Hegemo on Cicadas

Sarah has some ideas on how Columbus could be tricked into taking all of Cincinnati's Cicadas. I am sure we would include shipping costs too.

Bronson Pimps WWII Veterans

Peter Bronson could have just done a tribute column to veterans for Memorial Day, but instead he whores them out in his political crusade. Not only does he use them like a smarmy John, he puts out ideas that contradict what I think most people view as American liberty.

1. Censorship: Bronson wants only "good news" out of Iraq. He
   longs for the days of WWII when "the only stories that came home were
   tales of heroism, valor and perseverance." Truth be damned! We must
   indoctrinate the populace who dare might think for themselves.


2. Pre-emption: Bronson laments that WWII was without an "exit
   strategy". Sorry to disappoint you Peter, but you are wrong
   again. We did have an exit strategy in Germany and Japan, destroy aggressive
   armies that had declared war on us. In Iraq we attacked a
   country that had a horrid regime in charge, but posed no threat to the USA,
   and a marginal threat to its neighbors. North Korea, Zimbabwe, Libya, and
   Cuba still stand. Where's the entrance strategy?


3. Don't speak ill of Dear Leader: Bronson wants us to just leave his
   fearless leader alone. We can't speak ill of him, us horrible godless
   liberal heathens. We don't deserve the right to live here if we don't
   conform to his conservative way of life. This was a bit of a
   extrapolation from the quote he used from a veteran. He had to but
   that "liberal" in there and try to claim it the media is liberal
   again. Bronson is ten times the broken record I will ever be.

There is also no logical way Bronson can claim to have run with an anti-war crowd in high school. That does not mean he did not, it just be he likely got beat up by a rival gang of hippies, which caused his conversion to the blood lust crowd.

Main Street

Nick Spencer has what he thinks is wrong with the Main Street area and includes ideas about what could be done to improve it.

Friday's Enquirer had a lengthy article covering the recent bars closing.

Dayton has news about a downtown bar doing well.

Bush Up in Latest Ohio Poll

The Mason-Dixon/Plain Dealer Poll has Bush leading significantly, by 6%. This sounds high and contradicts other recent polls that have Kerry winning (one even with Kerry up 7%). It is likely close, but the swing reported in this poll seems like they got a bad sample. This is a problem in Ohio because we have such a polarized geography. Zip codes can predict voting patterns to such degree that polls are almost moot. The real issue is turnout. That is where Bush is in trouble. I do not think he will get the volume of turnout he needs to win by 6% as this poll suggests. Ohio will be close come November, no matter who wins.

'Cops' Round-Up

'Cops!' appears not to be leaving Cincinnati. Alicia Reese explains herself, not very convincingly.

The Post has more on 'Cops!' going to Covington and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. There is also a background story on 'Cops!' and its popularity.

More from WCPO, WKRC, WLWT, and the Plain Dealer.

Also check out Jeff Stahler's latest cartoon.

Cincinnati Guard Unit Questioned on Prison Deaths

A military police unit based in the Cincinnati Area has been questioned regarding the deaths of two prisoners back in December of 2002 in Afghanistan. The unit has been home since March of 2003.

'Cops!' is Out

Grandstanding, Grandstanding, what you gonna do? What you gonna do when the voters come for you? Council members Alicia Reese and Chris Smitherman had a case of the "Goo" over the Cincinnati Police allowing a filming of the TV show 'Cops!'.

I must officially announce that I have lost respect for Chris Smitherman. I was pleased he got on council, adding another Charterite was a big plus to council, but I did not see coming was his anti-police stances and his media whoring. All politicians put out for the news media to a degree, but Smitherman is whiling to do just about anything to piss people off and get the cameras on him. Is he thinking he could run for Mayor next year?

Positive

Pat DeWine "can't think of anything positive" that could come from filming 'Cops' here in Cincinnati. I for one can think of one positive: we could see the boycott B people arrested for breaking the law and then handled with proper care, giving them no reason to sue, but reason to go to jail.

This does assume that Nate Livingston takes up my challenge to get himself arrested in front of the 'Cops' film crew. I don't support breaking any laws, but if Nate wants attention, that is one way to get it. I would even provide him with free gift VHS or DVD copy of the episode in which he or any boycott B member stars in, and when I say "star" I mean staring in the role of "shirtless man in handcuffs."

Bronson Misses the Obvious

Peter Bronson misses the obvious solution to ridding the city of criminal drug dealers, legalize drugs. You don't want people getting rich from bootleg crack? Simple, sell it cheaper at a sanctioned junkie store, one with clean needles and sources of information on kicking the habit.

Having the police come down heavy on drug dealers will not rid the city of drug crime, it might soften for a while, but like weeds it grows right back. You must get to the root of the problem, cut out the high bootleg prices and you drop the incentive for girls to get pregnant at 15 and hook up with an 18-year-old drug dealer with money. No drug dealer with illegal money, then less crime and less people doing what ever it takes to be with the man with "easy" money.

Miami Leads the Way

Miami U. leads the way in local graduation rates

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.

The Exile of Main Street

Has the city dumped Main Street as its premire bar district? Two bars close, any new bars open?

Food

Here's the Taste of Cincinnati Menu. I plan on making at least one trip down this weekend.

John Dowlin, Lame Duck County Commissioner & Bigot

What the hell got into Dowlin's coffee? Since when is this guy a hardcore anti-homosexual bigot? I would not bat a lash if this was Phil Heimlich or Chris Monzel, but since when has Dowlin been a bible-thumping bigot? I agree with Kevin Osborne on this:

Although Heimlich has a reputation as a staunch conservative, much of Dowlin's political career has been spent as a moderate with a focus on economic issues, prompting surprise among observers that he would introduce such a resolution as his term ends.

All I can say is good riddance come November to this asshole theocratic bigot, who is just wasting tax payer money with his crusade.

Heimlich will be a total hypocrite if he supports this, but I am sure that's one principle he will gladly sacrifice on the way to his form of theocracy.

Nick Spencer has more.

Non-Bronson Thread

Ok, I know I posted a boat load on Bronson today, so here is a thread to rant on what ever else you might want, Bush's Speech and its failure to do much of anything or you can just sound off on the loud cicadas. Did I mention they were really loud?

Bronson's Opps

Rebecca Bowman of the CSF educates Peter Bronson on his Oklahoma crack in prior column unfairly bashing the Fringe Festival. As a volunteer at the Fringe Fest, I was rather pissed at both his ignorant slam of the Fringe and his trashing of Oklahoma. I applaud Rebecca's history lesson for Peter, who seems to have been suckered by those 'pinko liberals' Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Bronson Hates Business Development

If it was not Tim Burke, leader of the Hamilton County Democrats, representing businesses trying to take home owner's land for a big development Bronson would likely have not given a damn about a handful of residents holding up jobs for Americans.

What would Bronson say if they wanted to expand in West Chester and take some houses a mile from his house? I am sure he would not waffle an inch and support the business development. Here he flip-flops on what to do. Well, I hope I never read Bronson pull the faux flip-flop charge on John Kerry.

Battle Royal, GOP Style

Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Cincinnati Republican, has called for the Republican Party to seek the resignation of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. The head of the Party has rejected Blackwell's demand. Householder's campaign had prepared a memo outline a plan to "possibly destroy the political career" of Blackwell, a rival of Householder for statewide office.

Householder is being investigated by Federal Officials regarding speaker's campaign practices.

More from the Akron Beacon-Journal.

Derf Makes it Big

The New York Times has taken notice of www.cicadaville.com the creation of Cincinnati satirist Brandon Breedon, a writer at Derf Magazine.

And another, the Cicadas are really fucking loud.

No Big Deal?

Rob Daumeyer at the Cincinnati Business Courier writes on why Abu Ghraib became a bigger deal that he thinks it deserves:

Abu Ghraib, the Department of Defense, Wall Street and just about every other institution you can think of, are being derided as symptoms of a debased, faded civilization.

To which I reply, stop with the crazy talk. That argument is emptier than the soul food line at the Republican National Convention.

Look, I'm not saying things are super terrifically splendidly great, but let's get serious. The Abu Ghraib torture -- or fraternity hazing, as Rush Limbaugh calls it -- isn't anything we didn't do in other wars. I shudder to think what we did with the few Japanese we managed to get our hands on. We just didn't have tiny little digital cameras and the Internet to duplicate them a bazillion times.

I think Rob's point on how what was done by Hitler or Stalin was worse than Abu Ghraib is "true", but the difference that apologists for Don Rumsfeld miss on this point is that it was our military. Rob is wrong, this is a big deal. He agrees that the situation was horrid and Rumsfeld and Co deserve criticism, but even though attention has been focused on this one prison, it still does not take away that our soldiers did this and did it knowingly. Another person's crime is horrible, but a crime your commit yourself is then end of one's moral stature.

Boycott B Website is 'Suspended'

The website "www.boycottcincinnati.org" only has this comment as a banner, "This Account Has Been Suspended." Nate Livingston must be on vacation.