This, just now, from weatherman/meteorologist Bryan Busby from KMBC 9 News on his Facebook page:
"It is official. We are hotter than Hell (Michigan) They are 97. We are 101 in KC."
Nice touch, Mr. Busby.
At least if we're hot, let's try to lighten up about it.
Keep cool, y'all.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
I'm so old...
...I remember when you could scan all of Yahoo!'s news/home page without signing in.
THAT old.
How did I miss this?
This is clearly from about 3 years ago, given the topics he covers but how funny is this? And true, of course, as usual, from him.
KC Barbecue gets heads up from Bon Appétit
Here it is, this time Trader Joe's Kansas City style barbecue sauce gets the raves with coverage on Yahoo! News last evening:
Supermarket Standoff: Barbecue sauces
Bon Appétit
When they're not busy tasting dishes over and over, Bon Appétit's food editors are tasting other stuff like different brands of chicken stock. Because while we're into making things from scratch, sometimes there just isn't time to brown veal bones for rich broth, or simmer strawberries into preserves. When we do cut corners, though, we want to do it in the tastiest possible way -- hence the taste tests of store-bought items.
Today's item: barbecue sauce.
Sure, food editor Hunter "Carolina Boy" Lewis might have a mean recipe handed down to him by his great grandfather, but most of us don't.
The good news? Many bottled sauces -- some of them made by big companies, some of them by two dudes with a passion and a big ol' stockpot -- are darn good. Here are six of our favorites.
Trader Joe's Kansas City Style
"This is a total cheat sheet sauce." Translation: It's adaptable, and you could "put it on chicken and fake that it's charred." It's smoky, sweet, and has a pronounced tomato flavor.
$2.69 at Trader Joe's in New York City.
The conclusion?
Trader Joe's has been good for Kansas City and in return, Kansas City has been good for and to Trader Joe's.
Bon appétit, indeed.
Link: http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/supermarket-standoff--barbecue-sauces.html
Supermarket Standoff: Barbecue sauces
Bon Appétit
When they're not busy tasting dishes over and over, Bon Appétit's food editors are tasting other stuff like different brands of chicken stock. Because while we're into making things from scratch, sometimes there just isn't time to brown veal bones for rich broth, or simmer strawberries into preserves. When we do cut corners, though, we want to do it in the tastiest possible way -- hence the taste tests of store-bought items.
Today's item: barbecue sauce.
Sure, food editor Hunter "Carolina Boy" Lewis might have a mean recipe handed down to him by his great grandfather, but most of us don't.
The good news? Many bottled sauces -- some of them made by big companies, some of them by two dudes with a passion and a big ol' stockpot -- are darn good. Here are six of our favorites.
Trader Joe's Kansas City Style
"This is a total cheat sheet sauce." Translation: It's adaptable, and you could "put it on chicken and fake that it's charred." It's smoky, sweet, and has a pronounced tomato flavor.
$2.69 at Trader Joe's in New York City.
The conclusion?
Trader Joe's has been good for Kansas City and in return, Kansas City has been good for and to Trader Joe's.
Bon appétit, indeed.
Link: http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/supermarket-standoff--barbecue-sauces.html
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Yet another reason to support this healthcare reform
Still don't support this Affordable Care Act? "Obamacare"?
Then read on:
Affordable Care Act means $1.1 billion insurance rebate
The nation’s health insurance companies will refund approximately $1.1 billion dollars to their customers this summer. It’s one of the new benefits of the health care reform law.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department expects 12.8 million Americans to get some of this money – although in the majority of cases that refund will be sent to employers.
Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies are required to disclose how much of your premium dollar they actually spend on health care and how much they spend on administration, such as salaries and marketing. In the past, consumers did not have a right to this information.
But here’s the real game-changer: The 80/20 rule. If the insurance company spends less than 80 percent of premiums on medical care it must rebate the excess. For large group plans (the kind provided by companies that employ 50 people or more), health insurance companies must spend 85 percent of the premiums on medical care.
“The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
So here's yet one more reason, as if we needed it, that we--the "working man and woman of America--should be for this sorely needed health care reform.
Heaven knows the health insurance companies have been gouging us on our premiums to them. Now, they have to give some of that back. Their little "money party" is, if not over, at least made less luxurious.
And we gain the benefits.
As I've said before, no, it's not perfect, far from it. But it was and is for us, as least in some big ways. This is just further, strong proof of that.
Link: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12525490-affordable-care-act-means-11-billion-insurance-rebate?chromedomain=leanforward&lite
Then read on:
Affordable Care Act means $1.1 billion insurance rebate
The nation’s health insurance companies will refund approximately $1.1 billion dollars to their customers this summer. It’s one of the new benefits of the health care reform law.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department expects 12.8 million Americans to get some of this money – although in the majority of cases that refund will be sent to employers.
Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies are required to disclose how much of your premium dollar they actually spend on health care and how much they spend on administration, such as salaries and marketing. In the past, consumers did not have a right to this information.
But here’s the real game-changer: The 80/20 rule. If the insurance company spends less than 80 percent of premiums on medical care it must rebate the excess. For large group plans (the kind provided by companies that employ 50 people or more), health insurance companies must spend 85 percent of the premiums on medical care.
“The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
So here's yet one more reason, as if we needed it, that we--the "working man and woman of America--should be for this sorely needed health care reform.
Heaven knows the health insurance companies have been gouging us on our premiums to them. Now, they have to give some of that back. Their little "money party" is, if not over, at least made less luxurious.
And we gain the benefits.
As I've said before, no, it's not perfect, far from it. But it was and is for us, as least in some big ways. This is just further, strong proof of that.
Link: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12525490-affordable-care-act-means-11-billion-insurance-rebate?chromedomain=leanforward&lite
Food for thought
Warning: expletives.
From the new HBO TV series "Newsroom", in case you haven't already heard, which is entirely likely.
Pay attention to the statistics he puts in here, beginning at about the 1:12 mark.
Pesonally, I wish this weren't written so angry, preachy or emotional but the facts are, it's Aaron Sorkin, who writes like this and points made still have validity.
That said, happy Independence Day, y'all.
Link: http://www.hbo.com/the-newsroom/index.html
From the new HBO TV series "Newsroom", in case you haven't already heard, which is entirely likely.
Pay attention to the statistics he puts in here, beginning at about the 1:12 mark.
Pesonally, I wish this weren't written so angry, preachy or emotional but the facts are, it's Aaron Sorkin, who writes like this and points made still have validity.
That said, happy Independence Day, y'all.
Link: http://www.hbo.com/the-newsroom/index.html
Why we need government--and regulation
Why do we need government? Why do we need government regulations?
Look no further than this headline from The Wall Street Journal a few days ago:
Interest Rate Probe Escalates
Barclays Agrees to Pay Record Fine; Emails Show Traders Tried to Manipulate Libor
Barclays PLC agreed to pay $453 million in fines to U.S. and U.K. regulators after admitting that traders and executives tried to manipulate interest rates tied to loans and financial contracts around the world.
If the 2008 national and international collapses of the world's financial markets weren't enough for you, or the collapse of Enron or the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, or one of the many other big catastrophes in the last few years weren't enough, this should do it for you.
Barclays Bank, in England, was just big and powerful enough to do their best to try to manipulate international interest rates to go in their favor. This, this is why we need something bigger and stronger than corporations--to control them. To keep their greed in check.
If you don't either already know this or understand it, you need to see one of the many documentaries on these collapses.
We need government as an independent check on corporations and the world's wealthy.
This, above, got Barclays a nearly half billion dollar fine.
And the thing is, the examination is still going on.
Who knows what they did we don't know?
As if that isn't enough, Glaxo-Smith-Kline of the pharmaceutical industry was also fined. This time for three billion dollars--that's $3 billion--for fraud, for stealing from the American public:
GlaxoSmithKline Settles Largest Health Care Fraud Case In U.S. History
WASHINGTON (AP) — GlaxoSmithKline LLC will pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to disclose important safety information on a third in the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history, the Justice Department said Monday.
The $3 billion fine also will be the largest penalty ever paid by a drug company, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said. The corporation also agreed to be monitored by government officials for five years to attempt to ensure the company's compliance, Cole said.
Small government? Sure. You bet.
No government? Not a chance. Weak government? Ditto. No, thank you.
So, Libertarians, you can count me out, thanks very much.
Link to original article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304830704577493092589081130.html
"Inside Job" (documentary): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/
"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016268/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/gsk-fraud_n_1643186.html
July, 2012: A Huge Month for Kansas City (with thanks to the Kauffmans)
First we get the Major League Baseball All-star Game, July 10.
As if that weren't enough, as of last evening, local weather forecasters are also calling for a cool down to an 89 degree high for next Tuesday's game.
Yeehaw.
Then, next up Kansas City gets big national (international?) TV coverage on PBS, July 28, for our new performing arts center and local singer/performer Joyce DiDonato who has done so well for herself--and our city.
I'm telling you, between these two events, Kansas City, Missouri (sorry, Kansas) will be getting some fantastic national coverage and exposure. First for--literally--major league sports, then for major league art.
What's funny about all this attention, too, is that neither event--the Allstar Game or the PBS show on our Performing Arts Center--would have happened without Ewing, Muriel and Julie Kauffman. Many thanks, again, to all three. We are so fortunate in so many ways to have you in town and to be gifted by your presence and hard work and now, your many gifts to Kansas City.
Good on you, Kansas City. It's our time to shine.
Enjoy the spotlights and attention.
Links: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/
http://www.pbs.org/arts/gallery/summer-arts-festival-preview/homecoming-preview/
As if that weren't enough, as of last evening, local weather forecasters are also calling for a cool down to an 89 degree high for next Tuesday's game.
Yeehaw.
Then, next up Kansas City gets big national (international?) TV coverage on PBS, July 28, for our new performing arts center and local singer/performer Joyce DiDonato who has done so well for herself--and our city.
I'm telling you, between these two events, Kansas City, Missouri (sorry, Kansas) will be getting some fantastic national coverage and exposure. First for--literally--major league sports, then for major league art.
What's funny about all this attention, too, is that neither event--the Allstar Game or the PBS show on our Performing Arts Center--would have happened without Ewing, Muriel and Julie Kauffman. Many thanks, again, to all three. We are so fortunate in so many ways to have you in town and to be gifted by your presence and hard work and now, your many gifts to Kansas City.
Good on you, Kansas City. It's our time to shine.
Enjoy the spotlights and attention.
Links: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/
http://www.pbs.org/arts/gallery/summer-arts-festival-preview/homecoming-preview/
On this Independence Day, an American theme song
If that doesn't take you back, nothing will. Happy Independence Day, y'all.
Independence Day. And still equal rights have to be fought for in America
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Remember those?
So what's your problem?
Remember those?
So what's your problem?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
St. Lou on "America's Most Amazing 4th of July Fireworks Displays"
"On July 4, St. Louis kicks off a three-day-long "America's Biggest Birthday Party" with an evening of fireworks over the city's iconic arch."
It wouldn't be too late to get over there, then, and enjoy it. (Be aware of the huge crowds, it should be noted).
Another thought--while not one of the "most amazing" in the nation, Jefferson City also does a big display over the Capitol building, high on that bluff, overlooking the Missouri River. I've heard it's beautiful, too.
Regardless, happy Fourth. Be safe. Enjoy.
Link: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/XPAdult/My%20Documents/st%20lou.html#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Famericas-most-amazing-4th-july-slideshow%252F-photo-2419856-183600055.html
Monday, July 2, 2012
Kansas drought in NY Times
In One Kansas Town, Even Hotter Than Usual
HILL CITY, Kan. — This town on the parched plains, best known for its bountiful pheasant hunting and museum of oil history, recently earned a new, if unwelcome, distinction — the center of America’s summer inferno.
For five days last week, a brutal heat wave here crested at 115 degrees. Crops wilted. Streets emptied. Farmers fainted in the fields. Air-conditioners gave up. Children even temporarily abandoned the municipal swimming pool. Hill City was, for a spell, in the ranks of the hottest spots in the country.
“Hell, it’s the hottest place on earth,” Allen Trexler, an 81-year-old farmer who introduced himself as Old Man Trexler. He spoke while standing in the shade of a tree on Saturday morning, the temperature already sneaking toward 100.
Personally, I didn't know it had hit anywhere near 115 degrees anywhere in America, except, maybe in the deserts, let alone hit that in little ol' Kansas.
This is the scary part--81 year old farmer Allen Trexler is quoted: "There’s nothing to farm right now. Nothing will grow.”
That's bad for everyone--all of us.
Full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/02/us/kansas-town-stuggles-to-deal-with-115-degrees.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
On the demise of the American newspaper
"We draw ever closer to the once-unthinkable day when some major American city has no newspaper whatsoever."
That quote is from a column by Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald newspaper this past Saturday. (Link, as usual, below).
When this happens--heaven forbid, though it seems as though it's going to happen--that a city or cities across America won't have newspapers, it will not just be a sad day for that city or those cities and even America, it will be a tragic day, a dangerous day for all of us.
When there aren't reporters to ferret out stories about our government representatives or our government overall, we will lose yet more power in our societies.
When those newspapers aren't there to pay those reporters to search out stories about our corporations and what business is doing in private, with or without those same government representatives and/or institutions, we will be a weak people, indeed.
There are other problems and losses, too, like the fact that newspapers could and frequently did give us both sides of an issue and the fact that we all had a common basis--that newspaper--from which to draw our common background, whether we accepted or believed it all or not.
So go ahead, make fun of your local newspaper or reporters or what have you. Tbey may not be great, they may not be perfect, they may not be what they once were but they gave us what information we would not otherwise have gotten.
It may have been some backroom deal. Some "sweetheart deal." Some illegal or even just unfair or unethical one.
But without that newspaper and without their payroll and without, again, those reporters, we know nothing.
Or we run that risk, surely and simply.
Link to original article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/23/2863825/these-are-not-ordinary-times-for.html#morer
That quote is from a column by Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald newspaper this past Saturday. (Link, as usual, below).
When this happens--heaven forbid, though it seems as though it's going to happen--that a city or cities across America won't have newspapers, it will not just be a sad day for that city or those cities and even America, it will be a tragic day, a dangerous day for all of us.
When there aren't reporters to ferret out stories about our government representatives or our government overall, we will lose yet more power in our societies.
When those newspapers aren't there to pay those reporters to search out stories about our corporations and what business is doing in private, with or without those same government representatives and/or institutions, we will be a weak people, indeed.
There are other problems and losses, too, like the fact that newspapers could and frequently did give us both sides of an issue and the fact that we all had a common basis--that newspaper--from which to draw our common background, whether we accepted or believed it all or not.
So go ahead, make fun of your local newspaper or reporters or what have you. Tbey may not be great, they may not be perfect, they may not be what they once were but they gave us what information we would not otherwise have gotten.
It may have been some backroom deal. Some "sweetheart deal." Some illegal or even just unfair or unethical one.
But without that newspaper and without their payroll and without, again, those reporters, we know nothing.
Or we run that risk, surely and simply.
Link to original article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/23/2863825/these-are-not-ordinary-times-for.html#morer
Separated at birth?
Sportscaster, writer, author and commentator Bob Costas
And Academy and Emmy award-winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright Alan Sorkin ("The Newsroom", "The West Wing", etc., etc.)
Either separated at birth or cousins, one.
Quote of the day
"These days, facts seem overmatched by falsehood, too slow to catch them, too weak to stop them.
Indeed, falsehoods are harder to kill than a Hollywood zombie. Run them through with fact, and still they shamble forward, fueled by echo chamber media, ideological tribalism, cognitive dissonance, a certain imperviousness to shame, and an understanding that a lie repeated long enough, loudly enough, becomes, in the minds of those who need to believe it, truth." --Leonard Pitts
The entire, great article here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/30/2876574_when-lies-triumph-over-facts-were.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy
Indeed, falsehoods are harder to kill than a Hollywood zombie. Run them through with fact, and still they shamble forward, fueled by echo chamber media, ideological tribalism, cognitive dissonance, a certain imperviousness to shame, and an understanding that a lie repeated long enough, loudly enough, becomes, in the minds of those who need to believe it, truth." --Leonard Pitts
The entire, great article here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/30/2876574_when-lies-triumph-over-facts-were.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Future shock, anyone?
Holy cow.
And we were thinking this Summer would last forever.
The bad news?
Time's flying.
The good news?
We now know Summer and all the heat won't last forever (no matter how long the drought does).
It almost gives you hope, doesn't it?
Keep cool out there, y'all.
Republican solutions for America's broken health care system
Don't look here. There aren't any. No Republican solutions, that is.
From The Daily Beast, today:
"If you’re a Republican, the Supreme Court’s decision might be akin to the apocalypse. Kentucky Congressman Mitch McConnell seems to think so. On Fox News Sunday, the senator called the healthcare law the “single worst piece of legislation that has been passed certainly in modern times.” Asked by host Chris Wallace what he’d do to replace the law that would extend coverage to 30 million people, McConnell stumbled. 'The first step we need to take is get rid of what’s there,' he said."
Because, face it, Sen. Mitch "I Got Nuthin'" McConnell and his band of Republicans have no solutions whatever for fixing America's horribly broken, dysfunctional health care system.
The corporate lackey.
The dolt.
Link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/01/jack-lew-nancy-pelosi-john-boehner-and-more-sunday-talk.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29
Yo, Republicans. Hypocritical much?
From the news:
Republican National Committee used Philippines firm to set up call blasting Obama on unemployment
Link to original article: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/05/republican_national_committee_21.html
Republican National Committee used Philippines firm to set up call blasting Obama on unemployment
Link to original article: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/05/republican_national_committee_21.html
Save the date--for the Folly Theater
Bill Shapiro of KCUR and "Cyprus Avenue" fame, is sponsoring a fundraiser for our own Folly Theater again, God bless him. This time, he's having singer/songwriter Sam Baker Saturday, August 25 at 8 pm, in case you missed last evening's show. Besides being able to enjoy Mr. Baker's wonderful, soulful, heartfelt music--live, at that--you can help a terrific and very worthwhile cause, our own Folly Theater.
Finally, the tickets are extremely reasonable, beginning at only $10 each with the best seats in the house going for only $20 to $35, a real bargain.
They go on sale this Monday morning. You can find more information at the first link below, especially. Phone the Folly box office this Monday at 816-474-4444
It's Mr. Shapiro's goal to fill all 1,082 seats that night.
Let's help make it happen.
Links: http://www.follytheater.com/siteresources/apps/calendar/eventview.asp?id=315
http://www.sambakermusic.com/
Side/final note--if you absolutely have to, go here for tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Sam-Baker-tickets/artist/1392489
Finally, the tickets are extremely reasonable, beginning at only $10 each with the best seats in the house going for only $20 to $35, a real bargain.
They go on sale this Monday morning. You can find more information at the first link below, especially. Phone the Folly box office this Monday at 816-474-4444
It's Mr. Shapiro's goal to fill all 1,082 seats that night.
Let's help make it happen.
Links: http://www.follytheater.com/siteresources/apps/calendar/eventview.asp?id=315
http://www.sambakermusic.com/
Side/final note--if you absolutely have to, go here for tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Sam-Baker-tickets/artist/1392489
What the heck did we ever do to food?
I ask again, what the heck did we ever do to food?
And then, why?
First, we added pesticides and chemicals and have made it cancerous and who knows what.
Then we created "supplements." How the heck are supplements supposed to be an improvement on grown food?
For starters, they're not a meal. Some of them have flavors, like if they're in a smoothie or shake, heaven forbid. Then there are the vitamins and pills.
Instead of food?
Does this makes sense?
Is that somehow an improvement on having 3 balanced, intelligent, delicious meals a day?
Put me in the corner of saying heck no, absolutely not.
I'll stick with my broccoli and vegetables, thank you.
Quote of the day, Sunday edition
"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring." --Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)"
The big weather question of the day. And year?
That is, are we going to have 3 entire months--90 days--of August-like weather with little to no rain and high 90's to 100-plus degree temperatures?
Right now, that's what it looks like.
God forbid.
And God help us, if that's the case.
Right now, that's what it looks like.
God forbid.
And God help us, if that's the case.
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