Another Blind Fool

From a letter to the editor of the Enquirer today:

Syndicated columnist Tom Teepen ["Conservatives new playground bully," Nov. 7] and other liberal columnists are going quite mad over the way CBS dropped the highly slanted The Reagan movie when the network got caught bending the truth. What if I were to make a documentary on Margaret Sanger or Martin Luther King, Jr., and include a few dozen quotes that they never said?

I have to ask my neighbor Andrew Bartmess of Mount Washington, did he watch the Jessica Lynch story? Did he watch the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!? Did he see Thirteen Days? Does Mr. Bartmess believe those movies included a few dozen quotes never said by Jessica Lynch, Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, or JFK? The Reagan movie was not a documentary. Drama always makes stuff up. I also wonder were Mr. Bartmess learned there were "a few dozen quotes" Reagan never said in the movie. There has been a complaint over one quote about Reagan's views on gays and AIDS. There is not proof that I have seen that Reagan comments were totally made up. Now, it is likely that since a large part of the movie is about the person conversation of Nancy and Ron, it is likely those comments were made up. The funny thing is, it is a movie. Movies are dramatic representations of a writer's story. I hope the Reagan flock will get over this, or better yet, start getting pissed whenever someone on talk radio repeats lies about Clinton, Carter, or JFK over and over again.

Missing Question from Debate

In the Conceal-Carry debate I have still not heard my question asked: What about the rights of property owners? Does the right of a gun owner to carry his gun supersede that of the property owner's to keep guns off their property? Who has the burden of checking the guns at the door or keeping them out? If I own a string of food chains don't I have the right to keep guns out of my establishments? Why does the burden fall on me to keep the guns out? Do I have to install metal detectors to achieve this or does the right of a gun owner out weigh mine as the owner of a restaurant?

I myself do not want any conceal-carry law. If you want to intimidate people, strap it on your leg like John Wayne would. If you feel the need to carry a gun, I do not want to be near year, so why not let me know you are a marked man by wearing your gun out in the open. This fits in much better with the old west mentality that I think is at work here. A concealed weapon was a scoundrel's means of getting an edge. Why do the "righteous" gun nuts want to walk around with secret under their coat?

Dumbing Down American Youth

Allegations have been made that one of the questions at last week's "Rock the Vote" debate on CNN was planted by someone at CNN. The question was about which type of computer the candidates prefer, PC or MAC. This story has many irrational elements to it, for instance, if they person had a different question to say, why did they use the one they were asked to use? Why not say screw CNN and ask her own question? Was the person so eager to be on TV that they were willing to say what ever CNN wanted?

The alleged reasons for this question to be used was her other question was not "lighthearted." If this is true I see a small trend in the media growing: editors think people under 35 are shallow and stupid. What else could explain the introduction of CinWeekly?

[Link via Atrios]

Let's Cin Again, Like We Did Last Week

Last Week CityBeat took a turn bashing CinWeekly. Greg Flannery hit them hard in his Porkopolis column. Greg points out what they are in a concise manner when saying what CityBeat was not:

Otherwise, Cin Weekly was nothing like CityBeat, which doesn't publish rehashed Enquirer "news" items, syndicated food stories and recipes, advice on avoiding annoying co-workers, cornhole features, Associated Press movie and DVD stories and "family friendly" calendar listings.

The best jibe was their page 14-15 story entitled "Good, Clean Election Fun" (story not online), a play on Cin's tag line "Good Clean Fun." The montage of pictures from election day that remind one of the Cinscene photos from CinWeekly. The difference between the two photo spreads, you ask? One is of a NEWS event; the other is not in anyway a news event. Except if you think Backstreet Boy Nick Carter being at Club Clau is news. If you think that is news, then I hope you don't breed.

Cincinnati Independent Media Exposition 2003

If you have any interest in how the indie media works or starting your own media outlet then you need to go the IME 2003 on November 14th and 15th.

The second annual Independent Media Exposition will be held at Media Bridges in downtown Cincinnati during the second week of November. The Expo brings the public and mass media together under the same roof to increase media literacy, encourage citizen participation in media and promote the diverse, unique media landscape in Cincinnati and beyond. The Expo features a 16 different sessions over two days, covering DIY Publishing, Web zines, Net Radio, Minority Voices in the media, the Radical Media and a whole lot more.

Everyone is welcome!

There is a full Schedule of Events and directions to the event.

Saving Jessica Lynch

Ok, I watched it. I normally steer clear of all made for TV movies, but I was a sucker for the hype. I also caught 60 Minutes earlier tonight which had an interview with Pfc. Patrick Miller who was part of the 507th Maintenance Company. According to the story from 60 Minutes Miller was the hero of the day, saving Lynch's and several other's lives through his actions. The movie did not reflect his statements on what happened when they were captured. His story sounds much more dramatic and heroic than was portrayed in the movie. I wonder where the outrage is with this TV movie's failure to depict "reality." If it is good for the "Gipper" isn't it good for a real war hero?

Blackwell is Annoying Me

I am going nuts with the intrusive advertisement from Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell on the Websites for the Enquirer and the Post. The ad is for Blackwell's politcal movement to repeal the recent Ohio Sales Tax increase.

Here are some simple facts people should keep in mind when viewing this.

1. Ken Blackwell is a Republican.
2. The Republican's control the entire Ohio State Government, both houses of the Assembly and the Governorship.
3. The Republican controlled Assembly and the Republican Governor controlled the process to raise the sales tax.
4. Ken Blackwell is positioning himself to run for Governor in few years. He will face GOP competition for the nomination so he is getting his name out there early, without declaring for office.

The advertisement is so annoying because it plays an audio and video message whenever you load up a section page from either newspaper site. I don't fault ads, the paper needs them, but I really don't like having to hear it every time I load their site. I would prefer the ad to not run automatically.