Miami Leads the Way

Miami U. leads the way in local graduation rates

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

The Exile of Main Street

Has the city dumped Main Street as its premire bar district? Two bars close, any new bars open?

Food

Here's the Taste of Cincinnati Menu. I plan on making at least one trip down this weekend.

John Dowlin, Lame Duck County Commissioner & Bigot

What the hell got into Dowlin's coffee? Since when is this guy a hardcore anti-homosexual bigot? I would not bat a lash if this was Phil Heimlich or Chris Monzel, but since when has Dowlin been a bible-thumping bigot? I agree with Kevin Osborne on this:

Although Heimlich has a reputation as a staunch conservative, much of Dowlin's political career has been spent as a moderate with a focus on economic issues, prompting surprise among observers that he would introduce such a resolution as his term ends.

All I can say is good riddance come November to this asshole theocratic bigot, who is just wasting tax payer money with his crusade.

Heimlich will be a total hypocrite if he supports this, but I am sure that's one principle he will gladly sacrifice on the way to his form of theocracy.

Nick Spencer has more.

Non-Bronson Thread

Ok, I know I posted a boat load on Bronson today, so here is a thread to rant on what ever else you might want, Bush's Speech and its failure to do much of anything or you can just sound off on the loud cicadas. Did I mention they were really loud?

Bronson's Opps

Rebecca Bowman of the CSF educates Peter Bronson on his Oklahoma crack in prior column unfairly bashing the Fringe Festival. As a volunteer at the Fringe Fest, I was rather pissed at both his ignorant slam of the Fringe and his trashing of Oklahoma. I applaud Rebecca's history lesson for Peter, who seems to have been suckered by those 'pinko liberals' Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Bronson Hates Business Development

If it was not Tim Burke, leader of the Hamilton County Democrats, representing businesses trying to take home owner's land for a big development Bronson would likely have not given a damn about a handful of residents holding up jobs for Americans.

What would Bronson say if they wanted to expand in West Chester and take some houses a mile from his house? I am sure he would not waffle an inch and support the business development. Here he flip-flops on what to do. Well, I hope I never read Bronson pull the faux flip-flop charge on John Kerry.

Battle Royal, GOP Style

Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Cincinnati Republican, has called for the Republican Party to seek the resignation of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. The head of the Party has rejected Blackwell's demand. Householder's campaign had prepared a memo outline a plan to "possibly destroy the political career" of Blackwell, a rival of Householder for statewide office.

Householder is being investigated by Federal Officials regarding speaker's campaign practices.

More from the Akron Beacon-Journal.

Derf Makes it Big

The New York Times has taken notice of www.cicadaville.com the creation of Cincinnati satirist Brandon Breedon, a writer at Derf Magazine.

And another, the Cicadas are really fucking loud.

No Big Deal?

Rob Daumeyer at the Cincinnati Business Courier writes on why Abu Ghraib became a bigger deal that he thinks it deserves:

Abu Ghraib, the Department of Defense, Wall Street and just about every other institution you can think of, are being derided as symptoms of a debased, faded civilization.

To which I reply, stop with the crazy talk. That argument is emptier than the soul food line at the Republican National Convention.

Look, I'm not saying things are super terrifically splendidly great, but let's get serious. The Abu Ghraib torture -- or fraternity hazing, as Rush Limbaugh calls it -- isn't anything we didn't do in other wars. I shudder to think what we did with the few Japanese we managed to get our hands on. We just didn't have tiny little digital cameras and the Internet to duplicate them a bazillion times.

I think Rob's point on how what was done by Hitler or Stalin was worse than Abu Ghraib is "true", but the difference that apologists for Don Rumsfeld miss on this point is that it was our military. Rob is wrong, this is a big deal. He agrees that the situation was horrid and Rumsfeld and Co deserve criticism, but even though attention has been focused on this one prison, it still does not take away that our soldiers did this and did it knowingly. Another person's crime is horrible, but a crime your commit yourself is then end of one's moral stature.

Boycott B Website is 'Suspended'

The website "www.boycottcincinnati.org" only has this comment as a banner, "This Account Has Been Suspended." Nate Livingston must be on vacation.

Bush Speech, Little New

There were a few dates that he committed to meeting for elections in Iraq, but other than wanting to demolish the Abu Ghraib, there was nothing new. He was a little bit more specific about what he wants, but how he plans on doing it, well that is still a mystery.

His big lie was saying that on June 30th Iraq will have "full sovereignty." That is just crap and he and everyone else knows that. He knows that having 138,000 troops in Iraq under his control means it is in no way a sovereign county.

Will the media keep the pressure on Bush if what he said does not come to pass? We'll just have to wait and see.

Change any opinions? Nope. It was not carried by the 4 networks, so few likely were to have seen it.

Washingtonienne Picture

"Washingtonienne" is on the right. More from WaPo.

UPDATED by the directionally challenged writer.

Kill the Messenger

We get the typical anti-free press idiot in the Letters tot he Enquirer (2nd letter):

Showing photos aids the enemy

The photographs of abuse of 'Iraqi detainees' by American soldiers are a sad tale. Having served in the United States Air Force for 11 years and now serving in the Kentucky Army National Guard, I know this is not the norm for U.S. troops. I'm not excusing their actions by any means and disciplinary actions have already begun.
But should a man, a non-combatant there to help rebuild a nation in turmoil be decapitated for crimes of others? What is the media's hand in this matter? Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense knows the answer. By non-stop coverage and viewing of those prison photos the media has put every American in Iraq and probably in most Middle Eastern countries at risk. ?
Irresponsible journalism is aiding and abetting the enemy. Please stop handing them ammunition.
Steven Banfield
Taylor Mill

I guess Mr. Banfield prefers only the news that helps out the Army by hiding the truth. We all know that the truth kills people after all. An honest man dies first is what I always say.

He is right about one thing: the US government is just handing this crap to the media. That is however not the media's fault. If he wants to blame the bad actions of the military on someone, why not try blaming it on the military? I myself blame the civilian leadership of the military, which is one of many reasons I do not support this Administration.

Prophetic Woodward

Well, Bob Woodward did not conjure up the claim in his book,“Plan of Attack,” that the Saudis planned on lowering the price of oil in time for the election. He got it from their US Ambassador. So, here starts their "contribution" to the Bush reelection campaign. There may not have been a provable "deal," but Bush is the Saudi choice for President. Their financial contribution to his campaign goes far more than money for attack ads, it goes right into his manipulation of the perceptions of the American people. When the price of gas comes down, what will Bush say? His tax cuts did the trick, but of course. Now, he would be right, if by tax cuts he really meant his personal ties with the oppressive anti-human rights government of Saudi Arabia. A government that turned a blind eye to Anti-American terrorists brewing within its own borders. That is a foreign policy only Henry Kissinger could love.

Details

The keyword to remember about Bush's speech on Iraq tomorrow is details. The media has that word all over the place when describing what he will be talking about. Will he break with tradition and get specific? I seriously doubt it. If we get anything more than "stay the course" I will be surprised. I believe though that if he does not start giving specifics on what his short and long term plans are on Iraq, he will be in trouble, even with many Republicans.

Bush can't just punt on Iraq until November. He has to survive a long hot summer of militant attacks. He must lay his cards out there. I predict he will try what used to be called a “limited, modified hang out.” He will say stuff that his supporters will eat up as detail, but in reality is only a small portion of what BushCo is planning to do in Iraq. That of course assumes they have any plans other than getting relected.

The speech tomorrow is nothing but a political rally disguised as Presidential address, but how will the media react? Is the bar set where reporters actually expect Bush to say something more than the usual "stay the course" and pat the military on the back dogma? I don't know if they will be suckers or not, but my feeling is that they might pounce if doesn't through them at something new to write about.

Why is Bush scared of making this a full fledged national address from the Oval Office? If he really was planning on a change to his policy would he not actually ask for network air time, which he has not, and start setting things up in a true Presidential forum, not a campaign forum? It is just a sign of the double talk from BushCo. They call themselves strong and decisive leaders, but they don’t really want to announce anything, just make people think they have, while not really changing anything. Is that the actions of anything more than a manipulator?

Typical Bronson

So, Peter gets a press release from a right-wing group claiming the "liberal" college campuses have too many liberal speakers. By too many they really mean any at all. Bronson really needs to get to colleges more, and talk to regular students. Don't just talk to the activists who call him and lobby him to write propaganda column for them, like this one.

If he spent an hour in any business class at any major university he would get, as amazing as it may be, Pro-capitalism dogma preached. Guess what, that is just fine with my, I sat through it myself. That is what business schools are meant to do, prepare students for American capitalism. I am "sorry" that the schools of arts and sciences don't preach the religious dogma Bronson wants them to, but that is not why they are about. They are about individual concepts of being human. They are about open ideas. They are not about bible thumping.

Wes Flinn has far more to say on this column, please have a read.

UPDATE: I wonder what Peter thinks of the horrible "liberals" at Hofstra University who booed E.L. Doctorow for making "Anti-Bush" remarks during a commencement address. What is most horrible is the Bronson likely would have been booing as well, even though he complains when others boo Bush Administration officials.

New Local Blog

Nick Spencer, former City Council Candidate has a new blog on Cincinnati politics and culture.

Dem Executive Director Cited for DUI

The Whistleblower NewsWire reports that Adam M. Rosenberg, the Executive Director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, was cited for DUI May 14th after a vehicle crash on I-71. I am surprised that this news has not made the papers. I am shocked that the local GOP is not all over this, if it indeed is the same person.

I guess this story might be put into the same category as Pat DeWine's divorce, which was barely reported on in the local press.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

COPS! is coming to Cincinnati. This opens up things up a bit. People will get to see life on the streets of the Nati. I am sure no matter what the overall result of the program, whether it is just the typical shirtless man arrested or a hatchet job on the CPD, people will be pissed about it.

I will put out a challenge. I challenge Nate Livingston or anyone from the Boycott B to get arrested by one of officers working with the TV crews. I would make sure to record that episode.