Paging Mr. Allen

I hope Mike Allen saw the news that Fahrenheit 9/11 did well here locally, despite being limited on the number of theater's showing it. He thought it would not do so well, when quoted in the paper last week.

I was disappointed in this article, however. This part has the strong odor of bias:

Some moviegoers who agreed with the message had a problem with the film's delivery.

"I know what Moore's about, so it wasn't surprising that it was pretty manipulative," said Adnan Mir, 25, whose family drove from Akron to see it with him. "It's more sensationalist fodder for arguments against the war."

Some? I would bet this was the only guy who had such a point, and if the reporter had more, he should have listed them or at least chose them more wisely. He had to get the quote with "Manipulative" in there, didn't he? WHY? I did not find it manipulative and any criticism I have for the film would be the deliver in artistic terms, not political terms. It felt like two movies and the transition had issues, but that was not an element of "manipulation," but likely more of what views could have seen as problems with the delivery.

I wonder who edited this story. I wonder who is getting their vote.

Oh, Canada

The Hegemo has a full summary and analysis of tomorrow's Canadian Federal election. Sarah reports that for the first time in 10 years it will be close, with multiple parties splitting the vote, and forcing odd coalitions to be formed.

I shall be watching on C-SPAN and Newsworld International.

Main Street Disturbance

CincyNation.com reported the following:

Over 20 police cars were called in to quell a disturbance last night in the Main Street Entertainment District. The trouble began when a nightclub was pressured not to open for an after-hours hip hop event, which left upset patrons with nothing to do but hang out around 12th and Main Street. The crowd eventually became unruly and police had to break it up.

No sources or the name of which nightclub did not hold the after-hours event were indicated. I will assume this story is based on limited information and that CincyNation is holding back the name of the establishment or those who "pressured" it to not hold the after-hours event, because of libel.

I have to wonder though, how can a bar stay open for an after-hours event and expect to keep its liquor license? Were there any arrests? Was there any damage to the club or surrounding areas? Were there any other witnesses to the incident? I will surmise that it took place on or around 2 AM. I hope to read about this in the papers tomorrow, but I will not hold my breath.

The Battle For NKY

A media struggle for Northern Kentucky news readers seems to be taking shape. Dennis Hetzel has been named General Manager of the Kentucky Enquirer. This comes on the heels of the announcement of a new weekly NKY newspaper. Along with the vibrant Kentucky Post things should be fun to watch.

Hetzel was quoted as saying he wanted to "make their online presence stronger." I hope that starts out by registering a domain name unique to the Kentucky edition.

This leaves me thinking though, who is going to keep on reporting news for the City of Cincinnati? We have CityBeat, but their news coverage is limited to three or four stories a week. Each suburban area has its own community paper. The Enquirer and the Post just don't give much of a damn about the actual day-to-day life inside the city. How much longer before we don't get any coverage of City Council? Is there room for a City of Cincinnati community newspaper?

A Religious Based Business?

A story on a coffeehouse started by religious people and its billed as a "Christian Cafe?" The reality and the journalism seem to me to be amiss or if not, then I am quite put off. If a couple has a business and their clients are built around their church and/or friends who share their religious beliefs, then I have no problem. If their business is billing itself and infusing religious dogma into the operation of a coffeehouse, then I for one will not be going there.

Why would I stay away? Well, when you base a business on difference, then I want no part of it. By differences I don't mean niches that cater to a particular market, like a Christian Book Store. There they sell Christian Books. That is fine. That is no different than having a market niche for Children’s books or Comic Books, or Rare Books. If a dry cleaner tried to say they were a Christian Dry Cleaner, then I would find that offensive, especially if I was a Christian.

In the case of this couple's coffeehouse, I do not feel they are trying to bill themselves as owning a "Christian Cafe." The article does not support that directly, as the title implies. There are a few comments that seemed odd and out of place like:

Poet Charlette Perry stopped in at Reality four years ago to get a doughnut and coffee. She's been coming back ever since to do poetry readings on open mike night and to enjoy the wholesome atmosphere.

Wholesome atmosphere? Is Starbucks really corrupting the morals of children when they play Jazz? This along with the title seem to be a shaping of the story that does not fit with the reality of the situation. I don’t think this a business that is trying to attract Christians just because they claim to be Christians. If I am wrong, please let me know.

The other odd part about this story was that it was in the business section of the paper. What is odd is that the cafe was created and is maintained in part much like a collective organization, where patrons give to it to keep it going. That smells of communism and any "good Christian" of the "appropriate" sects knows that communism, as an economic structure, is just plain "evil."

Taft on Toast

What is Bob Taft going to do after his term as Governor ends in early 2007 and he can't run again because of term limits? In most cases one would think he would try for the US Senate, but since Mike DeWine is not term limited, I don't see that happening. They are fairly close in political persuasion as mainline conservatives, leaning a bit moderate, so Taft really would have a hard time challenging him. Today's Enquirer has two editorials on Taft, one by the Enquirer and one by Taft himself, plus a whole section of letters to the editor about Taft which all paint him with a big negative sign. Now, I would have liked to hear something positive on Taft and I am sure there is someone out there with that view, but Taft has achieved something that is very difficult, making many in his own party dislike him more than the Democrats do.

The mood that one feels on the political street suggests rather strongly that Taft would be lucky to be elected Garbage Commissioner. His political future appears dead, and the Ohio GOP is set for the bloodiest primary in memory to fill his seat. Jerry Springer is running for Governor for the Dems, in case you missed the writing on the wall. It is not official, but with JerryforOhio.com, you can bank on an attempt. Those add up to a fun 2006. At that point Taft will have to look at either a cabinet post in future GOP Administration, which I hope is long after he's hit retirement age, or just go into the private sector. It would appear to me that the Taft family dynasty is dead, or on its last rope.

WOW!! 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

Saw it this afternoon and yes it lives up to the hype. I found it powerful. The movie will hit your guts hard, no matter what your party affiliation. Anyone who thinks otherwise after seeing it is a cold-blooded son of a bitch. The theater in Newport was close to full, I would say about 4/5ths full of one of the larger theaters AMC has. It was also odd that a security guard was posted inside the theater during much, if not all, of the movie. I am not sure as to why: young faux anarchists or Hitler youths would be my guess.

I saw nothing that was really "fact-checkable," even though many have tried and failed.