Missouri Breaks

Random thoughts, political opinions and sage advice from the midlands.

Name:
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

I am a former UPI journalist now operating from behind a public relations desk located in a blue city but a red state.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Kansas City Star: Guiding Lite on Moral Turpitude

Amusing.

The Kansas City Star doesn't know what it wants to be. A good news only newspaper? Seemingly so, though unfortunately all the good news it crams onto its front pages are neither interesting nor well written.

Then buried deep within the paper we find the hard news. Deaths in Irag. Bush and Rove. Today, for instance, the fact that a draft version of the constitution that Iraq will soon ratify carries heavy emphasis on Islamic law, in fact, going so far that all laws much also conform with Islamic traditions.

Oops, does that mean women may have some difficulties being represented in Iraq? Wasn't it a secular government that we sent American boys and girls over there to die for? (I mean once the WMDs were all accounted for!)

But the Star does not feel this story merits more than Page 8 coverage when you can have front page stories about the death of a man who founded one of the "haunted houses" in Kansas City, a teenager for being punished for throwing up on his Spanish teacher, or a light feature about growing up in Kansas.

Oh, and then there are "bad words."

The Star censored Doonesbury today because it used George Bush's own pet name for his boy genius, Karl "Hey, Did You Hear About Wilson's Wife" Rove. Then, going one step more, the Star censored the Associated Press story that reported they had censored the strip.

For your reading pleasure, here is the segment that did not make it to the Star:

In the strip, Bush and an aide are lamenting the problems the administration has had over allegations that Rove leaked the name of a CIA officer to reporters.

Bush says, "Karl's sure been earnin' his nickname lately."

The unnamed aide says, "Boy Genius? I'm not so sure sir ..."

Bush then says, "Hey Turd Blossom! Get in here."

The term is said to be one of several nicknames Bush uses for Rove, one of his closest allies and who is widely credited for Bush's election in 2000 and re-election in 2004. The mainstream U.S. media have rarely mentioned the nickname, but it has gained traction in the international press and on the Internet.

Among those with concerns was the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, whose editors removed the offensive word from the strip's final panel.

"I didn't think (taking out the word) hurt it," Executive Editor Joel Rawson said. "I would prefer to run the strip and if we can edit it, that's fine."

Other papers, such as The Kansas City Star, removed the strip entirely, replacing it with an older one.

"We thought it was in bad taste and probably unclear to a lot of people why we would be using the term," said Steve Shirk, the Star's managing editor/news.


And in case you want to read today's strip, go to: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/db/

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

I Think Karl Did It

David Letterman:
"You folks following the scandal with Karl Rove? Earlier today, President Bush says that he doesn't want to act too quickly. And does not want to act before he has all of the facts. And I was thinking, 'Jeez, this doesn't sound like the President Bush I know.' "

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Karl Rove, Karl Rove, Karl Rove

. . . twisting slowly, slowly in the wind.

It's a wonder what a little bit of news can do for your day. Hell, my entire year.

Karl Rove outted for the asshole that he is. This neo-Fascist has had his way for far too long in Washington, and the lapdog White House media has let him get away with it. But now with a federal grand jury involved, and his having out-right lied to everyone within earshot, the Nazi Creep is getting his own.

As John Stewart said last night, "they have substituted the White House press corps with real reporters."

Karl Rove, Karl Rove, Karl Rove. One day you too will join the likes of John Erlichman et. al. in their special ring of hell.

Heh heh heh.

Monday, July 04, 2005

The War Begins

In regard to the Supreme Court seat now vacant:

"This is the moment that social conservatives have been awaiting for more than a decade -- a real chance to change the philosophical balance of the Supreme Court" and reverse the direction of its rulings on abortion, school prayer, sodomy and religious displays on public property, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.