Local Blog Round-Up

Notes from Ground Level: Greg Mann comments on today's Maggie Downs column. I did make some resolutions. I will try to write better, maintain my weight (lose 10 more lbs. if possible), and actually finish the outline to my novel this year. I know I will not keep these fully, but I picked things that I am constantly working on, so any effort means “success” towards these resolutions.

Rantophilia: Michael covers the up coming new space exploration initiative. I really would love to send men to Mars and back to the Moon. The Problem here is that 1) Bush knows this plan is dead in congress. There is no money for it. 2) Bush will likely make a big hoopla over it and then try to get the private sector to do it, which no private group will take on. This kind of big project will only work with government backing. No corporation can make their short-term profits (something they can’t live without) from this kind of long-term investment. I really wish I could support Bush's plan, but I see it as an election year ruse that he knows will not get off the ground, literally.

Queen City Soapbox: Ethan Hahn brings up the new immigration policy. I see this as Bush pulling a Clinton, again. He is using Dick Morris's triangulation trick. Get the far right wing pissed, but gain some of the centrist voters because you appear to be moderate. I am not sure if it will work. This act might keep some of rabid rightists at home; enough to offset any gains Bush might get from Latinos and Centrists gained from adopting this new policy.

Tasers Work?

This story seems to provide anecdotal evidence that the new taser worked well. This story sounds like it was spoon fed to the reporter like a nice ripe piece of propaganda, but other than that.....

Council Race Relations

I have a simple question: if you hold a press conference about stopping "black-on-black" crime in this city, and only include the 4 black council members, and don't give details on your plan, then how can you complain about bad race relations on council when you are segregating yourself from the rest of council based on race. I don't get how this contradiction goes on?

From the Vice Mayor:

"You do not see (City Council) working together all the time. It depends on whose idea it is," Reece said.

"What I'm seeing is a bad precedent being set," she said.

News Flash Alicia!! You are not working with all of the council. You are the only forming a black voting block on council. You are the one race baiting here, not the 5 non-blacks on council.

It seems to be that Cole and Malone might be drawn into this not so forcefully. Reece and Smitherman are the ones getting the press, or rather pushing their faces and words into the press, so they feel they need to form a power block and segregate themselves. I hope Cole does not play their game. I doubt Malone will play that game. He can't win with the GOP and that would really piss them off.

Louisville Mini-Riot

After a fatal shooting of a black man in Louisville protestors rioted and broke windows of Louisville Chief Robert White's office. I wonder if any Cincinnati boycotters/rioters joined the fray? The protest had a reported 400 people, but reports indicate that 60 had to be forced out of the area after the permitted protest time.

It is 'nice' to see that Damon Lynch's counter part, Rev. Louis Coleman of the Justice Resource Center, did little to condemn or stop the rioters:

"I admire their willingness to stand up," Coleman said, adding that he encouraged the youth to express their anger in a different way.

"The young people got us to the table tonight," Coleman said, referring to the meeting with White.

So rioting got Rev. Coleman to the table. Great thing to teach the young people: be violent and they will notice. Great plan Rev. Coleman, I am sure that will go along way to help reduce tensions. Nothing can calm racial tensions like a good riot. (cough, cough) (Nate, Make sure you copy this part of the post too... I want to make sure people know that I don't steal them from my own site and post them on yours)

Other coverage: Enquirer, WLKY, ABC-AP.

CityBeat Subpoena

Do we have a new King of Grandstanding at City Hall? Is Chris "Big Boss Man" Smitherman out of the gate with too much oomph? If the DOJ will not Subpoena Bob Novak on the Plume affair, then what good will it do to try and Leslie Blade to reveal her sources? Since Christopher is the "Boss" of the police, why doesn’t he just call in the police chief and get him to investigate his own department? Better, yet, call the FBI. The FBI will not bother being "friendly" with Chief Streicher.

I think Councilman Smitherman might be watching to Much C-SPAN. The C-SPAN bus was in town yesterday, but that does not mean they are going to broadcast the council meeting. I am not sure if Chris can really compete with the Queen of Grandstanding, Vice Mayor Alicia Reece, but if he keeps this up he might come close. He might win be default if the Queen advocates for higher office.

Pete Rose Held to Higher Standards Than Bush

Pete Rose is being crucified by many for lying about betting on baseball. Bush and his administration misled the US public and world (lied to us) on WMD in Iraq, but it seems the Bush Faithful (think Wildman Walker and the Rail Gang's view on Pete) will let the ends justify the means. The "ends" are not really clear, but I don't they care.

Eric Alterman made this comparison first and did so quite well:

If only Pete Rose had claimed he bet on baseball games and then lied about it because he suspected other teams of harboring ties to Al Qaida and building weapons of mass destruction, then the Washington Post editors would have called him a patriot and supported him down the line, even without that lame apology.

We don't even get an apology from Bush Inc. We get no acknowledgment that they were at least wrong. CNN has a story indicating that the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has issued a report that provides evidence that Iraq has not had WMD since at least the mid 1990's, and has not a WMD program beyond one on paper for just as long.

Bush supporters are going to overlook this. There was no threat from Iraq on the USA, but that does not matter. Operation Inigo Montoya will go on without consequence. How many more wars will the USA fight under a second Bush term that will be based on lies? I fear Bush supporters don't care. They are either blinded by their "savior," or they have bought into the new "red herring" in American culture: "terrorism." Communism was the propaganda tool for 75 years in American politics, but now that it has failed, something had to take its place. Fear of Islamic terrorists is driving otherwise logical people into Bush's camp of perpetual war. I don't see a cure for this brand of emotionally based political discourse. Fear is powerful, and not much can take away fear when terror alerts pop in and hatred of Islam is allowed to fester as a form of "fighting terrorism."

Race Relations On Council: Bad or Just a Means to an End?

Ok, there are various ways to spin this, but I will take a cynical view, of course. Alicia Reece is full of shit. Tuesday's debate covered in the Post during the Council Subcommittee meeting showed that playing the race card is still an old hat for some political climbers:

Some Council members were angered about the tenor of Tuesday's debate on the proposal, alleging Reece unnecessarily injected race into the political debate over its merits.

The decision, Reece had said, would be an indicator about whether Council supports Cincinnati's black community.

"It's wrong and it's unjust," Crowley said. "If in fact she persists in that stance, I think it's grossly unfair. I would hope she would tone that down."

Now, if David Crowley, the most pro-black non-black person on council, has to say that, then something is wrong. Some might even say David Crowley is the most pro-black person on council, period.

Reece's plan seems like classic grandstanding. Let's give money to some groups who claim to want to do something to stop the black on black crime. Whether or not these groups have any proven track record is beyond the point.

Reece says the "Administration" can approve who gets their share of the $100,000 to start a program. I wonder how much pressure and influence members of council will put on the individuals in the Administration to accept the proposals of people that support that councilmember. Did Reece think this kind of plan work well with LaShawn Pettus-Brown?

What I found interesting was the debate of the details of the Reece Plan. The 5 non-black council members want some details, any details would be a start. I would guess the 3 black non-Alicia members of council would also like details on this plan. Reece seemed to care more about leaping before she looked:

"We have to go where the kids are," Reece said. "This is designed to get something on the streets and get it going quickly."

What is "this" and what is the "design" of it? How Alicia Reece (or her father) thinks she has the skills to move on to higher office is a mystery. Looks are not good for as many votes as one might think. Grandstanding is the only arrow in her quiver. The more she uses it, the duller its tip gets.