Time Magazine - Only Two Years Behind Bloggers

Time magazine, presumably while perusing the archives of this and other blogs, came up with the startling realization that some fathers are having ceremonies where their daughters pledge their virginity to their fathers. As written about years ago here and elsewhere, EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW! (Followed by Clarification on Purity Balls.)

But Time manages to come up with a favorable spin on the practice, and the whole thing hangs on one crucial sentence that masterfully renders all common sense inapplicable - "Leave aside for a moment the critics who recoil at the symbols, the patriarchy, the very use of the term purity, with its shadow of stains and stigma." Leave aside the fact that a girl is being told her father owns her sexuality. Leave aside the disturbing symbolism of men holding "large swords" over kneeling girls. Leave aside the girl who felt "too dirty" to wear a purity ring because she was sexually assaulted.

You know, if you "leave aside for a moment" everything wrong about it, what cannot be made to seem okay? Severe gas pains? Genocide? Fathers creepily obsessed with their daughters' hymens?

Midwest Voices

A while back, someone brought Midwest Voices to my attention, and I've been meaning to link to them ever since. It defines itself as follows:

Welcome to the Midwest Voices blog, a community forum created to foster discussion on issues that matter to our region, nation and the world. We hope it will become a gathering place of thoughtful debate, a spot to share ideas and push projects. The blogosphere is full of opinion options, but we hope to fill a niche by offering conversation among neighbors in this region who like to debate the issues of the day.

In short, it's a good collection of the editorial columnists of the Star mixed in with some amateur content of varying quality. Definitely worth visiting - and I'll add it to the blogroll the next time I tinker with the template.

By the way, who do you think I should add to the blogroll on the left?

World's Oldest Blogger Dies - Gone Mild Climbs the Ranks

Olive Riley, the world's oldest blogger, passed away on Saturday at 108.

McCain Agrees With Amy Coffman's Position on Bloggers

"I hate the bloggers." - John McCain

"the time has come for me to personally to address the banter to nonsense that, in my opinion discredits Democrats, the democratic process, and purports the senseless world of blogging and the damage I believe it does to campaigning." - Amy Coffman

Just to keep myself on the high road, I will extend to John McCain the same invitation spurned by the Coffman campaign - I will happily publish the answer to the question "What is the most significant policy difference between you and your opponent, and why is your position the correct one?"

Amy Coffman refused my kind invitation - will John McCain follow her lead?

Welcome Veterans for Kander!

In looking over the hit counts for this blog recently, I noticed a lot coming from a site called VetVoice.com. Upon further research, I learned that VetVoice is a blog run by VoteVets.org, which is an organization supporting candidates they feel will support veterans.

Impressively, they have identified Jason Kander as one of their "emerging leaders" - a group of twelve state and local candidates who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and who are seeking to serve in elected office. It's a great tribute to Jason's service to our country to see him on that list.

The hits to Gone Mild, however, came from a post in the VetVoice blog about the nastiness which has shown up in the comments attacking Jason for his service. In "Afghanistan Vet Running for Office Smeared for His Service", the author quoted some of the baseless attacks and responded to them.

Fortunately, early in the comments section of the post, the author clarified that the attacks were not done by Gone Mild, but by commenters. Even so, I wanted to put a post up welcoming the veterans who are visiting this site, and thanking them for their service. I apologize for the swift-boat-style anonymous attacks you'll find on this site, but I know you fought for the freedom of people to speak freely.

Blogger (and Commenter and Lurker) Meet-up

This evening a couple dozen bloggers and friends will be getting their drink on at the Flying Saucer, slamming TIF-subsidized beers and dressing like proper white people. Commenters and readers are most definitely welcome to join in the fun, so long as they dress the way that the Cordish Company thinks they should.

In the spirit of lazy blogging, I'll just cut and paste My Spyderweb's version of the notice:

This is it! Put the word out!!!
Flying Saucer
13th & Walnut
Kansas City, Mo

Monday 6/23, 5pm, because Monday is pint night and all drafts cost $2.75.

The KC Power & Light district parking is within the same building complex and is only $2 with validation...or lately you have to pay $2 to a dude right when you go into the garage. The lot across the street is a flat $5 if you park there after 5PM.

Amy Coffman Disdains the "Senseless World of Blogging"

Candidate for 44th District Missouri State Representative Amy Coffman visited this blog last week to set the record straight on a side issue (she agreed with every fact I had set forth) for the campaign. To preface her remarks, though, she explained that "the time has come for me to personally to address the banter to nonsense that, in my opinion discredits Democrats, the democratic process, and purports the senseless world of blogging and the damage I believe it does to campaigning."

Huh? Or, rather, how typical.

Shrugging off the hostility bristling in her comment, I served up a nice big softball and invited Ms. Coffman to tell me and my readers "What is the most significant policy difference between you and Jason Kander, and why is your position the correct one?" This weekend, in a tremendously kind and classy note, Ms. Coffman politely declined the opportunity to answer (as is her right, by all means).

Think about that.

Why would a candidate refuse an opportunity to deliver her most substantive message to thousands of politically-interested readers, many of whom will be voting in her race?

I will go ahead and speculate that the reason has to do with a desire to avoid "the senseless world of blogging and the damage I believe it does to campaigning".

Personally, I think it takes a lot of chutzpah for a lobbyist to accuse you, me and everyone else involved in the world of blogging of discrediting "Democrats, [and] the democratic process." But, I suppose it makes some sense from the perspective of the lobbying community. The uncontrolled and unpaid-for voice of public opinion is a theoretical threat to those whose business is conducted quietly by people who are paid to go to Jefferson City and make things happen. A blog post by some uncredentialed yahoo in his or her living room could undo a deal painstakingly constructed over countless lunches and dinners in the booths of Jefferson City's finest restaurants.

Perhaps, though, the discomfort with blogging comes from a concern that it coarsens the level of debate. As one who sometimes gets frustrated by the anonymice who spew unsupported venom in the comments sections, I understand the concern. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen an anonymous comment unload the profanity I saw directed at me by one of Ms. Coffman's most ardent supporters in person a couple weeks ago. Anybody who has been around political types knows that the gossip, trash-talk and cruelty dished out at a cocktail party could make blog commenters blush.

What's remarkable, though, is that the distrust and hostility toward blogs and those that read them has led a local candidate to refuse such a great opportunity, and to write so negatively about those of us who participate in the "senseless world of blogging". Some of us vote, and many of us host yard signs. Why would she accuse us all of discrediting the democratic process, when we're only trying to participate?

Amy Coffman was offered an opportunity to present her message to thousands of potential voters, but she refused. More disturbingly, she has voiced concern that those of us who read and write blogs are "discrediting the democratic process", but she refused the opportunity to elevate the level of debate by setting forth "the most significant policy difference between you and Jason Kander, and why is your position the correct one?"

I agree with Ms. Coffman that there is nastiness in the blogosphere, just as there is in the world of political insiders. I'm proud that I offered her an opportunity to rise above the nastiness, and saddened that she refused that opportunity, and that she voices such disdain for the rest of us.

The 5th Birthday Party for Gone Mild

I've finally figured out the elaborate, secretive plans by the local politicos to observe Gone Mild's 5th year.

Tonight, the CCP is holding its general membership meeting at Screenland to finally make its real endorsements. At least that's the cover story.

In fact, what I think is going to happen is that, rather than going through lengthy balloting, etc., the membership will simply accept the fine work of the CCP selection committees. Those committees were composed of neutral CCP members who conducted rigorous screenings of the candidates, and they came up with the following list of recommended endorsements:

Treasurer: Clint Zweifel
44th State House: Jason Kander
Sheriff: John Bullard

Add on to those wise, informed choices the races that had been left to the Executive Committee (Nixon for Governor, Sam Page for Lieutenant Governor, Jeff Harris for AG and Jim Kanatzer for Prosecutor), and the voting ought to be completed in 3 minutes. Just in time for someone to bring in a huge birthday cake for Gone Mild, and time for someone to sing a breathy version of "Happy Birthday", just like Marilyn Monroe did for JFK. I'm not sure who will do the singing, but I hope it's not Bough . . .

5 Years of Blogging

Today marks my 5th year of maintaining Gone Mild. Numerically, it amounts to more than 1200 posts, more than a million unique visits, a bunch of new friends, a couple lost ones, and countless hours that could have been spent doing other things.

5 years is old for a blog, but I think those who attempt to analogize blog chronology to "dog years" or some other mammalian aging process are mistaken. I would compare it to the aging of a tree. A lot of them get planted, but not very many flourish beyond the seedling stage. Most blogs shut down after a couple months, when the writer has satisfied his or her itch to write a few things off his or her chest, and sees that maintaining an online diary and building an audience takes time and effort.

A blog that gets past the seedling stage can go on forever, if it chooses. The only real requirement for blog longevity is writer stubbornness. The only real threat to individual blog survival is writer distraction or mortality.

Of course, the real threat to blogging as a whole is some climatic change - a dutch elm disease, if you want to carry the tree analogy further. Perhaps some new technology or application, like Twitter only bigger and better, will come along and replace blogging as a medium, or maybe some politician will decide the internets need to be more regulated.

So, until blogging is destroyed, I die or I find something better to do, please keep reading and commenting.

An Alternative Space . . .

Over at this posting, the comments had evolved into a wide-ranging examination of whatever crept into the minds of a few anonymous commenters. A few who purport to be Amy Coffman supporters had gone pretty far astray discussing a car she drives, and, finally, Amy Coffman herself visited to address some of the nonsense.

She wrote a rational and calm comment, never disagreeing with any facts that I laid out. I responded with a couple clarifying questions, and decided to keep the comments there free of further commentary so that her dialog could progress without being buried or distracted. She indicated she wanted a higher level of debate on blogs, so I asked her a giant, substantive softball of a question, and I (and a bunch of pro-Amy, pro-Jason, neutral and one pro-Spence person who have emailed me) are eager to see the dialog progress.

Apparently, though, my attempt to create a space for a respectful dialog has upset some who prefer to make anonymous allegations. So, here is a space for whatever comments you wanted to post under that thread, where I will continue to delete comments that aren't Amy's. She deserves a space of her own, and I'm willing to foster intelligent debate. Apparently, there are those who feel I'm required to host their nasty ranting, too, so here's the space for that. Enjoy yourselves . . .

Should I Be Feeling Guilty? Because I'm Not Feeling it . . .

This morning, I did a post about an email that my friend Beth Gottstein sent to the Executive Committee of the CCP to urge that committee to reject the findings of its own selection committee, and endorse Amy Coffman for the 44th District instead of Jason Kander.

It appears that my post may have upset Ms. Gottstein.

I just read over the post again, and I'm kind of at a loss. Nothing in my post is inaccurate. Nothing in my post is slanderous. Nothing in my post criticizes Amy Coffman (whom I genuinely like) or Beth. I did say she was trying to hijack the process, but it's obviously accurate that she was trying to change the result at the last minute. Maybe hijack was a strong word, but not as strong as the words I've had directed at me this evening . . .

Now, that said, I do feel a little sheepish that I asked whether the Executive Committee would "follow Beth's endorsement, or support the work of its own screening committee". I should have mentioned that the third possibility is that they could vote their own opinions, which was the flamingly obvious course they in fact chose. It turns out that Amy Coffman won the support of a majority of the Executive Committee. (I did not arrive at the meeting in time to vote.)

The real CCP endorsements come after the entire membership votes in June. The CCP has a solid process - I look forward to seeing how this all works out.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Awesome Beer and Food, and Blogging Awkwardness

Last night, to console ourselves for the end of our daughter's spring break trip home, we attended a Brewmaster's Dinner at 75th Street Brewery. Here's what was on the menu:

Pre-App
Smoked Trout in Phyllo Cups

Appetizer
Savory Chevre Crostinis
Roasted mushrooms and shallots atop griddled boxty, finished with melted goat cheese

Paired w/75th Street Brewery's Fountain City Irish Red

Soup
Scotch Broth
Traditional Irish lamb soup served with rye bread bowl

Paired w/75th Street Brewery's Belgian Double

Salad
Roasted Roots and Greens
Glazed baby carrots, parsnips, onions, sweet potatoes and leeks tossed with Mustard Greens and a Rosemary-Honey Vinaigrette

Paired w/75th Street Brewery's Saxy Golden Ale

Entrée
Braised Oxtail
Slow-roasted, red-wine-braised oxtail served with rutabaga-tripe oatcakes and apple mash

Paired w/75th Street Brewery's Muddy Mo Dry Irish Stout

Dessert
Lemon Posset
A chilled creamy lemon parfait

Paired w/Boulevard Brewing Company's Smokestack Series Saison

If you're thinking "Hey, that doesn't look like a proper meal for someone trying to do Weightwatchers . . .", yeah, you have a good point there, but it was worth the exercise and canned soup I'll be facing for the rest of the weak. The meal was fantastic, and featured brief explanations about the food and the beer. At $40/person, including tax and tip ($35 for Mug Club members), it was a bargain for that many courses paired with that many drinks. 75th Street will be doing these monthly, so get on their mailing list and check out the future menus.

As for the awkwardness, I happened to be seated next to an elected Johnson County Republican. When I introduced myself, he replied "I've heard of you somewhere . . .", and I could see him running through his mental rolodex. Fortunately, he didn't connect the dots, and we had a fine time enjoying food, beer, and apolitical discussion . . .

Why I Love Blue Girl

Kansas City is blessed with a bunch of great bloggers (many of whom came out for Viable Third last night), but nobody leaves me thinking "I wish I had written that!" more often than Blue Girl, who posts most regularly at Blue Girl, Red State.

Her most recent jealousy-inspiring post came on Thursday, when she dissected Claire "What Would Jim Talent Do?" McCaskill's most recent betrayal of America in a post entitled "McCaskill lets me down yet again".

I won't summarize it here - just go read it, and when you're there, add her site to your bookmarks. If you want to read more of my adulation of her, go read my blogger appreciation of her.

A Local Blogger Having a Real Impact - Please Come Out Friday to Support Needed Change

I've written about Airick Leonard West and the Viable Third website in the past, as well as his campaign for the school board. Tomorrow evening (Friday, March 14), several of us are planning a get-together to honor the first anniversary of the most creative local use of the blogging medium.

We'll have food and drink available at Harper's 18th & Vine restaurant, proudly in the 3rd District, at 18th and Vine (yes, you suburbanites, it's safe!). The party starts at 5, and will end abruptly when Law School Bound and I reprise our performance of Paradise By the Dashboard Light - which, I promise, won't be until late in the evening . . .

In all seriousness, please drop by and chat with Airick Leonard West and Dr. Robyne Turner, the creators of Viable Third. If you believe that good people can make a difference in Kansas City, come discuss your ideas and prepare for a shot of hope, practical optimism, and inspiration.

Leave a note in the comments if you have any questions, or if you would like an e-vite sent to your email account.

Oh, Never Mind . . .

This cartoon is shamelessly borrowed from Ancillary Adams (an old favorite), who copped it from The Monkey Cage (a new favorite), who liberated it from XKCD.

Over the weekend, I was prepared to politely correct one of my fellow liberal bloggers, a devotee of exclamation points, demands and red fonts, who had made several flawed and over-wrought points in a row. Then I looked and saw that, if I bothered to do so, I would have been the only commenter on the page.

So, never mind. If a blogger makes a goofy argument and nobody responds, does it matter?

Welcome to the Blog World, John Burnett

State Representative John Burnett has started to publish a blog called the Jeff City Report. Most politicians make lousy bloggers, because they try to avoid saying anything that could avoid offending anyone. Fortunately, the Kansas City area is blessed with two politicians who put out first-class blogs - Fresh Meat and now Jeff City Report.

In judging blogs, I look for lively commentary, reasonably open commenting, and regular updating. What other blogs by elected officials rank among your favorites?

First Annual Gone Mild Oscar Picks Contest Winner Announced - SEAN R.

It took me an extra day to calculate the winner of the First Annual Gone Mild Oscar Picks Contest because I had a surprisingly large number of submissions, and my technology let me down, so I had to score them all by hand. It was kind of interesting to see where the common mistakes were, though - Transformers and Cate Blanchett are a lot more popular in this corner of the blogosphere than they were at the Academy.

Regardless of all that, the winner, with 17 correct answers, was Sean R., whose last name I will happily publish if he emails me and lets me know whether he wants the full measure of internet adulation. Sean, I also need your Swiss bank account number so I can start sending you 50% of this site's profits for the coming year.

In what I think was an amusing sidenote, my quip about the supposed post-credit scene in No Country for Old Men took on a bit of a life of its own. I received more calls and emails wanting to know about that "scene" than I have ever received on any topic I've written about. While I flirted with either completing the joke by encouraging people to go see the movie again, or by writing my own version of the showdown between Ed Tom Bell and Anton Chigurh, instead I just felt guilty about the stress I caused my favorite librarian. Now, I'll never get any slack on my late fees.

Recall in the Real World

Sincerely, thank you Ms. Ross for bringing it on. Back at the time, I wrote:

Please bring it on. In some ways (and I am only speaking for myself, as always), I'm glad to see this happening. It amounts to calling the bluff of the chattering handful that have crowded out intelligent discussion at the Prime Buzz, and the joke blogger who will be working on the effort. After this is over, the city will get to see just how widespread and deep the opposition to Funk really is.

To her everlasting credit, Ms. Ross was forthright and honest in reporting the results - "the general consensus of the Kansas City populace was to give Mayor Funkhouser more time to fulfill his agenda for the city."

The joke blogger and his "internet mobs" never showed up. (Remember the awesome power of the internet and the electronic versions of the petition that were going to gathered at "collection points"?) The handful of hateful commenters on Prime Buzz turned out to be merely a handful of hateful commenters on Prime Buzz.

The bigger lesson here is that the local blogosphere is an echo chamber that does not reflect reality. According to the loudest and most numerous voices on the internet, this recall effort was a grassroots effort building to a tidal wave of public outrage, with only a couple absurd, ill-informed, out-of-touch kool-aid drinkers like me raising doubts. When the joke blogger wrote of being seen by the Mayor while carrying out boxes of recall petitions, he wrote that it "was a surreal moment but one that tells me that this recall effort is a lot more substantial than what has been depicted by the media." Somebody was in an altered state of surrealism at that encounter, and it wasn't the Mayor.

As Ms. Ross learned and reported, Kansas City wants Funkhouser to fulfill his agenda for the city. That's the real world. Let's look forward to more people working to support Funkhouser in fulfulling his agenda for the city.

Are There Any Lines Left to Cross?

Back at the time of the Virginia Tech shootings, I asked for people to pause a moment and feel the absence before using the deaths for political gain.

Yesterday evening, a gunman in a St. Louis suburb shot the mayor and several others. He was a vocal gadfly in local politics, known for strong and strident criticism of the mayor and other officials.

This afternoon, Tony's Kansas City, a local strong and strident critic of the mayor and other officials, has a headline at the top of his page in bold letters: "Local Mayors SHOOT DOWN Funkhouser's regional light rail plan!!!". The capitalization was supplied by the original.

What is the line between a humor site and a hate site?

My Contribution to the Meme Pool

Memes have been all the rage in the local blogosphere lately. Seems I can't open Google Reader without learning 7 quirks about someone, or what the 123rd page of their nearest book says. Since Friday is a particularly meme-focused day for many bloggers, I thought I'd go ahead and make a contribution for tomorrow. So, limber up your typing fingers and get ready to participate!

(Some might remember that I have groused about memes being narcissistic and silly. What a grumpy grizzly bear I was! I've rethought things, and I hope you'll all welcome me back to the blog/meme community by answering this fun little set of questions!) Here goes:

1. Have you ever had a different favorite color than the one you have now? Why did you change?

2. What was the name of your first pet? What was it?

3. Do you keep a key outside your house for emergencies? Where do you keep it?

4. What's your best Christmas memory ever?

5. What's the most valuable item in your house? Where do you keep it?

6. Have you ever been to Hawaii? Do you have any out-of-town trips planned in the near future?

7. What's your most awful secret, the one you would pay thousands of dollars to prevent being told to your friends, relatives and neighbors?

8. Do you have any pets now? What command word do you use to make them lay down?

9. What's your home address?

10. Isn't this fun?

11. Have you ever made love with a "little person"?

12. How geeky are you? Have you ever tried online banking? At what bank? What password and account number did you use?

13. Who is your favorite Disney character?

14. What was the theme to your high school prom? Who did you take?

15. Now tag 5 of your closest and wealthiest friends!! And no fair just tagging "whoever wants to do it"! Make sure they do this one, even if you have to call them up and nag them. Email their responses to me at dan@gonemild.com!

Thanks for playing, everyone! This is going to be great!

The Game of Lowering Expectations, Tony Style

It seems that signature-gathering is harder work that some people thought. A little rain on the weekend, coupled with forecasts of rain and snow on Super Tuesday, has dampened the prospects of the recall petition. Rumors are circulating of a complete shut-out for a signature-gatherer at the Brookside Market. A hare-brained scheme to gather signatures through the internet fell apart within hours as people realized that notaries cannot verify unseen signatures. "Activists" are quickly finding out that the average citizen wants no part of their awkward and hateful effort.

What's a complainer to do?

Move the goalposts, of course. This morning, after only a few days of pushing this misguided petition, Tony has reached the conclusion that overturning an election by the people isn't easy - "I'm completely willing to acknowledge the fact that a grassroots petition drive is a hard thing to pull off (nullus)". He then goes on to act as though the failure is just part of the process - "Whether it's this recall or the next one that finally puts the issue on the ballot, the fact is that many people (and political groups) have expressed their support of the recall petitioners . . .".

Notice the not-so-subtle changing of the target? It's not about getting 16,950 valid signatures of registered KC voters, anymore. Oh, no. Now it's about "many people" not actually signing, but "expressing their support of the recall petitioners".

Heck, if that's all they're after, I'll express support of the recall petitioners. I'm sure they're nice people, and I admire the fact that they tried to do something more than just post pseudonymous comments on the Prime Buzz or daily attacks on Tony's Kansas City.

Perhaps we should amend the City Charter to allow for a new process for situations like this. When you only want "many people" to "express their support", you should not be required to meet the filing requirements of an actual Petition for Recall. Perhaps you should be able to file a "Petition for Attention", and file it with signatures from unregistered voters and rely on internet "signatures" to inflate your count. Why should we have such high expectations of legality when that's not what people really want, anyhow? Petitions for Recall are for people who want change, not merely attention.

The Pitch Ripped Off My Cauthen Resume Story?

David Martin published an account of the fabrications Wayne Cauthen loaded up his Austin resume with in yesterday's Pitch. According to blogger tradition, I should now respond with a dose of righteous indignation and self-important bluster about how they're ripping off my work and completely dependent on citizen-journalists like me for everything they do.

But I don't take myself quite as seriously as some bloggers.

While I've been a critic of David Martin's penchant for publishing guess work and sloppy personal attacks instead of trying his hand at real journalism, I see no reason whatsoever to believe that he ripped off my story idea. The fact that Cauthen told Austin that he had corrected a structurally imbalanced budget and then submitted a structurally imbalanced budget a couple months later was the sort of thing that would attract the attention of any thoughtful, alert person (I'm too kind to speculate as to why the Star didn't catch it).

And, even if he had read it first here (which I doubt he did), he went back and did a far better job than I did. He noticed a whole lot more creative writing on Cauthen's resume. He caught the numerical flim-flammery that Cauthen made up about reserve funds and the Downtown redevelopment. In short, I picked a piece of low-hanging fruit on Cauthen's resume and David Martin shook the tree. Good work.

Responses to Comments

I try to keep an eye on the comments on this blog, and, where appropriate, respond to them. The comments often help clarify points, or they raise other interesting issues. On occasion, though, it appears that some commenters lose perspective on their right to demand attention.

Please don't draw conclusions when I fail to respond to comments. I only get paid to monitor this blog 0 hours a day, 0 days a week, and that means that sometimes I don't even read your comment until it fits into my schedule. Sometimes, when I do read your comment, it doesn't interest me. I'm sure a lot of my posts don't interest you, so don't take that as an insult. Also, I've decided that some people really want to get personal and nasty, and I'm trying to be a little wiser in not always taking that bait.

Atrios found a post about comments that I thought had a lot of wisdom in it:

I cannot make anyone stop responding to pointless or nuisance comments. You have to want to restrain yourself, because you understand that the only way to get rid of them is to fail to give them the attention they want. A "troll" is not just someone whose comments you disagree with, or even just a nasty or badly-worded comment. A troll is someone who does not, under any possible set of circumstances, care what you think about him or his comments. He merely wants attention. Negative attention will do. The more you disagree with him, the more he is able to tell himself that he is persecuted and victimized or the only voice of reason or one of the elite few who has the God's-eye view of the world or whatever his current delusion is. If he isn't merely a narcissist who thrives on feeling attacked, he's just some putz who enjoys irritating other people. Therefore, you "feed" the troll by paying any attention to him at all. It does not matter what you say in response. Any response to a troll just encourages the troll.

Besides classic trolls, we have a few resident long-winded bores who believe that the rest of us have never been exposed to some trite, shallow, bombastic rant they just heard on the radio or read in Reader's Digest or saw in a vision, and feel compelled to share with the rest of us. These people lack any possible sense of context or audience; they are incapable of noticing that the bulk of our commenting community has been exposed to the world for a while now and is not interested in any comment that starts "there is one simple answer to this the rest of you aren't getting." It does you no good to respond to this type either; they'll just re-write the same comment again, at the same length, saying the same thing, until you "get it." They are bores with no self-awareness. The cool thing about the internet is that you can just scroll down to the next comment without being "rude." So take advantage of the medium.

Like a lot of blogs, this one frequently has its most interesting and enlightening material buried in the comments. Commenters like Travelingal, Les, XO and others have made this blog far better than my solo effort could ever be. I appreciate the time and effort people put into comments. But all commenters are definitely not created equal . . .

Blogger Appreciation: Blue Girl, Red State

Blue Girl is a woman on a mission. She is out to change the world through blogging - relentlessly creating thoughtful, well-researched, fact-based posts on big topics. Her front page today is typical of her work - it ranges from Russian pipelines to a fantastic expose' on Sam Graves and Andy Blunt getting caught trying to sneak a seat on the ethanol gravy train. Posted at 12:34 this morning, the Graves/Blunt piece is a classic example of what Blue Girl brings to the table - thorough research, clear-eyed and honest appreciation for one honest member of the opposing party, and the perspective to place the controversy in the broader context of an upcoming Congressional election. It's easy to picture her burning the midnight oil working on completing this important story before she could sleep.

There are a lot of good blogs out there, but no local political blog impresses me more regularly with deep analysis. Nobody throws up posts with multiple and wide-ranging links like she does. Nobody jumps into the middle of national issues like she does. Nobody else seems as determined to make a difference.

Her determination and take-no-prisoners attitude comes across in her profile:

I'm an over-educated, pissed-off redhead with a broadband connection and a credit card; fiercely dedicated to the Constitution; here to remind y'all that America is founded on four boxes: 1.) The Soapbox. 2.) The Ballot Box. 3.) The Jury Box. 4.) The Ammo Box. They should be used in that order. This is my soapbox.

You kind of get the idea that we should be happy she's spending her time on the first box, don't you?

There's a reasonably good chance that Blue Girl is going to be doing her work from a Blue State by the end of the year. Sam Graves is a weak candidate getting weaker by the moment. Nixon is likely to take the Governor's mansion. Dr. Sam Page is likely to be Lieutenant Governor. Jeff Harris will be Attorney General. A host of smart and aggressive candidates are challenging Republicans like never before in Missouri House and Senate races.

I won't feel sorry for Blue Girl if her name becomes outdated. She'll be bearing a good measure of the blame.

Bad Timing

Two days after I state my intention to treat others with more dignity on this blog, Tony's Kansas City puts up a post calling me "Dirtbag Dan", provoking his commenters to describe me in even harsher terms.

My newly-adopted "dignity" prevents me from calling him names in return, and, as a sad result, the internet community is deprived of the spectacle of two bloggers and their commenters exchanging insults.

(As Tony astutely points out, "What happens here is that by exchanging links Dan and I are trading traffic and growing readership for local blogs overall." Yup, we both really are that cynical and manipulative that we've both been known to choose a topic or tone partially to generate a little extra traffic. So, if you're one of the ones who would have been sucked into reading a vituperative exchange of insults between Tony and me - you know you would have! - take a second instead and click on one of the blogger links on the left side of this page that you've never read before. Ultimately, that's better for everyone, you included.)

New Feature on Pitch's Plog?

A few months ago, I profiled the corporate news blogs in town, and had words of praise for the Pitch's Plog, tempered by the observation that it doesn't deliver a lot of posts. Over the past couple days, though, the Plog has featured "Daily Briefs", amalgamating news and witty commentary. It's a welcome step in the right direction - it's been almost exactly a year since we've had a local blog with credibility focused on gathering news from a variety of sources . . .

Koster Up Close and Personal, and a Lesson Learned

Chris Koster spoke to the CCP yesterday evening, and there was no way I was going to miss it. A rising star Republican speaking to a room full of opinionated progressive democrats months after purporting to switch parties.

Setting aside my partison Harris hat, I have to admit he did a good job. He comes across as hyper-coached - I suspect that if he dropped a word from his canned speech, he would need to go back and start from the beginning. It was, as one would expect from Mr. Koster, a very polished, even slick, presentation.

Naturally, I had a quibbles with it. First off, it was really a speech for a prosecutor's race. He gravely but with obvious relish intoned about the horrible cases he prosecuted - the spouse killers, the child rapists, and, yes, of course, John Robinson, the man who is still alive because Koster got tricked into a bad deal. He even bragged about how he got Robinson to confess to the crimes, and how he was there when they found bodies in steel drums, but he never got around to explaining why Robinson, a confessed, grisly murderer, was spared the death penalty in Missouri.

Chris' tagline was "if experience matters," which I found to be an odd choice for the candidate with the second best experience for the job. Jeff Harris has, literally, five times the experience that Chris does in the AG's office, but Koster knows that the average voter confused the role of the AG with the county prosecutor, so his stories of 12 yeaar-old rape victims and CSI-Harrisonville searches for murder weapons are good enough to fool most people. Even in the comparatively well-informed CCP crowd, I heard the woman behind me lapping it up like titillating honey, while I was rolling my eyes.

I was surprised that the crowd did not follow up with questions when Koster said that he supports "common sense restrictions on Roe v. Wade," as the CCP has a reputation for being more liberal than that.

In short, listening to Koster, I was impressed with his style, but not as much by his substance. He's running as a Democrat while distancing himself from some of the most widely held Democratic beliefs. He's running as a tough prosecutor while handing out a flier packed with murderers who avoided the death penalty under his tenure. Worse yet, he's running for Attorney General on the ground that he could be a good county prosecutor.

But he's good looking and smooth, and could pull it all off if people don't pay enough attention.

After his talk, I chatted a little bit and began walking down a corridor to the elevators. As I was about to escape, I heard Chris shout "Dan!", and motion me back. He guided me into an empty conference room.

It's funny how in the course of a few paces back to a conference room, you can call back to mind every immature statement, every over-stated criticism, and every political cheap-shot you've written about someone. As I walked back down the hall toward Chris "legislative roundheels, incompetent, pretty-boy" Koster "the Imposter", I had a few seconds of sincere regret for being such an ass. I disagree with him on several points, and I am confident that Jeff Harris will be a better Attorney General, but Chris waa walking down that hall on the high road, and I was walking it on the low road.

Fortunately, rather than wanting to kick my ass (I suspect he could take me), Chris just wanted to pass on a few comments to me and assure me that his conversion to the Democrat party is sincere. Indeed, I had to admit that we are a big tent party, and the distinction between a liberal Republican and a conservative Democrat is a fine one.

Let me be crystal clear - Jeff Harris is the best candidate for Missouri Attorney General. Jeff has the substance that Koster lacks - he has the experience with the AG's office and the experience of working as a Democrat supporting Democratic causes. But Koster put on a good show last night, and I hope that I hold to my present intention of treating him and others with a bit more dignity.

There's a Kind of Hush . . .

Yesterday broke a string of 76 consecutive days of posting on this blog. With primary season heating up, with the Missouri legislature back in session, with the Star featuring Funk on the front page, with a lazy Sunday stretching out in front of me, nothing grabbed me to write about.

Blogging My Way Into Jail?

Look who George W. Bush is holding hands with! (What, no video of them skipping and blowing dandelions at each other?) Yes, that's Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah interdigitating with our "macho" President. I wonder if Bush's hand-pal whispered into his ear about his plans to arrest a blogger and beat him until he answers their questions?

I've got no real problem with Bush holding hands and skipping with fellow rich pampered undeserving spawn of unearned wealth. Really. It's kind of cute. But I do have a problem with the President of the United States holding hands with a torturing monarchist with ties to bin Laden. That's not cute at all.

Twilight Zone Meme

Xavier Onassis over that Hip Suburban White Guy tagged me with the Twilight Zone Meme, which directs that you write about a "paranormal event" you have experienced. I normally hate memes and ignore them, because they are the blogging equivalent of chain emails, and almost invariably demand a self-indulgent, narcissistic recounting of things nobody would ever get around to asking someone else. I'm fully capable of being self-indulgent and narcissistic without anyone else's assistance . . .

Anyhow, in a moment of weakness, I agreed to participate in this one. When I agreed, I was feeling kind of boxed in to political writing, and thought the meme would help shift my focus. Also, XO wrote a heck of a great post with a touching story about the birth of his daughter, and I hoped I could write something approaching it.

Nope. I've got nothing.

I don't have a single story that reflects anything "paranormal" in my life. No visits from dead relatives, no spooky premonitions, no visions of the future. (My uncanny political predictions are all based on incredible judgment and insight, not messages from the heavens, believe it or not.)

And that absence strikes me as a little weird, when I think about it. But not paranormal.

Blogger Appreciation: The Corporate Blogs

It took a while, but the Pitch and the Star have finally developed good blogs. I've had fun criticizing the Star's blog in its past incarnations, but it's only fair to acknowledge that both of our major newspapers are running pretty decent blogs.

There's more of a tension in running a blog for a newspaper than you might think. It's not just a matter of opening a comments section on your newspaper's web page. Should different editorial standards apply? Should reporters have the opportunity to state their opinions more clearly on a blog, outside of "straight reporting"?

Most importantly, how does the money work? Both the Pitch and the Star are newspapers owned by corporations that exist to deliver money to shareholders. Everything they do needs to be understood in the context of making money. How can they participate in a medium that is dominated by volunteers?

The Prime Buzz has become a gathering place for Kansas City's politicos and wannabes. It regularly features tomorrow's editorials today, and a lot of little stories that don't make it into ink. One thing I appreciate is their daily round-up of what political bloggers are posting about - it's a generous tip of the hat to the rest of the bloggers, and establishes the Prime Buzz as a collaborator instead of a competitor.

I don't know how the money works for the Prime Buzz. There isn't any advertising going on at the site. For a while, they tried charging a huge amount of money for a password to the site. The results were utterly predictable, and I have no idea what they were thinking. They should have paid me a fat consulting fee and I could have saved them a lot of time and embarrassment.

Perhaps they justify the time and expense as a way to stay relevant. It certainly does accomplish that goal. The Prime Buzz IS the talk of the political blogging world, and everyone interested in politics keeps a close eye on it. The blogging world does best when it has a sense of community - one or several sites that everyone follows. The Kansas City blogging world had that for a while in the form of a volunteer blogger, but has lacked one since that site diminished in traffic, commentary and creativity. The Prime Buzz is now providing that service for the political world.

The Pitch's Plog is more brash, more fun, and less focused than the Prime Buzz. It doesn't deliver nearly as many posts as the Prime Buzz, and it hasn't developed a fraction of the number of commenters. But it includes a bunch of posts that don't make it into print, and gave me yesterday's great news about Chefburger.

The Plog does have advertising, and a fairly "noisy" layout because of the advertising, but I think it will develop into a more promin ent voice in the blogging world if it continues to deliver the quirky and telling anecdotes the Pitch staff uncovers on their way to the feature stories for the paper.

My only suggestion would be that it could generate more traffic for itself and others if it mentioned some of the other local blogs in its content. Yesterday, Tony's KC included a claim that the Plog had "cannibalized" one of his posts because they both happened to mention that the Star had published "happy talk" about the Sprint Center. While I understand why the Pitch would be miffed at the silly accusation (criticizing the Star and the Sprint Center is not exactly breaking new ground), they probably ought to have gone ahead and responded, to give him some of the attention he was seeking. While some might hesitate to reward bad behavior, Tony could tell you that blogger beefs are good for traffic.