Category: News

The Branson / Tri-Lake News has started dropping cocked ads in the middle of its news stories above the fold on the front page, which catches one’s eye, I suppose, but it can lead to some unfortunate occurrences if the paper publishes actual news on occasion.

Wherein it almost looks as though the candidate for office has been charged with murder.

I wonder if he got a freebie or two out of the situation.

Stop the presses! The St. Louis Post-Dispatch brings us this breaking news!

Ascension parishioner thought Chesterfield ‘militia’ could bring young men to Catholic Church

The man who tried to start “The Legion of the Sancta Lana” at Ascension Catholic Church said he regrets describing the group as a militia.

* * * *

“Seeing the closure of Catholic churches and the dwindling congregations across St. Louis, it was my intention to create an organization for young men to push themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually through the practice of discipline, study, and fitness modeled after the military,” Ray said in a statement provided to the Post-Dispatch. “The use of the term ‘militia’ is regrettable and does not accurately represent the intention of the organization. However, the current state of the Church in The West is equally regrettable and I’m sure we can all agree that we are in desperate times.”

C’mon, man, this is top news? This is a notice in a church bulletin with keywords that cause right-thinking people to clutch their pearls and to help watercolor the picture that Christian Fundamentalists Are Arming Up To From Trump’s Irregular Army or something.

I would say “do better,” but the paper can probably not.

I haven’t seen the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently, but I did have a dental appointment this week, so I got to glance over the Springfield News-Leader these days. And I kid you not, it was six or eight sheets of newsprint, so twelve or sixteen pages. That is, about the same size as the small town weeklies I take. Which means, what, twenty stories? Fewer? (Maybe I should actually count them the next time I’m at the dentist.) I won’t say the business model is completely failing, but journalist doesn’t seem like it’s a career path to the middle class.

Republicans and conservatives should maybe consider not dwelling so much on Joe Biden’s age and infirmity like this:

• This Is Why Democrats Are Panicking About Joe Biden
• Don’t fall for Joe Biden’s nice old man act — he’s just lowering expectations
• Obama Rescues Biden After Another Embarrassing Senior Moment

And so on, and so on, ad absurdum.

Because the more the message is “We need to get this doddering old man out of the presidency,” the more easily it is defanged by the Democrats switching to another candidate at the last minute.

Policies, guys. Focus on the policies that have led us to this place. Do not confuse the policy with the policymaker, or we’ll end up with a different policymaker with the same policies.

NYC parents having meltdown over $14 ice cream cones: ‘It’s out of control’

My son started his cross country practices this week, and after picking him up from practice, we stopped at the doughnut shop in Republic (no, the other one), and the total for 6 doughnuts and a breakfast sandwich was almost $20. Which used to be what a trip to a restaurant with my beautiful wife cost. Breakfast for one in Republic is now over $30 (I eat a lot and tip well), and our anniversary dinner last month cost about $60, which used to feed the whole family at a restaurant, but that’s $100 now.

Not that we eat out much these days or even get doughnuts from a doughnut shop these days (half a dozen doughnuts at Walmart is still only five or six dollars).

Wages are going to have to go hella bunch up to make the economics of that work out again.

Biden breaks unofficial rule about headwear while hosting the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs

President Joe Biden welcomed the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House on Friday, lauding the back-to-back Super Bowl champion team for its sportsmanship on and off the field, and breaking an unofficial political rule about headwear. He tried on a Chiefs helmet the team gave him as a gift.

Conspiracy theory: The helmet was one of the ones with the radio in it to tell Biden what to say at the podium.

MUST CREDIT MfBJN FOR THIS FRESH BREAKING CONSPIRACY THEORY!

Two children found dead in Jefferson County, mother arrested:

A woman was arrested Tuesday after she showed up at the Festus police headquarters and admitted to shooting and killing one of her children and drowning another, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said.

Both children were younger than 10. One was found shot to death inside the mother’s car, which was parked outside the police station around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The child had been shot elsewhere, police said.

The second child was found dead of an apparent drowning at a resort south of Festus.

That is, indeed, the resort where we stayed in 2021.

I click on links like this because I wonder if I’ll know people in the stories (which happens from time to time, gentle reader; mine was not a suburban upbringing where the worst life could be was “like high school”). Given this occurred at a resort, probably not. Unless she worked there.

Ozarks Farm and Neighbor:

WHERE ELSE ARE THEY HIDING?

The online version does not include the third area.

I fear it is my pool.

You know how I like to play these games, but, c’mon, man.

That’s Huey Lewis, and we all know it.

Well, “we” being anyone who is a longtime fan and not someone who is only familiar with his music videos from thirty-some years ago. I mean, that’s what he looks like on the cover of the band’s latest album in 2020:

Which I bought after reading about his hearing problem in 2020.

I mean, for Pete’s sake, he even sort of looked like that in his cameo in Back to the Future. The glasses, anyway.

All this kerfluffle about Kristi Noem putting a dog down.

To be honest, I have not read her book. Books by politicos are not my bag, baby. Although I bought a bunch of them early in the century, I have come to realize how much they ultimately bore me and how anachronistic each is after the election it precedes.

I am not even sure that I’ve read the section where she mentioned putting her dog down completely; now, all the Xeroxed outrage just tells us what she said.

But I do remember hearing that the dog attacked the neighbors chickens. And tried to bite its owner. And, the interpretations go, the hotheaded and packing governor of South Dakota pulled a pistol

The original Guardian story does not present the account as it appears in the book, but instead intersperses it with the easily anticipated editorial outrage.

But, you know what? The dog attacked neighbor chickens. The dog tried to bite its owner in a berzerker frenzy. I understand the decision to put the dog down. Especially as she had young children at the time who would also be vulnerable to a berzerker dog.

But it’s run up to election season, so cry “Havoc!” and let slip the stories of Republicans being unkind to dogs somewhere, sometime.

Full disclosure: When my boys were young, neighbors in the new house across the neighbor’s meadow let their pit bulls roam free, and on a couple of occasions they wandered into the back half of Nogglestead. If those dogs had ever, ever posed a threat to my young children at the time, they would have been buried in the copse amongst the cat graves. In the rural areas, they have an abbreviation: SSS. Shoot, shovel, shut up.

So I don’t fault Noem her actions, but she might have been better served remembering the last. Because no matter how authentic and real she might want to be to rural voters, she could certainly not avoid the, erm, dogpile in the media that should have been expected.

Column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri lawmakers try to take over St. Louis police … and defund them, too.

Now, gentle reader, the state of Missouri did resume its control of the city of St. Louis’s police department–St. Louis politicos only got control of the police department in 2013 after state control for a long time, and let’s be honest, it’s not gotten better in St. Louis in that time.

But Messenger’s column is really about the state legislature taking a different action vis-à-vis the city of St. Louis. Apparently, the city of St. Louis stopped refunding income tax money that it should have:

So how is the Legislature trying to save me money? During the pandemic, St. Louis’ collector of revenue, Gregory F.X. Daly, stopped issuing refunds, figuring the world had changed. With most companies forced by the government into remote work, it didn’t seem reasonable to flush away the city’s revenue from refunds.

Legally, it was probably a specious argument. Six plaintiffs filed a lawsuit seeking refunds. A judge ruled in their favor. One of their attorneys was Bevis Schock, a libertarian who is pretty smart about constitutional issues. He’s the reason the city doesn’t have red-light cameras anymore. I wouldn’t bet against him. The city has appealed the lawsuit, but while that appeal is pending, the Republicans who run the Legislature figured why not pass a law making refunds for remote work more explicit in the law?

So, again, we have a city official unilaterally deciding to steal money from people who are not residents of St. Louis and losing in court, and we have the elected legislature passing a law to make this clearer in the future, and we have Tony Messenger working hard to rationalize theft (well, it’s Democrats doing the thieving, so of course it’s okay) and working very, very hard to somehow make this into a Republicans defunding the police story.

And we have a “journalist” conflating two stories to try to attack Republicans. Because that’s what his analysis is: How can I attack Republicans with this?

I suppose the dwindling readership of the Post-Dispatch nod their heads along anyway.

Full disclosure: When I was a shipping/receiving clerk at the art supply store in 1995, they withheld the city income tax even though the store was not in the city and I did not live in the city, and I never got that refunded to me. So maybe I’m just bitter.

Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87

I just watched him in Enemy Mine.

Gentle reader, as a reminder, a mention of an old actor or author on MfBJN is often the kiss of death.

Fortunately, I guess, I mostly read books by people who are already dead and watch a lot of old movies.

Link via Friar on Facebook.

Remember when I said about a ruling protecting the names of citizens who write legislators:

Although if one were not eager to bash the Republicans in the Missouri state legislature (and Republicans generally) with any cudgel at hand, one might say Legislature/Judge Protects Privacy of Private Citizens Who Want To Write To Their Representatives Without Getting Doxxed By Activists and Newspapermen Who Disagree With Them.

Case in point (that case being “journalists” identifying and targeting a citizen for wrongthink), the Springfield News-Leader has a photo and long story on a man who has given money to Springfield School Board candidates.

The wrong ones, of course, or you wouldn’t be seeing his picture and this treatise.

Don’t worry, gentle reader, the journalists and anyone who might be inspired by them are only out to get you if you’re bad.

(Full disclosure: My beautiful wife has served on a board with this fellow, so she knows him sort of.)

The top story this morning at the Springfield News-Leader Web site: White nationalist stickers appear again in Springfield. Here’s what to know

Stickers and posters printed in the patriotic colors of red, white and blue have appeared around Springfield in recent days. While they may appear harmless, the stickers are promotional material for a white supremacist hate group.

The stickers have been spotted at local parks, on lamp and signposts, bus stops, gas station pumps and even by the World’s Largest Fork. Some who came across the stickers took to social media to share their findings and urge people to remove the promotional material. The stickers included slogans like “not stolen conquered,” “free occupied America,” “for a new American nation state,” “American spirit European blood” and others pushing for a revamp of the current political system.

The posters and stickers direct people to visit a website of “Patriot Front.” The News-Leader was unable to reach any representatives from the group as of Tuesday morning. The contact form on the website notes that “The organization does not participate in interviews with journalists.”

Some reports on social media, some stickers placed by someone, and hundreds of words ginning up “awareness” of the threat of white nationalism. Even here in bucolic Springfield!

I take the “threat” less seriously than a 2023 journalism school graduate, whose research involves going to the Southern Poverty Law Center Web site and somehow did not stumble across the some who say or suspect the Patriot Front is a government group of some sort, perhaps to designed to make the problem of white nationalism look worse than it is in an election year. But that’s an icky conspiracy theory, and these stickers are real, you guys.

Professional opinionator, liberal (natch): Messenger: Missouri judges allow lawmakers to stay under a shroud of secrecy:

Last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals lifted its metaphorical middle finger to government transparency.

In a 2-1 opinion, judges Janet Sutton and Mark Pfeiffer allowed the Missouri House to keep secret information about who is sending its members emails to influence public policy.

The ruling was badly timed. Starting Sunday, the nation celebrates Sunshine Week, dedicated to shining a light on government transparency laws and the importance of citizens keeping an eye on elected officials.

That’s what Clayton attorney Mark Pedroli was doing back in April 2019, when he emailed certain House members, asking for correspondence from them. Several lawmakers responded to his requests, but they redacted the names and addresses of the constituents who emailed them. The House had passed a rule that allowed them to do so.

Although if one were not eager to bash the Republicans in the Missouri state legislature (and Republicans generally) with any cudgel at hand, one might say Legislature/Judge Protects Privacy of Private Citizens Who Want To Write To Their Representatives Without Getting Doxxed By Activists and Newspapermen Who Disagree With Them.

Legislation to fight trafficking in Missouri passes House with nearly unanimous vote

I know, you’re asking me, gentle reader, how did the preening legislators make the illegal illegaller?

Why, by taking the monumental steps of:

• Making a committee. With diverse stakeholders!
  

  The Committee on Sex and Human Trafficking Training would be created and would include diverse stakeholders. The group would meet each year to establish guidelines for mandatory training.

• Also make a council.
  

  Additionally, legislative leaders said the bills would establish the Statewide Council Against Adult Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children to coordinate statewide efforts to fight these issues.

• Mandate training.
  

  House officials indicated that the legislation would require training on sex and human trafficking for professionals such as emergency medical technicians, nurses, prosecutors, juvenile officers, social workers and peace officers. The move is meant to equip frontline workers with the knowledge and tools necessary to identify and respond to instances of these crimes efficiently.

• Create a slush fund.
  

  They would also impose restitution fees for those convicted of specific sexual offenses with funds directed to support anti-trafficking efforts statewide.

So, basically, these bills are giveaways to non-profits and NGOs that make a living advocating, training, and holding meetings about human trafficking.

I’m sorry, but I did not see anything in the article (which uses advocacy terms like protecting the vulnerable over and over again) about funding police.

I used to be so cynical when I was young. Now I have broken through cynicism to what lies beyond.

Two groups endorse candidates in Springfield school board race:

Two groups, one that represents Springfield teachers and another that advocates for voting rights, made endorsements in the 2024 race for Springfield Board of Education.

Seven candidates seek three open seats on the board. Incumbents Danielle Kincaid, Scott Crise and Maryam Mohammadkhani are running against challengers Landon McCarter, Susan Provance, Kyler Sherman-Wilkins and Chad Rollins. Each voter who marks a ballot on April 2 will be asked to vote for three of the seven candidates.

Kincaid and Provance earned endorsements from both groups: Vote 417 and the Springfield chapter of the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA). The Springfield MSTA also chose Sherman-Wilkins, while Vote 417 picked Crise.

A union representing “hero” teachers and a political group with left leanings are a good indicator how I would not want to vote.

But I’m not in the Springfield school district, so I can only watch with amusement. And some horror that it is happening here in southwest Missouri, too.

By the way, I was going to use bellwether which is a word you only tend to see in political articles, but it did not exactly fit, and I looked it up to see if it fit (not exactly). But the origin of the word is that it is the lead sheep with the bell around its neck. So bear that in mind when you see it in print or pixels.

Pulaski County Emu chase ends with a twist:

The deputies tried to keep the Emu out of the road and catch him again, but he ran off into the woods, evading capture.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said that residents should not approach the Emu if they see him. They said he hisses and may try to kick a person.

The Sheriff’s Office admitted defeat, for now, saying: EMU 2 Deputies 0.

We here at MfBJN have long been monitoring the emu rebellion, so we know the emus emus always win.

Column at Outkick: Change Is Coming: It’s Not A Question Of If Big Tech Buys Media Companies, It’s When.

But the author says:

When I started working in sports media 20 years ago way back in 2004 — that’s when I wrote my first articles online — big tech was just emerging on the scene. When I first started writing online, the best way for a story to go viral was via email. Or to get picked up on listicle sites inside of big company websites. ESPN’s Page 2, SI’s Hot Clicks, College Humor, Fark — remember those? — there was no real social media. Back in those days people had the decency to tell me to kill myself via an actual email, as opposed to via Twitter.

Well, the young man can be forgiven for his ignorance of the words AOL Time Warner.

No, just kidding. As an old man, I cannot forgive him for his lack of perspective and authoritative take without mentioning or maybe knowing what occurred back in the 20th century.

Although perhaps I should not be so proud that I am so old that I used America Online before it was America Online.