He's no Hemingway

After slugging my way through the short yet painful column by Tom Brinkman I had to wonder, is this thing real? I think someone could have edited it, just a bit. I am not talking grammar, for I have no room to talk there. Instead it reads like dictation, put together in the most awkward format possible.

I would agree that if this survey really did occur and really did come from David Pepper, then as campaign issues goes, someone is on crack. It is laughable to think that anyone would actually push a citywide prescription drug benefit. David Pepper was not the top vote getter by being an amateur. Could some have been playing a trick on Tom?

Hanger Solution?

Did we get a workable compromise to the P&G hangar plan? Tacking on fees to golfers is still not a grand way to pay for this, but does it beat just eating into the strapped budget?

The Enquirer went overboard in its praise of P&G as its night in shining armor coming to our economic rescue. Well, no, they are doing what Kroger did.

A-La Cart Cable

Simple, it works, and its the ultimate in cable choice. I could avoid the shopping channels and maybe get History Channel International.

Bronson is No Ronald Reagan

Peter Bronson is no Ron Reagan. He should take a look at what he says, then look in the mirror.

Doesn't it seem odd that I am lecturing Peter on not being a good enough conservative? Peter might want to understand his word play comes off as not only petty, but also inappropriate.

UPDATE: The Democratic Underground is going apeshit over Bronson.

Blaming the Brownouts

Grandstanding and opportunism aside, is is remotely fair to claim the reduction of fire coverage was to blame or partly to blame for the death of a citizen?

The firefighters union rubs me the wrong way when they try and blame the death of anyone on the lack of fire coverage. It reminds me faintly of the fictional fanaticism in the movie Backdraft.

Nate doesn't hold back his attacks, but a black man died, therefore Nate is outraged.

More today from the Enquirer.

Warren County Terrorism Capital of Ohio

A couple weeks or so ago the Enquirer editorialized on Warren County's overkill on election night. They outed the man who choose to lock out reporters from the board of elections:

The lockdown apparently was done at the recommendation of Frank Young, the county's emergency services director, who said he got information from an FBI agent during a conversation about general Election Day threats that made him think Warren County could be a terrorism target. According to South, the county was ranked 10 on a 1-to-10 threat scale.

We don't know if Frank Young is just hypersensitive or if the unnamed FBI agent was over reaching.

Brendan of spacetropic pointed out that Carl Rove referred the Warren county as "key bellwether political district in the country." I just don't see how a county could be a bellwether when it's vote was so lopsided. Bush won 72.06% to Kerry's 27.58%. This might be a place where Rove thinks he has found fertile Bush ground, but this is hardly a place that shows any National trends.

Be the News, CNN the News

Via MediaBistro we find Steve Safran on Saving CNN. Now, CNN is not in any danger, but I agree it needs to get better. He sums up the bottom line well:

- DO NOT TRY TO BE FOX NEWS: FOX found a niche. Love 'em, hate 'em - whatever. Don't copy its model. FOX is really more of a talk channel than a news channel anyway. Don't think about being the "lefty" news to its "righty" news. (And ignore the chumps who will say you're lefty no matter what.) Stick with down-the-middle journalism, peppered with informed opinion (not "Crossfire" arguing), sharp, unconventional analysis, and non-hysterical coverage of breaking news. And keep a sense of humor at all times. I promise you'll win.

I can't stand FOX in part because I find it biased, but also because it is trashy TV, just talk radio with video. CNN needs to cover the news the world round. Let FOX become infotainment central. Return to the day when news was what they programmed, not tabloid fodder. The problem is that they have to go oversees. I think the market is there. Their current coverage of the Ukraine's election aftermath has been decent. CNN should match the BBC in how it covers the world. It should build its brand and market it inside the USA.