McMain Street 45202

When last we left our fearless Anti-Chinese bigot, he was back peddling like a Miata stuck in reverse. The Mayor had cut him loose and Elkington's wing man, John Cranley, had turned tail and run, seeking shelter behind his master’s gavel.

Elkington is back! He is determined to make his dream of cookie cutter if you build it they will come entertainment destinations in the Main Street district. We have plans for a Paulaner brewery and a Bootsy Collins nightclub in the works that were reported previously as types of places that could appear. We don't know where on Main Street such places could go. I don't know why this plan was not presented upfront, without the call for paying Elkington 100K. You might have thought that would have been simpler.

If Elkington can get his businesses to open, then I will visit them. I just do not want a dime of city money to go to someone with bigoted beliefs. I just wish the city would do that more often. The gave Damon Lynch money for picking up garbage and his bigotry is a matter of record.

Editor's Note: Nate you might want to stop copying here. If you happen to copy this part of my work people will know that you are taking my work without permission and without even adhering to the “fair use doctrine.” In case others are wondering what I am talking about, just read this site and see the many examples of Nate Livingston copying my posts (as well as other local bloggers) and pretending that I posted them to his message board. I have asked Nate to stop, but so far he has just increased his illegal use of my work. I don’t want to have to inform places like Media Bridges that he might be using their computers to break copyright laws. They may not like that.

UPDATE: Nate actually thinks he can pretend to be me and use the "N" word? I am surpised Nate has the time to rewrite so many posts on his website. Defamation of character is a dangerous thing to play with. I guess Boycott B likes to play.

Lynch Admits Obvious

In a profile from the Post, Damon Lynch admits what I consider to be the obvious, he will not be representing the entire city on council:

"Nobody is leaving our city because we don't have a vibrant downtown," Lynch said. "They're leaving because we have dying neighborhoods and underperforming schools -- . So, I don't say I want to represent everybody. I will benefit everybody, but I will represent the pockets of poverty no one wants to talk about."

Now the “progressives” will say Good! The poor needs someone to champion their cause. I have no problem with council members wanting to help out the disadvantaged in the city. The problem here is that Lynch admits that he does not give a damn about anyone who is not black or not "poor," although I think poor whites will not be high on his list of people to help. I think he see the "majority" community (read white which is ill defined) as the problem. Lynch is walking a bizarre populist road. He is very socially conservative personally, but he adopts the rhetoric of a far leftist. He is playing racial politics with a muted militancy subtly lined in his grassroots organization.

I would guess by now it is rather obvious that I am not voting for Lynch. I really am disappointed in the big media's fear of aggressively asking him questions for the record, or at least printing/airing those questions and responses. Lynch has grassroots power in the black community. The local media is regularly dogged in the black community and considered "racist" by people who I would expect know better (Yes, I mean Jay Love). I don't believe the most of the local media will come out swinging against Damon Lynch out of fear of being labeled racist. If he gets on council they might try to dip their feet in with a little criticism, since the office gives a little political cover for criticism.

We need a fearless press, but we instead have a gutless one. The newspapers are going to be getting even more gutless as they abandon city hard news coverage for human interests in the burbs. Gotta love big media. (Cough, Cough)

Kettle, Pot, and Bill O'Reilly is a Wuss

The conservative bloggers are all up in arms at the "harsh" interview of FOX News Personality Bill O'Reilly by NPR's Terry Gross. The NPR ombudsman even sided with O'Reilly that Gross's interview of him on October 9th was not a shinning journalist moment:

By the time the interview was about halfway through, it felt as though Terry Gross was indeed "carrying Al Franken's water," as some listeners say. It was not about O'Reilly's ideas, or his attitudes or even about his book. It was about O'Reilly as political media phenomenon. That's a legitimate subject for discussion, but in this case, it was an interview that was, in the end, unfair to O'Reilly.

So basically what is the chief complaint of the ombudsman? Gross pulled on O'Reilly. He faulted her for doing to him what O'Reilly does to most of his guests on his FOX News program.

Gross says this about the flap:

"How thin-skinned can this guy be?" asked Gross. "He's known as a tough interviewer. He's known for being very opinionated. I find it hard for me to imagine he was so mortally offended that his sensitivities could no longer stand to hear my questions."

O'Reilly's response is Denial (with a capital "D")

The thickness of his skin had nothing to do with O'Reilly's reaction. "I don't do interviews like that, I back up my stuff with facts," he said. "I don't carry anybody's water. I don't try to embarrass people on the air. I ask tough questions and people are held accountable for their answers. But we're fair."

Where does Bill get his "facts"? Answer: From someone else, his staff. Where did Gross get her facts? From someone else, Al Franken's book. Bill can't take the facts that show he lies.

O'Reilly is such a wuss. I sound like a schoolyard kid by saying that, but there is no other way to illustrate it. He acts like a little girl whenever anyone questions him. He is a textbook bully. He can't take what he dishes out. He really can't interview anyone unless he has a plan of attack all scripted out for him before hand. He is mean and nasty to people all the time on his program, yet he cannot take a little gruff from NPR? Bill, those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Of all people, he should know that. I guess we have a new poster boy in the media for those who don't practice what they preach.

New VigPol

VigPol is up!

This is Radio X!

Bam, the future is now, and 97X is kicking ass online!

Teenage Thugettes

It appears some of the Teenage Thugs on Short Vine have been arrested. These are the kids who where allegedly spouting racial insults at people for no apparent reason. The Enquirer actually reported in an editorial that the racial insults were anti-white. This fact was not listed in the original news story. I am in favor of hate crimes laws, where the motivation of the crime is taken into consideration in sentencing. What must happen is that these laws must be applied equally. Black on white hate is not excusable, no matter what some of the callers on WDBZ may say. What hasn't City Council members who voted for the hate crimes ordinance called for it to be invoked? Is the problem Mike Allen's office refusing to apply a law he disagrees with?

Reactionary Squeaky Wheels

Without even considering the future ramifications, the Florida House has voted to give Governor Jeb Bush the power to restore the feeding tube to a comatose woman. The Florida Senate is expected to follow with approval later on today. This woman has been comatose for 13 years, but her parents want to carry on, while the husband has gotten a court order to allow him to let her die. This is a sad case, but why are the Florida politicians jumping into this case without thinking about what they are doing? What is next? Will Jeb Bush have power to keep me on a respirator if I am brain-dead after a car wreck? Will Jeb Bush have power to prevent any abortion? Or prevent the use of contraceptives? They are reacting to the Anti-abortion lobby who have seized on this case and are making it into a battle by marching their jack booted foot soldiers headlong into it.

You know Jeb Bush is playing politics when you read this:

"This is a response to a tragic situation." Bush said. "People are responding to cries for help and I think it's legitimate."

Schiavo has been at the center of a court battle between her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and her husband, Michael Schiavo. The parents want Terri Schiavo to live, and her husband says she would rather die.

The Florida Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, and it also has been rejected for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, a Florida appeals court again refused to block removal of the tube.

If someone were to ask Jeb Bush for a law to prevent Johnny's lemonade stand from being driven out of business by the new Starbuck's juice bar, I guess Bush would be getting his oil can out to fix the squeaky wheel.