Protect and Serve

It is so very reassuring that Cincinnati Police Union is so worried about certain citizens, namely 7 members of City Council, that they published their home addresses a long with the following language:

A STRONGER MESSAGE IS IN ORDER
Listed below are the individuals responsible for targeting and injuring our families:

[Seven names and Address listed here]

The arbitrators have said, “There is a problem with the city’s decision making. The city has an expenditure
problem rather than a revenue problem. There appears to be a conflict between the funds the city says are
available and the funds the city makes available. The employees of the city are expected to bear the brunt of the
burden of misaligned spending by city council and the method of bargaining on the part of the city leads to a
lack of trust by not only the union bargaining team but also the arbitrators.”

THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR. WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE ARE YOU GOING TO SEND?

What kind of message do they need to send with their home addresses? Can't they instead write them a letter to their City Hall Address or send them an email? This comes off to me as a not so very veiled threat. What might they do? Oh, obviously no direct harm. Maybe Union Leader's intention is to subtly ask their members to not drive so fast if any of these addresses are ever mentioned on a call. This is not what the police should be doing. They are about public safety, not intimidation. Even though they can justify it by how people voted, not have either Republican on here still stinks of partisanship. FOP members should for once stand up to the hacks they have elected as leaders. They are not moving towards a fit open police force, but are instead stuck in the cocksure attitude of the good old days, where police could do no wrong. Those days are over, but too many in the city are clinging on to it.

Kudos to Korte who posted this on what appears to be so far his solo blog project.

Rebirth of Kaldi's?

The word on the street is that something is going on at the site of Kaldi's Coffeehouse and that it could reopen soon. Can anyone confirm this or know what is going on? The bookshelves were never removed. It appears that most everything else remained as it was. A little clean up or better yet a nice little revamp and it would a great spot for the Main Street Area. With the Diner closed too, it has room to grow.

On the Congressional Trail

I guess this type of story will be the norm from here on out in the 2nd District race for Congress. Unless the attacks start coming out, we will get profiles, puff pieces, bios, and the occasional issue summaries. This race is going to be one on the ground on the air waves. I don't see the media have a huge affect. The only group that might sway someone is the Editorial board of the Enquirer. It worked for Schmidt in the primary, and if Hackett is at all close, an endorsement from the Enquirer could be a tipping point. I don't think he will get it, but it could go a long way in a race like this.

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Day. Eat, Drink, and be safe!

Theocrats On the March, Once Again

This time KY Congressmen are wasting their time on a Constitutional Amendment, but are scoring political points with extremists who seek to teach Christianity in public schools. Why do people want to do this? Well, the congressmen know they can gain votes by appealing to fear people have of anything that is not "normal" and we all know that anything not Christian in this country is just not "normal." (Yes, Sarcastic for those who missed it.) The others who are pushing this are the true theocrats, out to establish a "Christian Nation" or as they often say to "Restore" American to a Christian Nation.

This effort will fail. Why is Geoff Davis involved? Since when is he a theocrat?

Booing Bearcats

A clear cut example of how college sports has devolved into the gutter.

O'Connor Resigns

It is not a total shock, rumors that she wanted to quit have been out there for years, but no one expected she would quit now, with Rehnquist's health so bad and rumors of him quitting so numerous.

This opens up a can of rotten stinking worms that Justice O'Connor had been keeping the seal on. We are about to embark on what will be a horrible period of discourse in American politics. In the media, and if things turn ugly, in the streets, the rhetoric and nasty protests will reach new heights of vitriol.

People are going to go Brown Betty nutcakes over this and I for one really don't like debating abortion much. I am sure this post will attract some insane right-wing wackos who will be on the war path. I just hope it does not boil over. The hate, venom, and lost friendships that occurred for many over the 2004 election might just build into a down home blood feud.

This is the test though for Bush. If you want to see the real man, the person he picks will tell you who he is. If he picks another Scalia, then you can confirm is the theocrat he has hinted at being. If he picks another O'Connor, then I may actually start believing in Zeus or maybe Aphrodite.