Peter's Sin of Omission
I read Peter Bronson's Enquirer column today and it was not much of a surprise. I said much of the same in my blog about Springer possible motives. I agree that the media, including the Enquirer, are suckers for celebrities, which is why Springer was covered so heavily. Peter later on referenced Larry Flint's run for governor of California as another example of the media being suckered. Peter also laments how the GOP candidates would never get such gushing treatment. I thought for a second and then two ideas came to mind. Either Bronson is a manipulative hack just like George Bush, or he turned in this column early on Tuesday, because unless he has been a coma since Wednesday night he might have noticed the media's obsession with another candidate for governor named Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Springer's attention is nothing compared to Arnold’s wall-to-wall coverage. Arnold suckered the media into covering him with what is considered the best political announcement for office by any candidate ever. That is best in terms of coverage and spin, not on rhetoric or political platforms. If you were to read Arnold's comments to Jay Leno, one might think a Peter, I would surmise, considers Arnold's treatment fair because he is a "good" man, and Springer's bad because he is a "bad" man. It would not have anything to do with their party affiliation would it? Arnold is getting great coverage with no questions on what his platform or his real motivations are. Arnold has a movie out this summer and there is just as much of a chance this is just a PR stunt to promote his movie, pushing up his numbers. It goes to show that Bronson cares nothing for being a fair and balanced journalist. If he did, even if he had turned in his column earlier this week, he could have asked he editors to include a single sentence referring to the level of celebrity coverage of Arnold. This did not happen. So when Peter whines about media bias, even bias in opinion journalism, he needs to look in the mirror and wake up to the fact that his side of the isle spins as much, if not more, than the liberal side. He will not admit that. He can’t deviate from the talking points. He does not want to lose his place in the GOP pecking order.
Saturday, August 09, 2003
Friday, August 08, 2003
OSU Arson
The man suspected in the Arson that killed 5 college kids in Columbus may have the charges dropped against him. How does that happen? How do you arrest someone for the crime, charge him, and then backtrack all within a couple of weeks? If you had the goods on him, lock him for a long long time. If you are looking for a scapegoat and found a low life who was stupid enough to admit to the crime, then someone in the Police department up in Columbus needs to loose their job.
The man suspected in the Arson that killed 5 college kids in Columbus may have the charges dropped against him. How does that happen? How do you arrest someone for the crime, charge him, and then backtrack all within a couple of weeks? If you had the goods on him, lock him for a long long time. If you are looking for a scapegoat and found a low life who was stupid enough to admit to the crime, then someone in the Police department up in Columbus needs to loose their job.
Queen City SoapBox Q&A with Nick Spenser
Ethan Hahn has questions to Nick Spenser, city council candidate, with answers from Nick.
Ethan Hahn has questions to Nick Spenser, city council candidate, with answers from Nick.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Giddy Boycotters
I was sent an email today from one of the Boycott B leaders with a link to this story from the Post. The Boycotters are gleeful that the local NAACP is again not holding its annual Freedom Fund dinner in downtown. Instead they are holding it at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, a gun shot from downtown. I guess I don't really see this as meaningful. It is still in the downtown general area, within the City, so in reality, the same group of businesses they seek to destroy in their campaign of revenge will be putting on the event, and getting paid. All they are doing is shifting the money to a different group within the city. What will this accomplish? Nothing, because no one is really paying much attention. The Hannity event will attract more attention tomorrow night. I am still betting on less than 12 protestors from the Boycott B group. It is on a Friday night so I think they might get all of their members, and a few friends out, thus the 12. The normal number of 6 or so will likely be the most vocal. I look for some sort of confrontation with some of the Hannity Fans, who are foaming at the mouth Republican zombies. They will yell back at the boycotters without ignoring them. They after all have a similar mentality: personal problems resulting from hateful ideas and a massive chip on their shoulder. It should be a hoot to watch. I hope the local TV sharks are out in full force looking for a nice screaming match to film.
I was sent an email today from one of the Boycott B leaders with a link to this story from the Post. The Boycotters are gleeful that the local NAACP is again not holding its annual Freedom Fund dinner in downtown. Instead they are holding it at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, a gun shot from downtown. I guess I don't really see this as meaningful. It is still in the downtown general area, within the City, so in reality, the same group of businesses they seek to destroy in their campaign of revenge will be putting on the event, and getting paid. All they are doing is shifting the money to a different group within the city. What will this accomplish? Nothing, because no one is really paying much attention. The Hannity event will attract more attention tomorrow night. I am still betting on less than 12 protestors from the Boycott B group. It is on a Friday night so I think they might get all of their members, and a few friends out, thus the 12. The normal number of 6 or so will likely be the most vocal. I look for some sort of confrontation with some of the Hannity Fans, who are foaming at the mouth Republican zombies. They will yell back at the boycotters without ignoring them. They after all have a similar mentality: personal problems resulting from hateful ideas and a massive chip on their shoulder. It should be a hoot to watch. I hope the local TV sharks are out in full force looking for a nice screaming match to film.
Editorial or Prejudice?
Rev. Raymond Larger resigned as a Roman Catholic Priest after he was convicted of public indecency, involving a police officer working a sting operation. The police officer was a man. The Dayton Daily News ran this headline in their regular story: "Priest resigns in indecency case." In the Enquirer they ran an editorial with this headline: "Gay priest removed." In the editorial they also indicated the following:
Where does the prejudice come in? Well one could argue the implication of the Enquirer's editorial is that they are happy the Archdiocese of Cincinnati took quick action on a "wayward" priest. This quote links this action to the child sex abuse scandals
Rev. Raymond Larger resigned as a Roman Catholic Priest after he was convicted of public indecency, involving a police officer working a sting operation. The police officer was a man. The Dayton Daily News ran this headline in their regular story: "Priest resigns in indecency case." In the Enquirer they ran an editorial with this headline: "Gay priest removed." In the editorial they also indicated the following:
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati took swift action against a west side pastor convicted of soliciting an undercover male police officer for sex at a Dayton park.Now was he convicted of solicitation or indecency or both? The Post's headline on its story read: "Priest resigns after sex charge." The Enquirer's news report read as follows: "Priest resigns after verdict."
Where does the prejudice come in? Well one could argue the implication of the Enquirer's editorial is that they are happy the Archdiocese of Cincinnati took quick action on a "wayward" priest. This quote links this action to the child sex abuse scandals
Decisive action is exactly what's needed to put wayward clergy out of commission, and it was sorely missing in recent years in such scandal-plagued dioceses as Louisville, Boston and Los Angeles.This case is linked in the sense of the priest is not living up to his convictions, but lumping him with child molesters is unfair, and add the headline and the implication is that "gay" priests are the real problem with all of these sex scandals. This is the opinion of many conservatives, but is this what the Enquirer is intending to portray? If so, I think their bigot meter just went up a few bars. The Post story more directly linked this case to the child sex scandals by listing the widely known cases recently resolved or still pending of priests who sexually abused children. The implications of the Post story is just as unfair, but the only difference was those cases were buried at the end of the story, and not in the headline.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Springer Not Running for Senate
Jerry Springer has announced that he will not be running for U. S. Senator of Ohio. I am not surprised. He had horrible numbers, but he could have spent a boatload of money and pulled enough new voters in to help out the Democrats. I guess he was not willing to spend his own money and he did not want to give up his show to campaign. Greed won out. Springer lived up to his image. Instead of gaining attention for a senate race, Fingerhut will be the next under funded candidate to be sent up for slaughter against the Ohio GOP Machine. Voinovich looks like a lock, unless someone else comes out of the woodwork with a truck full of money.
More Coverage: Post, FOX, Bloomberg.
Jerry Springer has announced that he will not be running for U. S. Senator of Ohio. I am not surprised. He had horrible numbers, but he could have spent a boatload of money and pulled enough new voters in to help out the Democrats. I guess he was not willing to spend his own money and he did not want to give up his show to campaign. Greed won out. Springer lived up to his image. Instead of gaining attention for a senate race, Fingerhut will be the next under funded candidate to be sent up for slaughter against the Ohio GOP Machine. Voinovich looks like a lock, unless someone else comes out of the woodwork with a truck full of money.
More Coverage: Post, FOX, Bloomberg.
Good Dowd: Neocons Coup at State
More good Dowd. I am sure she will be attacked by the 800-pound gorilla and his minions for not used italics at a certain point, but she is still a great columnist.
More good Dowd. I am sure she will be attacked by the 800-pound gorilla and his minions for not used italics at a certain point, but she is still a great columnist.
More Springer Coverage
These stories will all be moot by midday. Enquirer here, and here. The BBC covers both Jerry and Arnold. AP's take.
This story on a guest on his show being arrested sure does not help either.
UPDATE 11:05 AM: On RunJerryrun.com Springer's next media appearance is listed as CNN's Crossfire Today (Wed Aug 6th). This is an indication that he still wants to get into the mix of political discussion no matter what he annouces today.
These stories will all be moot by midday. Enquirer here, and here. The BBC covers both Jerry and Arnold. AP's take.
This story on a guest on his show being arrested sure does not help either.
UPDATE 11:05 AM: On RunJerryrun.com Springer's next media appearance is listed as CNN's Crossfire Today (Wed Aug 6th). This is an indication that he still wants to get into the mix of political discussion no matter what he annouces today.
Is this what we can expect?
The Washington Post has introduced its new tabloid geared towards the 18 to 34 year olds and commuters. The Express as it is called is best described as a daily tabloid with condensed news, made up from wire reports and retreads. Jack Shafer at Slate called it "The Washington Post Lite." In Shafer's article he described how the local Alt weekly's satirical issue the created in response to the Express call "Expresso." The satirical issue had as its cover lead "For those who will not read, we salute you!" This was obviously a slam on the Express's format of condensed news, a McNews style.
Is this a sign of what the Enquirer's Weekly will be like? Will it be just recycled Gannett News Service articles cut down to 400 words or less? I hope this is not what they have in mind. I hope they make it worth reading, not just worth browsing. I fear that the Washington Post model is what the business side of the Enquirer has in mind to help build up revenues. If this is all that the Enquirer's Weekly is going to be, then editorially CityBeat will have nothing to fear in the battle of quality. However, in the marketing game the Enquirer may be able to tap into the mass audience's laziness and ignorance. McDonald's, after all, has a boatload of customers, just not the quality worthy of a good meal.
The Washington Post has introduced its new tabloid geared towards the 18 to 34 year olds and commuters. The Express as it is called is best described as a daily tabloid with condensed news, made up from wire reports and retreads. Jack Shafer at Slate called it "The Washington Post Lite." In Shafer's article he described how the local Alt weekly's satirical issue the created in response to the Express call "Expresso." The satirical issue had as its cover lead "For those who will not read, we salute you!" This was obviously a slam on the Express's format of condensed news, a McNews style.
Is this a sign of what the Enquirer's Weekly will be like? Will it be just recycled Gannett News Service articles cut down to 400 words or less? I hope this is not what they have in mind. I hope they make it worth reading, not just worth browsing. I fear that the Washington Post model is what the business side of the Enquirer has in mind to help build up revenues. If this is all that the Enquirer's Weekly is going to be, then editorially CityBeat will have nothing to fear in the battle of quality. However, in the marketing game the Enquirer may be able to tap into the mass audience's laziness and ignorance. McDonald's, after all, has a boatload of customers, just not the quality worthy of a good meal.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
D-Day for Springer
Wednesday is the Day for Jerry to announce his intentions. I am torn. I do not know what he will do. He has cut himself off from contact with the media, to the point of not even updating his blog with new posts. I don't know if Springer is really another Ventura. The two do have similarities in the demographic they need as their base, but Springer can be a slick politician when he needs to be.
At this point I am predicting that Springer will not run, but I am not sure. Springer could just be using this as a contract renegotiation tactic, or he could be serious. I predict a low media turnout at his news conference, but a big dose of blogdom repudiation.
Wednesday is the Day for Jerry to announce his intentions. I am torn. I do not know what he will do. He has cut himself off from contact with the media, to the point of not even updating his blog with new posts. I don't know if Springer is really another Ventura. The two do have similarities in the demographic they need as their base, but Springer can be a slick politician when he needs to be.
At this point I am predicting that Springer will not run, but I am not sure. Springer could just be using this as a contract renegotiation tactic, or he could be serious. I predict a low media turnout at his news conference, but a big dose of blogdom repudiation.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Buzz Agents
Dwight Patton of the CBUF called into Lincoln Ware's radio program today and made what appeared to be a claim that the Boycott B, Nate and Company, are some kind of "agents" or counter-intelligence group out to presumably disrupt the boycott and the Boycott A groups.
I don't know who has the nutty members, Group B or Group A. Flip a coin.
Dwight Patton of the CBUF called into Lincoln Ware's radio program today and made what appeared to be a claim that the Boycott B, Nate and Company, are some kind of "agents" or counter-intelligence group out to presumably disrupt the boycott and the Boycott A groups.
I don't know who has the nutty members, Group B or Group A. Flip a coin.
Racial Healer Coming to Town?
Mary Clare Rietz, founder of "Building Relationships Toward Racial Harmony", is moving to Cincinnati from Toledo. I have never heard of her before, but one can surmise that if her leaving town warranted this article in the Blade, then she must have done something worthwhile. I just hope it was not a slow news day. I do not know if she plans on continuing her work to help race relations, but she could not have picked a better place to try and do some good in that area. We sure can use the help. I just hope that if she does want to help, that she does not have a preconceived notion of Cincinnati, the problems here, or the overall problems with race relations.
Mary Clare Rietz, founder of "Building Relationships Toward Racial Harmony", is moving to Cincinnati from Toledo. I have never heard of her before, but one can surmise that if her leaving town warranted this article in the Blade, then she must have done something worthwhile. I just hope it was not a slow news day. I do not know if she plans on continuing her work to help race relations, but she could not have picked a better place to try and do some good in that area. We sure can use the help. I just hope that if she does want to help, that she does not have a preconceived notion of Cincinnati, the problems here, or the overall problems with race relations.
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Observation
Is the Steve Stifler character from the American Pie movies based on George Bush? I mean the drinking, the arrogance, the total inability to think that anyone who is not you matters, they could be twins.
Is the Steve Stifler character from the American Pie movies based on George Bush? I mean the drinking, the arrogance, the total inability to think that anyone who is not you matters, they could be twins.
New Blog to Cincinnati Area
Barney McClelland, a local freelance writer, has started a new blog called As I Please. Barney has some new interesting writing that I will have to dig into a bit more. He does need to learn how to add links to his blog though.
Barney McClelland, a local freelance writer, has started a new blog called As I Please. Barney has some new interesting writing that I will have to dig into a bit more. He does need to learn how to add links to his blog though.
How to Write a Fluff Piece on Politics
Carl Weiser from Gannett gets a gold star for writing a most useless political article. If I wanted E! on Washington I might have asked for at least some sex and drugs to go along with the PR drivel.
There are tons of issues to write about regarding Jerry Springer’s potential Senate run, but this is type of People Magazine story we get from a Washington reporter? The Enquirer is going of the deep end of Pop Culture. This article belongs in the Temp section, not a news section.
Carl Weiser from Gannett gets a gold star for writing a most useless political article. If I wanted E! on Washington I might have asked for at least some sex and drugs to go along with the PR drivel.
There are tons of issues to write about regarding Jerry Springer’s potential Senate run, but this is type of People Magazine story we get from a Washington reporter? The Enquirer is going of the deep end of Pop Culture. This article belongs in the Temp section, not a news section.
Grasping at Straws?
Has Glenn Reynolds reached the bottom of his bag of tricks to try and defend Fearless Leader that he will listen to the Swedes? Glenn also needs to take a pill on the "dirty nuke" claim as somehow evidence of anything. Please note I used "dirty nuke" not "dirty bomb" as some idiots in the press started using. A "dirty bomb" sounds like TNT wrapped in dog shit.
UPDATE: Oliver Wills drew a similar conclusion, and beat me to it by about 2 minutes.
Has Glenn Reynolds reached the bottom of his bag of tricks to try and defend Fearless Leader that he will listen to the Swedes? Glenn also needs to take a pill on the "dirty nuke" claim as somehow evidence of anything. Please note I used "dirty nuke" not "dirty bomb" as some idiots in the press started using. A "dirty bomb" sounds like TNT wrapped in dog shit.
UPDATE: Oliver Wills drew a similar conclusion, and beat me to it by about 2 minutes.
Saturday, August 02, 2003
Religious Bigotry
The Conservatives are screaming about people being Anti-Catholic, many of those conservatives are Southern Baptists who spout openly anti-catholic dogma all the time. Why aren't these same conservatives defending Satanists when the Dayton Daily News attacks their religion with this bigoted headline: "Satan worshiper says death toll at 11." Since when do we label murderers by their religion? Was Tim McVeigh called a Christian Terrorist? Conservative Christians are the most bigoted of all sectors of religion in America, in general of course, by any means of measurement. Sure, I am judging them in mass, but their record of bigotry in their teachings is up front and out in the open. The recent statements on gay marriage should be enough for people to agree my assessment is valid.
Now, before I get jumped on, I am not trying to defend the person who the article claims confessed to multiple murders. I am just trying to show hypocrisy when it happens.
The Conservatives are screaming about people being Anti-Catholic, many of those conservatives are Southern Baptists who spout openly anti-catholic dogma all the time. Why aren't these same conservatives defending Satanists when the Dayton Daily News attacks their religion with this bigoted headline: "Satan worshiper says death toll at 11." Since when do we label murderers by their religion? Was Tim McVeigh called a Christian Terrorist? Conservative Christians are the most bigoted of all sectors of religion in America, in general of course, by any means of measurement. Sure, I am judging them in mass, but their record of bigotry in their teachings is up front and out in the open. The recent statements on gay marriage should be enough for people to agree my assessment is valid.
Now, before I get jumped on, I am not trying to defend the person who the article claims confessed to multiple murders. I am just trying to show hypocrisy when it happens.
Mormons in the Crossfire
According to a couple of Mormon missionaries who are finishing up their "tour of duty" here in Ohio, they got caught up in a drive by shooting in downtown Cincinnati. I would guess they mean Over-the-Rhine, not downtown, but other than that, they story sounds credible.
According to a couple of Mormon missionaries who are finishing up their "tour of duty" here in Ohio, they got caught up in a drive by shooting in downtown Cincinnati. I would guess they mean Over-the-Rhine, not downtown, but other than that, they story sounds credible.
Friday, August 01, 2003
Gay Marriage
The Enquirer ran a story on this issue today, and the Post had one yesterday. Both of these stories stem from Bush's comments on the issue yesterday and the Pope's ramblings. In the media this issue has been discussed in several areas, and both conservative/religious and liberal/homosexual views have been espoused. What is missing is any question of the conservative/religious viewpoints that are vehemently opposed to this. They, like the Pope, give no real reasons as to what is wrong with gay marriage. If you have no problems with gay or lesbians existing, why do you care what they do with their private lives? How does gay marriage hurt anyone? The bottom line issue can be nothing but anti-homosexual bigotry. Those who are strongly against gay marriage are opposed because their religion dictates that it is "wrong." This is not a real reason. Religion says many things are "wrong" yet no one seeks to outlaw them, well at least not serious numbers of people. Committing adultery is one of the top ten “sins” in Christianity, yet it is not against the law. How is homosexuality more of a threat to marriage, than heterosexual adultery? Where is the constitutional amendment outlawing premarital sex? I hope I don't give "Fearless Leader" any ideas. Bush superimposes his religion on the populace much to often as it is.
The Enquirer ran a story on this issue today, and the Post had one yesterday. Both of these stories stem from Bush's comments on the issue yesterday and the Pope's ramblings. In the media this issue has been discussed in several areas, and both conservative/religious and liberal/homosexual views have been espoused. What is missing is any question of the conservative/religious viewpoints that are vehemently opposed to this. They, like the Pope, give no real reasons as to what is wrong with gay marriage. If you have no problems with gay or lesbians existing, why do you care what they do with their private lives? How does gay marriage hurt anyone? The bottom line issue can be nothing but anti-homosexual bigotry. Those who are strongly against gay marriage are opposed because their religion dictates that it is "wrong." This is not a real reason. Religion says many things are "wrong" yet no one seeks to outlaw them, well at least not serious numbers of people. Committing adultery is one of the top ten “sins” in Christianity, yet it is not against the law. How is homosexuality more of a threat to marriage, than heterosexual adultery? Where is the constitutional amendment outlawing premarital sex? I hope I don't give "Fearless Leader" any ideas. Bush superimposes his religion on the populace much to often as it is.
Maggie Downs Mystery Column
The Enquirer has released Maggie's Convergys column. I don't really see the problem as to why it was held for a couple of weeks. Does the Enquirer really fear the views of the future business leaders of the city? We do have conflict however. All but one of the Generation X council members (5 of 6) voted for the deal. Everyone in Maggie's column had better ideas with what to do with the money, including myself. What is the disconnect? Why does the youthful council not jive with the young professionals? Could it be that old money still matters more? Could the Boomers running the big corporations care more about short-term profits than they do about a long-term viable city? Hmmm, ya think maybe?
The Enquirer has released Maggie's Convergys column. I don't really see the problem as to why it was held for a couple of weeks. Does the Enquirer really fear the views of the future business leaders of the city? We do have conflict however. All but one of the Generation X council members (5 of 6) voted for the deal. Everyone in Maggie's column had better ideas with what to do with the money, including myself. What is the disconnect? Why does the youthful council not jive with the young professionals? Could it be that old money still matters more? Could the Boomers running the big corporations care more about short-term profits than they do about a long-term viable city? Hmmm, ya think maybe?
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