The Silent Majority

By Michael Smerconish (from MASTalk.com)

Six years removed from 9/11, I’m appalled that no one seems to care whether we find and kill Osama bin Laden.

How else to explain that there have been seven presidential debates so far - four for the D’s, three for the R’s - and only one question has been asked that touched on the subject of finding bin Laden in Pakistan.

We’re talking close to 15 hours of debate, covering everything from family values to favorite teachers, and only one question - from an audience member, mind you - that even broached the topic of Pakistan.

Monday night’s CNN/YouTube experiment was just the latest setting where the issue was invisible. But it was no doubt the most shocking given recent news on the bin Laden/Pakistan front.

Consider:

On July 10, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf had troops storm the so-called Red Mosque in Islamabad, confronting radical Islamists and resulting in at least 80 deaths.

In response to Musharraf’s handling of the Red Mosque, tribal warlords with whom he had established a truce called off the accord.

On July 20, Musharraf was forced to reinstate Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, Pakistan’s chief justice, whom he had ousted from the court for alleged misconduct and corruption.

Bin Laden surfaced via videotape on July 14, and intelligence officials believe he is still alive and hiding in the tribal areas.

Consider that just last Sunday, National Intelligence Director Adm. Mike McConnell appeared on “Meet the Press” and said he believes bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan - specifically, in the very tribal region Musharraf ceded to those warlords last fall.

On July 17, a two-page National Intelligence Estimate was released, which concludes that al Qaeda has reconstituted itself in Pakistan, a direct result of Musharraf’s failed pact with the tribal warlords.

And still, despite all of these pressing developments, not a single inquiry about bin Laden or Pakistan was included on Monday night.

And there’s been only one to date in any of the various debates and forums. To the extent that this is blamed on the media only, I have to ask - where is the public outrage?

The only time the subject has remotely come up in a debate was when an audience member asked the candidates: “How do you reconcile our security interests in Pakistan with our interest in promoting liberal democracy if Pakistan is not a democratic country?”

That’s not even about finding and killing bin Laden! (Wolf Blitzer did follow that up with a hypothetical scenario in which candidates weighed killing bin Laden in Pakistan with a missile if it meant killing innocent civilians in the process. Again, not truly a question as to whether our current approach is correct.)

Please - somebody running for president - engage the nation on this important subject!

Start the ball rolling by opening dialogue on any of the following questions:

Should we disregard sovereignty and send our special forces into Pakistan?

Should we engage in tactical strikes against al Qaeda in Pakistan?

Should we initiate a full-scale ground offensive across the Afghan border?

Should we continue to support Musharraf? (Is the devil we know in this case really better than the devil we don’t?)

I don’t profess to have the answer to how we find and kill bin Laden. Then again, I’m not running to be commander in chief.

But those who are should state their views. The only thing I know for sure is that whatever we have been doing to find and kill bin Laden has failed.

Actually, I know something else. This failure is costing us a fortune. We are giving Pakistan $1 billion annually for military reimbursements for the non-hunt for bin Laden.

This is an outrage on so many levels, not the least of which is that every day the question isn’t raised, it dishonors the 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11.

By Ralph King (from King’s Right Site) 

Very, very good meeting last night on the RPCC Platform. We had intended to make a motion to table the platform as soon as the meeting started. Luckily we held off!The rank & file began voicing their opinions for and against various language in the platform. We sat by and rolled with the punches. Mayor Akers was compared to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson several times.

We had a loose coalition of people from various groups that pulled together to at least stall this platform.

Acknowledging the letter sent from, Jim Irvine, of Buckeye Firearms Association, the pro gun control language was immediately removed from the platform on a motion made by Chairman Frost. It is alleged the pro gun control language was an oversight. I don’t buy this.

How in the hell do you advance a GOP platform coming out for gun control, and have no pro life language?The laundry list of items was removed from the Home Rule portion of the platform.

Attempts were made to remove the reform of public sector pensions / Double Dipping. Bruce Trakas spoke out against removing this. A vote was taken and this language will be kept on the platform. Great Job by Bruce!

The supporting of minority candidates topic was good!

Platform proposed to increase minority participation in the party and increase minority candidates. It was noted that there were NO minorities on the platform committee.

I laughed as I looked around the room and saw several minorities sitting in the crowd. Sure was nice to see Virgil Brown Sr. among other “minorities” in the crowd. If we were sincere, Mr. Brown Sr, Jr. or any others in the room could have been on the committee.

I know of one black women that is a tremendous addition to our Central Committee and would be a great asset on any committee.Mr. Brown Sr. and many of the Cleveland precinct people voiced their opposition to reducing Cleveland Council seats. Richard May spoke frankly about the shortcomings of these ideas. He elaborated on how this would be a godsend to the dems of the area and the size of the proposed wards would be unrealistically to large.

The meeting was scheduled to end at 7:30pm. At 7:28pm, I called for a motion to table the platform. I explained it is unrealistic, in the format this is being debated, to expect our party to leave this room tonight with a platform that will lead us to success.

A oral vote was taken, the no’s screamed louder they yeas. I then immediately asked for a division of votes and a hand count was taken. This hand count showed the true vote and changed the outcome.We WON! 57 for, 54 against!

Had this been put to a vote to accept or defeat the platform, I believe we would not have been successful. I will be working to have the platform completely redrafted and resubmitted to the party for review. I will be contacting central & executive committee members of our party urging them to submit their views to the RPCC on what our platform should reflect. Should their opinions not be included the next time the platform is debated, our support against this will grow.

But speaking with Chairman Frost after the meeting and explaining my position and concerns, I do believe our party will do the right thing. I am fully confident that this platform will be reworked with close cooperation and input from the rank & file.If our concerns are not addressed, we will work to have the platform defeated and/or tabled again.

The following is from an email forwarded to me from a fellow RPCC Central Committee member. The original email is from a “New” Central Committee member and her take of the meeting…..

……And it was quite interesting. I arrived at 5:20 PM. I was on the very first row and first seat by the camera crew.I like Rob Frost. He seems to truly enjoy being the Chairman and appears to be quite knowledgeable; however, he, respectfully, really should brush up on Robert’s Rules of Order.

When a committee chair gives a report, it should be “moved” by the committee chair for adoption. No second is required. Then the debate goes from there…motions can be made to strike out words and insert others or add words, etc. “Aye” is in favor and “nay” is opposed.

When something is “tabled” and seconded, the vote occurs immediately, no hesitation. (When Ralph made his motion the first time to table the entire platform and it received a second, it should have been voted on immediately. If I ‘m not mistaken, it superseded the motion on the floor.)

The second time around Ralph made the motion to table (and seconded); then the chair asked whether “we” have the room until 9:00 PM. That was not relevant and out of order. And the chair shouldn’t have added “until the next meeting” as that was not part of the tabling motion being made, but put the maker of the motion on the spot to agree.

And any suspending of the rules, I don’t believe is the chair’s call exclusively…it requires a 2/3 vote of the body, as does the limiting or extending of the debate. Everything else is pretty much a majority vote. (The rules of debate should be voted on by the body at the beginning of the meeting.)

When the “question” is called (and seconded) the debate stops immediately and it requires a vote, no discussion. And 2/3, not just the majority must agree to call for the previous question…

I just love a lively debate provided Robert’s Rules of Order are followed to ensure the playing field is equal. :0) For those kinds of intense debates a CERTIFIED parliamentarian should be on hand. I’m not sure if the guy giving Rob parliamentary advice was such a person, but maybe he was and Rob wasn’t totally listening to him. That was a tough crowd with MANY opinions; Frost did well under fire.

The debate over whether to endorse two candidates from Rocky River was amazing! And in many ways out of order by Robert’s Rule of Order standards. The entire debate was highly entertaining.

The dynamics in the room was very interesting. I look forward to the next meeting. :0)

By John Rattysack (from the Bright Side of the Road blog) 

Barry and I first met 4 or 5 years ago at the bank where he was our GE Mortgage Insurance rep.  There was always a great deal of excitement around the bank when we knew Barry was coming, as he is one of those bigger-than-life people.  Barry is always so charismatic, optimistic and diligent in working very hard to help us in any way possible.  Throughout the years, Barry and I have developed a relationship that has matured far beyond a normal business relationship.  We have shared several lunches and many planning sessions.  Barry was also a strong motivating force for me last summer as he and his colleague Pete worked very hard to find me employment opportunities. I was very excited last summer when he came down to take Ashley and me to lunch.  Throughout the past couple of years, Barry has been very kind to me by providing amazing tickets to big-named sporting events.  You all first heard about him back in December 2005 when the “Incredible Barry” was the one who was responsible for getting Matt and me in the fourth row of the Cleveland Browns game. I literally danced on my desk when the tickets came in a hand-addressed envelope to John Rattysack.  You may remember the picture of Barry with his 8-year-old son in my pictorial essay written about that event.  We all had such a great day together.  We took so many pictures that day, but Barry and I were both upset we never had one taken of just the two of us. Barry was also the guy who took Matt and me to the Cleveland Cavaliers game as well as provided me the tickets for my nephew Seth to see his first Cleveland Cavaliers game.

Barry’s life took on a new direction last summer when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  He says that it all started with little twitching in his arm that he really didn’t notice it until he lay down to go to bed, or was in a meeting and daydreaming. That’s when he was referred to the Cleveland Clinic.  Barry could sense the concern on his doctor’s face.  He knew and the doctor knew that Barry had something that Barry didn’t want. Fast forward 6 months and a hundred tests later, Barry was told that he should get a second opinion with the ALS doctor at the clinic.  When he met with doctor and he told Barry that he really had ALS, it really didn’t come as a shock.  He knew he had the classic symptoms and had really already come to the realization of what he was going to be told. One of the difficult things about ALS is that it’s rare.  Only 30,000 people have it.  Therefore, it’s difficult to get funding to do the research to find a cause/cure.  Barry is driven to change that.  Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for himself, Barry put his situation to great use.  With the help of his family and friends, he immediately set up a non-profit organization named the Bright Side of the Road Foundation, which is dedicated towards raising $1.5 million in 5 years for the benefit of ALS prevention, treatment, education, and cure of this devastating disease.
 www.brightsideoftheroad.com

I’m so inspired by my friend, as he’s not treating his condition as a disability.  Instead, he is looking at it as an opportunity to make a significant difference in the world by working towards the cure.  These kinds of things in life happen for a reason.  I can already see that Barry’s intense popularity is just what is needed to bring much attention to this cause.  There is no doubt in my mind that he’s going to make great strides to help find a cure.  The foundation’s signature event is “The First Waltz”, which is held each November at Cleveland’s House of Blues.  They have also had several other fundraisers in order to achieve the mission of the foundation.

It was recently announced that the Bright Side of the Road Foundation had been named the official charity of the Cleveland Wine Festival.  A few weeks ago, Barry sent me an email to invite me.  Knowing that he was going to be the main man of the event, I responded to him by saying, “Barry, I would love to come, but I’m only coming to see you… will you really have time for me?”  He responded, “Ratty, all I have is time for you”.  I said, “I’m on my way, Baby!”

The festival was held at Cleveland’s Voinovich Park located behind the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and adjacent to the Cleveland Browns stadium.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  The setting was right on Lake Erie with the city at our backs.  A live jazz band provided the perfect backdrop to the occasion. I was so excited that I would be seeing Barry.  It had been a year since our lunch last summer.  Melissa and I walked in to the large festival with no idea how we would ever find him.  There were many, many tents all set up with different wine distributors and vendors.  We walked towards the end of all of the tents where we found a couple VIP hospitality tents.  It was at that moment that I noticed a guy in a really cool, yellow Wine-Festival shirt holding up his arms waiving at me.  Yes, it was Barry!  I literally ran to him and we embraced.  I introduced him to Melissa and he introduced me to his wife, Kelley.

Melissa and I really enjoyed our conversations with Barry’s wife, Kelley. We made plans for us all to have dinner sometime soon followed with attending “The First Waltz” in November,  the Foundation’s marquee event.
Before Barry, Pete was our original Mortgage Insurance Rep at the bank.  We have remained friends throughout the years.  Both Pete and Barry were instrumental to me last summer during my time off.
 
I was a bit envious of everyone’s Cleveland Wine Festival shirts, which all the VIP’s were sporting.  Although we all came from different directions and different circles, we all got along like we had been friends for years.  (Dave, Me, Barry, Bill & Jasson)  We all, of course, had one main common bond, which was our admiration of Barry.   Since Barry and Kelley had been there all day, they left towards early evening to head home and spend time with their children.
After Barry and Kelley left, we spent most of the time with Hannah and Jasson.  We had an awesome time together.  We have made plans for many reunions since we got along so well.    I knew I was going to like this guy when he walked up to me and said, “Hey, are those really Adidas Khakis you are wearing?”
 
As the night set in, the four of us realized that we had experience an “Incredible” day together.

On the way home, in true Barry fashion, we stopped to see our friends Mike and Vicki who live just a few moments south of the city.  Sure we were very tired from the day’s activities, and sure it was 11 o’clock with still a 2-½ hour drive ahead of us, but we made things happen.  Ironically, Mike and Vicki were at that Cleveland Browns game I mentioned above where I was able to introduce them to Barry.  We greatly enjoyed our visit with Mike and Vicki and we made definite plans to attend Barry’s First Waltz together in November.  Vicki announced that she would be our designated driver … as they are expecting their first child!  Such excitement!

You know, as great as this day was, I haven’t yet told you the absolute highlight.  It happened right before Barry and Kelley left.  Barry leaned over to me and said, “John, come with me for a moment, I have something for you.”  We walked with our arms around each other’s shoulders back to the Bright Side of the Road Foundation booth.  At that moment, he took his Wine Festival shirt off only to reveal his prized Bright Side of the Road Foundation t-shirt.  He then took off the Foundation shirt and handed both shirts to me and said, “I want you to have these”.  I was overwhelmed.  He literally gave me the shirts off of his back.  That’s the character of the man I call the Incredible Barry.  Do you understand why I call him Incredible?  We embraced, I kissed him on the check and we made plans to see each other again very soon.  I walked back to the hospitality tent through the crowd of thousands all of who were supporting my incredible friend and there I was holding the shirts off of his back…his very sweaty shirts.  Kelley’s last words to me were, “John, wash those shirts”.  LOL The emotion of the moment was overwhelming and humbling.

Barry once said, “Remember, whatever you are going through could always be worse – always look on the bright side.”  There are many lessons to be learned from his inspiration and pursuit.  I’m always asked what keeps me going.  Well it’s my own personal drive, my family and my friends.  Barry is one of my friends who drive me the most.  He is one of the reasons why I live my life to the fullest, and a solid reason why we all should.  Above and beyond that, Barry has taught us all to become something greater than we are. I knew I was going to be inspired this weekend, but I really didn’t realize just how much.

Let’s enjoy it while we can.  Won’t you help me sing my song?  From the dark side of the street.  To the bright side of the road.

From Kings’s Right Site 

Dear RPCC Central Committee Members,On July 25th the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County will be asking us to vote on a platform as a foundation on which our local party is to build.

In the best interest of our party, I respectfully request that each member vote this platform down. While direction and guidance is needed, this platform results in neither.

Not only is this platform fundamentally flawed, it has no input from the rank and file members. Furthermore, we are being given three minutes to speak at the Convention, but cannot introduce amendments to the platform that more specifically represent the grassroots interests.

The Platform Committee itself, is suspect. A platform created by the same people that have led us to over 15 -20 yrs of poor performance and failure, should be the last people used to plan our new direction.Mayor Sutherland & Mayor Akers have recently came out in support of the County Commissioners forced, open ended tax increase for the proposed Med Mart.Some of you may remember when Issues 1 thru 5 were on the ballot, proposing several changes to the State structure, including eliminating the Secretary of State. Under the guidance of Mayor Akers, the platform committee recommended that the Central Committee endorse all said issues, which were clearly Democratic initiatives and contrary to the basic principles of conservatism.

The Committee voted down the recommendation; but as you can see, Mayor Akers has not gotten the message that the base does not support such concepts of government as this.

Do we really want someone supporting a forced tax increase and initiatives by democrats, drafting the direction of our party?

If our party was sincere, and was making an outward expression of an inward change, I would stand behind them 100%. But in my opinion, this platform rings hollow of a political move trying to shore up local support for the party and grab a few headlines.

At this point, I suppose the point of debate is only to convince a majority that as it stands, the platform is insufficient to adequately represent the grassroots objectives and needs of those it hopes to represent.

If they want to point our local party in the “right” direction, they should start with censuring Roger Synenberg for making donations to democrats.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ralph W. King
RPCC Central Committee

———————————————————–
To touch on some of the misguided platform goals –

County Reform

Eliminate Board of County Commissioners / Elect County Executive

• We are unable to win 1 of 3 seats now…

Elect a combination of 11 district and at-large County representitives

• What formula or line of thinking was used to calculate the number of representatives.
   

• Would it not be better to leave this open to, an as needed number reflecting the population?
   

• Is the proposed number in the proposed platform the same as what was recommended to and accepted by the platform committee?

Combining Treasurer, Auditor & Recorder into one position. Making Coroner, Clerk of Courts & Engineer no elected positions. ALL of these positions will be appointed by a County Executive.

• This puts too much power in the hands of the proposed County Executive position. Furthermore, with these positions not being elected, we exposes our party to not even having a chance for these positions.
   

• Increases the opportunity for political patronage and corruption by the majority.
   

• Should we change the rules because we cannot win?

Reform of City of Cleveland Government

Reduce size of City Council from 21 to 11, of which four would be at-large.

• Would it not be better to leave this open to, an as needed number reflecting the population?
   

• What formula or line of thinking was used to calculate the decrease of council seats in Cleveland?
   

• Is the proposed number in the proposed platform the same as what was recommended to and accepted by the platform committee?
  

Reform State Government

Oppose efforts to curtail constitutional home rule in various areas

• ‘Home Rule’ has been watered down and systematically abused by municipalities.

Reform of Education

Support vouchers, elimination of tenure, merit based pay system

• Good ideas, but no plan of implementation

Support reduction of administrative costs and reduce number of schools in districts

• Good ideas, badly needed. Again, no plan of implementation.
   

• Can be accomplished with School Performance Audits.

General Recommendations

Support steps to promote regionalism

• Political pandering from both parties on this issue. The single largest city owned utility in the area is Cleveland Water Dept.
   

• C.W.D. services Cuyahoga, Summit, parts of Lake & Geauga counties. The City of Cleveland controls over 6000 miles of water line & uses less than 29% of the total water consumption.
   

• None of the regionalism proposals address this utility which sets their own rates. C.W.D. is being used by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson as a tool against other communities regarding ‘poaching’ and economic development.

Recruit & promote minority candidates

• RPCC Platform Committee did not have ANY minority members.
   

• No Platform Committee members are even from a predominately African- American community.
   

• Badly needed, no plan of action.

Favor merit selection of judges / Lengthening terms

• Does not say who would make or appoint these selections.
   

• Increases the opportunity for political patronage and corruption by the majority.
   

• Terms should remain the same.

Support reform on “Double Dipping” of retirement on public servants

• Conflicts with goal to support efforts to curtail constitutional home rule.
   

• This can and has been addressed on a local level, in some communities.

By Mark Steyn (from SteynOnline) 

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, is it because Al Gore and a bunch of elderly rockers organized an all-star stadium gala on its behalf? The colossal flopperoo of Live Earth is a heartening reminder that there are some things too ridiculous even for global pop culture, and one of them is the Reverend Almer Gortry speaking truth to power ballads.

Why did so few people feel the urge to rock against climate change? Touchingly enough, the organizers put it down to the weather. Dismal TV ratings? “The BBC blamed the poor figures on Saturday’s good weather.” Sluggish ticket sales for the live events? “Organisers of Live Earth Johannesburg are convinced climate change is to blame for the paltry turn-out at the Coca Cola Dome today. Promoter John Langford claims it snowed last week for the first time in a quarter of a century, and the freezing conditions are keeping people away.” Too hot to stay in and watch it on TV, too freezing to go out and watch it in person: clearly, climate change is rampaging out of control.

Still, for the brave few who stuck with all 174 hours of Live Al, there was something oddly touching about seeing rock gazillionaires who’d flown in by private jet tell Joe Schmoe all the stuff he doesn’t need. Your own car? A washer and dryer? Ha! Why can’t you take the bus and beat your underwear on the rocks down by the river with the native women all morning long?

As long as we’re making environmentally-friendly lifestyle suggestions, here’s one thing we don’t “need”: Stadium rock. Amplifiers. Electrified instruments. Entourages. Recorded music. They all add up to one helluva carbon footprint. If we must eschew modernity in the interests of saving the planet, why don’t we return to the 19th century and gather round the environmentally-friendly acoustic piano and sing fragrant Victorian parlor ballads of an evening? Judging from nosediving CD sales, the public may have already figured that out. At any rate, it seems to be willing to give up on rock’n'roll’s mid-20th century business model long before it gives up private automobiles and indoor plumbing.

So how far are the ecochondriacs prepared to take things? In London last week, the Optimum Population Trust called for Britons to have “one child less” because the United Kingdom’s “high birth rate is a major factor in the current level of climate change, which can only be combated if families voluntarily limit the number of children they have.”

“Climate change is now widely regarded as the biggest problem facing the planet,” says Professor John Guillebaud. “We’re nearing the point of no return and people are feeling increasingly desperate and helpless. The answer lies in our own hands … We have to recognize that the biggest cause of climate change is climate changers — in other words, human beings, in the UK as well as abroad.” As the professor sees it, having fewer children is “the simplest, quickest and most significant thing any of us could do to leave a sustainable and habitable planet for our children and grandchildren.” The best thing we can do for our children is not to have them.

Professor Guillebaud isn’t the only one. Just ahead of the Live Earth flopperama, another “rational” man of “science,” Professor Chris Rapley, head honcho of the British Antarctic Survey, turned up on the BBC to argue that population control is central to the environmental debate.

This is the logical reductio of climate-change fever: throw the baby out in order to save the bathwater. For a start, look at the “high birth rate” Professor Guillebaud is complaining about: Britain’s current fertility rate is about 1.8 children per couple. Replacement rate — ie, what you need for a stable population staying pretty much exactly the same — is 2.1 children per couple. So the United Kingdom’s population is already headed for long-term decline (and would be in much steeper decline without the higher birth rates of immigrant communities). In Europe as a whole, the fertility rate is a little over 1.3, which is what demographers call “lowest-low” fertility, from which no society in human history has ever recovered. The Spanish, the Italians, the Germans, the Greeks, the Bulgars and Ukrainians will be extinct long before the polar bears or the Antarctic krill or the Latin-American three-toed tree sloth or any of the other species these professors wants to protect.

How many Englishmen, Scotsmen, Greeks or Italians are around in the year 2050 will have no measurable impact on so-called “climate change.” None whatsoever. Having fewer British or Spanish babies will do nothing for the polar bear on the ice floes posing for Al Gore’s next documentary. But how many British and Spanish babies are born right now — this year and next year — will certainly have an impact on what Britain and Spain are like in the year 2050. These men of “science” have not called on Niger or Somalia or Afghanistan or Yemen — where women have seven or eight babies — to have one or even six less. Presumably the Optimum Population Trust (a magnificently totalitarian-lite moniker, by the way) feels the average Somali or Afghan has a more eco-friendly carbon footprint, and thus a world with fewer English and more Yemeni will be a more “sustainable and habitable planet for our children and grandchildren.”

Well, I guess Professor Guillebaud’s grandchildren (assuming he has any) will eventually discover whether he was right about that. Few westerners are yet as boldly explicit in their anti-humanism, but there is a more general insouciance among these ancient European peoples as they commence, in effect, to vanish from the earth in an incremental auto-genocide: the Scots and Germans would rather weep for obscure insects on distant continents than for themselves. They agitate for a Live Earth but are indifferent to their own demise.

A few months back, I was at a meeting in Australia on nanotechnology and one of those great boyish scientific gee-whiz types was raving about all the exciting new things that were being developed. Invited to cite an example, he named the self-repairing condom: Hey, how about that? Don’t worry if it tears in mid-use, the hardworking nanomunchkins will zip it up again in nanoseconds and you’ll be none the wiser. I’m as agog at the marvels of technology as the next chap, but you could hardly ask for a more poignant example of the west’s boundless scientific innovation on the brink of ruinous demographic decline. Maybe the world that comes after western civilization will be more “sustainable” but I doubt it will be more “habitable.”

© 2007 Mark Steyn

By Michael Smerconish (from the Philadelphia Inquirer)

The daughter of the shoemaker to King Nicholas Petrovich of Montenegro is on her deathbed. She is 101 years old. She is my grandmother.

Word of Victoria Grovich’s (nee Ivanisevich) imminent passing came to me last week on the same day I reviewed the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project Survey. The study noted the continued decline of the United States’ image throughout the world. The same day, the president’s approval rating in one poll plummeted to 29 percent, while Congress’ rating is lower still.

Maybe the silver lining to the passing of the shoemaker’s daughter is the antidote her story offers to increasingly negative perceptions of the United States. Let me explain.

Nikola Grujicich was my maternal grandfather. He left the Balkans in 1906, at age 14, for America. He was accompanying his father to seek jobs in the coal mines of West Virginia. Grujicich quickly became Grovich. After World War I, Nikola returned to the Balkans, and not long thereafter, wed my grandmother in an arranged marriage. Her father, Milo Ivanisevich, was the town cobbler in Cetinje, Montenegro. He made boots for the king, a fact proudly trumpeted in the window of his shop on a dirt road.

After the marriage, Nikola returned to work in America, leaving behind my grandmother and their newborn until he could afford to send for them. That happened in 1927.

My grandmother made the 12-day journey with their firstborn and arrived at Ellis Island. She left behind her roots and parents she would never see again. Awaiting her was a limited network of fellow Slavs. She did not speak English. She once told me that while sailing for America, she was homesick and frightened, and wished the ship would turn back. Lucky for me, it didn’t.

My grandparents briefly operated a boarding home for miners in West Virginia, and then relocated to Hazleton, in Pennsylvania’s coal region. There, they raised 11 children (eight girls, three boys) before my grandfather succumbed to black lung.

Those 11 children are still alive, which is itself an extraordinary testament to American health care. The 11 have led comfortable lives. Each has been formally educated and consistently employed. Each owns a home and a car. They have traveled extensively. Their children have had it even better. My cousins’ educations extend well beyond those of their parents. Their homes today are larger than the ones in which they were raised. None wants for any basic necessity.

They are leading typical American lives. This is not only a story about my grandmother, but also about many of our forefathers.

What a land of opportunity! This takes me back to the way we are regarded.

In the last Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, the United States’ favorable ratings declined in 26 of 33 countries. Anti-Americanism is extensive and has been for the last five years. There are a few surprises as to where we are well-received - more favorably in some of the Third World than with former WWII allies, for example. Another tidbit: Americans are more popular than America. (See the report at http://pewglobal.org/reports.)

No one should be shocked to learn of rising hostility toward the United States, given the situation in Iraq. Nor the corresponding decline in the president’s popularity.

I’m concerned about the way we are perceived around the globe. And I am worried about the way we regard our own nation. My hunch is that the negativity from abroad and the vitriol directed toward our president here at home are causing an American loss of self-respect. I sense a collective tail being placed between our legs in response to a constant barrage of all that is wrong with America. I may be mistaken.

My evidence about how we view our own country is visceral and anecdotal, not quantitative. (I did, however, see a recent CBS survey that found that 72 percent of Americans believed that if the Founding Fathers came back, they would be “disappointed” rather than “pleased.”)

Don’t get me wrong: We’ve certainly got our share of problems, Iraq chief among them. Fixing them and our standing in the world should be a never-ending goal.

But it’s healthy to take stock of all that we are afforded in this country, namely, an environment in which we can still live free and pursue dreams. Frankly, that is why we have an illegal immigration problem.

Despite what Paris Match and the Manchester Guardian say about us, millions are still breaking barriers to go where the streets are figuratively paved with gold.

They want what the shoemaker’s daughter experienced.

by Roger Bundy (from Cleveland Equanimous Philosopher)

11:57 a - Arrive a few mintues ago. Mr. Mulready from Cool Cleveland (CC) is getting thigs set up. Was told that approx 150 people pre-registered for this forum. Will be interesting to see who, how many appear. We are in the auditorium of the Louis Stokes wing of the Cleveland Public Libary on the lower level. There is a welcome screen from a “power point” display up on a large screen above the stage, which is flanked by two easels with lined paper. My initial understanding is that one easel is for questions raised by the forum and the other is for issues/comments raised.

12:01 - Council Zach Reed is in the house chatting with Gloria Ferris of Meet the Bloggers. Also in the House is Robert Brown from the City of Clevleand Planning Department. Folks are filtering in.

12:24 - We began about 15 minutes ago. Mr. Mulready is giving an overview of how we got to where we are. This meeting is about giving the public a chance to speak on this issue. Want to hear your questions/issue. We will be writing them down on the easel @ the front. We have subject matter experts/officials here to answer questions, not to make

Bob Brown from City Planning Comm
Zach Reed
Hunter Morrison, former City Planning Director
Micheal DeOloyo - Tech Czt
Dennis Roache, President Convention Visitors Bur
Tammy Brown - CVB
Kelly Brewer - CVB Convention seller
Sharon Kobayashi - CVB
Sam Fryberger - CVB
Misty Elec - CVB
Barbara Balog - CVB
Gary Norton from Peter Lawson Jones’ office
Andrew Cox
Joe Marinucci — Downtown Cleveland Alliance
David Ellison - architect
Introduced the bloggers.

Tom Turner from Lakewood

Question — why has the not the port authority in their power to issue bonds for this type of thing not been considered?

Great question. Joe Marinucci from Downtown Cleveland Alliance — good questions, can only issue debt based upon revenues — cannot issue debt in the absence of a stram

Ray Sikas — President of Citizens Vision — comment that Comm. Hagan’s close relationship to the Kennedy family who run the Medical Mart should make him abstain himself from a vote on this.

Jill Miller Zimon — why are the Cleveland taxpayers assuming all the risk of this venture. Would like to see a risk analysis — what risk is Med Mart and CVB taking.

12:37 p - Steve Merkel — Citizens Vision — about two years ago his org thought they could come up with an idea for the lakefront and convention center — vision needs to be bigger — connector to lakefront — we need to think bigger — do this and a county tax will be alot less [sic more] palitable.

12:40 - Carla Routenberg — life long resident of Clev. Hts. — of all the recent new convention centers that have been built, have they lived up to their expectations, etc.

Answer from CVB rep — convention centers are loss leaders - they don’t create profit directing, its the spin. This is thy guy who sells the conventions. Of course he wants to new convention center — it’s going to make his job easier — is he on commission.

12:44 — John Eckerly — comment re: political arrogance, talking about the Breurer building — then they talk about a new tax — this is bad politics — he supports development on Euclid Ave and the Medical Mart concept — expanded to green building and other cutting edge technologies, but Cleveland has a history of political arrogance and bad timing — thinks Medical Mart is a positive contribution — thinks timing is bad for both of these projects.

12:46 Mr. Mulready relates that Mr. Peter Lawson Jones was interviewed and stated his biggest issue is timing as well. See the Cool Cleveland interview for more information.

12:47 - Anastasia ? — reporter for Free Times, but not here in that capacity. Rosy figures thrown out about the benefits. We haven’t been given any of the research to support the rosy figures that have been touted to support the basis for the tax increase. Where so these numbers come from. Would like to see a lot more research, esp on the relationship between conferences/conventions and a medical mart.

Answer from Dir. of Comm. CVB — she does believe there is support for the numbers. Referred people to Medical Mart web-site. Kelly Brewer talks about research CVB has done regard with lost convention business. He can get us this research. Can we post any of this research — Tom Mulready — CVB states

Jeff Buster — wouldn’t trust anyone from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. A bit of ranting/raving here. Not sure of the points.

12:55 - Daryl Davis — as a resident of the City of Cleveland, has two big concerns in general -p safety and education. This sales tax increase does not address any of these issues. The sales tax proposal makes no effort to address any of these issues. Do we think that bringing in a bunch of out of towners 50 weekends of the year to spend money is going to fix these issues.

Mark Schumann — some guy on Mapledale (his quote) — comment on dishonesty of this. 331 million dollars is a pipe dream, a lie. Recalls this sounding similary to Gateway and Weapons of mass distruction. Response from CVB — this a direct spending number 331 mil of direct spending from Medical Mart. There is no cost cap guarantee, whatever happend to the all the money that was supposed to be leftover from Gateway for Economic Development. **I caught Hunter Morrison smiling at this comment — not sure why**

1:04 p — Zach Reed — he does support Medical Mart and Convention, but his issue is no taxation without representation he cannot support that. We need to get approval from the citizens –fundamentally wrong for two commissioners to just put this tax on people. We sold gateway, we sold the property tax increase for school buildings — if this is such a good idea, then let’s sell it to the people.

If the Commissioners do it this way, we will NEVER been able to sell another voted tax levy we might need in the future, like schools, etc. We’ve got to put this think on the ballot.

Dennis Roche — very much encouraged by the fact the concept of convention/hospitality is a good thing in general — that this sector of our economy is being accepted, that the concept of the Medical Mart is not being rejected out of hand. He suggests that in hindsight, sometimes political arrogance is deemed to be leadership. Referenced successes in Chicago.

“This is bigger and better than Gateway and Browns combined.” “Once in a generation opporunity” — Dennis Roche

1:23 p — Gloria Ferris — concern about Medical Mart tied to a covention center; does tying the Medical Mart to a city convention center give the Medical Mart tax exempt status. This is a great question.

1:30 p Concludes on Time.

Come back later for some more commentary.

from Psychobilly Democrat

The folks at Cool Cleveland, MTB, and BFD are hosting a forum tomorrow regarding the proposal from the CuyCo Commissioners to raise taxes without a vote. I can’t make it, which is a shame. This might be the best example of citizen journalism turned activism we’ve seen locally. From an email:

Commune. Communicate. Community. These are Cleveland’s buzz words this week. With the critical issue of a convention center and medical mart in play because of a proposed county tax increase, we felt that the legal minimum two public sessions didn’t give the community enough of an opportunity to discuss, raise questions and pose issues. So we’re hosting our own Forum this Thu 7/12, increasing public debate by 50%, and you’re invited to join us . . . keep the flow of communication open. By the way, the antonym of “communicate” is “hush up,” “keep secret,” or “suppress.” We don’t think that’s very Cleveland-like, do you? –Thomas Mulready

Here are more details of the event and the instructions for registering (even though it’s free, only a few hundred of you can fit)–<

Cuyahoga County sales tax for convention center & medical mart– Join your Cool Cleveland colleagues at this free and open Community Forum on July 12, 2007 from noon to 1:30PM at the Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Avenue N.E. in Downtown Cleveland, in the Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium.

If you’re remotely able to make it, get there.

By Andrew Sullivan (from the Daily Dish) 

He called another man on the Imus show - yes, the Imus show - a faggot. It took Richardson a year to apologize. And it was in Spanish:

Almost exactly one year before Imus was to lose his show for using a slur to describe the Rutger’s women’s basketball team, the shock jock used the Spanish word “maricón” in an on-air exchange with Richardson.

“Bernard on the staff here has been claiming you’re not really Hispanic so– that you’re just claiming that for some sort of advantage or something,” Imus said to Richardson, tongue clearly in cheek. “You can just answer this yes or no and this will answer that question. Would you agree that Bernard is a maricón?”

Without missing a beat, Richardson replied in Spanish, “Yo creo que Bernardo, sí — es un maricón si él piensa que yo no soy hispano. [General laughter] Was that good enough or what? [General laughter]”

“That’s good enough for me,” Imus replied.

Most gay Latinos interviewed for this story agreed with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation that the word “maricón” means “faggot” in Spanish. So, translated to English, Richardson had replied: “I believe that Bernard, yes – he’s a faggot if he thinks that I am not Hispanic.”

The gay groups decided not to make an issue of it at the time - because he’s a Democrat. Sigh.

By Joseph (from Plunderbund)
Nigger.

There. I said it.

THAT is the so-called N-Word that the NAACP symbolically buried (complete with a wooden coffin full of black roses) this past weekend at their 98th annual convention in Detroit.

THAT is the word that no one wants to say. Newspapers won’t print it. TV reporters won’t say it. Hell, I even feel uncomfortable typing it.

According to dictionary.com: “The term nigger is now probably THE most offensive word in English.”

Unfortunately, if that’s true, then it doesn’t bode well for the whole mock funeral thing conducted this weekend. It’s hard to imagine THE most offensive word in our language getting less popular and dying out any time soon. That’s not how language works.

Maybe if the word nigger was really old and outdated we could replace it with something less offensive. But, having come into popular usage around the time of our Revolutionary War (about 230 years ago), the N-word is just a baby next to something like ‘the C-word’ (yes- I’m talking about Cunt) which has it’s earliest know citation at about 1230 AD.

Compared to that, the N-word is just a baby and, unfortunately, it still has a lot of growing to do.

The NAACP is a great organization with great goals. It is, without question, one of “the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States” and I applaud their work on behalf of the rights of African Americans.

But I would recommend that for their 100th annual convention two years from now, they come up with something a little less cheesy and a little more realistic.

( Here’s the video from Detroit Television about the convention. )