It Took Long Enough

The Jones family has retained a lawyer, and the lucky winner of a nice shinny new contingency case is.............

wait for it..........


It's obvious, isn't it?

The Law Dog.......KENNY LAWSON.

Dueling Ohio Stories

Police have linked the 12 shootings on I-270 in Columbus.

More From CNN, AP via Yahoo.

Drugs Found in Jones' Car

The Coroner reports that Nathaniel Jones' car contained .36g of cocaine and:

The cigarettes, which had been dipped in a liquid substance and were slightly odorous, test positively for the presence of phencyclidine.

Phencyclidine is better known as PCP or "angel dust."

Tuesday Media Roundup on Police Suspect Death

Hegemo comments on Jimmy Kimmel's show with Dick Gregory and The Great One Wayne Gretzky. Gregory brought up the death of Nathaniel Jones here in Cincinnati. Wayne seemed to be staying out of the conversation. I would have likely done the same if I was him in that situation. Why comment on something you know nothing about on national TV?

While on 1230theBuzz Oscar Robinson complained about Bill Cunningham's comments on the Hannity & Combs show on FOX. I can't find a transcript.

CNN interview with Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr.

FOX News has an AP report with a bit of recycled news.

I will try to update this later if any additional comments or news pops up. I am surprised so far that the outside of local Cincy area Bloggers, this has not hit the blogosphere much yet. If anyone has seen other blogs out there with comments on this story, let me know.

UPDATE: Wes Flinn provides a full analysis with historical context.

NY Times on Cincinnati trying to quell tension.

UPDATE #2: Post Editorial.

UPDATE: #3 From the Dallas Morning News Blog

Media watch: police vs. 350-pound man
Many no doubt saw the video of the police confrontation with the 350-pound man. My gripe was with the television tease to the late news last night shown repeatedly to lure you into the 10 p.m. news. It showed just the the beating with batons. Yet when more of the tape was rolled -- earlier in the episode -- we saw the 350-pound man lunging wildly at one of the officers.

Quite a different picture that at least threw total doubt on the first impressions delivered by the "tease."

The autopsy shows PCP (notorious angel dust that can cause tremendous mood swings) as well as cocaine in the dead man's body throws even more fog into the incident.

That is media irresponsibility. It made it look like Rodney King II was under way. That's ratings on the cheap.

posted by Jim Frisinger @ Dec 2, 10:52 AM

Yup.

Big Local News Day

Beyond the big nationalized news story around the police suspect death we have two additional stories that would be big news if not crowded out. A 17 year old girl was reportedly abducted by her armed boyfriend. Also a rookie Bengal player from the practice squad was arrested on multiple charges after being caught urinated in public. The later incident would have been wall-to-wall coverage. The man allegedly ran from police. He was arrested on charges of fleeing police, public intoxication, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and driving on a suspended license. According to the story he fled from police in his car. I don't know why he did not get charged with DUI if he got a public intoxication charge.

UPDATE: Girl abducted now home safe.

Blame Canada!

Looks like I will be moving to Canada at some point. If Bush's America gains dominance over the culture, then I believe the blue and red states will be slipping into a greater conflict than civil rights era ever had.

Relevant Facts?

There are new reported facts about the Police scuffle death. The Post reports two big elements:
1. After the Fire Department called police to deal with Jones, they left.
2. Jones called the police officers "White boy, red neck."

The only point of the incident that looks like poor judgment is expressed in this passage from the article

After detecting a pulse but noticing that Jones was not breathing after officers rolled him over onto his back, a half dozen officers stood around the 41-year-old Northside man for about two minutes without administering CPR or other first aid.

This is not untypical for police, but this is where the fire department actions are more of an issue. Race should not be an issue, but a talk radio caller said the fire department paramedics on the scene were black. If this was true, how will it affect the debate? If this story lasts as a national issue into tomorrow papers, then we truly have a circus.

If you have seen any national news reporters around town, chime in and share who you saw.

UPDATE: A CNN report adds another fact that was new to me, a woman was reported to be with Mr. Jones at the point of the initial call to the paramedics.

Bitch Slapped!

Ok, a harsh headline, but Nate was figuratively bitch slapped by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel. Not only did Nate loose his case to try and gain entrance to the ceremonial council session, he was told by the judge that he could no longer file lawsuits in the county without paying the standard fee. According to the Post's story, Nate has qualified under a "pauper" classification where he does not have to pay $175 fee usually required to file a lawsuit. Nate, whose employment status is unknown, will now have to raise the fee for each new, what I would call frivolous, lawsuit. I would bet Nate will file a lawsuit against the Judge, but will he have to pay the fee?

I hate to give Nate attention, but in this case, it is just warranted. I am sure I will be attacked on his website later on for doing it. Oh, well.

If You Disrupt a Meeting, Will "They" Riot?

Well, another AP writer is giving Nate and his mini-cabal of racists/bigots attention. This time though it is reporting news that happened:

Monday night's regular meeting of the complaint panel was disrupted by four activists who demanded quick action.


"It's apparent that you don't know what you're supposed to be doing and what your authority is," said Nate Livingston Jr., a member of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati, which promotes a boycott of the city.


"When they start fighting in the streets, you'll say, 'Why didn't you do it the right way? Why didn't you come to City Hall? Why didn't you trust us? Why didn't you talk to us?"


Police were called to escort Livingston and three others from the room when they continued to shout at the panel.

Ok, so what happened? Nate and Company were trying to copy Damon Lynch. Back in 2001 the riots were perpetuated by a group of people, led by Damon Lynch III, who raised a ruckus at a City Council Sub-Committee meeting the Monday after the Tim Thomas shooting. That night and the next two saw riots. It would appear Nate might have been trying to recreate the reaction that led to rioting. The problem here is that, well, no one but Nate follows Nate. Damon Lynch has a following, and packed council chambers 2 years ago. Here it was only Nate and 3 of the usual suspects.

I hope Terry Kinney of the AP understands that Nate represents no one but a handful of racists and bigots in the city. John Nolan of the AP should know this, but seems to want to help indirectly perpetuate hate groups.

I wonder if Damon Lynch has even been interviewed by the AP about this incident. I have seen sound bits from him on television news, so I can only assume he is willing to talk to the press. I strongly disagree with Damon Lynch, and I do think his actions or failure to act in certain instances helped lead to the 2001 riots, but his comments thus far on this incident have been reasoned, respectful, and to a degree fair. I would hope that he can spin the National Activists away from Cincinnati at this point. We don't need Jesse Jackson capitalizing on this event, although he has spoken about it already. I think Al Sharpton may stay out of Cincinnati for now. He seems to be trying to be more "statesmanlike" while running for President. I think he would have been on the next plane otherwise.

Roundup on the Police Suspect Death

Rob Bernard Comments.
More from CNN.
BET has more of the CJC position, needless to say one over the top.
A recycled AP report in the Independent.

Big Story

Michael at Rantophilia (perma links at blogspot down) asks

I don't know if he means to say this, but Brian Griffin over at CB certainly implies that Jones's death is not "a big story." I beg to differ. How is this not a big story?

This story is a big story here in Cincinnati, not a big NATIONAL story or rather it should not be one. This is a case of the nationalization of local news that happens every time there is video to go alone with a wire story, and that wire story is pumped up with inflammatory comments from an "activist."

This story is fine to make the wires and be carried as back page news in the LA Times or the Dallas Morning News, but not as the headline story on FOX News’s Website. I have not seen the cable broadcasts yet today, but I can only guess how many times they have shown the video. In comments someone indicated that Nate was on Hannity’s radio program. This is about an inch away from a circus. I hope the preliminary results from the coroner are true about the level of drugs in the man’s system. That might justify the police in eyes of everyone in town, minus some of the hardline “activists.”

Making National Headlines: A Lazy AP Writer Hits the Bottom of the Barrel

The death of Nathaniel Jones after a struggle with police is now the headline on FOX News while not as big a news story on CNN. In the AP article from CNN this tidbit is funny:

Black activists say the death Sunday of Nathaniel Jones, 41, was another example of brutality involving Cincinnati police. The fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in April 2001 prompted three nights of rioting in the city.

"How many of our people have to die before the city decides to do something about it?" said Nathaniel Livingston Jr. of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati.

Once again we have a local AP reporter who is too lazy to go and get a quote from someone who actually speaks for someone beside himself. Nate gives an inflammatory comment that makes for good copy and Boom, here come the headlines. I would love it if AP reporters always signed their names. What I think is the same story in the LA Times lists John Nolan as the writer. He has personally caused this case to become a big story by giving attention to individuals and groups that are racist and bigoted, who care not about fact, but instead are out to gain attention for their black separatist cause. If you want to quote a black activist whom "most" people would agree to a degree represents the "black community", then why not quote Damon Lynch III? (At this point if "Someone" is on the ball he will be copying my post to his group's website and chiding me without end.)

More Coverage: ABC, ONN, LA Times.

UPDATE: The AP story has been cleaned up a bit with new information but it still includes a quote from Livingston. The main update includes preliminary autopsy information indicating Mr. Jones had an enlarged heart and his blood contained both cocaine and PCP (Angel Dust).

I am amazed this was the "top story" on the Yahoo Most Viewed story list.

Michael at Rantophilia also comments.

Overreaching Article of the Day

From Friday I learned something new. Since Cincinnati has 3 "trendy" clubs: Jeff Ruby's Tropicana, Red Cheetah, and the unmentioned Club Clau, and people don't behave like "angels" while there, our city is not as "conservative" as you might think.

Ahem.

I first have to laugh at this as a news story. This is not a news story, it is a commercial. If the writer wanted to show the city was not conservative, why not talk about the vibrant gay community? Why not talk about the various progressive groups around town?

What I find most funny is that a majority of the people who go to these clubs, if they vote at all, likely vote Republican and considered themselves "conservative." They would just not consider themselves CCV style prudes.

More on Man Dying After Being Arrested

The Enquirer has a full report on the incident including a full quote from Roger Webster, FOP President:

"My question to the police administration is, what criminal act are you investigating? You are accusing these cops of being criminals," Webster said angrily outside police headquarters. "That is why they don't want to work, because they are treated worse than the criminals they arrest."

Webster is not helping quell the situation. His officers are not going to be fired, so he will do more good if he would shut his trap.

UPDATE: The Post's Story, and their gross speculative analysis.

Hitting the Fan?

A man died early Sunday morning after being in police custody. The information thus far shows no wrongdoing, but for some that will not matter. I hope the city increases police protection at the Council Meeting. There are calls for protests already from the Boycott B.

The FOP President went way overboard with his reaction. His comment "...that’s why they don't want to work..." sounds like conformation of the "slowdown" that occurred after the 2001 riots.

Other coverage: WCPO

QCF Gets Panned

Greg Mann from Notes from Ground Level is less than impressed with the writing at Queen City Forum, especially the column on the Second Amendment.

It's Alive!

The "Real Life, Real News" initiative appears to be off the ground at the Enquirer. Will there be any hard news columns in the Metro Section anymore? The Enquirer appears to have let some columnists go, or at least reassigned them to other jobs. Denise Smith-Amos and Karen Gutiérrez are the two that come to mind most. Where are they? They are off the columnist roster and have not written for some time. With the retirement of Laura Pulfer there are really few columnists left at the Enquirer. Does this mean they have hired more reporters? Or have the former columnists become reporters? Even John Kiesewetter is no longer listed as an Enquirer Columnist.

The Opinion Page appears to have the most changes. I give you one conservative newspaper with a columnist line up like this:
Sunday – Richard Cohen and Walter Williams
Monday – Leonard Pitts Jr.
Tuesday – William Safire
Wednesday – Richard Cohen and Kathleen Parker
Thursday – William Safire
Friday – Charles Krauthammer
Saturday – James J. Kilpatrick and Kathleen Parker

A rundown
Richard Cohen: Moderate Liberal
Walter Williams: Rush Limbaugh Conservative
Leonard Pitts Jr: Moderate Liberal
William Safire: Old Northeastern Conservative
Kathleen Parker: Moderate Conservative
Charles Krauthammer: Hardline Conservative
James J. Kilpatrick: Conservative who usually has non-political columns appear in the Enquirer.

So we have 10 total syndicated columnist spots in the Enquirer. 3 of those 10 spots are filled by "liberals." That would be 30% of the time for those keeping stats. Ah, yes, that would be fair and balanced for someone looking to provide a conservative editorial page.

Suckers Born Again

Reading the letters to editor of the Enquirer today demonstrates how people are suckered by PR. The letters gush in pride and pats on the back for Bush. What did he really do? He did nothing. He sneaked into the country and visited some troops at the Baghdad Airport. The country is far to dangerous for him to stay more than a few hours, let alone overnight.

I have no problem with Bush going. It is good for morale. It is traditional for Presidents to visit the troops on Thanksgiving in time of war. His dad did it during the First Gulf War. What I despise is the obvious use of it as a means of Public Relations. The purpose of this event was to change public opinion if favor of George Bush. This really was not about the troops. If this was about the troops, then I think Bush would have made an effort to see a whole lot more than just one small group at the airport.

What adds insult to injury to this is Bush's weekly radio address. Bush tells us of the efforts of citizens to support the troops:

The courage of our soldiers and their families show the spirit of this country in great adversity. And many citizens are showing their appreciation by helping military families here at home.

Members of the VFW have started an Adopt-A-Unit program, so veterans and their families can support military units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Volunteers from a group called Rebuilding Together have repaired homes for military families while their spouses are deployed.

Citizens interested in finding volunteer opportunities to support our military should visit the USA Freedom Corps website at usafreedomcorps.gov.

Why do civilians need to help the troops in the field? Why isn't the military taking care of their own soldiers and the immediate families of those soldiers?

I also want to point out this statement from Bush:

I'm pleased to report back from the front lines that our troops are strong, morale is high and our military is confident we will prevail.

Yes, I think Bush can state the troops are strong. What I don't think he can say from first hand experience that morale is high. Bush spent time with troops at one location for a couple of hours. Secondly, no troops is going to say anything to Bush other than that their morale is high. The troops know better and the military brass knows to filter who meets Bush.

I am just disgusted by how this trip is being trumpeted by the media and by Conservatives as something important or substantial. Nothing has changed. The situation of our troops has not changed at all. Iraq is not any better off than it was before. It was a nice symbolic gesture of the President to take this significant risk to fly into Iraq for 2+ hours. It might be more valuable for Bush to spend his time making it safe for him to spend the night in Baghdad.

UPDATE: Roger Ailes (the good one) comments and they sting.

Feeding Frenzy Begins

CNN and FOX News have follow-up stories on the I-270 shootings. What will the gunman's nickname be? The panic may have begun already in Columbus. The UK's Sun gives the story the headline "Sniper on terror road." ITV asks: "Another American sniper case?"

Statewide Indoor Smoking Ban?

This will not happen here in Ohio. The GOP control the state government, and a statewide ballot issue will have to contend with a whole lot of smokers and bar owners.