genus rana versus genus homo on wcpn ,City of Cleveland takes on Wall Street banksters, Breuer Tower, Peter Lewis

WCPN did a fine job in discussing the environmental " canary in a mineshaft " theory concerning the depletion of frogs , genus rana , from the World's ecological grid. As opposed to the often biased political flavors sold by the same radio bunch when serving up da pd's propaganda wishes concerning local pet political projects , this mornings nine to ten a.m. slot , idea stream , worked well when discussing frogs , hell benders , mud puppies and other amphibians that we humans , genus homo , may have evolved from. Wait , take that back , we humans have crawled out of the muck and slime that our amphibious predecessors come from , yet the notion of human evolution still seems a work in progress , and given the accounting of our collective destructive and war like actions not fairing very well. The gist of this one hour frog fest was that as humans we have contributed mightily to the destruction of habitat for frogs and amphibians alike , in some cases existing in extinction . The tragic part of this equation is that the irony may be ours to embrace , seeing that robust frog populations serve as indicators to a healthy environment , and we are depleting these environments all over the world without deriving the important medical and genetic data the genus rana has to offer us. I recall one morning when camping in the wilds of upper Minnesota sometime after Labor Day 1978 , awaking to an entire majestic cover of thousands of bright green tree frogs that covered near every inch of the tent and the National Park area that we had camped in. What a unique sight! The frogs took cover after dawns early light passed , though I have never seen or experienced such frog sitings again in my life. Now if we could only figure a way to turn the politicians into frogs , we would have a better chance at surviving the ecological mess that the politicians and their less than ecological friendly business as usual types have created for us lowly humans. Kudos to wcpn for airing this timely and insightful ecological hour and the good job done by the host and guests alike. Keep up the good work , stay on the objective side of the street , and lay off da pd and civic cheerleader groups political agenda and propaganda that is so often found aired at this hour!.... Continuing on an upbeat note to begin the week, congratulations and kudos to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and City Law Director Robert Triozzi for the gumption and presence of mind to file a lawsuit against twenty one powerful Wall Street Investment banks , using the sound premise of arguing that the banks created a public nuisance by their unsound business practices in the issuing of inappropriate loans that have led to the ruination of some Cleveland neighborhoods when the aforesaid unsound loans defaulted and ended up in foreclosure. Filed in our Cuyahoga County Common Please Court , expect the big Wall Street banks to file motion for a Federal Court venue , and to throw their massive legal machinery against our City's brave and worthy legal efforts. Not since boy mayor Dennis Kucinich took on the greedy kilowatts of the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company in 1977 , has a Mayor and administration shown as much courage to fight for the very critical fallen soul of a City that's population is constantly penalized by the corporate banks and the real estate agents that do their dirty field work.It would behoove Mayor Jackson and Mister Triozzi to enlist pro bono help in this matter from some of the more civic minded Law firms that call Cleveland home. Great amounts of City of Cleveland funds have been paid out to large Cleveland Law firms during the past twenty years , see Roldo Bartimole"s Point Of View for the actual staggering amounts of millions of dollars spent , and it is time to approach these same said Law firms who profited at the citizens of Cleveland's expense to help us out with this righteous fight for our dignity and help us stabilize our neighborhoods and deliver the message to these Wall Street banksters that if you mess with Cleveland , Ohio we mess you up right back with you!....Still more good news! Baseball season is around the corner , and around the corner from this book store the former Jacobs Field stands , just now renamed Progressive Field , as the Progressive Insurance Company paid 3.6 million per year for the next sixteen years for the naming writes to this dubious local landmark. Since 1994 this ball yard has known the nickname " the Jake", and what fun pundits will have in hanging a new nickname on this home of the sorrows and broken dreams of Cleveland American League Baseball fans. Progressive Chairman of the Board Peter Lewis is a well known modern arts patron and philanthropist , and it would serve all of us Clevelanders greatly if he combined business and pleasure in purchasing the Marcel Breuer Cleveland Trust Tower down the block on East Ninth Street , that our Cuyahoga County Government now owns , and completes the second identical twin tower that Breuer had envisioned . While Mister Lewis is at it move a few of the 27,000 odd employees into the Breuer Towers. What a positive effect that could have on the future of Cleveland. The employee taxes gathered alone would help all Cleveland citizens survive a bit better via improved City services. If Marcel Breuer could return from his grave , tap Peter Lewis on the shoulder and ask him the favor to complete his vision of twin towers for this structure I am sure he would. Alas , only a pipe dream , yet one can always hope for logical civic improvement in a progressive fashion from Peter Lewis. If anyone is capable of sound judgement in the field of architecture and urbane affairs it just may be Peter Lewis. Mister Lewis has contributed generously in the past to Case Western Reserve University projects , though has been justifiably critical of the direction of CWRU of late and withdrawn some of his fiscal support. How appropriate it would be for the citizens of Cuyahoga County through our elected public officials to approach Mister Lewis in a polite fashion and enlist his help with regards to the currently vacant seeking tenant Breuer Tower. Pipe dream or not , seems like a sound pairing to me. While we are on the subject of pipes , it is high time to pass the peace pipe to the legion of offended Native Americans that consider the racist " wahoo " mascot the Cleveland Indians enlist as their team logo.Retire the nasty little red faced cartoon figure once and for all! The Cleveland American League team has won a total of two World Series Championships in it's one hundred and seven seasons while playing in the professional American League. Not a very stellar performance. Second place is no place , and all the American League Championships do not mean a thing unless the Cleveland AL team wins the World Series ring! Speaking of rings. Progressive Field has a nice sounding ring about it , and I sure would hate to hear any wag refer to it as a bastardized form of wahoo pee pee tepee ever again as the jake has been refered to in it's recent past. For those who would care to absorb this final nugget of knowledge try on for size the Progressive Insurance slogan in a Cleveland baseball context." It's about you. And it's about time.".Pass the peace pipe now!.....Book Selling Time! Not exactly a household necessity , but the $6.90 price is right. We offer today a copy of Phillipe Vosjoli's 32 page book entitled THE GENERAL CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF HORNED FROGS. Now , I do not really believe that many of you readers are interested in raising frogs , though if the Cleveland American League Baseball team threw over the lousy wahoo logo for a frog themed mascot and logo , I about guarantee you that a chorus of croaking frog sounding "ribbet" cheers would fill the Progressive Field grandstands with good clean green fun , not to metion a new found respect for our genus rana friends. I grew up with the weird Froggy the gremlin popping up from a puff of smoke via Andy Devine's jolly musings and incantation : " Plunk your magic twanger Froggy". " Highya kids , highya highya" ,was Froggy the Gremlin's response to Andy Devine's query . Cartoons and early television children's shows like " Andy's Gang " , warped me good for life. So now you have a better idea why I prefer a humorous frog logo like Froggy to the insipid likes of the racist wahoo as a baseball logo. If you wish to relive these magic childrens show memories with me , click on the link to froggythegremlin.com. Froggy the Gremlin is way too cool for school , and deserves a larger place of recognition in our popular culture mileau! Green is where it's at . Imagine the unique concession stand favorite an imitation boneless frogs leg sandwich would become. I know , tastes like chicken . Could be made from fish sticks to resemble frog legs. Froggy the gremlin sure would make a better team logo than that racist wahoo! And a bunch more green fun ta boot!

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