Enquirer Editorial: “Iraq's weapons: Threat was there”The title of this editorial should be “Iraq’s weapons: Ends Justify the Means.” The Editorial Board of the Enquirer cares little about lying. They care little that everyone of consequence in the Bush Administration stated Iraq possessed WMD and were trying to gain more, using this claim as the main and most immediate rationale that war against Iraq was for National Security reasons. That claim was either an out right lie, faith in bad intelligence, or miracle brilliance on the part of the Iraqis to destroy or hide their WMD.


I don’t doubt Iraq was trying to gain more WMD, but there was no concrete evidence that Iraq had weapons ready to be used on short notice, thus creating a threat. They might have possessed machines with dual use. They likely had unprocessed materials that could have been used to create WMD. There are many many countries that have the same thing: Syria, Iran, and North Korea being three of the most well known. If there was no immediate threat, then justification for an invasion lies back on the other reasons given: violation of the UN, and deposing of a dictator.

Does this possibility mean war was justified? On the threat of WMD alone, no. Do the other reasons given for going to war justify it, yes, but lying about the only reason involving a threat to the USA does nothing to support it after the fact. Playing bait and switch does not fly. It will fly with Bush loyalists and apathetic idiots, but not to anyone who cares about simple truth.

Do Bush’s remaining reasons for war support his value of leadership? At this point HELL NO! His rationale for war now could and should be used in a dozen plus other countries, but it is clear Bush cannot and will not seek to take military action anywhere in Africa or Southeast Asia, against countries with just as horrible governments as Iraq had. He may look to invade Iran or Syria, killing thousands of American soldiers in the process. That possibility sounds far fetched I know. Invading Iraq sounded just as far fetched to me back in 2001 and early 2002. I believed Bush on the WMD, that although they could likely not be used to hit American soil directly, they could be used to hit Israel or other US allies or International US targets. I believed that Bush would not exaggerate, not rely on weak evidence, and not lie like a dog as a means to justify a war. I do not like Bush as president at all, but I supported the president and assumed he was being mostly honest about going to war. I did not trust Bush, but I honestly believed he would not spin a war like he spun his tax cut. I was wrong. I was a sucker. I expected that the US Military would find munitions loaded with chemical weapons ready to go in some kind of bunker or complex in Baghdad or Tekrit. At this point, none have been found. I assume we are correctly looking for them, but I don’t trust the Bush Administration to be looking for them. If they find anything now, it will be difficult to trust what they find. They may still find something. All they may find now is either traces of materials used to make WMD, or if they are lucky, large amounts of materials used to make WMD. I doubt they will find much any of anything supporting a viable capability to use or easily produce WMD.

Will Bush suffer for misleading the country? Only a little bit, assuming he does not get “lucky” and find something consequential. Bush supporters will allow the man do anything he wants with little or no response. Those who opposed Bush before will still oppose Bush. The rest, well, that is where it remains to be seen. If the mainstream media does its job and finds the truth on the WMD, and asks about it constantly right up to November 2004, then Bush on paper should be defeated. If the media slacks off, or lets Bush off, then little will change based on this issue alone. The media so far has slowly been working on the story. The true test will be how they react to the campaign of denials and revisionism from the Bush Gang. As long as the media does not let Bush and company try and claim that the presence of WMD did not matter and the ends are all that matters, then the truth may come out. If the media instead follows Bush like a lemming, as the Enquirer has done, then I am afraid Bush will have been allowed to wage war on false pretenses.

Martha Stewart: Living sucks these days!
Ilene Huffman from XRAY Magazine vents on the Martha Stewart scandal. I too have little pity for, especially after watching the NBC TV movie Martha, Inc. I normally don't watch TV movies, but it is TV summer, so little else was on. The movie made Martha out to an obsessive bitch, bent on world domination. Well, not world domination, but domination of a big chunk of it.

Jailed Juror Hires High-Profile Attorney
Do you have to ask who this attorney is? Or do you trust your instincts?

WCIN sues Etta James (Last Item)
WCIN's 50th anniversary celebration June 2 ended on a bad note when Grammy winning singer Etta James failed to take the Stage at the Cincinnati Zoo's Pavilion. According to the Cincinnati Herald’s front page story, the lawsuit claims that

"While the Blind Boys of Alabama performed, Defendant Jamesetta Hawkins (Etta James) refused, offering no reasonable explanation or one recognized in the contract between parties."

Ms. James who is 65 years old, did not go on because she believed WCIN could not pay her, according to the Cincinnati Post story. As of now, the Boycott B gang is not claiming responsibility. No report was made of any protests at the event.

Note: The Cincinnati Herald has no known website to provide a link to their story.

Some In Cincinnati Have Misgivings About Tax On Visiting Athletes
It appears the Boycott B's Nate Livingston had a valid point that this law was in effect, something I did not know. (A mea culpa) What is unclear is that this law affects Ava Muhammad from the Nation of Islam, as I posted here. Her status under this law is debatable, but she is not a professional entertainer or professional athlete. I assume Nate is claiming she is a professional entertainer. Nate is still making a federal case out of this issue and I don’t know why. NOI is a racist group, but so is the Black Fist, an endorser of Nate’s Boycott B. I guess Nate is cooking a red herring up in the form of his faux attack on the NOI. I will now just await another email calling me names.

CalPundit: Hillary-NRO Smackdown!
Kevin Drums finds that "...Howell Raines isn't the only editor who knows how to flood the zone."

WNKU to showcase local music
Where do you have to go to get local music? Public radio stations. Clear Channel can't risk anything, so they wouldn't want to showcase local talent, when they can just plug in a direct from factory band, complete with pre-made image and merchandising contract.

Mayor poses election change
Who actually opposes changing how city council is elected? I don't think the Republican's are to keen on it, with Monzel's apathetic statement:

"It wasn't tainted by the politics of City Hall. Coming from the inside, I don't know if it will have legs," Monzel said. "But we'll see."

Uber-conservative Tom Brinkman is for a change, along with Charterite John Schlagetter. If elements of all three parties favor change, then is the only conflict when to change and what the structure of the revised council would resemble.

Of the three plans out there I like Democrat Donald Driehaus's plan of 7 district seats and 3 at large. Brinkman wants 15 seats, which seems far to many, and Schlagetter stated he likes the idea of proportional representation, which has the taint rewarding the little guy a bit to much. The basic fight will be on where you draw the districts. If the recent episode in Texas is any example, that process could get very ugly. Race will of course be the pink elephant in room for that process. This idea was one of the original boycott demands, and from the boycotters perspective they idea was to get more blacks on council, or at least gerrymander the districts to guarantee a minimum number would make it on council, almost a back door quota.

Luken is wise to get out front of this issue with the proposal to hold public hearings on the issue. The problem with all of the plans so far is that they lack details. Luken's process has the potential of giving the public a chance to learn about the plans, voice opinions on them, and attract support for what hopefully will end up being a broadly supported Charter Amendment. I hope the process to form districts has a mostly objective criteria as its basis, otherwise the process will become a pissing mach for power among power hungry interest groups. Your Price Hill groups, Hyde Park cartel, and boycotters all will scream about this or that, leaving little room for compromise. If those groups have the courage to be objective this might work, but that is a pipe dream. The worry that will be more cause for concern is long term: neighborhood competition for funding. Council members will be expected to bring home the bacon for their constituents. At-large council members can only provide minor balance to what will surely be a rancorous battle with the Downtown councilman and the Price Hill Councilman and the Avondale Councilman all battling for dollars. No Whammies, Big Money….Stop!!!

Other Coverage: Post, ONN, Canton Repository, WCPO, WKRC, and City Beat

Queen City Soapbox: Ethan Hahn on Bronson on Art. Ethan shares my view that Peter Bronson's opinions on art are not worth the canvass they are painted on.

Women's World Cup may come here
This is great news, but the last sentence makes me worry.

"The Bengals are conducting the negotiations with the soccer federation."

With the Browns in charge, failure is only a few press briefings away.

Bronson: Is that art or a joke?
Once again Peter has demonstrated his lack of any desire to see life beyond the steak and potato mindset. Art to Peter is supposed to be comfortable, like shag carpet. Peter should stick to "Dogs Playing Poker," or even a velvet Elvis. He can keep the milquetoast; let the willing souls take on the challenge of something outside the typical, and even a bit over the edge. If you don't live a little bit beyond the norm, then normal is all you care about, and bland is all you will be.

UPDATE: Artist Zhang Huan and a Doberman Pinscher in color from the Post. This is even less offensive than I thought. I actually find it interesting.

Matt Weiler Presents.....

Harold McKinney is reportedly running for Cincinnati City Council. Local TV stations reported tonight that Mr. McKinny will soon officially announce his candidacy. Mr. McKinny, called the Northside Vigilante, was cleared last month on charges stemming from a shooting in bar during an alleged robbery. His actions are an astute political move, but are a morally reprehensible exploitation of vigilante justice.

UPDATE: WKRC and WCPO's Stories.

New York's 'Naked Cowboy' Grins and Bares It
I don' know if we want to claim him, but Naked Cowboy got his start here in Cincinnati. I even saw him myself at Taste of Cincinnati several years ago.

'Matrix' influence examined in slayings
I have not yet seen either of the Matrix movies. This is a reason that makes me want to see both of them, but this should scare my friends and coworkers. (cough, cough)

CINCINNATI BLOG makes the Enquirer Website. I am mentioned towards the end. There is also a section on XRAY.

Shopping for Media Attention?
Since Nate and the rest of the Boycott B crew have lost favor in the local media, it appears they had to go attention shopping all the way to Cleveland. Now, which news reporter was the Boycott B crew able to reach? The Plain Dealer's assistant travel editor reporter seems to be the latest to take the bait. I wonder if a little bit of the reporter loved down playing Cincinnati's tourism industry, in hopes of promoting Cleveland. I hope not, but I have to question her with an article headline like: "Cincinnati feels pinch of boycott."

Downtown skywalk falls into disfavor
I am with the 65% in the WCPO/Enquirer poll; keep the skywalk.

Developer sues reporter over paper's articles
I am no lawyer, but I find it odd that the newspaper was not included in the lawsuit. Here is Dan Monk's article referenced in the lawsuit. I see no libel in the article at all. Monk reported facts, nearly all from publicly filed documents. This is most likely nothing more than a legal manuver in what is legal feud between a developer and some of his investors.

2nd Study Finds Gaps in Tax Cuts
I wonder if Peter Bronson has read this article. Again, more evidence of the lies that are coming from the Bush Administration on this new tax law. Everyone is not getting a tax cut. 8 Million taxpayers are not getting a tax cut. That number does not include the extreme poor, who already pay no federal income tax. Now, this type of lie is not new to politics. Everyone does it. What I find disingenuous is that there are people out there who think this President is somehow different. I guess these same people think their congressman or senator does a good job, but the rest are corrupt. The other lies are that this will be an immediate stimulation to the economy and the gimmicks used to limit the initial "cost" to around $350 million. I am beating a dead horse here, but I don't really care. Tax policy is all ready tedious and sleep inducing. Repetition will not harm it at all.

The Cincinnati Post also had an Editorial on this earlier this week.