I’d like to give you an opinion on the Super Bowl halftime show but I spent the intermission with my face in a deep bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Pretty sure I enjoyed the break considerably more than anyone who actually watched the show.
Part of the reason I didn’t watch the Super Bowl halftime is that I had a pretty good idea of what my thoughts would be if I did. So I didn’t. It’s like scrolling past political posts on social media. You don’t have to make a stop at every intersection along the way. Just keep scrolling.
Did you know the City of Parkville has a Diversity and Inclusion (basically DEI) commission? Or at least they do as of this writing.
A meeting of Parkville’s Diversity and Inclusion Commission was set for Monday night of this week. We’ll have a full report next week, but prior to the meeting some of the buzz around Parkville was that the city’s Diversity and Inclusion Commission may be rebranding itself or perhaps changing its name to avoid falling victim to the DEI backlash that has taken hold in many areas of the country. DEI has become a thing of the past in government and in many areas of the private sector after President’s Trump recent order on the DEI topic in regard to federal agencies. Many companies in the private sector are following suit.
According to Forbes magazine, “companies including GM, Pepsi and Amazon have removed some—or all—references to diversity, equity and inclusion from annual reports, marking the latest major company policy changes in a wave of backlash against DEI that has become a central issue of Trump’s second term.”
On Feb. 7, NPR (National Public Radio) first reported more than a dozen companies have pared back, or removed altogether, references to diversity, equity and inclusion in their 2024 annual reports to investors, including Google, Disney, GE, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle and Comcast.
Just fyi, one company that is holding on to DEI? Costco.
Anyway, back to the City of Parkville’s D&I Commission. On the city’s web page, the accomplishments of Parkville’s D&I Commission thus far are listed as being:
*Dispositioned the downtown signs to the Park University Archive. (Many members of the public who contacted The Landmark about this at the time found the removal of the historically accurate signs mysterious and concerning, comparing it to an attempted rewriting of history. By the way, ‘dispositioned’ is a fancy way of saying they removed those signs from visible public display and tucked them deep into storage).
*Conducted a community survey regarding historical signage and diversity priorities in the community.
*Developed an annual calendar of diverse and cultural events, holidays and celebrations.
*Contributed a question to the Parks Master Plan.
*Drafted a strategic plan.
Well this is unique
There is something called Kansas City’s Undie Run set for this Saturday. It kicks off from McFadden’s Sports Saloon in the Power and Light District on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Apparently the concept is pretty simple. You register, pre-game at McFadden’s, then don your undies for a mile(ish) run to raise funds for the research of neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes noncancerous tumors in the nervous system.
A dance party follows, they say, which sounds interesting or scary, depending on your point of view.
So anyway, I went ahead and registered a two-person team for The Landmark. I hope and Speck and Kamler find their cleanest undies and represent us well.
Good luck, guys, we’re all counting on you.
Sure wish I could be there to run alongside Speck and Kamler but I checked my calendar and it looks like I had already scheduled a full day of laundry and folding my boxers. Darn the luck.
Well the Super Bowl outcome sure didn’t make Chiefs fans happy. But that’s not important right now. What’s important is whether or not you followed me on the prop bet that I told you last week I would be investing in. As you recall, it involved Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins: “I’ll be putting a little cash on DeAndre Hopkins to go over 13.5 receiving yards. Hopkins has had a distinguished career and it’s his first Super Bowl, he’ll want the ball. Look for Mahomes to get it to him a couple of times, enough to go over that 13.5 yard total. I’ll be trying to cash a winner here. Wish me luck.”
Bingo. This hit, though it was getting dicey, because the catch that put Hopkins over the top came with just a few minutes remaining in the game. Until that catch he was stuck on 11 yards. His touchdown catch with only 2:54 left to play gave him a total of 18 yards. Winner.
And it was made nicer if you happened to also have Hopkins going over his projected total of 1.5 catches. That catch gave him two. And it was made even nicer if you happened to have Hopkins scoring a touchdown, which paid 5.5 to 1.
You’re welcome, America.
Soon we’ll talk March Madness. This week I invested pizza money on four teams on futures tickets to win the title, including a 40-1 longshot. Details cometh.
(Only things getting bashed worse than the Chiefs are the halftime show and DEI. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
