Political Nonsense From Sittenfeld

P.G. Sittenfeld has a well organized and well financed campaign for Cincinnati City Council.  He also has quickly learned how to make nonsensical statements on important political issues.  Here's his answer to the Enquirer's question on where he stands on the Streetcar:

P.G. Sittenfeld: The city's focus right now needs to be on basic services ahead of streetcars, but the reality is, this project is now in the hands of the voters, and I will respect the direction they give us in November.

Yes, experts of all political views would agree that this answer is a prime example of "bull shitting." That's the act of pretending to take a stand on something, but actually saying things in such a confusing way that you can deny to supporters of both sides of the issue that you are not against their side. Does my definition come across like double-talk? Well, that's the point.

I personally call Sittenfeld's statement political cowardice. I don't know who is advising him, but it sounds like a professional who is well schooled in how to be for and against everything, simultaneously. That is the most shallow and worthless manner a politician can exhibit and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of anyone with a brain.

Since far too many people lack functioning brains, P.G. stands a good chance of becoming yet another bad member of city council, one more focused on getting elected than actually doing anything for the City.

What's even worse, P.G. appears to not want to get involved with the anti-Rail ballot initiative, based on his "in the hands of voters" line. What P.G. now needs to first realize is this isn't just an anti-streetcar issue, this is an anti-rail issue. Then he must take a stand on it. Is he part of the anti-rail delusional fringe of Cincinnati politics or is he with the majority of sane people who are NOT looking to ban all rail from Cincinnati for another generation?

Half a Budget Plan is No Budget Plan at All

The Enquirer's Jane Prendergast has a blog post that discusses Cincinnati Council Member Chris Bortz stating he is tired of 'Democrats' saying he and the 'other side' don't have a plan to balance the budget.  Jane then outlines a list of steps from Bortz that would cut half of the $33 million city budget deficit.

I hate to point out the obvious and I don't have any other way to say this but: half a plan is no budget plan at all.   If Joey Votto hit the ball half way to the fence at GABP and wanted to call it a home run, I think everyone, including Bortz, would call that a joke.

Leslie Ghiz said Republicans have a plan, or at least are working on one.  Bortz is not endorsed by the Republicans, but has been voting with that 'side' on budget issues, so whether these are the same issues Ghiz is taking about, then Ghiz has no more of a plan than Bortz. She should keep working on it.  I thought Amy Murray, Charlie Winburn, and Wayne Lippert were spending the August recess working on issues like the budget, no?

The bottom line is a simple number: zero.  The budget deficit has to be zero after cuts are made.  I can't find anyone who thinks that both unfilled budget jobs and current staff working must be eliminated from the 2012 budget to reach the legally mandated zero number. If Chris Bortz or Leslie Ghiz can make those staff cuts without cutting police or the fire department, then that means they are cutting some other departments, heavily, reducing city services. The details on that should be made public an put forth now.  In case anyone forgot, Cincinnati is having an election and voters should know where the candidates stand and what services they would cut to balance the budget if elected (or re-elected).  That kind of knowledge is something that means candidates have to make political choices.  They have to either take on the FOP or be their shill.  It is a crappy choice, but that is the box the FOP and it's supporters have forced the Republicans and Bortz into and I for one am not going to give them a pass on making that choice.

What Type of Math is Joe Deters Using?

The County Department heads, including County Prosecutor Joe Deters, issued a report of what they state will happen if cuts are made to the county budget.  The results are not good, but Joe Deters seems to be using some type of new math or really has a internally top heavy salary range and high overhead.  I say this because he claimed that if he had to bear $1.9M of cuts of his $10.4M budget, he will have to cut 50 of his criminal attorneys. The Enquirer reports that 50 is 41% of his staff attorneys.  That works out to an 18% budget cut, which Deters claims equates to a 41% cut to his number of attorneys?  What the hell kind of cut is he making to his staff?  Is he just picking the 50 lowest paid attorneys and staff and laying them off? The average cost comes out to $38,000 for 50.  That's expense for the employees, not salary.  Salary would have be something much, less.  I don't know what the starting wage is for a county lawyer, but something in the low 30K seems really low.

I am guessing that 50 would include attorneys and support staff combined and it doesn't include expenses for benefits.

Therefore, either Deters is lying, or the Enquirer is mistaken, or both.

This is disappointing because the County is in horrible shape and the Republican majority is not willing to do anything to prevent these types of cuts. Reports like these issued by the department heads are helpful to the public understand the type of impact we face because of the failure of Hartmann and Monzel to maintain the services required by the state.  It would help department heads' cause if Deters would be more straight forward with the facts.

UPDATE: Yeah, someone is not adding correctly.  If you read page 41 of the impact statement you find that the very half-assed report from the Prosecutor's office assumes $3M in cuts and base 50 attorneys at $50K, plus 10K for benefits, totaling $60K each.  So, the question is where does the $3M vs. $1.9M of cuts discrepancy come from?  A million+ dollar difference is a big one.

CincyFringe Shows Get Noticed Across the Country

CityBeat's Rick Pender reports on the good review the Performance Gallery's IndyFringe performance of Fricative received.  The show is a provocative Dadaesque use of vocalisation that played CincyFringe in 2008. Here was my Review on TheConveyor.com.

Also getting some attention for the upcoming Chicago Fringe is Pones Inc whose production The Four Food Groups was the featured photo for this UpChicago Fringe article.

Chicago Fringe also features the amazing Artemis Exchange show Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I.

If you happen to be in Chicago over the next week and a half, see both shows, they both were Conveyor.com award winners and are rousing fun.

Bigotry Wins a Battle in a Local Catholic High School

It is sad, but not a surprise that the Cincinnati Archdiocese bowed to local and national pressure from anti-Muslim groups and parents.  Archbishop Dennis Schnurr cancelled a potluck dinner at Mother of Mercy High School in Westwood between students and local Muslims. The dinner was to be Ramadan meal and was meant as a way for students to learn about and meet local Muslims in hopes to better understanding the religion and the people who practice it. Instead, the event at the school was cancelled and a different Catholic group in University Heights will hold the event, without the school's involvement.

Teaching that bigotry wins is the result of this incident. That will create more bigotry. What is worse is that some parents, like Kelly Jennings, are teaching bigotry directly by acting to prevent this event. I just don't understand the fear and ignorance of fools like Jennings. They appear to live in bubble, with just a single tube of information flowing in and scared stiff that adding more sources will pop their mythical safety net.  This lingering bigotry is so foolish, yet so hard to break.

Where Is the Conservatives' Budget Plan?

Leslie Ghiz said there was going to be a budget plan, but we still haven't gotten word of one.  We get more grandstanding and pandering by the Conservatives on Cincinnati City Council, but no plan.  It is a pathetic game.  Promise not to fire police officers, but refuse to document and detail whose jobs would be cut is all we get.

Let's be clear, jobs will have to be cut based on current State cuts and the continued low revenue projections.  The Conservatives (mostly Republican) on council have the majority and have the responsibility to state before the election what they would cut.

We're not going to get much more than promises made to score endorsements and votes.  Elections don't breed honesty, they are about saying what your voting base wants to hear.

Check Out Some Great Aerial Photos of Cincinnati

Check out some great aerial photographs of Cincinnati, including Downtown, the Rverfront, and Kings Island, from QueenCityDiscovery.