Jerry makes his case: Springer selling 'authentic' image
Jerry is making a hard push for support. Some of his political positions can be found here. The Dayton Daily News reports he will make up his mind officially on running for office in July.

Minority and small firms win a share
It appears that either alot of out of town firms were used, or a new form of affirmative action was instituted.

About 32 percent of a projected $65 million in building, design and management contracts went to black-owned firms for a total of $21.2 million. Small businesses accounted for 42 percent of $38 million in building contracts, or $16 million.

32% is rather high for a county that has a population of blacks less than 25%. For Paul Brown Stadium there were not enough "black-owned" businesses in the region to provide 32% of the building supplies, but here it happened, granted on a smaller project. I have to wonder how "black-owned" is determined. I assume it means any company that is at least partially owned by a "black" person.

Prep star Mayo's debut moved back
The kid does not need a "debut." I really hope Jamie Mahaffey, former Miami University basketball standout, does not let this kid’s life become any more of a circus than it already is. I hope the kid has the skills to go to college, but the kid is already behind at least one grade and maybe two. If he has the talent for the NBA, but not the intellectual ability for college, then I say let him go to the NBA. To many college athletes are taken who don't meet the standards of the college they are attending. That must stop, or at least any school that wants to be considered anything more than a sports franchise should not accept any athlete who could not gain acceptance to the school on their own.

BRONSON: What do the unions give back to schools?
Peter, what do the unions give back to the police department? All the FOP gives back to the police department are slow downs, and arbitration that would make major league baseball players jealous. Why does Bronson regularly attack teachers? I know he has fits because most teachers no longer indoctrinate their pupils in the teachings of Christianity, but you think he would have grown out of the belief that everyone shared his brand of religion. I guess his ability to contradict himself on the value of unions seeps into his interpretation of the 1st amendment.

The Bush Speech
More of the same propaganda. How much money did this photo-op cost? The penny pinchers bitched left and right about Clinton's trips, and Bush stages a free campaign commercial and is praised by the jingotastic media. The "Mission is Complete" but we are not done? I don't grasp the concept. We won the battle but the war goes on is the cliché that comes to mind, but our mission is complete. That just does not wash with me. This is not WWII. We had the Afghanistan speech last year, now we have another, but we were not really done. WMD are nowhere to be found, but we are going to find them.....ya. Saddam is on the loose. Osama is underground, and they are moot, but when we find their bones in October 2004 how loud with the monkey press shout for joy? We know the Fox Whores will be in such a complete stupor Geraldo will actually be made a human sacrifice live on air. The blood lust needs a sacrifice to quell its thirst, and Combs has been screwed by Hannity so many times, he is not virgin enough to satisfy Lord Ailes.

I am sure the conservatives out there will be scream at me for daring to dissent. I guess I don’t have a taste for trite horseshit. I can only swallow so much, and the stinker Bush dropped on the U. S. S. Abe Lincoln was foul enough to sink the Bismarck. Don’t get me wrong, however, the cretins will eat it up like the good little lemmings they are. It was “bold” and “powerful” no doubt in the minds of the chattering class. Bottom line, it was a elementary school pageant with big ass props. Nothing profound, just vetted buzz phrases placed to make little sound bytes that Betty and Joe will eat like candy while watching the morning media monkeys dance. Give me conformity or give me death! (Cough, Cough)

UPDATE: It appears Matt Yglesias agrees with me, on a much more muted level of course.

The 800 Pound Gorilla noticed that Cincinnati is dropping the gun lawsuit.

WHY IS JOSH MARSHALL blogging about Laci Peterson? Why is Josh Marshall blogging about Larry King? Why is Josh Marshall watching Larry King? Josh is one of the best bloggers out there and he is letting the tabloid media creep into blogdom. I beg Josh to keep the "King" out of his blog, unless a particular show of Larry's actually has more depth than a New York Post lead story.

Light-rail foes question conclusions of new study
Yet another obvious headline. Water is west, fire is hot, and sugar is sweet. Who would have guessed that people evolved in the anti-rail campaign are going to disagree with a study favoring light-rail? A three year old could have seen that coming. I would have like to see a story that maybe talked to business owners who might or might not benefit from light-rail, and then comments from the heads of the pro-con sides of the issues. Just reading quotes from the usual suspects on any issue is a stimulating as a plain cake doughnut.

Sentinels Lash Out At FOP's Decision: Black Police Union Wants To Step In
An interesting twist to the situation. This would be a good PR move for the Sentinels, but on the ground it does nothing to improve the situation. The Sentinels are not a group that speaks for anyone on the police force but its own small membership. The leader speaks some of the same "blame Elder" dogma that borders on racist propaganda. This is really an opportunistic grab of the spot light, but it was a masterful one.

Airport To Lose 128 Screener
What happened to homeland security? We can afford a tax cut, but we can't afford more airport screeners? This is a 26% cut in the number of screeners, so expect longer lines.

Covington Passes Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
It appears the CCV hate mail did not stick with City of Covington, KY Officials. Mike McConnell was not pleased this morning on news that it likely to pass. He still wrongly calls this as a special right that he can't use. He is wrong. Under this law people cannot be discriminated against for simply being heterosexual. Mike may claim that such a thing would never happen anyway. Mike should then consider himself lucky and not get pissed off about being in the majority on sexual orientation. It is unlikely that I will be discriminated against because I am not Iraqi, but does that mean that Iraqi's should not be protected from discrimination on account of national origin? This law is simple and should be adopted. If it is wrong to have anti-discrimination laws, then we have to get rid of them all: race, religion, sex, gun owners, etc. I wonder what Mike and other Libertarians will say about those.

ETHAN HAHN: You asked for it.

CHRIS ANDERSON on Portland's problems.

Police union wants out of reform agreement
Here are two big problems with this event. The first is that only 200 of the 1,050 members of the FOP voted on the issue. Fangman thinks that is a fair representation of the overall cop view? Is that how they vote on their union contract?

The second is the fact that this really means nothing, if the police carry out the agreed to reforms. The only issue is how to judge those reforms have taken place. That takes me back to a legal question. There were two legal documents that came out at the time of the collaborative agreement's adoption. There was the settlement agreement with the CBUF and the ACLU, and there was the agreement with the Justice Department. I am guessing the FOP are only pulling out of the agreement with the CBUF and ACLU, not with the DOJ. It would potentially be very bad to break the deal with the DOJ. I don't think Fangman wants John Ashcroft running the CPD. Neither theEnquirer article or the Post'sarticle addresses this issue. I am assuming it is legally possible to stay in one and not the other. Adhering to the DOJ settlement was part of the CBUF-ACLU agreement, but I don't think it was the other way around. If I am correct, police reform will still be carried out and supported by the FOP, they will just not agree to the oversight rules set up by the CBUF-ACLU document.

That was a mouthful, so I hope it makes sense. Copies of the Collaborative Agreement and DOJ Agreement.

Other Coverage: AP Wire, Business Courier, WCPO, WLWT, WKRC.

GOP targets Council races
The Republicans are running a full state of 9 candidates, while the Democrats could only muster up 7. I previously speculated the Democrats were playing the numbers that they felt they could not beat the all 3 of non-Democrats, only betting on defeating 2 of them. In the case of the GOP I think they are still smarting from 2001 when they only put up 5 candidates, and did not field a candidate for mayor. I would bet that at best 1 non-incumbent will make it out of the 7 challengers. Sam Malone is the best known candidate, but his association with the CCV and their anti-gay campaign will be a factor that will not win the moderate voters, who might be turned off by the Democrats. The Charter Party is still a factor, but their ability to be a third party has been limited in recent years. I will be interest to see if any of the many expected independent candidates will get party endorsements from either the Greens or Libertarians.

BRONSON: Senator Skinflint
Nonconformity is the biggest sin in the GOP. Break from the party line and you are called names. "Skinflint" is such a name. It is rather incorrect. It means "a person who would save, gain, or extort money by any means." Voinovich is not extorting anyone, not trying to gain money, and he is hardly saving money by advocating a 350 million-dolllar tax cut. Bronson can't stand anyone dissing his boy. Dubya is the second coming to evangelical Republicans. Those who dare stand against are made talk radio fodder.

The real problem with Bronson hatchet job is this blind ignorance of what he says. He claims that 4 million Ohio Tax payers will benefit from Bush's proposed tax cut. I doubt his number, he cites no source for it. The total lack of rational thought comes in the obvious, there are about 8.5 million adults in Ohio, so less than half of them will get a tax cut under Bush's plan. I am one of those who will get nothing, the 53% of Ohio taxpayers, according to Bronson, that will get nothing from this tax cut. What the Fuck!!!!! How arrogant does a man have to be to think that we don't notice this? That we somehow have to "trust" the 47% to "spend" and "invest" their reduced taxes. Voodoo economics was pronounced a failure 20 years ago, and Bronson and Bush will stop at nothing to buy votes. I wonder how many more of the 4 million are Republicans than are Democrats.

Congressman Jim Boehner, an accounting "genius" (cough, cough), sounds crazy in this column. He thinks the war will pay for itself? Does he plan to have the US steal the Iraqi Oil? What was he smoking the day Bronson talked to him? If the war will pay for itself, why did Bush ask for 75 billion to wage it? Do people not grasp the lies? Is Bronson dumb enough to agree with Boehner? Are average people stupid enough to believe Bronson and Boehner? I am sorry to say, yes, yes they are.

It is sickening to me that Bronson can write what he did with a straight face.

Voinovich won't listen to his party or his president. But there are 12 million Ohio taxpayers who might have something to say.

Well, there are not 12 million tax payers Peter, but the 4.5 million of us who will gain nothing from Bush's tax plan say "Bite Me Bush, Go Voinovich!"

Personal Stakes
In a letter to the Enquirer (sixth) a mother of a solider writes:

Goths are out of step with Iraq war effort

Dan Klepal's article on April 14 "Crowd largely tunes out Iraq," caused me to feel angry and saddened. Evidently, the war has not come home to some of the people swaying on the dance floor, sporting black leather, and expressing disinterest in the conflict in Iraq.

One such person said that watching the war on TV made it seem less real. As the mother of a U.S. Marine serving in Iraq, it is all too real to me - not a movie, not a video game, but a real war complete with casualties on both sides, mixtures of heroism, cowardice, elation and soul-rending sadness.

While the Goth followers are free to express their view of life, the Iraqi people are only recently able to do that thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of U.S. and British troops. Perhaps grieving families accompanying flag-draped coffins could explain reality to those who don't get it.

Karen Daniels, Melbourne, Ky.

I have to ask Mrs. Daniels how much she cares about the plight of the people of Columbia, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe? How informed is she about the current tax plan debate? Does she know the difference between the various tax plans and their claimed impact on the economy? Does she know who won the World's Cup last year? If she does not know or care about any of these topics it is because she has no personal interest in them. The Iraqi war matter's to her because she has a son over there. She thinks that everyone should care about our Soldiers, as much as she does. The problem is that everyone does not have a personal interest in the war with Iraq. Parenthood is a strong element to person’s life, but it often is clouded with emotion and personal bias. It is no shock that kids are not interested in knowing about current events. I wonder if Ms. Daniels can tell me what happen in Bali last fall, or what the "Road Map" is in reference to the Israelis and Palestinians. I bet Mrs. Daniels knows who Lacy Peterson is, and what her child was to be named if it had been born. Why do grown men know the value and term of the Bengal's #1 draft pick’s contract, but they don't know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims?

The bottom line is that bashing a bunch of kids who have no personal stake in a war is hunting fish in a bucket. If you want to attack ignorance, first admit and try to eliminate your own. Instead attack the culture of lowest common denominator that now dominates every institution in society. Money, fame, and power are valued at the cost of knowledge, honor, and dignity. A “Goth” that admits there true feelings on the war is more honorable than one who attacks another for not saying what the knee-jerk jingoists deem as proper.

CPS: Pass the bond issue
The editors of the Enquirer are for the school bond issue, and so am I. Make sure you vote on May 6th!

Old-fashioned station plays the future
WOXY an "Old-fashioned" station? I assume they mean old in the sense of being an independent station in a sea of corporate monolithic sharks. I like the station, but I wish they would play "classic-alternative" music more. I guess I am getting to old to listen to the newest of the new rock. I like a little old school punk, grunge, and new wave mixed in more often. I wonder how pissed WLW is that they don't this kind of glowing press from the Enquirer. Listen to 97X

Another LeBron James in the making?
The kid is only in the eighth grade. He will fit in with the local sports nuts, out to cash in on a powerless kid. I can only speculate what kind of money is changing hands right now trying to determine what school this kid will attend next year. Which powerhouse school will cough up the most dough? Everyone will deny money will change hands, and I of course am only speculating, but when opportunity knocks, smart people can find ways to try and beat the system. I hope we don't see this kids games on local commercial TV or ESPN, but I bet in a few years a US Bank Arena marquee game will occur, bringing to life some sports marketer’s wet dream.