Blogging in Tongues Against HB 477, in French

Jill Zimon et Gloria Ferris ont demandé que je parle à l'encontre de HB 477, dénommé "English-Only projet de loi." J'ai suivi le lien Jill HB 477 pour savoir ce dont j'avais besoin pour obtenir toutes les auto-pensants et coudés en place. J'ai trouvé un stupide projet de loi qui émasculé droit lui-même après avoir obtenu de roulement. C'est un tas de rien. Je ne comprends pas pourquoi nos législateurs le font à tous. Il donne l'impression de son cours de restreindre, puis ascenseurs toutes les restrictions. C'est une grosse trame, suivie par une whimper et un vinaigre et une journée de réflexion collective avec la queue entre les jambes. Je me rappelle de ce truc de Shakespeare, nous avons dû mémoriser au lycée, quelque chose au sujet de "une histoire racontée par un idiot, pleine de bruit et de fureur, signifie rien."

Folks, dans un non-événement. Il donne une mauvaise impression du Zeitgeist de l'Ohio. Il ne fait rien de manière efficace, et nous payons pour elle.

And, here is the English translation:

Jill Zimon and Gloria Ferris have requested I speak out against HB 477, referred to as the "English-Only Bill." I followed Jill's link to HB 477 to find out what I needed to get all self-righteous and cranked up about. I found a silly bill that emasculated itself right after it got rolling. It's a heap of nothing. I don't understand why our legislators are doing this at all. It gives the impression its going to be restrictive, and then lifts all the restrictions. It's a big woof, followed by a whimper and a whine and a retreat with the collective tail between the legs. I reminds me of that thing from Shakespeare we had to memorize in high school, something about "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Folks, this in a non-event. It gives a bad impression of the Zeitgeist in Ohio. It effectively does nothing, and we're paying for it.

Newt, Freddie, and the kid with the boots in that big tent in the middle

Gloria and I have been on the road for a while, which is why we haven't posted much. Yesterday found us in Atlanta at a conference at which we had privilege and the pleasure of hearing Fred Barnes, whom most of you probably know from the McLaughlin Report on PBS, moderate a talk with Newt Gingrich the Republican and Harold Ford, Jr., the Democrat. Without the screening, slanting, and censorship you normally get from the mainstream media (MSM), we realized that these guys have a lot in common, working for the common good, and probably should all squeeze into that big tent in the middle.

These days, if you are working in the best interest of the people of The United States and of the world, can you afford to be strongly partisan? The dialogue yesterday suggested that you couldn't, and that we all needed to set certain things aside if we are to prosper. Leaders don't niggle, quibble, and bicker.

Newt brought up the interesting point that, if people figured out that Ms. Clinton intends to dump their healthcare into a system that is already busted and bankrupt, it would foreclose her from the presidency. However, he also said that none of her challengers had as yet figured out how to articulate this, and unless one of them did, we were sliding towards another iteration of the Clintonesque.

PLJ articulates the points, for us, and for the other two

Medical Mart is a great idea, but the sales tax is the wrong way to pay for it - cleveland.com -- Jeff Buster over at RealNEO alerted me to this intelligent opinion-piece by Peter Lawson Jones. He certainly is the articulate one of the county-commissioner trio, and rational, too. The way he's phrasing it is a good way to begin the community dialogue. He's a uniter, not a divider. He's leading. Here's an excerpt:

Some assert that immediately raising the sales tax is the only viable Medical Mart/Convention Center funding option because "time is of the essence" and my proposal is too complex. I am not urging procrastination. Every element of my plan could be finalized by November. Is there reason to believe that, if the financing package were not in place until then, the potential developer's professed ardor for locating the complex here would lessen?

And what is so intricate about a funding package that includes reasonable private-sector support and public resources that are both available to the county and eminently equitable?

Like so many civic leaders and citizens, I sing the praises of the proposed Medical Mart/Convention Center. The crafting of a plan that most fairly finances it need not be sacrificed in our efforts to realize the project's promise. The proposed sales tax increase must be our last, not first, resort.

assets, not liabilities

Cleveland Foundation seeks a remedy - cleveland.com --Gloria and I attended the annual Foundation meeting late yesterday afternoon. The PD recounting of the event at the link is decidedly weak, or insipid. I wonder if the reporter was actually there? Perhaps the Cleveland Foundation will make the text or a podcast available at their site some time. Their plans need to get into the public consciousness somehow.

Ronn Richard's talk addressed a lot of the community issues we've had in the BFD and MTB dialogue these past two years, and did so in a way designed to give hope, but the high point of the meeting was the Gries Lecture series talk by Bill Strickland from Pittsburgh. Bill actually does great things, working with what he's got and what's he's given, from the middle of a neighborhood. From the way he describes it, from the days of "the riots," it sounds a lot like Hough. The slide show and commentary were excellent, and his ideas about people as assets and not liabilities, neighborhoods, divine providence, purpose, and working with what's available were exceptional and simple. It's an incredible and inspiring story he tells. Google will help fill in the blanks.

protecting the Collinwood legacy

Meet the Bloggers » Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek -- Here's a good interview we did last week at Carol's Agape Christian Books & Cafe at 15813 Waterloo. I'm not of the East Side any more, so I hadn't been to Collinwood for a good while. I was pleasantly surprised. Mike Polensek has been safeguarding the legacy.

The first clue you have driving into the neighborhood is that it's clean. The second impression I got was that the brick street to the east of the cafe was in good shape--they hadn't patched it with asphalt or concrete--they had done what they were supposed to do, taken up the brick, made repairs, and re-laid the brick. The street was restored, not hastily patched. When I asked Polensek about this, he proudly stated that they paid attention to preserving their brick streets. In our ward, they consider this an impossible task, and we forfeit legacy daily to the depradations of the utility companies and the division of streets.

Mike pays attention to the details. It seems he does what he says he's going to do. He's a welcome counterpoint to the young flibbertigibbet downtown and to the west of him. As "The Dean" of City Council, he lends some stability and value to what otherwise would be a convocation of half-steppers, compromisers, and chameleons. I think you can count on him to protect the citizens' interests first. Listen, and decide for yourself.

Meet.The.Bloggers have decided to hold their Bloggapalooza this year on July 28th at the Beachland Ballroom during the Waterloo Arts Fest. The Beachland is just down the street from Carol's Agape Cafe; the area is definitely back and in move-in condition. You don't need tax abatement to make Collinwood attractive; it has intrinsic value.

great news from Tremont

Plain Press: The Community Newspaper Serving Cleveland's West Side Neighborhoods -- great article here about Sammy Catania providing new leadership at the Tremont nonprofit, news about reinvolving the neighbors, expanding wi-fi using local contractors, security cameras to enhance safety, branding with a logo that sounds attractive and cool, fostering transparency and communication, building out the community, strengthening the networks already there. This bears watching, perhaps emulating.