Portman for Higher Office?

Carl Weiser of the Enquirer insinuates that Congressman Rob Portman's fundraiser with George Bush the Elder this week could be a foundation builder for a run at higher office. Senator, Governor, President????? Portman is a good politician, who fits into the mainstream GOP well, but does not goose-step like Steve Chabot. That makes him more marketable in the State and the Country. He can do this, unlike Chabot, because his district is as safe as anyone's, freeing him up to work on Pension reform, a more innocuous issue that does not push many partisan buttons.

Portman is one who could be Ohio Senator if DeWine steps down. I would not be surprised to seem him run for that seat in the future, but I think Portman has the Presidential bug.

Bush National Guard Story

Kevin Drum looks at the story and specifically at allegations that former Lt. Colonel Bill Burkett made regarding Bush's campaign staff back in 1999.

Will the press let this story die an early death or find out that Bush or his backers fudged things a bit? If Burkett's allegations are true, still an if, then that is something far beyond what may have happened over 30 years ago.

Buress is Infecting Louisville

CCV President and local theocratic fascist, Phil Burress, traveled recently to the Louisville area to try and spread a little censorship. If we offer to give Louisville Simon Leis, do you think they would take the trade? I think we can add some cash to boost the deal.

Am I a Threat?

Via Sadgirlseven I found an Enquirer article about "blogging."

Now, I understand that this was a Tempo section story, which is meant to be fluff. I understand that there are many teens with online journals. That is fine. Why would the Enquirer write about the teenagers and not the blogs with something that is more than who passed a note to whom or the boy from study hall who keeps staring?

I have no problem with a story about teens writing. I just wish this story did not come off as "blogging is for kids."

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: New Series

The Sci-Fi channel has given the go ahead to a new Battlestar Galactica TV series. The December "mini-series" (pilot) did well and was a fresh feel for a space based TV series.

Yes, I have part geek. What person with their own website is not at least a little bit of a geek. Come to think of it, what kind of person at all at least is not something of a geek? I mean, if the end of Revenge of the Nerds is not the single most poignant statement on life, then nothing is.

NASCAR Dads?

Oliver Willis asks the question:

Is there any real difference between "NASCAR Dads" and the GOP's old "Southern Strategy"?

The answer is yes and no. Yes it is different in the sense that targeting NASCAR Dads is not about "race." Targeting NASCAR dads is about culture and regionalism. Race is not totally absent from it, but it is more about targeting southern white men (with their wives in tow) against the horrible "liberals" out to take away their "way of life." Minorities are a scapegoat blamed for much in this new strategy, but the old racist south is not what it used to be. It is more about championing bigotry, as opposed to racism. NASCAR dads, as the stereotype would follow, don't mind blacks or other races, as long as they talk, dress, act and believe just like every other NASCAR dad does.

This way of thinking, kind of a cultural balkanism, is not limited to the GOP or white males. This is an element of humanity. What makes this subgroup unique is the level of conformity. Being like everyone else is the underlying factor of what the GOP is after in this marketing target. Conformity is what drives their lives and the measure they use to value self worth. Unlike other elements in American, where conformity is part of more complex subcultures, here in the NASCAR Dad target market, the GOP has found the ideal point of convergence between cultural ideology and extreme uniformity.

In posting this I do not of course want to demean NASCAR fans. I am not one, and I have my bias, but I am bringing up the point because culturally it is a group with identifiable similarities that is being targeted by political campaigns, mostly Republicans.

Ohio 'Sniper' Still Going

This time it is on I-70 15 miles East of Columbus.

Attention French Speaking Cananda!!

It was a freaking joke! Triumph is a dog, a fake dog, but still a dog who "talks." Get over yourself junior government minister Mauril Belanger of the Canadian Parliament. You are a great country though, for me to poop on.

Big CT Night

We had a great crowd last night at the Cincinnati Tomorrow After-Five walk in Pleasant Ridge. Estimates of over 50 people came out over the course of the evening. I have to off a return shout out to Wes Flinn, who joined us. While at the Dubliner, our table of revelers had a great time with a great new beer, Smithwick's.

Burress the Bigot

Article XII was debated yesterday. Burress unveiled his usual ant-homosexual tirade. Basically Burress refuses to concede that homosexuality is not a choice, but a human trait, as natural as heterosexuality. Burress would I am sure want to be protected for choosing his religion. So even under his own false premise, Burress contradicts his position, a shock that will surely rock the community.

Welcome Home LaShawn Pettus-Brown!

Pettus-Brown returns to Cincinnati today to appear in court. I hope he has enjoyed his trip and his life on the lamb. His trial will be interesting. Will he finger anyone in City Hall for helping "push" his deal through, all the while knowing his development plan was bogus?

More Bigotry

Again with the bigotry thing???? I have to ask this about the Massachusetts Legislature, what beyond anti-homosexual bigotry would cause someone to be against a compromise that keeps Marriage between a man and woman but establishes Civil Unions? Just such a compromise was narrowly defeated and now it is all or nothing. Idiots.

Big Comment Thread

I was amazed how big this comment thread on Bush & WMD got, 38 commenters. A record for this blog. Thanks to all the readers! Now, I will asked that you make sure that you try and keep your tempers in check.

Seekies on Trial

Miami police powers are being questioned. One thing you learned while at Miami, the Seekies (campus police) were nothing to worry about. Oxford Cops were people you could not mess around with at all. I once saw a single Oxford police officer clear out a 500 person party all by himself.

Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy

Todd Portune will face one of four Republicans running in the GOP Primary: Former Cincinnati Councilman Chris Monzel, Blue Ash Councilman Jim Sumner, Anderson Township Trustee Russ Jackson, and financial planner Sandra Hall. I would give Monzel the edge in name recognition, but a City guy verses suburbanites in the GOP primary might be difficult. I know nothing about the other three, beyond Russ Jackson's signs in my neighborhood and his regular mentions in the Whistleblower.

The wide field of challengers should be a plus for Portune. He has a slight edge, but the anti-Democrat elements outside the city will make it a battle.

Say it With Me: Peter Bronson is a Bigot

Ok, I am throwing around the word again, which I am sure will rile up the conservatives, but Bronson's latest column is nothing but a one sided "keep the anti-gay amendment in place" article. This column really is meaningless. Bronson tries to say, why bother? Well, Peter, WHY BOTHER? All he said was that it was political suicide somehow because the issue one 11 years ago because people believed the Phil Burress slogan of "Equal Rights, Not Special Rights," one of the best manipulation of ballot issues I have ever seen.

Bronson, if you oppose the repeal, tell me why homosexuals should be discriminated against. Come right out and sing your anti-homosexual tune. When you start singing to repeal the hate crimes ordinance that protects people based on religion, then maybe you could argue a principled position, until then your bigotry is clear as Stained Glass.

Kerry

John Kerry is one week away from running away with the Democratic nomination. He has a huge lead today with yesterday's wins. Dean is the only one left who could turn it around, but that is asking a lot. Kerry has the momentum. Kerry has the press pushing with him, for now. Kerry has Bush reeling with the AWOL issue. Kerry should stay above the fray of the smears on Bush. These smears should not be new. These should have been made in 2000, but the press was on a break at that point.

More Spy vs. Spy

Dowlin and DeWine are not debating, but they are appearing together at candidate forums. I guess that is like almost having sex.

The laugher of the article is this section:

DeWine is taking on Dowlin in a primary that's tantamount to the election in majority-Republican Hamilton County. Kabaka Oba and Erich Streckfuss are contending in the Democratic primary.

Kabaka Oba is not contending for anything but Hamilton County's Racist of the Year. There is hot competition for the award. The Westside has many contenders, but Oba faces the biggest challenge from his own quarter from Nate, Amanda, and Ms. X.

Candidate's stance's are here.

Bush Back's the Bigots

Via Kevin Drum: WaPo is reporting that Bush will back the anti-homosexual marriage amendment.

We have here a confluence of clarity. Bush, the oh so honest and fair man, the uniter, the President for "all" Americans is using religious and social issues to gin up his troops and cover his ass all the while he diverts attention from his National Guard scandal and the WMD failure. Nice, really, nice. Bush embraces the anti-homosexual movement with both arms. I hope his ultra-conservative religious following has a hard on now, but that would be a "sin." Damn, what a conundrum.

Plame-Gate Gearing Up?

Kevin Drum links to a New York Times article that reports the investigation is going well. Indictments might be coming any day now.

Spy vs. Spy

DeWine is hitting Dowlin. Is Pat DeWine a shoe in? Missing 17% of commission meetings is not going to help Dowlin's reelection cause.

Ohio Sniper

If this shooter moves closer to Cincinnati, then headlines like this, "Columbus Highway Shooter Strikes Closer To Cincinnati," will become common place. What better way to gin up ratings with fear, then with a situation where everyone should be at least a little bit fearful?

More from the Enquirer.

Article XII Repeal

Here we go! I am hopeful that the folks at www.citizenstorestorefairness.org can defeat the bigots working with the local bigot in chief Phil Burress, who seems to care about laws in the City of Cincinnati, but does not even live inside the city. I guess we have to many of "them" here.

I am unsure what will happen with this effort. It depends on the media and money. If Phil Burress has the money, he might be able to spew his bigotry enough to get homophobia running in the religious communities. If the media gives him or other national bigots to sound off their bigotry unchallenged, then the same might be achieved. If the anti-article XII group has enough money, they might make it with a good margin. If this was a Hamilton County issue, the anti-homosexual provision would stay. Anti-homosexual bigotry in this area is strong and growing. It is not always overt, but keeping gays down is a idiotic fear of many ignorant people.

Your Are Forgiven?

This puff piece on former Asst. Police Chief Ron Twitty suggests that his image is on the mend. Should it be?

If Anyone Ask's We're from Kentucky

That is my commonly used joke and jab at Kentucky. Someone else can use it now too, but with a different meaning:

THEY SAID IT: "I am from Kentucky. Have you heard of Kentucky?"

Elaine Chao, labor secretary and Sen. Mitch McConnell's wife, to a group of Iraqi schoolchildren in Baghdad last week. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the question was met with "blank stares and some shaking of heads to indicate no."

What I was most ignorant of was that Elaine Chao was married to Mitch McConnell.

I don't mean to bash KY, but hey, when it works, it works. Ohioans are snobs and we know it. I am just glad I am from New York.

Outlet Mall Sniper?

There has been another shooting on Ohio Highways. This time it was in Jeffersonville. Yes for those who have traveled from Cincinnati to Columbus this was near the outlet malls. I am skeptical this was the same shooter. This guy reportedly used a handgun, not a rifle. I had assumed the first guy was using some type of rifle. That assumed that the shooter was not riding along side the cars or locations shot. I really hope this guy is not from or moving his way towards Cincinnati.

Jellybeans for Jesus

Why kind of parent pushing religion on kindergarteners? Also, why would you give a 6 year old kid a prayer to read and expect them to be able to read it? I support the school's policy. Feeding upon the gullibility of children in a controlled setting is shameful. A child should not be subject to a ploy to get them to accept exposure to religion via a Pavlovian trick.

Headline?

This article makes good points, but the headline seems oddly bad: "Gay-lifestyle laws could backfire." I don?t' see homosexuality as a lifestyle. I see it as a reality for some people. A minority of humanity is homosexual. Most of them live their lives just like everyone else. They mostly I think would just like to do the same things others do, like not be discriminated against, and get "married." The latter I say in quotes because of my openness to compromising on the gay marriage issue with by using civil unions. The issue of Gay Marriage is one I still don't grasp. I still have not heard anyone give a rational way in which heterosexual marriage is endangered or threatened by homosexual marriage.

Bush on Meet the Press

The latest spin:

President Bush: Well, because he had the capacity to have a weapon, make a weapon. We thought he had weapons. The international community thought he had weapons. But he had the capacity to make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a shadowy terrorist network.

As I have said before, the University of Cincinnati has the "capacity" to make weapons of mass destruction. When does the Delta Force jump into Coryville?

Bronson's ID: Intellectually Deficient

I swear I am not the one bringing up the issue of Evolution this often, so I hope no one blames me for being obsessive. Bronson might deserve a bit of flack for pushing this issue a bit too much. I really don't grasp the meaning of Peter's column. Is he trying to promote ID (Intelligent Design) as a biological concept? He has supported that kind of thing in the past, and his ignornce on Evolution speaks for itself.

Let us recap the spin of Peter today. He claims this

Roadruck collects examples of "evidence" of evolution. Many have been exposed as frauds - but they are still in textbooks, which evolve slower than flatworms.

OK Peter, show me some of the frauds of evolution. You claim to know of them, where are they?

More from Roadruck:

He argues that DNA and the incredible complexity of life - especially humans - contradict Darwin. "They're teaching evolution as truth - microbes to man. But this is not true. If they were stockbrokers, they'd be in jail" for fraud, he said.

OK Peter, I am sure this guy said this, but it misstates what evolution is. There is the process of evolution, which is fact. No scientist worth anything disagrees with that concept. The other element of evolutions involves the origin of species and then the origin of organic life. Those types are not "fact," or rather are no more "fact" then the concept of gravity.

Bronson's worst in the column is his spew that ID is science. ID is a philosophical argument. ID is one of classic arguments for the existence of a "God." There is no science to back this up, other than playing with mathematical probabilities.

This section I found laughable void of support, just conjecture:

"If you support this, you are labeled a Pat Robertson, fundamentalist wacko,'' said Owens-Fink, who has taught scientific research methods at University of Akron. "What's so bizarre is that they never attack the science part, they just attack the people.''

Ok, first off, where is the "science" that no one will attack? The only theories are to say that evolution is wrong and ID must be true because of the "complexity" of everything. So, they can't support their theory, they can only try and negative other concepts.

Second: Well, look who is supporting your movement and then try and guess why you might be considered a "Pat Robertson, fundamentalist wacko." Religion is at the core of the argument. Specific religious sects fear a society where people don't submit to the will of their religion. They fear that individuality and freedom from Christian will cause chaos, or at least a decline in collection plate receipts. The Roman Catholic Church does not fear science, why do Evangelical/Fundamentalist churches fear it?


Roadruck gives away his motives with Bronson's final quotes,

Roadruck says evolution is the cornerstone of a worldview.

"We've been indoctrinated,'' Roadruck said. "If you teach a generation that we all evolved from pond scum, then everything is relative. There is no truth.''

The worldview they fear is secular humanism. One where religion is not law, but instead a personal choice. Roadruck is in my view the one who has been indoctrinated with religious dogma so much that he fears anything that contradicts it. He blames other for fearing contradiction, while not really saying what is wrong with Evolution. If he had more than a philosophical answer, then maybe it might be worthy of debate, but he has none. Roadruck's problem is that he thinks "truth" is divine. Truth is a philosophical concept, one filled with opinion and perception. Fact is what science deals in. It tries to stick to logic and reason, and leave hunches, emotional dogma, and most of all religion out of mix.

Calpundit: On Iraq War Justification

Kevin Drum has a point that I don't think many war supporters have come to grips with:

"War supporters need to face up to this squarely and provide an honest answer to this question: In order to gain public approval, is it OK for the president of the United States to massively misrepresent a foreign threat merely because he believes that we ought to fight a war?"

I wonder if Tim Russert will ask Bush that question himself this weekend on "Meet the Press?"

Sad Day

Today is a sad day for me. It is my last day working downtown. If you don't know I was laid off last month from my job, but was able to work out a transfer to a different division of the same company. The problem is I will be working out in Mason.

Today is my final day in my office. I will be in cubical out in Mason. I will likely not be able to blog much out there. I hope that is not one of the reasons I was laid off. (It wasn't, just joking). I also will not get to listen to the radio during the day, so I will be working in a news free bubble.

It is sad saying goodbye to my co-workers who are leaving the company today. I have been working with a great group of people and we really got along well. The new group I am working with is a great group too, but I will be a new guy, so it will take a little while to fit in.

My blogging might decrease a little bit over the next couple of weeks while I get used to the longer commute, but I still plan to post everyday. I have been posting in the mornings quite a bit, which I like to do, but that might suffer if I can change my sleep schedule.

I have been working downtown for over 9 years. I love working downtown. My life will of course go on, but I will feel a bit more isolated from Cincinnati.

Taft to Support Bigoted DOMA

The Enquirer is reporting Taft will sign the anti-gay and anti-gay marriage law.

Kudos to Miami U's President for coming out to show how this law will hurt Ohio:

Miami University President James C. Garland said Taft's signature on the law would hurt his efforts to recruit new professors.

"Based on our experience, I am concerned that many prospective faculty members will pass over job positions in Ohio, because of this legislation," Garland wrote.

Taft will not listen. Anti-homosexual bigotry is becoming a new litmus test for the GOP. Abortion is the GOP's third rail, but being anti-homosexual is a close second.

The Dems have a better record, but there are many who, like Bill Clinton, caved into pressure from religious groups to legalize bigotry.

Another Death in Police Custody

This time it was in Silverton. Will this one blow up into a national story? Nope. Why not? Simple: no video. This story is worth a follow-up story on the heels of the Nate Jones death I would think. Where are the AP wire reporters? Mr. Nolan?

Tragic Turfway

A terrible crash at Turfway is leaving one jockey "clinging to life."

I am first surprised to have not seen the crash on TV yet. I assumed there would be film of it from the track officials. I am actually pleased there is not. This is sweeps month, and that would be played over and over on half of the local TV news programs in the country.

It's a Wonderful 97X

Maggie Downs' column today is not an audition for writing a Know Theater production. Maggie gives us a Capraesque take on the sale of 97X.

My personal memories of 97X are that it was one of the only stations you could pick up on the cheap radio we had in the basement of Harris Dining Hall, my college place of employment. I also remember late night calls to 97X to request "Particle Man" which they final played at 3:00 AM, and another event where one of my drunk friends calling in at about 2 in morning advising the on air staff that he was making naked snow angels out behind Swing Hall.

Oh the memories.

CT at Mr. Pitiful's

Cincinnati Tomorrow joined the Enjoy the Arts Stupid Cupid event at Mr. Pitiful's Thursday night. It was a very energetic night with a big crowd 200 plus. Local media types like Stephanie Dunlap of CityBeat and Maggie Downs of the Enqurier were in attendance. Wes Flinn and Nick Spencer, both former council candidates were out, and CT superstar Barry Gee was the man with plan and the great speech to the many new comers to the event.

I must admit that the ladies were out in force, and looked mighty fine. Picture me with a big felt hat on as I wrote the last sentence.

Cody's Closed

XRay is reporting that Cody's Cafe has closed its doors. No official reason was given for why the shut down was known. There is no idea if they will return or not. Press reports from last year indicated that a closure was possible.

The Enquirer Has Your Back Geroge

President Bush can rest a little easier. The Enquirer's editorial page commands us: "Don't politicize U.S. intelligence probe."

Hmmm.

He Said it, So Dont Blame me.

In his column today on BatSakes Hat shop contained this golden paragraph:

For me, Gus made an offer I couldn't refuse: A black Borsalino with a medium brim and a brown band. It's sort of a fedora that flops at both ends like a speech by the governor. My hat makes me look like detective Philip Marlowe playing the evil Nazi who chases Indiana Jones. Or maybe just another guy in a hat.

(Bold Added)

Ok Peter, if you say you look like a Nazi, who am I to argue with you. I wonder what Si Leis looks like in that hat.

Sledge Speaks!

Matt Sledge, 97X DJ, comments on the impending sale of 97.7 to a Texas company. Matt breaks the news that he "more than likely" will not be working with 97X after the sale is completed. This is sad news for radio fans and Oxford residents. I think Matt will be missed. I hope he finds a new place to keep and raise his peanuts with the same charm that was WOXY.

CityBeat has a very good story on the sale of 97X. I have not seen anyone list the latest rumor I ran across that the studio for the online version of 97X will relocate to Cincinnati.

Local 12

Rick Bird writes about WKRC’s change in marketing of their local news programming. Bird speculates what the other local stations might say:

Of course, the news directors at Local 5, Local 9, Local 19 and now Local 64 would probably say, "Hey, that's what we do too -- cover local news." So, does the phrase mean Local 12 is planning some new and bold way to cover local news? Not necessarily.

If the local TV news outlets want to get back into the business of covering local news, then I have a few suggestions.

1. Don't waste time on national news wire reports. If the national news not at least regionally relevant, let the Network cover it.
2. Stop running stories about Flordia Child Abductions and try and tie it locally through fear mongering..."Is your child safe when you go to the store?" A non-locally related story with "footage" will make the local TV news even though it took place 1,000 miles away.
3. Report information, don't just get video of something and pretend looking at it is news.
4. STOP TRYING TO SCARE PEOPLE!!! (see #2 for example)

Local TV news is nothing much beyond the Superbowl Half Time Show. It is meant for the person who can't find the time to read the headlines of the newspaper, but can watch Inside Edition while they tape Oprah.

CityBeat's Blade Goes Before Council

Leslie Blade was questioned before the City Council Law Committee. According to the article she answered all but two questions from Councilman Chris Smitherman, but did not add much beyond what was reported in her December article.

The quotes from councilmen were priceless:

"This was the definition of silly," said Republican Pat DeWine. "If the council member had taken the time to read the story, he would have gotten the same information we did today. This is not a way to run a government, and I'm embarrassed to be part of this government today."

I say Smither, you say Man: Smither-man, G-Man.

Pepper had more too:

"We have, as a city, a pretty poor record when it comes to the First Amendment," said Pepper, a Democrat. "You could probably write a book filled with cases of 'City of Cincinnati v. Someone' with all the First Amendment cases we've screwed up."

I am happy David supports the 1st amendment. I have to wonder, what other First Amendment cases has the city screwed up? I assume he means Free Speech/Right to Assembly cases, not Freedom of the Press issues. If I am wrong, I hope those issue come to light.

The subpoena of Leslie Blade was a waste of time. Smitherman?s rookie excuse is running thin. He needs to get results if he is going to shoot from the hip.

UPDATE: The Post has more.

CiN Weekly on CT

CiN Weekly has more on Cincinnati Tomorrow and our After-Five Walks.

CiN Weekly: Gay Marriage Ban in Ohio?

CiN Weekly is asking for your opinion on the Gay Marriage Ban in Ohio? Civil unions should be the minimum level of equality acceptable for homosexuals. Marriage is still something I think they should have the option to participate in if they so choose.

Damn

RedHawks Move Saturday's Hockey Game At The Cincinnati Gardens Back To Goggin Ice Arena For A 7:35 p.m. Start

Burress: Ignorant or Idiot?

Phil is of course a big target of scorn for me, so it goes without saying that I have no respect for the man. I must point out, however, to those who are not as negative on him as I am, his statements in the Post today that I believe indicate he is Ignorant, an Idiot, or both. From the article:

He contends that Article XII does not legalize discrimination against gays, it only forbids gays from receiving a "higher degree of protection than other people."

"Article XII is as far from being anti-gay as you can get," he said. "It is in response to the 1992 City Council ordinance which gave preferential treatment to people who claim to be homosexual."

Burress contended that the preferential treatment was "based on behavior and you cannot have a legal classification of people based on behavior. It has to be immutable characteristics, like race or gender.

"You can't claim to be a minority by joining a certain type of behavior. If you're going to start granting minority class status based on behavior, then the groups you could name are endless."

Ok, lets now easily refute Phil's comments:

1. Article XII states "The city of Cincinnati and its various Boards and Commissions may not enact, adopt, enforce or administer any ordinance, regulation, rule or policy which provides that homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, status, conduct or relationship constitutes, entitles, or otherwise provides a person with the basis to have any claim of minority or protected status, quota preference or other preferential treatment." The bold section prevents the city from making discrimination against homosexuals illegal. There is no other protection for being discriminated against in State or Federal law based on sexual orientation. If there is any protection it is news to me. What the original law was doing was preventing ANYONE from being discriminated against because they are either heterosexual or homosexual, as the new hate crime states. Gays can’t discriminate against straights and visa versa. Phil is lying on this point.

2. Article XII is anti-gay and only anti-gay. The law did not remove the rights of people to be protected based on their race, religion or nationality. Phil and his goose-steppers singled out homosexuals because they don't like gays, and want to keep them in a second-class status. See the Ohio DOMA law as another example.

3. If discrimination can only be based on immutable characteristics, then why is religion protected? Religion is not immutable, yet I don't see Phil seeking to allow Christians to be prevented from renting an apartment because a Muslim landlord might want to keep out the “infidels”. Phil just needs to group up and accept that being homosexual is as much of a choice as being left handed.

I agree with one thing, people can be treated different because of their behavior. Having sex with a consenting adult is just one that everyone should have the right to do, without the Phils of the world trying to regulate it. I myself do treat bigots who speak out their bigoted beliefs differently. I don't hesitate calling them a bigot or a racist or just plain old “asshole” depending on the instance.

Luken: State of the City

The Enquirer has the full text of his speech. The Repeal Article XII section reads:

There is something else hanging over our heads in Cincinnati.

It's called Article XII. It was passed by Cincinnati voters in 1994.

In my view, it singles out one category of citizens for unfair and discriminatory treatment, and it should be repealed in 2004!

Article XII has cost the city millions of dollars, of that there can be no denial. The repeal of Article XII is about more than money, though.

It stands as a symbol that Cincinnati is willing to tolerate discrimination for one class of our citizens.

Article XII was passed after an expensive and slick campaign that, I think, misled voters about what was at issue. What is at issue now, as then, is discrimination, pure and simple.

I do not believe that Cincinnatians want to discriminate against any citizen, and that includes our gay and lesbian citizens.

I ask you, and every Cincinnatian to join me today and sign your self up for the campaign that is coming in November - to repeal Article XII!

Korte also has an article on Luken's stance.

I have to laugh at the NON-CITY RESIDENT Phil Burress bitching about the movement to keep bigots like him from discriminated against homosexuals:

"No one's entitled to special rights based on private sexual behavior," said Phil Burress, chairman of the Equal Rights, Not Special Rights coalition that drafted the amendment.

Phil, you are an ignorant boob. You are protected under the law with your sexual behavior, why not anyone? But, that is not even the real point. Sexual behavior is not the issue. Sexual behavior is Phil obsession and his biggest fear. The real issue is sexual orientation, and the fact that it is a natural occurrence. If Phil wants to remove all discrimination protections, then his argument might be one based on bigotry.

What was really perplexing was the statement in the article

Burress said current civil rights laws protect homosexuals against discrimination.

This is not a direct quote of Burress, but I have to ask, what civil rights laws protect homosexuals against discrimination for being homosexual???? If that was true Phil, Article XII would be trumped by either State or Federal law. Gay rights are not something homosexuals possess, they still are fighting for equal treatment. The bigotry of many in public office has been opposing those rights and people like Burress are egging on the bigotry.

Yes, I said bigotry a lot. Is there a better word for why DOMA was passed or why sexual orientation discrimination was allowed to continue, but not religion, race, or nationality?

UPDATE: A bit of a shock, the Cincinnati Enquirer's editoral reads, "Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken was right to raise the issue of repealing Article XII in his State of the City speech Monday," that is a surprise. I would have guessed they would have not pushed that issue.

Old School

Peter Bronson quipped in his column:

I guess I am hopelessly old school. As I watched I began to wonder if those Islamic mullahs have a good point about American decadence.

Hmmm. Well, If by old school you mean a reactionary who wishes to live like it is 1702, where woman knew their place, kids were seen and not heard, and where a man could kill another man without out fear of worrying about the pesky courts, as long as he was killing a man corrupted by the "devil." If that is what you mean Peter, then yes, you are "old school." Peter who hates government, seems to want government out there to keep the adult world away from kids. I seem to remember someone who normally protects kids. Now, who lives with kids who could possibly be there to keep kids out of harm? Hmmm, well could the kid's parents maybe be responsible for protecting them? Could it be up to parents, Peter? Could parents just turn off the TV? Could prudes like you Peter not make this a big deal? You are giving Janet Jackson what she wanted, attention.

Also, what is with the crack calling Kid Rock stupid? I thought Conservatives were above name-calling? I guess Peter is just like the rest of us.

As a side note, I think I see why CBS did not want to air the moveon.org commercial: competition. If you are planning a media controversy, what would you let another controversy get in your way?

Locally Sadgirlseven comments on the FCC's over-reaction to this. Sledge comments as well.

Hate Mail?

Ok, Jack Klinger gets a puff piece in the Enquirer and gets some "hate" emails and he is pissed? Why? He lists these comments as examples of "hateful" comments:

"You are EVIL!"

"You are a racist, sexist, nationalist bigot!"

"May the sweet Baby Jesus shut your mouth and open your mind!"

If Jack thinks this is hateful, he might want to read the emails Margaret Cho got after an incomplete transcript of her appearance at a moveon.org was published online by Matt Druge. One more mild example

Shut your disgusting face, you loser. You have some nerve coming to America, denouncing us, and making your fortune.

Go home you freakin Asian scum.

Now, that is hate email, and that was by far not the worst she got. Cho by the way was born in the USA.

Now, Jack said he got a lot worse than what he printed, which is unfortunate that anyone had to put up with uneducated idiots, but the examples he listed were not bad at all. Also, it is really not far to use those as an excuse to try and tar and feather all liberals. I make some general examples on sections of conservatives who hold specific beliefs I find wrong or offensive, but I don't try and tie personal demeanor to political ideology. That linkage is without merit.

CT's Barry Gee Speaks Out

Barry has an article at Queen City Forum outlining what Cincinnati Tomorrow is and what our goals are.

Bush Gets a Another Pass

I guess it is not just Dennis Miller, but locally Steve Fritsch of Queen City Forum is letting President Bush off the hook on WMD and lack there of in Iraq.

Let's looks at Steve's "facts":

The CIA, the United Nations, UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, British, French, and German intelligence all thought Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

They all believed based only on a lack of accounting from 1991 and 1998 inspections. They had no other firm "proof" Iraq had any additional weapons. All they were doing was making an accounting assumption.

In the past year Democrats such as Bill Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, and Joe Lieberman thought Saddam had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

Yes, based on the same reasons as above, but one small problems, none of these guys order a full scale invasion of Iraq based on an accounting assumption. Red herrings are not going to wash. Bush made the choice to go to war. Clinton did not choose it, nor did anyone else. If Bush can't take the

Members of Saddam's elite Republican Guard believed Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

This is based on what evidence? I assume you mean the radio traffic Powel presented to the UN? This is enough to go to war over?

Saddam believed he had more weapons of mass destruction then he really had. Iraqi scientists went to Saddam with "fanciful plans" for weapons programs, received large amounts of money, then used it in corrupt money-raising schemes.

This is not a fact. This is speculation. It makes logical sense, but calling it a fact is incorrect. It is one reason why there were no WMD found. How does this justify going to war? Just because we might have thought Saddam thought he had WMD was reason to think he was a threat to the USA?

"The regime was no longer in control; it was like a death spiral. Saddam was self-directing projects that were not vetted by anyone else. The scientists were able to fake programs."- Kay

So Saddam would have fallen soon and continuing the UN inspections would have quelled the threat.

Due to Saddam's failure to provide any reasonable control over his regime, Iraq was potentially even more dangerous then originally suspected.

If there were no WMD, they was no additional danger. The only threat was a civil war. Do we seek to stop all civil wars around the world?

"We know that terrorists were passing through Iraq. And now we know that there was little control over Iraq's weapons capabilities. I think it shows that Iraq was a very dangerous place. The country had the technology, the ability to produce, and there were terrorist groups passing through the country - and no central control." - Kay

What terrorists are these? Iranian terrorists helping the Palestinians? They are not Al Queda. Linking all Muslim terrorists into one big group is not only a political ploy, it is rather unjust to blame Arafat for 9/11.

Iraq did make an effort to restart its nuclear weapons programs in 2000 and 2001.

What evidence is there for this? Niger? That was false. This has been refuted. The IAOC refuted this. There have been no significant WMD programs operating since the mid-1990s.

Kevin Durm at Calpundit pointed out the big blame the CIA talking point getting high play in GOP circles. That is just not going to wash. The DOD's Office of Special Plans is where Bush supports need to be looking if they want to learn who misled or "sexed up" the WMD intelligence. Bush is not clean on this. He wanted to hit Iraq, and was lead there by people like Doug Feith who ran the OSP.

'Boondocks' Joins Cincinnati Post

The Post has announced today that 'Boondocks' is joining their comics page. Locally the Enquirer took a bunch of flack for dropping the comic strip from their pages.

UPDATE: Here's the link from the Post.

Luken to Support Repeal of Article XII

The Enquirer is reporting that in today's State of the City Address Mayor Charlie Luken will urge voters to repeal Article XII of the city charter which forbids any laws providing homosexual rights. How much support will the rest of council give it? How many bigots are left in the city to oppose this? The Citizens to Restore Fairness are reportedly set to start their campaign to get the issue repealed.

It will be interesting to see who opposes the measure. I will assume the usual suspects will be out there. 11 years later, has anti-homosexual beliefs changed enough for this to pass? I hope it has.

UPDATE: The Cincinnati Post has more.

Foolish What Ifs

From the Enquirer's letters to the editor:

Rewind to 1936, and think 'what if'

If George W. Bush had been president in 1936 and done the same thing to Hitler as he did to Saddam Hussein, would we have averted World War II? Maybe so.

William Holiday,Crestview Hills

Ok William Holiday, what if George Bush was president in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis? What would have happened? Well, with his plan of shoot first and worry about what's next later, we all would be dead or in my case never existed after nuclear war wiped our country from map. I think Mr. Holiday needs to find a better analogy. Going to Hitler is an example is as intellectually viable as going to Scooby-Doo.

Remembering the Space Shuttle Columbia

One year ago all seven astronauts were lost on re-entry. The Space shuttle was named for the Columbia, the first U.S. made ship to circumnavigate the world. One of sources of the song "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean" is that same ship.

Here is a repost from last year:

Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean
O, Columbia! the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine if each patriot's devotion,
A world offers homage to thee.
Thy mandates make heroes assemble
When Liberty's form stands in view;
Thy banners make tyranny tremble

When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
Thy banners make tyranny tremble
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!

The wine cup, the wine cup bring hither,
And fill you it true to the brim!
May the wreaths they have won never wither,
Nor the star of their glory grow dim!
May the service united ne'er sever,
But they to their colors prove true!
The Army and Navy forever,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue,
The Army and Navy forever,
Three cheers for the red, white and blue.

If you can sing along with it and not tear up, you are stone cold and emotion free.

Peter Bronson: Trend Setter

Well, I see that Peter Bronson is ahead of the curve once again. He amused us today with a column where he was making fun of Howard Dean's famous "I have a scream speech." I think Cincinnati is rubbing off on Peter way to much. This joke is almost 2 weeks old now and about a week ago everyone in the media realized they went way over board with their coverage of it. I guess Peter missed that, which is odd because he is so in touch with current events and all. I mean we usually get freshly salted Bill Clinton references in his columns, so hitting on Howard Dean two weeks later is really cutting edge. I expect to get the John Kerry jokes by October. That will be enough time for Peter to look up the jokes made about Kerry's hair. It Bronson has any courage he will try and belittle the military career of John Kerry. That would really be a hoot.

Peter, for the record, I think most of us new you were "mad" years ago. We just don't have time to call the padded wagon for you.

Cincinnati Tomorrow is Today

CT is the headline story on the Enquirer's website today. Maggie Downs has a great story giving the history and future of the organization which is in it second year of activity. As a CT regular I am very happy to take part in the group's functions and am glad they are continuing to expand their reach into the community. I really get a lot from this group. I have made great friends, met influential people, and it has helped plug me into the creative and intellectual scene in Cincinnati.

I am disappointed, but not surprised by Mayor Charlie Luken's comments on the group

"I consider myself part of the creative class," Luken explains. "They're all 20-somethings, but I'll take the 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-somethings, too. People my age are moving back downtown, too."

Charlie would be surprised. We do tend to be younger. At 32 I usually am above the average age, but we have many people in their 30's as regulars, and several in their 40's. Charlie should understand that this group's events tend to appeal towards singles or couples without children. We are open to everyone, however, and if Charlie wants to represent the 50 somethings, I suggest he come out next Thursday and find out what our walks are like. We braved the snow last Thursday and had a great time. I think Chaz could stand mingling with a few 20-30 somethings, we don't bite after all.

Consistency

Ok, the BBC is reporting that North Korea has tested chemical weapons on women and children, and they are experimenting by gassing political prisoners. When do we invade? Iraq gassed their own people, now the BBC says North Korea has as well. What is Bush waiting for? Hasn't Bush’s standard for War been met? Add this with their claim to have nuclear weapons and it should be enough for Bush to be running head first into a War right now. The threat appears to be far more imminent than Iraq ever was, or likely ever would have been if left to UN to handle. I guess North Korea lacks resources worth the loss of American lives.

Pettus-Brown Makes the BBC

The BBC has the story on it's front page. It is great advertising for Google, does nothing much for Cincinnati's image, but makes Pettus-Brown look like a fool. If you are a criminal, nothing is worse than being caught because you do something stupid.

Ohioan's For Fingerhut

Jesse Taylor of Pandagon is behind Eric Fingerhut for George Voinovich's Senate seat. Ah, I will likely vote for him too, and I hope he wins, but who else would Jesse have endorsed?

Local Tie to Bush in 30 Seconds Contest

I missed this article from a few weeks back on the local ties to the MoveOn.org contest to create a 30 second commercial on President Bush. 2 people from Cincinnati were among the finalists who produced commercials for the contest.

The MoveOn.org contest grew added attention recently when CBS refused to air their commercial during the Superbowl this weekend. The reason given was that the "spot violated the network's policy against running issue advocacy advertising." This seems odd because CBS is airing an anti-drug commercial funded by the Bush Administration which if is the same one that aired on FOX in 2002 links drug use to support for terrorism, a highly dubious and discredited claim.

UPDATE: Rick Bird reports the controversy in his media column.

'Liberal' Hawks

Eric Alterman in a Nation column hits hard on the big media journalists/analysts who are professed or perceived to be liberals, but were supporters of the Iraq war, in general principle. I like the last line of the column:

America is truly Groundhog Day Nation: insisting on our right to ignore our own history and forever condemned to repeat it.

I would pose an additional question: what makes a liberal hawk into a Bush supporter? There are many bloggers out there who are not conservatives in the least, and have in the past been liberals or a "liberal-libertarian" or neo-liberal, who side with the Democrats most of the time, or at least feel most comfortable with Democratic leadership. They still will mock leadership, but mocking leaders is something that I hope everyone does from time to time, just to keep them from growing iron feet.

This group I think includes Glenn Reynolds, Jeff Jarvis, Dennis Miller, and others. Increasingly I read or listen to what they are saying and it is becoming a personal attack on "liberalism" or Democrats or it becomes homage to Bush on an issue, mostly 'War on Terrorism' or the Iraq War related. Is this division an anomaly or a trend? On the conservative side there is a growing split against Bush as well, on the War and on his domestic spending plans. Is this a period of political realignment or of conception of a four party political system?

One note: the term ?liberal hawk? traditionally would include me. I am not a peacenik in any sense of the word. I supported the Afghanistan War, the Kosovo War, and Gulf War I. I think in this case the term is meant specifically on the Iraq War which initially I was open to using force, but not in a pre-emptive non-UN sanctioned manner.

Are You Threatening Me?

BushCo pushed the "Threat Meme" to a constant stream of propaganda. The Center for American Progress has a list of many of big public mentions that Iraq was a "threat" to America. No WMD, No threat. Who in the administration read the intelligence and let all of this dogma go on? It couldn't be a specially created group in the Defense Department, could it? Who did the "Office of Special Plans" report to, and where they the filter of the intelligence that spun the level of "threat" of Iraq?

Former Campaign Treasurer for John Boehner Sentenced

Republican Rep. John Boehner's former campaign treasurer, Russell E. Roberts, was sentenced to two years for stealing $617,562 in contributions. Roberts reportedly took to the money to feed a gambling habit. He has been ordered to pay for restitution. If you hire a dishonest person, does that mean your judgment is lacking, and maybe you are not the best person for public office?

Mike Allen on the Stand

A Federal judge has ruled that Mike Allen, Hamilton County Prosecutor, can be required to testify in a lawsuit filed by families of individuals involved in the incidents surrounding Cincinnati photographer Thomas Condon's action in the county morgue. Allen, and others can be questioned "a possible cover-up of an investigation into the county morgue that resulted in serving a prison sentence."

The judge went out of his way to say that his actions do not mean he thinks there was a cover-up, but that questions may be asked in a civil suit. What is at stake here is that no senior county morgue officials, especially the coroner, have yet been prosecuted for allowing Condon to photo graph corpses in the morgue, and that theories have been floated that the Prosecutor's office did not pursue or knowingly quashed an investigation into anyone other than one low level morgue employee.

97X Owner's Speak Out

Sledge has direct comments from Linda Balogh, who along with her husband Doug own WOXY. Sledge also has some additional detail on what will happen with the staff of the website.

State of the State: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Taft spoke. Did anyone listen? The Enquirer has commented. We have around 6% unemployment in Ohio, higher than the national average. How will Taft's plan of doing the same old thing make it any better?

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Damon Lynch opposes City Manager Valerie Lemmie's plan to hire police from Cleveland.

"Cleveland cops kill more people than Cincinnati cops do," said Lynch, an Over-the-Rhine pastor who emerged as a key civil rights leader after the police shooting death of Timothy Thomas in 2001. "It's just unfathomable."

So if Cleveland kills more people than Cincinnati, why is Lynch and company making such a fuss about the cops here? Why is there not a boycott on Cleveland? Where is the Cleveland Black United Front? Is Damon Lynch thinking about starting a franchise there? He has had experience with franchising.

Twitty's Record Clean

Former Assistant Police Chief Ron Twitty has his misdemeanor conviction relating to his an incident with his police issued car. The benefit and meaning of this is

A clean record will allow Twitty to seek another law enforcement job, if he chooses.

Reportedly Twitty had law enforcement job possibilities, but is not giving details.

Pre-emptive Warning?

If you are planning a Spring offensive against Al Qaeda, why would anyone leak that to the press? Is it another smoke-them-out plan? Make them think you know where they are which forces them to move, then they are out in the open and vulnerable. Now that is a good idea, but if I am right about why they are doing it, what keeps a terrorist from figuring it out?

Bam, the Future of Rock and Roll Looks Bleak

97X, WOXY-FM Oxford, Ohio, has been sold to a Texas company for $5.6 million. The company spokesman indicates over air broadcasting will change format:

According to Stern, the Oxford station plans to continue its format online, while First Broadcasting puts other programming on the frequency.

On woxy.com the news was broken with a bit of confusion:

We're a little stunned ourselves to announce the sale of WOXY to First Broadcasting Investment Partners of Dallas. The FCC approval process takes about three months, so the switch should occur sometime around May 1st. So that's a big change...

But! Our plans are to continue 97X The Future of Rock and Roll right here at woxy.com, including our internet broadcast. Over the next 90 days we'll be looking for sponsors or investors who will enable us to make this site and stream better than ever. We may be the first terrestrial radio station ever to make the full-time jump to the Internet!

Online the Future is bright, but will the airwaves in Oxford fall back into a county or bland pop music fog? Will First Broadcasting own the online station? Will the online station work a special deal with Miami to channel the signal through local cable stations? Will 97X send a feed to any of the satellite radio services? Will 97X survive?

The best independent radio station in America is no more. I think one could call this selling out. I think in fact few could call it anything else, at least not with a straight face. I hope 97X can find a way to grow online and become an even bigger international source of new rock music. I fear, however, for the local radio listeners in the Oxford area.

UPDATE: According to Sledge's Blog which has a copy of the full press release, the sale is only of the over the air station as indicated in this quote from 97X owners:

Balogh comments that "we always envisioned a time when we would separate and sell our local terrestrial broadcast signal and continue to grow our website and Internet broadcast. The Internet has proven to be the perfect environment for a cutting-edge, niche format like ours. We are currently pursuing sponsors and investors for this venture."

That sounds like a better future for the station, more freedom to air what they want, but what will happen with the studios. This sounds like to me that 97X will keep its studios, and the new company will either lease them or build new ones. The may just relay prefab network programming, which kills another local source of information. More McMedia brought to you courtesy of the FCC.

UPDATE#2: Sadgirlseven reports that most of the people at the station are being laid off in three months. If the station continues online with backers, I don't know if that means they might keep their jobs. I will speculate that the new owner will not be hiring them, so unless the online station gets off the ground, they will be gone. That news is horrible. It makes me think of Mrs. Carlson coming in and replace everyone at WKRP with a machine. I don't think that is far from what will happen with the over-the-air station.

UPDATE#3: After a bit more research I believe that at this point the staff situation at 97X is up in the air. The business side of the operation will likely have a different fate than the production side. Sadgirl's information according to what I can decipher is not the whole story.

UPDATE#4: The Hamilton-Journal has a story. Also the Press Release from First Broadcasting.

UPDATE#5: Some 97X history for you, including a historical mp3.

CinWeekly: Go Miami

If you scroll down on Cinweekly's "You Tell Us" page, the "Brian G." mentioned might be someone I know.

LaShawn Pettus-Brown Googled into Custody

LaShawn Pettus-Brown is not a professional fugitive. He went on a date with a computer literate women who maybe saw right through Pettus-Brown's act and thought that maybe he was to good to be true. She decided to Google him, and that led her to the FBI. Score one in the fight against crime to Google.com.

UPDATE: This made a Guardian column.

Luken and Miller Sitting in a Tree

Greg Korte writes today about Mayor Charlie Luken sitting next to Dennis Miller at the SOTU. A coup for Korte for getting this scoop on "hot" topic, at least on my blog. I could take this as a joke on me, but with Dean being the Blog candidate it still makes perfect sense beyond my myopic view of the world:

But when the speech started, Miller cheered like a blogger at a Howard Dean rally. "He must have stood up 70 or 80 times," said Luken, who said he himself only stood up half as often.

Greg also showed Councilman Chris Smitherman continuing his rookie mistakes. I think Smitherman has a bit of an ego and over worked sense of self-importance. Pointing out Smitherman's lack of explanation regarding why he needed to know what High School each police officer attended is something that I wish more local media would pick up. It would be very interesting to learn why Smitherman needed to know that less than 60% went to Cincinnati area schools. The line referenced Chris's father being the principal of the #2 school was classic and I think the Whistleblower had it first too.

New Miami Prof Media Blog

Christopher S. Kelley, a professor at Miami, has a media watchdog blog called "Media Watch." I will be checking it out and may add it to my roll.

Cincinnati Post Editorial

The Post comes close to calling out the President on where the WMD's are. Will the Enquirer do the same? I will guess they will stick to their spin from last year. They were ahead of the Bush spin by a few months, or were just willing participants to ignore the WMD issue from the start. I guess being lied to is something journalists are used to, and they discount it, even from a President.

Missing Questions for Jack Espelage

Mr. Espelage: Have you forgotten about WMD? Or do the ends justify the means and getting Saddam was worth it? I wonder when we invade North Korea to free their people. How about China? How about Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria? How about half of the former Soviet Republics?

Bottom line for Jack: Yes getting Saddam was a positive for the world, but the means to do so were not good in the long run. We could have waited 6 months or more to act, but politics prevented that from happening. We did not need to fight this war. Bush chose to fight it. You can like that choice, but you will have to ignore the misinformation you were given about Iraq's WMD's and ties to "terrorism." If you like being the manipulated fool, doing the bidding for your dear leader, that is your right. I would suggest you understand that the rest of us don't like being lied to, and Ted Kennedy was right to shake his head at Bush during the SOTU.

Playing to the Ignorant Crowd?

I know the Enquirer is trying to appeal to the suburbs, but are they trying on purpose to appeal to extreme religious groups who embrace myth and try to make it into a faux-science, a step below pseudoscience. Answers in Genesis does not need the press, what it needs is critical journalism. All this article does is provide a tourism advertisement to a den of theocratic indoctrination.

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!