Hollow Resolution

My city council in Cincinnati,Ohio, has passed a resolution expressing “deep concern” about Dubya’s 21,000 troop surge in Iraq. Now while I applaud them for taking a stand, I just wish they would take a stand a little closer to home.

I mean what about this city’s crime rate? Can’t we take a stand, to hire more police, and to deal with the underlying causes of all the murders, shootings, etc? How about dealing or showing “deep concern” for the black male school drop out rate that is fueling much of this street violence.

How about some “deep concern” for the continuing loss of population. How about the crumbling public school system. How about dealing with the fruitless efforts to draw business back into the downtown without having to bribe them with tax breaks?

How about dealing with all this snow and ice that has paralyzed this city for the past week. It’s too damn cold, nobody is on the streets and we still can’t get plowed, c’mon! The trees are falling down around me because of the ice that fell last night, two of them in my backyard, one of them on my fence. It’s beautiful to look at, but the trees are taking down power lines causing power outages that won’t be fixed until Thursday, says Duke Energy ( I remember CG&E being better than this). The city readily admits it can’t handle ice, the plows that they use are for snow, only. I guess the melting agent is too, go figure?

So why are we all of a sudden talking about Iraq? The war has gone on for awhile now. Why is my council, all of a sudden trying to tell the person that they all probably voted for in the first place ( Ohio did put Dubya back in the White House), how to run this country, when they can’t collectively run a city.

Sure, the money from the surge could be used to help cities, but that’s been the case from the beginning. Why didn’t council stand up and demand some help from this administration before, after it helped put this administration back in office. This administration owes Ohio. Why wasn’t it held accountable before?


Like it or not, the troop surge is going on because “the decider” said so. Congress is currently debating the issue for the next two days, because it wants to look congressional I guess. They could pull the money for the surge. There is a precedent for it. They could even pull the troops out. There is precedent for that too. Reagan backed out of Lebanon after he was dumb enough to think we could end that civil war there and after 200 some marines paid the ultimate price for his folly. Dubya always cites Reagan as his hero. Well he needs to pay attention all of the stuff that Reagan did or didn’t do. Our troops are stuck in the middle of escalating violence in Iraq. We don’t need to be there. But we already know this. The debate has been raging since the last election.

A resolution from the City of Cincinnati’s city council, now, is okay, I guess, but it is little or no comfort when people are still dying on the streets of Cincinnati in record numbers, for the same reasons that have plagued this city for longer than the war has lasted.

Monday Meanderings

The murder rate in Cincinnati is on record pace this year. Three weeks to go until 2007 and already 79 people have been killed, including a 17 year old yesterday.

Maybe we need to work on getting the guns off the streets. Maybe it’s time to outlaw the NRA and it’s gun pandering lobby just like we’ve outlawed smoking.

Maybe if there were fewer guns...harder to get...harder to own...killing wouldn’t be the sport that it has obviously become.

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20 years and you get a lousy polo shirt....that’s Walmart’s answer to improving the lives of its workers. Walmart has apparently instituted an “Associate First” program designed to make its employees feel special, and to combat the growing number of disgruntled workers picketing the stores...

I’ve got a great idea...why not raise salaries above third world levels, so Walmart employees can feed their families..

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Whoa! Two days before he resigned, Donald Rumsfeld wrote a memo saying change in strategy was needed in Iraq.

Now if only Dubya would buy a clue. He’s already rejecting the Baker-Hamilton recommendations and they’re not due to be released until later this week.

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Double whoa! Colin Powell says Iraq is a civil war....nice to see the general find his balls and comment, but is anybody listening to him these days.

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Condi says mistakes were made in Iraq, but she won’t talk about it until after she leaves office.

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Smoking ban goes into affect in Ohio on Thursday...Does that mean that employees will have to get into their cars and drive off company grounds in order to legally light up? Do same employees have to clock out first? Inquiring minds want to know?

And now that smoking has been outlawed in the name of healthiness....can overeating and obesity be next?

Is a visit from the weight police be just around the corner?