Dear President Obama,

Thank you for coming to Cleveland to bring attention to environmental injustice in Northeast Ohio.

I assume EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has briefed you that, in addition to being the most lead poisoned big city in America, we are one of the most polluted, unhealthy, and so undereducated places on Earth.

As you ride into Downtown Cleveland - the most lead poisoned big city in America (the world?) - you pass one of the most environmentally unjust industrial facilities in America - Arcelor Mittal's Cleveland Works steel production and processing superfund site (AKA the Cuyahoga River Valley) - and, as you meet with Ohio taxpayer-funded business development agents here, you sit in the shadows of the privately-polluting Cleveland Thermal district coal plant (owned by some shadow out-of-state investors, it appears) immediately downtown... providing excessively polluting heat to the very Wolstein Center where you shall hold your small business conference today... "Cleveland Thermal’s largest customer is Cleveland State University (CSU)" (and they don't care).

Don't breathe too deeply here.

EPA Administrator Jackson and Department of Energy Director Chu may certainly tell you there are better ways to make steel and warm citizens, business development agents and the President of the United States of America than burning coal within 100s of yards of homes, offices and you.

Bill Moyers: America Can't Deal With Reality -- We Must Be Exposed to the Truth, Even If It Hurts
Many people inhabit a closed belief system on whose door they have hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign. - February 14, 2011

History Makers is an organization of broadcasters and producers from around the world concerned with the challenges and opportunities faced by factual broadcasting. Bill Moyers was the keynote speaker at the 2011 convention on January 27, 2011, in New York City.

Thanks to all of you for your welcome - and for the chance to be here among so many kindred spirits. Your dedication to factual broadcasting, to our craft and calling; your passion for telling stories that matter; for connecting the present to the past, has created a community whose work is essential in this disquieting time when "what is happening today, this hour, this very minute, seems to be our sole criterion for judgment and action." It is a sad world that exists only in the present, unaware of the long procession that brought us here. As Milan Kundera’s insight reminds us, the struggle against power "is the struggle of memory against forgetting."

I talked about this gathering when I was in California this past weekend and spent time with a good friend and supporter of my own work on television, Paul Orfalea. He's the maverick entrepreneur who founded Kinko's in a former hamburger stand with one small rented Xerox copier and turned it into a business service empire with more than two billion dollars a year in revenue. After selling Kinko's, Paul became one of the most popular, if unorthodox, teachers of undergraduates at the University of California/ Santa Barbara. When I told him what I would be doing today he applauded and understood immediately the importance of what you do. He described to me how he teaches history "backwards" to college students who have learned little about the past in high school, don't know that the past is even alive, much less that it lives in them and question its value today. He hands his students a contemporary story from some daily news source, tells them to begin with the "now" of it and to then walk the trail back down the chronology to trace the personalities, circumstances and choices that made it today's news. Their assignment, in effect, is to begin at the entrance to the cave and rewind Ariadne's thread in the opposite direction, back to the deep origins of the story. In an era marked by the lack of continuity and community between the generations, this strikes me as an inspired way to stretch young imaginations across the time zones of human experience.

I've been stunned to find there is a movement in Cleveland, much like "Creationism" and psycho-conservative mind-control programs of the Koch Tea Partiers, called "Teaching Cleveland", that proposes a group of journalists from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (mostly now out-of-the-profession) and other amateur-historians are qualified to develop education programming for our children.

From "Teaching Cleveland": "The Teaching Cleveland Foundation is a pending 501 (3) (c) organization with a stated mission to develop Cleveland-centered curricula in area schools that deepen an understanding of Greater Cleveland’s rich history, foster an appreciation of its varied resources, and equip participants with the skills and capacities to connect, collaborate, and commit.  The future of Greater Cleveland depends on inspiring enthusiasm and a stronger sense and love of place to grow another generation of civic leaders."

Wrong - the Future of Greater Cleveland depends on providing an authentic, safe, healthy, desirable place for people to live.... not brainwashing people to stay.

Change "Cleveland" to "Fatherland" and you will realize the definition and concept for "Teaching Cleveland" is stolen from your typical fascist handbook... and this type of make-believe "story-telling" is defined as "Historical Revisionism" or "Negationism".

Yesterday, I met a young architect in the city, who is trying to determine the zeitgeist of NEO.

I am not sure that I can help him at all with his quest--but the timing of today's article in the Plain Dealer did take my breath away. 

I know some of the artists quoted in the article--not all of them very well, but I do know all by reputation.  And, in the article Julian Stanczak sums it up best:

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I'll be out of town, but strongly recommend Charlie Mosbrook - and know there are many people looking for ways to share their love for the Barking Spider - so share some love...

Come join me at the Spider for the early show. This whole month at the Spider is dedicated to the memory and celebration of Martin Juredine's life, legacy, and contribution to this areas music scene. I hope everyone can make it out for this one. Martin was an important role model and mentor to me. His daughter Jenna now runs the place. Please show your support for her and visit often.

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Cannabis bakers at Taste My Yummees booth at KushCom2 - yummy brownies

February 11, 2010 - The Colorado Independent reported "Colorado edible marijuana bill not a brownie killer - Bill expected back in March, but probably won't ban most ingestibles".

This is good news for mom and pop Colorado businesses that have invested to develop the cannabis economy in Colorado. Pro-medical marijuana organizations like the Cannabis Therapy Institute had warned “House Bill 11-1250 will outlaw all medicinal cannabis edible products in the state, overturning the licensing scheme for Infused Products Manufacturers that was created by the state legislature last year.” 

This is even more important news for MMJ patients, who seek a variety of products containing MMJ in treatment of their medical conditions.

"Prior to the bill being pulled for revision, Shan Moore, the father of a teenager who uses medical marijuana to control seizures, told The Colorado Independent that his son relies on ingestible medical marijuana to control his condition. Due to other health issue and also due to the fact that his son does not want to get high, smoking is out of the question for him."

BiblioNews: Common purpose for journalists and librarians

THE CHALLENGE

For three centuries, in American towns large and small, two institutions have uniquely marked a commitment to participatory democracy, learning and open inquiry — our libraries and our free press. Today, as their tools change, their common missions of civic engagement and information transparency converge. Economic and technology changes suggest an opportunity for collaboration among these two historic community information centers — one largely public, one largely private. How?

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The Fine Arts Department of the Cleveland Public Library, in collaboration with the H. Leslie Adams Fan Club, is pleased to present “A Program of New Instrumental Works by Cleveland Composer H. Leslie Adams" on Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at 2 p.m. on the 3rd floor of Main Library. This program is FREE and open to all ages. For more information please call 216.623.2848 or visit http://cpl.org/musicatmain. The program will include several premieres including “Poem of Love” for Bassoon and Piano, performed by bassoonist Michael Dalby and pianist Anne Dalby and “Romance in D Flat” for English Horn and Piano performed by Alice Mantey on English horn and Robert Cassidy at the piano. Movements from the Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (a work in progress) will be performed by clarinetist Victoria Marra, violinist Laura Simna and Robert Cassidy, piano. The last work on the program will be “L'extase d'Amour” (The Ecstasy of Love) for Viola and Piano. This piece will be performed by Grammy-nominated violist Eliesha Nelson and pianist Dianna White-Gould.

H. Leslie Adams has been called an “eminently enjoyable composer” who’s music has been played by ensembles and performers around the world. Adams was born in Cleveland and attended Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he studied piano, voice, conducting, and composition. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Adams has written an opera, as well as many solo vocal, choral, chamber, instrumental and orchestral works. There are currently two CD recordings of his works released on Albany Records: Love Rejoices: Songs of H. Leslie Adams sung by tenor Darryl Taylor and Twelve Etudes for Solo Piano performed by Maria Corley. He currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information about the composer, please visit his website: http://www.hleslieadams.com/.

Seating will be limited so please arrive early. There will also be a display in the Special Collections Department of the composer's works and items from his archives. We hope to see you there!

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Martin Juredine, from his Facebook Profile

My favorite bar, music club and local hang-out in Northeast Ohio (perhaps the world!!!) has always been The Barking Spider, because the owner Martin was always so friendly and cool, making his the coolest place in town. Musicians loved to perform there and be part of the vibe, which was generated by as diverse a crowd as any meeting place could attract - multiracial, diverse, and all ages, including kids. Some of my favorite local musicians played there regularly. I use the past tense, as I was saddened to learn Martin passed on yesterday, February 2, 2011, after a long illness. Even as The Spider lives on, it will never be the same. All those great tunes and times.

Norm --

I am thrilled to make sure you are the first to hear some very exciting news. Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the 46th Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an "up by the bootstraps" mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue.

I'm pleased to see the Cleveland Plain Dealer giving coverage to HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims presenting a $4.5 million Federal Grant to Cuyahoga County to Protect Citizens from Lead Poisoning... on Cleveland.com, at least. Here is their advance story... Cuyahoga County gets $4.5 million to curb lead in homes. Especially insightful, from this coverage: "HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims is traveling to Cleveland on Friday not only to present the grant to Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald but also to formally announce the nearly $127 million HUD will spend for the communities nationwide with the highest rates of lead poisoning. Cuyahoga County and the city of Cincinnati received the largest of six grants awarded in Ohio. The city of Lorain is getting $2.1 million."

Most alarming, in coverage on Cleveland.com, is the feedback of trolls and readers registered there. As the parent of lead poisoned children, I now know what it is like to be a rape victim blamed for being raped. I have corrected some of the misinformation of truly despicable posters there - at least until Cleveland.com for some reason FROZE MY ACCOUNT.

I will say, for any poor behavior on realNEO - at the user and Admin level - it does not begin to compare with the wretchedness of life on Cleveland.com. I've posted below the comments up until I was blocked access, to protect them and save me the effort of rewriting my thoughts for you... I guess they own my voice and words on Cleveland.com now, and they don't want the world to know the truth about lead poisoning in their fair city.

And that is why there is such serious lead poisoning in their fair city...

 jmsullivan  January 27, 2011 at 11:06PM

I don't care about being an ignoramus about lead paint. I will venture to guess that over 90% of us were raised in homes built prior to 1978 which means they had lead based paint in them. My mom did not allow me to chew on the window sills, the house was meticiulously maintained and I have never known one person, not one, have any problems with lead poisoning. This is about common sense. For those that think we are ignorant, have you paid $13,000 on your personal dwelling to eliminate lead paint. If not, then why are you expecting us to spend our money on something that we thing is just plain STUPID and a WASTE

Google Analytics of weekly realNEO visits and pageviews from December 01, 2008 to January 26, 2011

As I've reported over the past year, while sharing realNEO site statistics with members - most recently, in November, marking our 7th year - realNEO traffic demonstrates very consistent month-to-month and year-to-year growth for visitors, visits and pages viewed. Where there are dips, like each Christmas holiday season, there is year-to-year growth - we've always had strong, consistent, steady performance as illustrated above, since December 2008 (the first month we had reliable Google analytics).

Marijuana Policy Project 2011 Strategic Plan

As you can see in the strategic plan below, this year is an ambitious and bold one for MPP. 

LOBBY STATE LEGISLATURES

• Enact medical-marijuana laws in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, and New York. (If we don’t succeed in some of these states in 2011, the progress we make will bolster our efforts in these states in 2012.)
• Expand Vermont’s existing medical-marijuana law by authorizing the sale of medical marijuana through dispensaries.
• Enact marijuana-decriminalization laws in Rhode Island and Vermont.
• Assist our allies in Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and Washington state to protect and expand these five states’ existing medical-marijuana laws.
• Implement the new medical-marijuana laws in Arizona and the District of Columbia.
• Assist our allies in Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin with building support for medical-marijuana legislation, with the hope of passing bills in some of these states in 2013.

LAUNCH STATEWIDE INITIATIVES FOR THE NOVEMBER 2012 BALLOT

From The Other 98% - Please help stop the spread of Mad Billionaire’s Disease. Download and post this infographic to your blog, facebook page, myspace, reddit, yfrog, flickr, heck you can even print it out and duct tape the thing to your car!

Celebrate Lunar New Year 2011 (Year of the Rabbit)

FYI, more events will be available shortly and we will have it distributed,
here are some events happening in town to Celebrate Year of the Rabbit (2011):

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CLEVELAND – Gray’s Auctioneers kicks off 2011 with an eclectic Furniture, Paintings and Decorative Arts Auction on Jan. 25. This auction features paintings and drawings from the 17th century to the 20th century, furniture from Charles II to Mid-Century Modern, antique rugs, and many delightful decorative lots including a collection of Chinese and Japanese bronzes and porcelains.

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The day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2011, AlterNet highlights the reality that the mainstream media in America is incompetent in its duty to inform the world about affairs in America, if it is not worse and directed by media and government leadership to deceive the people of the world into believing America is right and good, when we are not. As a resident of Northeast Ohio, subjected to the incompetency and/or deception of our regional mainstream media in not-covering and/or covering-up real news of Ohio and our region (e.g. covering up for local political corruption, environmental crimes, and theft of public funds and opportunity from the poor for the rich), the harm caused my family is realized in lead poisoned children and the waste of family resources and loyalty to a place and leadership that are undeserving, if not evil.

Here is how things are working out in the rest of America, for the rest of the world, in the era of the most ineffective, corrupt and despicable "free press" imaginable:

85-Year-Old-Woman Arrested for Bank Protest -- 6 Revolts the Tea Party-Obsessed Corporate Media Overlooked

Some of the most undercovered stories of 2010 were actions taken by ordinary people standing up for a more just and equitable society.

Reception, Silent Auction, & Theater

"A Raisin in the Sun"

Sponsored by Windermere Renaissance

"A Raisin in the Sun" debuted on Broadway in 1959.  The

title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream

Deferred") by Langston Hughes, where he asks, does a dream

deferred dry up "like a raisin in the sun"?

The play portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers,

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - Featuring over a thousand pieces of fine and decorative art, furnishings, orientalia, antiquities, and more, Aspire Auction's first 2011 sale will run from Friday, January 21st to Saturday, January 29th. Though bidding is only done online, Aspire will throw an on-site preview party at their Cleveland, Ohio-based gallery on the 21st. This event will give clients a chance to experience Aspire’s myriad of art amidst a backdrop of champagne, wine, hors d’oeuvres, and good company. The content of this upcoming January auction, however, speaks for itself.

The Cleveland Public Library is pleased to present the Chelsea Duo on January 29th, 2011 at 2pm in the Fine Arts Department on the 3rd floor of Main Library (325 Superior Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, 44114). The Chelsea Duo, consisting of Annie Fullard, violin (from Cavani String Quartet) and Marcia Ferritto, viola, will perform a program entitled "A Bohemian Sampler" with music by Béla Bartók and Bohuslav Martinů. This concert is FREE and open to all ages. For more information call 216-623-2848 or visit http://cpl.org/musicatmain. Please join us for this informal, intimate and entertaining concert.

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Welcome Back! We hope that each of you enjoyed the holiday season.

The Social Sciences Department of the Cleveland Public Library will hold their non-fiction book club discussion Thursday, March 10, 2010 at 12:00 PM in the Social Sciences Department (Sports Research Center).  We will discuss the book entitled, "To Kill the Irishman: the War that Crippled the Mafia." (by Rick Porello)

Fisheye view of KushCon2 Marijuana Industry Convention in Denver, Colorado, December 17-19, 2010

December 17 - 19, 2010, the Colorado Convention Center hosted the world's largest marijuana lifestyles convention TO-DATE - KushCon2 - offering those active in the legal global marijuana industries a place to meet, collaborate, learn and grow their new-economy enterprises, together. In one convention hall, in one weekend, mingled 10,000s of cannabis entrepreneurs and their stakeholders - nurturing $ billions in new GREEN, taxable economic opportunity for America - and their truly Green Revolution is just taking off.

Meet America's Greenest Revolutionaries ever... Mom and Pop Mainstreet, Small Town, Middle America!