What does it Take?

Coining a phrase like predatorgate is shear genius. On the whole Foley thing I am going to sit back and watch. The House GOP leadership is looking as bad as bad can be.

The only thing coming to mind is a quote that I am sure many are thinking of

"[I could not lose unless I was] caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy." Edwin Edwards.

I think in this case it appears to me that the House GOP leadership was attempting to prove this wrong, but failed.

Live From Kaldi's......

As the arrogant bastard I am, I shall declare myself the official blogger of the Downtown Hop Around, seeing that I am right now sitting at Kaldi's with friends. Stay tuned for updates throughout the night.

UPDATE 6:30 PM: Ok, got a beer, going to order soon. The crowd is light, but the sun is still up.

UPDATE 7:40 PM: Dinner was good. A meatloaf sandwich might scare people off, but the horseradish sauce that comes on it really is freakin good.

We are playing Uno, or rather everyone else at my table is playing while I am watching/blogging/drinking.

UPDATE 8:40 PM: The Uno game has expanded. I am feeling the coolness just ooze out of me!

UPDATE 9:22PM: Things have picked up a little bit, but the Uno game goes on!

I am not pleased about being here and having to pay for wifi. I thought lily pad worked here, but not tonight.

UPDATE 10:08 PM: We are now debating the strategic elements of the game of Uno. Hop Around is technically done, but we all may be hoping someplace else.

Northern Main Exposure

20/20 kicked off last night and I spent a large portion of the evening hanging out in a very large RV parked on Main Street. It was a rather surreal experience, with Gothic Hula Dancers keeping me inside the RV with their sidewalk performance blocking the doorway. I passed the time chatting, marveling at the long sleeve monkey-face t-shirt I wanted to buy, watching TV, and listening to every Techno satellite radio channel available.

The consensus among those hanging out in RV put the night on par with a Northern Exposure Episode.

Watching the dancers do a routine which included a headhunter theme and something akin to light saber fight added a flair to the night.

20/20 is about the arts and the individual expression of ideas. You have 19 more days to experience it. Get out there and going.

Downtown Hop Around

Get out tomorrow night and check out Downtown. Cincinnati Advance is YP Ambassador at Kaldi's, so drop on by and say hello. You can't say there's nothing to do and you prove you are not a panic stricken ninny who watches too much local TV news and fears leaving your driveway.

Do What I Say, Not What I Do

Let's first review:

From Answers.com: Plagiarism: "Using ideas, plots, text and other intellectual property developed by someone else while claiming it is your original work."

So what is bad for students is ok for Politicians. If I had bought a term paper from someone in a different high school, then turn it in, that is fine according to the Enquirer! Oh, wait, its, not ok to them. It's OK if their choice for Congress does it, but kids shouldn't do it. So, "do what I say, not what I do" should become Jean Schmidt's new campaign slogan?

Yes, this is bad. It shows Schmidt is lazy, lacks a thought of her own, has a badly run campaign, and sets a bad example for kids.

And finally, let's talk about skipping over the issues....Why did the Enquirer skip over the big issues of misleading the public over the War? Instead of running trite stories like covering dumb kids wearing scandals at a campaign rally, we might have learned about Bush's lies to the American public. Those lies continue to the this day, but the Enquirer doesn't care about lies. Well, unless you lie about a BJ. When Clinton comes to town on October 24th, you know you are going to hear about that. You will not hear about Chabot's negatives, they will be filtered out. Clinton will be headline news on October 25th's newspaper, mark my words. (Now, if I should be wrong, I'll gladly claim someone at the Enquirer was trying to spite me. LOL)

Inside Take On MidPoint

Sean Rhiney gives his take on this year's Midpoint from the organizer's perspective. He ends the article with the good news, they will be back in 2007. Where Midpoint will take place will be a much pondered notion for the next 10 months or so.

More on the WOXY Return

The Enquirer - Investor tries to save WOXY

Bill Clinton to Appear for Cranley

The Dems are making a big push in the fight to boot Chabot.

My Fountain Square

I really like the Fountain Square website. It shall be a new link on this page shortly! Check it out. They do need a mailing list I think.

Transference

Why would anyone want to transfer their grief over their son's tragic murder into a misguided political campaign? The father here needs to avoid trying to quell his emotions by seeking revenge against innocent people who had nothing to do with his son's murder.

Calling this "internal terrorism" is just sad.

I can understand a parent emotionally reacting over a child being murdered, as I am sure most of us can. If he is doing this alone, then he needs counseling. He made need counseling even if he is not. It is far more likely that he is being exploited by others for political/personal gain. Those using this man and his son's murder to pursue a campaign based on bigotry and racism possess no sense of decency, honor, or sense of respect for humanity.

WOXY Lives On!

City Beat is reporting that WOXY has found a White Knight and will be returning to the air. Great News for Indie music and great news for Cincinnati.

Puppet Schmidt

The Schmidt campaign reportedly states itself that an editorial publish in newspapers under Rep. Jean Schmidt's name was not written by Schmidt, and instead was written by the House Republican Caucus.

Does Schmidt have any opinions of her own, or is she just a puppet congresswoman for the GOP?

Bodyguard Showdown Looming?

City Council is starting to push back on Mayor Mark Mallory. The Finance Committee has passed a motion making the mayor include his full time bodyguard, police officer Scotty Johnson, in his office budget, instead of in the police budget.

This will come for a vote before the full council and will test Mallory's support.

MidPoint Summary

The Enquirer has an overall roundup of the festival. I had fun. That is what the festival is for afterall. I was not blown away by any of the acts I say, especially on Saturday night.

The rain really hurt and I think made the Saturday night gun shy. This year Midpoint Staff did a monumental job just getting the festival off, but stepped up even more with the hurdles thrust at them.

I am concerned how it will work next year. Where it will be is going to be a question that shall linger all year long. For now, play the CD's you got from your favorites, keep supporting local original music, and get out and see some more shows this weekend.

Heimlich-Pepper Debate

The debate happened last week. Did the debate have a clear winner? Local debates rarely affect races much, but might sway a few attendee's views.

DL Hosts Happy Hour for Kos

Join Drinking Liberally this Friday Night for a Kos Happy hour. Nationally known blogger Markos Moulitsas is in town and DL is bring the blogger to the people. Local candidates will be hanging out as well fighting to gain his counsel or a little more attention on his blog. The details: 5-8 p.m. at O'Bryon's Irish Pub, on 1998 Madison Road in O'Bryonville.

Midpoint Day Two

The Night was wet...and that's an understatement. My golf-size umbrella came in handy. While dodging the rain, I got to see several bands. Top of the list were the States and ..:SHIROCK:...

Tonight, not sure what I am up for. The Hiders, Apollo Up!, and Ellery look interesting.

CEA's Nominations For Music Are Out

CityBeat's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards Nominees for Music were announced last night. The Heartless Bastards and IsWhat?! Led the nominations with 4 each including Album and Artist of Year honors.

The Bigot Bar Owner in Mason Carries On

Anti-Muslim Hate boils just below the surface in much of American society and this juvenile statement from an adult in age only is a prime example. That hate of Muslims stems mostly from 9/11 and is an under current of what is a common held sense in many circles (high in conservative circles) of wanting to get revenge on Muslims. It's a tribal or clan like reaction. It is not a civil reaction and is being exploited by the Bush Administration as well as many Republican policy makers.

Midpoint Day One Recap

Lauren Bishop has her take on day one here.

I was most impressed with singer/songwriter Ellen Cherry who appear upstairs at Neon's. She had a sharp wit, is really cute in the coffeehouse gal kind of way (to mimic Lauren: not a slam at all), and her red polkadoted top reinforced her girl next door visual image. That image played that took me in played me for a fool, her dry sense of humor sharp songs give you a multi-level gut twist.

Tonight I'll be starting off at the Cincinnati Advance Midpoint Fire-Up! Party. Please come on down and support us. We made City Beat with it, twice!