RiverViewer

^I think you're right about that - there's a ton of isolationist and anti-immigration sentiment in America - it's always been there, and it's always going to be there. And I don't mean anti-immigrant - as I said above, I think the folks who really hate them damn Mexicans or whatever else are a very small minority - I mean anti-immigration, who think we don't need to let new folks in, regardless of where they're from. It's easy to call that point of view racist and anti-immigrant, but I think doing so makes two mistakes: 1) It's inaccurate - fighting to change attitudes that aren't really the problem is a waste of effort, and 2) It's never going to win people to a pro-immigration point of view. Telling someone they're a racist is basically an admission that you don't give a shit what they think. And if someone really is a racist, then yeah, I pretty much don't give a shit what they think - but if someone just thinks we're better off worrying about the folks we already have here before we let more people in, then that's a political belief, and he's the guy I want to convince. And I sure ain't gonna do that by calling him something he's not. Sorry - I think that was probably a retread of what I was saying above...just wanted to make sure I made the distinction between anti-immigrant and anti-immigration. Because here's the thing - I think the only way to stop the momentum that the anti-immigration folks are building up is to stop illegal immigration. What I hear folks saying is that we're a nation of laws, and we've got huge masses of people flaunting those laws. I suspect that if we made sure everyone here was here legally (via a guest worker program, or even via amnesty), that after two weeks of rhetoric, folks would accept them all as Americans and we'd be done with it. Give them a legal status, and close the borders so we don't get into this situation again, and have sensible immigration laws - and all that momentum, and the whole three-ring circus, it all deflates. And honestly, I don't see another solution. Obviously the status quo isn't working - we've got folks freezing to death in trailers trying to cross, or dying in the desert; we've got employers paying exploitive wages because the workers accept it, and they can avoid paying taxes; we've got hundreds of non-Mexicans crossing, including folks from nations where we'd probably rather run them through a couple checks - or at least check their bags before we set them loose; we've got a flood of illegal drugs coming in; and we're escalating tensions with Mexico daily. The status quo is causing or aggravating a host of problems. And I don't see any other solution that addresses any of this.

Atlanta: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/8840020/detail.html Louisville: http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/WHAS11_TOP_IllegalImmigrants.592aae1f.html Duluth: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/business/14543306.htm San Antonio: http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=53649D09-0677-4B3D-B8C1-8A9BDAD64F40 Stories from Gettysburg, Syracuse, New Jersey, California...lots of this going on all over. And there's immigration legislation moving through congress: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/11/news/immig.php ...and Bush's position is a guest worker program. There's lots of movement towards this sort of proposal right now. Sorry, don't mean to be curt, but I've gotta run - Trivia Thursday at Indigo in Ft. Mitchell! But more conversation on it later...

^I think you and I agree on the vision we'd have for Cincinnati - an immigrant's haven, a diverse city where loads of people who look very different from one another all feel welcome and help grow the city for generations. The question is how to get there. And I think at this point, illegal immigration is the biggest obstacle to fulfilling that vision. The simple fact is, these folks broke the law. That makes them second-class non-citizens, easily abused and taken advantage of, without recourse to the law for fear of deportation. And the fact that folks can stream over the border is an obvious, undeniable security risk. My solution? Three steps: 1) Shut the border down tight. If that means fences and doubled or trebled border patrols, so be it. 2) Amnesty for everyone already here, if they haven't broken any other laws. No, it's not fair to the folks who have waited in line for years to get in legally, but I'm sorry, it's a one-time pragmatic solution. 3) Greatly liberalized immigration laws that satiate the labor market's supply and demand imbalance. So, does saying I want a fence and stronger border enforcement make me a racist xenophobe? Absolutely not, and in fact, I'd argue just the opposite. I want tons of immigrants to be here - I just don't want them being taken advantage of, I don't want the valid national security risks (to the immigrants as much as to anyone else), and I don't want the law to be flouted. Our elected representatives write those laws, and the way to change them is to elect new representatives, not to ignore the rule of law. Honestly, I don't see any other program that will work. What are the alternatives? Is anyone proposing that it's a wise policy not to patrol our borders? And if not, then what exactly?

^Yeah, but that was pretty funny...

If traffic and lights are a big hassle, keep the Rapid in mind...hop a train, downtown in minutes...

I always hated the "Trust Jesus" things sprayed through a stencil that seemed to be everywhere in the early 90's...my friend called them "Vandals for Christ," and I always wondered if I missed a clause of the Great Commission:

...the development can be Fecal Meadows... ...I think we've got the first exurban subdivision for Rivage worked out...

^Of course not! It's a giant piece of feces that happened to fall out in the shape of a garage...

Point A: It was a FEDERAL raid, by FEDERAL Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who had been investigating this for years. Point B: The raid happened in FLORENCE FRICKIN' KENTUCKY. For clarification purposes, Kentucky is not the same thing as Ohio. Point C: The sign on the business is in BULTER COUNTY. Very little of Butler County is in Hamilton County, let alone in Cincinnati. Wait - actually, NONE of Butler County is in Hamilton County or in Cincinnati. Yes, all of this occured in the Cincinnati Metro area, but none of it has ANYTHING AT ALL IN THE WHOLE WORLD EVEN THE LITTLE TINIEST BIT to do with Simon Leis or Cincinnati's legal jurisdiction or even Cincinnatians' view of immigrants. ************** Jimmy - I think you're painting with an awfully broad brush here. Yes, I'm sure there are folks who don't like them damn Mexicans, and want to see them all deported so real Americans can have the jobs. But I'd bet that proportion is about as small as liberals who hate America or Christians who want sodomy to be illegal. There are extremist positions on any issue - but it's a straw man, and it ain't gonna convince anyone of good will to change their minds. Now, if you argue that we ought to be more welcoming to illegal aliens - well, that's cool, that's a position that can be argued. And I'd actually agree with you. But if you claim that those who disagree with you are obviously racist slime? That's where I'll exit the train, thank you - and that's also where anyone you're trying to convince will likely exit as well. I think there's plenty of room in the country for loads and loads more immigrants, though I'd like to see them all come in legally, through a reformed immigration system. And I also think there's plenty of room in the debate for different points of view, though I'd like to see less demagoguing on both sides.

I'll be there...

Went to the game last night - some company we work with had a whole section of seats in section 514: Didn't take my camera, but here's the view from there, from the Reds' website: ...as kick-ass as the seats we got for the Houston game were, I don't think I ever want to sit anywhere but up here now...what a view... (images from http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cin/ballpark/cin_ballpark_gabp_seatingviews.jsp#)

Great news...though I hope their tents and all that foot traffic doesn't disrupt the natural beauty of the area...

I believe this was a federal thing - neither Cincinnati nor Kentucky had any say in what happened when. That being said, I'm more on your side of this than the other side. In fact, I'm in favor of amnesty, assuming we've first closed the border up tight to stop the flow of new illegals. I'd love to see a welcoming committee for legal immigrants, and a quick and easy method to get the current illegals into legal status...

^...or, makes a nice 2006 agenda!

Wow...paying $150K for that? And it's just one full bath, 1378 square feet - there are so many wonderful places in the city for less than that giving you more than that - I just don't understand. Even if I had kids, I'd drop $100K in Norwood, get somewhere with character, and spend the difference on private schools...hell, just pulling at random, here's a $100K home up for sale in Norwood right now: http://www.huff.com/web/search/searchdetails.php?MLNumber=988337&PPropertyType=26 Rehabbed in the last year, so I'd imagine all the mechanics are in good shape. And since it was built in 1930, I bet there's hardwood floors under that carpet - you might be able to have hardwood throughout just by ripping up carpet, renting a sander and spending a couple weekends with some fumes. So many places like that, with porches and fireplaces and character...I just don't understand the appeal of ugly on a postage stamp...ugly in the middle of the woods? Yeah, I get that - you're there to be by yourself, cut off, and ugly is a cheaper way of getting there. But ugly in a subdivision? Just does not compute...

Thunderdome...two candidates enter, one candidate leaves...

Unanimous would mean all five members must agree - it means no dissent.

A friend found a story: Undocumented Fischer Homes Workers Arrested Reported by: Deb Haas First posted: 5/9/2006 1:29:47 PM Last updated: 5/9/2006 1:41:45 PM Police have taken at least 85 people into custody in connection with an investigation of Fischer Homes. The investigation, which has been going on for two years, involves the hiring of undocumented workers and illegal aliens, Channel 9's Deb Haas reports. Haas reports most of those arrested are laborers, but some employees at Fischer's headquarters in Crestview Hills were also taken into custody. Investigators were also in other areas of Northern Kentucky earlier Tuesday, "rounding up" illegal immigrants, police said. It's not clear how the investigations tie together. MORE: http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/05/09/fischer.html

According to Billy Cunningham on 700 WLW, 85 illegal immigrants employed by Fischer Homes have been arrested (probably to be processed and released), along with company executives (who will be arrested and held). Can't find any news stories on it yet, but I'd imagine it'll hit soon. He was interviewing a reporter for some local station (didn't catch what station) who said they were going to do their story at 4pm...

Yeah, I just sort of blew over that shot, didn't notice it specifically, but holy ass, that is an amazing piece of architecture. It's a garage with an attached home...

^I was planning on getting cheap seats, but my wife forgot to grab her glasses, so she'd have seen nothing much but red (or maroon) blurs...so we dropped the coin and some great seats were available. Only annoying thing were these two drunk, loud-talking guys who'd bought maybe $5 bleacher seats and sat behind us. When the folks who had those tickets came, they shoehorned themselves in next to us. That was fine, except the idiots said "oh, we sat back there long as we could, trying to give you room..." Look, break the rules, that's fine, but don't lie to me, you f***nut. A couple innings later they must have gotten nervous, because they jumped up and took off...

Cool article, but I was surprised to read this: Er...yeah. And is he also surprised to find tall buildings exist in Cleveland and a couple rivers exist in Columbus?

Just looked through these again showing a friend, and Jesus, Chris, you're amazing...what a fantastic thread...

How fantastic...great thread...I've maybe seen half of those, tops...I need to explore more...

I had a friend growing up whose family had moved to a development off Boston Road because an I-71 interchange was immanent - and that was in the early 1980's...