Subject: United States

• No Canada: U.S. military deserters once again flock to Canada to avoid war. Looks like this time they picked the wrong country.

  March 11, 2009

• The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 11.18

  Upon my return from Mexico, there were 1,736 unread emails in the account I use for Google news alerts. D'oh. Here are some highlights from the last 24 hours... It's official: InBev has purchased Anheuser-Busch. (Dow Jones) A new government report finds an increase in U.S. households struggling with food scarcity. (Reuters) The U.S. says it will work with China to ensure food safety, even as China urges the U.S. to end last week's new restrictions on food imports. (AP) Should we wor

  November 18, 2008

• Gut Check Thing of the Year Nominee: Melamine

  The fourth and final nominee for the 2008 Gut Check Thing of the Year is the contaminant melamine.

  December 23, 2008

• The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 12.16

  In today's news: Whole Foods has support in Congress, China bans substances from food, AB InBev loses a court battle and Iron Chef America for the Wii.

  December 16, 2008

• What Do Bakersfield and Charleston Have That St. Louis Doesn't?

  Men's Health and Women's Health magazines have come out with their ranking of the 100 best -- and worst -- cities in America for healthy living. St. Louis ranks as the second-worst city in both Men's Health and Women's Health, with only Bakersfield, California, and Charleston, West Virginia, respectively, earning lower marks. Which leaves one wondering: What do those cities have that we don't? Certainly not more STDs. More fat people? No way. Just a few years ago Men's Health named us the "Flab

  December 24, 2008

• The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 12.30

  In today's news: More on Mexico and U.S. meat, prosecco and Burger King's meat cologne sells out.

  December 30, 2008

• Spike in Murders in St. Louis Contradicts Drops in Other "Dangerous" Cities

  Homicides in St. Louis jumped from 138 in 2007 to 167 last year, making 2008 the deadliest year in the 'Lou since 204 people lost their lives in 1995.Across the state, Kansas City also saw a surge in murders with homicides increasing from 94 in 2007 to 126 last year. Yet despite reports suggesting that an increase in killings is to be expected during these tough economic times, many U.S. cities actually saw homicides drop last year.

  January 5, 2009

• Joe Buck, Fox Colleagues, Got Free Government Escorts

  Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Troy Aikman got free U.S. Marshal Service rides and escorts to sporting events, according to Web site The Smoking Gun. In a report issued late last week, the Department of Justice's inspector general found that an attorney for the marshal service, David Band, arranged for the rides and other privileges for the Fox Sports broadcasters. Band moonlights as a statistician for Fox Sports. The inquiry found that Band arranged for U.S. marshal deputies to drive Buck and Aikma

  January 12, 2009

• Principia College Invites Elsah Residents to Revisit Old "Sun Down" Laws

  On the heels of next week's inauguration of the nation's first African-American president,  Principia College is inviting author James Loewen and residents of Elsah, Illinois, to discuss the city's old "sun down" laws. As Loewen documented in his 2005 book Sundown Towns, Elsah -- home to Principia College and located just north of Alton -- was one of thousands of cities across America that required blacks to leave city limits by dusk. "When I began this research, I expected to find about te

  January 16, 2009

• Muy Caliente Summer Edition: The Mexican explains why salsa (the music and the sauce) is so bland in America

  June 3, 2009

• Peanut Corp. of America Files for Bankruptcy

  Wikimedia CommonsIn a move that surprises exactly no one, Peanut Corp. of America has filed for bankruptcy. (CNN)Peanut Corp. of America is the source of the current salmonella outbreak in peanut-butter products. Earlier this week, the state of Texas ordered a recall of everything ever shipped from the company's plant there, while the company's head took the fifth while appearing before a Congressional hearing.One upshot of the bankruptcy filing? According to a consumer advocate, as quoted in th

  February 14, 2009

• Java Enabled: The Rise of Joe Double-Shot

  Zach Dyer is a writer living in Saint Louis. He did his thesis research on coffee farmers in Southern Mexico. Since then, he has visited coffee plantations in Costa Rica and Mexico as well as roasters and cafés across the U.S. He blogs about coffee for Gut Check every Wednesday.Last September, McDonald's started airing an ad in which bespectacled hipsters drink coffee in a Starbucks-inspired setting. Upon hearing that McDonald's now serves cappuccinos, the characters spontaneously admit -- oh,

  February 25, 2009

• Does the World Really Need Even More Football?

  Apparently, there's a brand-new football league preparing to launch in 2009.Called the United Football League, it's going to consist of four teams playing a six-game schedule with a championship game on Thanksgiving, and the head coach of one of the teams is apparently the Rams' most recent head coach, Jim Haslett. (Apparently, Jim Fassel is also set to coach a team, but I don't believe the coaches have all been officially announced yet.)

  March 10, 2009

• The Noble Writ: Green Wine for St. Patrick's Day?

  Dave Nelson is the author of the blog Beer, Wine and Whisky. He writes about wine for Gut Check every Tuesday.A green wine for St. Patrick's Day?Not exactly. But when this wine lover's thoughts turn to spring, I'm reminded of a handful of refreshing white wines that I tend to neglect during winter. Grüner veltliner ("grüner" is the German adjective form of "green") is one of these select few, and it appears on my mental radar as the first new crop of asparagus starts to arrive in markets.Aspa

  March 17, 2009

• Interview MP3 Video: Swedish Punks Masshysteri Proclaim Love for Chuck Berry, Touring

  The Swedish punk band Masshysteri, which is in the middle of a one-month trek through the U.S., is playing The Wedge tomorrow, March 31. (Read Jason Toon's critic's pick here..) I called up guitarist and singer Robert Petterson to ask about the tour thus far. Luckily, he was sitting in a van in traffic in Texas somewhere and welcomed the distraction. Petterson, 29, has been to the U.S. before, playing in superb acts, The Vicious and in the Regulations. Konstantin Sergeyev Masshysteri pho

  March 30, 2009

• Java Enabled: The Café, Unplugged

  Zach Dyer is a writer living in Saint Louis. He did his thesis research on coffee farmers in Southern Mexico. Since then, he has visited coffee plantations in Costa Rica and Mexico as well as roasters and cafés across the U.S. He blogs about coffee for Gut Check every Wednesday.I sit at the mouth of the winding Alice in Wonderland hallway that once bridged the two halves of Kaldi's Coffeehouse on DeMun Avenue. A black power cord snakes from my old clunker of a laptop, across the cracked and pa

  March 25, 2009

• At Long Last, Our Kids Are as Fat as We Are

  media.photobucket.com/image/fat kids/soulfood78A new study finds that one in five American four-year-olds is obese. That's roughly equal to the obesity rate in the general population. Yes, congrats America! Lift up your arms (if you can). When it comes to eating -- we are the champions.

  April 7, 2009

• ¡Ask A Mexican!: A Room of One's Own: Where are all the homeless Mexicans?

  April 8, 2009

• Guantánamo's Final Days: America prepares to shutter the infamous prison camp, and jihad looms

  February 25, 2009

• ¡Ask a Mexican!: What's in a slur?

  February 25, 2009

• Ask a Mexican: Are there fundamental differences between Mexican Mexicans and Mexican Americans?

  February 4, 2009

• Do You Wanna Watch Dance?

  January 14, 2009

• Ask a Mexican! Special Guadalupe Edition: Since when did America become a Scarface Nation?

  December 10, 2008

• Ask a Mexican!: Beaner Counter: How do we know how many illegal immigrants are in the United States?

  November 26, 2008

• Free Movie!

  November 12, 2008

• Ask a Mexican: Is the American southwest really the Aztecs' Garden of Eden?

  November 12, 2008

• Ballpark Figures: Just How Big a Cash Cow is the All-Star Game?

  flickr/photos/kwmcnuttHard to believe, but once upon a time in America the All-Star Game was a one-day affair. There was no State Farm-sponsored Home Run Derby, no Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, no FanFest, live concerts, or celebrity softball games, where ex-Hall-of-Famers flail around the old ballyard with has-been actors. Best of all, fans didn't vote, the manager of each team didn't give a rat's petunia about getting everyone into the game, and the damn thing was played

  May 7, 2009

• The Morning Brew: Friday, 5.29

  The U.S. and Russia continue talks over Russia's ban on U.S. meat after the swine-flu outbreak. (Guardian)The governor-general of Canada is in trouble for eating raw seal meat. (BBC News)Pittsburgh fishmongers crack down on Detroit residents buying octopus before the Stanley Cup Finals begin.(Yahoo! Sports)

  May 29, 2009

• The Morning Brew: Friday, 6.12

  A new report finds that chicken is the leading source for food poisoning in the U.S. (New York Times)The U.N. looks at how to tackle the food and climate crises together. (Reuters)Too busy -- or lazy -- to walk from your cubicle to the office kitchen? You need the new desktop microwave. (CNet)

  June 12, 2009

• Lacy Clay Responds to Senate Apology for Slavery

  U.S. Rep. Lacy ClaySt. Louis Congressman Lacy Clay says he accepts a non-binding Senate resolution passed last week apologizing for slavery in the U.S. -- even if the measure isn't perfect.  The resolution "acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery, and Jim Crow laws," and "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow la

  June 22, 2009

• Abe Vigoda and the Octopus Project Playing Luminary Arts Center Win Tickets to This Weekend's Show!

  Some cool news from the Luminary Center for the Arts, about a few shows it has coming up in July. First, the venue will be co-presenting Austin electro-dreamers the Octopus Project on Friday, July 24. And the next night (that's Saturday, July 25), LA garage-wobblers Abe Vigoda will headline. (Locals Exercise and KC act Capybara, whose album is available for free right here, are opening.) The latter show is even cooler, because Luminary says it's "an unofficial event celebrating the first night o

  July 7, 2009

• Ask a Mexican: What's in a Name?: The Mexican explains the science of made-up Mexican monikers

  July 8, 2009

• These United States

  July 8, 2009

• Homeless Soccer Players to Return to National Tournament This Week

  The Roadies display their "Fair Play Award" at last year's Homeless USA Cup.​Last year we told you about the St. Louis Roadies, a soccer team headed by Keith Deisner, director of development at Peter & Paul Community Services in Soulard. For the most part, The Roadies look like a run-of-the-mill group of recreational soccer players. But one thing makes them different. All the players on the team are homeless. Last July the team traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the Homeless USA

  July 27, 2009

• Ravage

  August 12, 2009

• Where in St. Louis to Watch the USA-Mexico World Cup Qualifier Today

  www.mouthpiecesports.com/blogmedia​So you may have heard that the United States has never won a soccer match in Mexico. When the gringos visit Estadio Azteca (perhaps the most historic fútbol stadium in the world, not a chain restaurant) they are 0-18-1. Blame the crazy urine-chucking fans, blame the 7,000 feet of elevation, blame the fact that all of America's best athletes play that other type of football -- whatever the culprit the Yanks haven't won nada south of the border.

  August 12, 2009

• Founder of BetonSports Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Forfeits $43 Million to Government

  ​Gary Stephen Kaplan, the subject of a Riverfront Times investigation in '07, has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges of fraud for running an illegal offshore sports wagering business.As part of a complex plea agreement, Kaplan, 50, entered pleas of guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the RICO statute, conspiring to violate the Wire Wager Act and violating the Wire Wager Act. The plea had Kaplan forfeit to the United States $43,650,000 in criminal proceeds, which he wired from a

  August 14, 2009

• Feds Let Online Gamblers Lay Claim to BETonSPORTS' Founder Gary Kaplan's $43 Million, Beginning Today

  ​Gary Kaplan, founder of the now-defunct online gambling business BETonSPORTS, delivered a big win to the U.S. Department of Justice last week when he pleaded guilty to racketeering and fraud. Part of the plea-bargain included Kaplan's forfeiture of more than $43.65 million in proceeds he acquired from running the billion-dollar betting operation in Costa Rica.The feds have wasted no time in making available that $43.65 million to bettors and others who spent money with BETonSPORTS and Kaplan.

  August 18, 2009

• Ask a Mexican!: Latin Lovin': When's a Mexican girl supposed to get hitched?

  September 2, 2009

• Ask a Mexican: State of Mind: Do bumper stickers reveal Mexicans' hometown pride, or just Mexican pride?

  September 16, 2009

• ¡Ask A Mexican!: Special, annual Canadian edition

  September 30, 2009

• Saturday's Sunday Punches

  October 21, 2009

• Madonna's 1990 "Rock the Vote Ad" is Hopelessly Dated ... And That's a Good Thing!

  It's election day in communities across America. Here in Missouri, St. Louis County voters -- only 10 percent them, actually -- are expected to to go to the polls to vote on a smoking ban for bars and restaurants.​Stereotypically, it's been the younger generations who are least likely to vote, and over the years a whole band of celebrities have shot PSA's encouraging these young slackers to head to the polls. (Remember the "Vote or Die" campaign?) Some of the messages have lasting power. Other

  November 3, 2009

• Final Exit Network Alive and Kicking

  ​When Riverfront Times reported on the suicide assistance group the Final Exit Network back in April, the group's future looked grim. Seven members in Arizona and Georgia had been arrested and charged with assisting a suicide and violating Georgia's RICO racketeering laws and a Georgia court had frozen the network's financial assets.Since then, Derek Humphry's Legal Defense Fund and other private donors have chipped in to pay for bail and legal representation. (Humphry is the author of the so-

  November 5, 2009

• Presenting: The DisAbility Project in "Facts and Figures"

  This week's RFT feature story is about the DisAbility Project, a theater troupe here in St. Louis made up of actors who have disabilities. All week long on Daily RFT, we'll be posting video of the DP in action. All skits were shot during a performance on October 28 at the Saint Louis Art Museum for an audience of students, ranging from elementary to high school.In this skit, called "Facts and Figures", cast members share some sad facts about how disabled people have been treated throughout

  November 13, 2009

• The Latest On King Khan's Kentucky Adventure

  KK & BBQ.​Free advice to all musicians driving from Nashville to St. Louis: Stick to the main roads, especially when in Kentucky.The King Khan & BBQ Show didn't show up for their nearly sold-out gig last night in St. Louis (original openers Those Darlins and Deer Tick's John McCauley filled in nicely), apparently because they got lost in the backwoods of the Bluegrass State and had a run-in with the law.Trooper John Hawkins of the Kentucky State Police says the duo, along wit

  November 13, 2009

• Voters in More and More Cities Elect to Do Away with Red-Light Cameras

  ​Last week's post about a St. Louis driver who defended himself -- and won! -- a trial vs. the city and a red-light camera ticket, generated lots of traffic on Daily RFT.So, here's another story that should rile up those of you who hate those pesky red-light cameras. In cities where the cameras have gone up for a vote of the general public, the cameras have lost every single time. As the Washington Post reported earlier this month: Three cities Tuesday (Nov. 3) -- two in Ohio, one in Texas --

  November 16, 2009

• Them Dogs Do Hunt: Savvy Hillbillies Charged with Illegally Hunting Deer with Canines

  ​A posse from the Ozark region of southern Missouri has been charged with violating the federal Lacey Act for hunting deer with dogs in the Mark Twain National Forest. According to federal prosecutors, the group released dogs wearing radio-location transmitters and then tracked the location of the canines (and thus the deer) through radio telemetry. The hunters also used marine-band radios to evade and discuss the location of Missouri Conservation agents.

  November 18, 2009

• England wants to know: Where the bloody Mexicans at?

  November 25, 2009

• RFT readers rush to Sarah Palin's defense, and they're not ready to kiss off Jerry Berger, either

  November 25, 2009