Enquirer 'Blog'

Once again the Enquirer is trying to copy the blog world with a MidPoint Music Festival blog. They really have not grasped two key elements of blogging: interactivity and voice. Blogs are not stale edited PR tools. They provide opinion and information, not just a diary.

Midpoint on the other hand is a great event. If I was going to be in town, I might blog it myself, and show how blogging events could work, with the right access to technology and time. If was getting paid to blog, damn, this thing might actually be good!

Ohio Poll

The UC Poll is out (pdf) and it does not favor Kerry. Carl Weiser gives the poll a big positive spin for Bushco. What no one seems to be looking at is a big number change from last month's poll and this months. The polling sample dropped from 812 to 456. That is a drop of 43.8% in sample size. We are not provided with the number of Dems vs. Reps. polled so comparison to Gallup is not available.

I know no one ever really reads the details of polls, we after all a society of lazy slugs, but it these numbers are in plainly in a chart on the UC press release. It also states that the poll was taken from September 12th - 17th, right after the 9/11 anniversary and the media spectacle. Complaining about polls is something I am not alone it and both sides complain, but I would think these two facts would be taken into consideration before someone rights a headline on a Press Release that does not use "Surges," but we have to have a big verb to get attention.

Edwards In Town

John Edwards was here and he answered questions too. Why hasn't Cheney done the same? I hope he does do that and I hope the Enquirer has read the questions I put forth for Dick and uses them or some of them.

Bronson: Huh?

Bronson's latest column reads almost like a news article, well almost. He managed to get Phil Burress's points across without a challenge on them, and pushed the gays don't much discrimination tact.

Bronson's column pales in comparison to the drivel Sam Malone put out over the weekend:

Malone, who is black, said seeking legal protections for gays and lesbians isn't a civil rights issue.
'In the past, minorities have been denied the right to own property or denied the right to vote,' Malone said. 'I've never known homosexuals to be denied those rights. In terms of discrimination, I just don't see it.'

Well Sam, I've never personally witnessed a black person denied their rights, so I guess it never happens? I have never seen any Christian in this city or state not hired because of their religion.

Bronson's column danced on the head of a pin about homosexuals. It sounded like his editors got to him on it. If that is true, that is a good thing. If not, I would expect Phil Burress was disappointed in his mouthpiece. Sam Malone's views champion anti-gay bigotry. I just don't know why he supports discrimination. I don't know why any black person does. I don't know why any white person does, but ignorance can breed discrimination. Religion can breed it also.

Gathering Threat????

What the fuck is a "gathering threat?"

'Sen. Kerry also said today that President Bush misled America by calling Iraq an `imminent threat.' The president said no such thing,' Cheney said. 'Our argument was that Saddam Hussein posed a 'gathering threat' that in a post 9/11 world we could not wait until a threat was imminent.'

If the threat was "gathering," THEN WHY COULD WE NOT WAIT? What a damn liar. He can't even lie well. The suckers buy it like lemmings. Blood, Blood, Blood makes their anger ebb. Fear is the BushCo platform. Fear of Arabs, fear of Muslims, fear of gays, fear of the poor, fear of the educated, fear of the French. Fear is a political commodity to the right. They trade it with the Media, who live off of it like it was going out of style.

North Korea, Russia, France, hell even Canada could be a "gathering" threat. When do we invade? Toronto by Halloween, or die trying!!!

I could be a gathering threat. One never knows when I could form my form dictatorship and threaten to take over control of the world.

Yes, very shrill, very uncivil, yet very true. How can people let their judgment be controlled for this long by nothing but fear?

Civil Discourse: Dead or Just a Myth That Never Was?

The Mind Village has a blog on politics worth reading and has a post that should embarrass every West Chester Republican, as well as all Republicans. This is the simmering pot just looking to boil over. The tensions, hate, anger, fear, and senseless pride are flowing in people, and something is going to give somewhere. I saw some asshole at Oktoberfest ask for Kerry stickers from a woman passing them out and then right in front of her he slammed them on his ass and said "this is where they belong." I can understand people having strong political opinions. I surely have them and vent them often with lots of shrill venom in words, but confronting someone in person is in a whole different league. This guy did it out of pure spite, not just a drunken act. He was around 50 years old, setting oh such a great example for the young GOP Stormtroopers in attendance.

The Official God FAQ

Damn Funny

Cool People

I am not cool. I am as cool as a warm ham sandwich. City Beat on the other hand has some real Cool People from right here in Cincy. Imagine that, someone cool in the Nati. Is it still cool to call it the Nati? Don't answer that please.

Eyes Wide Open

An Event that looks interesting. It runs today through Wednesday.

[Via Covington]

I want Jimmy Carter

No offense to Global Exchange, I am glad they are coming to Ohio to observe our election, but I want former President Jimmy Carter to observe our elections, especially here in Cincinnati. People don't want to face a simple fact that we will have a mess here with an election being waged solely as a write-in contest for Prosecutor. The vote counting will be by hand. I expect the right-wingers will want to send in the Velvet Hammer to sue to prevent any counting at all and let Taft just appoint Deters to the position for life. Oh, did I type that out loud?

Edwards in Town Monday

John Edwards will be in Cincinnati for a block party on Monday.

Max Cleland, former U.S. Senator from Georgia, will also be in Cincinnati on Tuesday at the Convention Center.

MIAMI 40, OU 20

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.

More from the Enquirer.

The Gallup Poll Tarnished

The Left Coaster outlines clear evidence that Gallup's polls are just plain wrong. They are skewed towards the Republicans in a manner that goes beyond bias to ludicrous. Their polling method has created such a twisted result as to taint the entire process, making useless every poll taken by every other group. Gallup is the 800 pound gorilla of polling firms and their results help create a perception that can influence the herd.

Mullane's Closes

Well, perception helped kill a nice resturant.

"I talked to some of my customers and people just didn't want to come downtown. They said they felt downtown was dangerous and that they had other places to go," said Cobb.

I wonder who has been helping create bad impressions of downtown?

Slam the Bigots

A group is Group disputing the validity of petitions from Phil Burress's storm troopers trying to ban gay marriage via the Ohio Constitution. It has been banned already, but with Phil if you can't beat a dead horse, you just might have sex with it. Idle hands are the devil's tool and all, ya know?

Serenity Now!

Things have been getting fairly heated in the comments as of late. I thought I might give an opportunity to everyone to let you inter self gain some....blah...blah...blah

Everybody, relax!

Iraq Failure?

This story cites "U.S. Intelligence Officials" so it has to be taken with a grain of salt, but even an amateur like me can see that Iraq is in the early stages of Civil War now, and has no signs of getting better. Iraq is looking like Vietnam more and more every day. They only think missing is another superpower supplying weapons, but the rest of the Arab world is not that far off.

How can anyone not see Iraq is now a failure? I don't know that anyone can fix it, but Bush's choices have proved to be horrible. How can anyone think this guy is good commander in chief?

UPDATE: Fixed Grammatical Error.

Pay More Attention or Just Don't Be So Damned Stupid

A letter to the Enquirer reads:

A good prosecutor makes a wise move

Mike Allen made a wise decision in resigning as Hamilton County prosecutor. He realized he was wrong and did what was best for Hamilton County but also the Republican Party.
Allen, unlike former President Clinton, was honest. We should still respect him, as his performance as a prosecutor was done well. I think that the issue was exaggerated and it was wrong to get the family involved. I hope our next prosecutor will do as good of a job as Allen.
Sarah Bolger
Bridgetown

Sarah should realize something: MIKE ALLEN DID NOT RESIGN! He is serving out his term. If he was doing the right thing, he would resign right now and give the job he will perform for the next nearly four months to someone else. He cheated on his wife with a direct subordinate for 3 years, lied about it two her, telling her it was over then continued the affair for over a year more. I guess that is real honest for a diehard Republican. Clinton is a red herring, for the billionth time. Sarah seems to read to much Bronson and has to bring in Clinton at the drop of a hat. I guess she might agree that is Bill Clinton's fault for Mike Allen having an affair and allegedly sexually harassing a woman. This is an example of ignorant human being who pays have attention to local TV news headlines and maybe reads a couple articles in the paper. This is the person that kills politics, because this is the type of stupid person politicians appeal to, especially here in Cincinnati.

Rucker V. Deters

All reports indicate that in the end the race for Hamilton County Prosecutor will boil down to Fanon Rucker (D) verses Joe Deters (R).

Deters is whining about something, that well was never covered very much by the local press, until now.

Deters' former chief of staff, Matthew Borges, and former fund-raiser Eric Sagun pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in July.

So while prosecutor he missed the fact that one of his staff was stealing money from the evidence inventory, and while Treasurer his chief of staff broke campaign finance laws. This is the guy who is leaving statewide office to come back to a lowly countywide office, and people really want to vote for him?

Rucker is getting attacked as well, but since it is from the Boycott B, I treat it with, well, just a little bit of skepticism.

One-Party Rule

Why are the Dems so weak in this county not even mount a candidate for every office? Why is Simon Leis running unopposed? Sure, the people in this country are way too stupid to actually understand the guy is a fascist, which they may in reality like, but that should not keep the Dems from putting someone up on the ballot for the hell o f it.

Some say it is because unless you are self-employed you face ruining your career if you don't follow the rule of the GOP. I don't think I face that in the big corporation I work at, but I don't think it would help me any. Also, people want money and you don't make much as a public official. Unless you have money you can't afford to run. Locally the GOP has the money and fund their candidates and the Dems don't have the bread to win, well that and people are just too stupid to know any better. With a local media that brainwashes people it does not surprise that no one understand or cares what happens as long as nothing happens to them.