Subject: United States

• Here’s how to make Americanized Mexican food more Mexican

  June 4, 2009

• Daily Briefs: Friday National News Briefs and Precious Pony Dream Journal

  U.S. in the leathery driver's seat of Citibank, and a dream about an eccentric musician: Welp, here it is: Lee Greenwood's boyfriend, the United States of America, is going to control up to 36 percent of Citibank, having already handed it $45 billion as a kind of prize for being so catastrophically inept at being a bank. Do not call it "nationalization," or Jim Cramer's head will pop like a zit on your girlfriend's back. Seriously, I think she needs a dermatologist or something? On the other

  February 27, 2009

• Missouri and Kansas: Losing our religion

  A new study shows that, even in the Midwest where "God Hates Fags," conservative officials want to teach kids creationism and educators want to fight teen pregnancy with abstinence, America might be losing faith. Yesterday, Trinity College in Connecticut released the American Religious Identification Survey, which questioned nearly 55,000 citizens about their church allegiances. The verdict: The number of US residents sleeping in on Sunday is on the rise. According to Trinity, we're still a

  March 10, 2009

• Surprise! Beer commercials make kids want to drink beer

  Flickr: NiemsterHow many times have you seen an ad for a cold, refreshing beer immediately after an anti-drug or anti-smoking commercial? We tell children alcohol is a drug, but commercials show it as something fun and sexy with the power to rewind time.It's OK, though, because beer companies insist they're not advertising to minors (but if underage drinking stopped, conservative estimates say sales would plummet by 15 percent).Now comes research showing that beer commercials are indeed effectiv

  March 11, 2009

• This week's "Best of Fat City"

  myburningkitchen.blogspot.com We're thinking these were the top stories posted on Fat City this week: The saga of the Whole Foods employee and the "stolen" tuna fish sandwich and this local follow-up. The iconic restaurants of Kansas? No wine in Cherokee County The "Best Sandwiches in America?" You decide. Do you know your cooking personality?        

  March 20, 2009

• Daily Briefs: Macroeconomic implications of topless football games

  We are all hippies now: Look, the simple fact is that when actual U.S. suburbs, as seen in the horrible embarrassment to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,American Beauty, begin experiencing drug-related violence by Mexican gangs, you are totally allowed to say that U.S. drug policy is broken without being this guy: I tried to find a picture of what you do look like when you criticize the current reactionary U.S. drug enforcement regime, but apparently nobody is selling a "Bo

  March 25, 2009

• A glimpse into war-time journalism from students in Baghdad

  It's a rare journalist who doesn't fear for her job these days. We've all had co-workers and media colleagues join the ranks of the unemployed in the past year. But the relentless and depressing reports about the demise of American journalism were put in startling perspective early Sunday morning during a discussion about Iraqi and U.S. media at the University of Kansas. On this side of the Atlantic, seven college students from Missouri and Kansas universities lined a table at the Dole Institu

  April 6, 2009

• ¡Ay, caramba! – despite Bart Simpson’s use of it, this Spanish swear is still valid

  April 9, 2009

• In the Mexican’s 100-word essay contest, know-nothings prove how much they know

  March 26, 2009

• An 1891 U.S. history textbook isn’t exactly Howard Zinn, but it’s surprisingly high-minded

  March 5, 2009

• As Fort Leavenworth waits for word on the future of Gitmo prisoners, here’s an up-close look at the toughest case

  February 26, 2009

• Don’t you know “illegal” is all about context?

  February 26, 2009

• The Horrors and the Kills

  April 23, 2009

• Fast-food nation, again

  Every time America talks about getting in shape and cutting down on obesity, some negative Nancy has to come along with data showing that we're actually eating at fast-food restaurants more. This time that naysayer is a research company called Experian Simmons which just released a study (pdf) of the fast-food industry covering a mammoth five-year time period.Flickr: Major ConfusionSadly the results are not surprising. While Americans' visits to fast-food restaurants slightly declined from 2004

  April 21, 2009

• Pork OK, alfalfa sprouts are not

  What a crazy weekend. We're in the middle of the swine-flu "Panico 09!" My grandmother called me last night to ask what I knew, and then said that she and my grandfather don't plan to leave their home "until we know how bad this is." Russia has stopped all meat imports from Mexico and several U.S. states including Kansas. The National Pork Board released a statement yesterday wishing "to reassure the public that pork is safe and will continue to be safe to consume." Considering The National Pork

  April 27, 2009

• NPR maps out the United States' vein-y power grid

  The U.S. electric grid is a hard thing to wrap your mind around but so much easier with NPR's vein-y looking maps. The map below shows existing and proposed (the orange ones) transmission lines keeping the PlayStation 3 kicking.Another map breaks down the sources of electricity in each state. And guess what? Coal is king in Kansas and Missouri, generating 75 percent of the Sunflower State's power and 85 percent of the Show-Me State's.Hat tip to Gizmodo.

  April 29, 2009

• As Big Ag’s grade-A meat promoter, Charlie Arnot cooks up opposition to industry reform

  April 30, 2009

• My lawn will try this war criminal

  Saw this big display outside a house on 63rd Terrace and Roe on the Kansas side of the state line. I'm guessing this was a time-consuming project for the message involved and considering most of your audience is driving by at 40 miles an hour.

  May 7, 2009

• Red-light cameras on 71 Highway! One moment of your time please!!

  Skip Sleyster would be downright furious if he heard the news that three red-light cameras were going live today at intersections along 71 Highway. To be exact:U.S. Highway 71 and 55th StreetU.S. Highway 71 and 59th StreetU.S. Highway 71 and Gregory Boulevard Getting rid of the stoplights on 71 Highway was one of Skip's most frequent "column" topics in the Sunday Star. To quote Skip: "Stop lights on a freeway cause traffic problems. The City Council needs to look at the mess on 71 Highway."

  May 22, 2009

• What do the U.S., Indonesia and Palau have in common?

  If you guessed a drinking age of 21, you are correct. It's the oldest drinking age in the world. I couldn't find the reason for the high drinking age in the island nation of Palau (population 21,000), but I'm guessing it's because the country only became independent from the U.S. fifteen years ago and still hasn't gotten around to changing the law. (Though Puerto Rico's drinking age is only 18, so who knows.)Cognac.com has gathered a list of 80 countries and their minimum drinking ages, which ra

  May 26, 2009

• Local Urban Style

  May 28, 2009

• Letters from the week
  of June 11

  June 11, 2009

• USA number one! In bad beer!

  To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield, America can't get no respect.  There are 1,500 breweries in the United States, the majority putting out good pale ales and porters. But when it comes to the way the rest of the world sees us, it all of that beer might as well be Budweiser. In the travel Web site Titanic's survey of 1,600 people from 80 countries, America received 23 percent of the vote for "makes the world's worst beer" and Budweiser received the most nominations for worst beer. China was s

  June 19, 2009

• Yet another tool to measure Jackson County's nightmarish HIV rate

  If you're interested in how bad the HIV rate is in KC - and it's pretty fucking bad, let me tell you - there's a new tool online to help you compare. Last week the National HIV/AIDS Atlas was launched as a sort of relief map of suffering. The atlas shows counties in different hues from yellow to red to measure how bad the HIV/AIDS infection rate is. It's supposedly the first map of its kind to let users examine the data all over the United States. The techonolog is cool and all, but it suck

  June 30, 2009

• What to do this weekend -- our suggestions

  Celebrate America. Duh -- it's Fourth of July weekend. But seriously, Worlds of Fun is having a Celebrate America Festival every Friday and Saturday in July. Since you're probably not working today, you should just go now. As a reward for surviving the Orient Express, there will be fireworks in the evening.If you want to wait until Saturday to get your Independence Day on, head to the Crossroads. Due to the holiday, some galleries are waiting until next weekend to hold their monthly openings. Bu

  July 3, 2009

• All That Jazmin

  July 9, 2009

• Light summer reading. Well, maybe light is not the right word

  Although obesity is nothing new in America, there have been recent attempts to look at the epidemic (that's the CDC's description) with a fresh focus. Yes, we're too fat and have heart attacks and diabetes because we eat too much, but why do we eat so much more than other countries?More specifically, why have we become so fat in only 20 years? The average adult weighs nearly 20 pounds more than his or her '70s counterpart. The number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweigh

  July 14, 2009

• Sad Stats

  July 30, 2009

• Throwback MP3 of the Week: Cocknoose, "Badstreet U.S.A."

  Lawrence's Cocknoose is the most dangerous band in the world. Seriously, the band has been known for everything from starting fistfights in the crowd at their shows to a notorious incident at the Replay where a deer's head was tossed into the crowd. Not a fake one, mind you. We're talkin an honest-to-what-the-fuck deer's head that had been removed from a butchered deer. ​ A quote from the Widowmaker in a 1992 Life From Beyond interview sums it up pretty nicely: There's been blood from our

  July 29, 2009

• Kansas City's Top Ten cheap tacos

  ​Tacos may be the best-loved Mexican-American dish served in the United States. The Food Lover's Companion describes a taco as "a Mexican-style 'sandwich' consisting of a folded corn tortilla filled with various ingredients such as beef, pork, chicken, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, onion ... Most tacos in the United States are made with crisp (fried) tortilla shells, but there are also soft (pliable) versions." Over the years, tacos -- which are relatively inexpensive t

  July 29, 2009

• Foster's: Australian for luxury beer

  ​Foster's is set to release a $70 bottle of beer today (that would be approximately $58.42 in U.S. dollars) to the Australian market. This is the second vintage of the Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager (CARL), which is sold in a champagne-style bottle and meant to be drunk from a wine glass.Only 6,000 bottles of CARL will be produced from the Australian brewer best known for its trademark blue and gold oil cans of lager. The Foster's Group is apparently hoping to capitalize on the growing luxury

  August 3, 2009

• Who’s better with their balls: U.S. or Mexico?

  August 6, 2009

• Should American wines have lot numbers on the bottle?

  ​Buying wine you've never tasted always requires a small leap of faith. You can take the words of a trusted reviewer, consider the points awarded or ask the advice of the wine shop staff. Dr. Vino suggests that the United States might be able to improve consistency and help give wine drinkers more confidence in their purchases if the U.S. followed the lead of the European Union and mandated a lot number be placed on wine labels in an effort to track recalls and consumer complaints. Currently,

  August 5, 2009

• Makes you wanna vomit: One senator's healthcare-industry contributions

  ​Last week, in a blog entry round-up of local efforts to counter Republican bullshit on health-care reform, I made a joke that wasn't really that funny. Local labor unions were encouraging their members to call in to urge passage of HR 3200, otherwise known as America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. I suggested that if people wanted to sound really smart about how far our representatives and senators have crawled up the ass of the health-care industry, they could easily look at ca

  August 6, 2009

• Incoming: Bay Area artist the Jacka

  ​Consider yourself warned: the Jacka is coming, and he is bringing Tear Gas. The Bay Area denizen has been hustlin' for a while -- he's featured on more than 50 discs, has dropped records of his own and has generally been singing the praises of purp for years (he was born in '77) -- but Kansas City will be getting its first whiff on Labor Day weekend, when the Mob Figaz crewman swings through town for multiple appearances all over the metro in support of his latest album, Tear Gas. Local

  August 19, 2009

• In the Loop

  August 20, 2009

• What the Bible says about illegals

  August 20, 2009

• Jason Whitlock: patriot, pauper

  ​In a speech at his alma mater, Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock told students at Ball State University that he serves his country by being a good journalist. USA! USA! Here's the Whitlockian word as reported by the Ball State Daily News:"The sacrifice I'll make is that I'll never be rich," Whitlock said. "I thought that this was really the most patriotic thing I could do: challenge the authority. Our country was built on that; America exists because some of us told England to go fuck

  September 10, 2009

• Here’s a vision of life after the Reconquista

  September 17, 2009

• KCAI in the national spotlight tonight on KCPT

  ​PBS kicks off the second season of its series Craft In America tonight with a two-part special that includes a segment on the Kansas City Art Institute's Ceramics Department. During the second hour -- an episode titled "Process," which starts at 8 p.m. on KCPT Channel 19 -- expect 10 minutes featuring the department's chairwoman, Cary Esser (pictured with former student Johanna Keefe, right). So You Think You Can Dance addicts: "Process" repeats at 1 a.m.Before the local shout-out, the Craft

  October 7, 2009

• Nobel Peace Prize winner to speak in KC on Sunday; we dare you to mess with him

  Over the summer, when the U.S. government said it would take a trillion dollars to cover 30 million people who don't have health insurance, lots of Americans complained loudly. Too much money!We've heard a lot less noise about spending a trillion dollars to kill thousands of people -- including our own citizens -- in wars we didn't need to fight. The Washington Post has estimated the cost of the Iraq war at $3 trillion; a group called the National Priorities Project keeps a freaky running calcu

  October 16, 2009

• Wayward Q&A: Interview with Philip Chevron of the Pogues

  This Sunday, semin ... no, wait. Legen-- nah. Fucking righteous Irish rock band the Pogues is playing its first concert ever in Kansas City. Brief history: The band formed in the early '80s in London, forcing punk and traditional Irish music together like opponents in a drinking contest who both end up on the barroom floor, talking to God and hugging. Beginning with the trio of singer and songwriter Shane MacGowan, tin whistler Spider Stacy and guitarist Jim Fearnley, the group first called itse

  October 23, 2009

• Mark Cowardin Art Opening

  November 5, 2009

• Cynthia Davis wants guns in churches

  ​In the latest edition of her e-newsletter, O'Fallon loon (and Missouri state Rep.) Cynthia Davis shows off her concealed-carry permit -- this woman can legally carry a gun? -- and argues in favor of churchgoers packing heat in houses of the holy. Damn those draconian Missouri laws outlawing guns in churches. She writes:One concern I have with the current law is that guns are prohibited in churches. This means there is no defense for the members if a criminal act is attempted or perpetrated.Yo

  November 5, 2009

• Breaking! Kansans celebrate evolution!

  Josh Rosenau​We're getting reports of planned alcohol and snack consumption this weekend in honor of two anniversaries: the 150th of  Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species and the 10th for Kansas Citizens for Science. Among the celebrities expected to show up: Josh Rosenau, the science blogger who distinguished himself as one of the nation's best (even more impressive: He was our  Best Blogger) while writing Thoughts from Kansas during the 2005 "debate" about evolution. He's

  November 6, 2009

• Samoan diplomat sues Branson immigration officials for unlawful arrest

  Hans Joachim Keil is on the right​Branson, Missouri, is not exactly the birthplace of sophistication. Perhaps it was just an innocent mistake when, on September 9, 2008, agents with the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Samoan man, Hans Joachim Keil, on the suspicion that Keil was not in the country legally.See, Keil is a U.S. citizen. He has dual citizenship here and in Samoa and has lived in the U.S. for over 40 years. He also served for four years in th

  November 13, 2009

• News flash: Gay marriage is a conservative cause!

  ​In one way, it was surprising to see what might appear to be a blasphemous argument coming from the Missouri Record, a journal of politics and policy put out by the conservative Missourians for Responsible Government.But there it was, yesterday, a post headlined "Economics of Gay Marriage."In the post, Stephen Eisele, a Springfield political consultant and Obama delegate to last year's Democratic National Convention, notes that despite some recent electoral reversals for gay marriage, the gen

  November 13, 2009

• Comment of the Week

  ​You draw a Florida to look like a big cock -- and say "Florida got excited" -- in a classroom, then you won't be teaching for long. Ryan Haraughty found out the hard way this week. I mentioned Haraughty's poor artistic skills -- and the outcry from Haraughty's students over his firing -- in this post, "Teacher fired for drawing phallic-like Florida." Commenter "Jameson Mc" Yah... the one that started the petition would infact be Naiomi (sorry if i speeled your name wrong). Today The district

  November 13, 2009

• Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook fights for health-care freedom (cough, cough)

  Mary Pilcher Cook​God bless Kansas state Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook of Shawnee, who is leading the effort to secure a Kansas Health Care Freedom Amendment. Cook, who like others on the far right is afraid of a government takeover of everything, is already worried about Kansas losing its sovereignty. "If you're like me, you are deeply concerned about the direction our country is headed, and you want to know the individuals who are at work, putting hard effort into seeing that our liberty is protect

  November 19, 2009

• Palin's Going Rogue at the Fishtank: Now with video!

  As we've thoroughly documented here, last night Kansas City's favorite performers gathered to declaim from Sarah Palin's new book, Amelia Bedelia Runs For Office. This time, Amelia's literal-mindedness accidentally destroys the Republican Party for a whole generation! Also, she tries to teach herself to fly and goes kerplump on an Alaskan boardwalk full of Alaskan history and decency. Here are highlights from the first three readers, Ron Megee (in the ascot), David Wayne Reed (with the glasses)

  November 20, 2009