AP: Palin's Luggage Lost- She Has To Borrow An Outfit For Rally

The Associated Press reports that America's next presidential election loser- Sarah Palin- had her luggage lost upon flying into Boise- Idaho for a political rally.


CSW reveals an exclusive picture of the outfit Mssss. Palin borrowed.

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CSW Commentary: Minor Sedalia Tornado Brings Major TV News Hype in Kansas City

The storm itself was very small- existing weather conditions were adequate for only small- weak and brief tornadoes at the very worst.


At 6:46 p.m. Wednesday evening- such a tornado touched down on the south side of Sedalia MO- causing minor damage to about a dozen homes- but inflicting no injuries according to the SEDALIA DEMOCRAT newspaper on-line.

If you watched the 10 p.m. news on KMBC Channel 9- you'd have thought that Sedalia had been devastated.

A weather radar view of the storm producing a small- weak tornado in south Sedalia.

For a FULL 5 minutes leading their newscast- Channel 9 hyped that small- minor twister into what they saw as a major story.

I'm a weather freak- but after 2-1/2 minutes of their coverage with helicopter shots of the funnel- I went surfing for REAL news on the other channels (checking back to 9 a few times)- and those channels (4 and 41 anyway) were running other stories- saving the Sedalia minor tornado story for their weather segments.

Newscasts in this town USED to get 20 to 30-shares of viewers- anymore it's reason for a station to celebrate any double-digit share of viewers.


After watching Channel 9's coverage of an otherwise minor event from a city 50 miles away- it's not hard at all to understand why that is.

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Storm Chasers Criticized For Unsafe Driving

Years ago- there were times I HAD to pass other drivers on 2-lane roads in no passing zones and on hills.

Sometimes I exceeded the posted speed limit- and went around vehicles stopped at intersections- as well as other driving manuevers not recommended in any state's driving manuals.

Not only would I do these things with EXTREME CAUTION- I had red lights and sirens on whatever fire apparatus I was driving.

And in driving that fire department vehicle I was allowed- with discretion- to violate civil traffic laws while realizing that it was imperative for us to get to where we were called safely and in one piece.


I KNEW better than to try any of that in a personal vehicle- such as that day in 1977 when I was right on the heels of a deadly tornado.

Today it's becoming increasingly clear that there are storm chasers on public roadways who I guess in the name of storm chasing and/or "science-" do not have to follow those traffic laws.

Tuesday's "high risk" of severe thunderstorms and possible violent tornadoes brought hundreds of storm chasers to the plains of Central Oklahoma.

Chaser videos posted on-line since Tuesday show that a few communities dodged a bullet as none suffered a direct hit by a destructive tornado- little damage and no injuries statewide.

Chaser videos- like the one posted here- are also showing what appears to be dangerous and irresponsible operation of motor vehicles by some chasers.

Passing in no-passing zones by multiple vehicles is evident on the video- other reports from chasers say others were driving in excess of posted speed limits and failing to yield to on-coming traffic.

These "chaser convergences" are one reason I have drastically cut-back on the storm-chasing I have responsibly enjoyed since 1969.

Simply afraid of getting in a wreck with some storm-gazing driver rather than getting sucked up in a EF-4 tornado.

This irresponsible behavior is unacceptable- regardless of whatever 'scientific standing' a chaser has.

It does the scientific community absolutely no good to get themselves or someone else hurt or killed in the pursuit of knowledge of something that's already being warned for: as much as one wants to get TO a tornadic storm in a hurry- some others may be doing just the opposite.

Unfortunately- it is going to be the responsibility of the storm chasing community to police their own as law enforcement in those situations have priorities elsewhere.

Otherwise this fascinating and blood-pumping pursuit known as storm chasing will be subject to new civil laws that will restrict both the scientific and civilian community's access to this passion.


ADDENDUM: Here's a story on this very subject from Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV utilizing the YouTube video posted here.

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Life Imitates Art (Somewhat) in Kansas City Hospital Shooting

A gunman was loose in a large Metro hospital after having shot more than half a dozen people.

Police arrive and seal off the building and send SWAT teams inside to rescue those trapped and hurt.

It's all resolved by 10 p.m. local time Thursday night when the gunman on ABC-TV's 'Grey's Anatomy' shoots and kills himself.

At around the time 'Gray's' was ending- Kansas City emergency radio tones out the report of two people shot in a parking lot of the old Baptist Memorial- now Research-Brookside hospital in the 6600 block of Rockhill Road.

This shooter raced away from the scene in an undescribed vehicle and unlike the TV show- both victim's injuries were non life-threatening.

The hospital's emergency room was shut down for several hours while police investigated.

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WalMart Sells Toxic Jewelry While Knowing Better

If you're a parent of a pre or early-teener- you probably have to deal with that child's 'fascination' with performer Miley Cyrus.


WalMart sells a line of Miley Cyrus jewelry- no doubt VERY popular.

Trouble is according to this Associated Press story- that Miley Cyrus jewelry is TOXIC to it's wearers.

Cyrus' stuff  as well as another jewelry product line WalMart sells is made with toxic "metal cadmium-" and Walmart "has known since February (2010)" that the stuff is harmful.


Wonder if it's made in China as well?

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Giant Milkshake Sighted in Overland Park

This sighting- backed by photos- is on the northwest corner of 75th Street and Metcalf.

It appears to be a new fast-food burger joint- but I haven't been over that way yet to find out what the name of the place is.


Not yet sighted is a large double-cheese burger and fries....

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Central States Weather: Flooding- Severe Weather A Concern Today

As a large area of light to moderate rain moves in from the southwestern MetroRegion- the National Weather Service (NWS) and their Storm Prediction Center (SPC) have forecasts for both a flooding and severe storm possibility.

The flooding concerns cover both Metro and MetroRegion Kansas City as the NWS has a large part of our area in flood and flash flood watches (see image).

Heavy rainfalls are expected- generally along and south of the Kansas and Missouri rivers today through early Thursday- creating or continuing the flooding conditions still existing in our area. 

In extreme southern portions of the MetroRegion and over parts of southern Missouri- Kansas- as well as Arkansas and ESPECIALLY central and eastern Oklahoma are under a forecast for possible severe thunderstorms and tornadoes today.

The OK portion is in a "moderate" risk area for these severe storms and POSSIBLY "strong" tornadoes.


Any breaking severe weather watches or occurances will be reported here at CSW....

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CSW BREAKING: Woman Found Dead in Yard in Liberty MO

Liberty Fire and EMS got the call around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning: a woman "down" in a yard of a residence in the 500 block of Sharon in southern Liberty.

When paramedics arrived- they found the woman pulseless and not breathing. The medics attempted CPR to no avail and ordered police at 8:38 a.m..

Police arrived and soon ordered a detective.

Liberty PD & FD dispatch said they had gotten the call from a person who said the victim "had been mowing" her yard and then collapsed.

No official word yet of course....

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Joke Is On Kansas Voters With $35-Million in Corporate Welfare To Buffett's Company- BNSF

I guess Warren Buffett's BNSF railroad needs the $35-million more than Kansas' citizens need the money they're going to spend on increased sales taxes.

Heh- a BIG chunk of corporate welfare when the state is cutting employees- programs and services left and right.


Are Kansas voters "Hucks?"

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The CSW DUH of The Month Goes To Rockfest's AEG

The mess left after the Liberty Memorial 'Rockfest' has some citizens in an outrage.

The rainy weekend combined with an estimated 55000 rock fans left the grounds at the Liberty Memorial in a muddy shambles.

AEG- the corporate entity that put on the show says they'll spend whatever it takes to get the ruined Liberty Memorial grounds back in shape.

Aggie Stackhaus- a KC-MO Parks and Rec commissioner- said she don't want Rockfest to return to Liberty Memorial- something about "manners" she says.

An AEG official named Joe Litvag commenting in The KANSAS CITY STAR story about the festival and the mess- had the CSW Duh! of The Month when he was quoted saying “We feel like it’s a privilege to hold this event here, not a right.”

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Central States News: IBM Move to Columbia MO To Add 800 Jobs

The COLUMBIA (MO) DAILY TRIBUNE announced today that IBM will remodel an abandonned industrial building into a new technology service delivery center in that central Missouri city.

The new IBM center will provide 800 new jobs.

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