Religious Bigotry
The Conservatives are screaming about people being Anti-Catholic, many of those conservatives are Southern Baptists who spout openly anti-catholic dogma all the time. Why aren't these same conservatives defending Satanists when the Dayton Daily News attacks their religion with this bigoted headline: "Satan worshiper says death toll at 11." Since when do we label murderers by their religion? Was Tim McVeigh called a Christian Terrorist? Conservative Christians are the most bigoted of all sectors of religion in America, in general of course, by any means of measurement. Sure, I am judging them in mass, but their record of bigotry in their teachings is up front and out in the open. The recent statements on gay marriage should be enough for people to agree my assessment is valid.

Now, before I get jumped on, I am not trying to defend the person who the article claims confessed to multiple murders. I am just trying to show hypocrisy when it happens.

Mormons in the Crossfire
According to a couple of Mormon missionaries who are finishing up their "tour of duty" here in Ohio, they got caught up in a drive by shooting in downtown Cincinnati. I would guess they mean Over-the-Rhine, not downtown, but other than that, they story sounds credible.

Gay Marriage
The Enquirer ran a story on this issue today, and the Post had one yesterday. Both of these stories stem from Bush's comments on the issue yesterday and the Pope's ramblings. In the media this issue has been discussed in several areas, and both conservative/religious and liberal/homosexual views have been espoused. What is missing is any question of the conservative/religious viewpoints that are vehemently opposed to this. They, like the Pope, give no real reasons as to what is wrong with gay marriage. If you have no problems with gay or lesbians existing, why do you care what they do with their private lives? How does gay marriage hurt anyone? The bottom line issue can be nothing but anti-homosexual bigotry. Those who are strongly against gay marriage are opposed because their religion dictates that it is "wrong." This is not a real reason. Religion says many things are "wrong" yet no one seeks to outlaw them, well at least not serious numbers of people. Committing adultery is one of the top ten “sins” in Christianity, yet it is not against the law. How is homosexuality more of a threat to marriage, than heterosexual adultery? Where is the constitutional amendment outlawing premarital sex? I hope I don't give "Fearless Leader" any ideas. Bush superimposes his religion on the populace much to often as it is.

Maggie Downs Mystery Column
The Enquirer has released Maggie's Convergys column. I don't really see the problem as to why it was held for a couple of weeks. Does the Enquirer really fear the views of the future business leaders of the city? We do have conflict however. All but one of the Generation X council members (5 of 6) voted for the deal. Everyone in Maggie's column had better ideas with what to do with the money, including myself. What is the disconnect? Why does the youthful council not jive with the young professionals? Could it be that old money still matters more? Could the Boomers running the big corporations care more about short-term profits than they do about a long-term viable city? Hmmm, ya think maybe?

Springer Postpones Announcement
RunJerryRun reports the following:

Jerry Springer will hold a news conference to announce his political plans on Wednesday, August 6 at 2:00pm in the "Senate" Meeting room on the 1st floor of the Hyatt on Capital Square hotel, 75 East State Street in Columbus.

Springer's postponement is also covered in the Enquirer, the Post, and WLWT-NBC.

Cincinnati IMC?
Well, more media the better, but the track record for the IMC has been one of crack pots with unedited conspiracy theories better kept on the usenet than on a supposed news website. IMC has been at the forefront of communist and faux anarchist movements all over the world. The opinions are on the surface individual, where the line between activist and journalist are gone, but in reality they are just as homogenized as the Christian Right. The only difference with the IMC friends is that they all want to be the boss. Organization by appeasement brings chaos. If this group starts up I will read their site, and over at XRay we might even overlap on content, but I for one will not hold back in pointing out their problems and unfair biases.

Renting ZipCodes?
Kathy Y. Wilson still is playing both sides in her latest CityBeat Column. She blames "blacks" and blames "whites." Blacks in America are not African enough and whites, well, are just white. The "African Diaspora™" is actually a good description of the attitude of some in the black community. I found that very perceptive. Kathy's balancing act must be difficult. Dancing on pinheads could be an Olympic sport someday.

Nate Livingston on Hannity's Radio Show?
According to Nate himself he and Amanda Mayes will be on Hannity's radio show today at 4:00 PM EST. Nate is trying to get Hannity to not break the boycott with a scheduled appearance here on August 8th. Now, Hannity will most certainly break the boycott. What is funniest is that Nate and company are using him as their future anecdotal claim that they don't just target "black" entertainers/celebrities for boycott. This is just a stunt and I am helping along his Press push, but the boycotters have been quiet lately, so I will be a sucker and listen.

UPDATE: Nate did make it on the air. It was what I expected, more of the same. What I find odd is Hannity's ignorance about Cincinnati, and his claim or attempted fishing expedition that Nate had been arrested on drug charges, which is false. That was amazing that he claimed such, when Nate's lengthy criminal and civil court file indicates he was clearly never arrested on those charges. Hannity could be sued for slander if Nate really wanted to have some fun. Insinuation of drug use is a fine line, and I think Hannity would win hands down, but I would love seeing the two square off in court. I think Hannity and his "Hannitization of America Tour" and Nate Livingston are just the opposite side of the same coin. That coin's demonication is one of bigotry. "Hannitization" sounds like pure fascism, but it is a stunt. It sounds like purification to me, which is disturbing, but that is the effect Hannity and his producers want.

Nate was actually very passive, for Nate. Hannity came across as the aggressor, while Nate did not seem his usual deplorable self. Hannity proves he is an ignorant cuss, so all in all I give Nate the nod over Hannity in the "debate."

Hannity, for the record, Nate will not get 22 protestors. If there are 22 protestors there, 6 to 10 might be from Nate's group.

Hello Enquirer Editorial Board?
Folks, what are you guys smoking? You start out with this paragraph:

Every time you fill up your car with gas in Ohio, you donate 11 percent of the federal tax on that gas to other states. That may not sound like much, but it adds up to tens of millions of dollars lost each year - money the Buckeye State sorely needs to fix the deteriorating roads we rattle over - and build new ones.

That basically means: federal gas taxes are bad and Ohio pays a boatload of them. Then you say this:

Meanwhile, Ohio struggles to maintain its roads, which handle the nation's fifth-largest volume of traffic. It isn't fair. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, has been complaining about it for years. He was in Columbus on Monday to push his current bill, which would increase Ohio's take from 89 cents to at least 95 cents, bringing in about $56 million extra a year. He also would raise the federal gas tax, now 18.4 cents a gallon.

So Voinovich wants to increase taxes and you applaud it, or at least don't challenge it. I am a bit perplexed. You advocate tax cuts and like Vionovich's steering of Bush to a light plan, but you don't seem to care about a tax increase that would be regressive and cause transportation costs to rise along with consumer prices. I don't see how this can square. Your tax cut endorsement relies on economic growth, but a gas tax increase would deter economic growth. How can anyone balance those positions?

Listening Skills
Does the Bush administration listen to anyone who does not support their predetermined positions? Yes, that ends up being a rhetorical question. If there was ever a more closed administration I would like a historian to correct me. What I don't understand is why does Bush not listen to people? Now, when I say listen I don't mean allowing people to talk to you. I mean listening to their opinions, and allowing their wisdom to sink in. Bush should start with Adeed Dawisha a professor at Miami University. He is an expert on Middle-East politics, often quoted and interview by various television outlets. The Enquirer had a nice story today where Mr. Dawisha warns, "Whatever goodwill we had when we went in has almost dissipated." Does Bush have the skills to listen when people give him bad news? I don't think so. The Bush ego is the Mt. Everest of politicos. Listening to him is just letting the words in to play with the hamster for a while, and then using them to line the cage.

No Word From Springer on Race
My latest Polstate post is up: Jerry Springer's candidacy is in some doubt. His deadline looms, but he is out of the country. He might push back the deadline a bit. The issue he is likely concerned about is the level of support he is getting from the Ohio Democratic Party insiders. If they don't at least give him credibility in the primary race, he will hurt the Democrats more than help.

The macro benefits of a Springer candidacy is to bring new voters to the polls in 2004 and help the Dems win Ohio for the Presidency. Springer could loose, even loose big, but still could help give the Dems Ohio's electoral votes. Springer's way to win lies with turning out new, mostly young, voters and pulling some of the libertarian vote from the GOP. Springer's support of a conceal and carry law, in a modified form, is a sign of that type of strategy.

Gas Tax Man?
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich wants to increase the gas tax to improve federal roads. Ah, here is the problem, he just voted to cut taxes. He was partly responsible in reducing the amount of the Bush 2003 tax cut. What makes no sense here is that Voinovich could have paid for his roads if he had prevented the Bush tax cut, or at least tried to reduce it some more. Use taxes are regressive, not equitable as most in the GOP claim. Voinovich should be attacked for this by his fellow Republicans, but I wonder how long before they try and claim the Democrats are really behind it.

No Fuller?
Greg Korte is reporting that all indications point to Courtis Fuller not running for City Council in 2003, even though the Democrats actively encouraged him to run. Money is the issue. Courtis is late to the council game, and needs money not only to campaign, but also to support himself after having to quit his media jobs. Fuller may be biding his time until 2005 for a rematch with Luken. If he were running as a sitting councilman he would be a shoe in, but if Pat DeWine runs, then Fuller would lose the anti-Luken conservative vote and not make it beyond the first round primary.

Schlagetter on a Tear
Ethan Hahn has a post on email "exchanges" John Schlagetter is having with City Council and the Mayor on the Convergys deal. Ethan thinks this is a good issue for John. At this point, it might win him some support, but John had one positive/negative mix when on Friday he spoke at the special council meeting it was used a sound bite for local media reports, but he was not credited as a council candidate on air, often even his name was not mentioned. I hope John called up the local TV outlets to make sure the have his name next time.

It's Official: Boone and Bowden are Gone
Dave Miley will be interim manager of the Reds for the rest of the season starting tomorrow. A new GM replacement for Bowden has not been announced.

UPDATE: The Enquirer has more details.

Boone and Bowden Booted from Baseball's Reds?
The Post is reporting a story from the Sporting News that both the manager and general manager of the reds will be fired this morning.

Need a Second Opinion?
State Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Cincinnati, has introduced a bill to allow either party in a medical malpractice lawsuit to obtain the opinion from a screening panel before going to court. This panel would be allowed to review the case and make a non-binding judgment on the validity of the claim. This judgment would be then be admissible in court.

Is this a good idea? The concept is valid to explore, but likely operation would only benefit the defense. The make-up of the panel would be subject to abuse. Would they be an elected group? Would they be political appointees? Since their judgment would be admissible in court, it could become a de facto judgment that jurors could rely upon as nearly infallible, hurting both sides' ability to try the case.

What is lack in this law, at least in the press account, is the ability of the judge to rule on the admissibility of the panel's judgment. The validity of the judgment would have to be an element of the discovery process before the actual trial. Under current law that would be allowable, but would this new panel change that? Tort reform is a big issue, but up to know we only get the rhetoric, not the details. This bill will not bring down health care costs. All bill will do, and its purpose, is to help doctors and medical malpractice insurance companies.

This story came from the Dayton Daily News. Since the elected official sponsoring the bill is from Cincinnati, why is this story not in the Cincinnati Press? It might be on some of the broadcast outlets, but so far not anywhere on the Internet.

Thanks for the Memories
Bob Hope dead at the age 100. The King is dead, long live the King!.

I was in California on his 100th birthday and visited the Reagan Library's Bob Hope Exhibit. Hope was a simple comic, he did not break taboos, he was not cutting age. He was the establishment of Hollywood, but he was America. He was fun. He was kind. He wanted you to laugh. He will be missed.

Convergys Deal
It has passed City Council by a vote of 8 to 1, with only Alicia Reese voting against it. Cincinnati Bell is next in line according to this and this news report. Kroger got their garage, the sports teams got their stadiums, where is my hand out? I might have to move my blog to Northern Kentucky. NKYblog might be a good name? I would be willing to stay put right here in Cincinnati for chump change. I can get by with a mere $100,000.00. Hell, they wasted more than that on rebuild the Empire Theater. I would even guarantee to not move my blog for the next 100 years. How can anyone beat that kind of a deal?

The Gentlewoman’s Agreement
Life from the other side for Maggie Downs in her latest column. Does she now have the right to make blond jokes without reverberation? Blond women do get a bad wrap. The stereotypical person with light hair is no more likely to be a moron than a dark haired person, unless of course they dye their hair. It is a scientific fact that those who dye their hair, excluding graying hair, are complete idiots, without exception. Whigs are not a problem, well not intellectual, just emotional. Some grow so attached to their whigs they just can't let go when it starts to fall apart. Oh the horror of it, the fake hair in the shower drain, it is just tragic. Anyway..........

If anyone can get my reference with the title they get a gold star for the day.