Subject: Economic Policy

• Fear doesn’t always strike out — sometimes it’s a line drive at your head

  March 26, 2009

• Daily Briefs: Economic Defibrillation, Hillary Clinton Feels Your SUV's Pain

  April 29, 2008

• Daily Briefs: Mayday, Mayday; Aeronautic Tax Breaks; The Star rejects your precious narrative rules

  May 1, 2008

• Claire vs. Carly

  July 14, 2008

• Last Night's Protest

  September 26, 2008

• Daily Briefs: Depression party at Chris' house, y'all!

  October 10, 2008

• Socialism for me, right-wingers for everyone else

  By DAVID MARTIN Olathe banker Don Bell contributes money to right-wing causes and politicians. But when his business stands to benefit, socialism begins to look pretty awesome. The Kansas City Star reports today that Brittany Savings Corp., the parent company of Security Savings Bank, plans to apply for funds from the $700-billion bailout Congress approved in October. Bell is the chairman of Brittany Savings. He's seeking help from the Treasury Department in spite of his distrust of secular i

  November 20, 2008

• Sebelius gives State of State address

  Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius just delivered her seventh State of the State address. I don't blame you if you watched 24 instead. Lots of "we" talk. It wasn't a thriller, but if you want to read the whole thing, it's after the jump.

  January 12, 2009

• Family-planning concession may cost Kansas

  In an effort to blunt Republican objections to the federal stimulus bill, President Obama has asked Democrats to pull the provision that would help provide contraceptives to poor women.The decision may impact Kansas more than most places. Historically, the Sunflower State ranks near the bottom in public funding for contraceptive services. According to a 2005 analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, public expenditures for contraceptive services fell by 32 percent in Kansas from 1994 to 2001.The Gut

  January 28, 2009

• Bacon Explosion highlights slow news day at Star

  New York Times slideshowWe knew the New York Times' Bacon Explosion story was big -- that's why we blogged about it yesterday on Fat City.But two days after the Times' story, The Kansas City Star still thinks it's really, really, really big. In today's Star, the Bacon Explosion is an above-the-fold, A-1 story! Hey, I love bacon more than I love my arteries, but I still can't quite believe the sudden popularity of a couple of Kansas City barbecue bloggers is, I don't know, bigger news than the Ho

  January 29, 2009

• McCaskill wants to cap salaries of bailout recipients

  If the federal government's bailing you out, then you're not going to make more than President Barack Obama. At least if Sen. Claire "Bear" McCaskill has her way. She's introducing a bill right now -- on CSPAN 2: The Deuce! -- that would cap pay for employees of private companies taking federal bailout money. Employees couldn't make more than Obama's $400,000 salary until their company stopped receiving federal dollars. McCaskill's people say the salary cap would also include bonuses and stock o

  January 30, 2009

• MSNBC interviews Claire "Tough as Nails" McCaskill

  Look at our girl, making Missouri proud while calling Wall Street bigwigs "idiots." According to Gawker Media site Jezebel, Missouri's senator looked like she wanted to "cut a bitch" while introducing a bill on the Senate floor proposing salary caps for employees whose companies are receiving federal bailout money. We want to join her for a glass of congratulatory champagne -- er, make it Pabst. Watch the clip here.

  January 30, 2009

• ¿Qué pasa Kraft?

  When you hear the words Mexican food, what images come to mind? Margaritas, fajitas, peppers. Probably not cheesecake. Yet Mexico now holds the record for largest cheesecake which was made using... Philadelphia cream cheese.Spanish news is reporting that Chef Miguel Angel Quezada of Mexico City has made a 2,000 pound strawberry cheesecake beating the record of, uh, um, well there is no record. According to the AP, "there wasn't much competition. Guinness had no previous record for cheesecakes."

  February 2, 2009

• "Mad Dog" McCaskill on Meet The Press

  Claire "Mad Dog" McCaskill's media tour continued on Sunday morning's Meet The Press. The fighting senator from Missouri defended the economic stimulus package and President Obama's nomination of Tom Daschle.

  February 9, 2009

• Daily Briefs: Sorry about your testicles, pothead.

  In a disturbingly specific instance of anatomical and fiduciary braggadocio, rapper Mase said "I'm young, black and famous / with money hangin' out the anus" in the song "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." Weird, but truly aspirational for a man like me, who is barely a hundredaire. I, too, would like to have money "hangin' out the anus." Meanwhile, my favorite joke about money is going into a restaurant, snapping a twenty-dollar bill at the hostess, and saying, "Me and my friend Abraham Lincoln were h

  February 11, 2009

• Post we love: "Growing up in a 'socialist' town in Kansas"

  Just read a beautiful piece of writing by Resistance is Fruitful, a new local blogger who is impressing us with his thoughtful (if not yet especially prolific) work.This February 6 post was an "Editor's Pick" on OpenSalon.com. In it, Resistance remembers his childhood in Colby, Kansas -- specifically, the parts of town built by the WPA during the Great Depression. His experience is a strong rebuke to the cranks who argue that a federal economic stimulus package is "socialist" and therefore bad.

  February 11, 2009

• Best Conspiracy Theory

  October 9, 2003

• Missouri congressman not-so-secretly likes economic stimulus bill he voted against

  U.S. Rep. Blaine LuetkemeyerYou know what Missouri U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer likes? The economic stimulus bill he voted against. Talking Points Memo points out the hypocrisy of Luetkemeyer and three of his fellow House Republicans, who have been taking credit for the plan, which every GOP member in their chamber voted against. KTVO says: Luetkemeyer said the project is considered 'shovel ready' and that's what the economy needs. [Truman State University] President Darrell Krueger and Luetkeme

  February 18, 2009

• Kit Bond named Wednesday's "Worst Person in the World"

  Don't show Keith Olbermann this video from KY3's political blog. Olbermann's head might explode if he hears Missouri U.S. Sen. Kit Bond spouting the myth of the train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Uh, Kit. There's no such provision in the economic stimulus bill. There's money for high-speed rail, but no specific project. Last night, Olbermann hammered Bond on MSNBC's Countdown, naming Missouri's senior senator the "Worst Person in the World" for barnstorming the Show-Me State and touting the be

  February 19, 2009

• Daily Briefs: It's more of a Federal stimulus coupon, really.

  The Mid-America Regional Council stepped outside wearing its raincoat and galoshes, unfurled its money umbrella and waited for the torrent of federal stimulus money to come raining down all over it. Because when federal stimulus money comes raining down out of the sky, you're going to get fucking soaked with money. Then, realizing the sun was still shining and birds were chirping, the council lowered its umbrella, looked to the left and right, and then a tiny sprinkle of about $27 million fel

  February 25, 2009

• MoDOT stimulus funds = FAIL

  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (otherwise known as "the bailout," "the stimulus plan" or "Porkulus," depending on whom you ask) is very clear in its requirements regarding the funding of road and bridge projects. The Missouri Department of Transportation will receive $577 million of this stimulus cashola to distribute to projects, if: (1) the projects can get under way in 90 days or less, (2) they will take no more than three years to complete, (3) they create jobs and (4) they are

  March 19, 2009

• Daily Briefs: The News, Only Interesting

  APOCALYPTIC NEWS IN BRIEF AND SON: Look. I'm no economist. I'm just an ol' widowed junk man who lives in Watts with his only son, Lamont. So I'm completely unqualified to judge whether or not Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is an idiot. "GIVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT," I said in January. Then my son tried to have a romantic evening alone at the house with his girlfriend Darlene but I kept interrupting. So he threatened to move out, and I had one of my "big ones," lurching around clutching

  March 23, 2009

• Daily Briefs: Dem a loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail, a shanty town

  What's the favorite breakfast cereal of Czechs? The other day -- oh, sorry, I'll be more specific, as this is "journalism" -- ON WEDNESDAY, the head of the European Economic Union, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic, known to coprolite-pooping old Sen. John McCain as "Czechoslovakia," slammed Pres. Barack Obama's plan to spend $2 trillion in stimulus for the U.S. economy, calling it "the road to hell." Pretty strong words by the austere old-world standards of European politi

  March 26, 2009

• Claire McCaskill wants to talk

  Stimulation update: Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is in town on Wednesday to promise that help's on the way.This from her office: "As our nation faces its most serious economic crisis in decades, Congress and the President worked together in order to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This recovery package will energize and uplift our state's economy, and I want to talk to you about the many exciting opportunities for Missourians: thousands of jobs for our state, improvements to o

  April 6, 2009

• With stimulus money, the bus company gets new buses to go fewer places

  April 16, 2009

• Power Player

  March 26, 2009

• Broken Piggy Banks

  March 5, 2009

• Arguing about the stimulus, pork-producing hometown Republicans have made a ridiculous stand for austerity

  February 26, 2009

• In the new economy, even jackasses have to work a little harder

  February 26, 2009

• Presidential Review

  February 19, 2009

• Tantalized by economic-stimulus money, City Hall has trouble breaking bad habits

  January 29, 2009

• With all of his talk about the “middle class,” Congressman Sam Graves sounds like the idiot on Main Street

  January 22, 2009

• It’s time to call bullshit on conservatives’ tired argument about Democrats and tax increases

  August 28, 2008

• Lifestyles of the Rich and Subsidized

  Kansas City has an expensive habit of paying for every developer’s champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

  May 26, 2005

• Extreme Makeover: Taxman Edition

  May 11, 2006

• Dance Revolution

  The latest battle of Westport: taxation without representation.

  January 22, 2004

• Dude Where's the Party

  Local Democrats cross political lines to support their favorite pork producer — Senator Kit Bond.

  January 8, 2004

• Busted

  Rich developers helped bankrupt the city's bus system, and now you're being asked to bail it out.

  October 23, 2003

• Shop 'Til You Drop

  President Bush gets needlessly bruised by the left-leaning Star.

  September 11, 2003

• The Fall of Paul

  Paul Danaher should have been a contender for mayor.

  November 28, 2002

• Mary Quite Contrary

  In the battle over school funding, moderate Johnson County Republicans say Mary Pilcher Cook is their worst teachers' pest.

  July 18, 2002

• Online journal for Missouri conservatives debuts

  Conservatives in Missouri have a new place to congregate online. Missourians for Responsible Government, a nonprofit dedicated to free-market ideals, has unveiled The Missouri Record, an electronic source of news and opinion.Patrick Tuohey will edit the ostensibly nonpartisan Missouri Record. The last we heard from Tuohey, a Washington, D.C.-trained political operative, he was working to defeat Kansas City's most recent light-rail initiative.In a news release, Tuohey says Missourians interested

  May 4, 2009

• Kansas City not getting stimulated

  Missouri lawmakers aren't giving KC any economic stimulus loving. This morning's Kansas City Star says a bill last week handed out $381.3 million in stimulus money -- but a big, fat zero went to the City of Fountains. So let's point some fingers (or let the Star do it for us): We're looking at you, oversized novelty Mayor Mark Funkhouser. And here's a troubling quote:  "I just didn't hear any of Kansas City's interests articulated," said Rep. Chris Kelly, a Columbia Democrat. "If they need

  May 15, 2009

• Vice President Joe Biden beholds majesty of future 6-lane highway

  Road builder Bill Clarkson Jr. and a ring of mulch overlooking 69 Highway awaited Vice President Joe Biden when he got out of his big Cadillac in Overland Park yesterday afternoon. The v.p. was accompanied by former and current Kansas governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson, as well as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The group surveyed the work being done on a section of U.S. 69 near 103rd Street. This $82 million project is receiving funds from the federal stimulus package.Biden was

  June 12, 2009

• Barney Frank: a one-man decriminalizing-pot machine

  For better or worse, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank has seen his profile rise in the past year. He's chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee and was one of the bailout's most vocal backers, urging fellow members to pass it. Then, after losing confidence in Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, he became one of the most vocal backers for putting restrictions on that same TARP money.But when Frank is not saving the economy, he's got other things on his mind, specifically sw

  June 23, 2009

• Todd Tiahrt's heart pumps stars and stripes

  Todd TiahrtThe 2010 campaign can't come soon enough for some people -- like Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt and his perfectly quaffed hair. Tiahrt's already running TV commercials -- demanding a repeal of the federal stimulus plan. Maybe he'd like to balance Kansas' budget sans stimulus dollars. Speaking of now-tweet-free Tiahrt, Politico isn't impressed with Tiahrt's campaign logo: a "T" and a "heart" filled with America!Looks like a Valentine that not even Ralph Wiggum would choo, choo, choose.

  June 23, 2009

• Todd Tiahrt wants to unbalance Kansas' budget

  Kelly KultalaTodd TiahrtKansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt and his perfectly coiffed hair want to repeal the federal economic stimulus plan. Last week, Tiahrt started running TV commercials (did you know he's running for U.S. Senate?) saying so. We've mentioned that maybe Tiahrt would like to try to balance Kansas' budget without those funds, which got us thinking: How hard would it have been without the money? So we called Kansas state Sen. Kelly Kultala, who worked on the budget."There's no way th

  July 1, 2009

• Workers to protest more abundant paychecks

  Working Americans have a few opportunities to express confused outrage at the government this holiday weekend. Tomorrow at 1 p.m., a freedom rally/tea party will be held at the Center for God, Family and Country in Lee's Summit. On July 4 at 9 a.m., a rally for responsibility will take place along Highway 45 in Parkville.The tea parties staged across the U.S. on April 15 protested government spending, particularly the $789-billion stimulus package. Of course, the "taxed enough already" crowd mig

  July 2, 2009

• Hey, here's a Republican's town hall meeting schedule

  This just in from Kansas Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins: a schedule of town hall meetings!Jenkins talks about health-care reform at a press conference on June 11.​Jenkins is a Republican who represents the 2nd District (mostly the entire eastern edge of the state, except for Johnson County). What do you bet she's not expecting any anti-health-care-reform disrupters?Actually, it sounds like she supports the obnoxiousness that's been going on at Democrats' town hall meetings recently. As she wrote i

  August 10, 2009

• JoCo swigs martini, rakes in stimulus cash

  V.P. Biden, with current and former Kansas governors, in OP​After going for McCain-Palin in the 2008 election, Johnson County is reaping the benefits of an Obama administration. The nonprofit news organization Pro Publica has broken down stimulus spending by region, and Republican Johnson County is riding the gravy train.JoCo has received $199 in stimulus money per capita. The national average is $181. The Kansas average is $176.Wyandotte County, where unemployment sits at 9.8 percent, has rec

  August 11, 2009