Shaking Hands Across The Aisle

So what do you do when have had a dispeptic start to a blog due to lack of time and inspiration? Come back with a controversial blog that will probably lose you the few readers you had left. Yup, that outta do it.

So what does it take in NE Ohio for voters to reach across the aisle's and welcome candidates of both parties? It seems just a black man to run for President of the United States. That seems to be the only explanation that comes to mind as I drive thru my suburban, upper middle class neighborhood and around town. As election day finally comes to pass, I am noticing many a yard with yard signs for Democrats Trafficanti, Cordray, et al, and next to them, a yard sign for "John McCain". Ummm, I am sorry, maybe I havent researched my local candidates closely enough, but I am pretty sure that most of the probable policies in a McCain administration, run counter intuitive to the local Democratic electorate. It is with little doubt in my mind, that these yard signs are tell-tale signs that racism is alive and well in the Presidential campaign here in the swinging state of Ohio.

Say it isn't so! I am sure some of you sigh'ed a collective DUH! to that, but why do so many try to pretend it isn't so? As I have said, I am from that liberal socialist state of California, but the notion that racism was alive and well in this state was driven home quite early in my move here some 10 years ago. When I first moved here, I decided to drop in on a regular writers group that used to meet at Barnes and Noble in Boardman. Two weeks into meeting with this group I met a sweet young black lady that had just moved here with her husband from Chicago, for his new job. They were excited to move into a nice home and she was telling me that she loved the area, but thought her neighbors seemed relatively quiet and stayed to themselves as they were moving in and doing yard work the first couple of weeks. Four weeks into their new home, the next door neighbor installed a black lawn jockey in the landscaping beside their front porch. Welcome to the neighborhood! That was the first time in my (over 30) years, that I have ever been witness to such innate and purposeful racism.

This election is bringing some of the worst of our country back to life. John McCain and the Republican party has brought negativity back to an art form. His poor excuse that it wouldn't have happened if Obama had just met him at his Town Hall Meetings he cried for is both disingenuine and speaks volume about his character. "Well I would have stayed away from negative, but he wouldn't play on my terms, so he made me go negative." A perverse paraphrasation, but true. Sure both sides have a few bad apples at their campaign stops, but rallying cries of a terrorist running for the White House, and talks of lynching is not even close to a bad apple, it's enciting evil to it's core.

I am ready to live with the consequences of this election, and there will be consequences no matter who wins, but I will be d*mned if I am going to sit idly by while a once honorable man, takes the country to it's basest instincts on his quest for "leadership." You with those ambivelent yard signs in front of your house. Pick a side! I pray that true bipartinship can be attained, but admit it, that's not your intentions. You are racists, pure and simple, no matter if you do sleep better at night with the blanket of "bipartisanship denial" keeping you warm.

(I am going to retake some of the picture examples I was going to post with this, but on closer inspection, they show too much of what the owners house looks like and that is wrong of me to expose in and of itself. New pics to come.)

I am NOT dead and buried.....Yet!

So I really appreciate all of my friends that recommended I start blogging again, and I really do enjoy it and look forward to getting back in the swing of things full-time. For now, please bare with fits and starts as I move into the next phase of this thing called Life! Things have been a changing, and quite rapidly. Things are beginning to balance out a bit, but I still see some time management issues ahead for a little bit longer.

After 2 fantastic years, I am no longer at Accent Media. I still am in awe of the their work and will be helping when I can, and using them myself from time to time. If you want the best video production team in the area, and the best pricing in just about everywhere for the quality, call on Accent Media for your production needs. While the time off was needed to deal with some personal issues, a guy's gotta eat, and I am blessed to have some amazing family and friends who have helped me get back on my feet, and the courage to start my own Consulting Company. Ace in the Hole Marketing, is a dream I have been working on for over 7 years, and I am bringing it into reality. It is a Consulting firm specializing in the Service Industry. With some key friends and staff and our combined 60+ years in the service industry, we will be offering services in Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Publicity, Sales Building, Guest Services, Staff Development, Human Resources and Business Operations. We have 4 clients and growing in our first couple weeks of operation. Please check out the website, and if you know of any referrals, let me know. I am sure there will be a blog for the company soon enough.

Speaking of blogging, I am really hoping to get to "Blog Camp 3", in Pittsburgh next weekend. Thanx so much to "I Will Shout Youngstown", for keeping us all informed as always. I am up for carpool driving or passengering, just drop me a note. I will definitely be attending Saturday, but Sunday is still up in the air.

With 4 weeks left until the election, I am about to come unglued. As a renowned political junkie, even I am over all of the "Shock and Awe" politics and nastiness and just downright untruthfullness from the candidates. Though I am convinced more now than ever that Obama is the man for the job, it's gonna be a long 4 weeks folks. I will blog again as soon as able. Thanx for sticking around.........S

Back to the Grindstone, Tylers Gem

Okay kids, time to get serious about this blogging business. However, not all these blogs are going to be serious mind you, did you read my last entry about cake? I missed dinner and was hungry, you work with what you've got.

I have survived the cleaning out my apartment, and putting much of it up for a garage sale this past weekend, as i get ready to move across town. Amongst the early morning set-up and the haggling, (no I wont lower the price on that tv and vcr to 5 bucks, it's not out of the box, but it doesn't run on transistors either, jeeesh,) I would call the weekend a success, but it cut me off from the outside world a bit and my last excuse not to keep up to date with this new blog is over.

As I recover from the past 4 days, I guess I am going to opt out a little today by bringing you a blog mostly stolen by fellow blogger and one who doesn't miss much, Tyler, over at Youngstown Renaissance. He found among his Sunday perusing of the "informationsphere," or whatever he peruses on a Sunday, a fantastic column by writer Maureen Dowd, who shared an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times about a conversation with Aaron Sorkin of the West Wing, and a meeting of President Bartlett and Democratic Hopeful, Barak Obama. (Run-on sentence much Scott? sorry kris.) Anywho, the article is here, and I recommend it highly, if you are either a West Wing fan, a Barak Obama fan, or just need, to realize that we need to get back to a Democratic White House. It reminds me of my favorite scene in West Wing, where President Bartlett, (Martin Sheen if you think I am bit delusional into thinking the tv show was real,) takes a conservative "values" radio host to task...................enjoy...........S

The Stage

So it's dueling LIVE bloggers here at The Oaklands third outing of The Stage. I snuck in the back and could literally chuck popcorn at the heads of fellow bloggers Youngstown Renaissance, The Crseum, and Yoments. Unfortunately, there is no popcorn to throw (Mmmmm Popcorn....but i regress.) Heck...I was hoping for cake. I thought it was an anniversary sorta (Mmmm cake .......damn regression.) Well they're taking pictures....they're blogs win. Good thing we're not all twittering or there could be a cosmic explosion right here at The Oakland. Think i'll watch a few acts and go get ice cream (Mmmmm Ice Cream.........Dammit)

Start a Blog, Take 4 days Off, What a Life!

So I would like to blame the winds of Ike on my not posting since starting this blog up this past weekend, but alas, power has been on the entire time. Quick observation on the winds.....while most clean-up has gone along pretty well I think, and communities have helped communities, let you me tell you a bit about my neck of the woods, Poland, (the township thank you, I have not learned to be pretentious enough to live in "the village.") On 224, in front of the now closed Brewsters Ice Cream (a sad story in and of itself, me likes me ice cream,) the winds blew down some trees and snapped a telephone pole in half, thus removing power to the stoplight at 224 and 616 intersection. It took until late Tuesday night to get the light working again. That's a highly travelled intersection folks, as our friends in PA like to sneak in through that venue. It is less than a hundred yards from another 3 way intersection at 224 and 170. People are just getting enough go in their jalopy from 170 to 616, that it's really not fun I guess to stop at a light that is out, forget laws or anything, that's just plain inconvenient! Yet what do my wondering eyes did appear as I travelled the intersection around 5pm on Monday? The Poland Village speed traps well underway instead of a police officer working traffic at that intersection. I actually saw them sitting in their favorite spot and just watching the traffic figure out how to get through that light, and hoping they could write more than just a speeding ticket. Observation over.

Great meeting last night for the Positive People Group last night. As they take residence downtown on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at The Rosetta Stone Cafe. A newly forming group, the Positive People Group has the goal of affecting change and improving the Mahoning Valley through a group of positive thinking people working together. The first project will be helping to clean up inside and out of the Oak Street Church down by the MVR Restaurant. The church was vandalized a while back and while they try to get back their security and their dignity, the Positive People Group is putting together a team to do some landscaping around the church and fixing their handicap ramp, and then going inside to work on some paint and carpeting. Anyone out there willing to donate time and/or materials, please let someone know by sending an email to Ron or Roy, founders of the PPG. Their emails are located on the website, www.positivepeoplegroup.com . Talk soon friends..................S

Welcome To My Blog

This blog is the musings and ramblings of a Youngstown transplant. From downtown events and news from "Federal Street," and expanding throughout the Mahoning Valley and beyond, you will read satirical, political, nonsensical, and sometimes inspirational thoughts and comments.

About the name: "The Federal"ish" Papers," is hopefully an easily identifiable double entendre of my rally'ing on of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, and a small allusion to "The Federalist Papers," essays that were published serially in The Independent Journal, and The New York Packet in 1787 and 1788. Primarily a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution, I enjoyed reading about them in history. Particularly relevant today, is Federalist No. 10, an essay by James Madison and the tenth of the Federalist Papers. It was published on November 22, 1787. No. 10 addresses the question of how to guard against "factions," groups of citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community. In today's discourse the term "special interest" often carries the same connotation. Reading the Youngstown Blogosphere, I have always found it interesting some of the comments made to posts written by my fellow "Pro Yo" bloggers. It sure seems the commenters seem contrary to making the entire Mahoning Valley community as a whole be a better place, and put down the revitalization efforts of Youngstown. And politics sure has made "special interests" a household name. Also, the rights of others is a very much a "hot button" topic in the Mahoning Valley, be it rights of women, blacks, gays, or whomever, the subject will usually pop up in a post of mine from time to time.

For today, no rants or raves, just a thank you to the blogging community for being a force for introspection, retrospection, commentary, information, or just plain down home fun and hospitality. I hope my posts will add a bit to the discussion, maybe raise some new points, and try to stay from being boring as much as possible. I welcome your comments, emails, agreements and disagreements. Use your voice and stand up for your beliefs, whether they agree or not with others. As long as you research and stand behind them, you will be respected at this blog. I write this as I avoid the weather at the first annual Grey to Green Festival in Wick Park. A grand idea and a worthy cause. I salute your efforts and hope rain didn't stop any besides wimps like me. Soldier on Youngstown, and welcome to my Blogosphere.....................S