AP's Top Ohio Stories of 2003

The top one is fine, the black out, but #2 is the OSU national football championship? Please, give me a break. Sports news beat out the Ohio Troops in the Iraq war? Who voted on this list?

Enquirer's Loser of the Week

A happy New Years to this week's lone Enquirer looser, out going FOP President Roger Webster. He was booted from his post this week and I think the city is better for it.

Party Poopers

I guess standing is now a crime in Ohio. I guess sitting will be the next thing banned. All you will be able to do while at college is stand at attention in front of an adult (over age 30) and to sleep tied into your bunk at night. Meals will have to be eaten while walking, unless walking is banned too.

Battle of the GOP D's

Pat DeWine is looking to take the next political step by running against John Dowlin in the Republican primary for Hamilton County Commissioner. This will make everyone wonder two things: 1. Will Pat quite City Council? 2. If he does or if he wins the Commission seat, who will take his place on Council. I predict no on #1 and Leslie Ghiz on #2.

I have to wake up reporter Cindi Andrews to a fact about something she listed in the article

Kabaka Oba, a Cincinnati boycott activist, is the only Democrat who has filed for the seat.

It is a fact that Kabaka Oba is a militant black racist and separatist. I have no problem reporting that he is on the Primary ballot, that is reasonable. Just listing him as a "boycott activist" gives him some kind of legitimacy, when everyone with a brain knows he is just the black version of a KKK wizard.

The Post's Report.

Ohio: The Pulse of Presidential Politics

The Enquirer reports on the coming onslaught of politicking by both the GOP and Dems. Ohio is the bell -weather state of bell weather states. We always are fickle for Presidents, but this year with things looking to be a bloody battle (literally I think) the politics should be coming sooner than before.

One element of bias in this article is the description of Move-on.org's commercials as "anti-Bush." If stating what they believe is the truth makes their commercials "anti" something, I guess every Coke and Pepsi ad are anti-milk.

New FOP President Speaks

The Enquirer reports on the new FOP President Harry Roberts. Some interesting facts on Sgt. Roberts: He lives in the city of Cincinnati, and he graduated from Withrow High School. Is this a break from the Elder voting block? Was this a vote against the old guard, or is they guy just an Eastside transplant to the old Westside guard? I really know nothing about this guy. Is he is new rational blood in the FOP or is he more of the same?

Rob Bernard Reponds

Rob Bernard responded to my post on a FOX News article. Rob makes the argument that religion should not be banned from public areas. I agree. Individuals have the constitutional right to make their religion known on a non-fixed basis. If you want to walk through fountain square carrying a cross, that is fine, as long as you don't interfere with anyone else. Erecting that cross (or Menorah or a 10' penis) is not something I find to be valid on public property. Secularized symbols of Christmas I have problem with having on public property. Santa Claus, Christmas Trees, etc are fine. They might indirectly refer to the religion, but they are not dogmatic teachings or divine symbols from Christianity.

What I don't think Rob sees is that from my point of view "sharing" should be voluntary.

I would argue that it is intolerant to keep religion out of public areas. The exclusion of religion from the public arena is simply taking another side in the religious debate. Putting up a big cross, nativity scene, menorah, Star of David or a giant Torah doesn't push your religion on others because they don't comply with that religious code. It doesn't say "join our religion and follow our beliefs or something bad will happen to you" it says "this is a symbol of what we hold dear and we want to share it." Opposing religious expression is as much a statement of religious beliefs as anything else.

Two points: First, a religious belief requires a belief in a god or gods or supernatural entities or supernatural creators. Opposing religious expression is not a religious belief, nor an expression of religion. Atheism is not a religion. Atheism is a belief, yet, but beliefs alone don't make a religion. A religion has to do with a god or the supernatural. Second point: in the above excerpt the "we" in the "is a symbol of what we hold dear and we want to share it" comment is what is the problem. This “we” is so varied that they only way to fairly determine it is not make it "we", but make it "me." If you want it on pubic property keep it to "me," if you want to make it "we" why not keep it in your church? If I want to share in your religion why can't I just go into the buildings with a big cross on top? Once I am there the "we" can share with anyone any type of in your face religious expression they wish, without any government intervention (except for established laws).

Keeping religion out of public places does not indorse atheism. The government should take a “don’t ask don’t tell” type view on religion. It should do nothing but protect the right of any individual to practice their religion and provide the ability to government workers (military, police, etc) who while on duty are unable to practice their religion. This is were military Chaplains come into play.

Also for the record, I don’t have anti-religious beliefs. Am I an atheistic-agnostic? Yes. Do I believe that all known religions are invalid? Yes. Am I against anyone being prevented from practicing their religion? NO! What I am against is people thinking that when they superimpose their religion on me or when they try to make me to comply with their religious dogma through law that they are practicing their religion. If pushing one’s religion on others is such a vital part of one’s religion (you know getting more members), then it sounds more like a Ponzi scheme.

Finally, if Rob or any religious person wants to celebrate their religion they have the constitutional right to do so. They can build a church and sing praises to “God” or “Satan” or “Ra” or “Odin” until their lungs turn blue. They can do that while walking down the street. What they can’t do is use the government to help them proselytize. The purpose of publicly expressing religion is to ADVERTISE it. Why do you advertise? To make people aware of your product. Outward expression of religion (mainly speaking about the big three monotheistic religions, but I think all apply) has two core purposes: to try and let others know what your religion is and to let others know you follow that religion. The first is a means of proselytization and second is a means of identification of compliance. That is a cold and clinical description of what outward expressions of religion are, but I don’t see any other valid explanation. If you don’t want to show off your religious beliefs, then you really would not need to express them. If you want people to act like you, what is often considered most pure is by acting upon those beliefs, instead of telling people you believe them.

FOP chief Update

The Enquirer has a full story today. In it Keith Fangman hints that there were sound reasons for Webster to be voted out, but did not get into it. There sounds like a huge backstory here worth telling. Will anyone ferret it out?

SoapBox Parking

Queen City Soapbox is Back! Ethan comments on shopping at Kenwood Town Center. He hits the parking problem and I can say that it was horrible the Saturday before this past weekend, so it must have been worse Sunday.

Let's hope Ethan and/or Chris comes back into the blogger world! The posts have been sparse over there and there commentary is missed.

Fair and Unbalanced: Faux News

A "story" on "Religious Restrictions or Religious Censorship?" is on the front page of FOX News. It is unsigned, but included a reference to a video report. I can't really find anything more biased than this so far this week. It not only paints a false picture it states this little tidbit as if it were bad:

Still, the number of bans on public displays of Christianity continue to grow. And while those symbols may have little value alone, many Christians fear that taken as a whole, that kind of intolerance will wind up creating not freedom of religion but freedom from religion in this country.

Now, first, it is not intolerant to keep religion out of public areas, that is a biased statement. It is intolerant when you feel the need to push your religion on others, just because they don't comply with your religious code. Second, what is wrong with freedom from religion? Why should I have to have my tax dollars go toward anyone else's religion practices?

What is the purpose of religious displays? The purpose and the intent are to promote the religion and gain followers, money and power. Why should certain groups be allowed to do that? I just don't understand what logical reason there would be to push religion in public areas other than to try and instill a theocracy.

What would be nice if FOX News would just give up their "Fair and Balanced" claim. With stories like this one, it is clear they don't want to be balanced, they want be biased and make the people that like them think they are being fair to "them." The "them" in this case is "us." Now when I say "us" I don't mean "them." Now again, when I say "us" I really mean "me, Al Franken."

If anyone got that poor joke/cultural reference, they might win a prize. Otherwise, just give Faux News the bird this holiday season.

Are You Shitting Me?

The Post has an editorial that sounds familiar to me. I don't know where I could have read this story before.

Oh, and you're welcome! Ah, well, you better thank Atrios instead.

A Glimmer of Hope?

The courts have dismissed a lawsuit trying to overturn the Hate Crimes Ordinance passed by City Council.

The lawsuit was brought by Sam Malone, Tom Brinkman, and CCV member Mark Miller.

Let us review here: two elected officials tried to prevent homosexuals from getting treated like the protections afford to people based on race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, and religion. Now, why would they oppose protection for homosexuals, but not oppose protections for people based on religion? Hmmm, I wonder why?

I understand how the CCV stand. They don't hold back. They hate gays. They want gays kept second class citizens or just weeded out of the society all together. What is with our two elected officials?

Brinkman is not really a mystery. He is a paleo-conservative. He wants to return to a time when a female exposing her ankles was considered public nudity.

I don't get Malone. What does he have against gays? Malone was the lone GOP pro-choice candidate for council, but he has a thing against gays. People have varied views that on some levels don't seem to go together well, at least not logically.

Webster Out as Cincinnati FOP President

Sgt. Harry Roberts is the new President. Was this voluntary or was Webster forced out? I assume it was by choice. I don't see any internal divisions in the CPD, but one never knows and the WLWT story lacks much detail.

Webster's recent actions in the wake of the Nathaniel Jones death were horrid. He fueled the flames of anger with his selfish comments at a time when he could have voiced his opinions in private, and not pissed off the black community. He will not be missed.

UPDATE: The Enquirer has the vote details. Webster was defeated in the election. He was defeated nearly 2 to 1. Fangman is back as VP. How big a deal is this? What caused the revolt?

Money Mistake

I loved how Money Magazine screwed up calling West Chester by its old name, Union Township. I find one problem calling this one of the best places to live. What they fail to mention is the problems they are having with such fast growing area. The schools and the government services can't catch up, and since the area is not a municipality, taxes are not easy to raise. This puts more stress on Bulter County, talking away from the rest of county. I would like to see what portion of City of Hamilton residents sale tax payments are used to fund police and other supports for West Chester Township. West Chester needs to incorporate into a city. That will raise taxes and keep people out though, so I guess they may sponge off the rest of the county for a while longer.

Post's Story. What is sad about this is that both papers found out about this story from a wire report.

Kitna 'Outrage' Story Part II

The Enquirer's story on the "Kitna hats" tries to go "deeper," but does it make it more than it appears. Where there only 500 hats sold in total? Who else sold the hats? How many other locals sold the hats? If "hundreds" bought them, is that a story?

Did the fact that a Catholic focused store was making a big deal out of this amount to a story? I know many don't like to bring up the differences between the Christian sects, but at its core is that not part of the story. I don't think Kitna is a Catholic, and wearing a hat like this would not be an expression of faith that I don't think would get much approval from a priest. If it got support after the fact, I still don't think that would be an acceptable tone for most Catholics. Evangelical Christians, which I assumed is Kitna's sect, are more often the in your face type of groups.

I think the story should have mentioned that various sects and that at a minimum indicate that a Catholic group was support Kitna's action.

From the story people need to stop invoking freedom of speech and freedom of religion when ever someone is prevented from doing what they want to do. The first amendment generally only applies to the actions of the government. The NFL can keep religious expression out in any form it wants from its action and its employees. It could keep out a specific religion if it so choose as well. It might loose a tax break if it did that and would loose a bunch of business, but that is about it.

UPDATE: The Post chimes in with an editorial that is all over the map. They say that yes Kitna techinically violated the rules and you can't make exceptions, but that it is no big deal. They however pumped up efforts to sell the hats. Does Scripps get a cut from "Kitna Hat" sales?

Guess Where I Went Yesterday!

Well, I did not do any blogging yesterday, which I am sure was a disappointed to 4 of my readers, but I had a good reason. I was at the beach. Well, not all of the day, but in the afternoon. The Temps were above 70, and the sun was out. I was able to find a small number of shark's teeth. This part of Florida is known for shark's teeth, old one's, that wash up on shore. They are mostly small, but there are millions of them just on the edge of the sand near the water. Collecting shark's teeth are one of the very touristy things to do here. The other is to wear shorts when it is only 60 degrees out.

Another Hate Filled Christmas Message From Old St. Bronson

Yet another column from Peter Bronson filled with hate. It can't fail can it? Peter Bronson can't let his tired 1950's world go. His myth of what the 1950's were like would be a better description of what he wants. I am amazed. I don't know why he pushes his hate, but I also don't know what kind of a fairytale land he lived in when he grew up.

I spent some time last night talking with my father about his childhood during the 40's and early 50's. You know, the time when all was right in the world, except those horrible "commie pinko bastards." My Republican father told me how his single mother, single from a divorce, never spent a holiday at home in the apartments they live in. They instead traveled to relatives. They never had a fairly tale Christmas with a white picket fence and a father bring home the bacon. My dad did not even get a Christmas card from his father until he was about 45 years old.

Now this is the past that Mr. Bronson wants everyone forced to live in. We are to be required to succumb to his religion, his morals, his cultural traditions at schools and in the Media.

Peter then sings praises to the failure of a clothing retail company. I guess his prayers were "answered" with their drop in sales. I guess he will not mind the people who lose their jobs because of that drop in sales. I guess companies that don't adopt his Christian ways are just doomed to failure. They defiled his "god" therefore they should expect to fail, and the 22 year old working the register at the Kenwood Mall who gets laid off, she is your "sinner" Peter?

Bronson disgusts me. He is so gleeful in his hate for all things non-evangelical Christian it is almost sad. It is not sad because it is so horrid. If one did not know this man was educated, you could just pass if off as ignorance. It is not ignorance, it is just hate. He hates people who don't comply with his religion. What other explanation can there before a column like this 4 days from his religion's holiday about spreading joy to all.

It is so extremely pitiful for him also to praise the fascist organization know as the CCV. I am happy to call myself one of the critics of the CCV. As long as the CCV exists, I will oppose it in my writings. Someone must counter the dogma from Bronson.

Happy Fucking Christmas Peter.

Good Clooney Story, Dirty Politics Ahead

Here is a good story on Nick Clooney campaign for Congress. It was fair and gave voice to his critics and opponents. What was brutal was this quote about Nick's son George from Kevin Murphy, one of Nick's opponents:

"If Mr. Clooney decides to make his son an issue in the campaign, he will have to live with the positions and the statements of his son, who has succumbed to the Hollywood liberalism that is very far removed from Midwest values," Murphy said.

Now, what does this tell me? If Mr. Murphy gets the GOP nomination, then he will make George the issue, not Nick. It will not matter if Nick brings him up or not, just have George stand next to him a single event, which will make the papers, and that is all Murphy needs to try and play upon the mindless hate for "Hollywood." What do extreme Conservatives hate about Hollywood? Two things: gays and their stance on guns. Guns are the issue that drives hard conservative men into fits of rage, and gays are what make them fear their sexuality. I think that is at the core of this veiled threat from Murphy. I think Davis has enough sense not to make it much of an issue, assuming George is just there for a photo op.

This sounds like good old fashioned Kentucky Politics: down and dirty.

Piousness Sells

Well, I hope someone other than a church made a buck on selling "Kitna hats." I hope some will let me know if this was a big talk radio topic in Cincinnati. This issue has Bill Cunningham's name written all over it. Let's hope Cunningham is on vacation.

Bush's Plan to Not Tax the Wealthy?

Kevin Drum comments on what David Brooks has to say about Bush's up coming State of the Union Speech. In it Brooks claims Bush will unveil his push to "reform" social security, unemployment insurance, and Medicare. Look for a whole new round of "newspeak" terms from Bush. Ownership of one's own "unemployed workers personal re-employment accounts seems to be where insurance is no longer the key element. You will save on your own, and the government and your employer will likely be off the hook for anything, assuming the market does not drop and your actually make enough money to saving anything.

Kevin's final analysis that Bush's intent is just a push to not tax any investment income and not tax corporate income, putting all tax revenue on the shoulders of the worker. That is what Kevin call's class warfare. Funny, I call it the same thing, but by calling it class warfare we will surely be accused of waging class warfare.

Ugh. Reason #5,550 of why I am not a Conservative.