JaBbA's Hut

This is completely horrible. A message from my minister:

Recently, some well-produced DVD's were included with the ad inserts in papers throughout Ohio. The Plain Dealer refused them, so now I have discovered they will be mailed out to all of us in the Cleveland area. These are malicious, anti-Islamic messages and have been characterized by some as hate speech. They are targeting swing states.

More information is on the Ohio Meadville UU District website.

Friends,

A recent Sunday edition of the Akron Beacon Journal included an obviously expensive, professionally-produced anti-Islamic DVD titled "Obsession." One of our OMD ministers who viewed the DVD frankly called it "hate-filled" and "lie-filled." It was also included in newspapers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Canton, Toledo and other cities in Ohio; and, apparently, in still more cities in "battleground" states in the presidential election. The Cleveland Plain Dealer did not carry the DVD.

Many Unitarian Univeralists in the OMD have already expressed outrage that something which blatantly violates the principles of religious freedom and tolerance could be distributed in our community, and put into the hands of our children, under the label of "advertising". They are writing the newspapers which distributed the DVDs to let them know how they feel.

This is a non-partisan issue. Our congregations and the district are able to express their disgust with this kind of reactive messaging without any risk to their non-profit status. I believe that we are called by our values and principles as Unitarian Universalists to speak out against those who would promote intolerance and fear in our communities.

With blessings,

Rev. Joan VanBecelaere
District Executive
Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA

Information on the DVD is at Obsession With Hate.

I'll update here if I hear anything else. I know this kind of hatred exists out there, but people need to fight it whenever it comes out of the shadows.

This should have been an easy decision for ANY newspaper - well done to the PD for refusing the insert, but some investigative reporter needs to explore why other papers accepted this and where the money came from to pay for it.

JaBbA says get involved, let the world see that America stands against this kind of filth.

New Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is taking Voting Rights seriously. And she's not letting the status quo get in the way of creating a voting system that people might actually trust:

Brunner Calls For Clean Slate In Cuyahoga County

Columbus, OH – March 19, 2007 – Pledging to restore trust to elections in Ohio amidst the myriad of challenges facing the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, the state's chief election officer, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, has asked for the resignation of the four-member board, two Democrats and two Republicans, effective the close of business March 21, 2007.

“Cuyahoga County has historically faced challenges with its board of elections, but we are at a time when these challenges are so great that extraordinary measures are needed to improve the election process in the state's most populous county,� said Brunner.

[...]

“With maximum 18-month prison sentences being handed down to two Cuyahoga County election workers last week for their roles in the 2004 Presidential recount, the tremendous problems that surfaced in the May 2006 primary that delayed even the unofficial vote count for 5 days, and the uncertain future of this board as another Presidential election looms on the near horizon, it is incumbent on me as Secretary of State to provide the direction needed to get this troubled board on track. The voters of Cuyahoga County deserve it, the citizens of Ohio expect it, and the rest of the nation will be watching,� said Brunner.

[...]

Those who do not resign by Wednesday will face a complaint and public hearing to be conducted in Cleveland by the Secretary of State's office at a time and date to be determined. Under state law the Secretary of State may “summarily remove� board members for cause.

I love the phrase "summarily remove" when it comes to Bill Bennett. This is long overdue, and would NEVER have happened under Blackwell.

Cleveland resident and Blues legend Robert Lockwood, Jr. died yesterday at 91.

Lockwood was our last direct connection to the great Robert Johnson. He learned to play from Johnson, who had moved in with Lockwood's mother, and was the only person left who played in Johnson's unique style - everyone else who plays Johnson's music had to learn it after learning guitar another way. Lockwood's guitar playing was Johnson's style.

Lockwood has been playing Wade Oval Wednesdays here in Cleveland the last couple of years. Two years ago, a storm blew in as he was starting. Last year, I was stuck doing something else. Now he's gone.

Blues fans have lost a treasure.

I don't know how widespread this is.

I just got the word that the local ISP that my company uses for web hosting and DNS pulled the plug on their network when a hacker planted a Trojan and threatened to set it off if he wasn't paid.

The ISP did the right thing and pulled the plug on their network before the bomb went off (at least, that's what we're being told).

I called the Local FBI Ingragard contact to ask if he was aware of the case, and he told me that he was working on a case....but the ISPs name was different.

So either our ISP reported the incident under a different name, or more than one local ISP has been hit.

A new phishing email is targeting KeyBank, headquartered here in lovely Cleveland, OH.

This one is low-key, just telling you their doing maintenance and you need to update your information.

Danger, Will Robinson!

The Census Bureau's 2003 poverty report identified Cleveland as having the highest poverty rate among US big cities.

Nearly 1/3 of households in Cleveland are in poverty. That's higher than New York, Chicago, LA.

Clearly, the "end of the recession" hasn't reached us yet.

Help!

Update to Left at the Altar: Boozer isn't innocent in this thing, but get this...Boozer is technically correct that there was no "deal" - BECAUSE THERE CAN'T BE. According to the CBA (collective bagaining agreement), the team could NOT agree, even in principle, to a deal at the time. If they did, then they will be fined and lose draft picks. So they HAVE to agree with Boozer and say there was no deal.

BUT - if they'd have exercised the $700k option, they could have renegotiated a 1-year deal for him, paid him to keep him happy, and then used the Larry Bird exception to pay him WHATEVER HE WAS OFFERED as a free agent, without any salary cap problems. He could have gotten his $68M deal and stayed in Cleveland, and we wouldn't have had to rip the team apart to do it.

Paxson needs to lose his job over this one. Not that this is his first blunder.

Carlos Boozer, All-Star power forward for the Cavs and Olympian, was signed for $700k next year. The Cavs agreed to waive it, and Carols said he'd immediately sign a 6-year, $42M deal - the largest deal the Cavs are allowed to offer.

So as soon as he's a restricted free agent, he agrees to a 6-year, $68M deal with the Jazz.

How the hell can you spend $42M, much less $68M? What's the difference?

All of Cleveland thought Boozer was different. But he's said "Show me the money" as soon as the Cavs did the Right Thing (tm). Never again will I criticize a team for holding on to a player, rather than giving him a raise.

And people wonder why Cleveland sports fans are the most pessimistic people in sports. Other than LeBron, this is what happens to us EVERY TIME.

Today is the 35th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River Fire. The image people have is of an inferno fueled by a river so heavily polluted that toxic chemicals could easily burn.

The truth is much less interesting.

The fact is that the Cuyahoga River caught fire from debris that collected in the crooked river's bend. The short-lived fire was out before the local press reached the scene to record images of its blaze. But it was a fire that followed ones in 1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948 and the most devastating of all--the 1952 blaze that resulted in nearly $1.5 millions in damage.

Nor was the Cuyahoga River the only fire to burn during that era. Pollutants fueled fires on a river into the Baltimore Harbor, the Buffalo River in upstate New York and the Rouge River in Michigan.

But Johnny Carson got ahold of the fact that a river had burned in Cleveland...and a legend was born.

The river today is an amazing success story. The Cleveland Flats area is a hot nightspot where boaters and land-based partiers meet, and the Cuyahoga River is used for many water sports, including Western Reserve Rowing, which share the river with the giant ore boats.