EQUALITY Sifting The Truth Forging The Deed

Reads the banner of the circa world war two American CORE bulletin which falls from the pages of an old book into my lap. Edited by James Farmer and published in this year 1944 in New York City. Meant to be carried in the pages of a book. These tiny "commie rags" , were considered subversive literature , and could cost one dearly his or her personal liberties if found upon a person by a bunko squad member , or hoover g-man.This issue of EQUALITY contains articles on the Fillmore District in San Fransisco County , and the overcrowded living conditions suffered there by Afro American citizens during that big world war. A fascinating read after all these years. Articles addressing jim crow laws and prejudice in Dallas , Texas and Detroit , Michigan. "Equality, sifting the truth , forging the deed " Doctor Martin Luther King died forty years ago this day , and his passing meant for me a strong initial taste of the humorless gravity of politics in America. When Bobby Kennedy fell dead in Los Angeles , shot up like Doctor King and his brother before him , I realized in my young mind that politics in the real big leagues must be a muther! Bless Doctor King on this his day of passing , and may we be wise enough to embrace the dignified path that Barack Obama presents in a field of thorny flowers and bushes , Obama is the rose..... Now the local sports chatter. Cleveland minor league hockey team beats Hamilton , Ontario skaters in a shoot out this evening. Never seen so many people leave town as quick in my life than after this hockey game. These are polite fans who like most decent baseball fans keep their polite manners up while in public , and do not as much as spit on a public sidewalk as if the very concrete they walk upon might as be their own home. Go monsters! mud sharks! sea devils! whatever your nickname is ? Cleveland , Ohio would do well to imitate Detroit , Michigan and attract a NHL franchise. Minor League sports are just that . Minor League. Besides , we have had plenty of minor league teams disguised as major league temas in recent Cleveland sports history to shake a stick at. Seems that save the early sixties and 1964 NFL champeen Cleveland Browns , my entire Cleveland sports youth was comprised of attempting to root for the local professional teams that more resmbled minor than major talents. Except the Cleveland Barons. They were minor league and made no bones about it. The other period teams minor league in nature , posing as major league. I really do love professional hockey , and have many fond Cleveland Barons moments that originated in viewing minor league games in the old Cleveland Arena years ago. Wish Cleveland had a professional hockey team. hell , I wish that Cleveland had a football team entered in the Canadian Football League. Perhaps if we can convince the Canadian Government to accept us citizens who live across from Melonville , Ontario on the southern shore of Lake Erie. I vote we secede immediately. Chances are however they would not take us in unless we gave the very popular and much respected in Canada Dennis Kucinich full control of this Lake Erie region. You see these Canadians believe in a wider field of play , and thus enjoy the fresh political opinions and progressive thought that Dennis Kucinich is capable of. Please check the archives of the Canadian Broadcast ing System's " As It Happens" ,interview with Dennis after his victory in the Congressional primary last month. The Canadians gush forth Love and respect for this evolved human from Ohio our Dennis Kucinich. Canadians are wise enough to put away their superior brand of Football in late November every year as well. Thus allowing for hockey and basketball to take their proper place in the scheme of sporting events that comprise a life. This years CFL championship Grey Cup game will be played in Montreal on November 23, 2008. I like the idea of a Great Lakes Canadian Football League franchise . Lets face the sad facts people North Americans love their football! Perhaps if we ever build the Jim Rhodes proposed bridge to Canada , we could construct a sports arena in the middle of Lake Erie to play our home games on. Seems like a more plausible bet than the likes of the projected success of the currently under construction Euclid Avenue Corridor project running from University Circle to downtown Cleveland. This sad boondoggle corporate usage of Government transportation funds will serve the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals , and the patients they attract will have easy access to downtown hotels via the Euclid Avenue corridor dedicated bus line. What really is lacking is any housing density the length and breadth of this expensive medical toy bus line . No retail entrepreneur in their right mind would consider locating on the automobile parking parched street that Euclid Avenue is becoming. The best addition so far is the new Aldi's store at East 75Th and Euclid. Aldi's is large enough to have their own parking lot. People are leaving Cleveland and Cuyahoga County by the droves these days , and unless a minor miracle occurs and the ten thousand or so people that once lived along this corridor in the nineteen sixties and seventies decide to return and the apartments they lived in reappear as in a mirage come to life. Good luck! I doubt that all the smoke that the happiness boys at wcpn and da p.d. blow up the asses of the Cleveland citizenry in behalf of the politics that brought us this people mover without rails.The efforts of these shills and media hacks pitching hot air for a private little bus line will be to no avail and to little amusement for those that can see their little ruse . East Ninth and Euclid Avenue's future goal should be to regain the prominent epicenter status of Cleveland downtown commerce . Instead a potential future as a deserted bank district looms. Let us begin at the northeast corner and work clockwise. With the demise of National City Bank eminent and awaiting a takeover. With any good fortune a takeover will spell the end to the ugly skyscraper they currently occupy , which more resembles an upside down refrigerator box and is void of any architectural or aesthetic considerations whatsoever .In a mediocre architectural city the likes of downtown Cleveland , this blanco banko bunko vertical bunker is not very pretty to look at and it's little swinging sculpture out front often resembles a swastika or a pair of dancing metal can openers . Moving on to the north east corner of Euclid and East Ninth Street , one of the loveliest of all Cleveland downtown buildings exists in the form of the Union Trust building , currently named the Huntington Bank Building. You see the desecration by the recent exterior lettering slapped onto this gem in the form of loud block letters reading , THE HUNTINGTON BUILDING. Ugly! In a word , These loud letters screaming at anyone who should pass them. Inside , the most charming pair of linking banking rooms. A classical inspired pillared staff of Cleveland history , this building deserves better than having it's primary tenants make a mad rush to the door in haste to occupy the new proposed Flats office building in the Wolstein group's current plan for the Flat's east bank. Huntington Building occupancy could easily dip precipitously , and coupled with a closed National City Bank structure would add to the already closed Cleveland Trust Tower and rotunda that so much of the success of the entire Euclid Avenue Corridor project hinges upon. The Cleveland Trust Tower and Rotunda renovation is perhaps the true measure of the entire Euclid Avenue Project as far as downtown Cleveland is concerned. If the proposed development by the KD Group does not pan out " bar the door Katy". If this current credit crunch that we are suffering as a Nation continues to unravel and more cheap acts like National City Bank are swept out of town or folded into another bank's holdings ,wath out! Any prudent lending institution would be wise to examine the current demographic state of affairs that is Cleveland , Ohio today and really consider the odds of a profitable venture prior to loaning 35 million or better on the future of East Ninth and Euclid Avenue. All the excited media gibberish and blather that wcpn and da p.d. conspire to churn up via their sordid little public relations dance that denigrates the use of our public radio airwaves , is no more than that hot air I mentioned until actual results occur and money is laid down. Show us the money. Follow the money. Show us the tangible results. The larger picture here is the future of our current economic meltdown and how it will affect lender's positions on such local proposed projects such as the Flats East Bank, Cleveland Trust Tower , and to some degree the Robert Stark warehouse district project which I am afraid is trumped by the Wolstein flats project and Stark's decent dream to build on the ugly warehouse district parking lots is dead in the water. One only has to look a scant three miles south of downtown Cleveland to find that corporate America big box retailers expect parking for their customers. And indeed , The Steelyards Commons project is that mere three miles from downtown and perhaps a good look at the Steelyards commons as downtown Cleveland's new shopping district is in order. A system of connecting transit lines would be wise to converge in these Steelyard commons with all the suburban style big box stores a mere three miles from Public Square. We have no density of downtown population to attract those stores featured at Steelyard Commons to reduplicate themselves street level in downtown Cleveland . So downtown living and those that do rely on rta should be given good access to these Steelyard Commons stores. Let us hope that some form of wisdom prevails in this confused City and that the current Huntington Bank tenants are retained , and that the Cleveland Trust Tower development goes through as planned. Not much we can do about National City Bank's future. They reap what you sow , and having never had a National City account in my lifetime consider myself fortunate. ...... Hello to my old chum and lifelong friend Willy Lambdin. A fine scholar and writer of some repute. He now resides in Finland with his lovely wife. During their last Cleveland visit the most wonderful dish of anchovies , fresh butter , and potatoes baked together i oven were prepared in our humble kitchen by these kind visitors. Filling the house with splendid aromas , and then our bodies and minds with culinary pleasure. Willy and the way back machine in my life. I will twist up his arm and ask him if he will share some of his poetry and writing on this very space. Hell , he is much better than I am at putting together a sentence , and we share a lot of space in our lives spent around Cleveland years ago. Perhaps Willy can show me how to use the simple devices on this computer that would enable the creation of sentences and paragraphs. As for the concept of EQUALITY in our lives , please remember to be kind when you can , man.

---

Cimperman versus Kucinich round one

In an attempt to gain media attention and paint seated tenth district Congressman Dennis Kucinich as absent from his district while campaigning for the office of the United States president , Cleveland city council Representative and 2008 Democratic Primary challenger for Kucinichs congress seat managed to play the fool instead. Barging into Kucinichs Lakewood Congressional office on January 3 ,2008 with a camera toting aide along to capture his buffoonery , Cimperman did everything except put his foot in a water bucket , slip on a banana peel , and perhaps should have attired himself in a clown suit to truly capture the flavor of his media gaff. Instead of the quick " you tube " media bite that he desired , Cimperman has already managed to brand himself a neophyte water boy in this early campaign strategy gone south. Kucinich to his credit did not rise to Cimpermans bait , instead relied on his office to post a letter to the Federal Protective Service , the law enforcement component which works in compliance of The United States Department of Homeland Security providing protection to Federal Government offices. The Department of Homeland Security decided to investigate Cimpermans sophomoric antics serving him notice that he was in violation by bringing a camera without prior permission into a government office. It is not difficult to see where this primary campaign is going if Cimperman continues on this path. Starting off negative will not gain Cimperman much credibility within the Tenth Congressional district which by all accounts Kucinich has served well enough to exist as a six term incumbent. The local fish wrap , da p.d. lets their bias against Kucinich fly like bile from a disgruntled editor's spleen every opportunity they get. Fat chance for objectivity in the daily printed media , one newspaper town that is Cleveland , Ohio today. Stay tuned for round two , which should erupt any time now. A debate is planned at the City Club for the primary candidates for the Tenth Congressional seat. Here's hoping that all the Primary candidates are given equal measure in rostrum time , not just Kucinich and Cimperman. It would behoove Councilman Cimperman to take the moral high road in his future dialogues with Kucinich while vying for the Democratic Primary vote. We Clevelanders and Cuyahoga County residents have suffered enough embarrassment recently and real time issues need to be examined and discussed . Leave the school boy pranks alone , and pay attention to the serious matters that we all face together.....Enough of all this political nonsense. Time to check the tread on the Nevada candidates buses as they flit around the sparse deserts conjuring up votes the usual way. "Smoke and mirrors"! Election years are tough enough to stomach , and it did not surprise me to hear that the major candidates in the upcoming Nevada primaries are taking their windy business to the High School gymnasiums and small town auditoriums , just like they did in their youth when running for student council. So much of what passes for politics in this country is nothing save insipid reruns of popularity contests. Blow hard candidates one and all. All your promises made today will more apt than not prove impossible to deliver after inauguration 2009. So save your wind for some offshore ecological windmill energy gathering effort instead.Book Selling Time! Dennis Kucinich has grown up since the publication of Estelle Zannes CHECKMATE IN CLEVELAND , The Rhetoric of Confrontation During the Stokes Years. Confrontational politics seem to have been around most of my life in Cleveland , and it is time to lay down political swords and work instead towards a better understanding of the process that ensures the ultimate consumers , a represented officials constituents , receipt of services and work for the voting public , instead of working the corners like a cunning pugilist. Grow up one and all of you student council cheerleader types.

---

Shaker Heights , Ludlow gang beating not much news on wcpn

This mornings nine to ten a.m. slot on wcpn was dedicated to discussion concerning the tragic beating incurred by a Shaker Heights attorney who was out walking in his neighborhood on New Year's eve , and severely beaten by a gang of seven youths , with an iron pipe no less , traumatizing and hospitalizing him with severe injuries , resulting in the surgical placement of pins and plates in his legs. A rather sad and sinister state of affairs for a pretty stable suburban neighborhood . Though this man's recovery in a psychological vein will cause this poor victim shock and pain for sometime to come as well as those in his Shaker Heights Ludlow community that feel his pains and admire his courage. Present for the hour were Shaker Heights mayor Earl Leiken , Shaker Heights Council member Al Foster , and a member from the Ludlow Community Association named Chudzinski. The wcpn moderator initially confused the Shaker Heights councilman foster with being the Cleveland councilman , a rather embarrassing moment to be certain , and indicative of the less than stellar preparation that occurs in regards to this time slot. The Shaker Heights mayor elected to introduce himself , and proceeded to carry on concerning the recent Federal crime figures that show a marked decrease in crime in Shaker Heights. Unfortunately for the victim of the Ludlow beating , the gang that assaulted him were not included in this statistical abstract. Councilman Foster stated the obvious need for parental involvement , and claimed that race was not an issue. The victim is Caucasian , the juveniles Afro American. Both of these elected officials seemed sincere and to genuinely care about the fate of the City they represent, though neither had much to offer in the form of suggestions to prevent such occurrences from happening again. The Ludlow community representative Chudzinski expressed optimism , hoping that this was a wake up call for more vigilant neighborhood involvement. A matter of pulling together , not ripping apart his message. What is truly sad here is that no acknowledgement of the obvious sad social condition that acted as a precursor for this criminal condition , " baby childs" , there I said it , received any mention. Yes , " baby childs " , these youth who ganged up on our unfortunate victim were in the age range of fourteen to seventeen years of age , and it is more likely than not that perhaps some of these young men were conceived by young mother's perhaps not prepared to accept the responsibility to raise them . According to 2005 statistics for the City of Cleveland birth records , twenty percent of Mother's giving birth residing in the City of Cleveland were between eleven and nineteen years of age. Not a race issue , as much as a youth pregnancy issue. The usual two thousand ton elephant in the room , youth pregnancy ,was kept cowering in the corner by the participants and callers alike. What can one say in defense of children conceiving children save that it is time to break the cycle. Now! An Akron caller mentioned being robbed and pistol whipped on December 27 , 2007 near Shaker Square. Though this same Akron caller was cut off quickly by the wcpn host when she critically pointed out that the " big football stadium downtown was all good and well , though not of much use when it came down to urban brass tacks such as public safety". A Shaker Heights resident named Steve called in to report purchasing a taser. I think that Steve is a bit light in his expectations of self defense in this choice of weapons. Some small amount of time was spent in mentioning the education of parents concerning their off springs , though the obvious in this matter of parenting is to begin with breaking the cycle of teen childbirth. No more or less. Juvenile gangs again were not mentioned , though much has been written on this subject , and it is human nature that draws together children in a world , and a rereading of William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES is all it takes to begin to understand the sad and sometimes cruel rites of passage that comprise adolescence. Oddly enough the one time that da p.d. should have been present at a wcpn , in the form of editorial columnist Dick Feagler , whose Sunday January 6 , 2008 dealt with this crime and the cultural reality of such events as urban flight and offered this advice via his conversation with a Shaker Heights police officer on walking in Shaker Heights " Go in two's , or get a big dog and walk it. Or take a cell phone with you pre-dialed to 911". Sounds like stern ,stellar and apt advice. Especially the cell phone particular. Police response in Shaker Heights is quick , and had the victim had a cell phone it may have made a difference.It would have served the listeners well to have been able to comment on Feagler's Sunday article , which walked the line between racism and modern urban real time life. Bordering a City such as Cleveland , presents Shaker Heights residents with some odd quality of life issues that can lead to becoming quandaries such as the unfortunate victim of this heinous and violent Juvenile gang crime. Shaker Heights is also around the corner from North Randall , Ohio , and it is only this past Friday evening January 4 , 2008 , that a multiple shooting occurred in a motel in a Northfield Road Motel located in North Randall , Ohio resulting in five men being shot ranging in age from eighteen to twenty years of age. In 2007 Cleveland , Ohio had a rash of violent crimes committed by a South east side , Slavic Village , gang who called themselves " The Goonies" , and beat and robbed many elderly victims. Our Ohio jails are filled to over capacity with these sad young cases of Juvenile / adult crimes. Our maternity words are swollen with children conceiving children. As for solutions , it seems that few quick fixes exist. Keeping the plight of such crimes front and center in our minds and having open dialogue concerning such modern dilemmas as teen pregnancies , and Juvenile crime is a great start.I only wish that I was kidding concerning being pinned down on New Years eve by random gunfire in our East side neighborhood. Staying well put instead of milling about the rather uncertain mean streets of Cleveland , Ohio that evening seems the norm not the exception these days. Perhaps if our political officials worked harder at the social ills of our Cities , and less at the corporate welfare issues that occupy their time , we would fare better collectively. I received a distress call the other day from a visitor to Detroit , Michigan a few days after the New Years. She was worried about taking public buses in Detroit after a middle aged woman was shot in the face for the crime of not having any money to give the assailant that committed a robbery upon her as she disembarked from a Detroit , Michigan Department of Transportation bus. My Friend purchased a second hand purse , and placed ten dollar bills in it to give up quickly if accosted in a similar fashion. What a way to have to consider to live in modern America ! Join a community group or block watch organization. Volunteer some of your hard earned time to participate in inner city youth programs. Sacrifice your nfl football sunday's and become a big brother or big sister. Hell , I do not even begin to know were to offer advice in this terrible matter of Juvenille crime. Start close to home , keep those that you Love and respect in good form , and look out for one another. We are only as good as our collective efforts. Book Selling Time! You guessed it 1 William Golding LORD OF THE FLIES. Most all of us have read this volume at sometime in our life , and the message of the cruel and sometimes violent and difficult adolescent passage has never been better addressed to my knowledge. Best wishes to all victims of terrible crimes such as the one suffered by the Shaker Heights Ludlow resident.Believe in Love and take a moment to care for those that you do. Pass it on.

---

wcpn renames local "regional roundup" morning news slot "benign hour"

Greetings from an eastbound passenger train, passing the Collinwood yards this early morning. "Hope springs eternal."

Only three days into the new year and wcpn is up to the same old tricks that have allowed them to take the public out of public radio on a daily basis. First a two odd minute teaser and hype for a newbie's online site with the moniker "advancenortheastohio.org". Sounds like a cheerleader's sideline chant.

"On Wisconsin," "Advance northeast Ohio" or some other form of drollery.
Rah, rah, arh!

A visit to this site seems to feature more of the usual wcpn sanctioned regular suspects, a link for Cleveland Plus, a "brain gain" section , and an overall cheery, upbeat, naive, head-in-the-sand view of the current sad state of affairs that is contemporary Cleveland, Ohio and the surrounding region that it represents.

My favorite little bitty sidebar section on this site is one entitled "transplanted."

I know, begs for jokes about the medical fiscal machinery located here, but trust me, this is comedy at its best when it comes to living in this region. The hallucinatory writing began with a visit to San Francisco and the nerve of the writer to suggest that San Francisco's Mission District reminded him of "Tremont."

Now having spent considerable months in the City of San Francisco for the past forty years, one could never confuse a vibrant dense multi-racial neighborhood such as San Francisco's Mission District with Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood.

No way on this Earth do they share much common ground.

The Mission has density in its population mix, aided by two Bay Area Rapid Transit [BART] stops, which serve a bustling Hispanic, Caucasian, and Asian American population. The diverse merchants on Mission and Valencia Streets, the Mission's retail business streets, are comprised of bookstores, groceries, antique stores, and all the service businesses that comprise a neighborhood: banks, dry cleaners, coin laundries, etc .

(Tremont does not even have a grocery store!)

Restaurants of all stripes and forms fill Mission and Valencia Streets and the side streets that connect them. The legendary burritos rolled in the areas many Mexican restaurants have great girth and authentic fresh flavors. A number of personal friends, I know you are surprised I have many, reside either in the upper Mission or the adjoining Portrero Hill neighborhood, and I have walked this neighborhood for hours during the daytime, preferring it to the evening and its nighttime club scene, I don't drink, and visible Hispanic gangs.

The mere inclusion of such unchecked urban comparison between Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood and San Francisco's Mission district only gives this Clevelander's naive vision street cred, only if he fesses up to imbibing in some Bay area LSD, and wandering about mumbling far out man, Cleveland looks just like this here place, duh....

perhaps while under the influence of psychedelics?

Tripe soup, make that menudo, once again served daily by the make believe public radio station with the call letters wcpn. A virtual link to yet another cheer leading agency for the local lost cause.

Let's send a reminder to this advancenortheastohio bunch that politics here are corrupt in an over the top fashion, and that you can throw all the money, just like manure, at pet political projects that are recipients of corporate welfare, University Circle and Downtown Cleveland to be exact, and like putting a dress on a pig, doesn't make it less of a pig, just one that has had a pile of money tossed at it!

As for the weekly regional roundup radio program that aired this morning from nine to ten a.m. the radio gang that is wcpn should consider changing the name of this weak hitting hour to "the benign hour," given the flavor of news served to date.

The local daily fish wrap, da p.d., was of course in the wcpn house. Two other players present as well.

One half hour was spent in discussion of the variety of possibilities and challenges presented to voters due to the mishandling of voting machinery. Not much here was concluded save the obvious need to fix what is broken. Murder and crime and its relationship with regards to public safety and Cleveland Police layoffs, was handled well by da p.d.'s Joe Frolic, and even better by the retired policeman who called in wisely stating the obvious: no leadership in politics, no jobs or way out for low income residents, and that fewer police on the streets equals more crime.

A little blast at Dennis Kucinich and his UFO tales, and we are out of here on wcpn, with not much said for the hour's effort at news from this region. The flavor conjured in this less than stimulating hour of gas was truculent and impacted. Just like that pseudo public radio station wcpn.

A benign hour it was...

Keep thinking about that eastbound train, and what exists on the other end of the line?

New horizons?

Make no mistake of it, the majority of the domestic books we sell online are to zip codes on either coast. Very few to the heartland of this country. Seems to be a lesson here?

Perhaps this dense man will figure the problem out someday soon?

Welcome to the Iowa Caucasus. First stones tossed this evening! Good luck to anyone out there naive enough to still believe in the current state of politics in America, or sanity claus for that matter. Better you go to the race track and look into betting on the favorite horse running.

More times than not that nag has the most money on him, and even when he doesn't win doesn't finish out of the money either. Horses run just like politicians. In the money! Today's Iowa candidates attract and spend money in a major fashion, and believe me when they take money from a contributor they owe a favor. Political life in the good old USA goes on unchecked and more resembles your high school student elections, than any real attempt to affect actual social change it in a fashion that does not come with favors attached to and owed to the players who contribute to campaigns.

I wonder how the majority of these politicians sleep at night?

Book Selling Time!

What better fashion to produce a great evenings sleep these frigid Cleveland winter's nights than curling up with a copy of THE DICTIONARY OF CLEVELAND BIOGRAPHY? - 545 pages comprising a veritable who's who of Cleveland history from the cities inception to the book's publication in 1996.

Do not look for exciting reading here, though pound-for-pound it will provide more excitement and usable content than the regular cast of people that peddle the notion of news on wcpn radio today. If ever a local institution needed a house cleaning and new face this impacted bunch does. Sad fact is the perceived notion of the word "public" mentioned in the same sentence with the call letters wcpn.

---