November 12, 2004

Friday, November 12, 2004
On The Road
Greetings from a Kinko's in Seattle, Washington.

I Heart Seattle.

There is an energy and excitement here that I cannot adequately describe.

I'm bringing some ideas back.

More possibly tomorrow or Sunday, but don't bet on it. :)

WF


// posted by Wes @ 7:45 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Leavin' on a jet plane...
I'm going to the annual conference* of the Society for Music Theory in Seattle today. I'll be back sometime Monday.

If I can get to a cyber café or something, I'll post. Otherwise, see you when I get back.

WF
*"conference," of course, comes from the Latin word "conferentia," meaning "drinking in a different state."


// posted by Wes @ 4:51 PM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Dear God...
...please oh please oh please oh please do NOT let Barb Trauth get appointed to City Council.

When I heard her speak on urban issues, including rebuilding the center city, all she seemed to say was "We gotta fight crime!" Yes, we need to fight crime, but there's so much more involved here. Getting people to live/work/play downtown and in OTR will do more to fight crime than Trauth's police-state proposals.

Plus, I just don't think she has a lot of intellectual heft. I think she's also being floated by the far-right social conservatives (watch them carefully - they'll try to put Article XII back on the ballot, and soon).

UPDATE: Commenter FunnelCake tells me that Barb Trauth's husband, Joseph Trauth, is on the board of directors for Citizens for Community Values. If nothing else, that's enough reason to make sure she never gets anywhere NEAR the levers of power. It's bad enough that Sam Malone has to carry water for these moral fascists - let's not add another fundamentalist whack-job to Council.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:55 AM |||Comments (9) | Trackback (0)
Someone Else Gets It
Ms. Natalie Wolf of Amberley Village, to be exact (fourth letter):

I disagree with the writers of the letters "Conservatives are preserving the nation" and "'Silent majority' voices being heard" (Nov. 8). Is the America these gentlemen refer to so fondly the America where black people were enslaved? Where women could not vote? Or where sweatshops and child labor were a practical means of cheap labor?

I believe the founders envisioned a progressive and changing America where people would be free to practice any religion or no religion. I will proudly wear the label "liberal" if it means that I care for my neighbors' welfare no less than my portfolio, and that the government should be saving money instead of giving it away as tax breaks.

One of the things we seem to have lost in the rightward shift is the sense of community. Right now, it seems like the only communities the right wing cares about are churches and stock exchanges.

WF



// posted by Wes @ 9:51 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Sorry Everybody
Elizabeth sends me the following:

Sorry Everybody

ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE PAGES of people apologizing to the world for the [CENSORED] in-[CENSORED]-credible [CENSORED] of over 59,000,000 of our friends and neighbors.

It's good for a laugh.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:10 PM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
More stuff
I've added a feed to this little popsicle stand.

Also, note well the changes to the sidebar.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 1:13 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Monday, November 08, 2004
Ch-ch-changes
I've added the Cincinnati Rambler, Nick Spencer, and Axinar's Universe to the local blogroll. Even when I don't agree with them, they're good reads.

I've also added Pandagon to the national blogs, even though Jesse is based in Columbus.

Happy reading!

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:39 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Cleti On Parade In Perpetuity
In today's letters, we have Gerry Albers of Amberley Village (second letter) who says "If anyone wants to experience total, liberal freedom, visit the back streets of a Third World country where anything can be bought, sold, or done. Or, more practically, read up on why the Roman Empire fell - it decayed from within."

Hmm...the first example is actually a depiction of what hardcore Capitalism Über Alles conservatism would look like, so that's strike one. The second example...well, let's just say that the acceleration of the fall of Rome happened AFTER the conversion of Constantine, so do the math. Where do these people come from, and why hasn't George W. Bush bombed IT into glass? Sounds to me like this mindset is a greater threat to OUR freedom than Saddam Hussein.

Then we have Glenn McAndrews of Lebanon (fifth letter), who apparently doesn't believe that the coasts are as American as the "Heartland." This is a common mindset among the Cleti (whose numbers now apparently include my own mother, as she refused to state that Massachusetts was a member of the United States on equal footing with Indiana or Texas - there are very few things in this world as sad as one's mother becoming solidified on something so unbelievably wrong, especially when she taught you your first civics lessons in the first place. The passage of time, I guess).

Well, Mr. McAndrews, you Cleti had your chance to form your own nation. You based it on enslavement and making money above all else. And we roundly and soundly showed you the error of your ways. So might I suggest that you abandon this Neo-Confederate mindset?

Neo-Confederate. I like that. Once again, we're beholden to the South. Maybe we shoulda let 'em go when we had the chance, then offered safe passage to any and all slaves. Better yet, fight the Civil War, free the slaves, and THEN cut them off.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:18 AM |||Comments (4) | Trackback (0)
Green Acres
In today's Enquirer, Ms. Peg Conway of Amberley Village opines about the dangers of losing farmland.

As both my loyal readers know, I grew up on a farm, and while I have some serious differences of opinion with my family on everything, I too am concerned with the loss of good, workable farmland. Not only does the concentration of farming into the hands of a few large corporations (ADM, I'm looking in your direction) spell trouble for our food supply (since he who controls the food controls the populace), the lost of the small farmer is a tragedy for our Republic. Jefferson envisioned a nation of yeoman farmers - he did not envision a nation of sprawlburbs and multinational corporations. Every time a solid plot of land is turned into another cookie-cutter cul-de-sac'ed subdivision or office park, I weep a little.

I believe in using tax credits and fiscal policy to encourage people to buy and restore older homes in the cities and first-ring suburbs. I believe in encouraging and allowing farmers to grow a wider range of crops (and yes, that includes hemp, even though I do not and will not smoke marijuana). I believe in covenants and zoning that prevent predatory developers from riding roughshod over our finest natural resource.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:10 AM |||Comments (5) | Trackback (0)
Sunday, November 07, 2004
For the last time...
FIFTY-ONE PERCENT is NOT a "mandate." 51% is a "Thank you, Lord, we barely scraped by!" 51% is a comet passing within 150,000 miles of Earth. 51% is a "Ok, we have just over half the country. We've got some healing to do."

Criminy, will the Cleti never learn? I can't be too surprised - he didn't even WIN last time and he governed as if he had a mandate.

And leave it to the Status-Quo Defender - this opposing op-ed was labeled as being from a "labor-left Washington think tank," while the one linked to above was merely a "Capitol Hill think tank" - no mention of its rightward tilt.

Gonna be a long four years, folks. We have an uphill battle to put the idiots down. I think we can do it - heck, I KNOW we can do it - but it's gonna be rough. Don't give up.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:40 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Amen and amen
Mr. Greg Hladky of Westwood gets it (last letter):

People can shoot themselves in the foot only so many times before they're left without a foot to stand on. My hope is that after another four years of President Bush, Republicans will finally accept responsibility for the consequences of their own policies and stop blaming former Presidents Clinton and Carter. Perhaps then the pendulum will swing back to the center, if not to the left. It's easier to dance when you have two feet.

I love that last line.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:38 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
An ACTUAL member of the Cleti
Mr. Cletus J. Holtgrefe of Mason proposes an interesting voting idea.

I'm still not 100% convinced, though - there are simply too many security issues with Internet voting. I do like being able to vote in any polling place, though.

November 12, 2004

Friday, November 12, 2004
On The Road
Greetings from a Kinko's in Seattle, Washington.

I Heart Seattle.

There is an energy and excitement here that I cannot adequately describe.

I'm bringing some ideas back.

More possibly tomorrow or Sunday, but don't bet on it. :)

WF


// posted by Wes @ 7:45 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Leavin' on a jet plane...
I'm going to the annual conference* of the Society for Music Theory in Seattle today. I'll be back sometime Monday.

If I can get to a cyber café or something, I'll post. Otherwise, see you when I get back.

WF
*"conference," of course, comes from the Latin word "conferentia," meaning "drinking in a different state."


// posted by Wes @ 4:51 PM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Dear God...
...please oh please oh please oh please do NOT let Barb Trauth get appointed to City Council.

When I heard her speak on urban issues, including rebuilding the center city, all she seemed to say was "We gotta fight crime!" Yes, we need to fight crime, but there's so much more involved here. Getting people to live/work/play downtown and in OTR will do more to fight crime than Trauth's police-state proposals.

Plus, I just don't think she has a lot of intellectual heft. I think she's also being floated by the far-right social conservatives (watch them carefully - they'll try to put Article XII back on the ballot, and soon).

UPDATE: Commenter FunnelCake tells me that Barb Trauth's husband, Joseph Trauth, is on the board of directors for Citizens for Community Values. If nothing else, that's enough reason to make sure she never gets anywhere NEAR the levers of power. It's bad enough that Sam Malone has to carry water for these moral fascists - let's not add another fundamentalist whack-job to Council.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:55 AM |||Comments (9) | Trackback (0)
Someone Else Gets It
Ms. Natalie Wolf of Amberley Village, to be exact (fourth letter):

I disagree with the writers of the letters "Conservatives are preserving the nation" and "'Silent majority' voices being heard" (Nov. 8). Is the America these gentlemen refer to so fondly the America where black people were enslaved? Where women could not vote? Or where sweatshops and child labor were a practical means of cheap labor?

I believe the founders envisioned a progressive and changing America where people would be free to practice any religion or no religion. I will proudly wear the label "liberal" if it means that I care for my neighbors' welfare no less than my portfolio, and that the government should be saving money instead of giving it away as tax breaks.

One of the things we seem to have lost in the rightward shift is the sense of community. Right now, it seems like the only communities the right wing cares about are churches and stock exchanges.

WF



// posted by Wes @ 9:51 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Sorry Everybody
Elizabeth sends me the following:

Sorry Everybody

ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE PAGES of people apologizing to the world for the [CENSORED] in-[CENSORED]-credible [CENSORED] of over 59,000,000 of our friends and neighbors.

It's good for a laugh.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:10 PM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
More stuff
I've added a feed to this little popsicle stand.

Also, note well the changes to the sidebar.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 1:13 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Monday, November 08, 2004
Ch-ch-changes
I've added the Cincinnati Rambler, Nick Spencer, and Axinar's Universe to the local blogroll. Even when I don't agree with them, they're good reads.

I've also added Pandagon to the national blogs, even though Jesse is based in Columbus.

Happy reading!

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:39 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Cleti On Parade In Perpetuity
In today's letters, we have Gerry Albers of Amberley Village (second letter) who says "If anyone wants to experience total, liberal freedom, visit the back streets of a Third World country where anything can be bought, sold, or done. Or, more practically, read up on why the Roman Empire fell - it decayed from within."

Hmm...the first example is actually a depiction of what hardcore Capitalism Über Alles conservatism would look like, so that's strike one. The second example...well, let's just say that the acceleration of the fall of Rome happened AFTER the conversion of Constantine, so do the math. Where do these people come from, and why hasn't George W. Bush bombed IT into glass? Sounds to me like this mindset is a greater threat to OUR freedom than Saddam Hussein.

Then we have Glenn McAndrews of Lebanon (fifth letter), who apparently doesn't believe that the coasts are as American as the "Heartland." This is a common mindset among the Cleti (whose numbers now apparently include my own mother, as she refused to state that Massachusetts was a member of the United States on equal footing with Indiana or Texas - there are very few things in this world as sad as one's mother becoming solidified on something so unbelievably wrong, especially when she taught you your first civics lessons in the first place. The passage of time, I guess).

Well, Mr. McAndrews, you Cleti had your chance to form your own nation. You based it on enslavement and making money above all else. And we roundly and soundly showed you the error of your ways. So might I suggest that you abandon this Neo-Confederate mindset?

Neo-Confederate. I like that. Once again, we're beholden to the South. Maybe we shoulda let 'em go when we had the chance, then offered safe passage to any and all slaves. Better yet, fight the Civil War, free the slaves, and THEN cut them off.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:18 AM |||Comments (4) | Trackback (0)
Green Acres
In today's Enquirer, Ms. Peg Conway of Amberley Village opines about the dangers of losing farmland.

As both my loyal readers know, I grew up on a farm, and while I have some serious differences of opinion with my family on everything, I too am concerned with the loss of good, workable farmland. Not only does the concentration of farming into the hands of a few large corporations (ADM, I'm looking in your direction) spell trouble for our food supply (since he who controls the food controls the populace), the lost of the small farmer is a tragedy for our Republic. Jefferson envisioned a nation of yeoman farmers - he did not envision a nation of sprawlburbs and multinational corporations. Every time a solid plot of land is turned into another cookie-cutter cul-de-sac'ed subdivision or office park, I weep a little.

I believe in using tax credits and fiscal policy to encourage people to buy and restore older homes in the cities and first-ring suburbs. I believe in encouraging and allowing farmers to grow a wider range of crops (and yes, that includes hemp, even though I do not and will not smoke marijuana). I believe in covenants and zoning that prevent predatory developers from riding roughshod over our finest natural resource.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:10 AM |||Comments (5) | Trackback (0)
Sunday, November 07, 2004
For the last time...
FIFTY-ONE PERCENT is NOT a "mandate." 51% is a "Thank you, Lord, we barely scraped by!" 51% is a comet passing within 150,000 miles of Earth. 51% is a "Ok, we have just over half the country. We've got some healing to do."

Criminy, will the Cleti never learn? I can't be too surprised - he didn't even WIN last time and he governed as if he had a mandate.

And leave it to the Status-Quo Defender - this opposing op-ed was labeled as being from a "labor-left Washington think tank," while the one linked to above was merely a "Capitol Hill think tank" - no mention of its rightward tilt.

Gonna be a long four years, folks. We have an uphill battle to put the idiots down. I think we can do it - heck, I KNOW we can do it - but it's gonna be rough. Don't give up.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:40 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Amen and amen
Mr. Greg Hladky of Westwood gets it (last letter):

People can shoot themselves in the foot only so many times before they're left without a foot to stand on. My hope is that after another four years of President Bush, Republicans will finally accept responsibility for the consequences of their own policies and stop blaming former Presidents Clinton and Carter. Perhaps then the pendulum will swing back to the center, if not to the left. It's easier to dance when you have two feet.

I love that last line.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:38 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
An ACTUAL member of the Cleti
Mr. Cletus J. Holtgrefe of Mason proposes an interesting voting idea.

I'm still not 100% convinced, though - there are simply too many security issues with Internet voting. I do like being able to vote in any polling place, though.

September 25, 2004

Saturday, September 25, 2004
Why is this a story?
Commandments big as two barn doors

A private citizen (a self-described Biblical scholar; look, my brother Brad is both a preacher/minister and a farmer, so I'm not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility, but you'll forgive me a little healthy skepticism) paints a replica of the Ten Commandments on his barn on his own property, and the Enquirer (by way of the Associated Press) feels the need to print it?

It's not even LOCAL. Dellroy is way up in the northeastern part of the state.

People giving you too much grief over the centrist nature of the editorial page lately? Felt you had to appeal a small, but extremely vocal, constituency?

Every President of the United States, and the overwhelming number of members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and lower court judges, governors, and state legislators, not to mention mayors, city/town/village/borough councilmembers, township trustees, county commissioners/judges, has been a white Christian male. That's not going to change anytime soon. So how come so many so-called "Christians" feel as if they are one step away from being publically fed to lions?

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:39 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
They Get Letters
Third letter down.

Ms. Ruth Wells of Fairfield, how can you write "he responded quickly and appropriately to 9/11" knowing that he sat there, looking like a deer in the headlights, for SEVEN MINUTES? How can you say that knowing we pulled our resources from the hunt for bin Laden (Remember him? The actual mastermind?) for his little quagmire in Iraq?

Do you even actually WATCH or READ anything? Or do you just go with what the nice man on the radio (be it Rush, O'Reilly, Liddy, Medved, Coulter, or Savage) says?

(and yes, I said "man" and included "Coulter." I'm not 100% sure that's ironic.)

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:33 AM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
Food for thought
Ms. Carol Leach of Montgomery provides something to chew on today.

It's good to be skeptical, and a little healthy suspicion never hurt anyone. But in our desire for "safety" or "security," we're losing our humanity. It explains why, rather than digging in and doing whatever it takes to salvage our kids' schools, we simply pack up and move somewhere where everyone looks like us. It explains why, rather than engaging the world and trying to work for mutual progress and our common humanity, we bomb the heck out of a tin-pot dictator who was no threat then wonder why the rest of the world treats us as a bull in a china shop. We're fracturing, folks, and it ain't pretty. We'd rather concentrate on what divides us than our commonality.

And right now, I hear people firing up their computers to say that talk of "commonality" is incipient Socialism. Simply astounding. My friends in the Roman Catholic Church (whatever beefs I may have with the theology of Catholicism, this isn't one of them) often speak as everyone as being a child of God. Whatever your religious beliefs, whether you think of humanity as children of God or simply a common species deserving of respect, it's a good thing to feel. And although I was being quite snarky yesterday, people out in the 'burbs often suffer from the same problems that people in the city or people in the small towns and on the farms suffer from. Let's start with that and figure out how to alleviate it for all involved.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:24 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Friday, September 24, 2004
Good Vibes
If you have any, send them down to my buddy Sinfonian at Blast Off!, as his home is pretty much directly in the path of Hurricane Jeanne.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 6:31 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
They Walk Among Us
Remember that mailer that the GOP sent to voters in West Virginia and Arkansas? As it turns out, they not only admit to it (registration required), they're PROUD of it.

I can't say it enough - these people must be stopped. Period.

(props to Greg L. Mann at the Cincinnati Group for the link)

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:14 AM |||Comments (4) | Trackback (0)
Oy gevalt.
They want to get 50,000 Republicans out there to see "President" Chimpy McStagger when he comes to West Chester. And they'll probably get it too. In the land of cul-de-sacs, strip malls, and sprawlburbs, where carpooling is a sign of incipient Communism and attendance at a Unitarian Church or United Church of Christ is proof of anti-American Satanism, people looooooooove them some Dubya.

WF
(Feelin' snarky today - can you tell?)


// posted by Wes @ 10:47 AM |||Comments (6) | Trackback (0)
An infinite number of monkeys on an infinite number of typewriters...
...could have produced a better, more factually-based op-ed than Mr. Charles T. Fifer of Mason.

If the rallying cry of John Kerry is, in Mr. Fifer's words, "Blame America First," then obviously the rallying cry of any hard-right knuckle-draggers must be "Blame The Clenis™ First."

Sigh. And just when I think the Enquirer is getting more moderate, they publish this slack-jawed claptrap. What, was Mr. John Turney of Springdale on vacation?

I see Mr. John Myers of Springdale is challenging Mr. Turney (fifth letter down) for the title of Most Idiotic Person In Springdale Named John. What, is there some sort of stupid factory up there? I've met people from Springdale - they're certainly not uniformly right-wing shills.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:38 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Thursday, September 23, 2004
A plug
The Azmari Quartet is in residence here at NKU, and I recommend tomorrow night's concert highly. Their office is close to mine, and I hear them rehearsing all the time. You will be pleased with what you hear.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 1:28 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Quote Of The Day
(from the fourth letter down)

"I'd still take Dan Rather and documents scribbled in crayon by a 5-year-old before I'd trust anything coming out of this administration or the media who support it."

From Mr. Russell Wright of Price Hill. I'm smiling big now.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 7:39 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Is Our Favorite Fishwrap moving left?
Some editorials today:
In the Hot Air department, (I'm assuming) Ray Cooklis, who is certainly no lefty, takes Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to task for the D.C. Personal Protection Act, which would lift a ban on handguns in Washington, DC. Since DC has no legislature (other than City Council, which can't make these kinds of laws), the Congress makes the laws for it. Suffice it to say that Hatch seems to be less concerned about the residents of DC and more concerned about the NRA (and I say that as someone who really is ambivalent about gun control issues). It's odd, but refreshing, that the Enquirer would take that side.

Secondly, the top editorial chastises the American Family Association and other groups for their boycott of P&G. The Enquirer factually says that the overturning of Article XII has nothing to do with same-sex marriage, and I salute them for stating that clearly.

So maybe it's at least becoming a centrist newspaper.

And even today's letters, outside of the first one from Mr. Phil Long of Montgomery, are a good batch. That's two days in a row that people to the left of Genghis Khan dominate the letters page.

Stick around, folks. This is gonna get fun.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 8:03 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (1)
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
We let him go.
People jump on Bill Clinton's case for "not takin' out Osama" in the late 1990s.

I wonder if these same people will jump on this...

Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.
snip
Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi’s operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam[emphasis added].

The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone. “Here’s a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we’re suffering as a result inside Iraq,” Cressey added.

And despite the Bush administration’s tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi’s killing streak continues today.

We could have taken out one of the major scourges, and we didn't. Why? Because then Bush wouldn't have had his precious reason to go after "the man who trahd to kill mah dad!"

(And lest some of you say, "Well, that just proves that terrorists were operating in Eye-rack!" remember that Zarqawi was operating in the Kurdish region, where there was a no-fly zone and Saddam had limited, if any, control.)

WF


// posted by Wes @ 3:18 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
I was there...
...but due to previous commitments and being dead-on-my-feet tired after finishing a music project, I had to leave before John Edwards spoke. If all went according to plan, Steve Brinker got a picture with Edwards. I'll find out today.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 7:35 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Mostly good letters
Especially the first one, from Ms. Kristen Schwytzer of Green Township. Dig out that clarinet, flute, trumpet, snare drum, and donate it! (Though if anyone has a King 3B trombone lying around to donate, call me.)

Of course, "mostly" means "not all." Our Favorite Slack-Jawed Yokel, Mr. John Turney of Springdale, strikes again. I could swear they put the stake through his heart.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 7:32 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Monday, September 20, 2004
Alma Mater
Via fellow alum Brandi, I find that Morehead State ranks in the top 25 of bachelor's and master's degree granting public universities in the south.

So, why let Brian Griffin have all the fun?


Far above the rolling campus,
Resting in the dale,
Stands the dear old Alma Mater
We will always hail.

Shout in chorus, raise your voices!
Blue and Gold, praise you!
Winning through to fame and glory,
Dear old MSU.


WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:20 PM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Good on them
The Enquirer puts out an op-ed in support of the music program rebuilding in Cincinnati Public Schools. Thank you to the editorial board for its support of the arts and arts education.

The letters today weren't bad either. And if Bronson keeps writing stuff like he did yesterday instead of his normal pseudo-Dominionist ramblings, there's even hope for him.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 1:37 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Yarrrr!
Avast! It be National Talk Like A Pirate Day!

If ye be fixin' t' sail today, mateys, may th' wind be at your back and may Neptune smile upon your plunder.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:07 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Register to vote
Here's how. In Ohio, the deadline is October 4.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:57 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Old-School Republicans
One of the best examples of old-school Republicans in Ohio is Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer (R-Crawford County). The Enquirer supplies us with an article about his support of education, labor unions, and environmental concerns.

Pfeifer represents a wing of the GOP that has, sadly, been pushed to the background by the Neocons and the Theocons.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:51 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
For once, it's not utter crap.
Today, Peter Bronson pays what is actually a grand tribute to Gordon Brisker, an incredible local jazz saxophonist who passed away on September 12 from pancreatic cancer.

I have no disagreements with Bronson. He resisted the urge to politicize it (though I can't think of a single way how he could, I'm sure that doesn't stop him most of the time). Brisker was a phenomenal musician and human being. A colleague of mine at NKU had the good fortune to work with him quite often, and spoke of his warmth, musicality, and all-around greatness and goodness.

Requiescat in pace.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:42 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
One Of Those Days
Nude Runner Leads To Robbery Arrest

I'm surprised Si Leis didn't arrest the victim for being naked.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:40 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Lake Inferior
My office at NKU is in a building right next to the "lake" mentioned here. I certainly hope they're able to pull this off, if for no other reason than having something better to look at from the windows in my building.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:36 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Congress
Find out what candidates for Congress have to say about certain issues.

Personally, I wish there was a broader scope here, but hey, that's just being greedy.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Saturday, September 25, 2004
Why is this a story?
Commandments big as two barn doors

A private citizen (a self-described Biblical scholar; look, my brother Brad is both a preacher/minister and a farmer, so I'm not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility, but you'll forgive me a little healthy skepticism) paints a replica of the Ten Commandments on his barn on his own property, and the Enquirer (by way of the Associated Press) feels the need to print it?

It's not even LOCAL. Dellroy is way up in the northeastern part of the state.

People giving you too much grief over the centrist nature of the editorial page lately? Felt you had to appeal a small, but extremely vocal, constituency?

Every President of the United States, and the overwhelming number of members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and lower court judges, governors, and state legislators, not to mention mayors, city/town/village/borough councilmembers, township trustees, county commissioners/judges, has been a white Christian male. That's not going to change anytime soon. So how come so many so-called "Christians" feel as if they are one step away from being publically fed to lions?

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:39 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
They Get Letters
Third letter down.

Ms. Ruth Wells of Fairfield, how can you write "he responded quickly and appropriately to 9/11" knowing that he sat there, looking like a deer in the headlights, for SEVEN MINUTES? How can you say that knowing we pulled our resources from the hunt for bin Laden (Remember him? The actual mastermind?) for his little quagmire in Iraq?

Do you even actually WATCH or READ anything? Or do you just go with what the nice man on the radio (be it Rush, O'Reilly, Liddy, Medved, Coulter, or Savage) says?

March 20, 2004

Saturday, March 20, 2004
What Appears To Be A Fairly Innocuous Article...
...really hints at something sinister, even today. In this article about Eisenhower's use of top civilians in the event of a nuclear attack, we find this interesting paragraph at the end.

During the Reagan administration, then-Rep. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who was chief executive of the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle & Co., were key players in a secret program to set aside the legal lines of succession and install a new president in a catastrophe[emphasis added], The Atlantic Monthly reported this month.

Maybe it's just coincidence that these two are in positions of high power now, with devastating terrorist attacks on American soil and institutions now a distinct possibility. And of course, I'm sure the Dickster and Rummy wouldn't dare subvert our institutions and cancel elections in case of emergency.

Please tell me I'm right about the last part.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 3:27 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
She Deafened Me With Science
Ok, so I'm jumping the gun on dKos's Science Friday, but this is just too dang cool:

NASA Hears Words Not Yet Spoken

Apparently, they hook up sensors to the vocal cords, tongue, etc., and then:

"What is analyzed is silent, or subauditory, speech, such as when a person silently reads or talks to himself," Jorgensen said.


"Biological signals arise when reading or speaking to oneself with or without actual lip or facial movement."


On early trials, the program could recognize with 92 percent accuracy six words and 10 numbers that the team repeated sub-vocally.

Again, too cool for words. Science!

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:41 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Happy Anniversary
On March 17, 1984, David Flinn married Kimberly Young in a small ceremony at Pinhook Church of Christ in Pinhook, Indiana. My brother and sister-in-law have been together ever since. Today they celebrate 20 years of marriage.

Congratulations. Would that all marriages (of all types) were as strong.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 5:04 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Paging Clarence Darrow
From the folks who gave you the Scopes Monkey Trial...

Rhea County, TN is petitioning the state legislature to allow charges of "crimes against nature" to be brought against homosexuals. Apparently, one of the county legislators is also trying to figure out how to ban gays from the county.

As a commenter over at dKos pointed out, these people didn't evolve from monkeys. Monkeys are smarter and more tolerant than the citizens of Rhea County, TN.

The vote was 8 - 0.

I guarantee you this county will vote for George W. Bush.

Am I implying that every Bush voter is a slackjawed fundamentalist moron?

Of course not.

I'm outright saying it.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 4:35 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
If You Can't Get 'Em For Murder, Get 'Em For Tax Evasion...
Via Covington Jim, we find that the city of Covington is suing Clear Channel for tax evasion.

Remember - that's how they got Al Capone too.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:06 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
And I See Peter Bronson Is At It Again
In his column today, Bronson pulls out his favorite canard - "Conservatives are the victims of bias on campus!!!"

There's a telling paragraph in this, though...

Student Government President Natasha Hamilton said a decision on the request would be made this week. "The reality is the college Republicans are unprofessional,'' she said. "They didn't file the proper protocol and procedures.''

This is the new reality of College Republicans in the age of Bush - like their Dear Leader, the PROCESS is only good when it helps them. If it doesn't, then it can be circumvented - first by not following the procedures, and then by yelling that you're being discriminated against, with the idea that the noise will force the people in charge to do what you want, procedure be damned. It worked in Florida 2000. It worked in the buildup to Iraq. And apparently, it's going to work at Xavier.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:45 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Survey Of Letters To The Editor
When I read the Enquirer in the morning (only online), I usually start with the Letters to the Editor. Today's letters are a real cross section.

The first is just a letter of support for the Bearcats in the tourney. I'm not a HUGE UC fan (even though I have 1 2/3 degrees from there), but hey, I hope they do well.

The second takes Portune and Heimlich to task for suing the Bengals as County Commissioners when they held up the process for the stadium as City Councilors.

The THIRD one bothers me. Linda Fox of Lebanon takes Jim Borgman to task for drawing a cartoon comparing Intelligent Design in biology to the Flat Earth theory in geography. Here's the second paragraph:

Borgman is an artist and a good one. What does he believe about creation? If he believes in the "big bang" as an explanation to how the universe began, would he think one of his cartoons with all his cute drawings and captions could appear as the result of an explosion at the Enquirer? He is a creator himself but doesn't believe in creationism? Something isn't right here.

My response to that is a quote from Julian Barnes, from his exquisite book A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters:

We are just a grander version of that beetle bashing its head in a box at the sound of a tapped pencil. Do we believe this? Well, let's believe it for the moment, because it makes love's triumph the greater. What is a violin made of? Bits of wood and bits of sheep's intestine. Does its construction demean and banalize the music? On the contrary, it exalts the music further.

Letter No. 4 concerns Bush's lies in his campaign ads. Suffice it to say, I agree.

Letter No. 5 says that a vote against Bush is a vote for al Qaeda. Can we kill this idea once and for all? This is how Bush is going to try to win this time - vote for me or "turrists" will getcha. He's already using the "Muhammed Horton" ad, and it's only going to get worse.

The final letter chastises the Enquirer for showing only the anti-amendment side of gay marriage in a recent article.

So all in all, an interesting morning.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:31 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Monday, March 15, 2004
Beware The Ides Of March
On this day (more or less) in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated at the hands of a conspiracy.

It is not known if there were extra swordsmen on the grassy knoll overlooking the Colosseum.

That's my last post for today. The song cycle is coming along nicely.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:16 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Slight Adjustment
To signify the new political reality, I have removed the Dean For America link (though it may reappear after March 18, when the Good Doctor announces further plans for his organization) and added John Kerry for President to the side.

I'm keeping the Blog For America link up, though. Good stuff still happens there.

I may decide to try to raise some funds for Kerry too, as well as other candidates (to be determined).

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:35 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

March 20, 2004

Saturday, March 20, 2004
What Appears To Be A Fairly Innocuous Article...
...really hints at something sinister, even today. In this article about Eisenhower's use of top civilians in the event of a nuclear attack, we find this interesting paragraph at the end.

During the Reagan administration, then-Rep. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who was chief executive of the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle & Co., were key players in a secret program to set aside the legal lines of succession and install a new president in a catastrophe[emphasis added], The Atlantic Monthly reported this month.

Maybe it's just coincidence that these two are in positions of high power now, with devastating terrorist attacks on American soil and institutions now a distinct possibility. And of course, I'm sure the Dickster and Rummy wouldn't dare subvert our institutions and cancel elections in case of emergency.

Please tell me I'm right about the last part.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 3:27 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
She Deafened Me With Science
Ok, so I'm jumping the gun on dKos's Science Friday, but this is just too dang cool:

NASA Hears Words Not Yet Spoken

Apparently, they hook up sensors to the vocal cords, tongue, etc., and then:

"What is analyzed is silent, or subauditory, speech, such as when a person silently reads or talks to himself," Jorgensen said.


"Biological signals arise when reading or speaking to oneself with or without actual lip or facial movement."


On early trials, the program could recognize with 92 percent accuracy six words and 10 numbers that the team repeated sub-vocally.

Again, too cool for words. Science!

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:41 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Happy Anniversary
On March 17, 1984, David Flinn married Kimberly Young in a small ceremony at Pinhook Church of Christ in Pinhook, Indiana. My brother and sister-in-law have been together ever since. Today they celebrate 20 years of marriage.

Congratulations. Would that all marriages (of all types) were as strong.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 5:04 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Paging Clarence Darrow
From the folks who gave you the Scopes Monkey Trial...

Rhea County, TN is petitioning the state legislature to allow charges of "crimes against nature" to be brought against homosexuals. Apparently, one of the county legislators is also trying to figure out how to ban gays from the county.

As a commenter over at dKos pointed out, these people didn't evolve from monkeys. Monkeys are smarter and more tolerant than the citizens of Rhea County, TN.

The vote was 8 - 0.

I guarantee you this county will vote for George W. Bush.

Am I implying that every Bush voter is a slackjawed fundamentalist moron?

Of course not.

I'm outright saying it.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 4:35 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
If You Can't Get 'Em For Murder, Get 'Em For Tax Evasion...
Via Covington Jim, we find that the city of Covington is suing Clear Channel for tax evasion.

Remember - that's how they got Al Capone too.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 11:06 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
And I See Peter Bronson Is At It Again
In his column today, Bronson pulls out his favorite canard - "Conservatives are the victims of bias on campus!!!"

There's a telling paragraph in this, though...

Student Government President Natasha Hamilton said a decision on the request would be made this week. "The reality is the college Republicans are unprofessional,'' she said. "They didn't file the proper protocol and procedures.''

This is the new reality of College Republicans in the age of Bush - like their Dear Leader, the PROCESS is only good when it helps them. If it doesn't, then it can be circumvented - first by not following the procedures, and then by yelling that you're being discriminated against, with the idea that the noise will force the people in charge to do what you want, procedure be damned. It worked in Florida 2000. It worked in the buildup to Iraq. And apparently, it's going to work at Xavier.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:45 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Survey Of Letters To The Editor
When I read the Enquirer in the morning (only online), I usually start with the Letters to the Editor. Today's letters are a real cross section.

The first is just a letter of support for the Bearcats in the tourney. I'm not a HUGE UC fan (even though I have 1 2/3 degrees from there), but hey, I hope they do well.

The second takes Portune and Heimlich to task for suing the Bengals as County Commissioners when they held up the process for the stadium as City Councilors.

The THIRD one bothers me. Linda Fox of Lebanon takes Jim Borgman to task for drawing a cartoon comparing Intelligent Design in biology to the Flat Earth theory in geography. Here's the second paragraph:

Borgman is an artist and a good one. What does he believe about creation? If he believes in the "big bang" as an explanation to how the universe began, would he think one of his cartoons with all his cute drawings and captions could appear as the result of an explosion at the Enquirer? He is a creator himself but doesn't believe in creationism? Something isn't right here.

My response to that is a quote from Julian Barnes, from his exquisite book A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters:

We are just a grander version of that beetle bashing its head in a box at the sound of a tapped pencil. Do we believe this? Well, let's believe it for the moment, because it makes love's triumph the greater. What is a violin made of? Bits of wood and bits of sheep's intestine. Does its construction demean and banalize the music? On the contrary, it exalts the music further.

Letter No. 4 concerns Bush's lies in his campaign ads. Suffice it to say, I agree.

Letter No. 5 says that a vote against Bush is a vote for al Qaeda. Can we kill this idea once and for all? This is how Bush is going to try to win this time - vote for me or "turrists" will getcha. He's already using the "Muhammed Horton" ad, and it's only going to get worse.

The final letter chastises the Enquirer for showing only the anti-amendment side of gay marriage in a recent article.

So all in all, an interesting morning.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:31 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Monday, March 15, 2004
Beware The Ides Of March
On this day (more or less) in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated at the hands of a conspiracy.

It is not known if there were extra swordsmen on the grassy knoll overlooking the Colosseum.

That's my last post for today. The song cycle is coming along nicely.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 10:16 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Slight Adjustment
To signify the new political reality, I have removed the Dean For America link (though it may reappear after March 18, when the Good Doctor announces further plans for his organization) and added John Kerry for President to the side.

I'm keeping the Blog For America link up, though. Good stuff still happens there.

I may decide to try to raise some funds for Kerry too, as well as other candidates (to be determined).

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:35 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
The First Non-Story Of The Campaign
(coming close to the end of an amazingly productive day...)

You've no doubt been hearing that Sen. John Kerry said that "foreign leaders" were pulling for him to win the election. Of course, the Right has reacted with apoplexy over this. Foreign leaders aren't supposed to comment on OUR politics, goshdarnit! And who does this Kerry fella think he is, subvering Dubya like that in the eyes of the International Community?

Well, one small issue here: HE DIDN'T SAY THAT.

And, as Kos says, kudos to Patrick Healy for having the guts to fess up.

WF


// posted by Wes @ 9:28 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
There Will Be A Collection Following
I discovered the Church Sign Generator today.



Have fun in Hell, kids. Save me a seat.