Kathleen Sebelius - Child Killer

“I would suggest, sir, that, again, this is an incredibly agonizing situation where someone lives and someone dies,” Sebelius replied.

2nd Lt. Justin Sisson - Local Hero

Blue Valley West graduate killed in Afghanistan | Local News - KMBC Home 

Defense.gov News Release: DoD Identifies Army Casualties 

Female Israeli Soldiers = Great Recruiters

Female Israeli Soldiers Punished For Racy Facebook Photos | Kit Up! 

This isn't the first time that this has happened.  Israeli female soldiers have made this the norm over the years.

What Makes Independent Record Labels so Popular? - Guest Post

Those of you that follow my Twitter feed aren't new to the fact that I am a big music fan. So when I was asked if I would publish a guest post from someone in the industry it peaked my interest.

What Makes Independent Record Labels so Popular?

Independent record labels are one of the key foundations on which the might of the music industry is able to stand and grow.  In recent years, the popularity of independent labels has continued to grow. We explored why this is the case.

Not Just a Stepping Stone

In the past, the journey of a band or individual artist up the musical ladder would often begin with being spotted and signed by an independent label, enjoying some degree of success here, and then being picked up by one of the bigger commercial labels.

Of course, this is still the favored path taken by many, but the ways in which people choose to follow their career are becoming more diverse.

For example, the 2000s saw a marked increase in the number of artists who decided to stay with independent labels. In turn, this made these smaller labels more attractive to up and coming musicians who were looking for a recording contract. Previously, there was suspicion around independent labels, but now that they are more than just a stepping-stone to success, people are flocking to them and committing themselves, even when a larger label could provide greater exposure.

Many are Artist Owned

As the reputations of the larger record labels have continued to take a hit, some of the world’s biggest artists have launched their own independent labels. In most cases, this was done as a result of frustration with a former record label. However, where an artist-owned independent label might have been launched in order for the artist themselves to be able to manage themselves better, they have since become an attractive proposition for new musicians.

The reasoning behind it is simple. Imagine you are an up and coming R&B artist, and you have the opportunity to get signed by a label owned by someone big within the industry. Music fans around the world will see that as a personal endorsement of what a particular artist does, and they immediately will have more credibility.

Greater Creative Control

While this is issue is not as big as it used to be, many artists are still finding themselves frustrated by the restrictions that a major label places on them. While these are actually understandable, particularly for the biggest names that have a brand stretching back many years that they want to foster and protect, for a musician who wants to say what they want and write edgy songs it can be a horrible situation to find yourself in.

Independent labels are well known for supporting work that might be seen as controversial, that no one else wants to touch, yet often goes on to be a huge success.

Label Distribution

Today, many independent record labels have distribution deals with the larger companies in the industry. This allows them to remain true to what they do, while benefitting from being able to get their product into markets quicker than ever before. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops as digital music continues to grow as a revenue generator. Will independent labels start to cut ties with these large distributors, or will they continue to work with them to boost their other big money maker, which is live performances and tours?

Independent record labels are stronger than they have ever been before, and the reasons why are clear. The only danger for such labels will be if the market reaches a saturation point over the coming years, leading to instability and uncertainty in the industry.

Author Bio:

This article is written by Pro Music Tutor, the best place to learn guitar online, with high-definition quality videos and tutorials taught by famous musicians in the music industry.

KC Union Leaders Lazy - No Surprise

This morning I heard a commercial on the radio for a communist website called the KCLaborBeacon.com.  Being the capitalist that I am I went to the site today to see what it was they were pimping pushing (pimping is too capitalist for these guys).

When I went to the site I was greeted with the headline "March 31st Front Page".  Thinking that there was no way in hell that such a vital source of information could go 2 - 3 months without an update I cleared my cache and hit reload.  I still got "March 31st Front Page".

Then I remembered that this was a Union paper ran by Union "members".  Why would they stay up to date and provide a valuable service to its members, they never have before, why start now.

Capitalist in the metro can rest easy.  These propaganda artists can't even update a website, so tearing down our local economy is not in any real jeopardy.  Kansas City will not be turning into another Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City etc... with this type of work ethic.

Brain Teaser of the Day

Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Chastain among the front-runners to play Hillary Clinton in Rodham - News - Films - The Independent 

Which one of the following DO NOT BELONG?  I know it is going to be tough but try anyways.

The 64106 - F'd from Birth

For the past few weeks I have been doing some research into this zip code to better understand the infrastructure that exists in this craphole.  Some of the lesser publicised information is a pretty good guide to what conditions are like for those that are born and raised in that environment.  Do we really expect newborns to be straight A students when they are 14 when they are born into a world of hellish conditions.  

• 2,044 homes that are in that area code were built before 1939 and only 2600 have been built since then.  How the hell are they still standing and what are conditions like inside of them?

• The highest population rate is for the ages of 0-18.  Exactly how many kids is that per parent?  And the numbers have an incredible drop off after 18.
• Despite the thoughts of many in the area, almost half the population in that zipcode are white folks.

• There are over 100 sex offenders in that zip code alone

• The average income is half the states average at 25k and 43% of the residents are below the poverty line.

• The highest income level percentage is $0 per year.  

• High School enrollment is 1/3 of what the rest of the state averages

• 723 residents over the age of 18 have employment disabilities

• 1224 residents are living in some type of correctional facility 

• From 1999 - 2011 their have been over 18 Million dollars of government contracting awarded to businesses their.  WTF have they done with that money?

This is just ONE zip code in the east side.  How do you expect to solve a crime and education problem when kids are being born into this?  Could you be who you are today if you grew up in the above environment?  

Blue Valley's Crooked Women?

OP police investigate missing funds from parent-teacher organization | Local News - KMBC Home 

Having kids attending and a wife that is extremely active with the PTO gives me a little insight into
this whole organization and its true purposes (which rarely benefit the kids and instead benefit the teachers or the school building) and how clumsy that some of the accounting can be.  Luckily, the group at our school are professionals at this and we have never had an issue with cash.

With that said I seriously doubt that anyone is going to have to look beyond the inner circle of this organization to find the criminal.  Blue Valley soccer moms will do anything to keep up with the Jones's, especially if they are experiencing financial difficulties.

I am honestly shocked that this doesn't happen more often.

Serious New Crime Epidemic about to take over Missouri

Man injured in knife fight between carnival workers | Local News - KMBC Home 

CARNIE ON CARNIE CRIME!  

Most Missouri residents are barely above the "carnie level" so can you think of a better state for this crime epidemic to start in?  On the bright side this might finally reduce the number of inbreed residents in the state.

Schumer & Franken - Hate half of America

Picture of the Day - IRS Scandal

Almost Daily Link Blast - Cus you suck at internet surfing

I have never made it a secret that I believe that I know what is interesting and you don't ,so enjoy.

1.  Fun site.  Compare your living conditions to those in other countries.  I hope that they do the same thing for locations in the KC metro area.
2.  Gross things that people do on airplanes
3.  Top 10 vacation spots for Booze Addicts!
4.  Chuck Norris Hearts Tim Tebow
5.  Top 10 bargain Handguns to get your father for Fathers Day.  Not a good gift idea for a kid that is always getting in trouble.
6.  A map to the states with the sluttiest teens in America.  
7.  MTV has fallen to new lows.  Chick "celeb" drinks her own URINE
8.  Rihanna agrees to make out with Miley Cyrus
9.  20 of the worst unsolved serial killings of all time.  Makes you feel warm and fuzzy.
10.  The Top 25 walking dead Zombies 
11.  American Pickers headed to Branson?

From the Duh Files

Too Few Kids Use Fast-Food Calorie Info, Study Finds – WebMD 

YA FREAKING THINK!

The 20 best beer towns in America

The 20 best beer towns in America (via Matador Network)

Craft beer in America is more popular than ever. Today’s drinkers become more educated by the day, and the breadth of choices available to them has never been so extensive. This is great for beer lovers, and beneficial on the supply side as well, as a high-quality product created by friendly, local…

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Brian Boyd - Music Was His Life

On Friday night at 11pm the Blue Valley area lost a great young man and musician, Brian Boyd.  He died south of Lawrence, Ks in a traffic accident just after 11pm and the news of his passing shook the whole area.

I never knew Brian but he was a great friend to my younger siblings in my family and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him or knew of him.  

From what I have been told Brian was a friend to everyone and made sure to treat people as such.  He was considered a genius musically and pushed band members at BVN to become the best that they could be.  That is rare to find nowadays in a "me first" world.  

Here is a quote from one of his best friends.

"It's hard to but the legend of who is Brian Boyd in to words Other than everyone who spent any time with him gained a friend. It's just hard knowing how invincible he had been going through a lot of rough times and always coming out on top with a grin. He was too wreck less and never wore his seatbelt which came back to haunt him."

Rest in Peace Brian and thank you for being there for those in my family that were lucky enough to know you.