Coal country

by M. Stewart
I'm not sure why people in our area suddenly believe that the coal industry creates so much wealth for workers. The Appalachian coal-mining states of West Virginia and Kentucky are among the poorest in the union. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, only Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico have a higher percentage of population living in poverty.

I realize that the coal liquification plant will bring something other than mining jobs to our area, but I do wonder how big of an economic impact the plant will have after the investors take their share back home. People around here are so eager for a messiah that they're often willing to believe anything out-of-towners in suits tell them. After Cogentrix, the private prison, and other big projects that died on the vine, we have reason to be skeptical.

At first the Baard project was said to be worth $8 billion, then it became $4 billion. Does anyone other than those on the Baard payroll have any realistic and reliable figures on the proposed economic impact? Are there any independent projections available? And what effect will the proposed Benwood W. Va. plant have on Baard's plans? Click photo to enlarge.

Rammstein

Laurel Hollow

Reposted by request. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart/ORL)

Laurel Hollow Park

by M. Stewart
According to the newspaper, the Hancock County Commission has plans to reopen Newell’s Laurel Hollow Park (a.k.a. Newell Park). This might be a good time to revisit Liz Lundberg’s A Trip to Laurel Hollow Park, which ran here at ORL in September 2006. Click the link and enjoy it once again! Also, it might be a good time to check out Laurel Hollow on foot before it gets restored and the weird spirit of the ruin is lost. Nothing at the site is obvious. It's possible to walk through the hollow and not even notice the remnants of the elaborate, manicured park that once stood there. At least when I was there a couple years back, you had to discover the evidence. Without Liz as my guide, I wouldn't have known what I was looking at.
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On a different note, check out this straightforward, informative piece by National Public Radio columnist Dick Meyer titled More News, But Less News. “The sheer quantity of news gathering done by American journalists is shrinking. The amount of news product is growing.”

WANTED: energy, passion, commitment

by M. Stewart
A story in today's Morning Journal indicates that the East Liverpool School District is cutting six teachers due to continued declining enrollment. According to Superintendent Ken Halbert, the district has lost another 157 students this year. The article does not mention the losses in previous years, but we know there has been a steady exodus.

Offering not a hint of local responsibility, Halbert placed the cause for the decline and fall of our city schools on the loss of manufacturing jobs in Eastern Ohio. He said nothing about academic competition, open enrollment, or charter schools.

Mr. Halbert went on to say that the loss of jobs and students in the Ohio Valley means that some smaller districts will "disappear," but he doesn’t expect East Liverpool to be one of those. Upon what ground is he building such faith?

As long as Mr. Halbert can place responsibility for the continued demise of our once-proud district on macroeconomic forces that are out of our control, he can remain passive and react by cutting staff and programs. The state is happy as long as the money is accounted for.

Another option is to compete actively and aggressively in what has become an open market in Ohio K-12 education. But that takes energy, ideas, passion, creativity, skill and commitment. Merely keeping the wheels on until the engine dies isn't enough.

If the enrollment trend continues—and there is no reason to think it won’t—the East Liverpool district will lose more students again next year, and the next, and the next. With the district surrounded by alternative institutions, I’m trying to figure out how the superintendent can be so sure that our district won’t be one of those that disappears.

As a taxpayer and city resident, I am not happy with the condition and direction of our school district. I’m really sick of hearing about how bad our schools have become. I’m sick of failure. At contract time, our public school teachers always tell us how special they are and how hard they work. My question is simple: What have we to show for all this commitment besides an ineffective, shrinking, dying school district?

Frankly, I would much rather see my tax dollars go to support some of the other educational initiatives in town. At least I sense some passion there—some vision. What is the vision of the East Liverpool School District? And who has it?

University of Pittsburgh

On the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The Stephen Foster Memorial is in the center. In the distance is Heinz Chapel. Click to enlarge. (J. Frye/ORL)

Early Reminiscences of ... East Liverpool

Many ORL readers will be interested in the Early Reminiscences of "Fawcettstown" or East Liverpool by William G. Smith (1876). You can find an electronic transcription of the document at the East Liverpool Historical Society Web site by clicking on the title.

Guitar Hero III competition Saturday

The Ohio Valley Technology Council in conjunction with New Life Technical Academy and Kent State University is holding a Guitar Hero III competition on Saturday, July 26 starting at 9 a.m. in the Slak Shack (basement) of the Main Building at the KSU East Liverpool Campus.

The contest is open to the public and should be a fun event that will allow children as well as adults to participate and enjoy the festivities. The organizers are asking participants to bring their console/guitar to use in the competition in return for gift certificates and other rewards.

So come on down and compete!

The Dark Knight

Transcending comics
by Brian DiTullio
The Dark Knight is more than a comic book movie; it's a validation of what talented actors and filmmakers can do with good source material when they are left alone to make a good movie.

Walking out of the theater last weekend, I immediately wanted to buy another ticket and go watch the film again—a very rare occurance. This movie stops being a Batman film at some point and just becomes a great crime drama that happens to feature a guy dressing up like a bat.

The film opens with an action scene, but then immediately dives into the first (of many) moral dilemmas thrown at the characters. It's never about choosing what's right and what's wrong; it's about making the best choices in impossible situations. No matter what, somebody loses, and that is but one of the messages The Joker is trying to convey upon the masses.

Heath Ledger doesn't just turn in a good performance, he lives up to the hype that this is a performance for the ages. He makes you laugh at some of his antics, but while you're laughing, you're also saying to yourself, "This is wrong; I shouldn't be laughing."

Ledger said in an interview shortly before his death that he based his Joker partly on the "Alex" character played by Malcolm McDowell in Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. I would say he chose a good inspiration.

The Joker originally was written as an agent of chaos, the perfect foil for Batman's desire for law and order. He wants to see Batman -- and the rest of Gotham City -- sink down to his level. He is a tortured soul who has completely lost his humanity. In his world, pain and disappointment are to be expected.

I don't know what else to say about Heath Ledger's performance that hasn't already been said other than to pass on what a good friend of mine said about the character. The Joker's actions can be summed up very simply, he said. He might give you a cookie, or he might shoot you in the face. Either way, you'll never know why he did what he did.

In the film, Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred (Michael Caine) says, "Some people just want to watch the world burn," and that is the equivalent. The Joker has no motivation other than to see chaos, which is why he is the perfect villain for Batman and why this movie worked so well. When he is on the screen, you are riveted. When he's not, you can't wait for The Joker to return.

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A second view of The Dark Knight
by M. Stewart
I quit going to theaters years ago. The noisy, rude patrons; air conditioning that feels more like refrigeration; not being able to pause the movie; the sticky, filthy floors; the $6 cups of soda. Anyhow, I gave in and went to the big house to see The Dark Night because I didn’t want to be left out of the discussion, and everyone—including critics who don’t fall for blockbuster hype—has been saying this movie is great.

Like Brian, I am eager to see The Dark Knight again, but I’ll wait for the DVD. Wanting to watch a movie a second time does put it into my “very good” category, but greatness? For me, a movie is great if I still enjoy watching it ten years down the road, so I’ll hold off on using the g-word for now.

Having said that, I do concur with Brian (and everybody else) that Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker is indeed great. First of all, villains are always the most interesting characters in a story. To pull off a great villain in a film, it takes good writing and good acting. Ledger’s Joker embodies both—in spades.

Although director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight does not worry about providing plot continuity with Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), it also doesn’t attempt to erase Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Ledger’s interpretation of the character pays homage to Nicholson’s in subtle but substantial ways. The differences, however, are obvious.

Whereas Nicholson’s Joker was clearly a twisted fop whose origins and philosophies are thoroughly explored, Ledger’s Joker is a dirty, grubby, smelly mystery. We don’t really get to see behind the scenes or get to know anything about how he became a criminal clown.

Yes, he does refer several times to his parents and a violent, dysfunctional childhood, and he does mention something about how he obtained his facial scars. But we don’t know whether to believe him. It all seems like a joke or a lie—a bizarre mockery of psychobabble expectations.

As to the issue of Ledger’s Joker representing chaos as opposed to Batman’s desire for order: I don’t know whether it’s a flaw in the film or an intentional contradiction in the character. Perhaps the most “honest” moment the Joker has can be found in his discussion with the wounded Harvey Dent in the hospital room. He expounds upon his philosophy of chaos and chance by saying that he never has a plan, that he just does things. But nothing could be further from the truth.

From the opening scene of the film Joker’s actions are extremely well planned. Literally nothing he does is left to chance. Perhaps because we don’t see any of the planning there is an illusion of spontaneity and improvisation, but all of his capers are meticulously scripted and perfectly timed. I’ll wait for subsequent viewings before I try to make too much of this apparent contradiction.

Christian Bale’s second round as Batman is not quite as successful as his first (Batman Begins). While the previous film focuses on the Batman character, this one doesn’t, so even as his performance in The Dark Knight is solid, it is overshadowed entirely by the villain.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Ledger's Joker since I saw the movie. He’s still banging around somewhere deep in the adolescent-male-destructiveness compartment of my subconscious mind.

I think The Joker speaks to the latent terrorist in all males. It's a brand of madness that doesn't come naturally to women. As such, it may be impossible for females to understand how a male can admire a character like this. For women, Joker is something to be feared. For men, he’s the indestructible demon we work hard to keep in check.

If I’m not yet prepared to say The Dark Knight is a great film, it certainly is great entertainment, and I recommend it highly to everyone. Like Brian says, it transcends genre.

My conversion

by M. Stewart
First it was a counseling center for lost sheep; then it was a home for adult derelicts, drug addicts and alcoholics; then it was a soup kitchen for the poor; then it was job-skills center for troubled youths. Now that everybody who doesn’t live in downtown East Liverpool has lined up to support Lamb’s House Ministry, how can it—whatever it is—possibly fail?

Even The Review decided to cover the story this week when state Sen. Jason Wilson stopped by to get his picture taken with Leetonia’s Mark Altomare, who will be running his ministry out of the old Elks building downtown.

I couldn’t help but notice that neither newspaper bothered to interview anyone who actually lives in the neighborhood, and our city’s elected officials have avoided making any public statements about the project. God love ‘em, I guess they just don’t want to offend anyone.

But the Lisbon Morning Journal thinks it’s a great idea. My good friend Jeff Martin, who lives in Missouri, thinks it’s a great idea. Mr. Newbold, who lives in Columbiana, thinks it’s a great idea. Sen. Wilson and Mr. Ginter, neither of whom lives in the city, think it’s a great idea. And of course, Mr. Altomare, who lives in Leetonia, thinks it’s a really great idea.

I can assure you, however, that the elitist snobs who live and/or operate businesses in the neighborhood—you know, the ones whose property value, livelihood, security and lives will be affected by Lamb’s House—do not think it’s a great idea.

As long as Mr. Altomare, who isn’t a minister, can set up his ministry here (and not there), everyone is happy to support the one true God’s work in East Liverpool. And they’re all such good people—really good, selfless, generous, loving, godly people, the salt of the earth, just plain folks who want to lend a helpin’ hand to those less fortunate. They should put pictures of everyone who wants to help in the paper. I’m sure they will.

The Lord came to me in a dream last night, and He told me to quit my elitist squawking. He said I should join Sen. Wilson and help look for taxpayer money to support these little troubled lambs. He said I should give 10 percent of my income to Mr. Altomare. “No checks; cash,” He said.

Brothers and sisters, I stand before you now as a recovering snob--a sinner. Let’s get everyone who wants to help East Liverpool to death into the game. Perhaps CMHA can establish an office in the building and save time looking for clients. How about a methadone clinic? A birth house for pregnant children? A bingo hall for recovering gambling addicts? And don’t forget the pedophiles and rapists; they're God's children too.

No, no, no. Don’t be silly. You won’t have to work for wages or be a productive citizen in East Liverpool. All that talk about job training--they have to say that. State and county government will supply everything you need--yes, that includes money for cigarettes, beer, drugs and cable TV--but only as long as you agree never to leave the downtown area. Well, East End is ok, but do not under any circumstances let us catch you in Calcutta!

In another development this week, city council decided to play hardball with Liverpool Township by moving to purchase and annex the 80-acre Bosco parcel off Park Way. The city bent over backwards to work with the township on a joint development plan, but after Dr. Hoffrichter left the table, the township couldn’t come up anyone with enough skill to negotiate a deal.

It’s pathetic, I know, but what can you do?

About liquid coal

The ORL reader who posts as "Tucker" sent a comment that pointed to this video. Rather than post the link in the comments section, I thought I'd link to the video directly. I am aware that there are differing points of view on this and other environmental issues, and I post this video as a means of adding to the discussion. Although I am opposed in principle to the unnecessary spread of polluting industries, I realize that many positive aspects of modern life are the result of environmental trade-offs. The issue isn't whether to have or not have industry. It's about what types of industry are worthwhile.

Nostalgia

This photo was taken in the mid-1950s on Railroad Street in Liverpool's East End. Can anyone identify the make of the tiny vehicle? Click to enlarge. (Photo by Arnold "Bud" Stewart.)

The color of money

by M. Stewart
In today’s Morning Journal coverage of the Columbiana County Port Authority board meeting, port CEO Tracy Drake responded to an MJ letter to the editor written by “a local college professor critical of the Baard Energy proposed coal-to-fuel conversion project.”

According to the newspaper, Drake responded by saying the college professor used “scare tactics not confirmed by science.” He went on to say that Baard wouldn’t be putting so much money into the project if it could be challenged as unsafe.

Who is the college professor? What is his/her field of study? I tried to locate the letter at the Morning Journal Web site only to discover a single letter posted on another subject.

I do wish the MJ would take advantage of Internet features and provided a link to the original letter. As it stands, unless the reader happened to read the letter when it was originally published, the reference in today’s story is meaningless.

As for Mr. Drake’s response, it assumes we should put our faith in Baard Energy and the Ohio EPA, which is not something everyone is willing to do. My understanding is that the Baard plant will be the first of its kind in the U.S., so there is no track record for this type of operation. That requires a great deal of faith indeed.

Let’s face it, there will be environmental pollution coming from this coal conversion plant, and I assume there will be much more than the company or the EPA is telling us at this juncture. But living with environmental pollution is the trade-off we make for industrial jobs.

Soon the color of money in Wellsville will be black. It’s a choice most people in our area are willing to make, so there isn’t much that can be done to stop it regardless of whose pollution facts are correct. Desperate people will do anything for money.

If you live in Wellsville and you don’t like coal dust, then maybe it’s time to move somewhere else. The rest of us can only hope that whatever else Baard dumps in the water and air travels in another direction. Like it or not, this plant will be built.

Good news for ELO

by M. Stewart
Last week’s bad news about the opening of yet another downtown poverty shop has been offset by some very good news: The East Liverpool Christian School is moving its operations from Glenmoor to Fifth Street.

According to today’s newspapers, the school will employ a Christian-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum, and it also will feature required instruction in Latin! This is almost too good to be true. Could it be that we’re witnessing a move back to genuine education in our city?

I’m not sure how much the life sciences curriculum can be trusted in a Christian school, but any losses there will be more than offset by a solid arts and sciences core that includes serious study of classical texts. From my perspective, this is very exciting news.

I wish Mr. Newbold and all those involved in the E.L. Christian School great success with the development and expansion of the institution in our city. This is the kind of thing East Liverpool needs.

Poor Farm

Click to enlarge.

Undecided

by M. Stewart
I had lunch yesterday with three male colleagues—two I would call conservative-leaning moderates and one an avowed leftist. When the discussion turned to the upcoming presidential election, I was somewhat surprised to discover that no one seemed to feel comfortable supporting either Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain.

The leftist, who had supported Obama early has become uneasy with the candidate due to shifts in his positions on the Middle East. The moderates seemed to agree that neither candidate inspired enough to vote for or against. We all seemed to agree that the campaign process itself forced candidates to pander to special interest groups, making it difficult locate genuine ideologies.

I suggested the possibility of perhaps sitting out the election this time around, which is something I’ve never done in my life. Another said that in previous presidential elections, he’s always been able to determine the candidate to vote against, but not this time. I agreed. With an idiot like George W. Bush running for office, it was an easy decision to vote for anyone who opposed him.

Having thought about our discussion, I’m comfortable with the idea of remaining undecided until November. The candidates will have to win or lose my vote.

One thing I will be looking for is negative campaigning. It really hasn’t started yet, but as we get closer to November, I’m sure the mud will fly in every direction. Which candidate (or party) will stoop the lowest? Which one will try to scare us with the most disgusting lies and exaggerations? Which will show that he will stoop to any level to get elected?

That’s the man I will vote against.

If it should turn out that both parties and both candidates embarrass themselves by resorting to fear mongering and propaganda, I will remember that there are three ways to vote: McCain, Obama, and No.
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On another note, check out Maps of War. This is an excellent site for those interested in geography and geopolitics. I especially recommend The Fight for Iraq: A Regional Powerplay, which is an MSNBC link.

Fighting the poverty industry

by M. Stewart
Today’s Morning Journal follow-up on the Lamb’s House/Elks building story makes it clear that Mr. Altomare’s project will be more of a church/soup kitchen for adults than an alcohol and drug treatment center. Today’s story also makes it clear that Altomare’s plan has attracted the attention of city officials.

Aside from personal NIMBY issues, my concern with this kind of thing has to do with the continued proliferation of the poverty industry in East Liverpool. If there is one thing this town doesn’t need, it’s another enabler and supporter of the down-and-out.

I don’t care one bit if people find my attitudes insensitive. If opposing the continued exploitation and destruction of my town makes me an elitist snob, so be it. We need more elitist snobs. For decades our city has been slowly devoured by the poverty industry, and if East Liverpool is to be saved, its citizens must stand up to those who profit from its destruction.

Having said that, I’m sure Mr. Altomare means well, and his personal spiritual aspirations are none of my business. However, it becomes everyone’s business when he decides to make his private mission public in the middle of our town.

That he is making repairs to the Elks building is a good thing. That he wants to turn one of our city’s most distinctive landmarks into a soup kitchen and a refuge for drunks and drug addicts isn’t.

A situation like this provides opportunity for political leadership; it also provides opportunity for political failure. Our city is fighting for survival now because of the failures and short-sightedness of a previous generation of politicians. Let us not repeat those past mistakes.

Jesus must really hate East Liverpool

by M. Stewart
According to today’s Morning Journal, a born-again alcoholic from Leetonia who claims God is telling him what to do is turning the old Elks building into a home for delinquent teenagers. [Correction: and adults.]

Well isn’t that just great.

It’s not bad enough that CMHA has turned East Liverpool into a storage bin for the poor, now we have a religious zealot from the north who wants to turn our downtown into a camp for bad kids and substance abusers.

According to the newspaper, Craig Newbold is providing the building so Mark Altomare can offer “counseling and more to those who have lost their way, like sheep left to wander without a shepherd.”

Puh-leeze!

Here’s what it looks like to me: Yet another sinner has found a way to make a living off Jesus. And it was Republican candidate for state representative Tim Ginter who pointed the way.

Mr. Ginter, what in the world are you doing? And Mr. Newbold, is this what you have planned for our city? Instead of enabling this “shepherd” in our town, why not set him up in your neighborhood?

I imagine that good Christians all around the county will be more than willing to offer tax-deductable donations. After all, it's a good investment to keep things like this as far away from your neighborhood as possible, especially when you're doing the lord's work.

And naturally this faith-based operation will be tax exempt, so I and my neighbors can pay for police and fire protection and whatever else these boys need, not to mention the hit those of us who live in the neighborhood will take on our property value, which already is 20 percent of the national average.

There are people in this town who are investing money and working hard to make it a better place, but for every step forward, someone is always there to push us two steps back. Already we have a half-way house for delinquent teens across the street from City Hospital. Now we’ll get it in stereo.

The good shepherd is quoted in the newspaper: "Whenever God's at work, don't you think there is gonna be flak? I never did anything God wanted that I didn't get flak.”

Ah, the old persecution complex. That always works.

Let’s be clear: God has nothing to do with this. Regular flesh-and-blood humans are providing Altomare the means to set up his operation. If the county court system starts sending its problems here, once again we’ll all be paying taxes to support the continued demise of our own town.

Hey, don't people need a license to operate a facility like this? Will they not need the city's approval? We can only hope Mayor Swoger and city council will stand up and lead the fight against this blight. If not, we need new leadership.

A significant passing

by M. Stewart
I was sorry to hear of the death last week of Glenn Waight, one of our area’s most prominent writers. His passing represents a formal end to 20th-century journalism in East Liverpool.

Although I did not know Mr. Waight well, he was kind enough to assist me on a few writing projects at The Review, and on occasion he would take the time to send an e-mail or type a letter commenting on my work. At one point he told me he was an avid reader of ORL, which, for some reason, surprised me.

Mr. Waight remained active as a columnist for The Review right up to the end of his long, productive life. Even in his old age, his work was relevant and informed, never maudlin or bitter. His writing revealed an educated, active reader and thinker who took advantage of his gifts.

Glenn Waight’s life and work represent a significant part of the history of East Liverpool. My hope is that his papers will be preserved for the historians and scholars who will write his well-deserved chapter.

Gov'ment do take a bite, don't she?

by M. Stewart
It was nice to see the name of my old friend and colleague, Mike McKinney, in the papers again, even if it was on the other side of the byline. (See Morning Journal “State takes mayor to court over sales tax.”)

Mike now lives in Columbus and works for the Ohio Department of Taxation, which has filed suit against Salineville Mayor Dave Berta to retrieve nearly $17,000 the state claims he owes in collected sales tax. I don’t know how the case will turn out, but it sure doesn’t look good when your mayor is sued by the state for tax evasion, especially when his constituents are expected to pay village income tax.

Another story in today’s MoJo tells us that our county will get $616,400 from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund for “housing-related programs.” While the money is welcome and useful, it doesn’t look like much of it will find its way south of the county Mason-Dixon line. I don’t see anything earmarked for East Liverpool.

I noticed in The Review earlier this week that there is talk of eliminating the city health department and municipal court. I wasn’t aware that the city receives so little revenue from the court. Apparently most of the money received goes to the state. Whatever happens with the court, I hope council considers the lost man hours and gasoline bill that will come from sending police officers to Lisbon every day for hearings and trials.

As for the health department, I’m sure there is more to it than I know, but it would behoove council to consult with other cities that have given up their health departments and now depend on the county for public health services. Didn’t Salem do that a few years back? Or were they just talking about it?

My general impression is that the state and the county do little to nothing for East Liverpool. City residents go without, while county and state taxes go to make life easier for those who live in the townships. At least that's how it looks to me. I trust someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Look at the money we’re all paying for Calcutta’s main streets—virtually all state and county roads. Then come down and look at the condition of the state routes that pass by East Liverpool, particularly 39 and 11. And do township residents pay anything to maintain our streets? No, they don’t.

It’s a good thing for council to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of muni court and the health department, but don’t assume that Lisbon or Columbus will fill the space left behind.

Fill in the blank

by M. Stewart
Today’s Morning Journal carries a very interesting story: “Ex-deputy gets a year for having files, evidence.”

I’d provide a link, but the West Virginia millionaires who control all of our Ohio Valley newspapers still want to punish me for advocating higher wages for their employees. They don't want ORL readers looking at their newspapers, so you're on your own.

The story tells how a retired Columbiana County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to a year in jail for stealing 80 criminal investigation files from the sheriff’s department. Apparently all the stuff was discovered by the owner of a storage business where the guy was keeping it.

After reading the newspaper story, I’m certain there’s more to it than what got said in court. The defendant’s explanation for having this material doesn’t wash, and it’s pretty clear that the judge felt the same way—hence, the prison sentence.

And how about that East Liverpool woman who got cut up in her bed by an intruder earlier this week. We should all applaud the city cops who so quickly apprehended the asshole who did it.

According to the news report, the assailant was a man known to the victim, but there’s got to be more to it than anyone is telling. You don’t often hear about people breaking into houses for the sole purpose of stabbing a sleeping resident for no reason. I suppose the details will come out. Then again maybe not.

Anyhow, our PD is the best. Thanks guys!

Downsizing Liverpool

by M. Stewart
My downtown East Liverpool neighborhood is a mixture of homeowners and renters. With the recent death of one of the homeowners, I was struck by the fact that most of the owner-occupants are elderly. In other words, it won’t be long before they’re gone.

Of course I don’t know what will happen to these well-kept homes when the owners pass, but the typical scenario for East Liverpool is that out-of-town real estate operators will buy them and rent them to people who can’t afford to buy. And if you can’t afford to buy a home in Liverpool, well … let’s just say you’re not on the proper career path.

Anyone who spends any time thinking about the future of our city knows that one of our biggest challenges is to rescue the housing market from absentee landlords, who have preyed on Liverpool for decades. There are many decent people who rent homes, and not everyone on public assistance is undeserving, so if you’re one of those people, exclude yourself from what follows. The unfortunate reality is that way too many of our city’s renters are transient undesirables who drive desirable residents away.

Because the free market remains conducive to real estate exploitation, city government must act to turn the tide. How? By enacting and enforcing laws and regulations that foster long-term restoration of the city’s housing market by encouraging responsible home ownership.

First of all, strict residential and commercial building condition codes must be established and enforced. The city is making progress in this area, but more must be done. Put simply, we must make it more expensive to own property in East Liverpool. If that means we lose population, fine. That’s the whole idea. Those affected by a higher cost of living are the very people who stand in the way of future growth. It’s time to downsize.

If this sounds Draconian or insensitive, it is. Our city is way beyond its capacity for compassion--especially when it comes to those who profit from it or have become addicted to its benefits.

FACT: To maintain a healthy garden, you have to pull the weeds. There is no way around it. What we do now is feed the weeds and destroy the crops, and that makes no sense.

Part of this weeding process is an aggressive housing tear-down program. Our city’s downtown and hillside neighborhoods were built in a bygone urban era when it was advantageous to build homes as close together as possible. Nowadays, homeowners like having bigger yards and more space to operate. Selectively decreasing the number of housing units--that is, removing worthless structures--will make the city more attractive to potential homeowners.

If you think reducing the population would erode the tax base, think again. A long-term process aimed at weeding out those who eat up taxes rather than pay them is a good thing. Drug dealers and welfare addicts do not pay taxes. At the same time, attracting homeowners with stable incomes—those with a stake in improving the community—can only enhance the tax base.

Part of the legislative plan must be to pass new zoning ordinances that regulate the ratio of rental units to owner-occupied homes in city neighborhoods. To be effective, the city would have to enforce the ratio in each of any number of clearly defined neighborhoods. This would avoid clustering of rental properties and counteract the development of slum neighborhoods.

To work, the legislation would have to be heavily tilted toward owner-occupants. Naturally, this would piss off those who now profit from slumlording, but so what? These landlords, their clients, and the system that sustains them—namely, the Columbiana Metropolitan Housing Authority—are the problem.

Regardless of the political clout of those who operate CMHA, homeowners and politicians in this city are going to have to realize that this agency and those who profit from it constitute Public Enemy #1. Until the mayor, city council, and city officials are willing to stand up and chase the CMHA racket out of town, we're all fighting a losing battle.

I know that I’ve covered much of this ground before, but there is a need to keep these ideas on the table. As always, I encourage everyone to enter the discussion, whether you agree with me or not.

After the gold rush

by M. Stewart
Ohio is a strange state. We don’t allow gambling, but we accept charity from the gambling revenue of neighboring states. In Ohio, we can buy as much beer as we can drink on Sunday, but it’s illegal to buy wine.

A brief testament, if I may:

Sunday evening, we drove over to the Giant Eagle for some chips ‘n dip and a bottle of cab. The night before I’d filled the final gap in my X-Files DVD collection with the purchase of season two, and all I wanted was to drink a glass of wine, munch a few chips, and watch Mulder and Scully chase aliens.

It slipped my mind that it was Sunday.

While I couldn’t purchase what Jesus would drink, I could have purchased all the crack and heroin I wanted. Dealers had set up in the Giant Eagle parking lot as though it were a flea market or a convention. Young entrepreneurs--both European- and African-American--were out in full yo uniform.

Ah, the hip-hop generation. . .

There they sat like tellers at a bank drive-up window, a group on each side of the parking lot waiting for customers to drive by. Cars would stop, the seller would poke his head and arms in the window, the car would drive off.

I should have asked these dudes to get me some wine.

Maybe I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. After all, I could be wrong. This activity might have been nothing more than young folks hanging out at the Big Bird of a Sunday evening—you know, classic Americana. For all I know they could have been gathered to praise Jesus or even to greet the Mother Ship.

In a high, whiney voice I sing:

Flyin’ Mother Nature’s silver seed to a new home in the sun.

NOTE: The consumption of red wine has been found to slow the ageing process in mice.

Loss and Digressions

by Brian DiTullio
I’ve meditated on this topic for the last few weeks, thus the inevitable digressions as I plow forward. If you’ll indulge me, it’ll all come together at the end.

Recently the world lost one of the finest comedians of our age, George Carlin. Whether you agreed with him or not, whether you thought he was funny or not, this guy cut through all the bullshit of western civilization, culture, politics and language.

The last bit is what I always enjoyed the most. Carlin had a way of taking the nuances of the English language, how it was used, how it was censored, how it sometimes contradicted itself, and speaking in a scholarly way about these things. Sometimes I almost felt like I was in a lecture hall – except I was having a heck of a lot more fun and learning a lot more.

I always meant to go see Carlin live but never made it. In my youthful arrogance, Carlin had become very steady in my background. He was always there. If I didn’t get to see him this time around, I’ll catch him next time. I ran out of “next times,” and it’s something I profoundly regret, especially since an event of personal significance clued me into the whole “life is short, take advantage of it” thing not too many years ago. I’ve got a hard head, what can I say.

It’s not like you can even say there will be another Carlin coming down the pike because Hollywood just doesn’t let that kind of talent develop anymore. Matt recently talked about not wanting to watch TV anymore. I couldn’t disagree with him. Take Reality TV.

Going beyond the “it’s-not-reality” hit-and-run review, what really happened is that the studios figured out how to cut their budgets without lowering ratings. The original crop of “reality” shows, which actually aired back in the early 90s, took the documentary format, added the confessional aspect, and created a dynamic new way of presenting unscripted entertainment for the audience.

Unfortunately, the studio powers finally figured out that if you take a bunch of wanna-be actors, stage the “reality” around them and let them improvise, you can market this crap to teenagers because teenagers: A) will pretty much watch anything; B) aren’t smart enough to discern good shows from bad shows.

This leads to a further dilemma. You take a bunch of no-talent assbags and market the hell out of them for 2-3 years, and then they’re discarded for the next crop of no-talent assbags. Real talent gets lost in the shuffle and you end up with good shows being few and far between.

Take The Sopranos. Great show. One of the best dramas ever to hit the airwaves. Granted the quality of the show dipped in its final few seasons, but the character of Tony Soprano laments early in the first season that he feels like he came in a the end, the best times are in the past. I can’t help feeling this way about several things, stand up comedy included.

I only can think of two or three comics I’d pay money to go see now who have come up in the last couple of years: Lewis Black, Jim Gaffigan and Greg Hahn. Of the three, Black is the only one who I would consider to even be in Carlin’s league.

Back to The Sopranos, say what you want about the last few seasons, it still was better than most other TV shows, and I’m in the camp that LOVED the last scene of the last episode. There can never be another ending like that for a show without it being “stolen.” The ending got people talking, creating thousands of interpretations of what that scene actually was trying to say and what the ramifications were. If that doesn’t define a good story, I don’t know what does.

The death of Carlin also made me revaluate what kind of entertainment I truly enjoy and to spend more time looking for quantity and not just time filler. I watch HGTV and The Food Network as time fillers and I really need to do less of it. I truly enjoy Westerns--Clint Eastwood Westerns especially. I love GOOD fantasy and sci-fi books and movies.

Speaking of good Westerns, and appreciating good entertainment while in the moment, I’m re-watching HBO's Deadwood with my wife. There’s a show that never had one bad episode and provided one memorable exchange after another. My two favorites from the episodes I just finished watching are:

Al Swearengen: (Looking at Seth Bullock) Why is he always so angry?

Sol Star: He’s not angry.

Al Swearengen: He sure has a mean way of being happy.

And Wild Bill Hickock, trying to justify his self-destructive behavior at the gambling table shortly before he is shot in the back of the head (Spoiler if you haven’t read your history books, I guess):

Some goddamn point a man's due to stop arguing with hisself and feeling twice the goddamn fool he knows he is 'cause he can't be something he tries to be every goddamn day without once getting to dinnertime and fucking it up. I don't want to fight it anymore, understand me Charlie? And I don't want you pissing in my ear about it. Can you let me go to hell the way I want to?

I guess that’s the problem with our society today. We’re all trying to go to hell in our own way and we don’t like other people telling us how to do it. But if you think I’m getting religious, YouTube "Carlin and Religion" and you’ll know exactly what I think about it. My take is more philosophical rather than ecumenical.

Even more recently than Carlin’s death, a lifelong friend of mine cheated death. One of the luckiest SOBs ever. Took a 30 foot fall onto a concrete floor and walked away from it bruised and battered, but whole and alive.

I’ve made a point to call some people I haven’t talked to in a while. And I’m going to make damn sure going forward that when I see a brilliant talent coming through town, I’ll buy a ticket and enjoy the show.

Life is a show, and it’s all entertainment to a degree, but the lesson I’ve learned here is to really filter out the crap and not to waste anymore time on filler. Life’s too short to watch I Love the 80s in 3-D for the fifth time because you’ve already watched Sportscenter twice that morning.

Now, to end on a more positive note, here are some hit-and-run reviews:

Wall-E: Took the wife to see it as part of our anniversary weekend. Loved it. Entertaining in a way few animated movies are to adults anymore. It never talks down to the audience and the humor is reminiscent of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons. The opening short film featuring a rabbit is laugh out loud funny

Swingtown: New drama on CBS. Not bad. I keep thinking this show would be better if it were on cable, but it’s still very watchable and I’m interested to see where they take it.

Books:

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman: Mentioned this in a comment to an earlier post. Great read about how fast Mother Nature would wipe the remnants of human civilization off the planet. Too many high points to mention here, but well worth a look.

The Sopranos and Philosophy: Back to my favorite show, but this book is a collection of essays by real professors of philosophy. Extremely insightful, extremely good, and a great way to introduce people to the study of philosophy without putting them to sleep.

I leave you with a quote from The Sopranos:

Tony: You know we’re the only country in the world where the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in writing? Do you believe that? Hmm? Bunch of fuckin’ spoiled brats. Where’s my happiness then?

Dr. Melfi: It’s the pursuit that’s guaranteed.

Tony: Yeah, always a fuckin’ loophole. Right?

Hills and kilns

What streets intersect in the foreground of this old East Liverpool picture? Anyone know the name of the pottery? Click to enlarge.

Rust belt

Can the city put pressure on the owner of this abandoned crane at Broadway Wharf to get it the hell out of here? Click to enlarge. (Stewart)

A stoned board is a happy board

by M. Stewart
I think it's safe to conclude that the East Liverpool Board of Education is a dysfunctional group that can't conduct a meeting without embarrassing the district and the town.

This week’s comedy hour featured board members unable to decide how to manage the simple task of signing purchase orders, a surprise phone call on loudspeaker to an absentee superintendent, a newspaper afraid to print what was said, and board members getting huffy and walking out.

I have nothing against public disagreement and debate on important issues, but all this childish bickering and grandstanding has got to stop. Haven’t these people embarrassed the district and the city enough?

I suggest that district residents and school board members (except Mr. Bonnell) boycott all future meetings, leaving Mr. Bonnell and Mr. Halbert to perform to an empty room. Without a quorum, no business can be conducted, but so what?

Another plan might be for the newspapers to stop covering Liverpool BOE meetings altogether. With no press available to document the performances, the board might decide to do its job.

A final suggestion is to require all board members and the superintendent to smoke a few joints of medicinal-grade marijuana prior to every meeting. A stoned board is a happy board.

In the meantime, we can be thankful for charter schools and open enrollment.

Chester W.Va.

Looking across the Ohio River to Chester, W.Va. from the Broadway Wharf in East Liverpool. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Why can't you just be a normal person?

by M. Stewart
Last night I tried to watch network commercial television again, but I couldn’t pull it off. Instead I did what I usually do when confronted with the stunning banality of modern American life: stick in my ear plugs and reach for a book, which prompted my housemate to ask, “Why can’t you just be a normal person?”

Apparently a “normal person” in America is someone who wants to spend his life watching an endless stream of commercial “messages” interrupted by game shows, talk shows, cops shows and sitcoms.

We send our young people to die in wars to preserve our “way of life,” but all we do is watch TV and drive to cinder-block shopping centers to retrieve the Chinese-made products our TV tells us to buy. This is what passes for American “culture.” This is what we’ve done with freedom. Is it any wonder the terrorists want to wipe us out?

Have you ever noticed that the people on TV never watch TV? We sit in our living rooms watching fantasies about people who actually do things. And what is it they do? Mostly they kill, cheat and steal. We’re supposed to be gratified when good-looking fantasy cops track down the killers and punish them within the span of an hour (minus commercials). Good triumphs over evil again (and again and again). Now we can go to bed with our brains wiped clean.

It used to be that our colleges and universities represented an alternative to the idiotic prattle of popular culture. Well, believe it or not, they still do.

Throughout most of human history, people respected learning for its own sake. The idea was that an educated person had an opportunity to live a richer, fuller, more interesting life because he or she had access to the difficult texts, advanced thinking, and ancient wisdom carefully preserved and passed from one generation to the next.

Nowadays, it’s tempting to assume that higher education is only about job training, that people go to college so they can get better jobs and make more money. It is true that the so-called liberal arts education is seen more and more as an antiquated hobby for elitists, and a lot of students resent having to take classes outside their major. But there's more to it.

Yes, we do “teach” pop culture to students who proudly announce that they “don’t like to read”; whose sole knowledge of history comes from video games and movies; who have never heard of Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Virginia Woolf or Aristotle; who have never been asked to think about anything at all.

But we do so only to help them understand how to navigate our media-soaked world and how to avoid becoming passive victims of consumer culture. We do so to show them that even the shallowness of modern American life can be studied and understood in a larger context, that even contemporary culture has a history.

Yes, there is more to modern university study than reading, but as long as I’m on the job, reading will remain the primary means of acquiring knowledge, and it won’t be comic books or “graphic novels.”

You might say I’m old-school. I’m not about to give up thousands of years of scholarly tradition merely because I happen to live in a time when student-consumers think attending a university is just another shopping experience. I’m not going to spend a lot of time justifying teaching Homer to a student whose sole purpose for entering the university is to become a dental assistant.

Having said that, I accept the dual role of the contemporary university, and I understand that everybody wants and needs a good job. As much as I sometimes wax nostalgic about the old learning, I am comfortable knowing that university study still is about acquiring advanced knowledge for a variety of purposes.

We have no choice but to understand our own times, but to do so we must realize that we live on the continuum of history that stretches deep into the dark past and into the uncharted future. Entire civilizations come and go—some without leaving a trace. We now understand that given enough time, entire planets and star systems come and go as well. Nothing stands still.

Science, art, music, literature, history, philosophy. So much to learn and so little time!

Aha! I’ve finally come full circle: What bothers me so much about commercial television is that it represents the ultimate waste of valuable time. Hey, I’m 53 years old. If I’m not “normal” by now, I never will be. And how much time do I have left? Am I going to spend my remaining years watching Entertainment Tonight, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI, or Cold Case?

Are you?

If not, get free of the Cult of Normalcy and attend classes at a college or university near you for no other reason than to acquire knowledge. It doesn’t have to be about earning a degree or getting a job. It can be about reading great books, exposing yourself to new ideas, meeting interesting people. And you don’t have to be 18-22 years old. Trust me, professors love having older students in class.

If nothing else, think of it as an alternative to killing yourself with TV.