Xavier Manipulating Donors?

Did Xavier manipulate donors when they held a pledge drive knowing they were close to deal to sell the radio station? I think they did and especially with the likelihood that WGUC will destroy much if not all of the local programming on WVXU, it is disgusting that an education institution would do something as unethical as that, which trying to instill ethics on young adults.

What was missing from the story was reaction from WGUC. They have been very quiet about this and all we hear is that they are seeking WVXU listener opinions on their website. Let them know your opinion and I advise you to pressure them to keep local programming on the air. Keep the old radio on the air. Keep the BBC on the air. Keep local news on the air. Don't just make it into NPR 24 hours a day network feed, that I am sure would be cheaper to operate, but would contribute to the destruction of the American Culture so many are crying about dying out.


Full Disclosure: Yes, that is a WCPO banner ad at the top of my front page. They are a paid sponsor. Does that mean I have sold out? I thought when I had the Google ads I might have done that already, so save your anti-commercial rant for someone without a bachelor's degree in Finance. Does this mean I was paid to place this post on their news story, most certainly NOT. The topic is one I cover regularly and as a WVXU listener I am very interested in. There, you can't call me Armstrong Williams now.

Wes Flinn, NKU Today, Filmore East Tomorrow

Pretty soon NKU professor and now Concert promoter (and blogger) Wes Flinn will be pulling in act like the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple. Just no Foghat, Wes, if you please.

CFS in Trouble

Bad times for the Cincinnati Film Society. The big question is who was the donor who failed to pay up? Why did they not pay up? Is the CFS's mission what it should be? I am not a member and have never seen any of the films they put out. Looking at the current schedule it looks as though maybe they went with too many foreign films. If they planned on an audience they should have maybe gone for the Film School items or other similar English based films. People really are against subtitles. Now, if in stead you mission was to promote film making, you could use the group to show local aspiring film makers, which they may or may not have done.

Getting out from under the over $125K debt will take an act of Hollywood.

Shorter George Bush

When discussing Social Security Bush's point can be focused down to, "I, George W. Bush, and you the American people will pull a rabbit from this hat. I know what I want to happen, and at some point in time in the future we are going to do it, but I am not telling you how this will happen. I can't release the details because I don't have them yet. Putting the cart before the horse is the way you make a sale, and sales is what makes America Great. In conclusion: Don't mess with Texas. I will now take your questions, but make sure you leave me enough time to enjoy Donald firing people."

'Talking F-Word Blues'

Maggie Downs reflects on the word ‘Feminist’ after that being a common thread in emails she got in response to a column.

Bronson Steps Back, a Bit

I will give Bronson credit for appearing a little bit humble by airing UAW beefs with his column from Sunday. He did this part because he got some of the health benefit specifics wrong about who got what for health benefits. In the prior column he wrote:

According to industry reports, the United Auto Workers contract costs GM $2,500 for each car sold. Toyota spends $2,000 less per car - and it shows in cars that don't look as cheap.

And $1,600 of that union cost is health care for UAW members and their families. They pay just $5 for an eye exam, and $7.50 for glasses or contacts. Until this year, many UAW members had never even heard of co-pays and deductibles.

Chrysler spends $2 billion on health care. Ford spends $3 billion. GM spends $5.6 billion for 1.1 million workers, retirees and dependents.

His mea culpa, or what amounted to one was:

Others wanted to know where to find those $5 eye exams and $7.50 glasses for UAW members. "Maybe you need a pair," they said.

I'm hereby announcing a recall of that line, to install a missing part: "Those benefits are for Chrysler workers."

Didn't Sports reporter Mitch Albom get suspended by his newspaper for making a mistake like this one? I guess Peter's punishment is having to write this second column, which I will say is fair for the level of failure. Peter must have the same research assistant as Al Roker.

Moving the Primary

I am in favor of moving all presidential primaries to later in the year, like say April through June. I am not sure what good it would do to move Ohio's primary alone, without the rest of the country following suit. Iowa and New Hampshire are quaint traditions, but they harm the process. A shorter window would open up the primary to more candidates and give a chance for real debate inside the party on the issues. The fear of have variable opinions inside the parties, really hurt politics and governance. I am not talking abortion here. I am talking about the real issues, like trade, foreign policy, Social Security, and health care. If the parties hashed it out on the floor of the conventions over issues, then people on the street might actually pay attention. I hate to use TV as an example, but the West Wing's season finale covered a brokered convention that looked like a mess, but Conventional Wisdom was wrong, people watched the floor fights. The paid attention in part for the excitement, but politics is exciting. It was sport, but it was a battle of ideas, not an insignificant game. Let’s for once learn from past (and TV) and try and make the primary race and conventions matter, not just a coronation.