On Not Writing About the Strike

A commenter on one of my recent posts has been jumping off topic to ask why I haven't written about Fairfax Strike. Similarly, the good folks over at the KC Blue Blog wrote a better-than-their-normal post on the topic, but felt the need to close it with "We ask each of our local bloggers to take the time create a post in defense of local working families and in support of UAW Local 31."

I find exhortations to join in and write about a particular topic in a particular manner annoying and even a little unsettling. But, since I'm having difficulty articulating why I feel that way, I suspect my position is on shaky logical ground. I'm interested in your thoughts.

First off, let me distinguish some similar behavior that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I greatly enjoy people genuinely raising issues and asking what I think about them - I usually appreciate the suggestion of a topic. I don't mind even the loaded questions, such as the ones calling out one of the candidates I support on a particular topic. Finally, I have no hesitancy whatsoever about blogs calling for action from its readers (go sign this petition, vote for Obama, visit that restaurant!).

But, somehow, the public exhortation to write about a particular topic in a particular fashion gets my back up. Are they seeking conversation and analysis here, or are they demanding orthodoxy? Are they trying to persuade people toward their position, or are they calling on bloggers to bow to their call? And who are they to try to form an electronic mob to jump out in front of and carry the lead torch? And, finally, isn't it a little presumptuous to think that the Blue Blog's or Gone Mild's predictably liberal views have any importance or relevance to the families of UAW Local 31?

Jumping Ship, Onward Obama!

Sorry, Hillary, it's over. A Democratic victory in the General is more important than a Clinton victory in the Primary, and my previous analysis that she is the least "Rove-able" (and hence, more likely to win in the General) has been nullified by the damage to the Democratic Party which will result from her continued campaign.

The historical race has settled into a normal campaign between warring camps, and I no longer believe the Obama supporters would be able to support Clinton enthusiastically even if some miracle gave her the nomination.

I still think she was a great candidate, and less susceptible to being redefined by Rove and the compliant corporate press, but I no longer see any plausible path to the Clinton White House.

I am enthusiastically pro-Obama. Onward to the White House.

Miley Cyrus Showed A Spine, and America Freaked

Last week, I spent way too much time stuck in a small room with a television tuned to cable news. Normally, I avoid such situations, but this was unavoidable, and it provided affirmation of the common-sense proposition that spending time in an ICU is something to avoid. It's not so much the medical risks or watching someone waste away - it's the awful time spent in the thrall of whatever the producers of television news force into the public's throat like an unwanted feeding tube.

The outrage of the week was the fact that a 15 year-old young woman, facing challenges and opportunities that none of us can even imagine, chose to pose for a world-famous photographer in a manner that didn't actually reveal any of her naughty bits, but made viewers realize that she, a 15 year-old young woman, has naughty bits. Judging from the outrage, it made people think a lot about her naughty bits - an awful lot.

The TV was jammed with people shocked, SHOCKED, that Miley Cyrus covered her breasts with a sheet and bared her spine for all of us to gaze at - some of us apparently gazing quite intently.

Meanwhile, here in Kansas City, a few miles from where I live, a few 15 year-old girls gave birth, but nobody cares. Not even me, honestly. I won't put their pictures on my blog, or learn their names, or do anything tomorrow to prevent their friends from being in the same situation.

For just half a news cycle, before the crushing power of Disney's shareholders and the clucking news people and panicked agents got through to her, Miley Cyrus bared her spine to America, and dared to challenge the creepy hot-house world in which 15 year-old women with fully matured bodies are somehow devoid of sexual awareness. The guardians of American morals have rallied, though, and guided us back into the cage of lies that one overwhelmingly safe, incredibly pampered, and completely normal young woman dared to step out of, and show us something we prefer to claim we didn't want to see.

New Blog to Check Out - What's race got to do with it?

Check out this user profile:

I write about my experiences as a white woman in the inner city. The only thing scary about my experience is the uniformed fear of the white community of my neighborhood. My message is to white America: we are the root of the problem in urban race relations. Until we understand the damaging affect of using our white privilege, there will be no change.

If you prefer your analysis of racial issues to remain at the shallow level of joke blogs, you might not enjoy this one, but I look forward to making it a regular read.

Also, she linked to me yesterday, and commented on my blog - two of my favorite identifying signs of a great blogger.

The Empire Strikes Barack

I'm still on board for Hillary, but this is pretty darned funny . . .



(Hat tip to Reverse Vampyr.)

CCP And Candidate Questionnaires

Despite the fact that Gone Mild exists to provide people with all the information they could possibly want about how to vote, I understand that there are a few die-hard "do-it-yourselfers" who want to form their own opinions. If you are one of those who wants to waste his or her time reading up on what candidates really have to say on important issues, instead of simply waiting for my voting directions, you might want to check out the CCP website, which has published the questionnaires submitted by candidates.

In all seriousness, these questionnaires provide valuable information about the candidates, and the CCP is doing a real public service by making them available.

Koster Defies Kansas City Priorities

One of the interesting sidelights to the controversy over Festival Licenses has been Senator Chris Koster's abandonment of Kansas City.

In a quick recap, Kansas City listed as one of its priorities in Jefferson City the increased flexibility in making "Festival Liquor Licensing" available for districts in Kansas City. It's a great idea - a few more festivals with adult beverages available would make our city a better tourist attraction.

Believe it or not, Chris Koster actually voted against this common-sense, pro-Kansas City proposal when it came up in committee. Fortunately, a bipartisan majority, led by Senator Jolie Justus, outvoted Koster's anti-Kansas City sneak attack.

Bad News for Koster's CAFOs

As described earlier on this blog, Chris Koster likes factory farms (a/k/a CAFOs). He likes them so much that he wants to prevent local people from having a voice in where they can locate their sewage lagoons and generate their stink. If you would prefer to avoid pig feces and urine next door, you definitely do not want Chris Koster to be in charge of our environmental laws.

Blog CCP put up a great post on Monday about a CAFO that is trying to argue that it can put 4800 pigs about 400 yards away from a soldier's front door. "He's not there now, anyhow," the factory farm argues. Disgusting people pushing a disgusting farm. Koster's work on behalf of CAFOs has been focused on preventing local communities from having a voice in allowing corporate pig farms, so that small towns cannot fight back to save the home of their local soldier. That's the sort of crowd that Koster is running with. Sound like Democrats to you?

This morning's paper brings more attention to Koster's CAFOs. The first paragraph gives just a whiff of the stench that Koster wants to inflict on Missouri's small towns:

Industrial farms where animals are kept tightly confined present a serious and growing threat to humans, animals and the environment, a private commission reported Tuesday.

The article goes on to point out the dangers in the antibiotics and waste products of these pig factories.

Ironically, the conclusion reached by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the exact opposite of what Chris Koster wants to impose. Where Koster has been trying to rob local communities of the right to interfere with corporate pig farms to locate wherever they want (such as next door to a soldier's home), the bipartisan commission says that local control is better than state control.

Would a real Democrat support corporate pig farms?

Cordish Complaining?

I was shocked that Cordish, the TIF Pig behind the KC Live district, has the gall to complain about festival licenses being issued to other districts in the city to allow outdoor drinking. They claim they were "promised" that the city wouldn't allow such competition.

Were those promises made in the same meetings when Cordish promised to have the district ready in the Fall of '07?

Just wondering . . .

Bottoms Up! Put the Top Down! - Jackson County Legislature Keeps its Privileges

Theresa Garza Ruiz represents the best of the Jackson County legislature. So it came as no surprise that she came up with a workable solution to the awkward and unfair system of "first come, first served" ballot filing for County positions. Our current system, where candidates are made to wait outside the courthouse or obtain early access through favoritism, is simply an embarrassment. Rather than cursing the darkness of insider politics, Garza Ruiz lit a candle of fairness and proposed a lottery system for first-day filers, similar to the one that has been working effectively at the state level.

Garza Ruiz's common-sense solution got rejected 7-2 by a County Legislature that refuses to surrender its insider perks for the good of the County.

This may be a little thing, but tt's the little things that show character. Garza Ruiz showed that she is working for the improvement of the County. The 7 who voted against her showed that they are in it for themselves.

There will be a future round of elections for those 7 legislators, and I am quite confident that they will eagerly use their insider access to gain themselves the fruits of the system they have protected from improvement.

I propose that those of us who reject their ugly system of privilege launch a campaign to encourage voters to punish them by rejecting those at the top of the ballot. Perhaps the slogan could be "Bottoms Up!" or "Put the Top Down!", and it could foster the sort of anti-incumbent fever we need to rid our legislature of the self-serving seven.

p.s.s. and no one stares at me there

A few days ago, I wrote about Hardcasual, a gaming blog created by my son and his friend. Already, his friend, Chris Plante, a local kid from Lee's Summit now living in New York, has been picked up by a professional site and has a weekly column called Why We Play at GameSetWatch.

The kid is getting paid to blog. Obviously, I could learn a thing or two . . .

Chris' column this week is something special. He writes about a girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy upset about the closure of her favorite site, Virtual Magic Kingdom. She wrote

"My favorite web site, Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) is closing May 21st. I’m sad and MAD! I can’t live without my friends on VMK. PLEASE sign my guestbook like a petition to SAVE VMK for me and my friends. Pass my site on to everyone you know so they can help too. I love VMK cause I can WALK, TALK, EAT, DANCE, SHOP and play checkers all by myself.

PLEASE HELP ME!

Love,
Madison
p.s. VMK is GERM FREE too!
p.s.s. and no one stares at me there.

As readers of this and other local blogs might have guessed, this heartfelt cry from a vulnerable person provoked a firestorm of ugly, hateful comments. Chris uses this awfulness as a point of departure to discuss more generally his own experience growing up with a cleft palate, and how the world of gaming offered a place where he was able to escape a world of staring kids and insensitive adults.

It's thought-provoking stuff. Maybe even relevant for some of us who are wrestling with the ugliness of what we create and host.

Two Hospital Visits, 48 Years Apart

48 years ago today, my mother made a visit to a hospital and I was born. She was 32 years old, and I was the 5th out of what would become 6. She was married to a kind man, and had a world full of family, friends and church.

Today, she's back in the hospital, wrinkled, shrunken, and dying. Her husband is a memory almost two decades old, and most of the friends she had are gone. Her children are mostly scattered.

On Monday, she checked into the hospital with severe dehydration brought on by nausea following radiation treatments to relieve pain from bone cancer which had metastasized from breast cancer diagnosed in mid-February. Her kidneys have now shut down, she has developed fluid around her heart and lungs, her adrenal gland is suspect and she has pneumonia. On Thursday, she told me she thought she would be ready to go home and live alone again in a few days. Earlier today, her heart became so irregular that they called my sister to be with her at 3 in the morning, because it appeared she may be dying.

She was born in 1928, a second generation Polack on the north side of St. Louis. She married young, partially to leave a difficult home environment, and she married a handsome veteran of WWII with a sharp intellect, quick wit and gentle kindness. She was social, beautiful and perhaps a little headstrong. Their marriage, at least as it appeared to a child growing up in the small, packed house, was quietly happy - I don't think I ever heard angry words between the two of them.

Her husband, my father, had a massive stroke in 1982 that left him paralyzed and robbed him of his speech, and she was left to care for him until he died in 1990. After that, she kind of blossomed - she took over his seat on the Board of Aldermen in Beverly Hills, Missouri, and became the City Clerk. A yellow dog Democrat, she got involved in the background of County and municipal politics in St. Louis, and traveled with her sister to Ireland, Canada and Hawaii.

A few years ago, the politics turned nasty, and she left our home and bought a small townhouse in O'Fallon, a contemporary suburb of look-alike homes and chain restaurants in strip malls.

She grew up in a world of radio and her father worked on the railroad. She spoke of walking down to the corner bar and bringing her father locally-brewed beer in a pail. She loved to rollerskate and bowl. She hosted card parties and tupperware parties and "kidnap" breakfasts, where the ladies of the parish would show fill their cars with unsuspecting neighbors and "force" them to come over and have breakfast.

She is wired differently than I am or anyone else I know - with an absolute sense of wrong and hardheaded willingness to bear a grudge for years. One daughter-in-law she loves now spent a decade in the doghouse for daring to move to the town her son was living in. She did not attend the wedding of one of her daughters, or even let me know that it had happened, because the groom was a divorced man. Another sister removed herself from the family as a result of clashes with my mother. To this day, she is unable or unwilling to fully accept a granddaughter who went through a difficult period years ago. I do not understand her emotions or the depth of her antipathies, but I've learned to step aside from the full force of her anger. Her personality hearkens back to the an age of blood feuds and intergenerational battles. We, her children, joke that we will find a marked up list among her belongings after she is gone that will reflect her final ranking of her children.

Sometime soon, perhaps today, perhaps 2 weeks from now, almost certainly within a couple months, she will cease her struggles and her only presence on earth will be in the memory of those of us who knew her. When I started this blog almost 5 years ago, I wrote my first post about her and ended it with

Sometimes I feel like such a bad son. I never visit, and my irregular calls are usually multi-tasked with TV or some amusement. We have not really ever been close. But, Friday night, I thought she was beginning the death process. Now I know I have a limited time with her - maybe enough time to change our relationship.

That relationship has changed for the better, and I'm glad of it, though I failed in many respects. I wish my children had known their grandmother better. I wish I had visited more often. I wish I had learned more about her early life, and shared my life with her more freely.

This is not a happy birthday. The woman who created my life is losing her own. She's alert and lucid, and beginning to realize that she's not going to survive. She's not caught up in fear, but she's not unafraid, either. Similarly, I want her to live, but I'm tired of watching her suffer with tubes and monitors all around her.

I'm 48 years old today, and I know I need to say "goodbye" to my mom. And "thank you" - for everything.

Literally everything.

Don't Take My Word For It - Come And See the AG Candidates for Yourself

Here's a rare opportunity - indeed, probably a unique opportunity on this side of the state of Missouri. On May 22, the Committee for County Progress is hosting a debate for all four Democratic candidates in the Missouri Attorney General Primary. You are invited. You will be welcomed. The doors will open at White Recital Hall in the UMKC Performing Arts Center at 5:30, and the debate will start at 6:00. There will even be a free reception afterward.

I know I've been pretty direct in my assessment of the candidates - Harris is the only one with the Democratic values combined with high-level Attorney General experience, and deserves to win the primary election and the general election. If you're content to take my word for it, then go ahead and do something else on May 22nd, but, if you want to form your own opinion, show up at UMKC.

Here are a few ways to figure out if you're in the right place. If you see Chris Koster there, talking about being a prosecutor, and avoiding all mention of his time working for a criminal Republican in the AG's office, you're in the right place. If you see Margaret Donnelly there, with her campaign staff telling her that Kansas City is St. Louis' western most suburb, you're in the right place. If you see Molly Korth Williams there, wearing a "Koster" button "because Judge Dandurand asked me to", you're in the right place. If you see Jeff Harris there, tuning up a guitar, you're in the right place.

Mark your calendar today, and come out to the Attorney General debate. See if you agree with my pick . . .

Bring Out Your Hummingbird Feeders!

Tiny little hummingbirds have arrived in the Kansas City area, and they want your sugar-water!

Last year, we had quite a few of the zippy little things. They would chirp past my head when I sat near their feeder to read or converse at our umbrella table.

To feed them, just use 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, and put it in a hummingbird feeder. You don't need the expensive powders they sell in stores, and you certainly don't need food coloring, which can be bad for the little guys. My feeder has little perches so they can relax a second while sipping nectar, but they'll visit any feeder with a red attractor. I have a small test tube on one of our windows with a fed cap on it with a hole in it, and they visit that one, too.

For those keeping track, here's a map of when the first sightings of ruby-throated hummingbirds were turned in throughout the country, from Hummingbirds.net.

Gaming Blog For the Game Geeks

Can a video game be literature? Can a blog of "Game Journalism" done by two undergrads reach a large audience?

My son Sam and his buddy Chris Plante have created a huge hit with their new blog Hardcasual. With entries as diverse as a 3-part interview with Leigh Alexander and an appreciation of Escape Velocity, the blog has been picked up by links in Hungary and by Newsweek writers. Believe it or not, Sam managed to pen something controversial and ignite a controversy. I would claim that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but Sam was blogging before I was, so my own blogging is actually the metaphorical apple.

If you're into the gaming thing, you might enjoy the blog.

Mayor, Council do the Right Thing, Accept Raise

Earlier this week, the Kansas City Council accepted a 4% raise which had been passed by the prior council.

Naturally, this triggered the predictable chorus of knee-jerk criticism. The local joke blogger claimed that the Mayor lost credibility over the move (the joke, for those who missed it, was that the joke blogger knows anything at all about credibility), the KC Blew Blog blew it again, inexplicably "blaming" the Mayor for a unanimous vote (Gottstein missed the vote), and Darla Jaye proved herself to be at the same low level of insight by claiming that the Mayor and council were tone-deaf to approve a raise when cutbacks in staff are on the horizon.

The Mayor and Council did the right thing, and should be applauded for their idealism and courage in the face of the predictable but ignorant attacks.

Kansas City's elected officials are expected to devote the vast majority of their time to their elected roles. As council service grows in complexity and the demands of service ratchet upward, it appears that the days of part-time public service are long past, at least at the level of Kansas City Council.

Long ago, the decision was made to pay a reasonable wage to our City Council for their service. Keeping that commitment up-to-date, though, requires the political courage and good judgment on behalf of the Council to approve reasonable raises.

Less serious critics, however, can have a field day attacking the correct decision. Don't take a raise while layoffs are coming, they cry. They mistakenly assert that there is somehow an inconsistency between being smart with the money and accepting a reasonable pay increase. At a time when the city struggles to find money for basic services, they argue, it is wrong to accept a reasonable pay increase.

The critics believe that they are entitled to something for nothing. They believe they are entitled to quality service without paying for it. They think that those who devote a portion of their career to serving the city should not be entitled to reasonable pay for that service.

It's a common enough misconception. But would we bat an eye if the CEO of a plumbing supply company earned 4 or 5 times as much as the mayor? Wouldn't we be shocked to find high-level managers in a company with a budget the size of Kansas City's to be earning as little as our city council?

Is it reasonable to expect good people to accept the often thankless job of public service, and, at the same time, expect them to turn down raises which were announced and expected at the time they filed for the election?

Alas, such clear thinking doesn't cross the mind of those who are looking to take a political cheapshot at public servants.

I admire the Mayor and City Council for standing up for the pay raise, and not buckling to the unthinking ignoramuses who have launched their depressingly predictable attacks.

Candidates, Slander, and the 44th

My humorous extended metaphor on baseball box scores and quarterly campaign finance reports ignited a surprisingly bitter round of accusations and attacks. The simple facts I pointed out from Coffman's campaign finance report (fewer dollars, non-union t-shirts, and donations from pro-voucher lobbyists) triggered accusations that Kander's wife does my writing, though I do Stephen Bough's writing, and hints that Kander's military service to our nation in Afghanistan means that he is some kind of war criminal.

Once again, the partisans are turning out to be worse than the principals.

The three candidates in this race, Jason Kander, Amy Coffman, and Mary Spence are fine people. And I don't say that as a simple nod to polite political conversation - I've talked to each of them, and I like each of them. I know their supporters, and their supporters are good people supporting a candidate that they think would served the district well. I hope all three find their way into public office in some role.

My rosy view seems to be shared by the candidates themselves. I've talked a fair amount with the Kanders, and I've never heard them say a negative word about any of the others. I've chatted a little with Amy Coffman, including a conversation about the tone of the race, and she is 100% in favor of a clean race. While I haven't discussed the topic with Mary Spence, those supporters of her I know would react with disgust at the sort of slander spread in the comments of my Tuesday piece.

And by no means do I want to single out the attacks on Jason as being the only ones worthy of condemnation. Some anonymous creep over at the BlogCCP posted a horrible comment attacking a candidate's physical appearance.

There is a huge distinction between fair and unfair partisanship. For me the test is whether it is relevant and whether it is supported by specific facts. If I say that Candidate X is corrupt, that's an unfair attack. If I say that Candidate Y is corrupt because he has taken bribes, and I can back up that claim with specific facts, then that's a fair attack.

As I look back over my own political involvement, I can see where I've used both, so don't misunderstand my commitment to fair partisanship as a "holier than thou" pretense. For example, I think my approach toward Chris Koster provides examples of unfair name-calling, but also examples of well-supported and well-deserved criticism. Looking forward, though, I am going to condemn what's unfair, and invite anyone to call me out on any unfair attacks I might make in the future.

The Newest Political Lie

A commenter on my post about Art Benson winning a seat on the school board reminded me of what is rapidly becoming a standard lie by politicians. "I don't read local blogs" is up there with "No new taxes" and "I'll look out for the common man".

It's funny how often I will meet local politicians who, upon learning that I produce this blog, assure me that they don't read blogs. Uh-huh, sure. Despite that assurance, they are quick to let me know if an obscure comment from 3 months ago was inaccurate, or to compliment me on something they thought was funny.

Does anyone on earth really believe that politicians - a group that craves attention - don't read what is being written about them? They like to claim they're somehow above it all, but it's a farce.

Play Ball!! Quarterly Campaign Finance Reports Time!

Political geeks like me love campaign finance reports. A baseball box score reveals secrets of strategy, individual performances, and key statistics, but only a tiny portion of the success of the season. Similarly, quarterly campaign finance reports provide enough hard facts to fuel gossip and speculation, but only a tiny part of what it takes to have a successful election season.

In the 44th District, for example, Jason Kander once again defeated Amy Coffman in an extremely close contest, continuing his sweep of the series. (Both defeated Mary Cosgrove Spence, who appears to be a shoo-in for Rookie of the year, but thus far has not shown much potential for the play-offs.) It was a tight battle, though, with Jason Kander edging Coffman out $16,110.15 to $15,075.00.

One troubling sign for the Coffman team is that they had to resort to their bullpen awfully early. As a lobbyist, Coffman was obviously going to resort to her lobbyist friends and their easy cash sooner or later, but I, for one, didn't expect her to call up the farm team in Jefferson City as early as March. But there it is - including campaign funds from the lobbyist dream team of school voucher flamethrowers, Flotron & McIntosh, LLC. Honestly, that is like throwing spit balls in a Democratic primary, but maybe she felt like she had to pull out a late-inning miracle.

Another curve ball from the Coffman side was a purchase of T-shirts from non-union CheapesTees.com, in Burlingame, California. Her website (which is a very nice one, by the way, now that it's up), claims that

I think we can agree that personal security begins with stable, well paying jobs for Kansas City’s working people. A healthy economy, strong labor unions and a vibrant business environment help families reach their economic and professional goals.

I know I agree, but it appears that some may be a little shaky on that one.

All told, it's only one box score, and this week's stats don't tell us what's going to happen in the World Series. The rookie could catch fire. Any of the teams could commit a crucial balk. The umpire could toss someone out for throwing bean balls, though all sides seem to be pitching strikes at this stage. Amy Coffman has attracted an impressive group of fans, including the current officeholder, and my favorite City Councilwoman.

To carry the analogy one final step, in this local race with three fine candidates, the ultimate winner may be decided by which one takes the most walks - door to door.

I'm Fresh Out of Children

Today, my daughter turns 21. 21! By any societal measure, she is a complete, bona fide adult now, able to buy a beer, gamble, smoke, buy porn, join the military, pay taxes, sign contracts, rent a hotel room, get a tattoo, pierce whatever she chooses, and anything else she may want to do except rent a car. Since she was the youngest of my two, I no longer have "children" - I suppose I have "offspring" or "descendants" or some other less diminutive classification.

On Friday evening, she organized a sold-out crawfish boil to support CASA in New Orleans. Whatever you call her, I'm awfully proud to call her my daughter.

Beth Gottstein Shows Moral Leadership

Beth Gottstein is doing even better on the City Council than I thought she would. She's smart, she's hardworking, and she has solid moral instincts. With the exception of her joining with the Nasty Nine in voting to reward Wayne Cauthen with a foolish 3 year contract, she's been on the right side of all the important issues. (Even on that one, I wonder if perhaps she traded her vote for future concessions, since she could see that a majority of the Council had abandoned all rationality and wanted to shower scarce city money on a guy who lied on his resume and stole from the travel budget. Or maybe Funk's ungraceful handling of the situation provoked her into making one big, but forgivable, mistake.)

Recently, a bunch of Kansas City Democrats received a hateful, bigoted email attacking a fellow Democrat. Because it so thoroughly blended charges that would raise concerns if true with idiotic frothing worthy of Coulter, I simply deleted my copies and put it out of my mind.

Beth Gottstein, though, reacted with a better and more sensitive moral compass than my own. She posted a memo to Democratic leaders on BlogCCP, calling on the state party to censure those who fail to "practice ethical self-discipline". Thank you, Beth, for calling on us to live up to our consciences, rather than to ignore evil when it does not directly touch us.

Susan Wiegand - Kansas City's Most Enchanting Personality?

Several years ago, my wife and I attended a fundraiser for some cause at the home of Scott and Rhonda Burnett. Scott and Rhonda are wonderful hosts - warm and fascinating people with great stories to tell, but also interested in the stories their guests have to share. And they tend to invite diverse, outgoing and interesting guests, so an evening at the Burnett's house is always an opportunity to expand your universe of luminescent people.

On the Burnetts' porch, we met a tall, graceful woman with a vivacious smile and dramatic but comfortable flair. She told us of her book - Cooking as Courtship, which she described as less of a cookbook than an approach to food. A couple weeks later, I ran into her at a breakfast spot, and she was kind enough to sell me a copy of her charming book. (Some friend has since borrowed this book and adopted it, so I need to buy a new copy. I don't resent my friend's adoption - I hope whoever it was is enjoying it.)

Since then, I have visited her converted fire house on Troost - a reclaimed building converted into space for her comfort clothing - Ideal Garment and Scientific Panty. I have discovered her book online, and I have discovered her blog. Go read this post on "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" and you'll get a taste of her thoughtful but relaxed approach toward life and living. Or try "Dressing the Part, 2" - here's the first paragraph:

We dress the part. We just do. We dress the way we think others will expect us to dress for the particular role we are playing at any particular moment. We dress the way we think a professional whatever dresses. We dress to look bohemian, or suburban, or to appear to be part of the elite, which is a very complex dress code, indeed, whichever elite you are thinking of. It is no easier to infiltrate the costume conventions of the upper east side, than it is to fool the second grade junta, or the trailer park high-trash. Cool is still cool, and you probably aren't, and you probably are going to try to dress in some way that will suggest you are. Or might be.

Some Saturday, when you're lounging around the house, feeling kind of blah and uninspired, head on down to the Firehouse at 4518 Troost. You don't have to buy anything, though you may want to. But you can't buy the sense of alertness to the beauty and charm of the world - she gives that away.

Jeff Harris Unites Kansas City Lawyers

Lawyers tend to be a fractious bunch. Plaintiff's lawyers tend to dislike defense attorneys, and the defense attorneys tend to return the favor. Big firm lawyers tend to think that small firm lawyers don't have what it takes to make the "big time", and small firm lawyers tend to think that big firm lawyers are book-smart eggheads who can't make it in the real world. Nobody likes the divorce lawyers, except their clients.

With all those disunifying tendencies, it is great to see this invitation.doc, for an event back on 4/4. The list of sponsors includes a who's who of plaintiff's lawyers, defense lawyers, big firm lawyers, solos, and even academics. It's a great list, and speaks well of Jeff Harris' ability to unify the Democratic Party behind him after he wins the primary for Attorney General.

Benson Won

That's the scoop of the day. Other blogs would use red letters, claim an exclusive, and indulge in exclamation points, but that's not the way this one rolls.

Benson won.

How I Would Have Defeated the Bus Tax, or Thank You to Incompetent Rightwing Political Consultants

I supported the 15-year extension of the Bus Tax, and I voted in favor of it. It won handily - I even visited the Election Watch party in support of the issue and had a few of their tasty meatballs.

The people at the party were thanking each other, but they really should have been thanking Jeff Roe, the rightwing political consultant who led the opposition. If he had run a competent campaign, the 3/8 cent sales tax would have gone down in flames.

With the anonymous money thrown at Jeff Roe, I could have delivered a victory for the opponents.

Simply stated, choose a clean message and deliver it. Truly, it is that simple. There were enough real weaknesses in this tax extension that a good message would have spread like a virus to defeat this tax. The choices were out there. While I would have worked through a focus group to choose which one worked best, some of the options would have been:

- "Where'd Our Money Go?" - This catch-phrase would have focused on the lack of clarity surrounding the $22 million in revenue. Truth is, a lot of the money will be going to "planning" and other soft costs that don't really appeal to the average taxpayer. Making the KCATA explain exactly how it will be spending $22 million for 15 years would have put the pro-tax effort in an awkward, defensive position. Bus riders are a small percentage of the voting public, and most voters don't trust that the ATA spends its money wisely. Visually, show a bus covered in dollars pulling away from a frustrated taxpayer.

- "Not so fast!" - This campaign would exploit the fact that this tax extension really is a little premature. We don't have a light rail plan, we don't know how our bus system will work with whatever light rail plan we get, and the current tax doesn't run out until March of next year. Voters could be persuaded that it would be better to work it all out together in November. Visually, show a squad car pulling over a bus.

- "Where does it stop?" - Voters hate being duped. This tax was approved for 5 years back in 2003. Now they want 15 more years. Again, where's the plan for a sustainable transportation program? Visually, show a bus full of taxpayers trying to exit a bus driven by a maniacal driver, who won't stop.

Fortunately, the consultant behind the opposition ran a far weaker campaign. Instead of choosing a message and hammering it home, he tried to slam the plan and TIF financing and Kay Barnes, all while playing cutesy games like naming the organization Kansas Citians Against Tax Abuse (KCATA). Really, just dumb. Why undercut your credibility by looking like a fraud-feasor? Why run against TIF pigs when the connection is so tenuous? Why drag the former Mayor into it?

Whatever the reasons, I'm truly grateful that Jeff Roe got his hands on the money spent by the opposition. If that money had been spent effectively, the tax would not have been extended. Incompetence saved the day.

If I were Sam Graves, I would be getting nervous. Will Roe take down Graves, too?