I'm still laughing at the credulity of the NAACP national office, the White House and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack over the firing of Shirley Sherrod. You can't make this shit up. And when I'm done laughing, I want to weep. Some of the brightest people in our public life believe anything that's on the Internet.  

Less than 18 months into its existence, the Tea Party movement is in the throes of an identity crisis. It began when the NAACP announced it would consider a resolution at its annual meeting that asked the Tea Party to condemn and expel its racist elements, calling them "a threat to democracy." That was enough to get the temperatures rising of some Tea Party leaders, who certainly are all too willing to dish out criticism but never seem able to take it. But what happened next really lit their fuse.  

Federal transportation officials announced late last week that Cincinnati will receive a $24.9 million grant to help build a proposed streetcar system, while the NAACP's local chapter continues its strange disconnect from the organization’s national office.  

Although it sounds like a facility where mutant superheroes might train, X-Lab actually is Xavier University's economic development program. Operated by the Williams College of Business, the lab is holding a unique competition: 35 entrepreneurs submitting ideas in a bid to win consulting services from X-Lab to help start or expand their business.  

Many people have a love/hate relationship with Jason Haap, who operates The Cincinnati Beacon Web site. Say what you will about him, but he has a knack for raising issues before others do and that was the case recently with the need for bilingual signage at Fountain Square.  

WINNER: The NAACP's Cincinnati chapter and the Baptist Ministers Conference recently called out Cincinnati Public Schools for not hiring enough minority contractors as part of the district's $1.07 billion plan to renovate and rebuild many schools. It's odd the CPS contract errors were found only after the NAACP did the research.  

The possible sale of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works has prompted the latest voter referendum from the We Demand a Vote Coalition. Under a scenario being studied, the city-owned utility could be sold to a newly created regional water authority, overseen by a board of trustees and regulated by rules spelled out in Ohio law. If Issue 8 is approved, however, a public vote would be required before city officials could sell the Water Works.  

Cincinnati is a city that was settled predominantly by German Catholics, but I doubt if even the most devout modern-day resident knows Latin well enough to understand what "e.g." means. The obscure abbreviation is at the center of the latest debate over whether Cincinnati should build a $185 million streetcar system that connects downtown and Over-the-Rhine with the uptown area near the University of Cincinnati and local hospitals.   

I read Larry Gross’ Living Out Loud column about depression (“Listening to the Birds Sing,” issue of April 8). I have suffered from it for years now and take medication daily.   

If its true that misery loves company, then you might think two groups of people used to being prejudged and scorned just for who they are might be more sympathetic to each other. Thats not the case for Cincinnatis black and gay communities, at least if you listen to Christopher Smitherman, president of the local NAACP chapter.