Twitty Indicted By Grand Jury
Based on the evidence made public or reported by the media, this was a no-brainer. Twitty's case does not look good. He will have to cop a plea.
Listening to 1230 the Buzz I can only just sit in shock at level of racism, the level of ignorance, and the level of acceptance of conspiracy by the mostly black callers. People view this as part of some religious or grand movement in which they are at battle for their "race." This just drives every person with any level of honesty and sense of reality into a funk of "huh?" The same mindset seems to have taken root as did for the OJ Simpson verdict. I just do not get this group mentality. This extreme type of an "us vs. them" attitude is common in humans, but is rarely more strongly used along racial designations.
Speaking of OJ Simpson, I do have some suggestions for Twitty's defense team. These are some good slogans to use in the closing arguments of the trial, if it gets that far.
1. If you did not see the crash, you cannot give him the lash
2. Even with the cement, he must be innocent
3. Because he is black, you must assume he's under attack
They may not work, but they fit the spirit of where this trial is headed.
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial: "Teach all the evidence"
Is this the reason why the Enquirer does not publish its editorial page on the web? I think Peter Bronson’s legacy has left its mark on the editorial board, and that is the mark of Cain!!!!! Well, in reality, it is the mark of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity. The Enquirer editorial board is off their collective rocker. There is no credible evidence for any creationist theory yet put forth. Now, they did not use the qualifying term "credible", which I did, and that is where their argument fails. They confuse evidence with possibility. It is possible that one of the creationist variations is true. The probability that a creationist variation is true is lower than the possibility the Moon is made from cheese. Possibility is not congruent to probability, but many seem to miss the subtle difference.
There is more "evidence" that life began here on Earth via a spilled test tube from an alien kid on a field trip from the Vega Cluster School for Gifted Narns, than there is for any creationist myth, including "Intelligent Design". Intelligent Design is not a science concept, it is a philosophical concept. In fact Intelligent Design is nothing but a combination of the Teleological and Cosmological arguments for the existence of "god" found in most any basic philosophy textbook. Trying to pass this off as science is totally transparent. Any educated knows that the process of evolution is a fact, not a theory. The theory is in the details of that process, and to the “origin” of life. Most creationists do not see a difference in my explanation, but that goes with the use of flawed science. Creationists start with the assumption that a “god” exists and that the Christian Bible is infallible. Everything they come up with then cannot contradict those "facts."
The Enquirer's desire to "broaden the 'life origins' discussion in Ohio public schools" would logically be followed by the desire to broaden the discussions of the "theory" that the Earth revolves around the Sun, or the "theory" that "germs" cause disease thus making bloodletting unwarranted. Next the Enquirer will be lobbying for the Flat Earth Society along with the creationists. If they cannot see were this will lead they are not looking. Science is open to new ideas; it is not open to bad ideas that have been rejected. Holding on to your religious conviction is your right, but it is not your right to try and get every school kid exposed to them.
The effort to promote creationism is nothing more than a desire to protect and infuse a religion. This is not about open discussions. If you want an open discussion in schools, why not start with being open about sex, or the reality about drugs. The Enquirer instead just wants equal time for their religious beliefs. They want to protect their children from reality, instead of allowing them to learn about fact. The Enquirer is advocating the teaching of lies, magic and the supernatural as a regular part of science. Why not include witchcraft? That has as much place in science as their religion.
If the state school board votes to put any type of creationist dogma and propaganda, including intelligent design, into Ohio public schools the State will be the laughing stock of the nation. We will join the backward states, as the Enquirer jokes about, which have toyed with this nonsense before. This issue was settled long ago, but conservatives do not want to let go of their emotional crutch. The bible is not infallible. Religion is not science, it is not relevant to science, and it should not be part of the public school curriculum.
Is this the reason why the Enquirer does not publish its editorial page on the web? I think Peter Bronson’s legacy has left its mark on the editorial board, and that is the mark of Cain!!!!! Well, in reality, it is the mark of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity. The Enquirer editorial board is off their collective rocker. There is no credible evidence for any creationist theory yet put forth. Now, they did not use the qualifying term "credible", which I did, and that is where their argument fails. They confuse evidence with possibility. It is possible that one of the creationist variations is true. The probability that a creationist variation is true is lower than the possibility the Moon is made from cheese. Possibility is not congruent to probability, but many seem to miss the subtle difference.
There is more "evidence" that life began here on Earth via a spilled test tube from an alien kid on a field trip from the Vega Cluster School for Gifted Narns, than there is for any creationist myth, including "Intelligent Design". Intelligent Design is not a science concept, it is a philosophical concept. In fact Intelligent Design is nothing but a combination of the Teleological and Cosmological arguments for the existence of "god" found in most any basic philosophy textbook. Trying to pass this off as science is totally transparent. Any educated knows that the process of evolution is a fact, not a theory. The theory is in the details of that process, and to the “origin” of life. Most creationists do not see a difference in my explanation, but that goes with the use of flawed science. Creationists start with the assumption that a “god” exists and that the Christian Bible is infallible. Everything they come up with then cannot contradict those "facts."
The Enquirer's desire to "broaden the 'life origins' discussion in Ohio public schools" would logically be followed by the desire to broaden the discussions of the "theory" that the Earth revolves around the Sun, or the "theory" that "germs" cause disease thus making bloodletting unwarranted. Next the Enquirer will be lobbying for the Flat Earth Society along with the creationists. If they cannot see were this will lead they are not looking. Science is open to new ideas; it is not open to bad ideas that have been rejected. Holding on to your religious conviction is your right, but it is not your right to try and get every school kid exposed to them.
The effort to promote creationism is nothing more than a desire to protect and infuse a religion. This is not about open discussions. If you want an open discussion in schools, why not start with being open about sex, or the reality about drugs. The Enquirer instead just wants equal time for their religious beliefs. They want to protect their children from reality, instead of allowing them to learn about fact. The Enquirer is advocating the teaching of lies, magic and the supernatural as a regular part of science. Why not include witchcraft? That has as much place in science as their religion.
If the state school board votes to put any type of creationist dogma and propaganda, including intelligent design, into Ohio public schools the State will be the laughing stock of the nation. We will join the backward states, as the Enquirer jokes about, which have toyed with this nonsense before. This issue was settled long ago, but conservatives do not want to let go of their emotional crutch. The bible is not infallible. Religion is not science, it is not relevant to science, and it should not be part of the public school curriculum.
Grand jury indicts officer Twitty
I will follow-up with more tonight, but I will watch for what fallout occurs during the day.
I will follow-up with more tonight, but I will watch for what fallout occurs during the day.
Monday, September 02, 2002
No Kurt Vonnegut??? Chris at Queen City Soapbox has his list of favorite books posted. I have not heard of half of the books. I need to read more.
Eight people injured in two shootings
Is this a record for Cincinnati in a 24-hour period? Not one of these incidents was related to Riverfest. I think the enquirer should set up a crime page, keeping a running log of the violent crimes in the city or in the region. This would be good for two reasons. It would be a good crime statistic to use, and it would be good to compare to the police’s crime statistics to see who missed something or who is hold back reporting/recording them.
Is this a record for Cincinnati in a 24-hour period? Not one of these incidents was related to Riverfest. I think the enquirer should set up a crime page, keeping a running log of the violent crimes in the city or in the region. This would be good for two reasons. It would be a good crime statistic to use, and it would be good to compare to the police’s crime statistics to see who missed something or who is hold back reporting/recording them.
Group takes on 'uncool' Cincy
I am under 40, and I have no problem with the "things to do" in this city. We do lack communication. We have no good web communities or websites to build upon, mine excluded of course. We need cyber cafés, and places not geared toward the suburbanite with 2.2 kids. We don't have little local media to report on much of anything. The local media are built for families and old people. If you are under 40 not married, and have no kids, you are as good as dead to the local media outlets. The city is way to family focused, and when I say family, I mean the bland Leave it to Beaver family that suck the life blood out of any intellectual idea, because anything that a 3 year old kid can’t experience is considered to be a danger to the community. When the most influential media outlet is one geared towards 40 to 50 year old family men, you know you are going to have a beer can and quilt community. We have things to do in this city, and plenty of people to partake in them, but we are shielded from them, and we have no way to think beyond our own back yards.
I am under 40, and I have no problem with the "things to do" in this city. We do lack communication. We have no good web communities or websites to build upon, mine excluded of course. We need cyber cafés, and places not geared toward the suburbanite with 2.2 kids. We don't have little local media to report on much of anything. The local media are built for families and old people. If you are under 40 not married, and have no kids, you are as good as dead to the local media outlets. The city is way to family focused, and when I say family, I mean the bland Leave it to Beaver family that suck the life blood out of any intellectual idea, because anything that a 3 year old kid can’t experience is considered to be a danger to the community. When the most influential media outlet is one geared towards 40 to 50 year old family men, you know you are going to have a beer can and quilt community. We have things to do in this city, and plenty of people to partake in them, but we are shielded from them, and we have no way to think beyond our own back yards.
Riverfest red, white and boom
"During Riverfest, Cincinnati police reported about 15 arrests for minor incidents like alcohol violations,..."
I saw no fights, no one getting beat up, no bus drivers being attacked, and there were a hell of a lot more people there than the Black Family Reunion. There were also more unsupervised teenagers from far more neighborhoods all mingled together, yet no mob violence occurred. How is this possible? I saw bikers there, I saw skater punks, I saw jocks, and preppies. How could there not have been a mob of kids fighting? Don't kids just do that? Hmm??
The fireworks were really good. I saw them from the serpentine wall, right across from Newport. It was the prime viewing location. The highlights were the spinwheels on the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, and the series of beam fireworks that arced over the crowd. I do not think it could have been much better, except I was so close I could not hear the many radios around me over the fireworks themselves.
"During Riverfest, Cincinnati police reported about 15 arrests for minor incidents like alcohol violations,..."
I saw no fights, no one getting beat up, no bus drivers being attacked, and there were a hell of a lot more people there than the Black Family Reunion. There were also more unsupervised teenagers from far more neighborhoods all mingled together, yet no mob violence occurred. How is this possible? I saw bikers there, I saw skater punks, I saw jocks, and preppies. How could there not have been a mob of kids fighting? Don't kids just do that? Hmm??
The fireworks were really good. I saw them from the serpentine wall, right across from Newport. It was the prime viewing location. The highlights were the spinwheels on the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, and the series of beam fireworks that arced over the crowd. I do not think it could have been much better, except I was so close I could not hear the many radios around me over the fireworks themselves.
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