Upstar Crow is now Arnie's

Arnie's on the Levee fills the space left when Upstar Crow closes. The place now will have the feel of a nice sports bar, at least from the article. It claims to be trying for a "club" crowd for late nights. It is good to see the prime space used. The theme appears to be nothing unique.

Editor on Vacation

It appears that the editor who is pushing the Lindbergh Jesus story is on vacation. Letting this gem get through is an indicator that someone is getting really bored covering this story and needs to vent some disdain on the fools concerned about it:

Asked if officers would stand among the scene's life-size figures and go undercover dressed as wise men or shepherds, Neal replied:

'Where Baby Jesus is concerned, I won't rule out anything.'

This makes the people of Cheviot look nutty, and it mocks the cops there big time. It is funny as Hell. Those making a big deal about this are really nutty. How much public money is being wasted on this while other criminals go stealing someone else's Christmas presents? Priorities need refining on the Westside this year.

Women Blogging and Leading

Listening to the radio gets you several things. It pointed me to a new blog headed by CinExer Jen Spillane called Not Your Woman. The radio also introduced Vanessa Enoch, the new YP member of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Board.

Get Thee To The Store

Shop suckers, SHOP!

If you are not going to shop, then OPEN THREAD!

How Long Will It Take?

Has anyone already compared the Mosque bombing to the stolen Jesus doll? Calls will be made to charge the teenagers involved with a hate crime, that is going to happen. Bets on how long it will take?

Suspect Dies In Custody

I hope and at this point evidence indicates we don't have another Nathaniel Jones case on our hands. We have something else. What that is, we'll just have to wait and see.

Local Terrorism

A pipe bomb reportedly went off outside a Clifton Mosque last night. No one was hurt, thankfully, and damage appears to be light.

This is terrorism. The criminals who did this should be caught, tried, and put in jail. They should not be considered enemies of the Crown and sent to Cuba.

Who did this?

UPDATE: A fairly unified condemnation. I am sure there were Protestant clergy represented, but I wish they had been quoted as well. I hope very conservative evangelical sects were represented.

A New FOP?

Roberts and Fangman are out as officers of the Cincinnati FOP, but did they take their right wing politics and slow-down tactics with them? I hope Kathy Harrell can bring something new to community-police relations, something other than the arrogance and hate brought by the likes of Fangman and Roberts.

Top Stories of the Year Nominations

At the end of the year I plan on listing my top 10 Cincinnati stories of the year, so I am opening up the nominations. What do you think should make the list? Keep in mind these stories must deal with the Cincinnati Metro Area in some direct way.

Money Didn't Matter

In the mayor's race Pepper out spent Mallory $1.2M to $.4M. That is the most stunning statistic from the election.

Bengals Closing In

7:01 p.m. It's not over until the coach gets drenched. Bengals are AFC North champs.

5:55 p.m. 31-7 Bengals. Let's make some predictions for the final standings.

1. Indy. 14-2. They'll lose to Seattle, but win the last one. But they can't be moved, so it doesn't matter.
2. Cincinnati. 13-3. Win out. Sure would be nice to have that Indy game back, wouldn't it?
3. Denver. 12-4. They beat Oakland, but then they lose to SD.
4. New England. 11-5. Beat Miami and NYJ.
5. Jacksonville. 12-4. They have a weak remaining schedule.
6. Pittsburgh. 11-5. They have an even weaker remaining schedule.

Outside:
San Diego. 11-5. They win out, but they lose the tiebreaker to Pittsburgh.
KC. 8-8. Looked bad the other day and will lose out to more highly motivated teams.
Miami. 8-8. They won't beat New England.

The problem with our predictions? It depends upon San Diego beating Denver after being eliminated with Pittsburgh winning earlier in the day on the last day of the season. However, the Chargers look so good, and it's at home, and besides, the Bengals need a bye, so this is how we get to one. So there.

5: 35 p.m. Half-time, Bengals 24-7. Most of the games are already over, so we can update the standings.
Division Leaders
1. Indianapolis. 13-1. Conf. 11-1. Lost to SD, but they're the #1 seed.
2. Denver. 11-3. Div: 3-1. Conf: 8-2. After beating Buffalo, Denver still beats the Bengals on tie-breakers and control their own destiny for the #2 seed and that first round bye.
3. Cincinnati. 10-3, Div: 5-1, Conf: 6-3. Up on Detroit right now and will thereby maintain position.
4. New England. 9-5. Div: 4-0. Conf: 7-4. They looked fantastic against Tampa and clinch their division based on division record.
Wildcards
5. Jacksonville. 10-4, Conf: 7-3. Weak win, but it still counts for maintaining their position.
6. Pittsburgh. 9-5. Conf: 6-5. They now control their own destiny, as they can clinch a wildcard by winning out.
Outside Looking In
7. San Diego. 9-5. Div 3-1. Conf: 7-3. The win against Indy helps them a lot, but they still need to win out plus some help, with either Pittsburgh losing once or Denver losing twice or Jacksonville losing one or more games (SD would win the tiebreaker based on Conference record against Jax in that case).
8. KC. 8-6. Div 3-2. Conf: 7-3. Things look bleak. They can't win the division. They lose the tiebreaker with SD on common opponents, should KC win out and SD beats Denver. So, they need to win out, for Pittsburgh to lose at least once, and for SD to lose all remaining games, or to win out, Jacksonville to lose out and some other help.
Way Outside Chance
9. Miami. 7-7. Div: 2-3. Conf: 5-5. Can't win division, but they can get in with a lot of help. Pittsburg and SD have to lose their remaining games, and they need KC to lose at least once (so win vs. SD but lose to Cincinnati). Miami would then be 7-5 in the conference, KC would be eliminated by losing the tiebreaker with SD (because Division ties are broken first), Pittsburgh would be 6-6 in the conference, SD would be 7-5 in the conference. So, then Pittsburgh would be eliminated. Miami then wins the tiebreaker against SD since they beat them head-to-head. Got it?

5:00 p.m. Bengals up 24-7 with 9:20 remaining in the first half. This is about what we expected. However, the rest of the games are bizarre. While we watch this game, we'll take a look at the other results from the day and see what's going on.

Union Label for Hackett

Very big news for Paul Hackett. He lacks Northeastern appeal, and the UAW endorsement brings some with it.

Bigotry Tree Grows in Springdale

Suckers are born every minute, but these idiots were not wiped clean of placenta. I have to laugh at how ignorant people are. It is so very say at the same time though. This is not about free speech. The denials in opposition to that simple truth are not only lacking in creativity, but in credibility. You can't yell fire in a crowded theater. You can't threaten bodily harm on someone. You can't discriminate against people. The last one is not really speech, but hell, ignorance about what they are really talking about takes too long to explain to them, so I shall digress

(Maybe not) I also don't want to quibble with conservatives on constitutional law, but I will. They are the literalists here, after all. This is not about "Speech." This is at best about the freedom of the "press" is it not? Or is personal expression protected under the law? I don't see that written in the Constitution, now do I? It is there under case law, thankfully, but once again the hypocrisy of conservatives doesn't fail to impress me.

4th Amendment

Has the President of the United States ever read this?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Based on the type of King George despot-speak we got today, I don't think he has.

It will be amazing how Bush defends will try to defend this. These will be the same type of person who cried about Ruby Ridge under Bush the Elder (yep, that wasn't Clinton's doing), but will now say they support ignoring the rights of people because they a suspected of being linked to "terrorists." How many of those will be Palestinian groups? I swear, it will take a video of Bush eat babies before some will turn against him, and even then it will be a tough choice. Admit you were wrong and move on. Bush is horrible. Accept it. Move on, and help the rest of us return the country to the rule of law.

Why Not In Cincy?

Why can't this type of thing happen with some of the crack houses in Over-the-Rhine? Why are landlords letting crack sales go on, but then others stamp out skanky girls dancing in pasties?

Monzel Shills For the Party

I know he owes much to the party for leaving Malone in the gutter and for not doing much for Ghiz so that he could get the money to get back on council, but what gives with bringing national politics into the city arena? Oh, sorry, I forgot, we are talking about Chris Monzel. Chris has a few speeds. He fights Ice Cream Truck Drivers, public defecators, against women's rights, and for computers (well for a while).

Chris should let Chabot do his own dirty work. This looks so cheap. It is low and shows Chris gives more of a shit about Congress, than about the city.

Civil Right Commission Says: Discrimination

Pleasure Inn owner Tom Ullum and his bigotry got another rebuke. No help from Charlie Winburn though. It is nice to see Charlie grill someone. It is shameful he was not Grilling Ullum, and instead sought to act as an advocate for the local conservative movement darling (Ullum). Is Charlie sucking up to the local powers that be for another futile run for office? His attitude towards those filing the compliant reminds me of what a 1940's Alabama Judge might have said about a "Whites Only" sign hanging in a diner window. Times don't change, but perspectives do.

"Might" Should Be In Quotes

Don't be fooled, Bob McEwen will challenge Jean Schmidt for the 2nd Congressional District. The only question to me is will he be challenged? Will Tom Brinkman run again? There will be others, but they have no name and no organizational support to make them a serious contender.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I don't have much to say, now that I am finally feeling better. I hope to be getting back to regular blogging. Until then

OPEN THREAD!

Truth in Headlines?

In this article headline: What people, politicians say about Schmidt do we get the truth that politicians are not people?