"Winning the War on Terror Tour"

The name of the BushCo campaign's effort to attack Kerry is actually called "Winning the War on Terror Tour" . I really hope that I never hear a Republican claim that BushCo is not politicizing "the war."

What I find distressing: Bush has only two messages. One is an anti-Kerry spin where they troll out the usual bullshit campaigns do. They try the “what you voted against” gambit. In case you are too ignorant to understand, most every time each party has a budget plan and they are voted on multiple times. Most party members vote in preliminary votes for their party's plan and against the other party's plan. That is the game. Both plans are usually 90% the same, but each party will vote against the other party's plan. Thus "Kerry voted against body armor" is as true as "Trent Lott voted against tax cuts."

BushCo's second message makes me wonder were the firefly girl is: "Don't change horses in midstream."

So that's it. Don't vote for the other guy and stay the course. That is all BushCo has to say at this point. No plans to do anything different. Their plan I guess is to ride the tax cut into the Promised Land? Do nothing and all will happen just as he planned. This is the man with leadership? He has a secret plan to win the War in Iraq and the "War on Terra," but if BushCo tells anyone, let alone Bush, then it may not work.

The Enquirer Buys the Onion

Newsreaders will be shocked to learn that the Cincinnati Enquirer has purchased the SATIRICAL publication The Onion. Peter Bronson will be covering the Michael Jackson Trial and Greg Korte will do the entertainment reporting. Jim Knippenberg will be editor.

Boris the Spider

Bugs in national spotlight
Bugs Bugs Bugs.....I guess April Showers brings May flowers, and Cicadas bring out the crap in the media (mp3). There is even a cicada watch section of the Enquirer's website.

Principal defends student editorial

Sounds like a pretty goodschool Principal to me. As the son of a former principal, I know how the politics of school boards can be. It takes courage to say no to them. When you say it and you are right, it fills you full of glee that can last for a month.

Auto Porn

I can't decide. Is Sam Malone's auto porn a bigger concern for the People of Cincinnati, or is Chris Monzel's campaign to screen ice cream truck vendors? What if just combined them? Mobile porn vendors! I like the idea. Hustler on Wheels. The Pornmobile. Has this been tried before? Would the market bare it? I think it would be a gold mine if someone where to try it. Simon Leis might pull it over for speeding every night though, just so he could look at the covers of the videos.

How can Log Cabin Republicans Vote for Bush?

Now, aside from the stealth pun in that headline, I really I do wonder how any gay republican could support Bush for President. Will this brave college kid or his family support Bush?

How can any human being support a party that puts on stunts designed to devalue and I believe dehumanize gays and lesbians? What I will also want to observe is how many Democrats and Moderate Republicans stand silently by and let Sen. Rick Santorum and others push their bigoted agenda using the platform of Senate Hearings.

Will these hearings finally identify the "threat" gay marriage causes to anyone? Will the bigots finally gain the guts and come out with their hate filled message, instead of code and veiled references to "the harm" a change in marriage would supposedly cause?

Anti-Abortion Website Keeping Tabs On Maggie Downs?

A hardcore anti-abortion "news" site reported the following:

"'More than one million people are expected to participate in the rally, which could make it the largest march for legal abortion in US history,' the Cincinnati newspaper predicted. The Associated Press said 'an estimated 750,000' were slated to converge on the nation's capital. "

Now I found this article by a general Google search and then wondered what "Cincinnati newspaper" they were referring to, since they had not bothered to quote it correctly. I just searched Google again and found a story from the Enquirer by Maggie Downs which included that quote. I don't really think they are watching Maggie's reporting, but it is just odd the way it was incorrectly quoted. I think Maggie was at the event covering it for the Enquirer. She did the same thing last year for the anti-abortion rally. I wonder if that rally met expectations? I wonder if this anti-abortion news site reported that?

Nate Loses First Round

Nate Livingston has lost the first round in his big to spout his racist dogma at city council meetings. Nate was also found guilty of criminal trespass and sentenced to 10 days in jail.

One Note to Kimbal Perry, Kevin Osborne, the photo caption writer at the Enquirer, and the editors of both the Post and the Enquirer: Nate is no more an "activist" than David Duke.

PD Reports Luken to Run for State Auditor in 2006

In an article describing the internal GOP power struggle between Ken Blackwell and Larry Householder we read that Luken "may run for state auditor against Householder in 2006." No sources of this information were given, so what it is based on it beyond me. Luken has stated publicly that he plans on running for re-election as Mayor in 2005.

Any comment from the Luken Camp?

Enquirer Fact Checking Problem

A reader, Barbara, emailed and pointed out a problem with Linda Oda's guest column on Autistic children. The reader, the parent of a child with autism, found the ending of the column troubling and "lazy.":

About autism

April is National Autism Awareness month. The autism spectrum is one of the fastest-growing birth defects, up more than 800 percent in the past 15 years. Studies have shown that autistic children tend to be born to parents who have above-average intelligence and are successful in their fields. Typically, siblings are either gifted in some area or are autistic as well.

For more information, go to the Web site of the Autism Society of America, www.autism-society.org.

Barbra pointed out that if you were to go to the website listed in the article you would read on the front page the following:

What is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as 2 to 6 in 1,000 individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2001). Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence. Frequently Asked Questions

The conflict? Compare this from the Enquirer column: "Studies have shown that autistic children tend to be born to parents who have above-average intelligence and are successful in their fields." and compare it to this "Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence." Further digging in the autism website reports no known causes, but only some theories, none of which include an intelligence or career success factor. This definition seems to try and paint autism as a condition that tends to affect the affluent more than other groups. According to what I read on the website, this is not valid.

The rest of the column was excellent in my opinion at conveying some of the problems of parents with autistic children have. I do not mean to claim that autism is not something people should not be working to help cure or that Ms. Oda's comments should be ignored on the subject. Instead at the prompting of the reader I want to point out an error. If this error was part of the column or added by the editors is something the Enquirer might want to check out. Fact Checking is a dying element of journalism, which in newspapers is all but dead.

Bronson's Shame: Does He Even Notice?

He can't let it rest. He can't write a column about a POW without both slamming Cincinnati for not being faux patriotic enough nor can he resist trying to paint anti-war protestors as anti-troop:

'Because it hits so close to home,' Eyer explained. She didn't know Matt or the Maupin family. But her response is what makes small-town Batavia so different from big-city Cincinnati.

I saw it when we went to war, and Batavia rallied to support the troops while antiwar protesters yawped on Fountain Square. And I saw it again last night when the crowd stood and sang 'I'm Proud to be an American.' They can wave flags and reach out to someone in trouble because they don't have both hands full of cynical doubts and pretentious baggage.

Does Bronson have any shame? I have said nothing but positive comments on the Matt Maupin POW situation. I even watched some of the church service on TV where a preacher invoked BushCo's "the Iraq War is part of the War on Terrorism" propaganda. I held my tongue then, and will do it again now.

Bronson seems to want to just kill Cincinnati as much as Nate Livingston. Both men's answer is to drive everyone out, level it, and build each man’s version of a fascist utopia, all be it from different social/religious/race perspectives. I don't want to totally compare Peter to Nate. Nate's level of attention whoring, racism and bigotry towers over Bronson's. To be clear Bronson is only two of the three (not a racist).

UPDATE: Greg Mann also comments.

BushWorld

Maureen Dowd shows us life in The BushCo's World. This is a world where reality and truth are as plain as the emotion stirred up in the patriotically correct TV commercials airing all over Ohio.

Authority of Schools

With incidents like this one in Mariemont where 17 students were suspended for drinking beer in Germany where their parents allowed it and were I was legal for them to drink. Why do some school officials feel they must control children, in this case older teenagers, at every step? They broke no law. The rules of schools do not super jurisdictions. Let parents rule their kids outside of school. This sounds like paranoia about alcohol. When did the temperance movement gain so much power in a city of beer drinkers?

Full coverage: Enquirer, WLWT

Fables of the Reconstruction

In case you missed the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) story on Iraq, CityBeat has it. The evidence of a poorly run war is adding up. I don't think many war supporters actually can claim BushCo knows what they were doing beyond the military battle plan. Everything since has been reactions to the situation and seat of pants planning that was as timely as the news cycle would allow.

Does anyone know who is going to be "in charge" on July 1st yet?

Atrios on Religion

He makes the point better than me. I hope Michael at Rantophilia reads this too.

Careful What You Wish For

The media, fueled by conservatives, have been pushing for John Kerry's military records. Kerry has released them and a shocker, he was good sailor and Kevin Drum illustrates the differences between Bush and Kerry on their military record. If you don't think that matters, fine, but don't deny that people have been throwing military records around for years in elections, usually against Democrats. Bush is running as a War Hero for misleading the country in a war, while Kerry actually was a war hero. It is funny that conservatives even fooled CNN into biting a guy who claimed to have dirt on Kerry's service, but never even served with him and misrepresented that he did.

Something Bronson Left Out

Peter is supporting district representation in his latest column. He gave reasons why others support that type of system. What he fails to report, the many feel a district system will help the GOP win more seats on council. That is surely part of Bronson's rationale for support and overall positive reaction to district representation.

Picking Up 'Chicks'

The advice provided in this CinWeekly article on how to pick up women in local clubs has one small problem: I don't want a woman that spends her time in clubs. A club-chick would tend to be a non-intellectual person more concerned with American Idol than with the American Prospect.

Please note that I said "tend to be a non-intellectual." I don't want any angry emails from club-chicks. I doubt they read blogs though, so do I really have to worry?

Nothing to See Here

Ray Cooklis gives another conservative spin on media commentary totally ignoring the charges of which that commentary was based. Gee, the allegations only involve lying to American public, being obsessed with the Iraq over al Qaeda, the subversion of the Constitution, manipulation of the oil markets, and failure to gain the full analysis of Secretary of State before deciding to go to war. I wonder why people are talking about things like that. I wonder why it is likened to Nixon's actions. (Cough, Cough) I guess Bush can do what ever he wants and the media should just shut up about it unless they can heave praise on him. Well, if Bush does not carry the conservative's water I guess the media can mention that, as long as the bow to fearless leader while doing it.

Ray, you failed to even mention Bush’s HORRIBLE press conference this week where his comments, or many of them, would have fit into your column better than anything. Good catch there dude! Way to ignore the blatant and meaningful, and go after the insignificant and invalid spin.

Lie of the Week

The Winner goes to Councilman Chris Smitherman for this quote from Greg Korte's column:

"I don't need a history lesson on civil rights, or my ancestry, or how African-American people in this community have fought for their rights," he said. "I am not grandstanding."

When you defend a group of racists and do nothing to counter their hate speech in what I would say is a political move to appease the "militant vote," then yes you are grandstanding Mr. Smitherman.

I also think Greg Korte forgot some quotation marks in this sentence, "Now, a new generation of civil rights fighters - people like Nate Livingston, William Kirkland, Kabaka Oba and Terry Summers - have been using the City Council podium as their soapbox." Either that, or the sarcasm just did not come across. How can you call these guys "civil rights fighters" with a straight face? If Greg did not forget the quotation marks, then I think he needs to reassess the beliefs of the boycott B gang, as should the rest of the media, especially the local AP writers.

UPDATE: A Letter to Editor of the Enquirer agrees with my running assesment of Counclman Smitherman:

Smitherman proving to be disappointment


Councilman Christopher Smitherman would apply zero tolerance to Cincinnati police officers who use racial slurs and would start with the termination of an officer who might have used a slur five years ago. Yet, when a vocal, shameless minority of the black community stands up in council meetings and hurl the same slurs at council, Smitherman contends that his fellow members are not showing these malcontents proper respect. Does anyone else see a contradiction here?

To many of us who thought Smitherman's campaign offered a refreshing, thoughtful approach to a beleaguered city government and a racially divided community, he has become a huge disappointment and an embarrassment to the Charterite Committee. In practice, it is clear that Smitherman only knew how to speak the word "reconciliation."

John M. Kunst Jr., Anderson Township