A 14 Year Old Girl?

A 14 year old girl is causing people trouble? Is this girl somehow "Supergirl" with the strength of 10 men? I don't see how any average adult could not detain this girl until police arrive. What is the challenge? I also have to ask, are "hate crime" charges being considered?

People along the Short Vine strip complained for months about unprovoked assaults by teenagers, often followed by racial slurs , that business owners say make people afraid to come here.

I assume she is black, if not, 1230 the Buzz will be ringing with cries for someone's head.

Red Dust

Have we been invaded by Martians? This story is either really serious, with nut or terrorist doing something bad, or a teenage kid is pulling some weird prank.

Anderson Township Moron

I have to ask a question to this Anderson Township Letter to the Editor writer:

Kerry not fit to be president

As I picked up the Oct. 13 edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer, I read the cover page with interest. Then I turned to page A2, "First Stop" and that's exactly what I did.

But the "First Stop" was the last stop for what stared me in the eye: a picture of a wannabe, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., known as the "unknown soldier." The headline, "Unknown soldier' now makes his voice heard" was right. I just had to respond.

I put this "unknown soldier" in the same category with Hanoi Jane Fonda, and find them both useless.

I hope Kerry crawls back in his box and takes it back to Massachusetts, where he belongs. No way could I cast my vote to support for president. Kerry is a legend in his own mind.

Earl D. Corell, Anderson Township

Mr. Corell, did you serve in Vietnam? If you did, then did you see any fighting?

Guess what Mr. Corell, Senator John Kerry served on the Mekong delta in a small gun boat fighting the VC. He earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, and three Purple Heart medals. How Many medals have you won?

Where was George Bush? Oh, right, he was protecting the skies from a Mexican invasion. I am not big on military records and they don't change my vote, but when ignornat morons like this letter writer, and the idiots who put the letter in the paper, must be corrected.

I am guessing Mr. Corell is the same man referenced in this Enquirer Article from 1999. Does Mr. Corell think Iraq is another Vietnam? He sure thought Kosovo might be

“They say we have another Vietnam in Kosovo,” Vietnam vet Earl Corell told the 47 people and one dog gathered for the ceremony. “I sure hope the hell not.”

A Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, Earl Corell went to war in Vietnam in 1970. Ten years later, he came up with the idea for Cincinnati's Vietnam memorial and raised funds for the project.

Earl thought of rededicating the monument after U.S. missiles slammed into Kosovo.

“There are so many parallels between Vietnam and Kosovo,” Earl told me as we stood by the memorial before his speech. “We didn't know why we were in Vietnam.

“And nobody has told us why we are in Kosovo. Or how long we are going to be there and what we hope to accomplish.

Hmmm, does he want to extend and revise his remarks or just live with the contradiction? I am assuming his position is that of a Bush/war supporter from his knee jerk anti-Kerry letter. I think I have made a logical conclusion based on the evidence presented.

Dog Pile on the Bigot

The Elkington outrage has reached a peak with 100 Chinese-Americans attending yesterday's city council meeting. Cranley has gone out on limb:

Councilman John Cranley, Elkington's biggest supporter on City Council, said the remarks were unacceptable. Elkington made the remarks last month.

"Let me say in unequivocal terms - and I know I speak for all of council - that I condemn the statements made by Mr. Elkington at the Over-the-Rhine chamber luncheon," Cranley said.

He seemed to satisfy the crowd when he said City Council "has no intention of putting Mr. Elkington under contract with the city."

John Cranley knows one thing better than anyone: when to cut your losses and go with "popular" opinion.

CityBeat was mentioned again in the Enquirer article. That is amazing. Twice in about a week.

Cranley still wants Elkington to come to town and develop McMain street. I hope his role is limited. I also hope we get a new Chinese-American owned business on Main Street as soon as possible.

Military Theocracy?

Conservatives bitch constantly that the media is filled with liberals, which I am fairly sure they think is a bad thing. I want to know, why doesn't anyone bitch about the level of conservatives in the Officer Corps of the U.S. military? If you read about the general in charge of the fight against terrorism, Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin's, comments you might be concerned that we are closer to a Bush lead theocracy than even I thought. Atrios has the details.

Luken and Cranley Jump Ship

John Elkington will likely not be setting foot in Cincinnati for a long time. His anti-Chinese comments have created a big stink. When you get quotes like this from Mayor Luken:

"If he said this, he's disqualified from being hired by the city," Luken says.

and from Councilman Cranley:

"I thought that his joke was inappropriate and I have told him the same," Cranley says.

then I think it is safe to say that he will not be hired. Elkington is denying the CityBeat quotes. I think he should quit before he sinks the whole plan for Main Street.

Crime Ring Was Not Involved in Terrorism

It seems that ignorance ruled the day. The local police were looking for headlines and failed to see the whole picture. The Judge in this case, Thomas Crush, belittled the contention that terrorism was involved:

But during the Tuesday hearing, Crush said: "The money was not sent to terrorist organizations. There is no jihad here."

He said some of the men are Muslim, some Christian and some Hindu. Four of the men, the judge said, sent money to family members in Kuwait, Bulgaria, Jordan and Hungary.

"I hardly believe they're sending money to Muslim terrorists," Crush said.

It sounds like the local police are taking a page from Bush's playbook. If you can't account for where the money went, that must mean it went to terrorists. Money, WMD, it is all just a faith based assumption.

Cincinnati Fire Chaplain Reinstated

From the start of this mini-controversy this seems like something screwed up. A man is trying to help pull the fire fighters together, and the chief shoots him down. I think the bottom line problem with the Fire Fighters is that the black fire fighters don't want to join the union unless they get blacks in positions of leadership(power). What issues does the union have that would require representation of every race? Are women represented in the union? Are Asians? Are Latinos? Are Russians? Is Mt. Lookout represented? Are cats represented? It would appear that a whole bunch of asses are getting representation.

Bronson commented on this situation too, before the reinstatment.

SNL Found Its Balls?

Did Saturday Night Live find its balls again? Tina Fey, Weekend Update and head writer, took some big stabs at the actions of the Lawyer for Kobe Bryant. It was sharp, to the point, and a clean cut. (And Scene)

Freudian Slip, Political Style

It seems that Dan Klepal of the Cincinnati Enquirer has promoted Councilman Pat DeWine to the office of U.S. Senator:

Reps. Steve Chabot of Cincinnati and Rob Portman of Terrace Park, along with Sens. Pat DeWine and George Voinovich, all Republicans, say in the letter they were unaware of the proposed change until reading of it in the Enquirer Oct. 4.

Of course Mike DeWine is the current Senator from Ohio, who is Pat's father. I hope Pat got a good laugh from that one on his dad.

FOX News Religious Bias?

In their latest poll FOX News is trumpeting that 92% of Americans believe in "God." Now, why this is something for a news group to poll I do not really know, but FOX does cater to religious right. The bias in this article starts with the following:

Fully 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 85 percent in heaven and 82 percent in miracles, according to the latest FOX News poll.

That was from the first paragraph in the article. That says that based on the poll 276 million out of 300 million or so people in America believe in "God." Now, I will try to forgo the problem of lumping "God" as a singular and monolithic title to something that has such widespread variations in definition and belief. Asking if people believe in "witches" is by itself insulting to those who practice Wicca, but I “digress.” (But not really)

The real meat comes later in the intro to the specific polling data results:

Polling was conducted by telephone September 23-24, 2003 in the evenings. The sample is 900 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points. Results are of registered voters, unless otherwise noted. NA = national adult

Please note the part that I made bold. This poll was of only registered voters. This poll does not mean that 92% of Americans believe in "God", it should have read 92% of Registered Voters. So the leading poll question, one that does not define what they mean by "God," is limited to a subsection of the populace, but is passed off as the results for the entire population.

Polling registered voters is fine, when polling on political issues affecting elections. They are only ones who can vote, so the results are valid. This poll, even beyond the leading "concepts" of "God, Heaven, Hell, and the Devil", is flawed and misleading. I wonder if showing as high a possible percentage of people "believing" in "God" provides support to those who want state religion by popular vote. Well, I don't need to wonder, because I can see no other logical rationale for spinning this story that way, beyond incompetence of course.

Next Time a Tea Cosy?

Peter Bronson's column from Sunday seemed a little forced. I think he was going for a Midwestern Martha Stewart style word picture. I expected him to share his burch beer recipes or maybe his plan for a great pattern for a new wool blanket to warm him and someone special while they root for the home team....ah...good times. (Cough, Cough)

MIAMI 59, Buffalo 3

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Coverage: Enquirer, AP, and Buffalo News.

Why Old Cincinnati Doesn't Get It

Peter Bronson's column from Saturday asking why there are not more bland television shows for people like him out there is exactly why this city lives in the past, and fails to develop a vibrant downtown.

What Peter just does not get is that there are people who live a life not wanting what he wants: the Leave It To Beaver life. People don't want to be bored. Peter wants to be bored. The people who think like Peter are too scared not to be bored. If they are exited about something new, they must be "sinning."

Now, when I say new, I don't mean a new book detailing the history of the bible from the point of view of a modern Jesus Freak that likes rap music. I mean new as is inventive and crisp ideas that are not just derivative of an old story that has passed the morality judges living in the burbs.

The problem here is Peter's jealousy. He claims there are not enough "family" shows on television. He is wrong. There are tons of networks shows that the "family" can watch (meaning kids and prudish adults). There are dozens of cable channels fitting that market as well. Peter is pissed that his shows are not as popular as the ones that break new ground, or from his point of view that swear and show bare asses. I would guess that Peter thinks the West Wing is just the work of the devil and that Trading Spaces is just vanity run amuck. I think Peter needs to stop being afraid of breaking the taboos that are no longer taboos. Skirts to the ankle and not wearing hats indoors are just not things that matter in life. Being offended by swear words is nothing but Political Correctness, the original kind. If those words offend you Peter, just don't listen. Don't be such a PC prude.

Enquirer Sports Page Goes to Bed Early

It appears that someone wanted to go home and get to bed early last Monday Night.

In the not so clear picture above it reads:

Tampa Bay's Keenan McCardell catches a touchdown pass during Monday's game against the Colts. The Bucs rolled to a 35-14 and then held off a Colts rally.

Now there are two problems here. First the last sentence is missing a word, "to a 35-14 and then...." Maybe it should have been: "to a score of 35-14 and then...."

The second and, well, far bigger problem was that the final score of the game was 38-35 Colts. The last time the score was 35-14 was at about 3:40 to go in the fourth quarter. Now this kind of thing happens all the time, and the Sports Section is the least important in the paper, but this was on the front page. I would have thought they could have stopped the presses a few minutes after they sent it to the printers, but I don't know how the process works on that detailed of a level. I hope this kind of thing never happens with hard news.

Hip Again?

If Cincinnati is not Hip, we are at least trendy. For the second time in a week a national newspaper has done a story on Young Professionals and they have focused on Cincinnati. The attention is great. We had another great time at CincyTommorrow's After-5 Walk last night.

This article, like the CSM article, has a drive by view of Cincinnati, but it is not that far off. We have let the rest of the country define us mainly because a majority of the region is stuck living in a 1980's frame of mind.

Any Question that Brian Crum Garry is a Marxist?

If you make this comment at a candidate's forum can you be anything else but a Marxist?

But activist Brian Crum Garry, an independent candidate, took issue with the emphasis on crime in the campaign. "Crime is not the No. 1 problem in Cincinnati. Race and class are the No. 1 problem in Cincinnati," he said.

Why he did not just come out and attack the capitalists and call for a proletariat strike is beyond me. I am sure Mr. Crum could be an old school socialist or a full-blown Stalinist, but those distinctions are only a matter of an "if it walks like a duck" difference.

Also from this article, since when is Monica R. Williams of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati a "boycott leader?" Last I knew she was not even one of the "co-chairs" of the CJC? She was wrong about Deter's comments. Deter's come across as harsh, but they are a fact. The image of intercity under 30 year old blacks is the same one portrayed in the media as "gang culture." Deter's saying this comes across to many as bigoted and racist, but it is still true. Now, why it is true is an issue that is far more debatable and where I am sure Mr. Deter's might spew some rather ignorant opinions if he were to be off the record. I am surprised the CJC and its racist cabal have not disrupted more forum events. Since many of them have been in “those” neighborhoods, I guess the CJC is scared to venture in to them. When I say “those” of course I mean Westwood, Price Hill, Mt. Washington, Hyde Park, and Mt. Lookout. The CJC’s super powers are not effective in places like that, so they stay as far away as possible. They don’t want to actually meet real white people. If they were to meet real white people, they might realize we are not the “devil.” That would just blow their whole “the man is keeping us down” motif.

Tensions Rise in OTR

The report of a harsh physical arrest in OTR is not good. It is not good because people are still tense in OTR and are looking at every police action with assumptions. Damon Lynch is already commenting. The quote on WPCO's website is rather meaningless. What is he going to do about it? What would he do about it if he were on council?

No one was reportedly upset over these arrests:

Police find guns, bullet-proof vest

OVER-THE-RHINE - Cincinnati police officers checking out a report early Thursday about a person with a gun in a bar ended up finding two loaded handguns and a bullet-proof vest.

Officers heading to Martin's Bar just before 2:30 a.m. saw a man running outside and chased him. They arrested Germaine Evans, 22, of Over-the-Rhine, and Reco Terrell, 29, of Pleasant Ridge. Both were charged with carrying concealed weapons and having weapons under disability, meaning they have prior felony charges that prohibit them from carrying a gun.

Officers found a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic and a loaded .40-caliber handgun in a car. They also found the vest, according to Evans' arrest report.

Where was Damon Lynch's praise on this? I wonder why every gun-nut is not pissed these guys were charged with carrying concealed weapons.

UPDATE: The Post reports that there was basically a mini-riot after the arrests. 1230theBuzz callers are heavily calling about this topic. The police chief is set to appear before noon. This after noon's Jay Love show should produce quite a few fireworks.


UPDATE#2: WLWT has a detailed report of the incident from Police. Their version vindicates the police actions. The suspect had a gun and the police hit the man to try to get the gun from him. The Chief of police has come on the Buzz and explained the incident very thoroughly. He will surely be attacked, but this case looks open and shut. The racists and the boycotters (often the same people) will cry foul and claim conspiracy, but it appears almost the entire incident is on videotape.

UPDATE#3: A man on the Buzz is claiming to be a "Reverend" Doc Foster and claims to be the "grandfather" of the man arrested. Interesting, if true.

Texas GOP, Wow

Kevin Drum, master blogger, at Calpundit.com has a takedown of the Texas Republican platform. This document is actually scary. If people can be a Republican and support these people, I don't know how. Speaking of People, does Bush support his state's Platform? Will he refute the bigotry and theocracy, and fascism advocated in it?

Cin: Good Clean Fun!

Well, I got a look at the prototype of the Cincinnati Enquirer's new weekly. The title is "Cin." I don't mind the title. There is a nice double entendre that has potential. As for the rest of it, well, it is about what I expected: The Today show in print form, minus Ann Curry and Al Roker. We had "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly of Shackingup" where I read "real" people discuss living with their significant other. Too bad that one of those people sharing her opinion states that she is married. That seems to defeat the idea of "shackingup," which I think most of society reserves for unmarried couples.

The Cincinnati Style section looks like it was a satirical look at People Magazine, but the problem was that is wasn't trying to be satirical. Most of what I saw was fluff. Where to eat, what to wear, where to go, and who to be. It was a how-to-live newspaper for the intellectually deficient. If you need to be told what is "cool," or if you care what "cool" means in an "American Pie" kind of way, then this will be your bible for life in Cincinnati. If you like originality or fresh ideas, then this will appear to be a pile of rotting filet mignon .

For the "mainstream" Cincinnati 27 year old women ( or man) who watches the bachelor and thinks she could get picked, this is her newspaper. For the person who listens to NPR, reads something without pictures, and knows the difference between reality TV and reality, I suggest sticking to XRay Magazine or CityBeat.

UPDATE: I also have no idea if this publication will have its own website or even a special section at Cincinnati.com. I bet it will have something on the web eventually. If not, then the Enquirer really has no clue about 25-34 year olds. On the cover the cinncinnati.com was listed, so I would guess there will be a special section (tab) for "Cin."