Mo Rage

Your afternoon's entertainment

2012-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

Aren't computers wonderful? What would we do without them? :)

just to say...

2012-01-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Arthur Bryant's via Australia

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

There's an article in an Aussie rag about our own Arthur Bryant's Barbecue: Humble Kansas restaurant Arthur Bryant's Barbecue has some famous fans Don'tch'a just love how people so frequently assume that, because it's Kansas City, that it's also gotta' be Kansas? That kills me. A bit of what they say (link at bottom): "Arthur Bryant's resembles a cafeteria from the 1950s, because it hasn't changed since it catered to baseball players and fans from a nearby (and long gone) stadium." Link: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/world/humble-kansas-restaurant-has-some-famous-fans/story-fn302659-1226254410567

Quote of the day

2012-01-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

"When you make mistakes, there are no time machines to rectify them. Mistakes are lodged like harpoons and fish hooks in an intelligent person's soul." --Ed Sanders, activist, musician, on his friend and fellow musician Phil Ochs

One day...

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Entertainment overnight

2012-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

Perfect.

take me away

2012-01-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Shoot me, I love Trader Joe's

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

In case you hadn't seen it already: Besides, they used that perfect, catchy tune, right?

One of the best movie ideas ever

2012-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

"Star Wars", redone, in 3-D. Oh, yeah. That's the good news. The bad news, if there is any? It's "The Phantom Menace." Yeah, Jar Jar Binks will still be in it.

Welcome to town, Mr. Takei!

2012-01-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

George Takei, the actor mostly known for playing Mr. Sulu on the "Star Trek" television show is in town to appear with the Kansas City Symphony this weekend at the Kauffman Center. I understand both shows are sold out. They are having a "Sci-Fi Spectacular with George Takei" and playing things from "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and more. For those going, I'm sure it will be great fun. They warn on the Symphony page that there will be lasers used during the performance. What a hoot. Link: http://tickets.kcsymphony.org/single/psDetail.aspx?psn=2724

Two conclusions about Arizona

2012-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

It seems there are two things that can be said to be absolutely true of the state of Arizona. The first is that it is a state full of racists, given their track record from the last several years, publicly. (Not that there aren't plenty of states that are racist, heaven knows, but at least it doesn't flood into the statehouse of each state, too). video platform video management video solutions video player And the second thing is that their governor, Jan Brewer, has little class or sophistication or manners, if any at all. If someone were to call her "white trash", I couldn't disagree with them or chide them for being ill-mannered. Link to story: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-jan-brewer-obama-welcome-20120125,0,5568347.story

Quote of the day

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

"The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain." --Thomas Jefferson, 1809

Entertainment overnight

2012-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

An old, old favorite. (I'm so old...I know who John Cougar Mellenkamp is). Quite possibly the worst choreography ever but a great song, well sung, nonetheless.

Fidel Castro on the current Republican presidential candidates

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

"The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is – and I mean this seriously – the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been." Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/fidel-castro-republican-race_n_1230930.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=727005,b=facebook

Mo black homicide rate worst in nation

2012-01-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

Sure, this will be covered by all the media and blog sites in the entire state but the question needs to be asked: what are our state, city and country leaders are going to do about this? Every civic, church and community leader in the state who can effect any changes on this situation should be addressing this issue. I'd think the mayors of St. Louis and Kansas City, at least, should be getting together with all the people they can and again, church, civic community leaders, everyone. And let's face it, folks, this problem of blacks in the state killing one another is overwhelmingly in Kansas City and St. Louis. Virtually the rest of the state is rural. With the exception of some cases in Springfield and St. Joseph, most of the problems stem directly from these two metropolitan areas. If little is done about this situation in these two cities and maybe Jefferson City at the statehouse, if anything can come out of there, Missouri can just expect this negative advertising to continue, of course. Links: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/25/3392027/missouris-black-homicide-rate.html; http://www.vpc.org/press/1201homicide.htm; http://www.vpc.org/studies/blackhomicide12.pdf

Want to keep up with the arts in KC?

2012-01-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

If you don't already know about it, you need to go to and register at this site: http://kcmetropolis.org/. Music, theater, movies, dance--it's all here. AS they describe themselves: Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts. Enjoy.

A friend, today, on the Republican Party

2012-01-25T16:00:00.001-08:00

"How can you gain followers being anti-gay, anti-black, anti-Latino, anti-abortion, anti-progress, anti-infrastructure, anti-regulation and anti- compromise, and expect to go into the 21st century?"

This looks funny as heck

2012-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this trailer last evening. The movie looks funny as heck--and I usually hate these "blow 'em up" films. Here's the premise: Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman. Absurdity of the first order. Bring it on.

More disgusting news about corporations, their lobbying and taxes

2012-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

There is a somewhat commonly now-known article that came out at the end of last year that pointed out "Between 2008 And 2010, 30 Big Corporations Spent More Lobbying Washington Than They Paid In Income Taxes." (see link below) And that's bad enough. That's pretty disgusting. Rather than do "the right thing", the moral thing and pay their proper amount of taxes, these 30 companies paid more paying off their legislators in various ways, than they did in taxes. Really repulsive. Reprehensible, for sure. But you know what? That's not the worst of it, either. If you think about it, they also WROTE OFF these "lobbying expenses" as "business expenses" on their taxes. So besides not paying as much in taxes and paying more for these bribes to our legislators, they also have us--you and me, the American taxpayer--pick up the tab for this ugly, obscene immorality. Really, they are disgusting. There is no decency in these people. It's "all money, all the time" and "money for money's sake." Pitiful. Link: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/12/07/383779/30-big-corporations-taxes-lobbying/?mobile=nc

McDonald's restaurants in the US vs. France

2012-01-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

This, ladies and gentlemen, is reported to be a picture of "chicken McNuggets" here in the US, before they're cooked:

There is a fascinating article on NPR's food blog about "Why McDonald's In France Doesn't Feel Like Fast Food" and it doesn't speak well--at all--for Americans: One "...reason McDonald's works so well here is that the food is locally sourced and very high quality. As we all know, France is the land of haute cuisine. But it's also the land of good cuisine. The French appreciate quality in any category, even fast food. Restaurateurs in France know they'll go bust if they offer substandard products." So it has to do with American's low expectations, for one, along with our political system of letting corporations effectively buy the legislation they want, of our government. It denudes the effectiveness of things like our Food and Drug Administration. Instead of protecting the people, it protects the corporations. This, below, is a picture of a plate of food from a French McDonald's restaurant:

More: "‎French cattle are all grass fed, which many argue makes them tastier. Growth hormones are illegal here and each animal has a passport showing where it was born, raised, and slaughtered, according to McDonald's France. That's called traceability, and we don't yet have such a national system in place." Finally, "As for chicken nugget lovers, French chickens, unlike some of their American counterparts, are not rinsed in chlorine to disinfect them. The regular use of chlorine in the U.S. chicken industry is why poulet americain has long been interdit in the European Union." As Americans, we just aren't very bright, it seems. We need to demand more from our representatives, our government and our corporations. We are in charge and we need to let them know that. I repeat, WE MUST GET "CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS" OUT OF OUR ELECTION SYSTEM AND SO, OUT OF OUR GOVERNMENT. Link to original post: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/24/145698222/why-mcdonalds-in-france-doesnt-feel-like-fast-food?ps=cprs

More from the Newtster's own mouth on Newt

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

Not to be outdone, here's Mitt Romney's hypocrisy

2012-01-25T09:00:00.001-08:00

Mittens vs. the Newtster. This couldn't be any better.

And why do we give tax credits, subsidies and deductions to "Big Oil"?

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Big Oil" is literally the most profitable industry in the world. Why don't we stop this as soon as possible? In the first place, they are "most profitable" of any companies in the nation and world. Second, we need the tax revenues and third, if we really do use the "free market" Capitalist system, we shouldn't be giving them these anyway and finally, it could and would help wean us off this ugly fossil fuel that has us both polluting and, possibly worst, tied to the most unstable nations in the world. It all makes too much sense.

The US gives tax credits right now to offshore manufacturiing

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most obvious, simple, intelligent and helpful things our US Congress could and should do is this, from President Obama's State of the Union address last evening: Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it. The fact is, most Americans don't know that right now, with our current tax code, we actually reward companies for taking manufacturing offshore, nearly unbelievably. Not only that, but the Democrats proposed, last year, doing away with all these. No brainer, right? Well, not so for the Republicans---they killed it, insanely and irresponsibly enough. This should go and go immediately. Please write your Senators and Representatives in Congress today--or as soon as possible. This needs to change and change quicly. Link to the SOTU address: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-of-the-union-2012-obama-speech-excerpts/2012/01/24/gIQA9D3QOQ_story.html?wpisrc=al_comboNP_p

Quote of the day

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

"People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food." --Wendell Berry, American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry