Cringe.
Pete Mundo, conservative talk radio host at KCMO in Kansas City, scored some points with a late but effective zinger against Scott Fricker/Platte County Commission logic on Tuesday, Dec. 17. That was the day Mundo did an on-air interview with Fricker about the county commission’s brazen decision to overturn the will of county voters and not enact the children’s mental health services tax that was overwhelmingly approved by Platte County voters in November. Fricker gave Mundo his delusional reasoning to not enact the tax was that “only” 32,000 people voted in favor of it and the population of the county is 112,000. This, of course, is insane. There was an 81 percent voter turnout for that election, highest turnout in years, and the tax passed by a resounding margin.
Every person in America–except for Fricker and maybe Joe Vanover and Dagmar Wood–knows we don’t judge victories or losses in elections by assuming we can read the minds of people who didn’t vote, aren’t registered to vote, or aren’t old enough to vote.
Mundo didn’t hit Fricker too hard with pushback while Fricker was serving up nonsense on the air, but a few minutes later, after similar bizarre stances were taken by caller Victor McCance (who is a letter to the editor writer in this week’s edition), Mundo mustered the gumption to say that “some of these arguments coming out of Platte County are cringe.”
He, of course, was referring to Fricker’s wackadoodle logic of “I represent the people who are too busy to vote” and “the tax shouldn’t really take effect because the yes votes were less than half of the county population.”
Mundo, like Fricker a huge Donald Trump supporter, made a vague reference to Fricker about Donald Trump not pulling over 50% of the population. That’s an understatement. Votes for Trump in November totaled only about 22% of the U.S. population. Does that mean Trump shouldn’t be allowed to take office? Of course not, unless you’re using Fricker logic.
When a Republican loses Pete Mundo to the point he refers to your stance as “cringe” you know you have gone off the rails.
Check out the ad from the Platte City Special Road District on the back page of this edition. If you have any information that could assist in solving that mystery please call the number in the ad.
By the way, on our popular Facebook page (find it at Platte County Landmark) we posted the road district’s video of a Lexus knocking out some traffic signs at a roundabout. I got a charge out of one commenter’s remark underneath the video:
“Sadly that roundabout is a racetrack for teenagers on a regular basis. Also, soooo many people do not know how to navigate a roundabout correctly. I hear horns honking all the time from people that don’t understand the concept. Maybe an article in the local newspaper could help educate people,” wrote Kaye Johnson.
Not a terrible idea. Though I wonder if people who don’t know how to drive in a roundabout are the kind of folks reading the newspaper. But here we go. I cranked up the Google motor to come up with this explanation on “how to drive through a roundabout.” Here is Google’s answer:
“To drive through a roundabout, yield to traffic already in the roundabout, enter when there’s a safe gap, drive counter-clockwise, use your turn signal when exiting, and stay in the appropriate lane for your desired exit; essentially, treat the roundabout like a clock face, entering at the ‘6 o’clock’ position and exiting at your designated lane depending on where you need to go.”
Hope this helps. Hit me up in an effort to solve more of life’s mysteries.
Speaking of driving challenges and such, I feel like we need to have a public gathering to discuss how to handle four-way stops. As noted above, roundabouts can be challenging for some but I’ve witnessed some almost comedic stuff at four-way stops, as well. Like the four-way stop at Running Horse Road and 136th Street just south of Platte City.
Tell me you’ve noticed it too. I can’t be the only one. People pulling out in front of you when it’s clearly your turn. Or everybody at the four-way stop sitting there for seconds with no movement, apparently all trying to figure out whose turn it is to go. Or worse yet, the guy who sits at his stop sign waving other drivers to proceed ahead of him even though it’s his turn. Note to that overly courteous driver: these four-way stops are only going to be efficient if everyone follows the correct rules of the road and proceeds in the proper order. None of us want to sit there to watch, or get confused by, your hand motions. No one’s going to reward you with a box of cookies for trying to be Mr. Courteous, in fact some of us are cursing you for screwing up life’s intended order.
Maybe incoming Platte County Sheriff Erik Holland can do a ‘telecop’ video session for less than confident drivers. Offer a visual learning session on things like roundabouts and four-way stops and lane merging and whatnot. Something like a group Zoom call for folks who need a rules of the road refresher. Let folks sign into the session anonymously so they don’t have to confess to being a potential cause of road rage.
It’s official.
Following up on our Dec. 25 column talking about our ‘pay your mortgage’ NFL futures picks. New England lost on Saturday, guaranteeing that the Patriots will finish with less than 4.5 wins this season, which makes our NFL ‘pay your mortgage’ record here in Between the Lines 2-0 for this season and 5-0 lifetime. Congrats to all who celebrate.
Come back next August when I’ll give you at least one NFL win total pick for 2025 and try to advance the perfect mark to 6-0 or better.
And remember, ‘pay your mortgage’ is a tongue-in-cheek name for these picks. Never bet an amount more than your comfort level.
The Patriots loss that kept our ‘pay your mortgage’ unbeaten string alive had just gone final on Saturday afternoon when I received this email from loyal reader–and fellow sports bettor–Grant.
“Thanks to your ‘Pay Your Mortgage’ bets, I have turned my (amount of money redacted to protect Grant’s private details) of DraftKings house money into (amount omitted for Grant’s privacy). Congratulations on your fourth year in a row of being undefeated! Loved your Between the Lines last week about the ‘forever tax.’ Thanks again.”
(Find Foley keeping his head on a swivel as he proceeds through four-way stops and roundabouts. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
