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Over the past two weeks, Media Matters for America has released two reports documenting the smears and falsehoods that saturate the right wing echo chamber on local radio.  Yesterday, we put out a press release about Cincinnati’s Bill Cunningham.  Last night, NBC 5 in Cincinnati ran a segment on Cunningham.  Among Cunningham’s most notable comments.

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In so many Cincinnati neighborhoods, motivated community members meet monthly to conduct business for improving their neighborhoods.  These community councils have board members, governing constitutions, and all the accoutrements of democratic organizations.  And in so many Cincinnati neighborhoods, the bulk of the community’s shared time is spent listening to neighborhood police officers discuss crime statistics in pointless detail—a pointlessness sharpened by the dynamics of what cultural critic Neil Postman once described as the ”information-action ratio.”

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There are several reasons to be offended that Chris Bortz recently called his critics “morons”—but here’s something I haven’t seen anyone discuss:  the word “moron” was originally a psychological term referring to a type of mental retardation, and in modern polite society it is considered offensive.  (Don’t believe me?  Then read this, or this, or this, or this.) I expect more class from public officials.  This is like Chris Bortz calling his critics a bunch of “retards,” or something.

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Guest article by Dan La Botz

Barack Obama has won. What happens when what appears to be the peoples’ victory is also the victory of the economic elite? Where is that convergence of interests located? And how long can such a coincidence of interest last? What are the tasks of the left and the social movements in the face of the Obama victory and his coming presidency? Things seem to have gotten a lot more complicated. At their heart, the issues and the tasks remain fundamentally the same.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The great Roman orator Cicero once said “freedom is participation in power”. If that’s the measuring stick then we must ask ourselves, ‘how much power do we really have’. Thanks to the NAACP led We Demand A Vote Coalition citizens now have a lot more power. This broad coalition continues to give voters a choice on many issues and has scored another historic victory by making Cincinnati the first city in the nation to ban Orwellian Red Light Cameras.

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Posted by Justin Jeffre
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In an amazing act of double-speak, Charterite Chris Bortz has suggested that the Cincinnati form of Proportional Representation—one of the hallmark reform systems central to the existence of the Charter Party—might not be right for either Cincinnati, or the Charter Party.  A recent column by Bortz indicates the depths of his betrayal to his own party.

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Tom Callinan, Editor
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dear Mr. Callinan,

I’m re-submitting the following fact-check/corrections request.

Per my March 24 letter to Enquirer editorial page editor Dave Wells,my March 27 e-mail to reporter Margaret McGurk, and my June 15, 2008 letter to Enquirer reporter Malia Rulon, the paper has repeatedly published the following statement as fact: that US Congressional candidate Dr. Victoria Wulsin was employed by the Heimlich Institute. In violation of Gannett’s Newspaper Division Principals of Ethical Conduct, none of these Enquirer staffers responded to my request to substantiate or to fact-check the claim after it was reported. (I then repeatedly wrote to Gannett’s Robert J. Dickey to request clarification; he also failed to respond.)

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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When voters get into the ballot box and read the Issue 8 language (which was written by City Hall lawyers), some may think it will change the way Cincinnati elects its Mayor.  This is not true. It is a slick word game played by the likes of Jeff “Bengals” Berding to confuse voters.  So let’s take a minute to look at the ballot language as it will appear on voting day, and let’s make sure no one falls for these acts of deception played by the City Hall status quo to protect its interests.

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Posted by Justin Jeffre
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Today, Talking Points Memo has front-paged this item, which, while short, highlights two things about unopposed Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters:  He is engaging voter suppression efforts, and he is friends with the publisher of a racist website.  Fresh on the heels of a local racist lynching an effigy of Obama, this does not look good for Hamilton County, for voting rights, and for anyone who played a role in helping Deters get re-elected.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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I had several experiences this week taking my Nader sign to the Obama rally on Fountain Square.  While a few people yelled at me and hurled insults, quite a few thanked me for coming and said they supported my right to political advocacy.  And we engaged in lengthy discussions with a handful of people that were quite enlightening.  Even David Pepper, while speaking on stage, acknowledged our presence when he said, “We’re all here for the same reason, well, except for maybe that guy.” As a whole, I was very pleased with the Democrats behavior—especially given the reports we’ve heard of the weird, dangerous, racist behavior coming recently from Republican rallies.  But then a video came on the jumbotron.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Why does it seem no one ever pays much attention to judicial races?  Here are candidates for judge at a recent forum in Northside…

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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I recently came across some information we gathered back in 2007, concerning campaign contributions for the 2005 City Council elections.  The city council members holding office had their positions largely because they are good at fundraising. During the 2005 election, 4,762 persons made campaign contributions totalling $1,325,365.42. Twenty-three percent (a minority) of the people contributed 73% of the money.  619 persons made contributions over $1,000.  Additionally, 64 entities pitched up more than a grand. PAC and Corporate party contribution limits are higher than the $1000 individual contribution limit. This is how they stacked up back then.

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As this election season drags on and the race for President is getting more personal by the day, it seems as though we are learning little that is “new” from either major candidate. As has been demonstrated in both Presidential debates, Barack Obama and John McCain agree on many issues. Both have voted for the bailout, both advocate sending more troops into Afghanistan, both are advocating for the use of nuclear power for energy, both advocate unwavering support for Israel and on it goes. This alliance on many issues has some progressives scratching their heads as to what exactly an Obama administration will mean for the country. In fact, it is along these very lines which progressives are divided between supporting Obama and voting for a third party candidate. With under a month left before the election we all have to ask ourselves this question: Will an Obama Presidency produce fundamental progressive change for this country?

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Posted by Chris Johnson
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Chennel Pace, a 29 year-old African American woman, was arrested and charged with four counts of child endangering on September 28, 2008 by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.  She spent one night in jail and was released on an ORC bond (her own recognizance) by Judge Dwane Mallory.  All four of her children are alive and uninjured, but they have been removed from her care by Jobs and Family Services.  The court stipulated their removal and also instructed Ms. Pace not to contact them.  The endangerment charge was applied because Ms. Pace’s 12 year-old daughter was watching the other three children ages 8, 6, and 18 months while Ms. Pace went to work.  Ms. Pace works at Lincoln Crawford Nursing and was working a few hours of overtime to pay bills.  Ms. Pace was not in a bar while her children were at home.  She was at work.  Yet, the Hamilton County system has criminalized her and taken away all of her children. 

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The Enquirer reports on the battle for ethics between Vic Wulsin and Jean Schmidt, but the article fails to name one of the most conspicuous aspects of Wulsin’s 2006 ethics disclosure form:  her alleged employment for the Heimlich Institute.  Blogger Matt Hurley has been staying current on related press statements from Schmidt’s campaign, and it’s clear that Schmidt does not intend to ignore either The Heimlich Institute or malariotherapy.  Wulsin’s omissions on her 2006 forms add fuel to this growing fire.

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The Cincinnati Beacon interviews author Dan La Botz about Up-Coming Lecture this Tuesday

Beacon: In “Who Rules Cincinnati?”, published earlier this year, you argued that seven large corporations ruled Cincinnati—Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Macy’s/Federated Department Stores, Fifth Third Bancorp, Western and Southern Financial, American Financial Corp, and, E.W. Scripps—dominate the economic and political life in the city. Has anything change since you wrote Who Rules?

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Posted by Justin Jeffre
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Vic Wulsin’s Heimlich problem isn’t going anywhere, and now her alleged employment at the Heimlich Institute has reared its head in a new complaint by incumbent Jean Schmidt.  But ultimately, the controversies surrounding Wulsin are not political—they’re medical, and the issue is figuring out what, exactly, has been going on at The Heimlich Institute.  The timing this week is more alluring given Dr. Heimich’s recent appearance at a Rotary Club meeting, promoting his debunked and weird medical theories that experts warn can put innocent lives at risk.

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President Bush recently announced that he would be sending nearly 5,000 more troops into Afghanistan. Bush stated: “This continuing commitment to the Afghan people illustrates a stark contrast: While the terrorists and extremists deliberately target and murder the innocent, coalition and Afghan forces risk their lives to protect the innocent.” Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have both voiced support for increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, but Barack Obama feels that Bush’s plan does not go far enough. Obama recently stated, “His plan comes up short. It is not enough troops not enough resources with not enough urgency.” While both major candidates for President may agree on sending more troops into the region, a conversation that is rarely discussed is the increased presence of private military contractors within the borders of Afghanistan and the expansion of military basis that hint at a long-term U.S. presence.

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According to articles in today’s Daily Oklahoman and Washington Post, when she was mayor of Wasilla AK, Sarah Palin “spearheaded” efforts to establish the town as as “a community of character” via the International Association of Character Cities (IACC). What these stories don’t mention is that the Oklahoma City-based IACC is a secular front for Chicago millionaire evangelist Bill Gothard.

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One-time Democratic loser Paul Hackett, who for some reason appears with fellow-loser and Republican Phil Heimlich as a political analyst on WCPO, recently posted an item to the Daily Kos revealing how out-of-touch Hackett is with successful political campaigns (probably a result of his limited experience losing).  Hackett’s hack-job at trying to give the Obama campaign advice demonstrates not only why he quickly disappeared from any active tickets, but it also calls into question why WCPO gives losers like Hackett and Heimlich prime-time billing as political commentators and analysts.

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The Cincinnati Beacon’s Resident Philosopher, Wes Dempster (also my friend since pre-school) has engaged me in a lengthy, private email debate about the merits of voting for a third party candidate.  When I heard Ralph Nader would be coming to Cincinnati, I realized I might be provided an interesting opportunity to take my private debate into the public realm.  So I collaborated with Dempster to create a single question for Ralph Nader—one to which we had not personally seen him respond, worded in such a way as to limit his answer in a very particular manner (assuming he would not sidestep the question, as politicians so frequently do).  I joined the press conference this past Monday to see how Nader would address my friend’s question.

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The recent Uniersity of Cincinnati assessment backing the sugar-plum claims for the proposed streetcar may have brought in a few dollars to the university, but it also shows the standards that enable one to pay for pre-determined results.  It accepted ridiculous claims at face value, ignored outrageous assumptions, and cavalierly dismissed focused criticisms of the proposed streetcar in the July 2007 feasability study by HDR Engineering.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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While 3CDC defends the closure of the Fountain Square restrooms, claiming that some cities don’t offer any toilets at public venues, places like Portland are emerging as innovative leaders in the realm of providing this basic public service to all citizens.  It seems significant that Portland would be the City leading the way in terms of public bathroom designs that fight crime, drug use and vandalism—particularly since Cincinnati has modeled its streetcar proposal after them.  How telling, the manner with which Cincinnati will pick-and-choose those aspects of Portland’s pubic policy to imitate, showing once again that Cincinnati does not put its people first.  Or rather, that it only puts certain people first.

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Recently, Mark Miller left a comment at the CityKin blog, and it indicates that 3CDC’s decision to close the public toilets on Fountain Square may actually be a violation of Ohio law.  I just called to double-check, and there are no public restrooms available in the Fountain Square parking garage, which is open well beyond the 11am-2pm window for the public toilets on the Square.  In fact, the person who answered the FSQ garage phones told me that the toilets for the garage were on the Square!

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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I guess I won’t be taking my five year old son to Fountain Square during the afternoons anymore, since the last thing I need with a small kid is to be running around hoping some business owner will let him pee in their toilets.  If you haven’t heard, 3CDC has decided to shut down the public bathrooms on Fountain Square!  Now, the potty will only be available from 11am-2pm, and during 3CDC’s money-making events on the Square.  I guess this is the latest from the genius of Bill Donabedian—yet another chapter in the hostile corporate takeover of Cincinnati’s central public space.

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This weekend, John McCain appeared on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and he said that his father-in-law is a role model for young Americans.  So what do we know about McCain’s father-in-law?  What sort of behavior does he model for our nation’s youth?

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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In a recent press statement from Noble Maseru at the Cincinnati Health Department, two facts were emphasized:  the Ohio River has a water quality index in the “Very Good” range, and the City of Cincinnati’s drinking water is of “the highest quality.” So with a plentiful water source in our river, and with celebrated high quality drinking water, you would think that Cincinnati would be celebrating this great natural resource.  On the contrary, the City Manager has instituted a “Water District Committee,” which has some wondering if the City’s water supply might be in danger of privatization.

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For years, The Cincinnati Beacon has been bringing the story of the 2004 stolen election to Southwest Ohio.  Remember Stephan Skirtz?  He’s the guy who made waves in the 2004 blogosphere when he captured a photograph of a red pickup truck with a George W. Bush bumper sticker, and a guy handling uncounted ballots in a dark parking lot with no one around.  We interviewed him for posterity’s sake!  We captured BBC Reporter Greg Palast sharing some of his collected evidence about the 2004 stolen elections in Ohio, too.  Let’s not forget the interview with UC’s Dr. Bob Drake about stickered ballots.  The list goes on.  So when The Enquirer’s Carl Weiser proclaimed that the story of the 2004 stolen election was over, we couldn’t help but think about the matter a little more.

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