Despite its ever-growing irrelevance, I was simply amazed at the over politicization of the Kansas City Star in an editorial last week. Seems as though former Secretary of State and Kansas Senator, Mike Pompeo, has lost a significant amount of weight. According to the Star, he indicated it was from changes in his eating habits and a daily workout over the last six months.
Ok, that’s probably it. That’s the story. Big deal, most of us don’t care what Mike Pompeo weighs, but he is a public/government figure and it’s probably noteworthy. However, the Star decided to develop an opinion on the matter. Basically, they called some health experts and tried to debunk the method in which he lost the weight. These “experts” said he had to have dangerously starved himself of carbs and caloric intake to reach this weight loss amount within that time period. The tone of the opinion is that the Republican was “lying” about how he lost the weight.
Who cares how he lost the weight? I’ve never met a human that doesn’t lie about their weight, height, hair color or other personal matters of this nature. But the Star never passes at a chance to try to beat up a Republican and in this case, they looked like a gaggle of disrespectful teenagers, poking fun at the fat kid, even when he’s not fat anymore. It’s a furthering of the sad condition of journalism left in Kansas City.
For the record, Mike Pompeo is a graduate of West Point. He graduated first in his class. He served in the United States Army as a tank platoon commander for five years and earned the rank of captain. He then went on to get a law degree from Harvard. Yet, the Kansas City Star attacks him about his “weight loss” method. Unbelievably petty.
Email me with the members of the Kansas City Star opinion board that served as tank commanders and then graduated Harvard Law.
Pivoting to something much more fun, Kansas City is one of just a few cities that will host the 2022 Savannah Bananas baseball team in 2022. Kansas City, Kan., actually, but that is beside the point. On Friday, May 6, they will play the Kansas City Monarchs and it will be the toughest ticket all summer. As best as I can understand it, this is the baseball form of the Harlem Globetrotters form of basketball. Entertainment is as important as some good ball skills.
The Boston Globe explained it as best it can be explained. “Their goal is simple; Make baseball fun. The Savannah Bananas are a collegiate summer team that plays a circus type of baseball. The Bananas have played in kilts, had a hitter on stilts, danced in tutus, and tossed a team-mandated underwear into the stands.”
They play by their own set of rules that limits the game to two hours. Walks are called sprints. After ball four, the batter freely sprints around the bases until each defensive player touches the ball. Scoring is very different. If a team wins an inning, it is awarded a point. The first team to five wins, and other assorted special rules to make the game more fun.
They sell out every game. They will sell out in Kansas City, and it will be glorious. Sign up for a chance to buy tickets online at thesavannahbananas.com.
(Guy Speckman can be reached at gspeckman@me.com or standing in the internet line to buy tickets to the Savannah Bananas)