The Battle for Districts Begin

I am perplexed by how voting regions are drawn for district representation in the City of Cincinnati. 12 difference maps have been drawn for a breakdown of 6, 9 or 15 different districts. I am troubled why race is such a factor here. Why is it so important to have a "fair" number of majority black districts? Why do we have to have "X" number of black or white members of council? Any rational for requiring a quota of seats is either bigoted or racist or just too static in my opinion. Race only matters to those it matters too.

The State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2004

SOTU Address Drinking Game 2004 is a must for all true hardcore political watchers. If you are unable to drink alcohol, you can at least play with water. The first one to piss loses.

BBC Quiz on U.S. Presidency is Wrong

In a quiz on the U.S. Presidency the BBC asked:

Which of these packages is NOT among the perks of being president of the United States?

A: A masseur and a pet of choice
B: A salary of $200,000 per year and pension
C: A chef and an aeroplane

The answer was A
The president is entitled to a $200,000 annual salary and a pension on retirement of $63,000 per year (taxable). The president has a place in the country - Camp David, a personal plane - Air Force One, and a chef. Masseurs are not included in the package, nor are pets, although they are welcomed at the White House.

The answer A and B are correct. The BBC does not know that the President's salary went up to $400,000 a year in 2001.

More on Boondocks

A Dallas Morning News column has more on why the Enquirer dropped it. (3rd item)

More on Police and the "N-Word"

Peter Bronson writes today on Police Officer Jeff Butler and his alledged use of the "N-Word." Bronson goes on with a personal experience of meeting the officer and going on patrol with him 10 years ago. He claims the word in question is not even the "N-Word." I don't know what the truth on that is, but it is funny how his take is so different.

I was most amused by Peter's attack on CityBeat:

Councilman John Cranley said different versions of the tape may not be as clear. So he invited me to listen to the Smitherman tape, which came from the cop-bashing alternative weekly CityBeat. It sounded like the tape I got from the Cincinnati Police. I still heard "native.''

"Cop-bashing"? How exactly does that figure? CityBeat dares to question the actions of police and they are "cop-bashing?" Now, CityBeat is not a conservative publication. They are very leftist. That is not questionable, but to call them "cop-bashing" just because they don't get on their knees for the police? Maybe when (or if) Peter stops bashing homosexuality, he might be taken seriously.

First Blood

Well, there was no blood, but there was a shoving match at a political rally in Iowa. College Dems were holding a rally and the College Republicans choose to disrupt it. One GOPer even pushed Joan Jett, who was performing at the rally. This was luckily not serious, but this kind of thing is going to happen all year long. I was hoping tension and anger between parties was not that high at this point, but I was wrong. Things are going to only get worse. I guess the laid back YR were absent that day.

Pictures and first hand background on the rally.

[Link Via Atrios]

UPDATE: Wes Flinn Comments.

UPDATE#2: Radio Free Newport comments on Freeper hate mail to Margaret Cho. Now, when I say hate mail, make sure so emphasize the hate. I could not believe that level of bigotry and ignorance that flowed when she was misquoted while speaking at a moveon.org event.

The Beginning of Cincinnayton?

The DDN reports on the marvels of shopping in West Chester. I think the Kenwood area might want to differ on who's the "Best," but one thing is for sure, West Chester is growing fast. They will have to incorporate and start having a city income tax soon; otherwise Butler County will start a financial crumbling in future years.