As first announced by reporter Bill Sloat’s Daily Bellwether blog, last Saturday marked the debut of Phil Heimlich’s radio talk show. As Beacon readers know (perhaps too well), we have a special fascination with Phil, a once-influential public official whose fall from power was hard and fast.

So we’ve been wondering when and where he’d surface next. Faced with mowing my lawn, I decided it was more urgent to spend an hour listening to “Hard Truths,” which is the name of Heimlich’s new venture in the world of so-called “conservative Christian” broadcasting.

Knowing Heimlich, I figured something unpredictable was bound to happen and the May 3rd “Hard Truths” premiere did not disappoint. In fact, the very first guest was, surprise surprise, Bill Sloat. Did he somehow forgot to mention that in his April 30th Bellwether plug for Heimlich’s show or was he a last-minute booking? But I’m getting ahead of myself.

For the past few weeks, the only thing Sloat has been writing about on The Bellwether is the Marc Dann mess. It started with his April 13 critique in which Sloat took The Enquirer to task for failing to cover the story. Fair enough. Since then, it’s been wall-to-wall Dann at the Bellwether, ranging from newsworthy observations to moral indignation to inviting readers to “Name The Scandal”. (Sloat thinks “Boinkgate” is a winner.) Clearly, the former award-winning Plain Dealer reporter has has found a drum he enjoys beating.

It’s certainly a drum worth beating. Dann’s an embarassment and a joke, which is apparent to everyone but himself. My problem with Sloat’s non-stop coverage was how loud he was banging his anti-Dann drum. For example, his items had dirfted into the ”nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more“ category, the most juvenile example being this “Marc Dann appointment calendar”, an incredibly limp humor attempt: “4:30 p.m—Have Sex. 4:32 p.m.—Smoke Cigarette. 5:00 p.m.—Photo Op With Hugh Hefner. 5:30 p.m.—Order Silk Pajamas,” etc. Also, I don’t know about you, but whenever a hardened beat reporter starts acting like he’s going to faint because a politician was caught having an affair, I start itching. Sloat’s breathless POV on the Dann story required calamine.

His call-in interview with Heimlich last week was more of the same. It started with Heimlich saying, “If you think I just put this sex scandal on to get people to listen to my show, I want you to know that’s exactly what I’m doing” and went downhill from there. The milestone was when Sloat mounted the soapbox for a morality lesson and declared the AG’s office to be a “culture of copulation” which caused Phil to swoon over the alliteration. Good Christians of Character like Heimlich certainly have every right to work from the gutter; after all, Phil made his name as a bottom feeder. What had me flummoxed was why Sloat was playing monkey to Heimlich’s organ grinder.

The second half of the show continued along the same lines with a long interview with Kevin DeWine, who as, Phil repeatedly reminded everyone through the show, is incoming Republican Party chairman. In fact, Phil gets so far up DeWine, I was worried that he’d have to be surgically removed after the show. (I assume he was looking for a job up there.) Just like in Sloat’s interview, Heimlich and DeWine spent their quality airtime kicking Marc Dann around the block. But that’s expected of party apparachiks. We’d all be surprised if DeWine and Heimlich did otherwise. (For you masochists out there, the audio of the hour-long show is available on Heimlich’s website.)

But Bill Sloat is supposed to be an independent journalist, not a Republican Party flak. Is a reporter allowed to be opinionated in a radio interview? Of course. Can he make childish wisecracks? Sure, go for it dude. But if a reporter goes into an interview with a politically-driven agenda, his independence as a journalist is kaputski.

That’s why this two-minute section of the interview bothers me. After you get past the haw-haw jokes about Hawaiian pizza, Phil ‘n’ Bill start talking about e-mails which were obtained from Dann’s office in public records requests back from the Coingate days. First, Heimlich describes the e-mails and reads from one of them. Then over the phone, Sloat reads from a different e-mail from the same batch.

How did they both happen to have copies of these obscure e-mails? The only way I can figure is that either it’s an amazing coincidence or somebody exchanged paper before the show.

Bill Sloat and I have a collegial relationship and he usually responds promptly to my e-mails. Since Sunday I’ve sent him the following message twice:

Bill,

I’m reporting on your appearance as the premiere guest on “Hard Truths with Phil Heimlich” and I’d appreciate your answers to some questions.

1) Do you recall what date you received the invitation to appear on the show? Who contacted you?

2) Before the interview, did you communicate with Phil? If so, please describe in detail the extent of your communications.

3) In your years as a reporter, you’ve seen plenty of scandals come and go. On a low-high scale of 1-10, with 10 being Tom Noe/"Coingate," what ranking would you attach to the current situation in the Attorney General’s office?

Thanks and looking forward to your reply. If you could get back to me as soon as possible, that would be appreciated. I may have follow-ups.

Sincerely,

The Dean

Bill, if you’re reading this, I still haven’t received a reply.

###

NOTE: If you’re not mowing your lawn, tune in tomorrow to “Hard Truths” in which Phil’s guest will be another journalist whose commitment to objectivity and quality reporting is well-known: the Enquirer’s Peter Bronson.

The League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area presents an Ohio imPACT TOWN HALL MEETING on Judicial Independence.  It will take place on Thursday, May 15th at 12:30-2pm at the Taft Research Center’s Lecture room at 2526 Clifton Avenue. Speakers include: Michael Solimine, Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati, William K. Woods, President of CommonCause Ohio,Kathleen King Esq., Hamilton County Domestic Relations Ct.

Ohio imPACT TOWN HALL MEETING on Judicial Independence is designed to bring people together to look at the judicial branch, what judicial independence means and how it is threatened in Ohio. Why is this so timely? The judiciary, one of the three branches of government, is typically the least understood branch.  Yet it is the branch charged with protecting access to justice for all.

The presentation includes a brief DVD and speakers who can discuss the significance of the judiciary, handle questions and facilitate meaningful discussions on the importance of preserving fair and impartial courts. Students from the University of Cincinnati will also be participating.

Co-sponsors: Taft Research Center, CommonCause Ohio, League of Women =
Voters of Greater Cincinnati, and Ohio impact.

For more information see http://www.ohioimPACT.org

Open to the public. Free Lunch. 

RSVP to Alice Schneider at 381-4994.

So what’s going on with The Banks?  How is it being funded?  Are there questionable deals in the background regarding the use of TIF generated funds?  Is the City of Cincinnati improperly utilizing tax money in their attempt to pay for a grandiose downtown vision? 

A few days ago, I sent a short question to Mayor Mallory and City Council:  “Is it true that TIF money from city-wide TIF districts is being tapped for funding The Banks?”

David Crowley’s office replied:  “No. TIF districts by definition require that any money generated in a TIF district, which is no more than 300 acres, has to be reinvested in the same 300 acre district. While the specifics of how the Banks TIF district money will be spent I believe it is expected that at least some portion of it will be used on the Banks project.”

State Representative Tom Brinkman, however, disagreed.  “We have discovered several occasions where the City of Cincinnati took money from one area wide TIF and spent it in another area,” explained Brinkman.  “They took TIF money and gave it to Western Southern for their building at Third and Broadway. They are taking money generated by the Banks TIF district and spending it on the Streetcar which lies mostly out of the Banks TIF area. Thus they have NO money for the Riverfront Park and now that the County Commission has discovered this, this undermines the financing for the Banks.”

Crowley, on the other hand, questioned the accuracy of Brinkman’s claims.  “The State law allowing for the creation of TIF districts prohibits using TIF dollars outside of the original TIF,” said Crowley.  “The City has abided by that law. If he has any evidence to the contrary I would be happy to have the City’s Finance Department provide further clarification.”

For Brinkman, City Hall has been silent on this issue.  “I was in a meeting with Mayor Mallory and other legislators when we confronted the Mayor about the Western Southern building and he said he knew nothing about it but would look into it.”

“I have never heard back from the Mayor,” said Brinkman.

Crowley later offered clarification regarding the Western Southern building.  “When the TIF district was drawn up the property at 303 Broadway was specifically cut out of the TIF and made its own project TIF,” explained Crowley.  “So that building is not part of the TIF district but rather a stand alone project based TIF (which was the way of “TIFing” things before TIF districts were used). Presently either method can be used although it is my understanding that the State of Ohio is doing everything they can to prevent new TIF districts because the districts are ensuring that tax money is invested locally, where is was originated, rather than at the State level which they would prefer.”

Brinkman remains critical about the City’s progress downtown.  “I sure haven’t seen any more dirt moved since the April 2nd press conference, have you?” he asked.  “Where is the TIF money for the Over-The-Rhine area? Ask 3CDC.  They convinced City Council to give it all to them for their plans. The City Council has abused the area wide TIF laws and cross promised the money to so many groups, they can not even keep it all straight.”

“Ask the County Commissioners about the TIF money they ‘thought’ was going to the Banks,” suggested Brinkman.

“I said pretty clearly at last week’s Commission meeting that I think it is a mistake to use almost the entire ($25 out of $30M) ‘Banks TIF’ (the district south of Fifth Street to the river) for the streetcar, especially when so little of the streetcar route would be south of Fifth St.,” said County Commissioner David Pepper.  “There are many long-term needs on the Banks, including the park, long-term infrastructure needs, etc.  While we’re moving forward on the Banks, there’s a long way to go on the project.”

“I support the street car concept if an appropriate and responsible implementation plan can be put in place,” Pepper continued, “but I don’t think it’s wise to divert from the TIF millions of dollars that could be spent meeting future Banks needs.”

Unfortunately, other than Jimmy Carter-and a few dissidents you won’t hear from in the corporate media-there is no discussion or questioning of our relationship with Israel (which includes billions of dollars a year in military aid). President Carter has been making waves lately by talking to Hamas and with his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid”.

Some leading intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein give some interesting perspective on the issue which plays a critical role in our foreign policy in the Middle East, but this is a debate you never really hear in the US. Part of the reason is because of the biased coverage from the so called “liberal” media. Another reason is the powerful pro-Israeli lobby, AIPAC.

The six day Arab-Israeli War in 1967 reshaped the Middle East and the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank have lived under Israeli military occupation ever since. US support for this occupation, the backing of dicatorships and coups throughout the region, the sanctions and current occupation in Iraq all have inflamed anti-American sentiment.

One of the most disappointing reasons that we don’t hear any real discussion on this issue is because there is no debate in the electoral process. The major corporate-party candidates protectively imitate each other and take important issues off of the table.

(Barrack Obama reversed his pro-Palestinian position. And more Independent candidates like Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader are often shut out of the televised debates and marginalized by the corporate controlled media.)

Democracy is about debate and healthy competition. Our country could use at lot more of both, especially when you consider that 80% of Americans aren’t happy with the direction of our country.

It’s important to remember that the most important part of the electoral process is to have a deep discussion about the direction of our country and its role in the world. So while it’s OK to support or not support whatever candidates you choose, we should never try to stifle debate and prevent others from speaking or exercising their rights by running for office. This issue alone is why our country needs more voices and more choices. We need a debate from A to Z instead of just A to B when it comes to US foreign policy and our role as the world’s only superpower.

==
from: parkerforcongress@msn.com
date: Wed, May 7, 2008 at 6:16 AM
subject: FW: Ohio Attorney General

I know good people when I meet them and I understand what it takes to truly be a public servant whose top priority is to improve the lives of others.  Paul Hackett is just that type of person and I believe that he would be a fine candidate for Ohio Attorney General.

Call him to discuss.

Jim Parker, Future Democratic Candidate for US House of Representatives
Southern Ohio - 2nd District - 20??
Waverly, Ohio
740-947-1647

> From: paul@hackettlaw.com
> To: parker309@msn.com
> Subject: Re: Ohio Attorney General
> Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 21:11:02 -0400
>
> I’ll take that job, thanks, spread the word.
>
> Paul Hackett
> Hackett Law Offices
> 1210 Sycamore St.
> Cincinnati, OH 45202
>
> (513)-333-0050
>
> paul@hackettlaw.com
>
> Major, USMCR
>
> On May 5, 2008, at 8:01 PM, Jim Parker wrote:
>
> >
> > Paul,
> >
> > I really think you would be the perfect candidate for Attorney
> > General. You would definitely be a thousand times better for the
> > people of Ohio than some of the names I’ve been seeing tossed around.
> >
> > Go for it.
> >
> >
> > Friends,
> >
> > Jim Parker, Future DEMOCRATIC Candidate for US Congress
> > Southern Ohio - 2nd District - 20??
> > 740-947-1647
> > http://JimPARKER4ad.blogspot.com/
> >

The US has a long history of racist policing and unfair treatment under the law. Some people are now being freed from wrongful convictions because of DNA evidence, but we must ask ourselves how many have been set up and then murdered by the state? The US has more people in prison than any other nation on the planet and almost half are there due to the failed War on Drugs. When will we demand a change?

As Tip O’Neal once said, “All politics is local”. Perhaps it’s time to stop the injustices in Cincinnati.

All Media, Executive Committee Members and Members of the Cincinnati NAACP are invited to New Friendship Baptist Church at 6:00 PM to get a “taste” of how the Cincinnati Choir will represent our city in July. New Friendship Baptist Church is located at 3212 Reading Road.  The pastor of New Friendship Baptist Church is Dr. Harvey.  The Cincinnati NAACP continues to thank New Friendship Baptist Church for opening their doors for our choir.  Smitherman says, “There is no question that the Cincinnati Branch wants bragging rights after our choir performs at the National Convention.  We have all the confidence in the world in our Cincinnati native Joel Davis, Music Director.” For more information please contact the Cincinnati NAACP at 513-281-1900.

Law enforcement officers are charged with a simple, but noble, assignment:  protect and serve.  And while people may debate the degree to which red-light cameras protect motorists, the fact remains that City Hall wishes to implement these cameras downtown—not because they hope to make our streets more safe, but because they hope to generate revenue for the struggling budget.  This is a violation of that simple assignment with which our law enforcement officers are charged.  Instead of protecting, and serving, the red-light cameras are just a scam for ticketing people at a distance for profit.

That’s why The Cincinnati Beacon proudly endorses the NAACP petition drive and the ”We Demand a Vote” coalition.

What happens when law enforcement becomes a means for making money? 

I wholeheartedly reject the premise, because that same premise logically supports absurdities—like a ”jay walking vortex.”

I remember, at the victory party to defeat the jail tax, talking with Christopher Finney (who had been a long-time political adversary).  He said he had learned, through collaborating with “liberal” groups like the Green Party and the NAACP that there was actually a shocking philosophical overlap with his own “conservative” group COAST.  He said COAST opposed government spending because it viewed taxation as a means of government oppression.  Then he said he realized that groups like the NAACP also oppose government oppression—and that such oppression can manifest in a variety of ways.  That touchstone, he hypothesized, could serve as a starting-point for future collaboration.

And it seems, to me anyway, that the idea of “oppression” is a great lens through which to interpret the red-light camera proposal.  By altering the basic premise of law enforcement—from protecting and serving to making money for government—City Hall has taken a small step towards implementing an oppressive police state where the interests of government take precedent over the interests of the people they are supposed to serve.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Cincinnati location of The Fisher House.  The Fisher House is a unique private-public partnership that supports America’s military in their time of need.  Members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care.  The Fisher House Foundation provides a “home away from home” on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers so that family members can be close to loved ones undergoing medical treatment for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.  There is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center.

Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 8,500 families, and have made available more than two million days of lodging since the program originated in 1990.  Visit http://www.fisherhouse.org for more information.

“This event celebrates the best food our city has to offer while benefiting the brave men and women who protect and defend our country,” said Shari Einsel, Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Association, “the opportunity to support such a great organization was a no-brainer for us.”

Best of Taste is open to the public.  Tickets are $25 per person and $10 for veterans.  Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.dineoutoften.com or to register by phone, please call 513-421-4272.  Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Check out this question:

By what process is energy transferred when sound waves travel through air?

A. absorption of sound waves by surfaces
B. vibrations of perpendicular electric and magnetic fields
C. flow of air currents away from the sound source to the listener
D. consecutive, repeating collisions or interactions of air particles

That question is for an 8th grader, from ODE’s published practice test.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a Science teacher.  Maybe it’s because, at 33 years old, I just can’t remember 8th grade Science class very clearly anymore.  But somehow, that question seems totally obscure given my vision of the life of a 14 year old.

Maybe it’s because I started reading John Taylor Gatto again.  Here are some excerpts from his book A Different Kind of Teacher:

At the turn of the twentieth century a profound social thinker in France named George Simmel wrote a remarkable book called The Philosophy of Money.  In it, Simmel, one of the great creative theorists of this century, said that money contained a powerful internal contradiction built into the foundations of its abstract existence:  by robbing things of their innate identity and replacing that core identity with a money identity, by making everything interchangeable with money, money often cheapened things and removed their significance!  Simmel said that whenever genuine personal qualities like service were offered for money, that the pricing of these things inevitably trivialized what had been priced.  The services tend to gradually become degraded, to lose distinction, just exactly as if the money itself sharply reduced the value of what was being purchased.

(...)

When schools consume the youth of the nation in confinement, and all the products of all their labors become paper to be thrown away, there is no joy possible in seeking of such goods.  The pricing of time through grade points establishes an irrational currency by which something precious, time, is corrupted in the service of arbitrary and nonsensical urgencies.

Experts who are the sellers of school services to the government have consistently misdiagnosed and misdefined the problem of schooling.  The problem is not that children don’t learn to read, write, and do arithmetic very well—those deficiencies are direct by-products of our errors of definition.  The problem is that kids hardly learn at all the way schools insist on teaching.

(...)

Our cultural dilemma here in the United States has nothing to do with children who don’t read very well.  It lies instead in the difficulty of finding a way to restore meaning and purpose to modern life.  There is no point in reading if it seems to lead nowhere.  We have progressively stripped children of the primary experience base they need to grow up sound and whole by pricing abstract study higher.  The great irony has been that while we have devalued service and life experience, abstraction has followed the path Simmel predicted—it, too, matters less and less.

Maybe I’m crazy for thinking there exists a huge profile of 14 year olds for whom the knowledge about how energy is transferred when sound waves travel through air is totally irrelevant.  And maybe I’m crazy for thinking there is no amount of extortion schools can exert to force kids into caring about something so obviously pointless and disconnected from adolescent life.  And yet maybe the craziest thing is not that the issue of sound waves is irrelevant—but perhaps the problem is that people really don’t care about sound waves:  tons of 14 year olds do not have curiosity about such things anymore.  What killed their curiosity?  Will state report cards for school districts and more standardized tests restore a lost intellectual curiosity?  Can the kids be bribed with the money of grades?  Or is Gatto right?

In any event, I still can’t help but be curious about how adults would fare on some 8th grade practice tests.

Back in January, my home was burglarized and I encountered government bureaucracy via the City’s False Alarm Reduction Unit.  Back then, I was never able to determine concretely how long it took police to respond to the call.  This past week, I had another incident with my alarm.  The response time was so slow, I wonder the point in even owning an alarm.

In January, when an actual burglar broke into my home, Cincinnati Bell’s Complete Protection department called and asked if I wanted police dispatched.  I was a bit thrown off by the question, so after contacting my wife, I called them back within a minute and said that I would like to have police dispatched. 

Here is what happened to me last Thursday:

1.  My teenaged sister-in-law arranged with my wife to stop by our house after her track practice. 
2.  My wife promptly forgot about these plans, and we went out to dinner.
3.  My sister-in-law came in the house, and didn’t know the alarm code.
4.  Cincinnati Bell called my home, and spoke with my sister-in-law.  She told them what had happened, and that she did not know the code.
5.  Cincinnati Bell called my cell phone, and informed me that they were dispatching police.
6.  My mother-in-law called, to tell me about the alarm situation with her daughter.

At this point, I decided there was no reason to abandon my dinner to meet police.  I figured there was no way a skinny 16 year old girl would be going to jail for breaking and entering, and that we could resolve everything over the phone.  So we told my sister-in-law to call us as soon as she saw the police driving up the street.

Fifteen minutes later, we called her, asking if the police had arrived.  My wife stayed on the line, and it took another five minutes or so until a cruiser pulled in front of our house.  The situation with my sister-in-law was easily resolved, and we went back to eating our dinner.

I could walk to the local police station in under twenty minutes.

I believe this weekend marks the beginning of some serious strategizing for Ohio Democrats.  What’s more important?  Maintaining control over the Attorney General’s office, or doing damage maintenance for the upcoming presidential election?

The fact that there is not a clear presidential candidate makes this a bit murkier.  It means there are too many variables, perhaps.  What will be the status of the Dann scandals when the Democrats have a clear nominee?  Will there still be a frenzy calling for his resignation?  Will the media still be paying attention to the story?  Or will it fade into a memory for all but the hard-core Republicans?

So it seems to me that the real issue here is how long this story can maintain legs, and how that timeline compares with a definitive Democratic nominee.  If Dann can wait it out, maybe it will pass.  But once either Clinton or Obama is the nominee, if the story is still around, I think it will require Dann’s resignation.  And that’s a best case.

For all we know, the Party is making decisions like this right now.  It will be interesting to see what Monday brings.

I looked at the arrest statistics for the Cincinnati marijuana ordinance for the first 3 months of this year.  As the Beacon reported earlier, there is a vast difference in the numbers of arrests for African-Americans and Whites.

For the first 3 months, 795 Blacks were arrested under this ordinance while only 127 Whites—a difference of over 6 to 1.  There were also a handful of arrests of other races or where the race was not recorded.

Most of the arrests were in inner-city neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine, which are predominately Black neighborhoods, but the disparity extends to mixed and predominately White neighborhoods, too.  For example, there was 1 Black arrested in overwhelmingly White Hyde Park and no Whites arrested.  In Oakley there were 4 Blacks arrested and only 1 White.  In Cifton there were 16 Blacks arrested and only 6 Whites.  In Mt. Airy there were 25 Blacks arrested and only 1 White.

Various studies have shown that the marijuana usage rate for Blacks and Whites is about the same.  And Cincinnati’s population ratio is slightly weighted towards Whites.  In addition, many suburban Whites come to Cincinnati specifically in order to buy drugs.  So why the big difference in arrests?

Arrest data can be found in the statistics area of the Cincinnati Police Department page on the city’s website, http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov. 

The commercial:

Powers of 10:

On Monday, RENU, called Riverfront West Sports Park, on the edge of Miamitown, to warn them that Saturday night, May 3rd, undercover cops and alcohol agents would be there for the HempRock Hempfest and if anyone is caught smoking marijuana, the State would revoke the ball field*s beer license.  Alcohol license rules state that the license can be fined or revoked if illegal drug activity is found on the premises.

HempRock’s Hempfests, which are fundraisers that help finance the Global Marijuana Marches, have been held at Riverfront since 1995.  They both question why now, after all these years, law enforcement is focusing on this event when there is so much crime out there to focus on.

These types of actions are taking place around the Country to discourage venue owners from renting to groups for events that advocate legalizing cannabis.  It*s an around about way of abridging freedom of speech and has been known to scare some property owners into canceling such events.

That’s not happening in this case.  The Hempfest is still scheduled and HempRock is asking that everyone come out and support the idea of ending the War on Marijuana and the people who choose to use it in spite of the situation.  The event will be free of marijuana smoking to insure that the venue*s beer license stays intact.

Cincinnati Attorney Tim Smith will be on hand at the event to monitor the situation and to make sure no ones rights are violated.  That night and at the Sunday event on Fountain Square, he will also be speaking about recent court rulings and the Cincinnati Marijuana Ordinance.

*Eve Bolton—President of Cincinnati School Board and Social Studies Teacher for 35 years in Wyoming School District.

*Jeff Edmondson—Executive Director of Strive, a community collaboration of public and private sectors promoting educational success in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

*Emmy Partin—Writer and Researcher for Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The institute in part sponsors Charter Schools in Ohio and provides policy analysis.

Parents from Parochial, Public, and Charter Schools will pose questions to panelists.

Hear a variety of approaches to education from the experienced panel. Then add your thoughts to the mix and listen to others from various backgrounds in a respectful, small group experience. Days of Dialogue promote civil discourse, stimulate critical thinking, and create an opportunity where people can talk with others who differ in a safe and comfortable setting where true learning can occur.

EVENT DETAILS:

When: Saturday May 17th

Where: First Unitarian Church (536 Linton at the corner of Reading and Linton St.)

Doors open at 8:30am with light refreshments and registration. Program begins promptly at 9am and ends at 12pm.  The event is free and open to the public. There is free parking! Sponsored by the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center

Reservations requested but not necessary. It helps us plan the number of small group facilitators we need! RSVP to kristen@ijpc-cincinnati.org or to 513-579-8547.

Also, if you need child care, please let us know by May 9!

According to the show’s web site, “The goal of Hard Truths is to seek the difficult answers to today’s issues wherever they are found—in the pages of history, through our own common sense, and in the Word of God.” And though the show hasn’t started yet, the advertising section of the site explains, “Hard Truths with Phil Heimlich reaches millions of people each month. We offer competitively priced advertising packages that help you get the word out about your company’s products or services.”

One must wonder how profitable, if at all, it can become to have a Saturday afternoon talk show on Christian radio.  But why is the committee that handles Phil’s political fundraising purchasing web space for his private business venture?  After dropping out of the race with Jean Schmidt, Phil had a nicely filled coffer of campaign money.  Did his benefactors expect him to spend it on something like this?

This begs two questions:  firstly, what are the laws governing use of the money from political campaigns?  Is it proper for “Citizens for Heimlich” to buy this web site?  Secondly, is there some kind of political motivation to the establishment of this radio show?

How wide an audience can someone reach with a Saturday afternoon talk show on Christian radio?  With affiliates picking up the program in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, could this possibly serve as a springboard for a statewide political campaign?  If so, what statewide office does Phil think he has even a remote chance of winning?

Maybe all these questions, and more, can be answered when Phil starts putting entries on his show’s blog, which promises to start May 5th.

Does The Enquirer exhibit an editorial bias designed to advance their own business interests, particularly as they pertain to things like The Freedom Center, the Streetcar proposal, and 3CDC’s redevelopment in Over-The-Rhine?  No matter one’s political position on these topics, what does it mean if Cincinnati’s major daily paper inserts itself into the business of the City to push for development for the purpose of self-profit?  Is that the kind of thing we expect from so-called professional journalists?  What does The Enquirer have to say, if anything, in response to such allegations?

For those who have been watching, apparent conflicts of interest regarding The Enquirer are nothing new.  In fact, we first wrote about The Enquirer’s relationship with and coverage of 3CDC near the beginning of 2006. 

Since we recently discovered The Freedom Center’s web relationship with The Enquirer via a domain entitled ShopAtCincinnati.com, one must wonder at the name of the domain itself.  And when one considers how so many Streetcar advocates point to permanent rails as a boost to business development, one can’t help buy wonder if “ShopAtCincinnati.com” is a domain that will somehow capitalize on the overall development.

This, combined with The Enquirer’s connections to the parties involved—from The Freedom Center at The Banks development all the way to 3CDC’s Over-The-Rhine—well, it just starts to look like the paper has its hands into something besides reporting news.

So, in an attempt to seek complete clarification, I have just sent the following to Tom Callinan, Hollis Towns, and Margaret Buchanan:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to seek clarification about the relationship The Enquirer has with various downtown entities and projects, specifically how these relationships may not only influence news stories, but also how they may indicate business relationships for profit.

For example, The Enquirer appears to own a domain entitled “ShopAtCincinnati.com.” The Freedom Center utilizes this domain when seeking to link volunteers with agencies seeking help through an online interface.  And the overall Freedom Center web page appears hosted on The Enquirer’s servers.

As has already been discussed, Margaret Buchanan sits on the board of 3CDC. 

The new Streetcar proposal seeks to connect the area including The Freedom Center to 3CDC’s Over-The-Rhine development.  Proponents say permanent rail lines attract business.  The idea of new business seems to fit with a domain entitled “ShopAtCincinnati.com.”

Some may deduce, therefore, that The Enquirer, as a business entity, is seeking to influence news in a manner beneficial to its own profit. 

1.  How does The Enquirer respond to such allegations?

2.  Since “ShopAtCincinnati.com” does not have an active home page, what is the purpose of that domain?

Thanks for your prompt response to these questions.  I may have follow ups.

Respectfully,

The Dean of Cincinnati

Chris Maze wrote: Forwarding this email exchange I just had with a guy who works for one of your local papers. I had to get this out because it is classic.

From: chris maze
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 2:52 PM
To: Bronson, Peter
Subject: Obama’s giving doesn’t match talking

John McCain’s wife, Cindy, owns businesses worth more than $100 million, but they file separate tax returns and hers have not been released, so it is impossible to make a direct comparison to Obama and Clinton. On his income of $405,409, he donated $105,467 in 2007.

That’s 25 percent of his income. The year before, he gave 26 percent.

So , even thought hey are married, let’s just forget that she is worth $100 million. He didn’t give 25% of their combined income. They may of just gave a total of %1 of their combined income to charity. We will never know. You just can’t compare McCain with Clinton and Obama. You can, but you look like a hack.

From 2001 to 2006, they donated $950,000 to the McCain Family Foundation, and it gave away $1.6 million. Private schools got $500,000.Harper’s sniped, “McCain apparently received major tax deductions for supporting elite schools attended by his children.” But many parents spend on private schools while also paying taxes for public schools.

But it did go to private schools where his children went. You can’t just disregard that. Again, you can, but you look like a partisan hack.

This is my favorite:

Last year, the McCain Family Foundation’s biggest donations went to Operation Smile (facial surgery for poor children) and for removal of land mines.

And

Ten percent to charity is generous. But nearly all of it went to the Clinton Family Foundation, which has been accused of hiding shady donations to the Clinton Library, paying salaries to Clinton friends and making gifts to buy endorsements for Hillary. The Washington Post reported: “The foundation has enabled the Clintons to write off more than $5 million from their taxable personal income since 2001, while dispensing only $1.25 million in charitable contributions over that period.”

The McCain Family Foundation went to help children. Mostly his children. Clinton’s helped themselves. And AIDS, Africa, ect. To ignore the good both these foundations do is ridiculous. To ignore the hypocrisy in both is equally ridiculous.

In short, what a transparently biased article. I am neither a supporter of Clinton or Obama, and I would have also emailed if you were “siding” with a Democrat. I just want to point out that this is terrible, terrible journalism. And you need to be much more subtle if you want to hide your biases. If not, people will stop reading you

Probably not. You are pandering to an audience. I feel bad you need to do that. Must suck laying down your journalist ethics to sell papers. Must suck even worse to be in Cincinnati.
Get out, your mind will heal up and you’ll feel better

Peace

==
On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 1:26 PM, Bronson, Peter wrote:

Thanks for the note, but you’re wrong about the McCains and my column. Here’s why:

From CBS:

Because Arizona is a community property state, McCain and his wife each must report one-half of their shared income and expenses. So, though McCain reported $258,800 in taxable income on his 2007 return, the couple’s joint income was twice that amount. According to their tax returns, Cindy McCain’s income from the beer distributorship, Hensley & Company, was $432,991 in 2007. – CBS News

From the New York Times:

The returns show that over the last two years, Mr. and Mrs. McCain donated $340,323 to charitable causes, with most of his donations going to the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation, his campaign said.

So, if we add her income and his, we get $691,000. Their joint giving (below) would still equal about 25 percent of their joint income.

As for the rest of your comments and insults, the fact remains – McCains, 25 percent; Clintons, 10 percent (being generous); Obamas 6 percent to less than 1 percent.

Best wishes,

Peter Bronson

==
From: chris maze
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 5:44 PM
To: Bronson, Peter
Subject: Re: Obama’s giving doesn’t match talking

Are you really not familiar with community property state laws regarding this? I am not giving you a hard time, but you are wrong. In a community property state, property owned before the marriage isn’t required to be listed. Nor is property obtained from wealth that was owned before the marriage. Also, if you inherited or were given property separately while married, you don’t have to report it. Kind of is relevant to the McCains, no? there are various smaller loopholes, but these are the big ones. Would you like me to link you to community property laws, or will you just continue to write as if I never informed you? So, again, you have no idea how much wealth they have. Your response to email was false.

As for the rest of your comments and insults, the fact remains – McCains, 25 percent; Clintons, 10 percent (being generous); Obamas 6 percent to less than 1 percent.

You are just pulling numbers you like on McCain. I just showed you why.

Would you like websites or other places where you can research this for yourself so you needn’t take my word for it?

Christopher Maze
==

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 7:15 AM, Bronson, Peter wrote:

You’re just making it more complicated to serve your point. In each case, I dealt with reported income for a given year. I did not get into the wealth of the Clintons and Obamas. Clearly, the McCain’s reported income for those years – hers and his combined – still showed contributions in the 25 percent range.

Peter Bronson
==

From: chris maze
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: Obama’s giving doesn’t match talking
To: “Bronson, Peter”

Dude, you got to be kidding me? You brought up the community property laws and were totally wrong about them! “You’re just making it more complicated” Are you kidding? I am sorry if the law is a little hard, but I offered you resources so you don’t make a fool out of yourself debating somebody on this. I’ll get a letter to the editor of your paper in response to your article explaining it so your readers can decide.

The true sign of a fool is the inability to learn things he doesn’t agree with.  Be careful bro. Don’t want to end up a fool.

Christopher Maze

See for yourself.  Follow this link, and you’ll notice it’s not hosted at “freedomcenter.org,” but through “shopatcincinnati.com.” So what is “shopatcincinnati.com”?

There is nothing at the home page shopatcincinnati.com.  But a Google search on the domain yielded interesting results.  For example, this page, branded with The Enquirer’s logo, is the same interface as The Freedom Center’s for linking volunteers with agencies.  So even when the Center appears to do something in its community, it’s really just riding the back of a pre-existing interface at The Enquirer. 

Here’s another version, branded again by The Enquirer (along with The Post and Cincinnati.com).

This shopatcincinnati.com page will allow you to buy Enquirer subscriptions. 

This address— http://www.shopatcincinnati.com/newsletter/tipsheet.asp—will redirect to a “Tip Sheet” for Cincinnati.com.

So it’s really no surprise that the registrant contact at the WhoIs registry for shopatcincinnati.com is The Enquirer.  But I did find it noteworthy that the registry details for freedomcenter.org show people with addresses at 312 Elm Street (The Enquirer building), and not 50 East Freedom Way (the actual address for the museum).