Habanero's on Troost

What on earth could make Pancho's on Main better? I mean, that's a tall order.

How about if you put it on Troost (Kansas City's hippest street) and rename it Habanero's?

Just a little north of 63rd on Troost, Habanero's is putting out some fantastic cheap Mexican chow. One of their burritos should satisfy any rational being. Plus, they serve Mexican Coke, which is a wildly different and better product than its insipid, high-fructose-corn-syrup poisoned American cousin.

I'm not ready to say that Habanero's is a better restaurant than Pancho's. Pancho's may be the best Mexican food I have ever had. But I will say that Habanero's is way up there. Way up there.

Great Blog Discovery

Do you live in Kansas City? Do you like to eat? Do you like to read wonderful writing about Kansas City and food? Then add Noodletown to your list of must-reads.

"Let me in-let me in-immigration man"

This link will take you to a sample test given to applicants for US Citizenship. I got an 85 - one wrong because I didn't read carefully, and two because I simply didn't know the answer.

Johnson's Shut-ins, Update

Back in December, I wrote about the Taum Sauk flood and the damage done to Johnson's Shut-ins State Park. In it, I wondered how long it would take for the site to be returned to its prior state.

Unfortunately, it looks like it will take years. Here is a photo taken by an internet acquaintance of mine, showing that the once-beautiful cascades remain a dirty, debris-strewn field of rock. Here is an impressive photo of the breach that caused the flood.

It's Summer - Read Helprin

Today is Mark Helprin's birthday. He's my favorite living writer - even though his politics are hard-core right wing. The best novel of the last quarter century is A Soldier of the Great War, a perfectly and eloquently spun tale of love, immortality and civilization.

I first read Helprin when I stumbled upon his short story "Passchendaele" in the New Yorker. It was so stunningly beautiful - the struggle of the main character to live within his code while drawn to the beauty of the mute woman on the adjoining ranch makes the resolution of the tension all the more poetic and life-affirming.

Helprin, at his best, is good for your soul. He makes you more alert to the awesome beauty and dignity of life.

Update on the Helder Case

A while ago, I wrote in "Jan Helder - Sympathy for the Devil?" about the fact that I know Jan Helder, the lawyer who had been found guilty by a jury of soliciting a minor, but whom Judge Whipple had refused to convict because the "minor" was actually a grown detective. In my post, I agreed with Judge Whipple's analysis of the law, and voiced my opinion that the law should have been more clear.

In an opinion issued yesterday (pdf file, the 8th Circuit ruled that the law was clear enough, and reversed Judge Whipple.

There may be a few motions to file, but this effectively is the end of the line for Jan's attempts to avoid jail time.

Wealth Over Work - Jim Talent's Republican Values

In an unusually clear display of core values, the Jim Talent and the Republican Congress last week refused to pass an increase in the minimum wage, which has remained frozen at $5.15 for 9 years. He and they are content to allow inflation to slowly decay the ability of working mothers and fathers to provide for their families.

At the same time, though, Jim Talent seeks to protect the pampered billionaires from the horrible effects of inflation. While he admits he would rather kill the "Spoiled Brat Tax" entirely, he is now supporting a compromise measure that would exempt the first $10 million of rich kids' inheritance, and require that the exempt amount increase along with inflation.

In other words, Paris Hilton should be protected from inflation, but the woman who cleans rooms at the Hilton is undeserving of that protection.

Once again, the Repbulicans show their preference for wealth over work, inheritance over initiative, and privilege over productivity.

Did Bolivia Just Move Further Away?

Another post on Bolivia. Earlier this week, while speaking in Cochabamba, President Evo Morales claimed that "US soldiers disguised as students and tourists are entering the country." A couple days later, Morales distributed the report underlying his accusation.

The report alleges that a CIA agent is training undercover U.S. military personnel in a three-week course on "conflict management" at a hotel in the eastern provincial capital of Santa Cruz. The Morales administration says the course's sponsor, the Virgina-based nonprofit Alliance for Conflict Transformation, is "an office of the U.S. State Department" and is training students for subversion missions against the Bolivian government. The report names two individuals enrolled in the workshop, both of whom are active-duty soldiers in the U.S. Army and Marines. The U.S. Embassy in La Paz said the accusations are "unfounded."

Who to believe? Well, I prefer to take my country at its word, especially where I don't really see the point of the alleged infiltration. It's not like 20 soldiers are going to take over the country.

On the other hand, Bolivia has staggering reserves of natural gas, and Uncle Sam has never been shy about meddling in South American politics. It would not shock me to learn that the US is engaged in shadowy activity in a country with poor people, vast natural resources, and a government which is aligning itself with Cuba.

When I was in Bolivia, nobody ever hassled me at all for being an American. In the midst of the run-up to the election that put Morales into office, perhaps they were focused on domestic politics, or, more likely, the people I encountered were all too polite to bring up such an awkward topic.

Now, however, with the president raising the possibility that American tourists are suspect, I'd be a little more hesitant to walk into a chicha parlor and drink a gourd of the local beverage.

Family-Value, Christian Republicans

Those family-value Republicans over at "The Source" are bashing Representative Cleaver because he chose to leave Washington on Friday morning to preside over a funeral rather than stick around and cast a vote for a meaningless resolution supporting war. I just looked through my Bible, and I didn't see the line about "When I was grieving, you stayed in Washington to cast a vote for a nonbinding resolution endorsing a mismanaged war."

Minimum Wage Hypocrisy - Congressional Raises and Filibusters

The Republican Congress yesterday provided a craven display of who they are and who they represent. First off, they used the threat of filibuster (an anti-democratic tool of the devil when used by the Democrats to refuse them an "up or down vote" on some crazed far-right judicial nominee) to defeat a well-grounded, popular proposal to raise the minimum wage. As discussed here before, the minimum wage is good policy, and a good example of trickle-up economics, where money put into the hands of the lower economic classes has a multiplier effect to decrease misery rather than increase Maybach imports. 52 Senators supported the bill, but the pro-wealth, anti-worker majority of the reublican party managed to kill it. Where are the cries of "up or down" vote now? "Scand" Alito got one - why does he deserve an up or down vote more than the person who cleans his office?

The second dose of hypocrisy on the vote is that Congress denied a raise to the poorest workers in our country only a week after handing themselves a nice $3,300 raise. This is ironic, in that the productivity of the American worker has been rising steadily in the ten years that the minimum wage has been shrinking in value, while Congress is being rewarded for a year in which a solid majority with a same-party president and a same-party Supreme Court has managed to accomplish almost none of their legislative goals.

Summer Songs

The mercury is in the 90s, everyone is wearing shorts, and gelato sales are booming. It's summer in Kansas City. Today's the official start of the season.

The other night, we had a discussion of what makes a summer song. For me, it's a feel thing - it should beg to be cranked loud on a car stereo, it should have an infectious chorus, and it should be happy. It probably ought to be about a short-lived romance. If you can work in some steel drums, you're nearing perfection.

For Robin, ever the literalist, it needs a summer reference. "Summer in the City" by the Lovin' Spoonful, for instance.

A third approach is to focus on the songs that bring you back to summer. For me, that would probably be the summers I was in my early teens, walking to the YMCA on Bermuda Road and hanging out all day at the pool with Brad Notch, Karen Politowski, Barb Hezel and listening to the pop music over the speaker system. Songs like Crocodile Rock, The Night Chicago Died, and Takin' Care of Business conjure the smell of Coppertone and chlorine.

What makes a great summer song for you?

Little Red Square - Fringe Festivals in KC, Minneapolis and New York

Here's the website for Little Red Square, a theatre company that will be producing Higher Power this year at the Kansas City, Minneapolis and New York Fringe Festivals. What is Higher Power?

Sex, drugs, rock and roll, and Catholicism collide in the lives of three young Midwesterners as a last-ditch drug deal causes the undoing of family and friendships.

A world premiere play written by Sam Ryan and directed by Chris Plante.

In Kansas City it will be performed at the Just Off Broadway Theatre at 3051 Central in Penn Valley Park, from July 27 until July 30.

In Minneapolis, it will be featured at the Bryant-Lake Bowl at 810 West Lake Street from August 3 until August 7.

Information on the New York City shows should be available in a couple days.

If you're so inclined, it would be nice to make a Paypal donation at this site to make it all possible . . .

The Estate Tax is Good Tax Policy

One of the favorite targets of Republicans is the estate tax, or, as they prefer to spin it, the "death tax". Both Missouri senators support repealing the tax permanently, covering their attack on the middle class by wrapping themselves in the banner of small businesses and family farms.

In fact, the "estate tax" could more properly be called the "spoiled brat" tax than the "death tax". Right now, dead multi-millionaires are able to pass on $4,000,000 - FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!! - without paying any federal estate tax whatsoever. That's not counting setting up trusts or tax shelters or working with life insurance to pass on even more without paying any taxes. Any gazillionaire that doesn't manage to pass on a huge amount more than that while still avoiding paying Uncle Sam a share just isn't paying enough attention to the tax shelters their country-club neighbors are using.

But first, let's talk about the notion of tax. Then, we'll talk about the notion of inheritance. Then, finally, we'll talk about conspiracy.

About Taxation: It's easy to complain about taxes. Nobody, myself included, likes to pay them, and yet they're everywhere. I pay taxes when I buy gasoline, when I pay my phone bill, when I get my paycheck, and on and on. Pretty much whenever you transfer funds from one person to another, there is a tax burden.

The fairness of the status quo depends upon the perspective taken. I could argue that sales tax is unfair, because the poor people spend a higher percentage of their money on goods and services than rich people, who tend to sock it away in a mutual fund and make more money. On the other hand, I could argue that the graduated income tax is unfair, because the uber-wealthy pay almost half of the federal income tax.

Ultimately, though, the government needs money, and somebody has to pay for it. (Even Republicans, who have developed an unquenchable thirst for deficit spending, realize that our children will have to pay for these years of fiscal idiocy. That'w why, on this Father's Day, all children of Republican fathers should kick their fathers in the groin.) The wealthy wind up paying a good deal more than the poor, because most of the tax comes from the income tax, and income disparity in this country is rapidly approaching feudal proportions. (Simple-minded folk think that the flat tax is a good idea, so that if we all paid 17%, that would be fair. But they don't understand that 17% of $10,000 means absolutely nothing to Bill Gates, but it means a huge impact on my lifestyle. Pity the simple-minded - they mean well, but know little of life.)

So, since we need to pay, the goal is to make it hurt as little as possible. We spread sales and fuels taxes out, so they don't hurt as much as they would if we paid a lump sum every year. We lessen the immediate impact of the income tax by using withholding, and people rejoice when they get a refund of their own money back!

No tax hurts as little as the estate tax. From the perspective of the recipient, an inheritance is a windfall, unearned and personally undeserved. When we get up into the $4,000,000 range, we're talking about a huge cash jolt that has nothing to do with hard work, ingenuity, entrepreneurial risk, or helping people. It is money that cannot be planned upon to come in at a certain time, so it winds up being an unscheduled, uncertain, unplannable $4,000,000 hot cash infusion. Four hundred million tax-free pennies from heaven.

This is a pain free tax. All it really does is reduce the size of the windfall received by the children of the uber-wealthy. Reduced pleasure, in the context of taxation, does not equate to increased pain. Making me pay more gas tax so some kid who has never worked a day in his or her life can have MORE than $4 million tax-free just doesn't seem fair to me. Does that sound fair to you?

About Inheritance: The wealthy have many ways of helping their children. Getting them into schools, unpaid internships subsidized by parents, hiring tutors, setting them up in business, hiring them into the family business, giving them the tremendous advantages of a web of daddy and mommy's friends to make certain they have cushy jobs through their careers, and so on and so on. These are just a tiny few of the many, many forms of affirmative action that have developed to protect the offspring of the wealthy from the harshness of the world the rest of us live in.

These are fine and wonderful things - and I have certainly sought to help my children get their starts in life, too. No problem with that whatsoever. Sam and Ali are both tremendously "advantaged" kids, and I sincerely wish that I could leave them an estate over $4,000,000.

But it galls me to hear the children of advantage seek to pass their pain-free tax burdens on to others. They whine like feeble victims at the thought that unearned multi-million dollar inheritances might be taxed.

Worse yet, they wrap themselves in the misleading guise of the small businesses and family farms of America. In fact, only a tiny percentage of family farms pay any estate tax whatsoever, and, even in those cases, a little life insurance and planning can help the millionaire kids inherit their farms and businesses without undue financial burdens.

But, really, I don't care. Why should I have some governmentally-approved pseudo-right to have my family set me up in business? Why should I get to take over the family plumbing business just because my father inherited it from his father? Why is little Jimmy's vision of working a family farm in Georgia any more important to us than little Tyrone's vision of working that same farm, even though he is descended from the slaves that worked on that farm? Why should we care to have our tax policy reward this sick sense of entitlement?

I'm not against the concept of inheritance. I'll be happy to accept one. But I don't think that the joy of inheritance suffers unduly when the amount over $4,000,000 is subjected to a tax burden. My heart does not bleed for the rich kids who get only $4,000,000.

The Conspiracy: Believe it or not, the reason we are talking about the "death tax" instead of the "spoiled rich kid tax" is because a cabal of incredibly wealthy families have decided that we are stupid enough to save their billions. 18 families worth a total of $185.5 billion have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the estate tax, a move that would collectively net them a windfall of $71.6 billion. Those families include cess-pools of sick selfishness like the families behind Wal=Mart and Gallo Wines.

Absent from the group of 18, however, is Bill Gates.

“The estate tax should be regarded as just paying back to the country for all the wonderful things it’s made possible for the people who have that wealth,” said Bill Gates Sr. in an audio statement played at the press conference. “I don’t think there’s any great societal goal being served by inherited wealth. And certainly there’s no sensible argument that I can think of for insisting on being able to pass the last penny of $100 million on to your three kids.”

The group of 18 families have spent a few million dollars to convince you to increase your own taxes to save them $71.6 billion. Has it worked?

(Thanks to Waveflux for inspiring me to get down to writing this. If you want to read a more positive article, go read The Estate Tax: Efficient, Fair and Misunderstood.)

Cookbooks

If you like to cook, go read this entry by the Amateur Gourmet about his favorite cookbooks. It's supposed to be a meme, but I don't think I'll take on the challenge. But you definitely should read it.

R.I.P. Rusty Tucker

A while back, I wrote about witnessing an especially wonderful performance by the Scamps at their regular Saturday afternoon gig. I didn't mention it specifically, but the evening was heightened by a simply perfect version of "It's a Wonderful World", sung by Rusty Tucker. I heard him sing it again a couple weeks ago, and it was perfect again . . .

Rusty Tucker died peacefully yesterday afternoon.

This Friday night June 16th at Jardines, 4536 Main from 5-8 PM there will be a jam session/tribute/send off party hosted by Tim Whitmer and the KC Express with special guests Lucky Wesley and Millie Edwards. All musicians are encouraged to bring their instrument, sit in and toast and salute the memory of Rusty Tucker and all the great music he gave us. This is the kind of reception that Rusty wanted. It will be a great evening of music and memories and a good way to start off this jazz festival weekend

Funeral----There will be a celebration of Rusty's life at Unity Temple on the Plaza 47th and Jefferson at 11 Am this Saturday June 17th. You are invited to come anytime after 10 am as there will be a musical salute to Rusty from 10-11 AM and then the service at 11AM.

Here's a good profile of him written in 1995.

Beer Night at SRO

This coming Friday is beer night at SRO Video. They'll give you a cold one as your browse their shelves and pick out a great movie. 402 East Gregory.

Would you rather get your movies from some corporate entity like Netflix, or would you rather get them from a group of slightly funky neighbors who give you beer?

Chris Matthews, Ann Coulter, and the Debasement of Punditocracy

For complex psychological reasons, most of us prefer to believe that the grownups are in charge. The people who make decisions that can alter our lives are somehow more wise, better informed, and capable of major decisions than the rest of us. It's a comforting notion. My CEO is an insightful captain of industry. My Senator is a sage man, and when I disagree with him, he probably has more knowledge than I do. George Bush is far smarter than we are led to believe, and the White House is packed with the smartest people from the greatest institutions. Aunt Mable's cat died because God called Fluffy to heaven. Secretly, we all insist on believing that our universe is ordered and merit-based. It may not be the most democratic notion, but it is entirely human.

One of the amusing and universal initial experiences for political junkies is meeting and getting to know a politician. It is always funny in a sad way to watch as someone progresses from "Oh my gosh! I'm shaking ______'s hand!" to "Is that all there is?". Most politicians, even at the state and national level, are no more impressive than your high school student council president. Many are less.

Years ago, it was nice to imagine that the land of political punditry was populated by giants. You might disagree with Buckley, but, damn, he was smart. Safire's wit and intellect were far superior than anything I or anybody I knew could muster. Smarter people than you and me set our national debate. It was a comforting notion.

It was a lie, though.

With today's increased access, we can see how shallow and intellectually ordinary the punditocracy really is. Sure, Buckley used to be impressive, but only once a month or so. Sure, Safire was a great read, but most of it was jacking around with word games. When we can see and read the pundits every week, or every day, we can see just how mistaken we were when we thought of them as giants.

Sadly, the shrinkage does not always stop there. If you hold your nose and don't react to what she is saying, you realize that people like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin aren't really even trying to engage your mind - they are paid good money to say stupid things and provoke a reaction. They are there to sell sizzle, not thought, and I'll admit to a peculiar admiration for their talent. I like to think that I would choose not to become famous and idolized by foolish people if I had the opportunity to do so by saying stupid things, but, if I were you, I wouldn't bet the farm on my superiority.

This transcript of pundits talking about whether Ann Coulter is hot, however, ought to dispel any lingering notion of pundits being better than the conversation you could find at any neighborhood bar. Seriously.

RITA COSBY: I'll throw it back to you, Chris, do you find her attractive?

CHRIS MATTHEWS: You guys are all afraid to answer. No, I find her—I wouldn't put her—well, she doesn't pass the Chris Matthews test.

Chris Matthews talking about whether he would do Ann Coulter. So offensive in so many ways. Such an exposure of the debasement of what we once thought was an elevated group of people.

Communiversity & Chicken Tikka Masala

One of the under-rated pleasures of living in Kansas City is Communiversity, the provider of super-cheap, low-stress, high-entertainment education. Communiversity classes cover everything from massage to investments, and are taught by community volunteers with a passion for their topic.

Last night was a fine example. Ajay & Sabira Sood showed us how to make Chicken Tikka Masala, served us the spicy results of the demonstration, and regaled us with tales of India and herbal medicine. At $9 for the class plus $10 for materials, it was a far better entertainment value than going out and seeing a movie.

How did I Forget?

Quick update - Me, My Life + Infrastructure is also added to the Bloglist. Heidi is an alert eye that catches much of what makes Kansas City the liveable city it is. She's insightful, and a charming writer as well. Read her description of buying lemonade to get a flavor of what she's about.

Cochabamba, Bolivia, Through Others' Eyes . . .

The married couple who worked with us in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is back in the United States, and they posted a nice article about their significantly longer visit. Here's my effort on the same topic.

I'd love to return. I hope the insanity of international policy doesn't make that impossible.

New on the Blogroll

It's time to do a little updating on the left side of the blog, and I'm adding a few new blogs to the sidebar. I use the links feature as a quick list of worthwhile places to visit regularly. If I were smart like Tony, I would make it show which ones have been updated recently, but I'm not that smart.

First off, Happy in Bag is a fun local read, produced by the same guy who does There Stands the Glass - one of the great sources of overlooked music available to adventurous ears.

Xavier Onassis is the funniest commenter ever to grace this blog, and his page, Hip Suburban White Guy, offers up full servings of his outrageous bad attitude. If more liberals were as bad-ass as XO, maybe we'd be running the country . . .

Speaking of liberal blogs, it's time to go ahead and add Fired Up! Missouri, THE source of news and research on Missouri politics, from the left. It really is an impressive blog, and does not really suffer from the rah-rah pep rally tone that the annoying exclamation in its name implies. (I'm not adding a permanent link on the side for its right-wing wannabe The Source, though, because that blog, so far, has not demonstrated accuracy, creativity, or wit. If it grows up, I may add it to the select group of right-wing bloggers represented there.)

Thoughts from Kansas lives up to its name. Thoughtful, insightful, and well-written, Joshua Rosenau shows that Travelingal is not the only awake mind in the wasteland to the West.

I'm also adding the triumphant return of Kansas City Soil, by Joe Miller, the author of Cross-X: A Turbulent, Triumphant Season with an Inner-City Debate Squad, to be released on October 3. The book link takes you to the Amazon website, where you can order it for 37% off and get free shipping, like I just did!

Ravioli “Cacio Pepe e Pere” - It's What's for Dinner

Had a banquet at Lidia's loft tonight. Damn. Good eats. This was the star of the meal. I guess I could learn to be a vegetarian . . .

Emery Boards Alarm My Penis

From the final paragraph of today's New York Times article on the cervical cancer vaccine:

Merck had originally hoped to get the vaccine approved for use in boys. But although women have routinely allowed swabs to be taken of their vaginal cells, the company found that men rebelled against the use of emery boards to collect cells from their penises. Researchers eventually discovered that jeweler's-grade emery paper effectively removed cells without alarming men and were able to complete their studies.

Jim Talent - Shamelessly Exploiting Our Troops

I tend to be fairly cynical about Jim Talent - I think he's a weak, pampered lapdog of the St. Louis wealthy republicans. Once that is understood, he is fairly predictable, though - he's going to support anti-middle class tax breaks for dead millionaires, he's going to vote for pro-business judges, and he's going to vacillate on stem cell research, depending on who is writing the check.

Even I was honestly surprised, though, to receive an email from him yesterday afternoon, crowing about the death of Al-Zarqawi, as if he had anything to do with it. Obviously, he thought it vital that he get his remarks out there immediately, so that Missourian's voters might somehow associate his spineless self with the strength and competence of America's fighting forces. For him to rush out a newsletter on the day we learned of this victory, putting his (my advisor and muse tells me that I can't call him a puffy-lipped sissy anymore, because that makes me sound anti-gay) smiling face at the top of the news is a new low for crass exploitation of the troops.

Jimmy, it was utterly classless of you to inject your face into my email box to try to claim some reflected glory off the work of our troops. It shows, again, just how far out of touch you are with Missouri.

Don't Forget Troost . . .

In making your wild weekend plans, don't forget to show up at BB's at 4 on Sunday for Beyond the Blues, featuring Danny Cox, and Tut and the Soul Sensations. Good cause, good food, good price, good music, and cold beer.

Speed Bumps

What causes people who drive vehicles designed to speed across the roadless African landscape at 70 miles per hour, rattling over creek beds and termite mounds, to slow down to idle speed or slower to go over a speed bump?

They drive like they have an aquarium full of piranhas in the front seat. Or a tray of champagne flutes filled to the brim.

A speed bump should feel like a bump. If you can feel a gradual assent followed by a gradual descent, repeated 30 seconds later by the rear set of wheels, you're going too freaking slow. Get out of my way.

Jay Nixon - As Arrogant and Corrupt as a Republican

Jay Nixon is one of my least favorite Democrats. I will give him credit for hiring some great people and running a highly competent AG's office (wouldn't it be nice if Republicans were at least competent, Brownie?), but he is a political hack of the most annoying kind - addicted to ink and unable to understand why anybody would question his motives.

The Republicans are jumping on him right now because he is taking money from Ameren (funneled through political clubs) while he is negotiating with them for criminal charges or civil fines arising out of the horrific Taum Sauk flood that ruined one of my favoritie spots in Missouri and nearly killed a family.

Missouri Republicans are adept at graft and corruption - indeed, the Blunt family would make Huey Long blush - so they know what they're talking about.

The Missouri Republicans are absolutely right about this. Jay Nixon stinks like a ripened skunk on a July highway on this, and, if he had an ounce of sense instead of a pound of arrogance, he would recuse himself and his office from further involvement with the Taum Sauk negotiations in favor of a special prosecutor.

(Please, please, please don't let Nixon be the Democratic nominee for governor , , ,)

The Wheel Inn of Sedalia - A Victim of Progress?

The Wheel Inn on Highway 50 in Sedalia is an icon. Since 1947 it has been serving up real American diner food, and, since 1948, it has been serving up the Guberburger - a hamburger dressed with melting peanut butter, lettuce, tomato, and just a touch of mayo. Read about the place here, in an article that ran in the Columbia 'zine Vox just a year ago, when the Guberburger was being featured in a movie.

MoDOT feels the need to widen the intersection where the Wheel Inn has brightened the lives of travelers and locals for generations. It seems that big trucks have trouble negotiating the turn, and there's a Walmart nearby. Big box retailing outranks Guberburgers in the priority of progress.

Where will I stop with my unborn grandchildren on our way to Lake of the Ozarks? They'll never even know what they've missed. I think they would have gotten a big kick out of a hamburger with peanut butter. My kids did. I did.

Pilgrim Chapel Summer Concert Series

We just got home from the opening concert in the Pilgrim Chapel Summer Concert Series. It was $5 extremely well spent. Lizzie West kicked off the series, with a set that ranged from intense to intimate. The venue is the charming little Pilgrim Chapel, a place I had never been before. The chapel is lilliputian, but perfectly scaled and humanely sized for a small crowd of music lovers.

The rest of the series looks good, too. Maybe you should drop by next Tuesday.

What Happened to Washington University?

When I was in high school, I remember being impressed by the cleverness of a t-shirt I saw emblazoned "Harvard University - the Wash U of the East" (this was in the mid-70s, before I had seen similar shirts from other schools). The cheeky comparison of Wash U to Harvard demonstrated the circles that Wash U was aiming for.

Well, break out the new line of clothing! "Bob Jones University - the Wash U of South Carolina"! "Wash U - Like Liberty U without Lynchburg"! Optional hoods sold separately.

Wash U has apparently decided to give up on being one of the best universities in the United States and focused, instead, on being one of the most right-wing universities.

A couple years ago, Wash U made headlines by wildly overpaying Jim Talent - then a failed, out-of-work political hack - to the tune of $90,000 for a two hour class. Wash U allowed the right-wing republicans to subsidize Talent's senate race through their faculty payroll.

Last year, a member of the Wash U College Republicans reacted to an article about the group by publishing a letter to the Editor in the college paper dismissing a fellow student as a "nigger".

Now, it comes out that Wash U refused to host a national convention for the College Democrats because of its "partisan" nature. SLU will host the group, instead.

What in the world happened to Washington University? It used to be such a decent place . . .

What I want for Father's Day . . .

I never would have expected this, not in a million years, but I have become someone who is hard to shop for. On gift-giving occasions, my kids ask me what I'd like, and I am unable to provide them with the comfort of a straight, enthusiastic answer. "Oh, I don't know . . .", I start, and the kids know that I am racking my brain trying to come up with something that will allow them to feel like they've met their duty, and which will improve my life at least a modicum. And I usually fail.

While I live a relatively modest life (wildly luxurious, I know, to most of the world and much of the United States, but rather cramped compared to those I run with), I've hit a stage in my life where I tend to satisfy my own cravings when it comes to items under $20 or $25, the reasonable price-range for college students scraping by on loans and scholarships. If I really want a new CD, I'll buy it. Likewise, ours is a book-loving family, so I don't hesitate to invest in a book I want to read.

Really, at this point in my life, it's darned hard for material goods to have much of an impact. We have the furniture we need. While I would love to go out and buy a new set of golf clubs, we all know that the reason I shoot 103 at Minor Park has nothing to do with equipment. And nobody buying gifts for me is in a position to be laying down that kind of money, anyhow.

So, for the past several giving cycles, I've been kind of a drag - particularly for my children with their constrained finances.

No more. I recently had the opportunity to listen to a wise man speak about giving, and about how giving should not spring from guilt or negative feelings, but should come from a spirit of discernment of positivity. And gifts should not be accepted from a selfish spirit of seeing one's own needs met, but from an attitude of accepting what is being shared, and openness to the spirit behind the gift.

As I look back over some of the memorable gifts I have received, a couple have been "wow" gifts, but most have resonated with me because of the message behind them. Ali, a few years ago, came back from a trip to Atlanta with a Coca-Cola golf ball for me. It was just one ball, not even a sleeve, and I don't remember whether it was a Titleist or a Topflight or some lesser brand, but I do remember how it made me feel to realize that she, while surrounded by new friends in an exciting new place, thought about her old man and wanted to make me happy.

One gift that still brings a special smile to Robin and me both is a cheaply made porcelain eagle that even the crappiest flea market would probably toss out rather than display. But Sam gave that gift to our entire family one year, and was tremblingly excited to do so, because it represented a memorable trip our family had taken to Eagle Days at Squaw Creek, when our car broke down and we had to spend the night in a truck-stop hotel. That porcelain eagle is one of the most precious items in our house.

A typical gift is something for me. I need a new socket set, or a new tie, and the giver goes out and meets that need.

A great gift, though, is something that signifies the "us" between the giver and the recipient. It is Ali demonstrating that she carried me in her heart even during an exciting time miles away from me. A golf ball. It is Sam, at seven years old, shaking with excitement about what he saw as a beautiful sculpture representing a close family time. In both cases, the gift would have been a trifling token without significance if it had been received without being open to seeing what was being given. Receiving requires discernment and openness as much as giving does.

What do I want for Father's Day? I want you to think about me, and about us. If you choose a book, or a cd, or a tie, or a golf ball, that means something to you about us, I know I'll love it.

Save the Pings for when you start making big money. I'll wait.

Virginity Pledges Again

Back in April, we had lots of fun discussing the eeewwwwww factor involved in Purity Balls, where little girls are coerced into pledging to their fathers that they will remain virgins until their fathers hand their hymens to a husband.

Now, I'm shocked to learn

Teenagers who take pledges to remain virgins until marriage are likely to deny having taken the pledge if they later become sexually active. Conversely, those who were sexual active before taking the pledge frequency deny their sexual history, according to new study findings.

These findings imply that virginity pledgers often provide unreliable data, making assessment of abstinence-based sex education programs unreliable. In addition, these teens may also underestimate their risk of exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.

Who would have ever thought that girls pressured into making pledges they don't really understand would wind up a little confused about sexual mores? It looks like we'd better slap some chastity belts on those little tarts if we want to live in those good old days . . .

Tulips on Troost Avenue - Beyond the Blues Benefit, 6/11 at BB's Lawnside

As regular readers may recall, I'm a fan of Troost Avenue, the historic avenue that scrappily holds on to her beauty and vitality, despite a Kansas City that sometimes wants to forget her like a former lover.

I'm also a huge fan of BB's Lawnside, the greatest road-house blues joint in the state of Missouri.

Next Sunday, you have the opportunity to support the ambitious Tulips on Troost project (can you picture 100,000 tulips in bloom on one avenue?) at the same time you are enjoying great blues music at BB's - all for only $10! You'll see the legendary Danny Cox, as well as Tut and the Soul Sensations.

Who's in? I'll buy the first bucket of PBRs.

(Update! The show runs from 4-7, and you can buy advance tickets here. Father's Day is the following weekend, so the show won't interfere with your time to make a collect call home . . .)

Commenting on Other Blogs

I haven't been quite as productive here as I'd like to be - my goal is to post at least once a day, with the pieces ranging from analytical essays to quick observations. Of course, "the world is too much with us, late and soon," and I fail to meet even this modest goal. Sigh.

One of my excuses is that I have been carrying the fight to the opposition. For some reason, I feel compelled to regularly comment on a few of the right wing bloggers. When they post something that strikes me as shallow, or irrational, I feel like it is better to go ahead and counter the post right there so that their readers will be exposed to a different view.

I kind of admire the right wing blogs that allow my comments. Many on the right don't allow comments at all, which, IMHO, demonstrates an authoritarian fear of questioning that undercuts their credibility. No commenting, however, is better than the most dishonest bloggers, who will actually edit comment threads to put themselves in a better position, and who are quick to ban contrarian voices. Matt Margolis banned me from his blogs because I provided a link which disproved his claim that the New York Times has ignored a story. Comments are the sunshine of blog discourse.

Engaging in comment exchanges is actually a lot of fun, but time-consuming. As the inimitable Xavier Onassis has observed, it can interfere with your own blogging, and common househild chores. I'm hoping the coming weeks allow a little more balance.

Anonymous Me, Travelingal, and other commenters from across the political spectrum - thank you for taking the time to provide your input. You make this blog a far better place to visit.

Matt Blunt and Missouri Republicans - Transparently Corrupt, and Attacking the Poor, Elderly and Disabled

Missouri Republicans in the legislature don't want old people, disabled people or poor people to vote, because the Republicans have screwed those groups over at every opportunity. One device they have come up with to deny the vote to portions of those groups is to require that all voters show their drivers' licenses or other voter IDs when they appear at their polling place.

Back when the idea first appeared, Gonemild saw where it was headed:

Republicans are agitating to make Missouri one of the most restrictive states in the nation when it comes to voting. Their current plan is to require photo ID for voters.

At first blush, this requirement seems common-sensible enough. I have to show my driver's license when I want to write a check at the grocery store, unless the clerk recognizes me, and it won't cause me any undue stress to show it on Election Day (unless they look at the weight listed, and give me grief for getting fatter . . .).

But I'm not the target of this proposal. The target is the 170,000 elderly and handicapped people that the republicans have been attacking through health care cuts and decreased services. Those little old ladies and gentlemen, mostly poor, tend to vote with the party that represents the common man, and that is most definitely not the party of Governnor Blunt. So the republicans want to silence them at the ballot box.

When asked about the thousands of voters who would lose their right to vote under his proposal, Republican Michael Gibbons says he "envisions teams of state workers sent out to help photograph voters who are home-bound or in nursing homes." Hey, Mikey, are you envisioning funding provided for that? Are you envisioning poor black people happily opening their homes to camera-wielding government agents?

Or are you really just envisioning Missouri with 170,000 fewer poor and elderly voters?

Well, surprise, surprise - I was right. After railroading the Old Disabled and Poor Voter Suppression Act through a Republican General Assembly, guess what Matt Blunt is outright refusing to do?

Matt Blunt is refusing to fund the outreach to give the poor, disabled and elderly voter identification cards.

I've been trying to avoid demonizing those with whom I disagree. I'm kind of stumped here, though. How can you describe what Matt Blunt and his cohorts in the Republican General Assembly are doing to Missouri citizens without using words like "despicable", "corrupt", "slimey" or "outright evil"?