Posts tagged "St. Louis"
GOP mouthpiece Larry Conners fired by KMOV | KMOV.com St. Louis →

(KMOV) — We regret to announce that Larry Conners is no longer a KMOV news reporter. Larry was a valued member of KMOV for a long time, and we will miss him.

For KMOV, there is no higher cause than unbiased, objective news reporting. It is what our viewers expect and it is what we work very hard to deliver. We can accept no less. Larry is certainly entitled to his opinion, but taking a personal political position on one of the Station’s Facebook pages creates an appearance of bias that is inconsistent with important journalistic standards. Larry’s departure has nothing to do with the particular position he took, but it does have to do with our belief that his actions made it impossible for him to report for KMOV on certain political matters going forward without at least an appearance of bias. Bringing you accurate and unbiased reporting is the reason we exist.

Mark Pimentel
KMOV TV President & GM
markpimentel@kmov.com

h/t: KMOV.com

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Daily Kos: KMOV MUST fire GOP mouthpiece Larry Conners ASAP →
I am going to say this on here: It is WELL past time that KMOV (the CBS affiliate in St. Louis) gets rid of GOP shill Larry Conners permanently, especially after his latest incident with the IRS and lying about it. I bet he has a slot on rabid-right hate talker KFTK 97.1 FM lined up for him, along with his fellow former KMOV employees Marc Cox (Sunday Nights and weekday fill-in) and Jamie Allman (weekday morning drive-time).

Here’s his entire rant that is captured,  via the Daily RFT:

attribution: None Specified
Since his post got national attention, Conners went on air to address the controversy — and offer a pretty surprising disclosure.
His issues with the IRS, he announced, “preceded that interview by several years.”

And, he emphasized, his views are his own, not that of his company.

More proof that Conners was making up stuff in order to get “Conservative Hero” cred.

TVSpy’s Kevin Eck:

Larry Conners,the KMOV anchor who said on facebook the IRS targeted him after an interview with President Obama last year, is off the air until further notice.

“He’s not suspended. We just all thought it made sense (for him) to take a few days off,” Sean McLaughlin, news director for the St. Louis CBS affiliate, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We take this very seriously, and we don’t expect this to drag on. We’re still looking into the situation and weighing our options.”

>UPDATE: Conners’ attorney told TVSpy in a statement, “As the attorney for Larry Conners, I am constrained to advise you that he is barred by corporate from making statements, posting on Facebook, or participating in interviews on the IRS issue. That is the only reason for his silence.”

As a result, he is temporarily off the air until further notice.

my personal blogpost on Blogspot:

Veteran KMOV news anchor (and right-wing hero) Larry Conners (@lconnersnews4) is in really hot water because he claimed (falsely) that he was “harassed by the IRS” after his infamous interview with President Obama last year in which he asked right-wing gotcha questions  (most notably the “Obamas take too much vacations” lie promulgated through the wingnut universe).
I hope and pray that Conners gets fired for this; however, that won’t stop conservatives likeDana Loesch from declaring he is “being persecuted for ‘standing up to Obama.’” Also, KMOV’s newscasts should be boycotted until he is fired.

(cross-posted from Daily Kos)

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KMOV’s Larry Conners should be fired ASAP!

KMOV’s Larry Conners should be fired ASAP!

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KMOV's Larry Conners off the air until further notice after IRS flap : Lifestyles →

Longtime KMOV (Channel 4) anchorman Larry Conners is “off the air” until further notice.

The station is examining Conners’ recent allegations that he was targeted by the Internal Revenue Service after interviewing President Barack Obama.

“He’s not suspended. We just all thought it made sense (for him) to take a few days off,” news director Sean McLaughlin said.

“We take this very seriously, and we don’t expect this to drag on. We’re still looking into the situation and weighing our options,” he said.

The situation arose Monday night with a post from Conners on his Facebook page. In that post, Conners said he had been getting “pressure” from the IRS after the Obama interview in April 2012.

On Tuesday — in a televised statement near the end of KMOV’s 5 p.m. newscast — Conners backed off that initial claim.

“To be fair, I should disclose that my issues with the IRS preceded that interview (with Obama) by several years,” Conners said Tuesday in the 35-second statement.

St. Louis County records show that a federal tax lien has been placed on Conners’ property in Clayton. The lien claims that Conners and his wife,Janet L. Conners, owe more than $85,000 in “small business/self employed” taxes.

The lien, filed Sept. 20 in Chicago and then recorded in St. Louis County on Oct. 4, specifically alleges that the Conners owe the government $7,793 from 2008, $38,482 from 2009 and $39,508 from 2010.

“His Facebook post and his Twitter posts, as a result, were inappropriate,” he said. “And we don’t condone personal posts that jeopardize the journalistic nature of our business. It’s really that simple.”

KMOV NEEDS to permanently pink-slip this “reporter.”

h/t: STLtoday.com

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JGibsonBlog: Why KMOV MUST fire GOP hack Larry Conners →

As you may have heard in the news recently, veteran KMOV news anchor (and right-wing hero) Larry Conners (@lconnersnews4) is in really hot water because he claimed (falsely) that he was “harassed by the IRS”  after his infamous interview with President Obama last year in which he asked right-wing gotcha questions (most notably the “Obamas take too much vacations” lie promulgated through the wingnut universe).


From the 05.14.2013 edition of KMOV’s News 4 at 6:

Transcript:

“First, I need to state those were my personal views, not those of KMOV-TV,” Conners said (video above). “Second, to be fair, I should disclose that my issues with the IRS preceded that interview by several years. As a journalist I understand the importance of keeping personal matters separate from my professional work — sometimes you have to do that retain your independence as a newsman. Those lines might have been unintentionally crossed yesterday by my [Facebook] post.”
The facts: Conners’ tax problems with the IRS go back to several years BEFORE his interview with Obama.
Conners backed off his earlier claim about the IRS on KMOV’s 5 p.m. newscast Tuesday. The Post-Dispatch reported his initial IRS suspicions at 11 a.m. Conners declined to comment in the time between the Post-Dispatch report and his televised statement. 
St. Louis County records show that a federal tax lien has been placed on Conners’ property in Clayton. The lien claims that Conners and his wife, Janet L. Conners, owe more than $85,000 in “small business/self employed” taxes. 
The lien, filed Sept. 20 in Chicago and then recorded in St. Louis County on Oct. 4, specifically alleges that the Conners owe the government $7,793 from 2008, $38,482 from 2009 and $39,508 from 2010.

Dear KMOV (or KMOTea), if you want any credibility left, you should do the right thing and fire Mr. Conners ASAP!

(Cross-posted from JGibsonBlog.Blogspot.com)

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Is the IRS hassling KMOV anchor and GOP shill Larry Conners? : Lifestyles →

Much news is being generated by allegations that the Internal Revenue Service recently has targeted conservative groups.

Now KMOV-TV (Channel 4) anchorman Larry Connerswonders if he is being targeted by the IRS because of tough questions he asked President Barack Obama during an interview in April 2012. 

Monday night, Conners posted his concerns on Facebook.The post begins:

“Shortly after I did my April 2012 interview with President Obama, my wife, friends and some viewers suggested that I might need to watch out for the IRS.

“I don’t accept ‘conspiracy theories,’ but I do know that almost immediately after the interview, the IRS started hammering me.”

In conclusion, Conners wrote:

“What I don’t like to even consider … is that because of the Obama interview … the IRS put a target on me.

Can I prove it? At this time, no. But it is a fact that since that April 2012 interview … the IRS has been pressuring me.”

It’s WAY past time for KMOV to fire GOP shill Larry Conners! He’s the main reason why I prefer 2/11 or 5 to 4 for the news. 

h/t:  STLtoday.com

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From the 05.10.2013 edition of KTVI’s Fox 2 News In The Morning.

EDITORS’ NOTE: All future photosets involving Angie Mock (and the gang at Fox2) will be moved over to Justin’s Entertainment Corner.

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Wave of fast food strikes hits St. Louis — MSNBC →

First New York, then central Pennsylvania, and then Chicago. Now St. Louis is the latest American city to be hit with a strike by non-union fast food workers demanding higher wages and the right to form a union. Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, over 100 employees at approximately 30 different St. Louis-based restaurants walked off the job, demanding the right to form a union and a raise from Missouri’s $7.35 hourly minimum wage to $15 per hour. The strike was organized by an alternative workers’ group called the St. Louis Organizing Committee as part of a campaign called STL Can’t Survive on $7.35.

“Increasingly, fast food jobs are the only options for St. Louisans, but these workers can’t even afford to pay for rent, food, or carfare,” said Rev. Martin Rafanan, director of STL Can’t Survive on $7.35, in a statement. “If the workers earned more, fast food workers would spend that money at local businesses here in St. Louis and help lift our economy.”

The strike—which hit restaurants such as McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Wendy’s and Domino’s—was only a quarter a size of New York’s second fast food strike, still the largest walkout to occur in the industry. Still, the recent events in St. Louis indicate that labor unrest within the industry is not going away, and that the nationwide momentum shows no sign of abating.

A significant chunk of the jobs being gained during America’s economic recovery are concentrated in the service and retail sectors; in fact, the fast food industry is growing at twice the rate as the rest of the economy, according to The Nation’s Annie Shields. As a result, St. Louis is highly unlikely to be the last American city to be hit with a fast food strike.

h/t: MSNBC.com

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Biondi announces he will step down at SLU : News →

The Rev. Lawrence Biondi announced Saturday night that he will step down as president of St. Louis University. 

h/t: STLtoday.com

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(via Anthony Kiekow at Fox2now.com: Revealing Look Into The Home Of A Same-Sex Couple Raising 3 Kids)

ST. LOUIS, MO. (KTVI) – Sadie Lankford and her partner Rachel Roach are raising three girls in St. Louis.

The girls are Sadie’s biological children.

“I never really told them this is Rachel and she is my girlfriend,” Sadie said. “We just kind of all fit together.”

Sadie said before set met Rachel she was raising the children alone.

“They never really have seen me with a man,” Sadie said. “Rachel is all they know.”

Janelle Lankford, 11, is the oldest child.

“I don’t think it is anyone’s business if I have two moms,” Janelle said.

Janelle recently switched schools after she says kids, who knew she was being raised by same sex parents, called her a lesbian.

“No one really should be saying those things,” She said.

Sadie and Rachel told FOX 2 the only thing a “missing” from their family unit is a wedding ceremony.

However, same sex couples are not allowed to legally marry in Missouri.

“The girls fight over who would be a flower girl and hold the rings, but in reality we don’t have a wedding in our near future,” Sadie said.

Father Ryan describes it as a union that is only “physically possible” between a man and a woman.

“Sex acts cannot have the proper meaning if authentic one-flesh union is not possible,” Father Ryan said.

He also said that it is something only a married couple should share.

The Catholic Church is opposed to same sex marriage.

However, Sadie and Rachel said that they think they should be allowed to marry.

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Dana Loesch, St. Louis-Area Mom Spar Over Gun Control - Yahoo! News →

Conservative talk show host Dana Loesch called a St. Louis-area mother an “idiot” for attending an anti-gun violence rally in late March in downtown St. Louis. Three weeks later, the Riverfront Times reports Nikki Moungo, a 42-year-old mother of three, said Loesch lacks “compassion or sympathy” for victims of gun violence. Moungo was part of a Moms Against Guns rally that Loesch found disturbing. Now, the two are locked in a war of words over the controversial issue.

* Moungo called Loesch “extremely superficial” in her interview with the media outlet posted Tuesday. The mother has been helping her neighbor cope with the death of Matthew Pellegrini, a shooting victim murdered in St. Louis in 2012.

* Moungo called out Loesch’s assertion she is a “limo liberal” by saying, “You don’t have to wait for gun violence to affect you to get involved.”

* Loesch responded to Moungo’s interview with a blog post of her own. The conservative activist said, “I’ve actually had threats against myself and my family… . I’ve even had people show up at my house. People who’ve never been in the firsthand position of ever having to defend themselves should stop lecturing those who HAVE been in such position. Thanks for completely proving my point.”

* Among other observations, Loesch made fun of Moungo’s Frontenac sunglasses and designer clothes in addition to the fact that many of the women who attended the downtown St. Louis rally were from the suburbs. Moungo co-owns a construction business with her husband and has three boys ages 21, 19 and 9, according to the Riverfront Times piece.

* The war of words expanded to Twitter. Loesch posted, “In reality, [Moungo] is thin skinned because she obsessed over it for a week. My critique was right and it stung. Now move on.”

* Moungo replied when she said Loesch had “no clue” about her life circumstances in suburban St. Louis. She also told the conservative blogger, “Don’t mock those who mourn, try being civilized.”

* The online fracas started with Loesch’s commentary on the anti-gun rally posted to RedState.com March 30. The blogger started by calling attendees “well-heeled progressive women from the nice, safe part of Missouri… .”

* One of the speakers at the rally suggested the United States cede its sovereignty to the United Nations in terms of better gun control. A journalist asked Mayor Francis Slay if he agreed with Dr. Robert Flood’s statement, but he refused to answer the question.

* Moungo is not the only St. Louis resident infuriated by Loesch. Local chef Dale Beauchamp called upon Loesch’s supporters to “use your easily purchased firearm on yourself.” Twitchy.com reports Beauchamp apologized for making his comments and the restaurant for which he works, Little Country Gentleman, distanced itself from the chef’s remarks in a string of tweets made Thursday.

* Loesch is a St. Louis native who contributes to many national news media outlets on a regular basis. She is married with two children.

Fuck people like Dana Loesch!

h/t: Yahoo! News

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Back by popular demand: Fox2’s Angie Mock.

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Francis Slay Wins Mayoral Election To Become STL's First 4 Term Mayor →

ST. LOUIS, MO. (KTVI) – Mayor Francis Slay has easily won election to become St. Louis’s first four term mayor. Slay defeated St. Louis Aldermanic President Lewis Reed back in March and Tuesday night defeated the Green Party candidate James McNeely by over 16,000 votes.

H/T: Fox2now.com

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Dana Busted: Typical from Loesch and Hoft: She falsely accuses Dr. Flood of "ceding US sovereignty to the UN" →

Three of St. Louis’ leading teabagger pro-2nd Amendment fetishists— Dana Loesch, Chris Loesch, and Jim Hoft— used today’s gun safety rally in Downtown St. Louis City at Kiener Plaza to smear Mayor Francis Slay and promoted baseless United Nations-related conspiracy theories, such as falsely accusing speaker Dr. Robert Flood of “ceding United States sovereignty to the United Nations.”

Earlier today a bunch of well-heeled progressive women from the nice, safe part of Missouri rolled into crime-ridden St. Louis city to condescend to city residents and hold signs proclaiming “Moms Demand Action! For Gun Sense In America!” Because what mom doesn’t demand action for things, gun sense especially? These moms aren’t like those pro-Second Amendment moms, who apparently do not demand gun sense, whatever that’s supposed to mean. 

St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay stood onstage behind speaker Dr. Robert Flood, who remarked how the United States should cede sovereignty to the United Nations because they can deal better with gun crime. You know, the United Nations that has has as members of its security council top-rated countries like Rwanda and Pakistan who are famous for citizens’ safety. 
I was a bit surprised by this; as Democrats go, Slay is perceived as a moderate. He’s never glommed onto the incendiary rhetoric his party has used or insulted the tea party. While his office did give some preferential treatment to the Occupy movement, he also cracked down on them shortly thereafter and threw them out of the park in which they were squatting. Mass arrests occurred and the Occupiers responded by defacing a city employee’s house and landmarks around the city. Personally, I’ve always had a friendly relationship with members of Slay’s staff which again, is why I am surprised that he attended this rally. It was anything but a non-partisan rally. Slay’s people are always careful to keep him from very polarizing events but in this case, they failed.  

Other failures of this rally: only around 150 people from around the area attended. Also, after hearing about class warfare and “one percenters” for a year, I found it hysterical to see that the rally seemed to only attract the most well-heeled limousine liberals. ” I wouldn’t expect these women to understand the realities of city life or the need for us city residents to protect ourselves. 
Loesch does not know a damn thing about guns (other than rehashing her horseshit NRA talking points) if it bit her on the ass. She also called the pro-gun safety advocates “condescending.” 
She further denounced the pro-gun safety protestors on Twitter and insulted [left-leaning] suburban (read: STL County) women:

She smeared the protestors as “bussed-in from the County progressives.” I bet you if the protestors being bussed in supported Dana’s viewpoint, she would cheer it. 


Your 2nd Amendment rights are NOT being eroded by these new gun safety proposals, Dana!

Actually, the people who live in gated subdivisions usually tend to be politically conservative, NOT liberal. 


You are a deranged douchebag, Dana!

WRONGO, Dana! That’s a blatant generalization. 


Her husband, Chris, also took to Twitter and piled on to the distortions:


He repeated the “more people killed by hammers” lie.

He also an anti-choice zealot, just like his wife Dana.

Not necessarily related to today’s gun safety event, but this tweet by him is so off the charts stupid that I have decided to call it our here:

He repeated another PPACA-related lie, this time being about “Obamacare will outlaw extreme sports”.
Dr. Robert Flood, director of pediatric emergency at SLU, gave the keynote speech at the end of the rally. The good doctor urged supporters to call congress and turn your rights and sovereignty over to United Nations by supporting the Child Rights Act.
Hoft even took a cheap shot by repeating the far-right talking points equating the support of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Act was an “attempt to take away your rights and the nation’s sovereignty over to the United Nations.”
ST. LOUIS • The city of St. Louis is “armed to the hilt,” and must change that to prevent violence such as the crossfire shooting of a 4-year-old girl last week, Mayor Francis Slay told a crowd of gun-control advocates Saturday. 
Slay and other speakers called for assault weapons bans, universal background checks and other reforms in the wake of the massacre of 20 children and six educators by a gunman at a school in Newtown, Conn., in December. 
“I’m here because our streets of St. Louis are awash with guns,” Slay told the crowd. He noted that he was one of about 850 mayors nationally calling for stricter gun laws, with the focus on requiring universal background checks. Current federal law allows gun sales from unlicensed sellers with no such checks.
Steve Marx of St. Louis disagreed. He was one of about a dozen activists who stood at the edge of the rally holding up signs touting gun rights. Marx’s sign read, “Guns save lives.”
“They’re exploiting a tragedy committed by a madman. My rights are not what’s wrong,” Marx said. He said calls for universal background checks was an attempt by government at “total control” over gun owners. 
The gun-control rally was organized by a local chapter of the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. It included Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein, University City Mayor Shelley Welsch and St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson. 
Organizers noted that Missouri’s two U.S. senators, Republican Roy Blunt and Democrat Claire McCaskill, had been invited to the rally but didn’t attend.
The national push toward sweeping gun control that seemed inevitable in the days and weeks after the Newtown massacre has slowed, leading some proponents to accuse President Barack Obama of having missed the moment.

(cross-posted from DanaBusted.blogspot.com)

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(via Stan Musial Memorial Bridge Passed Unanimously in US Senate « CBS St. Louis) WASHINGTON (KMOX) – An effort by Missouri and Illinois Senators to name the New Mississippi River bridge after St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial has paid off. The legislation unanimously passed the United States Senate late last night. “I’m thrilled to see the ‘Stan Span’ so close to becoming a reality, and urge my colleagues in the U.S. House to quickly approve this tribute,” said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill. “There’s nobody I’d rather see welcoming folks into St. Louis than our hometown hero, Stan Musial.” “Naming the I-70 Bridge after Cardinals legend, Stan Musial, would be a fitting honor to a great American hero and the values he stood for,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. “I am proud to have worked with Senators McCaskill, Blunt and Kirk on this bipartisan legislation as a tribute to one of our best.” “I’m pleased my Senate colleagues unanimously passed this bill to honor Missourian and baseball legend Stan Musial,” said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. “Stan was a true hero to so many Americans, both on and off the field. This is a great way for us remember his legacy for years to come.” The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. Last month, all four Senators teamed-up to introduce the legislation—ensuring quick passage through the committee process and expedited consideration on the Senate floor. In 2010, a bi-state Congressional delegation encouraged President Obama to consider Musial for the Presidential Medal of Freedom—an honor he received on February 15, 2011.

(via Stan Musial Memorial Bridge Passed Unanimously in US Senate « CBS St. Louis)

WASHINGTON (KMOX) – An effort by Missouri and Illinois Senators to name the New Mississippi River bridge after St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial has paid off. The legislation unanimously passed the United States Senate late last night.

“I’m thrilled to see the ‘Stan Span’ so close to becoming a reality, and urge my colleagues in the U.S. House to quickly approve this tribute,” said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill. “There’s nobody I’d rather see welcoming folks into St. Louis than our hometown hero, Stan Musial.”

“Naming the I-70 Bridge after Cardinals legend, Stan Musial, would be a fitting honor to a great American hero and the values he stood for,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. “I am proud to have worked with Senators McCaskill, Blunt and Kirk on this bipartisan legislation as a tribute to one of our best.”

“I’m pleased my Senate colleagues unanimously passed this bill to honor Missourian and baseball legend Stan Musial,” said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. “Stan was a true hero to so many Americans, both on and off the field. This is a great way for us remember his legacy for years to come.”

The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

Last month, all four Senators teamed-up to introduce the legislation—ensuring quick passage through the committee process and expedited consideration on the Senate floor.

In 2010, a bi-state Congressional delegation encouraged President Obama to consider Musial for the Presidential Medal of Freedom—an honor he received on February 15, 2011.

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