Ted Turner Bio Information
This I did not know:

AGE_ 64. Born Nov. 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio

As CNN quickly debases itself down to the level of FOXNews, I hope the current turmoil does not totally ruin the chances for a turnaround of the network's slide to slime-news. I hope Ted can either buy back the network and mount a return to real news, or start a brand new all news channel that can shine on dial full of dull blather.

Fairly Unbalanced
Biology Professor Refuses to Recommend Students Who Don't Believe in Evolution
I wonder if FOXNews and the Liberty Legal Institute, a conservative group painted as a religious "freedom" group by the "fair and balanced" FOX, would cry foul if a Finance Professor denied a recommendation to a student who was an admitted communist? I would surmise, no.

Matt Weiler has some thoughts on the FOP Letter as well.

Police Slowdown?
Today's Enquirer is ripe with the text of a letter from Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president, Roger Webster, to all members of the police union. WHAT A LOAD OF HORSESHIT!!!! Webster's diatribe borders on the maliciously criminal.

When responding in an emergency mode, remember do not drive overly fast, stop at all intersections and stop signs.

On one hand we have the threat of more riots from the bigoted boycotters if the city does not give in to their demands, and on the other side we have the threats of letting emergencies go without responding by the police if the city does not give in to their demands. I expect as much from the boycotters. Their use of extortion as a means of political change is obvious to a five year old, but as a citizen I do expect more from the police.

I cringe when I see a conservative playing hypocritical union games with threats of a slow down. What I find most disgusting is Webster's claim that City Council insulted every police officer. That is the spin only management could love. When he wrote this:

In a matter of hours, seven members of city council slapped each and every police officer in the city in the face and decided to not ratify the supervisors contract.

I wanted to slap his face. A foot patrolman hoofing it in Over-the-Rhine at -11 degrees should give a rat's ass that someone doesn't get a free promotion to assistant chief? There is no principle in that position; there is only the preservation of power. If the police want to turn over a new leaf, they cannot circle the wagons and try and keep outsiders from injecting new blood into their stale division. I wonder if Fangman would have pushed this? My guess is that he helped write it. If this is the idea of fulfilling duty for the police, then I guess we are heading for a world of shit. Pvt. Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence might have been more to the point in the movie Full Metal Jacketwhen right before he blew out his brains he said: "I am... in a world... of shit."

Plan adds taxes to real estate purchases and cable TV charges
How does Taft Plan on administering these new taxes? Will local sales taxes automatically cover these new items or will a complicated mess occur in the service industry?

Chris Anderson finds a bias in the Cincinnati Enquirer's coverage of the conceal and carry gun legislation before the Ohio Assembly. I am not sure if the bias Chris believes exists is true, but the bias against abortion rights is something no one can deny, as I commented on previously.

On a concealed carry law: I find it pointless. If people have the need to quell their fears and intimidate others, strap a leg iron on and show the metal on your side. If people want to live like Wyatt Earp, they better look the part.

I think Zee at Spiced Sass can rest assured that anyone reading this post will not have any problem identifying the political leanings of the author. Ditto Head comes to mind, but reactionary sounds as applicable.

State of the Union Observations
We are going to war. Bush cannot declare victory if a coup takes place in Iraq installing a new dictator when he makes a statement like this:

And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation.

Anything short of a new western democracy in Iraq will be a Bush failure.

Schools will lose if taxes don't rise
Incentive to "sin?" The more we drink and smoke the more tax money will be available to the Schools! Party on Bob!

UPDATE: Chris Anderson adds some thoughts on the same issue.

Cincinnati boycott hits blacks hardest
Vice Mayor Alicia Reece deserves a kudos for getting the attention of the Washington Times. The "Moonie Times", as it is called, is a conservative newspaper with a small yet influential conservative audience. The article is fair, accurate, and generally unbiased. It could have had a quote from a boycott supporter, but they did not return the reporter's phone calls. The highlight of the article is the jab Alicia took at Spike Lee. I agree with her. If Mr. Lee really did care about the boycott, why did he not help UC by establishing a scholarship for poor blacks? I guess Mr. Lee's involvement in the boycott is only superficial or a defensive tactic to keep the boycotter's harassment to a minimum.

Chabot backs Bush, touts action in Iraq
Dog chases Cat, Deadhead smokes pot, and Fundamentalist damns homosexual, were the 3 runner up cliché headlines the Enquirer did not run today.

Cincinnati-Based Marine Reserve Unit Called Up
If this does not bring home the impending war with Iraq, little will.

mattweiler.net :: This doesn't make any sense
Matt's comments on the Spike Lee cancellation produced a trite response from Nate Livingston. Matt's retort was solid, direct, and poignant. If I see Matt this year at a Red's game, I will buy him a beer!

BoycottCincinnati.org Forum - Spike Lee Joins Cincinnati Boycott
Just in case Nate deletes my post or anyone questions it authenticity, here is what I posted on the website:

For the record, the "cincyblog" posting on this message board is not Brian Griffin from the Cincinnati Blog. Someone else, most likely Nate, has created that username for a purpose that can only be viewed as nefarious in nature. Please do not confuse the views of the username on this board called "cincyblog", with the views of Brian Griffin or Cincinnati Blog.

Additionally, the blog post credited to me is from my blog, but was not published with my permission. It would be both considerate and wise to at least include a link to said post to allow readers to see the original, allowing any potential editing or misquoting to be judged fairly. Thank You.

Brian Griffin

In case anyone is nitpicky, yes I did add a missing word to the above post, which was incorrectly left out because of my haste to post to the message board. May the grammar "gods" forgive me.

[Link via John Schlagetter]

Socialist organization meets despite interruption
And they loved every second of the attention they received.

Spike Lee cancels under pressure from boycott
UC's News Record reports on Spike Lee's cancellation and a letter sent by Nate Livingston to the News Record and Student Body President Darren Tolliver. This quote

"Your actions in attempting to convince artists and entertainers to break the boycott are disturbing to me," he continued.

could be construed as something more than a complaint. I wonder if the News Record will release the letter in full. Does the letter come across as blackmail? Does the letter imply or overtly state that unless the New Record and the UC Student Body President endorse the boycott and/or do the bidding of the boycotters, then the boycotters will then entice or intimidate those coming to perform, appear or work at UC. This would be the same spin and tactics allegedly used to put fear in the performers themselves, which is part of the reason they stayed away. Fear is not the tool of the honorable. Fear is the tool of thieves, scoundrels, and thugs.

Gangs of New York to Cincinnati?
What article on mobs and riots as they relate to the movie Gangs of New York could be complete without mentioning Cincinnati? It is only in passing, but the 2001 riots have, at least in this author's opinion, achieved an equal historical importance as the 1992 LA riots and the 1968 riots after MLK's assassination. It is far to soon to judge the importance of the 2001 riots, but that will not keep columnists from judging it prematurely, providing their opinion a more contemporary spin. Short-sheeting history is a common side effect of current-events writing, and I am as guilty as the next writer, but this article tries to connect some dots that are generations if not worlds apart.

Senate president took rural route to power
A puff piece if there ever was one. Did White's staff write this? This reeks of damage control and of weak rationalization. When does being from a rural county excuse boorish or bigoted behavior?

In case you don't remember Senator Doug White, review it here and here.

200 locals march against abortion
More evidence of the Enquirer's bias. How many stories can they run praising the efforts of anti-abortion protestors? If anyone wants to call the Enquirer "liberal" they might want to qualify that assessment. Just because the Enquirer does not proclaim the progressive income tax structure as a Stalinist plot does not mean they are not conservative. It just means they are not totally ignorant. The Enquirer caters to the large conservative base in this town. They know who their masters are and they, like FOXNews, tilt their coverage to what their readers want to read. This does not mean the Enquirer’s opinions are equivalent to the GOP or any other conservative movement, it just means they cover stories more often that conservatives want to hear.

BRONSON: Pushing life
Pushing Religious Propaganda is a better title for this trite fluff piece on the paleoconservative's 3rd rail of politics. That 3rd rail languishes only slightly behind the fear of taxes and a military spending fetish. Owning guns and being anti-homosexual rank 4th and 5th, but sometimes can create as much frothing at the mouth as number 3.

Pete's diatribe is nothing but the rantings of a closed minded religious chauvinist, bent on instilling his artificial religious dogma on the entire country. Bronson is a classic anti-gray person. He only sees things in a black and white, an affliction most conservatives and all extremists share. It would be nice if Pete could dance a little bit closer to the truth, instead of falling prey to his fear of rubbing up against her and panicking his preacher.