Big Money

I normally don't read Frank Rich because he usually irritates me no end, and life is too short to be irritated. However, his column in last Sunday's New York Times got my attention. I did have to get past his arrogant first paragraph, but once I got past it, I found something that frankly I don't like.

Evidence that more BIG MONEY is all up in our political process.

Rich links to an article in The New Yorker about the Koch brothers of Kansas. These guys are rich beyond our wildest dreams, and have been huge contributors to the "Tea Party Movement," the supposedly grass roots movement from the right of the political spectrum. They are quiet in their contributions, but the contributions are substantial. The left has its own big contributor in George Soros, bankrolling all kinds of liberal causes.

So is there anything real out there? In other words, is there a candidate, movement, organization or website that is not floating around in a bunch of money donated by someone with ulterior motives? Is there some grass out there or is it all Astroturf?

Interest in politics and current events is probably as high as its been in a long time. President Obama has moved people. Some to work for him, as evidenced by what we saw in the 2008 election, and some to work against him as seen by the "Tea Party Movement" and other conservative/libertarian organizations working to get more conservative candidates elected. How does anyone, left or right, maintain integrity and purpose in the face of all the special interest money floating around? And the higher you get in the political chain, i.e. from local to state to federal, the more money is floating around and the more temptation there must be to sell out to a special interest or lobby.

Just one more reason why it is hard to find GOOD PEOPLE to fill political offices.

Following Up Some News

Some follow ups on news items we have featured here at The Observer.

Murder solved! Last week, a man whose fingerprint was found in the Ford belonging to Nick Dutcher confessed to murdering the TV producer. Antonio Grandison, 20, confessed to breaking into Mr. Dutcher's home to steal things. When Mr. Dutcher came home unexpectedly, the suspect fought with and eventually strangled the homeowner. Grandison made a court appearance today. His capture was a great relief to the family and to the community. Here's the story on KSHB. The suspect needs to spend a nice long time in jail, don't you think?

Building plan altered--not everyone completely happy. The Polsinelli Shugart law firm altered the plans for the new headquarters building so that the "Balcony Building" would not be demolished. Essentially, they kept the same design, but changed the set back from the street so that the Balcony Building would be preserved. The apartment building would still need to be torn down, and the building was still pictured as an eight story structure. It does improve from the last plan, as it preserves the street level view and feel, but the building makes no nod towards the Spanish influenced architecture of the Plaza and still remains rather large and out of scale. I'm going to state this plainly, for those who think that everyone who opposes this building is against change and growth and for governing the private use of private property: Polsinelli Shugart can build any building they like on their lot, as long as it follows zoning and covenant rules. Just because they can build any building does not relieve them of the hope and expectation that they will do right by the community that they and their building are a part of. Respect the design and historical nature of the Plaza in your plans and you will reap a bounty of good will that will pay off in the future. The story, with comments galore and links to other stories and opinions in the Star.

Hickman Mills C-1 consolidation appears to be smoothing out. I was at the football game last Friday, and talked to the people there, trying to get a feel for how things were going with the consolidated school. From what folks said, and from the general tenor of the place, it seems the kids took a great deal of the lead, deciding that they were not going to have trouble be a part of the consolidation. I am sure that there are still troubles during the course of the day, as there are in many public schools these days, alas, but no one related any big events or difficulties. Friday night also passed without incident, despite the large numbers and high energy of both students and non-student young people. All I can say is, keep it up kids, and keep learning and looking to the future.

And that is your follow-up round-up with a little opinion thrown in.

Images from the Kansas City Star.

Oh, yeah. I joined Facebook. No, really, I did. See the little thingy there? I don't know what possessed me!

Saturday Giggle

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

"Oh, I don't know about this...uh oh, slipped in... wet feet, wet feet, wet feet, wet feet, WET FEET, WET FEET!!!"

Katrina: Five Years Later

I experienced Katrina most vividly through the stalwart reporting of Dan Verbeck, Entercom radio station KMBZ's fabulous street reporter who retired in 2008 (though not completely; he can now be heard on public radio station KCUR.) He was lent to WWL, Entercom's station in NOLA to do reporting and help man the critical radio station during the disaster. He would report in to KMBZ by phone as part of his days in NOLA, giving us in Kansas City a very inside view of what New Orleans was like in those days.

As you remember, Katrina hit New Orleans Monday, August 29th 2005 with its wind and rain, towards the evening hours. Mr. Verbeck reported on what the wind sounded like, and what it felt like as the hurricane passed by. As morning came the next day, Tuesday, Mr. Verbeck came on and was the first to report that the city was flooding from the broken levies. I still remember the tone of his voice as he reported the flooding, the water inundating everything in the lowest parts of New Orleans. He was the one that reinforced for me the fact that if the levies had held up, Katrina would be remembered for the way it devastated the Mississippi coast, rather than what happened in New Orleans. He reported on the initially only sparsely flooded streets in the immediate aftermath of the storm, and then, as official and unofficial reports of levy breaks and flooding waters came into the radio station, came on to let the world know that the bowl of NOLA would be filled with water.

Aaron Barnhart interviewed Mr. Verbeck shortly after the hurricane. Here's a link to his blog entry, which includes a link to the MP3 of the interview. It is "must listen" stuff, the stuff of history. As were the original reports--I do hope they have been preserved somewhere--I believe those reports were some of the best reporting I heard or saw from New Orleans in those difficult days.

Image: photo of Mr. Verbeck, from a google search.

Musings on the Economy

Well, this has been kicking around in my head for a little while, how it is that we can get this economy going and get people back to work. At the risk of exposing my ignorance, I am going to muse on the economy and the fixing of it. Following are three themes that emerge over and over in the discussions of experts as far as I can understand.

1. Give the people and businesses tax cuts and cut the government budget.

2. Raise taxes and cut government expenses to get the deficit down.

3. Raise taxes and use some more government spending, such as a stimulus package, to get people employed.

Yesterday I was listening to Rush sub professor of econ Walter E Williams and he mentioned that the federal government up until 1920 consumed around 10% of the GDP. After that it has been 20% or more. Prof Williams argues it is because the federal government is doing things it was not mandated to do in the Constitution.

Read Paul Krugman in the New York Times--he is insisting that the country needs a stimulus package to get people back to work, and continued benefits to unemployed to make sure they have money to spend.

As we have gone through this economic hard time, we are relating back to the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Everyone has an opinion about what got this country up and out of that hard time: FDR's programs or World War II. Some now believe we have more in common with Japan in the 1990s with the tight money supply and unwillingness to spend.

I do not believe that we can go back to the kind of economic system this country had in the 1800s--which often appears to be what conservatives want. One thing is very different about our country now--there is no expanding geographic frontier. Actually, as I consider this, barring a huge technological revolutionary find, there is no frontier--period. There is no area of expansion.

There will be no recovery or slow recovery if we cannot get people back to work. Those working do not spend much money. Those underemployed are not spending. Those unemployed are certainly not spending.

Businesses do not want to hire because they are not sure of the future. They are not sure about the impact of the terrible health care bill. They are not sure they can pay any new hires and still be able to stay in business.

Nobody wants to spend or lend money.

Many do not want the government to start spending a lot of money, to either support people, or to try and stimulate the economy. Others swear that this is the only way we will get out of the recession cycle.

I am not educated enough in economics to have a strong opinion. I get conflicted. Part of me knows that if you keep taxes low, and leave more money in the pockets of business and individuals, that money will be invested and used. Part of me knows that there are some people out there who are going to need assistance--sometimes I think we just make unemployment contingent on doing some work that needs to be done to maintain the community. We give you a bit of money, you help with road work, or upgrade the computers at DMV or something.

In the end, I think we are going to end up in a different place. Our economy is going to be different from the economy that was based on consumption that we've had for the past 40 years. Also, that transition is going to hurt, regardless of whether in the end, we look more free market or more socialist/government oriented.

Yeah a really encouraging rah rah kind of post...I know.

Respect the Historical Context of the Plaza

The law firm of Polsinelli and Shughart is planning to build a new headquarters on Kansas City's Country Club Plaza. They would take down a 1920s vintage original plaza building and an apartment building on the corner of 47th Street and Broadway, and build the new building. That sounds pretty cool on the face of it, economic engine and all that.

Until everyone got a gander at the architectural renderings. There was almost a universal WTF reaction to the eight story glass and metal structure. Both the law firm, and the owner/developer of the plaza, North Carolina's Highwoods Properties, have heard an earful from frustrated and upset citizens about the design and plan.

The Plaza is constructed with a Spanish architectural theme, reminiscent of Seville and the proposed building does not even make a modern bow in the direction of that theme. Furthermore, it is out of scale for the area that it sits in, down the hill, towards Brush Creek and 47th Street/Cleaver II Boulevard, where most of the buildings are 2-3 stories tall.

The Plaza, despite the age of many of its buildings, is not on the historical registry. The restrictions of the registry on the kind of alterations that retail sometimes demands is something that didn't work for the Plaza in the past. There are zoning and development restrictions on the height of buildings in certain places on the Plaza.

While Polsinelli can build any zoning compliant building they would like, they need to reconsider this design, which now they are saying was highly preliminary and released prematurely (sounds like excuse making to me, but never mind) and create a design that is more compatible with the look and feel of the Plaza as a whole. If they can't do that, then they should consider a site north of the Plaza, rescue the lost West End project, or consider down town or the Crossroads districts of Kansas City. I suppose if they are feeling especially spiteful after the outcry over this design they can decide to move to Johnson County, Kansas, but if they are really the civic citizens they are trying to make themselves out to be, they will be willing to compromise on either design or location and remain in Kansas City, MO. I, for one, would applaud them for that compromise.

Right now, both Polsinelli and Highwoods look arrogant and greedy, all about making a show and making the benjamins. The ball is in their court now.

LINKS:

The Kansas City Star Irate Plaza fans object to law office building plan. The illustration and photo are from The Star.

Petition: Save the Plaza Stop Polsinelli Shugart's Plan

Of course, there is a Facebook page, Save the Plaza

For more looks at the Plaza architecture, go to this photo tour on the official web site.

Another Stormy Friday Night

Viewer submitted photo to KSHB from the storms this evening. Taken at Kansas City International Airport. Wow...

On President Obama's Religion

The topic of President Obama's religious preference and practice has been hot and heavy for several days in light of the controversy over his statement with regard to the mosque proposed for near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, the site where the World Trade Center stood until 2001. The results of polling by the Pew Foundation which was actually done prior to the statements about the mosque indicated that 31% of Republican self identifying people believed that Barack Obama is Muslim in his religious belief and practice. The amount of talk on this topic since has been just unbelievable. From the White House to Rush Limbaugh to CNN and Fox, it's a topic that has had substantial legs to it.

The great coach John Wooden said, "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."

It's funny, if you think on this from the Christian point of view, any judgment of Mr. Obama becomes a tricky and ironic thing. We are instructed by Jesus not to judge. Jesus says that we should not be trying to get the speck out of our neighbor's eye while we have a board in ours. (Matthew 7:1-5) That doesn't mean we can't ever speak out, it just means that we speak our piece knowing that we too are sinners in need of prayer. Another biblical recording of Jesus' words strikes me as applicable now--John 15, where Jesus speaks of fruit and vine. Jesus calls Himself the true vine, and the disciples the branches, and instructs them (and us!) to remain in or attached to Him to bear fruit as His disciples. (While that "fruit" is never specifically described, both Christians and non-Christians know Christian fruit when they see it.)

You know, it's funny, and this is why I don't think I would ever go into politics. You are screwed either way. If you wear your faith on your sleeve, as President George W. Bush did, you are accused of being too "religious." If you show little or no tendency towards religious observance, as President Obama has, you may find yourself trying to explain your spiritual life to a skeptical public.

Now, for my honest opinion, having watched and listened for the past two plus years. I think the most important thing in Barack Obama's life is Barack Obama. I do not believe that any faith he has in a "Higher Power" is more important to him than the care and feeding of his own needs, wants and ego structure. I do believe that this is something that all people in public life, and especially those in the political life are prone to. I may have said enough with that to get me into trouble, but truly I don't really appreciate a whole hearted embrace of Christianity. And I doubt he has embraced Islam. Really, when you consider it, we may have our first spiritually/religiously "post modern" president here.

What I want out of my president, and what everyone should be looking for, is that he/she is looking to do the very best for the United States of America as far as he/she can humanly understand. I would prefer my president to be Christian, since the Christian faith played such a part in the founding of the country and is still the majority faith in the USA. There are aspects of Islam that would clash with our Constitution, e.g. many aspects of the Sharia Law that is a part of many Muslim sects. There are parts of Christianity that don't work in our secular representative republic either. And a raging ego, like that of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, can damage a country badly too. So in the end, my president can be of any religion or none, but he/she needs to manage and lead the country in a way that will benefit the majority of its citizens. How exactly that is done, that managing and leading, is the rub now, isn't it. And the differences in opinion about the country's path are what give rise to these types of discussions, as instead of truly talking about solutions and problems, we talk bad about each other.

Boy, this post was hard to write! I hope this helps someone out there!