Sugar Creek Mayor Says Who Cares About Our Residents? They Are Just People...

...[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........07.09.07............
Sugar Creek is following the Independence and local area tradition of stealing residents homes through an act called "eminent domain." The city wants to purchase 57 houses and 15 commercial buildings in order to develop a 40 acre retail and housing project. All they have to do is declare the area blight, and the eminant domain possibility is there. One resident said their house was declared "blighted" because the city didn't repair a pothole in the street next to their driveway. Mayor Stan Salva says the decision is clear: Taking the land from these people would create tax revenue for the city. Who cares about the residents?

Republican Candidates Do Not Understand Health Care Problems

.........07.08.07............Republican candidates are still touting a "tax incentive" to help consumers buy insurance. They are calling this "health care overhaul." This will NOT help the poor who do not have the money in the first place. When will the Republicans get it? Just this lack of understanding on the part of the Republicans may be enough to make me start looking for a good Democratic candidate.

Kansas City Renters Beware

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........06.29.07............
Kansas City offcials have recommended that the city manager move forward with a proposed rental housing program. The full council will debate the measure. It will require the city to license and monitor rental properties. Stephen Summers, a real estate investor said "I feel betrayed by the city of Kansas City. We're not buying any more properties in Kansas City. We're getting squeezed to death, regulated to death. Councilwoman Cathy Jolly said that residents are "tired of living next to blight, of living next to trash...." The end result of this will be, like Stephens, investors will stop buying homes and buildings to rent. And rents will have to go up to cover the expense the city is going to place on current landlords. Council people like Jolly don't care. They don't have to rent.

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback Speaks at National Right to Life Convention

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek.........06.17.07............Kansas Senator Sam Brownback spoke at the National Right to Life Convention in Kansaa City on June 15. "Abortion in America is the greatest moral crisis of our day," he said. He said that as many as 90 percent of fetuses diagnosed with Downs Syndrome are aborted. "America is poorer for this. We are at our best when we help the weakest. To kill them makes us all the poorer." He added, "We will not stop until we're done winning the contentious decades long fight over the issue."

Mitt Romney Speaks at National Right to Life Convention in Kansas City

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek
.........06.16.07............Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told a crowd of anti-abortion activists in Kansas City that his previous abortion rights position was wrong. "I was wrong," said the former Massachusetts Governor. "I proudly follow a long line of converts: George Herbert Walker Bush, Ronald Reagan, and (former Senator) Henry Hyde," he said of other politicians who had switched from favoring abortion rights to opposing them. "I'm evidecne that your work, your relentless campaign to promote the sanctitiy of human life bears fruit."

In Memoriam: Kelsey Smith

Richard l Zorek [c]2007 I heard the news over the weekend of an abuction of an 18 year old young lady who had just graduated from Shawnee Mission West a couple weeks ago. I saw repeatedly the video of her at the Target store in Overland Park and the abduction that was caught on tape. She was young, pretty, energetic, and out buying a gift for her boyfriend with the wrapping paper to boot. Over the next few days, I watched the media coverage showing the great interest in finding her from volunters in the community. From people who knew her to complete strangers. Having driven a school bus out of Shawnee Mission West as a sub driver a few times, I felt empathy and certainly prayed that they would find her alive. I mean, for what reason would God have to take someone like her so young? I went to the Target parking lot today where a command center had been set up and they were still wanting volunteers for an effort to find her. I got there, though, just as the news was breaking that a body had been found. I recognized some students from Shawnee Mission West High School, though not by name, but I especially noticed the comraderie and then the tears as the news started to spread. What a great testimony to prayer would it have been had she been found alive!!! But we won't know now. It may be one of the "why" questions I may have when I see God some day. But I can truly testify of the love there was for Kelsey. And I can truly testify that a whole city mourns today because of the efforts of many of them.

Random Bytes: Independence, Flooding, Wizards, Alexas law, Punishing Looters.

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........05.09..07............Bars in Independence were busy Monday as residents were told to "don't drink the water." They could after they boiled it, but who wants a drink of hot water?.............An old man with a cane was seen wandering through the neighborhoods of Kansas City rounding up animals for what he referred to as an "ark." That may explain the flooding in the area in spite of what Katie Horner or Karli Ritter say..............It was revealed this week that the yellow brick road leads to Sprinfield, Mo. That is where the grandson of L Frank Baum lives, the great grandson of the writer of "The Wizard of Oz."...........Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law "Alexas Law," which would make it legal for prosecuters to charge someone if the death of a fetus occurs during an assualt of a pregnant female. Pro-abortion supporters were upset because "it just messes with our whole argument."............Seven people were charged with looting in Greensburg, Kansas after the recent devastating tornado. For punishment, they should have to drink hot boiled water, not be allowed on the ark, be forced to watch the Diana Ross version of the Wizard of Oz for two days consecutively, and then be aborted. At least that's the way I heard it..........

Random Bytes: Don Imus, President Pelosi, Larry Birkhead & Sanjaya

......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........04.12.07............
Contrary to popular belief, Don Imus is still alive, at least for now. That was revealed after it was reported he made some crude racial comments on his show last week. MSNBC pulled the plug on the simulcast after someone told them that his show was being broadcast on their network..............The Senate has passed another bill for stem cell research which is destined to be vetoed by President Bush. The Senate waited until Nancy Pelosi got back from her self-appointed job as President in the Middle East to see if they couldn't get it by her without a veto..................The Pentagon is offering financial bonuses for miltary men to stay in the service. Defending our countries freedom is now a lucrative position.............Larry Birkhead is the dad of Dannie Lynn, according to the DNA results. The results also showed he is also the dad of Angelina Jolie's adopted baby, Katie Holmes new baby, and Sanjaya Malakar.................The house once lived in by Johnny Cash went up in a ring if fire this week.............And Sanjaya did not go up in a cloud of smoke on American Idol, but survived another week. At least that's the way I heard it........

From the "This Was Inevitable" File.....Where is Society's Newly Created Leper Going to Go?

MIAMI (By JOHN PAIN, Associated Press Writer)
- Five convicted sex offenders are living under a noisy highway bridge with the state's grudging approval because an ordinance intended to keep predators away from children made it nearly impossible for them to find housing.

Some of them sleep on cardboard raised slightly off the ground to avoid the rats. One of the men beds down on a pallet with a blanket and pillow. Some have been there for several weeks.

The conditions are a consequence of laws passed here and elsewhere around the country to bar sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other places children gather. Miami-Dade County's 2005 ordinance — adopted partly in reaction to the case of a convicted sex offender who raped a 9-year-old Florida girl and buried her alive — says sex offenders must live at least 2,500 feet from schools.

"They've often said that some of the laws will force people to live under a bridge," said Charles Onley, a research associate at the federally funded Center for Sex Offender Management. "This is probably the first story that I've seen that confirms that."

The five men under the Julia Tuttle Causeway are the only known sex offenders authorized to live outdoors in Florida, said state Corrections Department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.

"This is not an ideal situation for anybody, but at this point we don't have any other options," she said. "We're still looking. The offenders are still actively searching for residences."

But she conceded a point that many experts have made: This "is a problem that is going to have to be addressed. If we drive these offenders so far underground or we can't supervise them because they become so transient, it's not making us safer."

County Commissioner Jose Diaz said he had no qualms about the ordinance he created.
"My main concern is the victims, the children that are the innocent ones that these predators attack and ruin their lives," Diaz said. "No one really told them to do this crime."

The men must stay at the bridge between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. because a parole officer checks on them nearly every night, Plessinger said.

They have fishing poles to catch food, cook with small stoves, use battery-powered TVs and radios and keep their belongings in plastic bags. Javier Diaz has trouble charging the GPS tracking device he is required to wear; there are no power outlets nearby.

The whoosh of cars passing overhead echoes loudly under the causeway, which runs over Biscayne Bay, connecting Miami and Miami Beach.

About 100 feet away are the bay's blue-green waters, where a family with young children played in the water this week. In the near distance, luxury condominiums rise from the coastline.

Javier Diaz said he and the other men fear for their lives, especially because of "crazy people who might try to come harm sex offenders."

The five committed such crimes as sexual battery, molestation, abuse and grand theft. Many of the offenses were against children. The state moved the men under the bridge from their previous home — a lot next to a center for sexually abused children and close to a day care center — after they were unable to find affordable housing that did not violate the sex-offender ordinance.

Twenty-two states and hundreds of municipalities have sex offender residency restrictions, according to a California Research Bureau report from last August.

Random Bytes: Rolling Stones, Metallica, Love, Knight Rider, and Jesus Obama

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........04.03.07............The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards confessed that he snorted cocaine with his father. His father was dead already, though, and what Richards snorted was cocaine with his dads cremated ashes. Street value of cremated ashes has now increased...................The parents of a baby in Sweden are fighting to have her named Metallica, after the heavy metal band. Swedish officials declined the name because of it. Had they been in America, we name kids all kind of questionable names like Dweezil, Moon Unit, and Rosie O'Donnell..............It's spring! Time for Love American Style: Domestic shootings in Washington and Atlanta this week. Doesn't love mean never having to say "reload?"...................Kitt, the talking car from the 80s TV show, Knight Rider, is for sale for about $149,000 in California. Not a surprise considering that gas is almost $4 a gallon there. Even Kitt can't talk himself out of that price..............A Chicago Art School student has created a statue of Jesus that looks a lot like Barack Obama. in fact, it is supposed to. Didn't the Democrats promise they would walk on water if they got control of the Senate?. At least that's the way I heard it...............

Random Bytes: Funkhouser, Green Water, Rockhurst, Star Wars & Pot

.[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........03.26.07............
Tommorrow people will vote for a new mayor in Kansas City: Funkhouser vs Brooks. Brooks is upset because Funkhouser visited what Funkhouser referred to as "average residents in the black side of town" because Brooks is relying on the vote from the "average residents in the black side of town." ......................North Kansas City homes have been told that the green water isn't harmful. "It's OK for average residents from the green side of town to drink it," water department officials said.............................Students from Rockhurst spent the night sleeping in cardboard boxes and then will spend the week eating rice and beans in order to draw attention to the plight of the homeless in Kansas City. If it doesnt draw attention to them, then the smell may drive them out of the area....................Star Wars "R2D2" mailboxes will be showing up around the Kansas City area just in time for "The Force" to take all your tax money....................An Independence man shot at an animal control officer last week. It turns out that he was growing marijuana in his basement. The animal control officer arrested the two pit bulls for possession. At least that's the way I heard it.......

Freedom of Religion vs Freedom From Religion: Never These Paths Should Cross

.......03.24.07....[C]2007 by Richard L Zorek........It was Pearl S Buck who is quoted as having said, "When men destroy their old Gods, they will fimd new ones to take their place."

I am reminded of that as I have read some of the dialogue on various internet blogs in light of the Kansas City Star's publication of the articles about First Family Church written by Judy L Thomas. The articles did not deal with any theological issues of the church, but largely suggested a lot of financial irresponsibility on the part of its leader, Dr Jerry Johnston. As I have said before many times, I cannot defend or not defend the allegations. The articles left a lot of questions unanswered and left a lot of possibilites which will have the blanks filled in by the imagination of whoever is reading it and however they want it to be understood. And there is wide variety of "imaginations" who are offering their opinions.

I, of course, believe in free speech and free press. But, I also believe in the freedom to question that motivation. Why would the KC Star include the information that Judy L Thomas is a member of the Methodist Church of Resurrection? A moot point considering the focus of the article. Not if the Star wished to fuel a "war" between the two congregations which are far apart from each other on the political and doctrinal extremes. Thomas, as I wrote in an earlier article, is the co-author of a book (Wrath of Angels) which basically suggests that anti-abortion activists are violent because of frustration (She lived in Wichita during the time when "Operation Rescue" was very active in the area). Johnston, of course, is an outspoken leader against abortion in the Kansas City area. Though none of these things were mentioned in the article, it just wreaks of a suspicious motive. However, imagine the Star articles working to the real extreme and First Family Church is dissolved (not likely, of course, but what if?). Will that stop the "anti-abortion" movement? No, of course not.

Extinguish ones church leader and they will find another. At least as long as freedom of religion remains free in America. To me, that is what is at issue with the article. Those who are not part of First Family Church, nor believe as they do, jump on the bandwagon to see it "exposed." What, then, will stop another writer with another agenda from exposing your church or religion for whatever they wish to "expose?" Let him who is without sin cast the first stone? Or, he who lives in a glass house....... This is where the ground becomes dangerous and the need to proceed needs to be with utmost caution.

Random Bytes: Soda, Wolfgang Puck, John Edwards, Bill Clinton, and Sanjaya

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........03.22.07............
A report in the Academy of General Dentistry Journal reports that if you put your teeth in soda for 48 hours, it will damage the enamel. So, do not swim in your Mountain Dew..............................Wolfgang Puck has made a change in his restaurant menus and will only serve animals that have been treated humanely while they were alive. This allows them to be fried with dignity.................Democratic candidate John Edwards is pressing on with his campiagn in spite of his wife's recurring cancer. He is a congressman, so, of course, he and his wife have health care........................Simon and Schuster plans to publish a book about Bill Clintons favorite subject, entitled "Wrestling History: The Bill Clinton Tapes." It includes intimate interviews with Clinton while he was in the White House. The steamy illicit sex scenes were deleted, so the book is very short........................ and hell froze over while Sanjaya survived another week on American Idol. At least that's the way I heard it.................................

Random Bytes: TIF Audits, President Bush, and the "evil" Mennonites...

....[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........03.21.07............Mayor Kay Barnes is upset about the TIF report from the auditors office indicating a $233 million shorfall in revenue. Candidate Funkhouser, who was the auditor, started the audit and it was finished by acting city auditor Gary White. Mayor Barnes now wants the auditors office audited to weed out numbers that are not loyal to her agenda...................President Bush came to Kansas City and toured the Ford Plant in Claycomo and the General Motors plant in Fairfax. He applauded efforts to use ethanol, which is made from corn seed. He suggested that it would be great if fuel could be developed from wood chips or switchgrass. I think it would be a boost for everyones economy if fuel could be developed from dandelions.................Missouri is chasing the Mennonites out of the state by enacting laws which force everyone to have a picture ID on a license. Mennonites do not believe they should photograph themselves as it is a "graven image." The law is designed to make people more secure although it is not clear how the Mennonites threaten Missouri or how the increase in Kansas City gang warfare would be decreased if all the gang members had photo IDs. At least that's the way I heard it..........

Random Bytes: KCI Airport, Lenexa, Extreme Makeover, Funkhouser vs Brooks

.....[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........03.13.07............Kansas City International Airport has a new piece of art called "Strange Attractor of Kansas City," designed to suggest future travel through "wormholes or time machines" as concieved through the illustrations of Stephen Hawking. It was not announced what the cost of wormhole travel will be or if there will be first class and coach time travel..................Lenexa also has a work of art located near 87th street and I-35. It is called "Lenexas Wormhole". That name sounded more creative than "Bridge With No Purpose." Designers say it originally had a purpose and was to connect with 75th street, but the budget didnt have enough money to complete it and may not be completed until 2011. Until then, it is a wonderful display of concrete engineering which will probably need to be rebuilt by 2011 in order to meet safety standards...................ABC's Extreme Makeover is building a house in North Kansas City. They originally were brought here by a tearful request from Mayor Kay Barnes to build a new stadium for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Penguins renegotiated with Pittsburgh and will stay there. So, the Jacobos family from North Kansas City were next on the list and got a visit from Ty Pennington and the crew on Sunday morning. "Wake up, Mayor Barnes and Penguins," Ty yelled, but quickly realized he had the wrong script and corrected himself. Ty said he thought it seemed like kind of a small neighborhood for a hockey stadium. The Jacobos have twelve people living in the house, though, so Extreme Makeover may need to build a stadium anyway. If they can't build a big enough house, the Sprint Center is available and Mayor Barnes is offering free rent........................Mark Funkhouser and Al Brooks held a small debate/forum for the Latino community at the Guadaloupe Center. Neither speak Spanish and never understood any of the questions. At least that's the way I heard it..... ........

Kansas City Inquirer...for Inquiring Minds??

[c]2007 by Richard L Zorek

........03.11.07....Judy L. Thomas has been a reporter for The Kansas City Star since 1995. She previously worked for the Wichita Eagle. Among various subjects, her specialty has been covering issues to do with abortion and and what she refers to as "right-wing extremist groups." Thomas won a national Society of Professional Journalists award for her series, "AIDS in the Priesthood.'' She is the co-author (with James Risen) of "Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War," which was published by BasicBooks in 1998. Basically, it is one of many tiring books from the left about the right and tries to add another uneducated theory on what makes "the religious right" work, but fails to explain who or what this "religious right" is. The books conclusions suggest that such people (or at least the active anti-abortion activists) are all prone to violence because of frustration. L Brent Bozell (Media Research Center) wrote of her "AIDS in the Priesthood" article "Accuracy wasn't the point of Thomas' Kansas City Star article, overthrowing traditional catholicism is." He based his opinion on her bias on her books and past writings which clearly indicate her anti-right, anti catholic bias. It appears to be a passion of hers to actively undermine anything she believes is pro-abortion, pro-catholic, and just clearly doesnt share her leftist views. One of her latest attacks is on Pastor Jerry Johnston of First Family Church in Overland Park and an "expose" on current and past fiscal responsibliity with debts and the IRS. Though I cannot defend or not defend any allegation, I have to wonder why the Kansas City Star passes off such articles as non-bias "investigative journalism" when clearly Thomas has no "unbias" objective. Pastor Johnston is very outspoken against the issue of abortion, among other issues. Is the Kansas City Star going to become the "Kansas City Inquirer?"

Random Bytes: Penguins, Lesbians, Kansan

.......[c]2007 by
Richard L Zorek

.........03.07.07............Officials in Kansas City have offered the Pittsburgh Penguins free rent if they relocate to KC. Officials? OK, it is Mayor Kay Barnes who has never minded trying to improve the city while passing the expense to its residents. The Penguins are also looking at Las Vegas. As long as Barnes is in office, though, the Penguins gamble in KC are probably more favorable with unlimited stakes..................A couple engaging in overtly sexual activity were asked to leave a IHOP (International House of Pancakes) in Grandview by the manager because the restuarant is a "family establishment" and the activity was innapropriate after several complaints. The couple claims "discrimination" because they were lesbian. Apparently being overtly sexual in public is wrong unless you are lesbian...................Kansas is moving a bill through the Senate to make "English" the offical state language. The orginal bill has designated "Kansan" as the state language. At least that's the way I heard it...

John Edwards vs Ann Coulter

[c]2007 by Richard L Zorek........03.04.07.........A blog on John Edwards website included these comments by Edwards:


John Edwards on Ann Coulter's Comments

3/03/2007 at 5:22 PM EST

John Edwards released the following statement today:

Ann Coulter's use of an anti-gay slur yesterday was un-American and indefensible. In America, we strive for equality and embrace diversity. The kind of hateful language she used has no place in political debate or our society at large. I believe it is our moral responsibility to speak out against that kind of bigotry and prejudice every time we encounter it..

As reprehensible as he is suggesting it was, it seems to me that instead of really distancing himself from it, he instead is trying to make money off of it....and raise what he is calling "Coulter Cash." He also refers to Coulter as a "Republican mouthpiece", which I find offensive. Coulter is a conservative....very few Republicans are conservative. A lot of the follow-up comments on the blog, of course, were anti-Coulter (nothing new, of course), but, as usual, they applaud free speech...except the free speech that they disagree with. I think, in line with Coulters joke.......it appears the liberals really do think she needs to go into rehab now. Her actual response to critcism was even better: Ms Coulter's response to the Republican criticism in an e-mail message: "C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."

Barack Obama's Uncertain Faith

[c]2007 by Richard L Zorek

Barack Obama's "faith" is based on uncertainty. He believes it is important, mostly as a means to make one feel good about themselves and wanting to help other people. John Smith, a pastor from Loveland, Colorado, is quoted on Obama's webpage as saying "the number one thing about being a Christian" is "caring for people." So why can't Obama get the endorsement of American evangelicals? Because "caring for people" is a part of what Christianity is all about, but it is equaled to "Love the Lord they God with all thy heart, mind and soul." What they do not understand is that without both working together, the end result bears little lasting fruit. This is the part that bothers the liberal left politicians and the liberal church. Bringing a dialogue about "faith" and "caring" is really convictionless. It can mean so many things and it can mean everything. It is the subject of Jesus that separates the sheep from the goats and the real Christians from the psuedo-Christians. Obama is a pseudo-Christian who offers a "faith" message that is not much different than a good motivational speaker or Amway dealer. It may offer a lot of good feelings but it won't produce what real Christianity should produce: real love.

Kansas City Mayoral Election 2007

.......[c]2007 by Richard L Zorek.........02.26.07...........Mayoral candidate Alvin Brooks says as mayor of Kansas City he will create "quality, high paying jobs for everyone" in order to combat crime. Creating the high paying job and getting someone to pay for it are two seperate issues..............John DiCapo promises to "change the face of city hall." In other words, the name-plate will change from "Barnes" to "DiCapo"................Chuck Eddy promises to "consolidate the behind the scenes jobs at the Police Department." So, instead of two janitors, there will only be one. ....................Janice Ellis says that "every child deserves to live in a neighborhood that is safe and has sidewalks to ride a bicycle on." Apparently, criminals tend to shy away from neighborhoods with sidewalks for fear of stepping on a crack...........John Fairfield's website says he should be mayor as we enter into what is "arguably" the most important time in our cities history. Arguably? Is there some kind of argument going on in some time warp? .................Mark Funkhouser says Kansas Citians want "smooth road and sidewalks...clean city parks....and transportation choices...." among other things. That doesn't mean you'll get it if he is elected, but he knows you want it. I'd like the high paying quality job myself...............Stan Glazer wants to bring "acountability back to city government." So has every other mayoral candidate in the last few decades...............Jim Glover was opposed to city salary raises and worked to stop them when not necessary. Obviuously "quality high paying jobs" isn't his priority. He also says that "vacant and dangerous properties should be sold to individuals and community development corporations." Can you spell "eminent domain?"...................Henry Klien says he will "confront the criminals who threaten our well being." Unless he is really good with a gun, is term is expected to be short................Becky Nace wants to improve "maintenance" in neighborhoods. A snow plow in every garage?................Albert Riederer believes that "all children should have access to a computer and internet in their home." Bill Gates is funding his campaign...............Kathryn Shields wants to develop a Preventative Mantenance program to fill potholes before they happen. Basically, stay off the road when it's rainy, or snowy, or sunny and hot.