COAST Hates Public Libraries

COAST wants the Library Levy to Fail. Why? Based on COAST's plan they want the library to charge for use of its materials. So, not only does COAST hate government and want it fail, they also don't want poor people to gain knowledge. Under a COAST society there is no government, the wealthy retain all the power, and the poor just stay poor...or die. We did this during the Middle Ages and it failed. We did this during the 19th Century Industrial Robber Baron Era, and it failed. We tried to do this under Reagan, and thankfully it failed. Vote for Knowledge for all, vote for the Library Levy, Issue 7.

Roxanne Qualls Responds to Ruby

Jeff Ruby could have saved himself some embarrassment if instead of listening to one member of the FOP recite the incorrect talking points, he would have asked Council Member Roxanne Qualls. Jeff didn't do any research at all, therefore his ignorance is exposed with this point by point response to his letter in Sunday's Enquirer Sports Section.

Does He Need This Much Attention?

I understand that Chris Smitherman, President of the local NAACP, need attention. I understand that he will say and do a lot to get the press to write about him. Does anyone else think that camping out to vote just goes over the line?

Also, I hope Joe Deter is there to Check Smitherman's ID and then sends an investigator to validate Smitherman lives where he claims. We need to make sure he's not faking it. We had plenty of money last year to spend from the county budget, so I am sure we can afford it this year. (Cough, Cough)

Ignorant and Careless Action By Ruby

Jane Prendergast has the follow-up on Jeff Ruby's Political newspaper advertisement in the sports section.

In an interview about the ad, Jane reports that Ruby wrote it based on talking to one police officer who obviously had read the talking points from the FOP. So Ruby likely got a copy of the talking points and wrote about them without any validation or analysis of their obvious inaccuracies.

It is too bad that Ruby can't tell the difference between false rhetoric and fact. It is good, however, that he's not going to reach a lot of voters who were on the fence on who to vote for. The sport section is a suburban man's front page, so the bang for the buck was lost, unless the GOP is planning on lots of voter fraud. I mean Joe Deters was all over that last year, and didn't find a wave of crime at the polls, but I am sure he'll be checking this year.

Face to Face Politicking a Waste Of Time?

Is pressing the flesh becoming a waste of time as some political operatives are suggesting in this Howard Wilkinson article?

Are political campaigns just giving up on reaching people face to face? Have we stooped to such a level? I think candidates that avoid getting out and meeting their voters are making a mistake. You don't always need the candidate there, but you need volunteers. You need a presence. If people care about a candidate and can speak to other about it, that personal connection goes farther than a TV commercial. It is hard to do for local elections, since building enthusiasm for a council candidate is difficult. How does one get a team of dedicated volunteers who can communicate one on one with voters, in a positive way?

If on a local level we run campaigns like a presidential race, we further erode the few strands of respect people have for politicians. Face to Face political activity is key to an engaged public. This puts us on a path to politics by proxy, where why have a real person, why not just outsource it to a corporation to act on your political behalf?

Incivility Abounds

Some of you may have noticed that my blogging frequency--particularly with respect to political blogging--has gone down considerably over the past six months. That trend is no doubt partly related to the ebb and flow of business as a solo practitioner. Things are busy at the office, so blogging goes down. But some of it is because of a disturbing trend I've noticed, both here and elsewhere: it seems impossible to have a civil disagreement here--or anywhere.

One of the things that initially attracted me to blogging was the great discussions that can (and should) ensue among the blog's readers. Those used to take place regularly here. Lately, though, any political post devolves pretty quickly into name-calling and nonsense. In particular, we have a couple commenters who routinely refer to poor people as "pig filth" or "human trash." I'm not interesting in trying to engage in a serious discussion with such people.

If this were only happening here, I'd wonder if Griff or I were doing something to foment the incivility. But it seems to happen everywhere. The summer town halls about health care are an example: people were literally shouting down their elected representatives rather than engaging in any attempt to actually have a civil discourse with them. And I don't want to suggest it's just the right. The left, too, is becomingly increasingly shrill. During the Bush regime, anyone who dissented was unpatriotic. Now anyone who does so is a racist. Neither label is true, but both are (or were) bandied about with a great deal of frequency. And I'll admit: Griff and I sometimes feed our trolls, too. Some of my posts may have been more inflammatory then they needed to be, and Griff has lately been as guilty as name-calling as anyone.

But it's not just the political arena where people no longer feel the need to be civil. Last week, Julie posted a mildly critical review of Local 127. Some of the comments it generated were appalling. I can understand and respect being passionate about food. (Heck, earlier this year, when liz posted only a lukewarm review of Adriatico's, I briefly considering calling an IT-oriented friend and seeing what would go into a denial-of-service attack on get in mah belly. (I'm kidding, of course. That's illegal. Don't do that.)) But passion aside, really? People are engaging in pretty vile name-calling because Julie wasn't as effusive with her praise as others would have preferred?

I don't know what the answer is, and I won't pretend to. I don't know how we get back to disagreeing without name-calling, to expressing strong beliefs without raising our voices and questioning each other's motives. I don't know who's to blame and I don't care.

I just know that somehow, we have to get back to a place where we can discuss difficult issues with civility and grace. Climbing that hill isn't nearly so easy as it was to fall down it, but we must strive to find a way.

MidPoint Closes Big

Day Three of the MidPoint Music Festival brought me back to the tent at Grammer's for Eat Sugar and the hot local band's new material is as good as their debut EP. The MC said it best when introducing the group, they will be the next big band out of Cincinnati.

When I got to Grammer's exactly at 6:30 the band was starting and I heard the sound and was confused. There's not current a female lead singer. After some slight confusion and a realization that I was hearing a sound check, I understood that I hearing Micachu and The Shapes, the next band up on the bill. The UK band was another fresh sound that can best described as Hip Chick Brit Pop. The Trio mix an indie vibe with pop and some eclectic instruments include a great use of empty liquor bottles. I didn't get a chance to get their CD, but I will look for it on iTunes.

Next our gang shot down to the Know Theatre and caught Zest of Yore, from Austin. A decent band, they lacked distinction, but were earnest.

Back Downstairs Twightlight Revival filled the Know's cabaret space with a roots tone that had catchy tunes and a subtle charisma.

Another find of the festival is StephaniesID. A fun pop sound with an edge. Stephanie was walking around the Upstairs area before her show in a little bit of a nervous burst of energy. When she got on stage she let out the nervousness with a cheerful attitude with drop of darkness that gave her just a little bit of mystery. The North Carolina based band is a Midpoint Veteran. They should plan on coming back next year right now.


Next up was local masters Wussy who are the top dog in town. They have an experienced connection that is unmatched in Cincinnati. I could go on forever, but the fact that you couldn't move upstairs at the Know during their show, says it all.

The closer of the night Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles lived up to the word on street. Her Americana feel leaned over the county music line enough for a flavor, but held closer to a roots feel.

Another year and another great festival. I'm so very pleased with the event, the crowds where great everyone I went. I think CitBeat should be very proud. I think they made great progress from last year's event, which says a lot with its success in 2008. I think the Grammer's model was perfect, it gave a start and a headliner a place to shine, but then left the rest of the night to other venues and bands and pushed the crowd to explore. At the same time, themed stages and partnerships with local labels and artists gave options to all types of fans. I give this years festival high marks and only with 1 minor exception, everything worked. I look forward to MidPoint 2010.