Editors generally avoid news and images of local suicides, reflecting our awareness of historic religious stigma and communal sense of shame that can burden survivors. Exceptions generally involve suicides where lots of people see the act and/or body, as when someone jumps from a downtown building or hangs himself in a school gym. Taboos continue to affect our discussion of suicide as a way to end an intolerable life or unbearable physical or emotional pain. This is most intense when a young person commits suicide.  

Joe the Plumber is reporting about the Israeli-Hamas fight for the conservative web site pjtv.com. Sarah Palin again whines that she's a victim of news media sexism, class discrimination and accusations of diva-ness while getting her facts wrong. Again. I won't even get into the resurrection of Cincinnati's Ken Blackwell as candidate for RNC chairman except to say that he and 'Sarah Oh-Twelve' would be a Democrat's dream.  

By the time this issue of CityBeat is published, the long and hard-fought presidential election will finally be over. Here are a couple of items to ponder as you're either celebrating or crying in your beer.  

Enquirer nuttiness is making me think I'm a conservative. An editorial blandly accepts CCTV -- not Phil Burress' illiberal cult -- but 120 Closed Circuit TV cameras to police our streets.