13 responses so far ↓

• 1 michael feigenbaum // May 17, 2007 at 8:57 am

  i enjoyed the conversation i agree with everything said i would like to invite george and all the bloggers to cafe markia we have wifi and great food and drink 216-4568094
  reach me at 216-752-0828
  michael@lucys

• 2 Barbara Contorno // Jul 19, 2007 at 9:16 am

  Bravo Polensek!!
  Kick those drug dealers where it hurts!!!
  Shame on Tanya Lewis!!!

• 3 J W Wright // Jul 19, 2007 at 5:41 pm

  You were spot on giving that kid the business about being a thug and dumb as mud, sometimes you gotta call it like you see it.

  Maybe he’ll be shamed enough to do something about his downward spiral, or coddled by the politically correct into believeing what he is doing is okay.

• 4 Darleen Herriman // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:07 am

  HOORAY for Polensek’s Letter to the crack dealer!
  Perhaps if the kids mother would
  stopped defending her ‘child’…and face the facts that - yes - her son
  is being dumber than mud (an old expression by the way)….and will end up dead -(not a threat but for hanging with the wrong crowd, and making poor life choices!)..Perhaps a few harsh words for her own son - would be the a better way to straighten him out.
  She’s probably the first one to ‘blame the system’….she should be
  grateful that someone is taking an interest…and willing to tell her ‘little boy’ the realities of life.
  Obviously she has not! D.

• 5 Louis t zayas // Jul 23, 2007 at 5:22 am

  good 4 u Polensek, It’s about time, the mother didnt deny the crack dealing. all she bitched about was the mud word.These thugs need to get the true message.

• 6 jean hargis // Jul 23, 2007 at 3:43 pm

  THANK GOODNESS! Finally someone who is finally stepping up and saying what the rest of the spineless politicians are afraid to say! We need your type here in Cincinnati! Are you looking for a job?

• 7 Hajjah Muhammad // Jul 23, 2007 at 4:58 pm

  More people should stand up and tell the truth. Too many thugs are trying to hide behind the (misguided) ‘political correctness’ in this country which keeps decent people from telling the truth. We are victims of a drug culture and there is no punishment too severe for the hoodlums who sell that garbage and perpetuate the horror. Indeed they are less than trash and death is too good for them.

• 8 cubejockey // Jul 24, 2007 at 6:26 am

  Bravo my ass. Since this letter thing “happened”. Lets come back to it 6 month from now and ask ourselves these questions:

  Is this kid back in jail yet?

  Has drug trafficking and crime dropped in Polensek’s ward?

  Have the lil punks in mike polensek’s community become any better?

  Typical grandstanding by Polensek. Shoots his mouth off bosses city administration employees like their his servants….but cant lead and beccome Mayor

  Please.

• 9 Bill B // Jul 31, 2007 at 10:29 am

  Mr. Polensek’s letter reminds me of a recent confrontation I had with a crack dealer in the parking lot of a convenience store on E. 185th in the 11th Ward of Cleveland. As I was walking out of the store a crack dealer was walking in. He had left his parked car running with the windows down and the stereo blasting at full volume. It’s bad enough having to listen to someone else’s taste in music when sitting at a traffic light but at least then you can eventually drive away. The idea that this young man would leave his music blaring so loud that the entire neighborhood was being forced to listen to it in his absence was just too much. I shouted out over the racket “This is so rude”. The crack dealer swung around in the doorway and shouted at me “Are you talking to Me?” His angry grimace revealed a mouthful of gold teeth or his “grill” as it’s sometimes called. I knew then that I was dealing with a crack dealer and it was time to move on. However I still couldn’t help myself. I made a gesture pantomiming someone turning down their volume control knob and jumped in my car. I drove off with my heart racing before he could make it across the parking lot.

  Unlike Mr. Polensek I did not use profanity but something had to be said. Would I do it again? I’m not sure. What I did wasn’t as brave as it was stupid. The crack dealer could have pulled a gun and shot me on the spot. That’s what is so frightening about these characters. They don’t believe that the rules apply to them. They truly believe that they deserve respect even though they are not contributing anything to the community. We as law abiding citizens need to communicate to these thugs, in whatever ways we can, that we don’t respect them in the least.

  Mr. Polensek’s language was a little rough but I applaud him for speaking up.

• 10 Ricky // Aug 9, 2007 at 4:18 pm

  Polensek should be the mayor. The worst thing about Cleveland is Public Square. Thugs are cralling all over the place. We need to make downtown the place to be again.

• 11 George Nemeth // Aug 9, 2007 at 5:12 pm

  Nonsense. You need to be able to be diplomatic and build consensus to be the leader of a city the size of Cleveland. Polensek is neither. I sat in a meeting with him recently and all he can do is try to browbeat others into compiling to his wishes. Trying to push people’s buttons using anger, fear, and guilt is no way to act.

• 12 Gloria Ferris // Aug 11, 2007 at 10:51 am

  Ricky-

  When were you on public square the last time? There are very few people on public square at night when thugs are usually out. My husband and I have been there waiting for a bus with other people waiting for a bus.

  None of us are thugs and I resent you saying so. The problem with downtown Cleveland at night is not thugs but people like you perpetuating a myth that thugs are on public square.

  A lack of nightlife except for a few concentrated spots is a problem, the on-going construction is challenging and the darkness created by that construction doesn’t help.

  But tell me when you were out among “the thugs”. Cleveland is no different from any other big city with issues.

• 13 George Nemeth // Aug 11, 2007 at 11:17 am

  I think “thug” is being used as a euphemism for a (usually) black person you’re afraid of.