Capitol Calling
Missouri's irreverent and vital news source.
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Finally, here is the most important video of all featuring House Budget Chairman Ryan Silvey, R-Clay County.
OK, maybe not. But watch anyway, if you dare.
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Just an aside before I post a flurry of Web videos to the site, I managed to make it to a glorious site known as Wrong Number Texts.
The above text actually popped up into my phone. I know who it was from, but it was so bizarre and unreadable that I had to send it in. I feel like I’ve made it in the world.
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It’s Monday and the Missouri General Assembly has the day off for Easter Recess. And the legislature is expected to tackle the budget and, most likely, redistricting in the final couple of weeks of the session.
Steve Kraske of the Kansas City Star wrote an interesting article on the second topic, noting how different the process is in Iowa compared to the Show Me State:
As Missourians tussle over this intensely political process where the prime objective is to ensure the re-election of incumbents, the good-government types to the north (yes, they come with halos) have already completed the task.
As you might expect from such a saintly crowd, they did it in a decidedly honorable fashion. No politics. No lobbying.
They came up with compact, common-sense districts. If incumbents wound up in the same district, meaning they might have to square off against each other in a future election, the reaction was simple. Tough toenails.
Iowa did it despite the added drama of having to compensate for one less seat. Just like Missouri, Iowa went down a congressional district because of slower-than-average population growth.
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I definitely enjoyed Kansas losing to VCU. Don’t get me wrong.
But I also noticed - from watching Twitter and Facebook - that Mizzou fans find more joy out of Kansas losing than their own team winning. Kind of a sad state of affairs when you think about it.
As much as I hate to admit it, Mizzou will remain a barely above average basketball program, while Kansas will remain a National Championship contender until they’re inevitably knocked out by Long Island State.
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TweetPhoto reblogged from Eye On Springfield
Hope everybody’s weekend is going well. Once again, Eye on Springfield has a post that’s just too good not to reblog.
<sarcasm>Enjoy the beautiful spring weather.</sarcasm>
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Proof that America is becoming more and more and more like Portland, Oregon:
Looking for a place where you can drink your PBR in the company of your like-minded-and-dressed friends? Yelp can help.
Under its ambiance category, online review website Yelp added a “hipster” to its drop down menu of ambiance options. Among “romantic,” “trendy,” “intimate,” “dive-y,” “casual,” “classy” and “touristy,” users can now select “hipster” as a desired atmosphere. Or if you’re like NewsFeed, you can use the new option to eliminate the hipster-esque locations you wish to avoid.
But as the Time Magazine post deftly noted: “In reality this is probably a useless option. By the time a restaurant or bar is rated “hipster” on Yelp, the hipsters have probably already deemed it too mainstream and stopped going.”
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As expected, my battle against Jefferson City News-Tribune reporter Bob Watson was tough.Watson managed to secure 382 votes in Minnesota and almost vanquished the management of this site. But somehow, I scrapped together enough votes to move on to the Sweet 16 of the Tiger Blood Tournament.
I congratulate Watson on truly an awesome effort. You had me sweating up until the very last minute.
The first two battles were definitely challenging, because I was going up against two experienced and well-respected political journalists. But now, I face probably the toughest opponent in this entire exercise in online poll manipulation - St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Writer Tony Messenger.
Messenger ousted St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Rebecca Berg in arguably the most hard-fought contest in the history of the universe. Berg had oodles of people from California vote for her and even showcased her game show skills.But Messenger’s army of seasoned political people made the difference. With people like John Combest and Tony Wyche, it’s hard to lose.
What insane publicity stunt will I utilize to get to the Elite Eight? I’m not sure. But you have until 5 p.m. tomorrow to cast your vote.
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As noted yesterday, I am up against esteemed Jefferson City News-Tribune reporter Bob Watson in Fired Up! Missouri’s Tiger Blood Tournament.I already shamelessly begged for votes via Twitter and Facebook. Since I’ve crossed those Rubicons, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to encourage you to vote for your favorite political reporters, pundits, consultants and politicians here.
Although I tempted to make stunning promises or embark on a stark career change, this “competition” is all in good fun and I once again wish everyone involved the best of luck.
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Thanks to the dozens – AND DOZENS – of people compelled to vote via Facebook and Twitter, I managed to survive and advance in the Tiger Blood Tournament over the respected juggernaut that is the AP’s David Lieb. I am honored by the strong showing of support against such a worthy opponent.
I was expecting to face the RFT’s Chad Garrison in the second round in what was sure to be a tough contest. After all, the man with the mustache seems to command a rabid following over at St. Louis’ top alternative weekly publication. But after building a strong lead, Jefferson City News-Tribune scribe Bob Watson staged an epic comeback and will now face off against me in a brutal battle for online poll supremacy.
I’ve known Bob for years working at the Missouri Capitol, and I have a lot of admiration for him. I am conflicted on whether to talk trash or employ a more high-minded strategy to get to the next round. In order to keep things civil, I’m going to list off the reasons to vote for me and the rationales for voting for the City of Jefferson’s top newspaper man:
- Watson resides relatively close to the Kingdom of Callaway.
- Rosenbaum holds dominion over the Karaoke Kingdom.
- Watson works tirelessly at the Missouri Capitol for the Jefferson City News-Tribune.
- Rosenbaum earns his living making random references to professional wrestling and bands nobody cares about.
- Watson
usespreviously utilized an old school tape recorder with actual tapes to preserve quotes from sources.- Rosenbaum writes all of his notes on bottles of Zima.
- Watson was a radio and television reporter before joining the News-Tribune.
- Rosenbaum is the only Missouri political reporter with a song in the video game Rock Band.
- Watson is unafraid to ask the tough questions of the state’s political class.
- Rosenbaum shows no fear wearing a prom dress in public.
- Watson went to college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Rosenbaum received all of his education from watching public television.
Who will prevail? I suppose we’ll find out in due time. Thanks again to all those who voted and I hope to have your support in the second round against another excellent opponent.
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“Now kids, I know you loved the old Poochie, but the new one is going tobe better than ten Super Bowls! I don’t want to oversell it, judge for
yourselves.” - Homer Simpson
