Over the last few weeks there have been numerous comments, articles, phone calls, and interviews regarding the dress code and actions of O'Malley's in The District of Rock Island. (See "Fashion Police on the Beat in QC Clubs," River Cities' Reader, January 3, 2001; and "Dress Codes Discriminate," River Cities' Reader, January 17, 2001.

It didn't even take a week for the public's worst fears to be realized regarding the recent censorship of Davenport's "Public with Business" portion of council meetings. At last week's Community Development meeting, chaired by Alderman Bill Sherwood, the cameras were turned off during the "Public with Business" segment as promised, whereupon Alderman Sherwood proceeded to ignore citizen Niky Bowles during her allotted five-minute presentation by taking a call on his cell phone.

"Hello again everyone, and welcome to another edition of Blowhard Roundtable, the in-your-face cable news talkfest where the participants aren't afraid to make waves, take on the tough issues, and say inane things on national television.

The January 27, 2001, Des Moines Register article on both Davenport's and Cedar Rapids' decision to censor "Public with Business" is a great example of how the media can misguide the public. The reporter gave no context for any of the pertinent aspects of the story.