Brian James Kloetzel a contributor to the Miami Review is off on a couple of points in his latest column. One is his contention that the GOP will pick up seats in the House and Senate. I do not think any polling numbers support this contention. I think a good race-by-race analysis indicates the Dems will pick up a couple seats in the House, but not gain control, and the Senate will not change its balance. The other point is that I am most certainly not better off than I was 2 years ago. My 401(k) is in the shitter, 3,000 innocent people are dead thanks to foreign borne theocratic fascism, domestic theocratic fascism is on the rise in this country, my pay raises have been negligible in the last two years, and government secrecy has ballooned to an art form. My life is not unique either, so I would say we are on the "wrong track."

Colerain Football Player's Suspension Contested
The Judge made the right decision. The parents of this kid are over-reacting. The kid was charged with a crime. Schools can suspend him for behavior problems at any point. There is no review board he can appeal to for a school suspension. He must face the consequences of his actions. His parents have of course filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the school district. Opportunism at its worse. The kid's father is a Cincinnati Police officer. I am sure that this case got the attention it is getting and will get more because of the race of the kid. These parents have the earmarks of "not my child" syndrome. This "affliction" occurs on parents who are in denial of the actions of their children. They cannot and will not admit that their child could have done what he is accused of. Too many parents fear the bad appearances of their children over the behavior of their children.

Chris Anderson at Queen City Soapbox has some very interesting thoughts on the Hagen-Livingston incident, and insightful comments on Kathy Wilson's City Beat Column.

BRONSON: They're sorry
Ok, Is Peter off his medication? How much can one right-winger rant? I do not think it is possible for Peter Bronson to rant about anything and not mention Bill Clinton. Bronson needs Bill more than water. This column was really all over the place. It was a catalog of Peter's shit list. I wonder if Peter will be voting for Bob Taft. Bronson fits into the profile of a fanatical morals voter, and the Lt. Gov. nominee running with Taft does not appear to fit his religiosity. A tough choice for the Bronson’s in this State.

Chabot urges Senate to vote on `partial-birth' abortion bill
I guess he still feels the need to shore up his base. I thought he was a lock for reelection. It is nice to see the Post can read a press release.

Hagan lectures boycott leader
I think Mr. Hagen has lived out a dream that most of the people in the Cincinnati Area have had. Hagan has my vote for taking a stand. I wonder if he will make any gains in what should be Taft country. I must applaud the Enquirer for this story. It is a very positive story for Hagen, and it was reported fairly. Taft supporters would have a tough time disagreeing with a thing it reported. I think I will have to read this story more than once. It is like watching a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth. Hagen has helped all local democrats with this stance. The GOP can't hang the boycott on the party as a whole, like the Kentucky GOP is trying to hang Gov. Patton's scandal on the whole Kentucky Democratic party. The ranks in the boycott took a hit with this; I will listen to their talk radio reactions. I envision a big anti-democrat stance from the CJC from now on.

Black Panthers say new group sullying name
The marquee quote:

Original Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, who recently moved back to Oakland from Philadelphia, said the New Panthers are made up of "xenophobic idiots" with a religious agenda.

"They're a bunch of idiot extremists in the same way that a racist Ku Klux Klan and a racist Nazi is," he said.

I think the "Black Fist" would get similar analysis from Mr. Seale.

Appeals court rejects Cincinnati's appeal of drug zone ruling
Ends don't justify the mean is the old saying. Labeling a sub-region of the city has the purpose of rooting out crime, but in the process it forever furthers to solidify Over-the-Rhine as the "drug zone" for the city.

Above and beyond that issue is the issue of due process. Additional punishment for crimes not directly administered by a court is what I call a legal problem.

Flag dragged, but no arrests made this time
When you are not taunting, intimidating, and threatening people, you generally do not get arrested. If the boycotters did this at Oktoberfest, they would not have been arrested. They want confrontation. They want to provoke people. They want attention to their bigoted agenda. The oddest thing that still bugs me is the issue of the “video”. The article stated "One of the protesters did just that a few hours later at the demonstration in front of the courthouse," referring to the judge’s suggestion to police of video taping the protest. I observed the same thing at the September 20th protests downtown. Where is the videotape of the Oktoberfest protest? Why are the protestors not rolling out the video of the alleged beer throwing and "N" word spouting white people at the downtown festival? These claims were made in bold fashion and they could be supported in similar style by releasing video to support the claims of the CJC press releases. They could even put unedited video on the web, avoiding fears of media bias. Why have we not seen this video yet? If there is no video from boycotters, then why did they not record it? They tape everything else, but they skipped their biggest chance to catch the results of their provocations on tape? I do not think so. The only logical conclusion: the tape does not support their claims. Truth is not the friend of racists and bigots, and that is why the boycotters do not try and use it.

BRONSON: Religious freedom
When a religious bigot claims there is no religious bigotry towards any religion except his, do not believe him.

Charge of disrupting meeting is dropped
Since when does disrupting a meeting have to mean the meeting could not continue? A disruption is an interruption that causes the meeting to stop, unable to function. The meeting can then continue once the disruption ends. In this case the person was arrested and the meeting was able to continue. The compliant indicated she disrupted the event but the charge is disturbing. Here is the law Ms. Watts was charged with:

§ 2917.12 Disturbing a lawful meeting.
Text of Statute
(A) No person, with purpose to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering, shall do either of the following:
(1) Do any act which obstructs or interferes with the due conduct of such meeting, procession, or gathering;
(2) Make any utterance, gesture, or display which outrages the sensibilities of the group.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of disturbing a lawful meeting, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Based on the TV footage I think this woman was guilty. This sounds like either a misinterpretation of the law, or a bit of judicial nullification.

Protester picked up again
How much are people like Terry Summers influenced by Jay Love's Monday radio stunt? This stunt may turn into Jay's permanent shtick, which might just add a little push to another fanatic. If Jay wants to compete with Bill Cunningham by fighting fire with fire, or in this case acting with acting, I think he will need a bigger stage. Instead I believe Jay should stick with a honest opinion, not role playing.

Godless Americans March On Washington, Nov 2, 2002
I am sure the theists in the area are all about to pop a blood vessel. If I had the time I would be going.

UC's Guidugli cited for drinking
Business as usual in the UC Sports programs. Slap on the wrist and back on the field/court.

Ku Klux Klan hits another brick wall
A Brown County library tells the KKK to pound sand. I am surprised this story missed the pages of the Enquirer and the Post, well not really.

Coalition wants to change hotel porn channels
The Theocratic Fascist Phil Burress and the CCV are out to take their propaganda to the whole country. Yet again Phil is helping Cincinnati look like the Puritan Mecca of the Midwest. My question is: did Peter Bronson of the Enquirer forward Burress to someone at USA Today? Both newspapers are part of Gannett, so my theory is not totally out of left field. Utah might be the only other place where this idea will get wide spread support. I think Phil and the CCV members should pack up and move to Utah. I think he would fit right in, and leave the rest of us here in peace.

Yet another new team for WKRQ-FM
This just doest matter to anyone. If you want to listen to morning drive there are four good choices.
1. NPR on WVXU
2. The Dawn Patrol on WEBN
3. Jim Scott on WLW
4. Bob and Tom on WOFX

Archaeology Magazine: "PYRAMIDS IN JERUSALEM"
"Carvings on an ancient ossuary in the Cincinnati Art Museum depict a pyramid-topped tomb in Jerusalem according to University of Cincinnati professor Steven Fine, who was the first to recognize the significance of the engravings. The discovery adds to the small number images that show what Jerusalem looked like in the first century."

Cincinnati Post Editorial: "An independent commission"
Kudos to the Post for endorsing a blue ribbon probe of the 9/11 failures. I also am glad to read their assessment of a problem few in the media seem to want to address: "As the Bush White House is prone to do, it has suddenly reversed itself." Bush also did this on the issues of nation building, Middle East engagement, U.N. engagement, and international military intervention. Far too often, the media have been letting Bush change his mind on the fly, offering no criticism of why the changes occur. Instead some in the media (FOXNews) attack Al Gore for a thoughtful speech, instead of finding the clear omissions, diversions, and contradictions in Bush public comments. Bush continues to get a virtual Pass from the mainstream media outlets, and gets clear support from outlets like FOXNews.

Expert: Jorg didn't kill Owensby
Both sides will be going back and forth throughout this civil lawsuit. No one will be swayed and the public will remain divided on this issue. I have lost all interest in what happened. I do not trust anyone who is party to the lawsuit, nor any group supporting one side or the other. Here is the Enquirer's version.