Why We Fight the Culture Wars

It has occurred to me that with all of the recent talk about religion in government, gay marriage, abortion, etc, that there has to be some kind of underlying cause or enabler of the culture wars. Why do people feel threatened? I think the reasons fall at what I would call the nationalization of American Culture. What that means is the changes over the last 50 years, post WWII mostly, where regional differences in everything has been shrinking and doing it fast, relatively speaking for a country's culture.

What I mean by culture really falls into what we consume. The biggest influence there is obviously what media we consume and even how we do it. The media has followed suit with almost all other industries into national corporate entities whose market reaches the entire country.

The nationwide reach of industries is what makes life everywhere more the same every day. Back when I was a kid you could go on vacation just a few states away and things were different. Different TV stations, different restaurants, different foods in the grocery stores, different actual grocery stores. Instead we now have the same things and I think the conservatives, more specifically the evangelical religious conservatives feel they are in regions of the country where the power structure of those corporations does not live. Their motivation then is to cut out the middleman and go for government control of certain aspects of their desired culture. That is where the theocracy comes to fruition. What it reminds me of is the communist movement. The problem with the communists is that they want their system of government/economics imposed on everyone. That is exactly what theocracy seeks to do. That is why this is a culture ?war,? but also something getting to look more like a civil war.

Ok, I am starting to sound apocalyptic, but maybe I am just prophetic instead. Maybe a power struggle is starting. It is not like I am the only person saying such things. We hear chicken-littles all the time talk about the Patriot Act and police states and my eyes roll. I see the Patriot Act as an infringement of our rights, but not an extreme one that is out to create a police state. When I add the Patriot Act with the ?Army? forming to serve in the Culture wars, then I start to think otherwise. Springer is getting the boot all of the sudden from WLWT. Howard Stern, WEBN, and Bubba the Love Sponge all getting grief. Are we headed to something worse than just a war of words?

Artspike in Trouble

Arie Vandenberg at ArtSpike Magazine has issued an email talking about the magazine and issuing a response to a CityBeat article from Steve Ramos where some less than flattering comments were made regarding Arie. Ramos article publicized the news that ArtSpike has ceased publication. Vandenberg states on his site as well as in the email that he hopes Artspike will be back:

Dear ArtSpike readers & supporters,

As you may or may not know, ArtSpike Magazine is now looking for investment partners and an equity business partner who is strong in sales and marketing in order to continue publication of the magazine. If you're in the position to invest or partner with me to help continue the progress we've made, you can move on to the bullet points I've outlined about our background and business potential. I look forward to hearing from you.

And this week Steve Ramos of CityBeat, after hearing that we might be in trouble, decided to write a short article on us. But after reading it, one which he prepared by interviewing me two separate times for about 30 minutes a piece, as well as 1 more follow up call, I have to wonder what he was smoking besides American Spirit cigarettes when he wrote it. I do understand why he wrote it. Controversy moves papers, and CB knows that if people are talking about it then they are exactly where they want to be - in the public mind. But at what price to its subjects?

To friends who know me, Steve's assertions that I'm a "playboy publisher" don't even pass the laugh test. Comments like, "knows every young female waitress in town... but that doesn't stop him from being a player... Vandenberg's life as the playboy publisher... past glories of wine, women and a pocket of notoriety" are bizarre and cheap. It's like telling a guy who rents an efficiency apartment in Clifton that, "It must be nice living in Indian Hill." Fact is, I'm more likely to be at home programming till 3am than out partying at a local club.

This is certainly not the first time CB has written what amounts to an editorial slap-in-the-face about the local scene, where they inevitably pump their subject(s) for advertising dollars with one hand and sucker punch them with the other. This has been an unfortunate trend of CB but maybe that's what happens when you're the "only" big alt paper for too many years.

It's a shame that out of everything we discussed about the business, so many of the 685 words were wasted. So in the interest of our readers, supporters and detractors, I'm going outline some of the facts that Steve must have deemed unfit for print:

• First issue of ArtSpike came out in June of 2002. Until March of 2003, we haven't missed 1 issue since the paper started. 


• I published the first issue of ArtSpike within 6 weeks of its inception as an arts media entity. 


• As a founder will where many "hats" in a business, my main responsibility was as CFO, General Manager, Webmaster and computer tech. 


• Melissa Huelsman came on board as Editor in Chief in Sept. 2003, and has done a fantastic job assembling a great writing staff and managing stories.


• ArtSpike will *not* be receiving the Empowerment Zone loan. The amount slated for request was 60k, which was to be used to increase circulation and hire a full time sales associate to build our client base to where it needs to be. These two areas are critical to its success. 


• I have extremely detailed financial forecasts that point out where we've been and where we could go as a company if it's supported properly. 


• I've invested 40k+ of my own money to start up the company. Taking the aforementioned loan into account, my *personal* dept burden would have simply been too high to be manageable. 


• Since we started, we have never had a competent Marketing & Sales manger on board. This is unfortunate but resulted in poor sales and us being in the position we are in today. 


• Throughout the last year, we have trained several sales teams to sell advertising, but they were not effective because of lack of experience and expertise in the field. 


• Despite this hurtle, we were starting to pickup advertising at a steady pace throughout 2003 until our part time sales associate left. Ad retention took a downward slope from there and unfortunately never recovered. 


• We have developed a great following and readership, and it's a disappointment to everyone involved that ArtSpike may have seen its last issue. 


• Of the many arts based institutions in Cincinnati, there are a few that stand out as supporting ArtSpike with their advertising dollar. The Playhouse in the Park, The Cincinnati Ballet, The Cincinnati Opera. It's sad I can't mention more that that, but there you have it for "major" arts institutions supporting alternative arts media. 


• We also had a growing roster of commercial ad clients which were pleased with our ads and level of service. To all of our advertising clients: Thank you for supporting alternative arts media! 


• It's no secret that we did have a relatively low circulation rate. We printed between 8000-9000 papers per run, which in newspaper "circulation" terms works out to be about 25,000. For a small paper, that's still pretty impressive. 


• If ArtSpike is to survive, we are going to need a board of investors who 1) believe in the paper as a potent forum for arts and culture and 2) its potential as a sound business investment. 


• Another thing ArtSpike needs is a professional sales manager to do nothing but sell for
  ArtSpike. 


• We have a great foundation to build upon, including the whole staff who worked to produce the paper.

You know that old saying: It's better to try and fail than to not try at all. I had a vision that Cincinnati could have a great arts based newspaper and I went for it! In many ways, I don't believe I failed. I, along with a many people involved in ArtSpike, did our best to build a great magazine literally from scratch. I hope that even if ArtSpike becomes history, that someone will learn from what we did right and what we did wrong, and launch an arts magazine that has long term success.

If you are an investor or arts patron and would like to discuss being either an equity business partner or an investor, please contact me at arie@artspike.org, 513-751-9729 (office) or 513-***-**** (home). I would love to discuss the possibilities of taking ArtSpike to the next level.

The future of the website is unknown. Since costs are much lower to maintain the site, it is likely it will continue.

CityBeat has written before on Arie and ArtSpike: 2002 and 2000.

XRay Magazine also provides coverage.

Freedom To Be Like Me

Maggie Downs must have drugged all of the editors to get this story on the front page of the Enquirer about a local lesbian couple who went to San Francisco and became one of the last homosexuals couples to be married before the California Supreme Court ordered a stop to such marriage while they hear the case pending on Gay Marriage.

The Enquirer is not known to push "Gay issues," especially on the front page, so this is a bit of a coup. I am pleased to see that the Enquirer is starting up a panel of local homosexuals. In an email sent I got a copy of what the Enquirer is asking for:

The Enquirer is putting together a panel of local people who are gay or lesbian. We have several goals:

1. We want to hear from local gays and lesbians about issues affecting them here in Cincinnati, and how we might better cover those issues, and be sensitive in our stories, headlines, etc.

2. We hope that such a gathering would help gays and lesbians better understand the newspaper, and how its editors make decisions.

3. Ultimately, we would like to produce a story about what it's like to be gay and live in Cincinnati in 2004.

We're hoping to hear from "everyday" people, gays and lesbians who have jobs and families and go to church and movies and sporting events and dine out with friends just like anybody else in the city.

We hope to meet the first time at the Enquirer building downtown sometime the week of March 22. It likely would be an evening meeting, on a day that works best for those who participate. The meeting will last 90 minutes to two hours and we likely would convene again in April, but that will be decided later.

Members of the group must be willing to speak on the record, and have their photos taken. We hope to use this group as both a source of ideas, and as a sounding board for our coverage of issues affecting gays and lesbians.

This is a big change in approach for this old gray paper, especially in the face of increased anti-homosexual attitudes locally and through out the country. With the CCV, and the Enquirer’s own Peter Bronson, making a push against all things relating to liberal freedoms, I actually salute the efforts of the Enquirer. I will hate to see the fallout. I also fear the couple will be threatened. I hope if they are that incident also makes the front page of the paper.

Opps

The person who claimed that a 17-year-old robbed was "lying." The teenager then took shots a police and hit a bystander while handcuffed in police custody. The person claiming to have been robbed actually was alleged trying to buy drugs for the teenager, but got "fake" drugs, thus she claimed to have been robbed. She is now being charged.

What an idiot. What kind of moron calls the police when they get ripped off making an ILLEGAL purchase?

This is the same situation that caused City Beat reporter Stephanie Dunlap to be barred from a police briefing.

ClevelandCincinnati Rocks!

Number Seven!

Update: More from the Enqurier.

Stephen Hill Fired From WCPO

But you have to read about it on WLWT's website. All you get from WCPO is this statement.

If Bush Goes First

The GOP is demanding an apology from John Kerry for his offhand remarks that his Republican opponents are "...most crooked....lying group of people I've ever seen."

Ok, that is way over the top. When Bush apologizes for manipulating the country on the reason for war, or just apologize for claiming that WMD stock piles were in Iraq, then I might worry about what Kerry said that happened to be picked up on a live mic. Did Bush apologize for referring to a reporter as a "major league asshole?" I don't think he did, so this is just a political gambit the media is seizing on. Yes, the liberal media; CNN is pumping up a non-issue on Kerry. I am just shocked!!!!! Oh, wait, I am not. That happened all the time with Gore, so why should CNN change now.

Scapegoat

Is this part of the campaign to blame the CIA for no WMD's? I think Jim Bunning needs to read the Salon article Covington Jim blogged about. It sounds like "sexed up" WMD smoking gun and a glaring claim of incompetence in the DOD's Office of Special Plans, an intelligence PR group that filtered information for various Pentagon and WH officials, which according the article gave the running talking points on Iraq used by many in the Administration.

No City Beat Mention?

Korte did not cover the Police Chief barring City Beat's Stephanie Dunlap from a briefing. Maybe next week?

Meanwhile Stephanie has written her own story on the incident. It is a great column. My only criticism is that she is a reporter and this is a column, not a "news story." This situation however is really unique and the Post story provides the "objective" view of the situation well. Getting her side of the story is both valid and news worthy.

White powder found at courthouse

Could it have been Cocaine, maybe? I am just throwing out ideas.

Mother Miami Nags Again

When will the prudes stop the temperance movement?

Mountie First Class Smitherman in Action

Councilman Chris Smitherman is claiming that a company he hired confirms a cop used the "N" word five years ago.

Smitherman said he sought the outside analysis because he felt the city had dropped the ball on the investigation. He said he gave a copy of Sebring's transcript to City Manager Valerie Lemmie.

How Butler used the word, he says, shows a philosophy of policing some communities differently, Smitherman said.

Not everything's about racism, he said. "But this is."

Fangman denies it was the "N" word as does the former officer, but well, of course they would deny it.

I still would like to know from Councilman Smitherman, why they hell is he making this an issue? I can respect you for your single-minded persistence in this, though laugh at it as well, but I don't see the value. Guess what I know. There are bigots and racists on the police force. There are bigots and racists on the staff of 1230 the Buzz too. What exactly are you going to changed by making an issue out of someone saying a word or not 5 years ago? Dudley Doright always gets his man.

Have You No Shame?

The GOP is trying to link John Kerry to North Korea. Yes, I said the GOP. The link about is the website for the Republican National Committee, the good old RNC, THE national party.

How can anyone take this bunch of quacks seriously with a "why do you beat your wife" type headline of "JOHN KERRY: INTERNATIONAL
MAN OF MYSTERY III Communist North Korea Is Only Government On Record Supporting John Kerry." Damn it, there are eight months to do; this is really an even election right now. Anyone can win, and you would think the GOP would want to do it on their ideas, not this kind of National Enquirer ploy that I don't even think Matt Drudge would print.

[Via TPM]

The Chief's Enemies List

Dick Nixon would be proud of the treatment the Chief of Cincinnati Police gave one local newspaper reporter. City Beat's Stephanie Dunlap was barred Saturday from a police briefing regarding a 17 year-old suspect who allegedly shot a bystander while handcuffed in police custody just after being arrested on robbery charges.

How stupid can the police chief be? Ok, don't answer that, but seriously consider the ego it takes to value punishing a newspaper for writing a story questioning the practices of the police over the negative media attention that punishment will make big all by itself. I applaud the Post for writing this story. I wonder if the Enquirer will have the balls to write the story. I hope this at least makes Korte's column next week, if not tomorrow.

According to what Stephanie overheard from the Public Information Officer just after she took back the sticker ID needed to enter the briefing, this was the Chief's idea of "meeting challenges, critics head on." It sounds like he would rather keep some of the media outlets from reporting the news, especially news where police officers likely really screwed up and almost killed an innocent civilian. It might have been nice for City Beat to get the chance to report on the incident with the same briefing as the rest of the local media outlets. They would surely have been more critical of the police, and the chief can?t handle that. The truth hurts, and this appears to be a pain-adverse police department.

Oh and what will likely make the Chief really feel the pain, LaTonya Springs, chief of staff for Vice Mayor Alicia Reece, was denied entrance to the briefing. Tomorrow's city council meeting should be interesting if he is going to testify.

I will also be very offended if I am not included on the police Chief?s Enemies list.

Glass Houses

Bush is attacking Kerry on Intelligence. Now, is it wise for Bush to bring up intelligence funding when he MANAGED THE INTELLIGENCE ON THE TWO WORST INTELLIGENCE FAILURES IN AMERICAN HISTORY? It is kind of moot if we lowered the intelligence budget when you don't manager what you have correctly. If Bush was to claim that Kerry would be bad for run the intelligence, then I have to wonder how much worse could anyone be that what happened under Bush's watch. He led us into war on intelligence he knew was not complete.

That is the rub folks. That is the lie. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, the masters of Intelligence in the government today, all said they knew we had WMD and Rummy actual said we Knew where they were in Iraq. Guess what, he did not know, and it is laughable to say that he was simply mistaken. He and Bush, and everyone else who was fully briefed, knew that they did not have concrete proof on WMD in Iraq. All they had was unreliable Iraqi defectors spun by the Iraqi Diaspora and the unresolved accounting problems from the UN. If you can't account for something, that does not mean they ever existed to begin with. It is now clear that the UN inspections cleared out all of the WMD Iraq had. Everything else was bull. Now we seem to want to Blame Clinton for not knowing, but Bush invades the country and the GOP screams in glee to finally quell their blood lust for a Muslim hide to sink their teeth into.

Ugh. I can't wait to read the responses. Clinton red herrings are not going to do it fellas.

Anti-War Protest

On the 20th all of the local anti-war groups are planning a Fountain Square Rally. I may go. I don't like protests, but I like watching who goes, what they say, and how many fringe groups try and use this an opportunity to either make trouble or promote their unrelated issues.

This time I wonder what kind of counter protest will occur. I want to gauge how angry the counter folks are. It is an indicator of the local mood as to how angry the pro-war folks are about a protest against the rally. If the Talk radio folks get wind of this, it could get ugly.

Fascists on the March

Having received his marching orders from Phil Burress, Peter Bronson has begun his campaign against WEBN. I have to wonder if we will hear ANYTHING from the WLW folks about this, or will they keep mum.

It is great to know that Bronson finds talking about sex horrible. Let me add a few terms surely to get him riled:

Penis, Penis Penis....VAGINA! Anal sex, girl on girl action, Hummer.

There, I have said about as bad a stuff as WEBN says. They don't swear on the air, or at least they don't say shit or fuck. I have to ask what is Bronson scared about WEBN doing? Giving teenage boys hard-ons by hearing a striper talk with a breathy voice is a bad thing? Hey Pete, get that stick out of your ass! Oh, wait, you like it there? What ever makes you feel good, just let the rest of us enjoy what we like too.

Faux News

FOX News has this story on its website saying 'Vets Slam Kerry for Vietnam Atrocity Claims.' Now, I would have expected that some general Vietnam Vets group or at least a conservative Vets group's spokesman was speaking out on Kerry's statements from over 30 years ago. All you get is a comment from Carlton Sherwood. We don't even get details as to who Sherwood is or who he represents, besides himself. I assume that this Carlton Sherwood might be this man, an award winning journalist. His opinion might be note worthy, but his opinions are not representative of anyone. He also is a security consultant who has worked for the Reagan Administration as well as for Tom Ridge while he was director of homeland security (pre-DHS).

Sherwood is only person quoted. Where is the “number” claimed in the article? I guess they mean only one known critic.

Bush's 'Ideal' Justice of the SCOTUS

Well, the SCOTUS nomination process, when ever it next happens, will be a hard affair. If you read about Scalia and his methods and opinions, then you should see why it will be horrible if Bush gets the chance to name the next justice. If Bush finds one who favors making homosexuality a crime (or at least a 'moral crime'), as his model for a SC Justice, then we will have a government shut down if he gets the chance to nominate the next judgeship for the top court. This is the real battleground in American political society and the social conservatives are out for blood on the SCOTUS. I find Scalia's views on social freedoms to be down right scary, and his views on religion are nothing short of outright theocracy. No matter who is President, we will have a Senate battle like no other in modern history.

[Link via Wes Flinn]

Chief Meet Jane

Well yes, its a puff piece. Nothing new. Nothing of substance, not already on the record. I want to know who the guy is dating. I mean we got the rest of his personal life. WHO is he dating? (I am fishing here folks, cut me some slack.)