Blog Catalog

Friday, July 27, 2018

Has Interweb Social Media Peaked?


Yesterday, it was Facebook.

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Facebook stock drops more than 20% 

after warning that revenue growth will take a hit



Today, it's Twitter.


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Twitter Reports Q2 Drop in Users, 

Stock Falls 12 Percent



I ask, has social media peaked?

Are we tired of this now?

Are we moving on, as a society?


Look What Missouri City is 2nd Worst in the Nation for Property Crime


There's an article out today on MSN ranking the cities with the highest and lowest rates of property crime.

20 Cities With the Highest and Lowest Rates 

of Property Crime


And a Missouri city is in the 2nd to worst spot on it.

And it's not St. Louis.

And it's not Kansas City.


It is, however the "Queen City of the Ozarks."

2. Springfield, Mo.

Population: 168,307
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 74.88

So much for the stereotype of Midwest towns as safe, sleepy places. In Springfield, the property crime rate is more than eight times higher than of the city with the lowest property crime rate.

Springfield, unfortunately, isn’t alone in the neighborhood, if it can make them feel any better. Not that far away Little Rock, Arkansas is 4th worst in the nation.

4. Little Rock, Ark.

Population: 198,800
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 63.23

Most of the cities with high property crime rates aren’t necessarily prone to violent crime. However, Little Rock is the exception. Reviews.org says its analysis found the Arkansas capital would be a contender for a spot on a top-10 list of violent crime as well.

What’s truly odd is the city is in the number one slot.

1. Salt Lake City, Utah

Population: 193,918
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 75.4

Can you believe it? Salt Lake City, capital of Utah and home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the Mormon Church), has the highest property crime rate in the country according to Reviews.org. There were 75.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents in 2016.

I thought those Mormons were law-abiding and had everything under control out West. Clearly wrong here.

The great news?

Kansas City is nowhere on the list.

Have a great weekend, y'all.


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Quotes of the Day -- On Presidential Treason and Why We Must Speak Up and Out


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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." --Albert Einstein

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." --Thomas Jefferson

"Softest on the people who need discipline, hardest on people who need compassion." --Unknown
"He who does not oppose evil, commands it to be done." --Leonardo Da Vinci

"What you allow, you encourage." --Carrie Heinze-Musgrove

"Your silence is consent." --Plato

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." --Desmond Tutu

"Silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor." --Ginette Sagan

"Every social injustice is not only cruel, but it is economic waste." --William Feather

"Standing up to bullies is the hallmark of a civilized society." --Robert Reich

"One does not have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and absence of understanding are sufficient." --Charles M. Blow

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever humans endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormenter, never the tormented." --Elie Wiesel

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest it." --Elie Wiesel

"You think that your silence on certain topics, perhaps in the face of injustice, or unkindness, or mean-spiritedness, causes others to reserve judgement of you. Far otherwise; your silence utters very loud: you have no oracle to speak, no wisdom to offer, and your fellow people have learned that you cannot help them. Doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice? We would be well to do likewise." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." --Martin Luther King Jr.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." --Martin Luther King Jr.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." --Martin Luther King Jr.

"There are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice." --Ayaan Hirsi Ali

"I chose to defend human rights because I cannot maintain my silence in the face of injustice."  --Chen Guangcheng

"The more you answer the injustice of others, the more you heal your own soul."  --Julia Post

"If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it." --Zora Neale Hurston

"I have come to believe that the one thing people cannot bear is a sense of injustice. Poverty, cold, even hunger, are more bearable than injustice."  --Milicent Fenwick

"The glaring injustice is there for all who are not blinded by prejudice, to see." --Bram Fischer

"Real love cannot be silent in the face of injustice." --Mel White

"I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody." --Lily Tomlin

"Do not tolerate brilliant jerks, the cost to teamwork is too high." --Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO

"It takes a village to raise a child, and it also takes a village to allow the abuse of one."  --Unknown

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others." --Audrey Hepburn

"The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings." --Albert Schweitzer

"What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control."   --Heather Plett

"Remember: Oppression thrives off isolation. Connection is the only thing that can save you. Remember: Oppression thrives on superficiality. Honesty about your struggles is the key to your liberation. Remember: Your story can help save someone’s life. Your silence contributes to someone else’s struggle. Speak so we can all be free. Love so we all can be liberated. The moment is now. We need you." --Yolo Akili

"It is precisely because of my love for humanity that I get enraged at systems that prevent people from flourishing and being free. It’s frustrating to see my righteous anger at unjust systems misinterpreted as hatred for individuals, but it’s more frustrating to see the oppressed suffer while those maladjusted to injustice remain silent. I won’t be silent. Silence is violence. "--Nyle Fort

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out for I was not a socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out for I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out for I was not a not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."  --Martin Niemöller

"Whether you give a man a fish or teach him how to fish, your job hasn’t changed. Your job is fish. It is not to make value judgments about whether the person is deserving of fish. It is not to criticize the person for not knowing how to fish already. And it is certainly not your job to stand around and debate the relative efficacy of fish charity vs. fish education while the person in front of you goes hungry. This person is your fellow human. Your job is fish   --Unknown

"Have you ever wondered what you would do during the civil rights movement? Stop wondering. It is the civil rights movement. What are you doing?"  --Chris Savage

"Certainly, I think there is a lot to be gained from people gathering together to show solidarity. But in a world where the institutions that we’re protesting in front of are losing their legitimacy and their power, I’m not sure that this has the impact that it once did. If we think of evil as this one person, this one big event, then we tend to want to match that with one big display of resistance. But actually, if evil is banal — a set of ordinary, mundane decisions day by day — then maybe we have to start living differently day by day."  --Pollack


Treasonous Trump Coming to Town


So President Trump is reportedly coming to Kansas City on July 24 to host a luncheon for Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley. 


Hawley is running against Senator Claire McCaskill for her seat in Congress. The luncheon reception costs $1,000 per person, $2,000 per couple. A couple can pay $10,000 to attend the luncheon reception and get a photo with Trump. If they still want one, that is, after today's rather treasonous events.

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Let's get out there and protest, folks.

Whatya' say?


Monday, July 16, 2018

Common Items That Are Actually Luxuries We Already Take For Granted

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Herein, as I said, luxuries, true luxuries of modern life we take for granted--and that are actually relatively new, too, being less than 100 years old, most of them.

  1. Heating in our homes, furnaces, for when it's cold
  2. Cool air from a machine in that same house when it's otherwise hot out
  3. Machines that can and do whisk us across our cities, states or even nations, quickly and easily
  4. The cooling and/or heating of those machines
  5. Hot water for the using
  6. Cold water
  7. Toilets. Enough said.
  8. Grocery stores loaded with food
  9. Food, abundantly, readily available
  10. Extremely affordable food
  11. Blue jeans (Yes, blue jeans).
  12. Medicines available to cure us, frequently quickly
  13. Affordable medicines. More true in the rest of the world than the US but still true, even here where health care is far too high priced.
There are more but that's enough for now. That's a lot, certainly.

A great deal to appreciate that we may, as I said, take for granted.

Have a great day.


Sunday, July 15, 2018

The Nightmares That Have Been This Overseas Trip and the Only Three Explanations for Donald Trump


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This trip President Trump has made to Europe--England, Scotland and now, on to Helsinki--has been yet one more collection of fiascos, no surprise, for the nation, what with the his insulting the Queen of England and so, the UK people, to start.

Twitter counts ways 

US President Donald Trump 

'insulted' the Queen


Then he insulted their Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Donald Trump Attacks Theresa May 

Over Brexit;

 Brits Slam 'Rudeness


Not done there, he had to insult our NATO allies, as well.

Trump NATO summit starts with insults 

to US allies


Then, of course, once that damage was done, the next day he took it all back.

President Trump denies 

he criticized British prime minister


A couple days ago, at his golf course---of course--in Scotland, he called the EU an enemy.

On eve of Russia summit, 

Trump calls European Union 'a foe'


The EU.

An enemy.

Our largest trading partner, hands down.


And now, to wrap up this nightmare of an overseas trip, he is to meet with our self-sworn enemy, Russia, and their President Vladimir Putin, for a completely private meeting--translators only. This goes against all national and international protocol and security, both. No President has ever had such a meeting, nor should they, without advisors and witnesses, overseeing said meeting.

Ladies and gentlemen, honestly, this President is one of three things. He is either 
  1. really, densely stupid, 
  2. insane or 
  3. treasonous to our nation and doing all this for Russia 
It's one of those three. It's got to be. There are no other explanations. What else is there? What else could it all be?

Seen on Facebook earlier today:

"So, lemme see if I get this.

Two of the most powerful men in the world, rightly or wrongly, are having a one-on-one in secret.

Both are world-class liars.

Putin is a long-time professional KGB (secret police & intel agency rolled into one) operative, thug, cold-blooded murderer, greedy authoritarian head of Russia who may have something (well, DOES have something but we don't know what just yet) on Trump, who is an easily manipulated con man, grifter, ignoramus wannabe authoritarian leader of the U.S..

What could possibly go wrong?"


--Gordon E Moore, friend of a FB friend


Quote of the Day -- On the Man in the White House


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"Today is a significant moment. We've only had 45 presidents. We now know, one of them was elected with the explicit and intentional help of a foreign power, in violation of American law, with the open support of the candidate who benefited from the crimes."



Friday, July 13, 2018

The--Very--Racist History of Banking In Our United States


What so, so many Americans don't know. Or ignore. And/or disavow.



Also ignoring the segregation that got us here and the poorer schools and far less opportunities for jobs and so, better pay.

Sure.

Let's ignore or deny all that.


Thursday, July 12, 2018

Great Kansas City News!!


Yes! Great Kansas City news!

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Tomorrow, Friday the 13th at 8:45 pm they will be turned back on!

How cool is that?

Photo credit and source:

Kansas City's Original Hex FX Aerials


Sunday, July 8, 2018

Floods, Fires and Scorching Heat the World Over Presently


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They're Going to Remodel the Folly Theater's Lobby?


A rendering of the renovated Folly Theater lobby. The theater, which opened in 1900, will be closed until Sept. 8, 2018 to undergo a $2.5 million renovation.

From the Star today.

Folly Theater closed until September for $2.5 million renovation


So they're going to remodel the lobby of our venerable, loved Folly Theater. We're told it's to give it more room.

All well and good. Fine. Okay.

But one of the reasons we love the Folly is because it's traditional and older and beautiful.

From the looks of this diagram from Helix Architects, above, it seems they're going to strip all that away, strip it bare, and make it modern, if not very, very modern. To the point of stark.

And this is an improvement?

Really, Helix?

To the Folly Board of Directors, if you can't do it right and fully and completely and in keeping with the building and its original architecture...

why do it at all?

Abomination much?

Sacrilege much?


Why We Need Newspapers, Why We Need the Star


Two excellent examples, presently, from our own Kansas City Star of why, exactly, we need newspapers, yes, and our own Kansas City Star. It's this kind of reporting.

Why was Missouri conservation director paid for years of comp time after termination?




Who, exactly, does the footwork, does the research for articles like these on local and state government if newspaper reporters aren't out there?

Local bloggers?

Certainly not.

On top of these examples, there was the series they did earlier in the year about the nearly complete lack of transparency of the state of Kansas government to its residents.

Effectively, our local paper covers local, city governments of several cities in the area, but also 2 state governments, of course, in Missouri and Kansas.

If you already subscribe to the Star, either the online or paper versions, or both, good on you. Keep it up. If you don't subscribe presently, please do so. At minimum, subscribe for the online version.


Saturday, July 7, 2018

Shame On You, KCPT


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This week's "Week In Review" was, once again, lily white.

The entire panel.

Not one "person of color" to discuss the city's issues, problems and opportunities.


Thursday, July 5, 2018

What People Don't Understand About Our National Defense Spending


What too many people, too many Americans don't understand or realize about our obscene, absurd, very bloated and extremely wasteful defense spending.



It's actually making us weaker, as a nation.


If This President Never Concerned You...


If this President and Presidency hasn't, to date, concerned you, he and it should now.

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US president briefed not to mention the topic at dinner with leaders from four Latin American allies – but he did so anyway

Why on Earth would we, the United States, invade and attack Venezuela?

Because they're Socialists?

And then, when you get there, what do you do? Whom do you attack? What, precisely, would you be trying to do and/or undo?

What the heck?


I Have a Bad Feeling About This


I have a bad feeling about this.


I was downtown last week at the Kansas City Star building and saw all these tiles. There were lots of them. Apparently they are going to put them all over the West side of the Star's building, on an outdoor entrance area.

The idea is fine and all, if maybe a kind of waste of advertising dollars. The people are just going in the building. It doesn't mean they'll buy a subscription to the paper because they see these.

But here's the thing.

I have this bad feeling that these tiles are going to outlast the paper.

I'd so love to be wrong.


Wednesday, July 4, 2018

KC's Streetcars? In the New York Times??


Yessir, they most certainly are. Check it out.


The Perfect Way to Explore Modern Kansas City? 

A Streetcar, Believe It or Not


The contemporary trolley, introduced in 2016, takes visitors to an arts district, an entertainment district and a happy state of mind.


Quote of the Day -- Independence Day Edition



"Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance." 

--President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt 

With thanks to the Sierra Club for the reminder.

Happy Fourth, everyone.


Happy 4th of July! Independence Day!



On this day, July 4...

--1804, Author Nathaniel Hawthorne, born;
---1826, in one of history's notable coincidences, former U.S. Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted;

---1863, Union troops defeated Confederate forces in a battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Independence Day was not celebrated in that city for many, many years after;

--1872, - Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, born;
---1895, the poem America the Beautiful, by Wellesley College Professor Katherine Lee Bates, was published. The poem with music by Samuel A. Ward was published as a song in 1910;

---1939, Lou Gehrig gave his "...luckiest man on the face of the Earth..." speech in announcing his retirement from the New York Yankees;

---1986, more than 250 sailing ships and the United States' biggest fireworks display honored the Statue of Liberty in its 100th birthday year;

---1997, NASA's Pathfinder reached Mars to become the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the planet in more than two decades;

--1998, Malia Obama, daughter of former President Barack Obama, born.

Happy Fourth, everyone! Stay safe! Enjoy!

Source/link:

Monday, July 2, 2018

We Warned About a New Airport


From the Star yesterday.


Out of the gate, KCI delay and rising costs 

are red flags for the airport


We could have spent far less and redone our existing, very convenient terminals, saved a great deal of money, done the fiscally responsible thing and, oh yeah, not trashed the environment by throwing away existing facilities but no, let's do this.

Let's blow more than a billion dollars, instead.

Enjoy those higher, much higher airline ticket prices, too, kids.


Area Police Do It Again

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Last week, police shot and killed a woman who had an ornamental sword in North Kansas City.

Police shooting in Kansas City: Woman with sword shot 


Yesterday, Grandview police do the same--shot and killed a man with two ornamental swords. A 49  year old man.  His family had called because he was acting erratically. This is what they got for their phone call and concern.


To protect and serve.

Indeed.


Sunday, July 1, 2018

Quotes of the Day -- Sunday Edition


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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." 
--Napoleon Bonaparte 

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." 
--Denis Diderot

"All religions are sublime to the ignorant, useful to the politician and ridiculous to the philosopher." 
--Lucretius, all the way back to 94 BC to 49 BC.


Quote of the Day -- Donald Trump Edition


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