Have You No Shame?

The GOP is trying to link John Kerry to North Korea. Yes, I said the GOP. The link about is the website for the Republican National Committee, the good old RNC, THE national party.

How can anyone take this bunch of quacks seriously with a "why do you beat your wife" type headline of "JOHN KERRY: INTERNATIONAL
MAN OF MYSTERY III Communist North Korea Is Only Government On Record Supporting John Kerry." Damn it, there are eight months to do; this is really an even election right now. Anyone can win, and you would think the GOP would want to do it on their ideas, not this kind of National Enquirer ploy that I don't even think Matt Drudge would print.

[Via TPM]

The Chief's Enemies List

Dick Nixon would be proud of the treatment the Chief of Cincinnati Police gave one local newspaper reporter. City Beat's Stephanie Dunlap was barred Saturday from a police briefing regarding a 17 year-old suspect who allegedly shot a bystander while handcuffed in police custody just after being arrested on robbery charges.

How stupid can the police chief be? Ok, don't answer that, but seriously consider the ego it takes to value punishing a newspaper for writing a story questioning the practices of the police over the negative media attention that punishment will make big all by itself. I applaud the Post for writing this story. I wonder if the Enquirer will have the balls to write the story. I hope this at least makes Korte's column next week, if not tomorrow.

According to what Stephanie overheard from the Public Information Officer just after she took back the sticker ID needed to enter the briefing, this was the Chief's idea of "meeting challenges, critics head on." It sounds like he would rather keep some of the media outlets from reporting the news, especially news where police officers likely really screwed up and almost killed an innocent civilian. It might have been nice for City Beat to get the chance to report on the incident with the same briefing as the rest of the local media outlets. They would surely have been more critical of the police, and the chief can?t handle that. The truth hurts, and this appears to be a pain-adverse police department.

Oh and what will likely make the Chief really feel the pain, LaTonya Springs, chief of staff for Vice Mayor Alicia Reece, was denied entrance to the briefing. Tomorrow's city council meeting should be interesting if he is going to testify.

I will also be very offended if I am not included on the police Chief?s Enemies list.

Glass Houses

Bush is attacking Kerry on Intelligence. Now, is it wise for Bush to bring up intelligence funding when he MANAGED THE INTELLIGENCE ON THE TWO WORST INTELLIGENCE FAILURES IN AMERICAN HISTORY? It is kind of moot if we lowered the intelligence budget when you don't manager what you have correctly. If Bush was to claim that Kerry would be bad for run the intelligence, then I have to wonder how much worse could anyone be that what happened under Bush's watch. He led us into war on intelligence he knew was not complete.

That is the rub folks. That is the lie. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, the masters of Intelligence in the government today, all said they knew we had WMD and Rummy actual said we Knew where they were in Iraq. Guess what, he did not know, and it is laughable to say that he was simply mistaken. He and Bush, and everyone else who was fully briefed, knew that they did not have concrete proof on WMD in Iraq. All they had was unreliable Iraqi defectors spun by the Iraqi Diaspora and the unresolved accounting problems from the UN. If you can't account for something, that does not mean they ever existed to begin with. It is now clear that the UN inspections cleared out all of the WMD Iraq had. Everything else was bull. Now we seem to want to Blame Clinton for not knowing, but Bush invades the country and the GOP screams in glee to finally quell their blood lust for a Muslim hide to sink their teeth into.

Ugh. I can't wait to read the responses. Clinton red herrings are not going to do it fellas.

Anti-War Protest

On the 20th all of the local anti-war groups are planning a Fountain Square Rally. I may go. I don't like protests, but I like watching who goes, what they say, and how many fringe groups try and use this an opportunity to either make trouble or promote their unrelated issues.

This time I wonder what kind of counter protest will occur. I want to gauge how angry the counter folks are. It is an indicator of the local mood as to how angry the pro-war folks are about a protest against the rally. If the Talk radio folks get wind of this, it could get ugly.

Fascists on the March

Having received his marching orders from Phil Burress, Peter Bronson has begun his campaign against WEBN. I have to wonder if we will hear ANYTHING from the WLW folks about this, or will they keep mum.

It is great to know that Bronson finds talking about sex horrible. Let me add a few terms surely to get him riled:

Penis, Penis Penis....VAGINA! Anal sex, girl on girl action, Hummer.

There, I have said about as bad a stuff as WEBN says. They don't swear on the air, or at least they don't say shit or fuck. I have to ask what is Bronson scared about WEBN doing? Giving teenage boys hard-ons by hearing a striper talk with a breathy voice is a bad thing? Hey Pete, get that stick out of your ass! Oh, wait, you like it there? What ever makes you feel good, just let the rest of us enjoy what we like too.

Faux News

FOX News has this story on its website saying 'Vets Slam Kerry for Vietnam Atrocity Claims.' Now, I would have expected that some general Vietnam Vets group or at least a conservative Vets group's spokesman was speaking out on Kerry's statements from over 30 years ago. All you get is a comment from Carlton Sherwood. We don't even get details as to who Sherwood is or who he represents, besides himself. I assume that this Carlton Sherwood might be this man, an award winning journalist. His opinion might be note worthy, but his opinions are not representative of anyone. He also is a security consultant who has worked for the Reagan Administration as well as for Tom Ridge while he was director of homeland security (pre-DHS).

Sherwood is only person quoted. Where is the “number” claimed in the article? I guess they mean only one known critic.

Bush's 'Ideal' Justice of the SCOTUS

Well, the SCOTUS nomination process, when ever it next happens, will be a hard affair. If you read about Scalia and his methods and opinions, then you should see why it will be horrible if Bush gets the chance to name the next justice. If Bush finds one who favors making homosexuality a crime (or at least a 'moral crime'), as his model for a SC Justice, then we will have a government shut down if he gets the chance to nominate the next judgeship for the top court. This is the real battleground in American political society and the social conservatives are out for blood on the SCOTUS. I find Scalia's views on social freedoms to be down right scary, and his views on religion are nothing short of outright theocracy. No matter who is President, we will have a Senate battle like no other in modern history.

[Link via Wes Flinn]

Chief Meet Jane

Well yes, its a puff piece. Nothing new. Nothing of substance, not already on the record. I want to know who the guy is dating. I mean we got the rest of his personal life. WHO is he dating? (I am fishing here folks, cut me some slack.)

Flawed Rankings?

It might have been wise to have placed this quote higher in the story:

"National Journal's rankings aren't based on anyone deciding what's a conservative or liberal position. Instead, a computer tracks groups of votes, using a complicated statistical model that, well, may not have worked."

Motivation and Purpose

Why does Rep. Keith Faber, Republican from Celina, want to put the State and Federal mottos in every classroom, auditorium, and cafeteria? To see the controversy you have know what those mottos are: "With God, All Things are Possible" and "In God we Trust." Both of these mottos are currently considered "legal" under federal rulings. I consider them both unconstitutional, but that is another topic.

What I want to know is (why do I always seem to want to know something?) what is the purpose of Faber's actions? Well, I can only come up with two reasons. One is that he wants to push his religion using those mottos, the other is that he wants to use this a political issue to try and define himself and Republicans as "god-fearing" and the Democrats as the heathens. For most people who care about such things, I think they know that the Democrats are open to all people, and the Republicans, especially the ones for Texas, require Christianity of some form as a requirement for endorsement.

Yes, that was hyperbole, for those keeping score at home. The GOP and Christianity crack was an exaggeration used to get a rise out of the conservatives. You have now been warned that is what I meant; so don't get your fatigues in a bunch over it.

Michael at Rantophilia also comments.

Delusional Columnist

I know conservative like George Bush. That is fine. Like who you want, but you have to be some what honest about who the man is. In a column Kathleen Parker, a moderate conservative, wrote:

Kerry, whose "soul" quotient makes George Bush look like James Brown, made the remark Tuesday following his anointing as the Democratic presidential nominee: "President Clinton was often known as the first black president. I wouldn't be upset if I could earn the right to be the second."

Now, it might be stupid to try and claim to be the first or second "black president," but to think Bush has more soul than Kerry is delusional. Bush is "whiteness" personified. Now, I think "whiteness" is a myth as much as "blackness" is a myth, but Bush is as much like James Brown as saltine crackers are like filet mignon.

More Liberal Bias

You know, I thought all of those horrible liberals had gotten their anti-Christian rhetoric out of their systems, then comes Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer comes down hard on Gibson's movie and calls it a "Blood Libel."


Hold on.....you say that Charles Krauthammer is not a liberal. He is a Conservative, who is a Bush backer to the hilt.

Oh, Nevermind.

Bush's Flip Flops

Daily Kos has started a list of Bush's many flip-flops, which compare those he claims Kerry has made. So far there are 19. I like the nation building one, but the budget deficit flip flop goes for more than just George.

Double Standards

This guy should be fired for his racist comments. That goes without saying. I only wonder how they know it was him. I assume it is voice identification, which should be good enough.

What I want to know is, if this guy can get fired, then why does Kabaka Oba still have a job with SORTA? Oba has made racist and bigoted statements on the radio, 1230 the Buzz, countless times. He has been forced out of city council chambers for his conduct several times and multiple times made racist and bigot comments directly to council members during council meetings. Why does he still have a job with a government agency?

Blasphemous Hypocrisy

Is this column from Bronson Blasphemy? Granted it only is if you believe in Christianity as Bronson does. I don't, so it is no skin off my ass, but what puts sand in my sandals is Bronson's hypocrisy. "The Last Temptation of Christ" was one person's interpretation of the biblical story with some extrapolations. What was Mel Gibson doing? The same thing; one person's interpretation of the biblical story with some extrapolations. Why did people like Bronson protest Martin Scorsese for not portraying what they believed was the "right" story, and now Gibson's movie is getting similar (all be it less pious) criticism, but is being praised as the "greatest movie ever made."

I have not seen the movie. I have no plans to see it. I don't care if anyone does or does not, but what I would like would be for bible thumping columnists to try and be consistent on treatment of art. Peter, when you hit Corpus Christi for not being "truth," I hope you don't mind that I point out "The Passion of the Christ" is not "truth" either.

UPDATE: Greg Mann comments on Bronson's column as well.

Theoretically Sound

Ok, so the Ohio Board of Education is expected to allow into school curriculum "a critical look at the theory of evolution." I have to wonder, will they include "a critical look at" the Germ Theory of Disease? There very well might be criticism of the germ theory out there, and it might even be taught in high schools, but if you are going to open up science to criticism, then you better do it to everything, not just those topic which conflict with certain religious fundamentalists.

The Enquirer has guest columns from the Anti-Evolution crowd, and the Pro-Science crowd. As well as letters. Thursday's Editorial was just peachy too with its "lets appease the fundamentalists" attitude. I really have to laugh at those who want "debate" in education. Where is the debate on the theory of gravity?

Just a reminder, ID (Intelligent Design) is nothing but a philosophical argument, not a scientific argument.

Calpundit: Blair and Bush

Kevin Drum at Calpundit referenced a recent speech from Tony Blair on the Iraq War and terrorism in general. Drum makes the observation that Bush would never say what Blair said. Blair basically made a " I understand that reasonable people can differ on this, but...." argument, which is not new, but something Bush couldn't or wouldn't pull off. His with us or against us type of rhetoric is why the world dislikes him so, and emblematic as to why don't like him.

Ohio, Ohio, Ohio Continued

BushCo has opened their Ohio campaign headquarters up in Columbus with a plan for 12,000 volunteers with plans for the number to grow to 50,000. Now, those are campaign numbers, so when they say volunteers they are including the guy who puts a sign in his yard.

The numbers indicate to me that it is going to be an in your face race here in Ohio. I have seen Bush's commercials already aired on Cincinnati TV stations, which simply may be the case for all media markets this size.

Michael over at Rantophilia disagreed with my concerns about potential violence in the Presidential Race this year. He seems to be dismissing it outright, calling it "silly." Well, blood in the streets is silly; I am not talking about a full civil war or anything here. What I am talking about is a 19th Century style of strong-arm politics with a touch of European Fascism. I predict that in Columbus, for example, it is likely that counter protestors at a rally for one of candidates will go over the edge and start a pushing and shoving match, which if tempers are not in check could end up cracking a few skulls.

I normally would say that those who follow politics are generally pussies, when it comes to actual fisticuffs. We use big words because we generally don?t have the footwork to back up our verbal jabs. This year I see something different. I see more people actually paying attention. I see growth in frothing at the mouth on rally goers. I am very fearful that some idiot will cause a media circus akin to the über-hyped Janet Jackson boob fiasco, thus making people angry that one side started a fight, and then the beatings would really begin. I see American politics as a powder keg, damp, but drying out quickly.

Downs on Politics

Good! Maggie has a column about politics. I hope to read more columns on political and current events issues from Maggie. The Enquirer has no other non-paleoconservative columnists in the Metro section, or at least those that do far more reporting than commenting (like Korte).

Chabot Plays the Shill

Rep. Steve Chabot is leading the charge against Gay Marriage in the House. I wish he would look beyond the end of his nose:

'The people and their elected representatives - and not a handful of rogue judges and officials - should have the right to make decisions regarding marriage policy,' he said.

Now, hmm, Rep. Chabot is concerned about the right of some of the people to tell other people what they can and can't do, but when individuals want to do something that is no threat to him or anyone else, he holds hearings. Almost ironic, if it were not so typical of a politician.

Doug White, State Senator, supports it, but I am perplexed by this:

In Ohio, Senate President Doug White, R-Manchester, said he would help ratify an amendment if Congress acts. He said he would support it for the same reasons he supported the Defense of Marriage Act that passed in January. Gov. Bob Taft signed that bill, making Ohio the 38th state to pass such a law in recent years.

We'll see if Washington acts," White said. "And then we'll see what the will of our citizens are when it gets out here."

Ok, what were the reasons White supported the Ohio law? Why, Why, Why does he and the rest of the law's supporters think homosexual marriage will harm anyone? I have been asking this constantly and it is a bit of baiting question, so I don't really expect an answer. The only answer given is hollow: "Marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman." That is about all you will hear a politician say.

Well, Steve Chabot, Rob Portman, Mike DeWine, et al: Why do you support this (if you do)? Please be specific. Don't make the reporters answer follow-up questions. If you are going to keep homosexuals as second-class citizens, please have the "courtesy" of being fully honest as to why.