Secret Service Say's No to City

The U.S. Secret Service will not review the 1998 video of a police officer being interrogated when he allegedly used the "N-word." There reason for no helping was that they do not want to establish a precedent of examining information for something not involved in a criminal investigation.

Blood, Blood, Blood Makes the Ice Red

Miami University sports teams get little coverage here in Cincinnati. The Miami Hockey program get even less. It is great to see my classmate Enrico Blasi and his team get good press.

White House Admitting Failure?

Well, no, but they appear to be facing fact, no WMD will be found. Now the spin begins.

'Thesuraus-palooza'

I watched the premiere of Dennis Miller's show. His opening rant was typical Dennis, heavy on the cadence and the obscure reference. I like Miller's use of words is his best bit of his comedy. I was just listening with a sense of, huh? How can he sit there and say he is liberal on social issues, but then say he not only will vote for Bush, but likes him, supports him fully in what he is doing. Now, if you are a social liberal, or rather you care about social liberity, then how can you vote for Bush? Dennis seems to have been stricken with fear from 9/11, a panic and sense of doom that I really don't fathom. Miller is in line with Glenn Reynolds and Jeff Jarvis. Locally Miller and Mike McConnell would be like peas in a pod. Miller I don't think ever was a liberal. He was or is a libertarian. What is odd about that is his shilling for the GOP. McConnell bashes liberals and democrats most of the time (poorly 2/3rds of the time), but does not follow the Republican party line across the board. He just follows it most of the time.

Miller's interview with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was a joke. It was a commercial for Schwarzenegger's Propositions 57 & 58. The level of soft ball questions make Larry King look like Nolan Ryan.

Miller's news rundown just sucked. It was really bad. It was a cheap attempt to steal a little from SNL and from the Daily Show. His timing was off and the lack of an audience to play off when the joke is flat hurt big time.

His little diatribe against FOX News was odd. I was left thinking was it either a personal jab at FOX for not giving him a show, or he was trying to establish that he was not a FOX clone.

Varsity Panel: David Horowitz, Naomi Wolf, and David Frum. Two HARD right conservatives and one Moderate Liberal. Talking heads that spin the spin. There was no value to listening to any of them. Hannity and Comes are more cutting edge, and they are pointless to watch.

Overall Dennis needs to work on the show. His pace was way to slow and lacked focus. He is trying to be Bill Maher, but just can't pull of the fine line Bill did. It was overall of course a put down liberals/Democrats show. Nothing was original and nothing much entertaining.

Dick Cheney Liar?

Kevin Drum shows Dick Cheney lying about WMD's. If Cheney is not lying, then I think his last intelligence briefing was about 4 months ago.

A Snow Plow, a Snow Plow, My Kingdom for a Snow Plow

Does the City own any? I barely was able to get up Beechmont Hill last night. I had to drive from the Colerain area late yesterday afternoon and I have never seen major roads, like I-275 and I-75 so poorly kept. It was bad enough on the major side roads, which is understandable, but why the Federal highways were not plowed by 4PM yesterday is just nuts. I hope road crew managers understand that 4 hours after the heavy snowfall starts is a good time to be done with your first full plowing of the MAJOR highways. After you finish your first go, you do it again. I don't know who gets that blame, ODOT, the county, or the municipalities, but no one knows how to battle snow around here.

For the record I grew up in a town about an hour south of Buffalo, NY, so I am used to snow and a bigger snow clean up department. I would not be shocked if my town of 40,000 had more plows than the City of Cincinnati.

Smitherman vs. Elder High School

Greg Korte has a story about Councilman Chris Smitherman's early weeks in office. I am so far not impressed with Smitherman. What I see so far is someone making trouble for trouble's sake. I don't mind someone making politics entertaining, but Smitherman's tone is arrogant. His motives appear good, but his tone comes across like holier-than-thou preacher. He acts like a crusader, bent on bringing down the police chief. He also appears to be wasting the City Manager's time. If Korte's description of his memo writing is true, then I think it might be useful to limit it to one memo a day. If they are information requests, then a large one once a week might go over better in the Lemmie's office. It would really go over better out here in the public if Smitherman did not try and keep his requests quiet. If you are going to rattle cages, then you had better do it out in the open. Otherwise it looks like a shakedown.

Korte was able to get a look at the Elder High memo response. We learn that Elder is indeed the local high school with the most Alumni on the force, but only 76 of the 1,044 officers attended Elder.

Rank/Local HS/No. of PO/Rate
1: Elder - 76 - 7.28%
2: Western Hills - 69 - 6.61%
3: Oak Hills - 46 - 4.41%
4: Withrow - 39 - 3.74%
5: Woodward - 37 - 3.54%
6: Aiken - 36 - 3.45%
7: Roger Bacon - 35 - 3.35%
8: Hughes - 32 - 3.07%
9: Colerain - 27 - 2.59%
10: Walnut Hills - 25 - 2.39%
11: LaSalle - 24 - 2.30%
12: Purcell Marian - 23 - 2.20%
13: Mount Healthy - 22 - 2.11%
14: Seton - 20 - 1.92%
15: St. Xavier - 16 - 1.53%
15(Tie): Princeton - 15 - 1.44%
16: Anderson - 15 - 1.44%
18: Forest Park - 14 - 1.34%
19: Northwest - 13 - 1.25%
20: Moeller - 11 - 1.05%
20(Tie): McNicholas - 11 - 1.05%
Total - 606 - 58.05%
Total of PO - 1,044
Non Cincy HS - 438 - 41.95%

The 606 total might include some duplicates of officers who attended more than one high school. These numbers blow out the Elder myth. The only "fact" that drives the myth is that the number of senior officers who are Elder grades is most likely higher than the rank and file of the force.

Dennis Miller's Darkside Conversion

Dennis Miller has a new show coming on CNBC and according to this AP report he will not say anything negative about Bush:

"I like him," Miller explained. "I'm going to give him a pass. I take care of my friends."

So basically Miller will just do what FOX News does?

I will find it hard in the future to watch Miller if his attacks sound like they are Rush Limbaugh talking points with a thesaurus treatment. In this article he attacks Peter Jennings for not liking Bush. He LOVES George Bush so much that he will give him a "pass" and he wants people to take him as anything more than a shill? If you want to do pro-Bush humor, fine do it, but you have to rely on the Talk Radio or FOX News audience for any ratings. I don't know if they will come to CNBC, but who knows. I am most amazed in reading that Miller's new show will only air once a week. I guess Dennis has a whole lot more things to work on.

UPDATE: I was wrong, and did not read the website correctly, but he is on Monday through Friday plus Sunday.

'You don't live in CLEVELAND'

Well, at least not any more if you are one of the laid off Cleveland Police Department officers who move to Cincinnati if the reported plan by Cincinnati City Manager Valerie Lemmie to hire some of those out of work officers works out. This plan actually is the best thing to come of City Hall in a long time. I don't see anyone questioning the plan, unless you don't like cops or think we have to many now. There are a few activists who will whine about it, but they whine about everything unless it puts money in their pocket.

Ethan Hahn and Greg Mann comment on this issue, and both agree that it is a good move.

Temperament

Uberblogger Atrios links to a video made to look like a commercial. It is a partisan and harsh presentation made by an individual person, but it shows where the media has failed in it's attack on Howard Dean's "temperament" and whether he is fit to be president, let alone dog catcher. Bush’s “temperament” got little discussion back in 2000, but seems to have been all but forgotten. The Bush part of the video is documented at the Smoking Gun, which is generally accepted to be a credible source.

First Kay, Now Powell?

Is Colin Powell coming to his senses? Well, the BBC news reports paints that picture. CNN and the AP reports don't have the same shade as the BBC, but all point out the basic element, Powell is backing off his UN claims about WMD. Will the media wake up? Will the New Hampshire circus drown out this story?

FBI Has Found Lashawn Pettus-Brown

The FBI has confirmed they have Lashawn Pettus-Brown in custody in New York City.

Kay: No WMD Stockpiles

Kay stated regarding stockpiles of WMD:

"I don't think they existed," Kay told Reuters in a telephone interview. "What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the last (1991) Gulf War and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s," he said.

Kay said he believes most of what is going to be found in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has been found and that the hunt will become more difficult once America turns over governing the country to the Iraqis.

Bush in the 2003 SOTU:

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He's not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them -- despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents, and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

So I think we can all say there were not any WMD (at least no significant amounts) in Iraq at the start of the war. No more obscure maybes. The question should be asked, why did the President think there was. I believe that the intelligence Bush referred to in 2003 was not good and that at least Bush's advisors knew it, if not Bush and Cheney themselves.

This is as big a sign of incompetence and or deceit that an Administration can have. Will the media, will the Democratic nominee have the ability or the courage to call the President on this? If handled correctly this would be a point raised and raised again in a debate that would be undefendable for Bush. Winning the debates is not going to win the election, but they do matter.

Defense of the Dean Scream

From Instapundit: Dave Winer defends the Dean Scream and gives a behind the scenes look at it. I don't know who this person is and therefore his credibility is somewhat suspect, but his explanation of why he screamed makes good sense. The Media of course can't grasp the answer, because it does not fit the mold of Dean they have already made.

Now, why Glenn Reynolds linked to this could be judged as a bit "Negative" Dean support. Glenn might want Dean to face Bush, so why not help him anyway he can. Reyonlds has political influence, especially in the primary stages, so saying he is being Machiavellian is not as big of a reach as it may seem.

Bush Then and Now

THEN: In the 2003 SOTU Bush's mention of elements relating to the "liberation" of Iraq.

The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages -- leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained -- by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning. (Applause.)

And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country -- your enemy is ruling your country. (Applause.) And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation. (Applause.)

NOW: In his 2004 SOTU

Since we last met in this chamber, combat forces of the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Poland and other countries enforced the demands of the United Nations, ended the rule of Saddam Hussein, and the people of Iraq are free. (Applause.)

Having broken the Baathist regime, we face a remnant of violent Saddam supporters. Men who ran away from our troops in battle are now dispersed and attack from the shadows. These killers, joined by foreign terrorists, are a serious, continuing danger. Yet we're making progress against them. The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. (Applause.) Of the top 55 officials of the former regime, we have captured or killed 45. Our forces are on the offensive, leading over 1,600 patrols a day and conducting an average of 180 raids a week. We are dealing with these thugs in Iraq, just as surely as we dealt with Saddam Hussein's evil regime. (Applause.)

The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right. Last January, Iraq's only law was the whim of one brutal man. Today our coalition is working with the Iraqi Governing Council to draft a basic law, with a bill of rights. We're working with Iraqis and the United Nations to prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty by the end of June.

As democracy takes hold in Iraq, the enemies of freedom will do all in their power to spread violence and fear. They are trying to shake the will of our country and our friends, but the United States of America will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. (Applause.) The killers will fail, and the Iraqi people will live in freedom. (Applause.)

Month by month, Iraqis are assuming more responsibility for their own security and their own future. And tonight we are honored to welcome one of Iraq's most respected leaders: the current President of the Iraqi Governing Council, Adnan Pachachi.

Sir, America stands with you and the Iraqi people as you build a free and peaceful nation. (Applause.)

Before the war, the "liberation of Iraq" was a minor element, almost in passing, in the reasoning for war. After the war, BOOM, that was nearly the only reason for going to war that Bush is talking about. When talking about WMD the length of content from the speeches would be reversed between the years. Notice that switch? Notice how before the war it was WMD all the time, but now WMD is almost a dirty word in the administration, and Freedom for Iraq is all that matters. How was this not misleading the American people?

Allen vs. Smitherman

Well, I wonder who organized the speakers at city council yesterday calling out Mike Allen:

"He had no right to call this man a young punk, whether he agrees with him or not," West End resident Earmon Powell said Thursday. "He had no right to say that about our beloved brother."

For the record, Mike Allen had every right to call Chris Smitherman anything he wants. Earmon Powell is just wrong, but he has the right to make his incorrect statement if he wants.

Allen's comments were not becoming of an elected official. If the local Dems have any balls left, they will run a commercial with the"smart-mouthed little punk" comment all through Allen's future campaigns.

One contention I found laughable though:

In the past, some segments of the African-American community have complained that the chief, assistant chiefs and many members of the department's command staff are graduates of Elder High School, a predominantly white, conservative Catholic school on the West Side, and that might have influenced the way they deal with minorities.

Smitherman, though, never made that assertion, and has said he wanted the data for informational purposes.

Why didn't Smitherman provide detail on what his "informational purposes" in knowing what high school each police officer attended. There is no other logical reason to know what high school each officer went to except for proving or disproving the Elder High School story. If he wants to know the level of education of each officer or the rates of those with college degrees, that might be useful. I wonder if Smitherman asked for the names of the colleges any police officers attended.

UPDATE: Greg Mann comments and points to and Enquirer editorial. I agree with Greg that the Enquirer failed to criticize Allen for his end of the feud. I agree with much of Enquirer's critique of Smitherman's demeanor, but Allen was just as childish, if not worse. He has not gotten the "dissing" he deserves from the big media outlets. Allen is considered a "hero" in WLW land.

Weekend Update Lead: Rose to sign books at gambling casino

Tina Fey would be remiss if she did not use this headline as an example of legitimate news outlets putting her out of business.

Same Old Thing

Sam Malone appears to need do some fundraising. How better to gain some West Side money then try and take away the rights of women to pay for medical procedures. Now of course the procedure is an abortion, the most polarizing political issue of the modern area. Malone and DeWine both new they would loose, but they have to please the anti-abortion contributors with at least a symbolic gesture that everyone knows will not stop abortions. All it would do is hurt women. Controlling and hurting women seem to be an obsession for anti-abortion activists.

I knew Malone was supporting discrimination against homosexuals with his support of a lawsuit trying to remove the recent hate crimes ordinance. What I did not know was the Malone was a theocrat ant-abortionist. I thought he was at least hands off on the abortion issue, not making much of it, but instead he wishes to govern the city by voting as his religious dogma tells him he must vote. How Nice. This has been a week full of theocratic Republicans. Bush, Ohio GOPers, and now Malone are trying to impose religious beliefs on the populace via secular law.

WMD-Related

Rob Bernard points out that Bush's use of the term "WMD-related program activities" in the SOTU was used in the Kay Report. I can't disagree. The problem is that it does not absolve Bush of playing language creep. Kay may be his excuse now, but what was Bush's excuse when he said right here in Cincinnati that Iraq had (have at that point) in their possession. One might wonder why Bush would lift that quote from the report anyway. It is a horrible sound term. It sounds like what John Stewart might think up to make fun of Bush's SOTU. I guess Bush was just cutting out the middleman.

Computergate?

Kevin Drum points out a startling up tick in the severity of the alleged computer hacking by Republican senatorial staffers on Democratic computers. It appears that over at least a year a series of memos from Senate Democrats and their staffers were stolen and then leaked to the media, namely Bob Novak, or used as talking point fodder.

This act is theft. This act is as big as Watergate. Obviously it is not involving the President, but in this case it can be proven that what was stolen was used to smear the Democrats. Add in Plamegate and media SHOULD be in a frenzy. For some reason they are sitting on their hands. Hmmm

CT Fun

We had a great time at the Oakley After-5 Walk with Cincinnati Tomorrow. I was very pleased to finally meet Wes Flinn face to face and have a nice chat about blogging. I hope Wes can make it out to more walks.

Shout Out: Through the grapevine last night I head that councilman David Pepper either has read or reads the blog. I will just say Hey!

Enquirer Sued by Former Music Critic

The Enquirer has been sued by former music critic Larry Nager for unfair treatment and age discrimination. Nager was fired January 9th (3 days before me) and was allegedly he was "not aggressive" and "did not do his job."

One radio report stated that Nager's lawsuit link the "demotion" of former TV & Radio critic John Kieswetter to a West Chester beat reporter.

Irony?

A white South African immigrant student promoted himself for an African-American Student award given only to black students at a Public School. He was suspended for putting up posters in school with his picture on them.

Why would a public school give an award only among one race at a public school? Did putting up posters without permission violate school policy? If it did he deserved the suspension, if not, then why was he suspended? Criticizing bigoted or racist polices of schools is something we should encourage in our students.

[Via the 800-pound gorilla]

Ohio Senate passes gay-marriage ban

Theocratic double speak never fails to offend:

State Rep. Bill Seitz, a Green Township Republican who sponsored the bill, said he was 'elated' at the prospect of Ohio being the 38th state to pass the Defense of Marriage Act. 'It's gigantic step toward strengthening the traditional view of marriage,' Seitz said.

How do you defend marriage when half of them end divorce? If the theocratic bigots want to "defend marriage," why don't they ban divorce?

What? Hmmm? You say that banning divorce would make half of the conservative politicians look bad with their prior divorces? Well, they can't pass an ex post facto law, so they can force the rest of us to live in bad marriages if they want. What better way to promote marriage by forcing bad ones from ending and preventing certain people from marrying?

Don Quixote

Cheney refuses to give up on WMD search. I think he needs to come clean on the windmills. Dick could take the fall for the President and admit that he pushed him into the war. That would be the honest thing to do, but who in politics does the honest thing.

Miami University Journalism Program

I am pleased to read that Miami will have a specific Journalism Department starting in the Fall. Previously Mass Communication and English were the only things that came close. I had a friend in college who was a Mass Com major and did work at a newspaper for a while. I hope Miami can use the department to beef up the student newspaper.

Cincinnati Enquirer Editor Tom Callinan is one of four applicants to head the department. Gregory Flannery
of CityBeat asks "will Editor Tom Callinan be the next in the ongoing exodus from The Cincinnati Enquirer?" Are the changes the Enquirer has undertaken all Tom has to offer to the paper or does shaping new journalists a new alure for a veteran editor?

Ramos in Sundance 2004

CityBeat's Steve Ramos is at the Sundance Film Festival and has an online daily diary of his misadventures.

Ohio Senate Approves Gay-Marriage Ban

Blah! All that is left is for Tedious Taft to sign it, which he eventually will. Theocracy on the March, with bigotry in tow.

Mockery of a President

When you read this section from Bush's SOTU last night it can be nothing less than astonishment, and nothing better than laughable:

Some in this chamber, and in our country, did not support the liberation of Iraq. Objections to war often come from principled motives. But let us be candid about the consequences of leaving Saddam Hussein in power. We are seeking all the facts - already the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations.

First, Bush knows well that everyone in the chamber supports the liberation of Iraq. What many, including me, disagreed with was how Bush went about doing it. He did it by lying to the American public or at least misleading us. He gave the finger to the rest of the world for not doing what he wanted. He failed to plan for both the after-math of victory and for the strain the Iraq war had on the "War" on terrorism.

The most outlandish and greatest SNL moment came from his "WMD-related" quote. He basically used WMD as an adjective to try to link what stuff they found to his trumped up reason for the war. It is laughable to me how people just don't care, or don't notice, how Bush uses language creep to back peddle from his initial claim. First Iraq had WMD, and then they had WMD programs, now they have "weapons of mass destruction-related program activities." I guess downloading this from the internet could be called WMD-related program activities.

Ohio General Assembly's Bigotry

It appears that the anti-homosexual sentiment in the Ohio Senate is strong. It is amazing how homophobia drives politicians. They may not be homophobic themselves, but they fear the level of homophobia by voters who would turn on them if they did anything to give equal rights to homosexuals. This movement is led by conservative Republicans, but there are many Democrats who are doing nothing or sitting on their hands. Social Conservative blue collar Democrats and religious blacks are keeping elected Democrats from making the fair and just decision to fight the anti-homosexual bill.

I would like to encourage that people hit the GOP for pushing this, but don't give the Democrats a pass if they don't stand up for the rights of gays. Ask Mark Mallory and Steve Driehaus what they are doing and where they stand on equal rights for homosexuals, including marriage or civil unions.

Driehaus's (D) from Cincinnati prior comments include:

Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, has reservations about the bill, which he said could send the message that Ohio lawmakers are intolerant toward the gay community.

Still, he says he'll vote for the marriage act because he believes his constituency defines marriage in a very specific way.

"My constituents believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman that is held sacred," Driehaus said. "We should respect that."

Nice to know representatives will submit to the bigotry of their constituents.

Where in the World is LaShawn Pettus-Brown?

California is the place you ought to be. This is hilarious. Pettus-Brown is allegedly trying to join a Dennis Rodman BB team in LA. He is wanted by the Cincinnati Police and FBI, but he is hanging out in LA with tons of media around Rodman who will stake out a celebrity's house to determine if they wear boxer's, but they will not look into who might be wanted by the law and standing right next to them.

Bush Declares His Bigotry

I am sure the conservative readers will disagree, but last night in his SOTU Bush declared his bigotry towards homosexuals

Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.

His endorsement of an anti-homosexual constitutional amendment was not a shock, but was a move that will draw political lines. Bush did not even have the courage to just come out and say he was for the amendment. He instead had to use the quote above which danced around the issue and prevented him from sounding like Pat Robertson.

UPDATE: Wes Flinn Comments.
I was surprised he did not even mention abortion. Not even in passing part of a laundry list of issues. I guess he can't use that as a big issue this time around. It is a no win issue in the country. Its only value is to drive out turnout. Raising the issue will not change anyone's mind.

Theocratic Fascism At Home

The Fascist in Chief of Hamilton County Speaks.

Leis spoke about crime and the courts, obscenity and pornography, abortion and same-sex marriages - issues he feels plague America.

His theme: Over-tolerance propagated by a too-liberal media is wrecking the family values of Cincinnati and America.

"As prosecutor and sheriff, I enforce obscenity laws, and on many occasions I have been made an object of ridicule by the media," Leis said. "I will never compromise my beliefs on this issue."

Well, I for one don't to disappoint the expectations of the sheriff. As a fledging member of the media I openly mock you Simon Leis. You are a bigot, fascist, oppressive jack-booted thug out to force your religion and your own laws on Hamilton County. Keep your theocracy to yourself, and instead of attacking those you are supposed to protect (like me), why don't you work to make new friends, instead of alienating those of us who don't share your brand of fire and brimstone. Be the sheriff, don't be a crusader.

GOT A JOB!!!!

Well, it took me just over a week to land a job. I was able to find a job within the company. The only negative is that I will be working out in Mason, not Downtown. Can't have everything. I will start out there in couple of weeks or so. I am very glad to be staying where I am and in the general field I was in.

Back to the Future?

Ok, here is a story from Reuters via Yahoo. It was dated 2 hours, 51 minutes ago as of 910: PM EST. It lists quotes from Bush's SOTU Address. As I write this Bush has only been speaking for about 3 minutes. I know they put out the speech to the press before hand, but long enough to give a 3-year lead in story? It was written in past tense, which seemed really odd.

Ohio GOP: Law Breakers?

It appears the Ohio GOP is refusing the advice of Ken Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State, and keeping a campaign finance fund that Blackwell says is in against the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law. I love it when the GOP can't follow the law and a fellow Republican has to call them on it. This will end up in court, which is likely why this dance is going on.

One More Step Towards a Brokered Convention

With Dean falling flat in Iowa, things are really getting interesting. There is a real divide in the Democratic party among several candidates. Dean, Kerry, and Clark have a shot at being the nominee. Logically after New Hampshire one two will be left. I don't think this will be logical. I think we will see varying surges by all three candidates, with Joe Liberman hurting someone for a while. John Edwards has made his case for the number 2 spot.

The problem for Democrats is the sense of anti-Dean feelings that are growing. This tone will turn off the powerful group of Dean supports who are KEY to beating Bush. The Dems best hope is that they want to get rid of Bush enough that they will support and work for who ever the Dems put up.

UPDATE: Some anti-Dean gloating from neo-Republican, and 800 pound blogging gorilla, Glenn Reynolds.

UPDATE#2: Kevin Drum also is using the brokered term in describing what may happen come summer. Well he does use "semi-brokered" to be exact, but close enough for me to mention it.

Ohio Key to GOP

Bush has to win Ohio or he is toast. That will become evident on Wednesday when Bush visits Ohio first after the SOTU. Here is Bush's Danger summed up by Rep. Steve Chabot:

Bush will urge Congress to restrain the growth of federal spending, something Rep. Steve Chabot says he hears complaints about from his constituents all the time.

"I think we've allowed spending to grow at far too rapid a pace. And that's a danger," said Chabot, a Westwood Republican. "Thus far the Congress hasn't been willing or able to face up to it. The president has also been remiss in emphasizing controls on the spending."

Bush and Chabot can't honestly blame the Democrats for this. I am sure they will try, and I am sure they will claim the Dems will increase spending more than they will, but that might be a moot argument if the public finally grasps the 500 billion dollar deficit created by Bush and the GOP Congress.

Maybe someone can give Peter Bronson a lesson in trickle down economics: When the Federal government cuts revenue to the states, caps services, then guess what falls on the states? If Blackwell gets his cuts, then the cities and counties will bore the expenses. I guess Peter's goal is once he gets the wall build around West Chester he can put off ever having a municipal income tax by keeping out the poor people.

Theocracy on the March!

It is so "nice" to see more small town theocrats chosing what religion everyone else must follow. What is most interesting is that a single councilman allegedly paid for and put the one ton 10 commandments slab on in the Town Hall. He allegedly did not have permission from council. It is nice one man taking this kind of action without even voting on it. That is how theocracy is supposed to work! Glad to see this man does not disappoint.

Wait Just a Minute

My favorite BBC radio comedy show is back from hiatus: Just a Minute

XRay Magazine's 3rd Anniversary Party
Please join everyone January 24th at 8PM at Jacobs On the Avenue 4029 Hamilton Ave in Northside (Map).

The party will feature music by Pay Up Smartie and the Blue Rock Boys. Other acts TBA. There will also be an exhibition of XRay's archives of Everybody's News and the Independent Eye. The cover charge is only $4.

For More Information, Contact:Stephen Novotni (513)841-9729 or mailto:Steve@goxray.com

The Battle for Districts Begin

I am perplexed by how voting regions are drawn for district representation in the City of Cincinnati. 12 difference maps have been drawn for a breakdown of 6, 9 or 15 different districts. I am troubled why race is such a factor here. Why is it so important to have a "fair" number of majority black districts? Why do we have to have "X" number of black or white members of council? Any rational for requiring a quota of seats is either bigoted or racist or just too static in my opinion. Race only matters to those it matters too.

The State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2004

SOTU Address Drinking Game 2004 is a must for all true hardcore political watchers. If you are unable to drink alcohol, you can at least play with water. The first one to piss loses.

BBC Quiz on U.S. Presidency is Wrong

In a quiz on the U.S. Presidency the BBC asked:

Which of these packages is NOT among the perks of being president of the United States?

A: A masseur and a pet of choice
B: A salary of $200,000 per year and pension
C: A chef and an aeroplane

The answer was A
The president is entitled to a $200,000 annual salary and a pension on retirement of $63,000 per year (taxable). The president has a place in the country - Camp David, a personal plane - Air Force One, and a chef. Masseurs are not included in the package, nor are pets, although they are welcomed at the White House.

The answer A and B are correct. The BBC does not know that the President's salary went up to $400,000 a year in 2001.

More on Boondocks

A Dallas Morning News column has more on why the Enquirer dropped it. (3rd item)

More on Police and the "N-Word"

Peter Bronson writes today on Police Officer Jeff Butler and his alledged use of the "N-Word." Bronson goes on with a personal experience of meeting the officer and going on patrol with him 10 years ago. He claims the word in question is not even the "N-Word." I don't know what the truth on that is, but it is funny how his take is so different.

I was most amused by Peter's attack on CityBeat:

Councilman John Cranley said different versions of the tape may not be as clear. So he invited me to listen to the Smitherman tape, which came from the cop-bashing alternative weekly CityBeat. It sounded like the tape I got from the Cincinnati Police. I still heard "native.''

"Cop-bashing"? How exactly does that figure? CityBeat dares to question the actions of police and they are "cop-bashing?" Now, CityBeat is not a conservative publication. They are very leftist. That is not questionable, but to call them "cop-bashing" just because they don't get on their knees for the police? Maybe when (or if) Peter stops bashing homosexuality, he might be taken seriously.

First Blood

Well, there was no blood, but there was a shoving match at a political rally in Iowa. College Dems were holding a rally and the College Republicans choose to disrupt it. One GOPer even pushed Joan Jett, who was performing at the rally. This was luckily not serious, but this kind of thing is going to happen all year long. I was hoping tension and anger between parties was not that high at this point, but I was wrong. Things are going to only get worse. I guess the laid back YR were absent that day.

Pictures and first hand background on the rally.

[Link Via Atrios]

UPDATE: Wes Flinn Comments.

UPDATE#2: Radio Free Newport comments on Freeper hate mail to Margaret Cho. Now, when I say hate mail, make sure so emphasize the hate. I could not believe that level of bigotry and ignorance that flowed when she was misquoted while speaking at a moveon.org event.

The Beginning of Cincinnayton?

The DDN reports on the marvels of shopping in West Chester. I think the Kenwood area might want to differ on who's the "Best," but one thing is for sure, West Chester is growing fast. They will have to incorporate and start having a city income tax soon; otherwise Butler County will start a financial crumbling in future years.

Lost in Translation

As part of my birthday celebration last weekend I went to see Lost in Translation at the Esquire. I really liked it. There is a very simple plot: understanding where you are in life is a never ending journey. Bill Murray is a great actor. He does not have the range of Bob De Niro, but Murray does have the ability to play a person with deep emotions. In this performance he plays a character with a laundry list problems: career in the dumper, marriage troubles, feeling trapped. Murray is able to make those emotions appear tangible to the viewer. The backdrop of Tokyo is itself a character in the film. It felt like reading the reflection of a your name in a mirror. It is just like your name, you know it, but it is still from such a different perspective that it is perplexing.

Sofia Coppola's direction deserves great praise. I am sure she has problems with stepping out from the shadow of her father, but I think she is on her way of being a good or even great director, Daddy aside. Kudos also to Scarlett Johansson.

Dennis Miller, Flipper, Flopper?

The New York Times Article on Dennis Miller and his new show are still making me wonder: did Dennis become a born again Christian? I don't get his fear based conversion to a Bush lover. He claims to be a social liberal still, but how can he remain loyal to a President who seeks to keep homosexuals second-class citizens?

Compromising on an issue is one thing. I can understand how a liberal or moderate might support the Iraq war. That is a relatively "reasoned" argument, but to take the further step of basically joining the GOP sounds like a mid life crisis more than a reasoned political choice.