Thursday's Quote: Raymond Chandler

Chandler wrote, "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid."

Home Defense

Cleveland man caught up in gun debate

Posted by Damian G. Guevara and Patrick O’Donnell April 23, 2007 19:56PM
Categories: Breaking News, Crime
Damon Wells is the man gun supporters imagined when they fought for the right to carry concealed weapons.
He had a permit to carry his gun, and he had the gun on him when a pair of teenage thieves approached him Saturday night on his front porch.
When one of the youths pulled a gun, Wells whipped out his and shot one of the boys multiple times in the chest, police said.
Arthur Buford, 15, died after stumbling away and collapsing on a sidewalk near East 134th Street and Kinsman Road.
City prosecutors decided Monday that Wells, 25, was justified and would not be charged for what appears to be the first time a concealed-carry permit holder has shot and killed an attacker.
Nonetheless, the shooting reignited the debate that roared three years ago when Ohio's concealed-carry law took effect.
Gun supporters said the weapon saved Wells' life. Opponents said it took Buford's - that the 15-year-old might be alive if a citizen had not been armed.
An angry throng of about 30 youths gathered Monday and set up a memorial at the intersection where Buford, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School, died.
His cousin, Tameka Foster, 21, questioned why police refused to punish Buford's shooter. "They let that man run out freely," Foster said. "My cousin is dead."
Buford's accomplice disappeared after the shooting and had not been caught Monday night. Police found a .38-caliber handgun in the mail chute of a nearby house. They believe it belonged to Buford or the other suspect, Lt. Thomas Stacho said.
Police took a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson firearm from Wells, the police report shows.
Both sides of the gun debate said it was sad that a teenager died.
"It's tragic," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearm Association. "Anytime somebody dies it's tragic, but it's hard to have any sympathy when he chose to have a gun and go threaten somebody's life."
Irvine said it was "great that a potential victim is able to continue his life instead of having a criminal take it."
Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said she had not heard of any other fatal shooting involving a concealed-carry permit holder.
"This is one of the few where they actually used it to stop a crime," Hoover said.
But, she said, "there's still a dead kid here."
A man who answered phone a number for Wells refused to comment and hung up. No one answered the door at Wells' home.
Plain Dealer reporters Jesse Tinsley and Brie Zelter and researcher Cheryl Diamond contributed to this story.

Friends, I don't live in a high crime area and thus don't feel the need to carry a weapon. Clearly, some people have good reasons for doing so.

Tuesday's Word: Pacifica

pa-ci-fi-ca, a. pacific; tranquil

When asked which coast he preferred, only one came to mind!

Melissa; The New Webster's English Spanish Dictionary

Earth Day!

The sun sets over New York on October 21, 2000, as seen by space shuttle astronauts. The picture, taken looking toward the southwest from southern Canada, shows a layer of smog extending across central New York, western Lake Erie and Ohio, and farther west. The bodies of water are highlighted by the glint of the sun. “I got more of a sense of Earth as home, a place where we live,” recalled two-time shuttle astronaut Winston Scott. “And of course you want to take care of your home. You want it clean. You want it safe,” he said.


Happy Earth Day, Earth!

It's a rare day in Ohio when we have clear skies and warm temps. Gotta go outside!

Thursday's Quote: Bertrand Russell

We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one which we preach, but do not practice, and another which we practice, but seldom preach.

-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate(1872-1970)


Yes, Bloggers, this is a day late.





Wordsmith

Tuesday's Word: intolerance

Nice try, but Imus isn't a nice guy

Friday, April 13, 2007
Connie Schultz Plain Dealer Columnist

This time, they win.
With grace and courage, the fine young women of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights proved themselves to be warriors on the basketball court. Now they are poised to be the victors in a much larger arena.
All they have to do is keep their hold on the high ground, where, so far, so few have dared to tread.
I am weary of the many past guests on Don Imus' show, mostly East Coast journalists and Washington politicians, trying to explain why they were willing to go on the shock jock's show time and again despite his track record of misogyny, racism and homophobia, to keep the list short.
Many of them are now denouncing his behavior, and my only question to them is: Where've you been, guys?
The ones really grating on the nerves are those insisting that, despite Imus' recent vile, racist take on the Rutgers team, he's a nice guy.
Here we go again: the Nice Guy Defense. Just like Mel Gibson was a nice guy even though he got drunk and bashed Jews. And Michael Richards was a nice guy after he lost his temper and started hurling the n-word like hand grenades. That's some club they've got going, those nice guys.
Maybe something happens to your common sense when you breathe in all that ocean air, but here in the Midwest we know nice, and Imus ain't it.
Nice guys don't make a career out of bashing the usual AM talk-radio targets: women, minorities, gays and lesbians and just about anyone unable to defend themselves.
Nice guys accept real consequences fAnd nice guys don't mine the dark wells of racism to rob innocent young women of their dignity and achievements, and then call it a joke. I'm reminded of my friend and Plain Dealer book editor Karen Long's take on such claims of humor: A joke is just the truth that went out and got drunk.
Two weeks ago, I saw for the first time the Rutgers women in action. They were here in Cleveland for the NCAA Women's Final Four, and they were a sight to behold -- strong and fast, with a poise I couldn't have even imagined possessing at their young age.
They won the semifinals but lost the championship. They're a young team, though, and so they left knowing most of them would have another shot at it next year. They set their sights high.
Then Imus tried to take them down, but he took on the wrong women this time.
On Wednesday, newspapers across the country, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, ran the kind of photo that makes you stop and stare. There they were, the beautiful, talented black women of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, lined up in a row, wearing red jackets and faces that looked more stricken than defiant.
Every last one of them is somebody's daughter, and like parents everywhere, I imagined my reaction had Imus aimed his ugliness at mine. My heart pounds at the thought of it.
What will all this hoopla do to those young women? Barbara Danforth insists the news on that front is all good. She is black, the mother of a teenage daughter and the president and CEO of YWCA of Greater Cleveland. She lives what I only have to think about, and she is optimistic about their future.
"The question, of course, is, How do you get over something like this?' " Danforth said. "If these young women had been isolated, if there had not been widespread support for them, then it would have meant society didn't care about them. That carries long-term consequences, and it could have harmed them a great deal."
But this time, just about everyone seems to care. And that makes all the difference, Danforth said.
"When you have such a critical mass of people standing up for you and expressing outrage, then this sort of thing can pass, and it can pass quickly."
So, the good news: The nice guys win.
Even better news: The nice guys are the women of Rutgers.

To reach Connie Schultz:
cschultz@plaind.com, 216-999-5087
Previous columns online:
cleveland.com/columns

Tuesday's Word: l-a-t-e!

Dear Readers,
We've all been late a few times, and, while not wishing to play country music by whining, I'm late today. This humble Blogger apologizes; it's been a busy day.

Blog Against Theocracy

Blogswarm Promotes Support For Church-State Separation And Religious Liberty
This weekend, April 6-8, various well-known bloggers including BlueGal, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Neural Gourmet and Talk2Action will be participating in a "Blog Against Theocracy".
This blog-a-thon is intended to show support for separation of church and state and true religious liberty.
The blogswarm has drawn a strong commendation from First Freedom First, a joint project of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation.
Since First Freedom First was launched in 2006, some 130,000 people have signed a petition highlighting the dangers posed by religious coercion in public life. Among the noteworthy Americans to have already signed the petition are Walter Cronkite, Phil Donahue, Laura Flanders and Judith Light.
This weekend's blogswarm, while not sponsored by First Freedom First, reflects FFF goals. Organizers say there are no real guidelines to the blogswarm. The idea is to post at least once from Friday to Sunday against theocracy and in favor of the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state.
Once bloggers have posted, an email with the URL of the post may be sent to bluegalsblog@gmail.com and the link will be posted on the Blog Against Theocracy blog.

The First Freedom First Team
Donna Red Wing and Eric Shutt of The Interfaith Alliance FoundationBeth Corbin and Bethany Moore of Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Tuesday's Word: grass

Grass is a common word that generally describes a monocotyledonous green plant in the family Poaceae. True grasses include most plants grown as cereals, for pasture, and for lawns. They include some more specialised crops such as lemongrass, as well as many ornamental plants, and some weeds. They also include plants often not considered to be grasses, such as bamboos. Grasses and grass-like plants have always been important to human beings. They provide the majority of food crops, and have numerous other uses, such as feeding animals, and for lawns.

The grass is growin' and needs mowed. The height should be between 1.5 and 3 inches; use a sharp blade. Water around an inch per week, in the afternoon, so the grass dries before night. The soil acidity should be pH 6.8 to 7.0 and may be adjusted. And what do those numbers on the fertilizer bag mean? They refer to the ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Here is an easy way to remember the proper times for lawn maintenance: IMIL. Our acronym stands for Income tax day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. It is only a guide for the suggested times of year for using lawn products.

I: Crabgrass needs a pre-emergent product as it dies each year, leaving seedlings. It is also time to apply fertilizer, 19-4-4.

M: Apply a broadleaf and viney weed control product, 30-4-4. The application of 2, 4-D, (dimethylamine), is effective.

I: Apply a pesticide, 30-4-4, to prevent grubs. No grubs mean no food for skunks!

L: More fertilizer, 10-16-20. This time of year is also best for planting grass and trees.

The neighbor, a Mr. Jones, has a lawn that looks as though it came from a nursery!