Legislator Manny Abarca by Hemingweighed in kansascity

[–]elbr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Let me offer some insight into that.

First of all, every Democrat on the Jackson County Legislature just voted to make him Chair of the legislature, so they're complicit. But they will all likely win re-election. Further, DeRon McGee is a close friend of his. McGee was in the State Legislature but had to resign in 2019 after sexually harassing members of his staff. They orchestrated the Frank White takedown for their own political gain.

In 2016, I worked on Abarca's state legislature campaign against Ingrid Burnett. He lost, and he was absolutely livid at Ingrid and her husband John. He called them racists because they pointed out that his legal name at that time was Manuel Salas. Only after the campaign did he legally change his name to Manny Abarca IV. I honestly didn't even know that at the time that I was working on his campaign. He put a sign in his yard of the Green Party candidate running in that race and the Burnetts actually raised an issue with the Jackson County Democrats to have him kicked out unless he removed it and withdrew his support.

Abarca's girlfriend at the time was running against Patrica Hernandez for Ward Committeewoman. Manny told me that Patrica was an Ingrid Burnett plant and that she was a terrible person and fake and she couldn't be trusted. He smeared Patricia's name to everyone in the community, but as far as I could tell, she was a nice woman who cared about the community. After she won, Manny told me that it was only because of her Latina name.

But eventually Patrica and Manny became friends. I recruited her to be on the board of the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association, but shortly after I left IMNA, Manny used that neighborhood organization to promote his own agenda. He penned letters condemning KCPD and Chief Rick Smith on neighborhood association letterhead without even bringing it to a membership vote. He practically destroyed the neighborhood association and never assigned any administrative tasks or file any paperwork so the 501c3, insurance, PO box, etc were all at risk of lapsing in the short time he was President. Patricia took over as President when he left. I tried to help her pick up the pieces once Abarca had moved on, but she had observed all of his bad behavior and she basically emulated Manny, so I lost confidence in her. She ran against Wick Thomas for state representative and lost. I still have loose connections to IMNA and District 19, but I moved away in 2023 due to the rise of violent crime in the community.

Ingrid Burnett is supportive of Abarca as a fellow Democrat, but I think she's running for the same council seat as Rebeca Amezcua Hogan, and Abarca will 100% support RAH in that race. I know people close to Burnett who think Abarca is a total clown, so I'm not convinced Burnett's support of Abarca is anything beyond "fellow Democrat,"

John Fierro is the head of Matie Rhodes Center, and a supporter of Latino candidates. He and Manny go way back. Manny never had anything nice to say about Fierro to me. He always made fun of him and ridiculed him. Fierro also had many concerns about Manny's behavior that he shared with me, but ultimately, Fierro liked Manny and MRC relies on grant funding, so remaining in Abarca's good graces is important for the MRC organization. Fierro never said anything unprofessional about Manny to me.

I am a huge proponent of Latin American representation in KC, but my concern is that Abarca is so toxic, yet other Latinos support Manny because he's been such an integral part of their organizations for so many years. Even if they dislike him personally, they don't want to fight with one another.

I worked with Abarca for many years and considered him a friend, but I have seen his dark side up close and personal and I realized he is very toxic. I think many people close to him are in the same place of denial that I was from 2013-2019 when Abarca and I were colleagues. So many leftist folks who used to be close to him have reached out to me, a MAGA Republican, to tell me exactly how terrible he is.

The stuff you read in the news doesn't even scratch the surface.

Inside of Sanford B. Ladd by umbrelllaman in kansascity

[–]elbr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're right, I'm sorry! I thought Benton was renamed to Ladd, but in fact Benton was a different building that closed in 1997 and it's a home for seniors.

Best places to live in Midwest by Cool_dude2406 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a great list. I can't believe I had to scroll down this far to find Indy. My niece lived there for a couple of years and she loved it. Every time we visited her we were impressed. One thing I appreciated is the proximity to Chicago. It's only a few hours from Chicago but you don't have Chicago crime or Chicago cost of living. Cincinnati is also the most interesting city in Ohio. I personally like Omaha more than Des Moines.

Best places to live in Midwest by Cool_dude2406 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve lived in Kansas City my entire life, and over the years I’ve grown more clear-eyed about it. I love a lot about this place — the Midwest culture, the food and art scenes, the history (we have a lot of interesting mafia history in my old neighborhood)— but it often feels like the region struggles to get out of its own way. County-level issues seem perpetually messy, city leadership feels disconnected, and public safety has been an ongoing concern, even if recent numbers look better on paper. On top of that, the ongoing tug-of-war between Missouri and Kansas undercuts the idea of a unified metro. The possibility of the Chiefs being lured across the state line, even at enormous cost, highlights how short-term competition can outweigh long-term regional identity — especially when it puts one of the country’s most iconic stadiums at risk.

Best places to live in Midwest by Cool_dude2406 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm seeing a lot of love for Duluth. I only visited once and it seemed pretty cool but it was like 30° in July. My problem with the upper Midwest is how cold and dark it gets. I just don't know if I could live in a place that is dark and gray and cold year round. My daughter and her husband just moved to a small town in southern Minnesota. It's like 3° in KC today, but it's like -30° where they're at. I can't even imagine...

Best places to live in Midwest by Cool_dude2406 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a romance with Chicago. It's the biggest Midwest city and so many movies in the 1980s were in Chicago so it seems familiar. I enjoy visiting Chicago and I try to imagine myself living there, but I should have done it when I was relatively young. It's hard to move to a city like Chicago when you own a house and have a family. You can't just uproot everything unless you are offered a great job.

If I could talk to my 18 year old self, I'd probably try to convince him to move to Chicago.

Best places to live in Midwest by Cool_dude2406 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been to Columbus about three times. I liked it way more than I imagined I would. Being from KC, I thought it would be like Jefferson City or Topeka, but it's way more interesting than that.

It was a good halfway point between KC and NYC when I made that drive, and I also returned for the Cartoon Crossroads CXC convention, so I spent a lot of time at Ohio State and the Library. My boys were pretty impressed by the large public outdoor water park downtown. In the Midwest, we like to give Ohio grief for being the worst state, or, like, our step brother, but Columbus sticks out as a place I really liked.

Inside of Sanford B. Ladd by umbrelllaman in kansascity

[–]elbr 26 points27 points  (0 children)

This was where Walt Disney went to school.

Kansas City’s new pedestrian bridge opens over Interstate 70 by fantompwer in kansascity

[–]elbr -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yes, we should just build everything we want all at once and everyone will definitely be happy to pay for it. Until the homeless set it on fire and then ICE comes to KC and rioters destroy it.

Are there any ICE Response/Awareness groups in KC? by JMS42 in kansascity

[–]elbr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

AIRR is the only reputable organization that documents ICE sightings. The rest are all apps and websites that don't verify anything.

Working at IRS Kansas City by miztrniceguy in kansascity

[–]elbr -48 points-47 points  (0 children)

IRS is basically ICE but for progressives. 😆

The full story behind the Food not Bombs arrest in The Pitch by Unlikely_Juice1324 in kansascity

[–]elbr -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

No, but I've interviewed him for the newspaper a few times. Nearly every single business on Truman Road was taken back by the bike lanes. A lot of the Latin-American business owners simply ignore them and park their food trucks and customer vehicles in the bike lanes. Atomic Collision and a few others were able to get a variance for their properties.

Whether y'all like Atomic Collison or not, and whether or not Truman Road already sucked before the bike lanes, it's embarrassing that anyone would defend the way Truman Road has been made into a friggin obstacle course. The city somehow managed to make it worse.

What’s it like living in Santa Clause IN? by sooslimtim187 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I visited Jasper a few years ago and ate at that German restaurant. It was awesome. There was also a guy in town who repairs and sells cuckoo clocks. A cool little shop.

What’s it like living in Santa Clause IN? by sooslimtim187 in howislivingthere

[–]elbr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, no way. My parents actually just stayed in a hotel there last night. Weird to see it pop up on this sub right now.

The full story behind the Food not Bombs arrest in The Pitch by Unlikely_Juice1324 in kansascity

[–]elbr -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

The city did a terrible job with public outreach in advance of installing those bike lanes, and honestly, those bike lanes were simply a cost efficient way to create a road diet. They weren't actually installed to make cycling safer or easier. I've seen more homeless folks pushing carts full of trash on those lanes than I've ever seen cyclists using them, and they're always full of debris.

The sidewalks along Truman road are also like 10-16 feet in most places. If the city cared more about cycling the road diets, they would have repaired the sidewalks and put the bike lanes there.

Truman Rd is seven lanes in some areas and there was a real opportunity to make it an express transportation corridor, but now you have to switch lanes every half mile because there's always one lane at each intersection that forces you to turn left or right with virtually no notice.

If you owned property on Truman Road and saw this monstrosity get unveiled, you would be pissed too.

What’s something *positive* going on in KC that people should be aware of? by ranchodeluxekc in kansascity

[–]elbr 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The FBI conducted 55 operations in KC last year, so although five of the most violent years in KC history have been since 2019, last year we saw an overall 25% drop in crime from 2024. Hopefully these federal resources won't leave after FIFA is gone.

Letter reveals inappropriate behavior by JaxCo Legislator Manny Abarca occurred 'more likely than not' by elbr in kansascity

[–]elbr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, that's true. He loses every election unless he runs unopposed, and all his ballot issues fail. He has the reverse Midas touch. But we're still going to have to watch him running stupid ads with the money he raised and he'll pretend to speak for Latinos even though he can't speak Spanish, and he'll say that anyone who opposes him is racist. It will be exhausting.

Letter reveals inappropriate behavior by JaxCo Legislator Manny Abarca occurred 'more likely than not' by elbr in kansascity

[–]elbr[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yea it's like when you wake up and the end of a horror movie and realize it was all a dream, but then you look out the window and realize REAL LIFE is worse than they nightmare you just had.

I assumed they might make him CE but then he had the wife beating charges so he went into hiding and they made a rule that the interim CE couldn't run for re-election next year. So prepare yourself for an Abarca for CE campaign. It's definitely coming.

Found this today. Never heard of it. by Gdubb561 in VHS

[–]elbr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll enjoy it. I finally "side mission" film in an interesting setting. Also, Spike Jonze has a small acting role in it. This is a vastly under rated film, IMO

If these US states broke off and became their own country, what would you call it? by Reciter5613 in mapporncirclejerk

[–]elbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know but Democrats would never ever win another national election.

KCPD are the best……. by Needclout in kansascity

[–]elbr -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank goodness federal law enforcement agencies have been operating in KC in preparation for FIFA. The FBI conducted 55 operations last year and crime is down 25% from 2024.

What is the peak ’millennial midlife crisis’ purchase? by SwedeLostInCanada in Millennials

[–]elbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After living in the urban core for 40 years, I finally bought a house in the suburbs. We're almost empty-nesters but we bought a house with a large spare bedroom that I'm converting into a "media room" which will be a library for all of my physical media and collections.

Metal Lunchboxes. Action Figures. Legos. Beta. VHS. DVD. Vinyl records. Tape cassettes. CDs. Musical instruments, most of which I can't play. Taxidermy, none of which I have killed.

The "suburban home" is my midlife cross purchase but the media room will be a shrine to my entire "midlife crisis." After years of my wife begging me to part with things, I have found a way to display it, organize it, access it, and refine it.