BengalszoneBilly Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 What scares me is what's in the bold font! He is the total opposite of "Mad" Marge Schott, who BTW brought the Reds their last World Series Championship. I personally have no problem with people with these traits. Just as long as they ain't running my sports team. This ain't business, this ain't church...this is BASEBALL! Heeeeeere's Carl! Carl Lindner, a Cincinnati businessman with international interests ranging from banking to bananas, is one of the nation's wealthiest men. His frequent, abundant contributions to political candidates and parties have put him at times in the public spotlight.His friends defend his political giving as merely the generosity of a public spirited citizen. His critics suspect that his money buys him political access and influence. In either event, he is one of several large contributors at the center of the controversy over whether the American campaign-finance system is serving the public interest.Born in Dayton, Ohio, he dropped out of high school to help run the family's ice-cream store when his father became ill. With a head for figures and a knack for financial deals, Lindner built the business into a chain of stores known as United Dairy Farmers. Today there are over 200 such stores run by his brother Robert. Dairy-store profits have fueled Lindner's investments in financial institutions. First, he acquired savings and loans companies and then diversified into the insurance business. Today he runs a corporate empire known as American Financial Group.As chairman and chief executive of American Financial Group, Lindner presides over business assets worth $14 billion by his own reckoning. He is a former part owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer. He controls, among other businesses, Chiquita Brands bananas. Lindner has made a name for himself on Wall Street as an astute investor. He has a reputation for "bottom fishing" -- that is, buying a financially troubled or undervalued company at a bargain price and transforming it into a profitable enterprise. He was an important customer of "junk" bond king Michael Milken, who worked for the now-defunct investment banking firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert. For years American Financial employed a Cincinnati lawyer, Charles Keating, as corporate counsel and executive vice president. Lindner and Keating parted company, and Keating moved to Phoenix and gained notoriety in the 1980s as the man behind the multibillion-dollar failure of Lincoln Savings & Loan.Mild-mannered and shy, Lindner routinely refuses reporters' requests for interviews. He has a habit of handing out little white cards with gold-embossed, folksy sayings on them. One reads: "I like to do my giving while I'm living so I'm knowing where it's going." He is a devout Baptist who says he does not smoke, drink or swear. In 1990, he led the opposition to a Cinncinnati exhibit of photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. Later that year, he withheld his usual financial support to the arts fund he deemed responsible for the show. As a philanthropist, Lindner has been generous. He has estimated his contributions to various charities over the past 10 years at $60 million.Lindner gives heavily to political campaigns. While his contributions in Cincinnati and Ohio heavily favor Republicans, in national races he gives generously to both sides. Since 1988, Lindner and his associates and companies have given $650,000 in soft money to the Democrats and $1.5 million to the Republicans, according to Common Cause, a Washington watchdog group. Lindner, his family, and business associates also make donations directly to politicians. Among them: $106,000 to George Bush's presidential campaigns in 1988 and 1992; and $172,500 to Senator Robert Dole since 1980. In a field of the "top ten career patrons" of Senator Dole, Lindner ranks seventh, reports the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan Washington public interest research group. Dole has also made frequent use of private jets owned by the Lindner family -- twelve flights in 1995 alone, according to the Federal Election Commission.Recently, Majority Leader Dole, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and members of the Clinton Administration have moved to help Chiquita open European markets to its bananas. For years, Chiquita grew lots of bananas throughout Latin America and was the largest supplier to Europe. Then in 1993, the European Union announced changes to its trade regulations on banana import quotas. Colombia and Costa Rica agreed to this new European "banana plan" and were key to making it work. Chiquita said because of this new policy, which it claims violated trade laws, sales and profits dropped.Although there are relatively few US jobs at stake, Lindner has managed to bring his "banana problem" to the top of our national agenda. The Clinton Administration investigated the idea of imposing trade sanctions against Colombia and Costa Rica, and Bob Dole pushed the issue in Congress. In January of this year, US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor concluded his year-long investigation of the European banana trade dispute and determined that Costa Rica and Colombia's trade agreements with the Europeans are "unfair." Despite Chiquita's lobbying, the US has decided for the time being not to impose retaliatory sanctions against the two countries, instead pressuring the Europeans to open their banana market to free trade.Did anyone else notice there was no mention of the Reds? He didn't seem to mind. Jeezus!! That would be numero uno #1 on my bio! But noooooo....not Carls.And he GAVE AWAY $60,000,000!?! That folks is known as a TAX WRITE OFF. Lump the Reds into that catagory. Dudes...firing Miley is all smoke and mirrors. Who's the new managers name!?! You had to think for a second, if not flat out look it up someplace first, didn't you? Until the Reds change hands, get used to this. IT WILL NOT CHANGE! Hell, not even if I got my wish and Pete Rose was back in charge. I bet even he couldn't turn this foul tide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Given the sad state of affairs with the Bengals ( until recently ) and the fiasco that is still ongoing with the Reds, it's hard to believe that this is the same city that was named Sports Illustrateds Best Sports City In America. What the Hell happened ????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Given the sad state of affairs with the Bengals ( until recently ) and the fiasco that is still ongoing with the Reds, it's hard to believe that this is the same city that was named Sports Illustrateds Best Sports City In America. What the Hell happened ????????? What year was THAT!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Given the sad state of affairs with the Bengals ( until recently ) and the fiasco that is still ongoing with the Reds, it's hard to believe that this is the same city that was named Sports Illustrateds Best Sports City In America. What the Hell happened ?????????What year was THAT!?! During the days of The Big Red Machine .... and about the same time that the Bengals were in the play offs. I'll scrounge around and see if I can find it.edit .... List of winners only goes back to 1993 ....... We haven't won during that period for what should be obvious reasons. We Are still listed as #27 overall tho ... probably due in large part to the resurgence of the Bengals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 During the days of The Big Red Machine .... and about the same time that the Bengals were in the play offs. I'll scrounge around and see if I can find it. Lemme help you out Pat...look in the library section under "Ancient History." It'll be located right next to the section that contain our birthdays! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 During the days of The Big Red Machine .... and about the same time that the Bengals were in the play offs. I'll scrounge around and see if I can find it.Lemme help you out Pat...look in the library section under "Ancient History." It'll be located right next to the section that contain our birthdays! Got a kick out of ordering off the Seniors Menu when I was out last week ...... then got depressed when they didn't ask for ID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalindian Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Can I borrow like a year and a half from someone, so that I can legally purchase alcohol?? Boo for Carl and his stupid bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Can I borrow like a year and a half from someone, so that I can legally purchase alcohol?? Boo for Carl and his stupid bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Alcohol is the devils own drink and the root of all sins of the flesh. As such .... any alcohol that you do manage to obtain ..... should immediately be turned over to me And YES Billy ...... I'll share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Can I borrow like a year and a half from someone, so that I can legally purchase alcohol?? Boo for Carl and his stupid bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Alcohol is the devils own drink and the root of all sins of the flesh. As such .... any alcohol that you do manage to obtain ..... should immediately be turned over to me And YES Billy ...... I'll share Don't listen to him Indian! He's just a drunken Marine! Listen to this drunken Marine instead!! It's NOT the Devils drink! DevilDOGS maybe, but we share none with that dude in the red suit with the pointy tail! C'mon...even Jesus got bored with water and said, "what the hey, time for a little wine!" Any dude that can hang out with prostitutes and pull off that miracle is A-OK with me!And like I said before...EVERYTHING in moderation except one thing. Clay Aiken music. Ugh. Have none of that! I just heard my girlfriends CD of that dude! Now I have to buy her a new CD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Next_Big_Thing Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 WTF difference does it make if a coach is Christian or not? It DOESNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Lindner is a businessman who happens to be Christian. You don't turn a few ice cream shops into United Dairy Farmers because you are Christian, you do it because you have a head for business.Unfortunately, professional sports isn't just about Business. If you treat it simply as a business, you get Cincinnati Sports Failure Syndrome. Mike Brown tried to do this, and Carl Lindner is trying to do it. You have to go beyond the dollars and cents to the HEART that is necessary in professional sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted July 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 WTF difference does it make if a coach is Christian or not? It DOESNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.It may not. I was using it a point of contrast between he and Marge being total opposites. Both lifestyle-wise, and the inarguable results on the field-wise. BTW, the word "Christian" was not mentioned. It was Baptist, and IMHO one is hardly inclusive of the other. We may have to defer to "The Chaplin" on that. I'd rather skip it though, I'm not trying to start another religious debate. Unfortunately, professional sports isn't just about Business. If you treat it simply as a business, you get Cincinnati Sports Failure Syndrome. Mike Brown tried to do this, and Carl Lindner is trying to do it. You have to go beyond the dollars and cents to the HEART that is necessary in professional sports.To me Mike Brown has accomplished this. He's trying to complete the job he 2/3's the way through. Personally I just don't think owning a sports franchise is Mr. Lindners strong suit. Nobody bats .1000 in everything in life, and owning the Reds just may be the fastball that Carl Lindner can't get around on! (pardon by baseball anology.)He is without question a fabulously successfull business man that has been unable to duplicate that success in the world of sports. So far...To sum it up, I hope he makes me eat every single word I've said against him, just as Mike Brown did, but personally I doubt he's even remotely close to the point of handing me the big ol' "Plate-O-Crow" to dine on yet. If I'm wrong, ring the dinner bell, and I'll bring my fork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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