Guest article by Rixio Barrios

I am Venezuelan residing in the States. I was born in a middle class status, my parents the son and daughter of poor and humbled folks who came to Caracas to find a better life. I grew up among my middle class friends, never struggling for much, always having what I needed but not what I wanted—which was fine by me. 

During my high school years Venezuela encountered a series of violent events due to an uprising by the people in response to government changes which caused inflation to rise at alarming rates. Everyone went out into the streets and protested day and night against these measurements, clearly imposed by great world powers. This situation left many of us barely above the poverty status and most below it. But nothing truly changed.

At the age of 19 I left Venezuela for the States looking for a better chance, since my country seemed to not have much for us middle and lower class youth.  Most of my friends stayed but a lot of us left to the US and Europe, most likely forced by the situation.

The failed coup d’état against the fascist government of the day in 1992 gave us hope. Hugo Chavez told Venezuelans after his capture that he was guilty along with his fellow soldiers and that new ways must take our country through a different path.  My heart felt this man, the fact that he, like a true hero would give himself up and face the media with showing no remorse for what he tried to accomplish. He went to jail unlike all the corrupt crooks like Carlos Andres Perez.  He was the leader we were looking for then. 

In 1998 he was by an overwhelming majority of votes and ever since that moment he continues to work for the average Venezuelan to create a better country and a better Latin America. That is why I support Hugo Chavez, The Bolivarian Revolution and the changes that the world is experiencing and the massive private media refuse to show everyone. I thank the Cincinnati Beacon for existing and giving everyone a chance to read my story which is our story. The story of humanity.

I feel this is not my Revolution; this is our revolution, the revolution of humanity against corporations and profits over people. We are in a process of evolution once again and it is time to evolve or perish.

To reach Rixio Barrios please write to circulobolivariano@cincinnati.com

Rixio is the coordinator of an international grassroots movement called the Bolivarian Circles and they are all around the world. The circles support Hugo Chavez, The Bolivarian Revolution and a social democratic alternative of governing.

JOIN US MAY 19 at 12:00 PM

The Finance Committee will meet May 19 at 1:00 to pass a motion that will affect the City’s negotiations with Rumpke. We will show support for the right kind of motion at Noon, and participate in the public comment session at the Committee meeting that starts at 1pm at City Hall.

What: A Rally in Support of A Living Wage for Rumpke Workers & More Recycling for the City: 12pm outside of City Hall on Plum Street.

Who is will participate: Community, Labor & Faith Based groups and individuals in support of Rumpke Workers, The Sierra Club, The Day Labor Organizing Project & The Blue-Green Alliance

Flyer available here:
http://www.dlop.org/city_hall_flyer.pdf
Phone contact: 513.621.5991

Background on the struggle for living wages and increased recycling in Cincinnati

MORE VICTORIES

Rumpke recycling workers with the help of the Blue-Green Alliance have succeeded in bringing change to their jobs. By bringing public pressure calling for Rumpke and TLC to change, they now receive free transportation to the job site and the right to choose their own transportation back to TLC (avoiding the previous mandatory $7.00 fee). Earlier, they won changes to pay policies that have eliminated the 2 hour wait after each shift. They have won freely supplied safety equipment instead of paying costly fees.

CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

The employers have refused to pay the City’s living wage as mandated by law. Currently City Council is considering a motion that would require the City to include strong living wage language and increase recycling requirements in next year’s contract. The current contract expires on May 31.

One draft motion calls for a living wage for ALL recycling workers and an increase in the refuse diverted from the landfill to 30%-40%. We strongly support this motion. Please call the Mayor and City Council Members in support of this draft. Tell them you support a living wage for all Rumpke recycling workers and an increase in recycling to 30%-40% of the waste stream!

Please call Cincinnati Council members this week (May 12-16) to make sure that when the motion on Rumpke is brought up in the Finance Committee on Monday May 19 that it include a living wage for all day labor workers at the Rumpke recycling facility:

1.Vice Mayor Crowley: 352-2453, david.crowley@cincinnti-oh.gov
2. Jeff Berding, 352-3283; jeff.berding@ cincinnti-oh.gov
3. John Cranley (Chair of the Finance Committee, 352-3653, John.cranely@cinncinnati-oh.gov
4. Chris Monzel, 352-3653, chris.monzel@cinncinnati-oh.gov
5. Cecil Thomas, 352-3499, cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov
6. V.Laketa.Cole, 352-3255, laketa.cole@cincinnati-oh.gov
7. Lelsie Ghiz, 352-3344; leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov
8. Roxanne Qualls, 352-3604, Roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
9. Mayor Mark Mallory: 352-3250, mark.mallory@cincinnati-oh.gov

In Solidarity,
The Cincinnati Day Labor Organizing Project
at the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
40 E McMicken, Cincinnati, OH
513 621-5991
cworkers@cinci.rr.com

Planning for the Rally
If you are interested in working with us on the rally, please contact us or come to a meeting to plan our strategy for the rally:
Saturday May 17, at 10:00 AM, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center 40 E. McMicken (Nu BlendBuilding, entrance to our office is in back of the building.)

The other day, for no reason in particular, I remembered all those allegations of Republicans voting in the Democratic primary to stack the deck, so to speak, for John McCain.  I also remembered those stories about how people wanted Rush Limbaugh to face charges for encouraging people to vote in the opposite party’s primary.  And while it turns out that Limbaugh’s ”Operation Chaos” did not land him in court, what about those Republicans who maliciously changed party?  Did anyone in Hamilton County write something like “For one day only” on their statement of party affiliation?  It turns out those forms are a matter of public record.

I cannot guarantee that I have a comprehensive collection from Hamilton County’s party affiliation forms.  There are thousands of these things downtown at the Board of Elections.  But I did get my hand on a few that raise questions about individuals’ motives.

For example, someone named Tonietta Smith, from Oakley, added some things to her form that raise questions.  At the top of the form, she wrote “Democrat Primaries ONLY.” And she apparently crossed out some words on the statement, making the form read as follows:  “...that I desire to be affiliated with and that I support the principles of the ____ Party...” In the blank, she wrote the word “Democrat,” and right under the space she wrote ”TODAY ONLY.”

Donna Plummer filled out her form, stating that she supported the principles of the “Independent Party.” An asterisk next to the line refers to another line where the Precinct Officials either accept or reject the vote.  The form indicates the vote was “accepted,” and the note indicates that Plummer “Voted Democrat Ballot.”

Carol Hesser made her own notes on her form.  She started to write the “D” for “Democrat,” then stopped and wrote “Independent.” This was marked with an asterisk, which referred to the following note, also apparently written by Hesser:  “Voting today on the Democratic Ballot.  I hereby request a change to the Independent Party.  CSH 3/4/08”

Christopher Bartlett’s form has two kinds of handwriting on it.  Apparently, he left the date blank, as well as the line where he was to indicate party affiliation.  Under that line, an arrow points to the following statement:  “I am voting for whom I wish regardless of party affiliation.” The same hand which wrote the word “accept” at the bottom of the form apparently also filled in the date, and the word “Democratic” on the blank line.

Patricia Hinkley tried to have it both ways, stating that she was a member of the “Independent/Democratic” party.  The line on the bottom indicating whether her vote got accepted or rejected is blank.

Don Hinkey apparently did not understand that primary elections are for the respective parties.  He left the line of party affiliation blank, and wrote the following:  “Since when did someone else decide how an American citizen can vote?” At the bottom, lone Precinct Official Kitt Lowe signed off that his vote was accepted.

So what does this mean?  Are these some examples of voters implementing something akin to Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos”? 

Located in an unremarkable building just one block west of the Main Street entertainment district in Over-the-Rhine, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless will mark its 25th year of service in 2009.  Its mission to end homelessness in Greater Cincinnati is fulfilled by improving services for homeless individuals, educating the public about homelessness and empowering homeless individuals to advocate for their civil rights and housing needs.  The Coalition’s 45 member agencies serve the homeless through emergency shelter, transitional living facilities, permanent housing, medical services, social services, soup kitchens, and mental health/addictions services.  The new mural will transform this previously non-descript storefront into an eye-catching work of art that honors the Coalition and its quarter-century of work on behalf of Cincinnati’s homeless citizens.

The 15 year-old Mayerson High School Service-Learning Program provides support to over 50 local schools whose students do community service in nonprofit organizations throughout the Tri-State.  Homelessness is an issue that captures the minds of many high school students who seek to get involved in eradicating this injustice in their home town.  The Coalition provides ways in which students can learn about the extent and causes of homelessness.  Many students serve in the soup kitchens and shelters that are members of the Coalition.  Some students create temporary shantytowns on their school’s campus to raise awareness of homelessness.  Students from seven high schools who have been involved in homelessness helped to create the mural that will be installed at the Coalition on May 22.

According to Mayerson Foundation President, Dr. Neal H. Mayerson, “the process of creating the mural helps students make sense of the experience they have had dealing with homelessness in their community.  The mural becomes a symbol of their feelings and an inspiration to others to get involved in the issues they feel strongly about.”

Steve Elliott, the Director of the Mayerson High School Service-Learning Program sees value in bringing diverse high schools together to work on projects that make the community stronger.  “The mural for the Coalition on the Homeless will be the 50th public art project completed by our program.  Large projects like this bring urban and suburban, public and private schools together where students share and learn from each other the ways in which their passions around service can help to build bridges,” said Mr. Elliott.

Building bridges between those who serve and those who are served is an important part of the Mayerson Program.  “Getting beyond the stereotype of homelessness is often the first step in our work,” said Georgine Getty, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless.  “The high school students working on the mural really got it.  They have understood there are many different ways of being homeless and they have captured that in a creative, very respectful way that will help us reach out to the public at-large”, said Ms. Getty. 

In addition to paying for all the materials used in the mural, the Mayerson Foundation hires a professional artist who serves as the coordinator for the mural project.  “I help the students refine the images they create and keep all seven groups of artists on track”, said lead artist Carol Ann Newsome.  Ms. Newsome has previously created murals to beautify neighborhoods throughout Cincinnati.

The schools and teachers whose students participated in the mural project are: Mt. Notre Dame High School – Shelly Brauer, Art Teacher; St. Ursula Academy – Alison Probst and Kurt Nicaise, Teachers; Seton High School – Margie Metz, Art Teacher; Lasalle High School – Mike Knueven, Art Teacher; Mason High School – Beth Ann Eline, Art Teacher; St. Xavier High School – Ted Mechley, Teacher; and Aiken University & College and Career High Schools – Family and Children First, Joan Pack-Rowe, Marty Kamrani, Gayla Sherman, Carolyn Bloomfield and Debbie Ray, teachers and sponsors.

The public is invited to the dedication ceremony of the mural at which refreshments will be served.  For additional information contact Jeff Seibert at 513-621-7500 or jeffs@mayersonfoundation.org. 

Today, Hamilton County Commissioners agreed to acquire 200 additional EMUs (electronic monitoring units) in an ongoing effort to relieve jail overcrowding and end early releases of prisoners. The additional EMUs will allow the Sheriff’s Department to remotely monitor more low level offenders, freeing up jail space for more violent offenders who must remain incarcerated. 

“Ending the early release of criminals is our top priority as a County, and EMUs have proven to be one of the most cost-effective ways to do this,” said County Commissioner David Pepper.  The County Commissioners and Courthouse will split the costs of the new EMU units.

The additional EMUs will incorporate new Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, which will make more offenders eligible for EMUs.  Most prior EMU units could only be used with phone land-lines.

So far this year, through a variety of actions, the County has not had to release early any male inmates, a dramatic change from years past.

Also today, the Commission received an update on its Project Disarm initiative.  Under the initiative, prosecutors apply much more stringent federal sentences to the County’s most dangerous criminals—particularly when they commit crimes while illegally possessing a gun.  Over the past year, the initiative has locked up dozens of the region’s most serious criminals for an average of more than seven years--far longer than what these criminals would have faced locally.  And they spend this time in the federal corrections system, freeing up local jail space.

“This is locking up the worst and most dangerous offenders where they belong--in our federal system,” Pepper said.

In this comment, I posted the following:

If Obama wanted to be the real “people’s candidate” he would take the golden opportunity to attack the million ways the Republican’s have screwed up the country and spell out exactly how he would do things differently. I don’t see him differentiating himself at all. Americans DO want to hear that. Of course Republicans don’t and he wants so much to appeal to them, that he’s just going for the “America has great potential, we can do anything we set our mind to” patriotic, nationalistic, whip ‘em into an emotional frenzy message. He wants to create a bunch of Republicans for Obama, like the Democrats for Reagan bunch.

I copied the content from this post left by cincysuz on the older article.  And she took the bait!  Here is cincysuz arguing with herself:

Once he gets the nomination, he’ll have the opportunity to attack the Republicans. Right now he has to devote all of his energy to repelling the racist attacks that come from all fronts. I haven’t been following the Greens, Independents or Libertarians but wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve gotten their licks in too. But then the father of a two children that may very well face that scenario in this racist land isn’t concerned about “color.” Funny how white people always say color doesn’t matter but will find every flimsy excuse not to support a black man when the rubber meets the road. And it’s a laugh hearing you, who have treated all Republicans with kid gloves, extended every possible courtesy to your brethren, that someone else is weak on attacking Republicans. But I don’t think you and JJ and MEP in partnership with the rest of the Republicans will be successful this time in your efforts to install another Republican administration!

That’s when I responded with another tid-bit copied from cincysuz:

Obama and Clinton are one in the same. The only difference is that Obama names a Republican, Ronald Reagan, as his inspiration. Some choice.

You can see the original here.

After some prompting, she took the bait and argued with herself again:

Oh really? Well first why don’t you explain why you continue to bash the only viable non-Republican candidate for president? Sure, he’s not as progressive as I’d like, but the other choice is Clinton or the McCain/Nadar ticket. I think that like many white people, your motives are race based. You’re looking for an excuse not to support a black male presidential candidate and everything you say on this blog supports that. That would threaten the superiority of you and the other Beacon boys so you choose to support either the old white male that has decade after decade been rejected (you guys always love to say that Gore lost his own state when Nadar never takes anything) but like the ever ready bunny keeps on running, or the other old white male war mongering Republican. The choice would be clear to anyone BUT a hard core conservative. And I’m really eager to read YOUR response. But I don’t expect it.

I left one more piece dangling for her, but she didn’t bit a third time.  Did she figure out our game?  Who knows.  But it sure was great having fun with cincysuz!

Every morning, on my way to work, I drive across Spring Grove Avenue, past P&G, and eventually through Carthage.  One day, I noticed one of those signs urging me to “Keep it Clean” about the Mill Creek, and I realized that I crossed a bridge.  I just hadn’t really noticed this before.  The north facing of this bridge has a very noteworthy view, in my estimation, and it just causes one to wonder what kind of pollution, if any, gets dumped into the creek by the chemical plants lining the concrete creek.

Take a look at this shot, for a good example:

Photo courtesy of here.

If you look closely (or check out this larger view), you can see, in the center, how a large stream of “water” is pouring directly into the creek. 

Is that really just plain, old, ordinary water?

And look towards the right side of the picture.  See that red flap?  Red usually means “danger.” Does something dangerous pour, occasionally, from that flap?  And look at the black residue dripping from the hole.  What is that stuff?

Here is another view:

Photo courtesy of here.

In addition to another view of both the red flap with black residue (bottom right), and the gushing liquids getting dumped (center), you can see other colors of flaps with black residue beneath them.  (Try this larger view, if necessary.) I see a yellow flap, like the red one.  “Yellow” usually means “caution,” right?  About what should we be cautious concerning that flap?  And, again, what is that black stuff?

Just some things I think about now, while driving to work each morning…

Photo courtesy of here.

Bill Sloat’s adolescent giggling reached a new fervor yesterday with this post—a trite commentary about Nate Livingston’s recent column claiming Tyrone Yates is gay. 

Apparently thinking himself savvy, Sloat refrains from mentioning any of the details in Livingston’s actual post—writing, instead, this:  “The things that appear on Livingston’s blog about Cincinnati’s former vice mayor will not be reprinted here. But they are available by clicking the link above, and have already been spread far and wide by the technology that powers the Internet.”

It’s not clear the manner by which Livingston’s story had been “spread far and wide,” but by linking to it Sloat has already done his part to increase the SEO of that particular entry.  Surely Sloat knows how linking increases site visibility.  So even while pretending to swoon with embarrassment at the salacious details Livingston provides, Sloat makes sure to do his part to drive people to those very same details.  And then he goes on to criticize the digital age for providing a flow for precisely that type of information!

Sloat writes, “We are now witnessing the unfettered and unchecked flow of information—perhaps scurrilous information—that is the downside ripple of the digital age.”

Sloat is like Lt. Frank Drebin, from The Naked Gun, standing in front of a fireworks factory, telling people there is “Nothing to see here.” (See image above.) He is either joking, or he has become a joke.

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.