Fayetteville Finger, Meet Nolte's Notch

Being situated in Missouri's unofficial 118th County, naturally I've been keeping an eye on the redistricting efforts in the Natural State. Today, Arkansas's House approved a measure that would draw Fayetteville and southeastern Washington County into the Democrat-leaning Fourth Congressional District and out of the third, which currently is centered on the I-540 corridor. The vote went 52-46, with only one of Fayetteville's reps voting for the proposal.

So the talk of gerrymandering down here has giving me a sharpened set of eyes to review the proposed map that Missouri's House Redistricting Committee has placed on its Web site and discussed in earnest today. Naturally, the presumed "odd man out" Russ Carnahan joined with likely primary opponent William Clay in opposing the proposal to split St. Louis City and County among two districts. And with Missouri having to redraw to account for one less district, there will be plenty of fighting in the six weeks remaining in the General Assembly's session.

And while most of the state's focus will be on St. Louis (again, because a member of the Carnahan dynasty is pretty much the "odd man out"), lines have shifted considerably in the Western half of the state.

Consider the current setup of Kansas City and, by extension, the Athenian corridor better known as Highway 63: (derived from The National Atlas' map of Missouri's current delegations)

After the 2000 Census, Jackson County was split between three congressional districts, the bulk containing Kansas City in the Democrat-leaning fifth, a sliver in the stalwart fourth, and an increasingly conservative suburban region added to the expansive sixth. Columbia anchored the ninth district that covered Northeast Missouri and added counties along the northernmost reaches of the Ozarks.

Now, under the House's initial plan, we have this:

Lafayette, Ray, and Saline counties would be added to the fifth, and in exchange for losing Ike Skelton's stomping grounds, the fourth would receive Howard and Cooper counties from the sixth, plus Columbia in Boone County and the southern half of Randolph County, including all of Moberly. The remainder of the ninth would go to the sixth in the north and a new third district in the south. Miller County, which was originally at the edge of the district and jutting between the fourth and sixth, now becomes a critical retention point as the home county of incumbent Blaine Leuktemeyer. To that effect, Cole and most of Camden are added to this re-designated district.

The wonkiest drawings here, though, take place along the major byways of Kansas City's suburbs. With Jackson County's overall population showing little growth, adding Ike's core counties (traditionally Democrat) didn't do enough to bring the district's population up to snuff. Especially after the current portion in Cass County was moved to the fourth, as to ensure that incumbent Vicky Hartzler had the entirety of her home county. And with Eastern Jackson County solidly leaning Republican, placing them in the fifth would cause displeasure in their ranks, despite Sam Graves having to cross through the fifth to get there by car. So enter Clay County, a decent mix of suburbs to the south and west, farmland points north and east:


The line in red denotes the county line not marking the boundary between the two districts. Note that with Jackson to the south and Ray to the east, the fifth district would claim two significant population areas: Excelsior Springs and Lawson in the northeast corner, and several gentrified suburbs in the southwest. While these areas have historically leaned Democratic, this (as well as every other district being redrawn or not being redrawn for lack of enough population to warrant multiple districts in a state) guarantees nothing come November 2012.

Hence, labeling this convenient drawing of the line meandering through Jackson and Clay counties "Nolte's Notch", so named for State Representative and former Gladstone mayor Jerry Nolte. Nolte has generated plenty of attention with proposed this legislation this year, particularly his bills pegging the state's minimum wage to the federal minimum wage, requiring drivers tests to be administered in English, and eliminating the franchise tax over the next five years. Nolte, who is term-limited from the House after 2012, piqued the pundits' attention when he created an exploratory committee to look at a run for Congress when Graves was flirting at the prospect of challenging Claire McCaskill for the Senate.

Less than 24 hours after Nolte filed exploratory paperwork, Graves announced he would prefer staying in the House as chairman of the Committee on Small Businesses. When interviewed by Roll Call's Tricia Miller later that week, Nolte indicated that he would still consider a run for Congress if he happened to be going up against Emmanuel Cleaver, current representative from the fifth.

Cleaver, the AME preacher who was mayor of Kansas City from 1991 to 1999, received a scare from perennial Republican challenger Jacob Turk in 2010. Cleaver won re-election with only 53 percent of the vote, and now serves as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

So lo and behold: Nolte's Notch, encompassing North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, Gracemor and Birmingham. A chance for him or any Republican who didn't want to challenge Graves or Hartzler to take their aim on Cleaver, and by extension anything remotely to the left of them.

Of course, the Senate has yet to release their proposal, and both are subject to changes large and small as the next six weeks play out. And it's not yet known how the Blue Dog counties of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline would react to being represented by either a minority Democrat from the urban core or a suburbanite Republican from a county that backed Proposition B by a two-to-one margin. But if the House's plan were to hold firm, Missouri could end up with one Democrat out of eight in their House delegation. Presuming, rather prematurely, the chips fall the same way in 2012 the way they did in 2010.

A Refresher Course For Mike

A Primer From Someone Who Pretty Much Did The Same Thing Mike's Doing:
Left Missouri To Return To An Old Job Just Outside The State

Things have changed rapidly in Northwest Arkansas since the last time Mike Anderson held a job here. Heck, even some things changed since I was last employed south of the border some 22 months ago. But now, since I've been here the last five weeks re-acquainting myself with the turf that formed my initial status as The Missouri Expatriate, I'm going to relay some refreshers to the newest escapee from The Shear-Me State.

1. There are a lot more people here than there were when Nolan was chased out of town with pitchforks.
   Yep, Northwest Arkansas remains one of the fastest growing places in the nation. Two of the fastest growing counties in the 2010 Census were Washington and Benton counties, the two that make up the core of the region. In fact, Benton's rapid growth allowed them to surpass Washington (whose county seat is Fayetteville) as the second-most populous county in the Natural State, with Pulaski still in the top spot. With that in mind…
   
2. Ojala que haya aprendido español, laosiano o aún marshalesa.
   The rapid growth of population and commerce in the area also includes a large influx of migrant workers from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Marshall Islands. Most of them are employed by the poultry behemoth Tyson and their competitors George's, Cargill and Cobb-Vantress. This influx has added a unique character to their places of residence. Be ready to translate to English several signs, especially along 8th Street in Rogers and the east end of Springdale.
   
3. Forget Hy-Vee, QuikTrip, and Shakespeare's. They're still not here.
   Although the area has a plethora of independent pizza joints (Jim's Razorback, Eureka, Tim's), there's nothing like the unique feel of Shakespeare's. Also, it's going to be hit-or-miss finding Boulevard on tap (though I confess I don't know if Mike's the kind of guy who'll down a pint) or toasted ravioli.
   
   Despite Iowa-based Kum and Go making an aggressive push into the market (and fellow Hawkeye chain Casey's building its first store in Arkansas at Bella Vista's Highland Crossing) Hyvee still hasn't set designs on the area, with Walmart and Harps remaining the main game. (Yes, that means no Schnuks either!) And although QuikTrip is headquartered 90 miles to the west in Tulsa, they haven't touched the area either.
   
4. There's still no Bella Vista bypass, either.
   Get used to stopping at lights in Jane and stop-and-go traffic between Lancashire Drive and Lowe's, because the Bella Vista Bypass remains nowhere near completion. It's the critical cog that's keeping MoDOT from having US-71 south of Joplin labelled I-49. And if we're lucky, a two-lane bypass will open in four years that'll just provide a shortcut to Hiwasse. Worse, MoDOT's had the funding ready for years, but now as Arkansas's getting their act together to bypass what is now the state's ninth-largest city, MoDOT sits at risk of a massive budget shortfall.
   
5. Get ready to elect a congressman from Texarkana. Or Helena-West Helena.
   In spite of civic leaders and members of both parties saying how flagrant a gerrymander it is, members of Arkansas' re-districting committees are seriously considering a plan that would gerrymander Fayetteville out of the Third District (which reaches to Harrison, Fort Smith and Russellville) and into the last-remaining Democrat district, the fourth district in the southern half of the state. Supporters contend that Fayetteville's majority-Democrat population believe their votes are being wasted in a district that's been reliably Republican for 30-plus years. However, this gerrymander would be achieved by a "pig tail" through the Ozark National Forest in eastern Sebastian County, entirely surrounded by the Third District. And really, what does a college town surrounded by Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt have in common with the likes of DeQueen, Crossett and Lake Village?
   
   And yes, Helena consolidated with West Helena, and the city is in fact called "Helena-West Helena".
   
6. Didn't like paying to see the Columbia Tribune online? It's worse with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
   While the Columbia Tribune allows you to view ten articles online before making you pay (and you can get around it by reading the Missourian or any other paper in Missouri), you only get an abstract with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette before they insist you pay to view. Good luck finding any other daily to get freebie views; the closest is Neosho and Joplin, and they're owned by the same people who run the Kirksville Daily Express. Yeah.
   
7. Politics and planes aren't a problem here.
   No need to worry about fans from either side of the aisle taking "damn planes" to see the Hogs play. Democrat Mike Beebe's well liked here despite Arkansas becoming increasingly red, and he rarely leaves the Little Rock area.
   
8. Unfortunately, fluoridated water is.
   Despite the EPA advising polities to hold off on increasing the amount of fluoride in their drinking water, Beebe already signed legislation essentially overriding local standards and setting a statewide minimum. So once locating a dentist that's either in the Third or Fourth District that's going to charge a wee bit extra so the office staff can read entire articles online, check to make sure that iconic smile isn't getting scarred by streaks of fluoride.
   
9. On the bright side, once the euphoric homecoming passes and Arkansas is still languishing in the just-as-lousy SEC West, XNA has plenty of flights to choose from to escape the throngs of fans that still have Houston Nutt's scalp on the end of their pitchforks.
   The only thing missing is Southwest, but sooner or later they'll come here. Heck, Southwest already has an in at Branson's airport once the acquisition of AirTran is complete.
   

So there's my refresher course. Good luck Mike, because we're both going to need it.

Full Circle

Last week, I once again became an expatriate of the Show-Me State. I accepted an offer from my once-previous employers, KURM, and again am a member of their programming staff in Northwest Arkansas' Rogers. (And again I must note that views expressed here, past present and future, do not reflect the view of any of my employers, past present or future.)

This could easily be the inevitable death knell of this blog. With Missives from Missouri averaging 25 hits a day on weekly reports from nearly one-fifth the General Assembly, it has simply become the crux of what I publish online. If you haven't already, please start following Missives from Missouri on Twitter as well as the site itself.

However, I'm still that stubborn Missouri mule. I'll probably have something to post here from time to time. Good chance this will become a clip site featuring interviews I've done for them (seeing as the most riveting content on the station's Web site are the rules for Dial-A-Trade; were that not the case this blog would be on indefinite hiatus!)

As it has taken awhile for me to get situated in my flat in Missouri's 118th county, I have only now just gotten around to posting this, and a backlog of missives from the weekend are finally getting uploaded.

So here we go again: yours truly, The Missouri Expatriate

A Setting Everyone in Lohman Needs to Set

Four Missouri lawmakers and a staffer have had their Facebook profiles hacked into over the past month. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the victimized profiles logged onto Facebook via the House's public WiFi network shortly before being targeted.

Amid suggestions that the House should tighten access to their network, Facebook has introduced an option where users can log on and and surf with a secure connection. All users need to is go to their account settings and set up HTTPS browsing under "Account Security". Using an HTTPS connection, while resulting in longer waits for pages to load, would result in more information being encrypted when sent to and from the site.

Facebook's new security options includes e-mail and text alerts when a computer or mobile device access a user's account for the first time. They're also experimenting with social authentication, using pictures of the user's friends to verify that the person logging on is not a random hacker.

The change comes as an effort to prevent hackers from gaining access via public wireless networks, like those the House and Senate have in place at the State Capitol in Jefferson City. Since the session started last month, Democrat Stacey Newman of St. Louis, three Republicans (among them freshmen Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson and Dave Schatz of Sullivan) and a legislative aide to another Republican were victimized by hackers.

MoDOT Lets Peyton Manning Decide When Road Work Starts

Roadwork on Interstate 70 in Jackson County comes down to whether Peyton Manning has a bad day against the Jets tomorrow.

And if Ray Lewis can replicate Oakland's shredding of the Chiefs' offensive line.

The Missouri Department of Transportation are rebuilding the George Brett Bridge this winter, and its start date is contingent on how well the Kansas City Chiefs do in the postseason. The Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

As the fourth seed, the Chiefs have a slim prospect of hosting the AFC Championship. For that to happen, the Jets must win tomorrow at Indianapolis. Were the Chiefs to win, they would then have to defeat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, and the Jets would have to overcome their division rivals at New England. So long as a chance exists, MoDOT will delay construction of the bridge carrying the Blue Ridge Cutoff.

However, if Manning plays as he normally does at Lucas Oil Field, the bridge comes down Monday morning, even if the Chiefs win. Either way, crews will have until 30 March to complete construction of the new bridge, in time for the Royals home opener at Kauffman Stadium.

The new Blue Ridge Cutoff/George Brett Bridge is part of a widening of I-70 through the area. The project so far has brought a new bridge carrying U.S. Highway 40 over I-435. By 2012, ramps in the area will be reconfigured to better handle traffic and accommodate a third lane for I-70. This includes eliminating the junction with Manchester Avenue and adding ramps from Southbound I-435 to US-40. Sport fans from the north will have to use this new ramp to access the stadia, as traffic from north I-435 will no longer be able to access Blue Ridge Cutoff via I-70 east.

Missouri's County Seats Might As Well Be Musical Chairs

As a buff of Missouri history and geography, I naturally take pride in much of what Missouri has to offer. From the scenery of the rustic Ozarks and verdant Green Hills to our many attractions in cities large and small, we have a wonderful state.

And quirky one when it comes to county seats.

Indeed, our first five counties (Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, St. Charles, St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve) all have cities with the same name. And were it not for St. Louis City splitting from the county in 1876, all five would be in their namesake counties. From there, though, it gets confusing. Of those five cities, only three are the county seat. Cape Girardeau County's seat isn't Cape Girardeau, but Jackson.

And yet Jackson County's five hours away from the city of Jackson.

Travel north and west from Jackson and dissociations begin to crop up. At first they're not prevalent; starting with Perryville in Perry County and then Ste. Genevieve. But arrive in Jefferson County and find out that Jefferson City is two hours west, in Cole County. From there things start to get shuffled.

There is no Cole City, but instead a Cole Camp. That's in the north of Benton County. Next to Cole Camp is Lincoln. But Lincoln County's just north of St. Charles County, and their county seat is Troy. At least there's no Troy County, so it's safe to venture west into Washington County.

Washington, though, is in neighboring Franklin County. And right on the border with Franklin County is Sullivan, a solid three hours southeast of Sullivan County in the heart of the north central Green Hills. Go west from Sullivan and arrive in the town of Linn, the county seat of Osage County. But Linn County is immediately south of Sullivan County. And the only Missouri city with Osage in its name is Osage Beach, nestled against the Lake of the Ozarks in Camden County.

Next to Camden County is Miller County, whose county seat of Tuscumbia doesn't sound a thing like Miller. The city of Miller, it turns out, is further southwest, about 25 miles west of Springfield in the northern part of Lawrence County. In the midst of the confusion along Missouri's Rhineland, a dose of sanity goes unnoticed. The town of Gasconade marks the spot where the Gasconade empties into the Missouri River. It happens in Gasconade County, a few miles upstream from county seat Hermann. Just past St. Charles County, where the city of St. Charles has stood as the county seat for nearly two centuries, is Warren County, where Warrenton serves as county sear. And just west of Warren is Montgomery, where Montgomery City helms its namesake county. Certainly, sanity has returned to the state, right?

Unfortunately, just before Warrenton was the city of Wright City, and Wright County is well to the south, 25 miles east of Springfield. With heads hurting, up ahead lies the Kingdom of Callaway, with no city to its name, nor any Fulton County to require an extra two Tylenol from the truck stop across from Ozarkland. Trickle west into Boone County and then find out that Boonville is opposite Boone County in Cooper County.

Best get the extra two Tylenol now, and have more handy when looking north to Randolph County. Just past the line from Boone County is Clark, the hometown of General Omar Bradley. Quiet, picturesque, and only two hours south of Clark County in the northeasternmost corner of the state. Just outside Randolph County in Monroe is the town of Madison. Sure enough, go back to the southeast to find Madison County, tapering the southern edge of the Lead Belt. Fortunately, the detour north nets Monroe City split between Monroe and Marion counties, and Macon as the county seat of Macon County. Further north leaves Knox City just east of Knox County's seat Edina and Lewistown in Lewis County. And tucked in the northeastern corner of Adair County is the hamlet of Adair.

Then the headache returns when finding north of Monroe City, in the county of Marion, a town called Warren. And finding a town called Marionville just east of Aurora in Lawrence County. Lawrence County also claims another two towns with similar-named counties, with Phelps in the opposite corner of the county, but Phelps County two hours northeast on I-44. And Mount Vernon, the county seat, is 90 minutes south-southeast of Vernon County. It's fitting perhaps that no city in Missouri is named Lawrence, but instead a city in Kansas that happens to be the home of the Jayhawks.

And along I-44 is Waynesville in Pulaski County, with Wayne County back in the southeast. Wayne County's seat Greenburg brings back memories of Springfield, the seat of Greene County, and Dade County's seat of Greenfield. Not to mention Lebanon, the county seat of Laclede County, with Morgan just to the southeast in spite of Morgan County being the next county north.

Laclede happens to be the hometown of General John J. Pershing. In Linn County, between Brookfield and county seat Linneus.

Kansas City can't come quick enough, even if it's the largest city in Missouri. And wholly surrounds a speed-trap village called Randolph in Clay County.

Continuing west on I-70, a welcome reprieve from the confusion. No cross-matching names, and north of Marshall in Saline County: a city called Carrollton, in Carroll County no less. Ray County to the west of that, with a town called Rayville northwest of its county seat Richmond. (Never mind the river town of Camden, not to be confused with Camden County's seat of Camdenton.)

Just before Jackson County is another collection of truck stops in Bates City. Have more Tylenol on hand when finding out that Bates City lies an hour south of Kansas City and that its county seat is Butler. Butler County is back toward the bootheel, with seat at Poplar Bluff. Arrive in Jackson County, and the home county of Harry Truman, and the confusion seems to take a back seat for a moment as the sights of the downtown skyline, sports complex, and strong aroma of barbecue overcome the weary traveller.

Intrigued by the patriotism of finding Independence in Jackson County and Liberty across the river in Clay, it's time to travel north (past Claycomo) to find another crop of dissociations. At the border between Clay and Clinton counties is Holt. But Holt County is in the northwest, and Clinton's the county seat of Henry County, two hours south. Holt's county seat is Oregon, and while Oregon County is back down in the thick of the Ozarks, neighboring Nodaway County looks south find the town of Nodaway in Holt County. DeKalb County harbors the same sentiment toward Buchanan, where west of Faucett sits the town of DeKalb.

All the while to the east of Nodaway County, Worth and Gentry sit as friendly neighbors. Both towns in their respective counties, and their county seats Grant City and Albany lie a further ten miles apart from each of them. On the other side of Harrison County is Mercer County, where just north of Princeton is Mercer. It didn't bleed off on Harrison County, where nary a town named Harrison is to be found.

Instead it's Bethany as the capital seat, and Harrisonville sits in the center of Cass County. Further down the chain it's Cassville in Barry County. And Barry? Just a memory, with the short-lived hamlet now part of Kansas City's vast suburbs along its namesake road in Clay and Platte counties. (At least Platte's doing it right with their seat in Platte City.)

At least a trip down Highway 71 toward Joplin will ease the hurting mind (after passing through Harrisonville but not Harrison County and Butler but not Butler County) when arriving at the setting of the classic Patrick Swayze film "Roadhouse". A sleepy town at the north of Jasper County. Called Jasper. Take it easy for a moment, because after the county seat of Carthage and before Joplin is Carterville.

Carter County's at least three hours east, northwest of Butler County. And that will require crossing through Christian County's seat of Ozark before passing through Ozark County. At least Taney has Taneyville and Reynolds is in Reynolds, next to its county seat in Centerville. Next to Reynolds is Iron County, with county seat at Ironton.

Certainly back in Southeast Missouri this perpetual game of musical chairs doesn't continue, confusing newcomers to the Show-Me State?

Not quite. Just to the south of Cape Girardeau is Scott County. Its county seat? Benton. And Scott City, sure enough, isn't in Scott County, but close.

Just cross into Cape Girardeau County, also the home of Bollinger Mill. Bollinger County will wait a few miles to the west.

Assessor Warns Of Higher Taxes On Used Cars, Wants Resident Action

Personal Prefaces:

1. I extend my condolences to those affected by this morning's violent storms that have killed at least three people in Washington County, Ark., and at least three more in Dent and Phelps counties in Missouri. My thoughts and prayers are with friends who are in the impacted areas.
2. I relay the following report with full disclosure of my status as a tax-paying resident of Clay County, Missouri, and owner of a used car which may be impacted.

---

Clay County residents have received a letter along with their personal property statements, warning them of higher taxes if they don't petition Jefferson City.

In a call-to-action (transcribed below), assessor Cathy Rinehart warns that many will see the value of their used car increase when their tax bills arrive in April. She writes that it's because state statute requires her and the state's assessors to use values from the October issue of the NADA's Used Car Guide.

The rise, she adds, is from fewer new cars being manufactures, thus increasing the resale value of used cars.

Rinehart suggests that residents write to lawmakers in Jefferson City, asking that assessments instead come from the Kelley Blue Book or be based on the vehicle's weight.

Missouri residents have until March 1 to submit their updated personal property lists or incur a late penalty.

The entirety of her letter (formatting & misspellings inclusive) is transcribed below:

---

Jan 1, 2011

Dear Citizens of Clay County,

There is an issue I would like to bring to your attention. All assessors of Missouri are required to use the October NADA to place values on vehicles. [Statue137.115 (9.) The assessor of each county and each city not within a county shall use the trade-in value published in the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' Official Used Car Guide,]

In 2011, NADA has increased the value of sevewral vehicle models. In April some of you will be receiving an increase value change notice on your vehicle. This is because fewer new cars were manufactured, and used cars are now worth more.

Because I must use NADA trade-in value I believe the taxpayers are entitled to advanced notification. I believe it is my sworn duty to you, as your assessor, to provide a means to correct this situation for everyone in Missouri. There are two solutions, both involving your help:

1. Change the law to read that the assessor "may" use the Kelly Blue Book for true market value. (Kelly Blue Book is used by car dealers through out the State. Kelly Blue Book historically represents a lower value than NADA.)
   
2. Change the Constitution of Missouri to have the DMV charge you by the weight of the vehicle. Thus eliminating personal property being valued by the assessment department. You would still pay personal property taxes but it would be based on weight vs. value

Your help is requested by contacting your newly elected State Representatives and Senator. Please, call, write, e-mail, snail mail, or talk to your State Representative. The law needs to be changed. Just like you got the law changed to waive penalties for a county error. (Thank you again for your help with that.)

For your convenience on the back of this letter, I have included State Representatives' contact information. Please, help me, help you. The only way we can get a different value guide is with your voice.

Also, to avoid any assessment penalties please fill out the 2011 assessment list and return it to the assessment department before March 1, 2011.

As always, it is an honor to be your assessor.

Sincerely:

Cathy Rinehart
My Motto: “I know who I work for, You, the citizens of Clay County.”

Relegate The Closed-Shop Leagues

Two bits of sporting news yesterday have got me concerned about the way professional leagues run in the U.S.

Yesterday morning, ace pitcher Zack Greinke jumped the perpetually sinking ship known as the Kansas City Royals, taking cash and Yuniesky Betancourt with him to Milwaukee in exchange for pitching prospect Jake Odorozzi, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and Jeremy Jeffress, a pitcher who's one doobie away from being banned for life. While it might prove beneficial for the Royals' youth movement, fans are naturally demure at the news, watching yet another bright star leave the bastion of malaise that's become Kauffman Stadium. Fortunately, those Royals fans were wearing red and more focused on their Chief neighbors, who defeated cross-state rivals St. Louis 27-13.

St. Louis fall to 6-8, assuring them of not having a winning season. And yet, because of losses by Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona today, they remain atop the NFC West division. It's very likely that the winner of this division, who could very well host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the first round of the playoffs, will finish the season with a 7-9 record. Meanwhile, as many as two NFC teams could go 10-6 and not make the playoffs, because of the lopsided strength of the other three divisions in the NFC.

And next year (barring a much-hyped players' lockout) the same 16 teams will compete again in arbitrarily defined divisions to determine who gets to play the AFC winners in the Super Bowl. It's lop-sided competition that only rewards the 32 owners who keep the closed-shop system in operation, usually at the expense of football's fans. It's a closed system that, frankly, runs contrary to the free market principles that many in America tout as being our paramount ideal.

How ironic that a better structure for organizing professional sporting teams be found commonplace in "socialist" nations.

It's time for American sport to embrace and incorporate promotion and relegation.

In baseball, the extensive farm system and independent, semi-pro leagues can serve as a launching pad for a successful multi-tiered system. And the inequity in the payroll and fortunes between baseball's current 30 teams provides a merciful reason to implement such a system.

As for football, it's a perfect tempest to explore the idea. 32 teams, none of which call Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Tulsa, Orlando, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, or Guadalajara home. None of which could be playing next season as the gaggle of 32 owners push for an expanded schedule without granting many concessions to their players, all the while pursuing generous tax breaks from state and local governments and charging $8 for a tray of stale nachos. Even if an owner's team goes 0-16, that owner can still sit comfy if the ink remains in the black, especially if the franchise is buoyed by, say, franchises in other sport or a multinational corporation that's their bread and butter. So what if half their roster winds up with permanent brain damage from repeated hits to the head, or they become the most hated entity in their metropolitan?

The current system doesn't put the owner at real risk. So long as they bring in the money and abide by league rules, they're practically safe in their luxury suite on the 50-yard line. On top of that, federal law explicitly grants the NFL, Major League Baseball, and other major sporting leagues exemptions from anti-trust laws in place to prevent monopolies from strangling the free market.

Promotion and relegation will force these owners to the front lines. If their teams don't regularly perform well, their investment is at risk. Americans like to cheer for winners, and if their team's not winning in the top league, their revenue goes down. Owners that regularly let their teams stagnate could easily wind up in bankruptcy court or with a mutiny on their hands, as fans and players flock to teams that will actually give a damn about playing competitively.

Future posts will detail how such a system can come into play for sporting leagues across the nation, from pro football and baseball to the collegiate and even high school.