Gloria Ferris

Recently, I have had the opportunity to participate in some extraordinary conversations with some very talented individuals.  I am learning new ways to say things, new ways to think about issues and realities, and gaining new insights by comparing book reviews, listening to questions and answers at Meet The Bloggers interviews, and really enjoying every moment of interaction with others that I encounter.  These encounters happened at bus stops, on street corners, in coffeeshops, in the homes of friends, and at area libraries.  Here are just a few examples of some things that I wish to share with others.

Cleveland Heights Public Library Conversation-It is always good to think positively.  People have a tendency to use negative qualifiers when praising people.  For instance,  that was a great speech, BUT- but becomes the negative, the word that puts just a little bit of twist to the compliment.  Why not stop with the positive .  Chances are the person will ask you for input on what and how to improve their skill set.  And however, however is just but in a tuxedo.

Gypsy Beans and Baking Company- A Cleveland teacher-What do I see for my students?  I see a life of poverty, jail, death, drug addiction for many of them how do I change that? Despair overcame those engaged in the conversation, and then, the life coach spoke.  She said  I see it as a need for an intervention, a chance not to change but to transform.  And hope entered the room.

Brooklyn Centre Garden Club Meeting–I wanted to talk about disconnecting downspouts from the storm sewer system and redirect the water to water lawns, gardens, and flower beds, but decided that I would just talk about joining the National Wildlife Association and how easy it is for us to become wildlife habitats.  And then as I sat there, one after another after another began talking about water filtration, the importance of our watershed–our lakes and streams and how some of them already are watering lawns, ponds, and filtering water through their properties.  Are we at a tipping point?

And finally, last night’s Meet The Bloggers interview with Councilman Joe Cimperman where 15+ listened to Joe answer questions and then, someone else would ask a followup on the same issue for clarification, and whether we were a supporter of Joe’s campaign became less and less important and the issues facing our country and cities moved to the forefront and the exchange of ideas became the reason to be there instead of a political campaign.

And today, who knows where today’s conversation will lead us when the second Midtown Brews of 2008 kicks off at Insivia, with added dimensions-live chats, video broadcasts, and a hookup with Smaller Indiana in the mix.  Go to Midtown Brews, for the details. 

Dear Mr. Investor-

Your link to your blog has been deleted from my comments.

I thought I would take a few minutes to outline why.  You probably won’t come to my site again since you made no mention of the post you linked to on your blog, so I doubt if you will see the reasons for the deletion, but I think it is important to spell it out here for myself. 

I clicked on your link and visited your blog about investing from your personal viewpoint. In fact, I sent my husband an email saying that it was quite interesting. And then, I started to think.  When I think, I sometimes change my mind, you see, and that is what happened.

I read your post through and saw that you linked to dealcatcher and frugal Alabama mom and oh there were at least five others, but there was no mention of “The Zen of Coupon Clipping”.  Nothing, nada.  And then, I thought you probably googled “coupon clipping” found my post from 2006 and others and linked your blog to each and everyone of us hoping to drive more traffic to your blog.  Now, maybe you did that and maybe you didn’t, but I really don’t have any other explanation of how you found my blog and that post. 

I deleted your comment.  I don’t have a large readership and I really am not too interested in driving  traffic my way, but sometimes it feels good when you get a comment like this one in January on a post you wrote in November just because, but I will tell you what doesn’t feel good– being used here or anywhere.  And that is how I felt.  So bye-bye Mr. Investor.  Now, I must admit I get spam comments from audi and apple and on and on.  I just delete them, but a part of me wanted to amplify what you were saying.

Your theme of getting out of debt, living within your means, the one about 401K Debit Card!  Who are they kidding? was a great commentary.  Unfortunately,  it didn’t overcome the fact that I see blogs as being an inclusive, evergrowing network of people around the globe.  Yes, I caught that you live on the West Coast.  I think that the connections are what is important, and I just didn’t feel connected to you.  I felt that you saw my blog as one more opportunity to promote yourself.

You see, Mr. Investor, I see the world as a place where social responsibility needs to be nurtured so that it grows. I would have felt that connection if you had only mentioned how you found my post and that I might be interested in the post on your blog.  It would have taken you 10-15 extra words and this post would have been quite different.  I would have linked to your blog, told people to check it out because you had some sensible things to say.  You are quite young and you will probably learn the lesson of value added over the years, but not today and not from me.     

Music conjures up great memories for me at all times of the year, but Christmas and music are tangled together just like a string of twinkling lights.  George’s link  for Chris Butler about favorite Christmas music got me thinking about some of my favorite Christmas music.  Actually, the list is almost endless. One carol begets another carol, and then, there are the old standards that remind me very fondly of my mother and father, and then there is…snow, snow, think of all of the songs that owe their existence to the word “snow”. 

I am sure you are getting the drift at just how difficult honing down a Christmas list of favorite music was for me.  I finally chose these six as my “favorites”.  Of course, if I was asked tomorrow the list might shift and change but these songs will still be a part of any Christmas memory of music.

I’ll Be Home For Christmas.  This song signifies the beginning of the Christmas season for me.  When I was little, my dad would begin our Christmas season by bursting into song.  This song could have been considered his signature song.  Now, that he is gone I use the first time I hear it on the radio as the beginning to my Christmas season.

Up On The Housetop.  My aunts years ago began performing this song with appropriate hand motions for all of the little kids in our family.  After a certain age, the kids become part of the performers. Strangely enough, All of the kids are the audience, but the performing cast is all female. Hmmm!

O Holy Night!  My mother loved to play Christmas Carols on the piano.  She loved to play all kinds of carols and songs, but this one was one of her favorites.  When I hear this song, it reminds me of family get togethers when  my mother played and we sang.

The Christmas Song.  Hearing the velvet voice of Nat King Cole giving the perfect description of an idyllic Christmas reminds me that aspiring to perfection is an admirable goal but that each and every Christmas becomes “the best Christmas ever” for varied reasons.

What Child is This?  I have an incredible affinity to traditional caroling fare.  This is probably due to the six years that I spent singing with the other teenagers in my hometown.  The Sunday evening before Christmas we would gather at one of the area churches and start on our trek to sing and bring cookies to the “shut-ins” in our community.  These folk were those of us who could not make it to church to participate in the festivities of the season.  We would take the festivities to them. 

Many of the spouses of these older folks greatly appreciated our efforts and we would be quite full of egg nog, hot chocolate, fruitcake and other goodies by the time we headed back to our cars. One old man sticks in my memory to this day.  He was a World War I veteran gassed in one of the battles in Europe.  He was bedridden for as long as I can remember  My father and other veterans had enclosed their front porch years before with huge windows that let in any available sunshine but more importantly, the view of the world beyond his house. 

During the winter, he moved farther into the house, but on the night that we were expected he insisted on moving back to the porch so that he could watch our approach. One year he greeted us with candles to carry  candles as we strolled down the streets.  He said that the older people who looked forward to our visits would appreciate knowing that we were on our way.

As the years progressed, we saw the detrioration of his health, but he always insisted on ladling the egg nog into our cups. Here was a man bedridden who could barely lift his head at times, but he appreciated our feeble efforts at harmony so much that he would rally each year to show it by sharing a cup of cheer with us.  i wonder if he ever realized that he gave more to us than we could ever give to him.  

Happy Christmas (War is Over)  And to someone who came of age in the seventies, this song by John Lennon wraps it up quite approriately.

I caught a snippet of the glitch that caused double billing to some Giant Eagle customers if they had the misfortune of shopping for groceries on December 14th last evening on TV, but learned more from the on-line Crain’s Business article today.  I experienced this SAME thing years ago, and am rather amazed that it still happens.  I guess though in this world of electronic dispatching of funds it is feasible. What I found more disturbing was my encounter with the employee who shrugged her shoulders, said “these things happen, we will credit your account”.  No apology, no smile, no thanks for doing business-NOTHING!  I VERY seldom shop at Giant Eagle nowadays.  I am a firm believer that customer service can make or break  a business.  I was a bit disappointed to hear that again it was shoppers who had to tell the store they had a problem, and that there was no public apology released by a Giant Eagle Official.  I guess some things never change.

Well, like I said I don’t shop at Giant Eagle, but when I heard yesterday that there was a display of Great Lakes Christmas Ale sitting on the floor in an UNREFRIGERATED display I had to see it for myself.  Sure enough, there it sits on display with no refrigeration.  Do I care?  Not at all.  My local beverage store was the recepient of additional cases of Christmas Ale because Giant Eagle doesn’t seem able to sell it, and they didn’t want or need any more.  So, I have plenty of Christmas Ale for family and friends.  I do feel sorry for unsuspecting buyers who do not realize that the ale will not be at its best if not continually chilled.  In my mind, just one more reason to BUY LOCAL.

Last night was our final Cleveland Weblogger Meetup for 2007.  George has been a bit flummoxed about the erratic attendance at these events lately, but last night is a testimony to the value of these meetups and how they enhance our Northeast Ohio blogger community.  There we were fourteen of us gathered around a grouping of four tables  at the East 185th Street Arabica trying to be heard over a music system which wasn’t quite used for background.  More importantly, all of us tried to hear every word said by the others because we had ALL had a very interesting 2007.  As usual, we started off with short introductions of who we were and a short description of our blogs.  Of course, some of us have more than one and so right away George told us we needed to pick one.  He asked how many blogged in more than one place.  Almost half the hands  were raised high.

Then we moved on to the highlights of 2007 for us with the intention of discussing 2008 as our next topic, but many of the things started this year are moving right into 2008 so that was a bit hard to do. Everyone should expect another stellar year in the blogosphere of NEO.  Jack and George are writing a book. Molly has started a women’s group. Jill has had quite a few opportunities appear. Tim’s and Joel’s businesses have both moved to another level. Rick Pollack is working diligently to bolster entrepreneurship in NEO.  Interactive TV, No More WalMart, new blogs, enhanced adolescent blogs, and much, much more is on tap for NEO. Mike Fiegenbaum had some really interesting insights on the local economy and how internet sales increase for Lucy’s Sweet Surrender when a televised segment he did SIX YEARS AGO airs again.

Two new guys appeared-Pat and Matt and I hope they continue to show.  They came after introductions and I didn’t get a chance to chat so I am deficient on info.  Can anyone help me out here?  Anyway, it is always good to see new faces in the crowd.  New perspectives, new thoughts, new stories to share enhances the conversation. At one point, the music just became too distracting-I am sorry to say I don’t think I heard one word Bob Rhubart had to say, and that is a shame because he has such good content.   George suggested we break into smaller segments to discuss the topics we had brushed on lightly. He suggested we mix it up a bit and move to other tables and talk with other people.  I am always amazed that we ACTUALLY accomplish that.  Time and time again, in other groups, the same suggestion is made and we still stick with the comfortable.  Our group dynamics are such that we want to leave one comfort zone and go to another.

Here is a snippet of the topics that Will, Jeff, Derek, and I talked about in our group-Wal Mart’s declining market share which morphed into women in politics and then into business and then we jumped to education, and probably to the more interesting part of the conversation, for me at least, Will’s fiction book which then began a discussion of 1984.  I shared the story about my daughter’s perspective being different than mine when she read it.  Katie brought the book home in high school and I commented ”That is one of the scariest books I have ever read.”  Later, when she was finished with the book she asked my why I thought it was so scary because she couldn’t agree.  I reread the book and realized that much of what I found so scary she had experienced in her everyday life.  We then talked about changing perspectives and Jeff suggested that reading lists had not changed much from the 1960′s.  We all agreed with that perception-Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace-Derek groaned at that one-A Scarlet Letter-we all groaned at that one.   Derek then suggested that you would think that nothing significant had been written since 1960.  We all nodded our heads, and realized that we had just found another reason that education has fallen behind.

But, Jeff left us with one of his nuggets of wisdom and hope-the internet is changing things and the reader has now become the gatekeeper and people are reading many different novels and newspapers and online journals and bloggers are sharing the information and knowledge is exploding.  And then I moved on to another group, and there is just not time or space to discuss where Molly, Jill, Joel and I went with our conversation. All in all, the two hours went by incredibly swiftly.  And I can only hope that we continue to get together periodically in 2008 to see how our year is progressing and so we can continue to cheer each other on to new heights.  As Joel said, the face-to-face meetings build the trust we need to strengthen the on-line community.  I couldn’t agree more.

And finally, thanks, George, for giving your time, energy and commitment to all of us.  Because when it is all said and done,  I wouldn’t have any one of the friends I have mentioned in this post if it were not for you.  So Thank you for your wonderful gift to all of us.  I greatly appreciate it.           

Each Saturday Tim and I slow down the pace a bit and attend Mass at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.  We usually ride the bus and have a quiet supper at one of the stops on the way home, but before that happens we have a long wait at our bus stop on Public Square.  Recently, the silence has been serene there.  People stroll through the colorfully lit quadrants on their way to dinner after shopping at Tower City.  Families with children laughing are at the square.  The sense of peace is very comforting. The people waiting for their buses are quietly talking or silently winding down from a day of work.

But then, I realize that there are characters missing from the scene.  The young man who waves his arms wildly talking to unseen people who refuse to let him alone is nowhere to be found.  The young couple waiting with us this week is not accosted by the countless drug dealers  who weave in and out of the bus stops asking the younger ones in our midst if they need anything.  Believe me, these youngsters have learned how to say “no”. The scratching sound of skateboard wheels no longer assault the senses and the lumpy piles of blankets and sleeping bags with “the least of us” inside have been shuffled to other sites.  

And then, the converation in my head begins.  Where are the homeless? Is it so wrong that when a young man comes up to ask me for “23 cents” so that he can buy a 99-cent chicken sandwich at KFC I give it to him?  (This incident was over on Carnegie but still proves my point)  Or, the older lady who asks us for the rest of her bus fare so that she can go to her sister’s to spend the night because she has nowhere to stay?  Or that someone outside Starbucks asks for a cup of coffee and I buy it for him.  Why can’t I give my dollars and cents directly.  But then, I realize that because they are not on the square it is SO peaceful and that people who have worked long days and young people who use the bus for transportation are no longer agitated as in the past and neither am I. And most of all, there are new faces among us.

But then, I am concerned that “the problem”  has just been shifted off site.  That when “they” are no longer seen, we can pretend for a few moments at least that “those people” don’t exist, but they do exist.  Some say that the homeless were shuffled over to the mall by the County Administration Building.  I can’t imagine this being much more than a  ”temporary fix”  and it will probably work until after the holidays because so many downtown workers save vacation days for the end of the year.  I did it when I worked downtown. It just made sense.  But where will they be shuffled to in 2008?

Too often, we give money to agencies that “deal with charitable concerns” and then, we can say ”there ,we have done our part”.  But, have we? When we are given absolution by an advertising campaign that tells us “It’s all right to say ‘no’” is that enough?  I have never had a problem with saying “no” to someone panhandling if  I didn’t want to give to him or her.  I don’t think anyone does.  Now, in essence, we have been told by others  that we have moved them from your sight, and that’s okay, don’t feel a sense of duty to these people who are “the least of us.”  Giving to others makes us feel good, and maybe the few dollars that we were giving to the homeless made us feel better more than those who received  did. I still feel that the five dollars or so I give periodically directly did more good than giving it to an agency.

Again, I am left with how beautiful Public Square is now, and I again felt a twinge of guilt.  Then, my  friend Dick Clough sent us an invitation to his “birthday party”.  Dick’s reason for his birthday bash was not for himself, but to stoke the coffers for the yearly “Tour of Good Cheer”.  Dick and a group of friends started demonstrating the true spirit of the holidays in 1984.  For twenty-three years, they have rented a bus and/or vans to deliver the presents to needy kids, seriously ill chilldren and adults, and the homeless.  Our part in all of this was to bring slightly used sweaters, coats,hats,gloves, cash and/or checks.  Right now, the Tour of Good Cheer partners with eight different shelters.

The finishing touch is Christmas Eve when Dick and his friends visit each shelter dropping off the gifts and sharing a bit of Christmas Cheer in the form of cookies and punch with those who receive the gifts.  Dick invited all who attended his birthday party to join him when the gifts are distributed.  Unless we sit down and have conversations with people who need someone to listen how do we know if the money we give to a charitable agency actually is doing the good that we think is happening.  Dick and his friends have made giving a bit more personal and that is a good thing.

How appropriate that when Dick thanked us all for coming and giving that he mentioned ‘It’s a Wonderful LIfe’  He said that many would think that he is not a rich man but looking out at the group of people who had come to his party and had given made him probably one of the richest men alive.  I would have to agree with Dick that he, indeed, is wealthy because he certainly has a large circle of friends who honored him by delivering when he asked.

And I decided that this type of giving- a bit more up front and personal-is how I want to continue to give my dollars so I am going to talk to my circle of friends and see how we can achieve this type of giving on a smaller scale. So for now, I am a bit more focused in how I intend to move forward.  These words first uttered by Hubert Humphrey are swirling around in my head and I believe are appropriate to close this post:

 It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

And since, we are a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’, isn’t this a moral test of us? 

For quite some time now the question of “what is a blogger?” has been swirling through the blogosphere.  Is a blogger a journalist? If not, who or what is a blogger?  The comparisons to traditional journalists abound, but none of the defiinitions that other bloggers and journalists have offered seemed to fit me.  Now, if you use a strict definition of journalist which would be one who writes a journal that could be me, but I probably would  be more like a diarist, but you see that isn’t quite right either because recording the daily temperature and weather as so many diarists did throughout history just isn’t my style  Am I a journalist in the news media genre? Probably not.  I am much more opinionated than a writer who is fascinated by the facts and figures of a certain subject and although I may report on participatory events I too often add color commentary to be considered any kind of reporter.  Neither do I purport to be an expert on any one subject.  So journalist, no.  But then I am still left with “blogger”.  And just what is that and how do I fit?

A year ago, bloggers were compared to the early pamphleteers during the Revolutionary War years.   Now, that appealed to me, but with the end of that war and the issue at hand those pamphlets and pamphleteers died out.  Of course, Tom Paine and “Common Sense” still live on today and still have historical merit that can still be applied.  I don’t want to burn brightly, and then, die out. 

And that, dear friends, is where I find myself today. Last February, Judith and Bill Moyers, he being chairman of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and an independent journalist with his own production company, were presented an award by  the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Go here, to read the excerpt from his acceptance speech that gave rise to this post.  It is well worth the read even though it is quite long.  But I have excerpted two quotes that fit with my definition of what I blog, why I blog and how I perceive my role as a blogger.

The gist of Mr. Moyer’s remarks focused on the role that history and literature play in our lives and how and why they are important.  This quote hit me like a ton of bricks:

 “Some members of Congress got it. They realized that we were talking not only about how to improve our lives as individuals but how to nurture a flourishing democracy. Wouldn’t we have been likely to deal more effectively and quickly with pollution if we had thought about where we fit in the long sweep of the Earth’s story? Could we better tackle our spending priorities as a society if we were prepared to acknowledge and confront the pain of conflicting choices, which the ancient poets knew to be the incubus of agony and the crucible of wisdom? Might we better decide how to use our wealth and power if we have measured and tested ourselves against the greatest things a human being ever uttered? Are we not likely to be more wisely led by officials who have learned from history and literature that great nations die of too many lies?

I believe that truth is necessary today more than ever.  Recently, someone told me, “but the public doe not want to know the truth”.  I disagree.  I think that, given the truth, the collective wisdom of the public will shine through and we will not repeat the mistakes of the past but be able to learn from our history and be better for it.  In fact, I think that the public is disgusted that an elite few have decided that the public can’t handle the truth, and that it should be left to think tanks and experts–those who know better.  I say “poppycock”.

And then there was this quote that really spoke to me because I have never felt that blogging should be the last stop but rather the starting place of new conversations, new thoughts and ideas, and leaders emerging where we would not expect.  We stand at a horizon that may be even more exciting than the ones that the pioneers surveyed during the manifest destiny years.  We may truly be experiencing our manifest destiny now.  Wouldn’t that be wonderful?  And here is the quote:

“The public is no fiction, Carey said. The public had no life, no social relationships, without news. The news was what activated conversation between strangers, and strangers were assumed to be capable of conversing about the news. In fact, the whole point of the press was not so much to disseminate fact as to assemble people. The press furnished materials for argument—“information,” in the narrow sense—“but the value of the press was predicated on the existence of the public, not the reverse.” The media’s role was humble but serious, and that role was to take the public seriously. “

And as a blogger, I related to these words as though they had been written for me. So am I a blogger?  Yes, but I think from now on I will consider myself undertaking the ancient, critical task of the public intellectual.  I am constantly amazed at how many things come full circle with the internet.  Tim and I took a trip in early October and ended up in Staunton, VA, the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson. Then, I came home to a plethora of emails that I needed to sort through, but didn’t. The other day I was searching my mail on the word “morrison”, stumbled on the email from a friend that included the excerpt about Bill Moyers,  saw the name Woodrow Wilson, stopped and took the time to read it, and suddenly, the answers about blogging became clear.

I do it because I want to share thoughts and ideas with others.  Do I always succeed? I don’t know, so few people comment here, and I refuse to be dominated by numbers so I stay away from my stats, but I do know that stimulating discussion and thought and adding a viewpoint that is not as narrowly focused as some others  to me is enough.  Maybe, it’s enough that what I write has made me think about things. I really suggest that you click thru to read the entire excerpt located at http://www. tompaine.commonsense.com because these words were spoken by a true journalist.

After all, I am just a woman with a veiw who lives by the zoo. But today, and until further notice, I am a public intellectual who blogs and that, folks, is my definition of a blogger. 

While browsing at BFD today, I noticed this post and although I did leave a comment  I knew that  what I really wanted to say would be a full blown post and I should do it here instead of there. It is a bit left of center to the topic but does in a way address the living in the city vs. the suburban experience.

Our girls grew up in the city and attended school in the suburbs. Their grade school experiences were in Parma Heights with the Incarnate Word nuns.  Their high school years were in Rocky River with the Humility of Mary nuns.

The girls’ school experience was the direct result of intervention by Father Cregan.  He felt Maureen would benefit by her association with the nuns at Incarnate Word and the rich afterschool programs, namely sports.  Katie came a long a bit later, but she to benefitted due to her Art teacher there who saw talent and began entering her in Art shows at an early age.  Both of our girls are very competitive but in different fields.   

For the IWA nuns, Maureen will go to Magnificat, of course became the mantra.  Maureen never considered another school, and neither did Katie, but for a very different reason.  KT told me one day when we were deciding on schools that she had no choice Maureen would never understand if she didn’t pick Magnificat. I can’t say enough about our years at Magnificat the support and nurturing that our girls received to get them ready for the real world was invaluable.  

So, for approximately twenty years, we shuttled the girls from the city to the suburbs for school. Questions came from all quarters–our friends, the girls, our family.  There was a lot of time involved, but we spent a lot of quality time together to and from school. But there was always that little voice of doubt in the back of my consciousness wondering if we were doing the “right” thing if, maybe, we weren’t sacrificing our girls’ happiness for our need for an urban lifestyle.

 There were countless times that Mo brought up If I lived on a cul de sac, and then, Katie would always tell me that her friends were walking to Parmatown on Saturday for lunch and a movie and she HATED to ask but since she couldn’t walk she needed a ride. The implication to me was if only we lived in the suburbs…. High School was easier in a way there were buses to catch and friends who had cars, but that brought up a whole other worrying scenario.  

For quite a few years, I still didn’t have a clue as to whether the girls were okay with where they lived and how they grew up until last Thanksgiving. We were all sitting around the dining room table stuffed unable to move and there was not much else to do but talk to each other.  The conversatin began and  naturally it  turned to  remember when we were young  and we would go to Tower City the day after Thanksgiving or when we would go to the Museum of Art and Mo didn’t want to venture past the Armor Court or Playhouse Square where we would watch the Christmas Tree in The Nutcracker grow to gigantic heights, the waves at Edgewater Park during a winter storm, and on and on. 

 Until, Mo blurted out,  ”Are we lucky you didn’t listen to my pleas for a cul de sac?!”  Katie had been too little to remember our conversations in the car about suburbs, basketball courts, and friends on MY street and needed more of an explanation. As sisters are wont to do, she immediately told her sister that that was nothing because  she had wanted to spend her time walking around a suburban mall, for God’s sakes. 

I then admitted that I had worried for years that we should have moved and we should have done things differently.  The girls informed me that I must be kidding because they had had the best of all worlds. After all, they told me,  it isn’t about where you live, but about what you do  and how you live.  I don’t worry any more.

Please vote today. Our right to vote as American citizens is one of the gifts that our forefathers saw fit to give us.  Through the years, fewer and fewer of us have seen the need to vote, and so, fewer and fewer of us decide our fate.

What a shame it would be that through our apathy, we would some day see the tragedy of not voting–the loss of that right to vote. Today, more than ever, we must vote.

Even if our candidate does not win or if the issue we favor or oppose does not have the outcome we would want,  it is imperative that we show those candidates our support and that we show the elected officials our support of or displeasure at the status quo.  If our cause does not win overwhelmingly, but squeaks in with a win, or loses by a landslide, or barely fails is not the point; the point is that we took the time to exercise our right to vote.

Freedom isn’t free, and one of the most important things that you and I can do to protect that freedom is to take the time to vote today and in each and every election.

And now, it is off to the polls to work.  I am excited.  I am part of a pilot project that the election board is conducting.  It could go a long way to reestablish the trust in our voting procedures.  Wish us Godspeed, and for goodness sakes, after you have that cup of coffee–GO VOTE!   

Although many of us kept our thoughts to ourselves because we were hopeful that the WIDE OPEN experiment would work, many of us thought that it was only a matter of time before the blog would be shut down for some nefarious reason.  Little did we know that it would happen so quickly and for not a predictable reason. Before continuing, I must disclose that I know Jeff Coryell who will always be “Yellow Dog Sammy” to me, and the gal who “Writes Like She Talks” Jill Zimon. They are personal friends of mine.  I have never met the two bloggers on the other side of the aisle NixGuy and BizzyBlog but I do know Bill Pierce who challenged Mike Dewine last year and he has nothing but good to say about the man behind BizzyBlog so that is good enough for me.  If these three stellar individuals were chosen, I can only believe that the fourth has the same credentials.

I do on a regular basis read all four blogs because I feel that the four bloggers stick to the issues, have integrity, check their facts, are perceptive, and give a wealth of information to people  who want the story behind the sound bite.  I commend Jean Dubail for choosing these four bloggers for the experiment.  He chose a stellar crew.  Unfortunately, a “tetchy” Congressman got “in the way”.  And, to me, that is the story behind the story.  If indeed the political conributions of the four had been an issue, the Plain Dealer would have asked the question before employment.  They, obviously, didn’t ask because probably none of the four would have been employable.  These are after all staunch supporters of each party. Bizzyblog opts out on political contributions.

In fact, that was what I thought was the point of the experiment.  Get four bloggers from both sides of the aisle to interact, drawing in readers and commentors to widen the dialogue and get us beyond these partisan “knee jerk” reactions and into a discussion of the issues that face us all-Republican and Democrat.  Few of us disagree on the problems or, in the end,  the solutions it is the path along the way where compromise and dialogue is needed that we all fall short.

The surprise in this series of events for me is that a sitting Congressman, Steve LaTourette, would  find a measly $100 contribution to a competitor’s campaign by a Northeast blogger to be worthy of his time and attention.  Does not his tenure speak for itself?  Many voters in Northeast Ohio believe that Congressman LaTourette is the reason that there is an ongoing construction project at East Ninth expanding the NDFS facility here. They credit his intervention for the positive outcome. Why would he find it acceptable to meddle in Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech?  And that is the bottom line. How dare he treat the Bill of Rights with such a cavalier attitude.  And for those of you who say we don’t know the whole story,  I have not seen one word from the Plain Dealer that says that Jeff was let go for any other reason than the contribution.  Jill backs this assertion with her post.

So we are back to Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. The Plain Dealer has bowed to pressure as they have done time and time again. We have seen this more and more as the year has progressed.  First, there was the Breuer Tower, then there was the Medical Mart, and then, there was the County Sales Tax issue.  Now, we see  hints of what we all knew prior to the October 1st Tax increase, but the PD continues to tiptoe around major opportunities for investigative reporting.  Pulitzers for Investigative Reporting must not be in the game plan.

I doubt if Congressman LaTourette will sit down with Meet The Bloggers for an interview. An in depth conversation about this issue as well as the others facing us here in Northeast Ohio would be more beneficial than too many column inches being taken by who contributes to who and why therefore those people should be put in their place.  Bloggers being who they are on a regular basis contribute to political campaigns, so  I feel that he would decline based on that issue alone.  His challenger, Bill O’Neill,  who has Met the Bloggers  had a motto  during his recent Ohio Supreme Court race which was “No Money From Nobody”. For his congressional bid, he realizes that he needs money. He firmly believes that the way we elect judges needs to be reconsidered.  I would ask Mr. LaTourette his feelings on that issue as well.  Probably, he believes that “no money for nobody” should be the motto of all campaigns.

The voters who will make the final decision on these two men next year need to watch this race closely.  They need to attend town forums, fundraisers, anywhere they can find these two gentlemen and ask the questions relevant to each and every one of them.  It is their decision which will lead us in the Fourteenth District.  I would hope that they ask about Freedom of the Press and Speech and based on the answers they make the decision that they feel is right for all of us. We are only as strong as our weakest link and we need every strong link that we can muster in Northeast Ohio to lead us in Congress. 

I hope that Ms. Goldberg realizes that continuing to listen to the same advisors that Doug Clifton and Alex Macheskee used may be expedient but not prudent. The Plain Dealer faces a huge credibility gap in this region and others.  If she truly wants to make this newspaper a stellar publication,  she needs to widen her scope of whom she talks to in this town. She needs to include some new voices and not rely completely on the usual.  In fact, she has a few on staff that would be good candidates.  And if she sat down for a Meet The Bloggers conversation, my question to her would be why have advertisers and “leaders” of the community taken precedence over your readership?  And if they haven’t how can  you begin to convey that to the public so that your readership will be maintained and grow?

And in closing, the four bloggers that suddenly find themselves “unemployed” are not.  They never did it for the money.  They did it out of passion for what they believe.  The belief that blogs and bloggers can add a dimension to journalism that is missing-the indepth behind the scene story.  All four of them had the credibility and integrity to only enhance the Plain Dealer, but the Plain Dealer in its nervousness of trying anything new caved to the pressure of the tried and true and pulled the plug on Wide Open.  The four bloggers, still have their original blogs and will continue to do what they did prior to “the experiment”. Because they are doing it for the right reason for the love of it.  The only loser in all of this is The Plain Dealer.