Council won't join antiwar effort
Local politicians have no business grandstanding on International geo-politics. Crowley, Cooper, and Reece should be ashamed of themselves for wasting city time and money.

Fans reeling as Phish returns
I implore local media not to cause panic by invoking the Who's 1979 concert in any coverage of the Phish events tonight and tomorrow. Doing so would not only be gross sensationalism, it would be a crass action in the middle of a ratings season that would be a clear case of exploitation for profit.

At Least 39 Killed in Fire at Rhode Island Club
A horrible tragedy, but it appears that either the Band or the club owners will be held responsible. Criminal charges should be made. This far exceeds the 1979 "Who tragedy" where 11 people were trampled to death. Festival seating did not cause this type of problem. I hope this event is not used as a sensational example that is exploited by anyone, like concert safety fanatics or whole black activist gang who will cry foul if this event does not get treated in the media the way the night club tragedy in Chicago was treated.

Video from the club showing the starting of fire was very haunting to view. I am surprised that video was show by TV News. There surely are people who are shown in the video who died or are seriously wounded. It would be very unsettling to watch that video this soon if I had friends or family who had lost their lives.

The local event this most relates to is the Bevery Hills Supper Club Tragedy where 165 people where killed in a fire in the club.

Eschaton on Mayor Luken's displeasure with Tom Ridge, from the Cincinnati Post.

Chris Anderson on Kathy Y. Wilson's column/profile of Monica Williams, a new emerging leader of the increasingly irrelevant CJC. Chris points to a problem that exists in many quarters of the "black activist" movement, the racist until proven innocent mentality. It is taken to the extreme in the "Black Nationalist" movement, where the "white man" is the "devil." I was disappointed with Kathy's column however. It was a portrait of Monica that did not hold back any of Monica's "warts", but Kathy did not render any overt opinion. I would have like to have read more on Kathy's views of what people like Monica are doing to race relations in the city. I believe Monica, and her fellow bigots/racists in groups like the CJC, are as much the cause of race problems in this city as the police.

Democrats, not GOP, lacking in diversity (3rd Letter)
Gary Bryson of Sharonville writes to the Enquirer claiming the Democrats lack diversity "because of their adherence to Democratic ideology." Is Gary just that simple to make sure an unintelligent comment? What ideology would Democrats have other than Democratic ideology? I don't know what Democratic ideology is to be blunt. I know there is the progressive wing of the party, the conservative wing, the neo-liberal wing, the unionist wing, and the minority wing. The GOP has the neo-conservative wing, the paleo-conservative wing, and the libertarian wing. Those are all of the main ideologies in both parties. That are not totally complete, but they are a good general breakdown. The Democratic Party has always been a much wider coalition of ideologies than the GOP. I don't think Gary has read much on politics. I would guess he stems from "Themism," where the "them" to Gary are Democrats, and the "us" are Republicans. I think Gary needs to rethink his views. He can veil his desire for a homogenous society where only conformity gets you noticed, but it will not fly.

Gary can cry that Democrats don't share his views on abortion, taxes and affirmative action, but what does that have to do with the lack of minorities in the Ohio GOP? His party has as much conformity on all of those three issues and he should know it. The GOP party's platform is against abortion, for a regressive tax system, and is against most forms of affirmative action. He seems to miss the point of the article. Blacks don't like the GOP for several reasons, but most of all the recent history (last 35 years) it has taken steps to alienate blacks on issue most blacks favor, like affirmative action. This has nothing to do with Democrats getting more votes or not having more people in the State House or General Assembly. The issue is that the members of the GOP in State government are nearly all white and all male, Ken Blackwell, Betty Montgomery, and Jennette Bradley, not withstanding. The Jennette Bradley link surprisingly forwards to a general page. She sure has importance to the GOP if she does not even have her own web page on the State website.

LETTERS: Different standards for NY rapper
In these letters to the editors of the Enquirer one can see the effects of media illiteracy. These readers and TV views are not able to see beyond the surface of the dramatic story the media paints about issues that can gain readers/viewers.

This harsh response to the coverage and defense of the rapper parallels that received by radio talkshow host Jay Love from 1230 the Buzz on Tuesday and Wednesday. His callers were very irate and according to Jay were cussing out the show's producer without waiting to get on the air, all in defense of Jay's comments criticizing "50 Cent."

With fans as rabid as these, and with the prior problems at "50 Cent" shows, the police preparation was warranted. This comment from Melissa Meyer deserves a response:

Were such extreme security measures warranted in this situation? Why is there the assumption in Cincinnati that gatherings of black citizens equal violence. Would a concert by Eminem, Insane Clown Posse, or Marilyn Manson have brought out the SWAT team?

The reason is simple Melissa. None of those acts have had recent violence at shows. None of those acts are admitted former drug dealers currently under pending weapons charges. None of those acts have been shot 9 times within the last couple years. Rap music lives on a reputation of violence, anger, and associate with crime. If they don't want to live the life of "gangsters," then don't act like it.

What's in a Number?
After posting yesterday about the "50 Cent" concert I was encouraged to reexamine the number of people attending the concert. I posted that there were 300, while the venue held 1,250. I based my information on Larry Nager's review of the concert in the Enquirer. The relevant quote was:

After paying as much as $100 for VIP tickets ($35 for general admission) and being thoroughly frisked for weapons, the crowd of 300 or so milled around the club waiting for the star.

What I missed was in the article by Jane Prendergast where she noted:

By midnight, the club was full. Capacity is 1,250. Earlier, hundreds had lined the sidewalks waiting to get in.

After emailing both reporters I was able to surmise the reason for the difference. Larry was inside and states that the crowd was not more than a few hundred. He has been in the same venue for several other events where the number of attendees was firmly known, and the "50 Cent" concert did not meet those numbers. I think Jane's number was based on the information from the promoters who were going to provide an answer to best suit the act and the venue. I don’t know how the inter-workings of newspapers work, but one might surmise that editors might see that basic difference in articles that relate to the same subject in the same edition of the newspaper. This is a minor issue, but it is one that if the event had any problems would have been key to understanding correctly what occurred.

Rap's Newest Star Performs; No Problems Reported
Ok, above is the headline from the WLWT story. Here is a quote from the story:

Cincinnati police reported only a few minor problems.

Now I think there is a difference between "no problems" and a "few minor problems," ya think?

CalPundit on Post War Iraq
Kevin Drums indicates that efforts for democracy and stability in Post-War Iraq are withering on the vine, and I agree. Here is what I hope happens if a Japan/Germany type post-war effort is not made.
1. I hope all of the protestors fight for democracy in Iraq. I hope they get the numbers out again, this time I will join, and keep fighting until Bush offers a Marshall Plan for Iraq, and a Plan to create a democracy.
2. I hope the media do not become Bush's bitch again. It would be nice if the television news outlets would get a pair of balls and hold Bush's feet to the fire on at least one lie or broken promise.
3. I hope the voters of America vote Bush out of office in such a landslide to make 1984 seem like a barnburner.

If Bush does make a democratic Iraq, or at least makes a full effort to make it so, I will give him credit. I will then start complaining if he does not immediately start pushing out every other dictator, fascist or theocratic government in the world. This would include the theocracy George himself is trying to creep us into.

UPDATE: Paul Krugman chimes in and is right, as usual.

50 Cent draws hundreds with hot rap, cool tats
It appears the event went off with only a few minor fights. I say only because no one reportedly was hurt. The reviewer from the Enquirer panned the concert. I am not a fan of rap, so I would have not had a favorable report under any circumstances. The big issue is that the bar can hold 1,250 people, but only around 300 were there.

Chris Anderson also had a few comments on the event, and rightfully pans the media for being race car fans, looking for wrecks.

Tom Ridge Media Coverage
Good from WCPO and WLW. The rest was typical or absent. WDBZ needs a real news team if it going to be a source for real news, they did not carry the speech live. WCPO gets a special kudos for offering a streaming video of the entire Tom Ridge speech.

Dog on Ice Flow trumps Tom Ridge
Today FOX News and MSNBC cut away to live coverage of a dog being rescued from an ice flow during Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge’s speech here in Cincinnati on a new effort to prepare the country for terrorism and war.

WLW’s Mike McConnell gets credit for noticing this fact. He did not mention what CNN was airing. I would guess they only have two TV’s and did not have on CNN, I hope their right-wing slant is not so crass to shun CNN.

I am sure some conservative will blame PETA or the SPCA for this misplacement of priorities. The reason for this lopsided coverage is simple, DRAMA. Cable news networks care little about news and information, unless it has DRAMA. DRAMA in today’s terms is only the visual. This is an example of what makes the Television news media horrible today. It is not a social or political bias; it is a focus on ratings, not on providing quality journalism. The real problem with this is that no one in the public, outside of the few readers I have, will see this problem with TV news. Since they control the curtain, they won’t let you behind it

The kicker has to be a caller to WLW who said “liberals” should be happy FOX News showed it was warm and fuzzy by caring for animals. It is not quite blaming PETA, but it is close enough. It goes to show that if you make it stupid, people will not care, or will not know the difference.

I Fart in Your General Direction
This afternoon while visiting the café in the building where I work I was slightly shocked. There were about seven men sitting having coffee in the café. This not that odd, but they were all speaking French. They were talking up a storm and I felt like they were talking about me. They were laughing at several points while I waited for my calorie filled mocha. I was able to make out two words: Croissant and Fromage. This shop did sell croissants, so I assumed they were making fun of the quality of American Croissants. I don't know about the cheese.

This whole issue was odd today because the biggest meme on the Blogosphere over the last week has been "France Sucks." I had the unfound feeling that these men were going to start insulting me for being American. They were doing nothing wrong, but the meme has been beat into me with calls for boycotts of French products and events and other complaints. I was out numbered but according to the prevailing warblogger logic, if I ask a French person to surrender they will. It is supposed to be like a Pavlovian response. I was tempted to try out this theory, but I felt a bit out of place. Having a Cappuccino in Cincinnati is a bit too European to complain.

Am I still allowed to eat filet mignon?

This is not the Café where I ran into the French mafia.

Cincinnati to host round of CAFTA negotiations
Will our beloved local Zapatista Stalinists be back for another round of protests? I can't wait to see a gang of Transnational Progressives with effigies, gas masks, and 1..2..3..4 chants. Oh the fun, oh the revelry.

Hot act 50 Cent drops in to rap
Ok, where is the CJC's artists of conscious campaign? I for one would like to see this act boycott Cincinnati.

UPDATE: WCPO reports "50 Cent" is out on bail on a weapons charge.

Homeland Security chief to speak
It's official. You can get your duct tape refunds Downtown on Wednesday.

Peter Bronson's Good Old Boy Network
In today's Enquirer Peter Bronson is off attacking Miami University and the Miami Student, the campus newspaper, for firing Aaron Sanders after he wrote a column for the newspaper. The column criticized a teacher and a film shown in a class at Miami. Peter is really not being honest with who this student is. This student is the chairman of the College Republicans of Miami University. Peter wrote a column using Sanders as the main source last fall in a campaign to get FOX News included in the campus cable system. Peter and this student obviously are working “in cahoots.” Peter wants to help out a fellow right-winger, and at the same time put forth his ideological agenda.

Peter obviously cares nothing for promoting good journalism, especially when it conflicts with his chance make a fellow paleo-conservative into a victim in the faux war with academia. Peter illustrates his agenda with this quote from his column:

They said he did not see the movie before writing about it. But that's true for most reporting. Sanders didn't claim he saw it - he indirectly quoted students who did.

Has Peter given up journalism? Peter says that most reporters would not see a film before they reported it, which is true, when talking about reporters. They can report that a film was shown. It would be very subjective to report that “some” people were offended by the film. That point could be made in a column as this student did, but would it be good journalism without seeing the film first? A column is at its core an opinion, not an unbiased news story, but good columnists generally do not report false or misleading facts. If this student columnist did not see the film, how good a columnist would he be if reported someone else’s opinion of the film instead of his own? I would say he would be a bad columnist who is making grossly biased argument that is not worthy of a college student. It was a political tactic made by a political party. This student is not a journalist, he is a politician, all be it a junior one. I have no doubt he will be a paid staffer for a conservative politician as soon as he graduates, and Peter cries for him because his editors have chosen to edit him out of the newspaper. Well, Peter was concerned about this being a learning tool. I would argue Mr. Sanders has learned a lesson. That lesson clearly is don’t abuse your position. Write an honest story, don’t write a bad column to put forth your agenda. Instead, write a good column, and hope it puts forth your agenda. Playing fair in writing and politics is something I advocate to all, but I guess the ends matter more to Peter than the means. If Peter can “save our souls” by establishing a theocratic state, I would think he would be happy as a clam.

UPDATE 02/18/2003: Miami's newspaper currently does not have a website, but I think the Sanders column can be read here.

AUSTRALIAN BLOGGER Tim Blair considers Bush a "relatively moderate" Christian. I wonder who he thinks qualifies as a conservative Christian. In this case I think Tim's perspective is thrown off by the Pacific Ocean. Bush is not the most conservative Christian, but he is in that camp. Bush is an evangelical Christian, and even though that group is growing, it is not mainstream, which is another word for moderate in my experience. Now in this post Tim is making some kind of contextual comment to refer to Bin Laden's past, which I don't dispute, but the context of Bush is off. Bush is far more likely to push American Christianity to the right, than to the middle, which is where he was raised. Bush is more of a potential parallel to Bin Laden's slide to extremism, than a contrast.

The White Death has Gripped the City!
Do to weather conditions; Cincinnati Blog is on Plan 9, from outer Space.

GOP rules with no minorities, few women
Other news today: Fire is hot, snow is cold, sex feels good, and the CCV is a theocratic fascist group.

TBOGG suggests new a new hair style for Congressman Steve Chabot who is head and shoulders above the rest of the country in sucking up to the religious right, especially those living on the west side of Cincinnati.

Colombia, U.S. Search for Americans in Jungle
This story is over 24 hours old and got almost no coverage. Why is the anarchy better known as Columbia not getting attention from both the government and the media?

1 murdered American and 1 murdered Columbian and 3 more Americans missing and presumed to be kidnapped, and this barely makes the TV news? No video is why and this shows the single biggest bias in Television journalism: video rules. If there is film, there is drama. Drama sells. Information does not sell. Viva TV!

Comments Problems
Haloscan.com, my comments provider has been having issues, and it appears that I have lost comments posted over the last few days. I generally don't delete them, unless horribly offensive, so don't accuse me censorship, I have no control of this problem.

Local peace groups spreading wings
In the picture accompanying the article there is a picture that reads "War is not the answer." The problem with this and most protests is that they don't provide an answer. They want "peace." I want peace, but how can a country live in peace that is not free? Iraq is not free. They are run by a horrible tyrant. Everyone agrees on this, but protestors have no solution to free the people of Iraq. The only solution proposed by the anti-war side is more inspections and containment. Well, that works in keeping the Iraq regime in check. It also keeps Saddam in power. Inspections and containment will keep Iraq a dictatorship for years to come. It will not change. No Arab country has embraced democracy, and it will take conflict to change that. This impending war has been forced upon America at this point by Bush. It should have been resolved in 1991 by his father, but the UN mandate held him back. The only issue where Bush will fail is in building a new Iraq. Bush is failing now in Afghanistan, providing no aid in his current budget. This is where the only meaningful attacks on Bush lie. Protest Bush's love-em and leave-em policy of war and abandonment, but support the war to liberate Iraq. It is coming no matter anyone wants, so make some lemonade. Do not charge at windmills just because you don't want Bush to be reelected. I don't want that either, but I will not play politics with freedom for a country.

Ridge coming to Hamilton Co.
Breakout your gas masks and duct tape in salute to Secretary Ridge!

Rob Bernard's reference to traditional "political spectrum", the left-right line, is outdated in today's political/ideological arena. The square chart illustrated at the libertarian website is better, or at this site. These are still not perfect. Politics is not a simple assortment of beliefs, but instead a hodgepodge chaos of individual ideas and philosophies.

Southern Heritage? Or hate symbol?
There is a moron on Eastern Ave in Linwood who flies a tattered old "Stars and Bars." What is the purpose of flying this flag? If it part of a design or put in a historical context, I have no problem with the flag. When it is used as a sign of pride in the "South," that can only refer to the ante bellum “South,” the society with slavery intertwined with the culture as much as cornbread.

NPR : 'Iraq: The World Speaks' - An NPR/BBC Joint Production
I sent the following question:
To: NPR

My Question for the discussion is the following: Why are both sides of the War issue using atrocious hyperbole to express their view points? It seems to me that when people scream about the War being about oil are ignorant about American history, foreign policy, and rule of law. They instead just don't like George Bush's politics, which I fully understand, and allow outlandish and ludicrous rhetoric to rule their argument, whiling down playing rational questions of his policy. This happens while the Bush Administration and Conservatives here in the USA panic the country with exaggerated Iraq-terrorist connections stemming from an exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy. It distresses me that both sides play into each other's hands by only using arguments that confirms the opposite side's prejudices and biases.

Brian Griffin
Cincinnati, Ohio

The 800-Pound Gorilla of Blogdom Links to City Beat!
It appears my 15 seconds of fame from this CityBeat article has been linked by Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit. I don't mind the link, but my picture is on top of the article, and that might drive people away from reading it. For those visiting for the first time, welcome! I might actually be able to drag my moment of fame along for a few more seconds, but don't fear my ego growing to large. With a mug like mine, humility was instilled at birth.

Some U.S. lawmakers want to ban French water, wine and move troops from Germany
Your House GOP leadership in action. What a bunch of morons. Why don' t they just start bombing Paris? Jingoistic juveniles strutting like a bunch of bloodthirsty jocks. I guess they will boycott me if I don't agree with them and take action to oppose their polices.

700 WLW reups Bill Cunningham contract
The Big One's Big Mouth is back for eternity. I guess Cincinnati is now "hell."

A Dayton, Ohio Instapundit.com: reader emailed Glenn pushing for a boycott of French products. Glenn's response was "I suspect a lot of people are starting to think this way." I think Glenn might do well in looking at boycotts, like the one here, and maybe he would show some guts and not encourage anyone to start a new one. They don't work, but they do hurt people, but I guess hurting "them" is peachy keen for the 800-pound gorilla.

An example of nitpicking gone amuck. The 800 pound gorilla can be one petty prick sometimes, and to link to Limbaugh, why not just link to the RNC website directly? Cut out the middleman!

Chris Anderson knocks Peter Bronson and his theocratic fascist friends down a peg or two or three.

Arts association, Coalition for Just Cincinnati drop suits
This sounds like a win for the CJC. Who is the lawyer for the CAA? I would think they might not be hired again. From what was reported the CJC did not have to do a thing. I would guess a little threat of media attention or endless litigation drove the CAA to cave like a little girl. Giving into extortion brings more extortion. The CAA made a mistake in settling. WCPO’s Take on the story.

Jay Love Takes a Stand
I have to give a big kudos to Jay Love from 1230 the Buzz for calling the Black Fist and the CJC illegitimate. Jay has admitted his stations complicity in giving those groups a platform. He has stated they will no longer get that platform on his show. I wish the entire station took a similar stance, but Jay deserves some credit for taking a stand. I think some of his reasons are tame compared to the offenses these groups have cause that Jay let go on without notice, but I will take the repudiation.

3 admit to civil rights violations
These racists should be put away for the full 10 years. I have to agree with Jay Love of 1230 the Buzz when he wondered were the Black Fist was on this case. Why wasn't the Black Fist out protesting and battling the KKK in Kentucky? The Black Fist and their allies claim the KKK is rampant in this area, which is totally false, but this the first incident of this nature I have heard of since I have been living in Cincinnati, about 8 years. I have heard of a score of cases of blacks attacking whites for being white and being in the wrong neighborhood. I know the bigot brigade think this kind of horrible event happens all the time in the city and is covered up, but the truth is that is does not happen often at all. This case is horrible and sympathy should go out to the victims, but this should not be an excuse to label this region as a bastion of racists. It is not, except for a glutton of black racists.

Rob Bernard takes issue with Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo. I think Rob analysis is a bit to knee-jerk "themism." Calling Josh a "blame America first" follower is just ignorant. His opinions are very thoughtful and that of a moderate democrat. Additionally, how is it "blame America first" when you point out where the Bush Administration is going through the world with blinders on, even though he made policy statements during the campaign that he just gave up on? Saying that policy must change because of 9/11 is a convenient excuse allowing Bush to not have to admit that his policies would have been bad without 9/11.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall has a valid and succinct analysis of Bush foreign policy.

Rumors of casino drawing mixed reactions
Guess who's State Senate District this falls in. You got it, State Senator Doug White, infamous for his "Jew them down" comment made last year. I wonder how his rural roots influenced his view on Native American Indian Tribes.

Officials hurry to expedite details
The learned their lesson. The police have handled this correctly so far. I hope the elected officials handle it well at all public meetings this week.

Text of police, emergency calls
I see this as good response to crime. The only criticism that will arise is the question as to how long before the called for an ambulance for the suspect. It would have not made a difference since one was called for the officer. I am sure the bigot brigade will take every little sentence out of context or claim this was edited, even though it was release extremely quickly. The bottom line with this case is that is has all of the earmarks of a justified use of force. It should be fully investigated, but I think the facts will support that initial conclusion.

Enquirer Editorial: Police shooting: City response
Straightforward and to the point. I hope everyone in the city shares this view.

The Enquirer Sees the Light!!!!!
The Enquirer starting today is publishing their Editorials & Letters to Editor as part of the their online edition. I applaud this move and I credit new editorial page editor David Wells, and new Editor in Chief Thomas Callinan. Let's just hope they keep the online edition free.

Friend Of Suspect Fatally Shot By Police Talks With 9News
Apparently his was not married. This friend seems to not be surprised at this and initially is not doubting police, illustrated by this quote:

"That's something you just don't do. You keep your hands off of people's stuff. If you wanted to purchase some things out there, you should have been able to buy them and waited until a later date to buy them, if you couldn't afford them right then and there."

This person indicates that the people around the situation will not be as gullible as the family of Tim Thomas was to become faux heroes of the community. This person seems sorry he is dead, but not all that surprised at what he was accused of doing.

AP Version: Burglary Suspect Killed in Cincinnati
The AP writer in here in Cincinnati must really be green. He/She repeatedly has gone to Nate Livingston for Quotes, but story I just posted previously, CBUF's Juleana Frierson was available for comment. Ms. Frierson is not someone I think has anyone's interest but her own, however she is not the opportunist Nate is, and her toned down comments, as compared to Nate's, is a sign the CBUF is not jumping to conclusions, yet.

Officer Shoots African-American Man; Group Wants Investigation
Well it appears that CBUF is taking a hard line, but at least they are not calling for his head, yet. I would say this is the minimum they could have done while still staying on the positive side of the situation, but they could slip back into riot incitement at any point.

Officer shoots, kills suspect
Details from the press conference. The preliminary view I would take is that the use of force was reasonable. I am sure that many in the black community will have a field day with this case. I hope the city is prepared for this and makes plans for all contingencies. This case will most likely not get the same outcry mainly because the person killed was 34 years old in stead of 20, and was an ex-convict having been released last July after serving 14 years for aggravated robbery. This police officer will be threaten by many ignorant racists, but hopefully he will not be vilified. I hope tomorrow that the CBUF makes a public statement holding judgment at minimum or supporting the police review at best. I expect the CJC and the bigot parade will be out streaming for blood. They would find guilt in a police officer for doing anything, so their opinion will hopefully be ignored.

Suspect Reported Dead
Ken Anderson, talk show host on 1230 the Buzz, has reported that the suspect in a robbery that was shot by police early this morning has died. He did not site his source for this information. Ken made the usual chest beating comments against the police, doing nothing to quell any potential anger that could spill into violence. He knows little facts of the less than 12-hour-old incident, but can rail against the police for it. We don't even know if the robbery suspect was black, but he can rail against the police. I wonder if he will keep this up if the person is not black.

UPDATE: WLW is reporting the incident "may" have turned deadly. A police press conference is still pending.

Police Officer Shoots Suspect
No detailed information has been released giving the condition of the suspect or the identity. Reports indicated the suspect was involved in a robbery of a business. The reaction will be interesting based on who the suspect is. If the person is black I would expect the usually reaction from the bigot brigade. If the person is not black, I expect little comment from anyone. Police are expected to give an update next hour. If the news reports it, I will try update the story. 1230 the Buzz maybe the best source this afternoon, biased as it may be, since the other news outlets will likely ignore the story until tonights news.

Freeper Overkill
In this List of Hollywood celebrities being boycotted by the whacko Freepers, actor Bradley Whitford of West Wing is listed twice at #15 and #80. I guess they hate him that much. Three Cheers for Bradley!

[Link Via TBOGG]

Anti UN bias at FOXNews?
Well Duh, but seriously, currently Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General is speaking live now at William & Mary and CNN and MSNBC are covering the event live, but not FOXnews. Annan was speaking on Iraq while getting an honorary degree. They additional kicker was that both CNN and MSNBC cut their coverage short. I guess they did not hear Anon support the war, so they were not hear what they wanted to hear, and went back to regular tabloid TV.

UPDATE: It appears the speech included a protestor who "heckled" Annan questioning why the UN was not pressuring Israel to disarm as vigorously as it was Baghdad. This AP wire story of the event did not report the disruption, but CNN did report it on air briefly. This Reuter's story included the reference to the heckler.

Shrine Temple too busy to host Farrakhan event
Darn, that is just too bad. {Insert sarcasm here} Another note: What kind of religion charges people to listen to their religious leader to speak? The article states they have "sold more than 500 tickets." I don't even think you have to pay to hear the TV evangelist Benny Hinn speak, he just gets his gullible followers to pay him money. I guess the NOI is not as good of a fundraiser.

Jazz festival may return to Cincinnati
The boycott aside, many don't want this to come back, and those many people aired those thoughts on 1230 the Buzz yesterday.

My lastest post to the Political State Report:

State Treasurer Hires Defense Attorneys

The Cincinnati Post is reporting that on Friday Joseph Deters, State of Ohio Treasurer, hired two Cincinnati area defense attorneys to assist in rebutting allegations Deters was involved in a cover-up of an alleged theft of money from the property room of the Hamilton County prosecutor's office. Deters was Hamilton County Prosecutor for 7 years prior to being elected Ohio Treasurer in 1998. Sources told the Post that Merlyn Shiverdecker and R. Scott Croswell III were hired by Deters, but none of the three would confirm the story.

The allegations include Joseph Deters and Jim Harper involvement in the cover-up of the theft of $2,700 from the missing from an evidence room in the persecutor’s office. Pete Marshall, a former employee of the prosecutor's office, was reportedly going to be charged in connection with the absent money, but to date has not been charged. Harper was a former assistant prosecutor under Deters and currently works for the Treasurer. Deters denied any role in the alleged cover-up and stated he did nothing at all wrong.

The main elements of the public actions in the alleged cover-up were reported by the Cincinnati Post as follows:

Investigators, Deters said, talked to him about a case in which a low-level drug dealer was arrested and had drugs and $1,700 in cash confiscated from him. That was the money that later was missing from the evidence room.

Deters admitted that he later had his office cut a $1,700 check from the Prosecutor's Law Enforcement Trust Fund to replace the missing money. The investigators did not mention the other $1,000 in missing funds, Deters said.

That happened in September 1998, when Deters was successfully campaigning to become Ohio treasurer, an office that handles and invests state money.

Harper, Deters said, issued a check to the City of Cincinnati, the legal owner of the confiscated money.

Deters was unsure why that check was cut, but he "guessed" it was because city officials -- "Those guys live and die on forfeiture money," he said -- wanted restitution in the case.

Xavier won't air Farrakhan talk
Why would XU even consider allowing what Tolerance.org calls a hate group on campus? This is a no brainier. The Nation of Islam is a hate group. Their "program" is nothing but a manifesto for black separatists. They want to prohibit intermarriage. They want black only schools teaching their religion funded by the government. I wonder if this will make the grade for George Bush's desired to fund religion.

Many in the black community want the Nation of Islam to be a city funded private police/security force in some neighborhoods. This would be illegal under anti-discrimination laws. I don't know of any non-black and/or non-Nation of Islam people working for the NOI Security group. I also doubt that any non-blacks living in neighborhoods where NOI Security was patrolling would be protected. If that the idea of justice in some quarters of the black community, I then have no question why crime is higher in many quarters of the black community.

Additional stories from: WLWT-NBC, WCPO-ABC, UPI, ABC (AP)

JazzFest packs up for Detroit
Nero fiddles a bit more while Rome burns a little more. The boycotters are jumping for joy that a festival that mostly blacks participation in is now leaving the city. This event made money for many different sectors of the back community. Small and medium size black owned businesses made money form this event, and the workers at the many downtown business who are largely black and minority made good wages during that weekend. Most non-blacks will really not miss this event. Most non-blacks do not go to the event. The only “mainstream” business sector that will feel the pain of losing the Jazz Fest is the hotels. The minority workers at those hotels who are now will be underemployed that weekend or just not hire will feel more pain than the hotel chains.

What is the sickest element to this whole situation is the pure glee the boycotters take in the misfortune of others. I think they might do themselves some good and see a shrink.

UPDATE: Perspective from Michigan

Jay Love – Week in Review on 1230 the Buzz Notes:

Jay Love took a bold step by indirectly referring to Kabaka Oba as a racist. He strongly chided the “Delegate” from the Black Fist for Oba’s recent comments on WLW-AM. Jay indicated that Oba mocked Black History Month, and felt this was especially bad while doing so on what Jay called a “Caucasian station” that he claims regularly mocks blacks. What a position to take: attack racist blacks while still attacking “whites.” I would consider this as an example of the Bill Clinton/Dick Morris triangulation method applied on a micro level. In this case it applies to gaining credibility and listeners instead of votes, but both stem from the same general human motivations.

“Give me liberty or give me death” was said by Patrick Henry, not Alexander Hamilton as Jay incorrectly indicated.

The caller “Lumpy” is considered to be a racist because he thinks that blacks have the same opportunity that he does. He used the same type of sarcasm, by saying whites are happy the Jazz fest is no more, as Jay does and he is labeled as a racist. “Lumpy” might be a cultural bigot, but he is not a racist. I think Jay and company need to stop using racism like a blanket label of all whites who oppose their views. If you are against quotas or “Affirmative Action”, you are not automatically a racist.

Jay is having a big day beating down the boycotters with another tongue lashing of the “Rebel Rouser.” More triangulation: beat down “Lumpy” and “Rebel Rouser” both in one day. Jay is playing both “sides” like a Stradivarius.

Jay indicated that the CBUF is working on documenting all incidents of police brutality. Why should I trust them? If these incidents are happening, then why are they not being reported? Why does the CBUF not start their own blog and report them unfiltered to the world?

“Harrison” said “Why does this boycott have to be so exact?” Could this be a better example what the boycott is all about and why will never end? “Harrison” illustrated a couple of popular notions in the black community: purpose through anger and revenge on “whites”. Jay said it best about “Harrison’s” comments: “some ideas should just die.”

The Nation of Islam, a known hate group, has no business being sanctioned by any mainstream educational institution by allowing its facilities to be used for a propaganda meeting for the group. Jay says this shows the school is failing be diverse, when the group itself is anti-Jewish. Most non-black Muslims see a large distinction between Islam and the Nation of Islam.

John Schlagetter was not able to raise the issue of Jay’s bigotry against homosexuals on the air, but it appears they talked about it either before the show or during the breaks. The Jazz festival issue kept the callers happy, so other issues did not get the play needed.

I will try to lay off Jay for a while, but the more his bigotry rises to surface, the more I will have to rebut the ignorance he professes.

Density of the Grey Matter (The Talk Radio Host as a Bigot)
Jay Love of 1230 the Buzz cleared up a few things today. He is against a "hate crimes" ordinance covering sexual preference. He thinks homosexuality is a "choice." He thinks Gays/Lesbians are not born homosexual. He stated, “Being a homosexual is deviant behavior.” Jay is obviously ignorant and a bigot. I have commented previously about his anti-gay stances, but he has let them loose today for all to hear. Jay is often a sensible person, but his clearly misinformed stances are signs of indoctrination from a bigoted community. Hypocrisy is a bigger issue for Jay to swallow. When is Jay going to call for the repeal of the provision of the "hate crimes" ordinance covering religion? Is Jay saying you are born with your religion? Most Christians believe you choose to believe in your religion, and they regularly try to convert people. Why is Jay contradicted? Answer: He fears a gay man hitting on him, so he can rationalize the inconsistency.

It might just be an act. Jay might just be playing the shock Jock radio talking head. He might be Jonesing for conflict, which I all to willingly give him. I guess my skepticism is just not paranoid leaning enough to see an ulterior motive. I think Jay is honestly stating his views on homosexuality. I am disappointed at his stance, but I am not surprised.

I wish his pigheaded stance on War was not so polarized. He railed against those who have labeled him a communist or a Saddam supporter, which are unfair labels. He in turn rails against anyone who does not think War is evil and must never be used. His warped Pacifism is befuddling. He claims America is basically an exporter of death and violence by using our military to defend our allies. While I am no fan of George Bush, Rumsfeld, or the Military, but they are not butchers. They are not evil. They generally are honest and are not trying to kill innocents.

I don’t trust Bush’s motives on his timing of War, but I don’t automatically think he is lying about everything. I respect Powell, and I don’t think he will knowingly lie. Making baseless claims that his information is not compelling is just being closed minded. Jay does not like what he hears, so he ignore the information. He cannot refute any of it, beyond doubting it. I just don’t understand how ginning up conflict for his radio programming in this manner can be viewed as entertaining.

Cincinnati Expands Hate-Crime Ordinance
The vote was 7-2. The usual suspects voted against it. The CCV and the bigot brigade will likely sue the city. I have to ask them the same question I asked Peter Bronson. If you don’t want special protection for gays, then why do you accept special treatment for the religious? If a “hate crime” based on religious bigotry is a valid motive to consider in punishment, then why not homosexuality? Under their twisted logic both are a matter of choice. Why are they not calling for the repeal of the entire ordinance 908-3? The answer appears simple to me. They are hypocrites and bigots. They want to oppress gays because of their religion’s “footnotes.” The CCV is a plague on the Cincinnati community, but a large number of citizens are being willing infected with their hateful fascist propaganda.

Blogarithms
If you can get past the picture of me and my dumb comments, then you can learn a bit about blogs. I will need to read the story a few hundred times before I can comment on it fully, but at first glance it is pretty good. Yes, that is really a picture of me, and neither City Beat or I am responsible if you turn to stone after viewing it.

Jay Love: A Mind of Stone
Jay Love of 1230 the Buzz seems to have his mind made up that George Bush is another Hitler and is out to destroy the "black man" like Nelson Mandela has indicated. That "black man" according Mr. Mandela includes Iraq’s Arabs. Jay must have been listening to "Reverend Shannon" a lot lately. His acceptance of conspiracy theories is quite surprising. I myself do not trust people, however I do not assume they are lying just because what they say supports their side of an issue and not mine.

Jay is against war. He is a pacifist, except when it comes to spanking his children. Using force on kids is ok, but using force on tyrants is not? Jay would be willing to call out the Army once a foreign government landed its troops on our shores. I guess Jay also would not want to do anything if the UK or Canada or any other ally was attacked.

Jay Love agrees with the current "Hate Crimes" ordinance covering race and religion, but did I hear him correctly that he is against it for homosexuals? So Jay is a hypocrite and a bigot, or just a hypocrite? I hope I heard that wrong, but I fear not.

Jay is also ignorant of history if he thought the Pulitzer Prize winning picture of Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner was the picture of an American killing a VC prisoner.

Korte: City Hall
Booth not to seek re-election? He might even resign early to allow a Democratic candidate to run as an incumbent. Booth has not been a great councilman, and his has not been the worst. If he goes I for one will not miss him, but if he can do good by keeping another Republican off council, I will not mind.

Council votes today on hate ordinance
This will pass, maybe 7-2, but at least five will support it. DeWine and Monzel's reactionary religion will most likely keep them from fairness. Separation of Church and State must be a pipedream for us secularists.

Bronson: Victims should all be equal
Peter admits the issue at hand here:

So why is City Council starting another culture war to make some victims feel more special?

The bottom line is that Peter and his fellow conservatives do not like homosexuals. Peter and friends, like the CCV, use their religion's minor references to persecute homosexuals. Peter and fellow fundamentalist Christians constantly cry about religious bigotry, even though they have as much religious bigotry as anyone else, if not more, yet Peter doesn’t have the courage to call for the City to ends its "Politically correct 'affirmative action' for some groups of crime victims" by revoking the current hate crime ordinance that gives "preferential" treatment to people based on their religion. Those without religion are fair game to be hated, or those religions not considered religions by pious politicians and self-righteous clergy. If Peter wants to avoid special treatment, then give up his special rights for the religious. Also, when Phil Burress moves back into the city, then his theocratic fascist hate group can sue the city. I for one prefer to keep the bigots out of the city, so Phil…stay in the burbs.

City "Hate Crimes" Ordinance Up for Revision
John Schlagetter's statement to today's City Council Law Committee meeting covering the proposed "Hate Crimes" ordinance. The Law Committee did vote to adopt a change in the "Hate Crimes" ordinance to include crimes based on sexual orientation, gender, disability or age. It goes to the full city Council on Wednesday. I would assume Pat Dewine voted against it, based on his political parties history of bigotry towards homosexuals, but I can't find a roll call of the vote.

Chris Anderson on the Broken Windows Theory. I think Charlie might be up to it, but I don't think he has the support to succeed. The police leadership are out for themselves, city council is out for themselves, the boycotters are out for themselves, business leaders are out for themselves, and of course the criminals are out for themselves. We all of these groups fighting for their own, how can anything happen for the rest of us?

City caught in another 'censorship' controversy
From this article it appears that one person has been able to get this play canceled. Majed Dabdoub sounds paranoid if he thinks his daughters are in danger from the play. The adults need to grow some balls, allow the play to go on, and stop the pussy footing around an oversensitive parent. These objections listed from the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations are an insult. The play is fiction. The play is not defaming any individual. If the play portrays the negatives of some generalized groups, that is just too bad. If this group had its way, no negative portrayal of anyone would be used in fiction, ever. No WWII war drama could be made. No Civil War movies. No crime stories. No drama at all. We would see nothing but the milquetoast Leave it Beaver, doing nothing to offend anyone. Get just a little bit of ego Mr. Dabdoub.

If Mr. Dabdoub does not like the play, he has the right to keep his kids from seeing it, but this moron has no more right to try and censor society than the moron trying to ban John Steinbeck. The WLWT article supports the notion that the campaign by Mr. Dabdoub is nothing more than one man's crusade. All Cincinnati needs now is for this to get on Bill O’Rielly’s FoxNews show. The New York Times piece is more than enough. Cincinnati does not nee another censorship attention getter to increase the bad reputation we have for censoring everything under the sun. Now these nuts spin this as something best left in a rubber room. I hope they do not increase the fringe nut cases already living in the city. I am surprised our own local Black Fist or Nation of Islam leaders have not muscled in the on the issue to spout their racist rhetoric. I hope I did not just jinx it.

Cranley pushes hate-crimes law
An election year brings out the best dog and pony shows money can buy, and John Cranley is the stable master esquire. I am all for equal rights for homosexuals, but I don't like a Johnny come lately making hay from the body of a dead man.

This issue is bringing in the bigots from out of town to make it a media circus.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., said Sunday that he plans to bring a group to Covington and Cincinnati Feb. 11 to protest ordinances dealing with protection for homosexuals.

This is the scumbag fundamentalist theocratic fascist that preaches hate and bigotry. I wonder how many locals will cheer him on. I also wonder how many local talk radio shows will have him on the air.

Taft plan resembles defeated opponent's
A Clintonian move if there ever was one on the part of Taft. I wonder if Kevin Holtsberry would care to revise and extend his remarks.

CJC Meltdown
Chris Anderson comments on the Meltdown of the CJC and the boycott. John Schlagetter is moving to a level of Comity. I guess shooting fish in a barrel over at the CJC website has become too monotonous.

Banning Of Mice and Men
It appears that local yokel Lloyd Caldwell is on a puritan tirade. He is upset over a few swear words in the classic John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men. Hopefully the school board will ignore the ignoramus. When a man allows himself to be qutoed in the newspaper for saying

"Every page in this book except four, and that’s right at the beginning, has swear words of one nature or another —

and some of them are just dern right, down rotten filthy."

his judgment must be questioned and his lack of education must be evident. Erin O'Conner at Critical Mass had a few comments on the subject, and sugguests that Mr. Caldwell needs to study what the book is about, before objecting to the superfical level of the atmosphere, no matter how real it is.

CalPundit writes much the same ideas I had after reading Instapundit recently. The Blogosphere has been far to harsh and petty the last month or so. The pro-Iraq crowd has become as shrill and short; they make the transnationals look well thought and sincere. Glenn Reynolds is sounding more and more like a talk radio host, saying the most outlandish thing, just to get a rise out his audience. Now, if we combine talk radio with the printed word, don't we just get a tabloid?

Nate States the Obvious
In yet another email, Nate Livingston is off on a mindless and incomprehensible tangent. He writes:

Greg Flannery, John Schlagetter, Brian Griffin and other white liberals are no friend of the Cincinnati Boycott or the movement for justice and equality being waged in Cincinnati. We can never allow them to intimidate us. We can never allow them to bully us into backing away from our righteous position that African Americans are equal to white Americans.

Yes Nate, it is obvious I do not support your group's boycott or your "movement". I am not a white American. I am just an American. As along as you cannot understand that much, there will be end to your boycott, no end to your bigotry, and no end to your racism.

Columbia Lost: A Special Section of The Enquirer, WCPO-TV9, The Post and Cincinnati.Com
Excellent page and excellent local coverage from the Enquirer/Post/WCPO. I hope yesterday's call for local stories was worth it.

DeWine attacks police slowdown
Historians say only Nixon could go to China, so could only a Republican get police to get back into gear?

Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean
O, Columbia! the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine if each patriot's devotion,
A world offers homage to thee.
Thy mandates make heroes assemble
When Liberty's form stands in view;
Thy banners make tyranny tremble

When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
Thy banners make tyranny tremble
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!

The wine cup, the wine cup bring hither,
And fill you it true to the brim!
May the wreaths they have won never wither,
Nor the star of their glory grow dim!
May the service united ne'er sever,
But they to their colors prove true!
The Army and Navy forever,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
The Army and Navy forever,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue.

If you can sing along with it and not tear up, you are stone cold and emotion free.

Hail Columbia
Hail Columbia, happy land!
Hail, ye heroes, heav'n-born band,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
And when the storm of war was gone
Enjoy'd the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast,
Ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies.

Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.

MP3 from USAF Band with an alternate version.

John Glenn reacts to the Columbia Disaster.

Columbia Disaster
I remember the day vividly back on January 28th, 1986. I was in my 8th grade social studies class at Washington Junior High in Jamestown, New York. All day long most teachers keep their classes in the auditorium watching television coverage of the Challenger tragedy. To this day I hate watching the video of the Challenger exploding. Feeling the fear then as I do now is horrible and the pain of the families of the astronauts is unimaginable. Those feelings must be respected and the reason for the loss of Columbia must be investigated fully. However, now that another shuttle has been lost, I have but one thought. Space flight must continue. NASA went 3 years without launching a shuttle. That cannot happen again. The United States must continue with manned space flights, and must work towards new and brilliant goals. We must take this horrible event and the grief it will and has brought to the world and use it to build a new effort to go back to the Moon and on to Mars. Fear cannot be let to rule space exploration. The reaction after the Challenger disaster held back space exploration in an untold number of ways. We must not recoil into the shell of hyper-caution, and instead honor the 7 astronauts and all past space explorers by living the dreams of pushing the envelope and breaking out of confines of our planet and our star system. As a society we must understand the risks of exploration and not let the knee-jerk culture of fear to hold back the progress of knowledge. Humans must strive to better themselves. We must go where no one has gone before.

Seeking informationIf you have any connection to the space shuttle or if you have friends or relatives who live in the area where debris from the shuttle Columbia is falling in north Texas, please call the Enquirer's Metro desk at 768-8600 or send an e-mail to dfrench@enquirer.com.Did the Editor(s) actually approve this as a front page link? This rubs me as a bit crass.

John Schlagetter has posted emails from Nate and Amanda illustrating the bigotry and racism of the CJC. Here the CJC is attacking Greg Flannery of City Beat, one of the biggest boycott friendly members of the local media. Shooting one's self in the foot could not have a better example than the CJC's rantings. The highlight is the threat of violence implied in this quote:

He ain't nobody. He ain't done shit for us and never will. All he wants to do us school us on how he would like to see it done. And, of course, the method that he prescribes involves "persuading" the white man to "change his mind and his behavior". To hell with that. These muthafuckas can either be reasoned with or they can feel the pain. Fuck persuading anybody. And it goes without saying that this persuasion is naturally going to come with all kinds of personal sacrifice (financial, emotional, and physical) from us colored folk.

That quote was from Amanda. Yes, it shocked me too, but when you walk around with an anti-Semitic sign like this, anything could come out of your mouth.

Activists call for talks to resolve boycott
How can Luken talk to anyone with any boycott leaders when there is no clear director or group leading the boycott? The CBUF claims they lead the boycott and have defined the boycott as one covering the area of downtown below Central Parkway. The CJC, or rather what is left of it, claims the boycott includes the same area, plus a ban on all outsiders from coming into Cincinnati, but they also have enacted an "Artists of Conscious Campaign" trying to keep all artists/musicians/performers out of the entire Cincinnati region.

On Today’s (Friday’s) Sister Speak radio program on 1230 the Buzz the battle of dueling boycott groups occurred with the likes of Dwight Patton and Juleana Frierson calling in from the CBUF while Amanda Mayes, Monica Williams, and William Kirkland called in from the new and unimproved CJC. The two separate boycotts were declared in the statements from both groups. The fracture of the boycott is official. Luken has no way to negotiate with anyone. He can’t deal with two groups; the egos of the two groups are far too large for even Jimmy Carter to cope. Expecting Luken to do anything with these unfocused groups with hidden agendas is foolhardy and ill-conceived. Moving forward disregarding the boycott is the only path Luken can take. Extortion cannot be reward. An boycott as the means of a political power grab is a never ending process. The boycott will continue forever. To defeat its irrational goals we must make it irrelevant.

Double Standards
If a white person were to have a web page like this with the same type of rhetoric about blacks and race, then on a scale of 1 to 10, how racist would that person be? Is 11 to low?

Director Spike Lee Criticizes BET
Would this have anything to do with Ed Gordon of BET replacing Spike Lee as a lecturer at UC?

Chris Anderson on Legacies in Cincinnati Politics. Legacies smell of Frats to me. I am not a fan of Frats. I have to live with the often asked question most Miami University alums get: "so, what Frat were you in." Gamma Delta Iota baby! GDI todayI GDI tomorrow! GDI forever new! GDI through and through!

John Schlagetter asks the question that I asked back in September:

So why did Tavis Smiley get off easy without being targeted or boycotted when he was downtown promoting his new NPR show?

I even had pictures.

State of the City
A man living in a van down by the river knows that the state of the city of Cincinnati is Not Good.

Ted Turner Bio Information
This I did not know:

AGE_ 64. Born Nov. 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio

As CNN quickly debases itself down to the level of FOXNews, I hope the current turmoil does not totally ruin the chances for a turnaround of the network's slide to slime-news. I hope Ted can either buy back the network and mount a return to real news, or start a brand new all news channel that can shine on dial full of dull blather.

Fairly Unbalanced
Biology Professor Refuses to Recommend Students Who Don't Believe in Evolution
I wonder if FOXNews and the Liberty Legal Institute, a conservative group painted as a religious "freedom" group by the "fair and balanced" FOX, would cry foul if a Finance Professor denied a recommendation to a student who was an admitted communist? I would surmise, no.

Matt Weiler has some thoughts on the FOP Letter as well.

Police Slowdown?
Today's Enquirer is ripe with the text of a letter from Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president, Roger Webster, to all members of the police union. WHAT A LOAD OF HORSESHIT!!!! Webster's diatribe borders on the maliciously criminal.

When responding in an emergency mode, remember do not drive overly fast, stop at all intersections and stop signs.

On one hand we have the threat of more riots from the bigoted boycotters if the city does not give in to their demands, and on the other side we have the threats of letting emergencies go without responding by the police if the city does not give in to their demands. I expect as much from the boycotters. Their use of extortion as a means of political change is obvious to a five year old, but as a citizen I do expect more from the police.

I cringe when I see a conservative playing hypocritical union games with threats of a slow down. What I find most disgusting is Webster's claim that City Council insulted every police officer. That is the spin only management could love. When he wrote this:

In a matter of hours, seven members of city council slapped each and every police officer in the city in the face and decided to not ratify the supervisors contract.

I wanted to slap his face. A foot patrolman hoofing it in Over-the-Rhine at -11 degrees should give a rat's ass that someone doesn't get a free promotion to assistant chief? There is no principle in that position; there is only the preservation of power. If the police want to turn over a new leaf, they cannot circle the wagons and try and keep outsiders from injecting new blood into their stale division. I wonder if Fangman would have pushed this? My guess is that he helped write it. If this is the idea of fulfilling duty for the police, then I guess we are heading for a world of shit. Pvt. Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence might have been more to the point in the movie Full Metal Jacketwhen right before he blew out his brains he said: "I am... in a world... of shit."

Plan adds taxes to real estate purchases and cable TV charges
How does Taft Plan on administering these new taxes? Will local sales taxes automatically cover these new items or will a complicated mess occur in the service industry?

Chris Anderson finds a bias in the Cincinnati Enquirer's coverage of the conceal and carry gun legislation before the Ohio Assembly. I am not sure if the bias Chris believes exists is true, but the bias against abortion rights is something no one can deny, as I commented on previously.

On a concealed carry law: I find it pointless. If people have the need to quell their fears and intimidate others, strap a leg iron on and show the metal on your side. If people want to live like Wyatt Earp, they better look the part.

I think Zee at Spiced Sass can rest assured that anyone reading this post will not have any problem identifying the political leanings of the author. Ditto Head comes to mind, but reactionary sounds as applicable.

State of the Union Observations
We are going to war. Bush cannot declare victory if a coup takes place in Iraq installing a new dictator when he makes a statement like this:

And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation.

Anything short of a new western democracy in Iraq will be a Bush failure.

Schools will lose if taxes don't rise
Incentive to "sin?" The more we drink and smoke the more tax money will be available to the Schools! Party on Bob!

UPDATE: Chris Anderson adds some thoughts on the same issue.

Cincinnati boycott hits blacks hardest
Vice Mayor Alicia Reece deserves a kudos for getting the attention of the Washington Times. The "Moonie Times", as it is called, is a conservative newspaper with a small yet influential conservative audience. The article is fair, accurate, and generally unbiased. It could have had a quote from a boycott supporter, but they did not return the reporter's phone calls. The highlight of the article is the jab Alicia took at Spike Lee. I agree with her. If Mr. Lee really did care about the boycott, why did he not help UC by establishing a scholarship for poor blacks? I guess Mr. Lee's involvement in the boycott is only superficial or a defensive tactic to keep the boycotter's harassment to a minimum.

Chabot backs Bush, touts action in Iraq
Dog chases Cat, Deadhead smokes pot, and Fundamentalist damns homosexual, were the 3 runner up cliché headlines the Enquirer did not run today.