Live By the Attitude, Die...

In reading the Enquirer's story about the gun fight on I-75 early this morning I was flabbergasted. A witness's account of what lead to the gun fight can't be answered with words:

Witnesses told the Enquirer the problem started when a large group of men at the night club became upset after money was being thrown from the stage by one member a rapper’s entourage.

“It was supposed to be for the ladies,” said one witness, who asked not to be named. “But it (the money) was hitting the guys in the face and they were like, ‘We got money’ so why are you throwing money at us?’”

The tension mounted and moved outside, where the witness said T.I. was trying to get his group packed up in their vans.

“T.I. was telling his boys, ‘Come on let’s go. Let’s Go.’ And the Cincinnati boys were like, ‘Yea, let’s go.’”

The witness said about four people – believed to be from Cincinnati -- followed the rappers’ vans in a large vehicle, possibly a GMC Tahoe.

The witness said one shot was fired in the parking lot, but he did not think it was related to the tension.

“They were just showing off,” the witness said.

How do adult human beings let this petty "slight" to their obviously fragile egos, grow into murder?

Ok, I like to look, but...

Do cheerleaders have any value other than as sexual eye candy? More importantly, why do they need a blog? Other than linking out of morbid curiosity, I am not going back to it. What other Enquirer blog is going to have video on it? Well, maybe the rollerderby girls blog. I would like to request that if web space is a limitation, drop the Ben-gals, and make room for the rollerderby girls!

Blackwell vs. Strickland

Blackwell's dirty tricks won out and he took no time in starting his negative attacks against Strickland. How does the saying go: if you can't be positive, be negative?

Schmidt Defeats McEwen

I am surprised that Schmidt was able to pull out a respectable win.

Wulsin pulled down a sizable win over the rest of the field.

Election Results Delayed Until 9:30 PM

Ok, this is rather strange, but it appears not everyone got the word to hold off until 9:30 PM.

Nothing to Vote For

I am not voting today. As a card carrying independent, there is nothing for me to vote on, unless I want to declare myself an official Democrat. I vote with the Democrats 99% of the time, but I don't want to join any party, so I get to go pick up my dry cleaning by 7PM instead of voting. The race in the Ohio 2nd is up in the air for the Dems, so if ever was to join the party officially, it should be today, but no, I am like being the independent liberal I am. Sorry, HCDP, I still dig ya!

Will Hackett's support be enough for Thor? I like saying THOR! in hopes that a magic man in a helmet will come float down from Mt. Adams and wield his might hammer on the wicked and the merciless, but I digress.

Oh, and I am very much against party jumping in primaries. Pick your party (or lack there of) and stay with it.

CAN or CAN'T?

CAN has a report out (pdf), but where have they been? I haven't heard anything about CAN for almost 4 years. What actions have they taken, what good have they done? Is this just an exercise in doing something for the sake of doing something, but actually doing nothing because doing something that would matter is far to politically impossible?

GOP Abuse of Power

Yea, water's wet, but it's still important to know the GOP is abusing power and threatening the balance of fairness in Ohio's election system. This is not new. The GOP has been out to twist the election system to prevent people from voting for years now. It came to a head in 2004 with Ken Blackwell's keep the vote turnout low campaign, that still hasn't been exposed fully.

Primary Predictions

For Governor:
Dems: Yea, Strickland!!!
GOP: Blackwell

Ohio 2nd:
Dems: Too close to call
GOP: McEwen

Hamilton County Comissioner:
Dems: Pepper (Yeah, I am stepping out on a limb here)


Chime in with your 2.2 cents.

Hamilton Co. Democrats Want Blackwell To Pull Radio Ads

Well, we are getting a taste of the lack of political ethics in one Ken Blackwell.

What You Talkin' 'bout, Cincy?

A new blog in town: Overheard in Cincinnati. It describes itself:

Random snippets of conversation, overheard in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky."

Go there and you can submit your best eavesdropping experiences for the whole city to read.

An Absentee Candidate

Ok, what does it say about not living in the area a candidate on the ballot votes absentee?

This was a political response to the lawsuit. Very neat trick, but will it backfire?

The Bodyguard

This was a movie, but now the Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston movie has become reality.

"And I-eee-I will always love yo-ooooo-u."

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

The Bloody 2nd

The knives are out in the race for the 2nd District GOP primary with Jean Schmidt suing to bar her opponent Bob McEwen from voting because she claims he is not a resident of Ohio. Now, who is her lawyer? If you guessed Democrat Stan Chesley then I think you must be high. You would be correct, but really, really baked.

Is this a sign of desperation on the part of Schmidt? That's what McEwen's people think. I have to wonder when they file this suit with a week to go before the primary election, instead of doing it at the date he legally had to be a resident to qualify for this ballot.

Bar Blogging

A cardinal rule of blogging is to never blog drunk. Well, I am on my first beer, but I am blogging from The Stand in Mt. Lookout. You can't beat a bar with good beer, a great jukebox and free Wifi.

Helpful or Waste?

How will a crimestoppers type website help significantly in the high level crime areas? Those areas are generally poor areas, with poor/working class people living there. They, I would say with confidence, are less likely to own or use a computer or the Internet. They would have few opportunities to use the website. If they are not already using the phone line, why would the web produce different results? Having a website on this level is a good idea in concept, but will it end up helping stop crime or create more web noise? Is any effort a worth while effort?

WKRC and WSTR Joining News Forces

I don't quite understand how this is going to work, but WKRC is going to produce a half hour news cast in partnership with WSTR at 10 to air on Channel 64. Will this just be recycled news from Clear Channel? Will it be just more non-local "local" stories about bus crashes and such. Will they instead gather more local news?

Build Towards New SCPA

Development plans in OTR should have the SCPA as its core. A new and vibrant arts district is starting to form along Central Parkway. It should be something that complements but not compete with Main Street, fountain Square, or the Banks.

Ethical?

The Enquirer actually used that descriptor in the sub headline of their endorsement of Ken Blackwell in the GOP primary for government. Yea, that’s surprising. This is the guy who put his foot on the scale in the 2004 Ohio voting process to help his candidate, Bush, get elected. He's the guy who doesn't seem to know when he buy's the stock of a company that manufactures the voting machines he is looking to require that every board of elections to purchase. I really don't find that all too ethical.

Backhand Endorsement

The Enquirer appears to have held their nose while endorsing Jean Schmidt for the GOP nomination in the 2nd district. They think she can be strong on constituent service. Well, if all you can do for you district is help them get their passport in a pinch, then I don't see you as much of a Congress person. Constituent service is half about staff. Does she have a good team working here and at the Capitol?

McEwen is no better of a choice. He is something of a carpetbagger. He has the anti-government COAST types in his corner, which does give you the stench of extremism. I don't know if that is enough for him to win. If she loses, and I am leaning that way, she loses because the voters think she has done a horrible job in the last 10 months, not because they love Bob McEwen.

Cool Cincinnati

From Comments yesterday, we got a great NY Times story about making movies in Cincinnati.

Farewell Editor's Blog, We Hardly Knew Thee

Here today and gone tomorrow. Tom Callinan's Editor's blog at Cincinnati.com was interesting. The key word is "was," meaning it is no more. It was up for maybe a couple of weeks. The Beacon has more.

Big Know Coverage!

The Know Theatre got a great story in today's Post, complete with a photo. Love seeing the Know Tribe get ink space.

Show your love for the Know by attending their big event one week from today:

The Inaugural House Party
Friday April 28
Happy Hour 6-8 p.m.
Performance of In The Blood @ 8 p.m.

After Party Champagne Celebration @ 9:50 p.m.

The Know’s New Theatre: 1120 Jackson Street
Featuring DJ The Late Circuit
$50 Single & $90 Couple
Includes Dinner-by-the-Bite, Drink Tickets and Admission to In The Blood.
Proceeds Benefit The Know Theatre Tribe’s Installation Expenses into 1120
Jackson. Reserve your tickets now.

More HERE.

Oh Not Much!

Open, Be NICE!

First Desdemona Acts Announced

Nick Spencer has announced the initial list of acts for the Desdemona festival:

THE WALKMEN
THE FIERY FURNACES
RADIO 4
THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS
RICHARD SWIFT
SMALL SINS

My HB fix will be met with stars. Nick states this is only 1/5 of the acts to play, so more to come! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Portman Moves Up

Former Cincinnati Congressman Rob Portman is moving closer to the President as White House Budget Director. This I think is an insiders pick to try and stem off some of the conservative ire over Bush's spending habits.

You Can't Handle the Truth

When I first read about John Donaldson getting kicked off the Citizens on Patrol Board, he was just reinstated by the Police Chief, all I could think of was Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men:

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it."

That is what Assistant Cincinnati Police Chief Richard Janke came off as when he kicked Donaldson off the COP Board for speaking some truth in an Enquirer article about the news of the Sheriff starting to patrol OTR. This shows some insight to the mentality of the Cincinnati Police leadership. If they are going to act like political hacks, then they should be treated as such, and not treated like deities by the likes of the Peter Bronsons in town.

Thinking Big

Nick is thinking big about new ideas for Cincinnati. The arts district I believe is one that is well on its way, but hinges most on reducing crime on Vine Street and Washington Park. Leaving off the Banks on the list is very interesting. I would have added development around Fountain Square too, but that doesn't need much backing, it is beyond the development stage.

More Bigotry

Pure bigotry was laid on the city by the anti-gay group CCV and their bigot in chief, Phil Burress.

Before any of the usual suspects gets out there and whines about the "bigot" use, why don't you ask yourself in the this case Phil Burress and his gang is fighting the amendment to the Discrimination Ordinance? Why don't they fight the whole law? Why just the part that tries to help gays and lesbians? Hmmmm, I wonder why they want to allow discrimination against gays, but not against say blacks or Christians? Why motivates that? I wonder????

Overreaction

It is not surprising to me, but the Enquirer has called for the firing of NKU professor Sally Jacobsen, who was involved with the dismantling of the anti-abortion religious display on the NKU grounds.

This will likely be the first voice from the right wing for this, it will not be the last. NKU appears weak, and will cave if Kentucky lawmakers jump on the bandwagon. NKU is in the middle of an expansion and will not stand up for a teacher giving them horrible press.

Kabaka Oba Dead

The Enqurier is reporting that Kabaka Oba died earlier today.

Mayor Mallory has issued the following statement:

"I want to express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of Kabaka Oba. I have known Kababa for many years. Even though he was seen as controversial, some of the ideals that he talked about like economic inclusion, equality, and justice cannot be disputed and should be embraced by us all."

I personally found Oba's views to be abhorrent, adding nothing but hate to our local political discourse, but no human being deserves to be murdered.

Tainting the Jury Pool?

Is this an attempt to taint the jury pool in the Howard Beatty case? Is this a backdoor attempt by the defense to try and sell their fruitless self-defense strategy?

Bad Debate at NKU

A pox on both sides from me. This anti-abortion display should never have been erected on a public university's grounds. It is a religious display and demonstrates where 99.9% of the anti-abortion motivation is sourced.

That being said, the professor and students involved should not have removed the display in the manner they did. They should have protested it being there and sued to have it removed. In the article NKY's President refers to it as the destruction of property, that is over the top, but what was done was the wrong way to handle it. It is a form of protest, and they can argue a 1st Amendment defense, but the freedom of speech clause may not be their best bet.

This sounds like it would have been much simpler to have the anti-abortion side hold a protest, with temporary crosses while they are there, but be forced to remove them when the protest ended. If that was what was supposed to happen, well, then the students just helped clear the grounds of discarded items.

None of this improves the situation. It will just drive a bigger wedge into the growing cultural gap in our society. That I fear is the goal of many on the anti-abortion side.

UPDATE: The Post has more. The most interest element here is that a police report valued the crosses at $600. Now if that is true, then why they hell didn't these anti-abortionists cut to the chase and buy $600 worth of condoms and pass those out on campus? They would have a great protest cheer: "Reduce Abortions by reducing unwanted pregnancies!" Instead they turn to symbols instead of actions that could actually have results.

UPDATE #2: Nice to see the anti-abortionists seeking to turn the other cheek. Oh wait, lol. This story from the NKU paper has photos of the destruction. The professor involved looks, shall we say, nutty! I will repeat something I post in comments. If a group of students is not allowed to erect a 6 foot penis, or, for that matter, take 400 dildos and plant them in the ground, then there is a clear violation of the 1st Amendment.

UPDATE #3: The AP has the story, so this should be making the talk radio rounds in the coming week. Once Bill O'Reily gets a chance, he will drag this thing out till the cows come home to roost.

Howard Beatty Charged with Shooting Oba

Self Defense is the reported defense.

It is most telling seeing the varied reactions. From the near ranting of Nate to the foolish post at the Beacon, this was a big event in the City. How quickly Nate has turned on someone who was his steadfast ally.

What I find most offensive is how on Television last night the story at WLWT was painting Oba as a nice guy who is likeable and pleasant. They failed to mention his past anti-Semitic and anti-white remarks that came out of his mouth nearly every time he called into 1230 AM's call-in shows. I can understand not attacking the man while he clings to life, but that does not mean you have to put a package together that equates a self professed black-separatist to a civil rights leader.

Kabaka Oba Shot Near City Hall

Details are here and here.

Reports in the articles state he was targeted specifically and one or two African Americans are sought for questioning or are outright suspects.

He was shot multiple times and his condition is not currently known.

Picture Contradicts Article

I believe this article is talking about the City of Cincinnati proper and Hamilton County, not metro Cincinnati. The picture accompanying this article lists the following caption:

"Mohamad Ramlawi, owner of the Halal Market in West Chester, has some fun with customer Asiya Chaudhry, holding her granddaughter, Eman Chaudhry, 2, of Mason. Ramlawi is a native of Lebanon, and Chaudhry is from India. Immigrants made up almost half of Cincinnati's population in 1850; now they make up just 2.6 percent."

If immigrants are going to save the "city," then how are they going to do when they are out in West Chester? This is a very poor job of Editing. I don't know if this picture or the caption made it to the print edition, but the online version makes the entire article appear off kilter.

UPDATE: Edited for the Lebanon City-Country confusion. That doesn't alter the point of the post.

We Ain't Uneducated

Cincinnati ranks highest among Ohio Big Cities in residents with a college degree at 34%.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Whatcha Gonna do!

Simon Leis' deputies are going to be patrolling in the OTR. How far behind is a new COPS! Cincinnati episode?

BushCo Is Scum

Most are failing to see what the disclosure that the Bush Administration authorized the Plame Leak means.

First ask yourself, why did they do it? What was their motive? The motive was politics. It was meant as a means to discredit a critic and make there political position (the war) look better. It did not benefit the county in the least. It is not a national security issue to ruin the career of a whislteblower.

How is this different from other slime politics? Well, take the Swift Boat crap. There you had Bush using proxies to smear John Kerry with lies. That is dirty politics, but crosses a different line. Here Bush used his powers of the Presidency, his governmental powers to tear down a domestic foe. This was meant to ruin the life of Wilson and his wife. That is an abuse of power. An Abuse of Power is a high crime, an impeachable offense.

Now, a nice wrinkle to this is that Bush, via Executive Order, gave VP Dick Cheney the power to declassify information. That may be enough to shield Bush, but Cheney should resign or be impeached.

The election of 2008 would be greatly altered if Cheney resigned and someone else popular was made VP, someone who would be running in 2008. If I were a Machiavellian, I would be looking at the likelihood of this playing out. (Yes, my mind is looking at this.)

Bottom line, Bush, Cheney, Libby, Rove, etc. are scum. If they get by without feeling any consequences from this, it is an example of how truly ignorant, or blindly loyal people are to a man who has lied regularly to them. If Bush gets no flack for this, his cult following really is a cult.

Dare I?

I was torn on posting an open thread today. The natives appear to be a little restless, so I fear a battle royal might ensue.

Have at it, anyway.

Downtown on the Rise

Downtown Cincinnati is moving forward. Main Street may be dying, but the CBD is looking up.

Bizarre

Can we say TV movie of the week? Meredith Baxter Birney call your agent!

Blackwell: Oops

Ken Blackwell allegedly unknowingly invested in the Diebold while he was requiring counties to purchase Diebold voting machines. Blackwell claims he did not know this, and his investment manager did it without his knowledge.

Ok, When did he know and when did he sell the stock? He claims he just found out that he bought the stock over a year ago. I am not a millionaire, but unless I am buying into a mutual fund, I know when I own stock outright, and Ken Blackwell should have sure as well known that as well. It should not take the man a year to figure this out. If he was embarrassed by it, well he should be and should have fessed up long ago. He did just find out about it, then he appears to not be the man who would oversee the financial interests of the State of Ohio, which as governor he would do.

Reason #721 not to vote for Ken Blackwell. Reason was is because he's a republican, which makes most of the other reasons redundant.

DeLay to Quit House, Leave Race

Say it Loud and Say it Proud, GOOD RIDDANCE!

Government Propaganda

Right under our nose lies a blog based on the Enquirer's website that looks to be pure government propaganda. Justin Rood has the story and takes down the Grandma in Iraq who is a Public Affairs officer. She's open about it, as it lists on her Enquirer blog:

I get to a variety of construction sites because my job takes me there. I do public affairs, which means taking pictures, communicating the progress and accomplishments of our projects, writing news releases, planning and conducting media events, escorting reporters, ceremonies and you name it.

The fact she lists that is good on her part. Why hasn't the Enquirer made that part of her blog descriptions?

Also, does the Enquirer edit or fact check her PR posts? She is a positive spin machine. She writes only about what she does. Who picked her? She just happens to work with a team of builders. Why do they need a press agent?

This stinks to high heaven. I had not read this blog before. I assumed it was a grandma going off to serve in Iraq and she would be posting the everyday goings on. Instead we get what smells like Rummy's wet dream PR machine. Does the Pentagon get to review her posts before she posts them?

Let's Go Reds!

If you are going to the game, have fun and boo the President for me!

Connect the Dots?

Well, this just fucking sucks. No place to hide on this one, it is going to drive fear into people, and for once I will not blame them. I don't the people shot were random victims. If you connect the dots from the shooting scare at Newport on the Levee that happened a matter of a few hours before this incident occurred, and since the victims were reported to have been at the Levee that evening, I hope police are on the ball and looking for connections. [/ snark]

The Newport story didn't get much newspaper ink, and I think it only made the Kentucky edition of the paper. WCPO had that and link the stories based on I assume the Levee connection.

Jammin On 2.0

Mark your music calendars for May 12 and 13th Jammin On 2.0. The line-up is out and it looks great.

Strickland Has Big Lead

Ted Strickland currently has a solid lead over both Blackwell and Petro. With the fight going to heat up between Blackwell and Petro over the next month, neither fairs a good chance of going into the Summer within 10 to 15 points of Strickland. It will take money to beat Ted Strickland. The GOP has it and will use it, only to a point. The GOP candidate has to have traction. By Summer the GOP will start cutting its losses based on the national party trends, and Ohio may be sick of the GOP enough to keep national money out of the state. DeWine will get the money to win. Blackwell/Petro won't get the same kind of push from the National GOP leaders.

Courting the Bigot Vote

Malia Rulon of the Enquirer reports on Sen. Mike DeWine's choice to sign onto the same-sex marriage ban amendment in the Senate. Sen. Frist the Boss Bigot in the Senate who is doing all he can to the the mind numbing moron bigot vote. That's the voting block out there that actually would be influenced by someone who seeks to oppress gays and lesbians.

DeWine sounds as if he fears the base will leave him. He is playing all nice with Bush when the President visits Cincinnati on Monday, making for a mess of an opening day.

DeWine is in trouble and he knows it. This kind of crap is going to send the moderates to Brown in truck loads. When you think you can only win by pulling out your base, then you are not doing well, and you are marginalized.

Hackett on Springer?

Word on the street is that Paul Hackett is filling in for Jerry Springer on his radio show today? Check it out and report in on how it goes!

CityBeat: Best of Cincinnati 2006

The New Issue issue is out. Were there any surprises in your mind? It was great for Cincinnati Advance getting two mentions.

The reader's pick for best blog was "myspace.com"????? WTF? I didn't lead people to the water this year, so I guess that hurts, but to lose to a generic service and not a local blog? The kids are not all right if they pick that for best local blog. Hint: It's not even local!

The whole thing is over at www.bestofcincinnati.com.

Promise Not Kept

The Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church has voted to proceed on expansion.

A Scoop on Bridge Closure

The Cincinnati Post has the story about the Suspension Bridge closing for a year's worth of repairs in yesterday's paper.

The Enquirer makes it a lead story today.

Competition in reporting makes both papers better. It will be bad when he Post closes.

It will be a pain when the bridge closes after Tall Stacks later on the this year, but what a great excuse for a party when it reopens in 2007!

Theocracy On The March #34423

It's been a while since I mentioned this, but the extremists are starting to define their theocracy. These extremists are not just crack pots in strip mall churches, they are mainstream extremists (yea, an oxymoron), who get air time on TV and Radio. The question out there for Ohio is has Ken Blackwell accepted this document as his political bible?


[Via Kevin Drum]

Welcome to Yugoslavia

In an effort to improve on a hodgepodge of left over plots of land, Columbia Township is trying to brand itself as "something." They should first off consolidate their gerrymander looking map and push the City of Cincinnati (or other contiguous municipalities)to annex the related parts of the entity. If you look at the map (pdf) of the township you have to just burst out laughing at the thought that anyone could think of this mess as anything but leftover space.

The Township leaders appear to be clueless:

"Mariemont has an identity and people know where it is," he said. "We'd like to be able to achieve that with our branding project."

In order for your people to know where something is, it has to be Somewhere! In one place. Not just that gap space where for some unknown reason no one wanted it part of their city 100 years ago.

A Game of Chicken

Where would CSO go if they left Music Hall? The answer is they wouldn't go anywhere. There is no place to go. Cleaning up Washington Park and moving the Drop-in Center are the simple solution to what bugs the folks at the CSO and Music Hall. It should happen and happen this year.

AOL City Guide: Cincinnati - City's Best , Restaurants, Nightlife

AOL's City Guide has issued their Best of Cincinnati 2006 List.

Interesting highlights:
Best Bar - Cock & Bull
Best Music Club - Bogart's (Yea, someone's smoking crack)
Best Singles Scene: Jeff Ruby's Tropicana (Who the Hell voted on this stuff?)

Note: CityBeat's Best of Cincy issue comes out this week. I trust CityBeat readers/editors much more than AOL users/editors.

Thor Jacobs Picks Up Endorsements

The Jacobs for Congress campaigned has issued a press release stating that Cincinnati City Councilmen John Cranley and Cecil Thomas have both endorsed Thor Jacobs in the Democratic Primary for 2nd Congressional District.

Since the Hamilton County Democratic Party was unwilling or unable to endorse anyone in the primary, it is interesting to read about individual office holders making endorsements.

Will we see other endorsements from more liberal council Democrats, like Cole and Crowley?

Great News for Fountain Square, Great for MPMF?

Bill Donabedian, co-founder of the Midpoint Music Festival, will run Fountain Square. It is a great for someone with the vision to help found a great event like Midpoint to focus his efforts on the new Fountain Square. Let help his leadership will open up the square to new ideas, not just appeasement programming for the 4th Street Money Men.

What does this do for Midpoint? Will Bill continue his involvement and pave the way for something different with the festival? Or will he have to leave Midpoint planning totally to others? I have no clue, but I see this as an opportunity for Midpoint to capitalize on a new Fountain Square. This year's Midpoint could have a signature presence on the Square and showcase the new improvements while attracting a vibrant audience to the City's center.

Jerry Lyon is an Ignorant Fool

Someone needs to educate Mr. Jerry Lynon of SHARONVILLE about the anti-discrimination ordinance in the City of Cincinnati. In his foolishly ignorant column today he sticks his foot in his mouth with this little gem:

As a nation, we have said that certain classes of people, due to a history of discrimination in areas such as employment and housing, do need special rights and protections.

Our courts have said that in order to qualify as a protected class, though, groups must meet three criteria. First, members must be identified by an immutable, non-behavior-based characteristic such as skin color, ethnicity or gender. Second, they must have experienced a history of economic deprivation as a result of discrimination. Third, they must lack political representation. Those who identify themselves by their sexual orientation or transgendered status do not meet any of these criteria.

Those who so identify themselves deserve equal protection under the law, and they have it. Those who so identify themselves deserve respect as individuals, and from the overwhelming majority of us in Greater Cincinnati, they have it.

But those who so identify themselves do not qualify as a protected class with special rights under our human rights ordinances, and we make a mockery of such laws when we grant them. (bold added)

I therefore demand to know when the CCV (Mr. Lyon is a member) is going to call for an amendment to remove the behavior based characteristic of religion from the anti-discrimination ordinance:

(J) For any employer, employment agency or labor organization to:
(1) Elicit or attempt to elicit any information concerning the race, gender, age, color, religion, disability status, marital status, or ethnic, national or Appalachian regional origin of an applicant for employment or membership, except as may otherwise be required by or for compliance with state, federal, or local laws, rules and regulations. (bold Added)

This copy of the ordinance has not yet been updated to include the changes:

ORDINANCE, dated 3/7/2006, submitted by Vice Mayor Tarbell, Councilmembers Crowley, Bortz, Cole and Cranley, MODIFYING the provisions of the City Municipal Code, Chapter 914 by adding Section 914-1-S, Sexual Orientation, and Section 914-1-T, Transgendered, and amending Section 914-1-D1, Discriminate, Section 914-I-R, Restrictive Covenant, Section 914-3, Housing Discrimination Prohibited, and Section 914-5, Employment Discrimination Prohibited to prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation or transgendered status

Religion is a behavior, plain and simple. If he believes a company should be allowed to refuse to higher a Christian (which logic dictates he should), then he better start gaining signatures for that amendment. (If he doesn't live in the city, what business is it of his anyways?)

The bottom line problem with ignorant fools like Jerry Lyon is that he lives in the homophobic world that still believes that sexual orientation is learned behavior.

Side note: The "special rights" crap is the biggest lie I have heard in a long time. Heterosexuals are protected under the ordinance as well. You can't be discriminated against for being straight any more than you can for being gay. That is where the outright LIES of the CCV are most egregious.

Barrett Out of Race for Ohio Senate

State Rep. Catherine Barrett quiet the race for the Democratic Nomination for Ohio Senate, avoid a primary challenge against Sen. Eric Kearney. Good news for Democrats.

The HCDP avoid other conflicts by not endorsing for the 32 House District or 2nd Congressional District.

David Pepper was endorsed for County Commissioner over Stephanie Dumas. Pepper can win.

Going Forward

I honestly hope with the settlement of the Owensby case our city can move forward and can work to improve the community instead of dealing with past injustices.

Drinking Liberally Gets Out Thor and Gaby

If you want to meet a couple of the local Democratic candidates for the 2nd district, then head over to the Comet Tonight at 7:30 to join the folks at Drinking Liberally.

Jeffre Quits Commissioner Race

OK, did anyone know Justin Jeffre was even running for County commissioner?

Pour on the Blather!

Open Thread!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Drink well and be safe!

CiNWeekly has a very good summary of events and particulars of the local Irish Pubs on St. Patrick's Day.

White Flight?

I don't base the loss of population to the Suburbs as a race issue, others would disagree. I feel it is more of a class issue. I guess once we 'rid' Hamilton County of poor people, we'll see an influx.

Don't Blog Drunk!

Last night I was honored to attended a gathering of Friends of Wes Flinn for a Bachelor Dinner for his impending marriage. We really called it "Get Wes Drunk Night." We achieved our goal of getting him drunk.

The event turned into a mini-blog summit with the meeting of myself, Wes, Covington, Clark Street, and Wirecan.

Great to see and meet folks and send off Wes into the world of the ball and chain.

Bad Pot Law

This effort to toughen the pot law is not going to reduce crime. We all know that. We all know that this will not stop the buyers or the sellers. Jeff Berding, John Cranley, Leslie Ghiz, Chris Monzel and Cecil Thomas all know that too, but they may not say so in public.

This effort is foolish and a waste of money, and is the acts of a combination of rookie council members and those needing to take the tough on crime stance any chance they can.

Cincinnati Subway?

The city needs to use the Subway Tunnels for something. Use it for a Subway (what a concept!). Use the stations for cool retail spaces. Just use it!

Most importantly, let groups give tours of the place!!!!!

Dealer Cometh Backus?

The Dealer has not been published for over a month, but now the rumors are flying that it will be back. I have not checked my sources at the publication, but perhaps they will chime in with an update.

Havana Martini Club Returns

The Cincinnati Business Courier is reporting that the Havana Martini Club is reopening this week at the Carew Tower in the space formerly used by Casual Corner.

Great news for downtown, and something great for Carew Tower retail.

Lying and Pointing Fingers?

Republican Ken Blackwell can lie about who he took contributions from, get caught about it, then point fingers at his Primary opponent, and this doesn't make the Front Page? Lying does matter? I am more than willing to point Fingers at Republican Jim Petro for taking 1.6 Million from vendors who got no-bid state contracts. How much did Blackwell take? I want to know why the article lacks the amount of money Blackwell took? Why also is this article a little AP filler?

Bronson: Bush's Shit Don't Stink

Yesterday we got the latest horrible column from Peter Bronson where we learn how Peter measures truth based on Google Searches. We learn first and foremost that Bush does no wrong! Bush's Shit Don't Stink, and Peter Bronson should know with that Brown nose of his.

He has to compare Clinton's Google hits and complain Bush's are greater. I guess Peter lacks a little knowledge on that in over 10 years since the Clinton scandals first there have been a few more million users of Google and the web, not mention far more blogs and news outlets driving up the numbers. Just a "few more" million, in like say a boat load more. Also, to compare the two now and we face a simple fact that BUSH is President now, not CLINTON.

What pure drivel.

Next Stop: The JOE

Miami defeats Western Michigan 5-4 and closes out the life of Goggin Ice Arena for Varsity Hockey. Next year on to the New Goggin!

Is Zeus Your Co-Pilot?

Unless they are flying slaves out of bondage in the Sudan, or flying food into Burundi, no Christian Church sound own a plane. According to the Cincinnati Post Ken Blackwell has flown on an Ohio Church's Plane. This fact is just a one liner in the article, but either Russell Johnson or Rod Parcels' church own a plane. That is a travesty. Honestly speaking, even though I gave up my religion many years ago, it must be totally un-Christian to own a plane that would be used to fly around a politician. This goes beyond a minister owning a Cadillac. This shows to me that the Churches run by Russell Johnson and Rod Parsley are not really religious entities, they are a political machine, namely the Ohio Restoration Project.

MIAMI 4 Western Michigan 1

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 #2 ranked Miami hockey team leads the first round CCHA playoff series 1-0. The series continues tonight. More here.

City Polls

WCPO and SurveyUSA have completed a poll this week referenced by the Enquirer. The overall results were:

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Mark Mallory is doing as Mayor?

• Approve: 60%
• Disapprove: 23%
• Not Sure: 17%

Generally speaking, would you say things in Cincinnati are on the right track? Or the wrong track?

• Right Track: 35%
  
• Wrong Track: 59%
  
• Not Sure: 6%

Would you agree or disagree with this statement: 'I feel safe in my neighborhood?'

• Agree: 42%
  
• Disagree: 53%
  
• Not Sure: 4%

The internals referenced by Carl Weiser at the Enquirer Politics Blog are the most interesting. The internal not mentioned and likely not collect would be what neighborhood the responder lived in while say did they feel safe. Seeing how that skewed would also be an indicator in the other questions.

TOAST

Jean Schmidt is politically terminal. If Bob McEwen can't beat her in the primary, then he is one crappy politician.

COAST Hates Schmidt

COAST has it's guns trained on Rep. Jean Schmidt for claiming endorsements from people who later said they never endorsed her. They issued a press release:

The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) announced today that its representative Mark Miller will file a formal Complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against Jean Schmidt, for claiming on her web site and in a campaign brochure, endorsements in this primary election by Congressmen Steve Chabot and Tom Tancredo.

Both Congressmen have in fact refused to endorse Schmidt.

It is an elections law violation in Ohio to make a false statement in the course of a campaign.

Despite the clear statements of both Congressmen, Schmidt did and continues to falsely publish the claimed endorsements.

"Jean Schmidt obviously has a problem with the truth," said COAST Chairman Jim Urling. "First she did not tell the truth about being against higher taxes, then she fibbed about her conversation with Representative Buhp. And now she completely fabricates endorsements. She must be held to account for her persistent prevarication's."

It is always nice to see Republicans attack other Republicans. That thought brings a smile to my face. Please GOP, keep me smiling!

Mallory's First Hundred Days

How did Mayor Mark Mallory do during his first hundred days as mayor?

Jay Love Quits the Buzz

Radio talk show host Jay Love has left WDBZ-AM for a staff fundraiser position with AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC). I have not been able to listen to much of the Buzz over the last couple of years, but Jay was always and interesting host who knew how to rile up his listeners. I don't know anything about Nathan Ive, who is replacing Jay next week. WDBZ has been tame for a while. It was pushing the edge of facilitating racist groups by giving open mics to local nutty black separatists. When I hear them now, very rarely, they have moved back from the edge.

UC Students Are Safe

I wish journalists would stop trying to scare parents of college students into buying newspapers. Local TV news folks have done to Miami for years and now it is falling to the UC.

UC kids are safe. They are as safe as anyone else. The fact that crime occurs in Coryville or on UC's campus is not the fault of UC. It is opportunistic for the UC student body government leadership to use the current crimes as a catalyst to gain new safety measures that would not have prevented the crimes in question. That opportunism is often effective, but that does not mean it is not manipulative and disingenuous.

Gay Rights Has the Votes to Pass

The Enquirer is reporting that the anti-discrimination against gays and lesbians law has the votes to pass. Monzel disappoints on social issues as usual. Got to get that bigot vote!

I will make the call out now to Berding and Thomas. Both need to respond and make it known that they stand for gay rights. If not, they will gain a new title.

Jean and Steve

Jean Schmidt appears to not be getting the love from her fellow Republicans. Is this the first sign of a loss in the GOP primary?

Theft in Office

When it comes to stealing while in office, one does not normally think of this from a Norwood Councilman.

The Know's House

In case you missed Jackie Demaline's Enquirer article with it's concept photo or missed Rick Pender's 'rumor' in last week's City Beat, then I can add the final word: The deal is done.

I wish a big congratulations to Jay Kalagayan and the entire Know team for this effort. I look forward to seeing great theatre, as soon as next month!

Be it, Don't Dream It

Nick Spencer has it right with his post on how OTR can change. The only thing I would add is that you don't have to make this a single person endeavor. If you have a full time job, like most of us, consider a partnership or better yet a team. Get a group of investors together and pool your resources and start a business. Hire someone, create a job, and create economic growth. The business doesn't have to be open 24 hours a day, but if you set the hours right, commit to it, it can bloom, especially when you are one among many businesses. Just remember its business, not personal. Don't get pissed if it fails, and be careful mixing business with friendships. That is how capitalism works, after all.

Dale Mallory Sues West End council

Dale Mallory, brother of Mayor Mark Mallory, is sueing the West End Council over his removal as the West End Community Council President. Mallory's full press release reads:

Dale Mallory asks Court to Declare Alleged Impeachment Illegal

(Cincinnati, OH) Dale Mallory has asked the Hamilton County Court of Commons Pleas to invalidate his alleged impeachment as President of the West End Community Council (WECC). Mallory made the request by seeking an injunction and restraining order against Shirley Colbert the WECC Vice President who presided over the meeting where the alleged impeachment occurred.

“This process was illegal,” said Mallory, “those who conducted it did not follow the Constitution and By-Laws of the West End Community Council.”

In the Affidavit, which accompanied the request for the restraining order, Mallory says that Deputy Sheriffs physically blocked him from presiding at the February 21, 2006 meeting of the West End Community Council. According to Mallory, he was told that he was not the Community Council President even before the impeachment process, and that he had to sit in the audience and could not address those present at meeting. Most of the West End Community Council members who qualified to vote at the proceeding were denied that right by those conducting the meeting. Even Dale’s brother, Mayor Mark Mallory was not allowed to cast a vote.

“For the past several months the CityLink issue has received a lot of public attention,” said Mallory, “although I never publicly endorsed or supported this project, I have received threats and had an illegal impeachment process conducted against me because I wouldn’t publicly oppose it.”

Mallory also stated he was informed that prior to the illegal impeachment proceedings, Shirley Colbert, the Defendant in this case, and others opened a bank account without the authorization of the West End Community Council. Dues collected from alleged Community Council members were placed in the account. Mallory is also seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to preclude Colbert and others from accessing the West End Community Council’s bank accounts and appropriating funds.

Mallory says his 1st and 14th amendment rights were violated and he is asking the court to require that the WECC Executive Board and its members recognize him as the legal President of the organization.

I don't know if he has much of a case. Any lawyer wish to chime in?

Cheers to City Council

I am pleased to see Council members David Crowley, Laketa Cole, Chris Bortz and Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell all support an anti-discrimination ordinace protecting gays, lesbians and the transgendered.

It is sad and disturbing to see the bigot Phil Burress out pushing the his hate ministry:

But Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, said he wished council would put the issue before voters first. He promised a response: It will take gathering 7,000 signatures in 30 days to force the issue onto a ballot, he said.

"I thought council had grown up and realized there are a lot more important things they are facing. This sets the city back more than a decade," Burress said.

Please note the insane dichotomy Phil Burress is living under. He wants Council to realize there are more important things than passing anti-discrimination laws, but he thinks it is such a big deal he is trying to get 7,000 signatures to try and overturn the effort. This guy DOES NOT EVEN LIVE IN THE CITY OF CINCINNATI!

Burress is clearly a bigot. He is willing to do anything he can to make it legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians. I will be interested in hear the views of anyone who disagrees with me on the use of my infamous term "bigot" which some are sick of. It is as valid a label as any other. Hamas is a terrorist group, and Burress is a bigot. Those who do and think as those two do are also terrorists and bigots, respectively. Members of Hamas are bigots as well. Burress is not a terrorist, but the emotional and political 'violence' he uses puts him in parallel with the goals of groups like Hamas. That is why laws like these are needed.

Tragic

Sam Shipman, artist and member of local band The Thirteens, was killed in a car crash over the weekend.

Rebuilding Main Street

It was great seeing Kaldi's absolutely packed on Friday nigh for BockFest. I overheard more than once someone comment that they have never seen the place as packed, at least not since the riots. You couldn't find a seat, and the wait staff had to fight to place drink orders at the bar with patrons.

I really love the idea of Main Street. I don't know if everyone has the same idea anymore for Main Street. Is it an arts district with some bars? Is it a bar district with some art galleries? Is it a neighborhood with a little bit of everything? I don't know what it could or should be, but I want it to be something.

The efforts of the Main Street Entertainment Group are very welcome. They are big reason behind this year's BockFest, where the parade was a welcomed effort, with more floats than its had in years, my friends tell me.

Will closing part of Main Street off at night be the thing to turn things around? Well, that depends on what idea for the area you think it should be. I don't have an answer. I don't know how some of the bars down there will survive without more local neighborhood residents going there. It has the makings of something great or of something that will end in conflict in our city of disharmony.

It will not be boring.

Jim Parker: Showman & Candidate

If he wins the nomination, I don't know, but the man can put on a good show.

WAIF Falling Apart

The Dean (Jason Haap) is not the ideal person to compare to, but in what is becoming a WAIF meltdown, he comes across as the sane one.

Half of a Story

And now here’s half…of the story. The anti-abortion side gets their propaganda published for free in the newspaper. Where is the pro-choice side of the issue getting free ink space? This story has in it only references to Steve Chabot and women who testified against the right for women being allow to control their own bodies. What about congress members who support the rights granted under Roe v. Wade? Did they not appear at the committee meeting? Did they not question these witnesses? Can you at least get mention of who else has or will be testifying on the other side of the issue? Apparently we can’t have that.

Please know that what one of the women referenced in the article does is fill women's heads with anti-abortion propaganda, and is called hero by the newspaper for doing this. Being called "hero", as the second puff piece does, may be fine for the extreme right-wing conservative audience, but for those looking for truth, not propaganda, it leaves the taste of ”yellow human interest journalism." That would be soft touch yellow journalism that crusades in what one would call a subliminal manner.

Has the newspaper ever profiled a local Planned Parenthood staff member as a "hero"? I would guess no for two reasons: 1)bias and 2) the fact that most Planned Parenthood staff members are forced to live in fear from the darkside of the anti-abortion movement, and don't want to have the negative attention they would be hit with from the zealots.

One Big Pissing Contest

This sounds like our elected officials don't play well with others. What are they really fighting over? Control?

Si Leis

I have to call it out: Si Leis is kind of consistent. Si billed who he could bill, namely DeWine who is not his political buddy, instead of the President.

When Bush had his Great American Ball Park rally back in 2004, I don't remember a story of Leis billing the Bush campaign for security, so Leis only grandstands when he can poke at someone he doesn't like or is not his candidate of choice.

CAM Upgrade

The Cincinnati Art Museum plans a massive upgrade of its facilities, including a sculpture garden and new parking garage.

A few die hard art students and others are not please with the plan to raise the old art academy, which move to OTR last year. If the CAM is going to grow and increase the value of art in the community, how can it not take on a plan like this. Art needs include the preservation of the past, but it must break new ground.

See the art museum for yourself tonight at One World Wednesday. This month the country is Ireland. Great beer and music awaits. It starts at 5:30 PM. $8 or free for CAM Members. Yes, I am a member and it pays to join!

WOXY Prom

An effort to help out WOXY gain subscribers takes places as a re-prom but is also called Dot Com Prom. It takes place this Saturday Night at alchemize, 1122 Walnut street. Dig out your best duds, buy a corsage, and make like a wall flower in hopes of help great local Internet radio station WOXY.