Quit Your Burbish Whining

In a letter to the Enquirer Jessi Grieser sums up the pity party the burbs deserve:

Rough in the burbs? City has its charms

I feel bad for those affected by the speed of development in Warren County. See, I've lived 22 years on a quiet, beautiful street with a park, with quick access to Interstate 71 that doesn't require going through traffic. Going to a local public school, I finished eighth grade competent in Chinese. During high school, I worked in a family-owned business in a beautiful, historic neighborhood square just miles from my home. I can enjoy world-class museums, sports and theater by driving only 12 minutes. And if I don't want to drive, public transportation comes every half-hour to the end of my street.

I live inside the city of Cincinnati. I invite everyone to come try it out.

Jessi Grieser
Kennedy Heights

Indeed!

Why Local News, Again?

Another story listed in the local news section of the Enquirer, but nothing at all local. I assume it came from the front page section of the print edition. Why this mix up? Does the online Enquirer need an official front-page section to keep stories like this from getting lost between city council meetings and landfill problems?

The Future of Rock and Roll Lives

97X has announced they will begin online broadcasts starting at 10AM Monday, July 12th. Still no word on if they are planning on moving the broadcast studios out of Oxford. Moving to Over-the-Rhine would be the ideal. A store front studio on Main Street with a nice neon sign would put music in Cincinnati on a new level.

The Enquirer also had this story, but a day late.

FOX Cheap Shot

Why is FOX continuing to link Sam Donaldson's name to a murder case that, other than the bodies being found on his property, has no relationship to him?

If a member of the news media does something criminal, then other outlets should report on it to his fullest value, as should the outlet that employs the individual in question. If someone found a dead body somewhere out behind Bill Cunningham's house, then it should be reported with Cunningham's name in the story, but making it part of the headline is pure exploitation if Cunningham were to have nothing to do with such an act.

Also, bringing up the story again with Donaldson's name in the headline when a suspect is going to court over it is also a linkage that exploits the situation and indirectly damages Donaldson's name. FOX isn't considered the TV's New York Post for nothing.

UPDATE: One correction, the killer and people killed worked on the Ranch and Donaldson did know them. That creates a better linkage for an initial story, but still it does not justify the framing of this story with Donaldson's name plastered all over it, as well as his picture.

'O'

Kudos to Oprah Winfrey for giving the Freedom Center $1 million. A great asset to the city gets a boost that I hope will make it a year round anchor to the riverfront and a cultural landmark for the city and the entire region.

Will this article get the same Kathy Wilson reaction as Sunday's Enquirer article? Will this post get me called a racist again?

Blackwell: Bigot

Ken Blackwell took a step forward in his bid for the GOP nomination for Ohio Governor by letting everyone know he's bigoted towards homosexuals:

Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, one of the top elected black Republicans in the nation, urged Republican U.S. senators Thursday to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, calling homosexuality "a lifestyle choice."

Blackwell told about two dozen senators that gay groups cannot argue for the same rights as minority groups.

"There is a difference between a lifestyle choice and an immutable characteristic like race or ethnicity," Blackwell said.

Glad to see Ken is out there fending off attacks form the right by making sure everyone in Ohio know that he stand shoulder to shoulder with the anti-gay bigots in the state, and specifically in the GOP. I will be waiting with baited breath for Blackwell's stance on the choice left handed children make when they dare ask for a left handed desk in public schools. They choose to be different, after all.

The list of Ohio anti-gay bigots in the ranks of public office is growing. Who knew that hating gays would become such a wonderful past time for folks?

'Pentagon Says Some Bush Records Destroyed'

Tin foil hats aside this looks really, really bad. Claiming that Bush's documents happened to have fallen into a batch of destroyed document in known incident in the past is mighty convenient.

Bigotry in Action in the US Senate

Listening to the debate over the Gay Marriage Ban one hears full and total bigotry like none that has been present in American government since the anti-atheist strain of last few years and back in the 1950's and during period of segregation. Listing to the Senate is simply amazing, hearing the clear bigotry and theocratic positioning of government officials. It is disheartening to listen to Senators either take the religious tact of anti-gay dogma or some kind of wimpish Plessy v. Ferguson (Separate but Equal) stand to fend off any religious attack.

The fear of homosexuals is still a common element of America. That is a sad, sad fact that with the rise of a theocratic movement will not improve anytime soon.

UPDATE: Next we will see an amendment banning the sale of wedding dresses to anyone who can't or does not want to get married. Commenter "Funnel Cake" will surely be disappointed.

15,000 in Dayton!!!

A great crowd for the Kerry- Edwards rally in Dayton. Who added the "hair" comment in the headline? I would be surprised if it was Howard Wilkinson, maybe a conservative editor or two?

White Guilt Free

I read Kathy Y. Wilson this week and hear her winning about the Enquirer's "Black Power" article from Sunday. In the column she refers to "White America" seven times and "Majority Culture" twice. When the Enquirer makes stereotypes she hates we read about it. Stereotypes are generalizations about a group or subgroup. Kathy retorts the Enquirer with what I think is a stereotype by lumping all white people together and stating they (we) all act a certain way or have specific attitudes towards blacks. Now, I know she is 'really' targeting the white people who are either conservative or don't suffer from a severe enough case of white guilt. Since I don't suffer from that affliction, I guess I am a target.

What am I to take away from her article? Kathy seems to not like it when white people (not 'people who are white') profile people who are black and successful in the business community here in Cincinnati. I guess I don't see what is wrong with people being successful. I guess I don't see what is wrong with the Enquirer pointing this fact out, including an indication that these people also are Black and yet with all of the racism in the world they still were able to succeed. Call it a "you've come a long way baby" type article, if you will. I guess the context is not to Kathy's liking. I guess she does not like it pointed out that if you want to succeed then you should or need to assimilate in to the "majority culture." That is not totally correct, but it is generally true that if you want to work in a community you must play by that community's standards and practices. What is wrong with this? 'Norms' do exist. Judging success is one of those 'norms.' Is that something that will change? No, no more than murder being wrong is a 'norm' in society. I still wonder what makes the Enquirer's article so terrible? If you want to live in a group that self-segregates based on race or culture, fine, but how can one expect to be accepted when you seek to exclude yourself from others. Is that not what segregation was? Does Kathy care so much about cultures remaining 'pure' that she will disparage people from having positive viewpoints? Viewpoints that promote norms that, to be frank, work: hard work, business, and organization. These norms are hardly exclusive to anyone and everyone uses them in their own way, but why should they offend Kathy?

I guess Kathy wants people to be able to succeed no matter how much they fit in. I also detected an anti-business tone in her message too, something not foreign to City Beat. What I don't grasp is how the hell she wants people to treated? Are they to be themselves? If so, then why does she imply that "white America" only accepts these people because they assimilate and that black people who somehow act differently?

What is so wrong with people assimilating? Culture is fluid. Race is not. Race is not culture. Culture should be the individual’s choice, including the individuals’s choice to value their own culture and want to spread it. With that "natural" element of humanity present, majority cultures will always rule success in a society. People have three choices, fit in, go against the grain, or make your own balance where you can function on your own.

Nick Spencer praises the column and hints at a little white guilt.

Semantics-a-Go-Go

Rob Bernard is playing a game of semantics. Bush not "lying" is seen as a victory, but the fact that he had to rely on bullshit evidence that his own people did not know or verify and still have not verified is to all other observers a sign that Bush was incompetent, and was grasping at straws to try and justify his war.

One of three possibilities exist: Bush lied, is and was an idiot, or was incompetent. He could be all three, but I will not go that far. At least not today.

Talking Down the City

Catching up on old news brings us Single in Cincy Part Deux. Much of what we've heard about the Forbes article was found in last Saturday's Cincinnati Post. What I don't get is how one of guys quoted in the article actually makes a living:

As the owner of Lava, a nightclub on Main Street, Chris Ongkiko makes his living on Cincinnati's singles scene. He agrees with the Forbes assessment -- times 10.

"Cincinnati is a desolate wasteland socially, culturally, economically, spiritually -- in every aspect of life," he said. "It has nothing to do with the people. It's completely on the shoulders of City Council and the mayor."

He opened his business a few months before the riots in April 2001. Three years later, he said, the city is worse off than it was right after the riots.

"When you have a half dozen bars in three blocks close in a 10-month period, that's not a good sign. I'm talking about Jump, the Have a Nice Day Café, Bar Cincinnati, Caverns, the Warehouse and others -- .

How can anyone really blame city government for this? Government can help, but they can't make people come to downtown. If the people and city are a wasteland, then why is Chris Ongkiko trying to make a living here? My suggestion to Mr. Ongkiko is to pack his bags and take a hike to New York or LA. If he wants to live in a megacity, then get going. Cincinnati is not a megacity and guess what, it never will be.

We are a big city. That fact seems to be lost on a great many people. Take if from a guy who grew up in a city of less than 40,000, Cincinnati is a big town. No matte how much people try and think otherwise, they can't deny reality.

The News Record

New URL and website for the UC The News Record. I think the paper is off for the summer, but the new web layout is nice.

The Post's Challange

In a surprise the Cincinnati Post reports on the debut of the Sunday Challenger a new weekly NKY newspaper. I guess since it comes out Sundays it does not directly compete with the Post, but it has to hurt their ad sales.

Hating the City?

A news report today suggests that the sales tax revenue needed may fall short of that needed to pay off the debt for the two sports stadiums. One of the reasons given is that people outside the county are not going into it anymore to shop, they are staying up in West Chester.

This brings up two big points. One is regarding the level of people outside the country making up a big enough element of our sales tax base. Is this enough to really break us? Is there any analysis or just speculation?

The other point is where I go all the time. Suburbanites hate the city. There are many reason but they hate it. Most who we here from or I talk to act like scared little girls who either don't like city folk (meaning blacks and other minorities) or they don't like driving on busy streets. I don't know how they survive driving on the highways in the suburbs or the clogged interchanges around highway exits where most burbites live. I guess they hate cities. They like their stale carbon copied homes and strip malls. Buildings more than two floors also must violate some kind of fear of heights that must permeate through places like Mason and West Chester and Anderson.

Blackwell Not Making Friends

Ken Blackwell is earning points in his early bid for Governor by holding the GOP to the law by investigating possible abuses of campaign fundraising laws by Republican officials.

This is also political payback to Speaker Larry householder who has targeted Blackwell for a little internal GOP battle royal.

The Balancer

I guess this is how the balancing act works. We get an economic endorsement from the AP for Bush to counter the Kerry Coverage.

Kerry-Edwards

The Enquirer has gone wild with Kerry-Edwards related articles today:
Cleveland, Dayton first stops for Kerry-Edwards
Ky. Democrats pleased with addition to ticket
Edwards brings pluses, risks to Kerry campaign
Analysis: Edwards adds zing
Men, women on the street ponder pick
and an editoral:
Edwards brings excitement to race

You might think some of the editors must be on vacation this week. Otherwise we would have been lucky to get more than one story on the VP Pick.

Kerry's Running Mate

Kerry is reported to being naming his running mate today, first online and then at a rally in Pittsburgh. Tomorrow Bush comes to Ohio and is going to Cleveland and Dayton, not Cincinnati as first reported. I wonder if the threat of little police protection keep him away? Last time he was met with protestors at a rally here that disrupted his speech.

Anyway, it appears that it will be either Edwards or Gephart. Any last minute predictions? I envision the benefits of both, but neither strikes me as a bold choice.

UPDATE: AP is reporting it is Edwards.

Fear, It Works!!!!

Ed Bridgeman writes today that you better be scared to death of al Qaeda right here in Cincinnati. He seems to think that we must be paranoid about the boogieman coming to bomb Fountain Square or some such place.

I don't mind people keeping that mind, but to expend excess time or recourses to defend "terrorism" in Cincinnati would not be to look for Islamists. Instead we are much more open to domestic terrorists. There are not many of those either, so using fear to motivate people only makes people fearful, not safer.