Fast Eddie Friday.....Brother can you spare a cow?

The local media in Kansas City has gotten a bad rap over the years. I'll be the first to admit that I'm as guilty as anyone, even more so than most, when it comes to poking sticks through the bars of the monkey cage that is KC media. They aren't all bad, James Hart of the KC Star blog, Crime Scene Kansas City, is always a good read. He is even handed, has a sense of humor, and as far as mainstream media goes, he gives more support and links to gonzo wanna be journalists than anyone in the local media, myself included. Fox 4 has a pretty good morning news program, Mark Alford, is probably the funniest news anchor to ever come down the pike. So things aren't a total bust where the media is concerned. And shit is looking up. Two recent examples of award winning journalism and responsible reporting have given me hope that KC is rising above the "Country as a chicken coop"
stigma.

Case in point. Ink KC, which is actually the Kansas City Star, with skinny jeans, shallow writers, and hair that looks like it was combed with a pork chop. Think The Pitch, except without any actual talent or worthwhile content. It's the star's attempt to reach the young and tragically hip 20-30 somethings. In the latest edition of Ink KC there is an interview of a local blog and one woman show entitled The Man Fast. Here is a money quote from that in depth hard hitting bit O journalism:
"I don’t want to say it’s ruined relationships, but I think what happens is we go from friending to fucking in two seconds."

That's right boys and girls, Kansas City's paper of record ran the word "Fucking" on their website. Now don't get me twisted, I say and write the word Fuck , often and in all of it's various forms. Then again, I'm just an innerweb hack, and not a serious source of news. The Pitch also uses the word fuck, but they are an alt paper, and gratuitous cuss words are a given in the alt rag business. The other huge difference between the Pitch and Ink KC, one of them actually runs some meaningful stuff, while the other waxes philosophic about dating dilemmas and uses made up words like Frink. So the Star in it's attempt to reach the young hip doofus crowd has decided it's okay to say a word that would profoundly offend most of it's paying customers, the folks who still actually pay for a subscription.

The second gem comes by way of KSHB 41. It's the heart wrenching and just in time for Valentines Day story of a Sundanese immigrant, Adier Deng and the woman he wants to marry.
Problem is he has to come up with the money for 60 cows, or some other guy might marry her if he gets his cash together first. He needs to raise 15 grand. Enter local white folks, of the New Life Ministry, who are helping to raise the cash. According to the website, Deng has a Masters degree, working on a Phd to boot. KSHB 41 has gotten on board and they are directing folks to his donation page. Now, the skeptical sour prick in me has to ask why a local News Station would help advertise what is tantamount to slavery. Last I checked, buying and trading humans, much like they are cattle, is illegal in this country. While that shit may be perfectly acceptable in a third world country, here in This Country, the buying and selling of women is a federal offense. But it is Valentines day, so go ahead, buy a cow for a guy who has a better education than most of us can afford, so he can buy himself a wife. Since I've yet to find any statements from the woman saying she wants to be sold to Deng, we'll just have to take his word for it. It warms the heart whenever I see local folks reach out to help a people whose culture they don't understand, and whose morals run contrary to their own beliefs.

Speaking of culture shock. Note to self; Do not try to kidnap Haitian kids by the busload. As more news comes out about the group of people under arrest for trying to illegally take kids out of Haiti, you have to wonder what's really going on. The leader of the group, Laura Silsby, 40, is the subject of several lawsuits accusing her and her Boise-based company, Personal Shopper.com, of failing to pay her employees. She also has a history of failing to pay debts, and the $358,000 house at which she founded her nonprofit religious group, New Life Children's Refuge, was foreclosed upon in December, according to a report in her hometown newspaper, the Idaho Statesman. The Boise newspaper said Silsby has been named in at least eight civil lawsuits and 14 unpaid wage claims.

It is starting to look like the woman leading the group might be up to some shady shit, at least in my eyes. I wonder what the going rate is for Haitian orphans, who aren't really orphans. Seems most of these kids were turned over to the group by their parents, under the assumption they were just going across the border temporarily, for food and shelter. I've got a feeling once they got those kids over the border and in to the Dominican Republic, they would have been moved to the U S, and adopted out. Look, I know people are claiming these people are just good Samaritans, and maybe most of them are. That said, the woman leading the group is up to her ears in legal woes, definitely having money trouble, and she lied to Haitian authorities, which is what landed them all in the pokey. It's one thing to help needy kids, taking them out of their country under a shroud of lies and deception is another thing entirely. something doesn't smell right. On the bright side, they can always move their act to Sudan, where you can pick up a kid for a couple of goats and a machete.

And last but not least, I would be remiss, and a total hypocrite if I didn't mention the non stop news coverage about the Waldo Rapist. While I believe the folks in Waldo have done everything right in bringing attention to this creep, and their pro active efforts should be applauded, there comes a point when media coverage becomes media hype. That point has been reached. The folks in Waldo aren't to blame, it's the media who is playing on the fears of people. Rape is a horrible crime, and there are few things that strike fear in the hearts of women like the possibility of being raped. That said, enough already. Constantly running news bits about self defense, home security, and a police sketch that probably looks little like the actual perp, won't help catch the guy. Anyone living in this city is well aware of the Waldo rapist by now, everyone in Waldo has been given ample information on how to be defensive. The coverage at this point is nothing more than fear mongering and hype. Give it a rest.

That's it for this week. Be safe, have a good weekend, and if you happen to have an extra Holstein or Hereford laying around, there's a guy from Sudan who could put it to good use, or you can just drop it off here and maybe I can trade it for a Haitian beh beh.