More Endorsements Are Out

Does anyone care who the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors endorses? This is a matter of momentum and perception. The more people willing to go on the record, the better. There are a few organizations that hold more weight than others, but still, few change their minds about who they are going to vote for. Instead I think endorsements provide vindication of one's viewpoint and increases the likelihood of a person actually voting.

Cincinnati Advance Debate

Greg Korte has the review of the details. I, as a member of the main sponsor, will focus instead on praising everyone who helped put on a great debate. I will single out Barry Gee for his great work, along with Joe Wessels for the radio broadcast, Nick Spenser and everyone at alchemize for their help with the venue, Regina Russo for moderating, and Tiana Rollinson & Michael Altman for being panelists.

From CinAd I wish to single out and thank Sandy for organizing the reception, Steve for being the timekeeper during the debate, and Christa and Bridget for helping out behind the scenes. I may have missed someone, if I did, thanks to you too!!!

On the lighter political side, I introduced myself to Nate Livingston, who was out front passing out Anti-Pepper handouts, interesting. I was very disappointed though in Peter Bronson. We sent him a specific invite, and he RSVP’d that he would attend, but he did not show up. I have never met Peter, and actually was looking forward to meeting him. Maybe next time.

Well, if you were at the debate, sound off on whom you think won. I was not able to see all of it, I was doing a few things behind the scenes, and as I said before I want to say out of talking about my views on this particular debate, so don’t look for my analysis.

I was so very pleased to have both candidates at an event CinAd sponsored. I hope everyone who attended had a great time and I hope they learned something about both candidates.

UPDATE: More from Korte's Blog.

Question the Mayoral Candidates

What questions do you have for Mallory and Pepper? Cincinnati Advance is accepting questions for the Candidates at tonight's debate. If you post your name, neighborhood and your question here or on the CinAd website, I will include it with our list of questions. That does not mean it will be asked, but we will get as many fair questions asked as possible. We are not going to let things get out of control, so save the scandals for the blogs.

You can also email them to me, if you don't want it listed for all to see.

Mallory Gets Old School Republicans

Going against type Stanley J. Aronoff and Richard Finan endorsed Mallory for Mayor yesterday. Is this a crack in Pepper's GOP Armor or just old friendships cashing in?

Who Will Run Against Schmidt in the 2nd?

I doubt Brinkman will challenge her, but the real question is that since Hackett is running for Senate, who will challenge Schmidt in the 2nd congressional district? Hackett had challengers in the Dem primary, will they all be back? Do any have a chance? He had a good chance to beat Schmidt, could anyone else?

Blackwell, Strickland Lead Polls

Buried in this local news briefs page, the Enquirer reports on the Dispatch poll listing Blackwell ahead in the GOP nomination with 32%. Petro had 18% and Montgomery had 16%. That is a big lead for Blackwell. That is bad news for the GOP and for the state. The last two GOP governors to win were not right wingers. Ohio is not a right wing state. The fire breathing will not win.

For the Dems Strickland leads Coleman 22% to 19%, with Flannery at only 4%. This race is going to be a tight one. I don't know who I like better. I have not had a chance to hear both of the leading two speak. I guess I would prefer both running for statewide offices, instead of against each other.

Kabaka Oba Jailed On Intimidation Charges

Michael Bailey, better known as Kabaka Oba of the Black Fist is behind bars having been charged with intimidation of a victim in a criminal case.

The case in question is one where Oba (Bailey) was charged with aggravated menacing. In the latest charge, Oba is alleged to have intimidated the same person he is alleged to have been menacing. The original case has a compliant filed which states that Oba threatened to Kill the victim and showed the victim a handgun.

Oba was previously acquitted on an aggravated menacing charge in 2003.

Sidenote: Oba first name "Kabaka" is inconsistently spelled. Sometimes it is spelled differently in the same court document where it is listed as "Kabaca." Based on Nate's Blog I am going with the "K".

The "Welcoming" City of Mason

There are many things that came to mind when I read of the story of the bar with the "For Service Speak English" sign in the window. This is bigotry. I am sure people will bemoan me for harping on the suburbs yet again, but come on, this is just pathetic.

This is hate. No matter how much back peddling the owner is doing now, his intention was to keep his bar void of Latinos. That is illegal. Now, there could be a fine line where he will tolerate those Latinos who speak English, which I think is how he is trying to play this, and that may be where he can skirt the law. It is wrong, but the legal status is different.

I can just picture the temperament of the bar's regular customers from this:

Jim Freeze, a regular patron, said "it's the damn liberals" that are trying to infringe on Ullum's free speech.

The only thing eluding me is the verbal inflection used by Mr. Freeze. Was it uttered in a grumble or in more of a northern country twang? Or by chance was it just an Austrian accent?

When I am attacked for this post, which I will be, I have to ask people an honest question. Are the Mr. Ullum’s and Mr. Freeze the exception or the norm for the people of Mason and Warren County? I hope they are not a majority, but I think any honest answer of those living in Mason or anywhere else is that these men are not just apparitions. They are at a minimum a representation of the views of a very significant portion of the people living in Mason and Warren County. Call it veiled hate or tempered bigotry, but just call it wrong. They don’t see what they do as being wrong, but it is wrong, and the manner in which places like Mason are becoming locations were conformity and uniformity are not just desired but required, it foretells of troubled times.

UPDATE: More on this from the Enquirer's Editorial Page. What they have that is most interesting is that the complaint on the sign came offically from a Mt. Auburn group. Mt. Aburn in in the city.

And He's Off!

Charlie will not be coming down the home stretch until 2009 when his term expires as a member of the Ohio State Racing Commission.

This commission oversees wagering. Will Charlie help get casino gambling in Ohio and even in Cincinnati?

McCain Out on a Limb?

Chris Geidner links up news that Sen. John McCain, what I would call a sane Republican, has endorsed Ken Blackwell in the Primary for Ohio Governor. This makes no sense. Petro and Monty are clearly McCain type picks, not Blackwell or at least the Conservative Christian's new darling Ken Blackwell.

I respect John McCain a great deal. I would find it very difficult to ever vote for him, but I respect the man for what I think are sensible views on many issues. This endorsement is not sensible.

The Debates Rage On

We have a report from Greg Korte on this morning's debate at Seven Hills Upper School. It is great for the candidate's to be going to schools for a debate. Could they have picked a bigger school maybe with more students? It may not have been a manageable event in that case, but the more students that are exposed to real life civics the more students that will hopefully take part in real life civics.

Blah!

What are the top excuses I should have used for being late to work?

Beechmont Levee was Closed and I had to drive all over the East side was the real reason, but I could use others just in case.

I for one am in favor of doing something about the lack of a transportation corridor for the East Side. We have few ways to cross the Little Miami River and if one is blocked, like today, the rest overflow with traffic. The sooner a Red Bank/50 to Route 32 connection is made, the better.

Them

It appears that many people in Mason don't want "them" walking around their neighborhoods. The "Them" is anyone who does not belong. That means, well, anyone who is not like everyone else who live in Mason. That is, well, bigotry. That is the suburbs.

Wilkinson Joins Korte

It is good to see that Howard Wilkinson has joined Greg Korte on the Enquirer's Cincinnati Political Blog. When I worked downtown I would see him eating lunch in Skyline all the time. It is good to see him in the blog world.

Bronson Takes Sides

I don't think Bronson cares who wins the Mayor Race. His man, Nutty Charlie Winburn, lost big. This column suggests that Bronson is leaning towards Pepper. The column for some reason brings another TV show into a political column. I really must suggest to Peter, who I may meet at next Week's CinAd Debate, that he needs to start getting out a little more. He is watching way too much TV. It seems he attacks a TV show every week because they don't portray something, twice recently women, that don't act they way he wants or think they should act. Leave television shows out of it.

Pepper vs. Mallory

Things got a little bit testy last night. Pepper did at least two things wrong. First, he boosted the importance of the "Black Fist" by saying their opinion matters too anyone outside of the three members of the group. Second, he got petty and got negative. Endorsements are not substantial political issues. Actions matter, who is listed on your website is not.

I can feel Pepper's desperation like a fog in a river valley. It is as if he is reaching for anything to hit Mallory with: a stuffed animal, a feather, anything. He is starting to signal a massive move to the right. I would guess he would ride the crime issue all the way into November, but say little about how he would change what exists. What exists is his membership on the governing body of the City that has the perceived extreme problems on crime.

I don't know how much these debates change anyone's opinions. Those attending may form an opinion, so I guess more people need to attend or listen to the debates. Stay tuned to WAIF-FM 88.3. Cincinnati Advance will have their debate covered and covered in a big way.

UPDATE: Well, I was extra rushed today and bit out of it, so my bad typing and lack of proof reading was bad.

Miers for SCOTUS

In what so far seems like a pick few are happy with, I myself don't know what to make of this nominee. She appears short on experience and big on being a Bush Crony. She has no record on much of anything to suggest that she has much of a judicial philosophy formed. She seems like too much of a politico, one of Bush's people who is there because Bush wants her there, not because she is the right person for the job.

She may turn out to be a Souter or a Scalia. I think she is heading for tough questions from both sides of the aisle, which gives the Dems more room to hit her on any soft spots.

It is not unthinkable that she would not make it out of committee. That would take the right wing to do that, but that could happen. I can't imagine the Dems would want to join forces with the right wing on this, but who knows what will happen. It all depends on how much she states her views. If she doesn't, then I expect she could lose a vote on the floor and lose fairly largely. Keep in mind we are talking about the Republicans here, and if they are nothing else, they are good little soldiers.

The NYTimes has a story that does make me sick. It is amazing how BushCo has to reach out to extremists, dare I say theocratic fascists, like James C. Dobson. When Bushco has to spin like this, you know they are dealing with a group of people who are extremists:

Beginning at 9 a.m., the White House and the Republican Party began organizing a series of nearly a half-dozen conference calls with conservative organizers to relieve anxieties about Ms. Miers's views. In one call, friends of Ms. Miers, including Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, testified to her evangelical Christian faith and devoted participation in the theologically conservative Valley View Christian Church in Dallas.

Mr. Hecht, in particular, assured them that she personally opposed abortion and had once attended "pro-life" events with him, said participants in the call. (He made similar statements in an interview with Marvin Olasky, editor of the Christian conservative World magazine, published on its Web site.)

When it matters that she is a "evangelical Christian," then you know there is a problem. If there are those on the right, and I think there are MANY like this but more than will admit it, who honestly want or need her to be a particular religion, than how long will it be before our political battles become something closer to the Sunni-Shiite battles in Iraq. When I say battles, I don't mean a war of words. I sound like Chicken Little here, but the divide in this country on religion is growing. This pick may try and soothe that divide, but in the end she may just do what the extreme right wing wants out of political fear.

Hackett to Challenge DeWine for Senate

Here is your answer. This is interesting. Hackett could tap into the Southwest Ohio GOP strong hold. If He does that and carries the middle, he can win this. Poll numbers are not proof of anything but possibility at this stage of the game. DeWine is not the worst Republican in the world, but the far reaching extremism of much of the GOP in this state, may be the ruin of him and their chances. The bloody GOP governors primary will be an illustration of that. The race is on and Hackett is out with a good start, but there is a long way to go.

Hackett Over DeWine in WSJ Poll

Daily Kos reports what I frankly find surprising. Paul Hackett leads Mike DeWine 44 to 36 percent in a WSJ Poll. This is huge news for Paul Hackett and will put wind under his sails. I don't know how it plays for other Democrats looking to get in the Race. The GOP is behind mike, but with a big statewide push for Governor and Senate, the Dems have a chance to take both.

I am surprised DeWine is that far behind. Hackett's name really carried over from his strong showing down here back in August. Will he run for Senate?

Cincy Blogging & Politics

The local mainstream press is giving blogs a little attention today, but instead of discussion more about what we post on, this is more about the efforts of the Bush Administration to limit Free Speech. So this is an article about political blogging. Talk Radio is allowed to attack every Democrat out there, yet no one in the Bush administration lifts a finger. A few Dem bloggers raised a little bit of money for candidates by having a few links on their site, and WOW we have a federal case.

Leave blogs alone. We are the embodiment of Freedom of the Press for the 21st Century. You don't need a corporation or a license to be protected both under Freedom of the Press and Speech clauses of the 1st Amendment. I for one will not be changing anything that I do. I can saw that because on a local level I generally try to cover everyone. I don't do it fairly. I am a liberal and I favor liberals. I can be fair. I am far more fair to local Republicans than WLW is to Democrats. That may have to do with their willingness to bash or just ignore the City of Cincinnati. I respect most Republicans running for City Council in at least as much as I am convinced they support and like the city. They want to succeed. I think many or even most Republicans outside the City would rather see it fail, and come in and scoop up the power for themselves 10 years from now. This is why I believe Metro Government is making a push in Republican circles around here, not Democratic circles.

Council Race

Hey, does everyone remember Cincinnati City Council has an election this year? The mayor's race has been getting the ink lately, so lets at least recap who is on the ballot:

Charter:
Chris Bortz
Chris Smitherman
Nick Spencer
Jim Tarbell

Democrats
Jeff Berding
Eve Bolton
Laketa Cole
John Cranley
David C. Crowley
Samantha Herd
Damon Lynch, III
Cecil Thomas
Wendell Young

Republicans
John Eby
Leslie Ghiz
Sam Malone
Chris Monzel

And the Rest
Bill Barron
Bennie Green
Antonio Hodge
Gerry Kraus
William S. Mathews, II
Paul McGhee
Ishaq Nadir
Michael Earl Patton
Victor Phillips
Ronnie Stallworth
Curtis Wells
Robert J. Wilking
Eric Wilson
Robert Wilson

Tour of Downtown Living

Those living downtown may have had a few vistors today: The Tour of Downtown Living started this morning. Anyone go? Any views on the types of places available?

Midpoint Concert Photos by Scott Preston

Check out a wide variety of Midpoint Photos from Caribou Studios.

Things You Don't Know

A very interesting interview with Norma Rashid. I never knew why she left television, but viral cardiomyopathy does explain why.

Smoked Filled Room

The Ohio Republican party wasted no time endorsing Mike DeWine's re-election bid. You don't suppose Mike's involvement with the Gang of 14 worried GOP leaders that he might face a bloody primary challenge next year from the right wing of the party?

20 Days and 20 Nights: Photo Contest

Send a Blog Entry and Photo to the folks at ETA and you could win a membership. Details are here.

He Just Hates Gays

I will never understand the Log Cabin Republicans. In today’s political climate they are roundly hated by the power structure of the GOP. When I say hate I use it in the context that the GOP Power Structures uses the hate and fear of gays as one of the main issues they use to rally the voters.

None-the-less, the local Log Cabin Republicans have issued their endorsements for council and pick Leslie Ghiz, and to a lesser degree John Eby and Paul McGee.

What caught my eye from Korte's blog post was ending which included a quote from local Log Cabin Republican President Ted Jackson:

Not endorsed were incumbent Republican Councilmen Sam Malone and Chris Monzel. Malone, who ran the campaign last year opposing the repeal of Article XII, wouldn't even talk to the group, Jackson said. Monzel was more receptive, but stuck to his opposition to gay rights.

"That was one, for me personally, that kind of tore me up," Jackson said. "Chris is a great Republican and a good guy."

While I have never met Chris Monzel, I have heard from everyone that is a very good guy. That said, how can you really be so great if you oppose Gay Rights? Or more to the point, how can people be called a good guy by a group who Monzel believes do not deserve equal rights? He is a great guy, I guess, he just hates gays.

I guess this is crutch of many people who are not on board with support for Gay rights. This also applies to some Democrats out there, but not on the scale that it hits the GOP. People can go on about how they are good people and don't discriminate based on race or religion or gender or nationality or even to a degree on sexual orientation. When it comes to granting Gays equal rights under the law, many otherwise good people just say no.

Malone Trial Put Off

Councilman and accused child abuser Sam Malone, had his trail postponed until after the election. I don't know if this will help his election chances or not. If he is "innocent," which I personally doubt, he would gain vindication of sorts with an acquittal before the election. He would get doubly screwed if he was convicted. So, he is likely helped, as much as it can help with his horrible reputation. I seriously doubt he can be elected, even with the GOP endorsement. The GOP I think put all of their chances with getting Winburn in the top two for the Mayor’s race. Once he was crushed, so was the GOP’s chances to gain anything on council.

City Council Candidates Speak

City Council candidates answer your questions

Follow the Money

The battle for the buck

In case you missed it: David Pepper is not Adolph Hitler

Greg Korte has the full background, but evidently David Pepper is not Adolph Hitler. Mark Mallory was happy to point this out and showed humor and a bit of class in how he responded to David Pepper's overzealous campaign staff out to try and blame Mark Mallory for every bad thing said about David Pepper.

The Classy move for Mallory should go down as a classic political move:

Concerned that denouncing mean statements against David Pepper could be an on-going problem, the Mallory campaign has taken the proactive step of requesting that the Pepper Campaign send daily e-mail updates about any new mean statements made by anyone that need to be denounced. The Mallory Campaign is hopeful that all denouncements can be completed by 10:00 am daily, so that the campaign can return to the normal business of discussing real issues.

In one press release, Mallory is able to make Pepper's campaign look childish, make people paying attention like my laugh my ass off, and distance himself from Nate Livingston. Brilliant!

MIAMI 44, UC 16

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

RedHawks get offensive

Ring that Bell!

Mayoral Campaign Getting Negative

Despite what Pepper is saying, both candidates are playing on the negatives of the other candidate. There is nothing wrong with doing it, but when you say your not trying to be "negative" and then you are negative, well, you look like you are making a very poor argument, and are talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Negative is not being dirty. Negative is saying "my opponent is not good," and then adding something they did wrong or associating them with a problem. Mallory has done it, fairly effectively. Pepper has been avoiding it, until yesterday. Does this suggest that Pepper senses he could lose or is behind in the polls? I know of no polls out there, outside of the 146 vote difference in the primary, to suggest Pepper need worry. The primary result should have made him more than worried; it should have put the fear of Zeus into him. I expect the negative attacks to continue. I don't think they will work for Pepper. They do work for Mallory.

20 Days and 20 Nights

CiN Weekly profiles 20 Days and 20 Nights.

Bronson Misleading You, Again

I know it should go without saying, but Peter Bronson is once again misleading his readers. He tries to claim that it is easier for a kid to get an abortion, than get an aspirin. Well, anyone with a brain can grasp that this is plainly FALSE. I would say he goes father and just plain lies:Public schools require permits, doctor's permission and written consent from parents to give a Tylenol to a student. It's much easier for an eighth-grader to get an abortion.A 14 year old could show how Bronson's comparison is plainly wrong.

1. You can't get an abortion at a public school, no matter what the anti-abortionists say.
2. Any 14 year old kid can walk to any drug store, grocery store, or mini-mart and buy aspirin.
3. There are not abortion clinic's on every corner.
4. There are laws preventing 14 year olds from get legal abortions without parental involvement.
   
5. The example he provided was and EXTREME instance where a clinic was lied too by a man now in jail.

So yes, Bronson is leading off his column with a lie. He then tries to paint Planned Parenthood as being evil. Well, that is not going to work much. Bronson is not going to convince anyone of that who does not already think it. He might get a few donations for the groups out to control women's bodies, but he is not going to change any minds. He has I hope shown to some that he is not honest in what he writes. How can an editor allow this to go into print? It is so plainly false, it is not even funny. Hmmm, you don't suppose there are those on the editorial board who are extreme anti-abortionists?

MidPoint Festival swells to 50,000

Sounds like good news.

More from Rick Bird at the Post.

Term-limit Congress

A guest columnist calls for Term-limits for Congress. I hate to tell them the news, but every two years we have term limits built in. We call those limits elections. Yes, people don't like to use those limits as much as they could. The columnist raises the point of getting people to "forget" party loyalty and try and get an amendment passed to limit the terms of congress. If we could get people to start voting outside of party lines, then the existing term limit program, you know - the elections, would work more often.

Here in Ohio we see that term limits don't work, just look at State government where jumping offices from Secretary of State to Treasurer to AG is not doing much for the term limits already on the books.

MidPoint Day Three

GitoGito Hustler

Hot, fast, brilliant. I was floored by GitoGito Hustler and I was equally floored by the massive crowd at alchemize. I have never been there when it has been so crowded; they had to close off the club to anyone who was not smart enough to come early.

MidPoint was overall great! My last night included sets by, Unfinished Thought, Culture Queer, the Woos and Ryan Adcock as well as the double punk wammie of the Spunks and GitoGito Hustler.

We finshed off the night with a late night Shanghi Mama's feast.

The streets of OTR along Main Street came alive for three days. The crowd was large enough last night to close off traffic late up Main until after 3AM. The traffic all night long up Main was a parking lot.

We were in a mega big city for a few nights and it was great. I don't know if I would want that every night in this town, but knowing we can do it and we do it from time to time makes living in Cincinnati great.

On the Town

Councilman Cruising MidPoint

You never know who is going to be driving around in his car during MidPoint. Here Councilman Jim Tarbell stopped to say hello.

MidPoint Day Two

Well, when you leave RBC at 2:30 AM you can't have had a bad evening, and well, I didn't. My night was fun. I saw Two Turntables and a Saxophone. I am not big into that type of music, but these guys were good. I had never heard Flute used in conjunction with rap/hiphop format. It showed a melodic quality missing in most rap/hiphop.

Clabbergirl at Coopers rocked.

Catalog Cowboys at Mr. Pitiful's were good, and I caught the first few minutes of Messerly and Ewing.

I hung around a few friends working the "Murch" at Jeckle & Hyde's.

I ended the night with Jake Speed and Freddies where I think I saw Pat Dewine sneak in to the event. That was just slightly weird.

Jake Speed puts on a full bore show. He entertains you. He does it with great music, great lyrics, and humor fit for a stand up comic.

MidPoint Day One

So, I was out way too late last night at MidPoint, but I had a great time.

Hot, Hot Weather, made for some steamy bands.

The crows were thin early, but that is typical for most nights. RBC had a pretty good crowd, and Coopers was fairly packed.

Thursday is the slow night of the event, so tonight should be packed.

Who liked what shows last night? What is a must see today?

Debate Season

It's not Rabbit Season, and no one is ducking any debates (Ouch!)

Mallory and Pepper have lined up a series of debates that should prove to be as good a way to determine the positions and views of each candidate.

Keep your eyes tuned to www.cincinnatiadvance.com for information on a special Mayoral Debate.

Does Bush Owe Pro-Choice Republicans?

People talk about how Bush owes the Christian Right for his win in 2004. They were a huge part, if not majority, of his overall support. Were they really the group Bush got that on paper and in practice he shouldn't have had to be worried about?

Were not moderate and liberal Republicans really the people Bush should be kowtowing to? They are the people, although who are smaller in number, provided him with the winning edge here in Ohio. Take out the moderate GOPer's and Bush loses Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Missouri (If not other states).

With Roberts on his way to confirmation as Chief, does Bush owe his Pro-Choice Republicans another Sandra Day O'Connor? If he sticks it to them on social issues again, will they finally wake up and jump off the Fundamentalist Republican ship?

Let Them Eat Cake

In my usually brilliantly cliché way, I must comment Bronson's latest drivel. It comes across, every so overwhelmingly that Bronson is pissed people are not more grateful for the Red Cross Donation he and his fellow White Man made to the cause.

He is pissed that people are screaming about race. I too think that many of the charges about race are overblown. There is a racial component to why people were left at the Superdome for so long, but that was not the reason I believe was the main reason.


Most of the people were poor. Plain and simple classism is why they are scoffed at by Talk Radio people like Mike McConnell. Poor people are blamed for being poor. That is a bedrock conservative value held by many in Bronson's cul de sac world. That is why they live out in the land of cultural despair. The only thing they fear more than cultural vibrancy is poor people. Add race to it and it adds a level of prejudice that makes it look like racism, but it is really about class.

With Bronson desire to hold back on paying to rebuild the Gulf Coast sounds just like a "not my problem" type response. Bronson seems to want to hold back the money, or add so many strings that no one can use it. Next thing I expect him to want is that all schools rebuilt be required by Federal law to have a chapel, complete with a baptismal tub. Yes, the roadblocks and pitfalls are his way of killing two heathens with one stone.

Kennedy Connector is Vital

East Side development hangs in the balance over the Kennedy Connector to I-71 in the Oakley/Madisonville area. The traffic congestion in the area of the Millworks is going to be heavy, and that connector will be vital to relieve the volume. Also, the Millworks area is not easy accessible from both direction of the highway. Coming from the North you have to take Kennedy to Ridge and battle horrible a bad intersection. This road would open up a new path, and with it a new flow of business into the city from the Suburbs. Instead of passing the city on their way to Newport, people in Blue Ash, Indian Hill, and Madeira will be more likely to stop off and see a movie in Oakley. If they want the River, hopefully someday they will be able to go to the Banks. Newport and Covington will always have the best views, of Cincinnati, so Oakley can’t compete with that. City Council should vote to make this connector happen. The only step now is to gain the remainder of the needed funding.

MidPoint Starts Today

The shows start tomorrow night, today has the start of the conference. Get the full details at www.mpmf.com.

Stay current with the MidPoint Music Festival by checking out Kari Wethington's CiN Weekly Midpoint Blog.

More Radio Changes

What is in store for WBOB and WTSJ after their sale? It is from one generally Religiously based company to another, so I don't see much over change. I wonder if WBOB will become less talk radio and more religious, opening up Clear Channel to move it's 55KRC farther to the right (yes WBOB was farther if you can believe it) or to seek to eat up their right wing market by changing WCKY.

Earth to Bronson

"Desperate Housewives" is a TV show. It is not a news program and it is not a reality TV show. Using it as a backdrop to contrast this group of elitist suburban wives living what is an easy life is a sign of classism from Bronson, hidden behind and riddled with an attack on Hollywood. I don't get the attack either. He blames feminists for something. I guess he is mad that it is considred good for women to value a career and use of their college education, instead of being baby factories, and being limited to jobs that he likely thinks they are meant to be in. A Part time job in this sense comes across as "women's work."

You can take the cave man out of the suburbs, but you can't take the cave man thinking out of Peter Bronson's columns.

Enquirer Removes Comments From Korte Blog

In what stated as a temporary action, the Enquirer has removed commenting from Greg Korte's politics blog after what were called "vulgar and obscene language and potentially defamatory" comments were made to his blog. As of now, other blogs at Cincinnati.com still are open to comments.

Nate has a post that I can't confirm existed, but might be part of why comments were removed, if true. If those posts were indeed true it is a sorry state that someone would post something like that, and it would be even sorrier if anyone connected to any campaign would try a gutter tactic like that.

On the other hand this could all be a stunt by someone who hates Pepper, and is trying to scam voters into believing Pepper's camp is playing dirty, so lets try and keep the politics clean from poorly made allegations and rumor.

Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati

Oh that Spaten! I had quite a few. A great event, except for Government Square being closed. That really hampered traffic down 5th street, talk about a traffic jam. Jim Tarbell really looked like he was enjoying himself.

Fairness?

It took a court settlement but Clear Channel is holding back from outright free PR and radio time for candidates, which 98% of the time ended up being Republicans. What I wonder about is how often Jean Schmidt was on Willie Cunningham's program during the campaign. I thought I heard her on myself. Why was Paul Hackett not allowed to go on Springer's show then? I can see why he couldn't host Jerry's show, but was he not allowed to appear on it?

Exhibit A

People wonder why Bush is viewed by many as heartless person bent on self-preservation over human compassion. This sounds like it would be considered a normally day in Iraq. Is that Irony or what?

Urban Mecca?

What will come from this> Who are Laura Long, executive director of the Cincinnati Business Committee, and Tony Brown, president and CEO of the Uptown Consortium and what is the background of the groups they represent?

Usual Suspects?

This situation sounds tragig. Will we get lawsuits and protests? Since it is out in the inner-suburbs, I don't see a big protest. When it comes to lawsuits, well, I think you can count on it when you see the Ken Lawson is representing the family.

Voting By Race

The numbers don't lie that certain sub demographics show a racial pattern to voting in Cincinnati. Comparing Mallory to Pepper without including Reece and Winburn I think does not tell the whole story of the primary. Also, it was the primary, with only 20% of the vote. I think the general election will be more telling, but these two candidates do not put forth the stereotypes for the racial divide in town. A Keith Fangman vs. Damon Lynch race I think would be your stereotypical black vs. white election that would show voting based on race. I could not vote for either, but that's a side issue. The council election will be a better judge. The short ticket voting and combination of choices people make I think would show more of a voting by race pattern. If you were to vote for Malone, Lynch, Thomas, Smitherman, Cole, Eric Wilson, then you might be voting by race. Same Goes for a block Cranley, Crowley, Monzel, Ghiz, Herd, Tarbell, Spencer, Boltz, Berding. Both sets have conflicting viewpoints that in most cases would not cause that type of combination, other than race, unless one just randomly punched holes. Race is a problem, but I don't see Mallory and Pepper as the poster kids for the problem. Each goes out of their way to be inclusive and don't focus on race, they focus on people.

A Pending Hissy Fit

Expect the usual foaming at the mouth from theocrats out there. Also expect a level of moderates saying "what's the big deal." If you are a religious person, I understand you don't see the problem. I think that is a problem of lack of perspective If you would not have a problem having "One Nation, Under Zeus" written into law, then I guess you don't care, which I don't agree with, but I can see your point of view. Otherwise, if you see a universal monotheism as a valid entity to praise in the pledge, then you are advocating it as it superimposes an established religion of the state. From my point of view, "god" or "God" is no different than Zeus, Allah, Odin, Vishnu, Ra, or Fred the Almighty of Plattsburg.

The bottom line problem I think people miss in this debate is over the definition of religion. Some define it narrowly, I define it broadly, but with one big point: the supernatural. It is not about just having beliefs, it about beliefs in the supernatural. I think with that level of perspective, people could see why the pledge is in violation of the establishment clause. As long as they view religion with the viewpoint of their personal understand of valid or what they might call "real religions," we will have this conflict.

Jeffre Not Done?

Will Justin Jeffre make another run for office? If he does, he should try for Council, not Mayor. One must learn to walk before you start jogging.

Was Smitherman Scammed?

Based solely on this story from The Cincinnati Post it appears that Councilman Chris Smitherman's journey South to bring home Katrina victims actually netted a crack user and a two-some that may be out to scam people. It is sad that people take advantage of individuals who are there to help them. It is not surprising that Chris Smitherman did this, and made sure to bring along the press during an election season. I wonder if he would have done this if it were not an election year.

It is good he is doing something, I don't fault that, but he can do it and not worry about letting anyone know he is doing it. When you bring the press along, it is a campaign stunt.

The Aftermath

Ok, we have two winners. What happened to the losers? Was Reece hurt by her residency controversy? Was Wiburn hurt by being a right wing nut case? (Rhetorical question there, folks)

Mallory's showing is impressive. He did it with no TV. Reece ran a similar style, but lost big.

Looking forward I would say that Pepper is in the most trouble. Mallory should gain the Reece vote, but I don't see Pepper gaining as much of Winburn's vote. I see the GOP sitting on their hands. That means that Malone and Monzel are really in trouble.

More from the Post.

Speaking of a Debate

A civil debate is something coming on October 11th. Stay tuned for more details.

Ghetto Votes?

From Korte's blog we get this gem:

In a raucous half-hour speech to supporters at his Hamilton Avenue headquarters, Charlie Winburn thanked nearly every one in sight, calling them to the front of the crowd. Toward the end, he called on Lincoln Ware, the radio talk show host from The Buzz radio, and hugged him. "Lincoln tried to help us get that ghetto vote,'' Winburn said. "But we just didn't get too many ghetto votes.''

Ah WTF? This was a joke I assume?

Mallory and Pepper Advance

Mark Mallory and David Pepper will advance to the November election for Mayor of Cincinnati. In a very close race between the two, both were well ahead of the rest of the field. Turnout was around 20%.

Primary Results

UPDATE: Continuous:
Pepper 31%
Mallory 31%
Winburn 21%
Reece 15%
Jeffre 2%
With 376 Precints at 9:43PM
Pepper by 215

*************

UPDATE: #5:
Mallory 31%
Pepper 29%
Winburn 22%
Reece 16%
Jeffre 2%
With 274 Precints at 9:15PM
Heavy on the west side.

*************
UPDATE: #4:
Pepper 30.95%
Mallory 29.26%
Winburn 22.62%
Reece 15.02%
Jeffre 1.56%
With 146 Precints at 9:08PM

Reece needs help.

*************
UPDATE: #3:
Pepper 31%
Mallory 29%
Winburn 22%
Reece 16%
Jeffre 02%
With 127 Precints at 9:03PM

*************

UPDATE: #2:
Mallory 31%
Pepper 29%
Winburn 20%
Reece 18%
Jeffre 02%
With 90 Precints at 8:55PM

*************
UPDATE:
With 67 Precincts: 8:42PM
DAVID PEPPER . . . . . . . . . 2,942 30.23
MARK MALLORY . . . . . . . . . 2,728 28.03
CHARLIE WINBURN . . . . . . . . 2,041 20.97
ALICIA REECE . . . . . . . . . 1,777 18.26
JUSTIN JEFFRE . . . . . . . . 169 1.74
SANDRA QUEEN NOBLE . . . . . . . 41 0.42
SYLVAN GRISCO . . . . . . . . 34 0.35

Who are the fools that voted for Noble?

**********
Results so far at 60 precincts: at 8:35 PM

Pepper - 30%
Mallory - 29%
Winburn - 20%
Reece - 19%

That is mostly the West side at this point.

Election Coverage

Greg Korte is Living Blogging from the BOE

WCPO has election results, or you can get the BOE's official pdf file as well.

Poll Shows Tight Mayoral Primary

The numbers are fairly tight:

# 26% - David Pepper (D)
# 23% - Mark Mallory (D)
# 21% - Alicia Reece (D)
# 20% - Charlie Winburn (R)
# 7% - Other
# 3% - Undecided

I was called for this poll on Saturday. I did put my support around Mallory. He is looking much better in this poll. Winburn shows the most improvement. It should be interesting.

Uh, Just Lies?

Does Bronson even pay attention to what is going on?

Blame is a lame alibi. Democrats pulled a muscle jumping to blame President Bush for Katrina aid delays. But it turns out New Orleans Mayor Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco ignored Bush's urging for mandatory evacuation, did not call in the National Guard and blocked Red Cross help for two critical days.

Peter Must protect Dear Leader!!!! Or face excommunication from the Shurb Society.

I would like to know is this just a man misinformed from watching too much Hannity or is he knowingly lying?

White Stripes

Great White Stripes concert last night. Of all of the council candidates I thought I would run into, Jim Tarbell was not one of them. Jim was there, with bike helmet in hand, ready for the Greenhorns and Jack and Meg.

Dave Chappelle

Did anyone catch any of the Dave Chappelle shows at the Levee?

Hackett v. DeWine?

Will Paul Hackett take on Mike DeWine for U.S. Senate? U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan is urging him to take on DeWine.

Cincinnati Advance Website

Be sure to check out the revised Cincinnati Advance website. We have revamped it's look and feel. If you had signed up for an ID you will need to sign up again. We are in Clifton this week, so come on out!

Predictions

Ok, it is now time to get out that crystal ball and summon up the demons and ghosts of elections past. What two candidates will emerge from tomorrow's primary as winners? How about an order of finish? Here is my prediction:

Pepper
Mallory
Reece
Winburn
Jeffre
Grisco
Noble

Mallory and Reece could switch, but I hope not. This is not be a big win for anyone. Pepper should start worrying if his votes plus Winburn's are not more than Mallory and Reece's together.

First Time Ever?

It has to be a first for a candidate to gain the support of Enquirer and the "Black Fist", but Mark Mallory has done just that. What may shock Nate is that I (Mr. "white folks") am going to vote for Mallory on Tuesday. I don't like to do endorsements, but I like Mallory. Mallory is a leader. He, I believe, would be best at being Mayor for all of Cincinnati, including me, Nate, the police, the Black Fist, business interests, and the homeless. I don't know if all of his ideas will work, and at this point that is not what I am looking for. Cincinnati needs a new positive direction, and Mr. Mallory is the best hope in moving on a road to something better.

Why the Black Fist likes Mallory is beyond me. I guess maybe Mark took the time to talk to them. It is wasted time in my opinion. They will grow to call Mark names if he gets elected Mayor, but it shows that Mallory can even reach out to the extremists in town, in hopes of changing their hate filled views. Charging at windmills I fear, but still a gallant try. Mallory should be our next mayor.

A Not So Bold Question

CinWeekly's question this week is really not bold and is very limited. It assumes a fallacy. Retail does not lead development, it follows it. All of the options listed would be great for downtown, but none of them alone will get people downtown. We need more retail downtown, but it is not going to be a cure all.

Council Fundraising

The latest Fundraising deadline came and went yesterday, and four council candidates failed to file campaign finance reports by the 4 PM deadline. Smitherman, Lynch, Herd, and Thomas did not file with the City. Why they missed is unknown, but a theory could be that they mistakenly only filed with the county, not the city. That is speculation on my part, but one that makes sense. If they missed filing, they could face a fine. Other than that, not much will happen as long as they file the reports.

The money totals can be found here.

Greg Korte has more on his blog.

The jaw dropper is that David Pepper has raised over a half a million dollars for the Mayor's race. The next closest is Mallory with 129,000.

Enquirer Endorses Mallory and Pepper

In their Sunday edition, which this story appears online for some reason today, the Enquirer endorses Mark Mallory and David Pepper in the Cincinnati Mayoral Primary. Reece and Winburn got a some comments, and the Enquirer gave their idea description of what the mayor should be.

Will this help anyone? I would be inclined to say that it will help Pepper and Mallory marginally. It hurts Winburn significantly.

Getting Out of Hand?

When you have to move the time of a high school football in part because of fears of violence, then the solutions in place are not working. What is causing the increase in local teenage violence? Is this all just teenage drug dealers encroaching on the schools? I do not understand how the people doing this can't be routed out and locked up. What is holding that back?

FOP Gets to Pound Some Sand

The State Employment Relations Board upheld the city police reform allowing the hiring of senior police managers from outside the city. This will in the long run a plus for the CPD and the city. If we can get new blood into the CPD leadership, police relationships with the rest of the community have a great chance at improving. If the FOP would only dump their right-wing leadership, they too might improve their relationship with the city leaders and with the citizens.

Negative Ads

Are negative mailers going to do anything for the candidates in the mayor's race? I got most of the mailings mentioned and more. I actually got 2 from Winburn in one day, someone needs to cross match one of their mailing lists. Reece seems quiet in all of this. Is she the stealth candidate who will emerge from the fray with one of the two top seats? I have pegged her in third place. The one poll out there puts her in a surprisingly close second. Next Tuesday I think will be a nail biter.

Fountain Square Revamp Coming

With a wise choice, the city and 3CDC waited until after Oktoberfest to begin the revamping of Fountain Square. It should be open again by Oktoberfest 2006, with luck.

Rudy and Charlie

National Blogs picked up on Rudy's endorsement of Winburn, TPM and Crooks and Liars both picked up on Winburn's born again only comment.

Is Giuliani on Crack?

No, Rudy is not on crack, as far as I know. Instead he is doing something minor to try and gain support for a Presidential bid in 2008. Winburn is not going to pull in any primary votes for Rudy, so I think Rudy has bad advisors. Did the Cincinnati FOP promise Rudy primary votes? What this does to moderate GOP voters is show that Rudy is not really paying attention, and is only supporting him because of internal party politics. It makes him look like a party hack.

Is there a Taft Curse?

Damn, can anyone around Bob Taft get a break? I mean, can't a man and his stripper companions be left alone?

Pardon Me

When there was the smallest hint of scandal, Bill Clinton was leveled for who he pardon. Today Peter Bronson mentions in passing without much more than a quip. I guess when you pardon 9 members of your staff, you are just about "changing the culture." I guess Peter wants a fundamentalist culture that not only is milquetoast, bland, and dull, he wants people who pardon people when they are accused of a crime. That is I guess the kind of culture where it is ok to break the law, well I guess the minor ones. If I use the conservative logic now, every kid in Kentucky will now be seeking pardons every time they either stay out past curfew or I don't know, speed.


"Everyone does it Dad, don't you want me to be like everyone else?"
"Yes son, I do, You are hereby pardoned."

Pepper Calls

News reports indicate that "someone" is faking campaign calls from David Pepper that make him sound racist.

What is unclear is this, from Korte eariler today:

CAMPAIGN CALLS: The Pepper campaign is disavowing a recorded phone call that asks registered voters to support Pepper as "the only white candidate in the Cincinnati mayor's race."

At a debate Tuesday night, Pepper said the calls were "dirty tricks politics" and promised to investigate who was behind them.

"This campaign is getting ugly quick, and this campaign is one of the ugliest things I've ever heard of," he said.

All three of his major rivals disclaimed responsibility and denounced the phone calls Tuesday.

Winburn denounced the tactic as "bigotry"; Mallory said the phone calls were illegal; and Reece said all the candidates shared a desire to debate the issues without "dirty tricks."

Michael Earl Patton, a Republican from Oakley, filed a complaint against Pepper with the Ohio Elections Commission on Tuesday, accusing Pepper of being behind the phone calls. He did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Nate has more and damns Pepper fairly quickly.

Shall we assume a "he who smelt it, dealt it" stance? If a Republican is pushing the complaint, then is it a reach to say that someone who would have known about the calls tipped him off or made sure he got one of the calls? Could he have sent them to himself? It smells like GOP dirty tricks to me. It could though be another Democrat doing it, but the only candidate who stands to gain significantly by hurting Pepper is Winburn. Reece and Mallory are going to win with those who will not vote for Pepper anyway.

I don't get how this call would have worked anyway for anyone. People who think Pepper is a racist already think he is one. It seems like it is just out there to occupy Pepper's time, and keep him on the defensive, which is what he has been on for a while now. He is not good on the defensive, and it shows on stage.

Jeffre Dragging Feet?

His is likely the weathiest person running for mayor which means he shouldn't be the last person to file his income with the State. He can hire more accountants then the rest combined, so I don't think he can claim delays with much credibility. It is reasonable for a candidate to not want to appear rich, but you look worse when you get caught trying to deflect attention from that fact.

Also in this story we learn that Sandra Queen Noble may be suffering from a "mental injury." The WCET debate left no doubt in my mind.

Natives

Quinn Brady is saying what many have been saying and feeling for a long time. Those many are immigrants to the City, like myself. I went to Miami University. If you care that I graduated from Jamestown High School, that's fine, but guess what, I am not from here. That does not mean your parents or childhood friends will hate me. They may hate me for other reasons. If they don't want you to have anything to do with people who are not Native, then you might want to think about finding a new family and set of friends. The family part is rather difficult, but you should dump your friends if they really are still living in high school.

Once you hit 30, I think this wears off. Either that or I really don't hang out with many locals. Come to think of it, that may be true. Locals are more likely to be fearful of downtown, in my opinion. So, I would guess they don't hang out where I do, at least not as often.

An interesting question: those here in Cincinnati who care where you went to high school, are they more likely to be conservative or liberal? I would guess conservative, but I would ask for opinions on that.

Nightmare

Let's hope few will doubt the hell that was life in the Superdome last week. These lifesavers should be proud of their service and everyone should thank them for being there for people in desperate need.

Local Rule?

If Peter Bronson hates the NCAA's attempts to change college mascots, and thinks of it as a local issue, then I wonder how he feels about a minister and his local church agreeing to have gay weddings and then the national organization of that local church voting to kick that minister out of the church for doing that. How is that different than the NCAA action? Are both wrong or not? Or does it just matter what the big organization is doing? Local control or no local control? This is not a government issue, but the organizations are the
"governing bodies," so the parallels exist. I guess I don't get why Peter Bronson was not outraged when a local Minister was kicked out of his pulpit for doing what the locals wanted.

MidPoint Music Festival Schedule

If you have not seen it yet, the MPMF schedule is up. The line up is great. Jake Speed made it to Arnold's 1 AM on Friday night.

Mike Brown Must Go

No, Not the owner of the Bengals. Mike Brown, the head of FEMA, should be immediately fired and replaced with someone who understands how to deal with a disaster. If the Bush Administration thinks FEMA's focus should be responding to terrorism, then how do they plan on evacuating a major city after a series of Dirty Nukes are set off? The failure to evacute New Orleans indicates that in real terrorist attack situation the aftermath would be the real killer, not the actual attack. The answer to Mike for this type of situation seems to be to pretend that nothing is going wrong, as illustrated by this CNN report. If nothing else, the man is over concerned with the PR spin of his teams efforts. If you are going to be a good department/agency head, you need to let the White House worry about the spin, and you just do your job, especially for an agency whose sole purpose is to deal with emergencies.

I personally would lay this at the foot of the President, but the more important thing is to fire the incompetent man, not the guy who hired him. I would love to fire Bush, but alas we are stuck with more of his bad choices until 2009. We also are stuck with the bad choice of Mike Brown and his Bengals, and can't change that unless he wants to sell. Let's just hope this year they break the curse and make the playoffs.

SCOTUS Change

With the Death of Rehnquist and this morning's announcement of Roberts for Chief Justice, the Supreme Court will now become a battle ground with heavy change in the balance. It is going to get ugly and get ugly quick.

This was a wise political move for Bush, and reduces the number of battles he has to fight. I don't know if it was a good move for the SCOTUS or not. The role of Chief is not one to directly influence case law, in that respect the Chief has no more power than the other 8 justices. Who gets that position is not that big of a deal. The battle starts again as to whom will replace O'Connor. The gloves will be coming off, and the knuckles are going to get bloody.

If True, Damn!

Kevin Drum is doing his usually wonderful job blogging and reports on Bush's alleged staged Photo-Ops on his visits to the Gulf Coast Area. How can anyone like a man who allows his handlers to create any kind of stage and to create what appears to have been fake food distribution areas just for a photo opportunity. I will admit that even I am not willing to accept these allegations as valid on face value, but the glove fits. Erecting a stage for Bush is not only likely, I would bet on it. The food distribution point, which are the more egregious charge, is what I am more skeptical on. If that is true, then the Man and his handlers are heartless scum. If others can find more information on this, I will update the post, even if you can find credible reports discounting or disproving the allegations.

We Are Asking For Aid From Europe

I am glad we are doing it, but I don't know why the USA need to ask Europe for emergency assistance, including blankets, first aid kits, water trucks and food. Why do we need to go outside the USA for this? I am sure we could use money to buy more of these things, but I don't think we need to ship a bunch of blankets across the Atlantic.

Labor Day Lull

Ok, I really have little that I want to post on or am prepared to post on, so if you are Jonesing for a thread, have at it.

Quick Money Rules

When you need cash, I guess civil justice doesn't matter. It is amazing that this company actually was ready to do settle this fast, but what is more amazing is that they set up shop on city property, making I think some of the victims think the city approved of this or it was something the city was offering. Luken did the right thing kicking them off city property.

Refugee

Nearly every news outlet and politician is using the wordrefugee to describe those who have fled New Orleans. The use of the word is totally valid. There are refugees every day from fires and floods. What hits me like a ton of bricks is that there are hundreds of thousands of refugees out of Southeast Louisiana. That is something like out of WWII or out of a famine in Africa. This is not supposed to be happening here in the land of the free and home of the brave. Why is this happening? Why does it seem like the media is able to get around more than the police or National Guard?

Pepper Ad Misleading

David Pepper's TV ad was determined to be misleading by the Ohio Elections Commission, but they refused to do anything about it.

This was political and it really looks like the GOP wasting time when you read about the person who filed the lawsuit:

"As a lawyer, David Pepper should follow the law," said Brad Greenberg, Tye's attorney and executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party. "We feel it is a misleading commercial. He is not the incumbent."

Tye is Donald Tye Jr. who filed the lawsuit and is a Winburn supporter, and in case you missed it, his lawyer is executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party. Yea, it was a party action to help hurt Pepper and help Winburn, but crap like this never does anything. It looks petty and pointless. I am wondering if the GOP will go in the gutter any further to try and pull down Pepper, Reece or Mallory. Winburn needs two of the three to be tarnished to have any chance to make it beyond September 13th's Primary.

Horror on the Bayou

How did New Orleans get to this state? Why can’t more be done by the Federal Government? I am not going to blame anyone person or leader for this, no one person can move mountains, but if the USA can drop food over remote Afghanistan villages, why can't they do something similar in New Orleans?

The political fallout on this is starting to grow. I really don't want it to become a political issue. I would want political leaders with the power to move men and machine to get them in the air. Are their any National Guard Airborne troops out there? This near anarchy makes people America look like we don't know what we are doing. We don't, but we usually can make it work. The hell that is the Big Easy is a condemnation on our humanity. I say that with full knowledge that I am sitting on my ass typing, not really doing much. Those with the power should be doing, and it appears they can't do much.

Why can't they do much? Could it, and I am asking honestly, be the result of the over use of the National Guard in Iraq?

98 Degrees Reunion

OK, I know Justin Jeffre was in a boy band, but are we required to suffer through a reuion of the group? Can they just get together and hang out and not perform?

Gas Prices

In case you missed it, gas jumped about $0.45 in a day or two because of the Gulf Coast Hurricane. Now, it is true that the oil and gas industry was damaged, and on a long term basis I would expect prices to rise. Why did they jump that much in a couple of days? Answer? I don't know, but why doesn’t an enterprising young journalist seek out the pricing methods of the gas companies? Why not publish the formula they use to judge how much to charge for gas. People can bitch and moan about taxes and the EPA all they want, but there is no fair reason for gas to have jumped up that much, that quickly. It is about profit, not about passing on cost. If gas companies are going to market prices, then they should use a fairy tale market where they set the price they want and instead stick to real market pricing, not just what they think they can get away with.

Alas, we are stuck. Even after 100 years, gas companies are an oligopoly, and can do damn near what they want to the consumer. Having energy competition would be the best way to push our economy forward. If we had options outside of gas to power transportation on a wide scale, we would be able to move around everything with far greater ease. Why is the government not making that priority one in economic development?