrong!

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Craig Glazer

Superman ran into Kryptonite at the Super Bowl 50!

Panthers QB Cam Newton – the face of the NFL and MVP – was a no show. As was the entire Panther offense. Denver’s defense was so good, it didn’t need an offense. Manning threw for a Super Bowl winning team, record low of 141 yards. He had no touchdown passes and was sacked 5 times, yet the Broncos still WON a 24-10 upset shocker.

I was wrong, wrong and wrong on this game.

The Panthers dropped countless throws, made tons of stupid, bad plays, including six offensive pre-snap offsides and poor special teams play. Oh yeah, and a missed field goal and fumbles by Newton.

In fact, the two biggest mistakes of game were on Cam.

An early strip fumble courtesy of game MVP Von Miller went for a Bronco’s TD and a second one in the fourth quarter ended the game. For some odd reason, Newton didn’t even try and jump on his own fumble on third down deep in his own territory. The Broncos got the ball, scored and the game was over.

Denver’s Wade Phillips called a great defensive game. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged Cam Newton, Craig Glazer, Peyton Manning | 6 Comments

Starbeams: Dirty Grandpa@ Cinemark Plaza, Wrong Super Bowl Bash & Village People

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Kelly Urich

Bomb sniffing dogs were called to Cinemark Theater on the Plaza after a bomb threat was made. After several hours of sniffing, dogs were only able to identify Dirty Grandpa.

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

Scientists now believe that ravens have the ability to read each other’s minds. We already know that Cardinals have the ability to read the Houston Astros database.

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

Top 5 Signs You’re at the Wrong Super Bowl Party:

#10. Everyone shows up wearing Coldplay concert t-shirts.

#9. They try to break the restroom decibel record.

#8. Everyone takes a shot when a player gets a concussion.

#7. Each year the party gets bigger…thanks to HGH.

#6. It’s catered by Chipotle. Continue reading →

Posted in Starbeams | Leave a comment

Lefsetz: NFL, Coldplay, Super Bowl Out of Touch

Posted on February 8, 2016 by admin

And the winner of the night?

HONDA! For offering free Uber rides home, at least in SoCal, where I was watching.

You make the most of an opportunity. The advertisements were so busy being clever that they missed their target. You want to make us believe in your product and want to use and buy it. But in an era where fame is everything and substance goes out the window it’s no surprise that Madison Avenue demonstrated cluelessness.

But the truth is our nation is in a mass upheaval.

That’s the essence of both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. We want the truth, authenticity and credibility, we want to be respected, and when you see only dollar signs we shrug and move on.

Sometimes you have to say no. All exposure isn’t good exposure. What was the chance casual Coldplay fans would be infected by the band’s performance and purchase tickets to their show? Close to nil.

Now the band has a stink upon it, relegated to second tier status in their own supposedly shining moment. They appeared to be smiling nitwits in a sea of humanity that resembled nothing so much as Up With People, the lame, safe, halftime show the NFL used to employ, when musicians abhorred the rules and regulations of sports, when they were all about rejecting cultural norms as opposed to embracing them for profit.

Football is a violent sport. What’s up with all the wimpy music? Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Lefsetz: Football’s for Losers Like Coldplay

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Bob Lefsetz

Why are we so concerned about kids in Flint, but give NFL players a pass?

Why are we up in arms about Michigan’s governor, but cry hosannas when a billionaire moves his football team to Los Angeles and Roger Goodell escapes unscathed?

It’s time for Coldplay to pull out of the Super Bowl.

Forget black actors at the Oscars, this is a much bigger deal. When are artists going to say they’re not going to participate in this barbaric enterprise where people are maimed for life?

Flint was about the money.

The NFL is about the money.

And playing the Super Bowl is about the money too. It not only raises your visibility/profile, it helps you sell tickets.

Is that the country we’ve evolved into, one wherein money is everything? Continue reading →

Posted in Bob Lefsetz | 9 Comments

Tags

Sections