Yet Another Religious Zealot
A letter to the Editor (4th) in Today's Enquirer got my dander up:

"Humanist ethics are subjective"

The letter ("Ten Commandments defenders don't get it," June 12) is part of the reason the United States faces a moral dilemma today. When the letter writer rejects the biblical foundation of morality that was used by our founding fathers to frame much of our government, he instead lays the foundation of subjectivity. He is only partially right when he says that "...Similar values and morals (found in the Ten Commandments) can be praised and taught in the secular humanist arena."

People should realize some of the things that humanism is offering as a replacement to what had been taught in American schools for over 200 years: Institutions with authority, such as governments, the United Nations, and the American Humanist Association can pick and choose what values should be taught. If that doesn't sound a little arbitrary, they can also modify, discard or acquire new ones whenever they like. That is the nature of situational ethics.

To make this system of morality more acceptable to the man who doesn't happen to like the 10 suggestions that some authority has forced upon him, he is free to make up his own commandments to live by. One is perfectly within the letter writer's humanist rights to do this, especially if they break with old traditions. But, if they are recognizably religious or old-fashioned, then you'd best keep them to yourself.

Paul McDorman, Mason

I hate to break some news to Mr. McDorman but morality and morals are subjective. How do I know this? Simple, I do not share Mr. McDorman's morals. His morals or belief system includes conformity, blind obedience, and well just plain old ignorance. I fall back into those states, but I try like hell to get out of them. I prefer not to conform because my religion tells me to for no reason I find valid. I do not trust a 2000+ year old books as anything more than fiction akin to Aesop's Fables or Le Morte d'Arthur. I sure try to reduce my ignorance at nearly every chance I get. Mr. McDorman on the other hand is missing a few things. Christianity is not the basis of our government. There is no democracy in the Bible. There are monarchies, kingdoms, lords, and masters, but no democracies, unless you want to count the Romans, but in the Bible they are the bad guys. The United Nations was created not by secular humanists, but mostly by Christians (USA, UK, and France). Life is made up of situations. They all differ. How I look at them and how Mr. McDorman looks at them differ. I would guess Mr. McDorman would handle a robber in his house differently than I would. He might shoot him, where I would try and stop him without killing him or seriously injuring him, using deadly force only if attacked. If I differ from you Mr. McDorman, how can you deny that ethics are subjective? We have laws to try and keep order in this society. Not everyone agrees with every law. Does that mean we should not have laws? Of course not. Should we have religious laws? Of course not. If you want to practice your religion Mr. McDorman, go right ahead, no one will stop you, as long as you don't force it on others. Teaching religious morality in schools is forcing it. I also remember something else that was subjective. For over 200 years people in this county own slaves. Because that happened for a long time, and worked well (for the slave owners) should we bring it back? Of course not.

BUZZ Boycott?
The Cincinnati Business Courier is reporting that WIZF-FM (100.9) and WDBZ-AM (1230) will be moving their offices and presumably their studios to Centennial Plaza on Central Avenue, which is across from City Hall. The move is slated to take place in October. The problem this brings is that both radio stations will be in the boycott zone. Will the Boycott Groups (A and/or B) modify their moving target boycott and not call for a listening boycott of the BUZZ and the WIZ come October? Is this a plot by the "man" (I guess I am one of them) to break the boycott? Is the BUZZ merely a pawn in the white man's oppression of the black man? (cough, cough). It couldn't have anything to do with Lincoln Ware wanting to save gas money by not having to drive to City Council meetings, could it?

Trent Lott's Ohio
How soon do we forget? Senator DeWine`s Annual Ice Cream Social is detailed as follows:

Date: June 22, 2003
Time: 1PM-5PM
Special Guests: Senator and Mrs. Trent Lott
Location: DeWine Farm, Cedarville
Contact: Barbara Schenck (937) 376-3080

The Boycott B (CJC) has issued a press release stating they will be protesting the event. Nate has invited the likes of Rev. Al. Sharpton, Kweisi Mfume, Jerry Springer and Ohio Senate candidate Eric Fingerhut, to join the protest. Odds are that Sharpton, Mfume, and Springer will be no shows, but if Eric Fingerhut wants the black vote in the primary, he might do well to go. This will be a long haul for Nate and company. Cedarville is northeast of Xenia, but is located relative close to Central State and Antioch, both schools might actually provide a significant number of protestors, assuming a large enough population of kids are still on campus. If the protests only amounts to the usual suspects from the Boycott B, then it will be a laugher, and attract no attention. The most ironic thing is that racists are protesting a man accused of being a racist. Lott's statements are tame compared to those of the "Black Fist" and other CJC allied groups, who are admitted black nationalists/separatists and racists. The boycott B's tactics do take a new low from their press release:

”CJC leader Nathaniel Livingston, Jr. also questions Senator DeWine’s commitment to family values. Livingston has filed suit to gain access to the divorce records of Senator DeWine’s son, Pat DeWine, a member of Cincinnati City Council. In the Complaint, Livingston accuses Senator DeWine of threatening a local television reporter, John Damschroder, for attempting to report on Pat DeWine’s extramaritial [sic] affair with an African American woman.”

Nate has reached a whole new level of scumbag with that kind of action.

Back to DeWine and Lott. It is very unseemly for Mike DeWine to be hanging around with Trent Lott. DeWine just perpetuates the GOP's reputation as being soft on bigotry. There are 50 other Senators DeWine could have asked to visit, in place of Lott. If Mike thinks he has to get out the KKK vote to help Voinovich beat Jerry Springer, then I think he might be a bit paranoid. At this point Springer is a weak candidate and Voinovich is moderate/libertarian enough to hold on to the middle of the road voter. The Democrats should be all over this, but will they drop the ball. The question that should be on everyone's lips: will State Senator Doug White join his compatriot in shame Trent Lott? White's comments about Jews placed in the same league with Lott, but it did not cost him his leadership position. Will the two of them cost the GOP any votes? I wonder....

UPDATE: Link to the CJC's press release.
UPDATE#2: The Ice Cream Social made the Dayton Daily News, but no mention of Trent Lott, not even a mention. A cancellation or an omission?

DeWine Has a Point?
It is an election year for Cincinnati City Council. That of course means that City Council members will be doing and saying things to try and get elected. Pat DeWine is clamoring about the method in which Council plans on paying for the cost of settling the "racial profiling" lawsuits. DeWine's beef is that instead of fitting the cost into the budget now, most on Council want to issue bonds for it now, and after the election offset the cost of the bonds against unknown budget items. For once I agree with DeWine. If council is going to settle the lawsuits, they should announce to the city what is going to be cut to pay for it. If certain programs, summer jobs programs for example, have to be cut, then let us know now. I am sure the money being to spent to keep Kroger downtown will no doubt drive the boycotter's bonkers, as well as the transnational progressives over at CityBeat. They should be thankful that Kroger is not going to walk away. The nearly 1,200 jobs at the Kroger HQ would be impossible to replace, and so would the tax revenue it creates.

Living in a Van, Down by the River
Pearl Jam's concert slated for tonight was cancelled. I will now wait for the Boycott B groups to issue a press release claiming to have caused the flood of Riverbend Music Center. I guess they either have a lot of buckets, or they drank a lot of beer. Chalk up another “victory” for Nate and the gang. I am sure fans will instead look inward and see the error of their ways. What kind of a person goes to a rock concert, when there are racist groups boycotting the city? What kind of person indeed.

Doug Trapp's Last Tango
In a biting CityBeat Editorial Doug takes on the ills of Cincinnati. Doug is off to Africa as part of the Peace Corps.

CityBeat: Trafficking in Peace
CityBeat News Editor Gregory Flannery is a free man. It appears the Prosecution had limited evidence to convict Greg, and might have wanted to avoid a high profile case with a member of the media. Extra attention is not something a DA wants, unless it can get him reelected.

OK Corral
Since Governor Bob Taft is backing the concealed-carry bill, I wonder if he is going to back the Boot Hill funeral fund?

A Pepper Burn
Greg Korte of the Enquirer reports that City Councilman David Pepper was recently slammed by the GOP for an old photo-op in front of a theater with Developer LaShawn Pettus-Brown, who is wanted by the FBI on fraud charges for misappropriation of funds in the renovation of that theater. Pepper's response was:

"Are they talking about the theater that Ken Blackwell stood in front of and said, 'LaShawn Pettus-Brown doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk?' "

Ken Blackwell is currently the Ohio Secretary of State, and a Republican. Ken also was formerly mayor of Cincinnati. I wonder when they are going to start in on each other's mother?

Our Men Flynt
Überfascist Simon Leis and political social climber Mike Allen are off wasting time with a needless prosecution of the Flynt brothers. Last I checked we had countless cases of burglary that have yet to be solved. Why haven't these crimes been solved? Hmm, I wonder if media attention has something to do with it? One last windmill charge for the old sheriff. Here's a summary of that media coverage.:
WLWT, WXIX, 12 WKRC, WCPO,Enquirer, and the Cincinnati Post.

Church tosses defiant minister
The bigots had the votes. Little anyone could do.

Sheriff's deputies seize Hustler videos
Jack booted thugs are off on another snipe hunt again. When will Leis stop his crusade? We have had how many shootings in the last week and the Sheriff’s manpower is wasted on this non-crime? We have real crime going on in the rest of the county. Why does Leis start working some theft cases? Surely fighting theft is more important than working about a few harmless videotapes. Well, I guess in Leis's mind, since he is not aroused by porn, no one else should be either. Nottingham is getting restless. I hope the CAC hides the topless pictures.

West End Community Members Push For Private Security
We have a police force. If there is a special need in a neighborhood, then add more police coverage. If people want private protection, then local businesses can pay for it themselves like every other business does. When bars have off duty cops working outside most of them are paid by the bar or local business association. Set up something similar, but don't use public funds to pay for it. If only public funds are available, then instead hire more police. Outsourced police forces will not fly. The other idea that is often floated to quell West End or OTR crime/violence is hiring the Nation of Islam's private security firm to patrol the streets. Subsidizing a hate group is the last thing the City of Cincinnati should be doing. The bad apple bigots in the CPD are bad enough. Adding racists will just increase the racial conflict. If people only want "black" security firms because they think only "blacks" can secure “blacks”, which some have professed, then those people are professing racist beliefs. Appeasing that racism will become a permanent City policy. I hope the racist vote is not such a big key to Mallory’s or Cooper’s successful political future.

Post Editorial: Weaponsgate?
Compare this to the Enquirer's editorial on this subject. Odd split of local opinion. I like the name, "Weaponsgate", but I would also consider "WMDgate", "Intelgate", or even "Iraqgate". I wll settle for a full-scale investigation with full media attention.

Councilman breaks up fight in Corryville
Tarbell gets involved. Good for him. I find it funny that Jay Love of 1230 the Buzz feels Tarbell should just had called the cops and wait for them to break up the assault. If Jay were watching a murder take place, would he let the person die while waiting for the police to arrive?

Theater protest only grows
So do ticket sales, which this article promotes. I wonder if Peter Bronson has seen the play yet, or is he busy burning porn?

Enquirer Editorial: Ten Commandments
On the issue of erecting a monument of the Ten Commandments on a public school the Enquirer is correct to support the court ruling requiring their removal. They are however wrong in their contention:

There is nothing wrong with exposing children to the moral truths embodied in the Ten Commandments. Teachers are free to explain the moral underpinnings of the commandments and how they influenced the development of our laws and society, just as they free to explain the principles and historical contributions of other religions. But public schools must not show deference to one religion over another, and that is exactly what the stone markers in Adams County were meant to do.

There is something wrong with teachers trying to explain morals to children. Whose morals are you going to choose? I do not want my future children taught that the first four commandments are "moral." The remaining six are in most incarnations good rules to live by, the "Golden Rule" being a better one, and are covered to varying degrees in criminal and civil law. The problem is that how do you teach these rules? Do you teach a kid that killing is wrong, and then ignore the death penalty?

Religion should not be taught in schools beyond the scope of the cultural impact it played in various societies and nations over time. This is useful in understanding history, social studies, and other similar disciplines. One can't study European History for example without understanding the influence of the Roman Catholic Church or the various reasons for war, which often had a conflict of religions element to it. That does not mean the teacher advocates the "morals" taught by a particular religion.

This editorial is a crafty one on a PR basis. The board took the valid legal and logical position of the court ruling, but did not want to come across as "anti-Christian" that stance is perceived to have by fanatics. They therefore chose to raise the issue of a pantheistic type approach to religion in school, which is in my opinion still unconstitutional. A pantheistic approach from a Christian perspective all to often is really a monotheistic approach, where monotheistic religions are acknowledged, while polytheistic and non-religious perspectives are ignored. If not monotheistic, then an institutional religious perspective is the bias, where individual religious beliefs or other minor religions are ignored or viewed as "nutty." The nearly never ending string of possible set of religious beliefs, not to mention the lack of religious beliefs, makes teaching their principals difficult, except in specific historical contexts. Keep moral lessons in the home and/or place of worship. Let teachers stick to the secular world.

Answers for Rob Bernard About WMD
Rob had a few questions for those who are concerned about the US not finding WMD in Iraq yet. I'll leap to a conclusion this might have been a rebuttal to my questions from Thursday. I'll take a stab:

1. Would you concede that Iraq had WMD before Gulf War I?

Obviously yes.:

2. Would you concede that a large number of these weapons were unaccounted for when the inspectors left in '98?

Unaccounted based on UN inspectors, yes. Whether this was true or not, this was the paper accounting.

3. What do you suggest Iraq did with those weapons? Do you really think Iraq destroyed them and just decided not to show us just to be petulant?

These are the possibilities:

1. Iraq overstated its WMD program before 1991, therefore the 1998 accounting was overstated.


2. The accounting of WMD materials in 1998 was wrong, for reasons other than listed in #1.


3. Iraq destroyed its WMD at some point. Could have been anytime after 1998 right up to now.


4. Iraq transferred its WMD to another country or terrorist group.


5. The WMD were looted in the chaos following the fall of the Regime and could be anywhere.


6. The WMD are still hidden somewhere in Iraq.

Rob’s questions confirm the problem of revisionism that has gripped the Bush Administration and its supporters. Bush made the claim that Iraq possessed WMD. He claimed that his administration had clear and certain evidence that Iraq possessed these weapons. Possession of WMD was the tantamount threat to the USA, US interests, and US allies that was made as the basis for going to war. What is becoming more clear is that the only evidence Bush had was circumstantial, at best.

Current efforts at find WMD in Iraq support two conclusions. One is that the US did not have any firm knowledge of where the WMD were located. Also, the low priority of the search indicates that now the unguarded existence of those weapons must not be a threat, because no actual weapons currently exist. This is where the lie/exaggeration/manipulation arises. Bush used the imminent threat of WMD as the focal point for going to war. We were under a threat, and had to defend ourselves. He claimed such, but it is clear now that were we not under such a threat. We may find some WMD, and we will surely find evidence of a WMD Program. Having a program is not an imminent threat to the US. If it were we would have declared war on half a dozen other unfriendly nations. Bush could have just used bad judgment, which will be his defense. The CIA will undoubtedly be the scapegoat, but may end up being Brutus in the end. Bush may have relied on faith-based intelligence. This possible lapse in judgment is a factor and action that a President should not shirk from. He should take it beg forgiveness. He should suffer the defeat at the next election. If Bush did knowingly put forth this threat of WMD without any reliable support, then I have to wonder if anyone can say lying about the reasons for going to war is not an impeachable offense, but lying about a blowjob is. Bush still might get lucky. He might find a bunker full of chemical weapons that could have been used on the US military. If he does, then everyone, including me will have cake on their face. Short of that type of find, I will personally remain angry. I trusted that Bush would not lie about WMD. I assumed Iraq still had a significant cache left. If Bush or anyone in his administration knew before hand that this was not the case, Nixon will begin to look like a light weight.

A crime beyond words
Well, Peter found a few words to use for his column. Is this fire and brimstone week at the Church of Bronson? Peter's false leap in this column is right from the CCV's fascist in chief, Phil Burress. Peter claims pornography causes or leads to "kiddie porn." This is totally unsubstantiated, and completely false. Peter brings out this old and trite propaganda:

Porn peddlers who get filthy rich on it often get away with the myth that "it's a victimless crime."

Peter, "kiddie porn" is horrible. Those are messing with it should be locked up for a long time. Those producing it should be locked up for good. Using the victims of kiddie porn as your tools in your puritanical crusade against pornography is sickening to me. Peter, if you want to attack the scum who abuse children, I will applaud you. If you want to exploit those children's victim hood for an unrelated cause, I condemn your callousness, as well as your closed minded moralizing. If you can't find the words, Peter, I think you should refrain from writing.

Unguarded WMD?
If there are still weapons of mass destruction or the components needed for making them lying around in a bunker someone isn't that rather dangerous? Couldn't someone just walk away with them? Maybe they already have. Isn't that sort of a problem? Isn't that our worst nightmare? Could Hamas have chemical weapons as I type? Hasn't the war increased the danger of WMD? Well, not if Saddam has destroyed them, and not if they were mostly all destroyed by the inspectors in 1998 and before. But WMD are really meaningless, right??? We don't have to fear any terrorists getting hold of them now. We don't need every qualified inspector from around the world to help comb the country as fast as possible, thus preventing anyone stealing the WMD. Those are not fears we should have. We should just sit back, relax, and wait for the dividends to role in.