KCPT's Ruckus Podcast - Audio KCPT

TOPIC 1: FINN TO PEN?
Bishop Robert Finn and the local diocese have been charged with failure to report child abuse.

TOPIC 2: SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES!
After a lengthy absence, Phill Kline is back in the news. A Kansas disciplinary panel has recommended that Kline be indefinitely suspended from practicing law in the state. Kline, a former attorney general and district attorney, is not practicing law in Kansas. He’s teaching law in Virginia.

TOPIC 3: HORATIO CAIN?
Presidential hopeful Herman Cain has been critical of the “Occupy Wall Street” protestors, telling them to blame themselves if they don’t have a job and aren’t rich. Local columnist Mary Sanchez says the protestors aren’t to blame, it’s the system. And, Sanchez believes, the work ethic is still alive and well in the United States.

TOPIC 4: BROWNBACK-ED SCHOOL PLAN
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has unveiled plans to change the state’s school finance formula. Johnson County residents have complained about the current formula since its inception.

Finally, want to show your love for RUCKUS? Put your feelings into words! Submit a RUCKUS themed “LIMERICK” and let loose in rhyme. The best will be read on air by Mike on Nov 17. Thanks for watching RUCKUS!

TOPIC 1: CHANGING PROSPECTS
Councilman Jermaine Reed wants to change the name of Prospect Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. This, he says, along with economic initiatives can revitalize and rehabilitate the Prospect area, hard hit by crime and violence.

TOPIC 2: DE JA VIEW(S)
Last week, Woody and Yael had dueling roasts and toasts about a familiar topic–the Kansas City E-Tax. The catalyst was Tom Hoenig’s recommendation that Kansas City dump it.

TOPIC 3: POLITICAL NEWS
Robin Carnahan announces that she won’t seek re-election as Secretary of State and won’t run for any other office. Others are indicating they will run for the Democratic nomination. There’s speculation that Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders might be among them.

TOPIC 4: ANSWERED PRAYERS?
The Mission city government has exempted churches and some nonprofit groups from the controversial driveway tax.

TOPIC 1: TEEN-FREE ZONE.
The new curfew ordinance took effect last weekend and there were no problems on the Country Club Plaza. In fact, the Plaza may well have been the safest public place in the area this past Friday and Saturday.

TOPIC 2: ATTACKS ON TAX.
Kansas Citians are taxed in a myriad of ways as an excellent Star editorial explained last weekend. To bring some order out of the chaos, the new mayor has appointed a 16-member panel to review municipal finance and make recommendations.

TOPIC 3: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME.
A new state report shows the Kansas City, Missouri, school district’s test scores fail to meet most of the state’s criteria. Some fear this will lead to the district’s loss of its provisional accreditation status.

TOPIC 4: KEEP YOUR MONEY!
Kansas Governor Brownback is rejecting a federal grant to help implement part of the new “Obamacare” legislation. Brownback says states need to prepare for fewer resources. Kansas applied for the grant before Brownback was inaugurated.

TOPIC 1: IT HAD TO HAPPEN!
Last weekend, three teens were shot on the Country Club Plaza. Mayor James and other black leaders were in the area trying to assess the extent of the problem caused by large throngs of teens “hanging out” there. Now, he and they know. The mayor says he is working on solutions.

TOPIC 2: DO WE NEED A KINDER, GENTLER (Peter) KINDER?
A former stripper and “entertainer” says that in the mid-90s, she performed private dances (lap dances?) for then state-Senator Peter Kinder. She alleges that, on occasion, he would become aggressive during the dances and try to push her down to his groin. Tammy Chapman asserts that Kinder, now Lieutenant Governor, is not fit to hold public office. Kinder, the front-runner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year, says her story is wrong, the woman’s comments are bizarre and this is a Democratic Party effort to derail his campaign.

TOPIC 3: IT SEEMS TO ME I’VE HEARD THIS SONG BEFORE.
The mayors of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Unified Government of KCK are pledging to work together in a spirit of cooperation, not competition.

TOPIC 4: AND NOW THERE ARE THREE?
After the Iowa Straw Poll and Rick Perry’s entrance into the presidential campaign, some analysts say the GOP race is down to three: Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

TOPIC 1: NOT AS “SLY” AS HIS FATHER.
Mayor James’ son, Kyle, made some news because of his involvement with disturbances in the P&L District. Young James refused to pay his restaurant bill, made rude and intemperate remarks to patrons, threatened some bystanders and told one police officer he “would have his job.” The mayor issued an apology for his son’s behavior. Later, Kyle also apologized publicly.

TOPIC 2: MORE PRESSING ISSUES FOR MAYOR JAMES.
Yael has written a review of the mayor’s first three months in office.

TOPIC 3: THE RICK AND SAM SHOW.
Last weekend, Texas Governor Rick Perry took part in a project he initiated titled “The Response.” It was a day of prayer and fasting seeking divine help to solve our burgeoning national problems. Perry is expected to announce his candidacy for president in the near future. Critics of the event said it was not inclusive and was blurring the lines between politics and religion. Governor Perry invited all of his 49 counterparts to attend and take part. Only one did. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.

TOPIC 4: HELL OF A TASTE!
Congressman Cleaver’s comment about the debt ceiling deal being a “Satan Sandwich” have been widely covered. Star columnist Tom McClanahan takes issue with Cleaver’s point that the deal with hurt current recipients of Social Security and Medicare. McClanahan notes the real “Satan Sandwich” will come for future generations if we continue on our current financial course.

TOPIC 5: WHY RUCKUS?

TOPIC 1: A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCH
Writing in the Star, Henry Bloch (H&R Block) calls for a balanced approach to the federal budget and tax policy. Noting that he’s a registered Republican, Bloch defends the idea of raising tax rates on the wealthy.

TOPIC 2: A WIDENING GAP
New Pew Center research says the gap in wealth between whites and minorities (namely blacks and Hispanics) continues to widen.

TOPIC 3: EASTWARD HO!!
News accounts indicate that now some businesses are moving into Kansas City, Missouri, from Johnson County. On the “eco-devo” war front, Mayor James says these developments result from changes at City Hall.

TOPIC 4: PROBABLY NOT THE GREATEST GENERATION.
The under 30s, dubbed the “Millenials,” voted in large numbers for President Obama in 2008. New studies show that white members of that generation are now moving toward the GOP.