Exhibit A

If you are looking for an example of the extremism of Tom Brinkman look no further than his attempt to outlaw all abortion, even in the cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. Furthermore his law would make it a felony to transport a woman to another state where abortions were legal. The last bit likely is against Federal law anyway. This is his only way to get elected, gin up the right, get the mouth frothing anti-woman, anti-abortion voter to come out an vote.

What is sad is that this man who is supposed to be all about saving tax payer money is doing this with the intent of it getting overturned in Federal Court. This is a ploy. He wants to use Ohio tax payer money to wage his political cultural war. If you want to do this kind of thing, raise your own money, don’t use mine. I hope that is what the other half of his brain is saying. He only has two issues: cut all taxes which will destroy all governments and end all abortions. I wonder if he thinks the using the pill is an abortion. I would guess yes. I wonder if his law would outlaw the pill too.

Extreme positions will be used by most candidates running in what will be a low turnout election. You have to get out the vote with hot button issues. Nothing gets the right wing excited like controlling women.

Dems Deal Making?

While reading the Post Article on the Dem weekend meeting, which does not even mention the controversy that Damon Lynch will introduce on the party, we get words that sound like a deal or maybe a ramrod plan was forced through to get a full slate of six candidates to add to the incumbents.

During Saturday's closed-door nominating committee meeting, Burke refused to allow the committee to vote on endorsement recommendations for candidates individually, members said.

Burke insisted that the committee vote on two different slates of six non-incumbents.

Anyone know who was on the losing slate? I assume the Berding was the focus, but I will put out that adding Lynch may have been the deal to appease enough people to get them both endorsed.

This meeting was just for recommendations, but they historically have been listened to. This year we could see a fight inside the Dems. What will be sad is if people are only fighting of Jeff Berding and not Damon Lynch. For all of the pounds heaved on Berding, Lynch deserves more and before he gets my vote he will have to eat many words he has said or put his name on and reverse himself on issues he endorsed.

Lynch a Dem?

Joe Hansbauer is reporting the recommendations of the Cincinnati Democratic nominating committee and they include Damon Lynch III, Jeff Berding, Eve Bolton, Cecil Thomas, Wendell Young, and Smantha Herd.

I just don't get the Damon Lynch recommendation. I mean to say that I understand the politics of it, but not the actual logic of it. He has a following and will get votes. That is Realpolitik. I just don't see how this will do anything but tear apart the city and drive many otherwise moderate or even liberal voters into the hands of the GOP. Lynch is viewed as anti-city. Anyone who leads a boycott with the sole purpose of hurting people who live and work here can't honestly be viewed any other way.

His views on race relations are championed by many and I will of course agree that race relations need a lot of work in this town, but is a man who demanded an "Afro-centric" curriculum be taught in City schools going to be one to bridge the gap?

Cecil Thomas has far more credible credentials on race issues and I think would have strengths in that regard if he was on council. The Berding controversy appears to be over.

It is good that this time around the Dems appear to have filled out all nine slots. Not doing that two years ago was one reason for losing a seat to Charter.

05/05/05

I am surprised I have not seen much about this year's Cinco de Mayo historic date. May 5, 2005, 05/05/05 is surely gain attention from end of the world types. The Police and UC are prepare for the worst just off campus for what has been called Cinco de Stratford in prior years. Mini-riots akin to an Ohio State football victory riot have plagued prior year events. Will this bring out the hooligans? Yea, I don't see it being avoided, but I see police being out in force and ready to clear the streets at the first sign of anything.

If anything does happen, this will be an interesting test of Robert Wilson and Andrew Warner, two UC students running for city council. They walk a fine line on this and will have to make choices in how to reactive if anything happens and most importantly they should leap in front of the local TV news programs who will be out in force just in case something happens. Calling for calm does no good for the calm, but it can be free advertising if they news crews credit you as a candidate.

Mid-Day Mike in Iraq

I wonder if a military controlled Junket to Iraq by WLW's Mike McConnell will be what he says is good enough for him to judge the situation there? If he was unable to go off on his own, then how can he say they country is safe? If an average person has to take extreme actions in order to travel around the city of Baghdad or if foreigners are such danger that they can't leave the Green zone without a military escort, then how is the situation considered moving forward?

In the article most all of the comments attributed to Mike related to the troops, their quality of life and morale. He has not yet, to my knowledge, commented on state of Iraq, based on his visit. The issues he was quoted on are far different than the state of Iraq. I do have to wonder if Mike is naive enough to think the troops he met were not screened for his junket? The military is not going to show him the grunts just off the line. Also, the soldiers are smart enough to know that you don't rock the boat, especially with a bunch of conservative talk radio hosts who would likely happily point out any solider complaining to his superiors for being disloyal to Dear Leader and buying every last bit of propaganda the Pentagon can produce.

I can't listen to Mike during the week, and rarely catch him on the Weekends. If any listeners of his show can summarize his comments on his visit, please chime in. Mike in the past was willing to not just spout off GOP propaganda, unlike most other Talk Radio hosts, but when it comes to issues of War and the military he is one who is unwilling to question the President (generally any president) or the actions of the military. That is a head in the sand attitude that many on the right have, and often leads to a lack in oversight of the military.

Independent Streak

Michael Altman of Queen City Forum has published a column with what I will call his opinion, but which likely will become a fact that when the GOP endorse Charles Winburn for mayor, Leslie Ghiz will put her support behind David Pepper.

If this happens, which like Michael I believe it will, then Ghiz could get more votes than the winner of the mayoral race will. That might be a stretch, but Independent Republicans do well. She would sweep the affluent Eastern Neighborhoods. What I find most interesting is that this will do her a world of good, but I don't see it getting Pepper than many more votes in the General election. It will help him in the primary, where a Winburn would eat away some solid GOP votes. A GOP candidate's endorsement might keep some of those votes in Pepper's camp and make him an even bigger winner come primary day.

Off We Go into the Wild Blue Theocracy

I know people will attack me for posting on the report that the Air Force Academy has aggressive religious indoctrination taking place with alleged instigation and participation by some faculty. I am going to do it anyway of course. I really would like to know if people honestly find this kind of thing acceptable. If you don't, like say a Roman Catholic might under these alleged incidents, do you have any idea then how those of us who have no religion or have a religion that is not monotheistic might feel when government is used to promote any variety of monotheism? Yea, it is not a warm feeling to be an outsider for your beliefs or lack there of. If this is not a case for people to hopefully be respectful of others when make choices in government related activities and institutions, then I don't know what would be. The government does not and should not have a stance the Jesus character nor any other religious concept. Keep it in the private world, and certainly out of the military.

This is not the first time that allegation of aggressive religious indoctrination have been made against officers of the U.S. Military. Is there a problem that needs to be investigated?

Xavier Manipulating Donors?

Did Xavier manipulate donors when they held a pledge drive knowing they were close to deal to sell the radio station? I think they did and especially with the likelihood that WGUC will destroy much if not all of the local programming on WVXU, it is disgusting that an education institution would do something as unethical as that, which trying to instill ethics on young adults.

What was missing from the story was reaction from WGUC. They have been very quiet about this and all we hear is that they are seeking WVXU listener opinions on their website. Let them know your opinion and I advise you to pressure them to keep local programming on the air. Keep the old radio on the air. Keep the BBC on the air. Keep local news on the air. Don't just make it into NPR 24 hours a day network feed, that I am sure would be cheaper to operate, but would contribute to the destruction of the American Culture so many are crying about dying out.


Full Disclosure: Yes, that is a WCPO banner ad at the top of my front page. They are a paid sponsor. Does that mean I have sold out? I thought when I had the Google ads I might have done that already, so save your anti-commercial rant for someone without a bachelor's degree in Finance. Does this mean I was paid to place this post on their news story, most certainly NOT. The topic is one I cover regularly and as a WVXU listener I am very interested in. There, you can't call me Armstrong Williams now.

Wes Flinn, NKU Today, Filmore East Tomorrow

Pretty soon NKU professor and now Concert promoter (and blogger) Wes Flinn will be pulling in act like the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple. Just no Foghat, Wes, if you please.

CFS in Trouble

Bad times for the Cincinnati Film Society. The big question is who was the donor who failed to pay up? Why did they not pay up? Is the CFS's mission what it should be? I am not a member and have never seen any of the films they put out. Looking at the current schedule it looks as though maybe they went with too many foreign films. If they planned on an audience they should have maybe gone for the Film School items or other similar English based films. People really are against subtitles. Now, if in stead you mission was to promote film making, you could use the group to show local aspiring film makers, which they may or may not have done.

Getting out from under the over $125K debt will take an act of Hollywood.

Shorter George Bush

When discussing Social Security Bush's point can be focused down to, "I, George W. Bush, and you the American people will pull a rabbit from this hat. I know what I want to happen, and at some point in time in the future we are going to do it, but I am not telling you how this will happen. I can't release the details because I don't have them yet. Putting the cart before the horse is the way you make a sale, and sales is what makes America Great. In conclusion: Don't mess with Texas. I will now take your questions, but make sure you leave me enough time to enjoy Donald firing people."

'Talking F-Word Blues'

Maggie Downs reflects on the word ‘Feminist’ after that being a common thread in emails she got in response to a column.

Bronson Steps Back, a Bit

I will give Bronson credit for appearing a little bit humble by airing UAW beefs with his column from Sunday. He did this part because he got some of the health benefit specifics wrong about who got what for health benefits. In the prior column he wrote:

According to industry reports, the United Auto Workers contract costs GM $2,500 for each car sold. Toyota spends $2,000 less per car - and it shows in cars that don't look as cheap.

And $1,600 of that union cost is health care for UAW members and their families. They pay just $5 for an eye exam, and $7.50 for glasses or contacts. Until this year, many UAW members had never even heard of co-pays and deductibles.

Chrysler spends $2 billion on health care. Ford spends $3 billion. GM spends $5.6 billion for 1.1 million workers, retirees and dependents.

His mea culpa, or what amounted to one was:

Others wanted to know where to find those $5 eye exams and $7.50 glasses for UAW members. "Maybe you need a pair," they said.

I'm hereby announcing a recall of that line, to install a missing part: "Those benefits are for Chrysler workers."

Didn't Sports reporter Mitch Albom get suspended by his newspaper for making a mistake like this one? I guess Peter's punishment is having to write this second column, which I will say is fair for the level of failure. Peter must have the same research assistant as Al Roker.

Moving the Primary

I am in favor of moving all presidential primaries to later in the year, like say April through June. I am not sure what good it would do to move Ohio's primary alone, without the rest of the country following suit. Iowa and New Hampshire are quaint traditions, but they harm the process. A shorter window would open up the primary to more candidates and give a chance for real debate inside the party on the issues. The fear of have variable opinions inside the parties, really hurt politics and governance. I am not talking abortion here. I am talking about the real issues, like trade, foreign policy, Social Security, and health care. If the parties hashed it out on the floor of the conventions over issues, then people on the street might actually pay attention. I hate to use TV as an example, but the West Wing's season finale covered a brokered convention that looked like a mess, but Conventional Wisdom was wrong, people watched the floor fights. The paid attention in part for the excitement, but politics is exciting. It was sport, but it was a battle of ideas, not an insignificant game. Let’s for once learn from past (and TV) and try and make the primary race and conventions matter, not just a coronation.

No VH-1 Show of Jeffre

Mayoral candidate Justin Jeffre attempt to land a TV show about his run for mayor has fail with cable network VH-1. He is not giving up his bid for office. His value to the race now has diminished. He had and has no real chance of winning. His ability to paint Cincinnati as a great place was the value he could have illustrated by filming him on the campaign trail. He still could find another cannel to cover it and he still will get some national press, but not enough and not crafted to show him enjoying life in Cincinnati.

Tony Perkins

Wow, when you court racists specifically, doesn't that make you one? This guy calls himself a 'Christian,' but buys David Duke's mailing list? Amazing.

No Lunken Air Show This Year?

Reports indicate that the Lunken Airport Benefits Association has cancelled its filing with the Ohio Secretary of State, which indicates the organization has dissolved itself. It is reorganizing? I for one have never been to the event directly, but walking by the event on the bike path and seeing the planes flying overhead every year, it looked like a great event for the community. It will be a blow to the Airport’s image. If they bring back the car racing event again, that might liven things up a bit.

Al, Al, Al

Someone needs a better producer or made hire a research assistant.

History Lesson on Filibuster and Judicial Nominations

Here is a great lesson in history on what occurred before the current battle on Judicial Nominations:

"Prior to 1996, when the Senate majority and the president were from opposing parties, senators usually deferred to the president with respect to lower-court judicial nominations. With the notable exceptions of the 1968 Fortas nomination and a failed Republican filibuster of H. Lee Sarokin in 1994, neither party filibustered the other's judicial nominations, and virtually all nominees received a hearing unless they were sent up after the presidential nominating conventions.

All this changed in 1996. Rather than openly challenge President Clinton's nominees on the floor, Republicans decided to deny them Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. Between 1996 and 2000, 20 of Bill Clinton's appeals-court nominees were denied hearings, including Elena Kagan, now dean of the Harvard Law School, and many other women and minorities. In 1999, Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch refused to hold hearings for almost six months on any of 16 circuit-court and 31 district-court nominations Clinton had sent up. Three appeals-court nominees who did manage to obtain a hearing in Clinton's second term were denied a committee vote, including Allen R. Snyder, a distinguished Washington lawyer, Clinton White House aide, and former Rehnquist law clerk, who drew lavish praise at his hearing -- but never got a committee vote. Some 45 district-court nominees were also denied hearings, and two more were afforded hearings but not a committee vote.

Even votes that did occur were often delayed for months and even years. In late 1999, New Hampshire Republican Bob Smith blocked a vote on 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Richard Paez for months by putting an anonymous hold on the nomination. When Majority Leader Trent Lott could no longer preserve the hold, Smith and 13 other Republicans tried to mount a filibuster against the vote, but cloture was voted and Paez easily confirmed. It had been over four years since his nomination.

When his tactics on the Paez and Marsha Berzon nominations (Berzon was filibustered along with Paez, more than two years after her nomination) were challenged, Smith responded with an impassioned floor speech in defense of the judicial filibuster: 'Don't pontificate on the floor of the Senate and tell me that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States of America by blocking a judge or filibustering a judge that I don't think deserves to be on the circuit court ... . That is my responsibility. That is my advice and consent role, and I intend to exercise it.' "

Now, if you still think Senator Frist is not full of shit, then you might just want to rethink the whole "leaving the mental institution thing."

Six Democrats?

From none to Six . That will be crowed.