Springer Postpones Announcement
RunJerryRun reports the following:

Jerry Springer will hold a news conference to announce his political plans on Wednesday, August 6 at 2:00pm in the "Senate" Meeting room on the 1st floor of the Hyatt on Capital Square hotel, 75 East State Street in Columbus.

Springer's postponement is also covered in the Enquirer, the Post, and WLWT-NBC.

Cincinnati IMC?
Well, more media the better, but the track record for the IMC has been one of crack pots with unedited conspiracy theories better kept on the usenet than on a supposed news website. IMC has been at the forefront of communist and faux anarchist movements all over the world. The opinions are on the surface individual, where the line between activist and journalist are gone, but in reality they are just as homogenized as the Christian Right. The only difference with the IMC friends is that they all want to be the boss. Organization by appeasement brings chaos. If this group starts up I will read their site, and over at XRay we might even overlap on content, but I for one will not hold back in pointing out their problems and unfair biases.

Renting ZipCodes?
Kathy Y. Wilson still is playing both sides in her latest CityBeat Column. She blames "blacks" and blames "whites." Blacks in America are not African enough and whites, well, are just white. The "African Diaspora™" is actually a good description of the attitude of some in the black community. I found that very perceptive. Kathy's balancing act must be difficult. Dancing on pinheads could be an Olympic sport someday.

Nate Livingston on Hannity's Radio Show?
According to Nate himself he and Amanda Mayes will be on Hannity's radio show today at 4:00 PM EST. Nate is trying to get Hannity to not break the boycott with a scheduled appearance here on August 8th. Now, Hannity will most certainly break the boycott. What is funniest is that Nate and company are using him as their future anecdotal claim that they don't just target "black" entertainers/celebrities for boycott. This is just a stunt and I am helping along his Press push, but the boycotters have been quiet lately, so I will be a sucker and listen.

UPDATE: Nate did make it on the air. It was what I expected, more of the same. What I find odd is Hannity's ignorance about Cincinnati, and his claim or attempted fishing expedition that Nate had been arrested on drug charges, which is false. That was amazing that he claimed such, when Nate's lengthy criminal and civil court file indicates he was clearly never arrested on those charges. Hannity could be sued for slander if Nate really wanted to have some fun. Insinuation of drug use is a fine line, and I think Hannity would win hands down, but I would love seeing the two square off in court. I think Hannity and his "Hannitization of America Tour" and Nate Livingston are just the opposite side of the same coin. That coin's demonication is one of bigotry. "Hannitization" sounds like pure fascism, but it is a stunt. It sounds like purification to me, which is disturbing, but that is the effect Hannity and his producers want.

Nate was actually very passive, for Nate. Hannity came across as the aggressor, while Nate did not seem his usual deplorable self. Hannity proves he is an ignorant cuss, so all in all I give Nate the nod over Hannity in the "debate."

Hannity, for the record, Nate will not get 22 protestors. If there are 22 protestors there, 6 to 10 might be from Nate's group.

Hello Enquirer Editorial Board?
Folks, what are you guys smoking? You start out with this paragraph:

Every time you fill up your car with gas in Ohio, you donate 11 percent of the federal tax on that gas to other states. That may not sound like much, but it adds up to tens of millions of dollars lost each year - money the Buckeye State sorely needs to fix the deteriorating roads we rattle over - and build new ones.

That basically means: federal gas taxes are bad and Ohio pays a boatload of them. Then you say this:

Meanwhile, Ohio struggles to maintain its roads, which handle the nation's fifth-largest volume of traffic. It isn't fair. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, has been complaining about it for years. He was in Columbus on Monday to push his current bill, which would increase Ohio's take from 89 cents to at least 95 cents, bringing in about $56 million extra a year. He also would raise the federal gas tax, now 18.4 cents a gallon.

So Voinovich wants to increase taxes and you applaud it, or at least don't challenge it. I am a bit perplexed. You advocate tax cuts and like Vionovich's steering of Bush to a light plan, but you don't seem to care about a tax increase that would be regressive and cause transportation costs to rise along with consumer prices. I don't see how this can square. Your tax cut endorsement relies on economic growth, but a gas tax increase would deter economic growth. How can anyone balance those positions?

Listening Skills
Does the Bush administration listen to anyone who does not support their predetermined positions? Yes, that ends up being a rhetorical question. If there was ever a more closed administration I would like a historian to correct me. What I don't understand is why does Bush not listen to people? Now, when I say listen I don't mean allowing people to talk to you. I mean listening to their opinions, and allowing their wisdom to sink in. Bush should start with Adeed Dawisha a professor at Miami University. He is an expert on Middle-East politics, often quoted and interview by various television outlets. The Enquirer had a nice story today where Mr. Dawisha warns, "Whatever goodwill we had when we went in has almost dissipated." Does Bush have the skills to listen when people give him bad news? I don't think so. The Bush ego is the Mt. Everest of politicos. Listening to him is just letting the words in to play with the hamster for a while, and then using them to line the cage.

No Word From Springer on Race
My latest Polstate post is up: Jerry Springer's candidacy is in some doubt. His deadline looms, but he is out of the country. He might push back the deadline a bit. The issue he is likely concerned about is the level of support he is getting from the Ohio Democratic Party insiders. If they don't at least give him credibility in the primary race, he will hurt the Democrats more than help.

The macro benefits of a Springer candidacy is to bring new voters to the polls in 2004 and help the Dems win Ohio for the Presidency. Springer could loose, even loose big, but still could help give the Dems Ohio's electoral votes. Springer's way to win lies with turning out new, mostly young, voters and pulling some of the libertarian vote from the GOP. Springer's support of a conceal and carry law, in a modified form, is a sign of that type of strategy.

Gas Tax Man?
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich wants to increase the gas tax to improve federal roads. Ah, here is the problem, he just voted to cut taxes. He was partly responsible in reducing the amount of the Bush 2003 tax cut. What makes no sense here is that Voinovich could have paid for his roads if he had prevented the Bush tax cut, or at least tried to reduce it some more. Use taxes are regressive, not equitable as most in the GOP claim. Voinovich should be attacked for this by his fellow Republicans, but I wonder how long before they try and claim the Democrats are really behind it.

No Fuller?
Greg Korte is reporting that all indications point to Courtis Fuller not running for City Council in 2003, even though the Democrats actively encouraged him to run. Money is the issue. Courtis is late to the council game, and needs money not only to campaign, but also to support himself after having to quit his media jobs. Fuller may be biding his time until 2005 for a rematch with Luken. If he were running as a sitting councilman he would be a shoe in, but if Pat DeWine runs, then Fuller would lose the anti-Luken conservative vote and not make it beyond the first round primary.

Schlagetter on a Tear
Ethan Hahn has a post on email "exchanges" John Schlagetter is having with City Council and the Mayor on the Convergys deal. Ethan thinks this is a good issue for John. At this point, it might win him some support, but John had one positive/negative mix when on Friday he spoke at the special council meeting it was used a sound bite for local media reports, but he was not credited as a council candidate on air, often even his name was not mentioned. I hope John called up the local TV outlets to make sure the have his name next time.

It's Official: Boone and Bowden are Gone
Dave Miley will be interim manager of the Reds for the rest of the season starting tomorrow. A new GM replacement for Bowden has not been announced.

UPDATE: The Enquirer has more details.

Boone and Bowden Booted from Baseball's Reds?
The Post is reporting a story from the Sporting News that both the manager and general manager of the reds will be fired this morning.

Need a Second Opinion?
State Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Cincinnati, has introduced a bill to allow either party in a medical malpractice lawsuit to obtain the opinion from a screening panel before going to court. This panel would be allowed to review the case and make a non-binding judgment on the validity of the claim. This judgment would be then be admissible in court.

Is this a good idea? The concept is valid to explore, but likely operation would only benefit the defense. The make-up of the panel would be subject to abuse. Would they be an elected group? Would they be political appointees? Since their judgment would be admissible in court, it could become a de facto judgment that jurors could rely upon as nearly infallible, hurting both sides' ability to try the case.

What is lack in this law, at least in the press account, is the ability of the judge to rule on the admissibility of the panel's judgment. The validity of the judgment would have to be an element of the discovery process before the actual trial. Under current law that would be allowable, but would this new panel change that? Tort reform is a big issue, but up to know we only get the rhetoric, not the details. This bill will not bring down health care costs. All bill will do, and its purpose, is to help doctors and medical malpractice insurance companies.

This story came from the Dayton Daily News. Since the elected official sponsoring the bill is from Cincinnati, why is this story not in the Cincinnati Press? It might be on some of the broadcast outlets, but so far not anywhere on the Internet.

Thanks for the Memories
Bob Hope dead at the age 100. The King is dead, long live the King!.

I was in California on his 100th birthday and visited the Reagan Library's Bob Hope Exhibit. Hope was a simple comic, he did not break taboos, he was not cutting age. He was the establishment of Hollywood, but he was America. He was fun. He was kind. He wanted you to laugh. He will be missed.

Convergys Deal
It has passed City Council by a vote of 8 to 1, with only Alicia Reese voting against it. Cincinnati Bell is next in line according to this and this news report. Kroger got their garage, the sports teams got their stadiums, where is my hand out? I might have to move my blog to Northern Kentucky. NKYblog might be a good name? I would be willing to stay put right here in Cincinnati for chump change. I can get by with a mere $100,000.00. Hell, they wasted more than that on rebuild the Empire Theater. I would even guarantee to not move my blog for the next 100 years. How can anyone beat that kind of a deal?

The Gentlewoman’s Agreement
Life from the other side for Maggie Downs in her latest column. Does she now have the right to make blond jokes without reverberation? Blond women do get a bad wrap. The stereotypical person with light hair is no more likely to be a moron than a dark haired person, unless of course they dye their hair. It is a scientific fact that those who dye their hair, excluding graying hair, are complete idiots, without exception. Whigs are not a problem, well not intellectual, just emotional. Some grow so attached to their whigs they just can't let go when it starts to fall apart. Oh the horror of it, the fake hair in the shower drain, it is just tragic. Anyway..........

If anyone can get my reference with the title they get a gold star for the day.

Fishing for the Enquirer Weekly
So, how often do you get invited to mingle with the Staff from the Enquirer and many other young professionals at a very exclusive downtown club for drinks and high-class eats? Well, this was a first for me. I am not one to hobnob with the influential all in the name of trying to decipher the form of the Enquirer's soon to debut weekly publication geared toward Generation X. I felt like a fish out of water. I am not a social person. I can tend to be a recluse when not dragged out kicking and screaming by friends and family.

My purpose in attending was, along with many others, to provide some feedback to the Enquirer Staff with ideas on what I think their new publication should be, or should focus on. I was able to provide my thoughts to one reporter, but beyond the hosts from the Enquirer, I was not quizzed by any other Enquirer staffers. I did not notice many staffers mingling with the civilians much at all. I was left thinking that either the staff does not think much of the new publication or they are as clueless as I am as how to attract a mass audience of under 35 year old readers, and still make money doing it.

I did have a nice time. There were nice people there, several of which I chatted with, and free drinks can never be a negative. I did feel a bit over my head. I am not a socialite in the least, so rubbing elbows with city council members and owners of trendy nightclubs is just not my style. I have nothing against the people at the party, per see, I just would feel far more comfortable drinking a pitcher of beer at Crowley’s in Mt. Adams singing along with the jukebox at the top of my feeble lungs, all while theorizing on the value of infinity v. the subplots of Slaughterhouse Five.

Who will staff the new publication? Well I would say that the recently hired new young writers will make up the core of the writing staff. No information on the editor was announced or even discussed. Speculation was that the Enquirer would go outside the organization to find one, but depending on the independence of the publication, one might not need a separate editor. The editing duties could just fall upon on of the existing editors all ready on staff, in addition to their current responsibilities. What would add work is the level of local content the publication seeks to provide. This is key to its success. If they just recycle wire reports or syndicated articles as the core of the stories, with just a sprinkling of new content, then it will be nothing they can’t get on the Internet. The web should be a component of the publication. A “Dead Tree” publication has value, but will remain stale without a unique web presence.

Will the Enquirer Weekly amount to anything? I don't really know. I don't know what it is going after. Do they just want to sell advertising to Gen X targeted vendors (the Starbucks crowd) or do they want to pull in the intellectuals? I say intellectuals in the sense of those who are more concerned with ideas, and less concerned with image. I was at a gathering today of image makers, not idea makers, and image might sell like hotcakes, but will it will taste like cardboard.

More Burning Recall Questions?
In this week’s Burning Questions article from CityBeat Stephanie Dunlap writes about the methods in Ohio to remove Mayor Luken and Governor Taft from Office. In this article Stephanie states that the recall procedure never made it to the Ohio Revised Code or Cincinnati Charter. I agree this is the case for governor, but not for elected officers of municipal corporations, which I believe includes Cincinnati. The Ohio Revised Code § 705.92 “Procedure for removal by recall” appears to provide such procedures where elected municipal officials could be removed from office by the voters of the same municipality. The code section reads as follows:

§ 705.92 Procedure for removal by recall.
Any elective officer of a municipal corporation may be removed from office by the qualified voters of such municipal corporation. The procedure to effect such removal shall be:
(A) A petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least fifteen per cent of the total votes cast at the most recent regular municipal election, and demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed, shall be filed with the board of elections. Such petition shall contain a general statement in not more than two hundred words of the grounds upon which the removal of such person is sought. The form, sufficiency, and regularity of any such petition shall be determined as provided in the general election laws.
(B) If the petition is sufficient, and if the person whose removal is sought does not resign within five days after the sufficiency of the petition has been determined, the legislative authority * shall thereupon order and fix a day for holding an election to determine the question of the removal of the elective officer, and for the selection of a successor to each officer named in said petition. Such election shall be held not less than thirty nor more than forty days from the time of the finding of the sufficiency of such petition. The election authorities shall publish notice and make all arrangements for holding such election, which shall be conducted and the result thereof returned and declared in all respects as are the results of regular municipal elections.
(C) The nomination of candidates to succeed each officer sought to be removed shall be made, without the intervention of a primary election, by filing with the election authorities, at least twenty days prior to such special election, a petition proposing a person for each such office, signed by electors equal in number to ten per cent of the total votes cast at the most recent regular municipal election for the head of the ticket.
(D) The ballots at such recall election shall, with respect to each person whose removal is sought, submit the question: "Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (name of office) by recall?"

Immediately following each such question, there shall be printed on the ballots, the two propositions in the order set forth:

"For the recall of (name of person)."

"Against the recall of (name of person)."

Immediately to the left of the proposition shall be placed a square in which the electors may vote for either of such propositions.

Under each of such questions shall be placed the names of candidates to fill the vacancy. The name of the officer whose removal is sought shall not appear on the ballot as a candidate to succeed the officer's self.

In any such election, if a majority of the votes cast on the question of removal are affirmative, the person whose removal is sought shall be removed from office upon the announcement of the official canvass of that election, and the candidate receiving the plurality of the votes cast for candidates for that office shall be declared elected. The successor of any person so removed shall hold office during the unexpired term of the successor's predecessor. The question of the removal of any officer shall not be submitted to the electors until such officer has served for at least one year of the term during which he is sought to be recalled. The method of removal provided in this section, is in addition to such other methods as are provided by law. If, at any such recall election, the incumbent whose removal is sought is not recalled, the incumbent shall be repaid the incumbent's actual and legitimate expenses for such election from the treasury of the municipal corporation, but such sum shall not exceed fifty per cent of the sum that the incumbent is by law permitted to expend as a candidate at any regular municipal election.

HISTORY: GC § 3515-71; 103 v 767(785), Const Art VII, § 2; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53; 146 v H 99. Eff 8-22-95.

* So in enrolled bill, division (B). The word "authority" appears in previous versions but was not officially struck out in HB 99 (146 v --), eff 8-22-95.

Under this section Mayor Luken could be recalled by the voters of Cincinnati if 12,937 registered voters residents of Cincinnati signed a petition under the above rules. The 12,937 comes from 86,249 x 15% rounded up, where 86,249 was the total votes for mayor in 2001.

ORC § 3.07 and 3.08 do cover the removal of office procedures for all officers which covers the means described in the CityBeat article. Those procedures still apply, but this above procedure would not be in conflict.

Now I have to once again notify you that I am not a lawyer. My understanding of the law is above average for the layman, but I am not infallible. My study of the ORC and Cincinnati Charter indicate that this law would allow a recall process for Mayor Luken, or any City Council member. I invite any lawyers out there to set me straight if I am wrong.

On the issue of whether Luken should be recalled, that is a complicated issue. Gray Davis should not be recalled. Under this law he would not be eligible to be recalled, since he has not served 1 year in the current term of governor. Luken would be open to recall at this point. Luken's actions regarding Issue 5 are enough for some to want him out. I can understand the anger and frustration. Kowtowing to the FOP is nothing but a political ploy for Luken, who is disliked by the GOP controlled FOP leadership as much as the boycott groups. Recall petitions are really not wise long-term choices, because you don't know whom you will get place of the person you want out. Thankfully, this law is not easy to execute. The requirements are much higher than California's recall law. 15% for recall and 10% to get on the ballot is vastly more difficult than what the foes of Davis faced. Luken has no fear of being booted from office, except in November of 2005.

Bronson's Bullshit
No other title can do justice to Bronson's latest column, or should I just call it Peter's Propaganda. Trying to put abortion and slavery on the same level is a trite OLD plank of the anti-abortion theocrats that have been pushing their FASCIST agenda in this city for decades. I know I throw the fascist term around a lot, but there is no other term that fits. This is simply a group of people who want to make women into chattel of their deity. Women are the property of the Pope or Jerry Fallwall, or whatever Christian fundamentalist you want to insert. The game is now saying an embryo is equal to a living breathing human being. Bush is trying to do this by Presidential fiat. Next they will say sperm is a living being, then any cell, putting anyone who does not have sex for procreation or elective surgery into jail for "murder."

This game must stop. A woman's body is not the property of the state of any group's religion; it belongs to her. She must make the choice what to do with her body. It usually is best that she has a man or partner in her life that she can talk over all implication of any choice she makes, but that is not a given that should be forced upon her either. Bronson and his band of theocrats can try and prevent abortions through non-violent persuasion, but not via legislation. If Peter and the bible thumper crowd really want to reduce abortion, they might spend their time and money to promote contraceptives. Make the pill covered by all insurance plans, pass out condoms. If they want the numbers to drop, preventing unwanted pregnancies are the way to go, not through ineffective and oppressive religious codes.

His partial birth abortion rant is a textbook red herring. If his buddies would just pass a law allowing for the preservation of the health and life of the woman, they would get it past the SCOTUS. Compromise works, religious crusades do not work.

Boring Porn?
Would you fall asleep during the viewing of a porn video? A juror allegedly did just that in the Trial of Shawn Jenkins here in Cincinnati. Jenkins is the latest victim of the Simon Leis Crusade against porn. One of Leis's Brown-shirts purchased a porn video that Leis has decided is not fit for us to view.

The case went to trial, but the judge had to declare a mistrial because two jurors did not view the video. One was sleepy; the other allegedly did not want to pay attention to the video. Prosecutor Bud Greenberg takes the case with this from the article:

Prosecutor Bud Greenberg said he understood why the juror would turn her head: "This video is so disgusting that that is the natural" reaction.

Bud, what stick is up your ass? Or is that the issue, are you that homophobic that you fear "they" might come and make you gay? What a wuss. If you don't like porn Bud, don't watch it. Making it a crime is nothing but theocracy in action.

This is not the first time this case had gone to trial. I still want Leis to document that his department has solved every theft case in the county in areas he has sole jurisdiction. Simon Says, sell porn and go to jail, get robbed and you better be insured.

Local Coverage: Enquirer, WLWT, WCPO.