Hot News!
• Tea Party leader gets grilled by NAACP membership
On today's date in The Beacon archives, we published:
•Smitherman still saying the issue is about a “streetcar” (2009)•More on Amy Goodman’s Arrest and the Struggle for a Free Media (2008)
•Journalist Amy Goodman Unlawfully Arrested At RNC (2008)
•Seizing Illegal Guns—Thinking About 2% (2007)
•Information or Advertisements? (2007)
•Nick Lachey: “I have never supported George W. Bush.” (2007)
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Politics at The Cincinnati Beacon
If I Were a Socialist… by Barack Obama (NOT)Friday, August 27, 2010
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Guest column by Robert Park
If I were a socialist,…
1. You would now own investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Citi Group, the banks that enabled and encouraged the reckless endangerment of our economy leading to the meltdown of 2008. These institutions would now be under public ownership, no longer the private financial vehicles of the super-rich, because I would have nationalized them.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Brunner asked to protect voters’ rights to hear all candidates’ views
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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Dan La Botz, Socialist Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from Ohio, has initiated a petition to demand that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner use her authority to insure inclusive political debates in Ohio where all candidates can be heard. The online petition points out that Republican candidate Rob Portman and Democratic Party candidate Lee Fisher have been discussing the possibility of debates which would exclude the Socialist La Botz as well as the Constitution candidate Eric Deaton.
Posted by Media Release
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The Christian Conflict of Interest on Gay Marriage?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
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An email sent this weekend from the Ohio Christian Alliance alleges to articulate a “conflict of interest” for California Judge Vaughn Walker—who shut down that state’s anti-gay Proposition 8 on its unconstitutionality. However, if what the Ohio Christian Alliance argues is true, then conservative heterosexual Christian judges should not be allowed to hear cases about gay marriage. Their example showcases exactly how gross is the depth of the far-right Christian jihadists.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The White House shows contempt for the left, again
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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First Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called liberal activists “fu@&ing retarded” and now his press secretary Robert Gibbs said critics of Obama’s Bush-like policies should be “drug tested”. Neither of them apologized. The White House loves the corporations that funded his campaign and hates the progressives that turned out the vote.
Posted by Justin Jeffre
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US Senators take cues from group that approves of Heimlich medical atrocities
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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Photo: Drs. Henry Heimlich & Neal Barnard at 4/10/10 PCRM gala.
Yesterday’s Burlington (Vermont) Free Press reported that US Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Susan Collins (R-ME) were carrying a bill to eliminate the use of chimpanzees for medical research. The article, which says the lawmakers got on board after being “approached by members of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),” includes harsh criticism about experimenting on apes from John J. Pippin MD, PCRM’s senior medical and research adviser.
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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New Ad “Drives” Home How Out of Touch John Boehner is with Working Americans
Monday, August 09, 2010
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100+ Golf Rounds a Year, $83,000 in PAC Golf Expenses, $75,000 Membership at All Male Golf Club, $160,000 in Junkets. The Boehner IRONy: The WOOD-BE Speaker of the House WOOD cut Unemployment Insurance, raise the Retirement Age, and fire hundreds of thousands of Teachers, Cops & Firefighters – even as he PUTTERS on the golf course 100+ Times per year. Boehner Office Mounts “Bunker” Defense, Claims He Only Golfed 7 Times in 2009 – Despite Public Record of His 100+ Annual Golf Round Habit. Is Boehner just mad that this week’s state aid vote conflicts with his Tee Times? Would he vote YES if the bill covered groundskeepers & caddies in addition to cops?
Posted by Media Release
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Will Houses Have to Go? Squeezing the Streetcar Onto Vine
Friday, August 06, 2010
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In the past I have criticized the proposed streetcar route for different engineering problems: for the steep climb up Vine Street , for not allowing enough room for turns, and for blocking traffic. Now I find a new problem: Vine Street is too narrow for 4 lanes of traffic shared with streetcars. Either a lane will have to be eliminated or Vine Street widened.
Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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Tea Party hypocrisy and unstated “social issues”
Monday, August 02, 2010
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Yesterday, Will Kohler at the Back2Stonewall blog posted a series of emails with Chris Littleton of the Cincinnati Tea Party. The exchange showcases what seems an ongoing dilemma in the Tea Party movement—a refusal to state positions on social issues while waving the banner of things like “limited government”—even though certain social issues absolutely fit under the “limited government” catch-phrase the group uses for recruitment.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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What do Libertarians think, anyway?
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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Jim Berns is the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Congress in the First District. Maybe you know him from his hand-painted signs littering many local roadways. But what can we learn about Libertarian political ideas from looking at this guy’s press statements? In this strand, I’ve posted some media releases distributed by his campaign in the last few weeks. Do these seem like good ideas, or rantings? Are these positions particularly indicative of Libertarian thought as a whole?
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Our Water Works
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Our Water Works! (If it aint broken or broke, don’t fix it.) from Barbara Wolf on Vimeo.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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SALF whistleblower’s atty: IL cop’s “fraud and perjury” led to her indictment!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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As we reported, in mid-April former Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF) employee turned whistleblower Annabel Melongo was jailed in Cook County on $500,000 bail (since reduced to $300,000; see case documents at the end of this article). For almost four - that’s right - four years, Melongo has been facing criminal charges that she supposedly destroyed SALF’s computer files. But Melongo insists she’s being railroaded in order to shield powerful public officials who were involved with SALF, a “shady” Chicago area nonprofit (according to the Democratic Party). SALF called it quits last year after being the subject of about a dozen media exposes. Since our story about Melongo, others have picked up the story, including high-profile conservative Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism blog.
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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Why i$ Phil Burre$$ $miling? Here’$ one good rea$on!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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CityBeat recently posted this item about Phil Burress and his anti-gay organization, anti-porn Citizens for Community Values (CCV). Kevin Osborne wrote, “In 2002, records show Burress made an annual salary of $87,581 plus benefits; his wife, Vickie, who works as CCV’s ‘victim assistance coordinator,’ makes $28,167 plus benefits. No doubt, the salaries have increased in the intervening years. Who knew this ‘God business’ paid so well?”
After reading Kevin’s article, we decided to take a closer look - and discovered that over the years Burress has been richly rewarded for being a moral watchdog!
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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Fourth of July at Ault Park: The Holiday Hijacked
Monday, July 05, 2010
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By Reed La Botz
My girlfriend Maya and I went to Ault Park on July Fourth to see the fireworks as we have sometimes done on other years. The Ault Park Fourth fireworks are a long time tradition, so we were shocked to find that the Tea Party had hijacked our national holiday and our local event. Like most of the people there, we didn’t realize that the Tea Party had taken over the organization of the event. So, while we were waiting for the fireworks to begin, we and all the others who had come with their families and friends to enjoy the summer evening in the park, had to listen to a rightwing rant by Steve Christopher, a Findlay, Ohio resident and founder of the Hardin County Tea Party.
Posted by Justin Jeffre
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Heimlich and the Hendersons: AL evangelists seek their earthly award
Thursday, July 01, 2010
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This week, ordained priest, pastor, evangelist, and ardent anti-abortion activist James R. Henderson and his wife Carol were preparing to be the latest recipients of the H.J. Heimlich Humanitarian Award, named after the Cincinnati doctor known for the anti-choking maneuver. The award’s being presented this Sunday by the Spirit of America Festival in Decatur, Alabama, west of Huntsville.
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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Graves at Washington Park!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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Does the phrase “final resting place” meaning anything? Apparently not in Cincinnati, especially when 3CDC wants to takeover public spaces. There are dead people buried at Washington Park, and the details are only now finding their way to public consideration. Before the BizCourier item went online, I was doing some research myself this morning. Here’s what I found out!
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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BBB says 3CDC does not meet 7 “Standards for Charity Accountability”
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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Article reposted from here.
According to the Better Business Bureau, 3CDC fails to meet seven of their “Standards for Charity Accountability.” my3CDC.org believes 3CDC has a responsibility to meet all industry standards, particularly given their unique position working with Cincinnati tax dollars to redefine the face of the Queen City.
Posted by Media Release
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Cincinnati Blog misses the mark: Brian Griffin’s intellectual limits
Monday, June 21, 2010
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Brian Griffin, moderator of The Cincinnati Blog, really showcases the narrow limits of his so-called thinking abilities with this recent attack on Dan La Botz. In his short post, he engages irrational blather, makes sweeping generalizations, and hurls pointless attacks at people in a feeble attempt at conforming to his dogmatism.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Beacon “Scamazon” reports result in PR Society of America ethics statement!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
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Yesterday the Public Relations Society of America issued a statement in response to Beacon news reports about shill book reviews posted on Amazon.com, citing the PRSA Code of Ethics and its professional standards advisory against disingenuous online posting. According to According to Wiki, PRSA is “the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has more than 31,000 professional and student members, and is organized into 109 chapters nationwide.”
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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New Community Radio Station Goes Live on the FM Dial
Monday, June 14, 2010
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Media Bridges launches its community radio station, WVQC-LPFM, on 95.7FM this 4th of July weekend
Cincinnati, Ohio - After an ardous 7 year license application process, two years of fundraising, training volunteers, and setting up programming, Media Bridges is finally launching the FM broadcast of its Low Power FM (LPFM) community radio station, WVQC: Radio Free Queen City on frequency 95.7FM.
Posted by Media Release
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Chris Bortz cavalierly uses media to call media cavalier
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
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Chris Bortz says local media has been “cavalier” with the facts. This is interesting, at least in part because Chris Bortz has been cavalier with the facts, too. Remember when he kept saying Roxanne Qualls owns a condo along the proposed streetcar route? CityBeat asked Qualls, and it turned out the statement by Bortz “perpetuated an untruth,” according to Qualls. Now he’s complaining about local media for reporting on stories, when he refused to provide any statements for some of the same stories in question!
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The Metropole Is Our Home
Sunday, June 06, 2010
The Metropole Is Our Home from Barbara Wolf on Vimeo.
I just found out about this great documentary. Take a look!
Posted by Justin Jeffre
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More on the Streetcar Slide on Vine
Thursday, June 03, 2010
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In a previous article I predicted that the Cincinnati streetcar will climb Vine Street at 5 to 10 mph, not counting any stops it may make to pick up passengers. Based on more information I have found, that may be too optimistic—even 10 mph may be too fast because of the danger of sliding. If there’s snow on the ground streetcars may not go up (or down) Vine Street at all.
Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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Disappearing evidence: Coleman Kane, and the Cincinnati 9/12 disappearing act!
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
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This morning, we published this item by guest writer Coleman Kane. In it, he totally busts the Cincinnati 9/12 Project plagiarizing an article from Neil deMause from CNN. Now, the same link no longer features the plagiarized article, but instead a brand new one that leads people to deMause’s piece. Did deMause contact the Cincinnati 9/12 Project? Was the group embarrassed from getting busted by Coleman Kane? Either way, the group has made no acknowledgement of its error, nor have they made an apology, on the link in question. For those reading Kane’s story today, it looks like he doesn’t know what he’s saying. Luckily, we’ve got the screenshots archived.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The time is now for Cincinnati to save nearly half a million dollars
Monday, May 31, 2010
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Here is an excellent article that describes how preferential voting is better than the system we use in the US. Cincinnati has to change the way we elect our Mayors or we will waste nearly half a million dollars in 2013. We are lucky the Dean of Cincinnati saved the city nearly half a million dollars last year.
Posted by Justin Jeffre
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3CDC’s Washington Park and “The Element” in the room
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Posted by Justin Jeffre
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With OEC investigation looming, Chris Bortz jokes while casting streetcar vote
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Posted by Cincinnati Beacon Staff
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While the rest of the world is appalled, local NAACP’s partner COAST celebrates Rand Paul
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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Private businesses open to the public should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of race. At least, that’s what Rand Paul thinks—as everyone has heard who pays even a little attention to politics. (If not, read this, or this, or this...) Meanwhile, here in Cincinnati, the local NAACP’s partner COAST (whose white co-founder is the “Chair of Legal Redress” for the local NAACP) has celebrated Rand Paul’s victory as “transcendent,” apparently getting drunk and hungover, too.
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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District 9: Over-the-Rhine—A Working Paper
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
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Guest article by Thomas A. Dutton, Cincinnati Professor of Community Engagement, Director, Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine
“They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it” (Oglala Chief Red Cloud).
District 9, nominated for Best Picture at March’s Academy Awards, is now widely available at a movie gallery near you. Rent it, watch it, and learn about Over-the-Rhine. More specifically, watch it in light of the most recent city-corporate effort to displace the Drop Inn Center (DIC) from its home in that neighborhood. District 9 is not your normal alien movie. The typical question these movies pose is, what are they going to do to us? In District 9 the roles are reversed. The aliens in District 9 are metaphors—stand-ins for homeless people, people of color, immigrants, marginalized groups generally, what some have referred to as “surplus humanity”—and the question District 9 poses is, what are we going to do with them?
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Streetcars: Helping Traffic By Blocking It
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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One of the claims made about the proposed streetcar is that it will help traffic flow by increasing the number of people using public transit. The equation is simple: more streetcars = less cars = better traffic conditions = time & money saved. What’s left out is the fact that streetcars do not pull over to pick up and drop off passengers, unlike busses. So the equation really is: more streetcars = less room for cars = worse traffic conditions = time & money lost.
Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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Butterflies or Lies? The politics of bug destruction…
Monday, May 10, 2010
UPDATE: I spoke again to the person mentioned below at Krohn’s. He says he never told me they send butterflies to Cox, and he told me Krohn’s butterflies are sent to San Antonio. I will update this story as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 2: Read a new story here.
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Some time ago, someone told me a shocking tale about the fate of all those exotic butterflies come the end of the Krohn Conservatory’s butterfly show. This person said they were incinerated with a flame thrower! Though visually striking (the image of City workers armed with flame throwers chasing down fluttering butterflies), it didn’t seem so far-fetched. After all, what else do we expect them to do with aged insects that cannot be let into the wild? Further, I had no reason to doubt the conviction with which this friend relayed the story. But today, after discussing the issue with another friend, I called the Conservatory to find out myself—and the “story” they fed me was something else, indeed!
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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