Backwash

Ask the Boss Bitch!

Jimmy the Fetus was last seen river rafting with Sen. Sam Brownback, saying he’d be back after a Bible study refresher. But we still need advice, so this week we turn to hip-hop MC Priceless Diamonds, who recently described herself to us as a “boss bitch” (“Tone Death,” July 28). Priceless tells us she’s leading a straighter life after growing up boosting clothes and turning the occasional trick. So listen up, y’all.

Priceless, would any self-respecting boss bitch be caught dead riding the city’s fancy new bus, the Max?

Yes, because she’s a maneuverer. She can maneuver her way through and around anything somehow, some way. And to get the job done or the deal closed, she’ll walk if she has to. A lot of rich people ride public transportation to help keep the air clean, so she’s not above public transportation. I used to have that problem. I was embarrassed that people I knew would see me at the bus stop. I just would have tried to stand in the cut on the bus stop and bounce on at the last minute. I see the big picture now. I know the deal. Ain’t nobody else going to do it for me. Sometimes public transportation is more reliable than a close friend. And I don’t get in a car with just anybody. They can be riding dirty with drugs or guns or faulty tags.

Housecleaning

Two weeks ago, we reported that Stephanie and Kelvin Williams, a black couple in 92-percent-white Independence, were having trouble with a white neighbor, Michael Butner, who didn’t appreciate their coming to the neighborhood two years ago (KC Strip, “The Hood,” July 21).

According to a report by Independence police officer Joel Poindexter, Butner said in a June dispute with his neighbors that “this is a white man’s neighborhood and he “did not want any niggers living around him.” Butner denied making the statement when he spoke to the Pitch. But the Williamses said they were frustrated that police hadn’t done more about Butner, who they say threatened them and generally made living next door to him a living hell. In one police report, an officer noted that squad cars had been called to disturbances at the Butner place 17 times in the previous year.

Independence Police Chief Fred Mills told us he sympathized with the Williamses and was outraged by what he read in police reports about Michael Butner, but he said there wasn’t much he could do.

Well, after our story came out, police took the next call to the Butners much more seriously. On July 23, police received a call that a fight was going on inside the Butner house. (The Williamses did not make the call.) Police spokesman Tom Gentry says that when officers arrived, Butner’s wife asked for aid, which allowed the officers to enter the Butner household. Alarmed by the conditions they found, the police then called out health department officials to inspect the house. Butner was arrested under state law as the primary aggressor in a domestic dispute, Gentry says, and the couple’s children and dogs were removed from the house. Health officials found that the house was unsanitary, with piles of clutter making it difficult to walk around. Some exposed wires were also a concern. The family had no running water. The health department declared the Butner house unsafe to occupy and gave the family until August 12 to clean up the place.

Butner didn’t answer a phone call, but Stephanie Williams says she’s relieved to see the new interest on the part of the police. “The many times they’ve been over there, they’ve never done so much. It was surprising to see them take so much action. It was great.” Still, she’s cautious. She says she hopes that Butner gets a message about living peacefully with neighbors he may not like. “Hopefully he’ll stop worrying about us and start paying attention to his own life.”

Net Prophet
Notes From KC’s Blogosphere
Yes, that’s right — Bacon Shoe has been elevated to a new level of gay. We are mighty proud of it, too! I got a call on Friday from David Wayne at the Late Night Theatre. He asked if Bacon Shoe would like to come down on Saturday night and play a short set for a party. I was like, “sure!” He didn’t mention anything about how the party was called THE BADBOY PARTY, and that there would be about 30 male underwear models all oiled up and only wearing thongs. So there we were, me and Toine. Standing among some of the oiliest, gayest people in Kansas City. We only played three songs, but they loved it. There were half naked transvestites dancing behind us when we were performing. It was the best show of our lives. After the show, we got invited to a party on the roof. The place was called “Bahama Ron’s.” When we got up to the roof, we saw two big baby pools with a bunch of naked gay guys in them. We then proceeded to get really, really drunk. Billy Smith, Cat, Missy and Brody showed up. There was a very hairy gay man who walked up to me and Toine and said “Hey there, would you guys get offended if I asked to see your penises?” We kinda looked at each other and said “No, we wouldn’t get offended, but we also wouldn’t show you.” He looked kinda bummed out. Oh well. So anyway, after that whole extravaganza, I feel 3 percent gayer, and I am proud of it, too! Just so the boys at Late Night Theatre know, we had a fuckin’ blast and will come fry the bacon anytime. —Posted at Argument Machine, a local music bulletin board, by John Bersuch