UC Riots After Victory Over Miami

I know they won pretty big over Miami, but did they need to riot after the win?

Midpoint Venue Change

Javier's Restaurant and Bar has replaced Ink Tank as a venue for Midpoint. Please adjust your schedules as needed.

Crime in Over-the-Rhine

The Business Courier has an excellent story this week about crime in OTR and the impact of the horrible mistake of keeping a centralized homing beacon for criminals to prey on victims has done to this neighborhood.

Who's Bumblin' Now?

HamCo Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou has decided to blog about Joe Biden's purported tendency towards gaffes. The former judge is upset that Biden told a Delaware crowd that the Delaware Blue Hens (a div I-AA team) would beat the Buckeyes. Of course, the two don't even play against each other.

I had a lot of respect for Triantafilou when he was a judge. He's a really intelligent man, and he was a really good judge, in my opinion. But you'd think the local GOP chairman wouldn't be too interested in calling attention to a candidate's less-than-perfect oratory this week.

You see, John McCain announced earlier this week that he wouldn't meet with the president of long-time NATO ally Spain if he's elected. The most reasonable explanation for this is that McCain was confused about the nation to which that president, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, belongs: the question came after a discussion of a series of Latin American leaders who an American president probably wouldn't be willing to meet. But rather than admit this, McCain's campaign is insisting the septuagenerian senator meant what he said, even though this past April, McCain said he'd welcome such a meeting.

So who would I rather have leading the country: someone who pandered (admittedly) to his home state by asserting that its university's second-rate football team could take on one of the best in the nation, or a senator who's "bumblin'" may hurt American foreign policy and alienate our Western allies? You be the judge.

Finally, since Triantafilou raises it, let's deal with the Biden plagiarism myths. In 1987, when Biden was running for president, during a debate he borrowed extensively from a speech initially given by British politician Neil Kinnock. Sounds damning, right? On its own, sure. But not so much when you consider that Biden had repeatedly paraphrased Kinnock as he did during that debate, and on each previous occasion, he attributed it. During the more abbreviated format, he forgot to. There was no intent to mislead anyone into thinking the idea was his own: he'd told people on numerous occasions that it had originated elsewhere. And as for the allegations about what occurred during law school: he was fully investigated by his law school at the time, and a determination was made that he was guilty only of sloppy citation (lawyers are a stickler for citation), not intentional plagiarism. He'd pointed out the work (a law journal article) his ideas had come from, but had not sufficiently footnoted his assignment.

Joe Biden certainly is not a perfect candidate for national office. If I were a GOP leader trying to throw red meat to the base, I'd be talking about Biden's ties to the banking industry, given that this week all hell has broken loose on Wall Street (of course, then the Dems might start talking about McCain's role in the Keating Five . . .). The petty attack on the Blue Hens remark is, quite frankly, beneath our local GOP chair, and not what the voters of this or any other county will be focusing on in November.

1929 Redux --- Free Market Capitalism's Last Gasp

Since I have been without power since the freak wind storm on Sunday, it has felt a lot like what 1929 must have felt like on a lot of fronts. Let's see, where once there stood five major historic finance houses, now there are two. The government has nationalized the giant home mortgage loan companies and now has a majority equity stake in the largest insurance company in the world. Individual shareholders and employees at these companies who have seen their savings and their retirements and their lives wiped out in an instant have been told by the "inventor" of that great Canadian device, the blackberry, that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." (The inventor of the blackberry realized after conferring with his staff that no stupider statement could possibly have been made and tried again a few hours later.) The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen almost 1000 points taking with it thousands of dollars that you and I have put away for retirement --- although likely the market will rally today with news of this societal bailout. Credit card companies overnight began slashing all of our credit lines, after decades of encouraging our profligacy --- they don't seem to understand that it is my right as an American to have stuff I can't afford, because it is not fair for people with money to live better than me.

No, the fundamentals of this economy are not strong. It is hard to know even where to begin the discussion of the events that have occurred over the last week that have led to the remarkable interference in the markets announced by Treasury Secretary Paulson and the SEC this morning.

First, the SEC and its UK equivalent announce that they will prohibit, at least temporarily, the short selling of financial company stocks, which means that no longer will these free marketers allow you to bet that the price of the stock will fall. Now you can only bet that it will go up --- hardly an unfettered market.

Treasury also will create a $50 billion fund to protect investments in some segments of the mutual fund market --- the market where most of us have our retirement money after the government's idiotic decision to drive retirement dollars to the speculative markets as a way of giving us all freedom --- freedom to be poor in old age (How much is in your 401K and how many years salary does it represent? Enough if you live to 80? Or are you counting on that "conservative" 8% annual growth?)

Next, the Congress and Treasury will work together to essentially create a "bank" to buy up and hold over a trillion dollars in bad toxic mortgage debts that financial institutions have created by putting individuals in houses and loan instruments that they could not possibly afford and then selling those loans off --- all the while knowing they were crap and that the whole system was built upon the false assumption that housing values would never fall.

So to all you free marketers out there benefiting from your government subsidized education with your money held in government protected accounts and living in your house mortgaged by a government protected entity, here's a toast to the week that the myth of free market capitalism crashed and burned. Unfortunately no one will be held responsible and we will be paying for this devastation for years.

So maybe this election will be about more than lipstick and pigs and whether McCain knows where Spain is and whether he invented the blackberry and whether Obama is a celebrity who chose hoops over troops, and whether Palin is a celebrity who had her brother in law fired because he was a cad or whether she can actually see Russia from Alaska and thus is a foreign policy expert on the Bush Doctrine --- maybe this election is about us and our children and our country and our future and what kind of country we will be and whether we will continue to be a country that tortures and one that honors its values.

Hope springs eternal, but today feels like 1929.

Map Out Oktoberfest

If you don't know where to go during Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, you'd best check out the map. Please be warned that during the peak hours, 4PM to 11PM Saturday and 3PM to 7PM Sunday (After the Bengals Game) you are going to have to fight the dreaded slow walking crowds. With that in mind, use the map to enter the 5th Street area near where you want to be. Get a beer and a brat, then just start the stroll.

Update to Ike Damage

A reader has an update on the damage from the falling street light Donald wrote about Monday. Here's the photo update:

BuyCincy Drinks Deep into Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

The Gents at BuyCincy have a nice article on Oktoberfest Zinzinnati.

Media Coverage of the Storm

While I didn't lose power, I still had no Cable or Internet at my house, therefore radio has been (and continues to be) my lifeline to the world. John Kiesewetter's piece on local news coverage during the wind storm illistrates how little news coverage we have. The public is oblivious to most of the world, but when they have a tree fall in their yard, they finally can take notice that no one is paying attention anymore. Hell, our entire storm here affected everyone in the tristate area and it barely got noticed in the national press. So, who is left to report on things locally? If you are saying not many, then you are correct. This is of course not unique to Cincinnati, but the storm here and our abundance of apathetic hyper consumerists show the cost of losing so many local news reporters. We have been abandoned by the corporate media. They don't see the profit in providing for the public good, instead they prefer to keep the Reds games on.

We have brought most of this upon ourselves. We want everything to be cheap, Wal-Mart cheap. With that kind of cheap, comes low quality and syndication. That is what most of the Cincinnati media landscape has become. We are left to rely on technology, which when the power goes out, doesn't amount to much. It would behoove us to start consuming media with a local focus. If you want more news coverage on WVXU, then give them money and they will provide it!

HYPE Haus Party - Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

Something a little different this year at Oktoberfest is the HYPE Haus Party. I am a little torn on this. I see Oktoberfest as more of a fest where you get out and mingle with the masses of people. If you are going to get drunk and dance a few polkas with an unsuspecting Suburban former fratboy, then you really should be out in the middle of 5th Street. If you are scared of crowds, then you might be more comfortable in this special area on Fountain Square. Tickets are limited.

2012 Olympic Chicken Dance Preliminaries

The London Olympics are four years away, but you can begin your Chicken Dance Training at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati Noon on Fountain Square along with thousands of your fellow Olympic hopefuls. To help with the training will be local Beijing Olympic vets Mary Wineberg and David Payne who shall lead the mid-day workout.

Please remember that the wearing of spandex during competition is strictly prohibited by the International Chicken Dance Olympic Committee. It is a safety concern, so please help prevent injury and wear something a little more festive.

Food For Thought

For most of us (well, most of you, as I'm enjoying my power-outage-free downtown apartment), losing a lot of perishable food because of the blackout is a minor inconvenience. A few minutes spent throwing out the contents of the fridge and freezer, some grumbling, and an extra trip to the grocery store.

But for many, it means the loss of food that was barely affordable in the first place. The storm probably came at the worst possible time--on a Sunday, after people had stocked up on groceries following the traditional Saturday of shopping.

I've not seen a public plea for help, but it seems to me that organizations like the Freestore Foodbank and other, smaller pantries in the Cincinnati area may well see an increased demand this week and through the end of the month.

So if you're so inclined, this would be an excellent time to donate food or cash to the food pantry of your choice.

UPDATE: This morning, we got a comment from someone who's obviously more in the know than I am, and I wanted to bump her comment to the body of the post:

I work with the FreestoreFoodbank and have to second what you said in this post. We opened yesterday on Liberty Street (despite a lack of power there...) and saw more than 550 households come through. That's more than twice the number of households served on an average day. We're estimating we served between 1,200 and 1,400 people through yesterday's distribution. So as you suggested, we're hurting - especially given the fact that our perishable foods were without power and therefore can't be distributed. Cash and non-perishable food donations are welcomed.And, if there are people who need emergency food assistance, they are urged to visit the FreestoreFoodbank from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. all week.

McCain Health Plan Again

Just an added note: the online chatter about health care has been fueled by Health Affairs (a nonpartisan journal) analysis of the candidates' plans. While the full text of the article is here, this is the conclusion the authors reach about the McCain plan (emphases mine):

Achieving Senator McCain's vision would radically transform the U.S. health insurance system. His plan would alter the nature, source, and financing of coverage for the nearly 160 million Americans who now receive health insurance through their employers. We estimate that twenty million Americans--about one in every eight people with job-based coverage--would lose their current coverage as a result of the change in the tax treatment of coverage. Initially, this loss of job-based coverage would be offset by an increase in coverage in the nongroup market (although not necessarily for the same individuals). Within five years, however, the net effect of the plan is expected to be a net reduction in coverage relative to what would have been observed if the tax treatment of employer-sponsored coverage remains as it is now. The decline of job-based coverage would force millions of Americans into the weakest segment of the private insurance system--the nongroup market--where cost sharing is high and covered services are limited. Senator McCain's proposal to deregulate this market would mean that people in it would lose protections they now have. These changes would diminish the security of coverage for most Americans, especially those who are not--or someday will not be--in perfect health.

The McCain Health Plan: Hold Onto Your Wallet!

Every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps the silver lining of this week's economic crisis is that the candidates are once again talking about issues, rather than each other. So let's talk about an issue that McCain hasn't spent much time on: health care. And I don't understand why he isn't talking about it, as his plan will radically alter the healthcare landscape in this country.

John McCain's plan to provide health care to Americans is essentially reform of the tax code. If you receive health insurance through your employer, you don't pay taxes on the portion of your premiums that your employer pays. McCain would change that: this "income" would now be taxable.

Instead, McCain would offer a $2,500 tax rebate to all Americans for the purposes of paying for health insurance. But Americans won't get that money themselves--the health insurance company you select would automatically get that money to cover your premiums. And to incentivize cheaper insurance plans, if $2,500 exceeds the amount of your annual premium, you'll get the excess back. Of course, you can't spend it: it will be put in a Health Savings Account that you could use to pay deductibles or co-pays. (This is all detailed on the McCain website, here.)

McCain's theory is that if people are forced out of employer-provided insurance and into the insurance market, competition will magically drive prices down and make health care affordable for all. The New York Times' Bob Herbert has this to say:

This entire McCain health insurance transformation is right out of the right-wing Republicans’ ideological playbook: fewer regulations; let the market decide; and send unsophisticated consumers into the crucible alone.
You would think that with some of the most venerable houses on Wall Street crumbling like sand castles right before our eyes, we’d be a little wary about spreading this toxic formula even further into the health care system.

To me, the McCain plan is a bad idea on its face. But regardless of its merits, shouldn't Americans know that if they elect John McCain president, every person who has employer-provided health insurance will have higher taxes taken from their paycheck each week?

Don't Come To Work Smelly Tomorrow

Two fitness chains, Fitworks, and Urban Active, are offering free showers to the public, according to the Enquirer.

So if you're without power, stop at the gym before you go to work tomorrow.

Ike Damage

Question: What's missing from the following picture?

Answer: Check out the second pole in the picture. It's a street light, just like the others. Except it's missing its light; yesterday's winds blew it off. It was tossed, unfortunately, onto a parked car below. (The car was whisked away by the time I thought to take a picture.) No injuries, but the car was totalled.

(This is Fourth Street, standing at the intersection of Plum and facing west.)

Feel free to post descriptions of damage you saw.

Snarky aside: I still don't understand why WCPO needs two tickers to list school closings. I am amused, though, that on the larger (uppermost) of the two, they didn't find a way to get rid of the snow flurry graphics.

Oh Yes, It's a Chicken Dance Off

It's Oktoberfest Zinzinnati week so let's start things off with a Chicken Dance With The Stars.

Ike Remnant Recon

If you're at home this evening reading this, then just stay there.  Don't go out before sunrise unless you have to.

I hadn't realized the power problem is as widespread as it is.  Downtown, power is mostly on.  There's a couple intersections with traffic lights out, but power never even flickered where I live.  Yes, I'd heard the big number of customers without power:  I'd simply, mistakenly assumed that most people without power were out in Clermont, Warren, and Butler Counties and across the river.

So I went out to find some fast food dinner.  Big mistake.

Power outages are, in fact, widespread in Bellevue and Newport.  (That meant that at the restaurants where power was on--McDonald's, Arby's, and Frisch's in Bellevue--lines were interminably long.)

Power in Clifton, at least as of 8:00 pm, is apparently non-existent.  And when I say Clifton, I mean Clifton, Clifton Heights, and University Heights (and even into Camp Washington).  Widespread outages.  There's probably some damage.  Police had blocked Ravine Road from Central Parkway, and also McMillan at Clifton.  I'm not sure what happened in either place.  

Things on the West Side didn't seem much better.  There were spotty outages in Queensgate.  Further north, power seemed to be mostly out at Harrison near Queen City.

Driving is tough right now.  People seem to be mostly remembering their long-forgotten traffic school lesson:  when approaching a traffic light that is out, treat it as a four-way stop.  The problem, though, is that if you or another driver is unfamiliar with a particular intersection, you might not, after sundown, realize that you're driving through a dead traffic signal.

To sum up:  stay home.  If you can't, be very, very careful.

And I've emailed family members who live in the Florida area, petitioning them to ensure that in the future, their hurricanes stay where they belong, in the Deep South and the Gulf Coast.  We don't send them our snow and ice storms, so they should extend that same courtesy and keep their damned weather to themselves. 

Good News, Bad News

The bad news: it's going to be a long, long season at Paul Brown Stadium. The next interesting thing to happen there likely will be the 2009 Macy's Music Festival.

The good news: following the next two home games (9/29 against the Browns and 10/19 against the Steelers), you'll probably be able to purchase tickets quite cheaply.

UPDATE: I just thought of more good news. Since lots of season ticket holders will likely be willing to part with their tickets this early in the season, we should see lots of hotel business from our friends in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

That raises an interesting open thread: whose fans are more offensive when they come to town, Browns or Steelers?

More Downtown Strolling

This Summer I have rolled into morning walking rituals. Saturday I am off to Grater's for a doughnut then Tazza Mia for Coffee. Sunday morning I go right to Tazza Mia for a tasty breakfast Sandwich and coffee and off to the Yeatman's cove to sit for a while by the river. I've got to get back into the habit of going to Findlay Market on Saturdays this Fall.

Speaking of Tazza Mia, on September 17th they are having their official "Ribbon cutting Ceremony" at 8:30 AM. The first 50 customers in the door after the ribbon is cut will get a free pound of coffee. Also, you can get a free cup of regular coffee from 8:30 to 10:30.

The Problemed Park

I got into a lively discussion about this last night, so Just Past Central has a better round up on the recent news on Washington Park's problem. I really have nothing good to say about the efforts of local social services who don't provide the base service to society to do everything to keep crime from happening on their doorsteps and in the surrounding areas where the criminals go who are not let in their doors.

When you attract crime, you can't stand in the way of others who are trying to fight it.

Yes, The Enquirer's Website Sucks

Everyone has known about it since it was relaunched with Gannett's Structure. Now Enquirer Management knows about it.

Edwards Will Not Be Charged

The Enquirer reports that Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters announced tonight that he will not seek an indictment against Jodie Edwards, whose infant daughter died when left in an SUV for several hours.  The flood of comments attached to the Enquirer's story serves both as a compelling argument for why newspapers should be newspapers rather than blogs (and not permit comments on news stories) and a reflection of lots of confusion over why this case turned out as it did.

First, let me express some sympathy for Joe Deters (who, I'm quite sure, doesn't need me to defend him).  Nine times out of ten, I'd tell you that a defense attorney's job is much harder than a prosecutor's.  After all, a prosecutor has, theoretically, the resources of the entire State of Ohio at his disposal.  When cases go to trial, his principal witnesses are often uniformed police officers, which translates to instant credibility with a jury.  I spend most of my voir dire just persuading potential jurors that the mere fact that my client's been charged with a crime and sitting behind a placard that says "Defendant" doesn't mean he did anything wrong.

But the Edwards case represents the rare instance when you couldn't pay me enough to be a prosecutor.  My decision on whether to represent a client in a criminal case is easy:  either a judge appoints me or a client shows up in my office wishing to retain me.  But deciding whether to charge a person with a crime, particularly in this instance, is much more complex.  How does one weigh the shock and outrage over what happened to a defenseless child with compassion for a grieving mother, all while trying to fairly apply the applicable law to the provable facts?  I doubt Deters made this decision alone.  He no doubt consulted with the attorney responsible for presenting cases to the grand jury (to assess whether an indictment would be issued if the case were presented), some of his senior trial attorneys (to determine whether a jury would convict), and attorneys in the appellate division (to be sure a conviction would be defensible on appeal).  I know a lot of people don't like Joe Deters, but this had to be an agonizing decision.  And it's a decision with no political benefit on either side.  Either choice he made would have pissed off some very vocal, emotional people.

Second, some have accused Joe Deters of inconsistency when it comes to child endangering charges.  I don't think that's fair.  There may be some systemic unfairness, but the blame for that does not lay at Deters's feet.  Much of the inconsistency is because of the way various types of crimes are handled in Hamilton County.  Here's why.

A misdemeanor offense is initiated by the filing of a complaint.  All that's needed is for an officer to sign a complaint, warrant, and affidavit.  After an initial appearance where bond is set, the case will then be set for trial.  Prosecutors don't get involved (at least in 99.9% of cases) in charging decisions regarding misdemeanors.  Felonies, though, are different.  For those cases to proceed before a judge, a grand jury has to return an indictment.  Often, police officers will file charges and wait to see what happens in the grand jury.  But any time a death occurs, the police will consult with the Prosecutor's office prior to filing anything, and those cases will often involve "direct indictments," meaning that a complaint is never filed.  So while Deters had to make a decision in the Edwards case, he would not do so in a child endangering case that did not result in physical harm (such as a "dirty house" case or a case in which a child was left in a car for a few minutes).  Edwards would have been charged with a felony; the latter examples are misdemeanor offenses.

I've also been hearing a lot of talk about mothers charged with endangering for falling asleep or briefly leaving their kids alone.  I won't pass on the merits of those cases (suffice it to say that I believe we are over-using the endangering statute).  If the offense occurred inside the City of Cincinnati, then Deters's office never touches the case:  misdemeanors within city limits are prosecuted by the Cincinnati Prosecuting Attorney (really, the City Solicitor).  The HamCo Prosecutor has no authority or control over those cases.  

Maybe we should have some serious discussion about the way the system works.  Should we really permit charges to be initiated just on the signature of a police officer (or much worse, by "referral"--an officer giving a form to a citizen to permit the filing of a criminal charge, which means the officer won't be involved in the case at all, generally)? Edwards may have benefitted because she could afford to retain counsel early in the process.  An indigent defendant wouldn't be entitled to counsel until charges were filed.  Maybe we need to make counsel available at pre-filing stages.  But people who are complaining about unfairness and injustice are noticing symptoms of systemic problems, and shouldn't single out Deters as a scapegoat in this instance.

McCain's Strategery

A few days ago, the McCain campaign acknowledged that as far is it was concerned, the 2008 presidential election wasn't about issues; it's about personality.  Yesterday and today, we've seen how this philosophy will guide their campaign:  any time Obama or Biden attempt to engage on the issues, the Rove-advised McCain campaign will assert that they've attacked McCain or (more likely) Palin personally.

Yesterday, Obama repeated an old phrase he's often used in declaring the McCain, who's been in Washington for decades, can't seriously be considered a change candidate, saying "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."  McCain's campaign accused Obama of calling Palin a pig.  What?

At nearly the same time, Biden pointed out a potential inconsistency in Palin policy positions.  While she's promised to be an advocate for children with special needs, she opposes stem cell research.  Biden argued that one cannot be seriously committed to both positions.  While Biden's position is certainly subject to attack on its merits, the McCain campaign didn't do that; instead, it accused Biden of personally attacking Palin's family.

Obama has responded to the "phony controversy."  In part, he says:

I don't care what they say about me. But I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift boat politics. Enough is enough.

His full response, below, is well worth a couple minutes of your time.

concert:nova Season 2

The fresh chamber music ensemble concert:nova has announced their 2008-2009 season:

October: Where the Wild Things Are

December: Waiting for the End of Time: Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time and abstracts from Beckett's Waiting for Godot

February: Concert in the Dark

March: Demystifying Arnold Schoenberg

May: concert:nova and Beyond Ballet

June: The Mirror Project

Details are forthcoming, so keep checking out www.concertnova.com for updates.

I'm No Journalism Expert, But . . .

The online Enquirer notes the arrest of 30 individuals accused of drug trafficking. This is the lede:

The Cincinnati Police Department is working hard to get trash off the street corners, especially when it’s the kind that sells drugs.

Really? This is considered acceptable news reporting--referring to people as "trash"? I'd understand this in an editorial or column, but a "news" article? And about people who aren't even indicted yet?

Judging from the grammatical errors in the body of the article, it appears the Enquirer had the second string editorial staff review this one. One more reason to miss the Post.

Mmm, Crepes

A few days ago, Julie blogged about the new place on Court Street, It's Just Crepes. Julie hasn't been able to make it since it's only open during the week (though that changes as of September 20th), but not having that problem, I had lunch there with a colleague today. It's in the space formerly occupied by Javier's, between Avril-Bleh and Servatii.

Yummy. (No pictures: real reviews are Julie's job; I just give my gut impression of places I like.) The waitstaff was extremely friendly and had our meals to us pretty quickly, even at the lunch rush. And their prices were very reasonable (you can check out the menu online at their website). I enjoyed watching them make the crepes, on large, circular, wall-less griddles designed just for that purpose.

I had the Hawaiian--ham, pineapple, cheese, soy sauce, and brown sugar--and my friend had the Santa Fe--chicken, swiss, mushroom, and salsa. The crepes were tasty, and the combinations that make up the fillings were good. There'll definitely be return trips for more lunch. I'm afraid to start eating the sweet crepes, though, for fear I'll never stop. So for now, I'll stick to the "savory" crepes.

Finally, let me give a "shout-out" to the Image Art Company, who apparently designed It's Just Crepes's in-store graphics and website. After visiting the restaurant, I was convinced that it must must be a locally-owned franchise of a national chain, based on how professional the menu board, window sign, and logo looked. So I Googled them. Turns out I was wrong: they were produced by Image Art Company, a local branding firm. I may have to give them a call to talk about a remake of my own firm's website and letterhead . . .

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

Get out your lederhousen and clean out the mold from your bier stein. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is less than 2 weeks away. September 20-21 on 5th Street in Downtown Cincinnati.

On The Flannery Five

Warning:  Long post ahead.  Sorry.  This one's been building for a bit.  And I'm bending my rule on not blogging regarding courthouse news.

I'm about to rant about Streetvibes editor Greg Flannery and the four others convicted of trespassing in Steve Chabot's office a couple years ago.  (Here's the Enquirer coverage.  I refer to them as "five" because two were juveniles, and I'm not sure how their cases were resolved.)  But I've been taught that if you're going to criticize someone, you should begin with some praise.  So let's do that first (I've been meaning to make the point anyhow.)

The praise:  For a long time, I've bought Streetvibes each month.  I've always thought that the one-dollar contribution was a terrific way to help the homeless.  But the last few months, I've been buying the newspaper for another reason:  to read it.  The writing and reporting has been excellent--often, better than its weekly alternative counterpart, Citybeat.  So if you've not bought Streetvibes in a while, pull out a buck the next time you see a vendor.  And then read.

Now, for the meat of the post.

Back in 2006, Greg Flannery and four others were arrested for trespassing in the office of Congressman Steve Chabot.  Essentially, they staged a sit-in to protest the war in Iraq.  At the time, Flannery acknowledged the group was "repeatedly invited to leave" and stayed two hours past closing.  As is their right, four of the five, including Flannery, demanded a jury trial.  They were convicted.  They appealed.  They lost.  They filed a petition for review in the Ohio Supreme Court.  It was denied.  And they were sentenced to perform 20 hours of community service.  One of the group's members, Barbara Wolf, apparently told the court she wouldn't complete her sentence, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail instead.

I oppose the Iraq war.  In my younger, badder days, I could see myself being part of their civil disobedience.  In fact, one of my fondest memories of my teenage years is marching on Washington, DC, with my dad in 1991 to protest the Gulf War.  I also proudly addressed, on behalf of a Pittsburgh coalition of high school students, a peace protest.  So I applaud the sit-in and the Flannery Five's intentions.

So what's my problem?

The current issue of Streetvibes has two pieces that stand in ironic juxtaposition.  The first, a front-page story written by Flannery called "All The Justice You Can Afford," recounts the findings of the NLADA study of the Hamilton County Public Defender.  The second, on page two, is Flannery's page-long story of his arrest.

One of the criticisms of the Public Defender that Flannery echoes is an allegation that incarcerated, indigent defendants spend more time than necessary in jail because public defenders don't have the time to go visit them in jail before their court dates.  We'll leave aside, for a moment, whether that's actually true.

Flannery's piece on his trespassing conviction brags that his trial lasted six days.  Six days.  For a fourth degree misdemeanor.  In municipal court.

I wonder if anyone was forced to spend extra time in jail because of the trial.

I didn't attend the trial.  But from Flannery's account, it doesn't appear that the group's lawyers argued that they were factually innocent of a trespass.  Instead, it seems like they were hopeful that at least one of the eight jurors would decide to nullify the law.  He writes that "we tried to convince the jury to convict the war instead of us."  He brags of the "inconvenience" caused by the "long legal struggle."  (I suspect that the defense attorneys never openly argued for nullification; they wouldn't be permitted to.  My best guess is that they couched their efforts in terms of a "necessity" defense, arguing that the sit-in was necessary to prevent the imminent deaths of people in Iraq.)

But who was inconvenienced?  The judge and his or her staff?  Nope, they're there every day, whether there's a jury trial or not.  The prosecutor?  Nope, same thing.  But how about the other litigants who had appearances scheduled during the six-day trial?  Yep, probably.  You see, once a jury trial begins, it takes precedence over everything else until it's finished.  Judges will get through the rest of their docket as quickly as possible, usually handling only guilty and no-contest pleas; everything else will typically be continued, possibly weeks into the future.

Most people know that defendants have a right to a speedy trial.  For a misdemeanor, someone who's held in jail has to be brought to trial within thirty days of his or her arrest.  But there are things that can stop, or "toll," the speedy trial clock.  One of these is the unavailability of the court.  So guess what?  If you were poor, locked up, your case was assigned to the same judge as was Flannery's, and you had a trial scheduled during the Flannery trial, your case was continued.  Your speedy trial time tolled until the next court appearance.  And you stayed in jail.

Flannery and his co-defendants are fortunate.  They could afford to take six days off of work for a trial.  But what about defendants (and witnesses and victims) who were scheduled the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth day of the Flannery trial and who had to come back another time who work low-paying, hourly jobs?

I guess the issue really is one of how much justice a person can afford.

The Hamilton County Municipal Court is charged with determining whether people are proven guilty of misdemeanor offenses, and then settling on a sentence for those who are.  Whether it's good at that job is a determination for others to make (most days, I'm too busy hacking at trees to see the forest).  It is not, however, well-suited to determining whether a particular military intervention is justified.

The judges and prosecutors (and we defense attorneys) are at our best when we have the time to discuss, whether on the record, in chambers, or at side-bar, the appropriate resolutions to cases.  When a judge is trying to get a jury back in the box for a trial in progress, that time doesn't always exist.  Reading Flannery's article, I was thinking about some of the people I've represented in municipal court the last few months:

• A woman in an abusive relationship, whose romantic partner figured out things might go better for him when she calls the police if he says that she assaulted him, too.  (We got the right result:  he was convicted, the case against her was dismissed.)
• A man with no criminal record but a history of mental illness who, unable to afford his psych meds, committed a non-violent though serious offense due to his mental illness.
• A young woman, initially convicted of a drug-related offense, who relapsed while on probation.
  

In each of these cases, the judges made (I think) the right call and declined to send my client to jail.  But I wonder:  if any of the cases had been called on a day when a judge was trying to get to a jury trial and was speeding through the docket, would s/he have been able to give the case enough thought to reach the same result?  I'd like to think so, but I just don't know.  It's a lot easier--and quicker--to impose a jail sentence than it is to fashion an appropriate remedy involving treatment and social services.

Greg Flannery and his co-defendants, aided and abetted by some of the best legal minds in Ohio, staged a six-day sit-in in municipal court.  Should we have launched a war in Iraq?  Probably  not.  Is a municipal courtroom the appropriate forum to litigate that issue?  Certainly not.  And doing so likely hurt only the people Flannery is usually busy standing up for.

Greg Flannery got all the justice he could afford.  How much did it cost those in the community who can't afford as much justice?

Open Thread: Where To Find "The One" In Cincinnati

Kate of Kate's Random Musings has recently been discussing her pursuit of a potential significant other.  It's reminded me of a thread I've been meaning to offer up for a little while.

Where should one go in Cincinnati to meet people of the opposite sex?  (For that matter, where does one go to meet people of the same sex, if that is what one is looking for?)  Obviously, we all know the legend of the Hyde Park Kroger, and how the store pumps lots of pheremones through the air conditioning system, ensuring matches made while perusing the sushi.

I remember that a few years ago, lots of people were consternating over an alleged perception that Cincinnati is a tough place to be single.  I never bought into that.  But I'm curious:  where should single people, post-college and -grad school (but not yet old enough to be a forty-something divorcee) go?

Please post your thoughts in the comments.  If you found your significant other in Cincinnati, let us know where (we promise, we won't try to steal him/her, we just want to know where to find others like him/her).

Driehaus Blogger Meetup

I was able to rush order my passport and I am not sitting in the Front Porch Coffee House on the West Side. Wifi is working and the chicken salad sandwich is pretty good. I made this trip for a meet and greet with 1st District candidate for Congress Steve Driehaus. I'll try and update through out the event, but I'll give full report after.


Update#1: Steve started out with great introduction about himself and his background as to how it got into politics. He pointed out clearly that he no matter what Mrs. Palin might say, he is proud of having been a community organizer.

Update #2: The most interesting accept of Steve was that he came to this event directly from his kid's soccer game.

Steve's focus while in the statehouse was on community project and housing. Steve was originally asked in 2006 to run for congress by Rahm Emmanuel, but turned it down. He thinks now he should have said yes.

The Democrats has purchased a million dollars on behalf of him which will begin to air starting later this month.

Update #3: Should you exepect more from your Congressmen? That was Steve question about Chabot. Other than his hair, we couldn't say much about him. I didn't bring up the abortion issue, which Chabot is know for, but

Dreihaus believes the government can't allow FannieMae and FreddieMac fail, there is no other option.

Update #4: The complete and utter failure of diplomacy is one of the greatest failure of Bush Administration in the Iraq situation.

Chabot Misleads Public, Again

It should be a surprise, but Steve Chabot's campaign is airing a commercial that even the Cincinnati Enquirer agrees misleads the public about Chabot's opponent, Steve Driehaus.

Open Thread: Bengals Predictions

The last time I solicited predictions, it was on the vice presidential candidates.  And I'll admit, I was wrong.  Very, very wrong.  (In fairness, no one picked Palin, though others, obviously smarter tham me, picked Biden.)

This time, I'd like your predictions on a far more pressing issue.  Now that you've seen the Bengals and we know what their roster is, how do you think they'll finish the season?

My own prediction:  the Bengals finish 6-10, and I'll be able to ride to PBS in a streetcar before I can see an NFL playoff game there.

Big College Football Weekend

Two local schools have really, really big football games later today.

In the first, the Miami (OH) Redhawks take on the Big Ten's Michigan Wolverines.  Coverage of this nationally televised game begins at noon on ESPN2.  While the Wolverines aren't ranked this year, any time Miami placed against a BCS-conference school, it's a big game.  And while my heart is with the Bearcats, in the spirit of both intra-state and intra-blog unity, I'll be cheering for the Redhawks in the early game.  Because after all, beating back the forces of Michigan is the most important issue of our time, and we must put aside politics (and my distaste for J. Crew) and put our pride as Ohioans first.

In the second game, the UC Bearcats take on the Oklahoma Sooners, currently ranked fourth in the nation.  This is ABC's featured game this week, and coverage begins at 3:30.  There's no way to overstate how significant a win would be for the 'Cats.  They would beat a top-ranked opponent on a national stage--and Oklahoma is likely the toughest team they'll face this season, so it would pave the way for really, really high expectations for the remainder of the season.  

So....let's put our differences aside, come together, and cheer jointly for the 'Hawks and the 'Cats.  (After all, the better the two teams' records are, the more interesting the Battle for the Victory Bell will be on September 20!)

WLW Local Coverage?

I was pleased to read in my neighbor's blog Just Past Central, about a feature on 700 WLW about Christian Moerlein. I am happy to have Moerlein in town and actually pleased that WLW actually covered something kinda local. I look forward to the day when Moerlein is actually brewed here.

Some Fact Checking

Via a Facebook Status (Yes and Thanks Mr. A) we can get a semi-unbiased view on statements made by the candidates.

The McCain Acceptance Speech

Senator McCain just started his speech.  Two thoughts occurred to me.

1.  He's the first person to mention George W. Bush all week from the RNC podium.

2.  The background behind the podium is terrible.  The first tight shot looked like McCain was standing in front of a "green screen" with no superimposed image.  The second was a blurry mess until the long shot revealed it to be a corn field.  This blue screen isn't much better.

Umm, there was just some really weird disturbance on the convention floor.  Not quite sure what that was about, but apparently some protestor slipped through the cracks.

More tomorrow.  Comment away, but as always, let's keep it a) clean, and b) civil.

Again Bronson Doesn't Get It

Well, once again an aging Baby Boomer fears that 18 year olds might do what he did 37 years ago. Well, if drinking at age 18 were to cause everyone to group to be as ignorant as Peter Bronson is, then I might be inclined to want to do away with drinking all together.

Drinking is not the issue. The deification of drinking so much so fast that you can't stand up is the problem. I drank at age 18, illegally (thank Zeus for the statute of limitations!!) and I am just fine. What I don't get is that on one hand Bronson is in favor of allowing 18 year olds to own guns. He trusts them with that responsibility. He's not against them driving, as far as I know. But, 18 year olds can't be trusted with booze. It just makes no sense. This was a veiled temperance movement that never got off the ground. If Peter fears abusive drinking, then two things are key, don't make drinking such a vice and educate kids to be responsible drinkers. If there were a passing-out-condoms type method (one as proven as condoms to help keep people safer but takes in the reality of life that) then that should be taught in High School. I guess if it ain't abstinence,however, Bronson is not going to educate you on it.

Blah Blah Sarah Palin Blah Blah Blah

I didn't watch the speech last night. I don't like getting pissed off by hollow and pointless pontification, so I avoided the entire GOP Convention. I'm feeling like I need to get my hits up today, so I thought I bury this post and see how many comments I can generate without really commenting on anything.

Javier's open for Happy Hour

Terry and I swam our way (it felt that humid, anyway) towards GABP for our second-last ball game last night, but we got a little sidetracked-- I saw that Javier's was open AND they had a happy hour!

We were the first guests the bartender, Jonathan, had had for Happy Hour. Ever. Since both Terry and I love margaritas, we ordered two of his best.

Damn.

They were good.

They were really balanced, and Jonathan doesn't believe in sour mix, so it was made with fresh orange and lime juice. This kicked the rear ends of Nada's 'ritas all over downtown. At $6 for their happy hour price and $8 for their regular price, it's a steal.

He has huge plans for the bar-- mojitos, margaritas and other beverages with fresh juices, both by the glass and by the pitcher. Me, I'm just excited about the lack of sour mix behind the bar. I hate that stuff. There's talk of half price appetizers as well-- not sure if that will include the really fascinating seafood selections-- but I'd definitely stop in. Right now, the only advertising they're doing for Happy Hour is a sign on a board outside the restaurant-- I'm serious. No PR, no advertising.

The menu looked pretty good too-- they're not quite open for full dinner yet. They have everything from ceviche to octopus tostadas, to barbacoa and chiles rellenos. The entree prices run from $18-25 (including a salad) and the appetizers from $3-11. Their soup is all in the $10-11 range-- which seems a bit high-- but the rest of the menu seems to be priced well. It's more than, say, La Mexicana and a lot less than Nada. I'll be really interested in trying it out. I've heard nothing but good things about Javier's food during the day-- I can't wait to try it for dinner.

Universal Grille Closed

As I walked past today, I noticed that the Universal Grille, formerly known as Hamburger Mary's, has closed its doors. There'd been a sign on the door (to which I was oblivious) announcing that this weekend would be its last. Its website also announces the closing.

I've not seen any plans for the space.

Borgman Takes Buyout

Is the Enquirer going to have anyone local doing anything anymore with word that Borgman has taken the buyout.

We can be assured that they will not replace him, and the opinion page will suffer with syndication.

Why a Cincinnati Dateline?

This Reuters article on the Sarah Palin controversy is dateline Cincinnati and I can't figure out why. Can anyone shed some light on this?

America Votes Meeting September 4th

Looking for a great volunteer effort to help get out the vote? Check out America Votes.

America Votes is the largest grassroots voter mobilization effort in the country today, and we will be introducing their volunteers to our political organizers in a discussion of how to make Ohio a greener state with better jobs and affordable health care.

The meeting is from 6-8 pm this Thursday (Sept. 4) at the America Votes office at 2300 Montana Ave (Suite 110). There will be a strategy session, followed by a short phone bank, then dinner and mingling.

RSVP by emailing Randy at mwilson@americavotes.org or calling 513.481.7108.

If you can't make it to the meeting but are interested in volunteering, they'll be phone banking every Monday and Thursday from 5-8 pm, and we'll be canvassing on Saturday, September 20, from 10 am-2 pm. The month of October will assuredly be ripe with volunteer opportunities.

America Votes is a permanent local coalition of some of the largest national progressive organizations; our partners include ACORN, Planned Parenthood, AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, EMILY'S List, and many others.

Cost of PR

WCPO is reporting proportional representation could cost the County 3 million dollars. Where will the money come from?

Holiday Weekend, Cincinnati Style

My parents (who presently reside near Tampa, Florida) were in town visiting over the long weekend. So we decided to enjoy ourselves, Cincinnati-style. Highlights of the weekend:

Ice cream (well, a chocolate soda for Dad) at the Fountain Square Graeter's;
A Reds game (Saturday's game, which the Reds won in more dramatic fashion than they should have);
A meal at Mitchell's Fish Market in Newport (all right, maybe that's too chain-y to be a Cincinnati meal);
Watching the fireworks from a Queen City riverboat;
Sunday brunch at the Greyhound Tavern in Ft. Mitchell (Julie: if you haven't been, you ought to give it a try);
An afternoon at the Contemporary Arts Center; and
(Without me) a meal at First Watch and some book-shopping at Joseph-Beth.

What did y'all do with your weekend? Feel free to critique my failures as a host (but remember, the folks have been to Cincinnati plenty of times, so we've done lots of other stuff previously).

Open Thread: Take That, Beijing!!!

Last night, I watched the fireworks from a Queen City Riverboat, moored just east of the Purple People Bridge. Pretty darned spectacular.

So here's an open thread. What did you like best (or least)? If you stayed home, was WLWT's coverage any better than last year?

WLWT Reporter in New Orleans

WLWT's John Bateman is blogging from New Orleans during the storm. Check in for firsthand info on what is happening on the ground.

Earth Shattering News

Stop the Presses! Chad Johnson is now legally named Ocho Cinco. This news will certainly affect us all greatly, jersey sales aside.

More from Bengals.com.

Breen on the Bastards

No, CityBeat's Mike Breen has not joined the circus and is not going to be playing triangle in the traveling version of the Heartless Bastards, which I think might be best called the New Old Heartless Bastards, or NOHB, which is going to be my new weekend acronym that I will use incessantly, to the disdain of my readers.