14 Comments so far

1. kcinsider on March 16, 2006 7:11 am

   The fact that Steve Glorioso, of all people, is making an ethics complaint is so absurd, it’s laughable. (Oh yes, Mr. ‘I paid a 1/2 million dollar fine for slander’ is such an ethical person.)

   Unfortunately, he’s such a pernicious little pr*ck, that I am sure of his motives. He wants to know who is running save our owners and the other websites because he wants to try to get those folks in trouble with their present employers, if at all possible.

   I know that probably sounds far fetched, but he’s done that before in earlier campaigns.

   I am hoping that these tactics backfire, that people who were on the fence on the issue or leaning toward it will be so appalled they will vote against it to send a message.

2. worst weather ever on March 16, 2006 8:12 am

   if that Star headline is a reference to a lyric in an At The Drive-In song then its the best headline ever, but it probably isn’t, making it the worst ever.

   http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=66176

3. DaveKCMO on March 16, 2006 8:41 am

   how funny when people in power find out they can’t completely control the messages.

4. Johansen on March 16, 2006 10:10 am

   Actually, Glorioso never paid a fine for slander or anything. That whole thing was thrown out of court.

5. kcinsider on March 16, 2006 11:23 am

   really? This is what someone sent me about it:

   Radio host loses slander case
   KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A radio talk show host slandered a woman when he said she aborted Bob Dole’s baby in the early 1970s, a judge ruled, awarding the woman $1 million in damages. Steve Glorioso didn’t contest the case at trial on condition that any judgment be collected only from his insurer. Glorioso, now a political consultant, had a talk show on KMBZ-AM when he made the remark on the air in 1996 about Phyllis Wells Smith of suburban Overland Park, Kan.
   Dole was running for president at the time. Glorioso said Dole arranged for Wells Smith to get an abortion. But the former flight attendant and model testified she never had an abortion. Dole also denied arranging an abortion. Judge John O’Malley awarded the damages Thursday. ###

6. William Bucksworth on March 16, 2006 12:15 pm

   I can’t imagine why Mr. Glorioso would have a problem with our site. We are and always have been pushing for a YES vote. I guess he’s just jealous that we’re getting all this media attention.

7. Chip on March 16, 2006 10:28 pm

   It’s a clear case of Glorioso fretting about not being able to control all mediums of information. The Star is clearly bought and paid for and the tv news outlets in this town are a joke anymore. There is real grass roots opposition to this terrible deal and it has to piss Stevo off to see people thinking for themselves.

8. thurston on March 17, 2006 2:28 pm

   I’d limit it to the Karl Rove of Kansas City. He certainly had a hand in trying to oust Sandra McFadden Weaver from the City Council because she initially wouldn’t support the Sprint Arena.

   What a sanctimonious, vindictive ass. I really like this line from the Pitch article:

   “Are they from Los Angeles and want to go after the Chiefs if this fails and they’re free from their lease? I mean, this is not a funny matter.”

   Actually, it kind of is. If it’s not St. Louis/Enterprise that wants to see us fail, it’s anonymous bloggers representing L.A., which waiting to scoop up our mediocre franchise.

   Brilliant, Steve.

9. beermo on March 18, 2006 1:52 pm

   i know the guys who have the saveourowners site and they are not from l.a.

   steve would seem to be our own little dick cheney here in k.c. a behind the scenes guy who likes money. he’s come a long way froom the northeast news.

10. Craig Davis on March 19, 2006 12:00 am

    The people speak out and the elite don’t like it

    Like all tyrants, the power brokers, influence peddlers, and back room politicians of Jackson County have done everything in their power to prevent citizens from becoming involved in government affairs. Aided and abetted by a local media that is little more than the propaganda arm of local governments, elitists like Glorioso have ruled Jackson County politics for many years. They are not afraid of people or money. They are afraid of knowledge. Their iron grip on the information being fed to the public is in jeopardy from a source they can’t control.

    In the web sites and blogs of the internets, the people have at last found a way to inject their opinions into government affairs – whether the powerful elitists like it or not. They don’t need enough personal money to win public office. They don’t need massive donations from organizations expecting to collect their rewards from fat contracts and eminent domain. They don’t need 25 year tax exemptions. They don’t need influential friends in high places. They don’t need a key to the back door of city hall.

    The people now have what they need, a way to participate in civic affairs – and it scares the hell out of people like Glorioso. With web sites only a few dollars a year and free blogs everywhere on the internet, money won’t create the sure thing insiders used to count on in elections. Any citizen wishing to join the fight is welcome to do so by the internet enabled fighters for a voice in government.

    That some citizens choose to support the establishment position is understandable. Children are taught to do what their parents say. Some grow out of it and become independent thinkers. Others continue to bow down to authority for their entire lives. Even when revolutionary patriot Patrick Henry stood before his peers and declared, “Give me liberty of give me death” cries of “treason” rang out through the hall.

    The current stadium tax battle reminds me of the two armies that met in the revolutionary war that gave birth to this country. On the one side was money, power, and the rigid dedication to put these rebels in their place. On the other side was a rag tag band of people dedicated to the idea that they had a right to be involved in decisions that affect their lives. In 1776 the people won. In 2006 the people will win.

    The wealthy, influential and politically powerful will just have to face the awful truth - the Genie is out of the bottle – and they can’t put him back. The people will continue to speak out, whenever, wherever, and however they want – and Glorioso be damned. Now they don’t have to beg a biased print media for a line or two in a half page article on an issue. Now they don’t have to plead with radio and TV stations already committed to the establishment position for a 10 second sound byte. Now the voice of the people is everywhere – and it will not be silenced again. Every day, a new freedom fighter joins the battle. His weapon is a web site or a blog and he brings with him the only ammunition he needs – the truth.

    The most interesting aspect of this entire furor is the inability of the elitist power structure to adapt to the new reality. Their enemy (that’s how they regard citizens) is elusive. Like the fictional Scarlet Pimpernel of the French revolution, “He’s every where.” He is everywhere because he is the people. About five years ago, the city’s light rail plan was defeated in 24 out of 26 wards by citizens with only a few dollars to spend. Bi-State II saw a $3 million campaign defeated in all counties but one by citizens with less than $30,000. The phony regional transit legislation is about to go down to defeat with only a few hundred dollars spent. It’s been a long time coming but it’s finally here. The voice of the people is being heard.

    Permission granted to disseminate this in any way you see fit.

11. beermo on March 19, 2006 4:02 am

    wow. i must say that was way better than my post. very well said.

    not to mock you or anything, but you musta went to college. sorry i just got off work, am having a nice time with my libations. really though. that was great. i think you hit a lot of nails with your post. i liked your revolutionary war analogy. and the henry one. steve glorioso appears to be a jerkoff, but i don’t know him personally so…..i’ll stop short of saying he’s a jerkoff and say he acts like one.

    where i work i happen to see lots of stadium crap, ads and stories and such and there seems to be a lot of “pro” stadium ads, but hardly any “con” ones. check out the back of the “A” section today. there’s a star point/counterpoint story by, “whoever” and it just kinda re-hashes the economics that we’ve already read and throws out some quotes for us to nibble on. it might of started on the front page and jumped to the back, i can’t remember because i read almost every page anyway. i do remember that there is a jones store ad on the bottom right side.

    sometimes in times like these when i am not able to see what’s really going on because of all the smoke and mirrors i think back to this adage or whatever someone once told me. “everything comes down to either finances or romances. it’s either one or the other that is driving the train”.

    btw, great post mr. davis. it looks like you write for a living.

12. Craig Davis on March 19, 2006 1:16 pm

    thanks for the compliments beermo. no, i do not write for a living and, yes, i did go to college…but not to be a writer. i have spent most of my career in and around the printing industry, and i have always believed in the power of ink on paper, and the power of one. the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

    should you or anyone else like to address a comment to mr. glorriassi directly, here’s his e-mail: sglorioso@hotmail.com

    the following may have been posted elsewhere, but you might find it interesting reading too. keep the pressure on gloriassiam, and his gang of reptilian politicos…it’s a marathon, not a sprint to april 4th.

    Inquiring Minds Want to Know Part IV.

    How about that clever use of Roman numerals? Thankfully, this will all be over at 7pm on April 4th, so it’s doubtful we’ll get to XLIX…as in…Super Bowl X-Lax.

    It has been an interesting week. Let’s examine.

    1. Wasn’t that KMBC Channel 9 Editorial just dandy? Mr. Wayne Godsey hit the nail squarely when he states that this is nothing more than a public subsidy squeezed from those who cannot afford it…..and given FREE to those who can. Corporate welfare at it’s worst. Simply a bad deal. Thank you for taking such an admirable position, Mr. Godsey.

    2. If the Truman Sports Complex will be “NEW,” as the outrageous ads proclaim, then why can’t we do what really, truly NEW stadiums do and charge Personal Seat Licenses? Let’s see: 70,000 season tickets at Arrowhead x $2000 PSL = $140 million! Over 25 years = $3.5 Billion. WOW! Math IS fun.

    3. Speaking of fun math, do you realize that Arrowhead sits idle almost 98% of the year? Kauffman 78%? A total of 89 regular season sporting events out of 365 days. What’s that over 25 years? Total days: 9125. Play dates: Chiefs: 200, Royals: 2025. Total play dates: 2225. Total number of idle, vacant, unused, unoccupied, $1 Billion-the-meter-is-running-days: 6900 or 76%. That giant sucking sound you hear is that of $1 Billion dollars being whooshed out of taxpayer wallets.

    3(a). Now the fun part: Using the $1 Billion this will cost the taxpayers:

    Per game Arrowhead subsidy: $5,000,000.
    Per game Kauffman subsidy: $493,827.
    Cost per day for stadiums to look pretty over 25 years: $109,589.

    And the teams each continue to pay only $450,000 per YEAR; the same as in 1990! Shame on them. Shame on whomever negotiated that. Was it even addressed?

    4. Anyone catch our esteemed mayor, along with Steve Gloriosa on Walt Bodine’s KCUR show last Tuesday at 10am? Their performance was shameful. An embarassing display of crass boosterism, cheap shilling and mindless cheerleading. These two SOS synchophants carried on like pre-pubescent monkey-faced kids with their pull-my-string-chatty-cathy canned statements and responses to call-in questions. They did not answer a single question in a direct manner. Listen to the entire 1-hour show at http://www.kcur.org. Click on Walt Bodine Archives for March 14, 2006. Get a barf bag.

    4(a). When Gloriossi prattled on and on about “publishing” ahead of time when the rolling roof would be…get this…rolling, he actually boasted about creating dangerous traffic back-ups on I-70. He virtually guaranteed there would be massive traffic tie-ups on I-70, and that this would be a good thing. Upon hearing that, it became painfully clear that these two were nothing more than empty suits braying to the wind. This is leadership? This is what they want our money for? Entertainment on an interstate highway? I think not. KCUR was hijacked and they are not pleased.

    5. What about the consultation provided by Mr. Andrew Zimbalist, nationally recognized expert on the folly of public subsidies to pro sports franchises and the lunacy of the purported economic effect these businesses have on a city or a region?

    5(a). Per Jackson County, the study was commissioned by the WhiteGoss law firm, home of Mike White, negotiator for the County to the teams. WhiteGoss paid for the initial telephone consult, but was reimbursed by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority with public tax dollars. Doesn’t that make the contents public property? Of course it does. Why have we not heard a peep about the contents of this study? Was it unflattering? Is it being supressed?

    Ask Mr. White at: mwhite@whitegoss.com.

    Ask Mr. Zimbalist at: azimbali@smith.edu.

    6. Can anyone explain why King Carl Peterson was so roundly and soundly booed at the most recent Brigade game? Jason Whitlock did a masterful job of slicing, dicing, and pureeing Mr. Peterson, as well as lambasting the sorry performance of our latest entry into the world of trashsports. As one who appreciates a sharp pen, I am humbled at the acumen of Mr. Whitlock.

    7. Rah-Rah-Siss-Boom-Bah! Has anyone been in a bar or restaurant when the Save Our Stadiums gang of perky cheerleaders come in? They tried their schtick at a certain bar on Main Street and were met with icy resistance. After flowing in the front door like sewage from a slag pit, they proceeded to interrupt every patron in the joint. Within one minute they were confronted by the owner, General Manager, floor manager, head of waitstaff, and head bartender who told them in strongly worded terms that they could IMMEDIATELY leave the premises, and never come back. Ever. Isn’t that a wise use of campaign dollars?

    And it goes on and on and on and on…….

    The proponents steadfastly refuse to provide information on this issue based on facts. They prefer to use scare tactics, fear-mongering, and blatant obfuscation in an attempt to divert attention from the truth. By any criteria, this issue will not stand on its own. It doesn’t even pass the smell test. It stinks!

    How sad. How juvenile. How utterly dispicible.

    This is and remains a MAJOR LEAGUE RIPOFF!

    Question #1: VOTE NO!
    Question #2: VOTE NO!

    Craig Davis, Chairman
    NO! I CANT AFFORD IT! Committee

    PS: Feel free to disseminate this mail as you see fit.

13. Craig Davis on March 19, 2006 1:21 pm

    ooops. beermo, i meant to say that “the people speak out” piece was not written by me; it simply arrived in my e-mailbox with permission given to disseminate. i always like to give credit where credit is due, but think it is better to keep certain names hidden. you wouldn’t believe how much help and critical information we are getting from those who choose to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal against their jobs, company or political position, or social standing. you have no idea.

14. loriann on April 17, 2006 7:33 am

    This is a great blog. I am impressed with the comments and how active your site is. Make sure you keep the blog going.Keep it real.