At Least 39 Killed in Fire at Rhode Island Club
A horrible tragedy, but it appears that either the Band or the club owners will be held responsible. Criminal charges should be made. This far exceeds the 1979 "Who tragedy" where 11 people were trampled to death. Festival seating did not cause this type of problem. I hope this event is not used as a sensational example that is exploited by anyone, like concert safety fanatics or whole black activist gang who will cry foul if this event does not get treated in the media the way the night club tragedy in Chicago was treated.

Video from the club showing the starting of fire was very haunting to view. I am surprised that video was show by TV News. There surely are people who are shown in the video who died or are seriously wounded. It would be very unsettling to watch that video this soon if I had friends or family who had lost their lives.

The local event this most relates to is the Bevery Hills Supper Club Tragedy where 165 people where killed in a fire in the club.

Eschaton on Mayor Luken's displeasure with Tom Ridge, from the Cincinnati Post.

Chris Anderson on Kathy Y. Wilson's column/profile of Monica Williams, a new emerging leader of the increasingly irrelevant CJC. Chris points to a problem that exists in many quarters of the "black activist" movement, the racist until proven innocent mentality. It is taken to the extreme in the "Black Nationalist" movement, where the "white man" is the "devil." I was disappointed with Kathy's column however. It was a portrait of Monica that did not hold back any of Monica's "warts", but Kathy did not render any overt opinion. I would have like to have read more on Kathy's views of what people like Monica are doing to race relations in the city. I believe Monica, and her fellow bigots/racists in groups like the CJC, are as much the cause of race problems in this city as the police.

Democrats, not GOP, lacking in diversity (3rd Letter)
Gary Bryson of Sharonville writes to the Enquirer claiming the Democrats lack diversity "because of their adherence to Democratic ideology." Is Gary just that simple to make sure an unintelligent comment? What ideology would Democrats have other than Democratic ideology? I don't know what Democratic ideology is to be blunt. I know there is the progressive wing of the party, the conservative wing, the neo-liberal wing, the unionist wing, and the minority wing. The GOP has the neo-conservative wing, the paleo-conservative wing, and the libertarian wing. Those are all of the main ideologies in both parties. That are not totally complete, but they are a good general breakdown. The Democratic Party has always been a much wider coalition of ideologies than the GOP. I don't think Gary has read much on politics. I would guess he stems from "Themism," where the "them" to Gary are Democrats, and the "us" are Republicans. I think Gary needs to rethink his views. He can veil his desire for a homogenous society where only conformity gets you noticed, but it will not fly.

Gary can cry that Democrats don't share his views on abortion, taxes and affirmative action, but what does that have to do with the lack of minorities in the Ohio GOP? His party has as much conformity on all of those three issues and he should know it. The GOP party's platform is against abortion, for a regressive tax system, and is against most forms of affirmative action. He seems to miss the point of the article. Blacks don't like the GOP for several reasons, but most of all the recent history (last 35 years) it has taken steps to alienate blacks on issue most blacks favor, like affirmative action. This has nothing to do with Democrats getting more votes or not having more people in the State House or General Assembly. The issue is that the members of the GOP in State government are nearly all white and all male, Ken Blackwell, Betty Montgomery, and Jennette Bradley, not withstanding. The Jennette Bradley link surprisingly forwards to a general page. She sure has importance to the GOP if she does not even have her own web page on the State website.

LETTERS: Different standards for NY rapper
In these letters to the editors of the Enquirer one can see the effects of media illiteracy. These readers and TV views are not able to see beyond the surface of the dramatic story the media paints about issues that can gain readers/viewers.

This harsh response to the coverage and defense of the rapper parallels that received by radio talkshow host Jay Love from 1230 the Buzz on Tuesday and Wednesday. His callers were very irate and according to Jay were cussing out the show's producer without waiting to get on the air, all in defense of Jay's comments criticizing "50 Cent."

With fans as rabid as these, and with the prior problems at "50 Cent" shows, the police preparation was warranted. This comment from Melissa Meyer deserves a response:

Were such extreme security measures warranted in this situation? Why is there the assumption in Cincinnati that gatherings of black citizens equal violence. Would a concert by Eminem, Insane Clown Posse, or Marilyn Manson have brought out the SWAT team?

The reason is simple Melissa. None of those acts have had recent violence at shows. None of those acts are admitted former drug dealers currently under pending weapons charges. None of those acts have been shot 9 times within the last couple years. Rap music lives on a reputation of violence, anger, and associate with crime. If they don't want to live the life of "gangsters," then don't act like it.

What's in a Number?
After posting yesterday about the "50 Cent" concert I was encouraged to reexamine the number of people attending the concert. I posted that there were 300, while the venue held 1,250. I based my information on Larry Nager's review of the concert in the Enquirer. The relevant quote was:

After paying as much as $100 for VIP tickets ($35 for general admission) and being thoroughly frisked for weapons, the crowd of 300 or so milled around the club waiting for the star.

What I missed was in the article by Jane Prendergast where she noted:

By midnight, the club was full. Capacity is 1,250. Earlier, hundreds had lined the sidewalks waiting to get in.

After emailing both reporters I was able to surmise the reason for the difference. Larry was inside and states that the crowd was not more than a few hundred. He has been in the same venue for several other events where the number of attendees was firmly known, and the "50 Cent" concert did not meet those numbers. I think Jane's number was based on the information from the promoters who were going to provide an answer to best suit the act and the venue. I don’t know how the inter-workings of newspapers work, but one might surmise that editors might see that basic difference in articles that relate to the same subject in the same edition of the newspaper. This is a minor issue, but it is one that if the event had any problems would have been key to understanding correctly what occurred.

Rap's Newest Star Performs; No Problems Reported
Ok, above is the headline from the WLWT story. Here is a quote from the story:

Cincinnati police reported only a few minor problems.

Now I think there is a difference between "no problems" and a "few minor problems," ya think?

CalPundit on Post War Iraq
Kevin Drums indicates that efforts for democracy and stability in Post-War Iraq are withering on the vine, and I agree. Here is what I hope happens if a Japan/Germany type post-war effort is not made.
1. I hope all of the protestors fight for democracy in Iraq. I hope they get the numbers out again, this time I will join, and keep fighting until Bush offers a Marshall Plan for Iraq, and a Plan to create a democracy.
2. I hope the media do not become Bush's bitch again. It would be nice if the television news outlets would get a pair of balls and hold Bush's feet to the fire on at least one lie or broken promise.
3. I hope the voters of America vote Bush out of office in such a landslide to make 1984 seem like a barnburner.

If Bush does make a democratic Iraq, or at least makes a full effort to make it so, I will give him credit. I will then start complaining if he does not immediately start pushing out every other dictator, fascist or theocratic government in the world. This would include the theocracy George himself is trying to creep us into.

UPDATE: Paul Krugman chimes in and is right, as usual.

50 Cent draws hundreds with hot rap, cool tats
It appears the event went off with only a few minor fights. I say only because no one reportedly was hurt. The reviewer from the Enquirer panned the concert. I am not a fan of rap, so I would have not had a favorable report under any circumstances. The big issue is that the bar can hold 1,250 people, but only around 300 were there.

Chris Anderson also had a few comments on the event, and rightfully pans the media for being race car fans, looking for wrecks.

Tom Ridge Media Coverage
Good from WCPO and WLW. The rest was typical or absent. WDBZ needs a real news team if it going to be a source for real news, they did not carry the speech live. WCPO gets a special kudos for offering a streaming video of the entire Tom Ridge speech.

Dog on Ice Flow trumps Tom Ridge
Today FOX News and MSNBC cut away to live coverage of a dog being rescued from an ice flow during Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge’s speech here in Cincinnati on a new effort to prepare the country for terrorism and war.

WLW’s Mike McConnell gets credit for noticing this fact. He did not mention what CNN was airing. I would guess they only have two TV’s and did not have on CNN, I hope their right-wing slant is not so crass to shun CNN.

I am sure some conservative will blame PETA or the SPCA for this misplacement of priorities. The reason for this lopsided coverage is simple, DRAMA. Cable news networks care little about news and information, unless it has DRAMA. DRAMA in today’s terms is only the visual. This is an example of what makes the Television news media horrible today. It is not a social or political bias; it is a focus on ratings, not on providing quality journalism. The real problem with this is that no one in the public, outside of the few readers I have, will see this problem with TV news. Since they control the curtain, they won’t let you behind it

The kicker has to be a caller to WLW who said “liberals” should be happy FOX News showed it was warm and fuzzy by caring for animals. It is not quite blaming PETA, but it is close enough. It goes to show that if you make it stupid, people will not care, or will not know the difference.

I Fart in Your General Direction
This afternoon while visiting the café in the building where I work I was slightly shocked. There were about seven men sitting having coffee in the café. This not that odd, but they were all speaking French. They were talking up a storm and I felt like they were talking about me. They were laughing at several points while I waited for my calorie filled mocha. I was able to make out two words: Croissant and Fromage. This shop did sell croissants, so I assumed they were making fun of the quality of American Croissants. I don't know about the cheese.

This whole issue was odd today because the biggest meme on the Blogosphere over the last week has been "France Sucks." I had the unfound feeling that these men were going to start insulting me for being American. They were doing nothing wrong, but the meme has been beat into me with calls for boycotts of French products and events and other complaints. I was out numbered but according to the prevailing warblogger logic, if I ask a French person to surrender they will. It is supposed to be like a Pavlovian response. I was tempted to try out this theory, but I felt a bit out of place. Having a Cappuccino in Cincinnati is a bit too European to complain.

Am I still allowed to eat filet mignon?

This is not the Café where I ran into the French mafia.

Cincinnati to host round of CAFTA negotiations
Will our beloved local Zapatista Stalinists be back for another round of protests? I can't wait to see a gang of Transnational Progressives with effigies, gas masks, and 1..2..3..4 chants. Oh the fun, oh the revelry.

Hot act 50 Cent drops in to rap
Ok, where is the CJC's artists of conscious campaign? I for one would like to see this act boycott Cincinnati.

UPDATE: WCPO reports "50 Cent" is out on bail on a weapons charge.

Homeland Security chief to speak
It's official. You can get your duct tape refunds Downtown on Wednesday.

Peter Bronson's Good Old Boy Network
In today's Enquirer Peter Bronson is off attacking Miami University and the Miami Student, the campus newspaper, for firing Aaron Sanders after he wrote a column for the newspaper. The column criticized a teacher and a film shown in a class at Miami. Peter is really not being honest with who this student is. This student is the chairman of the College Republicans of Miami University. Peter wrote a column using Sanders as the main source last fall in a campaign to get FOX News included in the campus cable system. Peter and this student obviously are working “in cahoots.” Peter wants to help out a fellow right-winger, and at the same time put forth his ideological agenda.

Peter obviously cares nothing for promoting good journalism, especially when it conflicts with his chance make a fellow paleo-conservative into a victim in the faux war with academia. Peter illustrates his agenda with this quote from his column:

They said he did not see the movie before writing about it. But that's true for most reporting. Sanders didn't claim he saw it - he indirectly quoted students who did.

Has Peter given up journalism? Peter says that most reporters would not see a film before they reported it, which is true, when talking about reporters. They can report that a film was shown. It would be very subjective to report that “some” people were offended by the film. That point could be made in a column as this student did, but would it be good journalism without seeing the film first? A column is at its core an opinion, not an unbiased news story, but good columnists generally do not report false or misleading facts. If this student columnist did not see the film, how good a columnist would he be if reported someone else’s opinion of the film instead of his own? I would say he would be a bad columnist who is making grossly biased argument that is not worthy of a college student. It was a political tactic made by a political party. This student is not a journalist, he is a politician, all be it a junior one. I have no doubt he will be a paid staffer for a conservative politician as soon as he graduates, and Peter cries for him because his editors have chosen to edit him out of the newspaper. Well, Peter was concerned about this being a learning tool. I would argue Mr. Sanders has learned a lesson. That lesson clearly is don’t abuse your position. Write an honest story, don’t write a bad column to put forth your agenda. Instead, write a good column, and hope it puts forth your agenda. Playing fair in writing and politics is something I advocate to all, but I guess the ends matter more to Peter than the means. If Peter can “save our souls” by establishing a theocratic state, I would think he would be happy as a clam.

UPDATE 02/18/2003: Miami's newspaper currently does not have a website, but I think the Sanders column can be read here.

AUSTRALIAN BLOGGER Tim Blair considers Bush a "relatively moderate" Christian. I wonder who he thinks qualifies as a conservative Christian. In this case I think Tim's perspective is thrown off by the Pacific Ocean. Bush is not the most conservative Christian, but he is in that camp. Bush is an evangelical Christian, and even though that group is growing, it is not mainstream, which is another word for moderate in my experience. Now in this post Tim is making some kind of contextual comment to refer to Bin Laden's past, which I don't dispute, but the context of Bush is off. Bush is far more likely to push American Christianity to the right, than to the middle, which is where he was raised. Bush is more of a potential parallel to Bin Laden's slide to extremism, than a contrast.

The White Death has Gripped the City!
Do to weather conditions; Cincinnati Blog is on Plan 9, from outer Space.

GOP rules with no minorities, few women
Other news today: Fire is hot, snow is cold, sex feels good, and the CCV is a theocratic fascist group.

TBOGG suggests new a new hair style for Congressman Steve Chabot who is head and shoulders above the rest of the country in sucking up to the religious right, especially those living on the west side of Cincinnati.