Election Roundup

A summary listing of who is saying what about last night's election:

XRay Magazine's Final Field Report and Final Vote Summary.
Wes Flinn Comments
Plus a ton of stuff at the Post and the Enquirer.

2 New Councilmen

You say Smither, I say Man, Smither-Man the newest council-man. Chris Smitherman has won. I had him at the 11th place, but his 7th place was a big upset. Sam Malone is a bigger shock to me. I had him well out of the running and he beat one sitting councilman.

The big loser was Councilman Chris Monzel. His big war chest was not enough.

Damon Lynch came really close. He ran a brilliant campaign. He backed off his more aggressive style and thanks to the advice of Gene Galvin he toned down the vitriol to a more mass appeal rhetoric. There will be a few fledgling conspiracy theories that will no doubt surface on WDBZ tomorrow.

I was disappointed with Nick Spencer's showing. I thought he would at least hit 15th place, but I think the low turnout killed his chances.

Full election results are at Cincinnati.com.

MIAMI 33, Bowling Green 10

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Election Coverage at XRay

Live Coverage is available at XRay Magazine with updates 2 times an hour.

Liberal Media My Ass

CBS=Pussies

More proof that FOX News is biased, the above story was "Breaking News" on their website. This reminds me of the time Nancy Reagan received an award in D.C. for a charity event of some type on a Saturday night. FOX covered her remarks live. Yes, LIVE. This was not while she was first lady; this was a couple of years ago. FOX News did not exist while she was first lady. Damn, if you think the propaganda at FOX is bad under Bush, just think how bad it would have been under Reagan.

I can't wait until the next time Primary Colors airs on TV. With all of this outrage, I expect the Clinton based drama will get these same folks all in a frenzy. Oh….., wait….., they won't? They are only pissed because it is their dear leader who is not depicted in a manner in keeping with their fantastic ideals?

Go Out and Vote

If you don't vote, you don't get to bitch about the idiots who will get elected. I am sticking with my predictions made in last week's VigPol. I will predict that 1 of the 8 incumbents will not make it back on. The three who might not get back on are Cole, Monzel, and Tarbell. I think one of the three will not make it back on. I think Lynch needs one of the three not to get back on, otherwise he will not win.

Check out GoXRay.com late this afternoon and all evening. We are planning on providing some running coverage of what is going on. I will be on here as well with commentary and last minute predictions as the night wears on. Be sure to watch the Miami vs. BGSU football game tonight on ESPN2 while you follow the election on the web.

Good Luck to all Candidates, it should be a great day, so no one as an excuse not to vote.

CinWeekly Review: Ex-Sorority Girl's Delight

If you think Katie Couric is the queen of intellectual discourse, then this is your weekly. It is disposable. It has a shelf life of no more than one week, and that is being generous. I have no reason to actually keep a copy around. I don't know if there are even any accessible archives, but I guess there is nothing much to blog, so I don't imagine I will need an archive.

Now that I have told you how much I love it, let me get specific with problems:

Opinion: Does anyone at CinWeekly have an opinion? I mean an opinion on something beyond the fluff. I don't mean a top ten list. I don't mean the opinion on a movie, rock concert, or restaurant. I mean an opinion on a topic of political/social/economic significance to the city/state/region. I was hoping there would be someone writing an individual column with something of substance. For example, something with topics that Kathy Y. Wilson, Maureen Dowd or even Peter Bronson might write about. I figured they might want an ounce of credibility, but intellectualism (even a little bit) is not going to make them any money. Their market demographic is what drives their content. If you like to think about something other than wall paper patterns or seeing the latest Hollywood feature length commercial, then this is not your weekly.

Milquetoast: This publication reminds of the "prefab four," the Monkeys. To my younger readers, think "Boy Band," a group manufactured to market products. CinWeekly is 88 pages of advertisements. Even the stories are selling something, whether it be the latest movie, music, local event, or activity. There is not any "news" in what was originally considered to be a "newspaper." This is not a newspaper. This is People Magazine meets the Yellow Pages. Bland as Velveeta, tame as a dead cat.

Native Snobbery: My impression overall of the first issue was one of what I call "Native Snobbery." The tone was illustrated by the "quiz" where they ask "Think you're a 'true' Cincinnatian?" I took this test semi-seriously. Now, I know it was meant as fun, but I only got a score of 5 and I have lived in Cincinnati for 9 years, and I have been in South West Ohio for 13 years. I am not ignorant of this city, but as an “outsider,” I don’t totally fit in. This confirms a big problem here in Cincinnati. If you were not born here, or lived in the area since you were a child, then you are an outsider. You are not treated poorly, you just are never as close of a friend as one who grew up here. This is not unique to Cincinnati, but it seems to take on an increased meaning with the structures of the institutions around here and the dislike of difference. Outsiders are different, to one degree or another. I would have hoped that this publication would appeal to those who are new to town and don't know as much. Instead, I felt like they were saying "Here is how a real Cincinnatians acts. Eat this, watch this, listen to this, think like this. You will comply or be buried under a giant 3-way, which is on sale now at your local Skyline."

Anything Good? Well there are a few things. It looks nice. I am not big on how publications look, but this one is not horrible. The website is functional. It has too much going on and buries the content in favor of advertised listings, but that is user friendly. The writing is not bad, but the topics are just mundane. Good Housekeeping breaks more ground.

This is only the first issue, and it will take time for these folks to find a voice that will be credible. At this point it lack credibility. It is meant for the suburbanite. The city loses out again as Gannett ignores people who are not looking for the bland picket fence life, or as it is today: the cul-de-sac life. Minority issues are not well represented. You would not even know there were gay people in town if you read this publication. I guess they don't want to piss anyone off anyone in the CCV, so their religion listings are not mixed with any of the Northside bars.

I look for improvement. I can be optimistic. I am a cynic at heart, so it is very very difficult. I wish there was something that would appeal to me. I know I am not the normal consumer they are trying to reach. I like to think. I like to read. I like to learn something new about the city and the world that does involve having to buy or consume something. I don't see this publication as something impacting society in a positive way. I hope that can change.

I also wonder how many of those lovely pink CinWeekly boxes line the streets of OTR. I would bet, not many, if any.

Campaigning with the Youth

Interesting article from Maggie Downs: youth volunteers for political campaigns. Many local schools are requiring students in certain classes to participate in a political campaign of their choice. This is a great idea, as long as any candidate or issue was allowed to fill the requirement. I have seen some of these kids out on the streets and it is a great experience for them to learn and understand how the political process works. I hope all of the kids take advantage of joining the campaign parties on election night. That was something I experienced as a teenager and found to be exciting.

I had to laugh at this paragraph on Cincinnati Councilman John Cranley's efforts to get young people to work for his campaign:

"It's always good when you get a lot of boys and girls there, because they show up for the social aspect," he said. "Obviously, I'm also a younger candidate, so that's a big selling point, too. But we really go out of our way to make people feel welcome in the campaign."

Hmm, somehow being a younger candidate is something the Post found to be a problem for Nick Spencer. A difference in perspective can often show you an angle no one else can or wants to see.

UC News Record on the Council Race

The UC News Record speculates on those who might make it to council this year.

Keep Your Theocratic Culture to Yourself

A letter writer to the Enquirer seems to think "our culture" needs "saving":

Traditional family the backbone of America

On Wednesday, proponents of marriage began before the Family Law Committee at the Statehouse. It's amazing that we've reached a point where marriage actually needs to be legally defined. I urge all who care about our future to actively support H.B.272 (Defense of Marriage Act). Call your state representative and urge others to do the same.

The strength of this country is not and never has been our diversity, but diverse people forming strong families, striving for common goals and values. The traditional family has always been the backbone of American society.

Many of us tolerate the decadence around us for fear of being judgmental. Bishop Fulton Sheen once said, "America is not suffering from intolerance. It is suffering from tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so much overrun with the bigoted as it is with the broadminded. In the face of this broadmindedness, what the world needs is intolerance."

We need to heed his words and start fighting to save our culture.

Claudia Bihl, Franklin Furnace, Ohio

Well Ms. Bihl, if your culture is one that seeks to superimpose your religious teaching on everyone in Ohio by defining Marriage in religious terms, then I think you should keep your theocratic culture to yourself. How is your marriage going to be affected by someone else's marriage? Why don't you worry about yourself, and let other's marry who they want without the state choosing for them? The Bile Ms. Bihl supports in the "Defense of Marriage Act" seeks not to defend marriage, but to shut marriage off from those her and her fellow Christian fundamentalists (evangelicals too) find decadent.

I really want to know why bigots like Ms. Bihl are against homosexuals. What beyond their religious dogma instigates their belief? Fear? Ignorance? I think that sums up most of what it all about, but their indoctrinations leave no room to see it point of view of the homosexual. Gays and Lesbians are people, just like everyone else, minus one small difference. They have the same emotions, same desires, and same beliefs as heterosexuals. Why not let them marry? Specifically how does it hurt anyone? I am not hurt if someone who I don't know gets married. Why do people like Claudia Bihl care who other people marry, other people they don't know and likely never will know?

Luken to Run for Mayor Again in 2005

Korte also reported that Mayor Luken will run again for Mayor. Luken confirmed he will run again in 2005 while appearing on the Lincoln Ware TV call in show. This will likely piss off both David Pepper and Alicia Reece, but make Pat DeWine ecstatic.

Korte Narrows Down "McTell" Suspects

Here is what Greg Korte reports about who the writer of the "Wille McTell" email (attacking candidate Nick Spencer) to local media outlets, including myself.

It's difficult to prove who's behind the attack, but the e-mail holds some clues: the author is about Spencer's age, probably works at City Hall, is involved in the local music scene and has a political ax to grind.

And he's a fan of country-blues singer Blind Willie McTell.

Let's reason this down based on Korte's information. My sources indicate there are 3 camps in City Hall with an ax to grind against Nick Spencer.

David Pepper's camp: David was alleged to be upset with one of Nick's answers to a CityBeat survey asking what council member you would most want to see to replaced. Nick chose Pepper. This is the only issue between the two that is known. It seems unlikely that anyone in Pepper's camp would worry about the Spencer campaign or any other campaign. Pepper is going to be reelected and likely will win the most votes. I doubt it came from his office.

Mayor Luken's camp: The Mayor's camp was presumably not pleased with Spencer's opposition to the John Elkington hiring. Nick played a key role in pushing the opposition to Elkington's participation in the Main Street redevelopment plan. Brendan Cull's name, the mayor's chief of staff, has been thrown about as a possible suspect. The problem with it being from the Mayor's office is that there was nothing to gain from doing it. The only reason for doing it would be out of personal spite. I doubt it came form his office, but I can't rule it out.

John Cranley's camp: Cranley has been in a feud with Nick Spencer for several weeks now over the Elkington issue. Nick and John have been going toe to toe on this issue and their rivalry has been all over the pages of the newspapers. Of the 3 camps mentioned, Cranley's would be the most upset with Spencer. What would they have to gain by smearing him? Well, personal spite would be my main guess, but Cranley has been helping out the campaign of Laketa Cole. Cole is seen as being a solid candidate but is not a lock for office like Cranley. Spencer votes eat into some of Cole's. It logically makes some sense that Cranley camp's cause would gain with damage to Spencer. If I was a betting man I would bet someone in Cranley's camp sent the emails. I wonder if Elliot Ruther knows anything about it.

I have no proof that any of the camps listed had anything to do with it, but motives are a guide to find any perpetrator.

Media Roundup

Lots of local media news this week:

WB64 News at Ten is coming finally in December. It looks like it will suck. By sucking I mean it will be local TV news, ratings driven entertainment with a dash of news. It will be mostly run by the Sinclair Broadcasting "network" news home base in Baltimore, Maryland.

Channel 19 News is 10 Years Old: They can be entertaining, but they lack the experience of the other 3 organizations. They all suck worse than month old milk, but the tabloid feel on 19 is stronger than the big 3. The whole anniversary blitz was really self-aggrandizing. It just reminds me how green behind the ears their news department is.

Face for Radio?: Lincoln Ware from 1230 the Buzz has his own TV show. I missed last Sunday's premier, but I will be getting up in time tomorrow to check it out. It airs every Sunday at 10AM on WBQC UPN-25 which in the city is only available over the air at that time of day. WBQC is reportedly moving to channel 38 soon. It was supposed to happen at the end of the October, but as of today it has not yet changed.

I am still working on my CinWeekly review. I will have it out I promise before the issue is out, but I should get it done tomorrow.

Mr. Hall is a Right Wing Idiot

I for one am glad the Mike Hall retired as a Principal of Anderson High school. Peter Bronson seems to be wetting himself in his homage to a fellow conservative bible thumper.

For the Record, I don't know this man. I did not go to High School in the area, but if Peter's characterizations of Hall's education beliefs are correct, I am jumping for joy that he is out of the Public School System. A principal who says he will only allow a state sponsored sex-education in his school over his dead body, has no business in the job. If High school kids are mature enough to be tried as adults in capital murder cases, then they are surely mature enough to know that learning how to use a condom correctly will not want them to go right out and buy them. High schools kids are going to have sex whether they are told to or not. Trying to think otherwise is just idiotic, and well, since the idea stems from conservatives like Peter Bronson and Mike Hall, I think the basis for it being characterized as idiotic stands for itself.

Once again, it is just a freakin' movie

The RNC is asking CBS to review the script of the Reagan miniseries before it airs. If CBS gives in then they are not only gutless, they will prove that fear of economic oppression is the biggest concern for America. When powerful people who can control their shock troops like a surgeon, then lives can be ruined.

UPDATE: From a letter to the Enquirer:

'Reagans' miniseries should upset everyone

Regarding the AP story, " 'Reagans' miniseries upsets conservatives" [Oct. 31]: Why just conservatives? It seems to me that all Americans should be upset with a show that is being built around lies and distortions about a living past president of this great nation. How do CBS and Hollywood think that they can rewrite history? This is just one more example that demonstrates how far to the left the media has gone.

Charles Simon, Maineville

Mr. Simon, I would guess you have not seen the movie. I would guess you are a Reagan fan. I guess you were just as pissed when the movie Primary Colors was released which, although not by name, was about Bill Clinton. I missed your outrage. I missed you calling the media anti-Clinton. I missed the outrage.

Mr. Simon, it is just a freakin' TV show. Get over yourself and your deity Ron Reagan.

Proportional Representation

I am not sold on this form of elected people at all, but you can try out a Mock City Council Election for Cincinnati. Art Slater is promoting it on 1230theBuzz and he needs to learn the URL correctly. It took a while to find the site.

UPDATE: After I spend the next 3 hours figuring out how this works I will be able to tell you that I don't like it. It is complicated. It is consensus building, not an election. What find ironic, is that in order to use this election process, we would need to vote on it using the current election method of up or down votes. I would keep the current method or switch to a combination of district representation and at-large council seats. The battle would be in defining the district boundaries.

Fangman Wins 1

I am no fan of Keith Fangman, but if we had this type of technology used by every police officer as was used here to clear Fangman, then we might not have such distrust of the police. Here is what I wonder: would this case have been considered racial profiling? Would the woman pulled over for running a red light have believed that she was pulled over for being black? The hidden subtext of the story is just as interesting:

Mitchem got tickets during a 21-minute traffic stop May 31 for running a red light and not having a driver's license. The next day, she filed a written complaint, claiming Fangman was disrespectful, yelled and wouldn't let her explain because he was trying to meet a quota.

Who did she talk to before going in and filing the complaint, the next day? Did she talk to any of the usual suspects (various activists) who upon hearing that it was Fangman pushed her to file the complaint? Will that story ever come out? Once again, I doubt it.

UPDATE: The Post's story is up and has the same facts. Still no one has any facts as to whom, if anyone, Janika Mitchem talked to before she filed her report. She is only 18 years old. It is likely she would have talked about what happened with some older. Who was that? Who did that person talk to? Did anyone connected to the boycott advise making the complaint?

FOX News aka Pravda?

Tapped is on the story of the former FOX News producer Charlie Reina's outing of the "Memo" sent out daily to everyone a FOX News literally giving the talking points for the day's news. It should be jaw dropping to doubters of FOX News's conservative bias to read the kinds of spin they were told to give in their coverage. The defense will be that this did not affect their "reporting," only the other "content" of the show. This could be true, but the "reporting" of which they speak is the 2 minutes ever half hour of headlines, hardly much other than the first paragraph of a newspaper story.

When you read the Reina's comments it is clear that FOX News is pure conservative propaganda. Now, the damaging element to Reina's claims are that he does not produce one of the actual memos and that he is a former employee of FOX. Those facts will be where the FOX faithful will focus their scorn.

Here is the ironic part. Reina was the produce of FOX News Watch, the media critique program. I regularly watch that show and I can sometimes not want to through stuff at the TV while viewing it. I have to wonder; will the out of the memo be covered in their show? They tape it today and air it tomorrow, so there is plenty of time to discuss it. Do the have the balls to do that? I doubt it.

UPDATE: FOX News has responded. From this VP at FOX we learn one simple fact: there is a daily memo. She seems to not how it was characterized, but there is one, so this is a guy making that up. Her real purpose was to do use Plan 6, call him a disgruntled employee.

UPDATE #2: PressThink has this covered.

Who Done it?

There are several possible suspects, but no clear evidence of the party(s) responsible.

UPDATE: XRay has more on this story.

UPDATE#2: Rob Bernard commented on this last night.

Blogging like Rabbits

We seem to have more and more area Blogs every week. Here is Radio Free Newport:

"Music, literature, politics, commentary, criticism, news by Amy & Dave Purcell, and Michael Kearns. All powered by Guinness, dogs, and Buddhist thought."

A group blog that looks fun. After I have a read for a few days I likely will add it to the blogroll.

It Only a Freaking Movie

Someone should tell Reagan's flock that this is only a movie. If the Kennedys can take the dozen movies made about them and if Nixon could take the movies made about him, I think showing that Nancy's was difficult is not going to do much. Reagan is not a deity! He is just a man. Where's the anti PC crowd? I hope FOX includes this in their PC watch.

Hell, it is not even a movie; it is just a TV show for Zeus's sake.

Stay Tuned

I am building up steam to review CinWeekly. I have a whole lot to say about it, but I likely will not have time today to get it done. One small question for those folks. Why do they refer people on their print cover to cincinnati.com and not their stand-alone URL cinweekly.com? That is a strange choice. In this press release they don't even give the cinweekly.com address. The link on the main page for cincinnati.com is not very prominent. I think this will not establish cinweely.com as much as it could.

Blame the Victim, or Blame the Woman

Ok, Peter Bronson's column states that a woman recanted her statement that the person on trial raped her. Did she recant that she was raped at all? Does Bronson care to ask that question? Wasn't this woman threatened by her "friends" as indicated in the column? So she is the real criminal here? Am I missing something? If she was raped, and if she named the wrong person, then isn’t there still a rapist walking the streets? This comment took the cake:

She said she went into the woods to sell sex for $20, then changed her mind and was raped.

Peter, why not just come out and say "she was asking for it?" If this man did not do it, then I am glad he was found innocent. If this woman was raped, then where does the investigation stand or does her mistakes, allegedly made out of fear, mean that another criminal will walk the streets without facing trial?

Article XII Repeal and the Bigotry of Sam Malone

18 of 26 council candidates support the repeal of Article XII (allows gay discrimination). It appears that candidate Sam Malone wants a uniform majority rules morality:

"It's mighty funny how some folks communicate their religious conviction, and yet compromise on the issue. I have a problem with that," Malone said. "I think we're talking about morality. We're talking about family values. The community has a right to say what the morality of the community shall or shall not be."

Sam, so when does the individual get to be who they are? Why do I have to live by your oppressive religion's standards? What is immoral about not discriminating against someone because they are naturally different? I do mean naturally, from birth. Religious dogma has no place in public law. Sam, do you favor making discrimination against women and ethnic/racial/nationality minorities illegal? If yes, then why do they get "special rights?" Sam, I am part of the community you seek to lead. Why is my view less important than your pious dogmatically challenged opinion?

8 of the 9 GOP candidates are against repeal of Article XII. Anti-gay views run rampant in this town, and the Republicans lead the way.

VigPol!!!!

The new Vigpol is up and I am predicting the council race 1 to 26. Let me here your predictions!

XRay on Cin

Steve Novotni tears CinWeekly a new one.

Cin Debuts

CinWeekly is on the air! Their first issue is on newsstands tomorrow, but the website is up as of 8:PM Tuesday night. I will have more comments tomorrow after I get a look at the print version.

Chabot in Iraq

I think I know the hotel Steve will not be staying at.

Die You Scum Sucking Pigs

Harold Ray Redfeairn is dead at age 51. The world is a much better place now that this racist bastard is dead.

The Implications of Innuendo

If Greg Korte is auditioning for the role of Woodstein in Gannett's version of "Watergate: The Musical," then I am sure he will get the role if he can hit the high "C". "Follow the Money?" Hal Holbrook would be turning over in his grave, if he were dead that is.

In Greg's column yesterday he brought forward the public facts that 2 CityBeat staff members contributed to Nick Spencer's campaign. In case you want to see this for yourself, all of Nick's contributors are listed on his website.

The implication that one could draw from his column, incorrectly of course, is that CityBeat paid for the Elkington Story.

Stephanie Dunlap, a writer for CityBeat, contributed $20 to Spencer's campaign on Oct. 13.

Dunlap wrote "No Chinese Allowed," the Oct. 1 story that caused quite a flap over Main Street developer John Elkington's alleged bias against Chinese restaurants. The story quoted Spencer and advanced his case that Democratic Councilman John Cranley's plan for Main Street should be jettisoned.

"I can see how people might see a conflict of interest," Dunlap said. "I don't pretend to always be objective. Nobody is."

Dunlap said Spencer tipped her off about Elkington.

That of course did not happen. Was Korte making that implication? I don't know.

The timing of this story implies something itself. Did the Enquirer intentionally run this story just a few days before the debut of its own weekly newspaper designed to compete with CityBeat? Is a perceived innuendo of a quid pro quo by a competitor enough to show an intentional smear? Well, no, there is no evidence of that. I at this point would guess it is just a poorly timed coincidence. I hope the Enquirer does a better job of editing in the future. Appearance matters however, just as Greg's story indicates. Implications can be a bitch, especially when they implicate you.

UPDATE 11:25PM: I sent an email with questions on this story to Greg Korte. Those questions were:

I was wondering why you singled out Nick's Campaign to name campaign donors?

Is it a coincidence that you named two CityBeat staffers the same week that the Enquirer's Cin Weekly, a direct competitor for CityBeat, debuts?

Were you tipped off to these contributors, or did you go looking over all candidate's financial reports for local media contributors?

Greg responds to those questions and my original post as follows:

Mr. Griffin:

In answer to the questions in your e-mail dated 7:46 p.m. today:

I have not singled out donors to Mr. Spencer’s campaign. I could refer you to several stories and columns in which I discussed contributions to political campaign. To wit: “Finance Reports Foreshadow Upcoming City Council Race,” July 8, 2003; “Candidate Contributions Grow,” September 5, 2003; “Lynch Donors Expand,” October 5, 2003; “Lindner Family Leading Contributions,” October 23, 2003; “Candidates Opening Wallets,” October 24, 2003.

Of course the timing with regard to Cin Weekly is coincidence. To suggest otherwise would be to think I have some influence over either campaign finance reporting deadlines (set by the Ohio General Assembly) or the date of the tabloid launch (set by the publisher, who has been planning it for months.) I have not been involved at all in the young reader initiative, and I think it’s a stretch to think that my reporting of campaign contributions by City Beat staffers will have any effect on the competitive situation. Had I been solely interested in attacking City Beat, as your message seems to imply, I would not have reported on a much larger campaign contribution by an officer of the company I work for.

I came across the contribution on Nick Spencer’s campaign finance statement, filed with the Hamilton County Board of Elections last Thursday. The connection was clear as soon as I saw it. I put it in my next column, which was Sunday.

Finally, let me say this: I haven’t always agreed with what City Beat writes, but I do respect the role of an alternative press in a vibrant city. As I told Ms. Dunlap on Friday, my interest was not in starting an ink war (although, regrettably, it may be inevitable). However, given City Beat’s reporting on L’affair Elkington -- a story that soon crossed over into the “mainstream” media — I believed it was important for readers to know all the facts surrounding that story. Beyond that, I encourage you to take the story at face value: Like John McCain in 2000, Nick Spencer is the uncontested “media darling” of the 2003 Cincinnati City Council race.

Korte.

I agree with Mr. Korte that it is a stretch to think the timing of his reporting of the facts involving CityBeat could have been deliberate to coinside with the release of CinWeekly. I also think that is even more preposterous to imply (however subliminally) that CityBeat had some kind of quid pro quo with the Spencer campaign, especially over such a small contribution. I don't want an ink war either, so I hope this can be the end of it, but if Flannery gets wind of this, which I know he will, I am sure something will be said, assuming their deadline has not yet passed. It could be fun for blogging geeks like me however.

One Reason Why I Hate Bush

Conservatives hate Clinton for, well, getting a BJ and being coy about it. I hate George Bush for the same reason Michael Kinsley illustrates in his WaPo column. It is personal to me because I have a family member who has Parkinson’s disease. When Bush announced his "plan" for stem cell research while on vacation in the summer of 2001, I screamed at the TV set. I want to smash it, but I was able to keep my temper in check. This bastard was choosing to let people suffer and die all because of religious zealots. Now, I know this does not live up to the standard of getting a BJ, but hey I am only human. Any anger I feel about this issue is nothing compared to those who were lied to about Iraq and have since lost family in a War that could have been avoid, or at least planned out beyond April 9th.

The UC News Record has more on the Elkington Affair and political inertia on UC's campus.

Council Race Blog Fodder

Wes Flinn and Sarah Riegel have a news summary and analysis on the council race.

Test CIN For Yourself

XRay Magazine has identified the online testing copy for the Enquirer's CIN. The site looks like one big advertisement. The new content is not viewable, but you can find every event you could want to know about, assuming they are mainstream enough.

Here is the staff for CIN:
Beryl Love, editor
Sue Cook, design editor
Katie Kelley, content editor
Gina Daugherty, reporter
Tabari McCoy, reporter
Mike Royer, designer
Jonathan Berndt, designer
Kelly Hudson, copy editor
Leigh Patton, photographer
David Clark, online
Dan Mahan, online

UPDATE: It appears that the CinWeekly folks have caught on to the problem and have removed the test copies of their website some point early Monday morning.

Endorsement Bonanza

The big media Endorsements are in from the Post and the Enquirer and there are few surprises.

From the Enquirer: 3-3-3 a political party trifecta. I would not have guessed 3 Charterites would get a full Enquirer Endorsement and only 3 Republicans. Only 5 incumbents were tapped to continue. Chris Monzel got the shaft? He did not even get included as an "honorable mention." This was not officially an honorable mention category, rather a new comer pat of the back saying "try again next time around, we liked what we saw." Nick Spencer could be considered the number 10 pick, but I think their impression is that he is a front runner for 2003. I was surprised that Alica Reece got endorsed. The Enquirer pushed the Convergys deal fairly strongly, enough to hold a column, and Reece voted against it. It was a meaningless vote, but they looked past the grandstanding. That seems odd. The oddest of all is why the word "abortion" has to be used in endorsements for City Council:

That happened during the past year when the administration failed to act to eliminate abortion payments from city health benefits, and when in negotiations with the police union it gave up on the issue of allowing the city manager to appoint assistant police chiefs.

Monzel pushed that issue to appeal to "Westside" voters. Why does the Enquirer bring it up now? Hmmmm....

From the Post: Everyone is back but Cole? Charter gets a big boost with 3 out of 4 getting the nod. 3 years between DeWine(35) and Reece(32) and one is young and the other is not? The big difference with the Enquirer is the attachment to the incumbents. I guess change is not good to the Post.

Bathroom Reading

Well, there will be a stand-alone website for CinWeekly, the Enquirer's new YP orientated publication. The Launch Date is October 29th, but if you go to www.cinweekly.com right now you will see their promotional graphic with their PR slogan "For a good time" written on a bathroom wall next to an empty roll of toilet paper. I would guess the subliminal message is that when you run out of toilet paper, CinWeekly will at that point come in very handy.

What is just as hilarious is a report from XRay Magazine of the plight of the one of CinWeekly distribution boxes in Norwood. The picture with the article is most telling, and was not faked. I am looking forward to reading CinWeekly. The PR campaign so far is very WEBNish, as a reader pointed out to me, so it is not original, however for the Enquirer it is ballsy. If they are push the edge of social taboos, or at least refrain from being over sensitive to the handful of prudish people under 35, then I will be mildly surprised. I might even be a little impressed, but I don't want to get ahead of things quite yet.

GOP Push

In the final leg of the campaign for City Council, the Hamilton County GOP has gone on the offensive. They have put out a TV commercial lambasting David Pepper, David Crowely, and John Cranley for voting to loan Lashawn Pettus-Brown money to redevelop the Empire Theater. It is a classic attack ad with newspaper clippings and candidates portrayed like dancing theater ushers. It works. It will hurt these democratic candidates. I was not surprised to see Alicia Reece or Laketa Cole included with the 3 male Dems. Anything that could be seen as remotely referencing race could backfire on the GOP, so you will likely not see GOP sponsored Reece or Cole attack ads.

The story got some play on both WCPO and WLW early. I found it interesting to read this fact in the WLW story:

In June of 2002, seven council members approved $220,000 in loans and grants to LeShawn Pettus-Brown to rehab the 88 year old Over the Rhine landmark.

Did it mean anything to the story to state how many council members voted for the loan? There are two problems with this bit of information. One is that it implies a party split: Only 2 of the 9 council members are Republicans. Now, the average person would likely not know the breakdown of council by party on that day or any day. So I will let that go. The real problem is that 7 people did not vote to loan money to Pettus-Brown in June of 2002, according to the council minutes from June 5, 2002. Jim Tarbell was excused from that meeting, so it was 6-2 in favor. I am nit picking a bit, but I would hope journalists might get that kind of thing correct. I would bet their error was in not checking the press release they got from the GOP or Pat DeWine, which ever source pushed the story.

CityBeat's Updated Website

CityBeat debuted their redesigned website this week. I have to say I am not a big fan so far. When I open up the site I don't see the current issue's content, I instead see their listings. That is a selling point I am sure they are trying to promote, but it looks nothing like a periodical, and more like a web portal.

Holy Shit!

A positive headline on a farily positive story about attending Miami University in the Enquirer! I thought it was a stipulation of earning a degree from the Ohio University School of Journalism that each reporter must speak ill of Miami, except when they play "The" Ohio state University in sports.

Maggie Downs, Homeward Bound

Now, Maggie Downs knows from where she comes, but I would I not want to be in her shoes if she ever runs into the Mayor of Dayton:

Drive to Dayton - It's only an hour away. And that town is a lot like a dorky cousin - it's kind of boring, but you have to see him occasionally for no reason.

Also:

Watch half a movie - I heard the end of Kill Bill stinks anyway.

Clever, very clever.

A Daily, a Weekly, a Pocket full of Folly

A story on the Enquirer's new "Cin" has hit the Atlanta Journal-Constitution via the AP:

The Cincinnati Enquirer will start a separate, free weekly publication Oct. 29, offering young families and singles articles about travel, dining, music, health and careers.

As I said, it sounds like NBC's the Today Show in Print.

CincyNation, a quasi-log, is thinking about going from the web to the print world:

Cincinnati Nation is considering publishing a mini-daily newspaper that would be distributed free to workers heading home from the office. "It would be a four-page news sheet with all the day's news that affects Cincinnatians," said Richard Hines, who is no stranger to starting papers here. "People will no longer have to read day-old news in the Enquirer." He said a decision will be made later in the year, with a debut targeted for Spring 2004. Hines co-founded several weekly papers on the west side and two downtown papers including the Downtowner.

For a website that spews some of the most anti-Cincinnati rhetoric, it seems like a tall order to produce a print publication that will make money. What I want to know, how does he plan on distributing a paper in the afternoon with information that is any more up to day than the Cincinnati Post?

Happy Trails Laura Pulfer

The columnist Laura Pulfer is leaving the Enquirer. I am not sure if she is retiring or just moving on. I enjoyed her columns. She stayed with the human-interest side mostly, not an area I always jumped on, but she was a warm writer.

Does this open the door for a second Maggie Downs column every week?

Touché Korte

Greg Korte of the Enquirer added this little section to a special Thursday edition of his City Hall column:

To vote or not?

"Because we don't have a strong ethnic community, we get trapped into thinking the vote is our salvation. The real battle now is on the economic front. I understand the argument for voting. I just think what is important is economic parity."

- Damon Lynch III, now a candidate for Cincinnati City Council, in a Cincinnati Enquirer interview published June 2, 2001.

The Enquirer has been getting a little heat, a lot of it from me, for their Lynch coverage so far this year. I think Lynch has been attacked with a feather. Bringing out this quote does not address the questions I think Lynch should be answering, but it shows an example of what Lynch has to contend with, the words of his past. I would guess that Korte has not had much luck in getting Lynch to talk about his past statements on the boycott or on the letter he sent calling Police rapists and murders. It is almost as if Damon Lynch has pulled a page from the script of the Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor campaign. I hope it does not turn out to be a winning strategy.

McMain Street 45202

When last we left our fearless Anti-Chinese bigot, he was back peddling like a Miata stuck in reverse. The Mayor had cut him loose and Elkington's wing man, John Cranley, had turned tail and run, seeking shelter behind his master’s gavel.

Elkington is back! He is determined to make his dream of cookie cutter if you build it they will come entertainment destinations in the Main Street district. We have plans for a Paulaner brewery and a Bootsy Collins nightclub in the works that were reported previously as types of places that could appear. We don't know where on Main Street such places could go. I don't know why this plan was not presented upfront, without the call for paying Elkington 100K. You might have thought that would have been simpler.

If Elkington can get his businesses to open, then I will visit them. I just do not want a dime of city money to go to someone with bigoted beliefs. I just wish the city would do that more often. The gave Damon Lynch money for picking up garbage and his bigotry is a matter of record.

Editor's Note: Nate you might want to stop copying here. If you happen to copy this part of my work people will know that you are taking my work without permission and without even adhering to the “fair use doctrine.” In case others are wondering what I am talking about, just read this site and see the many examples of Nate Livingston copying my posts (as well as other local bloggers) and pretending that I posted them to his message board. I have asked Nate to stop, but so far he has just increased his illegal use of my work. I don’t want to have to inform places like Media Bridges that he might be using their computers to break copyright laws. They may not like that.

UPDATE: Nate actually thinks he can pretend to be me and use the "N" word? I am surpised Nate has the time to rewrite so many posts on his website. Defamation of character is a dangerous thing to play with. I guess Boycott B likes to play.

Lynch Admits Obvious

In a profile from the Post, Damon Lynch admits what I consider to be the obvious, he will not be representing the entire city on council:

"Nobody is leaving our city because we don't have a vibrant downtown," Lynch said. "They're leaving because we have dying neighborhoods and underperforming schools -- . So, I don't say I want to represent everybody. I will benefit everybody, but I will represent the pockets of poverty no one wants to talk about."

Now the “progressives” will say Good! The poor needs someone to champion their cause. I have no problem with council members wanting to help out the disadvantaged in the city. The problem here is that Lynch admits that he does not give a damn about anyone who is not black or not "poor," although I think poor whites will not be high on his list of people to help. I think he see the "majority" community (read white which is ill defined) as the problem. Lynch is walking a bizarre populist road. He is very socially conservative personally, but he adopts the rhetoric of a far leftist. He is playing racial politics with a muted militancy subtly lined in his grassroots organization.

I would guess by now it is rather obvious that I am not voting for Lynch. I really am disappointed in the big media's fear of aggressively asking him questions for the record, or at least printing/airing those questions and responses. Lynch has grassroots power in the black community. The local media is regularly dogged in the black community and considered "racist" by people who I would expect know better (Yes, I mean Jay Love). I don't believe the most of the local media will come out swinging against Damon Lynch out of fear of being labeled racist. If he gets on council they might try to dip their feet in with a little criticism, since the office gives a little political cover for criticism.

We need a fearless press, but we instead have a gutless one. The newspapers are going to be getting even more gutless as they abandon city hard news coverage for human interests in the burbs. Gotta love big media. (Cough, Cough)

Kettle, Pot, and Bill O'Reilly is a Wuss

The conservative bloggers are all up in arms at the "harsh" interview of FOX News Personality Bill O'Reilly by NPR's Terry Gross. The NPR ombudsman even sided with O'Reilly that Gross's interview of him on October 9th was not a shinning journalist moment:

By the time the interview was about halfway through, it felt as though Terry Gross was indeed "carrying Al Franken's water," as some listeners say. It was not about O'Reilly's ideas, or his attitudes or even about his book. It was about O'Reilly as political media phenomenon. That's a legitimate subject for discussion, but in this case, it was an interview that was, in the end, unfair to O'Reilly.

So basically what is the chief complaint of the ombudsman? Gross pulled on O'Reilly. He faulted her for doing to him what O'Reilly does to most of his guests on his FOX News program.

Gross says this about the flap:

"How thin-skinned can this guy be?" asked Gross. "He's known as a tough interviewer. He's known for being very opinionated. I find it hard for me to imagine he was so mortally offended that his sensitivities could no longer stand to hear my questions."

O'Reilly's response is Denial (with a capital "D")

The thickness of his skin had nothing to do with O'Reilly's reaction. "I don't do interviews like that, I back up my stuff with facts," he said. "I don't carry anybody's water. I don't try to embarrass people on the air. I ask tough questions and people are held accountable for their answers. But we're fair."

Where does Bill get his "facts"? Answer: From someone else, his staff. Where did Gross get her facts? From someone else, Al Franken's book. Bill can't take the facts that show he lies.

O'Reilly is such a wuss. I sound like a schoolyard kid by saying that, but there is no other way to illustrate it. He acts like a little girl whenever anyone questions him. He is a textbook bully. He can't take what he dishes out. He really can't interview anyone unless he has a plan of attack all scripted out for him before hand. He is mean and nasty to people all the time on his program, yet he cannot take a little gruff from NPR? Bill, those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Of all people, he should know that. I guess we have a new poster boy in the media for those who don't practice what they preach.

New VigPol

VigPol is up!

This is Radio X!

Bam, the future is now, and 97X is kicking ass online!

Teenage Thugettes

It appears some of the Teenage Thugs on Short Vine have been arrested. These are the kids who where allegedly spouting racial insults at people for no apparent reason. The Enquirer actually reported in an editorial that the racial insults were anti-white. This fact was not listed in the original news story. I am in favor of hate crimes laws, where the motivation of the crime is taken into consideration in sentencing. What must happen is that these laws must be applied equally. Black on white hate is not excusable, no matter what some of the callers on WDBZ may say. What hasn't City Council members who voted for the hate crimes ordinance called for it to be invoked? Is the problem Mike Allen's office refusing to apply a law he disagrees with?

Reactionary Squeaky Wheels

Without even considering the future ramifications, the Florida House has voted to give Governor Jeb Bush the power to restore the feeding tube to a comatose woman. The Florida Senate is expected to follow with approval later on today. This woman has been comatose for 13 years, but her parents want to carry on, while the husband has gotten a court order to allow him to let her die. This is a sad case, but why are the Florida politicians jumping into this case without thinking about what they are doing? What is next? Will Jeb Bush have power to keep me on a respirator if I am brain-dead after a car wreck? Will Jeb Bush have power to prevent any abortion? Or prevent the use of contraceptives? They are reacting to the Anti-abortion lobby who have seized on this case and are making it into a battle by marching their jack booted foot soldiers headlong into it.

You know Jeb Bush is playing politics when you read this:

"This is a response to a tragic situation." Bush said. "People are responding to cries for help and I think it's legitimate."

Schiavo has been at the center of a court battle between her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and her husband, Michael Schiavo. The parents want Terri Schiavo to live, and her husband says she would rather die.

The Florida Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, and it also has been rejected for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, a Florida appeals court again refused to block removal of the tube.

If someone were to ask Jeb Bush for a law to prevent Johnny's lemonade stand from being driven out of business by the new Starbuck's juice bar, I guess Bush would be getting his oil can out to fix the squeaky wheel.

Cincinnati Loves the 80's

A big wow goes out to Sarah at the Hedgemo for this list of I love 80's for Cincinnati. I came to the area in 1990, and that was Oxford, so I only actually lived in Cincinnati starting in 1994. This would make a great TV special for one of the local TV stations to pick up. It would be fluff, but fun fluff that someone my age might actually find entertaining.

Timing is Everything

Rob Bernard is quoting from Jonah Goldberg about the reasons for going to War in Iraq. There are some "valid" reasons to have gone to War. If we are going to apply any of those reasons on other countries is yet to be determined and so far not lived up to in the case of Liberia where we dipped out toes in the water, and got of Dodge in hurry.

The problem is that without the WMD, the element of a threat vanishes. No WMD, no threat (whether you want to quibble on immediate, impending, or imminent). Why did we have to go to war in March? Was our intelligence that bad that we actually thought Iraq could strike with WMD first? Yes, this was a big fear of everyone, including the luke-warm war supporters (those mostly Dems in Congress authorizing war), but that was based on the assumption that Bush was holding back evidence (for security reasons) and that we should trust him when he and his many underlings said Iraq had those weapons.

Now, of course we could now go how Bush and company have changed talking points and no longer say WMD, they say WMD programs. That, I think everyone agrees is a case of revisionism, which now is spin, but back then was misleading.

If there were no known WMD stockpiles or no actual WMD ready to fire at anyone, then why attack Iraq in March? Why not wait until the 1st ID was in place? Why not appear to be destined for war and instead give Saddam’s generals the summer to take him out. We seem to have been successful in doing that once the war started. We instead could have built credibility with the world and gotten UN approval for the war based on Iraq's refusal to comply with the UN.

We still would have lost credibility because there were no WMD to be found in the numbers stated (or likely at all), but if we had the UN mandate, Bush would have had the cover, could have fought the War starting this November, and could have had foreign troops taking over as peace keepers by next April, just in time for Bush to ride into the height of the primary season. Instead, we get hurry up and fight, damn the post-war, and fuck what anyone else thinks about it. That is standard MO for this President and his team. That is where the criticism of him lies on firm ground. I have yet to hear anyone substantially retort my complaints on the hasty timing of the War. I don't think there is a valid reason for the timing. Valid in at least a semi-objective manner that is. If it was for politics or for misjudgment we must judge that this president can’t be trusted to the tell the whole story to the American people when he wants to take us to war. That is the most critical duty of a President and he failed. He not only failed, but he in my opinion knows he failed and does not feel an once of shame for it. People wonder why he is hated? He is hated for character, like Clinton was, but when that chacater affects everyone, then it matters. If Bush was lucky he could have done this and actually won next year with a Regean percentage of the vote. Instead he will not win by much if he does. He might win a clean number of electoral votes, but the county is as divided now, as I have ever known it to be. I would bet those much older would agree that were more divided now than in 1968. Will 2004 be as bloody and violent as 1968? I fear it may.

Puff Piece?

Is the Enquirer going soft on Damon Lynch? In this Greg Korte article we are led to believe there are two Damon Lynch's. One is an activist, one is a slick politician. Is there really a difference? Both claim to be "honest," but neither lives up to it.

I was looking for the big questions to be asked and answered. If elected will Lynch end his support for the boycott? If he will not, then how can anyone believe he is representing the entire city? Why do the revised Boycott A demands call for an "Afro-centric" curriculum to be established in city schools? How could that curriculum not be considered racist? What evidence does he have that there are "rapists" on the CPD? If he has no evidence, will he apologize for his letter claiming such?

How does a person who is supported by racists, plan on dealing with people of all races? How does a person who blames another race for the problems of his race expect to "bring the races together?"

These questions may have been asked, but they will not get any answers. Lynch is a politician with a blinded following who think he is the answer for an unnamed question.

UPDATE: Wes Flin comments on Lynch and the boycott.

Homespun Propaganda?

A local school got a visit from a soldier back from Iraq. This paragraph from the story sounds like someone got some talking points:

Grace said he wanted to talk to the children to let them know that good things - and some very normal things - are happening in Iraq. For example, medics from the base immunized Iraqi children. Others played soccer with them.

I understand that you don't want to horrify kids with the horrors of war, but on same token the article makes it appears that this was playing right into the PR message the White House is trying to get out.

Now, before anyone gets in a snit about this, either way, let me point out that I doubt there was any involvement of the White House in this event. I would bet that the soldier involved and the reporter are aware of the debate on the state of the War and I wonder about their personal motivations.

Big Time Blogger in Town

Kevin Drum of Calpundit fame, one of the best bloggers in the land, will be visiting our fair city of Cincinnati. Kevin is here on business, that is, non-blogging business. If you happen to run into him while he is here, please be kind. Also, Yesterday was his birthday, so wish him well.

Mocking Springer

It seems that some liberals outside of Ohio are none to happy to see Springer think about running for Ohio Governor. I don't think he will, but why exactly is he bad? Ok, I don't mean his political positions, so you conservatives don't bother bringing up that. If "Arnold" can get a pass on his past from all of the conservatives, and in fact when a "liberal" newspaper brings out the story, conservatives start attacking it. If a man who likes to get freaky with women on movie sets is ok, why isn't a man who puts freaks on TV ok?

TheHegmo's Council Analysis

Sarah at theHegmo has listed the candidates she likes, is leaning towards, and is considering in the Cincinnati Council Race. I will not be listing my choices. I will list my analysis as the race gets closer, but I guess I want to try and be semi-objective, as objective as a part-time amateur journalist can be.

Schadenfreude

Barney F. McClelland comments on Rush Limbaugh, Rush's comments from the past, and getting to use the word Schadenfreude.

Pols and the Bikers Who Love Them, Part II

The Akron Beacon-Journal is reporting that Jerry Springer might consider a 2006 Governor's run in Ohio. This passage in the article is key to understanding the direction of Springer's comments is:

Springer said Thursday at the University of Akron that if he decides to run for governor, he will quit doing the Chicago-based syndicated show, which he called the "silliest show ever."

Jerry needs to quite his show now or at least after this season. Reports were this summer that he signed a 2 year contract. He can't go beyond that. He must quite the show and start campaigning, and try and regain some level of credibility. He could try and get WLWT News broadcasting gig again. They seem to attract politicians, or hopeful ones at least. The Democrats have no one on a state level to challenge the GOP at this point. What will be more interesting is how much of a battle will the GOP nomination be? If there is a blood primary fight, the Dems might have a chance.

Long Live the Curse

The Yankee's Win!!

Speaking of Tall Stacks

I went last night as part of Cincinnati Tomorrow's "After-5 Walks" and I really had a good time. I was very impressed with the event. The food was good, beer was ok, the boats were cool, and the crowd was huge. We saw Changeling, a Celtic duo, and Ricky Skaggs. I am not a huge blue grass fan, but I do enjoy the music and I really enjoyed Skaggs. Changeling was excellent. A husband and wife team using a fiddle and guitar sound bigger than their number. They managed to mix in the "Smoke on the Water" riff from Deep Purple in their final song. It sounds weird to mix with Celtic music, but worked nicely.

I will likely head back down this weekend and check it out in the daylight. For full coverage of Tall Stacks in the media, the Enquirer has the full load.

German Ambassador Visits Cincinnati

The German Ambassador was in town and WLW, Peter Bronson, and Steve Chabot did not organize a boycott, or at least a protest of the event? No Freedom Potato salad?

The Ambassador went to Tall Stacks, so I guess the international sanctions declared by both the boycott A and boycott B were ignored by one of the target European governments. I guess they will say they don't care, because he is German, you know, the boycotter’s code word for "Nazi." "White Man" is the boycotter's code word for "racist" in case you wondered.

A 14 Year Old Girl?

A 14 year old girl is causing people trouble? Is this girl somehow "Supergirl" with the strength of 10 men? I don't see how any average adult could not detain this girl until police arrive. What is the challenge? I also have to ask, are "hate crime" charges being considered?

People along the Short Vine strip complained for months about unprovoked assaults by teenagers, often followed by racial slurs , that business owners say make people afraid to come here.

I assume she is black, if not, 1230 the Buzz will be ringing with cries for someone's head.

Red Dust

Have we been invaded by Martians? This story is either really serious, with nut or terrorist doing something bad, or a teenage kid is pulling some weird prank.

Anderson Township Moron

I have to ask a question to this Anderson Township Letter to the Editor writer:

Kerry not fit to be president

As I picked up the Oct. 13 edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer, I read the cover page with interest. Then I turned to page A2, "First Stop" and that's exactly what I did.

But the "First Stop" was the last stop for what stared me in the eye: a picture of a wannabe, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., known as the "unknown soldier." The headline, "Unknown soldier' now makes his voice heard" was right. I just had to respond.

I put this "unknown soldier" in the same category with Hanoi Jane Fonda, and find them both useless.

I hope Kerry crawls back in his box and takes it back to Massachusetts, where he belongs. No way could I cast my vote to support for president. Kerry is a legend in his own mind.

Earl D. Corell, Anderson Township

Mr. Corell, did you serve in Vietnam? If you did, then did you see any fighting?

Guess what Mr. Corell, Senator John Kerry served on the Mekong delta in a small gun boat fighting the VC. He earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, and three Purple Heart medals. How Many medals have you won?

Where was George Bush? Oh, right, he was protecting the skies from a Mexican invasion. I am not big on military records and they don't change my vote, but when ignornat morons like this letter writer, and the idiots who put the letter in the paper, must be corrected.

I am guessing Mr. Corell is the same man referenced in this Enquirer Article from 1999. Does Mr. Corell think Iraq is another Vietnam? He sure thought Kosovo might be

“They say we have another Vietnam in Kosovo,” Vietnam vet Earl Corell told the 47 people and one dog gathered for the ceremony. “I sure hope the hell not.”

A Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, Earl Corell went to war in Vietnam in 1970. Ten years later, he came up with the idea for Cincinnati's Vietnam memorial and raised funds for the project.

Earl thought of rededicating the monument after U.S. missiles slammed into Kosovo.

“There are so many parallels between Vietnam and Kosovo,” Earl told me as we stood by the memorial before his speech. “We didn't know why we were in Vietnam.

“And nobody has told us why we are in Kosovo. Or how long we are going to be there and what we hope to accomplish.

Hmmm, does he want to extend and revise his remarks or just live with the contradiction? I am assuming his position is that of a Bush/war supporter from his knee jerk anti-Kerry letter. I think I have made a logical conclusion based on the evidence presented.

Dog Pile on the Bigot

The Elkington outrage has reached a peak with 100 Chinese-Americans attending yesterday's city council meeting. Cranley has gone out on limb:

Councilman John Cranley, Elkington's biggest supporter on City Council, said the remarks were unacceptable. Elkington made the remarks last month.

"Let me say in unequivocal terms - and I know I speak for all of council - that I condemn the statements made by Mr. Elkington at the Over-the-Rhine chamber luncheon," Cranley said.

He seemed to satisfy the crowd when he said City Council "has no intention of putting Mr. Elkington under contract with the city."

John Cranley knows one thing better than anyone: when to cut your losses and go with "popular" opinion.

CityBeat was mentioned again in the Enquirer article. That is amazing. Twice in about a week.

Cranley still wants Elkington to come to town and develop McMain street. I hope his role is limited. I also hope we get a new Chinese-American owned business on Main Street as soon as possible.

Military Theocracy?

Conservatives bitch constantly that the media is filled with liberals, which I am fairly sure they think is a bad thing. I want to know, why doesn't anyone bitch about the level of conservatives in the Officer Corps of the U.S. military? If you read about the general in charge of the fight against terrorism, Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin's, comments you might be concerned that we are closer to a Bush lead theocracy than even I thought. Atrios has the details.

Luken and Cranley Jump Ship

John Elkington will likely not be setting foot in Cincinnati for a long time. His anti-Chinese comments have created a big stink. When you get quotes like this from Mayor Luken:

"If he said this, he's disqualified from being hired by the city," Luken says.

and from Councilman Cranley:

"I thought that his joke was inappropriate and I have told him the same," Cranley says.

then I think it is safe to say that he will not be hired. Elkington is denying the CityBeat quotes. I think he should quit before he sinks the whole plan for Main Street.

Crime Ring Was Not Involved in Terrorism

It seems that ignorance ruled the day. The local police were looking for headlines and failed to see the whole picture. The Judge in this case, Thomas Crush, belittled the contention that terrorism was involved:

But during the Tuesday hearing, Crush said: "The money was not sent to terrorist organizations. There is no jihad here."

He said some of the men are Muslim, some Christian and some Hindu. Four of the men, the judge said, sent money to family members in Kuwait, Bulgaria, Jordan and Hungary.

"I hardly believe they're sending money to Muslim terrorists," Crush said.

It sounds like the local police are taking a page from Bush's playbook. If you can't account for where the money went, that must mean it went to terrorists. Money, WMD, it is all just a faith based assumption.

Cincinnati Fire Chaplain Reinstated

From the start of this mini-controversy this seems like something screwed up. A man is trying to help pull the fire fighters together, and the chief shoots him down. I think the bottom line problem with the Fire Fighters is that the black fire fighters don't want to join the union unless they get blacks in positions of leadership(power). What issues does the union have that would require representation of every race? Are women represented in the union? Are Asians? Are Latinos? Are Russians? Is Mt. Lookout represented? Are cats represented? It would appear that a whole bunch of asses are getting representation.

Bronson commented on this situation too, before the reinstatment.

SNL Found Its Balls?

Did Saturday Night Live find its balls again? Tina Fey, Weekend Update and head writer, took some big stabs at the actions of the Lawyer for Kobe Bryant. It was sharp, to the point, and a clean cut. (And Scene)

Freudian Slip, Political Style

It seems that Dan Klepal of the Cincinnati Enquirer has promoted Councilman Pat DeWine to the office of U.S. Senator:

Reps. Steve Chabot of Cincinnati and Rob Portman of Terrace Park, along with Sens. Pat DeWine and George Voinovich, all Republicans, say in the letter they were unaware of the proposed change until reading of it in the Enquirer Oct. 4.

Of course Mike DeWine is the current Senator from Ohio, who is Pat's father. I hope Pat got a good laugh from that one on his dad.

FOX News Religious Bias?

In their latest poll FOX News is trumpeting that 92% of Americans believe in "God." Now, why this is something for a news group to poll I do not really know, but FOX does cater to religious right. The bias in this article starts with the following:

Fully 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 85 percent in heaven and 82 percent in miracles, according to the latest FOX News poll.

That was from the first paragraph in the article. That says that based on the poll 276 million out of 300 million or so people in America believe in "God." Now, I will try to forgo the problem of lumping "God" as a singular and monolithic title to something that has such widespread variations in definition and belief. Asking if people believe in "witches" is by itself insulting to those who practice Wicca, but I “digress.” (But not really)

The real meat comes later in the intro to the specific polling data results:

Polling was conducted by telephone September 23-24, 2003 in the evenings. The sample is 900 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points. Results are of registered voters, unless otherwise noted. NA = national adult

Please note the part that I made bold. This poll was of only registered voters. This poll does not mean that 92% of Americans believe in "God", it should have read 92% of Registered Voters. So the leading poll question, one that does not define what they mean by "God," is limited to a subsection of the populace, but is passed off as the results for the entire population.

Polling registered voters is fine, when polling on political issues affecting elections. They are only ones who can vote, so the results are valid. This poll, even beyond the leading "concepts" of "God, Heaven, Hell, and the Devil", is flawed and misleading. I wonder if showing as high a possible percentage of people "believing" in "God" provides support to those who want state religion by popular vote. Well, I don't need to wonder, because I can see no other logical rationale for spinning this story that way, beyond incompetence of course.

Next Time a Tea Cosy?

Peter Bronson's column from Sunday seemed a little forced. I think he was going for a Midwestern Martha Stewart style word picture. I expected him to share his burch beer recipes or maybe his plan for a great pattern for a new wool blanket to warm him and someone special while they root for the home team....ah...good times. (Cough, Cough)

MIAMI 59, Buffalo 3

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Coverage: Enquirer, AP, and Buffalo News.

Why Old Cincinnati Doesn't Get It

Peter Bronson's column from Saturday asking why there are not more bland television shows for people like him out there is exactly why this city lives in the past, and fails to develop a vibrant downtown.

What Peter just does not get is that there are people who live a life not wanting what he wants: the Leave It To Beaver life. People don't want to be bored. Peter wants to be bored. The people who think like Peter are too scared not to be bored. If they are exited about something new, they must be "sinning."

Now, when I say new, I don't mean a new book detailing the history of the bible from the point of view of a modern Jesus Freak that likes rap music. I mean new as is inventive and crisp ideas that are not just derivative of an old story that has passed the morality judges living in the burbs.

The problem here is Peter's jealousy. He claims there are not enough "family" shows on television. He is wrong. There are tons of networks shows that the "family" can watch (meaning kids and prudish adults). There are dozens of cable channels fitting that market as well. Peter is pissed that his shows are not as popular as the ones that break new ground, or from his point of view that swear and show bare asses. I would guess that Peter thinks the West Wing is just the work of the devil and that Trading Spaces is just vanity run amuck. I think Peter needs to stop being afraid of breaking the taboos that are no longer taboos. Skirts to the ankle and not wearing hats indoors are just not things that matter in life. Being offended by swear words is nothing but Political Correctness, the original kind. If those words offend you Peter, just don't listen. Don't be such a PC prude.

Enquirer Sports Page Goes to Bed Early

It appears that someone wanted to go home and get to bed early last Monday Night.

In the not so clear picture above it reads:

Tampa Bay's Keenan McCardell catches a touchdown pass during Monday's game against the Colts. The Bucs rolled to a 35-14 and then held off a Colts rally.

Now there are two problems here. First the last sentence is missing a word, "to a 35-14 and then...." Maybe it should have been: "to a score of 35-14 and then...."

The second and, well, far bigger problem was that the final score of the game was 38-35 Colts. The last time the score was 35-14 was at about 3:40 to go in the fourth quarter. Now this kind of thing happens all the time, and the Sports Section is the least important in the paper, but this was on the front page. I would have thought they could have stopped the presses a few minutes after they sent it to the printers, but I don't know how the process works on that detailed of a level. I hope this kind of thing never happens with hard news.

Hip Again?

If Cincinnati is not Hip, we are at least trendy. For the second time in a week a national newspaper has done a story on Young Professionals and they have focused on Cincinnati. The attention is great. We had another great time at CincyTommorrow's After-5 Walk last night.

This article, like the CSM article, has a drive by view of Cincinnati, but it is not that far off. We have let the rest of the country define us mainly because a majority of the region is stuck living in a 1980's frame of mind.

Any Question that Brian Crum Garry is a Marxist?

If you make this comment at a candidate's forum can you be anything else but a Marxist?

But activist Brian Crum Garry, an independent candidate, took issue with the emphasis on crime in the campaign. "Crime is not the No. 1 problem in Cincinnati. Race and class are the No. 1 problem in Cincinnati," he said.

Why he did not just come out and attack the capitalists and call for a proletariat strike is beyond me. I am sure Mr. Crum could be an old school socialist or a full-blown Stalinist, but those distinctions are only a matter of an "if it walks like a duck" difference.

Also from this article, since when is Monica R. Williams of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati a "boycott leader?" Last I knew she was not even one of the "co-chairs" of the CJC? She was wrong about Deter's comments. Deter's come across as harsh, but they are a fact. The image of intercity under 30 year old blacks is the same one portrayed in the media as "gang culture." Deter's saying this comes across to many as bigoted and racist, but it is still true. Now, why it is true is an issue that is far more debatable and where I am sure Mr. Deter's might spew some rather ignorant opinions if he were to be off the record. I am surprised the CJC and its racist cabal have not disrupted more forum events. Since many of them have been in “those” neighborhoods, I guess the CJC is scared to venture in to them. When I say “those” of course I mean Westwood, Price Hill, Mt. Washington, Hyde Park, and Mt. Lookout. The CJC’s super powers are not effective in places like that, so they stay as far away as possible. They don’t want to actually meet real white people. If they were to meet real white people, they might realize we are not the “devil.” That would just blow their whole “the man is keeping us down” motif.

Tensions Rise in OTR

The report of a harsh physical arrest in OTR is not good. It is not good because people are still tense in OTR and are looking at every police action with assumptions. Damon Lynch is already commenting. The quote on WPCO's website is rather meaningless. What is he going to do about it? What would he do about it if he were on council?

No one was reportedly upset over these arrests:

Police find guns, bullet-proof vest

OVER-THE-RHINE - Cincinnati police officers checking out a report early Thursday about a person with a gun in a bar ended up finding two loaded handguns and a bullet-proof vest.

Officers heading to Martin's Bar just before 2:30 a.m. saw a man running outside and chased him. They arrested Germaine Evans, 22, of Over-the-Rhine, and Reco Terrell, 29, of Pleasant Ridge. Both were charged with carrying concealed weapons and having weapons under disability, meaning they have prior felony charges that prohibit them from carrying a gun.

Officers found a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic and a loaded .40-caliber handgun in a car. They also found the vest, according to Evans' arrest report.

Where was Damon Lynch's praise on this? I wonder why every gun-nut is not pissed these guys were charged with carrying concealed weapons.

UPDATE: The Post reports that there was basically a mini-riot after the arrests. 1230theBuzz callers are heavily calling about this topic. The police chief is set to appear before noon. This after noon's Jay Love show should produce quite a few fireworks.


UPDATE#2: WLWT has a detailed report of the incident from Police. Their version vindicates the police actions. The suspect had a gun and the police hit the man to try to get the gun from him. The Chief of police has come on the Buzz and explained the incident very thoroughly. He will surely be attacked, but this case looks open and shut. The racists and the boycotters (often the same people) will cry foul and claim conspiracy, but it appears almost the entire incident is on videotape.

UPDATE#3: A man on the Buzz is claiming to be a "Reverend" Doc Foster and claims to be the "grandfather" of the man arrested. Interesting, if true.

Texas GOP, Wow

Kevin Drum, master blogger, at Calpundit.com has a takedown of the Texas Republican platform. This document is actually scary. If people can be a Republican and support these people, I don't know how. Speaking of People, does Bush support his state's Platform? Will he refute the bigotry and theocracy, and fascism advocated in it?

Cin: Good Clean Fun!

Well, I got a look at the prototype of the Cincinnati Enquirer's new weekly. The title is "Cin." I don't mind the title. There is a nice double entendre that has potential. As for the rest of it, well, it is about what I expected: The Today show in print form, minus Ann Curry and Al Roker. We had "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly of Shackingup" where I read "real" people discuss living with their significant other. Too bad that one of those people sharing her opinion states that she is married. That seems to defeat the idea of "shackingup," which I think most of society reserves for unmarried couples.

The Cincinnati Style section looks like it was a satirical look at People Magazine, but the problem was that is wasn't trying to be satirical. Most of what I saw was fluff. Where to eat, what to wear, where to go, and who to be. It was a how-to-live newspaper for the intellectually deficient. If you need to be told what is "cool," or if you care what "cool" means in an "American Pie" kind of way, then this will be your bible for life in Cincinnati. If you like originality or fresh ideas, then this will appear to be a pile of rotting filet mignon .

For the "mainstream" Cincinnati 27 year old women ( or man) who watches the bachelor and thinks she could get picked, this is her newspaper. For the person who listens to NPR, reads something without pictures, and knows the difference between reality TV and reality, I suggest sticking to XRay Magazine or CityBeat.

UPDATE: I also have no idea if this publication will have its own website or even a special section at Cincinnati.com. I bet it will have something on the web eventually. If not, then the Enquirer really has no clue about 25-34 year olds. On the cover the cinncinnati.com was listed, so I would guess there will be a special section (tab) for "Cin."

Police Back Off, Enquirer Writes Horrible Headline

The police are stumbling all over themselves trying to back off their "great suspicion" that the corner market crime ring was linked to "terrorism." None of the local powers that be will come right out and eat crow:

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said the investigation is continuing, but there is so far no connection to terrorism. "If there are financial links to terrorists, they have not been established," Allen said.

I love the firm manner in which Mike committed to his answer: I know Noth-ing.

What was the headline writer (editor?) thinking when they wrote the headline - subheader combination of "Man free in theft ring case: Terror tie uncertain?" This combination leads one to believe that because the terror ties were "uncertain", he was set free. It creates the impression that the terrorism was the only charge. The man is free on bail, not freed because has been tried yet. The evidence against the crime ring I would bet is very damaging. Ken Lawson is of course involved. I have to ask the obvious. Is he trying to make a victim out of his client(s) from the "racist" police that assumed a terrorism connection. This faux victim hood is his plan for acquittal. Ken is going for a modified Chewbacca defense. Draw attention away from the facts of the case and zero in on the peacock strutting of the Police Chief and Prosecutor. Morons are easy dupes for a fake left, and we have plenty of morons here in Hamilton County.

Elkington Can Kiss His 100K GoodBye!

CityBeat had a story last week where Mr. Elkington reported made a few bigoted comments at an OTR luncheon:

Elkington and his boosters make much of his commitment to diversity -- African Americans own 35 percent of Beale Street businesses, according to Cranley. But at a recent Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Elkington told the crowd that years in development have taught him to never rent to a Chinese restaurant.

"If it's an inside joke to developers, we didn't get it," Charter Committee city council candidate John Schlagetter says.

Elkington says the comment was meant as a joke, but it's true that he doesn't rent to Chinese restaurants.

"I just made that a policy," he says. "Chinese businessmen are hagglers. They use different math."

That is just totally outlandish and outright racist. I wonder when he says "Chinese" if he means those from China or is he vastly ignorant and mean all Asians?

You know things hit the fan when the Cincinnati Enquirer actually refer to a CityBeat Article anywhere in there paper, let alone in an editorial:

Mayor Charlie Luken and Councilman John Cranley want to hire Elkington for $100,000 to make bigger things happen on OTR's Main Street. But we can't get there by offending more ethnic groups. Luken says he's been flooded with e-mails, and will talk to Elkington again. OTR offers opportunities for all private investors. The city needs to make 100 percent sure Chinese-Americans are as welcome as any.

The Enquirer does report that Elkington denies the CityBeat Quote were he calls Chinese businessmen "hagglers." Come on John, everyone knows Jews are the "hagglers", the Chinese are good at math, the Scotsmen are cheap as hell and won't invest a dime in OTR, and the Irish will drink anywhere you open a bar.

Oh, and yes....(Cough, Cough) on the last part, for all those keeping score.

Vigilancia Politica 20031008
VigPol is Back. Sorry again about missing a week, but I am back for the duration.

"Unhip" Cincinnati

The Christian Science Monitor has taken a hard look at Cincinnati and our Young Professionals. I don't like being called "unhip" because that is a really bad rap on Cincinnati, but one we can't easily avoid. We are a "cool" city surrounded by some of the most stale minded people in the country. The majority of suburbanites want to live in a stoic life with the PTA, youth soccer, high school football, church festivals, and tolerance for theocratic fascists like Phil Burress.

The city needs to start looking out for itself more. The county does nothing to help. The suburbs sponge off the big city aura, but stay locked in their sheltered cul-de-sacs. Groups like Cincinnati Tomorrow, featured in the article, are in my opinion (biased as it may be) are the foundation for a vibrant city society. Social structures are what societies are built on and by combining our efforts our market share will become more attractive to business and then to government officials.

Nick Spencer got a great mention. I seemed to not seek John Cranley's name mentioned. I wonder where he stands on young professionals? I would guess he would want us standing outside a Hard Rock Cafe behind the velvet ropes, waiting for the West Chester crowd to go home.

Arnold Yes! Local Politics No!

I am watching WLWT-NBC at 11:00 PM today and I saw a report during the first ten minutes on the California Governor's recall election. In case you missed something, WLWT is the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was OHIO.

Ohio does not border California. When the governor of Indiana died, that was very relevant to Cincinnati area views, which includes parts of Indiana. Stories on Kentucky government are also fair game. If might be nice if we got a story on what Bob Taft was doing up in Columbus (again the one in Ohio).

Now, I seem to remember something about an election right here in Cincinnati. 26 people are running for something? Instead we get an "Around the Nation" report and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" update. What the Fuck? Where is the local news? Damn it folks, a "Tall Stacks" commercialnews story giving the menu? I guess interviewing the candidates for next month's election is just not interesting enough for the brain dead "Reality" Show junkies hoping they finally merge the Bachelor, Fear Factor, and Dirtyhotelmaids.com into one television program. Watching a single guy tempt fate by picking a wife from a group of dirty hotel maids that eat sheep balls for money is a formidable match for picking the city's leaders.

Reformation II?

With groups like Voice of the Faithful, is a Roman Catholic split far way? American Catholics have a large segment pushing for change in the church much like Martin Luther did nearly 500 years ago. Couple this along with radical traditionalist Catholic, like Mel Gibson, who prefer to turn back the clock and be "pre-Vatican II" Catholics. Orthodox Catholics, who might also be called conservative Catholics, fall in as the "establishment" Catholics who like the Church as is. I don't know where moderate or liberal Catholics will go if the church does not change. I would predict that the choice of the next Pope will be critical for the future of American Catholics. I would not be surprised to see a break-up/schism or massive defection to other protestant sects for American Catholics. I of course don't really give much of a damn about this or any religion, but the Catholic Church does wield influence in the world, and it is the biggest Christian denomination in America.