Newcomer wants slice of the pie
Bruno's is only good when it is fresh and it needs no toppings, cheese is plenty. The amount of grease on it will give you a heart attack on the spot, but it is worth it. Many of my freshman nights end with a delivered Bruno's, a game of euchre or hearts, and a big grease stain on the floor.

Protest at CityBeat
Kabaka Oba and his merry band of bigots were out in "force" this hour out in front of the City Beat offices. I counted about 6 or 7 protestors, 3 or 4 people who I would guess are City Beat staff, and at least one white guy yelling back at Kabaka about "Jesus" or some other such nonsense. I think Oba was blathering on about the CIA, FBI, or KKK or some other useless propaganda. One man, who was with the protest I think, had a camera and was looking at me after I had passed the crowd and watched for a minute from across the street. I hope he does not think I was a CIA agent checking out the "mighty" Black Fist. I might have given off the narc vibes, so I can see why I would stick out. I don't know if Greg Flannery was outside or not, but he did mention this protest in his latest column, which is not online yet, but should be today. If you were there Greg, I was the white guy in the green coat with glasses who walked by smiling at this free speech car wreck. If I was a totally synical guy I would call this a PR stunt for City Beat and the Black Fist, much like the plot of the 1987 classic movie Dragnet where BAIT magazine used an anti-porn cursading preacher to gin up circulation by launing a campaign against the magazine. I honestly don't think that is true, but it sure looks like it on the surface.

All in All I give my 20 second observation of the protest a 4 out of 5 stars rating. The rebuttal protestor was the apex of the event and it would have been nothing above a trite abortion clinic stye protest without him. If there is video, I would love to see a copy. Who knew that watching a small group of racists/bigots protesting could be so entertaining.

Black coalition: Time to put an end to killing
It is time now to put an end to killing? What was wrong with last year? Why now? Are these groups embarrassed by the number of blacks killed by blacks in this city? It appears that they are, and can no longer blame it on others. When a vast majority of those who are either under arrest or suspected for murders in Cincinnati are black, can everyone see that there is a disconnect? There is a problem. I commend this group for seeing a problem exists, but I think it is late in coming. If you have to make this kind of statement you know you have issues:

The moratorium calls for an end to turf and gang warfare, elimination of illegal drugs, drug trafficking and street crimes. Also, "the return of black pride and black love."

I have a problem with some members of the coalition, yet another coalition, but it is not reported to include the Black Fist nor the CJC. They may support the effort, but some in this new coalition are not on the best of terms with the CJC leaders or the Black Fist. Whenever you have the Nation of Islam involved however, concern is still warranted. Including “black pride” is something I find offensive. It to me sounds no different than someone considering “white pride” offensive, which I find insulting as well. I wonder if the Nation of Islam or other groups with similar bigoted/racist beliefs influenced this terminology.

On a different note: I have learned that tomorrow the Black Fist’s protest of City Beat is set to go off at Noon. They appear to be upset with City Beat’s correct characterization of the Black Fist’s anti-Jewish protest last month as bigoted. When you carry around signs like this, what you expect? If I have time, I may drop by and observe the show.

A look back at a wild and woolly 2002
The Post adds a full year in review to yesterday’s racial tension summary. The Post included Erpenbeck in its review, while the Enquirer did not. Both newspapers covered that story like a pimple faced girl collecting Backstreet Boys posters. I look for the Erpenbeck trial/plea to be just as over covered. Beyond those who got screwed by Erpenbeck, does anyone else care about the story? It is news, but how many weeks did they go with an Erpenbeck front-page story? I could have taken a little CCV propaganda or another white guilty story, just to break up the monotony. Where's a good OJ story when you need one?

King breakfast violates boycott, son says
Is King III serious? Does he expect the Mayor of a city to contribute to the boycott of his city? That is galling. That is ludicrous. That sounds typical for someone whoring for local credibility.

Year 2002 in Review
City Beat had several stories on the year in review on news stories and issues for 2002.
Year of the Status Quo covering the elections
Police Deals covering police-community relations
People of the Year
Sports: More of the Same
Hearing Voices a summary of letters and editorials from throughout the year.

The Enquirer provided the top stories, people, happenings, and moments of 2002.
U.S., World Year in Review: Top stories that shaped our news
Local News Year in Review: Top stories that shaped our news
Sports Year in Review: Five People Who Stood Out

Business Year in Review: Top happenings that shaped our news
Tempo Year In Review: Five moments that mattered

The Cincinnati Post settled on just a summary story on racial tensions: "City made effort to heal its racial tensions in 2002."

City Beat is not Immune
Reports are that Kabaka Oba, the main spokesperson for the racist black separatist group the Black Fist, announced last week that his group would be protesting in front of the City Beat offices. It is not clear to me why they are protesting City Beat, but it may have to due with Kathy Wilson's comments in a prior column:

Suddenly we're bigots of the loud-mouthed variety. We make generalizations based on revisionist history to further our own agendas and to reclaim the sick-hot spotlight of "they done done me wrong."

Case in point: The Dec. 4 "rally" on Fountain Square by the Black Fist, an ad hoc group of protesters and hangers-on who demonstrated against the placement of a menorah. This year it was a menorah and not a cross in the ongoing holiday festivities I like to call "Who's on First, and Is It a Religious Symbol?"

I don't know if this will turn into much of anything, but it funny seeing the Black Fist bite the hand of the only print media outlet that take them seriously.