I don't get so many jokes in my inbox these days, but every so often I'll get an email about a protest, rally, or online petition. And that's usually worth a snicker.
I've participated in protests, but I don't think much of them. Or to be more precise, I don't think much of protesters. Generally speaking, I think they're more interested in making themselves feel like they're doing something without really doing something. Making a sign and chanting a few stanzas of "Hey, hey, ho, ho" with fellow hippies or fundamentalists (as the case may be) is more of a psychological indulgence than a serious attempt to change things.
Case in point: today's planned protest of John McCain's visit. Putting aside the obvious issue of McCain's snowball's chance in Hanoi of winning the nomination, does anyone really think a gaggle of 20-somethings and their grandparents with signs and lawn chairs will change McCain's mind about anything?
* sigh *
I have more confidence in the efforts of a different group disenfranchised liberals who finally seem to have figured out how to actually be productive in changing things.
And unlike all the protests, rallies, and petitions, it actually works.
31 July 2007
12-Week Maternity Leave for Ohio Moms?
That's what the Ohio Civil Rights Commission is proposing:
The minimum maternity leave is part of proposed changes for the state's pregnancy-discrimination rule, which now requires companies to give women a ''reasonable period of time'' off work to care for their newborn.
The Ohio Civil Rights Commission wants to end confusion by defining what's ''reasonable'' for a minimum maternity leave, said Toni Delgado, spokeswoman for the commission.
It's always tough (at least in this country) to walk the line between pro-business and pro-family. On the business-friendly side, the proposal does not require that employees be paid during leave. It also allows the rules to be bent for small businesses that would suffer undue hardship from losing an employee for 3 months.
On the pro-family side, the proposed changes would apply regardless of how long the employee has been on the job. This is different from federal law, which applies only to employees who have been on the job for at least one year.
The boardroom-backed Ohio Chamber of Commerce is wary of the changes. But maybe we should be wary of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
The minimum maternity leave is part of proposed changes for the state's pregnancy-discrimination rule, which now requires companies to give women a ''reasonable period of time'' off work to care for their newborn.
The Ohio Civil Rights Commission wants to end confusion by defining what's ''reasonable'' for a minimum maternity leave, said Toni Delgado, spokeswoman for the commission.
It's always tough (at least in this country) to walk the line between pro-business and pro-family. On the business-friendly side, the proposal does not require that employees be paid during leave. It also allows the rules to be bent for small businesses that would suffer undue hardship from losing an employee for 3 months.
On the pro-family side, the proposed changes would apply regardless of how long the employee has been on the job. This is different from federal law, which applies only to employees who have been on the job for at least one year.
The boardroom-backed Ohio Chamber of Commerce is wary of the changes. But maybe we should be wary of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
30 July 2007
Dept. of City Planning Has a Director
The CBC reports that Cincinnati has hired a new director for its revitalized Planning Department. Charles C. Graves (the III) will start his job later this summer.
NOTE: for some reason the link won't work even though it's correct. Try this:
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/07/30/daily12.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Cincinnati used to have a planning department, but it was eliminated in 2002 after some guys in suits told Charlie Luken to eliminate it. That's as sure a sign as any that it was a good thing. Luken, you will recall, is now helping move Ohio forward as a lobbyist for the gaming industry.
This return of the Planning Department should be good for the city because it puts land use decisions in the hands of urban planners instead of land developers. Urban planners know how to plan cities. Land developers know... well, I don't know what they know. I'll ask Chris Bortz next time I see him.
NOTE: for some reason the link won't work even though it's correct. Try this:
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/07/30/daily12.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Cincinnati used to have a planning department, but it was eliminated in 2002 after some guys in suits told Charlie Luken to eliminate it. That's as sure a sign as any that it was a good thing. Luken, you will recall, is now helping move Ohio forward as a lobbyist for the gaming industry.
This return of the Planning Department should be good for the city because it puts land use decisions in the hands of urban planners instead of land developers. Urban planners know how to plan cities. Land developers know... well, I don't know what they know. I'll ask Chris Bortz next time I see him.
28 July 2007
Post Publishes 1000-Word Bumper Sticker
The Post's headline: The Surge has a Name.
Translation of the Post's headline: Put that head back up your ass and keep it there.
As the Army's Fort Thomas-based 478th Engineer Battalion trains at Fort McCoy, Wis., for its second deployment to Iraq, its citizen soldiers know the war has lost popularity. But that, said one, is for the pollsters to worry about.
Nothing to worry about here, folks. Just a few egghead pollsters with time on their hands trying to be trendy (like their Hollywood friends). Just like Bush said. And his powers of discernment are very good.
At this point I generally ignore most Iraq news. Same shit, different day. But on the few occasions when an Iraq-related story manages to make it past the bullshit filter, it usually triggers my recollection of something I heard a media analyst say: the MSM's Iraq reporting consists only of operational issues (the surge, e.g.) and partisan rhetoric. Crucial issues of lies, legality, and corruption are not asked, let alone investigated.
And that's actually the good part. Even more pitiful is the fact that corporate newspapers continue to fart out fluff like this Post piece on a regular basis. I'd like to see the publishers and editorial boards spend 6 years sitting next to someone lactose intolerant and see how they like their senses being offended regularly.
You're doing a heckuva job, Postie!
Translation of the Post's headline: Put that head back up your ass and keep it there.
As the Army's Fort Thomas-based 478th Engineer Battalion trains at Fort McCoy, Wis., for its second deployment to Iraq, its citizen soldiers know the war has lost popularity. But that, said one, is for the pollsters to worry about.
Nothing to worry about here, folks. Just a few egghead pollsters with time on their hands trying to be trendy (like their Hollywood friends). Just like Bush said. And his powers of discernment are very good.
At this point I generally ignore most Iraq news. Same shit, different day. But on the few occasions when an Iraq-related story manages to make it past the bullshit filter, it usually triggers my recollection of something I heard a media analyst say: the MSM's Iraq reporting consists only of operational issues (the surge, e.g.) and partisan rhetoric. Crucial issues of lies, legality, and corruption are not asked, let alone investigated.
And that's actually the good part. Even more pitiful is the fact that corporate newspapers continue to fart out fluff like this Post piece on a regular basis. I'd like to see the publishers and editorial boards spend 6 years sitting next to someone lactose intolerant and see how they like their senses being offended regularly.
You're doing a heckuva job, Postie!
13 July 2007
Tourist Crap Trap?
China city debuts opulent public toilet.
They're flush with pride in Chongqing, where a recently opened porcelain palace features an Egyptian facade, soothing music and more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 30,000 square feet.
"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
They're flush with pride in Chongqing, where a recently opened porcelain palace features an Egyptian facade, soothing music and more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 30,000 square feet.
"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
11 July 2007
Ultimate One-Way Ticket
Zheng Xiaoyu is China's former Food & Safety chief. Earlier this year he was sentenced to death for corruption; the execution was carried out yesterday.
(This is nothing new in China; they execute more people than all other countries combined. I think Texas is 2nd)
What caught my eye was this biography which lists his execution under "Recent Travel & Appearances".
(This is nothing new in China; they execute more people than all other countries combined. I think Texas is 2nd)
What caught my eye was this biography which lists his execution under "Recent Travel & Appearances".
From Drug Addict to Triathlete
A remarkable Josh Hamilton-esque story of addiction and recovery of Toledo native Todd Crandell:
Pick a drug, pick a vice –– Crandell did them all... Like the time when, as a high school senior and the star player on Sylvania's hockey team, he got busted snorting cocaine on the bus while en route to a game, and was booted off the squad, kicked out of school and his parents' house, lost the Ohio State University sports scholarship that was virtually in his grasp, and effectively ended his childhood dream of playing for the National Hockey League.
"For me, one drink was too many, and a thousand was never enough," says Crandell. He can still only vaguely recall the details of the time he went out to have a couple beers with a friend in Bowling Green –– and woke up two days later in Georgia. "I knew no limits."
Pick a drug, pick a vice –– Crandell did them all... Like the time when, as a high school senior and the star player on Sylvania's hockey team, he got busted snorting cocaine on the bus while en route to a game, and was booted off the squad, kicked out of school and his parents' house, lost the Ohio State University sports scholarship that was virtually in his grasp, and effectively ended his childhood dream of playing for the National Hockey League.
"For me, one drink was too many, and a thousand was never enough," says Crandell. He can still only vaguely recall the details of the time he went out to have a couple beers with a friend in Bowling Green –– and woke up two days later in Georgia. "I knew no limits."
10 July 2007
No Food for Replicants
Biometric grocery shopping has come to Dayton.
...customers entering the store can either use the finger scan or swipe a card to receive a printout of personalized product discounts. And at check-out, customers can pay via the finger scan, and debit the amount from a checking account.
Biometrics is a burgeoning field. Probably a good investment if you've got extra money under your mattress. Learn more from this BusinessWeek article.
...customers entering the store can either use the finger scan or swipe a card to receive a printout of personalized product discounts. And at check-out, customers can pay via the finger scan, and debit the amount from a checking account.
Biometrics is a burgeoning field. Probably a good investment if you've got extra money under your mattress. Learn more from this BusinessWeek article.
ESPN's Dan Patrick is from Southwest Ohio
If you're a sports fan, you've heard that Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years. But did you know that he's from Mason and went to U of Dayton?
It's true.
It's true.
09 July 2007
America's Youth: Then and Now
This is interesting. The Courier (Findlay, Ohio) asked 15 teachers to comment on this question: Are kids really worse now than they were years ago?
The responses, as the Courier put it, "may intrigue you"...
(scroll down a few clicks since the paper's link doesn't hit the exact beginning)
The responses, as the Courier put it, "may intrigue you"...
(scroll down a few clicks since the paper's link doesn't hit the exact beginning)
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