Andrew Warner

I've never been a big fan of peace advocate Cindy Sheehan. I agree with most of what she says so it must be a personality issue... But she is "resigning" as the "face of the peace movement" to spend time with family and get away from politics.

Who can blame her?

But her farewell letter is poignant and targeted at the Democrats who abandoned the peace cause. She has this to say:

I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt "two" party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?

Labels: Iraq, National Politics, peace

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Ben Affleck picks Mitt Romney to win the GOP nomination.

Let's hope he's as wrong as he was when he thought Reindeer Games was a good idea.

Labels: National Politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

Fred Thompson, former senator and current star of NBC's hit TV show Law and Order, is running for president.

A tough-talking southerner (at least he plays one on TV), many predict Thompson to be the darling of the southern vote – a role that no current GOP candidate fills to the liking of our confederate loving friends down south.

But as the most recent edition of Rolling Stone points out, this is a guy who left the Senate because it was too much work. I guess running for president is easy breezy.

... On a side note, though, he plans to rely heavily on the Internet to run his campaign – probably because he already gets plenty of TV exposure by the seemingly 24/7 reruns of Law and Order. But it might be a good gauge of the power of the net in politics... If that southern base of his can figure out how to turn on a computer (I'm kidding South, don't yell at me).

Labels: National Politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

After turning the Lakers into "his team" by exerting pressure to get rid of Shaq, followed by a few years of sub-par Laker basketball, Kobe Bryan wants out of LA.

Kobe made his bed, but like a baby, he doesn't want to sleep in it. As someone who has stood up for him in the past, it's a little sad to see it go this way.

Labels: Sports

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Walking through the taste of Cincinnati and stumbled upon Ill Poetic. I got lucky. And you got lucky I had a camera to share it with you.



*****If you haven't noticed, the audio cuts out halfway through the video. I'll have to fix this when I get back to Cincinnati tomorrow.*****

Labels: Cincinnati, Hip-Hop

Posted by Andrew Warner at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Find more information on Steven Pavelish @ www.pavelish.com.

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

The best and only vegan food at Taste of Cincinnati was found at Shanghai Mama's.

Their mango spring rolls and edamae were killer. I'm going to try their real restaurant now... I'm sure it's even better than their overpriced booth food.

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Taste of Cincinnati is all sorts of fun. Even New York City's naked cowboy shows up (native of Cincinnati I believe).

Labels: Cincinnati, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Courtesy of the Dean:

Labels: media, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

Read the hate mail sent to that gun-toting 11-year-old. They even host it on their own site.

Here are some of my favorites:

Congratulations. By breaking the 6th commandment you've earned your spot in hell. Luckily not all America is like this, fat kids with guns killing innocent beasts -- and allowing Satan to delude them into believing they are doing God's work. Today I pray for your soul.

Fuck the bible and fuck the fat red neck killer kid and all you red neck hillbillies good for nothing dumb ass scums.

FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?? YOU LITTLE FAT ASS PUNK!!! THINK YOUR SO COOL CUZ YOU SHOT A HUGE PIG! JUST BECAUSE IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PIGS DOESNT MEAN THAT IT DOESNT HAVE A LIFE, A MATE, A FAMILY!!!! HOW WOULD U LIKE IT IF U WERE KILLED FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN UR FAT!?! I WOULD SURE BE HAPPY!

In my opinion the family deserves all the comments coming their way. Keep in mind they shot the animal with a handgun for a period of three hours... As if it wasn't good enough to just kill it; they had to do it slow.

Labels: animal rights

Posted by Andrew Warner at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Look at the lowest form of life (the boy, not the animal):



Why people continue to accept hunting in America is beyond me. Why people give fame to some bumfuck Alabama bitch-boy is a mystery I'll never solve.

Congratulations on destroying an innocent natural wonder.

Read about the boy at his aptly titled Web site, Monsterpig.com.

Labels: animal rights

Posted by Andrew Warner at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

I could write a review of the summer blockbuster, but I think this one has it covered.

Highlights:

Despite its bum-numbing running time, Pirates 3 can barely keep up with the cast of characters we're supposedly rooting for - the upside of which is that Orlando Bloom is relegated to the bit-part status he deserves.

That just leaves Depp to stop the ship sinking. Only he doesn't. Within minutes it becomes horrifyingly apparent that two films was more than enough of Johnny's Cap'n Jack shtick. And, while he does provide a smattering of humorous lines, more often than not he's just plain irritating, especially when they have him chuntering away to his imaginary selves.

As I was reading through some of the reviews this morning (after seeing it last night), one thing is baffling me...

From Hollywood.com:

The movie’s long but definitely worth its weight in gold doubloons, giving just a whiff of possibility to a fourth one.

Anyone that's seen this movie knows they left us with more than a "whiff of possibility to a fourth one." Much like the end of the second, they practically used the conclusion to start the next film. For some reason, more than one critic missed the VERY heavy handed foretelling of another sequeal.

Labels: media, movies, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

The party of acceptance and diversity is at it again.

Over at As Ohio Goes there is a post calling Giuliani crazy and it mockingly includes a picture from when Giuliani dressed like a woman (in a funny sketch).

Democrats will persist to belittle transvestites as long as it helps their cause. All the while I'm sure they'll be the ones who pretend to embrace diversity.

Instead of commending Giuliani for being comfortable in his own skin and having a sense of humor, Democrats continue to make dressing like a woman a mark of shame – apparently with no regard to the rich cultural tradition in comedy that Giuliani was paying homage to or the feelings of those who cross-dress for their own well-being.

Democrats new slogan in '08: Pruder and meaner than Republicans. Watch us make fun of transvestites!

Labels: National Politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

More from Molly Sullivan at her MySpace.

Labels: Cincinnati, media, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

Dave Menninger continues the discussion over at his blog.

I will be the first to admit that there are good reasons to be for and against municipal wifi. I happen to be in favor of it. But the most important thing is that people don't start throwing around arguments and citations that don't make sense.

The only thing I'm not sure of is what the good reasons to be against municipal wifi are...I suppose I could just be blinded by my love of technology...

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ted Strickland almost seemed like a reasonable man when he originally expressed concern over the constitutionality of the heavily restrictive strip-club bill proposed by Cincinnati's Citizens for Community Values. He even went as far to call the bill a "frivolous issue" saying that we need to focus on job creation, blah blah blah.

But when the money was on the table, Ted Strickland took the coward's way out and chose to "let the bill become law." The governor has three main options when considering a law: sign it and it becomes law, veto it and send it back to the legislature or the coward's route (Ted's route) which is not taking a stance and letting it become law (essentially signing it without the fanfare).

Ted could have made a bold statement about his stance on the right to free expression or his desire to focus on less "frivolous" issues by smacking a veto on this terd of a law... but of course he didn't. He took the "safe" route. And while he claims he wants to focus on job creation and the economy, allowing this bill to become law only stands to cut jobs and take a huge chunk of money out of Ohio (as exhibited in the Plain Dealer's article titled "Strip Clubs lap up visitors' money").

A politician who says one thing and does the other is never sits easy with me. But it's all you fools out there that put him into office. Not me.

Labels: Ohio politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

Joe Wessels and the Cincinnati Post have picked up on the ongoing saga of the Charter Committee and the Cincinnati Beacon.

For those who don't know, the Dean of Cincinnati was denied membership to the Charter Party (Cincinnati's third party) due to the fact he was a blogger. The Dean of Cincinnati, knowing this rule was bunk, cried fould– Charter of course has had a candidate (Nick Spencer) who was a blogger and another candidate who was a TV newscaster.

One comment in Wessels' column provoked some thought:

Haap was rejected, according to Jeff Cramerding, Charter's executive director, because he is a journalist. Cramerding said that people can be a partisan or a journalist, but not both. "We thought we were doing him a favor," he said of Haap. "It would be a conflict of interest if he's a journalist."

Cramerding's comment is silly off-the-cuff rationalization. News organizations set their own limits on their reporters' political lives. I've heard of some newspapers who won't let their political reporters vote. I've heard other journalism veterans say that reporters' personal lives are their own business.

Political life is obviously a part of a person's private life.

What I've never heard is a party (or a committee that acts as a party) set such restrictive rules on membership. Cramerding's comments are sweeping in such a way that show very little thought. Why you ask? Writers for publications like The New Republic or Mother Jones are journalists, right? But they're also obviously partisan. Does the Democratic Party kick them out?

I imagine that's something Cramerding knows, but didn't think of under the gun.

Labels: Cincinnati, media

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's pretty sad that David Crowley has been the only one to respond promptly to my concerns. After all, I am a voter and my question was pretty simple.

We'll see if they keep dragging their feet.

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

From an e-mail:

"I am glad to see the City Manager look at this issue in a proactive manner. While it is hard to say that I support the proposal without knowing the specifics of how the program will work or what it will cost I certainly agree it should be examined. In this day and age anything we can do to promote easier access to the internet among our residents, particularly our economically disadvantaged citizens, should be done. Recently Cincinnati made another such forward thinking step in approving incentives for developers willing to build "green". In this case we have another opportunity to be a leader."

David Crowley

More to come.

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've contacted all the city council offices and asked for their position on the proposed plan to bring wi-fi to Cincinnati.

I will post their responses as they come, and after a couple days I will post their compiled answers on the Beacon (and here). I'm sure analysis will follow from there, but I will let their answers speak for themselves for the time being.

Labels: Cincinnati

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Hip-Hop, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments

City hall is considering a city-wide wireless network and I couldn't be happier.

Mark Mallory hasn't been the mayor I've expected him to be, but if him and new city manager Milton Dohoney manage to get this done, I'll be in love (figuratively speaking of course).

Important notes from the story:

The network would provide wireless connections to the Internet at broadband speeds. Internet users would need computers with wireless capabilities to use the system...

Mayor Mark Mallory supports the plan but wants also to come up with a way to provide home computers to low-income residents.

Social justice at its finest.

Labels: Cincinnati, Social Justice

Posted by Andrew Warner at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

...Excuse me, "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Mitt Romney, when asked about torture, couldn't give a straight answer. Instead he engages in the political game of "reframing" the debate. His rationale is that if it's not called torture, it's not torture.

I'd like to think Americans are smarter than that.

Watch the video here and see if you disagree.

You'll also notice a Freudian slip in his conversation where he says "missionary" instead of another M word. Perhaps a glimpse at mandatory missionary work required under Mormon President Romney?

Labels: National Politics, Social Justice

Posted by Andrew Warner at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

As is being widely reported everywhere, the Senate voted not to cut off funding to the Iraq War.

From the NY Times:

Democrats who are highly critical of President Bush’s Iraq war strategy suffered a stinging defeat today when the Senate overwhelmingly rejected a measure to cut off money for the military campaign by March 31, 2008.

The measure, in the form of an amendment to an unrelated water-projects bill, was effectively rejected, 67 to 29, with 19 Democrats voting against it in a procedural vote. Sixty “yes” votes were required for the measure to advance, so it fell short by 31 votes.

Only 28 Democrats and Bernie Sanders voted for the amendment. Votes like this make me wonder how people still support such an unpredictable and un-unified party. If cutting off funding to Bush and the Republicans isn't their plan, what is?

You don't know. Nobody does...

On a side note, presidential hopefuls Obama and Clinton both voted FOR the amendment. I guess they’re the only Democrats who have to pretend to have principles (people are watching).

Labels: Iraq, National Politics, war

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

I may be the last person to hear about this (as it started last year), but Tom Green is broadcasting a live show through the internet.

The reason I just heard about it is because MySpace is pushing his show big time.

This caught my interest for two reasons. First, I was a big Tom Green fan back in his hay day and it's good to see him back. Second, it's one of the first big name celebrities that have gone to the internet as an alternative (and not just a supplement) to other media.

If Tom Green's success continues to grow, then the formula will certainly be emulated. It's something to pay attention to.

Check out the show and the sweet set-up at TomGreen.com.

Labels: media, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yes, we're talking about the distance from a stripper to his or her clientele.

State representative Lou Blessing (Republican) is confused and bothered by this potential law that is wasting his time. From the Cincinnati Post:

"It's got some problems," said House Judiciary Chairman Lou Blessing, a Colerain Township Republican. "I don't have four hours a day to spend on this when we have other more important things to work on."

"The distance is ridiculous, and requiring a bubble after they're dressed and fully clothed, I don't know what the purpose is of that," Blessing said.

Bottom line, CCV is trying to pass an absurdly prude, fringe law that makes us look more like Alabama than a forward-thinking state. I'm glad the media is doing its job and point out the truth when conservative backers are telling us something very different.

Labels: Ohio politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Time Warner (Cincinnati) will dick you around without hesitation.

That's why I dropped my service and am now living with 4 or so channels and a Blockbuster movie pass.

TW simply doesn't care about their customers and they have no competition to force their hand. I've been crying foul for quite some time now – I'm happy to see I'm not alone.

We Want Choice Ohio is a campaign that is up, running and pushing for competition in the cable television business. After all, without competition Time Warner is free to have outrageous prices and negligent customer service. Unless you're like me and willing to give up the beautiful convenience of cable TV.

Get on board with this campaign. It'll do a lot of good for the entire state and improve the flow of information and entertainment to the masses. Cable television and high-speed internet should be very affordable, if not provided by the government.

Encouraging competition in one of our country’s worst monopolies is a good place to start.

Labels: media, Ohio politics

Posted by Andrew Warner at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

Speaking on the topic of abortion, President Bush had this to say:

I will veto any legislation that weakens current federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage.

I'm certain I'm not the only one to see the irony in Bush's comment.

Capital punishment clearly "encourages the destruction of human life at any stage." It seems only natural that President Bush will do his best to put a stop to it.

Ha. If only he could understand the words coming out of his own mouth.

Labels: National Politics, Social Justice

Posted by Andrew Warner at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Roots latest release, Game Theory, remodeled a usually raw sound into a tightly produced and refined hip-hop album.

All of the innovation on the album was lost in its live presentation at the University of Cincinnati on Saturday night.

To be fair, the Roots had the deck stacked against them from the beginning. The three-fourths empty arena killed the atmosphere. The decision to not sell beer kept those who were there even more somber than their suburban upbringings should dictate. And the fact that the seat-assigned floor was not even half full while eager fans were pushed to the back of the bleachers in the name of assigned seating didn't help either.

Not your typical jam-packed Roots concert at Bogart's.

All outside factors aside, The Roots delivered an uninspired, uneven performance. Fans of the Roots' music, and hip-hop in general, were put-off by the seemingly 30-minute Bob Dylan cover put forth by ?uestlove, the guitarist and the tuba player. The cover, an anti-war tune written 40 years ago, was played with the band's heart in the right place, but people don't go to hip-hop shows to experience Woodstock.

Obscure tunes were played all night. Determine to prove their above hip-hop musical prowess, they lost touch with their base of fans in the process.

The most invigorating part of the whole evening was a medley of current and old hip-hop played as a tribute to refute Nas' assertion that "hip-hop is dead." The crowd finally got amped when they heard Mims' "This is why I'm hot," or other mainstream songs by the likes of Lil John – music The Roots have spent a career separating themselves from.

When they played their own tunes, the reactions from the crowd matched the performance by the band. Muddled and confused. Most cuts of the "Game Theory" weren't even recognizable from the album versions of the same songs. It took a few bars of each song for the crowd to even know what was hitting them.

Overall, a disappointment from the hardest-working group in hip-hop.

Labels: Cincinnati, Hip-Hop

Posted by Andrew Warner at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

I'll be there. Will you?

Get your tickets fast before they're gone. Wear you favorite Spiderman t-shirt or a full costume if you're real cool (I might if I had one).

By the way, lots of Blockbusters are hitting theaters this summer. What do you think will break box office records this year? Spiderman III, Pirates III, or Transformers?

Labels: Cincinnati, movies

Posted by Andrew Warner at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

My internet's broken until tomorrow or longer. If comments take longer to get approved, or posts are slow, it's because of Cincinnati Bell. Hopefully things will get taken care of by tomorrow and we'll be back on track.

Until then, I'll be working from my Blackberry or from other locations. Thanks for the patience.

Labels: random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Cincinnati's own turntable master Mr. Dibbs is coming back into town on Monday night at TopCats.

Dibbs is known for pioneering the genre of cross-genre turntable manipulation and is fun to hear even for non-hip-hop fans. The last time I saw him he replayed a hip-hop version of the masturbation scene from the 40-year-old Virgin. A little something for everyone.

El-P is an underground MC with a lot of street cred. I don't know a ton about him, but I'll shell out the $15 for Dibbs alone.

Labels: Cincinnati, Hip-Hop

Posted by Andrew Warner at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Say goodbye to the cool guys:



Funny quote from the Post:

"We have noticed it already," said Blaschke, owner of Cosmo's Grille Pub in Covington's MainStrasse. "One of my regulars - he lives in Ohio - he tells me he's selling his house and moving over here. He's a smoker. He's quite angry. That's the extreme."

See ya later dude. Smoking losers out. Smart people in.

Labels: Cincinnati, Ohio politics, smoking ban

Posted by Andrew Warner at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's a dubious honor to be the defender of strip clubs and adult entertainment – just ask Cincinnatian's about Larry Flynt and you'll get what I'm talking about.

But someone's got to do it.

So now that the always prude and anal-retentive Phil Burress is trying to crush Ohio's strip-club industry, the beautiful strippers are up in arms.

Burress is on a mission to convince Ohioans that strip clubs cause more crime and depreciate property value. But if you know anything about his organization, Citizens for Community Values, you know their real concern is morality. After all, their biggest claim to fame is banning gay marriage in Ohio. I'm sure that wasn't to reduce crime or protect the community from any non-moral threat.

It's a travesty that this is being discussed and is bound to make Ohio (and Cincinnati) more laughed at then it already is.

The truth is, strip clubs are good for the economy and unlike other barroom restrictions (smoking) naked people don't hurt anybody.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has both sides of the story


Pros of strip clubs:

Harsh new proposed regulations on strip clubs could hit Cleveland right in the wallet by making the city less attractive to those picking convention sites, says the city's top tourism official.

"The people who make the decisions on where to bring a convention consider a wide variety of issues and offerings," Dennis Roche, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, said in an interview on Monday. "I wouldn't call it a deal maker, but I would call it a tie-breaker," he added, referring to adult entertainment such as strip bars.

Money quote from The Enquirer:

"Let's be honest: CCV doesn't want to empower local governments, it wants to close down all forms of adult entertainment and continue promoting its narrow social agenda," Liakos said.

CCV's justification of the legislation:

"If I was the mayor of a city, I wouldn't want conventioneers who wanted to go out and carouse all night long at these clubs," said Burress. "The increase in crime that comes is going to cause extra taxpayer money to keep extra police officers on the street."

We're not legislating morality," he said. "We're protecting the community from increased crime and decreased property values."

CCV is lame. If two adults want to show some nakedness together, why not?

I might have to take up Larry Flynt's old cause and open up a strip club in the Nati... Smoke free of course. Wouldn't want to cause any harm to anyone.

Labels: Cincinnati, Ohio politics, random

Posted by Andrew Warner at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

If you didn't know, The New York Times, a bastion of media principles and journalistic integrity, is fighting its stockholders to keep the paper trustworthy and dependable. The stockholders are envious of papers like The Cincinnati Enquirer.

I guess they won't know what they've got 'till it's gone.

Read about it here.

Labels: media

Posted by Andrew Warner at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know... It's a preposterous thought.

It's easy to get mad at The Enquirer. I usually do. When you check out some of the complaints, it's easy to put the blame on the Gannett paper.

But maybe it's not the right thing to do.

I just got back from the new ultra-violent film, the Condemned, and I took away a valuable moral lesson from the movie. The consumer is ultimately responsible for the crap rising to the top.

And yes, The Enquirer is rising to the top. It's one of the few papers in the country that is actually gaining circulation. Off the top of my head I believe it was second nationwide in circulation gains.

No. I'm not advocating the style of journalism that turns newspapers into profit machines driven by money and not principle. I'm just saying that media critics need to take into consideration that the ultimate blame is on the shoulders of the every day reader. After all, The Enquirer, and most successful corporations, are built to find out what the customer wants and then give it to them. News customers just happen to want crappy, short news stories.

It's a shame I know. Luckily, I have the most sophisticated, intelligent readers in the world.

You guys are the best.

Labels: Cincinnati, media

Posted by Andrew Warner at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments