Saddam's fate and year-end letters

A two-part blog:

Deposed Iraq president Saddam Hussein has been hanged for atrocities committed against Iraqis and others.

So let's continue the conversation here. Do you think Saddam's sentence was just? Will it have an impact on the situation in Iraq? How will his execution influence the perception of the United States?

Finally, Sunday's Forum section will take a look at the year's commentary from you. We printed more than 4,000 letters, guest columns and other types of comment in 2006. There's still time to tell us what interested you most last in 2006.

Consider telling us here...

Kids and social workers at risk

About 2,700 of Kentucky's 4,550 social workers answered a survey on how their jobs could be made safer, after one of their own, Boni Frederick, was slain Oct. 16 when she took a baby to his mother's home in Henderson for a court-ordered visit. The mother and boyfriend were indicted for murdering Frederick.

The social workers' responses show they know what reforms are needed -- things like neutral visitation houses, some sort of panic-button communication devises, a "buddy up" policy for high-risk home visits or security aides to accompany them to high-risk homes. Kentucky lawmakers already are drafting legislation.

But the Ohio death of three-year-old foster child Marcus Fiesel in August and the indictment of his foster parents also remind us of that other at-risk group in this equation -- vulnerable children. The Marcus case involving Butler, Hamilton and Clermont counties demonstrated the need for tougher screening of wannabe foster-parents and automatic cross-reporting of criminal conduct such as domestic violence. Also, this case should warn us that any wholesale social-work shift to using neutral visitation houses must not come at the expense of surprise home visits, which are likelier to uncover abuses such as the upstate Ohio case of caged children.

I wonder if lawmakers will be able to increase protections for either group -- social workers or caseload children -- without designing a holistic system that balances the needs of both.

'The Godfather of Soul'

James Brown died Christmas Day at the age of 73.

Few people enter the world and change it profoundly -- do something no one's ever done before and won't do again. Some come to mind: Bill Gates, Muhammad Ali, Jonas Salk, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela. Brown.

Brown wasn't a scientist or president; and he certainly didn't qualify as a saint. But through his music, he created the genre of funk and influenced all of today's greats.

The energy of James Brown's music and his performances was explosive. His lyrics were simple and profound and sometimes political.

When MLK was assassinated, Brown gave a concert that is credited with quashing violence in Boston.

He came to Cincinnati back then, too, to help calm a racial tensions. He did it again in 2001. When everyone else was boycotting Cincinnati after the 2001 unrest, Brown appeared at the Taste of Cincinnati and made a point.

In that way, he was a political statesman. But through his funky music, he persuaded generations to "get up offa that thang," to be "Super Bad" and "Black and Proud."

His shortcomings were well-publicized and they certainly taint his personal legacy, but his artistic contributions are unmatched.

I'll be listening to his funky music on my iPod for a long time.

Budget fits -- for now

As the news tells us, Cincinnati City Council came together in the wee small hours Friday morning and finally reached a compromise on the city budget. Just in time for the holidays.

No Scrooges or Grinches in sight. They found money for all the pools, the clinics, the pensions, the rec centers, the arts and 60 new police officers. They even salted a few million away in savings. Everything will be fine. Until 2008. That's when the city will be looking at a $13 million deficit, according to Councilmen Chris Bortz. "The real problem will be in '08," he said.

The city did cut back in many categories, but not as much as City Manager Milton Dohoney had recommended. Council is hoping this year for a combination of savings through efficiencies, some increases in revenue and some more compromise when it gets to '08. It might work. I've talked myself into stretching my budget that way more than once.

Red-white-and-blue Fagin

A Clermont County grand jury has indicted 52-year-old Clinton Fuston of Union Township on charges that for at least six years he operated as a local, modern day Fagin by setting up bogus donation buckets outside grocery stores to collect spare change for veterans. The take from his alleged scam: at least $60,000 -- and according to police, not a cent went to veterans.

In this season of spontaneous giving, news of such scam artists goes down like poison. Fuston is accused of using the donations for his personal spending and for such treats as a trip to Disney World with his children and a couple of Boy Scouts from a troop he led. If he's guilty, any suggestions on where his next trip should take him?

Supposedly he talked more than 60 businesses into letting him or his hirelings solicit donations outside their stores. Rule No. 1: Know your charities and know their solicitors. Fuston and his minions allegedly handed out little flags to those who donated. Ah yes, the old wrap-yourself-in- the-flag routine. There are plenty of deserving veterans charities that the scammed $60,000 should have gone to.

It's getting so almost every other cash register has some charity collection box beside it, and you can't go out in your yard anymore without being accosted for a donation. I kind of go on spider-sense whether to give or decline. But I get warier by the year about spur-of-the-moment giving. Do you find it as disheartening as I did to hear it took six year for anyone to get around to checking the guy's books?

Open season on pedestrians?

Today, while running some errands downtown at lunchtime, I was nearly hit on two occasions by errant drivers. One apparently did not know what a crosswalk was for. She “parked” in it during a red light, even though pedestrians were already walking in it. The other evidently was having trouble wrapping his mind around the concept of a red light. He blithely cruised through one at Sixth and Walnut well after it turned.

You can’t just chalk this up to pre-Christmas distraction. It seems to happen more frequently these days downtown, especially during the morning commute. Illegal turns. Running red lights. Blocking crosswalks. Wrong-way driving on one-way streets. Goofy lane changes. The other morning I even saw one motorist drive backward a full block on Fourth Street to get to a parking garage he had overshot.

Drivers either are in too much of a hurry, don’t know traffic laws as they pertain to pedestrians, or simply don’t care. And as soon as it starts snowing, drivers act as if all traffic laws have been suspended.

Then there’s the pandemic of tailgating on the highways, but that’s another rant.

Sure, pedestrians perform their share of stupid tricks, darting into traffic and walking when they shouldn’t. But when they break the rules, they don’t have thousands of pounds of metal surrounding them – or the illusion of invulnerability that machinery gives them.

If I were governor, I might start by pushing for mandatory driver re-training and re-testing every so often at license renewal time.

As for cameras at red lights and other enforcement (read: revenue enhancement) gimmicks: In my pedestrian fantasy world, there would be tire-shredding spikes along the crosswalk lines to jut out when the light turns red, then retract when it turns green.

Cincinnati has a very walkable downtown. It’s a shame that thoughtless drivers can make it so pedestrian-unfriendly.

'The miracle of this moment'

Those who did not get a chance to read Sunday’s Your Voice column by Rabbi Abie Ingber should go back and savor his wise words. In “Treasure American-flavored Christmas,” he speaks lovingly about how he, his family and friends embrace each other's religious traditions and celebrations, from teaching Christian friends to spin the dreidel to sharing a joke with a Muslim friend about Ramadan fasting.

Ingber sees this as an inherent virtue in our American culture, a source of blessing. “Ours is an amazing country. We have built a culture that is Western, yet is open to every ethnic and religious community,” he writes. “We have found a way to share our differences in laughter and hope without any thought of one-upmanship.”

You know, he’s right. By and large, we have. The vast majority of Americans treat each other with respect, openness and caring. So why is it that what we hear and read about is mostly the noisemakers, the haters or the exploiters? Why are their voices so much larger than their actual importance in our lives?

This profession, as it were, is a culprit. The media thrive on conflict, on squeaky wheels, on false dichotomies, on reducing complex, subtle arguments to sound bites and headlines, on good guys and bad guys and black-and-white issues. Real life isn’t often like that.

Each of us is a jumble of noble impulses and not-so-noble weaknesses. But most of us have acquaintances of different cultures, religions, ethnicities and political persuasions. We work, eat, celebrate and play with them. We sit on the bus and chat with them. We cheer for our team with them.

Yes, there are many problems, Ingber says, and Americans must do more to break down barriers among us. “But we have done an incredible job in changing the face of the world in a little more than two centuries,” he writes. Think about that for a minute. Where would the world be without this American experiment?

After submitting his column, Ingber sent me an e-mail thanking me for deciding to publish it – although it was I who should have been thanking him. He ended the note with this comment: “We live in a wonderful corner of the world at a most incredible time – and rarely notice the miracle of this moment.”

Take a moment to notice the everyday miracle we sustain and nurture without fanfare. Blessed holidays to you, Rabbi, and to all of us.

City budget blues

This was the Cincinnati City Council that was supposed to get along. Yet the current fight over the budget leaves the public wondering if our elected officials even bother talking to each other.

Monday afternoon a five member majority declined to present their plan to the Finance Committee because only two of the five were members of the committee. If the plan failed in committee, it could not come up for a vote by the full council. If the five (Jeff Berding, Chris Bortz, Laketa Cole, Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel) take the plan straight to the full council on Wednesday they can get their majority vote -- for all the good it will do.

A budget proposal by the four-member minority (John Cranley, Jim Tarbell, David Crowley and Cecil Thomas) is supported by Mayor Mark Mallory. If the five-member plan passes, Mallory can veto it, and without a sixth vote, the veto can't be overridden.

The solution is either a last minute deal, or an agreement to extend the current spending rates for three months while negotiations continue. The points of contention are serious, but hardly insurmountable -- how much to pay into the pension fund, how much to give various social service agencies, what pools and rec-centers are expendable, how many new cops.

This shouldn't have gotten this far. The negotiations going on Tuesday night and the potential deals and compromises that will be worked out now, or in the next three months, should've/could've been cut already by public officials who were elected because they promised to work together.

The governor's greatest hits

Dan Druen, a former high-level Kentucky Transportation official, can be forgiven for feeling like the scapegoat du jour.

After being indicted by a grand jury for violating the state Merit Law, then pardoned by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, then fired by the governor, last Friday (Dec. 15) the Executive Branch Ethics Commission charged Druen alone with 10 counts of violation. The grand jury returned 29 indictments, but so far the ethics panel has charged only Druen. If found guilty, he could be ordered to pay fines of $5,000 per count.

Druen is accused, among other things, of using a "hit list" to remove Democrats or the governor's other political enemies from state jobs supposedly protected from such partisan reprisals. After the ethics panel singled him out, he directly implicated the governor for the first time ever. In a statement to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Druen said, "In fact, everything I did was pursuant to a directive from my supervisors, top to bottom, including the governor, in advancement of the very initiative that carried his name."

The grand jury's final report last month also stated that Fletcher approved the patronage scheme. Now Druen has added another speed bump in the way of the governor's re-election campaign. So if the ethics panel found "probable cause" to charge Druen, do you think they might be obliged also to find "probable cause" to charge the governor?

UN best intentions at crossroads

This week outgoing United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, gave his last address to an American audience. It was purposeful and is significant to those who understand the leadership of the United States and President Harry Truman’s pivotal role in the UN’s creation in 1945 that the location was the Truman Library in Independence, Mo. Though a friend and supporter of the US, Annan has not been shy to criticize the US or the administration when he felt we had strayed from the ideals of equity, honor and advancing human rights committed to in the establishment of the United Nations. The most vivid of these criticisms being two years ago when he labeled the Iraq war “illegal”.

In his address, Annan summarized five lessons that remind us about the need for leadership, as much today as it was six decades ago, to uphold those principles of equity, honor and advancing human rights. These lessons are; responsibility for each other's security, giving everyone the chance to benefit from global prosperity, both security and prosperity depending on human rights and the rule of law, states being accountable to each other in their international conduct, and finally that these things can only be done by working together through a multilateral system and by making the best possible use of the unique instrument bequeathed by Harry Truman and his contemporaries, namely the United Nations.

So as controversial US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, resigns avoiding a tough and likely impossible Senate confirmation and Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea is sworn in as UN Secretary General, making restoring trust in the world body as his first goal, the UN faces many issues. Just a few of the top ones that are or should be of interest to Americans include the crisis in Darfur, urgent need for renewed focus for peace in the Middle East, and the six party talks on N. Korean nuclear issue. Who takes the lead role at the UN from the United States and how our administration and government takes seriously these and other common concerns of the world we share will determine to a great degree the success or failure at the United Nations and everyone’s ability to address these issues.

As far as Annan’s message in Independence, a meaningful farewell is what others say segment of the editorial section summarized and one to which our current administration as well as the American citizens should pay attention. What do you say?

A teacher's investment

Any investment one makes involves some level of risk and questions about return on that investment. Investing in our schools and educators is a heated debate in districts throughout the city. From Mason to Fairfield to everywhere else, anti-tax levy groups have reared their heads questioning everything from new buildings to teachers' salaries to what is taught.

Though there are certain to be a multitude of examples that never get noticed outside the classroom, from time to time there comes to light a teacher who is investing into the job and students in a most inspiring way. Natalie Palmenter, a fifth grade teacher at Cardinal Pacelli with help from fellow educator Taffy Clifton, has used a mega celebrity and pop culture queen to her teaching advantage as she was inspired by Oprah Winfrey giving away $1,000 to each of her guests at an October show for the purpose of having them 'share' it in charity.

Ms. Palmenter's students not only shared the $10 provided to each of them in creative and diverse ways but also learned and exercised the skill of investing their own time and money to make their gifts and subsequent impact even bigger. The kids efforts touched parents, places of worship, local businesses as well as benefited individuals, institutions and animals. Ms. Palmenter's investment has thus allowed these kids to invest into all these places and people in our community but most importantly has taught them something about investing into themselves to be the kind of citizens we so badly need in our society; today and in the future.

Way to 'Pay It Forward' Ms. Palmenter!

Open foster parent records

Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services doesn't want you looking too closely at what they're doing.

That's what the agency's refusal to release the roster of people paid by the state to be foster parents amounts to. The Enquirer is suing the department in an effort to force the release of the records.

Barbara Riley, director of ODJFS, has said releasing the records would "endanger children."
Except the Enquirer isn't asking for any information about foster children. We just want to know the names of the adults the state is paying to take care of them. That information should be open so the public can assess whether the state is doing a good job in selecting people to care for dependent and neglected children -- among the state's most vulnerable citizens.

The Enquirer's efforts have been prompted by two recent cases: The death of Marcus Feisel, whose foster parents have been charged with murder; and Jaysen Bell, a foster father from Clermont County facing a variety of charges in connection with the sexual abuse of two foster children in his care.

Most foster parents are probably honest, decent people. But the public is paying them to take care of children and therefore has a right to know who they are.

When the new neighbor is a sex offender

A few years ago, a registered sex offender moved into a rental home within two miles of my house and on my regular walking and running route. A number of friends called to let me know and word passed throughout the neighborhood. I felt a sense of relief at knowing, which quickly was replaced by a sense of confusion and discomfort. What was I supposed to do with the information?

I discussed the issue with my children, and mentioned it to families I knew whose children might pass by the home. Beyond that, I found myself simply staring at the house with unease and suspicion -- taking note of the cars in the driveway, how tightly the blinds were closed in the house, even glancing suspiciously at the garbage left on the curb on trash day. I never altered my path, but if my feelings could have been beamed into the house, the renter would surely have felt a cold draft of scrutiny and distance. Even now, long after the man moved away, I still think of the house as the "sex offender's house" and sometimes quicken my pace as I pass it.

I wonder if there isn't a better way to deal with such a situation -- specific information that would keep nearby families safer or (and maybe this is wishful thinking) make it less likely that the offender would reoffend. Simply creating fear and distrust hardly seems like the best "notification" system.

Race balancing

Louisville/Jefferson County public schools devised a race-balancing formula to try to keep its schools from becoming re-segregated, and for its efforts, it ended up this week knee-deep in arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on charges of reverse discrimination against white students.

An Enquirer study two years ago found Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky students attend overwhelmingly segregated schools -- either mostly white or mostly black -- and the latest United Way assessment of this region still listed residential segregation as one of our top negatives.

Plenty of studies claim minorities especially benefit from racially "balanced" schools, but lawyers for the Louisville parents challenging that school district's "diversity" plan insist it has not raised student achievement. They argue school districts ought to be focused on upgrading the quality of all their schools instead of chasing this social engineering goal of racially balanced enrollment. Even defenders of the Louisville plan say it can be grossly misleading because even in supposedly race-balanced schools, some students can still end up in mostly black or mostly white classes.

A few questions: Does the goal of racial balance justify the means of denying kids their first choice of school solely because of skin color? Who said it's the schools' job to achieve racial balance? And if the day is fast approaching when we're all going to be "minorities," what does racial balance mean?

Tearing up the calendar

Kentucky is trying to boost its lagging high school and college graduation rates at least up to the national average, yet the state's compulsory school attendance age of 16 hasn't changed in 64 years. Special-interest and parent groups are even lobbying to keep Kentucky's school year short and summer vacations long.

It used to be farm families who wanted a late start for the school year, so kids could lend a hand with the harvest. Now it's tourist business owners who want school to start after Labor Day and shut down by Memorial Day. They don't want to lose cheap student labor and understandably prefer an "endless summer" of family vacationers spending for as long as possible.

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, to its credit, is urging state lawmakers to make schooling up to age 18 mandatory, and, if anything, increase the number of instructional days in the school year. Kentucky will raise its required days to 177 days starting next year. The U.S. average is 180. Internationally, the average is about 195 days, and math-and-science-intensive Asian countries go for 220 to 230 days. It's not just to keep youngsters out of trouble. It's to produce a highly skilled, competitive work force.

Others argue youngsters need jobs during summer and holiday breaks. But all too often, school calendars don't add up any more in this knowledge-based, new economy. How's this for a litmus test: Are school calendar decisions made for the sake of turning out skilled lifelong learners -- or for other, non-instructional reasons?

Lame duck's last kick

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft vetoed a concealed carry bill that would have nullified local gun restrictions all over the state.

Good for him.

The Second Amendment gives people the right to own guns, but like any of our Constitutional rights it is not without restrictions. A lot of Ohio communities, Cincinnati among them, have decided for instance that is not in the public interest for people to carry assault rifles.

For years Ohio had an unworkable and unconstitutional policy on concealed carry. You had a right to carry a gun under certain circumstances, but the only way to establish that right was to get arrested and prove your case. That completely warped the notion of innocent until prove guilty and three years ago the Legislature finally corrected the law. The bill the governor vetoed, passed by the Legislature last week, was labeled as a "cleanup" measure to straighten out a few working kinks, such as eliminating the requirement that drivers keep guns in plain sight instead of in their holsters or purses during traffic stops. Instead, as Taft noted in his veto message, with little debate the bill usurped local control on an important public safety issue. The benefit of that escaped me.

The Republican-controlled Legislature has been unwilling to override Taft on his two previous vetoes, but with less than a month left in his term, the members aren't worried about staying on his Christmas list. The House voted 71-21 to override the veto Thursday afternoon. Whether the Senate will follow suit when it reconvenes Tuesday is a closer question. There were 19 senators voting for the bill when it passed last week, the same number needed to override.

I would like to hear each senator voting for an override to explain why he/she wants to eliminate local communities' say over such things as bans on assault weapons.

Are you ready to quit? Tell us

After midnight Thursday, many Ohioans (and perhaps a few Kentuckians) may breathe easier because a statewide smoking ban takes effect.

No smoking in public anymore in Ohio (with a few exceptions). So what does this really mean and how will Ohio smokers change their lives?

Those are among the questions we want you to answer as the ban takes effect.

Will you:

1. Abide by the law?
2. Go to bars, restaurants or clubs in Kentucky?
3. Be more likely to frequent Ohio bars, restaurants and clubs that are now smokeless?
4. Decide to kick your smoking habit?

If so, we want to hear from you. Be a part of our community conversation on the new smoking ban. We will discuss the issue in Sunday’s Forum section.

Please email responses to letters@enquirer.com (write smoking in the subject line). Or add a comment to this blog.

Ohio smokers, pity transfat-free New York

Ohio smokers may feel put upon by the new smoking ban, but New Yorkers really have something to crow over.

The Big Apple has become the first American city to ban transfats in restaurants, effective July 1, right about the time I usually visit New York.

Transfats make your fries crisp and delicious and your pastries and pie crusts light and fluffy, among other things. My grandmother swore by Crisco, a transfat, when she made pies.

Problem is, they also can kill you more quickly that other, less artery-clogging fats.

Bakers will have a year to figure how to find a fat replacement in pastries and such.

Block for block, New York has some of the best restaurants in the world, but how will they fare if they can't add transfats?

The ruling by the city's board of health is a victory for the health of New Yorkers, but by banning an FDA approved substance is opening the city up to future litigation.

Meanwhile, Ohio smokers, you now have New York to pity.

And, oh, by the way. They won't let you smoke in restaurants and bars in New York, either.

If a Muslim neighbor speaks…

Though the title may only reflect half of the story in the guest column American Muslims must speak honestly, it speaks to multiple needs in America that are imperative to its safety and cohesiveness. In a post 9/11 world, the fact is that American Muslims must speak loudly and clearly about the unacceptability of acts of terrorism and, yes, all violence against innocent civilians. These acts being disassociated from having any justification in Islam is paramount. Simultaneously, fellow Americans of all faiths and cultures must realize that without listening, learning and willing to participate in the conversation, void of defensive or abusive attitudes, is a crucial path to breaking the self-destructive cycle of mistrust and unjust violence.

How many Americans know that the Islamic Society of North America has published an anti-terrorism and extremism brochure which can be downloaded? Not many as the coverage it has received in our mass media has been zero. How many Americans know of the Islamic religious ruling or Fatwa endorsed by over 120 Islamic organizations, including the Council on American Islamic Relations, condemning terrorism and extremism and calling people who commit terrorism in the name of Islam as “criminals, not ‘martyrs.”’ ? This was, rightly so, something called for by people of all faiths to differentiate Islam and everyday Muslims from the hate-mongering individuals who abuse Islam for their personal or political objectives. Yet, this goes virtually unknown as letter after letter and editorial after editorial is certain to coin the phrase ‘why don’t Muslims condemn atrocities of 9/11 and other acts of terrorism’.

Majority of American Muslims, like their neighbors of various faiths, have lived the American life while being committed to their faith and country in a very private way. Though many of them would much prefer to continue to do that, it seems they do not have that option. The evil actions of some, who might claim to be of their faith though their actions are completely un-Islamic, have dominated and forced many of them to share their faith in a very public way in order to promote understanding while they try to exercise their right to continue to live in mutual peace.

Are we willing to listen?

Lesson in and beyond the classroom

Though I did not know teacher advocate Tom Mooney and his sudden death at 52 is a sad loss, it certainly should serve as a moment for us to reflect on the situation regarding our educational system in America and the impact it has on our strength and position in the world.

As we all look to leaving a stronger and more competitive America for our children, a couple of things that stick out in studies that discuss US falling in education ranks is how students are taught in the classroom and how society reflects priority of education. When kids are taught the procedure, and not the concept behind a subject, they tend to forget more quickly. Also when glamorization of only sports and entertainment reaches levels where we easily identify the top schools in terms of sport teams and have to struggle with which schools and very importantly students reflect our brightest and most knowledgeable, its adverse impacts cannot be denied.

In a 2003 study conducted by UNICEF that took the averages from five different international education studies, the researchers ranked the United States No. 18 out of 24 nations in terms of the relative effectiveness of its educational system. The dropout rate in the USA is the highest among developed nations. It has a low literacy rate as compared to other developed countries with a ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding.

Though we most certainly need well rounded students, we also need a renewed focus on developing intellect, being competitive in our educational success, and rewarding students and educators who are leading this challenge. This can much more readily happen when our role models and heroes reflect these priorities. Can you identify the educators who are your ‘heroes’ and how did they impact your lives?

Dumbed-down or wised-up

I wonder how many of us natives would ace a proposed new citizenship quiz being tested by the federal Immigration Service for rollout in 2008.

Instead of just asking wannabe citizens, "What is the Constitution," the new test asks "What does the Constitution do?" Another draft question asks, "Why are there three branches of government?" A third asks, "What major event happened on Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States?" Reformers figure since immigrants swear an oath when they become citizens, they ought to know what they are swearing allegiance to. At least some proposed questions sure beat making immigrants memorize details such as how many stripes are on our flag.

Critics object that some applicants for citizenship can barely read or write and won't be able to understand such questions. But isn't citizenship a privilege, like voting, and isn't it worth trying to encourage new citizens to internalize American values?

We should be a compassionate country, but surely some minimum standards aren't asking too much. In Kentucky, groups already are squaring off over a proposed constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to low-level felons after they've served their time. It's probably DOA in the state Senate. Such offenders currently have to ask the governor in writing to restore their voting rights. A League of Women Voters study charged the current system especially disenfranchises black felons. Others object that it's a hardship on illiterate felons. But if they're that illiterate, how do they vote?