CAIR: No Room to Judge
A letter to the editor of the Washington Post from a Rich Leonardi from here in Cincinnati. CAIR is a group that was upset with the play Paradise.

[Link via Atrios with comments]

SOMEBODY'S lobbyist is getting a big fat Raise.

Boycotters still seek broad demands
Luken thinks these demands will cost in total about 5 billion dollars, not just the 1.6 billion amount named. I wish I understood the law more, because this sounds like a case of extortion that could fall into the realm of the RCIO statues. I also question this bit of alleged history put forth by the reporter:

In fact, council members were elected using proportional representation until voters changed the city's charter in 1957 in a bid to block Theodore Berry from becoming the Queen City's first black mayor. The change prevented Berry's ascendancy for 15 years, officials said.

The fact may only be the change of the charter in 1957. The bid to block Theodore Berry is an opinion that I don’t think was established as a fact in the article, and I would guess is something only considered a fact in some people’s opinion. It might be true. I was not alive then and am still a relative new comer to this city, at 13 years in the greater Cincinnati area, so my knowledge of that kind of local history is very limited. I am skeptical that what the writer claimed as “fact” can be documented or supported. I think the reporter should have qualified that part to either support it as fact with some reference to evidence, or treat it is a generally accepted opinion in certain or some quarters, as opposed to a clear fact.

Welcome to 700WLW Listeners
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Rob Bernard provides us with this humorous post:

JUST A REMINDER

We didn't go into Iraq because they had WMDs, we went in because they MIGHT have WMDs.

The sad part about this is, he is being serious. I think Rob is suffering from the first known case of revisionism. There was no "might" about WMD from either the administration or its supporters. Bush, Inc. unmistakably stated that they had clear evidence Iraq has WMD. I hope we did not go to war based on speculation.

BRONSON: War proves religious leaders need more faith in America
Well, with an opening line only Henny Youngman would love, Peter has proceeded to paint the war into a simple case of "good vs. evil." As usual, Bronson sees life as a yes or no question, also called linear thinking. I guess religion is as simple to him. Either you are a good evangelical Christian (read fundamentalist/“born again”) or are a heathen. I guess Peter would not think twice about pulling the trigger against an Iraqi civilian car driving towards him on a Baghdad road. “Moral clarity” is as clear as sewer water. Trying to declare it is the mission of a crusader in search of a retroactive rationale.

This war was not some simple choice. I don’t even think George Bush thought this was simple, and that is saying something. I guess Peter thinks that it is easy to be a good little conformist, just follow the lemming in front of you. It does not surprise me at all that religious people, who talk about peace to actually try and preach it, even in a time of war.

I wonder why Peter sees this issue as simple good vs. evil when in March 1999 he said the following about the Kosovo War:

The Balkans war is much more complex than that, of course. Even the scholars on our Forum Page today hardly scratch the surface of the political, ideological, historical and religious conflicts in the region.

But Americans don't have time for complex. Complex is too . . . complicated. Americans want simple. Fast. No more than five words. No more than one syll-ab-le.

So choosing sides in Yugoslavia is difficult, while in Iraq it is simple. I wonder why this is the case. Bosians-Kosovars are Muslims; Serbians are Christians, a tough choice even if the Serbs are painted as the “bad guys?” The Iraqis are Muslim and painted as the bad guys. Easy choice there for Peter, but he is shocked that his fellow Christians didn’t make the same knee-jerk choice. Round up the Usual Suspects Mr. Bronson, I guess you will have to blame us “liberals” for corrupting your beloved Christian Brethren with a bit of humanity and religious tolerance. I am surprised he did not find a way to blame Bill Clinton for this, but I am sure he could have found a way to make such a claim. Red herrings have a way of being universally utilized.

Number 24 and counting. Oh the bloody times in which we live.