Countdown till Mike Hendricks gets fired

Here's the thing, I've had quite a few people tell me that the Star's editorial board has absolutely no say in what the columnists employed at the paper write. These are the same kind of people who also believe silly things about weapons of mass destruction, the innocence of their daughters or the Chiefs playoff chances in September.

With the exception of one or two articles, nearly every one of The Star's columnists has been a cheerleader for downtown development . . . Until today.

Strange that the subject of cooked pig rouses the emotions of so many people in KC like this town was some kind of kosher picnic. Still, it's nice to read Hendricks ask some tough questions about downtown development in defense of Danny Edwards' Famous Kansas City BBQ and its tacky titty pink decor.

Money line: "Private property rights mean squat to the powers-that-be at City Hall."

Strangely Homoerotic line: "Yet what are guys like Edwards getting but the shaft?"

He-he.

Anyway, while I thought the columnist included far too many qualifiers, his take on Downtown development is absolutely correct. But even Hendricks had to note that The Star is in the middle of the TIF crazed, downtown building boom with a $200 million investment into their glass house that doubles as target practice for homeless people . . . Therefore, you can forget any nonsense about the paper's vantage point being that of an objective observer.

Still, Hendricks argues what most people in Kansas City (other than real estate developers) have now come to believe: That so many of the things that make this town unique are being redeveloped right out of existence. Yet, just like Edwards' restaurant Hendricks is seemingly getting in the way of the development that is boosting the property value of his employer and if he's not careful he may share the inevitable fate that awaits downtown's only authentic barbecue joint under a bulldozer.

Still, Hendricks saving grace might be his inherent optimism that actually gives the re-development in KC a fighting chance whereas history has proven that most things based on a lie end up failing in the end . . . Very much like the war in Iraq or your parent's marriage.