diaspora

I'd rather look like a bum than wear some of the crap that people think is "in" nowadays. Ed Hardy? aviators all the time? pursed lips and hand gestures in photographs? Give me a break...and if your baseball cap isn't keeping the sun out of your eyes, you're doing it wrong.

Man, what's it going to take for a major North-South high speed route from Detroit to Cincinnati and beyond? I want this for purely selfish reasons so that i can travel home in comfort on high speed rail.

There's a big difference between something being illegal and it being socially irresponsible. When I am talking about something being responsible i'm talking about it being fair to the people that are affected indirectly, like the renters in these scenarios. Maybe it's all too "peace, love and happiness" for your taste, but that's what i'm talking about. I'm not saying that's the situation here in Ohio, but i take issue with the idea that unfettered gentrification is always a good thing.

What happens in a gentrified community to a retiree who's house value and taxes go up and they're unable to afford the rate on a fixed income? how about a family that has been living in the home and just scraping by renting it and now the landlord kicks them out to get a higher rent or to sell the building? What about the relocation of the poor to neighboring areas that brings that neighborhood down? None of those things are illegal...but some of them could involve the questionable ethical treatment of other people who may not have the resources to fight.

I use Facebook to keep up with my friends and Twitter for my own personal amusement. I don't send many tweets and follow people i think are funny. I have a myspace page, but i don't use it. i may just delete it.

I think you missed my point entirely. How could unchecked gentrification be socially responsible?

This seems to smack of the old laws that required land ownership for the right to vote. "gentrification" can be done in a socially responsible way and it can be done in such a way that is detrimental to the poor. I don't think that here in Cincinnati we have to be too concerned with it. I don't think that OTR is going to be overwhelmed with the dreaded Yuppies.

Isn't that basically how Single-payer works everywhere? basic levels for everyone and then add ons for the people that want them?

I'm the same person as my dad...unfortunately i also look a little too much like him (he's 62, i'm 30).

Exactly why i understand that any station would probably be down near Highland/Ridge and that it'd end up as a park and ride, or that i'd just drive myself. I don't think i'm unique in that, either...unfortunately. (a job that requires me to drive places every once in awhile, not an easy walk to the station to catch the train, etc). Maybe if they offered a cheap transfer from Metro to the train something like that would work.

I think that it's essential for our small business to remove this burden from them. Rather than forcing them to provide coverage on a private plan, wouldn't a public one make a lot more sense?

I think that would probably get more agreement from the right side (protecting the kids) than the left (leaving out the poor). Interesting idea, though.

Every rail project i've seen proposed (in whatever capacity) has a line following I-71. Is that solely to take advantage of the ROW? I guess what i'm getting at is that all the stations on the proposed route here (and in other plans) on the orange line would need to be park and rides. I only pay attention to this because i live in PRidge and would love the option of taking the train downtown. All the stations would end up being at Ridge and Duck Creek right near the Lateral. I just wish the routes could take it up closer to the neighborhoods and not into these middle areas that require a park and ride.

How would that work for the working poor adults? they wouldn't be covered by the govt program for the young or old, right?

I agree that there needs to be some discussion about law suits, that also needs to be waded into lightly. The insurance rates for doctors are insane. But, we can't put up too many barriers for people that are legitimately injured by a doctor's negligence (not a mistake, necessarily, but honest to god negligence) and their ability to sue for compensation. in the interest of keeping this apolitical, one big issue that we'll have in any reform is the size of the industry itself. I believe we've allowed it to become so big that we'll have difficulty dismantling it if we so choose. Another major hurtle is removing politics and religion from the health care debate; and what i mean by this is health insurance companies covering a 75 year old man getting viagra but not a 20 year old woman getting birth control.

Yeah, i know Hyde Park is the wealthiest area and Section 8 is only going in there because it's being forced in by CMHA. What i'm suggesting is that section 8 has concentrated on the west side of the city because of the guaranteed rent for the landlords and the fact that there isn't a need for that sort of subsidized rent in areas like Hyde Park. When an area is in high demand there is not need for a landlord to offer Section 8 unless mandated by law. About Price Hill, i honestly don't know the neighborhood that well, i've only been here a couple years, so i apologize for stereotyping. My experience in other areas has lead me to the conclusion that many neighborhoods go downhill because people abandon them rather than trying to maintain them. In Detroit they've hidden their racism in language about their children and i don't buy it. I don't think that OTR's issues really come from the people that live down there (in section 8 or otherwise) , rather from the high vacancy rate and from people that come in to do their "business"

well, rather than being merely contrary, please let us in on those experiences. I've got an open mind.

Section 8 is market based in that it's only going to go into a depressed market. In Cincinnati a landlord isn't going to turn to Section 8 because he can already get a high rent on the property without the subsidy. It's going to go into places without high demand. Everyone talks about Price Hill...what would have happened to Price Hill if all the people didn't move out to the suburbs because they were afraid of the poor blacks? I've seen Section 8 complexes. I used to live next to one in Oakley. Section 8 isn't only in apartment complexes, it can also be single family homes. It is the landlord's responsibility to maintain the property or instruct the tenants on how to do so. If those responsibilities are not being met, call the health department, call the police, call whomever it takes to get those properties into better shape.

As far as i'm concerned the biggest needs are 1) making sure those with pre-existing conditions can not be denied; 2) making sure that everyone has access to preventative medicine; and 3) profits aren't a driving force behind medical decisions.

^so, you're only talking about requiring a certain % in an apartment building, right? because there's no way you could put that restriction on a landlord with a single occupancy house.

This. Also, why do people that hate socialism want to use its methodology to spread the poverty around to the wealthiest areas? Section 8 (not public housing) is a market based program. If the market is good enough in an area no landlord is going to put section 8 in. They only do that to get guaranteed rent and tenants. Talk to the landlord if things at the property aren't right. it's his/her responsibility. PS, your neighborhood can't go to hell unless you let it.

I'm the younger of two boys. My brother did better in school than i did, but i wouldn't really say he's more successful. We've both got advanced degrees and have relatively high paying jobs. I think i am more creative than he is...and he's more athletic. Anyway...i don't think it's fair to consider Tiger Woods an only child. I mean, he has half-brothers and a half-sister and a niece that's trying to break into the LPGA.

i think you at least have to add in the cost of the tattoo as well as the $10/$100.

I like the Tarbell painting, but i think the picture could have been taken from a different angle so the street light didn't make it look like the dude has a hard on.

the city was built for 3 million people and now it has less than 900,000. Also, many of those roads were built before the highways and now that traffic is speeding by on those (speeding when possible...slowly putting from one end of the city to the other in hours long commutes is more likely).