By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, December 28, 2007 at 7:34 AM
See you in the new year.
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On Vacation (Open Thread)
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30 Comments:
Vacation? Fine. I'll start this rolling.
The FBI says the stuffed monkey in the firehouse was NOT a hate crime.
Discuss.
12/28/2007 8:51 AM
Will Antonio come back from vacation so he can spin this story and somehow blame the Mayor?
I sure hope so!
That damn Slay
12/28/2007 9:02 AM
Interesting Mayor Slay does not discuss the methodology of the "Most Literate Cities" list posted on his website.
Is it STL city? STL county? Metro area?
I guess if the stats are flawed, but appear positive, then it's OK to deceive the people.
12/28/2007 9:12 AM
I had no doubts all along that an objective outside source would readily recognize the monkey did not represent racism or a hate crime.
Too many "crying wolves" only lessens the majorities belief or concern that genuine racism is out there.
This was a case of reverse racism.
In the meantime, Antonio, have a well-deserved vacation.
12/28/2007 9:27 AM
For 2008---
1. On July 23 in your archives, I have a post about Diana Bourisaw's letter to Kent King regarding the state board of education dated May 11th. She emphasized the gates foundation schools compared to the Texas can outfit the state board of bozos was bringing in. Perhaps the new state board sponsored charter school from TexasCan at 4300 goodfellow is exactly the model desired for showing how smart the state board is about these things. My senator suggested that I express my curiosity about what is going on at 4300 goodfellow not in an e-mail, but in a letter on paper in an envelope which he has said he will hand carry to a couple of other senators. I have hit stone walls,(so far) with David Hunn, Antonio, the rft reporter Hindeman, trying to get someone to say something about just how the geniuses at the state board are doing with the school which is pretty much exempt from meeting their own standards. I will be sending e-mail copies of what i write to the senators to the reporters in hopes that a greater awareness can be made of just who these people are on the state board, and what their agenda is regarding charter schools. Hunn is supposed to be writing a series on them. I hope it is not all puff pieces---I do not fault him for starting with a positive story. Maybe we will never know what really happened with Tim Bacon, or what the average slps attendance was for 2006-2007 (as opposed to the much-hyped and meaningless opening day attendance),but maybe---somehow---some way---I will cajole somebody into telling me something about the state bozo's charter operation at 4300 goodfellow. Maybe it is great.
Yesterday, the Clinton afsceme people spent 39,000 dollars on a mailer in Hew Hampshire criticizing obama's lack of mandates in his healthcare plan. Here is an interesting sentence from the platform afscme adopted last summer----BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
In the absence of federal solutions, states will continue to initiate their own reforms of the health care system, especially reforms targeted to the most vulnerable populations. Some of these reforms, such the reforms adopted in Massachusetts in 2006 which rely on “individual mandates,” are incompatible with AFSCME’s principles and long term interests
12/28/2007 11:32 AM
So nobody wants to talk about how Alderman Carter got knocked the hell out? Do you all think karma had anything to do with this...because I think a few years back he was accused of striking someone
12/28/2007 12:05 PM
Ald Carter is a nice guy I am happy he is ok.
Maybe now he will be inclined to better fund the police department, hire more beat cops and lobby the state to give control of the PD to the City.
Who knows.
12/28/2007 12:25 PM
What is up with the so called investigation of the $40,000 + stolen from the St. Louis Police Department's evidence room? It has been quite awhile since the money was stolen and no results shakes my confidence in the investigative skills of Internal Affairs!Why weren't there better controls and accountability for people that access to the Evidence Room? Could you imagine if we had a black police Chief how Mike Owens would be doing an ambush interview on the Chief about the missing money? Why the silence Mike Owens and KSDK about the missing money under Mokwa's reign? Will evidence in criminal cases be thrown out due to an unsecured Evidence Room in which evidence may of been tainted? Why isn't that damn Slay speaking out and against Mokwa and the fiasco,imagine if it were a black Chief?
12/28/2007 12:27 PM
Antonio,
Can you get one of your interns to attend and record the board meetings of the charter schools and post the recording on website, please?
Some more Sunshine and accountability on the charter schools would be wonderful.
Below schedule is from Confluence website:
Meeting Dates
About Confluence > Board of Directors >
Members... Meeting Dates...
Confluence Board Meetings for 2007-2008
All Board meetings start at 8:00 AM and are held on the third Friday of the month, except October’s, which will be the second Friday.
Dates and Locations
Friday, January 18, 2008 Old North Campus
Friday, February 15, 2008 South City Campus
Friday, March 21, 2008 Walnut Park Campus
Friday, April 18, 2008 Old North Campus
Friday, May 16, 2008 South City Campus
Friday, June 20, 2008 Walnut Park Campus
12/28/2007 12:40 PM
If the 65th has no State Rep. why do I see a car with State Rep. plates on it driving around south St. Louis?
12/28/2007 3:07 PM
All of Missouri should have a state Rep. Who told you the 65th has no state rep?
12/28/2007 3:20 PM
Seat opened in June. Will be filled in February.
12/28/2007 4:23 PM
St. Louis ranks No. 6 among the Top Ten Most Literate Cities
By Jane Henderson
POST-DISPATCH BOOK EDITOR
12/29/2007
Steadier newspaper readership, more local periodicals and great library resources helped propel St. Louis into the Top 10 most literate cities in the nation, according to an annual study conducted by Central Connecticut State University. With improvements in several areas used to measure a city's literacy, St. Louis landed at No. 6 this year compared to No. 12 last year, ahead of Boston and San Francisco.
"Really?" said Barry Leibman, co-owner of one of the few independent bookstores in the area, Left Bank Books in the city's Central West End. "They [San Francisco and Boston] have such strong book climates and long-standing intellectual reputations. The study is a happy surprise."
The study looked at cities with more than 250,000 population. Minneapolis, Seattle, St. Paul, Denver and Washington ranked ahead of St. Louis overall. The study measurements pertained only to the city and did not include St. Louis County.
12/29/2007 9:33 AM
Alderman Carter got beat down. Obviously we have a crime problem. Perhaps we should have local control of the police department? Maybe then shit like this wouldn't happen so often?
12/29/2007 11:45 AM
I wonder what the literacy rate is in Jefferson City---where the people who make so many of the decisions for the 6th most literate city actually live and work.
12/29/2007 12:46 PM
Hope you enjoyed your vacation. Since you never replied to my email after I identified myself as a St Louis firefighter, perhaps you could explain here how you see your role in the media. And maybe clarify whether or not you are pushing Addington Stewart's agenda as opposed to doing real journalism.
Thanks.
12/29/2007 1:24 PM
This story is total crap, Urban. If it were a piece of rope wrapped around the monkey's neck as a noose, then it would be a hate crime.
Don't give me this crap of "he's picking on me because I'm black".
He is looking to invoke a frivilous lawsuit using his race to justify his invalid claims at a time when the Fire Department is not in the mood to joke around with this issue.
He's wasting the FBI's time, he's wasting the city's time, and he's wasting the departments time.
As an fireman, he should know better than to shout "Fire" in a crowded movie theater where there is no fire.
Don't buy into this "It's a hate crime" crap!
12/29/2007 3:26 PM
Crime = Need for local control of police department. Brilliant logic. Seriously, get a reality check. Under local control, the police dept. would end up as screwed up as the Fire Dept. For all of you people who argue that Mike Owens should be investigating the Police Dept., etc., do you people have any idea how screwed up the Fire Dept. was under George? The answer is you don't. About 5 percent of the crap that went on under his reign has been reported. If Owens truly wanted to go after George, he most certainly could have done so. Sherman George is seemingly a nice man; that is the only reason the extent of his incompetence has not been reported by the media. He is likeable and therfore protected by the media. It blows my mind that anyone -- including some individuals who are seemingly intelligent -- go to any lengths whatsoever to defend this man. The reality is that if you spent any amount of time in City Hall or had any clue whatsoever as to the state of his reign, you would not and could not defend him publicly. For that reason, I am convinced that the public stance of these individuals is merely a means to attack the Mayor. That is sad. It is pathetic. What is also sad is that the same people who now use George to push their own agenda, previously used their access to him to bring him down as Chief. He had a great opportunity to bring the Dept. together -- something that George had the demeanor and connections to do -- and then he let Addington Stewart ruin it for him b/c of Stewart and Fire's own misdirected and simple-minded agenda. Then people who have no role in the Dept. and no role in City govt., use George to go after the Mayor. That is just absolutely brilliant. The American, Alvin Reid and Sylvetser Brown can write all of the stories and editorials they want to about the plight of the "City's 1st African-American Fire Chief." When interviewed -- live and in person -- they can't defend him. They can't even articulate a reasonable argument in his favor. They sound non-sensical b/c the entire situation is nonsense. Be relieved that Mike Owens has not reported on the majority of the matters that occurred under George. Also, if some how the Police Dept. does end up under local control, move out of the City immediately. I can't imagine a much worse scenario.
Before you say it, no I am not a firefighter. I don't work for the Mayor. And yes, I do realize the racial tension and history of the Fire Dept.
12/29/2007 5:07 PM
The Mayor had to know the risk he was taking of further alienating the African-American population when he fired Chief George. My questions (as an interested and concerned bystander) are these:
1. Was the fire department not functioning well under Chief George? (I don't recall any stories of incompetent fire fighting going on...) I understand that there were racial tensions but the men and women of the St. Louis Fire Department seemed to be doing their jobs well.
2. Was the increase in racial tension (due to Chief George's firing) worth it? I kinda get the feeling it wasn't but then again I hate the racial bullshit and am directly affected by it every day I go to work in good old North St. Louis.
3. Is the Fire Department somehow better now? (because it will take YEARS to fix the racial hatred and division that has been re-ignited)
4. Was it worth it Mr. Mayor?
12/30/2007 12:59 PM
Answers:
1. No the Fire Department was not functioning well under Sherman. No promotions of any kind were made during his tenure. No transfer policy existed, and as a result for all intents and purposes the Department was completely stagnant from a managerial perspective. The Fire Department further embarrassed the City of St. Louis, and the St. Louis Region as a whole with its display of incompetence during the anti-terrorism scenario that took place at Bush Stadium 2 summers ago. There were also numerous injuries and even two deaths of firemen on duty. So many in fact, the department was forced to review its safety and training procedures. The examples above are only the ones that were highly publicized, which makes me wonder how anyone can think that this issue was racial. The Chief and his Department FAILED the city in dramatic fashion during a training exercise at Bush. Had the incident been real (be it terrorism or in the case of the scenario a derailed trained near Bush stadium which is a viable and likely emergency), the Chief and the SLFD would have been solely responsible for literally THOUSANDS of Deaths. The SLMPD managed to score very highly doing the jobs that the FD are specifically trained to handle. Though the PD has many officers trained in this type of response, it would be comparable to a group of reservists besting a special forces unit in a competition of military skill and response. By all accounts outside of those that wish to make this a political issue, George deserved to be removed long ago, but because race and politics are so prevalent in every facet of government in the City of St. Louis, the just and inevitable outcome was postponed until the crisis reached critical mass.
Despite the glowing reviews George is often given by this blog and the American, George was never qualified in any way to be the Chief of the St. Louis Fire Department. The phrase “highly qualified” has been used numerous times to describe George. What where his qualifications? He was a fireman for 40 years? There are many firefighters that have been on the job 40 years that are not qualified to be a supervisor or manager, let alone Chief. I wish someone would post or make available a list of George’s accomplishments as Chief, even those of his entire career. The fact is there were no shining accomplishments that are not overshadowed by his frequent and flagrant displays of incompetence. If someone can demonstrate otherwise I will gladly eat these words.
2. Yes, the Fire Department finally has a “highly qualified” commander who is 1. Well educated, 2. Well trained (local and federal training), 3. That earned his position through education, practical and demonstrated knowledge, and 4. Was the highest scoring applicant. The FD has a chance to become the elite fire department it once was under the new Chief. The only cost, angering a vocal minority within the FD (F.I.R.E.) and politicos that wish to turn this in to a racial issue (which it is not, nor has it ever been). The average black fireman is as happy about the new chief as the average white fireman. This is never portrayed on the news simply because the “stink” raised by those vocal few is sensational.
3. Morale is through the roof (despite claims by F.I.R.E.), promotions have been given to the worthy firemen who were riding out the title (in some cases for Shermans entire tenure). A highly educated and highly trained professional as Chief (something that hasn’t been in place for some time now). I would say without question the FD is much better off since Shermans exit.
4. If I were the mayor I would say it was worth it. Of course, this is just my humble opinion.
12/30/2007 2:01 PM
I don't think the monkey was a hate crime, and I also don't think Slay should have fired George.
But beyond all that, does anyone know of candidates who will, or have indicated, that they will run for mayor in 2009, and aren't in Slays or Civic Progresses back pocket? A lot of requirements, but there has to be someone??
12/30/2007 5:12 PM
Just to keep the record straight: George wasn't fired by anybody. Slay demoted George. George quit.
12/30/2007 5:28 PM
Fine. Slay shoulden't have demoted George. What difference does it make? I'm disappointed he isn't running for mayor.
12/30/2007 6:26 PM
i heard only 250 showed up for the anti-slay rally today!! wasn't the stl american predicting 2,000 or more?
this anti-slay effort is falling faster than a hot rock through snow
12/30/2007 9:13 PM
Is there a way to find out exactly how many signatures the recall effort has? I do support it, but I also believe that it is being run in a very ineffective or counterproductive way. Blaming Slay for a lot of the city's problems may or may not be correct, but giving the subliminal message that whites are the cause of it is no way to gain signatures. This could actually help Slay in 2009, since whites who would previously not have voted for him would be tempted to, because of all the racial mud slinging.
12/30/2007 9:43 PM
I think they are going about it all wrong. First, you elect Jay Nixon governor. Then you form a committee to recommend to the governor that things are so messed up, that you need the state to take over the running of the city. Then cancel the elections, or make them meaningless like the school board elections---and let Nixon appoint a three member council to run the city, one member appointed by himself, one by superintendent Bourisaw, and one by Reresentative Clay.
12/31/2007 12:39 AM
Just because people don't show up for a rally doesn't mean they won't sign the petition or vote when the time comes. I know many people unhappy with Slay about many issues, but because we're white we don't go to these rallies. But when the time comes we'll vote our opinions loud and clear.
12/31/2007 2:24 AM
I disappointed Antonio & The American haven't given the same the same coverage to the FBI's findings over the monkey business as it did the initial alligations.
FIRE didn't hold a press conference with it's members in chains and Klan outfits, no front page coverage on The American, not even a paragraph on this lowly blog site. Hmmmm.
I guess the truth isn't as important as their hate-filled agenda's.
12/31/2007 8:43 AM
Nat Turner says "white man speak with fork tongue"....The haters chased Bosley out of office over cell phones and midnight basketball..Finally, Christian negroes are beginning to wake-up. No Struggle, No Progress!!!...Bring Francine to his knees. Happy Kwanza.
12/31/2007 4:40 PM
America's Most Literate Cities 2007
The Top Ten
Minneapolis, MN 1
Seattle, WA 2
St. Paul, MN 3
Denver, CO 4
Washington, DC 5
St. Louis, MO 6
San Francisco, CA 7
Atlanta, GA 8
Pittsburgh, PA 9
Boston, MA 10
Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the 69 largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.
The original study was published online in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. A link to the 2004 rankings is provided here. The 2005 rankings were published online at Central Connecticut State University and are accessible here. The 2006 rankings are here.
http://www.ccsu.edu/AMLC07/Default.htm
1/01/2008 2:05 PM
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