Yesterday, I tried to turn off my thoughts and just LOOK at things. Here are some photos from my sight-seeing tour of Cleveland--specifically in University Circle and downtown.

I happened to stumble across the Plain Dealer "Cheers and Jeers" feature, today, and was mildly amused by item #2 - "JEERS . . . to anyone with a yard sign still standing. It's been a long, long campaign. Everybody's had enough. Get them down. Candidates, the same goes for the billboards." The PD "Editors" have shown their tacky Republican colors in Day-Glow since they got their asses kicked November 4th, so I'm not surprised to see such petty venting there. I reply "CHEERS . . . to anyone with an Obama yard sign still standing". I still have my signs proudly displayed in my yard, and so do most of my neighbors in East Cleveland and on the East side, in general. Unlike the neo-Cons, who were too cowardly to show any support for their lame candidates, in the first place, and certainly don't want to be associated with them now, people who supported Obama are proud of that and will be forever.

Friends, I need to interrupt my irregularly scheduled blogging to describe an important fundraising activity and hope you can join us. ClevelandBikes is proud to be a part of this great opportunity to raise money for ClevelandBikes and the Cleveland Food Bank.

The October 30, 2008 Sun Press lead cover story article (strangely... not on-line) was: "New Uses For Coventry? Music School Settlement, day care, and charter school send letters of interest". This reported, "The Intergenerational School's proposal also listed several partners: Richard Fleischman Architects, of Cleveland, Star Neighborhood Development, of East Cleveland, Strategic Resource Consultants, of Cleveland Heights, and City Fresh Cafeteria, Fresh Stop and Market, of Cleveland". "Fleischman would serve as design architect, while Star Neighborhood Development and Strategic Resource Consultants would likely be development partners...". "That proposal would also include a 1.5 acre "Urban Farm"...". I submitted the proposal, a public document, highlighted below and attached as a PDF, and can say the Sun Press report is largely correct, but the story is far from complete, and far more exciting than the Sun brings to light.

We don’t have a medical mart or a new convention center but we’re paying top dollar for it anyway.

The quarter-percent sales tax passed by Tim Hagan and Jimmy Dimora without a public vote now totals $35,233,319.51 as of the end of October, according to County Auditor’s records.

Since the start of the Bush/Cheney Regime, and especially since 9/11, I have felt very uncomfortable being personally associated with public "movements" and "organizations" against war and for peace and liberty, much less for "socialism", knowing expressing support for such interests is defined as "unpatriotic" and "un-American", and a trigger for government surveillance, in the neo-Con Era. I'm sure we of realneo have FBI files, and our emails and phone calls may be tracked. I don't care, anymore... none of that matters, now that Obama has been elected and we are within days of throwing the haters out of office and digging into the data they have been tracking. I know we are near enough to the return of free speech that even if we are added to some "Code Red" list now, it will be erased within a few months. And, we shall set people's records straight, and shall determine the extent to which Bush and his team should be prosecuted for violation of our civil rights and liberties.

Barack Obama is the first President my three year old son has known. He was too young to really understand who George Bush was during his first three years, but this morning he said to me "is Barack Obama president?" It fills me with joy that my son will grow up in a world less racist than the one I knew growing up. A past where an African American could not be president because of his race will be something strange and puzzling to him that he will learn about in school.

Last night, I cried and it was a good cry. With the election of Barack Obama, America elected it's first real Father. The other firsts are so important, but to me, the real breakthrough was a country embracing two people, who love each other, and above all, love their daughters and every child in America. We have cause for celebration, but we also must realize that we, as a nation, have to start understanding the role of fathers and mothers in society.

Welcome to a new day!!

A chance for change has happened, the people have spoken and our elected officials have listened. We now have a future not so certain... a future with potential for good or bad.

I am not sure what is in store for us now. I am happy to see the new day unfold before us all. January will be new year, and a new America.

There were just three other people voting at my polling location in East Cleveland, when I arrived around noon today... as beautiful a day as has ever been. After eight years under the Bush/Cheney dictatorship, today marks the end of a horrible era in world history, and the first day for the world to be as it should be.

I received the following email worth noting and sharing, regarding what to do if you see voting problems today. Immediately call 877-868-3874... and you may need to, from the personal experiences shared below...

Please see this post at Tremonter. Henry describes the crime. Superman needs help.

A few days ago I was talking to someone about the election. This person is well educated, reads the PD and Sun News, watches TV news and is a very active senior citizen. This person works full time and uses the internet well. When talking about Obama I was surprised to hear this person say "aren't you concerned about his terrorist connections?" At first I thought she was referring to Bill Ayers, but she soon clarified things by saying that she received emails almost daily about Obama secretly being a Muslim, refusing to show his birth certificate, etc.

E. C. is ROCKING !!!
AGAIN !!!

East Cleveland Get Out the Vote Rally and Canvas Day

Join us at the
East Cleveland Obama Field Office
13308 Euclid Ave. - One block west of Superior, across the street from Popeye's Chicken

Saturday, Nov. 1st
The day's activities begin at 9am
- Passenger Van Shuttles to County Board of Elections for Early Voting -
- Donation drop-off's

Location

Ed Begley, the actor/environmental activist, is riding his bike through our town to promote changing our lives by degrees...

SEE:
http://www.changehappensindegrees.org/lookup-meet.aspx

Wanna put him up for the night?

I have a feeling I know who wrote this post at Cleveland Public Library, but I won't out that person. It's so true. If you are feeling out of sorts at this time of year, try POETRY.

FINAL PUSH
LAST FEW DAYS REMAINING
The City of East of Cleveland Obama Field Office Needs your support !!!

Supplies and materials are needed.
Donations are a tremendous help as well

Greetings all ...

KMaCK here.

Our region's greatest champion of promoting immigration - high-skills immigration - Richard Herman has sent me many progress reports on successes in some areas - most recently Detroit - referenced below. I've been meaning to post these notices from Richard but haven't found the moment (Richard, I believe you have an account). Today, I received the unsurprising update below on a local study discouraging the Fund For Our Economic Future from focusing on this objective in economic development for the region - discouraging attracting high skills workers and entrepreneurs from afar. This seems a seems a good way to introduce the subject... "This Summer, the Plain Dealer editorial board wrote a piece asking why the Fund for Our Economic Future was not involved in efforts to welcome immigrant talent, immigrant entrepreneurs and international capital into the region."

The Plain Dealer's Phillip Morris writes, in his column today, "I'm trying to play it cool, but in the wake of National City Bank's collapse, I'm frantically looking for silver linings"... "scanning the horizon for that man, woman, or committee that can pull rabbits out of hats"... "still listening for someone to convince me that there is continued reason to believe that Cleveland is reinventing itself and will emerge stronger and more efficient". Phillip is obviously looking for all the wrong answers, inspiration and leadership in all the wrong places, from all the wrong people who put NEO and America in this disastrous situation, and are still are in charge of our local and national economies... although not for much longer. And, Phillip is obviously hearing from his chosen "leaders" the same old lame-o, last-ditch Cleve-O establishment vision of salvation, highlighted in his column... "I'm just glad we still have good hospitals."

Sorry to tell you, Phillip, but our "hospital" leadership isn't any better to or for Cleveland, America and the world than NCC leadership, and is in fact the same people, and is answerable to the same few "Power Brokers" as NCC, and is failing. The leadership and owners of our bloated, inefficient healthcare system and health industry companies have sucked the unhealthy tit of America dry. Their prescription... "buy viagra, and go f**k yourself, America."

I'M AWAY FROM HOME BUT I NOTICE OVER THE WEEKEND THAT BOTH THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH AND THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER HAVE BOTH ENDORSED JOHN MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT.

HOW STUPID CAN THE EDITORS OF THESE TWO RETROGRADE NEWSPAPERS BE? DO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT TROUBLE OHIO IS IN ECONOMICALLY?

ARE THEY JUST CATERING TO RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN INTERESTS AND NOT TO THE NEEDS OF THE STATE OF OHIO.

There is a highly depressing quote by National City Corporation CEO Peter Raskind, at the end of a Cleveland Plain Dealer "editors" interview clearing him of being more than a poor, SUPER RICH executive, where Raskind says "It's a remarkable period and it would be intellectually interesting if we didn't happen to be living in the middle of it." I don't recall ever seeing more moronic words in my life.

I don't find a time when poor people around the world and in Northeast Ohio starve and suffer, while highly incompetent, over-compensated "career" bankers and advisers have made millions for themselves, remotely "intellectually interesting".

Perhaps the suffering of the poor is interesting to the rich? Perhaps that is how the rich intellectualize being rich, while most people in the world suffer greatly.

To others, the term is horrific...

Now is the time to tip back in your chair and enjoy life, the music, camaraderie, art, a pint and the FIRE at the Barking Spider.
(And, how often does an ARTIST offer to buy you a drink?)

Did anyone expect anything less? Cuyahoga County Commissioners waived the $500,000 fee on the East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue property originally bought for a new County Administration Building.

The $500,000 check was made to the County to tie up the property for the developer. The developer should have eaten the fee and the County should be $500,000 richer.