True, I read Tony's blog four or five times per
Thank you, Tony
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
internet scandal
Against my best interest, I agreed to field a few questions from Tony of Kansas City. As suspected, he has completely taken my words out of context, and he may well have destroyed my career. Please watch at my own peril.
True, I read Tony's blog four or five times perhour day, but I'm not proud of that fact. His sexist and racist screeds and buxom j-pegs are an affront to all that is Kansas Citian and Hispanic, and I am quite frankly shocked that They allow his mother to serve the community as a volunteer.
Thank you, Tony
True, I read Tony's blog four or five times per
Thank you, Tony
Friday, May 05, 2006
poor planning
This is another outrage.
One argument the Central High debaters often make is that when policy makers are all rich and white, they make policies that are bad for folks not like them.
This article proves them right.
And, ultimately, this hurts whitey, too, as the above article suggests, what with the dumb white people bitching about a dearth of workers.
One argument the Central High debaters often make is that when policy makers are all rich and white, they make policies that are bad for folks not like them.
This article proves them right.
And, ultimately, this hurts whitey, too, as the above article suggests, what with the dumb white people bitching about a dearth of workers.
ax falls on wrong heads
This is an outrage.
I'd heard through the grapvine that the KC school district was planning to cut jobs to save money. The way I'd heard it, they were going to axe teachers and demote some vice principals to teaching postions.
It's a seniority thing.
That was the theme of the Star article I link to above. Heartbreaking story. Two totally qualified, enthusiastic and energetic administrators get the boot simply because they don't have enough seniority.
Well, here's a dirty little secret about the KC school district: Seniority equals ineptness.
That's right. For the most part, the longer folks last in the district the worse educators they are. To survive in the KC district, you have to be a bureaucratic animal who cares first and foremost about self preservation, maintaining the status quo and treating students like numbers.
If the school board really wanted to make this district better, they'd straight-up fire 90 percent of the vice principals, and 90 percent of the teachers who've been with the district for more than 15 years, and hire young, idealistic and creative teachers out of college at a discount.
But, obviously, unions and tradition mean more than kids.
I'd heard through the grapvine that the KC school district was planning to cut jobs to save money. The way I'd heard it, they were going to axe teachers and demote some vice principals to teaching postions.
It's a seniority thing.
That was the theme of the Star article I link to above. Heartbreaking story. Two totally qualified, enthusiastic and energetic administrators get the boot simply because they don't have enough seniority.
Well, here's a dirty little secret about the KC school district: Seniority equals ineptness.
That's right. For the most part, the longer folks last in the district the worse educators they are. To survive in the KC district, you have to be a bureaucratic animal who cares first and foremost about self preservation, maintaining the status quo and treating students like numbers.
If the school board really wanted to make this district better, they'd straight-up fire 90 percent of the vice principals, and 90 percent of the teachers who've been with the district for more than 15 years, and hire young, idealistic and creative teachers out of college at a discount.
But, obviously, unions and tradition mean more than kids.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
a season ends
Since October I've been teaching debate at a local alternative school. We've only been to one tournament. And for that only one kid showed up.
Still, we met pretty much every Tuesday and thursday and did the best we could. This weekend we're gonna give another go at a tournament, and, if all goes well, we'll have three kids there.
Tonight, though, we put on a little demo debate at a school ceremony for the school's donors. It went pretty good.
Our debaters:
Kurtiz
Erika
Fred
Still, we met pretty much every Tuesday and thursday and did the best we could. This weekend we're gonna give another go at a tournament, and, if all goes well, we'll have three kids there.
Tonight, though, we put on a little demo debate at a school ceremony for the school's donors. It went pretty good.
Our debaters:
Kurtiz
Erika
Fred
bones and pickles
Big night tonight.
I came home with an order of Arthur Bryants short ends and fries. One sniff and the dogs were beside themselves with lust.
They stared at me raptly as I sucked clean the bones. Then we retired to the kitchen and I started tossing them bones and fat and gristle and slices of bread soaked with sauce and grease. Their eyes were wild with passion as they gulped and gnawed.
When all that was left was a handful of pickle slices I started offering those. I held them high and the dogs lept up on their haunches, leaning in, yaps wide.
But when their nostrils took in a whiff of the bitter pickle stench they paused, confused, looking up at me like, What have you done to me meat?
Maddy, the priss, retreated, looking wounded and betrayed.
But Gobo, the biter, stayed up on his hind legs, mouth open, and calculated his options. I could see him thinking through it:
Not meat. But... This might be the last food I'll ever get
Chomp!
I came home with an order of Arthur Bryants short ends and fries. One sniff and the dogs were beside themselves with lust.
They stared at me raptly as I sucked clean the bones. Then we retired to the kitchen and I started tossing them bones and fat and gristle and slices of bread soaked with sauce and grease. Their eyes were wild with passion as they gulped and gnawed.
When all that was left was a handful of pickle slices I started offering those. I held them high and the dogs lept up on their haunches, leaning in, yaps wide.
But when their nostrils took in a whiff of the bitter pickle stench they paused, confused, looking up at me like, What have you done to me meat?
Maddy, the priss, retreated, looking wounded and betrayed.
But Gobo, the biter, stayed up on his hind legs, mouth open, and calculated his options. I could see him thinking through it:
Not meat. But... This might be the last food I'll ever get
Chomp!
nuts
Interesting column in today's Star.
I've heard said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It's an old maxim often recited by recovering addicts.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what the mayor's doing?
She keeps pushing this economic development agenda. Debt. Tax breaks. Tax increases. More debt. Saying, over and over again, This is how we grow a city.
Yet...
Every audit of the city's tax incentive program that I've ever read shows that the projections for revenue are almost invariably overblown. All the evidence out there seems to back up Yael's skepticism about the projected tax income for this big downtown rehab will fall short.
(I have to throw out an aside here: Yael and I were both at the press conference where they announced some out-of-town company would be developing the downtown district. I asked the muckity-mucks why they're doing a big planned development when all previous big developments seem to have bombed in Kansas City while the unplanned ones (Westport, 39th St) have thrived. I was barked down by Mr. Snooty Developer and made to seem like a fool.)
But I digress. I have another yet.
Yet...
In 1997 a bunch of this city's finest citizens and public officials gathered to try to figure out why our budget's all shot to hell, why we can't afford to do basic city stuff like fill pot holes and fix sidewalks and have sewers that can handle what we flush. They put together a landmark report that said, in no uncertain terms, The city keeps gambling on these big-ticket projects, and the city keeps crumbling and crumbling. Stop the insanity!
It was a scathing indictment of two decades of major debting and tax-breaking, from which we got dubiously beneficial things like the two big (almost empty towers) downtown, flush creek, Union Station rehab, Crown Center.
It would seem that all of those were "This is how you grow a city" style schemes.
But all it seemed to grow was a multi-billion-dollar backlog of unfinished infrastructure chores.
It's interesting that Herroner the mayor came into city politics during that go-go era of the 70s and 80s.
I mean, am I an idiot? Can it possibly be so simple?
From my point of view it looks like plain, old, addiction-variety insanity.
Like, they keep doing the same shit. It hasn't worked before. But they keep saying This is how it works.
I've heard said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It's an old maxim often recited by recovering addicts.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what the mayor's doing?
She keeps pushing this economic development agenda. Debt. Tax breaks. Tax increases. More debt. Saying, over and over again, This is how we grow a city.
Yet...
Every audit of the city's tax incentive program that I've ever read shows that the projections for revenue are almost invariably overblown. All the evidence out there seems to back up Yael's skepticism about the projected tax income for this big downtown rehab will fall short.
(I have to throw out an aside here: Yael and I were both at the press conference where they announced some out-of-town company would be developing the downtown district. I asked the muckity-mucks why they're doing a big planned development when all previous big developments seem to have bombed in Kansas City while the unplanned ones (Westport, 39th St) have thrived. I was barked down by Mr. Snooty Developer and made to seem like a fool.)
But I digress. I have another yet.
Yet...
In 1997 a bunch of this city's finest citizens and public officials gathered to try to figure out why our budget's all shot to hell, why we can't afford to do basic city stuff like fill pot holes and fix sidewalks and have sewers that can handle what we flush. They put together a landmark report that said, in no uncertain terms, The city keeps gambling on these big-ticket projects, and the city keeps crumbling and crumbling. Stop the insanity!
It was a scathing indictment of two decades of major debting and tax-breaking, from which we got dubiously beneficial things like the two big (almost empty towers) downtown, flush creek, Union Station rehab, Crown Center.
It would seem that all of those were "This is how you grow a city" style schemes.
But all it seemed to grow was a multi-billion-dollar backlog of unfinished infrastructure chores.
It's interesting that Herroner the mayor came into city politics during that go-go era of the 70s and 80s.
I mean, am I an idiot? Can it possibly be so simple?
From my point of view it looks like plain, old, addiction-variety insanity.
Like, they keep doing the same shit. It hasn't worked before. But they keep saying This is how it works.
good things
I had a nice chat tonight with Regan Senkarik, general manager of the San Jose Mercury News's website. I was surprised to hear from her that I'm in the minority with my beef about Knight Ridder sites' long lists of cryptic headlines. She told me that focus group data has shown that folks like lists of stories without a lot of extraneous info on their news sites.
But before I go into all of that, I want to deliver on an early promise of giving props to some of the cool stuff I've found on Knight Ridder sites.
Pretty much all of the papers have blogs. The best one, near as I could tell, was the Miami Herald. But that's kind of a no-brainer: Who else can claim Dave Berry on their in-house blogroll?
Closer to home, I've got to give some kudos to the Star. While I personally have issues with the KC Crime Scene blog (I think it's Satanic, frankly, but that's just me), I'm happy to see that it's building an audience (of people hooked on good old American fear), as its copious reader comment pages seem to indicate. More importantly, they've done a good job packaging it. It's smart to put it high on the page. And the headlines are intriguing enough to almost lure even me over to look at the page.
And now they've got this KC Buzz political thing starting up, and I'm totally stoked about that. So far the offerings seem a bit tame, which is to be expected. But I'm guessing the comment action will be pretty exciting. And for bloggers like me it'll provide a lot more fodder to riff on.
So it's no wonder that when I asked Senkarik what stuff has been working for them as they've experimented with new media she first said blogs.
Other than that, she didn't seem so sure. She said video offers some promise, but not a lot of Knight Ridder outlets have been working with it. She said the Star has been the front runner in that area, which I had already figured out on my earlier tour. The other site that appears to be experimenting with moving images is the Fort Worth paper.
But... I spent a little extra time checking out our local video offerings, and it looks like they've still got some work to do. I kknow this was supposed to be a nice post. But... The first video I clicked on was 20 seconds of commercial followed by five seconds of some dude pushing a broom near a highway wreck (I tried to find a link, but apparently someone their discovered this lame thing and mercifully yanked it). Then I clicked another link -- this one for some story about the Chiefs -- and I got... 20 seconds of commercial followed by five seconds of some dude pushing a broom.
Still, they're trying. And there are a heck of a lot of videos archived on their site. It's promising.
But before I go into all of that, I want to deliver on an early promise of giving props to some of the cool stuff I've found on Knight Ridder sites.
Pretty much all of the papers have blogs. The best one, near as I could tell, was the Miami Herald. But that's kind of a no-brainer: Who else can claim Dave Berry on their in-house blogroll?
Closer to home, I've got to give some kudos to the Star. While I personally have issues with the KC Crime Scene blog (I think it's Satanic, frankly, but that's just me), I'm happy to see that it's building an audience (of people hooked on good old American fear), as its copious reader comment pages seem to indicate. More importantly, they've done a good job packaging it. It's smart to put it high on the page. And the headlines are intriguing enough to almost lure even me over to look at the page.
And now they've got this KC Buzz political thing starting up, and I'm totally stoked about that. So far the offerings seem a bit tame, which is to be expected. But I'm guessing the comment action will be pretty exciting. And for bloggers like me it'll provide a lot more fodder to riff on.
So it's no wonder that when I asked Senkarik what stuff has been working for them as they've experimented with new media she first said blogs.
Other than that, she didn't seem so sure. She said video offers some promise, but not a lot of Knight Ridder outlets have been working with it. She said the Star has been the front runner in that area, which I had already figured out on my earlier tour. The other site that appears to be experimenting with moving images is the Fort Worth paper.
But... I spent a little extra time checking out our local video offerings, and it looks like they've still got some work to do. I kknow this was supposed to be a nice post. But... The first video I clicked on was 20 seconds of commercial followed by five seconds of some dude pushing a broom near a highway wreck (I tried to find a link, but apparently someone their discovered this lame thing and mercifully yanked it). Then I clicked another link -- this one for some story about the Chiefs -- and I got... 20 seconds of commercial followed by five seconds of some dude pushing a broom.
Still, they're trying. And there are a heck of a lot of videos archived on their site. It's promising.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
battle of algiers
Ebony and I watched The Battle of Algiers last night. Incredible film. It's a faithful account of an early battle in the Algierian revolution to overturn French colonial rule. The events take place in the late1950s.
For one, it's just an awesome film. Fantastic cinematography, editing. Tight script. But it's also an incredible glimpse into a revolution. So much of what happens dovetails perfectly with much of what you might read if you were studying such things.
Much of it also seemed quite relevent to what's happening in the woorld right now, in particular the use of torture. The French tortured members of the resistance. Now, with perspective of history, some theorists point to the battle of Algiers as evidence of the inefficacy of torture. True, the French won the battle. But they lost the war.
But it was probably more than just that. As an imperialist power in the mid 2oth century, the French were on the wrong side of history.
There were several scenes that really resonated with me.
About three-quarters of the way through the film, a high-ranking member of the National Liberation Front (FLN) converses with one of the revolution's mastermind, Ben M'Hidi. It's late at night, and they're standing on a terrace overlooking the Casbah, the Muslim quarter of Algiers.
BEN M'HIDI
Do you know something Ali? Starting a
revolution is hard, and it's even harder
to continue it. Winning is hardest of all.
But only afterward, when we have won,
will the real hardships begin.
A real-life picture of Ben M'Hidi (I think).
Later, Ben M'Hidi is captured and paraded out in front of a mob of French journalists.
1ST JOURNALIST
Mr. Ben M'Hidi ... Don't you think it is
a bit cowardly to use your women's baskets
and handbags to carry explosive devices
that kill so many innocent people?
BEN M'HIDI
And doesn't it seem to you even more
cowardly to drop napalm bombs on unarmed
villages, so that there are a thousand
times more innocent victims? Of course,
if we had your airplanes it would be a lot
easier for us. Give us your bombers, and
you can have our baskets.
The actor in the roole of Col. Mathieu
After a couple of on-point answers like this, Colonol Mathieu, who is directing France's counterattack against the Algierian uprising, cuts the interview short, "before it becomes self-defeating." Then he fields questions from the press
2ND JOURNALIST
Colonel Mathieu ... Much has been said
lately not only of the successes
obtained by the paratroopers, but also of
the methods that they have employed ...
Can you tell us something about this?
MATHIEU
The successes obtained are the results
of those methods. One presupposes the
other and vice versa.
3RD JOURNALIST
Excuse me, colonel. I have the impression
that perhaps due to excessive prudence ...
my colleagues continue to ask the same
allusive questions, to which you can only
respond in an allusive manner. I think it
would be better to call things by their
right names; if one means torture, then
one should call it torture.
MATHIEU
I understand. What's your question?
3RD JOURNALIST
The questions have already been asked. I
would only like some precise answers,
that's all ...
MATHIEU
Let's try to be precise then. The word
"torture" does not appear in our orders.
We have always spoken of interrogation as
the only valid method in a police
operation directed against unknown
enemies. As for the NLF, they request
that their members, in the event of
capture, should maintain silence for
twenty-four hours, and then, they may
talk. Thus, the organization has already
had the time necessary to render useless
any information furnished ... What type
of interrogation should we choose? ...
the one the courts use for a crime of
homicide which drags on for months?
3RD JOURNALIST
The law is often inconvenient, colonel ...
MATHIEU
And those who explode bombs in public
places, do they perhaps respect the law?
When you asked that question to Ben
M'Hidi, remember what he said? No,
gentlemen, believe me, it is a vicious
circle. And we could discuss the problem
for hours without reaching any
conclusions. Because the problem does
not lie here. The problem is: the NLF
wants us to leave Algeria and we want to
remain. Now, it seems to me that, despite
varying shades of opinion, you all agree
that we must remain. When the rebellion
first began, there were not even shades
of opinion. All the newspapers, even the
left-wing ones wanted the rebellion
suppressed. And we were sent here for
this very reason. And we are neither
madmen nor sadists, gentlemen. Those who
call us fascists today, forget the
contribution that many of us made to the
Resistance. Those who call us Nazis, do
not know that among us there are
survivors of Dachau and Buchenwald. We
are soldiers and our only duty is to
win. Therefore, to be precise, I would
now like to ask you a question: Should
France remain in Algeria? If you answer
"yes," then you must accept all the
necessary consequences.
For one, it's just an awesome film. Fantastic cinematography, editing. Tight script. But it's also an incredible glimpse into a revolution. So much of what happens dovetails perfectly with much of what you might read if you were studying such things.
Much of it also seemed quite relevent to what's happening in the woorld right now, in particular the use of torture. The French tortured members of the resistance. Now, with perspective of history, some theorists point to the battle of Algiers as evidence of the inefficacy of torture. True, the French won the battle. But they lost the war.
But it was probably more than just that. As an imperialist power in the mid 2oth century, the French were on the wrong side of history.
There were several scenes that really resonated with me.
About three-quarters of the way through the film, a high-ranking member of the National Liberation Front (FLN) converses with one of the revolution's mastermind, Ben M'Hidi. It's late at night, and they're standing on a terrace overlooking the Casbah, the Muslim quarter of Algiers.
BEN M'HIDI
Do you know something Ali? Starting a
revolution is hard, and it's even harder
to continue it. Winning is hardest of all.
But only afterward, when we have won,
will the real hardships begin.
A real-life picture of Ben M'Hidi (I think).
Later, Ben M'Hidi is captured and paraded out in front of a mob of French journalists.
1ST JOURNALIST
Mr. Ben M'Hidi ... Don't you think it is
a bit cowardly to use your women's baskets
and handbags to carry explosive devices
that kill so many innocent people?
BEN M'HIDI
And doesn't it seem to you even more
cowardly to drop napalm bombs on unarmed
villages, so that there are a thousand
times more innocent victims? Of course,
if we had your airplanes it would be a lot
easier for us. Give us your bombers, and
you can have our baskets.
The actor in the roole of Col. Mathieu
After a couple of on-point answers like this, Colonol Mathieu, who is directing France's counterattack against the Algierian uprising, cuts the interview short, "before it becomes self-defeating." Then he fields questions from the press
2ND JOURNALIST
Colonel Mathieu ... Much has been said
lately not only of the successes
obtained by the paratroopers, but also of
the methods that they have employed ...
Can you tell us something about this?
MATHIEU
The successes obtained are the results
of those methods. One presupposes the
other and vice versa.
3RD JOURNALIST
Excuse me, colonel. I have the impression
that perhaps due to excessive prudence ...
my colleagues continue to ask the same
allusive questions, to which you can only
respond in an allusive manner. I think it
would be better to call things by their
right names; if one means torture, then
one should call it torture.
MATHIEU
I understand. What's your question?
3RD JOURNALIST
The questions have already been asked. I
would only like some precise answers,
that's all ...
MATHIEU
Let's try to be precise then. The word
"torture" does not appear in our orders.
We have always spoken of interrogation as
the only valid method in a police
operation directed against unknown
enemies. As for the NLF, they request
that their members, in the event of
capture, should maintain silence for
twenty-four hours, and then, they may
talk. Thus, the organization has already
had the time necessary to render useless
any information furnished ... What type
of interrogation should we choose? ...
the one the courts use for a crime of
homicide which drags on for months?
3RD JOURNALIST
The law is often inconvenient, colonel ...
MATHIEU
And those who explode bombs in public
places, do they perhaps respect the law?
When you asked that question to Ben
M'Hidi, remember what he said? No,
gentlemen, believe me, it is a vicious
circle. And we could discuss the problem
for hours without reaching any
conclusions. Because the problem does
not lie here. The problem is: the NLF
wants us to leave Algeria and we want to
remain. Now, it seems to me that, despite
varying shades of opinion, you all agree
that we must remain. When the rebellion
first began, there were not even shades
of opinion. All the newspapers, even the
left-wing ones wanted the rebellion
suppressed. And we were sent here for
this very reason. And we are neither
madmen nor sadists, gentlemen. Those who
call us fascists today, forget the
contribution that many of us made to the
Resistance. Those who call us Nazis, do
not know that among us there are
survivors of Dachau and Buchenwald. We
are soldiers and our only duty is to
win. Therefore, to be precise, I would
now like to ask you a question: Should
France remain in Algeria? If you answer
"yes," then you must accept all the
necessary consequences.
an inventory
OK. I've been around the Knight-Ridder world today. I've done a quick inventory. I found some sites that were actually pretty damn good. A few that were almost there. And a lot that were just flat-out hideous and dull and damn near unusable.
The two best, hands down, were the San Jose Mercury News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
I guess it makes sense the Merc would be the best, seeing as how they're in the veritible center of the online universe. Their homepage had a lot of intriguing energy. I especially liked the celebrity news bar across the middle, with the splashy pictures of the beautiful people. The stories were sorted neatly into categories. I could click on all the news categories and find more stories nicely arranged by topic. And the feed subscription button popped right up with each category. It's a little annoying that the top of the news page looks pretty much the same as the top of the front page. But it's a good start. Definitely something for the rest of the corporation to aim for, in my humble, nearly worthless opinion.
The Miami Herald is pretty good with categories, too. But their "news" page is still quite bland. No art. And hardly any descriptions of the stories. Seems like just a bunch of sorted headlines.
On the other hand, The Pioneer Press has a nice local news page. Everything's divided by geographic area. And the clearinghouse of headline/links includes some info about most of the stories, so you get a sense what they're about. The Macon Telegraph is the same, maybe even a little better.
Contra Costa Times is so-so. Some art on the front page. A few more stories with descriptive link packages. Some categories. But not enough. Especially in the local news department. My sense is that this paper's community (East Bay) is a lot like mine here in KC -- a vast array of municipalities. And, like our local paper's website, they don't do enough to sort out their information by geographic area to help me quickly find what I'm looking for.
One really good thing about the Star, though: They have a collection of links at the top of the local news page to various "neighborhoods" around the metro area. That's a good start. But it'd be nice to have some of the daily headlines divided in this way. Plus it'd be cool if I could easily find an RSS feed on each of these neighborhood pages (if they even exist). The San Luis Obispo Tribune has these neighborhood news pages too, and they go a step further by categorizing the stories on those pages. Very cool. But, again, couldn't find an RSS feed.
There were a couple sites that didn't hold to the ubiquitous Knight-Ridder design. Both had strong points and weaknesses.
The Olympian in Olympia, Washington, is pretty sweet. Up top there are pull-down files. Like, if you click on "news" you get a list of categories, such as "South Sound", which I'm guessing would mean something to me if I lived there. Then if you click on that you get a fairly intelligible list of stories that offers a headline and a brief description. Only drawback: Couldn't find any RSS feeds anywhere. Not good.
Kind of the same thing with the Idaho Statesman. The pop-up menu navigation buttons are very helpful. But when you get to the local news page, it's just another list of cryptic headlines. And there's no easy-to-find RSS feed.
From there, it's all downhill.
The Philladelphia Inquirer might have won a bunch of Pullitzers. But they're a long way from winning a Webby. No local news link on the front page. If you go to their "News" page, it's just a file dump of often cryptic headlines. And it takes three clicks to get to the local news page. And once you do, it's just another big ugly list of links and bylines. Horrible!
I like the photos on the Bradenton Herald's news page. But when you scroll down it becomes another long, boring, confusing list of cryptic phrases.
All-out boring and hideous:
Lexington Herald Leader
Grand Forks Herald
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel and Journal Gazette
Duluth News Tribune
Biloxi Sun Herald
The Bellingham Herald (this one steps out of the Knight-Ridder box. But -- Ish! -- what an ugly mess!)
Akron Beacon Journal
Aberdeen News
Ok. So now we know what we're dealing with. Tomorrow I want to give some props to some of the creative things these news organizations are doing online. I saw quite a few on my little tour.
After that, I'm gonna start making phone calls. It's time to stop bitching and start reporting. Time to get to the bottom of what's going on at the 300-lb. gorilla of the daily newspaper world.
The two best, hands down, were the San Jose Mercury News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
I guess it makes sense the Merc would be the best, seeing as how they're in the veritible center of the online universe. Their homepage had a lot of intriguing energy. I especially liked the celebrity news bar across the middle, with the splashy pictures of the beautiful people. The stories were sorted neatly into categories. I could click on all the news categories and find more stories nicely arranged by topic. And the feed subscription button popped right up with each category. It's a little annoying that the top of the news page looks pretty much the same as the top of the front page. But it's a good start. Definitely something for the rest of the corporation to aim for, in my humble, nearly worthless opinion.
The Miami Herald is pretty good with categories, too. But their "news" page is still quite bland. No art. And hardly any descriptions of the stories. Seems like just a bunch of sorted headlines.
On the other hand, The Pioneer Press has a nice local news page. Everything's divided by geographic area. And the clearinghouse of headline/links includes some info about most of the stories, so you get a sense what they're about. The Macon Telegraph is the same, maybe even a little better.
Contra Costa Times is so-so. Some art on the front page. A few more stories with descriptive link packages. Some categories. But not enough. Especially in the local news department. My sense is that this paper's community (East Bay) is a lot like mine here in KC -- a vast array of municipalities. And, like our local paper's website, they don't do enough to sort out their information by geographic area to help me quickly find what I'm looking for.
One really good thing about the Star, though: They have a collection of links at the top of the local news page to various "neighborhoods" around the metro area. That's a good start. But it'd be nice to have some of the daily headlines divided in this way. Plus it'd be cool if I could easily find an RSS feed on each of these neighborhood pages (if they even exist). The San Luis Obispo Tribune has these neighborhood news pages too, and they go a step further by categorizing the stories on those pages. Very cool. But, again, couldn't find an RSS feed.
There were a couple sites that didn't hold to the ubiquitous Knight-Ridder design. Both had strong points and weaknesses.
The Olympian in Olympia, Washington, is pretty sweet. Up top there are pull-down files. Like, if you click on "news" you get a list of categories, such as "South Sound", which I'm guessing would mean something to me if I lived there. Then if you click on that you get a fairly intelligible list of stories that offers a headline and a brief description. Only drawback: Couldn't find any RSS feeds anywhere. Not good.
Kind of the same thing with the Idaho Statesman. The pop-up menu navigation buttons are very helpful. But when you get to the local news page, it's just another list of cryptic headlines. And there's no easy-to-find RSS feed.
From there, it's all downhill.
The Philladelphia Inquirer might have won a bunch of Pullitzers. But they're a long way from winning a Webby. No local news link on the front page. If you go to their "News" page, it's just a file dump of often cryptic headlines. And it takes three clicks to get to the local news page. And once you do, it's just another big ugly list of links and bylines. Horrible!
I like the photos on the Bradenton Herald's news page. But when you scroll down it becomes another long, boring, confusing list of cryptic phrases.
All-out boring and hideous:
Lexington Herald Leader
Grand Forks Herald
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel and Journal Gazette
Duluth News Tribune
Biloxi Sun Herald
The Bellingham Herald (this one steps out of the Knight-Ridder box. But -- Ish! -- what an ugly mess!)
Akron Beacon Journal
Aberdeen News
Ok. So now we know what we're dealing with. Tomorrow I want to give some props to some of the creative things these news organizations are doing online. I saw quite a few on my little tour.
After that, I'm gonna start making phone calls. It's time to stop bitching and start reporting. Time to get to the bottom of what's going on at the 300-lb. gorilla of the daily newspaper world.
snobs
As I said earlier, the Fourth Estate is too big a responsibility to entrust entirely to the New York Times. More than that, though, I don't think they deserve it. Too often the so-called paper of record in this nation comes off as out of touch. Yet, incredibly, they're snobs about it.
Case in point: Their response to Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
First they barely even mentioned Colbert's newsmaking speech in their initial report on the event, choosing instead to report on the Bush impersonator, which no one else in the country seemed to care about. Then they come in four days later -- typical tardiness for the Time's response to cultural phenomena -- with this droll backhanded slap of the whole thing.
Are these Manhattanites really the people we want to give sole authority to define reality in our nation? Don't you think we ought to have at least a few well-paid and capable reporters stationed in places like Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Charlotte, North Carolina? Wouldn't that give us a little less elitist view of our world?
All the more reason why Knight Ridder must make their websites understandable.
Case in point: Their response to Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
First they barely even mentioned Colbert's newsmaking speech in their initial report on the event, choosing instead to report on the Bush impersonator, which no one else in the country seemed to care about. Then they come in four days later -- typical tardiness for the Time's response to cultural phenomena -- with this droll backhanded slap of the whole thing.
Are these Manhattanites really the people we want to give sole authority to define reality in our nation? Don't you think we ought to have at least a few well-paid and capable reporters stationed in places like Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Charlotte, North Carolina? Wouldn't that give us a little less elitist view of our world?
All the more reason why Knight Ridder must make their websites understandable.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
calories
When I was in junior high I went to Chicago to visit my aunt. I was an avid runner then, and my caloric demand was huge. My aunt fixed me breakfast one day. She can still recite everything I ate. It was something like:
- A dozen eggs
- A half loaf of bread (toast)
- Three pounds of bacon
- Two packages of Jimmy Dean Sausage
- For gallons of orange juice
- One slice of melon
I think she saw it as an experiment. Kind of like seeing whether or not a dog will keep eating if you keep feeding it, until it explodes.
I didn't explode. But I got to thinking about this today because I've been running again and my appetite is enormous.
I like endorphines.
P.S. This made me laugh out loud.
- A dozen eggs
- A half loaf of bread (toast)
- Three pounds of bacon
- Two packages of Jimmy Dean Sausage
- For gallons of orange juice
- One slice of melon
I think she saw it as an experiment. Kind of like seeing whether or not a dog will keep eating if you keep feeding it, until it explodes.
I didn't explode. But I got to thinking about this today because I've been running again and my appetite is enormous.
I like endorphines.
P.S. This made me laugh out loud.
garden document
I don't know what this plant is. I can't figure out if it came from a little plant I bought at a nursery I bought last year or from a pack of seeds I scattered. I did both in this spot, I think. Regardless, it has exploded into a fury of pink and green. I think it's quite lovely. But I fear I'm not a good steward of it. Will it consume everything? Is this how it all ends? Are we to be overtaken by pretty flowers?
For a springtime State-Of-My-Garden report, click on the photo above.
more great headlines
Here's a selection of headlines/links from across the Knight-Ridder universe. Each of these cryptic sentences and phrases represent the sum total of information provided about the articles they link to. Worse, they're lumped in with every other article in a long, boring list of links. There aren't even category subheds to offer some clues about them, to help readers zero in on the information they're looking for.
Restaurants donate Tuesday
A lovely day
Resolved to stay
Biocube becomes a vexing hexahedron
Board votes to appeal
Split forces county out of tax bill
Attorney wants vigil held
Circle of life comes to fore
Just what the patient ordered
No time to rest -- she lives to help
Get involved, May 2
Turn it in
Days Gone By
One positive note: I'm beginning to see some variety among Knight-Ridder websites. Not a lot. But the individual papers do seem to have a bit of latitude with their presentation on the Internet. A couple of news organizations actually have designs that depart completely from the Knight-Ridder model, and at least one is actually quite good -- The Idaho Statesman. I'll look a little more closely at those in the coming days.
Restaurants donate Tuesday
A lovely day
Resolved to stay
Biocube becomes a vexing hexahedron
Board votes to appeal
Split forces county out of tax bill
Attorney wants vigil held
Circle of life comes to fore
Just what the patient ordered
No time to rest -- she lives to help
Get involved, May 2
Turn it in
Days Gone By
One positive note: I'm beginning to see some variety among Knight-Ridder websites. Not a lot. But the individual papers do seem to have a bit of latitude with their presentation on the Internet. A couple of news organizations actually have designs that depart completely from the Knight-Ridder model, and at least one is actually quite good -- The Idaho Statesman. I'll look a little more closely at those in the coming days.
Monday, May 01, 2006
more knight ridder
Didn't have time to pick up a Star on Sunday to compare print headlines with those online. I'll give it a try later this week, Sunday at the latest.
I liked my buddy Joel's thoughts about news gathering and packaging. He's definitely on point.
The issue, obviously, is packaging. A lot of folks seem to prefer getting their news in a repackaged form, be it comedy or blogs. But we still need real reporters going out and getting real news. You need a package to repackage.
But if all the eyeballs are shifting to the repackaged stuff, where we gonna get the money for the actual stuff? Journalism isn't free. We need to have journalists drawing steady paychecks and earning annual raises.
So, duh! News organizations have adjust the way they deliver their product.
No, I don't think the Miami Herald or the San Jose Mercury should become more like Steven Colbert. But they should at least make their websites usable. They should make it so an average schmoe like me can easily figure out what the hell stories their links lead to.
Last fall Rupert Murdoch gave a lecture to some association of newspaper editors. The folks at Knight Ridder should track down a copy of it and study it. Regardless of what you might think of Murdoch and his effect on journalism, you can't deny that the dude knows how to make money on information. And the gist of his message was: Catch up with the online generation, or die.
He said newspapers' goal should be to make their website the first place people in their coverage area visit when they go online each day.
Amen!
If the Star's website made sense, if I could log onto it and not have to guess what the damn stories are about, if it had a broad array of stories arranged in logival categories, I would likely make it my home page.
And I'm betting there are a lot of folks like me. People who want good, mostly straight information with a particular focus on my community.
But as it stands, I go to Tony's Kansas City first everyday. Which is kind of jacked up, really. Not (just) because he's sexist racist pig, but because even he admits he's not a good thorough source for news.
But at least his damn site makes sense.
Why can't a multi-million-dollar news organization figure out how to make a news product that makes sense?
I liked my buddy Joel's thoughts about news gathering and packaging. He's definitely on point.
The issue, obviously, is packaging. A lot of folks seem to prefer getting their news in a repackaged form, be it comedy or blogs. But we still need real reporters going out and getting real news. You need a package to repackage.
But if all the eyeballs are shifting to the repackaged stuff, where we gonna get the money for the actual stuff? Journalism isn't free. We need to have journalists drawing steady paychecks and earning annual raises.
So, duh! News organizations have adjust the way they deliver their product.
No, I don't think the Miami Herald or the San Jose Mercury should become more like Steven Colbert. But they should at least make their websites usable. They should make it so an average schmoe like me can easily figure out what the hell stories their links lead to.
Last fall Rupert Murdoch gave a lecture to some association of newspaper editors. The folks at Knight Ridder should track down a copy of it and study it. Regardless of what you might think of Murdoch and his effect on journalism, you can't deny that the dude knows how to make money on information. And the gist of his message was: Catch up with the online generation, or die.
He said newspapers' goal should be to make their website the first place people in their coverage area visit when they go online each day.
Amen!
If the Star's website made sense, if I could log onto it and not have to guess what the damn stories are about, if it had a broad array of stories arranged in logival categories, I would likely make it my home page.
And I'm betting there are a lot of folks like me. People who want good, mostly straight information with a particular focus on my community.
But as it stands, I go to Tony's Kansas City first everyday. Which is kind of jacked up, really. Not (just) because he's sexist racist pig, but because even he admits he's not a good thorough source for news.
But at least his damn site makes sense.
Why can't a multi-million-dollar news organization figure out how to make a news product that makes sense?
the clash
Found some footage of The Clash circa 1980. What an awesome band. The best is the stuff from Tomorrow with Tom Snider. Kind of a double treat there -- I had insomnia during Snider's final run on CBS, and I liked him in a post modern sort of way. Anyway, the versions of "Magnificent Seven" and "Radio Clash" are phenomenal.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
my beef
Everyday when I visit the website of my local Knight Ridder (McClatchy?) news organization I feel frustration and despair.
I know the people who gather the info for the site are qualified professionals, and they're buzzing around the metro area and the region digging up stuff I ought to know about. And I'm fairly certain that on any given day their website contains at least a few morsels of info that I want to chew on.
But when I go to their local news page, I find a list of story choices with maddeningly vague and outright boring titles like "Rabbi: Teen Defies Odds"; "Panel Votes to Not Discipline Lawyer"; and "Home's Never Been So Sweet" (from today's Miami and Charlotte websites).
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but do any of those headlines give you a real sense of what those stories about? Or, more importantly, are they intriguing enough -- considering all the billions and billions of links floating out here in cyberspace -- to make you want to click on them?
Let's check out the list of stories offered today on my hometown Knight Ridder (McClatchy?) website. I'll provide the headline/link text in bold, followed by my immediate thoughts when I read them.
Effort seeks to build park to remember Precious Doe
Police change complaint policy
Changes expected in education funding plan
Red Vine restaurant loses battle
Judge rules Cauthen isn’t liable in lawsuit
Decision in predator case upheld
National radio host sees KC as model
The Kansas City Star
Correction and clarification
The BUZZ
21-year-old found guilty in 2004 killing
A hospital ‘almost like a hotel’
FBI said to be reviewing Missouri license fees
Senate OKs bill to end park entry fees
Kansas law tightens rules on meningitis vaccinations
Meeting will focus on Africans’ issues in KC
Three cities on short list for complex
House plans inquiry into lunch
There were four more headlines. But that last one was so freaking bad and vague and laughable I just had to go.
Now look. My point here is not to bash the headline writers and website administrators at the Star. And tomorrow I'll compare the web headlines to those in the print version of the paper. You'll see that these make sense in that medium. Really, I'm on their side. I want this and all other Knight Ridder (McClatchy) ventures to survive and thrive in the rapidly changing world of news and media. Think of this as a dose of tough love.
But if a few feelings are hurt, so be it. The time has come to stop politely ignoring the obvious. The time has come to stand up and demand a change. Because the alternative is unacceptable. If this massive warrior of the old media landscape fails to make the transition into the future of news, I fear that the very foundation of our democracy will be in danger. We can't entrust the entire burden of the Fourth Estate to the New York Times, AP and bloggers.
So it's time to force the KR beast to straighten up its wobbly toddler walk into cyberspace. It's time to demand that they give us headlines and story discriptions that make sense.
We can deal with pop-up ads and topic organization later. Small steps. It's gonna be alright. Small. Steps.
I know the people who gather the info for the site are qualified professionals, and they're buzzing around the metro area and the region digging up stuff I ought to know about. And I'm fairly certain that on any given day their website contains at least a few morsels of info that I want to chew on.
But when I go to their local news page, I find a list of story choices with maddeningly vague and outright boring titles like "Rabbi: Teen Defies Odds"; "Panel Votes to Not Discipline Lawyer"; and "Home's Never Been So Sweet" (from today's Miami and Charlotte websites).
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but do any of those headlines give you a real sense of what those stories about? Or, more importantly, are they intriguing enough -- considering all the billions and billions of links floating out here in cyberspace -- to make you want to click on them?
Let's check out the list of stories offered today on my hometown Knight Ridder (McClatchy?) website. I'll provide the headline/link text in bold, followed by my immediate thoughts when I read them.
Effort seeks to build park to remember Precious Doe
OK. I recognize Precious Doe. She's a big story around here. But who is "Effort"? How does Effort "seek" or "build"? Sorry, this is just a bad headline, whether on the 'Net or in print.
Police change complaint policy
What police? We've got more than a dozen police departments in our metro area.
Changes expected in education funding plan
Whose education funding plan? What kind of education? Primary? Secondary? College? Why are changes needed? Is this good or bad? What does this mean?
Red Vine restaurant loses battle
OK. I know about Red Vine restaurant, vaguely. But I had no idea they were in a battle. What kind of battle? Against whom? What does this mean? Why should I care?
Judge rules Cauthen isn’t liable in lawsuit
I assume this is referring to Kansas City Manager Wayne Cauthen. But I haven't been following this story, so I don't know what lawsuit, or how this matters to me, or why I should care.
Decision in predator case upheld
????? I'm actually starting to get pissed here. I mean, come on! What in the hell is this about? I suppose I could assume they mean sexual predator. But why should I assume? Please. Tell me what the stories about, and why I should click over and read it.
National radio host sees KC as model
What natiional radio host? Is he/she famous? Model for what? Or is this radio host hallucinating? Is the host literally seeing our great big city as a teeny-tiny model?
The Kansas City Star
??????
Correction and clarification
Of what? Is this news? If not, why is it tossed in the middle of the news stories?
The BUZZ
What the hell is this?
21-year-old found guilty in 2004 killing
This might be the most thoroughly informative headline of the day. I still don't care enough to click over and read the story.
A hospital ‘almost like a hotel’
Is this an ad?
FBI said to be reviewing Missouri license fees
What license fees? License fees are boring. I'm not reading this unless you tell me how it might affect me.
Senate OKs bill to end park entry fees
What Senate? United States? Missouri? Kansas? UMKC student senate?
Kansas law tightens rules on meningitis vaccinations
Not bad.
Meeting will focus on Africans’ issues in KC
A meeting! Yippee!!
Three cities on short list for complex
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Stop being so BORING and COY!! Or I'm gonna DUMP YOU!!!
House plans inquiry into lunch
That's it. I'm leaving.
There were four more headlines. But that last one was so freaking bad and vague and laughable I just had to go.
Now look. My point here is not to bash the headline writers and website administrators at the Star. And tomorrow I'll compare the web headlines to those in the print version of the paper. You'll see that these make sense in that medium. Really, I'm on their side. I want this and all other Knight Ridder (McClatchy) ventures to survive and thrive in the rapidly changing world of news and media. Think of this as a dose of tough love.
But if a few feelings are hurt, so be it. The time has come to stop politely ignoring the obvious. The time has come to stand up and demand a change. Because the alternative is unacceptable. If this massive warrior of the old media landscape fails to make the transition into the future of news, I fear that the very foundation of our democracy will be in danger. We can't entrust the entire burden of the Fourth Estate to the New York Times, AP and bloggers.
So it's time to force the KR beast to straighten up its wobbly toddler walk into cyberspace. It's time to demand that they give us headlines and story discriptions that make sense.
We can deal with pop-up ads and topic organization later. Small steps. It's gonna be alright. Small. Steps.
Friday, April 28, 2006
onward
Ok. Good. There's some crackling in these grassroots nether reaches of cyberspace.
I got a mention from Tony. I got some comments.
Scooterj posted a long list of gripes about Knight Ridder sites. And Chris mentioned that he's actually going to work with our local Knight Ridder outlet to "pretty pretty" their website.
I feel the beginnings of a movement.
This is good.
So here's my gripe. I actually have a few gripes about these websites. And there are probably more I don't even know about. But I'm gonna start slow and simple.
Ready?
Here it is:
Headlines.
Um, Allie just said, "I'm ready whenever you are." I'm off to a rainy-day matinee. More later.
I got a mention from Tony. I got some comments.
Scooterj posted a long list of gripes about Knight Ridder sites. And Chris mentioned that he's actually going to work with our local Knight Ridder outlet to "pretty pretty" their website.
I feel the beginnings of a movement.
This is good.
So here's my gripe. I actually have a few gripes about these websites. And there are probably more I don't even know about. But I'm gonna start slow and simple.
Ready?
Here it is:
Headlines.
Um, Allie just said, "I'm ready whenever you are." I'm off to a rainy-day matinee. More later.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
revolution!
I going to start a grassroots Internet movement. Wanna join me?
The issue at hand:
Knight Ridder's websites suck.
And I've come to believe that their sucky-ness poses a serious threat to our democracy.
It's like this: Knight-Ridder is like the biggest daily newspaper chain in the country. Say what you will about them, how they've cut back on news operations, and they're the death of the Fourth Estate, or whatever. But the fact is they're still huge, they're still stacked with tons of hard-working journalists, and if they fail to transition into the 21st Century, and they go down, we're all in big trouble.
The Kay Barneses and Matt Blunts of the world will be free to breed and dominate in complete darkness!
And recent news suggests that they're not only going down, but that they've sunk, what with their sale to old man McClatchy. So perhaps my urge for an online revolution is at once too late and premature.
But the immediate threat remains. The websites for one of the biggest news organizations in the world suck, and our very freedom is in danger.
So I ask you, Are you with me?
Is it possible to start with one little post read by a few dozen people and ultimately force a mega-corporation to face the media future and give us websites we can use and depend on?
I'll go more into specific reasons why the websites suck later (as if you need me to tell you). And we can talk later about strategy.
For now I just want to know if there are any willing comrades out there.
Are there?
The issue at hand:
Knight Ridder's websites suck.
And I've come to believe that their sucky-ness poses a serious threat to our democracy.
It's like this: Knight-Ridder is like the biggest daily newspaper chain in the country. Say what you will about them, how they've cut back on news operations, and they're the death of the Fourth Estate, or whatever. But the fact is they're still huge, they're still stacked with tons of hard-working journalists, and if they fail to transition into the 21st Century, and they go down, we're all in big trouble.
The Kay Barneses and Matt Blunts of the world will be free to breed and dominate in complete darkness!
And recent news suggests that they're not only going down, but that they've sunk, what with their sale to old man McClatchy. So perhaps my urge for an online revolution is at once too late and premature.
But the immediate threat remains. The websites for one of the biggest news organizations in the world suck, and our very freedom is in danger.
So I ask you, Are you with me?
Is it possible to start with one little post read by a few dozen people and ultimately force a mega-corporation to face the media future and give us websites we can use and depend on?
I'll go more into specific reasons why the websites suck later (as if you need me to tell you). And we can talk later about strategy.
For now I just want to know if there are any willing comrades out there.
Are there?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
summer feeling
Yesterday I created a playlist on my iPod and I called it "running." I put 111 songs in it. Today I went for a run listening to the playlist on shuffle and I had one of those random-song-shuffle moments of insight.
It all started predictably uptempo with MIA's "Galang", but then everything got slower and more pensive. I spent a good seven minutes in the Gateful Dead's "Tennessee Jed" and I thought about being young and stoned and wasting a perfectly good sunny day thinking I'd somehow tapped into the knotty-pine spirit of the U.S. The Dead's sound is pleasantly lopsided, and I might think it brilliant if it didn't drag on so damn long. Now that I'm all uptight and snooty, and coffee and nicotine (gum) are my drugs of choice, it seems feels like a soundtrack to a life fittered away, which is still kind of nice now and then.
A couple relatively slow songs later, as the endorphines were really flooding my system, on came Jonathan Richman's "That Summer Feeling", and I slipped into a trance.
Such a true song:
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
That time is here for one more year
And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life...
When you're hangin around the park with the water fountain
And there's the little girl with the dirty ankles
Because she's on the swings where all the dust is kickin up
And you remember the ankle locket
And the way she flirted with you
For all this time how come?
Well that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life
You'll throw away everything for it
It was sunny and cool this afternoon as I ran. Flowers were everywhere, and the birds were chirping when the song ended.
It all started predictably uptempo with MIA's "Galang", but then everything got slower and more pensive. I spent a good seven minutes in the Gateful Dead's "Tennessee Jed" and I thought about being young and stoned and wasting a perfectly good sunny day thinking I'd somehow tapped into the knotty-pine spirit of the U.S. The Dead's sound is pleasantly lopsided, and I might think it brilliant if it didn't drag on so damn long. Now that I'm all uptight and snooty, and coffee and nicotine (gum) are my drugs of choice, it seems feels like a soundtrack to a life fittered away, which is still kind of nice now and then.
A couple relatively slow songs later, as the endorphines were really flooding my system, on came Jonathan Richman's "That Summer Feeling", and I slipped into a trance.
Such a true song:
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
That time is here for one more year
And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life...
When you're hangin around the park with the water fountain
And there's the little girl with the dirty ankles
Because she's on the swings where all the dust is kickin up
And you remember the ankle locket
And the way she flirted with you
For all this time how come?
Well that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life
You'll throw away everything for it
It was sunny and cool this afternoon as I ran. Flowers were everywhere, and the birds were chirping when the song ended.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
funny guy
In 2003, I voted for Stan Glazer to be mayor. I didn't think he'd be a good mayor, but I didn't think he'd be awful. One thing I particularly liked about him was that he talked often of "the little guy." I thought he might bring a sort of bottom-up perspective to KC's power structure. He's not in the in-crowd. Which is good because I've only lived here for six years and I've long been fed up with the in-crowd.
I'd been planning to vote for Glazer the next time around until I read Nadia Pflaum's excellent profile of him. When I got to the part where he tells one of the most obnoxious racist jokes I've ever heard I decided there's no way in hell I'll ever vote for him.
It's not just that he told the joke, though that probably should be enough, because it was a truly awful joke, and I would never tell a joke like that in any company, and I'd be genuinely pissed at anyone who would. It's that he told the joke in the presence of a reporter from the only media outlet in the city that is guaranteed to publish it. I mean, that's just common knowledge. Say something stupid, the Pitch is gonna print it.
What a freakin' idiot!
And they say one of his most promising assets is that he'll be a good salesman for the city? Puh-lease! Like I want an uncivilized buffoon like that representing us. God knows what he might say.
Oh sure, he was quick to admit that the joke was racist, and that black comedians use the N-word all the time. And Nadia deftly included all the context. But it still shows that he ain't got a clue how to act. I mean, yeah, blacks use the n-word. But whites don't. Especially whites that are angling to represent blacks as mayor. Glazer should know that. (Might not seem fair. But when it comes to unfair, blacks clearly have a lot more room to complain.)
I think I'm gonna write in Michelle Singletary. She isn't eligible, and probably wouldn't take it if she were. But the city needs someone with her ethos.
I'd been planning to vote for Glazer the next time around until I read Nadia Pflaum's excellent profile of him. When I got to the part where he tells one of the most obnoxious racist jokes I've ever heard I decided there's no way in hell I'll ever vote for him.
It's not just that he told the joke, though that probably should be enough, because it was a truly awful joke, and I would never tell a joke like that in any company, and I'd be genuinely pissed at anyone who would. It's that he told the joke in the presence of a reporter from the only media outlet in the city that is guaranteed to publish it. I mean, that's just common knowledge. Say something stupid, the Pitch is gonna print it.
What a freakin' idiot!
And they say one of his most promising assets is that he'll be a good salesman for the city? Puh-lease! Like I want an uncivilized buffoon like that representing us. God knows what he might say.
Oh sure, he was quick to admit that the joke was racist, and that black comedians use the N-word all the time. And Nadia deftly included all the context. But it still shows that he ain't got a clue how to act. I mean, yeah, blacks use the n-word. But whites don't. Especially whites that are angling to represent blacks as mayor. Glazer should know that. (Might not seem fair. But when it comes to unfair, blacks clearly have a lot more room to complain.)
I think I'm gonna write in Michelle Singletary. She isn't eligible, and probably wouldn't take it if she were. But the city needs someone with her ethos.
Monday, April 24, 2006
comment of the week
From anonymous:
Joe you're going to scare these poor inner city children away from you if you don't learn how to react or adapt to them.
the preacher
This past weekend I listened on several occasions to a preacher who used to be a practicing homosexual. He travels the world giving sermons and seminars and he specializes in talking about sex. I was struck dumb for the first several minutes when I first heard him speak. He completely overloaded my stereotype filters. He talked just like a conservative fundamentalist preacher. Same cadence, inflection, words, all that. But he was totally gay, with a lilting voice and a posture that tended to settle into slight curtsies whenever he made a point or finished a thought. He flailed his hands around a lot. He admitted that he composes urban electronica music in addition to preaching, though that also carries a Christian message.
But he was a good preacher. Really the whole recovering-gay thing was just a small part of his schtick, and it was fairly easy for me to ignore. Mostly he talked about not letting outside stuff control your life. That was the basic theme, and it was general enough to be applicable, I think, to pretty much everyone who was listening to him speak, including me. A lot of what he said was challenging, in a good way.
I didn't know what to expect before seeing this guy speak. Like any urban liberal (libertarian? cynic?), I'm leery of this sort of thing. Everyone at the church where I've been hanging out told me that he was really good, but such praise is hard for me to gauge because I'm not really one of them. I guess the last thing I expected was that I would like it and that I would get something out of it, and that it would, in a very round about way, actually make things a little better in my own relationship. Which is always a good thing.
But he was a good preacher. Really the whole recovering-gay thing was just a small part of his schtick, and it was fairly easy for me to ignore. Mostly he talked about not letting outside stuff control your life. That was the basic theme, and it was general enough to be applicable, I think, to pretty much everyone who was listening to him speak, including me. A lot of what he said was challenging, in a good way.
I didn't know what to expect before seeing this guy speak. Like any urban liberal (libertarian? cynic?), I'm leery of this sort of thing. Everyone at the church where I've been hanging out told me that he was really good, but such praise is hard for me to gauge because I'm not really one of them. I guess the last thing I expected was that I would like it and that I would get something out of it, and that it would, in a very round about way, actually make things a little better in my own relationship. Which is always a good thing.
Friday, April 21, 2006
the millennials & the fourth turning
Tonight I heard a breathless paraphrase of the future as prophesized by William Strauss and Neil Howe, authors of The Fourth Turning and Millennials Rising, and it didn't quite add up to me. Especially the stuff about the Millennials, the generation born in 1980s and 1990s. The argument is that this is a generation that was highly nurtured in their childhood, and that they'll grow up and save the world.
Yet it was during the late 80s and early 90s when the crack epidemic decimated black communities, and nurturing was in short supply for the children who suffered through it. It's also spans the era when school desgregation failed and blacks and white children became even more isolated from one another than they had been before Brown v. Board.
It's funny how we whites think the world begins and ends with us.
Yet it was during the late 80s and early 90s when the crack epidemic decimated black communities, and nurturing was in short supply for the children who suffered through it. It's also spans the era when school desgregation failed and blacks and white children became even more isolated from one another than they had been before Brown v. Board.
It's funny how we whites think the world begins and ends with us.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
debate awards
I went to the DEBATE Kansas City awards ceremony last night. Got me in a real good mood. The highlight was a speech delivered by this kid named David from Washington High in KCK. It was a scorcher of a screed about civil liberties. Full of passion. David's going to Morehouse next year.
And I'm happy to say that Central High (where I help coach) defended its legacy as the debate powerhouse in Kansas City, by claiming the top three awards in the varsity division and by winning the biggest award in the league: the sweepstakes award for most overall points.
In other debate news, the University of Kansas finished first in the nation in varsity rankings, beating out Dartmouth and Harvard, which were second and third respectively. The Jayhawks finished second in overall rankings, behind Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. UMKC finished sixth in overall rankings and tenth in varsity. And Missouri State was fifth in varsity rankings.
And I'm happy to say that Central High (where I help coach) defended its legacy as the debate powerhouse in Kansas City, by claiming the top three awards in the varsity division and by winning the biggest award in the league: the sweepstakes award for most overall points.
In other debate news, the University of Kansas finished first in the nation in varsity rankings, beating out Dartmouth and Harvard, which were second and third respectively. The Jayhawks finished second in overall rankings, behind Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. UMKC finished sixth in overall rankings and tenth in varsity. And Missouri State was fifth in varsity rankings.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
signs
Tracy wrote a post I wish I'd written. When I saw the billboard on Troost that reads: "Weed. The more you smoke. The less you care." I thought, Isn't that the point of smoking weed? To not care.
Either the people who think up these ad campaigns are totally clueless, or this is a conspiracy to actually get inner-city kids to smoke more.
Either the people who think up these ad campaigns are totally clueless, or this is a conspiracy to actually get inner-city kids to smoke more.
Friday, April 14, 2006
mr. manners
Poor LaToya.
Last night I had dinner at Gates with most of the Central debate squad and a rep from the University of Oklahoma. LaToya drew the short straw and wound up sitting next to me.
The Oklahoma man ordered a big platter of meat, and the waitress set it down in front of me. I was famished, and the sight of all that meat got me real excited. So excited that I squeezed the plastic tongs a bit too hard and they broke with a loud snap. LaToya flinched, startled by the sound.
We were sitting at a long table, so I wound up serving meat on folks' plates. LaToya asked me to get her some ham. So, with the tongs broken, I scooped some up with a fork. I tried to shake the ham off the tines, but they wouldn't budge, so I instinctively pushed them off with my fingers. LaToya cringed and all the other kids at the table laughed. She asked me to remove the contaminated piece of ham from her plate.
As I said, I was really hungry, and thrilled to have so many choices of meat, so I just started scarfing down really fast. Too fast, I guess, because I tried to swallow and breath at the same time and I made this loud cough/snort sound that made Latoya shift in her seat and lean as far away from me as possible.
After we'd all had our fill, we sat around and talked about OU. It's a great school, and they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to let the students we work with know that they have a home at OU. Seriously, I've never seen a school with such an active commitment to diversity. Truly amazing. I sat listening, positively amazed.
But then I felt a sneeze coming on. I have allergies, and at this time of year I can be suddenly attacked by sneezing fits. This one was moving in fast. I had less than a second to size up my options. In a mere wink of time I looked around the table and saw wads of napkin that were greasy and red with Gate's juice and sauce. For some reason, I thought it would be gross to grab one of these and sneeze into it. I saw no clean napkins. I thought for a second about cupping my hand against my nose and mouth, but with no clean napkins immediately visable, I figured I'd then have to wipe the discharge on my pants or something. So in the final milliseconds, with the mighty sneeze welling up, as I cocked my head to prepare for the unleashing, as I moved into the Ah part, I decided I would direct the force of the blast into my chest.
...CHOO!
I bent my head down as far forward as I could.
From the corner of my eye I saw LaToya recoil and start rubbing her arm. Like Cheney, I'd "peppered" her with the outer spray of my shotgun blast.
I tried to deny it.
"I couldn't have hit you," I said. "I was aiming at my chest."
"You hit me," she insisted, still drying her arm.
"I'm sorry," I said, offering: "But you're safe. It's just pollen. It's not like I have a cold or anything."
She wasn't comforted by my rationalizations.
Poor LaToya. Had to sit next to the gross old white freak.
Last night I had dinner at Gates with most of the Central debate squad and a rep from the University of Oklahoma. LaToya drew the short straw and wound up sitting next to me.
The Oklahoma man ordered a big platter of meat, and the waitress set it down in front of me. I was famished, and the sight of all that meat got me real excited. So excited that I squeezed the plastic tongs a bit too hard and they broke with a loud snap. LaToya flinched, startled by the sound.
We were sitting at a long table, so I wound up serving meat on folks' plates. LaToya asked me to get her some ham. So, with the tongs broken, I scooped some up with a fork. I tried to shake the ham off the tines, but they wouldn't budge, so I instinctively pushed them off with my fingers. LaToya cringed and all the other kids at the table laughed. She asked me to remove the contaminated piece of ham from her plate.
As I said, I was really hungry, and thrilled to have so many choices of meat, so I just started scarfing down really fast. Too fast, I guess, because I tried to swallow and breath at the same time and I made this loud cough/snort sound that made Latoya shift in her seat and lean as far away from me as possible.
After we'd all had our fill, we sat around and talked about OU. It's a great school, and they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to let the students we work with know that they have a home at OU. Seriously, I've never seen a school with such an active commitment to diversity. Truly amazing. I sat listening, positively amazed.
But then I felt a sneeze coming on. I have allergies, and at this time of year I can be suddenly attacked by sneezing fits. This one was moving in fast. I had less than a second to size up my options. In a mere wink of time I looked around the table and saw wads of napkin that were greasy and red with Gate's juice and sauce. For some reason, I thought it would be gross to grab one of these and sneeze into it. I saw no clean napkins. I thought for a second about cupping my hand against my nose and mouth, but with no clean napkins immediately visable, I figured I'd then have to wipe the discharge on my pants or something. So in the final milliseconds, with the mighty sneeze welling up, as I cocked my head to prepare for the unleashing, as I moved into the Ah part, I decided I would direct the force of the blast into my chest.
...CHOO!
I bent my head down as far forward as I could.
From the corner of my eye I saw LaToya recoil and start rubbing her arm. Like Cheney, I'd "peppered" her with the outer spray of my shotgun blast.
I tried to deny it.
"I couldn't have hit you," I said. "I was aiming at my chest."
"You hit me," she insisted, still drying her arm.
"I'm sorry," I said, offering: "But you're safe. It's just pollen. It's not like I have a cold or anything."
She wasn't comforted by my rationalizations.
Poor LaToya. Had to sit next to the gross old white freak.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
busy
Sorry I haven't been writing much. I've been very busy, which is a good thing, compared to where I was a couple of months ago. This new book project is going full steam ahead and it's getting better and better all the time. This seems like a real winner, and I'm spending more and more time at the church I'm writing about -- especially this week, what with the resurrection of Jesus and all. Jesus is black this year.
Besides that I've started pulling in some magazine assignments. I got a couple from Vibe, one of which had me in Dallas a couple weeks ago. They decided to feature me on their contributer page, which means they'll print my picture along with my answers to a kind of fun questionaire. I'm excited about it, but a little insecure -- I'm worried I'm too old and white. It's all supposed to be in the July issue, so check it out. And I got an assignment from this new business mag that's starting up here in KC. It actually pays pretty darn good, which is unusual for local publications, but they're making me work for it. They want an investigative piece, so I pitched them a bunch of ideas and of course they picked the toughest one. I've also been doing some articles for my neighborhood newspaper, which is fun -- a good way to get to know my community (plus they pay better than my former employer).
So, as you can see, I'm back in that jittery, fired-up, gum-shoe reporter mode. I'm feeling a tad out of shape, I suppose, but it's better than being comotose in depression.
On top of that I'm doing a final read through on my book. And it's time to get going in the garden. I planted peas yesterday. A whole bed and a half of them. I hope they grow. I like peas.
Besides that I've started pulling in some magazine assignments. I got a couple from Vibe, one of which had me in Dallas a couple weeks ago. They decided to feature me on their contributer page, which means they'll print my picture along with my answers to a kind of fun questionaire. I'm excited about it, but a little insecure -- I'm worried I'm too old and white. It's all supposed to be in the July issue, so check it out. And I got an assignment from this new business mag that's starting up here in KC. It actually pays pretty darn good, which is unusual for local publications, but they're making me work for it. They want an investigative piece, so I pitched them a bunch of ideas and of course they picked the toughest one. I've also been doing some articles for my neighborhood newspaper, which is fun -- a good way to get to know my community (plus they pay better than my former employer).
So, as you can see, I'm back in that jittery, fired-up, gum-shoe reporter mode. I'm feeling a tad out of shape, I suppose, but it's better than being comotose in depression.
On top of that I'm doing a final read through on my book. And it's time to get going in the garden. I planted peas yesterday. A whole bed and a half of them. I hope they grow. I like peas.
Monday, April 10, 2006
books
I've been on a reading binge. At one point last month I had two dozen library books stacked up on my nightstand. At that point it was all nonfiction. I was doing research for Central's debate squad. I read a lot of books about the Black Power movement.
But then I needed a break. I needed to read something that was just pleasant to read, so I picked up Salvation on Sand Mountain, by Dennis Covington. Great book. The writing was so simple and straight forward, yet Covington managed to convey some mighty deep thoughts with his plain language. Plus it's full of snakes and Southern accents. No way to lose with that.
So Covington got me back into reading again. Not simply amassing knowledge and insights and info, but escaping into unfamiliar lives and places through words.
Last week I finished Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain. I'd tried a couple of times before. It took some work to get through. Baldwin's writing seemed old fashioned, a bit over done, though consistantly beautiful. I particularly admired the book's structure, it's frame of a mere day or two that tied together entire life histories of several characters. It'll help, I think, as I ponder my second book project.
And now I'm reading Nadine Gordimer's latest, Get a Life. It's absolutely exquisite. I can't even begin to contemplate emulating Gordimer's writing. It's in a whole other realm. It's one of those books to sip slowly and savor.
But then I needed a break. I needed to read something that was just pleasant to read, so I picked up Salvation on Sand Mountain, by Dennis Covington. Great book. The writing was so simple and straight forward, yet Covington managed to convey some mighty deep thoughts with his plain language. Plus it's full of snakes and Southern accents. No way to lose with that.
So Covington got me back into reading again. Not simply amassing knowledge and insights and info, but escaping into unfamiliar lives and places through words.
Last week I finished Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain. I'd tried a couple of times before. It took some work to get through. Baldwin's writing seemed old fashioned, a bit over done, though consistantly beautiful. I particularly admired the book's structure, it's frame of a mere day or two that tied together entire life histories of several characters. It'll help, I think, as I ponder my second book project.
And now I'm reading Nadine Gordimer's latest, Get a Life. It's absolutely exquisite. I can't even begin to contemplate emulating Gordimer's writing. It's in a whole other realm. It's one of those books to sip slowly and savor.
Friday, April 07, 2006
a sports god
If you thought Maryland's win in the college championships was exciting, check out this great moment in sports history...
Thursday, April 06, 2006
victim
After six years in this supposedly dangerous city, I am finally a victim of street crime.
This morning I went to retrieve something from my car. I noticed right away that my license plate was missing.
Oh crap, I thought, I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the day at the license bureau.
Then I noticed the plate sitting nearby. The tags were even still attached.
Huh, I thought, they wanted my cheap plastic plate holder thing?
But then I spotted it sitting nearby as well.
So what did they take? The screws that held the plate and the plate holder.
"You got screwed!" Allie says.
Should I call the cops?
This morning I went to retrieve something from my car. I noticed right away that my license plate was missing.
Oh crap, I thought, I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the day at the license bureau.
Then I noticed the plate sitting nearby. The tags were even still attached.
Huh, I thought, they wanted my cheap plastic plate holder thing?
But then I spotted it sitting nearby as well.
So what did they take? The screws that held the plate and the plate holder.
"You got screwed!" Allie says.
Should I call the cops?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
sell-out
I recall very clearly. When Jim Rowland was on the city council he told me, in no uncertain terms, that he was fundamentally and morally opposed to sales tax because of how it disproportionately impacts the poor.
Yet I read in the paper today:
I guess fundamental, moral principles aren't worth much compared to a six-figure patronage job.
Yet I read in the paper today:
Jackson County Sports Complex Authority executive director Jim Rowland, a former city councilman, said he was excited about the possibility of getting a Final Four.
“We were anticipating it,” Rowland said. “It is one more great event we could host as a result of a positive outcome of the election.”
I guess fundamental, moral principles aren't worth much compared to a six-figure patronage job.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
rich people
Forbes' billionaire list is out and, once again, I'm not on it -- thank God. The only Kansas Citian I could find was Donald Hall of Hallmark, who comes in at 428th place in the world, with $1,800,000,000. Not bad for a man who cares enough to send the sappiest.
I was surprised to find no Blocks or Stowers on the list. What other names should I look for? I've sort of drifted out of touch with the Mission Hills crowd, I'm sorry to say.
I went to the list in search of David Glass and Lamar Hunt, our benevolent sports team owners. But neither one of them made it. But, then again, neither of them are Kansas Citians.
But still, they're really contributing locally. They're doing their part to make KC a better place. They're keeping our democratic traditions alive.
What would KC democracy be without rich, self-interested people outspending the poor common folk 2,613 to 1? Would it still be the best system in the world if the elites couldn't dump tons of dough into the hands of a pair of unprincipled snakes like Steve Glorioso and Pat Gray to manipulate a low-turnout April election in order to increase the tax burden for folks who can't even afford their gas bill so that millionaire out-of-towners can sell $100,000-a-year luxury boxes to the Friends of Donald Hall?
So the proponents of this slow-motion mass mugging have ponied up $1.55 million. And who are these so-called advocates? Well, $1.4 million comes from the pockets of the two men who stand to gain the most -- Glass and Hunt. There's another $50 grand from the grunts who'll build this unneeded monstrosity: the Heavy Constructors Association. And rounding out the list are the perrennially misguided sluts at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Ah, freedom. What did our syllabolically challenged leader say about freedom? Oh yes. Freedom "is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world."
Hallelujah.
I was surprised to find no Blocks or Stowers on the list. What other names should I look for? I've sort of drifted out of touch with the Mission Hills crowd, I'm sorry to say.
I went to the list in search of David Glass and Lamar Hunt, our benevolent sports team owners. But neither one of them made it. But, then again, neither of them are Kansas Citians.
But still, they're really contributing locally. They're doing their part to make KC a better place. They're keeping our democratic traditions alive.
What would KC democracy be without rich, self-interested people outspending the poor common folk 2,613 to 1? Would it still be the best system in the world if the elites couldn't dump tons of dough into the hands of a pair of unprincipled snakes like Steve Glorioso and Pat Gray to manipulate a low-turnout April election in order to increase the tax burden for folks who can't even afford their gas bill so that millionaire out-of-towners can sell $100,000-a-year luxury boxes to the Friends of Donald Hall?
So the proponents of this slow-motion mass mugging have ponied up $1.55 million. And who are these so-called advocates? Well, $1.4 million comes from the pockets of the two men who stand to gain the most -- Glass and Hunt. There's another $50 grand from the grunts who'll build this unneeded monstrosity: the Heavy Constructors Association. And rounding out the list are the perrennially misguided sluts at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Ah, freedom. What did our syllabolically challenged leader say about freedom? Oh yes. Freedom "is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world."
Hallelujah.
Monday, March 27, 2006
easy choice
The Star ran a helpful article yesterday about the stadium tax referendum. Money quote:
Yeah. Good old Kansas City. Where even losers can snarf at the trough.
It occurred to me as I was reading this that our so-called leaders handle money in exactly the way personal finance experts tell us not to.
Like, they're compulsive debtors. They're those pitiable folks who are bound for bankruptcy. The ones who'll have to suffer through old age on a Social Security check.
Seriously. The article says that if this referendum goes down then they could just turn around and ask for a smaller amount -- which is all they're obligated to provide.
So it's like, "Well, I need to have the sink fixed. It's gonna cost $100. But, since I'm going to put it on my credit card anyway, I might as well apply for two new cards and completely rehab the whole kitchen for six grand!"
Yeah. That's smart.
It's also smart the way the dolts pushing this stupid idea are constantly saying it's a $450 million plan. Well, that's not counting interest. This new sales tax is going to raise $800 million over the next 25 years -- nearly half going to to rich, fat, white male bankers in places like New York and Charlotte, North Carolina.
And it seems all the smarter when you couple this with the article last week about how we have a vintage 19th century sewer system (and, no, sewers are not collectable antiques). It's going to cost BILLIONS to un-vintage-ify. And why, pray tell, has this problem not been dealt with? Because our leaders have been on a 30-year shopping binge. Bartle Hall. Kemper Arena. Flush Creek. The new arena. Many, many TIF projects.
It's like a closet full of expensive shoes in a house that's about to fall apart.
If our local leaders were a person. A friend. An aquaintance. Whatever. We'd think they were sick. We'd be talking to mutual friends. We'd be getting together to stage an intervention.
Well, now's our opportunity. On April 4 we can tell them it's time to stop the insanity
The Royals have lost 100-plus games three out of four years, so what city would embrace them like Kansas City?
Yeah. Good old Kansas City. Where even losers can snarf at the trough.
It occurred to me as I was reading this that our so-called leaders handle money in exactly the way personal finance experts tell us not to.
Like, they're compulsive debtors. They're those pitiable folks who are bound for bankruptcy. The ones who'll have to suffer through old age on a Social Security check.
Seriously. The article says that if this referendum goes down then they could just turn around and ask for a smaller amount -- which is all they're obligated to provide.
So it's like, "Well, I need to have the sink fixed. It's gonna cost $100. But, since I'm going to put it on my credit card anyway, I might as well apply for two new cards and completely rehab the whole kitchen for six grand!"
Yeah. That's smart.
It's also smart the way the dolts pushing this stupid idea are constantly saying it's a $450 million plan. Well, that's not counting interest. This new sales tax is going to raise $800 million over the next 25 years -- nearly half going to to rich, fat, white male bankers in places like New York and Charlotte, North Carolina.
And it seems all the smarter when you couple this with the article last week about how we have a vintage 19th century sewer system (and, no, sewers are not collectable antiques). It's going to cost BILLIONS to un-vintage-ify. And why, pray tell, has this problem not been dealt with? Because our leaders have been on a 30-year shopping binge. Bartle Hall. Kemper Arena. Flush Creek. The new arena. Many, many TIF projects.
It's like a closet full of expensive shoes in a house that's about to fall apart.
If our local leaders were a person. A friend. An aquaintance. Whatever. We'd think they were sick. We'd be talking to mutual friends. We'd be getting together to stage an intervention.
Well, now's our opportunity. On April 4 we can tell them it's time to stop the insanity
black and white and (not) read
This might be a bad sign:
Yesterday I attended the 9 am service at one of the largest churches in the KC metro area. There were perhaps 2,000 people in attendance. The demographics might have been a little skewed -- not a perfect representation of KC's population. But it was a diverse group nonetheless: a little more than half black, 30 or 40 percent white and the rest Hispanic and Asian. I'd say they were mostly middle class, with some very poor people mixed in, and probably a few you could classify as very rich.
Anyway, midway through the service the pastor asked who had read an article in Saturday's Star which quoted a couple of the church's pastors.
Three people raised their hands.
Three.
Out of 2,000.
Yesterday I attended the 9 am service at one of the largest churches in the KC metro area. There were perhaps 2,000 people in attendance. The demographics might have been a little skewed -- not a perfect representation of KC's population. But it was a diverse group nonetheless: a little more than half black, 30 or 40 percent white and the rest Hispanic and Asian. I'd say they were mostly middle class, with some very poor people mixed in, and probably a few you could classify as very rich.
Anyway, midway through the service the pastor asked who had read an article in Saturday's Star which quoted a couple of the church's pastors.
Three people raised their hands.
Three.
Out of 2,000.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Big Stink
Karen Dillon wrote an excellent story about this city's sewers. Sounds like a crappy subject, but sewers are a pretty compelling issue for anyone in who cares at all about KC.
What makes this story great is that it clearly takes the perspective of the reader. It has a healthy dose of righteous indignation. It's fair and balanced, in that it allows the city officials to have their say. But it still accurately portrays these so-called leaders' comments as complete bunk.
I wish that daily newspapers -- not just theStar -- would make this kind of story the norm rather than the exception. Too often government stories read as if the reporters are scared of what the government officials will think of them. I know it's hard to get those folks to cooperate after they're knocked around with a kick ass story. But, you know, they're not really the audience. They're the ones who are screwing up.
And good God are they screwing up.
How can we even think about building arenas and an absurd rolling roof for the football stadium and a convention center and all this vanity crap when we've got a multi-billion-dollar sewer problem?
Idiots. Total freakin' idiots.
What makes this story great is that it clearly takes the perspective of the reader. It has a healthy dose of righteous indignation. It's fair and balanced, in that it allows the city officials to have their say. But it still accurately portrays these so-called leaders' comments as complete bunk.
I wish that daily newspapers -- not just theStar -- would make this kind of story the norm rather than the exception. Too often government stories read as if the reporters are scared of what the government officials will think of them. I know it's hard to get those folks to cooperate after they're knocked around with a kick ass story. But, you know, they're not really the audience. They're the ones who are screwing up.
And good God are they screwing up.
How can we even think about building arenas and an absurd rolling roof for the football stadium and a convention center and all this vanity crap when we've got a multi-billion-dollar sewer problem?
Idiots. Total freakin' idiots.
More Meth
Yesterday I asked Geoffery, "Why don't blacks use meth?"
"Because that's a white drug."
"I know. That's why I'm asking."
"Black folks like to know where they are when they get high. That shit's too radical."
"But black people smoke wet."
"And meth's too expensive. We're poor. That's why we smoke crack."
"But meth is cheap. Poor white folks use it."
"Yeah, but that stuff's full of chemicals. It ain't natural."
"And crack is?"
"Joe, crack is cocaine. At least you know where it comes from. And it's too hard to cook it up. You gotta cook that meth shit up in your kitchen, and it'll blow your face off."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying some dumb white biker dude can figure out how to do it, but black folks can't?"
"No Joe! That dumb biker dude get's his face blown off. That's what I'm saying."
I still don't get it. Not that I want blacks to start taking meth. I just don't understand how a cheap street drug can be so -- I don't know -- divided by race.
(For the record: Geoffery doesn't smoke crack; the "we" was a solidarity thing, I think.)
"Because that's a white drug."
"I know. That's why I'm asking."
"Black folks like to know where they are when they get high. That shit's too radical."
"But black people smoke wet."
"And meth's too expensive. We're poor. That's why we smoke crack."
"But meth is cheap. Poor white folks use it."
"Yeah, but that stuff's full of chemicals. It ain't natural."
"And crack is?"
"Joe, crack is cocaine. At least you know where it comes from. And it's too hard to cook it up. You gotta cook that meth shit up in your kitchen, and it'll blow your face off."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying some dumb white biker dude can figure out how to do it, but black folks can't?"
"No Joe! That dumb biker dude get's his face blown off. That's what I'm saying."
I still don't get it. Not that I want blacks to start taking meth. I just don't understand how a cheap street drug can be so -- I don't know -- divided by race.
(For the record: Geoffery doesn't smoke crack; the "we" was a solidarity thing, I think.)
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
No!
I don't read the paper regularly. Would someone please tell me if this report has gotten any coverage?
Amazingly blunt language. I can't believe how awful this stadium deal is. I know I've read stuff about it, how it's one of the worst packages that's ever been put together. But it's really dawning on me how absolutely outrageous this is.
They want us to raise sales taxes -- which disproportionately screw the poor -- to build luxury boxes for the rich?! And the tax is only for Jackson County?! Not Johnson County, where the richest people in the metro live?!?!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Our local leaders are sluts, plain and simple. Insecure, stupid sluts who'll hand over their dignity the second someone offers to buy them a drink.
Some of the people behind this crap have actually looked me in the eye and said with a straight face that they're a Democrat, or a liberal. Dude, you're robbing from poor folks to give to rich people! Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
SPREAD THE WORD! TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO COME OUT AND VOTE NO!
Amazingly blunt language. I can't believe how awful this stadium deal is. I know I've read stuff about it, how it's one of the worst packages that's ever been put together. But it's really dawning on me how absolutely outrageous this is.
They want us to raise sales taxes -- which disproportionately screw the poor -- to build luxury boxes for the rich?! And the tax is only for Jackson County?! Not Johnson County, where the richest people in the metro live?!?!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Our local leaders are sluts, plain and simple. Insecure, stupid sluts who'll hand over their dignity the second someone offers to buy them a drink.
Some of the people behind this crap have actually looked me in the eye and said with a straight face that they're a Democrat, or a liberal. Dude, you're robbing from poor folks to give to rich people! Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
SPREAD THE WORD! TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO COME OUT AND VOTE NO!
Go Away!
A friend of ours came back from a business trip and told us that Omaha rocks. It's got a lively downtown, a developed waterfront and a refreshing sense of community.
All this despite the fact that the city has no major league sports teams.
I'm going to vote no on this referendum to raise taxes to spend half a billion on stadium improvements, and I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that the cheifs and the Royals pack up and leave. KC will be a much better place.
Here's some more righteous grassroots propaganda.
For once in our lives we've got to tell these corrupt, clubby Democrats to stop raising our taxes every freakin' April for their "Big Visions" that don't fit in with what Kansas City obviously wants to be.
Sure, folks want to go to Chiefs games. And they're willing to pay out the nose to do it. Seems like a viable business to me. How 'bout these business owners bo what business folks do: Make an investment to earn some more.
Yeah, we've got this downtown arena coming. Not much we can do about that. Stiill, the fact is that Kansas Citians don't want to go downtown. We want the sidewalks around our houses to be smooth, the roads pothole free. We want our backyards to not flood and our sewers to not leak stench into the summer air.
Sure, let's give incentives to economic development. But lets put them in distressed areas that the market is actually interested in embracing. Not sure-bet places like Zona Rosa up north of the river, but areas that are a little riskier, like the St. John corridor, Troost from 31st to Cleaver II, yet still potentially viable. I'm talkin' micro loans for mom and pops that want to offer good products and services near the places where we live. Not major condo developments. Just a little fertilizer to enhance what'll grow organically.
Our so-called leaders are so freakin' stupid and arrogant.
Half a billion would make a pretty good dent in our $1.5 billion worth of unfinished infrastructure chores.
But our Democratic leaders want to give us bread and circuses. And give boatloads of unearned cash to people who are already filthy rich.
VOTE NO!
All this despite the fact that the city has no major league sports teams.
I'm going to vote no on this referendum to raise taxes to spend half a billion on stadium improvements, and I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that the cheifs and the Royals pack up and leave. KC will be a much better place.
Here's some more righteous grassroots propaganda.
For once in our lives we've got to tell these corrupt, clubby Democrats to stop raising our taxes every freakin' April for their "Big Visions" that don't fit in with what Kansas City obviously wants to be.
Sure, folks want to go to Chiefs games. And they're willing to pay out the nose to do it. Seems like a viable business to me. How 'bout these business owners bo what business folks do: Make an investment to earn some more.
Yeah, we've got this downtown arena coming. Not much we can do about that. Stiill, the fact is that Kansas Citians don't want to go downtown. We want the sidewalks around our houses to be smooth, the roads pothole free. We want our backyards to not flood and our sewers to not leak stench into the summer air.
Sure, let's give incentives to economic development. But lets put them in distressed areas that the market is actually interested in embracing. Not sure-bet places like Zona Rosa up north of the river, but areas that are a little riskier, like the St. John corridor, Troost from 31st to Cleaver II, yet still potentially viable. I'm talkin' micro loans for mom and pops that want to offer good products and services near the places where we live. Not major condo developments. Just a little fertilizer to enhance what'll grow organically.
Our so-called leaders are so freakin' stupid and arrogant.
Half a billion would make a pretty good dent in our $1.5 billion worth of unfinished infrastructure chores.
But our Democratic leaders want to give us bread and circuses. And give boatloads of unearned cash to people who are already filthy rich.
VOTE NO!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Mad About Bubba
We awoke last night to shouts and screams. I went to the window and saw a crowd of people gathered in front of the house across the street. I asked Allie what time it was. 2 AM.
I lingered at the window for a while and watched. The crowd started to roil at the edges like a pot of water on a stove.
"Allie, come check this out," I said. "They're fighting."
Allie put on her glasses and came to the window.
I had to pee so I took a break from the action. When I came back, Allie had the window open.
"Apparently, Gina's mad about Bubba," she told me.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because they shouted, 'Gina, you're drunk, and you're mad about Bubba.'"
She added, "And she kept shouting, 'I wouldn't fuck a white bitch!'"
Allie said she's happy we have them as neighbors.
I lingered at the window for a while and watched. The crowd started to roil at the edges like a pot of water on a stove.
"Allie, come check this out," I said. "They're fighting."
Allie put on her glasses and came to the window.
I had to pee so I took a break from the action. When I came back, Allie had the window open.
"Apparently, Gina's mad about Bubba," she told me.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because they shouted, 'Gina, you're drunk, and you're mad about Bubba.'"
She added, "And she kept shouting, 'I wouldn't fuck a white bitch!'"
Allie said she's happy we have them as neighbors.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Hyper-ghetto/Prison
A few weeks ago I came across a fascinating essay by Berkeley sociology professor Loïc Wacquant. It was a real moment of clarity. The main point of the essay is summed up in these three paragraphs:
But where the essay really changed my understanding of the world was in the passages about the production of race:
I'd heard the argument that race isn't real before, of course, but I'd never believed it. Now I understand.
Wacquant is expanding this essay into a book, which will be released later this year (cover art by Jean Michel Basquiat -- cool!).
The task of defining, confining, and controlling African Americans in the United States has been successively shouldered by four "peculiar institutions": slavery, the Jim Crow system, the urban ghetto, and the organizational compound formed by the vestiges of the ghetto and the expanding carceral system. The first three served, each in its own way, both to extract labor from African Americans and to demarcate and ultimately seclude them so that they would not "contaminate" the surrounding white society that viewed them as irrevocably inferior and vile.
These two goals of labor extraction and social seclusion are in tension: extracting a group's labor requires regular intercourse with its members, which may blur the line separating "us" from "them." Conversely, social isolation can make efficient labor extraction more difficult. When the tension between exploitation and exclusion mounts to the point where it threatens to undermine either of them, the institution is re-stabilized through physical violence: the customary use of the lash and ferocious suppression of slave insurrections on the plantation, terroristic vigilantism and mob lynchings in the post-bellum South, and periodic bombings of Negro homes and pogroms against ghetto residents (such as the six-day riot that shook up Chicago in 1919) ensured that blacks kept to their appointed place at each epoch.
But the built-in instabilities of unfree labor and the anomaly of caste partition in a formally democratic and highly individualistic society guaranteed that each of these peculiar institutions would in time be undermined by the weight of its internal tensions as well as by black resistance and external opposition, and be replaced by its successor regime. At each new stage, the apparatus of ethno-racial domination became less total and less capable of encompassing all segments and dimensions of the pariah group's social life. As African Americans differentiated along class lines and acceded to full formal citizenship, the institutional complex charged with keeping them "separate and unequal" grew more differentiated and diffuse, allowing a burgeoning middle and upper class of professionals and salary earners to partially compensate for the negative symbolic capital of blackness through their high-status cultural capital and proximity to centers of political power. But lower-class blacks remained burdened by the triple stigma of "race," poverty, and putative immorality.
But where the essay really changed my understanding of the world was in the passages about the production of race:
Slavery, Jim Crow, and the ghetto are each "race making" institutions: they do not simply process an independently-existing ethno-racial division; rather, each produces (or co-produces) this division (anew) out of inherited demarcations and disparities of group power and inscribes it at every epoch in a distinctive constellation of material and symbolic forms. All three have consistently racialized the arbitrary boundary that sets African Americans apart from all others in the United States by actively denying that boundary's cultural origin in history, and ascribing it instead to the fictitious necessity of biology.
The highly particular conception of "race" that America has invented, virtually unique in the world for its rigidity and social consequences, is a direct outcome of the momentous collision between slavery and democracy. The Jim Crow regime reworked the racialized boundary between the free and the enslaved into a rigid caste separation between "whites" and "Negros" (comprising all persons of known African ancestry, no matter how minimal), that infected every crevice of the postbellum social system in the South. The ghetto, in turn, imprinted this dichotomy onto the spatial and institutional schemas of the industrial metropolis. So much so that, in the wake of the "urban riots" of the sixties, "urban" and "black" became near-synonymous in policy making as well as everyday parlance. And the "crisis" of the city came to stand for the enduring contradiction between the individualistic and competitive tenor of American life, on the one hand, and the continued seclusion of African Americans from it, on the other.48 Now, a fourth "peculiar institution"—joining the hyperghetto with the carceral system—is remolding the social meaning and significance of "race" in accordance with the dictates of neoliberalism. To be sure, the penal apparatus has long served as accessory to ethno-racial domination. But the role of the carceral institution today is different. For the first time in U.S. history, it is the primary apparatus for the social production of "race."
I'd heard the argument that race isn't real before, of course, but I'd never believed it. Now I understand.
Wacquant is expanding this essay into a book, which will be released later this year (cover art by Jean Michel Basquiat -- cool!).
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Book Review
Incredible story. Callie House was a dirt poor woman from Nashville who lead a remarkably large grassroots movement to push the government to pay pensions to ex-slaves. It was obviously a long shot, but the movement was big enough to scare The Man. Government officials cracked down on her, blatantly violating her constitutional rights over and over again. In the end she was found guilty of mail fraud by an all-white jury and locked away in Jefferson City, Missouri, for just long enough to pretty much kill the movement. She went down about the same time Marcus Garvey rose in power and influence.
The book drags a bit in some parts. But you can skim the ponderous parts and still get your money's worth. This is an important chapter in our story. Mary Frances Berry definitely deserves a big hand for digging it up!
Our Tax Dollars
Ugh.
I knew we spent a lot of money on the military, but I didn't know Congress spent more than half of its discretionary budget on it. This chart gives a proportional representation of where our money goes.
There are so many ways to look at this, all of which make me feel really awful inside.
For one, it displays very starkly an overwhelmingly male ethos. It's like, Fuck everyone else! We want our dick toys!!
Or, 51 cents out of every dollar goes to the art of killing people.
And to filthy rich war merchants.
On the other hand, I know thata lot of that money on the right side of the charts -- the help-our-fellow-Americans money -- is totally tainted with bureaucratic dysfunctiionality by the time it reaches street level. As in, idiots like Steve Glorioso and Kathy Walter Mack (KC SchoolDistrict attorney) and thousands upon thousands of unmotivated, disaffected and/or disempowered drones wind up controlling it.
Yuck.
Thank God America's got so many totally freakin' cool redeeming facets. Because it totally sucks otherwise.
Donkey Doo
It's bash on the Democrats day here at KC Soil. This video is hilarious and, unfortunately, totally on point.
Stadium Flap
A couple days ago Dave Helling called me and asked for my opinion about the rising controversy over political blogs and campaign finance disclosure. He said local political snake Steve Glorioso is all in a tizzy about a couple of homegrown website (here, here!) that have dared to speak the truth about the local liberal morons' latest scheme to raise taxes in support of a worthless boondoggle.
I told Dave, "Here's your quote: I find it supremely ironic that Steve Glorioso is bitching about fairness."
Obviously that didn't make it into the article. I think Dave was digging for background and perspective.
With regards to the larger question, I was legitimately stumped. I told Dave that the question aims right at the gray area between two principles I feel passionate about: unfettered free speech and government/political transparency.
But after a few days of thought, and after reading the article, I feel strongly that websites and blogs ought to be placed in the same category as newspapers and other media outlets. The main reason is that it's only fair. As it stands now, the law only protects those who are rich and powerful enough to control the airwaves and buy ink by the gallon. In all honesty, there's never really been anything to stop those folks from using their expensive mediums to push partisan ideas.
My other reason is more gut-level. Honestly, if Steve Glorioso and snakes like him are against it, then I'm for it.
I'm pretty much a left-leaning guy. But it's public-bilking, inside-baseball-playing, idiotic, arrogant whores-to-the-corporate-elite like him that make Democrats damn near unsupportable.
Besides, who would want to do anything to limit such wonderful free expression as this? (Warning, Grandma: It has dirty pictures at the end.)
(Sheesh. Only four posts into the revamped blog and I'm already getting myself in trouble again.)
Vote no on this stupid rolling roof scam!
Full campaign disclosure: I'm broke phi broke, cracka!
I told Dave, "Here's your quote: I find it supremely ironic that Steve Glorioso is bitching about fairness."
Obviously that didn't make it into the article. I think Dave was digging for background and perspective.
With regards to the larger question, I was legitimately stumped. I told Dave that the question aims right at the gray area between two principles I feel passionate about: unfettered free speech and government/political transparency.
But after a few days of thought, and after reading the article, I feel strongly that websites and blogs ought to be placed in the same category as newspapers and other media outlets. The main reason is that it's only fair. As it stands now, the law only protects those who are rich and powerful enough to control the airwaves and buy ink by the gallon. In all honesty, there's never really been anything to stop those folks from using their expensive mediums to push partisan ideas.
My other reason is more gut-level. Honestly, if Steve Glorioso and snakes like him are against it, then I'm for it.
I'm pretty much a left-leaning guy. But it's public-bilking, inside-baseball-playing, idiotic, arrogant whores-to-the-corporate-elite like him that make Democrats damn near unsupportable.
Besides, who would want to do anything to limit such wonderful free expression as this? (Warning, Grandma: It has dirty pictures at the end.)
(Sheesh. Only four posts into the revamped blog and I'm already getting myself in trouble again.)
Vote no on this stupid rolling roof scam!
Full campaign disclosure: I'm broke phi broke, cracka!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Debate Diary
Some of you who read my blog before it went into hybernation may recall that I was starting up a debate team at a local alternative school. Well, I'm still at it. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have five students who regularly attend.
Yesterday was probably our best session of the year. All five kids were there, and when I showed up they were full of energy and ready to debate. They wanted to debate about whether or not drugs should be legalized.
"That sounds good to me," I said. "Except none of you will want to take the negative side."
Fortunately, one kid declared that he was adamently anti-drug, so the teacher and I teamed up with him to go against the other four.
Usually when I'm with kids from De La Salle or Central or wherever and the subject of drugs comes up we talk about crack as the default worst of the worst. But lately I've been trying to mix things up a bit by mentioning meth. I did this yesterday as we were preparing for the practice round. It was interesting because as the round progressed more and more of the students began using meth as an example of the worst drug you could do. At one point one of the kids even suggested that it is so bad that it has no redeeming value.
I wanted to ask the students if they know anyone who does meth, so as to determine if there are any blacks who use it. But the opportunity didn't really arise.
Besides, I'm a little nervous that my experiment with mentioning meth in conversations about drugs might somehow begin some sort of word-of-mouth buzz that'll make meth popular among blacks. Which is a pretty absurd notion, I know.
Yesterday was probably our best session of the year. All five kids were there, and when I showed up they were full of energy and ready to debate. They wanted to debate about whether or not drugs should be legalized.
"That sounds good to me," I said. "Except none of you will want to take the negative side."
Fortunately, one kid declared that he was adamently anti-drug, so the teacher and I teamed up with him to go against the other four.
Usually when I'm with kids from De La Salle or Central or wherever and the subject of drugs comes up we talk about crack as the default worst of the worst. But lately I've been trying to mix things up a bit by mentioning meth. I did this yesterday as we were preparing for the practice round. It was interesting because as the round progressed more and more of the students began using meth as an example of the worst drug you could do. At one point one of the kids even suggested that it is so bad that it has no redeeming value.
I wanted to ask the students if they know anyone who does meth, so as to determine if there are any blacks who use it. But the opportunity didn't really arise.
Besides, I'm a little nervous that my experiment with mentioning meth in conversations about drugs might somehow begin some sort of word-of-mouth buzz that'll make meth popular among blacks. Which is a pretty absurd notion, I know.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Design Change
They did a little tweeking of the design. Some color changes, and Marcus and Brandon are drawn just a bit differently. Plus, you can see the spine here. I think the back cover will have a drawing of a classroom with a chalkboard filled with debate jargon and debate-themed drawings, including pictures of Michel Foucault and Aristotle.
Monday, March 13, 2006
$11
Allie found $11 on the ground in our neighborhood. I told her to frame it.
For the past several weeks, Allie has been worried about money. She works freelance. She makes very good money doing so, but the paydays are somewhat unpredictable. So far it has worked like this: She gets worried about running out of money and starving to death. To avoid this she does a lot of work to find more work. The work comes in, often from the most unexpected places, and she gets busy working. Because she's working, she doesn't do a lot of work finding work. So when the work's all done, she gets worried again about where more work is going to come from. And that starts the cycle over again, with her working to find more work.
During the worrisome times she confides in me about her worry. I tell her, "Don't worry. When you put it out there, stuff always comes through. You always find money in the most unexpected places."
And right after I said this she found $11 on the ground. This proved me right. I told her to frame the money. Because she won't really need it. Not with the several thousand dollars of work she's suddenly gotten from the most unexpected places.
These are good things to remember. If you have a computer and are privileged enough to be able read this or any other blog entry, chances are things will work out no matter how tight things seem with money. You will not starve until the revolution comes and the East conquers the West in capitalism.
(Allie will not frame the money but instead she has photographed it and she will use it as wallpaper on her laptop.)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Help!
Could someone out there please tell me how to get rid of the gap at the top of the page, above my title graphic? It doesn't show up when I hit "preview" in Blogger. But after I upload it shows up in both Safari and Firefox.
Please help me.
Please help me.
Galleys
This week I received six copies of the galleys for my book. I give five to the principle subjects of the book, and kept one for myself.
The cover here is pretty much what it'll look like when it's released this fall, except it'll be a hardback. I'm very excited. I think the art looks cool.
It weighs in at 477 pages. I'm worried that's a bit too long. But too late now.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Grocery Store
In the supermarket checkout line today I went to pull out my debit card, and as I did the KKK card that was hidden in my wallet slid out an inch or so, just far enough for black checkout lady to see the bold, red "KKK" printed across the top. I wasn't sure what to do.
I'd been carrying the card in my wallet for the last month or so, ever since I was at the Johnson County Library and I opened up a book called Profiles in Black Power and the card tumbled out in my lap. This was a disconcerting experience. I kept the card. I showed it to the kids at Central and told them the story and we were all suitably appalled. I'm not sure why I kept the card. I guess as a reminder of having found it in a book about Black Power, as a testament to how chicken shit and sleezy KKK types are.
A few weeks ago the card fell out of my wallet and I told Allie that I should get rid of it lest it fall out at a moment when it would not be welcome, like when I'm around black folks, which I often am.
So it came out today in the checkout line. I don't know if the woman saw it. She works there a lot and I shop there a lot. I don't want her to think that I'm with the KKK.
Right before the card fell out, the checkout lady had to call a manager over to her register to deal with someone's check. The woman had a gaunt face that looked like a skull. Her teeth appeared as though they are rotting. I immediately assumed that she is on meth.
I've been making this assumption a lot lately, ever since I saw a special about meth on Frontline. The show reported on the physical effects of meth. One of the cops interviewed for the show said he can spot a meth addict from a mile away. After seeing the show I now think I can too.
I live in a relatively poor area of town. It's racially diverse. Often when I see whites walking down the main drag in my part of town I take a good long look to see if they have sunken cheekbones and eyes. When they do I say to myself, "I bet they're on meth." There are a lot of white people with this look.
The woman had the look. It was interesting because she's obviously gainfully employed. As she dealt with the check I conjured a story about her. I imagined that she was high on meth at that very moment. It seemed plausible because she seemed to have a lot of energy. I thought that maybe this woman thought the drug actually helps her, that it gives her the energy she needs to survive in the 21st century marketplace. But then I also thought about how tenuous this would be if it were true. My hunch is that a meth addict would eventually run into big problems down the road and their success would disappear along with their cheeks and teeth.
Then I wondered, why don't blacks do meth? Do they?
What am I going to do about this woman who thinks I'm a Klansman? I hope she never covers the express lane while I'm there.
I'd been carrying the card in my wallet for the last month or so, ever since I was at the Johnson County Library and I opened up a book called Profiles in Black Power and the card tumbled out in my lap. This was a disconcerting experience. I kept the card. I showed it to the kids at Central and told them the story and we were all suitably appalled. I'm not sure why I kept the card. I guess as a reminder of having found it in a book about Black Power, as a testament to how chicken shit and sleezy KKK types are.
A few weeks ago the card fell out of my wallet and I told Allie that I should get rid of it lest it fall out at a moment when it would not be welcome, like when I'm around black folks, which I often am.
So it came out today in the checkout line. I don't know if the woman saw it. She works there a lot and I shop there a lot. I don't want her to think that I'm with the KKK.
Right before the card fell out, the checkout lady had to call a manager over to her register to deal with someone's check. The woman had a gaunt face that looked like a skull. Her teeth appeared as though they are rotting. I immediately assumed that she is on meth.
I've been making this assumption a lot lately, ever since I saw a special about meth on Frontline. The show reported on the physical effects of meth. One of the cops interviewed for the show said he can spot a meth addict from a mile away. After seeing the show I now think I can too.
I live in a relatively poor area of town. It's racially diverse. Often when I see whites walking down the main drag in my part of town I take a good long look to see if they have sunken cheekbones and eyes. When they do I say to myself, "I bet they're on meth." There are a lot of white people with this look.
The woman had the look. It was interesting because she's obviously gainfully employed. As she dealt with the check I conjured a story about her. I imagined that she was high on meth at that very moment. It seemed plausible because she seemed to have a lot of energy. I thought that maybe this woman thought the drug actually helps her, that it gives her the energy she needs to survive in the 21st century marketplace. But then I also thought about how tenuous this would be if it were true. My hunch is that a meth addict would eventually run into big problems down the road and their success would disappear along with their cheeks and teeth.
Then I wondered, why don't blacks do meth? Do they?
What am I going to do about this woman who thinks I'm a Klansman? I hope she never covers the express lane while I'm there.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
ice
I'm going to put this blog on ice for a while. If you want to know what's up with me, drop me an e-mail at joemiller [at] kc [dot] rr [dot] com.
See you 'round.
See you 'round.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
my needs
A meme, via Professor Kim,
Google "[your first name] needs" and write down the first lines from the first page of hits:
Joe needs his Tampa tame.
Joe needs two cracking matches.
joe needs help.
Joe needs an editor.
Joe Needs You.
Joe needs our help.
Joe Needs your Help.
Joe needs help!
Joe needs to try a number of different things.
Google "[your first name] needs" and write down the first lines from the first page of hits:
Joe needs his Tampa tame.
Joe needs two cracking matches.
joe needs help.
Joe needs an editor.
Joe Needs You.
Joe needs our help.
Joe Needs your Help.
Joe needs help!
Joe needs to try a number of different things.
matinee
Allie and I went to a double feature matinee with our friend Mark. It was at the new Screenland theater. Great place. They've got some plush recliner chairs.
We saw The Untold Story of Emmitt Louis Till and The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, both of which were fantastic.
It was a good pairing. Both were set in the 1950s (the latter stretching into the 60s) and they both gave a some perspective on how much American society has changed over the last 50 years. We still have a lot of growing to do in this country. But sometimes it's good to take stock of the progress we've made.
The Emmitt Till documentary told the more extreme story of the two films. It's kind of startling to look back only one or two generations and see a culture with values that are so utterly foreign to those of today. Can you imagine a group of white men committing such an evil, hateful crime? And then being declared not guilty to the applause of an entire community?
Watching this documentary I got to thinking of the OJ trial. Imagine if that had happened in 1955. A black guy is charged with the murder of a white woman, and it looks like a slam dunk, with blood and DNA everywhere. Then when he's declared innocent blacks are out dancing in the streets. And there are no riots and lynch mobs in response. The connection might be tenuous. Indeed, the celebration wasn't for OJ's innocence so much as for a win against a so-called justice system that's still terribly unfair, for an instance in which a black man beat whites at their own game. But certainly these events are milestones in an era of incredible societal change.
The oppression depicted in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio wasn't anywhere near as intense, but it showed a time when the order of things were quite a bit different. Great film, with many insights into the ways gender roles have transformed over the last half century, and ways they've stayed the same. I found it unsettling how I could relate on some level to Woody Harrelson's character, the drunken loser dad, whose anguish thrived on almost mythical social constructions of who he ought to be. Just a little thought, really. A small opportunity for introspection. The overwhelming feeling I had was one of gratitude for living in a time and relationship where equality is more the norm.
I guess this film hasn't quite caught on yet. I think it will, though. It's just terrific. Brought tears to me eyes.
regrets
When it comes to hard-hitting stories I've written about black leaders, there are two that haunt me. One I completely regret having written. I might talk about that one in a later post. The other I don't necessarily regret. But as time goes on I feel more and more uneasy about it.
It was an election story about Wesley Fields's bid for city council.
This is a story I was encouraged to do by a number of political insiders I used to keep close contact with. I was given a good number of promising leads early on. I also had a small number of black sources who were pretty much provided to me by folks affiliated with Fields's opposing candidate, incumbant Becky Nace, who is white.
In retrospect, a lot of the "dirt" I digged up on Fields was insignificant. He was clearly a carpetbagger, having moved to Nace's district after local leaders talked Fields out of challenging Troy Nash.
But I need to stop right here and acknowledge that if Fields had been taking on Nash, another black candidate, I have no doubt that we would have not gone with the story. Even if you think carpetbagging is bad, the racial dynamics of this should tell you a lot.
Then I found that Fields had registered his car in Grandview, at his parents' house. As such, he didn't pay taxes to the Kansas City school district in which he lived.
Ok.
I don't know. In the big scheme of things, this doesn't seem a very big deal. Indeed, I did the same thing when I was in college, so as to avoid the higher taxes of the town where I was living.
But in a large story package, it seemed to add to the heft of the case against Fields.
That said, the bulk of the investigative work I did on the story was aimed at Fields's position at Bryan Cave, a law firm with deep political connections. Fields was one of the primary lawyers on Bryan Cave's contract with the quasi-public Economic Development Corporation, which administers the city's corrupt tax-incentive program. And this was my main justification for doing the story. I felt very strongly at the time that Fields was a pawn of The Man.
Also I should add that I worked very hard to investigate and publicize Fields's strengths and accomplishments. And I even went so far as to point out that he's a textbook example of how Kansas City ought to develop new generations of leaders. He was valedictorian of his high school, he went to an Ivy League school and then to the top-ranked University of Virginia law school. All along the way he distinguished himself as a natural leader. Unfortunately, young men and women like Fields tend to not return to Kansas City, opting instead for cities like Chicago and Atlanta, where the power structures in the black community are much stronger.
One thing that I still ache over with regards to the story was that one of Fields's roommates from college didn't get back to me until after the story had gone to print. This former classmate gave some terrific examples of what kind of a leader Fields is. The stories he shared with me offered particularly strong evidence of Fields's ability to bridge divides between whites and blacks, and that's something Kansas City obviously needs.
I began regretting the story almost as soon as it ran. While I got a lot of props behind the scenes from white leaders, and a few blacks, some of my more reliable contacts in the black community were pretty lukewarm about it. When I explained my concerns about Fields's tax-incentive-program connections they seemed to understand, but there was lingering discomfort of the all-out-effort nature of the investigation, digging up every little piece of dirt I could possibly find.
Worse, I heard from a lot of sources that the main black sources I relied on to call Fields's credibility as a black leader into question were themselves not the most credible within the black community.
And this was confirmed quite emphatically when the election reslts came out. Though Fields lost handily, he beat Nace decisively in the black districts.
When that happened I had two unsettling thoughts. One, I and the Pitch had little clout in the political landscape. And, two, I was wrong.
And now, with the passage of more time, I'm thinking that Fields might well have been a better choice, though it's still tough to get around the whole tax-incentive-program angle. But even there, I think I have to come clean about the institutionally racist nature of my coverage of this story. As I said, we probably wouldn't have done the story if Fields were challenging Nash. And if it were really all about the tax-incentive stuff, why work so hard to call Fields out on the petty stuff, which people probably wouldn't think twice about if he were white?
It was an election story about Wesley Fields's bid for city council.
This is a story I was encouraged to do by a number of political insiders I used to keep close contact with. I was given a good number of promising leads early on. I also had a small number of black sources who were pretty much provided to me by folks affiliated with Fields's opposing candidate, incumbant Becky Nace, who is white.
In retrospect, a lot of the "dirt" I digged up on Fields was insignificant. He was clearly a carpetbagger, having moved to Nace's district after local leaders talked Fields out of challenging Troy Nash.
But I need to stop right here and acknowledge that if Fields had been taking on Nash, another black candidate, I have no doubt that we would have not gone with the story. Even if you think carpetbagging is bad, the racial dynamics of this should tell you a lot.
Then I found that Fields had registered his car in Grandview, at his parents' house. As such, he didn't pay taxes to the Kansas City school district in which he lived.
Ok.
I don't know. In the big scheme of things, this doesn't seem a very big deal. Indeed, I did the same thing when I was in college, so as to avoid the higher taxes of the town where I was living.
But in a large story package, it seemed to add to the heft of the case against Fields.
That said, the bulk of the investigative work I did on the story was aimed at Fields's position at Bryan Cave, a law firm with deep political connections. Fields was one of the primary lawyers on Bryan Cave's contract with the quasi-public Economic Development Corporation, which administers the city's corrupt tax-incentive program. And this was my main justification for doing the story. I felt very strongly at the time that Fields was a pawn of The Man.
Also I should add that I worked very hard to investigate and publicize Fields's strengths and accomplishments. And I even went so far as to point out that he's a textbook example of how Kansas City ought to develop new generations of leaders. He was valedictorian of his high school, he went to an Ivy League school and then to the top-ranked University of Virginia law school. All along the way he distinguished himself as a natural leader. Unfortunately, young men and women like Fields tend to not return to Kansas City, opting instead for cities like Chicago and Atlanta, where the power structures in the black community are much stronger.
One thing that I still ache over with regards to the story was that one of Fields's roommates from college didn't get back to me until after the story had gone to print. This former classmate gave some terrific examples of what kind of a leader Fields is. The stories he shared with me offered particularly strong evidence of Fields's ability to bridge divides between whites and blacks, and that's something Kansas City obviously needs.
I began regretting the story almost as soon as it ran. While I got a lot of props behind the scenes from white leaders, and a few blacks, some of my more reliable contacts in the black community were pretty lukewarm about it. When I explained my concerns about Fields's tax-incentive-program connections they seemed to understand, but there was lingering discomfort of the all-out-effort nature of the investigation, digging up every little piece of dirt I could possibly find.
Worse, I heard from a lot of sources that the main black sources I relied on to call Fields's credibility as a black leader into question were themselves not the most credible within the black community.
And this was confirmed quite emphatically when the election reslts came out. Though Fields lost handily, he beat Nace decisively in the black districts.
When that happened I had two unsettling thoughts. One, I and the Pitch had little clout in the political landscape. And, two, I was wrong.
And now, with the passage of more time, I'm thinking that Fields might well have been a better choice, though it's still tough to get around the whole tax-incentive-program angle. But even there, I think I have to come clean about the institutionally racist nature of my coverage of this story. As I said, we probably wouldn't have done the story if Fields were challenging Nash. And if it were really all about the tax-incentive stuff, why work so hard to call Fields out on the petty stuff, which people probably wouldn't think twice about if he were white?
media blackout
Lately, I've written a number of posts that were very critical of the local media's coverage of race issues. And it got me thinking about my own work, from when I used to be employed. One thing that's always troubled me is that a lot of my hardest hitting stories were about black leaders. Sure, I wrote stories that came down hard on white leaders, too. But it was much easier to get dirt on blacks. There just seemed to be a lot more people, white and black, who were willing to dish it out.
Plus it was hard to frame stories about whites in the same you'd frame ones about blacks. For instance, if I were looking into a development project on the East Side that had gone over budget and was loaded with politically connected contracts, that would be fairly easy to pull together and present as a patronage/corruption story. But if I were to tackle a story about a Northland development project loaded with tax breaks that was being put together by politically connected folks, I'd get a different response. Not necessarily from readers but from the folks I'd be interviewing. Like, if I were to suggest in an interview with a white bureaucrat at city hall that the Northland development looks like a patronage situation, they'd likely look at me as if I were a little odd, as if I were just another alt-weekly radical.
It's all very troubling, really. I can look back on all of my stories and see the subtle and not so subtlle ways I was encouraged to expose the datardly deeds of blacks. In some cases entire, readymade stories were dropped in my lap, documents and all. And I was never lacking a tip or a lead into some story about a black leader who was doing something wroong.
And it's not that I regret doing those stories. I think it's important to be an equal-opportunity watch dog. But really, it's not equal.
Plus it was hard to frame stories about whites in the same you'd frame ones about blacks. For instance, if I were looking into a development project on the East Side that had gone over budget and was loaded with politically connected contracts, that would be fairly easy to pull together and present as a patronage/corruption story. But if I were to tackle a story about a Northland development project loaded with tax breaks that was being put together by politically connected folks, I'd get a different response. Not necessarily from readers but from the folks I'd be interviewing. Like, if I were to suggest in an interview with a white bureaucrat at city hall that the Northland development looks like a patronage situation, they'd likely look at me as if I were a little odd, as if I were just another alt-weekly radical.
It's all very troubling, really. I can look back on all of my stories and see the subtle and not so subtlle ways I was encouraged to expose the datardly deeds of blacks. In some cases entire, readymade stories were dropped in my lap, documents and all. And I was never lacking a tip or a lead into some story about a black leader who was doing something wroong.
And it's not that I regret doing those stories. I think it's important to be an equal-opportunity watch dog. But really, it's not equal.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
blog against racism
I was born to two teenagers out of wedlock.
My dad got caught up in drugs and left my mom and I when I was about two years old. He came back, and straightened his life out, but my mom had moved on. She remarried three times. I went through three divorces.
My dad died in an accident when I was eight.
I didn't like school. I didn't do much homework, goofed off a lot, got into trouble often.
I started smoking pot in sixth grade. In high school I got real into partying, expanding my drug diet beyond weed. I frequently skipped classes.
Yet I graduated. I never doubted I would go to college. I was supremely confident. And after college, I never really had a problem landing good jobs. I'm now working on a book that sold for six figures.
The book is about black kids. If I were to lay out the details of their childhoods as starkly as I've laid out my own, the stories would seem similar. Same thing for their relatives and for many of their friends.
But in most cases the endings would be different.
My dad got caught up in drugs and left my mom and I when I was about two years old. He came back, and straightened his life out, but my mom had moved on. She remarried three times. I went through three divorces.
My dad died in an accident when I was eight.
I didn't like school. I didn't do much homework, goofed off a lot, got into trouble often.
I started smoking pot in sixth grade. In high school I got real into partying, expanding my drug diet beyond weed. I frequently skipped classes.
Yet I graduated. I never doubted I would go to college. I was supremely confident. And after college, I never really had a problem landing good jobs. I'm now working on a book that sold for six figures.
The book is about black kids. If I were to lay out the details of their childhoods as starkly as I've laid out my own, the stories would seem similar. Same thing for their relatives and for many of their friends.
But in most cases the endings would be different.
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